Someone could preach or lecture on a topic every day. Still, the information would remain an untested hypothesis until a desire exists to combine or connect an outsider’s perspective with the student’s intuition or innate knowledge. There wouldn’t be interest in investigating, and the concept would never rise to the level of untestable.

For example, I have struggled to understand an emerging wireless technology invention fully. I was so out of my depth that I almost thought I was too old to learn this new trick. I stuck with it, however, and today, I had a eureka moment. I looked within for known concepts, which helped me connect the dots to understand this new digital product. 

As with the goal of all learning, I’ve gained enough insight to discuss the merits of this innovation. 

I’m not surprised that I had this epiphany today—it was also old and missing information about the Palm tree that brought the importance of this holy day into focus.

Christians celebrate Palm Sunday, a week before Easter Sunday when Christians celebrate Yeshua’s (Jesus Christ) return to life. In Sunday school, the only story I ever heard about Palm Sunday was about the people of Jerusalem who laid down palms when Yeshua arrived in the city. At the time, all I could think of was, “That’s nice.” But knowing what I do today, I’ve realized it was more than a kind gesture. Intuitively, the people of Jerusalem were honoring a King and wishing him eternal life.

I wouldn’t have that understanding without the following missing piece of antiquity.

The date palm is native to ancient Egypt and is said to be associated with the African God Tehuti, aka Thoth, the measurer of time. The ritual revealed that the ancient African God gave “Kings” a palm branch to bestow upon them longevity.

“The date palm rib was mainly a gift of god Thot as (lord of time) to the kingsfor a guarantee for a long life and millions of years for the king,and how the god holds the palm branch as a symbol of long life.

“Religious symbolism of the Palm Branch in the Greco-Roman Tombs of EgyptWahid OmranLecturer in Tourist Guidance Dep., Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, Fayoum University

Giving palms was a testament to rituals many living in Jerusalem probably carried on as a tradition from when their ancestors worshipped Auset (Isis). And, of course, that makes sense because Ancient Nubia/present-day Egypt is about the same distance to Jerusalem as Atlanta, Georgia, is to Cincinnati, Ohio. I’m sure no one doubts that this Sunday, churches in both Atlanta and Cincinnati were filled with Palms because, as it is now and back then, cultural rituals were spread by word of mouth, travelers, and colonizers.

But wait, there’s more. Before the dynastic era in ancient Egypt, Palms were used in funerary customs, too. So, could the Palms have served as a portend of the crucifixion? I don’t know. But I do know old habits die hard, especially if the Palms practice began during the worship of Ausar (Osiris) and Auset (Isis) and the virgin birth of baby Heru (Horus) in Ancient Egypt. That custom remained with some Hebrews even after they left Egypt to practice their religion and culture freely. And even today, March 24, 2024, believers still give Palms to celebrate Yeshua’s eternal life. A lot of our spiritual practices of today began back in ancient Nubia/Egypt, illustrating clearly these displays of remembrance must have been significant enough to retain, so we could maintain our connection to THE DIVINE. 

So, back to my unstated premise. It is nearly impossible to teach something new without building on the student’s internal foundation of knowledge. 

On this Palm Sunday, I couldn’t help but think about a movement underway here in the U.S. to force citizens into a neo-theocracy that appears to have tenets related to idolatry. Oddly enough, the scriptures they refer to warn religious practitioners about these types of religions.
Even a very high-profile televangelist once stated that false religions always use force.

Today, we have a few theocrats behind this movement codifying their tenets into federal, state, and municipal laws, which, if not obeyed, are punishable by imprisonment or death.

Sound familiar? 

Look back to Puritan theocracy in the 17th century, featuring chattel slavery, race classification, witch trials, executions, and more. Imagine that mixed bag of horrors deposited into our collective genetic memory. Torturing and forcing someone into submission will only teach them to associate fear and punishment with the new information.

Definitely not a win “hearts and minds” moment.

We learn by heart what’s essential. 

“To the Egyptians, the heart, or ib, rather than the brain, was the source of human wisdom and the centre of emotions and memory.”

The book of death: weighing your heart Francesco Carelli

Even when I thought about giving up learning something new, I couldn’t. I kept thinking about the new technology day and night. The old saying is true. 

 “you’ll always know what’s on your heart when your mind wanders.”

Walt Whitman?