<HTML>I received a short but firm rebuke from Jeremiah Unterman, and it is time
to put things straight. I am to blame of course for not checking my
sources before I wrote, and for writing in an anachronistic manner (the
unbearable easiness of email!) I have now checked out with an ancient
Egyptian expert and the authorized story is as follows: chapter 125 of the
(Egyptian) Book of the Dead shows the dead man's heart being weighed
against a feather (the Egyptian symbol for truth). On one side stands the
god of embalment and on the other side a monster who will eat the heart of
the dead one if it is heavier than the feather. My source claims that she
has never seen a heavy heart, and the reason seems to be that before his
death the Egyptian would make out a confession (something similar to Job
31). Anyway the idea that 'kaved lev paro' could be the Tora's remark on
this subject seems to me enticing, doesn't it?
Shmuel Afek</HTML>
