Boaz’s Ten Principles

Black Box

Boaz’s simple rules for living emerge as an ethical alternative to the adults’ competing systems of redemption and control.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

The Boy Who Watches The Boy Who Watches from "Black Box". The Boy Who Watches Childhood amid conflict Boaz grows up watching Alexander and Ilana fight and misread one another.

The Boy Who Watches from "Black Box". The Boy Who Watches Childhood amid conflict Boaz grows up watching Alexander and Ilana fight and misread one another.

The Boy Who Watches Childhood amid conflict Boaz grows up watching Alexander and Ilana fight and misread one another. He believes their suffering may be his fault and responds with violence against people nearby. An ethic not yet formed His later objections to cruelty begin in this childhood exposure. The family’s ideals do not protect him from the harm they inflict.

A Principle of Pity A Principle of Pity from "Black Box". A Principle of Pity Rules in his own words Ilana records Boaz’s principles: pity everyone, notice the stars, resist bitterness and hatred, and do not treat…

A Principle of Pity from "Black Box". A Principle of Pity Rules in his own words Ilana records Boaz’s principles: pity everyone, notice the stars, resist bitterness and hatred, and do not treat…

A Principle of Pity Rules in his own words Ilana records Boaz’s principles: pity everyone, notice the stars, resist bitterness and hatred, and do not treat people as less than human. An answer to ideology The rules are not a political program. They are a practical defense against the contempt and violence that shape the adults’ world.

Work instead of Feud Work instead of Feud from "Black Box". Work instead of Feud A local practice At the commune, Boaz assigns work, repairs buildings, and cultivates food.

Work instead of Feud from "Black Box". Work instead of Feud A local practice At the commune, Boaz assigns work, repairs buildings, and cultivates food.

Work instead of Feud A local practice At the commune, Boaz assigns work, repairs buildings, and cultivates food. He measures belonging by contribution rather than conformity. A modest public ethic His approach does not solve the national conflict, but it resists the habit of turning every disagreement into a struggle for domination.

The Stars Without Sermons The Stars Without Sermons from "Black Box". The Stars Without Sermons Looking upward Boaz builds a telescope and says the stars make people quiet.

The Stars Without Sermons from "Black Box". The Stars Without Sermons Looking upward Boaz builds a telescope and says the stars make people quiet.

The Stars Without Sermons Looking upward Boaz builds a telescope and says the stars make people quiet. He rejects Michel’s claim that the heavens prescribe a religious and political path. Wonder without command The sky offers attention rather than doctrine. Boaz’s view preserves mystery while refusing to turn it into permission to rule others.

A Community of Difference A Community of Difference from "Black Box". A Community of Difference Shared work, varied lives The residents include people with different backgrounds and beliefs.

A Community of Difference from "Black Box". A Community of Difference Shared work, varied lives The residents include people with different backgrounds and beliefs.

A Community of Difference Shared work, varied lives The residents include people with different backgrounds and beliefs. Boaz asks only that they work, respect one another, and avoid preaching. An unfinished answer The commune is vulnerable and informal, yet it gives shape to Boaz’s conviction that people can coexist without being remade in one image.

Before the 1968 divorce

August 1976

August–September 1976

Late summer 1976

October 1976