40 Biblical Verifications Of Jewish 'Oral Tradition' 

 

CLAIM 8) The Oral Law is not mentioned even once in the entire Tanach (Hebrew Bible).


REPLY:
To the contrary - it is independent personal interpretation of the Written Torah which is not ordained even once in the Hebrew Bible; The information presented in the video is a sufficient example of Biblical indication of the Oral Instruction.


After having seen this video, perhaps you are now more confident about the existence of the oral legislative law of Israel, but you still feel hesitant about upholding an oral law that you feel violates the Written Torah; this is not reason to disregard all other teachings of the oral law; certainly, there are many teachings of the oral law which would not prevent you from upholding your understanding of the written Torah. Why throw the baby out with the 'bathwater?' You can keep those aspects of the oral law which you're comfortable with right now, and it might be that as you begin looking into the matter of the oral law more in depth, and taking the concept more seriously, other aspects of the oral law may begin to make more sense to you which before you thought unacceptable. It's shocking to what degree a little clarification can change one's view on a matter.


Blessed is He who opens our eyes to the wonders of His Torah.

A Torah center dedicated to
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and ancient Jewish tradition

source: http://www.torathmoshe.com/2012/07/new-oral-torah-from-sinai-video-interview/

God has many levels how he reveals himself

The oil painting shown above is by the Israeli artist, Tuvia Katz, and it is entitled "Creation". It represents the Divine energy (depicted at the top of the picture) entering the creative process, going through the contraction of "Zeir anpin" (depicted by the letters "Zain" and "Aleph" in the center of the picture (for an explanation of the concept of "Zain Anpin" seehttp://www.inner.org/worlds/zeiranpn.htm), and culminating in "Malkut", the material dimension of reality embodying our everyday world. 

"A concept that is very well know in Kabbalah and its brought down in Hassidic philosophy, that God has many levels how he reveals himself, the essence of God is so Holy that anything that will stand in front of it will be annulled, kind of like, if you put a man in front of the sun, if you put a man in front of the sun the man will melt in just seconds. It's like the relations with God, if you put anything in front of God with no barriers that thing will be completely annulled just because of the level of Holiness. So what God does, he conceals himself. He puts layers to conceal the Godly Revelation.

This world has the lowest revelation of Godliness, the lowest level, and it corresponds to the name of God Elohim. The numerical value Elohim is Hatava (Nature) What we see in this world that’s nature, that’s God. That's God revealing Himself to us, to the creations of this world and the way he does this is in the shape of nature. So when we see trees and water and sky, animals and vegetation, everything that we see...that is God! You see God all day long. You don’t realize that it's God. You don't accept that it's God. Because its just God concealing Himself so much... that is how we see God. This world is basically bound by sizes. We have days, we have seconds, we have minutes, Kilometers we have miles, everything in this world is defined in a size. Nothing is limitless in this world, everything has a limit. If its a second to a minute, to an hour, to a day, to a month, to a year, or if you go by its size, its one feet, two feet, a mile, two miles, a continent, but nothing is limitless.

Now one level higher of Godly revelation corresponds to the name of HaShem which is Y-H-V-H and if you brake the word into three in Hebrew it's... Past, Present, Future. In that level of Godliness time has no value. The past, present and future are one thing. It's a much higher level of Godliness. It's a level that we can't understand. There's no past, no present and no future, and everything is one thing...It's way beyond our understanding." (from Alon Anava's one last chance) [1]

The Hebrew word for nature is "Teva". "Teva" has two connotations that may help us gain an insight into the nature of nature. "Teva" implies drowning or sinking, because we are sunken into and swallowed up by this physical world.
"Teva" also is related to the word "matbeah" - coin - referring to a coin that has an image impressed upon it. Similarly the natural world impresses; so much so that our senses are so stimulated that any inkling of anything beyond is naturally overwhelmed.
The Hebrew word for "The Natural World", HaTeva, has the same numerical value for the Holy Name - Elokim. Meaning that our definition of nature is actually "repeating miracles." If something happens predictably we call it natural. When it happens once, we call it a miracle. We are alerted, jolted to a super state of awareness, a higher consciousness of reality.

As in so many other areas of knowledge, there is meaningful common ground in the way Torah and science view time. Kabbalah and Hassidic philosophy describe two distinct time concepts: the time of the lower world (zman tachton) and the time of the higher worlds (zman elion). Lower time "flows", with the past gone and the future yet to come. Higher time is eternal: past, present and future co-exist simultaneously.

The theory of relativity describes a four-dimensional space-time continuum, with three dimensions of space and one of time. The time dimension in the space-time continuum shares basic properties with the Higher time of Kabbalah and Hasidic philosophy. In classical thermodynamics, time is a unidirectional arrow that shares basic properties with the Lower time of Kabbalah and Hasidic philosophy.

One aspect of the war between the Jews and the Greeks, that ended with the Jewish victory celebrated in Hanukah, was about the meaning of time. For the Greeks time was a sequence of events, or its measurement. For the Jews, time is the injection of Divine providence into space.

Kabbalah and Hasidic philosophy teach that time originates from two simultaneous rhythms: "Mati lo mati" (also known as "noge'a lo noge'a"), a movement of Divine energy from the higher realms to the lower realms and back, and "ratzo va' shov", the movement of the soul from the lower to the higher realms, and back.
Space was created first, and time was "drawn" into space. In general, space embodies our ordinary reality, and time "informs" space. Divine providence shapes reality (space) through the dimension of time.

At the level of the soul and human behavior, time has critical importance for our actions.Kohelet (King Solomon's book Ecclesiastes) teaches that there is a time for everything. The two most important collective sins of the Jewish people, the eating from the tree of Knowledge and the building of the golden calf, happened because of an inability to wait for the right time. The all-important process of rectification, teshuvah (repentance), bridgesLower time with Higher time. True repentance shifts our actions from Lower to theHigher time, where past, present and future co-exist. This is the mechanism wherebyteshuvah can physically transform a past transgression into a good deed, and darkness into light.



In the sixth hundredth year of Noah’s life... all the fountains of the great depth were broken apart, and the windows of heaven were opened...

- Genesis 7:11

In the six hundredth year of the sixth [millenium], the gateways of heavenly wisdom and the fountains of lower wisdom will be opened, and the world will be uplifted to prepare for the ascension of the seventh [millenium]...

- Zohar I, 117a

Heavenly wisdom is the wisdom of the Torah, lower wisdom is secular wisdom...

- Ashmoreth Haboker, ibid.

The Zohar, one of the basic books of the inner wisdom of the Torah, analyzes human wisdom in two distinct areas: revealed (Divine or heavenly) and scientific (secular, or lower). From the writings of the Hassidic masters we learn that the terms for these two types of wisdom are higher waters (,mayim elyonim) and lower waters (,mayim tahtonim).
The Zohar quoted above predicts that human knowledge, and hence the entire human condition, will go through a paradigm shift when these two types of wisdom are unified – when these two waters are brought together.

The Foundation’s logo is the Hebrew letter (aleph ) which is graphically constructed from three other Hebrew letters: two symmetric (yud) and a (vav) dividing them. It is explained in the Arizal’s writings that the top corresponds to the higher waters, the bottom to the lower waters, and the that separates them to the firmament that separated them during creation (“And G-d said: Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide water from water”, Genesis 1:6). As the top corresponds to Divine wisdom, which becomes less palpable as it ascends – the top in our logo starts (at the ) from a mid-blue coloring and fades out into whiteness and finally becomes completely transparent. As the bottom corresponds to mundane, scientific wisdom, which becomes more and more factual as it descends, it begins (at the ) with a mid-blue coloring and ‘solidifies’ into blackness and opaqueness.

Whereas the firmament only served to separate between the two types of wisdom, the letter (vav) is the Hebrew conjunction ‘and’. It thus serves to bring the two waters back together again into a unified whole of human knowledge, fostering growth and respect between the Divine and the mundane.

sources:
[1] http://www.alonanava.com/
 [2] http://www.torahscience.org

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Shabbat Nachamu

Shabbat Nachamu / שבת נחמו

Fri, 03 August 2012 at sundown (16th of Av, 5772)

Shabbat Nachamu ("Sabbath of comfort/ing) takes its name from the haftarah from Isaiah in the Book of Isaiah 40:1-26 that speaks of "comforting" the Jewish people for their suffering. It the first of seven haftarahs of consolation leading up to the holiday of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. 

You the Man; No, You the Man

Insights for Shabbos Nachamu: the Shabbos of Consolation

This Week’s RRR (Relevant Religious Reference): “… Love your Neighbor like yourself… ” – Genesis, 25:30

This Week’s SSC

(Suitable Secular Citation): “ You the man!” “No, you the Man!” “How can I be the Man when you the Man?” – a dialogue of mutual admiration, found in various forms in various places, such as the movie “Do the Right Thing”

YOU THE WOMAN

A beautiful thing happened to me around this time in 2007, and I’m thankful not only that it occurred but that I noticed it! It was actually a “You the Woman” mutual caring exchange (exactly where do I fit into that, you may justifiably wonder), in which two women were selflessly looking out for each other without realizing that the other was doing so. The quick background: quite a few of our Chevra participants had decided to go to Israel for extended learning opportunities. Two of the women who went, named Alina & Rachel, journeyed there together in the early summer for about 5 weeks. On July 24th, which coincided with Tisha B’Av, Alina called me and left a message about Rachel that went something like this: “Rachel just left Israel, but she didn’t really didn’t want to; she was crying; and I just thought you and Jess (my Wife) could call to comfort her, make sure she has a place for Shabbat, and help her feel better about having to leave Israel…”. I was so impressed by what a loving, heartfelt message it was.

NO, YOU THE WOMAN

Two days later, when Rachel was back in America, she sent me an email which essentially said the following: “Hopefully you or Jess can be in touch with Alina soon, who is still in Israel and is feeling a little lonely. I missed her call yesterday and I'm unable to reach her today; perhaps you or Jess will find some time today just to touch base with her. She has such a big heart and I don't want her feeling sad, lonely, or bored. I heard that Alina has Shabbos plans for this week, but…” When I first saw Rachel’s email in my preview pane, I was expecting her to let us know that she really wanted to speak with us about her own experiences, how she wishes she could still be in Israel, etc., all of which would be quite understandable. While her email did briefly mention those items, Rachel’s main focus was on the well-being of her friend Alina! In fact, both of them were looking out in such a beautiful way for the other: making sure we would call the other, making sure the other would be taken care of for Shabbos, and more. I was so touched when I realized what had just happened.

THE ORIGINAL “CITY OF BROTHERLY LOVE”

“Among the great achievements of (King) Solomon, first place must be assigned to the superb Temple built by him. He was long in doubt as to where he was to build it. A heavenly voice directed him to go to Mount Zion at night, to a field owned by two brothers jointly. One of the brothers was a bachelor and poor, the other was blessed both with wealth and a large family of children. It was harvesting time. Under cover of night, the poor brother kept adding to the other's heap of grain, for, although he was poor, he thought his brother needed more on account of his large family. The rich brother, in the same clandestine way, added to the poor brother's store, thinking that though he had a family to support, the other was without means. This field, Solomon concluded, which had called forth so remarkable a manifestation of brotherly love, was the best site for the Temple, and he bought it.”

A COMFORTING CONSOLATION (SINCE THIS SHABBOS IS “SHABBOS NACHAMU: THE SHABBOS OF CONSOLATION”)

When I realized the similarities between these two uplifting stories, another connection occurred to me: Alina had called me from Israel and set into motion this chain of kindness ON TISHA B’AV, the anniversary of the day on which the Temple was destroyed. And according to our sages, what is the metaphysical cause that allowed the Temple to become vulnerable enough to fall? The sin of “baseless hatred” among Jews! In fact, our sages tell us that we are fated to remain in spiritual Exile from the Temple until we collectively rectify the flaw of “baseless hatred” with sufficient acts of loving-kindness.

Thus, it was a tremendous tiding that our chain of kindness performed by our heroines was initiated on Tisha B’Av, the day of the Temple’s destruction: if the original Temple may have been built specifically in a place where brotherly love prevailed, then the acts of mutual caring demonstrated by these wonderful women can certainly be a stepping stone towards our long-awaited redemption – may it come swiftly in our days!

A Message was Captured in Jerusalem One Shabbat Morning

By Larry Domnitch

The Haftorah (prophetic portion) read on Shabbat Nachamu, the 'Shabbat of Comfort' which follows Tisha B'Av, expresses the message of conciliation expressed by the prophet Isaiah to a nation that would endure a prolonged exile. In the Old City of Jerusalem in 1920, a particular event on Shabbat Nachamu captured the essence of its theme.

During the First World War, the British government foresaw their victory over Turkish in Palestine forces as imminent and issued the Balfour Declaration supporting Jewish aspirations for a Jewish Homeland. Not long after the declaration was issued, opposition mounted from members of Britain's government and military administration who were against Zionism. However, the British government was under the leadership of the staunch Zionist Lloyd George, who was determined to stand by the Declaration. George appointed a Jew and a Zionist, Sir Herbert Samuel, as the first British high commissioner of Palestine. Samuel's appointment signified the beginning of the British mandate over Palestine.

On July 1, 1920, Samuel disembarked a British battleship at the port of Haifa as the new commissioner or, as his biographer John Bowle put it, "the first Jewish ruler in Palestine since Hyrcanus the second" (whose reign ended 40 B.C.E.) Samuel seemed to be the answer to the Zionists' prayers. A Zionist leader Arthur Ruppin, described in his diary the ceremony held nine days later on the Mount of Olives in honor of Samuel's appointment. "Until now, only pronouncements about a Jewish National Home...had only been words on paper; but now they rose before us embodied in a person of a Jewish High Commissioner...Many of the Jews present had tears in their eyes."

Just a few weeks later, on the morning of Shabbat Nachamu, Samuel set out on foot toward the famous Churva Synagogue in the Old City of Jerusalem. Surrounded by an entourage of advisors and guards, he entered the Old City's Jaffa Gate and headed toward the Jewish Quarter. As he entered, spectators gathered on the streets, which were adorned with flowers, to glimpse the man who represented their highest hopes and dreams. As he passed by, the onlookers cheered and expressions of joy resonated. A sense of euphoria quickly came over the crowd.

Samuel entered the Churva Synagogue where there was not an empty seat. He had arrived prepared to chant the Haftorah. Soon, the gabbai (sexton) summoned him to the Torah, calling out the words Ya'amod HaNasi Ha'Elyon (may the High Commissioner arise). As Samuel stood up, the entire congregation also rose to their feet in a show of respect and admiration. Samuel made his way to the bimah (platform from which the Torah if read) and proceeded to recite the blessings over the Torah and then the blessings over the Haftorah. The British High Commissioner began chanting the Haftorah, echoing the words of Isaiah, which expresses the hopes and dreams of the nation. "Comfort, comfort My people, says the L-rd. Speak to her heart of Jerusalem and proclaim to her that her time [of exile] has been fulfilled, that her iniquity has been conciliated, for she has received for the Hand of G-D double for all her sins." (Isaiah 40:1-2) The entire congregation shuttered upon hearing the words that embodied their greatest hopes and dreams. It was a moment of intense emotion. An aid to Samuel described the scene as " a golden moment where the Jews in the Synagogue felt as if the hour of redemption had arrived."

Unfortunately, Samuel did not live up to the people's hopes and expectations. Despite his devotion to Zionism, he was caught between two sides. As Arab riots increased and pressure against the Zionists intensified in British circles, Samuel made concessions to the Arabs and their British sympathizers. Jewish immigration restrictions were imposed and Haj Amin Al Husseini-a vehement anti-Zionist and later a staunch supporter of Nazism-was appointed by Samuel to the position of Mufti (religious interpreter) of Jerusalem. A British policy of appeasement was set into motion. The restoration of the Land to the Jewish people would be a slow arduous process fixed with obstacles.

However, the course of events did not change the impression of that Shabbat morning. That morning was a special moment that would live forever in the memories of those present. It was a moment that belonged not to the messenger, but to the age-old message of hope brought on Shabbat Nachamu. source:

source: http://torah.org/learning/edutainment/5769/vaeschanan.html

Alon Anava ...one last chance

Last Chance - Alon Anava Clinical Death Story

After a near death experience Alon Anava has changed his life from one end to the other. 

Please share this video and help spread the word  Share:

A Jew Debates A Xtian

Evil Talmud or Torah Ignorance?

Evangelisation of Jews

Torah Ignorance

Not knowing Aleph from your elbow!

A typical attack on Orthodox Jews goes something like this: “You Jews with your Oral Torah/ Rabbinic Judaism/ Talmud, have added to the written Torah. In great triumph they quote Deuteronomy 12:32 What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: you shall not add thereto, nor diminish from it., to say look you YOU HAVE GOT IT ALL WRONG AND ARE ALL GOING TO HELL etc.. My response to such nonsense is to point out and ask what they blow on Rosh Hoshana. Their response is “its a shofar or a trumpet, it says so in Numbers 29:1 and in Leviticus 23:24″. I point out to them that their translations add trumpet/ shofar but the Hebrew of these verses do not have a Hebrew word for trumpet or shofar. On what basis? The sages, the same ones’ whose words are recorded in the Talmud inform us that the day of blowing (יוֹם תְּרוּעָה) is a day of blowing the shofar! After this they tend to get a bit ruffled when I suggest that since the written Torah does not say what to blow and they are not to add to the Torah, then may be the best they could do is blow their noses.

Source: http://menashedovid1.wordpress.com/persecution-of-jews/

The Lucifer Myth - Haylel

IN SHORT... For Jews, anything that even remotely conflicts with the idea that Gd is One and Indivisible will be rejected out of hand because it precludes true pure monotheism. The idea that there is a Gd in heaven above who fights against a god of the underworld, or of hell, is not monotheism. It is, however, the same duality found in other pagan faiths. The Bible speaks of a character known as The Satan, who acts like a prosecuting attorney, or a district attorney, in Gd's court. However, The Satan has no power or authority in and of himself, rather he must get permission from the Judge, Gd, to do anything. 

A MORE COMPLETE EXPLANATION...

For Jews, anything that even remotely conflicts with the idea that Gd is One and Indivisible will be rejected out of hand because it precludes true pure monotheism. The idea that there is a Gd in heaven above who fights against a god of the underworld, or of hell, or a Good Gd who is in eternal opposition to an Evil Gd, is not monotheism. Other faiths had this same duality:

Greek: Zeus/Hades

Roman: Jupiter/Pluto

Norse: Odin/Loki

Mesopotamia: Marduk/Tiamat

Zoroastrian: Ahura Mazda/Angra Mainyu

Christian: Gd/Devil

This duality is expressed in the Christians' New Testament in two places. In Luke it states,

And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. [Luke 10:18]

And this is also found in Revelation:

And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. [Revelation 12:9]

Gd in heaven, according to Christian theology, cast out the devil, where he became the master and tempter of human beings, fighting against Gd over human souls. Christians will refer to a passage which they misunderstand, claiming it shows this idea to be in the Jewish Scriptures, too. In Isaiah it states:

That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased! The Etrnl hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers. He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth. The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing. Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us. Sheol from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us? Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of Gd: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. [Isaiah 14:4-14]

Please note that the biblical text itself states that this is all about the King of Babylon, who had raised himself up to be like Gd -- another example of the pagan confusion between Gd and man. (Please see Essay #8, 'Gd does not become Human, and Humans do not become Gd.' The text also compares the King of Babylon to Lucifer, who fell from the sky. 'Lucifer' is Latin for 'light-bearer,' and is the name given to Venus, the Morning Star. This term, 'light-bearer,' is used exactly in this way in 2 Peter 1:19, without any association of it to the devil. The biblical text above from Isaiah is saying that the King of Babylon had achieved greatness as a ruler, but just like a falling star, he was brought low by Gd for his arrogance.

Now, of course, the Hebrew Scriptures tell of a character called The Satan. Every time the term is used in the Hebrew Scriptures, it reads, HaSaTaN, which means THE Satan. When the definite article, 'the,' is in front of a word it indicates a title, like 'the rabbi,' or 'the reverend.' So, in the Bible, the term 'HaSatan,' which means, 'The Satan,' is a title. The one with that title has a specific job, the same way it is used in speaking of 'the rabbi,' or of 'the reverend.'

The concept of The Satan, or the job description, is radically different from that of the devil. For Christians, who erroneously use the two terms as if they are synonymous, the devil has power and authority in and of himself. However, in the Bible, The Satan only has power granted by Gd, and has no authority in and of himself. For the devil to have power and authority is to have more than one Gd, as we saw above concerning the Greeks and the Romans.

The Satan is described in only a few places in the Hebrew Scriptures. In every instance, he is an angel who works FOR Gd, not against Gd, and must get permission from Gd for everything that he does. Chronicles, Job, Psalms, and Zechariah are the only places where The Satan is mentioned. In each instance, the job description of The Satan is to act like what we now call a Prosecuting Attorney, or District Attorney, and accuse and show evidence against the defendant. Furthermore, like a D.A., The Satan must obtain permission from Gd, the Judge, to begin a sting operation.

In the following quotation from the Book of Job, please take note of who is doing the talking, as The Satan asks Gd for permission to conduct a 'sting operation' against Job:

And the Etrnl said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth Gd, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause. And Satan answered the Etrnl, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the Etrnl said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life. [Job 2:3-6]

In the above verses, The Satan must get permission from Gd to perform this sting operation on Job. The Satan has no power or authority of his own, just like a District Attorney who must also obtain permission from The Judge for anything he does.

Furthermore, the biblical text paints this same picture of The Satan, when it uses the character of The Satan in what appears to be the end of a court scene. In the following two quotations, The Satan is standing near the accused like the D.A. stands at the end of a court drama on television. In the verses from Zechariah, Gd is siding with the defense against The Satan, on behalf of Joshua the high priest. Joshua had been sent into exile where he paid for his sins, and now purified like a brand plucked out of a fire, Gd allowed him to return to Jerusalem against the wishes of The Satan:

And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Etrnl, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the Etrnl said unto Satan, 'The Etrnl rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Etrnl that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?' [Zechariah 3:1-2]

Set thou a wicked man over him, and let Satan stand at his right hand. When he shall be judged, let him be condemned, and let his prayer become sin. [Psalm 109:6-7]

As we see from Psalm 109 above, the Satan again is like the District Attorney who prosecutes the wicked man.

In the Bible there is also a verse which show that it is Gd, the Creator and Ruler of the whole universe, who is responsible for both the Good and the Bad, and not a devil or Gd of the underworld:

I am the Etrnl, and there is none else, there is no Gd beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the Etrnl, and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Etrnl do all these things. [Isaiah 45:5-7]

For Gd, the Bible, and for Judaism, to have an entity that competes with Gd, that has power and authority of his own in opposition to Gd, is to violate the basic biblical idea of monotheism. Gd is One. Source:

   

The Lucifer Myth

By Obadyahu Benyamin

Who is Lucifer?

To many, religious and otherwise, the question of who exactly “Lucifer” is an easy one to answer. Lucifer is the enemy right (hasatan)? The theory that the character Lucifer is Hasatan has been a popular one in Christianity dating as far back as the 4th century. And not only within Christianity has this idea attained popularity, but within various occultist groups, particularly Satanism and Luciferianism, Satan and Lucifer are commonly used interchangeably. Many of us came to accept the idea that Lucifer was hasatan long before ever reading the one verse in Isa 14:12, the only place in the Bible which mentions “Lucifer”. What if we showed you, however, that there is no Biblical Character by the name of Lucifer; and “the enemy”, that is hasatan, is never, at any point in the Bible, referred to by name? Wouldn’t it be mind blowing to find out that the character “Lucifer” wasn’t hasatan or the devil? It would certainly destroy the doctrinal principles of religions which have sprung off the theoretical foundation that Lucifer is “the devil” – especially those which deem their leaders infallible. Well, brace yourself, because we are going expose this myth for what it is! A few things worth noting before we start:

• •Lucifer is never directly or indirectly called Satan, nor is the word Satan ever found in Isaiah 14.
• •Despite all the NT’s reference to hasatan, there is never a quote from Isa 14 to substantiate their position on Satan.
• • Isa 14:12 is the ONLY place the word “Lucifer” is EVER used in the Tanakh.

Now let’s begin!

Lucifer is NOT a Name:

Isa 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! (KJV)
First and foremost the word in the actual Hebrew text (that is translated as Lucifer) is the word haylel (הילל) which means morning star. Coincidently, the Latin word “Lucifer” has the meaning of “morning star”, and is defined as the following on the Google online dictionary:
morning star: a planet (usually Venus) seen just before sunrise in the eastern sky
So definitively Lucifer and Haylel have the same meaning (implicitly), however there is one major problem. Lucifer is a translation, not a transliteration. Proper names are transliterated NOT translated. This is a simple indication that the word Haylel is not a proper name, nor was lucifer intended to be viewed as a proper name in its original usage. Also, when we look in the Latin Vulgate’s version of 2 Pe 1:19, the Greek word for morning-star (phosphoros) is translated as lucifer, indicating that the word lucifer was never intended to be understood as a proper name:
For More:


Even the writers of the Catholic Encyclopedia admit the parable is “expressly directed” towards the King of Babel – so why the Lucifer translation? Can anybody say tradition? The Catholic Encyclopedia 
claims it to have a “deeper significance”; hence this permits them to apply it to hasatan, even though it contradicts the context of the passage. They’ve admitted themselves, however, that there is no other basis, besides the tradition of the “early Fathers” and later Catholic Commentators, for interpreting Isa 14:12 as an address to hasatan! The verse they cited, which allegedly corresponds with Isa 14:12, Luke 10:18, does not quote Isa 14:12, nor does it say Lucifer, Haylel, or any of the like. Notice, the Master says “I saw Satan” not “I saw Lucifer/Haylel” etc…

Luk 10:18  And He said to them, “I saw Satan falling out of the heaven as lightning. The NT does give us an image of hasatan being cast out of Heaven – no doubt about that. But it never says it was specifically because of pride (as the King of Babel), or trying to be like HaShem (as the King of Babel). Hasatan could have been cast to earth for any sin; but neither the NT nor OT specify what that sin was. Nor does the NT, in all its references, ever cite Isa 14 as the basis for the hasatan’s fall. The Bible has the tendency to be silent concerning the specifics in heavenly matters; and it probably does so for a reason, being that not all heavenly things are to be revealed to humans (2 Cor 14:12). 

                                 Conclusion
The fact is, though hasatan did fall from Heaven, we don’t know what sin caused this fall; and we have subconsciously accepted philosophies about hasatan, which don’t actually reflect the Biblical account, rather, the tradition of man! Was there an ulterior motive behind this? Possibly! A whole Luciferian Religion (the worship of self and satan) has sprung off a Christian error! Numerous groups, have used this misrepresentation of “lucifer” to build religions – some even claiming themselves to be Messiahs or worldly representations of God on earth. Showing this error, however, reveals the fallible nature of many of these self-proclaimed Messiahs and Priests and sends a humbling blow to the heart of their followers. Our brothers originally believed and taught that Isa 14:12 was an address to hasatan, in ignorance; however, upon knowledge of the truth we immediately adjusted. This was simple for us though because no one here claims to be infallible, where Biblical knowledge is concerned; and we are constantly adjusting and perfecting our knowledge. What one may notice is that many groups who, associate divinity/infallibility with their leaders, and/or the KJV (and any other Text which falsely translates haylel as “Lucifer”), will be extremely reluctant to accept this simple error, and will become immediately defensive of their congregation and this tradition. Our advice is to avoid these groups at all cost. 

The Book of proverbs emphatically shows that one’s wisdom is dictated by their ability to learn from mistakes, make corrections, and be corrected, not the inability to make mistakes and/or be corrected. Only fools are not subject to correction and reproof. Assemblies who will continue to perpetuate this Lucifer lie, after knowledge of this clear evidence, represent the fool in proverbs. Lucifer is not hasatan, nor is it a proper name, but an honorific title given to the King of Babel meaning morning 
star – plain and simple. Stop the Lucifer Lie!

Shalom aliekhem
Obadyahu Benyamin

   

Lucifer^[1] is the name of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. Due to the unique movements and discontinuous appearances of Venus in the sky, traditional narratives surrounding these figures often involved a fall from the heavens to Earth or the underworld. Originally stemming from a son of the personified dawn, the goddess Aurora, in Roman mythology, the entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christian folklore as a name for Satan. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passage where the Ancient Greek figure's name was historically used (Isaiah 14:12) as "morning star" or "shining one" rather than as a proper name, Lucifer.^[2]

As a name for the Devil in Christian theology, the more common meaning in English, "Lucifer" is the rendering of the Hebrew word הֵילֵל‎ (transliteration: hêylêl; pronunciation: hay-lale)^[3] in Isaiah (Isaiah 14:12) given in the King James Version of the Bible. The translators of this version took the word from the Latin Vulgate,^[4] which translated הֵילֵל by the Latin word lucifer (uncapitalized),^[5][6] meaning "the morning star, the planet Venus", or, as an adjective, "light-bringing".^[7]

As a name for the planet in its morning aspect, "Lucifer" (Light-Bringer) is a proper name and is capitalized in English. In Greco-Roman civilization, it was often personified and considered a god^[8] and in some versions considered a son of Aurora (the Dawn).^[9] A similar name used by the Roman poet Catullus for the planet in its evening aspect is "Noctifer" (Night-Bringer)  Source: 

The Role of Women in Judaism

What makes Judaism stands out in the sense of gender equality is that, G-d is neither male nor female.



The role of women in traditional Judaism has been grossly misrepresented and misunderstood. The position of women is not nearly as lowly as many modern people think; in fact, the position of women in halakhah (Jewish Law) that dates back to the biblical period is in many ways better than the position of women under American civil law as recently as a century ago. Many of the important feminist leaders of the 20th century (Gloria Steinem, for example, and Betty Friedan) are Jewish women, and some commentators have suggested that this is no coincidence: the respect accorded to women in Jewish tradition was a part of their ethnic culture.

In traditional Judaism, women are for the most part seen as separate but equal. Women's obligations and responsibilities are different from men's, but no less important (in fact, in some ways, women's responsibilities are considered more important, as we shall see).

The equality of men and women begins at the highest possible level: G-d. In Judaism, unlike traditional Christianity, G-d has never been viewed as exclusively male or masculine. Judaism has always maintained that G-d has both masculine and feminine qualities. As one Chasidic rabbi explained it to me, G-d has no body, no genitalia, therefore the very idea that G-d is male or female is patently absurd. We refer to G-d using masculine terms simply for convenience's sake, because Hebrew has no neutral gender; G-d is no more male than a table is.

Both man and woman were created in the image of G-d. According to most Jewish scholars, "man" was created in Gen. 1:27 with dual gender, and was later separated into male and female.

According to traditional Judaism, women are endowed with a greater degree of "binah" (intuition, understanding, intelligence) than men. The rabbis inferred this from the fact that woman was "built" (Gen. 2:22) rather than "formed" (Gen. 2:7), and the Hebrew root of "build" has the same consonants as the word "binah." It has been said that the matriarchs (Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah) were superior to the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) in prophecy. Women did not participate in the idolatry regarding the Golden Calf. See Rosh Chodesh below. Some traditional sources suggest that women are closer to G-d's ideal than men.

Women have held positions of respect in Judaism since biblical times. Miriam is considered one of the liberators of the Children of Israel, along with her brothers Moses and Aaron. One of the Judges (Deborah) was a woman. Seven of the 55 prophets of the Bible were women (they are included in the list of biblical prophets).

The Ten Commandments require respect for both mother and father. Note that the father comes first in Ex. 20:12, but the mother comes first in Lev. 19:3, and many traditional sources point out that this reversal is intended to show that both parents are equally entitled to honor and reverence.

There were many learned women of note. The Talmud and later rabbinical writings speak of the wisdom of Berurya, the wife of Rabbi Meir. In several instances, her opinions on halakhah (Jewish Law) were accepted over those of her male contemporaries. In the ketubah (marriage contract) of Rabbi Akiba's son, the wife is obligated to teach the husband Torah! Many rabbis over the centuries have been known to consult their wives on matters of Jewish law relating to the woman's role, such as laws of kashrut and women's cycles. The wife of a rabbi is referred to as a rebbetzin, practically a title of her own, which should give some idea of her significance in Jewish life.

There can be no doubt, however, that the Talmud also has many negative things to say about women. Various rabbis at various times describe women as lazy, jealous, vain and gluttonous, prone to gossip and particularly prone to the occult and witchcraft. Men are repeatedly advised against associating with women, although this is usually because of man's lust rather than because of any shortcoming in women. It is worth noting that the Talmud also has negative things to say about men, frequently describing men as particularly prone to lust and forbidden sexual desires.

Women are discouraged from pursuing higher education or religious pursuits, but this seems to be primarily because women who engage in such pursuits might neglect their primary duties as wives and mothers. The rabbis are not concerned that women are not spiritual enough; rather, they are concerned that women might become too spiritually devoted.

The rights of women in traditional Judaism are much greater than they were in the rest of Western civilization until the 20th century. Women had the right to buy, sell, and own property, and make their own contracts, rights which women in Western countries (including America) did not have until about 100 years ago. In fact, Proverbs 31:10-31, which is traditionally read at Jewish weddings, speaks repeatedly of business acumen as a trait to be prized in women (v. 11, 13, 16, and 18 especially).

Women have the right to be consulted with regard to their marriage. Marital sex is regarded as the woman's right, and not the man's. Men do not have the right to beat or mistreat their wives, a right that was recognized by law in many Western countries until a few hundred years ago. In cases of rape, a woman is generally presumed not to have consented to the intercourse, even if she enjoyed it, even if she consented after the sexual act began and declined a rescue! This is in sharp contrast to American society, where even today rape victims often have to overcome public suspicion that they "asked for it" or "wanted it." Traditional Judaism recognizes that forced sexual relations within the context of marriage are rape and are not permitted; in many states in America today, rape within marriage is still not a crime.

There is no question that in traditional Judaism, the primary role of a woman is as wife and mother, keeper of the household. However, Judaism has great respect for the importance of that role and the spiritual influence that the woman has over her family. The Talmud says that when a pious man marries a wicked woman, the man becomes wicked, but when a wicked man marries a pious woman, the man becomes pious. The child of a Jewish woman and a gentile man is Jewish because of the mother's spiritual influence; the child of a Jewish man and a gentile woman is not. See Who Is a Jew? Women are exempted from all positive mitzvot ("thou shalts" as opposed to "thou shalt nots") that are time-related (that is, mitzvot that must be performed at a specific time of the day or year), because the woman's duties as wife and mother are so important that they cannot be postponed to fulfill a mitzvah. After all, a woman cannot be expected to just drop a crying baby when the time comes to perform a mitzvah. She cannot leave dinner unattended on the stove while she davens ma'ariv (evening prayer services).

It is this exemption from certain mitzvot that has led to the greatest misunderstanding of the role of women in Judaism. First, many people make the mistake of thinking that this exemption is a prohibition. On the contrary, although women are not required to perform time-based positive mitzvot, they are generally permitted to observe such mitzvot if they choose (though some are frustrated with women who insist on performing visible, prestigious optional mitzvot while they ignore mundane mandatory ones). Second, because this exemption diminishes the role of women in the synagogue, many people perceive that women have no role in Jewish religious life. This misconception derives from the mistaken assumption that Jewish religious life revolves around the synagogue. It does not; it revolves around the home, where the woman's role is every bit as important as the man's.

by  Tracey R Rich    More: http://www.jewfaq.org/women.htm

Links for Further Reading

Project Genesis offers an online course on Women in Judaism, covering subjects such as equality between men and women in Judaism, faith, prayer, relationships, and feminine intuition.
Kresel's Korner, written by an Orthodox woman, addresses many of the questions that people have about the role of women in Orthodoxy. Kresel is an intelligent, well-educated woman who responds to many feminist critiques of Orthodoxy and illustrates a very different kind of female empowerment.

A Call to Destroy The Great Pyramids - Symbols of Paganism

Calls to Destroy Egypt’s Great Pyramids Begin

According to several reports in the Arabic media, prominent Muslim clerics have begun to call for the demolition of Egypt’s Great Pyramids—or, in the words of Saudi Sheikh Ali bin Said al-Rabi‘i, those “symbols of paganism,” which Egypt’s Salafi party has long planned to cover with wax.    Most recently, Bahrain’s “Sheikh of Sunni Sheikhs” and President of National Unity, Abd al-Latif al-Mahmoud, called on Egypt’s new president, Muhammad Morsi, to “destroy the Pyramids and accomplish what the Sahabi Amr bin al-As could not.”

This is a reference to the Muslim Prophet Muhammad’s companion, Amr bin al-As and his Arabian tribesmen, who invaded and conquered Egypt circa 641.  Under al-As and subsequent Muslim rule, many Egyptian antiquities were destroyed as relics of infidelity.  While most Western academics argue otherwise, according to early Muslim writers, the great Library of Alexandria itself—deemed a repository of pagan knowledge contradicting the Koran—was destroyed under bin al-As’s reign and in compliance with Caliph Omar’s command.

However, while book-burning was an easy activity in the 7th century, destroying the mountain-like pyramids and their guardian Sphinx was not—even if Egypt’s Medieval Mamluk rulers “de-nosed” the latter during target practice (though popular legend still attributes it to a Westerner, Napoleon).

Sheikhs” observes, and thanks to modern technology, the pyramids can be destroyed.  The only question left is whether the Muslim Brotherhood president of Egypt is “pious” enough—if he is willing to complete the Islamization process that started under the hands of Egypt’s first Islamic conqueror.

Nor is such a course of action implausible.  History is laden with examples of Muslims destroying their own pre-Islamic heritage—starting with Islam’s prophet Muhammad himself, who destroyed Arabia’s Ka‘ba temple, transforming it into a mosque.

Asking “What is it about Islam that so often turns its adherents against their own patrimony?” Daniel Pipes provides several examples, from Medieval Muslims in India destroying their forefathers’ temples, to contemporary Muslims destroying their non-Islamic heritage in Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Malaysia, and Tunisia.

Currently, in what the International Criminal Court is describing as a possible “war crime,” Islamic fanatics are destroying the ancient heritage of the city of Timbuktu in Mali—all to Islam’s triumphant war cry, “Allahu Akbar!”

Much of this hate for their own pre-Islamic heritage is tied to the fact that, traditionally, Muslims do not identify with this or that nation, culture, heritage, or language, but only with the Islamic nation—the Umma.

Accordingly, while many Egyptians—Muslims and non-Muslims alike—see themselves as Egyptians, Islamists have no national identity, identifying only with Islam’s “culture,” based on the “sunna” of the prophet and Islam’s language, Arabic.  This sentiment was clearly reflected when the former Leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Muhammad Akef, declared “the hell with Egypt,” indicating that the interests of his country are secondary to Islam’s.

It is further telling that such calls are being made now—immediately after a Muslim Brotherhood member became Egypt’s president.  In fact, the same reports discussing the call to demolish the last of the Seven Wonders of the Word, also note that Egyptian Salafis are calling on Morsi to banish all Shias and Baha’is from Egypt.

In other words, Morsi’s call to release the Blind Sheikh, a terrorist mastermind, may be the tip of the iceberg in coming audacity.  From calls to legalize Islamic sex-slave marriage to calls to institute “morality police” to calls to destroy Egypt’s mountain-like monuments, under Muslim Brotherhood tutelage, the bottle has been uncorked, and the genie unleashed in Egypt.

Will all those international institutions, which make it a point to look the other way whenever human rights abuses are committed by Muslims, lest they appear “Islamophobic,” at least take note now that the Great Pyramids appear to be next on Islam’s hit list, or will the fact that Muslims are involved silence them once again—even as those most ancient symbols of human civilization are pummeled to the ground?

source: [1] http://frontpagemag.com/2012/raymond-ibrahim/muslim-brotherhood-destroy-the-pyramids/