Hebrew letter VAV acts both as a consonant, W, or as a vowel, 'oo.' It can act as a part of a word or as a prefix that means 'and.' In this sense, VAV is like a connecting tissue, like a mirror where things reflect and meet. Kabbalistically, its form denotes Divine light streamlined downwards into the Creation.
Grammatically, the morphology of the Tetragrammaton, God's Name made of four letters, י-ה-ו-ה, reflects fusion of different forms of the Hebrew verb 'to be.' It is a very elusive word, because grammatically it is neither one of the forms we know. It denotes future continuous tense, meaning that it is an ever evolving Existence that brings everything into being. This name is so elusive, and thus reflects so perfectly the prohibition to utter His Name in vain, that we even don't know how it should be pronounced correctly. All the attempts in English literature to spell it as it is written, are incorrect as they defy the grammar and the phonetics of Hebrew language. Only priests in the Temple knew to pronounce this Name correctly. Therefore in Jewish tradition we do not even attempt to read this Name, lest we misspell it, but replace it instead with the name Ado-nai, which means literally My Lords. It is plural because it reflects the idea that this name does not refer to God Himself (only the Tetragrammaton Name does), but to His manifold manifestations in the worlds.
"On a frequent basis we attach a meaning of a word from the Bible based on our own language and culture to a word that is not the meaning of the Hebrew word behind the translation. From Meditation 8.30.11 "ezekials beating heart" – Matisyahu
Blasphemy
Blaspheme: The Mishnah (Sanh. 7:5), rules that the death sentence by stoning should be applied only in the case where the blasphemer had uttered the *Tetragrammaton and two witnesses had warned him prior to the transgression. In the Talmud, however, R. Meir extends this punishment to cases where the blasphemer had used one of the *attributes, i.e., substitute names of God (Sanh. 56a). The accepted halakhah is that only the one who has uttered the Tetragrammaton be sentenced to death by stoning; the offender who pronounced the substitute names is only flogged (Maim., Yad, Avodat Kokhavim, 2:7). In the court procedure (Sanh. 5:7 and Sanh. 60a) the witnesses for the prosecution testified to the words of the blasphemer by substituting the expressions "Yose shall strike Yose" (yakkeh Yose et Yose). Toward the end of the hearing, however, after the audience had been dismissed, the senior witness was asked to repeat the exact words uttered by the blasphemer. Upon their pronouncement (i.e., of the Tetragrammaton), the judges stood up and rent their garments. The act expressed their profound mourning at hearing the name of God profaned. The custom of tearing one's clothes on hearing blasphemy is attested to in II Kings 18:37, where it is told that Eliakim and his associates tore their garments upon hearing the blasphemous words of the Assyrian warlord *Rab-Shakeh (Sanh. 60a). It is codified in Shulḥan Arukh (YD 340:37) that whoever bears a blasphemy whether with the Tetragrammaton or with attributes, in any language and from a Jew, even from the mouth of a witness, must rend his garment. The second and any successive witnesses only testified: "I have heard the same words" (Sanh. 7:5); according to the opinion of *Abba Saul, whoever utters the Tetragrammaton in public is excluded from the world to come (Av. Zar. 18a). Besides the sacrilege of God, vituperation against the king, God's anointed servant, was also considered blasphemy (cf. Ex. 22:27 and I Kings 21:10). Gentiles, too, are obliged to refrain from blasphemy since this is one of the Seven *Noachide Laws (Sanh. 56a, 60a). Maimonides also classified as blasphemy the erasure of God's name written on paper or engraved on stone, etc., which was to be punished by flogging (Yad, Yesodei ha-Torah 6:1–6). After Jewish courts were deprived of jurisdiction in those cases where capital punishment was applied, excommunication (see *ḥerem) was the usual sanction against a blasphemer (J. Mueller (ed.), Teshuvot Ge'onei Mizraḥ u-Ma'arav (1898), 27a, responsum no. 103 by Amram Gaon).
*
The Japanese deputy foreign minister said Japan supports Iran's nuclear energy program.*
The Japanese agreed to supply Iran with nuclear fuel rods.
Missing Pieces to the Japanese Puzzle
By Rabbi Lazer Beams
King David warned (Psalm 7:16), that if a person digs a pit for someone else to fall into, he ends up falling in it. We saw this on Purim with Haman - he prepared a tree and a noose to hang Mordechai, and he himself ended up hanging on the same tree with the same noose around his neck.
Our good friend attorney Baruch Cohen brought some amazing information to my attention that he gleaned from Rucho Shel Mashiach blog, namely, that Japan has been supporting Iran's nuclear program. You connect the dots:
* The Japanese deputy foreign minister said Japan supports Iran's nuclear energy program.
* The Japanese agreed to supply Iran with nuclear fuel rods.
* The Government of Japan then turned around and "deplored" Jewish construction in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and added that they don't recognize our rights to our holy city and homeland.
The "measure for measure" that Hashem is doing to Japan is mindboggling. They don't want us to build homes on our land, they're losing homes on their land. They choose to help build nuclear reactors that are intended to destroy us, their own nuclear reactors shall destroy them. Hashem's justice is not something to play with. Let the haughty be forewarned - the Guardian of Israel shall not slumber.
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Japan's Catch 22
By Rabbi Lazer Beams
King Solomon, the wisest of all men, says (Proverbs 21:30): "There is no wisdom, and no understanding, and no advice against Hashem." In other words, as the Malbim explains in his elaboration of Proverbs, even if you're intelligent and capable, and you've made your best efforts, you can do nothing to fight a Heavenly decree.
The Malbim's explanation is no cause for despair; his intention is that you can't fight a Heavenly decree with material means. But, there are many effective spiritual ways to completely rescind a harsh decree. Prayer, penitence, and expressions of gratitude are capable of mitigating the harshest of decrees.
The Japanese are an intelligent and dilligent people. Their problem is that they don't realize that not every problem can be solved by money or by Hi-tech. After days of reassuring the world that things are more or less under control, yesterday they finally sent up a white flag and declared maximum alert as highly toxic plutonium was the latest contaminant found seeping into the soil outside the Fukushima nuclear plant.
The TEPCO people figured that as soon as they restore power lines, then they'd be able to pump loads of water in to cool the reactors. But that plan has backfired; as workers pumped water into units to cool the reactors down, they discovered pools of contaminated water in numerous spots, including the basements of several buildings and in tunnels outside them. This contaminated water has been emitting radiation exposures more than four times the amount the government considers safe for workers, and that's already a way-higher-than-normal level.
The Japanese are now left with a deadly Catch 22: They must pump in water to keep the fuel rods cool, but since that water has been leaking out, they're now faced with a task of pumping out the highly contaminated water and safely storing it. So, they're in big trouble if they pump in more water and they're in big trouble if they don't. The more they cool down the nuclear fuel rods, the more they're left with nuclear-contaminated water. What can they possibly do?
It's a dead end, materially that is. On a spiritual side, there's much to be done. Hashem was about to destroy Nineveh, but they repented (see the Book of Yona). Nineveh is a precedent - Japan should learn from them. Better yet, if Japan as a nation would learn emuna, accept the Seven Noahide commandments, and turn to Hashem for Divine assistance, they'd see big miracles. Emuna Outreach would be happy to advise the Japanese Government, if they'd only listen.
http://lazerbrody.typepad.com/lazer_beams/2011/03/missing-pieces-to-the-japanese-puzzle.html
