Magen David

Egyptian spiritual descent

http://theoriginaltestament.blogspot.com/2018/04/egyptian-spiritual-descent.html?m=1

Someone i'd met at this year's seder had asked a good question:
how come the jews in egypt had fallen into 49 levels of impurity?

Didn't Yoseph and Yaakov 'pave the way' when they came to Egypt, establishing schools and settling jews in the jewish enclave of Goshen?

so if that's the case, why have the jews fallen so quickly to such low level?

While i don't know the exact dynamics and the reasons for their spiritual downfall,
we see in recent history how just two or three generations of communism in Russia have almost totally destroyed the jewish spark of Torah...

 So we see that unless we actively FEED the flames, they just... die.
Everything needs to be NOURISHED, especially our souls!

FORBIDDEN FRUIT

My attempt to explain why Hashem 'trapped' us into eating the 'forbidden fruit'.

Please read until the end to understand what i'm trying to say.

If there was no sickness, nobody would appreciate the gift of healthy body and healthy mind. if there was no poverty, nobody would appreciate the gifts we do HAVE.

If there was no war, we wouldn't appreciate peace. lf there was no hate, we wouldn't appreciate LOVE.

Without death, we wouldn't appreciate LIFE. Without sin, there would be no HOLINESS!
The giving of the ''Tree of Knowledge of good and evil'' has CREATED the concept of holiness and repentance in the universe.

 The 'punishment' for eating- physical death and working for a living- has created the concept of life, and of physical attainment....

The banishment from the 'Garden' has created the concept of closeness to G'od....
                       ......
°° imagine a world where everyone has unlimited riches. In such world nobody would truly strive to increase one's possessions or work for a living. So the concept of being RICH only has meaning if there is POVERTY.
°° imagine a world where nobody ever gets sick. in such world nobody would appreciate the gift of having a healthy ming & body. The concept of ''well-being'' has any meaning only bcuz there is the possibility of NOT being well.

••• Now imagine a world where nobody ever dies, and nobody has any physical or spiritual needs.... Would anything have any meaning? If we had no fears, no physical or spiritual needs, would ANYTHING matter?

Perhaps we can say that by placing the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in Adam's garden, G-od has in effect created the CONCEPT OF SIN & HOLINESS! How? If nothing is forbidden, there can be no sin or morality, or holiness..

By commanding us to 'not eat the forbidden fruit of Tree of Knowledge', G'od has forced us to intellectually discriminate and make moral CHOICES about using knowledge for good or for evil.
 G'od has ''drawn a line in the sand'' -creating the concepts of moral ''right and wrong''.

After all, if G'od didn't decree that covetous thoughts or adultery are a 'SIN', there would be no reason not to engage in those actions.

••• by the same token, if G'od didn't decree the physical death as a result of partaking of the forbidden fruit, life would have no meaning, it would just be a... condition of existence, just like the color green or gravity...

•••can we say that by banishing Adam from the garden, G'od created the concept of closeness to Him? perhaps that very ban had CREATED the concept of teshuva, of ''returning to Go'd''?

   ...Perhaps we can say that if the act of sinning distances us from G-od, it also creates the concept of RETURN to Him. Otherwise, being connected to Go'd would just be a fact of life, not a goal to strive for!

°° perhaps if Go'd is LIFE, we only ''die'' a °tiny bit° when we sin, relative to the severity of the transgression of the individual. And each time we do a mitzva, we return/gain life/become CLOSER to our Source....

There are infinite levels of life and of holiness. Every thought and every gesture can bring us closer to Eden!!!

(week of parshat Vayakhel-Pekudey 2018 תשע'ח

Secret of Shema and of name Yisrael

Secret of 'Shema' and of name 'Yisrael'

mystery of name °Yisrael° and of the prayer °Shema°~

Torah refers to G'od by many names, but each one (except ONE), are only descriptors, not ACTUAL NAMES.

When Yaakov fought with a mysterious ''man'', it was really the patron angel of Esau. That same angel is the eternal enemy of Israel, the evil inclination (yetzer ha'Rah), aka the Temptor, the đevil personified. (Bava Basra 16a)

The hint of that is in the answer the angel gives to Yaakov: When asked about his name, the patron angel of Esau answered ''Lamma Zeh Tishaal Le'Shemmi'' , Why do u ask my name. It LITERALLY means ''why should this be asked'' is for my name''.

~As our sages explain, the angel of evil inclination only has power if we abandon reason and give in to our inner base impulses. Once we start asking questions, the power of evil vanishes. So literally, ''Don't ask my name'' is the essence, the name of the evil inclination.

When Yaakov was able to understand it, he reached the level of ''Yisrael'', Sar-EL, ''ruler of ''EL''.

''EL'' literally means ''power'', hence we often refer to G'od as ''E'lo'him'', the Source of all powers. In the physical realm, we mainly connect with G'od through the manifestation of divinity known as divine providence, aka ''natural laws''. Thus it is possible to ''see'' this natural manifestation of Go'd in Nature. Hence, Yaakov was able to say, after his struggle with the angel, ''I have seen 'Elohim' aspect of divinity ''face-to -face''.

It is indeed possible to 'see' how G'od manifests in our physical world through the 'lense' of His attribute as ''E'L''
~But that is NOT G'od's actual NAME. lt is only a ''descriptor''. G'od is not just brute ''power'' but also Infinite Mercy.

The truest divine Name in human language is the Ineffable hebrew name Yod. Hey. Vav. Hey. which jews never pronounce or write besides the High Priest on Yom Kippur. That Name signifies INFINITY, past/present/future merged into ONE. (Haya-was, Hove-is, Yihye-will be, combined)

That Name is the ultimate holiness. We are commanded to EMULATE G'od: ''be holy, for l your Go'd am holy''.

How can we BECOME ''holy''? By interacting with the world powers, the ''elohim'', through the laws of Torah.

Every time we deal with the natural world tbrouhh Torah- we sanctify it, and ourselves, becoming ''Sar-EL'', a 'prince' or 'ruler' of ''EL'', of worldly powers.

Relating to the world through Torah, we unify all world powers, and infuse the universe with the awareness of the Infinite One,
Yod.Hey.Vav. Hey.

That is what we attain through the Shema meditation-
through becoming aware of the true purpose of the physical world- which is to infuse it with godly purpose-
we bind it with the Ultimate Infinite One. Through recognizing the ultimate purpose of all worldly forces, that they all work for one godly goal in the long term, we are rectifying the world and ourselves.
...
Shema synergy: it is clear that the 'man' in Yaakov's struggle wasn't a 'man' but some kind of spiritual force. Yaakov called the spot the fight occurred ''Peniel'' for a reason....
Yet obviously u cannot win a fight with Go'd. But it seems it was some ASPECT of Go'd's presence..
Many Torah commentaries agree that 'e-lohim' represents the more ''natural''/revealed aspect of divinity, i.e. ''teva'', aka ''midda k'neged midda'', aka ''strict justice, aka GEVURA.
Perhaps we could theorise that since the name ''Yaakov'' might be construed as ''because'' (parshat Ekev!!!) it might imply the ''heel'' of the law, the most basic minutiae, the ''Go'd of the details'', -perhaps as 'Yaakov/Eikev' he related to G'od in a more mechanistic ''tit-for-tat'' formula, vs. the Y. H. V. H. which conveys infinite mercy, CHESED.

Perhaps we need BOTH- a balance of the detail-oriented gevura approach of ''yaakov-eikev'' TOGETHER with the more ''synergistic- holistic'', chesed-oriented approach of ''yisrael/Sar-E'L''...

CONVERSION TO JUDAISM

i'd like to address certain Xtian notion which keeps popping up: that supposedly ''every year more and more Jews accept the J'man''...

Since i'm personally involved in the multi-faith scene for many years, i'm familiar with the truth.

Sadly there are Jews who are not religious, just as there are non-religious muslims and non-religious christians. Such people are either not interested in religion, or weren't educated properly, or had some traumatic personal experiance related to religion...

Such person is easy to sway. All it takes is one close friend or a warm congregation, to ''change teams''.

I always answer the MUSLIM posts about ''yet another'' muslim convert: It is EASY to ''become muslim''. All u do to ''accept islam'' is raise a finger and post a picture on Facebook.

(Make sure u raise the correct finger, or u might get in trouble with the trigger-happy izlamists)😐

It isn't ''easy'' to convert to ORTHODOX judaism.  in judaism u can't just ''accept judaism ''in your heart''' and ''POOF''. U can't just say the ''jewish shahada'' and point a finger.

it takes a serious COMMITMENT. it takes at LEAST two years of serious study (on average).

One needs a rabbinical advisor, a connection to a viable orthodox community, a legitimate life-plan.

Unlike muslim and christian clergy, orthodox rabbis don't accept just anyone. Why? Two reasons.

1. Judaism does not believe that non jews are ''damned'' or ''unsaved''. Judaism teaches that ANYONE jew or not, is beloved by G'od. Unlike xtianity, there is no ''urgent need to /save/'' in Judaism. If u are a reasonably decent human being, YOU ARE OK, jewish or not!

2. Judaism believes that a conversion is very serious decision. Perhaps the MOST serious decision one can make.
One needs to change the entire life-style, often place of work, place where your children get educated, the entire kitchen, all dishes, etc etc. SERIOUSLY SERIOUS!

Now, in SPITE of all that, there are more christian clergy who CONVERTED to Orthodox Judaism, than orthodox rabbis who converted to the jzs cult, aka christianity. We.simply.know.better.

If u honestly examine xtian 'proofs', every Xtian ''prophecy'' doesn't really prove anything.

In the history of judaism, u might find a handfull of ORTHODOX jews who ''left the fold''. Mostly they weren't ''really'' orthodox, but rather ''orthoprax'', jews who don't really care about religion, even though they grew up in a religious family, for some reason they didnt feel like they belonged socially. I have read many life stories of many jews who left the fold.

Bottom line: compared to judaism (properly observed), xtianity or islam are EASY.
as a muslim u avoid pork, and if u want to be a really good muslim, u pray 5 times a day. Unless u live in a muslim community, most muslims don't bother with 5... So it's relatively easy.

Being Xtian is even easier. U click your heels, u ''accept J'man'' and POOF. u might get irrigated by some precipitation if your denomination demands it, u might do some book learning... but essentially, NO actual change is required. After all, it's ''all in the heart'' 😉

u don't REALLY need any temple, since YOU are a ''temple''. As long as u are convinced that u have mr.Jzs ''in your heart'', that's it 😆, no further actions necessary...

Judaism isnt just talk. Serious religious jews stop all work on shabbat. we eat only kosher. We dress 'kosher'. We need to live within walking distance to synagogue, no driving on shabbat. We need Mikva. Mezuzas. Tefillin. Tallit. Tzitzit. Religious school for kids. Which all aren't cheap...

And yet. I'll bet u won't find more than ten truly orthodox rabbis IN HISTORY who left judaism. (The one's which left were often disgraced because of something ''unkosher'' they did.. )

I PERSONALLY know several ex-christian PRIESTS who became orthodox jews. They have invested their whole life in the Jzs-cult, yet once they honestly SEARCHED for truth, there was no going back, no matter how difficult being jewish might be...

There simply is ZERO scriptural support for the Jzs worship, aka Christianity, in the Torah.

Every single of supposed ''proof texts'' of Xtianity does not stand scrutiny. There is ZERO Torah verses that ''prove'' Jzs.

You can write me, we'll go through them all...

That's a FACT. You can ''believe'' in various ''foreshadowings'' Xtians claim, but the simple fact is, you cannot accept Torah and follow NT. And since Xtians agree that Torah is indeed G-od's word, forever binding, it puts them in a pretty difficult spot theologically 😆

Very very very few really educated jews drink the Jzs kool-aid. No matter how hard living as jew might be, it is WORTH it. Torah is the truth. Jzs cult isn't.

Regardless of your warm fuzzies u feel J'man brings to your tummy...

DECALOGUE 4 everyone

How to apply the
 •The Ten Commandments• (DECALOGUE) Exodus 20 in everyday life:
..
1. I AM YOUR G'OD, there are no other powers:

Purpose of everything: ONE ALMIGHTY GO'D.
every single event happens for a purpose. Every single atom in the universe has a godly purpose!

 Everything given to us is to be used for godly purpose.

2. Strive for total truth and unity: NOT TO WORSHIP CREATION AS CREATOR.
paganism/polytheism cannot bring unity, because every idol worshipper sees HIS idol as the most important one, or he sees each of world powers working at opposing purposes.

Monotheism forces us to see everything as synergy, all parts making a greater whole.

A created entity cannot represent the totality of creation, but only a fractured fragment, which ipso facto is a lie because it hides the fulness of truth.

3. NOT TO TAKE G'OD's Name ''in vain''.

Any attribute of the Almighty does not describe His totality.
We need to approach our Maker with due respect, love and trembling. Even when describing a partial ASPECT of His relationship with the world ,we need to remember that any ATTRIBUTE of Divinity does not DEFINE the Infinite One.

The lesson is to always strive to see the full picture in everything, not to mis-represent G'ods creation.

4. KEEPING & •REMEMBERING• SHABBAT to make it holy.

Although only Children of Israel are commanded to abstain from all labors on Shabbat,

the universal lesson for everyone is to always remember that this world is to be sanctified and made into a godly place of love, justice, and unity.

To ''rest'' on Shabbat means that we should strive to emulate our Creator in having a definite plan and a purpose in all our actions.

 Shabbat is our goal: to set aside time for purely SPIRITUAL holy time, pure from profane mundane weekly efforts.

5. HONORING OUR PARENTS:
Gratitude and respect for our life-giving parents is the first step of being a godly person.

If we don't appreciate our PARENTS, how can we appreciate G'od who sustains us at every moment?

6. YOU SHALL NOT MURDER.

If we cannot appreciate our parents or our Creator, we won't appreciate life!
G'ods most precious gift is LIFE! Ultimately that's our ONLY gift.
We need to hold life precious and not destroy it needlessly!
G'ods first commandment to Adam was to ''guard and rule the garden''. That includes protecting all life.

7. NOT TO PROPAGATE SEXUAL IMMORALITY.

Misusing intimacy for cheap animalistic thrills is to disrespect G'ods gift of life and of ''loving one's fellow human beings. To respect and love others means to honor their emotional and physical needs.

Using others as mere tools of sating one's own selfish self-gratifying physical desires is to dishonor the godly spark in others.

8. YOU SHALL NOT STEAL.
Loving one's fellow human beings and honoring all G'ods creatures as G'ods creation includes respecting others' property and rights from loss or damage.

9. YOU SHALL NOT PRESENT FALSE TESTIMONY.
Preserving G'ods truth and avoiding misleading others, especially to pervert justice, is especially heinous. Some people justify any sin if they think that their cause is right.
Justice isn't a far-off theoretical idea, but a DAILY struggle to be an HONEST truthfull human being at all times.

10. YOU SHALL NOT COVET.
This is a most important commandment, as it illustrates that not only our physical actions need to be godly, but even our THOUGHTS and EMOTIONS are to be pure.

..

((Ten Commandments

20 Then God spoke all these words:

2 I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

3 You must have no other gods before me.

4 Do not make an idol for yourself—no form whatsoever—of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. 5 Do not bow down to them or worship them, because I, the Lord your God, am a passionate God. I punish children for their parents’ sins even to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me. 6 But I am loyal and gracious to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.

7 Do not use the Lord your God’s name as if it were of no significance; the Lordwon’t forgive anyone who uses his name that way.

8 Remember the Sabbath day and treat it as holy. 9 Six days you may work and do all your tasks, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. Do not do any work on it—not you, your sons or daughters, your male or female servants, your animals, or the immigrant who is living with you. 11 Because the Lordmade the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them in six days, but rested on the seventh day. That is why theLord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

12 Honor your father and your mother so that your life will be long on the fertile land that the Lord your God is giving you.

13 Do not kill.

14 Do not commit adultery.

15 Do not steal.

16 Do not testify falsely against your neighbor.

17 Do not desire your neighbor’s house. Do not desire and try to take your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox, donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.))

Israel as a Blessing

Historical approach to Israel as 'suffering servant'.

 Jews, as Abraham's descendants are the Keepers of the Covenant, they are promissed to bring blessing to all nations.

(Sorry, being followers of mr.Jzs doesn't make you 'descendants' of Abraham, anymore than it could make u jewish, regardless of Non-Testament's claims)
  
Some gentiles' object to Suffering Servant being ISRAEL, on the grounds that Jews aren't all righteous. One answer i have is: the righteous remnant of Israel , of which the real messiah will be born, that 'remnant' will be wholly righteous, as written.

Another answer is, a sinner who sincerely repents is considered 'righteous'. King David, in spite of his serious sin, has REPENTED, and Torah considers him WHOLLY RIGHTEOUS. As it is written ''the righteous fall seven times''.

I propose that we can see Israel ''being a blessing'' if we carefully examine the historical interactions  between the various nations and the Jews. Very often, (with some exceptions to be sure), a pattern emerges: The states which left Jews relatively unmolested to freely practice Judaism, those nations had often PROSPERED.

Some examples:
the Golden Age of Spain, the Golden Age of Islam, the Golden Age of Russia, the Golden Age of Poland.

 I propose that the dominance of Great Britain as world power has faded roughly when they stopped supporting Jewish rights. And British influence has returned when they STOPPED discriminating against the Jews.

i know it isn't a perfect pattern and one might note many exceptions. However, i DO feel there are enough ''coincidental'' parrallel points in history, to render my point at least somewhat valid.

(Hey, even ancient Egypt was a world power until they ''let the Jews out''!)