Judaism

Resurrection and Reincarnation


Belief in the eventual resurrection of the dead is a fundamental belief of traditional Judaism. It was a belief that distinguished the Pharisees (intellectual ancestors of Rabbinical Judaism) from the Sadducees. The Sadducees rejected the concept, because it is not explicitly mentioned in the Torah. The Pharisees found the concept implied in certain verses.

Belief in resurrection of the dead is one of Rambam's 13 Principles of Faith. The second blessing of the Shemoneh Esrei prayer, which is recited three times daily, contains several references to resurrection. (Note: the Reform movement, which apparently rejects this belief, has rewritten the second blessing accordingly).

The resurrection of the dead will occur in the messianic age, a time referred to in Hebrew as the Olam Ha-Ba, the World to Come, but that term is also used to refer to the spiritual afterlife. When the messiah comes to initiate the perfect world of peace and prosperity, the righteous dead will be brought back to life and given the opportunity to experience the perfected world that their righteousness helped to create. The wicked dead will not be resurrected.
http://www.jewfaq.org/olamhaba.htm

i wonder where irving/darby scofield got their future millennium from

Audio: Amalek: Eternal Enemy of Israel

3/24/2011 10:08:00 PM
A7 Radio's "Life Lessons with Judy Simon" with Judy Simon
Listen Now!

This week we are re-running a classic 2008 episode of Mikdash Kids, the precursor to Life Lessons. Who is Amalek? Why are we commanded to remember them? How is the nation of Amalek connected to the holiday of Purim? And: Tamara-Wassner-Rich from Yad Vashem shares lessons we can learn from the children of the Warsaw Ghetto
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Radio/News.aspx/3006

zone wrote:Audio: Amalek: Eternal Enemy of Israel

3/24/2011 10:08:00 PM
A7 Radio's "Life Lessons with Judy Simon" with Judy Simon
Listen Now!

This week we are re-running a classic 2008 episode of Mikdash Kids, the precursor to Life Lessons. Who is Amalek? Why are we commanded to remember them? How is the nation of Amalek connected to the holiday of Purim? And: Tamara-Wassner-Rich from Yad Vashem shares lessons we can learn from the children of the Warsaw Ghetto
[url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Radio/News.aspx/3006

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Radio/News.aspx/3006[/quote[/url]]
i'm going to listen to this.
it appears to be like...TRANSLATION:

hey kindergarten kiddies.
dress up in your halloween costume and come and learn why we must be filled with rage and revenge against AMALEK (who appears to be some orwellian enemy flavour-of-the-week).

i wonder if this group will be a catalyst for the Noahide Laws???


Young Arab Jews open letter to Arab peers

Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 10:08AM Gilad Atzmon




Introduction by Gilad Atzmon:
In spite of being the majority amongst the Israeli Jewish population, Arab Jews are heavily discriminated in Israel, both culturally and economically. Due to Zio-centric pressure and Euro-centric culture, Arab Jews have been reluctant to openly explore their heritage. Needless to mention that Arab military defeats didn’t help either, for decades Arab Jews in Israel have tended to hide their Arabic past. For the obvious reasons Arab Jews in Israel have been found at the forefront of every possible political form of negation towards Palestinians and Arabs in general. They clearly wanted to disassociate themselves from their Arab past through blind identification with Zionist ideology and Israeli militancy.

http://www.gilad.co.uk/writings/

And the funny thing is that those Arabs have prolly more semitic (tribes) blood in them than the white folk who call themselves Jews!

Strangelove wrote:And the funny thing is that those Arabs have prolly more semitic (tribes) blood in them than the white folk who call themselves Jews!

Well said.Isn't it ironic how far the propaganda went in lies and deception?
Everything can be fooled upside down.The only anchor of truth is our Lord Jesus Christ the Logos
and the Holy Spirit a grant for meekness, insight and wisdom.This helps if you feel the grief and eager
when certain atrocities are come to mind.

ada wrote:

Well said.Isn't it ironic how far the propaganda went in lies and deception?
Everything can be fooled upside down.The only anchor of truth is our Lord Jesus Christ the Logos
and the Holy Spirit a grant for meekness, insight and wisdom.This helps if you feel the grief and eager
when certain atrocities are come to mind.

Ada:
the propaganda probably outrages me more than anything.
people have a right to seek and find TRUTH.
this garbage they spend all their time on to try to suppress the truth in unrighteousness will all be for nothing in the end.

SICKENING.

An Invasion of Israel? In 2012?

by Dr. Yacov Tabak

Negative-seeming events may be the fulfillment of a prophecy that is a harbinger of redemption. Read on for a possible scenario in keeping with current and recent events and Biblical prophecy.

Executive Summary: A careful comparison of current events vis-à-vis the Palestinians and the so-called Peace Process with a variety of Jewish sources concerning events that are destined to take place at the Final Redemption, leads to surprising and positive possibilities. The following article describes a possible scenario and the Jewish sources on which it is based.

Maimonides (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Melachim 12) teaches that the Jewish Oral Tradition does not clarify the details of future events described by the Prophets of Israel in the Bible. In his words,וכל אלו הדברים וכיוצא בהן לא ידע אדם איך יהיו עד שיהיו – "and in all these things and related matters man will not know how they will come about until they come about." In other words, no one knows exactly what the Prophets are describing until it takes place.

The Jewish Oral Tradition (תורה שבעל פה Torah she-Beal Peh) gives us abundant guidance on matters of Halakha – for instance, the פרי עץ הדר – “the fruit of the beauteous tree to be taken on Sukkot” - is defined by the Oral Tradition as the אתרוג etrog – the citron. Or, the Biblical injunction to וקשרתם לאות על ידך והיו לטטפת בין עיניך"bind them as a sign on your arms and frontlets between your eyes" we understand from the Torah she-Beal Peh refers to phylacteries – Tefillin – which are cubic black leather boxes containing parchments inscribed with very specific Biblical passages. Without the Oral Tradition, we would have no way of knowing this.

A comparable guide to understanding prophetic statements, however, is not revealed by the Oral Tradition. For instance, Isaiah 60:08, in reference to the returning of the Exiles to Israel in the Final Redemption, states: מי אלה כעב תעופינה וכיונים אל ארבתיהם – "who are these who will fly like a cloud, and like doves to their dovecotes?"
Before the era of piloted manned flight began in the early twentieth century, classical commentators were simply unable to understand this passage. Today, when virtually all modern-era immigrants have reached Israel by flying at the altitude of clouds, and, like doves, always landing in the same place – the Ben Gurion Airport, we understand clearly the prediction of Isaiah concerning this phenomenon of airborne ingathering of Exiles.

Another example is Isaiah 26:20 לך עמי בא בחדריך וסגור דלתך בעדך חבי כמעט רגע עד יעבר זעם - “Go My people come into your rooms and close your doors behind you, hide for just a moment until the fury passes". The Biblical commentator Radak comments that this will occur during the War of Gog Umagog and the reference to "rooms" is allegorical and refers to "taking shelter" so to speak, by doing good deeds and doing penance. Rashi states that the Jews will go to their synagogues and study halls at that time.

As we now know, this passage is a very accurate description of the seclusion in the "sealed rooms" used as a protection in Israel against chemical warfare agents in the first Gulf War in 1991 and the "fury passing" occurred when the "All Clear" sounded (the code words were "Sharav Kaved") allowing people to exit the sealed rooms after the Scud missile landed and was determined to be chemically non-threatening.
As Maimonides had said, when the prophecy comes to pass, we are able to understand the passage, and so it was.

The People of Israel have been experiencing events described as those of אחרית הימים "Acharit Hayamim" – the "Last of the Years" [not, as often mistranslated, "The End of Days"] referred to by the Torah and the prophets, when there is to be a massive ingathering of Jews to the Land of Israel, an extensive rebuilding of the country and its communities, and a Golden Age when כי מציון תצא תורה ודבר השם מירושלים - "for from Zion shall issue forth Torah (Teaching = knowledge, including technological and scientific advances) and the Word of G-d from Jerusalem" Isaiah 2:3 and Michah 4:2.

It is tempting to explore prophetic and Midrashic sources to look for the context of unfolding events. This study leads to encouragement as to their salutary outcome, despite the difficulties and challenges we face at present.

Rav Saadyah Gaon related to this over one thousand years ago in his ten-part seminal philosophical work הנבחר באמונות ודעות"Hanivchar Be'emunot Ve'deot" "Selected Matters of Faith and Doctrines of Dogma". In number 8 – בישועה "BaYeshuah" – "Concerning the Final Salvation" he states (according to the translation from the Arabic by Rav Yosef Kapach, page 247) ישתבח מי שהטיב לנו בהקדימו להודיע לנו את הצרות האלה שלא יבואו עלינו פתאום ויגרמו לנו ייאוש - “praised be He who benefited us in that He gave us advance notice concerning these troubles so that they would not happen to us suddenly and cause us despair".

To paraphrase this idea, there is a reason the prophets provide so much detail in their accounts of future events in the Messianic Age. After all, to convey basic Jewish Faith in the Redemption concept it would be enough for the Prophets to write "trust in the Ultimate Redemption – it will surely come."

The reason for the detailed scenarios described in Biblical prophecy is so that when these events begin to take place, we will be able to recognize the patterns and context of ominous developments, and know that the final outcome is positive.
The message of Rav Saadyah is that the detail has been provided in order that the Jewish people will not despair. This foreknowledge of the outcome provided by the prophets will preclude mass despair on the part of the Jewish public when the scenario of upcoming events of the Messianic era seems threatening and foreboding.
An example of this principle at work was provided over five years ago on the occasion of the destruction of Gush Katif. At that time, the prospect of Israel destroying many rebuilt Jewish communities was considered by some to be an indication of a reversal of the אתחלתא דגאולה "atchalta de'Geula" "first stages of the Redemption" which the State of Israel embodied up to that point.

However, the Targum Yonatan ben Uziel on Deuteronomy 34:3 states: וית גלוות תלמידי אלישע דגלו מן קרוות דקליא על ידי אחוהון בית ישראל מאתן אלפין גוברין . . . וסדרי קרבא דגוג ובעידן צערא רבא ההיא מיכאל יקום בדרעא לפרוקא – in translation "And the exile of the students of Elisha [the Prophet] who are exiled from the Town of Dekalim by their brethren of the House of Israel – 200,000 men - . . . and the battle orders of Gog [and Magog] and in that era of great pain, Michael [the Archangel Michael – the guardian angel of the Jewish people] will arise with the [outstretched] Arm [of the Almighty] in order to redeem."

This source tells us that the evacuation of Gush Katif and its principle town Neveh Dekalim, exiling the Jewish residents, could be seen as an integral part of the upcoming scenario of Ultimate Redemption. Were it not for this source, we might have despaired of the future.

Taking it into consideration, although we do not yet understand the logic and we share the pain of the exiled pioneers, and although those who perpetrated the act chose of their own free will to cause immeasurable suffering, we can be heartened that it is part of the overall redemption scenario so that we do not "despair".

[See /Articles/Article.aspx/5497 for a detailed discussion of this source.]
In Israel, we find ourselves in foreboding circumstances today, in Spring 2011. The State of Israel seems to have lost a major measure of its support in the non-Jewish world and is being stampeded into abandoning large parts of the Land of Israel to the tender mercies of sworn enemies who have no peaceful intentions at all – the Palestinians.

These are Arabs who constitute a "national entity" invented recently of whole cloth and which never existed in world history. Their wish is to destroy the State of Israel and kill as many Jews as possible in the process. Prime Minister Netanyahu is being pushed into formulating a plan of further concessions, beyond those already granted, lest the "World" (i.e. the Quartet - the USA, Russia, the UN, and the EU) force on Israel a "peace agreement" which would involve the abandonment of the homes of over 600,000 Israelis – including large parts of Jerusalem.

The Palestinian enemy fully expects this scenario to materialize and so, steadfastly refuses to negotiate. Since the "World", lead by US President Barack Hussein Obama whose father was a practicing Moslem, does not punish them in any way for not negotiating, they feel vindicated in this assessment.

Let us consult Jewish sources to see if there are hints as to upcoming events. First we will review a possible scenario constructed from the Palestinian declared intentions and from prophetic sources that correlate with them. Then we will quote these sources in detail so as to back up the scenario. The result is much more encouraging than currently considered.

A Possible Scenario:

After extensive preparation of the apparatus of statehood and widespread recognition by a growing list of countries of an "independent state of Palestine with borders defined by the 1967 cease-fire lines", the Palestinians turn in September 2011 [see Note 1 below] to the UN Security Council to be recognized as an independent State within the pre-1967 armistice lines– meaning that the Ramat Eshkol neighborhood of Jerusalem, as well as many others, will be part of Security-Council-recognized Palestine.

The USA does not veto this resolution (the recent US veto of the anti-settlement Security Council resolution was a feint, and not a precedent) and it passes [see Note 2]; alternatively, if there is a veto, the Palestinians turn to the UN General Assembly, using the 1950's "Uniting for Peace" tactic which enabled the USA to engage in the Korean War although a Russian-Chinese veto had paralyzed the Security Council on this issue and receive their approval.

The Palestinians then turn to the State of Israel and request immediate evacuation of its nearly 650,000 citizens from "their state". Israel offers to discuss the matter, the Palestinians refuse any discussion [see Note 3] and refer the issue back to the Security Council, requesting that they act to remove these interlopers post haste from "their state". After a short time, the Security Council and/or Quartet decide that the festering wound of the Israel-Palestine conflict has persisted long enough and decide to settle the matter once and for all by sending an expeditionary force to Israel to carry out the evacuation forcibly [see Note 4].

The deadline for Israel acting is by January 15, 2012 [see Note 5]. On or about that date, if Israel does not begin to seriously evacuate its citizens (and it won't), an expeditionary force consisting of contingents from both Christian and Moslem countries [see Note 6] lands on the shores of Israel. The force consists of at least 185,000 combat soldiers [see Note 7], and is well-armed enough to counter the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) in whatever conflict configuration that might develop.
It has been demonstrated on the Internet that there is an elaborate US Armed Forces base in Israel, located near Shoham, and straddling the Green Line, and the force may be quartered there. This base was given to Pres. George W. Bush by Prime Minister Sharon on the occasion of the second Iraq War about five years ago. For a detailed description of this extra-territorial US presence in Israel, see http://www.rense.com/general66/excl.htm , including many pictures.

Eight months after the initial invasion [see note 8], the force approaches Jerusalem on the Eve of Sukkot 5773 (October 2012) [see Note 8]. They cause substantial havoc, but one week later, on the night between Oct. 06 and Oct. 07, 2012 - in the Hebrew calendar ליל הושענא רבה Leil Hoshanna Rabbah – the eve of the seventh day of Sukkot - , the L-rd, G-d of Israel says "Enough!" and puts an end to this force by some as yet unidentified natural phenomenon, devastating all the home countries who contributed personnel to the invasion [see Note 8]. Furthermore, on this occasion, all the capitals of the historic enemies of the Jews (for example Berlin, Teheran, Cairo, Rome, London, Madrid, Mecca, Moscow) will be reduced to rubble in a natural disaster that engulfs the entire planet [see Notes 9 and 11].

On the morning of Hoshanna Rabbah, the world looks entirely different. The final end to political or military pressure exerted on Jews and their State of Israel arrives.
At the close of this scenario, the Israel-Palestinian conflict ends forever. The Jews present in the Holy Land emerge unscathed and those surviving the devastation overseas soon make a final Aliyah [see Note 10].

The Sources:
Those readers familiar with Jewish sources describing the War of Gog and Magog will recognize elements thereof in the above scenario. Let us now elaborate in detail the sources for the above account, point-by-point.

1. August-September, 2011 Security Council approval of a Palestinian State in the 1967 lines:

This is the proclaimed intention of the Palestinian leadership, as declared repeatedly by their Prime Minister Salam Fayyad over the last 1 1/2 years. It is also the date by which the "Quartet" has determined that a final settlement of the Israel-Palestinian conflict be completed.

2. American non-use of the Veto at the Security Council : For the first time in history, America has a President – Barack Obama – with a sympathetic orientation to Moslem countries. He visited Cairo early in his presidency but has not yet visited Israel, and actions speak louder than words. The Palestinians’ moves would logically be made such that the entire planned process of forcing Israel militarily to do their bidding is completed before November 2012 when Obama stands for re-election.
3. The Palestinians demand evacuation of their country by the Jewish non-citizens and refuse to negotiate: This is simply a logical conclusion based on their behavior and statements to date – force Israel to vacate all territory beyond the post-1967 lines without resorting to negotiation and without conceding anything at all. They have announced clearly that their state must be judenrein.

4. The "Quartet" decides to force Israeli evacuation militarily: The entire tenor of the anti-Israeli international political atmosphere for the last two years leads directly to this outcome. It is this prospect that has Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak running scared and feeling pressured to make proposals to "advance the peace process," even though the current logjam in negotiations is entirely the fault of the Palestinians. Note the Arab League's announced plan to ask to make Gaza a no-fly zone and Obama advisor Samantha Power's suggestion to send UN forces to protect the Palestinians from the IDF.

5. The Jan.15, 2012 date: The first Gulf War in 1991 was fixed to begin on this date. Events in the solar calendar have particular significance for the non-Jewish world and those in the lunar calendar are significant for the Jewish world. (see BT Tractate Succa 29a – a solar eclipse is a bad omen for the non-Jews and a lunar eclipse is a bad omen for the Jews).

In 2012, the interval between Jan. 15 and Oct. 07, Hoshanna Rabbah – the seventh day of Sukkot, is exactly 266 days – 38 weeks, i.e. the nine months of a human pregnancy. According to BT Yoma 10a, "Ben-David (the Messiah) will only arrive after the evil kingdom of Rome dominates the entire world for a period of nine months as it says in Micah 5:2 "therefore give them the time it takes for her to give birth." The events at the closing stages of the Redemption process will last the nine months of human gestation.

Since it is understood that the finale of G-d's victory over the nations at the close of the Gog and Magog War takes place on the seventh day of Sukkot – Hoshanna Rabbah, it is logical to seek the year when this interval is 266 days. 2012 is such a year.

In Zechariah 14, it states that in response to the nations' invasion of Eretz Yisrael, ויצא השם ונלחם בגוים ההם כיום הלחמו ביום קרב - "And Hashem will go forth and do battle with those nations as on the day of His fighting on the day of Battle." The Targum Yonatan renders this: כיום אגחותיה קרב על ימא דסוף - "As on the day that he fought the battle at the Red Sea", referring to the night of the seventh day of Passover, when the Egyptian pursuers were drowned in the Red Sea.

Since G-d's victory over the Egyptians in the Exodus culminated in the crossing of the Red Sea and the final destruction of the Egyptian enemy on the seventh day of Passover, so in the Final Redemption on the Seventh Day of Sukkot all the nations who were/are enemies of the Jews will be destroyed. As it states in Michah 7:15 כימי צאתך מארץ מצרים אראנו נפלאות "kimei tzeitcha mei-eretz Mitzrayim ar'enu niflaot" – "I will show you miraculous events (at the Final Redemption) as in the days of the Exodus."

The connection with the Sukkot holiday is clearly indicated in Zechariah 14 and is the reason the chapters related to the War of Gog and Magog were chosen to be read as Haphtorot on Sukkot.

This connection is Torah-mandated. The 70 bulls sacrificed on Sukkot in the Holy Temple on behalf of the welfare of the 70-nations of the world are sacrificed not 10 per day for 7 days, but in a curious countdown from 13 on the first day to 7 on the last day. The total is 70, but the declining numbers are an ominous message to the nations that in the ultimate events to take place on Sukkot, they will not fare well (unless there is massive Teshuva – repentance - on their part; see Rashi on Numbers 29:18).

6. Christian and Moslem Contingents in the Invading Expeditionary Force: See Daniel 11:40 and following: 40 – ובעת קץ יתנגח עמו מלך הנגב וישתער עליו מלך הצפון ברכב ובפרשים ובאניות רבות ובא בארצות ושטף ועבר - “And at the time of the End [a synonym in Biblical terminology for Acharit Hayamim] there will be a collision with him by the King of the South and the King of the North will storm [his defences] with chariots and horsemen and many ocean-going vessels and he will sweep through and pass on”. – ויטע אהלי אפדנו בין ימים להר צבי קודש ובא עד קצו ואין עוזר לו - “And he will pitch his Royal tents between the seas and the mount of the Sacred Beauty [a synonym for the land of Israel] and he will come to his End, and there is no one to help him”. 12:1 – ובעת ההיא יעמוד מיכאל השר הגדול העמד על בני עמך והיתה עת צרה אשר לא נהיתה מהיות גוי עד העת ההיא ובעת ההיא ימלט עמך כל הנמצא כתוב בספר - "And at that time, the Great Archangel Michael [the traditional Guardian Angel of the Jews], who guards over Your people, will arise and there will be a time of troubles such as never before since becoming a nation until then, and at that time, Your people will escape – all those found to be written in the book."

The above passages describe a seminal war between the King of the South and the King of the North, who then unite to invade Israel, where they will meet their end. Over one hundred years ago, the classic commentary Malbim identified the King of the South as "artzot Yishmael" the Ishmaelite countries, a clear reference to Moslem forces; the Metzudot David, another commentary, identifies the King of the North as "Romi", Rome, a reference to the Christian countries.

From these sources, it derives that the invasion of Israel at the end of the scenario involves a coalition of both Moslem and Christian forces. This invasion and its consequences – the War of Gog-u-Magog – are described in detail in Ezekiel 38 and 39. There, Persia is mentioned as part of the invading coalition, so that now Iran may be part of the expeditionary force as well. The intent of the invading force is (38:12) לשלול שלל ולבוז בז להשיב ידך על חרבות
נושבות ואל עם מאסף מגוים עשה מקנה וקנין יושבי על טבור הארץ -"To take as booty the booty [the booty already taken--in the Six Day War?], and to despoil the spoils, to return your [violent] hand on resettled ruins and against a people ingathered from the Nations, dealing in commercial trade, and dwelling in the heartland [literally: the navel of the Land]".

This description closely suits the intent to uproot communities rebuilt in Israel [referred to as "the settlements" in the current diplomatic jargon], the intent of the Expeditionary Force. Finally, in 39:06 – ושלחתי אש במגוג וביושבי האיים לבטח וידעו כי אני השם - "I will send fire in Magog [the home countries of Gog and his coalition] and in the dwellers of the Islands [a biblical term for overseas territories – other continents] in security and then they will know that I am the L-rd." This is a clear reference to world-wide destruction and catastrophe. In Zechariah 13:8, a reference to "two-thirds will be cut off and perish and one-third will be left over [from the destruction]" is interpreted as referring to the vast toll of this world-wide catastrophe (see BT Sanhedrin 111a – debate between R' Yohanan and Resh Lakish).

7. 185,000 Soldiers: The B.T. Sanhedrin 95b describes that the future armies of Gog Umagog will encompass 185,000 troops as did the besieging army of Sancheriv (Sennacherib) who laid unsuccessful siege to Jerusalem during the reign of King Hezekiah. The force is itemized there as 45,000 senior officers (with their camp-following consorts), 80,000 soldiers equipped with scale-equipped body-armor, and 60,000 swordsmen, in addition to various horsemen.

This analogy derives from the similarities between this account and the scenario foretold by the prophets for the Gog Umagog conflict. An expeditionary force coming against Israel has to be capable theoretically of defeating the IDF in battle, although a battle may not occur.

8. The attack on Jerusalem on Sukkot: See Zecharia 14 - the entire chapter – for the details of this invasion. The association with Sukkot is made at the end of the chapter where in the aftermath of G-d's victory over the nations, their survivors are commanded to visit Jerusalem annually on Sukkot in remembrance of this event.
This chapter is read in synagogues as the Haphtorah on the first day of Sukkot. And Chapters 38-39 of Ezekiel, mentioned above, are read on the Intermediate Sabbath of Sukkot as the Haphtorah. The two readings are associated with Sukkot because the events described there are destined to take place on Sukkot (see Rav Hai Gaon in Tur Shulhan Arukh – Orach Chaim – 490).

9.The Planet-wide Disaster on Hoshanna Rabbah: See the detailed scenario in Ezekiel 38-39 and Zecharia 14. Earthquakes, tidal waves, avnei elgavish (which I have identified as a major fall of earth-crossing asteroids on the planet that night of Hoshanna Rabbah); each of these has enough energy and destructive power to leave a crater or devastation where a city stood previously).

10. The Jews in Israel survive: In Joel 4:16: והשם מציון ישאג ומירושלים יתן קולו ורעשו שמים וארץ והשם מחסה לעמו ומעוז לבני ישראל - In the context of this war, "and G-d will roar forth from Zion, and He will raise His voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth will tremble [the Biblical verb for an earthquake] and G-d will be a shelter for His people and a fortress for the children of Israel".

Furthermore, by analogy with the Exodus as defined above, the concept of הפלאה"hafla'ah" – contradistinction – was a dominant theme in the Exodus. Plague after plague smote the Egyptians but the Israelites were unaffected. See the account of the plague of "dever" – cattle blight – in Exodus 9:7 where Pharaoh cannot believe that the Israelites lost no cattle to this plague and sent a personal emissary to the land of Goshen to confirm this amazing contradistinction.

So may we hope that it will be in the Final Redemption, and although there will be massive perishing all over the planet, the Jews in Israel will survive unharmed, decisively demonstrating G-d's intervention on their behalf. This will serve to convince the surviving non-Jews of the globe Who orchestrated this world-wide catastrophe – and why.

Finally, in Deuteronomy 32:25, the song of Ha'azinu, it states מחוץ תשכל חרב ומחדרים אימה - "michutz teshakel cherev umechadarim eimah" literally – "outside there will be loss of life by sword, and indoors there will be great fear." The Targum Yonatan on this passage: עמא דגלו מברא לארעא דישראל תתכיל יתהון מחת חרבא ודמשתיירין בארעא דישראל בגו קיטוני מדמיכיהון איגרי בהון הגרת מותא - "The people exiled outside the boundaries of the Land of Israel will suffer the blow of the sword and those remaining in the Land of Israel in their bedrooms where they sleep will fear the fear of death."

This strongly suggests that the safest place for the Jews to be during that Sukkot will be in Israel – they will fear, but will remain alive.

11. Destruction of the Past and Current Enemies of the Jews at that time: This theme recurs in the Bible and the words of the prophets repeatedly. One quote will illustrate the point: Deuteronomy 32:43 – again from the Song of Ha'azinu: הרנינו גוים עמו כי דם עבדיו יקום ונקם ישיב לצריו וכפר אדמתו עמו - "Nations, praise His people, for He has avenged the blood of His servants, and He will visit vengeance on His adversaries and will atone for His land and for His people."

In Conclusion:
As quoted above, Maimonides warns that no one knows for sure to what events specific prophecies refer until they come to pass. However, we live in times so replete with prophecies in the midst of fulfillment that we may be forgiven for constructing possible scenarios.

The above is one such scenario, congruent with Jewish sources. There may be others with different outcomes. If there is an armed invasion of Israel by a joint Christian-Moslem force intending to eject Jews from the historic Land of Israel, and this takes place in early 2012, there will be those who will ominously predict the imminent demise of the independent State of Israel, as there are even those who do so today.

However, as described above, the outcome may be dramatically more favorable for the Jews. There will be no room for despair, but rather for intense optimism, and that precisely is the message of Rav Saadyah Gaon above in explaining why we have been provided by Divine guidance with all this information.

[Note: The ideas and substance of the above, including the key dates and details, were broadcast on Arutz 7 Internet Radio – the Tamar Yonah Show, on the occasion of Yom Yerushalayim 5770 (on May 11, 2010) in an interview conducted by Tamar with the author. It is interesting to note that the events of the last 10 months, including the Palestinian absolute refusal to negotiate and their marshalling of many countries to support the 1967 cease-fire lines as their borders, have served only to reinforce the impression that this scenario is indeed underway.]

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/10144

The resurrection of the dead will occur in the messianic age, a time referred to in Hebrew as the Olam Ha-Ba, the World to Come, but that term is also used to refer to the spiritual afterlife. When the messiah comes to initiate the perfect world of peace and prosperity, the righteous dead will be brought back to life and given the opportunity to experience the perfected world that their righteousness helped to create. The wicked dead will not be resurrected.

Olam Ha-Ba: The World to Come


The spiritual afterlife is referred to in Hebrew as Olam Ha-Ba (oh-LAHM hah-BAH), the World to Come, although this term is also used to refer to the messianic age. The Olam Ha-Ba is another, higher state of being.

In the Mishnah, one rabbi says, "This world is like a lobby before the Olam Ha-Ba. Prepare yourself in the lobby so that you may enter the banquet hall." Similarly, the Talmud says, "This world is like the eve of Shabbat, and the Olam Ha-Ba is like Shabbat. He who prepares on the eve of Shabbat will have food to eat on Shabbat." We prepare ourselves for the Olam Ha-Ba through Torah study and good deeds.
The Talmud states that all Israel has a share in the Olam Ha-Ba. However, not all "shares" are equal. A particularly righteous person will have a greater share in the Olam Ha-Ba than the average person. In addition, a person can lose his share through wicked actions. There are many statements in the Talmud that a particular mitzvah will guarantee a person a place in the Olam Ha-Ba, or that a particular sin will lose a person's share in the Olam Ha-Ba, but these are generally regarded as hyperbole, excessive expressions of approval or disapproval.

Some people look at these teachings and deduce that Jews try to "earn our way into Heaven" by performing the mitzvot. This is a gross mischaracterization of our religion. It is important to remember that unlike some religions, Judaism is not focused on the question of how to get into heaven. Judaism is focused on life and how to live it. Non-Jews frequently ask me, "do you really think you're going to go to Hell if you don't do such-and-such?" It always catches me a bit off balance, because the question of where I am going after death simply doesn't enter into the equation when I think about the mitzvot. We perform the mitzvot because it is our privilege and our sacred obligation to do so. We perform them out of a sense of love and duty, not out of a desire to get something in return. In fact, one of the first bits of ethical advice in Pirkei Avot (a book of the Mishnah) is: "Be not like servants who serve their master for the sake of receiving a reward; instead, be like servants who serve their master not for the sake of receiving a reward, and let the awe of Heaven [meaning G-d, not the afterlife] be upon you."

Nevertheless, we definitely believe that your place in the Olam Ha-Ba is determined by a merit system based on your actions, not by who you are or what religion you profess. In addition, we definitely believe that humanity is capable of being considered righteous in G-d's eyes, or at least good enough to merit paradise after a suitable period of purification.

Do non-Jews have a place in Olam Ha-Ba? Although there are a few statements to the contrary in the Talmud, the predominant view of Judaism is that the righteous of all nations have a share in the Olam Ha-Ba. Statements to the contrary were not based on the notion that membership in Judaism was required to get into Olam Ha-Ba, but were grounded in the observation that non-Jews were not righteous people. If you consider the behavior of the surrounding peoples at the time that the Talmud was written, you can understand the rabbis' attitudes. By the time of Rambam, the belief was firmly entrenched that the righteous of all nations have a share in the Olam Ha-Ba.

http://www.jewfaq.org/olamhaba.htm

1. Circumcision Ban Fight Turns Ugly with Anti-Semitic Comics
by Elad Benari

The controversy on banning circumcision in San Francisco moved on to stereotypic anti-Semitism as a promoter of the ban distributed a technologically modern, but all-too reminiscent of medieval, Nazi and Tsarist Jew-hatred, comic that seeks to delegitimize the circumcision procedure.

The comic is entitled “Foreskin Man” and its hero is shown as he attempts to stop circumcisions from taking place. He is described as “an 'intactivist' superhero who rescues innocent boys from the clutches of the world’s cleverest and most dangerous circumcisers.”

Its second issue features an anti-Semitic story in which Foreskin Man attempts to stop a “Monster Mohel” from performing a circumcision during a Brit Mila ceremony.



Circumcision is a Torah commandment which says that Jewish fathers must circumcize their male infants on the eighth day after birth. Circumcision is postponed if a baby is underweight, has high bilirubin count or any other medical problem, but is a basic sign of the covenant between G-d and the Jews, the Torah says. It has always been the symbol of belonging to the Jewish people, often called the People of the Covenant.

The Foreskin Man comic was produced and put out by Matthew Hess, who is one of the central backers of the anti-circumcision measures.

A few weeks ago it was reported that the backers secured enough signatures to force a referendum on banning circumcision in the city. The central activist, Lloyd Schofield, is calling his proposed referendum the “Male Genital Mutilation bill.”

It takes only 7,168 people to force a referendum vote in the city of San Francisco, whose population is more than 750,000. If Schofield’s initiative is passed, it would forbid circumcision among males under the age of 18, and anyone found violating the law would face a fine of $1,000 or a year in jail.

The move was met with criticism by rabbis, doctors, and others who oppose the idea to ban circumcision, with the doctors citing its benefits in preventing infection and the spread of AIDS.

“For a city that’s renowned for being progressive and open-minded, to even have to consider such an intolerant proposition ... it sets a dangerous precedent for all cities and states,” Rabbi Gil Yosef Leeds of Berkeley told The New York Times.

The newspaper quoted Dr. Laurence Baskin, chief of pediatric urology at San Francisco’s Benioff Children's Hospital, as saying that the referendum proposal “is a bunch of nonsense” and ”would never pass the First Amendment test,” guaranteeing basic freedoms, including that of religion.

Meanwhile, The Jewish Journal reported on Wednesday that Jewish Congressman Brad Sherman has announced he is preparing to introduce a bill in congress that would prevent municipalities nationwide from enacting laws banning circumcision.

Sherman’s bill, called the Religious and Parental Rights Defense Act of 2011, will ensure that Jewish and Muslim families will be able to enjoy the free exercise of their religious beliefs.

Sherman was quoted as saying, “This could happen in any city. This ought to be stopped statewide and it ought to be stopped nationwide.”

The Journal also reported that California State Assemblyman Mike Gatto will begin the process of introducing similar legislation in Sacramento. According to the report, it was a conversation with Sherman which caused Gatto, who has represented the Los Angeles-area 43rd district for just over a year, to join the fray over circumcision at the state level and attempt to prevent cities in California from banning the practice.

Gatto, who is Christian, told The Journal that “there are a lot of Christians, too, who believe that circumcision dates back to the origins of our faith.”

Both Sherman and Gatto commented on the Foreskin Man comic, with Gatto saying, “I had to rub my eyes and tell myself that it was 2011, and tell myself that this was not something being put out in 1905.”

Sherman was quoted as calling the comic “outrageous”.

Meanwhile, the Committee for Parental Choice and Religious Freedom, a new coalition spearheaded by the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) in the San Francisco Bay Area, is ramping up its efforts to convince San Francisco voters to reject the proposed ban.

All 11 members of San Francisco’s City and County Board of Supervisors have joined the coalition, reported The Journal, as well as two dozen prominent doctors and many local and national civic and religious leaders.

One official who joined the coalition is the mayor of Santa Monica where, according to a report by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, an attempt to put a circumcision ban on the ballot has been dropped.

Banning circumcision has been a much-attempted anti-Jewish measure throughout Jewish history, with the most well known example going back to the Greeks, glorifiers of the human body, and possibly the first "intactivists". It was King Antiochus of Greece whose legislation against circumcision and other Jewish laws inspired the Maccabean revolt leading to the Hannukah victory. More recently, Communist Russia outlawed circumcision and many Jews carried out the commandment in secret at great risk, with others asking to undergo circumcisions as adults when Communism fell and they arrived in Israel.
Comment on this story

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/

Schmuz for Shavuot/Behaalotcha

by Rabbi BenZion Shafier

The Jewish People want to be close to Hashem as a magnet goes to metal.

Craving to See HASHEM
“And HASHEM said to Moshe, “Descend, warn the people, lest they break through to HASHEM to see, and a multitude of them will fall.’” – Shemos 19:21

The Moment in History

The entire nation – every man, woman and child – was gathered at the foot of Har Sinai for what was to be the greatest revelation in the annals of history. HASHEM’s voice was about to be heard.

In addition to the transmission of the Torah, the event would forever carve into human awareness the understanding that HASHEM is the Creator. Never before or since has a generation reached that level of understanding. Chazal say that the heavens and earth were opened to the Jewish people, and everyone there reached the level of prophecy.

How is it Possible that They Would Touch the Har, They Knew They Would Die.

However, there were limitations; the people could only go so far. There is only so much that a human can withstand and not go into sensory overload. Therefore, HASHEM told Moshe, “Warn them that whoever will touch the mountain will die.” Moshe was to ascend alone. The rest of the nation had to remain below.

Yet directly before the receiving of the Torah, HASHEM told Moshe to go down and warn the people a second time not to go up the mountain. Rashi explains why HASHEM repeated the warning: “Because of their deep desire to see HASHEM, they might ascend the mountain.” Even though they were warned previously, and even though they knew that going up would spell their death, they might still go up because of a powerful craving to be close to HASHEM.

They Were Already Warned

This Rashi seems difficult to understand. If HASHEM told them not go up, and it was explained that the penalty for doing so would be death, wouldn’t that be enough to stop them from violating HASHEM’s command?

What makes this question particularly troubling is that this generation understood the gravity of their actions. They lived through the makkos and then kriyas Yam Suf. They saw the glory and power of HASHEM. At that moment, they were privy to a level of understanding that few humans have ever achieved, which means that they not only understood that HASHEM didn’t want them going up to the actual mountain, they also understood that if they did, they would surely die.

Breaking into Fort Knox

As a parallel, imagine we were to meet a man with an extraordinary desire for money. Nothing stops him. He’ll steal, cheat, lie, swindle — anything to make his fortune. But even he won’t be tempted to break into Fort Knox. The armed guards standing there with their machine guns poised are so threatening, and the danger is so real, that despite his great desire for money, the certainty of his death would prevent him from even thinking of breaking in.

So too, the generation at Sinai fully understood the consequences of moving forward. How would it be possible that they would still be tempted to go up the mountain?

Human Comprised of Distinct Parts

The answer to this question seems to be based on a fundamental understanding of man.

To make man, HASHEM took opposites entities and molded them into one. Within me is a part with deep-set needs to do that which is noble and proper — and within me is a part that just doesn’t care. The part of me that only wants that which is good is made up of pure intelligence — sechel. The part of me that doesn’t care about anything other than my own needs is made up of base instincts and desires — the Nefesh Ha’Bahami.

My sechel clearly recognizes HASHEM as the source of everything and only wishes to be close to my Creator. It actually hungers to be close to HASHEM and pulls me that way. My Nefesh Ha’Bahami can’t recognize or understand anything other than drives and desires, hungers and appetites. It can’t see HASHEM, nor does it care to.

The reason that I have such conflicting desires, interests, goals, and passions is that these two parts of me, these complete opposites, are each battling for primacy over me. So I deeply crave being close to HASHEM, and I also just don’t care. Same me, just different elements coming to the surface.

Deep Desire to be Close to HASHEM

The Mesillos Yesharim explains that by nature, I would be pulled towards HASHEM like a piece of iron is to a magnet. It is the layers and layers of physicality that block the pull. He writes that my sole focus in life should be to break through those layers of physicality until I am again drawn after HASHEM like iron to a magnet.

The Role of Mitzvos

The reason that we find serving HASHEM difficult, and the reason we find experiencing HASHEM’s presence elusive, is because of the layers and layers of desires, instincts, and passions that cover up and block our nishoma’s receptivity. It’s almost like putting a fine radio receiver into a concrete bomb shelter. The radio waves are in the air, but the tons of concrete will block them.

The way that a person increases his spiritual receptivity is by keeping and learning the Torah, the ultimate system of self-perfection. All of the mitzvos strengthen my nishoma and help to break the hold the Nefesh Ha’Bahami has over me. The more a person is involved in learning Torah and doing mitzvos, the stronger the nishoma becomes, and the easier it is for him to experience HASHEM.

The Klal Yisroel had a Taivah to be Close to HASHEM

The answer to the question on Rashi seems to be that when the Jewish people were standing at the base of Har Sinai, they reached unprecedented levels of spirituality. Their outside casing had very little influence on them. Their pure nishomas came to the fore. In that state, man is irresistibly drawn to his Creator — pulled, mesmerized. Consequences don’t matter; results are irrelevant. The human needs to be close to HASHEM.

HASHEM was warning Moshe of the inherent danger. Since they were going to see HASHEM so clearly, they would also feel an almost unstoppable urge for closeness to Him. That pull could be so strong that some individuals might go beyond the limit. Even though they were aware of the risk to their lives, it wouldn’t stop them because of their insatiable desire to be close to HASHEM. And so, HASHEM told Moshe, “Warn them again.”

In our World – Learning to Experience HASHEM

There is a very real lesson for us in this. Often, we may find it difficult to daven properly, or it may be hard to feel the spirituality of Shabbos. These difficulties are the natural consequence of our physical side.

However, we are also pure sechel. There is a part of each of us that deeply craves speaking to our Creator. There is a component in us that hungers for spiritual growth. By learning Torah and doing mitzvos with fervor and energy, I bring that part to the fore until it becomes stronger, and my physical side becomes weaker. That is how I grow. But not only do I grow, I grow in my desire to be more spiritual, to learn more, to daven with more kavanah. It begins an upward spiral. By putting this process into practice, a person can continue to grow throughout life, reaching higher levels and thereby fulfilling the reason he was put on this planet — to perfect himself and to enjoy that level of perfection for eternity.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/10305

Chukat: Renunciating Reason

by Shira Smiles

How the red heifer in this week's Torah reading is connected to Adam

From www.naaleh.com
Parshas Chukat begins with the commandment for the ultimate chok, a law for which we can discern no humanly logical reason. These are the instructions concerning a red heifer whose ashes, when mixed with water and sprinkled upon someone who has become defiled by contact with death, have the ability to return him to a purified state.

Nevertheless, our Sages try to explain the purpose of this law as an expiation for the sin of the golden calf, that the mother, the heifer, must clean up the mess caused by her son, the calf. With the sin of the golden calf, death was reintroduced to the world as it had been originally introduced into the world through Adam’s sin. The red heifer would in some way nullify the impurity of death these sins caused

While this explanation carries the element of truth, we must look more deeply into the connection between the two ideas to understand the root that unites them.
In what way is Adam’s sin similar to the sin of Bnei Yisroel forging the golden calf?
What was the status of Man and of Bnei Yisroel prior to each of their sins?
How do the ashes of the red heifer bring us back to the mindset we were meant to have at creation and that we achieved again at Mount Sinai?
Rav Pincus, the Tiferes Shimshon, shows us that the sin of the Jews in creating the golden calf was not a sin of idol worship. After all, they went to Hashem’s second in command, Aaron, with their request, and his response was, “Tomorrow is a holiday for Hashem,” not a holiday for calf worship.

So what was their sin? It was a sin of faulty reasoning, of using human logic to replace what Hashem had either explicitly commanded or explicitly omitted from his commands. The Jews did not want to replace the true G-d with an idol; they merely wanted a tangible symbol to represent G-d as Moses had done before he seemed to be “missing”.

And thus, this great people who had rectified Adam’s sin when they stood at Sinai and proclaimed, “We will do and we will listen,” who had reinstated the purity of man and nullified the death decree against mankind, now fell victim to the same hubris that had claimed Adam.

The Tallelei Chaim, Rav Chaim Hakohen, shows us that the phrase Hashem uses to introduce this ritual, “This is the unexplained law of the Torah,” points to the underlying basis of all sin. He explains that just as the laws pertaining to the red heifer are beyond our comprehension but we perform them because they are the will of G-d, so must we approach the performance of all mitzvoth in the Torah, simply doing them because they are G-d’s will, whether we believe we understand the reasoning behind them or not.

The snake undermined this fundamental premise by telling Adam and Chava that if they ate of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge they would rival G-d. They used their own reasoning not to rival G-d but to hope to serve Him better by using the enhanced intellects they would acquire if they ate of the Tree Of Knowledge. By choosing to act on their own logic rather than on G-d’s command, irrespective of the reason for their act, they transgressed G=d’s explicit command not to eat of the fruit of that tree. By not submitting their mind and their will to the will of their Creator, they set the stage for all their descendents to put the reasoning of their own minds as a higher priority than His will.

The Tallelei Chaim sees an allusion to the sin of Adam in the very letters spelling out the red heifer in Hebrew, the PaRaH ADuMaH. That first sin was a sin of the fruit of Adam, PRIADaM. The letters of the two are almost identical in Hebrew, except that the “Yud” (I) with a numerical value of ten got divided into two “Heh”s, each with a numerical value of five.

According to Rav Chaim Hakohen, one of these Heh’s represents the upper, spiritual realm of the neshama, the soul, while the other represents the lower, physical realm of the body. Originally these two elements were meant to be in total harmony, with the spiritual aspect ruling over the physical desires.

In that state, the Tosher Rebbe points out in Avodas Avodah, man would have been immortal, rising up to heaven as one entity as Elijah had done. But all that spiritual potential within man dies when he dies. This loss of potential is the greatest impurity. When mankind and later the Jews sinned, they split the two realms, and that potential became obscured. At death then the spirit would return to its Source, and the body would return to the earth from which it was created, to the ADaMaH.
The snake introduced impurity to a pristine world. He closed off the physical body, the vessel for the spiritual soul, from the source of spiritual blessing. By sublimating our physical bodies and desires and opening ourselves up to the will of a Higher Authority, we open our beings to all the blessings our souls want to bestow upon us. Conversely, when we impose our own will over our beings, we close ourselves off from the flow of the spiritual blessings. As the Tallelei Chaim explains, we do not feel the beauty and rejuvenating effects of Shabbos, the gift of our souls, because we have been sealed off from receiving its blessing unless we can counteract the effects of sin on ourselves.

True, when we die, we atone for these sins and return to the source from whence we came, the earth. When we do teshuvah, repent, we are also trying to return to our original source. Part of the parah adumah ritual included immersing in the mikvah, ritual pool, before being sprinkled with the ashes of the red heifer. Immersion in the mikvah waters is a symbolic reentering into the womb to emerge reborn in a new, purified state.

(Indeed, Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, in Waters of Eden, speaks of a woman’s monthly immersion in the mikvah as purification from the death of the potential of a new life as if it were the actual death of a human being.)

Being sprinkled with the ashes/water mixture of the red heifer was the final phase in the process of symbolic rebirth.

Rav Goldwasser in Yalkut Lekach Tov illustrates for us the conundrum presented by the parah adumah and the sin of the golden calf. Not only do the ashes of the red heifer purify those upon whom they are sprinkled while defiling those involved in its preparation, but both the red heifer and the golden calf were transformed through fire.

In the case of the golden calf, an inanimate object was transformed into the image of a living creature, a calf, and in the case of the red heifer, the opposite occurred; a living creature was transformed into the inanimate ashes. In essence, explains the Yalkut Lekach Tov, we can never know the purpose or end result of anything in this world. That is the domain of the G-d alone.

Today, in the absence of the red heifer, how can we nevertheless strive for purification? We begin by focusing on the spiritual aspect of our lives, by realizing that our essence is the holiness within us. As the Tosher Rebbe tells us, when we recite the daily morning blessing thanking Hashem “that He has not made me a slave,” we should reflect on the idea that we have the ability to free ourselves from the acquisitive demands of the material and physical aspects of our lives.

We have the choice to fill our time by satisfying every physical desire, or by opening ourselves up to spiritual fulfillment.

In Getting to Know Yourself (Da Es Atzmecha) elucidates this idea more fully. One can achieve happiness, he explains, only when he stops running after his physical desires. (Running, ratz, and desire, ratzon, share the same root.) The new car, the better job, more money, instead of satisfying us merely generates a desire for more acquisitions. That, he explains, is because material items are external to our true essence which is spiritual.

As long as we focus on these physical things, we will never achieve true inner peace which is a manifestation of understanding our spiritual essence and appreciating it. With our focusing inward rather than outward, we stop running, discover our true self, and open ourselves up again to enjoy the blessings of the soul, of the reflection of Hashem within us. We will begin to again approach the ideal condition of Man as a being whose spiritual essence bursts forth to elevate and animate the physical vessel which contains him. We will again commit ourselves to the vision at Sinai and achieve the purification the red heifer symbolized

~

THIS INSANITY IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN ONE TRIES TO MAINTAIN SOME FORM OF "RELIGION" THAT SOUNDS LIKE MOSES, ATTEMPTS TO CLAIM TO KNOW GOD......WHILE BEING CERTAIN TO KEEP OUT ANYTHINg TO DO WITH GOD'S GREAT SACRIFICE, JESUS.

zone wrote:1. Circumcision Ban Fight Turns Ugly with Anti-Semitic Comics
by Elad Benari

The controversy on banning circumcision in San Francisco moved on to stereotypic anti-Semitism as a promoter of the ban distributed a technologically modern, but all-too reminiscent of medieval, Nazi and Tsarist Jew-hatred, comic that seeks to delegitimize the circumcision procedure.

The comic is entitled “Foreskin Man” and its hero is shown as he attempts to stop circumcisions from taking place. He is described as “an 'intactivist' superhero who rescues innocent boys from the clutches of the world’s cleverest and most dangerous circumcisers.”

Its second issue features an anti-Semitic story in which Foreskin Man attempts to stop a “Monster Mohel” from performing a circumcision during a Brit Mila ceremony.



Circumcision is a Torah commandment which says that Jewish fathers must circumcize their male infants on the eighth day after birth. Circumcision is postponed if a baby is underweight, has high bilirubin count or any other medical problem, but is a basic sign of the covenant between G-d and the Jews, the Torah says. It has always been the symbol of belonging to the Jewish people, often called the People of the Covenant.

The Foreskin Man comic was produced and put out by Matthew Hess, who is one of the central backers of the anti-circumcision measures.

A few weeks ago it was reported that the backers secured enough signatures to force a referendum on banning circumcision in the city. The central activist, Lloyd Schofield, is calling his proposed referendum the “Male Genital Mutilation bill.”

It takes only 7,168 people to force a referendum vote in the city of San Francisco, whose population is more than 750,000. If Schofield’s initiative is passed, it would forbid circumcision among males under the age of 18, and anyone found violating the law would face a fine of $1,000 or a year in jail.

The move was met with criticism by rabbis, doctors, and others who oppose the idea to ban circumcision, with the doctors citing its benefits in preventing infection and the spread of AIDS.

“For a city that’s renowned for being progressive and open-minded, to even have to consider such an intolerant proposition ... it sets a dangerous precedent for all cities and states,” Rabbi Gil Yosef Leeds of Berkeley told The New York Times.

The newspaper quoted Dr. Laurence Baskin, chief of pediatric urology at San Francisco’s Benioff Children's Hospital, as saying that the referendum proposal “is a bunch of nonsense” and ”would never pass the First Amendment test,” guaranteeing basic freedoms, including that of religion.

Meanwhile, The Jewish Journal reported on Wednesday that Jewish Congressman Brad Sherman has announced he is preparing to introduce a bill in congress that would prevent municipalities nationwide from enacting laws banning circumcision.

Sherman’s bill, called the Religious and Parental Rights Defense Act of 2011, will ensure that Jewish and Muslim families will be able to enjoy the free exercise of their religious beliefs.

Sherman was quoted as saying, “This could happen in any city. This ought to be stopped statewide and it ought to be stopped nationwide.”

The Journal also reported that California State Assemblyman Mike Gatto will begin the process of introducing similar legislation in Sacramento. According to the report, it was a conversation with Sherman which caused Gatto, who has represented the Los Angeles-area 43rd district for just over a year, to join the fray over circumcision at the state level and attempt to prevent cities in California from banning the practice.

Gatto, who is Christian, told The Journal that “there are a lot of Christians, too, who believe that circumcision dates back to the origins of our faith.”

Both Sherman and Gatto commented on the Foreskin Man comic, with Gatto saying, “I had to rub my eyes and tell myself that it was 2011, and tell myself that this was not something being put out in 1905.”

Sherman was quoted as calling the comic “outrageous”.

Meanwhile, the Committee for Parental Choice and Religious Freedom, a new coalition spearheaded by the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) in the San Francisco Bay Area, is ramping up its efforts to convince San Francisco voters to reject the proposed ban.

All 11 members of San Francisco’s City and County Board of Supervisors have joined the coalition, reported The Journal, as well as two dozen prominent doctors and many local and national civic and religious leaders.

One official who joined the coalition is the mayor of Santa Monica where, according to a report by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, an attempt to put a circumcision ban on the ballot has been dropped.

Banning circumcision has been a much-attempted anti-Jewish measure throughout Jewish history, with the most well known example going back to the Greeks, glorifiers of the human body, and possibly the first "intactivists". It was King Antiochus of Greece whose legislation against circumcision and other Jewish laws inspired the Maccabean revolt leading to the Hannukah victory. More recently, Communist Russia outlawed circumcision and many Jews carried out the commandment in secret at great risk, with others asking to undergo circumcisions as adults when Communism fell and they arrived in Israel.
Comment on this story

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This is a lot of clamoring over nothing. I lived in the bay area when I was a kid and it was a really big place. There are hospitals all over the place. Even if San Francisco banned this practice they could go 10 minutes away to another one to get this procedure done.

It is kind of strange that a city would ban something that has obvious scientific advantages for cleanliness and helping prevent the spread of disease. Seems like just a direct attack on fundamental goodness to me. San Francisco is prone to that.

Judaism: When the Sun Sings Again
Published: Friday, April 03, 2009 12:56 AM
A constant melody sung by the sun in praise of G-d


A Unique Event
On Wednesday morning, April 8, 2009, Jews around the world will recite a blessing over the sun that was last recited in twenty-eight years ago. This blessing is recited when the sun returns to its point of origin, where it was when it was first created. Though the sun passes this point every year, it only passes this point on a Wednesday
Why don't we bless G-d for the sun every day?
morning, the morning of its creation (the sun was created on the fourth of the six days of creation), once in twenty-eight years.

The astronomical calculations that lead to this conclusion are beyond the scope of this essay and have been well presented in the essays and books published in honor of the occasion. In this essay, we ask why we chant the blessing only when the sun arrives at its point of origin. Why don't we bless G-d for the sun every day?

Celestial Silence
To answer this question, we go back to a novel event that occurred more than thirty-three-hundred years ago. Joshua led the Jewish army in battle against the native tribes of the Land of Israel. Once, during a particularly vicious battle in the vicinity of Gibeon, the sun was about to set and Joshua, worried about the chaotic conditions of nighttime battle, prayed that sunset be delayed until the battle could be won. His prayers were answered and remarkably the sun did not set that day until the tide of battle turned and our ancestors emerged triumphant.(1)

It is interesting to note the precise words of Joshua's prayer. He did not ask G-d to suspend the sun's pattern of descent, he asked that the sun be silenced; a curious choice of words for an otherwise remarkable prayer. What did he mean? Does the sun in fact sing a song?

Melodies of the Zodiac
Maimonides taught that the sun and the celestial bodies are beings of supreme intelligence and passionate souls.(2) The frenetic pace of their physical movement is a reflection of their soul's intense passion and excitement.

The Torah declares, "The hosts of heaven bow to you."(3) The mystics explained this curious Biblical passage by pointing to the continuous voyage of the celestial bodies across the sky. Stars and planets orbit at incredible speeds, argued the mystics, because they are possessed by an innate knowledge of G-d and are moved by a powerful urge to draw closer to him. Their headlong rush across the vast tapestries of the skies reflects their deep yearning for a closer, more intimate, connection to G-d.(4)

This, the mystics explained, is why the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. The Holy of Holies, the room that housed the Divine Presence, in the ancient Temple in Jerusalem, was on the west side of the Temple Mount. The sun's constant movement westward represents its desire to draw closer to the Divine Presence in the west.(6) In fact, its descent toward the west is its way of bowing to the Divine presence.(5) And as its body bows to G-d so does its soul. Its soul's devotion is expressed in the stirring melodies that it sings, as Job said, "The morning stars sing together and the angels shout for joy."(7)

One can almost imagine Joshua's thought process when he asked that the sun be silenced. Joshua needed more daylight to lead the Jews to victory. He knew that if he would ask the sun to arrest its descent the sun might object, citing its need to bow to G-d over the skies of Israel. Joshua appealed to G-d asking that the sun's spiritual journey be suspended in favor of the more important objective - the victory of the Jewish people.

The sun was created to serve G-d's purpose, but that Jews conquer the Land of Israel was G-d's will. Joshua argued that the latter was more important than the former; Jewish victory should outweigh the sun's melody of devotion. He asked that the sun be silenced and his wish was granted.(8)
The sun was created to serve G-d's purpose, but that Jews conquer the Land of Israel was G-d's will.

A New Song
We might suggest that this is also why we recite the blessing over the sun once in twenty-eight years. The sun's journey across our skies represents a constant melody sung by the sun in praise of G-d. There is little reason for us to chime in every day, tuning in and out of the sun's twenty-eight year melody.

However, the day that the sun reaches its point of origin and departs on a new cycle around the world is different. This day inaugurates a whole new epoch. As the sun's physical journey begins anew so does its spiritual journey. On this day the sun begins an entirely new melody, which is why it is fitting that we gather to bless its voyage and salute its devotion with a melody of our own.(9)

This is why we gather in large groups amid great fanfare. It is not only in celebration of a novel blessing, it is a celebration of the sun's devotion; a royal send-off of G-d's devoted servant.

Indeed, on this day the heavens speak the glory of G-d.(10)

Footnotes
1) Joshua 10: 12-13.

2) Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah 3: 9

3) Nechemia 9: 6

4) Derech Mitzvosecha, Mitzvos Milah 5a and Siddur Tefilos Mikol Hashana, Shaar Hamilah 142a

5) Tanya, ch. 42

6) This essay is based on a geocentric version of the universe, which has been the traditional position of Jewish scholars. A scholarly debate has sprung up on this issue since modern science adopted Copernicus's heliocentric view of the Universe. However, the ideas developed in this essay are not impacted by the scientific reality of the Universe because its treatment of the sun is relative to our point of view. The reason the sun appears to set in the west is because its soul is indeed anchored in the west. See Igros Kodesh of the Lubavitcher Rebbe for a fascinating perspective on how this debate is impacted by the Theory of Relativity.

7) Job 38: 7

8) See Toras Menachem 5745, p. 2367, where it is further explained that the spiritual blessing of the nations is derived from the sun, whose ability to draw Divine blessing to the world is rooted in its absolute devotion and reflected in its pattern of westerly descent. Joshua needed to arrest the sun's descent in order to ensure Jewish victory over the nations.

9) Though the sun and earth are aligned in their original positions once every year, we do not recite the blessing every year. This is because the sun's circuit around the earth (or the earth's around the sun) is not only measured in spatial distance, but also in time (possibly because the sun's position determines all forms of time, including that of day, season and calendar year). We do not consider the circuit complete until it reaches its point of origin at its time of origin, which is the beginning of the fourth day of the week. Because a tropical year is 365.1.25 days (slightly longer than fifty-two weeks), this alignment only occurs once in twenty-eight years.

10) Psalms 19: 2

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/8691

Blessing of the Sun


The Sun, universally, in paganism, represented the male procreative spirit, the Moon the female. The weeping for Tammuz, and his powers of human and agricultural fertility, was a Babylonian ceremonial. Tammuz was also called Adonis, and the female counterpart Astarte, Mylitta, or Venus, according to location.

Honoring all of these pagan idols has been incorporated into Judaism.

The Babylonian Talmudic ceremony of Blessing the Sun, says the Jewish Encyclopedia (1905) occurs “on the first Wednesday of Nisan every twenty-eight years … This is calculated by the calendar of Samuel Yarbina’ah, which allots to the solar year 365¼ days, and asserts that each of the seven planets rules over one hour of the day in the following sequence: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and the Moon … the blessing is concluded with ‘Alenu’ and ‘Kaddish Yatom.’ The Blessing of the Sun was celebrated by the Jews in New York City in 1897 in Tompkins Square.”

The completion of the cycle occurred during the 20th century on April 1, 1925 and March 18, 1953. April 8, 1981 is the date of the next observance.

“Once in 28 Years”
“Sun At Point of Creation This Year
Talmud Tells”


This appeared in the California Jewish Voice (October 24, 1952) over an article by Rabbi Samuel Rubin. A long-winded hairsplitting article uses the old number and letter juggling to make an appearance of “scholarship.” Leap years of 13 months fall on Wednesday in Nissan, the Rabbis add 19 and 28 making 47. Now rest your brain — you will need it. The Jewish Voice article continues:

“Our Rabbis told us that this total of 47 (19 plus 28) comes from the following passage: ‘And God saw that the light was good — ‘Ki Tov.’ For these Hebrew words in turn, amount to 47. Moreover, the Sun has three names, Shemesh, Chamah, Charas. If we take the last letter of these three names and sum them, we get 365 — the number of the days within the Sun year! … We say the following prayer: ‘The luminaries are good which our God has created; he: [Note: small “h”] formed them with knowledge, understanding, and discernment [Note: some soulful attributes for hunks of matter!]; he gave them power and might to rule in the midst of the world …’”

Actually, these paganists dumbly follow the laws of gravity, with one mass of matter pulling on the other in mathematical preciseness, they without any more “knowledge” or “understanding” than the dirt in your garden.

I well remember an exultant Jewish press report of a Sun blessing service conducted from a U.S. Government airplane when the great day came!

Vociferous chanting and carrying on is typical of the Chasidists, whose Baal Shems are supposed to be experts at summoning up spirits by voodoo combinations of the Tetragrammaton (or name of Jehova in skeleton, Y-H-W-H in 12, [page 45] 42, 72 letter combinations known to the “elect”). This was described by the Brooklyn Jewish Examiner of May 1, 1953.

All of the tributes to the Moon, monthly, and to the Sun, are specifically forbidden by the Bible. Veneration of the Sun, Moon and Stars is the oldest idolatry.

That the ancients were condemned for the same things wrapped up in Judaism today, and practiced now, is seen in the Bible; Duet. 4:19; II Kings 17:16; 21:3, 5; II Chron. 33:3, 5; Punishments: Deut. 17:2-5; II Chron. 28:23; Job 31:26-8; Jer. 7:17-20; 8:2; Ezek. 8:15-6; Zeph. 1:4-5, Acts 7:42. For Warnings Against and Punishments: Deut. 17:2-5; II Chron. 28:23; Isa. 2:6-12; Jer. 8:12, 19; 19:13 (On star-worship and drink offerings, see “Habdalah”); Eze. 8:14-16; Micah 5:12 (on soothsayers, or astrologists, and witchcraft) — Plus the Bible from beginning to end — Zephaniah on the host of heaven, and so on. Jewish Encyclopedias will tell you that Astrology or star-worship, was so well entrenched in Talmudism that only Maimonides, of their “sages” ever opposed it.

“Other gods” is veritably the middle name of this Jewish religion based upon a non-anthropomorphic “god” and a pantheistic world of spirits. These are invoked virtually from the time of awakening to sleep at night.

http://www.come-and-hear.com/dilling/chapt07.html

“Father of Lies”


In looking into the mess of paganism and criminality which is whited over under the stolen name of “Judaism,” be prepared to first read one subterfuge, or one “red herring,” after another before truth even then shines through the cloud.

Under “Superstition, Jewish,” the Universal Jewish Encyclopedia (1943) cites Rabbi Joshua Trachtenberg, and his book, Jewish Magic and Superstition as authoritative. His sketch also appeared in the 1955 Who’s Who in World Jewry, with that work cited.

Typically, Trachtenberg first says concerning New Moon Day rites in the synagogue that “the pagan veneration of the New Moon’ is not directly connected with the Talmudic ceremony observed today;” then he goes on to admit:

“But certain superstitious practices have been associated with the rite, pointing to its continued occult importance in human affairs … [such as] addressing the Moon three times: ‘As I skip before you and do not reach you, so, if others jump before me may they not strike me,’ and then thrice bidding one’s neighbor ‘Peace be unto you.’ The ceremony as well as the three fold repetitions, are typical of magical acts … and the belief that one who has performed the full rite need not fear death during the ensuing month.” (page 256)

Invoking the Sun along with the Moon is cited on page 201 of the Trachtenberg book.

http://www.come-and-hear.com/dilling/chapt07.html

just majik.
pagan

zone wrote:This essay is based on a geocentric version of the universe, which has been the traditional position of Jewish scholars.l

Eh?

Keeping the big secret to themselves are they?

I'd like to see some jewish scholars talking about geocentricity. Any hits on the net people? I cant find any.

Intergalactic Judaism by Rabbi David Lister


Introduction


Astronomy and the space age have irrevocably changed our perspective of our place in the universe. A thousand years ago, many people believed that we lived on a flat Earth in a small, geocentric universe. Since then, we have found that the Earth is a tiny speck in a huge cosmos containing wondrous phenomena and structures.

http://www.intergalacticjudaism.com/

Torah and Science: Scientific Progress from the Geocentric to the Heliocentric Descriptions of the Solar System


It is often asked how the Torah deals with empirically proven scientific discoveries that seem to contradict the traditional teachings of Judaism.

Some of the most blatant of these apparent contradictions are paramount in astronomy. For instance, we find that in the Torah the universe is considered geocentric, with all the heavenly bodies, the sun, the stars and the moon revolving around the earth, whereas modern science clearly teaches that the earth is actually revolving around the sun, the solar system being heliocentric.

Until Copernicus, the scientific view of the earth corresponded to the Torah's point of view. The earth was considered static and the whole universe revolved around the earth-center. However, Copernicus proved empirically that the sun is actually the center of the universe and we on earth, together with the other planets, are moving around the sun-center. This new angle is probably the most significant change of perspective that science has offered in all of history and at first glance it apparently presents a challenge to the Torah perspective. The way that Kabbalah and Hassidism deal with questions such as these is unique, as the following anecdote illustrates, beautifully capturing the relationship between science and the Torah's view of scientific discovery, especially scientific innovations that seem to change the way people relate to the universe.

http://www.inner.org/torah_and_science/torah-scientific-progress-heliocentric-geocentric.php

Even Geocentrism is not Geocentric

Observant astronomer does it again, showing that even the geocentric models do not support geocentrism. He links to his earlier discussion of "strong" and "weak" geocentrism.

The reason why this is important to our discussion is that apologists tend to want to defend the "strong" geocentrism position as a "Torah" position, and they use medieval astronomy liberally, leading down some silly alleys.

Even the Rambam clearly operates based on what Observer says here. Besides the modern reasons that he set forth before, even the ancients, who believed in it, could not make it work.

http://rebeljew.blogspot.com/2005/11/even-geocentrism-is-not-geocentric.html

Heliocentrism and Judaism


Already in the Talmud
Talmud

The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
, Greek philosophy and science under general name "Greek wisdom" were considered dangerous. They were put under ban then and later for some periods (for example, Shlomo ben Aderet
Shlomo ben Aderet
Shlomo ben Aderet was a Medieval rabbi, halakhist, and Talmudist. He is widely known as the Rashba , the Hebrew acronym of his title and name: Rabbi Shlomo ben Aderet.The Rashba was born in Barcelona, Spain, in 1235...
prohibited study of philosophy in 1305). Possibly due to this the system of Nicolaus Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus

Nicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance astronomer and the first person to formulate a comprehensive heliocentric cosmology which displaced the Earth from the center of the universe....
did not cause furious resistance, although it was found to be contradicting verses of Tanakh
Tanakh
The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
(Jewish Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Heliocentrism

weird formatting

Space exploration is BIG business. Organisations like NASA and the National Science Foundation command annual levels of (tax payer) funding that boggle the mind.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Budget

Seen in the year-by-year breakdown listed below, the total amounts (in nominal dollars) that NASA has been budgeted from 1958 to 2008 amounts to $471.23 billion dollars—an average of $9.06 billion per year. By way of comparison, total spending over this period by the National Science Foundation was roughly one-fourth of NASA’s expenditures: $101.5 billion, or $2 billion a year. The NSF did get a 6.7 percent increase in their budget in 2009 for a total of $6.926 billion dollars.

According to the Office of Management and Budget and the Air Force Almanac, when measured in real terms (adjusted for inflation), the figure is $790.0 billion, or an average of $15.818 billion dollars per year over its fifty year history (NASA’s 2011 budget is on a continuing resolution of the 2010 budget at $18.724 billion)

Between NASA and the NSF alone they spend close to $25 billion each year on space-related research, but what exactly has Joe public got for his $790 billion (50 year) investment and what is the greater understanding of cosmic evolution?

So we get access to pictures from the Hubble and Spitzer space-based telescopes as well as from other ground based observatories and we have the scientific model known as Big Bang theory which educates us on how we got here – but the work or research that goes on behind the scenes, we get told, is for the specialists, and there’s no point asking questions about that because unless you hold a PhD in advanced mathematics you probably won’t understand it anyway – so it’s best to leave it those that know best then…



The problem with leaving it those that say they know best is that they don’t always know best, or that they only know what is best from a particular point of view, which is theirs, or one that is supported by them, we often call this view the “consensus” view, meaning the view that is commonly accepted.

At present cosmologists and astrophysicists along with the aid of space technology, rigorous math and a high degree of speculation explain the “consensus” view of cosmic evolution – an important aspect of mankind’s ability to understand itself. Just as Darwin’s model of evolution is alleged to support the evolution of man over many millions of years the cosmological model known as the Big Bang is alleged to provide a commentary on cosmic evolution.

DARWIN ET AL.



According to the “consensus” view, which can be found at Wikipedia, Big Bang theory in a nutshell is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bang

The Big Bang model or theory is the prevailing cosmological theory of the early development of the universe. According to the Big Bang model, the universe was originally in an extremely hot and dense state that expanded rapidly. This expansion caused the universe to cool and resulted in the present diluted state that continues to expand today. Based on the best available measurements as of 2010, the original state of the universe existed around 13.7 billion years ago,which is often referred to as the time when the Big Bang occurred. The theory is the most comprehensive and accurate explanation supported by scientific evidence and observations

Despite bold claims that scientific evidence and observations make the Big Bang theory one of the most comprehensive and accurate explanations of universal evolution, the theory, and many other exotic claims made by cosmologists and astrophysicists have been falsified on numerous occasions over the last fifty years.



Of course this is an avenue of further reading and I would urge anyone to explore the work of Nikola Tesla, John Keely, Kristian Birkeland, Hannes Alfven, Halton Arp, Eric Lerner, Eric Dollard, Miles Mathis, Stephen Crothers and the COBE analysis done by Pierre-Marie Robitaille to understand better that this commonly accepted idealism which is dressed up as science is actually a naked emperor.

The following collection of links explore the concept of the Big Bang from an alternative view point and serve to highlight the similarities between modern cosmology’s prize theory and cosmic evolution according to the Kabbalah. These similarities are something that Rabbis are quite proud of – namely because Big Bang cosmology is seen to verify ancient Jewish teaching.

The Kaballah and Occultism

The Kabbalah explanation is generally accredited to Isaac Luria, otherwise known as the “Ari Zaal,” or “Divine Rabbi Isaac”. Luria teachings are thought to be based entirely on the Old Testament and the Sefer Zohar and some credit him with anticipating almost word for word what modern cosmology would posit some 400 years later. Luria’s doctrine the Sheviret Ha Kelim or “Shattering of the Vessels” is believed to have influenced and carried forward all other Kabbalistic philosophy. The Sheviret Ha Kelim like its modern day cosmological counterpart, the Big Bang theory, states that the universe (or the unity of God) was shattered at the moment of a cataclysmic event where holy sparks of matter flew off in all directions to become the world of things and beings, planets and stars etc.

http://urbanshakedowns.wordpress.com/2011/07/06/lost-in-space/

The affectionately-coddled and intelligent (Ashkenazic) token "Jew" on the BF forum said this in reference to an ongoing convo about Islam and Arabs...

(Originally Posted by Fenris)
We don't know that the Arabs are actually descended from Ishmael. They simply claim that they are.

I hurted mahselfs laffing for quite a while.

PneumaPsucheSoma wrote:The affectionately-coddled and intelligent (Ashkenazic) token "Jew" on the BF forum said this in reference to an ongoing convo about Islam and Arabs...

(Originally Posted by Fenris)
We don't know that the Arabs are actually descended from Ishmael. They simply claim that they are.

I hurted mahselfs laffing for quite a while.

OMGOSH.

ROTFLMHO!!!!!!!!

Judaism: The Holiness of the Israelites


Taking out the ashs is required only for cleansing the Mizbeach, the altar, of the superfluous ashes, and it has no other purpose.

Without being so bold as to assert that the following thought is actually symbolized by this act of cleansing the Mizbeach, we could however utilize the lesson, in accordance with the Torah-analogy elsewhere.

“And they shall eat those (things) wherewith atonement was made” (Shmos 29:33); “this teaches that the Cohanim eat and (thereby) the owners (of the offering) gain atonement” (Pesachim 59B).

Thus, part of the Karban is consumed by the fire of the altar, and part is consumed in the holy bodies of the Cohanim.

But even the ordinary Israelite is a member of “the nation of Cohanim” and they may eat of sacrifices such as Shlamim and Todah and Maaser; therefore their holy bodies also serve to consume the sacrifices.

Thus, before offering his daily prayers to Hashem, he cleanses his hands: “I wash [color:25bb=#0000CC !important]my hands in cleanliness, and I go around your Mizbeach, Hashern, that I may make the voice of thanksgiving to be heard, and tell of Your wondrous works” (Tehillim 26:6-7).

When the Israelite puts on his garments, he can think of following the analogy of the Cohen who dons the sacerdotal vestments; when he washes his hands before prayer he is imitating the Mitzvah of Cohanim to wash their[color:25bb=#0000CC !important]hands and feet before performing Avodah (Shmos 30:20-21); and when he purifies his body before praying (“One that needs to relieve himself is forbidden to pray” — Brachos 23A), he may utilize [color:25bb=#0000CC !important]the model of removing the ash from the Mizbeach before bringing offerings upon it.

Actually, the Israelite's body is more holy: a fire on Shabbos may not be extinguished[color:25bb=#0000CC !important]to save the Mishkan, but it is indeed permissible and even mandatory to rescue a Jewish life even if it requires profaning the Shabbos.

And to continue the analogy: the holy body of the Israelite is cleansed just as the Mizbeach is cleansed of the ash, and the kosher food (or even the sacred meat of the offerings) is then consumed on the holy altar of the Israelite body. (A Nation is Born)

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/11459#.T3XH92Ege70



"Actually, the Israelite's body is more holy: a fire on Shabbos may not be extinguished [color:25bb=#0000CC !important]to save the Mishkan, but it is indeed permissible and even mandatory to rescue a Jewish life even if it requires profaning the Shabbos."

the holy altar of the Israelite body.

uh.....how many of these guys do we have to hear say these things, and at the same time put up with the DENIERS?

just look at that quote.

Parshat Tzav: The Golden Temple and the Beit HaMikdash

A monotheistic Temple sounds almost an oxymoron as the Temples existing today are by and large adorned with statues and idols.

A notable exception is the Golden Temple in Amritsar of the Sikh religion, a temple which has neither pictures nor statues. Of world religions, Sikhism is closest to the vision that Judaism has for a world religion for humanity as spelled out by the Talmud.

Comparing and contrasting the Golden Temple to the Beit HaMikdash, gives insight both in to the meaning of a concrete physical temple for an infinite G-d as well as highlighting the uniqueness of the Beit HaMikdash.

The heart of the Golden Temple is a book, the originalcopy of the central book of the Sikh religion, as is in the Beit HaMikdash whose heart is the Torah and Tablets give to Moshe by G-d and contained in the Ark in the inner sanctuary.

On the other hand the Beit HaMikdash reflects Judaism’s belief of sanctity of space which is absent from the Sikh religion.

Judaism believes that together with the belief that G-d is omnipresent and infinite there are places that this presence is more manifested and this is what leads to the unique status and significance of the land of Israel, Jerusalem and the Beit HaMikdash

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/11457#.T3XKJ2Ege70

...

Of world religions, Sikhism is closest to the vision that Judaism has for a world religion for humanity as spelled out by the Talmud.