Celebrate Chanukah – Friday, Dec. 11-19th

On Friday evening, at moonrise, light the first candle on your menorah: See the Menorah Wizard and learn how to light the darkness:

http://www.chabad.org/library/howto/wizard_cdo/aid/597113/jewish/The Menorah.htm 

The Chanukah story begins when Israel was part of the Syrian-Greek empire under the dynasty of the Seleucids (3538-3574 bc). King Antiochus III annexed Israel. He was favorable to the Jews until he was beaten by the Romans and forced to pay heavy taxes. He burdened the peoples of his empire with the making of gold. His son increased the burdens and demanded the Jews worship the various idols of the Hellenists. They heard of the wealth in the Temple treasury, used for altar sacrifices and came to rob. A later king, Antiochus, attempted to suppress Jewish law and replaced the Jewish high priest with a Hellenist. When Romans interfered with the king’s war against Egypt, the Jews became the victims. All Jewish worship was suspended. Pagan god worship was forced upon them. Many became martyrs.

Mattiyahu, a Jewish priest, his sons and brothers determined to remain loyal to their covenants. He and others formed a legion and made war on the pagans. The leader became Judah the Maccabee. (an acronym meaning: Who is like you, O God). They eventually defeated the Syrians, who eventually razed the Temple and defiled it. The Maccabbes, on 25 Kislev, 3622, (this year 12/12) cleansed the temple and rededicated it with a small cruse of olive oil bearing the seal of the High Priest Yochanan. Since the golden menorah had been stolen, another of cheaper metal was made. It was enough for one day but lasted for eight days, a miracle. Jewish sages appointed these days for an annual thanksgiving and lighting candles.

The Menorah
http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/796161/jewish/The-Menorah.htm  

 How to make potato latkes
http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/449767/jewish/Latkes-How-To.htm  

Advertising the miracle of Chanukah http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/449772/jewish/Advertising-the-Miracle-of-Chanukah.htm

From http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah . Study Chanukah basics and the eight days of celebration at this excellent website.

Symbol of Oneness and Divinity: The Aleph

Installment 2 of the series: What Is Hidden In The Alef-Bet?

From Installment 1 posted in May we learned that one of the basic reasons Heavenly Father gave mankind language was to let us know who we are, why we are here and where we are going. Martin Luther, the great Protestant reformer, wrote that it was important to know Greek and Hebrew when studying the scriptures: "The languages are the sheath in which the sword of the Spirit is contained." Hebrew, like Greek, is an evolved language of symbolic pictograms whose letters - single and combined – stand for meaningful concepts of wisdom, sacred knowledge, God’s commands, nobility of thought and action, and the history of Hebrew itself.

Hebrew developed during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC from Phoenician script. Following the Babylonian exile, Jews gradually replaced it with Aramaic script. That later evolved into the modern 22-letter Jewish, or "square" alphabetic script (alef-bet) that is used today. For more, see www.answers.com/topic/hebrew-alphabet-1#Orthographic_variants. Hebrew scholars believe each letter serves as a symbolic channel connecting heaven with earth. For instance, the first Hebrew letter is the aleph:א Its form is a connection of 3 parts. The top and bottom are yudhs =y. Connecting them is a vav=v. A numeric value is assigned to each Hebrew letter. This ancient numbering system is called Gematria, giving added spiritual meaning to all Hebrew letters. An Aleph’s value totals 26. The number 26 is the same as the sum of the four-letter (tetragrammaton), the sacred, unpronounceable Hebrew word for God, YHVH.

The Aleph, then, represents the divinity of God. Since it is the first letter, it is at the head of the alef-bet, like a king. It is leader and master of all letters, helping to form the very elements of creation; therefore representative of the mastery of God, the life of the Jewish people, of Adam and Abraham; unique, a spiritual tool in the hand of God. Even the utterance of a Hebrew letter, when put upon the air, is like a prayer, a manifestation of praise that is meant for and sent to find the ear of the Almighty himself. But for non-Hebrew readers, these symbols by themselves are meaningless. So let’s see if English language scripture readers can study in a way that also brings out the richness and spiritual depth of Hebrew.

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has the best advice: He suggests that in all our scripture study we seek for connections, patterns, and themes. One pattern in the Doctrine and Covenants is woven into the very nature of the book itself. As the introduction indicates, “These sacred revelations were received in answer to prayer, in times of need, and came out of real-life situations involving real people.” The revelations were personal and answered specific questions concerning things that Heavenly Father knew would “be of the most worth” (D&C 15:6; 16:6) to each individual. See Because We Have Them before Our Eyes , Liahona, April 2006.

Reading scripture effectively is really a workshop enterprise. He lists the principles: Pray for understanding and invite the help of the Holy Ghost, work, be consistent, ponder, write down impressions, thoughts, and feelings.You do not have to know Hebrew or Greek in order to understand and derive great meaning from scripture. When we do read and ponder in private study we can have confidence that God can reveal the meaning of His Word. See 2 Timothy 3:16-17; John 14:26 and D&C 82:10. “And now, my sons, I would that ye should remember to search them diligently, that ye may profit thereby; and I would that ye should keep the commandments of God, that ye may prosper in the land according to the promises which the Lord made unto our fathers”. Mosiah 1:5–7, (Bednar’s emphasis).

In The Times of Wolves

Recently I viewed “Defiance”, the movie. It is based upon the true story of two Jewish brothers in Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe who, with a growing number of other resistors, escaped into the Belarusian forests. Enduring daily hardship and much tragedy for three years, they became a fierce fighting army and eventually triumphed over their enemies. That chapter in history was an antidote for the stoic endurance of persecution that Jews have generally been identified with. We know what happened to Hitler and his generals… we are still searching for the names of so many thousands of their victims - our family members, my family members.

Persecution– the systematic and unjust mistreatment by one group against another – is a word that thirsts for lifeblood – its goal: destroy what is cherished. Its process: oppression.
But there is another side to it: We have only to think of our Savior’s willingness to die for mankind to realize that Christianity flourishes because of his sacrifice. Joseph Smith, a modern prophet of the Lord, rallied against negativity so great he eventually lost his courageous life to a mob. In his quest to discover, build, protect and further the sacred teachings given him by our Lord, Joseph never flinched from his persecutors. He became ennobled by it. Today there are more than thirteen million members.

Again, the experiences of the Saints at Haun’s Mill, October 30, 1838: Governor Boggs’ Extermination Order resulted in 17 deaths, one of them a 10-year-old boy. This tyrannizing of peaceful, God-fearing Mormons brought families closer together in faith and courage that day and on the many other occasions where persecution raged against them. Other prophets followed. Cities were created, temples built, Family History libraries, Brigham Young University, and so very much more. Their victimizers? Answering to God.

Often, persecution follows peace. But young people and brave adults never shun difficulty or danger. And progress has always been the final harvest of persecution. The late Rev. Martin Luther King’s efforts brought about Civil Rights legislation that he foresaw. He was a man for his time, helping to heal America. He reminded us before his assassination of what our nation’s forefathers also declared: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." His murderers will also face their eternal reward…

What will sustain us in trials large and small that owe their genesis to a persecution of our heritage, our race, our belief system or our way of living? Should we deny the reality of our situation? No. Give in meekly? Never. Will faith help? No matter how cruel nature might appear to be or how indifferent to man’s welfare on earth, living faith never shuns the problem-solving duty of mortal living. Living faith does not foster bigotry, persecution, or intolerance. It is stronger than all other energies because it is based up divine love and a balanced relationship between the earth and those who tread it in peace and harmony.

Our Savior counseled us: “Happy are they who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Happy are you when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven.”

In the face of trials and persecutions, Jesus said, “My peace I leave with you... Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” This is the peace that prevents ruinous conflicts. Personal peace integrates personality. Social peace prevents fear, greed, and anger. Political peace prevents race antagonisms, national suspicions, and war. Peacemaking is the cure of distrust and suspicion. Let us pray for peace in our time. Let the tribal wars see surcease. Let fear be conquered so our earth may unite as one family. Did you know that sending positive energy throughout the planet is magnetic? It will draw others to us in harmony and brotherhood. Pass it on.

Sukkot (Huts) The Feast of Tabernacles - October 4, 2009

The article that follows is from a rabbi with a firm testimony of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. The reference to the Shekinah is similar to the Holy Ghost. Reference to Yahushua is ,of course, to Jesus. Click on the link below for his in-depth teachings of Jewish holidays and their importance in LDS scripture.

The Feast of Tabernacles, also called ‘Sukkot' is the anniversary of the wanderings of Israel in the wilderness after the great Exodus. It is a week long event wherein the first day is a High Holy Day of rest and no labor. After the seventh day of Sukkot, the next day is called Shemini Atzeret, which is also referred to as ‘the eighth day'. This is also a High Holy Day of rest and no labor...

Sukkot is a festival of ingathering during the latter day harvest, also referred to as the Fall harvest. We dwell in temporary shelters to typify our reliance as spiritual temples, upon Messiah alone in this life. We rejoice in the spiritual harvest of souls brought to our Heavenly Father by the work of Messiah Yahushua. The Joseph Smith Translation speaks of the future temple at the millennial harvest:
...for there shall be my tabernacle,
And it shall be called Zion; a New Jerusalem...
And there shall be my abode...
For the space of a thousand years shall the earth rest.
[JST Gen. 7:69-72/Moses 7:62-64]

The Joseph Smith Translation reminds us that our dwelling will be with Messiah once again and His Shekinah will fill His Tabernacle when He dwells with us. American Indians kept the Festival of Sukkot. The Yuchi tribe kept an eight day festival on the full moon and lived in temporary booths. They also formed processions with foliated branches were shaken.

Additionally, the pilgrims from Europe kept the festival of Sukkot as a remembrance to give thanks for when they entered into the new land. They were leaving pagan observances such as Christmas and desired to keep the prescription of observance in the Torah:

Leviticus 23:39 Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.

When the Native American Indian and Pilgrams were coming together, it was a type of the two houses coming together, the descendants of the Jews from the family of Lehi and the Gentiles from the Northern Tribes and is a prophetic type of the future coming together of Ephraim and Judah.

This is the season of our joy, when we celebrate with the four species and make temporary shelters in our patios or go camping, or visit others sukkots to remember our prophetic picture of the past and our future in the New Jerusalem. The Temple of Solomon was dedicated on the Feast of Tabernacles [I Ki 8:65] and Yahushua called Himself the ‘light of the world' during the candle lighting ceremony at Sukkot [John 8:12].

May you have a blessed Sukkot season of joy in Yahushua Messiah.

Taken from Zion Heritage International http://www.latterdayisraelite.com/sukkot.html

Rosh Hashonah and Yom Kippur – Sept 19th – 28th, 2009

With the California Gold Rush in full swing, numbers of Jewish settlers of mainly Hungarian and German descent emigrated to the western states, including to Utah. They came overland and they came by ship around the Cape Horn and down through San Francisco. They looked for a place to practice their faith. The earliest record of Jewish religious observance in the area is the celebration of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) in 1864 at the home of one of the Jewish merchants. This same year saw the first cemetery, on land deeded to the Jewish community by Brigham Young. High Holyday (Rosh Hashonah [New Year] and Yom Kippur [Day of Atonement] services in 1867 were observed in the Seventies Hall (inset) at the invitation of Brigham Young.

By Ralph M. Tannenbaum
http://www.media.utah.edu/uhe/i/jewiscom.html

The first day of the Jewish New Year comes in September. Rosh Hashonah - head of the year - in the lunar calendar: 5770, is celebrated with joy and solemnity. I recall many happy times at home and in synagogue during my childhood. It was a time of celebrating the greatness of God and the goodness of life, a time of promised intentions for future abundance. At the same time our parents and rabbis chastised us to never forget the dangers of self-aggrandizement, but to more abundantly offer our thanksgiving only to God, for that is the day He remembers our deeds and sits in judgement. We blow the shofar and eat hamentashen!

How well He knows us, for during the ten days following our great joy at a new year, restitution comes due. Those Days of Awe are a period of introspection and repentance, a time of honestly reviewing our lives, asking forgiveness for sins of omission and commission from anyone we have offended. Hopefully we will receive His forgiveness, or we cannot lift our heads with joy (and relief). Restitution must be made, penance must be paid before the books of judgement close for the year at the final hour of Yom Kippur. We pray Ha Shem (the Name) will receive to His bosom once again His wayward, but loving children.

Yom Kippur reminds the pious how Avraham was reprieved after offering his son in sacrifice. Very solemn, with anguish, it recapitulates the long history of violence and humiliation to which Jews have been subjected. Yom Kippur is really in similitude of Christ's atonement, where in the days of the temple a goat was selected to be the scapegoat with the sins of the people cast upon it. After elaborate prayer by the priest, it was sent into the wilderness. The Shema is said and the shofar (ram's horn) is blown just before sunset to signify the end of the sacred event.

Dear Reader, learn about these holidays of Judaism and wish your Jewish friends well on Rosh Hashonah, but leave them to themselves as the moon rises upon Yom Kippur, for the Jewish heart turns privately to its God for the most sacred and solemn conversation of the year.

Visit these sites to learn more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism, www.jewfaq.org/holiday3.htm, www.torahatlanta.com, www.jewishconvert-lds.com, www.religionfact.com/judaism.

Old Testament Hebrew Idioms (Oh, so that’s what it means!)

Okay, just because I’m Jewish doesn’t mean that when I read a phrase like“beginning of his strength” (Gen 31:35), I automatically consult my gene pool and come up with the correct meaning: his firstborn. Actually, throughout the Hebrew bible there are hundreds of cultural idioms that, through translation into English, have lost their concrete, colorful meanings. But thanks to electronic scholarship and my Jewish upbringing, modern English speaking readers who wonder about the significance of phrases such as suck the milk of nations, can confidently raise a hand in Sunday School and with knowledge straight from the horse’s mouth (American idiom) explain it as: getting the wealth of other countries.

Most scripture was originally written in the Hebrew and Aramaic languages. For hundreds of years, Hebrew idioms have been literally translated into English. So ancient manuscript which were written to a Jewish culture have been altered to fit modern society. When we read the scriptures, we read the work of translators and scholars who have transformed an ancient document by substituting English words for the original Hebrew. Consequently, Hebrew thought is lost. The words are there, but the meaning is missing.

Lack of knowing Hebrew and not understanding the unique Jewish mindset has robbed our scripture study of the richness and variety of Hebrew scripture with its poetic, visually descriptive metaphors and analogies. Here, for the benefit of my readers is a short list of O.T. scriptural verses, idioms and meanings. Print out this post and amaze your friends with your acumen. Be sure to tell them where you found it!!

A Pilgrim’s Progression

You must be the change you wish to see in the world. — Mahatma Gandhi

When I became nineteen I accompanied a friend on a trip to an old gutted metal mine we had heard of near a once busy junction with the colorful name of Chloride, now only a crow hop in the windy desert of southwest Arizona. It had long been abandoned by the miners who seemed to have fled suddenly (just after lunch?) without stopping to pack or arrange for forwarding of belongings.

Browsing around those hundred year old windblown shacks, smelling deeply of the acrid creosote bushes that had grown up around the unused cabins and pilings, I wondered at the grimy plates and cups left upon the tables, books and mirrors left behind, daily use clothes still upon hangers in closets without doors . . .in some cabins I found meat remains on dinner plates.

Moving through the mining area, tools were carelessly thrown, rope lay in abundance, coiled and waiting. Worker’s hats, boots and coats still hung in readiness on hooks near the long lavatory that housed filthy toilet stalls without doors. The mounds of metal dust that had hardened to become small calico-colored iron oxide hills of white and rust, were everywhere…

I had stumbled upon a forsaken community of assiduous people at work. It was a ghost camp, an entity, like a monument we visit, a museum we peruse. Those before us likely had wondered, too, as they viewed the artifacts of an industrious existence in this obscure place. It begged the question: What had really happened here that these people left so suddenly, leaving so much of themselves behind?

I still wonder about Chloride. It may be gone from the map but it remains in the terrain of my mind in a significant way. It is where I first came hard to terms with the idea that people are meant to progress in mortality through their experiences; sometimes that involves leaving behind what is familiar in favor of sudden changes in circumstances, demanding single-minded perseverance. Often this comes without our desire or control. I wonder if these are blessings in disguise. I am sure they are necessary for a soul’s flowering.

The point here is that when we are faced with significant change in our lives, it is a chance to expand our understanding of our purpose in the world and to test our faith and obedience to that divine Power which moves over us in love and which seeks to enlarge us, that we might become worthy of our rightful inheritance, mortally and eternally. Life is a constant renewal of the exercise of agency. We, as Saints, have been taught that all things typify of Christ. Using his life, death and resurrection as our examples, we can deduce that there are treasures waiting for us that are not known until the spade has turned the dirt and the hidden seeds of new life brought forth. In these seeds are waiting the precious opportunities of life for the diligent searcher to unearth. True treasure lies within our growing faith in God and His teachings, for they all lead to the continued discovering of His kingdom within the sacred privacy of our own soul.

Just as those miners who, leaving behind a secure and happy camp, turned their faces toward a sudden beckoning wind and, like some angelic seduction, followed it to a farther country with a richer soil, a more arable land. Properly planted and lovingly harvested, they will reap infinitely sweeter fruit.
From: Songs in The Spirit by Marlena Tanya Muchnick

August Is The Cruelest Month

The month of August in Jewish history is filled with arcane memories. Many remain in our collective consciousness as examples of mankind at his least enviable, but a few still touch the heart: Can you see, dear reader, that only acceptance and service is how we triumph in relations with our brethren in the byways of the world?

August 19, 1509: The Battle of the Books took place in Frankfurt, Germany: Johann Pfefferkorn, an apostate Jew, convinced Maximillan I to destroy all Jewish books, especially the Talmud. The books were defended by a gentile, Johann von Reuchlin, a noted humanist, scholar and student of the Zohar. The… decree was rescinded.

August 10, 1824: All foreign Jews were prohibited from settling in Russia. Alexander I, after an initial period of liberalism, reverted to the anti-Jewish proclamation of his predecessors. It began with forbidding Jews to have Christian servants.

August 18, 1846: The Jewish Oath, originally established by Charlemagne, is abolished in Austria. Until then, a Jew who took oath in a Christian court against a Christian was forced to stand on the skin of a dead animal or be surrounded by thorns…

1906: August Von Wasserman instituted the Wasserman test for the diagnosis of syphilis.

1919: Thirty-five members of the Jewish Defense Organization were disarmed and shot after the Ukrainian National Army recaptured Kiev from the Bolsheviks. As an organized unit, the Jews had played an important role in the defense of Kiev.

August 7, 1925: Nahum Shtif established YIVO as a Yiddish academic institute with its center in Vilna. Its goal was to promote scholarly research in Yiddish, especially on Jewish life and history in Eastern Europe. In addition, it standardized Yiddish spelling and gathered thousands of documents on Jewish culture and folklore from over much of Europe.

In 1934 Chancellor Paul Von Hindenburg died, leaving Adolf Hitler as the sole German leader.

August 21. 1940: Communist leader Leon Trotsky (Bronstein) was assassinated, most likely upon orders from Stalin. Trotsky was the son of a Jewish Odessian farmer. Believing there was no future for the Jewish people as a people, he became a contemporary of Lenin.

August 2, 1943: Led by a small group of prisoners, Jewish inmates of the German death camp, Treblinka, attacked the guards using primitive weapons and pistols and burned down the barracks. Most escapees were eventually captured.

In March 1945, 15-year-old Anne Frank (see picture) was arrested with her parents. She died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp with 51,000 others. Oh, remember, remember...

Thanks to: www.hagshama.org.il/en/resources/view.asp?id=265

All The World’s A Stage…(As You Like It)

“What really interests me is whether God had any choice in the creation of the world."
Albert Einstein

A myth is like a theory – not necessarily truth, but workable, like a man on crutches. So it is with creation myths, supernatural but significant, traditional stories about gods and heroes creating the world out of nothing (ex nihilo) in an effort to solve problems of human existence. But without the facts, they cannot stand on their own.

The Aztec narrative has an earth mother, Lady of the Skirt of Snakes, being impregnated by an obsidian knife. She gives birth to the goddess of the moon and then to males who become stars. The Greek philosopher, Plato, has a demiurge coming out of Chaos to give birth to Gaea (Earth).
Creek Indians believe the world was originally underwater. The Mayan account in the Popol Vuh creation myth has Tepeu and Gucamatz coming together to create the world and then creating animals. Nordic people believe ice and fire came together across a yawning gap.

Raelism is a modern UFO religion that has humanoid aliens creating life through genetic engineering and nanotechnology. Then there is the Randomness or chaotic theory – treating quantum mechanics as the prime mover and calling it divine. China has no story of creation at all.
Even Shakespeare gets into the act in The Tragedy of MacBeth. When the hero hears of his wife’s death. He bemoans: “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” Act 5, scene 5. No wonder he’s miserable.

Enter Judaism and Christianity. The book of Genesis has two creation myths: God creates the earth in seven figurative days by divine command. Man and woman are then created separately for each other but cannot procreate while in the Garden of Eden. We know the rest of this story.

Now listen to the voice of Jesus Christ in Doctrine and Covenants 93:24,30: “Truth is the knowledge of things as they are, were, are to come… Truth is independent in the sphere in which God has placed it.” Does truth needs religion to clothe it? How can we be anything but what God made us? We are originators, not producers. In space we are coexistent with God and in time, coeternal. We live forever, hence temple work for our dead invites each living spirit to return to its Heavenly home as it continues to progress toward perfection or freely chooses some lesser reward or a penalty.

A close reading of D&C 76 tells us the true creation myth: All things move under the mastery of the Savior and all things are begotten of God Who is obedient to the same laws and Who has progressed in the same manner as His creations.

Prof. Truman Madsen explained it best: Through mortal birth we inherit the traits of our biological parents. Man’s spirit, long ago and through actual transmission, had forged into it the “embryonic traits, attributes, and powers of God Himself. And in the surroundings of that realm man was nurtured in the Divine image.” (Eternal Man, Deseret Book, 1976) It follows that all of humankind once knew and rejoiced in these truths. They are the true hallmarks of creation – take the confused myths of men and bathe them in the clarifying light of Christ.

Our Heavenly Father has said:
“This is my work and my glory – to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” (Moses 1:39, Pearl of Great Price)

Jewish Mysticism: Kaballah

When a Jew questions the nature of God or wonders how the world came to be – or when he asks the meaning of life - he is entering the mystical realm of Judaism. He can go for help to the Zohar (splendor, radiance), the Talmud (teachings), and finally to Kaballah.

This prime work on mysticism comes from a Hebrew root meaning “to receive.” It is thus the “received tradition”, transmitted orally through early prophets and sages.Its probable roots are from the 10^th century before Christ. Though the various sects of Judaism today shun Kaballah study, the teachings have become interwoven throughout Jewish religious writings and culture, so some degree of Jewish mystical thought is as much a part of Jewish identity as Jesus is to Christianity.

Kaballah is the study of esoteric (hidden) aspects of the written Torah, the Pentateuch. The early prophets were mystics as well as seers and they had prophetic visions in the apocalyptic tradition. Many rabbis and scholars were known to teach mystical theology and practice even in the first centuries A.D. Some bear similarity to spiritual truth. The Prophet Joseph Smith knew of the theosophical aspects: http://farms.byu.edu/publications/review/?vol=8&num=2&id=229.

Kaballah holds that God is neither matter nor spirit but creator of both. The first aspect of God “Ein Sof” is that he is infinite, though unknowable. All things have been brought into being through Him, so one image of God is seen through what he has brought into the universe. According to this theory, there are ten “emanations” of God that are called revelations of His will. See http://www.inner.org/sefirot/sefirot.htm.

The Tree of Sefirot (enumerations, channels of Divine energy) shows how the qualities are organized; the right side being positive and masculine, the right side negative and feminine. The center demonstrates the ethical mediation of the two sides. These mystical theories were a way of explaining the universe. They correspond to qualities of God and are interactive: an occult, ever changing and transforming Tree of Life. A creation myth.

The English words, descending order: Top and right side: will (crown), wisdom, mercy, victory. Left side: understanding, justice, glory. Center: beauty, power and (lowest) kingdom.

In Kaballah, God is infinite. He has poured His light into each thing that is created so that every person carries the Divine light of truth within him or her, the stamp of divinity. God is not separate from creation for even a moment. Mankind’s life task according to Kaballah is to become “revealed”, not “concealed”: to be a clear, radiant image of God. Meditation upon the divine name of God is a necessary part of becoming like Him. These mystical theories were a way of explaining the universe to questioning minds of the Diaspora and prior to the formulation of Christian theology. But when the apostles of Christ were proselytizing, some of these teachings were considered heretical. For more information on Kaballah, see www.jewfaq.org/kabbalah.htm; http://www.kabbalah.com/; http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/.

My novelette, People of The Book translates some of the Sefirot into characters who act out their parts accordingly. The hero, Yesod (power), is a devout Jew who comes to realize that Jesus is the Messiah. His love is Tiferet (beauty), his serious lawyer friend, Gevurah (law). I recommend it to everyone wishing to understand the Jewish soul and spirit! (Image from Wikipedia)