Archive for the ‘Historical Reflections’ Category
A story is just breaking tonight around the world regarding the text found by Prof. Garfinkel at Elah over a year ago. It has apparently now been deciphered and dated and can be reliably put in the 10th century BCE, the time of the “Monarchy.” This is a major breakthrough in terms of the debate between the “minimalists” who argue the Biblical narratives are post-Exilic and those who maintain that we have texts at least 500 years earlier.
See the Eureka press release with photos here.
The incredible story of the late NFL football star Reggie White, who turned in his last years from preaching Christianity to a quest for Torah faith, as powerfully documented in this ESPN video:As sundown fell across Israel, Europe, and the United States last evening millions of Jews and many others who care about the history of Israel are marking the advent of Hanukkah, the Festival of Dedication. What might be lost is the historical grounding of the feast of Hanukkah itself, which seems to actually derive from Friday’s date: Kislev 24 or the 24th day of the 9th month of the Jewish calendar. Notice carefully this historical background:
The book of the prophet Haggai comes to us from the 2nd year of the Persian King Darius, late summer, August, 520 BCE. It is one of the most precisely dated books in the Hebrew Bible, much like its sister Zechariah, and its twin Malachi. The three go together, like peas in the pod, both coming from that crucial time of the “restoration” of Judah to the Land following the Babylonian captivity. Collectively they are our LAST WORD from Yehovah in terms of how the redemption is to unfold. It is very likely, based on Haggai 1:12, where the Prophet is called the “messenger of Yehovah,” that Haggai is in fact the author of the book we call Malachi, as this book is just named “My Messenger,” and the name of the prophet who wrote it is not given. Both Haggai and Zechariah address their contemporary situation, as one would expect, and are concerned that the Temple be rebuilt and that the constitution of the new state of Judah be ordered according to the Torah. However, if read carefully, both clearly understand that this restoration of Judah is only a preliminary, even symbolic step, to a coming GREAT restoration of Judah and ALL Israel. Even though there is a Priest (Joshua), and a Governor (Zerubbabel) of the Davidic line, there is no anointing of the BRANCH figure of whom both Isaiah and Jeremiah had spoken. One way of putting this is to say that Haggai and Zechariah are working in the tall shadow of JEREMIAH (see especially chapters 30-31), and they know, from his clear and powerful prophecies, that the final days have not come with this tiny little beachhead return of a portion of Judah to the land. But they do believe that this return of Judah is a “sign” of things to come, and a guarantee that the Plan of Yehovah, to fill the earth with justice and righteousness, through Abraham’s seed, is not to fall to the ground.
And that leads us to the curious and fascinating references to the 24th day of the 9th month–Kislev 24 in modern Jewish parlance.
Notice, reading the book of Haggai is sequential, it takes you through the last months of the year. It begins with the Rosh Chodesh of the 6th month (August), takes you through the 21st day of the 7th month (2:1), which is the last day of Sukkoth (October), and then into December–with the 24th day of the 9th month. Haggai’s third and fourth messages come on this very day. It is a short book, and if you skim it through you will see the building sequence.
Kislev 24 is mentioned FOUR times in the second chapters, verses 10, 15, 18 and 20. Twice it is emphasized that “from THIS DAY FORWARD I will bless you,” and twice Haggai gets a special Word from Yehovah, on this very day. You have to read the whole chapter to get the context, but the message is basically that Yehovah will “SHAKE the heavens and the earth and ALL NATIONS,” overthrowing their power, anoint the chosen one (symbolized in that day by Zerubbabel), and essentially make Jerusalem the new world capital. For the DETAILS you need to go back, of course, to Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Micah in particular, as they set forth the entire agenda to which Haggai only briefly alludes.
This message is addressed to the two “messiahs,” the Priest and the “King” or Governor, Joshua and Zerubbabel, respectively (2:4-5). They become “signifiers” of things to come. They are not the final anointed ones, and Zechariah picks this up in his visions, especially chapters 4 and 6. These symbolic figures, as well as the promised presence of the Holy Spirit (see 2:5 and Zech 4:6!), are the guarantee that Yehovah will bring about these promises.
Notice, Zechariah begins getting his visions and messages in the 8th month of that same year (Zech 1:1), or mid-November. He has EIGHT night visions, they are all quite difficult to follow, but prophetically important in forecasting the redemptive future. There is much more detail in Zechariah, but the two, Haggai and Zechariah, should be read in tandem, as one explains the other. Now, note carefully, Kislev 24 is not specifically mentioned in Zechariah, but it is alluded to in chapter 4:8-10. It is the famous “day of small things,” that one might be led to “despise,” because after all, this tiny little remnant of Judah, beginning to lay the foundation of a nondescript temple, under the mighty thumb of the Persian empire, was hardly even worthy of the name of a city-state, much less a world kingdom, and yet had HOPES and DREAMS and promises of world dominion!
Chapters 7-14 of Zechariah, which he gets two years later, are quite different. They are straightforward and fairly plain, laying out, likely in some sequential order, both the preliminary events, and the detailed climax, of the “time of the end.”
So, what about Kislev 24? It seems to have a three-fold meaning. First, in the time of Haggai and Zechariah, it was the day MARKED for the promise that the redemption would ultimately come about, not by power, nor by might, but by the Spirit of Yehovah–but “in its time.” Second, subsequently though history, this day seems to be one upon which key events take place, perhaps only a few of which have been recognized down through history. And finally, it might well turn out that on some Kislev 24 in the future, that date will serve as a “countdown marker” for the unfolding of the mysterious 1260/1290/1335/2300 days of Daniel’s visions, which interested Sir Isaac Newton so much.
During the period of the Maccabees, when Syrian ruler Antiochus IV unleashed his great persecution against the Jews of Judea/Palestine, it was on Kislev 24 that the enemy was defeated and the Temple freed from its desecration. That is why the festival of Chanukah is celebrated beginning at sundown, at the end of Kislev 24. In other words, it is NOT so much Chanukah that is important, as its marker date: Kislev 24. It seems to become a kind of banner date in history that marks any kind of “signal” of future redemption.
Fast forward to December 9, 1917. General Allenby, leading the British forces (remember Lawrence of Arabia), liberates Jerusalem for the first time in centuries from Turkish/Muslim rule. The date on the Jewish calendar–you guessed it: Kislev 24! That evening the Jewish soldiers in the British army celebrated Chanukah and went to the Wall in openness and freedom. The Torah reading that week was Mikketz (Gen 41), where JOSEPH is raised to power and saves Judah. And the Haphtorah reading, for the special Sabbath of Chanukah, as it is today, is the fascinating Zechariah 2:14-4:7! Note how it begins: “I have returned to Zion,” which seems to be the essential meaning of THIS DAY.
It is doubtful that Allenby was aware, during the heat of the battle, of even Chanukah, but certainly he knew nothing of Kislev 24.
If we begin checking in history over the past 2520 years (remember that number), there have been numerous times when Kislev 24 has played a large part, and even a smaller more symbolic part, in the unfolding of redemptive history. For example, no matter what one’s view of Yeshua might be, it seems in all likelihood that Yeshua was conceived on this day, nine months before his birth in September 3 BCE.
Some UIWU officers also noticed some years ago that the encounter David Horowitz had at the cave with his teacher Moshe Guibbory, as recounted in his autobiography, Thirty-three Candles, was on Friday night, December 16/17, 1927–and again, you guessed it, this was Kislev 24th. The Torah reading was Vayeshev, which begins the Joseph cycle, and the Haphtorah was Amos 2:6-3:8, which seems quite appropriate. Horowitz had no idea of this until over 50 years later when it was pointed out to him by others.
Now, a tiny bit on the numbers. Note, these important visions came in the year 520 BCE. The year 2000/2001 marks 2520 years since that first Kislev 24 vision of Haggai. The number 2520 is interesting, it has several mystical mathematical properties, but one most obvious one is that it is 7 x 360, or seven “prophetic years.” A prophetic year in the Bible is 360 days, thus we get in the books of Daniel and Revelation the period of 1260 days for 3.5 years. There are a number of indications, both in the Torah and Prophets, especially Ezekiel, that a kind of “day for a year” principle applies in Prophecy, and accordingly, the official “Exile” of Joseph and Judah would last 2520 years. Perhaps this is the meaning of the phrase “after two days” and “on the third day” references in Hosea 6. Now Judah was essentially “restored” in type at least, in the year 520, but the full restoration, and the union of things between Judah and Joseph is yet to come, “after two days” according to Hosea (a day is a “thousand years” in these prophetic texts). The point is, based on this chronology, we are “in” the third day, as of the year 2000. And indeed, it does appear we have begun to experience a “shaking of all things.” Whether this is the ultimate upheaval to which Haggai refers remains to be seen.
It is also worth noting, in terms of Kislev 24, that if you add 2300 days (the figure in Daniel 8) to that day, you always, on the Jewish calendar, come to the last day of Unleavened Bread, oddly something like 6.3 years later. In other words, it is sort of a strange figure. And there are then various interesting ways, too complicated to go into here, that the periods of Daniel (1260/1290/1335) fit in, taking one to Shavuot of any given sequence of years. We do know for certain that the 2300 “days” was fulfilled as a “day for a year” running from Alexander’s defeat of Darius in 334 BCE (June 7), to the day, to June 7, 1967–when Jerusalem was liberated by the Israelis in the Six Day War. The point seems to be that Alexander’s march to Jerusalem began a period of 2300 days/years of the trampling of Jerusalem. So what this seems to indicate is that there is a larger (day for a year) fulfillment of these periods, as well as a shorter “day for a day” fulfillment, once the “countdown” begins.
One might conclude then, from these indications, that on some Kislev 24, at some year “on our days and in our time” (whether past or future), people will come to recognize that Haggai’s “shaking” did indeed begin. It does not seem likely that time has quite yet come, but every year at this time one’s thoughts go to this date, given such an important designation by Haggai and Zechariah. On a personal level, it seems it can always be a date of “renewal” for any of us, and a time of new beginnings, looking to both the past and to the future.
In the early 1990’s, Dr. James D. Tabor presented a lecture on the Five Fundamental Flaws of Evangelical Christianity. This lecture has been very popular and widely distributed for well over a decade.
Recently, at a conference held in the historic Temple Sinai, Dr. Tabor presented a revised version of this lecture. Dr. Tabor seeks to show the 5 main points that he feels Christianity has veered from it’s original and thoroughly Hebraic path in this lecture. The lecture is sure to challenge those who claim to follow the teachings of Christianity.
Is standard, evangelical Christianity the same faith that emerged in the first century, or has it developed into something entirely different? You will not want to miss this exciting and challenging lecture by James D. Tabor.
The lecture is available on iTunes and for download now on the Roots of Faith web site.
Here is the link:
http://rootsoffaith.org/2009/10/24/the-five-fundamental-flaws-of-evangelical-christianity.htm
On the occasion of the Purim holiday, I’d like to share something I have read in a number of sources over the years and find fascinating to this day. It is the strange and captivating connection between the Megilla Esther story and the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials in 1946.
Those of us familiar with the story of Esther (478-464 B.C.) know how she was instrumental in bringing deliverience to the Jews living in Persia who did not return to Jerusalem after Cyrus’ decree. The defeat of the wicked Prime Minister Haman whose lies were intended to bring destruction to the Jewish people is still celebrated today as the Feast of Purim. More on that later.
On October 16, 1946, ten of the highest-ranking Nazi officers of Hitler’s Germany were put to death. Three more were given life sentences (Rudolf Hess, the last surviving relic of the trials, died in Spandau Prison in 1987 at the age of 93), four were imprisioned for up to twenty years, and three were acquitted.
After 216 court sessions the International Military Tribunal, convened specially for this purpose, disbanded itself and later in that day the ashes of the men responsible for the Holocaust were scattered into a little brook in Munich-Solln, and thereupon vanished forever. The true horror of Nazism had been revealed to the world every day for almost a year, and now the grimmest chapter in the history of the civilized world was all but closed. While the ashes of Hitler’s top politicians and officers have disappeared into oblivion, not many people are aware of a more divine significance of this historic event, one connected to an episode in Persia over 2,500 years ago.
When King Ahasuerus, then the most powerful man on earth, offered to grant Queen Esther whatever she desired for having saved his life, she replied, “If it please the king, let it tomorrow also be granted to the Jews who are in Shushan to do according to the law of this day, and let the 10 sons of Haman be hanged on the gallows.”
This is a remarkable request since Haman’s 10 sons had already been killed by the sword in the citadel of Susa (Esther 9:6-14). Nevertheless, in accordence with Esther’s wishes their 10 dead bodies were hanged. In the Apocryphal Greek version of Esther, chapter 9 verses 13-14 reads: And Esther said to the king, “Let the Jews be allowed to do the same tomorrow. Also, hang up the bodies of Haman’s 10 sons.” So he permitted this to be done, and handed over to the Jews of the city the bodies of Haman’s sons to hang up.
When the Megilla Esther was written, the names of the 10 sons of Haman who were hanged are enumerated. In the Hebrew text, the letters of the names are several times larger than the regular text. Yet, in the second, eighth and eleventh entry in the list, there are three letters; Tav, Shin and Zayn which are only one-half the size of the regular text. This mysterious order has been followed every since. The numerical value of the three diminished letters equals 707.
The Nuremberg Trials ended on October 1, 1946, which corresponded with the Jewish year of 5706. However, the due process of law meant the sentences of the convicted men could not be passed down until after appeals for clemency, of which there were many, had been heard. Finally, the sentences were pronounced. The Jewish New Year had arrived in the interim-it was 5707.
Twelve Nazis were meant to hang-although the method of execution might equally as well have been the firing squad-but Martin Bormann had escaped at the end of the war and was sentenced to death in absentia, and Herman Goering committed suicide two hours before his destined execution, leaving 10 condemned men.
In the early hours of October 16, 1946 during a 90 minute period, these 10 top Nazis went to their death on the gallows. The guards, with precise, ruthless efficiency brought them in one by one to deliver their last words and die. Only Julius Streicher went without dignity. His appearance happened at 2:11 a.m. He had to be pushed across the floor, wild-eyed and screaming, “Heil Hitler!” Mounting the steps, he cried out: “and now I go to God.” He was pushed the last two steps to the mortal spot beneath the hangman’s rope. Streicher swung around to face the witnesses and glared at them. Suddenly he screamed “Purim Fest 1946!” Then he was hanged.
The Megilla Esther had predicted that just as these 10 sons, descendants of Amalek and enemies of the Jews, were hanged, so again in the year 5707 (1946) would 10 other children of Haman be hanged.
The day of the early morning executions the front page headlines of the October 16, 1946 Late City Edition of The New York Times broke the story of what had just happened. In another strange twist, this was the day of Hoshana Raba.
“…On the seventh day of the Succot Holiday (Hoshana Raba), the judgement of the nations of the world is finalized. Sentences are issued from the residence of the King. Judgements are aroused and executed on that day.”
Zohar Vayikra 31b
Ralph Buntyn
Everyone familiar with either Jewish tradition or biblical history knows of the “Fast of the 5th,” namely the practice of fasting and mourning on the 9th of Av (the 5th month on the Jewish calendar), in memory of the destruction of both Jewish Temples (586 BCE and 70 CE) during that time. This practice goes back over 2500 years and is mentioned in the book of the Prophet Zechariah (8:18-19), around 515 BCE.
However, Zechariah mentions another fast day–”the Fast of the 10th month,” referring to today, January 6th, which is the 10th of Tevet (the 10th month on the Jewish calendar). This second fast day, also referenced by Zechariah, is connected to the initial siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, on the 10th day of the 10th month, in the winter of 587 BCE, seven months before its destruction in August, 586 BCE (9th of Av).
Here is a fascinating article, based on Rabbinic traditions regarding the chronology of these days, by Daniel Pinner, from israelnationalnews.com, that offers some provocative reflections on this date in history:
The Fast of the TenthTevet 10, 5769, 06 January 09 12:04by by Daniel Pinner
(IsraelNN.com) “And it happened in the ninth year of [Zedekiah's] reign, in the tenth month [i.e., Tevet], on the tenth of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came – he and all his army – against Jerusalem, besieged it and built a siege tower around it.” (II Kings 25:1, Jeremiah 52:4)Zedekiah was the very last king of Judah, who had ascended the throne in a turbulent period of Jewish history. One hundred and twenty-two years earlier, Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, had conquered the northern kingdom of Israel; he took King Hoshea captive and sent the ten tribes into exile, scattered throughout the Assyrian Empire, where they were lost to the Jewish national body. The southern kingdom of Judea would survive for another 133 years, under constant threat of invasion and occasional incursions from Egypt and Babylon, before finally being invaded and conquered by Nebuchadnezzar.
Zedekiah’s father, Josiah, had reigned for thirty-one years. He had ascended the throne when he was just eight years old, and tried desperately to repair the spiritual ravages that his predecessors had caused to the nation: he renovated the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, which had not been maintained properly since King Jehoash, eight kings and over 200 years previously; he restored the Torah to Judah; he destroyed the idols, including the Asherah tree from the Holy Temple, and burned them all; he dismissed the priests of idolatry and destroyed the rooms that they had maintained within the Holy Temple; he destroyed all the idolatrous altars throughout the Land; and he restored the Pesach sacrifice, which had been neglected for centuries.
His reign came to an abrupt end when Pharaoh Neco wanted to traverse through Judea on his way to fight Assyria. King Josiah would not tolerate a foreign army on Judean soil, so he confronted the pharaoh in Megiddo. In the ensuing battle, Pharaoh Neco killed King Josiah, whereupon the masses anointed Josiah’s son Jehoahaz as king.
Jehoahaz, however, was an evil king; and after reigning for just three months, the pharaoh captured him, exiled him, reduced Judea to a vassal state, and put Jehoaz’s brother Eliakim on the throne, changing his name to Jehoiakim. Jehoiakim, also an evil king, reigned for eleven years, first as a vassal of Egypt, then of Babylon. Eventually, a Babylonian-Moabite-Ammonite alliance attacked Judea, inflicting terrible damage. Jehoiakim died, and his eighteen-year-old son Jehoiachin became king. Jehoiachin was just as evil as his father and, after he reigned for just three months, Babylon besieged Jerusalem, pillaged the treasures of the Holy Temple, exiled tens of thousands of Jews, and took King Jehoiachin into captivity in Babylon.
The king of Babylon then crowned Jehoiachin’s uncle, Mattaniah, as vassal-king of Judea, changing his name to Zedekiah. And then, after nine years of autonomy in the Babylonian Empire, on the tenth of Tevet, the Babylonian army began its siege on Jerusalem, the last stage before the final obliteration of Jewish independence. Just seven months later, on the 7th of Av, Nebuzaradan, the chief executioner of Babylon, would arrive in Jerusalem to burn the Holy Temple two days later – on the 9th of Av.
The 9th of Av had been ordained as a day of destruction and mourning ever since the spies whom Moshe had sent to spy out the Land of Israel had returned, given their evil report, and the nation spurned the Land of Israel and cried in their lack of faith. The Talmud (Ta’anit 29a) calculates the Torah’s chronology: on the 20th of Iyar we left Mount Sinai (Numbers 10:11); this was followed by a three-day journey (v.33) concluding on the 23rd of Iyar; a 30-day sojourn in Kibroth-Hata’avah (ibid. 11:20, 34) concluding on the 22nd of Sivan; and finally seven days in Hazeroth (11:35, 12:15-16) before reaching the Paran Desert (ibid. 12:16) on the 29th of Sivan.
Hence, Moshe sent out the twelve spies on the 29th of Sivan (compare Targum Yonatan to Numbers 13:20). They returned forty days later on the 8th of Av and gave their evil report of the Land; and when night fell and the nation cried, it was the evening of the 9th of Av. Instead of the 9th of Av being the day that we entered the Land of Israel and brought the redemption, it became a day of tragedy.
But what event foreshadowed the siege of Jerusalem beginning on the 10th of Tevet?
It seems to me that the Torah gives us a hint of what the background was. 1,291 years before the First Temple was destroyed, three angels appeared to Abraham and Sarah, heralding the birth of their son Isaac the following year (Genesis 18:1-14). The Talmud and the midrashim are consistent about the chronology: the angel promised Sarah that she would bear her son Isaac exactly one year hence (18:10); the 400 years of Abraham’s seed living as “strangers in a land not their own” (15:13) began with the birth of Isaac and finished with the Exodus from Egypt. Since the Exodus occurred on the 15th of Nisan, Isaac was born 400 years to the day earlier; i.e., also on the 15th of Nisan. And since the angelic prophecy to Sarah was one year to the day before Isaac was born, this episode also happened on the 15th of Nisan.
This was also the day before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, sparing only Lot and his two daughters, who fled into the hills (Genesis 19:1-25). The night following the destruction, Lot’s daughters, fearing that they were the only three people remaining in the world, plied their father with drink and impregnated themselves by him. They gave birth to sons – the elder bore Moab and the younger bore the ancestor of Ammon (19:30-38).
Nine months after the 16th of Nisan brings us to the 10th of Tevet. Hence, Moab and Ammon, the two nations who, in alliance with Babylon, would attack Judea and thus initiate the process that would culminate in Judea being captured and the Holy Temple destroyed, were born on the 10th of Tevet – the day that Babylon began the siege on Jerusalem.
Thus, Jewish independence would be extinguished in the Land of Israel and, for the next 70 years, the Land was to lie desolate under Babylonian occupation. At the end of that time, the Persian King Cyrus (Koresh) defeated Babylon, inherited the Babylonian Empire – including Israel – and proclaimed the right of any Jew who wanted to return to Israel and to rebuild the Holy Temple.
In the days of the Second Temple, we did not fast on the fast days of mourning (the 17th of Tammuz, the 9th of Av, Tzom Gedaliyah on the 3rd of Tishrei, and the 10th of Tevet): one does not mourn over the destruction on the Temple while the Temple is standing. The Rambam, however, states that the Jews did fast on the 9th of Av in the Second Temple period (commentary to the Mishnah, Rosh HaShanah 1:3; “Laws of Fasts” 5:5).
It seems puzzling that we should fast in mourning for the Temple when the Temple is standing. The Maggid Mishneh (commentary on the Mishneh Torah by Rabbi Vidal of Tolosa, 14th-century Spain) explains: “According to our rabbi [the Rambam], the custom [whether or not to fast] depends upon the circumstances, as the Talmud [Rosh HaShanah 18b] makes clear. In a time of peace – which means when the Holy Temple is built – the fast days are days of rejoicing and gladness; in times of persecution, they are fast days; and in times when there is neither peace nor persecution, every Jew who desires to fast can fast. However, fasting is not obligatory, with the exception of the fast of the 9th of Av, because there were so many disasters on this day. But now, everyone fasts on all these days and all are obligatory upon every Jew until the Holy Temple will be rebuilt.” (Maggid Mishneh on “Laws of Fasts” 5:5)
Evidently, the Second Temple, being only temporary, could annul three of the four fasts of mourning. But the 9th of Av is such a disastrous day that a temporary Temple cannot override it.
But the third and final Holy Temple will convert even the 9th of Av into the day of joy and festivity that it was originally intended to be, a day of redemption: “Thus said HaShem, Lord of Legions: The fast of the fourth [month, i.e., Tammuz] and the fast of the fifth [month, i.e., Av] and the fast of the seventh [month, i.e., Tishrei], and the fast of the tenth [month, i.e., Tevet] will turn into rejoicing and gladness and festivities for the House of Judah. So love truth and peace.” (Zechariah 8:19)
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The post below is from Ross Nichols, one of the ordained ministers with United Israel and founder of Roots of Faith as well as teacher and leader of the Biblical Studies group meeting at the historic Temple Sinai in St. Francisville, Louisiana. The post below is from Mr. Nichols, marking the 3rd anniversary of his work:
Shalom! I hope that this note finds all of you well. I could not let this date pass without sending out a communication to everyone on my mailing list. Some of you are also members with me on other lists so I apologize for the duplication, but wanted to inform the whole group of the significance of today.
Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008 is the 6th of Kislev on the Hebrew Calendar. This date on the Hebrew calendar (Kislev 6) marks the three year anniversary of my receiving the keys to Temple Sinai Synagogue. Three years ago, this date fell on Wednesday, December 7th (2005), but when I checked the Hebrew dates I realized that the actual anniversary is today!
The Torah reading associated with this date on the Hebrew calendar is Vayyetze (Genesis 28:10-32:3). The Haphtorah is Hosea 12:13-14:10.
A few points of interest from this Torah Reading:
This reading of course has the dream of Jacob (28:16-17). When I read Jacob’s words I cannot help but to connect them with the feeling I get about this synagogue and what is in store if we remain faithful. Of this “makom – place”, Jacob says, “this is the house of God” twice (Genesis 28:17 and 28:22). While I realize that “Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain Him – I Kings 8:27″, I still feel that there can be a certain awe and sanctity attached to a “place” where people gather together to learn of God’s Ways.
I see this place, through the teaching that goes forth every week, as a place from which a call is going forth to turn from various forms of idolatry. Many sincere people have inherited lies, vanity and things wherein there is no profit (Jeremiah 19:19) In declaring the truth of the Hebrew Faith to the nations, I believe that the veil will begin to be lifted and people will embrace the truth.
Idols play a key part of this Torah reading. Remember that Rachel steals her father’s idols and hides them (Genesis 31:19, 34). In the haptorah, we find mention of idolatry as well (Hosea 13:1-2), but we see something else later! In Hosea 14:9, we see that Ephraim finally denounces idolatry! May we lead people away from all forms of idolatry through our declaration of the truth, and may we do so not by might, nor by power, but by His Spirit! This passage from Hosea 14 (verses 2-10) is the one read on Shabbat Shuva (The Sabbath of Return or repentance). I encourage you to read this Torah Reading this weekend.
The Torah reading also contains the birth of the sons of Israel (except for Benjamin whose birth is recorded in chapter 35). Most are aware that the “Tribes” are a major part of my understanding of Scripture. So I find it of special importance that in the year 1903, when Temple Sinai Synagogue was originally dedicated that the following words were declared:
The newspaper (True Democrat – March 28, 1903) covered the dedication and recalls the words of one of the speakers – “His prayer was that the grace of God should descend upon this house and its people, and many now and in years to come might learn the ways of righteousness and the paths of peace through its influence as a house of worship”
Commenting on the words of another speaker at this dedication the article says, “He referred to the sympathy existing between Anglo Saxon and Jew, and that there was a theory that the former was descended from the Lost tribes of Israel. Be that as it may, there can be no doubt that the Anglo Saxon is ever a cordial compatriot of his Hebrew Brother.”
NOTE: I do not accept standard forms of Anglo – Israelite theology. Many of these theories are racist at the core. I do however, see the clear Scriptural teaching of the return of “the Lost Sheep of the House of Israel” as the major theme of prophetic teaching in the entire Hebrew Bible. Amos declares that Ephraim would be sifted through the nations as corn is sifted through a seive. One cannot discern this people by their skin color or national identity. At this point they are literally….red and yellow, black and white! And every other color I might add. For information of a Biblical nature concerning the “lost tribes”, please see the United Israel web site.
The dedication sermon in 1903, was preached by a Dr. Heller. He began with a recitation of Mah Tovu – How goodly are thy tents O Jacob….. The article states that; “He briefly sketched the history of the Jewish synagogue, which was successively tent, temple and house, as represented by the tabernacle in the wilderness, the Temple on Moriah and the synagogue of the middle ages the highest, a God-home and a heart-home, in which all the loftiest instincts of man’s likeness to God finds satisfying exercise. The eloquent rabbi closed with a prayer that the newly consecrated synagogue might become a God-home dedicated not by any breath of mouth or act of hand, but made holy by the impressive associations and sacred rites of many a memorable hour.”
In 3 years, our teachings have literally reached the ends of the earth. We have live webcasts, podcasts, an email list with many members (knowledgeable ones – educated laity, biblical scholars, Jews and non-Jews who love God, Israel and Torah), and over the past couple of weeks we have added video teaching for those who are not able to attend in person. We have also added a newly formed social network (www.rootsoffaith.net) that allows people to meet and make new friends with common interests. If you have not checked it out, I encourage you to do so. You do not need to join to look around, but if you feel alone in your quest for the true faith then I strongly urge you to consider signing up. We already have over 50 members. Members are from all over the U.S., Australia, the UK and as word gets out I feel certain that other nations will be represented in the Synagogue Without Walls!
I want to honor the prayers of those who went before me in the building and dedication of Temple Sinai. I want to take their vision and share it with the world. I want others to be a part of a noble effort to share Biblical truth with everyone.
So today, I wanted to take some time to reflect on the blessings that have come our way over the past three years. First, I have met some of the most incredible people during this time. We have become the best of friends. I look forward every week to seeing this incredible group of people. We have had some good memories, celebrated ancient Hebrew festivals, camped out together, traveled together, argued and debated, but through it all we have become a family! We love and trust one another. They are the most talented and dedicated group that I have been around and I am excited about what is to come for all of us. With our new Synagogue Without Walls, we are able to open our doors to old friends and new and provide a place of meeting for anyone that believes in the one God of Israel and seeks to live according to the principles of the Hebrew Bible.
I look forward to what is coming and hope you will be a part of bringing this vision to fruition and in advancing Abrahamic Faith. To God be the Glory!
Shalom and God Bless you all, Ross
This is the descriptive entry that will appear in the new 8th edition of the Encyclopedia of American Religions, the most authoritative reference work on religions of all types in America:
★2086★
United Israel World Union (UIWU)
200 East 10th Street
Suite # 111
New York, N.Y. 10003
Editorial Offices: P.O. Box 561476, Charlotte, NC 28256
The United Israel World Union (UIWU) was incorporated under the laws of the State of New York in 1944 by founder David Horowitz who served as President until his death at age 99 (1903–2002). The primary purposes of UIWU are to represent a universal version of the Hebraic faith to the non-Jewish world, based primarily on the Hebrew Bible, as well as to provide a meeting place for Jews with non-Jews who are accordingly drawn to this message. The hallmark of the organization is Isaiah’s prescription that “My house will become a house of prayer for all peoples.” Central to this mission is the conviction that scattered among the Gentiles are untold numbers of descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel who are discovering their identity and their kinship to the Jewish people. Membership is based on the simple declaration of faith in the One God of Israel and a commitment to live according to the principles of the Hebrew Bible. Members, accordingly, observe the Sabbath day, Jewish festivals, and a biblical “kosher” diet, although the manner and extent of such observances is left to one’s individual conscience.
During the decades of the 1950s through the 1970s the movement flourished with centers in New York, Michigan, and West Virginia; members scattered through 30 States and 15 foreign countries; and an active mailing list of 9,000. Horowitz edited and published the triennial United Israel Bulletin from 1945 until his death. As an accredited member of the United Nations Press Corp since 1945, and serving twice as its president, Horowitz rubbed shoulders with many Ambassadors and heads of State, forming a close friendship with the late Dag Hammarskjöld. He published a syndicated weekly column that appeared in 22 Anglo-Jewish newspapers, reflecting his Jewish perspectives on world events in the light of UIWU perspectives. Horowitz received many honors including Israel’s Defender of Israel Medal presented by Prime Minister Menachem Begin. In the 1980s and 1990s operations of UIWU reached a low ebb due to the age and health of Mr. Horowitz.
Although it remains incorporated in New York, in 2004 the UIWU transferred most of its records, archives, and operations to Charlotte, North Carolina. Administered by Dr. James D. Tabor, the offices house the David Horowitz Memorial Library, which holds correspondence between Horowitz and various world leaders and celebrities including David Ben Gurion, Eleanor Roosevelt, and King Abdullah of Jordan, 60 years of back issues of the United Israel Bulletin, and a complete archive of Horowitz’s weekly UN Columns (1950-1998).
Membership: As of 2008 membership is at 300 with active surface and e-mail lists totaling 1700.
Periodicals: United Israel Bulletin has ceased regular publication but both archive and current materials are regularly added to the organization’s Web site: unitedisrael.org, and special issues will be published on specific topics once a year.
Sources:
http://unitedisrael.org
By-Laws of United Israel World Union, approved 1944, amended 2005.
David Horowitz, Thirty-three Candles (New York: World Union Press, 1949)
Even though the Israeli celebration of Independence Day, based on the Hebrew calendar, was last week, there is something profound about May 14 on the Gregorian Calendar that really acts as a marker of great events of the last century.
Just to think, on this very date, in 1948 these great and momentous things happened. One very interesting fact is that if you follow an “observed” Jewish calendar for 1948 and don’t add the 13th month that year, it moves everything one month back–that is “Adar II becomes Nisan, Nisan becomes Iyyar, and Iyyar becomes SIVAN–which makes the establishment of the State of Israel fall on Sivan the 5th…Well that just happens to be the fixed date for Shavuot or Pentecost in Jewish tradition…
One can not help but think of Isaiah’s ancient query:
Is. 66:8 Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? shall a nation be brought forth at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.
There is a nice set of article on the Aish HaTorah Web site dealing with the history of Israel. I found a very nice set of articles on the Web that talk POSITIVELY about Zionism and returning to the land of Israel. If you have some time read through some of these, they are really good, this is one of the BEST Web pages I have ever found and I can not recommend it highly enough for this day in history!
http://www.aish.com/holidays/Israel_Independence_Day/holiday_page.asp
In this day and time when “Zionism” is used by so many as some kind of ugly word, it is refreshing to capture some of the Spirit that the true “returnees to Zion” really had 60 years ago.
For those a bit “rusty” on the history, here is a crash course Crash_Course_in_Jewish_History:
Crash Course in Jewish History Part 65 – The State of Israel
by Rabbi Ken Spiro
After the British brutally turned away Holocaust survivors from Israel, the UN voted to partition the land.
The British broke promise after promise to the Jews while they created new Arab countries out of the land of the former Ottoman Empire. In addition, because of Arab revolts and pressure, the British even barred entry to the land of Israel to Jews fleeing the Holocaust. (See Part 64.)
Even when the full scope of the Holocaust was known, and thousands of Holocaust survivors were stranded in refugee camps (DP camps), the British refused to relent.
One of the most egregious of the British actions involved the refugee ship, Exodus, which the Royal Navy intercepted in 1947 in the Mediterranean Sea with 4,500 Jews aboard. The ship was brought into Haifa port under British escort; there the Holocaust survivors were forcibly transferred to another ship and returned back to Germany via France.
Abba Eban, who was then the Jewish liason to a special UN committee — called Special Commmitte On Palestine or UNSCOP — persuaded four UN representatives to go to Haifa to witness the brutality of the British against the Jews.
Historian Martin Gilbert includes Eban’s account of what happened there in Israel: A History (p. 145):
“[In Haifa] the four members watched a ‘gruesome operation.’ The Jewish refugees had decided ‘not to accept banishment with docility. If anyone had wanted to know what Churchill meant by a “squalid war,” he would have found out by watching British soldier using rifle butts, hose pipes and tear gas against the survivors of the death camps. Men, women and children were forcibly taken off to prison ships, locked in cages below decks and set out of Palestine waters.’
“When the four members of UNSCOP came back to Jerusalem, Eban recalled, ‘they were pale with shock. I could see that they were pre-occupied with one point alone: if this was the only way that the British Mandate could continue, it would be better not to continue it at all.’”
UN PARTITION OF PALESTINE
The British also wanted out of the problem. They had 100,000 soldiers/police trying to maintain control with a total population of about 600,000 Jews and 1.2 million Arabs. (Interestingly, they had the same size force controlling India with a population of over 350 million!)
And so it came to pass that the British turned the matter over to the UN which decided to end the British Mandate over what was left of “Palestine” (after the creation of the country of Jordan) and to divide the remaining land among the Arabs and Jews. The proposal called for the Jews to get:
a narrow strip of land along the Mediterranean coast, including Tel Aviv and Haifa
a piece of land surrounding the Kineret (Sea of Galilee), including the Golan Heights
a large piece in the south, which was the uninhabitable Negev Desert
The Arabs were to get:
the Gaza Strip
a chunk of the north, including the city of Tzfat (Safed) and western Galilee
the entire West Bank of the River Jordan and the hills of Judea and Samaria
Jerusalem was to be under international control.
On November 29, 1947, the United Nations voted for this partition plan. Of those voting, 33 nations voted yes, including USA and USSR; 13 mostly-Arab nations voted no; 11 nations abstained.
Hard-hearted to the end, the British did not vote yes; they abstained.
As disappointed as the Jews were with the portion allotted for the Jewish state, they felt that something was better than nothing after all the waiting and the pain.
However, the Arabs, always maximalist in their demands, rejected the UN resolution. The next day Arab rioting began, and two weeks later soldiers from surrounding Arab countries began arriving into Palestine.
The British, happy to be out of the situation, were packing up to go and turned their backs on what was going on. Writes David Ben Gurion in his Israel: A Personal History (p. 65):
“The British did not lift a finger to stop this military invasion. They also refused to cooperate with the UN committee charged with supervising implementation of the General Assembly resolution. At the same time, the Arabs living in the district destined to become part of the Jewish state began evacuating their homes and moving to the Arab states neighboring Palestine at the orders of the Arab High Committee.”
In the midst of confusion, the rioting continued with almost 1,000 Jews murdered by Arabs in the ensuing four months.
One of the worst incidents occurred on April 13, 1948. A convoy of 70 doctors and nurses making their way to Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus was ambushed by Arabs. This happened 200 yards of a British police station. After a seven-hour shoot-out, during which the British did nothing, all the doctors and nurses were killed. Afterwards, the Arabs mutilated their bodies.
JERUSALEM UNDER SIEGE
In all of this, the British encouraged the King of Jordan, Abdullah, to invade and annex the Arab sections to his kingdom. To Abdullah this was not enough. He wanted Jerusalem too.
As a result Jerusalem came under siege.
The focus of the struggle during April and May 1948 was the road to Jerusalem which passes through the mountains. The vehicles on that road are completely exposed to gunmen up above. It was on this road that all supplies to the Jews of the city had to come. But they could not get through.
Hunger reigned. The residents of the Jewish Quarter of the Old City were completely cut off.
And then an amazing incident happened. A young Yemenite Jew, who was not known for his shooting skills, almost accidentally killed three Arab men in the hills. One of these men was the Arab leader, Abdul Khader el Husseini. Demoralized, the Arab forces abandoned their positions to attend his funeral.
As a result a huge convoy of 250 trucks of food was able to re-supply the city. Writes Berel Wein in Triumph of Survival (p. 397):
“[On Shabbat, April 17, 1948] Jews left their synagogues and, with their prayer shawls still draping their shoulders, helped unload the convoy. The siege of Jerusalem was broken for the moment. The Arabs, however, mounted a strong counter-attack, and by the end of April once again cut the Jerusalem road… for the next seven weeks Jewish Jerusalem was isolated.”
A NEW STATE IS BORN
The official date given by the United Nations in their partition vote for the creation of the two new entities was May 15th, 1948.
Thus, May 14th was to be the last day of the British Mandate. At 4 p.m., the British lowered their flag and immediately the Jews raised their own.
It was a flag designed in 1897 by the First Zionist Congress. It was white (the color of newness and purity), and it had two blue stripes (the color of heaven) like the stripes of a tallit, the prayer shawl, which symbolized the transmission of Jewish tradition. In its center was the Star of David.
Thus on May 14, 1948 at 4:00 p.m., Hay Iyar, the 5th of Iyar, Israel declared itself a state.
After 2,000 years, the land of Israel was once more in the hands of the Jews.
David Ben Gurion read the Declaration of Independence over the radio:
“The Land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here the spiritual, religious and national identity was formed. Here they achieved independence and created a culture of national and universal significance. Here they wrote and gave the Bible to the world…
“Exiled from Palestine, the Jewish people remained faithful to it in all the countries of the dispersion, never ceasing to pray and hope for their return and restoration of their national freedom.
“Accordingly we, the members of the National Council met together in solemn assembly today and by virtue of the natural and historic right of the Jewish people and with the support of the resolution of the General of the United Nations, hereby proclaim the establishment of the Jewish state in Palestine to be called Israel…
“We offer peace and amity to all neighboring states and their peoples and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all…
“With trust in the Rock of Israel, we set our hands to this declaration at this session of the Provisional State Council in the city of Tel Aviv on Sabbath Eve, 5th Iyar 5708, 14th day of May 1948.”
(Note that the Declaration of Independence of Israel — unlike the American Declaration of Independence — does not mention God. This is because the hard-line secularists that dominated the Jewish Agency opposed any such thing. “Rock of Israel” became a compromise.)
Everyone was dancing in the streets. But not for long.
Almost immediately five Arab countries declared war and Egypt bombed Tel Aviv.
The legacy of Passover has inspired the cause of liberty, as a natural right, in the United States in particular and throughout the globe in general.
I have compiled the following reflections on Passover based on writings by Jewish sages as a backdrop to the notion of liberty as a God given right.
The Exodus took place around 1500 BC. The Passover is celebrated on the 15th day of the Jewish month of Nissan, the first month of the Jewish year and the introduction of natural and national spring (Nitzan is the Babylon word for spring and the Hebrew word for bud). Nissan (“Ness“-miracle in Hebrew-is the root) is the month of miracles, such as the Exodus, parting of the sea, Jacob wrestling the Angel, Deborah’s victory over Sisera and Daniel in the lion’s den. The 15th day of any Jewish month is endowed with a full moon, which stands for optimism in defiance of darkness and the most difficult odds.
Passover has four names: Holiday of Pesach (the sacrifice), Holiday of Liberty, Holiday of Matza and Holiday of Spring. It is the first Jewish holiday, according to the Jewish calendar, which starts in the spring (Aviv in Hebrew). A time when all things come alive. The word spring is mentioned three times in the Torah, all in reference to Exodus. Passover, which commemorates the creation of the Jewish nation, lasts for seven days, just like the creation of the universe.
David Ben Gurion, Israel’s founding father, highlighted Passover’s focus on the land of Israel and memory (UN Commission, 1947): “300 years ago, the Mayflower launched it’s historical voyage. How many remember the data of the voyage? How many passengers were on the Mayflower and what kind of bread did they consume? However, 3,300 years earlier, the Exodus from Egypt took place. Every Jew knows the date of the Exodus, the 15th day of the month of Nissan, and the kind of bread, Matza (unleavened bread) consumed. To this day Jews all over the world, tell the story of the Exodus and eat Matza on the 15th of Nissan. They conclude the story of the Exodus (Hagadah) with the statement: “This year we’re slaves, but next year we shall be liberated; this year we’re here, but next year in Jerusalem.” Consistent with Ben Gurion’s comments, Jacob and Joseph demanded to be buried in Hebron and in Shchem (Nablus) and not in Egypt, since burial sites perpetuate presence and deed.
Passover, just like monotheism, the Sabbath, Ten Commandments and repentance/Yom Kippur, constitute a Jewish gift to humanity. It has been a global inspiration to liberty and to national liberation (Let my people go).
The Exodus inspired the Puritans, the Pilgrims and the Founding Fathers, who considered themselves “the modern day People of the Covenant”, King George III “the modern day Pharaoh”, the Atlantic “the modern day Red Sea” and America “the modern day Promised Land”. The term “Federalism” is based on “Foedus“, the Latin word for “The Covenant”. The Founding Fathers considered the political structure of the Twelve Tribes, sustaining semi-independance, governed by Moses, Aharon, Joshua and the 70 person Legislature, a model for the 13 colonies and the US political system.
Moses, the hero of Passover, has become a role model of leadership. The Mosaic legacy has greatly impacted US democracy, hence Moses’ marble replica at the House Chamber on Capital Hill, at the Rayburn House Office Building’s subway station and at the Supreme Court (holding the Ten Commandments).
The Exodus is mentioned 50 times in the Torah, equal to the 50 years of Jubilee, another historical pivot of liberty. “Proclaim liberty throughout the land to all the inhabitants thereof” (Leviticus 25:10) is inscribed on our Liberty Bell in Philadelphia.
Our forefathers viewed our country’s founding through a biblical lens. Consider:
*George Washington and John Adams were compared to Moses and Joshua.
*Adams, Jefferson and Franklin proposed a depiction of Moses parting of the sea as the official US seal. This was mentioned in several past UIWU bulletins along with the likeness.
*John Locke considered Moses’ 613 laws as the most fitting legal foundation of the new society in America.
*Ezra Styles, the President of Yale University, stated that “Moses, the man of God, assembled 3 million people, the number of people in America in 1776…” (May 8, 1783).
*John Winthrop, the first Governor of Massachusetts: “God has entered into a Covenant with those who are on their way to wilderness in America, just as He had entered into Covenant with the Israelites in the wilderness of Sinai…” (1630 sermon on the Arbella).
The legacy of the Exodus has nurtured optimism, principle-driven defiance of odds, long-term tenacity and the centrality of tradition, education and national memory. It may be best summed up by a statement by President Calvin Coolidge on May 3, 1925: “The Hebraic mortars cemented the foundations of American democracy…”
For more on this subject, please see previous UIWU blog articles entitled: “America’s Hebrew Heritage” and “George Washington, an American Joshua”.
Ralph Buntyn