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: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)
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
It is our essential nature to question and seek information concerning our ancestral lines. If one subscribes to the theory, as did UIWU founder and president, David Horowitz, and an increasing number of proponents, that there are many of us who could be descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes or Israelites, then the questioning and seeking becomes compelling.
Armed with very limited information, my husband, Ralph, and I traveled to Wales, the land of my maternal forefathers and England, my paternal forefathers in September, 1996 to trace my genealogy. We knew the name of the village in Wales which was the birthplace of my Great Grandfather and Great Grandmother, but little else.
Our arrival in Llandudno, Wales was on Friday, September 13 and we attended the Llandudno Hebrew Congregation for Rosh Hashanah and Shabbat services. This is the oldest Orthodox synagogue in Wales, dating to the 16th century. We were greeted with surprise and curiosity by the congregants. It seems they are unaccustomed to visitors-especially from “across the pond”.
One of the nights spent in Wales was at a resort high in the mountains with a view of the Irish Sea. The bucolic setting was breathtaking!
Equipped with maps and the meager information we brought with us we located the township of Corris, Wales and began exploring the valley of so many of my ancestors. The cemetery was situated on the grounds of the Carmell Corris, Talyllin, Wesleyan Methodist Church erected in 1810. The Welch inscriptions on the gravestones were startlingly close to Hebrew and as David Horowitz often told us, the Welch and Hebrew languages are strikingly similar. I was not prepared for the impact that discovering the tombstones of my Great, Great, Great Grandparents and relatives, whom I was unaware even had existed, would have on me. It was a strange, unnatural and unnerving experience and one which would subsequently take me months to reconcile and resolve.
The process of researching information which we acquired during the trip has revealed astonishing points of history for me. I’d like to summarize some conclusions by quoting a few excerpts from Seventh Day Adventist Leslie Hardinge’s work, The Celtic Church in Britain. “Before the coming of Augustine to England in A.D.597, the Christian church in the British Isles was profoundly Celtic, rather than Roman. The beliefs and practices of the Celtic Christian Church were much closer to the first century church than the Church of Rome. Foremost in the Celtic belief was an insistence on a literal interpretation of the Bible, with a tendency to reject the writings of the ‘Church Fathers’, and a disdain for the authority of Church Councils (Council of Elders). The Celtic theologian was keenly interested in the whole of the scriptures, but his preoccupation with the Ten Commandments was even deeper.”
“Many Celtic believers were Arians (anti-trinitarian). They kept the Sabbath, believing that the day begins at sundown. They were known to be Quartodecimans, observers of the Christian Passover, on the fourteenth day of the first month in Spring. They eschewed unclean meats.”
“The legendary Patrick (ca. 387-463) was born a Briton, and evangelized Ireland. He was said to have founded over 300 churches and baptized more than 120,000 converts, earning him the title of patron saint of Ireland. However, Christianity existed in Ireland long before his time.”
Wherever Patrick went and established a church, he left an old Celtic law book, Liber ex Lege Moisi (Book of the Law of Moses), along with the books of the Gospel. The Liber begins with the Decalogue and continues with selections from Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, totaling 35 in all.
“It is most significant that the Liber should commence with the Decalogue, which certainly points to the interest of the Celtic Christian in keeping the Ten Commandments. This passage also includes prohibitions against the forming of idols of silver or gold, and directions for making an altar of earth without steps, underlying the early stress in the Celtic Church of ‘altars of stone’”
While ‘St. Patrick’ is revered as a Roman Catholic Saint, his writings appear to place him squarely in the “Sabbath-keeping Messianic tradition”.
Hardinge indicates that the Celtic British Isles had a long history of Sabbath-keeping. Professor James Moffatt, D.D. in his 1882 book, The Church in Scotland, p.140 states: “It seems to have been customary in Celtic Churches of early times, in Ireland as well as Scotland, to keep Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, as a day of rest from labour.” They obeyed the fourth commandment, literally, upon the seventh day of the week.
A surprising conclusion has much relevance for us today. To it’s detriment, the Celtic Church was not unified. Each group seems to have been dependent upon the founder and it’s tribe, but independent of all others. No church leader among the Celts was held to be the spokesman of all. There was little unity of purpose thus they were unable to present a unified front and were absorbed into Roman Christianity piece by piece and finally disappeared.
Assimilating this information intellectually and emotionally has given me much to ponder and has imparted a strong sense of pride in my Welch-Celtic-Hebrew influenced heritage.
Don Feder, a writer for the New York Post wrote recently, “Torah came into the world to change the world and not to reconcile itself to it”. This profound truth applies to Jews and non-Jews alike. It is, however, incumbent on both groups to seek those truths which apply to each in order to fulfill a destiny which was ordained at the Creation for those of us who are either practicing Jews or are members of the Ten Lost Tribes and are joined with those faithful Jews in a literal sense who are studying, searching, and beseeching HaShem to show His Face.
Rebecca Buntyn
Works cited: Hardinge, Leslie. The Celtic Church in Britain. Teach Services, Inc.,
Brushton, NY, 1973
Moffatt, James C., D.D. The Church in Scotland. 1882
The Israelites cried out to the YHVH, and the YHVH raised a champion for the Israelites to deliver them….Judges 3:9.
Founder and president David Horowitz wrote an article in the first issue of United Israel Bulletin dated July 1944, entitled “Washington and Ezekiel’s Vision”. He opened by saying that very few Americans are aware of the fact that George Washington was a Godly man who had been inspired with visions of truth and there can be no doubt that Jehovah guided him in his actions and deeds. The article gave an account of the most important of Washington’s visions which was the one he personally related to Anthony Sherman who in turn related it to Wesley Bradshaw. Following this mysterious experience, a troubled Washington felt that he had seen a vision wherein it had been shown to him the birth, progress and destiny of the United States. It is a remarkable accounting, the majority given in Washington’s own words.
I would like to recount for you another of Washington’s inspirational thoughts and actions. Coming at a time in our struggle for independence in 1776, it was the closest the Americans ever came to disaster.
The year opened with the British evacuating Boston. Then both the American Penobscot Bay Expedition and invasion of Canada failed. General Washington’s Continental Army moved to protect New York, but was routed by superior forces that outmaneuvered them at every engagement. Only by luck and British ineptness was Washington able to keep his forces relatively intact during the long retreat through New Jersey into Pennsylvania.
Then in mid-December when the weather turned extremely cold General Howe made one of the fateful decisions of the war. He suspended military actions until spring, establishing a string of outposts on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River and retired most of his army to New York.
Things were drastically different for Washington’s forces across the river from Trenton, a village of a hundred homes, two mills and iron furnaces and most of the townspeople had fled. Some 2500 Hessians occupied the town. Hessians were mercenary German soldiers supplied to the British army in it’s fight against America. They were employed by George III who simply did not have enough soldiers in his own army to supply the needs of his commanders in America. In total nearly 30,000 German soldiers fought for the British in North America. A stronger outpost was at Brunswick, 20 miles away.
Washington had about 6,000 troups, hundreds fell ill, and all suffered from the cold. The period of enlistment would expire for more than a third of Washington’s army in January. Congress had fled from Philadelphia and two members had gone over to the enemy. It was reasonable to presume that the war was essentially over and the Americans had lost.
On December 14, Washington told key members of his staff that “a lucky blow” against the enemy would “most certainly rouse the spirits of the people, which are quite shrunk by our misfortunes.” Later he confirmed plans for an attack on Trenton to begin on Christmas night.
On Christmas Eve, Washington went over the final details. The army would cross the Delaware and attack at three places, a force of 1,500 would cross downstream and advance on Burlington, and a smaller force would attack directly across the river at Trenton. The largest force of 2,000 led by Washington would cross upstream and come back south.
The first step, crossing the river, would commence at midnight, and all forces were scheduled to arrive at Trenton and attack at six. In spite of Christmas Day weather deteriorating: wind, snow and sleet, the river was up, and filled with broken ice, the password was still: “Victory or Death.”
The crossing was made on big flat-bottomed, high-sided boats that could carry 40 men standing up. The troops, with horses and 20 cannon began moving during the afternoon. Washington crossed early and observed the slow process. Near midnight a major storm arrived and temperatures dropped. It was three in the morning before all of Washington’s contingent was across.
Downstream both forces encountered so much ice that they were forced to abort their mission. Washington’s forces were behind schedule and the storm got worse, with rain, sleet, snow and violent hail. They had six miles to get to Trenton and got there about eight. The attack began.
The Hessians rushed out of their quarters and attempted to form up. Henry Knox’s cannon scattered them and their commanding officer was killed. Being surrounded, most of the Hessians lay down their arms and surrendered. It was all over in 45 minutes. Twenty-one Hessians were killed, 90 wounded, 900 became prisioners and another 500 escaped.
Only four Americans were wounded, including Lieutenant James Monroe, the future president of the United States. No Americans were killed.
Washington had prophesied that some “lucky blow” would “rouse the spirits of the people” and it did have a stunning effect on the morale of the country.
The war for independence would continue, endlessly it would seem for some, for another six and a half years before the Treaty of Paris formally ended the war in 1783.
Practically all of us have seen one of the most-recognized paintings in history: that of Washington crossing the Delaware in an 1851 oil-on-canvas work by Emanuel Leutze, a German-American painter, commemorating the attack by George Washington’s Continental Army on Hessian forces encamped at Trenton, N. J. on Christmas Day, 1776.
Dr. Ezra Stiles the seventh president of Yale College, often spoke of America as a “modern Israel.” In referring to George Washington, Dr. Stiles made this significant statement: “Whereupon Congress put at the head of the spirited army, the only man on whom the eyes of all Israel were placed. Posterity, incredulous as they may be, will yet acknowledge that this American Joshua was raised up by God for the great work of leading the armies of this American Joseph-now separated from his brethren-and conducting these people to liberty and independence.”
Later as president, George Washington would write letters of welcome and reassurance to Jewish congregations at Charleston, Philadelphia, New York, Richmond, and Newport, Rhode Island, the latter of which has become the classical expression of religious liberty in America.
None however revealed Washington’s sense of providential guidance quite as much as the following statement taken from a letter he wrote to Congregation Mikve Israel in Savannah, Georgia in 1789.
“May the same wonder-working Deity who, long since delivering the Hebrews from their Egyptian oppressors, planted them in the promised land-whose providential agency has lately been conspicuous in establishing these United States as an independent nation-still continue to water them with the dews of Heaven and to make the inhabitants of every denomination participate in the temporal and spiritual blessing of that people whose God is Jehovah.”
Ralph Buntyn