M
mercygate
Guest
The other day when the JWs stopped by, they lumped Moses in with Enoch and Elijah as among those who had not died.
Deuteronomy 34 states baldly that Moses is buried “in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-pe’or; but no man knows the place of his burial to this day.”
Anyway, I was googling around to find out why people would think he had not died and came across this:
Where was Moses buried?
by Rabbi Yossi Marcus
Moses was buried on a mountain outside of Israel, specifically Mt. Nevo or Nebo. Where precisely? The Torah itself tells us1 that no person can know.
"Rabbi Chamah ben Chaninah said: Why was Moses’ grave hidden from the eyes of flesh and blood? Because it was known before G-d that the Holy Temple would be destroyed and the Jews would be exiled from their land. Perhaps they would then come to Moses’ gravesite and tearfully plead and say, “Moses our teacher, stand and pray on our behalf!” Moses will stand and will nullify the [harsh] decree [of exile], for Tzaddikim are greater after their passing than during their lifetimes. For we find that when the Jews were in the desert and they blunder by making the Golden Calf and G-d angrily declared to Moses that he would destroy the Jews. How many tzaddikim were there in that generation? And how many pious people? Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Eldad, Medad, the seventy elders, and all the other wise people and disciples. But G-d did not [forgive] on their behalf. He only rescinded His decree on behalf of Moses!"2
Has any of our sage membership any idea who Rabbi Chama ben (or bar) Chaninah was, where he lived and in what period?
My hair stood on end with the symbolism of the destroyed temple and this depiction of prayer to the saint(s) for intercession. If Chaninah is “old” – 1st Century more or less – this text would shed light on how the Transfiguration narrative would have been understood by Jews of the first Century.
My Rabbi is in Hawaii. Valke2??? Where are you when I need you? Who is this guy, Chaninah?
Deuteronomy 34 states baldly that Moses is buried “in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-pe’or; but no man knows the place of his burial to this day.”
Anyway, I was googling around to find out why people would think he had not died and came across this:
Where was Moses buried?
by Rabbi Yossi Marcus
Moses was buried on a mountain outside of Israel, specifically Mt. Nevo or Nebo. Where precisely? The Torah itself tells us1 that no person can know.
"Rabbi Chamah ben Chaninah said: Why was Moses’ grave hidden from the eyes of flesh and blood? Because it was known before G-d that the Holy Temple would be destroyed and the Jews would be exiled from their land. Perhaps they would then come to Moses’ gravesite and tearfully plead and say, “Moses our teacher, stand and pray on our behalf!” Moses will stand and will nullify the [harsh] decree [of exile], for Tzaddikim are greater after their passing than during their lifetimes. For we find that when the Jews were in the desert and they blunder by making the Golden Calf and G-d angrily declared to Moses that he would destroy the Jews. How many tzaddikim were there in that generation? And how many pious people? Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Eldad, Medad, the seventy elders, and all the other wise people and disciples. But G-d did not [forgive] on their behalf. He only rescinded His decree on behalf of Moses!"2
Has any of our sage membership any idea who Rabbi Chama ben (or bar) Chaninah was, where he lived and in what period?
My hair stood on end with the symbolism of the destroyed temple and this depiction of prayer to the saint(s) for intercession. If Chaninah is “old” – 1st Century more or less – this text would shed light on how the Transfiguration narrative would have been understood by Jews of the first Century.
My Rabbi is in Hawaii. Valke2??? Where are you when I need you? Who is this guy, Chaninah?
