Questions about the Jews

[stillsmallvoice]

Hi Catholic Dude!

I’m here at the office, I’m working on mug-of-Turkish-coffee #2 & where were we…

You posted:

2)Song of Solomon-I dont understand this book at all. So what is it saying?

This ou.org/chagim/pesach/shir.htm is a very good rundown on the Song of Songs (as we call it) from an orthodox Jewish point-of-view. We read it in synagogue during morning prayers on the Sabbath that occurs during the intermediate days of Passover (since Passover has no intermediate day Sabbath this year, we’ll read on the last day of Passover, which is a full holyday, which occurs on the Sabbath this year).

While I was born a Jew, I wasn’t always religiously observant, i.e. orthodox; God wasn’t a part of my life, He wasn’t on my agenda. That came about as the result of a very sudden & specific decision on my part in late December 1985. Previously, I had worked at my summer job (bartending) in Ocean City, Md. until the restaurant closed for the winter at the end of October 1985 (I graduated from GWU in DC with a BA in May 1985). There is nothing more therapeutically head-clearing than being in a bustling seaside resort after Labor Day, when things start winding down. I am convinced that that period helped clear my head (and my soul) & lay the sub-conscious groundwork for my bolt-out-of-the-blue December 1985 decision. I cite Song of Songs 5:2 in this regard: “I was asleep but my heart was awake.” This is one of the deepest lines in the whole of scripture! Song of Songs 2:7, 3:5 and 8:4 tells us, “Do not awaken, or stir up, love, until it pleases.” One cannot will intimacy with God. It can’t be rushed; it has to come on its own. With me, it didn’t come until I was almost 23.

3)How did the Jew end up in Egypt as slaves in the first place, werent they welcome at first by Joseph?

See Exodus 1:6-11. The key phrase is the new Pharoah’s remark, “Come, let us deal wisely with them…” See ou.org/chagim/pesach/shmot.htm & aish.com/passinsight/passinsightdefault/Hard_Labour.asp.

4)Why did Elijah get take up to Heaven? Did he go to Heaven?

Well, I heard once that God got a little miffed at Elijah for having sunken to such depths of despair that he told God (twice!), that, “for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, thrown down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword; and I, even only I, am left…” (I Kings 19:10 & 19:14). Had Elijah forgotten, “the 7,000 in [the northern kingdom of] Israel, all the knees which have not bowed to Baal…” (I Kings 19:18)? Elijah apparently believed that Ahab & Jezebel would succeed in rooting out the faith in the One God in the northern kingdom. Since he had apparently given up on fighting Ahab & Jezebel, God dismissed him & told him to pass the mantle onto another (Elisha) who would carry on the fight. We believe that Elijah is present at every circumcision & in every home on the first night of Passover; thus God is showing him that he was wrong, that Ahab & Jezebel failed miserably, that belief in the One God lives on & is strong; maybe God took Elijah alive into the next world so that he might be able to do these things.

One of the things that always bothered me was that Moses was not allowed to go into the Promise Land,

Our Sages have discussed this one ad infinitum. The most interesting explanation I heard (from one of my rabbis here in Jerusalem) on why Moses & Aaron were barred from entering the Land of Israel focuses on Numbers 20:10.

And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said unto them: ‘Hear now, you rebels; are we to bring you forth water out of this rock?’

We? My rabbi said that God got miffed at Moses & Aaron for tooting their own horns here & not saying, “Shall God bring you forth water out of this rock?” Moses & Aaron were on a spiritual level that such as we can’t even begin to imagine; thus, they should have known better. It is a principle of Judaism that the higher one rises spiritually, the higher the standards that God holds one to. (Our Sages say, “The righteous are judged by a hair’s breadth.”)

(cont.)

 

[stillsmallvoice]

(cont.)

About that “eye for an eye” saying. You said it is not supposed to be taken literally? It seems like a fair rule to me. How else is the criminal supposed to be punished? You cant pay someone $1000 dollars and expect the hurt person to be ok with it. What if the person cant compensate the victim?

As Tevye said in Fiddler on the Roof, if we took that verse literally, “The whole world would be blind and toothless.” The court would assess the damages (simple torts) and levy them on the offender. If he couldn’t pay, then the court would sell him as an indentured servant & make him work until he had paid off his debt.

Howzat?

Be well!

ssv

 

[Catholic_Dude]

As Tevye said in Fiddler on the Roof, if we took that verse literally, “The whole world would be blind and toothless.”

I get it! I should see the movie, I hear its a classic.

Well I thought of some more questions:

1)I was thinking about how no one has ever seen God. Why would a person be allowed to hear Him. Or are they hearing Him? I know that Moses and Samuel are two examples of “hearing” God, but it why couldnt an angel or something talk to them? Are they really hearing a voice or is it a vision or something.

2)This is part of question #1, When Moses was writing the Pentateuch was God talking to him directly or was He guiding his hand?

3)I was thinking of Ahab I thought about how kind of the same situation happened with a woman Samson was with. He just seems like another hero who got his name tarnished when he could be remembered for great things, I dont know what to think.
One thing I noticed was in verse 22 it says his hair started to grow back. What good is that? At the end he just asked God to give him one more bit of strength so what good is the hair growing back?

1. I saw this riddle and am having a hard time with it:
   Question,
   “Out of the eater came something to eat,
   Out of the strong came something sweet”
   Answer,
   “What is sweeter than honey,
   What is stronger than a Lion”

I know the story of the dead lion Samson killed, with bees and honey in its body, but how does the answer say this?

5)Do the Jews keep track of places like Ramath-lehi (The hill of the Jawbone). There are so many places that are named after great events like this do they keep track of these places? Is there an online map or anything?

6)Who wrote the book of Judges? I looked in JewishEncyclopedia and NewAdvent, and I got confused. It seems like it was a work that was added to at different times and that it doesnt really flow in literary style and that stories like Samson are historical but with mythical attributes. When I was very young I believed all these stories as fact, but as I have gotten older I see that many of them are embellished with what the “experts” call myth and the sort.
I have a hard time looking at stories like Samson and getting anything from them when I hear that it is not real, what good is the story, there was a bad ending? What good is it if the hero drops the ball, what do you learn? Not to open old wounds, but its like the Steelers, they are in the drivers seat in control, but in the end its like the season meant nothing.

 

[reen12]

Dear stillsmallvoice,

I’ve read not quite half of this thread, and I feel
sick and shaken by some of the things that
have been said.
I grew up in a Jewish and Catholic neighborhood
in upstate NY. More concerned, kind, dear
neighbors could not be found anywhere.
As a youth, I often thought to myself that
my Jewish neighbors loved G-d mightily,
and I loved them for that.
I still feel shaken by some of what I’ve read in
this thread.
Please, please, stillsmallvoice, pray to G-d
for your fellow human beings and keep on
praying, will you? We need your prayers.
Thank you for your gracious temperment, your
scholarship and for being here on the forums.
reen12
One of our neighbors, an elderly gentleman,
walked to temple every morning to worship G-d.
[and it was a long walk.]
You cannot imagine how that touched the heart
of the 14 year old who observed this.

 

[Tallow]

quote=stillsmallvoice

When the Messiah comes & active prophecy is reestablished, there will presumably be some way of figuring out who’s who for certain (it has to be certain; even “pretty close” is not good enough).

(cont.)
[/quote]

Stillsmallvoice, this dialog you’re having with CatholicDude is terrifically interesting and informative. Thanks to both of you!! And thanks, too, for the civil, friendly tone.

In my bachelor years my landlady was an elderly Jewish lady who had been brought up an Orthodox Jew but then slipped into Reform Judaism (alas). She invited me to attend services with her one Friday, and I went, very curious. It was partly in Hebrew, partly English, so I could follow along pretty easily. At several junctures I was amazed at the virtually word-for-word parallel with sections of our Mass, and I’ve been pondering that ever since.

My first question: part of the prayer life of many lay Catholics these days is the Liturgy of the Hours, which you probably know, involves the daily recitation or chanting of the psalms. This is an ancient practice: it almost surely existed in the time of the apostles. It has always seemed to me that it must have been one of the liturgical practices in the Temple. Yet I don’t find any references to that anywhere. Can you help?

Question 2: From the quote above, I gather that the Aaronic priesthood can’t be re-established right now, given the state of knowledge of the priestly bloodlines. When do you expect that knowledge to be regained? At the coming of the Messiah? Do you expect that the Temple will be rebuilt independently of the Messiah, or would all of these things be parts of the same overall event?

 

[romano]

[snip]
. . . . the execution itself was completely valid.

Really? I think that if you read any good treatment of the life of Christ - such as Daniel-Rops ‘Jesus and His Times’ or Romano Guardini’s ‘The Lord’ - you will find that the entire proceedings were ILLEGAL and violated Jewish law in every way. The Mishna states that “all proceedings in which the life of a man is at stake must take place in the full light of day” (Rops, p.490).

Even Mel Gibson emphasized this when he showed members of the council who were strongly objecting to the travesty that the proceedings had become being rudely thrown out of the assembly. One wonders if Gamaliel, their wisest rabbi, was among these.

As for Caiaphas’ accusation of blasphemy, Rops tells us that:

“The law as to what constituted blasphemy was very precise and the Talmud gives very lengthy particulars. . . . It was not blasphemy for a man to state that he was the Messiah. . . . The accusation of blasphemy was in fact groundless” (p.493).

Guardini elaborates:

“Law and order have vanished. Violence and treachery remain. The claim to be the Messiah is simply accepted as proven blasphemy. No attempt is made to test the possible truth of the claim - neither legally, with questions as to how Jesus substantiates his statement, nor religiously, through examination by the wisest and most pious priests” (Guardini, p.389).

You should also note that, by the time Jesus is brought before Pontius Pilate, the “accusals have changed on the way. Blasphemy is no longer mentioned. Instead they [falsely] charge Jesus with the offence which must appear gravest in the eyes of the occupation, sedition [by asserting:] We have found that he incites the people to revolt, encourages them to withold tax money from Caesar, etc.” (Guardini, p.390).

My own feeling is that any Christian who attempts to justify the crucifixion allies himself with Caiaphas. Such folks would do well to ponder what the Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich saw:

"I saw yawning below Caiaphas the whole abyss of Hell, a lurid, fiery sphere full of horrible shapes. I saw Caiaphas standing above it, separated from it by only a thin crust. . . . (‘The Life of Jesus Christ,’ Vol.4, pp.152-53).

 

[Ghosty]

Christ’s blasphemy was not in calling himself the Messiah, it was in calling himself Yahweh. Even in the movie The Passion of the Christ this is portrayed. Read John 8:58.

Now I’m not arguing that the proceedings were legal. Even Jewish records, not the least of which being the Talmud, state that the time in question was a period of very serious irregularities and “hatred without cause”. The fact is that Jesus claimed to be God, and in the eyes of those who believed that He wasn’t God, He was commiting an unpardonable offense.

“Messiahs” come and go in the Jewish religion; there is even a man that some few in the Chasidic community considered a Messianic candidate just recently (Schneerson, I believe his name was). Less then a century after the death of Jesus was the “Bar Kochba” uprising against Rome under a man many believed to be the Messiah. No, Jesus was put on trial for claiming to be God.

The reason that his claims to be the Messiah were so important in getting him executed by the Romans is because the Messiah was supposed to overthrow their reign and establish a new kingdom. That made him seditious, and punishable under Roman law. The Sanhedrin couldn’t exactly go to the Romans and say, “put him to death, he claims to be our God.” They would have laughed, and possibly beaten them for their troubles.

Incidently, I’m not claiming that Jesus was guilty; I believe Jesus was indeed God. I’m simply pointing out that what happened to him wasn’t exactly an overreaction for Jews who didn’t believe His claims. The system was most definately abused, and I don’t think anyone will deny that, but the actual charge of blasphemy can stand on its own when taken in context.

 

[romano]

[snip}Christ’s blasphemy was not in calling himself the Messiah, it was in calling himself Yahweh. . . . Read John 8:58.

. . . . the actual charge of blasphemy can stand on its own when taken in context.

John 8.58 reads: “. . . . before Abraham was made, I am.”

Neither these words, nor anything like them, occur during the trial. What Jesus is asked, in Matthew, Mark, and Luke is: “Are you the Christ” ( i.e. the Messiah). This is the context. To jump from this to the notion that Jesus answered “I am Yahweh” seems a little more than strange to me.

Anyway, your earlier point was that “the execution itself was completely valid,” and I think I’ve shown that notion to be completely false.
[/quote]

 

[romano]

[snip]
. . . .The reason that his claims to be the Messiah were so important in getting him executed by the Romans is because the Messiah was supposed to overthrow their reign and establish a new kingdom. That made him seditious, and punishable under Roman law.

“Seditious and punishable under Roman law”? Really? Then why did Pontius Pilate, who presumably knew more about Roman law than you do, refuse to find him guilty?

“I find no crime in this man” - Luke 23.4

You seem to be confusing Christ with Barabbas. It was Barabbas who was the true insurrectionist; the Romans were well aware of this and had him safely under lock and key. They were hardly so foolish as to let someone who aimed “to overthrow their reign” run loose.

 

[SPOKENWORD]

quote=stillsmallvoice

Mark Twain wrote about us in Concerning the Jews:

Be well & ask any follow-up questions that you’d like!

ssv
[/quote]

Hi Still,How are Jews forgiven of their sins without the blood? There cannot be any sacrafice without the sheeding of blood,We as christians believe Jesus is the lamb that was slain and that He died for our sins. God Bless

 

[Ghosty]

romano: No, it’s not recorded that He said it at the trial, but He did say it at the Temple, and when He did the crowd picked up stones to kill him. The same event happens in John 10: 30-33. My reference to The Passion is simply to point out that these things are condensed into one place there, showing a real reason for his crucifixion. Even at the trial it was Jesus claiming that He would sit at the “right hand of power” that caused Caiphas to tear his robes and declare him worthy of death. It’s clear that His crime was in professing equality with God.

As for why Pilate initially refuses to execute Jesus, it’s simply because there was no proof of His claims.

 

[stillsmallvoice]

Hi all!

Hmm…lessee here…

Catholic Dude, you posted:

1)I was thinking about how no one has ever seen God. Why would a person be allowed to hear Him. Or are they hearing Him? I know that Moses and Samuel are two examples of “hearing” God, but it why couldnt an angel or something talk to them? Are they really hearing a voice or is it a vision or something.

Well, Exodus 19:19, does say that, “Moses spoke and God answered him by a voice.” Regarding Samuel, it’s interesting (I think) that he heard God calling to him but Eli did not (but Eli was on the ball enough to realize what was happening).

Digression #1: Eli is one, rather unsung, Biblical character who fascinates me. His whole life/career is fascinating, from his meeting with Hannah, to his dressing down by the “man of God” (whom our Sages say was Elkanah), to his rather unpleasant end. But the episode that really touches me is in I Samuel 3.

And Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the child. Therefore Eli said unto Samuel: “Go, lie down; and it shall be, if you are called, that you shall say: ‘Speak, Lord; for Your servant hears.’”

As the text tells us, Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the child and not himself and he wasn’t jealous,* envious or resentful*. We learn more a few verses later on. The child Samuel, not surprisingly, is afraid to tell Eli about God’s prophecy of doom on him and his house, but Eli is persistent & after hearing Samuel’s report, says:

“It is the Lord; let Him do what seems good to Him.”

What mature faith! Not only does Eli calmly accept God’s judgement but he understands that the torch is being passed (as it were) to someone greater than himself and he is not jealous, envious or resentful. What a lesson there is here!

2)This is part of question #1, When Moses was writing the Pentateuch was God talking to him directly or was He guiding his hand?

We believe that God dictated & Moses wrote.

3)I was thinking of Ahab I thought about how kind of the same situation happened with a woman Samson was with. He just seems like another hero who got his name tarnished when he could be remembered for great things, I dont know what to think.
One thing I noticed was in verse 22 it says his hair started to grow back. What good is that? At the end he just asked God to give him one more bit of strength so what good is the hair growing back?

Samson is another character who fascinates me. People who see the Bible as an adult version of a first grade reader, i.e. with everything very simply/simplistically laid out & spelled out, no depth, no use of simile, metaphor & allegory, no layers of meaning, and with shallow, uncomplex, made-out-of-cardboard characters who never have mixed motives, will break their teeth on Samson (on Lot too). Samson (like Lot) fascinates me precisely because he is complex, tragic and because he can teach us a great deal.

I think that there are more negative things to learn from Samson than positive things. On the one hand, he took the fight to our enemies. On the other hand, he: a) Ordered his parents around - Judges 14:2-3, b) Married non-Jewish women and c) consorted with prostitutes. I think that Judges 16:20 (“But he knew not that the Lord was departed from him”) is one of the greatest lines in all of scripture. How could someone be so stuck on themselves as to not know such a momentous thing?

Our Sages say that since Samson erred with his eyes (he had wandering-eyeball-disease and looked at women he shouldn’t have), God punished him measure-for-measure by having the Philistines gouge them out. Even at the very end, Samson thought of himself (“Oh Lord God, remember me, I pray You, and strengthen me, I pray You, only this once, Oh God, that I may be this once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.”). Here, the Philistines are blaspheming God by claiming that Dagon has saved them and Samson is concerned with avenging his honor instead of God’s. Our Sages say that God granted Samson’s prayer & allowed him to bring the house down (so to speak) to stop this disgraceful blasphemy, not out of any special merit that Samson had.

Samson’s hair began to grow back as a sign of God’s acknowledgement that he had repented.

(cont.)

 

[stillsmallvoice]

(cont.)

Judges 16:31 tells how Samson’s brothers retrieved his body & buried him, “between Zorah and Eshtaol in the burying place of Manoah his father.” Well, on Israel’s Independence Day in May 2003, we were invited to a barbeque out in the forested hills west of Jerusalem, right between Zorah (modern & ancient) and Eshtaol (modern and ancient). The barbeques was great but what was really cool was that we were right next to the very simple & modest tombs of Samson & his father Manoah. They were on top of a hill right in the middle of the forest (which was a good 15-minute drive on dirt roads, off the nearest paved road) & I just had to climb up & have a look. The side-by-side rectangular tombs were about shoulder-height & had rounded-off skyblue upraised masonry on top. Yohanan (then 6.5) was very excited that this was Samson’s tomb (he went to a religious kindergarten & learns the Tanakh regularly) & so was I! As per Jewish custom, we placed small pebbles on the tombs (it’s like we’re helping to bury them), paid our respects & were on our way. I was impressed! (This is one of the things that I love about living here in Israel (as I have for 16.5 years). The Bible is not just a book, it’s a travel guide! It’s all around you! absolutely love exploring the country, Bible in hand. It really makes the Bible come alive.) See photos of Samson’s tomb at thirdtemple.com/Shimshon/gallery.htm.)

The Philistines, in Judges 14:18, were answering Samson’s riddle with a riddle of their own; the latter then used another riddle to accuse them of cheating.

5)Do the Jews keep track of places like Ramath-lehi (The hill of the Jawbone). There are so many places that are named after great events like this do they keep track of these places? Is there an online map or anything?

We certainly try to. ohr.edu/yhiy.php/israel_and_jerusalem/love_of_the_land/ is a pretty good site. So is gemsinisrael.com/biblical.html.

We believe that Samuel wrote the Book of Judges.

Reen12 & Tallow, thank you for your kind words!

Tallow, you asked about the reciting of Psalms in the Temple. Yes, that was the practice. They were sung by the Levitical choir. See jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=574&letter=P&search=psalms#2157.

You also asked:

From the quote above, I gather that the Aaronic priesthood can’t be re-established right now, given the state of knowledge of the priestly bloodlines. When do you expect that knowledge to be regained? At the coming of the Messiah? Do you expect that the Temple will be rebuilt independently of the Messiah, or would all of these things be parts of the same overall event?

I think that everything will be part of one overall chain-of-events. Maimonedes seems to state pretty clearly that the Messiah will build the Temple. There are more than a few halakhic (having to do with Jewish law) issues that must be resolved first. The problem is that no rabbinical body today is competent to rule on them. Presumably, the Messiah will also re-establish the Sanhedrin, which is comptent to rule on these issues.

(cont.)

 

[stillsmallvoice]

Spokenword, you asked:

How are Jews forgiven of their sins without the blood?

Judaism distinguishes between two types of sin: Those between men and God and those between men & their fellow men. If a person sins against God, he/she must acknowledge what they’ve done (present), sincerely regret what they’ve done (past) & not to do it again when presented with the opportunity to do so (future). Sins against one’s fellow men are also sins against God (of course!) but before we can obtain, or even request, God’s forgiveness for these sins, we must first apologize to & obtain the the forgiveness of the person we have wronged (or at least make an honest effort to do so). It is not for me, or for any of us, to presume to “forgive” those who perpetrated the wicked acts of terrorism on 9/11 in New York, Arlington & Pennsylvania. The perpetrtators (as well as those who knowingly aided and abetted them and planned their heinous acts) can only obtain forgiveness from their victims. Ah, but their victims are dead? Hmm, then it appears that the perpetrators and their accomplices, bosses & cohorts have a serious problem; there is no forgiveness for them in this world. (This should be a cause for sadness and grief, that any persons created in the Image of God should have sunk so low as to commit such crimes. Perhaps this is why Proverbs warns us against rejoicing when our enemy stumbles, such an occasion should be the cause for sadness, not rejoicing.)

Reconciliation between individuals should be done privately. Judaism believes that shaming, or even embarrassing, one’s fellow in public, is a terrible sin.

We learn from Numbers 6:7 (“When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to commit a trespass against the Lord, and that soul be guilty; then they shall confess their sin which they have done…”) that the confession of one’s sins must be verbal. However, while such confession may be in the presence of others (whether in public prayer in synagogue or in the Temple), it is to God & to God alone. When a penitent brought this or that offering in the Temple (and as we will do when the Temple will be rebuilt as we believe it will be, hopefully soon!), while the priest officiated over the offering & witnessed the ceremony, the penitent’s confession was not to him but to God.

Please let me clarify something. The order of Temple offerings was merely one part of the process whereby a Jew could repent of his/her sins; by itself, isolated, bringing an offering was insufficient. Since the order of offerings is, to our sorrow :crying: , temporarily suspended, we must rely, for the time being, on the other steps of the process.

What are the other steps of the process? Hosea 14:2-3 (read in synagogue on the Sabbath between Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur) says:

Return, O Israel, unto the Lord your God; for you have stumbled in your iniquity. Take with you words, and return unto the Lord; say unto Him: 'Forgive all iniquity, and accept that which is good; so will we render for bullocks the offering of our lips.

While reconciliation between man and God, and between us & our fellow men is appropriate & necessary always, at all times, every day, we believe that certain times of the year are especially appropriate/favorable/propitious. The Hebrew month of Elul jewfaq.org/elul.htm is the last month of the year & immediately precedes Rosh Hashanah (our 2-day New Year; jewfaq.org/holiday2.htm), the “Days of Awe” (jewfaq.org/holiday3.htm) and Yom Kippur (jewfaq.org/holiday4.htm). This 40-day period (from the first day of Elul until, and including, Yom Kippur) is considered the most appropriate/favorable/propitious time for reconciliation man and God, and between us & our fellow men. We believe that it was on this 40-day period that Moses was up on Mt. Sinai after the Golden Calf debacle, pleading with God to forgive us (see Exodus 34:28).

Howzat?

Be well!

ssv

 

[romano]

Ghosty:

romano: No, it’s not recorded that He said it at the trial, but He did say it at the Temple, and when He did the crowd picked up stones to kill him. The same event happens in John 10: 30-33. My reference to The Passion is simply to point out that these things are condensed into one place there, showing a real reason for his crucifixion. Even at the trial it was Jesus claiming that He would sit at the “right hand of power” that caused Caiphas to tear his robes and declare him worthy of death. It’s clear that His crime was in professing equality with God.

As for why Pilate initially refuses to execute Jesus, it’s simply because there was no proof of His claims.

"His crime" ? Jesus? A criminal?

I’m not sure that many true Christians would wish to align themselves with Caiaphas against Christ. But if that is what you’ve decided to do, I guess nothing is going to stop you.

Bye.

 

[stillsmallvoice]

Hi all!

Digression #2:

This coming Saturday, we (Jews all over the world) will read I Kings 18:1-39, which describes Elijah’s showdown with the priests of Baal, in synagogue as the weekly reading from the Prophets that accompanies the weekly Torah portion (see jewfaq.org/readings.htm) of Exodus 30:11-34:35. Hidden in the account of this dramatic encounter is a marvelous message of hope. 18:30-32 tells us how Elijah took great care and that he, “repaired the altar of the Lord that was in ruins.” The original Hebrew word, that is usually mistranslated as “he repared”, is vayirapeh, which literally means “he healed”. The use of this verb here is very unusual; this verb is usually used in reference to people only (the Hebrew words for “doctor”, “medicine”, “medical” etc. are all cognates of the same r-p/f-h root). Our Sages, who teach that nothing in the text of the scriptures is either incidental or coincidental, offer a wonderful commentary here. Just as an altar that has been been thrown down and is in ruins can be healed and restored to God’s service, so too can a person who is in a state of spiritual ruin be healed and restored to God’s service. Elijah took 12 stones, one for each tribe of Israel, even those tribes which were sunk in Baal worship and the gross immorality that went along with it, and used them to heal/rebuild the altar of God, to show that the people in the tribes, just like the stones, could be healed/spiritually rebuilt and restored to the service of God.

What is the medicine for the ailing soul? God!

Be well!

ssv

 

[reen12]

Dear stillsmallvoice,

Had a great big grin over:

“Elijah’s showdown with the priests of Baal”

Showdown ! That’s exactly what it was.
Thanks for brightening my day,
reen12

 

[Ghosty]

romano: I’m a dedicated, orthodox Catholic who passed over Orthodox Judaism to come into the Church. How about you give me the benefit of the doubt that I wouldn’t profane God in such a manner. Some charity on your part is in order. “True Christians” indeed.

Explaining is not excusing, and saying “His crime” in the context of a trial is not saying He’s a criminal.

 

[Catholic_Dude]

Here is something I remembered that I always had questions about. Its two parts.

1)When prophets like Isaiah were prophesizing, how was everybody supposed to hear what he said? He is one person, so how did God make sure everybody heard him.

2)Were the Jews able to read what Isaiah wrote at the time of the prophecy or was it oral warning at first?

3)Out of all the unnamed prophets how did people know who to believe and when?

Good Photos,
More stuff:

1)What is that box on Samson’s tomb with tin cans in it?

2)Is his wife in the other tomb?

3)There is a picture of a bunch of people at the wailing wall, but only the first two rows are dressed in white. Why?

4)There was a picture of some Jews celebrating with guitars and keyboards, is this Orthodox? What kinds of Instruments do you worship with? In the Bible there is the harp, lyre, tamborene, flute, trumpets, etc, do the Jews still use these?

 

[romano]

[snip]
romano: I’m a dedicated, orthodox Catholic who passed over Orthodox Judaism to come into the Church. . . .
Explaining is not excusing, and saying “His crime” in the context of a trial is not saying He’s a criminal.

'Explaining"? I see. Well then, maybe you can also “explain” away these:

**. . . . he hath done no iniquity, neither was there deceit in his mouth ** - Isaias 53.9

You stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears. . . . Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted ? And they have slain them who foretold of the coming of the Just One; of whom you have been now the betrayers and MURDERERS - Acts 7.51-52

It seems to me that there’s a bit too much “explaining” going on in the modern world. I prefer to look at the truth.