And what about Human Mediation?
In Exodus 32 we find the children of Israel pleading with Aaron to make them “gods” to go before them. They had been waiting for Moses to come down from the Mountain of God (Sinai) for several weeks and had grown tired of waiting. Their faith in what they had experienced seeing the lightning and hearing the thunderous voice of God was now weak, and apparently they were accustomed to having a visible, tangible god that they could experience in human terms. We see the same humanistic need for a touchable, feel-able God today in many religions. The idea of a God that is beyond comprehension is outside the scope of people’s understanding, it always has been. I want to get back to this idea, but first let us examine something that most versions of the Bible have wrong to my understanding.
In verse 4, in the passage where Aaron has made the requested golden calf, we see words that the majority of Bible translations claim to say: “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”
But it was not two or more calves. It was a single golden calf, so why is it referred to in the plural? Maybe a good look at the Hebrew will help us:
וַיִּקַּ֣ח מִיָּדָ֗ם וַיָּ֤צַר אֹתוֹ֙ בַּחֶ֔רֶט וַֽיַּעֲשֵׂ֖הוּ עֵ֣גֶל מַסֵּכָ֑ה וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ אֵ֤לֶּה אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר הֶעֱל֖וּךָ מֵאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃
For those who do not read Hebrew, the highlighted words אֵ֤לֶּה אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ can be translated as singular or plural. The first word “ele” is a participle that defines the word that follows, and can mean either “these” or “this” in English. The world “Elohim” is plural and is rendered “Elohecha” in this case, which is still plural but shows possession by adding the “cha” on the end. But why would something that is clearly singular in nature (a golden calf) be called “gods” rather than “god”? This stems from the use of the word “Elohim” and a common misunderstanding of what it means. When used for the God of the Universe, it is often understood in Christianity to refer to the “Triune Godhead.” But in the case of the Golden Calf, it is clearly one object. So does this lead to the idea that the calf was really more than one calf? Or does it help us to understand that the Eternal YHVH who is also called Elohim is not several entities, but One Entity with many aspects? I won’t go into defining God here, He is beyond comprehension to our human minds. But we do know that He is everywhere, He is all knowing, No secrets can be hidden from Him. He hears, sees, speaks, loves, judges….just to specify a few aspects.
It is true that in the Bible there are times when Elohim is used to indicate human judges, leaders, or false gods. But in the case of the golden calf, it is clearly used in the singular as well as in the case of the Creator and His dealings. By the way, in Genesis 1:1 Christians claim that Elohim was all three persons creating mankind. But if you understand Hebrew and do not go to the English for understanding, you will see the following:
בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃
“In the beginning, Elohim (God) created the heavens and the earth.”
(The words “in the beginning, are also misunderstood, but that is for another time since we need to focus on the highlighted words)
In Hebrew, biblical or modern, the words that accompany the noun, in this case “Elohim” must show whether it is expressed as singular or plural and feminine or masculine. In this instance, the word that precedes Elohim is bara בָּרָ֣א: “He created” or brought forth (masculine singular).
To say that Jesus was in the beginning with God creating the universe, as is declared in John 1;1-3, does not fly when you look deeply into what is really said in the original Hebrew text of Genesis.
If we look at other verses where Elohim is used in the plural, maybe we will see that the verbs, adjectives, participles, etc. verify the plurality of these verses. Here is one example:
Psa 97:7 “Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all ye gods.” In Hebrew:
יֵבֹשׁוּ כָּל־עֹבְדֵי פֶסֶל הַמִּתְהַלְלִים בָּאֱלִילִים הִשְׁתַּחֲווּ־לוֹ כָּל־אֱלֹהִים׃
The highlighted words say “worship him all ye elohim” referring to the false gods mentioned in the verse. Note the obvious plural in the English rendition. (Above) And to help simplify the words הִשְׁתַּחֲווּ־לוֹ where (Hishtavu), the masculine plural is used in qualifying the word “elohim” which is used for the idols or false gods.
There are several more examples in the Bible where Elohim is used for angels, leaders, judges, wicked or righteous leaders, etc.
I promised in the first paragraph that we would touch on the unfathomable nature of the Divine. Really there are no words other than what the Bible itself says. When Moses asked Yehovah to reveal Himself, Elohim told him a few things about himself:
Exo 34:6-7: ” And YHVH passed by before him, and proclaimed, YHVH, YHVH, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving-kindness and truth, 7 keeping loving-kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; and that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation.”
Basically that is all that was given for a definition as far a character goes. Perhaps that is enough for humanity other than knowing all the other things that describe the activity of the Almighty as revealed in Scripture. Can it be enough? It has to be!
Let us not raise another golden calf and claim that these be our god’s that have led us or saved us from the wrath of the Eternal! Or that these are the ones who deserve to lead us because they are like us, and we can understand them, and God forbid we claim that God needed a human to help him understand what people need! No! There is no one standing beside the Eternal in Heaven telling Him what humanity needs, nor is there (like some in Judaism claim) a famous Rabbi who has an office next to God in Heaven–someone who answers emails when we need instruction!
May I ask what science people study that denies the Bibles clear instructions to not communicate with the dead? The belief in communication with the supernatural and out-of-body experiences comes from ancient pagan cults and is with us today in many religions including, sadly, some sects of Judaism.
Kabbalah goes against much of what the Bible says, it includes spiritualistic practices including communication with the dead. See the following statement from Kabbalahexperience.com:
“It has long been decided in Jewish law that talking with the dead (by oneself or through a medium) is only prohibited if you think that the dead body is in itself the conduit to the discussion. If one is communicating with the soul of the deceased, it is permissible.” But what does the Bible say?
Deu 18:10 “There shall not be found among you, he that makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, that uses divination, that uses auguries, or an enchanter, or a sorcerer, 11 or a charmer, or one that inquires of a spirit of Python, or a soothsayer, or one that consults the dead. 12 For every one that does these things is an abomination to Yehovah, and because of these abominations Yehovah thy God doth dispossess them (the nations) from before thee.”
If, as I am asserting, our Creator is all knowing and all compassionate, forgiving and just and does not allow evil into his Kingdom, then why do we need human mediation? After all, He is the one with the manufacturer’s warranty on the universe!
For an unshakable faith,
Ariella
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I have seen people prostate themselves on famous rabbi’s tombs in Tzfat. I also asked a chabad rabi why he needed to go to a grave to pray “in the merit of”. Both practices are strictly forbidden. I also know the rabbi who claims his dead mentor has an office in “heaven” and that he emails him daily.
These are the people that a vast majority of Jews follow blindly and they are the same ones who called for the building of the golden calf because they did not comprehend the simplicity of the Torah and had to make it into a nonsensical mish mash of unrelated rules and custom’s, and make themselves into the modern day “Elohim”
A great and important article. More needs to be discussed.
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Thank you Ben for the great observation!
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So, your argument begins with a false proposition: that God is unknowable. This is a pagan Greek concept that has crept into Judaism via neoplatonism, hellenized Christianity, and hellenized scholastic rabbinicism. It is contrary to Torah. Jeremiah 31:34 וְלֹ֧א יְלַמְּד֣וּ עֹ֗וד אִ֣ישׁ אֶת־רֵעֵ֜הוּ וְאִ֤ישׁ אֶת־אָחִיו֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר דְּע֖וּ אֶת־יְהוָ֑ה כִּֽי־כוּלָּם֩ יֵדְע֨וּ אוֹתִ֜י לְמִקְטַנָּ֤ם וְעַד־גְּדוֹלָם֙ נְאֻם־יְהוָ֔ה כִּ֤י אֶסְלַח֙ לַֽעֲוֹנָ֔ם וּלְחַטָּאתָ֖ם לֹ֥א אֶזְכָּר־עֹֽוד׃ ס students know nothing or little, teachers know some or much, but at the time and place of perfection, all will know all that needs to be known. At the time of Samuel, the people demanded a king, and though God stated the ideal of the lack of a king, he granted a king because one was needed. God would not have granted a king if a king were not needed, if a king were not the proper solution. Now, lately I have gained much understanding of the relationship between faith and reality, and I can tell you that your belief is what is real for you, and I’m a great many (but not all) contexts, your belief is what is real. This, I can tell you, those who affirm that God is unknowable are not going to know God. I recommend that you refrain from bowing before so-called “teachers” who have neither training, experience, nor wisdom. If you ask them what will happen to them when they die, they will tell you that they don’t know (unless they are lying, as they have said this to others).
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Also, אלה is not a participle, and it is not singular. It is a plural demonstrative pronoun. “These are your אלןהים” is a proper translation. “This is your god” would be הוא אלוהיך or זה אלוהיך or כך אלוהיך or כן אלוהיך or some other form with a singular pronoun or particle. But I doubt you will approve this comment.
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Sounds like you are clueless about who I am. Take a look at Moses. To him who wanted a view of the Eternal, he was only given a partial view. You are confusing what I am saying.
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The supposition of the participle came from a Bible definitions app. Why are you so critical?
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Learn to spell if you are going to be critical אלוהים Not אלןהים
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Tonight begins Hanukkah.
The Total Darkness which Hanukkah Represents.
“Bringing more light to the world”, totally misses the point. Hanukkah remembers the P’rushim Tzeddukim Civil War. Jews today have forgotten the meaning and purpose of t’shuva. The Tzeddukim רשעים sought to “convert” Jerusalem into a Greek polis/city state. Assimilated Jews, both Tzeddukim and the Reshonim rabbis of Spain – rejected the revelation of the Oral Torah at Horev. Which the kabbalah of rabbi Akiva’s פרדס defines through its unique 4 part inductive reasoning logical thought process. This system of logic specifically compares Judicial Case rulings to other similiar but different Judicial Case rulings.
The Tzeddukim, sons of Aaron, had totally assimilated, no different from the rabbis of Spain during the early years of the Middle Ages when Muslim armies conquered Spain and discovered the concealed ancient Greek philosophies and mathematics which the church concealed after Constantine became emperor; hence the period known as the “Dark Ages”. Deductive syllogism logic relies upon plane geometry which limits reality to a fixed 3 dimensional world. Much like the scientific method popular among science today limits reality to empirical evidence.
The fundamental difference between the victory of the P’rushim in Judea over the assimilated T’zeddukim, to the inverse victory of assimilated rabbis in Spain, specifically the Rambam Civil War, these assimilated and intermarried Spanish rabbis, they totally embraced Greek philosophy just like as did the Tzeddukim some 1000 years earlier. Specifically the 3 part syllogism logic of deductive reasoning, which assimilated and intermarried Jews of Spain abandoned and forgot the Oral Torah.
How did these assimilated and intermarried Reshonim rabbis of Spain forget and abandon the Torah? They failed to learn inductive פרדס logic whose inductive reasoning closely resembles the dynamics of Calculus variables. Greek syllogism logic more approaches a fixed static reasoning. Something like the engineering of constructing a bridge to span a river. They perverted both T’NaCH & Talmudic judicial courtroom law into cult of personality “Legislative” statute law. Law established through courts completely different from Law established by Legislative decrees. No different from Greek and Roman statute law. This foreign alien legal system organized law into neat classifications, like as did the Rambam’s Yad Chazakah perversion of Talmudic halachot. Rather than upon Judicial Mishnaic Case/Rule courtroom rulings.
How did this radically change both T’NaCH and Talmud? Notice that the statute law halachic codifications made by the Rambam, Tur, Beit Yosef/Shulkan Aruch – they cannot and do not assist a Talmudic scholar to learn a page of Gemara. Why? The Rambam failed to attach his halachic rulings affixed to a specific Mishna like as did the B’HaG, Rif, Rosh and Baali Tosafot common law halachic codes/commentaries.
Hence by organizing Gemara halacha divorced from their most essential root Mishna – which the Gemara comments solely upon, the Rambams posok halacha – although straight from the pages of the Talmud – had no meaning as it related to a required specific root Mishna. The B’HaG, Rif and Rosh common law codifications almost ALWAYS open with the fundamentally required root Mishna upon which the Gemara halachot comment upon.
In the Talmud those halachot serve their designated essential purpose as common law judicial precedents. The Gemara interprets or re-interpret the intent/כוונה language of the root Mishna, viewed from the fixed witness perspective that these Gemarah Halachic precedents “see or view” the root Mishna, based upon a limited and defined perspective. Much like the Front, Top, Side views of a blue-print that permits a קבלן to construct a building.
Whereas the victorious P’rushim of Judea lit the lights of Chanukkah with the dedication to only interpret the intent of the Written Torah Constitution, and Sanhedrin Court common law justice system, limited only to פרדס inductive logic; the assimilated rabbis of Spain “forgot the Oral Torah” just like the blessing of Hanukkah in the midst of ברכת המזון depicts the Tzeddukim רשעים.
Jews today for the most part do not have the least bit of a clue what distinguishes פרדס logic from Greek syllogism logic. The do not grasp the essential facts that just as a loom as its warp and weft threads, so too the Talmud has its halachic and aggadic “threads”. Jews today have forgotten the Torah and therefore blown out the Hanukkah lights. Just as likewise did the assimilated and intermarried Reshonim rabbis of Spain. This dark reality exposed the lights of Hannukah which repudiated the assimilated and intermarried Tzeddukim and later Karaim g’lut Jewry.
The Rambam code caused a ירידות הדורות domino effect which permitted the Karaite rabbis to prevail over traditional common law judicial Judaism. The Karaites like their assimilated and intermarried Tzeddukim traitor fore fathers rejected the revelation of the Oral Torah on Yom Kippur at Horev 40 days after the sin of the Golden Calf. Blowing out the lights of Hanukkah worships the Golden Calf preferred religious belief systems over righteous Courtroom justice which strives to make fair compensation of damages inflicted. Hence Hanukkah today depict a reality of total darkness rather than light.
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