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Parasha Noah–Strange things Unexplained

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Why the Curse on Canaan

By Ariella Casey

Somewhere around 4000 years ago, just before the flood, if we take the timeline of the Bible to be accurate, YHVH declared that the earth was unredeemable and began the quest to find any righteous who might be living. If he had not found Noah, we who inhabit the earth today may have never seen the light of modern day. For some of us, it isn’t so hard to imagine the extent of wickedness to which the world had fallen at that time for we see our world today in a similar condition, excusing every type of sin imaginable; rape of little children, murder, thievery, almost every sexual aberration imaginable and other things not even mentionable. And what is worse, the authorities are hesitant to punish this evil. Children are taken from parents who refuse them a sex change. 

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But Noah found favor with the Creator being the only righteous person He could find upon the earth. But what of that world that we know so little about other than the giant craters and jutting mountains that stand as a witness to the Bible’s story? Is it all just a myth as many like to claim, basing their beliefs on “scientific” discoveries that predate the creation of our world to millions of years ago? And rather a massive celestial explosion, “a big bang” if you will, as its Designer rather than a loving God who carefully planned each and every creature with the idea of a harmonious universe?

As we look at the pre-flood story, a lot of questions come to mind. Chapters 4 and 5 of Genesis (Bereshit) are especially intriguing. After Cain slew Abel it seems that Adam did not recognize him as his son for it was only upon the birth of Seth 130 years later that he claimed a son in his likeness (image). 

“And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:” (Gen 5:3 KJV)

What happened to create such anger in Cain that he slew Abel? Why so close to the time of Gan Eden, did we find this overpowering urge to sin? I know about what the Catholics teach about Original Sin. But there is a verse in this story that shows clearly that people are not forced to obey a so-called “fallen nature:”

“But on Cain and his offering he (Elohim) did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. Then YHVH said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”” (Gen 4:5-7 NIV)

Very early on we see that sin can create an urge to act out, but as the Creator pointed out to Cain, “you must rule over it.” Humans are not subject to sin, it presents itself, but it must be resisted. Cain followed his inclination and that began a process of evil that continued right up until the time of the flood. His lineage was not noted for good morals. This is why Adam was relieved when he begat Seth who was in his image. After taking of the fruit in the Garden, Adam himself was not recorded as having sinned in any other way. Chapters 4 and 5 are about the two lineages from Adam. The one through Cain which was markedly evil and the one through Seth that showed very little evil. It is almost as if the power of good was manifest through this royal lineage–the lineage of Seth that continued up until Noah. At the time of the flood Noah was the only one of this lineage still alive. His father Lamech had died and Methuselah, his grandfather died the year of the flood. An outstanding example from this lineage is Enoch, who walked with Elohim after the birth of his son, Methuselah. 

“When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.” (Gen 5:21-24 NIV)

We do not see men who walked with God among Cain’s descendants. Why? It is often taught by religious groups that people from all levels of sin can repent and change. We can take what is said about sin extending to the 3rd and 4th generation (see following verse) and assume that this lineage never ever corrected their ways, repeatedly sinning and thus extending and amplifying the urge to sin on down the line.  

“Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them, for I YHVH thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation of them that hate me,” (Exo 20:5 ASV)

But why the striking contrast in the two lineages? It seems that the righteous lineage from Seth actually carried some kind of extra inherent blessing as two of this line were mentioned as walking with Elohim. (Enoch and Noah). 

But what happened in chapter 6? 

The sons of Elohim took the daughters of man and procreated with them because they were fair to look upon. 

Who were the sons of Elohim? Many say the angels were seduced by these women and thus the mighty giants were formed and thus God had to put an end to the world as it was then. But, I have a lot of problems with that assumption. I thought Angels only serve the Eternal, that they are without free will. How would they be tempted? They were not subject to the knowledge of good and evil as the descendants of Adam were after the choice our first parents made at the tree. Also, an angel does not have human flesh so how could he/she create children. These are eternal beings that serve before the Throne of the Most High continually. They are not of the same DNA. How does one mate with an angel if they are not made of flesh and blood? 

We must remember that there is nothing in Tanakh that says that Angels ever sinned. 

“The Hebrew Bible reports that angels appeared to each of the Patriarchs, to Moses, Joshua, and numerous other figures. They appear to Hagar in Genesis 16:9, to Lot in Genesis 19:1, and to Abraham in Genesis 22:11, they ascend and descend Jacob’s Ladder in Genesis 28:12 and appear to Jacob again in Genesis 31:11–13. God promises to send one to Moses in Exodus 33:2, and sends one to stand in the way of Balaam in Numbers 22:31. Isaiah speaks of מַלְאַךְ פָּנָיו “the Angel of the Presence” (“In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them: in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bore them, and carried them all the days of old”) (Isaiah 63:9). The Book of Psalms says “For He Will give His Angels Charge over you, to keep you in all your ways” (Psalms 91:11).” Wikipedia, see link here. 

Not only that, if angels were susceptible to temptation with humans and could be distracted from their appointed missions, how could humans trust that God was dealing rightly with them? What if they changed the words of the message that they were sent to bear? Wouldn’t they be wiped out by the great YHVH? 

So who were the “sons of God” mentioned in chapter 6 if not the men of the royal righteous lineage of Seth? And could a human ever be exalted to be called a “son of God”? Are there instances in the Bible where men are called Sons of God?

Sons of YHVH:

“And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith YHVH, Israel is my son, my first-born:” (Exo 4:22 ASV).

“When thy days are fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, that shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son: if he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men;” (2Sa 7:12-14 ASV)

“Yet I have set my king Upon my holy hill of Zion.  I will tell of the decree: YHVH said unto me, Thou art my son; This day have I begotten thee. ” (Psa 2:6-7 ASV)

“Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a darling child? for as often as I speak against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith YHVH.” (Jer 31:20 ASV)

“Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.” (Hos 1:10 KJV)

It is very clear from these verses that humans can be called “sons of God.”

So who were the Sons of God in the book of Job? 

“Now it came to pass on the day when the sons of God came to present themselves before YHVH, that Satan also came among them. And YHVH said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered YHVH, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And YHVH said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job? for there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and turneth away from evil.” (Job 1:6-8 ASV)

So we have Satan which is an angel created for a special work-that of being an adversary to mankind. The word Satan is used several times in the Tanakh and it always means adversary. It does not always refer to an angel and a fallen angel it is not. It is true that the Satan is rebuked for attacking the High Priest, Joshua in Zechariah. Why?

“Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of YHVH, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. YHVH said to Satan, “YHVH rebuke you, Satan! The LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?”” (Zec 3:1-2 NIV)

What can be said about a Satan that is assigned the work of finding the evil among mankind and reporting it. He seems to be set up as a prosecuting attorney, framing mankind in the courtroom of the Universe. 

Back to Job 

The others gathered at the assembly were called “Sons of God.” Satan notably comes “also among them”. He is not one of them. He  comes as an imposter. We already discussed men who walked with God. We also know of Elijah who was taken up in a fiery chariot. Can these be the sons of God mentioned in the first chapter of Job? Or could those gathered there be representatives of unfallen worlds? Could it be that Satan comes to the meeting as the representative of this fallen world? (Since Adam no longer is living). He clearly is not welcome there among them, but God allows him to accuse Job and sends him back to earth to test him. The story is heartbreaking. But in this, Satan shows his work. If he had not been limited, he would have destroyed Job along all the other things he lost. 

Based on my earlier suggestion, the Sons of Elohim took wives from among the descendants of Cain who were very beautiful women. Their offspring became renowned in the works of evil. They were called Nephalim (the fallen ones). 

This is not the whole story, however. There were strange creatures that roamed about the earth. In ancient mythology of different pagan cultures, there are stories of odd creatures, Centaurs, half men and half beast, giants, perhaps including the well documented dinosaurs which never made it on the ark. Where did these come from? Where did Og come from? Og appeared after the flood and was finally killed during the time of conquest before Moses died. 

In my speculation, one of the women on the ark may have had DNA from a Nephalim relative. Or perhaps Ham himself was the son of one of these women. No verse says that Noah had all three children from one woman. The strangeness in having 3 children would force them to be triplets or from a different woman or women if they were born in the same year. The other possibility is that the Bible merely summarized the birth of the sons of Noah as happening in his 500th year? It seems out of character considering all the other timelines and begats that are written before and after this time. Was Noah tempted with one of these women and then took their son on the ark? 

The sin of Ham.

After the flood, Noah planted a vineyard and upon drinking the wine, became very drunk. Perhaps the change in the earth made fermentation possible at this time. Obviously, either he planned to get drunk or he drank and didn’t know about alcohol. Perhaps he was depressed, but he was seen by Ham uncovered in his bed. Now accidentally seeing his father naked, was not the sin, but scoffing about it and doing something which provoked a curse on his son Canaan, certainly was. 

“When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, he said, “Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers.” He also said, “Praise be to the LORD, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem. May God extend Japheth’s territory; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth.”” (Gen 9:24-27 NIV)

What Ham had done it does not say, but it could have involved some kind of sexual act and it could have produced Canaan. Did he have relations with Noah’s wife? Is it possible that just joking about it to his 2 brothers was what happened? Yet why was Canaan cursed if he was not involved? It leaves a lot to be imagined, and perhaps we should not explore further, yet how is it that Og, who was a Rephaite, a giant and was a descendant of Canaan, came to possess that strange DNA if Ham or Canaan had not some type of warped DNA from the time before the flood? This points strangely to one of the women on the ark or even the wife of Noah, or a former wife who might have been the mother of Ham. 

But we don’t know anything for certain and therefore the elephant in the room still looms large but without definite identification. I hope you found it enjoyable to search for hints in Scripture and find things that might be bigger than our current understanding. For now, we must leave Ham and Canaan alone, but the questions certainly indicate something went wrong. That something we may have to wait a while to discover.

We still don’t know much about the Nephalim except that they came about by the Sons of Elohim cohabiting with the daughters of man of which I am certain that these women were of the lineage of Cain. One thing I believe we can be sure didn’t happen is the assumption that angels or aliens mated with women bringing about the mythical characters portrayed in paganism. These creatures may have existed, but it was not by mating with angels or aliens. Perhaps they experimented in crossing animals with humans. Some sources claim this has been a practice even in recent years. 

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Parashat Bereshit  Misterios de la antigüedad

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Génesis 1-6

Por Ariella Casey

Cada año, los judíos leen esta parashá muy rápidamente y la mayoría se toma muy poco tiempo para examinarla. Si lo miramos de cerca, vemos que hay cosas que no parecen coincidir con lo que sabemos sobre el mundo actual. Hay algunas cosas ocultas que probablemente nunca entenderemos del todo, según nuestra perspectiva de la vida actual. 

Así que aquí hay algunos pensamientos y observaciones. No pretendo tener conocimientos preexistentes, pero compruebe la lógica. Suena más claro que parte de la ficción que se escribe sobre aquellos tiempos. 

La idea de que Eva afirme haber recibido un “hombre de Yehovah” cuando nació Caín ha sido entendida por algunos como que ella tuvo un hijo de alguien que no era Adán, tal vez se acostó con la serpiente. Pero creo que ella simplemente comentó cuando quedó sorprendida por el nacimiento de su primer hijo y le dio crédito al Creador por haberle dado un hijo. Alguna teología cristiana dice que Eva esperaba con ansias al “mesías” que vendría y salvaría al mundo del desastre en el que se encontraban ahora. Pero esto no se indica en ninguna parte de la Torá ni del Tanaj. 

Luego estuvo el incidente de los sacrificios traídos por Caín y Abel. Yehovah fue complacido por el sacrificio de Abel pero ignoró el de Caín. ¿Qué podemos hacer con esto? No hay ninguna parte de la Torá que diga que ellos o nuestro primer padre y nuestra primera madre recibieron instrucciones sobre cómo hacer un sacrificio. Muchas veces considero que de alguna manera sabían de sacrificios pero, nuevamente, no se menciona nada anteriormente. Una cosa sí sabemos, y es que Caín no trajo lo mejor de su producción. El verso dice:

“Y pasado el tiempo aconteció que Caín trajo del fruto de la tierra ofrenda a Jehová. Y Abel también trajo de las primicias de sus ovejas y de su grosura. Y Jehová miró a Abel y a su ofrenda: pero no tuvo respeto por Caín ni por su ofrenda. Y Caín se enojó mucho y decayó su rostro.” (Génesis 4:3-5 NVI)

Entonces, ¿contra quién estaba el enojo? ¿Por qué Caín culpó a Abel por lo que el Creador decidió favorecer? ¿Estaba YHVH mostrando parcialidad? ¿Fue este un momento de enseñanza sobre los sacrificios? ¿Por qué Caín no honró al Eterno trayendo los frutos selectos de su cosecha? Parece que trajo fruta normal y corriente. Precisa que trajo el “fruto de la tierra” que no era fruto de árbol. ¿Era este “fruto” de alguna manera de menos valor?  No especifica que fue el mejor de la cosecha. 

Quizás estos hijos de Adán tenían una idea del pacto que se escribiría mucho más tarde en el Sinaí. Parece claro que los sacrificios que traían no eran ofrendas por el pecado, ¿o sí? Antes de este incidente nunca hubo ninguna instrucción escrita sobre la expiación. ¿Se les enseñó de alguna manera a hacer sacrificios y de alguna manera Caín estaba haciendo lo suyo? 

Esto plantea la pregunta sobre la naturaleza eterna del Pacto. Si el Pacto iba a ser eterno y si incluso la Creación se logró mediante los principios de la Torá, entonces ¿por qué no sabrían acerca de los sacrificios para agradar al Creador devolviéndole lo mejor de lo que habían trabajado para producir? ¿Fue esto una prueba de sus mentes? Y si es así, entonces Caín mostró muy poco respeto y ciertamente ninguna gratitud hacia el Creador. ¿Podría ser que el diezmo empezó aquí? 

La gente me dice que el diezmo comenzó en el Sinaí, pero ¿por qué entonces Abraham lo sabía cuando diezmó el botín de guerra a Melquisedec?

Un problema evidente que levanta la cabeza es; ¿Quiénes fueron los seres divinos que tomaron a las hermosas mujeres que eran hijas de los hombres y procrearon con ellas, produciendo nefilim? La palabra Nephalim en hebreo significa “los caídos”, no significa descendientes de demonios. ¿Eran realmente ángeles? 

Algunas versiones de la Biblia interpretan el versículo como: seres divinos, pero el hebreo dice Bene Elohim (hijos de Dios). Esto no significa necesariamente que fueran ángeles. Podrían ser hombres justos.

Escúchame si quieres. No creo que los ángeles puedan aparearse con los humanos, (son de un orden diferente) ni creo que los seres divinos fueran tentados a procrear y producir criaturas extrañas (nephalim) con estas hermosas mujeres, produciendo hombres de renombre. No estoy seguro de qué podría significar renombre, a menos que fueran fuertes para hacer el mal y se hicieran famosos por su maldad. Mi mejor pensamiento tiene que ver con los dos linajes que descendieron de Adán. Estaba el linaje de Caín que claramente se destacaba por su inmoralidad y, dicho sea de paso, nunca se dice que Caín fuera a imagen de Adán. Por el contrario, estaba Set, a quien la Biblia afirma era según la imagen de Adán. (Ver Génesis 5:3). Al mirar la genealogía desde Set hasta el diluvio, vemos dos tipos distintos de hombres. Aquellos del linaje de Set que se destacaron como justos, incluidos Enoc y Noé, quienes caminaron con Dios. Aparentemente, este linaje era a imagen de Adán.  Pero el linaje de Caín de alguna manera no alcanzó esta estatura justa o noble. Entonces, si Estoy en lo cierto, los hijos de Elohim habrían sido aquellos del linaje justo de Set y las hijas de los hombres habrían sido del linaje de Caín. Entonces, cuando se casaron, el mundo se convirtió en una mezcla de bien y mal hasta el punto que Noé, que era el único que quedaba del linaje de Set, fue elegido para repoblar la tierra. Sin embargo, parece que una de las esposas, ya sea de Noé o de uno de sus hijos, tal vez Cam, era del linaje de Caín. ¿Por qué? Debido a la maldición que cayó sobre Canaán, el hijo de Cam, cuando vio la desnudez de su madre, y lo que eso significa, no lo voy a discutir aquí. El propio Cam no fue declarado justo, como lo fue Sem, lo que me hace preguntarme acerca de la esposa de Noé. ¿Hubo dos linajes desde Noé, tal como los hubo desde Adán? 

Pero todo esto es un misterio y permanece en la sombra hasta que se explique en el mundo venidero. 

Espero que hayas disfrutado estudiando conmigo. Estoy abierto a escuchar tus pensamientos. Por favor comenta o escríbeme. 

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Parashat Bereshit: Tidbits from Ancient Times

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Genesis 1-6

By Ariella Casey

Every year, Jews read this parasha very quickly, and most take very little time to scrutinize it. If we look at it closely, we see that there are things that do not seem to line up with what we know about the world today. There are some hidden things that we probably will never fully understand, based on our perspective of life today. 

So here are a few thoughts and observations. I do not claim pre-existent knowledge, but please check out the logic. It rings clearer than some of the fiction that is written about those times. 

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The idea of Eve claiming to get a “man from Yehovah” when Cain was born has been understood by some that she had a child by someone other than Adam, perhaps she slept with the serpent. But I believe she simply remarked when she was surprised by the birth of their first child and gave credit to the Creator for giving her a child. Some Christian theology says that Eve was looking forward to the “messiah” who would come and save the world from the mess they were now in. But this is not indicated anywhere in the Torah or Tanakh. 

Then there was the incident of the sacrifices brought by Cain and Abel. Yehovah smiled upon Abel’s sacrifice but ignored Cain’s. What can we make of this? There is nowhere that the Torah that says they or our first father and mother were instructed about making a sacrifice. I often consider that they somehow knew about sacrifices but, again, nothing is mentioned previously. One thing we do know, and that is that Cain did not bring the best of his produce. The verse says:

“And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto Jehovah. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And Jehovah had respect unto Abel and to his offering: but unto Cain and to his offering, he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.” (Gen 4:3-5 ASV)

So whom was the anger about? Why did Cain blame Abel for what the Creator chose to favor? Was YHVH showing partiality? Was this a teaching moment about sacrifices? Why did Cain not honor the Eternal by bringing the choice fruits of his harvest? It appears he brought just average fruit. It specifies that he brought the “fruit of the ground” which was not tree fruit. Was this “fruit” somehow of less value?  It does not specify that it was the best of the crop. 

Perhaps these sons of Adam had an idea of the covenant that was to be written out much later on Sinai. It seems clear that the sacrifices that they brought were not sin offerings, or were they? There was never any written instruction before this incident about atonement. Were they somehow taught to make sacrifices and somehow Cain was doing his own thing? 

This raises the question about the eternal nature of the Covenant. If the Covenant was to be everlasting and if even the Creation was accomplished by the principles of Torah, then why would they not know about sacrifices for pleasing the Creator by returning to him the best of what they had labored to produce? Was this a test of their minds? And if so, then Cain showed very little respect, and certainly no gratitude to the Creator. Could it be that tithing started here? 

People tell me that tithing started at Sinai, but why then did Abraham know about it when he tithed the spoils of war to Melchizedek?

A glaring problem that raises its head is; who were the divine beings that took the beautiful women who were daughters of men and procreated with them, producing nephilim? The word Nephalim in Hebrew means “fallen ones”, it does not mean demon’s offspring. Were they indeed angels? 

Some versions of the Bible interpret the verse to say: divine beings, but the Hebrew says Bene Elohim (sons of God). This does not mean necessarily that they were angels. They could be righteous men.

Hear me out if you will. I do not believe that angels can mate with humans, (they are of a different order) nor do I believe that divine beings were tempted to procreate and produce strange creatures (nephalim) with these beautiful women, producing men of renown. What renown might mean, I am not sure, unless they were strong to do evil and became famous for their wickedness. My best thinking has to do with the two lineages that descended from Adam. There was the lineage of Cain which clearly was noted for its immorality, and by the way, it is never stated that Cain was in Adam’s image. On the contrary, there was Seth, whom the Bible does claim was after Adam’s image. (See Genesis 5:3). As we look down the genealogy from Seth until the flood, we see two distinct types of men. Those of Seth’s lineage who were noted as righteous, including Enoch and Noah, who walked with God. Apparently, this lineage was in Adam’s image.  But the lineage of Cain somehow fell short of achieving this righteous or noble stature. Then, if I am correct, the sons of Elohim would have been those from the righteous lineage of Seth and the daughters of men would have been from the lineage of Cain. So, when they intermarried, the world became a mixture of good and evil to the point where Noah, who was the only one left of the lineage of Seth was chosen to repopulate the earth. However, it appears that one of the wives, whether of Noah or one of his sons, maybe Ham, was of Cain’s lineage. Why? Because of the curse put on Canaan, the son of Ham when he saw his mother’s nakedness, and what that means, I am not going to discuss here. Ham himself was not declared righteous, as was Shem, which makes me wonder about Noah’s wife. Were there two lineages from Noah, just as there were from Adam? 

But this is all a mystery and remains in the shadows to be explained in the world to come. 

I hope you enjoyed studying with me. I am open to hear your thoughts. Please comment or write to me. 

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Israel is at War! Did God Leave Us?

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By Ariella Casey

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What most people believe today is extracted from what they have been taught. Most people are not thinkers. Most people have no idea of the real history that made up their religion. Most of us believe what we have been brought up to see as reality. Try, as a young person, questioning anything that your church or synagogue teaches! Most of those who question are silenced, and if they crave companionship in a non-threatening environment, they soon buckle down and stop rocking the boat. Others–those that are more insistent and less attached to people, separate themselves and become rebels looking for a cause to fight. They are often black-balled as rebels, loonies or druggies. See what happens when you don’t go along with the status quo! Most of us want to be accepted, and so we have gone along to get along! Case in point: the COVID-19 Vaccine. How many actually didn’t want to get it but succumbed to media, public and peer pressure? And how many have paid dire consequences?

Yesterday I read an article about how mistakes are actually helpful to a person’s growth. And I thought about my past. I thought about how and what led up to my leaving the church I was raised in. And how I wandered alone for over 15 years, looking for something. I had to find solid rock to base my faith on. The leaving was based on several choices I had made in my life that were not exactly favored by the church. The attitude towards me pressed me to study. And THAT was not a mistake. What was it that the church believed? What was it that was brainwashed into me, and how many centuries had this been going on?  I studied and researched for years. I finally left Christianity completely, I found community in a Jewish synagogue in Central California. After changing streams, that is, doing a conversion and moving to Israel, I began to research that school of thought and found that Judaism has a long history and some of it is not what it claims to be. Most of what is known today is not what was known at Sinai or even at the time of King David. So here I go again! I am not satisfied with mediocrity! In something so important as religion, I won’t go along to get along if what is being taught is not sound doctrine based on the Torah. Some, lately have pressured me to give up the Bible altogether. But without any standard, where is our anchor? Where is the basis of faith?  

Last week, I sat inside a friend’s Sukkah with several people. We chatted and discussed several things, but what still rings in my ears were the words my friend said during the conversation. “If we didn’t have the rabbis, would there be God?” I was shocked. She said she was leaning towards being an agnostic because it made more sense in the light of what is happening. She said perhaps God created the world and then left us to sort it all out. What could I say? What would really convince a Jewish woman who was raised to believe that Judaism is true Torah? 

I have my own ideas as to why the Jewish people suffer–why the Holocaust, why pogroms? Why the Inquisition? And why is God apparently Missing in Action? But how can I tell people, whom for the past 2000 plus years, have been brainwashed to believe that God gave all authority to rabbis for them to manage His people? 

The rabbis have created a cult and most branches of Judaism are taught that Halakha is divine instruction, when it is, at best, the will of the rabbis to gain control over the people to keep an organized religion under their authority. Did God really abandon His people? Is it possible that His Hands are tied by the extra-biblical teaching engrained in those who are most religious? When you compare Halakha to what the Torah actually says, there is very little that ties the two together. 

There was a time when the leading rabbis declared that they would no longer listen to Heaven. If that is the case, then how can the Jews hear God when He is trying to speak? This comes from the story of the Oven of Achnai. 

Here is an excerpt from the Talmud: Baba Metzia 59b:

“The Gemara presents a fairly straightforward argument between the Sages. A question was raised about the status of an oven that was made of separate pieces and then placed together with sand between the pieces. Should this tanur shel akhnai – this “snake oven” – be seen as having lost its status as an existing oven when taken apart and rebuilt, or is it considered an oven throughout, since it was made to be taken apart in this way? Rabbi Eliezer felt that it lost its status as an oven and therefore, had it become ritually defiled, it would lose that status, as well; the Hakahmim (sages) ruled that it retained its status throughout.

Rather than argue the case on its merits, the Gemara records that Rabbi Eliezer called on the carob tree to support him, the flowing water to support him, and the walls of the study hall to support him. In response to his call, the carob tree uprooted itself and moved 400 amot (=cubits), the spring flowed backwards, and the walls began to collapse – until Rabbi Yehoshua stopped them. The Sages refused to be influenced by any of these miraculous occurrences.

Finally, Rabbi Eliezer asked the heavens to support his position, and a bat kol – a heavenly voice – was heard to say “Why are you arguing with Rabbi Eliezer, whose rulings are always correct?” In response, the Sages said lo ba-shamyim he – since the Torah was given to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai, decisions are no longer made based on heavenly decisions, but on the decisions of the Rabbis who interpret it.” (See reference here).

Looking closely at this story, it shows that it is not the voice of one rabbi that makes decisions for the people, but the majority–dare I say:  even if they are wrong? There is a lot of pressure to take the rulings on Halakha according to the consensus of the rabbis.  There is little room for individual study. If people only understood the history of how the rabbis replaced the Levites and the Cohanim (priests) back at the time when the Jews returned from Babylon! Then there would be room to differ with rabbinic Halakha. When people run to their rabbi for advice rather than to the Torah, they have virtually replaced the Torah with the instruction of the rabbis. This is remarkably similar to the Catholics who run to their priest for interpretation of the will of God. 

I have been advised many times not to tear down what has been established for centuries. Not to question! But my questioning of religion began many years ago. If there is no voice of God anymore, then why? Why did the holocaust happen? Why were Jews exiled, and the second temple destroyed when they were so set on following the rabbis? 

The Talmud tells us of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai who bartered off Jerusalem for Yavneh and the sages:

“The Talmud in Gittin and the midrash in Avot De Rabbi Natan tell us that Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai snuck out of Jerusalem during the siege that led to the destruction of the Second Beit HaMikdash in a coffin to make a separate peace with the future Roman emperor who would level Jerusalem. Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai asked for Yavneh and its scholars to be granted the religious freedom to study and continue growing the rabbinic tradition but would leave Jerusalem for Rome to destroy. Vespasian accepted the deal. Yavneh was saved, Jerusalem was destroyed, and rabbinic Judaism survived…”(see reference here). 

All of this raises a red flag for anyone who is used to following the clear instruction of the Creator. What if all religious leaders truly followed the Torah and were guided by the God of the Universe? Could we feel safe following them? Has any of us been given a mind to discern truth? Are we all to be like robots that never question what comes before us even if it appears to be contrary to logic or contrary to Biblical/Torah standards? Again, we see an elite majority controlling the minds of the common and brainwashed people. Why, if the Torah is not complicated, should not an average person be able to understand and follow it? 

When the rabbis quoted that “the Torah is not in Heaven”, they used only part of what the verse in Deuteronomy says:

“For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not too hard for thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou should say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, and make us to hear it, that we may do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou should say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, and make us to hear it, that we may do it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou may do it. See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;” (Deu 30:11-15).

I say that Heaven is trying to open the eyes of the Jewish people. In 2021, I saw that many rabbis urged their congregants to take the COVID-19 vaccine. Some people, to their credit, did not, but many did, even in Israel. Many suffered grave consequences. 

Now we have a horrible war raging against Israel by the surrounding nations. The question in the forefront of those inclined to religion, is: Why? Where is God? I ask: Where should He be? Where is the power of those who usurped God’s throne over 2 millennia ago? Go seek your rabbi, maybe he can make the missiles go away. 

Unfortunately, many are becoming more religious. Many try to reform becoming Shomer Shabbat, meaning no switching on or off of electricity, no phones, no driving, no use of makeup, no writing, no musical instruments, no carrying even a small purse or one’s keys in the street without an Eruv. Really? An Eruv is a city wall? Who are we kidding? But we go along with it? And then men must remember to go to pray twice a day in a synagogue, where hundreds of prayers are said at top speed to satisfy the Lord of the Universe! What about the prayer of the contrite heart? And of course we must have two sets of plates and flatware, pots and pans or use disposable dishes because of the rabbinic stand on the separation of milk and meat. Check it out! Chickens don’t produce milk! Nor is a goat the mother of a young cow!

I may be wasting my time here. I hope not. But I challenge anyone who has read this far to start thinking for himself. Read the Torah and don’t be afraid to question! 

Your’s for a greater challenge than the individual has ever faced! 

Ariella

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Israel está en ¡Guerra! ¿Donde se fue Dios?

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Por Ariella Casey

Image by freepik

Lo que la mayoría de la gente cree hoy en día se extrae de lo que les han enseñado. La mayoría de la gente no es pensadora. La mayoría de la gente no tiene idea de la historia real que formó su religión. La mayoría de nosotros creemos en lo que nos han enseñado a ver como una realidad. ¡Intenta, como joven, cuestionar cualquier cosa que enseñe tu iglesia o sinagoga! La mayoría de los que cuestionan son silenciados, y si anhelan compañía en un ambiente no amenazante, pronto se abrochan el cinturón y dejan de hacer olas. Otros, los más insistentes y menos apegados a la gente, se separan y se rebelan buscando una causa por la que luchar. A menudo se les tacha de rebeldes, locos o drogadictos. ¡Mira lo que sucede cuando no estás de acuerdo con el status quo! La mayoría de nosotros queremos ser aceptados, ¡y por eso hemos seguido adelante para llevarnos bien! Caso en cuestión: la vacuna COVID-19. ¿Cuántos en realidad no querían conseguirlo pero sucumbieron a la presión de los medios, del público y de sus pares? ¿Y cuántos han pagado consecuencias nefastas?

Ayer leí un artículo sobre cómo los errores realmente ayudan al crecimiento de una persona. Y pensé en mi pasado. Pensé en cómo y qué me llevó a dejar la iglesia en la que crecí. Y en cómo deambulé solo durante más de 15 años, buscando algo. Tuve que encontrar roca sólida sobre la cual basar mi fe. Mi partida se basó en varias decisiones que había tomado en mi vida y que no fueron exactamente favorecidas por la iglesia. La actitud hacia mí me impulsó a estudiar. Y ESO no fue un error. ¿Qué era lo que creía la iglesia? ¿Qué fue lo que me lavaron el cerebro y cuántos siglos llevaba sucediendo esto?  Estudié e investigué durante años. Finalmente dejé el cristianismo por completo y encontré una comunidad en una sinagoga judía en el centro de California. Después de cambiar de corriente, es decir, hacer una conversión y mudarme a Israel, comencé a investigar esa escuela de pensamiento y descubrí que el judaísmo tiene una larga historia y parte de ella no es lo que dice ser. La mayor parte de lo que se conoce hoy no es lo que se sabía en el Sinaí o incluso en la época del rey David. ¡Así que aquí voy de nuevo! ¡No me conformo con la mediocridad! En algo tan importante como la religión, no me llevaré bien si lo que se enseña no es una sana doctrina basada en la Torá. Algunos últimamente me han presionado para que abandone la Biblia por completo. Pero sin ningún estándar, ¿dónde está nuestra ancla? ¿Dónde está la base de la fe?  

La semana pasada, me senté dentro de la Sucá de un amigo con varias personas. Charlamos y discutimos varias cosas, pero lo que todavía resuena en mis oídos fueron las palabras que dijo mi amigo durante la conversación. “Si no tuviéramos los rabinos, ¿existiría Dios?” Me quedé en shock. Dijo que se inclinaba por ser agnóstica porque tenía más sentido a la luz de lo que estaba sucediendo. Dijo que tal vez Dios creó el mundo y luego dejó que nosotros lo resolviéramos todo. ¿Qué podría decir? ¿Qué convencería realmente a una mujer judía que fue criada para creer que el judaísmo es la verdadera Torá? 

Tengo mis propias ideas sobre por qué sufre el pueblo judío: ¿por qué el Holocausto, por qué los pogromos? ¿Por qué la Inquisición? ¿Y por qué Dios aparentemente está desaparecido en acción? Pero, ¿cómo puedo decirle a la gente, a quienes durante los últimos 2000 años y más, les han lavado el cerebro para que crean que Dios les dio toda la autoridad a los rabinos para que gobernaran a su pueblo? 

Los rabinos han creado un culto y a la mayoría de las ramas del judaísmo se les enseña que la Halajá es instrucción divina, cuando, en el mejor de los casos, la voluntad de los rabinos es ganar control sobre la gente para mantener una religión organizada bajo su autoridad. ¿Dios realmente abandonó a su pueblo? ¿Es posible que Sus manos estén atadas por la enseñanza extrabíblica arraigada en aquellos que son más religiosos? Cuando se compara la Halajá con lo que realmente dice la Torá, hay muy poco que los una. 

Hubo un tiempo en que los principales rabinos declararon que ya no escucharían al Cielo. Si ese es el caso, entonces ¿cómo pueden los judíos oír a Dios cuando Él intenta hablar? Esto viene de la historia del Horno de Achnai. 

Aquí hay un extracto del Talmud: Baba Metzia 59b:

“La Guemará presenta una discusión bastante sencilla entre los Sabios. Se planteó una pregunta sobre el estado de un horno que estaba hecho de piezas separadas y luego colocadas juntas con arena entre las piezas. ¿Debería considerarse que este tanur shel akhnai – este “horno de serpientes” – ha perdido su condición de horno existente cuando se desmonta y se reconstruye, o se considera un horno en su totalidad, ya que fue hecho para ser desarmado de esta manera? El rabino Eliezer sintió que había perdido su condición de horno y, por lo tanto, si se hubiera contaminado ritualmente, también perdería esa condición; los Hakahmim (sabios) dictaminaron que conservaba su estatus en todo momento.

En lugar de argumentar el caso en cuanto a sus méritos, la Guemará registra que el rabino Eliezer pidió al algarrobo que lo sustentara, al agua que fluía para que lo sustentara y a las paredes de la sala de estudio para que lo sustentaran. En respuesta a su llamado, el algarrobo se arrancó de raíz y se movió 400 amot (=codos), el manantial fluyó hacia atrás y los muros comenzaron a derrumbarse, hasta que Rabí Yehoshua los detuvo. Los Sabios se negaron a dejarse influenciar por ninguno de estos sucesos milagrosos.

Finalmente, el rabino Eliezer pidió a los cielos que apoyaran su posición, y se escuchó a un bat kol – una voz celestial – decir: “¿Por qué discutes con el rabino Eliezer, cuyos fallos siempre son correctos?” En respuesta, los Sabios dijeron lo ba-shamyim he: desde que la Torá fue entregada al pueblo judío en el Monte Sinaí, las decisiones ya no se toman basándose en decisiones celestiales, sino en las decisiones de los rabinos que la interpretan”. (Ver referencia aquí).

Si analizamos de cerca esta historia, vemos que no es la voz de un rabino la que toma decisiones por el pueblo, sino la mayoría (me atrevo a decir: ¿incluso si están equivocados)? Hay mucha presión para que las decisiones sobre la Halajá se adopten de acuerdo con el consenso de los rabinos.  Hay poco espacio para el estudio individual. ¡Si la gente tan solo entendiera la historia de cómo los rabinos reemplazaron a los levitas y a los cohanim (sacerdotes) en el momento en que los judíos regresaron de Babilonia! Entonces habría lugar para discrepar con la Halajá rabínica. Cuando la gente acude a su rabino en busca de consejo en lugar de acudir a la Torá, prácticamente han reemplazado la Torá con las instrucciones de los rabinos. Esto es notablemente similar a los católicos que acuden a su sacerdote para que les interprete la voluntad de Dios. 

Muchas veces me han aconsejado que no derribe lo que ha sido establecido durante siglos. ¡No hacer preguntas! Pero mi cuestionamiento de la religión comenzó hace muchos años. Si ya no hay voz de Dios, ¿por qué? ¿Por qué ocurrió el holocausto? ¿Por qué se exilió a los judíos y se destruyó el segundo templo cuando estaban tan decididos a seguir a los rabinos? 

El Talmud nos habla del rabino Yojanán ben Zakai quien trocó Jerusalén por Yavneh y los sabios:

“El Talmud en te fuiste y el midrash en Avot de Rabí Natan Cuéntanos que el rabino Yojanan ben Zakai se escapó de Jerusalén durante el asedio que llevó a la destrucción de la Segunda Beit HaMikdash en un ataúd para hacer una paz separada con el futuro emperador romano que arrasaría Jerusalén. El rabino Yojanan ben Zakai pidió que a Yavneh y sus eruditos se les concediera la libertad religiosa para estudiar y continuar haciendo crecer la tradición rabínica, pero dejaría Jerusalén para que Roma la destruyera. Vespasiano aceptó el trato. Yavneh se salvó, Jerusalén fue destruida y el judaísmo rabínico sobrevivió…” (ver referencia aquí). 

Todo esto levanta una señal de alerta para cualquiera que esté acostumbrado a seguir las claras instrucciones del Creador. ¿Qué pasaría si todos los líderes religiosos siguieran verdaderamente la Torá y fueran guiados por el Dios del Universo? ¿Podríamos sentirnos seguros siguiéndolos? ¿A alguno de nosotros se le ha dado una mente para discernir la verdad? ¿Debemos ser todos como robots que nunca cuestionan lo que se nos presenta, incluso si parece ser contrario a la lógica o a los estándares bíblicos/de la Torá? Una vez más, vemos una mayoría de élite controlando las mentes de la gente común y corriente y con el cerebro lavado. ¿Por qué, si la Torá no es complicada, una persona promedio no debería ser capaz de entenderla y seguirla? 

Cuando los rabinos citaron que “la Torá no está en el Cielo”, usaron sólo parte de lo que dice el versículo de Deuteronomio:

“Porque este mandamiento que yo te mando hoy, no te es demasiado difícil, ni está lejos. No está en el cielo para que digas: ¿Quién subirá por nosotros al cielo y nos lo traerá? , y haznos oírlo, para que lo hagamos? Ni está más allá del mar, para que digas: ¿Quién cruzará el mar por nosotros, y nos lo traerá, y nos hará oírlo, para que podamos hacerlo? ¿Podrás hacerlo? Pero muy cerca de ti está la palabra, en tu boca y en tu corazón, para que puedas hacerlo. Mira, he puesto delante de ti en este día la vida y el bien, y la muerte y el mal; (Deuteronomio 30:11-15).

Yo digo que el Cielo está tratando de abrir los ojos del pueblo judío. En 2021, vi que muchos rabinos instaban a sus feligreses a vacunarse contra el COVID-19. Algunas personas, hay que reconocerlo, no lo hicieron, pero muchas sí, incluso en Israel. Muchos sufrieron graves consecuencias. 

Ahora tenemos una guerra horrible que las naciones vecinas libran contra Israel. La pregunta que se plantean quienes se inclinan por la religión es: ¿Por qué? ¿Dónde está Dios? Pregunto: ¿Dónde debería estar? ¿Dónde está el poder de quienes usurparon el trono de Dios hace más de dos milenios? Ve a buscar a tu rabino, tal vez él pueda hacer que los misiles desaparezcan. 

Desafortunadamente, muchos se están volviendo más religiosos. Muchos intentan reformarse convirtiéndose en Shomer Shabat, lo que significa no encender ni apagar la electricidad, no usar teléfonos, no conducir, no usar maquillaje, no escribir, no instrumentos musicales, no llevar ni siquiera un bolso pequeño o las llaves en la calle sin un Eruv. . ¿En realidad? ¿Un Eruv es una muralla de la ciudad? ¿A quién engañamos? ¿Pero lo aceptamos? ¡Y luego los hombres deben acordarse de ir a orar dos veces al día a una sinagoga, donde se dicen cientos de oraciones a toda velocidad para satisfacer al Señor del Universo! ¿Qué pasa con la oración del corazón contrito? Y por supuesto debemos tener tres juegos de platos y cubiertos o usar platos desechables debido a la postura rabínica sobre la separación de la leche y la carne. ¡Échale un vistazo! ¡Las gallinas no producen leche! ¡Ni una cabra es madre de una vaca joven!

Puede que esté perdiendo el tiempo aquí. Espero que no. Pero desafío a cualquiera que haya leído hasta aquí a que empiece a pensar por sí mismo. ¡Lee la Torá y no tengas miedo de cuestionar! 

¡Está preparado para un desafío mayor que el individuo jamás haya enfrentado! 

Ariella

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