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Religious Wokeism

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Did Top-Down Religions Lead the West to Wokeism?

What is the meaning of the term, “Woke”? Has Wokeism become a religion in the Western World?

“Wokeism is a term used to describe a progressive political and social ideology focused on systemic inequality, identity politics, and social justice.” (Links: 1, 2, 3,)

Can wokeism be defined as a religion? And how do religious systems where members embrace the opinions or doctrines of leaders, prophets or early founders actually open the door to belief in progressive teachings? What happens when one hears something over and over again without investigating it? Does it become truth, or only truth in the eyes of the one who is subjected to it?  When people willingly give up logic to follow the theories of the masses, they become subservient to ideas that defy logic and demand obedience to a new culture. In the definition of Wokeism, it means sacrificing one’s God-given individuality for the good of society, placing heavy emphasis on the loss of individual rights when confronted with those racially neglected or deprived.

In this article, I want to show that the major religions, to a degree, have led people to  give up their right to follow the logic of their own minds. This has opened the door for acceptance of the new wokeism that abounds everywhere. Wokeism destroys individual boundaries, confuses the identity of the sexes and challenges the family structure. Wokeism has come about because of the vacuum created by society’s abandonment of belief in the Bible and the God of the Bible. It not only puts the needs of the underdog in society above one’s own, it also often elevates animal rights as equal or superior to human rights. Discrimination, social justice, identity politics, all play a role in Wokeism.

Recently I spoke to a woman who stopped by our house about an incident where children camping on the beach at the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) were attacked by jackals. She immediately excused the jackals. “They were here before humans and have a right to the land, she explained.” I didn’t respond vocally but I was dumbfounded. How did people come to think like this?

Animal rights aside, what has set the stage for corporate religions themselves to take part at least to some extent in the woke ideology? And why has Islam and its little-understood people, the Muslims, been elevated to the level of not only public acceptance, but compliance to their culture and forced subservience to Sharia law?

Not only is Western society embracing Muslim culture, it stands aloof at terrorist actions against those who resist it.

So progressive principles have overtaken society to the point that humans of other races who were once disregarded as foreign to the culture of the West, or perhaps even considered as lower class, now because of progressive ideals are allowed to set the rules for society. Why and how did this come about?

Two major religions have dominated the religious elements of the Western world for centuries. We see changes taking place before our eyes. Changes that 50 years ago, few envisioned. What kind of changes? Before we get into the woke element in these religions, let’s look at some details.

We see Islam for the last couple of years surging into Europe, Britain and America. “Moderate” Muslims have settled in the West for a long time, but now their religion is “front and center.” 

Islam dominates around 98 percent of the Middle East, that is, every country but Israel. Some of us wonder why it is necessary to expand to new territories–after all there is plenty of land in the Middle East! And why is it their supreme goal to conquer and subject the country of Israel? This has been the goal of Islam from time immemorial, so why should we be surprised?

Wikipedia: “Muslim-majority nations and governments control the vast majority of land in the Middle East. Out of the roughly 7.3 million square kilometers (7.3 million km²) that make up the region, approximately 97% to 98% of the territory is governed by Muslim-majority states. The remaining 2% to 3% is governed by the State of Israel, which is a Jewish-majority state but also contains a substantial Arab-Muslim and Arab-Christian population.”

Would it be edifying to understand what Islam requires regarding world conquest and forced conversions? Much like Christianity, but in several points very different, the goal of Islam is to convert the entire world population, but the difference seems to lie in the fact that Islam states clearly that the goal is to convert or kill the infidel or at least tax them as Dhiimis (a subservient class.) Christianity at this time, while aiming to convert the world, is no longer killing those who reject conversion, nor is this the goal of the church.

Thus, it is clear that serious Muslims are on a path to govern the world through dominance of their religion. And the world is coming along with them through the woke mentality that has been established little by little through the last century.

Compassion on the underdog. Cruelty to the elite. Hatred of white, so-called “supremacists”, and at the same time, compassion for darker skinned races who are considered more “worthy” because we “owe it to them”. It doesn’t matter if they entered the country illegally, “they were poor and only wanted a better way of life!” It doesn’t matter that they have stolen their way up the food chain, what matters is that the rest of us must be noble and let them have their way. It doesn’t matter if they violate and rape, after all their culture sees it differently! Really?

So, yes, I have known well-mannered upstanding Muslims both in America and Israel. I used to work for one. I have had doctors in Israel who are Muslim. But are they really following their core beliefs? What are moderate Muslims, but a smoke screen to keep people unaware of the deeper roots of their mission? Let me share a quote from their holy book:

Surah Ali ‘Imran 3:28: “Let not believers take disbelievers as allies rather than believers. And whoever of you does that has nothing to do with Allah, except when taking precaution against them in defense…”


What it means:


Alliance: Believers are instructed not to form preferential alliances or allegiances with those who disbelieve over the community of believers. [1, 2]
The Exception: If a believer lives among those who oppose their faith and faces imminent harm or tyranny, they are permitted to conceal their true allegiance or outwardly conform for self-preservation. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Divine Warning: The verse warns that true allegiance is to Allah, and all will eventually return to Him for judgment

[1]Surah Al-Ma’idah 5:51: “O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies. They are [in fact] allies of one another. And whoever is an ally to them among you – then indeed, he is [one] of them…” [1, 2]


So we see that those who are members of Islam can live out a pretext of friendliness with unbelievers in order to guarantee their physical or economic security, but they are never to truly become friends to the extent of giving them their allegiance.

How Islam came about is a topic for further study, but we know that Muslims claim that it is the only true religion.  How does one judge religions? What tools are needed to discern between truth and error? How can we know if it was authored by God or invented by a human prophet, ie, Mohammed? How, indeed, can we know this about any religion?

How do the doctrines of the different religions connect to what the Eternal says and, contrarily,  how much have leading, supposedly “inspired” prophets and sages directed the minds of their followers into the teachings they themselves have elaborated and placed before the people? What are the underlying rules for judging a religion? How does one prove that a religion is about service to God and the betterment of mankind and not service to laws that complicate life for humanity and that build walls between peoples?

Can it be shown that man has either created or expanded upon the original laws of the Bible, the basis for Christianity and Judaism? What about Islam? Islam is not based directly on the Bible or the 10 commandments. Then how is it possible to prove that the Muslim god is not the God who created and established mankind in this world? Is it possible? Is it provable from a logical standpoint? Consider several things:

When did Islam come into being and what was the character of Mohammed who founded the religion?


Wherever Islam has taken hold, how is the life of the people in the country where they dominate? Do they prosper?


How do they treat animals? Is kindness and humane treatment shown?


How do they treat their women and children? Is there abuse and subjugation?


What happens to the land where they inhabit? Is it blessed and abundant or does it become a desert?

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Five men dressed in ancient attire studying scrolls and manuscripts around a wooden table

Cultivating the Exile

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Exile Minds, Exile Religion

I have a lot of questions about the accepted status quo religion of Judaism today and how it came to be. Let me ask these things and see if we can come up with some quality answers.

How much of what was developed by the Rabbis in Judaism came down to us from that very state of exile? How much was given to protect Jews from the influence of the nations and to preserve Jews as a separate people while they lived among the goyim? I have no doubt at all as to its purpose to keep Jews separate from the nations, but the next question arises…How many of the laws are not needed once a Jew has returned to the land of Israel? And should the Jews have remained in other lands for so many years?

Ancient sources for the Torah and Tanakh, when read in their simplicity and without elaboration, are understandable to those who have a connection with the Divine Mind, but the hundreds of books of commentaries and rabbinic doctrine, whether it be Talmud, Gamara, or any of the sources studied in Yeshivot shout loudly that the Bible cannot be understood by the common person. Is this true? Sounds a bit like Catholicism to me! Yeah, “if you really want to know, go ask your priest…”

After two and a half millennia, can we actually know what happened in Babylon that forever changed the rules of Judaism? Some would say that what has changed has actually clarified what was originally meant, but there are many of us who differ with this. And, speaking of the changes, were these only effected by Babylonian scholars or were there religious influencers in Europe as well that brought us Judaism as it is known today? It is fascinating how Judaism has evolved. But what has it evolved to and does Hashem recognize it?

Why was the construction of the Second Temple hindered by conflict between those simple Judean farmers who had stayed in the land and those who returned from Babylon? Why were those in the land despised? Is it possible that the religion they remembered was more authentic than what was brought back from Babylon? From the reading of the books of Ezra and Nehemiah it is apparent that there was a new form of the Jewish religion that was established in Babylon and inculcated after the return to the land, eventually causing those simple farmers to submit to the new religion. 

Again, the majority wins, but what did they win? Political and religious dominance? The Second Temple never filled with the Shekinah Glory? Why? The Ark of the covenant hidden by the Prophet Jeremiah was never returned to the new Temple. Why? Where did Jeremiah hide the Ark and the Tent? See 2 Maccabees 2:4-8. Maccabees is a historical text, and not Tanakh, but historical books can help prove the truth, just as a review of Josephus reveals some of what happened to allow the Pharisees to win over the Sadducees which led to the takeover by Rome. Link 

According to 2 Maccabbees, the Ark was hidden in a cave on the mountain where Moses died and “saw the inheritance”. Link

Can we actually know what happened in those times when the powerful leadership, sponsored by Cyrus, took control once back in the land of Israel? What was actually learned in Babylon that was an improvement to what was originally given? And as we look at Judaism today, how much of what is taught has carried on down from Babylon and those leaders? A strict look at Judaism as it is found in Orthodoxy shows the fingerprints of what was learned in Exile. Good or bad, it needs to be sorted out and separated from what was originally given. Malachi tells us that the God of Israel does not change. Malachi 3:6. So does His Word change? Are the principles written in the Torah the same forever? Albeit the modern understanding of these principles may change. How do we become wise if we depend on others to study for us and to teach us Torah? 

Jer 17: “5 This is what YHVH says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from YHVH. 6 That person will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. 7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in YHVH, whose confidence is in him. 8 They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.””

I believe that we can know in our hearts and minds the simple truths of the Creator’s Word without the years of indoctrination of the Yeshivot. This is a Torah principle:

Deu 30:”12 It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? 13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? 14 But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.”

We know that the majority of the popular religions wrote religious history, then if the majority is often not in the right, then how do we find the truth of Judaism today? Can the simple writings of the Torah be trusted? 

Psa 19:”7 The law of YHVH is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of YHVH is sure, making wise the simple.”

Psa 1:”1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of YHVH, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither–whatever they do prospers.”

Three men in traditional desert clothing gathering salt next to a golf cart on a rocky desert path.

Manna and Wartime, Are we in the wilderness still?

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For several weeks of this year, Ben Gurion Airport was not offering flights to incoming or outgoing passengers because of the increased activity of the war. . People from America and other countries were not able to return and people in Israel were unable to use their prepaid tickets to return to their home countries. Not that any country but Israel should be home to Jews, but that’s the way it is to many Jews from the diaspora. It seemed to me to be a type of “handwriting on the wall” showing that maybe the door of return will not always be open. Scary thought.

We had daily sirens during this time, sometimes twice daily and I turned off my phone at bedtime because I didn’t want a 30 second warning to get to the shelter. The city would sound the alarm a few seconds before the expected bomb or interception and since I cannot run anywhere with my injured leg, we sit in a corner of our living room that has no windows or outside doors. This is what is recommended for those who cannot make it to a shelter. Kind relatives in America have asked me why I don’t escape for the time being. Well frankly, I am not interested. There is a sense of protection all about me. I can’t speak for others, though. 

Child holding multiple aluminum food trays walking near a golf cart outside a brick house
Delivering Manna

After the bombing started up again, my neighbor asked us if we could use food. (Hot trays of prepackaged kosher food that comes from a school five nights a week.) And did we know anybody else? So we sort of “enrolled” in the volunteer job of delivering food to those who want an evening meal. I am still not sure where all the food comes from. We know that part of it comes from a high school down the road. Part comes from the army. Sometimes there are meals from a Kosher catering restaurant. And there is a lot of food! 

My husband and I drive our golf cart around the town delivering to people who have requested an evening meal. Some people have several children so they get several trays of a protein, a vegetable and a starch like rice, couscous or potatoes. Sometimes we have 50 or 60 meals to deliver. 

I have asked myself what the Eternal had in mind in getting us involved in this. As I watch and think, I see a lot. There are people who are poor but their kids won’t eat the healthy food we deliver. They want Schnitzel or hamburgers. Too bad, so sad. Mom will just have to keep working to put food on the table for them. I see kids who have never been disciplined and parents who are run ragged trying to please them. Same generational problems here as in other countries. Others, perhaps widows who live in a two room apartment in a high rise, or russians who are elderly and have no pension from Russia, or even South Africans, are grateful and never complain. One dear Ukrainian woman is still working her fingers to the bone to provide for herself and the older woman she lives with. She sends me a thank you every day and once a week buys us a chocolate bar to sort of “pay back” what we do for her. 

So what does all this have to do with Manna? Remember the manna? –How people would go out on Shabbat and look for it? Well this manna comes only on the 5 working days, sometimes a bit on Friday morning, but none on Shabbat. So on Thursday, we try to give them an extra meal to help carry them over. Some put up extra trays in their freezers. However there are a lot of them that are hoarding food. Some tell me their fridge and freezer are stuffed. I wonder if it will go rank and grow worms like the Biblical manna.  (And yes, I too put things in the big freezer! Sometimes I can send extra food to people this way or have a Shabbat meal already prepared for us so I can take things a bit easier on Friday.)

But how is today different? And what is HaShem saying to us? That there will be provision. That He is looking out for us and as we help others, we get a double blessing. Imagine! Free Food! And you don’t have to pass a poverty test to get it. You can just accept it because you ask. Wow! 

Also I find that people who used to see us as non observant, or non practicing Jews because we don’t respect all the traditional rabbinic rules are showing tremendous respect. They comment about what a great “mitzvah” we are doing and nobody has even questioned the fact that in our house we do not use separate dishes for milk and meat or other things and we drive an electric golf cart on Shabbat! Yet when people receive a blessing like this, the importance of all this tradition seems to dim. So maybe this is what has been stewing in Heaven’s pot! 

Of course I do not use the excuse of their ignorance to force them to break the rules. Every dish we distribute is either sealed in it’s original packaging or packed into a new disposable plastic pot. We want to honor them as they honor us.  (Even though we believe that their tradition is completely out of line with the Bible, still it is not us to decide other people’s standards). 

Have there been trials? You bet! We get pretty disgusted when people tell us that their kids don’t like certain things. And others who do not say thank you! But that seems to dim a bit when we remember Elena, the Red Hat lady who gives us a chocolate bar each week! And by the way, we never forget her and Masha, the little old widow whom she lives with! Then there is the 11 year old that comes to help us. He loves to meet new people and go out on the golf cart with my husband. Last time I told him that I would reward him with a bowl of ice cream when he got back. So it was 5 o’clock when they left and he was starved, so he told me that in order to eat ice cream he would have to eat a non meat meal. I suggested he take along one of the vegetarian meals and a plastic fork. He was delighted and when he got back he ate two bowls of ice cream! I call him my little priest because he is so kind and he has priestly DNA. (He is a Cohen). 

Something that irks me is people who will not read their messages and then expect me to call them at the last minute. Just imagine– I have 35 families on our list, don’t they care enough to check my general message which I send out and give me a thumbs up if they want something? And there is another lady who never answers me but expects me to open her door and put the meals in the inner stairwell!

So we are learning about humanity! Entitlement, complacency, go along to get along…but then others who have suffered and show real gratitude and fresh innocence! Overall, I am grateful for the tremendous insights into how people tick and how and why things happened in the Torah, things that maybe we didn’t fully understand before! Were the Israelites in the wilderness any different than the Israelites today?–Even though we are in the Promised Land?

Stack of newspapers labeled 'LIES.' next to an open book with magnifying glass under desk lamp

Media Madness and the War against Israel

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Woman wearing an elaborate, translucent crown with a glowing jewel
Was she real? Was she a justification to live outside the LAND?

How much of what we believe happened in history was written by those who wanted to tell their side of a story, even when it wasn’t the full truth? The victims of warfare rarely get to write their story and even now as we face an existential war in the Middle East, the stories of the Holocaust are being erased by the liberal left-wing media. Entire systems promote the idea that Auschwitz never  happened and some go so far as to claim that Zionist Israel today has replaced the Nazis in their attempts to frame self defense and preservation as “genocide”–”Genocide!” no less, claimed for the destruction of a crazed group of terrorists whose sole vision of their holy war to destroy our people and anyone who is not Muslim is called “infidel”. This mentality does not allow truth to be heard.

Media propaganda paints Israel in the darkest of hues, accusing the Jewish people of the very things that their enemies scheme to do to them. Behind it is an evil force dedicated to eradicating truth and the people called to preserve the truth from the earth. How did the MSM evolve to the point that it now presents as truth only the voice of those who hate us? Why are there so few voices raised to defend and encourage the small nation that has fought for survival ever since returning to  possess the land promised to them and their ancestors? How did violent fanatical terrorists, baby killers if you will, become innocent victims that we should protect and support?

Esther–A Myth that Shapes our Warfare?

Much of the strength of the Israeli people comes from the internal struggle to survive and fulfill the command that they are to be a light to the nations, to provide an example of righteousness amidst a world filled with evil and corruption. We see daily miracles from One who looks after the affairs of the world and is deeply involved in what He promised to Abraham over 3500 years ago–the land of Israel and his descendents as possessors of that land. But of course it wasn’t just about a people living peacefully in the land, but about a people who would transform the world into a world that embraces righteousness. But what is the truth that should be embraced by those who lead the world? What was the covenant that the Jews were to keep? Was it given on Sinai? Have we somehow despised that covenant?

Understanding truth is essential to knowing where we have been and where we are going. There are a lot of stories–Midrashim, if you will, that do not have any historic basis. History that is not real history for what really happened is disguised in Myths and Midrashim.

What is it that we cling to as examples in the past that encourage us to push forward beyond mere survival of our people and a creation of a status in the world that will enlighten and bring about ultimate Peace?
But what is the danger of forgetting what really happened and going with the stories that the majority of our leaders promote? Has the majority ever been right and what are we really told about following the majority?

Exo 23: “2 Thou shalt not follow the multitude for evil; neither shalt thou answer in a cause, to go after the multitude to pervert judgment.”

The fact that something has been taught for many years does not mean it is truth. Where are the fact checkers for history? Especially the history of religion? But where can we find true History if it has been doctored up to teach what the multitude of teachers want to impress upon us? Josephus? The books of the Maccabees? The Dead Sea Scrolls?

A particular Midrash that I learned many years ago, Chamsa and Bar Hamsa, I found to be a cover-up to what really happened. You will never learn this from real history.

Sometimes the pen of  ancient scribes dipped into their inkpots to insert things that may and may not be fully true even in our Holy Bible. Let’s examine the book of Esther. Does it stand up to the light of the rest of Scripture? And if it is even partially true, does it proclaim the works of Heaven or the works of the Jews? In fact the name of the Almighty is not even mentioned in the book of Esther. Most say that He was there working behind the scenes but was He or did it even happen? Can we find evidence in History?

As I write this, we  have just finished celebrating the holiday of Purim. The Biblical book of Esther speaks to us especially at this time when Jews must fight for their very lives and the lives of those neighbors who desire freedom from tyranny. Israel is becoming a power stronger than it has been for over the past 2000 years.

Some say we take our inspiration from the story of Esther. But if we back up and analyse the book of Esther and what it is really saying, we see that Esther happened at a time when many of the Jews refused to return to the land of Israel when Cyrus the great opened the way for them and helped fund the rebuilding of the second temple. Esther and her story happened, according to our best sources, around the year 473 BCE. This was 65 years after Cyrus decreed 538 BCE that the Jews should return to Israel and rebuild their temple. Why did these Jews remain in Persia? And why the story of their success over their enemies there in the Diaspora of ancient Persia?

For me the story is a justification to remain in the Diaspora and to continue living in the ways of the nations, using trickery and a novel romantic  plot to destroy those who would destroy them. Again, why were they still in Persia? And what was going on then? We know from the Tenakh that there were factions that fought against the building of the Temple. We obviously do not know how much of the story was changed as it was written for future minds to digest.
There also is a problem with the names Esther and Mordecai. Esther coming from the goddess, Astarte and Mordecai from Marduk, a famous god at the time. How can it be right, to hide under the spell of other gods? I have to admit it is a fantastic story with a satisfying end. If it had happened before the decree of Cyrus, I would feel more support for it. If the names of the chief actors were not the names of Pagan deities, I would be more interested. It reads like a novel and it very likely is just that.

Purim is a fun time of year other than the fasting which I never do anyway. What are we fasting for? Tradition? Memorial? But since it is very hard to find an actual Esther in any real historic source, maybe, just maybe it IS a myth and something written to keep Jews living among the nations without shame. Coming to Israel has never been easy. It requires a virtual change of thinking–a sacrifice of much we hold near and dear. The land itself eats up the inhabitants, as the ten spies once claimed. Yet beholding now with different eyes, the land produces abundantly for all who love it. It is a Goodly Land and despite the manipulation and lies of the nations and our own leadership who often go begging for the approval of America or Europe, the land is good and it will provide for us. God will help us to have the strength to believe like Joshua and Caleb, that we are well able to possess this land and to overcome the enemy both outside and inside of Israel!

Who’s on First?

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Is God the Ultimate Authority– Is He Really?

Kosher Jewish Astrology says that we must learn about the alignment of the planets and how to overcome our weaknesses and tone down our wild strengths. At least that is what they were teaching  yesterday, when I went to a Rosh Hodesh gathering of women in our town in Israel. The speaker actually said: “The planets will bless you.” 

All the red alerts in my head started going off and I knew I was either going to vomit or walk out. I wanted to say: “That’s witchcraft and you are a witch.” 

But I sat there quietly and finished my decorative vase that the craft teacher generously helped us with. There were about a dozen women there and most agreed happily with the theme of the woman who was teaching. I was astounded at the level of brainwashing that I saw but I realized that all of this has been believed for a very long time. But does that make it right? And does something that is believed for a long time make it more right? Do real thinkers not exist today?

This Jewish Astrologist (Let’s call her Diva) said things like, “we are above the calendar, and it is up to us to establish the date for Rosh Hodesh.” So what does the Bible say about that? Who ordained the signs in the heavens to guide us? 

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֗ים יְהִ֤י מְאֹרֹת֙ בִּרְקִ֣יעַ הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם לְהַבְדִּ֕יל בֵּ֥ין הַיּ֖וֹם וּבֵ֣ין הַלָּ֑יְלָה וְהָי֤וּ לְאֹתֹת֙ וּלְמ֣וֹעֲדִ֔ים וּלְיָמִ֖ים וְשָׁנִֽים׃

“God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate day from night; they shall serve as signs for the set times—the days and the years;” (Genesis 1:14, JPS translation).

Notice the word “moedim” in Hebrew, highlighted in the verse above. This word refers to the set times that the Creator established for the people of Israel. “Set times” is another way to express the Biblical Festivals. “Moed” (part of the word moedim) is used for sacred meetings. The “ohel moed” for example means “tent of meeting” referring to where these gatherings were held. Originally we had the Mishkan (tabernacle or tent of meeting) that traveled with the Israelites in the wilderness and was set up by Joshua in the land after they crossed the Jordan. 

So the Jewish people can decide when the festivals occur? Who is on first? Who appointed the signs to frame the year for us? So now then, can we change what God has said? Who is on first anyway? Is God still God or do we place ourselves on the throne? 

Does the Creator give the Jews the right to change His laws? Or more specifically, can the Chosen People be Holy if they do not obey the Covenant?

וְעַתָּ֗ה אִם־שָׁמ֤וֹעַ תִּשְׁמְעוּ֙ בְּקֹלִ֔י וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֖ם אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֑י וִהְיִ֨יתֶם לִ֤י סְגֻלָּה֙ מִכׇּל־הָ֣עַמִּ֔ים כִּי־לִ֖י כׇּל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃

“Now then, if you will obey Me faithfully and keep My covenant, you shall be My treasured possession among all the peoples. Indeed, all the earth is Mine.” (Exodus 19:5 JPS translation).

So which covenant are we talking about? The Covenant that was spoken of in the Torah is the Torah itself and this was given to our forefathers; Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And yet mankind likes to alter what was set up as a blessing for us!

How is it that “the planets will bless you?” How can an inanimate object, be it a stone or a planet have the ability to bless us? Are these somehow elevated to the level of gods? 

I was recently chatting with a woman about the bombs and the ongoing war in Israel. I mentioned someone who goes out even when the alerts go off. She told me that the Jews have to protect themselves. Does that mean that the Almighty no longer protects us? It is true that common sense dictates that we exercise a bit of self preservation in these times, but is our protection only in our own hands? Is it possible that by ignoring the rules that the Creator set up in the very beginning, we somehow feel that this is our universe and that there is little if any protection coming from Hashem? 

Has God taken a long journey and somehow does not hear us? This reminds me of the prophet Elijah on Mount Carmel (a place a couple of hours from us here). What did he tell the people when the prophets of Baal were dancing around their altar?

“When noon came, Elijah mocked them, saying, ‘Shout louder! After all, he is a god. But he may be in conversation, he may be detained, or he may be on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and will wake up.’” (1 Kings 18:27, JPS Translation). Read the entire story in 1 Kings. 

Elijah challenged the people of Israel with these words: 

“‘How long halt ye between two opinions? If YHVH be God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.’” (Ibid, verse 2

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How do we discern truth? By having an individual understanding of the simple words of Torah. How often does the embellishment provided by our modern and ancient sages cloud the truth?–Could they actually be prophets of Baal? The same ones Elijah rebuked the people for? 

Let’s get back to the study of what the Biblical prophets handed down to us without adding or subtracting! 

K.I.S.S. Keep it Simple Stupid!

Ariella

Truth–More Precious than Rubies!