bible

Parashat Bereshit: Tidbits from Ancient Times

Posted by

1

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. 

FreeBibleImages.org

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. 

Please like, comment, follow and share!

Follow Take Hold the Tzitzit on WordPress.com

Israel is at War! Did God Leave Us?

Posted by

2

By Ariella Casey

Image by freepik

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

Follow Take Hold the Tzitzit on WordPress.com

Fear and Conquest

Posted by

By Ariella Casey

Is anyone in Israel NOT afraid? Times are tough in the Holy Land and if we did not believe in the Divine purpose for the Land, we might all move to the North Pole and huddle together until the bombs stop falling. 

This morning we were awakened at 6:10 a.m by the Emergency Alerts call telling us to get to the shelter as there was a prediction of bombs coming our way. 

We get these calls almost daily.  I am getting used to them, if that is possible, but for the fact that a friend of ours was hurt yesterday by the windows that exploded inside her house, I am once again up tight. Again!  Still, I ventured out to the store for a few groceries this morning. Nothing happened. Yes, I am triggered and unpredictable! I realize that people outside the Land don’t get it. 

So, I try to philosophize and grasp hold of any meaning there may be out there.  I try to comfort myself in the Bible.

Here is the latest miracle I want to take hold of. There were over 200 Ballistic Missiles launched towards Israel from Iran last Tuesday. We saw them from our porch. It was an amazing firework show, to say the least! These are huge, powerful two-part missiles. They should have killed thousands of Israelis. But they didn’t kill anyone but an Arab from Gaza that just happened to be in Jericho. One missile came down and landed on him as he was walking across a vacant lot. This is just too out of the ordinary to be real! Why only one person in all of Israel killed? Why was it someone who had come from Gaza? Why did it happen in Jericho? Is there anything about conquering the land that began at the very beginning in Jericho? 

Well, that is where it all started when after 40 years of wandering, Israel came in to conquer the land! And by the way, this happened a couple of days before the first day of Tishri which most Jews call Rosh Hashanah, but it is called Yom Teruah in the Bible (Day of trumpets and shouting.) Hey, what happened to make the walls of Jericho fall down? Trumpets? Shouting? This is almost too much of a fit to be real! So a couple of days before the feast of trumpets, a missile misses its mark and comes down in Jericho and kills someone escaped from Gaza! What should that tell us about conquering the land that has been taken from us? For me, it is a very clear signal. Maybe others are picking up on this! 

It is indeed time to defy the world and take back the land promised to us by our Creator! Another conquest of Canaan. Some say we have to wait for the Messiah, I don’t think any more waiting is necessary. We are very close to the end of the prophecies, and most of us would love to see YHVH swoop down and do it all for us. The taking back of the land since early in the 20th century has always been by brave men and women who had no other choice, rather than go back to concentration camps. Even now, the majority of the world would be happy to see Jews in ghettos or wiped off the face of the globe. Why this attitude? Is it because somehow they know that Jews are somehow destined to rule the world? They, when they connect to the Creator of the Universe, are the very essence of peace for the future of this world. Israel, as a nation, has the highest moral compass of any nation in the world. 

Image by vectorpocket on Freepik

But, all of my rationalizing aside, why do I still sit trembling as I hear more and more alerts? I want it to get over so I can go back to my life. But if I think about it, I realize that life will never be the same again. There will be no getting back to the old ways. This war is the beginning of the end and the beginning of the future, and we are in a transition period between these two realities. Can we hang on a little longer? Hashem must hear our fears and help us to take hold of faith and trust, emunah and bitachon! 

I contemplate the miracle involved in that every one of those missiles is able to kill hundreds of people, but no Israelis were killed other than the lone Gazan in Jericho. There was another report of an incident in Jordan where one missile fell short of the Land of Israel and killed 200 people. Whether this is exaggerated, or not, is irrelevant when we think of the power of the Almighty God of the Universe and His watch over Israel. As the verse goes: 

הִנֵּ֣ה לֹֽא־יָ֭נוּם וְלֹ֣א יִישָׁ֑ן ומֵ֗ר יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

“Hine lo yanum ve lo Yishan, Shomer Israel.“ “He who keeps Israel neither slumbers nor Sleeps!” Psalm 121:4

“In peace will I both lay me down and sleep; For thou, Yehovah, alone makest me dwell in safety.” Psalm 4:8

בְּשָׁלוֹם יַחְדָּו אֶשְׁכְּבָה וְאִישָׁן כִּי־אַתָּה יְהוָה לְבָדָד לָבֶטַח תּוֹשִׁיבֵנִי׃

Messiah? What is the gathering about? 

Posted by

1

Who will go for Me?

By Ariella Casey

Who will bring the outcasts and the children of those who were once lost in the diaspora? We all have dreamt of someone, perhaps a divine being or a superhero, that would seek out the lost Jews and ten tribes and bring a portion of them back to the land of Israel. We know that not all will return, for it is only a remnant that will be gathered. And yet, what is this gathering all about? And how does one become selected?

How will those who desire to come be tested for their worthiness? Will they be given everything, free passage, benefits on arrival, and a large shipment to help them come? Or will there be a sacrifice required on their part? How much of a struggle will be involved? What about the old folks and the children? How will everyone make this happen? 

Many over the past 2000 years lost their lives in pograms and Holocaust and mass slaughter. Many got frostbite on their feet walking across snowy mountains with torn shoes and little clothing to escape the atrocities. Some had the vision of returning to the land. Some even came.  The inner voice was all they had to drive them on to make a home in the Holy Land for their descendants. What about now? Will it be easier to wait and let someone else take care of the details? 

Descendants of those who accepted Catholicism, rather than face the guillotine or the martyr’s pyre, may have some decisions to make. Are they going to somehow summon up enough courage to face death if necessary to be included among those called to the land and to follow God’s covenant? Will they come to Israel to fight with their bare hands if necessary to fight off Israel’s enemies and carve out a living for their families? Will their children or parents keep them from coming? What about homes and pets? What is it worth to you? 

During WW2, Jews in Europe were mass slaughtered, simply because they had Jewish blood. Why? And where was the God of the Covenant at this time? It is a big question, one that created many Jewish atheists. Many, even in the land of Israel, do not really believe in a God like this. No one really knows the answer to that question. But even though this is a mystery, the precious land of Israel was bought with the blood of these martyrs! Their descendants often took whatever path they could over land and sea to  return to the howling wilderness of what was then called Palestine. It was a land completely desolate, filled with swamps and desert and little productivity, but a land for free people even with its humongous challenges! And the courage and human effort of those who came and by their own sweat and blood, drained the swamps, planted vineyards, restored the desolate places. This courage and effort is what has turned the land of Israel into a liveable, productive and free country, the only democratic country in the Middle East. Can we do any less?

Let us not think that the land of Israel is going to be handed to us without a price! I have seen too many people come and when they find it difficult, turn tail and run back to the comforts of their home country. And all this after having wasted precious resources that Israel happily bestowed upon them.  Israel is not for the fearful! It is for warriors, farmers that will work until they drop, soldiers that will die for the land of Israel if it is called for!

Is this voice, the one that drives people to sacrifice, actually the voice of the Messiah? It may be!

If we look at the promises in the Bible, it is easy to think that Someone Else is going to gather us. But what if the voice that calls us is a conviction of soul that we must be part of the land? What if that conviction is actually the work of the Messiah, bringing the true sons of Jacob together and to the land? 

Are there those who will work to bring the elderly, the disabled and the children who cannot do this for themselves? Where are the leaders among us? Who will go for us? Where is Moses now? Wouldn’t these leaders actually be doing the work of the Messiah?

“Also the sons of the alien, that join themselves to Hashem, to minister unto him and to love the name of Hashem, to be his servants, every one that keeps the sabbath from profaning it, and holds fast to my covenant; even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar: for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all the peoples. The Lord Yehovah, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, saith: Yet will I gather others to him, with those of his that are gathered.” (Isa 56:6-8)

It says that YHVH will bring the sons of the alien, but who are the hands, and who are appointed to speak for Him? Who will lead them out? Are these not human hands and human voices?

“And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? And I said, Here am I; send me.” (Isa 6:8)

Shabbat Shalom

Ariella 

Follow Take Hold the Tzitzit on WordPress.com

Please like, share and follow me!

What Applies Today?

Posted by

Parsha Shoftim, Deuteronomy 16:18- 21:9

There are laws that cannot be followed by the majority of Jews and ten tribers when they do not live in Israel. Much of what is written in this Parsha is for when ancient Israel entered the land of Canaan. However, there are principles given which ideally should be followed in any country. What are these principles? People need to study and think deeply. Maybe make plans to return to the land?

What about cutting down fruit trees? (Deut. 20:19,20) This was forbidden during a siege against an enemy city. But what happens in the case of modern warfare when bombs are used rather than personal weapons? Should bombs be outlawed to protect Israel’s trees? A bomb can burn a lot of fields, as we see every time we drive even a few kilometers from our home. 

This is an especially significant problem now when the enemy has attacked Israel on seven different fronts. Many of the descendants of Esau and Ismael have organized to wipe Israel off the map. Daily bombardment, suicide bombs, knifings, car ramming, all of these threaten the lives of Israelis, let alone the land where we live and the desire to live a life of peace. In fact, the main greeting in every conversation is, “Shalom” which means not just “Hello”, but “Peace.” 

In last week’s Hebrew class, we discussed how to answer: “How are you?”, in the state of anxiety that we all find ourselves. We learned answers to this question. Answers such as: “not so good,” “I am sad when I hear the news,” “It is difficult for me.” And the one asking would then say: “Everything will be good by the will of God.” (Be-Ezrat Hashem, YiYay Tov). 

As we study the Parsha, it seems the laws for Israel at the moment cannot be applied, at least in the light of the current situation. Would things be different if Israel had followed the Torah during the past 2000 years?  And what if Israel truly followed Torah today, rather than all the superfluous laws that are now recognized by most Jews as Torah? So, since our modern situation has changed, are we somehow able to apply the principles indicated by Torah? The law about not destroying fruit trees was for the purpose of preserving the food supply. How can we guarantee the preservation of the food supply today? 

What about magistrates deciding on a case where 2 or 3 witnesses report a crime? Do we have this system set up today? Can it even work without a Beit Din or hall of judgement in every locality in Israel? 

What about destroying those who worship false gods in the land? According to this Parsha (Deut. 20:16-18). We have other religions that live in Israel. Some of these are peaceful and support the war effort. At this point, it is not feasible to destroy them all. It seems that the focus today is to decide who will help us and who is our enemy. 

So, yes, we are fighting for our very existence. And the question is: Why? Where is the God of Heaven? Does He hear our prayers? I believe He does and yes, there are miracles happening. There are hundreds of Jews worshiping every week on the Temple Mount now!  Full prostration while begging the Almighty God of Heaven to give us back this Holy Place that was so wickedly bartered away in 1994 to allow Jordan to control worship there.  (https://jcpa.org/article/jordan-and-the-temple-mount/). But the fact that Jews are worshiping there is, no doubt, a miracle and a step forward. Will it last? 

When will we be able to return to the true principles of the Torah? I believe things are moving in that direction. Most Israelis support the stand against giving away any more land. We have yet to see the conquest of the original borders of the land of Israel and their extension to the Biblically promised allotment to Israel which included all the land from the Euphrates to the Mediterranean Sea, from the Red Sea upwards into part of Lebanon. 

Let us all pray that YHWH will go out with Israel’s armies in an even more significant way. We do not have a high priest to go out ahead of the Army yet, but we have people everywhere praying for the success of Israel’s efforts to gain control of our own land.

B’Shalom

Ariella