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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?

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!

Destiny or Choice

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Do I have Free Will or Did God Make Me Do It?

Someone raised the question in a chat group last week: if God has all knowledge and knows the future, how can we truly have free will? This query has been asked over and over for time immemorial. What is the answer? Is it even important for us to know? Or is it even possible to know? There are at least two views of this subject. 

Power of Choice after the Tree

Does the fact that God knows everything mean that He predestines us to make the decisions that we make? Does it mean that He somehow directs for bad or for good, where we end up? 

The excuse: “The devil made me do it.” Is not far off from “God made me do it.” So do we have free will? And is it possible that the devil, or as some say, the evil inclination made me do it? If so, does mankind truly have free will? Is it possible to resist the evil inclination that is bound up in our DNA…Something that started after Eve and Adam ate the apple?

Does the Eternal work with our weaknesses? Is He there to give us wisdom and strength to choose the right path? 

When our first parents chose to eat of the tree, they accepted the fate of two natures ruling their flesh. Unfortunately our inclination to evil is amplified unto the third and fourth generation and so we seem destined to do evil at times. But this is not as some religions explain, original sin and we can choose our way out of it!

The idea that the Eternal knows everything and has a divine plan…does that mean that God controls us against our will and makes us mere automatons on a chess board? I don’t like that idea.

The Bible says that God “knows the way that I take” (Job 23:10). It also shows the disaster of doing things the way we feel inclined. David followed his inclination with Bathsheba and his repentance is recorded for us: David’s decision, albeit a wrong decision which produced grave consequences, worked out in the end because the Eternal knows the way we take and guides and directs even after wrong decisions have been made. But, there are always consequences! But if we broaden the view, what effect do my actions have on the lives of others?…choices they may not have made but consequences that included them?

Was it the will of Hashem to direct David to take Bathsheba? Absolutely not! But did he work out something regardless? Obviously many of their descendants, including King Solomon would never have been born. Here is David’s sincere confession: 

Psa 51:”3 For I know my transgressions; And my sin is ever before me. 4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, And done that which is evil in thy sight; That thou mayest be justified when thou speakest, And be clear when thou judgest. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity; And in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts; And in the hidden part thou wilt make me to know wisdom. 7 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. “

What about the sale of Joseph by his brothers? Did the Eternal plan that? Not exactly! Did they all suffer for it! Of course!  From Joseph’s point of view, he was the innocent bystander affected by the decision of his brothers. Clearly not his fault. So was this all engineered by the Master of our Fate?

The tragedy of Joseph’s sale to Egypt did save many people as he later told his brothers. Yes! We don’t know what would have been if Joseph had not been sold, but something else could have happened because the Omnipotence of God is above all of our simple human logic. 

If our DNA includes tendencies to good and to evil, then is it possible to choose good and the path of life and to resist evil? We can, but we do not always do so. So there has to be a plan B, which God already knows about before it happens. If we choose correctly the first time, we might not have so many paths and tunnels in the maze of life. Again, we don’t know and there is much wisdom in saying we do not know the mind of the Eternal. 

Deu 30: “19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

All of us have made bad choices and some of us see that those very choices have brought about learning experiences and actually positioned us to be where we can affect and receive good in this world. How do you bring good out of bad? Well only Hashem knows! But it happens. Job asked the very same question:

Job 14:4: Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?

I can’t quit believing that God has a plan, regardless of all the stuff we wade through, and it will all work out, with or without us but hopefully with us as we straighten our steps under His guidance!

Pro 4: 26 “Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.

Prov 4: 27 “Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.”

On the Other Hand

But what happens when our path is clearly guided to something we had nothing to do with, like Job when all he held dear was destroyed? This had nothing to do with his choices. Sometimes this happens and then what? How can we say he had free will? How can the Eternal be just and throw something like this upon any human being? We know that Job was recompensed in the long run and yet it seems he had no choice in the matter.  So what? Was he chosen? And for what? 

Chosen–The Chosen People

 “I know, I know. We are your chosen People. But, once in a while can’t you choose someone else?” Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof. 

It seems the Jews are chosen to suffer from time immemorial and was there a reason for this suffering? Individually it appears very vague. Do we suffer for the sins of our ancestors? Apparently! And yet we have the promise that the son is not punished for the sins of the father. (Deut 24:16). Strange, seemingly unmerited consequences. Is there ever a way out?

Right, so yes, there are instances when people are apparently chosen as guinea pigs, as in the case of Job above. We don’t know at the time and may never know but these things happen and it seems we have no choice in the matter which puts the eternal question back in place: “If we truly have free will, then why do these things happen to me? And if God is the engineer of the world’s fate then how do I fit in and can I really direct my own life?

Ariella Casey

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Exile Prayers — Does God Hear Them?

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A young hostage, locked in a tunnel in Gaza did not know or remember the daily prayers required for all good Jews. He started talking directly to God as to a friend. He soon felt he was surrounded by light and warmth even in the darkness. When he was rescued, what happened? He was brought into the company of religious Jews and “shown the way.” But was this really “the way” when he had  already felt the presence of the Eternal personally? I wonder if he will still feel the warm arms of the Eternal about him?

Did the repetition of pre-written, daily prayers save Jews during the Holocaust?
Did the increase in numbers of attendance at synagogues, where prayers are the main subject actually bring an end to the ongoing October 7 war?

Perhaps the more one feels the persecution of Antisemites, the more he or she prays! But what are these prayers anyway?  Do memorizing the frequently repeated prayers actually bring Heaven to the rescue? Maybe, maybe not. What seems to happen is that praying together unites Jews to a common cause, but is the strength merely the strength of the community or is it God-given strength and blessing? And where did this all start? I call these Exile prayers.

What is prayer? Do we think that a cleverly and beautifully written prayer will somehow impress the Eternal when all He wants is the expression of the humble and contrite heart? Go ahead! Read someone else’s poems to me to impress me. Will this win my heart?

Psa 51: “17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.”

Isa 66: “2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.”

But what about memorized prayers? Do we have examples in the Bible of those who read memorized prayers and were actually heard? I don’t find any!

What  did the forefathers and the prophets say to God when they prayed? Didn’t they simply ask God for wisdom or to help them? Where in the Bible is there an example of the poetic memorized prayers that are used in today’s religions? There aren’t any. What did Moses say to YHVH when he was afraid to return to Egypt?

When Moses was told to go and speak to Pharaoh, he complained that he was a man of slow speech. He pleaded to get out of the mission. Exo. 4:10

When Elijah felt he was the only one left in the land who didn’t worship the Baals, what did he say? “Even I only am left…” 1 Kings 19:10.

I don’t find anywhere a prayer where someone in the Bible quoted the prayers of another person.

Is prayer about real communication with the Creator or is it about flattering God to get what we want? Are we somehow doing our duty when we repeat the nicely-worded prayers thrice daily? Does it even matter?  Was anyone ever chosen by God who relied on the communication of someone else?

In rereading what I have said it appears that  I condemn all the communal prayers. Let me say, to the contrary,  I believe that the Almighty hears the individual cry behind these prayers. He feels the need of the heart that drives people together. But should not our individual prayers be more about the expression of our own needs and thoughts rather than the thoughts of others? And if we prayed more in this way, would not our public gatherings see more of the blessing of Heaven?

I am not saying that it is wrong to use Psalms and other Bible verses to frame our worship and Shabbat meals. These verses set a framework around the special family time of coming together to enjoy that special time of welcoming of the Shabbat. We read the 23rd Psalm, Exodus 31, Exodus 20 and parts of Isaiah 56. It is even better if you understand the Hebrew so that the words mean something to you. Yet, how much beyond this do we need to go? When does private prayer lose it’s significance? Is God really impressed by our knowledge of how to read a prayer in a foreign tongue? Or would he rather hear us a loving parent hears their children speak to them?

Does the the victim mentality of many Jews perhaps come from not knowing the Almighty on a personal level? Why were we destined to Exile for 2000 years? When we got caught up in following paganism we were not listening on an individual level to the Eternal, so He sent us out of our land. Did we ever learn otherwise than to follow someone else’s ways and teachings? Can we learn to be thinkers rather than mere reflectors of what our great leaders have said?”

Do we know God only vicariously through the words of sages and others or is God a God that is available to all of us? Is he merely there when we are under the authority of wise men and sages? Will He indeed hear the prayer of the contrite and humble heart? Do we have that kind of Emunah (faith) and Bitachon (trust) that clings to the Eternal in the darkness, not willing to let go until we find the blessing.

Jacob clung to the one who fought with him just before dawn when he realized it was a divine being, He said: “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” Can we have that kind of Hutzpah with Hashem?

Pray until the light shines. It will happen!

Yours…

Ariella