judaism

¿Un Nombre Pagano para El Eterno Dios de Israel?

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YHWH o Adonai?

Por Ariella Casey

Muchos judíos rezan al ETERNO en los servicios religiosos dirigiéndose a Él como Adonai. Este es el reemplazo hebreo del Santo NOMBRE en el Tetragrámaton YHVH. ¿De dónde viene esta práctica y tiene algo que ver con el nombre Adonis que fue utilizado por los fenicios, griegos, romanos, etc.? Si es así, ¿cómo llegó a ser un título respetuoso para el Di-s hebreo? Quiero aclarar que hay una advertencia y es cuando la palabra para “mi maestro” אדוני se usa realmente en el texto hebreo, pero a menudo también se refiere a gobernantes y profetas y es un título de posición más que un nombre. Lo mismo se aplica a la palabra SEÑOR, que los cristianos utilizan abundantemente para referirse a Jesús. Lo escriben como “SEÑOR” en su “Antiguo Testamento” dondequiera que el hebreo use el Tetragrámaton, y “Señor” en su Nuevo Testamento para referirse a Jesús.

“Etimología. Del hebreo אֲדֹנָי‎ (ādônay, “Mi Señor”); usado en lugar del Tetragrámaton YHWH como nombre del Dios de los hebreos durante la recitación de la oración.”(https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ Adonai -,Etimología,los hebreos durante la recitación de la oración.)
Entonces, según Wikcionario, Adonai es un reemplazo de YHVH. ¿Por qué elegiríamos reemplazar el Santo nombre con algo que suena parecido a la forma en que los antiguos paganos se dirigían a sus deidades? ¿Qué dice la Torá sobre el uso de los nombres de otros dioses como sustitutos?
Éxodo 23:13:
“Estad atentos a todo lo que os he dicho. No menciones los nombres de otros dioses; no se oirán en vuestros labios”.

Adonis proviene de la antigua mitología fenicia, griega y romana y se adaptó a la religión judía y otras religiones. Es una forma de decir “Maestro” o “Señor”.

“En la Biblia, al Dios israelita, Yahvé, a veces se le llama Adón, aunque el término se usa como un título, no como el nombre personal de Yahvé. Con el tiempo, la denominación “Adonai” (mi Señor) se convirtió en un nombre de sustitución para pronunciar en oración el nombre indecible Yahweh, que en el período rabínico temprano (siglos I y II d.C.) se había vuelto demasiado sagrado para pronunciarlo. Hasta el día de hoy, cuando los judíos encuentran las consonantes de “Yahweh” (YHWH) en la oración, la pronuncian “Adonai”. Quizás se sorprendan al saber que esta palabra de sustitución está relacionada con el fenicio “Adon” y el grecochipriota “Adonis”. .’” https://phoenicia.org/adonis.html

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Momentos místicos en el tiempo y el espacio

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Por Ariella Casey

Alguien preguntó durante una discusión de la parashá Bmidbar: “¿Por qué YHWH decidió dar los mandamientos en el Sinaí y no en la tierra de Israel?”

Tengo un par de pensamientos sobre esto.

YHWH eligió el Sinaí porque Israel tuvo que abandonar el Egipto idólatra antes de poder tener una atmósfera donde pudieran escuchar la Voz de Dios.

Israel necesitaba recibir los mandamientos antes de entrar a la tierra y aprender a obedecerlos. Si hubieran entrado a la tierra en su estado idólatra, no habrían seguido las instrucciones de exterminar a los habitantes de la tierra; no habrían tenido discernimiento para entender qué era tan malo en sus prácticas y podrían haber elegido unirse a ellos.

Israel necesitaba ser una Nación Santa, necesitaba aprender a caminar con Dios en el desierto antes de poder caminar con Dios en la Tierra. Desafortunadamente, hoy en día no hay desierto en la transición desde la diáspora. Y sí, ha habido muchas tonterías aprendidas por parte de las naciones, tonterías que vienen con el equipaje de la Aliá a Israel.

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Mystical Moments in Time and Space

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When and where was Sinai?

By Ariella Casey

Someone asked during a Parsha Bmidbar discussion: “Why did Hashem choose to give the commandments on Sinai and not in the land of Israel?”

I have a couple of thoughts on this.

YHWH chose Sinai because Israel had to leave idolatrous Egypt before they could have an atmosphere where they could hear the Voice of God. 

Israel needed to receive the commandments before they entered the land and learned to obey. If they had entered the land in their idolatrous state they would not have followed the instruction to wipe out the inhabitants of the land–they would not have had discernment to understand what was so bad about their practices and might have chosen to join them.

Israel needed to be a Holy Nation, they needed to learn to walk with God in the wilderness before they could walk with God in the Land. Unfortunately, there is no desert in the transition from the Diaspora today. And yes, there has been a lot of learned nonsense from the nations–nonsense that comes with the baggage of Aliya to Israel.

The desert of Sinai, a place completely desolate, was a place for learning. No distractions or false teachings. Only the voice of the Eternal could be heard. 

The wilderness represents the idea that these commandments are not location bound. They are for the entire world and, no, I don’t embrace Noahide laws.

Sinai, where the Eternal Covenant was made, was a place beyond time and space. Thus the Eternal Covenant is a Mystical Covenant. The 10 commandments are not limited to several thousand years for a certain people in a certain land. They are Eternal. 

The Covenant people had to be separate from those who were not willing to embrace the covenant. This took 40 years. The Covenant was not to be trusted to those who would not follow it–notwithstanding their Jewish (Hebrew) blood. The same thing goes for today. The idea of being a descendant of the Chosen People has nothing to do with obligational entitlement to blessings. It is mandatory that we spend time at Sinai and “become” the Chosen People. 

Lev 20:26 – “And ye shall be holy unto me; for I YHWH am holy, and have separated you from the peoples to be mine.”

So the Covenant of YHWH is given in a Place outside any nation and in a time that is not time-bound. No one knows the date of the giving of the commandments, other than an approximation.  

The Shavuot holiday also is a little bit mysterious. Each year in Israel we count the Omer rather than basing the Holy Day of Shavuot upon a set calendar. The Holy Days of Pesach and then Shavuot are determined each year after the Barley is seen and the New Moon of the first month opens the door to Pesach. From the day after the Sabbath of Pesach, we count day by day to determine Shavuot. It is a personal counting. And Shavuot occurs only around the time the 10 commandments were given, which are even more mysterious as to time relativity. Shavuot requires us to follow the real signs of the Heavens plus Torah specified math calculation to determine when it falls. There can be no preset calendar. The counting is an individual application, that without it, you would miss some of the mitzvoth of Shavuot. 

Then the day of commandments, which was never specified, happens a few days or weeks later. And that is why! Because it is for all time.

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Shavuot is not a Shabbat

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Shavuot and Holy Day Observance

Let’s talk about the rules, Rabbinic or not, of keeping Yom Tov’s and their relation to the observance of Shabbat. My Rabbinic Jewish friends will not turn on a light on Shabbat nor on Yom Tov. And in case you were wondering, a Yom Tov means “a good day” and is the name used for the Holy Days that are required by the Torah as festivals to YHWH. 

Picture from the Jewish Federation of New Jersey

There are indeed a lot of rules about keeping these days!

Observant Jews must refrain from driving on any Shabbat or Yom Tov. They do not light an original fire. That is, on Yom Tovs, they can transfer a fire but not light a new one. There is nothing in the Torah that prohibits the use of fire on a Festival (Yom Tov) other than Shabbat or Yom Kippur. 

Cooking or baking may be done on a Yom Tov, but only for those who eat of the meal. (That by the way is biblical). Basically the rules for Yom Tovs are almost the same as for Sabbaths, but they stress that the day must be celebrated even more than the Shabbat. Employment at a job or making any money is forbidden. The handling of money also is forbidden (No law was specified in the Torah here). Suppose my family wanted to go to a good restaurant. We would be forbidden to pay for the meal, or at least pay in advance of the day. I see nothing in the Torah that forbids driving a vehicle or eating at a restaurant on a Yom Tov. Writing is also forbidden because  it involves creating something from nothing, supposedly. You can’t turn the TV on but you can read novels. Really? Also, since the requirement to not carry a burden on the Sabbath includes not even carrying a handkerchief if it is not part of your attire, then also this rule applies to Yom Tovs! (To verify some of these rules I have stated, check out what Chabad says here. 

How can we simplify all of this? First start by comparing what the Torah really says!

Rulings in the Diaspora (anywhere outside of Israel) include keeping two days for Holy Days such as Rosh Hashanah, and actually 4 Holy days for Pesach (two at the beginning and two at the end), Shemini Atzeret and Sukkot also have 2 days when only one is specified. However, and here it gets sticky: some of these Holy Days are not to be kept outside the land of Israel. Research for yourself. I find that both Shavuot and Sukkot are harvest Holy Days and are only meant for Israel. Any time the Torah says, “and when you come into the land” referring to a Holy Day, then realize that that Holy Day is for Israel only. But not many follow this. Sometimes observant Jews get tired of keeping so many days as well as saying so many specified prayers, for which each Holy day has it’s own prayer book. Certainly, YHWH gets tired of it too!

Let us take a look at Shavuot. Here are the Torah verses:

Lev. 23:10-22 Read here. Note from verse 10: “… When ye come in unto the land which I am giving to you, and have reaped its harvest, and have brought in the sheaf, the beginning of your harvest unto the priest,”

So you see Shavuot is not to be celebrated in its entirety outside the land, and actually, until there are sacrifices and a temple, even in the land, it is very limited.

Exo 34:22 YLT – “`And a feast of weeks thou dost observe for thyself; first-fruits of wheat-harvest; and the feast of in-gathering, at the revolution of the year.”

Deu 16:10 YLT – “and thou hast made the feast of weeks to Jehovah thy God, a tribute of a free-will offering of thy hand, which thou dost give, as Jehovah thy God doth bless thee.”

Deu 16:16 YLT – “‘Three times in a year doth every one of thy males appear before Jehovah thy God in the place which He doth choose — in the feast of unleavened things, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of booths; and they do not appear before Jehovah empty;”

To discover what is to be done on Shavuot or any other Holy Day, please read all of Leviticus 23. You may discover some interesting things that will change your outlook. 

Basically we must admit that eating cheesecake is not a commandment for Shavuot. Of course, it is not forbidden, but the tradition comes close to requiring it. Why? Most branches of Judaism other than Karaites specify that the 10 commandments were given on Shavuot, which I take issue with. Nowhere does it say that. In fact Shavuot is not connected to the month system, rather to the weekly counting from the Sabbath of Pesach which is also something the Orthodox have changed. Since to them, any Holy Day is a Shabbat, they then count from the day after the first Holy Day of Pesach, which explains why those in Israel they are keeping from the 11th at Sundown through the 12th of June this year and Karaites, who count correctly from the weekly Shabbat that falls during Pesach, seven weeks of days ending on a Sunday (Yom Rishon) the first day after 7 full weeks. That means we will celebrate on the 16th, but beginning at Sundown on the 15th. Very difficult to live with two Holy Day systems, especially when the calendar in Israel is fixed to accommodate the Rabbinic days rather than the Torah days. So the stores will all be closed Monday night through Tuesday but open on the real Holy Day of Shavuot.  

Happy researching, my friends! What is really required and when?

Who’s in Heaven Anyway?

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Death and Immortality of the Soul

Recently I heard a friend comment about all the souls in Heaven that are watching the events on this earth–cheering for the progress in restoring the land of Israel and crying over all the mistakes made by our Government. I was shocked because the Bible, Tanakh, Old Testament if you will, do not say these things. It is clear that those who are dead take no part in what happens under the sun, nor do they even know when their sons come to honor or disgrace. There is no way any human that we know of other than Enoch and Elijah are out there watching us and the events that happen to us. Remember, this is based on the Hebrew Scriptures only. 

So let’s begin with a perusal of texts that relate to this topic. 

Genesis 2:7:: “Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath (soul) of life; and man became a living being.”

 וַיִּיצֶר יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים אֶת־הָאָדָם עָפָר מִן־הָאֲדָמָה וַיִּפַּח בְּאַפָּיו נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים וַיְהִי הָאָדָם לְנֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה׃

Gen 2:17””But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” ( or dying you shall die), 

וּמֵעֵץ הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע לֹא תֹאכַל מִמֶּנּוּ כִּי בְּיוֹם אֲכָלְךָ מִמֶּנּוּ מוֹת תָּמוּת׃

The idea of dying “that same day” is something a lot of students of scripture have tried to wrap their heads around. The verse uses two words for death ( מוֹת תָּמוּת). This is found elsewhere in scripture. When the children of Israel were in the desert and had been complaining about many things, YHVH told Moses that many would die in the wilderness. 

Num 26:65 ”For the LORD had said of them, “They shall surely die in the wilderness.” There was not left a man of them, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.”

This passage also uses the two words that are translated “surely die” in some Bibles (מוֹת תָּמוּת). From both stories we see that physical death happened sometime later. But could it also mean that Adam and Eve, on that day became mortal, no longer having eternal life within them? At that point the element of eternal life had left them. 

But what actually happens when someone dies physically? This is really an important question and one that many religions state that only the body dies and stops breathing but the soul goes on living as an eternal element whether in Heaven or the other Place. But what does the Bible say? 

Is there evidence that the theory of the eternality of the soul is something that comes from paganism? When did this belief begin? I know that in Ancient Egypt, the mummified remains of rulers were buried with treasures and food for them to enter the afterlife. Not only Egypt, but Babylon, the cult of Osiris/Isis and the Greeks held this belief. See here.  It seems all pagan religions clung to this belief–the idea of an eternal life of the soul which elevated the senses to bliss or destined to them to hell and torment. But is this what the Bible says? Let’s look at all of this as we open this up for scrutiny.  The following verses deal with death and the grave:

Job 7:9-10 “[As] the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no [more]. He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more.”

Job 14:10, 14,15, 21, “But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where [is] he? If a man die, shall he live [again]? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands. His sons come to honor, and he knoweth [it] not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth [it] not of them.”

Sometimes people tell me that these verses are speaking of the wicked, not the righteous, but I don’t see any surrounding verses that suggest this. Notice in the verse above, Job is waiting for an appointed time. Trusting that God will remember him.  And mind you, Job is listed as one of the three most righteous men.

Eze 14:14: “even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, says the Lord GOD.”

Psa 6:5 “For in death there is no remembrance of thee; in Sheol who can give thee praise?”

Again, no mention that there are two types of people with different conditions in death. In fact, the wicked would not be praising Yah anyway. 

Psalm 115:17: “The dead do not praise the LORD, nor do any that go down into silence.”

Psa 13:3 “Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; lighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death.” So here the Psalmist calls death a sleep. 

Once King Saul sought out a Spirit Medium (one who practices Necromancy) which had been forbidden by YHVH in the Torah (see here). He wanted to know the outcome of the battle with the Philistines.Deut 18:9-11 See Here.

Saul asked to have Samuel brought up for him to tell the future of the battle. Samuel said the following:

1Sam 28:15: “Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul answered, “I am in great distress; for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams; therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do.”

Note that Samuel demanded, “Why have you disturbed me?” As we are seeing, Samuel was dead and no, he did not come down from heaven, he was awakened to speak to Saul and was not happy about it. YHVH clearly forbade communication with the dead. They are not to be woken up, disturbed. Saul paid dearly for his disobedience. Read the whole passage in the link above.

Psa 16:10 “For thou dost not give me up to Sheol, or let thy godly one see the Pit.”

Here it seems that maybe this verse, if taken alone, means that the righteous do not go down to Sheol, but notice that it says that the Eternal will not “give me up to Sheol.” Other versions, us the word “abandon my soul.” If the soul has the possibility of being abandoned to Sheol (the grave), then David is saying that he trusts that his soul will not remain there permanently. And how long is that? Until the resurrection according to Daniel 12 and other passages.

Psa 49:15 “But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me.” [Selah]

What about the resurrection?

Why would YHVH even need a resurrection if He already has the souls of the good people with Him? The resurrection is a principle of faith for both Jews, see here,  as well as most Christian organizations, see here. 

In Job 19:25-27, Job speaks of waiting for the resurrection: “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at last he will stand upon the earth; – and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then from my flesh I shall see God, – whom I shall see on my side, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!” See verse 25 in Hebrew below:

 וַאֲנִי יָדַעְתִּי גֹּאֲלִי חָי וְאַחֲרוֹן עַל־עָפָר יָקוּם׃

Again, what would be the purpose for Job to claim with faith that the Great Redeemer of souls would remember him in the final day upon the earth if there were no resurrection of the dead?

Daniel 12:1-2 “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time; but at that time your people shall be delivered, every one whose name shall be found written in the book.- And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”

Did you notice the words,” Sleep in the Dust”? Again we see that the dead are asleep, not wandering around either in Hell or in Heaven. But what returns to Hashem anyway?

And what about Isaiah?
Isa 26:19 “Your dead shall live; together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust; for your dew is like the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead”

So, again, what returns to the Creator when one dies?
Eccl 12:6-7: “before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit (ruach) returns to God who gave it.” 

Notice the spirit (breath or ruach)  returns, not the soul.

 וְיָשֹׁב הֶעָפָר עַל־הָאָרֶץ כְּשֶׁהָיָה וְהָרוּחַ תָּשׁוּב אֶל־הָאֱלֹהִים אֲשֶׁר נְתָנָהּ׃

Psa 146:4 “When his breath departs he returns to his earth; on that very day his thoughts perish.” 

 תֵּצֵא רוּחוֹ יָשֻׁב לְאַדְמָתוֹ בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא אָבְדוּ עֶשְׁתֹּנֹתָיו׃

If his thoughts perish, he will not even know he is buried, nor would he know if he is in Heaven. 

Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, 10 “For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward; but the memory of them is lost. Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and they have no more for ever any share in all that is done under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.”

The following shows that souls are not ever existing and here even the souls of those who sin (which is all of us), die along with the body. Nobody is in hell suffering damnation, nor in Heaven enjoying paradise except for those such as Enoch, and Elijah whose stories of translation are written for us in the Tanakh. And they did not die first but were taken by the Creator. What was their purpose? I could speculate that they were taken as judges for the generation in which they lived. Are there others? There are no others written of in the Tanakh.  

Ezek 18:4, 20: “Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sins shall die.”

“The soul that sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.”

Nefesh and Neshama: The body and the soul–(breath of YHVH) made a living being

Gen 2:7: “Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath (Neshama or soul) of life; and man became a living being.”

וַיִּיצֶר יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים אֶת־הָאָדָם עָפָר מִן־הָאֲדָמָה וַיִּפַּח בְּאַפָּיו נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים וַיְהִי הָאָדָם לְנֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה׃

Again we see this verse, but for the purpose of identifying the body and the soul as one unit once the breath of his Creator has been placed in his nostrils. 

Many take this to mean that the breath of G-d was actually the soul and it appears to so in this verse. But then why later when man dies, does only the Ruach (breath) return to God? Let me explain again. In Genesis 2:7, the Hebrew is clear that the Creator breathed a soul into Adam and he then became a living creature (Nefesh). So as we have seen above, when man dies only the breath (no not neshama–soul, but ruach–wind or breath) returns to the Eternal. However, and watch this train of thought closely, Adam was created with the potential of eternal life–He was an eternally existent soul. Then something changed when he and Eve ate from the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. 

Gen 2:17 ”But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” 

We know that they ate of the tree and something happened to them at that time. My best research reveals that the first pair became mortal on that day. That means there was a change in the soul. No longer was the soul immortal. And so the question arises: If Adam and Eve were no longer immortal and this seems to be the death that was foretold as “in the day that ye eat thereof,” then this describes the change of the soul from immortal  to mortal. Immortality was lost. So then it would follow that the soul now was not able to return to the Creator in its defiled form. The body now was bound up with the soul and this combination (body and soul) would have to wait for the resurrection of the dead. It also suggests that there must be a judgment day which we must study at another time.

If we see again the verse in Ezekiel 18 above that says “the soul that sinneth, it shall die”, it is clear that not only the body dies, but that the soul that is chained to it dies also. After all it is now a mortal soul, not an immortal one. 

I hope this study comes across clearly. If not, please leave a question or comment in the comments section.

For another study, the subject of judgment and eternal reward and punishment must be saved for later. 

Blessings as we dig deeply into the mine of truth!

Ariella

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