How to Boil a Frog… and keep it “Kosher”!

How History transformed Religion, Politics and Everything

By Ariella Casey

Why did the prophets almost invariably suffer from rejection of those they came to instruct? There are plenty of examples. Ever since the passing of Moses and then Joshua, the people of Israel balked at following anything but what they wanted to follow. They were called stiff-necked by Hashem and also by Moses even when he was there to supervise!

“Therefore understand that YHVH your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people. … “Furthermore, YHVH spoke to me, saying, ‘I have seen this people, and indeed they are a stiff-necked people.” (Deu 9:6, 13).

What makes a nation of slaves ruled by Egypt become stiff-necked? Was it the abuse that drove them to rebel? I suppose there are psychological explanations for why people once under the whip do not care to obey a loving God, interested in their welfare, yet even after the 40-year purge in the desert, the Hebrews were still stiff-necked, doing their own thing, not trusting, trying to figure things out to suit them. But they were still the chosen people and beloved of their Savior YHVH. The patience of God is beyond our human comprehension at times!

Are we any better today? I really wonder. Every religion on earth has its self-styled leadership that guides it’s people in ways that work for them. Sometimes the teachings and rulings are even harder and more of a burden than the original instructions given in the Book of Books! 

So why not check that out? If we really outlined the rules of Halakha and laid them one by one besides literal Torah laws, what would we find? And if there are discrepancies? Which set of laws should we observe? Shall we just go along to get along and think that maybe the true meaning is given in what the leadership teaches? Let me ask you, was there ever a time since the life of Joshua when the leadership of the Israelites did not cause them to go astray? It is interesting to see how many prophets arose to rebuke the nation in nearly every generation.

So what about the prophets? I really would not want the job. Especially when I read about the things they were made to suffer at the hands of those they came to warn. 

I was told today by an elderly Jew by choice that we are instructed in Deuteronomy to follow the majority. Strange that she doesn’t remember that just the opposite is true. Let’s look at another verse about the majority: 

“You shall not follow a multitude to do evil; nor shall you bear witness in a suit, turning aside after a multitude, so as to pervert justice” (Exodus 23:2).

What would all this have to do with a frog in a boiling pot?

Bear with me as I set the stage. The following quotation is from Forbes Magazine and shows the danger of allowing corporate leadership to establish thinking in the business world. The same goes for religion: 

In business

“There is a fascinating 19th century science experiment.  As the story goes, researchers found that when they put a frog in a pan of boiling water, the frog just quickly jumped out.  On the other hand, when they put a frog in cold water and put the water to boil over time, the frog just boiled to death.  The hypothesis is that the change in temperature is so gradual, the frog does not realize it’s boiling to death…Often the lack of trust and engagement creeps up on us. We don’t even feel it coming. We just know something smells funny.  Often we’re not sure what to do about it. We’re not even sure whether it’s our job to do something about it.” (Source)

What examples do we have of Israel following a multitude to do evil? 

  • The Golden Calf
  • Murmuring over food and water
  • The report of the 10 spies
  • The rebellion of Korach
  • The rejection of King David in favor of his son Absalom

And there are a lot more. How were these cases handled? 

Judaism today follows Rabbis instead of Cohanim and Leviim from the line of Aaron, (we might ask how this came about) and how is it that we now follow halacha instead of the laws of the literal Torah? Perhaps there is a need for another prophet or two. 

How on earth did we get here? Who stole our Torah, making it into something so heavy to bear? This of course has happened over thousands of years so that none really understands what is required of him. It came about like metamorphosis. Like a frog in a kettle that slowly comes to a boil. 

So what do the Sages tell us about this? Do we actually know anything about it? And when did this all start? This is what OU Torah says about following the majority: 

“Following the majority is the general rule in deciding matters of Torah law, assuming that all of the people involved in the debate are of comparable stature…The reason for this mitzvah is that if every individual was left to observe the Torah as he or she personally understood it, there would be as many versions of Judaism as there are Jews! No one could ever defer to another opinion, as everyone would be personally obligated to follow his or her own conscience in every matter. In order to have a feasible society, the Torah had to dictate that a majority consensus of the Sages would decide matters of religious practice. This unifies Jews worldwide and enables the Torah to survive and be transmitted from generation to generation.” See context here.

Taken at face value, this appears to be wise, but what happens when leaders add to the laws of Torah and then pass it off as if it is the true interpretation of Torah? And ask yourself if the Creator of the Torah ever meant to give His Torah over to a group of scholars to decide what it means. Can we not know in our hearts what it means by diligent study of the literal words of Torah? I do not say there is no room for leadership, but I do question why Hashem allowed the Temple to be destroyed about the time that the leadership was turning over to sages instead of divinely appointed Cohanim? At a time when they had just declared that the Torah was in their hands and that they did not listen to Heaven. Remember the Oven of Akhnai? (Source)

History bears testimony to the fact that this change was carried out under intense struggle and horrible fighting, between the vying factions of leadership at the time. There were the Hasmoneans, Sadducee and Pharisee groups, the Pharisees giving in to and appealing to Roman authority at a time when everything was coming together for a new order for Jews. The temple really didn’t matter to the leadership anymore. And how dare we say that?

In politics

We know very well what happens in a political situation that has led its people in a direction for so long they no longer know what they really believe about how a country should be run. They vote one way because they have always voted that way, even when something has come in little by little to change everything the party once stood for. It was the same thing back 2000 years ago when the Pharisees took over by working with Rome. 

At the time of Vespasian’s conquest of Jerusalem, something took place that not many know about.  Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai made an ungodly exchange in order to preserve his students.  This is history. He asked for Yavne and the Sages in exchange for Jerusalem. ( link) And as much as that was and is justified, it showed how little value he placed on the Temple and the Temple Mount. He was granted his wish by Vespasian, and the sages were the chosen leaders of Israel. Yeshiva education was consequently founded as the approved training for all rabbis for the Jewish religion and thus, the priesthood-based on the descent from Aaron was replaced. 

Who was this Yochanan ben Zakkai? 

Yohanan ben Zakkai[a] (Hebrew: יוֹחָנָן בֶּן זַכַּאי, romanized: Yōḥānān ben Zakkaʾy; 1st century CE), sometimes abbreviated as ריב״ז‎ ribaz for Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai, was a tanna, an important Jewish sage during the late Second Temple period during the transformative post-destruction era. He was a primary contributor to the core text of Rabbinic Judaism, the Mishnah. His name is often preceded by the honorific title Rabban. He is widely regarded as one of the most important Jewish figures of his time, and his escape from the Roman destruction of Jerusalem (which allowed him to continue teaching) may have been instrumental in Rabbinic Judaism’s survival post-Temple. His tomb is located in Tiberias within the Maimonides burial compound.”

Yohanan ben Zakkai was the first Jewish sage attributed the title of rabbi in the Mishnah” (source)

So, he was the primary sage founded the Mishnah along with others. Highly respected for establishing, as it were, the rabbinic order. Honored as he was and is, can it be that there was something that smells funny about this? 

Perhaps this would be well and good if there had not been dire consequences. The Temple was destroyed, Jews were exiled and force converted to Catholicism, the pogroms started, the Holocaust happened and so much more! Where was God in all of this? How dare I assert that the reason for all the persecution was the acceptance of a substitute for Heaven? Well, I am saying it and what I say is based on the prophecies of what would happen if Israel strayed from the Word given them on Sinai!

There is a dire warning in the Torah itself for what would happen if Israel strayed from it’s divinely mandated Torah? Is there not a prediction given in the curses on Mount Ebal for what almost exactly took place?  What were the expressed consequences of adding or subtracting from the Torah as given on Sinai? The warnings in the Torah have been fulfilled. These things happened and we still don’t get it? Why does Israel have to fight so hard to win back our God-given land, losing so many soldiers and civilians when, if we returned to the Torah as given on Sinai, we might have a complete and quick salvation from our enemies? But YHVH is a God of compassion. He knows the history of how the traditions and Halakha came to be and how difficult it is to open people’s eyes to what has been and what used to be. 

“Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee forever, when thou doest that which is good and right in the eyes of YHVH thy God. When YHVH thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest in to dispossess them, and thou dispossessest them, and dwellest in their land; take heed to thyself that thou be not ensnared to follow them, after that they are destroyed from before thee; and that thou inquire not after their gods, saying, How do these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. Thou shalt not do so unto YHVH thy God: for every abomination to YHVH, which he hates, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters do they burn in the fire to their gods. What thing soever I command you, that shall ye observe to do: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.” (Deu 12:28-32 ASV)

And the curse of exile for not following the Torah: 

“But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of YHVH thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day, that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee.” (Deu 28:15)

” … therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies that YHVH shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee. YHVH will bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; a nation of fierce countenance, that shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favor to the young, …;” (Deu 28: 48-50, ASV)

“ … And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou didst not hearken unto the voice of YHVH thy God. And it shall come to pass, that, as YHVH rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you, so YHVH will rejoice over you to cause you to perish, and to destroy you; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest in to possess it. And YHVH will scatter thee among all peoples, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou nor thy fathers, even wood and stone. And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, and there shall be no rest for the sole of thy foot: but YHVH will give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and pining of soul;” (Deu 28:62-65 ASV)

Now that a large portion of the Jewish people have returned to live in the Land of Israel and we are embattled on seven fronts, is it not time to appeal to the Eternal who made the Everlasting Covenant with us on Sinai? Do we really need all the books of instruction to guide us? Sadly, all that we read above has come upon our people.  So how do we get back with the original program to serve YHVH with all our hearts? After all, is it not too difficult for us to change? And how will we know the way? 

“He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth YHVH require of thee, but to do justly, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with thy God?” (Mic 6:8 ASV)

“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.” (Deu 30:11-14 ASV)

I know that it is nearly impossible to question everything you have ever learned about your traditions, your culture and your understanding of Biblical truth, but what if we are somehow blinded to the truth by a leadership gone wrong. What if we are following a multitude to do evil. Would it not be evil to say that God doesn’t speak to us anymore? Would it not be evil to change God’s laws to fit the decisions of the majority? 

Would it be wiser, though not easier, to jump out of the boiling pot before we become frog stew?

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Parashá Noe:  Misterios Extraños

¿Por qué la maldición sobre Canaán?

Por Ariella Casey

En algún lugar alrededor Hace 4000 años, justo antes del diluvio, si tomamos la línea de tiempo de la Biblia para ser exacta, YHVH declaró que la tierra era irredimible y comenzó la búsqueda para encontrar algún justo que pudiera estar vivo. Si no hubiera encontrado a Noe, es posible que nosotros, los que habitamos la tierra hoy en día, nunca hayamos visto la luz de los tiempos modernos. Para algunos de nosotros, no es tan difícil imaginar el grado de maldad al que había caído el mundo en ese momento porque vemos nuestro mundo hoy en una condición similar, excusando todo tipo de pecado imaginable; violaciones de niños pequeños, asesinatos, robos, casi todas las aberraciones sexuales imaginables y otras cosas que ni siquiera se pueden mencionar. Y lo que es peor, las autoridades dudan en castigar este mal. Los niños son arrebatados a padres que les niegan el cambio de sexo. 

Pero Noé encontró favor con el Creador siendo la única persona justa que pudo encontrar sobre la tierra. Pero ¿qué pasa con ese mundo del que sabemos tan poco aparte de los cráteres gigantes y las montañas sobresalientes que son testigos de la historia de la Biblia? ¿Se trata simplemente de un mito, como a muchos les gusta afirmar, que basan sus creencias en descubrimientos “científicos” anteriores a la creación de nuestro mundo, hace millones de años? ¿Y más bien una explosión celestial masiva, “un big bang” si se quiere, como su Diseñador en lugar de un Dios amoroso que planeó cuidadosamente todas y cada una de las criaturas con la idea de un universo armonioso?

Imagen gratis de Freepik.com

Al mirar la historia anterior al diluvio, nos vienen a la mente muchas preguntas. Los capítulos 4 y 5 del Génesis (Bereshit) son especialmente intrigantes. Después de que Caín mató a Abel, parece que Adán no lo reconoció como su hijo, ya que sólo después del nacimiento de Set, 130 años después, reclamó un hijo a su semejanza (imagen). 

“Y vivió Adán ciento treinta años, y engendró un hijo a su semejanza, conforme a su imagen, y llamó su nombre Set:” (Génesis 5:3 RV)

¿Qué pasó para crear tal ira en Caín que mató a Abel? ¿Por qué tan cerca de la época de Gan Eden encontramos este impulso abrumador de pecar? Sé lo que enseñan los católicos sobre el pecado original. Pero hay un versículo en esta historia que muestra claramente que las personas no están obligadas a obedecer a la llamada “naturaleza caída”:

“Pero él (Elohim) no miró con agrado a Caín y su ofrenda. Entonces Caín se enojó mucho, y su rostro estaba abatido. Entonces YHVH dijo a Caín: “¿Por qué estás enojado? ¿Por qué tienes la cara abatida? Si haces lo correcto, ¿no serás aceptado? Pero si no haces lo correcto, el pecado está acechando a tu puerta; desea tenerte a ti, pero tú debes gobernarlo.”” (Génesis 4:5-7 NVI)

Desde muy temprano vemos que el pecado puede crear un impulso de actuar, pero como el Creador le señaló a Caín, “tú debes gobernarlo”. El hombre no está sujeto al pecado, éste se presenta, pero hay que resistirlo. Caín siguió su inclinación y eso inició un proceso de maldad que continuó hasta el momento del diluvio. Su linaje no se destacó por sus buenas costumbres. Por eso Adán se sintió aliviado cuando engendró a Set, que era a su imagen. Después de tomar el fruto en el Jardín, no se registró que el propio Adán hubiera pecado de ninguna otra manera. Los capítulos 4 y 5 tratan sobre los dos linajes desde Adán. El de Caín que fue marcadamente malvado y el de Set que mostró muy poca maldad. Es casi como si el poder del bien se manifestara a través de este linaje real, el linaje de Set que continuó hasta Noé.h. En el momento del diluvio, Noé era el único de este linaje que aún vivía. Su padre Lamec había muerto y Matusalén, su abuelo, murió el año del diluvio. Un ejemplo sobresaliente de este linaje es Enoc, quien caminó con Elohim después del nacimiento de su hijo Matusalén. 

“Cuando Enoc había vivido 65 años, engendró a Matusalén. Después de convertirse en padre de Matusalén, Enoc caminó fielmente con Dios 300 años y tuvo otros hijos e hijas. En total, Enoc vivió un total de 365 años. Enoc caminó fielmente con Dios; entonces ya no estaba, porque Dios se lo llevó.” (Génesis 5:21-24 NVI)

No vemos hombres que caminaran con Dios entre los descendientes de Caín. ¿Por qué? Los grupos religiosos suelen enseñar que las personas con todos los niveles de pecado pueden arrepentirse y cambiar. Podemos tomar lo que se dice acerca del pecado que se extiende a la tercera y cuarta generación (ver el siguiente versículo) y asumir que este linaje nunca corrigió sus caminos, pecando repetidamente y así extendiendo y amplificando el impulso de pecar en el futuro.  

“No te inclinarás ante ellos, ni les servirás, porque yo YHVH tu Dios soy un Dios celoso, que visito la iniquidad de los padres sobre los hijos, sobre la tercera y cuarta generación de los que me aborrecen,” ( Éxodo 20:5 NVI)

Pero ¿a qué se debe el sorprendente contraste entre los dos linajes? Parece que el linaje justo de Set en realidad llevaba algún tipo de bendición inherente adicional ya que dos de este linaje fueron mencionados caminando con Elohim. (Enoc y Noe). 

¿Pero qué pasó en el capítulo 6? 

Los hijos de Elohim tomaron a las hijas del hombre y procrearon con ellas porque eran hermosas a la vista. 

¿Quiénes fueron los hijos de Elohim? Muchos dicen que los ángeles fueron seducidos por estas mujeres y así se formaron los poderosos gigantes y así Dios tuvo que poner fin al mundo como era entonces. Pero tengo muchos problemas con esa suposición. Pensé que los Ángeles sólo sirven al Eterno, que no tienen libre albedrío. ¿Cómo serían tentados? No estaban sujetos al conocimiento del bien y del mal como lo estaban los descendientes de Adán después de la elección que hicieron nuestros primeros padres junto al árbol. Además, un ángel no tiene carne humana, entonces, ¿cómo podría crear niños? Estos son seres eternos que sirven ante el Trono del Altísimo continuamente. No son del mismo ADN. ¿Cómo se puede aparear uno con un ángel si no son de carne y hueso? 

Debemos recordar que no hay nada en el Tanaj que diga que los ángeles alguna vez pecaron. 

“La Biblia hebrea informa que ángeles se aparecieron a cada uno de los Patriarcas, a Moisés, Josuéy muchas otras figuras. ellos parecen Agar en Génesis 16:9, a Lot en Génesis 19:1, y a Abraham en Génesis 22:11, ascienden y descienden La escalera de Jacob en Génesis 28:12 y parecen jacob nuevamente en Génesis 31:11–13. Dios promete enviar uno a Moisés en éxodo 33:2, y envía a uno a interponerse en el camino de Balaam en Números 22:31. Isaías habla del rostro de un ángel “el ángel de la presencia” (“En toda su aflicción fue afligido, y el ángel de su presencia los salvó; en su amor y en su misericordia los redimió; y los llevó, y los llevó todos los días de antaño”) (Isaías 63:9). El Libro de los Salmos dice: “Porque a sus ángeles encargará que te guarden en todos tus caminos” (Salmo 91:11)”. Wikipedia, ver enlace aquí

No sólo eso, si los ángeles eran susceptibles a la tentación con los humanos y podían distraerse de sus misiones asignadas, ¿cómo podían los humanos confiar en que Dios estaba tratando correctamente con ellos? ¿Qué pasaría si cambiaran las palabras del mensaje que fueron enviados a transmitir? ¿No serían aniquilados por el gran YHVH? 

Entonces, ¿quiénes eran los “hijos de Dios” mencionados en el capítulo 6 sino los hombres del linaje real justo de Set? ¿Y podría alguna vez un ser humano ser exaltado para ser llamado “hijo de Dios”? ¿Hay casos en la Biblia donde los hombres son llamados Hijos de Dios?

Hijos de YHVH:

“Y dirás a Faraón: Así dice YHVH: Israel es mi hijo, mi primogénito:” (Éxodo 4:22).

“Cuando se cumplan tus días y duermas con tus padres, yo pondré después de ti tu descendencia, que procederá de tus entrañas, y estableceré su reino. Él edificará una casa a mi nombre, y yo establecerá el trono de su reino para siempre. Yo seré su padre y él será mi hijo.: si comete iniquidad, yo lo castigaré con vara de hombres y con azotes de hijos de hombres;” (2Sa 7:12-14)

“Sin embargo, he puesto a mi rey sobre mi santo monte de Sión. Diré el decreto: YHVH me dijo: tu eres mi hijo; Hoy te he engendrado. ” (Sal 2:6-7 NVI)

“¿Es Efraín mi querido hijo? ¿Es un niño querido? porque cada vez que hablo contra él, todavía lo recuerdo sinceramente: por eso mi corazón lo anhela; Ciertamente tendré misericordia de él, dice YHVH.” (Jer 31:20 ASV)

“Sin embargo, el número de los hijos de Israel será como la arena del mar, que no se puede medir ni contar; y sucederá que en el lugar donde se les dijo: Vosotros no sois mi pueblo, allí se les dirá: Vosotros sois los hijos del Dios vivo.” (Oseas 1:10 RV)

De estos versículos queda muy claro que a los humanos se les puede llamar “hijos de Dios”.

Entonces, ¿quiénes eran los Hijos de Dios en el libro de Job? 

“Y aconteció que el día que vinieron los hijos de Dios a presentarse delante de YHVH, que Satanás también vino entre ellos. Y YHVH dijo a Satanás: ¿De dónde vienes? Entonces Satanás respondió a YHVH, y dijo: De ir y venir por la tierra, y de andar por ella. Y YHVH dijo a Satanás: ¿Has considerado a mi siervo Job? porque no hay nadie como él en la tierra, varón perfecto y recto, temeroso de Dios y apartado del mal.” (Job 1:6-8)

Entonces tenemos a Satanás, que es un ángel creado para una obra especial: la de ser un adversario de la humanidad. La palabra Satán se usa varias veces en el Tanaj y siempre significa adversario. No siempre se refiere a un ángel y no es un ángel caído. Es cierto que Satanás es reprendido por atacar al Sumo Sacerdote Josué en Zacarías. ¿Por qué?

“Entonces me mostró al sumo sacerdote Josué, de pie delante del ángel de YHVH, y Satanás de pie a su derecha para acusarlo. YHVH dijo a Satanás: “¡YHVH te reprenda, Satanás! ¡El Señor, que ha escogido a Jerusalén, os reprenda! ¿No es este hombre un palo encendido arrebatado del fuego?”” (Zac 3:1-2 NVI)

¿Qué se puede decir de un Satán al que se le asigna la tarea de encontrar el mal entre la humanidad y denunciarlo? Parece estar configurado como un fiscal, encuadrando a la humanidad en la sala del tribunal del Universo. 

Volvemos al Justo Job

tLos demás reunidos en la asamblea fueron llamados “Hijos de Dios”. En particular, Satanás viene “también entre a ellos”. Él no es uno de ellos. Viene como un impostor. Ya hablamos de hombres que caminaron con Dios. También sabemos de Elías que fue llevado en un carro de fuego. ¿Pueden ser estos los hijos de Dios mencionados en el primer capítulo de Job? ¿O podrían los allí reunidos ser representantes de mundos no caídos? ¿Podría ser que Satanás venga a la reunión como representante de este mundo caído? (Pues Adán ya no vive). Claramente no es bienvenido allí entre ellos, pero Dios le permite acusar a Job y lo envía de regreso a la tierra para probarlo. La historia es desgarradora. Pero en esto Satanás muestra su obra. Si no hubiera sido limitado, habría destruido a Job junto con todas las demás cosas que perdió. 

Basado en mi sugerencia anterior, los Hijos de Elohim tomaron esposas de entre los descendientes de Caín que eran mujeres muy hermosas. Su descendencia se hizo famosa en las obras del mal. Fueron llamados Nephalim (los caídos). 

Sin embargo, ésta no es toda la historia. Había extrañas criaturas que vagaban por la tierra. En la mitología antigua de diferentes culturas paganas, hay historias de criaturas extrañas, centauros, mitad hombres y mitad bestias, gigantes, tal vez incluidos los bien documentados dinosaurios que nunca llegaron al arca. ¿De dónde vinieron estos? ¿De dónde vino Og? Og apareció después del diluvio y finalmente fue asesinado durante el tiempo de la conquista antes de que Moisés muriera. 

Según mi especulación, una de las mujeres en el arca pudo haber tenido ADN de un pariente nefalim. O quizás el propio Cam fuera hijo de una de estas mujeres. Ningún verso dice que Noe Tuvo los tres hijos de una misma mujer. La extrañeza de tener 3 hijos los obligaría a ser trillizos o de diferente mujer o mujeres si nacieran en el mismo año. La otra posibilidad es que la Biblia simplemente resumiera el nacimiento de los hijos de Noa.h ¿Qué sucede en su año 500? Parece fuera de lugar considerando todas las demás líneas de tiempo y engendramientos que se escriben antes y después de este tiempo. era Noe ¿Tentado con una de estas mujeres y luego llevó a su hijo al arca? 

El pecado de Cam.

Después del diluvio, Noé plantó una viña y al beber el vino, se emborrachó mucho. Quizás el cambio en la tierra hizo posible la fermentación en esta época. Obviamente, o planeaba emborracharse o bebía y no sabía nada de alcohol. Quizás estaba deprimido, pero Ham lo vio descubierto en su cama. Ahora bien, ver accidentalmente a su padre desnudo no fue pecado, pero burlarse de ello y hacer algo que provocó una maldición sobre su hijo Canaán, ciertamente sí lo fue. 

“Cuando Noé despertó de su vino y se enteró de lo que le había hecho su hijo menor, dijo: “¡Maldito sea Canaán! Será el más bajo de los esclavos para sus hermanos.” También dijo: “¡Alabado sea el SEÑOR, el Dios de Sem! Que Canaán sea esclavo de Sem. Que Dios extienda el territorio de Jafet; Que Jafet habite en las tiendas de Sem, y que Canaán sea esclavo de Jafet.”” (Génesis 9:24-27 NVI)

No dice qué había hecho Cam, pero podría haber involucrado algún tipo de acto sexual y podría haber producido a Canaán. ¿Tuvo relaciones con Noa?h¿La esposa? ¿Es posible que lo que pasó fue simplemente bromear sobre esto con sus 2 hermanos? Sin embargo, ¿por qué fue maldecido Canaán si él no estuvo involucrado? Deja mucho que imaginar, y tal vez no deberíamos explorar más, sin embargo, ¿cómo es que Og, que era un refaíta, un gigante y era descendiente de Canaán, llegó a poseer ese extraño ADN si Cam o Canaán no tenían algún ¿Qué tipo de ADN deformado de la época anterior al diluvio? Esto apunta extrañamente a una de las mujeres en el arca o incluso a la esposa de Noé, o a una ex esposa que podría haber sido la madre de Cam. 

Pero no sabemos nada con certeza y, por lo tanto, el elefante en la habitación sigue siendo grande pero sin una identificación definitiva. Espero que le haya resultado agradable buscar pistas en las Escrituras y encontrar cosas que podrían ser más grandes que nuestra comprensión actual. Por ahora, debemos dejar en paz a Cam y Canaán, pero las preguntas ciertamente indican que algo salió mal. Ese algo quizá tengamos que esperar un tiempo para descubrirlo.

Todavía no sabemos mucho sobre los Nephalim excepto que surgieron por los Hijos de Elohim cohabitando con las hijas del hombre de las cuales estoy seguro que estas mujeres eran del linaje de Caín. Una cosa de la que creo que podemos estar seguros que no sucedió es la suposición de que ángeles o extraterrestres se aparearon con mujeres dando lugar a los personajes míticos retratados en el paganismo. Es posible que estas criaturas hayan existido, pero no fue apareándose con ángeles o extraterrestres. Quizás experimentaron cruzando animales con humanos. Algunas fuentes afirman que esta ha sido una práctica incluso en los últimos años. 

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Parasha Noah–Strange things Unexplained

Why the Curse on Canaan

By Ariella Casey

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

Image from Freepic.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

But what happened in chapter 6? 

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sons of YHVH:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Back to Job 

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

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

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

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

The sin of Ham.

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

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

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

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

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

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Parashat Bereshit: Tidbits from Ancient Times

Genesis 1-6

By Ariella Casey

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Israel is at War! Did God Leave Us?

By Ariella Casey

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ariella

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