“In the fifth year
(2013, starting with Rosh Hashanah 2012), there will be plenty (of rain) and
people will eat, drink, and be joyous, and the Torah will return to those who
learned it.”
Now again OvadYah
Avrahami brings us the news of rain in the Land of Israel:
“Thunderstorms
in Israel. Shomron - almost Shavuot and rain is predicted for Shavuot!
OvadYah Avrahami – “It
is Monday evening 15 May. There is thunder and lightning outside and refreshing
rain has been coming down over the last 20 minutes! This type of thunder storm,
which we are used to in South Africa in summer time, is seldom experienced even
in the winter rain season in Israel. The heavy daytime clouds over the
last week and intermittent cool summer weather reminds us of South African
summer weather which is totally different to Israel.
I checked with our Tour Guide who has lived in Shomron for the last 30 years.
"It is unusual." he comments, remarking that a friend, a weather man told
him that he does not recollect ever having had rains at Shavuot time.
A short but strong down pour came on Shabbat,, 3 days ago - while the sun was
shining plus intermittent heavy rain clouds. The weather is cool for this time
of the year - it should have been heavy summer heat already, and on Shabbat, I
had to dress warmer mid-day! Certainly strange to our knowledge!
I have commented on this change recently, posing the question whether perhaps
this may be "The year of Blessing" after Israel's new Gas line to its
abundant new gas fields was also connected right before Pesach (Passover
2013).
Now rain for Shavuot! Somewhere HaShem promises that His Blessings will be more
than we can receive – If?”
Rabbi Yochanan ben
Zaccai of Yavnah wrote the following prophecy just after the destruction of the
city of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple in 70 CE.
Sanhedrin 97a – “Rebi Yochanan ben Zaccai of Yavnah
said: In the generation that Ben Dovid will come, talmidei chachamim, the
“pupil of wisdom” known as the Torah sage or scholar, will decrease, and the
eyes of the remainder will protrude from sighing and sorrow; many chastisements
and many evil decrees will be renewed; one will not cease before another
begins.”
Then we complete the Prophecy of
Rabbi Judah ben Zaccai of Yavneh of the last Seven Years before the coming of
the Messiah as we read these words:
In the first
year (2009 starting with Rosh Hashanah 2008), the following prophecy in Amos
4:7 will be fulfilled “I caused it to rain on one city, but, on another city, I
did not cause it to rain.
In the second
year (2010, starting with Rosh Hashanah 2009), there will be a “slight famine”
in which according to Rashi, “no place will be completely satisfied”.
In the third
year (2011 starting with Rosh Hashanah 2010), “famine will be great, and men,
women, children, pious people, and men of good deeds will die; Torah will be
forgotten by those who learned it.”
In the fourth
year (2012, starting with Rosh Hashanah 2011), “some will be satiated while
others are not.”
In
the fifth year (2013, starting with Rosh Hashanah 2012), there will be plenty
and people will eat, drink, and be joyous, and the Torah will return to those
who learned it.”
In the sixth
year (2014, starting with Rosh Hashanah 2013), there will be voices which
according to Rashi depict either the blowing of the shofars (war) or the
hints and voices about the coming of the messiah.
In the seventh
year (2015, starting with Rosh Hashanah 2014), there will be war (Gog-Magog or
Armageddon).”
All across the Land of Israel preceding the Festival of
Shavuot, the Jewish people began the preparation to celebrate the Festival of
Shavuot. This was the day when the G-d of Israel gave to the Children of Israel,
His Torah. This included the Lost Ten
Tribes of the House of Israel and the House of Judah. During that time the Children
of Israel had received a spiritual state of prophecy, with an elevated state of
consciousness where the revelation of the Holy and Divine One of Israel would
have been in the most receptive mode where they received the true revelation of
the Divine and the “Blueprint” of their true existence of reality; the spiritual
neshama soul that was created in the “Image of G-d.”
One of the promises was that someday in the future, Klal
Yisrael, all 12-tribes of the House of Jacob would see that “Land” that had
lain bare of foliage, unwanted by the Ishmaelites, and neglected as a “no-man’s
land” by all the nations of the world, would now witness this same land receiving
rain with great abundance. They would see this awe and premonitions, that they
were witnessing a Divine sign that the G-d of Israel was returning to be with
His chosen people.
What was unknown to them was that that, HaShem, the G-d of Israel
was beginning to unsheathe and uncloak His Divine Existence and reveal to His
Chosen People the revelation that He was their G-d and it was time for them to
become prepared to anticipate with blessings of joy as He unleashes His Divine
Power and Glory as He elevates their existence to a new State of Consciousness.
When the “showers of blessings” are now seen in literal
reality, it will also open up the dawn of new reality to the House of Judah
that their final Redemption must be fully grasped with the fullness it’s
manifestation. Yet, this will only come when the House of Judah and the House
of Israel lay down their suspicions about each other, and join together with
great joy and gladness at the reunion and reunification of the entire House of Jacob. This will be
the sign that Eliyahu the Prophet is arriving to “prepare the way of the L-rd”
as a new state of reality will open up with a new consciousness upon All Israel
(Klal Yisrael).
So as Shavuot is celebrated across the Land of Israel, the
Book of Ruth is also being read. Her life
was a story of redemption that even after an entire nation is cursed by the Divine
for ten generations, so also Ruth the Moabite, the 11th generation was
redeemed and restored as one of the Children of Israel. For her faith and honor
of her aliyah, she was blessed to become the ancestral grandmother of King
David and the Davidian Dynasty of kings from the lineage of Kings David and
Solomon.
This multi-generational “curse” was placed upon the Nation
of Moab whose beginnings began with the incestuous relationship between Lot,
the nephew of Abram and one of his daughters who was rescued by the angels from
the clutches of annihilation when the fiery bolides of sulphur destroyed Sodom
and Gomorrah and destroyed the entire beautiful Vale of Siddim. Ruth, now redeemed after 10 generations of
curses was restored back into the family of Children of Israel.
So today, the 2013 Festival of Shavuot (Pentecost) was
heralded with heavy showers that were accompanied with thunder and lightning in
various locales though the Land of Israel. The weather forecasters were
expecting a high likelihood of flooding in the desert regions of the Negev with
cool temperatures five-to-seven degrees lower in most regions of Israel. It was
also expected that this unseasonably cool season would continue in the days
after the festival season of Shavuot.
The traditional First Fruits ceremonies that was hosted over
a scattering of dozens of kibbutzim were either rained out or rescheduled for over
the weekend. Even so, a majority of the kibbutzim
still held their Shavuot ceremonies as over 200,000 Israelis participated in
the services. Kibbutz Snir in the region
of the panhandle in Northern Galilee were one of many who persisted and held
their ceremonies with the rain drenched skies.
While the Land of Israel was experiencing one of the wettest
winters in decades, 2012, the United States was recording the hottest year ever
record in America. In this same land,
the newly created United States was initially populated by the descendants of
the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel. Today, the descendants of those early Pilgrims
and Puritans that settled the land along the Eastern Seaboard of the United
States today have an unsettled mood in their hearts. The song that they have
sung for decades, “This land is your land, this land if my land,” is now being
sung “This Land is (Not) your Land, this Land is (Not) my land”. From all
prophetic speculations, the era of reunification between the Lost Ten Tribes of
the House of Israel and the Jewish people of the House of Judah was now
imminent.
Called by many “Global Warming”
this warming trend documented in the United States goes back to the official
weather and temperature records that go back to 1895. The yearly average today
is based upon reports documented from more than 1,200 weather stations across
the 48 states on the continental United States. It also was documented by the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that the year of 2012
experienced the second-most extreme weather in history after the hurricane
dominated year of 1998. Using a complex formula of records that included temperature records,
drought, downpours, and land-falling hurricanes, the national picture depicts that
a true weather change was being experienced in the land once called the “Land
of the Free and the Home of the Brave.”
What was documented in the United States was the fact
that the year of 2012 ranked second to 2011 as having the highest number of
high-damage events to occur. This included eleven different $1billion disasters
led by the Superstorm Sandy and the multi-year long drought across the whole
continent of North America, the worst since the 1950s era of drought and only
slightly behind the Dust Bowl drought and Great Depression of the 1930s.
Blamed upon La Nina and what was erroneously called
“Global Warming”, the true reality appears that it is the hand of G-d’s
judgment that may soon be placed upon this nation’s population of the former immigrants
from the Tribe of Ephraim of the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel. But, it also includes those indigenous peoples
of the Hopi and the Navahos in the Western United States and the Confederation
of the Six “First Nations in America” who were from the Tribe of Manasseh, in
the eastern part of the continent who are both descendants from the House of
Joseph.
There in the land populated by the descendants of the
Tribe of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, we are seeing the most weather extremes
in the past 108 years. Over the last century alone, the temperature trends have
gone upwards to 1.3 degrees according to NOAA. The only year in the 20th
century that was cooler than 2012 was the year of 1997. The last record cold
month of December was 1983. What was even more stunning which the scientists
are calling incredulous, is the evidence of how far above other past “hot
years” the year of 2012 became. In the 117 years of national temperature record
documentation, all previous records were clustered between the temperature degrees
of 51 to 54 degree Fahrenheit, yet 2012 soared well above 55 degrees; a full
degree above the prior record set in 1998.
With this fact in mind, we wonder, will the rabbanim in
2013 proclaim with great joy, as the Prophet Zechariah prophesied over 2,300
years ago, and declare that in 2013 it is now time to “Replace your Feasts of Fasting
with Feasts of Joy and Thanksgiving”, when He asked the Prophet Zechariah to be
His mouthpiece as he penned the following verses in the ancient
Book of Zechariah.
All of have wondered
how the G-d of Israel will bring all the prophetic events to their fulfillment
at the time of the end. Watching the “Finger of the Divine” stirring up nations
of the world is far more fascinating than watching a movie drama. The end
results will be that all nations will pool all their economic resources at the
“gates of Israel” and be prepared to once again to evoke the “Final Solution”
this time amongst the remnant of the Jewish peoples that include all the Jews
of the Diaspora that have fled to Israel as a land of safety before their lives
will be thrust into “the world to come”.
And during this same time, the G-d of
Israel is wooing each one of you, the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel,
to return and be restored back into brotherhood with the Jews of the House of
Judah so that He will send His Messiah to clean house of all the wickedness and
corruption on Planet Earth.
If you want to learn
more divinely led prophecies, we invite you to Contact “Kol
Ha Tor Vision”,
the Voice of the Turtledove.Here you will discover is a joint Orthodox Jewish and
10-Triber Vision to bring awareness of the imminent fulfillment of the Biblical
Prophecies regarding the Redemption of all Israel (12 Tribes Re-conciled and
Re-United). This super Event of all Times will bring the restoration and the
Shomron Region, the Ancient Biblical Heartland of the Patriarchs plus the
Judean Wilderness as part of the entire Land of Israel. There we will witness
the Divine as the “Land” will be restored and prepared for the Return of the
Lost Tribes of the House of Israel and then the Redemption of All Israel.
For inquiries about
Kol Ha Tor Vision for the Lost Tribes of Israel, Visit – “Shomron Lives!”, a
Spiritual Retreat and Guest House in Samaria, that hosts Shomron (Samaria)
Tours to reacquaint the Returning Lost Tribers of the House of Israel.
Weekly Bible Reading #25 - Year 5773 (2012/2013) – April 6, 2013
Parashat Shemini (Eighth); Leviticus 9:1-11:47
Haftarah; Ashkenazi - II Samuel 6:1-7:17
Sephardic -II Samuel 6:1-6:19
NOTE: Kol HaTor, in
its commentaries on the weekly Parashot, endeavors to search for and accentuate
the Torah Messages contained in the Parashot as applicable to the main Theme of
Tanach of the Return of the House of Israel, i.e. the Lost Ten Tribes of
Northern Israel and their Reconciliation with Judah to form the reunited
12-Tribed Kingdom of Israel.
DISCLAIMER
- The authors whom we quote from for this Commentary are not associated
with KOL HA'TOR and need not agree with our views expressed herein or in
our other publications. While we publish their views for its
relative value to the interpretation of the Parashah, KOL HATOR does not
necessarily agree with the views expressed by these authors.
The
following extracts from Rabbinic commentaries on Parashat Shemini have been
compiled into a comprehensive Commentary by Kol
HaTor with further comments between [ ]. As we read in the Parashat Shemini
written by Rabbi Eli Mansour titled, “Obeying
Torah Authority” on Daily Halacha.org,
we read:
Daily
Halacha – “Parashat Shemini tells of the inauguration of the Mishkan (the
Tabernacle) and the special events that were held to mark the “opening day” (on
the eighth day) of the Mishkan's operation. Moshe tells Aharon, who on this day
became the Kohen Gadol, to prepare a number of animals as his personal
sacrifice, and to instruct Benei [the Children of] Yisrael to prepare animals
for their sacrifice. Benei Yisrael's sacrifice included an Egel – a calf – as
well as a goat.
The
Sages explain that these two offerings served to atone for two different
sins: the calf (for worshipping of strange gods), of course, atoned
for … the sin of the golden calf, whereas the goat served to atone for the
sale of Yosef. Over two centuries earlier, Yosef's brothers sold him as a
slave to Egypt, and to conceal their crime they slaughtered a goat and dipped
Yosef's garment in its blood, so that it would appear as though he were killed
by an animal. On the day of the Mishkan's inauguration, Benei Yisrael atoned
for their ancestors' sin through the offering of a goat as a special sacrifice
to God.”
[The
‘selling of Yosef into slavery’ according to Rabbinic interpretation,
represents the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel’s exile into oblivion amongst the
nations. Yosef, through his two sons Ephraim and Menasheh, represents the
re-identifying body of 10-Israel in dispersion, which will return to the Land
in the End Time. Yosef’s life, his later rulership in Egypt under the Pharaoh
and his revealing himself to his brothers, represent the ultimate Return and
Reconciliation with Judah (the Jews) in the Redemption and the settlement of
the Promised Land of Greater Israel) ].
The work “Be'er Yosef” explains that both
these unfortunate events – the sin of the calf and the sale of Yosef – resulted
from the same mistake: disregarding the guidance of Torah leaders. As many
Rabbis explained, Benei Yisrael did not actually worship a golden calf.
Rather, they sought to create some kind of structure that would replace Moshe
as the source of guidance and instruction from God, the site at which God would
convey His commands.
Such an idea is not intrinsically wrong; in
fact, this is precisely the function served by the Mishkan. However, when Benei
Yisrael contemplated this idea, they consulted with Chur, one of the leaders appointed
to guide the people in Moshe's absence, and he opposed the initiative. But the
people were very enthusiastic about the idea to fashion the calf, and therefore
killed Chur for expressing opposition. Aharon, the other leader appointed over
the nation, had no choice but to acquiesce, in order to spare himself the same
tragic fate as his colleague. The severity of the sin thus lay not in the act
itself, but rather in the brazen disregard for Chur's authority.
Similarly,
Yosef's brothers acted as they did on the basis of sound Halachic reasoning. Yosef
had spoken negatively about them to their father, seemingly in an effort to
have them expelled from the family, and his dreams indicated that he
sought to rule over them, in violation of Yehuda's exclusive rights to
the monarchy. The brothers therefore convened a Beit Din (Rabbinical court)
and concluded that he is liable to the death penalty. They erred, however, in
not consulting with the Rabbinic leadership of the time – Yaakov, Yitzchak,
Shem and Ever. As in the case of the golden calf, what appeared as a valid and
warranted course of action was followed either without the guidance of the
Torah leaders.”
[The sin of the Northern
10 Tribes of Israel, centuries later, after the Hebrew nation had settled
in the Promised Land, was identical: They rebelled against the
judicial mandate of Judah (Micah 1:2-7) and set up their own
interpretations of Torah.
As a result G-d cut them
off from His Covenant and exiled them amongst the nations – but, with the
Divine Promise that He would regather them and re-unite them at the End of Time
with Judah, in fulfillment of His Promise and Blessing to Avraham of an
innumerable generations, and (Genesis 12:7; 13:16; 15:5), settled in
a vastly expanded land mass: The Greater Israel. With the historical guilt
record cleared, seeming disaster strikes the joyful celebrations at the inauguration
of the Tabernacle. Aharon’s two sons, Nadav and Avihu, both righteous souls,
are struck dead in the Tabernacle by ‘the fire of G-d’, for bringing untimely,
wrong sacrifice].
Rabbi Berel Wein – “After the seven
days of excitement and joy upon the consecration of the Mishkan and the
installation of Aharon and his sons as the priests of Israel devoted to the
service of God and humans, tragedy strikes the family of Aharon and all of
Israel. The commentators to Torah as well as the Talmud itself searched for the
causes that created this sad situation.
The questions underlying the events
described in the parsha of Shmini go to the heart of Jewish faith and
worldview. They require investigation and serious analysis. A review of
the opinions expressed in Talmud and by the commentators, do not at first
glance reveal any major transgressions on the part of Nadav and Avihu. True,
Aharon’s role in helping create the Golden Calf may explain his being brought
to grieving for his two eldest sons, but it was Nadav and Avihu who died, not
Aharon.
Small mistakes often lead to great
tragedies. And the Torah teaches us that personal failures that can be tolerated
in most humans are magnified and are not overlooked when they occur to people
in positions of power and leadership. The scale of Heavenly tolerance, so to
speak, is a sliding one, dependent on the status, accomplishments, abilities
and public position of the human person being judged.
There is a special sin offering
reserved for the leader of Israel. The accepted usual sin offering is
insufficient if we are dealing with the sins of leadership. This is one of the
key lessons of this parsha. God’s justice is personal and exacting. Nadav and
Avihu are the prime examples of this truism.”
Rabbi
Yochanan Zweig - “The Torah records that Nadav and Avihu brought an "eish
zarah" - "alien fire" into the Holy of Holies, a service which
only the Kohein Gadol was permitted to perform once a year on Yom Kippur.The
Ramban finds it inconceivable that Nadav and Avihu would perform such a
blatantly brazen act without authorization, and therefore offers another
interpretation.Nevertheless, the Sifra maintains that they did
enter the Holy of Holies.How can the actions of Nadav and Avihu be
explained?
Perhaps
even more perplexing is the Tannaic interpretation that Nadav and Avihu entered
the Sanctuary “shisuyei yayin” – “having imbibed wine”.Apparently,
they violated the commandment forbidding a person to perform the sacrificial
service while inebriated. Moshe Rabbeinu attests to the fact that Nadav and
Avihu were greater than himself and his brother Aharon; how can this behavior
be attributed to men of such stature?
The
number eight [the title of this
Parashah, named after the introductory words of this Scripture portion] Kabbalistically
refers to the World to Come and therefore is used to define the events
of the day of the erecting of the Tabernacle, “bayom hashemini”, for on this
day a new world order was initiated.Nadav and Avihu's error was
a result of their belief that this new world order indicated the perfection of
the world, created a utopian society.
In
a perfect world imperfection does not exist and therefore everything can be
used to serve Hashem at the highest level; no special sanctification or time
limitation exists to prevent a person from entering the Holy of Holies to
perform service to Hashem. However, the building of the Tabernacle marked only
the beginning of the process toward a perfect world, only a link to the World
to Come. Therefore, limitations and imperfections still existed.”
[Rabbinic interpretation of the Scriptures is done on 4
levels of biblical exegesis in rabbinic Judaism that ranged from the basic
literal to more advance interpretations. This is called PaRDeS that includes;
Peshat, the plain (simple) or literal reading; the
Remez, the allegorical reading through text's hint or
allusion; the
Derash, the metaphorical reading through a (Rabbinic
sermon's) comparison/illustration (midrash); and the
Sod, the hidden meaning reading through text's secret or
mystery (Kabbalah).
The study of Torah (and the
Bible) affects man’s consciousness in various progressive ways. This includes:
Da’yah
– knowledge, the initial stage;
Binah
– understanding; and
Haskel
– mind consciousness, convicting realization and effort.
This latter category of
consciousness is a stage of spirituality which progressive study of the Bible
can bring about. This, to Christianity, Ten Tribers and Hebraic Restorers may
be known as a religious experience or conviction which they refer to as
‘conversion’ (repentance), viz. spiritual conversion. In Judaism this condition
is better known as Teshuvah].
Let us now bring forth the
wisdom of Rabbi Pinchas Winston also from Torah.org on his sage counsel titled, “Learning
Perceptions” that came from the Parashat Shemini:
Rabbi
Pinchas Winston - “Haskel, [is derived] from the word seichel, which
means ‘mind’. Haskel, therefore, refers to a level of consciousness on
which a person becomes mindful of an idea, to the extent that it becomes an
axiom of his perspective on life. On such a level, violation of the idea is
a violation of self.
This is different from Dayah and
Binah, two lesser levels of awareness, which mean knowledge and understanding
respectively. Dayah is really just awareness of an idea before one actually
begins to understand its meaning or role in life; something that is a function
of Binah or understanding. Understanding something or even its consequences
alone is not necessarily enough to change a person’s path in life.
A heart attack or something similar,
God forbid, does change lives. To intellectually confront death lacks impact;
to experientially confront it is real enough to cause a person to identify
their errant behavior with catastrophic results. This has the capacity to
change a person’s life, and to force them to take responsibility for their
actions to the point of biting the bullet and quitting what they should have
quit a long time ago, or to start doing that which they should have begun doing
a while back.
This is the level of Haskel, or
Da’as. It is the level of intellectual realization on which an idea merges with
one’s mindset. A person has a difficult time living with himself if his life
runs contrary to the concept, which is what forces a person to eventually do
teshuvah [repentance, turning around].
If he doesn’t, then he has to shut
himself down emotionally, which can and usually will have extreme consequences,
such as, at best, becoming a hypocrite, and at worst, a sociopath. When that
happens, a person can do just about anything without any real sense of remorse,
making him a danger to society and himself.
It is only on the level of Haskel
that ideas become part of reality, and they make life exciting. Ideas that are
based in truth, when implemented, impact us and the world in which we live. The
more truth-based they are, the greater the impact they will have, some of which
is visible to us, much of which takes place in spiritual realms beyond our
ability to perceive.
This can be both exhilarating and
dangerous at the same time. If the idea being actualized is implemented at the
wrong time, or even in the wrong place, it can damage the world and the person
responsible. The intention can be good and the act great, but if the conditions
are wrong then the impact is wrong and destructive.
There is no question that Nadav and
Avihu, the two eldest sons of Aharon HaKohen, were great people. They learned
their Torah directly from the mouth of their uncle, Moshe Rabbeinu, and they
had been sanctified for their roles in the Mishkan. If they suffered from anything,
it was a little too much religious fervor, too great a desire to achieve Haskel
on some of the holiest ideas known to mankind.
They had been trained to connect to
God. They knew things that others did not, and could not. Officiating in the
Mishkan required more than obedience and a memorization of responsibility. It
required a deep and profound understanding of what was supposed to be
accomplished, and how. If they had been drunk on anything, it was on all of the
sublime knowledge they had been exposed to in a very short period of time.
It was only natural for them to want
to become unified with that knowledge, to experience what they had already
gained on the levels of Dayah and Binah on the level of Haskel. And, in time,
they would have done exactly that, with the permission of God, just as Adam …
would have been permitted to eat from the [Tree of Good and Evil] on the first
Shabbat, had he waited for Divine permission to do so.
For, G-d does not create knowledge
and then keep it away from man. What we are not supposed to know at all we do
not know about. What we are told about is something that we can know, but only
at the right time, when we’re ready to know it, and when history is ready for
us to learn it. To jump the gun is to bring about exactly the opposite of what
the knowledge is meant to do: bring us closer to G-d, and make life a Godly
experience.
This is also true of levels of
knowledge as well. We may already know about something on the level of Dayah
and Binah, but not yet on the level of Haskel. As hungry as we may be to make
that leap of knowledge experience, and we should be, we have to be careful to
not emotionally bite off more than we can chew at the time.
I believe that the majority of the
time people are ready for higher levels of knowledge, or at least could be, but
they do not pursue them. Instead, they accept their current level of
understanding and intellectual appreciation, and intellectually, and therefore
emotionally, stagnate.”
[The above Rabbinic analysis provides great guidelines to
re-awakening Ten Tribers and Hebraic Restorers. In fulfillment of Prophetic
Promise, these souls are finding (often on their own, by G-d’s Guidance as
promised) great revelationary Truths in the Bible. These discoveries
rocket them out of Churchianity and into the Wilderness, on the Way back Home
to the Promised Land. It also, logically so, boosts their personal egos.
This, unfortunately to the extent that many of them having
been burnt by the contorted teachings of their Church leaders have become very
hesitant about learning from established religious institutions. Also,
having been brainwashed against Rabbinic teaching while living in a society
which condemn the ‘man-made contortions of Scripture by the Rabbis’, a society
which generally hates Judaism for some or often no reason at all, these
restorers of Truth are very reluctant to fall under ‘man-made’ religious
domination once more.
This Parashah and these Rabbinic interpretations, presented
on the Sod level beyond the very limited extent of the ‘Written Word’, hold
invaluable guidelines and Divine reprimands for these discoverers of new-found
Truth, about the danger of extravagant zeal – even for the Truth – as with
Nadav and Avihu.
Now here, below, follows the spiritual remedy. Do
take careful and serious note!]. Rabbi Pinchas Winston continues:
Rabbi Pinchas Winston - “We are now
into the period of Sefiras HaOmer [the Counting of the Omer – i.e. the 50
days from Pesach to Shavuot, Pentecost], the goal of which is to develop a leiv
tov— a good heart. The 32 days from Pesach to Lag B’Omer is for
developing a heart (the gematria [i.e. the numerical value of the Hebrew
letters spelling of] leiv, or heart, is 32), so-to-speak, and the 17
days after Lag B’Omer, the gematria of tov, or good, is for transforming
our hearts into good hearts, as it says:
“He [Rebi Yochanan] said to them
[his students], “Go out and discern which is the best way to which a person
should cling.”
Rebi Eliezer said: “A good eye
(i.e., be tolerant of others).” Rebi Yehoshua said: “A good friend
(i.e., he should be one and have one).”
Rebi Yosi said: “A good neighbor
[from whom he can learn good traits].”
Rebi Shimon said: “One who considers
consequences [of his actions].”
Rebi Elazar said: “A good heart
[that will lead him to all of the above].” (Pirkei Avos 2:13)
If ever there is a time of year to
achieve a good heart, it is now. Ultimately speaking, it is about becoming real
with truth, which means knowing what you know not just on the level of Dayah
and Binah, but on the level of Haskel as well. That is when a person has difficult
time acting contrary to what he knows is the Godly way to behave.”
[A good starting point for those who are not conversant with
the above concepts of: Omer, Shavuot, Gematriah is to start learning about it
and the many related topics].
To strive for UNITY
In closing, Rabbi Yissocher
Frand with Torah.org makes the
following observation of the underlying Divine Call for UNITY in this Parashah
and its Message. He responds to the question: "Why is this symbolism (the
Goat that atones for Yosef's Sale) appropriate now at the dedication of the
Mishkan? Maybe it would have been appropriate when they left Egypt to have the
Paschal Offering be a goat rather than a lamb?"
Rabbi
Yissocher Frand – “The Oznaim L'Torah gives a very logical answer. The
underlying cause of the sin of Yosef's sale was unfounded hatred (sinas Chinam). Part of the function of the
Mishkan was to act as a unifying force
within the Jewish [Hebrew} people. That is why emphasis is placed on the
fact that it was "in the midst of the camp." The Mishkan was the
focal institution of the nation, geographically as well as spiritually. It served to unify Klal Yisrael [The
12-Tribed Community].
This year, unfortunately, because of our sins we all spent Pessach separately.
But G-d willing, the Temple will speedily be rebuilt and we will all spend
Pessach together in Jerusalem -- unified as a single and cohesive nation [i.e.
ALL 12 Tribes as required for the Redemption]. The Oznaim L'Torah quotes the
pasuk from Parsahs Terumah "The middle bar inside the beams shall extend
from end to end (min hakatzeh el hakatzeh)" [Shmos (Exodus) 26:28] This
phrase is symbolic of the ability to
unify diverse components of the people -- from the far left to the far
right --who can all come together and rally around a single national focus of
attention, i.e. -- the Mishkan.
Now, at the dedication of the Mishkan, whose purpose in part was to unify the people, was indeed the appropriate venue to achieve
atonement once and for all for that unseemly incident in the nation's history
which typified disunity within the
family -- the sale of their own brother (Joseph) into slavery.”
To understand more about the Return of the 10 Tribes of
Israel to their Homeland in Shomron (Samaria), Israel, Contact “Kol Ha’Tor”, the Voice of the Turtledove.
Here is a joint Orthodox Jewish and 10-Triber Mission to bring awareness of the
imminent fulfillment of the Biblical Prophecies regarding the Redemption of all
Israel (12 Tribes Re-conciled and Re-United).
This reunification will truly be the supernal Event of all
Times for it will entail Establishing Shomron (the Ancient Bible Heartland of
the Patriarchs) and the Judean Wilderness as part of the Land of Israel, and
preparing the “Land” for the Return of the Lost Tribes of the House of Israel
and then the Redemption of All Israel.
For inquiries about Kol Ha Tor’s Vision for the Lost Tribes
of Israel, we invite you to make a personal Visit to Israel and stay at “Shomron Lives!”, a Spiritual Retreat and
Guest House in Samaria, that hosts Shomron (Samaria) Tours to reacquaint the
Returning Lost Tribers of the House of Israel to their future and Prophetic
Homeland.
Latest word from Israel from Kol Ha Tor
Director, Ovadyah Avrahami:
“This is 2nd in a series of Blessings observed in Israel
since Pesach. Is this the year of Blessing; the start of the Blessings foretold
by HaShem for the Time of gathering in the nation?
Surely this places His Nation under obligation for reciprocal Thanksgiving
Teshuvah ('turn around') especially in this time when our rulers are NOT tuned
in on the Will of HaShem, but rather on the will of Obama and the nations for
Israel - even for the interest of our enemies? In this respect, Jews are great exemplary executors of the NT "turn the other
cheek" (which Judaism does NOT interpret in Christian terms). Whatever the
case - the Blessings are coming!
Since Independence Day from last Monday, April 15 to
Shabbat on April 20, 2013 we have had untimely rains, more than the average
summer volume for a week! In fact, we
are back on our full winter clothing after summer had been breaking around
Pesach time!
I remember well in the 80’s, when we first came to Israel
on Aliyah. Summer would beat down relentlessly for 8 months a year without a
cloud in the sky. The seasonal change
over at end summer and end winter would take no longer than on e week. Over the
last few years we have noted a definite change in all these weather
patterns. Now abundant summer rains
after Independence day and back to winter.
This is time for Thanksgiving - and 10-Israel should join
with Judah in this celebration. HaShem's favor cannot be bought by our
'righteousness' - but, we surely could stand guilty of throwing His Kindness
and Blessings back in His Face, or for taking it simply as for granted, leaving
His Interest to find its own success.”
May His nation and people and all mankind
exalt Him!
May His people help tirelessly to build His Kingdom!
Ovadyah Avrahami
Destination Yisrael - During this weekend,
the storms and rains did wonders for the Sea of Galilee as she continued to
inch upwards from the water tables of the once “black line” and now standing at
212.12 meters upwards of 35 millimeters in one week. Reported storm, hail and
strong winds also caused significant damage upwards to NIS 35 million of damage
to fields of produce, that include avocados, citrus, fruits and vegetables,
field crops and ornamental plants plus hail damage that also did extensive
damage to numerous outdoor nurseries. These figures came from KANAT, the
insurance for natural damages in agriculture according to survey in 400
different points of crop damages.
Between the dates of
February 23 to March 4, 2013, the Mountain of Israel in Shomron and Judea
garnered the largest gains in water between 150 to 200 centimeters of water,
plus another 130-160 millimeters of rain water in Galilee and the Golan Heights
region to the northeast.
It appeared that the
final divine blessing of the “Latter Rain” may now be upon us, and will be
exemplified in a complete climate change in the Land of Israel. What we may be
witnessing is the prophetic fact that the Land of Israel and throughout the
regions of the future Greater Israel will again become a “Land flowing with
Milk and Honey”, not just by Jewish agricultural ingenuity but by the direct
blessings that Israel will be tectonically moved into a new latitude and
longitude and soon become again a tropical paradise. This fact dovetails with
the prophetic end time messages of Joel and Zechariah:
Joel
2:23
– “Be glad then ye
children of Zion and rejoice in the Lord your God: for He hath given you the
former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the
former rain, and the latter rain in the first month” [Thus Nissan and the
beginning of Pesach (Passover) season].
Zechariah
10:1 –Ask the Lord for Rain in
the time of the Latter Rain.The Lord will make flashing clouds;He will give them Showers of Rain,Grass in the Field for
Everyone.
And then we must take
another look at the famous prophecy of the Last Seven Years before the Coming
of the Messiah by the famous Prophecy
of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zaccai of Yavnah after the city of Jerusalem and the Holy
Temple were destroyed in 70 CE:
Sanhedrin 97a – “Rebi Yochanan ben Zaccai of Yavnah
said: In the generation that Ben Dovid will come, talmidei chachamim, the
“pupil of wisdom” known as the Torah sage or scholar, will decrease, and the
eyes of the remainder will protrude from sighing and sorrow; many chastisements
and many evil decrees will be renewed; one will not cease before another
begins.”
Today we can begin to perceive the
unfolding drama of the last few years before the coming of the Messiah son of
David (Maschiah ben Dovid). Now that we know when
the fifty year Jubilee Cycles will end, it now appears that the new Messianic
Age will begin in the year of 2017; according to the 13th century
prophecy by “Rabbi
Judah ben Samuel of the last 10 Jubilees before the revealing of the Messiah”.
Rabbi Judah ben Samuel - “When the Ottomans
(Turks) – who were already a power to be reckoned with on the Bosporus in
the time of Judah Ben Samuel – conquer Jerusalem they will rule over
Jerusalem for eight jubilees. Afterwards Jerusalem will become no-man’s
land for one jubilee, and then in the ninth jubilee it will once again
come back into the possession of the Jewish nation – which would signify
the beginning of the Messianic end time.”
Then we complete the
Prophecy of Rabbi Judah ben Zaccai of Yavneh of the last Seven Years before the
coming of the Messiah as we read these words:
In the first year (2009 starting with Rosh Hashanah 2008),
the following prophecy in Amos 4:7 will be fulfilled “I caused it to rain on
one city, but, on another city, I did not cause it to rain.
In the second year (2010, starting with Rosh Hashanah 2009),
there will be a “slight famine” in which according to Rashi, “no place will be
completely satisfied”.
In the third year (2011 starting with Rosh Hashanah 2010),
“famine will be great, and men, women, children, pious people, and men of good
deeds will die; Torah will be forgotten by those who learned it.”
In the fourth year (2012, starting with Rosh Hashanah 2011),
“some will be satiated while others are not.”
In the fifth year (2013, starting with Rosh Hashanah 2012),
there will be plenty and people will eat, drink, and be joyous, and the Torah
will return to those who learned it.”
In the sixth year (2014, starting with Rosh Hashanah 2013),
there will be voices which according to Rashi depict either the blowing of the
shofars (war) or the hints and voices about the coming of the messiah.
In the seventh year (2015, starting with Rosh Hashanah
2014), there will be war.”
The eighth year will be the Year of the Messiah when it will be expected that he will be fully revealed by the G-d of Israel in the year beginning with Rosh Hashanah 2015 and Planet Earth’s calendar year of 2016. The inaugural reign of King Messiah will begin as all the kings of Israel in the next year when the Jubilee Year ends on Rosh Hashanah 2016. Will we enter the new era of the Messiah in the Jewish Year 5777 (5000 + 777) or the Planet Earth’s calendar year of 2017?
To the Jews of the
Land of Israel, by Rosh Hashanah, you will be fully in perception that the G-d
of Israel is holding out His hand of mercy to you and the Land of Israel. At that time we will then see the fulfillment
of the prophetic promise of Ezekiel given to him by the G-d of Israel (Ezekiel
36) to be given to the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel; the land of
Israel will be restored to Gan Eden, the restoration of the Garden of Eden.
Also at the time will
be the great ingathering of “All Israel”; the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of
Israel plus the ingathering of all the Jews of the diaspora. Hundreds of
millions of Lost Israelites will be returned to the “land of their forefathers
and return in love and fellowship with their brothers the Jews of the House of
Israel.
Ezekiel
36:22-23, 24-28 (parts); 33- - “Therefore, tell the house of Isra’el that
Adonai Elohim (L-rd G’d) says this:I am not going to do this for your sake, house of Isra’el, but for the sake
of my holy name, which you have been profaning among the nations where you
went. I will set apart my great name to be regarded as holy, since it has
been profaned in the nations – you profaned it among them. They will know that I
am Adonai,’ says Adonai Elohim, ‘when, before their eyes, I am set apart
through you to be regarded as holy.
For
I will take you from among the nations, gather you from all countries,
and return you to your own soil. Then I will sprinkle clean water upon
you…I will cleanse you from your uncleanliness…I will give you a new heart and
put a new spirit inside your…You will live in the land I gave to your
ancestors. You will be my people, and I will be your G-d…
When
the day comes for me to cleanse you from all your guilt, I will cause cities
to be inhabited and the ruins to be rebuilt. The land that was desolate
will be tilled, whereas formerly it lay desolate for all passing by to see.
They will say, ‘the land that used to be desolate has become like Gan Eden
(Garden of Eden)…Then the nations around that remain will know that I,
Adonai, have rebuilt the ruins and replanted what was abandoned. I, Adonai,
have spoke; and I will do it!”
If that
fact does not make your heart palpitate, will anything else?
************
The G-d of Israel is
working with imperfect people in order to restore this planet to a messianic
era in which our lives can be focused on holiness, righteousness and justice.
If so, you might desire to reconnect with the Biblical portrayals of what is
and will be happening in your near future.
This Biblical portrayal
includes Prophecies that the Lost Tribes of the House of Israel are about to
return to the Land of their Biblical Inheritance. This is Divine Destiny in
living reality as the 10 Lost Tribes of Israel return to their Homelands first
in Shomron (Samaria), Israel.
If you want to learn
more, Contact “Kol Ha Tor Vision”, the Voice of the Turtledove. Here
is a joint Orthodox Jewish and 10-Triber Mission to bring awareness of the
imminent fulfillment of the Biblical Prophecies regarding the Redemption of all
Israel (12 Tribes Re-conciled and Re-United). This super Event of all Times
will entail Establishing the Shomron (the Ancient Bible Heartland of the
Patriarchs) and the Judean Wilderness as part of the Land of Israel, and
preparing the “Land” for the Return of the Lost Tribes of the House of Israel
and then the Redemption of All Israel.
For inquiries about
Kol Ha Tor Vision for the Lost Tribes of Israel, Visit – “Shomron Lives!”,a Spiritual Retreat and Guest House
in Samaria, that hosts Shomron (Samaria) Tours to reacquaint the Returning Lost
Tribers of the House of Israel.
Weekly Bible Reading
#24
- Year 5773 (2012/2013)
– March 23, 2013
Parashat Tzav (Command!): Leviticus 6:1 - 8:36
Haftarah: Jeremiah 7:21-8:3; 9:22-23
NOTE: Kol HaTor, in its commentaries on
the weekly Parashot, endeavors to search for and accentuate the Torah Messages
contained in the Parashot as applicable to the main Theme of Tanach of the
Return of the House of Israel, i.e. the Lost Ten Tribes of Northern Israel and
their Reconciliation with Judah to form the reunited 12-Tribed Kingdom of
Israel.
DISCLAIMER
- The authors whom we quote from for this Commentary are not associated
with KOL HA'TOR and need not agree with our views expressed herein or in
our other publications. While we publish their views for its
relative value to the interpretation of the Parashah, KOL HATOR does not
necessarily agree with the views expressed by these authors.
This year, Parashat Tzav coincides
with Shabbat HaGadol, the
Sabbath preceding Pesah.
The Parashah describes the sacrificial offerings and rituals to be performed in
the Tabernacle or Temple by the nation, in order to maintain a close
relationship with G-d. When Tzav coincides with Shabbat HaGadol,
the normal Haftarah from Jeremiah 7:21-8:3; 9:22-23 is replaced by Malachi 3:4-24 (which is Malachi
3:24-4:6 in non-Hebrew Version).
This Haftarah from Jeremiah
is disturbingly condemning of Judah, specifically. It raises perplexing
questions about the entire Sacrificial System and, of course, the problem that
for the last 2000 years Judah was not able to bring Sacrifices, due to the destruction
of the Temple and the Jewish Exile.
Jeremiah 7:28-34 – “The people
of Judah have done evil in my eyes, declares HaShem. They have set up their
detestable idols in the house that bears my Name and have defiled it. They
have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their
sons and daughters in the fire—something I did not command, nor did it enter my
mind.
So beware, the days are coming, declares HaShem, when
people will no longer call it Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the
Valley of Slaughter, for they will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no
more room. Then the carcasses of this people will
become food for the birds and the wild animals, and there will be no one to
frighten them away. I will bring an end to the sounds of joy and gladness and
to the voices of bride and bridegroom in the towns of Judah and the streets of
Jerusalem, for the land will become desolate.”
Jeremiah 8:1-3 - “At that
time, declares HaShem, the bones of the kings and officials of Judah, the bones
of the priests and prophets, and the bones of the people of Jerusalem will be
removed from their graves. They will be exposed to the
sun and the moon and all the stars of the heavens, which they have loved and
served and which they have followed and consulted and worshiped.
They will not be gathered up or buried, but
will be like dung lying on the ground. Wherever I banish them, all
the survivors of this evil nation will prefer death to life, declares HaShem
Almighty.”
Jeremiah 7:22-23 – “When I brought your
forefathers out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not give them commands about
burnt offerings and sacrifices, but I gave them this command:
‘Obey me, and I will be your
G-d and you will be My people. Walk in all the ways I command you that it may
go well with you.’”
Britain's Chief Rabbi, Lord Jonathan Sacks – “Commentators
have been puzzled by the glaring contradiction between these words and the
obvious fact that G-d did command the Israelites about sacrifices after
bringing them out of Egypt. Several solutions have been offered.
According to Maimonides, the sacrifices
were a means, not an end, to the service of G-d. Radak argues that sacrifices
were not the first of G-d’s commands after the exodus; instead, civil laws
were. Abarbanel goes so far as to say that initially G-d had not intended to
give the Israelites a code of sacrifice, and did so only after the sin of the
Golden Calf. The sacrifices were an antidote to the Israelites’ tendency to
rebel against G-d.
The simplest explanation is to note that the
Hebrew word ‘lo’ does not invariably mean “not”; sometimes it means “not only”
or “not just”. According to this, Jeremiah is not saying that G-d did not
command sacrifices. He did, but they were not the sole or even most important
element of the religious life. The common denominator of the prophetic critique
of sacrifices is not opposition to them as such, but rather an insistence that
acts directed to G-d must never dull our sense of duty to mankind. Micah gave
this idea one of its most famous expressions:
Micah 6:6-8 (parts) – “With what shall I
come before HaShem and bow down before the exalted G-d?...Will HaShem be
pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil?...He has shown
you, O man, what is good. What does HaShem require of you:
To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your G-d.”
Yet the question remains. Why
sacrifices? To be sure, they have not been part of the life of Judaism since
the destruction of the Second Temple, almost 2,000 years ago. But why, if they
are a means to an end, did G-d choose this end? This is, of course, one of the
deepest questions in Judaism, and there are many answers. Here I want explore
just one, first given by the early fifteenth century Jewish thinker, R. Joseph
Albo, in his Sefer ha-Ikkarim.
Albo’s theory took as its starting point, not
sacrifices but two other intriguing questions. The first: Why, after the flood,
did G-d permit human beings to eat meat? (Genesis 9: 3-5). Initially, neither
human beings nor animals had been meat-eaters (Gen. 1: 29-30). What caused G-d,
as it were, to change His mind?
The second: What was wrong with the
first act of sacrifice -- Cain’s offering of “some of the fruits of the soil”
(Gen. 4:3-5). G-d’s rejection of that offering led directly to the first
murder, when Cain killed Abel. What was at stake in the difference between Cain
and Abel as to how to bring a gift to G-d?
Albo’s theory is this. Killing
animals for food is inherently wrong. It involves taking the life of a
sentient being to satisfy our needs. Cain knew this. He believed there was a strong
kinship between man and the animals. That is why he offered, not an animal
sacrifice, but a vegetable one (his error, according to Albo, is that he should
have brought fruit, not vegetables – the highest, not the lowest, of non-meat
produce).
Abel, by contrast, believed that there
was a qualitative difference between man and the animals. Had G-d not told the
first humans: “Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over
every living creature that moves in the ground”? That is why he brought an
animal sacrifice. Once Cain saw that Abel’s sacrifice had been accepted while
his own was not, he reasoned thus. If G-d (who forbids us to kill animals for
food) permits and even favors killing an animal as a sacrifice, and if (as Cain
believed) there is no ultimate difference between human beings and animals,
then I shall offer the very highest living being as a sacrifice to G-d,
namely my brother Abel. Cain killed Abel not out of envy or animosity but
as a human sacrifice.
That is why G-d permitted meat-eating after
the flood. Before the flood, the world had been “filled with violence”.
Perhaps violence is an inherent part of human nature. If there were to
be any humanity at all, G-d would have to lower his demands of mankind. Let
them kill animals, He said, rather than kill human beings – the one form of
life that is not only G-d’s creation but also G-d’s image. Hence the
otherwise almost unintelligible sequence of verses after Noah and his family
emerge on dry land:
Genesis 8:20-22 – 9:1,3,6 (parts) – “Then Noah built an
altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he
sacrificed burnt offerings on it. The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and
said in his heart, “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even
though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood…”
According to Albo the logic of the
passage is clear. Noah offers an animal sacrifice in thanksgiving for having
survived the flood. G-d sees that human beings need this way of expressing
themselves. They are genetically predisposed to violence (“every
inclination of his heart is evil from childhood”). If, therefore, society is to
survive, human beings need to be able to direct their violence toward
non-human animals, whether as food or sacrificial offering. The crucial
ethical line to be drawn is between human and non-human.
The permission to kill animals is accompanied by an absolute prohibition
against killing human beings (“for in the image of G-d, has G-d made man”.
It is not that G-d approves of killing animals, whether for sacrifice or food,
but that to forbid this to human beings, given their genetic predisposition to
violence, is utopian. It is not for now but for the end of days.
In the meanwhile, the least bad
solution is to let people kill animals rather than murder their fellow humans.
Animal sacrifices are a concession to human nature (on why G-d never chooses to
change human nature, see Maimonides, Guide for the Perplexed, Book III, ch.
32). Sacrifices are a substitute for violence directed against mankind.”
The contemporary thinker who has done most to
revive this understanding (without, however, referring to Albo or the Jewish
tradition) is René Girard, in such books as Violence and the Sacred, The Scapegoat, and Things Hidden since the
Foundation of the World. The common denominator in sacrifices, he
argues thus:
René Girard – “…internal violence –
all the dissensions, rivalries, jealousies, and quarrels within the community
that the sacrifices are designed to suppress. The purpose of the sacrifice is
to restore harmony to the community, to reinforce the social fabric. Everything
else derives from that." (Violence
and the Sacred, pg. 8).
The worst form of violence within and
between societies is vengeance, “an interminable, infinitely repetitive
process”. Hillel (whom Girard also does not quote) said, on seeing a human
skull floating on water, said in Avot 2:6:
Rabbi Hillel the Great (Avot 2:6) – “Because
you drowned others, they drowned you, and those who drowned you will in the end
themselves be drowned”
Sacrifices are one way of diverting the
destructive energy of revenge. Why then do modern societies not practice
sacrifice? Because, argues Girard, there is another way of displacing
vengeance:
René Girard – “Vengeance is a
vicious circle whose effect on primitive societies can only be surmised. For us
the circle has been broken. We owe our good fortune to one of our social
institutions above all: our judicial system, which serves to deflect the menace
of vengeance. The system does not suppress vengeance; rather, it
effectively limits itself to a single act of reprisal, enacted by a sovereign
authority specializing in this particular function. The decisions of the
judiciary are invariably presented as the final word on vengeance.” (Ibid.
pg. 15)
(End of Quote)
Not only does Girard’s theory re-affirm
the view of Albo. It also helps us understand the profound insight of the
prophets and of Judaism as a whole. Sacrifices are not ends in themselves, but
part of the Torah’s programme to construct a world redeemed from the otherwise
interminable cycle of revenge. The other part of that programme, and G-d’s
greatest desire, is a world governed by justice. That, we recall, was His first
charge to Abraham, to “instruct his children and his household after him to
keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just.” (Genesis 18:19).
Have we therefore moved beyond that stage in human history in which animal
sacrifices have a point? Has justice become a powerful enough reality that we
need no longer need religious rituals to divert the violence between human
beings? Would that it were so!
In his book, The Warrior’s Honour (1997), Michael Ignatieff tries to understand
the wave of ethnic conflict and violence (Bosnia, Kosovo, Chechnya, Rwanda)
that has scarred the face of humanity since the end of the Cold War. What
happened to the liberal dream of “the end of history”? His words go the very
heart of the new world disorder:
Michael Ignatieff – “The chief moral
obstacle in the path of reconciliation is the desire for revenge. Now,
revenge is commonly regarded as a low and unworthy emotion, and because it is
regarded as such, its deep moral hold on people is rarely understood. But revenge
– morally considered – is a desire to keep faith with the dead, to honour their
memory by taking up their cause where they left off. Revenge keeps faith
between generations…
This cycle of intergenerational recrimination has no logical end…But it is the
very impossibility of intergenerational vengeance that locks communities into
the compulsion to repeat…
Reconciliation has no chance against vengeance unless it respects the
emotions that sustain vengeance, unless it can replace the respect entailed
in vengeance with rituals in which communities once at war learn to mourn their
dead together. (The Warrior’s Honour, pg.
188-190)
Far from speaking to an age long gone and
forgotten, the Laws of Sacrifice tell us three things as important now
as then:
First, violence is still part of human
nature, never more dangerous than when combined with an ethic of revenge;
Second, rather than denying its
existence, we must find ways of redirecting it so that it does not claim yet
more human sacrifices; and
Third, that the only ultimate
alternative to sacrifices, animal or human, is the one first propounded
millennia ago by the prophets of ancient Israel. No one put it better than
Amos:
Amos 5:23-24 – “Even though you bring Me burnt offerings and offerings of grain, I will not accept them…but let justice roll down like a river, and righteousness like a never-failing stream.”
(End of Quote)
Shabbat HaGadol and the Healing Message
of the Malachi Parashah
Ismar
Schorsch – “Malachi, who lived in Judea some
time after the return from the Babylonian exile, was the last of the prophets
to make it into the Hebrew canon. We have but a few specimens of his message.
His final words, which constitute our haftarah, relate to the end of days, a
devastation that will spare only those who have remained faithful to God.
The return of Elijah, the prophet who
never died, will both foretell the impending doom as well as provide salvation
from it. In speaking of that day, Malachi uses the Hebrew word “gadol(great)”:
Malachi 3:23 – “So, I will send the
prophet Elijah to you before the coming of the awesome (gadol), fearful day of the
Lord.”
Malachi 3:24 – “He shall reconcile
parents with children and children with their parents, so that when I (the Lord
of Hosts) come, I do not strike the whole land with utter destruction.”
In short, the onset of the Messianic
Era begins at home with Familial Reconciliation.”"
(End of Quote)
In these Times of the
reawakening and Return of the House of Israel, we can look at these
"familial reconciliations" also as applying to the Greater Family
of Israel: The House of Judah and the House of Israel; the proverbial
'Prodigal Son" and the "Faithful Son".
Similarly, we can apply the following recommendations to the desperately poor
relationship between the two Houses of the Family of G-d (The House of Judah
and the House of Ephraim (Lost 10-Israel). In a commentary on Parashat Tzav, Jill
Minkoff of The Acadamy of Jewish Learning notes as follows:
Jill Minkoff – “Malachi’s verses also
speak to this relationship (with G-d) and are as poignant today as during his
lifetime. Rev. Dr. A. Cohen, in commentary on The Twelve Prophets,
describes the Jewish community of Malachi’s era as negligent: the Temple
service was in disrepute, Temple priests were careless with their duties,
people were not tithing appropriately, there was general skepticism and
indifference with regard to religion, morals were lax, and divorce and
intermarriage were common (Dr. A. Cohen,
pg. 335).
Gunther Plaut, in The Haftarah Commentary,
likens this to contemporary times: we often doubt G-d’s presence and justice,
there is instability within communities, and the rate of divorce and
intermarriage has increased (Gunther Plaut pg. 576). With these similarities
across time, Malachi’s messages are still important and meaningful to us. In
Malachi 3:6-7, G-d states:
Malachi 3:6-7 – “…I am
HaShem - I have not
changed… From the very days of your fathers you have turned away from My laws…Turn back to Me, and I will turn back to
you…” [These are very comforting assurances after the Divine Condemnations
and utter Rejections of the normal 'Jeremiah Haftarah'].”
These are words of hope. G-d does not and has not
changed; yet G-d can and is willing to “turn back”, make teshuvah, just as humans can. Cohen emphasizes
that G-d wants (us) to turn from apathy and “rekindle” the spirit of religion;
G-d is not necessarily concerned with the specific detail of ritual (as
found in Parashat Tzav), but with ritual
spirit that shows reverence to G-d (336). This ritual spirit, a process of teshuvah,
is not easy.
“How shall We turn Back?”
In Malachi [3:7]), one is able to uncover the following
seven-step process for teshuvah:
Step 1:
Acknowledge that one has turned away from G-d (3:4-5).
Step 2:
Determine whom the problem involves and who will need to take
the corrective action (3:5-7).
Step 3:
Determine how to take the corrective actions (3:8-9).
Step 4:
Know the reward for changing back to G-d’s ways (3:10-12).
Step 5:
Know that G-d is aware of the current realities and barriers to change
(3:13-16).
Step 6:
Know the consequences of not changing (3:17-21).
Step 7:
Know what to do and do it
(3:22-24).
When Elijah appears (and hopefully before), reconcile
relations between parent and child into a vision of family “unity and
affection” (Plaut pg. 579). Yet, family reconciliation is difficult. Rabbi
Missaghieh points out the immense nature of this challenge. There are no
demonstrations of this teshuvah in biblical narration; so there are no
“good old days” to look back upon and from which to learn (ibid pg. 288).
For us, other additions to this process may include being
aware that a change is needed, understanding the laws of Moses and Israel,
determining how to live according to these laws and rules, embracing the need
to foster family unity, and living accordingly. It is not an easy task. It
never has been.
We, the children of Jacob, must make the first ‘act-ion’
in the process of teshuvah; then God will
also turn and we will finally be face-to-face enjoying the radiance and
blessings that are our due.”
(End of Quote)
This portion from Malachi, the final
paragraphs of the Tanach) therefore ends with the admonition: “Remember
the law of my servant Moses, the Decrees and Laws I gave him at Horeb for all
Israel.”This Divine Admonition is directed at the
'faithful Remnant':
Malachi 4:16-18 - “Then those who feared HaShem talked with each other, and
HaShem listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence
concerning those who feared HaShem and honored His Name. On the day when I
act,” says HaShem Almighty, ‘they will be my treasured possession. I will spare
them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him. And
you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked,
between those who serve G-d and those who do not.”
And, under the apt heading that was inserted
into the English Translation of this Final Admonition:
Breaking Covenant by Withholding Tithes
Malachi 4:6-12 – “I HaShem do not change. So you, the
descendants of Jacob [ALL 12 Tribes, both Houses of Israel], are not destroyed. Ever
since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from My Decrees and have
not kept them. Return to me, and I will
return to you,” says HaShem Almighty.
But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’
“Will a mere mortal rob G-d? Yet you rob me.
But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’
In tithes and
offerings. You
are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing Me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in
My House. Test Me in this,” says HaShem Almighty, “and see if I will not throw
open the floodgates of Heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not
be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from
devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit
before it is ripe,” says HaShem Almighty. ‘Then all the
nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful Land,” says
HaShem Almighty.”
It should be significant
to all those interested in and striving for the Reconciliation of the Two
divided Houses of Israel, that a Divine
Call for Tithing underlies the Final Call of the Bible for the
Final Days towards Redemption!
To understand more about the Return of the 10 Tribes of
Israel to their Homeland in Shomron (Samaria), Israel, Contact “Kol Ha’Tor”, the Voice of the Turtledove. Here is a joint Orthodox
Jewish and 10-Triber Mission to bring awareness of the imminent fulfillment of
the Biblical Prophecies regarding the Redemption of all Israel (12 Tribes
Re-conciled and Re-United).
This reunification will truly be the supernal Event of all
Times for it will entail Establishing Shomron (the Ancient Bible Heartland of
the Patriarchs) and the Judean Wilderness as part of the Land of Israel, and
preparing the “Land” for the Return of the Lost Tribes of the House of Israel
and then the Redemption of All Israel.
For inquiries about Kol Ha Tor’s Vision for the Lost Tribes
of Israel, we invite you to make a personal Visit to Israel and stay at “Shomron
Lives!”, a Spiritual Retreat and Guest
House in Samaria, that hosts Shomron (Samaria) Tours to reacquaint the
Returning Lost Tribers of the House of Israel to their future and Prophetic
Homeland.
In Part One of this series, we once again witnessed the
continuing quest of a few of the religious Zealots who like their ancestors of
old, sought to return Judaism to the life of their ancient forefathers of old.
If only, they believe from the depths of their hearts, that if Torah observant
Jews fulfilled the exact precepts of Torah law including the sacrificing of the
Korban lamb upon the Temple Mount, their hopes and dreams would precipitate the
coming of the Maschiah ben Dovid (Messiah son of David).
So we ask; is the Zionist State of Israel part of the social
profane, or the sacred? If we truly believe that the G-d of Israel is the Sovereign
G-d of the Universe, then we also will believe that He alone is stirring up the
nations to the final fulfillment of prophecy that a future Messianic Age will
come.
Can we then believe that the words spoken by the G-d of
Israel spoke through the pen of the Prophet Zechariah to the Jews that returned
back to Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity also have a meaning to not
only to the Jewish people today but also to the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of
Israel?
Zechariah 1:3-6 – “Thus said HaShem,
Master of Legions: ‘Return to Me – the word of HaShem, Master of Legions – and
I will return unto you…Do not be like your fathers, to whom the prophets of
old, called out, saying…Return now, from your evil ways and from your evil
deeds, ‘but they did not listen nor pay attentions to Me…
Your forefathers, where are they?
And as for the prophets, could they live forever? However, My words and My
decrees, which I commanded My servants the prophets, did they not befall your
fathers? They repented and said, ‘Just as HaShem Master of Legions, thought to
do to us, according to our ways and our deeds, so did He with us.’”
Within the Prophetic Book of Zechariah
G-d left behind a message to us today, in the transliteration of the Prophet
Zechariah’s name in Hebrew: Zekaryah ben Berechiah ben Iddo (Zechariah
son of Berechiah grandson of Iddo). So we also learn, according to the traditions of the Hebrews, the names of the authors in the prophetic book of the TaNaKh have a special significance. In this prophetic book written for our end times, we see the following meaning of Zechariah unfold:
Zechariah (Zekaryah) is known as “HaShem remembers”, or “HaShem has remembered.”
Berechiah, the meaning of the name of the father of Zechariah is: “G-d blesses”
Iddo, the
meaning of the name of the grandfather of Zechariah was: “At the appointed
time”.
So the end-time message is: “G-d remembers and God blesses at the
appointed Time”
As Hebrew is translated from right to left, then, we might also consider that the following meaning of Zechariah’s
name spoken in reverse also means:
“At the Appointed Time, G-d blesses and G-d
remembers”
So today, we are witnessing prophecy in
fulfillment. Jewish organizers of the Sacrifice of the Korban Lamb/Goat rehearsal
that was now denied by the Israeli Veterinary Society, took a petition to the Jewish
court in Jerusalem. There they received a ruling that gave permission for the
Passover ritual of the sacrificing of the lamb or goat to continue. You may
witness this event below.
The Jewish Passover sacrificial ritual continued. It was
presided over by Rabbi Yehuda Glick, who, earlier had his Korban goat
“arrested” and later slaughtered by the command of the Israeli
Agricultural Minister at the Wildlife Supervision Department. Rabbi Yehuda
Glick later described that this riveting ritual was carried out with the
greatest of care for its biblical accuracy.
As he described:
Rabbi Yehuda Glick –
“We took the goat, as the Torah commands, we had an altar
built like the real one, and a cooking pit built according to halakhah (Jewish
Torah Law) We slaughtered the goat with Leviim singing and priestly clothing,
just like in the real Passover sacrifice. The ritual was emotionally moving.
The symbolism of standing opposite the Temple Mount and preparing for the real
Passover sacrifice – it was without doubt a special moment.”
Today, Rabbi Yehuda
Glick is the founder of the organization called “The Movement for the
Establishment of the Temple”. According to Rabbi Glick, the Jewish people
have become “psychologically connected, over the centuries, to the Western Wall
of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem because the rebuilding of the temple seems
like an impossible task.” It was only 25 years ago they the Jewish people
actually started ascending upon the Temple Mount. First it was small groups but
now hundreds of Jews and Christians are now going up upon the Temple. Yet,
recently the Jewish people once again been discriminated
against and not allowed to ascend to the Temple Mount
while Christians and Muslim are still allowed. So who is this Movement for the
Establishment of the Temple that is gaining so much public attention?
Motti
Inbari – “This article discusses the internal world of the Movement
for the Establishment of the Temple, a small and unique group within modern-day
ultra-Orthodox circles in Israel. This group seeks to achieve a religious
revolution within Israeli Orthodoxy through its demand to rebuild the Temple
and to abolish the grave halakhic prohibition against entering the Temple Mount
area. The movement argues that Orthodox passivity on this issue is due to a
theological error, and accordingly it offers an alternative historiographic and
theological approach.
The article discusses in
detail the manner in which this group has attempted to achieve religious change
and to address the dilemmas raised by this demand. It also discusses the manner
in which the group acts to encourage messianic activism within traditionalist
Orthodox circles.
This discussion may
provide valuable information regarding the behavior of modern-day
ultra-Orthodox society. The article describes the theological crisis provoked
in certain Orthodox Zionist circles by the Oslo process, which was based on a
territorial compromise between the State of Israel and the Palestinians in the
Land of Israel, and explains why this crisis enabled the movement's ideas to
penetrate growing circles within the rabbinical leadership of Gush Emunim.
Concern that the State
of Israel might hand the Temple Mount over to Palestinian control led to a
change in what had been considered for centuries to be a grave religious
prohibition.”
This Temple Mount
Movement understandably has caused great dissension among the Islamic people,
who believe that the Temple Mount is holy only to the Muslim people. Yet, Rabbi
Glick is now calling on all the Jewish people to unite and make every effort to
go to this sacred site and focus their prayers upon the rebuilding of the next
temple in Jerusalem.
In fact, it was back
April, 2011, that Glick claimed that the Children of Israel were commanded “in
perpetuity” to sacrifice a lamb or a goat on each anniversary of the
Exodus. Even though the current belief
that without the temple, that was last destroyed less than 2,000 years ago, in
the days of the Exodus, there was not a temple. The first Passover (Pesach) was
conducted by every Israelite family, and according to Glick, so they should be
doing so today.
Back in 2011, Rabbi
Glick, along with several influential rabbis, as written in The Jewish Daily Forwards
in the article titled, “300
Goats and Sheep, 20 Slaughterers, One Willful Rabbi”, we
learned that Rabbi Yehuda Glick contracted Jewish farmers to provide him with
300 sheep and goats for a sacrifice, should the Messiah come. Also, there were
20 Jewish slaughterers on stand-by. This event was written about on Destination
Yisrael in the article titled, “Will the Sacrifice of the Pesach
Lamb be reinstituted in Jerusalem in 2011?”
For those who wanted to
“share”, that is one ounce of lamb or goat meat, prepared according to the
halakhic command of a sacrificial animal, they were invited to purchase it by
phone, and a credit card for 12 shekels which was about $3.00. By the eve of
Pesach over 3,000 people had signed up.
The official inauguration
of the sacrificial ritual is, according to Rabbi Glick, the next step to the
actual fulfillment of biblical prophecy. At that time the work of the Temple
Mount Faithful will become fulfilled. According to the Temple Mount Faithful,
all the implements that are needed to be used in a new temple have been made.
This included the knowledge of where the site of the new Jewish Temple is to be
built upon the Temple Mount.
The Great Golden Menorah
to be used in the next Jewish Temple has been built and housed in a glass
protective casing for the visiting public to inspect. Also all of the 28,000
priests needed to conduct the sacrifices in the next Jewish temple have been
trained. Their priestly garments are now ready to be used.
Now, according to Rabbi
Glick, it is time for the Jewish people to become accustomed to “ascending the
Temple Mount” and now only to learn how to pray but to become involved as
participants in the future Temple services.
As such Rabbi Yehuda Glick has now proclaimed; “There should be no more
prayers at the Western Wall, but instead, let’s go up to the Temple Mount.”
Sanhedrin
97a – “Rebi Yochanan said: In the generation that Ben Dovid will come, talmidei
chachamim, the “pupil of wisdom” known as the Torah sage or scholar, will
decrease, and the eyes of the remainder will protrude from sighing and sorrow;
many chastisements and many evil decrees will be renewed; one will not cease
before another begins.”
Let us now look at the final four
years in this collections of passages in the Talmud in Sanhedrin 97a, as was
given by the famous Jewish sage, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zaccai:
According to Rabbi Yochanan ben Zaccai, these
immediate future days over the next 3½ years are part of HaShem’s vision for
our future life. Here was Rabbi Yochana’s vision of the final four years that
began with the Last Sabbatical Week of Years on Rosh Hashanah 2008. Here is how
he envisioned what will happen in the Land of Israel in the final four years as
the world is sinking into the economic
abyss, it’s affect upon the Land of Israel that will begin to improve in the
year of 2013, and the contagiousness about the coming of the Messiah will
become serious in the Jewish population by the years of 2014 to 2015.
Talmud
Sanhedrin 97a – “In the fourth year (2013), some will be satiated while
others are not,
In
the fifth year (2014), there will be plenty and
people will eat, drink, and be joyous, and the Torah will return to those who
learned it.
In
the sixth year (2015), there will be voices which
according to Rashi depict either the blowing of the shofars (war) or the hints
and voices about the coming of the messiah.
In
the seventh year (2016), there
will be war (GogUMogog War or Armageddon).”
Rabbi
Judah heHasid – “In the ninth jubilee (1967-2917) Jerusalem will once again
come back into the possession of the Jewish nation – which will signify
the beginning of the Messianic end time.”
As Destination Yisrael wrote:
Destination
Yisrael - “This leaves one more Jubilee,
the tenth Jubilee since the Ottoman Turks took control of Jerusalem and the
Land of Promise in the years of 1517. According to this Jewish sage, the end of
this tenth Jubilee will “signify the beginning of the Messianic end time.”
As
we review the Sabbatical Week of Years, this present Sabbatical Cycle began on
Rosh Hashanah 2008 5778. The 8th year would have been the day of the
Messiah ending Rosh Hashanah 2009, but the Messiah did not come.
If
this Sabbatical Messianic cycle 2009-2017 is completed and the GogUMogog war
does begin within the year between Rosh Hashanah 2015 to Rosh Hashanah 2016,
then the Messianic Era will commence before Rosh Hashanah 2017. We are
currently in the 4th year of the Sabbatical Messianic Cycle that
began on Rosh Hashanah 2009, now in the Jewish year 5773 (2013).
There
is still time for the Messiah the Prince, the anti-Messiah to forge a covenant
with the “Holy Ones” of the rabbanim of Jerusalem for a seven year hudna, for
the biblical text in Daniel clearly states that it will be abrogated by the
anti-Messiah within 3½ years.
Can
we look forward to a Middle East Peace Accord by Passover 2013? If so, 3½
years later, will be see the revealing of the Maschiach ben Dovid before Rosh
Hashanah 2016 (Jewish year 5777 between Rosh Hashanahs 5776-7)?
If
so, the Epic Year of the Messiah will be here on Rosh Hashanah 2016 or the
Jewish year of 5000 plus 777 years. The age of the Enlightenment of the Torah
will have begun. The forces of evil will have been destroyed and the Kingdom of
G-d on Planet Earth will begin with the Maschiach ben Dovid ruling with the
“rod of iron”.
The day will soon be
here when the HaShem, the G-d of Israel will open the gates of the supernal
heavens, and at that time, no man or any group will be able to stop the final
prophetic river from flowing towards the mighty waterfall that will cascade us
into the Age of the Messiah.
************
2013 Passover Series: The Jewish Quest to
Observe Torah Law on the Temple Mount
The Exodus and the Pesach Festival are an indelible link of
the ancient Israelites to the modern Jewish people. Even the Lost Ten Tribes of
the House of Israel who are predominately worshipping in Christian Churches
today, worship the Passover in a corrupted festival of Easter initiated by the
First Church of Rome in the 3rd century CE. Yet, there is still real
spiritual imagery that if taken back to their Hebrew-Judaic roots could become
the pathway of the Lost Christian Israelites to be reunited back with their
Jewish brothers of the House of Judah.
To understand more about the Return of the Lost 10
Tribes of Israel to their
Homeland in Israel, Contact “Kol Ha Tor”,
the Voice of the Turtledove. Here is a joint Orthodox
Jewish and 10-Triber Vision destined to bring awareness of the imminent fulfillment of the Biblical Prophecies regarding the Redemption of all Israel (12 Tribes
Re-conciled and Re-United). This super Event of all Times will entail
Establishing the Shomron (the
Ancient Bible Heartland of the Patriarchs) and the Judean Wilderness as part of the Land of Israel, and preparing
the “Land” for the Return of the Lost Tribes of the House of Israel and then the Redemption of
All Israel.
For inquiries about Kol Ha Tor Vision for the Lost Tribes of Israel, Visit – “Shomron Lives!”,
a Spiritual Retreat and Guest House in Samaria, that hosts Shomron (Samaria) Tours to reacquaint the Reawakening
and re-identifying Lost Tribers of the House of Israel with the actuality of
the Land and its population – the Jews, and how this integration can possibly
take place.
On the eve of the 2013 Passover Season, the police
detectives in Jerusalem were monitoring the activities of Noam Federman, a well known Jewish activist who yearly has been seeking the legal rights to prepare the
halakhically prescribed biblical ritual of sacrificing the Passover lamb or
goat on Passover on or near the Temple Mount.
So on Monday afternoon, the eve of Passover, the vehicle of Noam
Federman was seen and stopped for investigation. Inside he was transporting a
sacrificial goat halakhically prepared according to the commands of the Torah.
There Noam Federman was
arrested at the Dung Gate nearby to the Temple Mount. As he arrived with his
children along with the goat that he was preparing to sacrifice near the Temple
Mount as the Korban Pesach, he was apprehended by the police. After a scuffle,
Federman was arrested and taken to the police station nearby in a Jerusalem
police squad car.
After his investigation,
Federman was released with his children, aged 12, 10 and seven-years-old, that
accompanied him to the holy site. For one week, the Jerusalem Police banned
Federman from going near the Old City in Jerusalem. According to the response
by Federman, we read:
Noam Federman – “We demand to offer the Passover
sacrifice, one of the most important commandments. The Jewish police are
harming the freedom of religion. It’s a disgrace that the police prevent Jews
from keeping the Passover sacrifice mitzvah.”
As Federman later stated
in this Pesach Festival drama, the Jerusalem detectives came and claimed he was
violating a court order. When he asked what court order was he violating they
responded to him; “you’ll see it at the police station.” As it turned out, a court order did not
exist, yet he was detained for they admitted that questioning him in from of
all the public would have disturbed the peace.
According to separate
reports, the police admitted that they were planning on taking the young goat
to the Hurva Synagogue in the Jewish Quarters and there it would create a
provocation. In the meantime, a group of girls were also stated to have been
making their way to the Mount with a third goat. At the time Federman’s goat
was confiscated, his response was that later he would demand that he be given
back his own goat from his farm for as he admitted, “I chose the best goat of
the Alpine species.”
Meanwhile why Federman
was being investigated by the police, Rabbi Yehuda Glick, director of the Temple Institute in Jerusalem was arrested as he
entered the Jaffa Gate. Earlier in the week on March 24, he sought to obtain a
permit to officially perform an actually Pesach sacrifice on the Temple Mount.
It was denied.
In protest Glick,
director of the Temple Institute in Jerusalem, plus many of his members then
decided to lead a procession along with a goat, and then hold a prayer service
and perform a “mock Pesach sacrifice” without the goat, in the courtyard of the
Hurva Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem.
On March 29, Glick plus
his two daughters and a goat were stopped at the Jaffa Gate as they were
entering the Old City of David. They
were taken to the Kishle Police Station just inside the Joffa Gate. There also,
Glick was apprehended for three hours, his goat confiscated and he barely made it back to his home at Othniel
for the evening Seder. In the meantime, his goat was taken to the Wildlife
Supervision Department and there slaughtered by the orders of the Israeli
Agricultural Minister.
At the same time others Temple Mount
activists were assembling near the promenade next to the Jaffa Gate in
Jerusalem’s Old City. There at 1:30 p.m. they also had their goats and lambs
where they were prepared to sacrifice outside the walls of the Temple
Mount. There they waited for Noam
Federman and when he arrived they were to advance and move towards the Temple
where they were preparing to set up a “minimal kosher altar”.
They were fully aware that the chance of
their achieving this goal was slim, for they had been doing this for years. Now
the police are waiting for them, blocking their movements by force and even arresting
some of them, charging them with warrants of unauthorized transport of animals
and cruelty to animals.
Earlier on Thursday, March 21, various Jewish
groups were participants in a “mock Passover sacrifice” that was held on the
Mount of Olives opposite of the Kidron Valley from the Temple Mount overlooking
Jerusalem. According to their admission, this yearly enactment was not just for
the public interest but was done in order to for the actual Leviim or the Cohanim
who are actual literal descendants of the priestly tribe of Levi, would have
the ability to practice and participate in the actual ritual of the Pesach lamb
so that they would be prepared after the soon to be reconstruction of the
Jewish temple in Jerusalem is completed.
Today, the Leviim are Jews, that is observant
Orthodox Jews in Judaism yet, they are still descendants of the Biblical tribe
of Levi, whose forefathers were participants of the Temple services during the
days of King Solomon’s Temple, Zerubabbel’s Temple, and later the expansion
into King Herod’s Temple in the 1st century BCE and CE era.
To the shock of the Jewish Leviim, this year (2013)
they were met with a surprising veto by Israel’s Veterinary Services who for
the first time this year refused to authorize the event, as they had previously
done for multiple years prior in honor of Passover. As Passover delegation accused the Veterinary
Services:
Temple Mount Leviim and Passover activists –
“After
preventing us from fulfilling the mitzvah [commandment] of the Passover
sacrifice in its proper place, in violation of the law and of a Supreme Court
ruling, now the authorities are plotting to stop us from even learning about
the way the mitzvah is to be performed. This stands in contrast to the approach
to events surrounding the Muslim sacrifice holiday [Eid ul-Adha], during which
thousands of sheep and cattle are sacrificed freely in Jerusalem and across the
country.”
If the Temple Mount, under the sovereign control of the
State of Israel, then this picture leads us to wonder, why are not Jews and
Christians allowed to worship their also? Is it because the G-d of Israel does
not want to mix the sacred with the profane? Yet the prophets are in unison
proclaiming that that day of almost over.
What is little known in the Western World is the fact that
both the Jews and Muslims both have Festivals of Sacrificing and the
sacrificing of animals are yearly reenacted by Muslims in Jerusalem. The
Islamic Feast of Sacrifice, the second most holy day in the Muslim Calendar,
comes at the end of Ramadan and is to celebrate an event honored by both Jews
and Muslim; the willingness of Abraham, the Patriarch to the Jews, and a
Prophet to the Muslims, to sacrifice his son.
The difference is in outlook on these two people who are both
descendants of Abraham; one through his son Isaac, the chosen one by the G-d of
Israel and the other Ishmael, as the Islamic religion claims was not Isaac, but
instead the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son Ishmael when Abraham
went to Mount Moriah to sacrifice. After prayers on the Temple Mount, the
Muslims then slaughter thousands of sheep and goats in the surrounding regions
and the meat is then distributed to the family, neighbors and those in poverty
and in need.
************
2013 Passover Series: The Jewish Quest to Observe
Torah Law on the Temple Mount
The Exodus and the Pesach Festival are an indelible link of
the ancient Israelites to the modern Jewish people. Even the Lost Ten Tribes of
the House of Israel who are predominately worshipping in Christian Churches
today, worship the Passover in a corrupted festival of Easter initiated by the
First Church of Rome in the 3rd century CE. Yet, there is still real
spiritual imagery that if taken back to their Hebrew-Judaic roots could become
the pathway of the Lost Christian Israelites to be reunited back with their
Jewish brothers of the House of Judah.
To understand more about the Return of the Lost 10
Tribes of Israel to their
Homeland in Israel, Contact “Kol Ha Tor”, the Voice of the Turtledove. Here is a joint Orthodox Jewish and 10-Triber
Vision destined to bring
awareness of the imminent
fulfillment of the Biblical
Prophecies regarding the
Redemption of all Israel (12 Tribes Re-conciled and Re-United). This super
Event of all Times will entail Establishing the Shomron (the Ancient Bible Heartland of the Patriarchs) and the Judean Wilderness as part of the Land of Israel, and preparing
the “Land” for the Return of the Lost Tribes of the House of Israel and then the Redemption of
All Israel.
For inquiries about Kol Ha Tor Vision for the Lost Tribes of Israel, Visit – “Shomron Lives!”,
a Spiritual Retreat and Guest House in Samaria, that hosts Shomron (Samaria) Tours to reacquaint the Reawakening
and re-identifying Lost Tribers of the House of Israel with the actuality of
the Land and its population – the Jews, and how this integration can possibly
take place.
As
the Jewish Passover is being celebrated around the world, we are reminded that
the Passover was the beginnings of one of the greatest epic year in world
catastrophes and redemption. Out of the Passover, the Great Exodus began that
swept the Israelites out of Egypt. It began one of the greatest migrations of
peoples in the world, for one reason, the G-d of Israel residing in the
Shekinah Glory that gave them the Pillar of Cloud that sheltered them from the
sun by day, and the Pillar of Light that gave them a protective light to keep
them safe by night.
Is it
any wonder that as members of the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel, we
understand that our destiny of being lost and abandoned is about over. As the
prophets have spoken with great clarity, the G-d of Israel has spoken that He
will redeem us. This time He has not asked out permission. He will do it for
one reason only; we have failed to honor His Holy Name and instead continue to
desecrate it as we live in the nations of the world, but this time, He has
promised that He will honor His Holy Name and will “take us out of the lands of
our dwelling, and plant us back into the tribal lands of our forefathers, there
we shall be His people, and He shall be our G-d. (Paraphrased on Ezekiel 36).
As we
study this present day, and Passover, we realize that we are in momentous
times. Not only that our time is short, and the cycling of time is speeding up
faster and faster. It was towards the end of the era of the Roman Christian
Crusaders that placed such havoc in the Middle East at the turn of the 1st
Millennium after the 1st century Temple of Herod era. During this era, a Hassidic rabbi called
Rabbi Ben Samuel lived. He was called the “Light of Israel”, for Rabbi
Judah ben Samuel did not discriminate against anyone who wanted to learn from
him. Even the Roman Catholic bishops sought his wisdom.
Towards the end of his life in the
year of 1217, Rabbi ben Samuel began publishing his biblical calculations
called the Gematria, plus his astronomical observations a gave us this summary
of the last ten Jubilees, or the last 400 years before the revealing of the
Maschiah ben David:
Rabbi
Judah ben Samuel - “When the Ottomans (Turks) – who were already a power
to be reckoned with on the Bosporus in the time of Judah Ben Samuel – conquer
Jerusalem they will rule over Jerusalem for eight jubilees. Afterwards Jerusalem
will become no-man’s land for one jubilee, and then in the ninth jubilee
it will once again come back into the possession of the Jewish nation
– which would signify the beginning of the Messianic end time.”
According to Leviticus 25, one Jubilee
period is 50 years in which the 50th year, each person will regain
ownership of his or her tribal lands. In reference to the time of the end, this
will be the time when the Maschiah (Messiah) will be revealed and now dwelling
among his people. Looking over this
succinct and powerful prophecy, we now realize that it amazing accuracy to
date, also gives us a potent reminded that we now have an amazingly short time
before the full prediction of this prophecy will occur. As Rabbi Judah ben
Samuel’s was revealed:
The Ottoman Turks would conquer the city of
Jerusalem, which were controlled by the Roman Christian Crusaders at that time.
This occurred in the year of 1517. They would rule over Jerusalem for eight
Jubilees (50 years x 8 is 400 years).
After that date, the city of Jerusalem will
become a “no-man’s land for one jubilee. So in 1917, that the British General
Edmund Allenby captured the city of Jerusalem on Hanukkah, December 17, 1917.
The Ottoman Empire effectively collapsed within a year, and Islam’s bid to
control the Land of Israel was destroyed.
The British Mandate controlled with the French the Middle East and
Jerusalem became a “no-man’s land for one Jubilee (1917-1967).
In the year of 1967, the Jewish people were
once again attacked my Muslim forces. After the Six-Day War ended on June 17,
1967, the entire West Bank plus the entire city of Jerusalem that was occupied
by the Jordanians but never possessed, was returned by the G-d of Israel was
returned to the possession of the Jewish people.
No matter what the pundits of the
world day, the city of Jerusalem will never again be in the possession of
anyone except the Jewish people. As Rabbi Judah heHasid wrote:
Rabbi
Judah heHasid – “In the ninth jubilee Jerusalem will once again come
back into the possession of the Jewish nation – which will signify
the beginning of the Messianic end time.”
According
to Rabbi Judah ben Samuel, this officially ends the prophecy of the ten
Jubilees (500 years) since the Land of Israel was taken control of by the
Islamic Ottoman Turks in the year of 1517, and will effectively spell the end
of Islam’s bid to control the Land of Israel and dash their hopes to control
the world. As we celebrate with the Jews the Passover, we are reminded of one
fact: we are today, on March 25, 2013 only 3½ years until the Jewish year of
2017 and the Messianic Age begins.
Understanding
the entire meaning of the Jewish Sabbatical Week of Years, the Jewish people
yearned for the coming of the messiah for seven years. In the 8th
year, or after a series of seven Sabbatical Week of Years (49 Years), the 8th
year being the Jubilee Year, the Messiah will be revealed and given the glory
of the kingdom of G-d to rule the world.
What
does this suggest to us, when we say that we have only three and one-half years
before the Maschiah will appear in our three dimensional space on Planet Earth?
Count the months, from Passover to Rosh Hashanah is six months and Rosh Hashanah
2013 (Year of 2014) to Rosh Hashanah (Year of 2017) is truly only 3½ years from now. At
that time, according to Rabbi Judah ben Samuel, the Messianic Age will
begin. The Maschiach ben Dovid will be
“come” or be “revealed” before Rosh Hashanah 2016 (Jewish year 5777 between
Rosh Hashanahs 5776-7)?
If so, the Epic Year of the Messiah
will be here on Rosh Hashanah 2016, or in the Jewish year of 5777 (5000 plus
777 years). The age of the Enlightenment of the Torah will have begun. The
forces of evil will have been destroyed and the Kingdom of G-d on Planet Earth
will begin with the Maschiach ben Dovid ruling with the “rod of iron.
Our hearts begin to palpitate now with
expectation. Did the King of the North, just arrive and then leave from the
City of Jerusalem? Will his days soon be numbered? Was he here for one purpose: to forge a Peace
Agreement with the new Jewish government in Jerusalem? Did the world just a few
days ago witness the last Pope according their own Papal Prophecies to be given
power and authority over the world until the “dreaded Judge will judge or
sentence the people?”
Prophecy of St.
Malachi on the Last Pope, Peter the Roman –
“During the final
persecution of the Roman Christian Church, one called “Petrus Romanus will
reign (Peter the Roman), who will nourish his believers in many sufferings.
After that, the town of the seven hills will be destroyed and the
dreaded judge will sentence his people. The End!”
“In the final
persecution of the Holy Roman Church there will reign Petrus Romanus, who will
feed his flock amid many tribulations; after which the seven-hilled
city will be destroyed and the dreadful Judge will judge the people."
The End!”
It now appears that the Messiah the Prince, or the Maschiah
Nagid (Black, Hidden or the anti-Messiah) has now been revealed. Is he the
“King of the North” or is the titled of the Messiah the Prince be given into
the hands of Peter the Roman, who is destined to
rule over his people from Rome until “the seven hilled city will be destroyed”.
Whomever the Messiah the Prince is to
be revealed and whether he is the anti-Messiah, prophetic events appear to be
swirling around our eyes. Look at the Events that unfolded in just this one
week:
The Prime Minister of Israel officially
proclaims that he backs “two states for two peoples.”
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime
Minister Salam Fayyad were urged to “drop preconditions, for the Palestinians
deserve a fully sovereign state”.
While Iran’s leader threatened that Tel Aviv
and Haifa would be leveled if Israel were the attack Iran, the President of the
United States promised to solve the Iranian crisis.
North Korea military threatens to target
Anderson Air Force base in Guam where the B-52 takes off, the mainland of Japan
where America’s nuclear powered submarines are deployed and the American Navy
bases in Okinawa.
These events were preceded by a Plague
of Locust and the first omen came as “The Beast” his armored vehicle would not
start when filled with Israeli petrol.
The visit also ended as a rare Red
Dust Clouded Sandstorm surrounding the Land of Israel when the President of the
United States had to effectively cut short his visit with the Palestinian
delegation in Bethlehem because his helicopter was grounded by the red dust
storm. Could this dust storm have come because of the closeness of the Red
Binary Dwarf Star that is surrounded by a vortex of red iron oxide dust?
Whatever the meaning, the 4th
year of the Sabbatical Messianic Cycle that began on Rosh Hashanah 2009 is now
here in the Jewish year 5773 (2013). That gives us just 3½ years for the
anti-Messiah to abrogate the Peace Accord and final judgment will be revealed.
If not, do we have to wait for another
50 year Jubilee period to be completed before the messiah will be revealed? Let
us “Cry unto the L-rd to redeem us, for He has promised us, “If you will call upon
Me, I will answer!”
************
The Battle for the
Minds of the Human Race is now coming to its fullest revelation. The forces of
Darkness will battle with the Forces of HaShem’s angels of Light as the final
battle for the souls of men are played out on Planet Earth. Out of these epic
war will come the restoration and redemption of All Israel; the Ten Lost Tribes
of the House of Israel and the Jews of the House of Judah.
The Roman Catholic
Church has been a major part of this Drama of the Ages and will continue to do
so until the Final Act of that Divine Drama. It will include the Jews of the
House of Israel, the Lost Sheep of the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Northern
Israel; both of the House of Jacob (Israel). It will also include the
Roman Edomites of the House of Esau, the brother of Jacob of the House of
Isaac. It will also include the Arabs of the House of Ishmael, the brother to
Isaac of the House of Abraham.
If you want to learn
more, Contact “Kol
Ha Tor Vision”,
the Voice of the Turtledove. Here is a joint Orthodox Jewish and 10-Triber
Mission to bring awareness of the imminent fulfillment of the Biblical
Prophecies regarding the Redemption of all Israel (12 Tribes Re-conciled and
Re-United).
The author of this
blog is a supporter of Kol Ha Tor Vision and while we are publishing material
that may be relevant to the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel, the
leadership of Kol Ha Tor do not necessarily agree with everything we have
published. Yet, we understand, until the Messiah son of David comes to give us
full insight into what is happening to our lives and our world today, we may
know only in part while we continue to support the rabbanim of Israel and seek
reconciliation with the Jews of the House of Israel until we are finally one
family; the family of our Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
This reunification
will truly be a super Event of all Times that will entail Establishing the
Shomron (the Ancient Bible Heartland of the Patriarchs) and the Judean
Wilderness as part of the Land of Israel, and preparing the “Land” for the
Return of the Lost Tribes of the House of Israel and then the Redemption of All
Israel.
For inquiries about
Kol Ha Tor Vision for the Lost Tribes of Israel, we invite you to make a
personal Visit to Israel and stay at “Shomron Lives!”,a Spiritual Retreat and Guest House
in Samaria, that hosts Shomron (Samaria) Tours to reacquaint the Returning Lost
Tribers of the House of Israel.
With
the continuous rainfall and snow in the Land of Israel since the end of
December 2012, again our hearts are quickened by the prospects that this will
become a confirmation that the days of the messiah have truly come as spoken by
the prophets of old.
Joel
2:23
– “Be glad then ye
children of Zion and rejoice in the Lord your God: for He hath given you the
former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the
former rain, and the latter rain in the first month” [Thus Nissan and the
beginning of Pesach (Passover) season].
Zechariah
10:1 –Ask the Lord for Rain in
the time of the Latter Rain.The Lord will make flashing clouds;He will give them Showers of Rain,Grass in the Field for
Everyone.
For the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel,
this time of the “Latter Rain” will become an era in which the identity and
reality of the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel will become fully
realized to both the Jewish rabbanim and to the Lost Ten Tribes, and they begin
to accept a new identity that they also have a chosen purpose and destiny in
life.
At this time, it will bring them to
the forefront of the redemption, reformation, and reconciliation movement that
the only family of people that they belong to is the Jewish people of the House
of Judah. Together, they will become a
spiritual force field of prayer to the Divine of gratitude to the Divine with
the realization that with the centuries’ long drought that has dominated the
landscape of Israel has broken. So also the long domination that has gone on
also for centuries of the Jewish people as an oppressed people will be over. They also can now accept their new mandate of
life; to become the dominate global civilization on Planet Earth; a mediator
between the G-d of Israel and the peoples on Planet Earth.
The time of the Latter Rain has long
been recognized by the sages of Judah as being a divine sign of the “end days”
before the “coming of the messiah.” Yet,
we ask, why is this important? According
to the sages of Judah, when the “latter rain” does arrives, it means that the
guela (redemption) that will come in bi’etah (in its divinely chosen time) has
now arrive, and now is the time for certain actions on the part of the Jews and
the Lost Tribes to happen. So what are
they?
According to Rashi, this is the time
to request the “latter rain if you need it.”
According to Redak, if you make your request at the time of the latter
rain, HaShem will make “lightning: HE will immediately hearken to your prayer
and make lightning and give rain.” If it is divine signs that you need, those
signs will be manifested for those can “see”.
During
the last era of the Temple of Herod period, one of the most famous of the
rabbanim in the era of the “Tannaim” was Rabbi
Yochanan ben Zakai. This was the rabbinic era whose spiritual views and
enlightenment were preserved and record in the Jewish Mishnah between the 210
years between the dates of 10-220 CE, or what is called the “Mishnaic Period” that
followed the era of the “Zugot ("pairs"); the era of the famous rabbis, Hillel the Great and
Shammai the Great and their Torah seminaries called the Beit Hillel and Beit
Shammai.
Today, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai’s tomb is located in Tiberias, in the region of Galilee locted
in the burial compound of Maimonides. Known for his active defense of Pharisee
rabbinic scholarship in Torah Law against the Sadducee interpretations of
halakhah, it was he who prevented the Jewish Sadducee high priest from enacting
and following through the Sadducee interpretation of the Red Heifer ritual in the closing days of the Roman siege in Jerusalem.
In
the last few weeks before the final assault of the Roman legions upon
Jerusalem, Rabbi Yochanan escaped from Jerusalem hidden within a coffin, seeking to negotiate peace with the Roman military
commander, General Vespasian. At the time, he correctly predicted that
Vespasian would become the next Roman Emperor and that the Temple of Herod
would soon be destroyed even though Vespasian did not want it to be harmed.
That a Roman physician would be sent to treat Rabbi
Tzadok (Zadok), who had been fasting for 40 years, since 30 CE, to stave off
the destruction of the City of Jerusalem.
We
are closing now almost two millenniums since the days of Rabbi Yochanan ben
Zakai, but his prophecies as preserved in the Talmud Sanhedrin 97a, concerning
the last seven Sabbatical week of years before the revealing of the messiah
have tingled in our ears with greater and greater meaning as that day
approaches. Let us read this prophecy:
Sanhedrin 97a – “Rebi Yochanan said: In the
generation that Ben Dovid will come, talmidei chachamim, the “pupil of wisdom”
known as the Torah sage or scholar, will decrease, and the eyes of the
remainder will protrude from sighing and sorrow; many chastisements and many
evil decrees will be renewed; one will not cease before another begins.”
Then
the prophecy continues to outline in miniature vignettes, what will happen on
each preceding year before the final revealing or the coming of the Maschiah
ben Dovid (Messiah son of David). So let us continue to read and plug in the
dates of this present Sabbatical Week of Years between Rosh Hashanah 2008, when
the G-d of Israel wrote the Number of
His Name on the walls of Wall Street and open the secular year of 2009. This heralded the era
of the economic collapse of the nations of the world and the rise of the last
global empire; the unified Confederation of Nations called the One World Order.
Here is how they relate to the Prophecy of Rebi Yochanan:
In the first
year (2009 starting with Rosh Hashanah 2008), the following prophecy in Amos
4:7 will be fulfilled “I caused it to rain on one city, but, on another city, I
did not cause it to rain.
In the
second year (2010, starting with Rosh Hashanah 2009), there will be a “slight
famine” in which according to Rashi, “no place will be completely satisfied”.
In the third
year (2011 starting with Rosh Hashanah 2010), “famine will be great, and men,
women, children, pious people, and men of good deeds will die; Torah will be
forgotten by those who learned it.”
In the
fourth year (2012, starting with Rosh Hashanah 2011), “some will be satiated
while others are not.”
In the fifth
year (2013, starting with Rosh Hashanah 2012), there will be plenty and people
will eat, drink, and be joyous, and the Torah will return to those who learned
it.”
In the sixth
year (2014, starting with Rosh Hashanah 2013), there will be voices which
according to Rashi depict either the blowing of the shofars (war) or the hints
and voices about the coming of the messiah.
In the
seventh year (2015, starting with Rosh Hashanah 2014), there will be war.”
Then in
the eight year, 2016, starting with Rosh Hashanah 2015, according to the
traditions of the Jews concerning the coming of the messiah, the messiah will
be fully revealed. The full revelation of the coming of the messiah could
happen at any time after the beginning of the 8th year that comes
after the completion of the last Sabbatical Week of Years where the 8th
year is the Year of Jubilee.
As it
was in the days of the days of the Kings of United Israel and later the Kingdom
of Judah, the regnal year of the king began not on the day he assumed and
mounted the throne of Judah, but the Jewish year after the next Rosh
Hashanah. So also, if King Messiah is
fully revealed in the 8th year of this Sabbatical Week of Years,
which happens to be the Jubilee Year after the Jews gained control of all
Israel (1967-2017), the regnal year of the Messianic Kingdom of G-d will be at
the completion of the Jubilee Year of 2016, when the ancient Hebrew life starts
anew, and the ancestral tribal lands are returned back to their original
owners, the Messianic Era of King Messiah in HaShem’s Planetary Capital of our
Solar System in the city of Jerusalem.
The reign of King Messiah will begin in the Jewish year beginning with
Rosh Hashanah 2016, or the literal year as we know it to be; the Year of 2017.
We
were tantalized in November, 2012, when rains began to fall after Succot and
the Sea of Galilee that had been hovering for a decade over the Black Line,
where no more water could be taken from the lake, the energies of those with
“eyes that can see” were quickened. So Destination Yisra’el posted the
following blog, titled, “Has
the Israeli
Drought
ended? – Are we to Prepare for the Latter Rain while the Rest of the World is
Reaping Judgment?”. So now
in December and into the first week of January, 2013, we realized that in the
year of 2012, the perception of the Jews in the State of Israel were truly
becoming “joyous” and the Torah began to be spoken with greater and greater
reverence as it returned “to those who learned it.” The prophecy of the famous
Sage of Yavne, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai appeared to be coming true.
Now
today, the rain is falling, the snow is covering the mountain slopes of Mount
Hermon. If the rain is sufficient this year and the water table climbs back up
above the “Red Line”, then water from the Degania Dam below Lake Kinneret (Sea
of Galilee) that divides the Lake Kinneret from the Jordan River may have to be
released and once again not seen since the days of the Oslo Accord in 1993, the
raging waters will again sweep down the Jordan River.
The fields
of Shomron, the tribal homeland of the Tribe of Ephraim will be covered with flowers
and the green grass upon the land that had withered and lain forgotten for
centuries will begin sprouting its first the blades of grass. The vineyards in
Judea will begin to ripen with the bounties of G-d’s blessings. We will then
begin to ponder seriously, is it time that HaShem’s promise that He would restore
again the Mountains of Israel in Shomron and Judea back again Gan Eden (Garden
of Eden) has finally come?
Ezekiel
36:6 24- - “Therefore, prophesy concerning the Land of Israel and say
to
the
mountains and
to the
hills, to
the
streams and
to the
valleys, ‘Thus said the L-rd Hashem/Elohim: I have lifted My hand, that the nations surrounding you will bear
their shame, but you, O mountains of Israel will give forth your branch and bear your fruit for My people Israel,
for they
are soon to come…
I
will make people numerous upon you – the entire House of Israel, all of it; the cities will be inhabited and
the ruins will be
rebuilt. I will multiply man and animal upon you, and they will multiply and be fruitful; I
will make you inhabited as in your earlier times, and I will make it better than it
was at your beginning… I will cause man to walk upon you – My people Israel –
and they will inherit you. Then you will be theirs for a possession, and you
will no longer be bereaved of them…
Thus
said the L-rd Hashem/Elohim: It is not for you sake that I act, O House of
Israel, but for My holy Name, that You have desecrated among the nations where you came….I will take
you from among the nations and gather you from all the lands, and
I will bring you to your
own soil…I will put My spirit within you, and I will make it so that you will
follow My decrees and
guard My ordinance and fulfill them. You will dwell in the land that I gave to your forefathers,
you will be a people to Me, and I will be a G-d to you.
On
the day when I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited and
the ruins will be
built…People will say, “This very land, which had been desolate, has become like the Garden of Eden; and
the ruined desolate and
demolished, cities have been fortified, inhabited! The nations that remain
around you will know that I, Hashem, have rebuilt the ruins and I have
replanted the wasteland; I, Hashem, have spoken and I shall act.”
In the fourth year (2012, starting with Rosh Hashanah
2011), “Some will be Satiated (Satisfied) while Others are not.”
The Sanhedrin Prophecy of Rebi Yochanan brilliantly
described the year of 2012, when it stated, “Some will be Satiated (Satisfied) while Others are not.” Little
did we know that the year of 2012 would become a pendulum, swinging back and forth
as the population of Israeli leftists headquartered predominately in Tel Aviv and
the Jerusalem metropolitans, who felt that they were immune to missile attacks,
were targeted by rocket and missile attacks during the summer and fall of
2012? The arrogance of the left-wing populations
centered on Tel Aviv began to fade as they came to a certain reality that the
Palestine populations that they were so eager to give away the biblical lands
of their forefathers did not come with the mantle of “Peace”, but rather with the
black flags of death and destruction.
At the same time, there was an
ebullience of excitement with the Israeli patriots and pioneers in Shomron and
Judea. When the Israel-Gaza War called the “Pillar of Defense” began in
November 2012, the 75,000 reservists that were called to potentially have to
protect the State of Israel was met with a flood of upwards to over 110,000
young patriotic Israelis wanting to be a part of what appeared to be mega-shift
in the spiritual mandate of Israel. Maybe the “Eight Day War” would begin the “footsteps of the Messiah”
and the population of Israel would begin its final trek towards the soon to
come Messianic Age?
Yet,
when the short lived war ended eight days later in what appeared to be a
stalemate or another Islamic hudna, despair did not grip the patriotic hearts
of the “lovers of Israel” but rather, joy began to swell within them that now
with new elections, they could affirm the new political, social and spiritual
direction for the State of Israel. Maybe now would be a true prophetic signs
that the Jewish people would choose to take charge of their own destiny.
Right
smack in the middle of the year, on July 4, 2012, when the Lost Ten Tribes of
the House of Israel were celebrating their 236th anniversary of the
“Declaration of Independence” in America, a panel headed by the retired High
Court Justice in Israel, Edmund Levy, called the “Levy Report” concluded that “from a historical and legal
prospective, and considering agreements with the Palestinian Authority, the
international law against ‘occupation’ does not apply to Judea and Samaria”,
for its status was not
that of a nation in 1967.
The
floodgates of messianic zeal began to penetrate the hearts and minds of G-d’s
stalwart and dedicated people that saw Israel as the “Light on the Hill” and
will soon be beckoning the “Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel” home. For them it was time to grasp with emuna
(faith) that the days of the messiah were now upon us. It was time to consider
the political options of leaving the world’s opinion of “Jewish occupation” in
the dust bins of history and instead grasp onto the mandate of the Divine;
“take possession” and “proclaim sovereignty” of the land which the G-d of
Israel promised to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Will the Orthodox Jewish Patriots and Pioneers of Israel
in the Shomron and Judean Communities in Israel become a Major Force in Jewish
Politics?
It appears
that to justify even the existence of the State of Israel, eventually the citizens
of Israel will have to proclaim that the political center of Israeli politics
should eventually become the Torah mandates and covenant given to their
forefathers by the G-d of Israel. For the rest of the world this would be a
“radical shift” of even world politics and an anathema against the fact the
Middle East oil governs the politics of the world.
The
entire jockeying for power gives visible recognition that the Israeli political
left is crumbling as Tzipi Livni’s Hatnua Movement may no longer be a political
party. Even Livni’s Kadima Party associates, the current Knesset’s largest
faction, barely is passing the litmus test for the minimum vote threshold to
remain as a political party, so they may fade off into Israel’s political past.
Livni’s
political legacy appears will carry the Sharon’s mantle for the destruction of
the Jewish Orthodox presence in the Gaza region for she was a strong supporter
of the unilateral Disengagement Plan in 2005. This singular act brought Hamas
to power in Gaza. Livni also negotiated on the division of Jerusalem and gave
no credence to the true patriots and pioneers in Israel; the settlers in
Shomron and Judea. As such, “measure for measure” the G-d of Israel withdrew
His protecting hand of mercy and precipitated thousands of rockets to eventually
fall on Israeli cities
The
once invincible domination of the Likud Party alliances under Prime Minister
Benyamin Netanyahu, the most recent called the Likud-Beytenu began to crack not
by the power and potency of the political left but by the strong religious
Jewish nationalist’s supporting the Jewish political party called the Jewish Home
(Bayit Yehudi), that was showing
vibrant new leadership under the direction of Naftali Bennet.
Netanyahu’s
wavering refusal to officially accept the “Levy Report” and protect the Jewish new hometowns in Shomron and
Judea has cost Netanyahu his political reputation. The question does he have
the mandate to be the spiritual leader like King David for the Israeli
pioneering settlers in Israel also. Touted in some corners as being possibly
the long awaited “Maschiah ben Yosef” to carry Israel through in time of war,
that day may be soon coming in 2016.
Outside
of the ultra-liberal Meretz Party, the Israeli left have only the fading Israel
Labor Party headed by the former journalist, Shelly Yachimovich, who is now be
attacked not by Israel’s political right but by her own labor party members.
Carrying forth the social justice mandates of the Labor leftists, Yachimovich’s
social justice agenda have superseded the traditions Israeli conflict-related
issues like Israeli security and the “Two-State” issues that has kept Israel in
the international news for decades.
According
to Gidi Grinstein of the Re’ut Institute, a nonprofit policy group in Tel Aviv, he states that
the Yachimovich’s political social justice agenda flies in the face of what he calls
the “triple whammy” crisis that is facing the Israeli middle class; stagnating
real income, the declining quality and quantity of government services, and the
rising cost of living.
This is now just the Labor Party’s crisis but influenced
by all parties that in his words were; “25 years in the making—the result of
failed privatization and regulation efforts, which led to a concentration of
economic power in few private hands; an electoral system that grants
disproportionate political influence to select groups, such as settlers, labor
unions, and the ultra-orthodox; as well as a heavy defense burden.”
Once a voter for the Hadash, a Communist, bi-national
party, Yachimovich appears to be the last vanguard of the Israeli political
left. Targeting plenty of enemies, she also had not sought to initiate the
social-justice mandates of the G-d of Israel through the Hebrew prophets of
old, but rather the socialist agenda of the modern age with the politics to
match. Now as the first woman to helm a
political party since Golda Meir, Yachimovich has also cultured a political
aura which Michael A. Cohen
in his article in the Tablet Magazine titled; “The
Death of the Party” states:
Michael A. Cohen – “As a close Labor ally said to me off the record, ‘She
is not attractive, but she radiates toughness. She will cut someone’s throat if
she needs to.’”
And so what he was hearing in the power chambers in
Israel about Shelly Yachimovich were phrases such as these:
“Shelly Yachimovich is a traitor.”
“She is a horrible person.”
“She is deeply cynical.”
“She is the shallowest party leader that Labor has ever had.”
“For the peace camp she is the worst nightmare—a modern-day Golda Meir. She
is serious about nothing.”
As Michael Cohen summarized:
Michael A. Cohen – “What is most remarkable about these comments, uttered
by a collection of activists, analysts, a former Labor member of Knesset, and a
top political reporter, isn’t their venom. This is Israeli politics, after all.
What’s most striking—and underscores a problem much deeper than the usual
back-and-forth of daily politics—is that they were not uttered by Shelly
Yachimovich’s right-wing opponents, but by the Labor Party leader’s
nominal left-leaning allies."
What we have today is that Yachimovich and the Labor
Party’s refuses to talk about the major international issues that the
anti-Israel media blasts against the Zionist State of Israel;
The purported “occupation of Palestinian territories” instead of the
“biblical homeland of the Jews and the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel,
The failure of the “Two-State Solution” because of the failure of the
Palestinian Arabs to even accept Yachimovich and her State of Israel’s right to
exist, or even;
The major security issues facing the State of Israel whether it be from Assad’s
Syria, Hassan Nasrallah’s Hizbullah in Lebanon, Ahmed Ahmadinejad’s Iran, or
the Muslim Brotherhood’s President Muhammed Morsi in Egypt, and;
The “Peace Camp” leader has not proposed any answers of the broader litmus
test questions needed for a “Good Shepherd” representing G-d caring for His
“sheep” in Israel as spoken about by the Prophets of Israel.
Rain and Snow in Israel in Jerusalem between the Years of
2010 to 2012
One
year ago, a historic rain and snow also came down upon Israel that included the
following statistics:
During the week ending with January 19, the water table in the Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret) rose over a half of
an inch (0.6) in only twenty four hours, as rain started pelting the northern regions
of Israel near Galilee.
The week earlier, snow blessed the slopes of Mount Hermon and for the first time in 2011-2012,
the slopes of Mount Hermon were opened to skiing as three feet of snow covered
the lower slopes and five feet covered the upper.
During that same week, the entire country of
Israel was drenched with rain raising the level of Lake Kinneret by 4.3 inches.
By the end of the week of January 19, the Sea of Galilee was 14.6 inches below
the “Red Line”, still 2.3 inches lower than the level of the Sea of Galilee
stood beginning the summer of 2011.
The “Red Line” is the point of caution
when no water should be drawn out of the lake. By mid-January, it was still
above the “Black Line”, set at 215 meters below sea level,
where no more water can be pumped out of the lake. The reason for that level is
that salt springs at the bottom of the basin of the Sea of Galilee that are
suppressed by the pressure of the heavy water could salinate the only sweet
water source in the entire State of Israel. Yet, the country was feeling slight
relief and appeared to fit the prophetic message almost two thousand years ago,
but Rebbe Yohanan; “Some will be
Satiated while Others are Not.”
It was on December 11, 2010 that the water
level of Lake Kinneret dropped perilously close to reaching the “Black Line”
when it dropped to 214.12 meters below sea level. The lowest level in modern
history that the Sea of Galilee dropped was on November 29, 2001 when it
reached the level of 214.87 meters below sea level.
During the searing heat of summer of 2010,
the water level in Lake Kinneret that started the summer at
16.9 inches
above the “Red Line” was only 56.9 inches away from the “Black Line” where no
more water could be pumped out. By the first month of 2012 was making its
debut, the State of Israel still needed 15 feet of water to bring Lake Kinneret
to its non-drought status.
The official weather forecasters for Israel
had forecasted that the year of 2012 was going to be an “arid”
year.
At this time, the water supply in Israel stood at roughly 2 billion cubits
meters of water. By the first week of January only 72% of the multi-year
average rainfall had fallen over the winter season which normally is the time
of the year when the G-d of Israel blesses its land with rain in preparation
for the spring harvest season of barley just before Pesach (Passover) in the
Spring.
By mid-January, 2012, the White Winter Snow on Mount Hermon sent the Israeli skiers racing to the
slopes as heavy rainstorms drenched the entire country, and blizzards covered
the slopes of the Golan Heights closing all major roads over the Shabbat during
that weekend. It also blanketed Mount Hermon with 100 percent of the average
rainfall for the winter month of January during those few days.
The State of Israel was also breaking another
national record. The all-time record for electricity occurred on Sunday, the 22nd,
reaching 11,100 megawatts forcing the Israeli Electric Company to call for the
Israelis to decrease consumption after blackouts rolled across Israel.
That’s the way it was in the years of
2010-2012. Even so, the seven year drought water ban remained in effect even as
the snow and rain fell in the Tzfat region of Northern Galilee feeding the
thirsty plants and trees in this parched region during a relative dry winter.
The water ban was expected to continue
until the water table of Lake Kinneret reached above the “Red Line”, a line in
which the beautiful Sea of Galilee was still 44 cm below drought standards. While
Mount Hermon and the Galilee region were flooding, the southern regions of the Negev
in the arid south were still 70% below its average rainfall, according to the
National Meteorological Service.
Then on Sunday, January 22, 2012, a “wicked winter storm” swooped down over Israel and
inundated the “Land” with rain, snow and hail. Mount Hermon was “snowed in” and
record snow was recorded upon the higher regions of Gush Etzion and along the
southern “hill country” of Hevron (Hebron) the city of the Tombs of the
Patriarchs. Another four inches of snow covered Mount Hermon in only two hours,
trapping numerous arriving skiers in their cars.
While the northern regions were receiving
showers in abundance, the parched region in the Northern Negev and in the
region south of Be’er Sheva remained rain free. At the same time the water
table of the Sea of Galilee continued to climb. It was now only 4.5 feet (137.16
cm) below the level in which the dams would have to be opened in order to
prevent flooding in the lakeside town of Tiberius.
In a natural depression that runs from
Northern Syria, through Lebanon, along the Israel Jordan Valley, through the
Dead Sea into the Gulf of Eilat/Aqaba and all the way down into Eastern Africa is the largest fracture of the crust on
Planet Earth. In the upper regions of the Great Rift Valley, Patriarch Abraham,
after being visited by three emissaries from G-d, witnessed this whole region
called the beautiful Vale of Siddim go up into an inferno with sulphur bolides
of fire. This only came after the angelic emissaries rescued his nephew, Lot
with his two daughters from the region of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Today, the natural depression
that runs from northern Syria, through Lebanon, Israel/Jordan, continuing into
the Gulf of Eilat/Aqaba, into eastern Africa, we can witness the same upper
regions of the Great Rift Valley.
Looking down in an
aerial view, we see the region south of Lake Huleh and the Sea of Galilee in
the far distance. There is the Jordan River descending from north to south,
with the waters of Mount Hermon cascading down them in a torrent descending in
ten miles from 230 feet above sea level to 700 feet below sea level, a descent
of 930 feet. As Nelson Glueck
described in his book title, “The Jordan River”, he wrote:
Nelson Glueck – “…it tears out on a run that, for some
distance, brooks no restraint. It tumbles and cascades almost continuously
through a forbidding, black basalt gorge. Foaming and muddy, it bursts out of
the ravine. Then, collecting itself somewhat, it wriggles its way for about
another mile through a small plain and a delta of its own making into the clear
waters of the Lake of Galilee. (The Jordan River, 35)
And so in early January, 2013, a
“fierce winter storm that had been raging since Friday” pounded the countryside
of Israel harder than ever. It caused major power outages and widespread
flooding” according to the Times of Israel. As they wrote; “Schools are closed in the Golan Heights and parts of the West Bank, and
Jerusalem is bracing to don white.” This was to be the “wettest start to an
Israeli winter in 20 years (at least!).”
In the Jerusalem Post on
January 8, 2013, the headline was “Tel Aviv
underwater: Rain brings city to halt,” as the listed the
following implications upon the land that was called “Holy”.
“Tel Aviv braced for further floods
Tuesday afternoon, even as the city began to recover from a morning in which
its main traffic artery and rail services ground to a halt due to fierce storms
that hit much of Israel. The rains were so powerful on Tuesday morning that
flooding caused the closure of Tel Aviv's main artery – the Ayalon Highway, or
Highway 20 – as well as the city's train stations.”
”Traffic
in the entire railway system was slowed due to the weather and low visibility,
and the company requested the public only use trains in urgent cases. By
mid-morning, the Herzliya train station was also shut down.”
“Northward, the Kishon River and
Drainage Authority reported the riverbed area receiving thus far in the storm a
total of 250 millimeters of rain, an irregular quantity not seen in this
drainage basin for two decades.”
“Outside of the Tel Aviv region,
roads were closed all over the country…particularly in the North and Center.”
“Northward, the Kishon River and
Drainage Authority reported the riverbed area receiving thus far in the storm a
total of 250 millimeters of rain, an irregular quantity not seen in this
drainage basin for two decades.”
“Lake Kinneret stood at 211.5 meters
below sea level, just 2.7 meters from being filled and a 22-centimeter rise
from the morning before.”
Throughout the week, the weather
forecast stated; “temperatures will probably drop even further, with showers
and storms as well as extremely strong winds all over Israel. Snow will likely
continue to fall over Mount Hermon, the northern mountain peaks and the central
mountain peaks – including those of Jerusalem and potentially those in the
Negev.”
Globes - “The Water Authority estimates that the rainfall will add another 30 centimeters to the Kinneret’s water level in the next three days. We had hoped for large amounts of rain, but we were surprised by how long and how strong the storm system has been—seven days of rain…This is an amazing rate, and we can’t remember anything like it for a decade. There’s a chance that the Kinneret will fill up. It might happen if February is like January, but it’s tough to call.”
Over the decades, the Jewish people and the Lost Tribes
of Israel who are predominately of the Christian faith have often prayed for
the G-d of Israel to give Israel more rain. They know that this is one of the
major “signs” of the end times. For now
almost a decade the subterranean aquifers under Israel have been declining
precipitously and water rationing has become a burden upon the citizens of
Israel.
In the year of 2013: “There will be Plenty and People will Eat, Drink, and be
Joyous, and the Torah will Return to Those who Learned it.”
Numerous
parts of Israel received 200 millimeters (7.87 inches) of rain while others
received upwards to 300 (11.8 inches).
In Northern
Israel, the storms that brought both rain and now, did bring the rainfall
level to 180-230 % of the average seasonal rain.
Central
Israel received well above average rainfall with a total of 150-200% of normal
seasonal average.
More
than 20 centimeters of snow (7.9 inches) fell in the Golan Heights region.
The Hills
of Gush Etzion region and the metropolitan region of Jerusalem to
its north received 10-20 centimeters (3.9-7.9 inches) of snow.
The Jordan
River Valley in the north received 130-150 millimeters (around 5.5 inches)
of rain, while in the Southern Jordan River Valley region, received 70
millimeters (2.75 inches).
Snow
was even reported in the desert regions of Northern Negev.
The
snowfall in early January was also unusual, as it was almost five years since
the last blizzard of snow fell over Israel (2008); and that storm was five
years after the “last of its kind. (2003)”
According
to national weather statistics; this is the 5th time in
modern Israel history that the State of Israel has received 6-7 days of
straight rain; the winters of 1964-1967 and 1968-1969, before and after the
6-Day War that gave Independence to Jerusalem from occupation and control of
the Arab nation of Jordan plus the years 1991-1992 and 1994-1994, before and
after the Oslo Accord.
Israel National News Pictures of the Rain and Snow: Click
here and here.
The
question we have to ask is the G-d of Israel making a political statement to
the Israeli Jewish population and their political leaders that the Jewish
people will be reelecting in about ten days, saying, “Trust Me, the G-d of
Israel, with your future? Declare sovereignty over the entire Land of Israel
that I have given to you to this date. If you will honor Me, I will bless you,
and not only fulfill your dreams, but will open up the lands that were under
the control and domination of Kings David and Solomon for soon (and maybe even
now), I will redeem the “mountains of Israel” and will begin the restoration of
the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel.”
Review of the Sanhedrin Prophecy of Rebbe Yochanan
According
to the prophecy of Rebbe Yochanan noted above in the Talmudic portion called
the “Sanhedrin”, it was noted that if this is the last Sabbatical Week of Years
between Rosh Hashanah 2008 and Rosh Hashanah 2015, then the following events would
occur in the years following those Rosh Hashanah shofar warnings:
In the
year of 2009: “I caused it to rain on
one city, but, on another city, I did not cause it to rain.”
In the
year of 2010: “there will be a “slight
famine” in which according to Rashi, “no place will be completely satisfied”.
In the
year of 2011: “famine will be great,
and men, women, children, pious people, and men of good deeds will die; Torah
will be forgotten by those who learned it.”
In the
year of 2012: “some will be satiated
while others are not.”
In the
year of 2013: “There will be
plenty and people will eat, drink, and be joyous, and the Torah will return to
those who learned it.”
In the
year of 2014: “There will
be voices which according to Rashi depict either the blowing of the shofars
(war) or the hints and voices about the coming of the messiah.”
In the
year of 2015: “There will be war
(GogUMogog or Armageddon).”, then
In the year of 2016, If HaShem wills, redemption will come in its
fullness of time, with full revealing of the Messiah. Then;
In the year of 2017, If the Maschiah ben Dovid (Messiah son of David)
is revealed, the Messianic Kingdom of Heaven on Planet Earth will be
inaugurated.
If Rebbe Yochanan's prophecy is right on track, coming by bi’etah or “in its time with harsh
judgments and great catastrophes”, we might actually see experiencing in the
Land of Israel a strange phenomenon that will rally the true pioneers and
patriots of Israel; a new and elevated state of consciousness as their
spiritual neshama souls begin to make contact with their physical body soul.
Would it be an amazing
event if the following prophecy would occur in the Land of Isarel in 2013?
Zechariah 8:19-23 – “Thus said HaShem, master of legions:
Fast of the 4th Month; 17th of Tammuz (June 25, 2013) – The Fast of Tammuz when the city of Jerusalem was captured by Babylon
Fast of the 5th Month; 9th of Av (July 16, 2013) – Commemorating the Destruction of the Two Temples
Fast of the 7th Month; 3rd of Tishri (September 8, 2013) – Commemorating the Assassination of the Prince of David, Gedaliah, Nebuchadnezzar’s Governor of Judea
Fast of the 10th Month; 10th of Tevet (December 13, 2013) – Commemorating the Siege of Jerusalem by the Armies of Nebuchadnezzar that will be to the House of Judah for joy and
for gladness and for happy festivals. [Only] love truth and peace!
Thus said HaShem, Master of legions: ‘It will yet be that
peoples will come, as well as inhabitants of many cities. The dwellers of one
[city] will go to [those of ] the other,
saying, ‘Let us go and supplicate before HaShem and seek out HaShem, Master of
Legions!’ [They will answer,], ‘I, too will go!’ Many peoples and mighty
nations will come to seek out HaShem, Master of Legions, in Jerusalem and
to supplicate before Hashem.
Thus said HaShem, Master of Legions; ‘In those day it
will happen that Ten Men (representing the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of
Israel), of all the [different] languages of the nations, will take hold, they
will take hold of the corner of the garment (tzitzit) of a Jewish man,
saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that G-d is with you!”
Are we
being foolhardy to suggest that in this year of 2013, the Jewish rabbanim may
call forth to all the Jews in the world that the following “days of mourning”
will be changed from “Days of Mourning” to “Festivals of Joy and Gladness” with
only One Mitzvot; “Love Truth and Peace?” Watch for these dates, and pray for
G-d’s revealing of His redemption.
Somewhere
during these coming years, the following will happen:
Zechariah
10:1-12 - “Request rain of HaShem in the season of the late rains (latter
rains), [of] HaShem Who makes rainclouds; and He will provide them a shower of
rain, for each man, herbage in the field.
For
the teraphim [Oracles used by idolaters to divine the future] speak words of
nothingness, the diviners see falsehoods, and dreamers speak lies; they comfort
with meaningless words [metaphor for the leaders of the community]. Therefore,
they have wandered off like sheep; they are humbled, for there is no shepherd.
My
anger is kindled against the shepherds (the Leaders of Israel), and I will
punish the he-goats (the Jewish regional leaders acting without G-d’s advice
and prophesies. For HaShem, Master of Legions, has remembered his flock; the
House of Judah. He will make them like a horse whose glory is in war. From
themselves the cornerstone; from themselves the peg; from themselves the bow of
war; from themselves all the leaders will come forth together.
They
will be like warriors trampling [of their enemies] in the mud of the streets in
war; they will wage war, for HaShem will be with them; and the [enemy] riders
of horses will be put to shame.
I
will give power to the House of Judah and I will save the house of Joseph; I
will settle them, for I will have mercy upon them, and they will be as it I had
not rejected them; for I am Hashem their G-d, and I will answer them.
Ephraim
will be like a mighty warrior and their hearts will be glad as with wine…I will
whistle to them and gather them, for I have redeemed them. And they will become
as numerous as they had been numerous.
I
had sowed them among the nations, and they remembered me in faraway places; so they
will live, with their children, and they will return. I will bring them back
from the land of Egypt; I will gather them in from Assyria; I will bring them
to the land of Gilead and Lebanon, there will not be enough room for them…I
will give Israel power through Hashem, and they will walk with His Name, the
word of Hashem.”
Addendum and Report - On the 13th
day of January, 2013, as this blog is posted, it had been reportedthat the Kinneret
(Sea of Galilee) had risen by the eve of Shabbat 78 centimeters (30.7 inches)
of water. The surface water of the
Kinneret was expected to rise by another 50 centimeters (19.7 inches or 0.5
meters) as the rain-swollen rivers drain into the Sea of Galilee.
As was reported in the Times of Israel
on December 10, 2013, that Lake Kinneret had received over 100 million tons of
water from rain and the lake would continued to rise alone by the snow dumped
upon Mount Hermon to the north. Here are the statistics:
208.9 m below Sea
Level: The Water Level needed in the Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret) to Open the
Dam Gates and Pour Water into the Jordan River
211.3 m. below Sea Level:
Water Level on the Sea of Galilee on January 11, 2013; deficit 2.4 m.
Estimate increase
Lake Kinneret from Rainfall only: 50 cm. or 19.68 in; deficit 1.9 m. water
Estimated increase
Lake Kinneret from Snow melt still to be calculated during the spring.
Times
of Israel – “The relentless heavy rain that poured
down on Israel since the weekend added 69 centimeters to the level of the
Sea of Galilee — with a rise of 14 centimeters in the last 24 hours
alone, the Israel Water Authority said on Thursday. Amir Givati, Director
of Surface Water at the Hydrological Service of the Water Authority, told The
Times of Israel that the rainstorm has added an estimated 100 million cubic
meters of water to the lake.
The Sea of Galilee, also known as the
Kinneret, is Israel’s largest source of fresh water. Though the rains are
expected to abate later Thursday, Givati said the lake would continue to
rise as melting snow from the north fed into the reservoir. Givati
estimated the Sea of Galilee would take in millions more tons of water, raising
it by dozens of centimeters over the next several days.
Parts of the Golan Heights and the
Galilee received over a meter of snow in the last several days as Israel’s
heaviest winter storm in decades blew through. On Wednesday, the lake’s level
went up by 16 centimeters. The enormous amount represents about a third of the
average for an entire year, Givati said, and added that annual rain adds about
320 million cubic meters of water to the lake, pushing up the level by around
1.5 meters.
Despite the bountiful rain so far, the
Sea of Galilee’s level is still 2.40 meters (211.3 meters below sea level)
below the high-water mark (208.9 meters below sea level), the point at which
Degania Dam is opened to allow an increased flow into the Jordan River and
prevent the lake from flooding the city of Tiberias and other towns along its
coast. Last month, the water level rose by its highest
amount for a December since 1994(Post Oslo Accord days).
Pray with Joy and Gladness:
The G-d of Israel is Providing the “Latter Rains” for Israel
Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai: “In the year of 2013: “There will be Plenty and People (of Israel) will Eat, Drink,
and be Joyous, and the Torah will Return to Those who Learned it.”
************
You might Want to
Read: Destination Yisra’el articles on the “Drought and the Latter Rain” in the
Land of Israel -
The G-d of Israel is
working with imperfect people in order to restore this planet to a messianic
era in which our lives can be focused on holiness, righteousness and justice.
If so, you might desire to reconnect with the Biblical portrayals of what is
and will be happening in your near future.
This Biblical
portrayal includes Prophecies that the Lost Tribes of the House of Israel are
about to return to the Land of their Biblical Inheritance. This is Divine
Destiny in living reality as the 10 Lost Tribes of Israel return to their
Homelands first in Shomron (Samaria), Israel.
If you want to learn
more, Contact “Kol Ha Tor Vision”, the Voice of the Turtledove. Here
is a joint Orthodox Jewish and 10-Triber Mission to bring awareness of the
imminent fulfillment of the Biblical Prophecies regarding the Redemption of all
Israel (12 Tribes Re-conciled and Re-United). This super Event of all Times
will entail Establishing the Shomron (the Ancient Bible Heartland of the
Patriarchs) and the Judean Wilderness as part of the Land of Israel, and
preparing the “Land” for the Return of the Lost Tribes of the House of Israel
and then the Redemption of All Israel.
For inquiries about
Kol Ha Tor Vision for the Lost Tribes of Israel, Visit – “Shomron Lives!”,a Spiritual Retreat and Guest House
in Samaria, that hosts Shomron (Samaria) Tours to reacquaint the Returning Lost
Tribers of the House of Israel.
Israeli archeologists
recently discovered a temple with sacred artifacts that were over 2,750 years
old. This was during the era of King Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem and before
it was destroyed in 586 BCE; but after it was build around 1000 BCE. The artifacts were discovered in the Tel
Motza archeological site, located in a mound where a new section of the
Tel-Aviv Highway known as Highway 1 was expected to be build about five miles
west of Jerusalem. According to a recent
interview with the directors of the Israeli Antiquities Authority; Anna Eirikh,
Dr. Hamoudi Khalaily and Shua Kisilevitz, we learned:
Eirikh, Khalaily and
Kisilevitz Interview – “The ritual building at Tel Motza is an unusual and
striking find, in light of the fact that there are hardly any remains of ritual
buildings of the period in Judae at the time of the First Temple…
The uniqueness of the
structure is even more remarkable because of the vicinity of the site's
proximity to the capital city of Jerusalem, which acted as the Kingdom's main
sacred center at the time…Among other finds, the site has yielded pottery figurines
of men, one of them bearded, whose significance is still unknown.”
Tel Motza and the surrounding region are renowned for their
prime archaeological importance. Many finds have previously been uncovered at
the site, from a variety of different periods. The prime reason for the
excavations was the identity of the site with the Biblical settlement called
“Mazah” identified in the Book of Joshua that was built the tribal borders of
Judah and Benjamin in Joshua 18:26.
There they did find a settlement that included a large public
building, another large structure identified as a storehouse and numerous silos
in the vicinity. On this evidence the Israeli archeologists then identified
that these buildings were run by high-ranking political officials and used to
house grain supplies for the capital city of Jerusalem. As identified by the
archeologists:
Israeli Antiquities Authority – “The
current excavation has revealed part of a large structure, from the early days
of the monarchic period (Iron Age IIA). The
walls of the structure are massive, and it includes a wide,
east-facing entrance, conforming to the tradition of temple construction in
the ancient Near East: the rays of the sun rising in the east would have
illuminated the object placed inside the temple first, symbolizing the divine
presence within.
A square structure which was
probably an altar was exposed in the temple courtyard, and the cache of sacred
vessels was found near the structure. The assemblage includes:
Ritual pottery vessels, with fragments of chalices (bowls on
a high base which were used in sacred rituals),
Decorated ritual pedestals, and a
Number of pottery figurines of two kinds: the first, small
heads in human form (anthropomorphic) with a flat headdress and curling hair;
the second, figurines of animals (zoomorphic) – mainly of harnessed animals.
The find of the sacred structure
together with the accompanying cache of sacred vessels, and especially the
significant coastal influence evident in the anthropomorphic figurines, still
require extensive research.”
In other archeological research sites in Israel excavated in
the past, they also have noticed certain ritual figurines, vessels and chalices
that included pottery figurines and sacred objects, and have uniformly been
identified as personal or domestic ritual objects. Yet there was a difference at the site at Tel
Motza for here was something different;
A ritual platform plus the
Identity of a temple outside the Solomon’s Temple located in
Jerusalem.
As the archeological site directors affirmed:
Israeli Antiquities Authority directors – “The
finds recently discovered at Tel Motza provide rare archaeological evidence for
the existence of temples and ritual enclosures in the Kingdom of Judah in
general, and in the Jerusalem region in particular, prior to the religious
reforms throughout the kingdom at the end of the monarchic period (at the
time of Hezekiah and Isaiah), which abolished all ritual sites,
concentrating ritual practices solely at the Temple in Jerusalem.”
During the days of King Hezekiah, there was a religious
reformation under the influence of the “Prophet
Isaiah, the prophet of Catastrophes”, they both witnessed the wrath of
the Divine for the apostasy of the Northern Kingdom of Israel when the it was
destroyed by King Sargon from Assyria in 720 BCE and nineteen years later, the
last siege and captivity of the Israelites left just prior to the invasion and
siege of Jerusalem by King Sennacherib in 701 BCE that was aborted by the
direct intervention of the Divine with a “blast from the heavens” incinerated
the entire Assyrian army when their metal shields, lances, spears and armor
became a “ground” that attracted a multi-million volt bolide of fire from the
heavens and Jerusalem was divinely spared.
Prior to this period of the great apostasy in the Kingdom of
Judah, the Northern Ten Tribes of the House of Israel rebelled against the G-d
of Israel. They refused to worship in the Temple of Solomon, refused to accept
the divinely appointed high priest and Levites to be their temple priests,
refused to accept the Jewish prophetic warnings, and opened their own sacred sites
and began again the worship of the Golden Calf after the disastrous rebellion
by the “Erev Rav” just before Moses received the Ten Commands laser engraved on
two stone tables, and refused to accept the Torah Law judges of Judah, later
known as the Pharisee and the Rabbanim, to be their legal judiciaries of Torah
Law.
They, the Northern Ten Tribes later formed their own pagan
cults and apostate temples in Dan and in Samaria, the later located in the
region called the “disputed territories” in the region of Shomron today. Without the inflow of pilgrims coming in from
the Northern Tribes to the yearly festivals, the unifying significance upon the
people even in Judea was affected aversely.
The apostasy of the Northern Kingdom began to creep into the
Southern Kingdom of Jerusalem. This cultic site was one of numerous sites that
peaked during the reign of King Manasseh. The spreading of cultic sites
throughout Judea diluted the influence of the Solomon Temple culture upon G-d
chosen peoples.
According to the ancient histories in the TaNaKh (Old
Testament), King Hezekiah abolished idolatry in the Kingdom of Judah, by
destroying the high place (bamot) and
the “bronze serpent” (Nehushtan) made
by Moses when the G-d of Israel punished the Children of Israel for their
rebellion against going across the Jordan into the Promised Land (Numbers
21:8). It was later used later as an object of idolatrous worship (2 Kings
18:4). The worship of HaShem was again centralized at the Jerusalem Temple of
Solomon, and King Hezekiah reinstituted the Passover Festival (2 Chronicles
30:5, 10, 13, 26).
As we are beginning to see, the archeological data that is
now being revealed in multiple sites across the Land of Israel states one
relevant truth. Through a covenant
relationship and also through apostasy, the presence of both the Jewish and the
Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel will eventually become an irrevocable
truth. Since the days of the Sumerians, when Abraham was first given the call
to go to the “land of promise”, the presence of Abraham and his descendants can
no longer be disputed.
************
The spiritual fight
to corrupt the covenant relationship between G-d and the descendants of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has been ongoing for over three thousand years.
According to the Chumash, according to the rabbinic commentators, G-d’s
covenant with Israel was a covenant that could not be broken, even though there
was a party not deserving of it being fulfilled for all eternity. Yet, HaSatan
and the forces of evil will continue to lead us to believe that if we fail and
break the covenantal demands, it’s over for us.
That’s not true. For the G-d of Israel has promised that even if the
Jews and the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel are both guilty of breaking
the covenant, yet, at the end of time, He will honor His Holy Name, and we both
will be redeemed; at least those who desire to be included as one of G-d’s
redeemed.
So today, the G-d of
Israel is whistling or coaxing you to come back to the brotherhood of Klal
Yisra’el (All Israel). To learn more about this redemptive process, you are
Welcome to Contact “Kol Ha'Tor”, the Voice of the Turtledove. Here
is a joint Orthodox Jewish and 10-Triber Mission to bring awareness of the
imminent fulfillment of the Biblical Prophecies regarding the Redemption of all
Israel (12 Tribes Re-conciled and Re-United). This super Event of all Times
will entail establishing in the region of Shomron (the Ancient Bible Heartland
of the Patriarchs) and the Judean Wilderness into a new homeland for the Return
of the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel when All Israel will finally be redeemed.
For inquiries about
Kol Ha Tor Vision for the Lost Tribes of Israel, Visit – “Shomron Lives!”,a Spiritual Retreat and Guest House
in Samaria, that hosts Shomron (Samaria) Tours to reacquaint the Returning Lost
Tribers of the House of Israel.
Destination
Yisra’el – To the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel who are in the process of returning
home to your Hebrew-Judaic roots, the worship on the Jewish Shabbat is an experience
unlike how many modern Christians worship on the Seventh-day Sabbath. Enjoy this brief but poignant philosophical
discussion on how to keep the Jewish Shabbat and be true to the Jewish and the
Lost Israelite's historical and spiritual foundation established at the mount
called Sinai.
Israel
Today – “Rest and action are two poles of existence. Whatever one is doing, one
is either resting or exerting oneself. Exertion complements rest and rest
complements exertion as day complements night and night complements day. The
reader knows from universal experience, that exercise leads to a deeper sleep
and that without resting, one cannot have the energy to act. Therefore, the
question of primary importance, as with all pairs of opposites, is the question
of balance.
The
issue of balance between work and rest is epitomized in the difference between
the Hebrew and the Greek approaches to time and place.
In
Homer’s epics, the heroes fight battles and travel on voyages. The direction of
activity starts from home and extends outward to the farthest reaches of the
Earth. In the case of the ancient Hebrews, their texts describe the conquest of
a homeland and its settlement. The direction of activity is inwards. The goal
is to return to the pre-fallen state of man wherein man lived in a garden and
the point of life was to “settle it and guard it.” The ultimate messianic
vision is that “every man would sit under his vine and under his fig tree.” The
ultimate goal is to arrive at a state of tranquility wherein movement is
unnecessary and time is of no consequence.
The
goal of technology is to quicken movement, to go faster and farther, in less
time and with less effort. Let us take a step back and look at the expectations
for modern technology and how it would help us. Calculators were meant to
replace slower and more tedious forms of computation. Cars and planes were
invented to save the time and effort of lugging baggage and one’s self to
various locations. In these respects, technology has succeeded.
However,
everyone expected that technology would lead to shorter workweeks, but it has
not. Ever since Henry Ford came up with the forty-hour work-week, nothing in
North America has changed. Instead, technology has become invasive, eliminating
the boundaries between work and the rest of one’s life, thereby increasing the
length of the work-week to allow it to reach to within one’s private life.
Home
is no longer a refuge from work and the time in our private lives has
decreased. The reason for this failure of technology to save time is that
focusing on action will not increase rest. No matter how much one focuses on
getting things done, there will always be more to do. In fact, the more one
focuses on getting things done, the more things one finds to do!
The
only solution is to focus on rest. A focused rest is different than a rest that
is merely a gap between two activities. Just as it takes focus to be active, it
takes focus to properly rest. It also takes an appreciation for rest. We must
set aside time to rest, to just be and to not achieve. The key is in setting aside
time both for rest and activity; and in this, the Hebrew approach is worthy of
emulation.
As
opposed to the Ancient Greeks, who had no day of rest, the Hebrews set aside a
day for focused rest, the Sabbath. This day is not considered a break from the
week, but the purpose of the week! On this day one does not merely take time
off, but instead actively focuses on creating an atmosphere of rest. Electronic
devices are completely forbidden by Orthodox Judaism to be used on the Sabbath.
The
Sabbath also exists in Christianity, the premier child of both Greek and Hebrew
civilization that has inherited practice and ideology from both. In abandoning
religion, western society has abandoned its Hebrew heritage to exclusively
focus on continuing the Hellenic pursuit of perpetual advancement.
Ancient
Greece tired itself out and vanished. The Hebrews are still here. Was
tranquility the secret for their longevity? Perhaps it was. Perhaps the wise
reader would like to entertain the thought of a day without technology once a
week — a day of tranquility.”
If you want to learn
more about the difference in the Jewish Shabbat and the Christian Sabbath, you are Welcome to Contact “Kol Ha'Tor”, the Voice of the Turtledove. Here is a
joint Orthodox Jewish and 10-Triber Mission to bring awareness of the imminent
fulfillment of the Biblical Prophecies regarding the Redemption of all Israel
(12 Tribes Re-conciled and Re-United) and the restoration of the Shabbat Rest
within our lives. This super Event of all Times will entail establishing in the
region of Shomron (the Ancient Bible Heartland of the Patriarchs) and the
Judean Wilderness into a new homeland for the Return of the Lost Ten Tribes of
Israel when All Israel will finally be redeemed.
For inquiries about Kol Ha Tor
Vision for the Lost Tribes of Israel, Visit – “Shomron Lives!”,a Spiritual Retreat and Guest House in Samaria, that hosts Shomron
(Samaria) Tours to reacquaint the Returning Lost Tribers of the House of
Israel.
You are Israel!
The History was Revealed by the Prophets and Confirmed by Archeology, the Judgment of the God of Israel was Sealed as they were Exiled to Khurasan in Northern Iran, Eastern Afghanistan and Western Pakistan. They Disappeared into the Mists of History as they Migrated in Waves up through Georgia through the Caucasus and Followed the Tracks of their Cousin Dan who left his Name on the Rivers of his Passage (Don, Dniester, Dnieper, and the Danube) as they Migrated Northwestward towards Denmark. They Erupted into Northern Europe in the 3rd Century BCE as the Royal Scythians, Celts, Cymrics, Cimmerians, Goths, Angles, Saxons, Ostrogoths, Visigoths and Frisians.
They Populated the Lands of Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark), the Isles of the West (Britain, Ireland, and Scotland) the Lowlands (Netherlands and Belgium), the Colonies of Great Britain (United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa) plus the Lands of Northern France, and Germany. These today are the Lost Tribes of Israel!
If your Ancestry comes from any of these Lands,
Welcome, You are a “Lost Ten Triber” of the House of Israel!
The Prophets have Proclaimed, at the Time of the End, You will Return Home!
