Tuesday 23 May 2017

Who is this Divine Son of Man we are to Serve and Worship ?

In Daniel 7:13-14 we read the following:


"I saw in the visions of the night, and behold with the clouds of the heaven, one like a Son of Man was coming, and he came up to the Ancient of Days and was brought before Him.

יגחָזֵה הֲוֵית בְּחֶזְוֵי לֵילְיָא וַאֲרוּ עִם עֲנָנֵי שְׁמַיָּא כְּבַר אֱנָשׁ אָתֵה הֲוָא וְעַד עַתִּיק יוֹמַיָּא מְטָה וּקְדָמוֹהִי הַקְרְבוּהִי:

One like a Son of Man was coming: That is the King Messiah.
 and… up to the Ancient of Days: Who was sitting in Judgment and Judging the nations.
(Rashi Commentary)

And He gave him DOMINION and GLORY and a KINGDOM, and all peoples, nations, and tongues shall SERVE him; his dominion is an eternal dominion, which will not be removed, and his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.

ידוְלֵהּ יְהִב שָׁלְטָן וִיקָר וּמַלְכוּ וְכֹל עַמְמַיָּא אֻמַּיָּא וְלִשָּׁנַיָּא לֵהּ יִפְלְחוּן שָׁלְטָנֵהּ שָׁלְטַן עָלַם דִּי לָא יֶעְדֵּה וּמַלְכוּתֵהּ דִּי לָא תִתְחַבַּל:


In the Book Of Enoch written in 1st Century BC we read:


"And at that hour that Son of Man was named In the presence of the Lord of Spirits,
And his name before the Head of Days...
All who dwell on earth shall fall down and Worship before him,
And will praise and bless and celebrate with song the Lord of Spirits.
And for this reason hath he been chosen and hidden before Him,
Before the creation of the world and for evermore." - Book of Enoch, CHAPTER XLVIII.

" And there I saw One who had a head of days,
And His head was white like wool,
And with Him was another being whose countenance had the appearance of a man,
And his face was full of graciousness, like one of the holy angels.
This is the Son of Man who hath righteousness,
With whom dwelleth Righteousness,
And who revealeth all the treasures of that which is hidden,
Because the Lord of Spirits hath Chosen him,
And whose lot hath the Pre-Eminence before the Lord of Spirits in uprightness for ever.
And this Son of Man whom thou hast seen
Shall †raise up† the kings and the mighty from their seats,
And the strong from their thrones
And shall loosen the reins of the strong,
And break the teeth of the sinners. -  Book of Enoch, CHAPTER XLVI.

... And at that hour that Son of Man was named In the presence of the Lord of Spirits, And his name before the Head of Days. Yea, before the sun and the signs were created, Before the stars of the heaven were made, His Name was named before the Lord of Spirits. He shall be a staff to the righteous whereon to stay themselves and not fall, And he shall be the Light of the Gentiles, And the hope of those who are troubled of heart. - Book of Enoch, CHAPTER XLVIII.
Who could this Divine Son of Man that we are to Serve and Worship, and that was Created before all time possibly be ?  Jewish Scholar Daniel Boyarin explains very clearly in his latest book The Jewish Gospels: The Story of the Jewish Messiah  http://amzn.to/2qSNLL7




Mark 14:60   Then the High Priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again the High Priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” The High Priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. “You have heard the Blasphemy. What do you think?” They all condemned him as worthy of death.  Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!” And the guards took him and beat him.
The term the Son of Man occurs in Matthew 32 times, in Mark 15 times, in Luke 26 times, and in John 12 times. In the first three Gospels the title is always recorded as having been used by Christ of Himself and never by angel, by man, or by demon. Of the 12 occasions in John, 10 are from the lips of Christ; only twice was the expression used by men, and then only for criticism and unbelief: "We have heard out of the law that the Christ lives forever: and why do you say, The Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?" Those are the only two occasions in all the Gospels where the term is found upon the lips of any but Christ. It is Christ's own description of Himself.
In answer to the second temptation, Jesus says: "It is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you SERVE."
Who shall we Serve and Worship ?   See Daniel 7-14  Above ....
Read this Article as many times as you need to finally realize and understand who is
this Son of Man and Share with those who do not yet know....


In the Gospel of Thomas written 40 AD Jesus says: "It is I who am the Light that presides over All. It is I who am the All (Everything): It is from me that the everything has come, and to me that everything goes. Split a piece of wood: I AM there. Lift a stone, and you  will find me there."- #77 Gospel of Thomas









Saturday 20 May 2017

Book of Enoch: The Head of Days and the Son of Man.


XLVI. The Head of Days and the Son of Man.

CHAPTER XLVI.


1. And there I saw One who had a head of days,
And His head was white like wool,
And with Him was another being whose countenance had the appearance of a man,
And his face was full of graciousness, like one of the holy angels.

2. And I asked the angel who went with me and showed me all the hidden things, concerning that Son of Man, who he was, and whence he was, (and) why he went with the Head of Days? And he answered and said unto me:

This is the Son of Man who hath righteousness,
With whom dwelleth righteousness,
And who revealeth all the treasures of that which is hidden,
Because the Lord of Spirits hath chosen him,
And whose lot hath the pre-eminence before the Lord of Spirits in uprightness for ever.
4, And this Son of Man whom thou hast seen
Shall †raise up† the kings and the mighty from their seats,
[And the strong from their thrones]
And shall loosen the reins of the strong,
And break the teeth of the sinners.
5. [And he shall put down the kings from their thrones and kingdoms]
Because they do not extol and praise Him,
Nor humbly acknowledge whence the kingdom was bestowed upon them.
6. And he shall put down the countenance of the strong,
And shall fill them with shame.
And darkness shall be their dwelling,
And worms shall be their bed,
And they shall have no hope of rising from their beds,
Because they do not extol the name of the Lord of Spirits.
7. And these are they who †judge† the stars of heaven,
[And raise their hands against the Most High],
†And tread upon the earth and dwell upon it†.
And all their deeds manifest unrighteousness,
And their power rests upon their riches, p. 65
And their faith is in the †gods† which they have made with their hands,
And they deny the name of the Lord of Spirits,
8. And they persecute the houses of His congregations,
And the faithful who hang upon the name of the Lord of Spirits.


http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/boe/boe049.htm


The Book of Enoch (also 1 Enoch; Ge'ez: መጽሐፈ ሄኖክ mätṣḥäfä henok) is an ancient Jewish religious work, ascribed by tradition to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah, although modern scholars estimate the older sections (mainly in the Book of the Watchers) to date from about 300 BC, and the latest part (Book of Parables) probably to the first century BC .....  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Enoch




XLVIII. The Fount of Righteousness; the Son of Man--the Stay of the Righteous: Judgement of the Kings and the Mighty.

CHAPTER XLVIII.

1. And in that place I saw the fountain of righteousness
Which was inexhaustible:
And around it were many fountains of wisdom;
And all the thirsty drank of them,
And were filled with wisdom,
And their dwellings were with the righteous and holy and elect.
2. And at that hour that Son of Man was named In the presence of the Lord of Spirits,
And his name before the Head of Days.
3. Yea, before the sun and the signs were created,
Before the stars of the heaven were made,
His name was named before the Lord of Spirits.
4. He shall be a staff to the righteous whereon to stay themselves and not fall,
And he shall be the light of the Gentiles,
And the hope of those who are troubled of heart.
5. All who dwell on earth shall fall down and worship before him,
And will praise and bless and celebrate with song the Lord of Spirits.
6. And for this reason hath he been chosen and hidden before Him,
Before the creation of the world and for evermore.
7. And the wisdom of the Lord of Spirits hath revealed him to the holy and righteous;
For he hath preserved the lot of the righteous,
Because they have hated and despised this world of unrighteousness,
And have hated all its works and ways in the name of the Lord of Spirits: p. 67
For in his name they are saved,
And according to his good pleasure hath it been in regard to their life.
8. In these days downcast in countenance shall the kings of the earth have become,
And the strong who possess the land because of the works of their hands;
For on the day of their anguish and affliction they shall not (be able to) save themselves.
9. And I will give them over into the hands of Mine elect:
As straw in the fire so shall they burn before the face of the holy:
As lead in the water shall they sink before the face of the righteous,
And no trace of them shall any more be found.
10. And on the day of their affliction there shall be rest on the earth,
And before them they shall fall and not rise again:
And there shall be no one to take them with his hands and raise them:
For they have denied the Lord of Spirits and His Anointed.
The name of the Lord of Spirits be blessed.

Thursday 18 May 2017

Yeshu, Theraputae of Asclepius - a Jewish Physician in Egypt

Philo of Alexandria (Hebrew: ידידיה הכהן‎‎, Yedidia HaCohen; c. 20 BCE – c. 50 CE), also called Philo Judaeus, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt.

According to Philo, the Therapeutae of Asclepius were widely distributed in the Ancient world, among the Greeks and beyond in the non-Greek world of the "Barbarians", with one of their major gathering points being in Alexandria, Egypt in the area of the Lake Mareotis:

" Now this class of persons may be met with in many places, for it was fitting that both Greece and the country of the barbarians should partake of whatever is perfectly good; and there is the greatest number of such men in Egypt, in every one of the districts, and especially around Alexandria; and from all quarters those who are the best of these Therapeutae proceed on their pilgrimage to some most suitable place as if it were their country, which is beyond the Maereotic lake. — De Vita Contemplativa
They lived chastely with utter simplicity; they "first of all laid down temperance as a sort of foundation for the soul to rest upon, proceed to build up other virtues on this foundation" (Philo).

They were dedicated to the Contemplative Life, and their activities for six days of the week consisted of ascetic practices, fasting, solitary prayers and the study of the De Vita Contemplativa, para. 28
scriptures in their isolated cells, each with its separate holy sanctuary, and enclosed courtyard: the entire interval from dawn to evening is given up by them to spiritual exercises. For they read the holy scriptures and draw out in thought and allegory their ancestral philosophy, since they regard the literal meanings as symbols of an inner and hidden nature revealing itself in covert ideas. — 

In addition to the Pentateuch, the Prophets and Psalms they possessed arcane writings of their own tradition, including formulae for numerological and allegorical interpretations.
They renounced property and followed severe discipline: These men abandon their property without being influenced by any predominant attraction, and flee without even turning their heads back again. — De Vita Contemplativa para.18


They "professed an art of healing superior to that practiced in the cities" Philo notes, and the reader must be reminded of the reputation as a healer Saint Anthony possessed among his 4th-De Vita Contemplativa, para.70) and sing antiphonal hymns until dawn.
century contemporaries, who flocked out from Alexandria to reach him. On the seventh day the Therapeutae met in a meeting house, the men on one side of an open partition, the women modestly on the other, to hear discourses. Once in seven weeks they meet for a night-long vigil after a banquet where they served one another, for "they are not waited on by slaves, because they deem any possession of servants whatever to be contrary to nature. For she has begotten all men alike free" (

The term Therapeutae (plural) is Latin, from Philo's Greek plural Therapeutai (Θεραπευταί). The term therapeutes means one who is attendant to the gods although the term, and the related adjective therapeutikos carry in later texts the meaning of attending to heal, or treating in a spiritual or medical sense. The Greek feminine plural Therapeutrides (Θεραπευτρίδες) is sometimes encountered for their female members. The term therapeutae may occur in relation to followers of Asclepius at Pergamon, and therapeutai may also occur in relation to worshippers of Sarapis in inscriptions, such as on Delos. See Therapeutae of Asclepius

Asclepius (/æsˈkliːpiəs/; Greek: Ἀσκληπιός, Asklēpiós [asklɛːpiós]; Latin: Aesculapius) was a hero and God of Medicine in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Asclepius represents the healing aspect of the medical arts; his daughters are Hygieia ("Hygiene", the goddess/personification of health, cleanliness, and sanitation), Iaso (the goddess of recuperation from illness), Aceso (the goddess of the healing process), Aglæa/Ægle (the goddess of beauty, splendor, glory, magnificence, and adornment), and Panacea (the goddess of universal remedy). He was associated with the Roman/Etruscan god Vediovis and the Egyptian Imhotep. He was one of Apollo's sons, sharing with Apollo the epithet Paean ("the Healer"). The Rod of Asclepius, a snake-entwined staff, remains a symbol of medicine today. Those physicians and attendants who served this god were known as the Theraputae of Aslepius whose symbol is the Serpent wrapped around a pole.

This Symbol is linked to the Nehushtan, a sacred object consisting of a serpent wrapped around a pole mentioned in the Bible in the Book of Numbers (Numbers 21:5–9). The section in the Book of Numbers reads as follows:

5 And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. 6 And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. 7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. 9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent

had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.[15] — 

King Hezekiah later destroyed the bronze serpent, which, by that time, had existed for 700 years, because it was being worshiped (2 Kings 18:4).

This is consistent with the claim in the New Testament of the Bible that Jesus also delivers believers from eternal death in the passage found in John 3:14


And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up:  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:14

The Works of Philo: Complete and Unabridged  http://amzn.to/2qAiiOi


The Temple of Asclepius at the Borghese Gardens in Rome by Pope Paul V - Camillo Borghese. In 1605, Cardinal Scipione Borghese, nephew of Pope Paul V and patron of Bernini, began turning this former vineyard into the most extensive gardens built in Rome since Antiquity. The vineyard's site is identified with the gardens of Lucullus, the most famous in the late Roman republic. In the 19th century much of the garden's former formality was remade as a landscape garden in the English taste. The Villa Borghese gardens were long informally open, but were bought by the commune of Rome and given to the public in 1903. The large landscape park in the English taste contains several villas. The Spanish Steps lead up to this park, and there is another entrance at the Porte del Popolo by Piazza del Popolo. The Pincio (the Pincian Hill of ancient Rome), in the south part of the park, offers one of the greatest views over Rome.

Thursday 11 May 2017

Execution of Yeshu ha Notzri on the Eve of Passover - Talmud, Sanhedrin 43a

The story of the Crucifixion, the Execution of Jesus is not limited to the Christian New Testament Gospel stories found in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Some people believe that this story was invented many years after the 1st century, however, there are many sources outside of the Bible that describe the life and death of Jesus Christ who in the Jewish Tradition is called Yeshu ha Notzri which means "Jesus the Nazarene"

Notzri or Netzer means "Branch" ... and signifies that Jesus was from the Branch of David, the stem of Jesse. Nazarene does not mean that he was from Nazareth, it means that he was from the Royal line (Branch) of King David

He was in fact a Jewish Prince. (nasi) נְשִׂיא



Talmud Sanhedrin 43a

" It is taught: On the eve of Passover they hung Yeshu and the crier went forth for forty days beforehand declaring that "Yeshu is going to be stoned for practicing witchcraft, for enticing and leading Israel astray. Anyone who knows something to clear him should come forth and exonerate him." But no one had anything exonerating for him and they hung him on the eve of Passover. Ulla said: Would one think that we should look for exonerating evidence for him? He was an enticer and G-d said (Deuteronomy 13:9) "Show him no pity or compassion, and do not shield him." Yeshu was different because he was close to the government. [Royal Family] "

Yeshu ha Notzri : The references to Notzrim in the Babylonian Talmud are related to the meaning and person of Yeshu Ha Notzri ("Jesus the Nazarene") in the Talmud and Tosefta. This includes passages in the Babylonian Talmud such as Sanhedrin 107b which states "Jesus the Nazarene practiced magic and led Israel astray" The Jerusalem Talmud contains other coded references to Jesus such as "Jesus ben Pantera," (Pandera means Betrayer*) while the references using the term notzri are restricted to the Babylon Talmud.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazarene_%28title%29

Notzri" (נוצרי) from the Hebrew NTzR = Branch Ne·tzer

ne·tser (נֵ֫צֶר, n-ts-r), pronounced nay'·tser, meaning "branch", "flower", or "offshoot". Derived from na·tsar.  Jerome (c. 347 – 420) linked "Nazarene" to a verse in the Book of Isaiah, claiming that "Nazarene" was the Hebrew reading of a word scholars read as ne·tzer (branch).The text from Isaiah is: There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.

ve·ya·tza cho·ter mig·ge·za yi·shai ve·ne·tzer mi·sha·ra·shav yif·reh.

In ancient Hebrew texts, vowels were not indicated, so a wider variety of readings was possible in Jerome's time. Here branch/Nazarene is metaphorically "descendant" (of Jesse, father of King David). Eusebius, a 4th-century Christian polemicist, also argued that Isaiah was the source of "Nazarene." This prophecy by Isaiah was extremely popular in New Testament times and is also referred to in Romans and Revelation

Nasi (prince) - נְשִׂיא The noun nasi occurs 132 times in the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible, and in English is usually translated "prince," occasionally "captain." The first use is for the twelve "princes" who will descend from Ishmael, in Genesis 17, and the second use, in Genesis 23, is the Hethites recognising Abraham as "a godly prince" (nasi elohim נְשִׂיא אֱלֹהִים ). In the book of Leviticus, in the rites of sacrifices for leaders who err, there is the special offering made by a "nasi".

The Talmudic book of Horayot actually defines this to mean the king.

Jesus in the Talmud : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_in_the_Talmud

*Pandera : Robert Eisler considered the name to be derived from Pandaros. He also argued that it may not have been a real name but instead as a generic name for a betrayer. He notes that in the Iliad, Pandaros betrays the Greeks and breaks a truce confirmed by solemn oath. He argues that the name came to be used as a generic term for a betrayer and was borrowed by Hebrew. The name is indeed found in Genesis Rabba 50 in the expression qol Pandar (literally "voice of Pandaros" denoting false promises of a betrayer) used as a derogatory placeholder name for a judge of Sodom. The -a at the end of the form Pandera can be understood to be the Aramaic definite article.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeshu#Ben_Pandera_and_ben_Stada

Note  : the photo above is a technology process of the actual photo of the Holy Shroud of Turin (The burial cloth of Jesus). The shroud, which story is by the way fascinating and interesting, bears the imprint of the body of a man showing evident signs of death by crucifixion and is been scientifically dated to 2000 years. Extensive information can be found at https://www.shroud.com/   (Thanks to Paulo Paul on Google+)


Note: The Talmud Sanhedrin 43a, states that Yeshu ha Notzri was both stoned and hung from a Tree. Do the Gospel accounts or any other non-Biblical accounts indicate in any way that jesus was Stoned and then hung on a Tree?


Acts 5:30: "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree [xulon]."

Also, in Acts 10:39: "And we are witnesses of all things which he [the Messiah] did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree [xulon]."

This is repeated in Acts 13:29, Galatians 3:13, and in 1 Peter 2:24. When we look at Revelation 2:7 we can clearly see that the Greek word xulon means a LIVING TREE -- not a Roman cross! Notice!

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to EAT from the the tree [xulon] of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God."

Was he stoned .... Historian Nancy L. Kuehl  writes:

"The only manner in which a man's bones might view him is if they were no longer enclosed in flesh...there is a very important discrepancy in wording here that has failed to receive close scrutiny. The word 'PIERCED' [in Psalm 22:16-18] does NOT mean 'to pierce through.' The Hebrew word here is 'aryeh and is derived from the root 'arah. Those words literally mean 'to pluck away skin' as a young lion might maul and tear the flesh of a carcass, exposing the whitened bones. Anyone who has ever been slapped by a cat knows that the skin is not pierced through but literally pulled away. A stone, especially if sharp, would have the same effect as a lion's claw. William Wilson gives the following exact usage of the word: 'arah, 'like a lion.'

"Again, crucifixion could NOT 'pluck' into the flesh and tear it away. Had the prophecy been meant to imply a puncturing of nail marks, the word daqar (as used in Zech. 12:10), 'to stab or thrust through,' would have been used instead. The word for 'feet' [in Psalm 22:16-18] is pudenda and indicates the generative parts of a man's body, but might well refer to the abdominal cavity in general. Certainly, anyone who was stoned would receive wounds all over the body...

"But it is the portion of the Psalm [22:16-18] that gives us the best evidence of stoning. Looking down upon his own body from the tree, the individual speaking in the Psalm SEES HIS BONES, and THEY BEHOLD HIM! The phrase would indicate that there is no flesh on his bones, that the skin had been removed from them. The wording is used to indicate that the bones are bared and stare back at him. The fact is the scourging by either party (either the Sanhedrin or the Romans) would have been injurious TO HIS BACK, not the front, where he might look down and view his own bones. He would NOT have been able to see his back while hanging on the tree. Crucifixion, in no way, would cause bones to be so exposed as to be viewed by the victim himself" (A Book of Evidence: The Trials and Execution of Jesus, p. 195).



 WE HAVE A LAW, AND ACCORDING TO THAT LAW HE MUST DlE, because he claimed to be the Son of God'" (John 19:7).




What was this LAW ? Leviticus 24:16 reveals the answer: "And he that BLASPHEMES the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly STONE HIM: as well as the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemes the name of the LORD, shall be put to death." The Acts of Pilate (a 4th-century apocryphal work) contains verses PARALLELING John 19:7 that irrefutably prove the Jews were indeed referring to the law in Deuteronomy 24:16. In these verses Pilate could not see any blasphemy in the utterance of Yeshua:

"If this word is blasphemy, take him, bring him into your synagogue, and JUDGE HIM ACCORDING TO YOUR LAW. The Jews answered Pilate: It is contained in our law, that if a man sins against a man, he must receive forty strokes save one, BUT HE WHO BLASPHEMES AGAINST GOD MUST BE STONED. Pilate said to them: Take him yourselves and punish him as you wish" (IV, 3-4).


Wednesday 3 May 2017

Moses Cordovero concept of God and the Teaching of Jesus 40 AD.




In a series of works the most important of which is that entitled "Pardes Rimmonim," (Orchard of Pomegranates) Moses Cordovero (1522-1570) endeavored to elucidate all the tenets of the Kabbala, such as the doctrines of the sefirot, emanation, the divine names, the import and significance of the alphabet (Aleph-Bet).

Quite original is Cordovero's conception of God set forth by him in his "Shi'ur Ḳomah." It is surprisingly identical with that taught later by Spinoza and there can be no doubt that the Dutch philosopher alluded to Cordovero when, in answer to the question addressed to him by his friend Oldenburg on the origin of his theory, he referred to an old Jewish philosopher ("Epistola," pp. 21, 22).

In describing the relation of God to His creatures Cordovero expresses himself in the following terms: ("Shi'ur Ḳomah," ch. xxii.)

"And the Holy One—`Blessed be He - shines in the ten sefirot of the world of emanation, in the ten sefirot of the world of creation, and in the ten heavenly spheres. In investigating this subject the reader will find: that we all proceed from Him, and are comprised in Him; that our life is interwoven with His; that He is the existence of all beings; that the inferior beings, such as vegetables and animals, which serve us as nourishment, are not outside of Him; in short, he will discover that all is one revolving wheel, which ascends and descends—all is one, and nothing is separated from Him". -

From the Gospel of Thomas (40 AD) we see that 1500 years earlier Jesus teaches this Original Doctrine of God:  

(77) Jesus said, "It is I who am the LIGHT that presides over ALL.

It is I who am the Entirety: It is from me that the Entirety has come, and to me that the Entirety goes. Split a piece of wood: I am there. Lift a stone, and you (plur.) will find me there."


Pardes Rimonim, Orchard of Pomegranates - V... by Moshe Cordovero  http://amzn.to/2p8Wfti

Thursday 27 April 2017

Did Jesus study the Zohar ? With Gamiel or Menahem the Essene ?

Sefer ha-Zohar (The Book of Radiance) has amazed readers ever since it emerged in Spain over seven hundred years ago. Written in a lyrical Aramaic, the Zohar, the masterpiece of Kabbalah, features mystical interpretation of the Torah, from Genesis to Deuteronomy.

We know that the many Books of the Zohar were compiled by Moses de Leon in the 13th century Spain, but did  fragments of this mystical Aramaic Text exist in Galilee at the Time of Jesus ? Are these Mystical books that Jesus would have studied under Gamiel or Menahem the Essene, other Jewish mystics or gnostic teachers ?

The Zohar: Pritzker Edition, translated with commentary by Daniel C. Matt, cover more than half of the Zohar's commentary on the Book of Genesis (through Genesis 32:3). This is the first translation ever made from a critical Aramaic text of the Zohar, which has been established by Professor Matt based on a wide range of original manuscripts.

The extensive commentary, appearing at the bottom of each page, clarifies the kabbalistic symbolism and terminology, and cites sources and parallels from biblical, rabbinic, and kabbalistic texts.

The translator's introduction is accompanied by a second introduction written by Arthur Green, discussing the origin and significance of the Zohar. Please see the Zohar Home Page for ancillary materials, including the publication schedule, press release, Aramaic text, questions, and answers. Further information on the Zohar: Sefer ha-Zohar, "The Book of Radiance," has amazed and overwhelmed readers ever since it emerged mysteriously in medieval Spain toward the end of the thirteenth century.

"Written in a unique Aramaic, this masterpiece of Kabbalah exceeds the dimensions of a normal book; it is virtually a body of literature, comprising over twenty discrete sections. The bulk of the Zohar consists of a running commentary on the Torah, from Genesis through Deuteronomy. This translation begins and focuses here in what are projected to be ten volumes. Two subsequent volumes will cover other, shorter sections. 

 The Zohar's commentary is composed in the form of a mystical novel. The hero is Rabbi Shim'on son of Yohai, a saintly disciple of Rabbi Akiva who lived in the second century in the land of Israel. In the Zohar, Rabbi Shim'on and his companions wander through the hills of Galilee, discovering and sharing secrets of Torah. On one level, biblical figures such as Abraham and Sarah are the main characters, and the mystical companions interpret their words, actions, and personalities. On a deeper level, the text of the Bible is simply the starting point, a springboard for the imagination. For example, when God commands Abraham, Lekh lekha, Go forth... to the land that I will show you (Genesis 12:1), Rabbi El'azar ignores idiomatic usage and insists on reading the words more literally than they were intended, hyperliterally: Lekh lekha, Go to yourself! Search deep within to discover your true self. At times, the companions themselves become the main characters, and we read about their dramatic mystical sessions with Rabbi Shim'on or their adventures on the road, for example, an encounter with a cantankerous old donkey driver who turns out to be a master of wisdom in disguise. Ultimately, the plot of the Zohar focuses on the ten sefirot, the various stages of God's inner life, aspects of divine personality, both feminine and masculine. By penetrating the literal surface of the Torah, the mystical commentators transform the biblical narrative into a biography of God. The entire Torah is read as one continuous divine name, expressing divine being. Even a seemingly insignificant verse can reveal the inner dynamics of the sefirot―how God feels, responds and acts, how She and He (the divine feminine and masculine) relate intimately with each other and with the world."

Did Jesus study such Mystical works under Gamiel the Elder ?  (/ɡəˈmeɪljəl/; also spelled Gamliel; Hebrew: רבן גמליאל הזקן; Greek: Γαμαλιὴλ ὁ Πρεσβύτερος) or Rabban Gamaliel I, was a leading authority in the Sanhedrin in the early 1st century AD. He was the son of Simeon ben Hillel, and grandson of the great Jewish teacher Hillel the Elder. Gamaliel is thought to have died in 52 CE (AM 3813).He fathered a son, whom he called Simeon, after his father, and a daughter, who married a priest named Simon ben Nathanael. In some Christian traditions, he is said to have converted to Christianity and is venerated as a Saint along with his second son, Abibo (also Abibas, Abibus). In the Christian tradition, Gamaliel is recognized as a Pharisee doctor of Jewish Law.The Acts of the Apostles chapter 5 speaks of Gamaliel as a man, held in great esteem by all Jews, who spoke to not condemn the apostles of Jesus in Acts 5:34[5] to death, and as the Jewish law teacher of Paul the Apostle in Acts 22:3. Gamaliel is a Hebrew name meaning reward of God.


Or did he study under Shammai ? (50 BCE – 30 CE, Hebrew: שמאי) was a Jewish scholar of the 1st century, and an important figure in Judaism's core work of rabbinic literature, the Mishnah. Shammai was the most eminent contemporary and the halakhic opponent of Hillel, and is almost invariably mentioned along with him. Although they were contemporaries, Hillel was nearly sixty years old at the time of Shammai's birth in ~50 BCE. Shammai founded a school of his own, known as the House of Shammai, which differed fundamentally from that of Hillel; and many of Shammai's direct sayings are thought to be embodied in those handed down in the name of his school.


Perhaps with ... Menahem the Essene  : Prominent teacher of the Essene faction in the time of King Herod, about the middle of the first pre-Christian century. He was renowned for his prophetic powers. According to Josephus ("Ant." xv. 10, § 5), he was distinguished also for the saintliness of his life as well as for possessing knowledge of the future. Legend has it that when he saw young Herod going to school he clapped him on the back and addressed him as king, announcing to him that he would reign successfully, but without displaying the love and justice he ought toward men or the piety due to God, and that therefore his end would be one befitting his crimes. When afterward in the zenith of his power Herod recalled this strange prediction, he sent for Menahem and asked him how long his reign would be. As Menahem did not immediately answer, Herod urged him, asking whether his reign would last ten years; whereupon Menahem replied: "Yes, twenty; nay, thirty years." Pleased with this answer, Herod dismissed him with a clasp of the hand and thenceforth bestowed special honors upon the Essenes. This Menahem has been correctly identified with the one mentioned in the Mishnah as ab bet din and head of a school in association with Hillel ha-Nasi and as Shammai's predecessor; but the duumvirate of ab bet din and nasi is probably due to a misconstruction of history when the real issues between the Hasidæan or Pharisean and the Sadducean or Boethusian factions were no longer understood. A dim reminiscence of the relation of Menahem to Herod, however, has been preserved in a baraita, quoted in Ḥag. 16b, which states that "Menahem went out to join those serving the king, and eighty pairs of disciples attired in silk robes went with him." Another tradition is that he became an apostate (Yer. Ḥag. ii. 77d). The two traditions have been confounded and appear in two other forms also: according to one, Menahem was forced to leave the Pharisaic school, and when seen with his eighty pairs of disciples was told that they no longer had a share in the God of Israel; according to the other, he went from one degree ("middah") to another until he became a Gnostic (heretic?). See, however, Grätz, "Gesch." iii. 213.


And finally this week we have the final Volume of  this most ancient Aramaic text translated into English available for our research and study :
The twelfth volume of The Zohar: Pritzker Edition  presents an assortment of discrete Zoharic compositions. The first two chapters contain different versions of the Zoharic Heikhalot, descriptions of the heavenly halls or palaces that the soul of the kabbalist traverses during prayer.

Piqqudin, or Commandments, is a kabbalistic treatment of the mystical reasons for the commandments.

Raza de-Razin (Mystery of Mysteries) is a diagnostic manual for the ancient and medieval science of physiognomy, determining people's character based on physical appearance.

Sitrei Otiyyot (Secrets of the Letters) is a mystical essay that maps out the emergence of divine and mundane reality from the tetragrammaton, YHVH.

Qav ha-Middah (Line of Measure) is another mystical essay that describes the divine instrument used by God to gauge the mystical overflow to the ten sefirot.

The commentary on Merkevet Yehezqel (Ezekiel's Chariot) interprets the details of the prophet Ezekiel's chariot-vision. Beginning with the description of the four creatures, the Zohar demonstrates how Divinity and the cosmos comprise a series of quaternities that pervade all Being.

The last main chapter includes Zoharic commentary to various portions of the Torah. The volume closes with a short appendix of passages that printers have labeled Tosefta despite their not fitting into that genre―a suitable end to the Zohar whose parameters and composition will remain ever mysterious. 

Just Published. Available for Pre-Order (Save 30 %) ... 

The Zohar: Pritzker Edition, Volume Twelve   http://amzn.to/2q2U6TB

Wednesday 26 April 2017