Progressive Jewish Spirituality


Progressive Jewish Spirituality


Progressive Jewish Spirituality

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Titles #6 - Truth and Half Truth, The Jewish Mother and the Snake, Understanding the Zohar - The Book of Splendor, The Jewish People and their Destiny, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, Jonah and the Whale, Torah Philosophy, Chanukah on the way to Christmas, The Legality of Judaism, Suicide and Depression amongst Orthodox Jews

Truth and Half Truth

God is truth, like it says in the Torah, "The Lord your God is Truth and his name is truth." God himself is above the human intellect to grasp like the sages ask, "Can one search for him and find him?" The seeking of the men of truth is to know the name of God. The name of God relates the identity of God the unknown it is still only revealing a small part of his essence.

There are people that are satisfied with half the truth. They can live happily with half the truth believing in God their whole life. Most people are in this category living a good religious life. Religion begins with half the truth which means living a good religious life with blind faith in God. The other half of the truth comes through searching.

Judaism was established to be the religion of the people of Israel the Jewish people. They were taught to follow the precepts of the Torah with blind faith to build the nation of Israel. The nation survives until today on these precepts of the Torah which identify who is a Jew and what is his obligation. The religion which is received with blind faith is half truth. The other half is up to the individual to find and is not the obligation of everyone.

Allowing religion to exist on half truth is acceptable because God himself is above knowledge even above his holy name which is truth. Therefore Moses gave the Jewish people the Oral Torah with the commandment to follow its precepts with blind faith. He also gave the people the written Torah with the commandment to follow the precepts and to search for truth, "to do and to know".

At Mount Sinai was revealed by God the whole truth in one moment. The revelation was too great for the people to receive at one time. They rebelled and built the Golden Calf in opposition to Moses. Instead Moses gave them the second tablets with half truth in preparation for the coming of the Messiah who would reveal to them the second half of truth. Moses knew that the two temples would eventually be destroyed and the people would be dispersed throughout the world like today. The whole truth would take 6000 years to reveal in stages.

Most of the precepts of the Torah of Moses contain in them two parts which are part of the fulfillment of the whole act. These acts are two pairs of phylacteries, two parts of the Shabbat to remember and to keep, the two parts of circumcism removal of the two skins from the sexual organ, the two blasts of the Shofar the ram's horn the long and short blast, the two commandments of the holiday of Succoth the shaking of the Lulav branch and the sitting under the Succah. Performance of one half of the act does not fulfill the complete mitzvah. Half of the truth is not the whole truth.

Father Jacob who is called the father of truth wanted to marry Rachel the daughter of Laban in Genesis: 29. Rachel was also spiritual and also beautiful. Her sister Leah was spiritual but ugly. Rachel had symbolically both material and spiritual perfection. Leah had the aspect of spiritual happiness but lacked material joy. The Torah of truth relates that Laban tricked Jacob and gave him Leah in place of Rachel. Leah was the older sister. Symbolically this meant spiritual truth without the physical part of truth. Jacob was upset. Her wanted the complete truth and not half truth. He had to work a another seven years for Laban to acquire Rachel. Again the Torah is teaching that there are two parts to truth which are God in the material world and God in spirituality.

Moses the man of truth was ready to receive the both halves of truth together at Mount Sinai. The rest of the people could not reach this level of perfection of Moses. Moses then understood that they would first receive half of truth in preparation for the coming of the Messiah in the end of days. He gave them the aspect of truth which made the people of Israel a nation under God. There was still left over the other half.

The Jewish people have holy souls. Throughout the period of the first and second temple there was rebellion. They wanted the whole truth which was in the written Torah but was left out of the Oral Torah. At the time of Solomon the nation began to break off through civil war in two parts. Solomon was a man of truth and had already the two parts of truth in his kingship. The rest of Israel lacked the knowledge of God which had King David and Solomon. Therefore in the writings of Psalms of David and in the writings of King Solomon is revealed the two halves, the two sides of truth. Jerimiah prophesizes that in the end of time every person will know God from child to adult to the extent that one person will not have to teach the other. The name of God will be revealed to the world.

In the period of the second temple the nation broke off in two parts the Parishes and the Sadducees. The Pharisees enforced the Oral Torah and the observance of the Torah with blind faith without changing the Torah and the tradition. The Sadducees wanted to live with the written Torah alone because in it was freedom which was not part of the Oral law. There were two sets of tablets with the Ten Commandments inscribed on them in the written law. The Oral law was from the second tablets where was written to watch the Sabbath. The first tablets read remember the Sabbath.

The two temples were destroyed and the Jews were sent into exile with Judaism half the truth but with this half the nation has been able to survive until today. Christianity came to reveal the Messiah with a new religion which was also half the truth. The half of the truth in Judaism is the truth of the Nation of Israel called Knesset Yisrael. The half of truth of Christianity is the revelation of the man of truth. He lived and died for truth. These two religions were the two halves, the two sides of truth. Jews were forced to convert to Christianity. Christianity revealed the other half of truth.

The two parts of truth are in the world but difficult to unite. Judaism has the half of truth which is called Knesset Yisrael the nation of God. Christianity has the part of truth which Jacob rejected when he was given Leah instead of Rachel. Jacob wanted Rachel the unity of material and spiritual life. In Judaism today through the Zohar has been revealed the whole truth which is the unity of Rachel and Leah. In the Zohar it is called the unity of the two Messiahs the Messiah the son of Joseph and the Messiah the son of David. The Zohar teaches that they are both kings. Each one is the king of half of truth which when united becomes the whole truth. The uniting of these two sides comes through the resurrection of Moses who is the line of truth between the two sides of truth the unity of the upper and lower knowledge. In this way is revealed the name of God which is peace. The purpose of this revelation is for the sake of peace, World Unity and Peace including in it Jewish Unity.

To call Christianity idolatry today is already claiming that Judaism is the whole truth. In the Ethics of the fathers is taught, "Do not look at the outside of the package but at what is inside." A religion can be on the outside called Monotheism but on the inside there is hatred and violence as is revealed today by extreme Muslims. Christianity which appears to be idolatry on the outside on the inside their leaders and seeking World Unity and Peace. Already today they admit that their religion is half the truth. The same in Judaism the leaders accept Chassidism and the Messianic movements that have developed through Chassidism in Chabad and Breslov. The two sides of truth are coming together. However God is still unknown. His name is being revealed but his essence remains unknown.

The Jewish Mother and the Snake

Adam and Eve were born in the Garden of Eden. The snake tempted Eve and convinced her to eat from the forbidden tree. She wanted children and a family and she knew that this was the way. She convinced Adam to also eat from the tree which means to enjoy the natural pleasure with her together through which they could have children and a family. In the Garden of Eden there was only spiritual pleasure.

The snake is the Guru. When you look at the snake, you are looking at yourself. Adam and Eve knew that they were naked; they covered themselves. They knew the importance of modesty. The snake who caused her to eat from the tree of knowledge of her own will which brought to the world good and evil happiness and sorrow, has also the key to the Garden of Eden to return to spiritual pleasure and freedom which they had forsaken. About this it says in scriptures, "The snake gives life and takes life." The snake is the Guru the spiritual guide in each and every person.

Man has a choice in life to go in the direction of life in the direction of family life and children or to reject the world and return to the Garden of Eden. There is in each generation a Guru a spiritual healer that has the key to returning to the Garden of Eden. When Moses was on the mountain after God spoke to the Jewish people and the world to receive the ten commandments written by the hand of God, the Jewish people had the choice to return to the Garden of Eden or to make the world a dwelling place through having children and living according to the Torah law which is the way of Judaism. When they built the Golden Calf already Moses saw that they wanted to become a Torah nation. They had rejected the way of spirituality of the first tablets written by God and wanted Judaism the way of the second tablets. They wanted family life to be the Jewish mother. The women gave their jewelry to Aharon and he threw it in the fire and came out a Golden Calf. The men listened to their wives. The men wanted a spiritual life with spiritual pleasure and freedom like Adam and Eve had in the garden.

The men were given a life of spiritual pleasure in the wilderness. God gave them to eat food from heaven called Manna. They drank from a well of water called the Well of Miriam throughout the forty years they were in the wilderness. They were followed by a cloud of glory and their clothes did not wither. The woman received their wishes. Their children born in the wilderness entered the land of Israel to live a natural life to build families and a nation according to the Torah. The Elders remained in the wilderness with Moses.

The word in the Torah for snake is numerically equal for the word in the Hebrew language for Messiah. In the nation of Israel which was governed by Torah law, the Law of Moses religious life prohibited the spiritual direction of the snake the Messiah who had the key to the Garden of Eden. They had already made their decision in the wilderness to receive a natural religious life. Moses remained in the wilderness with his students and their children entered the land of Israel. The way of spirituality was the way of the second tablets without spiritual freedom and pleasure. There was the way of service to God self-sacrifice following the commandments of the Torah.

There are two ways of spirituality which are the way of the first tablets with spiritual freedom and the way of the second tablets where the Jewish mother is the center of Jewish religion the backbone of the home. The Torah teaches to give honor to your wife watch over her like you watch over your own body. Without the Jewish woman there would not be family. She is in the center of religious life. The woman watches over the family and the children. The Sanhedrin made restrictions upon the men. They were prohibited to live with a woman without a marital contract called a Ketuba which gave the obligations of the man to his wife. Premarital relations were prohibited even though it was once permitted before the Sanhedrin and the nation was established. A Jew receives upon himself the Yoke of Heaven to fulfill the commandment of be fruitful and multiply. Education of the children in the Torah way is emphasized. The mother is in the center of the family.

Judaism in the times of the temple strictly prohibited the way of spirituality of the first tablets with spiritual freedom. The women had their way. The snake, the spiritual healer, the Guru was restricted from influencing the people. About this it says in Genesis, 3: and I will put enmity between thee (the snake) and the woman. Slowly spirituality returned to Israel to fulfill the prophecy of Jerimiah 31: I will make a new way, the woman will chase after the man. The man is the spirit. In the New Covenant there will be two ways of spirituality with and without spiritual freedom the Old way and the New Way.

The Messiah the snake, the Guru, the spiritual healer was prohibited in Judah like it says in the Torah, "there will be no snake in Judah, or magician in Israel." The Sanhedrin knew from the prophecies of Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Jerimiah that a spiritual revolution was on the way which would endanger the Torah nation. They initiated prayers for the coming of the Messiah to return the nation to the days of Old and added a prayer against the reformed spiritual movements which were developing within the nation. In this way the nation would be able to survive during the diaspora when would come other religions through other prophets than Moses.

These changes took place in the world. The Jewish family unit is protected by Jewish law. The Jewish mother more than anyone else in the family protects her children from leaving the way of their forefathers. The Jewish mother and the Torah Scholars recognize her the enemy the snake, the guru, the spiritual healer who initially guided Adam and Eve to eat from the tree of knowledge to begin to build a family on earth. The same snake is also the Messiah to heal the pains and suffering of life. He has the key to the Garden of Eden which Adam and Eve left on their mission to build a family and a dwelling place for God in the world.

There is friction in Judaism between the Old Way and the New Way. The Baal Shem Tov the founder of Chassidism saw that the Jewish people were suffering and needed spiritual healing. He brought into Judaism a new light which had been revealed in the Zohar. It was not sufficient for Jews to live the spiritual life of self-sacrifice but they needed also to be happy. He brought into Judaism the light of the first tablets spiritual freedom and gave Jews permission to seek out the Garden of Eden within their own souls to reveal the two Messiahs. There is the Messiah of the Old Way and the Messiah of the New Way. The woman may object to the influences of spirituality in their homes but today in Judaism there are two ways, the way of the Man of Truth, and the way of the Torah Scholar. The snake the spiritual healer is no longer an enemy to the family and the nation. He is part of the nation and essential to its growth. There is still a battle between the two sides but there is no returning to the past. There are feminine and masculine lights of spirituality which today are united.

Understanding the Zohar - The Book of Splendor

It says in the Zohar - The book of splendor that in its merit Israel will be redeemed in mercy. Zohar is a book of mercy. The way of the Zohar is mercy. According to the way of the Zohar, the redemption which means World Unity and Peace which includes Jewish Unity will come without any wars. Jerusalem the walled city the place of the divine presence will be rebuilt without the need to build walls around it.

The Zohar is a book of peace which includes in it justice and righteousness. The purpose of the creation according to the Zohar is to reveal the name of God in the world. In the Zohar there are two Messiahs which are united in the end of times. The two messiahs represent the two approaches toward worship to the One God who is always unknown called in the Zohar the hidden of hiddens. God is revealed through his prophets. Moses was the prophet to bring to the world the Torah, the five books of Moses in which is revealed God's plan and his creation. The first passage of the Zohar is "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." The Zohar explains heaven and earth not only to mean heaven and earth in its physical existence but also as a spiritual existence. In spirituality heaven and earth represent the faith in God like in Islam and Judaism which is the faith of the earth, and the faith in God revealed through the Messiah which is revealed in Christianity the spirituality called the heavens. Both of these aspects of spirituality when united together reveal the name of God which is peace or Shalom.

The Zohar explains that the unity of God on earth comes through the revelation of the Messiah. There are two Messiahs, the messiah of the heavens and the messiah of the earth who is the messiah revealed through the religion of the Jewish people. There is the macrocosm and the microcosm which is the unity of God in the heavens which was revealed after the destruction of the holy temples in Jerusalem by Jesus and Mohammed. There is the unity of God on earth which has finally been revealed through the two Messiahs of Judaism the Lubaviticher Rebbe and Rabbi Nachman of Breslov. Both these saints live eternally. Moses unites heaven and earth through his resurrection which has already come even from the time of the destruction of the holy temple where the famous Kabballist Rabbi Yitchok Luria of blessed memory reveals that the Messiah was born on the 9 th of the month of Av, the day which is a day of mourning in Judaism for the destruction of the holy temple.

The plan of God which is revealed by Moses in the Torah, the five books is for the revelation of God on earth to be in three phases all together six thousand years. The Torah learns that in six days God created the heavens and the earth each day represents a thousand years. The seventh day which is the Sabbath represents the completion of the revelation of God. Now the world according to the Jewish calendar is in the year 5777 which is very close to the completion of the days of creation. The first two thousand years were chaos until the world was destroyed by the flood. The second thousand years were for establishment of law and order in the world which came through the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai through the prophet Moses. The end of this period was the time of the destruction of tde second holy temple in Jerusalem. The third two thousand years is for the revelation of the Messiah.

The spiritual world according to the Zohar is divided into two plains which are the World - The General presence of God, the upper kingship, and the lower kingship revealed by the Jewish people through the Torah and its commandments. Through the Zohar these two kingships are united in peace. They are called the upper and lower unities. The world needs the Jewish people and the Jewish people need World Unity and Peace. Through the resurrection of Moses they are united together which has already come.

Before the Zohar was revealed to the Jewish people which was about eight hundred years ago, Judaism had only the knowledge of the law without the understanding of the deep secrets within the Torah. The Zohar revealed the inner secret within the Torah which is the unity of opposites heaven and earth. The period of the revelation of the Messiah had already begun twelve hundred years before the Zohar was discovered in Spain by Jewish scholars. These scholars studied the Zohar and realized that it was authentic spirituality. The study of the Zohar has become of utmost importance in Judaism. In each generation these secrets are taught by enlightened saints. There writings and lectures have been printed and studied by inspired Jews seeking to fulfill its teachings.

Judaism which has survived throughout the diaspora in its simple form of study of the law and practice of the commandments continues from generation to generation. The Zohar is an added light to Judaism through which Judaism can become part of the revelation of the Messiah and the revelation of the unity of God on earth.

All that is necessary today to bring the redemption is to understand and receive the teachings of the Zohar. Through the Zohar is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, "the whole world will be filled with the knowledge of God like the waters cover the sea." "In this day God will be one and his name will be one"

There are religious conflicts in the world which need to be resolved as well as conflicts in the secular world. The religious conflicts can be solved through the teachings of the Zohar. These secular conflicts can be resolved through the acceptance of the holy Torah which includes all of mankind from Adam until today, the purpose of creation to build the kingship of God on earth.

The Jewish People and their Destiny

On Mount Sinai God made the Jews who were a family the descendants of Abraham Isaac and Jacob a nation through the giving of the Torah. God through the leadership of Moses took the Jewish people out of bondage in Egypt through ten miracles called the ten plagues in the bible Exodus. He split for them the Red Sea when the Egyptians chased after them. He brought them to Mount Sinai where God gave them the Ten Commandments. Moses gave to the people the law which was to be the constitution of the newly established nation of the Jewish people. They entered the land and conquered the land under the leadership of Joshua. King David completed the conquest of the land and King Solomon his son built the holy temple in Jerusalem. The nation fought wars both civil wars and wars with the other nations surrounding them. The first temple lasted more than four hundred years. The Babylonians destroyed the first temple. The Jewish people living in Israel were banished and exiled to live in Babylon which is today Iran and Iraq. Through a great miracle the people were spared from a decree of extermination initiated by an evil leader in Babylon Hamon the son of Hamrddata the enemy of the Jews. Esther a Jewish virgin was chosen by the King Achashverush to be his queen. He uncle Mordecai a scholar and prince challenged the evil Haman and refused to bow to him which caused Haman to want to exterminate the Jews. The love of Achashveush for Esther prevented Haman from succeeding and Haman and his ten sons were hung instead of Mordecai, the prince. The son of Esther became the next king of the empire and initiated the building of the second temple in Jerusalem by Ezra who valiantly fought to recover sovereignty over the land of Israel.

The second temple lasted another four hundred years until its destruction by the Romans. The Jewish people went again into exile until today. The Jewish people are a family and a nation. The nation has a constitution which is the holy Torah. The Jews carried the Torah with them into exile to build tents of learning and sanctuaries according to the guidance and laws initiated by the Men of the Great Assembly the first Jewish Congress called the Sanhedrin in the times of the second temple. These laws have been codified to be the Code of Jewish law called the Shulcan Aruch. The nation of the Jewish people continues through the strength of its history and the Torah.

The nation of Israel has an identity and through its leadership struggles in each generation to survive. The people of Israel the Jewish people called the remnants of Israel identify themselves with the nation of God established by King David and Solomon the receivers of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Moses is the prophet of Israel like it says at the end of the Torah the five books, "there will not be in Israel another prophet like Moses." The Jewish people have a religion. In each generation families strive to educate their children in the ways of the Torah. The Jewish people have organization although the nation is always divided into various levels of religious sects according to the strictness of their observance. There are also Jews that have become secular that identify themselves as Jews.

Judaism is a national religion. Jewish law demands self-sacrifice for the survival of the nation. The law does not give a place for individuality. According to the law you live and die for your country and its Torah. The most righteous are considered to be those that completely nullify their will to the will of God and the nation of the Jewish people. Judaism is Zionism; Zionism if Judaism.

The law is demanding Jews to fight for their nation. The Nation of Israel was once the only nation of God in the world. According to the law, it is still the only nation of God on earth. Gentiles find difficulty with accepting Judaism in the twentieth century when the world has developed and after the destruction of the second temple came other prophets and other religions in the world. The pagan world has become civilized and even today there is a movement in the world for justice, peace and world survival. Morality has sunk to its lowest in the past hundred years. Jewish values maintain morality in a world which has become profane. It is a good idea for Jewish people to feel part of the world but at the same time they have to protect their children from immorality. Judaism identifies with the past and the teachings of our forefathers and rejects these changes initiated by modern society. The sages in each generation work to protect the Jewish identity and keep the people separate from the world and other religions in the world.

There are extremists in Judaism that deny the importance of being part of the world. The more moderate religious observers understand the importance of World Unity and Peace. The Jewish people are a separate nation with their own interests. The Jews are important to the world but the world is the place where Jews live. They cannot exist alone. The State of Israel today was established as a democracy to hold its connection with the world. It gives freedom for Jews to be Ultra-Orthodox in their own communities but not at the expense of World Unity and Peace.

To build a Jewish State like existed in the times of the Beit Hamikdash which is the dream of the Ultra Orthodox and the way handed over to the nation by the men of the Great Assembly does not work. It is a Jewish tradition but not a reality. God wants the Jewish people to live peacefully with the rest of the world and maintain its identity with Torah values but the Jewish religion must today also give respect to other religions in the world and the leaders of the world who are working for peace. The world saved the Jews who were in concentration camps and defeated Hitler. A Jew needs to thank the world that it is giving the Jew religious freedom which it didn't have in Germany, Europe and Russia.

Rabbi Nachman of Breslov said, "the world is a narrow bridge to cross over." A Jew is a soul which comes into the world for the sake of Israel their nation but also for the sake of World Unity and Peace. The Nation of Israel was once divided into two parts Judah and Israel at the times of King Solomon. Judah is the remnant of the nation of Israel which has survived until today. Israel is the whole world which includes in it Judah.

Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai

The soul of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai encompasses all four worlds of spirituality and is included in the essence of God in the world of Adam Kadmon, the supernal man. Adam Kadmon, is all inclusive like it says, there is nothing separate from God. The difference between Adam Kadmon and God himself is that God himself has no known name. Adam Kadmon is called in the name of Adam the first man. The source of Adam the first man is in Adam Kadmon. Adam Kadmon is the principle attribute of God through which he becomes revealed to Adam, man in the lower worlds. In Adam Kadmon there is only mercy.

The soul of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai emanates from the right side of Adam Kadmon, the side of the Torah about which it says "from the right came out fire." Judaism is from the right of Adam Kadmon. Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai is the general soul of the Torah. His soul contains in it the whole Torah from Bereishit, "in the beginning" until the end of the Torah, "before the eyes of all Israel." The soul of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai includes in it the redemption which is Yoval the fiftieth gate of spiritual freedom. Therefore Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai revealed in his last days in the book Idra the ancient of days Atik Yomim. The soul of Rabbi Shimon is on the level of the 32 paths of wisdom above Atik the place of the Messiah the son of David. Rabbi Shimon could have been the Messiah the son of David but the time had not yet come for him to be revealed. In the Zohar is revealed the Messiah the son of Joseph.

The Messiah the son of Joseph is the level of Binah which is divine light and freedom. Binah is also the higher repentance called the eighth day. The Messiah the son of David is the level of Wisdom, the level of the divine father. The Messiah the son of Joseph is the level of the divine mother from whom is born the son of God Zeir Anpin. Therefore the Messiah the son of Joseph is also called the son of God. The Kabballa discusses all of these unities which emanate from the soul of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai which is filled with wisdom.

The Messiah the son of David comes from the lower divine mother called Malcut or Kingship but elevates to the highest levels until infinity. These are all revelations of the essence of God who is unknown. The essence of God includes both Messiahs. The essence is not revealed only Adam Kadmon which emanates from his essence.

The soul of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai is from Adam Kadmon but he is only a man like Moses and Jesus.

Jonah and the Whale

The story of Jonah is included in the book of the twelve prophets. The story is quite fantastic illustrating a miracle of a man who was swallowed in the belly of a whale. He lived in the belly of the whale for three days until he was finally released to reach dry land. God gave to Jonah a mission to bring the city of the people of Nineveh the word of God. He was to offer to the people of Nineveh who were not Jewish, mercy and forgiveness for their wickedness and to bring them to repentance. Jonah doubted his ability to succeed in this mission and fled in another direction on a ship. Moses also was afraid to go to Pharoah to ask that the Jews should be released from slavery but God convinced him to take upon himself this task.

The mission of Jonah was unusual and different from the mission of Elijah the prophet who was his teacher. Elijah went to Carmel to bring the Jews to repentance that had rebelled against God and the Torah. Almost the whole nation of Israel had become idol worshippers in the time of Elijah. Elijah who sent Jonah on this mission hoped that when the Jews would see that the people of Nineveh would repent; they also would change their ways and return to God. The story shows that God has also a place in his divine plan for gentiles to become part of the nation of Israel in the future.

While in the belly of the whale, some say that Jonah was able to survive three days. Other say that he died and was resurrected by God. Jonah is mentioned by Mathew in the New Testament. The resurrection of Jesus is compared to the resurrection of Jonah in the belly of the whale. From this can be seen that the purpose of Jesus was not only to bring to the world the Messiah but also to bring the Jews to repentance to accept the Messiah the son of David. The Messiah the son of David was to be revealed in the end of times who would be a great saint that would live the mission of Elijah to bring the Jews to repentance and escape death like Elijah who returned to God on a cloud. This was to be in contrast to Jesus who would die on the cross in his mission similar to Jonah and resurrect after three days.

The story of Jonah brings to light the connection between Jesus and Elijah. Elijah is the prophet who will in the end of times bring peace to the world. Elijah is the servant of God in the way of Judaism that lives forever without death. The Messiah the son of David in Progressive Jewish Spirituality represents the servant of God who escapes death to continue in his mission to bring the Jews to repentance and good deeds. He will also make the connection between Elijah, Jonah, and Jesus.

God is one and there is none else. He is revealed through his prophets primarily through the Messiah the son of David and the Messiah the son of Joseph. The Messiah the son of David is the servant of God like Moses and like Elijah. The Messiah the son of Joseph is the servant of God that resurrects in his mission to bring peace and faith to the world like Jonah who spent three days in the belly of the whale before completing his mission. Moses although not being considered to be the Messiah is both servant to God before his death and son of God after his death through resurrection. Moses has both attributes of Son and Servant and both attributes of eternal life like Elijah and Jesus. Elijah although he escaped death and is on an eternal mission to complete the works of creation of God, is still not considered to be the Messiah. Moses and Elijah work to bring the Messiah to the Jewish people and the world.

There are two Messiahs which are revealed through the Torah which reveal the name of God on earth which is truth, which is peace. God is above his name and forever his essence is unknown. In the end of time the whole world will know God through his prophets like is written in Jerimiah, chapter 31, " all people will know God from child to adult."

Torah Philosophy

The Torah was given on Mount Sinai by God to Moses. At that time the Jews were the only nation willing to accept the Torah. The nation of the Jewish people were from Abraham, Issac and Jacob, the twelve tribes of Jacob the children of Jacob. There were other nations forming in the world descendants from Esau and Ishmael. The Jewish people had two choices. There were two Laws through which they would be able to make a nation for God the creator of the universe.

Moses came down from Mount Sinai carrying with him Tablets where were inscribed by God the Ten Commandments. The people built a Golden Calf under the supervision of Aharon the brother of Moses to reject the giving of the first set of Tablets where were inscribed the Ten Commandments. Moses broke these tablets when he saw that the people didn't want to accept this law of God. He went back up on the mountain to pray for forgiveness for the people that had rejected the Torah law of the first tablets which was the law chosen by God containing the spirituality which God had written himself on these tablets like it says in the Torah Exodus 31; And God gave to Moses after he had finished speaking to him two tablets written by the finger of God." Moses when seeing that the people had rebelled and built the Golden Calf broke these tablets with the permission of God. He then went back up on the mountain to receive from God a second set of tablets which he himself wrote on these stones. These were two laws of God primary and secondary.

The Jewish religion is based upon the Torah of the second tablets. If the Jewish people had received the first tablets there would not be other religions in the world except for Judaism. The second tablets established a nation which was exclusively Jewish. The first tablets were universal.

The building of the Golden Calf was a sin. In the future, the nation of Israel would build in Jerusalem two holy temples which would be destroyed. The Jewish people would be dispersed throughout the earth like today. They would continue their tradition while living in the diaspora based on the Torah of the second tablets called the Oral law. The prophets Jesus and Mohammed would come into the world to bring religion and faith in the One God to the rest of the world. The Jewish people would have to suffer under the persecution of these religions until would be revealed the Messiah the son of David.

The Jewish people went into the land of Israel under the leadership of Joshua to establish their nation under the Law of Moses. They conquered the land and established the kingship of Israel with a congress of sages called the Sanhedrin who sat in the holy temple. Judaism is a national religion which excludes all other religious philosophies including religions based upon truth received by other prophets than Moses. The second tablets in which Judaism is based is not the only truth.

The last three letters of the first three words of the Written Torah spell out the word Emet which means truth. Emet is the seal of God the creator. Emet is written with three Hebrew letters Aleph Mem Tav. The letters Aleph is a picture of unity between two sides above and below which are represented by two points with a line in the middle dividing them. In Eastern religion truth is called OM(Aum) TAT SAT. Truth is universal. In the Torah truth is hidden in the back of the first three words of the Torah.

Judaism has in it truth but it is hidden. The truth of Judaism is that truth is a goal in itself but not the goal of every human being. Most people are satisfied with life with health and happiness without having to search into the deeper roots of life. Judaism based upon the law of the second tablets is a religion for a nation men woman and children and not only for special people men of truth. Judaism is based on the Law of Moses to build a nation under One God for a people and not only for individuals who are men of truth. Therefore the word Emet is in the back of the first three words of the Torah and the Torah begins with the word Bereishit and the second letter of the Hebrew Alphabet Beit. The letter Beit has a similar form as the letter Aleph which are two lines above and below connected by a perpendicular line in the right middle. Truth Aleph is hidden in the form and structure of the letter Beit.

In all the Torah and its commandments especially those commandments which involve actions like Tefillin, Shabbat, etc is combined two sides which are united like is united male and female. However the commandments are accepted with blind faith without knowledge or truth. The Torah is accepted as the Torah of Truth like is said when the Torah is lifted up, "Moses is truth and his Torah is truth."

Judaism has in it truth but it is concealed. Judaism is for all Jews, men women and children and not only for special Jewish people. It is the religion of a nation of Jews. Moses left a place for there to be other religions in the world and other prophets to come after him but not in the land of Israel when the nation was established. Later when the nation was destroyed came these other prophets into the world connecting the world to belief in One God.

In the nation of Israel at the time of the Beit Hamikdash the holy temple, it was prohibited to change or reform Jewish law. A prophet who would preach reform was punishable by death. Strict laws were established to prevent reform spirituality. In this way the nation continued to exist for close to one thousand years. When the holy temple was destroyed and the nation of Israel was sent into exile, was revealed the truth. Judaism was not the only way; the only religion. Moses intended that the Jewish nation would continue to survive in the diaspora continuing its tradition. In the written Torah the book of Numbers 24:5, the prophet and enemy of the Jews gives merit to Judaism forever by saying "how goodly are the learning tents of Jacob, the synagogues of Israel." Judaism has survived through the learning and practice of the Torah and through traditional prayer in its synagogues until today.

The truth which is concealed in the Torah and in Judaism has always been of secondary importance. The second tablets on which Judaism is based was secondary to the first tablets which were broken by Moses. The nation continued to exist throughout the diaspora but the secret hidden within the Torah and in the letters Aleph, Mem, Tav was almost completely ignored. Even in the times of the Beit Hamikdash, truth was of secondary importance to observance of the commandments with blind faith. In the times of King David and Solomon, it was known only to those which were in the palace of the King. King David in Psalms and King Solomon in his writings reveal these truths which are today revered in the world of spirituality by all religions. Jewish law was specifically for Jews. Truth is universal and belongs to the world.

In the time of the second temple, prophecy disappeared and there was only the study of scripture. There was no man of truth in the land. The nation feared the man of truth. The nation was ruled by force and the men of the Jewish Congress who were the Sanhedrin. The practice of the Torah was with blind faith in Moses and the Torah. In this way, the nation could continue to survive even after the destruction of the second temple which was inevitable and prophesized by Jerimiah. Judaism has in it truth but it is of secondary importance to the survival of the nation.

There are two aspects of spirituality. Judaism has only one aspect of the two aspects of spirituality included in the letter Aleph in the Torah of truth. When Moses broke the tablets in which contained truth, it was revealed to him the thirteen attributes of faith in which was written two times the name of God, like it says in Exodus 35:7, God God the God of mercy.. The repetition of the name of God twice represents the two aspects of spirituality through which God is revealed. When God sent his messengers to spy out the land of Israel in Numbers: 13, they returned to Moses with negative remarks about the Land of Israel. They were punished for evil talk about the land. God intended the people of Israel to go into the land against all obstacles. Moses prayed to God for forgiveness of the people for speaking against the will of God. God then revealed himself to Moses in the form of the attributes of mercy but with only one time written the name of God unlike in Exodus 35:7. The Jews will enter the land of Israel with the law of the second tablets which have in them less mercy than in the first tablets which has two times the name of God revealed the complete divine truth. The second tablets were for establishment of the nation of Israel exclusively Jewish and for its survival until the end of time. The second tablets were for Judaism in which truth is secondary to Jewish survival.

Judaism could not hide the truth which was revealed through other prophets which created Christianity and Islam. However Judaism can today live together with the other nations when they the Jews will learn the teachings of the Zohar and the Kabballa which reveal Emet the secrets which were concealed in the past for the sake of Jewish survival. Through the Kabballa and through Chassidism the nation of Israel can not only survive but the Jewish people can have also a portion in Emet the truth of God in which is included divine happiness and personal redemption.

The Men of the Great Assembly established prayers for the return to Zion before the destruction of the second temple and the exile. These prayers were for returning to the past. With these prayers and the hope for the coming of the Messiah the Jewish people have survived until today. Many Jews have assimilated throughout history, but Judaism continues amongst the Orthodox. Already today it is apparent that returning to the past is impossible after the changes in the world over a period of two thousand years. Judaism was never complete having been derived from the second tablets. The second tablets left a place for the coming of other prophets of truth and other religions in the world but not in Judah the nation of Israel. Judaism does not accept other religions but today can accept these religions for the world as long as they allow the Jewish People to live peacefully. Jews today can accept Jesus and Mohammed and include their spirituality in the back of the first three words of the Torah which spell out Emet or truth. Jews can accept world faith and continue to be Jews believing in the Torah and practicing their religious tradition.

The Torah begins with the letter Beit which is numerically equal to the number two. The truth of the Torah is in the letter Aleph which is equal numerically to one. Aleph unites the two parts of spirituality through the line in the middle. These two levels of spirituality were revealed in one moment on Mount Sinai which God spoke. They could not be revealed through the first tablets which were broken by Moses. Instead they had to be revealed through the second set of tablets though which was established Judaism and through other prophets which came after Moses.

Emet is the seal of truth of God. Emet has in it three letters as mentioned Aleph, Mem, Tav. The letter Aleph Mem which is also called Om(Aum) in the east is the word for peace like in Hebrew is Shalom which means literally "of peace." The letter Tav is the final seal of truth which has come through the revelation of the Messiah the son of David in the last generation through the Lubaviticher Chassidim. Before the world believed there was One Messiah who is God. Now they can accept that there are two Messiahs which are the two aspects of truth. Only God is one and not the Messiah.

Chanukah on the way to Christmas

All Jews feel that there is a connection between Christmas and Chanukah. Very often these holidays fall out at the same time. Jews growing up amongst Ashkenazi western Europeans live together with Christians. In the windows of Jewish homes there are Chanukah Menorahs; in the front of the homes of Christians there are Christmas trees. Religious Jews prefer to live in their own communities to avoid any connections between Christianity and Judaism. This is not always possible.

Throughout the generations there has been competition between the two religions. Christians are all the time at work to convince Jews that Jesus is the Messiah. They come to your door in different ways, sometimes as Jehovah witnesses or other types of Christians preaching the New Testament.

As a Jew growing up in an American Jewish home in New York, I remember as a child living in the two worlds. America was a Christian Protestant nation. Jews came to America in the early 1920, escaping from World War I. For other Jews it was too late already after came the Second World War, and Jews were gathered together by the Nazis and brought into concentration camps. Usually the Jewish youth kept a peer group with primarily Jews. In our neighborhood, there were almost 80% Jews families of war veterans that were given shelter by the government in subsidized homes called projects that were built in the 1950s.

Jews no matter if they are religious observant or not come from a heritage of Orthodox Jewry. In our community, the majority of Jews were not religious observers. There were a handful of religious observers who kept the Sabbath and wore skull caps. The Orthodox Jews went to private Jewish schools. There were also orthodox Catholics which went to private Catholic schools in the neighborhood. The Public Schools were filled with Jews and Catholics who learned together. Private religious schools may have demanded tuition from the parents of their children. Public Schools were free and the parents of Jewish children avoided the expenses of religious education by sending their children to public schools. Many Jews had already given up completely their faith in God and the Torah after the war. Those Jews which still had some tradition in their homes sent their children to learn in afternoon Hebrew Schools until the age of thirteen when they were already Bar Mitzva. In the Jewish religion a child becomes a man at the age of thirteen to accept religious obligations.

Usually according to the number of generations which Jews have assimilated in each generation the customs of Judaism disappear until it is hard to recognize who is a Jew or a Christians. Jews maintain their Jewish identity usually until they assimilate completely through marriage. The children of Jewish girls remain Jewish even if they marry out of the religion. Jewish men that marry out of the religion, their children are no longer officially Jewish. There are always conversions Jews becoming Catholic but usually Jews go from Orthodox Judaism to reformed or conservative Judaism on the way to complete assimilation. There are also Catholics which convert to Judaism even though Jews do not look for converts.

Jewish and Christians faiths require study of the Bible to maintain their identities. Christians that went to public schools like Jewish children lose the connection with their religion. The youth are not usually interested in religion unless they learn in private religious schools. The American Jewish youth growing up in the American society almost all assimilated. They become secular Jews working in the world. Many become professionals. Jewish people are especially bright intelligent. It is in the Jewish genes. In our public school classes the brightest children were Jews with some exceptions.

Judaism teaches that Jesus was a false prophet a false Messiah. Jews are waiting for the coming of the true Messiah who will gather the Jewish people from the four corners of the earth to live in the land of Israel according to Torah law. Even though the State of Israel today has been formed and there are more than six million Jews living in Israel, most ultra-orthodox religious Jews reject that it is part of the coming of the Messiah. The nation is a democracy, a secular state which contradicts the prophecy of the coming of the Messiah.

There remains hatred between Christians and Jews. Jews hate Christians and Christians hate Jews. These are ignorant people but there is a religious tradition of hatred. Jews in order to maintain their Jewish identity living amongst the gentile nations are taught that gentiles are inferior to Jews. They are warned against assimilation with gentiles. Their religious leaders try to keep the Jewish youth in their faith. Christians still blame Jews for killing Christ. When Jews who were part of the Roman regime in Jerusalem sentenced Christ to death, they did it to prevent the Christian influence from entering into the Jewish world. The Romans also saw Christianity as a threat to their power and control over the people so they were very happy to execute Jesus. Later on they adopted Christianity as their religion which before was completely pagan.

Chanukah for Jews reinforces the Jewish identity as a nation which once lived in Israel and practiced Judaism which included the holy temple in Jerusalem. Amongst Jews there are Kohanim priests, Levites who served in the temple, and Israelites from other tribes. Jacob had twelve sons who became the twelve tribes of Israel. The land of Israel was divided into twelve parts for each of these tribes. Many Jews today recognize if they are from the families of priests or Levites. It is handed over from generation to generation.

To understand Judaism requires many years of study. First is required to accept the religion with simple faith. As you learn the Talmud which includes in it Jewish history you can more understand the struggles of the Jewish people to survive until today. Observance of the Sabbath and the commandments is essential to maintain the Jewish identity which is always threatened by Christian influences in the Western world. Jews have to accept their religion without the Messiah with the hope of the coming of the Messiah. All Jews need the Messiah and it is a great sorrow that he has still not arrived.

The Jews in the story of Chanukah fought to retain possession of the holy temple which had become contaminated by the Greeks who were Pagan worshippers. The Greeks also made decrees to prevent Jews from practicing their faith. Through the valiance of Judah the Maccabee and his soldiers, they regained possession of the holy temple. They needed oil to light the Menorah of the temple but all the oil had been contaminated by idol worship. They found one can of oil which was only sufficient to burn for one day and through a miracle it burned for eight days until they could make new oil for lighting the Menorah. It is called the miracle of Chanukah and a Chanukah menorah of eight candles is lit each day for eight days. These are days of joy for Jews. They remind Jews that they are Jews who were once living in Israel.

The Kabballa connects Chanukah to Christianity. Both of these holidays fall out at the same time which is an undeniable connection between them. Jews are taught not to study the Kabballa until they are forty years old. The Kabballa can be dangerous to Judaism. The Kabballa snuck into the Jewish world in the last eight hundred years when was discovered in Spain the Zohar. Jewish youth growing up in America after the war did not know anything about the Kabballa. The Kabballa was reserved for senior citizens. Therefore Jewish youth could not connect the holiday of Chaunukah to Christianity through the Kabballa only by seeing Christmas trees and Chanukah menorahs lit up at the same time. By restricting the learning of the Kabballa, Jewish religious leaders were able to prevent their Jewish youth from becoming believers in Jesus. Instead they became atheists and completely secular Jews. Those Jews that were brought up religious and learned in Yeshivas religious schools also were restricted from the study of Kabballa but maintained their Jewish heritage through the observance of the Sabbath and the study of the Talmud. I grew up in Brooklyn New York but didn't know about Lubavitch Chassidism which was in Brooklyn that did have a tradition of the study of Kabballa for teenagers. Their religious leader
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson is called by them the Jewish Messiah. Jews knew about a Christian Messiah who was the enemy of their nation but never expected that there would be a Jewish Messiah before would be rebuilt the holy temple and all the Jews would return to their homeland.

The Kabballa especially the Zohar teaches that there are two Messiahs. The Jewish Messiah represents the seventh day the Sabbath. The other Messiah represents the eight day which the Kabballa calls the day of mercy. On the eight day a Jew is circumcised. The eighth day is revered in Kabballa to be on even a higher level of spirituality than the seventh day the Sabbath. Therefore if a circumcism falls out on the Sabbath it is permitted even though it requires taking blood which is prohibited to do on the Sabbath.

Christians do not accept that there are two Messiahs. To a Christian Jesus is the only Messiah. The Kabballa broadens the concept of the Messiah but does not deny that there is a Messiah of the eighth day. Chanukah is the light of eight candles which falls out at the time near Christmas. Even a secular Jew finds it difficult to deny that it is no coincidence. Jews and Christians are always fighting over the true Messiah or the false Messiah. These are two lights that fall out at the same time.

The intention of the Sanhedrin by making a Jewish holiday of eight candles was not Messianic. The Jews fought a battle over control of the temple and were victorious. Instead of making a holiday to celebrate their victory alone they decided to connect it to the miracle of the can of oil which burned for eight days. The eighth day was the day of circumcism, a Jewish light which the Torah brought into the world.

The story of Jonah the prophet occurred during the time of the second temple like the holiday of Chanukah. The story of Jonah is also miraculous how he survived three days in the belly of a whale and was saved by God. Jonah was a prophet that God sent to Nineveh a nation of gentiles to bring to them faith in God. He feared this mission a Jew going into a foreign land to preach about the one God. Elijah the prophet sent Jonah and knew about the importance of this mission. The mission was never completed by Jonah to bring the remainder of the world to believe in the One God.

The miracle of Jonah and the whale and the miracle of the eight lights of Chanukah became the foundation of Christianity. Christianity made its Sabbath the eighth day. They claimed that Jesus resurrected on the third day after his death like Jonah was released from captivity in the belly of the whale on the third day. Jesus completed the mission of Jonah to bring Monotheism to the whole world through Christianity. Christianity is connected to Judaism. They learn the same Bible as Jews learn. Their religion is different but they have many common binds. Pope Francis made a statement that Jews and Christians share the same Bible.

Christians have already accepted Jesus as the Messiah. They have even made Jesus God, the trinity. They refuse to accept the concept of the Kabballa, the Zohar that there are two Messiahs and the Messiah is not God. It contradicts their whole religion. Christians and Jews both need the Messiah. Jews need Jesus the Messiah of the eighth day but are not willing to accept Christianity. According to the Kabballa the Messiah of the eighth day is added on to Judaism but is not to replace or nullify the keeping of the commandments of God. Judaism which began as a National Religion worshipping the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob can also believe in a universal God the God of every human being, the God of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The Jews through the Kabballa have two Messiahs, the Messiah the son of Joseph and the Messiah the son of David. Christians didn't have a Torah before Jesus so Jesus became for them the Messiah and God together. Judaism was initially a faith without the Messiah. The Messiah was added on to Judaism.

Also the Muslims under the leadership of Mohammed rejected the concept of one Messiah that was God. They didn't reject completely Jesus but denied that he was the only God. The Muslims had from the time of Ishmael the practice of circumcism. They were believers in the One God that had fallen into paganism. Mohammed brought them out of paganism. Judaism and Islam are two similar Monotheist national religions which conflict. Each claims to be the authentic nation of God.

Today there are three religions in the world which are in conflict Christianity, Muslim, and Judaism. The Muslim religion arrived in America after Judaism. Jews growing up in America didn't know very much about Islam. In Brooklyn New York they were a small sect of religious Muslims on Coney Island Avenue. However Sephardic Jews living in the Middle East lived amongst Muslims for centuries mostly after the Spanish Inquisition when they were thrown out of Spain by the Christians. Today Sephardic Jews have a big problem accepting Christianity. They accept Muslim faith as Monotheist but Christian they call idolatry. Sephardic accepted the Zohar but it was modified to exclude the concept of two Messiahs to prevent assimilation of its ideas with Christian values. Ashkenazi Jewish leadership have tried to prevent Jews from studying the Zohar for generations and opposed Chassidism when it began in the 1700s because of its connection to the Kabballa.

The connection between Chanukah and Christmas is undeniable. Those religious Jewish leaders who have opposed or restricted the study of the Zohar have caused damage to Jewish souls by covering up truth. Mohammed and the Muslims will not let Jews to live a secular life and make a secular nation without God and the Messiah. God is the boss in this world. The history of the world and religion has progressed through divine providence. God created the world and he wants man to recognize him as the creator through the teachings of his prophets. He gave the world to Adam and Eve to populate. He gave them a challenge to build a good life in this world. He did not give it without obligation. He revealed himself on Mount Sinai to Moses and the Jewish people. He gave to the Jewish people the Torah, the Ten Commandments. The revelation of God on earth is in progress and continues. The whole creation is for the sake of his name. Truth is the name of God, Shalom is the name of God.

Judaism wants to continue to deny that there are other religions in the world and that God has made prophets from the other nations his messengers to bring his word into the world. In this way they feel that they are able to prevent Jews from assimilating and to continue the nation in the diaspora. They are only partially successful. Many Jews assimilate each year. Jews cannot close their eyes on Chanukah to the Christmas tree across the street. Another tactic of Jewish religious leaders is to create ghettos of exclusively Orthodox Jews in neighborhoods throughout the world. In this way on Chanukah there are no Christmas trees in their neighborhood. They restrict the learning of the Zohar to a select few or prohibit it completely to cover up that Jesus may possibly be one of the two Messiahs. They pray for a completely Jewish controlled world which is impossible. There greatest fear is that a Jewish child may see a Christmas tree and ask questions to know how Christmas and Chanukah fall out at the same time. The same questions they have about Easter and Passover. They cannot hide from the Zohar. God didn't create the world for the sake of children and their mothers but for the sake of adults. About this said Jerimiah in Chapter 31, I will begin a new way where the female will chase the male. The family and Jewish law will not be most important but the Zohar and the knowledge of God will be most important. Judaism has to meet these changes and cannot deny prophecy.

The Legality of Judaism

Judaism was the first known Monotheistic religion in the world. It began on Mount Sinai but its development was from the time of Abraham when the world was beginning to become populated and civilized. The events leading up to Mount Sinai are clearly described in the bible. Abraham had two wives Sarah and Hagar. From Hagar came Ishmael who became a great nation. From Sarah came Isaac who became the father of the Jewish people.

From Isaac was born two children from his wife Rebecca who were twins. They were Esau who became the father of Edom Ashkenazi nations and Jacob who was the third of the forefathers of the Jewish people. Edom and Ishmael married between them to populate the world to become many nations including the nation of Amalek who were the eternal enemies of the Jewish people. There was also before Abraham the children of Noah, Shem, Cham and Yafeth. The lineage of the Abraham comes from Shem the son of Noah. The lineage of Cham and Yafeth are not described clearly in the bible just that Cham was cursed by Noah after the flood to become the nation of Kenan, who would be slaves to his brothers. The land of Israel was called Kenan before it was conquered by Joshua.

All people are the children of Adam who was the greatest of all righteous men on the earth. Therefore there is no person who has no merit in his lineage. Each human being is commanded to honor their father and mother who are Adam and Eve the first two people who began to populate the earth.

God chose the Jewish people the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to make them a nation with a divine law, the Law of Moses the prophet. He chose to give the Jewish people the Torah, the five books of Moses to be for the world the divine word of God. God revealed himself to the world through the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Moses that wrote the Torah is not only the prophet of the Jewish people but also the prophet of the world the children of Adam. Moses is called in the Tikunei Zohar the son of Adam. They were both prophets of God.

The Law of God was given to Moses who gave it to Joshua his anointed student. The Law was transferred from generation to generation with instructions to be careful in judgements, to make many students and to strengthen the law when necessary. The written law which was the five books of Moses after it was written was forbidden to change even one letter. The interpretation of the written law which was handed over orally by Moses to Joshua became Jewish law, the law of the nation of Israel and the Code of Jewish law today which is the Jewish religion. Judaism is the religion of the children of Jacob. Jacob had twelve sons who was a family of seventy souls that settled in Egypt as described in the Bible. In Egypt they were fruitful and multiplied for 210 years. Eventually there were 600,000 Jews living in Egypt before the exodus that received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai.

The Law of God was known even before Mount Sinai. People knew that there was a God the creator and killing, stealing, adultery were abominations to God. These laws are called the seven laws of the children of Noah. People did not obey these laws and there was injustice in the world. After Noah there was no powerful figure in the world, a prophet that could bring the law of God to mankind until Moses. Moses alone was not capable of changing the world which was an enormous task. He needed an army who were the soldiers of God the Jewish nation. Moses and the Jewish people were enlisted in the Army of God. The first step in civilizing the world to become for God a dwelling place was to conquer the land of Israel to establish the nation of God in Israel and build the holy temple in Jerusalem. The Jewish nation had the job to enforce the law of God.

Moses, Aharon, Miriam and the elders of the children of Israel remained in the wilderness. They were all prophets. Israel needed soldiers to conquer the land, enforce the law in the land. The world was not yet ready to receive the higher level of prophecy about which Jerimiah spoke in Chapter 31, "the whole world will know God. One person will no longer have to teach the other person."

Judaism is not a religion for prophets. Prophecy was discouraged when the nation was established. The people had to be very careful about their private beliefs and making these beliefs public. The law was handed down from teacher to student orally. The student of the law was considered to be more important than the prophet. The nation needed soldiers and police to protect the people. They needed judges and schools of Torah law.

Jewish law is authentic. Judaism is an authentic religion. God gave the Jewish people a mission to represent the law of God in the world. Judaism continues today to be the representatives of the law of God in the world.

The Jewish people continue to be the nation of God in the world. The sages have protected the nation from assimilation through making decrees from generation to generation to strengthen the law as commanded by Moses. They continue to educate their children in the law and make places of learning and prayer according to the law. In this way Judaism continues and the nation survives in the diaspora.

The nation of Israel has legality. God made the nation of Israel. God gave to the nation of Israel their law and religion. However the nation of Israel can no longer claim to be the only nation of God on earth. Judaism can no longer claim to be the only religion on earth and the only law.

When the nation of Israel was conquered and the two temples were destroyed, a new law came into the world. It came into the world through other prophets of God. Israel fell and the law of Israel was replaced by the law of Adam. Moses gave the law at Mount Sinai in which the Jew was given sovereignty over the whole world the children of Adam. Jewish law replaced the law of Adam which existed before Mount Sinai. The law of Adam became secondary to the Law of Israel. Today the law of Adam which gives each person in the world equality and freedom is the primary law of God in the world.

The Sanhedrin the sages of Israel the men of the Great Assembly at the time of the building of the second temple saw that eventually the nation and the second temple would be destroyed and conquered. They made the law of Israel for all time that Judaism would never change. They made sure that Judaism would not assimilate with other religions which would come into the world through other prophets like Jesus and Mohammed. The Jews were commanded by the Sanhedrin to wait for the Messiah to come to return the nation to its old glory. In this way they protected the nation from false Messiahs who would make a new law. Judaism continues to be in the way of the Great Assembly, the way of old.

New religions have come into the world to challenge Judaism. Judaism has legality but it is no longer the only law. The world was created with a law which existed before Judaism, the law of Adam. Judaism came to strengthen the law of Adam and not to replace it. The contribution of Judaism to the world is undeniable. When the second temple was destroyed it was a sign that the job of Moses and the Jewish people had been completed. The world could continue to exist on the strength of the law of Adam with the Jews in the background. The Jewish people have the right to continue to be Jews. They were chosen by God to be a nation. However they have to realize that they are secondary in the world to the nation of God of Adam and his children. They are also the children of Adam and part of the world.

Once a Jew could claim that the kingship of Israel took preference over everything around it. It was already in God's plan the Torah that the priorities would be reversed and the world would become first and most important before the Jews. For this reason, the words Baruch Shem Kevod meaning blessed be the glory of his kingship forever is said quietly after is recited the words Shma Yisrael Here O Israel the Lord is your God the Lord is One. Israel includes the whole world. Judah is the kingship. They are two realms of spirituality interwoven, two kingships, two Messiahs.

Moses was praised for his humility in the Torah. Jews have to be humble and accept their place in the world. They should have pride to have been chosen by God to be a nation but realize that their mission was completed at the time of the destruction of the temple. Judaism continues to represent the law of God in the world, the Torah the five books of Moses which is eternal.

Suicide and Depression amongst Orthodox Jews

Today Psychiatry has produced many types of medicine to help people who have suicidal tendencies. Usually the thoughts of suicide come from depression which has today been recognized as a disease.

In the times of the Bible Jews lived under the pressures of a dictatorship which could not make a special law for depressed people. Therefore in the Tractate Gittin page 66 a person who jumps off the roof because of divorcing his wife is called a healthy man. There are many stories in Talmud of fervent students which accidentally did a sin or were coerced to do a sin who felt great remorse for having sinned and committed suicide. According to Jewish law people who commit suicide are buried in a separate place in the cemetary. Suicide is considered to be a great sin.

Judaism does not approve of spiritual healing. It is even considered idolatry by some halachic authorities. An Orthodox Jew has no choice but to take pills from a psychiatrist when he begins to feel depression and anxiety. The main opposition to spiritual healing according to Jewish law is that the spiritual healer becomes an intermediate between the sick person and God. The spiritual healer can sometimes be a Rabbi but even then the Halacha does not approve of using spiritual healers.

In the last three hundred years was born Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov the founder of Chassidism. Rabbi Yisrael was a spiritual healer. He immediately received opposition from Fundamental Orthodox Jews who considered spiritual healing idolatry. The students of Baal Shem Tov also were called miracle doers which was against the Jewish way. The Jewish way is to be faithful to God and to none else which includes a spiritual healer.

Baal Shem Tov saw that amongst Jews there was a need for spirituality. To introduce spirituality into Judaism when it opposed spirituality was a difficult task. Already the Zohar was revealed in the world which endorsed spiritual healing and gave substantiation for including spirituality in Judaism. Even though spirituality and spiritual healing was prohibited in the times of the holy temple, the Baal Shem showed that it was included in the written Torah but excluded from the Oral Torah. The written Torah and the Zohar make very clear that the way of Judaism was a result of the sin of the golden Calf and when Moses struck the rock in the wilderness instead of speaking to the rock. According to Baal Shem Tov it is possible to add to the Oral Torah from knowledge which is in the written Torah. The oral Torah was not complete. It lacked spirituality. Even though in the Oral Torah it is commanded not to change it, to add or to subtract after the destruction of the second temple already the Oral Torah could be changed. Spirituality could be added to the Oral Torah because the Jews needed spiritual strengthening not only blind acceptance of the law as it was the custom of the past. The way of blind acceptance needs reinforcement through the law of the land and its police like it was in the past. Demanding from Jews to accept everything in the law without strict enforcement was impossible. Jews living in the diaspora rebelled, assimilated or converted.

There are many reasons why to add spirituality to the Torah in our times. The Lubavitcher Rebbe in one of his discources gave the permission change the law when necessary. Just like Moses had the permission of God to break the first tablets; also today the Old law could be amended to include in it spirituality.

The Rambam is against any change in Jewish law. In his writings he gives great emphasis that the law is eternal and can never be changed. The Rambam does not accept change in the world after the destruction of the second temple. Jews growing up in a Jewish religious home are faced with Judaism without the Messiah, without spiritual healing. Living according to the law of Rambam many people are faced with hopelessness; the Messiah has not yet arrived. The Messiah which is pictured by the Rambam is to come to reinforce the Oral Torah and not to change it or add spirituality to the Torah. The Jews are living in a prison of prohibitions against looking for spiritual help from a spiritual healer and has to suffer as a Jew. The prayers instituted by the men of the great assembly pray for the Messiah who will come for the sake of the nation of Israel to return it to its previous glory but not for bringing happiness and spiritual redemption. In this way they have been able to protect Jews in the diaspora from accepting another Messiah. Every day a Jew is told to wait patiently for the Messiah and if he doesn't come the faith in the Messiah of the Jewish nation continues from day to day. The need of Jews for spiritual healing is not important.

Rambam calls Christianity idolatry which is part of his prison of prohibitions against spirituality. A Jew is forbidden to go to a Christian healer for help and instead is advised to jump off the roof rather than to accept his help. Christianity has put a lot of pressure on Jews to change. Jews refuse to change. Their leadership prohibit them from accepting Christian values or adding Christian values to their life.

The Rambam by prohibiting Christianity as idolatry has made the war of Jewish values and Christian values more intense . If you will examine the source of the dispute between Christian values and Jewish values, it stems from the extreme interpretation of the Oral law. The Sanhedrin prohibited spiritual healing at the time of King David. The nation of Israel became more important than the spiritual needs of the individual. There was no freedom to seek God but only to follow the laws and commandments with blind faith. The nation needed soldiers and they made strict laws of marriage prohibiting relationships out of wedlock which before were permitted in the times of Judges. A single man and woman were forbidden to be alone. You could not seek your spouse on your own but had to wait to be set up with a religious woman who was loyal to the government. In this way they were able to control the men and keep spirituality out of Judaism. Before the establishment of the Kingship, the tribes of Israel fought against these rigid restrictions on marriage in Judges 19 called the war of the concubine in the hills of Benjamin.

Christians and Jews both believe in One God but worship the One God in different ways. Jews worship the One God as the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob their forefathers the founders of the nation of Israel. Israel and God are considered One. God is inseparable from Israel according to Jewish philosophy. The world needs to accept the God of Israel. In Judaism there is no other God but the God of the Jewish nation. Any other belief is considered to be idolatry called the side of impurity. Therefore the Jewish nation according to the Torah have the right to go out and conquer the world for the sake of the acceptance of the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob. Zionism is built upon the belief that the Jews have the mission to reestablish the nation of Zion like it was established in the past.

Christianity brought another approach to worship of the One God through the Messiah, the son of God the son of Joseph. Through the Messiah the son of God the whole world becomes a part of God and the Messiah without any restrictions of lineage. Jesus was born out of lineage without a known father. Christianity became a world faith. Now after Christianity existed two faiths in the world a world faith connected to Adam and Judaism worshiping God as the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob.

A third faith came into the world similar to Judaism challenging Judaism as the only nation of God on earth. Islam became the second largest religion on earth worshiping God in the same way of Judaism, the God of the nation of Islam without any form. They are actually worshiping God with Islam. This form of worship is called by Jerimiah, the seed of the animal. The worship of God in the image of man is called the seed of man. These are two approaches to spirituality and religion.

For sure Judaism is lacking spirituality. Too many Jews are using pills from the psychiatrist and there is no complete saving except through spirituality called the fiftieth gate, the gate of spiritual healing and redemption. The word for sick person in Hebrew Choleh is numerically equivalent to 49. The sick person especially the one suffering from depression is lacking the fiftieth gate. Rambam defending Jewish beliefs is at war with other religions in the world. He has made Judaism a fortress of scholars who are soldiers defending Judaism as the only law on earth. Many of these Jewish soldiers have become disabled in the battle of Judaism against the rest of the world. They have gone to the psychiatrist for medicine rather than to seek a spiritual healer.

The time has come to realize that after the destruction of the Holy temple, the nation of King David called the Succah of David has fallen, to rebuild it needs to add spirituality to the law. This means to accept other religions in the world that have come after the destruction of the temple. Also is needed to accept the Lubavitcher Rebbe as the Messiah of the Jewish people and forget about the coming of another Messiah. The tradition continues but the truth is on the table like the Shulcan Aruch the code of Jewish law.

You can go to a spiritual healer today from any faith and still remain Jewish.