One Rock!

A quick lesson in topography for those who are not familiar. The map of two mountains flattens at their respective summits, one colored green the other blue. The concentric lines surrounding each represents the slope from summit to valley below. This image captures the undulating hills, each with a summit, slope and valley, huddled in Jerusalem’s holy basin.

 Ancient Jerusalem's Holy Basin

The mountain subject of this essay is Mount Moriah, the Eastern Hill, with summit colored green, valley boundary in red - it is a single rock, a monolith! On the summit stands the Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine to Caliph Omar who conquered Jerusalem in 637 CE.

To its south, Al Aqsa Mosque, further south the Ophel followed by City of David and to its east, the perennial Gihon Spring.

According to Jewish tradition Mount Moriah is the foundation stone of the entire world, yet this tradition was reduced through history and to this day, most people believe the foundation stone to be a rock on the summit somewhere under the Dome of the Rock. This location was designated as the place the Holy of Holies once stood during the period of the first and second temples of Jerusalem. The rectangular area around the summit of Mount Moriah are the remains of the Temple Mount constructed by King Herod toward the end of the second temple era.

I have no doubt King David once built an altar on the summit of Mount Moriah (in the green zone) in accordance with Jewish tradition and no doubt the Holy of Holies of the first and second temples were built on that approximate location within the bounds of the Temple Mount. However, I deeply question whether the King did so to conceal the true location until its rightful time. You see according to Jewish law, then and now, the Holy of Holies obtains its location from the holy altar. For the temple to be a permanent fixture the altar must be located on the place Abraham offered his son Isaac as a sacrifice, the place to which his son Jacob returned and made a covenant to build the House of God.

The tradition of this rock can be traced back to many texts, but one in particular, the story of Jacob recalls Pirkei deRabbi Eliezer (chapter 35); ‘Now Jacob, on his journey from the house of his father, re-experiences that awe, a déjà vu of his father’s binding. Arrested upon his journey by a sudden sunset, he experiences a primal fear, "How awesome is this place!" (Genesis 28:17). While sleeping the vision of a ‘ladder’ is intended to be a palliative for that fear, a vision of the foundation of the temple, Beit Elokim (House of God), in that place. There Jacob sets up a monument of twelve-stones-fused-into-one to mark the spot.

Matzevah or monument of Jacob's covenant

According to Pirkei deRabbi Eliezer, what did God do? He stretched out His right foot [symbolic of eternity] and sank the stone deep into the earth, as one sets a keystone into an arch. Accordingly, the stone is called, even hashtya, the Foundation Stone, and there is the navel of the world and from there the whole Earth was stretched out [in the Act of Creation], and, upon that stone the temple of God stands.’

The unique stone in the image above is more than 3500 years old and was re-discovered in 2009. Somehow it is stable, sunken into the bedrock and surrounded by small boulders facing east on a high (upper) ridge, on the neck of Mount Moriah, west of the Gihon Spring. It has survived like no other artifact in the City of David. In context, as seen in the image below, it sits in one of four stone carved bedrock chambers exclusively dedicated for holy worship. They contain a grain press an oil press, features for processing small animals and an altar.

Upper Ridge West of the Gihon Spring

Archaeologist Eli Shukron of the Israel Antiquities Authority discovered the stone, known as a matzevah. He recorded it was surrounded by soft, tightly packed earth, it and the entire upper ridge had been purposefully buried (based on other artifacts found in the layers above) by one of the last kings of Judah. Ongoing excavations at the site continue to yield first and second temple items, but soon for the first time in more than 2500 years, the area highlighted in green between the bedrock and this worship complex will be excavated and may inform us of its holy purpose.

Mount Moriah is associated with “HaMakom” meaning “The Place”, but where exactly on the mountain is the place? Where did Jacob locate his matzevah and dream of the ladder that extended to heaven on which angels were climbing up and down. According to tradition it is the head or summit, but according to more mystical sources the place is and will always be the neck. In time we will find out more, but for now the search continues to discover the special purpose of this holy place.

Once We Were Kings!

This article presents an edited explanation based on the teachings of the Vilna Gaon (Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman) commenting on The Zohar by Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai. The commentary is drawn from the Book Sod Ha'chashmal and focuses on an "end of days" prophecy from the Book of Daniel.

The Prophecy of Daniel 8:22

The prophecy in Daniel 8:22 states:

"One was broken and four came instead."

This is interpreted to mean:

• Four kingdoms will arise from a single nation, but they will lack its original power.
• When these kingdoms reach their end and the "measure of transgressions" is fulfilled, a king will arise with the following characteristics:
  • Impudent and skilled in intrigue.
  • Possessing great strength, but not through his own power.
  • Extraordinarily destructive, prospering in his actions.
  • Destroying the mighty and the holy people.
  • Using cunning and deceit successfully.
  • Making grand plans and destroying many unexpectedly.
  • Rising against the "chief of chiefs" but ultimately being broken "not by human hands."

The Zohar and the 44 Kings of Edom

According to The Zohar, there will be 44 kings of Edom, with the 45th king not arising. In Hebrew numerology (gematria), the number 45 corresponds to geula (redemption). The Zohar provides specific signs about the 44th king of Edom, noting his three inherent lineages:

• Eisav (Esau): Jacob's son.
• Yishmael: Abraham's first son with Hagar, Pharaoh's daughter.
• Ham: Noah's son.

Some interpret this as a possible allusion to President Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, elected in 2008.

Why Edom is America

The traditional view identifies Edom with Rome, but this interpretation argues that Edom is America. The reasoning includes:

• Nations using the eagle on their flags or coat of arms are considered descendants of Esau and part of Edom.
• The United States is seen as the last great Edomic nation.

The Vilna Gaon, commenting on The Zohar, connects this to Daniel 12:12:

"The signs of Moshiach (Messiah) will be seen in the 1290th year; lucky is the one who lives and sees the year 1335."

The difference between 1290 and 1335 is 45, hinting at geula (redemption).

Yishmael's Time in the Holy Land

The Zohar recounts a dialogue between Yishmael and Hashem (G-d):

• When Yishmael died, his soul demanded that his descendants live in the Holy Land (Israel), claiming his status as Abraham's son.
• Hashem granted this request due to Yishmael's brit (covenant through circumcision), but because his circumcision was imperfect (lacking priya, the separation of the foreskin's inner and outer layers), his descendants' time in Israel would be limited.
• Hashem promised Yishmael 100 years for each of his 13 years (the age at which he was circumcised), totaling 1300 years.
• Ten years before this period ends, a sign would indicate the nearing end of Yishmael's time in Israel and the beginning of the Jews' unlimited time in their land.

Key Events and Offers

According to The Zohar, significant events align with this timeline:

• The Islamic conquest of Spain (considered part of Edom, the westernmost conquest of Europe) occurred in 711 CE. Adding 1290 years brings us to 2001, marked by the destruction of the Twin Towers in Edom's capital city (New York) before Rosh Hashanah.
• The Arabic Spring began in 2011, ten years later, signaling the decline of Yishmael's mazal (fortune) until their complete withdrawal from Israel's borders.

The Zohar describes:

"Yishmael will take a fiery sword and cut down two towers in the capital city of Edom right before Rosh Hashanah."

This is interpreted as the 9/11 attacks, followed by global conflict and suffering for Jews and Israel, with Yishmael's eventual fall.

The Reubenites and the Taliban

The Zohar states:

"When vav arouses toward heh, supernal wonders will arise in the world, and the Reubenites will instigate wars throughout the world."

The Reubenites are identified as Bnei Reuven (Children of Reuben) or Bani Rabbani, associated with the Taliban, who are influenced by Islam but retain some Jewish practices. They are seen as instigating global conflicts.

The Plague of Hail and Israel's Neighbors

The Vilna Gaon connects the prophecy to the Passover Haggadah, which describes the ten plagues, including hail. The midrash explains that the hailstones were not just fire within ice but slo'im (from selah, meaning a cliff).

• Some hailstones remained suspended in the air, destined to fall on Israel's enemies in the end of days.
• A grandson of Rabbi Rav Kook, Israel's first Chief Rabbi, interpreted sla'im as an acronym for Israel's neighboring countries:
  • Syria
  • Lebanon
  • A (Iraq)
  • Y (Yarden/Jordan)
  • M (Mitzrayim/Egypt)

These countries, not literal hail, are prophesied to fall. Rav Kook shared this insight seven years before the Arabic Spring (2011).

The Timeline of History

The text proposes a historical timeline centered on King David, crowned in the Hebrew year 2884 (circa 876 BCE):

• Adam: The beginning of history.
• David: The midpoint of history.
• Moshiach (Messiah): The end of history.

Doubling the midpoint year (2884 × 2 = 5768, or 2008 CE) marks the "end of history." In 2008, Barack Obama, the 44th President, was elected. The prophecy suggests the 45th king will not arise, possibly indicating:

• A woman president.
• A businessman president.
• A president who accepts Israel's foreign policy dictates.
• An unforeseen event.

Conclusion

We are living in remarkable times, where the "inherent character of man is revealed" as these prophetic events unfold.

Rebuilding Jerusalem's Temple

East Face of Mount Moriah  time of  Jacob (~1550 BCE)

On its eastern slope at the lower, southern end of Mount Moriah archaeology on a ridge above Jerusalem’s Gihon Spring leads to one striking conclusion: Features confirm the Matzevah (monument) as Jacob's stone, the one he anointed (Genesis 28:22) to mark his covenant at Beit El, Jerusalem (2Kings 23:4). Therefore, it is the beacon that will ultimately identify the location of the altar for Israel’s third temple!  

It has been confirmed that temple worship features carved into the bedrock preceded King Solomon, dating back to the middle bronze age. Further, that the ‘soft’ burial, between false walls protected the upper ridge for thousands of years until its recent discovery, as confirmed by lead archaeologist Eli Shukron.

East Face upper ridge detail - end of Early Bronze

Elements of the city wall (image below) may have been built above the upper ridge by Jebusites and their allies while Israel was exiled in Egypt. The fortress protruding into the valley below the city wall was constructed adjacent to the Gihon Spring starting in the middle bronze age. It was most likely developed by geopolitical allies to obfuscate and prevent access to the temple complex on the upper ridge, which was cut-off by its construction - see video.

Jebusite City (looking North), fortress over Gihon Spring
and assumed city wall at the time of Joshua (~1300 BCE)
(Temple Mount shown for context)

The next image cuts the mountain (north), immediately south of the Fortress over the Gihon Spring revealing several features in the bedrock. The Upper Gihon Pool cavity, above the deeper round chamber cut passage over the bedrock and up the eastern slope. Archaeologists discovered the cavity filled with refuse from the Iron Age, but it may have been constructed during the middle bronze age as the quarry source of of the adjacent (northern) Double Wall complex and fortress.

Mount Moriah  (north slice) at upper ridge and Gihon pool, outside of city wall

As seen in the image and below, the stairway extending from the Upper Ridge rooms containing the altar and matzevah (as identified toward the end of this article) to the bedrock that once filled the upper Gihon Pool cavity was cut as it arrived (to the pool). I believe this could be associated with the Millo and is not the stepped structure identified by Eilat Mazar. This is a different stairway ~10m south of the Double Wall or Fortified Corridor section of the Fortress over the Gihon Spring (excavated by Reich and Shukron).

 Steps to Upper Ridge cut from the Upper Gihon Pool

Upper ridge as it may have once looked (~1550 BCE)

Iron age King David would not have erected a matzevah because that practice ceased with Israel’s forefathers at the end of the Middle Bronze age, time of Jacob. Additionally, the bedrock was chiseled using stone implements not iron, a sure sign of its earlier Bronze Age origin. Further, middle bronze age pottery discovered around the site confirms its date. Finally the matzevah must have been naturally formed because it is thin, precisely honed and smoothed, well beyond the technology of that time.

Four rooms on the upper ridge  (click for enlarged version)

The impressive features of the upper ridge including, oil and grain press, vessel holders, small animal pen, animal processing area, matzevah, liquids channel and platform of the original altar are definitive signatures of holy worship. Only the bones of kosher animals were discovered in the Upper Gihon Pool below.

Oil remnants exist between the stones supporting Jacob's matzevah

The upper ridge location on the neck of Mount Moriah contradicts mainstream Jewish custom that the only place for the altar of the future temple can be on the summit of the mountain. This issue can be resolved in a number of ways according to the character and stature of Jewish law and custom, but it will take time before it is accepted as a valid location by the authoritative leaders of Israel. From the most ancient sources the neck of a mountain was always the location associated with the altar, but the first and second temple altar followed the location chosen by King David based on events of his life which opposed prevailing thought and present understanding of Jewish law.

As the excavation on the upper ridge nears completion the public will, for the first time in thousands of years be able to make decisions about this amazing discovery. Exposing this phenomenon may just be the beginning of an impressive transformation.  

I Hope Jihad Will Kill Your Apathy Before It Kills You!

A king once summoned a soothsayer to curse Israel. Sensitive to Ethereal opportunity his autospeak, absent of curse was muttered as blessing, a surprise to the king. Still he appealed to the king’s women to afflict Israel’s men via a sordid brand of sexual worship. The recollection ignores Israel’s aging leader whose Ethereal sensitivity had failed, but his most zealous defender arose to defeat the rebellion and kill the soothsayer.

I avoid suggestive images promoting decapitations, gratuitous violence and torture. I don’t need the details, the gruesome facts unjustified by insanity that promotes them. As the years roll on Islamic insurgents invent even more brutal affronts that seemingly meet the intention of their ridiculous ideologies. Still I don’t really want to see, but they just keep creeping directly into media and my social feeds. Now that I have seen so many, am I battle hardened?

Terrorism is such a genteel word considering it describes the acts of murderers, criminals and parasites who rob people of their dignity to further their spiteful cause. Polarizing world views is a well known tactic that progressively makes it ‘ok’ to terrorize for a ‘sympathetic’ cause - can that be correct? Are these images numbing my senses that they and the criminal enterprise behind them become palatable, even acceptable?

Israel’s former Justice Minister was recently asked by BBC of her activist parents - “they were terrorists weren’t they?” “No” she exclaimed they targeted their violence legitimately against the oppressive British Army, not the citizens of Britain or other countries. That BBC would stoop so low illustrates my point such a simple distinction, but the lines are blurred and distinctions already bleeding.

Where are our leaders with Ethereal sensitivity to the righteous cause? The US Supreme Court approved gay marriage declaring the institution that originated as a religious ideal altered forever. Notwithstanding a humans legal right to ‘Marriage’ equality, regardless of sexual preference lawmakers will blend distinction, insensitively eroding the once beautiful ideal of religious cultures and communities that enshrined it in their law.

A gunman shot British tourists in Tunisia. A suicide bomber blew up a mosque in Kuwait. Christians are beheaded in Syria. An angry mob tore down shelves in Tesco’s Birmingham supermarket, another looted stores in France, another burned objects in Sydney’s streets and angry mobs in London clashed with supporters. I’m no longer appalled, just desensitized, awaiting even more terrible moments that will spawn yet more horrific images as “Infidels” in civil societies are pushed aside or to breaking point.

Majorities that subject themselves to the insensitivity of dominant minority ideals and allow their representatives to succumb, signal weakness to even more violent insurgent benefactors. The psychotic condition signals support for those intent on fighting against the views of the majority. Democracies that fail to articulate cultural sensitivities and adopt representative, judicial and enforcement regimes that reflect real community ideals simply beam their collective willingness to concede to the will of opposing zealots. Jihad thrives on apathetic democracies with split personalities and valueless leaders who pursue their agendas at the expense of nationwide sensitivities for the majority. Inevitably the incongruous nature of government, administration and judiciary supports enemies of otherwise libertarian trending societies inviting them to popularize their opposing views to take command.

Your apathy ensures a Jihad will find you and when it does, it will inspire you to fight or lie down and die. Our dynamic world responds to these perceptions and in the end you will be forced to decide which form of zealotry you want for yourself and your future generations. Then, perhaps the world will see Israel’s tentative right shift for what it is and with some luck it will deal fatal blows to criminals whose public incitements prod the majority rule. Until radicals are marginalized and polarized in the civil societies in which they live and minorities respect majority sensitivities, dominance and Islamic terror win!

Deconstructing Prophecy - Hiding the Ark of the Covenant

The recently discovered matzevah or ha-tziyun, is this it?

Every year a story is told about an 8 year old boy, a remnant in the line of King David who was anointed King over dwindling Judea. Inspired to correct the wayward worship of his Jewish people, King Josiah destroyed idolatrous altars and impure objects that had infiltrated Jewish practices over 200 years since King Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem. During the turmoil the King hid the Ark of the Covenant[1] that was in the temple, it has never been seen since. His successful efforts resulted in the most celebrated Passover feast in Israel’s history. The nice story[2] is recalled annually, outside of Israel only on the second day of Passover. However, the story that is retold was edited to exclude[3] an intriguing, related prophecy some 300 years earlier.

In the 18th year of his reign, King Josiah sent an order via his royal scribe, Shaphan ben Atzaliya ben Meshulam to the high priest Hilkiah that all donations must be used exclusively to renovate and restore Jerusalem’s aging temple. Hilkiah showed Shaphan a discovery from the restoration of a scroll that Moses himself had written. On hearing the news, the King was most upset because it was found open to the section describing Israel’s curses for disobedience including subjugation of the King and exile of the nation[4]. The King bi-passed Israel’s senior prophet Jeremiah (a doomsayer), instead he requested Huldah the prophetess interpret it, her report was ominous.

Motivated to repent, the King marched his hierarchy into The Temple (denoted using the tetragrammaton [5]) where he read them the open section of Moses Torah. He demanded the nation repent, perhaps to counter the ominous sign and the prediction of Hulda and previous prophets about the dire future of the City and its inhabitants. Everyone accepted his request and immediately set out on their national cleansing. Hilkiah was instructed to remove false altars and all idolatrous objects. He burned them in the Kidron Valley (below the Temple) and carried the ashes to Beit-El (House of God denoted without the tetragrammaton). The King dismissed the priests who had permitted idol worship, burned the Asherah idol from the temple and ground the ashes to dust, which he scattered on the graves of the common people. He removed the Ark of the Covenant from its usual place and hid it.

At this point the story from the Passover passage skips the gory details of idols that were destroyed and a prophecy from 300 years earlier that predicted these events: Also, the altar that was in Beit-el (denoted here with a small “e”) from the high place of worship, set up by King Jeroboam (King of Samaria - 300 years prior), he also destroyed and defiled with human bones. Then, an unlikely continuation the King asked “what is this tombstone I see?” The people of the city answered; it is the grave of the man of God who came from Judea and prophesied about the deeds that you (King Josiah) have done upon the altar of Beit-el. The King responded, leave it alone! Let no man move those bones. So, his bones lay with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria. Then the story re-joins the Passover recitation when the King commanded the people to perform the Passover offering and continues to describe the celebration.

Precision is the hallmark of Biblical script. Here the word tombstone (above) is written “ha-tziyun”, used once only in the entire 24 books of the Bible, an apparent alternative to the more common word for head-stone matzevah.

Deconstructing this earlier prophecy; the man of God from Judea usurped King Jeroboam with a prophetic proof that split King Jeroboam’s altar[6] at Beit-el (in Samaria). But, on the way home the man of God from Judea succumbed to the persuasion of a false prophet from Samaria. The prophet from Judea disobeyed his instructions to return and was mauled to death by a Lion that sat peacefully with his Donkey. The false prophet buried the man of God in his grave and requested his sons bury him together in the same grave.

King Josiah’s dueling true (Judea) and false (Samaria) prophets and exclusive reference to ha-tziyun, juxtaposed the defilement's at Beit-El, Jerusalem (in the territory of Judah) with his prophesied defilement of Jeroboam’s altar at Beit-el in Samaria (in the territory of Joseph/Ephraim). This was as predicted by the man of God, the prophet from Judea, who arrived to Samaria, and the false prophet who lived in Samaria. What point was made referring to the place the prophet of God and the King had arrived from?

This edit and its powerful message is as confusing for the reader as the destabilized aberrant Jewish communities and towns as well as foreign residents who had introduced their idolatrous practices. That confusion was amplified by the split Jewish nation who, at the time could worship Israel's traditional God or idolatry at the altar’s of the temple or idolatry at Jeroboam's altar. The last-ditch attempt to unify Israel’s disparate tribes is said to be the reason prophet Jeremiah was absent [7] when prophetess Huldah was consulted. The King buried the Ark of the Covenant a contradiction to his purifying, unifying holy mission.

Although the King held hope, the writers unique choice of 'ha-tziyun' over 'matzevah' may be the most telling of all. The unique matzevah recently discovered on the high ridge above the Gihon Spring, in Beit El at Jerusalem’s City of David could suggest the retrospective state of national confusion, even to the King. This abandoned matzevah may have inspired the King to recall the prophecy before it was respectfully buried along with the ashes and broken idolatrous artifacts. Beit El and 'ha-tziyun' at this location would mark Zion, the northernmost territorial boundary of Judea, which by tradition and Jewish law also mark Israel's coalescent. 

Finally and beautifully on the last day of Passover, Isiah's Messianic prophecy [8] is read. It foresees that the jealousy of Judah and Ephraim (Joseph) will be subdued and peace between the warring nation of Israel will finally arrive. Looking at these two days, we can imagine a time when the mystery of the true Beit El of Jacob (Jerusalem), a man of God from Judea and a prophet who came from Samaria will finally be resolved.

[1] Yoma52b
[2] 2Kings 23:1-9, 21-25
[3] 2Kings 23:10-20
[4] Deuteronomy 28:36
[5] 2Kings 23:1
[6]Kings 13:11-32
[7] http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/112503/jewish/Huldah-the-Prophetess.htm
[8] Isiah 10:32-12:6

Impressionable Incantations

In deserts, caves, tents, honed structures and modern buildings during the past 3300 years the same cantillation has been used to express the words of Torah - the book of Jewish ritual and law. Many distinguish the 79,847 words or 304,805 letters of Torah, but four rarely used, unique tunes (tropes) characterize stand out words and phrases. Why these?

Two cantillations known as Yerach ben yomo and Karne Parah appear once each in the entire Torah and once each in the Book of Esther, which was written 1000 years later. Yerach ben Yomo in Numbers 35:5 on the letter “peh” of the word Alpayim (אלפים, two-thousand) is followed by an equally exclusive Karne Parah on the letter “mem” of the word B'amah (באמה, cubit) in the first of four occurrences of this phrase in the verse.

In the Torah’s weekly reading for Masei (Numbers 35:5) these cantillations are made in the verse that instructs how much land must be set aside for the Levites who were not recipients of tribal land, but were gifted residential land near the temple. The Torah instructs Israel to measure off two thousand cubits outside the town to the east, south, west and north side, with the town in the center:- This will be the Levite’s grazing land. The unique use here may emphasize and remind the nation of the essential nature of this righteous practice at least to the Levites who originated the tunes.

Yerach ben yomo means ‘day old moon’ (think about shape) it looks like a cow’s yoke:

פַּ֪ (peh)

Karnei Parah means ‘cow’s horns’ (think about shape) and looks like the eyes:

(mem) מָּ֟

(Please note on some mobile devices intricate details on the fonts may not appear)

The chapter in which these verses appear also covers; the 42 journey’s of Israel on their exile from Egypt to Israel; their momentary disobediences and the character of their resulting long term enemies; the land boundaries of Israel; details of leadership and tribal inheritance; the land to be set aside for Levite priests; the requirement of witnesses for murder; the cities of refuge for the protection of accidental homicides and; the recognition of women's rights of inheritance.

In the Book of Esther 7:9 Yerach ben Yomo followed by Karne Parah simply reads, “Behold the gallows made by Haman for Mordecai, who spoke well for the king, were standing in Haman’s house, fifty cubits high!” And the king said, “Hang him (Haman) on it!” Here perhaps the trope highlights that its not over till its over, or the threat can disguise the opportunity or what goes around, comes around.

Unlike the containment to one verse above, the Shalshelet appears four times in four different verses in 4 chapters of Torah, it means chain (continuity) and looks like the spring:

שֶׁ֓

In Genesis 19:16, on the word "VaYitmah'maH" (and he lingered), when Lot was lingering in Sodom as it was marked for destruction, to show Lot's uncertainty. In Genesis 24:12, on the word "VaYomar" (and he said), when Abraham's servant Eliezer was trying to find a woman (other than his own daughter) to marry Abraham's son Isaac. It indicates the hesitation of the servant to pass over his daughter. In Genesis 39:8, on the word "VaY'maen" (and he refused), during Joseph's attempted seduction by Potiphar's wife, to indicate Joseph's struggle against temptation. In Leviticus 8:23, the Shalshelet is used on the word (VaYishlach (and he slaughtered)  when Moses was slaughtering an animal in preparation for the anointment of his brother and nephews as priests, a position he coveted for himself.

Each incident above reflects a moment of self-struggle and each verb is preceded by  “and” as if to say without it the outcomes would have been different. Each highlights a  victory over temptation that would otherwise have surely changed the course of Israel’s dynasty.

Our final tune of note is the Mercha kefula meaning double comma, which appears five times.

Genesis 27:25 - and he brought (ל֦וֹ) to him wine and he drank, when Jacob deceived his father and obtained blessings he traded from his older brother. Exodus 5:15 - why (תַעֲשֶׂ֦ה) do (you) do with your servants this way, when the Israelites complained to Pharaoh who was inflicting them with hard labor. Leviticus 10:1 - strange fire they had (לֹ֦א) not been commanded to bring, when Nadav and brother Avihu elatedly brought offerings in their stupor. Numbers 14:3 - were it not (ט֦וֹב) better for us to return to Egypt, when early in their exile, the spies returned and made a discouraging report about the challenges ahead causing Israel to stay in exile. Numbers 32:42 - and called (לָ֦ה) to it Nobah after his own name, when the tribe of Menashe settled the land on the opposite side of the Jordan River.

Perhaps the acts of deception, punishment, transgression, regression and secession expressed using the Mercha kefula instruct future generations about redemption.

In summary, heralding priestly rights, resisting temptation and the tribulations that slow  redemption are emphasized week after week, year after year in the reading of Torah to Jewish communities the world over. For one reason or another these tunes survived thousands of years to emphasize these words, sentences and verses.

Can bleeding heart Jewish liberals be cured?

I recently read “Out of the Cave”, a philosophical inquiry into the Dead Sea Scrolls research. It is an example of the extreme ignorance, perhaps antisemitic bias against the Jewish record and the desire by many to ignore the evidence of Jewish significance in Israel as far back as 2600 years ago.

The late Edna Ullmann-Margalit exposed these biases, which occurred over more than 50 years of academic research into the discoveries at Qumran. Her honest rendition of events also exposed her own biases against her Jewish heritage as influenced by the international consensus that quickly formed to shape what many hoped would be a momentous event for Christianity.

After the discovery of the magnificently preserved collection of scrolls, the predominantly Christian academic fraternity, permitted by the Jordanians quickly characterized the texts and people of Qumran an Essene sect. They did this to support their religious conviction that among other elements celibacy, practiced by the Essenes, was a precursor, the missing link between Judaism and Christianity. It was only after 1967 when Israel reclaimed its 1948 land, west of the Jordan River, that qualified Jewish academics began to obtain access to the records and inject their cultural knowledge to restore sanity to the research.

It turns out, Jewish academics familiar with issues of halacha (Jewish religious law) were able to decipher much more than Christian academics ignorant and blind to the ways of ancient, righteous, orthodox, Torah observant communities. They described a priestly scribal community at the Qumran site, people engaged in extensive holy writings. A people who immersed in Mikvah (Jewish ritual bath) each day, especially those involved in writing God’s holy names, a practice that continues among Jewish scribes to this day.

Clearly this community isolated itself from the ravages of Roman influence on the Jerusalem Temple community of Levite priests to the West. Some of the specific rules governing this scribal community also describe the minute details that motivated their departure from other righteous communities in Jerusalem. Greek then Roman insurgence into the region pressurized Jewish life to such a degree that communities with foresight began to question their own devotions, often highlighting differences between the failing branches of Jewish practices and those that would ultimately survive.

Edna admits to be a proponent of the Essene theory, but as she progresses Out of the Cave seemingly she recognizes the importance of interpretations by halachic authorities and knowledgeable academics of Jewish life. However, she finds their technically proficient interpretations “decidedly unromantic” and hints that the more exciting Essene theory be momentarily permitted to irrationally define her brilliant academic credential. Perhaps this was too much to ask, because deep ignorance of her own culture shattered her academically compromised view, still she refused to submit to its superior logic.

I once wrote of Winston Churchill's statements on the extreme anti-Israel/Jewish bias that caused him to pass comment. Winston Churchill said "God deals with the nations as they deal with the Jews. Of every fifty officers who come back from the Middle East only one speaks favorably of the Jews. That merely convinces me that I am right." Edna’s remarkable honesty is evidence, a wonderful insight to Jewish people who have drifted far from their cultural practices to a place where in the vacuum, emptiness and self loathing is the expected deeply psychological response. People who have been torn from their indigenous root and modern societies that recognize them and who pay tribute are testament to the long journey home for the Jewish people.

Reconciling the torrential ordeals of their past makes it difficult for many Jews, but with the passage of time they will all fill the void by bleeding their hearts toward the warm, secure comfort offered by indigenous Jewish custom and culture. Jewish healing has well and truly begun and Israel's unique inner source is being restored to shed light on an increasingly desperate world!