Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
More Messianic Myths
The nature of what we covered in the previous post (Is Adonai a pagan term?) is something rampant among Messianics without balance. Everyone wants to have some secret insight into Torah, or Hebrew, or Yeshua’s life. We see two bandwagons: everything Jewish is right or everything Jewish is wrong. We swing like great pendulums: the church lied to me, the rabbis lied to me. Oy va voy li! We are a people without discernment and unwilling to humble ourselves to listen to input from what might seem like unlikely places. Ephraim continues to envy Judah, and Judah continues to vex Ephraim.
What is this all about? My friend Schleppstein recently bought a beautiful pendant from what I am sure were some well-meaning people at a rally on behalf of Israel. They represented themselves as Messianic, whether Judah or Ephraim, I know not. She couldn’t remember what they told her the writing meant, so she sent me these pictures.
Since the back was clearer, I tackled that first: “My fire will burn until the coming of the Messiah.” Okay, not bad. The calligraphy in the middle consists of the letters for ‘my fire.’ Of course, it turns out that this is a saying of Rabbi Nachman of Brelov and his recently discovered (2006) description of Messiah is used to prove that Yeshua is not the One: http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/messiah-in-all-but-name-1.219144, although some believers have tried to resolve the two: http://roshpinaproject.com/2009/12/18/nachmans-messiah-and-yeshua-of-nazareth/ In fact, we do not wait for the coming of Messiah, but for His return.
I looked at the front side. The letters are harder to read but I could easily recognize Joseph’s name. Then the scripture came to mind: Genesis 49:22 "Joseph is a fruitful bough by a well,” and indeed, the letters were discernible for the scripture.
But the letters at the bottom did not appear to spell anything. Aleph-lamed-dalet. They are separated by dots and I began to think that perhaps they were the initials of the name of some group that was manufacturing and selling these pendants. I took a stab and googled ‘aleph lamed dalet’.
Bingo.
What are the so-called 72 names? Interestingly, there are three contiguous verses in Exodus 14:19-21, each of which has 72 letters. The names are generated by writing the first of these verses, letter by letter, forward. The middle verse is written backward, and the third is written forward. This gives you 72 sets of three letters each. In kabbalah, each of these 3 names has some protective power over a person. They are also considered to be the names of 72 angels or ‘intelligences’.
All in all: pure superstition. I doubt whether the people who sold Schleppstein the pendant knew what it meant. Perhaps some nice Jew told them about the scripture without elucidating the rest. I know that if they had explained to her all that was written, she would not have purchased it.
We have a word in Yiddish: bubbemeises. It is like old wives’ tales, by which, unfortunately, the current generation of Messianics, or Torah Observant Believers, or whatever you call yourself these days, is easily seduced. It’s Hebrew, it sounds good, it must be true.
Perhaps we will cover more of these soon.
My computer is home and working nicely. For free. Praise YH.
And no, her name is not really Schleppstein, but that is another story for another day.
Shalom.
What is this all about? My friend Schleppstein recently bought a beautiful pendant from what I am sure were some well-meaning people at a rally on behalf of Israel. They represented themselves as Messianic, whether Judah or Ephraim, I know not. She couldn’t remember what they told her the writing meant, so she sent me these pictures.
Since the back was clearer, I tackled that first: “My fire will burn until the coming of the Messiah.” Okay, not bad. The calligraphy in the middle consists of the letters for ‘my fire.’ Of course, it turns out that this is a saying of Rabbi Nachman of Brelov and his recently discovered (2006) description of Messiah is used to prove that Yeshua is not the One: http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/messiah-in-all-but-name-1.219144, although some believers have tried to resolve the two: http://roshpinaproject.com/2009/12/18/nachmans-messiah-and-yeshua-of-nazareth/ In fact, we do not wait for the coming of Messiah, but for His return.
I looked at the front side. The letters are harder to read but I could easily recognize Joseph’s name. Then the scripture came to mind: Genesis 49:22 "Joseph is a fruitful bough by a well,” and indeed, the letters were discernible for the scripture.
But the letters at the bottom did not appear to spell anything. Aleph-lamed-dalet. They are separated by dots and I began to think that perhaps they were the initials of the name of some group that was manufacturing and selling these pendants. I took a stab and googled ‘aleph lamed dalet’.
Bingo.
http://www.yourholylandstore.com/product_info.php?pName=kabbalah-aleph-lamed-dalet-safeguarding-filigree-pendant: • On the pendant there are Hebrew letters Aleph Lamed Dalet - one of several safeguards which, according to Kabbalah offers protection from looks of envy and the mean-spirited intentions of others. Alef Lamed Dalet are one of 72 kabbalah names and their meaning is to protect against evil eye.• On the back it is written "Ben Porat Yosef" ("A fruitful son is Yosef (Joseph), a fruitful son by a spring.") (Genesis 49:22). "Ben Porat Yosef, Ben Porat Alei Ayin" - This phrase is a blessing that Jacob gave to Joseph before he died (found in the book of Genesis). People use this phrase for protection against the evil eye since Joseph symbolizes a person unharmed by others envy.
What are the so-called 72 names? Interestingly, there are three contiguous verses in Exodus 14:19-21, each of which has 72 letters. The names are generated by writing the first of these verses, letter by letter, forward. The middle verse is written backward, and the third is written forward. This gives you 72 sets of three letters each. In kabbalah, each of these 3 names has some protective power over a person. They are also considered to be the names of 72 angels or ‘intelligences’.
All in all: pure superstition. I doubt whether the people who sold Schleppstein the pendant knew what it meant. Perhaps some nice Jew told them about the scripture without elucidating the rest. I know that if they had explained to her all that was written, she would not have purchased it.
We have a word in Yiddish: bubbemeises. It is like old wives’ tales, by which, unfortunately, the current generation of Messianics, or Torah Observant Believers, or whatever you call yourself these days, is easily seduced. It’s Hebrew, it sounds good, it must be true.
Perhaps we will cover more of these soon.
My computer is home and working nicely. For free. Praise YH.
And no, her name is not really Schleppstein, but that is another story for another day.
Shalom.
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