A Catholic Jew Pontificates

St Joseph and the Law

2012-01-28T16:08:00.014+08:00

In the famous heavenly apparitions to Sister Mildred Neuzil, St Joseph said to her: " ...Mine was perfect obedience to the Divine Will and it was shown and made known to me by the Jewish law and religion. To be careless in this is most displeasing to God and will be severely punished in the next world...". St Joseph lived perfectly according to the Torah and the Jewish customs which revealed God's Divine Will for him. The New Testament calls Joseph a Tzadik which means that he lived out the torah and mitzvot in a manner that allowed him to gain merit for others. All Christians are called to live according to the Divine Will as revealed in the Torah. Gentiles and Jews live out this obedience to the Divine Will as expressed in the Law at the level appropriate to their calling.

Jews who are Christians or Catholics are still called to live out their vocation in obedience to the Jewish religious practices as did Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Those Catholic authorities who have hindered the Jews in the Church from living out their Jewish vocation and identity in the Church as individuals and as a collective community of Jews will have to answer for it in the next world. The Austrian mystic, Maria Simma who spoke with the holy souls in purgatory stated that Pope Paul IV spent over 400 years in purgatory because of his anti-Jewish policies such as placing the Jews in the Roman ghetto.

Those of us Catholic Jews who make excuses for our lack of living out our Jewish vocation will also have to answer for that. Many of us cling to the idea that Jews in the Church need only live as Gentile Catholics do because to observe the Torah Jewishly is too much of a bother or will make us look eccentric or we will be persecuted by our fellow Catholics. Many of us who were secular or reform were already disobedient to the Jewish law and religion, and we bring that with us into the Church. Of course only God knows who is making excuses and those who sincerely believe they are doing the right thing by living as a Gentile Catholic. Others of course due to their life situation may have to live out their vocation as a Jew in the church in a modified way at this stage of salvation history.

The grace of the Messiah allows us to live not at the level of the letter of the Law but at the level of the spirit of law based on love. This does not mean that we are free to abandon the outward observances of the Law and mitzvot but that we through the grace and love of our Jewish Messiah access the spirit of the Law and observe it as the manifestation of God's Divine Will just as St Joseph did. The Torah obedient life of the Holy Family in the House of Nazareth is a wonderful model of Torah observance for all Catholic Jews. After the resurrection and foundation of the Church Our Lady continued this Torah observant lifestyle in the Holy House of Ephesus- now focused on adoration of her Son in the Eucharist.

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov proclaims Joseph as the Hidden Tzadik who is the Master of the House (Home)in Likutey Moharan 67. "And all this is an aspect of "The Concealment", when the beauty and splendour of the whole world becomes concealed. However there is a Tzaddik who is beauty, splendour and grace of the entire world, and who is symbolised by Joseph, who was "beautiful in form and handsome" (Genesis 39:6), "a beautiful sight, the joy of the entire land" (Psalm 48:3). When the beauty and splendour of this genuine Tzaddik, who is symbolised by Joseph, is revealed in the world by becoming renowned and esteemed, then the eyes of mankind will be opened. And whoever is included in the genuine grace of this Tzaddik, the world's grace and beauty, by following him and surrending his self to become part of this Tzaddik's soul, will have his eyes opened, and he will be able to see."

Rebbe Nachman concludes: "And with this we return to BeREShYT, the beginning, the RoeSh BaYiT, the head and master of the house of the world, namely, the genuine Tzaddik, who is beauty and glory of the world, represented by Joseph, alluded to in the verse, "Joseph is the ruler...he supplies food..." (Genesis 42:6), because he is the RoeSh BaYiT, the master of the house of the world. For he is the one who maintains the Temple and every Jewish house and home...And when the name of this Tzadik, who represents the head of the house, becomes esteemed, the eyes of the Jewish people are opened, as above. So this is the connection of "bereshit' to "l'einei kol Yisrael". Bereshit- this is the master of the house, the Tzaddik, who is the glory of the world, through whom are opened "einei kol Yisael", the eyes of all the Jewish people." The glories of St Joseph are reserved to the latter days according to St Isidore of Seville. These glories are connected with the living out of the Divine Will at the highest levels of sanctity which is the deepest penetration of Torah.

Anglican Ordinariates and the Clerical Control-Freaks

2011-12-20T03:44:00.017+08:00

I have been rather concerned about how the Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church have been trying to smother and control the Anglican ordinariates in England, America and Australia. It seem that they are laying down conditions on the Anglican Catholics that they have no right to do so. They didn't want these ordinariates in the first place and now they are seeking to control them by placing conditions never intended and by controlling who can be ordained. The sooner the Anglican Catholics have there own Bishops so they do not have to rely on the Roman Bishops the better. While they only have ex-Anglican married Bishops who can only be Catholic priests they will continue to be controlled by those who wish them to fail.

I was pleased to read that I am not the only one thinking this way. Damian Thompson in an excellent blog article entitled "The English bishops are trying to smother the Ordinariate. How long will Rome tolerate this situation?" addresses this very issue from the English perspective. He states: "...The English bishops are quietly reinterpreting (ie, ignoring) Benedict XVI's instructions to them just before he left England last year. They have settled on a policy of incorporating Ordinariate priests into their dioceses and absorbing Ordinariate groups into the parishes where they meet. This policy, dressed up as a "welcome", undermines the Pope's vision of an Ordinariate independent of diocesan structures. Nichols is doing nothing to stop his bishops following this sneaky and subversive strategy...The Vatican is well aware that the English bishops are trying to smother this initiative. The problem is being discussed at a high level. The question is: how will Rome respond?...Much depends on the Pope's state of health. I gather that he is a little frail but essentially healthy for a man of his age. The enemies of the Ordinariate are counting on this pontificate coming to an end before the structures of the English Ordinariate are set in stone..."

Father Christopher Phillips writing on The Anglo Catholic adds further: "...I have been intrigued by Damian Thompson's piece on the Ordinariate, I have certainly been wondering about that illusive church and why the Nuncio should use the word "meticulous" to describe the bishops implementation of Anglicanorum Coetibus and why despite what the Apostolic Constitution says the English and Welsh bishops seem to have a veto on ordinations. "When the Archbishop of Westminster came to talk to us", said a friend who is part of Allen Hall formation group, "he thanked Dr Wang for arranging the very speedy Formation prior to ordination, and (tellingly) added "I don't think we'll let it happen so quickly in future". I am not sure that is what Anglicanorum Coetibus says...".

How the Anglican laity are instructed should be a matter left to their own priests and Bishops who are entering the ordinariate-not Roman Catholic clerics and their Councils of Priests and Conferences of Bishops. How dare the American Roman Bishops insist that they study the American Catechism. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is all that should be required and it should be taught under their own clergy. The Anglicans have agreed to Anglicanorum Coetibus not some new version that is in "the spirit of Anglicanorum Coetibus" but is basically a hijacking of Anglicanorum Coetibus by the masonically and modernist influenced clergy.

We have heard of snooty remarks saying that the Roman Catholic clergy are so much better trained and educated. We must update these ignorant Anglicans in our own enlightened modernism. Anyone who has attended a Catholic seminary has to laugh or maybe cry- the Roman catholic clergy are trained and educated in modernism and liberal theology with almost no spiritual or mystical theology. In my experience most Anglican clergy are much more educated in the Fathers of the Church, Church history and the lives of the saints and spirituality than most of the Catholic clergy. And horror of horrors the main concern is to force these poor Anglican clergy to study Canon Law. I suggest our Roman Catholic clergy study the last Canon which states that the Supreme Law of the Church is the salvation of souls (thus all other canon laws are secondary to that priority). We the laity want priests who burn for the salvation of souls not priests that are experts in Canon law who seem hell-bent on crucifying the Eucharistic Jesus just as their Jewish forerunners among the Scribes (experts in the Law)did 2000 years ago.

It is also disgusting that Archbishop Hepworth who has led this movement for reunion is to be only allowed to be a layman. What happened to forgiveness and respect for the conscience of each person? Archbishop Hepworth left the Catholic Church after being abused by clergy and later he obviously had a sincere conversion of heart back to the Catholic Church. I for one think that this called for generosity of spirit and an invoking of "the Supreme Law of the church is the good of souls". Once again man-made rules are enforced at the expense of the Gospel of Love.

There is also no good reason in my opinion why the married Anglican clergy could not be made Catholic Bishops as this is part of their Anglican heritage. Arguments about upsetting the Orthodox is rather weak. The reason that Orthodox Bishops are celibate is because they are only selected from the monks. Roman Catholic Bishops are not selected in this manner and most of the Orthodox couldn't care less whether Catholics have married Bishops or not. The Orthodox have been close to the Anglicans for years and don't seem to have a problem with the Anglican married Bishops. Most of the apostles were married and so were many of the Bishops in the first thousand years of the Church's history. It seem that we Catholics have a long way to go in truly desiring unity when we are so mean spirited on issues that have nothing to do with doctrine but are just small t traditions or man-made rules and canons. I am sure Pope Benedict who is a man of great vision would have liked to have been more generous but he had to deal with the rather small-minded attitudes of many of his fellow clergy and faithful.

In fact this Orthdoox website of St Mary's Orthdox Church states: "...In 1990, an article from The Orthodox Observer, a Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America publication, states, At the 1992 meeting of the clergy-laity conference of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America (Archbishop Iacovos), held in New Orleans, a formal resolution was sent to the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople 'to consider returning to the practice of ordaining married priests as bishops as was done in the early church.' ... Earlier in December 1991, the Greek Archdiocese stated that it was the original practice of the Church for a married Episcopate. Please also note that Archbishop Iakovos promoted the return of married bishops to worldwide Orthodoxy and agreed that individual jurisdictions could retain the Apostolic tradition of the Early Church..."

New Israel-focused visionary

2011-11-26T03:01:00.010+08:00

Father Esseff with Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Michael Brown of Spirit Daily reports on a recent Visionary who sees Israel as the centre of what God is doing in the world. This visionary claims that Jesus said:

"...How long will it be? Keep your eye on Israel. This is the center. By keeping your eye on Israel you will get to know the time. Not exactly, but you will see it coming closer. The more danger there is to Israel, the closer the time will be.

I love Israel and I love Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, I shed my blood, redeemed the world and rose from the dead. It is a sealed city, sealed in my blood and in my Holy Spirit. Even more than geography, I love the Jewish people. They are my people. But Jewish lips do not call out, “Jesus is our Messiah”. I like to hear these words from anyone’s lips. But I have my greatest joy when I hear those words from the lips of a Jew and from the lips of Israel. This is the deepest hope of my heart..."

I do not know if this is a genuine seer or not but his director Father Esseff takes this visionary seriously. However check out the messages for yourself. Of interest is his prophecies about the Pope being martyred in Jerusalem and the shifting of the Papal See from Rome to Jerusalem.

Jesus said to the Visionary: "...The Pope will enter Jerusalem like I entered it. The city will already have suffered much and Israel will begin to despair, wondering what can be done. Then this figure clothed in white will come, sent by the Father just as He sent me. He will come to save Israel, just as I came. He, too will die in Jerusalem but his death will have a profound effect upon the whole world. For the whole world will weep at his death and his death will bless Israel. Why do I reveal these things now? Why do I bring you to the center of the mystery so quickly? Because the time is short. The events are near. They are not far away..."

It would seem the warnings of this seer and of the European seer Maria Divine Mercy are already being fulfilled in regards to Pakistan and Egypt.

Cardinal Bertone Seizes Control of the Curia

2011-11-14T23:26:00.018+08:00

It would seem that the dark forces in the Vatican are making their moves to seize control of the Catholic Church. They are using the recent document of the Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace on the global financial crisis as the excuse to seize autocratic control of all the congregations of the curia and putting them under the control of Cardinal Bertone and the Vatican's Secretariat of State. Whatever the merits or demerits of this document is not the important question but its use as an instrument for ecclesiastical masonry to take control of the Roman Curia.

Chiesa reports: "... ROME, November 10, 2011 – Precisely when the G20 summit in Cannes was coming to its weak and uncertain conclusion, on that same Friday, November 4 at the Vatican, a smaller summit convened in the secretariat of state was doing damage control on the latest of many moments of confusion in the Roman curia.

In the hot seat was the document on the global financial crisis released ten days earlier by the pontifical council for justice and peace. A document that had disturbed many, inside and outside of the Vatican.

The secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, complained that he had not known about it until the last moment. And precisely for this reason he had called that meeting in the secretariat of state.

The conclusion of the summit was that this binding order would be transmitted to all of the offices of the curia: from that point on, nothing in writing would be released unless it had been inspected and authorized by the secretariat of state.

Of course, the fact that Bertone and his colleagues had seen that document only after its publication is astonishing in itself.

Already on October 19, in fact, five days ahead of time, the Vatican press office – which reports directly to the secretary of state – had made the announcement of the press conference to present the document, at which the speakers would be Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, president of the pontifical council for justice and peace, and Bishop Mario Toso, the council's secretary.

Toso, a Salesian like Bertone and his longtime friend, was chosen for this office by the cardinal secretary of state himself..."

The statement that "...from that point on, nothing in writing would be released unless it had been inspected and authorized by the secretariat of state..." should be of concern to all Catholics and demonstrates that ecclesiastical freemasonry is about to realise its goal of taking over the entire structure of the Church for its own evil geo-political agenda. For any one with spiritual discernment the whole story about Bertone not knowing what was being published rings as hollow and fake. It is a pretext to seize control and sideline Pope Benedict and those loyal to him and the true Catholic Faith.

Both Bertone and his predecessor Sodano has tried to sideline Fatima as an event that happened in the past and nothing to do with the future of the Church and the world contrary to the recent statements of Pope Benedict. In Fatima last year the Pope said that those that believe Fatima has been fully fulfilled are mistaken. The prophecies are about to be fulfilled about this Pope in white who flees the Vatican after being betrayed by his closest confidants and the final fulfilment of Fatima. We should expect that the attack on Eucharistic Adoration, on truly spiritual communities of Catholics and true visionaries and apparitions to intensify coming from the Curia itself in opposition to the desires of the Pope himself. Let us pray for our Pope as he ascends his personal Golgotha in union with Our Lord and Our Lady.

The secret sect is about to unleash civil wars in Europe (the crisis in Italy and Greece are the beginning of it) and the nuclear conflict with Iran.

Note: There are many useful idiots among seemingly 'orthodox' Catholics that wish to brand anyone who believes there has been a cover up of the Fatima secrets as anti-Vatican II and anti the Pope. These people try to brand anyone who disagrees with Bertone and Sodano as disobedient. This is rot. I (and many others who hold my opinion on this)are not Latin mass only, we believe in the Vatican II documents and we love the Pope. Not only do I love the Pope I love his writings as Cardinal Ratzinger and get much spiritual fruit from them. These useful idiots are advocating a return to the worst forms of clericalism of the past and the role and dignity of the laity which Vatican II called for is totally ignored. We see Bishops that are more autocratic and usurping the rights of the priests, religious and laity than ever in the pre-Vatican II Church. These Bishops are then controlled by the entity called the "Conference of Bishops" or their "Council of priests" who are then controlled by congregations in the Vatican (who are often controlled by the hidden evil sect that has entered the very heart of the Church). These are all man-made structures and have little to do with the Divine Structure of the Church. Is it any wonder that Pope Benedict XVI has been warning us about the danger of the evil and sins within the Church which are much more of a threat than outward persecution?

Queen's Visit to Australia: No Republic Please

2011-10-27T00:55:00.018+08:00

"Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anointed Solomon King..." goes the famous Coronation Hymn of Handel quoting from the Bible. The mystique and magic of the Monarchy is evident once again with the 10 day visit of the Queen of Australia and her husband ( himself born a prince of Greece and of Denmark). The republicans are upset seeing their dreams for an Australian Republic sailing into the mists of tired ideas. They still cling to the hope that maybe they will get a Republic when the Queen dies but it would seem from the latest polls that the Monarchy is more popular than ever and especially among the young. 55% of Australians polled favoured the Monarchy and only 34% the Republic.(see below)

55% of the 14-17 year olds are for the monarchy and only 31 % for a Republic. This is astounding after years of politicians removing Royal symbols and trappings from our national life and no mention of its importance in schools and the chattering classes continually advocating a Republic. The Republicans hope people will dislike Prince Charles and thus finally get a Republic but they forget or choose to ignore that the young are looking further into the future to when William and Kate will be King and Queen of Australia. Most young people see this as a positive thing. Princess Mary of Denmark-our own Mary Donaldson- has also made Monarchy more visible and popular since she married the Crown Prince of Denmark .

Another factor is the depressing disasters and financial crisis that is happening all over the world. The only time in the last year we saw smiles and happy people was at the Royal Wedding of William and Kate and when Prince William visited Australia. We saw it in Canada and the US when William and Kate visited and now this wonderful visit of the Queen to us that is giving everyone a lift. Thousands are turning out to see the Queen and many more of us are watching every bit of her visit through the media. I watched one media report by a media person who was a republican that showed young people interviewed on the streets of Brisbane were mostly positive towards the Queen and the Monarchy just before her visit to Queensland.

For the first time I actually felt positive towards our PrimeMinister Julia Gillard in the marvellous speech of welcome she made to the Queen and Duke. Tony Abbot also did us proud with his speech. I think both of them captured the mood of the Australian people. It is obvious by recent polls in Canada and the very successful visit of William and Kate that the Canadians have no desire to part with the Queen either. In 1999 when the Republican cause was at its highest level of popularity the Australian people still voted overwhelmingly against a Republic and I doubt it stands a chance when the public and even most republicans have lost interest in the cause. We see the phenomenon of so-called Republicans falling over themselves in the rush to meet the Queen.

Constitutional Monarchy is in my opinion the best form of government and the most stable as has been proved by the nations who have retained their monarchies in Europe. But it is our own anointed Monarch that has that blessing from God in the tradition of the Israelite Kings of Judah of the Royal House of King David. The old Catholic prophecies speak of the restoration of monarchical government in the future era of peace headed by a Great Catholic King-Emperor called Henry the Lion. It is interesting that serious discussion is now under way to remove the discrimination against Catholics marrying into the Royal Family. It is interesting that Tony Abbot who may be our future Primeminister is both a staunch Monarchist and Catholic.

The "Australian" newspaper reported:

"AUSTRALIANS are continuing to shun a republic and move back to the monarchy, research shows.

Roy Morgan polling released in time for the Royal Tour shows support for a republic is at its lowest since the Australian Republican Movement and the push for a local as our head of state built up steam in the first half of the nineties.

Only 34 per cent of Australians aged over 14 support a republic, the lowest level since 1991.

Fifty-five per cent are in favour of keeping the monarchy, the highest level since the same year.

The figures represent a reversal of the strong support received by a republic in the lead up to the 1999 referendum, when polling put backing for the monarchy at just 38 per cent and support for a republic at 54 per cent.

The republic model put then ended up only receiving the endorsement of a little over 45 per cent of voters.

The Morgan figures indicate young Australians are just as keen on the monarchy as their older compatriots.

They show 55 per cent of 14-17 year olds also back the monarchy, while only 31 per cent of their number are republicans.

The monarchy and royal family appear to be a guilty pleasure amongst supporters of the Greens. A surprisingly strong 38 per cent of their voters want to keep the monarchy and 68 per cent of them admit to having watched at least a little of the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Support for the monarchy remains highest amongst Coalition voters. Seventy per cent of these back the current arrangement and only 21 per cent back a republic.

Forty three per cent of Labor voters are monarchists and 48 per cent want a republic.

Support for the monarchy is strongest in Western Australia, with 69 per cent of respondents favouring the current constitutional arrangements, with just 26 per cent backing a republic.

Support for the monarchy is also strong in Queensland, with 62 per cent support.

It is lowest in New South Wales and Victoria, on just 51 per cent.

A republic received its strongest support in NSW 38 per cent followed by South Australia on 35 per cent.

But support in Victoria, which came close to carrying the republic referendum in 1999, appears to have cooled, with 33 per cent of respondants supporting a republic and a high 16 per cent now saying they are unsure."

Note: I am a fifth generation Western Australian (the first of my ancestors arrived in the Swan River Colony in January 1830 on the "Wanstead")and both my parents who were born and bred in Western Australia were staunch supporters of the Monarchy and opposed to a Republic. I also attended the Big Aussie BBQ with the Queen and Duke in Perth with some of my Catholic friends and 150,000 other Western Australians.

Crucified Bishop of Thailand

2011-10-22T00:33:00.041+08:00

Bishop Manat with me and the Greek Orthodox visionary Vassula
Yesterday I returned from Thailand after praying with and visiting one of the holiest and down-to-earth Bishops I have ever known. Sadly on my return home I found out he died yesterday (20th October). This Bishop was one of the few clergy in Thailand who had a pastors heart for the universal church. This Bishop was crucified by certain figures in the hierarchy of the Church and Vatican and by his own brother Bishops in Thailand.They crucified and treated him like a leper.

I met Bishop Manat in 1997 and we instantly struck up a close friendship. I often ministered healing prayer with him and he often translated my talks to the Thai people. He had once been a modernist Bishop and the Bishop in charge of ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue. He was liked and respected by his priests until he had a conversion to orthodox Catholicism. Most of his priests turned on him except for a handful. Any one who knows the church in Thailand knows that its priests are very arrogant and full of their own importance. They all want to be in charge of big Catholic Schools that have over 90 percent Buddhist teachers and students not because they have a missionary spirit but because they want to make money. (One should not judge these men but the system as they have never come to know divine intimacy with Jesus and have been trained in a very academic and dry intellectual manner rather than with the spiritual richness and warm intimacy of devotional Catholicism). They have no sense of mission (even to the refugees in camps on the borders of Thailand). The Cardinal of Bangkok lords it over the other Bishops in Thailand due to the Bangkok Archdiocese's wealth and even though each Bishop is actually directly under the Pope the Cardinal and the Nuncio think they can rule the other Bishops as if they are somehow subject to them. Bishops are biblical and part of the divine structure of the church - Cardinals and nuncios, congregations,and conferences of Bishops are merely man-made structures and positions which should be assisting the Bishops not controlling and ruling over them.

Bishop Manat became the spiritual Bishop of Thailand, encouraging the charismatic movement and its gifts, the Marian movements and other Catholic spiritual movements. He was also aware of the ecclesiastical masonry in the church and warned his people about it. Thus certain forces in the church set out to destroy him and the international community of priests he founded to spread chapels of Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration. These handful of priests have now opened more than 1000 chapels all over the world and continue to be persecuted by the same ones who persecuted Bishop Manat.

Bishop Manat was having second thoughts about starting such a community so he visited Pope John Paul II in person to ask him whether he should found this community of priests. John Paul responded so positively to Bishop Manat's plan that the good Bishop gained the courage to begin such a venture. So Bishop Manat began this venture with Papal approval and strong encouragement. However the enemies of Perpetual Adoration in the heart of the Vatican especially in the Secretariat of State and some of its nuncios and apostolic delegates set out to destroy the work and reputation of both Bishop Manat and his community.

They managed to close down the chapel of Perpetual Adoration in Jerusalem in 2002-3 under manipulation from Cardinal Sodano. He sent a letter (or at least someone signing his name)to the Armenian Catholic Patriarch in Lebanon ordering him to tell the Armenian Bishop of Jerusalem to close down the Perpetual Adoration in Jerusalem. The poor Armenians were intimated and with great reluctance did what was requested. The apostolic delegate of Jerusalem (who later became the nuncio of the US) was involved and stopped any other Bishop from accepting the team who were doing and organising the Perpetual Adoration in Jerusalem. I heard him say this with his own lips that he had already ordered all the other Bishops in Israel to reject us after at first telling us that we should go and ask the other Bishops. (He was so charming and seemingly on your side until I felt a prompting to bind the spirits of deception (quietly in my mind) and then he finally with great fury and anger revealed he had been working against us and the mission of Perpetual Adoration all the time). In fact he pretended to be all for Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration but when questioned he didn't understand the concept at all and was opposed to Perpetual Adoration- he just wanted a couple of hours once a week in some Church to keep the pilgrims happy who had been complaining about the lack of anywhere with Adoration in the Holy city. He told me that one could pray in any of the many chapels and churches in Jerusalem at any time and when I asked him what about at night- he told me very angrily "Go to Sleep". He was furious that we knew about the letter from Sodano and he called us liars. He virtually threw the four of us out the door. When I shared my concern for praying for Jerusalem and Israel and how from the moment we began Perpetual Adoration the bombs stopped in the whole of Jerusalem and Israel until they stopped us when the bombs started again. Pietro Sambi said very rudely to me "that is all just "blah blah blah". The Armenian Bishop at first said there was no letter but later admitted after speaking with the Armenian Patriarch that there had indeed been a letter. It had indeed been divine providence that two priests who promoted Perpetual Adoration had been with the Patriarch when he received this letter in French. They seemed terrified that we knew about the letter for some reason.

They then turned on Bishop Manat more directly causing him so much stress that he asked the Pope if he could retire early in order to work full time promoting Perpetual Adoration with his community. Later many in the Thai Church accused him of being a Lefebrist because he celebrated the Latin Mass and was in dialogue with the Lefebrists. Many Thais believed that the priests he ordained for his community were also Lefebrists- none of them were- they were all ordained according to the Novus Ordo rite of ordination and none of them celebrated the Latin Mass but only the Novus Ordo as far as I know. When Bishop Manat spoke to the Lefebrists he told his story of ceasing being a spiritually dead modernist Bishop and his conversion to orthodoxy or tradition. The Lefebrists interpreted this to mean Tridentine Latin Mass traditionalism but anyone who knew Bishop Manat and the way he celebrated the Latin Mass (which was a mixture of the old and the new)and his support of the charismatic and Marian movements and many other groups anathema to the Lefrebists would know that he was returning to a more orthodox form of Catholicism imbued with the best of the modern spiritual movements not embracing Lefebrists traditionalism. The Bishop like the Vatican and Pope was reaching out with the hand of reconciliation to them.

The new Nuncio to Thailand that replaced the old nuncio (the old nuncio had responded originally quite favourably to Bishop Manat's project but was then removed and was sent to Argentina) put pressure on the new Bishop who succeeded Bishop Manat to suspend the community with the help of a Cardinal from the Secretariat of State. Another Cardinal with no mandate from the Pope then sent letters (claiming the authority of the Congregation for the Clergy) throughout the US saying the Missionary Society of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament was suspended and under investigation. I was told this Cardinal was removed ten days later from his position. None of the priests were contacted or investigated by anyone who had the authority to do so. These ecclesiastical masons and their fellow travellers and useful idiots had no right to do any of these things but of course they intimidate and frighten the other Bishops, Cardinals and priests into doing their will. Why are these so-called diplomats doing their best to destroy Perpetual Adoration in the church and why have they usurped the roles of the Congregations responsible for the clergy and apostolic societies. They thus gave the impression that the Congregation for the Clergy had suspended the society when in reality it had been these false diplomats who had pressured the new Bishop of Rachaburi to suspend the Society for their own purposes of attacking Perpetual Adoration.

In his last few years of illness he was deserted by the clergy and faithful of Thailand (except for a very small number including the new Bishop of Rachaburi who visited him regularly). Bishop Manat was slandered and rejected by the Thai Church and they were even threatening to refuse him a Catholic burial. He was the Crucified Leper Bishop of Thailand. He now is receiving his heavenly reward.

Bishop Manat with Father Patrick and Bishop Panya
Rest IN Peace Bishop Manat John Bosco Chubsamai. If all the Bishops had been like you what a humble beautiful Church we would have.

Note 1: Bishop Manat in a Thai Church full of clericalism encouraged me as a lay man with a ministry as he encouraged the laity of Thailand to embrace their Christian mission as evangelisers of the power of the Gospel.

Note 2: I might add that many of the poor Bishops are not only intimidated by the Secretariat of State and some of its nuncios but also by Conferences of Bishops and (most deadly) the Councils of Priests which are controlled by ecclesiastical masons and their cronies in many places making the life of the Bishop a nightmare.

Note 3: I have forgiven all these people as it is not the person themselves who is opposing Perpetual Adoration but the evil spirits who are controlling them. I pray for the souls of some of these men such as Pietro Sambi who are now dead. Cardinal Vidal of the Philippines once wrote that the only person that would want to close down a chapel of Perpetual Adoration was the Devil. I should also note that ecclesiastical masonry is not only found in the Catholic church but also in the Orthodox Churches and the Protestant Churches. Our Lady in the messages given to Father Gobbi (who also came under attack from these same forces in the Vatican and Church) warns us about this beast like a lamb who seeks to destroy the true Eucharistic Lamb by their attack on the Real Presence and Eucharistic Adoration.

Note 4: It is also interesting to see that Cardinal Zen of Hong Kong has publically criticised Cardinal Dias for his betrayal of the Pope and the Chinese Church. This same Cardinal Dias has been one of the most vicious enemies of those who promote Perpetual Adoration. In recent years Cardinal Piacenza has sent letters to all the Bishops calling for Perpetual Adoration and a generosity of the Bishops to providing a priest in each diocese to promote Perpetual Adoration, a vision that was also precious to Bishop Manat and the community of priests and laity that he founded for this work. Bishop Manat was a visionary in a church that had no vision and he suffered the price that all such visionaries seem to suffer-the way of the Cross.

Note 5: Bishop Manat's funeral Mass was celebrated by Bishop Panya of Rachaburi on October 24.

The Lady of Israel

2011-09-02T13:27:00.020+08:00

BeREShYT [In the beginning]...l'eiynei kol-yisrael [before the eyes of all Israel].

At the end of the feast of Sukkot is the holy day called Simchat Torah (Rejoicing in the Torah) which is celebrated also as Shemini Atzeret (Eighth Day of Assembly) in Israel. In the Diaspora Simchat Torah is celebrated on the ninth day. On Simchat Torah the yearly cycle of the liturgical readings of the Chumash (Five Books of Moses)is completed with the last words of Deuteronomy 'l'eiynei kol-Yisrael' (before the eyes of all Israel) and the readings start again with the first word of Genesis 'Bereshit' ('In the Beginning' or 'With the Beginning'). This contains a great mystery which both Nachmanides (Ramban) and Rebbe Nachman of Breslov allude to in their writings.

The Ramban writes in his commentary on Genesis: "...Now Israel, which is called reshit as mentioned above, is the "Kneset Yisrael", which is compared in the Song of Songs to a bride and whom Scripture in turn calls daughter, sister and mother. The Rabbis have already expressed this in a homiletic interpretation of the verse, 'Upon the crown wherewith his mother has crowned Him [Song of Songs 3:11]', and in other places." Similarly, the verse concerning Moses, 'And he chose a first part for himself' [Deut. 33;21], which they interpret to mean that Moses our teacher comtemplated through a Isparklarya (lucid speculum/ clear crystal mirror or looking glass), and he saw that which is reshit (the first) for himself, and therefore merited the Torah. Thus all the Midrashim above have one meaning...." The Ramban reveals that this Bat Reshit (Daughter of Beginning/Wisdom)is the feminine blueprint (uman/amon)of Torah in which Moses gazed and beheld the divine mysteries of the Torah.

The Bahir also alludes to this mystery of the Divine Heart and the Mother. Bahir 63 states: "What is His heart? He said: Mother (Imma), Ben Zoma is out side, and you are with him. The heart(Lev) [in gematria] is thirty-two. These are concealed, and with them the world was created. What are these 32? He said: These are the 32 Paths. This is like a king who was in the innermost of many chambers. The number of such chambers was 32, and to each one there was a path. Should the king bring everyone to his chamber through these paths? You will agree that he should not. Should he reveal his jewels, his tapestries, his hidden and concealed secrets? You will again agree that he should not. What then does he do? He touches the Daughter, and includes all the paths in her and in her garments. One who wants to go inside should gaze there. He married her to a king, and also gave her to him as a gift. Because of his love for her, he sometimes calls her “my sister,” since they are both from one place. Sometimes he calls her his daughter, since she is actually his daughter. And sometimes he calls her “my mother.”..."

The Rabbis teach that the first letter of the Torah is bet [B] (Bereshit) and the last letter is lamed [L] (Yisrael)thus making the word LB or Lev in Hebrew which means Heart in English. It also adds up in gematria to the number 32. This they link to the 32 mentions of the name Elohim (God) in Genesis 1. This Heart is also called Kavod (Glory) which also adds up to the number 32. The Bahir links these concepts of Heart and Glory with the Mother hidden in the opening verses of Genesis on the first day of Creation.

"130. What is the meaning of, “the whole earth is filled with His glory”? This is the earth that was created on the first day. It is on high, filled with God’s glory and paralleling the Land of Israel. And what is [this glory]? It is Wisdom, as it is written (Proverbs 3:35), “The wise shall inherit glory.”

131. What is “God’s glory”? What is this like? A king had a matron in his chamber, and all his troops delighted in her. She had sons, and each day they came to see the king and to bless him. They asked him, “Where is our mother?” He replied, “You cannot see her now.” They said, “Let her be blessed wherever she is.”

132. What is the meaning of “from His place”? This indicates that none know his place. This is like a royal princess who came from a far place. People did not know her origin, but they saw that she was a woman of valour, beautiful and refined in all her ways. They said, “She certainly originates from the side of light, for she illuminates the world through her deeds.” They asked her, “From where are you?” She replied, “From my place.” They said, “Mother, the people of your place are great. May you be blessed, and may your place be blessed.”

133. Is this “glory of God” then not one of His hosts? Is it not inferior? Why then do they bless it? But what is this like? A man had a beautiful garden. Outside the garden but close to it, he had a nice section of field. On this section, he planted a beautiful flower garden. The first thing that he would water would be his garden. The water would spread over the entire garden. It would not reach the section of field however, since it was not attached, even though it was all one. He therefore opened a place for it and watered it separately.

134. Rabbi Rahumai said:
Glory(Kavod) and Heart(Lev) both have the same [gematria of 32]. They are both one, but Glory refers to its function on high, and Heart refers to its function below. “God’s glory” and the "heart of heaven” are therefore both identical."

Rebbe Nachman also writes of the mystery of the Bat Kol (Daughter of All)who is a mystical Daughter of Abraham. The phrase kol-Yisrael alludes to this Celestial Daughter of Wisdom (Bat Reshit). The kol refers to Bat Kol (Daughter of All)who is the amon (nursling mother) who is also uman (the blueprint or prototype of All). The 'Yisrael' refers on one level to her Son (ben/bar/ bera) the Blessed Holy One of Israel (Messiah of Israel) and on another level to the Mother as Kneset Yisrael (Assembly of Israel). The Aramaic word bera for son is also hidden in the word Bereshit as Bera shit (Son of the Six) alluding to the concept of the male Mystical Rose which has 6 petals. The second word of Genesis 1 ' bara' is bera in Aramaic and the Aramiac 'Bekadmin bera' (In the beginning created) could be read as 'With/In the Primordial Son'.

The word Rosh is also hidden in the word Bereshit read as 'Rosh Beit' "Head of the House/Home" according to the Likutey Moharan of Rebbe Nachman. This alludes to the Hidden Tzadik who is associated with the concept of Joseph. Yeshua ha Mashiach is called the Head of Creation, Head of the Church (Kneset)and the First born (reshit/bikkurim) of Creation. The Ramban states: "...For the merit aquired by... three things has the world been created: for the merit of challah (Dough), for the merit of Tithes and for the merit of the first fruits (bikkurim)...Reshit surely signifies the Dough-offering, as it is said, 'The first of your dough' [Numbers 15:20]. Reshit surely signifies the Tithes, as it is said, 'the first of thy grain' [Deut.18;4]. Reshit surely signifies the first-fruits, as it is said, 'the first-friuts of thy land' [Exodus 23:19]..."

Rebbe Nachman also reads Bereshit as Rashei (Heads) and Bat (Daughter/Lady)which he links to "l'eynei" (the eyes). The Rashei are perceived as three Heads and are symbolised by the white /sclera, red/ muscle and colour/iris of the eye. The fourth 'bat' is the black Bat Ayin (Pupil of the eye)this alludes to the Bat Kol (the Daughter/Lady of All) who is also the Bat Ayin (Daughter of Nothingness). Her son is the All (Kol) and the Nothingness (Ain Sof). The three Heads are also linked to the three boxes that make up the Ark of the Covenant and the dark space in the centre represents this dark Bat (Daughter/Lady) who is surrounded and dwells within the Three Heads. This is the Woman with Eagle Wings in the Wilderness (Shekhinah/ Matronita) which alludes to the vacated or empty space or land- the Arabah (dry thirsty land)- the place of total self -nullification -becoming nothing and dwelling in the Divine Will through the Dark Night. This is the place (makom) of the Mother mentioned in Bahir.

This black Bat Ayin is that Dark or Black Light of the Mother/Lady/Woman who in the Song of Songs is called Dark but comely. She is the immaculate dark mirror who perfectly mirrors the Divine Glory back to its source through which Moses received the Torah. She is the Zohar (Dark Light)of Genesis 1 called Night (Lilah)and the Darkness (ha Hoshek). She is the dark feminine waters of the Well of Miriam hidden in the text of Genesis. She is the dark face over/of the Waters who the Spirit of God hovered (or overshadowed)in Genesis 1 just as the Power of God overshadowed the Ark of the Covenant and as the Holy Spirit overshadowed the Virgin at the Annunciation.

The words Miriam (Mary), mayim (waters) and makom (place) are part of the mystery of the double mems (open and closed) that are the Mystical Rose Garden. The open mem represents the womb of the Mother (Binah-female Wisdom) who surrounds her Son-the concealed closed mem (Hokhmah- male Wisdom). The open mem is Matronita and the closed mem is the Mashiach (the concealed or Hidden Messiah). The Book of Proverbs (Mishlei) starts with an enlarged mem to demonstrate that the Wisdom spoken of by Solomon was the female wisdom of the open mem rather than that of the male Wisdom of the Messiah.

The word Bereshit can also be read as brit (covenant/phallus) ish (man/ husband). This alludes to the mystery of the Divine Seed (Zera) who will become a man and who is the bridegroom/husband of the Bride in the Song of Songs. Eve mistakenly believes she has gotten this God-man with the birth of Cain. However one day the New Eve (Mother of all the living)who is the Ishah (Woman)will give birth to this God-man. The concept of the 'brit' also alludes to the yesod (foundation) which is the pillar of the Earth. Yesod in Kabbalah is also associated with Joseph and the Messiah son of Joseph as well as with the concept of the humble Tzadik (riding on a donkey) and the hidden Tzadik.

These Mysteries of Yeshua (Jesus), Miriam (Mary) and Joseph hidden in the word Bereshit is known in mystical Judaism as the hidden or Concealed Saying. Just as the Chumash readings are seen as a Divine Cycle or Round (Galgal)so this Concealed Saying of Bereshit unites Keter (the Crown) with the Kingdom (Malkhut). Keter is the interface between Divine Will (ratzon) and Divine Knowledge (Daat). This cycle or round from Keter to Malkhut is called the Kingdom of the Divine Will or the Kingdom of Holiness (Sanctification/ Malkhut d'Kadishah).

The word Chumash alludes to Chamsa or the Hand of Miriam - the five books of Moses are the five fingers of the hand of Miriam (Chamsa) which allude to the five gates of salvation (yeshuot) which are the five sacred wounds of Yeshua. The five fingers also allude to the five leaves surrounding the Mystical Rose and the fingers of the priests of the Mother (the 13 petalled Rose)who lift the Cup of Blessing.

“Rabbi Hezekiah opened, ‘Like a rose among thorns, so is my darling among the maidens’ (Song of Songs 2:2). Who is Rosa Mystica? Our Lady of Israel (Kneset Yisrael/ Matronita/ Sabbath Queen). For there is a Rose and then there is Rosa Mystica. Just as a rose among the thorns is coloured red and white, so Our Lady of Israel includes judgement and mercy. Just as a Rose has 13 petals, so Our Lady of Israel has 13 attributes of mercy surrounding her on every side. Similarly from the moment Elohim (God) is mentioned (in Genesis 1) he generates 13 words to surround Our Lady (in Eternity) and protect her. Then Elohim is mentioned again. Why again? To produce 5 sturdy leaves surrounding Rosa Mystica. These 5 are called Salvation (Yeshuot/Yeshuah), they are 5 gates. Concerning this mystery (raza) it is written: I shall raise the Cup of Salvation (Psalm 116:13). This is the cup of Blessing, which should rest on 5 fingers and no more – like the Rose sitting on 5 sturdy leaves, paradigm of 5 fingers. This Rosa Mystica is the Cup of Blessing” Zohar 1:1a.

This Lady Chamsa (Chumash) associated with the Eighth Day of Assembly and Simchat Torah alludes to the Sefirot (Attribute) of Binah (Understanding) who is known as Mother and Heart- for the joyful prayer of the heart is the prayer of the Mother. Her hands are hands of prayer and praise. The uncreated feminine Binah is the Holy Spirit and the created female icon of Binah is Our Lady Miriam. Simchah (joy) is associated in Kabbalah with Binah. This also alludes to the joyful song Rinah which is also called the Song of Creation, the song of the Future and the Song of Miriam.

The Eighth Day also alludes to the Groom (chatan) who is circumcised on the Eighth Day and to the Eighth Day as the New Creation and as the Day of the Eucharist (Sunday is both the first day and the Eighth Day). The Eighth Day is also associated with King Solomon as the King of Peace who is also Yedidiah (God's beloved). This alludes to the Song of Songs (also called Song of Solomon) which is the Song of the Groom (chatan) and the Bride (kallah). This Bride is the Dark or Black Lady (Madonna) of the Song. This concept of an Eighth Day Solemn Assembly and Solomon is linked also to the mystery of the Ark of the Covenant as the Daughter of Zion and the concept of joy of heart.

"2 Chronicles 5:2 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.
3 Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast which was in the seventh month.
2 Chronicles 7:8 Also at the same time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt.
9 And in the eighth day they made a solemn assembly: for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days.
10 And on the three and twentieth day of the seventh month he sent the people away into their tents, glad and merry in heart for the goodness that the LORD had shewed unto David, and to Solomon, and to Israel his people."

More on the Jewish Christian Lead Codices

2011-08-22T05:31:00.019+08:00

The Jordan Times reports that preliminary tests on the Jewish Christian lead codices that I wrote about in an earlier blog seem to be authentic. There was a major campaign to discredit their authenticity but it would seem that the last word on these discoveries has not been spoken yet.

In an article in the Jordan Times by Taylor Luck (originally appearing in June) was posted on the Jordan Times website on August 21 2011 it states: "Preliminary lab results indicate that a collection of metal books unearthed in northern Jordan may indeed represent the earliest Christian texts ever discovered, according to experts.

According to the Department of Antiquities (DoA), initial carbon tests to determine the authenticity of lead-sealed metal books billed as the greatest find in biblical archaeology since the Dead Sea scrolls have been “encouraging”.

“We really believe that we have evidence from this analysis to prove that these materials are authentic,” DoA Director Ziad Saad told The Jordan Times.

The tests, carried out at the Royal Scientific Society labs, indicate that the texts may date back to the early first century AD, at a time when Christians took refuge from persecution on the east bank of the Jordan River.

The codices, which were retrieved by Jordanian security services from the black market last month, are believed to be part of a greater cache of 70 lead-sealed books allegedly uncovered in Jordan and smuggled across the River Jordan into Israel.

The majority of the texts are currently in the possession of Hassan Saeda, an Israeli bedouin farmer who claims that the books, which may tell of the last days of Jesus Christ, were uncovered by his shepherd grandfather some 90 years ago.

Jordanian authorities, however, believe the codices were unearthed four years ago in a cave near the northern village of Sarhan and are property of the Hashemite Kingdom.

The texts made international headlines in March when Jordanian authorities and British author David Elkington announced their existence in a bid to prevent Saeda from selling the cache to a private collector and to launch a campaign to repatriate the books.

Efforts to repatriate the texts from Israel are pending the final results of the carbon dating, currently being carried out at the University of New Mexico, the Getty Conservation Institute and Sheffield University."
The Date Palm from the Codices
Those who seem to have an agenda to claim that these codices are fake mainly use the argument that some of the images are similar to other images that we have in museums. For example they show a date palm from the codices and then one from a Jordanian museum. However the date palm is an extremely important symbol in Jewish mysticism and so fits with theories that the codices are connected to Simeon bar Yochai and with a mystical form of either Judaism or Jewish Christianity. How many ways does one expect a date palm to be represented and if it is similar to an ancient one on a coin in a museum surely that just goes to demonstrate it may come from the same time period as well. The stars on this image are also similar to ones on coins from the reign of Augustus which doesn't mean they are fakes or forgeries but that they come from a time period close to the reign of Augustus. This Star appeared in the reign of Augustus Ceasar and heralded the coming of the Messiah as a Star out of Jacob. Rabbi Akiba and many other Jews associated this Star(Kokhba)with Bar Kosiba who became known as the Messiah bar Kokhba. The Jewish Christian of course associated this star with the Star of Bethlehem that heralded the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus)and used it on the codices to proclaim the true Messiah.
Date Palm on a coin in a museum from the time of Bar Kokhba.

Also that the face of Jesus on the codices is similar to images of Apollo fits with the fact that most of the earliest Roman and Greek images of Jesus show him as a clean shaven Apollo-like youth (usually with red hair) very similar to some of the images of Apollo. This is to demonstrate that Jesus (or the Messiah/Tzadik) is the true Sun of Righteousness and the Apollo legends are a pagan preparation for this true Divine Sun. An apollo-like image of Jesus as the good shepherd

Those who are trying to prove that the codices are fakes refer to a copper codex that mentions Abgar also known as Eision and dismiss it as a fake because on a tomb in Jordan is also found the name Abgar also known as Eision son of Monoathos. However the legend of King Abgar a suffering King of Edessa connected with the burial cloths and a letter of Jesus would seem to demonstrate that these codices were connected to the secrets of a Jewish Christian group of mystics. They then conclude that because one of the lead codices has a palm tree similar to this copper (bronze) codex with the name Abgar on it- that this makes the lead one a fake. For myself I do not think they have proved that the bronze/copper codex is a fake but it would seem that this group of Jewish Christian mystics are connected to the Jewish Christian Abgar Dynasty of Edessa. We know that the Kings of this dynasty used the name of Abgar or Manu with another name such as King Abgar XI Fahrat son of Ma'nu. The Monoathos mentioned above may be King Manu VI Athos bar Abgar of Edessa. The name Eision may be the Syriac Ezad. It would seem that the Abgar Royal family went into Exile to Madaba around 91 AD until 109 AD where Abgar Eision (Ezad)'s son Selaman (Solomon)died in 108 AD. Abgar VII bar Ezad was King of Edessa from 109 AD until 116 AD. That this Greek phrase is mirrored would allude to the mirror image found of the image of Jesus on the cloths associated with Jesus. The Psalms allude to the Righteous man as a date palm and the date palm is associated with the Tree of Life and the Menorah.

That much of the writing on the codices is a form of paleo-Hebrew fits with this period in the first half of the second century when the Bar Kokhba Jews used paleo-Hebrew and when Rabbi Simeon bar Yochai of Zohar fame flourished. One of Bar Yochai famous saying is "So great is the power of repentance that a man who has been during his lifetime very wicked ["rasha' gamur"], if he repent toward the end, is considered a perfectly righteous man". This perfectly righteous man refers to the term Tam (tum/tom)and on the codices is found the phrase Elek ba Tum (I will walk in uprightness)from Proverbs. The concept of the Tam (the simple righteous man)is found throughout the Zohar and later this became an important concept in Hasidism. They also dismiss much of the Paleo-Hebrew script on the codices because they can't understand them but we know that the mystical traditions were often written cryptically and in code so that only the adepts of this wisdom knew what was referred to.

Catholics for Renewal Petition

2011-08-12T02:37:00.011+08:00

At the moment in Australia there is a group calling itself 'Catholics For Renewal' that are circulating a petition to the Pope and Bishops. This petition is full of the typical ideas of the hippy generation of priests and laity that want to drag us back kicking and screaming to the 'good old days' of the 1970's. This group's supporters are not truly Catholic as they deny the infallible teachings of the church and they certainly have brought nothing but destruction and death to the Church over the last 40 years and have no new plans for renewal. They just want more of the same policies they have gotten away with in the past that has emptied the seminaries and driven the under 50's out of the Church due to a lack of any authentic teaching or renewal.

They are supporting the modernist Bishop Morris of Toowoomba and his heretical ideas which has seen a flourishing diocese turned into a desert and driven many people to other dioceses. The modernists criticise Rome for its autocratic nature but there are none so autocratic as the Modernists in the Church. It is time these aging social justice hippies realise that those Catholics under 50 who are still practicing have no desire to return to the Church of the last 40 years. We love what Pope John paul II and Pope Benedict have done for the Church.

We don't want women priests as it is impossible for women to be priests. Any true Catholic would know that if the church started ordaining women that it would no longer be the Catholic Church but a false Church. We don't want the Church to change its teachings on sexuality, we love the 'theology of the Body' teachings of Pope John Paul II. We don't want to have hippy and new age rituals masquerading as Catholic rituals. We also hate having old has been nuns and priests speaking on the behalf of the Catholic laity. We love the Pope and we love those Bishops and priests and nuns who are in total unity of spirit with the Pope and his teachings. We pray for the conversion of those so-called Catholics whether on the right or left who are not in loving spiritual union with the Pope and the infallible teachings of the Church on faith and morals.

We also don't like pompous and controlling beauocrats and elitism. We don't like arrogant priests and bishops whether modernist or orthodox or traditional. We loathe the new clericalism as much as we loathe the modernist clericalism. We love Jesus and Mary, we love Mass, Adoration and Benediction. We love the saints, we love the mystical writings and we believe in miracles, healing and relics.

We see where the ideas of priests like Peter Kennedy of Brisbane lead. He is just as autocratic as any other priest and more so if the programme on Compass on St Mary's was anything to go by. Where did it all lead? He doesn't even believe in the existence of Jesus, let alone the Catholic Faith any more. Here is where the darling of the social justice crowd ended up.

Don't get me wrong- we care for the poor and the downtrodden and believe in the social teachings of the Church. However we don't confuse them with some kind of liberal socialism or marxist liberation theology. I personally spent many years in a lay Catholic community working with the poor, street kids and prostitutes in Melbourne and Perth. I have ministered as a lay person in Third world countries to the poor and struggling. I have seen the faults and failings of the Catholic Bishops and priests who act more like lords and not the servants they should be. However that is human sin that defaces the image of the earthly face of the Church but I believe in the holiness of the bride of Christ who is without spot or wrinkle in the mystical spiritual realm. We want true renewal in the Holy spirit which is faithful to the Scriptures, Apostolic Tradition and the Magisterium built on the Rock of Peter.

No more hippies please- and yes a bit more of the Gothic as it is obvious by the popularity of the Gothic genre among the youth that the Church would draw the young with a more Gothic style renewal of the Faith. This worked in the Romantic era when many were drawn to the Catholic church initially because of its Gothic elements. This 'Catholics for Renewal' crowd are against the new translations of the English Mass- for the rest of us we love them and wish they were more comprehensive giving back to the liturgy some of the beauty it has lost in a dumbed down English version. I hope someone starts a petition against the Catholics for Renewal petition to let the Pope and the Bishops know that these hippy cranks do not speak for those of us who are loyal to the Pope and the teachings of Jesus entrusted to the Church. Its time for these out-dated old wanna be hippies calling themselves Catholics to retire to the Old people's home and keep quiet or take off with Judith Lucy in an orgy of new age self-centredness somewhere else. NO MORE HIPPIES IN THE CHURCH-PLEASEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

Note: Just found this petition in support of the Pope against Bishop Morris and his cronies. Do sign it and show your support for Pope Benedict XVI.

Second Helsinki Conference: Jews in the Church

2011-08-04T05:30:00.009+08:00

Father Alexander Winogradsky Frenkel
Here is the latest press release about the Second Helsinki Conference on Jews in the Church. Interestingly one of the speakers was Father Alexander Winogradsky Frenkel an Orthodox priest who says the Orthodox liturgy in Hebrew in Jerusalem for a small flock of Orthodox Hebrew speaking Christians.

"PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – 6 July 2011

Second Helsinki Conference on Jewish Continuity in the Church Affirms the Significance of Jewish Believers in Jesus

The second Helsinki Consultation on Jewish Continuity in the Body of Messiah met in Paris, France June 24-28, 2011. Building on the 2010 Helsinki Statement (see below) Jewish scholars from France, Germany, Israel, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, belonging to Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and Messianic traditions, deepened their relationships and advanced in their discussion of crucial issues concerning the relationship of the Body of Christ to the people of Israel.

The conference was jointly organized by Messianic Jewish Theological Institute (MJTI), the Paris Istina Centre for Ecumenical Studies and the Helsinki Studium Catholicum. The participants issued a statement on “Am Israel – Our People” affirming the increasingly significant presence of Jewish believers in Jesus for both the Church and the Jewish people. The papers presented are due to be published in the journal ISTINA, the academic journal of the Dominican study centre in Paris where the conference took place. A similar event is planned for 2012.

Dr. Mark Kinzer, author of Postmissionary Messianic Judaism, Senior Scholar and President Emeritus of MJTI, said “The identity of the Christian Church is inseparable from that of the Jewish People, and the identity of the Jewish People is inseparable from the person of its crucified and risen Messiah, Yeshua of Nazareth. It follows that the Jewish people and the Christian Church are so intimately bound together that it is impossible to adequately understand one without also understanding the other. We have met to deepen our own understandings of these realities, and to encourage our people and our churches to reflect further on their mutual interdependence.”

Father Antoine Lévy, OP, Director of the Helsinki Studium Catholicum, called forgreater recognition and encouragement for Jewish believers in Jesus at an ecumenical level. "Like the interaction between men and women, the interaction between Jews and Gentiles pertains to the spiritual dynamism of the whole

Church. It embraces and pervades local congregations and Church organizations. Accordingly, I see no reason to prevent Jews from developing a distinct life of worship within the Universal Church. Wherever they are, whatever their Church affiliation may be, I believe that Messianic Jews should gather and build a home within Am-Israel, a home for themselves as well as for their fellow Jews who would be willing to join."

CONFERENCE STATEMENT

The theme of this year’s consultation was “Am Israel – our People”. As the many papers demonstrated, the identity of the Jewish People is complex, consisting of historical, familial, ethnic, cultural and spiritual components that are all essential and inseparable. The paradoxical nature of Jewish identity challenges us to avoid reductionist interpretation and to explore further the mystery of our people.

As Jewish believers in Jesus, we affirm our identity as part of both the people of Israel and of the Body of Christ. We recognise the pain this affirmation may cause to some of those of our people who do not believe in Yeshua. We are also aware of the misunderstanding that can occur in the Church when we state that we continue to be part of the Jewish people.

Nevertheless, we believe that we are a living witness to the mysterious and invisible bond which persists between the Church and Israel. Our dual membership brings us into a unique relationship with one another, and also entails weighty responsibilities and formidable challenges. Our two communities have been separated but belong together. We bear witness to the tragedy of their division and herald the hope of their future reconciliation.

We are exploring how this unique relationship to one another as Jewish believers in Jesus might take visible form as a wider fellowship dedicated to the service of the Jewish people and the body of Messiah.

Speakers from Europe, Russia, Israel and the United States included Father David Neuhaus, SJ, Patriarchal Vicar General for Hebrew speaking Catholics, and Boris Balter, Researcher in Physics at the Russian Academy of Sciences and member ofthe Judeo-Christian circle "Bridge of Friendship". Conference papers were given in English, FRENCH and Russian...

HELSINKI STATEMENT

Helsinki Consultation on Jewish Continuity in the Body of Messiah

June 14-15, 2010

Jewish believers in Yeshua (Jesus) from England, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Russia, and the United States met in Helsinki, Finland, on June 14-15, 2010. As scholars belonging to Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, and Messianic communities, they began a conversation on Jewish continuity in the Body of Jesus the Messiah. They issued the following statement:

We thank God for bringing us as Jews to the knowledge of Jesus the Messiah, and we express a debt of gratitude to those from the Nations who have transmitted the knowledge of Christ from generation to generation. While we seek to speak on behalf of those who share our Jewish identity and faith in Christ, we have no official mandate from our respective communities. In what follows we are expressing our own deeply held convictions.

At this unprecedented event, we have experienced the depth of our bond, and at the same time we have wrestled with the diversity of our ingrained theological and cultural constructs. In spite of church divisions, we have come together as Jews who believe in Jesus. We hope that sharing the fruit of our common efforts will benefit our brothers and sisters in Christ. We do not aim to issue a definitive statement, but to initiate an ongoing process of discussion.

There are many Jewish people in the body of Christ. We believe that this reality reflects God’s intention that Israel and the Nations live as mutual blessings to one another. In fact, the Church in its essence is the communion of Jews and those from the Nations called to faith in Christ.

In light of this truth, we think that the life of Jews in the body of Christ has theological significance for that body as a whole. Their presence serves as a constant reminder to the body that its existence is rooted in the ongoing story of the people of Israel. This story resounds throughout the celebration of the liturgical life of the community. We believe that this story finds its center in Israel’s Messiah. We believe that Jews within the body are a living bond between the Church and the people of Israel. Accordingly, we would like to explore concrete ways in which Jewish people may live out their distinctive calling in the body of Christ.

Finally, we wish to express to our Jewish brothers and sisters who do not share our faith in Jesus the Messiah that we consider ourselves to be part of the Jewish people and are committed to its welfare.

STATEMENT ENDS---

CONFERENCE PARTICIPANTS AND PAPERS PRESENTED

Boris Balter, Orthodox (Moscow), Researcher in Physics at the Russian Academy of Sciences -"The problem of being Jewish: self-identification within ‘bilateral ecclesiology’.”

Dr. Jacques Doukhan, Adventist (Berrien Springs, USA), Professor.of Hebrew and Old Testament Exegesis, Director of the Institute of Jewish-Christian studies at the St Andrews Adventist Theological Seminar. “Jews and Christians: an identity in tension - inquiring about the relevance of Messianic prophecies”

Dr. Richard Harvey, Messianic (London), Director of Training at All Nations Christian College, author of “Mapping Messianic Jewish Theology” - "Ha´am- Israel as our People – The Ethnic, Ecclesial, Evangelical and Eschatological Significance of Jewish Believers in Yeshua ".

Dr. Mark Kinzer, Messianic (Ann Arbor, USA), President of Messianic Jewish Theological Institute, author of “Postmissionary Messianic Judaism” - "Messianic Jewish Community: Standing and Serving as a Priestly Remant".

Fr. Jérôme Lefert, OSB, Catholic (France/Israel), Monk at the Benedictine monastery “Notre-Dame d´Espérance”, “A few words about belonging and generating / Side-effects”.

Fr. Antoine Levy, OP, Catholic (Helsinki), Director of the "Studium Catholicum", adjunct-professor at Helsinki University Faculty of Theology, "Am- Israel as the founding principle of a Messianic ecclesiology”.

Lisa Loden, Messianic (Israel), Head of Development Program at the Nazareth Evangelical Theological Seminary, “New Covenant Jews: Rooted in Am Israel”.

Fr. David Neuhaus, SJ, Catholic (Jerusalem), Patriarchal Vicar General for Hebrew speaking Catholics in Israel - "A Catholic Jew reflects on his Jewish identity".

Svetlana Panitsh, Orthodox (Moscow), translator, literary critic. “Jewish Continuity in the Church; some reflections on the three-fold call.”

Rabbi Vladimir Pikman, Messianic (Berlin), Vice-President of the International Messianic Jewish Alliance, Executive Director of “Beit Sar Shalom” ministry - "Being ‘Jewish’ in the Hebrew Bible and Beyond".

Rabbin Emmanuel Rodriguez, Messianic (Paris), Director of the “Centre Messianique de Paris”, “One God, two ways”

Jennifer Rosner, Messianic (Los Angeles), Instructor at Azusa Pacific University - "‘Torah and Election: The People of Israel and Halachic Life”.

Dominic Rubin, Orthodox (Moscow), Professor at the “St. Philaret Institute”, author of “Holy Russia, Sacred Israel: Jewish-Christian Encounters in Russian Religious Thought”.

Fr. Alexander Winogradsky Frenkel , Orthodox (Jerusalem), Parish priest, Greek- Orrthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, “The meaning of Hebrew as a language of the liturgy."

The Comet, Earthquake in England and Israel deserted

2011-08-03T06:35:00.022+08:00

Today on Spirit Daily was linked an article about Protestants worried about the coming of a comet later this year. The article entitled "Comet Races towards the Earth at the Peak of God's Holy Days" states:

"...In the summer of 1998, Americans raced into movie theaters for not one, but two major Hollywood productions featuring giant asteroids about to smash into Earth.

The films – "Deep Impact" and "Armageddon" – had plots so similar, many people confuse the two.

Now 13 years later, a newly discovered, real-life comet named Elenin is racing toward our home planet.

No, it's not an asteroid, and no, it's not on a crash course, but it is expected to be at its closest point to us – some 21 million miles – during the culmination of God's annual holy days mentioned in the Bible.

This has sparked a wave of speculation that it could be some sort of miraculous sign possibly heralding the long-anticipated return of Jesus to Earth...the comet's nearest point to Earth will take place Oct. 16, during the Feast of Tabernacles, according to today's Jewish calendar..."

In a past blog of mine in 2008 I wrote about the coming of a comet in Catholic prophecy.

"Many Catholic prophets mention the coming of a comet. Some state that it will appear twice. One such prophecy comes from St. Hildegarde of Bingen. "Before the comet comes, many nations, the good excepted, will be scourged by want and famine. The great nation in the ocean that is inhabited by people of different tribes and descent will be devastated by earthquake, storm, and tidal wave. It will be divided and, in great part, submerged. That nation will also have many misfortunes at sea and lose its colonies. After the great Comet, the great nation will be devastated by earthquakes, storms, and great waves of water, causing much want and plagues. The ocean will also flood many other countries, so that all coastal cities will live in fear, with many destroyed. All sea coast cities will be fearful, and many of them will be destroyed by tidal waves, and most living creatures will be killed, and even those who escape will die from a horrible disease. For in none of those cities does a person live according to the Laws of God. A powerful wind will rise in the North, carrying heavy fog and the densest dust, and it will fill their throats and eyes so that they will cease their butchery and be stricken with a great fear." [The nation in the Ocean before the comet is believed to refer to Britain and the great nation after the comet is USA]..."

This prophecy mentions an earthquake in England and the Anglican priest the Rev Dr Stibbes writes in an article entitled "The Truth Will Out! A Prophetic Word for 2011":

"...We are living in a very critical time in the UK – a time of great unrest and profound anxiety. This seems likely to increase in 2011 as Britain is gripped by storms, floods, water shortages, strikes, power cuts, unemployment and even unusual natural phenomena such as earthquakes..."

In the Catholic World a new Catholic Visionary Maria Divine Mercy who started receiving message in late 2010 also mentions the coming of a comet and an earthquake in England. On May 22 2011 she writes: "...Other ecological events, which will cause disarray, include an earthquake in England (but not immediately) some of which will impact on other European states. Expect a rise in sea levels in the Mediterranean which will shock every one. Earthquakes will also be felt in Norway and in South America..."

Another prophecy of her prophecies that mentions the comet was given in June states: "...My daughter you must do everything you can to warn the world. Because this great event will shock everyone. They will see great signs in the skies before The Warning takes place. Stars will clash with such impact that man will confuse the spectacle they see in the sky as being catastrophic. As these comets infuse a great red sky will result and the sign of my cross will be seen all over the world by everyone. Many will be frightened. But I say rejoice for you will see, for the first time in your lives, a truly Divine Sign that represents great news for sinners everywhere...".

In February she was given a prophecy about Israel being deserted by its allies: "...Watch now, My daughter the speed at which the Arab world will unite against My people, the Jews. Watch how all their allies will fall away leaving them exposed...There will be three world leaders assassinated shortly one by one. Remember that each one will be assassinated through the plotting of the Evil Group – the sub cultural organizations that rule in all nations though you cannot see them because they are cowards. But not for long will they hide. When control is in their grasp they will strive for your attention and demand respect...". She (or Jesus to her) mentions that two of these leaders will be Arab and one European.

On May 31st we are told by Jesus that the prophecies of Garabandal will begin to be fulfilled in a few months time. Does this mean that the Warning mentioned at Garabandal may happen this October? "...The prophecies given at Garabandal will now become a reality. Prepare now for this event for you have only a few months left to prepare your souls...I have told you I will not give you a date for The Warning for this is known by only a few chosen souls...The world will now seem to become quieter and somewhat strange in the coming months leading up to The Warning..."

For many years now I have believed that the Warning prophecied at Garabandal could come in October on either the 13th or the 18th of the month. Both these dates this year are during the Jewish feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles). October 13 is a date very significant in the apparitions of Fatima and October 18 in those of Garabandal. However I am leaning more towards October 18. The original Garabandal Warning was revealed on October 18 1961 so this year on October 18 will be its 50th anniversary. Some believe that the Great Miracle may occur on the vigil of the feast of St Hermengild on April 12 2012.

Added August 5: On August 2 2011 Our Lady at Medjugorje gave a very serious warning to Mirjana about the evil plot underway and the need to pray for our Shepherds (Pope, Bishops and Priests).

“Dear children; Today I call you to be born anew in prayer and through the Holy Spirit, to become a new people with my Son; a people who knows that if they have lost God, they have lost themselves; a people who knows that, with God, despite all sufferings and trials, they are secure and saved. I call you to gather into God’s family and to be strengthened with the Father’s strength. As individuals, my children, you cannot stop the evil that wants to begin to rule in this world and to destroy it. But, according to God’s will, all together, with my Son, you can change everything and heal the world. I call you to pray with all your heart for your shepherds, because my Son chose them. Thank you. ”

This seems to be confirmed in two serious warnings from God the Father and Our Lady to Maria Divine Mercy on August 2 and 3 2011. The message from God the Father on August 2 also mentions the evil plot for a One World Government.

"I come in the name of My Son Jesus Christ. I am God the Father and wish to communicate to the whole world. It is My intention to put a stay on the severity of The Chastisement to give mankind a chance to open their hearts to the truth of My existence. They, My precious children, must know that I am a God firstly of Mercy and then of Justice.

My Mercy has been stretched to extraordinary limits. I will, because of the power of prayer, hold My hand back in Mercy so that man can alleviate the hatred that is manifested in many souls throughout the world.

Beware My children when I warn you that failure to stop sin from spreading will result in a chastisement that will destroy much of mankind. Such a chastisement will not have been witnessed since the days of the flood that destroyed the earth in the time of Noah.

I will no longer allow you My ungrateful children destroy those who have shown allegiance to Me. Nor will I stand back and allow the One World Order to contaminate My creation. My children. My earth.

Heed now this, one of the final warnings being given to mankind. Turn away now from the way of sin and you will be saved. Turn away from your blind devotion to the lure of Satan and his seductive charms which attract you by means of love of oneself and of material wonders. Should you continue to desecrate this beautiful world created out of love for you in the way you do it will not be there for you to inflict any further damage.

I am the God of love, slow to anger, but My patience is running out. Those who continue to maim and destroy My children through war and control of the world’s finances know that your days are numbered. Your chance of redemption now will be your last. Should you not respond appropriately during the great gift of Mercy that is The Warning then you and your minions will be destroyed.

My glory will be known to every man, woman and child. Those who chose the path to My Kingdom will have ever lasting life. Those who do not will experience a darkness the like of which they could never imagine nor want.

Followers of Satan who knowingly idolise his wickedness hear now My promise. You, My lost children will be offered the hand of love and peace once more during The Warning. Grasp it for it will be your lifeline back into the bosom of My love. Ignore My pleas and you will suffer for eternity never to return to the fold of My cherished family.

This now, My daughter, is one of the most important warnings to save your brothers and sisters from the torturous fires of eternal damnation..."

This message was followed on August 3rd 2011 by a serious message from the Virgin Mary.

"...I have been sent so many times to encourage prayer throughout the world and, yet, my warnings to children throughout time have been forgotten. Today when I make myself known through visionaries in various countries not only are they ignored but they suffer ridicule. My presence and the signs I show in the skies and other manifestations are rejected. Even priests and bishops ignore my warnings. They, too, have turned away from a belief in divine interventions. How blind they are to reject help from me their Beloved Mother.

My Son suffers so much it is heart breaking to see Him in agony today because of the evil of sin. My children have no idea how He suffers the torment he has to witness in the world when He sees the cruelty of man.

My child, remind my children that I will appear only a few more times in the world because the time has come for the final battle when I will crush the Head of the Serpent..."

Australia's First Chapel of Perpetual Adoration

2011-05-08T04:43:00.046+08:00

The Catholics of early colonial Australia were without priests during the early days of its history. In 1800 a convict priest Father James Dixon and the convict William Davis arrived in New South Wales and lay Carmelites James Dempsey and John Butler arrived as convicts in 1802. These four men were to play an important part along with Father Jeremiah O'Flynn in founding the Catholic Church in Australia on lay-led Perpetual Adoration.

From 1803-1804 Father Dixon was permitted to publicly act as a Catholic priest by the Governor and after the Irish revolt at Castle Hill he continued his priestly life in secrecy in the Colony until 1809. It seemed that Father Dixon with these lay Carmelites organised secret small groups of men as unions of prayer and established a small prayer chapel of Perpetual Adoration in James Dempsey's House in Kent St. For the next eight years there were to be no priests or masses in Australia but this small group of laymen kept alive the Eucharistic Faith and Devotion in the Colony and provided a focus for the persecuted Irish Catholics. When Father Jeremiah O'Flynn arrived in late 1817 he encouraged this model and established other chapels of Perpetual Adoration in homes throughout the colony including the home of William Davis a wealthy and leading Catholic.

Columbus Fitzpatrick (who was an altar server for Father O'Flynn at the Kent Street chapel) writing in the Goulburn "Argus" says: "...the real Catholics still continued to meet at Mr Dempsey’s until the arrival of Father Connolly and Father Therry; in fact, it was no ” unusual thing to see Catholics from the most distant part of the colony assembled there. After the Departure of Fr O’Flynn the Catholics formed themselves into committees —so that there was a union in prayer and an intercourse of intelligence amongst all classes of Catholics in the country, all emanating from, and culminating to the great centre in Kent St. In those days when there was no railroad, no coaches and very few horses, it was not counted a wonder to see a man walk, from Campbelltown to Sydney, or from Windsor to Sydney, on purpose to hear from some of the late arrivals, something about the home (Ireland) they loved so dearly. To these men Mr Dempsey’s house was more than St Mary’s was to us”..."

One oral account told to me by an American priest who heard it from a Passionist priest many years ago states that the Eucharistic host left with James Dempsey by Father Dixon remained intact and fresh until the arrival many years later of the visiting French priest in late 1819. Father Jeremiah O'Flynn left the colony in 1818 after his arrest leaving behind the chapels of Adoration manned by the lay Catholics of New South Wales. This account stated that the Eucharistic host remained fresh and intact for 11 years and thus it would seem that the miraculous host was not consumed by Father O'Flynn but remained in its place of honour at the Kent St Chapel. In late 1819 a French priest visited the colony and said Masses and brought this Irish practice to an end in the name of Canon Law and consumed the miraculous host. Once again legalism triumphed over the principle of the good of the salvation of souls. The Irish Catholics were used to lay involvement with moving the Eucharist and Adoration due to the British Penal Laws that suppressed the Catholic religion in Ireland and led to the 1798 rebellion that sent them to Australia as convicts.

In 2008 Pope Benedict spoke favourably of these early settlers and Father Jeremiah O'Flynn in his homily at St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney. "In this noble cathedral I rejoice to greet my brother Bishops and priests, and the deacons, religious and laity of the Archdiocese of Sydney. In a very special way, my greeting goes to the seminarians and young religious who are present among us. Like the young Israelites in today’s first reading, they are a sign of hope and renewal for God’s people; and, like those young Israelites, they will have the task of building up the Lord’s house in the coming generation. As we admire this magnificent edifice, how can we not think of all those ranks of priests, religious and faithful laity who, each in his or her own way, contributed to the building up of the Church in Australia? Our thoughts turn in particular to those settler families to whom Father Jeremiah O’Flynn entrusted the Blessed Sacrament at his departure, a "small flock" which cherished and preserved that precious treasure, passing it on to the succeeding generations who raised this great tabernacle to the glory of God. Let us rejoice in their fidelity and perseverance, and dedicate ourselves to carrying on their labours for the spread of the Gospel, the conversion of hearts and the growth of the Church in holiness, unity and charity!..."

One of Father O'Flynn's first acts in Australia was the baptism of an adult Jew into the Catholic Faith. Was this Australia's first Hebrew Catholic? Dr Joe Morley writes: "When the ship arrived at Hobart at the end of October 1817, Lieutenant Governor Sorrell received him cordially and had him to dinner each night. He asked him to celebrate Mass publicly and was pleased to have him marry eight Catholic couples and baptise 15 children and a Jew." It is also interesting that one of the first fleet Jewish convicts Esther Abrahams married George Johnston who was the soldier responsible for crushing the Castle Hill revolt.

It would seem that Father O'Flynn upset the Protestant authorities at his success in converting Protestants to the Catholic Faith. The Anglican authorites wanted an obedient Catholic priest who pacified the Irish Catholics not an evangelising missionary that was successful in converting Protestants to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Joe Morley continues in his article in the Catholic Weekly :"...Upon arrival in Sydney, O’Flynn visited Governor Macquarie and sought permission to conduct his mission. A little more than six months later (May 18, 1818), Macquarie wrote to Earl Bathurst and told him that “Mr Jeremiah O’Flynn priest’’ had shown himself to have been a meddling bigot who had even failed to produce credentials to affirm that he was what he claimed to be, “the Irish Roman Catholic Priest ... representing in this country to be those of a Popish Catholic Missionary under Your Lordship’s sanction”. Macquarie said the several ships that had arrived since O’Flynn came to Sydney had not carried the credentials O’Flynn told him he had believed would actually have preceded his arrival. Governor Macquarie also accused O’Flynn of having broken a pledge that he would not “exercise any of the priestly functions’’. Worse, said Macquarie, he was actually “making converts among English Protestants’’ and had not returned to England, which Macquarie had ordered him to do..."

This wonderful priest from near Tralee in county Kerry was a thorn in the sides to all those who represented institutionalism in Church or State and he had managed to have himself excommunicated and his faculties removed by his Church superiors but ignored these men and continued his priestly mission to save souls. The Pope later vindicated and removed any excommunications or penalties and made him the Prefect Apostolic to New South Wales. It would seem that St. Mother Mary Mckillop followed in his footsteps.

Joe Morley writes: "...Born on Christmas day 1788 near Tralee in County Kerry, O’Flynn went to England in 1810 and joined the Trappist monastery there. Following a hurried final training, O’Flynn was ordained as a deacon by Bishop Poynter, the Vicar Apostolic of London, on March 29, 1813. Bishop Poynter wrote a glowing tribute to him and praised his qualifications. In April, Fr O’Flynn left England with six French Trappist refugees and another Irish Trappist for Canada via the West Indies. On the voyage O’Flynn clashed violently with the Trappist Lord Abbot, who excommunicated him. O’Flynn ignored the suspension and continued with the mission.

The Trappists established a mission in Martinique in the West Indies instead of Canada. The British Governor expelled the French monks for refusing to pray for King George III, but O’Flynn stayed on until 1814, when he moved to the island of Saint Croix.

Father O’Flynn had had two turbulent years in Saint Croix and in April 1816, his archbishop refused to renew the faculties and sent charges to Rome accusing him of intrusion and incompetence. The archbishop also added that O’Flynn had been suspended by his Lord Abbot but had continued to minister.

So Father O’Flynn went to Rome and requested that Pope Pius VII have his case heard and “any censure, excommunication, suspension and irregularity whatsoever be removed and he be appointed Prefect or Missionary to Botany Bay in New South Wales’’. Propaganda Fide heard the case and Pius VII concurred with the request, but the case was delayed and a commission was appointed to find out more about Father O’Flynn. On September 1, 1816, O’Flynn himself wrote seeking Pius VII’s approval for him to go to New Holland (NSW). And when, on September 9, the commission reported favourably on him, Propaganda issued Letters Patent the same day confirming his appointment as Prefect Apostolic of the Mission of “Botanibe”. ..."

The Archdiocese of Sydney has this in an article on its website: "...Before his reluctant departure from the little colony, Father O'Flynn had been enabled to make a wonderful provision for the religious devotional life of the flock he was leaving behind. What he left as he boarded the ship was no less than the Blessed Eucharist itself. Some say that Father O'Flynn had been interrupted as he said Mass and was unable to consume the Sacred Host, others, that he left it deliberately for the consolation of the people. Whatever the case may be, the Blessed Sacrament consecrated by Father O'Flynn became the focus of Catholic life and devotion for nearly two years until, it appears, a visiting French priest finally arrived in Sydney, said Mass and consumed the Sacred particle.

In the meantime, the Catholics of Sydney, harried and oppressed, troubled by so many afflictions of their difficult and lonely life, found in the Blessed Eucharist the consoling presence of Christ Himself. A prominent Catholic of the colony, William Davis, whose house stood at the corner of Harrington street and Grosvenor St enjoyed the dignity of welcoming his Lord into his own home there and as the months passed constant prayer was maintained before the little tabernacle of simple cedar containing the pyx which held the Lord. On Sundays large crowds gathered and the people prayed before the Blessed Sacrament with intense devotion. In those times when it was not possible to have a priest, it was standard practice for Catholics to meet and sanctify the Sunday with the rosary, a few other devotions and of course, someone would read out the Mass prayers. The little congregation at William Davis' cottage had a special intention which was the object of their constant prayers during those years. They prayed to God to send them a priest. By now there were ten thousand Catholics in the Colony, and they had no one to confess their sins to, no-one to bless their marriages, nor offer Mass, perform the last rites or supply all those other minisrations for which the people needed a priest..."

Another website article states: "...Though Gladesville was not settled when Fr O'Flynn was in Sydney, it has a strong connection with that early history of the colony. The story is as follows: In the Blessed Sacrament Chapel of our church there is a small wooden cross which is a precious link with the early Catholic history of Sydney. In May 1818 Fr Jeremiah O'Flynn was deported under arrest from the colony. The Blessed Eucharist was left in the home of James Dempsey in Kent St. Reserved in a cedar cupboard it became a focus of Catholic worship where the faithful gathered for Sunday devotions until November 1819 when it was consumed by the chaplain of a visiting French ship. From the wood of the cedar cupboard, which was carefully preserved by the Dempsey family, Charles Cavanagh, at the request of the authorities, carved the frontal of the altar in the first chapel of St Patrick's College, Manly, the seminary built by Archbishop Moran in 1888. Charles, a devout man and considering the material a kind of sacred relic, retained some of the wood left over and even the shavings. From the wood he made three crosses which he passed on to his own family. Anna Cavanagh, his daughter and a parishioner of Gladesville, gave them to Fr Byron, the Parish Priest. He in turn gave one (together with the shavings) to the Catholic Museum at St Mary's Cathedral, kept one in the presbytery and placed the third in the Blessed Sacrament chapel where it serves as a fitting memento of the eucharistic faith of the first Australian Catholic pioneers.(Historical Note: There is some dispute as to whether Fr O'Flynn left the Blessed Sacrament in the Dempsey home or that of Davis, as stated in our main historical section. Some historians compromise saying that it was transferred between the two. Certainly the evidence for the Dempsey house, including that embodied in the above, is very strong.).."

Today Western Australia has four chapels of Perpetual Adoration in Perth, Brisbane has one and Melbourne has one. Sadly New South Wales has not one chapel of Perpetual Adoration. A number of chapels in Australia in recent years have been closed down or ceased to be Perpetual mainly due to clerical indifference or hostility. All over the world Cardinals, Bishops and priests have attacked and hindered or destroyed many chapels of Perpetual Adoration and those who promote them. Other Cardinals, Bishops and priests who have supported the chapels and the promoters have themselves been attacked. These good and faithful clergy are demoted or slandered while the enemies of Perpetual Adoration take the highest seats in the Church. Often it is through the use of legalism and a feigned respect for the Eucharist that the enemies of Perpetual Adoration in the Church achieve their goal of destroying Perpetual Adoration as they did in Jerusalem in 2003. Father Jeremiah O'Flynn should be promoted as the perfect model of those who love our Eucharistic Lord and who put the priority of the salvation of souls ahead of all man-made rules and regulations that seek to stifle our Lord's mission in the Eucharist to evangelise all people. The New Evangelisation is Eucharistic Evangelisation and Canon 1752 states that the salvation of souls is the supreme law of the Church.

Also see The Dempsey Story

Raffalovich and a Catholic Theology on Homosexuality

2011-04-06T01:40:00.047+08:00

The Young Marc-Andre Raffalovich
Frederick S Roden in his book "Same-sex Desire in Victorian Religious Culture" comments how Raffalovich's ideas lead to a Catholic theology on homosexuality and that Raffalovich ideas are reflected in the modern understanding of the Catholic Church as expressed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
The Older Marc-Andre Raffalovich
The Catholic Catechism of the Catholic church writes about same-sex attraction : "2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms throughout the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on sacred Scripture, which present homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity [Gen. 19:1-29, Rom. 1:24-27, 1 Cor. 6:10, 1Tim. 1:10], tradition has always declared that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered [Persona Humana 8]. They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.

2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. They do not choose their homosexual condition; for most of them it is a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.

2359 Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection."

Raffalovich
Raffalovich was a 19th century Hebrew Catholic or Catholic Jew. His name was Marc-Andre Raffalovich and was a famous French poet and writer associated with John Gray and Oscar Wilde. He came from a wealthy Russian Jewish family from Odessa who moved to France a year before his birth. He became a Catholic in 1896 through the reading of Catholic mystical literature especially St John of the Cross. His sister Sophie also became a devout Catholic when she married her husband William O'Brien. HIs brother was Arthur Raffalovich. His mother Marie Raffalovich was noted for her artistic and literary salons in Paris and Marc-Andre was to establish his own salons in Britain. Marie married her uncle Hermann Raffalovich. She was the daughter of the banker Leon Raffalovich and Rosette Lowensohn. Marie and her husband Hermann Raffalovich were attached to Judaism enough that they left Odessa rather than convert to Christianity. Hermann's father Abraham and brother Anissim (Onesime) had converted in order to continue the family banking and merchant interests in Odessa in 1857. Abraham's brother Solomon remained a leader in the orthodox Jewish community and continued the family's ship building business for the Czar. Abraham and Solomon's brother Kalmaan Raffalovich left Russia in the 1870's and settled in the Holy Land. These three Raffalovich brothers were the grandsons of Raphael Parnes and Miriam Mirels. Miriam was the daughter of Rabbi Moses Mirels the Chief Rabbi of Amsterdam who was in turn the son of Rabbi Zalman Mirels the Chief Rabbi of Hamburg.
John Gray
Marc-Andre Raffalovich advocated a Catholic spirituality of channelling same -sex or homoerotic desires into sublimation through divine intimacy with the Messiah Jesus. He saw that there were two major kinds of homosexuals -a higher or elevated kind who had a high sense of art and beauty and those who were lower and were absorbed in the lustful homosexual activities. It would seem this was based on a Jewish understanding of the animal and divine souls in men. These lower homosexuals or inverts live out acts only according to their animal or base nature of man whereas those who united themselves to divine beauty through the power of the Cross and the dark night of sublimation (bitul and mesirut nefesh) could attain to that part of man that connects with the Divine. One could then have intimate and life-long spiritual and mystical friendships with those of the same-sex as advocated by St Aelred. Raffalovich considered that those of the higher type of homosexual to be the ones who made the best priests followed by heterosexuals who were also able to embrace celibacy. The lower type of homosexual he considered unsuited and dangerous to religious life. His life-long friend John Gray a former lover of Oscar Wilde was to become a Dominican priest supported by Raffalovich. Raffalovich himself became a Dominican Tertiary taking the name of Sebastian in honour of St Sebastian.
St Sebastian
In Raffalovich's understanding of homosexuality I perceive his Jewish sources in Hasidic Judaism united with Catholic mysticism. Uniting Raffalovich's insights with those of John Paul II's theology of the Body and the teachings of Hasidic Judaism can lead to a new understanding of the homosexual and his potential for holiness and becoming a living icon of the crucified Messiah and a great Tzadik who can enter into the suffering of others in a deep way and make tikun (reparation) for them. Raffalovich was also familiar with other famous Hebrew Christians as he mentions Joseph Wolff and Alphonse Ratisbonne in one of his letters.
Marie Raffalovich: Mother of Marc-Andre Raffalovich
Hasidic Jewish teachings warn of the dangers of p'gam ha brit (spilling the seed/masturbation) which feeds the animal soul (or inclination)of the homosexual (this also applies to the heterosexual) whereas the divine element is fed by reflecting on beauty in nature, religion, music and the arts. Masturbation and lustful thoughts distort ones spirituality and leads to loneliness and an obsession with the self. Priests and religious are called to focus on the perfect male who is the God-Man and when they shift their focus from divine intimacy with him, it may lead to them focusing on the closest thing to the manliness they find in Christ- young, handsome men. Instead of using their sexuality as a way to give selflessly to God and others they fall into the power of the evil inclination and hurt themselves, others and God.

The man or woman caught in the lower form need only to start to desire the higher ways and God will respond and send them help if they remain open and avail themselves of the sacraments and Eucharistic adoration. It is not the case of denying who they are but of embracing it and using it for a higher purpose. Raffalovich and Gray may have started out as physical lovers before Raffolovich's conversion to Catholicism (but this is not clear)but after his conversion they grew into a deep, celibate and spiritual friendship that lasted their entire life by sublimating their homoerotic desires to a higher purpose rooted in the Cross of the Messiah.

In the case of Marc Andre Raffalovich, John Gray and Oscar Wilde (as well as Lord Alfred Douglas) who all embraced Catholicism we have wonderful models of hope for those struggling in this area of their lives. Oscar Wilde seems to give hope for those caught up in the lower form who then embrace a desire to be transformed by the Messiah. Many were surprised when the Vatican newspaper published a positive article on Oscar Wilde. Once the Church fully assimilates the rich teaching contained in John Paul II's "Theology of the Body", then Raffalovich's ideas may help in developing a deeper understanding of the spiritual and emotional aspects of same-sex love and desire and its transformation in the Messiah. This will be 'deep calling to deep' and the turning of a great cross and struggle into Eucharistic Intimacy and Glory.

Oscar Wilde's "The Dole of the King's Daughter"

Note: Abraham Raffalovich the father of Hermann, Annissim and Leon Raffalovich was married to Olga Lowensohn (the daughter of Leon Lowensohn). Olga's sister Bella Lowensohn was married to Charles Joachim Ephrussi of Odessa. The Ephrussi family were related to the Rothschilds. Marie Raffalovich's sister Elena Raffalovich was also famous in Italy.

The End of Times

2011-04-05T13:51:00.008+08:00

The Jewish mystical book "Zohar" speaks of two periods known as the "end of times". Many people recently are speaking about our present time as the "end of times". However as Catholics and Jews we know that this term is referring to the first end of times and it is the end of a stage of salvation history that is drawing to a close. This period's close is also called 'the end of the times of the gentiles' or 'the end of the time of special mercy for the Gentiles.

Pope Benedict XVI is the Pope of this 'end of times' which is rapidly drawing to an end and the special time of mercy for the Jews will begin. The time of the Gentiles lasted for 2000 years and also concludes with the era also known as the church of Sardis by Venerable Frederic Holzhauser. Don Bosco predicted that there will be a terrible crucifixion of the church and purification and that through this the Chair of Moses (Rabbinic Judaism)will lead their flock in a new direction. This will be the time that will lead to a major ingrafting of the Jews and Judaism into the Catholic Faith. They will bring with them the immense riches of Jewish belief and tradition which will cause a spiritual resurrection from the dead for the Church and the World.

The time of great shakings is already underway in which all the religious and political structures will collapse during a time of great deception with a false messiah and a false church. Many Jews and Gentiles will be deceived at first but the Jews will wake up to the deception and join with the remnant of Gentiles that have remained awake and the Jews will lead the push for the new Eucharistic Evangelisation and usher in a great era of peace also known as the Church of Philadelphia- where the two brothers will love each other once again. We are not at the end of the world or of history but we are at an 'end of times' as told by Our Lady to the children of Garabandal. Blessed Anne Emmerich speaks of the 12 apostles of the end times (latter days) working quietly all over the world in this period. One of these apostles will be the future Jewish Pope who in this period is still a layman.

Jewish Christian Codices and Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai

2011-04-04T00:44:00.024+08:00

The Image of the Crucified Messiah on the Codex
Those who have read my articles and blogs will be aware that for many years I have claimed that the Zohar (which has traditionally been said to have written by Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai) was in origin a Jewish Christian document. I also believe Shimon bar Yochai and his family were some of the crypto-Christian Jews in the Jewish community in the second century. I also written that the Jewish Christians who re-assimilated back into the Jewish communities brought their mystical traditions with them and passed them on in secret especially among those descended form the royal House of King David. The discovery of ancient codices in the Holy Land may further confirm these ideas of mine based on a study of Kabbalah and history.

An article in the Daily Mail states: "The image is eerily familiar: a bearded young man with flowing curly hair. After lying for nearly 2,000 years hidden in a cave in the Holy Land, the fine detail is difficult to determine. But in a certain light it is not difficult to interpret the marks around the figure’s brow as a crown of thorns. The extraordinary picture of one of the recently discovered hoard of up to 70 lead codices – booklets – found in a cave in the hills overlooking the Sea of Galilee is one reason Bible historians are clamouring to get their hands on the ancient artefacts. If genuine, this could be the first-ever portrait of Jesus Christ, possibly even created in the lifetime of those who knew him..."

The recent discoveries of what look to be early Jewish Christian codices found in Jordan seem to link the Jewish Christians to the Kabbalah and Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. The Daily Mail article states that another scholar connects the codices to Kabbalah and Rabbi Shimon ben Yachai: "...If genuine, it seems clear that these books were, in fact, created by an early Messianic Jewish sect, perhaps closely allied to the early Christian church and that these images represent Christ himself. However another theory, put forward by Robert Feather – an authority on The Dead Sea Scrolls and author of The Mystery Of The Copper Scroll Of Qumran – is that these books are connected to the Bar Kokhba Revolt of 132-136AD, the third major rebellion by the Jews of Judea Province and the last of the Jewish-Roman Wars. The revolt established an independent state of Israel over parts of Judea for two years before the Roman army finally crushed it, with the result that all Jews, including the early Christians, were barred from Jerusalem.

The followers of Simon Bar Kokhba, the commander of the revolt, acclaimed him as a Messiah, a heroic figure who could restore Israel. Although Jewish Christians hailed Jesus as the Messiah and did not support Bar Kokhba, they were barred from Jerusalem along with the rest of the Jews. The war and its aftermath helped differentiate Christianity as a religion distinct from Judaism. The spiritual leader of the revolt was Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, who laid the foundations for a mystical form of Judaism known today as Kabbalah... Yochai hid in a cave for 13 years and wrote a secret commentary on the Bible, the Zohar, which evolved into the teaching of Kabbalah. Feather is convinced that some of the text on the codices carry the name of Rabbi Bar Yochai..."

While the two theories at face value seem to be opposed to one another, I believe they may both be correct and they may provide contemporary evidence of the Jewish Christian origins of the Kabbalah. It was Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai who said "The Torah was given to be expounded only to the eaters of Manna" (in Midrash Mechilta), which reveals his secret faith in the Eucharistic Messiah of Israel. I have many times in my holy hours of Adoration prayed for just such a discovery and it may seem that my prayers have been answered if these discoveries are authentic. There are already those who cannot accept the authenticity of these codices due to it not fitting with their already preconceived ideas on how things should be. It is the heights of arrogance to dismiss something without examining it thoroughly just because it may conflict with ones previously accepted theories. Unfortunately the culture of arrogance reigns in academic and scholarly circles. It may turn out that these codices are modern forgeries but one needs to wait until that is shown conclusively rather than just assuming they are because there have been fakes in the past.

Professor Philip Davies writing about the language on the codices said: "My own scrutiny suggests to me and to several of my colleagues that the form of the archaic Semitic script corresponds well to what was used in the era 200BCE-100CE. However much of the writing appears to be in code and many of the images are unfamiliar. The possibility of a Hebrew-Christian origin is certainly suggested by the imagery and, if so, these codices are likely to bring dramatic new light to our understanding of a very significant but so far little understood period of history. The adoption of a codex format may also be relevant: it is known to have been adopted by Christians from about the first century CE."

Added July 2011: It seems that tests on the lead codices seem to be leading to them being authentic. There has been a vigorous attempt to discredit them in certain circles. It would seem that the question of the authenticity of the codices is still up to debate. see this.

She Walks in Beauty

2011-03-28T04:01:00.043+08:00

Lord Byron
Lord Byron has always been a favourite of mine. I love the Gothic Romantic Era as well as the more recent New Romantic movement of the 80's in fashion and music. Much of today's society and technological culture is dull, ugly, tedious and bland. The bland leading the bland. My favourite Oscar Wilde quote is: "It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious." Dostoyevsky proclaimed that "Beauty will save the world". Lord Byron expressed this longing for Beauty in his famous poem from the "Hebrew Melodies". He wrote a number of poems which were set by Isaac Nathan to Jewish melodies in 1815. One of the most beautiful is called "She walks in Beauty". There have been many discussions of who this woman was- some believing it described Lord Byron's sister Augusta, others his cousin Anne Wilmot. However I believe this is the Woman of Israel- the Matronita- the Dark Lady- of Jewish mystical tradition who is also called the Black Madonna in Catholic tradition associated with the Night (Lilah) of Genesis One. This woman is the Lady of Israel who is God's masterpiece of Beauty. The Zohar proclaims her role as the dark light of Beauty.
Isaac Nathan
In this ugly era this Beauty will shine forth as our hearts long for a return of the Beauty that appeared briefly in the Gothic Romantic era and the New Romantic era. Many Jews may wonder what the Romantic era has to do with the Jewish people but I think the these Hebrew melodies of Lord Byron and Isaac Nathan and the Jewish characters in Eliot's Daniel Deronda open up this era to the Jewish world. This is part of the inheritance of the Anglo-Jews. Lord Byron's mother Catherine Gordon was of the Gordon family who it is believed had orthodox Jewish relatives in Europe and a relative of Lord Byron called Lord George Gordon became a convert to Judaism. Lord George died in prison when Lord Byron was five but it would seem that the pro-Jewish views of the Gordon clan were passed on to Lord Byron by his mother. It is possible that Lord Byron visited his relative in prison with his mother.

She Walks in Beauty
By Lord Byron (1788-1824)

She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellow'd to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impair'd the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o'er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!

See this sung version of the poem She walks in Beauty
Another version

Also see The Lady of Shalott and Anglo-Jewish Inheritance

An interesting article on Lord Byron and Daniel Deronda

Note 1: In reading and listening to the poems in the "Hebrew Melodies" I recognised some of the poems my mother read to me as a child including 'The Destruction of Sennacharib' and 'The Vision of Belshazzar'.

Note 2: Isaac Nathan's mother may have been the Jewish mistress of the Prince of Wales (George IV) called Mrs Mary Lewis (nee Goldsmith/Goldsmid)who later married William Lewis of Brighton. The Lewis family came from Norley Cheshire and had a family legend of being descended from a Polish king and his Jewish mistress similiar to the story claimed by Isaac Nathan for his father's family. Mrs Lewis was also like Isaac Nathan in the employ of Princess Charlotte. His father would seem to have been a relative to Barnett Nathan of Kent. It may be that his father Menahem's brother Mordechai was the father of Barnett Nathan [b.1785] of Kent. Isaac also had a brother Barnett Nathan[b.1793/4]and he also had a nephew called Barnett Nathan [b.1832]. Isaac's brother Frank Benjamin Nathan married Catherine Hart daughter of Eliezer Hart of London. Frank and Catherine were the parents of Mark, Benjamin, Sarah and Sylvia Nathan. Sylvia married Major Joseph Michael Beecham a grandson of Sir Joseph Beecham the first Baronet Beecham. Isaac also had a brother called Nathan Nathan who named his son Isaac Nathan (who married Elizabeth Hart)after his brother Isaac. It would seem that the mysterious services that Isaac Nathan did for George IV was connected to his secret marriage to Maria Fitzherbert and their secret Payne family as well as George IV's secret Lewis family with Isaac Nathan's mother.

Note 3: Isaac Nathan was married to Elizabeth Rosetta Worthington (died 1826) who converted to Judiasm and was married a second time in the synagogue. His second wife was Henrietta Buckley. Henrietta's sister Caroline Buckley was married to Isaac's brother Barnett in 1816. Isaac's eldest child Dr Charles Braham Nathan (married Harriet Fisher in 1842) was a famous Sydney surgeon and the son of his first wife. He also had a son Alfred (fourth child of his first wife who married Hannah Barker in 1858) and a daughter Louisa Caroline (second child of his first wife who married William Lawe Gane)and Selina Jane (his third child born in 1822) and he also had daughters Marian (who married Thomas Venour in 1842) and Jessy Rosetta (the last child of his first wife). He also had six other children by his second wife- Walter Byron Nathan [b.1845 Sydney], Una Nathan [b.1850 Sydney who married Walter Leighton Fell in 1878],Henry Lynd Nathan {b.1844 Sydney who married Anne McFarlane in 1878], Zillah Nathan [b.1839 d.1921], Adah Nathan (married Frederick Vigne in 1850) and Temple F S Nathan (died 1909). Isaac Nathan's grandson Harry Alfred Nathan (son of Alfred and Hannah Nathan) is said to have composed "Waltzing Matilda".

see Twilight by Lord Byron

Is the 16th of Nisan the Date of the Crucifixion?

2011-03-09T18:10:00.056+08:00

One reads about many theories about the date of the crucifixion. By a study of the writings of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov and the Breslov literature it would seem that the date of the crucifixion was the 16th of Nisan and not the 14th or 15th as believed by most. I have thought about this for a long time and believe that the Breslovers have preserved the true date of the crucifixion of the Tzadik. Thus the resurrection occurred on Sunday the 18th of Nisan. The number 18 in Judaism signifies Chai (Life). [see Breslov Rabbi Yehoshuah Starret's Brelsov Commentary on Esther] This is connected to the mystery of Mordechai as a type of the Messianic Tzadik and the festivals of Purim, Passover and Lag B'omer (the 33rd Day of the Omer counting).

The crucifixion could not have occurred on Nisan 15 as this was a day of strict observance. The early Jewish Christians in Babylon and other places re-assimilated back into Judaism bringing with them many Passover customs of the Jewish Christian community. The keeping of the double Passover Seders by Jews in the Diaspora was introduced by these Jewish believers. The vigil of Nisan 15 was kept as the traditional family Seder whereas the vigil of Nisan 16 was celebrated with a Jewish Christian Seder followed by foot washing and the Hebrew Mass in imitation of Jesus' original Last Supper.

Jesus also kept the vigil of Nisan 15 on a Wednesday evening as the strict traditional Passover Seder with his mother and relatives. Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich describes Yeshua with his mother and relatives and other disciples celebrating a ritual meal in which people were dressed in special clothes (some Jews dress up in travelling clothes for the Seder) and eating lambs the night before the Last Supper in an Inn. These lambs had been killed in the Temple earlier on Wednesday afternoon of Nisan 14 (Nisan 15 begins at the sundown). The Last Supper on the following night (Thursday Evening Nisan 16) was a celebration of the Passover with less strict rules with ones friends. Groups of men would gather in what was called Havurot- gatherings of 10-15 men- to celebrate the second night of Passover together. Even today many Jews still hold second or third Passover celebrations with their havurah. These celebrations are less strict and adapted to the group's wishes.

On Nisan 18 the early Jewish Christians celebrated the Messianic Passover Feast (Meal of the Messiah/ Easter)in the afternoon at 3 in imitation of when Jesus appeared to the Apostles in the Cenacle after his Resurrection. This celebration was preserved in secret by the Jewish Christians who had reentered the Jewish community and later was continued by the Jewish mystics known as the Nistarim (Hidden Ones). The Baal Shem Tov (the founder of Chasidism) then revealed this Meal of the Messiah to his Chasidic followers and it was transferred to the Third Meal on the Sabbath and to the Last Day of Passover.

The Last Day of Passover is connected to the mystery of the splitting of the Red Sea and the Song of Miriam. I suspect that the early Jewish Christians celebrated a Marian Feast on the Last Day of Passover using the mystical traditions regarding Miriam at the Sea and Miriam's well with her fulfilment in the New Miriam Mother of the Messiah. Her mystical name was Zohar. This feast was transferred later to the Fourth meal of Sabbath and the first of the Week called Melaveh Malka (Farewelling the Queen) and to the custom of drawing healing water from wells at the end of Sabbath when all wells became Miriam's wells. The 15th of Av was also a Marian feast celebrating the Birth and/or Assumption of Our Lady by the early Jewish Christians that was brought into Judaism as a rather mysterious women's festival.

Rabbi Yeshoshuah Starret writes in "A Breslov Commentary on the Megillah Esther" using Mordechai as a type of the crucified Tzadik and Haman as the Evil One (Satan):"...All along, Haman's goal had been to separate the Jewish people from Mordekhai, from the Tzaddik (see "The Decree Against Morchekhai"). But now, he saw that his plan was not working. The Jewish people were returning to Mordekhai enmasse. So his advisors had a plan which would have the same effect- make Mordekhai a martyr. Ascribe to him superhuman powers, symbolised by the 50-cubit high gallows, made from a tree; crucify him and elevate him to the status of a god.

And when "Haman" raises Mordekhai, it has two possible effects. Some of us see the Tzaddik and the lessons he meant for us as beyond reach. Because who can reach the 50th level, who can hope to "climb the tree", except for the Tzaddik...And then there are those who turn their backs and say: " To hold a human being in such awe, to 'raise him on a tree,' to say his teachings are God's Word and the only way to reach Him- that's idolatry!" But such a complaint is just a pretext to deny the truth (Likutey Halakhot, Minchah 7:3, ibid,Hefker 3:2), to cover our real intention: That we ourselves covet that awe to promote our own self-idolatry (Likutey Moharan I,10:4-5) so we who won't humble ourselves, who won't see the Tzaddik so high, choose to blind ourselves with the veil of our own conceit. We close our ears to his inspiring lessons rather than reject our vanity...Because it was the 16th of Nisan, the first day of the Omer-counting, when Haman wanted to hang Mordekahi on the tree (Rokeach, Esther 6)...So "Haman" thought Omer-counting time was ideal to "raise the Tzaddik" and disunite all the Jewish "points'. But Mordekhai the Tzaddik revealed the Day of Purim, a day which the light of Lag B'omer shines...(In any given year Purim and the 33rd day of the Omer occur on the same day of the week)...It was after three days of inspiring the children and the sinners- on the 16th of Nisan, the third day of the fast- when the scholars came to learn the laws of the Omer, that Mordekhai revealed its true meaning (Megillah 16a). The Omer which was in the Temple brought on that day, symbolises the element of renewal...". Thus it would seem that within Judaism itself has been preserved a tradition that hints that the crucifixion occurred on the 16th of Nisan.

Barbara Frale a historian and researcher on the Shroud of Turin claimed to have discovered and read Jesus' burial certificate on the Shroud. "The Times" of November 21 2009 reports: "A Vatican scholar claims to have deciphered the "death certificate" imprinted on the Shroud of Turin, or Holy Shroud, a linen cloth revered by Christians and held by many to bear the image of the crucified Jesus.Dr Barbara Frale, a researcher in the Vatican secret archives, said "I think I have managed to read the burial certificate of Jesus the Nazarene, or Jesus of Nazareth." She said that she had reconstructed it from fragments of Greek, Hebrew and Latin writing imprinted on the cloth together with the image of the crucified man...

However Dr Frale, who is to publish her findings in a new book, La Sindone di Gesu Nazareno (The Shroud of Jesus of Nazareth) said that the inscription provided "historical date consistent with the Gospels account". The letters, barely visible to the naked eye, were first spotted during an examination of the shroud in 1978, and others have since come to light...Like the image of the man himself the letters are in reverse and only make sense in negative photographs. Dr Frale told La Repubblica that under Jewish burial practices current at the time of Christ in a Roman colony such as Palestine, a body buried after a death sentence could only be returned to the family after a year in a common grave. A death certificate was therefore glued to the burial shroud to identify it for later retrieval, and was usually stuck to the cloth around the face. This had apparently been done in the case of Jesus even though he was buried not in a common grave but in the tomb offered by Joseph of Arimathea.

Dr Frale said that many of the letters were missing, with Jesus for example referred to as "(I)esou(s) Nnazarennos" and only the "iber" of "Tiberiou" surviving. Her reconstruction, however, suggested that the certificate read: "In the year 16 of the reign of the Emperor Tiberius Jesus the Nazarene, taken down in the early evening after having been condemned to death by a Roman judge because he was found guilty by a Hebrew authority, is hereby sent for burial with the obligation of being consigned to his family only after one full year". It ends "signed by" but the signature has not survived.

Dr Frale said that the use of three languages was consistent with the polyglot nature of a community of Greek-speaking Jews in a Roman colony. Best known for her studies of the Knights Templar, who she claims at one stage preserved the shroud, she said what she had deciphered was "the death sentence on a man called Jesus the Nazarene. If that man was also Christ the Son of God it is beyond my job to establish. I did not set out to demonstrate the truth of faith. I am a Catholic, but all my teachers have been atheists or agnostics, and the only believer among them was a Jew. I forced myself to work on this as I would have done on any other archaeological find."..."

It would seem that the discovery by Barbara Frale would make the year of the crucifixion anywhere from 27-31 AD depending on which dating method one accepts for the reign of Tiberius Caesar. The gathering and selecting of the lambs on the Great Sabbath before Pesach of Nisan 10 in the original Passover in Egypt would also happen on Sabbath Nisan 10 in the years 28, 31 and 34 AD. During these years Good Friday would also have been on Nisan 16 and the Resurrection on Sunday the 18th of Nisan. St Luke tells us that Jesus began his ministry in the 15th year of Tiberius. I suggest that Barbara Frale has reconstructed the death notice incorrectly and that in fact the number 16 on the Shroud refers to the 16th of Nisan in the Jewish calendar. Barbara Frale assumes that the word Iber on the Shroud refers to Tiberius but in fact it refers to a Jewish leap year in which an exta month of II Adar is added. This is mentioned as 'Iber Nisan d'Iber','Ibur Shanah' and 'Shanah m'ubueret' in the Talmud in Pesachim 56. The word Iber literally means pregnant. Thus the year of the crucifixion was on a Jewish leap year which had 13 months. This would thus link us into the connection with Purim and the Book of Esther where the number 13 plays great significance. Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich mentions that Yeshua was also born on a Jewish leap year (a year with 13 months) on a Sunday the 12th of Kislev (25 November).

I believe that the Years 31 or 34 AD are the more likely candidates allowing for the three year ministry of the Tzadik Messiah. In each case the first Passover of Jesus ministry would be in 29 AD or 32 AD based on the 15th year of Tiberius. However the dating of the Jewish calendar at this time was not the same as today so other factors may have come into play such as the dating of Nisan 1 which was based on lunar observation rather than a strict following of the calendar. Also leap months were added to years as they became needed based on the seasons. However I am convinced that whatever year the Crucifixion occurred it was on a Friday the 16th of Nisan in a Jewish leap year.

Note 1: Isaac Newton believed that the crucifixion happened in 23 April 34 AD, however there seems to be some disagreement whether the Friday was a Nisan 15th or 16th in 34 AD. I suggest the most likely date for the crucifixion was Friday 16th of Nisan 3791 [31 AD] which seems to correlate to Julian Friday April 27th 31 AD or Gregorian Friday April 25 31 AD (taking into account that this was a leap year (Iber Shanah). Using the on-line date converter of kuluach.org will give the date of Iyyar 16 but this doesn't take into account that this is a leap year.

Note 2: Blessed Anne Emmerich mentions that fish was served along with lamb at the Festal Supper celebrated at Simon's Inn the night before the Last Supper. Christian tradition in art and literature has always associated a fish with the Last Supper and one of the famous Grails was a fish platter. It is Jewish tradition to serve fish at festal meals.

Note 3: A whole separate article on the number 18 in the Jewish tradition and its connection to the power of the Resurrection. This power of the Resurrection (Life/ Chai) manifesting from Eternity through the power of the Holy Spirit is alluded to in the 18th word of the Torah "hovering" (merachafet)over the "waters" (mayim). The woman flying with the two great wings of the Eagle is also alluded to here in this passage. Lag B'Omer also occurs on Iyyar 18 and the light of the 33rd Day of Omer Counting (lag=33=lamed+gimel)is also connected with the resurrecting power of Life. 18 is also significant in the apparitions of Our Lady at Garabandal.

Mystery of the Black Madonna

2011-02-21T04:01:00.018+08:00

A recent article entitled the "Mystery of the Black Madonna" speculates on the origin and meaning of the numerous Black Madonnas found in Europe. Those who read my blogs would know that this mystery is connected to the mystery of the feminine dark waters and the dark mirror that is the Matronita. She has no light of her own but is the immaculate mirror that reflects perfectly the Glory of God back to God as mentioned in the Book of Wisdom. She is the mystery of the Dark Night discussed by St John of the Cross. It is also Our Lady symbolised as the moon (who has no light of its own) that reflects the light of the Divine Sun.

It is obvious that in the early Church the first Christians of Jewish origin understood the mystery of the Virgin Mary connected with the Well of Miriam and the dark waters of creation connected to the idea of the night. This was represented in artistic form with the Black Madonnas. They also knew that the beliefs about the famous Goddesses of pagan times had elements or sparks of the truth in them, these were then returned to their source in the mystery of the Dark Lady and cleansed of any perversions so that the people could honour Our Lady in purity of understanding.

The concept of the soul being cleansed, purified, healed and restored through the dark night of the soul is found in St John of the Cross and Rebbe Nachman of Breslov (see Likutey Moharan 74:B). This dark night is referred to with Marian -tabernacle language alluding to the soul dwelling in the dark waters of the womb of the Mother. One cannot see in this dark Light but in fact one is protected and surrounded by the Mother who is experienced as darkness and night. Rebbe Nachman refers us to the verse in Isaiah (26:9)"My soul longs for You in the night" and links it with the verse in Genesis (1:5)"And the darkness He called Night". Rabbi Kramer writes: "...Rashi on this verse [Isaiah 26:9] call's this the soul's exile. When trapped in the "dark night of the nefesh [soul]", healing comes through seeking God and yearning for his closeness. Thus in the context of our lesson, the verse reads: "My nefesh longs for You[despite my being]in the night[of judgement and affliction]."

This darkness is also associated by Rebbe Nachman with the blind eyes of Isaac who in the Jewish mystical tradition is associated with din (judgement). Din is associated with the female and Rebbe Nachman alludes to Isaac's mother Sarah. Sarah is seen as the Mother or Shekhinah in her role of constricted judgements. In the Jewish devotion of the Divine Face the eyes are associated with the Sefirot of Din (judgement/ justice) and Chesed (lovingkindness/ mercy). Rabbi Kramer writes: "...In his later years, Yitzach [Isaac]was blind. He is thus said to be enveloped in darkness...On account of his blindness, Yitzach, the aspect of judgements, is associated with darkness. This verse which Rebbe Nachman cites from Genesis [1:5 "the darkness He called Night"] shows that darkness is synonymous with "night", when one's vision is limited and it is difficult for him to see his way. Darkness/ night/ Yitzach/ judgements are thus associated with constricted consciousness, in which it is likewise difficult to see one's spiritual way..."

Thus the darkness that envelops Isaac is the dark Presence or waters of the protecting Womb of the Mother (Shekhinah/ Female). This dark light is called "Zohar". In Jewish tradition Zohar is also another name for Miriam. The darkness that enveloped Golgotha and the earth at the crucifixion was this maternal love and presence of Our Lady (manifesting from Eternity)holding her son in her spiritual womb in this darkest moment of deep mystical night. In Catholic tradition and art the binding and sacrifice of Isaac is also seen as a type of the crucifixion and the sacrifice of the Mass.

Pope Benedict XVI also associated the sacrifice of Isaac and the crucifixion with the divine comedy or laughter (see Behold the Lamb). Rebbe Nachman also alludes to the laughter (TzChoK) of Isaac (Yitzach) and its connection with the darkness and the night of judgements and affliction. The mystery of the use of the Divine Name Elohim in the Akeidah (Binding of Isaac)is associated with the laughter. Rebbe Nachman teaches in Likutey Moharan :"...YiTzChaK corresponds to judgement,the aspect of Elohim, as it is written (Genesis 21:6) "Elohim has brought me TzChoK (laughter)." For Yitzach was born to Sarah, who corresponds to Malkhut (Kingdom)as Rashi explains: She was named SaRaH sheh'SaRah (since she ruled) over the entire world (Genesis 17:5 based on Berakhot 13a). And Kingdom is judgement, as in: The judgement of the Kingdom is judgement(dina d'malkhuta dina)(Gittin10b)..."

Rebbe Nachman alludes to Sarah as Shekhinah (the female associated Malkhut) here as the Ark of the Covenant Sovereign of all the earth (Joshua 3:11) discussed in the Zohar as the Elleh (Elah/Goddess). The mystery of the darkness also alludes to the darkness of the Holy of Holies enveloping the Ark of the Covenant and the darkness in the interior of the Ark where the middle box (arc)made of acacia wood is called Gulgalta (Skull).

When one studies the Kabbalah and the pagan religions in the light of the truths of Catholicism, it reveals how the whole of history was preparing for the revelation of the mysteries of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. One then elevates the sparks of truth hidden even in the pagan religions back to the side of Light.

The Great White Bird

2011-02-17T10:14:00.014+08:00

My mother

My mother died in 2005. She began to write down some of her life story in the last year of her life for a book on her family. I also saw this huge white bird from my bedroom window fly from our house to a tree and then fly off again down the hill. I never shared this with any one until I read my mother's account.

My brother Dean with my sister Tamara the year he was killed in a car accident

"...Religion – My greatest love of all is the study of the Word of God, to find the great eternal truths embodied within the inspired pages of the Bible; the understanding of the great struggle between good and evil and the ultimate end of all things as ordained by God. The understanding of the forces that direct the world powers that are bent on destroying truth and light from out of our world and substituting a world of darkness and slavery in their place. How frightening and terrible are the events coming on our world, yet how wonderful is the ultimate triumph of our Lord. The glorious future for the Sons of God in a world made perfect. How exciting is life, how exciting is life after death.

This just about sums up a rough outline of some of the events of my life. It has been a life of tragedy and sorrow – a life of great joys and highs, of bitterness and despair of unparalleled happiness and joy. Let life roll on and I look with anticipation of tomorrow – God willing.

The Story of the Strange White Bird

Most people have at least one “other world” experience in their lives. This story of the Great White Bird is one such.

When my son, Dean died my 5th son Adam and I were sitting at the end of the long passage that acted as a bedroom for a lot of the children. As we looked out of the window at the other part of the house that ran at an angle from where we were, we saw a strange little white bird land on the guttering of what we called the “new” part of the house.

First he stared intently at us with very piercing eyes then he started to dance up and down along the gutter, all the while peering intently at Adam and myself. As we watched in fascination he suddenly swooped off the roof straight towards us, but the strange thing was that it was no longer a little dove-like bird but a huge white bird with about a six foot wide wing span. It seemed to be coming straight for us, but suddenly turned and flew back to what we called the Angel bush. Then back it came and flew into a tree at the end of the house.

Adam and I raced outside looking in the tree but could see nothing, the huge bird was totally gone. When my nephew came home from work - he was boarding with us at that time – he said as he was coming up the drive he saw a white bird flying away from the house. Both myself and my son were shaken up by this strange phenomenon but in some peculiar fashion it was very comforting.

Years later at Dumbleyung, late one night, when my husband and I had gone out the back of the hotel to have a few drinks with the publican and some friends one of the men, a great big regular aussie bloke suddenly seemed to feel impelled to tell this unusual story about when his father was dying. According to him his father was seriously ill in the Wagin Hospital and as he was dying of cancer, was heavily drugged. He kept telling his family of this strange, huge white bird that kept coming to him in his dreams. The father was convinced that the bird was coming from heaven.

After the father died - one day or rather near dusk one day the son went up to one of his top paddocks on his farm and on getting out of his vehicle (it was now almost dark) and walking a bit away from the vehicle he suddenly saw a large circle of light all around him. Startled he looked up and saw a great white bird hovering over him. He recognized it at once as the Great White heavenly bird of his fathers dream – terror swept over him and he fled to his ute, jumped in and took off for home – totally rattled by this strange unearthly experience. I never told him of my similar experience, but I knew immediately as he told his tale that it was the very same great white bird that had visited us after my son’s death.

They say truth is stranger than fiction – this was a case in point." My mother wrote this in early 2005 she died on September 24 2005 in my arms. The huge white bird I saw looked like a pelican or stork(I think) and I have never seen before or since such a bird where we lived in the Hills of Perth. The bird was pure white with no other colours. I was 9 years old at the time of this event.

After posting this I found references to death and the white bird- see http://www.horrormasters.com/Text/a2806.pdf and also see Devonshire_Characters

Pedro Regis and the Pole Shift

2011-02-05T16:49:00.022+08:00

Those who have been following the prophecies of the Jewish Catholic Brazilian visionary, Pedro Regis, have noticed that Our Lady is predicting a magnetic Pole shift. A recent article (February 4) has claimed that the recent super storms are part of this pole shift. The article on Salem News website begins: "Superstorms can also cause certain societies, cultures or whole countries to collapse. Others may go to war with each other." Since the superstorms began we have seen the Muslim countries such as Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Jordan and Albania erupt with violence.

The article continues: "NASA has been warning about it…scientific papers have been written about it…geologists have seen its traces in rock strata and ice core samples… Now "it" is here: an unstoppable magnetic pole shift that has sped up and is causing life-threatening havoc with the world's weather. Forget about global warming—man-made or natural—what drives planetary weather patterns is the climate and what drives the climate is the sun's magnetosphere and its electromagnetic interaction with a planet's own magnetic field.

When the field shifts, when it fluctuates, when it goes into flux and begins to become unstable anything can happen. And what normally happens is that all hell breaks loose. Magnetic polar shifts have occurred many times in Earth's history. It's happening again now to every planet in the solar system including Earth. The magnetic field drives weather to a significant degree and when that field starts migrating superstorms start erupting."

The article then goes on to state that the superstorms have arrived:"The first evidence we have that the dangerous superstorm cycle has started is the devastating series of storms that pounded the UK during late 2010. On the heels of the lashing the British Isles sustained, monster storms began to lash North America. The latest superstorm—as of this writing—is a monster over the U.S. that stretched across 2,000 miles affecting more than 150 million people."

The article also mentions the recent events in Queensland. Some readers of Pedro Regis believe now that the reference to "the land of the Queen" refers to Queensland in Australia rather than to England. The Salem-News article states: "Yet even as that storm wreaked havoc across the Western, Southern, Midwestern and Northeastern states, another superstorm broke out in the Pacific and closed in on Australia. The southern continent had already dealt with the disaster of historic superstorm flooding from rains that dropped as much as several feet in a matter of hours. Tens of thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed. After the deluge tiger sharks were spotted swimming between houses in what was once a quiet suburban neighborhood.

Shocked authorities now numbly concede that much of the water may never dissipate and have wearily resigned themselves to the possibility that region will now contain a new inland sea. But then only a handful of weeks later another superstorm—the megamonster cyclone Yasi—struck northeastern Australia. The damage it left in its wake is being called by rescue workers a war zone. The incredible superstorm packed winds near 190mph. Although labeled as a category-5 cyclone, it was theoretically a category-6. The reason for that is storms with winds of 155mph are considered category-5, yet Yasi was almost 22 percent stronger than that." This article written by Terrence Aym was first found in a fuller form on the science website called Helium.

In this fuller article he also speaks about the wobble. "...One of the most stunning signs of the approaching Ice Age is what's happened to the world's precessional wobble. The Earth's wobble has stopped. As explained in the geology and space science website earthchangesmedia.com, "The Chandler wobble was first discovered back in 1891 by Seth Carlo Chandler an American astronomer. The effect causes the Earth's poles to move in an irregular circle of 3 to 15 meters in diameter in an oscillation. The Earth's Wobble has a 7-year cycle which produces two extremes, a small spiraling wobble circle and a large spiraling wobble circle, about 3.5 years apart.

"The Earth was in October 2005 moving into the small spiraling circle (the MIN phase of the wobble), which should have slowly unfolded during 2006 and the first few months of 2007. (Each spiraling circle takes about 14 months). But suddenly at the beginning of November 2005, the track of the location of the spin axis veered at a very sharp right angle to its circling motion. "The track of the spin axis began to slow down and by about January 8, 2006, it ceased nearly all relative motion on the x and y coordinates which are used to define the daily changing location of the spin axis."..." I don't know if the stopping of the wobble means the advent of an Ice Age but it certainly means something major is happening to the earth's axis and weather as predicted to Pedro Regis by Our Lady.

Once again it seems that this Brazilian of Jewish Catholic ancestry seems to be truly receiving messages from Our Lady. Many are also taking the prophecies of the African Protestant Dr Owuor who prophesied the recent events in Queensland six months before when he was in Queensland in July/August in 2010 seriously. He also predicts two huge earthquakes and Tsunamis for Tasmania and Western Australia. Dr Owuor for years has been saying that these chastisements are coming because of the corruption, sins, false teachings and modernism of the Bishops, priests and pastors of the Christian Churches. Many of us have known for years the pitiful state of the Catholic church in Queensland where many have half-joked "Does the Catholic Faith still exist in Queensland?". No doubt things would have been worse in Brisbane if a chapel of Perpetual Adoration had not been reestablished recently. Perth was recently spared being hit by Cyclone Bianca no doubt due to its Perpetual Adoration chapels.

Also see Dr Owuor prophecy of the mud in Australia.

Also see Pedro Regis and the Future and The Land of the Queen and Is Pedro Regis Jewish?

Note: Dr Owuor has had a number of mystical visions of the opening of the heavenly doors or gates where he perceives events about manifestations of Glory of the coming of the Lamb and of the wedding feast of the Lamb and the purification of the Church. He interprets these visions according to his Protestant theology about the Rapture whereas Catholics would see that his visions on this would seem to allude to the Eucharistic reign and coming of Jesus which is represented by the Lamb that was Slain in the visions of the Book of Revelation. Catholics know that while a visionary may receive genuine messages from Heaven, the visionary can misinterpret certain aspects of those visions.

1000 year reign of Peace

2011-02-04T22:25:00.014+08:00

The Catholic Catechism states: "The Antichrist's deception already begins to take shape in the world every time the claim is made to realize within history that messianic hope which can only be realized beyond history through the eschatological judgement. The Church has rejected even modified forms of this falsification of the kingdom to come under the name of millenarianism, especially the 'intrinsically perverse' political form of a secular messianism." Many have misunderstood what the church is saying in regard to the millenium. Obviously the church cannot contradict Scripture which states that there will be a 1000 year reign of Peace in which the fulfilment of the Lord's Prayer will occur that the Divine Will shall be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.

Many Catholics, getting confused about what this means, make statements which contradicts the Fathers of the Church. The Church forbids millennialism but what does this mean? It is the idea that Jesus or a Messiah figure or system will come and reign in physical form over a physical earthly kingdom during History. Catholics believe that it is only at the end of history and time that Jesus will return in a bodily form and usher in the World to come in Eternity. This does not mean that there wont be a 1000 year reign or era of Peace ushered in by a spiritual coming of Jesus to reign in and transform hearts through the Eucharist within history. The Fathers call this spiritual coming where Jesus reigns from Heaven in human hearts and minds through the Eucharist and the Holy Spirit- the Hidden or Intermediate Coming. Some refer to this as the Second Coming. St Cyril of Jerusalem mentions this Hidden Coming as does St Bernard of Clairvaux who also calls it the intermediate Coming. St Bernard states " We know that there are three comings of the Lord. The third lies between the other two. It is invisible, while the other two are visible... The intermediate coming is the Hidden one...".

There are some different opinions about what the first resurrection means. Many Catholics believe that this refers to the spiritual resurrection of the soul mentioned in Romans and other places. Others believe it does refer to a bodily resurrection but only of the 144,000 martyred priests who then reign in Heaven with Jesus and Mary in their resurrected bodies. What is forbidden for a Catholic -is to believe that this resurrection of saints means they reign with Jesus in bodily form on the earth in their resurrected bodies during the era of Peace. While they may reign through the Holy Spirit and the Eucharist in hearts over the earth from Heaven they will not do so in bodily form on the earth.

While most Catholics see the figure of 1000 as symbolic or allegorical; a literal belief of a 1000 year Sabbath Rest in History is also acceptable as long as it does not include a belief in resurrected bodies dwelling on earth indulging in carnal delights and feasts. St Augustine also allows such a belief while preferring a different interpretation himself. "And this opinion would not be objectionable, if it were believed that the joys of the saints, in that Sabbath, shall be spiritual, and consequent on the presence of God..."

This Hidden Coming is the one Our Lord referred to as Coming like a thief in the Night. A thief in the Night is not seen clearly. The Final Coming is as clear as Day. The coming like a thief in the night happens at the time of transition between the 5th age of the church of Sardis (from the reign of Charles V till the Great Monarch) and the 6th age of the Church of Philadelphia (Sabbath Era of Peace) as mentioned in Revelation 3:3 (this is also referred to in 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4; Matthew 24:43-44; Luke 12:39-40; 1 Peter 3:10). The Final Coming happens at the end of the Church Age of Laodicea at the end of the world (see Revelation 21).

For a more detailed look at this topic see "The Splendor of Creation" by Father Joseph Ianuzzi.

Pope Benedict XVI's Jewish Ancestry

2011-01-25T17:43:00.023+08:00

Pope John Paul II's mother was of Litvak Jewish ancestry and Pope Benedict XVI's grandmother Maria Tauber-Peintner of Bolzano, Italy (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) may have also been of Jewish ancestry from the Jewish Tauber family of Moravia and Hungary descended from Aaron Tauber of Moravia. It would seem that her mother Elisabeth Maria (Betty) Tauber (b.1834 Moravia) was born a Moravian Jewess who was cut off from her family when she became a Catholic. Moravia and Hungary were regions of the Habsburg ruled Austro-Hungarian Empire until World War 1.

Betty moved to the South Tyrol area of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (now part of Italy) where she had a daughter with Anton Peintner. Anton didn't marry her until about 3 years after the birth of their daughter Maria in Rasa in 1855. Betty was the daughter of Jacob Tauber (b.1811 d.1845)and Josefina (Peppi /Josefa) Knopfelmacher (b.1819 d.1886). Jacob Tauber was the son of Jonas Tauber and his wife Rebekah Zerkowitz. The Zerkowitz family claimed Kohen status.

Pope Benedict XVI is thus a descendant of the Maharal.

(1) Rabbi Yehuda Loew (Leib) ben Bezalel [the MaHaRal of Prague] (c.1512-1609), m. Perla Shmelkes-Reich(c.1516-1610)
(2) Vogele Loew (c.1556-1629) m. Rabbi Isak Ha-Cohen (c.1550-1624)
(3) Chava [Eva] Ha-Cohen (1580-1651) m. Rabbi Abraham Samuel Bachrach (1575-1615), Rabbi in Worms
(4) Rabbi (Moses) Samson / "Simson" / Bachrach (1607-1670), Rabbi in Goding, Leipnik, Prague, and Worms, m. Dobrusch Phobus (c.1610-1662)
(5) Rabbi Jair Chayim Bachrach, aka "the Chavas Yoir" (1638-1702), Rabbi in Worms, m. Sarah [Dinah Sorle] Brillin (c.1638-1703)
(6) Rabbi Samson / "Simson" / Bachrach (b. c.1657), wife's name unknown
(7) Malka Bachrach (b. c.1680), m. Rabbi Zalman Shpitz, president of Beit Din in Eisenstadt
(8) Sarl [Sarah] Shpitz (b. 1703), m. Rabbi Jacob Knoepflmacher (c.1700-before 1739), "the master", "chief rabbi in Mehrin"
(9) Nissel Knoepflmacher (b. c.1722), m. her father's youngest brother, Rabbi Moses Knoepflmacher(1718-1798) of Holesov
(10)Jacob Knopfelmacher (b.1739)m.Katharina (b.1740)
(11) Joachim Knopfelmacher (b.1764)m. Anna (b.1764)
(12) Markus Knopfelmacher (b.1786)m. Betty
(13)Josefina (Peppi/Josefa)Knopfelmacher (b.1809)m. Jacob Tauber (b.1811)
(14) Betty (Elisabeth Maria)Tauber (b.1834 Mahr. Weisskirchen Moravia )married in 1858 at Rio de Pusteria to Anton Peter Peintner
(15) Maria Tauber Peintner (b.1855 Rasa d.1930)m. Isidor Rieger
(16) Maria Peinter Rieger (b.1884)m. Joseph Ratzinger
(17) Joseph Alois Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI)

Tauber Genealogy

Aaron Tauber may have come from the Jewish community of the Tauber Valley in Bavaria from which he received his surname. He later moved to Moravia. The emblem of the Tauber family is the Dove connected to the name Jonas or Jonah. Aaron's father was Jonas of the Tauber who was a descendant of Rabbi Jonah Gerondi. It would seem that the Tauber ancestors took Catholic identity and names during the persecution of the Bavarian Jews and later openly reverted to Judaism in Moravia.

1. Aaron Tauber of Leipnik Moravia [b.1658]
2. Isaac Tauber of Leipnik Moravia [b.1690] older brother of Joachim Lobl (Leopold) Tauber of Holesov Moravia
3. Jacob Tauber of Lepnik Moravia [b.1715]
4. Jonas Tauber of Mahr. Weisskirchen Moravia [b.1739 d.1822] m. second wife Rebekah Zerkowitz [b.1788]
5. Jacob Tauber [b.1811]m. second wife Josefina Knopfelmacher
6. Betty Tauber [b.1834]

The Three Vavs and Joseph

2011-01-25T11:12:00.014+08:00

Judy Racz's Vav
The Jewish mystical book 'Zohar' speaks of the mystery of the three vavs. The letter vav represents the letter six. This number is connected to the concept of 'man' as man was formed from the dust of the earth on the sixth day. He was created as the connection between Heaven and Earth and the first vav of the Bible is found in the first sentence of Genesis at the beginning of the sixth word. Bereshit bera Elohim et haShamayim ve-et haAretz (In the beginning God Created the heavens and (va) the earth). Here we see the concept of the vav connecting the heavens and the Earth.

6+6+6=18 and 18 is connected to the word life (Khai). In the Jewish mystical system the vav also represent the male or man. The sefirah of Tiferet/Rachamim is represented by the vav-this is the first or large vav who is the Blessed Holy One of Israel associated with the mystery of Jacob and the Divine Sun. He is called Zer Anpin-the vessel or chariot between the Godhead and man. Zer Anpin is also called Ben (Son).

The word vav itself when spelt has a second vav which is connected closely to the first. This second vav is called the small vav and is associated with the concept of Joseph and with the sixth of the lower sefirot called Yesod and Tzadik. Breslov Rabbi Chaim Kramer writes in the footnotes to the Mykoff and Bergman edition to the 'Likutey Moharan': "The Zohar teaches that on the hierarchy of the sefirot Yaakov parallels Tiferet and Yosef parallels Yesod...Tiferet is alternatively referred to as the vav (=6), for it encompasses the six sefirot of Zeir Anpin. Yesod is also itself known as a vav, being the sixth of the seven lower sefirot... In Kabbalah, these are known as the "large" vav and the "small" vav. They parallel each other and are inseparable. That which Tiferet can do, Yesod can do (on a lesser scale). This is suggested in the letter vav itself. It cannot be enunciated without pronouncing a second vaV (zohar I,182b; nitzutzei Orot,1). In these ways Yaakov and Yosef are considered as one. Thus just as Yaakov had the power to confer chein, Yosef could confer chein. The Parparaot Lechokhmah adds that this is why we find that in blessing Yosef, Yaakov referred to him as "a son with chein" (Rashi, Genesis 49:22). Throughout the different branches of Torah teachings, Yosef is seen as the personification of the true tzaddik. This is because Yosef parallels Yesod, the sefirah that denotes the qualities embodied by the tzaddik. Rebbe Nachman teaches elsewhere that the tzaddik is always attempting to reveal and enhance the true beauty of every Jewish soul (Likutey moharan I.17:1)..."

The two yods of the names Yaakov (Jacob) and Yosef (Joseph) represent the upper and lower worlds. They are connected by a vav and make the letter aleph. The word chien or Khen means grace and when its two letters of chet and nun are joined they form the letter tav. The mystery of the third vav is the mystery of the earthly tzadik who manifests the fullness of the graces coming from the two higher vavs. This third vav is the very little vav who is a Joseph-like Tzadik who will (with the graces of the two higher vavs)bring the earth to the fullness of the kingdom so that the Divine Will shall reign on earth as it does in heaven. This Joseph will be the spiritual ruler over the lost House of Israel (the Church in Europe)and called in Kabbalah the Priest of On. He will be opposed by the confeit Messiah who will also claim the triple 666.

Just as Daniel and Zechariah prophecied that there would be four final antichrists (beasts or horns) so there will be four Joseph-like Popes (four craftsmen see Zechariah 1). During the days of the first of the final two antichrists Hitler and Stalin lived the two Joseph Popes- Carol Joseph Woytila and Joseph Ratzinger. A third Joseph Pope will arise in the days of the third antichrist who is the beast like a leopard who will have the oratory powers of Hitler and the ruthlessness of Stalin. After the era of peace will arise the fourth and final antichrist Gog opposed by the fourth Joseph Pope.

Mazeltov to the Anglican Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham

2011-01-16T08:46:00.009+08:00

The Catholic ordination of the three former Anglican Bishops as priests at Westminster

The last few days have been very exciting for those Catholics of Anglican background and for those Anglicans desiring to become Catholics in the Anglican ordinariates. We have seen the three former Anglican Bishops ordained as Catholic deacons and now as priests and the announcement of Keith Newton as the first Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham under the patronage of Blessed John Henry Newman in England and Wales. The dream has become a reality. All us Catholic Jews or Hebrew Catholics pray that Hashem will bless and prosper this work of God. For us it provides a possible template for a possible Hebrew Catholic ordinariate in some form in the future. WE say Mazeltov Mazeltov Baruch Hashem. I see Father Paul Levertoff with Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman rejoicing in the Heavenly realm. Our Lady of Walsingham

see The Anglo-Catholic

Is Pedro Regis Jewish?

2011-01-03T22:13:00.019+08:00

As many of my regular reading know I have made a couple of blog articles about the prophecies of Pedro Regis. For some reason I felt to put them on this blog even though some may have wondered what this had to do with Catholic Jews or Hebrew Catholics. Recently I noticed that a number of sites on the Internet mention that Pedro Regis is a Catholic of Jewish ancestry or a Jewish Catholic. So I realise posting about him was very appropriate to this blog.

One of the sites is the "Catholic Investigative Journal" which states: "...On the day before the 60th anniversary of his ordination a holy priest gave this reporter a newsletter about the prophetic messages of Pedro Regis, a Jewish Catholic from Brazil. One of the themes of the Regis messages is the unsettling account of a massive Islamic army pouring out of the Middle East toward Rome and the Vatican destroying everything in its wake. “… a great army will set out from Mecca and will leave a trail of destruction and death wherever it passes,” according to message #2722 given on August 19, 2006 and reported in the Signs & Wonders for Our Times newsletter, Winter 2010 issue. “… an army will furiously head towards Rome. Churches will be burned and many holy places will be destroyed,” message #3007 given on June 7, 2008. “… he who is against Christ will bring suffering and sorrow to all Europe,” message #2939 given on January 5, 2008..." Are we seeing the beginning of this now in 2011 with the terrible bombing of the Egyptian Coptic Church and the bombing of Churches in Iraq as well as the threat to Coptic churches in Europe.

Another recent message warns about the attack on the Pope. This is Message 3409 from Our Lady of Peace, Anguera, Bahia, Brazil transmitted on the 7th of December 2010.

"Dear Sons and Daughters, you belong to The Lord need not fear anything. Your victory is in Him Who is your absolute good and knows what you need. Open your hearts and learn with Jesus that only the meek and humble of heart will inherit the kingdom of heaven. Be docil to My call and imitate My Jesus in everything. You are going towards a future of great difficulties. Difficult days will come for men and women of prayer. Many will turn against the successor of Peter and there will be a great crisis of faith. A successor of Peter will carry a heavy cross and will see the death of many consecrated person. Pray much for the church. Those who remain firm in the faith will be victorious. Fear not. I am your Mom and I am with you. Forward on the way I have pointed out to you. This is the message I give you in the name of the Holy Trinity. Thank you for permitting Me to reunite you here once more. I bless you in the name of The Father, and of The Son, and of The Holy Spirit, Amen. Remain in peace. Amen."

Some Catholics have been put off his messages because of the use of the word Mom for Our Lady. However affectionately addressing Our Lady as Mom or Mama is common in Latin cultures. When I lived in the Philippines I was surprised and uncomfortable when I first heard Filipinos referring to Our Lady as Mama Mary. However I soon grew to like it and started to use it myself. This also fits with Jewish custom which refers to a Jewish mother as Imma (mummy)just as we can refer to God as Abba (daddy)so we can address Our Lady as Imma. Imma in the Jewish mystical tradition refers to the Celestial Mother as Imma. She who is the female Wisdom and Shekhinah.

If anyone else knows anything about the Jewish background or ancestry of Pedro Regis please let us know.

see Pedro Regis and the Future

see Land of the Queen

see Brazilian Marranos

see Jews of Bahia

Note: Anita Novinsky a specialist on the Jewish history of Brazil wrote in her book “Cristãos Novos na Bahia” that 10-20% of the white population in Salvador (the capital of Bahia) were of Jewish descent. In the 18th century, the Jewish New Christians constituted about 15-20% of the population in Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, while half of the white population in Paraíba was also of Jewish origin.

Pedro Regis' first message for 2011 given on January 1: "Dear Sons and Daughters, I am the Queen of Peace and I come from heaven to bring you peace. You are heading for a future of great trials. You are now entering into the time announced by the prophets centuries ago. Now is the time of sorrows for humanity. Bend your knees in prayer. The future has reserved for you extraordinary discoveries awaited by mankind. Rejoice because The Lord is at your side, and you will find salvation only in His Grace. The church of My Jesus will carry a heavy cross. It will live calvary because of persecutions and there will be great pain for men and women of faith. I ask you to keep the flame of faith alive. Only by the power of prayer will you be able to remain faithful to My Son Jesus and to His teaching. I want to lead you to holiness. Open your hearts to My call and imitate My Son Jesus in everything. The king will experience great suffering and his throne will be overturned. Pray, pray, pray. This is the message I transmit to you today in the name of the Most Holy Trinity. Thank you for permitting Me to reunite you here once more. I bless you in the name of The Father, and of The Son, and of The Holy Spirit. Amen. Be at Peace."

Is this prophecy about the King and his throne being overturned referring to the Pope and his Papal throne or does it refer to Prince Charles ascending the British throne and it being overturned? Is this an illusion to the famous prophecy of the three overturns in the Bible (Ezekiel 21:27) in regards to the Davidic Monarchy?

Mother and the Bahir

2011-01-01T14:10:00.018+08:00

Among the mysteries of the Bahir is discussed the mystery of the Mother who is the created Wisdom and Glory of God. She is seen as a mirror of the Divine Heart. In English editions of the Bahir in a couple of places the word for 'mother' or 'my mama/imma' is translated as 'If so'. Rabbi Kaplan in his translation does mention in his notes that a variant reading is 'mother' which is preferred by many of the Jewish mystics. In Bahir 63 "If so" seems wrong and leaves one wondering who it is referring to- who is the you?. (For a fuller discussion see my article on "Adoration of the Heart")

Bahir 63 should read: "What is his heart? He said: Mother (Imma), Ben Zoma is out side, and you are with him. The heart(Lev) [in gematria] is thirty-two. These are concealed, and with them the world was created. What are these 32? He said: These are the 32 Paths. This is like a king who was in the innermost of many chambers. The number of such chambers was 32, and to each one there was a path. Should the king bring everyone to his chamber through these paths? You will agree that he should not. Should he reveal his jewels, his tapestries, his hidden and concealed secrets? You will again agree that he should not. What then does he do? He touches the Daughter, and includes all the paths in her and in her garments. One who wants to go inside should gaze there. He married her to a king, and also gave her to him as a gift. Because of his love for her, he sometimes calls her “my sister,” since they are both from one place. Sometimes he calls her his daughter, since she is actually his daughter. And sometimes he calls her “my mother.”..."

Later in the Bahir the mystery of the Mother is once more discussed in relation to being God's created Wisdom and Glory. She is associated with the term 'makom'(place) alluding to 'makom' in Genesis 1 and to the double mem which is also found in the words mayim and Miriam (hidden in the text of Genesis 1 beginning at the first word mayim). We see that Bahir 130-134 speaks of this mystery of the 'mother'. Both Heart (leb/lev) and Glory (Kabod/kavod)add up to 32 in gematria. "Makom" also alludes to the concept of Joseph.

"130. What is the meaning of, “the whole earth is filled with His glory”? This is the earth that was created on the first day. It is on high, filled with God’s glory and paralleling the Land of Israel. And what is [this glory]? It is Wisdom, as it is written (Proverbs 3:35), “The wise shall inherit glory.”

131. What is “God’s glory”? What is this like? A king had a matron in his chamber, and all his troops delighted in her. She had sons, and each day they came to see the king and to bless him. They asked him, “Where is our mother?” He replied, “You cannot see her now.” They said, “Let her be blessed wherever she is.”

132. What is the meaning of “from His place”? This indicates that none know his place. This is like a royal princess who came from a far place. People did not know her origin, but they saw that she was a woman of valour, beautiful and refined in all her ways. They said, “She certainly originates from the side of light, for she illuminates the world through her deeds.” They asked her, “From where are you?” She replied, “From my place.” They said, “Mother, the people of your place are great. May you be blessed, and may your place be blessed.”

133. Is this “glory of God” then not one of His hosts? Is it not inferior? Why then do they bless it? But what is this like? A man had a beautiful garden. Outside the garden but close to it, he had a nice section of field. On this section, he planted a beautiful flower garden. The first thing that he would water would be his garden. The water would spread over the entire garden. It would not reach the section of field however, since it was not attached, even though it was all one. He therefore opened a place for it and watered it separately.

134. Rabbi Rahumai said:
Glory(Kavod) and Heart(Lev) both have the same [gematria of 32]. They are both one, but Glory refers to its function on high, and Heart refers to its function below. “God’s glory” and the "heart of heaven” are therefore both identical."

Here we see that the Mother is the created female Wisdom found in the Old Testament in the Proberbs, Ecclesiastes, Baruch, Wisdom, Sirach and Job. Recently I have been reading the tradition of Sophia and Sophiology as taught in the Eastern and Western Churches and we see here in the Bahir a further development of this concept which is a Marian Sophiology. This created Wisdom (Hokhmah/Sophia)is also associated with the Matronita and the Shekhinah. She is the immaculate mirror of the Heart and the created feminine Glory. Baruch 3:37 prophecies that this female Wisdom (Sophia)will afterwards appear on earth and live among men. This alludes to the mystical Miriam becoming the woman Miriam who would be the female vessel that holds the male Divine Wisdom in her Womb. She is the Theotokos- the God bearer- the Mother of God. This mystical Miriam is the universal soul of suffering and the suffering soul of Israel. She is the Virgin Miriam (the Matronita=Mother and Maiden)in Eternity united to her spouse the Holy Spirit and dwelling in the mystical depths of the Divine Heart of her Son.

An article entitled "Parables and Princesses in the Bahir" by Professor Francis Landry of the University of Alberta states: "...What is the archetypal earth? Is it the matronita's room, the side of light, or the garden planted outside the garden? Do these terms mean the same thing, or are they different?...The heart in §134, whose gematria or numerology is 32, corresponds to the 32 paths of wisdom with which God created the world, according to the Sefer Yetsirah or "Book of Creation", the foundational text of Jewish esoteric cosmology. The 32 paths of wisdom, according to a parable in §63, were infused by the king into his daughter, who is the heart; in a reversal of our parable in §131, it is the king here who is secluded, and the daughter who is accessible. The 32 paths of wisdom comprise the 22 letters of the alphabet and 10 sefirot (numbers, potencies, divine emanations); thus the whole of language, the entire divine organism and the creative process are included in the heart. The "heart of heaven", at the end of §134, alludes to the great fire that burned up to "the heart of heaven" at the giving of the Ten Commandments, according to Deut. 4.11. The great fire, in §46, is a terrestrial voice of God, from the midst of which speech emerges... God speaks the Ten Commandments - conceived metaphorically as the epitome of the entire Torah (§124) and the process of creation...The Glory of the Name in §134 is also a loaded term. The Name (shem) of God is identified with the heavens (shamayim) in §100. Thus, even though Glory and Heart are one and the same thing, but correspond to two modes of action - above and below - these two modes converge on the heavens: the Glory of the Name is the heavens, and the heart is the heart of heaven (cf.§106). We could go much further with this. But I want to return to the question of the matronita and the princess. The matronita is the Glory, but if the Glory normally refers to the apprehensible aspect of God -his splendour, his works, the glory that fills the whole earth - here it is hidden, and it is God himself who speaks to the sons...Thirdly, what is the function of the king's knights, who love her or, literally, long for her? In the parable as we have it they seem to be redundant, what Mieke Bal calls a wandering rock. The knights (lit. warriors, hayyalot) presumably correspond to God's hosts in §133, from which the Glory is or is not removed... The longing of the knights for the matronita may represent that of Merkabah mysticism for the new Kabbalah, but also introduces the coupling of king and queen as the central drama of the latter... This raises the question of the identity of the matronita. Scholem unambiguously equates her with the Shekhinah. But she may also have an element of Binah - Understanding, the third Sefirah - which is the Divine Mother. She is mother to the children, which in §104-105, are identified with the seven lower sefirot and the seven days of creation. The Shekhinah often acquires a maternal connotation, reflects and is interchangeable with Binah, notably at the conclusion of the already cited parable of the heart in §63: "Sometimes he calls her, in his love for her, my sister ... sometimes he calls her my daughter ... sometimes he calls her my mother." As well as God's bride, then, the matronita has the quality of God's mother...That which is united and separated from everything - the glory, the heart, the princess - is the nucleus of everything. The ramifications are interminable... The Glory in our text is identified with Hokhmah - Wisdom - the second of the sefirot which is male and the source of everything - but it is also the matronita and the princess. Upper and lower Hokhmahs constantly correspond. At the heart of the heavens - a male, harmonising principle in Kabbalah - is the heart, the Shekhinah itself."

We see that this Mother is associated with the concept of the Burning Fire from which the commandments came forth. The Biblical Wisdom literature also associates her with the commandments (mitzvot). She is the mitzvot put into deed or action- she is the Oral Torah. Joseph Karo calls her Matronita, Shekhinah and Mishnah- she is the rebuking Mother. The Catholic Jew is devoted to the inner essence of that which manifests in time and place as Torah and mitzvot- the Messiah is the Living Torah and his Mother is the Living Mitzvot of the Heart. For the Catholic Jew devotion to Torah and Mitzvot is Messianic and Marian devotion at its highest penetration. All of the Torah and Mitzvot at its highest levels of the heart unite or bind the soul of the Catholic Jew to the Messiah and His Mother- she who is both Matron and Maiden- the Matronita. The inner light of the Torah and mitzvot is the light hidden in Genesis 1 (Bereshit) which is the conceptual light of the Annunciation in Eternity- the first thought of God outside. She is Bat Reshit- the created daughter of the beginning. Reshit (Beginning refers to Wisdom (Hokhmah /Sophia)alluded to in the verse "the beginning of Wisdom is fear of the Lord".

Hebrew Catholic Reflection on the Bahir

2010-12-20T23:15:00.016+08:00

This was written many years ago.

Hebrew Catholic Reflection on the Bahir

Introduction

The 'Bahir' is a book of ancient Jewish mysticism that was first revealed to a wider audience in the Middle Ages. At its heart it presents the mystical teachings of the mystical school of the first century Rabbi Nehunia ben Ha Kana. His disciples passed on and developed these mystical insights. It is my belief that the 'Bahir' was brought to Provence in the 8th century by a scion of the Royal House of King David in Babylon. This Davidic Western Exilarch is known as Rabbi Amorai in the 'Bahir'. He was known as Aimeri or Aumery in the French Chansons. He is also identified with Machir Todros ben Judah who was also called Theuderic, Duke of Narbonne and Jewish King of Septimania.

It was Rabbi Amorai that compiled this collection as teachings preserved by the Davidic House. His descendants in Narbonne passed on these teachings in the Rabbinic Yeshivah in Narbonne. Rabbi Nehuniah ben Ha Kanah was the founder of a mystical tradition within crypto Judeao-Christianity. Secrecy and prudence were very important in the passing on of these secret mysteries. Rabbi Nehuniah was closely connected to the disiples of Yeshuah and his father was Shimon Ha Kana one of the twelve Apostles.

Rabbi Nehuniah's school was said to be in Emmaus and this was a code word used for the Eucharistic Mysticism of Adoration of the Heart amongst the early disciples of Yeshuah within Judaism. Rabbi Nehuniah and his son Rabbi Yair ha Kanah were involved with the foundation of the Jewish Christian (Hebrew Catholic) Yeshivah of Kinyani in southern Iraq. This Yeshivah was closely connected to the Exilarchic family in Babylon and with the Jewish Christian Bishops descended from the Holy Family. After the 4th century the wisdom of this mystical school of Emmaus spirituality was preserved within Judaism among the mystics coming from the Davidic House.

Shimon ben Zoma and Rabbi Eliezer ben Arukh were also part of this crypto Judeao -Christian mysticism. It was the Emmaus experience of the 'breaking of the bread' revealing the Messiah as Divine Light and Presence that was at the heart of this mysticism. For the Rabbinic Jews in the tradition of Rabbi Akiva this interpretation of the mystical ascent was called 'going to Emmaus' in a negative sense. That some of the greatest Torah scholars found this 'road or way to Emmaus' experience had to be concealed from the general Jewish populace. As a result the Rabbinic authorities while acknowledging such a mystical ascent discouraged people from attempting such a journey.

One of the men that Yeshuah met on the way to Emmaus was his cousin Cleophas who was a brother of Shmon Ha Kana. Their father was the older Cleophas, the brother of St Joseph who married Miriam (Mary) a neice of the Blessed Virgin. The spiritual descendants among the Hebrew Catholic of Iraq were called the Kinyani and it was Thomas ha Kinyani that went to India in the 4th century from Kinyani to revive the Church in India. The 'Bahir' along with the' Zohar' and the Sefer Yetzirah are important sources for understanding pre-Lurianic Kabbalah. These are the sources familiar to the Catholic Kabbalists of the Middle Ages.

Bahir 1

"1. Rabbi Nehuniah ben HaKana said: One verse (Job 37:21) states, "And now they do not see light, it is brilliant (Bahir) in the skies…[round about God in terrible majesty]." Another verse, however, (Psalm 18:12), states, "He made darkness His hiding place." It is also written (Psalm 97:2), "Cloud and gloom surround Him." This is an apparent contradiction. A third verse comes and reconciles the two. It is written (Psalm 139:12), "Even darkness is not dark to You. Night shines like day -- light and darkness are the same."..."

The opening lines of the the 'Bahir' reveal why this book is called 'Bahir'. Bahir is the Divine Light called 'Brilliance' and is the light of the Attribute of Netzach (Victory). This is the Light or Victory of the Resurrection. Rabbi Nehuniah uses Job 37:21:"And now they do not see light, it is brilliant (bahir) in the skies (shechakim)... round about God in terrible majesty", to reveal to the secret adorers (Reapers of the Field) that the days of prophecy and mystic vision are not finished as claimed by Rabbinic Judaism (ie the Pharisees).

The word 'shechakim' (skies) is associated in kabbalah with the Attributes (sefirot) of Netzach (Victory/ Endurance) and Hod (Majesty/Splendour). The light of Hod is called 'Radiance' (zohar) and is associated with the suffering Messiah ben Joseph of Isaiah 53. Netzach and Hod are the levels of prophecy and mystic vision connecting with gazing on the Divine Heart also called the Divine Man (Yosher/Adam Kadmon/ Ben Adam) through the mirror of the Mother (see Bahir 63).

Rabbi Nehuniah reveals that there are two main ways of making the spiritual ascent- one the way of Brilliant Light and the other is Radiant Light seen as cloud and gloom and darkness. The term 'Shechakim' includes both the Way of Brilliant Light (Bahir) through focusing on the victory (Netzach) of the Resurrection or the Way of Radiant Light (zohar) through focusing on the hidden majesty of the suffering and Crucified Messiah.

Rabbi Nehuniah reveals that Job 37:21 reveals the way of Bahir and that Psalm 18:12 and Psalm 97:2 reveal the way of Zohar- hidden in darkness. R. Nehuniah states that these two ways seem to be a contradiction to each other but he reveals that a third verse Psalm 139:12: "Even darkness is not dark to you. Night shines like day- light and darkness are the same." Thus a higher understanding reveals this as two ways to the one goal - Divine Union. Thus Rabbi Nehuniah reveals his trinitarian approach to Scriptural interpretation. First he reveals the level of the Holy Spirit (Ruach ha Kodesh) - the Way of Bahir . Second he reveals the Way of Zohar or Radiant Darkness which is the level of the Son (Zer Anpin). These two levels are united in the level of the Father as the source of the Divine Union within the Divine Will (Ratzon). This is also the two main ways of Catholic spiritual life called the Way of Light and the Way of Darkness. Two Hebrew Catholics St Teresa of Avila and St John of the Cross represent these two main spiritual approaches. St Teresa of Avila's way is the way of Light (bahir) and St John of the Cross is the way of darkness (zohar). St Teresa's way is the way of the Diamond and the Interior Castle. St John of the Cross' way is the Way of the Dark Night and the ascent of Mt Carmel closely associated with the Prophet Elijah.

Bahir 2

2."Rabbi Berachiah said:It is written (Genesis 1:2), "The earth was Chaos (Tohu) and Desolation (Bohu). What is the meaning of the word "was" in this verse? This indicates that the Chaos existed previously [and already was]. What is Chaos (Tohu)? Something that confounds (Taha) people. What is Desolation (Bohu)? It is something that has substance. This is the reason that it is called Bohu, that is, Bo Hu -- "he is in it." ..."

Rabbi Berachiah was the successor of R. Nehuniah as leader of this Eucharistic mystical school of the way of Emmaus. R. Berachiah teaches that Chaos (tohu) reigned before God created the earth. This refers to the fall into chaos brought about by Lucifer (Satan) and his fallen angels. The angels(spirits) were created as vessels to receive and reflect the Divine Light. Lucifer and his angels chose to reject this receiving of the Divine Light and became broken vessels (Klippot). They plunged the Cosmos into Chaos (tohu). Out of this chaos (tohu) and desolation or emptiness (bohu) it brought with it, God would create the present Cosmos and Earth - turning the Darkness into Light. God said: " Let there be Light... and it was Good (Tov)". Turning desolation (Bohu) into substance (bo hu) and chaos (tohu) into Divine Order (tav hu). How can this be? How can bohu (desolation) become substance (bo hu - literally 'in it is it' or 'in it he is')? Chaos (tohu) is redeemed or rectified (tikkun) through the Tav.

The 'Tav' is the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It represents the Sefirah (Attribute) of Malkut-Shekinah (Kingdom-Divine Presence). In the ancient Hebrew Phoenician alphabet "Tav' is written as a cross as it is in English (t). Therefore the cross or 'tav' is the entry to the Divine Heart. The path leading from Malkut/ Shekinah (Kingdom/ Presence) to Yesod/ Tzaddik (foundation/righteousness) is also called the Tav. It is through the Cross (Tav) that darkness can be turned into Light. Here we see that the power of the Cross (Tav) is beyond time and space. This is a mystery. The divine 'Hu' or 'Ani Hu' is the Divine Presence and Kingdom. He is called the Alef and the Tav.

Jewish tradition teaches that the Universe (heavens and the Earth) were created through the Alef and Tav (the 'et' of Genesis 1:1) who is the Divine Word (Davar/Memra). Thus the Divine Word (Ani Hu) sent his creative Light in to the chaos (tohu) and desolation (bohu) and turned bohu in to 'In it he is' substance and the choas (toh) , through the power of the one who would redeem the world by his Tav (Cross), becomes the Divine Order or Kingdom. 'Tav Hu' can therefore mean 'the Cross he is' or ' the Kingdom He is' or the'the Divine Presence He is".

This process or concept of turning darkness in to light is called yeshua (see the Tanya). Later in the Bahir it calls this One (Hu) who creates- the Heart of the Blessed Holy One. Lucifer and his angels were created to be vessels of Light and were unable through their free choice, to hold the light thus breaking the vessels and plunging the Cosmos in to Chaos. This is the main source of Evil. According to Kabbalah the Messiah was to gather these sparks of Light lost by the breaking of the vessels and return them to God. This is salvation (Yeshua).

The whole of the Creation are vessels made to receive the Divine Creative Light but it is only those creatures who have free will and free choice that can also give the Divine Light. The angels (spirits) and Man have this ability. Lucifer and his demons rejected the Divine Light and refused to give it. Instead they brought death and decay in to Creation. They turn substance into death (emptiness/bohu) and the Divine Order or Kingdom in to the kingdom of chaos (tohu). This is why R. Berachiah connects 'tohu' with the word 'taha' -confounds. The Evil Ones try to confound or confuse man with their chaos which brings eternal death.

Yeshuah entered through his Cross (tav) in to chaos (tohu) and desolation (bohu) and broke its power with his Divine Light thus rectifying or redeeming the Cosmos(world). Yeshuah confounds (taha) the Evil Ones with his Cross of Light ( Or Tav). Tav (tav yod vav) is also Tov (tav vav beth). Thus the creative process of forming good is also the power of the Cross of Light in Eternity. This is connected to the New Testament saying "The Lamb that was slain before the foundations of the earth".

Bahir 3

3."Why does the Torah begin with the letter Bet? In order that it begin with a blessing (Berachah). How do we know that the Torah is called a blessing? Because it is written (Deuteronomy 33:23), "The filling is God's blessing possessing the Sea and the South." The Sea is nothing other than the Torah, as it is written (Job 11:9), "It is wider than the sea." What is the meaning of the verse, "The filling is God's blessing?" This means that wherever we find the letter Bet it indicates a blessing.
It is thus written (Genesis 1:1), "In the beginning (BeReshit) [God created the heaven and the earth."BeReshit is Bet Reshit.] The word "beginning" (Reshit) is nothing other than Wisdom. It is thus written (Psalm 111:10), "The beginning is wisdom, the fear of God." Wisdom is a blessing. It is thus written, "And God blessed Solomon." It is furthermore written (I Kings 5:26), "And God gave Wisdom to Solomon." This resembles a king who marries his daughter to his son. He gives her to him at the
wedding and says to him, "Do with her as you desire."..."

In Bahir 3 Rabbi Berachiah discusses the significance of the letter B (Beth/Beit) as the first letter of the word 'blessing' (berachah) and the first letter of the Written Torah (Bereshit). Reshit is Beginning and Bereshit can mean either 'In the Beginning' or 'With the Beginning'. Reshit (Beginning) is also called 'Wisdom' (Hokmah) based on the Scriptural verse "the beginning of Wisdom is the Fear of the Lord". Beginning is seen as the 'point of Hokmah' (point of Wisdom).

In Jewish thought the Creation began when the Divine Wisdom or Light created the visible world. The letter Beth meaning 'in' or 'with' is the concept of 'filling'. Therefore throught the point of Hokmah, God began filling the Cosmos. this is alluded to in Isaiah 6:3 "The whole earth is filled with His glory." This Divine Wisdom is the Divine Will to Create manifesting in the visible world. Through this point of Wisdom the visible creation is filled with the Divine Glory or Light which is the Divine Presence himself.

The Zohar also says that God "fills all worlds and surrounds all worlds" (Zohar 3:225a). This Divine Filling of the Creation (also called the Ray of Light) is associated with the letter beth which also means 'house' (bayit/ beth). Rabbi Kaplan says in his commentary on the Bahir: "the concept whereby God'fills all worlds' is indicated by the word 'blessing'. Whenever God reveals His Essence in anything, He is said to 'bless' that thing, and the verse therfore states that 'the filling is God's blessing'." Therfore we see that the Divine Wisdom is also Torah. Thus Torah is blessing or is filled with God's blessing, which is God as Divine Wisdom himself. Rabbi berachiah associates the Torah with the Sea referring to Job 11:9. This is also referred to as the Sea of Wisdom and is connected to Imma (Mother/mama) as the vessel who receives and holds the Divine Wisdom. Miriam ha Kadosha is called 'full of Grace' i.e. filled with Hesed (Mercy).

Miriam (Mary) like the Universe is a 'House' (beth/Bayit) that receives the point of Divine Wisdom as a seed, and is then filled with the Blessing from on High. Mary is thus the 'House of God' or 'Temple of God' and the 'Mother of the Creation' and 'Mother of the Church' (Kehilla/Kneset), which is called the 'Household of God' in the New Testament. Mary is also 'Bethlehem' (Beth=House, Lehem=bread) the House that receives the Living Bread. In one sense Mary's role in the Incarnation mirrors the Creation.

Tzimtzum (constricted space) was a 'House' or 'womb' created through the Divine Light constricting or veiling itself and at the same time entering the Tzimtzum (Creation) through the point or seed of Hokmah and filling it with the Divine Love manifesting as Presence. Mary is also the 'House' and 'Womb' in which the Divinity entered his Creation through the Seed of Wisdom and Mary was filled with the Divine Love/mercy/Grace (Hesed/Chen).

Shekinah or the Divine Presence is also called the minature Presence. Mary in the mystery of the Incarnation can also be called the Minature Universe. In one sense we can say Mary is the Universe and the Universe is Mary as Mother of the Creator. Mary was a 'Woman' born in time, but she and the events of her life transcends time. This is a great mystery. This is the mystery of the Rosary.

In Bahir 3 the Divine Torah is described as the mystical or cystal sea before the throne of God. Elsewhere we see that this mystical Sea is associated with Binah-Imma (Understanding Mother) as the vessel that receives Wisdom. R. Berachiah thus links the concept of Torah as 'Blessing' with the first word of the Torah 'Bereshit' (In or with the Beginning). Here we understand that Divine Wisdom is Divine Torah, and Divine Torah is Divine Blessing or Divine Filling. Therefore, for the Hebrew Catholic, Yeshuah ha Mashiach is the Divine Wisdom, Divine Torah and the Divine Blessing who is responsible for the Beginning of Creation. He is the Beginning or Head of Creation - the First Born. He is the only begotten Alef (first born). From all Eternity he is the only begotten Son of the Father (Ain Sof).

Miriam Mystical Rose Havurah

2010-12-09T16:05:00.006+08:00

A new Hebrew Catholic Havurah (Study group) has been started in the United States. It also has a wonderful new blog. This new group is called Miriam Mystical Rose Havurah in Indianapolis.

The lastest blog begins. "We want to thank everyone who attended our first Chanukah Party. We had about 17 crammed into our little townhouse and it was very cozy. In case you missed it here is what happened.

We began with the lighting of the Chanukah candles with the traditional blessings. The Chanukah Menorah is full of Messianic significance as you might expect. In John 8:12, Yeshua (Jesus) proclaimed himself the Light of the World. And the Menorah has one extra candle that is called the "shamash". This means servant. The servant candle is always lit first and all the other candles that we light daily for the eight days of Chanukah are lit by this candle. This is very much what happens in our journey of faith as Catholic Christians. It is the Messiah, Jesus who came to serve us and to light our way in this life and to heaven. It is His light that lights our path through the darkness in our lives and the world so that the Church and all of us have the Light of Life..." [for the whole article click Miriam Mystical Rose Havurah]

This group is led by Gershon ben Shaul who writes "I am a Hebrew Catholic living in the Indianapolis area. I am married with one son and one grandson. I am currently enrolled in the Ecclesial Lay Ministry certificate program in the Diocese of Lafayete in Indiana. I love my heritage since it is the heritage of our Lord and Messiah, Yeshua and our Blessed Mother, Miriam. I love my Church since this is the Church of the first Jewish apostles and the Church that Yeshua left for us and all the nations."

St Faustina and Kabbalah

2010-12-01T17:28:00.013+08:00

One of the great mysteries of the Jewish Kabbalah and the Zohar is that of the tzachtzachot. The tzachtzachot are the mysterious three sparkling lights within the Godhead. The word is also associated with the idea of an unquenchable thirst or drought. This is a reference to the essence of the infinite God beyond all knowing - the Ain Sof. It is only through the manifestation of the Sefirot (Attributes/ emanations)that appear like a lightning flash of the Divine Man (Adam kadmon) that one can come into relationship with the Divinity.

This mystery is also found in the Diary of St Faustina of the Divine Mercy devotion. St Faustina writes: "On one occassion I was reflecting on the Holy Trinity, on the essence of God. I absolutely wanted to know and fathom who God is... In an instant my spirit was caught up into what seemed to be the next world. I saw an inaccessible light, and in this light what appeared like three sources of light which I could not understand. And out of that light came words in the form of lightning which encircled heaven and earth. Not understanding anything, I was very sad. Suddenly, from this sea of inaccessible light came our dearly beloved Saviour, unutterably beautiful with His shining Wounds. And from this light came a voice which said, Who God is in His essence, no man will fathom, neither the mind of Angels nor of man. Jesus said to me, Get to know God by contemplating His attributes. A moment later, he traced the sign of the Cross with His hand and vanished".

It is through His Attributes that the Divine Man reveals himself to our souls in flashes of Mercy. St Faustina writes: "In the beginning, God lets himself be known as Holiness, Justice, Goodness- that is to say, Mercy. The soul does not come to know this all at once, but piecemeal, in flashes; that is to say, when God draws near. And this does not last long, because the soul could not bear such light. During prayer the soul experiences flashes of this light which make it impossible to pray as before...This light which has touched the soul is alive within it, and nothing can either quench or diminish it. This flash of the knowledge of God draws the soul and enkindles its love for Him. But his same flash, at the same time, allows the soul to know itself as it is; the soul sees its whole interior in a superior light, and it rises up alarmed and terrified. Still it does not remain under the effects of terror, but it begin to purify itself, to humble and abase itself before the Lord...".

In Zohar Vayechi it states: "..."And satisfy your soul (Nefesh) in tzachtzachot." What is "tzachtzachot"? One tzach (Eng. 'bright or dazzling') it receives while attached to the Ruach (spirit) in the terrestrial Garden of Eden; it receives the tzach inside tzach, when attached to the Neshamah (soul/charism) above in the bundle of life. This is the meaning of tzachtzachot: tzach is singular, and tzachot dual. They are high above, in the preciousness of the Neshamah. Who will inherit the tzachtzachot? "your soul (Nefesh)." Your Nefesh indeed. Happy is the portion of the righteous..." This alludes to the Catholic concept of the indwelling of the Triune God in the soul. One tzach plus two tzachot equals the three tzachtzachot.

Concept of Mystical Darkness in Genesis 1

2010-11-20T04:09:00.009+08:00

The Ramban states that the darkness (khoshek) mentioned in the second verse of Genesis is a different darkness than the darkness mentioned further down in verses 4-5. The first darkness is the uncreated male darkness (v'khoshek)and the second darkness is the created female darkness (hakhoshek). The 'vav' at the beginning of this first mention of darkness alludes to the male and the 'hay' on the second one reveals the female darkness.

This first darkness represents the mystery of God the Father who is the hidden and thus appears as darkness. To approach him we encounter infinite light which appears to us as darkness and this way to God is called the way of darkness. However He is a blazing Divine Fire unto the heart of heaven. The darkness in the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle and Temple represent this male darkness and the darkness in the interior of the Ark of the covenant represents the female darkness as the dark waters of the womb. This is also the pillar of fire in the manifestation of the Divine Presence in the wilderness at night.

Genesis 1 links the uncreated male darkness (v'khoshek)in union with the face over the deep (panei tahom) which is the male face on the cherubim on the Ark. This is part of the mystery of the Father and the Son. The female face is the face over the waters (panei mayim)who is linked in union with the Spirit of Elohim. This female darkness is connected with the created second light (vayhi or)as the mystical womb which encompasses the Messiah in the mystery of the Incarnation in Eternity. From this dark light comes the concepts of the Day Light who is the Messiah and the Night Light called Lilah who is the Dark Lady- the Black Madonna. Her name is hidden as a well in the text beginning with the final mem of the first word mayim counting 26 four times. This is Miriam whose name is hidden in the darkness of the under text- in the darkness of Miriam's well.

The Ramban mentions that this second darkness is associated with the absence of it's own light. The created female dark light does not have any of its own light but is the perfect and immaculate reflector or mirror of the divine Light and Fire blazing through the Son and Spirit from the heart of the Father. The revelation of this dark and hidden mystery of the Incarnation in eternity causes the breaking of the vessels on the second day which is the fall of Lucifer and his angels who received the light of this mystery but refused to accept it and return it.

The light and darkness (hakhoshek) mentioned in regards to the fourth day is again different representing the two faces of the cherubim in the Holy of Holies made of Olive Wood- the male face over the rakia of heaven and the female face over the earth; as the great male light (gedol or) and the little female light (katan or). On a mystical level this represents the concept of Joseph (Sandalphon) and Luisa Piccarreta (nukvah) as two great luminaries pointing to Yeshua who is hidden in the under text of this day beginning with the yod of elohim in verse 17 counting 26 four times. This darkness of the fourth day is also a feminine darkness (hakhoshek)also connected to the lower mayim (waters) under the rakia (firmament/expanse). The fourth day of the week Wednesday is in Catholic tradition a special day in honour of St Joseph. Luisa died on March 4 linking her with St Joseph whose number is 4 and his month is March. Their connection is veiled in darkness awaiting the time when the full glories of St Joseph will be revealed.

Middle East Synod

2010-11-04T16:49:00.010+08:00

"...Jews might well ignore the sepulchral voice of a dying ethnic church, except for one fact: The Melkite cleric in question, Archbishop Cyril Salim Bustros, headed the commission that drafted the Synod's final statement. Speaking personally and not for the Synod he said, "The theme of the promised land cannot be used as a basis to justify the return of the Jews to Israel and the expatriation of the Palestinians. . . . For Christians one can no longer talk of the land promised to the Jewish people," because the "promise" was "abolished by the presence of Christ . . . there is no longer a favored people, a chosen people; all men and women of every country have become the chosen people."..." [From First Things]

When I heard this on the news I was disgusted but not surprised. When I saw the composition of the members of the Synod I saw a number of names of those that I have good reason to suspect are anti-Israeli. These statements were made on a personal level by Bustros and the Vatican spokesmen have since distanced themselves from his comments. The actual document of the synod is much more moderate but unfortunately these anti-Israeli elements get statements put in the documents which seem ok to most but then they interpret them in an anti-Israeli manner. What is shocking about Bustros comments is that such a high-ranking Bishop of the Church should be teaching and believing contrary to the teachings of Vatican II and the magisterium of the Church on Jews and Judaism. He harkens back to a now repudiated theology on the Jews based on anti-semitic principles. We thank God for the good Cardinals Burke and Shoenborn who have a much more Catholic understanding of the role of Jews and Judaism. Both men are great friends of the Hebrew Catholics in the Church. It was pleasing to note that Hebrew was one of the languages used in this Synod and that Rabbi David Rosen spoke to the Synod as well as Father David Neuhaus an Israeli Hebrew Catholic (born a South African Jew) who is the Vicar of the Hebrew speaking Catholic communities in Israel.

For a better view of the modern Catholic thinking on the role of Judaism see my Hebrew Catholic Vocation article

The Three Levels of Manna

2010-10-24T19:35:00.017+08:00

In Jewish Mysticism the term Shekhakim is closely associated with the concept of Manna from Heaven. The Manna was the heavenly bread that God provided the Israelites in the Wilderness. The Jewish mystics also speak of their feeding on the Heavenly Dew or Manna in their mystical adorations of the Divine Presence. For the Catholic Jew this Manna mysticism has great Eucharistic significance. A Midrash states "The Torah could only be given to Manna eaters." The Melkilta states that the true interpreters of Torah are the manna eaters who are linked to the heave-offering eaters (Terumah offering). The Terumah is the dough-bread or challah offering. Thus the concepts of the manna and challah are united as types of the Eucharistic Bread. These both allude to the Eucharistic sacrifice and communion of the New Covenant.

The Manna also represents the three matzot of the Passover Seder and the incorrupt Manna preserved in the golden vessel in the Ark of the Covenant in the Temple. The three kinds of Manna also allude to the three kinds or stages of adoration or meditation. The first level of the Manna is represented by the Manna in the wilderness and the daily bread or Manna that we eat. One needs to get their mind emptied of wordly concerns and relax and appreciate the beauty of God's Creation. This form of meditation or adoration is therapeutic. The Late Lubavitch Rebbe also spoke of three kinds of Meditation and this first level he referred to as a 'technique of relaxing'. The second level the late Rebbe called 'focusing the mind and heart on God's Presence'. This is the level of the Manna and the shewbread in the Temple representing the food of the Divine Presence. Some Sephardi Jews made challah with 12 braids in honour of the 12 loaves of shewbread in the Temple. For the Catholic Jew this is the level of Eucharistic Adoration.

Rebbe Schneursohn calls the third level "concentrated contemplation on the Mysteries of Torah". This is the deepest penetration of the concept of the Heavenly Manna which is like dewy food for the mystics. This is the level of seeing the Divine Will in all things and uniting with it and returning it to its source. This is the level of the contemplation of the Seder Hishtalshelut - the chain of events leading back to the One Act of the Divine Will. For the Catholic Jew this is the deepest penetration of the Eucharistic mystery unto the very essence of God in the Divine Will.

We are also led to reflect on Yeshua's parable of the bread woman who divided the dough into three portions of bread as a symbol of the Kingdom (Matthew 13:33;Luke 13;20-21). The traditional challah of the Sabbath meals also allude to the manna and to the three portions of the bread woman. The challah is made of three strands of dough braided together to symbolise Jacob's ladder. The two loaves of challah represent the double portion of Manna that was given to the Israelites on Friday for the Sabbath. The challah braids at first form the mysterious Hebrew letter shin that become the one loaf (challah means loaf). For the Catholic Jew this has deep mystical signifcance as the shin unites yod hay with vav hay to form the Divine name Y-H-Sh-V-H pronounced Yeshuah or Yehoshuah who is our Eucharistic Bread of Life.

Rabbi Ginsburg writes on his website inner.org:

"The Rebbe pointed out that there are three general levels of meditation: At its simplest, meditation is a technique for relaxation, which has become so essential in our contemporary, harried lifestyle. In this context, meditation is simply a form of medicine, administered to cure a psychological ailment, such as stress, anxiety, or tension. To be successful, meditative techniques of this type need not involve explicit Jewish content, although, for the Jew, they must of course be free of association with any other belief system. (Meditation techniques that involve explicit or derivative forms of idolatrous practices are forbidden for non-Jews, as well.)

The next level of meditation involves focusing the mind and heart on God's presence in our lives and His Providence over everything, as expressed in the verse from Psalms (16:8)I place God in front of me always.

Finally, the deepest level of meditation involves the concentrated contemplation of the mysteries of the Torah. Since the time of the Ba'al Shem Tov, contemplating these mysteries and their pertinence to us in our daily lives has become the call of the hour. Indeed, the Mashiach himself promised the Ba'al Shem Tov that his coming will be a consequence of "spreading your wellsprings--that which I have taught you and that which you have comprehended--to the furthest extreme."

Mystery of the Shekhakim

2010-10-24T16:16:00.026+08:00

The Mystery of the Shekhakim is at the very heart of Jewish mysticism. The term shekhakim is the mystical plural [based on the similiar sounds of the words not the spelling] of shekhen and shekhinah which are the male and female forms of the word 'to dwell'(see Bahir 74 & 120). Shekhakim is often translated in the English Bibles as clouds or skies or heavens. The literal meaning of the singular of shekhakim in Aramaic is shekhak or shekhaka which can mean to grind, pound, to rub, dust, clouds, old garments or thin linen. Shekhakim is linked to the concepts of Victory (netzach) and Glory (kavod). They are also linked to the cherubim who God rides. This is the hidden mystery of the mystical reading of Deuteronomy 33:26-27 and Psalm 18:11. These Shekhakim are the Presences associated with the four cherubim of the Holy of Holies. The four Presences are enveloped by a fifth presence which unites them as one- this fifth Presence is the Holy Spirit.

The mystical midrash on the first line of Ezekiel called the 'Vision of Ezekiel' links the Mystery of the Shekhakim with the merkabah (chariot)of the cherubim. According to this midrash its mystery includes the mystical understanding of the heavenly Jerusalem, the Heavenly Temple and Sanctuary, the Heavenly Ark of the covenant,the Menorah, the Shewbread Table, the sacred utensils and decorations of the Temple focused on the mystery of the Heavenly Manna as the image of the Divine Man (Adam Kadmon) who is the Mystical Jacob/Israel. Whereas the Talmud in Chagigah 12b places this at the level of Zevul (dwelling or abode)and the Angelic grinding of the millstones that produce the Manna from Heaven for the tzaddikim at the level of Shekhakim. These two sources give a different ordering of the seven palaces (Hekhalot) or heavens. "Shekhakim is that in which millstones stand and grind manna for the righteous for it is said: “And He commanded the skies [shekhakim] above, and opened the doors of heaven; and He caused manna to rain upon them for food etc.” (Psalm 78:24)."

The term Shekhakim also is used for one of the seven heavens of Jewish Mysticism. In some sources shekhakim is associated with the fifth heaven and in others with the third heaven. The five alludes to the five presences Yeshua/Metatron; Miriam/Matronita; Joseph/Sandalphon; Luisa/Nukvah and the Holy Spirit. The three alludes to Atzilut and the Third Fiat (yehi). Some Jewish writings relate that Shekhakim is the third Heaven where the Angels grind with millstones the Manna which becomes the food of angels. It is said that the concept of the Manna was created on the second day of Genesis 1. Thus the term Shekhakim refers to the Cherubic Presences as well as to a place and to a stage in mystical meditation and contemplation. Many Catholic mystics speak about the stage of encountering mystical clouds in their meditation before they ascend to the deeper penetration of the Divine Mysteries. Are these the Clouds or wings of the Cherubic Shekhakim which the mystic then uses as a chariot (merkabah) in order to ascend or descend to the inner mysteries of the Kingdom?

The concept of God riding on the cherubim as a chariot is found in Psalm 18;11 " and He rode upon a cherub, and did fly" with Deuteronomy 33 26-27 "There is none like the God of Jeshurun, The Rider of the heavens (shamayim)is your Helper, his pride is in the Shekhakim (skies/clouds)...". Here we see how the cherubim and shekhakim are linked together by Scripture. Jewish Mysticism also links these concepts of the mystery of the Shekhakim with Proverb 8 and Genesis 1. The mystical understanding of the seven Hekhalot (palaces) and the Merkabah or Chariot mysticism also have their mystical source in the mysteries of the first chapter of Genesis regarding the four faces and the four lights. Genesis 1 read mystically alludes to deep Triune mysteries but also hidden and deep Marian, Josephian and Luisian mysteries. These seven are called in the Talmud: Vilon (the Veil), Rakia (the Firmament), Shekhakim (the skies), Zevul (the dwelling), Ma'on (the residence), Makhon (the resting Place) and Aravot (dry land). They are seven stages of meditation in the spiritual journey of the soul in the mystical realms.

Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan states that the word shekhakim refers usually to the Sefirot of Netzach (whose light is called Bahir) and Hod (whose light is called Zohar). Bahir is the male light and Zohar the female. Shekhakim is mystically connected to the terms shekhen, shekhinah, mishkan and Sukkah (see Bahir 74,75 and 120). Bahir 185 also speaks of the Mystery of the Shekhakim. It states: "...then, 'His pride is in the shekhakim'. What is shekhakim? We say that it is in the innermost chamber. The Targum thus renders it; 'His Word is in the Heaven of Heavens'...".

Bahir 74 and 75 links the Shekhakim with the concepts of the Tzadik (Tzedek/Joseph)and the Shekhinah (Our Lady). Bahir 75 also alludes to the Tzadaka (female Tzadik/Luisa) as well as the Tzadik who is Truth (emet) and Peace (shalom). The dwelling place of these cherubic Shekhakim is seen as the Heaven of Heavens and the Alter Rebbe signals out Shekhakim first in his description of the seven heavens as the place where heavenly Manna is ground for the Tzaddikim (righteous ones). This heavenly Manna is the bread of the Torah which is the Divine Word. The Divine Word took flesh as the Messiah and then transubstantiated himself as the Eucharistic Bread of Life. In one sense the Clouds that accompany the Divine manifestations are the clouds of flour dust (shekhakim) or bread/manna clouds that alludes to the Eucharistic Lord manifesting out of eternity into historical time and place.

The Lady of Wisdom and Understanding is discussed in Proverbs 8 and in Wisdom 7 – 9. In the original Hebrew of Proverbs 8 the language alludes to Genesis One using the terms ‘reshit’ and ‘kadmin’ used for beginning in the Hebrew and Aramaic versions. “YHVH created me as the beginning (reshit) of his way, the first of his works of old (kedem). I was set up from Eternity, from the head (rosh), from before ever (mikadmei) the earth was. When there were no depths (tahomot) I was acting; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills I was acting…When he established the heavens (Shamayim) I was there (sham ani). When he drew a circle over the face of the deep (panei tahom), when he established the clouds (skies/shekhakim) above, when the fountains of the deep (tahom) became strong…then I was by him as an architect (artificer/amon) and I was his daily delights (shashuim), playing daily before him; playing with the world, his earth and my delights (shashai) were with the sons of Adam…” (Proverbs 8: 22- 3).

Wisdom 7: 22 also calls the Lady of Wisdom the artificer or architect of all. This Lady Miriam in Eternity is the masterpiece of God. In time she comes later but in eternity she is first in the mind of God. “She is the radiance (zohar) of eternal Light (bahir Or), an immaculate mirror (Mariah) of God’s majestic power and an image of his goodness. Though she is only one she can do all things, all while remaining in herself she renews all things and in all generations she dwells with all holy souls making them friends and prophets of God. For God loves none but him that dwells with Wisdom, for she is more beautiful than the sun, and above all the constellations. Being compared to light, she is found before it. For after this comes night (lilah)…” (Wisdom 7:26-30).

The opening words of the Jewish mystical book “Bahir” allude secretly to these Scriptural passages about Lady Wisdom who is the circle [or circuit / round] called the face upon the waters that like a bride circles her Groom who is the face upon the deep. This process of doing the round of the Rose Bride is then associated with the word shekhakim (skies). “Rabbi Nehuniah ben HaKanah said: one verse (Job 37: 21) states, ‘And now they do not see light, it is brilliant (bahir) in the skies (shekhakim)…[round about God in terrible majesty (hod)].’ Another verse however (Psalm 18;12) states, ‘He made darkness his hiding place.’ It is also written (Psalm 97:2), ‘Cloud and gloom surround him’. This is an apparent contradiction. A third verse comes and reconciles the two. It is written (Psalm 139: 12), ‘Even darkness is not dark to you. Night shines like day – light and darkness are alike’.” (Bahir 1).

Rabbi Nehuniah is teaching that these two verses that mention shekhakim are revealing a mystery found in Genesis One. Psalm 18:12 reveals that the shekhen or Shekinah that is Zohar is the face upon the waters which is the face of the dark light and waters called Night. The Mother who hides her son in her Immaculate heart. “He made darkness (khoshekh) his hiding place, his pavilion round about him was dark waters (mayim) and thick clouds of skies (shekhakim)[Psalm 18:12].” Once again Scripture links the concepts of the cherubim mentioned in Psalm 18:11 with the Shekhakim mentioned in verse 12 of the same Psalm.

The “Zohar” seeks to explain this concept of the mother creating a pavilion or palace to hide her son – this is the mystery connected with the name Elohim and the letter beyt. The mother in union with the Holy Spirit is created Zohar and the Holy Spirit the uncreated Zohar. The mother in union with her Son is the created Bahir and her son is the uncreated Bahir.

The light of Bahir is associated with prophecy and the light of Zohar with mystic vision and when they are united they produce Nogah the light of the righteous. Miriam saw the Bahir light at the opening of the Sea as a naked young boy and then she experienced Zohar light by her prophetic Song of Miriam. Just as Miriam ha Kedosha received the Bahir light in her womb at the Annunciation and she then experienced the zohar light in the Magnificat.

The concept of meditating or gazing on the Mystical Rose is connected with the term shasha adoration. Proverbs 8 associates this kind of deep delighting or frolicking in the Divine Will with the Lady of Wisdom. She also plays (m’sakheket) which is also connected to the word Shekhakim. She is also associated with the term kholal (performing/acting/doing) which is also connected with halel for praising and praying. She is in continuous act in the single and unique act of Creation by frockling and playing in the divine Will while doing the rounds of her beloved Bridegroom. She also does her rolling frolicking rounds in the Rose Wheel with those who also live in Divine Will among the sons of Adam. Living in Eternity they can mystically and spiritually enter with the mother into the lives and acts of every generation (l’dor v’dor) from Adam to the last man. What is true of Our Lady as one of the Shekhakim applies to the other Shekhakim.

Rabbi Eliezer Berland teaches: "...Everyone was at the giving of the Torah—Shechakim. The Megaleh Amukos (by Rav Nosson Shapira, the Rav of Krakow, p. 99) says that the giving of the Torah came from the heavenly realm called “Shechakim.” ...This is why the Megaleh Amukos asks where the giving of the Torah came from, for everyone was at the giving of the Torah—all of the souls were at the giving of the Torah. Everyone saw the giving of the Torah—everyone knew what was going on, says the Megaleh Amukos. Where did the giving of the Torah come from? The Megaleh Amukos says that Hashem imparted a mystery to Moshe in the Sinai desert; he revealed the secret of Shechakim. It was from there that Hashem revealed Himself to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. This is why we say, “G-d of Avraham, G-d of Yitzchak, and G-d of Yaakov,” because Avraham called himself “dust and ashes” (Bereishis 18:27), and Yitzchak’s ashes are always heaped upon the Temple’s altar [i.e. those of the sheep that was sacrificed in his place]..."

Thus the Catholic Jew perceives that the God of Sinai is one of the Cherubic Shekhakim who revealed the Torah at Sinai who was also represented at the Akeidah by the sheep that was sacrificed as a sign of the Sacrifice of Golgotha and its re-presentation in the Holy Sacrifice of the Eucharistic Lamb of God. It is in mystical union with these cherubic Shekhakim who live in Divine Will as chariots to the Divine that we can be present out of eternity at Sinai and Golgotha.

Rebbe Nachman of Brelsov in 'Likutey Moharan' (II:5,10) associates Shekhakim with the word sekhok (laughter). He sees Shekhakim as the dwelling place of the angels and alludes to the bread of joy which is also called elsewhere the bread of angels. This word for laughter(sekhok) is connected the name of Isaac (yitzhok)linking this concept with the Akeidah (Binding) of Isaac and the angelic intervention which leads to the great joy of Abraham and Isaac as part of the Divine Comedy as explained by Pope Benedict XVI (then Cardinal Ratzinger) in his book entitled "Behold the Lamb". The Breslov Rebbe then associates this bread of angels with the Passover month of Nisan and the concept of Redemption as a renewal of the Divine Will. He also comments that the Divine Will can also be renewed throughout the rest of the year by means of joy.

Cardinal Burke of the Apostolic Signatura

2010-10-20T23:29:00.009+08:00

Well the saying goes that God blesses those that bless the Jews and curses those who curse the Jews. The new Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke the former Archbishop of St Louis and now Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura is to be raised to the honour of Cardinal. As a great supporter and defender of the Association of Hebrew Catholics and the rights of the Jews in the Church we are very pleased with this announcement and wish Cardinal Burke all the blessing of the Heavenly realm.

The St Louis Review reports :"...In a statement released Oct. 20, Cardinal-designate Burke wrote: “I express my deepest gratitude to His Holiness for the great confidence which he has placed in me, and I renew my commitment to serve Him, as Shepherd of the universal Church, in total fidelity and with all my being.”..."

Cardinal Burke's recent interview with David Moss

Mark Kinzer, the AHC and Hebrew Catholicism

2010-10-16T22:01:00.017+08:00

Mark Kinzer
Messianic Jewish Rabbi and theologian Mark Kinzer of the UMJC writes in his recent book "Post Missionary Messianic Judaism" about the Association of Hebrew Catholics and Father Elias Friedman its founder in a section about Hebrew Catholicism. In this he mentions that Father Elias rejects Jewish observances whether biblical or Rabbinic. This may have been the personal opinion of Father Elias and many of those of his generation but it was never the official position of the AHC. In fact Father Elias never intended his magnus opus "Jewish Identity" to be the last word but as a beginning to the discussion.

Father Elias was convinced that Jewish Identity must be preserved in the Church but how that was to happen he didn't know. He left these questions to the future Hebrew Catholic community to discuss and work out over time. Even though Father Elias himself seemed personally negative towards Torah observances, the co-founder of the AHC holocaust survivor Andrew Sholl was not. In the first ever and longest running AHC discussion group in Melbourne Australia, Andrew and some others would wear the traditional kippa and tallis and open the meeting with the traditional Jewish kiddush. The present President of the AHC David Moss has also hosted Passover Seders at the Hebrew Catholic centre in St Louis. David would see that while the AHC doesn't hold to any official opinion on Torah observance by Hebrew Catholics, it certainly does not reject such observances practiced by some members of the AHC. The position of the AHC today is that one is free to practice such observances as long as one does not make them a requirement of salvation and that they are practiced in the light of the Messiah Yeshua.

That the newer generations of Hebrew Catholics are open to increased Torah observance by Catholic Jews is demonstrated in the questions that David Moss put to Archbishop Burke in the recent interview. Some have not seen the signifcance of the interview as it is not a defined statement by the Magisterium on the purpose of Hebrew Catholics practicing Jewish observances. However it is a watershed moment that the highest judicial authority in the Church (under the Pope)sees no obstacles in Catholic teaching to Hebrew Catholics practicing such observances done in the light of their Messianic faith in Yeshua. He also saw no obstacles to the collective vocation of Hebrew Catholics and in fact seemed to see such developments in a very positive light. The development of Hebrew Catholic spiritualities and theologies is only in its early days and it will take time to see where the Holy Spirit will lead this movement in the coming years. That an important if not central place must be given to Torah observance in order to perserve Jewish Identity in the Church is gathering support.

Father Aidan Nichols a leading orthodox Catholic theologian from England writes in 'Epiphany: A Theological Introduction to Catholicism': “Since Judaism is not in the fullest sense a different religion from Christianity, there can be and are such a thing as Hebrew Catholics, Jews who have entered the Church but with every intention of maintaining their Jewish heritage intact…Hebrew Catholics…have a special place in the Church; their association enables them to experience a common identity as the prototype of the Israel of the end, and not merely a random collection of assimilated Jews…”. Father Aidan sees that “Judaism’s distinctive continuing light can add to the Church an orthopractic concern with mitzvoth, the divine precepts, whose actualization is a sign that makes present the Creator’s reign and a celebration of a total liturgy,referring the Creation to the Creator and so consecrating it to God through human agency.”

Hebrew Catholics and Sin

2010-10-10T01:14:00.013+08:00

David P Goldman Editor of First Things

Jewish writer David P Goldman in an article in "First Things" entitled “Hebrew Catholics Association” in St. Louis: A Source of Sin? writes "...If a Jew converts to Christianity, as a handful do, he or she nonetheless is obligated to perform the commandments of the Torah, including dietary and marital-purity laws, Sabbath observance, phylacteries and so forth. For a Jew not to perform these commandments is to be in a state of grievous sin. The Torah states that anyone who rejects God’s commandments “with a high hand,” that is, wittingly and deliberately, “shall be cut off from his people.” There is no retroactive exemption from the mitzvot. This remains an issue between us and Jewish converts to Christianity. Michael Wyschogrod write an open letter to the late Cardinal Lustiger of Paris, perhaps the most prominent Jewish convert in the Catholic hierarchy, informing him that he was required to perform the mitzvot. (Wyschogrod addresses these issues in essays in the collection Abraham’s Promise).

Gentiles of course are not required to perform the mitzvot, except for the basic rules of behavior grouped under the so-called Noahide laws. St. Paul argued that Gentiles should be exempt from the mitzvot, but never once did he argue that he himself, who was born a Jew, should stop performing the mitzvot.

From the Jewish theological reading, by acknowledging an Association of Hebrew Catholics without encouraging its members to remain Torah-obedient, the Church is reinforcing sinfulness in its ranks. That is why observant Jews must feel profoundly uncomfortable with the action of the St. Louis Archdiocese. Proselytism, schmoselytism–we know that Catholics would prefer that everybody convert. But all Jews have a responsibility to discourage other Jews from sinning..."

Michael Wyschogrod a leading Orthodox Jewish Theologian of our time

Once again we see that the Jewish community gives a conflicting message. Some of them oppose Hebrew Catholics observing the mitzvot and other demand that they keep them. The AHC is not opposed to nor in any way discourages Hebrew Catholics from being Torah observant in fact they encourage and support those Hebrew Catholics such as myself who do. Hebrew Catholics come from all kinds of backgrounds- many from non-observant backgrounds. Encouraging these Jews in the Church to observe Pesach and other Jewish customs means many of these Jews are now more observant of Torah and mitzvot in the Catholic Church than they ever were outside the Church. Some Hebrew Catholics come from observant backgrounds and some coming from non-observant or limited observance have become more and more observant as Jews while in the Church.

Those Jews in the Church who are Torah observant have had to battle the prejudices of those on the right and left. Many traditional and orthodox Catholics think that Jews should cease being Jews and sit at the back of the bus and keep quiet. Others obsessed with the Jewish Catholic dialogue also wish the same thing but for a different motivation- they don't want to upset their dialogue with the Jewish community. Both are manifestation of anti-Semitism among Catholics and this form of prejudice and anti-semitism is often encouraged and abetted by many in the Jewish community. This is why the recent interview with Archbishop Burke by David Moss President of the Association of Hebrew Catholics is so encouraging to all Hebrew Catholics and especially those who are Torah observant.

An interesting question that I have never really seen clearly answered is in regards to those Hebrew Catholics who themselves didn't leave Judaism and convert to Christianity but it was their parents or grandparents who became believers in Jesus. According to Orthodox Judaism they are halakically Jewish but do they come under the same penalties as those who the Jewish community see as apostates? Many of these second or third or more generations as Hebrew Christians are now also embracing Torah observance while retaining their belief in Jesus as the Jewish Messiah. What is the official position of the orthodox Jewish community to them?

Archbishop Burke and the Hebrew Catholics

2010-10-09T13:23:00.013+08:00

At the recent Hebrew Catholic conference in St Louis Missouri, a filmed interview with Archbishop Burke [Head of the Apostolic Signatura and the former Archbishop of St Louis] with David Moss President of the Association of Hebrew Catholics, was shown. This interview by one of the leading voices of the Church's Magisterium was a wonderful vindication of the work of the Association of Hebrew Catholics towards a collective witness of the Jews in the Church and the preservation of their heritage. It is also a wonderful vindication for the whole Hebrew Catholic apostolate and its centrality in the life of the Church and its place in the new evangelisation.

Here is the link to this historic interview http://www.hebrewcatholic.org/ahcinterviewofar.html

The Archbishop affirmed the major insights of Father Elias Friedman- the Jewish doctor turned Carmelite priest- who founded the AHC with holocaust survivor Andrew Sholl in 1979. The Archbishop clarifies how to interpret the seeming differences between the Bull of Pope Eugenius IV and that of Pope Benedict XIV. He speaks on the celebration of Passover Seder and of Circumcision and other Jewish ceremonies and rites. These statements by the Church's highest judicial authority (under the Pope)carries great weight and authority in the Roman Catholic Church.

Thus we can be assured that there is nothing in Canon Law that impedes a Hebrew Catholic today from being Torah observant. Archbishop Burke speaks of the development of doctrine teaching [which was clearly articulated by Blessed John Henry Newman]as important when examining past Papal and Church documents. It is fitting that Archbishop Burke of the Signatura clarifies the context of the Bull of Pope Eugenius IV to the Copts as the formation of the Signatura was begun by this same Pope. Archbishop Burke mentions that the main concern of Pope Eugenius and of the Magisterium through the ages is not the observance of Jewish rites in themselves but when certain people make these rites a condition of salvation for all.

see Taylor Marshal's blog on the recent Hebrew Catholic conference entitled "Here Come the Hebrew Catholics"

Noah and the Sun of the Divine Will

2010-10-08T09:52:00.017+08:00

Noah (father of Shem) was also called Menakhem which means comforter or consoler but can also mean in Egyptian ‘Eternal Sun’ which is a symbol of the Divine Will (Ratzon). The names of the three sons of Noah are connected with the triune nature of the sun and the three heads of Divine Will represented by the three skull shaped boxes that make up the Ark of the Covenant.

The name of Noah’s son Shem refers to shemesh the fire or essence of the sun also seen as shem yesh (name being). It is also connected to the word Shamayim or shamya for heaven. This refers to Ratzon (will) and God’s omniscience.

The name of Noah’s son Kham refers to the heat of the sun (Kham or Khamah). This refers to Taanug (Desire) and God’s omnipresence. Noah’s son Japhet refers to the Beautiful Light of the Sun. This refers to Emunah (Faith or Trust) and God’s omnipotence. This understanding of the sun as a symbol of the Divine Will in later generations degenerated into sun worship.

The original Patriarchal religion followed by Enoch and Noah was connected with this mystical understanding of the Sun as a symbol or type of the Divine Will (Ratzon). Due to its perversion, firstly by certain descendants of Noah such as Cainan and later by the Egyptians, the connection of the Sun as the symbolic understanding of the Divine Will had to be hidden until mankind reached a higher level of spiritual development.

This triune understanding of the Divine Sun as Divine Will also alludes to the three Sparkling Lights (Tzachtzachot)within the Godhead at the heart of the mysteries of the Kabbalah. In the Catholic understanding this alludes to the Triune God: Shem represents the Father, Ham the Holy Spirit and Japhet the Son.

The Rainbow as female alludes to the created Shekhinah who is Our Lady in Eternity as the created Wisdom or Sophia that is formed by the Sunlight hitting the Hidden Waters of the Sky (mayim hashamayim/the female created dark or hidden waters). The Rainbow as male also alludes to the Coat or Garment of many colours of Joseph (who is the created male Shekhen). The Zohar refers to the Rainbow (keshet)as the female spouse of Joseph (see Zohar 1:247a)and it also associates the Rainbow with the male phallus and yesod. These are part of the deep mysteries of a mystical Jewish 'Theology of the Body'. Yehuda Liebes In "Studies on the Zohar" writes: "The Rainbow (keshet)alludes to the sefira of Yesod (I,18a)and the same word in its Rabbinic usage, refers both to the male organ(Sanhedrin 92a) and to the glory of God (Hagiga 16a, based on Ezekiel 1:28)...the Rainbow may have Messianic significance, for according to the Zohar(eg I, 62b)the Rainbow will appear on the eve of the Messiah's coming (although there the Rainbow would seem to represent the sefira of Malkut and not Yesod)."

The Jewish month of Kislev in which Chanukah and Christmas occur is represented by the keshet (bow). This month is celebrated in honour of Mary and Joseph by Christians. The mystery of the Rainbow as the mystical union between Shekhinah (also represented by malkut as Mystery of the Kingdom) and Yesod (Tzadik/Joseph)represents the virginal nuptial union of Mary and Joseph. Thus Noah as a Tzadik represents the Tzadik Joseph and in Catholic Marian spirituality the refuge of Mary's Immaculate Heart is sometimes associated with the refuge of Noah's Ark. Noah's wife's name according to the Book of Jubilees is Emzara which can mean "mother of the seed"- this alludes to Genesis 3:15 and thus she is a type of the future Mother of the Messiah.

see Noah and Yom Kippor

The Divine Heart, Divine Filling and Divine Blessing

2010-10-08T09:38:00.013+08:00

Bahir 3 alludes to Deuteronomy 33: 23 in regards to the ‘filling’ of God who is also called ‘Berakhah’(blessing), ‘reshit’ (beginning) and ‘khokhmah’ (wisdom). The Bahir explains that the beyt [b] that begins the Torah is the symbol of this filling and blessing. It reveals that the hidden aleph represents the divine Will in the Godhead. The first beyt of Genesis is seen as a vessel (the womb of the Mother) that holds the male Divine Wisdom – this is the uncreated blessing (berakhah). The vessel is the created House (beth/beyt) or Daughter (bat) who is the created Wisdom (Sophia/Hokhmah)that holds the uncreated Divine Wisdom who is the son (bera).

Bahir 3 after speaking of this uncreated ‘filling’ and ‘blessing’ who is the male Divine wisdom then alludes to the created female Celestial wisdom called ‘blessed’ (barukh) who is the beyt (house or palace) that is ‘blessed’ with ‘blessing’ and full (meleat) with filling (malei). The Bahir states: “Wisdom is blessing (berakhah). It is thus written ‘And God blessed Solomon’. It is furthermore written (1 Kings 5: 26), ‘And God gave wisdom to Solomon.’ This resembles a King who marries his daughter to his son. He gives her to him at the wedding and says to him, ‘Do as you desire’.”

The beyt as a house also represents the concept of the Heart (lebb) as the vessel that contains all of God’s filling or blessing. Thus the Son of the Divine King is the uncreated Wisdom called ‘blessing’ and ‘filling’. This is Sar Shalom who is the complete man (Shalem and Tam) who is the complete heart mentioned in 1 Chronicles 29. He is the one who reveals the hidden Abba.

The daughter of the Divine King is the created Celestial Wisdom called ‘blessed’ and ‘filled’. She is the sea, vessel or well that receives and holds and gives the uncreated Wisdom. She is called Binah (understanding) and imma (mother). She is the mystical Miriam who is the mother, sister-spouse and daughter of the Divine King. Read horizontally the open mem of her name represents her heart who receives the filling of the closed mem which is the heart of her son the divine Wisdom. Read vertically the upper mem united to the resh (head knowledge) represents the imma Leah as Lady (marah) Wisdom and the lower mem united with yod (hand or arm of mercy and heart knowledge) represents imma Rachel as the Vessel (yam) of Mercy – united they are the Celestial Miriam who is mirrored on earth by Miriam sister of Moses and who herself in the flesh was Miriam mother of the Messiah the new and unfallen Eve (Khavah/Khayah). Luke’s Gospel reveals that she is the ‘meleat’ filled or full (Ranani meleat/Hail perfectly filled One). Miriam ha Kedosha herself proclaims ‘all generations (l’dor v’dor) shall call me blessed (barukh)’.

The first beyt (in Bereshit) may represent the Sacred Heart as the Head Tefillin and the second beyt (in bara/created) may represent the created female wisdom connected with the arm tefillin pointing towards the heart. This second beyt of bara represents the Mother of the Uncreated Son. Or it may be that the first beyt of bereshit represents the Mother and the second beyt of bara (which can be read as Bera/son)represents the Sacred Heart of the Son.

The son is uncreated in his divinity but in his humanity he receives his flesh and blood from his mother. He is uncreated in his divinity as ‘reshit’ and ‘khokhmah’ but in his humanity he is created (bara) as a son of Adam and Eve like all men except without the stain of the fall. Thus he is Adam Kadmon (divine Man) and Son of Adam (fully Man). The first word of the Torah in Aramaic Bekadmin also alludes to him and his mother.

The incarnation is the final descent of the blessing into the world of assiyah and the completion of the mission of YHVH as the divine Filling (Milluim Mashiach) . Now the Mashiach must embrace all in the Divine Will and ascend with it back to Atzilut. This is the tikkun of the Mashiach and his Mother Miriam the one in whom God delights (hephzibah). He becomes the leper Mashiach for all men by taking all sin upon himself and making divine tikkun. He is the male Presence (Metatron and Shaddai) who is the Kingdom (Malkut) of heaven (shamayim). This the mystery of Name (shem) as shin and mem. He is Menakhem, Metatron, Malkut and Mashiach mystery of the male mem as the merkabah (divine chariot) that is the Rose Wheel. They are four wheels within the one wheel representing the four worlds of assiyah, yetzirah, Beriyah and atzilut.

Menakhem is linked with Shemesh, Metatron with Shaddai, Malkut with Shamayim and Mashiach with Shekhinah. This is the mystery of shin as a rose (shoshan) wheel. Shemesh and Menakham is the tier of three petals (atzilut), Shaddai and Metatron is the tier of 7 (or 6) petals (beriyah), Malkhut and Shamayim is the tier of 12 (or 13) petals (yetzirah) and Mashiach and Shekhinah are the 5 leaves surrounding the Rose (asiyah). The thorns are the world of Klipot (evil). The thorns are the world of Klipot (evil) which can also be symbolized by the black Magen David made up of six A’s of the ancient Hebrew Phoenician alphabet arranged as six thorns. This is the symbol of Armillus the deceiving light who appears as a beautiful Rose but is actually from the other side (sitra ahra).

Mystery of Naphtali and Divine Will

2010-10-08T09:09:00.006+08:00

The first two words of Genesis reveal the mystery of the Incarnation as the mystery of the two hearts (lebb). Bahir 10 reveals that the whole of the Creation of the Universe is made in the image of these two hidden hearts. The Bahir refers us to the prophecy about Naphtali in Deuteronomy 33: 23, “The filling is the blessing of YHVH”. The Bahir wishes us to ponder on this verse in relation to the context of the story of Naphtali in Scripture. Naphtali’s birth is recorded in Genesis 30: 7-8. Read at a mystical level we see the Mystical or Heavenly Rachel associated with the word maidservant or handmaid (shifkhat). Rachel calls the son (bar/ben) Naphtali because “I influence God, I influenced my sister” [naftuley elohim niftalti im-akhoti]. The word translated as influence can also be translated as wrestle or maneuver. Mystically this proclaims that the heavenly Handmaid Rachel (also associated with the maidservant Miriam at the Red Sea) through her prayer and praise influences God and influences her sister-spouse the Holy Spirit to bring forth the Son (bar/ben/bera) represented by the Patriarch Naphtali. Through this prayer influence or maneuvering she attains all. In Luke’s Gospel Miriam ha Kedosha (Our Lady) refers to herself as the humble maidservant (handmaid) of the Lord thus linking her with Rachel and Miriam (sister of Moshe Rabbenu). Rashi speaks of Miriam in the Mechilta, “A maidservant saw at the Red Sea what Ezekiel did not see in his visions.” The Jewish sages tell us that God appeared to Miriam and the children of Israel as a young boy (naar/yeled) as the God of redemption and salvation. At Sinai He appeared as a bearded old man (zaken/elder) wrapped in his Tallit as the God of the Written Law.

Deuteronomy 33: 23 states: “And to Naphtali saying Naphtali satiated with Divine Will and Filling is the blessing of YHVH to inherit the Sea and the South” [naftali s’ba ratzon u-maley birkat YHVH yam v’darom y’rashah]. Here is revealed at a mystical level that the Divine Filling (maley) comes from Divine Will. The Divine Filling is the satiated Will -the full and complete Will (ratzon). The One that is fully satiated with Divine Will is Miriam ha Kedosha (Our Lady). Naphtali as ‘Son’ is the One influenced by the prayers of the handmaid. Genesis 49: 21 however refers to Naphtali as a female deer (Hind), “Naphtali is a hind let loose delivering beautiful sayings”. The Zohar also refers to Kneset Yisrael as the Hind. This is Naphtali as the Handmaid herself as one that influences by prayer and understanding. Thus Divine Filling is the Divine Will in continuous Act. The handmaid enters that Divine Will in continuous act through influencing prayer and she is let loose as a young hind in that Will frolicking and rolling in the rounds of Creation, Redemption and Sanctification. She beholds God firstly at the level of the ‘Yehi’ (fiat) of Creation as a bearded elder wrapped in a tallit of light. As she descends (ascends) into the Divine Will she beholds God as a naked young man at the level of the ‘Yehi’ of Redemption. At the third level of the ‘yehi’ of Sanctification one beholds Him as a small boy or Christ Child or baby (tenoch). As Miriam ha Kedosha enters this Mystical rose wheel she too goes from mature Warrior Queen to young woman to the small child Miriam. This is symbolized as the young Miriam (sister of Moses) watching over the Ark of the baby Moses.

The Woman of Zarephath and the Mashiach

2010-10-04T14:44:00.013+08:00

There are certain Jewish traditions that associate the Mashiach ben Yosef (Messiah son of Joseph) with the story of the woman of Zarephath and her Son who Elijah resurrected from the dead in 1 Kings 17. It is interesting that the seventh Lubavitch Rebbe spoke about the significance of Zarephath (France) and that the Chabad movement also speaks about the Mashiach ben Yosef rising from the dead. Besides the Phoenician city of Zarephath, France is also called Zarephath (Tzarefat) and Britian as the Isles of Zarephath. The Rabbis of the middle Ages believed that the mention of the Exile of Zarephath in Obadiah referred to the Exile of the Ten Tribes symbolised by Joseph.

Raphael Patai a Jewish Israeli scholar in his book "The Messiah Texts" mentions in his chapter on the mother of the Messiah the link with the woman or widow of Zarephath and her Son with the Mother of the Messiah and her Son - the Messiah son of Joseph. Patai quotes from Seder Eliyahu Rabba 18 where the Rabbis are discussing from whom Elijah the prophet descends, whether from the seed of Rachel (meaning from the Tribes of Joseph and Benjamin) or from the seed of Leah (from whom Levi and thus Aaron the first High priest descended). Elijah appears to them and states the he is from the seed of Rachel from the lineage of Benjamin. "...Thereupon they said to him:"if you are not a Kohen [priest]. How, then, could you say to the widow [of Zarephath], Make me a little cake first and bring it forth to me [which is the prerogative of a Kohen] and afterwards make for thee and thy son(1kings 17:13)?" He said to them: "That child [the son of the widow]was none other than Messiah ben Joseph, and I wanted to give a signal to the world that first I go down to Babylonia, and thereafter will come the Messiah." We see that here the story of the woman of Zarephath is seen as a sign of the coming Messiah who will appear after the Babylonian Exile. We see that the wheaten cakes allude to the Eucharistic mystery, and the son who rises from the dead after Elijah lays on him in the form of a crucifix is a sign of the Messiah who will rise from the dead.

We also see that in 'Yalkut Hadash, Mashiach par 22' that the Jewish traditions also links this story with that of Jonah who was in the belly of the whale for three days. "The son of the widow of Zarephath was Jonah, and he was Messiah ben Joseph." Thus we see that Jesus' linking of the Messianic Son of Man with the story of Jonah is found also in the orthodox Jewish traditions. In fact the whole account of Elijah in 1 Kings alludes to Eucharistic and Marian themes, which explains why Carmelite tradition associates Elijah with devotion to the Mother of the Messiah as Our Lady of Carmel. Here is concealed that Eucharistic Hidden Child of which the Zohar speaks in connection with Elijah as the old donkey Driver. This hidden child will soon be revealed to all as the crucified and resurrected Mashiach ben Yosef as prophecied in the Book of Zechariah.

“ ... His mother came and said to them, ‘Masters, please look on my son with a good eye.’ They said to her, ‘Happy are you, worthy woman! Singled out from among all women! The Blessed Holy One has selected your portion, raised your banner above all women of the world.’

The Child said, ‘I am not afraid of the evil eye, for I am the son of a great and precious fish, and fish do not fear the evil eye, as it is written, ‘They shall multiply like fish in the midst of the earth’ (Genesis 48:16). This blessing includes protection from the evil eye, for we have learned: ‘Just as fish of the sea are covered by water and are immune to the evil eye etc [so the descendants of Joseph are immune to the evil eye].’ ‘In the midst of the earth,’ indeed ‘among human beings on earth’.

They said, ‘Son, Angel of YHVH! There is no evil eye in us, we do not come from the side of the evil eye. The Blessed Holy One is covering you with His wings.’

They kissed him as before and said: ‘Come, let us bless,’ He said, ‘I will bless, because everything you’ve heard until now was from me, I will fulfill the verse: One whose eye is generous will be blessed. Read it: ‘will bless’. Why? ‘Because he gave of his own bread to the needy’ (Prov. 22:9). From the bread and food of my Torah you have eaten.’

Rabbi Judah said: ‘Son, Beloved of the Blessed Holy One! We have learned: ‘the master of the house breaks bread, and the guest blesses.’

He said to them, ‘I am not master of the house, and you are not guests! But I have found a verse and I will fulfill it, for I am truly generous. Without your asking, I have spoken until now and you have eaten my bread and my food.”

He took the cup of blessing and began to bless. His hands could not hold the cup; they were trembling. When he reached ‘for the land and the food’ he said ‘I raise the cup of salvation and invoke the name, Y~.’ (Psalm 116:13). The cup stood firm and settled in his right hand and he continued blessing. At the end he said, ‘May it be the Will that life be extended to one of these from the Tree of Life on which all depends! May the Blessed Holy One be surety for him. May he find surety below to share his surety with the Holy King.’

Having finished blessing he closed his eyes for a moment. Then he opened them and said, ‘Comrades, Shalom to you from the good Lord who possesses all Shalom! They were amazed, and cried, and blessed him.

They stayed the night. In the morning they rose early and left. When they reached Rabbi Shim’on, they told him what had happened. Rabbi Shim’on was amazed. He said, He is the son of an invincible rock! He deserves this and more than any human can imagine. He is the son of Rav Hamnuna Sava.”[from the Zohar]

Mystery of Water and Miriam's Well

2010-10-04T12:43:00.005+08:00

In this blog I have discussed the Mystery of Miriam's Well in connection to Our Lady in Eternity who is the Mystical Miriam. I have demonstrated from Jewish writings her connection with the waters (mayim) of Genesis One and how her name Miriam is hidden in the text of Genesis One in the waters section. We have seen how Miriam is associated by the Rabbis with the feminine or dark waters which are associated with the feminine created light. However Rabbi Naftali Reich reveals the connection between Miriam and the waters and the concept of Divine Will.

Rabbi Naftali Reich of torah.org writes "...A number of questions come to mind. Why was the water given to the Jewish people only in the merit of Miriam? Why couldn’t the water continue after her death without Moses speaking to the rock? Why didn’t God want to leave the faucet open for the Jewish people? The commentators explain that one of the most striking features of water is that its viscosity allows it to adapt perfectly to its surroundings; water will naturally assume the shape of any container into which it flows. Symbolically, Miriam represented this quality. She was able to adapt her faith and her steadfast fealty to God’s will under any and all circumstances. Come what may, Miriam shone as the paragon of staunch faith..."

Shaar ha Gilgulim (Gate of the Rounds)

2010-09-28T10:53:00.012+08:00

Shaar ha Gilgulim is often translated as the Gate of Reincarnation. In fact it would be better translated as the Gate of the Rounds or Cycles. This unfortunate confusion with the Eastern doctrines of reincarnation has made most modern commentaries on the teachings of the Ari (Isaac Luria) dangerous and confusing. The Shaar ha Gilgulim itself makes it pretty clear at the start that it is talking of mystical states and levels of the soul in its journeys in the mystical rounds that purify the soul and make reparation (tikun)in the process of sanctification. Most English translations assume that the work is about reincarnation and thus this reflects their choice of words in the translations. Great errors have occured through trying to read these teaching in a literalistic manner rather than in a highly mystical way with a mystical language of its own. Israel Sarug, Luzzatto, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, Reb Abraham Chazan and the Alter Rebbe among others all warned against interpreting these teaching in such a manner.

All the oral and mystical teachings of Judaism and Catholicism are found in origin in the Scriptures when read at a mystical level. Teachings that do not have this origin are alien and avoda zara to the authentic Divine Revelation. The Ramban teaches us that it is the mystery of the Mystical Mother (Kneset Yisrael)in Eternity that is the inner meaning of all the midrashim. This is the mystery of the Incarnation not the deception of reincarnation. The Ari's teachings will only be fully understood when the Jewish people and mystical sages embrace the mystery of the rounds in Divine Will as taught by the Messiah and his Mother to the servant of God Luisa Piccarreta. For this end the Hidden Tzadik Joseph continues his mystical work for this reunion and tikun of Church and Synagogue.

Also see Reincarnation and Reb Abraham Chazan

Sad News from Uman: Breslover Murdered

2010-09-27T08:14:00.013+08:00

As Jews are celebrating the festival of Sukkot (tabernacles) I learnt from another Hebrew Catholic, on the Hebrew Catholic discussion board run by the Association of Hebrew Catholics, the sad news of the murder of Shmuel Menachem Tobol- a young 19 year old Breslover Chasid. He was murdered by Ukrainian thugs in Uman on the 200th anniversary of the death of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov. As a descendant of Rebbe Nachman and a devotee of his teachings from a Hebrew Catholic perspective it has really hit me. I have for many years desired to visit the grave of Rebbe Nachman. Rebbe Nachman made a special promise to those who visited his grave to seek his intercession with God. He said that he would pull them out of even the deepest parts of Purgatory after their death. Some media reports are using this to attack religious faith by inferring that Rebbe Nachman promised physical safety to those who visited his grave. This was not so. It was his intercession that was promised. Breslover history has been filled with persecutions and attacks on those who visited the grave even by other Hasidim. Thus the Rebbe's promise was not to make our physical lives without suffering but to aid us in the midst of our sufferings whether in this life or the next.

Shmuel was recently engaged and he flew from Israel to Ukraine with his brother for the 200th anniversary of the death of Rebbe Nachman. His brother was also injured in the incident in which the thugs stoned the Jews and their car and then stabbed Shmuel. We pray the psalms for the soul of young Shmuel in union with the whole Breslov and Jewish communities. Breslov is one of the fastest growing Chasidic Jewish communities who are very fexible in the areas of custom and dress- ranging from those who dress like strict Chasidim to those who dress modern. The Breslovers are probably best known from the Israeli movie "Ushpizin" where a Breslov couple entertain some difficult guests for Sukkot. Breslovers are also known for dancing atop vans and in the streets. They are a people of joy who believe one should do the daily holy hour called hitbodedut where one talks to God in their mother tongue from the heart. They are often known as the Chasidim of the Heart in contrast to the Chabad who are known as Chasidim of the Head.

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov who had red-blonde hair

One of my fond memories of living in Israel is going to the Tomb of King David (which is under the Room of the Last Supper on Mount Zion) late at night where many Chasidim do all night prayer vigils. There I met a young Breslov Chasid who was spending the night in heart-felt prayer and I sat down and we talked for a couple of hours about the meaning of life. He was so kind, warm and friendly to me- I felt the love and youthful holiness of this follower of Rebbe Nachman radiating out to all. Now another young Chasid has been martyred and I know he is resting in the arms of his Rebbe in the Heavenly Garden of Eden where they learn Torah from the mouth of the Hidden Mashiach ben Yosef himself.

Messianic Jewish Theology

2010-08-28T15:47:00.006+08:00

In a past blog article I wrote about five kinds of Hebrew Catholics. Richard Harvey in 2009 published a book called "Mapping Messianic Jewish Theology" in which he listed eight kinds of Messianic Jews who have or are developing their own kind of Messianic Jewish theology.

They are:

1. Jewish Christianity [represented by Baruch Maoz]
2. Dispensational Hebrew Christianity [represented by Arnold Fruchtenbaum]
3. Israeli National and Restorationist [represented by Gershon Nerel]
4. New Testament Halakah [represented by Dan Juster and David Stern]
5. Traditional Judaism and the Messiah [represented by Michael Schiffman, John Fischer and David Friedman]
6. Postmissionary Messianic Judaism [represented by Mark Kinzer, Rich Nichol and Tsvi Sadan]
7. Rabbinic Halakah in the Light of the New Testament [represented by Joseph Shulam]
8. Messianic Rabbinic Orthodoxy [[represented by Elazar Brandt]

Most Hebrew Catholics would not have heard of most of these people except for possibly Mark Kinzer and David Stern. Baruch Maoz is an Israeli Christian pastor whose parents were Russian Jews that settled in America. Baruch was born in America in 1943 but moved with his family at age 10 to Israel. His famous book is called " Judaism is not Jewish: A friendly Critique of the Messianic Movement". He is a critic of any reliance by Messianic Jews on Rabbinic authority. He is thus an Evangelical Protestant pastor of Jewish background and israeli nationality.

Arnold Fruchtenbaum was an Ashkenazi Jew also born in 1943 in Russia and at the age of 4 his family moved to Germany and then in 1958 to America. He founded Ariel Ministries and is concerned with the evangelisation of Jews as the number one priority. Gershon Nerel is a Israeli who lives in the Messianic community Yad Hashmona in Israel and prefers the term Jewish believer in Yeshua. Dan Juster is an American Jew who was the first president of Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations and the founder of Tikkun Minstries. He now resides in Israel. David Stern is an American Jew now based in Jerusalem who produced the Messianic Jewish Bible and wrote the 'Messianic Jewish Manifesto'.

Michael Schiffman is an American Messianic Jewish Rabbi who wrote "Return of the remnant: The Rebirth of the Messianic Judaism". John Fischer is an American Messianic Rabbi born in Hungary in 1946. David Friedman was the former Academic Dean at the King of Kings college in Jerusalem. Like Mark kinzer Rabbi Rich Nichol is a leader in the UMJC today in America. Rabbi Tsvi Sadan is an Israeli Messianic Jew who publishes 'Kivun'. Joseph Shulam is a pioneer of Messianic Judaism in Israel and Elazar Brandt is an Israeli Messianic Jewish musician.

It is interesting that distinct forms of theology from a Messianic Jewish perspective are developing and we are looking forward to this development among Hebrew Catholics in the future. It is pleasing to note those developments in Messianic cirlces that are departing from merely parrotting Evangelical Protestant theology with a Jewish gloss. The turn towards liturgy, tradition and mysticism shows a positive move of the Holy Spirit among certain groups of Messianic Jews.

Hebrew Catholics in the Media

2010-08-24T22:09:00.015+08:00

A recent article, by a journalist who writes for the 'St Louis Dispatch', on the Association of Hebrew Catholics and their upcoming conference was posted on the Huffington Post. As usual there are a group of people interested in misrepresenting the Hebrew Catholic movement. The journalist writes as if the AHC is a group just started in St Louis in the last four years. It also speaks about the conference as the first national one. However the AHC was founded over 30 years ago by Father Elias Friedman of Mt Carmel in Israel and holocaust survivor Andrew Sholl from Australia in 1979. In recent years there have been a number of Hebrew Catholic conferences at which people from all over the US have attended and also from outside the US. In fact I have attended two of these- one in New York in 2005 and one in Washington DC in 2008.

I find it rather offensive that certain Jewish representives are interfering in what the Jews who have chosen to be Catholics are doing. Certainly Catholics don't interfere with what Christian or Catholics converts to Judaism or Noahides are doing in Judaism. Actually it is none of their business. How dare liberal and secular Jews criticise and interfere with those who choose to identitfy as Catholic Jews or Hebrew Catholics. The Nazis identified them as Catholic Jews and like St Edith Stein they were sent to their death with all other Jews.

Those Orthodox Jews that go along with such secular and liberal opinions in regard to Hebrew Catholics are rather confused. On the one hand they believe that those Jews who have become Catholic or their parents or grandparents became Catholic are halakically Jewish and thus obliged to observe Torah and mitzvot. Then when some of them do start to do this they get upset. The orthodox Jewish theologian Michael Wyschogrod proposed to Cardinal Lustiger this very position that Jews who are Catholic should still observe Torah and mitzvot.

There also seems to be a total disconnect between what Catholics mean by proselytizing and evangelising. These Jewish representatives seem to see them as the same thing. Catholics understand proselytising as dishonest and aggressive methods of trying to convert people. All Catholics are called at all times and to all people to witness to their faith in loving and appropriate ways which is part of evangelising. There are certain liberal or modernist Catholics that are against evangelisation in any form but these people stand outside the teaching of the Catholic Church and are ignored by all orthodox Catholics.

As for the Association of Hebrew Catholics it does not see itself as an organisation that proselytises or indeed involved in any programme of active evangelisation to the Jewish community. That certain other Catholic Jews who may encourage active evangelisation of Jews speak together with the AHC at conferences does not mean that this is the policy or purpose of the AHC. There are many differences of opinion among Hebrew Catholics and the role of active or passive evangelisation is one such issue. All agree that proselytizing (using the Catholic understanding of that term)is not appropriate. I personally with some other Hebrew Catholics do not believe that active evangelisation directed at Jews as a group is appropriate at this stage of salvation history in the light of the centuries of Gentile Catholic persecution and the Shoah.

I might add that Hebrew Catholics actually believe in God, Moses and the giving of the Torah on Sinai unlike many liberal and secular Jews. Hebrew Catholics actually reach out to devout orthodox Catholics with a postive message about Judaism and Jews discouraging them from holding anti-semitic and anti -Israel attitudes. Most of the Jewish Christian dialogue groups are liberal Christians dialoguing with liberal Jews. Most of these people are getting old and I don't notice many of the young and devout Catholics getting involved in such dialogues. It is strange if we get to a point where Jews are asking Catholic authorities to persecute and restrict the rights of those Jews who have embraced the Catholic Faith. In fact it is already occuring in certain places. Shame on those Jews and those Catholics who support such a policy of discrimination.

Hebrew Catholic Conference In St Louis

2010-07-10T19:34:00.013+08:00

The Association of Hebrew Catholics website has announced its latest conference: "A Catholic conference, sponsored by the Association of Hebrew Catholics, will be held in St. Louis MO, Oct 1-3, 2010. The conference is entitled: “You Shall Be My Witnesses (Acts 1:8), Hebrew Catholics and the Mission of the Church.” Some of the speakers include: Marty Barrack, Dr. Lawrence Feingold, David Moss, Sr. Rosalind Moss, and Roy Schoeman. Also included is a video interview with Archbishop Raymond Burke. There will be Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Confession, Rosary and Divine Mercy devotions, and daily Mass. For further information or to register: please call 314-535-4242 or 314-423-1075, email ahc@hebrewcatholic.org, or visit the AHC website at www.hebrewcatholic.org."

Bishop Robert Hermann will also be participating and there will be a presentation by Catholics For Israel as well (which I think will be the highlight of the Conference). This conference will be great for those interested in the Hebrew roots of the Catholic Faith or those new to what certain well known Catholics of Jewish background are doing in the Church. It may be disappointing for those interested in Torah Observant Hebrew Catholics and those interested in developing distinct Hebrew Catholic spiritualities and theological perspectives in preparation for a Hebrew Catholic community. While David Moss as President of the AHC will give a wonderful talk on Father Elias Friedman's vision of a judicially approved Hebrew Catholic Community, most of the other speakers will not be concerned with this as evidenced in past conferences. That Hebrew Catholics are participating in at least this collective action is a positive aspect of the conference and it may be a good place to get to know other Hebrew Catholics and those who are interested in Hebrew Catholic issues.

Rebbe Moshe ben Zalman: the Catholic son of the Alter Rebbe

2010-07-08T01:20:00.043+08:00

Schneur Zalman of Liadi the Alter Rebbe

Four years ago in 2006 I wrote an article on the Shklov Khasidim and their connections to the Frankists and the Catholic son of the first Lubavitch Rebbe Schneur Zalman of Liadi. Around that time I read an article on Rebbe Moshe in Ha'aretz (an Israeli newspaper) about the research of David Assaf. I had also been studying the background of this story for some time. David Assaf wrote in his Hebrew language book about the discovery of the Church records of the conversion of Rebbe Moshe in 1820. However it only now in July 2010 that I have finally obtained the English edition of David Assaf's book entitled "The Untold Tales of the Hasidim: Crisis and discontent in the History of the Hasidim". It is an interesting book and certainly worth reading. However it is obvious that David Assaf writes from a modern perspective that seems to reek of scepticism and negativity towards Hasidism and its dynastic families. The problem for me with writers like David Assaf and his associates is they don't understand the mystical spirituality of these people and thus continually misinterpret them. Of those associated with David Assaf, that I have read, the only writer that I find does have a deeper understanding of the mystical life of the Hasidim is Zvi Mark.

It seems strange to me that in writing about Reb Moshe of Chabad (aka Rebbe Moshe of Shklov), who became a believer in Jesus as the Messiah according to the teachings of the Catholic Church, that David Assaf nowhere mentions the numerous Frankists hidden in the Jewish and Catholic communities. The events of this story of Rebbe Moshe is set in the very heartlands of the Frankists. He mentions sources that speak of a Russian officer who in some way influenced Reb Moshe. I identitfied this officer as a member of the Scottish crypto Jewish family (who became secret Frankists in the Catholic Church) who had for a number of generations served in the Russian military. This officer was Lewis Seton Wilson. There were two Russian officer's called Lewis Seton Wilson who served in the Czar's armies. They were uncle and nephew and the nephew was General Lewis Seton Wilson (b.1779). Joshua George Lazarus (1799-1869) who was a religious Jew who became an Anglican (Hebrew Christian)wrote in his book 'Ebenezer' that this officer was a General: "... a Russian General happened to stay with the Rabbi mentioned above [Dov Ber the 2nd Lubavitch Rebbe], whose name was Rabbi Moshe. This General...conversed with the Rabbi about Christianity and gave him a New Testament, which he diligently read so that in three nights he was by the grace of God convinced of the Truth, and wished to make an open confession of his faith. The general fearing that this might occasion a disturbance in the place amongst the Jews, thought it prudent to send him to St Petersburg...". It is interesting that some Jews claimed that the family of the Chabad dynasty were descended from a Scottish woman who came to Eastern Europe and was of crypto-Jewish ancestry.
Professor David Assaf

In 1820 Isaac Ber Levisohn wrote to his friend Joseph Perl about the events recently happening in Ule (where Reb Moshe was the Rabbi). David Assaf quotes this letter in his book. It is important to note that Levisohn is a maskil and thus opposed to Hasidism and may exaggerate any conflicts in the Chabad dynasties or put his own spin on the events. " I now find myself obliged to report some current events to his honour...Rabbi Zalman Liozner [Schneur Zalman of Liadi], the Head of the Habad faction, was survived by three sons, Reb Ber, Reb Moshe and Reb Avraham. And it came to pass after their father's death that conflict broke out between Reb Ber and Reb Moshe, each of whom wished to fill his father's place. And Reb Ber sat on the throne of the rabbinate in the town of Lubavitch...but his brother Moshe outstripped him and was appointed rabbi of the town of Ule. The conflict between them began about two years ago until Reb Ber defeated Reb Moshe. Upon seeing that Reb Ber had become greater than he, Reb Moshe approached the priests and converted. And although there had been a schism between the two factions in Habad - for the previous two years Habad had split into two factions- they made peace among themselves, and collected much money and bribed the priests and the town and provincial officials to return Moshe to them, claiming that he was incompetent and insane. And Reb Moshe shrieked like a crane and stated that he had done so in sane, sound mind, and wrote a letter to Prince Golitsyn recounting the entire matter. And the news reached Czar Alexander. The Czar sent for Reb Moshe and had him brought to St Petersburg in order to interview him and to determine if he spoke the truth, for he was portrayed as incompetent and as having been subjected to undue influence. And this Reb Moshe had already been sent to St Petersburg and came before the Czar. This event took place about a month ago... And the Hasidim around here go about aimlesly, and are jumping out of their skin, and would harm themselves if they could."

However from the accounts it would seem that this was not the beginning of Rebbe Moshe's strange spiritual journey. It would seem that from the age of 8 he had mystical experiences with a spiritual messenger or angel called Abraham [possibly apparitions of the Patriarch Abraham or Rabbi Abraham ha Malach (d.1777)] who taught him things that upset his father. He would continue over the years to experience these mystical phenomenon. Moshe was the most handsome of the three sons of the Alter Rebbe. He is described as tall and blonde like his father Schneur Zalman and a master of Halakah and Kabbalah. Napoleon is said to have envisioned the blonde Rabbi who was opposed to him and the red haired Rabbi the Rimanover Rebbe who supported him. Napoleon said "I see the Red Jew walking by my side through the heat of battle, assuring me of victory: he is my stategist! Whenever I ride I also see the Blonde Jew always railed against me". Some believed Reb Moshe was one of the mystical 36 hidden (lamed vavs) Tzaddikim of his generation. He was able to memorise all his father's talks and repeat them and write them down afterwards. No doubt his deep interest in the Zohar and the Kabbalah led him to many of the same conclusions as the other Zoharists (later called Frankists).

This interest in Kabbalah led to him marrying the daughter of the Zhidichov Rebbe Tzvi Hirsch in 1796 when he was 13. Rebbe Tzvi Hirsh was a master of the Kabbalah, the Zohar, and the writings of Luria (the Ari). He was passionate about encouraging Jews to study these mystical works. Due to Rebbe Tzvi Hirsh's enthusiasm and the efforts of his students some Jewish Yeshivahs in Polish Galicia added the study of Kabbalah to their curriculum. Rabbi Tzvi Hirsh intergrated the mystical teachings of the Baal Shem Tov with the kabbalah of Luria. After Rebbe Moshe's public conversion his connection with the Zhidichov Rebbe was hidden and while the genealogies admit that his first wife Shifra Hirsh was a daughter of a Rabbi Tzvi Hirsh, they don't say that he was the Zhidichov Rebbe.

Until the death of his wife Shifra Hirsh in 1802/3 after child birth of a daughter Shifra, Rebbe Moshe lived and studied with his father-in-law and deepened his kabbalistic understandings. Shifra has been confused with her daughter also called Shifra Hirsh who went with her husband and daughters to live in Palestine in the 1840's. Galicia at this time contained numerous Zoharists (Frankists). It was in Galicia at this time that he met Rebbe Sender (his future father-in-law)who was a secret Frankist and a very wealthy merchant. Reb Sender was also known as Benjamin Ephraim Alexander Broide (Brody) and Alexander Margolioth. He was also the father-in-law of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov. In 1802 Alexander disappeared from Podolia and he moved to Sheklov (Shklov) were he became the Shklov Rebbe Sender and he married his daughter Leah Golda Broide to Rebbe Moshe. Rebbe Moshe then became known as Reb Moshe of Shklov. At this stage he was a secret unbaptised Frankist.
Reb Moshe in later life is said to have look very much like his father Schneur Zalman (above)

It was while living with his father-in-law Rebbe Sender in Shklov in 1812 that he was imprisoned by the French. However after his encounter with the Russian officer in 1814 he decided to become a Christian and went to Mogilev to study with the Russian Orthodox Bishop. This caused conflict with his family and they went to Mogilev and insisted that Moshe was mentally unwell and bribed the officials to return him to their care. It is said that Reb Moshe first met the Czar in 1815 with his brother Reb Ber when the Czar was visiting Babinovichi. The Czar and the Bishop of Smolensk organised Moshe to go to a monastery in Jarcevo to study and reflect. There was disagreement about accepting him as a convert by the priests and he was sent back home to his family for further discernment. He went to Shklov and was then sent by his father-in-law to Latvia (Courland) where he became the Rabbi of Kreitzburg (Krustpils)as Rabbi Moshe Zvi Broide. He left Krustpils in 1816 when he became an assistant in the Rabbinical Court at Shavel in Lithuania where his wife Leah had relatives. She was the neice of Rabbi Azriel Zvi Broide of Shavel. It was in Krustpils that he wrote his Kabbalistic work on the sign of the Cross. Moshe returned to Belarus (White Russia) and then became the Rabbi of Ulla (Ule/Vola) after this. His daughter Shifra married a member of the Rivlin family there. However finally in July 1820 he was secretly baptised as Peter Alexandrovitch by Catholic Frankists in Ulla and later he received a more official conditional Catholic baptism in September 1820 as Leoni Joliwicz (Leon Yulievich). In the process of his conflict with his family it would seem that Moshe became disillusioned with the Catholic priests and doctors who were successfully bribed by his family to declare him mad. He then appealed to the Russian Orthodox Church for help. In the conflict between the different parties over the original baptism it was necessary to protect and hide the secret Frankists who were involved. The secret Jewish Frankists who were his godparents were Justina Benkovska and Rebbe Sender (Alexander) of Shklov his father-in-law. Reb Moshe disguised them as two Catholics from Ule Justina Alexandrovna Ruett and her father the estate owner of Ule Alexander Petrovich Ruett (they didn't exist as the estate owner was one Ignace Ruett not Alexander).

It would seem that in 1828 he became Russian Orthodox. Due to his great learning he was also ordained as a secret Russian Orthodox priest and made an Archmandrite to serve the needs of Christian Jews. He left St Petersberg for Shklov where he returned to a total frum orthodox Jewish observance while being the Rebbe to the Frankist Jews hidden in the Jewish community. He reverted to being a secret Catholic Frankist Jew. He wandered throughout Europe at times as a wealthy Jewish merchant and at others as a poor mad holy fool. He was a close friend and guide to Czar Alexander I's mistress Princess Zinaida Volkonskaya among others.

Reb Moshe descendant the 5th Rebbe of Chabad Shalom Dover

Reb Moshe of Sheklov and Leah Golda were the great grandparents of the 5th Rebbe of Chabad through his mother Rivkah (daughter of Aharon Moshe Alexandrov). The identity of Reb Moshe (Chaim Moshe Leb) as the Catholic convert son of Schneur Zalman was disguised. Other Hasidic Dynasties were already loathe to intermarry with the Chabad dynasty so it was necessary to disguise the identities and rework some of the stories of the family. Rebbe Moshe ben Schneur Zalman's son Levi Isaac was the father of Nachum Yosef Schneursohn who married his cousin Sarah Rivka whose mother Shifra Hirsh was the half-sister of Levi Isaac. They settled in Palestine in the 1840's. Their son Chaim Zvi Schneursohn visited Australia in the 19th century and died in South Africa in 1881. Rebbe Moshe's son Gershon Yehuda Leb took his mother's name Broide and his children used variants of this name such as Brady, Broidy and Brody. Reb Moshe himself used the names of Leon Brody and Leon Judah.

Some of his descendants went to England and Ireland. Reb Moshe's Catholic grandson Leon Brody or Brady lived in Manchester and Dublin. Leon's daughter Mary Brady married in Dublin and went with her family to Australia in 1865. Leon in 1860 returned to Russia to his grandfather Moshe and became an observant Jew with his two youngest children Adelaide (Adel) and Alexander (Aharon Moshe). Reb Moshe's wife Leah Golda Broide had a brother Berend Natan Broide who went to live in Cavan Ireland with other members of the family and took the name Bernard Brady. He was the father of John Brady who became the first Catholic Bishop of Perth in Australia and later the Bishop went to France and became a hermit. Bishop Brady died in France as a hermit in 1871. John Brady had met his uncle (by marriage) Moshe in Italy in the 1830's as did the future Benedictine Bishops Serra and Salvado.

Reb Moshe had been friends with Princess Zinaida since 1815 when she was the mistress of Czar Alexander I and he attended her artistic Salons in the 1820's in Russia. He also spent time directing Zinaida in Rome during the last half of the 1830's when the Princess became a Catholic and began to have spiritual Salons. She was very enthusiastic in her support of the Jews who had become Christians. She was a good friend and benefactor of the Ratisbonne brothers Theodore and Alphonse (see "The Pilgrim Princess" by Maria Fairweather). She was very influenced by the spiritual teachings of Reb Moshe to become very little and a fool for God. It was at the literary and artistic Salons of Princess Zinaida in Russia that Rebbe Moshe ben Zalman also met the Catholic Frankist Adam Mickiewicz. Reb Moshe ben Zalman was an important link between those Zoharists (Frankists)who were openly Catholics and those that were openly Jewish.
Adam Mickiewicz the famous Polish Frankist literary figure

Note: I first wrote the article on Shklov Hasidim in 2006 and published it on this blog on 24th of January 2007 (this version is still here in my draft section). I transferred this article to my other blog in September 2007 with some changes.

Note 2: The article on the later years of the Alter Rebbe reveals some more information about Reb Moshe in his earlier years and the high status he was held in by his father. It reveals that even at this earlier stage Reb Moshe was studying Catholic and Christian teachings and had been many times to St Petersburg mixing with high officials. He was fluent in Russian and French.

Ramban, Our Lady and Kabbalah

2010-06-26T16:44:00.020+08:00

One of the greatest commentators of Judaism was Moses ben Nachman (Nachmanides). He is also known as Ramban and lived in the Middle Ages at the time of Maimonides (Rambam). He was born in 1194 in Geronda Spain and died in 1270 in the Holy Land. Nachmanides was also a master of the Jewish Mystical Tradition called Kabbalah. He includes some kabbalistic insights in to his great Commentary on Torah. However some Litvak publishers try to conceal those mystical sections by not translating these portions into English.

Ramban himself is cautious about what he reveals to his readers about the Mystical dimensions of the Torah. This is because he is afraid of the misuse of these mystical teachings by the Gnostics. He is also concerned because of the clear similiarities with Christian ideas, and that those Jews who were against Kabbalah could use this to suppress the Kabbalists.

I will now discuss one such passage that is not translated into English in some modern translations of Ramban. Ramban discusses the first word of the Torah Bereshit (In the Beginning). He demonstrates how the term reshit (beginning)is associated with the Torah and Israel. Ramban writes: "...In the beginning God Created. Rashi wrote:"This verse calls aloud for elucidation, as Our Rabbis have explained it:"For the sake of Torah which is called reshit, as it is said, 'the Eternal made me as 'reshit'(the beginning)of His way', and for the sake of Israel who is called reshit, as it is said, 'Israel is the Eternal's hallowed portion, the 'reshit'(first-fruits) of his increase'."..."

Ramban then goes on to link this reshit with the concepts of the Challah (dough or bread offering), the maasrot (tithes), and the bikkurim (first fruits). "...For the merit aquired by... three things has the world been created: for the merit of challah, for the merit of Tithes and for the merit of the first fruits (bikkurim)...Reshit surely signifies the Dough-offering, as it is said, 'The first of your dough' [Numbers 15:20]. Reshit surely signifies the Tithes, as it is said, 'the first of thy grain' [Deut.18;4]. Reshit surely signifies the first-fruits, as it is said, 'the first-friuts of thy land' [Exodus 23:19]..." For the Hebrew Catholic this clearly has Marian and Eucharistic significance.

From this we see that the concept of Israel is the spiritual vessel in which all has come to be in the Creation. What aspect of Israel does this refer to? Ramban reveals it is the concept of Kneset Yisrael -the Lady of Israel. Ramban further reveals that this Lady is the mystical daughter, sister and mother as revealed in the Sefer Bahir. He then links her to the Mother of the Song of Songs and to the Isparklarya (crystal mirror). This alludes to the Immaculate mirror associated with the female Wisdom in the "Wisdom of Solomon" a book that Ramban also quotes from in his commentary on Torah. In fact he has an Aramaic version of this book which he translates into Hebrew. These are all Marian allusions and demonstrates that it is the concept or thought of the mystery of the God-bearer (Theotokos)which is the prototype through which all of reality comes forth.

Ramban writes:"...Their intent in the above texts is as follows: the word bereshit alludes to the Creation of the World by Ten Sefirot, and hints in particular to the sefirah called Hokhmah (wisdom/Sophia), in which is the foundation of everything, even as it says, 'The Eternal hath founded the earth by Wisdom' [Proverbs 3:19]. This is the Terumah (Heave-offering)...and it is holy; it has no precise measure, thus indicating the little understanding created beings have of it. . Now just as a man counts ten measures- this alludes to the Ten Sefirot- and sets aside one measure of the ten as a tithe, so do the wise men contemplate the Tenth Sefirah and speak about it. The Dough-offering, which is the single commandment pertaining to the dough, alludes to this." The Eucharistic mystery is alluded to here right at the beginning [reshit]where starting with the tav in bereshit we count 26 letters and so on until we find the word terumah (heave or lifted offering) hidden in the text of Genesis. Ramban preveals that this terumah is connected to the mystery of the challah or dough-bread offering. Our minds are drawn to the offering of bread and wine by Melchizedek and Abraham as well as to the imagery of the Last Supper and the Catholic Mass.

Ramban continues: "Now Israel, which is called reshit as mentioned above, is the "Kneset Yisrael", which is compared in the Song of Songs to a bride and whom Scripture in turn calls daughter, sister and mother. The Rabbis have already expressed this in a homiletic interpretation of the verse, 'Upon the crown wherewith his mother has crowned Him [Song of Songs 3:11]', and in other places." Similarly, the verse concerning Moses, 'And he chose a first part for himself' [Deut. 33;21], which they interpret to mean that Moses our teacher comtemplated through a Isparklarya (lucid speculum/ clear crystal mirror or looking glass), and he saw that which is reshit (the first) for himself, and therefore merited the Torah. Thus all the Midrashim above have one meaning." This meaning is the mystery of the Marian, Messianic and Eucharistic concept of the Incarnation in Eternity as it becomes veiled and hidden in the words of the written Torah given to Moses on Sinai. Here Nachmanides reveals that Moses beholds this first (reshit)who is the Mystical Mother in Eternity as the source behind all things and that the Torah that he merited is this female Wisdom of the Mystical Mother in Eternity. She, in the mystery of the Incarnation, is the first thought of the Godhead outside himself. She is bat reshit (the daughter who is first or beginning). Nachmanides reveals that all the midrashim have their source and inner meaning in this mystery of the Mother in Eternity. The Jewish Encyclopedia describes Midrashim: "In contradistinction to literal interpretation, subsequently called "peshaṭ"...the term "midrash" designates an exegesis which, going more deeply than the mere literal sense, attempts to penetrate into the spirit of the Scriptures, to examine the text from all sides, and thereby to derive interpretations which are not immediately obvious. The Talmud (Sanh. 34b) compares this kind of midrashic exposition to a hammer which awakens the slumbering sparks in the rock..." From this midrashic sculpting emerges the mystery of God's masterpiece- the Hidden Mystical Mother in Eternity we call Our Lady and Miriam.

Helsinki Statement

2010-06-25T16:55:00.015+08:00

Messianic Rabbi Mark Kinzer

The Messianic Jewish Theological Institute has just released this statement about the recent "Jews in the Church of Christ" conference in Finland.

"HELSINKI STATEMENT

Helsinki Consultation on Jewish Continuity in the Body of Messiah June 14-15, 2010 Jewish believers in Yeshua (Jesus) from England, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Russia, and the United States met in Helsinki, Finland, on June 14-15, 2010. As scholars belonging to Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, and Messianic communities, they began a conversation on Jewish continuity in the Body of Jesus the Messiah. They issued the following statement: We thank God for bringing us as Jews to the knowledge of Jesus the Messiah, and we express a debt of gratitude to those from the Nations who have transmitted the knowledge of Christ from generation to generation. While we seek to speak on behalf of those who share our Jewish identity and faith in Christ, we have no official mandate from our respective communities. In what follows we are expressing ourown deeply held convictions. At this unprecedented event, we experienced the depth of our bond, and at the same time we have wrestled with the diversity of our ingrained theological and cultural constructs. In spite of churchdivisions, we have come together as Jews who believe in Jesus. We hope that sharing the fruit of our common efforts will benefit our brothers and sisters in Christ. We do not aim to issue a definitive declaration, but to initiate an ongoing process of discussion. There are many Jewish people in the body of Christ. We believe that this reality reflects God’s intention that Israel and the Nations live as mutual blessings to one another. In fact, the Church in its essence is the communion of Jews and those from the Nations called to faith in Christ. In light of this truth, we think that the life of Jews in the body of Christ has theological significance for that body as a whole. Their presence serves as a constant reminder to the body that its existence is rooted in the ongoing story of the people of Israel. This story resounds throughout the celebration of the liturgical life of the community. We believe that this story finds its center in Israel’s Messiah. We believe that Jews within the body are a living bond between the Church and
the people of Israel. Accordingly, we would like to explore concrete ways in which Jewish people may live out their distinctive calling in the body of Christ. Finally, we wish to express to our Jewish brothers and sisters who do not share our faith in Jesus the Messiah that we consider ourselves to be part of the Jewish people and are committed to its welfare.
Signed in a personal capacity by:
Boris Balter
Steve Cohen
Richard Harvey
Mark Kinzer
Antoine Levy
Iulia Matushanskaja
David Neuhaus
Vladimir Pikman
Jennifer Rosner
David Rudolph
Anna Shmain-Velikanova
Olivier Zalmanski"

"PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – 23 JUNE 2010

Helsinki Conference on Jewish Continuity in the Church Unites and
Challenge

The FIRST ecumenical conference of Jewish believers in Jesus in modern times met in Helsinki, Finland June 14-15 2010 to affirm their Jewish identity, their faith in Jesus and their desire for unity. Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and Messianic scholars – all of them Jewish - met to discuss the global growth of Jewish believers in Jesus in a conference jointly organized by Messianic Jewish Theological Institute (MJTI) and the Helsinki Studium Catholicum. They issued a statement affirming the significance of Jewish continuity in the Church, as an ongoing link between its historic beginnings, its present life, and its future hope. Dr. Mark Kinzer, President of MJTI, said “this was an unprecedented conference bringing together Jews who believe in Jesus as Messiah from a very wide range of communities and traditions. We met together to discuss the presence of Jews in our respective congregations and the issues we face. The increasing number of Jewish followers of Jesus is a phenomenon of great importance, impacting the worldwide Church as it rediscovers the Jewish roots and character of its faith. The presence of Jews in its midst is a resource and means of blessing that the historic churches can not afford toignore.”

Father Antoine Lévy, OP, Director of the Helsinki Studium Catholicum, affirmed the continuing identity of Jews in their various Christian congregations and offered his own perspective on the unique condition and calling of Jewish disciples of Christ. “We exist, and despite 2,000 years where the Church and the Jewish people have been separated and often hostile to each other, we are a living bond that demonstrates the Messiah Jesus’ own solidarity with His people, as much as the richness of the heritage of Israel that has been opened up to the Church made up of Israel and the nations.” Fifteen scholars and theologians from eight countries met for two days of open conference and two days of working sessions to issue a document, the Helsinki Statement. Topics discussed included Jewish identity in the Messiah; responding to anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism; the place of Messianic Jewish worship and observance; the Jewishness of Jesus; the biblical, theological and
historical background to the present situation of Jewish believers in Jesus; and future plans. The papers presented are due to be published in the journal Kesher, an academic journal of MJTI. A similar event is planned for 2011. Speakers from Europe, Russia, Israel and the United States included Father David Neuhaus, SJ, Patriarchal Vicar General for Hebrew speaking Catholics, and Boris Balter, Researcher in Physics at the Russian Academy of Sciences and member of the Judeo-Christian circle "Bridge of Friendship". Conference papers were given in English
and Russian."

Fully Jewish and Fully Catholic

2010-06-24T00:46:00.015+08:00

Jewish Rosaries
Today I attended a Marian Cenacle with my cousin where Rick Miller was the visiting speaker. I was introduced to him as someone who was half Jewish and half Catholic. I immediately corrected them by saying I am fully Jewish and fully Catholic. It is a bit like saying Jesus is half God and half man-no- he is fully God and fully man. Was Mary and the Apostles half Jewish and half Catholic? Certainly not. Mary her whole life was the most devout Jewish woman who ever lived while she was the model Catholic. No half and half for Mary.
An Israeli Soldier laying Tefillin

Many Jews and Christians don't think one can be Jewish and Christian. One must be one or the other- they don't think you can be half and half. That is what upsets them about many Messianic Jews. They are Evangelical Christians who tack on a few Jewish customs. And they are right to be uncomfortable with this. However one can be fully Jewish and fully Christian. For me the identity and spiritually is so one that I have no confusion in being a Catholic Jew. I find if I cease my Jewish observance I also end up ceasing Catholic observance and I become very unhappy and also vice versa. When I was in Israel I attended the Boombamela Beach Festival and met a young Israeli who had been a Messianic Jew and then given it up. He was astounded that I was fasting for Good Friday and that I kept all the authentic Catholic customs as well as the Jewish unlike the Messianic Jews he knew. He was very impressed by this and I saw his eyes light up with interest.

Boombamela Beach Festival

Thus I will not abandon Torah and Mitzvot and nor will I abandon Jesus and the Eucharist. I can lay Tefillin and I can pray the Rosary. For me there is no conflict for I see the Catholic heart dimensions when I lay tefillin and I see the Jewish roots when I pray the Rosary. Today one sees young Jews wearing Jewish rosaries as fashion items. Let us pray that fashion turns to interest of the prayer aspect of the rosaries. I remember in the 1980's wearing rosary beads as part of my Gothic fashion statement, and for me it led to eventually learning and praying the rosary.

From Punk to Hebrew Catholic

2010-06-22T00:40:00.107+08:00

Athol in his punk days at 21

I came from an assimilated Australian family of Anglo-Jewish ancestry. I am one of seven children. My brothers are Perry, Dean, Regan, Adam and Nathan. I have one sister Tamara. My grandparents were not religious but my parents became Evangelical Anglicans. At age 7 I was baptised in the Anglican Church with my father and brothers. Sadly when I was 9 my 16 year old brother Dean died in a car accident in Tasmania. This sad event affected me greatly and it would take a lot of inner healing over many years to fully recover from this tragic event.
Athol at 18

Athol aged 14

Athol aged 17 at his high School Graduation

My mother also belonged to a Jewish Christian group ('Jewish Evangelical Witness' founded by Lawrence Duff-Forbes) as well as the Anglican Church. She had become an Evangelical through the preaching of Billy Graham when he came to Perth in 1959. In my teens I became very interested in religion and politics. I became involved with right-wing conservative groups such as the Australian League of Rights which were often anti-semitic and I believed that there was a worldwide Jewish conspiracy and that Jewish bankers were controlling the world. I even started to doubt the extent of the Holocaust after reading David Irving and I became friends with mad Jack Van Tongeren who later blew up Asian restaurants. Of course I never told Jack about my Jewish ancestry as he was very anti-Jewish and adored Hitler. At 14 I read a British Israelite book belonging to my mother called "Christians Awake" by Gilbert Saddler and I became interested in the Bible and a supporter of the British Israel World Federation. I later found out that my great grandparents Leonard and Hannah and many of my grandmother's siblings had been believers in the British Israel Identity which was popular before World War Two. This earlier form of British Israelism was pro-Jewish and pro-Zionist but later forms became anti-Jewish and anti-Zionist which also influenced me in a negative way. At this time I was also starting to get interested in the occult and reincarnation. I shared this interest with my Russian step-grandmother Baroness Nadine Wulffius (Nana Wuffa) who was a co-founder and first president of the Western Australian Ballet Company. We would discuss together the world religions and I became fascinated with the books of Edgar Cayce and Paul Brunton among others. At this time I was anti-Judaism and anti-Catholic. I also went through many fashion phases such as punk, goth and Prince (in his purple phase) and Billy Idol.
Perry, Athol (the little blonde boy), Regan (baby), Tamara and Dean

Athol aged 19

At 18 I had an experience of the Holy Spirit which instantly revealed to me that the occult direction was a false path. I also lost my anti-Judaism and anti-Catholic prejudices. I started to attend the Jewish Society meetings at the University of Western Australia and I attended Jewish camps on Jewish identity. After I moved to Melbourne I started to attend the Orthodox Jewish Synagogue and joined a Kollel with 10 Litvak Rabbi's from Lakewood New Jersey as well as studying with Lubavitch (Chabad) Rabbis. I started to become an observant Jew at this stage eventhough I was still very alternative in my dress which must have tested the tolerance of the Rabbis. Though they may have liked the challenge of this strange young man who wore stud-arm bands to synagogue. I loved the orthodox Jewish community and everyone was so kind to me especially the Rabbis. They told me not to reject Jesus but to have a little talk with him and tell him I was not rejecting him but that I was going to be concentrating on his Father for awhile. However I went through real inner turmoil as I wanted to be fully orthodox Jewish but I still loved Jesus and believed as my parents had taught me that he was the Jewish Messiah.

Athol in his 30's

One day after studying at the Kollel and out of curiosity I went into the Catholic Church opposite where I felt the Divine Presence in the empty Church. I was puzzled as I had felt His Presence in the worship of both synagogue and Protestant church but when the synagogue or church had no service it just felt like an empty building. Why did the empty Catholic Church have this Presence? This began my journey into the Catholic Church. Just before my entry into the Catholic Church I attended some Messianic Jewish meetings where a Messianic Jewish lady (Betty Baruch) told me about a Hebrew Catholic group led by a holocaust survivor Andrew Sholl[cofounder of the Association of Hebrew Catholics]. So right from the start of my Catholic journey I was able to meet with other Hebrew Catholics regularly. This was in 1987 when I was 24 years old. I also joined a Charismatic Catholic lay community that worked with street kids, prostitutes and drug addicts for many years. In 1988 I visited the UK, Europe and Singapore with my mother. I also lived in the Philippines for three years (1993-1996) and taught in Thailand for many years. My father died in 1994 when I was in the Philippines. In Thailand I was very involved with my Bishop and some priests since 1997 in giving talks promoting Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration, and the Marian and Charismatic movements. In this time I prayed over thousands of people for healing with the permission and direction of the Bishop and my parish priest.
Athol at 21 or 22 at University of Western Australia

Athol in Thailand with Bishop Manat and Greek orthodox visionary Vassula Ryden

Athol teaching in Thailand

However my Jewish journey also continued and later I was blessed to have lived in Israel three different times where I helped found 'Catholics For Israel' group in 2007 with my friends and neighbours Ariel ben Ami and Countess Marie (in Nachlaot in Jerusalem). I also was involved in starting Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration in the Old City of Jerusalem at the Armenian Catholic Church in the Muslim quarter in 2002 as well as studying Hebrew in Ulpan and did Jewish studies in an Orthodox Jewish Yeshivah. Tragically my nephew committed suicide at 23 years of age while I was in Israel just before the wedding of my youngest brother Nathan. I received the news when I was in Haifa just after visiting the Cave of Elijah at the Stella Maris Monastery where Father Elias Friedman (founder of the Association of Hebrew Catholics) had lived. I later also spent fruitful time in America four times with David and Kathleen Moss of the Association of Hebrew Catholics (in 2005,2007,2008 and 2009). While in the US I was privileged to meet two wonderful orthodox Bishops who were supportive of Hebrew Catholics- Archbishop Burke of St Louis (now Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura in Rome) and Auxiliary Bishop Cordileone of San Diego (now Bishop of Oakland).
Athol and friends[Jeff , Sister Briana and Mary] in San Diego giving talks on Jewish and Catholic mysticism in 2008

Athol with his mother in the 1990's

At the time of deciding to become a Catholic I read the book "Communion in the Messiah" of Father Lev Gillet a Russian Orthodox priest who was influenced by the Hebrew Christian Anglican priest Paul Levertoff. It was their vision of a Hasidic Jewish branch of the Catholic Church that helped make my leap into the Catholic Church. As my step-father and step-grandmother had been Russian Orthodox I at first considered becoming Russian Orthodox as I loved their spiritual tradition and as a ultra-monarchist I had a devotion to the Czars of Russia. After becoming a Latin-rite Catholic I discovered that there was a Byzantine Russian Catholic Church in Melbourne and I attended it on a few occasions. I treasure all the spiritual journeys I was led on and till this day appreciate the richness of the Litvak Jewish and Chasidic Jewish, Messianic Jewish, Anglican, Russian Orthodox spiritualities which complement my Hebrew Catholicism rather than substract from it.

Marginalisation of Torah-observant Hebrew Catholics

2010-06-21T12:26:00.012+08:00

Messianic Rabbi Russell Resnik

I have written before about the misunderstanding, marginalisation and persecution of Hebrew Catholics and especially those who adhere to both the Written and Oral Torah. Not only are these Torah-observant Hebrew Catholics marginalised by many Gentile Catholics but also by other Hebrew Catholics who do not hold this position. Many do this out of sincere conviction that this is a position inconsistent with the Catholic Faith. Others because they feel threatened by such observance. Others who themselves are not opposed to such observance, nevertheless marginalise the observant ones because they fear the reaction of other Catholics.

In an article in "Kesher" entitled "Hesed And Hospitality: Embracing Our Place on the Margins" Messianic Rabbi Russell Resnik of the Union of Jewish Messianic Congregations describes a similiar phenomenon among the Torah-Observant Messianic Jews. He writes:"...The risk of marginalization intensifies if we actually defend traditional Judaism to our Christian friends, and this is surely an aspect of marginalization that we must embrace. Levine speaks of the "popular Christian imagination," which sees Yeshua as the only one in the Jewish world of his day who cares about the poor and marginalized. He is not just against religious leaders who have missed the heart of Torah with their rigorous teaching; rather, in the popular Christian imagination, he is against Torah itself, and ultimately against Judaism. Such a reading may be able to accept that Jews who have not yet found Jesus will cling to their old ways, at least until some final apocalyptic resolution. But Jews who profess loyalty to Yeshua and remain attached to Jewish tradition and community are suspect and risk marginalization..." This article clearly explains the place of marginalisation as a deeper embracing of the way of Yeshua and his mission of Chesed (lovingkindness/mercy). For me the marginisation by the wider Jewish community and the wider Christian communities is difficult but the greatest suffering is when this marginalisation comes from fellow Jews who believe in Yeshua as the Messiah.

Also see Five Kinds of Hebrew Catholics

Daily Bread and the Milk of the Divine Word

2010-06-20T01:25:00.025+08:00

Recently on the blogosphere there has been some discussion of the phrase in the Lord's Prayer (Our Father)'daily bread'. The Greek uses 'epiousion' or 'epiousios' for the English 'daily'. There is discussion about what this phrase would be in Hebrew and Aramaic. The Greek word epiousion means super-substantial and thus would seem to allude to the Eucharisted bread rather than mere ordinary bread. This also alludes to the miraculous bread of the Exodus called Manna. The word Manna is connected to the Hebrew word menat which means 'a part of' or 'portion of'. One Israeli-born Hebrew Catholic believes the Hebrew phrase could be 'menat lakhmenu leyom'. In Aramaic the phrase 'daily bread' is lekhem-hukh. Hukh meaning 'an assigned portion'.

Some Hebrew versions dating from the medieval period use the word 'temidit' for 'epiousion'. Temidit means daily, constant, ceaseless, or perpetual. Judaism speaks of the mitzvot temidiot ( constant commandments)such as the mitzvah of Talmud Torah. The perpetual daily offering in the Temple is also called the Korban Tamid (the perpetual offering). Yeshua ha Mashiach is the New Covenant Korban and the liturgy of the Eucharist is the perpetual offering (korban tamid). We receive and feed on this daily offering or bread through Adoration and communion. Judaism considers the spiritual bread or food to be the Torah which is the Word of God. The Zohar calls it the heavenly Manna. Thus the original Lord's prayer in Hebrew may have been 'ana hayom ten lanu menatnu temidit' rather than 'lakhmeynu temidit'.
Milk- Kefir
This heavenly sustenance is also called the pure Milk of God's Word. This alludes to the concept of the 9th Red Heifer or Cow who feeds us with the Divine Milk of the Word. The Manna is a sweet and white substance like milk-kefir. The Ancient Egyptians had a confused and paganised understanding of this. They refer to the Goddess Hathor as Menat the Heavenly Wet Nurse and Milk Cow. They allude to an object called a menat that links the devotee to the Mother's Son Ihy (also associated with Horus). One Egyptian website states that the Menat "...represents a heavy beaded necklace with a crescent shaped front and a counter piece at the rear. It was a symbol associated with the goddess Hathor and her son, Ihy. In fact , Hathor was known as the "Great Menat". We often see Hathor using the Menat as a conduit through which she passes her power. It was representative of the ideas of joy, life, potency, fertility, birth, and rebirth. It was not uncommon in the New Kingdom, to see the king offering the Menat to Hathor. This probably meant to represent the king symbolically with the goddess' son, Ihy. This idea of divine assimilation was common, although the best examples are of the king representing the falcon god, Horus. " The necklace links us to the mystical necklace of the Song of Songs 4 and the milk mentioned throughout the Song of Songs. The concept of a mystical necklace reminds Catholics of the Rosary necklace. The future 10th Red Heifer will lead us to feed on the bread/manna of the Divine Will which is the deepest penetration of the Eucharistic Mystery. Each day we pray for the receiving of our literal food, our Eucharistic food and the Food of his Divine Will through the intercession of His Mother.
.

The use of a specially created Greek word 'epiousion' or supersubstantial by those who translated the Hebrew expression of Jesus shows at this early stage the Church's understanding of the Eucharist. Thus I believe the original phrase that Jesus used was more likely to have used menatnu (our portion or our manna) than lakhmeynu (our bread) and doubled with temidit (perpetual/daily). The Jewish reader would instantly see the links with the mysterious, incorruptable and mystical manna perserved in the Ark of the Covenant in the Temple known as the Bread of Angels, the korban sacrifice or offering and the passover Lamb. When many of the Torah-observant Jewish Catholics reassimilated back into the Jewish community after the 5th century they brought into the Passover Seder ritual the understanding of the Afikomen hidden matza linked with the Passover Lamb and the Mystical Manna preserved miraculously in the Ark, among other customs.

Jewish spirituality also refers to 'devekut temidit' which is ceaseless or constant communion with God by focusing one's mind and heart on Him and His Divine Will. One achieves this by practicing what are called the 'shesh mitzvot temidit' the six constant commandments. These are: 1. Know There is a God (Exodus 20:2); 2.Don't Believe in Any Other "gods" (Exodus 20:3); 3. Know That God is One (Deuteronomy 6:4); 4. Love God (Deuteronomy 6:5); 5. Fear God (Deuteronomy 10:20); and 6. Do Not Follow After Your Desires (Numbers 15:39). This is how one achieves constant talmud Torah or practicing the Presence of God in every moment.

Jews in the Church of Christ Conference

2010-06-19T21:08:00.012+08:00

Father David Neuhaus
A very interesting conference occurred in Finland on the weekend of June 11-13 bringing together Messianic Jews with Jews in the Catholic, Orthodox and Lutheran churches. This sounds like an important work of the Holy Spirit bringing together the leaders of the Jews who believe in Yeshua as Mashiach in the Body of Mashiach. Vladimir Soloviev believed that it would be the Jews that would bring about the reunion of the separated Christians into the One Church. This looks like it could be the start of such a process by breaking down the barriers while appreciating the richness the other brings to the discussion. The Sofia website states: "For the first time in History, theologians with a Jewish background and belonging to different Christian denominations will join together to talk about the situation and calling of those who, among the Jewish nation, recognize Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah of Israel and Savior of the world. On this occasion, prominent Messianic, Lutheran, Orthodox and Catholic theologians will come to Helsinki from all regions of the globe (Israel, Russia, US, Western Europe...). They will tell about the strivings of Jews in their various congregations and describe what makes the condition of Jewish disciple of Christ so unique. The seminar is arranged in cooperation with Mark Kinzer, rector of the Jewish Messianic Theological Institute (New-Jersey) and Fr.Antoine Levy, OP, Director of Helsinki Studium Catholicum.

List of participants:
Boris Balter, Orthodox (Moscow), Prof. of Physics (Russian Academy of Sciences), member of the Judeo-Christian circle "Bridge of Friendship".
Steve Cohen, Lutheran (St Louis, US), founder of the "Apple of his Eyes" mission society
Leonid Djalilov, Orthodox (Moscow), Deacon, specialist of Lev Gillet´s theology of Israel.
Richard Harvey, Messianic (London), tutor and director of training at "All-nations Bible College",
Mark Kinzer, Messianic (New Jersey, US), president of the "Messianic Jewish Theological Institute".
fr. Antoine Levy, OP, Catholic (Helsinki), Director of the "Studium Catholicum", adjunct-professor at Helsinki University Faculty of Theology
Iulia Matushanskaja, Messianic (Kazan, Russia), Chairman of Russia´s Federation of Messianic Jews (Province).
Fr. David Neuhaus, SJ, Catholic (Jerusalem), General Vicar for the Catholic Hebrew-speaking community (Kehilla) in Israel
Vladimir Pikman, Messianic (Berlin), Vice-President of the International Messianic Jewish Alliance
Jenifer Rosner, Messianic (California), Instructor at Azusa Pacific University
David Rudolph, Messianic (Los Angeles), Prof. of Bible, Messianic Jewish Theological Institute
Anna Shmain-Velikanova, Orthodox (Moscow), Prof. of Jewish Studies, Russian State University for Humanities (RGGU)
Joseph Shulam, Messianic (Jerusalem), Director of the Netivyah Bible instruction ministry
Yuri Tabak, Orthodox (Moscow), Prof. of Religious Sciences, RGGU
Fr.Oliver Zalmansky, OP, Catholic (Paris), Editor of the theological journal "Istina"..."

The conference followed the following format.

Program

Friday 11 June 2010 Evening

18.00 Messianic prayer service
19.30 Meal
20.30 Opening of the week-end. Introductory lecture

Fr. Antoine Lévy: "Messianic Ecclesiology: the Ecumenical Factor"

21.30 Informal get-together (possibility of having a sauna)

Saturday 12 June 2010

9.00 Lutheran prayer service
10.00 Presentations

Steve Cohen: "Expressing Jewish Identity in a Lutheran Setting. Obstacles and Opportunity in the Modern Era"
Yuri Tabak: "Christianized and Messianic Jews - Real Problems and Prospects from the Point of View of Religious Sciences"
Boris Balter: "Self-Identification of Old Israel within New Israel as a Problem: the Experience of Jewish Orthodox Christians in Russia"

13.00 Meal
14.30 Presentations

Deacon Leonid Djalilov: "Sabbath Day in the Liturgy of the Orthodox Church"
Vladimir Pikman: "Russian Messianic Movement and the Body of Messiah: Its Significance and Implications for the Church"

16.00 Coffee break
16.30-17.30 Round table
18.00 Orthodox Vespers
19.00 Meal
20.00 Informal get together

Sunday 13 June 2010

8.30. Catholic Mass in Hebrew
10.00 Presentations

Mark Kinzer: "Israel, the Church, and Bilateral Ecclesiology"
Jen Rosner: "Karl Barth's View of the Significance of Jewish Identity for Jewish Believers in Jesus"
Richard Harvey: "Lessons from the History of the International Messianic Jewish Alliance"

13.00 Meal
14.30. Presentations

Iulia Matushanskaya: "The Messianic Movement in the Russian Empire"
Fr. David Neuhaus: "The Implicit Ecclesiology of the Catholic Kehilla in Israel"
Joseph Shulam: "Jews and Gentiles within the Messianic Movement: the Concrete Situation and Its Ecclesiological Agenda"
(Possible written interventions of Anna Shmain-Velikanova or Pavel Men)

16.00 Coffee break
16.30-18.00 Round table
18.30 Conclusive prayer

I only learnt of this conference after it had occurred from my friend Countess Marie von Mirbach-Harff of Germany who is a foundation member of Catholics For Israel. If anyone knows where one can purchase copies of the talks I would appreciate it if you could let me know.

The Scroll of Secrets (Megilat Setarim)

2010-05-31T16:08:00.013+08:00

One of the deepest secrets of Brelsov Chasidism is the Messianic secret. Rebbe Nachman hid this in his writings in cryptic form and he also taught his two closest disciples Rabbi Nathan of Nemirov and Rabbi Naftali more on this topic which they concealed in writings in code form which became known as "The Scroll of Secrets". Some of this Scroll was passed down in manuscripts in the Brelsov communities and this portion of the secret began to be revealed in 2006 (after the two hundred year period was drawing to its close). Zvi Mark has told the story of this in his book "The Scroll of the Secret:The hidden messianic vision of R. Nachman of Breslav".

While Zvi Mark reveals some of the surface story of the Scroll, the hidden meaning beyond the words is still veiled and kept secret. In fact certain parts of the portion of the Scroll revealed to him by the Brelsovers are still untranslatable and coded. It is important to note that this is only a portion of the secret which was allowed to circulate among the inner circles of the Breslov Chasidim. The full Scroll and its secrets are still hidden except for the one in each generation who was entrusted with this secret.

It is obvious from the traditions about the Scroll that much is still hidden. For example we know that Rebbe Nachman revealed to them the mystery of Russia and the Czars and their connection to this first end of days (or times) but this is not mentioned in this portion. The Zohar mentions two 'end of times (or days)'. We also know that the mystery of the golden tree and its miraculous healing leaves is also not in this section of the Scroll that has been released. Also we know that the full secret alludes to the azure blue thread of the tzitzits but this is also not found in this released portion of the secret.

Rebbe Nachman hides within his writings the mystery of the 'Messiah who is like unto Moses' who has two phases to his mission firstly as the Messiah son of Joseph and then finally as the Messiah son of David. This is the spiritual and Mystical Messiah who is represented by the breath of the nostrils and the nose. This Messiah is the child-Messiah that will be revealed in a glorious manifestation in the heavenlies as the Child-Messiah who is crucified and resurrected. He will appear as the pierced one of prophecy as a child. Zvi Mark writes: "The messiah, often thought of as 'above all men', is depicted in the Scroll as beginning his career as a mere child...But further reservations could have sprung from the knowledge that this child-messiah was modeled after R. Nachman's own son, Shlomo Efraim...This also presents a particular problem of seemingly Christian overtones to the entire messianic picture. The Christian infant-messiah motif was well-known throughout the Ukraine even to the Jewish population as it figured prominently in public iconography (as it still does to this day). R. Nachman was correct in worrying that the Scroll's depiction of the child messiah would leave him open to charges of christological influence. When this is combined with the fact that his own son had already died, this charge of influence is conflated with seeming support of a theology of resurrection, leaving him even more vulnerable to claims of false prophecy and Sabbatianism." This child-messiah is the one mentioned in the Zohar as a son of Joseph who raises the cup of salvation.

On the earthly realm at his time will appear four Messiahs who in unique ways represent the mission of the Mystical child-Messiah. The Messiah Ephraim is the world Emperor and his brother is the King who assists him Messiah Manesseh. Both these royal Messiah's are from the House of David from the Lands of Joseph (British Isles). Messiah Ephraim is represented by the Lion and Messiah Manesseh by the Eagle. They are to be descendants of Rebbe Nachman, the Alter Rebbe, Czar Paul I of Russia, King Louis XVII of France and the Stuart Kings of Britain. The Messiah Gilead will be a priestly or papal Messiah also known as Messiah Aaron or Levi. He will be a descendant of Jacob Frank (a Frankist Pope). The fourth messianic figure is Messiah Judah who is a prophet messiah also known as Messiah Nathan. He will be a Jew descended from Nathan of Nemirov and Rebbe Nachman. It is this Messiah that will reveal the full "Scroll of the Secret" to the world and work closely with the other three earthly messiahs. He will be the Rebbe of Rebbes and unite all the Chasidim. He is the Master of Prayer.

Also see The Great Monarch and Rebbe Nachman

Reincarnation and Reb Abraham Chazan

2010-05-21T01:39:00.016+08:00

Today among many Breslovers and other Haredi Jews we read in their writings about reincarnation (gilgulim). This is worrying as it suits a generation influenced by the reincarnation teachings of Eastern religions and of new Age and occult groups. I have discussed in previous blogs this issue of gilgulim and reincarnation and how it is a literalistic approach to the term gilgulim or galgalim.

One of the greats of Breslover Chasidim Reb Abraham Chazan(1849-1917)warns about this as well. Reb Abraham Chazan was the son of the leader of Brelsov Chasidim Reb Nachman Chazan of Tulchin (1813-1884) who in turn was the most intimate disciple of Reb Noson (Nathan) of Nemirov (1780-1844) who in turn was the chief follower of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov (1772-1810). The writings of Reb Abraham Chazan are some of the greats of Breslover Chasidim. His 'Biur HaLikutim' is a Breslov commentary on Rebbe Nachman's teachings. When his father died in 1884 he began recording all the Breslov stories and traditions he had received from his father. These formed the base of his books 'Kokhavei Or' and 'Sichot VeSipurim' and other writings.

Reb Abraham Chazan in his warning about the concept of reincarnation points us back to the actual teachings of Rebbe Nachman recorded in Sichot Haran by Reb Nosan (Nathan of Nemirov). When the Jewish mystics speak about gilgulim and the soul or spirit of Moses or Joseph etc being part of the soul of another later sage they are not referring to Moses or Joseph's actual soul being born into a new body. This is clear as many people living at the same time may share in the spirit of Moses. In Catholic language we would say the charism of Moses. Reb Abraham Chazan speaks of Rebbe Nachman sharing in the soul or spirit or likeness of the Messiah ben Joseph and the Messiah ben David. Kabbalah speaks of Ishmael being a gilgul of Joseph the Tzadik. This demonstrates that this is not literal reincarnation as Ishmael was born before Joseph and was in fact his great uncle.
Zvi Mark of Bar Ilan University
Zvi Mark of Bar Ilan Univeristy a leading scholar today in the writings of Rebbe Nachman and Breslov writes on this topic in his book "The Scroll of Secrets: The hidden messianic vision of R. Nachman of Breslav". He writes: "...R. Chazan himself warned against understanding the entire notion of reincarnation literally. In an answer to a question concerning a seeming contradiction between his discussion of Moses as the final messiah with a tradition that he would not return to redeem Israel, he referred his readers to one of R. Nachman's sermons which deals with the subject of reincarnation." This sermon is found in Sichot Haran 70-1. Rebbe Nachman teaches: "God does not do the same thing twice. Even with gilgul this is not an instance of the soul returning a second time. Rather, this is a case of this soul with this spirit and the likeness, as is known. Now when this soul combines with another spirit and the likeness, this is not what once was- for God does not do the same thing twice." Zvi Mark after quoting this passage from the Rebbe continues: "...R. Nathan added a note here- "This is something else, a completely new thing". It is clear, then, when one speaks of the soul of the Tzadik as the soul of the 'Moses-messiah', one is not referring to the actual return of the soul to a body that it once inhabited, nor to the return of the same spiritual object to a different body at a different time, but rather to the complicated co-mixture of spiritual entities which creates a 'completely new thing'. It is this new creation- which shares something of Moses' soul- that will eventually enact the final redemption..."

Thus it is clear that the early sages of Breslov Chasidism did not hold to the modern perverted idea of reincarnation. The term gilgulim is a mystical concept to do with sharing in the charism or 'spirit' of Tzadikim just as Elisha was granted a double portion of the 'spirit of Elijah'. As Elisha and Elijah lived at the same time this had nothing to do with reincarnation. I formerly in my youth for six years was a strong adherent to the belief in reincarnation until I received an experience of the Holy Spirit which resulted in me 'knowing' instantly that such a belief was false.

see Bahir and Reincarnation
also see Reincarnation and Judaism

The Three Heads of Divine Will and the Lost Princess

2010-05-20T05:14:00.016+08:00

Rabbi Perets Aurebach in his article "In the Wilderness" writes: "In Rabbi Nachman’s story, “The Lost Princess,” the Viceroy follows a side-path through forests, fields, and wildernesses in search of the Lost Princess. Tefilah (prayer) is a quest of searching for the Shechinah (Divine Presence), which represents the sefirah of Malchut (“Kingship”). It catapults the soul to Keter (“Crown”), the ultimate source of Malchut.“Triple-header.” Keter expresses through three heads: RaD”LA (“Unknowable Head”), Atik (“Primordial One”), and Arich Anpin (“Vast Countenance”). Arich, from which arises our deepest feeling of yearning, is called the “root of the emanated.” One connects to it through yearning – through “tree-hitbodedut” in the forest. Atik, which is the root of delight (oneg), is the “end of the Supernal Emanator.” One links to it through meditation in the delightful “field of holy apples” (another symbol for the sefirah of Malchut/Kingship). RaD”LA, which is related to bitul, remains aloof. One accesses it through hitbodedut in the wilderness–the place of complete ego-nullification."

In Chasidism one attains to Emuna by a spiritual ascent or rather a descent to the roots of the Divine Tree. There are the ten Sefirot and the three heads of the Divine Will beyond and within Keter (the Crown). These are associated in Chasidism with the 13 aspects of Divine Mercy. Rabbi Isaac Ginsburg associates the Unknowable Head with Emuna: "Emunah is the spiritual state associated with the inner experience of the highest of the three "heads" of keter, the Reisha d'lo Ityada ("the unknowable head"). Emunah is the essential connection, or "covenant," between Israel and God. In Chassidut we find the saying that the "simple faith" (emunah peshutah) of the "simple Jew" (yehudi pashut) links him to the "simple (absolute) unity" (achdut peshutah) of God's Atzmut (Essence, above the revelation of His infinite light, or en sof ). Every Jewish soul inherits its faith from the patriarchs and matriarchs of the Jewish people in general, and from Abraham, the "first believer," in particular. As an inherited trait, emunah is always present in every Jewish soul, though not necessarily conscious."

He also links Emuna to the mystery of the heavenly Manna: "It is the function of the soul of Moses (present in every generation) to sustain and reinforce the consciousness of the faith of Israel, and hence Jewish identity, through the food of Torah wisdom. In the merit of Moses, manna was given to Israel. Its first appearance in Torah reads "man hu," which permutes into the word "emunah." The Jew's innate readiness to fully devote his life to the service of God and sacrifice his life for the sake of God is the essential expression of his emunah in God."

Thus we see that the deepest penetration of the mystery of the Divine Will is the deepest penetration of the Eucharistic Mystery (the Divine Manna). At the level of Emuna one enters into the abyss of nullification of the self in order to attain to the Mystical Resurrection of the Dead (spoken of by Paul in Philippians 3). This is the stage of Wilderness or Vacated Space. Here is the Great Silence that Rebbe Nachman speaks about in Likutey Moharan. Rabbi Ozer Bergman writes: "There exists a stage in life where your free will is tested like never before. This is the Great Void, a "place" or stage in which you have to believe that God is there even when everything indicates that He is not. In a concentration camp, a war zone, or the deepest recesses of your own heart, no amount of knowledge or intellect can save you-only faith...In order to survive the Great Void, you have to acknowledge the testimony of your senses and experience- emptiness, complete, total and absolute-and override that testimony with faith- God's presence...It is impossible to survive the Great Void with hitbodedut. The onslaught of questions, the persistence of pain and the sense of total meaninglessness cannot be withstood without continuous knocking on the doors of a markedly abandoned, empty castle..." This is a dark night of the soul where we are reaching but not reaching, knowing and not knowing, as taught by St John of the Cross. There are many different kinds of dark nights on the mystical journey and this is the final one. It appears as a Great Void of Silence but is in reality the Ocean of the Divine Will and Light. In this Void there is the Divine Hidden Melody which we can only hear when we have total Emuna (faith) that all is for the best.

Leading up to this we attain to the level of yearning or desiring Divine Will associated with Reisha d'Arich and gulgalta (the place of the skull). This is the level of Mystical Crucifixion and ratzon (will). Rabbi Ginsburg writes: "Ratzon is the spiritual state associated with the lowest of the three heads of keter, the Reisha d'Arich ("the extended head"). With regard to the power of will, it is said "nothing stands before (the force of one's) will," and "there is nothing as forceful as will." In the partzuf of Arich Anpin...the "origin of will" is associated with its "crown" or its "skull" referred to as the gulgalta. At this level, "there is no reason (rationale) for will." However, in the intrinsic wisdom of Arich Anpin, referred to as mocha stima'ah ("concealed brain"), there exists "a hidden (unexpressible) reason for will."..." Next we enter the stage of Reisha d'Ayin (the Head of Nothingness) or Atik and Taanug (pleasure). In our nothingness we delight in the Divine Will doing our rounds. This is the level of Mystical Incarnation or Divine Indwelling. This is knowing and not knowing. This leads us to Emuna- to the Lost Princess- she who is the Grace lost at Eden by Adam and Eve.

One of St John of the Cross' Mystical Poems

I came into the unknown
and stayed there unknowing
rising beyond all science.

I did not know the door
but when I found the way,
unknowing where I was,
I learned enormous things,
but what I felt I cannot say,
for I remained unknowing,
rising beyond all science.

It was the perfect realm
of holiness and peace.
In deepest solitude
I found the narrow way:
a secret giving such release
that I was stunned and stammering,
rising beyond all science.

I was so far inside,
so dazed and far away
my senses were released
from feelings of my own.
My mind had found a surer way:
a knowledge of unknowing,
rising beyond all science.

And he who does arrive
collapses as in sleep,
for all he knew before
now seems a lowly thing,
and so his knowledge grows so deep
that he remains unknowing,
rising beyond all science.

The higher he ascends
the darker is the wood;
it is the shadowy cloud
that clarified the night,
and so the one who understood
remains always unknowing,
rising beyond all science.

This knowledge by unknowing
is such a soaring force
that scholars argue long
but never leave the ground.
Their knowledge always fails the source:
to understand unknowing,
rising beyond all science.

This knowledge is supreme
crossing a blazing height;
though formal reason tries
it crumbles in the dark,
but one who would control the night
by knowledge of unknowing
will rise beyond all science.

And if you wish to hear:
the highest science leads
to an ecstatic feeling
of the most holy Being;
and from his mercy comes his deed:
to let us stay unknowing,
rising beyond all science.

The Lost Princess

2010-05-16T14:45:00.013+08:00

According to Breslov Chasidim just before the Messiah comes the Jews will find the Lost Princess. This Lost Princess refers to one of the famous 13 tales told by Rebbe Nachman of Breslov. Most commentators such as Rabbi Nathan the chief disciple of Rebbe Nachman associate the Lost Princess with the Shekhinah in Exile. Rabbi Shalom Arush also refers to her as the Sabbath Queen and as Emuna (Faith). She is also associated with the coming Kingdom (malkhut). This Lost Princess represents the highest level of total Emuna. Thus this Princess represents the highest level of Sanctity rooted in total Emuna of dwelling in Divine Will.

Thus the Lost Princess can be read in different ways that are interconnected. The Lost Princess can represent the sanctity lost by Adam and Eve. This lost sanctity is that of living in the Divine Will on earth by faith (emuna). The Lost Princess also represents that lost or fallen daughter of Adam and Eve who has by grace regained the gift of Living in Divine Will. Israel is the one (Viceroy) who seeks and desires reunion with this Lost Princess that he searches for throughout the ages. The way to receive this ancient but new sanctity is to desire it.

Rebbe Nachman says that desire is of central important in attaining Emuna. If we feed our desire to receive the gift of Dwelling in the Divine Will we are doing what we should be doing. All our actions become a form of reparation (tikkun). If we are desiring the divine Will then we need not be concerned while we are in the process of going up and down, in and out of Divine Will. Even if we fall we need only refocus our desire and God will do the rest. Rabbi Shalom Arush states: "Even if we fall or fail over and over again- and its clear that we won't change overnight- we should never abandon our desires. As long as the flame of desire to get closer to Hashem flickers in our hearts, Hashem continues to regard us as righteous. Hashem judges us not so much according to where we are, but according to where we want to go. The desire in our hearts overrules our actions."

Thus we see that just before the manifestation of the Messiah the Jewish people will find the Lost Princess which will usher in the Kingdom known as the World to Come in time and the era of the Messianic Sabbath Rest. Rabbi Shalom Arush in his book "The Garden of Yearning: The Lost Princess" states: "This explanation can also serve as an explanation for the entire Torah, namely, that transgression results from a lack of emuna. Every sin led to a free-fall into the darkness of concealment that necessitates even more effort in finding the lost emuna. This is a template for people's setbacks and failures since the beginning of time. Therefore, if you feel that you're in a state of darkness, and emuna seems to be light years away, don't lose heart! Just like the viceroy, as soon we renew the search for emuna- and never give up- this in itself rectifes the blemish of our misdeeds that caused the disappearance of emuna. Hashem wants us to strive for emuna, and we should want what Hashem wants. When we do, each of us will succeed in finding his or her own individual princess while correcting all the blemishes of our past, and everything will fall into place. With emuna, there's always a happy ending."

This week in Fatima we see myriads of people seeking Faith (Emuna) through the intercession of the Lady of Fatima-longing for the coming of the Kingdom and the era of peace promised by the Lady in 1917 in Portugal. The immaculate Mother (Binah) points us to her Daughter the Lost Princess who will led us into the Kingdom of the third Fiat (yehi). At a time of great materialism the viceroy Israel will find the abode of the Lost Princess and set her free. Rebbe Nachman's tale of the Master of Prayer describes this period in greater symbolic detail. By means of the Lost Princess the light of the 36 hours will lead man into a new Garden where the Divine Will shall be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

See this song about the Lost Princess

St Thomas Aquinas and New Law

2010-05-16T12:01:00.019+08:00

According to St Thomas Aquinas it would also seem that the use of the terms Old Law and New Law are referring to St Paul's references to those who live at the level of the letter of the law and those who live at the level of the spirit of the law and is not really directly referring to the Old and New Covenants as such. In the Summa he writes: "Nevertheless there were some in the state of the Old Testament who, having charity and the grace of the Holy Ghost, looked chiefly to spiritual and eternal promises: and in this respect they belonged to the New Law. In like manner in the New Testament there are some carnal men who have not yet attained to the perfection of the New Law; and these it was necessary, even under the New Testament, to lead to virtuous action by the fear of punishment and by temporal promises."

The level of Old Law which is based on fear, reward and punishment can be appropriate for preparation and children but those who move on to the deeper way of love are those of the level of New Law revealed by Jesus in the Beatitudes and in his Life and Passion. Thus those such as Abraham and Moses who lived at the level of love in their obedience to God's Will can be said, in a mystical sense, to have lived the New Law. Just as many Catholics who respond to God out of fear of punishment live in the Old Law, so many Jews live at the level of doing the Will of God out of love. They are thus mystically living in the New Law in the Messiah.

This insight of St Thomas Aquinas helps one to understand St Paul's comment about the Law. Paul was a great mystic and one makes a mistake when his mystical understanding of the Law is not taken into account. The Rabbis of Judaism, such as Rebbe Nachman, also stress this double way of observing the Torah. They refer to those who are only looking for the rewards they will get in the World to Come as the lower level and those who observe out of pure love of God, not looking for any reward in the World to Come for their obedience, as the higher level. Rebbe Nachman taught: "And this is specially when a person performs the mitzvot with such joy, that he has no desire for any reward in the World to Come...Moses spoke ...saying 'Zeh hadavar'[This is the Word]...Rashi explains: all the prophets prophesied with 'Koh' (thus)says God. Moses achieved more than they in that he prophesied with 'Zeh hadavar. For 'koh' corresponds to a dull looking-glass, whereas 'zeh hadavar' corresponds to a clear looking glass. These two aspects of prophecy are also found in our service of the Creator. There is the person who does the mitzvah for the reward of the World to Come- he has no enjoyment from the mitzvah itself. If he were not given the World to Come as a reward, he would not do it. This corresponds to 'koh', a dull looking-glass... But the prophet who prohesies with 'zeh hadavar' does not desire the reward of the mitzvot. Rather, he desires the mitzvah itself. He rejoices so much in its performance that he rejects any kind of reward. We see, then, that his world to Come is in the mitzvah itself."

St Thomas opposes those who see the levels of Old Law and the New Law as two totally separate entities. He writes: "Now things may be distinguished in two ways. First, as those things that are altogether specifically different, e.g., a horse and an ox. Secondly, as perfect and imperfect in the same species, e.g., a boy and a man: and in this way the Divine law is divided into Old and New. Hence the Apostle (Gal. 3:24,25) compares the state of man under the Old Law to that of a child "under a pedagogue"; but the state under the New Law, to that of a full grown man, who is "no longer under a pedagogue."..." Thomas associates Old Law with the literal observance of the Ten Commandments for a earthly reward whereas the New Law is the the law of the Gospel which is the inner heart response to the Divine Law (Torah). The level of Old Law is thus essential (not something that is abrogated)and the level of New Law in a sense encompasses the Old Law just as the adult encompasses the child.

For example the Torah forbids Adultery- at the level of Old Law this means that one cannot have intercourse with anothers wife and there are physical penalties for such an action and one must take care of his wife financially. At the level of New Law one is forbidden to even think of his neigbour's wife in a lustful manner and he must not only care for his wife but love her as the Messiah loves his bride the Church. One does this out of love for the Messiah. The level of Old Law is not abolished but the one who lives at the level of the New Law will already be obedient to the demands of the outward level of the Old Law. One can keep the level of the Old Law with his own effort and will power, whereas the level of the new Law can only be achieved and received as a grace of God.

It is interesting that St Thomas still, in some ways, is locked into the Old Law approach based on rewards. He sees that one who lives at the level of New Law as one who is not motivated by earthly or physical rewards but by the rewards of Heaven. Whereas Rebbe Nachman sees even the desire for heavenly rewards as a lower level than doing God's Will in Joy out of pure love for God. Thus we might say that there are different levels even in the New Law, with a higher and lower level of sanctity.

In Judaism this is seen by the difference in the level of sanctity of those referred to as Tzaddikim (righteous ones) and Kadoshim (holy or sanctified ones). All Kadoshim are Tzaddikim but all Tzaddikim have not reached the level of Kadoshim (see Ramchal). Thus those who live at the level of Old Law live in the effects of the Fiat of Creation. Those who attain to the lower level of the New Law live in the effects of the fiats of the Creation and Redemption. Those who attain to the higher level of the New Law live in the effects of the fiats of Creation, Redemption and Sacntification. Beyond this are those who are so conformed to the Divine Will that they do not just live in the effects but the reality of the three fiats of the Divine Will. At such a level was Jesus, Mary and Joseph and certain other saints. The Divine Will within the Godhead is the Eternal Law. This Eternal Law manifests as the Divine Law.