Katnut d'Katnut

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 tri-une 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).

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 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.

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.

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 1 and how her name Miriam is hidden in the text of Genesis 1 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.