Katnut d'Katnut

I became a Catholic in 1987 from an Anglican and Orthodox Jewish background. At the time I was a Torah- observant orthodox Jew and I joined the Association of Hebrew Catholics. Before this in 1985 I had read Father Lev Gillet's "Communion in the Messiah" which inspired me to become more Torah observant and opened my mind to a more mystical approach to understanding the inter-reaction of Judaism and Christianity. I started reflecting on the Catholic Faith in the light of Jewish mysticism though reading and joining a study group in which the Chassidic ideas of the 6th Chabad Rebbe was being taught. Then when I was studying in the Philippines in 1993-1996 I started to research and write more on the mystical Jewish insights to the Catholic faith.

Cardinal Avery Dulles in his writings proposed six models of the Church which ecclesiologists such as McBrien have also discussed in their writings especially in the light of the theological and pastoral developments in and after Vatican II.[1] The two models of Dulles I have chosen to discuss are the Church as Mystery or Sacrament and the Church as Eschatological Community.

"...The length of the rod is six cubits. Each cubit is six handbreadths. See, therefore, how all the lights are bound together in this light, which is called "All," since all are contained within it. There are six directions [the six ketzavot, alluding to the six sefirot from Chesed to Yesod, all of which are included in Yesod], and when they are all connected to one another, they make thirty-six, corresponding to the length of this rod [36 handbreadths].