Saga Of The Lost Tribes Of Israel
"And it shall come to pass on that day, that the Lord will set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people, that shall remain from Assyria, and from Egypt and from Pathros and from Kush and from Eklam and from Shinar and from Hamath and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations and will assemble the dispersed of Israel and gather together the scattered of Judah from the four corners of the Earth."
Isaiah 11:11
"THE SAGA OF THE LOST TRIBES
Descendants alive today, filmmaker says . . .
Lila Sarick, The Globe and Mail
The search for the lost tribes of Israel, dispersed nearly 3,000 years ago, is a romantic quest that has mesmerized explorers and adventurers for hundreds of years. The stakes are tantalizing. Not only is there the thrill of finding people alive today who are the descendants of those who apparently disappeared without a trace, but according to biblical prophecy, their reappearance signals the approach of a Messianic time.
The latest bid to separate the fact from the myth comes from award winning documentary filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici in Quest for the Lost Tribes of Israel. . . .
Quest documents his travels to Tunisia, Afghanistan, Burma and Uzbekistan. In every place, he found evidence that not only had the Jews been there thousands of years ago but that people still had Israelites names, practices and an Israel consciousness.
"I didn’t approach this differently than any other story. I was quite prepared to report there ain’t nothing here," Mr. Jacobovici said in an interview. "If I land in Afghanistan and the Pathans say they’re Israelites, it’s my job to report it honestly."
The quest for the lost tribes was one of the three great mysteries pursued by Western adventurers through the ages, along with the search for the Holy Grail and the Ark of the Covenant.
Of the three, the story of the tribes is the most clearly detailed in the historical narratives of the Bible and other texts.
During the time of King Solomon, 10 of the 12 tribes of Israel lived in an area north of Jerusalem in the Kingdom of Israel, while the tribes of Judah and Benjamin inhabited the southern Kingdom of Judah.
With the Assyrian conquest of the Kingdom of Israel in 721 BC, the 10 tribes were captured, enslaved and deported. They vanished. The tribes of Judah and Benjamin were captured and exiled to Babylon in 586 BC. They were freed 50 years later and allowed to return to Israel.
Historians assume the 10 tribes were not truly lost but assimilated into the larger society. . .
His quest began inadvertently when he made a film about the Ethiopian Jews. Before they were airlifted to safety in the mid-1980s, Israeli chief rabbi declared they were descendants of the tribe of Dan.
Several years later, Mr. Jacobovici heard about an Israel rabbi claiming to have discovered Jews on the Burmese-Indian border. These people, who called themselves Menmasseh, had ancient songs about crossing the sea with the water parting before them and following a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day, stories strikingly similar to the biblical account of the exodus from Egypt. . . .
"If the chief rabbis are right and the Ethiopians are Dan, and if this rabbi is right and these people are Menashe, could this be happening?" Mr. Jacobovici recalled thinking. "If this prophecy were to unfold, what do you think it would look like? Would the tribes come on camel back from heaven? . . . Or do they get on boats and airplanes, just regular people buying tickets going to their travel agent and suddenly prophecy can unfold on the nightly news and we don’t even know it?"
His quixotic trek took him to Afghanistan, where he found hill-dwelling people who belonged to the tribes of Shinwari, Efredi, Reuveni and Gadun, corruptions, he believes, of the tribal names of Simeon, Ephraim, Reuven and Gad.
They also call themselves children of Isaac, an odd appellation for Muslims who would more likely to follow the tradition of Ishmael, the father of the Arab nation, not his Jewish half-brother Isaac. . .
In Central Asia, where Mr. Jacobovici found treasure troves of objects with Hebrew and Aramaic writing hidden away in museum basements, there was, he believes a deliberate effort by the former Soviet Union to suppress the history of the tribes.
In other instances, Western myopia means that dangerous and inaccessible places have simply fallen off our radar. Volumes are written about the Jewish communities of Poland, but next to nothing is documented about the Afghani communities, which are hundreds, if not thousands, of years older.
Citing his journalist’s objectivity, Mr. Jacobovici declines to speculate on the biblical prophecy that the discovery of the tribes is the first step toward the end of days.
"All I know is, I went out to look for a story and I came home with the goods," he said.
But for believers, the idea "we may be living in times of ultimate reunification of families is mind-blowing in a very positive way," he said. "The idea that biblical prophecy is unfolding in the nightly news is wow for people." "
The Globe and Mail, Friday, November 20, 1998
To Moses We did give Nine Clear Signs:
As the Children of Israel: when he came to them, Pharaoh said to him:
"O Moses! I consider thee, indeed, to have been worked upon by sorcery!
Moses said,
"Thou knowest well that these things have been sent down by none,
But the Lord of the heavens and the earth as eye-opening evidence:
And I consider thee indeed, O Pharaoh, to be one doomed to destruction!"
So he resolved to remove them from the face of the earth:
But We did drown him and all who were with him.
And We said thereafter to the Children of Israel,
"Dwell securely in the land (of promise)":
But when the second of the warnings came to pass,
We gather you together in a mingled crowd. (2314)
surah 17:101 -104 Al Isra’ (The Night Journey)
"2314. Some commentators understand the second warning to be the Day of Judgment, the Promise of the Hereafter."
Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an
(Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur’an, p. 703.)
The connections between various spiritual traditions and Judaism are vast. Not only that, the experience that Shri Mataji can bring to Jews, or anybody else for that matter, goes far beyond the expectations that any Jew (with the exception of the Jewish mystics, known as Kabbalists) has ever entertained.
It is interesting to note that the Messiah is expected to be a mortal person who, through charisma, background and power, proves himself to be the actual redeemer. By experiencing the Ruach, a Jew can finally experience Judaism as a living force that nourishes, heals and gives evidence of His Spirit during the End Times:
Ruach, the breath of God experienced daily as cool breeze/wind 1
Ruach, the breath of God experienced daily as cool breeze/wind 2
All-Pervading Power (cool breeze, divine vibrations, God's breath)
Divine flowing out of those born of the Spirit within
This experience of the direct perception and sensation of Ruach has become commonplace with those meditating on the Messiah. Hundreds of thousands and even perhaps millions of people from every corner of the Earth are feeling for the first time the existence of God on their central nervous systems. This experience transcends all religious and cultural boundaries. Shri Mataji shows its practitioners the universality of all the religions of the world. This experience is described in Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Christianity, Greek Mythology, as well as most other spiritual paths. This experience is also perfectly described in Judaism. So we can say that Sahaja Yoga is not a religion, but a tool to shed light on religion. And when we bring the Light of Truth into Judaism, we can see how fantastic it is.
The basic experience of the universal pure religion (as described by Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi) is a very simple, yet powerful evolutionary process that initially takes place on the central nervous system. Through pure desire and the Divine Compassion of God, the dormant spiritual energy in a person is awakened, creating an enlightened personality. The Torah clearly describes this in the Book of Numbers, Chapter 11, verses 16-17 and 25:
-- 16: And the Lord said unto Moses: "Gather unto Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tent of meeting, that they may stand there with thee.
-- 17: And I will come down and speak with thee there; and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.
-- 25: And the Lord came down to the tent in the cloud; and spoke unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and put it upon the seventy elders; and when it came to pass, that, when the spirit came upon them, they prophesied."
This spirit which is described is a reflection of the pure desire of God in a human being. It is an innate energy which lies in the sacrum bone, or the triangular shaped bone at the base of the spinal column. The word sacrum comes from the word sacred, because the ancient Greeks, of whose language so much English is based, knew that the sacrum bone was a sacred bone, and that it housed this sacred energy. The spirit spoken of is actually the Shechina, or the Divine Presence that protects a human being from evil. The word spirit means wind. It is important to note that this energy is described as a wind, for when it is flowing, it feels like a cool breeze emitting from the body. The word Shechina comes from the Hebrew word shochem, which means to reside. The Shechina is the One who resides in the sacrum bone.
In Her upward journey, the Shechina (or Kundalini) passes through a number of centers which are expressed in the human anatomy as the nerve plexuses of the central nervous system. In Sahaja Yoga, these centers have been called chakras for thousands of years. There are numerous ancient drawings that exhibit these chakras, and they are rendered with complete anatomical accuracy. This was all done without any knowledge of human physiology, so it is quite obvious that the source of this knowledge must be spiritual in nature. The word chakra means wheel in Sanskrit, and indeed, they spin like wheels. They contain the pure qualities as designed by God that every being possesses. The chakras and their Divine energy were envisioned by the Jewish prophet Ezekiel, in Chapter 1, Verses 19-21:
-- 19: And when the living creatures went, the wheels went hard by them; and when the living creatures were lifted up from the bottom, the wheels were lifted up.
-- 20: Whither so ever the spirit was to go, as spirit was to go thither, so they went; and the wheels were lifted up beside them; for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.
-- 21: When those went, these went; and when those stood, and these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up beside them; for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.
In Judaism we find the same knowledge of Sahaja Yoga was found through spiritual pursuit and serves the same purpose. The Kabbalah, which is the core of the Law as taught by Moses, describes the Sefirot. The Sefirot are the centers of divine qualities in the spiritual body of a person. They are ten in number, and they correspond perfectly to the chakras in their location and their qualities. When one considers the discrepancy in the number of chakras and sefirot, one finds that it is merely an instance of two slightly different interpretations of the same system. A few sefirot are viewed in there different aspects as separate sefirot, where as the chakra model establishes a connection, and therefore views them as one. Furthermore, while the Sefirot are numbered as ten, they are described as residing on seven different levels.
But the result is the same. When the Shechina is awakened, it nourishes these centers which are the milestones of our evolution. In doing so, we begin to feel and emit the true qualities that every human being possesses. The joy and peace of this experience is a deeply profound one, and one that can carry the practitioner to an entirely new and ascendant level of consciousness, the consciousness of the Spirit.
This is clearly expressed in many areas of the Torah, but especially in Solomon's Proverbs, Chapter 3, Verses 13-18:
-- 13: Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that obtaineth understanding.
-- 14: For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.
-- 15: She is more precious than rubies; and all the things thou canst desire cannot be compared unto Her.
-- 16: Length of Days are in Her right hand; in Her left hand are riches and honour.
-- 17: Her ways are ways of pleasantness; and all Her paths are peace.
-- 18: She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon Her, and happy is everyone that holdeth Her fast.
That tree is the Shechina. That tree is the Kundalini. And that tree is growing in humanity now. As a Jew is "the One who knows', so is a Sahaja Yogi "the one who has become". Truly, they are meant to be one and the same.
There are prophecies which predict the restoration of the Jews to the land of Israel near the end of the age. For close on 2000 years this seemed utterly impossible, and yet we have now seen it fulfilled in our own generation! Ezekiel 36:24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Jeremiah 30:3 For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord: and I will cause them to {return to the land} that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it. (Here are just a few more of the many references to this fulfilment: Ezekial 37:21; Isaiah 11:11; Jeremiah 29:14).”
users.multipro.com
“January 18, 2002
Vatican Says Jews' Wait for Messiah Is
Validated by the Old Testament
By MELINDA HENNEBERGER
VATICAN CITY, Jan. 17 — The Vatican has issued what some Jewish scholars are calling an important document that explicitly says, "The Jewish wait for the Messiah is not in vain."
The scholarly work, effectively a rejection of and apology for the way some Christians have viewed the Old Testament, was signed by the pope's
theologian, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.
The document says Jews and Christians in fact share the wait for the Messiah, though Jews are waiting for the first coming, and Christians for the second. . . .
A number of Jewish scholars and leaders said they were pleased but stunned and would have to take some time to digest fully the complicated, 210-page study, published in French and Italian.
"This is something altogether new, especially compared with the earlier document from Ratzinger that was so controversial," said Rabbi Alberto Piattelli, a professor and leader of the Jewish community in Rome. "This latest declaration is a step forward" in closing the wounds opened by that earlier document, Rabbi Piattelli said. "It recognizes the value of the Jewish position regarding the wait for the Messiah, changes the whole exegesis of biblical studies and restores our biblical passages to their original meaning. I was surprised." ”
Melinda Henneberger, [pub22.ezboard.com/]
“More than 2,000 years after they first claimed to have set foot in India, the mystery of the world's most obscure Jewish community -- the Marathi-speaking, Bene Israel -- may finally have been solved with genetic carbon-dating revealing they carry the unusual "Moses" gene that would make them, literally, the original children of Israel. Four years of DNA tests on the 4,000-strong Bene Israel, now mainly based in Mumbai, Pune, Thane and Ahmedabad, indicates they are probable descendants of a small group of hereditary Israelite priests or Cohanim. Tudor Parfitt, Jewish Studies professor at London's School of Oriental and African Studies, who initiated and led the research, says this is the first concrete roof that "exiles from Palestine made it as far as India and managed to maintain Judaism in the sea of Hinduism and Islam". Their Indian appearance, cricket-playing, sari-wearing, curry-eating and Marathi-speaking habits led to a bitter battle for recognition as "real Jews" and for years they were not allowed to emigrate to Israel.”
Times of India, London, UK, July 20, 2002
“The fundamental difference between Judaism and Christianity is that Chritians believe the Messiah, Christ, came two thousand years ago, while Jews are still awaiting their Messiah. So the question is then this: Why didn't the ancestors of today's Jews believe that Jesus was the Messiah?
According to Judaic thinking, Jesus did not uphold the two primary elements of the Messiah and the messianic age: justice and peace. (For more information on Biblical references to the Messiah, see Biblical Messiah) The book of Isaiah is where most of these messages are found.
And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks:nation shall not life up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. (King James Verion, Isaiah 2:4)
The Messiah is supposed to usher in a time of justice; he will judge all nations. And yet, injustice and corruption were still rampant after Jesus was crucified. He failed to bring about the major prophecy of justice that the true Messiah would have completed.
The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. (KJV, Isaiah 11:6)
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. (KJV, Isaiah 11:9)
Jesus also failed to fulfill the prophecy of world peace. Jews expected a time when they could get along with their enemies, the wolves, and war would no longer exist. On the contrary, Christians used war more and more to gain power and control. Jews couldn't imagine that the messianic age was upon them when believers in Jesus were causing so much bloodshed.”
www.conncoll.edu
“Israel, republic in southwestern Asia, located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. . . . The population of Israel is overwhelmingly urban and although about 82 percent Jewish, contains considerable racial, cultural, and ethnic diversity. More than half of the Jews in Israel are Israeli-born (called Sabras), but their parents or grandparents came from more than 100 different countries and spoke, among them, about 85 different languages or major dialects. Major groupings include the Ashkenazim, whose forebears lived in European countries during the Middle Ages; Sephardim, some of whose ancestors once lived in the Iberian Peninsula; and those Israelis descending from North Africa and the Middle East.”
Encarta Encyclopedia
“Zionism as an organized political movement originated in the 19th century, but its roots go back to the 6th century BC, when the Jews were carried off to captivity in Babylon and their prophets encouraged them to believe that one day God would allow them to return to Palestine, or Eretz Israel (the Land of Israel). Over the centuries, the Jews of the Diaspora associated the hope of the return with the coming of the Messiah, a savior whom God would send to deliver them.”
Encarta Encyclopedia
“Ezekiel was told by the Lord that ... would bring them back to life and to their land of Israel (Ezekiel 37:11, 12). The passage affirms that the regathering will include both Israel and Judah (vs. 19), and that this will occur right before the return of the Messiah to reign over the nations (vv. 24-28). ...
The Importance of Jerusalem
On June 7, 1967, during the Six Day War, the Jews re-conquered the city of Jerusalem, which they were unable to hold during their War of Independence (1948-1949). This was significant, because the Jews had not exercised true sovereignty over the capital city since 70 AD—a span of 1,897 years.
Jesus Christ, during His Olivet discourse, said to watch the city of Jerusalem. He prophesied that it would fall by the sword, which happened 40 years later when the Romans destroyed it in 70 AD. He further prophesied that the city would be trampled down by the Gentiles “until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” (Luke 21:24).
This has been a fact of history; it has been trampled by the Romans (70-640), the Arabs (640-1090), the Crusaders (1090-1291), the Mamelukes (1291-1517), the Turks (1517-1918), the League of Nations (1918-1922), the British (1922-1948), and the Jordanians (1948-1967).
And this “trampling down” by the Gentiles has not yet finished, for Jerusalem will be a battleground during the Tribulation. But the re-occupation of the city by the Jews is prophetically significant, because end-time prophecies always portray the Jews back in their land and in their beloved city of Jerusalem (e.g., Zechariah 12:1-6).”
Dr. David R. Reagan
America the Beautiful?
"And it shall come to pass on that day, that the Lord will set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people, that shall remain from Assyria, and from Egypt and from Pathros and from Kush and from Eklam and from Shinar and from Hamath and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations and will assemble the dispersed of Israel and gather together the scattered of Judah from the four corners of the Earth."
Isaiah 11:11
"THE SAGA OF THE LOST TRIBES
Descendants alive today, filmmaker says . . .
Lila Sarick, The Globe and Mail
The search for the lost tribes of Israel, dispersed nearly 3,000 years ago, is a romantic quest that has mesmerized explorers and adventurers for hundreds of years. The stakes are tantalizing. Not only is there the thrill of finding people alive today who are the descendants of those who apparently disappeared without a trace, but according to biblical prophecy, their reappearance signals the approach of a Messianic time.
The latest bid to separate the fact from the myth comes from award winning documentary filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici in Quest for the Lost Tribes of Israel. . . .
Quest documents his travels to Tunisia, Afghanistan, Burma and Uzbekistan. In every place, he found evidence that not only had the Jews been there thousands of years ago but that people still had Israelites names, practices and an Israel consciousness.
"I didn’t approach this differently than any other story. I was quite prepared to report there ain’t nothing here," Mr. Jacobovici said in an interview. "If I land in Afghanistan and the Pathans say they’re Israelites, it’s my job to report it honestly."
The quest for the lost tribes was one of the three great mysteries pursued by Western adventurers through the ages, along with the search for the Holy Grail and the Ark of the Covenant.
Of the three, the story of the tribes is the most clearly detailed in the historical narratives of the Bible and other texts.
During the time of King Solomon, 10 of the 12 tribes of Israel lived in an area north of Jerusalem in the Kingdom of Israel, while the tribes of Judah and Benjamin inhabited the southern Kingdom of Judah.
With the Assyrian conquest of the Kingdom of Israel in 721 BC, the 10 tribes were captured, enslaved and deported. They vanished. The tribes of Judah and Benjamin were captured and exiled to Babylon in 586 BC. They were freed 50 years later and allowed to return to Israel.
Historians assume the 10 tribes were not truly lost but assimilated into the larger society. . .
His quest began inadvertently when he made a film about the Ethiopian Jews. Before they were airlifted to safety in the mid-1980s, Israeli chief rabbi declared they were descendants of the tribe of Dan.
Several years later, Mr. Jacobovici heard about an Israel rabbi claiming to have discovered Jews on the Burmese-Indian border. These people, who called themselves Menmasseh, had ancient songs about crossing the sea with the water parting before them and following a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day, stories strikingly similar to the biblical account of the exodus from Egypt. . . .
"If the chief rabbis are right and the Ethiopians are Dan, and if this rabbi is right and these people are Menashe, could this be happening?" Mr. Jacobovici recalled thinking. "If this prophecy were to unfold, what do you think it would look like? Would the tribes come on camel back from heaven? . . . Or do they get on boats and airplanes, just regular people buying tickets going to their travel agent and suddenly prophecy can unfold on the nightly news and we don’t even know it?"
His quixotic trek took him to Afghanistan, where he found hill-dwelling people who belonged to the tribes of Shinwari, Efredi, Reuveni and Gadun, corruptions, he believes, of the tribal names of Simeon, Ephraim, Reuven and Gad.
They also call themselves children of Isaac, an odd appellation for Muslims who would more likely to follow the tradition of Ishmael, the father of the Arab nation, not his Jewish half-brother Isaac. . .
In Central Asia, where Mr. Jacobovici found treasure troves of objects with Hebrew and Aramaic writing hidden away in museum basements, there was, he believes a deliberate effort by the former Soviet Union to suppress the history of the tribes.
In other instances, Western myopia means that dangerous and inaccessible places have simply fallen off our radar. Volumes are written about the Jewish communities of Poland, but next to nothing is documented about the Afghani communities, which are hundreds, if not thousands, of years older.
Citing his journalist’s objectivity, Mr. Jacobovici declines to speculate on the biblical prophecy that the discovery of the tribes is the first step toward the end of days.
"All I know is, I went out to look for a story and I came home with the goods," he said.
But for believers, the idea "we may be living in times of ultimate reunification of families is mind-blowing in a very positive way," he said. "The idea that biblical prophecy is unfolding in the nightly news is wow for people." "
The Globe and Mail, Friday, November 20, 1998
To Moses We did give Nine Clear Signs:
As the Children of Israel: when he came to them, Pharaoh said to him:
"O Moses! I consider thee, indeed, to have been worked upon by sorcery!
Moses said,
"Thou knowest well that these things have been sent down by none,
But the Lord of the heavens and the earth as eye-opening evidence:
And I consider thee indeed, O Pharaoh, to be one doomed to destruction!"
So he resolved to remove them from the face of the earth:
But We did drown him and all who were with him.
And We said thereafter to the Children of Israel,
"Dwell securely in the land (of promise)":
But when the second of the warnings came to pass,
We gather you together in a mingled crowd. (2314)
surah 17:101 -104 Al Isra’ (The Night Journey)
"2314. Some commentators understand the second warning to be the Day of Judgment, the Promise of the Hereafter."
Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an
(Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur’an, p. 703.)
The connections between various spiritual traditions and Judaism are vast. Not only that, the experience that Shri Mataji can bring to Jews, or anybody else for that matter, goes far beyond the expectations that any Jew (with the exception of the Jewish mystics, known as Kabbalists) has ever entertained.
It is interesting to note that the Messiah is expected to be a mortal person who, through charisma, background and power, proves himself to be the actual redeemer. By experiencing the Ruach, a Jew can finally experience Judaism as a living force that nourishes, heals and gives evidence of His Spirit during the End Times:
Ruach, the breath of God experienced daily as cool breeze/wind 1
Ruach, the breath of God experienced daily as cool breeze/wind 2
All-Pervading Power (cool breeze, divine vibrations, God's breath)
Divine flowing out of those born of the Spirit within
This experience of the direct perception and sensation of Ruach has become commonplace with those meditating on the Messiah. Hundreds of thousands and even perhaps millions of people from every corner of the Earth are feeling for the first time the existence of God on their central nervous systems. This experience transcends all religious and cultural boundaries. Shri Mataji shows its practitioners the universality of all the religions of the world. This experience is described in Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Christianity, Greek Mythology, as well as most other spiritual paths. This experience is also perfectly described in Judaism. So we can say that Sahaja Yoga is not a religion, but a tool to shed light on religion. And when we bring the Light of Truth into Judaism, we can see how fantastic it is.
The basic experience of the universal pure religion (as described by Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi) is a very simple, yet powerful evolutionary process that initially takes place on the central nervous system. Through pure desire and the Divine Compassion of God, the dormant spiritual energy in a person is awakened, creating an enlightened personality. The Torah clearly describes this in the Book of Numbers, Chapter 11, verses 16-17 and 25:
-- 16: And the Lord said unto Moses: "Gather unto Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tent of meeting, that they may stand there with thee.
-- 17: And I will come down and speak with thee there; and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.
-- 25: And the Lord came down to the tent in the cloud; and spoke unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and put it upon the seventy elders; and when it came to pass, that, when the spirit came upon them, they prophesied."
This spirit which is described is a reflection of the pure desire of God in a human being. It is an innate energy which lies in the sacrum bone, or the triangular shaped bone at the base of the spinal column. The word sacrum comes from the word sacred, because the ancient Greeks, of whose language so much English is based, knew that the sacrum bone was a sacred bone, and that it housed this sacred energy. The spirit spoken of is actually the Shechina, or the Divine Presence that protects a human being from evil. The word spirit means wind. It is important to note that this energy is described as a wind, for when it is flowing, it feels like a cool breeze emitting from the body. The word Shechina comes from the Hebrew word shochem, which means to reside. The Shechina is the One who resides in the sacrum bone.
In Her upward journey, the Shechina (or Kundalini) passes through a number of centers which are expressed in the human anatomy as the nerve plexuses of the central nervous system. In Sahaja Yoga, these centers have been called chakras for thousands of years. There are numerous ancient drawings that exhibit these chakras, and they are rendered with complete anatomical accuracy. This was all done without any knowledge of human physiology, so it is quite obvious that the source of this knowledge must be spiritual in nature. The word chakra means wheel in Sanskrit, and indeed, they spin like wheels. They contain the pure qualities as designed by God that every being possesses. The chakras and their Divine energy were envisioned by the Jewish prophet Ezekiel, in Chapter 1, Verses 19-21:
-- 19: And when the living creatures went, the wheels went hard by them; and when the living creatures were lifted up from the bottom, the wheels were lifted up.
-- 20: Whither so ever the spirit was to go, as spirit was to go thither, so they went; and the wheels were lifted up beside them; for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.
-- 21: When those went, these went; and when those stood, and these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up beside them; for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.
In Judaism we find the same knowledge of Sahaja Yoga was found through spiritual pursuit and serves the same purpose. The Kabbalah, which is the core of the Law as taught by Moses, describes the Sefirot. The Sefirot are the centers of divine qualities in the spiritual body of a person. They are ten in number, and they correspond perfectly to the chakras in their location and their qualities. When one considers the discrepancy in the number of chakras and sefirot, one finds that it is merely an instance of two slightly different interpretations of the same system. A few sefirot are viewed in there different aspects as separate sefirot, where as the chakra model establishes a connection, and therefore views them as one. Furthermore, while the Sefirot are numbered as ten, they are described as residing on seven different levels.
But the result is the same. When the Shechina is awakened, it nourishes these centers which are the milestones of our evolution. In doing so, we begin to feel and emit the true qualities that every human being possesses. The joy and peace of this experience is a deeply profound one, and one that can carry the practitioner to an entirely new and ascendant level of consciousness, the consciousness of the Spirit.
This is clearly expressed in many areas of the Torah, but especially in Solomon's Proverbs, Chapter 3, Verses 13-18:
-- 13: Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that obtaineth understanding.
-- 14: For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.
-- 15: She is more precious than rubies; and all the things thou canst desire cannot be compared unto Her.
-- 16: Length of Days are in Her right hand; in Her left hand are riches and honour.
-- 17: Her ways are ways of pleasantness; and all Her paths are peace.
-- 18: She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon Her, and happy is everyone that holdeth Her fast.
That tree is the Shechina. That tree is the Kundalini. And that tree is growing in humanity now. As a Jew is "the One who knows', so is a Sahaja Yogi "the one who has become". Truly, they are meant to be one and the same.
There are prophecies which predict the restoration of the Jews to the land of Israel near the end of the age. For close on 2000 years this seemed utterly impossible, and yet we have now seen it fulfilled in our own generation! Ezekiel 36:24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Jeremiah 30:3 For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord: and I will cause them to {return to the land} that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it. (Here are just a few more of the many references to this fulfilment: Ezekial 37:21; Isaiah 11:11; Jeremiah 29:14).”
users.multipro.com
“January 18, 2002
Vatican Says Jews' Wait for Messiah Is
Validated by the Old Testament
By MELINDA HENNEBERGER
VATICAN CITY, Jan. 17 — The Vatican has issued what some Jewish scholars are calling an important document that explicitly says, "The Jewish wait for the Messiah is not in vain."
The scholarly work, effectively a rejection of and apology for the way some Christians have viewed the Old Testament, was signed by the pope's
theologian, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.
The document says Jews and Christians in fact share the wait for the Messiah, though Jews are waiting for the first coming, and Christians for the second. . . .
A number of Jewish scholars and leaders said they were pleased but stunned and would have to take some time to digest fully the complicated, 210-page study, published in French and Italian.
"This is something altogether new, especially compared with the earlier document from Ratzinger that was so controversial," said Rabbi Alberto Piattelli, a professor and leader of the Jewish community in Rome. "This latest declaration is a step forward" in closing the wounds opened by that earlier document, Rabbi Piattelli said. "It recognizes the value of the Jewish position regarding the wait for the Messiah, changes the whole exegesis of biblical studies and restores our biblical passages to their original meaning. I was surprised." ”
Melinda Henneberger, [pub22.ezboard.com/]
“More than 2,000 years after they first claimed to have set foot in India, the mystery of the world's most obscure Jewish community -- the Marathi-speaking, Bene Israel -- may finally have been solved with genetic carbon-dating revealing they carry the unusual "Moses" gene that would make them, literally, the original children of Israel. Four years of DNA tests on the 4,000-strong Bene Israel, now mainly based in Mumbai, Pune, Thane and Ahmedabad, indicates they are probable descendants of a small group of hereditary Israelite priests or Cohanim. Tudor Parfitt, Jewish Studies professor at London's School of Oriental and African Studies, who initiated and led the research, says this is the first concrete roof that "exiles from Palestine made it as far as India and managed to maintain Judaism in the sea of Hinduism and Islam". Their Indian appearance, cricket-playing, sari-wearing, curry-eating and Marathi-speaking habits led to a bitter battle for recognition as "real Jews" and for years they were not allowed to emigrate to Israel.”
Times of India, London, UK, July 20, 2002
“The fundamental difference between Judaism and Christianity is that Chritians believe the Messiah, Christ, came two thousand years ago, while Jews are still awaiting their Messiah. So the question is then this: Why didn't the ancestors of today's Jews believe that Jesus was the Messiah?
According to Judaic thinking, Jesus did not uphold the two primary elements of the Messiah and the messianic age: justice and peace. (For more information on Biblical references to the Messiah, see Biblical Messiah) The book of Isaiah is where most of these messages are found.
And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks:nation shall not life up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. (King James Verion, Isaiah 2:4)
The Messiah is supposed to usher in a time of justice; he will judge all nations. And yet, injustice and corruption were still rampant after Jesus was crucified. He failed to bring about the major prophecy of justice that the true Messiah would have completed.
The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. (KJV, Isaiah 11:6)
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. (KJV, Isaiah 11:9)
Jesus also failed to fulfill the prophecy of world peace. Jews expected a time when they could get along with their enemies, the wolves, and war would no longer exist. On the contrary, Christians used war more and more to gain power and control. Jews couldn't imagine that the messianic age was upon them when believers in Jesus were causing so much bloodshed.”
www.conncoll.edu
“Israel, republic in southwestern Asia, located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. . . . The population of Israel is overwhelmingly urban and although about 82 percent Jewish, contains considerable racial, cultural, and ethnic diversity. More than half of the Jews in Israel are Israeli-born (called Sabras), but their parents or grandparents came from more than 100 different countries and spoke, among them, about 85 different languages or major dialects. Major groupings include the Ashkenazim, whose forebears lived in European countries during the Middle Ages; Sephardim, some of whose ancestors once lived in the Iberian Peninsula; and those Israelis descending from North Africa and the Middle East.”
Encarta Encyclopedia
“Zionism as an organized political movement originated in the 19th century, but its roots go back to the 6th century BC, when the Jews were carried off to captivity in Babylon and their prophets encouraged them to believe that one day God would allow them to return to Palestine, or Eretz Israel (the Land of Israel). Over the centuries, the Jews of the Diaspora associated the hope of the return with the coming of the Messiah, a savior whom God would send to deliver them.”
Encarta Encyclopedia
“Ezekiel was told by the Lord that ... would bring them back to life and to their land of Israel (Ezekiel 37:11, 12). The passage affirms that the regathering will include both Israel and Judah (vs. 19), and that this will occur right before the return of the Messiah to reign over the nations (vv. 24-28). ...
The Importance of Jerusalem
On June 7, 1967, during the Six Day War, the Jews re-conquered the city of Jerusalem, which they were unable to hold during their War of Independence (1948-1949). This was significant, because the Jews had not exercised true sovereignty over the capital city since 70 AD—a span of 1,897 years.
Jesus Christ, during His Olivet discourse, said to watch the city of Jerusalem. He prophesied that it would fall by the sword, which happened 40 years later when the Romans destroyed it in 70 AD. He further prophesied that the city would be trampled down by the Gentiles “until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” (Luke 21:24).
This has been a fact of history; it has been trampled by the Romans (70-640), the Arabs (640-1090), the Crusaders (1090-1291), the Mamelukes (1291-1517), the Turks (1517-1918), the League of Nations (1918-1922), the British (1922-1948), and the Jordanians (1948-1967).
And this “trampling down” by the Gentiles has not yet finished, for Jerusalem will be a battleground during the Tribulation. But the re-occupation of the city by the Jews is prophetically significant, because end-time prophecies always portray the Jews back in their land and in their beloved city of Jerusalem (e.g., Zechariah 12:1-6).”
Dr. David R. Reagan
America the Beautiful?
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