What Is Judaism?

What is Judaism? What does it mean to be a Jew? Most people, both Jewish and gentile, would instinctively say that Judaism is a religion. And yet, there are militant atheists who insist that they are Jews! Is Judaism a race? If you were to say so, most Jews would think you were an antisemite! So what is Judaism?

Is Judaism a Religion?

Clearly, there is a religion called Judaism, a set of ideas about the world and the way we should live our lives that is called "Judaism." It is studied in Religious Studies courses and taught to Jewish children in Hebrew schools. See What do Jews Believe? for details. There is a lot of flexibility about certain aspects of those beliefs, and a lot of disagreement about specifics, but that flexibility is built into the organized system of belief that is Judaism.

However, many people who call themselves Jews do not believe in that religion at all! More than half of all Jews in Israel today call themselves "secular," and don't believe in G-d or any of the religious beliefs of Judaism. Half of all Jews in the United States don't belong to any synagogue. They may practice some of the rituals of Judaism and celebrate some of the holidays, but they don't think of these actions as religious activities.

The most traditional Jews and the most liberal Jews and everyone in between would agree that these secular people are still Jews, regardless of their disbelief. See Who is a Jew? Clearly, then, there is more to being Jewish than just a religion.

Are Jews a Race?

In the 1980s, the United States Supreme Court ruled that Jews are a race, at least for purposes of certain anti-discrimination laws. Their reasoning: at the time these laws were passed, people routinely spoke of the "Jewish race" or the "Italian race" as well as the "Negro race," so that is what the legislators intended to protect.

But many Jews were deeply offended by that decision, offended by any hint that Jews could be considered a race. The idea of Jews as a race brings to mind nightmarish visions of Nazi Germany, where Jews were declared to be not just a race, but an inferior race that had to be rounded up into ghettos and exterminated like vermin.

But setting aside the emotional issues, Jews are clearly not a race.

Race is a genetic distinction, and refers to people with shared ancestry and shared genetic traits. You can't change your race; it's in your DNA. I could never become black or Asian no matter how much I might want to.

Common ancestry is not required to be a Jew. Many Jews worldwide share common ancestry, as shown by genetic research; however, you can be a Jew without sharing this common ancestry, for example, by converting. Thus, although I could never become black or Asian, blacks and Asians have become Jews (Sammy Davis Jr. and Connie Chung).

Is It a Culture or Ethnic Group?

Most secular American Jews think of their Jewishness as a matter of culture or ethnicity. When they think of Jewish culture, they think of the food, of the Yiddish language, of some limited holiday observances, and of cultural values like the emphasis on education.

Those secular American Jews would probably be surprised to learn that much of what they think of as Jewish culture is really just Ashkenazic Jewish culture, the culture of Jews whose ancestors come from one part of the world. Jews have lived in many parts of the world and have developed many different traditions. As a Sephardic friend likes to remind me, Yiddish is not part of his culture, nor are bagels and lox, chopped liver, latkes, gefilte fish or matzah ball soup. His idea of Jewish cooking includes bourekas, phyllo dough pastries filled with cheese or spinach. His ancestors probably wouldn't know what to do with a dreidel.

There are certainly cultural traits and behaviors that are shared by many Jews, that make us feel more comfortable with other Jews. Jews in many parts of the world share many of those cultural aspects. However, that culture is not shared by all Jews all over the world, and people who do not share that culture are no less Jews because of it. Thus, Judaism must be something more than a culture or an ethnic group.

Are the Jews a Nation?

The traditional explanation, and the one given in the Torah, is that the Jews are a nation. The Hebrew word, believe it or not, is "goy." The Torah and the rabbis used this term not in the modern sense meaning a territorial and political entity, but in the ancient sense meaning a group of people with a common history, a common destiny, and a sense that we are all connected to each other.

Unfortunately, in modern times, the term "nation" has become too contaminated by ugly, jingoistic notions of a country obsessed with its own superiority and bent on world domination. Because of this notion of "nationhood," Jews are often falsely accused of being disloyal to their own country in favor of their loyalty to the Jewish "nation," of being more loyal to Israel than to their home country. Some have gone so far as to use this distorted interpretation of "nationhood" to prove that Jews do, or seek to, control the world. In fact, a surprising number of antisemitic websites and newsgroup postings linked to this page (in an earlier form) as proof of their antisemitic delusions that Jews are nationalistic, that Israel is a colonial power and so forth.

Because of the inaccurate connotations that have attached themselves to the term "nation," the term can no longer be used to accurately describe the Jewish people.

The Jewish People are a Family

It is clear from the discussion above that there is a certain amount of truth in the claims that it is a religion, a race, or an ethnic group, none of these descriptions is entirely adequate to describe what connects Jews to other Jews. And yet, almost all Jews feel a sense of connectedness to each other that many find hard to explain, define, or even understand. Traditionally, this interconnectedness was understood as "nationhood" or "peoplehood," but those terms have become so distorted over time that they are no longer accurate.

Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz has suggested a better analogy for the Jewish people: We are a family. See the third essay in his recent book, We Jews: Who Are We and What Should We Do. But though this is a new book, it is certainly not a new concept: throughout the Bible and Jewish literature, the Jewish people are referred to as "the Children of Israel," a reference to the fact that we are all the physical or spiritual descendants of the Patriarch Jacob, who was later called Israel. In other words, we are part of his extended family.

Like a family, we don't always agree with each other. We often argue and criticize each other. We hold each other to the very highest standards, knowing that the shortcomings of any member of the family will be held against all of us. But when someone outside of the family unfairly criticizes a family member or the family as a whole, we are quick to join together in opposition to that unfair criticism.

When members of our "family" suffer or are persecuted, we all feel their pain. For example, in the 1980s, when Africa was suffering from droughts and famines, many Jews around the world learned for the first time about the Beta Israel, the Jews of Ethiopia. Their religion, race and culture are quite different from ours, and we had not even known that they existed before the famine. And yet, our hearts went out to them as our fellow Jews during this period of famine, like distant cousins we had never met, and Jews from around the world helped them to emigrate to Israel.

When a member of our "family" does something illegal, immoral or shameful, we all feel the shame, and we all feel that it reflects on us. As Jews, many of us were embarrassed by the scandals of Monica Lewinsky, Jack Abramoff and Bernie Madoff, because they are Jews and their actions reflect on us all, even though we disapprove. The Madoff scandal was all the more embarrassing, because so many of his victims were Jews and Jewish charities: a Jew robbing from our own "family"! We were shocked when Israeli Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin was killed by a Jew, unable to believe that one Jew would ever kill another member of the "family."

And when a member of our "family" accomplishes something significant, we all feel proud. A perfect example of Jews (even completely secular ones) delighting in the accomplishments of our fellow Jews is the perennial popularity of Adam Sandler's Chanukkah songs, listing famous people who are Jewish. We all take pride in scientists like Albert Einstein or political leaders like Joe Lieberman (we don't all agree with his politics or his religious views, but we were all proud to see him on a national ticket). And is there a Jew who doesn't know (or at least feel pride upon learning) that Sandy Koufax declined to pitch in a World Series game that fell on Yom Kippur?



Judaism101

Religious Hatred

by Rabbi David E. Eidensohn

A Christian friend sent me a piece from the Rev. Pike and asked if I wanted to respond. I answered him that these kind of articles are a problem because they use Christianity to attack Judaism, and this would require me to respond to Christianity. Also, they consider Judaism a gutter religion, and to respond to them would be to dignify their claims, such as rabbis such as me practice bestiality! What should I say, "I don't practice bestiality"? But if my friend sent it to me, and it is there, perhaps I should respond.

Pike's first paragraph begins, "The Bible says sex in marriage is one of G-d's greatest gifts." If this is so, why did the founder of Christianity never marry? Why did the Church, for thousands of years, forbid a spiritual priest to marry? Lie number one.

The second paragraph claims that G-d took Israel for his bride and when the founder of Christianity became the deity, he "rescued her from oblivion." Alas, "Israel...became a spiritual harlot." Another lie. G-d never changed His mind about Jews and He never changed Himself to be the founder of Christianity. That is blasphemy.

The next paragraphs say that Jews are involved in pornography because they descend from Pharisees, the rabbis of the Talmud, who practiced bestiality. I don't want to dignify this by calling it a lie. This is sick.

Unfortunately, ancient Christianity, Catholic and Protestant, had anti-Semitic teachings similar to Rev. Pike's material. Luther was a ferocious hater, not only of Jews, but he was involved in inflaming people to murder peasants. The Catholic Church had ferocious anti-Semites such as Ambrose and Augustine, indeed, hate of Jews is part and parcel of early Christianity.

After the Second World War with its Holocaust, most Christians changed their theology. The Catholics did, and so did the Evangelicals. But there are still Catholics like Mel Gibson's father (and maybe the son when he is drunk) who reject what the new Church has done, and believe in the old way, that Jews are to be hated. There are still Protestants like the Rev. Pike, who believe in the old way, that Christianity is there to pour on hate about Jews, who rejected their beliefs.

I recall my childhood in Washington, DC. We had a mixed neighborhood, and as little kids we all played together fine. When Billy Wilson went to a Catholic parochial school he became a ferocious anti-Semite and would come over to us and curse us and all Jews. When we played baseball, there was a Protestant called Tommy who would pitch a fastball at the head of any Jew who came to bat. The fact is, that the early Christian religion was ferociously anti-Semitic. This is documented by a Catholic priest in his classic, "Constantine's Sword."

Today it is rare to hear in America of a Christian who is anti-Semitic. In fact, Christians are the greatest friends of Israel, and are doing a lot for Jews. But the rot is still out there, especially on the Internet.

I wish to reiterate that this piece I am writing is because of respect for a dear Christian friend. I have other Christian friends who would do for me their best as I would do for them. We are partners in the terrible war against the fiends who want to pervert the world, dominate it and control it and contaminate our children. We must stand strong. We must stand together. We want a world of peace, without the radicals and without the haters. We must fight both.

Now in Jerusalem the Jews and Christians are standing together to fight the International Gay Parade. They want to take over and seduce our children. They won't because we are together and will defeat them.

Indeed, the best friend of the perverts is someone like Rev. Pike. By showing that religious people are haters they promote secularism. Hollywood is filthy because people prefer filth to religious wars. I don't say that people are right about that, but secularism has triumphed because religious hate caused wars and much bloodshed. That is a historical fact. Therefore, if we want to prevail against the radicals, we must answer the haters like Rev. Pike. He is the radical's best friend and only hope.

Now, let's look again into the claim about Israel as a bride of heaven. I believe, of course, that G-d took Israel as His bride at the Covenant with Abraham described in Genesis, about 3700 years ago. I also believe that the Covenant G-d made did not die, decline, or change in any way, and that Israel is today the bride of G-d. G-d does not change His mind, and He surely does not change Himself! The claim of Rev. Pike that G-d not only changed brides but changed Himself into the founder of Christianity is incredible, but then again, that is what he believes.

Rev. Pike explains that Jews are prone to porn because they come from Talmudic rabbis called Pharisees. I am a Pharisee, as I accept the teaching of the Talmud and the rabbis, and all of us reject Christianity. So Rev. Pike stokes the ancient hate of Israel for rejecting Christianity, and blames the rabbis. As a matter of fact, Christianity died out in Israel very soon after it was founded, and had to be reinvented in Greece by Jews who fled Israel. Jews, all of them, had no interest in Christianity. We are G-d's people and anyone mortal person or even an angel who comes to us and tells us to worship him had better start running. It is as simple as that.

The Catholic priest James Carroll in his modern classic "The Sword of Constantinople" tells us about Saint John Chrysostom, bishop of Antioch around the time of Augustine's baptism. (Page 213) This is what this bishop taught about Jews: "I know that many people hold a high regard for the Jew, and consider their way of life worthy of respect at the present time. This is why I am hurrying to pull up this fatal notion by the roots... A place where a whore stands on display is a whorehouse. What is more, the synagogue is not only a whorehouse and a theater; it is also a den of thieves and a haunt of wild animals... No better disposed than pigs or goats, the Jews live by the rule of debauchery and inordinate gluttony. Only one thing they understand: to gorge themselves and to get drunk...By making themselves unfit for work, they have become ready for slaughter." This prepared people to kill Jews. Augustine absorbed this, as did others, and it remained the tenet of Christianity until the Second World War. Many changed them in order not to be laughing stocks, but not Rev. Pike. He is still out there trying to kill the heretics. That is why many people hate religion. The idea of killing heretics almost destroyed Europe, and it is feared by all civilized people. Rev. Pike is for real. He wants to kill the heretics. The first step is to demonize them, and then to declare that "such people are fit only to be slaughtered," as did Chrysostom and Augustine in their time.

Ambrose wanted to exterminate the Jews. Augustine wanted to torment them so badly that they would have to convert. But both of these profited by the lies told by Rev. Pike and the concept that Israel was a nation of "bestiality", etc.

Once you have a religious zeal in besmirching a decent nation, famed for its family values above all others, we have statements like this from Rev. Pike, "The Pharisees perverted the law to permit adultery." (Well, isn't that an improvement on bestiality? Maybe he means that the rabbis of the Talmud slept with married mates of animals.)

Rev. Pike tells us that Talmudic rabbis practiced adultery, bestiality, and rape. Sounds just like that German fellow over there. They went to the same school.

It goes on and on. Today we laugh at these kind of ravings, but for thousands of years, this was what people were taught by their clergy, and they responded in kind. That Jews survived is proof that we, Israel, are G-d's Chosen people and will never be destroyed. We are patient, we have waited long for our redemption. And we will see it flower and conclude with the destruction of hate.





Jew Haters

The Talmud - Myths and Misquotes

In the 1950s, anti-Semitic author Mrs. Lyrl Van Hyning published a book Key To The Mystery and a racist periodical Woman's Voice, presenting a large and controversial wave of fabricated quotes from The Talmud.








Mrs Van Hyning and other notable anti-Semites such as Nesta Webster, Benjamin H. Freedman and Rev. Gerald L.K. Smith based most of their claims on those produced by Rev. Another source is from the, Ku Klux Klan organizer, Wesley Swift's 1939 translation entitled The Talmud Unmasked.
The fabricated quotes have surfaced in certain parts of the white nationalist community and among certain Christians.

Examples of fabricated/mistranslated quotes of the Talmud
1. "Jesus was a bastard born of adultery." (Yebamoth 49b).
"Mary was a whore: Jesus (Balaam) was an evil man." (Sanhedrin 106a).
2. "Jesus was a magician and a fool. Mary was an adulteress". (Shabbath 104b).
3. "Christians are allied with Hell, and Christianity is worse than incest". (Abodah Zarah 17a).
4. "WHEN MESSIAH COMES HE WILL DESTROY THE CHRISTIANS". (Sanhedrin 99a).
5. "Those who read the Gospels are doomed to Hell". (Sanhedrin 90a, 100b).
6. "A heretic Gentile you may kill outright with your own hands." - (Talmud, Abodah Zara, 4b.)
7. "It is the law to kill anyone who denies the Torah. The Christians belong to the denying ones of the Torah." (- Coschen hamischpat 425 Hagah 425. 5)
8. "Every Jew, who spills the blood of the godless (goi), is doing the same as making a sacrifice to God." (Talmud, Bammidber raba c 21 & Jalkut 772.)
9. "It is permitted to take the body and the life of a Gentile." (Sepher ikkarim III c 25)
10. "Jesus is in hell where His punishment is "boiling in hot semen." (Talmud: Gittin 57a)
11. "To communicate anything to a goy about our religious relations would be equal to the killing of all Jews, for if the goyim knew what we teach about them they would kill us openly." (Libbre David: 37)

The Schindler's List's Talmud quote:
"He who saves a single life, saves an entire world."

An article by revisionist Michael A Hoffman II claims that Steven Spielberg falsified a quote from the Talmud in the end of his move Schindler's List.[6]

The quote in question is; "He who saves a single life, saves an entire world." Hoffman however, claims that it's false and that the real quote only referr to jews.

Maimonides (aka RamBam), one of the most influental Rabbis ever, lived during the 11th century and wrote the codification of jewish law, Mishneh Torah, did write and cite the Jerusalem (Yerushalmi) Talmud as he understood the "he who saves" as inclusive of all people.

Rambam/Maimonides gave for the Yerushalmi version, in Hilkhot Sanhedrin 12:3, but also cites the Bavli version briefly in Hilkhot Rotzea`h 1:6. Hameiri also based his own commentary on the Yerushalmi version which illustrates the quote "Whoever destroys the life of a single human being [nefesh a`hat mi-bnei adam] ... it is as if he had destroyed an entire world and whoever preserves the life of a single human being ... it is as if he had preserved an entire world", by pointing out that Cain's murder of Abel eliminated all of his victim's descendents in one big, fell swoop. And we know at least that Abel, like Adam were not Jewish

So it's not hard to grasp what the main idea behind the quote was, as it makes sense that if you remove the father before he's begotten, you remove all of his possible offsprings in one go, hence if you therefor saved a father it is to be likened with saving of a world of people.

Now this humanistic version was not however always completely universally accepted by some of the later commentators, the A`haronim. In MaHaRSh'A, for example, in Hidushei Agadot on Sanhedrin.37a, stays with Version 2, which only includes jews and a few rabbis out of their reverence. Though the Mishnah and Maimonides personally based the dictum on Adam being the father of all mankind and thus the essentials of this quote means thus. Most followers of Judaism has understood the quote in this light. Like any people in general, believe that which appeals most to their own vanity, or lack thereof, it has very little to do with religious essentials. And, thus in conclusion, Hoffman wasn't correct on his accusation on Spielberg nor the Talmud here either.


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List of Talmudic Books
What is Talmud?
The Truth About the Talmud
Talmud - Killing Gentiles
Talmud - Tricking Gentiles
Talmud - The Term of Goy
Talmud - Theft From Gentiles
Talmud - In The Image of God
Talmud - The Real Story of Rabbi Elazar
Talmud - Sex With Three Years Old
Talmud - Refuting Various Claims About The Talmud
Talmud - Are Jews Commanded to Lie About The Talmud?
Talmud - Where Do Gentiles Fit Into The Jewish World?
The Talmud Does Not Consider Gentiles to be Animals
The Talmud Prohibits Jews From Withholding a Gentile's Wages
More Lies About the Talmud
A Pregnant Non-Jew is no Better Than a Pregnant Animal
Talmud and More
Questions and Challenges to the Talmud

Jewish Beliefs about God

In Judaism, ultimate reality is a single, all-powerful God. It is this belief that made the Jews unique among other ancient Semitic peoples and that became the legacy Judaism has passed on to the entire Western world.

The sacred name of God, as revealed to Moses in the book of Exodus, is YHWH. Since ancient Hebrew was written without vowels, we do not know the original pronunciation of this word. The common pronunciation "Jehovah," however, is incorrect. It is derived from combining the vowels for Adonai ("Lord") with the four consonants of YHWH.

A more "correct" pronunciation, and that which is used among scholars, is "Yahweh." The discussion is irrelevant to observant Jews, however, as they do not pronounce this holiest of names. When the Torah is read aloud, Adonai ("Lord") is read in its place. This practice is reflected in most English translations, in which YHWH is rendered "LORD." Jews also refer to God as Hashem, "the Name."

The word YHWH is sometimes referred to as the Tetragrammaton, from the Greek for "four-lettered." It is also called The Forbidden Name or the Unutterable Name. The prohibition against pronouncing this name does not originate with the command to not take the Lord's name in vain, as is sometimes thought.

Although traditionally this only applies to the Name in Hebrew, some modern Jews also refrain from writing the word "God," replacing it instead with "G-d." Opinions vary within Judaism as to the necessity of such a practice.

The Nature of G-d

The nature of G-d is one of the few areas of abstract Jewish belief where there are a number of clear-cut ideas about which there is little dispute or disagreement.

G-d Exists

The fact of G-d's existence is accepted almost without question. Proof is not needed, and is rarely offered. The Torah begins by stating "In the beginning, G-d created..." It does not tell who G-d is or how He was created.

In general, Judaism views the existence of G-d as a necessary prerequisite for the existence of the universe. The existence of the universe is sufficient proof of the existence of G-d.

G-d is One

One of the primary expressions of Jewish faith, recited twice daily in prayer, is the Shema, which begins "Hear, Israel: The L-rd is our G-d, The L-rd is one." This simple statement encompasses several different ideas:

There is only one G-d. No other being participated in the work of creation.
G-d is a unity. He is a single, whole, complete indivisible entity. He cannot be divided into parts or described by attributes. Any attempt to ascribe attributes to G-d is merely man's imperfect attempt to understand the infinite.
G-d is the only being to whom we should offer praise. The Shema can also be translated as "The L-rd is our G-d, The L-rd alone," meaning that no other is our G-d, and we should not pray to any other.

G-d is the Creator of Everything

Everything in the universe was created by G-d and only by G-d. Judaism completely rejects the dualistic notion that evil was created by Satan or some other deity. All comes from G-d. As Isaiah said, "I am the L-rd, and there is none else. I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create evil. I am the L-rd, that does all these things." (Is. 45:6-7).

G-d is Incorporeal

Although many places in scripture and Talmud speak of various parts of G-d's body (the Hand of G-d, G-d's wings, etc.) or speak of G-d in anthropomorphic terms (G-d walking in the garden of Eden, G-d laying tefillin, etc.), Judaism firmly maintains that G-d has no body. Any reference to G-d's body is simply a figure of speech, a means of making G-d's actions more comprehensible to beings living in a material world. Much of Rambam's Guide for the Perplexed is devoted to explaining each of these anthropomorphic references and proving that they should be understood figuratively.

We are forbidden to represent G-d in a physical form. That is considered idolatry. The sin of the Golden Calf incident was not that the people chose another deity, but that they tried to represent
G-d in a physical form.

G-d is Neither Male nor Female

This followed directly from the fact that G-d has no physical form. As one rabbi explained it to me, G-d has no body, no genitalia, therefore the very idea that G-d is male or female is patently absurd. We refer to G-d using masculine terms simply for convenience's sake, because Hebrew has no neutral gender; G-d is no more male than a table is.

Although we usually speak of G-d in masculine terms, there are times when we refer to G-d using feminine terms. The Shechinah, the manifestation of G-d's presence that fills the universe, is conceived of in feminine terms, and the word Shechinah is a feminine word.

G-d is Omnipresent

G-d is in all places at all times. He fills the universe and exceeds its scope. He is always near for us to call upon in need, and He sees all that we do. Closely tied in with this idea is the fact that G-d is universal. He is not just the G-d of the Jews; He is the G-d of all nations.

G-d is Omnipotent

G-d can do anything. It is said that the only thing that is beyond His power is the fear of Him; that is, we have free will, and He cannot compel us to do His will. This belief in G-d's omnipotence has been sorely tested during the many persecutions of Jews, but we have always maintained that G-d has a reason for allowing these things, even if we in our limited perception and understanding cannot see the reason.

G-d is Omniscient

G-d knows all things, past, present and future. He knows our thoughts.

G-d is Eternal

G-d transcends time. He has no beginning and no end. He will always be there to fulfill his promises. When Moses asked for G-d's name, He replied, "Ehyeh asher ehyeh." That phrase is generally translated as, "I am that I am," but the word "ehyeh" can be present or future tense, meaning "I am what I will be" or "I will be what I will be." The ambiguity of the phrase is often interpreted as a reference to G-d's eternal nature.

G-d is Both Just and Merciful

I have often heard Christians speak of Judaism as the religion of the strict Law, which no human being is good enough to fulfill (hence the need for the sacrifice of Jesus). This is a gross mischaracterization of Jewish belief. Judaism has always maintained that G-d's justice is tempered by mercy, the two qualities perfectly balanced. Of the two Names of G-d most commonly used in scripture, one refers to his quality of justice and the other to his quality of mercy. The two names were used together in the story of Creation, showing that the world was created with both justice and mercy.

G-d is Holy and Perfect

One of the most common names applied to G-d in the post-Biblical period is "Ha-Kadosh, Barukh Hu," The Holy One, Blessed be He.

Avinu Malkeinu:
G-d is our Father and our King

Judaism maintains that we are all G-d's children. A well-known piece of Jewish liturgy repeatedly describes G-d as "Avinu Malkeinu," our Father, our King. The Talmud teaches that there are three participants in the formation of every human being: the mother and father, who provide the physical form, and G-d, who provides the soul, the personality, and the intelligence. It is said that one of G-d's greatest gifts to humanity is the knowledge that we are His children and created in his image.



By: Judaism 101

Western Wall Jerusalem (HaKotel HaMaaravi)

The Western Wall, known to non-Jews as the Wailing Wall, is a 488-metre (1601-foot) stretch of wall which is all that remains of the Second Temple of Jerusalem. The most sacred Jewish place in the world, it attracts thousands of devout Jews every year who come to pray, and push prayer notes and messages of goodwill into the cracks of the wall. The wall was built more than two thousand years ago under King Herod, and has been under Israeli control since 1967. It is also sacred to Muslims who believe that the wall marks the place where the prophet Mohammed tied up his winged horse, al-Burak, before ascending to heaven. It has been divided into two sections of prayer, the left for men and the right for women, and forms part of a larger wall surrounding the Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque.

The holiest Jewish site in the world and a renowned symbol of Jerusalem's Old City, the Western Wall is a remnant of the retaining wall built by Herod the Great in the 1st century BC, to encompass the Second Temple enclosure.

As the only remainder of their sacred, destroyed Temple, Jewish people from all over the world, throughout two thousands years of exile, have faced the direction of the Western Wall on their prayers.

It is a Jewish belief that the Holy Presence has never left the Western Wall, thus it became the most significant site of Jewish pilgrimage, where Jews came to mourn the ruin of the Temple. This is how the Wall, "Ha'kotel" in Hebrew, has gained the name - the "Wailing Wall".

The big plaza in front of the Wall is divided into two sections - one for women and one for men. Here you can observe different kinds of Jewish activities and prayers, from orthodox Jews dressed in black reading their bible, to Israeli soldiers and groups of Jewish tourists. Leaning against the Wall and kissing the stones, the prayers' most famous custom is to insert a note with a prayer to God between the Wall's bricks, believing in its priority to be answered.

The Western Wall serves as a favorite location for Jewish traditional celebrations, and gets amazingly alive on Friday eve (the arrival of Sabbath) and on Jewish holidays. While visiting the Kotel you may see a Bar Mitzvah kid holding the Torah on his traditional ceremony, or an excited bride & groom being photographed before their wedding.



Information:
The Western Wall is open 24 hours, and requires a modest dress for women and a head cover for the men. Admission is free. The closest gate to enter the Old City directly to the Wall is the Dung Gate. Buses No. 1 and 2 reach inside the Old City to the area of the Wall.



Air: Ben-Gurion International Airport. Road: Bus: Public services. Car: Hwy-1 to central Jerusalem (from Tel Aviv).
Contact Addresses: Western Wall Heritage Foundation, 2 HaOmer Street, Old City, Jerusalem 97500, Israel
Tel: (02) 627 1333
Website: www.hakotel.org.il





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The Western Wall - Then & Now

A Muslim Scholar Speaks on Islam & Jerusalem

For a Jew or a Muslim, religious or secular, thinking of Jerusalem means to feel reason and sentiment mingled together. So, as a Muslim scholar and a man of religion, it is today worthwhile for me to try to determine whether, from an Islamic point of view, there is some well-grounded theological reason that makes recognizing Jerusalem both as an Islamic holy place and as the capital of the State of Israel impossible.

The idea of Islam as a factor that prevents Arabs from recognizing any sovereign right of Jews over the Land of Israel or Jerusalem is quite recent and can by no means be found in Islamic classical sources. Both Qur'an and Torah indicate quite clearly that the link between the Jews and the Land of Israel does not depend on any kind of colonization project but directly on the will of God Almighty. In particular, both Jewish and Islamic Scriptures state specifically that God through His chosen servant Moses decided to free the offspring of Jacob from slavery in Egypt and to make them the inheritors of the Promised Land.

The Qur'an cites the exact words with which Moses ordered the Israelites to conquer the Land:

"And (remember) when Moses said to his people: ‘O my people, call in remembrance the favour of God unto you, when he produced prophets among you, made you kings, and gave to you what He had not given to any other among the people. O my people, enter the Holy Land which God has assigned unto you, and turn not back ignominiously, for then will ye be overthrown, to your own ruin'". (Qur'an, Sura 5:22-23, "The Table")

The Holy Qur'an also quite openly refers to the reinstatement of the Children of Israel in the Land before the Last Judgment, where it says "And thereafter We said to the Children of Israel: ‘Dwell securely in the Promised Land.' And when the last warning will come to pass, We will gather you together in a mingled crowd." (Qur'an, Sura 17:104, "The Night Journey")

As concerns Jerusalem, the most common argument against Islamic acceptance of Israeli sovereignty over the Holy City is that, since it is a holy place for Muslims, its being ruled by non-Muslims would be a betrayal of Islam.

The designation of Jerusalem as an Islamic holy place depends on al-Mi'raj, the Ascension of the Prophet Muhammad to heaven, which began from the Foundation Stone on the Temple Mount. But while remembering this, we must admit that there is no real link between al-Mi'raj and sovereign rights over Jerusalem, since when al-Mi'raj took place the city was not under Islamic but under alternate Byzantine or Sassanid administration.

Moreover, the Qur'an expressly recognizes that Jerusalem plays the same role for Jews that Mecca has for Muslims. We read: "They would not follow thy direction of prayer (qibla), nor art thou to follow their direction of prayer; nor indeed will they follow each other's direction of prayer...." (Qur'an, Sura 2:145, "The Cow") All Qur'anic commentators explain that "thy qibla" is obviously the Kaba of Mecca, while "their qibla" refers to the Temple Mount Area in Jerusalem. Some Muslim exegetes also quote the Book of Daniel as proof of this (Daniel 6:10).

Thus, as no one wishes to deny Muslims complete sovereignty over Mecca, from an Islamic point of view there is no sound theological reason to deny the Jews the same right over Jerusalem.

As to Jewish-Muslim relationships, if we reflect on the level of inter-religious dialogue in past centuries, we must frankly admit that in this respect we have been moving backwards. From a theological point of view, dialogue between Jews and Muslims is easier than, say, dialogue between Jews and Chrisitians. Indeed, dialogue between Jews and Muslims was much more extensive in the past. Ibn Gabirol (Avicembro), Maimonides, Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and Ibn Rushd (Averroes) were not isolated intellectuals but part of an ongoing intercommunication and shared well of knowledge.

One can blame the current separation on the political situation, but that does not free intellectuals and men of religion of their responsibility. Today, looking toward the future, we must again create the same kind of intellectual atmosphere, until it is common for Islamic theologians to read Buber and Levinas, and for Jewish scholars to study the works of Sha'rawi and Ashmawi. We can understand the common features in the development of Kabbalah and Tasawwuf, or study the mutual influence of Jewish Halakhah and Islamic Sharia.

Jewish intellectuals, for their part, must be ready to understand that a new attitude is emerging among some Islamic thinkers. Many of us are now ready to admit that hostility for Israel has been a great mistake, perhaps the worst mistake Muslims have made in the last 50 years.

For those Muslim leaders who live in democratic countries, this declaration is not so dangerous. Even in the more oppressed countries, there is a certain part of the educated population that does not blindly accept the local view. It is very important for us to verify that we are not alone in this activity; we must know that there is someone else who appreciates and shares our goals.

The times are ready for Jews and Muslims to recognize each other once again as a branch of the tree of monotheism, as brothers descended from the same father - Abraham, the forerunner of faith in the Living God. The more we discover our common roots, the more we can hope for a common future of peace and prosperity.

Shaykh Professor Abdul Hadi Palazzi is Secretary General of the Italian Muslim Association and Muslim Chair of the Islam-Israel Fellowship of the Root & Branch Association (www.rb.org.il). He was educated in Rome and in Cairo, where he received his "ijaza" (authorization to teach Islam) from Shaykh Ismail al-Khalwati and Sheikh Husayn al-Khalwati, and holds a Ph.D. in Islamic Sciences by decree of former Saudi Grand Mufti Abdul Aziz Ibn Baz.

Lag b'Omer and the Counting of the Omer

According to the Torah (Lev. 23:15), we are obligated to count the days from the second night of Passover to the day before Shavu'ot, seven full weeks. This period is known as the Counting of the Omer. An omer is a unit of measure. On the second day of Passover, in the days of the Temple, an omer of barley was cut down and brought to the Temple as an offering.
Every night, from the second night of Passover to the night before Shavu'ot, we recite a blessing and state the count of the omer in both weeks and days. So on the 16th day, you would say, "Today is sixteen days, which is two weeks and two days of the Omer."

The counting is intended to remind us of the link between Passover, which commemorates the Exodus, and Shavu'ot, which commemorates the giving of the Torah. It reminds us that the redemption from slavery was not complete until we received the Torah.

This period is a time of partial mourning, during which weddings, parties, and dinners with dancing are not conducted, in memory of a plague during the lifetime of Rabbi Akiba. Haircuts during this time are also forbidden. The 33rd day of the Omer (the eighteenth of Iyar) is a minor holiday commemorating a break in the plague. The holiday is known as Lag b'Omer. The mourning practices of the omer period are lifted on that date. The word "Lag" is not really a word; it is the number 33 in Hebrew, as if you were to call the Fourth of July "IV July" (IV being 4 in Roman numerals). See Hebrew Alphabet for more information about using letters as numbers.



Jewish Virtual Livrary

Days of Awe

The ten days starting with Rosh Hashanah and ending with Yom Kippur are commonly known as the Days of Awe (Yamim Noraim) or the Days of Repentance. This is a time for serious introspection, a time to consider the sins of the previous year and repent before Yom Kippur.

One of the ongoing themes of the Days of Awe is the concept that G-d has "books" that he writes our names in, writing down who will live and who will die, who will have a good life and who will have a bad life, for the next year. These books are written in on Rosh Hashanah, but our actions during the Days of Awe can alter G-d's decree. The actions that change the decree are "teshuvah, tefilah and tzedakah," repentance, prayer, good deeds (usually, charity). These "books" are sealed on Yom Kippur. This concept of writing in books is the source of the common greeting during this time is "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year."

Among the customs of this time, it is common to seek reconciliation with people you may have wronged during the course of the year. The Talmud maintains that Yom Kippur atones only for sins between man and G-d. To atone for sins against another person, you must first seek reconciliation with that person, righting the wrongs you committed against them if possible.

Another custom observed during this time is kapparot. This is rarely practiced today, and is observed in its true form only by Chasidic and occasionally Orthodox Jews. Basically, you purchase a live fowl, and on the morning before Yom Kippur you waive it over your head reciting a prayer asking that the fowl be considered atonement for sins. The fowl is then slaughtered and given to the poor (or its value is given). Some Jews today simply use a bag of money instead of a fowl. Most Reform and Conservative Jews have never even heard of this practice.

Work is permitted as usual during the intermediate Days of Awe, from Tishri 3 to Tishri 9, except of course for the Sabbath during that week.

Two lesser special occasions occur during the course of the Days of Awe.

Tishri 3, the day after the second day of Rosh Hashanah, is the Fast of Gedalia. This really has nothing to do with the Days of Awe, except that it occurs in the middle of them. For more information, see Minor Fasts.

The Sabbath that occurs in this period is known as Shabbat Shuvah (the Sabbath of Return). This is considered a rather important Sabbath.



Jewish Virtual Library

Holy Sites For Christians in Israel

Churches In Israel

Christian Pilgrims have been visiting Israel for centuries. No wonder: the land where Jesus and the disciples lived is filled with historical sites and ancient churches that hold a tremendous importance for Christian believers. Many important churches in Israel are spread throughout the country, and are visited by thousands of believers every year. ??The following is a shortlist of some of the most significant churches in Israel:

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher - Jerusalem

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, within the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, is the first among the Christian shrines. According to Christian belief, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (refereed to as Golgotha, the Hill of Calvary, by most Christians) is where Jesus was crucified and buried. The resurrection has been celebrated there for many centuries as the most sacred place in all of Christendom.



The Chapel of the Ascension - Jerusalem

The Chapel of the Ascension in Jerusalem is believed by Christians to be where Jesus ascended into heaven. It is a holy site for Muslims as well, and serves as a church and a mosque. The first church was built there in 390 AD., the current chapel was built in 1150 AD., and the mosque was added in 1620 AD. It is located just south of the Mount of Olives.



The Church of the Nativity - Bethlehem

The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is one of the most ancient churches in the world, and one of the most important churches in Israel. It was built over the supposed birth place of Jesus, and is considered sacred to Muslims as well.



Church of the Annunciation - Nazareth

The Church of the Annunciation, sometimes referred to as the Basilica of the Annunciation, is located in Nazareth, where - according to Roman Catholic tradition – Mary was told by Gabriel that she will be the mother of Jesus. The Church of the Annunciation is a pilgrims’ must-see and a tourists’ long time favorite. ??Church of St. Gabriel - According to the apocryphal Gospel, the Church of St. Gabriel (St. Mary’s well) is the actual place where Gabriel made the announcement to Mary. It is also located in Nazareth. ??The Church of St. Joseph is another main Christian attraction in Nazareth. Known as the supposed location of Joseph’s carpentry shop, the Church of St. Joseph is visited by many believers every year. The lower level contains the Grotto of the Annunciation, believed by many Christians to be the remains of the original childhood home of Mary.



Peter house in Capernaum

Capernaum is frequently mentioned in the Gospels and was Jesus' main base during his Galilean ministry. It is referred to as Jesus' "own city" (Mt 9:1; Mk 2:1) and a place where he lived (Mt 1:13). He probably chose it simply because it was the home of his first converts, Peter and Andrew (Mk 1:21, 29).

They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law....

As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up." (Mark 1:21-22, 29-30). Many familiar Gospel events occurred in this village. Capernaum is where Jesus first began to preach after the Temptation in the wilderness (Mt 1:12-17) and called Levi from his tax-collector's booth (Mk 2:13-17). It was while teaching in the synagogue of Capernaum that he said, "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." (Jn 6:54)

Capernaum is where Jesus healed a centurion's servant without even seeing him (Mt 8:5-13; Lk 7:1-10), Peter's mother-in-law (Mt 8:14-15; Mk 1:29-30); the paralytic who was lowered thorugh the roof (Mk 2:1-12), and many others who were brought to him (Mt 8:16-17). And it was Capernaum that Jesus had set out from when he calmed a storm on the Sea of Galilee (Mt 8:23-27).

Jesus was harsh with his adopted home when it proved unrepentent despite his many miracles. "And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you" (Mt 11:23-24).





The Jesus Trail

The Jesus Trail is a marvelous new way for Christian visitors to Israel to feel, through all five senses, and their feet, the ministry of Jesus in the Galilee and to experience the land the way the ancients did.

The Jesus Trail meets the desire of many Christians to understand how the land reflects Scripture. Designed to be walked over three or four days, the 65-kilometer (40-mile) trail leads to Nazareth, Sepphoris, Cana, the Arbel Cliffs, Tabgha, Capernaum and the Mount of Beatitudes, Tiberias and the Jordan River. Among many highlights, in early spring, you’ll stop to take a field of bright red anemones or yellow daisies––Jesus’ “lilies of the field” (Luke 12:27). Walking a path between wild oats and thistles and a beautifully cultivated field, Jesus’ famed Parable of the Sower (Matt. 13:3-9) makes perfect sense. Climbing to Sepphoris, near Nazareth, the city Jesus might have known as a boy, the image of the “city on a hill” (Matt. 5:14) comes into unforgettable perspective.

The Galilee is as multi-cultural now as when Jesus interacted with its many peoples. Christians talking the Jesus Trail will enjoy the hospitality of local people of all faiths and ethnic groups, adding a unique dimension to their experience, whether in home-stays, restaurants, hotels, historic sites, and on the trail itself.

Walkers can cover the trail at once or in segments, and the level of challenge is flexible. Overnight options extend from hotels, owner-operated bed-and-breakfasts to overnight camping, and there are many places to buy water and food along the way. Public buses are available at most starting and end-points.

From mid-December 2008, a volunteer will be on hand daily to meet walkers and accompany them along the first day of the Jesus Trail, from Nazareth to Sepphoris and Cana. For more information







Yardenit Baptism

Yardenit ("little Jordan") is a popular Baptism site. Here, the water flows into the Jordan river, eventually flowing into the Dead Sea located more than 100KM to the south. This site is believed by some traditions to be the actual site where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist (Matthew 3: 13 : "Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John").



Many Christian pilgrims stop at this site and perform baptism ceremonies, normally in small groups and accompanied by the group's pastor. It is a remarkable and charming site - and should not be missed.

The site is located at the southern exit of the Sea of Galilee, just behind the gate of the Dam that is used on rainy winters to lower the level of the lake. The baptism site has a large parking lot, convenient dressing rooms, stairway to walk down into the waters, a restaurant and a shop.





You might also like to read:

http://holylandandjudaism.blogspot.com/2010/07/israels-tourism-galilee-upper-galilee.html

http://holylandandjudaism.blogspot.com/2010/07/israels-tourism-golan-heights-hermon.html

http://holylandandjudaism.blogspot.com/2010/07/israels-tourism-coastal-plain.html

http://holylandandjudaism.blogspot.com/2010/07/israels-tourism-netanya-in-picture.html

http://holylandandjudaism.blogspot.com/2010/07/israels-tourism-jerusalem.html

http://holylandandjudaism.blogspot.com/2010/07/israels-tourism-west-galilee.html

http://holylandandjudaism.blogspot.com/2010/07/israels-tourism-tel-aviv-jaffa.html

http://holylandandjudaism.blogspot.com/2010/07/israel-tourism-negev.html

http://holylandandjudaism.blogspot.com/2010/07/for-first-time-main-road-of-jerusalem.html

http://holylandandjudaism.blogspot.com/2010/07/1800-years-old-high-level-aqueduct-of.html

Why Jews Don't Accept Jesus as the Messiah

For 2,000 years Jews have rejected the Christian idea of Jesus as messiah. Why?

One of the most common questions we receive at Aish.com is: "Why don't Jews believe in Jesus?" Let's understand why ― not in order to to disparage other religions, but rather to clarify the Jewish position.

Jews do not accept Jesus as the messiah because:

1. Jesus did not fulfill the messianic prophecies.
2. Jesus did not embody the personal qualifications of the Messiah.
3. Biblical verses "referring" to Jesus are mistranslations.
4. Jewish belief is based on national revelation.

But first, some background: What exactly is the Messiah?

The word "Messiah" is an English rendering of the Hebrew word "Mashiach", which means "Anointed." It usually refers to a person initiated into God's service by being anointed with oil. (Exodus 29:7, I Kings 1:39, II Kings 9:3)

Since every King and High Priest was anointed with oil, each may be referred to as "an anointed one" (a Mashiach or a Messiah). For example: "God forbid that I [David] should stretch out my hand against the Lord's Messiah [Saul]..." (I Samuel 26:11. Cf. II Samuel 23:1, Isaiah 45:1, Psalms 20:6)

Where does the Jewish concept of Messiah come from? One of the central themes of Biblical prophecy is the promise of a future age of perfection characterized by universal peace and recognition of God. (Isaiah 2:1-4; Zephaniah 3:9; Hosea 2:20-22; Amos 9:13-15; Isaiah 32:15-18, 60:15-18; Micah 4:1-4; Zechariah 8:23, 14:9; Jeremiah 31:33-34)

Many of these prophetic passages speak of a descendant of King David who will rule Israel during the age of perfection. (Isaiah 11:1-9; Jeremiah 23:5-6, 30:7-10, 33:14-16; Ezekiel 34:11-31, 37:21-28; Hosea 3:4-5)

Since every King is a Messiah, by convention, we refer to this future anointed king as The Messiah. The above is the only description in the Bible of a Davidic descendant who is to come in the future. We will recognize the Messiah by seeing who the King of Israel is at the time of complete universal perfection.

1. Jesus Did Not Fulfill the Messianic Prophecies

What is the Messiah supposed to accomplish? The Bible says that he will:

1. Build the Third Temple (Ezekiel 37:26-28).
2. Gather all Jews back to the Land of Israel (Isaiah 43:5-6).
3. Usher in an era of world peace, and end all hatred, oppression, suffering and disease. As it says: "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall man learn war anymore." (Isaiah 2:4)
4. Spread universal knowledge of the God of Israel, which will unite humanity as one. As it says: "God will be King over all the world ― on that day, God will be One and His Name will be One" (Zechariah 14:9).

If an individual fails to fulfill even one of these conditions, then he cannot be "The Messiah."

Because no one has ever fulfilled the Bible's description of this future King, Jews still await the coming of the Messiah. All past Messianic claimants, including Jesus of Nazareth, Bar Cochba and Shabbtai Tzvi have been rejected.

Christians counter that Jesus will fulfill these in the Second Coming, but Jewish sources show that the Messiah will fulfill the prophecies outright; in the Bible no concept of a second coming exists.

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2) Jesus Did Not Embody the Personal Qualifications of Messiah

A. Messiah as Prophet

The Messiah will become the greatest prophet in history, second only to Moses. (Targum - Isaiah 11:2; Maimonides - Yad Teshuva 9:2)

Prophecy can only exist in Israel when the land is inhabited by a majority of world Jewry, a situation which has not existed since 300 BCE. During the time of Ezra, when the majority of Jews refused to move from Babylon to Israel, prophecy ended upon the death of the last prophets ― Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.

Jesus was not a prophet; he appeared on the scene approximately 350 years after prophecy had ended.

B. Descendent of David

According to Jewish sources, the Messiah will be born of human parents and possess normal physical attributes like other people. He will not be a demi-god, (1) nor will he possess supernatural qualities.

The Messiah must be descended on his father's side from King David (see Genesis 49:10, Isaiah 11:1, Jeremiah 23:5, 33:17; Ezekiel 34:23-24). According to the Christian claim that Jesus was the product of a virgin birth, he had no father ― and thus could not have possibly fulfilled the messianic requirement of being descended on his father's side from King David. (2)

C. Torah Observance

The Messiah will lead the Jewish people to full Torah observance. The Torah states that all mitzvot remain binding forever, and anyone coming to change the Torah is immediately identified as a false prophet. (Deut. 13:1-4)

Throughout the New Testament, Jesus contradicts the Torah and states that its commandments are no longer applicable. For example, John 9:14 records that Jesus made a paste in violation of Shabbat, which caused the Pharisees to say (verse 16), "He does not observe Shabbat!"

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3) Mistranslated Verses "Referring" to Jesus

Biblical verses can only be understood by studying the original Hebrew text ― which reveals many discrepancies in the Christian translation.

A. Virgin Birth

The Christian idea of a virgin birth is derived from the verse in Isaiah 7:14 describing an "alma" as giving birth. The word "alma" has always meant a young woman, but Christian theologians came centuries later and translated it as "virgin." This accords Jesus' birth with the first century pagan idea of mortals being impregnated by gods.

B. Suffering Servant

Christianity claims that Isaiah chapter 53 refers to Jesus, as the "suffering servant."

In actuality, Isaiah 53 directly follows the theme of chapter 52, describing the exile and redemption of the Jewish people. The prophecies are written in the singular form because the Jews ("Israel") are regarded as one unit. Throughout Jewish scripture, Israel is repeatedly called, in the singular, the "Servant of God" (see Isaiah 43:8). In fact, Isaiah states no less than 11 times in the chapters prior to 53 that the Servant of God is Israel. When read correctly, Isaiah 53 clearly [and ironically] refers to the Jewish people being "bruised, crushed and as sheep brought to slaughter" at the hands of the nations of the world. These descriptions are used throughout Jewish scripture to graphically describe the suffering of the Jewish people (see Psalm 44). Isaiah 53 concludes that when the Jewish people are redeemed, the nations will recognize and accept responsibility for the inordinate suffering and death of the Jews.

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4) Jewish Belief is Based Solely on National Revelation

Throughout history, thousands of religions have been started by individuals, attempting to convince people that he or she is God's true prophet. But personal revelation is an extremely weak basis for a religion because one can never know if it is indeed true. Since others did not hear God speak to this person, they have to take his word for it. Even if the individual claiming personal revelation performs miracles, there is still no verification that he is a genuine prophet. Miracles do not prove anything. All they show ― assuming they are genuine ― is that he has certain powers. It has nothing to do with his claim of prophecy.

Judaism, unique among all of the world's major religions, does not rely on "claims of miracles" as the basis for its religion. In fact, the Bible says that God sometimes grants the power of "miracles" to charlatans, in order to test Jewish loyalty to the Torah (Deut. 13:4).

Of the thousands of religions in human history, only Judaism bases its belief on national revelation ― i.e. God speaking to the entire nation. If God is going to start a religion, it makes sense He'll tell everyone, not just one person.

Maimonides states (Foundations of Torah, ch. 8):

The Jews did not believe in Moses, our teacher, because of the miracles he performed. Whenever anyone's belief is based on seeing miracles, he has lingering doubts, because it is possible the miracles were performed through magic or sorcery. All of the miracles performed by Moses in the desert were because they were necessary, and not as proof of his prophecy.

What then was the basis of [Jewish] belief? The Revelation at Mount Sinai, which we saw with our own eyes and heard with our own ears, not dependent on the testimony of others... as it says, "Face to face, God spoke with you..." The Torah also states: "God did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us ― who are all here alive today." (Deut. 5:3)

Judaism is not miracles. It is the personal eyewitness experience of every man, woman and child, standing at Mount Sinai 3,300 years ago.

For further reading: "Did God Speak at Mount Sinai?"

Waiting for the Messiah

The world is in desperate need of Messianic redemption. And to the extent we are aware of the problems of society, is the extent we will yearn for redemption. As the Talmud says, one of the first questions asked of a Jew on Judgment Day is: "Did you yearn for the arrival of the Messiah?"

How can we hasten the coming of the Messiah? The best way is to love all humanity generously, to keep the mitzvot of the Torah (as best we can), and to encourage others to do so as well.

Despite the gloom, the world does seem headed toward redemption. One apparent sign is that the Jewish people have returned to the Land of Israel and made it bloom again. Additionally, a major movement is afoot of young Jews returning to Torah tradition.

The Messiah can come any day, and it all depends on our actions. God is ready when we are. For as King David says: "Redemption will come today ― if you hearken to His voice."

For further study: • Jews for Judaism

• "The Real Messiah," by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan

• "Let's Get Biblical! Why Doesn't Judaism Accept the Christian Messiah?," by Rabbi Tovia Singer

• "The Path of the Righteous Gentile," by Chaim Clorfene and Yakov Rogalsky

FOOTNOTES

1. Maimonides devotes much of the "Guide for the Perplexed" to the fundamental idea that God is incorporeal, meaning that He assumes no physical form. God is Eternal, above time. He is Infinite, beyond space. He cannot be born, and cannot die. Saying that God assumes human form makes God small, diminishing both His unity and His divinity. As the Torah says: "God is not a mortal" (Numbers 23:19).

2. In response, it is claimed that Joseph adopted Jesus, and passed on his genealogy via adoption. There are two problems with this claim:

a) There is no Biblical basis for the idea of a father passing on his tribal line by adoption. A priest who adopts a son from another tribe cannot make him a priest by adoption;

b) Joseph could never pass on by adoption that which he doesn't have. Because Joseph descended from Jeconiah (Matthew 1:11) he fell under the curse of that king that none of his descendants could ever sit as king upon the throne of David. (Jeremiah 22:30; 36:30)

To answer this difficult problem, apologists claim that Jesus traces himself back to King David through his mother Mary, who allegedly descends from David, as shown in the third chapter of Luke. There are four basic problems with this claim:

a) There is no evidence that Mary descends from David. The third chapter of Luke traces Joseph's genealogy, not Mary's.

b) Even if Mary can trace herself back to David, that doesn't help Jesus, since tribal affiliation goes only through the father, not mother. Cf. Numbers 1:18; Ezra 2:59.

c) Even if family line could go through the mother, Mary was not from a legitimate Messianic family. According to the Bible, the Messiah must be a descendent of David through his son Solomon (II Samuel 7:14; I Chronicles 17:11-14, 22:9-10, 28:4-6). The third chapter of Luke is irrelevant to this discussion because it describes lineage of David's son Nathan, not Solomon. (Luke 3:31)

d) Luke 3:27 lists Shealtiel and Zerubbabel in his genealogy. These two also appear in Matthew 1:12 as descendants of the cursed Jeconiah. If Mary descends from them, it would also disqualify her from being a Messianic progenitor.


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Israel and the Jews: The 3,500 Year of Connection

Summary
The Jewish people have had a deep connection with the land of Israel for more than 3000 years, and a continuous physical presence. A Jewish state has existed there during three separate historical periods. Those who challenge the legitimacy of modern Israel disregard Jewish history, ideals and values, and create an obstacle to peace and coexistence.

The promised land and Jewish nationhood
The land of Israel was promised to Abraham, the father of the Jewish people, over 3700 years ago.
The Jewish slave nation which left Egypt 3300 years ago, under the leadership of Moses, embarked on a journey of national liberation. Their goal was to establish national life in the land of Israel and fulfil the biblical covenant.
The first Jewish "state" was established in Israel during the period of the kings and the prophets, and lasted for around 600 years - from 1175 BCE to 586 BCE. Its leaders included King David and King Solomon, and the prophets Samuel, Deborah and Isaiah. Ever since that time, the Jewish people have had a continuous and unbroken physical presence in the land of Israel.

Destruction by the Babylonians and Romans
The Jews never voluntarily abandoned Israel. But twice the nation was shattered by conquering empires.
The first Jewish kingdom was eradicated by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. Hundreds of thousands of Jews were slaughtered, the Jewish temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, and those Jews who survived were taken as prisoners into exile in Babylon.
Within two generations, Jews had started to return. They rebuilt Jewish life, and constructed a second temple in Jerusalem. This revived period of independent national life in the state of Judaea lasted for around 400 years, under the leadership of such figures as Ezra, Simon the Just, Judah the Maccabee, and the Rabbi Hillel.

This second period of nationhood was also ended by merciless invasion - this time by the Romans, who destroyed the Second Temple in 70 CE, killed vast numbers of Jews with extreme cruelty, and dispersed the remainder to various countries of exile.
The second Jewish exile lasted for over 1800 years. While Jews did enjoy periods of relative stability in some of the countries to which they were dispersed, their overall experience was one of intense persecution and anti-semitism.

The establishment of the modern State of Israel has marked the end of this era of dispersion and exile.
Survival in Exile - with a vision of a rebuilt Israel. Despite the devastation of the second Jewish state, and the centuries of exile which followed, the Jews never lost their connection with the land or their faith that they would eventually return.
In their effort to erase the Jews' bond with the land, the Romans changed the name of the country from Judaea to Palaestina.
Small numbers of Jews continued to live in scattered locations in Palaestina, such as Jerusalem, Tiberias and Safed. But it was not only this physical presence which maintained the Jewish connection, but also Jewish religious practice. When a Jewish person prays, he or she must face in the direction of Jerusalem. The daily prayers include the following pleas for Divine assistance:

"Behold our affliction, take up our grievance, and redeem us, speedily for Your Name's sake, for You are a powerful Redeemer … May You shine a new light on Zion, and may we speedily merit its light … Gather us together from the four corners of the earth"
Jews frequently made the hazardous journey from abroad to settle in the land, including the great rabbinical leaders Nachmanides (13th century, from Spain) and Ovadia Bertinoro (15th century, from Italy).

Israel was seen, even during the bleakest periods of Jewish persecution, as the place in which Jews would eventually gather to re-establish the country and in due course herald a messianic age of universal peace and universal values.

The Modern Return to Zion
In the 18th century, increasing numbers of Jews began to return to the land, mainly religious Jews. By 1844 a majority of the population of Jerusalem was Jewish.

Anti-semitism and modern nationalism in Europe each accelerated this return. The influx of Jews (religious and non-religious) peaked during the 1890s, early 1900s and in the 1930s, and then in 1945-8 following the Nazi Holocaust.
In the 19th century, the vision of the return to Zion broadened out to embrace various non-traditional strands of Jewish thinking.

Socialist Jews saw a revived Jewish nation as the way to end Jewish persecution, to enable Jews to be economically productive in an equal society, and to contribute to the betterment of humanity. The Israeli kibbutz is a unique social experiment which resulted from this vision.

Assimilated Jews, guided by Theodore Herzl, viewed the prospect of the return to Zion as a cure for anti-semitism and as a way for the Jewish people to become a "normal" nation like any other. Politically right-wing Jews, whose guiding influence was Ze'ev Jabotinsky, viewed the return to Israel as a way to restore Jewish dignity, and to enable the Jewish people to defend themselves.
Religious Jews, meanwhile, saw the return to Zion as the way to fulfil the ancient Biblical vision, and restore Jewish nationhood as it had existed at the time of the Jewish temples in Jerusalem. Each of these groups had passionate followers, dissenters and critics. Together they expressed, in their varied ways, different Jewish visions for Israel. They together comprise the modern Zionist movement.

The establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, led by David Ben-Gurion, marked the culmination of this movement.
The connection between the Jewish people and the land - fragile for nearly 2000 years - had been restored. And in the 54 years since the declaration of independence in 1948, Israel has sought to have that connection recognised as legitimate by the Palestinian people and by the Arab world, and to achieve a secure and just peace with them.

Challenges of the Jewish people in Israel.

The Jewish people in Israel face massive challenges:
nation-building: to maintain a young country in a way which combines loyalty to the values of Judaism with the running of a modern state; in-gathering of the Jews: to attract Jews from around the world to live in the country and contribute to its growth; reaching peace and coexistence: to achieve peace and coexistence with the Arab world and the Palestinian people. The unending violence is a tragedy for the Jewish people who struggled for so long to regain national independence and freedom from fear; and participation in the family of nations: to perform a positive role among the family of nations of the world, contributing humanitarian principles and Israel's technological expertise for the benefit of the wider world. The Biblical tradition envisages a Jewish nation living in accordance with the values of social justice and peace, while relating in mutual respect with the non-Jewish peoples of the world.

Negating Jewish history
There is a tendency, not only in the Arab world, but among many western critics of Israel, to characterise Israel as an artificial, 20th century phenomenon. It is depicted as the creation of "corrupt" external forces: either as a mistake resulting from British colonial incompetence, or as an entity which was created by the European powers after World War II in order to soothe their collective guilt over the Nazi extermination of the Jews. These versions of history suggest that the Jewish presence in Israel has been unjustly "imposed" on the Palestinian "victims" by cynical Western forces, and usually continue by claiming that the external "occupation" is now being perpetuated by the United States.

This narrative is a travesty. It negates the course of Jewish history, and the moral basis for Jewish national existence.
The right of the Jews to live permanently as a nation in peace and security in Israel has overwhelming historical, political and moral legitimacy.

Reconciling Different Rights
There are, of course, fundamental issues to consider arising from the basic Jewish right to a national homeland:-
How much of the territory is necessary to fulfil Jewish national goals?

What historical connection and claim to the land do the Palestinians have?

What are the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians today?

How can the legitimate rights of the Israelis and Palestinians be reconciled, so that neither is pursued at the expense of the other?

Each of these topics will be dealt with in other Beyond Images Briefings.

Conclusion - Towards Acceptance and Coexistence
The refusal of the Arab and Palestinian world as a whole to recognise the legitimacy of Israel lies at the heart of the conflict.
If that acceptance were forthcoming, in actions and not simply in words, then the basis would be created for peaceful coexistence.

Solomon Temple

David's first action as king of Israel was to conquer Jerusalem and declare it the capital of his kingdom. David conquered Jerusalem in approximately 1004 BCE and made it a center of his government. He brought the Ark of the Covenant to the city and asked the prophet Natan for permission to build a Temple to house it. Natan was told by God that David would not be able to build a Temple, because he was a warrior and had blood on his hands, but that his son, Solomon, would be able to build a Temple after David's death.

According to Jewish tradition, Mount Moriah in Jerusalem is an important place where Abraham offered Isaac and thus the Temple was to be built there.

The temple of Solomon was constructed based on specific plans given to King David, by God. Before his death King David had provided materials and financing (gold 100,000 talents), silver (1,000,000 talents) in great abundance for the building of the temple on the summit of Mount Moriah (1 Chr. 22:14; 29:4; 2 Chr. 3:1), where he had purchased a threshing floor (barn) from Araunah the Jebusite (2 Sam. 24:21), on which he offered sacrifice. The Bible states that in the beginning of his reign, King Solomon of the united Kingdom of Israel, set about giving effect to the ideas of his father, and prepared additional materials for the building. From subterranean quarries at Jerusalem he obtained huge blocks of stone for the foundations and walls of the temple. These stones were prepared for their places in the building under the eye of Tyrian master-builders. According to this account, Solomon also entered into a pact with Hiram I, king of Tyre, for the supply of whatever else was needed for the work, particularly timber from the forests of Lebanon, which was brought in great rafts by the sea to Joppa, whence it was dragged to Jerusalem (1 Kings 5).

Solomon also provided for a sufficient water supply for the temple by hewing in the rocky hill vast cisterns, into which water was conveyed by channels from the "Solomon Pools" near Bethlehem. One of these cisterns, the "great sea," was capable of containing three million gallons.

The First Temple was built by King Solomon in seven years in the 10th century BCE, completed in 957 BCE. It was the center of ancient Judaism and has remained a focal point for Jewish services over the millennia. Moreover, the concentration of religious ritual at the Temple made Jerusalem a place of pilgrimage and an important commercial center. The temple was designed to house the Ark of the Covenant and to replaced the Tabernacle of Moses at Shiloh, Nov, and Givon, and to serve the Hebrew nation of Israel as a place where any man could worship their God and to serve as the central focus of Jewish faith.

During the First Temple Era, It was in Jerusalem where most of the great prophets were writing, articulating spiritual and ethical principles that would transcend the city's narrow confines to become pillars of the Jewish spirit. Jerusalem became the political and spiritual nexus of the Jewish people.

The construction of the Temple by Solomon is described in the Book of Kings: The preparatory undertakings for the construction took about three years. The process of the erection of the great building began, under the direction of architects, Levites, and skilled Phoenician builders and workmen, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign. Many, especially woodden materials came from the king of Zor, Chiram, who hailed the Jewish god. One of the most important architects was Chiram, a Jew from Zor (Kings 1, 7, 13-14). The building followed the model of Moses' Tabernacle. Traditional Judaism regards the dimensions and proportions of both the Tabernacle and Temple, prescribed by the Bible, as matters of Halakha, religious Law.

Many thousands of labourers and skilled artisans were employed in the work. Some of them were non-Israelite slaves—survivors of the wars of conquest in Canaan (I Kings 9:15-22).

At length, in the Autumn of the eleventh year of Solomon's reign, seven and a half years after it had been begun, the temple was completed.

According to biblical tradition, the Ark of the Covenant was solemnly brought from the tent in which David had deposited it to the place prepared for it in the temple. Then Solomon ascended a platform which had been erected for him, in the sight of all the people, and lifting up his hands to heaven poured out his heart to God in prayer (1 Kings 8; 2 Chr. 6, 7). The feast of dedication, which lasted seven days, followed by the feast of tabernacles, marked a new era in the history of Israel. On the eighth day of the feast of tabernacles, Solomon dismissed the vast assemblage of the people. The Ark of the Covenant was kept in a room called the sanctuary where could only be seen by the high priest once a year.

No remains of the First Temple have been found. The only remains from the relevant period known are the recently discovered remains taken from refuse from an extensive construction project performed on the Temple Mount by the Islamic Wakf in November of 1999. It is not, however, clear whether these remains contain evidence of a Temple structure from this period.[1][2] The detailed descriptions provided in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible / Old Testament) and educated guesses based on the remains of other temples in the region are the sources for reconstructions of its appearance. Technical details are lacking, since the scribes who wrote the books were not architects or engineers.[3]

The biblical descriptions of the temple are are mainly scattered throughout 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles.

This First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE, and was rebuilt seventy years later, c. 516 BCE (Second Temple). Centuries later, it was renovated by Herod in about 20 BCE, and this Second Temple was subsequently destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. All of the outer walls still stand, although the Temple itself has long since been destroyed, and for many years it was believed that the western wall of the complex was the only wall standing.

An Islamic shrine, the Dome of the Rock, has stood on the site of the Temple since the late 7th Century CE, and the al-Aqsa Mosque, from roughly the same period, also stands on the Temple courtyard.

Jewish eschatology envisions the construction of The Third Temple in Jerusalem prior to the coming of The Messiah, and thus, adherents of Orthodox and Conservative Judaism anticipate a Third Temple.

Ancient Influences
The Temple has recognizable similarities to other temples of its time and region. Syro-Phoenician, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian influences are visible. A plaza or courtyard surrounding the sacred residence of the god, marked with stones, is a feature common throughout ancient Semitic religions. Earlier evidence of this practice among the Hebrews survives in the twelve stones that Joshua placed at Gilgal (Joshua 4:20) and the marking of Mount Sinai by Moses (Ex. 19:12), and in the forbidden zone surrounding the tent which was the predecessor of the Temple.

The Biblical text makes it clear that Solomon received aid from Hiram, the King of Tyre, in the construction of his buildings. This aid involved not only material (cedar-wood, etc.), but architectural direction and skilled craftsmen. Amongst them was the coppersmith Hiram (the son of a Tyrian father and Israelite mother, not to be confused with the king). The temple's tripartite division (vestibule - Greater House - Holy of Holies, see image) is similar to that found in 13th century BCE temples at Alalakh in Syria and Hazor in the upper Galilee; a 9th century BCE temple at Tell Tayinat also follows this plan.[3] Phoenician temples varied somewhat in form, but were similarly surrounded by courts.

Among the details which were probably copied from Tyre were the two pillars Jachin and Boaz (1 Kings 7:21; 2 Kings 11:14; 23:3). Herodotus (ii. 44) says that the temple at Tyre contained two such, one of emerald and the other of fine gold. In the same way the ornamentation of palm trees and cherubim (on the Ark were two cherubim (Lev. 16:2; Num. 7:89) - angels) were probably derived from Tyre, for Ezekiel (28:13, 14) represents the King of Tyre, who was high priest also, as being in the "garden of God." Probably both at Tyre and at Jerusalem the cherubim and palm-tree ornaments were survivals of an earlier conception—that the abode of God was a "garden of Eden." The Tyrians, therefore, in their temple imitated to some extent the primitive garden, and Solomon borrowed these features.

Several temples in Mesopotamia, many in Egypt, and some of the Phoenicians are now known. In Babylonia the characteristic feature was a ziggurat, or terraced tower, evidently intended to imitate the mountains on which the gods resided. The chamber for the divine dwelling was at its top. The early Egyptian temples consisted of buildings containing two or three rooms, the innermost of which was the abode of the deity. A good example is the granite temple near the sphinx at Giza. The Middle Kingdom (12th dynasty) added obelisks and pylons, and the New Kingdom (18th dynasty) hypostyle halls (a flat ceiling which is supported by columns). Solomon's Temple was not a copy of any of these, nor of the Phoenician buildings, but embodied features derived from all of them. It was on the summit of a hill, like the altar of Ba'al on Mount Carmel and the sanctuaries of Mount Hermon, and like the Babylonian idea of the divine abode. It was surrounded by courts, like the Phoenician temples and the splendid temple of Der al-Bakri at Thebes. Its general form reminds one of Egyptian sanctuaries and closely matches that of other temples in the region, as described above.

The two pillars Jachin and Boaz had their parallel not only at Tyre but at Byblos, Paphos, and Telloh. In Egypt the obelisks expressed the same idea.

The chambers which surrounded the Holy Place in Solomon's Temple are said in 1 Chr. 28:12 to have been storehouses for the sacred treasure. These are paralleled in Babylonian and Egyptian temples by similar chambers, which surrounded the naos, or hypostyle hall, and were used for similar purposes.

http://www.juliantrubin.com/encyclopedia/bible/first_temple.html