(Vere, Stein Atle. @2011. “Comment: Make Peace With Your Friends”. brakha.blogspot.com.)
The common fallacy is glib: “You dont make peace with your friends, you make peace with your enemies.” But the opposite is true.
In fact, it is impossible to make peace with enemies − until the enemy desires peace. In other words: until the enemy is no longer an enemy.
Either: the former enemy is no longer able to fight back and surrenders unconditionally − so the defeated must now accepts terms of surrender.
Or: the enemy has a change of heart and seeks reconciliation − so a new friend negotiates to resolve conflicts with a fellow friend.
See Also
• (Lahav, Harkov. ©2011. “I cant make peace with one who denies my right to exist”. JPost. http://www.jpost.com/JewishWorld/JewishNews/Article.aspx?id=219316, 2011.)
2011-05-05
Empower The Empowerers
(Vere, Stein Atle. ©2011. “Comment: Empower The Empowerers”. brakha.blogspot.com.)
“Love your fellow as you.” (Va'Yikra 19:18.) The Mitsva (“command”) by God from the Tora תורה means:
• You must love “you” yourself. Be yourself. Empower yourself.
• Then, you must love your “fellow” − “as” much as “you” love yourself. Help them be themselves too. Empower them.
Share your power with those who have less power.
Do compassionate actions.
However, compassion can be evil.
If one shows compassion for individuals who are malicious, thus empowers them, they likely use the power to empower themselves only. As predators, they seize yet more power for themselves only, at the expense of even more victims. Such compassion decreases the amount of compassionate actions in the world. The compassion is cruelty.
Compassion can also be a waste. A completely selfless person can give away all their money. Then starve and die. Thats it. No more compassionate actions. The compassion is vanity.
Compassionate actions are tricky. We must love. Must do compassionate actions. But we must be wise.
We must figure out ways to make sure our compassionate actions endure.
Groups make your gift keep on giving.
The strategy is to optimize the benefits of compassionate actions by working thru groups. Kabala (Jewish spirituality) believes spiritual transformation − Tikun Olam (“Restoration of World”) − is a group effort, across time.
The minimum number for an effective group is ten individuals, the same number as the Minyan (“count”) for a synagogue service. By the way, during the Stone Age, humans evolve while wandering in a clan of roughly about twenty adults − thus about ten men for a hunting group − so genetics seems to hardwire around this number.
According to the Mitsva to “love your fellow as you”, a “fellow” means a member of your group. First you empower your group. A group is likely to use in a self-sustaining way the power you share. Your group then empowers other groups. Eventually the world. Invite lonely individuals into groups. A person can belong to several groups. Try to join groups, but not too many. Commit yourself to any group you join, contribute meaningfully, and dont spread yourself out too thin.
To benefit the groups that we belong to, is a spiritual imperative.
The mutuality of a group is less of an obligation and more of an opportunity to physically express a deeper level of spirituality than the world out there can make possible. The group is a place where the world really can be a better place. At least locally.
It is impossible to do the compassionate actions in isolation.
We are social creatures.
The goal of the Tora is to keep on increasing the quantity and quality of “compassionate actions”, Khasadim חסדים .
A compassionate action means to share power (money, food, clothing, shelter, friendship, assistance, authority, glamor, and so on) with someone who has less power.
We only give more power to individuals who are likely to use this power to do more compassionate actions for others, to in-turn use it to empower even more individuals to do even more compassionate actions for others. To the best of their ability.
Oppositely, we disempower individuals who are likely to be a predator that harms others.
Sometimes compassionate actions require self-sacrifice.
You spend money, time, prestige, for someone in your group, while personally going without. You are just as deserving as the person you are helping. But sometimes, for the sake of the big picture, strategy demands wise use of limited resources or limited opportunities. Dilemmas cause pain. We hope our choice eventually causes more compassionate actions for even more people.
Compare an archetype of self-sacrifice. Yhoshua (Historical Jesus) literally sacrifices his self. His life. He allows the Romans to crucify him. Why? Yhoshua does it to save the Yhudim (Jews), who are his fellow members of his group. According to the Book of Yhokhanan (John 11:50), the Roman governor Pontius Pilatus already threatened to destroy the Temple and genocide all of the Children of Yisrael that live in the Province of Yhuda (Judea), unless the Yhudim hand Yhoshua over to the Romans. Yhoshua knows this threat is real, and allows himself to be captured.
Importantly, the self-sacrifice by Yhoshua isnt abstract. It is a painful but pragmatic decision in a wartime situation, whose reallife consequence saves more than a million lives of his fellows. It is this reallife compassionate action that makes the world a better place. It is an extreme example of what we must all do everyday.
Compassionate actions.
Help people who belong to your group.
Note, in his parable about the Shimroni (Samaritan), Yhoshua describes a scenario where even a Non-Yisreli can become a “fellow” of the Children of Yisrael, only if going out of ones way to do compassionate actions for the Children of Yisrael. (Lukas 10:30-37.) The group cooperation makes such Non-Yisrelim a kind of Gerim גרים (“immigrants”). These are effectively Non-Yisreli members of the Kin of Yisrael. Yisrael is a group doing compassionate actions among each other. When outsiders do compassionate actions for Yisrael, Yisrael reciprocates including them in the group. The Tora commands Yisrael: “The Ger thats immigrating alongside you ones. And, ‹with regard› to ‹this› one, you will love as you.” הַגֵּר הַגָּר אִתְּכֶם וְאָהַבְתָּ לוֹ כָּמוֹךָ (Va'Yikra 19:34.) Thus Gerim are part of the “you” of Yisrael. Yhoshua understands the term “alongside you ones”, to mean the Shimroni must be on the side of Yisrael, being part of the team of Yisrael, doing good things for Yisrael.
Compassionate actions for your group are all that matter.
Love all humans. Even love your enemies. But. Never sacrifice yourself for enemies.
This is part of being wise, to avoid squandering your power with little to show for it.
Wish your enemies well, even if you must defend yourself against them. Avoid wrath against enemies, even ask God to bless them.
When realistic, figure out ways to make peace with your enemies. If you arent in danger, you can take calculated risks. Do a “charm offensive”. Welcome the legal system to help resolve disputes. The goal is to turn your enemies into “fellows”. But dont be stupid.
Enemies frustrate your ability to do compassionate actions because sharing power with them is likely to increase their ability to do more cruelty. Helping an enemy lack compassion fails as a compassionate action. It is important to make enemies respect other humans, including yourself.
When you love your enemies, they dont yet stop being enemies.
Ultimately, God sees the wellbeing of each and every human as equally valuable.
Likewise, our true identity sees people the way that God does. The true “me” is the divine perspective. Everyone is as important as me, I am as important as everyone. This is the higher meaning of, “love your fellow as you”. Your “fellow” actually is “you”.
We trust God to make our compassionate calculations and efforts produce fruit.
When different groups form alliances with each other, they preserve their own distinctive group identity, while also forming a larger pluralistic group. By our efforts, by means of our groups, one day, all of humanity will become a spiritual family of groups. This will happen during the Mashiakh Age. Until then spend your power wisely.
Empower the empowerers.
“Love your fellow as you.” (Va'Yikra 19:18.) The Mitsva (“command”) by God from the Tora תורה means:
• You must love “you” yourself. Be yourself. Empower yourself.
• Then, you must love your “fellow” − “as” much as “you” love yourself. Help them be themselves too. Empower them.
Share your power with those who have less power.
Do compassionate actions.
However, compassion can be evil.
If one shows compassion for individuals who are malicious, thus empowers them, they likely use the power to empower themselves only. As predators, they seize yet more power for themselves only, at the expense of even more victims. Such compassion decreases the amount of compassionate actions in the world. The compassion is cruelty.
Compassion can also be a waste. A completely selfless person can give away all their money. Then starve and die. Thats it. No more compassionate actions. The compassion is vanity.
Compassionate actions are tricky. We must love. Must do compassionate actions. But we must be wise.
We must figure out ways to make sure our compassionate actions endure.
Groups make your gift keep on giving.
The strategy is to optimize the benefits of compassionate actions by working thru groups. Kabala (Jewish spirituality) believes spiritual transformation − Tikun Olam (“Restoration of World”) − is a group effort, across time.
The minimum number for an effective group is ten individuals, the same number as the Minyan (“count”) for a synagogue service. By the way, during the Stone Age, humans evolve while wandering in a clan of roughly about twenty adults − thus about ten men for a hunting group − so genetics seems to hardwire around this number.
According to the Mitsva to “love your fellow as you”, a “fellow” means a member of your group. First you empower your group. A group is likely to use in a self-sustaining way the power you share. Your group then empowers other groups. Eventually the world. Invite lonely individuals into groups. A person can belong to several groups. Try to join groups, but not too many. Commit yourself to any group you join, contribute meaningfully, and dont spread yourself out too thin.
To benefit the groups that we belong to, is a spiritual imperative.
The mutuality of a group is less of an obligation and more of an opportunity to physically express a deeper level of spirituality than the world out there can make possible. The group is a place where the world really can be a better place. At least locally.
It is impossible to do the compassionate actions in isolation.
We are social creatures.
The goal of the Tora is to keep on increasing the quantity and quality of “compassionate actions”, Khasadim חסדים .
A compassionate action means to share power (money, food, clothing, shelter, friendship, assistance, authority, glamor, and so on) with someone who has less power.
We only give more power to individuals who are likely to use this power to do more compassionate actions for others, to in-turn use it to empower even more individuals to do even more compassionate actions for others. To the best of their ability.
Oppositely, we disempower individuals who are likely to be a predator that harms others.
Sometimes compassionate actions require self-sacrifice.
You spend money, time, prestige, for someone in your group, while personally going without. You are just as deserving as the person you are helping. But sometimes, for the sake of the big picture, strategy demands wise use of limited resources or limited opportunities. Dilemmas cause pain. We hope our choice eventually causes more compassionate actions for even more people.
Compare an archetype of self-sacrifice. Yhoshua (Historical Jesus) literally sacrifices his self. His life. He allows the Romans to crucify him. Why? Yhoshua does it to save the Yhudim (Jews), who are his fellow members of his group. According to the Book of Yhokhanan (John 11:50), the Roman governor Pontius Pilatus already threatened to destroy the Temple and genocide all of the Children of Yisrael that live in the Province of Yhuda (Judea), unless the Yhudim hand Yhoshua over to the Romans. Yhoshua knows this threat is real, and allows himself to be captured.
Importantly, the self-sacrifice by Yhoshua isnt abstract. It is a painful but pragmatic decision in a wartime situation, whose reallife consequence saves more than a million lives of his fellows. It is this reallife compassionate action that makes the world a better place. It is an extreme example of what we must all do everyday.
Compassionate actions.
Help people who belong to your group.
Note, in his parable about the Shimroni (Samaritan), Yhoshua describes a scenario where even a Non-Yisreli can become a “fellow” of the Children of Yisrael, only if going out of ones way to do compassionate actions for the Children of Yisrael. (Lukas 10:30-37.) The group cooperation makes such Non-Yisrelim a kind of Gerim גרים (“immigrants”). These are effectively Non-Yisreli members of the Kin of Yisrael. Yisrael is a group doing compassionate actions among each other. When outsiders do compassionate actions for Yisrael, Yisrael reciprocates including them in the group. The Tora commands Yisrael: “The Ger thats immigrating alongside you ones. And, ‹with regard› to ‹this› one, you will love as you.” הַגֵּר הַגָּר אִתְּכֶם וְאָהַבְתָּ לוֹ כָּמוֹךָ (Va'Yikra 19:34.) Thus Gerim are part of the “you” of Yisrael. Yhoshua understands the term “alongside you ones”, to mean the Shimroni must be on the side of Yisrael, being part of the team of Yisrael, doing good things for Yisrael.
Compassionate actions for your group are all that matter.
Love all humans. Even love your enemies. But. Never sacrifice yourself for enemies.
This is part of being wise, to avoid squandering your power with little to show for it.
Wish your enemies well, even if you must defend yourself against them. Avoid wrath against enemies, even ask God to bless them.
When realistic, figure out ways to make peace with your enemies. If you arent in danger, you can take calculated risks. Do a “charm offensive”. Welcome the legal system to help resolve disputes. The goal is to turn your enemies into “fellows”. But dont be stupid.
Enemies frustrate your ability to do compassionate actions because sharing power with them is likely to increase their ability to do more cruelty. Helping an enemy lack compassion fails as a compassionate action. It is important to make enemies respect other humans, including yourself.
When you love your enemies, they dont yet stop being enemies.
Ultimately, God sees the wellbeing of each and every human as equally valuable.
Likewise, our true identity sees people the way that God does. The true “me” is the divine perspective. Everyone is as important as me, I am as important as everyone. This is the higher meaning of, “love your fellow as you”. Your “fellow” actually is “you”.
We trust God to make our compassionate calculations and efforts produce fruit.
When different groups form alliances with each other, they preserve their own distinctive group identity, while also forming a larger pluralistic group. By our efforts, by means of our groups, one day, all of humanity will become a spiritual family of groups. This will happen during the Mashiakh Age. Until then spend your power wisely.
Empower the empowerers.
2011-05-02
Mashiakh Ben Yosef and Yhoshua
(Vere, Stein Atle. ©2011. “Mashiakh Ben Yosef”. brakha.blogspot.com.)
Also Known As
Mashiakh Ben Yosef משיח בן יוסף : Mashiach Ben Yosef, (Mashiah, Mashiaḥ, Messiah, “Annointed” King), Messiah Son of Joseph, Mashiakh Ben Efrayim, Messiah Son of Ephraim.
Mashiakh Ben Yosef and Yhoshua
As the New Testament evidences, Yhoshua יהושע (Historical Jesus) already knows the Rabani רבני (Rabbinic) tradition about another future King of Yisrael, called Mashiakh Ben Yosef משיח בן יוסף (“Messiah Son of Joseph”).
The New Testament itself shows how ancient this Rabani prophetic tradition is, existing at least five centuries before the Talmud and a millennium before Hai Gaon. Yhoshua also expects this prophetic warrior leader to appear at a future time, during the salvation of the children of Yisrael.
Prophecies describe spiritual forces, the discernable patterns. It is possible to “destroy evil” by repenting and returning to a life of God and compassion. It is possible to “destroy enemies” by these enemies becoming compassionate allies. But it is impossible to “calculate” how prophecies play out because they depend on human freewill. There are spiritual influences that are in play - pattern, probabilities, even inevitabilities - and it is wise to anticipate them. Prophecies of judgment, failure, or grief, remind us of our choice between two futures: the painful way or the difficult way.
As other Yhudim (Jews) hope for this future Mashiakh Ben Yosef, so does Yhoshua. Thus the Notsrim (Christians) also − according to the New Testament − hope for this holy warrior leader to succeed to make a better world possible.
The name “Mashiakh Ben Yosef” משיח בן יוסף is actually a title, the “Anointed” King “the Child of Yosef”. It refers to a future king from Efrayim, one the two tribes that descend from Yosef. The other tribe is Mnashe. (Interestingly, today Samaritans descend from Yosef via the tribe of Efrayim.)
The Children of Yisrael officially anoint Ben Yosef to rule the Land of Yisrael. He frees the capital city, Yrushalayim (Jerusalem), from the Empire of Rome. But then the nations expel the remaining Children of Yisrael, forcing them to become stateless persons that inhabit the “wildernesses” of the Diaspora (perhaps like today refugee camps). This king arises during a future seven-year period that heralds a new age of humanity, the Mashiakh Age.
Note, the earliest mention of the title “Mashiakh Ben Yosef” is in the Book of the Talmud, in Suka (pages 52ab). Inferring from the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), from the Book of Zkharya (Zechariah 12:10), it refers to a “pierced” Mashiakh, who the nations kill. However, the person that this title refers to, is already an ancient prophetic tradition, many centuries old even by the time of the Talmud. The New Testament mentions him in the Book of Revelation (chapter 11:).
The New Testament refers to Mashiakh Ben Yosef as one of “the two olivetrees” αι δυο ελαιαι. Here the New Testament cites the Book of Zkharya (4:12, 14), where it explains, “The two branches of the olivetrees” שְׁתֵּי שִׁבֲּלֵי הַזֵּיתִים are “two children of the oliveoil that ‹are› standing on ‹behalf of› the Lord ‹God› of all of the Land” שְׁנֵי בְנֵי־הַיִּצְהָר הָעֹמְדִים עַל־אֲדֹון כָּל־הָאָֽרֶץ .
This word “oliveoil” יּצהר literally means something like “shining” olive oil, a high quality. This is the kind of oil that is used to officially inaugurate certain government leaders. In other words, to crown them. Instead of crowns, the Tanakh uses a pouring of olive oil on the head to ritually install the Melekh (king) and also to install the Kohen Ha'Gadol (“the Great Kohen”, the high priest). Both of these persons are a Mashiakh משיח , literally one who is “Anointed” to rule. One is the Anointed King, and the other is the Anointed Kohen. The New Testament refers to this future king poetically, as Zkharya does, as an “olivetree”. The Talmud refers to this same king more specifically as Mashiakh Ben Yosef, a member of the tribe of Efrayim, to distinguish him from the more famous king, Mashiakh Ben David, a member of the tribe of Yhuda (Judah), who is also a descendent of ancient King David who will restore a Neo-Davidic Dynasty. This Return from Exile to Yrushalayim with a simultaneous anointment of a King and a Kohen, resembles the first Return from Exile from Bavel to Yrushalayim, when the both the political Nkhamya (Nehemiah) and the priestly Ezra become rulers.
Below I supply two parallel versions from the traditions about Mashiakh Ben Yosef. The first one is the Rabani consensus on these traditions, that Rav Hai Gaon רב האי גאון transmits in his response letter, The Salvation הישועה , during the Medieval Age circa 1000. The second one is an example of these traditions from one thousand years earlier, that Yhokhanan יהוחנן , one of the students of Yhoshua, transmits in his Book of Revelation, during the Classical Age circa 60.
Note, I suspect Yhokhanan composes Revelation before 70, before the destruction of the Second Temple. I find this context unlikely to fail to mention the destruction if it already occurs. He says the Temple and its Innercourt still exist in purity, despite the Roman soldiers patrolling the Outercourt, thus defiling the outer part. Today scholars tend to date his book to circa 90, after the destruction. Either way, the document is circa 00s, transmitting a proto-rabbinic tradition of the first century CE.
Revelation by Yhokhanan stylizes the prophetic traditions. Its structure uses separate visions and chains of events that sometimes unfold simultaneously. This can make the chronological sequence uncertain. Fortunately, The Salvation by Hai Gaon summarizes the same traditions in straightforward manner, and helps clarify the sequence of the future events.
Image
• (Vere, Stein Atle. ©2011. Image: “Mashiakh Ben Yosef − The Olive Tree”. brakha.blogspot.com. Source of derivation. Sharif, Ilan. אילן שריף . Public domain 2010. Image: “The Warrior” הלוחם. Archeological Sites In Israel. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PikiWiki_Israel_7681_Archeological_sites_of_Israel.JPG. Note: The warrior is closeup of a mosaic from Bet Khag Ha'Nilus בית חג הנילוס “The Vacation House of The Nile”, from the Classical Age circa 500s, in the ancient City of Tsipori ציפורי , in the northern region of Ha'Galil, Yisrael.)
See Also
• (Hai Gaon האי גאון . Medieval Age circa 1000. “The Salvation” הישועה . Hebrew edition and English translation via Stein Atle Vere. ©2011. brakha.blogspot.com. Source of transmission: The Sensicality Of Elders טעם זקנים . Gleaned via Eliezer Ashknazi. ©1855.
http://brakha.blogspot.com/2011/04/hai-gaon-salvation-english.html, 2011.)
Also Known As
Mashiakh Ben Yosef משיח בן יוסף : Mashiach Ben Yosef, (Mashiah, Mashiaḥ, Messiah, “Annointed” King), Messiah Son of Joseph, Mashiakh Ben Efrayim, Messiah Son of Ephraim.
Mashiakh Ben Yosef and Yhoshua
As the New Testament evidences, Yhoshua יהושע (Historical Jesus) already knows the Rabani רבני (Rabbinic) tradition about another future King of Yisrael, called Mashiakh Ben Yosef משיח בן יוסף (“Messiah Son of Joseph”).
The New Testament itself shows how ancient this Rabani prophetic tradition is, existing at least five centuries before the Talmud and a millennium before Hai Gaon. Yhoshua also expects this prophetic warrior leader to appear at a future time, during the salvation of the children of Yisrael.
Prophecies describe spiritual forces, the discernable patterns. It is possible to “destroy evil” by repenting and returning to a life of God and compassion. It is possible to “destroy enemies” by these enemies becoming compassionate allies. But it is impossible to “calculate” how prophecies play out because they depend on human freewill. There are spiritual influences that are in play - pattern, probabilities, even inevitabilities - and it is wise to anticipate them. Prophecies of judgment, failure, or grief, remind us of our choice between two futures: the painful way or the difficult way.
As other Yhudim (Jews) hope for this future Mashiakh Ben Yosef, so does Yhoshua. Thus the Notsrim (Christians) also − according to the New Testament − hope for this holy warrior leader to succeed to make a better world possible.
(Vere, Stein Atle. ©2011. “Mashiakh Ben Yosef, The Olive Tree”. brakha.blogspot.com.)
The name “Mashiakh Ben Yosef” משיח בן יוסף is actually a title, the “Anointed” King “the Child of Yosef”. It refers to a future king from Efrayim, one the two tribes that descend from Yosef. The other tribe is Mnashe. (Interestingly, today Samaritans descend from Yosef via the tribe of Efrayim.)
The Children of Yisrael officially anoint Ben Yosef to rule the Land of Yisrael. He frees the capital city, Yrushalayim (Jerusalem), from the Empire of Rome. But then the nations expel the remaining Children of Yisrael, forcing them to become stateless persons that inhabit the “wildernesses” of the Diaspora (perhaps like today refugee camps). This king arises during a future seven-year period that heralds a new age of humanity, the Mashiakh Age.
Note, the earliest mention of the title “Mashiakh Ben Yosef” is in the Book of the Talmud, in Suka (pages 52ab). Inferring from the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), from the Book of Zkharya (Zechariah 12:10), it refers to a “pierced” Mashiakh, who the nations kill. However, the person that this title refers to, is already an ancient prophetic tradition, many centuries old even by the time of the Talmud. The New Testament mentions him in the Book of Revelation (chapter 11:).
The New Testament refers to Mashiakh Ben Yosef as one of “the two olivetrees” αι δυο ελαιαι. Here the New Testament cites the Book of Zkharya (4:12, 14), where it explains, “The two branches of the olivetrees” שְׁתֵּי שִׁבֲּלֵי הַזֵּיתִים are “two children of the oliveoil that ‹are› standing on ‹behalf of› the Lord ‹God› of all of the Land” שְׁנֵי בְנֵי־הַיִּצְהָר הָעֹמְדִים עַל־אֲדֹון כָּל־הָאָֽרֶץ .
This word “oliveoil” יּצהר literally means something like “shining” olive oil, a high quality. This is the kind of oil that is used to officially inaugurate certain government leaders. In other words, to crown them. Instead of crowns, the Tanakh uses a pouring of olive oil on the head to ritually install the Melekh (king) and also to install the Kohen Ha'Gadol (“the Great Kohen”, the high priest). Both of these persons are a Mashiakh משיח , literally one who is “Anointed” to rule. One is the Anointed King, and the other is the Anointed Kohen. The New Testament refers to this future king poetically, as Zkharya does, as an “olivetree”. The Talmud refers to this same king more specifically as Mashiakh Ben Yosef, a member of the tribe of Efrayim, to distinguish him from the more famous king, Mashiakh Ben David, a member of the tribe of Yhuda (Judah), who is also a descendent of ancient King David who will restore a Neo-Davidic Dynasty. This Return from Exile to Yrushalayim with a simultaneous anointment of a King and a Kohen, resembles the first Return from Exile from Bavel to Yrushalayim, when the both the political Nkhamya (Nehemiah) and the priestly Ezra become rulers.
Below I supply two parallel versions from the traditions about Mashiakh Ben Yosef. The first one is the Rabani consensus on these traditions, that Rav Hai Gaon רב האי גאון transmits in his response letter, The Salvation הישועה , during the Medieval Age circa 1000. The second one is an example of these traditions from one thousand years earlier, that Yhokhanan יהוחנן , one of the students of Yhoshua, transmits in his Book of Revelation, during the Classical Age circa 60.
Note, I suspect Yhokhanan composes Revelation before 70, before the destruction of the Second Temple. I find this context unlikely to fail to mention the destruction if it already occurs. He says the Temple and its Innercourt still exist in purity, despite the Roman soldiers patrolling the Outercourt, thus defiling the outer part. Today scholars tend to date his book to circa 90, after the destruction. Either way, the document is circa 00s, transmitting a proto-rabbinic tradition of the first century CE.
Revelation by Yhokhanan stylizes the prophetic traditions. Its structure uses separate visions and chains of events that sometimes unfold simultaneously. This can make the chronological sequence uncertain. Fortunately, The Salvation by Hai Gaon summarizes the same traditions in straightforward manner, and helps clarify the sequence of the future events.
Hai Gaon. Medieval Age circa 1000. The Salvation. | Yhokhanan. Classical Age circa 00s. Revelation 11-12. (NASV) |
( Sevensome Of Years ) | (The armies of the |
Sages ‹ of the Talmud › gave us a sign . And they said : « ‹ In › a sevensome ‹ of years › , ‹ Mashiakh › the Child of David ‹ is › coming . » Etcetera . ( Sanhedrin 97a . ) Per such ‹ per this order of kingships › , when we are seeing that | Then there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said: “Get up and measure the “Leave out the court which is outside the |
( Mashiakh Ben Yosef ) | (The “two olivetrees”, Mashiakh the King and Mashiakh the Kohen, will stand in Yrushalayim, before the |
And in that time , a person will stand , ‹ from the Tribe of Efrayim › from the Children of Yosef . ‹ But › solely in the outland . And he will be called Mashiakh ( Anointed King ) of God . And persons amassing will collect toward him in Ha'Galil Ha'Elyon ( And even other persons will get gleaned to him . Two and three ‹ persons › from this state , and five and four from this ‹ other › state . And on the same hour , he is saying : « And, I will take you ones , a one from a town . » Etcetera . ( Yirmyahu . ) But the majority of ‹ the Kin of › Yisrael ‹ will stillmore be › in their Diaspora . As ‹ reason › that it will not get clear to them , as so , the extremity ‹ is › coming . | “And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. |
( Mashiakh Ben Yosef Frees Yrushalayim ) | (The “two olivetrees” wield the power of the words of the Tora to free Yrushalayim.) |
And then Mashiakh Ben Yosef will go up from Ha'Galil to Yrushalayim ( And they will kill the official that ‹ belongs › to the King of Edom and the kin that ‹ are › with him . On the same hour , ‹ Mashiakh Ben Yosef › is saying : « And, I will give my vengeance at And they will return to Yrushalayim ‹ for › several days . And they will regret , as per their deeds . On the same hour , ‹ Mashiakh Ben Yosef › is saying ‹ from Yrushalayim › : « And, I will make you ones pass under the staff ‹ of leadership of the Tora › . And, I will bring you ones in the tradition of ‹ the Tora › the Treaty ‹ with God › . » And ‹ however › masses will go out from the treaty of Yisrael . As ‹ reason › that they will awaken in their lifes . And about them he is saying : « And, I made you ones pass ‹ under the staff › . And my clearing ‹ away › from you ones ‹ is › the rebels and criminals at me . » ( Ykhezkel 20:37-38 . ) | And if anyone wants to harm them, fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies. So if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way. These have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire. |
( Armilus the King of Edom Rome ) | (The “Beast” is the King of Rome, identified as the “Fourth Beast” of the Book of Daniel. See Revelation 13.) |
And it was , as ‹ the time › that Mashiakh Ben Yosef inhabited in Yrushalayim , and all of the kin that ‹ is › with him . And Armilus ‹ the King of Edom Rome › heard the report of them . And he is coming . And he does sorceries and seductions to make masses ‹ of the ethnicities › stray in ‹ regard to Yrushalayim › . And he will go up and war at Yrushalayim . And he will triumph ‹ against › Mashiakh Ben Yosef and ‹ the ones › with him . And he will kill ‹ some › from them . And he will capture ‹ some › from them . And he will divide their loot . On the same hour , ‹ Armilus › is saying : « And, I will gather all of the ethnicities toward Yrushalayim for war . » ( Zkharya 14:2 . ) And ‹ Armilus › will even kill Mashiakh Ben Yosef . And ‹ there › will be a great besiegement for Yisrael . And on the same hour ‹ Mashiakh Ben Yosef › is saying : « And, they will look toward me ‹ the one › that they stabbed . » Etcetera . In that day , the eulogy will greaten in Yrushalayim . ( Zkharya . ) | When they have finished their testimony, the Beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. |
( Laborpains of Mashiakh ) | (The Satan the “dragon” − an aspect of the human impulse of the bad יצר הרע − desires to capture the new government of Mashiakh Ben David − an aspect of the triumph of the human impulse of the good יצר הטוב . The “woman” is Yrushalayim, the capital city of the |
And these ones were found that remained in Yrushalayim . They will be smelted . And they ‹ are › being refined . And even if only these ones that went out to the wildernesses ‹ are being › examined and were refined . And it went from these ones , two hands ‹ being two parts › , and a third ‹ part › from these ones remained . About them ‹ God › is saying : « And, it will be in all of the Land . The oracle of God : ‹ From the whole › mouth , two ‹ thirds › will be severed , and ‹ one › third will be extra in ‹ Yrushalayim › . » Etcetera . And in ‹ the › same hour , all of the laborpains of Mashiakh will pass over them , thats being explicated in an amount of sites from the Bible and from the talks of our Rabot ‹ master teachers of Tora › . ( Zkharyahu 13:8 ) | A great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. And she was with child. And she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: And behold, a great red dragon. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child. |
( Mashiakh Ben David ) | (In the Book of Revelation, this “child” is Mashiakh Ben David. Apparently, Revelation preserves a prophecy about a future king, who is someone different from Yhoshua the Historical Jesus. Yhoshua sees himself in spiritual unity with the Kingship of God, but in several places, he rejects identification with the physical king that is futurely to restore the ancient Davidic Dynasty. Thus in Revelation, this “son who is to rule all the nations” apparently refers to a future physical king, who is not Yhoshua, but some other descendent of David. The power of this king comes from God, thus transcends the power of the Satan. Because a king represents the whole kingdom of his citizens who he heads, he as a kingdom is “born” sotospeak, in Yrushalayim, when the Children of Yisrael officially anoint him the King of Yisrael, the Mashiakh Ben David.) |
And also Mashiakh Ben David ( Anointed King the Child of the Dynasty of King David ) will be revealed to these ones thats remaining in the | And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. And her child was caught up to God and to His throne. |
( Mashiakh Ben David Enlivens Mashiakh Ben Yosef ) | (Revelation says, Mashiakh Ben Yosef resurrects when “the breath of life from God came into them”. Hai Gaon specifies this breath happens when Mashiakh Ben David “will enliven him by the talk of God”, that is, by the power of speaking the words of the Tora of God. From both descriptions, this is eternal resurrection that transcends physical vulnerability, not a temporary resuscitation. It is a firstfruit, a special “beginning” of the “enlivenment of the dead ones” that later Yisrael as a whole nation experiences together.) |
And ‹ the Children of › Yisrael that ‹ will be › in the Land of Yisrael with Mashiakh Ben David , about them , it ‹ is › saying : « In those days , the House of David will go on ‹ account of › the House of Yisrael . » Etcetera . And the majority of the ones killed inside the Land will be ‹ there for › forty day . As ‹ reason › that Mashiakh Ben Yosef , in his being killed , his corpse will be being tossed ‹ unburied for › forty day . And no impure thing will touch at him upto the coming of Mashiakh Ben David . And ‹ Mashiakh Ben David › will enliven ‹ Mashiakh Ben Yosef › by the talk of God . And this is the beginning of the signs that ‹ Mashiakh Ben David › will do . And this ‹ sign › is the enlivening of the dead ones , ‹ so › that he will enliven . | (The two olive trees.) And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called (That is, the “great city” is Yrushalayim during the time that the Beast conquers it at makes it part of the Empire of Rome. It is called Those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days. And they will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate. And they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them. And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here " Then they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them. (Note, there are different opinions about how long the corpse of Mashiakh Ben Yosef stays dead, out in the open. Hai says, it remains for forty days. Revelation says, the nations watch the corpse for three and a half days. Arguably, the corpse “will lie in the streets” for forty days, but the nations “will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days”, toward the end of the forty days.) |
And then Mashiakh Ben David will inhabit . And Eliyahu and Yisrael thats coming from the wildernesses to Yrushalayim . Securely serene amassing days . And they will build houses , and they will incline vineyards , and they will succeed in acquisition ‹ of commodities › and acquirement ‹ of assets › | Then the seventh angel sounded (a Shofar). And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord (God) and of His Christ (Mashiakh). And (our Lord God) will reign forever and ever." |
Hai Gaon. The Salvation. | Yhokhanan. Revelation 10. (NASV) |
( Why Kill Mashiakh Ben Yosef ? ) | ( The prophecy tastes sweet as honey because Mashiakh Ben Yosef, one of the “two olivetrees”, will be able to liberate Yrushalayim and become the Anointed King of Yisrael. But the prophecy becomes bitter because God allows the King of Rome to kill Mashiakh Ben Yosef. (An angel with a small book about this prophecy stands on a coastline. Possibly his foot on the Land refers to the authority over the Land of Yisrael, while his foot on the Sea refers to the authority over the Children of Yisrael who live in the Exile among the wildernesses of the nations. These are the ones who make Mashiakh Ben Yosef their king.) |
And because of what was authorization ‹ from God › given to Armilus ‹ the King of Edom Rome › to kill Mashiakh Ben Yosef ‹ the King of Yisrael › ? So as to break the doubleheart of the divided ones that ‹ belong › to Yisrael . That theres no trust ‹ that belongs › to them . And they will say : This ‹ is › the person that for him we are hoping . And already he came , and he was killed . And a salvation for them does not remain . And they will go out from the Treaty of Yisrael ‹ with God › . And they will adhere in the nations . And ‹ however the nations › will kill them . And about them ‹ Armilus › is saying : « They will die by the sword , all who sin with me . » ( Amos . ) | I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, clothed with a cloud; and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire. And he had in his hand a little book which was open. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the land. Then the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard again speaking with me, and saying: “Go, take the book which is open in the hand of the angel, who stands on the sea and on the land.” So I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. And he said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” I took the little book out of the angels hand and ate it. And in my mouth it was sweet as honey. And when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. And they said to me: “You must prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.” |
Image
• (Vere, Stein Atle. ©2011. Image: “Mashiakh Ben Yosef − The Olive Tree”. brakha.blogspot.com. Source of derivation. Sharif, Ilan. אילן שריף . Public domain 2010. Image: “The Warrior” הלוחם. Archeological Sites In Israel. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PikiWiki_Israel_7681_Archeological_sites_of_Israel.JPG. Note: The warrior is closeup of a mosaic from Bet Khag Ha'Nilus בית חג הנילוס “The Vacation House of The Nile”, from the Classical Age circa 500s, in the ancient City of Tsipori ציפורי , in the northern region of Ha'Galil, Yisrael.)
See Also
• (Hai Gaon האי גאון . Medieval Age circa 1000. “The Salvation” הישועה . Hebrew edition and English translation via Stein Atle Vere. ©2011. brakha.blogspot.com. Source of transmission: The Sensicality Of Elders טעם זקנים . Gleaned via Eliezer Ashknazi. ©1855.
http://brakha.blogspot.com/2011/04/hai-gaon-salvation-english.html, 2011.)
Hilel − I Am For Me
(Vere, Stein Atle. ©2011. “Hilel: I Am For Me”. brakha.blogspot.com.)
Love.
In the Tora תורה (“Instruction”), the name for the first five books that begin the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), the Book of Va'Yikra (Leviticus 19:18) preserves a famous Mitsva מצוה (“command”) by God.
“And, you will love your fellow as you.”
ואהבת את רעך כמוך .
The Mitsva means. First, you must love “you”. Be yourself. Empower yourself. Then, you must love your “fellow”. Love them as much as you love yourself. Help them be themselves. Empower them.
Hilel explains the Mitsva.
The Rabanim (rabbis) compile the Book of the Mishna משנה (“Recitation”) circa 200. In the section, Avot (“Fathers” 1:13), the Rabanim preserve the teachings of the ancient sage, Hilel הלל , said to live 120 years from circa −110 to 10. Hilel paraphrase the Mitsvot to love ones fellow, to emphasize its implications, “saying” continually:
“If theres no I am for me, who ‹is› for me? And when I am for my self ‹only›, what am I? And if not now, when?”
אם אין אני לי, מי לי? וכשאני לעצמי, מה אני? ואם לא עכשיו, אימתיי?
First you must “love you” yourself: “If theres no I am for me, who ‹is› for me?” No one else really knows what you need. You must be for yourself.
But then you must “love your fellow” as much as you love yourself: “If I am for my self ‹only›, what am I?” One who only cares about oneself is a “malicious” רשע criminal. Compare the proverb in the Tanakh: “The lifeforce of a malicious one lusts badness. ‹That› ones fellows will not be favored in ‹that› ones eyes.” נפש רשע אותה־רע לֹא־יחן בעיניו רעהו . (Mishle 21:10.) To fail to do compassionate actions is malice.
Hilel goes on to add, “If not now, when?” The Mitsva, “you will love” means you will do “compassionate actions” חסדים . You must actualize the positive emotion by means of reallife physical efforts. To not do loving actions, is to fail to love. To fulfill the Mitsva to love is to put love into action. Thus, the Mitsva commands, you “will” love. When must one fulfill this obligation? You must fulfill the obligation to love as often “as you” yourself desire to be loved. All the time. Right “now”!
You must, first, exist in order to do compassionate actions.
There are no compassionate actions unless you exist. Therefore, it is an ethical imperative, you must be for you. You must empower yourself, enough to keep yourself strong enough to do compassionate actions for others. This minimal selfishness is necessary. It is for the sake of your love for your altruistic self.
But, you must never be for your physical self only. You must share your power with your “fellows”, be for them too. Your true self is your altruistic self, the part of you desires the wellbeing of your fellows.
Hilel distinguishes between “for me” and “for my self”. The true “me” isnt just “my self”. The true me includes my “fellows” too. From the perspective of God, we are one. This unification in God is the true self, the altruistic self that does good for each person, including myself and my fellow.
Hilel explicitly asks, “What am I?” What is the real “me”?
The altruistic self is the spiritual self, the true self.
Love.
In the Tora תורה (“Instruction”), the name for the first five books that begin the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), the Book of Va'Yikra (Leviticus 19:18) preserves a famous Mitsva מצוה (“command”) by God.
“And, you will love your fellow as you.”
ואהבת את רעך כמוך .
The Mitsva means. First, you must love “you”. Be yourself. Empower yourself. Then, you must love your “fellow”. Love them as much as you love yourself. Help them be themselves. Empower them.
Hilel explains the Mitsva.
The Rabanim (rabbis) compile the Book of the Mishna משנה (“Recitation”) circa 200. In the section, Avot (“Fathers” 1:13), the Rabanim preserve the teachings of the ancient sage, Hilel הלל , said to live 120 years from circa −110 to 10. Hilel paraphrase the Mitsvot to love ones fellow, to emphasize its implications, “saying” continually:
“If theres no I am for me, who ‹is› for me? And when I am for my self ‹only›, what am I? And if not now, when?”
אם אין אני לי, מי לי? וכשאני לעצמי, מה אני? ואם לא עכשיו, אימתיי?
First you must “love you” yourself: “If theres no I am for me, who ‹is› for me?” No one else really knows what you need. You must be for yourself.
But then you must “love your fellow” as much as you love yourself: “If I am for my self ‹only›, what am I?” One who only cares about oneself is a “malicious” רשע criminal. Compare the proverb in the Tanakh: “The lifeforce of a malicious one lusts badness. ‹That› ones fellows will not be favored in ‹that› ones eyes.” נפש רשע אותה־רע לֹא־יחן בעיניו רעהו . (Mishle 21:10.) To fail to do compassionate actions is malice.
Hilel goes on to add, “If not now, when?” The Mitsva, “you will love” means you will do “compassionate actions” חסדים . You must actualize the positive emotion by means of reallife physical efforts. To not do loving actions, is to fail to love. To fulfill the Mitsva to love is to put love into action. Thus, the Mitsva commands, you “will” love. When must one fulfill this obligation? You must fulfill the obligation to love as often “as you” yourself desire to be loved. All the time. Right “now”!
You must, first, exist in order to do compassionate actions.
There are no compassionate actions unless you exist. Therefore, it is an ethical imperative, you must be for you. You must empower yourself, enough to keep yourself strong enough to do compassionate actions for others. This minimal selfishness is necessary. It is for the sake of your love for your altruistic self.
But, you must never be for your physical self only. You must share your power with your “fellows”, be for them too. Your true self is your altruistic self, the part of you desires the wellbeing of your fellows.
Hilel distinguishes between “for me” and “for my self”. The true “me” isnt just “my self”. The true me includes my “fellows” too. From the perspective of God, we are one. This unification in God is the true self, the altruistic self that does good for each person, including myself and my fellow.
Hilel explicitly asks, “What am I?” What is the real “me”?
The altruistic self is the spiritual self, the true self.
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