Archives

Genesis Chapter 35

Jacob moves to Beth-el
Jacob builds an altar
Jacob becomes Israel
Benjamin is born
Rachel dies
Death and burial of Isaac

Genesis Chapter 30

Rachel’s envy
Jacob’s children
Rachel has a son
Jacob’s dealing with Laban
Jacob’s policy to enrich himself

Genesis Chapter 17

Renewal of the covenant
Abram’s name changed
Circumcision instituted
Sarai’s name changed
Abraham’s house circumcised

Genesis Chapter 1

Creation of heaven and earth
Sun moon and stars are created
Man in made in the image of God
The appointment of food

Law of Language

A word is a bundle of associations that are a product of the culture, historic time period, and geographic location of the signifier ( the person reading or writing) Below I have added the Hebrew Aleph-Bet for some one who might want to learn it. Check out biblicalheritagecenter.org

Kindness: One of the Five Pillars of Rabbinic Judaism

This article is taken from DISCOVERING THE BIBLE, Vol. 3, 1991, Number 1. by Jim Myers Discovering The Bible’s primary objective is to help its readers reach their goal of rediscovering and more clearly understanding the meanings of the actual words written by the authors of the ancient writings, which we call the Bible. The first step toward accomplishing this goal is to recognize that most people who say and think they are reading the Bible are, in fact, NOT reading the Bible.  They are reading someone’s translation of the specific HebrewעִבְרִיThe biblical term Ivri Hebrew pronunciation: ib-ree’ , meaning “to traverse” or “to pass over”, is usually rendered as Hebrew in English from ever (עֵבֶר) ‘beyond, across’ (avar (עָבַר ‘he crossed, he traversed’), as a description of migrants ‘from across the river’ as the Bible describes the Hebrews. For more info click here or Greek manuscripts. There is a great difference between reading a document originally written in one’s native language and a translation from another language.  One must mentally prepare himself or herself prior to reading the first word.  The initial step in this phase is to familiarize ourselves with some basic principles of translation [1]Nida, Eugene A. and Taber, Charles R. The Theory and Practice of Translation (United Bible Societies, New York, NY; 1989, page 3).: “Each language has its own genius. Each language possesses certain distinctive characteristics that give it a special character.  Each language is rich in the areas of cultural focus, the specialties of the people.”  As a reader of translated material one must gain knowledge of the culture from which the document originates. “The languages of the Bible are subject to the same limitations as any other natural language.  Greek and Hebrew are simply languages like any other languages, and they are to be understood and analyzed in the same manner as any other ancient tongue . . . these languages, as they are used in the Bible, employ words which have meaning only in terms of the cultural contexts in which the languages were used . . .” “The writers of the Biblical books expected to be understood. We should assume that they intended one meaning and not several, unless an intentional ambiguity is linguistically marked.” “The translator must attempt to reproduce the meaning of a passage as understood by the writer.“ Most of us have taken comfort in the fact that Principle #4 has been of utmost importance to our Bible translators.  I must sadly inform you that this is not true.  As a matter of fact it seems to be unheard of by virtually every translator of the biblical text into English.  Instead of bringing the culturally accurate message of the author from Greek or Hebrew into English, one often discovers the translator’s theological position embedded in his translation.  This will become very apparent as you acquire a basic knowledge of the culture behind all of the words of the Bible (Hebrew). The reason for my writing this series entitled “Kindness: One of the Five Pillars of Rabbinic Judaism” is to provide our readers with a culturally accurate understanding of what most would consider the five most important concepts in Rabbinic Judaism.  Some may wonder: why study anything Jewish in the first place?  The correct response is that since the authors of all the words of all three Bibles — Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant — were from the Hebrew culture, we must turn to the Jewish people for the definitions of their words. For our Christian readers I must stress that the central figure of Christianity — Jesus — was a Jewish rabbi, not a Christian preacher.  Of utmost importance is the fact that the words recorded in the Christian Testament are the words of Jews.  It is imperative for all Christians to commit themselves to the journey of returning to the Jewish roots of their faith.  Only then can they hope to accurately understand the messages of their Jewish Messiah and his Jewish disciples.  As we acquire an understanding of the five principles of Rabbinic Judaism we will understand much more clearly what the Bible is all about.  These principles are: HESED (kindness) Tzdakah (righteousness or charity) Kaddasah (holiness) Din (justice) Rachmonute (mercy or compassion) In the Jewish culture “mercy or compassion” is different from “kindness” and they are both different from “righteousness.”  Even though all of them seem to have similar qualities, they still differ.  Once we understand these basic principles we will understand the heart of Rabbinic Judaism.  Christianity and Islam have taken pieces of these principles from their time in their Jewish mother’s womb.  There is nothing in Christianity in the field of morality and ethics that wasn’t originally taken from the Jewish religion.  The first principle is HESED and I will refer to it as “kindness” for the remainder of this article.  The intent of kindness in Rabbinic Judaism is not to produce a person who considers himself to be a highly moral person or saint.  There are no saints in Rabbinic Judaism. The purpose of kindness in the Jewish culture is for the perfection of the human being.  From the Jewish point of view, it is not that a man is born into sin, but that a man is unable to be perfect.  Man is not born imperfect and he is not born perfect.  As he develops the acumen, the knowledge, the ability to see and to hear and to do, he accepts either imperfection or perfection.  His choice depends on two basic factors — his nature and his teachings.  The first factor is a God given one. However, the second factor is one given by man; therefore we are to give him lessons that are called paths upon which he can walk or follow.  These paths will help him perfect the nature, the characteristics with which he was born.  This is the kindness that is the essence of Rabbinic Judaism. Our goal is to envelope ourselves with kindness.  But the Jewish concept