"Brit-Am Now"-643
Contents:
1. Amnon Goldberg: Warning of Coming Disasters?
3. A Weekly Portion of Great Significance for Brit-Am
3. Messages on the King James
(a) Craig Blackwood
(b) Bob Davis
4. Tom Turner: Zechariah 8:23 Means a "Minyan"?
5. Ezekiel Stick and Jerusalem Table-Piece
6. Cecil Davis: Friendly Advice
7. Welsh Daffodils and the Phoenicians?
1. Amnon Goldberg: Warning of Coming Disasters?
"And the Waters Prevailed Over the Earth Exceedingly..." (Bereishis 7): The Anniversary of the Tsunami
The areas hit by last year's Asian tsunami were described as the most paradisiacal on Earth. In a few seconds they were reduced to the most hellish.
At the time of the Mabul [Universal Deluge] 4,110 years ago, in addition to the violently destructive torrents of rain and the breaking open of the mayanos tehom rabbah ["fountains of the great deep", Genesis 7:11 ], mighty tsunamis, vastly bigger than last year's, hundreds of feet tall, repeatedly circled the globe at hundreds of miles per hour, pulverizing everything in their path: "Deep calls unto deep at the roar of Your water-channels: all Your breakers and Your waves have swept over me!" (Tehillim 42).
"No trouble comes to world except on behalf of Yisroel" (Yevomos 63) "in order to frighten them to do teshuvoh [repentance]" (Rashi). If Jewry and mankind were logical, by rights the earthquake off Indonesia that spawned the tsunami wave should be more than enough to spawn a national, even an international wave of teshuvoh. When Tokyo was destroyed by an earthquake in 1923, killing 60,000, the Chofetz Chaim
[Rabbi Israel Meir Kagan, 1838-1933]
did not stop speaking about it for ten years, saying that it was a sign for his generation to mend its ways.
"Surely in that day there will be a great shaking in the Land of Yisroel; so that the fishes of the sea, the fowl of the heaven, the beasts of the field, all the creeping things and all the men that are on the face of the earth will shake at My presence; and the mountains will be overthrown, the cliffs will topple and every wall will collapse" (Yechezkel 38).
"G-d sends earthquakes when he sees places of amusement and entertainment overly flourishing, while the Temple lies a heap of dust and ashes" (Yerushalmi Brochos 9)!
Beneath our feet lie the fossils of millions of extinct animals and men. They are a silent witness to a time when mankind became so depraved that finally it was virtually wiped out in one great cataclysm of water. Fearful though this thought may be, we can take some comfort that we have been promised that this will never happen again.....next time it will be by eish [fire]!
Amnon Goldberg
Tzefas
2. A Weekly Portion of Great Significance for Brit-Am
VaYechi
Some New material has been added.
The weekly portion is "VaYechi" Genesis chapters 47 to 50.
From a Brit-Am standpoint this is one of the most important sections of the Torah.
Issues dealt with in this Portion include:
The death of Jacob and the blessing to Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh.
The differences between the two brothers.
Why the USA is Manasseh and the UK Joseph?
The Return of the Lost Ten Tribes and the Initial reluctance of Judah to recognize them.
The blessings to all the Tribes come through Joseph.
Tribal Identifications and their Explanations.
Reuben-France
Simeon Wales Ireland Policemen?
Levi Jews Israel
Judah the Jews
The future revenge of the Messsiah Against the Oppressors of Judah
Zebulon Holland
Issachar Switzerland, Finland
Dan Ireland Denmark Wales
Gad Sweden
Asher Scotland Scandinavia North England
Naphtali Norway South African Boers
Prophecies concerning Joseph and their fulfilment
Benjamin Amongst the Jews, Belgians, and Normans
The death of Jacob and his burial in the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, Israel
The final reconciliation of Joseph
Joseph returns to his roots
The death of Joseph
3. Messages on the King James
(a) Craig Blackwood
Shalom Yair
Keep up the good work. You will not please everyone no matter what
translation you use. I think that people must mature up and work with what
works well for most people most of the time. If you let a minority of
perfectionists pressure you over the KJV then why not cave in on using the
English language. English is far from perfect and the hardest to learn but
it it is the most adaptable and usable language around. The Thees and the
Thous are easily transcribed into your or your by anyone with half a brain.
The KJV flows and it was the very instrument that revived English. The
French tried for 3 centries to kill English language. The Latin world tried
their best for even longer. English has far more strengths than weaknesses
and thus this goes for the KJV.
Regards
Craig Blackwood
(b) Bob Davis
Hi Yair
Regarding the debate on KJV. The original KJ English is a different
language to either UK English or American English. Many of the words
have changed their meaning dramatically over time. A simple example is
the word "Maid" which now means a female servant. In Shakespeare's day
it meant young girl or virgin. The KJV that you buy in the shops today
has been quietly updated over the years as the original translation is
impossible for anyone other than those with a good education in arcane
English to understand. A better bet in my opinion is the New King James
Version, which is excellent.
Regards
Bob Davis
4. Tom Turner: Zechariah 8:23 Means a "Minyan"?
From: Tommy704@aol.com
re "Brit-Am Now"-640
re #5. Question on Zechariah 8:23
Shalom Yair,
>>Question on Zechariah 8:23<<
Regarding the 10 men of Zechariah 8:23, I have heard it posited that this referred to a prayer minyan. It could be symbolic of congregations, whole congregations which will come to embrace Judaism.
Tom "the Ezekiel Stick guy"
Note: A "minyan" is a minimum quorum of ten needed for public prayers as distinct from private prayers.
5. Ezekiel Stick and Jerusalem Table-Piece
The Ezekiel Stick is still available from Tom Turner and we can testify that it is a quality product.
See photographs on our site:
Ezekiel Stick
Tom also has a very beautiful table-piece that shows the contours of the land upon Jerusalem is built forming a "SHIN" letter shape representing one of the names of the Almighty,
in Hebrew "El Shadai" translated as: "THE ALMIGHTY GOD"
[Genesis 17:1] AND WHEN ABRAM WAS NINETY YEARS OLD AND NINE, THE LORD APPEARED TO ABRAM, AND SAID UNTO HIM, I AM THE ALMIGHTY GOD; WALK BEFORE ME, AND BE THOU PERFECT.
[Genesis 35:11] AND GOD SAID UNTO HIM, I AM GOD ALMIGHTY: BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY; A NATION AND A COMPANY OF NATIONS SHALL BE OF THEE, AND KINGS SHALL COME OUT OF THY LOINS;
Genesis 28:3 43:14 49:25 Numbers 24:4,16 etc.
For pictures of the table-piece see:
Jerusalem in Walnut Wood
Jerusalem in Walnut Wood 2
for more details contact Tom Turner
Tommy704@aol.com
6. Cecil Davis: Friendly Advice
Dear Yair,
Sorry about your Achilles' tendon; I developed the same very painful situation while on an Air Force survival training course in the Sierra Nevada mountains between California and Nevada. I had endless painful days and hours in rough terrain but completed the course.
I have friends that have jogged a lot and ended up with bad knees, hip joints and backs. I walk (fast pace) at least thirty minutes a day, most of the time much longer, have been doing this for over 40 years and I'm very healthy, especially for an 82 year old guy. I never run or jog. Not trying to tell you what to do but your situation brought this to mind.
Lots of welcome rain in our area --we Desert folk need lots of water and our God always provides it.
Your friend,
Cecil
7. Welsh Daffodils and the Phoenicians?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/nature/sites/wildlife/pages/daffodils.shtml
There are two varieties unique to Wales: the Tenby and Welsh daffodils. The origins of the Tenby daffodil are uncertain. Some theories suggest that they were brought to Wales by the Phoenicians or by medieval monks or that they are hybrids between a wild daffodil from the Continent and the native Welsh daffodil.
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