Nadene Goldfoot
We Jews are unlike any others in history. We certainly are not known to Muslims who have been told an opposing story of our lives. Many don't believe there ever were such people as Jews. We've been isolated from others; our choice and everyone else's choice, too, not wanting to marry a Jew. Geneticists love to study us. We're a small group, 0.02% of world population; 2% of USA's population, about 14 million of us, total.
Amal Saad-Ghorayeb, a Lebanese writer and political analyst, devoted a chapter of her book Hizbu'llah: Politics and Religion to an analysis of Hezbollah's anti-Jewish beliefs. She argues that although Zionism has influenced Hezbollah's anti-Judaism, "it is not contingent upon it" because Hezbollah's hatred of Jews is more religiously motivated than politically motivated.
Our Jewish history goes back to Moses, born in about 1391 BCE or 3,415 years ago and the Exodus from Egypt. We started as a family that became a tribe and then a clan and finally the nation of Israel, twice. We were shepherds, then farmers, traders and craftmen and are salesmen, scientists and Holocaust survivors.
A recent revelation uncovered their story of us which is the opposite of our truth. I've known they had a few things upside-down, but all of it is really hard to swallow, so let me explain, with some thoughts of mine.
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| /Evidence of Israelites entering land of Egypt Israelites were later known as being from their state of Judah, and even later as Jews |
Egyptians are known to only say good things about their country. If someone was an embarrassment, they covered up the evidence. It's hard, I admit, to find facts about Jews on their walls, etc. Israelites and Hyskos were either the same or came at about the same time. Jacob had made his 11th son, Joseph, a coat of many colors. These people are wearing cloth showing many colors and designs.
Moses is the originator of the Jewish history. He at age 80, an adopted prince of Egypt which was probably the best kept secret of that time of being adopted by the pharaoh's princess, had freed the 600,000 slaves, descendants of a man named Jacob, 40 years before and marched them back to their origins, Canaan. Jacob later took the name of Israel after wrestling with a heavenly emissary when returning home after a 20 year absence. Israel means, Wrestled With G-d. Those people were the first Jews, named for Judah, a state in the empire of Israel. Babies were to be killed, so this Jewish mother hid her Moses in a basket and set him in the Nile River where the barren Princess found him.
Moses had learned a lot being a Prince of Egypt, grandson of a pharaoh. He learned how to move an army, and used that knowledge to move this mass of people. He kept them in their tribes which they also had been able to do living in Egypt the past 400 years as slaves.
When they were on the march of the Exodus, they had flag-bearers holding high their banners showing the name of their tribe, one of the 12 which were originally Jacob's sons (Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulah), 6 sons and a daughter, Dinah to Leah, 2 sons to Leah's sister, Rachel- Joseph and Benjamin, 2 to each of the sisters' handmaidens-Zilpah-Gad and Asher; and Bilhah-Dan and Naphtali. This original group were migrating across the land for 40 years. Moses started at age 80 and arrived outside the walls of Canaan at 120 years of age.
That means that if a baby was born at the beginning of the Exodus, he was 40 upon arrival. A 10 year old arrived at age 50. the 20 year old mother would be 60. Moses took a census at the beginning of this journey and at the end:
Reuben's tribe had 46,500 and at the end of the journey had 43,730, losing 2,770.
Simeon had 59,300 and at the end 22,200, losing 37,100
Levi not counted as didn't inherit any land-Cohens will come from them; to live with siblings
Judah had 74,600 and at the end of the journey had 76,500, gaining 1,900
Issachar had 54,400 and at the end of the journey had 64,300, gaining 9,900
Zebulun had 57,400 and at the end of the journey had 60,500, gaining 3,100
Dan had 62,700 and at the end of the journey had 64,400, gaining 1,700
Naphtali had 53,400 and at the end of the journey had 45,400, losing 8,000
Gad had 45,650 and at the end of the journey had 40,500, losing 5,150
Asher had 41,500 and at the end of the journey had 53,400, gaining 11,900
Ephraim had 40,500 and at the end of the journey had 32,500, losing 8,000
Manasseh had 32,200 and at the end of the journey had 52,700, gaining 20,500
Joseph Viceroy of Egypt; not counted as land went to his grandsons, Ephraim and Manasseh
Benjamin had 35,400 and at the end of the journey had 45,600, gaining 10,200
T0TALS 603,550 601,730 -1,820
Today, from Cairo to Jerusalem: 9 hr 6 min (477.5 mi) via Route 40
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Moses was able to speak with the leaders of each group, with their elders, to glean the history from each of their people which was handed down orally from Abraham's day of about 1948 BCE to Moses who was born in 1391 BCE, a difference of 557 years. It most likely was told to the tribes orally in sing-song chants to help the memory, as being slaves, could not read or write in any language. That was what Moses was able to do, read and write being the Prince of Egypt. Moses also received help from G-d, the incentive to write all the history down, and to be able to include it in his memory.
For 40 years, these some 600,000 received an education all the time, as if they had been in a college class, graduating every 4 years, 10 times over and over and over again. They eventually learned the 613 laws that Moses dictated to them. They lived through near-death experiences edged into their memory banks, never to be forgotten, such as earthquakes, attacks by the Amalakites, on their quest to arrive in Canaan. They were chased by the Egyptian army after being allowed to leave, forcing all to enter the Red Sea with the soldiers being drowned in it while the slaves were able to escape.
The whole story of the Jewish people is in the Torah, or 5 Books of Moses. The Torah is also copied into the beginning of a thicker book, people call the OLD TESTAMENT, and Jews call TANAKH, which includes other writings finished up until the time the Christians start their book, NEW TESTAMENT, which contains writings, many years after the death of their originator, Jesus Christ. Islam didn't start until after Mohammad, born in 570 AD (CE to Jews) had died in 632 AD (CE). Each book is based on the teaching of Moses but interpreted in different ways. In both cases, their intention is to replace Judaism; to be the religion meant for their people only. It became a competition among religions; and competing for power.
The stories read like a soap opera with people who have similar problems we have had today. Much reads like an army manual, telling of the wars fought. Mistakes made are written about so as not to be repeated. In the Tanakh, as asides, interpretations, impressions are addressed, written down for us to understand more.
The Jewish Oral Laws are : The Oral Torah is the body of laws that were passed down orally before being compiled in texts. It is believed that Moses taught the Oral Torah to Aaron, his sons, and the Elders. The Oral Torah was meant to cover an infinite number of cases that could arise over time, so it could never have been written in its entirety. The Jewish Oral Law is found in the Talmud, the Mishnah, and rabbinic codes:
Now, in the year 2024, we have DNA. We find the line of men who scientists refer toas the Y haplogroup, show that our Cohen line, which came from the tribe of Levi, areshown as J1 or or JS1......., something most Arabs also have but with different addedon endings. DNA is showing us a great deal about who we are and where we come from. Most likely we're very distantly related to the Arabs, as our stories about Lot tell us.
Archaeological evidence is being uncovered all the time.
Resource:
Tanakh; Stone Edition
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemitism_in_Islam
https://www.biblecartoons.co.uk/ency/jacob-s-sons-their-tribal-banners
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