Showing posts with label Ezekiel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ezekiel. Show all posts

Sunday, June 15, 2025

DANIEL Prophet Of Today's Age, and How It Was Written, Part 3

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                


What do we know of the Biblical Book of Daniel, mentioned in Ezek. 14:14. Ezekiel was a Prophet of the 6th century BCE, and most likely a member of the priestly family of Zadok who served in the Temple before its destruction in 586 BCE. He was also exiled to Babylon before Jews were exiled to Tel Abib on the river Kebar in Babylonia where he prophesied over a period of 22 years (592-570 BCE).

 Daniel was named along with Noah and Job.  He was an ancient sage; is referred to in Ezek. 28:3 (which is the source of the phrase, "A Daniel come to judgment" in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice). 

 They say "Daniel" was also found in an ancient tale discovered in a Ugaritic text as well. Ugaritic texts originate from the ancient city-state of Ugarit, located on the Mediterranean coast of modern-day Syria. Specifically, the texts were discovered at Ras Shamra (the tell of Ugarit) and nearby Ras Ibn Hani. These texts provide valuable insights into the language and culture of the ancient Near East, including aspects of Northwest Semitic religion. 

In our  Tanach (Old Testament), Daniel is listed under "Writings" and is almost at the end, coming after Esther's story.  Daniel was from the tribe of Judah living in exile in Babylon  and lived in  300 BCE.   It's writing about the future !

He has amazing and unusual experiences at the courts of King Nebuchadnezzar , Darius the Mede, and Belshazzar.  Chapters 7-12 are apocalyptic;  the visions relate to ancient times, but the reference seems to be to the 4persecuting kingdoms of Babylonia  Media, Persia and Greece.

They allude to historical events down to the period of Antiochus Epiphanes of Syria (175-163 BCE) whose wicked rule is to be succeeded by the kingdom of heaven.  His visions seems tocome to Judah at the beginning of the  Maccabean revolt ofabout 165 BCE.  The Book of Daniel contains Aramaicwriting of chapters 2:4-7; and 28 which caused a profoundinfluence on subsequent mysticism.  

                          Aramaic, the Bible's 3rd language

Aramaic was the language of the Jews from the 5th century BCE to the 11th century CE. They wrote many of their religious books in it, including the Babylonian Talmud, Targumim, Midrash, and some parts of the Tanakh.  It became the international language used by many people.   Additionally, the Hebrew square script evolved from the Aramaic script in the 2nd century BCE.

Wednesday, May 14, 2025

UFOs in Jewish History

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                     

Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) are now officially referred to as Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs) by the Pentagon and other government agencies. This change was made in 2022 to broaden the scope of the term and encompass objects detected in the air, sea, and space. The new term, UAP, is considered more neutral and allows for a wider range of objects to be studied, including those that may not be extraterrestrial in origin, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. 


The Forward once ran a short piece entitled “Putting Israel’s UFO Frenzy Into Historical Perspective,” after videos surfaced purporting to show UFOs hovering over the Jerusalem skyline. 

Unidentified flying objects are no stranger to the Holy Land. The Bible is full of accounts of sightings of heavenly beings.

 Indeed, a cornerstone of Jewish liturgy is the line from Psalms 19:2 — “The heavens declare the glory of God” —- which some sages read to mean that we earthly inhabitants are not alone among the creatures in the universe who praise Hashem.

While there aren't specific Jewish essays explicitly confirming UFOs since the Exodus, some contemporary Jewish thinkers and theologians have explored the relationship between Jewish belief in an omnipotent God and the possibility of extraterrestrial life, suggesting that it's not contradictory to consider the existence of other worlds and creatures. Rabbi Benjamin Blech wrote that a belief in an all-powerful God doesn't forbid the possibility of other planets with other life formsSome also point to the Book of Ezekiel and its descriptions of strange beings and vehicles as potential evidence, says The Forward. 


In the Jewish tradition, the pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night in Exodus 13:21-22 represent God's presence, guidance, and protection of the Israelites during their journey through the wilderness. The cloud symbolizes God's glory, while the fire represents His power and presence. 

The image you're looking for is a depiction of the Israelites following the pillar of fire during the Exodus. This pillar of fire, described in Exodus 13:21, was a manifestation of God's presence, guiding the people through the desert at night and providing light. By day, the pillar was a cloud, according to the BibleRef.comThe pillar of fire symbolized God's protection and guidance, and the people would not move until the pillar lifted. The pillar of fire and cloud only disappeared when the Israelites entered the Promised Land, according to Ignite Church Sunshine Coast, a church in Australia.  

  • As a result of his personal meeting with the late Pope John Paul II, the future Pope Leo XIV was instrumental in securing the loan of precious Jewish manuscripts for exhibition in Israel and he is presently involved in further negotiations for the return of precious Judaica held by the Vatican that may well prove to be of historic significance.

  • Jewish Theology and Extraterrestrial Life:
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    Some contemporary Jewish scholars argue that a belief in an omnipotent God actually supports the possibility of extraterrestrial life, as it suggests there are no limits to God's creative power and the scope of the universe. 
  • Rabbi Benjamin Blech's Perspective:
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    Rabbi Blech has written that a strong belief in an all-powerful God cannot logically exclude the possibility of other worlds populated by other creatures. 
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    The Book of Ezekiel,(1)  particularly its descriptions of strange beings and vehicles, has been interpreted by some as potentially hinting at the possibility of extraterrestrial beings or technologies.  
  • from the midst of the fire there was the likeness of 4 Chayos.  They had the likeness of a man; each one had 4 faces, and each one of them had 4 wings;  their legs were  a straight leg, and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a rounded foot, and they glittered with the color of burnished copper;  there were human hands under their wings on their 4 sides.  Their faces and their wings [were alike] on the 4 of them;  their wings were joined to one another.  'They did not turn as they went;  each in the direction of its faces would they go.  As for the likeness of their faces:  There was a human face; and a lion's face to the right for the 4 of them; and an ox's face to the left for the 4 of them, and an eagle's face for the 4 of them.  As for their faces:  Their wings extended upward [over them];  for each [face]two [wings] were joined to each other;  and two [wings] were covering their bodies.  Each in the direction of its faces would they go;  toward wherever there was the spirit to go, they would go;  they did not turn as they went.  As for the likeness of the Chayos:  Their appearance was like [fiery coals, burning like the appearance of torches;  it spread about among the Chayos;  there was a brilliance to the fire, and from the fire went forth lightning.            
  •                                                               
                                      2005 Uri Geller doing his spoon trick in Switzerland
      
  • Uri Geller:
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    Israeli psychic and mystifier Uri Geller has also been involved in UFO-related reports, including a photo he shared of a UFO in Israel, which was later identified by social media users as a streetlight. Geller has claimed his feats are the result of paranormal powers given to him by extraterrestrials.  Andrija Puharich met Geller in 1971 and endorsed him as a genuine psychic. Under hypnosis, Geller claimed he was sent to Earth by extraterrestrials from a spaceship 53,000 light years away. Geller later denied the space fantasy claims, but affirmed there "is a slight possibility that some of my energies do have extraterrestrial connection." Puharich also stated that Geller teleported a dog through the walls of his house. Science writer Martin Gardner wrote that since "no expert on fraud was there as an observer” nobody should take the claim seriously.

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    A video surfaced in 2011 showing a bright light descending over the Dome of the Rock and then rapidly accelerating upwards. This video went viral and sparked significant interest and debate. While some believe it to be a real UFO sighting, others have argued that it was a hoax or a natural phenomenon. 
  • Resource:
  • Tanakh, the Stone Edition
  • The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia


Friday, February 24, 2023

The Return Prophesized and Those Who Attacked Them

 Nadene Goldfoot                                            


“For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own soil” (Ezek. 36:24). The passage continues, “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean…. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezek. 36:25–26). .

Ezekiel of the 6th century BCE, possibly a member of the priestly family of Zadok, may have even served in the Temple before its destruction in 586 BCE...and was among those exiled to Tel Abib on the river Kebar in Babylonia where he prophesied over a period of at least 22 years.  What he said was for his own people, but it fits nicely as here we go again; exiled and wanting to go home.   

Prior to dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire in 1917, the population of the area comprising modern Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza Strip was not exclusively Muslim. Under the Empire's rule in the mid-16th century, there were no more than 10,000 Jews in Palestine, making up around 5% of the population.                     

Look at it this way, today, Jews make up 2% of the USA's population.  Then in Palestine we made up 5%.  Then more came in the future 5 Aliyote.  

NEW IMMIGRANTS from North America disembark at Ben-Gurion Airport after a flight arranged by Nefesh B’Nefesh.
(photo credit: FLASH90) July 5, 2022

On This Day of July 5th: Israel passed Law of Return to grant entry to all Jews, 73 years ago.  The Law of Return remains controversial in Israel among those on the Right, who think it lets non-halachic Jews make aliyah, and on the Left, who note a double standard for Arabs and Palestinians.  This is a shundah that they should argue because Israel was created again for the Jewish people by Jews, and it wasn't an easy thing to do.  Think if they could have entered the land during WWII when the Nazis were dead set to kill off all the Jewish people!  Whether Jews are religious or not, this was where we were told to live by G-d, who has remained with us in our thoughts ever since Abraham was in our Torah. 
                                      A hill in Judea

Actually, what was prophesized,  "The Return" of Jews to their Homeland started in 1881 with the First Aliyah . The First Aliyah followed pogroms in Russia in 1881-1882. The first group of 14 Biluim arrived at Jaffa port on July 6, 1882. Most of the olim (immigrants) during this period came from Eastern Europe; a small number also arrived from Yemen. Members of Hibbat Zion and Bilu, two early Zionist movements that were the mainstays of the First Aliyah, defined their goal as the political, national, and spiritual resurrection of the Jewish people in Palestine In all, nearly 35,000 Jews came to Palestine during the First Aliyah. Almost half of them left the country within several years of their arrival, some 15,000 established new rural settlements, and the rest moved to the towns. 

Life after 70 CE with the Romans burning of Jerusalem and the Temple had horrifying effects on the survivors of this tragedy.  They found themselves living in lands where they weren't wanted, and tried for 2,000 years to survive with the Holocaust being the worst attack on them of all. 6 million Jews killed between 1939-1945.  

Long ago when Abraham was thought to be part of the Hyksos Invasion coming from Ur on Euphrates River (yellow)
1750 BCE was 3,773 years ago.  

The Israelites who returned to Palestine, their land named by the Romans in 135 for the most serious enemy their people had had, the Philistines, were usually rabbis or learned scholars. 

Before the naming the land Palestine, Hillel the Elder of 1st Century BCE was such a man who lived there.   He was one born in Babylonia and made his way to Jerusalem to study with 2 famous teachers, Shemaiah and Avtalyon, already there with a school.  Hillel learned debate with his partner, Shammai, and they became famous debaters , the last of the pairs doing this called  Zugot  of scholars.  So there were Jews in Jerusalem before the Aliyah had even been thought of.  

The name Judea is a Greek and Roman adaptation of the name "Judah", which originally encompassed the territory of the Israelite tribe of that name and later of the ancient Kingdom of Judah.                                                  

Returnees  angered a bully by the name of Haj Amin al Husseini, the Sherif of Jerusalem, called the Grand Mufti (1893-1974).  He was a small fish in a large pond and didn't want to lose the rights he had received.  So he got his gang together and attacked the Jews who had returned home. 

 Beginning in 1920, Great Britain ruled Palestine under a mandate created by the League of Nations. The British were to facilitate the establishment of a modern Jewish homeland. Due to Arab opposition to the proposed Jewish homeland in Palestine, the British initially refused to establish a separate fighting unit of Jewish volunteers from Palestine.

(1870-1963) leader of Liberal Party
member of British cabinet from 1909, influenced the Balfour Declaration to be written by Lord Balfour 

In 1921, the high commissioner for the British was Sir Herbert Samuel, ironically a rare Jew who had gained such a title, had appointed the Arab leader as mufti of Jerusalem and head of the Supreme Muslim Council.  In turn, this new mufti organized the Palestine attacks in 1936.  For that he was exiled in 1937, but he fled to Lebanon and during World War II participated in a coup in Iraq before going to Europe.  

 However, wartime manpower requirements and the strategic need to defend the Middle East induced the British to permit the formation of 15 Palestinian Jewish battalions. These units were incorporated into the British army in September 1940.

Haj Amin al-Husseini was one of prominent Palestinian Arabs leaders who fled Mandatory Palestine in 1937 during 1936–1939 uprising and spent World War II period as visiting collaborator of the Axis Powers. Here he is with Hitler.  In Germany, he assisted Hitler and was largely responsible for the liquidation of the Jews in Moslem areas of Bosnia.  He cooperated with Hitler on decisions against the Jews.  After 1948 he set up a short-lived "Palestine Government" in Gaza, and then later in Cairo.

Numerous German-Arab commando operations were conducted over 1943-1944 from North Africa to Syria and Iraq, in order to collect intelligence, conduct sabotage operations against the Allies, and to foment uprisings.  

Operation Atlas was the code name for an operation carried out by a special commando unit of the Waffen SS (Nazis) which took place in October 1944. It involved five soldiers: three who were previously members of the Templer religious sect in Mandatory Palestine, and two Palestinian Arabs who were close collaborators of the mufti of JerusalemAmin al-Husseini.

The mission aimed at establishing an intelligence-gathering base in Mandatory Palestine, radioing information back to Germany, and recruiting and arming anti-British Palestinians by buying their support with gold. It also aimed at fomenting tensions between Jews and Arabs, thus creating problems for the British Mandatory authorities.

The Jewish Brigade Group of the British army, which fought under the Zionist flag, was formally established in September 1944. It included more than 5,000 Jewish volunteers from Palestine organized into three infantry battalions and several supporting units. Under the command of Brigadier Ernest Benjamin, the Jewish Brigade fought against the Germans in Italy from March 1945 until the end of the war in May 1945.

Along came Yassir Arafat, Husseini's relative, a killer who spent his life attacking Jews in Palestine-Israel.  Arafat was born in Cairo, Egypt. His father, Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini, was a Palestinian from Gaza City, whose mother, Yasser's paternal grandmother, was Egyptian.  Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini, known to us as Yasser Arafat was born on August 24, 1929 in Cairo, Egypt. 

Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini,
known to us as Yasser Arafat was born on August 24, 1929 in Cairo, Egypt. He died November 11, 2004. He became leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).  He became politically active while a student at Cairo University.  
Opposed to the 1948 creation of the State of Israel, he fought alongside the Muslim Brotherhood during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Following the defeat of Arab forces, Arafat returned to Cairo and served as president of the General Union of Palestinian Students from 1952 to 1956.   .In 1959 he began to organize the terrorist Fatah organization.  After 1967's war where Israel won against many attacking countries surrounding her, he adopted a worldwide program of terror activities aimed at Israeli, Zionist and Jewish targets. 

           King Abdullah II and Queen Rania: King of Jordan Abdullah II poses with his wife, Queen Rania and his brother, Crown Prince Hamzeh on February 10, 2000 in Ahman, Jordan.

 Arafat's setbacks included the expulsion of the PLO from Jordan by King Hussein in 1970, and his experience with Black September.  It was a conflict fought in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan between the Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF), under the leadership of King Hussein, and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), under the leadership of Yasser Arafat, primarily between 16 and 27 September 1970, with certain aspects of the conflict continuing until 17 July 1971. Arafat had tried to take over Jordan.  

                              Queen Rania in May 2018

Jordan's king Abdullah II later married a Palestinian, Rania.  Rania was born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents. She also has Turkish roots on her maternal grandfather's side.   Her father, Faisal Al-Yassin [ar] (1934–2022) was from Tulkarm in the West Bank located just inside what's called the Green Line. The Green Line refers to the demarcation lines, rather than permanent borders, between Israeli forces and those of its neighbors. All movement across the demarcation lines was banned and monitored by the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization. 

                                       

 Resource:

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-first-aliyah-1882-1903

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

Tanakh; Ezekiel:36:24

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasser_Arafat

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasser_Arafat#:~:text=Arafat%20was%20born%20in%20Cairo,Yasser's%20paternal%20grandmother%2C%20was%20Egyptian.

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-first-aliyah-1882-1903

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_September

https://www.jpost.com/aliyah/article-711225

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/jewish-brigade-group

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Line_(Israel)#:~:text=The%20Green%20Line%20refers%20to,United%20Nations%20Truce%20Supervision%20Organization.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Atlas_(Mandatory_Palestine)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judea#:~:text=The%20name%20Judea%20is%20a,the%20ancient%20Kingdom%20of%20Judah.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_Jews#:~:text=Prior%20to%20dismemberment%20of%20the,around%205%25%20of%20the%20population.

https://www.chosenpeople.com/is-the-modern-state-of-israel-2/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Rania_of_Jordan