Abram of Ur And Why He Moved To His New Destination

 Nadene Goldfoot                                               

     Abraham about to be stopped in the sacrifice of his son, Isaac.  Today,  Muslims believe Abraham (known as Ibrahim) was commanded by God to sacrifice his son. However, there are two key differences between the Islamic and Judeo-Christian traditions: Muslims believe the son was Ishmael (Ismail) rather than Isaac, and that the son was a willing participant. Ishmael was the son of Hagar, Abrams's concubine/wife that couldn't get along with Sarah being Ishmael resented the new baby then and as he was growing up.   

Jewish children usually were able to grow up with the story of Abram whose name was changed to Abraham and learn that he was on quite a trip and had earned the newer name to show he had gone through a  transformation in thinking, like becoming a new person.     I'm going to elaborate on the why and how he did that and why it's so interesting and full of meaning for us.

Genetic studies today have consistently shown that Palestinians and Jews share deep biological roots and are close genetic neighbors. Both groups inherit a significant portion of their ancestry from the ancient populations of the Levant.  This differs from studies done at least 20 years ago.  However, findings do not indicate that Palestinian DNA has become more similar to Jewish DNA over the past two decades. Rather, the scientific consensus has remained consistent: genetics demonstrate a high degree of ancestral continuity in the region.  I believe this shows that we may be 20th cousins to Palestinians but do not share the same interpretations of morality that Judaism has presented to us through Abram, and than Moses, his 15th descendant or so.  It's all in the interpretations.  

              Ur of the Chaldees on the Euphrates River

Abram grew up in Ur of the Chaldees, the meaning explanation showing the importance of the Chaldees as their might have been another Abram somewhere.  The Chaldees show the type of people who lived there.  Abram was an extremely important man to the Jewish people.  He was our Patriarch and his wife Sarah, who was his niece, was our Matriarch.  The patriarch Abram (later Abraham) was born and lived before God called him to migrate to Canaan. It was a major urban center in ancient Mesopotamia. I had thought of it as a simple little grouping of huts, being Abraham lived in the 2nd millennium BCE, probably about the year 1948 BCE., which is about 4,000 years ago.  One cannot even imagine 250 years ago when our USA was born let alone 4,000 years ago.

It turns out that Ur certainly was a major urban center, a large one at that.  It's where people were sacrificed to their polytheistic gods regularly when they needed things.  We know this because Moses wrote about it when Abram was asked to sacrifice his only son to their G-d., and he seemed willing to do it, getting everything ready, when they were stopped by an angel.  The story reflects the change in Abraham, not going along with sacrificial rituals.  To me, he then realized that he didn't want his children to grow up with such a morality as that, and he had to leave this city and find a place barren of such thinking. Ur at that period was like New York City to Abraham. 

Ur has been investigated by archaeologists.   It was situated in southern Mesopotamia on the banks of the Euphrates River, about 10 miles west of its modern-day bed  The ancient city of Ur (also known as Ur of the Chaldees) is a Sumerian city-state located in modern-day southern Iraq, near Nasiriyah. It was famously investigated by British archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley between 1922 and 1934 in a joint expedition between the British Museum and the Penn Museum. Woolley  was a British archaeologist best known for his excavations at Ur in Mesopotamia. He is recognized as one of the first "modern" archaeologists who excavated in a methodical way, keeping careful records, and using them to reconstruct ancient life and history. Woolley was knighted in 1935 for his contributions to the discipline of archaeology.  Ur was the burial site of what may have been many Sumerian royals. The Woolleys discovered tombs of great material wealth, containing large paintings of ancient Sumerian culture at its zenith, along with gold and silver jewelry, cups and other furnishings. The most extravagant tomb was that of "Queen" Pu-Abi. Amazingly enough, Queen Pu-Abi's tomb was untouched by looters. Inside the tomb, many well-preserved items were found, including a cylindrical seal bearing her name in Sumerian. Her body was found buried along with those of two attendants, who had presumably been poisoned to continue to serve her after death. Woolley was able to reconstruct Pu-Abi's funeral ceremony from objects found in her tomb.

                Kingdom of Aram-Damascus up north   

In the Hebrew Bible, the term Amorite often refers to specific, militant highlander groups or pre-Israelite inhabitants who occupied the land of Canaan.They are frequently described as enemies defeated by the Israelites during the Exodus and conquest narratives, led by kings such as Sihon and Og.  Hammurabi of Babylon: The most celebrated Amorite ruler, King Hammurabi (reigned 1792–1750 BCE), united Mesopotamia under the Code of Hammurabi, one of the oldest and most comprehensive deciphered writings of significant law in the world.   Despite their pastoralist roots, the Amorites rapidly adopted and contributed to the Sumero-Akkadian culture, blending their own traditions (such as the worship of the chief deity Amurru) with native religious and societal structures.

Since Upper Mesopotamia included northern Syria, which was inhabited by groups like the Amorites, some even consider Abraham to be among the Amorites that migrated to the Levant. Like Abraham and his descendants, the Amorites followed shepherding-based lifestyles. Nonetheless, the Biblical authors distanced themselves from the Amorites to assert their moral superiority.  Abram's writings were an upgrade from Hammurabi's list.  

Here's the map showing how Abram/Abraham and his group traveled northwest and then south to Canaan.  

    Terah, father of Nahor and of Abram and Haran,  couldn't make it all the way to Canaan.  They seemed to be traveling in a massive caravan. . By 4,000 years ago (around 2000 B.C.E.), the wheel had already been in use for over a millennium, so they must have had wagons of some sort to travel with.  Mesopotamia: Archaeological excavations—such as those at Kurd Qaburstan on the Erbil Plain—have uncovered evidence of monumental city walls, gates, and trade routes used during the Middle Bronze Age.

 Terah, a descendant of Shem son of Noah, was the father of Abram/Abraham, Nahor, and Haran. Their home's location is not certain, but it is usually supposed to have been in Mesopotamia. Besides Lot and Milcah, Haran fathered a daughter Iscah.  After Haran died in Ur of the Chaldees "before his father Terah",his family travelled towards Canaan, the Promised Land. Abram did not know his destination geographically at first. According to the biblical narrative, he knew about the "Promised Land" of Canaan entirely through divine revelation, being called by God to leave his homeland and go to a place that God would "show" him.  

However, Terah stopped at Harran [Hebrew חָרָן, Ḥārān]) and settled there, as did Nahor and Milcah, whereas Lot, son of Haran,  accompanied Abraham and others onwards to Canaan.

History Of Line Of Jewish People

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                    

The story in the bible of Jacob and his 12 sons that became the 12 tribes of Israel happens to come out of history itself, names and all.  This one story is surely the base of truth of what the bible relates.  From there, the rabbis could go back in time tracing Jacob's family as well as go forward. Judah is the tribe we get "Jewish" from. People have also heard of Judea and Samaria... This tale showing our early development is my favorite, and was just the right explanation Moses was able to give 4,000 years ago to people without today's knowledge we have stored in our brains.  This they could understand, and we can, too.  "In Jewish tradition, the Patriarch Jacob is a foundational figure whose journey from a shrewd, calculating youth to a mature, spiritual leader (Israel) represents the core ethical evolution of the Jewish people."

                                 Chief Rabbi in Ireland, Hertzog

 Jews use the 5 books of Moses by following it and the rest of scriptures in what is called the "Old Testament."  My personal book is called a Tanach which includes the Torah or 5 books, the prophets, and writings...the 24 books of the Bible translated and annotated.  The annotations are so informative, explaining the setting, often by the Rambam and Rashi, who I have found is one of my distant relatives, rabbis of the Middle Ages.   

There are people who do not believe anything in the bible is of value and is only a fairy tale. Usually they are atheists.  Atheists are individuals who do not believe in the existence of a god or any gods. The term originates from the Greek word atheos, meaning "without God". Rather than being a set of doctrines, it is primarily a single characteristic: the absence of a belief in deities.

DNA is the best way along with the Bible to understand our beginnings.  Middle Eastern Roots: Genome-wide scans show that global Jewish diaspora groups share common ancestral ties to the Middle East, tracing back over 2,000 years. Their ancient DNA frequently shows high affinity with historical populations from the Levant.  Ashkenazi Jewish Profile: For Jews of Central and Eastern European descent, DNA is typically an admixture of roughly \(40\% - 50\%\) Middle Eastern (Levantine) and \(50\% - 60\%\) European ancestry. Paternal lines typically trace back to the Middle East, while maternal lines often show Southern or Eastern European origins.

Autosomal DNA studies show high levels of genetic relatedness among Ashkenazi, Sephardi, and Mizrahi Jews, corresponding to a shared Middle Eastern ancestry with variations in regional admixture. Autosomal DNA evidence supports the historical narrative of Jewish populations originating from the ancient Levant, with genetic diversity shaped by migrations, admixture, and isolation over millennia  We can take tests with several companies on our autosomal DNA and go back quite far and find 5th cousins easily today.  Those men with J1 and J2 can see their Jewish line,  which is where the Cohens come from.  

                                       Rabbi Judah haNasi

Population Bottlenecks: Ancient DNA studies (like those examining medieval Ashkenazi remains in Erfurt, Germany) show that today's large Ashkenazi population descended from a very small founding group. This bottleneck amplified specific genetic mutations found within the community.  This is why we are distantly related with 20%-30% connection to our many cousins we didn't know we have.  Supposedly there are 4 women who were our base of origin, but not necessarily our own outstanding women of Sarah, Rachel, Rebecca, and Leah.                           

Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson born October 5, 1958) is an outstanding American astrophysicist, author, and science communicator, and thinks well of our 5 books explaining the development of man and our planet. An astrophysicist is a scientist who applies the laws of physics and mathematics to understand how the universe works. They study the birth, life, and death of celestial bodies like stars, planets, and galaxies, as well as complex phenomena such as dark matter and black holes.

 He thought, as do I, that our beginning history as shown is a metaphor of the scientific facts.  I found him on You tube being interviewed and he explained his findings.  Though he has a Catholic background, he may not have found Jacob being the anchor to our history.                                   

Thomas Quinn Cahill (March 29, 1940 – October 18, 2022) was an American scholar and writer. He was best known for The Hinges of History series, a prospective seven-volume series in which the author recounts formative moments in Western civilization

Although there is Thomas Cahill's book, The Gifts of the Jews--how a tribe of desert nomads changed the way everyone thinks and feels..which may be talking about the fact that when Judaism, given to Moses, a descendant of Jacob,  came about when the world had gone for polytheism, and Jews staunchly stuck with Judaism and hasn't even accepted Jesus as the son of G-d.  ". He argued that ancient Israelites radically altered the trajectory of human history by introducing concepts like linear time, individual destiny, and ethical responsibility to the powerless.

                                 Rabbi Shnearson 

When asked during a question session at the University at Buffalo if he believed in a higher power, Tyson responded: "Every account of a higher power that I've seen described, of all religions that I've seen, include many statements with regard to the benevolence of that power. When I look at the universe and all the ways the universe wants to kill us, I find it hard to reconcile that with statements of beneficence. Beneficence is the ethical principle of acting in the best interest of others. It involves taking positive steps to prevent harm, remove harm, and improve the welfare of others. The word originates from the Latin benefactum, which literally translates to "good deed."

So here we go.  This happens to be a BIG principle in Judaism, though with the war at hand, Tyson may not accept that, and he may not be alone.  We have the MITZVAH in our belief system of trying to keep all of us from harm, to improve the welfare of others, even those who were our enemy.  We visit the sick, which is a mitzvah, and do many good deeds in our lives.  So does our army.  It so happens that our enemy, Iran and their terrorists of the moment, are fighting in a new way, that of destroying our good reputation.  Being anti-Semitism has been with us since the Hellenistic days, most people are now believing lies about us.  They allow their own people to be victims just to damage our good name.  So such opinions may have come to Tyson as well, and that would be very sad.  

In an interview with Big Think, he said: "So, what people are really after is what is my stance on religion or spirituality or God, and I would say if I find a word that came closest, it would be 'agnostic'... at the end of the day I'd rather not be any category at all." Additionally, in the same interview with Big Think, Tyson mentioned that he edited Wikipedia's entry on him to include the fact that he is an agnostic:   An agnostic is a person who believes that nothing is known (or can be known) about the existence of God. Unlike atheists, who assert that God does not exist, or theists, who believe in God, agnostics suspend judgment because they believe the truth is currently unknown or inherently un

                                Rashi
knowable. 

 So I'm trying to show that in Judaism, there is worth in our story of Creation and development of our tribes that led to Judaism, and that it doesn't have to be believed  word by word....until,....that is, when you get to Jacob. and how he was father of the 12 tribes.    

Resource:

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

Palestinian Bloodline and Politics: Where It Comes From

 

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                  

DNA testing of Palestinians has started and has turned up evidence of Palestinian Arabs coming from Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq;  neighbors of Israel. 

 This goes along with the research of a reporter many years ago who was  Joan Peters, who wrote the 1984 book From Time Immemorial: The Origins of the Arab-Jewish Conflict Over Palestine. Her research claimed that many Arabs, later known as Palestinians, actually migrated to the area from neighboring countries during the19th and 20th centuries, rather than having deep, long-standing roots there.                      

Joan Peters was Joan Friedman before she had married.  Yes, she was Jewish which gave her the impetus to dig for information like an archaeologist would do to a spot of land.  She was not an indifferent news reporter.  Yet she was a true reporter and told it like it was, the truth.   Read her book and you will see.  "In the 1970s and early 1980s, Peters wrote for magazines such as Harper's, Commentary, The New Republic, and The New Leader, was a consultant in the creation of CBS news documentaries in 1973 about the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and provided commentary on the subject for PBS."

There never has been a country or state called Palestine.  The name comes from the Romans who named what the Jews called Eretz Yisrael,  Palestine.  The reason they did that was that  it was for the Jews' worst enemy at that time;  the Philistines.  "Following the suppression of the Bar Kokhba revolt around 135 CE, The Roman Emperor Hadrian renamed the province of Judea to Syria Palaestina (Latin: Palestina). This action aimed to sever the connection between the Jewish people and their historic homeland after extensive rebellions, often considered a punitive measure to diminish Jewish presence."  (Egypt used to do the same thing to their walls, where they displayed their history in pictures.  They would erase it if that present Pharaoh wasn't in agreement.)

The Romans had fought against the Judeans (name where Jews came from) and had won in 70 CE, the culmination of THE BATTLE of the century.  Such a battle;  I'm not sure there had ever been such a horrid one.  The Romans were able to cause severe starvation first, weakening the people, then taking them as slaves or just killing them.  Those who could, escaped, of course, and there were a few.  

Peters argued that the land was largely under-populated before Jewish immigration began, and that the influx of Arab immigration was driven by the economic development brought by early Jewish settlers.  I also found that they needed workers in building of which much was happening.    It showed a map like this one for someone else                                         

A young Palestinian lady took a DNA test which told her she was from Jordan and Syria.  The map above is from FTDNA of another person.  The Palestinian thought there was and error;  to her it should have said, Palestine!  She and most likely all other "Palestinians" have been deluded to think so. Finally, DNA is opening people's minds to realize that Joan Peters was correct in her analysis of the Palestinian Arabs. "Based on 2019 reports, Palestinian-American illustrator Marguerite Dabaie expressed surprise and disappointment after a 23andMe DNA test indicated a mix of ancestry that differed from her family's understanding, highlighting the emotional complexity. 23andMe Example: In some examples, a Palestinian's DNA results may show high percentages of "Levantine" (often labeled by companies as Lebanon or Syria) because DNA databases cluster them by regional proximity.

Genetic studies, including those on modern ancestry tests (e.g., 23andMe, AncestryDNA) and academic research, frequently show that Palestinians have high genetic affinity with other Levantine populations (Syrians, Lebanese, Jordanians) and Middle Eastern groups

Limitations are being broken when one reads what DNA testing has accomplished when applied to mummies in Egypt today.  It's amazing how they are using to pinpoint the name of the mummies and who their parents and relatives were in the mix of this particular one.  

Jews living in the same cities and towns of the Arabs were also called Palestinians.  That name had stuck.  It was even on their visas. The British had accepted the name when they were awarded the 30 year mandate.  

Then on May 14, 1948, the Jews were awarded the land and called it Israel after their ancient name they had before 721 BCE when the Assyrians had attacked and taken away several hundred of their best people.               

Saul, the first king of Israel, was from the tribe of Benjamin. He was the son of Kish, a member of this tribe, which was one of the twelve tribes of Israel, often described as small yet valiant. 

A country with a ruler and all the trimmings of a country named Palestine is non existent.  A land mass was named Palestine by the Romans who changed the land that was Judah,  that was left from being one of the 12 states of Jacob;   Moses, then Joshua who led the people there.

In fact, King David who came from the tribe of Judah ruled the 12 states from 1010 BCE to 970 BCE.  Before David was King Saul of the 11th century BCE.  

These people shaped who we are.  The land bears their bodies, their history which is ours.  We are the remnant of these people who barely made it to 2026 and are not about to be snuffed out.  Our religion contains this history of our family.  Our claim of the tiny land of Israel is but a speck on a map compared to our neighbors.  Our responsibility to the world has been a great one.  Our beliefs have been good for all (David's Psalms for one) Our determination to keep our life going is as great as the sun is shining from the sky.  

We are determined not to let  the lies and slander coming out of Gaza, etc through Iran erase what we have again accomplished.  This is a new era in the world.  There will be no more 6 million of us burned to death or killed off anymore.  We are the Jews.