Nadene Goldfoot
Rabbi Dr. Akiva Tatz is a prominent South African Orthodox rabbi, inspirational speaker and writer who is heavily involved in Orthodox Jewish outreach. He is also a doctor and world-renowned expert in Jewish medical ethics. Rabbi Dr. Akiva Tatz studied medicine at the University of Witwatersrand. He spent a year in St. Louis, Missouri. This is the year on a Jewish calendar of 5,785 out of a presumed 6,000. Tne end of times could come any time in these ending 215 years. It looks like the prophets were spot on when it comes to our present history.
He's got me curious. He was on J TV.
Ishmael was the 1st son of Abraham. Ishmael's mother, however, was Hagar, the Egyptian handmaid of Sarah. Ishmael was named by Divine command and was circumcised when 13 years old. After he and his mother had been excluded from Abraham's home, he lived at Paran but joined Isaac, his half-brother in burying Abraham.
Ishmael had a daughter who married Esau. Ishmael's daughter who married Esau was Mahalath, also known as Basemath. Esau was her uncle by marriage, as she was the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, and Esau was the son of Isaac, who was Ishmael's half-brother. Esau married Mahalath/Basemath after realizing his Canaanite wives displeased his parents, Isaac and Rebekah.
Ishmael is traditionally the ancestor of the Arab peoples to whom the name, Ishmael, was applied in the Middle Ages. He died at the age of 137. Traditionally, he is seen as the ancestor of the Arabs. Within Islam, Ishmael is regarded as a prophet and the ancestor of the Ishmaelites (Hagarenes or Adnanites) and patriarch of Qaydār.
Esau was the son of Isaac, Abraham's 2nd son whose mother was Sarah, 1st wife of Abraham as well as being her uncle. Esau is also the elder twin-brother of Jacob, grandson of Abraham. Esau and Jacob's mother was Rebekah. After Jacob obtained his birthright and the firstborn's blessing, Esau became Jacob's enemy, seeking to kill him. How sad can one get seeing one twin wanting to kill his own twin brother? Esau had three wives: Adah, Aholibamah, and Basemath. He also had five sons.
- Adah: Daughter of Elon the Hittite.
- Aholibamah: Daughter of Anah, granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite.
- Basemath: Daughter of Ishmael, sister of Nebaioth.
- Sons: Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jaalam, and Korah.
- Genesis 36:2-3: lists the wives as Adah, Aholibamah, and Basemath.
- Genesis 26:34: mentions that Esau married Judith and Basemath, both Hittites. However, some Bible scholars suggest that Judith was not one of Esau's primary wives and may have been omitted from the genealogy in Genesis 36 because she did not bear children. Some Bible commentaries also suggest that Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Adah might be the same person
Jacob was Esau's twin brother. He did the dastardly thing of buying Esau's birthright from him for a mess of pottage, then with his mother's help, received the blessing for himself. He fled to Haran knowing this, but on returning, 20 years later, was received affectionately by Esau. How had he changed? (Genesis 36:1) Jacob becoming Israel-a name change showing his inner change. (Gen.32:25-29). At Haran, Jacob married his uncle Laban's 2 daughters, Rachel and Leah.
by them and their handmaids, Bilhah and Zilpah, he had 12 sons--progenitors of the 12 tribes--and a daughter, Dinah.
The story of the twin brothers thus symbolized the relationship between the 2 nations, developing to the point of hostility. In the Talmud, Esau was synonymous with villainy and violence. The word Esau in late Hebrew literature implies a coarse materialist. This shows how his origins has carried on his reputation since his birth. Seems like this is shown today in Hamas. and the Ayatollahs who have taken over Iran.
Jacob was the favorite of the mother and Isaac's favorite was Esau as Esau hunted and supplied meat for the father to eat. Rebekah knew, or felt she knew the heart of each of her sons. She knew that Esau lacked certain feelings for people that Jacob had. It was she who pushed Jacob into being deceitful and against Esau in receiving the final blessing from Isaac that was so important . (My take)
Rashi (1040-1105) , in his commentary on the Torah, says that the statement "Esau hates Jacob" is not just a narrative detail, but a well-known halakha, or established principle. This highlights a deep-seated animosity between the brothers that goes beyond a simple sibling rivalry. While Esau's initial embrace and kiss of Jacob at their reunion might seem like a reconciliation, Rashi, citing the Midrash, notes that some interpret the dots above the word "kissed" in the text as indicating Esau's kiss wasn't entirely genuine.
- Rabbi Akiva Tatz's Comments: Esau's character and the source of his hatred:
- Esau is often portrayed as representing a worldly, physical orientation, in contrast to Jacob's more spiritual nature.
- His hatred for Jacob stems from the blessing Jacob received from Isaac, a blessing intended for the firstborn, Esau. Esau feels deeply wronged and this resentment festers.
- Some interpretations suggest Esau's initial desire for the birthright and blessing was not genuine, driven more by envy than a true understanding of their spiritual significance.
- The "Halacha: Esau Hates Jacob":
- This well-known statement, attributed to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, reflects a traditional view that Esau, and by extension his descendants (often identified with Rome/Edom), possess an inherent hatred for Jacob (Israel).
- This is not necessarily interpreted as a universal, unchanging law but rather as a recognition of a historical pattern of animosity and persecution faced by the Jewish people.
Today, we can study and learn from DNA testing.
- .In Jewish tradition, Kohanim are descendants of the biblical priest Aaron, and their lineage is traditionally traced patrilineally (through the father's line). Abraham would be the patriarch of this line. J1 is the common tag for such descendants. The Cohen Modal Haplotype (CMH) is a specific set of genetic markers on the Y-chromosome that is commonly found in men who identify as Kohanim (Jewish priests). It's not a single gene, but rather a combination of several short tandem repeats (STRs). While the CMH is strongly associated with Kohanim, it's not exclusive to them, and it also appears in other Jewish and non-Jewish populations, such as certain Arabs, proving the seriousness of the Bible.
- The CMH is often associated with Haplogroup J-M267 (J1), which is also common in the Near East.
The CMH is found within Haplogroup J-M267 (J1) on the Y-chromosome ancestral tree. Haplogroup J-M267 (J1) is commonly referred to as 'Semitic' or 'Mediterranean' because of its elevated frequency in those areas.
However, Haplogroup J-M267's highest frequency (and greatest diversity) is in Iraq and in the Zagros mountain range found in Western Iran; following our history in the Bible to a tee.
Y-chromosome haplogroups are incredibly useful for tracing male ancestry and studying human migration patterns because the Y-chromosome is passed down virtually unchanged from father to son. However, small changes, or mutations, do occur over time, which create new branches or "lines" within the Y-DNA family tree (known as the Y-DNA Haplotree), making it easier for scientists to track and distinguish lineages.
An example is how the Arab line changed from the Jewish line of Cohen.
The dominant Y-chromosome haplogroup in Arab populations is J1 (J-M267), particularly the J1-P58 clade. This haplogroup is found in high frequencies, reaching up to 80% in some Arabian Peninsula populations like Yemen, Qatar, and Sudan, according to recent studies.
After 4,000 years, we now have the Abraham Accords, where 4 Arab countries so far have joined Israel in a peace pact, FINALLY! 4,000 years!!!!! They would be mostlikely the descendants of Ishmael, but Hamas terrorists must be from the line of Esau, still full of hate of which even they seem to not have a good reason.
Resource:
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
https://help.familytreedna.com/hc/en-us/articles/6202378100751-The-Cohen-Modal-Haplotype-Badge
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