Land Of The Covenant Meant For Who?

 Nadene Goldfoot                                            

        Land of Canaan that Abram traveled upon from his city of UR

1948 BCE

           Canaan, the Promised land #16-- Wilderness of Paran #13 in (1391-1271 BCE) a difference at least of 677 years.....

What is the Land Of The Covenant or ארצות הברית ? The Land of the Covenant most commonly refers to the biblical promise where God granted the land of Canaan to Abraham and his descendants as an everlasting possession.  The promise and description of the land given through God's covenant are first introduced in the Book of Genesis (the first part of the Torah), particularly through the covenant made with Abraham. 

Canaan was the land along the coast of Palestine (a name created by the Romans who came along much later. Canaan was divided into small city-states.  the Israelites called the land Eretz Yisrael ("The Land of Israel")  and the northern area they called Aram-which we call Syria.  The people were said to be from Canaan, son of Ham, son of Noah.  They were cursed and condemned to servitude as told in (Gen.9:20).  Ham's father was Cush (Nubia and Ethiopia.) Put was Libya and Morocco), Mizraim was (Egypt) and Canaan was (Syria and Palestine).  Their language shows us that Africans South of Egypt are related to Semitic languages and are called the Hamitic languages.                     

Moses Ben Nahman (or Nahmanides) aka, the Ramban  who lived 1194c,-1270 CE, rabbi in Spain, commentator of the Talmuds of which we had 2;  one from Babylonia and one from Palestine Jews, Jews followed his rites of mourning, dealt with the nature of the super-soul,  He was opposed to the study of philosophy, tried to mediate between Maimonides supporters and opponents in 1238. A Talmud was a collection of the records of academic discussion and judicial administration of Jewish Law. It may look pretty simple to understand but not with a lot of creative minds searching in it.     

Who are the People of the Covenant?  The exact phrase "people of the covenant" is a conceptual summary rooted in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), where God establishes an everlasting covenant with Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 17:7) and formalizes it with the Israelites at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:5-6). 

Our history tells us that it was Moses who wrote our Torah (5 books of Moses), while on the Exodus.  He lived until the age of 120 and is buried in an unknown grave, with no headstone.  

Here we have a problem.  Ishmael was the eldest son of Abraham being his mother was Sarah's Egyptian handmaid, Hagar and said to be of royal lineage of her people. He was circumcised when 13 years old.  After this ceremony he and his mother wee excluded from Abraham's home, so he made Paran his home and then joined his half brother, Isaac in burying Abraham. Paran was not in Canaan; it was a distinct desert region located to the south of Canaan.

 Ishmael's daughter married Esau.  Ishmael  traditionally is the father of the Arab people.   

Ark of the Covenant was the sacred chest that held the stone tablets of the law—it first appears and is described in the Book of Exodus.)  The first 10 laws are well known, but actually there are 613 of them.  The first 10 laws of Moses, commonly known as the Ten Commandments, are found in Exodus 20:1–17. 

Here are the commandments in standard traditional order:

No other gods: You shall have no other gods before Me.
No idols: You shall not make for yourself an idol or bow down to them.
Do not misuse God's name: You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
Keep the Sabbath holy: Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Honor your parents: Honor your father and your mother.
Do not murder: You shall not murder (or kill).
Do not commit adultery: You shall not commit adultery.
Do not steal: You shall not steal.
Do not lie: You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
Do not covet: You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, spouse, or possessions. 

A covenant (in Hebrew-berit):  An agreement of friendship (PEACE) between persons or nations  and so we have the words Shalom and Salaam.  In early biblical times, a covenant was begun by a ceremonial act, such as passing between two halves of a sacrificed animal as mentioned in (Gen. 15:9-11).  The special relationship between G-d and individuals or nations is also termed as a covenant, accompanied as a rule by an external symbol (or sign).  The covenant made with Abraham was by the act of circumcision as in (Gen. 17:10). 

 We have made other covenants, but are now speaking of the LAND of the COVENANT, which was Canaan.  Abraham then was declared to be the father of the Arabs and the Jews, with the first sons, Isaac, son of Sarah the Jewish child and Ishmael, the Arab son of Hagar.  Their descendants have shown us that with this over 1,000 year separation of cultures and goals, they have become enemies of each other.  How can enemies populate the same land?  

Abraham, of 1948 BCE of the 2nd millennium  gave us the Ten Commandments that were given to him by G-d. 

Mohammad (570-632 CE) gave his people some of the Jewish beliefs along with his revelations though the intermediation of the angel, Gabriel and placed all of them in his creation of his people's book the Koran. We find Gabriel, an archangel mentioned with Michael, the only angel mentioned by name in the old Testament (bible) in (Dan. 8-10).  Gabriel is always described as a leader of the angelic host and one of the 4 or 7) highest angels in the celestial hierarchy (also  descried as the "angel of the presence").  Gabriel (aka "Jibril") has attained prominence in Islamic legend and folklore, as we now know. The Catholics have borrowed Gabriel and have made him a Saint.   

Moses, Leader of 603,550 people Out Of Slavery Of 400 Years

 Nadene Goldfoot                                             

     12 Tribes of Israel, Others, slaves of Egypt, Leaving

Moses of the tribe of Levi, the Lawgiver of Judaism, prophet for his people, and founder of the Jewish religion, was born in Egypt to  Jochabed and Amram in 1391 BCE, slaves of the Egyptians, 3,417 years ago in the city of Avaris, in Goshen. Levites did not have a state of their own, commanded to live in all of them to teach their religion. Avaris, the ancient Hyksos capital in the eastern Nile Delta, is most famously referred to in the Bible as Rameses (or Raamses). In the book of Exodus (1:11), it is described as one of the "store cities" built by the Israelites for Pharaoh.                                      

    Egypt's Goshen area and area of Canaan where slaves came from

The people first taken into slavery had been the children, descendants of Jacob and his family of Israelites, for the past 400 years. To understand time; that's like the 1900's when horse and buggies were being used for transportation to the time of 2300 or today.  However, Egypt in that period was not inventing new transportation at all.  They had slaves to do everything.  The Israelite slaves were used to build storage buildings needed in Goshen, so they lived there.                      

Moses and been saved by the pharaoh's daughter at a time boy babies were thought by the pharaoh to grow up and take over Egypt, so they had them all killed that year, and Moses was in great danger.  His mother hid him in the bull rushes growing in the Nile's marshy shallows that emptied into the Mediterranean Sea.  

He was raised as  Prince, so one day he saw an overseer whipping a slave almost to his death, and he stopped him but the overseer fell, hit his head and died in the process.  

 I imagine this is the same chariot that Moses used to get to Midian.

Even a Prince couldn't do that legally so Moses hid his body and left town, seeking refuge in Midian (Saudi Arabia) , a land next to Egypt, making it 420-440 miles to Midian. 

 

He came upon several women who were watching their sheep and being harassed by some other men, and Moses stepped into help them.  That's how he met his wife, Zipporah, daughter of the local priest, Jethro.  He spent his life there, becoming father of 2 sons, Gershom and Eliezer  until he was 80 years old, and then felt he must go back after seeing and hearing a vision in a burning bush, burning unusually from something other than fire,  and help his people escape from slavery. He felt it was a message from G-d.  

He followed the route he had taken 40 some years before back to Egypt and found in the slave's homes his brother, Aaron.  They went together to plead with a younger pharaoh for the Slaves to be freed.

Aaron did the talking as Moses had a lisp.  Snakes of each decided the debate of letting the slaves go with Moses.                                             

After some quick preparation, the people were ready to leave, and Moses took a census and counted 603,550 male Israelite slaves with others mixed in the tribes with:  The book of Numbers explains that before the camp was arranged, a census was taken of the Israelite men who were able to fight. More than 600,000 men were counted, not including women and children (Numbers 1:45-46). This means the camp may have included over two million people, making it like a moving city in the wilderness.

Reuben:  46,500       Zebulun:  57,400     Asher:       41,500

Simeon:  59,300      Dan:         62,700     Ephraim:   40,500

Judah:     74,600     Naphtali   53,400      Manasseh: 32,200

Issachar:  54,400    Gad          45,650      Benjamin:  35, 400

By day, a pillar of cloud rested over the Tabernacle, and by night, a pillar of fire lit up the camp (Exodus 40:36-38). When the cloud of God’s presence lifted from the Tabernacle, the Israelites would pack up and march in the same order as their camp. 1. Judah’s tribe led the way, followed by 2. Reuben’s, then the 3. Levites carrying the holy objects, then 4. Ephraim’s tribe, and finally 5.Dan’s tribe as the rear guard. This order protected the Israelites and kept them together on their journey through the wilderness.

During their wilderness journey, the Israelites camped at night under the brilliant glow of the pillar of fire. Organized by tribe, the massive encampment featured thousands of tents surrounding the central Tabernacle, with Moses' Tent of Meeting placed at a distance for communing directly with God. 

       Fighting against  the Amaleks 

Moses had learned how to move army groups in his Egyptian classes, so knew how to have them make camp at night, and how to walk during the day.  I doubt if his training had allowed for women to give birth, or rest so many, at times..  The men did have to fight off attackers, though, as they went through certain towns, and the Amaleks were after them, too.  The ones last in the Exodus line were attacked as slower people were there, the aged, more feeble ones finding it hard to keep up.  

Resource:

The Tanach (Old Testament, the Stone Edition, ArtScroll series.

                                                       

Is Buddaism related at all to Judaism?

 Nadene Goldfoot                                             

Are Buddhism and Judaism related? 

 Theologically, Judaism and Buddhism are fundamentally different—Judaism is a monotheistic religion centered on a Creator God, while Buddhism is non-theistic and focuses on achieving enlightenment and escaping the cycle of rebirth, or reincarnation. 

However, the two traditions share surprisingly strong modern and cultural connections:

• The "JewBu" Phenomenon: There is a significant overlap between the two communities. A large number of disaffected or secularized Jews have gravitated toward Buddhism, leading to the creation of the term "JewBu" (or "JuBu"). It's estimated that a large percentage of Western Buddhist leaders have Jewish roots. But it wasn’t until the 1950s that the Jewish Buddhist movement really took off. With the hippy ‘peace and love’ mentality on the rise, and many modern Jews seeking a more spiritual path, lots of young American Jews turned to Buddhism. Jewish friends Michael Fagan and Sam Bercholz established the Shambhala Buddhist festival; Joseph Goldstein, Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg and Jacqueline Mandell-Schwartz founded the famous Insight Meditation center and movement; and even David Ben-Gurion espoused Buddhist meditation!
• Shared Ethical Values: Both traditions strongly emphasize the interconnectedness of humanity, ethical living, and the ethics of reciprocity (e.g., the concept of "Love thy neighbor" in Judaism and compassion for all sentient beings in Buddhism). 
•  Contrasting Worldviews: Judaism teaches active engagement with and perfecting the physical world. Buddhism, on the other hand, emphasizes detachment from worldly desires to end suffering. 
• Which religion is the oldest?  Judaism or Buddhism...
• Judaism is significantly older than Buddhism. Judaism emerged in the Middle East around 2000 BCE to 1500 BCE. In contrast, Buddhism originated in ancient India much later, around the 6th century BCE.  
  
                       Moses and the 10 Commandments
• Moses was the leader of Judaism.  We Jews follow the Mosaic Law in different degrees.  There are the Orthodox who are most stringent of followers, the Conservative and the Reform who have attempted to bring the laws more up to date by following some of them.
  
                                David Yosef, (Sephardi)
  
                       Kalmen Bur, (Ashkenazi)
• In each community, large or small, there has been someone officiating the Jewish laws:  for instance-the state of Israel:  Israel's two chief rabbis are Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Kalman Ber and Sephardi Chief Rabbi David Yosef (also known as the Rishon leZion). Both rabbis were elected in late 2024 to serve 10-year terms overseeing the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. Yes, we also have a division of Ashkenazi (more German/Hebrew-western) and Sephardi (more Spain, Latin American,) and even Mizrahi (Egypt, Middle Eastern).  Mizrahi Jews have no chief rabbi. Mizrahi Jews (Jews from the Middle East and North Africa) fall under the jurisdiction of the Sephardic Chief Rabbi, a position officially known as the Rishon LeZion. 
  
             Israel's population: Israel's total population is approximately 10,178,000 to 10,224,200. Demographic breakdown:
  • Jewish and others: 76.3% (about 7.7 million) In Israel, about 50% of the Jewish population identifies with Orthodox Judaism, while only about 2% to 3% identify as Conservative and Reform combined. The remaining 45% either identify as traditional, strictly secular (Hiloni), or claim no specific denominational affiliation
  • Arab citizens: 21.1% (about 2.1 million)
  • Foreign citizens: 2.6% (about 260,000) 
• In Israel, the Jewish population is nearly evenly split between the two main ethnic branches. Approximately 45% are Ashkenazi (European descent), while 48% to 50% are Sephardic or Mizrahi (Middle Eastern, North African, and Central Asian descent). The remainder belong to smaller, diverse communities like Ethiopian Jews. 
  
  
  
• Buddhism does not have a single, universal leader. Instead, the religion is structured around regional schools, lineages, and monastic orders rather than a centralized governing authority.                                
  
  
  
• Siddhartha Gautama (The Buddha): The historical founder of Buddhism who lived in ancient India. While he is not a "leader" in the modern sense, his teachings (Dharma) form the foundational basis for all Buddhist traditions. 
  
  
  
• The Dalai Lama: The spiritual leader of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The incumbent, Tenzin Gyatso, is widely recognized globally as the preeminent figure and voice of Tibetan Buddhism. 
• Other Lineage Leaders: Different Buddhist schools are led by their own respected patriarchs, abbots, or monastic councils. For example, Theravada Buddhism (practiced heavily in Southeast Asia) is guided by councils of senior monks, while Zen Buddhism relies on an unbroken chain of recognized teachers (Roshi or Sensei).
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• Resource:
• https://blog.nli.org.il/en/judaism-and-buddhism/
• https://www.embodiedphilosophy.com/reflections-of-a-jewish-buddhist-2/