From the Dead Sea Scrolls we find the "Sons of Zadok" (Essenes ?)
The Sons of Zadok reveal a dualistic language to describe the options in the universe, being light and darkness.
In their Manual of Discipline:
"God has created man to govern the world, and has appointed for him two spirits in which to walk until the time of his visitation: the spirits of truth and falsehood. Those born of truth spring from a fountain of light, but those born of falsehood spring from a source of darkness. All the children of righteousness are ruled by the Prince of light and walk in the ways of light, but all the children of falsehood are ruled by the Angel of darkness and walk in the ways of darkness."
Contained in man is the "nature" of both light and darkness "appointed by God" as spirit.
The code of both exists in man. We choose which to live by. "Way of Light" or "Way of Darkness"
Friday, March 27, 2009
The Daughters of Nahash or the daughters of Jesse
Regarding the Nachash of Genesis. I thought you might find this interesting.
Isaiah, Chapter 11, verses 1-3:“ And there shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots...[2] ”
This is regarded by Christians as a prophecy of Jesus, who Christians consider to be the Messiah.
The Bible also says that King David had two sisters, Zeruiah and Abigail. However, they are never called daughters of Jesse in the masoretic text, but daughters of Nahash. (2 Samuel 17:25). .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse
This may be why the Ha-nakhah dreidel has the letters (Gematria 358) for Nachash in one direction and for the Messiah in the other. (and also Shekin-ah)
NGHS and SHGN
Hanukkah (Hebrew: חנוכה, IPA: ['χanuka], alt. Chanukah), also known as the Festival of Lights.
The story of Hanukkah is alluded to in the book of 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees of the Septuagint but Ha-nukkah is not specially mentioned; rather, a story similar in character, and obviously older in date, is the one alluded to in 2 Maccabees 1:18 et seq according to which the relighting of the altar fire by Nehemiah was due to a miracle which occurred on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, and which appears to be given as the reason for the selection of the same date for the rededication of the altar by Judah Maccabee.
25 Kislev - (164 BCE) - The Hanukkah miracle
Isaiah, Chapter 11, verses 1-3:“ And there shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots...[2] ”
This is regarded by Christians as a prophecy of Jesus, who Christians consider to be the Messiah.
The Bible also says that King David had two sisters, Zeruiah and Abigail. However, they are never called daughters of Jesse in the masoretic text, but daughters of Nahash. (2 Samuel 17:25). .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse
This may be why the Ha-nakhah dreidel has the letters (Gematria 358) for Nachash in one direction and for the Messiah in the other. (and also Shekin-ah)
NGHS and SHGN
Hanukkah (Hebrew: חנוכה, IPA: ['χanuka], alt. Chanukah), also known as the Festival of Lights.
The story of Hanukkah is alluded to in the book of 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees of the Septuagint but Ha-nukkah is not specially mentioned; rather, a story similar in character, and obviously older in date, is the one alluded to in 2 Maccabees 1:18 et seq according to which the relighting of the altar fire by Nehemiah was due to a miracle which occurred on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, and which appears to be given as the reason for the selection of the same date for the rededication of the altar by Judah Maccabee.
25 Kislev - (164 BCE) - The Hanukkah miracle
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Dreidel and Nachash
The Dreidel and the Snake
The "serpent" gets its due in the Chanukah game. This scenario is replayed with every dreidel spin. The letters on the Dreidel, Nun (50), Gimmel (3), Hey (5), Shin (300) equals 358, add up to the same value as the Hebrew word for snake, nachash (Nun (50), Chet (8), Shin(300).
Beginning with the story of Adam & Eve and the forbidden fruit, the snake became the Jewish anthropomorphic repre-sentation of evil. Every time a dreidel ends its spin, evil (nachash - snake) falls. When evil stumbles, God's goodness triumphs.
The Dreidel and God
One mathematically minded rabbi found that the phrase "God is king, God rules and shall rule" totals 358 as well.
The Dreidel and the Jewish Messiah
The number 358 also equals the numeric value of Mashiach, the Jewish Messiah, who will bring upon the world a time of redemption. Mashiach is spelled:
· Mem = 40
· Shin = 300
· Yud = 10
· Chet = 8
This presents yet another layer of meaning to be read into the dreidel.
Dreidel, Dreidyl, Dreidl I've got myself a Dreydl
The dreidel is a traditional Hanukah toy. If the dreidel were merely a symbol of the Hanukah story then (borrowing from another holiday)-- Dayenu!--it would have been enough to assure its significance and memory throughout the generations. In fact, the dreidel has other symbolic meanings.
According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language-Fourth Edition, the word dreidel derives from the Yiddish word dreydl based on dreyen, to turn. These words are themselves derived from Middle High German (draejen) and Old High German (draen). One occasionally sees alternative spellings dreidl, dreydl, and dreidyl in various contexts. More than one dreidel constitutes dreideloch but the common English plural is dreidels.
A dreidel differs from an ordinary spinning top because it is emblazoned with the four letters Nun-Gimel-Heh-Shin representing the words Nas-Godol-Hayah-Sham (A Great Miracle Happened There). Since 1948 Israeli dreidels bear the letters Nun-Gimel-Heh-Pei for the phrase A Great Miracle Happened Here.
The Hebrew word for dreidel is sivivon.
Physicists tell us that a spinning object generates an inertial torque that resists opposing motion. Spinning gyroscopes keep ships and planes on course. Whirling Dervishes spin themselves into a frenzy that they might enter a higher state of consciousness.
The dreidel is theology. The dreidel spins around a central point. It topples when it loses its connection to that point. So do we when we lose our Center. Spinning the dreidel is a symbol that life revolves about a Central Presence.
The dreidel is history. A dreidel has four sides. The four sides represent four empires that once enslaved us. The Babylonian, Persian, Greek and Roman empires each conquered most of the known world. In time they themselves toppled and fell.
The dreidel is psychology. A case can be made that the human spirit has four primary attributes: self (soul, nefesh), body (guf), reason (sechel) and everything (by extension, evil, hakol). When the dreidel is spun the four sides can no longer be distinguished and blend into a harmonious oneness about a single infinite point. Spinning the dreidel is a symbolic act of striving for that harmony.
The dreidel is philosophy. The four sides represent four aspects of the human dimension: that which stands apart (nivdal) the wheel of life (galgal), humility (shafal) and human potential (hiuli).
The dreidel is mystical numerology. Every Hebrew letter has an associated numerical value. Gematria assigns meanings to the arithmetic value of a word. Many congregations offer contributions in increments of $18 because the word chayim (life) has the numerical value eighteen.
The letters of the dreidel sum to 358, which is the same as the Hebrew word mashiach (Messiah). Spinning the dreidel is a symbolic act of messianic hope.
The letters in the Hebrew word for snake (nachash), also sum to 358.
The dreidel is Kabbalah geometry. The typical six-sided dreidel is related to a three dimensional projection of a torus in four-dimensional space. Followers of the Kabbalah assign mystical meanings to this geometric shape and its associated symmetries. It is said that if the each letter of the Hebrew alphabet were placed on a different vertex then various folds reveal combinations of letters spelling significant words.
According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language-Fourth Edition, the word dreidel derives from the Yiddish word dreydl based on dreyen, to turn. These words are themselves derived from Middle High German (draejen) and Old High German (draen). One occasionally sees alternative spellings dreidl, dreydl, and dreidyl in various contexts. More than one dreidel constitutes dreideloch but the common English plural is dreidels.
A dreidel differs from an ordinary spinning top because it is emblazoned with the four letters Nun-Gimel-Heh-Shin representing the words Nas-Godol-Hayah-Sham (A Great Miracle Happened There). Since 1948 Israeli dreidels bear the letters Nun-Gimel-Heh-Pei for the phrase A Great Miracle Happened Here.
The Hebrew word for dreidel is sivivon.
Physicists tell us that a spinning object generates an inertial torque that resists opposing motion. Spinning gyroscopes keep ships and planes on course. Whirling Dervishes spin themselves into a frenzy that they might enter a higher state of consciousness.
The dreidel is theology. The dreidel spins around a central point. It topples when it loses its connection to that point. So do we when we lose our Center. Spinning the dreidel is a symbol that life revolves about a Central Presence.
The dreidel is history. A dreidel has four sides. The four sides represent four empires that once enslaved us. The Babylonian, Persian, Greek and Roman empires each conquered most of the known world. In time they themselves toppled and fell.
The dreidel is psychology. A case can be made that the human spirit has four primary attributes: self (soul, nefesh), body (guf), reason (sechel) and everything (by extension, evil, hakol). When the dreidel is spun the four sides can no longer be distinguished and blend into a harmonious oneness about a single infinite point. Spinning the dreidel is a symbolic act of striving for that harmony.
The dreidel is philosophy. The four sides represent four aspects of the human dimension: that which stands apart (nivdal) the wheel of life (galgal), humility (shafal) and human potential (hiuli).
The dreidel is mystical numerology. Every Hebrew letter has an associated numerical value. Gematria assigns meanings to the arithmetic value of a word. Many congregations offer contributions in increments of $18 because the word chayim (life) has the numerical value eighteen.
The letters of the dreidel sum to 358, which is the same as the Hebrew word mashiach (Messiah). Spinning the dreidel is a symbolic act of messianic hope.
The letters in the Hebrew word for snake (nachash), also sum to 358.
The dreidel is Kabbalah geometry. The typical six-sided dreidel is related to a three dimensional projection of a torus in four-dimensional space. Followers of the Kabbalah assign mystical meanings to this geometric shape and its associated symmetries. It is said that if the each letter of the Hebrew alphabet were placed on a different vertex then various folds reveal combinations of letters spelling significant words.
The serpent represents rebirth and resurrection.
I am not a Freemason or a Gnostic. I try to follow the example of Jesus in all I do.
I have been researching the symbol of the "serpent" in World cultures and religions.
There is a reason that so many religions of the world include the serpent as an important symbol.
The Serpent represents rebirth and resurrection - shedding of the old skin and being reborn into a new body.
In Genesis 3:13 the Hebrew term "Nachash" can mean serpent, but it also means "shiny one"
In the story "the shiny one" says : "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Gen 3:4
And after they taste the fruit, the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil." Gen 3:22
The "Nachash" (Shiny One) was created by God.
"Now the serpent was more crafty (subtle) than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made." Gen 3:1
In Buddhism, Hinduism, Egyptian, North American spiritual traditions the "Nagas" is the "serpent god" that brings knowledge and "light" to mankind. These traditions existed long before the Genesis story and it is very likely that the Jewish tradition borrows from these earlier stories/creation myths.
If you read Gen 3:14 in relation to Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 perhaps the "Nachash/Nagas" is referring to something other than "satan"
Gen 3:14-15
14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this,
"Cursed are you above all the livestock
and all the wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring [a] and hers;
he will crush [b] your head,
and you will strike his heel."
Isaiah 53:3
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
Isaiah 53:10
Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes [c] his life a guilt offering,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
Psalm 22:
6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by men and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads:
Galatians 3:13
13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written:
"Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."[a]
John 3:14
14Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.[a]
Numbers 21:8
8 The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived."
The word Sheckinah (God head) spoken in reverse is ha-nachash (the Shiny One)
Shekhinah (alternative transliterations Shekinah, Shechinah, Shekina, Shechina, Schechinah, שכינה) is the English spelling of a grammatically feminine Hebrew language word that means the dwelling or settling, and is used to denote the dwelling or settling presence of God,
Shekhinah is derived from the Hebrew verb שכן. In Biblical Hebrew the word means literally to settle, inhabit, or dwell, and is used frequently in the Hebrew Bible. (SeeExodus 40:35,
The Shekhinah is held by some to represent the feminine attributes of the presence of God (shekhinah being a feminine word in Hebrew), based especially on readings of the Talmud.[1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shekhinah
In Luke 17: 20 Jesus teaches us,
The Coming of the Kingdom of God
20Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within[a] you."
On the Jewish Dreidel (a symbol of the world) - there are the letters NGHS (Nakas) when the top is spun in one direction it spells "Shiny One" When it is spun in the other direction it spells SHGN ("Shekin-ah")
There is an evil that lurks in man's heart - that causes him to do evil things but I do not believe that it is the "serpent" in the story of Genesis.
We have within us the ability to find the Kingdom of Heaven (or create a living hell).
We have within us a portion of God's light placed there by Him at our creation.
That light is what creates the desire to seek Him in all we do. A spark that draws us to seek knowledge of Good and Evil and opens the door to understanding where God rests. (within-Lk 17:21)
He is our very breath. It is God alone that sustains us.
And it is the message and teaching of Jesus that offers the Way, the Truth and the Light of God in all.
Matt 5:14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."
John 14
Jesus the Way to the Father
5Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"
6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.7If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
15"If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."
I have been researching the symbol of the "serpent" in World cultures and religions.
There is a reason that so many religions of the world include the serpent as an important symbol.
The Serpent represents rebirth and resurrection - shedding of the old skin and being reborn into a new body.
In Genesis 3:13 the Hebrew term "Nachash" can mean serpent, but it also means "shiny one"
In the story "the shiny one" says : "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Gen 3:4
And after they taste the fruit, the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil." Gen 3:22
The "Nachash" (Shiny One) was created by God.
"Now the serpent was more crafty (subtle) than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made." Gen 3:1
In Buddhism, Hinduism, Egyptian, North American spiritual traditions the "Nagas" is the "serpent god" that brings knowledge and "light" to mankind. These traditions existed long before the Genesis story and it is very likely that the Jewish tradition borrows from these earlier stories/creation myths.
If you read Gen 3:14 in relation to Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 perhaps the "Nachash/Nagas" is referring to something other than "satan"
Gen 3:14-15
14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this,
"Cursed are you above all the livestock
and all the wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring [a] and hers;
he will crush [b] your head,
and you will strike his heel."
Isaiah 53:3
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
Isaiah 53:10
Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes [c] his life a guilt offering,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
Psalm 22:
6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by men and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads:
Galatians 3:13
13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written:
"Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."[a]
John 3:14
14Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.[a]
Numbers 21:8
8 The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived."
The word Sheckinah (God head) spoken in reverse is ha-nachash (the Shiny One)
Shekhinah (alternative transliterations Shekinah, Shechinah, Shekina, Shechina, Schechinah, שכינה) is the English spelling of a grammatically feminine Hebrew language word that means the dwelling or settling, and is used to denote the dwelling or settling presence of God,
Shekhinah is derived from the Hebrew verb שכן. In Biblical Hebrew the word means literally to settle, inhabit, or dwell, and is used frequently in the Hebrew Bible. (SeeExodus 40:35,
The Shekhinah is held by some to represent the feminine attributes of the presence of God (shekhinah being a feminine word in Hebrew), based especially on readings of the Talmud.[1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shekhinah
In Luke 17: 20 Jesus teaches us,
The Coming of the Kingdom of God
20Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within[a] you."
On the Jewish Dreidel (a symbol of the world) - there are the letters NGHS (Nakas) when the top is spun in one direction it spells "Shiny One" When it is spun in the other direction it spells SHGN ("Shekin-ah")
There is an evil that lurks in man's heart - that causes him to do evil things but I do not believe that it is the "serpent" in the story of Genesis.
We have within us the ability to find the Kingdom of Heaven (or create a living hell).
We have within us a portion of God's light placed there by Him at our creation.
That light is what creates the desire to seek Him in all we do. A spark that draws us to seek knowledge of Good and Evil and opens the door to understanding where God rests. (within-Lk 17:21)
He is our very breath. It is God alone that sustains us.
And it is the message and teaching of Jesus that offers the Way, the Truth and the Light of God in all.
Matt 5:14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."
John 14
Jesus the Way to the Father
5Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"
6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.7If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
15"If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."
The World is like a Dreidel. Gematria = 358
As the name from the German dreihen, "to spin," implies, this is a spinning top (in Hebrew sevivon). This top was popular in medieval Germany; its letters in Latin characters: N-nisht (nothing); G-gantz (all); H-halb (half) and S-shtel (put), were transferred to popular Jewish script and usage. Symbolically, the top recalls the "turnover" of events when Judah the Maccabee's few forces vanquished and toppled the many in Antiochus' army. The natural sequence of events was overturned: the strong were spun into the hands of the weak, as enunciated in the Al-ha-Nissim prayer of Hanukkah.
The letters were also mystically interpreted as alluding to the components of man's being as indicated in the Hebrew: nefesh >— soul; guf >— body; sekhel >— mind; this is hakol >— "everything," all that characterizes man.
It was also observed that the four letters (358 together in gematria) are equivalent numerically to nahash, the serpent or evil spirit. The dreidel is spun to topple evil and to bring forth the messianic era establishing God's kingdom. The Hebrew phrase "God is king, God rules and shall rule" is also the equivalent of 358.
In sum, it was stressed that the world is like a dreidel. Everything is set forth in cycles; things change and spin, but all emanate from one Root. The dreidel reflects the game of chance in life as an on-going event. Its letters are also the initials of the phrase "You redeemed Your very own tribe; Mount Zion" (Psalms 74:2).
http://jhom.com/calendar/kislev/dreidel.htm
The word universe derives from the Old French word univers, which in turn derives from the Latin word universum.[3] The Latin word was used by Cicero and later Latin authors in many of the same senses as the modern English word is used.[4] The Latin word derives from the poetic contraction unvorsum — first used by Lucretius in Book IV (line 262) of his De rerum natura (On the Nature of Things) — which connects un, uni (the combining form of unus, or "one") with vorsum, versum (a noun made from the perfect passive participle of vertere, meaning "something rotated, rolled, changed").[4] Lucretius used the word in the sense "everything rolled into one, everything combined into one".
Artistic rendition of a Foucault pendulum showing that the Earth is not stationary, but rotates.
An alternative interpretation of unvorsum is "everything rotated as one" or "everything rotated by one". In this sense, it may be considered a translation of an earlier Greek word for the universe, περιφορα, "something transported in a circle", originally used to describe a course of a meal, the food being carried around the circle of dinner guests.[5] This Greek word refers to an early Greek model of the universe, in which all matter was contained within rotating spheres centered on the Earth; according to Aristotle, the rotation of the outermost sphere was responsible for the motion and change of everything within. It was natural for the Greeks to assume that the Earth was stationary and that the heavens rotated about the Earth, because careful astronomical and physical measurements (such as the Foucault pendulum) are required to prove otherwise.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universe
A dreidel (Yiddish: דרײדל dreydl, Hebrew: סביבון Sevivon) is a four-sided spinning top, played with during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. The dreidel is used for a gambling game similar to Teetotum. Each side of the dreidel bears a letter of the Hebrew alphabet: נ (Nun), ג (Gimel), ה (Hei), ש (Shin), which together form the acronym for "נס גדול היה שם" (Nes Gadol Haya Sham – "a great miracle happened there"). These letters also form a mnemonic for the rules of a gambling game played with a dreidel: Nun stands for the Yiddish word nite ("nothing"), Hei stands for halb ("half"), Gimel for gants ("all"), and Shin for shteln ("put"). In the land of Israel, the fourth side of most dreidels are inscribed with the letter פ (Pei), rendering the acronym, נס גדול היה פה, Nes Gadol Haya Po—"A great miracle happened here" referring to the miracle occurring in the land of Israel. Some stores in Haredi neighbourhoods may sell the traditional ש dreidels.
One 19th century rabbi maintained that Jews played with the dreidel in order to fool the Greeks if they were caught studying Torah, which had been outlawed. Others figured out elaborate gematriot [numerological explanations based on the fact that every Hebrew letter has a numerical equivalent] and word plays for the letters nun, gimmel, hey, shin. For example, nun, gimmel, hey, shin in gematria equals 358, which is also the numerical equivalent of mashiach or Messiah!
In England and Ireland there is a game called totum or teetotum that is especially popular at Christmastime. In English, this game is first mentioned as "totum" ca. 1500-1520. The name comes from the Latin "totum," which means "all." By 1720, the game was called T- totum or teetotum, and by 1801 the four letters already represented four words in English: T = Take all; H = Half; P = Put down; and N = Nothing.
Our Eastern European game of dreidel (including the letters nun, gimmel, hey, shin) is directly based on the German equivalent of the totum game: N = Nichts = nothing; G = Ganz = all; H = Halb = half; and S = Stell ein = put in. In German, the spinning top was called a "torrel" or "trundl," and in Yiddish it was called a "dreidel," a "fargl," a "varfl" [= something thrown], "shtel ein" [= put in], and "gor, gorin" [= all].
Thus the dreidel game represents an irony of Jewish history. In order to celebrate the holiday of Hanukkah, which celebrates our victory over cultural assimilation, we play the dreidel game, which is an excellent example of cultural assimilation! Of course, there is a world of difference between imitating non-Jewish games and worshipping idols, but the irony remains nonetheless.
NGSH spinning one direction. HSGN in the other
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Jewish_Holidays/Hanukkah/At_Home/Dreidel.shtml
The letters were also mystically interpreted as alluding to the components of man's being as indicated in the Hebrew: nefesh >— soul; guf >— body; sekhel >— mind; this is hakol >— "everything," all that characterizes man.
It was also observed that the four letters (358 together in gematria) are equivalent numerically to nahash, the serpent or evil spirit. The dreidel is spun to topple evil and to bring forth the messianic era establishing God's kingdom. The Hebrew phrase "God is king, God rules and shall rule" is also the equivalent of 358.
In sum, it was stressed that the world is like a dreidel. Everything is set forth in cycles; things change and spin, but all emanate from one Root. The dreidel reflects the game of chance in life as an on-going event. Its letters are also the initials of the phrase "You redeemed Your very own tribe; Mount Zion" (Psalms 74:2).
http://jhom.com/calendar/kislev/dreidel.htm
The word universe derives from the Old French word univers, which in turn derives from the Latin word universum.[3] The Latin word was used by Cicero and later Latin authors in many of the same senses as the modern English word is used.[4] The Latin word derives from the poetic contraction unvorsum — first used by Lucretius in Book IV (line 262) of his De rerum natura (On the Nature of Things) — which connects un, uni (the combining form of unus, or "one") with vorsum, versum (a noun made from the perfect passive participle of vertere, meaning "something rotated, rolled, changed").[4] Lucretius used the word in the sense "everything rolled into one, everything combined into one".
Artistic rendition of a Foucault pendulum showing that the Earth is not stationary, but rotates.
An alternative interpretation of unvorsum is "everything rotated as one" or "everything rotated by one". In this sense, it may be considered a translation of an earlier Greek word for the universe, περιφορα, "something transported in a circle", originally used to describe a course of a meal, the food being carried around the circle of dinner guests.[5] This Greek word refers to an early Greek model of the universe, in which all matter was contained within rotating spheres centered on the Earth; according to Aristotle, the rotation of the outermost sphere was responsible for the motion and change of everything within. It was natural for the Greeks to assume that the Earth was stationary and that the heavens rotated about the Earth, because careful astronomical and physical measurements (such as the Foucault pendulum) are required to prove otherwise.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universe
A dreidel (Yiddish: דרײדל dreydl, Hebrew: סביבון Sevivon) is a four-sided spinning top, played with during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. The dreidel is used for a gambling game similar to Teetotum. Each side of the dreidel bears a letter of the Hebrew alphabet: נ (Nun), ג (Gimel), ה (Hei), ש (Shin), which together form the acronym for "נס גדול היה שם" (Nes Gadol Haya Sham – "a great miracle happened there"). These letters also form a mnemonic for the rules of a gambling game played with a dreidel: Nun stands for the Yiddish word nite ("nothing"), Hei stands for halb ("half"), Gimel for gants ("all"), and Shin for shteln ("put"). In the land of Israel, the fourth side of most dreidels are inscribed with the letter פ (Pei), rendering the acronym, נס גדול היה פה, Nes Gadol Haya Po—"A great miracle happened here" referring to the miracle occurring in the land of Israel. Some stores in Haredi neighbourhoods may sell the traditional ש dreidels.
One 19th century rabbi maintained that Jews played with the dreidel in order to fool the Greeks if they were caught studying Torah, which had been outlawed. Others figured out elaborate gematriot [numerological explanations based on the fact that every Hebrew letter has a numerical equivalent] and word plays for the letters nun, gimmel, hey, shin. For example, nun, gimmel, hey, shin in gematria equals 358, which is also the numerical equivalent of mashiach or Messiah!
In England and Ireland there is a game called totum or teetotum that is especially popular at Christmastime. In English, this game is first mentioned as "totum" ca. 1500-1520. The name comes from the Latin "totum," which means "all." By 1720, the game was called T- totum or teetotum, and by 1801 the four letters already represented four words in English: T = Take all; H = Half; P = Put down; and N = Nothing.
Our Eastern European game of dreidel (including the letters nun, gimmel, hey, shin) is directly based on the German equivalent of the totum game: N = Nichts = nothing; G = Ganz = all; H = Halb = half; and S = Stell ein = put in. In German, the spinning top was called a "torrel" or "trundl," and in Yiddish it was called a "dreidel," a "fargl," a "varfl" [= something thrown], "shtel ein" [= put in], and "gor, gorin" [= all].
Thus the dreidel game represents an irony of Jewish history. In order to celebrate the holiday of Hanukkah, which celebrates our victory over cultural assimilation, we play the dreidel game, which is an excellent example of cultural assimilation! Of course, there is a world of difference between imitating non-Jewish games and worshipping idols, but the irony remains nonetheless.
NGSH spinning one direction. HSGN in the other
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Jewish_Holidays/Hanukkah/At_Home/Dreidel.shtml
Adam's Maxim and Spinoza's Conjecture and the ha-nackash /shekhin-ah conundrum
Adam's Maxim and Spinoza's Conjecture
"This research supports Spinoza’s conjecture that most people have a low tolerance for ambiguity and that belief comes quickly and naturally, whereas skepticism is slow and unnatural. The scientific principle of the null hypothesis—that a claim is untrue unless proved otherwise—runs counter to our natural tendency to accept as true what we can comprehend quickly. Given the chance, most of us would like to invoke Adam’s Maxim because it is faster and feels better. Thus, it is that we should reward skepticism and disbelief and champion those willing to change their mind in the teeth of new evidence."
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=adams-maxim-and-spinozas-conjecture-mar-08
Have you read Carlos Suares "Cipher of Genesis" ?
http://www.psyche.com/psyche/lex/nahash.html
I think we have the Genesis story backwards.
The serpent (ha-nachash) is "the shiny one" or Shekinah (Godhead) spoken backwards.
"This research supports Spinoza’s conjecture that most people have a low tolerance for ambiguity and that belief comes quickly and naturally, whereas skepticism is slow and unnatural. The scientific principle of the null hypothesis—that a claim is untrue unless proved otherwise—runs counter to our natural tendency to accept as true what we can comprehend quickly. Given the chance, most of us would like to invoke Adam’s Maxim because it is faster and feels better. Thus, it is that we should reward skepticism and disbelief and champion those willing to change their mind in the teeth of new evidence."
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=adams-maxim-and-spinozas-conjecture-mar-08
Have you read Carlos Suares "Cipher of Genesis" ?
http://www.psyche.com/psyche/lex/nahash.html
I think we have the Genesis story backwards.
The serpent (ha-nachash) is "the shiny one" or Shekinah (Godhead) spoken backwards.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Nahash and the Number 358
Nahash / Nahhhash / Nachash: Serpent
Nahash
300 8 50 Gematria: 358
Suares calls Nahash "The Old Man of the Mothers."
Somewhere in the background of our ancestral memory we have a fossilized stratum recalling that the earth put forth great and successive efforts in order to engender beings that could stand upright. The biblical serpent who appears upright is the symbolic descendent of the great saurians of early geological epochs, creatures that occupied the planet for millions of years prior to man's appearance. This serpent is then the symbol of the most alive creature that earth was able to produce until a certain epoch. Suares, Ciper of Genesis p.123
Genesis 3:13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done ? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
10 50 1 10 300 5 300 8 50 5
The misunderstandings with which we have grown up are too numberous to be dealt with in one small volume. Here, however, is another vital example. We have seen with the episode of Jacob wrestling with Elohim that the process of evolution in time is satisfied only when overcome and "conquered." Thus Esha, in plucking the apple, understands and integrates the Elohimic process and it is satisfied. An extraordinary thing then happens to Esha. When she is questioned concerning this event, she does not -- as the translations assert -- reply, The serpent beguiled me (Genesis III, 13),. What the true reading gives is far more significant. The Hebrew phrase Hanahhash Hashayiny as is so often true in the most beautiful passages, is impossible to translate in two or three words. It has to do with the action of the letter Sheen which we met with after Adam's so-called sleep. Sheen (300), it is remembered, stands for the cosmic breath of life, and we have seen that the true meaning is not that they were "naked" and "not-ashamed" (which has nothing to do with the letter-numbers of the text), but that they were left without Sheen. Now Hanahhash Hashayiny simply means that Nahash, the serpent, "Sheens" her: that is, he blends his earthly fire with her lost heavenly fire, which thus comes to life again. Some traditions have identified this Sheen (300) with the mythical "Spirit of God." Suares, Ciper of Genesis p.119
So here we are at the very beginning of the myth of evil, which, if really understood, would set us free. Almost nothing, of course, of what we have been taught as part of the psychological conditioning of our evolutionary past, is true. Our primitive and moralistic interpretations of "original sin" and the role of femininity in the development of consciousness block us from the true meaning of the revelation. "The misunderstandings with which we have grown up" must be overcome and "conquered" in the land of space-time and duality, Canaan.
If we resist both being entranced by infantile stories suitable for Bronze Age psyches or dismissing the story as yet another creation myth and irrelevant to modern minds, we can make one important observation -- the plot -- as dynamic action -- starts here. Everything before Genesis 3:13 is stage-setting. Hanahhash Hashayiny begins the story of human development.
This development, at every stage, is dependent on the transformation of the feminine elements in the human psyche, and we will see it elaborated throughout the Hebrew Bible, from Adam and Eve through the Abraham Cycle to Moses and Zifforah and beyond.
Hanahhash Hashayiny is both the beginning and the end. The Breath from Below (Nahhash's Sheen) blends with the Breath from Above (Esha's Sheen) and results in a Yod-Aleph in a factual life (Noun) in existence (Yod) -- an incarnation (at least potentially) of the two Partners (Aleph/Intemporal and Yod/Duration) in the Game of Life in existence.
"The Kohen Brothers were the first who actually made the connetion between the gematria of "Nahash" (serpent) and the gematria of "Mashiah" (messiah) = 358." Avraham Elqayam: The Treatise on the Dragons
http://www.psyche.com/psyche/lex/nahash.html
Nahash
300 8 50 Gematria: 358
Suares calls Nahash "The Old Man of the Mothers."
Somewhere in the background of our ancestral memory we have a fossilized stratum recalling that the earth put forth great and successive efforts in order to engender beings that could stand upright. The biblical serpent who appears upright is the symbolic descendent of the great saurians of early geological epochs, creatures that occupied the planet for millions of years prior to man's appearance. This serpent is then the symbol of the most alive creature that earth was able to produce until a certain epoch. Suares, Ciper of Genesis p.123
Genesis 3:13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done ? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
10 50 1 10 300 5 300 8 50 5
The misunderstandings with which we have grown up are too numberous to be dealt with in one small volume. Here, however, is another vital example. We have seen with the episode of Jacob wrestling with Elohim that the process of evolution in time is satisfied only when overcome and "conquered." Thus Esha, in plucking the apple, understands and integrates the Elohimic process and it is satisfied. An extraordinary thing then happens to Esha. When she is questioned concerning this event, she does not -- as the translations assert -- reply, The serpent beguiled me (Genesis III, 13),. What the true reading gives is far more significant. The Hebrew phrase Hanahhash Hashayiny as is so often true in the most beautiful passages, is impossible to translate in two or three words. It has to do with the action of the letter Sheen which we met with after Adam's so-called sleep. Sheen (300), it is remembered, stands for the cosmic breath of life, and we have seen that the true meaning is not that they were "naked" and "not-ashamed" (which has nothing to do with the letter-numbers of the text), but that they were left without Sheen. Now Hanahhash Hashayiny simply means that Nahash, the serpent, "Sheens" her: that is, he blends his earthly fire with her lost heavenly fire, which thus comes to life again. Some traditions have identified this Sheen (300) with the mythical "Spirit of God." Suares, Ciper of Genesis p.119
So here we are at the very beginning of the myth of evil, which, if really understood, would set us free. Almost nothing, of course, of what we have been taught as part of the psychological conditioning of our evolutionary past, is true. Our primitive and moralistic interpretations of "original sin" and the role of femininity in the development of consciousness block us from the true meaning of the revelation. "The misunderstandings with which we have grown up" must be overcome and "conquered" in the land of space-time and duality, Canaan.
If we resist both being entranced by infantile stories suitable for Bronze Age psyches or dismissing the story as yet another creation myth and irrelevant to modern minds, we can make one important observation -- the plot -- as dynamic action -- starts here. Everything before Genesis 3:13 is stage-setting. Hanahhash Hashayiny begins the story of human development.
This development, at every stage, is dependent on the transformation of the feminine elements in the human psyche, and we will see it elaborated throughout the Hebrew Bible, from Adam and Eve through the Abraham Cycle to Moses and Zifforah and beyond.
Hanahhash Hashayiny is both the beginning and the end. The Breath from Below (Nahhash's Sheen) blends with the Breath from Above (Esha's Sheen) and results in a Yod-Aleph in a factual life (Noun) in existence (Yod) -- an incarnation (at least potentially) of the two Partners (Aleph/Intemporal and Yod/Duration) in the Game of Life in existence.
"The Kohen Brothers were the first who actually made the connetion between the gematria of "Nahash" (serpent) and the gematria of "Mashiah" (messiah) = 358." Avraham Elqayam: The Treatise on the Dragons
http://www.psyche.com/psyche/lex/nahash.html
shekhiNah and haNachash
Shekhinah (alternative transliterations Shekinah, Shechinah, Shekina, Shechina, Schechinah, שכינה) is the English spelling of a grammatically feminine Hebrew language word that means the dwelling or settling, and is used to denote the dwelling or settling presence of God,
Shekhinah is derived from the Hebrew verb שכן. In Biblical Hebrew the word means literally to settle, inhabit, or dwell, and is used frequently in the Hebrew Bible. (See Exodus 40:35, "Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting, for the cloud rested [shakhan] upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle.
The Shekhinah is held by some to represent the feminine attributes of the presence of God (shekhinah being a feminine word in Hebrew), based especially on readings of the Talmud.
Shechinah – a Chaldee word meaning resting-place, not found in Scripture, but used by the later Jews to designate the visible symbol of God's presence in the Tabernacle, and afterwards in Solomon's temple. When the Lord led Israel out of Egypt, he went before them "in a pillar of a cloud." This was the symbol of his presence with his people. God also spoke to Moses through the 'shekhinah' out of a burning bush.
The Shekhinah in the New Testament is commonly equated to the presence or indwelling of the Spirit of the Lord (generally referred to as the Holy Spirit, or Spirit of Christ) in the believer, drawing parallels to the presence of God in Solomon's Temple. Furthermore, in the same manner that the Shekhinah is linked to prophecy in Judaism, so it is in Christianity:
For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit.
It is interesting to note that Shekinah spoken in reverse is ha-nachash. The Shiny One. (Genesis) 3:14
ha-nachash the shiny one
הניכש
shekinah = Godhead שכינה
http://www.thedivinecouncil.com/nachashnotes.pdf
nachash
naw-khash'
a primitive root; properly, to hiss, i.e. whisper a (magic) spell; generally, to prognosticate:--X certainly, divine, enchanter, (use) X enchantment, learn by experience, X indeed, diligently observe.
nachash
nakh'-ash
from 'nachash'; an incantation or augury:--enchantment.
nchash
nekh-awsh'
(Aramaic) corresponding to 'nchuwshah'; copper:--brass.
nachash
naw-khawsh'
from 'nachash'; a snake (from its hiss):--serpent.
Nachash
naw-khawsh'
the same as 'nachash'; Nachash, the name of two persons apparently non-Israelite:--Nahash.
Nachshown
nakh-shone'
from 'nachash'; enchanter; Nachshon, an Israelite:--Naashon, Nahshon.
nchosheth
nekh-o'-sheth
for 'nchuwshah'; copper, hence, something made of that metal, i.e. coin, a fetter; figuratively, base (as compared with gold or silver):--brasen, brass, chain, copper, fetter (of brass), filthiness, steel.
Nchushta'
nekh-oosh-taw'
from 'nchosheth'; copper; Nechushta, an Israelitess:--Nehushta.
Nchushtan
nekh-oosh-tawn'
from 'nchosheth'; something made of copper, i.e. the copper serpent of the Desert:--Nehushtan.
nachath
naw-khath'
a primitive root; to sink, i.e. descend; causatively, to press or lead down:--be broken, (cause to) come down, enter, go down, press sore, settle, stick fast.
nchath
nekh-ath'
(Aramaic) corresponding to 'nachath' (5181); to descend; causatively, to bring away, deposit, depose:--carry, come down, depose, lay up, place.
Nachath
nakh'-ath
from 'nchath'; a descent, i.e. imposition, unfavorable (punishment) or favorable (food); also (intransitively; perhaps from 'nuwach', restfulness:--lighting down, quiet(-ness), to rest, be set on.
Nachath
nakh'-ath
the same as 'Nachath'; quiet; Nachath, the name of an Edomite and of two Israelites:--Nahath.
nacheth
naw-khayth'
from 'nachath'; descending:--come down.
natah
naw-taw'
a primitive root; to stretch or spread out; by implication, to bend away (including moral deflection); used in a great variety of application (as follows):--+ afternoon, apply, bow (down, - ing), carry aside, decline, deliver, extend, go down, be gone, incline, intend, lay, let down, offer, outstretched, overthrown, pervert, pitch, prolong, put away, shew, spread (out), stretch (forth, out), take (aside), turn (aside, away), wrest, cause to yield.
Shekhinah is derived from the Hebrew verb שכן. In Biblical Hebrew the word means literally to settle, inhabit, or dwell, and is used frequently in the Hebrew Bible. (See Exodus 40:35, "Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting, for the cloud rested [shakhan] upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle.
The Shekhinah is held by some to represent the feminine attributes of the presence of God (shekhinah being a feminine word in Hebrew), based especially on readings of the Talmud.
Shechinah – a Chaldee word meaning resting-place, not found in Scripture, but used by the later Jews to designate the visible symbol of God's presence in the Tabernacle, and afterwards in Solomon's temple. When the Lord led Israel out of Egypt, he went before them "in a pillar of a cloud." This was the symbol of his presence with his people. God also spoke to Moses through the 'shekhinah' out of a burning bush.
The Shekhinah in the New Testament is commonly equated to the presence or indwelling of the Spirit of the Lord (generally referred to as the Holy Spirit, or Spirit of Christ) in the believer, drawing parallels to the presence of God in Solomon's Temple. Furthermore, in the same manner that the Shekhinah is linked to prophecy in Judaism, so it is in Christianity:
For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit.
It is interesting to note that Shekinah spoken in reverse is ha-nachash. The Shiny One. (Genesis) 3:14
ha-nachash the shiny one
הניכש
shekinah = Godhead שכינה
http://www.thedivinecouncil.com/nachashnotes.pdf
nachash
naw-khash'
a primitive root; properly, to hiss, i.e. whisper a (magic) spell; generally, to prognosticate:--X certainly, divine, enchanter, (use) X enchantment, learn by experience, X indeed, diligently observe.
nachash
nakh'-ash
from 'nachash'; an incantation or augury:--enchantment.
nchash
nekh-awsh'
(Aramaic) corresponding to 'nchuwshah'; copper:--brass.
nachash
naw-khawsh'
from 'nachash'; a snake (from its hiss):--serpent.
Nachash
naw-khawsh'
the same as 'nachash'; Nachash, the name of two persons apparently non-Israelite:--Nahash.
Nachshown
nakh-shone'
from 'nachash'; enchanter; Nachshon, an Israelite:--Naashon, Nahshon.
nchosheth
nekh-o'-sheth
for 'nchuwshah'; copper, hence, something made of that metal, i.e. coin, a fetter; figuratively, base (as compared with gold or silver):--brasen, brass, chain, copper, fetter (of brass), filthiness, steel.
Nchushta'
nekh-oosh-taw'
from 'nchosheth'; copper; Nechushta, an Israelitess:--Nehushta.
Nchushtan
nekh-oosh-tawn'
from 'nchosheth'; something made of copper, i.e. the copper serpent of the Desert:--Nehushtan.
nachath
naw-khath'
a primitive root; to sink, i.e. descend; causatively, to press or lead down:--be broken, (cause to) come down, enter, go down, press sore, settle, stick fast.
nchath
nekh-ath'
(Aramaic) corresponding to 'nachath' (5181); to descend; causatively, to bring away, deposit, depose:--carry, come down, depose, lay up, place.
Nachath
nakh'-ath
from 'nchath'; a descent, i.e. imposition, unfavorable (punishment) or favorable (food); also (intransitively; perhaps from 'nuwach', restfulness:--lighting down, quiet(-ness), to rest, be set on.
Nachath
nakh'-ath
the same as 'Nachath'; quiet; Nachath, the name of an Edomite and of two Israelites:--Nahath.
nacheth
naw-khayth'
from 'nachath'; descending:--come down.
natah
naw-taw'
a primitive root; to stretch or spread out; by implication, to bend away (including moral deflection); used in a great variety of application (as follows):--+ afternoon, apply, bow (down, - ing), carry aside, decline, deliver, extend, go down, be gone, incline, intend, lay, let down, offer, outstretched, overthrown, pervert, pitch, prolong, put away, shew, spread (out), stretch (forth, out), take (aside), turn (aside, away), wrest, cause to yield.
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