Monday, November 26, 2012

A Cornerstone of Judaism

Belief in a Third Temple remains a Cornerstone of Jewish belief.

- Pharisees, Wikipedia



Thursday, November 22, 2012

Star of David Definitions Reference Guide


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Star of David
(Noun)- a six-pointed star formed from two equilateral triangles; an emblem symbolizing Judaism. - Magen David, Mogen David, Shield of David, Solomon's seal

- WordNet 3.0 Dictionary (at The Free Dictionary.com)

Star of David
Star of David (noun): a hexagram used as a symbol of Judaism. Also called Magen David, Mogen David, Shield of David. --> Related Words for Star of David: Magen David, Mogen David, Shield of David, Solomon's seal.

- Collins World English Dictionary (at Dictionary.reference.com)



Star of David
(or Mogen David) A six-pointed star composed of two equilateral triangles, one superimposed upside down on the other; a symbol of Judaism.

- McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction (2003)

Star of David
(n.) an emblem symbolizing Judaism and consisting of a six-pointed star formed by superimposing one inverted equilateral triangle upon another of equal size. Also called Magen David

- Collins English Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 2003 (at the Free Dictionary.com)

Star of David
(Magan David or Mogen Dovid in Hebrew, Shield of David, Solomon's Seal, or Seal of Solomon) is a generally recognized symbol of Judaism and Jewish identity. It is also known as the Jewish Star. With the establishment of the State of Israel the Jewish Star on the Flag of Israel has also become a symbol of Israel.

- Star of David, Bigpedia, Bigpedia.com

Star of David نجمة داوود 
The hexagram formed by the intersection of two equilateral triangles known today as the Star of David is the most prominent symbol of the state of Israel, and Judaism today, as can be seen on the flag of Israel. However, this symbol was not adopted by Judaism nor Zionism as their symbol until recent times.

- Star of David - Solomon's Seal, Baheyeldin.com

Star of David
(Magen David, Shield of David)- The Star of David is the primary modern emblem of the Jewish religion. How it came to be such is a matter of some debate. Legend has it that the emblem was used by the Biblical King David (hence the name Magen David, or “shield of David”). In reality, it was not associated specifically with the faith until the middle ages, when it began to appear on flags, tombstones, and synagogue decorations. It is probably not coincidental that the symbol was important to the flourishing kabbalistic tradition of the same time period. Kabbalistically, the hexagram symbolizes the six directions of space, the divine union of male and female energy, and the four elements. The Star of David is also important in the Rastafarian and Messianic Christian faiths.

- Symbol Dictionary, Symboldictionary.net

Star of David
An emblem symbolizing Judaism and consisting of a six-pointed star formed by superimposing one inverted equilateral triangle upon another of equal size.

- Collins Discovery Encyclopedia (2005)

The Star of David is 7, not 6

According to Judaic sources, the Star or Shield of David signifies the number SEVEN: that is, the six points plus the center.

- Secrets Behind the Star of David, Star of David, Taliscope.com




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7 = The 6 points plus the center   
7 = The 6 days of Creation plus the seventh day of rest   
7 = The 6 working days in the week plus Shabbat    
7 = The 6 directions of space plus the center (Up, Down, East, West, South, North, and Center)   
7 = The 6 Sefirot of the Male (Zeir Anpin) united with the Seventh Sefirot of the Female (Nekuva).
   
- Secrets Behind the Star of David, Star of David, Taliscope.com

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>--- References Showing the Star of David is 7, not 6 ---<

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Kabbalah teaches that G-d created the world with SEVEN spiritual building blocks- His SEVEN emotional attributes. Accordingly, the entire creation is a reflection of these SEVEN foundational attributes...Correspondingly, the Star of David contains SEVEN compartments- six peaks protruding from a center.

- What is the Mystical Significance of the Star of David? By Naftali Silberberg, Chabad.org 

According to Judaic sources, the Star or Shield of David signifies the number SEVEN: that is, the six points plus the center. The number SEVEN: has religious significance in Judaism...The Seven Spirits of God, as well as the Menorah in the ancient Temple, whose SEVEN: oil lamps rest on three stems branching from each side of a central pole.


- Secrets Behind the Star of David, Star of David, Taliscope.com

The 15th-century kabbalist, Isaac Arama, claimed that Psalm 67, later known as the 'Menorah Psalm' because of its SEVEN verses, was engraved on David's shield in the form of a menorah.

- THE STAR OF DAVID, Magen David, Menorah.org
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Friday, November 16, 2012

Four-Square Maccabee Ikonographics







The Bible and President Teddy Roosevelt of the United States of America




In the Beginning, there was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

- Gospel of John 1:1






Almost every man who has by his life-work added to the sum of human achievement of which the race is proud, of which our people are proud, almost every such man has based his life-work largely upon the teachings of the Bible.

- Theodore Roosevelt, Former U.S. President (1901-1909)


I enter a most earnest plea that in our hurried and rather bustling life of today we do not lose the hold that our forefathers had on the Bible.

- Theodore Roosevelt, Former U.S. President (1901-1909)

I wish to see the Bible study as much a matter of course in the secular colleges as in the seminary.

- Theodore Roosevelt, Former U.S. President (1901-1909)


No educated man can afford to be ignorant of the Bible, and no uneducated man can afford to be ignorant of the Bible.

- Theodore Roosevelt, Former U.S. President (1901-1909)

A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.

- Theodore Roosevelt, Former U.S. President (1901-1909)

Every thinking man, when he thinks, realizes that the 
teachings of the Bible are so interwoven and entwined with our whole civic and social life that it would be literally-I do not mean figuratively, but literally-impossible for us to figure what that loss would be if these teachings were removed. We would lose all the standards by which we now judge both public and private morals; all the standards towards which we, with more or less resolution, strive to raise ourselves.

- Theodore Roosevelt, Former U.S. President (1901-1909)

 

Fundamental Correlations of the Judeo/Christian Elements


It is God who gave me true knowledge of the forces of nature- what the world is made of, how the Elements behave; how the calendar is determined by the movements of the sun, the changing seasons.
- Wisdom 7:17-20







 











Thursday, November 15, 2012

The Four Angels, Corners, and Winds of the Four Elements of God's Creation


After this I saw Four Angels standing at the Four Corners of the Earth, holding back the Four Winds.
 
- Revelation 7:1 New International Version (NIV)





Judeo/Christian Interpretation of Revelation 7:1

'Four Angels' = Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, Uriel
'Four Corners' = South, East, West, North
'Four Winds' = East Wind of the Morning, West Wind of the Evening, North Wind of Midnight, South Wind of Noon

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'Four Angels standing at the Four Corners of the Earth, holding back the Four Winds'

- Revelation 7:1



'Four Angels standing at the Four Corners of the Earth, holding back the Four Winds'

- Revelation 7:1

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'Four Angels' of the 'Four Corners'
Michael, Guardian Angel of the North, Elemental Angel of Fire
Raphael,  Guardian Angel of the East, Elemental Angel of Air
Gabriel, Guardian Angel of the West, Elemental Angel of Water
Uriel, Guardian Angel of the South, Elemental Angel of Earth

'Four Angels' of the 'Four Winds'
Michael, Angel of the East Wind and/or Morning Wind
Raphael, Angel of the West Wind and/or Evening Wind
Gabriel, Angel of the North Wind and/or Midnight Wind
Uriel, Angel of the South Wind and/or Noonday Wind

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Pertinent Judeo/Christian References
- Thomas Heywood's Hierarchy of Blessed Angels (1635)
- Miscellaneous Information, Archangels-and-angels.com
- Bible, New International Version (NIV)
- Wikipedia (Entry for Archangel Uriel) 


 

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Symbols of the Judeo/Christian Four Elements

 

Fire: Triangle points up
Water: Triangle points down 
Air: Triangle points up with a horizontal line through center of triangle
Earth: Triangle points down with a horizontal line through center of triangle.

- Colors and Symbols of Four Elements, Feng-shui.lovetoknow.com


Sunday, November 11, 2012

American Presidential Comments on the Bible (1789-2012)



For the sake of humanity, it is devoutly to be wished that the manly employment of agriculture, and the humanizing benefit of commerce, would supersede the waste of war and the rage of conquest; that the swords might be turned into ploughshares, the spears into pruning-hooks, and, as the Bible express it, 'the nations learn war no more.'

- George Washington, Former U.S. President (1789-1797)


The Bible is the best book in the world. It contains more…than all the libraries I have seen.

- John Adams, Former U.S. President (1797-1801)

I have always said, I always say, that the studious perusal of the Bible will make better citizens, better fathers, and better husbands.

- Thomas Jefferson, Former U,S. President (1801-1809)

The Bible makes the best people in the world.

- Thomas Jefferson, Former U,S. President (1801-1809)

We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We’ve staked the future of all our political institutions upon...the Bible's Ten Commandments of God.


- James Madison, Former U.S. President (1809-1817)


So great is my veneration for the Bible that the earlier my children begin to read it the more confident will be my hope that they will prove useful citizens of their country and respectable members of society.

- John Quincy Adams, Former U.S. President (1825-1829)

The first and almost the only book deserving of universal attention is the Bible. I speak as a man of the world...and I say to you, 'Search the Scriptures.'

 - John Quincy Adams, Former U.S. President (1825-1829)

From the time of the Declaration of Independence, the American People were bound by the laws of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which they all acknowledge as the root of their conduct. We all came together to obey the Bible.

- John Quincy Adams, Former U.S. President (1825-1829)

My custom is to read four or five chapters of the Bible every morning immediately after rising… It seems to me the most suitable manner of beginning the day… It is an invaluable and inexhaustible mine of knowledge and virtue.


- John Quincy Adams, Former U.S. President (1825-1829)


The Bible is the Rock on which this Republic rests.

- Andrew Jackson, Former U.S. President (1829-1837)

It was for the love of the truths of the Bible that our fathers abandoned their native shore for the wilderness.

- Zachary Taylor, Fomer U.S. President (1849-1850)

I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. All the good of the Savior of the world is communicated to us through the Book.

- Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States (1860-1865)

I am busily engaged in the study of the Bible. I believe it is God’s word because it finds me where I am.

- Abraham Lincoln, Former U.S. President (1860-1865)

That I am not a member of any Christian church is true; but I have never denied the truth of the Bible, and I have never spoken with intentional disrespect of religion in general, or of any denomination of Christians in particular….I do not think I could myself be brought to support a man for office whom I knew to be an open enemy of, or scoffer at, religion.

- Abraham Lincoln, Former U.S. President (1860-1865)

It is the duty of nations as well as men to recognize the truth announced in the Bible and proven by all of history that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.

- Abraham Lincoln, Former U.S. President (1860-1865)

I am profitably engaged in reading the Bible. Take all of this book upon reason that you can and the balance by faith, and you will live and die a better man.
           
- Abraham Lincoln, Former U.S. President (1860-1865)

I do believe in Almighty God! And I believe also in the Bible...Let us look forward to the time when we can take the flag of our country and nail it below the Cross, and there let it wave as it waved in the olden times, and let us gather around it and inscribed for our motto: 'Liberty and Union, one and inseparable, now and forever,' and exclaim, 'Christ first, our country next!'

- Andrew Johnson, Former U.S. President (1865-1869)

Hold fast to the Bible as the sheet anchor of your liberties. Write its precepts in your hearts, and practice them in your lives. To the influence of this book are we indebted for all the progress made in true civilization, and to this we must look as our guide in the future. Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.

- Ulysses S. Grant, Former U.S. President (1869-1877)

The best religion the world has ever known is the religion of the Bible. It builds up all that is good.

- Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881)

If you take out of your statutes, your constitution, your family life all that is taken from the Bible, what would there be left to bind society together?

- Benjamin Harrison, Former U.S. President (1889-1893)

It is out of the Bible that a system has come to make life sweet.

- Benjamin Harrison, Former U.S. President (1889-1893)

The more profoundly we study the Bible…the better citizens we will become.

- William McKinley, Former U.S. President (1897-1901)


Almost every man who has by his life-work added to the sum of human achievement of which the race is proud, of which our people are proud, almost every such man has based his life-work largely upon the teachings of the Bible.

- Theodore Roosevelt, Former U.S. President (1901-1909)

I enter a most earnest plea that in our hurried and rather bustling life of today we do not lose the hold that our forefathers had on the Bible.

- Theodore Roosevelt, Former U.S. President (1901-1909)

I wish to see the Bible study as much a matter of course in the secular colleges as in the seminary.

- Theodore Roosevelt, Former U.S. President (1901-1909)

No educated man can afford to be ignorant of the Bible, and no uneducated man can afford to be ignorant of the Bible.

- Theodore Roosevelt, Former U.S. President (1901-1909)

A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.


- Theodore Roosevelt, Former U.S. President (1901-1909)

Every thinking man, when he thinks, realizes that the teachings of the Bible are so interwoven and entwined with our whole civic and social life that it would be literally-I do not mean figuratively, but literally-impossible for us to figure what that loss would be if these teachings were removed. We would lose all the standards by which we now judge both public and private morals; all the standards towards which we, with more or less resolution, strive to raise ourselves.

- Theodore Roosevelt, Former U.S. President (1901-1909)

I have a very simple thing to ask of you. I ask every man and woman in this audience that from this day on they will realize that part of the destiny of America lies in their daily perusal of the Bible.

- Woodrow Wilson, Former U.S. President (1913-1921)

A man has deprived himself of the best there is in the world who has been deprived of the Bible.

- Woodrow Wilson, Former U.S. President (1913-1921)
   
When you have read the Bible, you know it is the word of God, because it is the key to your heart, your own happiness, and your own duty.

- Woodrow Wilson, Former U.S. President (1913-1921)

The Bible is the one supreme source of revelation of the meaning of life, the nature of God, and spiritual nature and needs of men. It is the only guide of life which really leads the spirit in the way of peace and salvation.


- Woodrow Wilson, Former U.S. President (1913-1921)

America was born a Christian nation. America was born to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which are derived from the revelations of the Bible.

- Woodrow Wilson, Former U.S. President (1913-1921)

The strength of our country is the strength of its religious convictions. The foundations of our society and our government rest so much on the teachings of the Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in these teachings would cease to be practically universal in our country.


- Calvin Coolidge, U.S. President (1923-1929)

If American democracy is to remain the greatest hope of humanity, it must continue abundantly in the faith of the Bible.

- Calvin Coolidge,  Former U.S. President (1923-1929)

The whole inspiration of our civilization springs from the teachings of Christ and the lessons of the prophets. To read the Bible for these fundamentals is a necessity of American life.


- Herbert Hoover, Former U.S. President (1929-1933)

The study of the Bible is a post-graduate course in the richest library of human experience.


- Herbert Hoover, Former U.S. President (1929-1933)

Menaced by collectivist trends, we must seek revival of our strength in the spiritual foundations which are the bedrock of our republic. Democracy is the outgrowth of the religious conviction of the sacredness of every human life. On the religious side, its highest embodiment is the Bible; on the political side, the Constitution.

- Herbert Hoover, Former U.S. President (1929-1933)

We are indebted to the Bible for our national ideals and institution. Their preservation rests in adhering to it's precepts.

- Herbert Hoover, Former U.S. President (1929-1933)


It is a fountain of strength…I feel that a comprehensive study of the Bible is a liberal education for anyone.

- Franklin D. Roosevelt, Former U.S. President (1933-1945)

We cannot read the history of our rise and development as a nation, without reckoning with the place the Bible has occupied in shaping the advances of the Republic. Where we have been the truest and most consistent in obeying its precepts, we have attained the greatest measure of contentment and prosperity.

- Franklin D. Roosevelt, Former U.S. President (1933-1945)

The fundamental basis of this nation’s law was given to Moses on the Mount. The fundamental basis of our Bill of Rights comes from the teaching we get from the Bible- from Exodus and St. Matthew, from Isaiah and St. Paul. I don’t think we emphasize that enough these days. If we don’t have the proper fundamental moral background, we will finally end up with a totalitarian government which does not believe in the right for anybody except the state.


- Harry S. Truman, Former U.S. President (1945-1953)

The spirit of man is more important than mere physical strength, and the spiritual fiber of a nation than its wealth. The Bible is endorsed by the ages. Our civilization is built upon its words. In no other book is there such a collection of inspired wisdom, reality, and hope.


- Dwight D. Eisenhower, Former U.S. President (1953-1961)

In the highest sense the Bible is to us the unique repository of eternal spiritual truths.

- Dwight D. Eisenhower, Former U.S. President (1953-1961)

For centuries the Bible’s emphasis on compassion and love for our neighbor has inspired institutional and governmental expressions of benevolent outreach such as private charity, the establishment of schools and hospitals, and the abolition of slavery.


- Ronald Reagan, Former U.S. President (1980-1988)

Inside the Bible’s pages lie the answers to all the problems that mankind has ever known.

- Ronald Reagan, Former U.S. President (1980-1988)

Deep religious beliefs stemming from the Old and New Testaments of the Bible inspired many of the early settlers of our country, providing them with the strength, character, convictions, and faith necessary to withstand great hardship and danger in this new and rugged land. These shared beliefs helped forge a sense of common purpose among the widely dispersed colonies - a sense of community which laid the foundation for the spirit of nationhood that was to develop in later decades.

- Ronald Reagan, Former U.S. President (1980-1988)

Of the many influences that have shaped the United States into a distinctive nation and people, none may be said to be more fundamental and enduring than the Bible.

- Ronald Reagan, Former U.S. President (1980-1988)

The Congress of the United States, in recognition of the unique contribution of the Bible in shaping the history and character of this Nation, and so many of its citizens, has...requested the President to designate the year 1983 as the ‘Year of the Bible.'

- Ronald Reagan, Former U.S. President (1980-1988)

The Bible and its teachings helped form the basis for the Founding Fathers’ abiding belief in the inalienable rights of the individual, rights which they found implicit in the Bible’s teachings of the inherent worth and dignity of each individual. This same sense of man patterned the convictions of those who framed the English system of law inherited by our own Nation, as well as the ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

- Ronald Reagan, Former U.S. President (1980-1988)

We're blessed to have the Bible's words of strength, comfort, and truth. I'm accused of being simplistic at times with some of the problems that confront us. But I've often wondered: Within the covers of that single Book are all the answers to all the problems that face us today, if we'd only look there. "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, but the word of our God shall stand forever." 

- Ronald Reagan, Former U.S. President (1980-1988)

I hope Americans will read and study the Bible in the coming year. It's my firm belief that the enduring values, as I say, presented in its pages have a great meaning for each of us and for our nation.

- Ronald Reagan, Former U.S. President (1980-1988

The Bible can touch our hearts, order our minds, refresh our souls.

- Ronald Reagan, Former U.S. President (1980-1988)




My Bible tells me that if we train a child in the way he should go, when he is old he will not turn from it. I think faith and guidance can help fortify a young woman’s sense of self, a young man’s sense of responsibility, and a sense of reverence all young people for the act of sexual intimacy.

- Barack Obama, U.S. President (2008-2012)

Judeo-Christian - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Judeo-Christian - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Saturday, November 10, 2012

An Actual Glimpse of Hell Itself!



Click on Image for a Larger Size-->

Ronald Reagan and the Judeo/Christian Tradition of the Bible





 
And we’re also remembering the guiding light of our Judeo/Christian tradition. All of us here today are descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, sons and daughters of the same God. I believe we are bound by faith in our God, by our love for family and neighborhood, by our deep desire for a more peaceful world, and by our commitment to protect the freedom which is our legacy as Americans.

- Ronald Reagan, Former U.S. President (1980-1988)

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Of the many influences that have shaped the United States into a distinctive nation and people, none may be said to be more fundamental and enduring than the Bible.

- Ronald Reagan, Former U.S. President (1980-1988)

Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face.

- Ronald Reagan, Former U.S. President (1980-1988)


For centuries the Bible’s emphasis on compassion and love for our neighbor has inspired institutional and governmental expressions of benevolent outreach such as private charity, the establishment of schools and hospitals, and the abolition of slavery.

- Ronald Reagan, Former U.S. President (1980-1988) 

Inside the Bible’s pages lie the answers to all the problems that mankind has ever known. I hope Americans will read and study the Bible.

- Ronald Reagan, Former U.S. President (1980-1988)

We’re blessed to have [the Bible’s] words of strength, comfort, and truth. I’m accused of being simplistic at times with some of the problems that confront us. But I’ve often wondered: Within the covers of that single Book are all the answers to all the problems that face us today, if we’d only look there. “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, but the word of our God shall stand forever.” I hope Americans will read and study the Bible in [the coming year]. It’s my firm belief that the enduring values, as I say, presented in its pages have a great meaning for each of us and for our nation. The Bible can touch our hearts, order our minds, refresh our souls.

- Ronald Reagan, Former U.S. President (1980-1988)

The Congress of the United States, in recognition of the unique contribution of the Bible in shaping the history and character of this Nation, and so many of its citizens, has by Senate Joint Resolution 165 authorized and requested the President to designate the year 1983 as the ‘Year of the Bible.‘

- Ronald Reagan, Former U.S. President (1980-1988)

Deep religious beliefs stemming from the Old and New Testaments of the Bible inspired many of the early settlers of our country, providing them with the strength, character, convictions, and faith necessary to withstand great hardship and danger in this new and rugged land. These shared beliefs helped forge a sense of common purpose among the widely dispersed colonies – a sense of community which laid the foundation for the spirit of nationhood that was to develop in later decades.

 Ronald Reagan, Former U.S. President (1980-1988)

The Bible and its teachings helped form the basis for the Founding Fathers’ abiding belief in the inalienable rights of the individual, rights which they found implicit in the Bible’s teachings of the inherent worth and dignity of each individual. This same sense of man patterned the convictions of those who framed the English system of law inherited by our own Nation, as well as the ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution
.

- Ronald Reagan, Former U.S. President (1980-1988)


Thursday, November 1, 2012

The Great Jewish Scholar 'Rashi' Comments on the 'Cornerstone'



Rashi is the nickname for a certain Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac (1040-1105 A.D.), a brilliant scholar of Judaism who lived during the latter half of the 12th century in Europe. Here are Rashi's short Comments on Psalm 118:22-23, the Foundational Reference to the 'Cornerstone':
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PSALM 118:22) The stone that the builders rejected became a cornerstone. <---> כב.
RASHI'S COMMENT) 'The stone that the builders rejected': A people that was humble among the peoples.
          
PSALM 118:23) This was from the Lord; it is wondrous in our eyes. <---> כג.
RASHI'S COMMENT) 'This was from the Lord': So will everyone say.      

- Psalm 118, The Complete Jewish Bible with Rashi's Commentary, Chabad.org
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The Judeo/Christian Tradition: A Talmudic Tale about the Weasel and the Cat

The Judeo/Christian Tradition: A Talmudic Tale about the Weasel and the Cat: