28 February 2017

The Story of Day Seven

It is said by the ancient Jewish Rabbis that quite alone was the Sabbath among the measures of time. Every other day had been paired with its fellow, but not so the Sabbath. When the Sabbath complained to God that of all days, it alone stood solitary, God wedded it to His people; and this holy union God hath bidden His people to remember.

Background note: The days of creation were paired as follows:

Day one, light and dark are separated.
Day four, The heavenly bodies are created.

Day two, The firmament is established and the sky and the waters are created.
Day five, the birds of the air and the fish are created.

Day three, the land and the sea are separated and vegetation is created.
Day six, the land animals and the humans were created.

Day seven, God created the Sabbath and He rested.

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08 February 2017

Absolom and the Art of the Deal

Politics wasn't much different 3000 years ago during the reign of King David of Israel when he and his son Absolom were quarreling and Absalom needed a political base from which to practice the "Art of the Deal."

Here is a excerpt from what is called "Absolom's Conspiracy, the first six verses of 2 Samuel Chapter 15 that might seem vaguely familiar:

1 "In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him.
2 He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, “What town are you from?” He would answer, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.”
3 Then Absalom would say to him, “Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you.”
4 And Absalom would add, “If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that they receive justice.”
5 Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him.
6 Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts of the people of Israel."

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04 February 2017

Your Perspective, Mountain or Molehill?

It is said by the ancient Jewish Rabbis that in the age to come (Athid Labho) God would bring out the "Evil Impulse" (Yetser Hara), and slaughter it before the righteous and the wicked. To the righteous, the Evil One would appear like a great mountain, but to the wicked, the Evil One would look like a small hill. Both would weep. The righteous would weep for joy, that they had been able to subdue so great a mountain and enter Paradise and the wicked would weep for sorrow, that they had not even been able to conquer such a small hill and must enter Hades.

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03 February 2017

Eirenicon

What we need right now is a political "Eirenicon".

Eirenicon - form of the Greek word, "eirēnikós" (from the root "eirḗnē" meaning “peace”).

An Eirenicon is a proposal to resolve disputes and reconcile differences in order to advance peace, strengthen or establish unity, or foster solidarity, usually in a modus vivendi, "a way of living," especially a working arrangement to allow for peaceful coexistence between two parties in spite of differences or unresolved disputes.

This is a great word. Now that I found it, how can I bring it into common usage? Perhaps I could suggest it to congress or form the Eirene Party
(Pronounced ay-REE-nee).

In Greek mythology Eirene is the personification of peace. She was depicted in art as a beautiful young woman carrying a cornucopia, sceptre, and a torch. Her Roman equivalent is Pax.

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I was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. I have been living in Mexico since January 6th, 1999. I am continually studying to improve my knowledge of the Spanish language and Mexican history and culture. I am also a student of Mandarin Chinese.