Where did the concept of animal sacrifices really come from? Why are there so many sacrificial procedures described in the Torah? Will there be sacrifices in the future Third Temple in Jerusalem? And what does it all have to do with human consumption of meat? Is the vegan diet of Adam and Eve ideal for mankind? Find out in this eye-opening class! Plus: Did God really command Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac? What did meat consumption have to do with the Great Flood? And what did the fallen angels have to do with it?
Tag Archives: Noah
Not in Heaven: The Snake-Oven of Akhnai
‘The Death of Moses’ (Illustration from the Providence Lithograph Company)
In this week’s double parasha, Nitzavim-Vayelekh, Moses relays the famous words lo bashamayim hi, that the Torah “is not in Heaven”. It comes within Moses’ final inspiring speech to the nation. He tells his people, again, to serve God “with all your heart and all your soul”, and to always remember that Torah law is “not concealed from you, nor is it far away. It is not in Heaven, that you should say ‘Who will go up to Heaven for us and fetch it for us, to relay it to us, so that we can fulfill it?’ Nor is it across the ocean…” (Deuteronomy 30:10-13) The Torah is right here for us, available to all, clear and straight-forward.
This notion seems somewhat at odds with what we are typically told that Jewish law is really complicated, and requires rabbis and scholars to elucidate it for us. Indeed, the Torah does also say that Moses appointed wisemen to help him adjudicate cases and interpret Torah law for the nation (Exodus 18), and that Moses gathered seventy elders to guide the people (Numbers 11)—the basis for the Sanhedrin. And one of the most famous disputes in the Sanhedrin of the 2nd Century CE ended with Rabbi Yehoshua quoting Moses’ words from this week’s parasha: “It is not in Heaven!”
The Talmudic passage in question begins at the bottom of Bava Metzia 59a. Continue reading
Chinese Zodiac in Judaism
Why are the Chinese calendar and Jewish calendar nearly identical? What are the mysterious spiritual origins of Chinese and East Asian peoples according to the Torah? And what role might China and the Chinese Zodiac play in the End of Days? Find out in this class where we unravel what really happened with the Tower of Babel, explore the Kuzari and Khazarian conspiracy theories, and learn about the symbolic significance of Chinese Zodiac animals in Judaism.
For Part 1 of this series on the Dragon and the Snake, see here.
For more on the Chinese Zodiac in Judaism, see here.
For more on Cosmic “Sabbaticals” and 7000 Year Cycles of Civilization, see here.
On the Khazars and the origins of Ashkenazi Jews, see here.