Where is Home

June 8, 2010

Longtime White House scribe Helen Thomas fired after declaring that Jews should "get the hell out of Palestine" and go back to Germany and Poland.

There is no Hell and there is no Palestine, but there are anti-Semites; the Zohar-Book of Secret says, the eyes and ears are open to the world, but the mouth works only from free will. What is hidden in the heart is revealed through the mouth.

Helen Thomas said what many people think-the Jewish People are not indigenous to the Middle East, which is not true. Though Palestinians are not Arab they are on the most part Muslim. Billions of Muslims against 15 million Jews, half of which are in Israel.

In the long history of the Middle East there was never a Palestine; 2000 years ago after destroying the Temple in Jerusalem and scattering the Jewish People into the diaspora Rome changed the name of Israel to Palestine in remembrance to our ancient enemy–but, it was only in name and never in governance.

Ignorant intellectuals like Helen Thomas muddy the waters. The Jewish People have a genetic fingerprint and it is not from Europe. If the Arab People would accept the Jewish People as brother there would be no problem in sharing the Middle East and no need for violence.

Ramadhan

On Saturday, the holy month of Ramadhan began on the same day for both Sunnis and Shiites, the first time that has happened in 10 years. Ramadhan is the month in which the first verses of the Qur'an were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.

The most significant divide between Sunnis and Shiites is in their perspective about Moshiach/Messiah; in political terms Sunnis are conservative willing to wait for Moshiach for the sake of stability whereas the Shiites, the liberals, wants to race forward by treating the present as if it is the future–as if Moshiach had already arrived.

The fact that these two sects are celebrating Ramadhan on the same month first time for ten years is significant because the number ten shows on completeness–natural for us humans with ten fingers and toes. Also Ramadhan connects with the Hebrew calendar which ends this month with the beginning of the new year Rosh HaShana which this year begins a new decade denoted by the letter Aiyin/70.

Aiyin also means Eye. It is time for the Jewish and Muslim Peoples to open their eyes and see that which binds us is far greater than that which divides.

Happy New Year

Iran played down President Barack Obama's new video message to the Iranian people on Friday, saying it welcomed the overtures but warned that decades of mistrust can't easily be erased.

The President called out for understanding based on common human values, but did not remind the Muslim community who continues warring over Israel, that the Jewish New Year is also only a few weeks away. The Torah/Teaching celebrates a new year in each of the four seasons commemorating one of the four life forms. In the fall is the new year for the earth called Rosh HaShana, in the winter the new year for the trees called Tuba Shavot when the sap begins to rise—the essence of water; in the spring the new year for the human being—Passover. In the summer is celebrated the animal and fire.

The human being is commiserate with the element of air because we have the ability to articulate thoughts into coherent speech. The basis of our ability to communicate complex ideas is the foundation of freedom of choice. As God says in the Torah, I place before you life and death, blessings (Barack) and curses have I put before you—chose life so you and your children will live.

Presidential Religion

A recent article in the New York Times showcases the president’s spiritual advisers—five Christian pastors. The lack of any Jewish, Muslim, Buddhists or other practitioners of the spiritual world is disturbing. Just as the president invites disparate perspectives into the debate of how to fix and run the physical aspects of our country one would think the president would also invite different ethereal ideas into his spiritual development.

The integration of ideas, particularly spiritual ideas, is fundamental to real change; the segregation of spiritual ideas is as dangerous as is the segregation of the races.

The Cabala describes beauty as being the mixture between many colors—one color, insists the Cabala, is not beautiful. The president has chosen five different hues of the same color to guide him to his soul.