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John Love How too Generate Energy

Esotericism
English
5406 Words
Ages 18 and up
0
1

tfufufutfuyfuyfufuyuyfuyfuyfufuy All Spirits to east Blk Wolf Form to west, Red Wolf Man Light Form to south, Wolf Spirit to east, Shapeshifting think like em, behave like em, feel like em to north Consciousness, Sorcerer, Sorceress, Sorcery, Will, want, Blue Luminescence of Awareness, too the west Reality IS Virtual Quantum Reality Physics blk overhauls, ski mask, windbreakers, army boots, leather gloves army greens Quantum IS Real Grunge, white skull pirates of carribean, black skull mask, skulls necklace, satanic Pan In Void, flanel over, green windbreaker shell jacket, greenish scarf, Assassin neoprene skull face, camo bdus, army boots, bare foot, or w sandals, army liners pants, army liner upper body, camo boonie hat, army balaclava, camo tube, grandfathers leather gloves, grandfather jacket, at home green bath robe, flanel could have been Christmas long sleeve dress shirt, and underneath striped with green candy cane, can wear green corporal hat, and shirt can be army greens, included green extreme, i dont want to die from my gums bleeding at dentistry how do i unnumb my right hand? Black Forms of the earth In the Void also barefoot feet heal, clothed again feet heal, barefoot again feet look healed Jason X 2nd One to the north, Sexuality too the west, Voorhees Rage, the Demon, the Man Wolf, etc, to the south, Liberation, Samadhi, Enlightenment to the east, Humanities Oversoul and empyrean rod and God In Empyrean to the Above, THoth God the Theosophical Mystic God too Below because Descends, at Center In Void and Elder God Smokes Jason X 2nd One, Incantations Project Lucifer In Dimensions to kill and target intestines corresponding to squid, water, and west, Red Form of Voorhees (Wolf, Sexuality) corresponds to south, Liberation, Samadhi, Enlightenment, to east Freddy to Above in dreamsPinhead to west, pumpkinhead to north, jason voorhees to south, SSE to east Jason X 2nd One Red pentagrams, Red in the head, Black Wolf Form, Wolf Spirit, Red Man wolf Native America to Above, Below to ? Satanism and SetianismArgentium Astrum to east, OTO to south, Wicca to west, Druidry to north deathworm to earth, fly flies so to east and wind, fly mask to south, Shapeshifting too west the fly horror movie mask, Beelzebub the Demon fly Incantation during nightfall corresponding to the north, too Increase desire In woman, least Through Lucifer the Squid Kraken Construct giant squid, Incantation Increases Desire in females corresponding to the south and desire, corresponding to sexuality and the south and west also Lucifer the Squid Construct, Prayer too Lucifer is the Incantation, the emotional burning a plant, Sends forth Lucifer to attack the intestines which like Lucifer also corresponds to the west, Squid same as Leviathan correspond to the west Incantation, Red Energy, Manwolf, Human w corporal hat, Change on Cellular Level Happens with visualization and symbolical meaning Merged Too Generate Energy and Appearance Change Empyrean Above, Humanities Oversoul east, Krishna warrior God south, Consciousness west, Cosmic Consciousness north, Thoth God Below ? ??? fire south blacksmith masons free masons Freemasonry Through the Energy of God all else happens, mercy and war separate people into two natures, which through the Sun gain superiority upon the earth and as the common plays of people essence Generates Essence as Raised Energies White skull mask book reading earliest hours LVX Extends Sunlight too the Eyes of Keter the Soul and Entity too See even the Soul In the Void and latter Mysticism at Chokmah spicey i can only have during early morning hours DATD to east and Above the Microcosm so sexual Energy to west, Manwolf to south, Quantum Changes on Cellular Level to north, i am convinced behavior equals Generated Effect, as with Red Lights In Each Eye, and separately the essential method same but different but appropiate too Flash In Red the Man Wolf I Am Thoth the Atlantean affirmation red pentagrams human form corresponds to south, Red In head Social corresponds to red and south Raise Energy, think like em, feel like em, behave like em, long hair, sandals, Xerxes of Gobi Desert, most unique, let be Knightmare Voorhees, long white hair, green skirt, white and purple striped long sleeve black skull mask O shaped belt with buckles Trees worlds within and without All Evils to the tree of evil All Gods of War to Geburah Apollo, all solar dieties to tiferet The Tree of Life has enormous Trees in and from every Tree there is a infinite number of Trees. Artemis to binah, Athena to chokmah, Pan's parents to Ain and Ain Soph, or Ain Soph and LVX, also to chokmah and binah Pan corresponds to Ain, Ain Soph, and Ain Soph AUr, In the Void, and too Keter all the trees and plants is the hair of Pan, the mountains his bones, the rocks his teeth, the waters and oceans his lifes blood, the warmth of volcanoes are his heart and blood flow, blood to west, bones to north, heart, veins, arteries, to south, organs including brain to east, brain also to pentacle to north, athame etc to south, cups, chalices, goblets, Holy Grail, to the west and water and wine, empyrean rod to east and above, wands to east and above sex to west, evil to north, rage to south, Raising Energy too east and Above Krishna too Above whose Divine Effulgence is the Parabrahman Brahmajyoti Brahma too east and Above In Parabrahman 15th star Evil Admiral too Below Grim Reaper to the north and south, Dracula to the west and south, High Reaver Warwolf to the south, Civil War gun with knife underneath to the south, cannons, destroyers, Naval turrets, all guns, to the south Staff Raises Energy scourge to north, sword to south, wands to south and west, athame daggers to south, empyrean rod to east and above, staff to above sex during ritual Generates Energy too Admiral, can be Commander alsored candles, red pentagrams, nude female body altar, Raising Red Energy, passion triggered with visualization as usual, romantic incense in incense burner, red robes, or skyclad nudity, jewels, gems, and gold, garland around necks, clean, bathed, red visualized sphere etc, Sexuality is essence of Raising Red Generated Energy Red Eyes too Above, mentality too east, body and nudity to north, sex to the west, penis to the south some out of print copies my ppaerbacks now just prevent any worse interiors while maintaining value higher than before because all becomes rarer destruction is a passionate drive also of Raising sexual Energy her altar is Setianly bottomed up the power of life and death is in the spoken word linguistic of the tongue of the unfortunate how much people are cared for in America is the signs of the teeth and gums and mouth mechanical and machine as well as musical vibrations bodily vibrations, emotional vibrations, nervous vibrations, Raised Energy, vibrations of the nervous systems All Lights, Luminescences, and Bioluminescences, Mark Energy which can br Somehow Ritually Raised The Immortals of the north, the Brain Waves of the west, the Zombiefication of the south and Brain Waves of the west, the Sorcerer Social Entity of east and Above Necromancy corresponds to all 5 elements and elementals Necromancy to east and Above CRM too south west Necromancy and Enochain too Above Sorcery to west Humanities Oversoul to east and Above war bear north, war dog to south rose to south, lilly to east, lilly pads to north, seaweed to west police and medical to west because has navy blue eyes, brown eyes of jailers and people in jail to north, animals to north all birds to east, dragon to the south sky white sign snow, winter cold, sleet, hail, etc, ice gnome to north, sylph fairy to east and wind, salamander to south and fire, elephant to north, megalodon to west, grizzly bear to south, lynx to east 4 Cabalistic worlds of 4 Trees one above the next, east wind is Tree Above too following down to Below, south fire, west water, and earth north City of Lights too Above Elysium to Above, God too Above keter to head, Soul, and Above, also east Chokmah and Mysticism to west im absolutely certain wisdom to west all fish to west sharks corresponds to south west, whale corresponds to west Holy from Above, Heaven's Wrath from Above Psychopathy through sexual mentality led too Red Man Wolf Form Light In Unconscious Mind She could be same hers (same person) A White Horse too Absorb from her she who Absorbed from a Platoon, then normally sexually Shifting too the next male placeing that at admiral, or commander Raising Energy explains witches haveing sexual orgies, Tantra with one partnet is more correct God In Empyerean AboveEvil Belowzombies north, werewolves south, vampirism west, ghosts east chandelier to above, altar to below, swords and athames to south, cup etc to west, pantacle to north the version she leaves after making you read what your reading as details you Become an Admiral with Trainer Killer Pushroom Controls at Right in human head is a White Horse The Summoning of Lucifer is Incantation which would be Merged with Ritual too Raise Energies corresponding too Raised and Beamed Down Energies prayer too the east, Lucifer too the south killed in intestines a woman, Lucifer to the west in Dimension, prayer too the north effecting Desire in female Incantations in essence how i Raised sexual heat in female and how Projected Lucifer Raising Energies eastCRM southNecromancy westSorcery north sexual to west, penis to south, body to north, Mentality too east Always Generate same Energies [more]

Keywords: energy, Tibetan Buddhism, Wicca, wiccan, occultism, Energy, Brahmajyoti, Heart, heart, S Shaped Heart Energy

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John Love NO MORE

Esotericism
English
758 Words
Ages 16 and up
93
0

tfufufutfuyfuyfufuyuyfuyfuyfufuy All Spirits to east Blk Wolf Form to west, Red Wolf Man Light Form to south, Wolf Spirit to east, Shapeshifting think like em, behave like em, feel like em to north Consciousness, Sorcerer, Sorceress, Sorcery, Will, want, Blue Luminescence of Awareness, too the west Reality IS Virtual Quantum Reality Physics blk overhauls, ski mask, windbreakers, army boots, leather gloves army greens Quantum IS Real Grunge, white skull pirates of carribean, black skull mask, skulls necklace, satanic Pan In Void, flanel over, green windbreaker shell jacket, greenish scarf, Assassin neoprene skull face, camo bdus, army boots, bare foot, or w sandals, army liners pants, army liner upper body, camo boonie hat, army balaclava, camo tube, grandfathers leather gloves, grandfather jacket, at home green bath robe, flanel could have been Christmas long sleeve dress shirt, and underneath striped with green candy cane, can wear green corporal hat, and shirt can be army greens, included green extreme, i dont want to die from my gums bleeding at dentistry how do i unnumb my right hand? Black Forms of the earth In the Void also barefoot feet heal, clothed again feet heal, barefoot again feet look healed Jason X 2nd One to the north, Sexuality too the west, Voorhees Rage, the Demon, the Man Wolf, etc, to the south, Liberation, Samadhi, Enlightenment to the east, Humanities Oversoul and empyrean rod and God In Empyrean to the Above, THoth God the Theosophical Mystic God too Below because Descends, at Center In Void and Elder God Smokes Jason X 2nd One, Incantations Project Lucifer In Dimensions to kill and target intestines corresponding to squid, water, and west, Red Form of Voorhees (Wolf, Sexuality) corresponds to south, Liberation, Samadhi, Enlightenment, to east Freddy to Above in dreamsPinhead to west, pumpkinhead to north, jason voorhees to south, SSE to east Jason X 2nd One Red pentagrams, Red in the head, Black Wolf Form, Wolf Spirit, Red Man wolf Native America to Above, Below to ? Satanism and SetianismArgentium Astrum to east, OTO to south, Wicca to west, Druidry to north deathworm to earth, fly flies so to east and wind, fly mask to south, Shapeshifting too west the fly horror movie mask, Beelzebub the Demon fly Incantation during nightfall corresponding to the north, too Increase desire In woman, least Through Lucifer the Squid Kraken Construct giant squid, Incantation Increases Desire in females corresponding to the south and desire, corresponding to sexuality and the south and west also Lucifer the Squid Construct, Prayer too Lucifer is the Incantation, the emotional burning a plant, Sends forth Lucifer to attack the intestines which like Lucifer also corresponds to the west, Squid same as Leviathan correspond to the west Incantation, Red Energy, Manwolf, Human w corporal hat, Change on Cellular Level Happens with visualization and symbolical meaning Merged Too Generate Energy and Appearance Change Empyrean Above, Humanities Oversoul east, Krishna warrior God south, Consciousness west, Cosmic Consciousness north, Thoth God Below ? ??? fire south blacksmith masons free masons Freemasonry Through the Energy of God all else happens, mercy and war separate people into two natures, which through the Sun gain superiority upon the earth and as the common plays of people essence Generates Essence as Raised Energies White skull mask book reading earliest hours LVX Extends Sunlight too the Eyes of Keter the Soul and Entity too See even the Soul In the Void and latter Mysticism at Chokmah spicey i can only have during early morning hours DATD to east and Above the Microcosm so sexual Energy to west, Manwolf to south, Quantum Changes on Cellular Level to north, i am convinced behavior equals Generated Effect, as with Red Lights In Each Eye, and separately the essential method same but different but appropiate too Flash In Red the Man Wolf I Am Thoth the Atlantean affirmation red pentagrams human form corresponds to south, Red In head Social corresponds to red and south Raise Energy, think like em, feel like em, behave like em, long hair, sandals, Xerxes of Gobi Desert, most unique, let be Knightmare Voorhees, long white hair, green skirt, white and purple striped long sleeve black skull mask O shaped belt with buckles Trees worlds within and without All Evils to the tree of evil All Gods of War to Geburah Apollo, all solar dieties to tiferet The Tree of Life has enormous Trees in and from every Tree there is a infinite number of Trees. Artemis to binah, Athena to chokmah, Pan's parents to Ain and Ain Soph, or Ain Soph and LVX, also to chokmah and binah Pan corresponds to Ain, Ain Soph, and Ain Soph AUr, In the Void, and too Keter all the trees and plants is the hair of Pan, the mountains his bones, the rocks his teeth, the waters and oceans his lifes blood, the warmth of volcanoes are his heart and blood flow, blood to west, bones to north, heart, veins, arteries, to south, organs including brain to east, brain also to pentacle to north, athame etc to south, cups, chalices, goblets, Holy Grail, to the west and water and wine, empyrean rod to east and above, wands to east and above sex to west, evil to north, rage to south, Raising Energy too east and Above Krishna too Above whose Divine Effulgence is the Parabrahman Brahmajyoti Brahma too east and Above In Parabrahman 15th star Evil Admiral too Below Grim Reaper to the north and south, Dracula to the west and south, High Reaver Warwolf to the south, Civil War gun with knife underneath to the south, cannons, destroyers, Naval turrets, all guns, to the south Staff Raises Energy scourge to north, sword to south, wands to south and west, athame daggers to south, empyrean rod to east and above, staff to above sex during ritual Generates Energy too Admiral, can be Commander alsored candles, red pentagrams, nude female body altar, Raising Red Energy, passion triggered with visualization as usual, romantic incense in incense burner, red robes, or skyclad nudity, jewels, gems, and gold, garland around necks, clean, bathed, red visualized sphere etc, Sexuality is essence of Raising Red Generated Energy Red Eyes too Above, mentality too east, body and nudity to north, sex to the west, penis to the south some out of print copies my ppaerbacks now just prevent any worse interiors while maintaining value higher than before because all becomes rarer destruction is a passionate drive also of Raising sexual Energy her altar is Setianly bottomed up the power of life and death is in the spoken word linguistic of the tongue of the unfortunate how much people are cared for in America is the signs of the teeth and gums and mouth mechanical and machine as well as musical vibrations bodily vibrations, emotional vibrations, nervous vibrations, Raised Energy, vibrations of the nervous systems All Lights, Luminescences, and Bioluminescences, Mark Energy which can br Somehow Ritually Raised The Immortals of the north, the Brain Waves of the west, the Zombiefication of the south and Brain Waves of the west, the Sorcerer Social Entity of east and Above Necromancy corresponds to all 5 elements and elementals Necromancy to east and Above CRM too south west Necromancy and Enochain too Above Sorcery to west Humanities Oversoul to east and Above war bear north, war dog to south rose to south, lilly to east, lilly pads to north, seaweed to west police and medical to west because has navy blue eyes, brown eyes of jailers and people in jail to north, animals to north all birds to east, dragon to the south sky white sign snow, winter cold, sleet, hail, etc, ice gnome to north, sylph fairy to east and wind, salamander to south and fire, elephant to north, megalodon to west, grizzly bear to south, lynx to east 4 Cabalistic worlds of 4 Trees one above the next, east wind is Tree Above too following down to Below, south fire, west water, and earth north City of Lights too Above Elysium to Above, God too Above keter to head, Soul, and Above, also east Chokmah and Mysticism to west im absolutely certain wisdom to west all fish to west sharks corresponds to south west, whale corresponds to west Holy from Above, Heaven's Wrath from Above Psychopathy through sexual mentality led too Red Man Wolf Form Light In Unconscious Mind She could be same hers (same person) A White Horse too Absorb from her she who Absorbed from a Platoon, then normally sexually Shifting too the next male placeing that at admiral, or commander Raising Energy explains witches haveing sexual orgies, Tantra with one partnet is more correct God In Empyerean AboveEvil Belowzombies north, werewolves south, vampirism west, ghosts east chandelier to above, altar to below, swords and athames to south, cup etc to west, pantacle to north the version she leaves after making you read what your reading as details you Become an Admiral with Trainer Killer Pushroom Controls at Right in human head is a White Horse The Summoning of Lucifer is Incantation which would be Merged with Ritual too Raise Energies corresponding too Raised and Beamed Down Energies prayer too the east, Lucifer too the south killed in intestines a woman, Lucifer to the west in Dimension, prayer too the north effecting Desire in female Incantations in essence how i Raised sexual heat in female and how Projected Lucifer Raising Energies eastCRM southNecromancy westSorcery north sexual to west, penis to south, body to north, Mentality too east Always Generate same Energies [more]

Keywords: raven, crow, the crow, The Crow, occultism, esoteric, religion, philosophy

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John Love How Sorcery Works

Esotericism
English
139 Words
Ages 18 and up
0
0

tfufufutfuyfuyfufuyuyfuyfuyfufuy All Spirits to east Blk Wolf Form to west, Red Wolf Man Light Form to south, Wolf Spirit to east, Shapeshifting think like em, behave like em, feel like em to north Consciousness, Sorcerer, Sorceress, Sorcery, Will, want, Blue Luminescence of Awareness, too the west Reality IS Virtual Quantum Reality Physics blk overhauls, ski mask, windbreakers, army boots, leather gloves army greens Quantum IS Real Grunge, white skull pirates of carribean, black skull mask, skulls necklace, satanic Pan In Void, flanel over, green windbreaker shell jacket, greenish scarf, Assassin neoprene skull face, camo bdus, army boots, bare foot, or w sandals, army liners pants, army liner upper body, camo boonie hat, army balaclava, camo tube, grandfathers leather gloves, grandfather jacket, at home green bath robe, flanel could have been Christmas long sleeve dress shirt, and underneath striped with green candy cane, can wear green corporal hat, and shirt can be army greens, included green extreme, i dont want to die from my gums bleeding at dentistry how do i unnumb my right hand? Black Forms of the earth In the Void also barefoot feet heal, clothed again feet heal, barefoot again feet look healed Jason X 2nd One to the north, Sexuality too the west, Voorhees Rage, the Demon, the Man Wolf, etc, to the south, Liberation, Samadhi, Enlightenment to the east, Humanities Oversoul and empyrean rod and God In Empyrean to the Above, THoth God the Theosophical Mystic God too Below because Descends, at Center In Void and Elder God Smokes Jason X 2nd One, Incantations Project Lucifer In Dimensions to kill and target intestines corresponding to squid, water, and west, Red Form of Voorhees (Wolf, Sexuality) corresponds to south, Liberation, Samadhi, Enlightenment, to east Freddy to Above in dreamsPinhead to west, pumpkinhead to north, jason voorhees to south, SSE to east Jason X 2nd One Red pentagrams, Red in the head, Black Wolf Form, Wolf Spirit, Red Man wolf Native America to Above, Below to ? Satanism and SetianismArgentium Astrum to east, OTO to south, Wicca to west, Druidry to north deathworm to earth, fly flies so to east and wind, fly mask to south, Shapeshifting too west the fly horror movie mask, Beelzebub the Demon fly Incantation during nightfall corresponding to the north, too Increase desire In woman, least Through Lucifer the Squid Kraken Construct giant squid, Incantation Increases Desire in females corresponding to the south and desire, corresponding to sexuality and the south and west also Lucifer the Squid Construct, Prayer too Lucifer is the Incantation, the emotional burning a plant, Sends forth Lucifer to attack the intestines which like Lucifer also corresponds to the west, Squid same as Leviathan correspond to the west Incantation, Red Energy, Manwolf, Human w corporal hat, Change on Cellular Level Happens with visualization and symbolical meaning Merged Too Generate Energy and Appearance Change Empyrean Above, Humanities Oversoul east, Krishna warrior God south, Consciousness west, Cosmic Consciousness north, Thoth God Below ? ??? fire south blacksmith masons free masons Freemasonry Through the Energy of God all else happens, mercy and war separate people into two natures, which through the Sun gain superiority upon the earth and as the common plays of people essence Generates Essence as Raised Energies White skull mask book reading earliest hours LVX Extends Sunlight too the Eyes of Keter the Soul and Entity too See even the Soul In the Void and latter Mysticism at Chokmah spicey i can only have during early morning hours DATD to east and Above the Microcosm so sexual Energy to west, Manwolf to south, Quantum Changes on Cellular Level to north, i am convinced behavior equals Generated Effect, as with Red Lights In Each Eye, and separately the essential method same but different but appropiate too Flash In Red the Man Wolf I Am Thoth the Atlantean affirmation red pentagrams human form corresponds to south, Red In head Social corresponds to red and south Raise Energy, think like em, feel like em, behave like em, long hair, sandals, Xerxes of Gobi Desert, most unique, let be Knightmare Voorhees, long white hair, green skirt, white and purple striped long sleeve black skull mask O shaped belt with buckles Trees worlds within and without All Evils to the tree of evil All Gods of War to Geburah Apollo, all solar dieties to tiferet The Tree of Life has enormous Trees in and from every Tree there is a infinite number of Trees. Artemis to binah, Athena to chokmah, Pan's parents to Ain and Ain Soph, or Ain Soph and LVX, also to chokmah and binah Pan corresponds to Ain, Ain Soph, and Ain Soph AUr, In the Void, and too Keter all the trees and plants is the hair of Pan, the mountains his bones, the rocks his teeth, the waters and oceans his lifes blood, the warmth of volcanoes are his heart and blood flow, blood to west, bones to north, heart, veins, arteries, to south, organs including brain to east, brain also to pentacle to north, athame etc to south, cups, chalices, goblets, Holy Grail, to the west and water and wine, empyrean rod to east and above, wands to east and above sex to west, evil to north, rage to south, Raising Energy too east and Above Krishna too Above whose Divine Effulgence is the Parabrahman Brahmajyoti Brahma too east and Above In Parabrahman 15th star Evil Admiral too Below Grim Reaper to the north and south, Dracula to the west and south, High Reaver Warwolf to the south, Civil War gun with knife underneath to the south, cannons, destroyers, Naval turrets, all guns, to the south Staff Raises Energy scourge to north, sword to south, wands to south and west, athame daggers to south, empyrean rod to east and above, staff to above sex during ritual Generates Energy too Admiral, can be Commander alsored candles, red pentagrams, nude female body altar, Raising Red Energy, passion triggered with visualization as usual, romantic incense in incense burner, red robes, or skyclad nudity, jewels, gems, and gold, garland around necks, clean, bathed, red visualized sphere etc, Sexuality is essence of Raising Red Generated Energy Red Eyes too Above, mentality too east, body and nudity to north, sex to the west, penis to the south some out of print copies my ppaerbacks now just prevent any worse interiors while maintaining value higher than before because all becomes rarer destruction is a passionate drive also of Raising sexual Energy her altar is Setianly bottomed up the power of life and death is in the spoken word linguistic of the tongue of the unfortunate how much people are cared for in America is the signs of the teeth and gums and mouth mechanical and machine as well as musical vibrations bodily vibrations, emotional vibrations, nervous vibrations, Raised Energy, vibrations of the nervous systems All Lights, Luminescences, and Bioluminescences, Mark Energy which can br Somehow Ritually Raised The Immortals of the north, the Brain Waves of the west, the Zombiefication of the south and Brain Waves of the west, the Sorcerer Social Entity of east and Above Necromancy corresponds to all 5 elements and elementals Necromancy to east and Above CRM too south west Necromancy and Enochain too Above Sorcery to west Humanities Oversoul to east and Above war bear north, war dog to south rose to south, lilly to east, lilly pads to north, seaweed to west police and medical to west because has navy blue eyes, brown eyes of jailers and people in jail to north, animals to north all birds to east, dragon to the south sky white sign snow, winter cold, sleet, hail, etc, ice gnome to north, sylph fairy to east and wind, salamander to south and fire, elephant to north, megalodon to west, grizzly bear to south, lynx to east 4 Cabalistic worlds of 4 Trees one above the next, east wind is Tree Above too following down to Below, south fire, west water, and earth north City of Lights too Above Elysium to Above, God too Above keter to head, Soul, and Above, also east Chokmah and Mysticism to west im absolutely certain wisdom to west all fish to west sharks corresponds to south west, whale corresponds to west Holy from Above, Heaven's Wrath from Above Psychopathy through sexual mentality led too Red Man Wolf Form Light In Unconscious Mind She could be same hers (same person) A White Horse too Absorb from her she who Absorbed from a Platoon, then normally sexually Shifting too the next male placeing that at admiral, or commander Raising Energy explains witches haveing sexual orgies, Tantra with one partnet is more correct God In Empyerean AboveEvil Belowzombies north, werewolves south, vampirism west, ghosts east chandelier to above, altar to below, swords and athames to south, cup etc to west, pantacle to north the version she leaves after making you read what your reading as details you Become an Admiral with Trainer Killer Pushroom Controls at Right in human head is a White Horse The Summoning of Lucifer is Incantation which would be Merged with Ritual too Raise Energies corresponding too Raised and Beamed Down Energies prayer too the east, Lucifer too the south killed in intestines a woman, Lucifer to the west in Dimension, prayer too the north effecting Desire in female Incantations in essence how i Raised sexual heat in female and how Projected Lucifer Raising Energies eastCRM southNecromancy westSorcery north sexual to west, penis to south, body to north, Mentality too east Always Generate same Energies [more]

Keywords: Sorcery, sorcery, supernatural, occult, occultism

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joann harris FEAR OF THE BEAST

A DAY OF RECKONING

Horror
English
291 Words
Ages 18 and up
66
3

The town of Wheatfield no longer exists. Very little of the northeastern part of Fork County exists, except in the memories of those who may have once lived there and were fortunate enough to be gone when the great fireball struck, searing the land for miles. Scientists were stunned by the suddeness of the huge fireball, fir it seemed to materalized out of the heavens, traveling at such a tremendous speed, it was almost beyond calculation. "Where had it come from?" the scientists were asked by a stunned population. "From straight out of the sun," was the reply. "You could not have predicted it?"No.' Why?" The scientists hedged that question, for many of them were sworn avowed atheists. Finally, one man from an observatory in Washington who was not an unbeliever did reply, although not to the satisfaction of all of his colleagues. His reply brought laughter from more than a few of his fellow scientists. How does one predict when the hand of God will fall, and how hard the blow will be? If indeed it had been as the scientists said, the hand of God, it had been a mighty slap from him. By the time various spies in the skies satellites, picked up on the cannoading mass of fiery destruction, it was already on top of the satellites, going through them, and burning them before they could be photographed, more than a one second shot at best, and transmit that to earth. Those pictures that did make it back to earth were immediately ordered to be seized by a presidential order. Some said it was shaped like a Star of David. Others said it looked like an artist's conception of God's face; striking resemblance. The president told the scientists to shut their damn mouths, too, or faced the prospects of never receiving another dime of government money for anything. But many people witnessed the strange blue lights that preceded the crash of the whatever the hell it was, and they asked about those lights. But suddenly all were quiet about the mighty ball of fire, except for speculation. That soon began to fade as the news pushed the holocaust out of the headlines. Only the insurance companies were left to ponder over the crash and dole out large sums of money to the relatives of those who had been killed. An astronomer in California thought he knew what had happened but he kept his mouth shut not out of any fear of the government, but because he felt it was the right thing to do. One investigative fellow did put some rather interesting and curious events together after a bit of prowling. But since he was a career army reservist and did not wish to spend his summer obligations to Uncle Sam cleaning up gooney bird shit on Guam , he kept his mouth shut. "Someday, maybe he will write a book about it, and maybe by them he would believe it himself and be assured of the protection of the Dali Lama in some cave in Tibet. What he had pieced together was that almost at the precise moment of fiery impact with earth, a series of fires leveled a huge man that was seen leaving earth, moving toward the heavens traveling at tremendous speed. No one knew what that thing was or if they did, they weren't saying, and there were some people who still remained unaccounted for after the fire at the mansion. One of them was a young man by the name of Alex Balloon who was a minister in Wheatfield who had died under very mysterious circumstances back in "52" when another disaster had befallen the tragedy-ridden community, butt the investigative reporter wisely closed his journal on both disasters for a time. It had been adnormally hot for this late in the season. By this time in the eastern part of Nebraska there was usually a lash of winter's approach in the air, a bit that brought color to the cheeks of pedestrains urgently but softly speaking of the harsh winter just ahead. But the winds that blew across the plains and rolling sands hills had a torrid touch and brought a sudden surliness to the people of this sparsely populated county, turning most tempers raw and confusing a few as to why. The man knew why. The few would learn too late. And out in the badlands some miles from Wheatfield , inside a fenced-in area where horror sprang to life back in the late 50's something stirred. A creature cautiously stuck its head out of the hidden cave and looked around, viewing its surrounding through evil, red eyes. The beast had felt the hot fingers of the wind pushing through the cave entrance as a probing hand might do, signaling those which serve another master that it was time. The Dark One was near. The wind grew in strength and heat the beast snarling in reply. The manlike creature rose from its sentry position to crawl out of the filthy hole, rising to stand like human bits of dust and twigs and blowing sand striking its hairy body. But to the beast it was a signal of love, a gesture of welcome. The beast roared its breath foul. It held its contempt for that God who occupies a more lofty position than the master of the beast. For the creature knew but one god: the Prince of Darkness, the Lord of the Flies, Ruler of all that is Evil. From behind the sentry came a guttural sound as other beasts rose from their long sleep, surly and hungry . They craved meat and the sweet taste of blood, but the sentry again tested the wind as the wind spoke its reply. The sentry held up one warning paw to those below, holding them at bay. He growled and the others drew back into the darkness of the evil smelling hole in the earth. They knew they must obey the master. Thee growling sentry told them to wait the master will tell us when we may move. Be patient for you have waited more than twenty years. Wait." [more]

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Patrick30 Lost in Glasgow

Biography & Autobiography
English
1 Words
No Age Recommendation
272
3

True story This happened to me one day back in 1970 Being a football fan (Celtic) in Scotland it was Regular evry Saturday to go to games home And a way we would meet up in the pub waiting for the hired bus to take us to the game all decked out in our football colours (green and white) we would have a few drinks Beer whisky talk about the teams about things Up and coming things we had done the week before usual patter this particular Saturday was the old firm Darby rangers v Celtic at ibrox park Glasgow always tickets for these Games now and getting a ticket was hard to Get but we always managed to get one so to get back to the pub! At this stage we were sort Outcasts at the time we had all been members Of our local supporters club but things had not Been good with some of us there was no drinking ban on the buses at that time and we Were young so we would bring carry outs onto the bus and you can imagine it stop the bus We need a piss this did not go down to well With the older ones on the bus especially when it happened three or four times on route To the games there would be arguments sometimes a wee fight would break out (ah great days!!!) there was a meeting called in the church hall and a few of the lads decided To go on threr own me being one of them Which meant we would have to hire our own Bus we were then known as the rebel bus the Name stuck to us and I suppose we were a bit Rebelious at the time we got into a lot of a troublefew of us would get lifted by the police now and again barred from a few pubs Fights were regular in them days they say that The drink was the cause of most trouble not True hatred was the trouble still is to this day Catholic and prodesants that is the cause Anyway to get back to that Saturday the old firm game we had hired a mini bus a firm in a place called kilsyth not far away from us in my home town Denny get this the firm from kisyth Had bought some mini buses from a mental Hospital in larbert near falkirk well known Hospital so that was that we would get the People in the pubs saying bus from nutters For nutters took a lot of stick we did but we did not care as long as we got to the game so when the mini bus turned up to take us to the game we could not believe it all green twenty Seater all wooden seats hard as well they were all out the pubs to see the nutters mini bus so of we go after a bit of stick about the Bus nearly a fight broke out every one in the mini bus had a carry out the singing started Two miles up the road stopped the bus pub For a pint or two meet some other fans usual Thing (alesters bar denloanhead) then back onto the bus by this time we were well on as you say with the drink none of the fans in the mini bus were paying no attention me included To where we were going the singing the drinking was going great guns sweeps for the Game pick a player to score the first goal out Of the hat can't do that now a days numbers Are all over the place one to a hundred back Then in my day it was one to elven and you would put the ref in as well many a sweep I won great stuff So there we are going along The road not noticing anything wrong to be honest about it we were all pissed anyway Then one of the lads said there are a lot of Rangers supporters going about here so the usual thing was you would start giving them the fingers roaring abuse at them but it just dawned on me there was no Celtic supporters To be see anywhere we were in the heart of govern apache country ( rangers supporters Evreywhere). Next thing the bus was caught In the traffic the Huns ( rangers suporters) Were all around us the mini bus was covered In spittings you could not see out the windows Next thing bottles cans bricks being thrown at The bus we were lucky no windows were broken the traffic would move on then stop again the bus took a hammering the rangers Supporters were trying to get in the door at the Front and drivers side I remember putting my back to the boor the force of the door being Banged was awful this went on for ages it did sober me up I can tell you bus moved on again the rangers fans were running after us We got caught in traffic again rangers fans Were on us again on the roof battering windows and doors driver was going nuts He was shitting him self he even left his seat Get back in that fucking seat you stupid bastard next thing police turned up I was never So glad to see the police in my life rangers Supported still throwing bottles at the bus police had to send for more polce that was Bad we were stopped in the middle of the Road bus being battered even the police were In trouble I remember saying to one of my pals don't you open that fucking door took ages for the police to get it sorted out When they did I can remember police officer talking To our driver who by the way was a rangers supporter why did you bring this bus of Celtic supporters into this area did you not know this Was rangers territory. Don't know what the driver said he was shitting it so we got escorted by the police to ibrox park boy it was Some experience I would not like to go through that again and the game was a cracker Celtic won one Nile Joe Craig what A goal what a day tell you this that driver Was very lucky he did not get hammering Back in the pub when I told the story people Could not believe it and the nutter bus well Took more stick about that as well I have been away from scotland twenty odd Years but they still talk about it yet There are more stories to come [more]

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shawnti judaism

by shawnti

History
English
12608 Words
No Age Recommendation
1416
19

Judaism (from the Latin Iudaismus, derived from the Greek Ioudaïsmos, and ultimately from the Hebrew יהודה, Yehudah, "Judahin Hebrew: יַהֲדוּת, Yahedut, the distinctive characteristics of the Judean ethnos is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people.Originating in the Hebrew Bible (also known as the Tanakh) and explored in later texts such as the Talmud, it is considered by religious Jews to be the expression of the covenantal relationship God developed with the Children of Israel. According to Rabbinic Judaism, God revealed his laws and commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai in the form of both the Written and Oral Torah. This was historically challenged by the Karaites, a movement that flourished in the medieval period, retains several thousand followers today and maintains that only the Written Torah was revealed. In modern times, liberal movements such as Humanistic Judaism may be nontheistic. Judaism claims a historical continuity spanning more than 3,000 years. It is one of the oldest monotheistic religions, and the oldest to survive into the present day. The Hebrews / Israelites were already referred to as "Jews" in later books of the Tanakh such as the Book of Esther, with the term Jews replacing the title "Children of Israel". Judaism's texts, traditions and values strongly influenced later Abrahamic religions, including Christianity, Islam and the Baha'i Faith.Many aspects of Judaism have also directly or indirectly influenced secular Western ethics and civil law. Jews are an ethnoreligious group and include those born Jewish and converts to Judaism. In 2010, the world Jewish population was estimated at 13.4 million, or roughly 0.2% of the total world population. About 42% of all Jews reside in Israel and about 42% reside in the United States and Canada, with most of the remainder living in Europe. The largest Jewish religious movements are Orthodox Judaism (Hareidi Judaism and Modern Orthodox Judaism), Conservative Judaism and Reform Judaism. A major source of difference between these groups is their approach to Jewish law. Orthodox Judaism maintains that the Torah and Jewish law are divine in origin, eternal and unalterable, and that they should be strictly followed. Conservative and Reform Judaism are more liberal, with Conservative Judaism generally promoting a more "traditional" interpretation of Judaism's requirements than Reform Judaism. A typical Reform position is that Jewish law should be viewed as a set of general guidelines rather than as a set of restrictions and obligations whose observance is required of all Jews.Historically, special courts enforced Jewish law; today, these courts still exist but the practice of Judaism is mostly voluntary. Authority on theological and legal matters is not vested in any one person or organization, but in the sacred texts and the many rabbis and scholars who interpret these texts. Unlike other ancient Near Eastern gods, the Hebrew God is portrayed as unitary and solitary; consequently, the Hebrew God's principal relationships are not with other gods, but with the world, and more specifically, with the people He created.Judaism thus begins with an ethical monotheism: the belief that God is one, and concerned with the actions of humankind.According to the Hebrew Bible, God promised Abraham to make of his offspring a great nation.Many generations later, he commanded the nation of Israel to love and worship only one God; that is, the Jewish nation is to reciprocate God's concern for the world. He also commanded the Jewish people to love one another; that is, Jews are to imitate God's love for people. These commandments are but two of a large corpus of commandments and laws that constitute this covenant, which is the substance of Judaism. Thus, although there is an esoteric tradition in Judaism (Kabbalah), Rabbinic scholar Max Kadushin has characterized normative Judaism as "normal mysticism", because it involves every-day personal experiences of God through ways or modes that are common to all Jews. This is played out through the observance of the halakhot and given verbal expression in the Birkat Ha-Mizvot, the short blessings that are spoken every time a positive commandment is to be fulfilled. The ordinary, familiar, everyday things and occurrences, we have constitute occasions for the experience of God. Such things as one's daily sustenance, the very day itself, are felt as manifestations of God's loving-kindness, calling for the Berakhot. Kedushah, holiness, which is nothing else than the imitation of God, is concerned with daily conduct, with being gracious and merciful, with keeping oneself from defilement by idolatry, adultery, and the shedding of blood. The Birkat Ha-Mitzwot evokes the consciousness of holiness at a rabbinic rite, but the objects employed in the majority of these rites are non-holy and of general character, while the several holy objects are non-theurgic. And not only do ordinary things and occurrences bring with them the experience of God. Everything that happens to a man evokes that experience, evil as well as good, for a Berakah is said also at evil tidings. Hence, although the experience of God is like none other, the occasions for experiencing Him, for having a consciousness of Him, are manifold, even if we consider only those that call for Berakot. Whereas Jewish philosophers often debate whether God is immanent or transcendent, and whether people have free will or their lives are determined, Halakha is a system through which any Jew acts to bring God into the world. Ethical monotheism is central in all sacred or normative texts of Judaism. However, monotheism has not always been followed in practice. The Jewish Bible (Tanakh) records and repeatedly condemns the widespread worship of other gods in ancient Israel. In the Greco-Roman era, many different interpretations of monotheism existed in Judaism, including the interpretations that gave rise to Christianity. Moreover, as a non-creedal religion, some have argued that Judaism does not require one to believe in God. For some, observance of Jewish law is more important than belief in God per se. In modern times, some liberal Jewish movements do not accept the existence of a personified deity active in history. Core tenetsMain article: Jewish principles of faith 13 Principles of Faith: 1.I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, is the Creator and Guide of everything that has been created; He alone has made, does make, and will make all things. 2.I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, is One, and that there is no unity in any manner like His, and that He alone is our God, who was, and is, and will be. 3.I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, has no body, and that He is free from all the properties of matter, and that there can be no (physical) comparison to Him whatsoever. 4.I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, is the first and the last. 5.I believe with perfect faith that to the Creator, Blessed be His Name, and to Him alone, it is right to pray, and that it is not right to pray to any being besides Him. 6.I believe with perfect faith that all the words of the prophets are true. 7.I believe with perfect faith that the prophecy of Moses our teacher, peace be upon him, was true, and that he was the chief of the prophets, both those who preceded him and those who followed him. 8.I believe with perfect faith that the entire Torah that is now in our possession is the same that was given to Moses our teacher, peace be upon him. 9.I believe with perfect faith that this Torah will not be exchanged, and that there will never be any other Torah from the Creator, Blessed be His Name. 10.I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, knows all the deeds of human beings and all their thoughts, as it is written, "Who fashioned the hearts of them all, Who comprehends all their actions" (Psalms 33:15). 11.I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, rewards those who keep His commandments and punishes those that transgress them. 12.I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah; and even though he may tarry, nonetheless, I wait every day for his coming. 13.I believe with perfect faith that there will be a revival of the dead at the time when it shall please the Creator, Blessed be His name, and His mention shall be exalted for ever and ever. -MaimonidesScholars throughout Jewish history have proposed numerous formulations of Judaism's core tenets, all of which have met with criticism. The most popular formulation is Maimonides' thirteen principles of faith, developed in the 12th century. According to Maimonides, any Jew who rejects even one of these principles would be considered an apostate and a heretic. Jewish scholars have held points of view diverging in various ways from Maimonides' principles. In Maimonides' time, his list of tenets was criticized by Hasdai Crescas and Joseph Albo. Albo and the Raavad argued that Maimonides' principles contained too many items that, while true, were not fundamentals of the faith. Along these lines, the ancient historian Josephus emphasized practices and observances rather than religious beliefs, associating apostasy with a failure to observe Jewish law and maintaining that the requirements for conversion to Judaism included circumcision and adherence to traditional customs. Maimonides' principles were largely ignored over the next few centuries. Later, two poetic restatements of these principles ("Ani Ma'amin" and "Yigdal") became integrated into many Jewish liturgies,[citation needed] leading to their eventual near-universal acceptance. In modern times, Judaism lacks a centralized authority that would dictate an exact religious dogma.Because of this, many different variations on the basic beliefs are considered within the scope of Judaism.Even so, all Jewish religious movements are, to a greater or lesser extent, based on the principles of the Hebrew Bible and various commentaries such as the Talmud and Midrash. Judaism also universally recognizes the Biblical Covenant between God and the Patriarch Abraham as well as the additional aspects of the Covenant revealed to Moses, who is considered Judaism's greatest prophet. In the Mishnah, a core text of Rabbinic Judaism, acceptance of the Divine origins of this covenant is considered an essential aspect of Judaism and those who reject the Covenant forfeit their share in the World to Come The basis of Jewish law and tradition (halakha) is the Torah (also known as the Pentateuch or the Five Books of Moses). According to rabbinic tradition there are 613 commandments in the Torah. Some of these laws are directed only to men or to women, some only to the ancient priestly groups, the Kohanim and Leviyim (members of the tribe of Levi), some only to farmers within the Land of Israel. Many laws were only applicable when the Temple in Jerusalem existed, and fewer than 300 of these commandments are still applicable today. While there have been Jewish groups whose beliefs were claimed to be based on the written text of the Torah alone (e.g., the Sadducees, and the Karaites), most Jews believed in what they call the oral law. These oral traditions were transmitted by the Pharisee sect of ancient Judaism, and were later recorded in written form and expanded upon by the rabbis. Rabbinic Judaism (which derives from the Pharisees) has always held that the books of the Torah (called the written law) have always been transmitted in parallel with an oral tradition. To justify this viewpoint, Jews point to the text of the Torah, where many words are left undefined, and many procedures mentioned without explanation or instructions; this, they argue, means that the reader is assumed to be familiar with the details from other, i.e., oral, sources. This parallel set of material was originally transmitted orally, and came to be known as "the oral law". By the time of Rabbi Judah haNasi (200 CE), after the destruction of Jerusalem, much of this material was edited together into the Mishnah. Over the next four centuries this law underwent discussion and debate in both of the world's major Jewish communities (in Israel and Babylonia), and the commentaries on the Mishnah from each of these communities eventually came to be edited together into compilations known as the two Talmuds. These have been expounded by commentaries of various Torah scholars during the ages. Halakha, the rabbinic Jewish way of life, then, is based on a combined reading of the Torah, and the oral tradition - the Mishnah, the halakhic Midrash, the Talmud and its commentaries. The Halakha has developed slowly, through a precedent-based system. The literature of questions to rabbis, and their considered answers, is referred to as responsa (in Hebrew, Sheelot U-Teshuvot.) Over time, as practices develop, codes of Jewish law are written that are based on the responsa; the most important code, the Shulchan Aruch, largely determines Orthodox religious practice today. Jewish philosophyMain article: Jewish philosophy Jewish philosophy refers to the conjunction between serious study of philosophy and Jewish theology. Major Jewish philosophers include Solomon ibn Gabirol, Saadia Gaon, Judah Halevi, Maimonides, and Gersonides. Major changes occurred in response to the Enlightenment (late 18th to early 19th century) leading to the post-Enlightenment Jewish philosophers. Modern Jewish philosophy consists of both Orthodox and non-Orthodox oriented philosophy. Notable among Orthodox Jewish philosophers are Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler, Joseph B. Soloveitchik, and Yitzchok Hutner. Well-known non-Orthodox Jewish philosophers include Martin Buber, Franz Rosenzweig, Mordecai Kaplan, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Will Herberg, and Emmanuel Lévinas. Related Topics Torah databases (electronic versions of the Traditional Jewish Bookshelf) List of Jewish prayers and blessings Rabbinic hermeneutics13 Principles of Hermeneutics: 1.A law that operates under certain conditions will surely be operative in other situations where the same conditions are present in a more acute form 2.A law operating in one situation will also be operative in another situation, if the text characterizes both situations in identical terms. 3.A law that clearly expresses the purpose it was meant to serve will also apply to other situations where the identical purpose may be served. 4.When a general rule is followed by illustrative particulars, only those particulars are to be embraced by it. 5.A law that begins with specifying particular cases, and then proceeds to an all-embracing generalization, is to be applied to particulars cases not specified but logically falling into the same generalization. 6.A law that begins with a generalization as to its intended applications, then continues with the specification of particular cases, and then concludes with a restatement of the generalization, can be applied only to the particular cases specified. 7.The rules about a generalization being followed or preceded by specifying particulars (rules 4 and 5) will not apply if it is apparent that the specification of the particular cases or the statement of the generalization is meant purely for achieving a greater clarity of language. 8.A particular case already covered in a generalization that is nevertheless treated separately suggests that the same particularized treatment be applied to all other cases which are covered in that generalization. 9.A penalty specified for a general category of wrong-doing is not to be automatically applied to a particular case that is withdrawn from the general rule to be specifically prohibited, but without any mention of the penalty. 10.A general prohibition followed by a specified penalty may be followed by a particular case, normally included in the generalization, with a modification in penalty, either toward easing it or making it more severe. 11.A case logically falling into a general law but treated separately remains outside the provisions of the general law except in those instances where it is specifically included in them. 12.Obscurities in Biblical texts may be cleared up from the immediate context or from subsequently occurring passages 13.Contradictions in Biblical passages may be removed through the mediation of other passages. -R. Ishmael Orthodox and many other Jews do not believe that the revealed Torah consists solely of its written contents, but of its interpretations as well. The study of Torah (in its widest sense, to include both poetry, narrative, and law, and both the Hebrew Bible and the Talmud) is in Judaism itself a sacred act of central importance. For the sages of the Mishnah and Talmud, and for their successors today, the study of Torah was therefore not merely a means to learn the contents of God's revelation, but an end in itself. According to the Talmud, These are the things for which a person enjoys the dividends in this world while the principal remains for the person to enjoy in the world to come; they are: honoring parents, loving deeds of kindness, and making peace between one person and another. But the study of the Torah is equal to them all. (Talmud Shabbat 127a). In Judaism, "the study of Torah can be a means of experiencing God". Reflecting on the contribution of the Amoraim and Tanaim to contemporary Judaism, Professor Jacob Neusner observed: The rabbi's logical and rational inquiry is not mere logic-chopping. It is a most serious and substantive effort to locate in trivialities the fundamental principles of the revealed will of God to guide and sanctify the most specific and concrete actions in the workaday world .... Here is the mystery of Talmudic Judaism: the alien and remote conviction that the intellect is an instrument not of unbelief and desacralization but of sanctification." To study the Written Torah and the Oral Torah in light of each other is thus also to study how to study the word of God. In the study of Torah, the sages formulated and followed various logical and hermeneutical principles. According to David Stern, all Rabbinic hermeneutics rest on two basic axioms: first, the belief in the omnisignificance of Scripture, in the meaningfulness of its every word, letter, even (according to one famous report) scribal flourish; second, the claim of the essential unity of Scripture as the expression of the single divine will. These two principles make possible a great variety of interpretations. According to the Talmud, A single verse has several meanings, but no two verses hold the same meaning. It was taught in the school of R. Ishmael: 'Behold, My word is like fire—declares the Lord—and like a hammer that shatters rock' (Jer 23:29). Just as this hammer produces many sparks (when it strikes the rock), so a single verse has several meanings." (Talmud Sanhedrin 34a). Observant Jews thus view the Torah as dynamic, because it contains within it a host of interpretations According to Rabbinic tradition, all valid interpretations of the written Torah were revealed to Moses at Sinai in oral form, and handed down from teacher to pupil (The oral revelation is in effect coextensive with the Talmud itself). When different rabbis forwarded conflicting interpretations, they sometimes appealed to hermeneutic principles to legitimize their arguments; some rabbis claim that these principles were themselves revealed by God to Moses at Sinai. Thus, Hillel called attention to seven commonly used in the interpretation of laws (baraita at the beginning of Sifra); R. Ishmael, thirteen (baraita at the beginning of Sifra; this collection is largely an amplification of that of Hillel).Eliezer b. Jose ha-Gelili listed 32, largely used for the exegesis of narrative elements of Torah. All the hermeneutic rules scattered through the Talmudim and Midrashim have been collected by Malbim in Ayyelet ha-Shachar, the introduction to his commentary on the Sifra. Nevertheless, R. Ishmael's 13 principles are perhaps the ones most widely known; they constitute an important, and one of Judaism's earliest, contributions to logic, hermeneutics, and jurisprudence. Judah Hadassi incorporated Ishmael's principles into Karaite Judaism in the 12th century.Today R. Ishmael's 13 principles are incorporated into the Jewish prayer book to be read by observant Jews on a daily basis. Jewish identityOrigin of the term "Judaism"The term Judaism derives from the Latin Iudaismus, derived from the Greek Ιουδαϊσμός Ioudaïsmos, and ultimately from the Hebrew יהודה, Yehudah, "Judah"; in Hebrew: יַהֲדוּת, Yahadut. It first appears as the Hellenistic Greek iudaismos in 2nd Maccabees in the 2nd century BCE. In the context of the age and period it held the meaning of seeking or forming part of a cultural entity, that of iudea, the Greek derivative of Persian Yehud, and can be compared with hellenismos, meaning acceptance of Hellenic cultural norms (the conflict between iudaismos and hellenismos lay behind the Maccabeean revolt and hence the invention of the term iudaismos). The earliest instance of the term in English, used to mean "the profession or practice of the Jewish religion; the religious system or polity of the Jews", is Robert Fabyan's The newe cronycles of Englande and of Fraunce a 1513. As an English translation of the Latin, the first instance in English is a 1611 translation of the Apocrypha(Deuterocanon in Catholic and Orthodox Christianity), 2 Macc. ii. 21 "Those that behaved themselues manfully to their honour for Iudaisme." Distinction between Jews as a people and JudaismAccording to Daniel Boyarin, the underlying distinction between religion and ethnicity is foreign to Judaism itself, and is one form of the dualism between spirit and flesh that has its origin in Platonic philosophy and that permeated Hellenistic Judaism. Consequently, in his view, Judaism does not fit easily into conventional Western categories, such as religion, ethnicity, or culture. Boyarin suggests that this in part reflects the fact that much of Judaism's more than 3,000-year history predates the rise of Western culture and occurred outside the West (that is, Europe, particularly medieval and modern Europe). During this time, Jews have experienced slavery, anarchic and theocratic self-government, conquest, occupation, and exile; in the Diasporas, they have been in contact with and have been influenced by ancient Egyptian, Babylonian, Persian, and Hellenic cultures, as well as modern movements such as the Enlightenment (see Haskalah) and the rise of nationalism, which would bear fruit in the form of a Jewish state in the Levant. They also saw an elite convert to Judaism (the Khazars), only to disappear as the centers of power in the lands once occupied by that elite fell to the people of Rus and then the Mongols. Thus, Boyarin has argued that "Jewishness disrupts the very categories of identity, because it is not national, not genealogical, not religious, but all of these, in dialectical tension." In contrast to this point of view, practices such as Humanistic Judaism reject the religious aspects of Judaism, while retaining certain cultural traditions. Who is a Jew?Main article: Who is a Jew? According to traditional Jewish Law, a Jew is anyone born of a Jewish mother or converted to Judaism in accordance with Jewish Law. American Reform Judaism and British Liberal Judaism accept the child of one Jewish parent (father or mother) as Jewish if the parents raise the child with a Jewish identity. All mainstream forms of Judaism today are open to sincere converts, although conversion has traditionally been discouraged since the time of the Talmud. The conversion process is evaluated by an authority, and the convert is examined on his or her sincerity and knowledge. Converts are given the name "ben Abraham" or "bat Abraham", (son or daughter of Abraham). Traditional Judaism maintains that a Jew, whether by birth or conversion, is a Jew forever. Thus a Jew who claims to be an atheist or converts to another religion is still considered by traditional Judaism to be Jewish. According to some sources, the Reform movement has maintained that a Jew who has converted to another religion is no longer a Jew, and the Israeli Government has also taken that stance after Supreme Court cases and statutes.However, the Reform movement has indicated that this is not so cut and dry, and different situations call for consideration and differing actions. For example, Jews who have converted under duress may be permitted to return to Judaism "without any action on their part but their desire to rejoin the Jewish community" and "A proselyte who has become an apostate remains, nevertheless, a Jew". The question of what determines Jewish identity in the State of Israel was given new impetus when, in the 1950s, David Ben-Gurion requested opinions on mihu Yehudi ("who is a Jew") from Jewish religious authorities and intellectuals worldwide in order to settle citizenship questions. This is still not settled, and occasionally resurfaces in Israeli politics. Jewish demographicsMain article: Jewish population The total number of Jews worldwide is difficult to assess because the definition of "who is a Jew" is problematic; not all Jews identify themselves as Jewish, and some who identify as Jewish are not considered so by other Jews. According to the Jewish Year Book (1901), the global Jewish population in 1900 was around 11 million. The latest available data is from the World Jewish Population Survey of 2002 and the Jewish Year Calendar (2005). In 2002, according to the Jewish Population Survey, there were 13.3 million Jews around the world. The Jewish Year Calendar cites 14.6 million. Jewish population growth is currently near zero percent, with 0.3% growth from 2000 to 2001. Jewish religious movementsMain article: Jewish religious movements Rabbinic JudaismRabbinic Judaism (or in some Christian traditions, Rabbinism) (Hebrew: "Yahadut Rabanit" - יהדות רבנית) has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Talmud. It is characterised by the belief that the Written Torah (Law) cannot be correctly interpreted without reference to the Oral Torah and by the voluminous literature specifying what behavior is sanctioned by the law (called halakha, "the way"). The Jewish Enlightenment of the late 18th century resulted in the division of Ashkenazi (Western) Jewry into religious movements or denominations, especially in North America and Anglophone countries. The main denominations today outside Israel (where the situation is rather different) are Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform. Orthodox Judaism holds that both the Written and Oral Torah were divinely revealed to Moses, and that the laws within it are binding and unchanging. Orthodox Jews generally consider commentaries on the Shulchan Aruch (a condensed codification of halakha that largely favored Sephardic traditions) to be the definitive codification of Jewish law. Orthodoxy places a high importance on Maimonides' 13 principles as a definition of Jewish faith. Orthodoxy is often divided into Modern Orthodox Judaism and Haredi Judaism. Haredi Judaism is less accommodating to modernity and has less interest in non-Jewish disciplines, and it may be distinguished from Modern Orthodox Judaism in practice by its styles of dress and more stringent practices. Subsets of Haredi Judaism include: Hasidic Judaism, which is rooted in the Kabbalah and distinguished by reliance on a Rebbe or religious teacher; and Sephardic Haredi Judaism, which emerged among Sephardic (Asian and North African) Jews in Israel. Conservative Judaism, known as Masorti outside the United States and Canada, is characterized by a commitment to traditional Jewish laws and customs, including observance of Shabbat and kashrut, a deliberately non-fundamentalist teaching of Jewish principles of faith, a positive attitude toward modern culture, and an acceptance of both traditional rabbinic and modern scholarship when considering Jewish religious texts. Conservative Judaism teaches that Jewish law is not static, but has always developed in response to changing conditions. It holds that the Torah is a divine document written by prophets inspired by God and reflecting his will, but rejects the Orthodox position that it was dictated by God to Moses. Conservative Judaism holds that the Oral Law is divine and normative, but holds that both the Written and Oral Law may be interpreted by the rabbis to reflect modern sensibilities and suit modern conditions. Reform Judaism, called Liberal or Progressive Judaism in many countries, defines Judaism as a religion rather than as a race or culture, rejects most of the ritual and ceremonial laws of the Torah while observing moral laws, and emphasizes the ethical call of the Prophets. Reform Judaism has developed an egalitarian prayer service in the vernacular (along with Hebrew in many cases) and emphasizes personal connection to Jewish tradition. A Reform synagogue with mixed seating and equal participation of men and womenReconstructionist Judaism, like Reform Judaism, does not hold that Jewish law, as such, requires observance, but unlike Reform, Reconstructionist thought emphasizes the role of the community in deciding what observances to follow. Jewish Renewal is a recent North American movement which focuses on spirituality and social justice, but does not address issues of Jewish law. Men and women participate equally in prayer. Humanistic Judaism is a small non-theistic movement centered in North America and Israel that emphasizes Jewish culture and history as the sources of Jewish identity. Jewish movements in IsraelMain article: Religion in Israel Most Jewish Israelis classify themselves as "secular" (hiloni), "traditional" (masorti), "religious" (dati) or Haredi. The term "secular" is more popular as a self-description among Israeli families of western (European) origin, whose Jewish identity may be a very powerful force in their lives, but who see it as largely independent of traditional religious belief and practice. This portion of the population largely ignores organized religious life, be it of the official Israeli rabbinate (Orthodox) or of the liberal movements common to diaspora Judaism (Reform, Conservative). The term "traditional" (masorti) is most common as a self-description among Israeli families of "eastern" origin (i.e., the Middle East, Central Asia, and North Africa). This term, as commonly used, has nothing to do with the official Masorti (Conservative) movement. There is a great deal of ambiguity in the ways "secular" and "traditional" are used in Israel: they often overlap, and they cover an extremely wide range in terms of ideology and religious observance. The term "Orthodox" is not popular in Israeli discourse, although the percentage of Jews who come under that category is far greater than in the diaspora. What would be called "Orthodox" in the diaspora includes what is commonly called dati (religious) or haredi (ultra-Orthodox) in Israel. The former term includes what is called "Religious Zionism" or the "National Religious" community, as well as what has become known over the past decade or so as haredi-leumi (nationalist haredi), or "Hardal", which combines a largely haredi lifestyle with nationalist ideology. (Some people, in Yiddish, also refer to observant Orthodox Jews as frum, as opposed to frei (more liberal Jews)). Haredi applies to a populace that can be roughly divided into three separate groups along both ethnic and ideological lines: (1) "Lithuanian" (non-hasidic) haredim of Ashkenazic origin; (2) Hasidic haredim of Ashkenazic origin; and (3) Sephardic haredim. Alternative JudaismMain article: Alternative Judaism Karaite Judaism defines itself as the remnants of the non-Rabbinic Jewish sects of the Second Temple period, such as the Sadducees. The Karaites ("Scripturalists") accept only the Hebrew Bible and what they view as the Peshat ("simple" meaning); they do not accept non-biblical writings as authoritative. Some European Karaites do not see themselves as part of the Jewish community at all, although most do. The Samaritans, a very small community located entirely around Mount Gerizim in the Nablus/Shechem region of the West Bank and in Holon, near Tel Aviv in Israel, regard themselves as the descendants of the Israelites of the Iron Age kingdom of Israel. Their religious practices are those of Judaism, but they regard only the written Torah as authoritative scripture (with a special regard also for the Book of Joshua). Jewish observancesJewish ethicsMain article: Jewish ethics Jewish ethics may be guided by halakhic traditions, by other moral principles, or by central Jewish virtues. Jewish ethical practice is typically understood to be marked by values such as justice, truth, peace, loving-kindness (chesed), compassion, humility, and self-respect. Specific Jewish ethical practices include practices of charity (tzedakah) and refraining from negative speech (lashon hara). Proper ethical practices regarding sexuality and many other issues are subjects of dispute among Jews. PrayersMain article: Jewish services A Yemenite Jew at morning prayers, wearing a kippah skullcap, prayer shawl and tefillinTraditionally, Jews recite prayers three times daily, Shacharit, Mincha, and Ma'ariv with a fourth prayer, Mussaf added on Shabbat and holidays. At the heart of each service is the Amidah or Shemoneh Esrei. Another key prayer in many services is the declaration of faith, the Shema Yisrael (or Shema). The Shema is the recitation of a verse from the Torah (Deuteronomy 6:4): Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad—"Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God! The Lord is One!" Most of the prayers in a traditional Jewish service can be recited in solitary prayer, although communal prayer is preferred. Communal prayer requires a quorum of ten adult Jews, called a minyan. In nearly all Orthodox and a few Conservative circles, only male Jews are counted toward a minyan; most Conservative Jews and members of other Jewish denominations count female Jews as well. In addition to prayer services, observant traditional Jews recite prayers and benedictions throughout the day when performing various acts. Prayers are recited upon waking up in the morning, before eating or drinking different foods, after eating a meal, and so on. The approach to prayer varies among the Jewish denominations. Differences can include the texts of prayers, the frequency of prayer, the number of prayers recited at various religious events, the use of musical instruments and choral music, and whether prayers are recited in the traditional liturgical languages or the vernacular. In general, Orthodox and Conservative congregations adhere most closely to tradition, and Reform and Reconstructionist synagogues are more likely to incorporate translations and contemporary writings in their services. Also, in most Conservative synagogues, and all Reform and Reconstructionist congregations, women participate in prayer services on an equal basis with men, including roles traditionally filled only by men, such as reading from the Torah. In addition, many Reform temples use musical accompaniment such as organs and mixed choirs. Religious clothingFurther information: kippah, tzitzit, and tefillin A kippah (Hebrew: כִּפָּה, plural kippot; Yiddish: יאַרמלקע, yarmulke) is a slightly rounded brimless skullcap worn by many Jews while praying, eating, reciting blessings, or studying Jewish religious texts, and at all times by some Jewish men. In Orthodox communities, only men wear kippot; in non-Orthodox communities, some women also wear kippot. Kippot range in size from a small round beanie that covers only the back of the head, to a large, snug cap that covers the whole crown. Tzitzit (Hebrew: צִיציִת) (Ashkenazi pronunciation: tzitzis) are special knotted "fringes" or "tassels" found on the four corners of the tallit (Hebrew: טַלִּית) (Ashkenazi pronunciation: tallis), or prayer shawl. The tallit is worn by Jewish men and some Jewish women during the prayer service. Customs vary regarding when a Jew begins wearing a tallit. In the Sephardi community, boys wear a tallit from bar mitzvah age. In some Ashkenazi communities it is customary to wear one only after marriage. A tallit katan (small tallit) is a fringed garment worn under the clothing throughout the day. In some Orthodox circles, the fringes are allowed to hang freely outside the clothing. Tefillin (Hebrew: תְפִלִּין), known in English as phylacteries (from the Greek word φυλακτήριον, meaning safeguard or amulet), are two square leather boxes containing biblical verses, attached to the forehead and wound around the left arm by leather straps. They are worn during weekday morning prayer by observant Jewish men and some Jewish women. A kittel (Yiddish: קיטל), a white knee-length overgarment, is worn by prayer leaders and some observant traditional Jews on the High Holidays. It is traditional for the head of the household to wear a kittel at the Passover seder in some communities, and some grooms wear one under the wedding canopy. Jewish males are buried in a tallit and sometimes also a kittel which are part of the tachrichim (burial garments). Jewish holidaysMain article: Jewish holiday Jewish holidays are special days in the Jewish calendar, which celebrate moments in Jewish history, as well as central themes in the relationship between God and the world, such as creation, revelation, and redemption. ShabbatMain article: Shabbat Two braided Shabbat challahs placed under an embroidered challah cover at the start of the Shabbat mealShabbat, the weekly day of rest lasting from shortly before sundown on Friday night to nightfall Saturday night, commemorates God's day of rest after six days of creation.It plays a pivotal role in Jewish practice and is governed by a large corpus of religious law. At sundown on Friday, the woman of the house welcomes the Shabbat by lighting two or more candles and reciting a blessing. The evening meal begins with the Kiddush, a blessing recited aloud over a cup of wine, and the Mohtzi, a blessing recited over the bread. It is customary to have challah, two braided loaves of bread, on the table. During Shabbat Jews are forbidden to engage in any activity that falls under 39 categories of melakhah, translated literally as "work". In fact the activities banned on the Sabbath are not "work" in the usual sense: They include such actions as lighting a fire, writing, using money and carrying in the public domain. The prohibition of lighting a fire has been extended in the modern era to driving a car, which involves burning fuel, and using electricity. Three pilgrimage festivalsMain article: Shalosh regalim Sukkahs in JerusalemJewish holy days (chaggim), celebrate landmark events in Jewish history, such as the Exodus from Egypt and the giving of the Torah, and sometimes mark the change of seasons and transitions in the agricultural cycle. The three major festivals, Sukkot, Passover and Shavuot, are called "regalim" (derived from the Hebrew word "regel", or foot). On the three regalim, it was customary for the Israelites to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices in the Temple. Passover (Pesach) is a week-long holiday beginning on the evening of the 14th day of Nisan (the first month in the Hebrew calendar), that commemorates the Exodus from Egypt. Outside Israel, Passover is celebrated for eight days. In ancient times, it coincided with the barley harvest. It is the only holiday that centers on home-service, the Seder. Leavened products (chametz) are removed from the house prior to the holiday, and are not consumed throughout the week. Homes are thoroughly cleaned to ensure no bread or bread by-products remain, and a symbolic burning of the last vestiges of chametz is conducted on the morning of the Seder. Matzo is eaten instead of bread. Shavuot ("Pentecost" or "Feast of Weeks") celebrates the revelation of the Torah to the Israelites on Mount Sinai. Also known as the Festival of Bikurim, or first fruits, it coincided in biblical times with the wheat harvest. Shavuot customs include all-night study marathons known as Tikkun Leil Shavuot, eating dairy foods (cheesecake and blintzes are special favorites), reading the Book of Ruth, decorating homes and synagogues with greenery, and wearing white clothing, symbolizing purity. Sukkot ("Tabernacles" or "The Festival of Booths") commemorates the Israelites' forty years of wandering through the desert on their way to the Promised Land. It is celebrated through the construction of temporary booths called sukkot (sing. sukkah) that represent the temporary shelters of the Israelites during their wandering. It coincides with the fruit harvest, and marks the end of the agricultural cycle. Jews around the world eat in sukkot for seven days and nights. Sukkot concludes with Shemini Atzeret, where Jews begin to pray for rain and Simchat Torah, "Rejoicing of the Torah", a holiday which marks reaching the end of the Torah reading cycle and beginning all over again. The occasion is celebrated with singing and dancing with the Torah scrolls. Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are technically considered to be a separate holiday and not a part of Sukkot. High Holy DaysMain article: High Holidays Jews praying in a synagogue on Yom Kippur, from an 1878 painting by Maurycy GottliebThe High Holidays (Yamim Noraim or "Days of Awe") revolve around judgment and forgiveness. Rosh Hashanah, (also Yom Ha-Zikkaron or "Day of Remembrance", and Yom Teruah, or "Day of the Sounding of the Shofar"). Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year (literally, "head of the year"), although it falls on the first day of the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, Tishri. Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the 10-day period of atonement leading up to Yom Kippur, during which Jews are commanded to search their souls and make amends for sins committed, intentionally or not, throughout the year. Holiday customs include blowing the shofar, or ram's horn, in the synagogue, eating apples and honey, and saying blessings over a variety of symbolic foods, such as pomegranates. Yom Kippur, ("Day of Atonement") is the holiest day of the Jewish year. It is a day of communal fasting and praying for forgiveness for one's sins. Observant Jews spend the entire day in the synagogue, sometimes with a short break in the afternoon, reciting prayers from a special holiday prayerbook called a "Machzor". Many non-religious Jews make a point of attending synagogue services and fasting on Yom Kippur. On the eve of Yom Kippur, before candles are lit, a prefast meal, the "seuda mafseket", is eaten. Synagogue services on the eve of Yom Kippur begin with the Kol Nidre prayer. It is customary to wear white on Yom Kippur, especially for Kol Nidre, and leather shoes are not worn. The following day, prayers are held from morning to evening. The final prayer service, called "Ne'ilah", ends with a long blast of the shofar. PurimMain article: Purim Purim street scene in JerusalemPurim (Hebrew: פורים (help·info) Pûrîm "lots") is a joyous Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Persian Jews from the plot of the evil Haman, who sought to exterminate them, as recorded in the biblical Book of Esther. It is characterized by public recitation of the Book of Esther, mutual gifts of food and drink, charity to the poor, and a celebratory meal (Esther 9:22). Other customs include drinking wine, eating special pastries called hamantashen, dressing up in masks and costumes, and organizing carnivals and parties. Purim is celebrated annually on the 14th of the Hebrew month of Adar, which occurs in February or March of the Gregorian calendar. HanukkahMain article: Hanukkah Hanukkah (Hebrew: חֲנֻכָּה‎, "dedication") also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight day Jewish holiday that starts on the 25th day of Kislev (Hebrew calendar). The festival is observed in Jewish homes by the kindling of lights on each of the festival's eight nights, one on the first night, two on the second night and so on. The holiday was called Hanukkah (meaning "dedication") because it marks the re-dedication of the Temple after its desecration by Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Spiritually, Hanukkah commemorates the "Miracle of the Oil". According to the Talmud, at the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem following the victory of the Maccabees over the Seleucid Empire, there was only enough consecrated oil to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days - which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate new oil. Hanukkah is not mentioned in the Bible and was never considered a major holiday in Judaism, but it has become much more visible and widely celebrated in modern times, mainly because it falls around the same time as Christmas and has national Jewish overtones that have been emphasized since the establishment of the State of Israel. Other holidaysMain article: Tisha B'Av Main articles: Yom Hashoah and Yom Ha'atzmaut Tisha B'Av (Hebrew: תשעה באב‎ or ט׳ באב, "the Ninth of Av") is a holiday of mourning and fasting commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples and the expulsion of the Jews from Spain. The modern holidays of Yom Ha-shoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) and Yom Ha'atzmaut (Israeli Independence Day) commemorate the horrors of the Holocaust and the achievement of Israel independence, respectively. Torah readingsMain article: Torah reading The core of festival and Shabbat prayer services is the public reading of the Torah, along with connected readings from the other books of the Tanakh, called Haftarah. Over the course of a year, the whole Torah is read, with the cycle starting over in the autumn, on Simchat Torah. Synagogues and religious buildingsMain article: Synagogue Interior of the Esnoga synagogue in AmsterdamSynagogues are Jewish houses of prayer and study. They usually contain separate rooms for prayer (the main sanctuary), smaller rooms for study, and often an area for community or educational use. There is no set blueprint for synagogues and the architectural shapes and interior designs of synagogues vary greatly. The Reform movement mostly refer to their synagogues as temples. Some traditional features of a synagogue are: The ark (called aron ha-kodesh by Ashkenazim and hekhal by Sephardim) where the Torah scrolls are kept (the ark is often closed with an ornate curtain (parochet) outside or inside the ark doors); The elevated reader's platform (called bimah by Ashkenazim and tebah by Sephardim), where the Torah is read (and services are conducted in Sephardi synagogues); The eternal light (ner tamid), a continually lit lamp or lantern used as a reminder of the constantly lit menorah of the Temple in Jerusalem The pulpit, or amud, a lectern facing the Ark where the hazzan or prayer leader stands while praying. In addition to synagogues, other buildings of significance in Judaism include yeshivas, or institutions of Jewish learning, and mikvahs, which are ritual baths. Dietary laws: KashrutMain article: Kashrut The Jewish dietary laws are known as kashrut. Food prepared in accordance with them is termed kosher, and food that is not kosher is also known as treifah or treif. People who observe these laws are colloquially said to be "keeping kosher". Many of the laws apply to animal-based foods. For example, in order to be considered kosher, mammals must have split hooves and chew their cud. The pig is arguably the most well-known example of a non-kosher animal. Although it has split hooves, it does not chew its cud.For seafood to be kosher, the animal must have fins and scales. Certain types of seafood, such as shellfish, crustaceans, and eels, are therefore considered non-kosher. Concerning birds, a list of non-kosher species is given in the Torah. The exact translations of many of the species have not survived, and some non-kosher birds' identities are no longer certain. However, traditions exist about the kashrut status of a few birds. For example, both chickens and turkeys are permitted in most communities. Other types of animals, such as amphibians, reptiles, and most insects, are prohibited altogether. In addition to the requirement that the species be considered kosher, meat and poultry (but not fish) must come from a healthy animal slaughtered in a process known as shechitah. Without the proper slaughtering practices even an otherwise kosher animal will be rendered treif. The slaughtering process is intended to be quick and relatively painless to the animal. Forbidden parts of animals include the blood, some fats, and the area in and around the sciatic nerve. Jewish law also forbids the consumption of meat and dairy products together. The waiting period between eating meat and eating dairy varies by the order in which they are consumed and by community, and can extend for up to six hours. Based on the Biblical injunction against cooking a kid in its mother's milk, this rule is mostly derived from the Oral Torah, the Talmud and Rabbinic law. Chicken and other kosher birds are considered the same as meat under the laws of kashrut, but the prohibition is Rabbinic, not Biblical. The use of dishes, serving utensils, and ovens may make food treif that would otherwise be kosher. Utensils that have been used to prepare non-kosher food, or dishes that have held meat and are now used for dairy products, render the food treif under certain conditions. Furthermore, all Orthodox and some Conservative authorities forbid the consumption of processed grape products made by non-Jews, due to ancient pagan practices of using wine in rituals. Some Conservative authorities permit wine and grape juice made without rabbinic supervision. The Torah does not give specific reasons for most of the laws of kashrut.However, a number of explanations have been offered, including maintaining ritual purity, teaching impulse control, encouraging obedience to God, improving health, reducing cruelty to animals and preserving the distinctness of the Jewish community. The various categories of dietary laws may have developed for different reasons, and some may exist for multiple reasons. For example, people are forbidden from consuming the blood of birds and mammals because, according to the Torah, this is where animal souls are contained. In contrast, the Torah forbids Israelites from eating non-kosher species because "they are unclean". The Kabbalah describes sparks of holiness that are released by the act of eating kosher foods, but are too tightly bound in non-kosher foods to be released by eating. Survival concerns supersede all the laws of kashrut, as they do for most halakhot. Laws of ritual purityMain article: Tumah The Tanakh describes circumstances in which a person who is tahor or ritually pure may become tamei or ritually impure. Some of these circumstances are contact with human corpses or graves, seminal flux, vaginal flux, menstruation, and contact with people who have become impure from any of these. In Rabbinic Judaism, Kohanim, members of the hereditary caste that served as priests in the time of the Temple, are mostly restricted from entering grave sites and touching dead bodies. Family purityMain article: Niddah An important subcategory of the ritual purity laws relates to the segregation of menstruating women. These laws are also known as niddah, literally "separation", or family purity. Vital aspects of halakha for traditionally observant Jews, they are not usually followed by Jews in liberal denominations. Especially in Orthodox Judaism, the Biblical laws are augmented by Rabbinical injunctions. For example, the Torah mandates that a woman in her normal menstrual period must abstain from sexual intercourse for seven days. A woman whose menstruation is prolonged must continue to abstain for seven more days after bleeding has stopped. The Rabbis conflated ordinary niddah with this extended menstrual period, known in the Torah as zavah, and mandated that a woman may not have sexual intercourse with her husband from the time she begins her menstrual flow until seven days after it ends. In addition, Rabbinical law forbids the husband from touching or sharing a bed with his wife during this period. Afterwards, purification can occur in a ritual bath called a mikveh. Traditional Ethiopian Jews keep menstruating women in separate huts and, similar to Karaite practice, do not allow menstruating women into their temples because of a temple's special sanctity. Emigration to Israel and the influence of other Jewish denominations have led to Ethiopian Jews adopting more normative Jewish practices. Life-cycle eventsLife-cycle events, or rites of passage, occur throughout a Jew's life that serve to strengthen Jewish identity and bind him/her to the entire community. Brit milah - Welcoming male babies into the covenant through the rite of circumcision on their eighth day of life. The baby boy is also given his Hebrew name in the ceremony. A naming ceremony intended as a parallel ritual for girls, named zeved habat or brit bat, enjoys limited popularity. Bar mitzvah and Bat mitzvah - This passage from childhood to adulthood takes place when a female Jew is twelve and a male Jew is thirteen years old among Orthodox and some Conservative congregations. In the Reform movement, both girls and boys have their bat/bar mitzvah at age thirteen. This is often commemorated by having the new adults, male only in the Orthodox tradition, lead the congregation in prayer and publicly read a "portion" of the Torah. Marriage - Marriage is an extremely important lifecycle event. A wedding takes place under a chupah, or wedding canopy, which symbolizes a happy house. At the end of the ceremony, the groom breaks a glass with his foot, symbolizing the continuous mourning for the destruction of the Temple, and the scattering of the Jewish people. Death and Mourning - Judaism has a multi-staged mourning practice. The first stage is called the shiva (literally "seven", observed for one week) during which it is traditional to sit at home and be comforted by friends and family, the second is the shloshim (observed for one month) and for those who have lost one of their parents, there is a third stage, avelut yud bet chodesh, which is observed for eleven months. Community leadershipClassical priesthoodThe role of the priesthood in Judaism has significantly diminished since the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, when priests attended to the Temple and sacrifices. The priesthood is an inherited position, and although priests no longer have any but ceremonial duties, they are still honored in many Jewish communities. Many Orthodox Jewish communities believe that they will be needed again for a future Third Temple and need to remain in readiness for future duty. Kohen (priest) - patrilineal descendant of Aaron, brother of Moses. In the Temple, the kohanim were charged with performing the sacrifices. Today, a Kohen is the first one called up at the reading of the Torah, performs the Priestly Blessing, as well as complying with other unique laws and ceremonies, including the ceremony of redemption of the first-born. Levi (Levite) - Patrilineal descendant of Levi the son of Jacob. In the Temple in Jerusalem, the levites sang Psalms, performed construction, maintenance, janitorial, and guard duties, assisted the priests, and sometimes interpreted the law and Temple ritual to the public. Today, a Levite is called up second to the reading of the Torah. Prayer leadersFrom the time of the Mishnah and Talmud to the present, Judaism has required specialists or authorities for the practice of very few rituals or ceremonies. A Jew can fulfill most requirements for prayer by himself. Some activities—reading the Torah and haftarah (a supplementary portion from the Prophets or Writings), the prayer for mourners, the blessings for bridegroom and bride, the complete grace after meals—require a minyan, the presence of ten Jews. The most common professional clergy in a synagogue are: Rabbi of a congregation - Jewish scholar who is charged with answering the legal questions of a congregation. This role requires ordination by the congregation's preferred authority (i.e. from a respected Orthodox rabbi or, if the congregation is Conservative or Reform, from academic seminaries). A congregation does not necessarily require a rabbi. Some congregations have a rabbi but also allow members of the congregation to act as shatz or baal kriyah (see below). Hassidic Rebbe - rabbi who is the head of a Hasidic dynasty. Hazzan (note: the "h" denotes voiceless pharyngeal fricative) (cantor) - a trained vocalist who acts as shatz. Chosen for a good voice, knowledge of traditional tunes, understanding of the meaning of the prayers and sincerity in reciting them. A congregation does not need to have a dedicated hazzan. Jewish prayer services do involve two specified roles, which are sometimes, but not always, filled by a rabbi and/or hazzan in many congregations. In other congregations these roles are filled on an ad-hoc basis by members of the congregation who lead portions of services on a rotating basis: Shaliach tzibur or Shatz (leader—literally "agent" or "representative"—of the congregation) leads those assembled in prayer, and sometimes prays on behalf of the community. When a shatz recites a prayer on behalf of the congregation, he is not acting as an intermediary but rather as a facilitator. The entire congregation participates in the recital of such prayers by saying amen at their conclusion; it is with this act that the shatz's prayer becomes the prayer of the congregation. Any adult capable of reciting the prayers clearly may act as shatz. In Orthodox congregations and some Conservative congregations, only men can be prayer leaders, but all Progressive communities now allow women to serve in this function. The Baal kriyah or baal koreh (master of the reading) reads the weekly Torah portion. The requirements for being the baal kriyah are the same as those for the shatz. These roles are not mutually exclusive. The same person is often qualified to fill more than one role, and often does. Often there are several people capable of filling these roles and different services (or parts of services) will be led by each. Many congregations, especially larger ones, also rely on a: Gabbai (sexton) - Calls people up to the Torah, appoints the shatz for each prayer session if there is no standard shatz, and makes certain that the synagogue is kept clean and supplied. The three preceding positions are usually voluntary and considered an honor. Since the Enlightenment large synagogues have often adopted the practice of hiring rabbis and hazzans to act as shatz and baal kriyah, and this is still typically the case in many Conservative and Reform congregations. However, in most Orthodox synagogues these positions are filled by laypeople on a rotating or ad-hoc basis. Although most congregations hire one or more Rabbis, the use of a professional hazzan is generally declining in American congregations, and the use of professionals for other offices is rarer still. Specialized religious rolesDayan (judge) - An ordained rabbi with special legal training who belongs to a beth din (rabbinical court). In Israel, religious courts handle marriage and divorce cases, conversion and financial disputes in the Jewish community. Mohel (circumciser) - An expert in the laws of circumcision who has received training from a previously qualified mohel and performs the brit milah (circumcision). Shochet (ritual slaughterer) - In order for meat to be kosher, it must be slaughtered by a shochet who is an expert in the laws of kashrut and has been trained by another shochet. Sofer (scribe) - Torah scrolls, tefillin (phylacteries), mezuzot (scrolls put on doorposts), and gittin (bills of divorce) must be written by a sofer who is an expert in Hebrew calligraphy and has undergone rigorous training in the laws of writing sacred texts. Rosh yeshiva - A Torah scholar who runs a yeshiva. Mashgiach of a yeshiva - Depending on which yeshiva, might either be the person responsible for ensuring attendance and proper conduct, or even supervise the emotional and spiritual welfare of the students and give lectures on mussar (Jewish ethics). Mashgiach - Supervises manufacturers of kosher food, importers, caterers and restaurants to ensure that the food is kosher. Must be an expert in the laws of kashrut and trained by a rabbi, if not a rabbi himself. HistoryMain article: Jewish history OriginsMain article: Origins of Judaism Further information: Ancient Semitic religion Scenes from the Book of Esther decorate the Dura-Europos synagogue dating from 244 CEAt its core, the Tanakh is an account of the Israelites' relationship with God from their earliest history until the building of the Second Temple (c. 535 BCE). Abraham is hailed as the first Hebrew and the father of the Jewish people. As a reward for his act of faith in one God, he was promised that Isaac, his second son, would inherit the Land of Israel (then called Canaan). Later, Jacob and his children were enslaved in Egypt, and God commanded Moses to lead the Exodus from Egypt. At Mount Sinai they received the Torah - the five books of Moses. These books, together with Nevi'im and Ketuvim are known as Torah Shebikhtav as opposed to the Oral Torah, which refers to the Mishna and the Talmud. Eventually, God led them to the land of Israel where the tabernacle was planted in the city of Shiloh for over 300 years to rally the nation against attacking enemies. As time went on, the spiritual level of the nation declined to the point that God allowed the Philistines to capture the tabernacle. The people of Israel then told Samuel the prophet that they needed to be governed by a permanent king, and Samuel appointed Saul to be their King. When the people pressured Saul into going against a command conveyed to him by Samuel, God told Samuel to appoint David in his stead. The Western Wall in Jerusalem is a remnant of the wall encircling the Second Temple. The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism.Once King David was established, he told the prophet Nathan that he would like to build a permanent temple, and as a reward for his actions, God promised David that he would allow his son, Solomon, to build the first permanent temple and the throne would never depart from his children. Rabbinic tradition holds that the details and interpretation of the law, which are called the Oral Torah or oral law, were originally an unwritten tradition based upon what God told Moses on Mount Sinai. However, as the persecutions of the Jews increased and the details were in danger of being forgotten, these oral laws were recorded by Rabbi Judah haNasi (Judah the Prince) in the Mishnah, redacted circa 200 CE. The Talmud was a compilation of both the Mishnah and the Gemara, rabbinic commentaries redacted over the next three centuries. The Gemara originated in two major centers of Jewish scholarship, Palestine and Babylonia. Correspondingly, two bodies of analysis developed, and two works of Talmud were created. The older compilation is called the Jerusalem Talmud. It was compiled sometime during the 4th century in Israel. The Babylonian Talmud was compiled from discussions in the houses of study by the scholars Ravina I, Ravina II, and Rav Ashi by 500 CE, although it continued to be edited later. Some critical scholars oppose the view that the sacred texts, including the Hebrew Bible, were divinely inspired. Many of these scholars accept the general principles of the documentary hypothesis and suggest that the Torah consists of inconsistent texts edited together in a way that calls attention to divergent accounts. Many suggest that during the First Temple period, the people of Israel believed that each nation had its own god, but that their god was superior to other gods. Some suggest that strict monotheism developed during the Babylonian Exile, perhaps in reaction to Zoroastrian dualism. In this view, it was only by the Hellenic period that most Jews came to believe that their god was the only god, and that the notion of a clearly bounded Jewish nation identical with the Jewish religion formed. John Day argues that the origins of biblical Yahweh, El, Asherah, and Ba'al, may be rooted in earlier Canaanite religion, which was centered on a pantheon of gods much like the Greek Pantheon. AntiquityMain articles: Ancient Israel and Judah, Babylonian captivity, Hellenistic Judaism, Hasmonean Kingdom, Iudaea Province, and Bar Kokhba revolt The United Monarchy was established under Saul and continued under King David and Solomon with its capital in Jerusalem. After Solomon's reign the nation split into two kingdoms, the Kingdom of Israel (in the north) and the Kingdom of Judah (in the south). The Kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Assyrian ruler Sargon II in the late 8th century BCE with many people from the capital Samaria being taken captive to Media and the Khabur River valley. The Kingdom of Judah continued as an independent state until it was conquered by a Babylonian army in the early 6th century BCE, destroying the First Temple that was at the center of ancient Jewish worship. The Judean elite were exiled to Babylonia and this is regarded as the first Jewish Diaspora. Later many of them returned to their homeland after the subsequent conquest of Babylonia by the Persians seventy years later, a period known as the Babylonian Captivity. A new Second Temple was constructed, and old religious practices were resumed. During the early years of the Second Temple, the highest religious authority was a council known as the Great Assembly, led by Ezra of the Book of Ezra. Among other accomplishments of the Great Assembly, the last books of the Bible were written at this time and the canon sealed. Hellenistic Judaism spread to Ptolemaic Egypt from the 3rd century BCE. After the Great Revolt (66–73 CE), the Romans destroyed the Temple. Hadrian built a pagan idol on the Temple grounds and prohibited circumcision; these acts of ethnocide provoked the Bar Kokhba revolt 132–136 CE after which the Romans banned the study of the Torah and the celebration of Jewish holidays, and forcibly removed virtually all Jews from Judea. In 200 CE, however, Jews were granted Roman citizenship and Judaism was recognized as a religio licita ("legitimate religion"), until the rise of Gnosticism and Early Christianity in in the fourth century. Following the destruction of Jerusalem and the expulsion of the Jews, Jewish worship stopped being centrally organized around the Temple, prayer took the place of sacrifice, and worship was rebuilt around the community (represented by a minimum of ten adult men) and the establishment of the authority of rabbis who acted as teachers and leaders of individual communities (see Jewish diaspora). Historical Jewish groupings (to 1700)Around the 1st century CE there were several small Jewish sects: the Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, Essenes, and Christians. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, these sects vanished. Christianity survived, but by breaking with Judaism and becoming a separate religion; the Pharisees survived but in the form of Rabbinic Judaism (today, known simply as "Judaism"). The Sadducees rejected the divine inspiration of the Prophets and the Writings, relying only on the Torah as divinely inspired. Consequently, a number of other core tenets of the Pharisees' belief system (which became the basis for modern Judaism), were also dismissed by the Sadducees. (The Samaritans practiced a similar religion, which is traditionally considered separate from Judaism.) Like the Sadducees who relied only on the Torah, some Jews in the 8th and 9th centuries rejected the authority and divine inspiration of the oral law as recorded in the Mishnah (and developed by later rabbis in the two Talmuds), relying instead only upon the Tanakh. These included the Isunians, the Yudganites, the Malikites, and others. They soon developed oral traditions of their own, which differed from the rabbinic traditions, and eventually formed the Karaite sect. Karaites exist in small numbers today, mostly living in Israel. Rabbinical and Karaite Jews each hold that the others are Jews, but that the other faith is erroneous. Over a long time, Jews formed distinct ethnic groups in several different geographic areas — amongst others, the Ashkenazi Jews (of central and Eastern Europe), the Sephardi Jews (of Spain, Portugal, and North Africa), the Beta Israel of Ethiopia, and the Yemenite Jews from the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Many of these groups have developed differences in their prayers, traditions and accepted canons; however these distinctions are mainly the result of their being formed at some cultural distance from normative (rabbinic) Judaism, rather than based on any doctrinal dispute. PersecutionsMain articles: Persecution of Jews, Antisemitism, and History of antisemitism Antisemitism arose during the Middle Ages, in the form of persecutions, pogroms, forced conversion, expulsions, social restrictions and ghettoization. This was different in quality to any repressions of Jews in ancient times. Ancient repression was politically motivated and Jews were treated no differently than any other ethnic group would have been. With the rise of the Churches, attacks on Jews became motivated instead by theological considerations specifically deriving from Christian views about Jews and Judaism. HasidismMain article: Hasidic Judaism Hasidic Judaism was founded by Yisroel ben Eliezer (1700–1760), also known as the Ba'al Shem Tov (or Besht). It originated in a time of persecution of the Jewish people, when European Jews had turned inward to Talmud study; many felt that most expressions of Jewish life had become too "academic", and that they no longer had any emphasis on spirituality or joy. His disciples attracted many followers; they themselves established numerous Hasidic sects across Europe. Hasidic Judaism eventually became the way of life for many Jews in Europe. Waves of Jewish immigration in the 1880s carried it to the United States. The movement itself claims to be nothing new, but a refreshment of original Judaism. Or as some have put it: "they merely re-emphasized that which the generations had lost". Nevertheless, early on there was a serious schism between Hasidic and non-Hasidic Jews. European Jews who rejected the Hasidic movement were dubbed by the Hasidim as Misnagdim, (lit. "opponents"). Some of the reasons for the rejection of Hasidic Judaism were the overwhelming exuberance of Hasidic worship, its untraditional ascriptions of infallibility and alleged miracle-working to their leaders, and the concern that it might become a messianic sect. Since then differences between the Hasidim and their opponents have slowly diminished and both groups are now considered part of Haredi Judaism. The Enlightenment and New Religious MovementsMain articles: Haskalah and Jewish religious movements In the late 18th century CE, Europe was swept by a group of intellectual, social and political movements known as the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment led to reductions in the European laws that prohibited Jews to interact with the wider secular world, thus allowing Jews access to secular education and experience. A parallel Jewish movement, Haskalah or the "Jewish Enlightenment", began, especially in Central Europe and Western Europe, in response to both the Enlightenment and these new freedoms. It placed an emphasis on integration with secular society and a pursuit of non-religious knowledge through reason. With the promise of political emancipation many Jews saw no reason to continue to observe Jewish law and increasing numbers of Jews assimilated into Christian Europe. Modern religious movements of Judaism all formed in reaction to this trend. In Central Europe, followed by Great Britain and The United States, Reform Judaism and Liberal Judaism developed, relaxing legal obligations (especially those that limited Jewish relations with non-Jews), emulating Protestant decorum in prayer, and emphasizing the ethical values of Judaism's Prophetic tradition. Modern Orthodox Judaism developed in reaction to Reform Judaism, by leaders who argued that Jews could participate in public life as citizens equal to Christians, while maintaining the observance of Jewish law. Meanwhile, in the United States, wealthy Reform Jews helped European scholars, who were Orthodox in practice but critical (and skeptical) in their study of the Bible and Talmud, to establish a seminary to train rabbis for immigrants from Eastern Europe. These left-wing Orthodox rabbis were joined by right-wing Reform rabbis who felt that Jewish law should not be entirely abandoned, to form the Conservative movement. Orthodox Jews who opposed the Haskalah formed Haredi Orthodox Judaism. After massive movements of Jews following The Holocaust and the creation of the state of Israel, these movements have competed for followers from among traditional Jews in or from other countries. Spectrum of observance Judaism has spread to all corners of the world. Seen here is a synagogue in downtown Mumbai.Countries such as the United States, Israel, Canada, United Kingdom, Argentina and South Africa contain large Jewish populations. Jewish religious practice varies widely through all levels of observance. According to the 2001 edition of the National Jewish Population Survey, in the United States' Jewish community—the world's second largest—4.3 million Jews out of 5.1 million had some sort of connection to the religion. Of that population of connected Jews, 80% participated in some sort of Jewish religious observance, but only 48% belonged to a synagogue, and fewer than 16% attend regularly. Birth rates for American Jews have dropped from 2.0 to 1.7. (Replacement rate is 2.1.) Intermarriage rates range from 40-50% in the US, and only about a third of children of intermarried couples are raised as Jews. Due to intermarriage and low birth rates, the Jewish population in the US shrank from 5.5 million in 1990 to 5.1 million in 2001. This is indicative of the general population trends among the Jewish community in the Diaspora, but a focus on total population obscures growth trends in some denominations and communities, such as Haredi Judaism. The Baal teshuva movement is a movement of Jews who have "returned" to religion or become more observant. Judaism and other religionsChristianity and JudaismMain article: Christianity and Judaism See also: Judeo-Christian, Christianity and antisemitism, Judaism's view of Jesus, Cultural and historical background of Jesus, and Christian-Jewish reconciliation This section requires expansion. Historians and theologians regularly review the changing relationship between some Christian groups and the Jewish people; the article on Christian-Jewish reconciliation studies one recent issue. Islam and JudaismMain article: Islam and Judaism See also: History of the Jews under Muslim rule and Islam and antisemitism The relationship between Islam and Judaism is special and close. Both religions claim to arise from the patriarch Abraham, and are therefore considered Abrahamic religions. As fellow monotheists, Muslims view Jews as "people of the book", a term that Jews have subsequently adopted as a way of describing their own connection to the Torah and other holy texts.In turn, many Jews maintain that Muslims adhere to the Seven Laws of Noah. Thus, Judaism views Muslims as righteous people of God. Jews have interacted with Muslims since the 7th century, when Islam originated and spread in the Arabian peninsula, and many aspects of Islam's core values, structure, jurisprudence and practice are based on Judaism. Muslim culture and philosophy have heavily influenced practitioners of Judaism in the Islamic world. In premodern Muslim countries, Jews rarely faced martyrdom, exile or forcible conversion, and were mostly free in their choice of residence and profession. Indeed, the years 712 to 1066 CE under the Ummayad and the Abbasid rulers have been called the Golden age of Jewish culture in Spain. Non-Muslim monotheists living in these countries, including Jews, were known as dhimmis. Dhimmis were allowed to practice their religion and to administer their internal affairs, but they were subject to certain restrictions that were not imposed on Muslims.For example, they had to pay the jizya, a per capita tax imposed on free adult non-Muslim males,and they were also forbidden to bear arms or testify in court cases involving Muslims. Many of the laws regarding dhimmis were highly symbolic. For example, dhimmis in some countries were required to wear distinctive clothing, a practice not found in either the Qur'an or hadiths but invented in early medieval Baghdad and inconsistently enforced. Jews in Muslim countries were not entirely free from persecution—for example, many were killed, exiled or forcibly converted in the 12th century, in Persia and by the rulers of the Almohad dynasty in North Africa and Al-Andalus. At times, Jews were also restricted in their choice of residence—in Morocco, Jews were confined to walled quarters (mellahs) beginning in the 15th century and increasingly since the early 19th century. In the late 20th century, Jews were expelled from nearly all the Arab countries. Most have chosen to live in Israel. Today, antisemitic themes have become commonplace in the propaganda of Arab Islamic movements such as Hizbullah and Hamas, in the pronouncements of various agencies of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and even in the newspapers and other publications of Refah Partisi. Syncretic movements incorporating JudaismThere are some movements that combine elements of Judaism with those of other religions. The most well-known of these is Messianic Judaism, which arose in the 1960s. It blends evangelical Christian theology with elements of Jewish terminology and ritual. The movement states that Jesus is part of the Trinity, and salvation is only achieved through acceptance of Jesus as one's savior.Some members of the movement are ethnically Jewish, and some of them argue that Messianic Judaism is a sect of Judaism. Jewish organizations and religious movements reject this, stating that Messianic Judaism is a Christian sect. The most controversial of these groups is the American organization Jews for Jesus, which actively proselytizes ethnic Jews through numerous missionary campaigns in major American cities. Other examples of syncretism include Judeo-Paganists, a loosely organized set of Jews who incorporate pagan or Wiccan beliefs with some Jewish religious practices, like Messianic Judaism; Jewish Buddhists, another loosely organized group that incorporates elements of Asian spirituality in their faith; and some Renewal Jews who borrow freely and openly from Buddhism, Sufism, Native American religion, and other faiths. The Kabbalah Centre, which employs teachers from multiple religions, is a New Age movement that claims to popularize the kabbalah, the Jewish esoteric tradition [more]

Keywords: judaism

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DAVID MITCHELL A CHRISTMAS STORY

Fiction
English
3213 Words
No Age Recommendation
1563
7

A CHRISTMAS STORY By DAVID MITCHELL ------------------------- The year was 1932. The Crydale Orphanage was a grim and forbidding looking building and being late evening the lights were being extinguished one by one by the staff. Outside in the dark and gloomy street a young girl staggered through the snow carrying her new born baby boy. She had left home because her father was a strict disciplinarian and would not hear of the girl’s illegitimate baby being brought into his house – it must be remembered, this was 1932 when attitudes were quite different. Her name was Elly, and she was destitute. She was desperately unhappy but her only thoughts were for her tiny baby wrapped warmly against the very cold weather - for this was December and just a few days before Christmas. As she walked along she passed the gaily lit shops displaying colourful Christmas items. Here and there she noticed the Christmas trees with their coloured lights and fleetingly her memory took her back to happier times when she was younger and her father then seemed more tolerant, even kind. In her state of total and forlorn unhappiness the tears rolled down her cheeks and she kissed her small baby thinking all the while how determined she was that his future will be much better than her past. As she drew nearer the orphanage she could see through the large window. No doubt this expansive room was where the orphans gathered each morning. It was empty and dark now. She was thinking deeply about what she proposed to do. Her plan was to leave the baby on the doorstep, ring the bell, and retire to a safe distance where she could not be seen; just so that she could be sure the door was answered and the baby found by the orphanage staff. In her plan, she reasoned that later on, when she was a little older and had perhaps secured a job, and was receiving an income, she could return and re-claim her son. She watched carefully as the front door of the orphanage opened and a young lady bent down and picked up the small baby lying on the doorstep. And so, when Elly was satisfied that her baby was now in good care she withdrew and went on her way, sobbing all the while. This was not at all what she wanted to happen; but in the light of her father’s cruel and totally unreasonable attitude she felt no other course was open to her. However, she brightened up a little when thinking that, if good fortune should come her way, it may not be too long before she would be able to return to the orphanage and reclaim her small son to care for him as a loving mother herself. So that was the manner in which little Chris arrived at the orphanage. They decided to call him ‘Christopher because it was so close to Christmas. The stern lady in charge of the orphanage, Mrs Briggs, ran the establishment in quite a strict manner but, like a lot of people who seem to be quite fierce in their demeanour, deep down in her heart she was a kindly soul and loved all the children that came under her care – every single one. Quite a number of children were lost to her as a result of adoptions through the years and she was very sad at the loss of each one and was at once sad at the departure of every child - but on the other hand she was glad to see them settled in a happy home. But somehow that never happened to Chris. For some reason that nobody could quite understand he was never selected for adoption. Later the orphanage began a new policy of advertising “HAVE AN ORPHAN FOR CHRISTMAS” and this seemed to be a big success. Some children had even been adopted permanently after being a “Christmas Child”. But this was now Christmas 1937. The snow had begun to fall and all of the children had gone to their ‘foster parents’ for the holiday - but not Chris. He was due to go to a Mr & Mrs Holden but with just over a week to go they advised the orphanage that Mr Holden had been called abroad, and that Mrs Holden would be accompanying him. As they had no idea how long they would be away they said they would have to reluctantly cancel the arrangement for Chris. It was too late then to find another temporary foster parent and so it looked very much as though Chris and Mrs Briggs would be the only inhabitants of the orphanage over the holiday. Mrs Briggs was quite resigned to her task, but she didn't mind at all. She got on very well with Chris and although the resources available to her were meagre she told herself that she must try to make it as nice a Christmas as possible, if only for the sake of little Chris. However, on the day before Christmas Eve Mrs Briggs received a call from the Holdens to say that Mr Holden’s mission abroad was accomplished sooner than he had anticipated, that they were now home, and that they would love to have Chris for Christmas after all as originally planned. When little Chris heard this his little face broke into a wide beaming smile. Poor old Mrs Briggs hesitated for just a moment when given the news. She had been looking forward to spending Christmas with just her and Chris. On the the other hand she wanted Chris to have a wonderful Christmas and so she too allowed herself a smile or two, and accepted that she must spend Christmas alone. And so it was that Mr & Mrs Holden collected Chris from the orphanage that very same day and took him to their very handsome home where a beautiful Christmas tree stood in the lounge, fully decorated with lights and ornaments, and with presents spread underneath; a lovely log fire was roaring up the chimney and the atmosphere was very nice, cosy, and very homely. Chris was then introduced to other members of the Holden family. First of all, there was Aunt Emily - a dear old soul who wore her spectacles perched on the end of her nose and seemed to be knitting all the time; she also often appeared to be chatting to herself as some old folk do. Then there was Grandfather Holden who held his hand out for Chris to shake. Chris did so dutifully for all the children at the orphanage were taught good manners. It was a very jolly atmosphere indeed and everyone seemed to be in a good mood – just as Christmas should be. But after a little while Mrs Holden noticed that Chris was looking rather sad and that one or two tears were rolling down his cheeks. “Why Chris my dear” she said “what ever are you crying for ? Aren’t you happy to be with us ?” At which the great big tears welled up in his eyes and poor little Chris began to sob. Urged by Mrs Holden to say why he was sad Chris then said “Well Mrs Holden, I am surely very happy to be here with you but I cannot help thinking of poor Mrs Briggs back at the orphanage. She will be all on her own for Christmas now that I have come to you and I am feeling I aught to be there with her to keep her company and make sure she has a nice Christmas too”. At this, all the Holden family could not help but remark what a very nice little boy Chris was to be thinking of others at this time. And so the conversation on the subject seemed to wane and die away. But not in Chris's mind. He went to sleep in his room but during the night he tossed and turned for he was still thinking of poor old Mrs Briggs and how very lonely she must be all by herself. The next morning everybody arose from bed. The snow lay crisp and several inches deep. It was a true Christmas scene All were looking forward to the day’s festivities. However, Mr Holden seemed to be absent. Chris did ask once “Where is Mr Holden ?” but was told by Mrs Holden “Oh, he has gone on an little errand for me - don’t worry, he’ll be back quite soon – in time for Christmas Dinner to be sure”. But now it was approaching time for the great Christmas Dinner and still Mr Holden had not returned. Mrs Holden had purchased a nice fat turkey and the smells were wafting through from her kitchen and were truly delicious. They were making everyone feel very hungry indeed. But where was Mr Holden ? Well, there was no need to worry for just at that moment the front door opened and in a flurry of snow flakes blown in by the wind there stood Mr Holden - and with him was none other than Mrs Briggs herself ! She had been absolutely thrilled and delighted when Mr Holden telephoned her to extend an invitation to join the Christmas party for she had resigned herself to spending Christmas by herself, as Chris had feared, and wondering what to do ! She had considered her Christmas Dinner but rejected the idea of cooking the turkey she had managed to buy for the occasion. Cooking a turkey for one person would not be sensible she thought. And so she decided she would save the turkey and Christmas Pudding until after the holidays when the children returned. "I'll just manage with a sandwich" she thought to herself. But when Mr Holden phoned to invite her to join the Holden family she accepted very gracefully; however she could not hide her absolute delight and happiness. The Christmas she was not looking forward to at all had now changed for her totally and completely. She was determined to enjoy the occasion together with Chris and the Holdens and appreciated their kindness very much. So little Chris, once he had recovered from the surprise and the great pleasure of seeing that Mrs Briggs had joined them rushed to her and gave her a big hug. They then joined the others and all enjoyed a truly splendid and jolly Christmas dinner - Mrs Holden, a very good cook, did them all proud and there was plenty for everybody. There were Christmas crackers to pull and small gifts inside - there was much laughter as each cracker was pulled. Chris loved everything - especially the Christmas Pudding. After the great dinner it was time to open the presents which still lying at the foot of the Christmas tree. Of course there were gifts for Chris and even a couple for dear Mrs Briggs - Mrs Holden had quietly taken the labels off two of her presents and placed new labels which said "TO DEAR MRS BRIGGS - WE WELCOME YOU TO OUR FAMILY". At this even the stern Mrs Briggs melted and a tear or two could be seen on her cheeks. The Holdens were so taken with Chris, and he with them, that after the holiday was over they offered to accept him on a permanent basis and not too long afterwards, after all the necessary legalities had been completed, Chris went to live at the Holden’s home. But he never forgot Mrs Briggs and went to see her periodically at which she was very pleased indeed. But what about the poor mother of Chris - Elly ? Well, after leaving her baby at the orphanage she did manage to obtain a live-in position as a scullery maid with a well-to-do family. She was quite happy there but the position was very poorly paid. There was no absolutely no chance of obtaining her own place to live and try to reclaim her little baby who, of course, had now grown up somewhat. The years passed by but there wasn’t a day when she didn’t think about her little boy and wondered how he was faring. Sometimes she retraced her steps on that awful day when she left her small son on the doorstep of the orphanage. She wanted to ring the bell and enquire about her baby; but each time she lost her nerve and walked on. And then one day, quite out of the blue, she was informed that her wealthy aunt had passed away and had left her a legacy of £15,000 in her Will. She was totally astounded and not a little surprised because this aunt had not been especially kind to her when it became known she was pregnant and, like her father, treated her with disdain. Maybe in time she relented, changed her mind, and decided to help her niece after all even if her father wouldn‘t. But most of all Elly was very happy for her first thoughts were that she could now find somewhere to live, reclaim her son, and live happily as a small family. Back then with the average wage around £3-£4 per week one can imagine the value of £15,000 ! Elly felt exceedingly rich. So she made contact with the Orphanage. At first she was rebuffed because the orphanage itself was controlled by a number of regulations - one of these being that they may not reveal the details of any adoption. Mrs Briggs felt exceedingly sorry for Elly and tried to pacify her. But Elly, who rather foolishly had thought that all she need do is to re-claim her son and all would be alright. Elly sought advice and was told the prospects of seeing her son again were bleak. And so Elly returned to the orphanage and threw herself upon the mercy and understanding of Mrs Briggs. Elly pleaded and pleaded with her until something within Mrs Briggs snapped and she just knew at that moment that she would have to help this pathetic young lady. So she went to her desk and wrote a name and address. She then turned to Elly and said "NOW ELLY, YOU KNOW THAT IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO DIVULGE WHERE YOUR SON IS NOW. I JUST CANNOT DO IT. IT CANNOT BE DONE. BUT SOMETIMES I AM CARELESS AND LEAVE LITTLE PIECES OF PAPER AROUND - her eyes then went to her desk "I REALLY MUST CURE MYSELF OF THIS HABIT" Elly looked up, saw Mrs Brigg's eyes wander to her desk, and gratefully collected the piece of paper on which, of course, was the Holden family's address. She kissed Mrs Briggs before departing and Mrs Briggs advised her to tread very carefully and with understanding. And so Elly contacted the Holdens, and made an appointment to see them - and little Chris. Mr & Mrs Holden were of course shocked to learn of this development for they had cared for Chris just as if he was their own son. He was now attending a very good private school and the Holdens were giving him every chance to progress in life. But they were nice and understanding people and therefore agreed to meet Elly. The reunion between mother and son was a remarkable and heart warming spectacle to behold. Chris was a little reticent and shy at first, but something attracted him towards his mother. He went to her and she placed both arms around him and smothered him with kisses as only a loving Mum can. Pitifully she pleaded with the Holdens to let her have her son back. Chris, of course was quite bewildered about all of this because although he loved his long lost real mother and took to her very naturally, he also loved the Holdens. His poor little mind was in a turmoil and he was very confused. Problems of this kind are extremely difficult to solve at any time but when they occur between nice and understanding people it is often possible to reach a conclusion which is satisfactory to all concerned And so it was that Elly and the Holdens agreed to share the affections of Chris. Elly succeeded to find a small cosy flat quite near to the Holden's place and some of the time Chris went there and some of the time he spent with the Holdens. It was a very happy arrangement and it worked very well with surprisingly few problems. Chris was a studious little boy, did well at school. When he grew up he attended university and chose medicine as his profession. When he qualified as a doctor Elly, the Holdens, and even dear old Mrs Briggs - now rather old and somewhat infirm - were all there to witness his awards. This is just a Christmas story - but we should all try to remember that such problems and situations do occur. That is part of life. But between nice people, who are understanding and are prepared to see the other's point of view there is always a solution to be found - provided the willingness is there to recognise it. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY ! [more]

Keywords: CHRISTMAS, STORY

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Max Heindel An Elementary Treatise Upon Man's Past Evolution,Present Constitution And Future Development

Esotericism
English
161313 Words
Ages 18 and up
0
0

This book is written by Max Heindel, the founder, and Messenger of The Rosicrucian Fellowship. This is a reference book of the Fellowship students and Probationers. This book is also referred as Cosmo-Conception or Mystic Christianity. The founder of the Christian Religion stated an occult maxim when He said: “Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall not enter therein” (Mark 10:15). All occultists recognize the far-reaching importance of this teaching of Christ and endeavor to “live” it day by day. When a new philosophy is presented to the world it is met in different ways by different people. One person will grasp with avidity any new philosophical effort in an endeavor to ascertain how far it supports his own ideas. To such an one the philosophy itself is of minor importance. Its prime value will be its vindication of HIS ideas. If the work comes up to expectation in that respect, he will enthusiastically adopt it and cling to it with a most unreasoning partisanship; if not, he will probably lay the book down in disgust and disappointment, feeling as if the author had done him an injury. Another adopts an attitude of skepticism as soon as he discovers that it contains something which HE has not previously read, heard, or originated in his own thought. He would probably resent as extremely unjustified the accusation that his mental attitude is the acme of self- satisfaction and intolerance; such is nevertheless the case; and thus he shuts his mind to any truth which may possibly be hidden in that which he off-hand rejects. Both these classes stand in their own light. “Set” ideas render them impervious to rays of truth. “A little child” is the very opposite of its elders in that respect. It is not imbued with an overwhelming sense of superior knowledge, nor does it feel compelled to look wise or to hide its nescience of any subject by a smile or a sneer. It is frankly ignorant, unfettered by preconceived opinions and therefore eminently teachable. It takes everything with that beautiful attitude of trust which we have designated “child-like faith,” wherein there is not the shadow of a doubt. There the child holds the teaching it receives until proven or disproven. In all occult schools the pupil is first taught to forget all else when a new teaching is being given, to allow neither preference nor prejudice to govern, but to keep the mind in a state of calm, dignified waiting. As skepticism will blind us to truth in the most effective manner, so this calm, trustful attitude of the mind will allow the intuition, or “teaching from within,” to become aware of the truth contained in the proposition. That is the only way to cultivate an absolutely certain perception of truth. The pupil is not required to believe off-hand that a given object which he has observed to be white, is really black, when such a statement is made to him; but he must cultivate an attitude of mind which “believeth all things” as possible. That will allow him to put by for the time being even what are generally considered “established facts,” and investigate if perchance there be another viewpoint hitherto unobserved by him whence the object referred to would appear black. Indeed, he would not allow himself to look upon anything as “an established fact,” for he realizes thoroughly the importance of keeping his mind in the fluidal state of adaptability which characterizes the little child. He realizes in every fiber of his being that “now we see through a glass, darkly,” and Ajax-like he is ever on the alert, yearning for “Light, more Light.” The enormous advantage of such an attitude of mind when investigating any given subject, object or idea must be apparent. Statements which appear positively and unequivocally contradictory, which have caused an immense amount of feeling among the advocates of opposite sides, may nevertheless be capable of perfect reconciliation, as shown in one such instance mentioned in the present work. The bond of concord is only discovered by the open mind, however, and though the present work may be found to differ from others, the writer would bespeak an impartial hearing as the basis of subsequent judgment. If the book is “weighed and found wanting,” the writer will have no complaint. He only fears a hasty judgment based upon lack of knowledge of the system he advocates—a hearing wherein the judgment is “wanting” in consequence of having been denied an impartial “weighing.” He would further submit, that the only opinion worthy of the one who expresses it must be based upon knowledge. As a further reason for care in judgment we suggest that to many it is exceedingly difficult to retract a hastily expressed opinion. Therefore it is urged that the reader withhold all expressions of either praise or blame until study of the work has reasonably satisfied him of its merit or demerit. The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception is not dogmatic, neither does it appeal to any other authority than the reason of the student. It is not controversial, but is sent forth in the hope that it may help to clear some of the difficulties which have beset the minds of students of the deeper philosophies in the past. In order to avoid serious misunderstanding, it should be firmly impressed upon the mind of the student, however, that there is no infallible revelation of this complicated subject, which includes everything under the sun and above it also. An infallible exposition would predicate omniscience upon the part of the writer, and even the Elder Brothers tell us that they are sometimes at fault in their judgment, so a book which shall say the last word on the World-Mystery is out of the question, and the writer of the present work does not pretend to give aught but the most elementary teachings of the Rosicrucians. The Rosicrucian Brotherhood has the most far-reaching, the most logical conception of the World-Mystery of which the writer has gained any knowledge during the many years he has devoted exclusively to the study of this subject. So far as he has been able to investigate, their teachings have been found in accordance with facts as he knows them. Yet he is convinced that The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception is far from being the last word on the subject; that as we advance greater vistas of truth will open to us and make clear many things which we now “see through a glass, darkly.” At the same time he firmly believes that all other philosophies of the future will follow the same main lines, for they appear to be absolutely true. In view of the foregoing it will be plain that this book is not considered by the writer as the Alpha and Omega, the ultimate of occult knowledge, and even though it is entitled The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception, the writer desires to strongly emphasize that is not to be understood as a “faith once for all delivered” to the Rosicrucians by the founder of the Order or by any other individual. It is emphatically stated that this work embodies only the writer's understanding of the Rosicrucian teachings concerning the World-Mystery, strengthened by his personal investigations of the inner Worlds, the antenatal and postmortem states of man, etc. The responsibility which devolves upon one who wittingly or unwittingly leads others astray is clearly realized by the writer, and he wishes to guard himself as far as possible against that contingency, and also to guard others against the possibility of going wrong inadvertently. What is said in this work is to be accepted or rejected by the reader according to his own discretion. All diligence has been used in trying to understand the teaching; great pains have been taken to put it into words that shall be easily understood. For that reason only one term has been used throughout the work to convey each idea. The same word will have the same meaning wherever used. When any word descriptive of an idea is first used, the clearest definition possible to the writer is given. None but English terms and the simplest language have been employed. The writer has constantly endeavored to give as exact and definite descriptions of the subject under consideration as possible; to eliminate all ambiguity and to make everything clear. How far he has succeeded must be left to the student to judge; but having diligently used every possible endeavor to convey the teaching, he feels compelled to guard also against the possibility of this work being taken as an authoritative statement of the Rosicrucian teachings. Neglect of this precaution might give undue weight to this work in the minds of some students. That would not be fair to the Brotherhood nor to the reader. It would have a tendency to throw the responsibility upon the Brotherhood for the mistakes which must occur in this as in all other human works. Hence the above warning. During the four years which have elapsed since the foregoing paragraphs were written, the writer has continued his investigations of the invisible worlds, and experienced the expansion of consciousness relative to these realms of nature which comes by practice of the precepts taught in the Western Mystery School. Others also who have followed the method of soul-unfoldment herein described as particularly suited to the Western peoples, have likewise been enabled to verify for themselves many things here taught. Thus the writer's understanding of what was given by the Elder Brothers has received some corroboration and seems to have been substantially correct, therefore he feels it a duty to state this for the encouragement of those who are still unable to see for themselves. If we had said that the vital body is built of prisms instead of points, it would have been better, for it is by refraction through these minute prisms that the colorless solar fluid changes to a rosy hue as observed by other writers beside the author. Other new and important discoveries have also been made; for instance, we know now that the Silver Cord is grown anew in each life, that one part sprouts from the seed atom of the desire body in the great vortex of the liver, that the other part grows out of the seed atom of the dense body in the heart, that both parts meet in the seed atom of the vital body in the solar plexus, and that this union of the higher and lower vehicles causes the quickening. Further development of the cord between the heart and solar plexus during the first seven years has an important bearing on the mystery of childlife, likewise its fuller growth from the liver to the solar plexus, which takes place during the second septenary period, is a contributory cause of adolescence. Completion of the Silver Cord marks the end of childlife, and from that time the solar energy which enters through the spleen and is tinted by refraction through the prismatic seed atom of the vital body located in the solar plexus, commences to give a distinctive and individual coloring to the aura which we observe in adults. [more]

Keywords: rosicrucian fellowship, max heindel, cosmo

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