Explaining the Evils of the Nephilim
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The Garment of Adam in Jewish, Muslim, and Christian Tradition
24 The Garmentof Adam in Jewish, Muslim, and ChristianTradition Stephen D. Ricks Although rarely occurring in any detail, the motif of Adam's garment appears with surprising frequency in ancient Jewish and Christian literature. (I am using the term "Adam's garment" as a cover term to include any garment bestowed by a divine being to one of the patri archs that is preserved and passed on, in many instances, from one generation to another. I will thus also consider garments divinely granted to other patriarchal figures, including Noah, Abraham, and Joseph.) Although attested less often than in the Jewish and Christian sources, the motif also occurs in the literature of early Islam, espe cially in the Isra'iliyyiit literature in the Muslim authors al ThaclabI and al-Kisa'I as well as in the Rasii'il Ikhwiin al ~afa (Epistles of the Brethren of Purity). Particularly when discussing the garment of Adam in the Jewish tradition, I will shatter chronological boundaries, ranging from the biblical, pseudepigraphic, and midrashic references to the garment of Adam to its medieval attestations. 1 In what fol lows, I wish to consider (1) the garment of Adam as a pri mordial creation; (2) the garment as a locus of power, a symbol of authority, and a high priestly garb; and (3) the garment of Adam and heavenly robes. 2 705 706 STEPHEN D. RICKS 1. The Garment of Adam as a Primordial Creation The traditions of Adam's garment in the Hebrew Bible begin quite sparely, with a single verse in Genesis 3:21, where we are informed that "God made garments of skins for Adam and for his wife and clothed them." Probably the oldest rabbinic traditions include the view that God gave garments to Adam and Eve before the Fall but that these were not garments of skin (Hebrew 'or) but instead gar ments of light (Hebrew 'or). -
Shalom: Peace, Not Just Peace of Mind Parashat Ki Tetze Rabbi Daniel Cotzin Burg, Beth Am 9.6.14 ~ 11 Elul 5774
Shalom: Peace, Not Just Peace of Mind Parashat Ki Tetze Rabbi Daniel Cotzin Burg, Beth Am 9.6.14 ~ 11 Elul 5774 This week I spent a day in Washington with thought-leaders, rabbis and policy analysts. We were speaking about Israel, America’s relationship with the Jewish state and the current deeply troubling state of affairs in the Middle East. The most surprising and powerful presentation of the day was that of Mosab Hassan Yousef, son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a founder and spiritual leader of Hamas. Given the events of this summer, it was particularly poignant to hear the heartfelt and courageous words of this young author and former Israeli asset (as he sat on the dais across from his Shin Bet handler). To even begin to conceive of such heroism, we almost have to transport ourselves into a different time – say Germany of the 1940s, when precious few righteous individuals resisted and acted against the scourge of Nazism. We might visit Rwanda or Cambodia, Darfur or America’s antebellum south. There are far too many examples in human history of pervasive, systematic violence and too few stories of those who made the hardest choices to turn against their fathers, brothers and their communities and attempt to salvage their dignity and humanity. Or perhaps we should roll the Torah back from its current location near the end, to a story near the very beginning whose hero, a simple man named Noah, is tzadik tamim haya b’dorotav, “a righteous man, blameless in his generation” (Gen. 6:9). I would argue it’s virtually impossible for us, most or all of us in this room, to know what it is like to live among the truly malevolent and depraved – a society so bad God sees no recourse but to erase it and start over. -
(Kita Zayin) Curriculum Updated: July 24, 2014
7th Grade (Kita Zayin) Curriculum Updated: July 24, 2014 7th Grade (Kita Zayin) Curriculum Rabbi Marcelo Kormis 30 Sessions Notes to Parents: This curriculum contains the knowledge, skills and attitude Jewish students are expected to learn. It provides the learning objectives that students are expected to meet; the units and lessons that teachers teach; the books, materials, technology and readings used in a course; and the assessments methods used to evaluate student learning. Some units have a large amount of material that on a given year may be modified in consideration of the Jewish calendar, lost school days due to weather (snow days), and give greater flexibility to the teacher to accommodate students’ pre-existing level of knowledge and skills. Page 1 of 16 7th Grade (Kita Zayin) Curriculum Updated: July 24, 2014 Part 1 Musaguim – A Vocabulary of Jewish Life 22 Sessions The 7th grade curriculum will focus on basic musaguim of Jewish life. These musaguim cover the different aspects and levels of Jewish life. They can be divided into 4 concentric circles: inner circle – the day of a Jew, middle circle – the week of a Jew, middle outer circle – the year of a Jew, outer circle – the life of a Jew. The purpose of this course is to teach students about the different components of a Jewish day, the centrality of the Shabbat, the holidays and the stages of the life cycle. Focus will be placed on the Jewish traditions, rituals, ceremonies, and celebrations of each concept. Lifecycle events Jewish year Week - Shabbat Day Page 2 of 16 7th Grade (Kita Zayin) Curriculum Updated: July 24, 2014 Unit 1: The day of a Jew: 6 sessions, 45 minute each. -
Amazing Facts Study Guide-02 Did God Create the Devil
Amazing Facts Study Guide 2 - Did God Create the Devil? Most people in the world are being deceived by an evil genius bent on destroying their lives - a brilliant mastermind called the devil, or Satan. But this dark prince is much more than what you might think... many say he's just a devious mythical figure, but the Bible says he's very real, and he's deceiving families, churches, and even nations to increase sorrow and pain. Here are the Bible's amazing facts about this prince of darkness and how you can overcome him! 1. With whom did sin originate? "The devil sinneth from the beginning." 1 John 3:8. "That old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan." Revelation 12:9. Answer: Satan, also called the devil, is the originator of sin. Without the Scriptures, the origin of evil would remain unexplained. 2. What was Satan's name before he sinned? Where was he living at that time? "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!" Isaiah 14:12. Jesus said, "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." Luke 10:18. "Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God." Ezekiel 28:14. Answer: His name was Lucifer, and he was living in heaven. Lucifer is symbolized by the king of Babylon in Isaiah 14 and as the king of Tyrus in Ezekiel 28. 3. What was the origin of Lucifer? What responsible position did he hold? How does the Bible describe him? "Thou wast created." Ezekiel 28:13, 15. "Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth." Ezekiel 28:14. -
A Daily Bread Date: 5 Tamuz 5781 (June 15, 2021) Torah Portion: Chukat Topic: Amalek, Part 1
בייה A Daily Bread Date: 5 Tamuz 5781 (June 15, 2021) Torah Portion: Chukat Topic: Amalek, Part 1 It is written (Num. 21:1), “And the sovereign of Arad, the Kena’anite, who dwelt in the South, heard that Yisra’ĕl was coming on the way to Atharim, and he fought against Yisra’ĕl and took some of them captive.” The king of Amalek disguised his people as the Kena’anites who lived in the southern part of the Land of Yisrael. He heard that the Clouds of Glory had disappeared and attacked them at Refidim (Exo. 17:8) and wanted to attack Yisrael again when they came close to Amalekite territory and tried to enter the Land of Yisrael through Edom by the route the spies had taken (Num. 13:22). Even prior to this when they saw the Ark of Covenant, which preceded the Yisraelites by a three-day journey’s distance (Num. 10:33), but they were deterred by the presence of the Clouds of Glory. Now, however, they interpreted the removal of Hashem’s “honor guard” to mean that He now permitted other nations to attack. Nonetheless, they knew the Yisraelites still possessed their power of prayer, so, in order to render their prayers ineffectual, the Amalekites disguised themselves as Kena’anites, hoping the Yisraelites would pray to Hashem to deliver them from the wrong enemies. Thus the king of Amalek “waged war against Yisrael and took a captive from them.” Although this was only a woman the Yisraelites had captured from Amalek in their earlier encounter with them (Exo. -
Tanya Sources.Pdf
The Way to the Tree of Life Jewish practice entails fulfilling many laws. Our diet is limited, our days to work are defined, and every aspect of life has governing directives. Is observance of all the laws easy? Is a perfectly righteous life close to our heart and near to our limbs? A righteous life seems to be an impossible goal! However, in the Torah, our great teacher Moshe, Moses, declared that perfect fulfillment of all religious law is very near and easy for each of us. Every word of the Torah rings true in every generation. Lesson one explores how the Tanya resolved these questions. It will shine a light on the infinite strength that is latent in each Jewish soul. When that unending holy desire emerges, observance becomes easy. Lesson One: The Infinite Strength of the Jewish Soul The title page of the Tanya states: A Collection of Teachings ספר PART ONE לקוטי אמרים חלק ראשון Titled הנקרא בשם The Book of the Beinonim ספר של בינונים Compiled from sacred books and Heavenly מלוקט מפי ספרים ומפי סופרים קדושי עליון נ״ע teachers, whose souls are in paradise; based מיוסד על פסוק כי קרוב אליך הדבר מאד בפיך ובלבבך לעשותו upon the verse, “For this matter is very near to לבאר היטב איך הוא קרוב מאד בדרך ארוכה וקצרה ”;you, it is in your mouth and heart to fulfill it בעזה״י and explaining clearly how, in both a long and short way, it is exceedingly near, with the aid of the Holy One, blessed be He. "1 of "393 The Way to the Tree of Life From the outset of his work therefore Rav Shneur Zalman made plain that the Tanya is a guide for those he called “beinonim.” Beinonim, derived from the Hebrew bein, which means “between,” are individuals who are in the middle, neither paragons of virtue, tzadikim, nor sinners, rishoim. -
Super Satan: Milton’S Devil in Contemporary Comics
Super Satan: Milton’s Devil in Contemporary Comics By Shereen Siwpersad A Thesis Submitted to Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MA English Literary Studies July, 2014, Leiden, the Netherlands First Reader: Dr. J.F.D. van Dijkhuizen Second Reader: Dr. E.J. van Leeuwen Date: 1 July 2014 Table of Contents Introduction …………………………………………………………………………... 1 - 5 1. Milton’s Satan as the modern superhero in comics ……………………………….. 6 1.1 The conventions of mission, powers and identity ………………………... 6 1.2 The history of the modern superhero ……………………………………... 7 1.3 Religion and the Miltonic Satan in comics ……………………………….. 8 1.4 Mission, powers and identity in Steve Orlando’s Paradise Lost …………. 8 - 12 1.5 Authority, defiance and the Miltonic Satan in comics …………………… 12 - 15 1.6 The human Satan in comics ……………………………………………… 15 - 17 2. Ambiguous representations of Milton’s Satan in Steve Orlando’s Paradise Lost ... 18 2.1 Visual representations of the heroic Satan ……………………………….. 18 - 20 2.2 Symbolic colors and black gutters ……………………………………….. 20 - 23 2.3 Orlando’s representation of the meteor simile …………………………… 23 2.4 Ambiguous linguistic representations of Satan …………………………... 24 - 25 2.5 Ambiguity and discrepancy between linguistic and visual codes ………... 25 - 26 3. Lucifer Morningstar: Obedience, authority and nihilism …………………………. 27 3.1 Lucifer’s rejection of authority ………………………..…………………. 27 - 32 3.2 The absence of a theodicy ………………………………………………... 32 - 35 3.3 Carey’s flawed and amoral God ………………………………………….. 35 - 36 3.4 The implications of existential and metaphysical nihilism ……………….. 36 - 41 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………. 42 - 46 Appendix ……………………………………………………………………………… 47 Figure 1.1 ……………………………………………………………………… 47 Figure 1.2 ……………………………………………………………………… 48 Figure 1.3 ……………………………………………………………………… 48 Figure 1.4 ………………………………………………………………………. -
Interpretation of the Quran- Surat Al-A'raf (7)- Lesson(12): Satan Has No Influence on Mankind- Some Characters of Jinn
Interpretation of the Quran- Surat Al-A'raf (7)- Lesson(12): Satan has no Influence on Mankind- Some Characters of Jinn Praise be to Allah, the Lord of Creations, and Peace and blessings be upon our prophet Muhammad, the faithful and the honest. Oh, Allah, w e know nothing but w hat You teach us. You are the All- Know er, the Wise. Oh Allah, teach us w hat is good for us, and benefit us from w hat You taught us, and increase our know ledge. Show us the righteous things as righteous and help us to do them, and show us the bad things as bad and help us to keep aw ay from them. O Allah our Lord, lead us out from the depths of darkness and illusion, unto the lights of erudition and know ledge, and from the muddy shallow s of lusts unto the heavens of Your Vicinity. Dear brothers, w e w ill start lesson 12 of Surat Al Araaf interpreting the Ayah (verse) 27: ”O Children of Adam! Let not Shaitan (Satan) deceive you, as he got your parents [Adam and Haw w a (Eve)] out of Paradise, stripping them of their raiments, to show them their private parts. Verily, he and Qabiluhu (his soldiers from the jinns or his tribe) see you from where you cannot see them. Verily, We made the Shayatin (devils) Auliya' (protectors and helpers) for those who believe not.” [Surat Al-A’raf 7, verse 27] Kinds of Objects in Terms of Methods of Perception Dear brothers, it is a revelation matter in regard of Jinn, w hile all the materialistic objects that have entity and trace, are perceived by the five senses or their extensions such as Telescopes and Microscopes. -
9 the Mystical Bitter Water Trial [Text Deleted]
9 The Mystical Bitter Water Trial [text deleted] 9.1 Golems as Archetypes of the Trial’s Supernaturally Inseminated Seed [text deleted] 9.2 Lilith as the First Sotah [text deleted] 9.3 Lilith and Samael as Animating Forces in Golems [text deleted] 9.4 Azazel as the Seed of Lilith No study of Lilith would be complete without a discussion of the demon Azazel. This is true because several clues in many ancient texts - including the Torah, the Zohar, and the First Book of Enoch - indicate that Azazel was the seed of Lilith. The texts further hint that Azazel was not the product of Lilith mating with any ordinary man, but rather he was the firstborn seed resulting from her illicit mating with Semjaza, the leader of a group of fallen angels called Watchers. As the seed of the Watchers, Azazel was the first born of the Nephilim, a race of powerful angel-man hybrids who nearly pushed ordinary mankind to extinction before the flood. But Azazel was much more than just a powerful Nephilim. Regular Nephilim were the products of the daughters of Adam mating with Watchers. Azazel was the product of Lilith mating with the Watchers. He is thus less human than all, and the most powerful, even more powerful than the Watchers who sired him. Azazel’s role in the Yom Kippur ceremony of Leviticus 16 indicates he is a rival to Messiah and God. This identifies Azazel as the legendary seed of the Serpent of Eden. God declared in his curse against the Serpent that this great seed would bruise the heel of Eve’s promised seed (Messiah), but Eve’s seed in turn would crush the head of the Serpent Lilith and destroy her seed. -
Fallen Angels and the Origins of Evil Takes You Back to the Primordial Drama of Good and Evil, When the first EVIL Hint of Corruption Entered a Pristine World — Earth
FBS_Enoch_fnl11_1.qxd:FAOE book 5/23/07 2:11 PM Page 1 Spirituality / Lost Texts Did rebel angels take on human a e bodies to fulfill their lust for F ll n the “daughters of men”? F Did these fallen angels teach men to build weapons AND THE n e s allen A g l of war? That is the premise of the Book of Enoch, a text AND cherished by the Essenes, early Jews and Christians but THE ORIGINSof EVIL later condemned by both rabbis and Church Fathers. The book was denounced, banned and “lost” for over ORIGINS a thousand years — until in 1773 a Scottish explorer discovered three copies in Ethiopia. Elizabeth Clare Prophet examines the controversy surrounding this book and sheds new light on Enoch’s A forbidden mysteries. She demonstrates that Jesus and the apostles studied the Book of Enoch and tells why ngels Church Fathers suppressed its teaching that angels could incarnate in human bodies. o f Fallen Angels and the Origins of Evil takes you back to the primordial drama of Good and Evil, when the first EVIL hint of corruption entered a pristine world — earth. Why Church Fathers suppressed Contains Richard Laurence’s translation of the Book of Enoch, all the other the Book of Enoch and Enoch texts (including the Book of the Secrets of Enoch), biblical parallels. its startling revelations PROPHET ELIZABETH SUMMIT $9.95 UNIVERSITY CLARE PROPHET PRESS 01Front_Matter_i_1.qxd:FallenAngelsBook 5/23/07 12:58 PM Page i Once again Elizabeth Clare Prophet, author of The Lost Years of Jesus, challenges timeworn doctrine by shedding light on forgotten manuscripts. -
<I>Paradise Lost</I>
Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College Honors Theses Florida Atlantic University Libraries Year Paradise impaired: duality in Paradise Lost Katherine Bernhard Florida Atlantic University, This paper is posted at DigitalCommons@Florida Atlantic University. http://digitalcommons.fau.edu/wilkes theses/45 PARADISE IMPAIRED: DUALITY IN PARADISE LOST by Katherine Joy Bernhard A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The Wilkes Honors College in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts and Sciences with a Concentration in English Literature Wilkes Honors College of Florida Atlantic University Jupiter, Florida May 2006 i PARADISE IMPAIRED: DUALITY IN PARADISE LOST by Katherine Joy Bernhard This thesis was prepared under the direction of the candidate’s thesis advisor, Dr. Michael M. Harrawood, and has been approved by the members of her supervisory committee. It was submitted to the faculty of The Honors College and was accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts and Sciences. SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE: ____________________________ Dr. Michael M. Harrawood ____________________________ Dr. Laura Barrett ______________________________ Interim Dean, Wilkes Honors College ____________ Date ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My never-ending gratitude to my loving parents, Jennifer and Steve Bernhard, who have always supported me so much, and motivated me to succeed. I deeply appreciate everything you have done for me to get me where I am today. To Michael Harrawood, who helped me become a much better writer and reader since I began, and has been such a source of encouragement, I can’t thank you enough. Thank you so much to Laura Barrett for working with me, who inspires and impresses me, and whose wisdom I’ll never forget. -
The Book of Genesis: Literature, Ethics, Theology
The Book of Genesis: Literature, Ethics, Theology Liberal Studies Spring 2014 Professor Tod Linafelt Office: 126 New North Phone: 202-687-6238 Email: [email protected] Course Description To quote the flyleaf from Robert Alter’s translation of Genesis, which we will use in class: “Genesis begins with the making of heaven and earth and all life, and ends with the image of a mummy – Joseph’s – in a coffin. In between come many of the primal stories in Western culture: Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden, Cain’s murder of Abel, Noah and the Flood, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham’s binding of Isaac, the covenant of God and Abraham, the saga of Joseph and his brothers. These are stories we attend to throughout our lives, for their beauty, their emotional resonance, their philosophical weight, and their sacredness. They connect us with one another and with generations to come.” In this course we will explore together the stories from the book of Genesis, with special attention to their literary quality, their ethical content, and their theological implications. Required Texts Richard Elliott Friedman, The Bible with Sources Revealed, Harper One, paperback. ISBN: 006073065X. Robert Alter, Genesis: Translation with Commentary, WW Norton, paperback. ISBN: 039331670X. David Ferry, Gilgamesh: A New Rendering in English Verse, FSG, paperback. ISBN: 0374523835. Course Requirements (1) Attendance and participation: Come to class regularly and be prepared to discuss the readings for the week. As part of your preparation for each class, you are expected to spend about six hours with the readings – underlining, taking notes, pondering larger implications, and completing any written assignments that might be due.