volgadon

The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing is come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. -Song of Songs 2:12. The year 5600 (1839-40) was of the deepest significance throughout the Jewish world, as the following quotes will make clear. Quote 5600, then, was the year which would bring about the redemption of Israel. This belief was based on interpretations of the Bible and other Jewish works, such as the Zohar. Song of Songs 2:12 was particularly important for those those calculating the end times. At least since the 12th century (and probably earlier than that) this verse was seen as an allegory of salvation and redemption. In Hebrew, turtledove is tor (תור), which is nearly identical with the numerical value of 600 (ת"ר). In the Zohar there is a passage[2] that reads, "In the six hundredth year of the sixth [millenium], springs of wisdom will open above, springs of wisdom below, and the world will prepare to enter the seventh, just like a person preparing on the sixth day, as the sun is about to set, to enter Sabbath." The six hundredth year is the year 5600, or 1839-40, and it is an "appointed time" (et-peqidah). Such an understanding was essential to the teachings on redemption of Rabbi Elijah, the Vilna Gaon (1720-1797). The Gaon was the leading figure in Lithuanian Jewry from the 18th century to this very day. An ascetic and somewhat of a recluse devoted to his studies, the Gaon possesed a photographic memory and considerable erudition in all aspects of Jewish life, even mathematics. He wrote many commentaries, redacted the Sefer Yetzirah, attempted to create a golem(!), and came up with new traditions, including a symbolic order for items on the Passover plate. For redemption to occur, there had to be an "awaking below" (itaruta dilatata) to bring about an "awakening above" (itaruta dile'ela).In other words, doing the right actions at the right times causes a heavenly reaction. Man needs to engage in practical actions, such as emigrating to the Holy Land and building up Jerusalem. This was the stage of redemption associated with the Messiah ben Joseph. The standard approach in Judaism of the time to taking any practical steps in order to bring about redemption was that of the "three vows." A talmudic statement interpreted as a prohibiting any hastening of the Messiah.[2] This prohibition, according to the teachings of the Gaon, did not apply during an apointed time. Under his influence, the disciples of the Vilna Gaon emigrated to Israel, settling first in Safed, and then in Jerusalem. They engaged in what could be described as messianic activism.[3] Aryeh Morgenstern says of the ideology of the Gaon's disciples that, "'Raising the Shechinah from the dust' will not be accomplished merely by means of worshiping the Lord; keeping Torah and commandments, but by way of emigrating to and settling in the land of Israel."[4] When Mehmet Ali captured Palestine in 1831, he abolished the humiliating poll-tax (jizya) required of all non-Muslims. Eliezer Vasila Bergman wrote that "By divine grace the commencement of redemption has arrived and soon in our day a redeemer will come to Zion."[5] After the peasent's revolt in 1834 was suppressed by Mehmet Ali's son, Ibrahim Pasha, permission was given the Christians and Sephardic Jews to rebuild their houses of worhsip, something forbidden by the Ottoman authorities. This turned into rumours of an edict by Ibrahim Pasha to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. There followed various proposals to renew sacrifices on the Temple Mount, which would involve a purchase of the mount from the Muslims, and a messenger was dispatched to Arabia in search of the lost ten tribes, who, as tradition had it, preserved the right to ordain people to the sanhedrin by the laying on of hands (semicha). Any event, be it rains, cholera epidemics, or astrological phenomena, was given apocalyptic interpretations in the years leading up to 1840[6]. A feverish excitement took hold of the Prushim in 1835, when they attempted rebuilding the Hurva synagogue, which had been demolished in 1721. This was percieved as a foreshadowing of the rebuilt temple. As a result, the exile of the Shechinah was considered at an end, and liturgical and other practices were altered. The line "Shake thyself from the dust, arise," was dropped from the Sabbath prayer, and the midnight tikkun no longer included lamentations for the destruction of Jerusalem[7]. Perhaps the most enigmatic and mysterious book in Judaism since the Zohar is the "Kol Hator" or Voice of the Turtledove. It was first published by the Rivlin family in 1946, but claimed as the work of Hillel Rivlin of Shklov, their great-grandfather, a disciple and relative of the Vilna Gaon. The book claims to be a systematic exposition of the Gaon's teachings on redemption. Rafael Shuchat, in his recent work, "A World Hidden in the Dimensions of Time", devotes an entire chapter to Kol Hator, and shows that in its essentials this controversial work does reflect the teachings of the Gaon. Whilst undoubtedly written after Hillel's death, the book likely consists of family traditions, ultimately tracing back to the teachings of the Gaon. Due to its late date it contains the most developed traditions on the Messiah ben Joseph, a figure central to its understanding of redemption. The war against Armilius is explained as a war against the shells of uncleanliness surrounding the truth. The paths towards redemption are defined as follows. The following quote brings us to Orson Hyde. 5600 was the very year in which Orson Hyde felt moved upon again to go on a mission to Palestine. This occured during April of 1840. The text of his subsequent prayer on the Mount of Olives contains most of the things the Messiah ben Joseph was to bring about, beginning in the year of the turtledove.The Jewish community in Palestine at the time was in deep despair over the percieved failure of redemption to occur. Instead of the messiah, 1840 brought the Damascus Blood Libel, and a deep dissapointment and spiritual crisis. Some though, such as Eliezer of Tiktin, saw 1840 as meaning, in retrospect, the awakening from above, which had not yet reached below[8]. I plan on expanding this in my blog, I still have many other sources I would like to quote, but I think this suffices for now. I would welcome any discussion and comments, criticism, etc. [1]The administrative body of the Prushim community in Israel. [2]See http://www.usc.edu/s...ern_Judaism.pdf [3]Aryeh Morgenstern, Messianic Conceptions and the Settlement of Eretz-Israel, Cathedra 24, July 1982, pg. 53. [4]Ibid. [5]E. V. Bergman, Yiseu Harim Shalom, pg. 76. [6]Aryeh Morgenstern, The Debate over the Renewal of Sacrifices and Building of the Temple in the Year 5600 [7]Aryeh Morgenstern, Messianic Conceptions and the Settlement of Eretz-Israel, Cathedra 24, July 1982. [8]Ibid, pg. 65.

I'm a socialist but loathe Marx. Honestly, he backed up a lousy personality with even lousier formulation of ideas. This is fun

Yet he sported a mustache in his youth. It is interesting that Brigham Young's prophetic ministry stretched between the years when beards weren't fashionable and when they became de-rigeur, yet DOM's spans much the same trend, but in reverse.

A word of caution. Don't get upset or offended if what bytebear describes doesn't happen. Some wards have a more introverted character than others. I've been in Utah for a year now. Of the 5 wards I've been too, only in one of them were me and my wife greeted per bytebear's scenario. Indeed, the members in another not only did not greet us, but blatantly ignored us and turned a cold shoulder when we greeted them ourselves or thanked them for their testimony. It seriously was among the worst experiences we have had in all our years of attending church. It is a good thing we are both returned missionaries with testimonies. Other wards were nicer than that, but still nothing approaching bytebear's ideal. We still don't feel anything like at home. Why have I written this? In case anyone runs into this kind of rudeness they won't be surprised. It can, and does happen. Doesn't mean the gospel of Jesus Christ or the Restoration are false. All it means is that people are people.

I have a blogpost on Amos in later Jewish traditions. Calba Savua's Orchard: Amos in Later Jewish Tradition

Here is an extract from Confrontation, a fantastic essay by Rabbi Josef Soloveychik, one of the greatest Jewish leaders of the 2nd half of the 20th century. This was written around the time of Vatican II.

Unless they are one's direct ancestors, or if permission has been received from the family.

My sincerest commiserations.

First part of a story I wrote: James Joyce. Second part: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Third part: David Foster Wallace. I was really aiming for a John Collier feel.

Two separate images, well, four separate images, actually.

Gerasim, simply put, not every prophecy made its way into the current collection of books making up the OT. God is perfectly capable of revealing a name hundreds of years prior.

I thought they announced this last year or so.

Then why is the Qumranian psalter different in content and organization to the Masoretic Text, Savasan Bey?

"Besides the quotes from Isaiah and Nephi's Psalm (2 Nephi 4), there isn't much poetry in the Book of Mormon." Sure there is. People just don't know that they even need to look, let alone what they are looking for.

Sarna, Nahum M. “Songs of the Heart.” Bible Review, Aug 1993, 32-37, 40.

As an aspiring writer, I rather wish that your naive picture were true.

Said pure monotheism is a later trend.

I think praying in the second person singular pronoun is very important, because it emphasises that God is familiar, not formal and distant.

Like I said, the usage isn't very strict or consistent. Properly speaking, soul = body + spirit, but the term is also used to convey different ideas, such as spirit.

Spare me the holier-than-thou attitude. I understand the principle of personal revelation, thankee. Also, I find your disparaging attitude towards any sort of scholarship amusing, considering that Joseph Smith had utterly no problems using the tools of scholarship to uncover greater truths.

Was that for me? If it was, i don't see how that goes against what I was saying, that the usage of soul in LDS scriptures is sloppy, imprecise. I'm talking about terminology, not about greater truths.

Would you mind making a separate post with a sticky? That was the 2nd person in as many weeks blaming me for it.

A soul in the Bible did mean the body and spirit together, I'll post a reference later, but in our scriptures the term is used sloppily. That is really all there is to it.

You also ought to give others the benefit of the doubt.

Listen to Pam. OTOH, I keep getting attacked for having a different opinion.