thekabalist

Hi folks Though Jasher is not considered Scripture for the Jewish people it is correct to say that Melchizedek is identified as Shem in Judaism. Here's a quote from the Talmud "R. Zechariah said on R. Ishmael's authority: The Holy One, blessed be He, intended to bring forth the priesthood from Shem, as it is written, And he [sc. Melchizedek] was the priest of the most high God." (b. Nedarim 32b)

Hello my friend Can you mizrachim folks really handle tcholent and lechayim altogether? It's not for the weak of stomach you know. I wouldn't dismiss the connection between "moreh" and "mar/mor" so quickly. Hebrew and Aramaic have influenced each other a great deal and let us not forget that in biblical times a teacher was a master. They could even physically punish their students. I will however grant that it is possible that Hebrew influenced Aramaic on this one and not the other way around in this case as you are right about the root meaning teaching. Especially because Aramaic doesn't have many words in connection with the root 'mar' so yes it's possible indeed. However, you say not to be confused with casting and shooting but actually they are one and the same in origin both deriving from "pointing" into a direction. Anyway the main point is that this root can be found in ancient times influencing words like "Moriah" though some say that "mor" would be myrrh but that wasn't brought to that region until much later so much as I like MDB's song which says "al shem hamor hatov" it's rather unlikely such is the reason for the name. :) b'shalom!

I am taking it slow because of my back. But here's a first bit: 1 And it came to pass that we did again take our journey in the wilderness; and we did travel nearly eastward from that time forth. And we did travel and wade through much affliction in the wilderness; and our women did bear children in the wilderness. The Hebrew word for "east" is the word מזרח (mizrach) is also the root for the word להתמזרח (lehitmazreiach) which means to be orientated or guided. Now with that in mind notice how Nephi says that they traveled in such a way from that time forth. In other words from that time forth they were guided by G-d and the rebellious attitude of their party no longer prevented them from keeping on the path. 2 And so great were the blessings of the Lord upon us, that while we did live upon raw meat in the wilderness, our women did give plenty of suck for their children, and were strong, yea, even like unto the men; and they began to bear their journeyings without murmurings. Raw meat: Why does Nephi seem to say that despite the raw meat they had plenty for their children? It is because in ancient Jewish tradition the only meat that was proper to eat raw was that of kosher birds. For example the Talmud says: "Raba retorted: But that I am a person of importance, would I need a knife on a young dove? surely it is fit for me as raw meat. Thus the reason is because it is fit as raw meat; but if it were not fit as raw meat it might not [be handled]: shall we say that Raba agrees with R. Judah? But surely Raba said to his servant, Roast me a duck and throw its entrails to a cat" (b. Shabbat 142b) Now this is particularly relevant because birds in those times were considered to be the food of the poor. It comes as no surprise that the Torah-Law when listing sacrifices says to us: "But if he is poor and his means are insufficient, then he is to take one male lamb for a guilt offering as a wave offering to make atonement for him, and one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, and a log of oil, and two turtledoves or two young pigeons which are within his means, the one shall be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering." (Leviticus 14:21-22) So if they were eating raw meat it is likely that they were eating birds. It also makes sense because it would have been the easiest meat to find in such a place. Now if they were eating birds and even without cooking then they were having one of the poorest kinds of meals there is. And even so their women were bearing strong children. Again this indicates that Nephi was indeed living in a Jewish community. It also contains a possible spiritual lesson: That if they had faith then the little they had would amount to much. 3 And thus we see that the commandments of God must be fulfilled. And if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them; wherefore, he did provide means for us while we did sojourn in the wilderness. 4 And we did sojourn for the space of many years, yea, even eight years in the wilderness. Number eight in gematria is particularly relevant because it represents the beginning of a new cycle. Number seven represents a full cycle so eight years means that they completed the cycle that was before them for their spiritual maturity and were ready for a new cycle. In ancient Kabbalah it is also relevant because it is associated with the Messianic Age. While the universe will last for a period of six epochs then the seventh epoch will be the Messianic Age which will be an age of abundance. And if we look at the next verse we see that the land which Nephi finds is exactly that: abundance after a cycle of spiritual trials. 5 And we did come to the land which we called Bountiful, because of its much fruit and also wild honey; and all these things were prepared of the Lord that we might not perish. And we beheld the sea, which we called Irreantum, which, being interpreted, is many waters. What is interesting about the name "Bountiful" is that in Hebrew it would be שופע (shofeia) which has the gematria value of 456. This is also the gematria value of the biblical name יותם (Yotham - Jotham) which means "The L-rd is perfect". So it could be that the name Nephi gave was intentionally meaning that the place was a reflection of G-d's perfection. Name etymology: Irreantum could come from ירה-אמתם - Ireh (He shall see) - Amtem (their truth/truthfulness). Alternatively, it could also be תם-ים-ירה - Ireh (He shall see) - yam (seas) - tem (end). 6 And it came to pass that we did pitch our tents by the seashore; and notwithstanding we had suffered many afflictions and much difficulty, yea, even so much that we cannot write them all, we were exceedingly rejoiced when we came to the seashore; and we called the place Bountiful, because of its much fruit. 7 And it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had been in the land of Bountiful for the space of many days, the voice of the Lord came unto me, saying: Arise, and get thee into the mountain. And it came to pass that I arose and went up into the mountain, and cried unto the Lord. 8 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Thou shalt construct a ship, after the manner which I shall show thee, that I may carry thy people across these waters. Pitching the tent is a sign of confidence that the place is safe and it was often used in ancient times as an allegorical way of expressing trust. Now what is also important is that Nephi says that they pitched their tents by the seashore. The biblical word for shore is the word שפה (shafah). This word can also mean "voice". Is it then a coincidence that from a deeper level of understanding Nephi's text can be read that they found confidence in the voice of G-d, and then immediately afterwards G-d begins speaking to them? It is also interesting that the word ship in Hebrew is the word (אניה - oniyah) and it has the gematria value of 66 which is also the gematria of the word (גלגל) galgal which appears in Ezekiel 10:13 referring to the chariots of G-d: "The wheels were called in my hearing, the whirling wheels." (Ezekiel 10:13) Now this word also means "cycle" and it is an indication that Nephi's family was about to begin a new cycle just like the number eight mentioned a few verses above. This cannot be a coincidence. 9 And I said: Lord, whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten, that I may make tools to construct the ship after the manner which thou hast shown unto me? 10 And it came to pass that the Lord told me whither I should go to find ore, that I might make tools. There is more to Nephi's sentence than meets the eye. The Hebrew word for ore is עפרה (afrah). Now the root of this word is עפר (afar) which means dust or dirt. This is a common term for humility in Hebrew thought and a way to say that one is uncapable or unworthy. So Nephi's sentence is more than simply finding the materials. He was anguished because he didn't feel worthy of the task that G-d had laid ahead of him. This is why G-d comforts him and says that he will show him what he needs to find. This Hebrew word-game is naturally lost in the translation process but is nevertheless very interesting. 11 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did make a bellows wherewith to blow the fire, of the skins of beasts; and after I had made a bellows, that I might have wherewith to blow the fire, I did smite two stones together that I might make fire. Please refer to our comment on the significance of the word "beasts". Also it is important to understand that if Nephi didn't have much space to write why would he bother giving us the details about how he made fire? And why make a point out of saying that he had two stones? The interesting part of this is that the word "stones" is the Hebrew word אבנים (evanim) which has the gematria value of 169. That is: 13x13. Two very important Hebrew words have the gematria value of 13. One of them is the word אהבה (ahavah) which means love. The other of them is the word אחד (echad) which means one or unity. This shows the great lengths that Nephi was going in order to keep love and unity in the family. But it is also important to notice that we have twice the number 13 and that this would add up to 26 which is the Holy Name of G-d in Judaism that is the Tetragrammation. So Nephi was doing all of this for G-d and through G-d's power. 12 For the Lord had not hitherto suffered that we should make much fire, as we journeyed in the wilderness; for he said: I will make thy food become sweet, that ye cook it not; This is a fantastic verse to prove the Hebrew origin of the text. How come G-d says that their food would become sweet? Raw meat would taste rather strange if it became sweet! But in Hebrew the word for sweet is the word מתוק (matok) which doesn't mean only "sweet" as in having a sugary flavor but it also means "pleasant" or "desireable". So G-d was saying that their food would taste pleasant even though they couldn't cook it. This sentence that may sound a bit odd in English makes absolutely perfect sense in Hebrew which is why it proves its Hebrew origin.

With so many prayers in the Jewish Sidur (book of prayers) why oh why oh why by the long beards of all our sages don't we have one tiny little fragment of a prayer to do away with a back hernia? Anyway just wanted to say that I'm back though I'm taking it slow at the computer because I can't stand the pain of sitting down for too long. Missed you all! b'shalom!

Hi volgadon (and others who have asked this) When I posted about "mor" being a possible Hebrew root I knew that I was going to get some criticism. First of all let me be the first to admit that this word is of Aramaic influence. Now is it too early in time for it to be able to apply to Nephi and his band? Not at all. The mountain of our Holy Fathers is called מוריה which is actually a compound expression that can be divided in two words: מורי יה (Mori Y-ah) which literally means "My master is Y-ah". Now the word מורה indeed comes from the Aramaic מר (mar or even mor depending on the dialect of Aramaic) which means master. Moreh later became teacher in a more interpretative use of the word just like in English you could call a teacher "master" but the word "master" originally has a different meaning. Even if Moriah meant something else we still have prophet Isaiah making use of the word "moreh" way before Nephi and his band left the land: "Although the Lord has given you bread of privation and water of oppression, He, your Teacher will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will behold your Teacher." (Isaiah 30:20) The word used for teacher above is the word "moreh" (actually moreicha because it's "your teacher") so this proves that the word was incorporated into Hebrew much earlier than the Galut. It is a mistake to think that Aramaic only influenced Hebrew after the Galut (exile) because even before that there was commerce and there were migrations and contact with people who had already been using Aramaic for ages. Especially in the times of king Solomon blessed be his holy memory. I hope this clarifies where I'm coming from. As for the concept volgadon mentions in literal terms it means "disagreement for the sake of heaven" which is a Jewish concept that controversies are a means to achieve a higher spiritual path. In practical terms it means: "Let's beat each other up but it'll all end up with us eating tcholent and having lechayim cause we're brothers". :) (just kidding) b'shalom!

21 Now it came to pass that I, Nephi, having been afflicted with my brethren because of the loss of my bow, and their bows having lost their springs, it began to be exceedingly difficult, yea, insomuch that we could obtain no food. 22 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did speak much unto my brethren, because they had hardened their hearts again, even unto complaining against the Lord their God. 23 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did make out of wood a bow, and out of a straight stick, an arrow; wherefore, I did arm myself with a bow and an arrow, with a sling and with stones. And I said unto my father: Whither shall I go to obtain food? Wood: Again we see Nephi making use of ancient Israelite imagery. In ancient Kabbalah the wood was symbolic of a righteous priest. The Zohar says the following: “The wood is the wood of Abraham, namely chassadim drawn from the right column, called ‘Abraham’, as written: "And the priest shall burn wood on it every morning," the priest being a man of chesed [lovingkindness].” (Zohar Tzav 10:76) You can see Nephi saying that he would take upon himself all those symbols of the hardship and emptiness of not following G-d which is exactly what you would expect a priest to do. 24 And it came to pass that he did inquire of the Lord, for they had humbled themselves because of my words; for I did say many things unto them in the energy of my soul. 25 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came unto my father; and he was truly chastened because of his murmuring against the Lord, insomuch that he was brought down into the depths of sorrow. Depths of sorrow: The Hebrew word for depth is the word עומק (omek) which also has an idea of inscrutability. So Nephi is saying that his father’s sorrow could not be measured. It is also important because the word depth has the gematria of 216. Some Christians associate this with the Christian number of the beast. After all 216 is 6x6x6. If such assessment is true then it could be that Lehi was desperate in his realization that his very own sons would be following the wicked assembly. 26 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord said unto him: Look upon the ball, and behold the things which are written. 27 And it came to pass that when my father beheld the things which were written upon the ball, he did fear and tremble exceedingly, and also my brethren and the sons of Ishmael and our wives. 28 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the pointers which were in the ball, that they did work according to the faith and diligence and heed which we did give unto them. 29 And there was also written upon them a new writing, which was plain to be read, which did give us understanding concerning the ways of the Lord; and it was written and changed from time to time, according to the faith and diligence which we gave unto it. And thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things. This appears to be similar to the Urim and Thummim. The method with which a message appeared in the Urim and then was likely explained or illuminated by the Thummim is explained in the Aramaic Targum called Pseudo-Jonathan to Exodus 28:30: “And thou shalt put upon the breastplate of judgment the Uraia, which illuminate their words, and manifest the hidden things of the house of Israel, and the Tumaia, which fulfil (or perfect) their work to the high priest, who seeketh instruction by them before the Lord; because in them is engraven and expressed the Great and Holy Name by which were created the three hundred and ten worlds, and which was engraven and expressed in the foundation stone wherewith the Lord of the world sealed up the mouth of the great deep at the beginning.” 30 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did go forth up into the top of the mountain, according to the directions which were given upon the ball. 31 And it came to pass that I did slay wild beasts, insomuch that I did obtain food for our families. 32 And it came to pass that I did return to our tents, bearing the beasts which I had slain; and now when they beheld that I had obtained food, how great was their joy! And it came to pass that they did humble themselves before the Lord, and did give thanks unto him. Wild beasts: The Hebrew term for beasts would be בהמות (behemot) which is also the Hebrew form of the name Behemoth. What is important about this is that there is an ancient Israelite tradition which says that the Behemoth was a creature that could only be hunted by the righteous as it was destined to become their feast. Could it be that Nephi is talking about a miracle here? Could it be that G-d fed them with a Behemoth? This would be in line with Israelite tradition. Psalm 50:10 says: “For all the beasts of the forest are Mine, the behemoth of the thousand mountains.” Rashi comments this by saying: “the behemoth of the thousand mountains: That is (the bull) destined for the future feast [of the righteous], which grazes on a thousand mountains daily, and every day they grow back.” 33 And it came to pass that we did again take our journey, traveling nearly the same course as in the beginning; and after we had traveled for the space of many days we did pitch our tents again, that we might tarry for the space of a time. 34 And it came to pass that Ishmael died, and was buried in the place which was called Nahom. 35 And it came to pass that the daughters of Ishmael did mourn exceedingly, because of the loss of their father, and because of their afflictions in the wilderness; and they did murmur against my father, because he had brought them out of the land of Jerusalem, saying: Our father is dead; yea, and we have wandered much in the wilderness, and we have suffered much affliction, hunger, thirst, and fatigue; and after all these sufferings we must perish in the wilderness with hunger. 36 And thus they did murmur against my father, and also against me; and they were desirous to return again to Jerusalem. Name etymology: The name Nahom would come from the Hebrew נחום which is the exact same spelling of the name of the prophet Nahum as in Hebrew the letter ו may sound like a “u” or like an “o”. This word literally means “consolation”. Nephi makes a word-play here. Ishmael gets buried in Nahom which means consolation. After that Ishmael’s daughters begin their cry. The name Ishmael as we said means “G-d hears”. So “G-d hears” dies and is left behind at “consolation”. So the daughters of Ishmael begin to act as if G-d no longer hears (notice their mention of their afflictions) and thus become inconsolable. This word-play points to an evident underlying Hebrew thinking. 37 And Laman said unto Lemuel and also unto the sons of Ishmael: Behold, let us slay our father, and also our brother Nephi, who has taken it upon him to be our ruler and our teacher, who are his elder brethren. 38 Now, he says that the Lord has talked with him, and also that angels have ministered unto him. But behold, we know that he lies unto us; and he tells us these things, and he worketh many things by his cunning arts, that he may deceive our eyes, thinking, perhaps, that he may lead us away into some strange wilderness; and after he has led us away, he has thought to make himself a king and a ruler over us, that he may do with us according to his will and pleasure. And after this manner did my brother Laman stir up their hearts to anger. 39 And it came to pass that the Lord was with us, yea, even the voice of the Lord came and did speak many words unto them, and did chasten them exceedingly; and after they were chastened by the voice of the Lord they did turn away their anger, and did repent of their sins, insomuch that the Lord did bless us again with food, that we did not perish. How could Laman and Lemuel plot to kill their own brother and father? What kind of twisted morals did they possess to even think of such an attempt. Ancient Israelite folk tradition still believed that other peoples could make wonders through the use of magic incantations. The accusation of practicing cunning arts was directly tied to an accusation of idol worshipping and thus was very serious. The Talmud gives an example of this: “One day while [R. Joshua] was reciting the Shema', he came before him. His intention was to receive him and he made a sign to him with his hand, but the disciple thought he was repelling him. So he went and set up a brick and worshipped it. [R. Joshua] said to him, 'Repent'; but he answered him, 'Thus have I received from thee that whoever sinned and caused others to sin is deprived of the power of doing penitence'. A Master has said: The disciple practised magic and led Israel astray.” (b. Sotah 47a) The practice of idol worshipping or of consulting with heathen gods in order to make magic required a death penalty according to the Torah-law of G-d. So this accusation was the pretext that they found so that they could believe that they weren’t actually practicing murder.

Here's chapter 16. I was a bit tired today but I still hope you like it despite my shortcomings. 1 And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had made an end of speaking to my brethren, behold they said unto me: Thou hast declared unto us hard things, more than we are able to bear. Hard things: The Hebrew term for hard is קשה (kasheh) can not only mean severe but also something that is rather cruel or unfair. When we combine this with the rest of their sentence that it was more than they could bear it becomes evident that they felt that they were questioning G-d’s justice. 2 And it came to pass that I said unto them that I knew that I had spoken hard things against the wicked, according to the truth; and the righteous have I justified, and testified that they should be lifted up at the last day; wherefore, the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center. 3 And now my brethren, if ye were righteous and were willing to hearken to the truth, and give heed unto it, that ye might walk uprightly before God, then ye would not murmur because of the truth, and say: Thou speakest hard things against us. Cutting to the very center: Nephi says that truth takes the guilt and cuts it to the very center. What does he mean with such an expression? We must still bear in mind the olive tree imagery that was being used by Nephi up until this point. This imagery is interesting because the Israelites were forbidden of consuming certain kinds of food especially when it came from the mixing with heathen nations. One of the prohibitions stated by the Mishnah and expounded upon by the Gemarah is the fact that if an olive tree belonged to a heathen then the Israelite was only allowed to eat the olive if the kernel didn’t fall from the rest of the olive without being cut. Thus says the Gemarah: “R. JOSE SAYS: THOSE OLIVES HAVING STONES READY TO DROP OUT [sHELAHIN] ARE PROHIBITED. What is to be understood by shelahin! — R. Jose b. Hanina said: Those olives whose kernels drop out as soon as one takes them in his hand.” (b. Avodah Zarah 40b) Cutting to the kernel or to the center as Nephi puts it was a means to ensure that the olive hadn’t suffered any contamination from the inside. Therefore when Nephi uses such imagery he is saying that the truth will do exactly this: When those who are away from G-d hear the truth then the truth cuts through the kernel of the person in an attempt to separate that which is clean from that which is unclean. Just like what happens with the olives whose kernels drop out those who are wicked to their core immediately reveal themselves as such when in contact with the truth. 4 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did exhort my brethren, with all diligence, to keep the commandments of the Lord. 5 And it came to pass that they did humble themselves before the Lord; insomuch that I had joy and great hopes of them, that they would walk in the paths of righteousness. Great hopes: It is interesting to note that Nephi chooses to use the word “hopes” instead of the word “hope” when referring to his brothers. A possible hint as to why he would do that could come from the gematria of the word “hopes”. The numeric value of the word “hopes” (תקוות - tikvot) is 912. This is a very rare number that is also the numeric value of the word האשרות (haasherot). The term “asherah” was used to refer to the idol tree-poles which were greatly involved in the idolatry of Israel. Could it be that Nephi was trying to indicate that the reason he was unsure of their recovery was their previous involvement with idolatry? 6 Now, all these things were said and done as my father dwelt in a tent in the valley which he called Lemuel. 7 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, took one of the daughters of Ishmael to wife; and also, my brethren took of the daughters of Ishmael to wife; and also Zoram took the eldest daughter of Ishmael to wife. The eldest daughter: Why did Nephi bother to tell us that Zoram took the eldest daughter of Ishmael? This appears to be an encrypted message. We have already seen how name “Zoram” means “strange people” or “foreign people”. Now the term used for “eldest” is the Hebrew בכור (bechor). What is interesting is that the letter ב can also mean the preposition “in”. If we consider it as such we could read this as meaning “b’cur” which would mean “in the furnace”. The name Ishmael also has a special meaning which is “G-d heard”. Now considering the expression “to wife” in Hebrew would be something like “unto him wife”, we have Nephi’s encrypted message revealed: G-d would hear and take unto him his wife which was like a strange people in the furnace. This is way too much in like with Nephi’s message to be coincidental. 8 And thus my father had fulfilled all the commandments of the Lord which had been given unto him. And also, I, Nephi, had been blessed of the Lord exceedingly. 9 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord spake unto my father by night, and commanded him that on the morrow he should take his journey into the wilderness. Journeying on the morrow: Why did the heavenly voice tell Lehi to travel the following day? Why not ask him to travel by night? In ancient Israelite culture the idea of travelling by night was that one was fleeing a place like a fugitive. It was seen as either a sign of desperation or a sign of being put out of a land. The Zohar says the following about this: “He asks: Why did they travel day and night? Let them walk by day, and not by night like people who are fleeing. “ (Zohar Beshalach 4:53) Now consider this: Jerusalem was on the verge of being sieged and soon the people would have to flee from it by day and by night and travelling by night would symbolically mean that they were being driven from the land given their sin. So when the heavenly voice tells Lehi to travel on the morrow it means that Lehi was leaving with his head held high because he was actually being spared for his obedience. 10 And it came to pass that as my father arose in the morning, and went forth to the tent door, to his great astonishment he beheld upon the ground a round ball of curious workmanship; and it was of fine brass. And within the ball were two spindles; and the one pointed the way whither we should go into the wilderness. The brass ball: What’s the spiritual meaning of this object being made like a brass ball? First let us examine the reason for the shape of the object. In ancient Judaism the shape of the ball meant hardships in a peregrination. Because the ball was tossed in many directions. Prophet Isaiah demonstrates this idea “Behold, the LORD will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover thee. He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country: there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord's house.” (Isaiah 22:17-18) But why would the ball be made of brass? Again in ancient Judaism the brass was a color that was connected with nourishment. The Zohar says the following: “In the Book of King Solomon there are high secrets concerning the brass altar as we said. About the earthen altar it is written: "An altar of earth you shall make to Me". This is a regular secret, which is Malchut. When other mountains dominate and Malchut has to nourish them, She becomes colored in this color of brass in order to nourish them. For then Malchut is called ‘the brass altar’ and they are called 'brass mountains'.” (Zohar Terumah 24:237) So when G-d reveals unto them a “brass ball” they would have understood this as symbolically representing the fact that even though their peregrination would be harsh that they could trust that G-d would sustain and nourish them. 11 And it came to pass that we did gather together whatsoever things we should carry into the wilderness, and all the remainder of our provisions which the Lord had given unto us; and we did take seed of every kind that we might carry into the wilderness. Why did Nephi mention the seed of every kind separately from the other things? This is not unintentional. As we have already seen the Hebrew word for seed is זרע (zerah) and it can also mean offspring. The verb to seed is לזרוע (liz’roah) also means to scatter. So when Nephi mentions bringing the seed “into the wilderness” he is saying that he knew that his offspring would be scattered. 12 And it came to pass that we did take our tents and depart into the wilderness, across the river Laman. 13 And it came to pass that we traveled for the space of four days, nearly a south-southeast direction, and we did pitch our tents again; and we did call the name of the place Shazer. We have already seen that the number 4 is very relevant in Jewish thought because it refers to the day in which G-d created the lights that governed the appointed time. So when Nephi says that they traveled for 4 days it means that they traveled during the time appointed by G-d unto them. Name etymology: Shazer. This appears to derive from the verb לשזר (lish’zer) – notice that the first letter ל indicates the infinitive and is not part of the root. This verb means to interweave. In the Torah when the people of israel traveled through the desert every stop has a deep spiritual meaning to it. The same can be assumed here. If we combine this with the verses immediately above we can see that Nephi was concerned that the scattering of his seed would come with the mixing with other nations. It is important to observe however that this isn’t xenophobia as Judaism has always accepted marriage with other people as long as they converted into the House of Israel. So this mixture here would likely mean a scenario without conversion which eventually would lead the people to idolatry. 14 And it came to pass that we did take our bows and our arrows, and go forth into the wilderness to slay food for our families; and after we had slain food for our families we did return again to our families in the wilderness, to the place of Shazer. And we did go forth again in the wilderness, following the same direction, keeping in the most fertile parts of the wilderness, which were in the borders near the Red Sea. Bows and Arrows: Why did Nephi mention that they took their bows and arrows when they went hunting? Once again the answer could be the underlying Hebrew. The Hebrew word for bow is the word קשת (keshet) which can also be translated as hardship or severity. The imagery of an arrow in Israelite thought is that of something that enters and hurts the core. If we combine this with the previous verse we can see how the mixed multitude that would likely arise from Nephi’s brothers brought about hardships that pierced the family in its very heart. Keeping on the fertile parts: The Hebrew word for fertile is the word פורה (poreh) which comes from the word פרי (pri) which means fruit. So Nephi was saying that he was keeping them on the fruitful side of the journey. This could be interpreted spiritually as meaning that as long as his brothers were following the lead of Nephi and his father they were able to produce good spiritual fruit. Once they strayed away they would become spiritually dry. 15 And it came to pass that we did travel for the space of many days, slaying food by the way, with our bows and our arrows and our stones and our slings. Stones and slings: This also has a deep spiritual meaning. Ancient Kabbalah compares the rolling stone coming out of the sling as spiritual hollowness. The stone represents the word of G-d. When the word departs from someone what is left is hollowness: “But if it does not so merit, a number of angels of destruction are directed against it, and push it outside. Woe to that soul that wanders in vain as a stone in the hollow of the sling. This is what was said: "and the souls of your enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the hollow of a sling" (Zohar Pinchas 4:14_ So when Nephi refers to their stones and slings he is saying that his brethren would become spiritually empty once they abandoned the word of G-d. 16 And we did follow the directions of the ball, which led us in the more fertile parts of the wilderness. 17 And after we had traveled for the space of many days, we did pitch our tents for the space of a time, that we might again rest ourselves and obtain food for our families. The space of a time: The Hebrew term for time is the word עת (et) which can mean “time” or “era”. It could be that Nephi is referring to the fact that there would come an era in which they would be spiritually stalled until the kingdom of G-d could again be advanced. 18 And it came to pass that as I, Nephi, went forth to slay food, behold, I did break my bow, which was made of fine steel; and after I did break my bow, behold, my brethren were angry with me because of the loss of my bow, for we did obtain no food. Breaking the bow: We have already seen how the bow represented hardships. Now the word to break is the Hebrew word לשבור (lish’bor) which can also mean to quench or to appease. So we can here see Nephi in his priestly role. The idea that his brethren were upset with him “breaking the bow” could spiritually be understood as referring to the fact that they resented his role as an appeaser before G-d of His wrath that incurred upon them because of the sins of his brothers. We can also understand breaking the bow as removing the might because Jeremiah 49:35 says: “So said the Lord of Hosts: Behold I am breaking the bow of Elam, the chief of their might.” To this Rashi interprets: “the bow of Elam: The might of Elam” So we can also understand this as Nephi’s brethren seeing Nephi as a hindrance to their own power. As we can see there are many layers of deep spiritual meaning to the words of Nephi 19 And it came to pass that we did return without food to our families, and being much fatigued, because of their journeying, they did suffer much for the want of food. 20 And it came to pass that Laman and Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael did begin to murmur exceedingly, because of their sufferings and afflictions in the wilderness; and also my father began to murmur against the Lord his God; yea, and they were all exceedingly sorrowful, even that they did murmur against the Lord. Murmuring: It is relevant that Nephi uses the word “murmur” seven times in this chapter. Seven is a very important number in Judaism because it means completeness especially completeness of a time cycle. So when Nephi uses the word “murmur” seven times he is implying that his brethren murmured against G-d during the entire journey.

30 And I said unto them that our father also saw that the justice of God did also divide the wicked from the righteous; and the brightness thereof was like unto the brightness of a flaming fire, which ascendeth up unto God forever and ever, and hath no end. Flaming fire: There are two very important elements in Nephi’s description of the righteous as flaming fire. The first understanding comes from the Aramaic Targum. In Psalm 104:4 which mentions flaming fire the Targum says: “Who made his messengers as swift as wind; his servants, as strong as burning fire.” So the interpretation of “flaming fire” is something who has spiritual strength. But that is not all: There is an ancient Jewish prophecy that flaming fire running down the sea of Galilee would be an indication of the generation of the coming of Messiah after the exile: “Rabbi Shimon raised his hands in prayer before the Holy One, blessed be He, and prayed. After he recited his prayer, his son, Rabbi Elazar, and Rabbi Aba sat before him. While they were sitting before him, they saw a ray of daylight become dim, and a conduit of flaming fire, that is, a stream of burning fire, sink into the sea of Galilee, and the whole place was agitated. Rabbi Shimon said: Certainly now is the time that the Holy One, blessed be He, remembers His children, and He lowers two tears into the Great Sea. As they descend, they touch this conduit of flaming fire and sink together into the sea, one with the other. Rabbi Shimon wept and the friends wept. Rabbi Shimon said: I have stirred in the secret of the letters of the Holy Name in the secret of the awakening of the Holy One, Blessed Be He, towards His children. But now I may reveal that which was not permitted to any other person to reveal, but the merit of this generation will preserve the world till the King Messiah will come. Rabbi Shimon said to his son Rabbi Elazar and to Rabbi Aba: Get up on your legs. Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Aba got up. Rabbi Shimon wept a second time and said: Oh, who will arise then? For what I see is that the exile will be lengthened. Who will be able to endure?” (Zohar Shemot 15:134-136) So when Nephi says that they would be like flaming fire he is saying that they would be the generation that would rule with Messiah in his kingdom. 31 And they said unto me: Doth this thing mean the torment of the body in the days of probation, or doth it mean the final state of the soul after the death of the temporal body, or doth it speak of the things which are temporal? 32 And it came to pass that I said unto them that it was a representation of things both temporal and spiritual; for the day should come that they must be judged of their works, yea, even the works which were done by the temporal body in their days of probation. We have already talked about the Israelite understanding of retribution. This is how the questions from Nephi’s brothers must be understood: It was a common understanding among some primitive Jewish sects that the judgement we face for the deeds committed in this world would only be executed on this world. Therefore the soul would somehow be protected from this judgement. This idea though was deemed heretical within Judaism because from the times of Abel there has been situations in which a sin was not judged in this life. 33 Wherefore, if they should die in their wickedness they must be cast off also, as to the things which are spiritual, which are pertaining to righteousness; wherefore, they must be brought to stand before God, to be judged of their works; and if their works have been filthiness they must needs be filthy; and if they be filthy it must needs be that they cannot dwell in the kingdom of God; if so, the kingdom of God must be filthy also. 34 But behold, I say unto you, the kingdom of God is not filthy, and there cannot any unclean thing enter into the kingdom of God; wherefore there must needs be a place of filthiness prepared for that which is filthy. It is to be understood that the Torah-law has great concern with cleanness and uncleanness. As already stated before the idea of uncleanness was associated with death. Therefore if G-d’s Kingdom were to have uncleanness then it would mean that G-d’s Kingdom would be equivalent to spiritual death. 35 And there is a place prepared, yea, even that awful hell of which I have spoken, and the devil is the preparator of it; wherefore the final state of the souls of men is to dwell in the kingdom of God, or to be cast out because of that justice of which I have spoken. 36 Wherefore, the wicked are rejected from the righteous, and also from that tree of life, whose fruit is most precious and most desirable above all other fruits; yea, and it is the greatest of all the gifts of God. And thus I spake unto my brethren. Amen. Awful hell: Why does Nephi bother to say that hell is awful? Certainly nobody would expect hell to be pleasant. So why does he make use of these words? He’s actually referring to an Israelite concept that the “dread of hell” should serve as an incentive for those who judge not to judge wickedly. So when Nephi says that the “awful hell” is prepared for the wicked he is likely referring to those who thought they could pervert justice, namely those who followed the wicked assembly mentioned earlier, and still get away with it. The Talmud talks about this concept: “R. Samuel b. Nahmani stated in the name of R. Jonathan: A judge should always imagine himself as if [he had] a sword lying between his thighs, and Gehenna was open beneath him; as it is said in Scripture, Behold, it is the couch of Solomon; threescore mighty men are about it, of the mighty men of Israel etc. because of the dread in the night: 'because of the dread of' Gehenna which is like 'the night'.” (b. Yebamot 109b)

Here's chapter 15. Hope you find it useful: 1 And it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had been carried away in the spirit, and seen all these things, I returned to the tent of my father. Return to the tent: In ancient Judaism this would have been understood as a return to the physical world after Nephi had experienced a glimpse of the reality of the spiritual world: “Said Resh Lakish: Come let us render gratitude to our forebears, for had they not sinned, we should not have come to the world, as it is said: I said ye are gods and all of you sons of the Most High; now that you have spoilt your deeds, ye shall indeed die like mortals etc. Are we to understand that if the Israelites had not committed that sin they would not have propagated? Had it not been said, And you, be ye fruitful and multiply? — That refers to those who lived up to the times of Sinai. But of those at Sinai, too, it is said, Go say to them, Return ye to your tents which means to the joy of family life? And is it not also said, that it might be well with them and with their children? — It means to those of their children who stood at Sinai.” (b. Avodah Zarah 5a) 2 And it came to pass that I beheld my brethren, and they were disputing one with another concerning the things which my father had spoken unto them. 3 For he truly spake many great things unto them, which were hard to be understood, save a man should inquire of the Lord; and they being hard in their hearts, therefore they did not look unto the Lord as they ought. Nephi seems to be making an allusion to an ancient Israelite proverb which the Zohar preserves and says the following: “If you inquire, inquire" as it is written: "Seek out of the Book of the Lord, and read". You will find there just what your exile and deliverance are dependent on. If you inquire of it, it will say and proclaim you to "return, come" in complete repentance, and immediately you will come and get close to Me.” (Zohar Terumah 10:79) 4 And now I, Nephi, was grieved because of the hardness of their hearts, and also, because of the things which I had seen, and knew they must unavoidably come to pass because of the great wickedness of the children of men. Unavoidably come to pass: We have already seen how the Hebrew term ויהי (vayechi) which is translated as “and it came to pass” is a reference to something that happened given G-d’s own plans. Why then does Nephi bother to apparently in a redundant way say that something would “unavoidably come to pass”? The answer could be in the underlying Hebrew. The term “unavoidable” in Hebrew would be the compound expression בלתי נמנע (bilti nim’nah – literally “that cannot be avoided”). This is particularly relevant because the gematria value of nim’nah is 210. Remember how we’ve already seen Nephi use this number which is the number of years that the sons of Israel remained captive in Egypt. And the word bilti has the gematria value of 442. This is the same gematria of the expression האלות (haalot – literally “the curses”) which appears in Deuteronomy 30:7: “The LORD your God will inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you.” This is exactly what happened after the exile of Egypt. So we can see that Nephi is hinting to the fact that the persecution he was shown would be like the exodus: that eventually G-d would set His people free and bring curses upon their enemies. 5 And it came to pass that I was overcome because of my afflictions, for I considered that mine afflictions were great above all, because of the destruction of my people, for I had beheld their fall. The Hebrew term for “fall” is ליפול (lifol) which can be used for dying in combat, for disappearing or even for abandoning one’s spiritual path of righteousness for good. It is likely that all these things were true and were grieving Nephi greatly as he knew that whereas a remnant would be saved still many would meet this fate given their disobedience. 6 And it came to pass that after I had received strength I spake unto my brethren, desiring to know of them the cause of their disputations. 7 And they said: Behold, we cannot understand the words which our father hath spoken concerning the natural branches of the olive-tree, and also concerning the Gentiles. 8 And I said unto them: Have ye inquired of the Lord? 9 And they said unto me: We have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us. The Hebrew word for “natural” is the word טבעי (tibi) which also means “good quality”. This reflects an old and incorrect assumption that the Israelites were somehow superior to other nations. Such a misunderstanding comes from the incorrect comprehension of the election and special mission of Israel. 10 Behold, I said unto them: How is it that ye do not keep the commandments of the Lord? How is it that ye will perish, because of the hardness of your hearts? 11 Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?—If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you. It is interesting that Nephi is making mention of this in connection to a dispute. Psalm 95:8 usually reads as follows: “Harden not your heart, as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the wilderness.” However if one looks at the ancient Aramaic Targum of the Psalms one will find this interpreted as meaning this: “Do not harden your heart as in the dispute, as on the day you tested God in the wilderness.” Nephi seems to be aware of such a traditional understanding of the text. 12 Behold, I say unto you, that the house of Israel was compared unto an olive-tree, by the Spirit of the Lord which was in our father; and behold are we not broken off from the house of Israel, and are we not a branch of the house of Israel? 13 And now, the thing which our father meaneth concerning the grafting in of the natural branches through the fulness of the Gentiles, is, that in the latter days, when our seed shall have dwindled in unbelief, yea, for the space of many years, and many generations after the Messiah shall be manifested in body unto the children of men, then shall the fulness of the gospel of the Messiah come unto the Gentiles, and from the Gentiles unto the remnant of our seed— The idea of being broken off from the olive-tree would have sounded as quite a shocking imagery to the ancient Israelite. One of the reasons why Israel is compared to the olive-tree is the ancient understanding that the olive-tree is very hard to break. The Zohar cites an ancient understanding: “What is her reward? It is "your children like olive plants." Just as the leaves of the olive plants never fall, but are attached to the tree all the time, so "the children like olive plants round about your table" shall always be attached to you.” (Zohar Vaera 31:432) The misunderstanding of G-d’s promise that Israel would always have their children before them lead some to a false sense of security. It was as if individual deeds didn’t matter as long as the people were as one before G-d. However Nephi teaches them that their attachment to the olive-tree relied on their willingness to obey the commandments of G-d – something they evidently cared very little for. 14 And at that day shall the remnant of our seed know that they are of the house of Israel, and that they are the covenant people of the Lord; and then shall they know and come to the knowledge of their forefathers, and also to the knowledge of the gospel of their Redeemer, which was ministered unto their fathers by him; wherefore, they shall come to the knowledge of their Redeemer and the very points of his doctrine, that they may know how to come unto him and be saved. The Doctrine of the Redeemer: The Hebrew word used in Scripture for doctrine is the word לקח (lekach) which can mean a “lesson” or a “moral-code”. But what is interesting is that it comes from the root “to acquire”. Rabbi Shlomo Katz explains it as follows: “The Hebrew root which shares the same letters as lekach means, to acquire. One who gives rebuke is referred to as acquiring souls, as we read in Mishlei/Proverbs (11:30), A wise man acquires souls.¨” So when nephi says that they would come to knowledge of the doctrine of the Redeemer the use of the term “Redeemer” is by no means incidental. Nephi is saying that through his teachings of righteousness the Messiah would acquire their souls for G-d. 15 And then at that day will they not rejoice and give praise unto their everlasting God, their rock and their salvation? Yea, at that day, will they not receive the strength and nourishment from the true vine? Yea, will they not come unto the true fold of God? 16 Behold, I say unto you, Yea; they shall be remembered again among the house of Israel; they shall be grafted in, being a natural branch of the olive-tree, into the true olive-tree. Vine and olive-tree: Why does Nephi mention the vine and the olive-tree together? Again, this is no coincidence. We have already seen how the olive-tree was seen as very hard to break. The vine on the other hand was exactly the opposite. Thus the Zohar says: “And so with the trees, no tree is so broken like the vine. In planting, it is hammered, as it has no strength to stand but lay on the ground. Its grapes are broken, crushed under feet. And so the olive is crushed. Israel is compared to them in the exile, as written: "You have brought a vine out of Egypt". And so in the fourth exile, "For the vineyard of the LORD of Hosts is the House of Israel". And likewise Israel is likened to the olive, as it is written, "A green olive tree, fair with goodly fruit". Therefore, it is written, "Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the recesses of your house: your children like olive plants". They here are side by side, because Israel becomes broken like them in the exile. After the grapes and olives are cleaned from all refuse, they become sanctified for the Temple: wine for libation upon the altar, the olives for kindling the candle, meaning the candles of the lamp. Who merits this? Wine not libated in idolatry. The mixed multitudes are like wine poured for idol worship, among them are apostates and non-believers, that transgress the whole Torah.” (Zohar Mishpatim 18:490-491) Notice how Nephi makes mention of these two kinds: the olives and the vines. The olive is broken because of its stiffneckedness in not following the ways of G-d and in its arrogance. And the vine has its grapes trampled on because it has no strength in the word of G-d and so it offers its grapes to idol worship. However Nephi says that they become the true olive and the true vine. How would that have been interpreted? As seen from above this was imagery that referred to the olive that was used to produce oil for the Menorah and to the vine that was used to produce wine for the libation. In other words these people who were once cut off would then eventually be consecrated unto the holiest service they could possibly have in the Temple of G-d. 17 And this is what our father meaneth; and he meaneth that it will not come to pass until after they are scattered by the Gentiles; and he meaneth that it shall come by way of the Gentiles, that the Lord may show his power unto the Gentiles, for the very cause that he shall be rejected of the Jews, or of the house of Israel. Way of the Gentiles: The use of the term “way” is important. Jewish Kabbalah makes a difference between “way” and “path”. The first refers to a wider acceptance and the latter to a smaller: “He questions: Sometimes it is written, "a way," and sometimes, "a path." What is the difference between them? And answers: "A way," implies a way that all the feet of people tread. "A path," is a recently opened path and has not been trodden long by many people. About this path does the verse say, "But the path of justmen is like the gleam of sunlight, that shines ever more brightly, until the height of noonday"” (Zohar Kedoshim 23:134) So when Nephi says that it should come the way of the Gentiles he is referring to the fact that had he believed Messiah would be rejected by the Jewish people in order to receive a much wider acceptance among the Gentiles. According to Nephi if the Jewish people accepted Messiah then very few would come towards the path of redemption. 18 Wherefore, our father hath not spoken of our seed alone, but also of all the house of Israel, pointing to the covenant which should be fulfilled in the latter days; which covenant the Lord made to our father Abraham, saying: In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. 19 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, spake much unto them concerning these things; yea, I spake unto them concerning the restoration of the Jews in the latter days. Restoration of the Jews: The Biblical word for restoration which is likely the word Nephi had in mind is the word השבה (hashavah) can also be translated as “return” because the words share the same root. It is possible then that Nephi was also giving a prophecy that in the end of times the Jewish people would be returning to the land of Israel. 20 And I did rehearse unto them the words of Isaiah, who spake concerning the restoration of the Jews, or of the house of Israel; and after they were restored they should no more be confounded, neither should they be scattered again. And it came to pass that I did speak many words unto my brethren, that they were pacified and did humble themselves before the Lord. 21 And it came to pass that they did speak unto me again, saying: What meaneth this thing which our father saw in a dream? What meaneth the tree which he saw? 22 And I said unto them: It was a representation of the tree of life. As seen before the tree of life can also be a representation of the Torah-law of G-d or even of the divine attributes which one only gets to understand through the means of abiding to his law and developing a relationship with Him. 23 And they said unto me: What meaneth the rod of iron which our father saw, that led to the tree? 24 And I said unto them that it was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction. Fiery dart: Nephi mildly rebukes his brethren when he makes use of such an expression because the Hebrew word מסע (masah - dart) also means “quarrel”. The fiery dart would represent an unending quarrel because just like fire passes on from one thing to another so does the spirit of quarrelling pass from one person to another and makes their spirituality perish. 25 Wherefore, I, Nephi, did exhort them to give heed unto the word of the Lord; yea, I did exhort them with all the energies of my soul, and with all the faculty which I possessed, that they would give heed to the word of God and remember to keep his commandments always in all things. Nephi’s energy: The most likely translation for the word “energy” in the context that Nephi uses it would be the word כוח (coach). What is interesting about this word is that it doesn’t only refer to physical strength. It also refers to one’s resources including one’s wealth. So this could mean that Nephi didn’t spare whatever resources he saw fit in his quest to get his brothers to keep the word of G-d. 26 And they said unto me: What meaneth the river of water which our father saw? 27 And I said unto them that the water which my father saw was filthiness; and so much was his mind swallowed up in other things that he beheld not the filthiness of the water. Filthiness of the water: How could it be that Lehi would not see the filthiness of the water? After all filthy waters are quite distinguishable from clean ones. This however has to be understood as a word-play used by Nephi. As explained before a source of living water such as river would be considered something not only extremely clean but also with the power to cleanse objects and even people according to Torah-law. So when Nephi speaks of filthy waters he is making reference to that which has the aspect of something clean but is rather unclean. This would likely be a reference to the wicked assembly mentioned earlier by Nephi as something that people would expect to be of great piety but inside would be filled with idolatry. 28 And I said unto them that it was an awful gulf, which separated the wicked from the tree of life, and also from the saints of God. 29 And I said unto them that it was a representation of that awful hell, which the angel said unto me was prepared for the wicked. For explanation on the gulf please see previous commentaries.

Please don't think I'm trying to debate. I'm just stating what could be considered the official position of Judaism. I am aware that there has been criticism on the Zohar. Both positions are well and extensively argued both online and offline. Anyway even if we assumed the Zohar to be a 13th century book it would still be before the BoM was translated and I was merely stating how this interesting prophecy pointed to two books of Scripture becoming one. It was never my intention to promote the Zohar among Christians. Forgive me if this is what it sounded like.

It is almost unanimously accepted in Judaism as the work of Rashbi. The Zohar itself was only compiled in the 13th century from the teachings of Rashbi which doesn't mean the teachings itself are of the 13th century. :)

Hello forum, Since not many of you visit the Jewish Perspective subforum I thought I'd post this here. Perhaps it'll encourage more of you to visit us down there. When commenting on the Scriptures that were given unto Adam (and thus intended for all mankind) the Zohar which is a Kabbalistic work from 2 CE makes the following statement: "And this is a secret we have learned. "This is the Book [given to Adam]," namely there are two books. There is an upper book and there is a lower book. The lower book is called 'the Book of the Remembrance', which means the Book of that Remembrance, which is a certain Righteous one, namely Yesod, called "this (Heb. zeh)." And Malchut is his book. In order not to separate them, since they are always together and form one, it is therefore written: "This (Heb. zeh) is the book" - two levels which are one, the principle of Male and Female. For "this" is masculine, Yesod, and the "Book" is feminine, Malchut." (Zohar Yitro 4:63) Essencially this Kabbalistic commentary interprets Scripture as saying that the Book of the Generations of Adam is actually a reference to the fact that two books were given unto mankind, which complement each other. I'll leave the rest to you. :-) b'shalom!

18 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, saying: Look! 19 And I looked and beheld a man, and he was dressed in a white robe. 20 And the angel said unto me: Behold one of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The white robe: We saw in the previous chapter how the garments in ancient Kabbalah represent one’s deeds before G-d. Now what does this white robe represent? In Kabbalah, a white robe would be associated with the fact that he was going to reveal to the world a spiritual reality in a way that the world could grasp it. The righteous wearing robes represent the fact that they are able to understand a much greater spiritual reality than the other human beings and are able to translate that reality into words that the world can grasp. Thus the Zohar comments about this: “When she entered in the presence of King Ahasuerus and he saw that robe of light, her form seemed to him like an angel of G-d, and he lost his soul for an instant. Mordechai too was enshrouded in the robes of that world, as is written: "And Mordechai went out from the presence of the king in royal (lit. 'of Malchut') apparel", verily the apparel of Malchut that is the form of that world. Therefore, it is written: "Because the fear of Mordechai had fallen upon them" , the fear of Mordechai and not the fear of Ahasuerus, that is, not because Ahasuerus had made him great, but rather because of his garment of that world. Rabbi Shimon said, How sweet are these matters. Praised is my lot. I am aware that the just in this world get shrouded with that robe that is called the robe of Malchut, and that is definitely so.” (Zohar Shlach Lecha 32:230) 21 Behold, he shall see and write the remainder of these things; yea, and also many things which have been. 22 And he shall also write concerning the end of the world. Based on the spiritual reality revealed in the verses above we can see that the writing about the end of the world would be mostly spiritual, and in a way that the people could somehow grasp the meaning of it. It is also important to understand that the Hebrew word for end is the word סוף (sof) and it can also be translated as ruin. Also bear in mind how the time was counted in Hebrew thought, as we have already seen. The end of the world would mean the end of this age and possibly the beginning of the Messianic Age or of the World to Come. 23 Wherefore, the things which he shall write are just and true; and behold they are written in the book which thou beheld proceeding out of the mouth of the Jew; and at the time they proceeded out of the mouth of the Jew, or, at the time the book proceeded out of the mouth of the Jew, the things which were written were plain and pure, and most precious and easy to the understanding of all men. Precious and pure: Why does Nephi change the words that he used before? First he speaks of the things being plain and precious. Now he talks about them as being plain and pure. In Hebrew such subtle changes in language can never be taken lightly. If we examine the words that Nephi applied we will find that the word precious in Hebrew is יקר (yakar). Now one of the possible words for pure in Hebrew is the word נקי (naki). Notice the spelling of both words. The word “naki” looks like the word “yakar” spelled backwards! So on a deeper level, Nephi is telling us that the wicked assembly has inverted the words that were given unto the apostle. This can be no coincidence. Also relevant is the change of the letter ר (reish) to the letter נ (nun). In Hebrew the letter reish also means “head” and is associated with the will and intent of G-d. Now the letter nun in Aramaic means “fish” and so is associated in Kabbalah with the spiritual waters. Notice what Nephi is trying to tell us: That the wicked assembly inverted the writings of the apostle in order to replace the will and intent of G-d with the agenda of the very evil spiritual powers that sustain them! As I said before this cannot be a coincidence. 24 And behold, the things which this apostle of the Lamb shall write are many things which thou hast seen; and behold, the remainder shalt thou see. 25 But the things which thou shalt see hereafter thou shalt not write; for the Lord God hath ordained the apostle of the Lamb of God that he should write them. 26 And also others who have been, to them hath he shown all things, and they have written them; and they are sealed up to come forth in their purity, according to the truth which is in the Lamb, in the own due time of the Lord, unto the house of Israel. Why would the words of Nephi be sealed? In ancient Judaism it was common for prophecies to be sealed so that the secrets of G-d would not be revealed unto the ones who practiced idol worship, and that they would be preserved to the righteous. And these are exactly the two groups of people that the message of Nephi has been dealing with all along. The Zohar speaks of this: “"Wine makes glad the heart of man". This is the wine of the Torah, for the numerical value of the letters of the word yain (Eng. 'wine') is the same as the letters of sod (Eng. 'secret'). Just as wine has to be kept sealed so that it should not be used in a libation for idol worship, so also must the secret of the Torah be closed up and sealed, and none of its secrets be disclosed other than to those who fear Him.” (Zohar Pinchas 12:68) 27 And I, Nephi, heard and bear record, that the name of the apostle of the Lamb was John, according to the word of the angel. Name Etymology: John: Likely the Hebrew form of this name is יוחנן (Yochanan) which means the L-rd is merciful. It is no coincidence that Nephi reveals this to be the name of the apostle. After all the prophecies of the end of the world according to Nephi are G-d’s final attempt to get the world to turn back to Him. 28 And behold, I, Nephi, am forbidden that I should write the remainder of the things which I saw and heard; wherefore the things which I have written sufficeth me; and I have written but a small part of the things which I saw. 29 And I bear record that I saw the things which my father saw, and the angel of the Lord did make them known unto me. 30 And now I make an end of speaking concerning the things which I saw while I was carried away in the spirit; and if all the things which I saw are not written, the things which I have written are true. And thus it is. Amen. Why does Nephi say this apparently unnecessary sentence saying that the things which he has seen are not written, and the things which he has written are true? This appears to be a word-play in Hebrew. The word written (plural) in Hebrew is the word כתובים (ketuvim). This is also the word used for the section of the Hebrew Bible that refers to the writings. That is the accounts of the people. So when Nephi says that his words are not “ketuvim” but are true this means that his accounts are to be used as a companion to the accounts of the people of Israel in the Bible.

Here's chapter 14. This was quite interesting and very Jewish in its content. I hope you like it. 1 And it shall come to pass, that if the Gentiles shall hearken unto the Lamb of God in that day that he shall manifest himself unto them in word, and also in power, in very deed, unto the taking away of their stumbling blocks— 2 And harden not their hearts against the Lamb of God, they shall be numbered among the seed of thy father; yea, they shall be numbered among the house of Israel; and they shall be a blessed people upon the promised land forever; they shall be no more brought down into captivity; and the house of Israel shall no more be confounded. Stumbling blocks: This expression comes from the Torah-law which says in Leviticus 19:14: “You shall not curse a deaf person. You shall not place a stumbling block before a blind person, and you shall fear your God. I am the Lord.” What does it mean to put a stumbling block before a blind person? It means to make use of the person’s ignorance to cause them to do something bad. Rashi thus comments on this verse: “You shall not place a stumbling block before a blind person: Before a person who is “blind” regarding a matter, you shall not give advice that is improper for him. [For instance,] do not say to someone,“ Sell your field and buy a donkey [with the proceeds], ”while [in truth,] you plan to cheat him since you yourself will take it from him [by lending him money and taking the donkey as collateral. He will not be able to take the field because a previous creditor has a lien on it.] - [Torat Kohanim 19:34]” According to the Talmud this also involves causing a person to sin due to her ignorance: “How do we know that one should not hold out a cup of wine to a Nazirite or a limb from a living animal to a Noachide? From Scripture, which says, Thou shalt not put a stumbling block before the blind.” (b. Avodah Zarah 6b.) In both situations a stumbling block means that someone with knowledge willfully makes someone with less knowledge do something bad for themselves or even sin. So how do we understand Nephi’s sentence? From the previous chapter we understood that there was an assembly of wicked leaders who willfully perverted the religious practices of the nations leading them to idolatry. So when Nephi says that the Lamb of G-d would take away the stumbling blocks he means that by the power of the Messiah the nations would eventually see clearly that which they were doing in ignorance. This explains the hardening of hearts referred to in the following verse: a hardened heart is a stubborn heart. Therefore this supposes that eventually they will have the knowledge necessary to make a conscious decision. 3 And that great pit, which hath been digged for them by that great and abominable church, which was founded by the devil and his children, that he might lead away the souls of men down to hell—yea, that great pit which hath been digged for the destruction of men shall be filled by those who digged it, unto their utter destruction, saith the Lamb of God; not the destruction of the soul, save it be the casting of it into that hell which hath no end. The Pit: In Jewish imagery the pit is associated with the sins of the mouth, such as slander and blasphemes. It is understood that just like the mouth widens itself to promote evil thus will the pit open its wide mouth to engulf such sinners. This can be seen in the Talmud as follows: “Rabbah b. Shila said in R. Hisda's name: He who puts his mouth to folly, Gehenna is made deep for him, as it is said, A deep pit is for the mouth [that speaketh] perversity. R. Nahman b. Isaac said, Also [for] one who hears and is silent, for it is said, he that is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein.” (b. Shabbat 33a) Notice that Gehenna is the Aramaic form of Gehinom and also refers to hell. So we can understand from Nephi’s words that even after receiving the knowledge of G-d these people will blaspheme against Him willfully. There is also a very similar passage concerning the fate of unrepentant idol-worshipers in the Zohar. You can see from the imagery presented in the Talmud and in the Zohar the Jewishness of the words of Nephi: “There is an opening that leads down to the gates of Gehinom. From there, the converts look at all the evil ones, the idol worshipers, those who have not converted and thus have not entered the holy covenant. They are chased away by the angels of destruction with fire, and the converts see this, rejoicing that they have converted and are thus spared such a harsh judgement” (Zohar Bereshit 2:11) 4 For behold, this is according to the captivity of the devil, and also according to the justice of God, upon all those who will work wickedness and abomination before him. Captivity and justice: Here we can see a feature of Hebrew language called Antithetic Parallelism. In such structure you have one phrase followed by its exact opposite. In this case, the captivity of the devil is used as the exact opposite of the justice of G-d. 5 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, Nephi, saying: Thou hast beheld that if the Gentiles repent it shall be well with them; and thou also knowest concerning the covenants of the Lord unto the house of Israel; and thou also hast heard that whoso repenteth not must perish. 6 Therefore, wo be unto the Gentiles if it so be that they harden their hearts against the Lamb of God. There’s an interesting clue in the gematria about the sentence above. The gematria value for the Hebrew expression “lamb of G-d” (שה האלהים – seh haElohim) is the same as the expression הישועה (hayeshuah – literally “the salvation”). So essentially Nephi is telling us that these people were indeed willfully rejecting the salvation of G-d. 7 For the time cometh, saith the Lamb of God, that I will work a great and marvelous work among the children of men; a work which shall be everlasting, either on the one hand or on the other—either to the convincing of them unto peace and life eternal, or unto the deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds unto their being brought down into captivity, and also into destruction, both temporally and spiritually, according to the captivity of the devil, of which I have spoken. In my search for the expression “great and marvelous” I came across the Hebrew translation of the New Testament, the expression “great and marvelous” is translated as “גדול ונורא” (gadol venorah) which indeed is a very likely translation. What is relevant about this is that this is the same expression that appears in the book of the prophet Joel chapter 2 (and also chapter 3 in the Jewish Bible counting). For example Joel 2:31 says: “The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.” So the word that is translated as “marvelous” appears to be more in the sense of wonder than as in something that the sons of men would necessarily perceive as enjoyable. This is confirmed by the rest of the verse which says that those who do not turn to G-d will be destroyed. In fact the word נורא (norah) could be translated as cataclysmic or even as catastrophic because the root of the word means “fear”. So it could be that these will be signs of great wrath against the sinners. It is interesting to understand what the gematria reveals us about these two words. The word gadol has the same numeric value of the word גיל (geil) which means joy. However the word norah has the same numeric value of the word לזכור (lezachor) which means to remember. So to the righteous this work will be a reason of great joy because it will mean that redemption at hand. To the wicked it will be as Nephi discussed earlier: a remembrance of G-d to remove the stumbling blocks. In other words G-d will reveal Himself in his full might. 8 And it came to pass that when the angel had spoken these words, he said unto me: Rememberest thou the covenants of the Father unto the house of Israel? I said unto him, Yea. 9 And it came to pass that he said unto me: Look, and behold that great and abominable church, which is the mother of abominations, whose founder is the devil. 10 And he said unto me: Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the bother is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth. Why is it that right after the angel asks if Nephi remembers the covenant of Israel he talks about the abominable assembly? The angel’s question makes use of the Semitic hermeneutic feature called the Remez (hint) as explained before. Let us look into it. Nephi being an Israelite knows that at the core of the covenant lies the following choice given by G-d in the Torah: “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants.” (Deuteronomy 30:19) About this the Talmud sages comment the following: “R. Hananel b. Papa said: What is meant by, Hear, for I will speak princely things: why are the words of the Torah compared to a prince? To tell you: just as a prince has power of life and death, so have the words of the Torah [potentialities] of life and death. Thus Raba said; To those who go to the right hand thereof it is a medicine of life; to those who go to the left hand thereof it is a deadly poison. Another interpretation: princely' [denotes] that on every word which went forth from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, two crowns were set.” (b. Shabbat 88b) So why is this revelant to us? The angel is revealing to Nephi that it is exactly those who reject the laws of G-d the ones who will fall prey to the wicked assembly and eventually turn to idol-worshiping. 11 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore of all the earth, and she sat upon many waters; and she had dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people. 12 And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers were few, because of the wickedness and abominations of the whore who sat upon many waters; nevertheless, I beheld that the church of the Lamb, who were the saints of God, were also upon all the face of the earth; and their dominions upon the face of the earth were small, because of the wickedness of the great whore whom I saw. Sitting upon the waters: In ancient Kabbalah the evil side of the spiritual world is called the Sitra Achra which is the Aramaic for “other side”. The spiritual powers of evil are called the “waters of the Other Side”. This can be seen in the Zohar as follows: “Happy is Israel who sow their seeds only beside the water, in order to subdue all kinds of water of the other side. As is written: "And they camped there by the water" (Shemot 15:27), MEANING over those waters that were under the branches of the tree of the Holy One, blessed be He, which are the treacherous waters, as is written before us.” (Zohar Beshalach 33:437) So on a deeper level of understanding this means that this group of leaders of the wicked assembly would establish their reign with the help of evil spiritual powers. It is possible that they would make use of the occult in order to spread their influence. The parallels between the spiritual war won by the Israelites as described in the Zohar and the prophecy of Nephi are striking. The Israelites who were also small in comparison to the evils that they were facing during the exodus from Egypt are similar to the people who would fight against the wicked assembly. 13 And it came to pass that I beheld that the great mother of abominations did gather together multitudes upon the face of all the earth, among all the nations of the Gentiles, to fight against the Lamb of God. 14 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory. Here we have the confirmation that indeed the Remez made by the angel in the verses above is truly what we had interpreted: Those who belonged to the wicked assembly were those who had chosen to reject the covenant of G-d. 15 And it came to pass that I beheld that the wrath of God was poured out upon that great and abominable church, insomuch that there were wars and rumors of wars among all the nations and kindreds of the earth. 16 And as there began to be wars and rumors of wars among all the nations which belonged to the mother of abominations, the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold, the wrath of God is upon the mother of harlots; and behold, thou seest all these things— 17 And when the day cometh that the wrath of God is poured out upon the mother of harlots, which is the great and abominable church of all the earth, whose founder is the devil, then, at that day, the work of the Father shall commence, in preparing the way for the fulfilling of his covenants, which he hath made to his people who are of the house of Israel. Wrath of G-d: In ancient Kabbalah the term “wrath of G-d” was used to refer to one of the angels of punishment. And it is exactly the angel that rules over idolatry. The knowledge that Nephi had of ancient Kabbalah is very evident. Thus the Zohar describes the angels of punishment: “The Faithful Shepherd said, it is written: "turned away My wrath”. What is the meaning of "turned away My wrath?" The answer is that this refers to three officials over Gehinom. One is over bloodshed, another over incest, and the third over idolatry, and they are called 'Destruction', 'Anger' and 'Wrath'. And the latter, Wrath, was flying through the world, and about it is said: "Turned away my wrath." He said, "turned away My wrath from the children of Israel," but He did not say "from the people," which would refer to the mixed multitude. For it is said, "And there fell of the people that day about three thousand men", where the meaning of “the people” is the mixed multitude. But there it does not say ‘turned away my wrath from the people,’ but rather “from the children of Israel.” This is to teach that the wrath was not turned away from the mixed multitude. For this is how we explained it, and we asked the holy luminary, that is, Rabbi Shimon.” (Zohar Pinchas 76:475) Notice that just like in Nephi’s visionas seen in the previous chapter, in the Zohar the mixed multitude does not get away from the wrath of G-d because of their mixing truth with idolatry. Nephi’s words also echo the Talmud’s prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem. In both cases the wrath comes after the people willfully rejected the message of the prophets and of the sages and refused to turn to G-d: “Rab Judah said: Jerusalem was destroyed only because scholars were despised therein: for it is said, but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy.” (b. Shabbat 119b)

29 And after these plain and precious things were taken away it goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles; and after it goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles, yea, even across the many waters which thou hast seen with the Gentiles which have gone forth out of captivity, thou seest—because of the many plain and precious things which have been taken out of the book, which were plain unto the understanding of the children of men, according to the plainness which is in the Lamb of God—because of these things which are taken away out of the gospel of the Lamb, an exceedingly great many do stumble, yea, insomuch that Satan hath great power over them. 30 Nevertheless, thou beholdest that the Gentiles who have gone forth out of captivity, and have been lifted up by the power of God above all other nations, upon the face of the land which is choice above all other lands, which is the land that the Lord God hath covenanted with thy father that his seed should have for the land of their inheritance; wherefore, thou seest that the Lord God will not suffer that the Gentiles will utterly destroy the mixture of thy seed, which are among thy brethren. Mixture of seed: As we have already seen the Torah-law forbid the mixing of seed. See Leviticus 19:19. It is important to understand the the Bible is not being racist. Any person could marry an Israelite as long as they converted to the G-d of Israel. What is forbidden was to marry someone who would not convert. So here when Nephi talks about the destruction of mixed seeds one must understand this as an Israelite that has forsaken his heritage and gotten involved in idolatry. 31 Neither will he suffer that the Gentiles shall destroy the seed of thy brethren. 32 Neither will the Lord God suffer that the Gentiles shall forever remain in that awful state of blindness, which thou beholdest they are in, because of the plain and most precious parts of the gospel of the Lamb which have been kept back by that abominable church, whose formation thou hast seen. State of blindness: It is interesting because Nephi is citing an ancient Jewish form of understanding that spiritual blindess stems from mixing with idolatry. In its explanation about the passage that says that the eyes of Israel were dim the Zohar goes on to say: “they were defiled among the nations IN EXILE, and did not follow the laws of the Torah as they should have. They sat a long while among the gentiles, generation after generation, and learned their ways” (Zohar Vayechi 14:101) 33 Wherefore saith the Lamb of God: I will be merciful unto the Gentiles, unto the visiting of the remnant of the house of Israel in great judgment. This is similar to Jewish eschatology which says that in the great judgment the Messiah will also reign upon the Gentiles: “Then the seventh window will be opened to the whole world, and its star is the star of Jacob. This is what Bila'am said, "There shall come a star out of Jacob", and this star will illuminate for forty days. When King Messiah will be revealed and all the nations of the world will gather before him, this passage will be fulfilled: "That the root of Yishai, that stands for a banner of the peoples, to it shall the nations seek, and his resting place shall be glorious".” (Zohar Terumah 86:860) 34 And it came to pass that the angel of the Lord spake unto me, saying: Behold, saith the Lamb of God, after I have visited the remnant of the house of Israel—and this remnant of whom I speak is the seed of thy father—wherefore, after I have visited them in judgment, and smitten them by the hand of the Gentiles, and after the Gentiles do stumble exceedingly, because of the most plain and precious parts of the gospel of the Lamb which have been kept back by that abominable church, which is the mother of harlots, saith the Lamb—I will be merciful unto the Gentiles in that day, insomuch that I will bring forth unto them, in mine own power, much of my gospel, which shall be plain and precious, saith the Lamb. 35 For, behold, saith the Lamb: I will manifest myself unto thy seed, that they shall write many things which I shall minister unto them, which shall be plain and precious; and after thy seed shall be destroyed, and dwindle in unbelief, and also the seed of thy brethren, behold, these things shall be hid up, to come forth unto the Gentiles, by the gift and power of the Lamb. 36 And in them shall be written my agospel, saith the Lamb, and my brock and my salvation. There seems to also be an similar prophecy in the Book of Enoch that in the end of times there would be books which would be found and which would assist in the return of the nations to the ways of G-d: “Then, I know another mystery, that books will be given to the righteous and the 13 wise to become a cause of joy and uprightness and much wisdom. And to them shall the books be given, and they shall believe in them and rejoice over them, and then shall all the righteous who have learnt therefrom all the paths of uprightness be recompensed.'” (1 Enoch 104:12-13) 37 And blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at that day, for they shall have the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost; and if they endure unto the end they shall be lifted up at the last day, and shall be saved in the everlasting kingdom of the Lamb; and whoso shall publish peace, yea, tidings of great joy, how beautiful upon the mountains shall they be. 38 And it came to pass that I beheld the remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also the book of the Lamb of God, which had proceeded forth from the mouth of the Jew, that it came forth from the Gentiles unto the remnant of the seed of my brethren. It is also important to understand that in Jewish eschatology a book may also refer to the accounts of a person’s deeds as well as the promises and vows one has made unto G-d. The Talmud describes this as follows: “The grandson of R. Jannai the Elder came before him Said he to him, 'Had you known that [when you vow] your ledger is opened [in heaven] and your deeds examined — would you have vowed?” (b. Nedarim 22a) 39 And after it had come forth unto them I beheld other books, which came forth by the power of the Lamb, from the Gentiles unto them, unto the convincing of the Gentiles and the remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also the Jews who were scattered upon all the face of the earth, that the records of the prophets and of the twelve apostles of the Lamb are true. Unlike most of Christianity, Judaism doesn’t believe in a notion that the Holy Spirit cannot inspire any additional literature. For instance the commentaries of Rashi are considered to be inspired. The concept of canon in Judaism is much different from the one in Christianity. For example, whereas Christians tend to hold all books as equal in importance Judaism sees the Torah – that is the books of Moses – as bearing the greatest authority. Also whereas Christians mostly believe that the Bible is the only book which is authoritative over the entire people the same is not true with Judaism. Our sages have throughout history ruled that certain writings are authoritative over all Jews. One of the most recent examples is the Tanya which is the central piece of the Chassidic movement. 40 And the angel spake unto me, saying: These last records, which thou hast seen among the Gentiles, shall establish the truth of the first, which are of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, and shall make known the plain and precious things which have been taken away from them; and shall make known to all kindreds, tongues, and people, that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the world; and that all men must come unto him, or they cannot be saved. 41 And they must come according to the words which shall be established by the mouth of the Lamb; and the words of the Lamb shall be made known in the records of thy seed, as well as in the records of the twelve apostles of the Lamb; wherefore they both shall be established in one; for there is one God and one Shepherd over all the earth. And the time cometh that he shall manifest himself unto all nations, both unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles; and after he has manifested himself unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles, then he shall manifest himself unto the Gentiles and also unto the Jews, and the last shall be first, and the first shall be last. Messiah as the Shepherd: The idea of the Messiah as the shepherd actually predates Christianity. One of the titles of Moses in Jewish Literature is “the faithful shepherd” because he conducted the people to the land of promise. Now because the Messiah is a prophet like Moses then the Messiah also inherits the title of “faithful shepherd” because King Messiah will lead Israel back to living in the promised land forever. The Zohar comments on the Messiah being called “faithful shepherd” by saying: “Until Shiloh comes, where the numerical value of Shiloh is the same as that of Moses, who is the Faithful Shepherd” (Zohar Pinchas 95:651) Considering that Shiloh is the Messiah, the sent one, then the Messiah also has this title.

This was actually 9 pages long so I really hope you find it useful: 1 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld many nations and kingdoms. 2 And the angel said unto me: What beholdest thou? And I said: I behold many nations and kingdoms. Many nations and kingdoms: This expression should not be taken lightly. The reference to “many nations” likely implies that these are descendants of Abraham for it is written in Genesis 17:4: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be the father of a multitude of nations.” The word kingdom in Hebrew could be ממלכה (mamlachah) or מלכות (malchut). This mentioning of Nephi would have great relevance in ancient Kabbalah. Because Malchut represents the lowest form of manifestation of G-d’s attributes. That is those manifestations that are visible to us in the form of those who choose to live his kingdom. Rabbi Yosef Caro says thus: “Malchut represents the authority of G-d, and dedicating oneself to malchut means accepting upon oneself the Yoke of Heaven.” So Malchut represents committing yourself to serving G-d. Think of this as an entry level: When one says something like: “OK, there’s a G-d above me and I will follow Him.” This doesn’t mean the person has achieved any higher spiritual maturity yet. So when Nephi says that there were many kingdoms this spiritually would be interpreted as meaning that each group of people were following their own interests and were failing to even acknowledge G-d. As descendants of Abraham this would have been the minimum expected of them and yet they were failing. 3 And he said unto me: These are the nations and kingdoms of the Gentiles. 4 And it came to pass that I saw among the nations of the Gentiles the formation of a great church. Considering that the word “church” usually refers to an assembly there are several possible Hebrew words that could be underlying such an expression. But considering that this is a “great” church there is one that catches our attention. This seems to be a counterfeit form of the Great Assembly (כנסת הגדולה‎ - Knesset haGedolah) which Ezra organized to reestablish the Jewish faith after the exile. The Mishnah tells us that the prophets of old passed on the knowledge of the traditions of Israel to the Men of the Great Assembly. Whereas the purpose of the Great Assembly was to preserve the laws of G-d after captivity the purpose of this counterfeit Great Assembly seems the very opposite: To forward abomination and to bring the people into captivity. 5 And the angel said unto me: Behold the formation of a church which is most abominable above all other churches, which slayeth the saints of God, yea, and tortureth them and bindeth them down, and yoketh them with a yoke of iron, and bringeth them down into captivity. Yoke of iron: Iron in Jewish thought represents destruction and shortening of life. So a yoke of iron would represent that this church would impose on the people the burden of constantly persecuting and destroying their lives. 6 And it came to pass that I beheld this great and abominable church; and I saw the devil that he was the founder of it. Again we should remember how the word שעיר (seir - “devil”) in Hebrew literature is connected with demons that promote idol worship. Please see earlier commentaries for further information. But it is important to notice that a 600BC Israelite would understand the expression very differently from a 21st century Christian. Abomination is also most commonly used in the Jewish Bible with connection to idolatry. Therefore an abominable assembly founded by the devil would be understood as a group of people that practiced idol worshipping rather heavily. 7 And I also saw gold, and silver, and silks, and scarlets, and fine-twined linen, and all manner of precious clothing; and I saw many harlots. 8 And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the gold, and the silver, and the silks, and the scarlets, and the fine-twined linen, and the precious clothing, and the harlots, are the desires of this great and abominable church. Garments: In Jewish though one’s garments are related to how one chooses to live his life. In Chassidut the garments of the soul are considered to be thought, speech and action. So what one chooses to think or how one chooses to talk or even how one acts these are all the garments of his soul. The Zohar speaks of the garments as a reflection of one’s deeds: “It follows from this that it is a person's bad deeds that make the filthy garments for him. "And he said to him, 'Behold I have caused your iniquity to pass from you; and I clothe you in festive garments'. For they clothed him in other more suitable garments, in which a person may observe the splendor of his Master's honor.” (Zohar Pinchas 7:25) So it is important that we analyze what the garments of this group of abominable people represent so that we may understand their deeds. Gold and silver and silk: This to a Jewish reader would be understood as the garments of kings. The Zohar for example says: “The “best clothes" means kingly garments of silk and gold, and it is the custom of the world to store them in spices and scents, because of the preciousness of the garments.” (Zohar Bo 7:153) So the idea that they were wearing such precious clothing as Nephi says is that these people gathering for idolatry would be associated with the kingship of the kingdoms that Nephi saw before. If this refers to a religious group then it certainly means that the group enjoyed great political power. Scarlet: As explained before it is a Jewish tradition based on Isaiah 1:18 that the color scarlet represents stains of sin. Therefore this group dressing in scarlet would represent that they were guilty of several great sins. Fine-twined linen: As we have already seen linen was symbolic of purity. There is however an important word-play because in Hebrew the verb לפתול (liftol – to twine) can also mean “to distort”. Therefore this group of people were likely distorting the purity of faith to fit their own interests. Harlotry: In Jewish literature the term “harlotry” is used to refer to those who exchange G-d for serving foreign gods. This can be seen in Jeremiah 3:6 for example. 9 And also for the praise of the world do they destroy the saints of God, and bring them down into captivity. There is a word-play here that should be observed. The Psalms 113 through 118 are actually part of a collection called the הלל (Hallel – which literally means “Praise”). These Psalms are usually recited in the Jewish High Holidays to commemorate that G-d has delivered the Israelites from captivity. Now re-read the angel’s last sentence and notice how he refers to a “hallel” (praise) of the world for bringing Israelites into captivity. That is the very opposite of what the real “hallel” is supposed to mean and displays the wickedness of this abominable assembly. 10 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld many waters; and they divided the Gentiles from the seed of my brethren. 11 And it came to pass that the angel said unto me: Behold the wrath of God is upon the seed of thy brethren. 12 And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land. 13 And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the many waters. Divided by waters: There are three very important aspects referred to by the waters in Nephi’s vision. First of all it must be understood that waters in Jewish thought are symbolic of concealment. Rabbi Yanki Tauber in his article “Murky Waters” says: “"Everything that exists on land," says the Talmud, "also exists in the sea." The Kabbalists apply this law in a broader sense as well, explaining that the whole of reality can be divided into two realms: "the revealed worlds" and "the hidden worlds."” So when Nephi sees the many waters that separated the seed of his brethren then this means that the seed of his brethren would be concealed. A great possibility for this is the fact that the exile would bring assimilation and thus they would lose track of their Israelite origin. The waters also divided the kingdoms of Israel namely the 10 lost tribes from the remaining of the Israelites. The Midrash says that the 10 lost tribes were separated from the remaining of the Israelites by a great body of water: “R. Judah b. Simon said: "The tribes of Judah and Benjamin were not exiled to the same place as the ten tribes; for the latter were transported beyond the River Sambation." (Bereshit Rabbah 73) There have been many legends concerning the River Sambation and the idea that the tribes could have crossed the Atlantic is not an exclusively LDS idea. The third possible important reference is that the seas are also used in Jewish Apocalyptic literature to refer to the separations in the spirit world. For example the spirit prisons would be separated from the Garden of Eden by a great sea and so would the different levels in heaven. This is seen in the Book of Enoch: “And such a division has been make (for) the spirits of the righteous, in which there is the bright spring of water. And such has been made for sinners when they die and are buried in the earth and judgement has not been executed on them in their lifetime” (1 Enoch 22:9-11) 14 And it came to pass that I beheld many multitudes of the Gentiles upon the land of promise; and I beheld the wrath of God, that it was upon the seed of my brethren; and they were scattered before the Gentiles and were smitten. 15 And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance; and I beheld that they were white, and exceedingly fair and beautiful, like unto my people before they were slain. White: There are several words in Hebrew that can be translated into “white”. Most of them such as צח (tzach), זך (zach), טהור (tahor) and בהיר (bahir) carry a sense of purity. There is therefore no reason to suppose that Nephi’s remark has any racial connotation whatsoever. 16 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was with them. It is interesting that Nephi mentions Gentiles going out of captivity. This could be a reference to the 10 lost tribes which according to Judaism were considered Gentiles because they completely lost their Israelite identity during captivity. 17 And I beheld that their mother Gentiles were gathered together upon the waters, and upon the land also, to battle against them. Upon the waters and upon the land: In ancient Kabbalah as stated before the waters and the land are symbolical of the two realities that we have to deal with: the spiritual world which is concealed and the physical world which is revealed. Rabbi Yanki Tauber (ibid) says about this: “The sea is the mystical twin of land. The sea has mountains and canyons, rivers and weather systems, and living organisms of every type and form imaginable; but everything is submerged within its watery depths, almost completely hidden from inquisitive eyes (we know more about the surface of the moon than we do about the ocean-floors of our own planet). By the same token, the physical world is mirrored by a hidden spiritual universe, and our conscious mind is but a reflection of the hidden, sub-conscious chambers of our souls.” So what do we make of this affirmation of Nephi? We can see that the wars against those from among the Gentiles who had turned to G-d would be fought both physically through literal persecution as well as in the spiritual world. 18 And I beheld that the power of God was with them, and also that the wrath of God was upon all those that were gathered together against them to battle. 19 And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity were delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations. 20 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that they did prosper in the land; and I beheld a book, and it was carried forth among them. Once again we have as in the previous chapters a reference to the Jewish Holiday of שמחת תורה (Simchat Torah). As said before, during this Holiday the Torah scrolls paraded among the people representing the prophecy given by Isaiah: “And many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths." For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 2:3) 21 And the angel said unto me: Knowest thou the meaning of the book? 22 And I said unto him: I know not. 23 And he said: Behold it proceedeth out of the mouth of a Jew. And I, Nephi, beheld it; and he said unto me: The book that thou beholdest is a record of the Jews, which contains the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; and it also containeth many of the prophecies of the holy prophets; and it is a record like unto the engravings which are upon the plates of brass, save there are not so many; nevertheless, they contain the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; wherefore, they are of great worth unto the Gentiles. Indeed this prophecy came true as the Jewish Bible known as the תנך – Tanach – which is the short form of Torah (law) Neviim (prophets) and Ketuvim (writings). This corresponds to the Old Testament section of the Bible and is in great part responsible for the spreading of Monotheism. 24 And the angel of the Lord said unto me: Thou hast beheld that the book proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew; and when it proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew it contained the fulness of the gospel of the Lord, of whom the twelve apostles bear record; and they bear record according to the truth which is in the Lamb of God. 25 Wherefore, these things go forth from the Jews in purity unto the Gentiles, according to the truth which is in God. 26 And after they go forth by the hand of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, from the Jews unto the Gentiles, thou seest the formation of that great and abominable church, which is most abominable above all other churches; for behold, they have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious; and also many covenants of the Lord have they taken away. Covenants taken away: Although I will refrain from commenting on the portion which refers to taking away from the gospel which I understand to mean the New Testament, I would like to comment on the taking away of the covenants. This in part reflects a Jewish feeling when Christianity takes several prophecies and promises that were made to Israel and make it apply to Christianity itself and yet is unwilling to take upon itself the same covenant of obedience unto the Torah-law that the Jewish people has taken. Israel has suffered greatly because of the preservation of the Torah. Theology aside when Christians apply such promises to themselves without the same level of commitment it feels to the Jewish people like an attempt to have only the good part of the covenant. 27 And all this have they done that they might pervert the right ways of the Lord, that they might blind the eyes and harden the hearts of the children of men. 28 Wherefore, thou seest that after the book hath gone forth through the hands of the great and abominable church, that there are many plain and precious things taken away from the book, which is the book of the Lamb of God. Plain things taken away: This is expression is very Jewish in its nature. Jewish hermeneutics is called the “Pardes” system which is an acronym for the number of levels in which Scripture is to be interpreted. These are the levels: Peshat: Literally the “plain” or “simple” meaning of Scripture. This would be the literal reading of the message. Remez: Literally means “hint”. Think of this as the signs given by small things such as the gematria (numeric value) of the words as well as the number of times a word is repeated or even an alternative spelling done on purpose. These are the keys to messages that require a more profound study than simply reading the plain text. Drash: Literally means “allegory”. This is when you use a passage of the Bible allegorically to reach a more profound level of meaning. Most of the commentaries to Scripture found in the caves of Qumran are drashic prophecies for example. Sod: Literally means “secret”. This is the deeper spiritual reality of the text. It is mostly what Kabbalah occupies itself with. Why is this so important? Because the most basic rule of Jewish hermeneutics is that no interpretation can take away from the Peshat. For example if the Torah says that Moses ordered the burning of the Red Heifer we cannot use the other levels to explain away the fact. In other words “the plain meaning cannot be taken away.” Jewish people have always known that if you “taking away the plain (Peshat)” is the key to heresy.

I have some spare time so I'm moving on with my studies. Hope you enjoy them: :) 1 And it came to pass that the angel said unto me: Look, and behold thy seed, and also the seed of thy brethren. And I looked and beheld the land of promise; and I beheld multitudes of people, yea, even as it were in number as many as the sand of the sea. Multitudes of people: What is most fascinating about this expression is that in Genesis 48:19 when the same promise is given to the tribe of Joseph through Ephraim the Hebrew reads מלא הגוים (meloh hagoyim). The word meloh can mean multitude but it can also mean fullness. And the word goyim can mean peoples but it can also mean gentiles. So this expression could read “fullness of the gentiles”. This cannot be a coincidence. In chapter 10 Nephi mentions the fullness of the revelation of the gentiles as a condition to happen before the regathering of Israel. It is likely that Nephi makes a connection between their own descendants and the fullness of the revelation that would happen in the times before the regathering of Israel. 2 And it came to pass that I beheld multitudes gathered together to battle, one against the other; and I beheld wars, and rumors of wars, and great slaughters with the sword among my people. 3 And it came to pass that I beheld many generations pass away, after the manner of wars and contentions in the land; and I beheld many cities, yea, even that I did not number them. Slaughter with the sword: Why does Nephi bother to mention that the slaughter would be with the sword? Considering how we have seen that the symbolism of sword in Jewish thought represents the word of G-d it could be that Nephi was saying that those in his people who would perish would be for not following the word of G-d. There’s also possibly interesting word-play in the Hebrew with the word “city” which in Hebrew is עיר (yir). One of the interesting features in Hebrew is the permutation of letters. Scribes often change the order of the letters to convey an additional layer of meaning. Notice how Nephi uses the expression “I beheld” a great deal in this passage. With the same letters of the word “city” you can write the word רעי (roi) which means “my shepherd”. Why is this relevant? Because the word “shepherd” in Hebrew is literally “he who sees”, or even perhaps “he who beholds”. This could reveal that Nephi felt that he had the duty of a shepherd with the future generations that would be scattered by these wars and felt that his visions could serve as a guide for them. 4 And it came to pass that I saw a mist of darkness on the face of the land of promise; and I saw lightnings, and I heard thunderings, and earthquakes, and all manner of tumultuous noises; and I saw the earth and the rocks, that they rent; and I saw mountains tumbling into pieces; and I saw the plains of the earth, that they were broken up; and I saw many cities that they were sunk; and I saw many that they were burned with fire; and I saw many that did tumble to the earth, because of the quaking thereof. To fully understand this verse it is important to understand as stated before that when there is a sin the punishment or the atonement usually are related to the sin. The interpretation below doesn’t mean the events aren’t literal but yet offer a possible spiritual interpretation according to Hebrew thought: Darkness, Thunder and Lightning: One of the prayers recited in the Jewish New Year says the following: “In thunder and lightning You were revealed to them, and with the sound of the horn You appeared to them, as it is written in Your Torah.” The thunder in Jewish thought represents the fierceness of the wind. Bear in mind that the word for “wind” in Hebrew is the word רוח (ruach) which is also exactly the same word as “spirit”. Also remember that in Hebrew the word “hear” and the word “obey” are the same word. So because they did not hear or obey the voice of the Spirit then they were punished with hearing thunders. As for the lightning in Hebrew it is the word ברק (barak) which can also mean shining. The shining of light is figurative in Scripture for living in obedience to the word of G-d. Now what happens with the people when they don’t proceed as such? Light becomes darkness and the shining which was something meant to edify becomes lightning which comes to destroy. Tumultuous noises: There is a word-play only evident in Hebrew because the word “tumult” in Hebrew is רעש (raash). Once again if you apply a permutation of letters you have רשע (rasha) which means wicked. So the noises they were hearing is because their own wickedness made them give ears to other words which didn’t come from G-d. Rocks rent: The verb to rend in Hebrew is לקרוע (lekeroah) which also means “to form a schism or division”. The rock symbolizes the word of G-d. So perhaps this punishment has to do with people being divisive over the word of G-d because of their own personal agenda. Mountains tumbling: As said before mountains represent idolatry so the idea of mountains tumbling would symbolize that those who put their trusts in idols would be brought to shame. Broken plains: Another evident word-play in Hebrew. The word plain is בקעה (bikah) and the verb to break or split is לבקע (lebakeiah). In Jewish thought a “plain” symbolizes someone with no good or special attributes. This means those people who put absolutely no efford in their religious experience. Cities sinking: The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of such an event is the earth opening its mouth and swallowing a city like the episode that occurred with Korah when he rebelled against Moses. About this Rabbi Avigdor Miller used to teach that the earth opened its mouth because Korah opened his. In other words the punishment of being swallowed by the earth came as a result of the sins of the mouth. So this could likely mean that those cities were blaspheming against G-d. Burning with fire: Fire represents the very essence of G-d. When you put metal inside a fire what is good remains and that which is unclean burns. Those who were burned with fire were those who failed to purify themselves in order to enter the presence of G-d but attempted to enter anyway. Earthquake: In Jewish literature the earthquakes are the punishment inflicted upon the nations for the sufferings of the children of G-d such as described in the Talmud: “When the Holy One, blessed be He, calls to mind His children, who are plunged in suffering among the nations of the world, He lets fall two tears into the ocean, and the sound is heard from one end of the world to the other, and that is the rumbling.” (b. Berachot 59a) 5 And it came to pass after I saw these things, I saw the vapor of darkness, that it passed from off the face of the earth; and behold, I saw multitudes who had not fallen because of the great and terrible judgments of the Lord. Vapor of darkness: Rashi when commenting on Proverbs 21:6 compares the vapor of the lying tongue to the snares of death. I believe that a similar imagery would apply at this point. 6 And I saw the heavens open, and the Lamb of God descending out of heaven; and he came down and showed himself unto them. 7 And I also saw and bear record that the Holy Ghost fell upon twelve others; and they were ordained of God, and chosen. 8 And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the Twelve Disciples of the Lamb, who are chosen to minister unto thy seed. If we consider what we saw at the very beginning of the chapter how the seed of Nephi was associated with the fullness of the gentiles then this verse gains an additional layer of meaning. 9 And he said unto me: Thou rememberest the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb? Behold they are they who shall bjudge the twelve tribes of Israel; wherefore, the twelve ministers of thy seed shall be judged of them; for ye are of the house of Israel. 10 And these twelve ministers whom thou beholdest shall judge thy seed. And, behold, they are righteous forever; for because of their faith in the Lamb of God their garments are made white in his blood. 11 And the angel said unto me: Look! And I looked, and beheld athree generations pass away in righteousness; and their garments were white even like unto the Lamb of God. And the angel said unto me: These are made white in the blood of the Lamb, because of their faith in him. As we have already discussed before the white garments also represent the mourning of death. So at the same time that it conveys purity it also conveys the sadness for the death of their Messiah. It is also important to notice that it is a very Jewish belief that a righteous person may die to atone for the sins of an unrighteous generation: “But it sometimes happens that the righteous are inflicted with diseases throughout their lives in order to protect the generation, at a time when the sins are heavier. When the righteous die, then everything is healed, and atoned for.” (Zohar Pinchas 15:113) 12 And I, Nephi, also saw many of the fourth generation who passed away in righteousness. Why would Nephi mention the fourth generation separate from the others? The number four in Jewish imagery is important on many levels. One of them is that it is associated with the Holy Jewish Calendar because the Jewish Calendar relies on the observation of the heavenly lights that were created on the 4th day. So when Nephi makes a separate mention of this fourth generation he is telling the reader that the chronology of events that would befall upon his people had been foreordained by G-d himself. 13 And it came to pass that I saw the multitudes of the earth gathered together. 14 And the angel said unto me: Behold thy seed, and also the seed of thy brethren. 15 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the people of my seed gathered together in multitudes against the seed of my brethren; and they were gathered together to battle. 16 And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the fountain of filthy water which thy father saw; yea, even the river of which he spake; and the depths thereof are the depths of hell. It is interesting that the word hell as said before is the Hebrew word גיהינום (geihinom) which originally was a valley outside Jerusalem considered a place of great filth both physically and spiritually. So you can see where the fountain of filthy water imagery comes from. 17 And the mists of darkness are the temptations of the devil, which blindeth the eyes, and hardeneth the hearts of the children of men, and leadeth them away into broad roads, that they perish and are lost. 18 And the large and spacious building, which thy father saw, is vain imaginations and the pride of the children of men. And a great and a terrible gulf divideth them; yea, even the word of the justice of the Eternal God, and the Messiah who is the Lamb of God, of whom the Holy Ghost beareth record, from the beginning of the world until this time, and from this time henceforth and forever. You can clearly see the Hebrew concept of time measuring expressed here. As stated before the word עולם (olam) which means world or interpretatively could also mean universe is used as a way of measuring time. Time was measured by the duration of the created world. To a reader that bears in mind the Greek way of thinking about eternity the words of Nephi not only make little sense but also seem like an unnecessary waste of space. But if you apply the Hebrew logic you have the following timeline: The beginning of the world until this time: That is, the current duration of this world. From this time henceforth: Most likely the original would read something like the expression מעולם ועד עולם (meolam vead olam) found in Psalm 103 and which literally means “from (this) world until (the next) world”. And forever: This would read like “and unto the next world”. Most of Jewish eschatology concerns itself only with this world and the next creation. Nephi is attempting to say that even further then that the justice of G-d would still last. 19 And while the angel spake these words, I beheld and saw that the seed of my brethren did contend against my seed, according to the word of the angel; and because of the pride of my seed, and the temptations of the devil, I beheld that the seed of my brethren did overpower the people of my seed. 20 And it came to pass that I beheld, and saw the people of the seed of my brethren that they had overcome my seed; and they went forth in multitudes upon the face of the land. The word temptation in Hebrew is פיתוי (pitui) which means seduction or attraction. We have already seen how the word “devil” in Jewish writings is connected to the worship of pagan gods. So it could be that the descendants of Nephi would be lured into the worship of other gods or to some kind of pagan religious practices. 21 And I saw them gathered together in multitudes; and I saw wars and rumors of wars among them; and in wars and rumors of wars I saw many generations pass away. 22 And the angel said unto me: Behold these shall dwindle in unbelief. 23 And it came to pass that I beheld, after they had dwindled in unbelief they became a dark, and loathsome, and a filthy people, full of idleness and all manner of abominations. It is important to understand that in Hebrew there is a special word used for Negros. A Negro in Hebrew is called a כושי (cushi) which is often translated as cushite. The most likely word used here is חשוך (chashur) which would translate quite literally as “shadowy”. A dark man would be called something like “גבר כהה” (gever keiheh). The word likely used here probably matches expressions otherwise seen in Jewish literature such as the בני חושך (bnei choshech – sons of darkness) found in the Qumran literature. This would mean those who deliberately opposed to living the law of G-d. As a side note about the issue of racism it is important to note that dark skin was a common feature amongst Israelites and never seen as an issue. So when the BoM says later on that their skin became dark as a mark of sin it must be understood that it doesn’t mean all the skin became black. It most likely means that the skins developed large dark spots. In ancient Israel there was a disease called צרעת (tzaraat) which is modernly translated as leprousy but had nothing to do with leprousy as we know it. According to our sages and as seen in Numbers 12:10 this disease came as a consequence to the sins of speech such as slander and blasphemy. This disease no longer exists but its main feature was to develop spots that looked like the person was really marked. The spots were of the opposite color of the person’s skin meaning that if the person was white then their skin became covered with black spots whereas when the person’s skin was darker (which is what most people was in such times) then the skin developed white spots. These marks were warnings that the people must stay away from them until they repented. It was not the color of the skin that determined that the person had a spiritual disease but rather the presence of such spot marks. So I believe that the accusation that the BoM is somehow racist is ignorant and misses the point that such a disease already existed and was not about changing a person’s racial status but rather it gave people spots that were clearly seen by others. The Talmud explains this further: “R. Hisda has said that a white spot on black skin or a black spot on white skin is a mark of disease.3 They examined and found that it was so.” (b. Gittin 68a)

OK I googled this one up because I ended up with two possible alternatives. It's the name of a land is it not? It could have several origins. I would suggest that the first part is derived from שער (shaar) which in Hebrew means gate. There are other options like שאר (shear) which means remainder. It could even come from שר (sar) which means prince or ruler. The second part could come from ער (az) which means strong which could mean the city of the strong gate. Or the double "r" could suggest a double ר with the second one being רז (raz) which means mystery. So it could mean "mystery gate". Given that the צ though really sounding like tz tends to be transliterated as a z it could also be רץ (ratz) which could mean herald or runner. So again you could have something like "gate of the herald". Let's not also rule out ארז (erez) which means cedar. Though cedar I don't think would occur in the Americas it could have been a similar tree. Or it could even be something like ארץ (eretz) which simply means land. And last but not least if this is a one-word only it could derive from שרץ (sheretz) which means reptile. As you can see there are many possibilities. And I'm pretty sure I must have missed some as well. :) b'shalom!

Volgadon is absolutely right! :) However for our non-Jewish friends I believe some clarification is in order about how different or how similar Jewish communities may be. When it comes to Judaism one has to understand it is a faith of many layers. Now here are the basic layers of our practices: 1- Mitzvot d'Oraita This is a hybrid Hebrew-Aramaic expression that literally means "commandments of the law". This is the kernel of our religion. However, the law divides itself into two parts. 1.1- Torah Shebiktav Literally the "law that is in writing". This refers to the laws that have been written and can be found in the Pentateuch. 1.2- Torah Shebalpeh Literally the "law that is in the mouth". This refers to the laws that Moses gave our people but were preserved orally from generation to generation. It can be found within the writings of the Mishnah mostly. 2 - Mitzvot d'Rabbanan Another hybrid Hebrew-Aramaic expression that literally means "commandments of the rabbis". This refers to laws that were established by our rabbis. It gets much deeper than this but suffice it to say that it refers to most of the traditions of old and of fences to protect the Torah which became accepted and binding unto all Israel. Up to this point there are no difference among the main Jewish communities all around the world except for the revisionists such as Reform or Conservative but that's a whole different story. 3 - Halachah Literally means "walk" and refers to the HOW we keep the Torah. For example: The Torah says don't work on Shabbat. Our sages have interpreted the kinds of work. But how would you apply this to the modern world? For example you have the prohibition of having someone work for you on Shabbat. This is viewed differently by Sepharadic and Ashkenazi Jews. So halachah can have some degree of variation from one community to the other however the goal is always the same: How do we keep the mitzvot to the best of our abilities. Still over time it often happens that halachah gets a wider acceptance so you will find more similiarities than in the minhagim which is the next item. 4 - Minhag Literally means "custom" and refers basically to the cultural aspects of each communtiy. This could refer for example to some differences in liturgy, the way a Jew dresses, some aspects of synagogue life and even typical food served on Jewish holidays. This 4th bit varies a great deal from community to community. To the outsider because of the different minhagim two Jewish communities may seem as different as chalk and cheese but if you look deeper than that you will see the similaries. The underlying laws, principles and symbolized elements of our faith essentially remain the same. Hope this clears it up a bit. If I have forgotten something my other Jewish fellows please do feel free to complement. :) b'shalom!

28 And I beheld that he went forth ministering unto the people, in power and great glory; and the multitudes were gathered together to hear him; and I beheld that they cast him out from among them. 29 And I also beheld twelve others following him. And it came to pass that they were carried away in the Spirit from before my face, and I saw them not. As before, the carrying away would likely indicate persecution and expulsion perhaps leading to some kind of exile. 30 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the heavens open again, and I saw angels descending upon the children of men; and they did minister unto them. Angels descending: This would have been understood in the Semitic minds as a reference to a time of judgement. This can be seen for example in the book of Enoch 100:4: “In those days the angels shall descend into the secret places and gather together into one place all those who brought down sin and the Most High will arise on that day of judgement to execute great judgement amongst sinners.” Perhaps this message would be understood as a consolation for those who waited in G-d’s ways. 31 And he spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the Lamb of God going forth among the children of men. And I beheld multitudes of people who were sick, and who were afflicted with all manner of diseases, and with devils and unclean spirits; and the angel spake and showed all these things unto me. And they were healed by the power of the Lamb of God; and the devils and the unclean spirits were cast out. Devils: In Hebrew שעירים (seirim – hairy ones) refers to a class of demons that were worshipped in ancient Canaan. In Jewish literature they are often related to the descendants of Esau given the fact that Esau was called the hairy one. Usually people oppressed by such spirits are those who engage in idolatry. Unclean spirits: Most likely in Hebrew רוחות רעות (ruchot raot – literally evil spirits) referred to several kinds of spirits which the rabbis of the Talmud identified as the ones which brought physical symptoms to those they oppressed. This is why Nephi mentions them in connection to diseases. 32 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was ataken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the world; and I saw and bear record. 33 And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world. Even though this later on became a belief that was frowned upon because of the rise of Christianity in ancient Kabbalah it was a well-known belief that Messiah would suffer for the sins of Israel as can be seen in the Zohar: “In the Garden of Eden there is one temple called the temple of the sick. The Messiah enters that temple, and calls upon all the diseases, the pains and agonies of Israel to descend upon him. And they all descend upon him. But for him, who eases them off Israel and takes them upon himself, no man would have been able to bear the sufferings of Israel for the punishments of the Torah. This is the meaning of "he has borne our sicknesses.” (Zohar Vayachel 24:336) The great surprise for the listeners would be the fact that the Messiah would suffer for the whole world. 34 And after he was slain I saw the multitudes of the earth, that they were gathered together to fight against the apostles of the Lamb; for thus were the twelve called by the angel of the Lord. 35 And the multitude of the earth was gathered together; and I beheld that they were in a large and spacious building, like unto the building which my father saw. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Behold the world and the wisdom thereof; yea, behold the house of Israel hath gathered together to fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 36 And it came to pass that I saw and bear record, that the great and spacious building was the pride of the world; and it fell, and the fall thereof was exceedingly great. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Indeed it is Jewish tradition that the coming of Messiah would also incite the wrath of the nations. A very similar passage is described in ancient Kabbalah: “After twelve months, Messiah will be elevated within that pillar to the sky, and there he will receive the power and crown of the Kingdom. And when he descends to the earth, that pillar of fire will again appear as originally, before the eyes of the whole world. Afterwards, Messiah will appear and many nations will gather to him and he will wage wars throughout the entire world. At that time the Holy One, blessed be He, will rise with His might against all the nations of the world. Messiah will be publicly known throughout the world, and all the kings of the world will join together to do battle with Him.” (Zohar Shemot 15:103)

Vanhin rejoice! (LOL) Here's chapter 11. Indeed it was a most interesting chapter though also so rich in imagery that I am quite tired after studying it: 1 For it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly high mountain, which I never had before seen, and upon which I never had before set my foot. High mountain: In ancient Mesopotamia a high mountain was the place where the gods were worshipped because it was believed to be the closest places to heaven from an earthly perspective. This theme is found all throughout the Jewish Bible. When Nephi says that he was taken to an exceedingly high mountain upon which he had never set foot before it means two things: #1# The mountain being exceedingly high shows that there is no other G-d besides the G-d that Nephi worshipped. #2# The fact that he had never set foot on it would be understood as Nephi having received such a profound level of closeness to G-d that he had never experienced before. 2 And the Spirit said unto me: Behold, what desirest thou? 3 And I said: I desire to behold the things which my father saw. Why would the Spirit ask what Nephi desired? Jewish tradition says that our level of relationship with G-d meets its limit on how much of a relationship our heart desires. About this very fact the Talmud states: “Said Rabbi: A man can learn only that part of the Torah which is his heart's desire, for it is said, But whose desire is in the law of the Lord.” (b. Avodah Zarah 19a) Nephi answers the question by talking of the greatest revelation he had ever heard of which was his father’s dream. By doing so Nephi shows that he wanted a full relationship with G-d as he desired to understand even the most profound words he had ever heard. 4 And the Spirit said unto me: Believest thou that thy father saw the tree of which he hath spoken? 5 And I said: Yea, thou knowest that I believe all the words of my father. If the Spirit knew what kind of faith Nephi had why ask such a question? The answer once again lies in the Hebrew. It is very important to notice the difference in the words used by the Spirit and by Nephi. The Spirit asks if Nephi believes his father and Nephi answers that the Spirit knows that he believes. In Hebrew to believe is להאמין (leheemin) which is associated with trusting. Nephi answers that whereas he believes, the Spirit knows. In Hebrew to know is לדעת (ladaat). In ancient Kabbalah this is associated with the Sefirat Daat (the emanation of knowledge) which is the highest level a human being can actually reach of proximity to G-d without being consumed by His infinity. So what does this mean? The question of the Spirit proved to be an opportunity for Nephi to ask for more. He had faith but he desired to go the next level and know everything he could. 6 And when I had spoken these words, the Spirit cried with a loud voice, saying: Hosanna to the Lord, the most high God; for he is God over all the earth, yea, even above all. And blessed art thou, Nephi, because thou believest in the Son of the most high God; wherefore, thou shalt behold the things which thou hast desired. Hosanna: This is likely the most misunderstood Hebrew expression in Christianity. Whereas Christians often believe that Hosanna is an expression of praise it is nothing of that sort. In actuality Hosanna is a transliteration of the Hebrew expression הושענא (hoshana) which literally means “save us”. So the expression “Hosana to the Lord the most high G-d” would literally be a plea for salvation to the Most High G-d. This is consistent with the rest of the passage in which the Spirit commends Nephi for believing in the Son of G-d. In the previous chapter the Son of G-d was portrayed as the Savior of the world. So when the Spirit exclaims Hoshana and then commends Nephi for his belief this could be understood as a desire of the Spirit that others would also claim such salvation. The Spirit is the soul of Israel so when the Spirit cries Hoshana it means that the Spirit is crying for salvation on behalf of Israel. 7 And behold this thing shall be given unto thee for a sign, that after thou hast beheld the tree which bore the fruit which thy father tasted, thou shalt also behold a man descending out of heaven, and him shall ye witness; and after ye have witnessed him ye shall bear record that it is the Son of God. This passage is similar to the Apocryphal work of 4th Ezra in which Ezra sees the descend of a son of man. There is some speculation though whether the authorship of 4th Ezra is Jewish or Christian. Nevertheless it's worth quoting: “And after this I saw that son of man descend from the mountain and summon to himself another multitude in peace” 8 And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me: Look! And I looked and beheld a tree; and it was like unto the tree which my father had seen; and the beauty thereof was far beyond, yea, exceeding of all beauty; and the whiteness thereof did exceed the whiteness of the driven snow. As mentioned before the tree refers in Judaism both to the Tree of Life and to the Torah-law because in Judaism the Torah-law, that is the commandments of G-d, are understood to the be the Tree of Life itself. Why did Nephi mention the tree being white? This is one of the most interesting parts of his vision. The Zohar mentions the fact that the tree of knowledge as having black and white fruit: “"Their grapes are grapes of gall” which are black grapes. There are black grapes and white grapes, and the white ones are good because they are of the side of life” (Zohar Terumah 31:332) In ancient Jewish Kabbalah black represents death and white represents life. Notice how the tree that Nephi beholds is all white. An ancient Jewish view of the covenant in Jeremiah 31 alludes to the fact that the Torah-law as revealed to this world contains both good and evil. Not because the Word of G-d is evil but because it reveals evil in that it leaves man with the option of sinning or obeying. The Tree of Life that Nephi sees is a level of the Torah that will be revealed in the next world which is a moment in which every good that was once concealed by evil will be exposed as a greater good and thus the Tree of Life will reveal to be completely white. This is consistent with Kabbalistic tradition. 9 And it came to pass after I had seen the tree, I said unto the Spirit: I behold thou hast shown unto me the tree which is precious above all. There’s an important aspect in the underlying Hebrew that may be difficult to grasp in English: The word that means precious in Hebrew is the word יקר (yakar). It also means “beloved” which shows that Nephi was revealing to be completely devoted to the word of G-d. But it also means “heavy”. So this reveals that Nephi knew that even though the knowledge he was being given was most precious it would also be heavy upon him either because G-d would hold him more accountable because he received a higher revelation or because the world would turn against him because of such a revelation. 10 And he said unto me: What desirest thou? 11 And I said unto him: To know the interpretation thereof—for I spake unto him as a man speaketh; for I beheld that he was in the form of a man; yet nevertheless, I knew that it was the Spirit of the Lord; and he spake unto me as a man speaketh with another. Why would Nephi state that? Because according to Jewish tradition one of the main forms of communication by the Spirt was the בת קול (bat kol – literally ‘daughter of a voice’) which was like a heavenly echo of the voice of G-d. Nephi was therefore clarifying that he had a much closer contact with the Spirit. 12 And it came to pass that he said unto me: Look! And I looked as if to look upon him, and I saw him not; for he had gone from before my presence. 13 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the great city of Jerusalem, and also other cities. And I beheld the city of Nazareth; and in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white. The concept of “fair and white” most likely doesn’t refer to skin color. Especially because it would have been most unusual in Israel at the time of Nephi. In Jewish imagery being “fair and white” would be similar to the euphemism found in Songs 6:10: “Who is this who looks forth like the dawn, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, awesome as the bannered legions?" Because the Writings describe the Torah-law as light (see Ps. 119:105) the idea of one who shines light is the idea of someone who keeps the commandment. So this poetic description would have sounded to a Jew as a description of a woman who was very obedient to the commandments of G-d. 14 And it came to pass that I saw the heavens open; and an angel came down and stood before me; and he said unto me: Nephi, what beholdest thou? The heavens open: This is a Hebrew euphemism for “abundance” given unto the people by the heavens. 15 And I said unto him: A virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins. Virgin of virgins: In Hebrew the term virgin is far more than only someone who has not had sexual contact. It is also a euphemism for someone who has kept an untainted faith in G-d by not stumbling on the pagan practices of other peoples. This kind of euphemism is used in Ezekiel 23:8: “Neither hath she left her harlotries brought from Egypt; for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised her virgin breasts; and they poured out their lust upon her.” So on a deeper level of understanding Nephi is shown that the mother of the Son of G-d would be a woman that would be the most obedient and farthest from idolatry in all the land of Israel. 16 And he said unto me: Knowest thou the condescension of God? 17 And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things. 18 And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh. 19 And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the Spirit; and after she had been carried away in the Spirit for the space of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look! In Scripture usually the expression לקחת (lakachat – to take/carry away) is associated with an exile. So this would indicate that the mother of the Son of G-d would be in exile for a moment. The fact that she was taken by the Spirit indicates that this would have been in the plans of G-d. 20 And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms. 21 And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw? Eternal Father: This is a rather unusual term in Hebrew and only appears in Isaiah 9:6. The name in Hebrew is אבי-עד (Avi-ad) which literally means “My father is until”. Now the term “ad” is the short form of “ad olam” which literally means “until the (next) world”. Hebrew thought doesn’t think of eternity as Greek thought. Time is measured in “worlds” which could be understood as the timeframe of the existence of a created world or universe – universe because in Semitic thought the sun and stars would have been part of this created world. 22 And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things. 23 And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul. The passage above bears a great similarity to a commentary of the Zohar: “Rabbi Yehuda opened his discourse with the verse: "I will greatly rejoice in The Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my G-d, for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation”. Blessed is the portion of Israel above all heathen nations, for they have their joy in the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written: "I will greatly rejoice in The Lord". As it says, "The Lord," why add, "my G-d"? Israel said that when He comes with Mercy, "I will greatly rejoice in The Lord," which is mercy, and when He comes in Judgment, then "My soul shall be joyful in my G-d,"which is judgement.” (Zohar Yitro 29:501) 24 And after he had said these words, he said unto me: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the Son of God going forth among the children of men; and I saw many fall down at his feet and worship him. 25 And it came to pass that I beheld that the rod of iron, which my father had seen, was the word of God, which led to the fountain of living waters, or to the tree of life; which waters are a representation of the love of God; and I also beheld that the tree of life was a representation of the love of God. It is interesting how Nephi equates the fountain of living waters to the tree of life. This is because living waters in Hebrew has an idea of a fountain that is proper for immersion because immersion must only be done according to Torah-law in living (running) waters. Therefore it would be a source of purification. Just like the tree of life, or the Torah, would be a source of purification. As we saw earlier the tree of life in Nephi’s vision resorts to a time in which the Torah would be revealed and evil would no longer exist. 26 And the angel said unto me again: Look and behold the condescension of God! 27 And I looked and beheld the Redeemer of the world, of whom my father had spoken; and I also beheld the prophet who should prepare the way before him. And the Lamb of God went forth and was baptized of him; and after he was baptized, I beheld the heavens open, and the Holy Ghost come down out of heaven and abide upon him in the form of a dove. The prophet: It has always been a Jewish belief that Elijah based on Malachi 4:5 that Elijah would come to indicate the beginning of the Messianic Age. Descent as a dove: This is actually an ancient Jewish oral prophecy which the Zohar talks of: “As soon as King Messiah reads in the Torah scroll, the two eagles will rise from each side and the dove will lower herself to descend. King Messiah will step down with the crown on his head to the last level and two eagles will fly above his head. The dove will return with the crown in her mouth, and the two eagles will welcome her.” (Zohar Shlach Lechah 17:149) This means that just like the dove of Noah bore testimony that the waters had receded so will a dove bear witness to the kingship of Messiah as a testimony that the times of trouble have receded.

I would just like to add that in no way my commentary on the "Son of G-d" is intended to diminish from the belief in Jesus or his divinity from Christians of any background as obviously such understandings stem also from the New Testament writings. I just wanted to give some perspective of how someone from 600 BC might understand the term. I think such understanding would not be incompatible with any of the Christian beliefs I've been presented to so far just perhaps not as elaborate as it later became with the writings of the apostles of Jesus. :)

Here's the 10th chapter. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed doing it. :) 1 And now I, Nephi, proceed to give an account upon these plates of my proceedings, and my reign and ministry; wherefore, to proceed with mine account, I must speak somewhat of the things of my father, and also of my brethren. 2 For behold, it came to pass after my father had made an end of speaking the words of his dream, and also of exhorting them to all diligence, he spake unto them concerning the Jews— Diligence: The word for 'diligence' in Hebrew is התמדה (hatmadah) and it is particularly relevant because it has the gematria value of 454. This is the same value of the cognate word תמיד (tamid) which means perpetual but it is also the exact same gematria of the expression "and his seeds shall become a multitude of nations." (Genesis 48:19). Notice that it is a verse that concerns the House of Ephraim. This is no coincidence as Nephi immediately afterwards changes the topic to talk about the House of Judah. What is even more interesting is that the lack of diligence in the Torah-law of G-d is exactly the problem that the House of Ephraim faced and which led to the expulsion of the 10 tribes. 3 That after they should be destroyed, even that great city Jerusalem, and many be carried away captive into Babylon, according to the own due time of the Lord, they should return again, yea, even be brought back out of captivity; and after they should be brought back out of captivity they should possess again the land of their inheritance. 4 Yea, even six hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem, a prophet would the Lord God raise up among the Jews—even a Messiah, or, in other words, a Savior of the world. There is a word-game used by Nephi here which is only perceived in Hebrew. Nephi says that the prophet would be the Messiah or the Savior. Now what is interesting is that in Hebrew the word Messiah is written משיח (Mashiach) whereas the word Savior is written slightly similar מושיע (Moshiah). It is also interesting that the text says "a Messiah" which would reveal a good understanding of the Hebrew. The word "Messiah" literally means "anointed" and was used before in connection to kings, for example it is used referring to David in Psalm 18:50. Therefore Nephi was saying that a king would arise. Often in Jewish and Christian jargon it is spoken of "the" Messiah as a means to specify the eschatological savior of Israel who will reign forever. However, "the" Messiah is also "a" Messiah in the sense that Messiah means anointed, even though he would be the greatest anointed one of all. Savior of the world: The word "world" in Hebrew is the word עולם (olam) which can also be used in reference to this age. So the savior of the world could be understood as the eschatological savior that would inaugurate the coming age. This is indeed what Jewish understanding of the Messiah refers to. 5 And he also spake concerning the prophets, how great a number had testified of these things, concerning this Messiah, of whom he had spoken, or this Redeemer of the world. 6 Wherefore, all mankind were in a lost and in a fallen state, and ever would be save they should rely on this Redeemer. The Hebrew term for "Redeemer" is the word גואל (goel). It is also used in connection with its cognate - the term גאל (gaal) which means kinsman. In the Torah-law the next-of-kin (or kinsman) is often seen as someone who would pay the price of what was lost by someone. We can see the example in Levitucus 25:25: "If a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor he has to sell part of his property, then his nearest kinsman is to come and buy back what his relative has sold." Even though Jewish thought has evolved and become more global overtime it is important to understand that at this point in time there wasn't much concern over the nations of the world in Jewish theology. Now it would have been quite shocking for a Jew of Nephi's time to hear him saying that the Messiah would be like a redeeming kinsman to other peoples of the world. The radicalism of such a concept in such times though perhaps not without precedent should not be taken lightly and Nephi would could even have been accused of heresy. 7 And he spake also concerning a prophet who should come before the Messiah, to prepare the way of the Lord Rashi when commenting on Isaiah 40:3 says that "the way of the Lord" refers to the Holy Spirit calling the exiles back to the land of Israel. Indeed one of the missions of Messiah is to once again regather all the tribes of the people of Israel so that they can once again be one. The idea can be complemented to its fullest when we read the Qumran 1QS 8:14-15 which says: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, maight straight in the desert a high-way for our God. This means the expounding of the Law, decreed by God through Moses for obedience, that being defined by what has been revealed for each age, and by what the prophets have revealed by His Holy Spirit." So in short the prophet who would come before Messiah as stated by Nephi would have an identical function to the prophets described by Qumran: to bring the people back into a state of obedience so that they could ready themselves to receive the Anointed. 8 Yea, even he should go forth and cry in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight; for there standeth one among you whom ye know not; and he is mightier than I, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose. And much spake my father concerning this thing. Shoe latchet: This in Hebrew thought refers to a mild form of chastisement there is which was to be applied by a teacher to his pupul. When a pupil was to be punished by his master he would intie the master's shoe latchet in preparation for being punished. About this the Talmud states: "R. Samuel b. Shilath: When you punish a pupil, only hit him with a shoe latchet." (b. Bava Batra 21a) A prophet who would as stated by the manuscript of Qumran and by Rashi as seen above be able to bring back the people of Israel to the obedience of the Torah-law would have been considered almost as great as Moses himself. Now if this prophet says metaphorically that he is unworthy of being even chastised as a pupil then it shows how great the Anointed would be considered that one of the greatest prophets in Israel would not have been considered worthy of even being considered a pupil unto him. 9 And my father said he should baptize in Bethabara, beyond Jordan; and he also said he should baptize with water; even that he should baptize the Messiah with water. Bethabara: Literally means "house of crossing" probably refering to the point where there was some sort of crossing in the Jordan. Baptizing the Messiah: Immersions in ancient Judaism were connected with two things mainly: Ritual purity - either from sin or from a state of uncleanness and for converts who were considered reborn into Judaism. Some sects such as the Essenes practiced also immersion as an act of entering their own sect within Judaism even if the convert was already Jewish. Gerim 7:8 states that during immersion a convert would receive a yoke "in the name of heaven" - which literally means "out of piety". In other words: the convert wasn't born with such a yoke of having to keep G-d's laws however he was choosing to do so out of piety. So when you think of a Redeemer receiving such an immersion it is possible to understand this within Judaism as symbolic that the Redeemer would take the yoke of obedience to G-d's laws for the sake of those he was redeeming. 10 And after he had baptized the Messiah with water, he should behold and bear record that he had baptized the Lamb of God, who should take away the sins of the world. In Judaism the lamb is important because of two symbolisms which some say are actually one: The Passover Lamb which was killed in place of the first born of Israel during the exodus from Egypt. In a way, the Passover Lamb acted similarly to the kinsman-redeemer that Nephi has been discussing. The lamb (actually the word in Hebrew שה means a young lamb or goat) can also be of reference to the איל (eigel - ram) that was sacrificed in Isaac's place. Rashi states the Jewish tradition that the eigel was prepared since the six days of creation to be given as a replacement for the firstborn of Abraham. 11 And it came to pass after my father had spoken these words he spake unto my brethren concerning the gospel which should be preached among the Jews, and also concerning the dwindling of the Jews in unbelief. And after they had slain the Messiah, who should come, and after he had been slain he should rise from the dead, and should make himself manifest, by the Holy Ghost, unto the Gentiles. 12 Yea, even my father spake much concerning the Gentiles, and also concerning the house of Israel, that they should be compared like unto an olive-tree, whose branches should be broken off and should be scattered upon all the face of the earth. Why does Nephi speak of an olive-tree with broken branch? In ancient Israel the olive tree had its branches broken in times so as to allow for the stocking of olives. Those olives that came out of broken branches would produce an inferior kind of oil which even though was still olive oil it was not as pure and tasteful as those that were still attached to the trees themselves. So when Lehi speaks of Israel being an olive-tree with broken and scattered branches it would likely refer to those of Israel that were still in exile and were no longer in a pure connection to the laws of G-d. 13 Wherefore, he said it must needs be that we should be led with one accord into the land of promise, unto the fulfilling of the word of the Lord, that we should be scattered upon all the face of the earth. 14 And after the house of aIsrael should be scattered they should be gathered together again; or, in fine, after the Gentiles had received the fulness of the Gospel, the natural branches of the olive-tree, or the remnants of the house of Israel, should be grafted in, or come to the knowledge of the true Messiah, their Lord and their Redeemer. It is an ancient Jewish understanding that the scattering of Israel occurred by the will of G-d so that the knowledge of the G-d of Abraham would spread throughout the world. It is therefore consistent with such a message that the regathering of Israel will only occur when the revelation of the G-d of Abraham becomes complete among the gentile nations. 15 And after this manner of language did my father prophesy and speak unto my brethren, and also many more things which I do not write in this book; for I have written as many of them as were expedient for me in mine other book. 16 And all these things, of which I have spoken, were done as my father dwelt in a tent, in the valley of Lemuel. If you recall the commentary of the last chapter, you will remember how we saw that the word "valley" (in Hebrew עמק - emek) had the gematria of 210 which was associated with the exile of Joseph. Why would Nephi repeat himself and say almost the exact same thing here especially when he didn't have much space in the tablets to write much? The fact is that these two indications most like serve to mark the prophecy that was related to the exile of Joseph. This likely means that Lehi knew that the exile of Joseph and even possible the exile of Lehi's own descendants from the land of Israel would only come to an end after the gentiles were given to fullness of the message stated above. 17 And it came to pass after I, Nephi, having heard all the words of my father, concerning the things which he saw in a vision, and also the things which he spake by the power of the Holy Ghost, which power he received by faith on the Son of God—and the Son of God was the Messiah who should come—I, Nephi, was desirous also that I might see, and hear, and know of these things, by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is the gift of God unto gall those who diligently seek him, as well in times of hold as in the time that he should manifest himself unto the children of men. Son of G-d: A long time before the term "Son of G-d" would automatically make people think of a 2nd Person in the Trinity the expression had a whole different meaning. In ancient Mesopotamia it was believed that the rulers of the nations were quite literally divine sons and daughters of the gods. The term "son of G-d" would as such be known to refer to the king of a nation. This can be seen in the manuscript 4Q246 which deals with the life of a king which it calls "son of G-d". In the Bible the term "sons of G-d" was also used in connection to heavenly beings such as in Genesis 6:2 and Job 2:1. This isn't at all surprising because the term מלך (melech - king) and the term מלאך (malach - angel) are so strikingly similar that some linguists even come to the point of arguing that they derive from the same roots. One way or another Lehi speaks of "the" Son of G-d. We are all familiar with the cultural understanding of the term in a Christian society but how would a Jew from the times of Lehi understand the concept? He would understand it as refering to the king of kings - the king Messiah - or to the highest ranked heavenly being, or perhaps both. 18 For he is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever; and the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world, if it so be that they repent and come unto him. As indicated before the term repent comes from the root-word שוב (shuv) which in Hebrew means to "turn" in connection with turning back to the original path. Notice how Nephi uses it in connection to another expression of movement: to come unto G-d. This kind of language indicates without a doubt the underlying Hebrew. Remember how the way indicates a way back to Israel. What would also be surprising to some Jews of his time is the fact that Nephi speaks of a return not only of the Israelites but through them the entire world. The atonement prepared by G-d goes beyond the Sinai and way back into the garden of Eden. 19 For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round. He that diligently seekth shall find: This is a reversion of the curse stated in Amos 8:11. The Talmud reveals that this curse has to do with the absence of the laws of G-d: "Our Rabbis taught: When our Masters entered the vineyard at Yabneh,16 they said, The Torah is destined to be forgotten in Israel, as it is said, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. And it is said, And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east; they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it" (b. Shabat 138b) So the seeking and finding refers to a return to the obedience of the laws of G-d. It is also shown that the obedience would be the key to going deeper into the mysteries (sefirot) of G-d which is exactly one of the main principles of Kabbalah. 20 Therefore remember, O man, for all thy doings thou shalt be brought into judgment. 21 Wherefore, if ye have sought to do wickedly in the days of your probation, then ye are found unclean before the judgment-seat of God; and no unclean thing can dwell with God; wherefore, ye must be cast off forever. Unclean cast off: In Judaism the state of uncleanness most often has to do with absence of life such as when a woman has her menstrual period or when one gets in contact with the dead. Considering that one of the main foundations of Judaism is that stated in Deuteronomy 30:19 that the way of obedience brings life whereas disobedience brings death then when one is said to be unclean before G-d it means that such a person chose to live in disobedience. 22 And the Holy Ghost giveth authority that I should speak these things, and deny them not. Why does Nephi mention the Holy Ghost in connection with the authority to talk about cleanness and uncleanness before G-d? The answer could again come from ancient Jewish wisdom. The Talmud states that it is the Holy Ghost that leads one to everlasting life which is the opposite of uncleanness: "Our Rabbis taught: The words, Thou shalt keep thee from every evil thing,8 mean that9 one should not indulge in such thoughts by day as might lead to uncleanliness by night. Hence R. Phineas b. Jair said:10 Study leads to precision, precision leads to zeal, zeal leads to cleanliness, cleanliness leads to restraint, restraint leads to purity, purity leads to holiness, holiness leads to meekness, meekness leads to fear of sin, fear of sin leads to saintliness, saintliness leads to the [possession of] the holy spirit, the holy spirit leads to life eternal" (b. Avodah Zarah 20b)

Hi Ran Yes it is possible. Because the level of involvement with Judaism itself has always been a matter of personal choice. In ancient times people would gather at the city gates and at the synagogues to hear and study the law. Those who wished could have a very deep education in the Scriptures and those who cared little for it could get by with the minimum. It is still this way to this day in Judaism. You have families in which some are Torah scholars and others can barely recite the prayer book. So it's possible that Laman and Lemuel cared so little for the things of G-d that they lacked the deep education that Nephi clearly displays. b'shalom!

OK guys here it is. I hope you like it. :) 1 And all these things did my father see, and hear, and speak, as he dwelt in a tent, in the valley of Lemuel, and also a great many more things, which cannot be written upon these plates. It's no coincidence that Nephi decided to write that his father had the vision in the valley of Lemuel. The word "valley" in Hebrew is עמק (emek) which has the gematria value of 210. As already explained every letter of the Hebrew alphabet has a value. And what's so special about this word? The gematria of 210 is particularly relevant because it's in connection with the exile that began with Joseph. The Bible tells us that the period of exile of the children of Israel lasted for 400 years. In Jewish tradition this counting is done from the birth of Isaac because it refers to dwelling in a land that is not theirs. The actual time spent by Israel in Egypt itself lasted for 210 years as Rashi explains in his commentary on Genesis 15: "the 400 years of exile and affliction began with the birth of Isaac. When Isaac was sixty years of age his son Jacob was born, and at the age of 130 Jacob came to Egypt, that makes 190 years. In Egypt the children of Israel actually spent 210 years, that makes 400 years in all." So what Nephi is revealing in a deeper reading is that the visions of Lehi were given in connection to the exile of the tribe of Joseph which was also foreseen by Scriptures. 2 And now, as I have spoken concerning these plates, behold they are not the plates upon which I make a full account of the history of my people; for the plates upon which I make a full account of my people I have given the name of Nephi; wherefore, they are called the plates of Nephi, after mine own name; and these plates also are called the plates of Nephi. Plates: If Nephi had such a short space why would he bother using the word "plates" so often? Once again the reality could be in the Hebrew. In Hebrew the word used for "plate" (as in a tablet kind of plate) is the word לוח (luach) which in Hebrew also means "calendar" because ancient Israelites would mark the time in tablets. So notice how in this chapter he uses this word, which also means calendar, 12 times. The number 12 cannot be a coincidence as at the very beginning of this chapter we can see how he hints at the exile of the tribe of Joseph. It was typical of Jewish writers to conceal prophetic warnings in the gematria of words. The Bible is full of such examples and even Christian writings such as the book of Revelation make use of such a resource. As a scribe Nephi would have been familiar with such methods as we have already previously explored. So to the outsider it would simply look like a waste of space but to those who knew the Israelite way of reading Scriptures it is not a coincidence that the same word used for "calendar" is used 12 times. It's likely that Nephi was hinting at the fact that his plates would be discovered at the time nearing the regathering of the 12 tribes of Israel. This is confirmed by the next sentence in which Nephi reveals that "plates" were used for a special purpose. 3 Nevertheless, I have received a commandment of the Lord that I should make these plates, for the special purpose that there should be an account engraven of the ministry of my people. 4 Upon the other plates should be engraven an account of the reign of the kings, and the wars and contentions of my people; wherefore these plates are for the more part of the ministry; and the other plates are for the more part of the reign of the kings and the wars and contentions of my people. It was a common practice in ancient Israel to make distinct accounts for the secular affairs of the governments and for the religious affairs. Also notice that the word used for ministry in Hebrew is the word כהונה (kehunah) which comes from the same root as the word כוהן (kohen) which means "priest". So here it becomes clear that Nephi was aware of the fact that he would have a priestly calling. Considering what we previously saw about the Torah foreordaining those with the birthright of first born to this office we could also speculate that Nephi knew he would inherit such a position in his father's house. 5 Wherefore, the Lord hath commanded me to make these plates for a wise purpose in him, which purpose I know not. If Nephi had just stated that he would make the plates for the purpose of recording the affairs of his people why would he immediately afterwards say that the purpose of G-d was unknown? This is very interesting because the expression "wise purpose" in Hebrew would beמטרת חכם (matarat hacham). What is relevant of this is that the word "matarah" also is used for someone who is "a guide" and the word "hacham" is also used for a sage who guides the people. In the history of Israel several leaders were called "hacham" and in fact still are among the Sepharadic communities. Now Nephi could be hinting at the fact that he was writing his plates unto a future wise leader of the people who would guide this regathering of Israel. 6 But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words. And thus it is. Amen. Nephi ends this portion with an ancient Israelite proverb. Notice how he says that G-d has power to fulfill all his words and then says "and thus it is" followed by "Amen". Our sages believe that the word אמן (amen) not only means "truly" but is also an acrostic for the phrase אל מלך נאמן (El Melech Ne'eman) which means "G-d is a faithful king". According to our sages in the times of Moses the people would respond "amen" to every word of G-d meaning "G-d is a faithful king" meaning that He is faithful and powerful to fulfill all his words. This is exactly the ancient Israelite proverb that Nephi ends this chapter with.