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© 2014 John D. Brey.
It is written (Deut. 28:10),
"And the peoples of the earth shall see that G-d's Name is called upon you
and they shall (see your strength) and be awed by you." We learned that
the great Rabbi Eliezer said, "this is speaking of the Tefillin on the
head."
Talmud, Berachos 6a.
Talmud, Berachos 6a.
Have
you ever looked at someone wearing a tefillin on the head and thought to
yourself: "That person is a serious bad-ass" . . . "someone to
be feared and respected, someone who inspires awe"? . . . . . . No? . . .
. .What about someone wearing a crucifix? ----- Say someone like Evgeni
Plushenko, Julia Lipnitskaia, Maxim Trankov? ----Maybe you didn't think they
were badasses because they wore a cross (maybe you didn't make the connection)
but if you don't know they're bad asses, people to be respected, and awed, then
you're not watching the 2014 Olympics; or you are, and are simply not easily
awed.
And yet the 2014 Olympics are merely a tiny thumbnail sketch of human history since the first century AD. Armies associated with the cross or crucifix, soldiers wearing the cross or crucifix, have been feared. And wisely so. They've been triumphant and victorious more times than not. Leaders wearing the cross or crucifix have led the great peoples of the world. Scientists (Newton, Leibniz, Copernicus) . . . philosophers (Wittgenstein, Hegel, Heidegger) . . . athletes (Lebron James, Tim Tebow, Evander Holyfield) . . . wherever the cross and crucifix have been worn as a symbol, greatness, fear and trembling, awe, have followed close behind.
For nearly 2000 years, the truth of Berachos 6a has been confirmed over and over again, here, there, and everywhere the cross and crucifix have been worn. Wherever the circumcised tefillin has been worn, Berachos 6a has been confirmed; victory and awe inspiring success have followed close behind. No sign or symbol in the history of mankind has so confirmed the wisdom and prescience of Berachos 6a (and Deuteronomy 28:10) as the cross and crucifix. They've been like a beacon light shining the glory and power of God from one end of the globe to the other.
And yet the 2014 Olympics are merely a tiny thumbnail sketch of human history since the first century AD. Armies associated with the cross or crucifix, soldiers wearing the cross or crucifix, have been feared. And wisely so. They've been triumphant and victorious more times than not. Leaders wearing the cross or crucifix have led the great peoples of the world. Scientists (Newton, Leibniz, Copernicus) . . . philosophers (Wittgenstein, Hegel, Heidegger) . . . athletes (Lebron James, Tim Tebow, Evander Holyfield) . . . wherever the cross and crucifix have been worn as a symbol, greatness, fear and trembling, awe, have followed close behind.
For nearly 2000 years, the truth of Berachos 6a has been confirmed over and over again, here, there, and everywhere the cross and crucifix have been worn. Wherever the circumcised tefillin has been worn, Berachos 6a has been confirmed; victory and awe inspiring success have followed close behind. No sign or symbol in the history of mankind has so confirmed the wisdom and prescience of Berachos 6a (and Deuteronomy 28:10) as the cross and crucifix. They've been like a beacon light shining the glory and power of God from one end of the globe to the other.
The tefillin is an ornament
associated with unquestioned prowess. One that the Gentile nations would all
accept as a sign of being related to God.
Great Russian skaters, like other great athletes, wore crosses and crucifixes while they skated before the whole world. I didn’t see any Jewish athlete wearing their tefillin. I’ve never seen anyone wear the traditional Jewish tefillin as a proper piece of jewelry such that they are respected and revered by someone other than other Jews. -----But the scripture is clear, in many places, that God's chosen ones will wear a particular piece of jewelry that the Gentile nations will see as a clear mark of God's chosen ones relationship to him, and this jewelry will actually be respected and revered by the Gentile nations, as a sign of divine favor.
Berachot 6a, as read by Rabbis no less, speaks of the head tefillin. But how can the people of the world be awed by this spiritual jewelry if Jews hide if from everyone but themselves? The Bible says that God's "chosen ones" will be spread throughout the world, and that through them, the entire world will be evangelized. And this evangelization is expressly related to the wearing of the tefillin. This religious jewelry will be worn by God's "chosen ones" as they go throughout the world evangelizing the heathens and the Gentiles concerning the glory of the Word of God.
Great Russian skaters, like other great athletes, wore crosses and crucifixes while they skated before the whole world. I didn’t see any Jewish athlete wearing their tefillin. I’ve never seen anyone wear the traditional Jewish tefillin as a proper piece of jewelry such that they are respected and revered by someone other than other Jews. -----But the scripture is clear, in many places, that God's chosen ones will wear a particular piece of jewelry that the Gentile nations will see as a clear mark of God's chosen ones relationship to him, and this jewelry will actually be respected and revered by the Gentile nations, as a sign of divine favor.
Berachot 6a, as read by Rabbis no less, speaks of the head tefillin. But how can the people of the world be awed by this spiritual jewelry if Jews hide if from everyone but themselves? The Bible says that God's "chosen ones" will be spread throughout the world, and that through them, the entire world will be evangelized. And this evangelization is expressly related to the wearing of the tefillin. This religious jewelry will be worn by God's "chosen ones" as they go throughout the world evangelizing the heathens and the Gentiles concerning the glory of the Word of God.
The glory of the tefillin,
like the meaning of the decrees (chukkim), is mostly hidden in darkness
until the arrival of Messiah. When he comes, then the tefillin will receive
its well-earned glory, and the chukkim (decrees) will be made perfectly
clear by reason of their association with the life of Messiah.
But he has come. ----- And the tefillin has received it well-earned glory. ---- And the chukkim are perfectly clear.
Yesterday and today Berachot 6a is being fulfilled. The whole world watched Julia Lipnitskaia skate to glory with a "beautiful" (Heb. tiferet) cross covering her heart. The whole world was awed at her strength. And God's Name (Person) was caught in the tresses, dangling over her heart.
But he has come. ----- And the tefillin has received it well-earned glory. ---- And the chukkim are perfectly clear.
Yesterday and today Berachot 6a is being fulfilled. The whole world watched Julia Lipnitskaia skate to glory with a "beautiful" (Heb. tiferet) cross covering her heart. The whole world was awed at her strength. And God's Name (Person) was caught in the tresses, dangling over her heart.
And
a man should adorn himself with them because it is the supernal holy name, as
it is written "All the peoples of the earth shall see that the name
[person] of the Lord [is . . . upon you]" (Deuteronomy 28:10). And whoever
puts on this exalted crown is "king on earth," while the Holy One,
blessed be He, is in the firmament. This is the significance of "the king
is held in the tresses" 170 (Song of Songs 7:5). Just as the
Holy One, blessed be He, is king in the world above, so he also is king in the
world below.
Tishby's, The Wisdom of the Zohar, vol. III, p 1188.
Tishby's, The Wisdom of the Zohar, vol. III, p 1188.
Note #170 of the text says,
"The Holy One, blessed be He, Tiferet, is bound in the straps of
the tefillin." ----Tiferet is the sefirotic manifestation of the Holy One.
On the sefirotic tree, it dangles above the heart of Adam Kadmon, even as the
crucifix dangles over the heart of its wearer. Tiferet represents the Holy One
of God throughout Jewish symbolism, and on the sefirotic tree, Tiferet covers
the heart of Adam Kadmon.
The passage in the Zohar goes to the Song of Songs to explain "the significance of the king is held in the tresses." In the seventh chapter of the Song of Songs, the king is said to reside between the breast, and he is held in the tresses, or straps of the tefillin. The Holy One, blessed be He, is king in the supernal realm, the firmament, and he is king on earth, though his name or emblem is said to reside between the breasts (שד), supported by the straps of the tefillin. He’s the mark of God, the yod י, planted on the breasts (שד). He’s שד–י.
The passage in the Zohar goes to the Song of Songs to explain "the significance of the king is held in the tresses." In the seventh chapter of the Song of Songs, the king is said to reside between the breast, and he is held in the tresses, or straps of the tefillin. The Holy One, blessed be He, is king in the supernal realm, the firmament, and he is king on earth, though his name or emblem is said to reside between the breasts (שד), supported by the straps of the tefillin. He’s the mark of God, the yod י, planted on the breasts (שד). He’s שד–י.
Berachot 6a implies that the
tefillin will be worn as a glorious ornament that’s also an emblem of strength
and divine favor. According to the scripture, no one in the world will fail to
see and acknowledge the existence of this glorious ornament. ------ Would
anyone compare their experience of seeing Jews wearing their tefillin with
seeing Lebron James wearing a crucifix as he held up the NBA championship
trophy? When they saw a Jewish person wearing their tefilliln, were they
holding up a Super-Bowl trophy like Russell Wilson? Or receiving a gold medal
like Evgeni Plushenko, or Maxim Trankov?
Prior to the arrival of
Messiah, the glory of the Torah is hidden in darkness, veiled by (guarded by) a
fiery angel . . . The Jewish tefillin is a dark box with Torah scrolls
"hidden" inside. On both sides of the box are engraved the letter
that Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh claims represent a fiery angel, the Hebrew letter
shin (which is a pictogram of the fiery bush where Moses spoke with God). The
traditional Jewish tefillin is what’s worn up until the arrival of Messiah. At
that time, the terrestrial, or incarnate, man-ifestation of the Torah, Tiferet,
the Holy One, blessed be His name, will be revealed, brought out of the
darkness of that black box, and the two wings of a fiery serpent angel
(seraphim), and then the symbol of Messiah will replace the dark box guarded
over by fiery seraphim. Then Messiah will be worn between the breasts, dangling
from the tresses of the tefillin, in glory and honor before all the world, all
the time, here, there, everywhere, weddings, bar mitzvah, Super-Bowl victories,
NBA championships, UFC upsets . . . etc. etc. etc..
Has anyone ever seen that
rude black box with a thorny addendum engraved on both sides worn by a bride,
between her breast, while wearing a heavenly white gown, diamonds and rubies?
Has anyone ever looked at the head tefillin and thought that it was a glorious
symbol of the paradox of God and man, suffering and glory, life and death, the
fallen world, and the world to come?
The tefillin box, in an objective sense, appears ugly. But so is a corpse dangling half-dead on a wooden cross. And yet the Christian tefillin, the crucifix, is not wrapped in black-dyed animal hide --- hiding it's glory inside (where the world can’t see it). The Christian tefillin (the tefillin that acknowledge the revelation of Messiah: he has come) casts a suffering corpse on a cross in gold, silver, platinum . . . engraved with diamonds and jewels and precious stones of all kinds.
The Christian tefillin is not ashamed to reveal that God was revealed as a man suffering on a cross. Yet it's recognized as the most beautiful union of light and darkness, heaven and hell, punishment and grace, God and Man, that has ever, or will ever exist. It's worthy of diamonds and gold. It's worthy of being sported on the chests of the world's greatest athletes, the world's greatest soldiers, the world's greatest artists and performers. . . It's the post-Messianic fulfillment of Berachot 6a. It's what Jews will see when eventually they see that Messiah has come, and gone (with their help), and will return (for their Salvation).
The tefillin box, in an objective sense, appears ugly. But so is a corpse dangling half-dead on a wooden cross. And yet the Christian tefillin, the crucifix, is not wrapped in black-dyed animal hide --- hiding it's glory inside (where the world can’t see it). The Christian tefillin (the tefillin that acknowledge the revelation of Messiah: he has come) casts a suffering corpse on a cross in gold, silver, platinum . . . engraved with diamonds and jewels and precious stones of all kinds.
The Christian tefillin is not ashamed to reveal that God was revealed as a man suffering on a cross. Yet it's recognized as the most beautiful union of light and darkness, heaven and hell, punishment and grace, God and Man, that has ever, or will ever exist. It's worthy of diamonds and gold. It's worthy of being sported on the chests of the world's greatest athletes, the world's greatest soldiers, the world's greatest artists and performers. . . It's the post-Messianic fulfillment of Berachot 6a. It's what Jews will see when eventually they see that Messiah has come, and gone (with their help), and will return (for their Salvation).
In the ancient world, valuables were often kept in a box guarded by serpents. The tefillin is a box with the precious Torah inside ----guarded by a great and ornery serpent (Ex. 23:20). At the Passover, Israel is said to have seen this precious Torah face-to-face (as a groom is face-to-face with his bride when the veil is lifted). In Exodus chapter 12, God tells Moses to establish an ordinance memorializing the great vision Israel has received on Passover. On Passover, the blood of the lamb, and the blood of the circumcised limb, were both placed on the doorposts of the Jewish home ---- Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer, p. 210; Midrash Rabbah, Exodus, Bo, p, 213:
Why
did God protect them through blood? So that He should remember in their favour
the blood of Abraham's circumcision. On account of two kinds of blood were
Israel redeemed from Egypt---the blood of the Passover [lamb] and the blood of
circumcision, as it says, And I said unto thee: In thy bloods, live; yea, I
said unto thee: In thy bloods, live (Ezek. xvi, 6) . . ..
Though the lamb's blood will
not be struck upon the mezuzah and lintel when Israel arrives in the holy land,
and the blood of the circumcised limb will not be struck on the doorpost and
lintel when Israel arrives in the holy land, nevertheless, God commands Moses
to establish a means through which the blood of the Passover (lamb and limb),
the blood that paid for Israel's salvation, will never, ever, be forgotten.
Moses is to establish an everlasting monument/memorial to the Passover blood of
salvation. And that's what the tefillin are supposed to be. An everlasting
memorial to the blood through which Israel received salvation. So how does the
tefillin, as practiced by Israel, represent the blood of the limb or the lamb?
The box with the precious
Torah inside is guarded by Gevurah, the fiery serpent of death. Rabbi Yitzchak
Ginsburgh explains that the shin on the head tefillin represents the left side
of the sefirotic tree, where Gevurah, the angel of death, is found (Tiferet is
the middle line of the sefirotic tree).
The shin ש is a pictogram of a fiery thorn-bush. And when Moses first speaks to God, he must go through the intermediary of the serpent of death: the fiery thorn-bush. This fiery thorn-bush is the head tefillin. It's called the "batim" (which is plural since the one box is made up of four compartments) and is understood as the "home" (beit) of the Torah scrolls. The Hebrew letter "beit" ב symbolizes the home. In atbash, the shin ש is in the place of the beit ב and vise versa. The shin ש is the home of the Torah (the beit or batim). The Torah is hidden in the black box until the time of its revelation, when it will leave the protection of the shin, Gevurah, the angel of death, and take up residence in man. At this time, Gevurah, seeing that God has chosen to dwell in mankind, rather than the angels, rebels, and becomes the Christian angel of death known as "Lucifer," or "Satan."
Satan is not overtly revealed as a rebellious angel in the Torah. The Torah is still hidden inside Gevurah. It's still living between the two shin on the tefillin (which tefillin is the Jewish version of the Egyptian cobra diadem).
Jesus of Nazareth is the Holy One of God (Tiferet) who was hidden in the thorn-bush at Sinai. The same thorn-bush was turned into his crown on Golgotha, such that he was wearing the shin of the tefillin, on his head, when he defeated Satan on the cross. Rabbi Hirsch wisely notes that the head tefillin is the Ark of the Covenant in miniature. The wings on the Ark represent the same thing as the shin on the head tefillin: an ornery angel hiding the Torah in the guise of protecting Him from mankind. Israel follows suit. They fancy themselves hiding the Torah from the damage it will receive at the hands of Gentiles and sinners.
But Jesus came not just to save just Israel. But the whole world. And when Israel, like Gevurah, saw that God was going to indwell all men, and not just Jews, they joined forces with Gevurah, and in the guise of protecting the Torah, they sealed it up in darkness, with the help of fiery serpent wings, threatening any who would suppose to pull the Torah scroll out into the light of day where it could be lifted up as a banner for all mankind to come and freely wash themselves in the mikvah of his holy blood.
The shin ש is a pictogram of a fiery thorn-bush. And when Moses first speaks to God, he must go through the intermediary of the serpent of death: the fiery thorn-bush. This fiery thorn-bush is the head tefillin. It's called the "batim" (which is plural since the one box is made up of four compartments) and is understood as the "home" (beit) of the Torah scrolls. The Hebrew letter "beit" ב symbolizes the home. In atbash, the shin ש is in the place of the beit ב and vise versa. The shin ש is the home of the Torah (the beit or batim). The Torah is hidden in the black box until the time of its revelation, when it will leave the protection of the shin, Gevurah, the angel of death, and take up residence in man. At this time, Gevurah, seeing that God has chosen to dwell in mankind, rather than the angels, rebels, and becomes the Christian angel of death known as "Lucifer," or "Satan."
Satan is not overtly revealed as a rebellious angel in the Torah. The Torah is still hidden inside Gevurah. It's still living between the two shin on the tefillin (which tefillin is the Jewish version of the Egyptian cobra diadem).
Jesus of Nazareth is the Holy One of God (Tiferet) who was hidden in the thorn-bush at Sinai. The same thorn-bush was turned into his crown on Golgotha, such that he was wearing the shin of the tefillin, on his head, when he defeated Satan on the cross. Rabbi Hirsch wisely notes that the head tefillin is the Ark of the Covenant in miniature. The wings on the Ark represent the same thing as the shin on the head tefillin: an ornery angel hiding the Torah in the guise of protecting Him from mankind. Israel follows suit. They fancy themselves hiding the Torah from the damage it will receive at the hands of Gentiles and sinners.
But Jesus came not just to save just Israel. But the whole world. And when Israel, like Gevurah, saw that God was going to indwell all men, and not just Jews, they joined forces with Gevurah, and in the guise of protecting the Torah, they sealed it up in darkness, with the help of fiery serpent wings, threatening any who would suppose to pull the Torah scroll out into the light of day where it could be lifted up as a banner for all mankind to come and freely wash themselves in the mikvah of his holy blood.
The tefillin are supposed to
be an "ornament" that will be recognized as being beautiful,
full of splendor, or glorious. ----And it's supposed to be the
peoples of the world who evaluate the tefillin in this way, not just Jews. The meaning
and purpose of the tefillin might be beautiful and glorious to religious Jews
who wear the tefillin. But it's not fair to say the tefillin (as worn by
religious Jews) has an intrinsic splendor or glory that's recognized by the
people of the world? A black box with a shin engraved on it is not particularly
full of splendor or glory such that someone who spies it without knowing its
meaning would actually want to wear one to accentuate their wedding gown, or
their tuxedo.
The cross, on the other hand, is considered an ornament of glory. It's cast in valuable metals with gems and precious stones. Though it's a symbol of suffering and death, it still represents glory, so effectively, that non-Christians frequently adorn themselves with a symbol whose meaning is pretty unambiguous. Which is to say, even though the cross represents Christ's suffering and death, people who care not a wit about Christ's suffering and death, still find the cross to be a very alluring symbol with which to adorn and glorify their bodies.
The cross, on the other hand, is considered an ornament of glory. It's cast in valuable metals with gems and precious stones. Though it's a symbol of suffering and death, it still represents glory, so effectively, that non-Christians frequently adorn themselves with a symbol whose meaning is pretty unambiguous. Which is to say, even though the cross represents Christ's suffering and death, people who care not a wit about Christ's suffering and death, still find the cross to be a very alluring symbol with which to adorn and glorify their bodies.
Even more than the Jewish
tefillin, the crucifix could be considered hands down the ugliest and most
shameful religious artifact there has ever been. It's an image of a man who
claimed to be the Jewish Messiah. And yet this self-proclaimed Jewish Messiah
was not only rejected by the Jews he claimed to be anointed for, he was turned
over to goy. And not just any goy, the most unholy of all Gentiles, the Romans.
He was betrayed by Jews and taken outside of Jerusalem and executed. And not
just executed in an ugly way. He was executed in the most ugly way: stripped
naked, emasculated by a Roman soldier, and hung naked and man-less outside the
gates of the holy city.
Who in their right mind would ever imagine the image above becoming the most beautiful emblem the world has ever known? An emblem wore by brides with their virginal white gown. An emblem wore by kings, and philosopher, and artists, and athletes the world over. An emblem used to decorate the most beautiful buildings ever built?
. . . Imagine you were viewing Golgotha on that day (and we all were there in spirit). A naked, bloody, emasculated, Jew, hangs in agony on a wooden cross. Roman soldiers are laughing, imbibing GI wine, and throwing dice at the foot of the cross. The Jewish criminal's followers are weeping and covering their eyes as the holocaust takes place.
Who in their right mind would ever imagine the image above becoming the most beautiful emblem the world has ever known? An emblem wore by brides with their virginal white gown. An emblem wore by kings, and philosopher, and artists, and athletes the world over. An emblem used to decorate the most beautiful buildings ever built?
. . . Imagine you were viewing Golgotha on that day (and we all were there in spirit). A naked, bloody, emasculated, Jew, hangs in agony on a wooden cross. Roman soldiers are laughing, imbibing GI wine, and throwing dice at the foot of the cross. The Jewish criminal's followers are weeping and covering their eyes as the holocaust takes place.
As you ambivalently view the
goings on you notice a personage is standing next to you in white raiment.
Looking emotionless at the cross on Golgotha he asks if you were a follower of
this Jewish criminal? You respond "Of course not, I'm an orthodox
Jew." He says to you, "What you're looking at right now, this crime,
this holocaust, this violence, this ugliest of ugliest scenes, will one day be
considered the most glorious moment in human history. A moment so glorious that
that pulverized corpse on a wooden cross will be turned into an ornament of
splendor and glory such as the world has never known."
"That emaciated Jewish criminal will soon lie between the sweetest of breasts on the most innocent virginal bride on the most sanctified day of her life. This image before you will be adorned with gold, diamonds, rubies, sapphires; that bloody Jew on that wooden cross will be hanging from golden tressses as the paramount, the quintessential, the summum bonum of all ornaments the world has or will ever known."
"All over the world this image will be worn, revered, acknowledged, as the most splendid and glorious ornament that has ever been. No one will be too sacred or sanctified in their own eyes to adorn themselves with this ornament of ornaments. ----- No one save one. ------ Those people who created the scene depicted here today will be immune from its glory. They will continue to look upon it as a disgrace and as blasphemy. They will demonize the whole world as they demonized this man, glorying only in their own `Jewish’ flesh and blood, and for that will fulfill the prophet Isaiah (65:15) and receive the curse of Isaiah 666."
"That emaciated Jewish criminal will soon lie between the sweetest of breasts on the most innocent virginal bride on the most sanctified day of her life. This image before you will be adorned with gold, diamonds, rubies, sapphires; that bloody Jew on that wooden cross will be hanging from golden tressses as the paramount, the quintessential, the summum bonum of all ornaments the world has or will ever known."
"All over the world this image will be worn, revered, acknowledged, as the most splendid and glorious ornament that has ever been. No one will be too sacred or sanctified in their own eyes to adorn themselves with this ornament of ornaments. ----- No one save one. ------ Those people who created the scene depicted here today will be immune from its glory. They will continue to look upon it as a disgrace and as blasphemy. They will demonize the whole world as they demonized this man, glorying only in their own `Jewish’ flesh and blood, and for that will fulfill the prophet Isaiah (65:15) and receive the curse of Isaiah 666."
