Peshat - the plain and simple meaning (Tanakh Only)

Beta-Gershom.org (i.e. half-Jewish.org), and the people and organizations quoted on Beta-Gershom.org (i.e. half-Jewish.org), are in no way associated with peshat.com and views expressed here.

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	Some commentary at the end of the article has been added for further clarification. Anyone having additional information supporting the rabbinical view - please add a comment.

Who is born a Jew?

The question of who is born a Jew has been much debated. We consider first the views of Orthodox Rabbinical Judaism and Karaite Judaism.

Orthodox Rabbinical Judaism considers that according to the Torah a person is born a Jew only if that person's Mother is Jewish. On the other hand, Karaite Judaism considers that according to the Torah a person is born a Jew only if that person's Father is Jewish.

We will examine the two readings in the Pentateuch that imply a status of the child of Israelite intermarriage to a non-Israelite. We will examine these two readings in light of the Rabbinical position as well as in light of the Karaite position. The two readings are: from Deuteronomy 7:3-4, and Leviticus 24:10-16.

	Deuteronomy Chapter 7 1 When YHWH thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and shall cast out many nations before thee, the Hittite, and the Girgashite, and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, seven nations greater and mightier than thou; 2 and when YHWH thy God shall deliver them up before thee, and thou shalt smite them; then thou shalt utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them; 3 neither shalt thou make marriages with them: thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. 4 For he will turn away thy son from following Me, that they may serve other gods; so will the anger of YHWH be kindled against you, and He will destroy thee quickly.

First, from Deuteronomy 7:3-4 "Neither shall you make marriages with them; your daughter you shall not give unto his son, nor his daughter shall you take unto your son. For he will turn away your son from following Me, that you may serve other gods."

The first interpretation of this is as follows (we have added in brackets the interpretation of the text):
";Neither shall you make marriages with them; your daughter you shall not give unto his son ["he" being the Canaanite man, and "his son" being the son of that Canaanite man], nor his daughter [again "he" being the Canaanite man, and "his daughter" being the daughter of that Canaanite man] shall you take unto your son ["you" being the Israelite to whom the Torah speaks to, and "your son" being the son of that Israelite]. For he ["he" being the Canaanite man] will turn away your son ["your son" being the son of the Israelite] from following Me, that you may serve other gods. " In this interpretation, the concern expressed in the Torah is that the Israelite's son is given in marriage to a pagan woman and the pagan woman's father will teach paganism. In this interpretation there is no implication being made on the status of any possible offspring between the mixed couple.

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Today is Sunday, May 31, 2009 -

Day 50 of Omer
Chag Sameach Shavuot!

Feast of Weeks, Feast of Harvest
Feast of First Fruits

Baruch YHWH!

A couple simple verses leading to the first day of Omer starting the day after shabbat during Passover:

- We are to count 7 shabbats which logically points to shabbat as the shabbat, not Passover as the first shabbat -- there are not 7 Passovers. Shavua is hebrew for week (see Shavout - Feast of Weeks).

- Most revealing is Lev 23:16 where it specifies the fiftieth day being the "morrow after shabbat", which clearly would be a Sunday.

Therefore, the count would begin on the day after shabbat during Passover.

Interestingly enough, those following the lunar calendar would have the same count in the year 2009 since Passover fell on shabbat according to the lunar calendar.

	Contrary to popular belief, the Counting of Omer leading to Shavuot (Feast of Weeks/Pentecost) begins after shabbat, not after Passover. From http://www.karaite-korner.org/shavuot.shtml: Shavuot (Feast of Weeks/Pentecost) is the Biblical harvest-festival celebrated 50 days after the Sunday which falls out during Passover. These fifty days are called the Counting of the Omer. A more accurate translation of Lev 23:15-16 follows: Leviticus Chapter 23 15 And you shall count for yourself from the day after the seventh day of rest (shabbat), from the day that you brought the sheaf of waving; seven seventh days of rest (shabbat) shall there be complete; 16 even unto the day after after the seventh day of rest (shabbat) shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall present a new meal-offering unto YHWH. Leviticus Chapter 23 15 And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the day of rest (שבת), from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the waving; seven weeks (שבת) shall there be complete; 16 even unto the morrow after the seventh week (שבת) shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall present a new meal-offering unto YHWH. 17 Ye shall bring out of your dwellings two wave-loaves of two tenth parts of an ephah; they shall be of fine flour, they shall be baked with leaven, for first-fruits unto YHWH. 18 And ye shall present with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams; they shall be a burnt-offering unto YHWH, with their meal-offering, and their drink-offerings, even an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto YHWH. 19 And ye shall offer one he-goat for a sin-offering, and two he-lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace-offerings. 20 And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the first-fruits for a wave-offering before YHWH, with the two lambs; they shall be holy to YHWH for the priest. 21 And ye shall make proclamation on the selfsame day; there shall be a holy convocation unto you; ye shall do no manner of servile work; it is a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.

Karaite Jewish University, and the people and organizations quoted on kjuonline.com, are in no way associated with peshat.com and views expressed here.

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On the relationship between Tahor and Qadosh
by Benjamin ben Daniel
(with Tanakh references from JPS 1917)

The children of Israel are instructed to be both Tahor (clean) and Qadosh (holy). While Tahor and Qadosh have different requirements and seem to have different goals, they can appear equally important to the reader of the Tanakh. Teaching the differences between the Tahor (clean) and the Tamei (unclean/defiled) as well as between the Qodesh (holiness) and the Chol (common/profane) is commanded; but this essay is not about those differences. This essay will explore the relationship between Qadosh and Tahor. Hopefully, this will lead to a greater understanding of their goals and how each is applied.

	Leviticus Chapter 10 8 And YHWH spoke unto Aaron, saying: 9 'Drink no wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tent of meeting, that ye die not; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. 10 And that ye may put difference between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean; 11 and that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which YHWH hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.' Ezekiel Chapter 22 26 Her priests have done violence to My law, and have profaned My holy things; they have put no difference between the holy and the common, neither have they taught difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. Ezekiel Chapter 44 23 And they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the common, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.

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Karaite Jewish University, and the people and organizations quoted on kjuonline.com, are in no way associated with peshat.com and views expressed here.

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My friends, it is an honor and a privilege to report another successful year for Karaite Jewish University. The staff at KJU and each proud member of class 2009 can and should stand up to take a bow. I can not express enough gratitude for those involved. Todah!

Baruch atah, YHWH Eloheinu, melech ha-olam oseh ma'aseh vereshit.
Blessed is you, YHWH our God, King of the Universe, the source of creation and its wonders.

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Yochanon Zaqantov, and the people and organizations quoted on KaraiteJudaism.org, are in no way associated with peshat.com and views expressed here.

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When you hear our Rabbanite brothers, they use Hashem instead of his name. Hashem literally means "the name". Even some people will use Adonay instead, but why would one not use the name if its there in the Hebrew Text. We will be looking first at the reasoning for not speaking His Name. We will also examine the reasons for using his Name. So, lets examine the reason for not pronouncing the Name.

Referenced from: JewFAQ.org: The Name of G-d

Pronouncing the Name of God

Nothing in the Torah prohibits a person from pronouncing the Name of God. Indeed, it is evident from scripture that God's Name was pronounced routinely. Many common Hebrew names contain "Yah" or "Yahu," part of God's four-letter Name. The Name was pronounced as part of daily services in the Temple.

	YHWH is God's name and His name is commonly used throughout the Tanakh -- by everyone, not just priests. Genesis Chapter 24 26 And the man bowed his head, and prostrated himself before YHWH. 27 And he said: 'Blessed be YHWH, the God of my master Abraham, who hath not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master; as for me, YHWH hath led me in the way to the house of my master's brethren.' Second Samuel Chapter 14 16 For the king will hear, to deliver his servant out of the hand of the man that would destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God. 17 Then thy handmaid said: Let, I pray thee, the word of my lord the king be for my comfort; for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad; and YHWH thy God be with thee.'

Continued from JewFAQ.org: The Name of G-d...

The Mishnah confirms that there was no prohibition against pronouncing The Name in ancient times. In fact, the Mishnah recommends using God's Name as a routine greeting to a fellow Jew. Berakhot 9:5. However, by the time of the Talmud, it was the custom to use substitute Names for God. Some rabbis asserted that a person who pronounces YHVH according to its letters (instead of using a substitute) has no place in the World to Come, and should be put to death. Instead of pronouncing the four-letter Name, we usually substitute the Name "Adonai," or simply say "Ha-Shem" (lit. The Name).

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Gretchen S., and the people and organizations quoted on her site, are in no way associated with peshat.com and views expressed here.

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A Jewish view of "satan"
by Gretchen S.

Here is a bit about the Jewish view of Satan, as opposed to the ****ian devil. Again, Judaism has no devil, there is no embodiment of evil who tempts us, as in ****ianity. The Jewish view is very different than that portrayed by ****ains. I hope this will be clear by the end of this post.

First of all, the Hebrew word satan (sin-tet-nun sofit) means an adversary or accuser. It is used this way in Numbers 22:22. "And G-d’s anger was kindled because he went; and the angel of the L-rd stood in the way as an *adversary* against him...." The word marked with *'s and translated as adversary is satan (actually l'satan, l' being a prefix that in the context gives the meaning "as"). Likewise in Numbers 22:32, part of the same story about Bilaam.

	Numbers Chapter 22 21 And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab. 22 And God's anger was kindled because he went; and the angel of YHWH placed himself in the way for an adversary against him. -- Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him. -- 23 And the ass saw the angel of YHWH standing in the way, with his sword drawn in his hand; and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field; and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way. Numbers Chapter 22 31 Then YHWH opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of YHWH standing in the way, with his sword drawn in his hand; and he bowed his head, and fell on his face. 32 And the angel of YHWH said unto him: 'Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I am come forth for an adversary, because thy way is contrary unto me; 33 and the ass saw me, and turned aside before me these three times; unless she had turned aside from me, surely now I had even slain thee, and saved her alive.'

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The Karaite Synagogue is the oldest Synagogue in Jerusalem. It was built between 760-920 A.D. by the Karaite Jews.
VIDEO: http://www.road90.com

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Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef statements:
Jews of the Amazon By Ariel Segal Freilich
The long standing dispute between Karaites and Orthodox Jews continued until 1973 when the chief rabbi of the Sephardic community of Israel, Ovadia Yosef, recognized Karaites as full-fledged Jews. This proclamation has not altered the agreement that allows the Karaites to conduct their own civil affairs.

JPost.com: Ask the Rabbi: O brother
In the 20th century, the State of Israel recognized the right of Karaites to immigrate under the Law of Return. The rabbinate, however, remains sharply divided over the ability of Karaites and their descendents to marry Jewish Israelis. While prominent Ashkenazi decisors Rabbi Avraham Sherman (Tehumin 19) and Rabbi Eliezer Waldenburg (Tzitz Eliezer 5:16) harshly criticized such marriages, two former Sephardi chief rabbis, Ovadia Yosef (Yabia Omer EH 8:12) and Eliahu Bakshi-Doron (Tehumin 18, 20) adopted more lenient positions, especially in cases when these Karaite descendants had no loyalty toward their ancestor's rituals. While such cases remain rare, they nonetheless represent a fascinating chapter in the ongoing struggles over personal status and marriage in Israel.

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Chief Rabbi David Chayim Chelouche statements:
The Jerusalem Post: Laying down the (Oral) law By JOSHUA FREEMAN
Rabbi David Chayim Chelouche, the chief rabbi of Netanya, agrees. "A Karaite is a Jew," says Chelouche, who has written a great deal about the Karaites. "We accept them as Jews and every one of them who wishes to come back [to mainstream Judaism] we accept back. (There was once a question about whether Karaites needed to undergo a token circumcision in order to switch to rabbinic Judaism, but the rabbinate agrees today that it is not necessary.) He cautions, however, that the acceptance of Karaites as Jews should not be confused with acceptance of their practice of excluding the Oral Law. "A person cannot make his own Torah," he says.