Peshat - the plain and simple meaning

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	BREAKING NEWS On returning your right to attach fringe (tzi-tzi's) containing blue strands to your four cornered garments...

Israeli National News
24 Adar Bet 5768, March 31, '08

Hebrew Garments and the Restoration of Biblical Blue
by Ezra HaLevi

(IsraelNN.com) After three days of Purim, Jerusalemites young and old came out of one more night of revelry as Tuesday Night Live focused on Biblical Jewish fashion.

The evening featured Reuven Prager, who pioneered a movement of producing Beged Ivri (Hebrew garb) for Jews who have returned to the Land of Israel, as well as Dr. Ari Greenspan, who has reintroduced the Biblical blue tekhelet dye, used to fulfill the mitzvah (commandment) of tzitzit (fringes placed on four-cornered garments).

"Ever since 135 CE, when Hadrian forbade, under death, the wearing of tzitzit, we have attached our tzitzit to a little garment hidden beneath our gentile attire," Prager told hosts Ari Abramowitz and Jeremy Gimpel. "It became just a zecher (a remembrance)," he said, emphasizing that now that the Jewish people are a sovereign nation in the Land of Israel it behooves us not only to dress like it, but to return to the full observance of the Biblical laws governing Jewish dress.

	Who is Hadrian and under what authority did he forbid the wearing of tzi-tzi's -- a command of YHWH's? From Wikipedia: Hadrian, "Publius Aelius Traianus Hadrianus (January 24, 76 - July 10, 138 ), known as Hadrian in English, was emperor of Rome from 117 to 138 AD." Numbers Chapter 15 37 And YHWH spoke unto Moses, saying: 38 'Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them throughout their generations fringes in the corners of their garments, and that they put with the fringe of each corner a thread of blue. 39 And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of YHWH, and do them; and that ye go not about after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go astray; 40 that ye may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy unto your God. 41 I am YHWH your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am YHWH your God.'

"A garment is something that you put on when you go outside to protect you from the elements or for the sake of modesty," he explained. "Every Jews would wear a haluk - which our neighbors and cousins, who still wear them, call a jalabiya. It was the Middle Eastern undergarment. An Israelite could be distinguished by his tallit."

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From Jewish Encyclopedia.com: Shabbat Goy

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SHABBAT GOY:
By : Joseph Jacobs Judah David Eisenstein

The Gentile employed in a Jewish household on the Sabbath-day to perform services which are religiously forbidden to Jews on that day. The Shabbat goy's duty is to extinguish the lighted candles or lamps on Friday night, and make a fire in the oven or stove on Sabbath mornings during the cold weather. A poor woman ("Shabbat goyah") often discharges these offices. The hire in olden times was a piece of ḥallah; in modern times, about 10 cents.

	Both employing a goy and having candles lit on Shabbat are questionable. Approximately 18 minutes prior to Shabbat, Rabbinical Jews have made it a woman's duty to light candles while reciting the following "blessing": From http://www.chabad.org: "Blessed are you, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us to kindle the light of the Holy Shabbat." The logical conclusion is this prayer is directed to a god who commanded you to light the candles of Shabbat. Assuming it is acceptable to have fire kindled leading into Shabbat... this blessing is still, at best, incredibly misleading since it specifically excludes YHWH as the blessing's benefactor. We are, in fact, commanded by YHWH not to kindle fire on shabbat. From http://www.shabbatcandlesticks.com/: Actually, a search for the reason for lighting Shabbat candlesticks reveals an interesting history behind it. In fact, there is no commandment in the Torah to light Shabbat candles. The tradition of lighting Shabbat candlesticks derives from a much later period in Jewish history ... The rabbis, in order to make their point clearly, and to solidify the authority of rabbinic law throughout the Jewish community, instituted the recitation of a berakhah when lighting Shabbat candlesticks, thus implying that it is a commandment with the force of Torah behind it. If a commandment did exist to light the candles, candles would then be lit every week without fail since it would be sinning not to light candles -- it would not be tradition. Since YHWH did not make such a commandment based on Deu 4:2 (not to add to or subtract from Torah) and Joshua 8:34 (stating that no commandments exist outside the written Torah), you could say the tradition of praying to a god who commanded it is clearly an idolatrous practice. It should concern everyone. Deuteronomy Chapter 4 2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish from it, that ye may keep the commandments of YHWH your God which I command you. 3 Your eyes have seen what YHWH did in Baal-peor; for all the men that followed the Baal of Peor, YHWH thy God hath destroyed them from the midst of thee. Exodus Chapter 35 2 Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you a holy day, a sabbath of solemn rest to YHWH; whosoever doeth any work therein shall be put to death. 3 Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.' Joshua Chapter 8 34 And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the book of the law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the strangers that walked among them.

According to strict Jewish law, a Jew is not allowed to employ a non-Jew to do work on the Sabbath which is forbidden to a Jew. The rule of the Rabbis is "amirah le-goy shebut" (i.e., "to bid a Gentile to perform work on the Sabbath is still a breach of the Sabbath law," though not so flagrant as performing the work oneself); but under certain circumstances the Rabbis allowed the employment of non-Jews, especially to heat the oven on winter days in northern countries.

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