Rabbi Mordechai Kraft

Rabbi Kraft speaks of the energies which flow to us through created things. Jewish tradition teaches that Abraham and his descendants are not subject to any power the stars and planetary bodies may exert on humanity. The Holy Fathers of the Orthodox Church also tells us that Christians are not subject to such astrological powers or the elemental spirits of the cosmos. When we subject ourselves to such created things, we become slaves. When we subject ourselves in slavery to God, we become free. Torah, meaning "Directive," was given to direct the Jewish people toward personal encounter and relationship with God, and encounter and relationship ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ, God Incarnate.

GLOSSARY:
Mitzah = “Commandment” = “Connection”
Mitzvot = commandments
HaShem = the Lord = the Divine Name
Emeth = Truth = a Hebrew word composed of the first letter, the middle letter, and the final letter of the Hebrew alphabet (אמת).
Chesed = Loving Devotion = Generosity
Din = Justice
Sheqer = lie = falsehood… (altro)

“As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy” (Romans 11:28-31).

GLOSSARY:
Agag = an Amalekite king and an ancestor of the evil Haman, the genocidal enemy of the Jews in the book of Esther
Ahasuerus = the king of Persia
Amolek = Amalek = one of the grandsons of Esau who founded the nation of the Amalekites
Bris Millah = Brit Milah = the Covenant of Circumcision given by God to Abraham and his descendants
Esau = the adversarial brother of Jacob (Yaakov) and the father of Edom
Esther = Jewish woman named “Hadassah” who is chosen by King Ahasuerus to be his queen
Etz = Tree = Wood = Hanging Tree
Germamya of Edom = Germany
Haman = the genocidal enemy of the Jews in the book of Esther who was a descendant of Agag
Hoshanah Rabbah = The seventh day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, the 21st day of Tishrei, on which it is traditionally said that the nations are judged
Purim = a Hebrew word meaning “lots,” used to refer to the Jewish Feast which commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people from the genocidal plot of Haman through the mediation of Esther
Ruach HaQodesh = the Holy Spirit = the Spirit of Prophecy by Which Holy Tradition, both oral and written, is inspired
Shin = the twenty-first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, having the numerical value of 300, which is written undersized in the Hebrew text listing the ten sons of Haman in the book of Esther
Shmuel = Samuel
Talmud = the dialogue of debate among the Jewish sages which records Jewish oral traditions from 200 B.C to A.D. 400
Tav = the twenty-second letter of the Hebrew alphabet, having the numerical value of 400, which is written undersized in the Hebrew text listing the ten sons of Haman in the book of Esther
Torah = the Law = the Pentateuch = the First Five Books of the Bible
Vav = the sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, having the numerical value of 6, which is traditionally written oversized in the Hebrew text listing the ten sons of Haman in the book of Esther. (When Aleph, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, having a numerical value of 1 is written oversized, it has the value of 1,000.)
Zayin = the seventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet, having the numerical value of 7, which is written undersized in the Hebrew text listing the ten sons of Haman in the book of Esther

In the Hebrew text of the book of Esther, no clear name of God appears. Rabbi Kraft says that when Esther refers to King Ahasuerus, the king of Persia is intended, but when she refers to “King” without the name Ahasuerus, God is intended. God has not wholly abandoned the Jewish people. To them were entrusted the oracles of God. The Apostle Paul tells us that, although they may oppose the preaching of the Cross of Christ, they nevertheless, remain beloved to God for the sake of the Patriarchs (Romans 11:28).

To see the oversized Vav (l) and the undersized Zayin (ז), Shin (ש), and Tav (ת) in the last row of the names of Haman's ten children as traditionally written in an Ashkenazi scroll of the book of Esther, click HERE.

Haman, who sought to hang God's people on a Tree, is himself defeated by being hanged on the very Tree he himself had prepared for God's people. "None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory" (1 Corinthians 2:8). "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirite through faith" (Galatians 3:13-14). "You, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the Cross, having disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, triumphing over them by it" (Colossians 2:13-15). "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life" (John 3:14-15).… (altro)

With respect to the significance of the Hebrew letters, the Jewish Tradition teaches the following:

1) The name of each Hebrew Letter has a meaning.
2) The shape of each Hebrew Letter has meaning.
3) Every Hebrew Letter has a numerical value.
4) The first time a letter occurs in the Torah as the first letter in the root of a word, that word reveals the meaning of the letter.
5) The descriptions of the letters as set forth by Rabbi Akiva present aspects of ancient, Jewish tradition.

According to Orthodox tradition, the very letters of the Ten Commandments were inscribed in Hebrew on both sets of stone tablets by God Himself (Deuteronomy 10:1-4).

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GLOSSARY:
Adam = Human
Adamah = Soil; Earth
Aleph Beit = Alphabet = the Letters of the Hebrew Alphabet = the Logical Elements expressing the Energies of God in Creation
Dahven = Pray
Davar = Word = Logos
Ekhud = a Union = One
Enosh = mortal man
HaShem = The LORD; KYRIOS
Ish = Man
Mitzvah = a Commandment to follow; a Good Deed
Shabbos = Shabbat = Sabbath = Spiritual Time transcending ordinary, mundane time
Torah = Pentateuch = The Law of God = The Law of Moses = the First Five Books of the Old Testament
Tzaddik = a Righteous Person
Yod = Hand
Yod-Heh-Vav-Heh = The Spelling of God’s Holy, Unpronounced Name in Hebrew = the Tetragrammaton
"The Zohar" = a mystical, Kabbalistic writing believed by Kabbalists to reveal some of the mysteries of Scripture

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In the Beginning was the Word, the Logos, because the Word is the Source of Creation. “By the Logos of KYRIOS the heavens were made and all their host by the Spirit of His Mouth” (Psalm 32(33):6). KYRIOS (HaShem) with His Word and His Spirit created the heavens and the earth. God created by enunciating, by speaking. “Abracadabra,” meaning “I will create as I speak” in Hebrew, is a word describing God’s action in “Sepher Yetzirah,” “The Book of Formation” or “The Book of Creation,” purported to have been written by the Patriarch Abraham. Aleph is a silent letter which, according to Jewish Kabbalistic Tradition, represents the Divine Mystery of God. As such, we, as Orthodox Christians, would suspect that it would have something to say about the Mystery of the Holy Trinity and, indeed, it does.

Aleph (1) is composed of three parts: one Vav (6) Yod (10) Yod (10) = 26 = the numerical value of God’s Holy Name Yod-Heh-Vav-Heh. Aleph represents God; It’s numerical value is One and it is Three. In other words, Aleph is a symbol of the Holy Trinity.

Hear, O Israel: KYRIOS, our God, KYRIOS is “Ekhud” (numerical value = 13). This is the “Shema” or “Sh’ma,” which is like the Creed of Judaism. It states three names or titles of God (KYRIOS, our God, KYRIOS) and says They are ONE (“Ekhud”) just as in the expression “A man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be ONE (“Ekhud”) flesh” (Genesis 2:24).

Ahavah = Aleph Heh Bet Heh = 1 5 2 5 = 13. God is ONE, a UNION (Ekhud=13) and, according to John the Theologian, God is Love (Ahavah=13). God the Holy Trinity is a CommUNION of Love between Three Divine Persons.… (altro)