To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - The great river...
From: bpr-list@philologos.org
Date: Sat, 05 Aug 2000 05:49:55 -0500

"..unto the great river, the river Euphrates." (Deut 1:7)

"The great river" is undoubtedly great not only for being
one of the original four "heads" (Gen 2:10-14) which flowed
out of Eden, but also for the fact that it serves as one of
the borders of Israel. The Stone Edition of the Chumash,
recalling Rashi's teaching in respect to the Euphrates
serving as a border of Israel, cites this proverb:

'A servant of a king [is respected] like the king; attach
yourself to a nobleman and people will bow to you.' (Rashi)

For additional material on the Euphrates see the file:
Euphrates
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/e004.htm

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - "Come and possess the land..."
From: bpr-list@philologos.org
Date: Sat, 05 Aug 2000 06:35:06 -0500

Living With Moshiach
by Rabbi Jacob Immanuel Schochet

"See, I have set the land before you. Come and possess the
land G-d swore unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
to give unto them and to their descendants after them."
- Devarim 1:8

Rashi comments: "'Come and possess the land'-- there is no
one to contest the matter, and you need not wage war.
Indeed, if they had not sent the spies, they would not have
needed any weapons.

The Almighty Himself had promised the Jewish People that
He would give them the Land of Israel. Quite obviously,
then, no one can contest this. The People of Israel,
therefore, could have taken possession of the land without
a battle, and even without any armor to deter a potential
enemy.

Unfortunately, however, the people lacked faith. They did
not rely on G-d to bring them into the land in a miraculous
way. They lost that opportunity when they demanded, "Let us
send men ahead of us, to explore for us the land and to
bring us back a report..." (Devarim 1:22). Their attitude
and conduct made it necessary for them to follow natural
procedures in taking over the land: they met opposition on
the part of the inhabitants which forced them to wage wars
in order to assert their Divine right to the land.

There is a moral in this for our own times and present
condition:

The future redemption by Moshiach is said to be analogous
to the exodus from Egypt: "As in the days of your going out
from the land of Egypt, I will show them wondrous things"
(Michah 7:15). In fact, the wonders and miracles of the
Messianic redemption will exceed those of the exodus. If,
then, the entry into, and settlement of, the Land of Israel
by those who were freed from the Egyptian exile was
supposed to be in a miraculous way - "There is no one to
contest the matter, and you need not wage war" - how much
more so will this be the case with the Messianic redemption
in our own days!

Nowadays, too, just as then, this matter depends on the
Jewish people themselves. We must show absolute faith in
G-d and His promise, that the entire Land of Israel belongs
to the People of Israel! We must not be afraid to inform
the nations of the world, clearly and unequivocally, that
the Land of Israel is Israel's eternal legacy. "Should the
people of the world say to Israel, 'You are robbers,
because you took by force the lands of the seven nations
(of Canaan),' they can respond to them: 'The whole earth
belongs to the Holy One, blessed be He. He created it and
He gave it to whom He saw fit. (The Land of Israel) was
given to (the nations) by His Will, and by His Will He took
it from them and gave it to us!"' (Rashi on Genesis 1:1).

When we shall demonstrate this true and absolute faith in
G-d, we shall merit immediately the promise "No one will
contest this, and there will be no more wars nor the need
for any weapons": "I shall break from the earth the bow,
the sword and warfare, and I shall make them lie down
securely" (Hosea 2:20).

-------------

Living With Moshiach

An Anthology of Brief Homilies And Insights on
The Weekly Torah Readings And The Festivals
Adapted from the works of the Lubavitcher Rebbe,
Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson

Devarim

by Rabbi Jacob Immanuel Schochet
Published and (c) Copyright by:
Kehot Publication Society

Made available electronically free by:
CHABAD-LUBAVITCH in CYBERSPACE
383 Kingston Avenue #132
Brooklyn, NY 11213
718-953-2444

To subscribe via e-mail, write to:
listserv@chabad.org
Subscribe: W-14

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - What's in a Name?
From: bpr-list@philologos.org
Date: Sat, 05 Aug 2000 09:47:32 -0500

(Gen 17:5) Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy
name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.

Abram meaning "father is exalted."

ABRM = ALEPH-BETH-RESH-MEM

In order to go from ABRM to ABRHM ("father of a multitude") we see
that a HEY has to be added between the RESH and the MEM:

ABRHM = ALEPH-BETH-RESH-HEY-MEM

The letter HEY is one of the letters that form the Divine Name of YaH
(YOD-HEY). One of the things that it symbolizes is repentance and
mercy. It also alludes to God, "Who manifests Himself in quiet
tranquillity." (Munk, pg. 88). This quiet tranquillity in turn
alludes to the sound of the HEY. To make the sound, simply open your
mouth and breath out. "The sound of [hey] is mere exhalation of
breath, [hey]; it requires little effort, no movement of lip, tongue,
or mouth. (Tanchuma Bereishis 16). This effortless enunciation
symbolizes the effortless creation of the world -- as the Psalmist
testifies: ...By the word of HASHEM the heavens were made, and by the
breath of His mouth all their hosts (Psalms 33:6). (Munk, pg. 85)

So we see that HaShem simply breathed a part of Himself (YaH) into
Abram to make this name change.

(Gen 17:15) And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou
shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.

Sarai meaning "contentious or dominant."

SRI(y) = SIN-RESH-YOD

In order to go from SRI(y) to SRH ("lady or princess") the YOD had to
be replaced with a HEY.

SRH = SIN-RESH-HEY

The meaning of Sarai is disputed. Many commentaries or dictionaries
say that it means "my princess" and that the name change from Sarai
to Sarah changed the meaning to just "princess." In other words, she
went from being Abraham's princess to being the princess of many,
i.e., the mother of the nations. But there is an interesting midrash
that discusses the "dominant character" of Sarai:

AND GOD SAID UNTO ABRAHAM: AS FOR SARAI THY WIFE, THOU SHALT NOT CALL
HER NAME SARAI, BUT SARAH [i.e. PRINCESS] SHALL HER NAME BE (XVII,
15). It is written, A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband (Prov.
XII, 4). R. Aha said: Her husband was crowned through her, but she
was not crowned through her husband. The Rabbis said: She was her
husband's ruler. Usually, the husband gives orders, whereas here we
read, In all that Sarah saith unto thee, hearken unto her voice (Gen.
XXI, 12). THOU SHALT NOT CALL HER NAME SARAI, BUT SARAH SHALL HER
NAME BE. (Midrash Rabbah - Genesis XLVII:1)

In going from ABRAM to ABRAHAM, HaShem took nothing away. He merely
added a new letter. But going from SARAI to SARAH it appears that
Sarai had to lose a part of own personality first. A YOD had to be
replaced. What is this YOD?

Earlier I mentioned that HEY formed one of the letters of the Divine
Name of YaH. The other letter is YOD -- the part of Yah that appears
in Sarai (SIN-RESH-YOD). In Abraham's case, HaShem added a part of
Himself. But in Sarai's He removed a part? Why would He remove a
part of His Name to only add another part?

Ah, here's where it gets exciting -- like doing one of those jigs
that Moza talks about. YOD is masculine. HEY is feminine. The
masculine (superior or domineering) aspects of Sarah had to be
removed and replaced with feminine (lady-like) qualities.

It is actually taught by the Jewish sages that it wasn't until Sarah
became a lady that Abram was able to go to Abraham ("a virtuous woman
is a crown to her husband" -- Prov 12:4). Her femininity was
increased, enabling her to bare children whereby Abraham became the
"father of a multitude."

Another aspect of this name change is seen in gematria. The letter
YOD has a numerical value of 10 while the letter HEY has a numerical
value of 5. So we see that HaShem took the YOD(10) and divided it
into two HEYs (5+5=10) and gave one HEY(5) to Abraham and one HEY(5)
to Sarah.

Another interesting and exciting piece of all this shouldn't be
overlooked. Remember that HEY is masculine and that YOD is feminine
and both letters make up the Divine Name of Yah.

(Gen 1:26-28) And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our
likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and
over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the
earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
{27} So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created
he him; male and female created he them. {28} And God blessed them,
and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the
earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and
over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth
upon the earth.

The "dominion" we have been granted comes from the masculine YOD,
while the ability to "multiply" comes, in part, from the feminine HEY.

=================

REFERENCES:

Munk, Rabbi Michael L. The Wisdom in the Hebrew Alphabet, Mesorah
Publications, Ltd., (c)1998

The Soncino Midrash Rabbah, CDrom Edition.

Trimm, James Scott. Hermeneutics: How to Understand the Scriptures,
Society for the Advancement of Nazarene Judaism, (c)2000.

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Aug 6, 2000 TV Programs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Sat, 5 Aug 2000 12:12:56 -0400

8:00 PM Eastern

 A&E - WHEN ANIMALS TALK - Humans break the species barrier
          to communicate with animals.(CC)(TVG)

 TLC - THE LOST ARK - Researchers search for an ancient ark
          capable of storing electricity.(CC)

9:00

 CNN - CNN & TIME - A scientist searches
          Yellowstone National Park for clues about extraterrestrial
          life.(CC)

 HIST - MILITARY BLUNDERS - "Stalin's Purges; The Coup
          Against Gorbachev" - Stalin purges Soviet senior military
          officers; failed 1991 coup against Mikhail
          Gorbachev.(CC)(TVG)

 TLC - DAWN OF MAN - "First Born" - Maeve Leakey unearths
          the oldest biped yet discovered.(CC)(TVPG)

10:00

 CNN - MILLENNIUM - "Century of the Sail" - Chinese sailing
          ships; the Renaissance; the Aztecs; the Ottomans; Portuguese
          explorers.(CC)

 HIST - HISTORY UNDERCOVER - "Ultimate Weapon: The
          H-Bomb" - Until recently, most documents surrounding the
          H-bomb were highly classified.(CC)(TVG)

 TLC - DAWN OF MAN - "Body Human" - Some scientists believe
          they have discovered the ``missing link.''(CC)(TVPG)

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Names planned for the 2000 Atlantic hurricane season
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Sat, 5 Aug 2000 19:11:10 -0400

Names planned for the 2000 Atlantic hurricane season:

Alberto Beryl Chris Debby Ernesto Florence Gordon Helene
Isaac Joyce Keith Leslie Michael Nadine Oscar Patty
Rafael Sandy Tony Valerie William

Source: National Hurricane Center.

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - UN Security Council to hold millennium summit
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Sat, 5 Aug 2000 19:35:42 -0400

UN Security Council to hold millennium summit

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 4 (AFP) - The 15 members of the UN Security
Council agreed Friday that their heads of state and government would hold a
summit meeting on September 7 during the UN's Millennium celebrations.

The summit will be the second of its kind, and Malaysia's ambassador to the
United Nations, Agam Hasmy, told reporters it would focus on the role of the
council in the maintenance of international peace and security, particularly in
Africa.

Malaysia holds the rotating presidency of the council this month, and will
hand over to Mali in September.

President Alpha Omar Konare of Mali is among about 140 heads of state and
government expected to attend the three-day Millennium assembly of the
United Nations, starting on September 6.

The council has met only once at summit level, on January 31, 1992, a few
weeks after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.

Copyright 2000 by Agence France-Presse

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