ISSUE 78
2005
  Archive Links Search Contact Us

 

The articles in this issue have been divided upinto the following categories

 

 

 

 

 

Comment


If I Were the Mashiyah

Two years ago, at the height of the American invasion to Iraq, the Wall Street Journal printed a front page article on Naim Dangoor and "his dream of returning to Iraq in glory as the reinstated Exilarch". The article captured the imagination of many readers in America, so that one Jewish newspaper in New York phoned Mr. Dangoor to ask him if he was the Mashiyah.
Naim Dangoor writes:
I was sorry to reply that in fact I was not the Mashiyah, for ever since I have been thinking what I would want to do if I were.
Jewish tradition allows a number of minor duties for the Mashiyah to do such as where to place Elijah's wine cup at the Passover seder and such other matters.

If I were the Mashiyah I would:
First, abolish the major festivals of Passover and Succoth as reminiscent of slavery in Egypt and out of date. Shavouth, although originally a pastoral festival, can be retained as it has become associated with the giving of the Torah. I would abolish Purim and Hanukkah as irrelevant.
Secondly I would abolish all minor fasts days: Fast of Gdalia, Fast of Tebet, Fast of Esther, Fast of Tamuz, Fast of Ab and Fast of the First Born.
Thirdly, I would abolish the lunar calendar as out of date. Most people now days live in towns and cities. Our main contact is the sun. It would be necessary that our solar month coincide to the Gregorian list to be uniform. Luckily Sunday 1st January 2006 corresponds to 1 Tebet 5766.

The 12 months of the year become:

Tishri

Hashvan

Kislev

Tebet

Shabat

Adar

Nisan

Iyar

Sivan

Tamuz

Ab

Elul

 

October

November

December

January

Fubruary

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

 

Tishrin 1

Tishrin 2

Kanun 1

Kanun 2

Shbat

Adar

Nisan

Mayis

Huzairan

Tamuz

Ab

Elul

 

 

The Jewish new year remains 1 Tishri = 1 October and a reformed Kippur to follow. The main purpose of the Mashiyah is to bring peace on earth by uniting mankind.

I first thought of saying that all those who believe in God should be regarded as equal regardless of their other beliefs. But the idea of God is vague and elusive. A better idea to unite mankind is to say all those who keep a seven day week and rest on the seventh day should be regarded as equal in every aspect. They can inter-marry, depending on personal choice. There should be a variety of marriage contracts to choose from. Judaism in its new form becomes a universal religion which may appeal to the undecided half of mankind.

Recently my son asked me what I thought of a party in Israel that calls itself "Jews who don't believe in God". I replied that the First Commandment states, "I am the lord your God… ". It does not say that you have to believe in me. God is great whether we believe in Him or not. His existence does not depend on our vote. The position becomes clear in the rest of the Commandment which states: "You must not have other gods besides me…" Thus the main purpose of monotheism in general and Judaism in particular is not to enforce the worship of The One True God, but to eradicate idol worship. The third commandment states that God will not tolerate someone who honours other gods besides the Lord. No punishment or threat attaches to those who ignore the first commandment, but God will reward those who believe in him. People should be left to find their own way to God, and I would encourage the creation of any number of denominations to that end.

Creation day- morning to morning and not evening to evening as is erroneously rendered in translation. Calendar day- midnight to midnight which is always 24 hours, all the year round and everywhere.
Religious day- 6 pm to 6pm local time, which is a sensible and practical rendering of the Command- From evening to evening you shall celebrate your Holy days.

Kippur fast: 6 am to 6pm
From 1st Tebet we follow Gregorian calendar but we continue to campaign for changing to 30 days- February, March and August
Spring Festival: 17 April
The Dome of the Rock to be opened to all.
Jerusalem to be established as the holy centre for all mankind.
World Government- There should be a gradual build-up of a world government based on countries gradually sponsoring this policy.

Adam invented agriculture and started our present civilisation.
Noah domesticated the animals.
Abraham proclaimed the Kingdom of God
Moses, Jesus and Mohammad established the Kingdom of God. These were God's missionaries.
My granddaughter Sarah was taught that the Mashiyah comes when all Jews observe the Sabbath day. Now all mankind remembers and observes the seventh day. The Mashiyah is here.
The chosen people have suffered for God the wickedness of mankind.

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you would like to make any comments or contribute to The Scribe please contact us.