In 2016 I had the honor and pleasure of editing Rabbi David Katz’s book: SOUL MAZAL — In the Beginning. (Available on amazon.com) The following article is the Editor’s Preface that I wrote for the book.
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…HaShem came from Sinai – having shone forth to them from Seir, having appeared from Mount Paran, and then approached with some of the holy myriads – from His right hand He presented the fiery Torah to them. —Deuteronomy 33:2
Before HaShem offered the Torah to Israel, it was offered to the Nations.[1]
First, Esau (Mount Seir) was approached through his angel, Samael. “What is in it?” he asked.
“You shall not kill.”
“Oh, no, Master of the Universe, I do not want it,” he replied, “If there be no wars, my dominion will pass from the earth, for it is based on slaughter. Rather, give it to Jacob.”
“But you are the firstborn,” HaShem said.
Samael answered, “I sold my birthright to Jacob. Therefore, give his children the Torah.”
“How shall I entice them to take it?”
Samael replied, “Offer them some of the light of the powers of the Heavens. And you may begin with some of my own light.”
Hashem then went to Ishmael (Mount Paran) to offer the Torah to his angel, Rahab, who likewise asked, “What is in it?”
“You shall not commit adultery.”
“Alas, Master, this is my inheritance, for I have received the blessing of the waters, to be fruitful and multiply. This would destroy my dominion,” he lamented. “Rather, give it to the sons of Isaac.”
“I cannot, for you are the firstborn.”
Rahab continued, “Let him have my birthright, and I give him some of my light as well.”
After this initial exchange HaShem went to the ministering angels of the Nations and received similar answers, with the gift of some of their light.
It is interesting to note that the first samples of the Torah given to these Nations are among the Noahide Laws – rejected off-hand by their ministering angels as not befitting the national character. Therefore, the Noahide Laws were given into the custody of Moses, along with the whole of the Torah. Similarly, the light that was given up by the angels, was also given into the keeping of Israel. Once the Nations would come to desire the Torah, the light could be restored to its rightful owner. It gives a whole new understanding to the edict to be “a light unto the Nations.”[2] This would certainly usher in a whole new era in the history of Mankind.
During the tenure of Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu as the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Vendyl Jones requested of him official recognition of the status of Bnei Noach in the world. He answered that many Christian pastors, ministers, scholars, and such, had made that same request, but none had been able to answer one question. What was that? Name the Seven Laws of Noach. Vendy accurately listed them, and got the agreement. In April of 1990, the first Bnei Noach conference was hosted by Vendyl Jones’ institute in Fort Worth, Texas. There, several representatives of the rabbinate of Israel officially recognized the beginning of this new status among the peoples of the Nations.
1990[3] has been known to Israel’s sages as a benchmark year for the Redemption process.[4] The Vilna Gaon[5] compared the six days of Creation to 6000 years of history (a day being as a thousand years).[6] He then broke the millennium’s years comparable to hours of the day. The year 5750 (1990) is the 18th hour of the 24 hour day. As we get closer to the end of the sixth day, Shabbat is increasingly imminent.
In the vision of Daniel he saw the book sealed until the End of Time.[7] Throughout most of Jewish history the belief has been that the Torah has been the exclusive property of the People of Israel. How amazing it has been to see the references to “ger” open, revealing messages for the peoples of the world! How amazing it has been to see the people of the world come in droves to genuinely seek Torah knowledge! Nothing else works; nothing else satisfies; and “don’t tell me it is not for me – I want Truth! I, too, am part of the Soul of Adam and intricately involved in his mission to rectify the world!”
Redemption, for which Mankind has yearned throughout history, requires both Jews and the righteous of the Nations. This requires a consciousness shift strong enough to negate the primordial decision of the angelic ministers (who were simply speaking forth the truth of the status of the various nations at that time). Now, however, after the influence of (an albeit watered-down version of) Torah through Christianity and Islam, the consciousness of Mankind is better able to hear “what is in it” and pause to reconsider. Indeed, with the advent of the growing Bnei Noach movement, we are coming to a time in which the angels may be asking for their light to be returned to them, for this is the very wisdom that each nation uniquely has to bring to the world. We are told there are seventy faces of Torah; perhaps these faces will only be truly manifested through these individual wisdoms of each Nation.
I thank Hashem for the beauty and blessing of Torah. I marvel when I look back – and forward – to the wondrous things He is doing in the world and for each soul participating in this time in history of the Footsteps of Mashiach.
~ Miriam Ben-Yaacov
SOUL MAZAL,by Rabbi David Katz, is available on amazon.com.
[1] See the Zohar (192a-192b) Parshas Balak.
[2] Isaiah 49:6.
[3] Hebrew year 5750.
[4] Also in 1990:
- Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, starting the Gulf War
- The Berlin Wall came down, and Germany was reunified
- Massive Aliyah from Russia
The following year:
- UN Troops entered the Gulf War
- Desert Storm ended on Purim
- The Soviet Union collapsed
- Yugoslavia fell apart
- Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia left the Soviet Union
- Macedonia declared independence
- The World Wide Web went public
- Airlift of Ethiopian Jews to Israel
[5] Elijah ben Shlomo Zalman (Vilnius April 23, 1720 – Vilnius October 9, 1797); for more detail see Referenced Rabbinical Sages at the end of the book.
[6] Psalm 90:4.
[7] Daniel 12:4.
Healing Well of Miriam 
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