This other world “… is inhabited by human beings with two heads and four hands and feet, in fact with all their organs doubled excepting only the trunk.[ 27] It happens sometimes that the parts of these double persons quarrel with each other, especially while eating and drinking,…” Louis Ginzberg. The Legends of the Jews — Volume 1
Words. I can’t squeeze a word out that makes sense. The words I do have can’t be spoken, they are those kinds of words and thoughts – like unsent letters that are difficult words and painful memories. The words that get in the way of writing words, the unspoken words, that demand to stand full in the way of any other words unless they are acknowledged first – words of sadness, memories of words. Like they demand if they are not going to be said, nothing will be said.
I wrote: “Love is a thing words can kill.” I was right.
Its said, you do what you learn, your mistakes, and often keep repeating them. Yes, I stick my foot in my mouth regularly – words.
I write: “Words can heal.” Well, not really, sometimes but not always. And there in lies the pain of finding words to share for some words.
When there are no words. Don’t say a word. Can’t get a word out of ’em. Not another word.
“…THE CREATION OF THE WORLD THE FIRST THINGS CREATED THE ALPHABET (before) THE FIRST DAY…”
“…THE ALPHABET When God was about to create the world by His word, the twenty-two letters of the alphabet[ 10] descended from the terrible and august crown of God whereon they were engraved with a pen of flaming fire. They stood round about God, and one after the other spake and entreated, “Create the world through me!” The first to step forward was the letter Taw. It said: “O Lord of the world! May it be Thy will to create Thy world through me, seeing that it is through me that Thou wilt give the Torah to Israel by the hand of Moses, as it is written, ‘Moses commanded us the Torah.'” The Holy One, blessed be He, made reply, and said, “No!” Taw asked, “Why not?” and God answered: “Because in days to come I shall place thee as a sign of death upon the foreheads of men.” As soon as Taw heard these words issue from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, it retired from His presence disappointed. The Shin then stepped forward, and pleaded: “O Lord of the world, create Thy world through me: seeing that Thine own name Shaddai begins with me.” Unfortunately, it is also the first letter of Shaw, lie, and of Sheker, falsehood, and that incapacitated it. Resh had no better luck. It was pointed out that it was the initial letter of Ra’, wicked, and Rasha’ evil, and after that the distinction it enjoys of being the first letter in the Name of God, Rahum, the Merciful, counted for naught. The Kof was rejected, because Kelalah, curse, outweighs the advantage of being the first in Kadosh, the Holy One. In vain did Zadde call attention to Zaddik, the Righteous One; there was Zarot, the misfortunes of Israel, to testify against it. Pe had Podeh, redeemer, to its credit, but Pesha: transgression, reflected dishonor upon it. ‘Ain was declared unfit, because, though it begins ‘Anawah, humility, it performs the same service for ‘Erwah, immorality. Samek said: “O Lord, may it be Thy will to begin the creation with me, for Thou art called Samek, after me, the Upholder of all that fall.” But God said: “Thou art needed in the place in which thou art;[ 11] thou must continue to uphold all that fall.” Nun introduces Ner, “the lamp of the Lord,” which is “the spirit of men,” but it also introduces Ner, “the lamp of the wicked,” which will be put out by God. Mem starts Melek, king, one of the titles of God. As it is the first letter of Mehumah, confusion, as well, it had no chance of accomplishing its desire. The claim of Lamed bore its refutation within itself. It advanced the argument that it was the first letter of Luhot, the celestial tables for the Ten Commandments; it forgot that the tables were shivered in pieces by Moses. Kaf was sure of victory Kisseh, the throne of God, Kabod, His honor, and Keter, His crown, all begin with it. God had to remind it that He would smite together His hands, Kaf, in despair over the misfortunes of Israel. Yod at first sight seemed the appropriate letter for the beginning of creation, on account of its association with Yah, God, if only Yezer ha-Ra’ the evil inclination, had not happened to begin with it, too. Tet is identified with Tob, the good. However, the truly good is not in this world; it belongs to the world to come. Het is the first letter of Hanun, the Gracious One; but this advantage is offset by its place in the word for sin, Hattat. Zain suggests Zakor, remembrance, but it is itself the word for weapon, the doer of mischief. Waw and He compose the Ineffable Name of God; they are therefore too exalted to be pressed into the service of the mundane world. If Dalet had stood only for Dabar, the Divine Word, it would have been used, but it stands also for Din, justice, and under the rule of law without love the world would have fallen to ruin. Finally, in spite of reminding one of Gadol, great, Gimel would not do, because Gemul, retribution, starts with it. After the claims of all these letters had been disposed of, Bet stepped before the Holy One, blessed be He, and pleaded before Him: “O Lord of the world! May it be Thy will to create Thy world through me, seeing that all the dwellers in the world give praise daily unto Thee through me, as it is said, ‘Blessed be the Lord forever. Amen, and Amen.'” The Holy One, blessed be He, at once granted the petition of Bet. He said, “Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” And He created His world through Bet, as it is said, “Bereshit God created the heaven and the earth.” The only letter that had refrained from urging its claims was the modest Alef, and God rewarded it later for its humility by giving it the first place in the Decalogue.[ 12]…”
THE LEGENDS OF THE JEWS BY LOUIS GINZBERG TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN MANUSCRIPT BY HENRIETTA SZOLD VOLUME I BIBLE TIMES AND CHARACTERS FROM THE CREATION TO JACOB. By, Louis Ginzberg
Volume 1 continues,
“…THE FIRST DAY On the first day of creation God produced ten things:[ 13] the heavens and the earth, Tohu and Bohu, light and darkness, wind and water, the duration of the day[ 14] and the duration of the night.[ 15] Though the heavens and the earth consist of entirely different elements,[ 16] they were yet created as a unit, “like the pot and its cover.”[ 17] The heavens were fashioned from the light of God’s garment, and the earth from the snow under the Divine Throne.[ 18] Tohu is a green band which encompasses the whole world, and dispenses darkness, and Bohu consists of stones in the abyss, the producers of the waters. The light created…”
Before words.
Like this story of the world before the beginning, this story of the letters before the words genetic genealogy is giving us ourselves before any we can imagine.
DNA for genealogy is expanding ancestors on our trees back to times of Neanderthals, and Denisovans, and the newest, yet unnamed, sub-species now identified in Human DNA lines plus Homo Erectus, Homo Habilis and so on. Now, it is not, did they or didn’t they mate?, – that they did mate is a given, but still we have to answer the question of did they talk? – did they have words? Of course they did.
Can’t find the words.
DNA
“…In the same way Arka is followed by Harabah, the dry, the place of brooks and streams in spite of its name, as the next, called Yabbashah, the mainland, contains the rivers and the springs. Tebel, the second earth, is the first mainland inhabited by living creatures, three hundred and sixty-five species,[ 26] all essentially different from those of our own earth. Some have human heads set on the body of a lion, or a serpent, or an ox; others have human bodies topped by the head of one of these animals. Besides, Tebel is inhabited by human beings with two heads and four hands and feet, in fact with all their organs doubled excepting only the trunk.[ 27] It happens sometimes that the parts of these double persons quarrel with each other, especially while eating and drinking, when each claims the best and largest portions for himself. This species of mankind is distinguished for great piety, another difference between it and the inhabitants of… (our earth)…”
Louis Ginzberg. The Legends of the Jews — Volume 1 (Kindle Locations 283-290).
These legends of words of life and lives are some that meet back in time when the earliest memories of words wanted to be written and remembered. These words have traveled throughout time and we can see in history sometimes they have been used for good and sometimes for bad. The words have been said and understood, and these same words of stories have sometimes been misspoken and misplaced.
The legend goes on to say it takes 500 years to walk from the earth to the heavens and from one end of a heaven to another and the story goes on. I will see you there says the words of one song.
These stories that rule our civilization as humans, speak of ancestry and descent, I think much of the love of reciting ancestors which ever way you might like to remember your own – the father’s line or the mother’s line or anything in-between, comes from all the begat stories across every culture. And the generations from Paul to Francis are I guess about 6,000 but then realizing we are only a few SNPs of difference between us and Neanderthals and daffodils then I can’t see these stories, these words being distance but in the present. Many are still true, they are still truths.
Words matter and truer words matter more – but do they. CNN pulled a gotcha on me again. I yelled at the TV and changed the channel and then just became happy to turn off the sound all day. If I see real breaking news i can turn it up and run it back.
All these stories made from all the words and they turn one another against each other and they are all – just words. But as we all know, words aren’t just words – words are all powerful and are everything for our being. More stolen years because of stealing words. Shove your words down your throat kind of words. Words to forget. The kind of words that make you appreciate words of happy because you have words of comfort and of love to wipe away all others.
Even words only thought in our memory to the cosmos – they are words of life itself. Words – made up of letters, made up of words. Words that long for the heavens and yet crave to remain with our words of comfort for those we love and long for. But we are the energy of words – the stardust of DNA of the letters of words.
Those people we love and we share the words, “I love you”, “I care”, I’m sorry, I’m blessed to have shared words with you. Those people, that friendship, these words. I love you my friend.
Continue reading online with free e-books:
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1493
THE LEGENDS OF THE JEWS BY LOUIS GINZBERG TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN MANUSCRIPT BY HENRIETTA SZOLD VOLUME I BIBLE TIMES AND CHARACTERS FROM THE CREATION TO JACOB
Louis Ginzberg. The Legends of the Jews — Volume 1 (Kindle Locations 79-81).
“…Folklore, fairy tales, legends, and all forms of story telling akin to these are comprehended, in the terminology of the post-Biblical literature of the Jews, under the inclusive description Haggadah, a name that can be explained by a circumlocution, but cannot be translated. Whatever it is applied to is thereby characterized first as being derived from the Holy Scriptures, and then as being of the nature of a story. And, in point of fact, this dualism sums up the distinguishing features of Jewish Legend…”
Louis Ginzberg. The Legends of the Jews — Volume 1 (Kindle Locations 106-110).
My blog, ‘Neanderthal Lovers’ on Cherie Lynn’s Herstory
Neanderthal Lovers ~ Did they or didn’t they? Of course they did. The tree just got much larger.
images
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphabet
Title: The Legends of the Jews Volume 1 Author: Louis Ginzberg Release Date: October, 1998 [Etext #1493] [Most recently updated on July 4, 2007] Edition: 10 Language: English The Project Gutenberg Etext of The Legends of the Jews Volume 1 ***** This file should be named 1493. txt or 1493. zip****** Scanned by Charles Keller with OmniPage Professional OCR software
Louis Ginzberg. The Legends of the Jews — Volume 1 (Kindle Locations 7-10).
before the excerpt above from Chapter 1 Page 1
“…ALL THINGS PRAISE THE LORD I THE CREATION OF THE WORLD THE FIRST THINGS CREATED In the beginning, two thousand years before the heaven and the earth, seven things were created: the Torah written with black fire on white fire, and lying in the lap of God; the Divine Throne, erected in the heaven which later was over the heads of the Hayyot; Paradise on the right side of God, Hell on the left side; the Celestial Sanctuary directly in front of God, having a jewel on its altar graven with the Name of the Messiah, and a Voice that cries aloud, “Return, ye children of men.”[ 1] When God resolved upon the creation of the world, He took counsel with the Torah.[ 2] Her advice was this: “O Lord, a king without an army and without courtiers and attendants hardly deserves the name of king, for none is nigh to express the homage due to him.” The answer pleased God exceedingly. Thus did He teach all earthly kings, by His Divine example, to undertake naught without first consulting advisers.[ 3] The advice of the Torah was given with some reservations. She was skeptical about the value of an earthly world, on account of the sinfulness of men, who would be sure to disregard her precepts. But God dispelled her doubts. He told her, that repentance had been created long before, and sinners would have the opportunity of mending their ways. Besides, the Temple service would be invested with atoning power, and Paradise and hell were intended to do duty as reward and punishment. Finally, the Messiah was appointed to bring salvation, which would put an end to all sinfulness.[ 4] Nor is this world inhabited by man the first of things earthly created by God. He made several worlds before ours, but He destroyed them all, because He was pleased with none until He created ours.[ 5] But even this last world would have had no permanence, if God had executed His original plan of ruling it according to the principle of strict justice. It was only when He saw that justice by itself would undermine the world that He associated mercy with justice, and made them to rule jointly.[ 6] Thus, from the beginning of all things prevailed Divine goodness, without which nothing could have continued to exist. If not for it, the myriads of evil spirits had soon put an end to the generations of men. But the goodness of God has ordained, that in every Nisan, at the time of the spring equinox, the seraphim shall approach the world of spirits, and intimidate them so that they fear to do harm to men. Again, if God in His goodness had not given protection to the weak, the tame animals would have been extirpated long ago by the wild animals. In Tammuz, at the time of the summer solstice, when the strength of behemot is at its height, he roars so loud that all the animals hear it, and for a whole year they are affrighted and timid, and their acts become less ferocious than their nature is. Again, in Tishri, at the time of the autumnal equinox, the great bird ziz[ 7] flaps his wings and utters his cry, so that the birds of prey, the eagles and the vultures, blench, and they fear to swoop down upon the others and annihilate them in their greed. And, again, were it not for the goodness of God, the vast number of big fish had quickly put an end to the little ones. But at the time of the winter solstice, in the month of Tebet, the sea grows restless, for then leviathan spouts up water, and the big fish become uneasy. They restrain their appetite, and the little ones escape their rapacity. Finally, the goodness of God manifests itself in the preservation of His people Israel. It could not have survived the enmity of the Gentiles, if God had not appointed protectors for it, the archangels Michael and Gabriel.[ 8] Whenever Israel disobeys God, and is accused of misdemeanors by the angels of the other nations, he is defended by his designated guardians, with such good result that the other angels conceive fear of them. Once the angels of the other nations are terrified, the nations themselves venture not to carry out their wicked designs against Israel. That the goodness of God may rule on earth as in heaven, the Angels of Destruction are assigned a place at the far end of the heavens, from which they may never stir, while the Angels of Mercy encircle the Throne of God, at His behest.[ 9]…”
The Alphabet
“…THE FIRST DAY On the first day of creation God produced ten things:[ 13] the heavens and the earth, Tohu and Bohu, light and darkness, wind and water, the duration of the day[ 14] and the duration of the night.[ 15] Though the heavens and the earth consist of entirely different elements,[ 16] they were yet created as a unit, “like the pot and its cover.”[ 17] The heavens were fashioned from the light of God’s garment, and the earth from the snow under the Divine Throne.[ 18] Tohu is a green band which encompasses the whole world, and dispenses darkness, and Bohu consists of stones in the abyss, the producers of the waters. The light created at the very beginning is not the same as the light emitted by the sun, the moon, and the stars, which appeared only on the fourth day. The light of the first day was of a sort that would have enabled man to see the world at a glance from one end to the other. Anticipating the wickedness of the sinful generations of the deluge and the Tower of Babel, who were unworthy to enjoy the blessing of such light, God concealed it, but in the world to come it will appear to the pious in all its pristine glory.[ 19] Several heavens were created,[ 20] seven in fact,[ 21] each to serve a purpose of its own. The first, the one visible to man, has no function except that of covering up the light during the night time; therefore it disappears every morning. The planets are fastened to the second of the heavens; in the third the manna is made for the pious in the hereafter; the fourth contains the celestial Jerusalem together with the…”
Louis Ginzberg. The Legends of the Jews — Volume 1
at the very beginning is not the same as the light emitted by the sun, the moon, and the stars, which appeared only on the fourth day. The light of the first day was of a sort that would have enabled man to see the world at a glance from one end to the other. Anticipating the wickedness of the sinful generations of the deluge and the Tower of Babel, who were unworthy to enjoy the blessing of such light, God concealed it, but in the world to come it will appear to the pious in all its pristine glory.[ 19] Several heavens were created,[ 20] seven in fact,[ 21] each to serve a purpose of its own. The first, the one visible to man, has no function except that of covering up the light during the night time; therefore it disappears every morning. The planets are fastened to the second of the heavens; in the third the manna is made for the pious in the hereafter; the fourth contains the celestial Jerusalem together with the
Louis Ginzberg. The Legends of the Jews — Volume 1 (Kindle Locations 198-199). (Kindle Locations 199-204). (Kindle Locations 204-210). (Kindle Locations 210-216). (Kindle Locations 216-222). (Kindle Locations 222-228). (Kindle Locations 228-229). (Kindle Locations 229-233). (Kindle Locations 233-239). (Kindle Locations 239-246). (Kindle Locations 246-252). (Kindle Locations 252-259). (Kindle Locations 259-264). (Kindle Locations 264-270).
Marionetta Strung-Out 