EXEGESIS: BREAD לחם (Lehem or Lechem) OF LIFE IN JEWISH THOUGHT *(Continued)

Continuing from where I left off on my previous post: TheoPoetic Musings: EXEGESIS: BREAD לחם (Lehem or Lechem) OF LIFE IN JEWISH THOUGHT:

---While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body” (Matt. 26:26).--Jesus’ body is the Bread.

---”I Am The Bread Of Life”--- ‘I Am’ Statement, Jesus speaks with Absolute divine authority. I Am echoes God’s True name. The Tetragrammaton-YHVH or YHWH, also referred to as the Ineffable Name. Yod-Hey-Vav-Hey:, which is usually pronounced as Yahweh or Jehovah though the exact pronunciation has been lost. See http://www.eliyah.com/tetragrm.html and http://pages.cthome.net/hirsch/tetra.htm for more info. The Jews never pronounced the Tetragrammaton but substituted the word Adonai instead (usually rendered in the Bible as 'Lord'), because of fear of desecration of the name. Ha-Shem, which means the Name or Elohim, which means a god or many gods are also substituted for it. This is the special memorial-name that God revealed to Moses at the burning bush. "And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM; and He said, thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, I AM has sent me to you... this is My eternal name, and this is how I am to be recalled for all generations" (Exodus 3:14-15). Actually, the phrase in Hebrew is "eh-yeh asher eh-yeh." The word "eh-yeh" being the first person future form of "hovah" (to be). A better English translation would really be, "I will be who (or what or that) I will be." Even though the name YHVH appears earlier in Genesis 2, God didn't reveal Himself as YHVH until Exodus 3 in conjunction with the creation of Israel.

---Baal Shem Tov= Master of the Sacred Name

---Shema--- “Hear, O, Israel, the Lord, your God, is One (echad) Lord.” (One Unity) This is the fundamental belief in Judaism and the opening statement of many Jewish rituals. The Hebrew word echad for one is also used in the Genesis passage about Adam and Eve becoming one flesh, which is an act of union.

--- Jesus would have said in a form of: “Ey-yeh lehem hachay” in Hebrew, “Iythay (to be) lehem chay” in Aramaic and “Einai (to be) artos zoe” in Greek. “I Am the Bread of Life.” Notice the close connections between bread and (to) life.
l'chaim -"To Life!" /lechem -(Heb.) bread

---The Wine of the Last Supper is like the kiddush and the kiddush HaShem lit.=sanctification of the Name: selfless act, esp. martyrdom. Wine is used as a means of sanctification. Wine has always been symbolic of blood sacrifice and atonement.=Cup of Redemption of the Passover.

---Wine is symbolic of blood and blood is the very essence of life. Wine has also been used as a symbol of love and divine love, especially by mystics. It is also symbolic of life, communion, covenants, death and even sex (see Song of Solomon for that) or intimate relations. Wine as a symbol is seen in a lot of Persian mystic or Sufi poetry.
Examples:

Don’t let go of the cup’s lips
Till you receive your worldly tips.
Bittersweet is the world’s cup
From lover’s lips and the cup sips.

---A Ruba'i or Quatrain of Hafez or Hafiz, a Sufi poet. Or this Ghazal of Hafez:

O beautiful wine-bearer, bring forth the cup and put it to my lips
Path of love seemed easy at first, what came was many hardships.
With its perfume, the morning breeze unlocks those beautiful locks
The curl of those dark ringlets, many hearts to shreds strips.
In the house of my Beloved, how can I enjoy the feast
Since the church bells call the call that for pilgrimage equips.
With wine color your robe, one of the old Magi’s best tips
Trust in this traveler’s tips, who knows of many paths and trips.
The dark midnight, fearful waves, and the tempestuous whirlpool
How can he know of our state, while ports house his unladen ships.
I followed my own path of love, and now I am in bad repute
How can a secret remain veiled, if from every tongue it drips?
If His presence you seek, Hafiz, then why yourself eclipse?
Stick to the One you know, let go of imaginary trips.

---Another extreme example of this is from Rumi, the founder of the mystical Sufi Order of Islam: “Let me taste the wine of eternal communion/Cry out in drunkenness, intoxicated, broken, alone…” from the Divan-e Shams 114
(http://www.rumionfire.com/shams/rumi114.htm). --- http://www.rumionfire.com/.

---Or from Edward Fitzgerald’s translation of Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat:

“Here with a little Bread beneath the Bough,
A Flask of Wine, a Book of Verse - and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness
Oh, Wilderness were Paradise enow!”

(http://www.arabiannights.org/rubaiyat/index2.html)
See also: http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Khayyam.html
And: http://www.okonlife.com/---(In this quatrain of Khayyam’s, we see a connection with the Eucharist of the Last Supper or Holy Communion).

----More modern references to the mystical symbolism of bread and wine come from popular culture. Here are some examples from different song lyrics:

“Trouble/Oh trouble can't you see/You're eating my heart away/And there's nothing much left of me/I've drunk your wine/You have made your world mine/So won't you be fair.” ---Trouble--Cat Stevens.

“Bring tea for the Tillerman/Steak for the sun/Wine for the women who made the rain come/Seagulls sing your hearts away/'Cause while the sinners sin, the children play/Oh Lord how they play and play/For that happy day, for that happy day”---Tea For The Tillerman--Cat Stevens. See http://catstevens.com/index.html for others.

“Don't worry smile and dance/You just can work life out/Don't let down moods entrance you/Take the wine and shout/My life's a mess I wait for you to pass/I stand here at the bar, I hold an empty glass”---Empty Glass--Pete Townshend. (http://www.wdkeller.com/index17.htm)

“Here is your wine,/And your drunken fall;/And here is your love./Your love for it all.”---Here It Is--Leonard Cohen.

----Bill Mallonee And The Vigilantes Of Love: http://www.parting-shot.com/

---Chris de Burgh: http://chris-deburgh.de/

---- Genesis: http://genesis.musichall.cz/php/eng/

----U2: "Until the End of the World"
"We ate the food, we drank the wine...I took the money, I spiked your drink...In the garden I was playing the tart, I kissed your lips and broke your heart" -- see Judas and Jesus in Matthew 14-15, 20-29, 47-49 ---http://www.atu2.com/lyrics/biblerefs.html
http://u2sermons.blogspot.com/
http://lyrics.interference.com/u2/

---Bob Dylan:

http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Studios/7855/01skeletonkeys.html

http://www.literatureclassics.com/ancientpaths/dylan.html

http://www.radiohazak.com/Dylan.html

http://www.gottaservesomebody.com/

http://www.geocities.com/temptations_page/DylGuide.html

http://notdarkyet.tripod.com/index.html

http://www.alilyamongthorns.8m.com/0alilyamongthorns.html

http://web.utk.edu/~wparr/SlowTrain.html

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/2667/articles.html

http://www.bobdylan.com/links/linksContent.html

http://mysite.verizon.net/vze796a4/index.html

http://hem.passagen.se/obrecht/backpages/chords/index.htm

"Business men, they drink my wine, plowmen dig my earth/None of them along the line know what any of it is worth."---All Along The Watchtower---"The Lord will enter into judgement with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard, the spoil of the poor is in your houses." (Isaiah 3:14). All belongs to the Lord, but His creation has spoiled the earth, His bounty, His vineyard, and the poor.

Jokerman--At the beginning of the song, we see the Jokerman "Standing on the waters casting [his] bread" (1). We know that Jesus Christ said He was "the bread of life" (Henry 1; John 6.48). He also commented that "[m]an shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4.4). The Jokerman casting his bread, therefore, may be symbolic of Christ’s sharing his Word, since he "is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die" (John 61.50). Most explicitly, this verse of the song refers to Ecclesiastes 11:1: "Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days" (Henry 2). The implied hope, then, is that Christ’s teaching--which He has "cast" upon the people--will breed loyal disciples. But the hope is an insecure one. See http://www.radiohazak.com/Jokerman.html for a Jewish Interpretation of this song. Another interpretation of the first verse: Now let’s look at the actual verses in Jokerman and see how they describe Jesus.
Standing on the waters casting your bread
In demonstrating dominion over His creation Jesus walked upon the Sea of Galilee (Kinneret). When Jesus was being tempted by Satan to turn stones into bread to quench His hunger, He replied that man does not live by bread alone but by the Word of God. In the gospel of John, we learn that Jesus was the Incarnation of the Word of God and that He is the Bread of Life to all that come to Him. Or: http://web.utk.edu/~wparr/henryjokerman.html


Someone Got A Hold Of My Heart- They say "Eat, drink and be merry, take the bull by the horns."
From Luke 12:19. "And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, [and] be merry." This is what a rich man who plans on living a life on hedonism says to himself in one of Jesus' parables. The chronicle goes on (12:20) to record God's reply to the man: "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?" The moral of the story is, Jesus explains, "Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment." (12:22-23)

Lyrics Search for Bread: YEA! HEAVY AND A BOTTLE OF BREAD
Yea! Heavy and a bottle of bread

DIAMOND JOE
5. Now his bread it was corn dodger

FROM A BUICK 6
She's a junkyard angel and she always gives me bread

SANTA-FE
She's rollin' up a lotta bread

YE SHALL BE CHANGED
And you been eating the bread of sorrow

SOMETHING'S BURNING, BABY
You can't live by bread alone, you won't be satisfied

GATES OF EDEN
Who pick up on his bread crumb sins

CLEAN-CUT KID
He drank Coca-Cola, he was eating Wonder Bread,

JOKERMAN
Standing on the waters casting your bread

FOOT OF PRIDE
Feed you coconut bread, spice buns in your bed

GOTTA SERVE SOMEBODY
You might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat bread, Total number of matches: 11

---See also---Contemporary Christian Artists, Hymns And Such
Larry Norman, Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Steven Curtis Chapman, etc.

Thoughts On Palm Sunday

For more Jesus Christ Superstar videos on Youtube go here: Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) Hosanna ( 7).

See: Along the Way April 5th Palm Sunday Teacher’s Guide John 18:28-19:22 – “Kingdoms in Conflict” and April 5th Palm Sunday John 18:28-19:22 – “Kingdoms in Conflict” Student Lesson.

Here is a brief description of the Christian tradition of Palm Sunday:

Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast which always falls on the Sunday before Easter Sunday. The feast commemorates an event mentioned by all four Canonical Gospels Mark 11:1-11, Matthew 21:1-11, Luke 19:28-44, and John 12:12-19: the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem in the days before his Passion.

In many Christian churches, Palm Sunday is marked by the distribution of palm leaves (often tied into crosses) to the assembled worshipers. The difficulty of procuring palms for that day's ceremonies in unfavorable climates for palms led to the substitution of boughs of box, yew, willow or other native trees. The Sunday was often designated by the names of these trees, as Yew Sunday or by the general term Branch Sunday.

According to the Gospels, before entering Jerusalem, Jesus was staying at Bethany and Bethphage, and the Gospel of John adds that he had dinner with Lazarus, and his sisters Mary and Martha. While there, Jesus is described by the Synoptic Gospels as sending two unnamed disciples to the village over against them, in order to retrieve a donkey that had been tied up but never been ridden, and to say, if questioned, that the donkey was needed by the Lord but would be returned in a short period of time. Jesus then rode the donkey into Jerusalem, with the Synoptics adding that the disciples had first put their cloaks on it, so as to make it more comfortable. The Gospels go on to describe how Jesus rode into Jerusalem, and how the people there lay down their cloaks in front of him, and also lay down small branches of trees. The people are also described as singing part of Psalm 118 - ...Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father, David. ... (Psalms 118:25-26). Where this entry is supposed to have taken place is unspecified; some scholars argue that the Golden Gate is the likely location, since that was where it was believed the Jewish messiah would enter Jerusalem; other scholars think that an entrance to the south, which had stairs leading directly to the Temple, would be more likely (Kilgallen 210). According to Jewish tradition the one who is able to bridle and ride a colt (or donkey) has a status of Messiah.

The Two Contradictory Palm Sunday Accounts

Matthew states:

Matthew 21:1-9

21When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. 3If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” 4This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, 5“Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” 6The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; 7they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. 8A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (NRSV)

And the other Gospel accounts state:

Mark 11:1-11

11When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples 2and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. 3If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.’” 4They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, 5some of the bystanders said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it. 7Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. 8Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. 9Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,
“Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
10Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”11Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

Biblical literalists and inerrantists are ignorant to insist that Jesus literally and simultaneously rode into Jerusalem on one colt/donkey and 2 different donkeys/colts at the same time---but that's exactly what theological conservative apologists try to do all in an attempt to defend and hang onto their absurd and irrational dogma of biblical inerrancy. Harmonization can be useful, but it is preferable to let each account speak for themselves errant contradictions and all.

See also: Blasphemy And The Ineffable Name, Parashat Emor Devar Torah By Emma Golub, Bat Mitzva, Tetragrammaton, Did the Messiah say the Heavenly Father's Name?, Jesus and the Divine Name and יַהְוֶה for details on the Blasphemy Charges leveled against Jesus.