So, it's just after Rosh Hodesh Iyar, and I'm feeling good (as good as I can at the moment) after a successful Scholar-in-Residence program at the synagogue.

So... between now and Monday (4/20) night, let's play everyone's favorite game of Ask Me Anything! Anything you've ever wanted to know about being a synagogue president, and anything you're afraid to ask your congregational president!

I'm the president of a Conservative Jewish (USCJ/Masorti) congregation.

#AMA #judaism

Samael

Also spelled Smil, Samil, or Samiel.

He’s an archangel in Talmudic & post-Talmudic tradition. He’s a figure who is the accuser or adversary (Satan in the Book of Job), seducer, & destroying angel (in the Book of Exodus).

Although many of his functions resemble the Christian idea of Satan, to the point of being sometimes classified as a fallen angel. He’s not necessarily evil, since his functions also result in good, like destroying sinners.

In Midrashic texts, he’s considered to be a member of the heavenly host, often with grim & destructive duties. 1 of Samael’s most significant roles in Jewish lore is that of the main angel of Death & the head of satans. He appears frequently in the story of the Garden of Eden & engineered the Fall of Adam (& Eve) with a snake in writings, during the Second Temple period. However, the serpent isn’t a form of Samael. But a beast he rode, like a camel.

In a single account, he’s also believed to be the father of Cain. As well as the partner of Lilith.

In early Talmudic & Midrashic literature, he hasn’t yet been associated with Satan. Only in later Midrashim is he given the title “head of satans.”

As a guardian angel & prince of Rome, he’s Israel’s archenemy. By the beginning of Jewish culture in Europe, Samael had been established as a representative of Christianity due to his identification with Rome.

In some Gnostic cosmologies, Samael’s role as a source of evil became identified with the Demiurge, the creator of the material world.

Samael was 1st mentioned during the Second Temple period & immediately after its destruction. He’s 1st mentioned in the Book of Enoch, which is a part of the Jewish apocrypha, along with other rebellious angels. In 1 Enoch, he’s 1 of the Watchers who descended to Earth to have adult spicy time with human women. Although he’s not their leader. Samayaza is their leader. (A post about Samyaza is coming soon. Research on him is ongoing, right now.)

In the Greek Apocalypse of Baruch, he’s the dominant evil figure. Samael plants the actual Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil. He’s then banished & cursed by God. To take revenge, he tempts Adam & Eve into sin by taking the form of the serpent.

He further appears as the embodiment of evil in the Ascension of Isaiah & is called by various names:

• Melkira, “King of evil/wicked.”
• Malkira/Malchira, “Messenger of evil.”
• Belkira, “Lord of the Wall.”
• Bechira, “Elect/Chosen of evil.”

The names Belial & Satan are also applied to him. He gains control of King Manasseh to accuse Isaiah of treason.

In Talmudic & Midrash, Samael’s role as an agent of evil is relatively marginal. From the 5th or 6th century onward, he becomes 1 of the most prominent among the demonic entities. Samael hasn’t been identified with the angel of Death in the Talmud.

In the Exodus Rabbah (the Exodus Midrash), Samael is pictured as the accuser in the heavenly court & tempter to sin, while Michael defends Israel’s actions. Here, Samael is identified with Satan. While “Satan” describes his function as an “accuser,” Samael is considered his real/proper name.

He also fulfills the role of the Angel of Death when he comes to take the body of Moses & is called the leader of Satan.

The title of “satan” is also applied to him in the Midrash Pirkei De-Rabbi Eliezer, where he was the chief of the fallen angels, & a 12-winged seraph. According to the text, Samael opposed the creation of Adam & descended to Earth to tempt him into evil.

Riding the serpent, he convinces Eve to eat the Forbidden Fruit. His role here might be inspired by the Islamic idea of Iblis, who refused to prostrate himself before Adam because he consists of fire & Adam merely of dust. This Midrash also reveals that Samael sired Cain with Eve.

In the smaller Midrash, he’s the ruler of Hell. Several sources (like Yalkut Shimoni) describe him as the guardian angel of Esau, relating him to Rome, the 1 who wrestled with Jacob, the angel who ordered Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, & a patron of Edom. Which makes sense because Esau was the “father” of Edom.

In Kabbalah, Samael is described as the “severity of God.” He is listed as 5 of the archangels of the world of Beri’ah. Among his portions are Esau, the people who inherit the sword & bring war; the goats & se’irim (demons); & the destroyer angel.

Both Samael & Lilith are major demons in earlier Jewish literature traditions. They don’t appear paired together until the 2nd half of the 13th century, when they’re introduced together. Lilith is a demon created alongside Adam. She wasn’t originally created as a demon. She morphed into a demoness down the road. She was originally created as Adam’s (1st) wife. Lilith then becomes Samael’s bride. With her, Samael created a host of demon kids, including a son, the “Sword of Samael” (or of Asmodai).

In the Kabbalistic work Treatise on the Left Emanation, Samael is part of the qlippoth (Qlippoth is the representation of evil/impure spiritual forces in Jewish mysticism), prince of all demons, & husband of Lilith. The 2 are said to parallel Adam & Eve being emanated together from the Throne of Glory as a counterpart. Asmodeus is also mentioned to be subservient to Samael & married to a young (or alternate), lesser Lilith.

In the Zohar (1 of Kabbalah’s principal works), Samael is described as a leader of the divine forces of destruction, part of the qlippoth. He’s mentioned again as the serpent’s rider. He’s also described as having mated with Eisheth Zenunim (a princess of the qilppoth); Na’amah (She originated from & is often mixed with another Naamah, sister to Tubal-Cain); & Agrat bat Mahlat (a demoness), all being “angels” of sacred prostitution.

It’s also said that the founder of Hasidic Judaism, Baal Shem Tov, summoned Samael to make him do his bidding.

Samael is also pictured as the angel of Death & 1 of the 7 archangels, the ruler over the 5th Heaven (This refers to 1 of the 7 firmaments, or physical layers, located above the open sky.) & commander of 2 million angels, such as the chief of all destroying angels. Think about the angel(s) who destroyed the Egyptians who didn’t have the lamb’s blood on their doorframes (Exodus 11).

In 3 separate Gnostic texts (found in the Nag Hammadi library), Samael is 1 of the 3 names of the Demiurge. He had 2 other names in these texts: Yaldabaoth & Saklas. After Yaldabaoth claims sole divinity for himself, the voice of Sophia (“wisdom,” the personification of wisdom) comes forth calling him Samael, due to his ignorance.

In Hypostasis of the Archons, Samael is the 1st sinner. The First Epistle of John calls the devil a sinner from the beginning. His appearance is that of a lion-faced serpent.

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"For more than a century, #britmilah has been a persistent test of #Europe’s commitment to #religious #liberty. In recent decades, that test has become increasingly severe as, across the continent, lawmakers, activists, and regulators have sought to restrict or criminalize the practice through medical regulations, alleged child-protection frameworks, or prosecutions of religious practitioners. Although no European state has – as of yet – formally outlawed #Jewish #circumcision outright, the trajectory of public policy in several countries suggests a growing willingness to treat one of #Judaism’s most ancient commandments as a suspicious or even illegal act."

https://jewishpress.com/the-european-challenge-to-brit-milah/

Book of Enoch

This is an ancient Jewish apocalyptic religious text. The author of this book, by tradition, is the patriarch Enoch. Enoch was the dad of Methuselah (the oldest man in the Christian & Hebrew Bible) & the great-grandpa of Noah.

The Book of Enoch has some quite unique passages on the origins of demons & the Nephilim, why some angels fell from Heaven, an explanation of why the Genesis Flood was morally necessary, & a prophetic explanation of the 1,000-year reign of the Messiah.

3 books are traditionally attributed to Enoch, including the distinct works of 2 Enoch & 3 Enoch.

1 Enoch isn’t considered to be canonical Scripture by most sects of Judaism & Christianity. Although it’s a part of the biblical canon used by the Ethiopian Jewish community, Beta Israel. As well as the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church & the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

The older section of 1 Enoch is dated to circa 300-200 BCE. The latest part (Book of Parables) is probably from circa 100 BCE. It’s believed that Enoch was originally written in either Aramaic or Hebrew. The 1st languages used for Jewish texts. No Hebrew version is known to have survived.

Copies of the earlier sections of 1 Enoch were preserved in Aramaic among the Dead Sea Scrolls in the Qumran Caves. The full Book of Enoch survives in its entirety only in the Ge’ez translation. Ge’ez is an ancient South Semitic language. The language originated from what’s known as Ethiopia & Eritrea.

The 1st part of the Book of Enoch describes the fall of the Watchers, the angels who sired angel-human hybrids called the Nephilim. The rest of the book describes Enoch’s revelations & his visits to Heaven in the form of travels, visions, & dreams.

The book consists of 5 major sections:

• The Book of the Watchers (1 Enoch 1-36)
• The Book of Parables of Enoch (1 Enoch 37-71; sometimes called the Similitudes of Enoch)
• The Astronomical Book (1 Enoch 72-82; sometimes called the Book of the Heavenly Luminaries or Book of Luminaries)
• The Book of Dream Visions (I Enoch 83-90; sometimes called the Book of Dreams)
• The Epistle of Enoch (1 Enoch 91-108)

The most extensive surviving early manuscripts of the Book of Enoch are in Ge’ez. Also, there are manuscripts used by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church to prepare the deuterocanonicals from Ge’ez into the targumic Amharic in the bilingual Haile Selassie Amharic Bible.

Judging by the number of copies found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Book of Enoch was widely read during the Second Temple period. Today, the Ethiopian Beta Israel community of Haymanot Jews is the only Jewish group that accepts the Book of Enoch as canonical & still preserves it in its liturgical language of Ge’ez. It plays a central role in worship.

However, the Book of Enoch was excluded from both the formal canon of the Tanakh (the Jewish/Hebrew Bible) & the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament, the earliest Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew). Also from the writings known today as the Deuterocanon.

By the 5th century, the Book of Enoch was mostly excluded from Christian biblical canons. It is now regarded as Scripture only by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church & the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

The Book of Enoch was considered as Scripture in the Epistle of Barnabas & by some of the early Church Fathers (like Clement of Alexandria & Tertullian) who wrote circa 200 that the Jews had rejected the Book of Enoch because it purposely contained prophecies about Jesus.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) don’t consider 1 Enoch to be part of its standard canon. Although it believes that a purported, “original” Book of Enoch was an inspired book.

The Book of Moses (1st published the 1830s by the Mormon Church) is part of its standard works & has a section that claims to contain extracts from the “original” Book of Enoch.

This section has a number of similarities to 1 Enoch & other Enoch texts, including 2 Enoch, 3 Enoch, & The Book of Giants. The Enoch section of the Book of Moses is believed by the Church to contain extracts from “the ministry, teachings, & visions of Enoch.”

Though it doesn’t have the entire Book of Enoch itself. The Mormon Church considers the potions of the other texts that match its Enoch excerpts to be inspired while not rejecting but withholding judgment on the remainder.

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Shalom, earth friends 🌍✨
This week, so many of us felt the emotional gravitational pull of moon joy from the epic #Artemis II mission.
Inspired by the cross-cultural moon convo, here are some of my fave #Jewish moon stories, traditions, and rituals! 🌕
#jewishlearning #judaism

https://youtu.be/lR1_VzbxHT4

One more time wi feeling: Molly Crabapple on the bund

'Yes, it’s hideously racist here, but also it’s not genetic. It’s not that these Europeans are fundamentally evil. It’s because of these systems that blame Jews to take the heat off of the autocracy or off of the capitalists or off of the ruler. And we can actually fight alongside Russians or Poles or French or German people for a better world'

#jewishBund #mollyCrabapple #judaism #socialism #solidarity

https://hammerandhope.org/article/molly-crabapple-jewish-labor-bund