Mystic-Skeptic Media David Daniel Gonzalez

In this week's show our guest is Mira Z. Amiras. She was raised on her mother’s accounts of the Inquisition and Holocaust, and her father’s tales of the Hebrew aleph bet letters and their role in the creation of the universe. Mira Amiras has taught Jewish mysticism, magic, and folklore along with many other topics in Jewish and Islamic Studies and the anthropology of religion. She founded the Middle East Studies Program at San Jose State University, where she was Professor of Comparative Religious Studies for over 25 years. She received her PhD in Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, and served as president of the Society for the Anthropology of Consciousness, and on the Executive Board of the American Anthropological Association. Mira Amiras is co-founder and facilitator of the Beit Malkhut Study Group, which has been meeting in San Francisco since 1996. Her experimental project, Kaddish in Two-Part Harmony, is a collaboration with musician, Erin Vang. She founded Something Will Emerge Productions in 2012 to take on a new approach in teaching—combining animated film, scholarship, folklore, art, and music to convey concepts that wouldn't stay put on the chalkboard.

In this week's show we discuss the Jewish mystical Meal of the Messiah celebrated the last day of Passover. The traditional "seder" celebrates Jewish redemption from slavery; however according to mystical sources the power of redemption is the greatest on the 8th day of this commemoration of the Exodus from Egypt. The Hasidim celebrate an event called the "Seudat Meshiach" as they believe that evil will be completely extinguished when the Messiah arrives, this includes exile and religious persecution. The ultimate goal of Judaism is for individual to get out of spiritual or physical oppression. There are many concepts related to the last day of Passover. This simple celebration includes a small meal of Matzah and wine or juice. The Talmudic rabbis or sages instituted the traditional "haggadah," the book telling the story which includes drinking a cup of wine, for each section of the "seder." We recite the "kiddush" blessing over the first cup, we read the Moses narrative at the time we partake of the second cup, we recite the Grace after Meals over the third cup, and we sing the "big Hallel" (Psalms and hymns of praises to G-d) over the fourth cup. The history of this meal goes back to the Baal Shem Tov (1700, died 22 May 1760), called the Bescht started the meal.  Other sages like The Tzemach Tzedek said that the Meshiach prepares a chamber for the lowly in the world to come or the kingdom of Heaven. The Meal of Messiah comes from the "haftorah" biblical passage in which includes Isaiah 10 and 11 which discusses a time of freedom and no more oppression: They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. Isaiah 11:9. Jews hope for a messianic time when they will dance with Messiah as Hashem was depicted dancing in the mountains as the Hebrews were coming out of Egypt. Moses Maimonides, a Medieval Jewish philosopher and scholar believed that during the times of the Messiah " The occupation of the entire world will be solely to know G-d..., and the Jews...will again gain an understanding of their Creator..."

he study of demons is a complex topic, as it taps into the most supernatural aspects of the monotheistic traditions. These mysterious beings have sparked countless legends, from tales about their origin, to perspectives that claim they can take hold of human consciousness and bodies. According to the biblical narrative, these fallen angels were originally created to serve G-d and communicate his presence in the world. The Book of Enoch is where the Catholic tradition of angels rebelling against God comes from, but it is in the NT that the role of Satan is defined. At the same time, Jewish theology originally identified Satan as a son of G-d not as an emissary of evil. The Genesis account of angels lusting after the daughters of men was taken as part of the fall of Lucifer by the early mystics. Demons are believed to be the cause for illnesses in the Bible making exorcism the only cure for the effects of possession. This was a prevalent practice during the second temple era around the time of Jesus. The earliest historical reference to exorcism was made by the Jewish-Roman Josephus. He describes how one of the early rabbis named Eleazar expelled a demon in front of Emperor Vespian. He used a formula which was believed to come from King Solomon. The Testament of Solomon a first century text could be called “the encyclopedia of Jewish demonology” This book, attributed to King Solomon, deals with many demons that are mentioned in the New Testament. Such as Beelzeboul and the angel of night which is called Lailah, known as the queen of demons. It is intriguing that most of these demons are associated with sexual passions. We also discussed how animals can be vessels for exorcised demons. The Gospel story concerning the passage of demons into the Gadarene swine is very similar to the Babylonian transference of demons from a possessed man to a kid or pig. However the book Essentials in Demonology finds the following differences: “In the one case, for example, the object is dead, in the other it is living. But the Gospel account at least shows the existence of a belief, widespread among many peoples, that demons are able to pass from men to animals as well as demon animals to men.” A rational explanation for demons in early Jewish mysticism is that the established gods and goddesses of other cultures were degraded to the rank of demons. Especially as the Essene mystics of Qumran, the writers of the Dead Sea Scrolls, associated the Roman armies with the occult as they conveyed their view that “…the sons of light shall battle with the company of darkness.” The origin of Catholic views about demon possession comes directly from the New Testament. The apostle Paul was himself concerned about humans having to challenge the power of Kosmokrators who bring about evil in the world: “Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness (Ephesians 6:12).” In the New Testament early Christians and the rest of the Jewish community viewed exorcism as a form of curing major illnesses such as dumbness, blindness, epilepsy, and mania. The later rabbis ascribed the various diseases to demons and considered the following diseases originating from supernatural sources: blindness; catalepsy, headache (or meningitis); epilepsy, nightmares; delirious fever and madness; leprosy and melancholy. Other signs of possession mentioned are: falling into fire and water, convulsions, foaming at the mouth, raving, grinding of teeth, savage fierceness

In this week's show we discuss the history and relationship to Judaism of the Hebrew Israelite Movement. According to a report from the SPLC"most Hebrew Israelites are neither explicitly racist nor anti-Semitic and do not advocate violence." The most radical ones are "The House of Israel, "Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge", "the Nation of Yahweh", "the Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ" and "12 Tribes of Israel". These groups are considered to promote black supremacy and Anti-Semitism.

A new project from Raiders of the Unknown with Michael Ben Avraham is a a Hasidic Jew who specializes in Meditation and mysteries of the Hebrew Bible and Jewish Tradition. Michael is a Life Coach you can find him at Ancient Paths: Wisdom for Today Website.

n this week's show Michael Ben Avraham (a Hasidic Jew who specializes in Meditation and mysteries of the Hebrew Bible and Jewish Tradition) and I discuss Jewish views of health, illness and healing.