Error in reading and transmission. Lipa Schmeltzer should be well with a long life. He Eulogized: Milestone: Michoel Schnitzler, 61, Chassidic Singer. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370043
Parshiyos Acharei Mos/Kedoshim
The Torah gave us a
side-track after the tragic loss of the two sons of Aaron. In the course of one
month we lost two pairs of brothers and two sisters to terror and a brother and
sister to a flood so this year Parsha Shemini was too real for most of us.
The Torah took our minds
off of the tragedy with laws of Kashrus, giving birth and purification, the
laws of Tsoras, Zav and Zava and then when we are calmer brings us back to the
loss of the two sons of Aaron. Our Parsha seems to imply that besides offering
up incense that was not called for, the two brothers went in to the holy of
holies and not on Yom Kippur but on the eight day.
Our Parsha moves along
with the holiness and restrictions of a Cohain. Ending off with marital and
relationship holiness. Which then turns into general holy behavior and just
building a series of Mitzvos for holiness such as weights, measures and
justice. The culmination will be in Parsha Emor with the covering the holiness
of the Cohain and family.
16:1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, after the death of the two
sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the LORD, and died; 2 and the LORD said unto Moses: 'Speak unto Aaron
thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the veil,
before the ark-cover which is upon the ark; that he die not; for I appear in
the cloud upon the ark-cover.
The picture is
becoming clearer now. There was more to the cause of death than an extra
incense Korban but also becoming clear that there was a trespass into the
Kodesh Kedoshim with the bells and garments of the Cohain Gadol and it’s
physical-spiritual part in the entrance into the holiest place.
3 Herewith shall Aaron come into
the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin-offering, and a ram for a
burnt-offering. 4 He shall put on
the holy linen tunic, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and
shall be girded with the linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be
attired; they are the holy garments; and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and
put them on. 5 And he shall
take of the congregation of the children of Israel two he-goats for a
sin-offering, and one ram for a burnt-offering.
These are the
Korbanos of Yom Kippur.
6 And Aaron shall present the
bullock of the sin-offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for
himself, and for his house. 7 And he shall
take the two goats, and set them before the LORD at the door of the tent of
meeting. 8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon
the two goats: one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for Azazel.
One of the similar
looking goats becomes a sacrifice and the second is sent to the wilderness to
be thrown from a cliff. Both atone for our sins but the second one is such a
powerful atonement that the reddish string in the Mikdash would turn white. If
your sins be like scarlet they will become white and pure.
9 And Aaron shall present the goat
upon which the lot fell for the LORD, and offer him for a sin-offering. 10 But the goat, on which the lot fell for Azazel,
shall be set alive before the LORD, to make atonement over him, to send him
away for Azazel into the wilderness.
The goat was taken
about 12 miles outside of Yerushalayim towards Yericho.
11 And Aaron shall present the bullock
of the sin-offering, which is for himself, and shall make atonement for
himself, and for his house, and shall slaughter the bullock of the sin-offering which is for himself. 12 And he shall take a censer full of coals of
fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense
beaten small, and bring it within the veil. 13 And he shall put the incense upon the fire
before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the ark-cover that is
upon the testimony, that he die not. 14 And
he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon
the ark-cover on the east; and before the ark-cover shall he sprinkle of the
blood with his finger seven times.
The Cohain Gadol has
bells that ring and the smoke of the incense covers the ark so that the Cohain
cannot see the Shechina.
15 Then shall he slaughter the goat of the sin-offering, that is
for the people, and bring his blood within the veil, and do with his blood as
he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the ark-cover, and
before the ark-cover. 16 And he shall
make atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children
of Israel, and because of their transgressions, even all their sins; and so
shall he do for the tent of meeting, that dwelleth with them in the midst of
their uncleanness.
The slaughtered goat
now atones for his sins.
17 And there shall be no man in the
tent of meeting when he goes in to make atonement in the holy place, until he
come out, and have made atonement for himself, and for his household, and for
all the assembly of Israel. 18 And he shall go
out unto the altar that is before the LORD, and make atonement for it; and
shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put
it upon the horns of the altar round about. 19 And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with
his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of
the children of Israel.
This is the process
we read one above and seven below and the count of the blood goes on.
20 And when he hath made an end of
atoning for the holy place, and the tent of meeting, and the altar, he shall
present the live goat. 21 And Aaron shall
lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the
iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, even all
their sins; and he shall put them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him
away by the hand of an appointed man into the wilderness. 22 And the goat shall bear upon him all their
iniquities unto a land which is cut off; and he shall let go the goat in the
wilderness.
Thus, this goat
repents for all the remaining sins of Yisrael.
23 And Aaron shall come into the
tent of meeting, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he
went into the holy place, and shall leave them there. 24 And he shall bathe his flesh in water in a holy
place and put on his other vestments, and come forth, and offer his
burnt-offering and the burnt-offering of the people, and make atonement for
himself and for the people.
25 And the fat of the sin-offering
shall he make smoke upon the altar. 26 And he that lets
go the goat for Azazel shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water,
and afterward he may come into the camp. 27 And
the bullock of the sin-offering, and the goat of the sin-offering, whose blood
was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall be carried forth
without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh,
and their dung. 28 And he that
burns them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward
he may come into the camp.
29 And it shall be a statute
forever unto you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall
afflict your souls, and shall do no manner of work, the home-born, or the
stranger that sojourns among you. 30 For on this day
shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins shall ye be
clean before the LORD. 31 It is a sabbath
of solemn rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls; it is a statute for
ever. 32 And the priest, who shall
be anointed and who shall be consecrated to be priest in his father's stead,
shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen garments, even the holy
garments. 33 And he shall make
atonement for the most holy place, and he shall make atonement for the tent of
meeting and for the altar; and he shall make atonement for the priests and for
all the people of the assembly. 34 And this shall
be an everlasting statute unto you, to make atonement for the children of
Israel because of all their sins once in the year.' And he did as the LORD
commanded Moses.
17:1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses,
saying: 2 Speak unto Aaron, and unto his sons, and unto all the
children of Israel, and say unto them: This is the thing which the LORD hath
commanded, saying: 3 What man soever there be of the house of Israel,
that slaughters
an ox, or lamb, or
goat, in the camp, or that slaughters it
without the camp, 4 and hath not brought it unto the door of the tent
of meeting, to present it as an offering unto the LORD before the tabernacle of
the LORD, blood shall be imputed unto that man; he hath shed blood; and that
man shall be cut off from among his people.
Slaughtering a Korban
outside of the Mishkan area but not for food and with the case of Eliyahu
HaNovi and the priests of Baal, that was a one time affair and made to be an
except and Kiddush HASHEM outside of the Mishkan.
5 To the end
that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they sacrifice in
the open field, even that they may bring them unto the LORD, unto the door of
the tent of meeting, unto the priest, and sacrifice them for sacrifices of
peace-offerings unto the LORD.
Prior to the Egel
HaZahav (golden calf), the Bechor of the family offered up the sacrifices.
After the sin, there were Bechorim that participated and the Egel and it was
forfitted to Aaron and sons.
6 And the priest
shall dash the blood against the altar of the LORD at the door of the tent of
meeting, and make the fat smoke for a sweet savor unto the
LORD. 7 And they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices unto the
satyrs, after whom they go astray. This shall be a statute forever unto them
throughout their generations.
A left over from
fertility cults.
8 And thou shalt
say unto them: Whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the
strangers that sojourn among them, that offers a burnt-offering or
sacrifice, 9 and brings it not unto the door of the tent of meeting,
to sacrifice it unto the LORD, even that man shall be cut off from his
people.
Since we have a
Mishkan, only sacrifices brought there (later the Mikdash) shall be accepted
under penalty of Kores.
10 And
whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that
sojourn among them, that eats any manner of blood, I will set My face against
that soul that eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people.
One does not eat
blood. I heard that the Prime Minister of Jordan, Wasabi Tal, came to Abdul
Nasser in Black Sept. and tried to negotiate an end to the hijackings. He was
assassinated and the lovely Palestinian drank his blood as he lay dying.
11 For the life
of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make
atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement by reason of
the life.
This is the reason
that blood even from animals and fouls are forbidden.
12 Therefore I
said unto the children of Israel: No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall
any stranger that sojourns among you eat blood. 13 And whatsoever man
there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among
them, that takes in hunting any beast or fowl that may be eaten, he shall pour
out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust. 14 For as to the life
of all flesh, the blood thereof is all one with the life thereof; therefore I
said unto the children of Israel: Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh;
for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof; whosoever eats it shall be cut
off.
Those who eat/drink
blood shall be cut off from the people.
15 And every
soul that eats that which dies of itself, or that which is torn of beasts,
whether he be home-born or a stranger, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe
himself in water, and be unclean until the even; then shall he be
clean. 16 But if he wash them not, nor bathe his flesh, then he shall
bear his iniquity.
Trafe and Nevaila are
forbidden to the Bnei Yisrael.
18:1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: 2 Speak unto
the children of Israel, and say unto them: I am the LORD your
God. 3 After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall
ye not do; and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you,
shall ye not do; neither shall ye walk in their statutes. 4 Mine
ordinances shall ye do, and My statutes shall ye keep, to walk therein: I am
the LORD your God. 5 Ye shall therefore keep My statutes, and Mine
ordinances, which if a man do, he shall live by them: I am the LORD.
We are forbidden to carry on the practices of the Bnei Canaan.
Besides idol worship and sexual promiscuity, they had nothing. It thereby became
imperative that Am Yisrael guard sexual relationships
6 None of you shall approach to any that is
near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness. I am the LORD. 7 The
nakedness of thy father, and the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not
uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
This Pasuk has a number of implications. One
cannot have a relationship with either parent and should not continue onwards
with somebody who had relationships with either parent.
8 The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt
thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness.
Although logic from the previous Pasuk should dictate this, the
incest is some heinous that the Torah spells this out specifically.
9 The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter
of thy father, or the daughter of thy mother, whether born at home, or born
abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover.
There are three possibilities here the first is a
full sister from both parents and the other one is a half sister from either
parent but since it could be from mother or father we end up with three possibilities.
The Talmud has a story of Rabbi Chiya who was born from a father who already
had a son/daughter and a mother who already had a daughter/son. His older half
siblings were completely biologically unrelated to each other but were siblings
to him. (Shabbos)
10 The nakedness of thy son's daughter, or
of thy daughter's daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover; for
theirs is thine own nakedness.
If you are forbidden as a child to your own
generation to that of your parents then your own generation to the next should
logically follow.
11 The nakedness of thy father's wife's
daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her
nakedness.
In case a sister was not clear from a previous
Pasuk, the prohibition is reiterated here.
12 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of
thy father's sister: she is thy father's near kinswoman. 13 Thou
shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister; for she is thy mother's
near kinswoman. 14 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy
father's brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thine aunt.
And we have three Pasukim to clarify that in any
way shape or form, an aunt is forbidden.
15 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of
thy daughter-in-law: she is thy son' wife; thou shalt not uncover her
nakedness.
The child of your child is forbidden and the husband/wife
a parent is forbidden but that of a child has to be repeated and categorized.
16 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of
thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's nakedness.
There is one exception to this a Yebum and
Levirate Marriage to build up the name of your deceased sibling but not if your
sibling had a child.
17 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a
woman and her daughter; thou shalt not take her son's daughter, or her
daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness: they are near kinswomen; it is
lewdness.
Among the children of Canaan and other tribes
this lewdness existed and is forbidden.
18 And thou shalt not take a woman to her
sister, to be a rival to her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her
lifetime.
But if one’s wife passes away, then the sister of
his late wife treats the child as her own for she is an aunt and it is good for
raising the man’s child. I once saw a chart of the Auerbach family that went
back the Maharal of Prague and it showed that one daughter of the Ruv died and
her sister became a step mother and wife and produced half-siblings.
19 And thou shalt not approach unto a woman
to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is impure by her
uncleanness. 20 And thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbor's
wife, to defile thyself with her.
This is to prevent a sibling rival such as that
of Leah and Rachel that was possible before Matan Torah.
21 And thou shalt not give any of thy seed
to set them apart to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I
am the LORD.
Some sort of fire-god or ritual of passing a new
born infant over an open flame possible to warm the infant after leaving the
womb. The Torah forbids this.
22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with
womankind; it is abomination.
This is so bad that it becomes an abomination. It
does not matter if a person has operations that alter the physical appearance
what we call transgender. And this is so wicked for men to spill their seed
that it is called an abomination and worse that a perversion.
23 And thou shalt not lie with any beast to
defile thyself therewith; neither shall any woman stand before a beast, to lie
down thereto; it is perversion.
Inter-species mating is forbidden including
making mules or allowing a goat to be with a form of deer. This is a forbidden
mixture but mating with a different species male and female is perverse but not
on the low level of an abomination.
24 Defile not ye yourselves in any of these
things; for in all these the nations are defiled, which I cast out from before
you. 25 And the land was defiled, therefore I did visit the iniquity
thereof upon it, and the land vomited out her inhabitants. 26 Ye
therefore shall keep My statutes and Mine ordinances, and shall not do any of
these abominations; neither the home-born, nor the stranger that sojourns among
you—
You are forbidden to do all these wicked deeds of
the people of Canaan. Egypt was not better and males married their own female
off-spring.
27 for all these abominations have the men
of the land done, that were before you, and the land is
defiled-- 28 that the land vomit not you out also, when ye defile it,
as it vomited out the nation that was before you.
It is the nature of the holy land to vomit out
the wicked.
29 For whosoever shall do any of these
abominations, even the souls that do them shall be cut off from among their
people. 30 Therefore shall ye keep My charge, that ye do not any of
these abominable customs, which were done before you, and that ye defile not
yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.
Why do we observe this? For “I am the LORD your
God”. We now turn to the guide of behavior for being holy. There are over 50
Mitzvos in these two chapters and there is no way to cover this as you grabbed
one Mitzvos and go into details.
19:1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: 2 Speak
unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them: Ye
shall be holy; for I the LORD your God am holy.
We are to imitate G-D
which is 100% the opposite of the one who learns from the Bnei Canaan.
3 Ye shall fear every man his mother, and
his father, and ye shall keep My sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.
One’s parents’ job is to
bring out so tomorrow there is Kedusha and the higher probability of Tuma by doing
the reverse,
4 Turn ye not unto the idols, nor make to
yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God.
It is hard to believe but
in old times, the Yetzer for idol worship was as great if not greater than Atheism
is today.
5 And when ye offer a sacrifice of
peace-offerings unto the LORD, ye shall offer it that ye may be
accepted. 6 It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the
morrow; and if aught remain until the third day, it shall be burnt with
fire.
Korban Shlomim had the
right of the owners to celebrate two full days in eating it.
7 And if it be eaten at all on the third
day, it is a vile thing; it shall not be accepted. 8 But every one
that eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the holy thing
of the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from his people. 9 And
when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corner of
thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleaning of thy
harvest. 10 And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou
gather the fallen fruit of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and
for the stranger: I am the LORD your God.
The source of your
wealth or poverty comes from HASHEM and therefore you are required to leave
over something for the very poor.
11 Ye shall not steal; neither shall ye deal
falsely, nor lie one to another. … 13 Thou shalt not oppress thy
neighbor, nor rob him; the wages of a hired servant shall not abide with thee
all night until the morning.
G-D will require this
from you either in this life time or the next.
14 Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a
stumbling-block before the blind, but thou shalt fear thy God: I am the
LORD.
There are boorish people
who do these things and the Torah warns of this.
15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in
judgment; thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor favor the person
of the mighty; but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor.
Society in the USA is
starting to fall apart for this. If your name is Clinton or Biden you get one
set of Judiciary Standards and if your name is Trump or you are ‘white privileged’
another.
16 Thou shalt not go up and down as a
talebearer among thy people; neither shalt thou stand idly by the blood of thy
neighbor: I am the LORD.
Because of your Lashon
Hara.
17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy
heart; thou shalt surely rebuke thy neighbour, and not bear sin because of
him. 18 Thou shalt not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against
the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am
the LORD.
This was the main theme
of the school of Hillel the elder and has become known as the ‘golden rule’.
… 23 And when ye shall come into the land,
and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the
fruit thereof as forbidden; three years shall it be as forbidden unto you; it
shall not be eaten. 24 And in the fourth year all the fruit thereof
shall be holy, for giving praise unto the LORD. 25 But in the fifth
year may ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you more richly
the increase thereof: I am the LORD your God.
Each man wants to sit,
relax and eat from his vineyard and fig tree but there are Halachos besides
Teruma and Maaser the Orlah Fruit is one of them.
… 29 Profane not thy daughter, to make her a
harlot, lest the land fall into harlotry, and the land become full of
lewdness.
We saw in the laws of
Modesty in Chapter 18 above that the L-RD does not like lewdness and sending
off one’s daughter to be in this profession is very low indeed.
30 Ye shall keep My sabbaths, and reverence
My sanctuary: I am the LORD.
This chapter is dealing
in holiness and imitation of G-D. There is nothing closer than the holiness of
a Shabbos rest from the creation of the world.
… 35 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in
judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure. 36 Just balances,
just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the LORD your
God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37 And ye shall
observe all My statutes, and all Mine ordinances, and do them: I am the
LORD.
Although I have skipped
many Mitzvos, the way to prevent stealing or robbing in Pasukim 11-13 above so
that there will not be robbers and thieves is to have standard and fair weights
and measures.
20:1 … 6 And the soul that
turns unto the ghosts, and unto the familiar spirits, to go astray after them,
I will even set My face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his
people. 7 Sanctify yourselves
therefore, and be ye holy; for I am the LORD your God. … 10 And the man
that commits adultery with another man's wife, even he that commits adultery
with his neighbor's wife, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be
put to death. 11 And the man that
lies with his father's wife--he hath uncovered his father's nakedness--both of
them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. 12 And if a man lie with his daughter-in-law, both of
them shall surely be put to death; they have wrought corruption; their blood
shall be upon them.
All these sins under
different times or circumstances might have been permissible if the woman never
married or became his wife instead of his father’s wife. These are normal
Yetzer between a man and a woman.
13 And if a man lie with
mankind, as with womankind, both of them have committed abomination: they shall
surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
Again, as in 18:22, the
act of male homosexuality is forbidden and called an abomination. Nowadays the
woke agenda and the anti-Torah is the Yetzer right before Moshiach trying to
ensnare us.
14 And if a man take with his
wife also her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he
and they; that there be no wickedness among you. 15 And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put
to death; and ye shall slay the beast. 16 And
if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the
woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be
upon them. 17 And if a man shall
take his sister, his father's daughter, or his mother's daughter, and see her
nakedness, and she see his nakedness: it is a shameful thing; and they shall be
cut off in the sight of the children of their people: he hath uncovered his
sister's nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity.
These acts are called
wicked and perverse but not an abomination.
18 And if a man shall lie with
a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness--he hath made
naked her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood--both of
them shall be cut off from among their people.
The Torah recognizes menstruation
but it is not a sickness as per the JPS translation.
… 22 Ye shall therefore keep
all My statutes, and all Mine ordinances, and do them, that the land, whither I
bring you to dwell therein, vomit you not out. 23 And ye shall not walk in the customs of the nation,
which I am casting out before you; for they did all these things, and therefore
I abhorred them.
You shall refrain from
all the wickedness in the various forbidden sexual acts and only do so as a Kosher
Person does.
24 But I have said unto you:
'Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land
flowing with milk and honey.' I am the LORD your God, who have set you apart
from the peoples. 25 Ye shall
therefore separate between the clean beast and the unclean, and between the
unclean fowl and the clean; and ye shall not make your souls detestable by
beast, or by fowl, or by anything wherewith the ground teems, which I have set
apart for you to hold unclean.
Observe the laws of
Kashrus and eat only this way.
26 And
ye shall be holy unto Me; for I the LORD am holy, and have set you apart from
the peoples, that ye should be Mine. 27 A
man also or a woman that divines by a ghost or a familiar spirit, shall surely
be put to death; they shall stone them with stones; their blood shall be upon
them.
One shall avoid all
sorts of spirits and divination mentioned a few variants in our Parsha.
Chances are
that Leonardo Da Vinci was Jewish. Marc Weitzmann
https://aish.com/chances-are-leonardo-da-vinci-was-jewish/
Italian Historian Carlo Vecce set out to debunk rumors of
Da Vinci’s foreign origins, but a newly discovered document changed his mind.
In all
likelihood, Leonardo da Vinci was only half
Italian. His mother, Caterina, was a Circassian Jew born somewhere in the
Caucasus, abducted as a teenager and sold as a sex slave several times in
Russia, Constantinople, and Venice before finally being freed in Florence at
age 15. This, at least, is the conclusion reached in the new book Il sorriso di
Caterina, la madre di Leonardo, by the historian Carlo Vecce, one of the most distinguished
specialists on Leonardo da Vinci.
The official version
of da Vinci’s birth is that it was the fruit of a brief fling between the
Florentine solicitor Piero da Vinci and a young peasant from Tuscany called
Caterina, of whom almost nothing was known. Yet there had long been a seemingly
unfounded theory that Leonardo had foreign origins and that Caterina was an
Arab slave. Six years ago, professor Vecce decided to kill the rumor for good.
“I simply found it impossible to believe that the mother of the greatest
Italian genius would be a non-Italian slave,” he told me. “Now, not only do I
believe it, but the most probable hypothesis, given what I found, is that
Caterina was Jewish.”
Vecce was the right
man for the job—he published an anthology of da Vinci’s writings and a
biography, Leonardo, translated into several languages, and he collaborated on
the exhibition of da Vinci’s drawings and manuscripts at the Louvre and
Metropolitan Museum in 2003. He embarked on the research for his latest book
during the reconstruction of da Vinci’s library, which is where he found the
document that changed everything. Dated Nov. 2, 1452, seven months after
Leonardo’s birth, and signed by Piero da Vinci in his professional capacity, it
is an emancipation act regarding “the daughter of a
certain Jacob, originating from the Caucasian mountains,” and named Caterina.
According to the
document, Catarina’s owner appears to have been the wife of rich merchant
Donato di Filippo, who lived near the San Michele Visdomini church in Florence,
and whose usual solicitor for business was Piero da Vinci. The date on the
document is underlined several times, as if da Vinci’s hand was shaking as he
proceeds to the liberation of the woman who just gave him a child.
Slavery was still
current practice in 15th-century Italy, though on a much smaller scale than in
the Ottoman Empire. The city of Florence alone had at least 1,000 slaves—among
them Russians, Abkhazes, Turks, Serbs, and, like Caterina, Circassians from the
Caucasus. Who was this woman who gave birth to one of the greatest geniuses of
the Renaissance?
Investigating her
story, professor Vecce traced another part of the history of the Jews. “Traveling from
Russia,” he told me, Caterina “certainly passed through the Taman peninsula, near
Crimea, which opens on the Azov sea.” The peninsula owes its name to David of
Taman, the king of the Jewish Khazar kingdom that briefly existed there during
the seventh to 10th centuries. “It seems that some traces of the Khazar kingdom
still existed in the 15th century, when the peninsula was controlled by the
Genovese Jewish Ghisolfi family. The region was ruled by Jewish consuls until
the Ottoman Empire put an end to it at the end of the 15th century.”
Most of the slave
ships traveled from the Venetian colony implanted at Azov (then Tana) to
Constantinople. From there, we can follow Caterina to Venice, and then to
Florence where she was brought by her new master, Donato di Filippo, who put
her to work both in his clothing workshop and at the service of his wife. That
she was a sex slave is attested by the fact that she already had several
children by Filippo when, at 15, she met da Vinci, Filippo’s solicitor, who at
first “borrowed” her as a nanny for his daughter Marie and then fell so much in
love with her that he freed her from slavery after Leonardo’s birth.
“Da Vinci himself was
no stranger to the Jews,” says professor Vecce. “His main customers were among
the Jewish community of Florence.”
Piero da Vinci ended
up leaving Florence for Milan. Caterina died there in 1493 and is probably
buried in the San Francesco Grande church, where Leonardo had painted the
“Verginne delle rocce” a few years before.
As for Donato di
Filippo, after his death he gave his money to the church of San Bartolomeo a
Monte Oliveto, for which Leonardo would paint the “Annunciation.”
Coincidentally enough, the background of this painting shows a mountain very
similar to Mount Elbrus, the highest summit of the Caucasus mountains. An
Oriental port quite similar to the port Caterina passed through when she was a
slave also figures on the painting.
According to professor
Vecce, “Caterina certainly fed young Leonardo’s imagination with the memories
of her travels. Circassian people had a reputation for being untamed, free of
mind, and wild. I like to think she taught him the spirit of absolute freedom
that can be found in his scientific and intellectual researches. The freedom of
a mind that is not bound by prejudices or authority.”
From Monique: Chinese
and Jewish. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-jews-of-kaifeng-chinas-only-native-jewish-community/
Milestone: Rabbi Ephraim Mol, 85, Holocaust
survivor died prior to the Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony at Yad Vashem. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370324
Milestone: Ed Koren, 87, cartoonist
for the New Yorker. https://www.timesofisrael.com/the-fuzzy-neurotic-unmistakably-jewish-legacy-of-cartoonist-ed-koren/
Milestone: Harry Belafonte, 96,
friend of Israel. https://www.aol.com/oprah-winfrey-sheryl-lee-ralph-171255348.html
Inyanay Diyoma
Suicidal State of Israel seeks to
keep usurpers. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370377
Iran’s miscalculation. Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei, said on Saturday that the "Zionist entity" is in a
worsening crisis and its end is approaching. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370371
Mentally ill man killed by police. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370357
Germany knife wielding man in
psychological ward of Jewish Hospital shot. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370346
There is a dialogue on Judicial
Reform. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370355
BDE body of Kayaking Yeshiva Student
found. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370356
From last week: https://www.algemeiner.com/2023/04/19/let-us-draw-strength-polish-and-israeli-leaders-commemorate-80th-anniversary-of-warsaw-ghetto-uprising/
Ministry of Defense on Friday morning published
the updated tally of fallen IDF soldiers from 1860 to the present day: 24,213. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370308
Inexcusable behavior on Memorial
Day. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370216
IDF COS makes an appeal along with
all politicians. https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-739989
PM offers NY consul job to
anti-black bigot. https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-said-looking-to-appoint-far-right-firebrand-as-new-york-consul/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/former-bar-association-chief-who-resigned-in-scandal-seeks-old-job/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/plane-from-tel-aviv-to-tokyo-makes-emergency-landing-back-in-israel/
https://www.debka.com/moscow-says-ukraine-opening-a-second-front-against-russia-in-syria/
Iran claims forced US Sub to
surface. https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-739760
Russia promises weapons to N. Korea
if south helps Ukraine. https://www.jpost.com/international/article-739748
Chief Rabbi advice to Minister. https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-740004
Nukes and Belarus. https://www.jpost.com/international/article-739983
Bolstering Ukrainian Tank Forces. https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-739905
300kg satellite to crash in earth. https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-739905
New Model to draft Charedim. https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-739594
Israeli professor Gal Luft, who is wanted by
US authorities for
arms dealing, has gone missing in Cyprus. https://www.jpost.com/international/article-739675
Israel’s drought proof tomato. https://www.jpost.com/science/article-739681
Study on new-born babies. https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/article-739771
Billionaire Dem. Donor banks ‘rape’
lawsuit against Trump. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/billionaire-dem-donor-defends-bankrolling-trump-accusers-rape-lawsuit-judge-seals-funding-docs
I am happy to announce through
proper diet loss so far of 13 kgs plus or more than 26 lbs. in about 5 months.
Are weight loss medications safe? The study in question, published in the peer-reviewed
academic journal Diabetes Care, discovered a link between the long-term
use of these treatments and one's risk of developing thyroid cancer. The study notes that people who
used the drugs for one to three years were 58% more likely to develop thyroid
cancer. https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/article-740061
Apr. 24
Israeli artillery hits Hezballah in
Lebanon. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370403
Ministers skip memorials due to the
left. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370390
Smuggling hundreds of guns, gold to
terrorists. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370392
IAF will over-fly Yehuda v’ Shomron. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370406
Israeli research targeting ovarian
cancer. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370420
Immigration reform will not hurt
Americans. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370423
Charedi Draft Law to be delayed. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370421
5 injured in ramming attack in the
center of Yerushalayim. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370441
PTSD vet tries to ignite himself
& building. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370442
Body of man found under collapsed
crane. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370439
Apr 25 – 26
IDF worse off than before Yom Kippur
War. https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-741283
?Sudan? Hackers brought down PM
website. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370588
Ind. Day flyover. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370577
Apr 26-27
A world-wide hack attack on internet
suppliers such as T-Mobile, Verizon, etc. left hot spots off of phones. I
managed to go to a public WIFI and phone data WIFI to update myself.
Ron DeSantis: Arabs tried to crush
infant Israel it is not the place of the USA to interfere. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370613
The town of Shavei Darom in southern Israel,
which houses the residents who were uprooted from Kfar Darom in the Gaza Strip
during the 2005 disengagement, will inaugurate a new synagogue built in memory
of "the martyrs of Kfar Darom". https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370619
Schwarzenegger: "My father was,
and so many other millions of men were, sucked into a hate system through lies
and deceit. And so, we have seen where that leads." https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370609
No way will Finance Min. let
controlled dairy prices to rise. Blames Lapid-Lieberman. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370618
Police have arrested a man who allegedly espoused
conspiracy theories about Jews in connection with a March attack on a
Chabad center in Cape Coral, Florida. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370614
Newspaper Editor does not decide who
is or isn’t Charedi. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370617
4 criminal murders in 4 hours. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370610
Ukraine is dragging down US Ammo
Supply Depot in Israel. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370607
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/apr/26/tucker-carlson-fired-text-message-fox-executive
200,000 march in support of the
government and reform. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370645
Attempted stabbing and ramming now
neutralized. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370643
https://www.timesofisrael.com/glitch-at-haifa-power-station-causes-brief-blackouts-nationwide/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/powerful-iranian-cleric-killed-in-attack-state-media/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-girls-win-first-second-place-in-annual-bible-quiz/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/followers-of-miracle-rabbi-transform-sleepy-hungarian-village/
Have a healthy and
wonderful Shabbos,
Rachamim Pauli
