What is sacrifice?

A two-page discussion document for people who belong to the Orthodox Jewish faith relating to Israeli Settlements

This document has been written on March 24th 2004 by its author, in a neutral capacity. It is an open discussion document for people who are of the Orthodox Jewish faith (or equivalent belief), particularly those who live in disputed settlements in Israel. It is written ‘in all good faith’ by a non-adherent to the Jewish religion, who nevertheless is a firm believer that the 39 books that make up the so called 'Old Testament', amongst other monotheistic Holy texts, is inspired by G*D (YH*H).

Based on the Word of G*D as revealed to Moses the prophet, many Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox Israelis believe it is their right to settle in areas of land the international community believes should belong to Palestinians.

These well meaning and sincere believers make the following theological points to back their rights to disputed Palestinian land:

(1)	G*D made a promise to Abraham that they could have this land.
(2)	G*D further clarified this promise to Isaac and Jacob.
(3)	G*D (YH*H) further clarified the boundaries to this land, to Moses the Prophet.

Discussion topics:

• Who are the children of Abraham in the context of the bible?
• Based on the fact there is a high probability we are all descended from Abraham, by way of being the offspring of the slaves of several Diaspora, could it be argued the whole Human Race are his children? What are the odds of not being literally descended from a Patriarch who lived 4000 years ago in the Middle East?
• In the context of the promise to Abraham, G*D implied that his children would be like the stars in the heavens. Could this actually mean, Abraham’s children (billions upon billions of them) would live on those stars one day, when the human race was worthy enough and future technology was available to travel and colonise other planets?
• The Mosaic Law as described in the Pentateuch appears to have three main purposes: practical civil and criminal laws, morality guidelines and laws, and ceremonial religious procedure. The impact to the world in the last 3000 years has been enormous, as it has influenced secular law, morality and monotheistic religions to this day. Could there be a fourth underlying message in the 600 or so inter-related laws as revealed to Moses the Prophet that would impact the whole world during our era?
• Consider the following: Under the Mosaic Law, ritual animal sacrifice was commonplace and a religious necessity. It wasn’t killing for the sake of it as the animals and birds were normally used to feed the families of 8% of the population: The tribe of Levi had no land inheritance of their own to grow food and were the civil servants and ‘medics’ of the day. Other than the practical benefits of providing food to these families and combining it with religious ritual (in some cases as a deterrent to break minor aspects of the law), could there be an underlying symbolism behind ‘sacrifice’? According to most Christian faiths and the New Testament, it represented the death and sacrifice of Jesus. Regardless of whether this is the case or not, what if G*D in His infinite wisdom, knew that at some point in the future, the world would be affected by the Palestinian/Israeli problem and the underlying principle of sacrificial ritual was that the future nation of Israel, would need to make a critical decision for world peace? That being: a sacrifice of land to the other children of Abraham and the world in general.
• Could it be that when the secular and religious segments that make up the ruling elite of the nation of Israel today, agree to hand over disputed territories to allow the formation of an independent state of Palestine, world peace will soon follow and a third Temple to G*D erected (with the approval of Muslims) on the temple mount in Jerusalem? What if, as part of this eventual sacrifice by both parties (mainly Israeli) one more act was undertaken that would please devout Christians worldwide: a formal yet qualified apology for the circumstances around the death of the historic (as opposed to the religious) Jesus?
• And…….. when world peace finally arrived due the above sacrifices, could the divine promise to Abraham, that his children would be as the stars in the heavens, eventually come true literally for the billions of humans who have his genes?

What a sacrifice! What a result!

Andronicos
Author of 12-12-12

www.12-12-12.org