Two Halves of the Rambam Together

I was privileged to attend tonight the opening of a special display of a Mishneh Torah, the classic Halachic codex of the Rambam, commissioned and completed ca. 1457 in northern Italy and illustrated in the Renaissance style of the time. 

It was at the Israel Museum in the presence of the Rishon Letzion Yitzchak Yosef, the Apostolic Nuncio in Israel Archbishop Guiseppe Lazzarotto, Msgr. Cesare Pasini, the Vatican's Prefect of its Biblioteca Apostolica with a nice talk by Prof. Moshee Halbertal who spoke of the Rambam's approach that to be religious, one must learn to love, which is beyond fearful respect and can only be achieved through knowing God which, in turn, can only be gained by learning of his works in nature.

The two halves of the volume were separated some two centuries ago and ended up in the Vatican and in Germany and that second Jewish-held half was only recently located and purchased by the Israel Museum jointly with New York's Metropolitan Museum.

The two halves

The Nuncio

and also with James Synder, Museum Director (red tie)

The attendees

The Chief Rabbi and the Nuncio

James Snyder speaking

P.S.  The title of the evening was a play on words - יד ביד - which is 'Hand in Hand' - but refers to the fact that the Rambam's work contained 14 sections which, in gammatria is יד, I think was lost to many of those who attended.

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Vatican To Lose Mount Zion?

The Vatican will be recognizing some entity that calls itself the 'state of Palestine'.

If it ever thought that after years of negotiations it will now obtain more than just a right of access to the Cenacle on Mount Zion, a revered Jewish site, I think that's a no.

Or that should be a no.

___________

In 1537, Jews managed to expell the Franciscans from the site, which was a Jewish synagogue, after they took it over in the early 14th century.

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Why Is The Pope Flying to Ben-Gurion?

Did you know that before 1964, when the city of Jerusalem was divided with the eastern section of the pre-1948 municipal boundaries under an illegal Jordanian occupation, Mount Zion was under Israel sovereignty.  However, since it was on the border, the way to Mount Zion was a narrow dirt track. In that year, Pope Paul VI visited Jerusalem.  Due to the fact that he was to cross over from east to west but refused to go through the Mandlebaum Gate Crossing --- the story is that he did not want to recogtnize Israeli sovereignty --- that dirt road was widened and paved properly.  Some us veterans still call it the Pope's Road although the official name is Ma'ale HaShalom and it goes alongside the Protestant Mount Zion Cemetery and Catholic cemeteries.

There is also this:

On January 5, 1964, Pope Paul VI made, for the first time in the history of the Papacy, a papal visit in Jerusalem. The Pope said in Megiddo, where he entered Israel, “We are coming as pilgrims, we come to venerate the Holy Places; we come to pray”.
The Pope thanked unspecified “authorities” for arranging his visit and refused to address Zalman Shazar as “Mr. President”, avoiding any mention of that damned word: “Israel”. On his return to the Vatican, Paul sent a thank you note to “Mr. Shazar” in Tel Aviv”, not Jerusalem, the capital of the State of Israel. To exorcise the Israeli devil, they refuse to name it expressis verbis.
Pope Paul VI spent only eleven hours in Israel. He avoided Israeli-controlled West Jerusalem, refusing to meet there with then Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Nissim. 

The BBC added:

During his short trip to Israel - it lasted only 11 hours - Pope Paul VI never once called Israel by name, and went out of his way to avoid using the word Jews.
In those days, the Vatican saw Israel as a non-country, and its people as a non-nation.
Pope Paul VI even used the occasion to praise his mentor, Pope Pius XII, defending the latter's silence during the Holocaust.

And now, another Pope is coming.

After Jordan and the Palestinian Authority, here's his schedule:

Sunday, May 25, 2014 08:30 – Departure by helicopter from Queen Alia Internal Airport in Amman for Bethlehem09:30 – Arrival ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Bethlehem Courtesy visit to the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority10:00 – Meeting with the Palestinian Authority. Discourse of the Holy Father11:00 – Holy Mass in Manger Square in Bethlehem. Homily of the Holy FatherRegina Coeli prayer. Allocution of the Holy Father15:00 – Private visit to the Grotto of the Nativity in Bethlehem15:45 – Farewell from the Palestinian Authority at the helipad of Bethlehem16:00 – Departure by helicopter from the helipad of Bethlehem for Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel16:30 – Arrival ceremony at Ben Gurion International Airport. Open coverage; details to be issued separately. Discourse of the Holy Father

Odd.

I am sure that the Bethlehem helipad is probably equivalent to any Jerusalem helipad.  So why go to Ben-Gurion?  To avoid Palestinian terrorists on the roads?

Sure enough, the schedule continues and what do we read?

17:45 – Arrival at the helipad of Jerusalem on Mount Scopus

Now, it could be that Israel presumes its official entrance space is the International Airport.  Or, perhaps, they need more room for the first presence moment of the Pope.  But he is immediately going to Jerusalem in any case. He seems to be at ease with Jews.

Odd.

What gives?

And by the way, what will be with the maneuvers to obtain control over Mount Zion property?

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Franciscans Provide Temple Mount Precedent

Some of their propaganda from the voice-over clip at the bottom of the page is nigh anti-Semitic but the information is encouraging:

Upper Room on Mt. Zion To Open for Catholic Worship

The Cenacle, the building on Mt. Zion which houses the “Upper Room” where Jesus and his disciples held the Last Supper will once again be open for Catholic worship, it has been announced by spokesmen for the Vatican, the Israeli government and the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land.  The agreement, which is part of overall negotiations over the use of land owned by the church in Israel allows for Franciscan administrative control of the site, while ownership will remain with Israel...

...The Franciscan Friars owned the site during the 14th and 15th centuries, but were expelled by the Ottoman Empire in 1550...While expressing disappointment with Israeli ownership, he said, "opening the Upper Room to Catholic worship is “good news.” 

...Negotiations between the Vatican and Israel began 20 years ago with a “Fundamental Agreement” designed to open the way to Vatican recognition of Israel. Negotiations halted for several years until the United States intervened and talks were resumed in 2004, Vasko said. The current round of talks is the first to be held in two years. In addition to the Cenacle, other key elements of the negotiations include two churches the Vatican wants to build, and tax exempt status for Catholic Churches. The recent agreement approves tax-exempt status for the churches but specifies that attached buildings such as gift shops and restaurants will be subject to Israeli sales tax.  Negotiations will continue in December, according to the joint announcement.

If the Israel government can make these generous provisions for shared use of a holy site, when do they finalize an arrangement with the Waqf so that Jews can worship on the Temple Mount?

Freedom of worship is, I would presume, a right for Jews as much as it is for Christians.

No?

_____________

Being me, I sent this query:-

Is worship limited to Catholics or can other sects of Christianity pray, too?

and received this reply:-

Thank you for your response to our article “Upper Room on Mt. Zion To Open for Catholic Worship”.  We as Catholics are very excited that the ability to celebrate Holy Mass in the “Cenacle” or “Upper Room” is being restored  to the Franciscans even though the ownership of the Upper Room will stay in the hands of the Israelis.  The reason this is so important to us is that we believe that Jesus celebrated the first mass at the Last Supper and asked us to do so also in remembrance of Him.  It is also where the sacrament of Holy Orders (Priesthood) was established.

In response to your question, the Upper Room has been open to other forms of worship all along.  However, I am not sure if it requires any type of permission.  There are numerous YouTube videos of groups worshipping in the open spaces.

Are you an interested reader or are you affiliated with a news source? 

Many blessings.  Visit us at www.ffhl.org for much more on our work in the Holy Land.

Deborah Roberts

Media Coordinator

This was my answer:

I am an interested reader and I also blog.

I asked because I thought the arrangement being agreed upon could serve as a model for the friction between Muslims and Jews on the Temple Mount.

and I then added:

incidentally, I could not locate any other independent corroboration for the story even after searching Vatican news web sites.  has the story appeared other than where I found it?

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Waqf and Vatican Cooperate in Jerusalem

According to this:

"Under the terms of the proposed agreement the building that houses the Upper Room, also known as the Cenacle [on Mount Zion], would reportedly remain under Israeli state ownership. However the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land—which had previously owned the building, and sought its return—will have administrative control over the Cenacle itself."

Israel's government is creating another Temple Mount situation.  Technically, the land is Israel's sovereign territory but the day-to-day control lies with an institution which does not properly belong to the State.

And I used to refer to the Temple Mount administration by the Waqf as an Islamic Vatican.

Little did I know, or suspect, or imagine.

Incidentally,

Bernardino [of Siena, a 15th century Franciscan preacher] is particularly resented today as being a "major protagonist of Christian anti-semitism". He called for Jews to be isolated from the wider communities in which they lived; blaming the poverty of local Christians on Jewish usury. His audiences often used his words to reinforce actions against Jews, and his preaching left a legacy of resentment on the part of Jews.

and being generous

His attitude toward Jews, however, did not rise above the prejudice of his day.

Let's not forget that Cenacle building was originally a synagogue.


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The Shadow of Rome on Jerusalem's Horizon

An excerpt from Giulio Meotti's op-ed on the Vatican's aspirations and demands in Jerusalem:

...The Vatican never raised its voice to protest against the apartheid imposed by the Jordanians. Israeli leaders asked the Vatican to use its “good offices” to intervene in order to stop the desecration, but during this dark period, the rape of Jewish Jerusalem did not lead to any expression of concern from Vatican diplomats.

The Catholic Church, which has now discovered “rights” in Jerusalem, was totally silent from 1948-1967, when its representatives witnessed the systematic pillaging of the Jewish synagogues.

Once Israel reunited the city, followers of all three monotheistic faiths have been able to worship without restrictions, with the only apartheid the restrictions imposed on Jews on Judaism's holiest site, the Temple Mount, which though under Israeli sovereignty, is controlled by the Moslem Wakf.

Would a Palestinian flag over Temple Mount in the heart of ancient Jerusalem promote tolerance, or would it have the opposite effect?

If this area came under the control of the Palestinian “security” forces or was put in international custody, how long would it take before the Jews praying there would be pelted with rocks and garbage as occurred in October 1990?

Read it all.

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Vatican Stealth Moves

Watch this short video news clip and ask yourselves the following questions:

a) why sovereignty? the Vatican, from Herzl's days on, saw the renascent state of Israel as a big no-no, as for example:

When Theodor Herzl came to the Vatican in 1904 to plead with Pope Pius X (picture) to alleviate the suffering of European Jews, the pope bluntly told him that: «The Jews have not recognized our lord, therefore we cannot recognize the Jewish people». Herzl countered that perhaps terror and persecution were not the right means by which to enlighten them, but the pope rebuffed him: «They had ample time to acknowledge Christ’s divinity without pressure, but they didn’t»...On June 22, 1943, the Vatican sent these points to its apostolic delegation in Washington: «If the greater part of Palestine is given to the Jewish people, this would be a severe blow to the religious attachments of Catholics to this land. To have the Jewish people in the majority would interfere with the peaceful exercise of these rights in the Holy Land already vested in Catholics».

b) why should a building that was first a synagogue:

The original building was a synagogue later probably used by Jewish Christians. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the building was spared during the destruction of Jerusalem under Titus (AD 70),[15] though Pixner thinks it was likely rebuilt right after the war, and claims three walls of that structure are still extant...Roman emperor Theodosius I built an octagonal church (the "Theodosian Church" or "Holy Zion Church") aside the synagogue (that was named "Church of the Apostles"). The Theodosian Church, probably started on 382 AD, was consecrated by John II, Bishop of Jerusalem on 394 AD.

be awarded to the Vatican even if later used for Christian religious purposes? Will the Vatican sponsor and back our request to pray at the Temple Mount and perhaps doing some Temple-preparatory work or, at the ;east, assist we Jews to halt Muslim destruction/eradication work there?

The clip:

Do you have any better  answer than, "no, thank you"?

He does
Don't bow to the Vatican.:


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Vatican Cardinal Fearful of Fundamentalist Muslims

Seems that a Vatican Cardinal is worried about Muslim fundamentalists

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, head of the Vatican's Council for Interreligious Dialogue, said..."The part of Jerusalem within the walls -- with the holy sites of the three religions -- is humanity's heritage, as each has its roots there," he said in reference to Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

"Let's suppose that tomorrow part of Jerusalem belongs to a Palestinian state: one morning a group of fundamentalist Muslims could decide to build a mosque where the Holy Sepulchre stands," he added.

The Vatican says the answer is to have the global community regulate the sites -- and it favours handing the task to a "large group" of states, rather than placing it in the hands of the United Nations Security Council or Europe.

"The sacred and unique character of the area must be safeguarded and it can only be done with a special, internationally-guaranteed statute," Tauran said.

Actually, Cardinal Tauran, only Israel's sovereignty can and will guarantee complete religious freedom.

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"Palestine" More Catholic Than The Pope?

Reported:

Palestinians consider UN ‘Vatican option’

In their quest for independence, statehood and a political victory at the UN this month, Palestinian officials are considering a formula that sounds strangely appropriate for the holy land: they call it the “Vatican option”.

The option implies asking the UN general assembly to upgrade the status of the Palestinian mission...[and] elevate the Palestinians to the same rank enjoyed by the Holy See.

...“It is an important shift from entity to state,” says Ammar Hijazi, a senior legal adviser to the Palestinian leadership. “The title ‘state’ will open all doors for us.”

However, one of the most important reasons why the “Vatican option” is the talk of diplomats in New York, Brussels and Ramallah is this: the status is awarded not by the exclusive UN Security Council but by the UN general assembly, a body where the Palestinians can normally be sure of majority support...

and what's the advantage?

This:

...the Vatican option offers a “golden mean” to resolve the UN dilemma: supporters argue it would deliver a small but much needed diplomatic victory to Mahmoud Abbas, the veteran leader of the Palestinian Authority. By skirting the US veto, it would also be less damaging to Washington and would therefore make it easier for the US administration to keep up the flow of aid money to the PA. Finally, the Vatican option has a much better chance of preventing a split between European countries, which are divided in their stance towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

And I can recall the option of a "Vatican-like status" for the Temple Mount (*) but that wasn't acceptable to the Pals.  So, now that like a "Vatican-style" state?

Abbas, et al., try the confessional booth.

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(*) and I am not referring to this:-

On the 10th of September, just three days before the signing of the Oslo Accords Washington, the Italian newspaper La Stampa reported that then Foreign Minister Shimon Peres concluded a secret deal with the Vatican to hand over sovereignty of Jerusalem's Old City to the Vatican.

But this:

...on February 14th [2000], Pope John Paul 11 meets Arafat in Rome to sign an accord to normalize relations between Roman Catholic churches in Jerusalem and PA. Palestinian Legislative Council Speaker Ahmed Qurei told The Jerusalem Post that the agreement is "recognition by the Catholic Church of the Palestinian claims to the eastern half of Jerusalem." According to Arafat's spokesperson, Nabil Abu Rudaineh, "Arafat had been lobbying for the idea of sharing undivided Jerusalem, and for creating a Vatican-style sovereignty in the Old City." (Somehow we are supposed to believe that Arafat initiated this, and not the Vatican). The agreement calls for Jerusalem to be "an international city based on international resolutions and an international guarantee." The pack was signed despite the Vatican having signed an agreement with Israel six years earlier on December 30th, 1993 which gave legal jurisdiction under Israeli law over the Church's own institutions and assets in the Holy Land.

If you look at the map on her chest, you'll see the Pals. really have little room for Israel, anywhere:-

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Vatican Promotes "One-State Solution"?

Pope Benedict XVI formally announced Sunday that he would make his first papal visit to the Holy Land from May 8 to 15.

In his long-planned trip, the pope is expected to visit Amman, Jordan; Jerusalem and Nazareth in Israel; and Bethlehem in the West Bank, the Vatican said in a statement.

Ah, the Holy Land. That nebulous imaginary place.

But why is it holy?

Because of Molech sacrifice of children?

Ammorite practices? Canaanite rituals?

Or Jewish religious customs and the introduction of monotheism? Jewish prophets, the Jewish Temple worship, the morality and philosophy of life.

And will the Pope be bringing some holiness or with the Williamson catastrophe of reintroducing Holocaust denial, Cardinal Renato Martino saying the Gaza Strip resmbles “a big concentration camp” and the beatification of Pius XII - not to mention Mt. Zion being handed over - trip everything up?

Mel Gibson is the Winner

“Let us pray for the Jews. May the Lord Our God enlighten their hearts so that they may acknowledge Jesus Christ, the savior of all men.”

That above is the new version of the old prayer prior to the Second Vatican Council in the Good Friday Mass in Latin which had Catholics praying for the conversion of Jews which refered to the “blindness” of the Jews and calling upon God to “lift a veil from their hearts.”

As is explained here, in a Catholic journal:-

It is disturbing that in this era of theological reconciliation and ecumenical dialogue there is even a suggestion of anti-Semitism on the part of Catholics worldwide. Recently, Benedict XVI permitted the restoration of the Tridentine liturgy in the Church. There were anti-Semitic parts of the Good Friday liturgy prior to Vatican II. However since the reforms of the Second Vatican Council the Catholic Church has been instrumental in pioneering a new and restored relationship with the Children of Israel...Any suggestion that derogatory roots of our old misunderstandings and misinterpretations of theological beliefs between Catholicism and Judaism are just plain wrong, and need to be dispelled...

...The speculation in the secular press that the permission to restore elements of the Tridentine Rite that implies a restoration of anti-Semitism is completely unfounded and just plainly erroneous. The Holy See has been quite clear in this message, and all Catholics should protest any suggestions that indicate the Holy Father suggests otherwise.

Our liturgical Liturgy of the Word has as its foundation the ancient synagogue services of Judaism in the first century a.d. The Liturgy of the Eucharist is rooted in the ancient celebration of the Passover meal. Our Catholic altars and even our tabernacles are based upon the sacred altar of the Temple of Jerusalem and the presence of God in the Old Testament, Holy of Holies. We Catholic are dedicated to a deepening understanding and participation in faith with the first called People of God more today than perhaps anytime since the Apostolic era...

Here's more:-

The Vatican daily L'Osservatore Romano published the revised prayer which will be said on Good Friday, the day before Easter when Christians remember Christ's crucifixion. The Latin mass is usually performed by a traditional Catholic minority, and the issue resurfaced after Benedict XVI issued a Papal decree in 2007 allowing a more widespread use of Latin for mass.

...Pope Benedict XVI deleted references to the 'blindness' of the Jews in a Latin prayer, after Jewish groups protested and asked him to change it. A passage calling for the 'conversion of the Jews' is to remain in the prayer.

"Let's also pray for the Jews, so that God illuminates their heart and recognize Jesus Christ as saviour of all men," the prayer reads. The prayer, a call for the conversion of Jews, appears in the traditional Latin mass which is rarely celebrated now. The revised version of the prayer will delete references to Jews' 'blindness' , 'darkness' and a call that God 'may lift the veil from their hearts'.

Even the weakest of the traditional Jewish Rabbinical organizations are hot about this:-

Rabbi Joel H. Meyers, executive vice president of the Rabbinical Assembly, the Conservative rabbis’ group, said leaders from the Reform and Reconstructionist movements had also been in touch with him about issuing a joint statement on the papal revision.

“We have been very much involved in interfaith activities and dialogue for years, and relationships with the Catholic Church are really quite good,” the rabbi said. “I think it really turns back the clock a bit and reverts to some sense that the church is pulling back from the positions it took in Vatican II.”

The way I read this, though, it's that Hollywood actor, Mel Gibson, who has won. Besides his gutter antisemitism, he's the one who wanted the old Latin version to replace the vernacular text.

May I suggest that Israel get involved. How?

By halting all negotiations over Mt. Zion and other sites which the Vatican wants to steal back from us.