Jewish religion: customs and precepts

I see Jesus with His Mother going into the dining room (let us call it so), in Nazareth.

Jesus is a handsome young boy, twelve years old, tall, well built, strong but not fat. He looks older than His years, because of His complexion. He is already tall, in fact He reaches up to the shoulders of His Mother. His face is the rosy round face of a child and later, in His youth and then in His manhood, it will get thinner and thinner and it will become colourless, the colour of some very delicate alabasters with a hue of yellowish pink.

Also His eyes are still the eyes of a child. They are large, wide open when looking, with a sparkle of joy lost in the seriousness of His glance. Later they will not be so wide open… His eyelashes will cover half of them to conceal the excessive wickedness which is in the world, from the Pure and Holy One. Only when working miracles they will be open and bright, even brighter than now… to cast out demons and death, to heal diseases and sins. And they will no longer have that sparkle of happiness mingled with seriousness… death and sin will be more and more present and close, and with them the knowledge, also the human knowledge of the uselessness of His sacrifice, because of the unwillingness and aversion of man. Only in the rarest moments of joy, when He is with faithful believers and particularly with pure people, mostly children, will His holy mild kind eyes shine again with happiness.

But now He is at home with His Mother, in front of Him there is Saint Joseph who is smiling lovingly, and there are His little cousins who admire Him, and His aunt Mary of Alphaeus who is patting Him… He is happy. My Jesus needs love to be happy. And in this moment He has it.

He is dressed in a loose woollen tunic which is a light ruby red colour. It is soft, perfectly woven in its compact thinness. Round the neck, in the front, at the ends of the long wide sleeves and at the bottom of the tunic which hangs down to the ground, so that only His feet can be seen, there is a Greek fret which is not embroidered, but woven in a darker colour into the ruby of the tunic. He is wearing new sandals which appear to be very well made, they are not just the usual soles tied to the feet by means of straps of leather. His tunic must be the work of His Mother because Her sister-in-law admires and praises it.

His lovely blond hair is already somewhat darker than when He was a little boy, with auburn reflections in the curls ending under His ears. They are no longer the soft graceful curls of His childhood. It is not yet the wavy long hair of His manhood, reaching down to His shoulders, ending there in a soft, big curl. But it already resembles more the latter in its colour and style.

39.5 «Here is our Son,» says Mary lifting Her right hand which is holding Jesus’ left one. She seems to be introducing Him to everybody and confirming the paternity of the Just man who is smiling. And She adds: «Bless Him, Joseph, before leaving for Jerusalem. There was no ritual blessing for His first step in life, because it was not necessary for Him to go to school. But now that He is going to the Temple to be proclaimed of age, please bless Him. And bless Me with Him. Your blessing…» (Mary sobs softly) «will fortify Him and give Me strength, to detach Myself a little more from Him…»

«Mary, Jesus will always be Yours. The formality will not affect our mutual relationship. Neither will I contend with You for this Son, so dear to us. No one deserves, as You do, to guide Him in life, o my Holy Spouse.»

Mary bends down and takes Joseph’s hand and kisses it. She is the respectful, loving spouse of Her consort!

Joseph receives the sign of respect and love with dignity, he then lifts the hand which She has kissed and lays it on the head of his Spouse and says to Her: «Yes. I bless You, o Blessed One, and I bless Jesus with You. Come to me, my only joys, my honour and essence of my life.» Joseph is solemn. With his arms stretched out and the palms of his hands turned down above the two heads which are bent down, both equally blond and holy, he pronounces his blessing: «May the Lord look upon You and bless You. May He have mercy on You and give You peace. May the Lord give You His blessing.» And then he says: «And now let us go. The hour is favourable for the journey.»

39.6 Mary takes a wide dark brown mantle and She drapes it on the body of Her Son. How She caresses Him in doing so!

They go out, they close up the house. They set off. Other pilgrims are going in the same direction. Outside the village the women separate from the men. The children go where they like. Jesus stays with His Mother.

The pilgrims go along through the country which is so beautiful in the happiest springtime, and they sing psalms most of the time. The meadows are fresh and the crops are fresh, and the leaves on the trees have just begun to bloom. You can hear men singing in the fields along the roads and birds singing their songs of love among the branches of the trees. Clear streams reflect like mirrors the flowers on the banks, while little lambs are jumping about near their mothers… Peace and happiness under the loveliest April sky.

The vision ends in this way.

• Feast of the coming of age of Jesus Christ
• Holy Family
• Jesus as a child
• Joseph of Jacob (Saint Joseph)
• Majority Day (Bar-Mitzvah) - Majority exam
• Recovering Jesus in the Temple
• Rosary
• The Virgin Mary

40.1 The Temple on a feast day. People going in and coming out of the enclosure gates, crossing yards, halls and porches, disappearing in this or that building on the various floors, which form the bulk of the Temple.

Also the group of Jesus’ family go in singing psalms in low voices. All the men are in front, the women come behind. Other people have joined them, perhaps from Nazareth, perhaps their friends in Jerusalem. I do not know.

Joseph, after worshipping the Most High with all the others at the point, obviously, where men were allowed to do so, (the women stopped on a lower landing), parts from the rest and with his Son goes back through some yards, he then moves to one side and enters a vast room which looks like a synagogue. I do not know why. Were there synagogues also in the Temple? He speaks to a Levite and the latter disappears behind a striped curtain, then he comes back with some elder priests, I think they are priests, they are certainly masters in the knowledge of the Law, and they are therefore appointed to examine the believers.

40.2 Joseph introduces Jesus. First of all, they both bow down deeply to the ten doctors, who have sat down with dignity on low wooden stools. «Here,» he says, «this in my Son. Three months and twelve days ago He reached the age which the Law prescribes to come of age. And I want Him to comply with the prescriptions of Israel. I would ask you to note that His constitution proves that He is no longer in His childhood or minor age. And I ask you to examine Him kindly and fairly, to judge that what I here, His father, have stated, is the truth. I have prepared Him for this hour and for this dignity of son of the Law. He knows the precepts, the traditions, the decisions, the customs of the fringes and the phylacteries, He knows how to say the daily prayers and blessings. Therefore, since He knows the Law in Itself and in its three branches of Halascia, Midrasc and Aggada, He can behave as a man. Therefore I wish to be free from the responsibilities of His actions and of His sins. From now on, He must be subject to the precepts and He must pay the penalty for His failures towards them. Examine Him.»

«We will.

40.3 Come forward, Child. What is Your name?»

«Jesus of Joseph, from Nazareth.»

«A Nazarene… can You therefore read?»

«Yes, rabbi, I can read the words which are written and those which are construed in the words themselves.»

«What do you mean?»

«I mean that I also understand the meaning of the allegory or of the symbol which is hidden under the appearance, as a pearl does not appear but it is inside an ugly closed shell.»

«A clever answer and a very wise one. We seldom hear that on the lips of adults; in a child, and a Nazarene in addition!…»

The attention of the ten has been awakened. Their eyes do not miss for an instant the beautiful blond Child, Who is looking at them sure of Himself, without boldness, but also without fear.

«You honour Your master, who, certainly, was deeply learned.»

«The Wisdom of God was gathered in his just heart.»

«But listen to that! You are a happy man, father of such a Son!»

Joseph, who is at the end of the room, smiles and bows down.

40.4 They give Jesus three different rolls saying: «Read the one closed with the golden ribbon.»

Jesus opens the roll and reads. It is the Decalogue. But after the first few words, one of the judges takes the roll from Him saying: «Go on by heart.» Jesus continues so sure of Himself, that He seems to be reading. Every time He mentions the Lord, He bows down deeply.

«Who taught You that? Why do You do that?»

«Because that Name is holy and it is to be pronounced with a sign of internal and external respect. Subjects bow down to their king, who is king only for a short time and he is dust. To the King of kings, the Most High Lord of Israel, Who is present even if He is only visible to the spirit, shall not every creature bow down since every creature depends on Him with eternal subjection?»

«Very clever! Man: we advise you to have your Son educated either by Hillel or Gamaliel. He is a Nazarene… but His answers give us hope that He will become a new great doctor.»

«My Son is of age. He will decide according to His own will. If His decision is an honest one, I will not oppose it.»

40.5 «Listen, Child. You said: ‘Remember to sanctify feast days. Not only for yourself, but also for your son and your daughter, your servant and your maidservant, even for your horse it is said that they must not work on Sabbaths’. Now tell me: if a hen lays an egg on a Sabbath or a sheep lambs on a Sabbath, will it be legal to use the fruit of its womb, or will it be considered as an opprobrium?»

«I know that many rabbis, Shammai is the last of them and is still alive, say that an egg laid on a Sabbath is against the precept. But I think that there is a difference between man and animals or whoever fulfils a natural act, such as giving birth. If I compel a horse to work I am responsible for its sin, because I force it to work with a whip. But if a hen lays an egg which has matured in its ovary or a sheep lambs a little one on a Sabbath, because it is ready to be born, no, such a deed is not a sin, neither is the egg laid or the lamb born on a Sabbath a sin in the eyes of God.»

«But why, if every kind of work is a sin on Sabbaths?»

«Because to conceive and give birth correspond to the will of the Creator and comply with the laws which He gave to every creature. Now, the hen does nothing but obey the law according to which after so many hours of growth an egg is complete and ready to be laid, and the sheep also obeys the laws laid by Him Who created everything, according to which laws twice a year when springtime is on the meadows in bloom, and when the trees in the forest lose their leaves and men muffle themselves up because of the intense cold, sheep should mate so that later they may give milk, meat and nourishing cheese in the opposite seasons of the year, that is in the months when the toil for the crops is harder or the bleakness is more painful because of frostbite. If therefore a sheep, when its time is up, gives birth to a little lamb, oh! the little lamb can certainly be sacred also on an altar, because it is the fruit of the obedience to the Creator.»

40.6 «I would not examine Him any further. His wisdom is greater than the wisdom of grown up people and is really surprising.»

«No. He said that He is capable of understanding also the symbols. Let us hear Him».

«First, let Him say a psalm, the blessings and the prayers.»

«Also the precepts.»

«Yes. Repeat the Midrasciot.»

Jesus repeats a long litany of «Don’t do this… don’t do that…» without any hesitation. If we were still obliged to keep all those limitations, rebels as we are, I am sure that no one would be saved…

«That is enough. Open the roll with the green ribbon.»

Jesus opens it, and He is about to read.

«Further on, yes, further on.»

Jesus obeys.

«That is enough. Now read and explain it, if You think there is a symbol.»

«In the Holy Word it is seldom missing. It is we who cannot see and apply it. I read: Fourth Book of the Kings, Chapter twenty-two, Verse ten: ‘Then Shaphan, the secretary, informed the king saying: «Hilkiah, the High Priest, has given me a book», and Shaphan read it aloud in the king’s presence. On hearing the contents of the Law of God, the king tore his garments, and gave the following…’.»

«Read after all the names.»

«“…the following order: ‘Go and enquire of the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s wrath that burns against us because our ancestors did not obey the words of this book, they did not act in accordance with all that is written in it’…”.»

«That is enough. This happened many centuries ago. Which symbol do You find in an event of ancient history?»

«I find that time cannot be related to what is eternal. And God is eternal and our soul is eternal, and the relation between God and our soul is also eternal. Therefore the thing that gave rise to a punishment then, is the same thing that gives rise to punishment now, and the effects of the fault are the same.»

«That is?»

«Israel is no longer acquainted with the Wisdom, which comes from God. It is to Him, and not to poor men, that we must apply for light, and it is not possible to have light if there is no justice and loyalty to God. That is why men sin, and God, in His anger, punishes them.»

«We are no longer acquainted? But what are You saying, Child? And the six hundred and thirteen precepts?»

«The precepts exist, but they are mere words. We know them but we do not practise them. That is why we are not acquainted with them. This is the symbol: every man, in every period of time, must consult the Lord to know His will and comply with it to avoid drawing His anger on himself.»

40.7 «The Child is perfect. Not even the trap of the tricky question has upset Him in His reply. Let us take Him to the real synagogue.»

They go into a larger and more splendid room. The first thing they do there is to shorten His hair. His big curls are picked up by Joseph. They then tighten His red tunic with a long band turned several times round His waist, they tie some little strips to His forehead, arm and mantle. They fix them on with some sort of studs. They then sing psalms, and Joseph praises the Lord with a long prayer invoking all blessings on his Son.

The ceremony is over. Jesus goes out with Joseph. They go back to where they came from, they join their male relatives, they buy and offer a lamb; then, with the slaughtered victim, they reach the women.

Mary kisses Her Jesus. It seems She has not seen Him for years. She looks at Him, now that He is more manly in His clothes and in the style of His hair, She pats Him…

They go out and it all ends here.

• Feast of the coming of age of Jesus Christ
• Jesus as a child
• Majority Day (Bar-Mitzvah) - Majority exam

40.5 «Listen, Child. You said: ‘Remember to sanctify feast days. Not only for yourself, but also for your son and your daughter, your servant and your maidservant, even for your horse it is said that they must not work on Sabbaths’. Now tell me: if a hen lays an egg on a Sabbath or a sheep lambs on a Sabbath, will it be legal to use the fruit of its womb, or will it be considered as an opprobrium?»

«I know that many rabbis, Shammai is the last of them and is still alive, say that an egg laid on a Sabbath is against the precept. But I think that there is a difference between man and animals or whoever fulfils a natural act, such as giving birth. If I compel a horse to work I am responsible for its sin, because I force it to work with a whip. But if a hen lays an egg which has matured in its ovary or a sheep lambs a little one on a Sabbath, because it is ready to be born, no, such a deed is not a sin, neither is the egg laid or the lamb born on a Sabbath a sin in the eyes of God.»

«But why, if every kind of work is a sin on Sabbaths?»

«Because to conceive and give birth correspond to the will of the Creator and comply with the laws which He gave to every creature. Now, the hen does nothing but obey the law according to which after so many hours of growth an egg is complete and ready to be laid, and the sheep also obeys the laws laid by Him Who created everything, according to which laws twice a year when springtime is on the meadows in bloom, and when the trees in the forest lose their leaves and men muffle themselves up because of the intense cold, sheep should mate so that later they may give milk, meat and nourishing cheese in the opposite seasons of the year, that is in the months when the toil for the crops is harder or the bleakness is more painful because of frostbite. If therefore a sheep, when its time is up, gives birth to a little lamb, oh! the little lamb can certainly be sacred also on an altar, because it is the fruit of the obedience to the Creator.»

• Animals
• Conception - Childbirth - Begetting
• Decalogue
• Roosters and hens
• Sabbath
• Schiammaï - Chammaï (great doctor of Israel)
• Sunday rest
• You will sanctify the feasts

«Israel is no longer acquainted with the Wisdom, which comes from God. It is to Him, and not to poor men, that we must apply for light, and it is not possible to have light if there is no justice and loyalty to God. That is why men sin, and God, in His anger, punishes them.»

«We are no longer acquainted? But what are You saying, Child? And the six hundred and thirteen precepts?»

«The precepts exist, but they are mere words. We know them but we do not practise them. That is why we are not acquainted with them. This is the symbol: every man, in every period of time, must consult the Lord to know His will and comply with it to avoid drawing His anger on himself.

• Jewish precepts

Gamaliel: «Tell me, Jesus. How can the peace of which the Prophets speak be hoped for, if destruction is going to come to these people by war? Speak and enlighten me as well.»

Jesus: «Do you not remember, master, what those said who were present on the night of Christ’s birth? That the angels sang: ‘Peace to men of goodwill’ but these people are not of goodwill and will not have peace. They will not acknowledge their King, the Just Man, the Saviour, because they expect Him to be a king with human power, whereas He is the King of the spirit. They will not love Him, because they will not like what Christ preaches. Christ will not defeat their enemies with their chariots and their horses, He will instead defeat the enemies of the soul, who endeavour to imprison in hell the heart of man which was created for the Lord. And this is not the victory Israel is expecting from Him. Your King will come, Jerusalem, riding a ‘donkey and a colt’, that is, the just people of Israel and the Gentiles. But I tell you, that the colt will be more faithful to Him and will follow Him preceding the donkey and will grow in the ways of Truth and Life. Because of its evil will, Israel will lose its peace and suffer for centuries and will cause its King to suffer and will make Him the King of sorrow of Whom Isaiah speaks.»

• Gloria
• Israel's mistake - The Jews' mistake
• Prophecies of Jesus Christ

48.7 «Speak, speak of Him, while we are going. Where is He?»

«In a poor house; they must be His friends»

«Is He poor?»

«A workman from Nazareth. So He said.»

«And how does He live now, if He does not work any longer?»

«We did not ask Him. Perhaps His relatives help Him.»

«It would have been better if we had brought some fish, some bread and fruit…, something. We are going to consult a rabbi, because He is like… He is more than a rabbi, and we are going empty-handed! Our rabbis don’t like that…»

«But He does. We had but twenty pennies between us, James and I, and we offered Him them, as is customary with rabbis. He did not want them. But since we insisted so much, He said: “May God reward you with the blessings of the poor. Come with Me” and He gave them to some poor people: He knew where they lived. And when we asked Him: “Master, are You not keeping anything for Yourself?” He replied: “The joy of doing the will of God and serving His glory”. We also said: “You are calling us, Master. But we are all poor. What shall we bring You?”, He replied with a smile which made us enjoy the delights of Paradise: “I want a great treasure from you”, and we said: “But we have nothing”. And He answered: “A treasure with seven names, which even the poorest may have, while the rich may not possess it. You have it, and I want it. Listen to the names: charity, faith, goodwill, right intention, continence, sincerity, spirit of sacrifice. That is what I want from My followers, only that, and You have it. It is dormant, like a seed under a winter clod, but the spring sunshine will make it sprout into a sevenfold spike”. That is what He said.»

«Ah! Now I feel that He is the true Rabboni, the promised Messiah! He is not harsh with the poor, He does not ask for money… It is enough to call Him the Holy Man of God. We can go safely.»

• Habits and customs at EMV
• Jesus Christ
• Lessons and Teachings for the Apostles
• Silver

Is what I ask for difficult? No. It is not. I do not impose on you the hundreds of precepts of the rabbis. I say to you: follow the Decalogue. The Law is one and immutable. Many centuries have gone by since it was given, beautiful, pure, fresh, like a new-born creature, like a rose just opened on its stem. Simple, neat, easy to follow. Throughout centuries faults and trends have complicated it with many minor laws, with burdens and restrictions, with too many painful clauses. I am bringing once again the Law to you as the Most High gave it. But, in your own interest, I ask you to accept it with sincere hearts, like the true Israelites of bygone times.

You grumble, more in your hearts than with your lips, that it is the fault of people in the upper classes, rather than of humble people. I know. Deuteronomy states what is to be done, nothing else was necessary. But do not judge those who acted for other people, not for themselves. Do what God commands. And above all, strive and be perfect in the two main precepts. If you love God with all your souls, you will not sin, because sin gives pain to God. Those who love do not want to give pain. If you love your neighbours, as you love yourselves, you will be respectful children to your parents, faithful husbands to your wives, honest merchants in your trade, without any violence against your enemies, truthful in bearing witness, without envy of wealthy people, without any incentive of lewdness for another man’s wife. And as you do not want to do to other people what you do not wish should be done to you, you will not steal, or kill, or slander, or enter someone else’s nest like cuckoos.

In fact, I say to you. “Carry to perfection your obedience to the two precepts of love: love also your enemies”.

How much the Most High Will love you, since He loves man so much. Although man became His enemy because of the original sin, and because of his personal sins, He sent man the Redeemer, the Lamb Who is His Son, that is I, Who am speaking to you, the Messiah promised to redeem you from all your sins, if you will learn to love as He does.

Love. May your love become a ladder by which, like angels, you will ascend to Heaven, as Jacob saw them, when you hear the Father say to each and everybody: “I will be your protector wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this place; to Heaven, the Eternal Kingdom”.

Peace be with you.»

• Jewish precepts

«Are You leaving tomorrow, Master?»

«Tomorrow, at dawn, if you do not mind.»

«I am sorry that You are going away. But I do not mind the hour. On the contrary, it suits me.»

«Are you going fishing?»

«Yes, tonight, when the moon rises.»

«You did well, Simon, not fishing last night. The Sabbath was not yet finished. Nehemiah in his reformation wants the Sabbath to be respected in Judah. Even nowadays too many people work on the Sabbath day at presses, carry wood, wine and fruit and buy and sell fish and lambs. You have six days for that. The Sabbath is of the Lord. Only one thing you may do on the Sabbath: you may do good to your neighbour. But all profit must be excluded from such help. He who infringes the Sabbath to make a profit will be punished by God. He makes a profit? He will lose it during the other six days. He makes no profit? He has fatigued his body for no purpose, because he did not grant it the rest that Intelligence prescribed for it, and thus he irritated his soul having worked in vain, and goes to the extent of cursing. The day of the Lord, instead, is to be spent with your hearts united to God in sweet prayer of love. You must be faithful in everything.»

«But… scribes and doctors, who are so severe with us… do not work on Sabbath days, they do not even give a piece of bread to their neighbours, to avoid the fatigue of handing it over, but they practise usury also on a Sabbath. As it is not a material work, is it legal to practise usury on a Sabbath?»

«No. Never. Neither on a Sabbath nor any other day. Those Who practise usury are dishonest and cruel.»

«The scribes and the Pharisees, then…»

«Simon: don’t judge. Do not do it.»

«But I have eyes to see…»

«Is there only evil to be seen, Simon?»

«No, Master.»

«Well, then, why look at evil deeds?»

«You are right, Master.»

• Sabbath
• Scribes
• Simon-Pierre - Simon de Jonas (apostle)
• Wear and tear

With the exception of the mothers of the young couple and of Mary, no woman is sitting at that table. All the women, who are making a din worthy of one hundred people, are sitting at the other table near the wall, and are served after the young couple and the guests of importance. Jesus is sitting near the landlord, in front of Mary, Whose place is near the bride.

• Habits and customs at EMV

«You want to follow Me for a human reason, Judas. But I must dissuade you. I have not come for that.»

«But are You not the designated King of the Jews? The one of whom the Prophets spoke? Others have come. But they lacked too many things and they fell like leaves no longer supported by the wind. But You have God with You, in fact You work miracles. Where there is God, the success of the mission is guaranteed.»

«You have spoken the truth. I have God with Me. I am His Word. I was prophesied by the Prophets, promised to the Patriarchs, expected by the people. But why, Israel, have you become so blind and deaf that you are no longer able to read and see, to hear and understand the reality of events? My Kingdom is not of this world, Judas. Allow yourself to be convinced of that. I have come to Israel to bring Light and Glory. But not the light and glory of the earth. I have come to call the just of Israel to the Kingdom. Because it is from Israel that the plant of eternal life is to come, and with Israel it is to be formed, the plant, the sap of which will be the Blood of the Lord, the plant that will spread all over the earth, until the end of time. My first followers will be from Israel. My first confessors will be from Israel. But also My persecutors will be from Israel. Also My executioners will be from Israel. And also My traitor will be from Israel.»

«No, Master. That will never happen. If everyone should betray You, I will remain with You and defend You.»

«You, Judas? And on what do you base your certainty?»

«On my honour as a man.»

«Which is more fragile than a cobweb, Judas. It is God we have to ask for the strength to be honest and faithful. Man!… Man accomplishes human deeds. To accomplish spiritual deeds — and to follow the Messiah with truthfulness and justice is to accomplish a spiritual deed — it is necessary to kill man and make him be born again. Are you capable of so much?»

«Yes, Master. And in any case… Not everybody in Israel will love You. But Israel will not give the Messiah executioners and traitors. Israel has been waiting for You for centuries!»

«I will be given them. Remember the Prophets… Their words… and their end. I am destined to disappoint many. And you are one of them. Judas, you have here in front of you a mild, peaceful poor man, who wishes to remain poor. I have not come to impose Myself and make war. I am not going to contend with the strong and mighty ones for any kingdom or any power. I contend only with Satan for souls and I have come to break the chains of Satan with the fire of My love. I have come to teach mercy, sacrifice, humbleness, continence. I say to you and to everybody: “Do not crave for human wealth, but work for eternal coins”. You are deceiving yourself if you think I am to triumph over Rome and the ruling classes. Herods and Caesars can sleep in peace, while I speak to the crowds. I have not come to snatch anybody’s sceptre,… and My eternal sceptre is already ready, but no one, unless one was love as I am, would like to hold it.»

• Israel's mistake - The Jews' mistake
• Kingship of Jesus Christ - Christ-King