Roots of the Bible

Friedrich Weinreb

Description

The great Kabbalist Friedrich Weinreb (1910 - 1988) offers the key to experiencing the Bible as our hidden life - manifesting itself in our daily life. The book deals with issues of life, of the world, of the Bible, in a way unknown up to the present. It shows that the Bible is a creation even more impressive than the creation of the universe and life. It is a creation in the Word, der Word of God. The wonder of this Word has unsuspected depths, shedding light on the structure of life and the universe. The presentation of the system will undoubtedly bring up one surprise after the other in the reader. It will touch him or her more deeply than the discovery of the structure of the universe and the laws of nature. - This book is one of the richest commentary of the Torah of the 20th century. More information at www.weinreb-stiftung.org

Sujets

• Mysticism

Informations

• Publié par: Verlag Friedrich Weinreb Stiftung
• Date de parution: 15 septembre 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9783905783742
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Friedrich Weinreb
ROOTS OF THE BIBLE
An ancient view for a new outlook
Verlag der Friedrich Weinreb Stiftung Zürich
Originally published in Dutch 1963 as “De Bijbel als Schepping” by N.V. Servire, Den Haag.
The English translation is by Mrs. N. Keus, MA, and grateful thanks are extended to Mrs. J. M. Francis for her help in completing the index.
The English edition was first published 1986 in the United Kingdom by Merlin Books Ltd., Braunton.
Third Edition 2013
E-Book © 2014 by Friedrich Weinreb Stiftung,
Zollikerstraße 193, CH-8008 Zürich
Visual Concept: Gorbach GmbH, Utting am Ammersee
Realization: Catherine Avak, Iphofen
ISBN 978-3-905783-74-2
Preface and Apologia
Why was this book written? This book definitely requires a few words of introduction for it is rather an unusual book. It deals with problems of life, of the world, of the Bible, in a way unknown in publications up to the present. One will look in vain for writings, in any language, containing this matter communicated in this way. This book will, therefore, be a sensation to the interested and understanding reader. The author is well aware of the fact, but on careful consideration has thought fit to communicate to a limited extent this knowledge which has so far not been published and even for the most part forgotten.
The knowledge set forth in this book dates back to prehistoric times; it is definitely no discovery of the author’s. It practically got lost, however, in these latter centuries, partly even in the latter millenium, in those circles, too, where acquaintance with it might have been of illimitable significance. With the loss of this knowledge many certainties in regard to the purpose of life got adrift or altogether lost.
Yet the material, fundamental to this knowledge, has remained intact throughout the ages. Not in the form of scrolls hidden in caves or ancient potsherds and parchments retrieved in archeological expeditions. The manner in which it remained intact is much more surprising and imposing: it has been with us all the time, and during the latter centuries even printed many times in numerous books. The only thing is that it has for a long, long time not been recognized as such; the quintessence was overlooked; people simply did not see it; primarily because they had lost the key. It has rarely been more manifest that the gods thinking they could lead the world ‘had eyes but could not see’.
Once the key is retrieved, as will appear after perusal of this book, one will realize that regaining this knowledge from the profuse material at hand is a simple and, at the same time, uncommonly fascinating matter easily accomplished in one’s lifetime. One will see that regaining it does not depend on endless complicated research, in which subtlety, abnormal penetration or a photographic memory play a decisive part, and that neither screwing up to a special spiritual condition nor application of mystical practices are required. It is nothing except a simple human affair which merely requires normal common sense, besides goodwill and an attitude to life directed towards the real.
By now one will wonder what this mysterious, yet often printed, material is and how it is that the key for understanding such important things got lost.
The material is found in the enormous complex known as ancient Jewish lore. An exact, serious, intellectually justified approach of this tradition proves to lead to astonishing results, to unknown possibilities. Without any exaggeration a new universe may be said to loom up.
This ancient tradition, as any tradition at any time, is based on knowledge of the meaning of life. When the study of this ancient wisdom approaches the domain where the one thing that matters is to penetrate to the ultimate cause regarding the reality of this world, of life and death, it changes its character of typical, general formulations, resulting from mechanical, material and exterior relationships, to that where the single personality, the manner of life, thought and desires of the man facing this tradition, become decisive for the powers of understanding and his mental scope.
The approach of the essential in the world is closely related to the essential in man and because of it has a very personal character. Every man gives expression to the world in a different manner.
Therefore it was an ancient custom merely to transmit this profounder and wider approach from teacher to pupil, taking into account the natural disposition and character of the pupil correctly to understand the greatness and depth of the meaning of life. It required wisdom and restraint on the part of the teacher to impart this to the pupil — with regard to the latter’s personality — which under the circumstances formed the maximum. For the reverse of the knowledge of ultimate causes and forces implies a potential, unchecked, immense power over matter. The chances of abuse of this power for the sake of narrow-minded selfish purposes often caused the teacher to limit the extent of the pupil’s initiation. Modern man who has barely tasted the consequences of penetrating into a few secrets of matter as expressed in conceptions such as nuclear energy, modern psychology and biology, will not look upon this disposition in regard to initiating pupils as strange or narrow-minded or wrong any more.
In consequence of the serious loss in depth in the views and the ways of life of humanity through the externalization which has been in progress for centuries, the knowledge of the essence of things could no longer be transmitted or at least only partially. People lost sight of the correct, systematic all-embracing approach to reality. They forgot that it is man’s personality which determines the depth of his knowledge; and that which through deficiency of the personality could not be comprehended any more, was called ‘the secret’. In this way there ensued an erroneous estimation, a misconception of the meaning of the secret. It brought in its wake trifling with mysteriousness, with unwarranted secrecy, indulgence in strange, misunderstood expressions. The ever-expanding domain of ignorance about the real became a hotbed for queer and alarming reactions, indicating that man realized intuitively that he might come to knowledge, it is true, but that he no longer knew how. It was the domain where ignorance of things one was certainly able to grasp, made a mockery of the secret; where profound human sentiments were debauched.
Because of all this the rendering of what would have been regarded in ancient times as knowledge of the meaning of the world has become vague, confused, desultory, not to mention the numerous entirely wrong approaches, based on misjudgement of the significance of this wisdom. All in all there arose an unsatisfactory picture, rightly to be rejected by those who seriously wanted to find out the purpose of existence and live in accordance therewith.
Neither did the teachers in general know how to approach the reality of things by means of the material they had read and studied. Large numbers of them do not even realize any more that there is a knowledge of the reality of things; they believe that the Bible and biblical lore are merely information dating back to olden times concerning the history and customs of an ethnic group, mixed up with myths and legends and sagas, illuminated with conceptions on justice, morals, hygiene or ethics, whether acceptable or otherwise.
Considering the ever growing loss of knowledge about the why and wherefore of this life, and mankind losing control of itself and feeling dissatisfied and miserable, I judged that such times justified my pointing to this reservoir of knowledge esteemed impossible and of wisdom of an altogether different order. This knowledge offers firm standards, it does not deal with vaguenesses or speculations. It gives certainties throughout life, it gives insight into the purpose of existence and it is logical, systematic, all-embracing. Consequently it satisfies the warranted desire for intellectual acceptability. It will undoubtedly appeal to straightforward modern people in quest of truth.
At the same time it brings solid human standards instead of the chilly world-picture of a mechanical infinity in space-time, and the relativity of human morals, so dispiriting to man as a live personality. Besides it will prove to be a continuation of the lost ancient path of religious man, the way about which modern man, in spite of all the progressist-complexes dominating his mind, intuitively knows it existed at some time and of which he cherishes an inexpressed hope that he shall find it back one day.
It is the way which man lost through the obtruding superficiality, vagueness and hypocrisy; the way which he tries in vain to find back through various theories in the domain of philosophy, metaphysics, theology, ethics and history; all the while getting more and more discouraged and sceptical because of his hopeless and vain search. It is also the way he vainly hopes to regain through experimenting with and forcing of all kinds of schemes social or political, efforts which therefore can only eventuate in deadly pessimism, cynicism and opportunism. The only thing actually gained was that the goal, the retrieving of the essence of things, had to make way for a ruthless, harsh, scientific world-picture with statistic standards based on the law of big figures, instead of the expected all-embracing, all-pervading human standards.
The need of anaesthetics and diversion, and recreation — which indeed whatever form it presents itself in, amounts to excluding reality, creation of a fictitious world — all these things are the exterior signs of this despair of ever finding back the path of religious man. So many people, too, clinging to every kind of strange ‘spiritual’ school of thought, veiling what is truly human as long as it makes the impression or even merely pretends to be complete or having descended fr