JOE CORNELL

A second critical distinction between
Judaism and Christianity is that the Jew-
ish Messiah is not a supernatural being
— he's flesh and blood and a descendant
of King David.
Bringing about the Messiah, or MeZech
ha-Mashiach in Hebrew, which trans-
lates directly as "the anointed king," is
almost an inverse from Christianity in
that Jewish Scripture holds the Nation of
Israel (different from the State of Israel)
responsible for ushering his ascension to
lead the people Israel and enjoy an era
of hannonious coexistence, abolition of
sickness, poverty and war.
Which text you consult, rabbi you ask
or branch of Judaism you align with will
illuminate the threshold.
The universal biggies include the re-
turn of all Jews to Eretz Yisrael — from
Dan to Beersheba — the former referring
to the biblical home of the Jewish people
and the latter as an allusion regarding
one end of the country to the other; and
reconstruction of the Holy Temple — the
ruins of which are conveniently located
beneath the current home of Islam's
Masjid Qubbat .As-Sakhrah, or Dome
of the Rock mosque. The foundation
on which the mosque rests is known in
Judaism as "the Temple Mount."
Lupovitch cites the great 12th-century
Jewish poet Judah Halevi, who said,
"If all the Jews would go to Israel and
wait for the Messiah, the Messiah would
come." Halevi was a man of his word and
did just that, in 1141.
In the 16th century, the father of the
modern Kabbalah movement, Isaac
Luria, along with his followers, explored
the idea that righteous deeds would
release the energy of shards of
divinity embedded in the
material world, as Lupovitch
explains, "making the
world perfect to bring
about the Messianic
Age."
"There are refer-
ences in the Bible
to the end of the
world," says Lupo-
vitch. Said refer-
ences include
passages in the
Books of Daniel,
Micah, Isaiah,
Jeremiah, Ezekiel
and others.
However, many
modern scholars
assert that the mes-
sianic concept is not
explicitly mentioned
anywhere in the Torah
but was introduced in
subsequent texts.
Regardless, the concept
of Mashiach is as much a
part of Judaism as the Sabbath,
Chanukah and bagels and lox. It is
included as part of Rabbi Moshe ben
Maimon's 13 Principles of Faith.
Maimon, better known as Maimonides
or the Rambam, is universally acknowl-
edged as one of history's greatest medi-
eval Jewish scholars. The Rambam's 13
Principles, where No. 12 is belief that the
Messiah will come, are a compendium of
precepts — and the minimum require-
ments of Jewish belief.
"There is this notion that the Mes-
sianic Age will follow some disaster," but
"if there is some retribution from God, it
will be followed by some sort of utopia.
The main consistency" Lupovitch says,
summing up the range ofJewish thought
on the matter, "is that it is all specula-
tive."

THE ORACLE AT GAUL
Michel de Nostradame, also known as
Nostradamus — and perhaps the world's
best-known prophesier outside of Delphi
— has been credited time and again for
predicting the end of the world.
Nostradamus, who descended from a
long line ofJewish doctors and scholars,
was a French apothecary, healer and
purported seer who published several
collections of prophetic yet cryptic verses
in the 16th century. That collection has
been cited as foreseeing a range of his-
torical events, from the French Revolu-
tion to 9-11.

www.redthreadmagazine.com

For example, in Century II, Quatrain
6 (a century is a group of 100 quatrains
or four-lined verses), the name "Mabus"
has been taken to indicate as diverse a
group of individuals as Napoleon, Hitler,
Osama bin Laden and Barack Obama:

Mabus' then will soon die, there will
come Of people and beasts a horrible
rout: Then suddenly one will see ven-
geance, Hundred, hand, thirst, hunger
when the comet will run.

Like many passages from the Bible, the
quatrain clearly anticipates a time of tur-
moil, but — like most apocalyptic litera-
ture — it is frustratingly vague, alluding
potentially to natural disaster, the wrath
of God or maybe even the Hopi Indian
prophecy: "When the Blue Star Kachina
makes its appearance in the heavens, the
Fifth World will emerge."
And that, according to Langford, is
part of the point.
"People have been sitting on a hillside
waiting for Jesus since 70 [C.E.]," he
says. "The Christian tradition is that
we're prepared, but you don't let it inter-
rupt your life. Sitting on the hillside isn't
an option for a true follower of Christ.
You're supposed to continue doing the
work up to the moment."
Aveni, the professor at Colgate, is
pragmatic about the anxiety that has co-
alesced around 2012. He is of the opinion
that any predictions concerning when
the world will "blow up or bliss out"

Let the entertainers from
Joe Cornell Weddings
build on your excitement.

MUSIC. DANCE. FUN.

We make it happen.

Call Joe Cornell Weddings TODAY
to book one of our sophisticated,
confident entertainment teams.

(248) 356-6000

WWW.JOECORNELLWEDDINGS.COM

a --

THE ORIGINAL AND OFFICIAL

come out of the anxiety we have about
troubled times.
"When we have hard times we reach
out, in this case to the ancient Mayans,"
he says.
However, Scofield, believes that a
metamorphosis is coming down the pike.
While it may not be the apocalypse, he
says there is a disturbance going on and
characterized it as the birth pangs of a
new world.
"Birth is not a comfortable process.
Power holders are going to be assaulted;
dominant institutions are going to be
challenged," Scofield says. He describes
the coming period as the Dark Ages that
preceded the Renaissance. "That was a
big mess, and yet it changed the world,"
he adds.
Aveni concurs: "There'll be a new
beginning," he says. "If we transform
ourselves by focusing on [our current
problems] then that might be a good
thing."
An actual Mayan prediction? Aveni
asked a Mayan shaman what would
happen after Dec. 21, 2012. The answer:
"We hope that on the next cycle of time,
things will be better."

the Preferred Tronsportat
Provider for All Your
Holiday Parties
and travel NM 10
Southeast Michigan
and Nationwide!

Metro Cars is the Official Provider of Sedan
Service for Detroit Metro Airport

RED THREAD I December 2011 25