B"H

Knowledge vs. Belief

Seeing the word belief (read that ignorance), particularly used in the meaning of one's right and privilege incenses me for your sake and for Gods'.

There exists a work which astounds me anew every time I draw from
it's depths. It is called Concordantiae Hebraicae Atque Chaldaicae
(Concordance of Hebrew and Aramaic) by Dr. Shlomo Mendelkern. Dr.
Mendelkern searched the entire Five Books of Moses, Books of the
Prophets and Widsom Literature for each of the Hebrew and Aramaic
roots which appear in them. He shows exactly in which cite each of
the roots exists in all of their variant forms. He offers the literal
meaning of each word in both Latin and Greek as well.

I searched the Concordance for all of the cites in which the Hebrew
word emunah appear. In none of the places in Torah does it
mean "belief". This and more, the word emunah is applied to God's
relation to us in Torah. The use of the word emunah as "belief" isn't
found until the Middle Ages, no doubt under foreign influence.

I looked up the word emunah in the Even Shoshan dictionary of the
Hebrew Language, the most extensive Hebrew dictionary to date. It
gives the following definitions: Uprightness; Truth (the word for
truth in Hebrew is emet, you can see that it sounds very much like
emunah); Faithfulness, Loyalty, Trustworthiship. Secondarily the word
comes to mean "belief" in the Middle Ages when we had to adopt a word
which could accord with the concept of "belief" of other cultures.
Even when we adapted the word emunah to mean something like belief it
is usually used not to mean that one believes in God, but that one
continues to hope for easier times during times of upheaval.

One can hear very clearly that the word emunah is a form of Amen,
which we say at the end of some prayers and in answer to other Jew's
blessing.

In other words: there is no such word as "belief" in Hebrew, no such
concept.

If anyone has ever taught you that you are to believe they have led
you astray. You are intended to know.

The lack-substance, mealy-mouthed, insipid, vacuous, sound-good but mean-nothing
cliche: "Everyone is entitled to his/her own belief/opinion" will do
to your Soul what eating junk food will do to your body. You are
intended and commanded to *know*. Belief is a wholly unacceptable
offering to bring to God, except by the very poorest, and they are
expected to pray for the ability to give a greater offering.

Sorry I just love you too much to let you go one subsisting on Twankies and
Dipty Doodles or whatever the hell they're called.

Doreen Ellen Bell-Dotan, Tzfat