My Heritage
I guess I'll start off with an explanation of my heritage, since I mentioned that in my summary.
First, in the Jewish religion, each family lineage is chosen, not birthed. I don't quite understand how it all works, but, apparently, each is chosen to be in the lineage of the particular tribes by G_d himself.
Information is passed down from father to son. The levites go by Hebrew names, but Hebrew biblical names don't have surnames. The mother's lineage doesn't matter, but the father's lineage must be passed down to the next in line. The name 'LEVI' comes from the biblical old testament, but there are many Levi's (originally Levite) whose names are no longer Levi, and Co hains that are no longer co hains (now called Cohen).
My father's great, great, great, great, grandfather informed his son of the lineage, who in turn, informed the next generation, and so on. Each one that passed the name and heritage in line always told the children so that they knew where they originated, especially since it's a great honor to be a Levite, in the Jewish religion. According to a Rabbi, most other tribes didn't really keep track of their heritage, for the most part, but because the levite tribe was considered important to Israel and the messiah coming, the Levites were told to pass the information down from one generation to the next, as were the Co hains.
To be a levite was considered a very special birth rite in the Jewish religion, but it required much service to the synogogue.
According to my mother, the female's side is chosen for illness, so illness is prayed for by the mother of a Levite, so that one should be healed. The father's side, however, is chosen for the lineage.
The Levites were considered high priests. According to my mom, Levi's served in the temple itself. They cleaned it, they took care of the Co hains, they ushered people in and out, they taught, the females healed people, they were doctors, lawyers (of a sort), educators, etc. However, they made no money doing these services. Since they had no money, nor food, they lived there in the temple, and were therefore fed by the people via tithes (these were the original tithes, before christian times).
Sometimes, a Levi was declared a Co hain. Aaron & Moses were Levites, but HaShem (G_d) appointed Aaron to be a Cohen Gadol (high priest). Moses, was in our lineage, making us his descendents, at least, according to what a Rabbi wrote, when the question was put before him.
To the Jews, the Levi's are a very important part, as are the Cohen's. They must remain especially spiritual and holy, and in certain ways, separate from other tribes. For instance, a Cohen is not allowed to be anywhere near a dead body, unless the person's death occurred within the immediate family. And then, the Cohen MUST be at the funeral to pay respect to his/her family. In addition, there is a ceremony at 30 days of life performed for a child. It's called "pidyon ha ben".
From what I understand, when a child is 30 days old, the parents are to dedicate the child to service in the temple. Technically, the child belongs to the Co hain's to be trained in the temple, and so a 'Cohen' and a 'Levi' with a child, must give a certain amount of silver to the high priest to redeem the child, so that the parent doesn't have to give the child to the high priest. If they can't, the child becomes the high priest's child, rightfully and lawfully, to raise as his own.
According to the Rabbi, here's how the lineage worked: Jacob's third son's name was Levi. Levi had three sons: Gershon, Kehot and Merari. Kehot's firstborn, Amram, had three children: Miriam, Aaron and Moses. Aaron was designated as the Kohen Gadol, the high priest; male descendants of Aaron are Kohanim. The rest of the tribe are the Levites. So, Moses was a Levite, and all the Levites stem from Moses, originally. All the descendants of Aaron, on the other hand, would be Co hains (Cohens).
Unfortunately, there is no longer a temple -- because the 2nd temple was destroyed in 70AD by the Romans. So the Levi's are no longer important, except spiritually...at least, for now. When the third temple is built, they will be called to Israel to serve in the temple, once again.
In shul (temple), a levite gets the 2nd aliyah (when you go up to say a blessing, and they read from the Torah (the scriptures). It also means when you immigrate to Israel, but there were many aliyahs into Israel by the Jews.) It is a special blessing when a Levite immigrates home.
My mother asked one of the Rabbis why the Levi's weren't counted in the destruction of the tribes. His response was..."The King's legion deserves to be counted on its own!" Another explanation he told her was: G-d foresaw that a decree would be passed in the future against all those counted from twenty years and upward, condemning them to die in the desert. He said, "Let these [Levites] not be included! They are Mine, for they did not err with the [Golden] Calf." They were considered an elite group ("The King's legion").
Now, get ready for the next part. Although I was born Jewish, I converted to Christianity when I was a child. And, my Christian beliefs are very strong. I am truly adament about following Christ and all the ways He taught.
Of course, this naturally makes me question something that is foretold in the bible. Since I am a part of "The King's Legion", does that mean I am one of the 12,000 of the Levi tribe; the ones mentioned in the book of Revelation? Or, am I just one of the many Levites around the world? Most Levites, I would opine, aren't Christian. Thus, the book of Revelation would not exist for those that weren't (I assume). Logically, that would make sense, at least to me.
I suspect there is no way to know at this time, definitely. Regardless of whether that aspect will become reality, for me, even the knowledge of my birthrite is exciting. How much more wonderful it would be to know that I was (crossing my fingers,) one of the chosen ones. Truly, that would be a miracle!
angel
First, in the Jewish religion, each family lineage is chosen, not birthed. I don't quite understand how it all works, but, apparently, each is chosen to be in the lineage of the particular tribes by G_d himself.
Information is passed down from father to son. The levites go by Hebrew names, but Hebrew biblical names don't have surnames. The mother's lineage doesn't matter, but the father's lineage must be passed down to the next in line. The name 'LEVI' comes from the biblical old testament, but there are many Levi's (originally Levite) whose names are no longer Levi, and Co hains that are no longer co hains (now called Cohen).
My father's great, great, great, great, grandfather informed his son of the lineage, who in turn, informed the next generation, and so on. Each one that passed the name and heritage in line always told the children so that they knew where they originated, especially since it's a great honor to be a Levite, in the Jewish religion. According to a Rabbi, most other tribes didn't really keep track of their heritage, for the most part, but because the levite tribe was considered important to Israel and the messiah coming, the Levites were told to pass the information down from one generation to the next, as were the Co hains.
To be a levite was considered a very special birth rite in the Jewish religion, but it required much service to the synogogue.
According to my mother, the female's side is chosen for illness, so illness is prayed for by the mother of a Levite, so that one should be healed. The father's side, however, is chosen for the lineage.
The Levites were considered high priests. According to my mom, Levi's served in the temple itself. They cleaned it, they took care of the Co hains, they ushered people in and out, they taught, the females healed people, they were doctors, lawyers (of a sort), educators, etc. However, they made no money doing these services. Since they had no money, nor food, they lived there in the temple, and were therefore fed by the people via tithes (these were the original tithes, before christian times).
Sometimes, a Levi was declared a Co hain. Aaron & Moses were Levites, but HaShem (G_d) appointed Aaron to be a Cohen Gadol (high priest). Moses, was in our lineage, making us his descendents, at least, according to what a Rabbi wrote, when the question was put before him.
To the Jews, the Levi's are a very important part, as are the Cohen's. They must remain especially spiritual and holy, and in certain ways, separate from other tribes. For instance, a Cohen is not allowed to be anywhere near a dead body, unless the person's death occurred within the immediate family. And then, the Cohen MUST be at the funeral to pay respect to his/her family. In addition, there is a ceremony at 30 days of life performed for a child. It's called "pidyon ha ben".
From what I understand, when a child is 30 days old, the parents are to dedicate the child to service in the temple. Technically, the child belongs to the Co hain's to be trained in the temple, and so a 'Cohen' and a 'Levi' with a child, must give a certain amount of silver to the high priest to redeem the child, so that the parent doesn't have to give the child to the high priest. If they can't, the child becomes the high priest's child, rightfully and lawfully, to raise as his own.
According to the Rabbi, here's how the lineage worked: Jacob's third son's name was Levi. Levi had three sons: Gershon, Kehot and Merari. Kehot's firstborn, Amram, had three children: Miriam, Aaron and Moses. Aaron was designated as the Kohen Gadol, the high priest; male descendants of Aaron are Kohanim. The rest of the tribe are the Levites. So, Moses was a Levite, and all the Levites stem from Moses, originally. All the descendants of Aaron, on the other hand, would be Co hains (Cohens).
Unfortunately, there is no longer a temple -- because the 2nd temple was destroyed in 70AD by the Romans. So the Levi's are no longer important, except spiritually...at least, for now. When the third temple is built, they will be called to Israel to serve in the temple, once again.
In shul (temple), a levite gets the 2nd aliyah (when you go up to say a blessing, and they read from the Torah (the scriptures). It also means when you immigrate to Israel, but there were many aliyahs into Israel by the Jews.) It is a special blessing when a Levite immigrates home.
My mother asked one of the Rabbis why the Levi's weren't counted in the destruction of the tribes. His response was..."The King's legion deserves to be counted on its own!" Another explanation he told her was: G-d foresaw that a decree would be passed in the future against all those counted from twenty years and upward, condemning them to die in the desert. He said, "Let these [Levites] not be included! They are Mine, for they did not err with the [Golden] Calf." They were considered an elite group ("The King's legion").
Now, get ready for the next part. Although I was born Jewish, I converted to Christianity when I was a child. And, my Christian beliefs are very strong. I am truly adament about following Christ and all the ways He taught.
Of course, this naturally makes me question something that is foretold in the bible. Since I am a part of "The King's Legion", does that mean I am one of the 12,000 of the Levi tribe; the ones mentioned in the book of Revelation? Or, am I just one of the many Levites around the world? Most Levites, I would opine, aren't Christian. Thus, the book of Revelation would not exist for those that weren't (I assume). Logically, that would make sense, at least to me.
I suspect there is no way to know at this time, definitely. Regardless of whether that aspect will become reality, for me, even the knowledge of my birthrite is exciting. How much more wonderful it would be to know that I was (crossing my fingers,) one of the chosen ones. Truly, that would be a miracle!
angel
posted by angel at 9/10/2009 11:43:00 PM
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