Benjamin Blech > Quotes

“Until the Tower of Babel, humans had only planted and sown, reaped and harvested. Farmers are dependent upon nature and, in their dependency, turn to God. Builders, however, seek to control nature. And in their sense of might they tend to overplay their own role and at times to believe that they are no longer dependent on God. “Come let us build a city and a tower with its top in Heaven” (Genesis 11:4). The Talmud adds (Sanhedrin 109a): “We will build a tower that reaches so high that we will be able to come to the very throne of the Almighty and topple him.” The metaphor is profound. The scientist says if we build high enough, if we indicate our ultimate strength, if we reach the skies and soar to the very Heavens, then we, too, with Yuri Gagarin, the first Russian cosmonaut, can say with unbounded egoism, “There is no God, because I was in the Heavens and I did not see Him.” “Let us make us a name” was the cry of the first technological wizards. “We will dethrone God.” And so they built the Tower of Babel.”
― Benjamin Blech, Understanding Judaism: The Basics of Deed and Creed

“Leonardo da Vinci, was brought to the Vatican in 1513 by the new pope, Leo X, and given a list of commissions to create for the greater glory of the pope and his family. After three years of living in the papal palace and exploring Rome, the great Leonardo had produced almost nothing. The furious Pope Leo decided to have a surprise showdown with the capricious artist and intimidate him into completing some of his commissions. In the middle of the night, surrounded by several imposing Swiss Guardsmen, the pope burst through the door to Leonardo’s private palace chambers, thinking to shake him out of a sound sleep. Instead, he was horrified to find Leonardo wide awake, with a pair of grave robbers, in the midst of dissecting a freshly stolen corpse—right under the pope’s own roof. Pope Leo let out a nonregal scream and had the Swiss soldiers immediately pack up Leonardo’s belongings and throw them and the divine Leonardo himself outside the fortress wall of the Vatican, never to return again. Shortly afterward, Leonardo decided it was probably healthier to get out of Italy and move to France, where he spent the rest of his days. This, by the way, is why the great Italian genius’s most famous oil paintings, including the Mona Lisa, are all in Paris, in the Louvre museum.”
― Benjamin Blech, The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican

“Somewhat similar is another effect called anamorphosis. This is an amazing technique that makes an image literally “morph” into another shape or image when the viewer looks at it from a different angle. Only highly skilled artists who had also mastered”
― Benjamin Blech, The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican

“To allow a human being to drown because you are busy telling God how much you care about Him and His world is the ultimate hypocrisy.”
― Benjamin Blech, Understanding Judaism: The Basics of Deed and Creed

“Yet another strategy for encoding in Renaissance works involved environmental “special effects.” Messages were ingeniously inserted so that they could be viewed only when one was in situ, in the very spot where the artist intended for the viewer to receive his true intent. Often this would be determined by how light coming from an actual window at the site would stream into the painting, thus literally and figuratively illuminating the piece. Leonardo did this with the light in his Last Supper fresco,”
― Benjamin Blech, The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican

“Back in the 1540s, Pope Paul III had started the repressive measures of the Counter-Reformation to crack down on the growth of reformers, Lutherans, and freethinkers in the Catholic world.”
― Benjamin Blech, The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican

“The Jew cannot accept the New Testament since it is the words of one man intended to undo what the Creator had shared with all of His children.”
― Benjamin Blech, Understanding Judaism: The Basics of Deed and Creed

“Here is a fundamental distinction between Judaism and Christianity. The Gospels record the miracles performed by Jesus at length, and miracles play an extremely significant role in Christianity. The wondrous acts of Jesus, such as reviving the dead, healing the incurable, and transforming water into wine, are meant to serve as cogent evidence not only of his divine authorization but of his divinity. The virgin birth and the resurrection are not only major events but also fundamental articles of belief; this, despite the specific warning in Deuteronomy that "if there arise in your midst a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder" and that sign or wonder is used as a rationale for rejecting any part of the Torah, then the "miracle" must clearly be rejected. In Christianity, miracles were sufficient to warrant the replacement of the Old Testament by the New, the message of Moses to be superseded by that of Jesus.”
― Benjamin Blech, Understanding Judaism: The Basics of Deed and Creed

“Michelangelo, who had already spent much time studying Roman architecture in the ruins, proposed a revolutionary “flying bow bridge” scaffold. It was based on the principles of the Roman arch, whose weight presses out against the sides it is spanning. This ingenious structure could be inserted in just a few small holes made in the side walls, since all its pressure would flow there, and none down to the floor. It would also allow Michelangelo to fresco the ceiling a whole strip at a time, moving to the next strip as soon as one was finished, and thus progressing across the length of the chapel. He got approval to construct it, and it was an instant success, allowing the papal court to have its regular processions under it without any obstruction.”
― Benjamin Blech, The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican

“the man who knew that his people were in the "fire of Egypt," which would some day be paralleled by the crematoria of contemporary history – to that Moses was shown, in the first communication from God, that “the bush may burn, but it will not be consumed.” The Jewish people may be in flames, but contrary to the laws of nature, they will never be destroyed. Am Yisrael Hai, “the Jewish people will live forever,” was the metaphorical message that served as the true purpose of the miracle of the burning bush. The burning bush was more than a miracle; it was a message.”
― Benjamin Blech, Understanding Judaism: The Basics of Deed and Creed

“Vatika has several other related meanings in ancient Etruscan. It was the name of a bitter grape that grew wild on the slope, which the peasants made into what became infamous as one of the worst, cheapest wines in the ancient world. The name of this wine, which also referred to the slope where it was produced, was Vatika. It was also the name of a strange weed that grew on the graveyard slope. When chewed, it produced wild hallucinations, much like the effect of peyote mushrooms; thus, vatika represented what we would call today a cheap high. In this way, the word passed into Latin as a synonym for “prophetic vision.” Much later, the slope became the circus, or stadium, of the mad emperor Nero. It was here, according to Church tradition, that Saint Peter was executed, crucified upside down, and then buried nearby. This became the destination of so many pilgrims that the emperor Constantine, upon becoming half-Christian, founded a shrine on the spot, which the Romans continued to call the Vatican Slope. A century after Constantine, the popes started building the papal palace there.”
― Benjamin Blech, The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican

“Good" and "bad" describe the subjective feelings we have toward semothing; the words "true" or "false" deal with reality, regardless of our feelings.”
― Benjamin Blech, Understanding Judaism: The Basics of Deed and Creed

“Vatika has several other related meanings in ancient Etruscan. It was the name of a bitter grape that grew wild on the slope, which the peasants made into what became infamous as one of the worst, cheapest wines in the ancient world. The name of this wine, which also referred to the slope where it was produced, was Vatika. It was also the name of a strange weed that grew on the graveyard slope. When chewed, it produced wild hallucinations, much like the effect of peyote mushrooms; thus, vatika represented what we would call today a cheap high. In this way, the word passed into Latin as a synonym for “prophetic vision.” Much later,”
― Benjamin Blech, The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican

“What we deem insignificant may bear light to the whole world.”
― Benjamin Blech, Understanding Judaism: The Basics of Deed and Creed

“Carafa, as Pope Paul IV, established the Index of Forbidden Books, banned all women from entering the Vatican, burnt volumes of Talmud and Kabbalah, threw the Jews of Rome into the ghetto, drained the Church’s savings while overtaxing the faithful in order to enrich his nephews and mistress, tortured and burned homosexuals in public, ordained two nephews (ages fourteen and sixteen) as cardinals, and banned the potato—recently brought to Europe from the New World by Sir Francis Drake—as a fruit of lust sent by Satan.”
― Benjamin Blech, The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican

“To assess the success of the Sistine, we must think in terms of its history, its prime architects, and its contemporary relevance. What was it first meant to be? What were its functions over the course of time—practically, spiritually, and conceptually? Perhaps most meaningful of all, we need to ask: what did Michelangelo want the Sistine to teach humanity? What was his vision for it—not only for his time but for posterity? Did he succeed?”
― Benjamin Blech, The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican

“Buonarroti was later given the job of designing the huge dome of the new Basilica of St. Peter. It is well known how much he loved the simplicity and perfection of ancient Roman architecture. His favorite building of all was the Pantheon, the central shrine to the Greek and Roman idols, built by Hadrian in the first half of the second century.”
― Benjamin Blech, The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican

“Ottomans invaded the Italian peninsula itself, seizing the city of Otranto on the southeastern coast, slaughtering the archbishop and many priests in the cathedral, forcibly converting the townspeople, beheading eight hundred who refused to convert, and sawing the bishop in half.”
― Benjamin Blech, The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican

“The Vatican preached that because the Jews had killed Jesus and rejected his teachings they were punished with the loss of their Holy Temple and the city of Jerusalem, as well as their homeland. In addition, they were damned to wander the earth forever as a divine warning to anyone who might refuse to obey the Church. (It is important to note that this teaching was categorically rejected and forbidden by the Second Vatican Council in 1962.) Baccio Pontelli, on the other hand, was not”
― Benjamin Blech, The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican

“He infused his ceiling fresco with Kabbalistic images that reflected the Kabbalistic pavement design below. He linked the Jewish ancestral tree to Jesus. He connected pagan philosophy and design with Judaism and Christianity. He joined his love of male beauty to his love of God. He narrated the entire story of the universe, beginning with creation, in a way that makes us realize humanity’s common ancestry.”
― Benjamin Blech, The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican

“Giudizio Universale, the Last Judgment. In the Christian tradition, this is when Jesus returns to earth to discern between right and wrong, good and evil, and to judge all souls accordingly. The souls judged righteous will ascend to heaven, while the evil ones will be damned to eternal punishment in hell. For once, Michelangelo agreed to a theme without even putting up an argument. He was tired of fighting for the soul of the Church. He was disgusted by the hedonistic heirs of the intellectual, cultured Lorenzo the Magnificent. He was more than happy with the idea of Christ coming back to judge both the Vatican and the de’ Medicis.”
― Benjamin Blech, The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican

“Here they make helmets and swords from chalices And by the handful sell the blood of Christ; His cross and thorns are made into lances and shields; Yet even so Christ’s patience still rains down. But let him come no more into these parts; His blood would rise up as far as the stars; Since now in Rome his flesh is being sold; And every road to virtue here is closed.”
― Benjamin Blech, The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican

“Conoscersi è il miglior modo per capirsi— capirsi è il solo modo per amarsi (To know each other is the best way to understand each other–—to understand each other is the only way to love each other.)”
― Benjamin Blech, The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican

“Our first clue, included in each of the Sistine portraits of the sibyls and prophets—save one—is a scroll or a book, symbolizing literacy. Through his use of books and writing, Michelangelo is showing us that he believes these seers were the intellectuals of their respective times and places.”
― Benjamin Blech, The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican

“Why one of the later, lesser-known Jewish prophets over the front door of the Sistine? Michelangelo must have selected Zechariah for a variety of reasons—again, there are multiple layers of meaning, so integral to Talmudic and Kabbalistic thought, and so dear to Michelangelo. First of all, Zechariah warned the corrupt priesthood of the Second Holy Temple: “Open your doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour your cedars” (Zechariah 11:1). This was a prophecy that if the priesthood did not cease its corrupt, unspiritual behavior, the doors of the sanctuary would be broken open by attacking foes and the Temple, built partly of cedarwood from Lebanon, would be burned down. And here is the author of that warning, right over the doors of Pope Julius’s sanctuary. Zechariah is also the prophet of consolation and redemption. He is the one who urges the Jews to rebuild Jerusalem and the Holy Temple: “Thus says the Lord of hosts; My cities shall again overflow with prosperity; and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem” (Zechariah 1:”
― Benjamin Blech, The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican

“The goal was to teach and spiritually transform its viewers. But in what way? We have already unveiled many of the artist’s secret messages hidden throughout the frescoes; but was there one overall statement he was trying to convey? Did he deliver it? In order to decide if Michelangelo succeeded, we will first need to probe into his innermost thoughts and find the key to his master plan, his “hidden brain” in the artwork. We have to do no less than answer the question, What was Michelangelo really trying to accomplish with his Sistine Chapel frescoes?”
― Benjamin Blech, The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican

“The floor is a fifteenth-century revival of medieval Cosmatesque mosaic style. The Cosmati family developed their unmistakable technique in Rome in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. This decorating style was a fantasy of geometric shapes and swirls in cut pieces of colored glass and marble (much of which was “recycled” from pagan Roman palaces and temples). Stunning examples of authentic Cosmati floors and decorations can be found in some of the oldest and most beautiful churches, basilicas, and cloisters in Rome and southern Italy.”
― Benjamin Blech, The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican

“Whoever’s idea it was, the new Palatine Chapel was designed to replace the ancient Jewish Temple as the New Holy Temple of the New World Order in the New Jerusalem, which would from this time forward be the city of Rome, the capital of Christendom.”
― Benjamin Blech, The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican

“In essence, Ficino’s philosophy elevated the liberal arts, pure scientific research, and the centrality of the individual and his or her immortal soul’s redemption through beauty and love. It taught that there are absolute concepts that exist outside of human variations and distortions, among them the concepts of Absolute Good, Absolute Love, and Absolute Beauty. This is almost certainly what Michelangelo had in mind when in later life he explained, “In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and in action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it.”5 For Michelangelo, imbued with this Platonic mind-set, art was not creating as much as it was uncovering hidden preexistent absolute beauty. “I saw the angel in the marble,” he said, “and I carved until I set him free.”6”
― Benjamin Blech, The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican

“In most Christian imagery of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, the suffering, damned Jews were portrayed as unsympathetic caricatures. This was an extremely important part of Church teaching for centuries, that the Jews, for having rejected the word of salvation from Jesus, were summarily rejected by God. The proof for this was the destruction of the Holy Temple, Jerusalem, and the entire Jewish kingdom. This is the root of the legend of the eternally wandering Jews, whose only reason for still existing was to serve as a warning, a negative example to Christians to illustrate the cursed fate that awaits those who reject the true Messiah. Yet here, Michelangelo’s Jews are anything but caricatures of a cursed people.”
― Benjamin Blech, The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican