Nathan Erez > Quotes

“Jerusalem is one stubborn city that refuses to roll over and die.”
― Nathan Erez, The Kabbalistic Murder Code

“The third stream is the one which has elicited the most criticism. It is referred to as Practical Kabbalah. By that, we mean people who use the Kabbalah for their own personal purposes, as a way to exploit the secret knowledge to which they have access in order to control nature and man’s fate. Practical Kabbalah appeals directly to supernatural forces and sometimes even makes them solve the problems of the one calling upon them. These include attempts to foretell the future, to converse with the dead, to heal the sick, to banish evil spirits and the evil eye, and of course to acquire wealth, respect, and/or the love of a man or a woman. That, too, is a dangerous game to play.”
― Nathan Erez, The Kabbalistic Murder Code

“Kabbalistic literature is generally divided into three major streams. The first and most important one is the cosmological, mission-oriented one. Here we find a direct line between ourselves and the Master of the Universes, by way of His influence on all the intermediate worlds. Note the term, ‘Master of the Universes’ in the plural. In this view, there are mutual influences, going from the upper worlds to us, and from us to the upper worlds. All the commandments and all the proper intentions and all the prayers are ultimately aimed at mending those spheres, which were damaged at the time of the Creation. In the language of the Kabbalah, this means repairing those vessels which were broken.”
― Nathan Erez, The Kabbalistic Murder Code

“In Pakistan they speak Urdu, an Indo-Iranian language which was originally written in Arabic characters. There’s no place where it’s spoken these days. Akkadian came from Akkad, an empire in northern Iraq. It’s the first written Semitic language, and was originally written in cuneiform. Although that empire was only in ascendancy for about a hundred and fifty years, between 2350 and 2200 B.C.E., Akkadian served as an international language in the Mesopotamia region, and in actuality was still used as late as the 6th century C.E. Eventually, it was replaced by Aramaic.”
― Nathan Erez, The Kabbalistic Murder Code

“Rebbe of Kotzk said toward the end of his life? ‘When I was young, I wanted to change the world. When I became an adult, I wanted to change my country. As the years passed, I was content just to change my city. Today I say, ‘I hope I can just change myself.”
― Nathan Erez, The Kabbalistic Murder Code

“The Turks refer to these groups as “donmeh”. These people, while ostensibly Muslim, keep various Jewish laws and customs in the secrecy of their own homes and closed communities.”
― Nathan Erez, The Kabbalistic Murder Code

“If you keep hiding your light behind a bushel, people will eventually begin to believe you.”
― Nathan Erez, The Kabbalistic Murder Code

“Those years in which Passover is later than usual are referred to as the years of the Concealed and the Revealed and it is during these years that the Messiah could make an appearance, bringing with him the ultimate redemption. Various Kabbalistic works have used different calculations to try to plot out which years are more likely to bring the Messiah.”
― Nathan Erez, The Kabbalistic Murder Code

“​“Many,” sighed Ashuri, “and from various faculties. A considerable number of them are not even registered at the university. They come to register, and I ignore the fact that they are not on the roster. This year, I closed registration after seventy-five students had signed up, but in reality over a hundred attended each lecture. For purely selfish reasons, because of my age, I suppose, I refused to accept any more. I have found lately that Kabbalah has shown signs of a resurgence of interest. As a result, many charlatans earn a fine living from it.” ​Elijah remembered that he was really on his way to the library. He parted from Prof. Ashuri in his normal awkward, hesitant and apologetic manner, thanking her profusely no less than three times; he would even have bowed down to her if that was what would have enabled him to expedite his exit. However, Prof. Ashuri had one more important observation to make. ​“I hope that your interest in the Kabbalah will not infect you with that dreaded disease...” she smiled. ​“What disease do you mean?” ​“Kabbalistic literature is generally divided into three major streams. The first and most important one is the cosmological, mission-oriented one. Here we find a direct line between ourselves and the Master of the Universes, by way of His influence on all the intermediate worlds. Note the term, ‘Master of the Universes’ in the plural. In this view, there are mutual influences, going from the upper worlds to us, and from us to the upper worlds. All the commandments and all the proper intentions and all the prayers are ultimately aimed at mending those spheres, which were damaged at the time of the Creation. In the language of the Kabbalah, this means repairing those vessels which were broken. ​“The second stream is Kabbalistic-prophetic. It is an attempt to attain what is known as cleaving to God and to achieve spiritual elevation. This can be accomplished by internal meditation, which includes reciting the Holy Names, internal and external purification, combining sacred letters and repeating them over and over, singing and moving the head, and breathing techniques. This can unite one with the higher worlds. One who does this properly can reach the level of prophecy. There are even books with detailed instructions on how to actually accomplish this and how to ascend to a higher spiritual level. I often hear of students who have embarked on such a course, and it is, indeed, a disease.” ​“Don’t worry about me. And what about the third stream?” ​“The third stream is the one which has elicited the most criticism. It is referred to as Practical Kabbalah. By that, we mean people who use the Kabbalah for their own personal purposes, as a way to exploit the secret knowledge to which they have access in order to control nature and man’s fate. Practical Kabbalah appeals directly to supernatural forces and sometimes even makes them solve the problems of the one calling upon them. These include attempts to foretell the future, to converse with the dead, to heal the sick, to banish evil spirits and the evil eye, and of course to acquire wealth, respect, and/or the love of a man or a woman. That, too, is a dangerous game to play.” Prof. Ashuri laughed, but Elijah could not tell whether or not she was serious.”
― Nathan Erez, The Kabbalistic Murder Code

“consider your actions carefully, lest you sin against God and Man. As you well know, our Sages tell us that one who seeks to know what came before all and what will come after - it would have been better had he never been born at all.”
― Nathan Erez, The Kabbalistic Murder Code

“This passed through the Even Shetiyah, which is the center of the world and the gate to Heaven. It was on it that Jacob rested his head and from it he saw angels ascending to and descending from Heaven. It was there that Isaac was brought as a sacrifice, that God spoke to King David, that the Holy of Holies of the First and Second Temples were built, and it was from that point that the Great Shofar (ram’s horn) will be sounded to herald the final redemption.”
― Nathan Erez, The Kabbalistic Murder Code

“In the past, some Kabbalistic scholars were familiar with the detailed instructions needed to activate the Kabbalistic secrets when absolutely necessary. These secrets could be used to accomplish what could not be achieved by natural means. The rumor states that Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai used it to escape from besieged Jerusalem, and to obtain permission from the Roman general Vespasian to open a major Torah study center in Jabneh. This information was relayed to Rabbi Eliezer ben Horkenos, who in turn conveyed it to Rabbi Akiba.”
― Nathan Erez, The Kabbalistic Murder Code

“According to a Jewish tradition, everything which ever happened, is happening, or will happen in the future is to be found - in some form or another - in the Torah, the Five Books of Moses, which the Israelites received on Mount Sinai. However, the key to unlock all this data is not available to everyone.”
― Nathan Erez, The Kabbalistic Murder Code

“Istanbul is the only city in the entire world built on two separate continents. The Bosporus Straits separate the two parts. Our European side alone has a greater population than the entire country of Belgium, but for some reason Europeans still look upon us as Asians.”               Ever the scholar, Elijah immediately countered, “Pay no attention to them. The so-called ‘Asians’ included people like Moses, the prophet Isaiah, and Jesus. And they are but a minuscule sample of the many ‘Asians’ who made it in life. After all, they wrote the greatest bestselling book of all times - the Bible.”
― Nathan Erez, The Kabbalistic Murder Code

“Very special people would rise to pray early and would attempt to pray opposite where the Holy of Holies used to stand, and to combine the proper words, and to do so at a propitious time.  Thus we are told, “When you pray in Jerusalem it is as if you are praying directly in front of God’s heavenly throne. And when you pray in Jerusalem on the Sabbath you are like an infant begging his father. And if you use the secret prayers on the Sabbath in Jerusalem you are among those who will bring redemption to the world.”
― Nathan Erez, The Kabbalistic Murder Code

“He created neutrons and surrounded them with helium nuclei. After making and arranging the elements, He transformed them into the prime building blocks. He fashioned black holes and set up giant red and dwarf white stars. He spread galaxies throughout, set up comets and moons, extracted light from darkness, and wove together strands of light as one does in weaving a fabric. He bound matter together and fashioned everything which He had created and which He was yet to fashion.”
― Nathan Erez, The Kabbalistic Murder Code

“Nine hundred years ago, when first discussing this discrepancy, the scholars of the time decided that problem was so far off in the future that it could safely be assumed that the Messiah would have arrived by the time it became acute, and he could deal with it. In any event, there are years where the problem is more noticeable and others when it is less so. The accepted assumption has always been that the Messiah will arrive during one of the more problematic years, and will promptly set about solving the problem.”
― Nathan Erez, The Kabbalistic Murder Code

“At the beginning of time and of space, or - to be more accurate - before either time or space had been defined, God conquered Jerusalem and through it He created the entire world. According to the Kabbalistic Jewish tradition, the Torah, the Sabbath, and Jerusalem were all created before the world was created. The Torah preceded it in thought, the Sabbath in time, and Jerusalem in space.”
― Nathan Erez, The Kabbalistic Murder Code

“How was Jerusalem conquered? God “compacted Himself” so as to leave room for the world, and left a very small opening, the size of a small needle, through which the light could shine in. For this purpose, He sowed a series of quanta within the emptiness, created matter out of nothing, and expanded it many times over. He merged protons and anti-protons, neutrons and anti-neutrons, and breathed life into the photons that were produced from this merger.”
― Nathan Erez, The Kabbalistic Murder Code

“Everything was conducted in accordance with a master plan, in accordance with His directions and His code. As the Jewish sages put it: “He looked in the Torah and - using it as a blueprint - created the world.”               Once finished, He left a thin strand of the light of creation from Jerusalem on High to Jerusalem below. This thin strand was one of mercy, and was exempt from the fear of harsh judgment.”
― Nathan Erez, The Kabbalistic Murder Code

“The second stream is Kabbalistic-prophetic. It is an attempt to attain what is known as cleaving to God and to achieve spiritual elevation. This can be accomplished by internal meditation, which includes reciting the Holy Names, internal and external purification, combining sacred letters and repeating them over and over, singing and moving the head, and breathing techniques. This can unite one with the higher worlds. One who does this properly can reach the level of prophecy. There are even books with detailed instructions on how to actually accomplish this and how to ascend to a higher spiritual level. I often hear of students who have embarked on such a course, and it is, indeed, a disease.”
― Nathan Erez, The Kabbalistic Murder Code

“The years in which a month is added are referred to as “pregnant” years. This calculation, however, is not totally accurate. If we average out the length of the Hebrew year, it is slightly longer than the solar year. The difference is only one of minutes, but over a very long period the difference accumulates, each time making Passover start a little later on the average. Over a very long time, this can, eventually, in theory, result in Passover taking place in the summer.”
― Nathan Erez, The Kabbalistic Murder Code

“problems involved when Passover, which is the festival of spring, occurs in the summer. Briefly, she explained it to Elijah. The Hebrew calendar, which is theoretically based on the lunar month, consists of twelve months. That, however, only adds up to 354 days, whereas the solar calendar consists of 365 days, making a discrepancy of 11 days a year. In order to align the two, an extra month is added to some Hebrew years, for a total of seven months, over a cycle of nineteen years.”
― Nathan Erez, The Kabbalistic Murder Code