Category Archives: Wonders of Creation

The Admor of Malta – The United Order of Light

While browsing the internet the other day I stumbled across a rather unconventional individual, The Admor of Malta (http://admorofmalta.org/), What struck me aside from his style of clothing was the platform that he wishes to bring to the world, The United Order of Light (http://admorofmalta.org/about-uol/). The idea is bold, intriguing and worthy of contemplation, because I think it really fills a void that is lacking in the world of religious ideas and spirituality.

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“The United Order of Light is a spiritual order which devotes itself to the fundamental values of eternal life, light, love and compassion. It is an international order independent from any religion, kingdom, state, nation, government and other temporal authorities.

The principal aim of the Order is to bring humankind closer to God independently from any religion or creed. Religions have been many times, over the centuries, the culmination of inhuman wars.

The intention of the Order is elevate the human dimension directly to the Present Light of God, beyond the level of religions. The Order is not interested in the differences between the diverse faiths, but considers the similarities between the existing principal religions and their common foundation, that is, the witness of a Unique God.

The United Order of Light is a spiritual order which devotes itself to the fundamental values of eternal life, light, love and compassion. It is an international order independent from any religion, kingdom, state, nation, government and other temporal authorities.

The principal aim of the Order is to bring humankind closer to God independently from any religion or creed. Religions have been many times, over the centuries, the culmination of inhuman wars.

The intention of the Order is elevate the human dimension directly to the Present Light of God, beyond the level of religions. The Order is not interested in the differences between the diverse faiths, but considers the similarities between the existing principal religions and their common foundation, that is, the witness of a Unique God.”

I often contemplate how religion and God are treated with so much disdain in today’s world and seen as the cause of  so much hatred, anger, darkness, depression, suppression and disillusionment and worst off all bloodshed. A religious believer cannot be blinded to the reality that his text, tribe, ideas and God are seen as being responsible for much evil and wickedness in the world, spreading darkness instead of light. The perception of God in today’s world is best described by the following quote by Richard Dawkins;

“The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.” – Richard Dawkins, The G-d delusion

If this is how God is perceived in the world then you cannot be surprised by the turn to atheism in this generation. You cannot be surprised that people do not wish to have a relationship with the God of this description.

We honestly are in a age that needs religious and spiritual renewal, a new paradigm, a new calling, a new way to transcend, unify and bring “tikkun olam”. The world as we know it has much darkness, with many false ideas and delusions. In that sense I see The New Atheists as a form of chemotherapy (see the idea developed by Rav Kook here and here) killing the cancer that is outdated, irrelevant ways of thinking and being, but like any chemotherapy kills much good along with it as well. The sooner we acknowledge the weakness and evil of what passes for religion/spirituality in our day and destroy the false edifices of our time, we can rebuild, reconnect and renew, spreading forth light, being, connecting, becoming one – a true glimpse of what it means to live in the messianic times.

Of course the danger with any new idea that claims to “redeem mankind” is the danger of falling into a lower state then from where you began. The world has seen plenty of “false messiahs” individuals with grandiose messianic aspirations who have either failed, become corrupted (the irony that those who preach to mankind of the dangers of money, sex and power often become the biggest perpetrators of the evil deeds they wish to cleanse the world of, perhaps that is the idea behind the red heifer/para adumah, those who prepare the water to purify the impure become impure themselves, a necessary risk/consequence of going to the depths to “save” others, requires you to fall to their level).

So like anything in life, we will have to wait and see but the idea has merit – the notion of a movement dedicated to the universalism, spirituality and G0d that seeks to unify mankind around “light”, “goodness”, “compassion” to end “bloodshed” and “hatred” is a step in the right direction and the right path for us to follow. Let us hope that we will not be disappointed and further disillusioned, and instead let this be a “new true light”.

The Inner Truth that needs to be spread

Incredible speech given by the President of Egypt:

Speaking before Al-Azhar and the Awqaf Ministry on New Year’s Day, 2015, in connection to Prophet Muhammad’s upcoming birthday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a vocal supporter for a renewed vision of Islam, made what must be his most forceful and impassioned plea to date on the subject.

The relevant excerpt from Sisi’s speech follows (translation by Michele Antaki):

I am referring here to the religious clerics. We have to think hard about what we are facing—and I have, in fact, addressed this topic a couple of times before. It’s inconceivable that the thinking that we hold most sacred should cause the entire umma [Islamic world] to be a source of anxiety, danger, killing and destruction for the rest of the world. Impossible!

That thinking—I am not saying “religion” but “thinking”—that corpus of texts and ideas that we have sacralized over the years, to the point that departing from them has become almost impossible, is antagonizing the entire world. It’s antagonizing the entire world!

Is it possible that 1.6 billion people [Muslims] should want to kill the rest of the world’s inhabitants—that is 7 billion—so that they themselves may live? Impossible!

I am saying these words here at Al Azhar, before this assembly of scholars and ulema—Allah Almighty be witness to your truth on Judgment Day concerning that which I’m talking about now.

All this that I am telling you, you cannot feel it if you remain trapped within this mindset. You need to step outside of yourselves to be able to observe it and reflect on it it from a more enlightened perspective.

I say and repeat again that we are in need of a religious revolution. You, imams, are responsible before Allah. The entire world, I say it again, the entire world is waiting for your next move… because this umma is being torn, it is being destroyed, it is being lost—and it is being lost by our own hands.

(Source: Rabbi Michael Skobac Facebook Page)

G-d Said, “Be Happy”

Dance; the song of the body

 All my bones shall say: ‘LORD, who is like unto Thee – Psalms: 35:10

Worlds Oldest Man lives in Israel

An envoy from the Guiness Book of World Records is coming to Israel to formalize 115-year-old David Pur's title as the oldest living man on earth. 

….He has trouble seeing, but as one who has repeated the prayers for more than a century, he knows them by heart. David Pur, age 115, continues to learn Torah and to pray every day, now in the nursing home to where he moved just three months ago.

….The old man is known for his smiles and for laughing and joking with the various members of his large family, who visit him daily. “The main thing is not to lose your optimism,” he said. “I, who buried the woman of my life 50 years ago, and six of my children – I understand that we must not let bitterness take hold of us.”

….For nearly 110 years he smoked, but he says the damage was minimized because he “never swallowed the smoke.” At breakfast, he drinks a glass of brandy and eats nuts. “It is best not to eat on [from on-the-street establishments],” he advises, “because who knows when they change the oil, and you could unknowingly swallow poison. I avoid meat and fried foods, and eat as many fruits and vegetables as possible."

(Source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/136370 )

Amazing! May he only go from strength to strength B"H