12/16/2024
I am learning about Yeshua’s (Jesus) teachings translated directly from his Aramaic language by Neil Douglas-Klotz, who is a Semitic language scholar.
One of the fascinating things I have learned is that the word Yeshua used for God was Alaha. Neil translates this word for God to mean “Sacred Unity.”
If Alaha sounds reminiscent of the Arabic word Allah, used by Muslims, that’s no accident. Both words have the same root meaning, and apparently some Aramaic Christians use the word Allah for God, even today. Alaha also shares the same roots as the Hebrew Elohim.
The root AL or EL means “something”
And the root LA or LO means “nothing”
And the HA in Alaha essentially means “life energy” or “embodied life”
This concept of embodied life as the union of opposites is not specific to the Semitic faiths.
In Taoism, life is made possible by a dynamic interplay of yin (something, tangible, feminine) and yang (nothing, intangible, masculine) energies, as evidenced in the taiji/Taichi symbol also known as the yin-yang symbol. This symbol is often portrayed as a static two-dimensional image but in reality is in constant movement, constant flux.
And in Hinduism, embodied life is composed of a dynamic relationship between Purusha (eternal, formless, masculine, associated with Shiva) and Prakriti (manifest reality, lived experience, feminine, associated with Shakti). The interdependence of these masculine and feminine aspects is represented by Ardhanarishvara, who is half God and half Goddess.
As a human race, we have so much more in common with each other than we may initially realize, until we take the time to get to know each other’s perspectives and see the common threads.
I hope one day the cultures of the Middle East can realize how much they have in common, and develop a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood between them.
Whatever you are celebrating this holiday season, I wish you peace, love and happiness!!