Religion Chapter
QMRGilbert Rosenthal 1973 Four paths to One God
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QMR the middle of the 20th century, evangelical Walter Martin and the Christian Research Institute concluded that the Seventh-day Adventist church is a legitimate Christian body with some heterodox doctrines and stated, "They are sound on the great New Testament doctrines including grace and redemption through the vicarious offering of Jesus Christ 'once for all'.[1][2] However, other scholars such as Calvinist Anthony A. Hoekema, who did not agree with the Adventist views from Arminius's as Adventism holds a Wesleyan/Arminian stream of theology, grouped Seventh-day Adventism with Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses and Christian Science in his book The Four Major Cults.[3]
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Anthony A. Hoekema (1963). The Four Major Cults. William B. Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0-85364-094-3
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QMRStructure and polity[edit]
Main article: Polity of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist church is governed by a form of representation which resembles the presbyterian system of church organization. Four levels of organization exist within the world church.[59][60]
The local church is the foundation level of organizational structure and is the public face of the denomination. Every baptized Adventist is a member of a local church and has voting powers within that church.
Directly above the local church is the "local conference" or "local mission". The local conference/mission is an organization of churches within a state, province or territory (or part thereof) which appoints ministers, owns church land and organizes the distribution of tithes and payments to ministers.
Above the local conference is the "union conference" or "union mission" which embodies a number of local conferences/missions within a larger territory.
The highest level of governance within the church structure is the General Conference which consists of 13 "Divisions", each assigned to various geographic locations. The General Conference is the church authority and has the final say in matters of conjecture and administrative issues. The General Conference is headed by the office of President. The General Conference head office is in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.
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QMRThe Mandukya Upanishad is the shortest of all the Upanishads, found in the Atharvaveda text.[56] The text discusses the syllable Om, presents the theory of four states of consciousness, asserts the existence and nature of Atman (Soul, Self).[56][57]
The Mandukya Upanishad is notable for inspiring Gaudapada's Karika, a classic for the Vedanta school of Hinduism.[58] Mandukya Upanishad is among the oft cited texts on chronology and philosophical relationship between Hinduism and Buddhism.[59]
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QMrntecostalism is a holistic faith, and the belief that Jesus is Healer is one quarter of the full gospel. Pentecostals cite four major reasons for believing in divine healing: 1) it is reported in the Bible, 2) Jesus' healing ministry is included in his atonement (thus divine healing is part of salvation), 3) "the whole gospel is for the whole person"—spirit, soul, and body, 4) sickness is a consequence of the Fall of Man and salvation is ultimately the restoration of the fallen world
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Historically, in the LDS Church's Sunday School and Church Educational System (CES) classes, the standard works have been studied and taught in a four-year rotation:
Year One : Old Testament (also includes some coverage of related topics in the Book of Moses and Book of Abraham from the Pearl of Great Price)
Year Two : New Testament
Year Three: Book of Mormon
Year Four: Doctrine and Covenants and Church History
However, church leaders have emphasized that Latter-day Saints should not restrict their study of the standard works to the particular book being currently studied in Sunday School or other religious courses. Specifically, church president Ezra Taft Benson taught:
At present, the Book of Mormon is studied in our Sunday School and seminary classes every fourth year. This four-year pattern, however, must not be followed by Church members in their personal and family study. We need to read daily from the pages of [that] book ....[20]
In November 2014, the church announced changes in the curriculum to be used within CES, including the church's four institutions of higher education, such as Brigham Young University. The church's seminary program will retain the current four-year rotation of study. Beginning in the fall of 2015, incoming institute of religion and CES higher education students will be required to take four new cornerstone courses:
Jesus Christ and the Everlasting Gospel
Foundations of the Restoration
The Teachings and Doctrine of the Book of Mormon
The Eternal Family
The church's intent is to further integrate the teachings found in the Standard Works with that of church leaders and other current sources.[21]
References
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QMRThe standard works of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) are the four books that currently constitute its open scriptural canon. (The scriptural canon is "open" due to the LDS belief in continuous revelation. Additions can be made to the scriptural canon with the "common consent" of the church's membership.[1]) The four books of the standard works are:
The Holy Bible (King James version) (the LDS Church uses the King James Version (KJV) in English-speaking countries; other versions are used in non-English speaking countries[citation needed])
The Book of Mormon, subtitled since 1981 "Another Testament of Jesus Christ"
The Doctrine and Covenants of the LDS Church
The Pearl of Great Price (containing the Book of Moses, the Book of Abraham, Joseph Smith—Matthew, Joseph Smith—History, and the Articles of Faith)
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The theology of the LDS Church consists of a combination of biblical doctrines with modern revelations and other commentary by LDS leaders, particularly Joseph Smith. The most authoritative sources of theology are the faith's canon of four religious texts, called the "standard works"
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QMRAdherents, sometimes referred to as Latter-day Saints or, less formally, Mormons, view faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement as the central tenet of their religion.[8][9] LDS theology includes the Christian doctrine of salvation only through Jesus Christ,[10] though LDS doctrines regarding the nature of God and the potential of mankind differ significantly from mainstream Christianity. The church has an open canon which includes four scriptural texts:[11] the Bible (both Old and New Testaments), the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price.
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QMRWhere cheek kissing is used, in some countries a single kiss is the custom, while in others a kiss on each cheek is the norm, or even three or four kisses on alternating cheeks.
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QMRLevels of attainment[edit]
Main article: Four stages of enlightenment
The Theravada tradition identifies four progressive stages culminating in full enlightenment as an Arahat.[note 10] The final stage, the arhat, is a fully awakened person. The arhat has abandoned all ten fetters and, upon death will never be reborn in any plane or world, having wholly escaped saṃsāra.
Thanissaro Bhikkhu notes that individuals up to the level of non-returning may experience nirvāna as an object of mental consciousness.[59][note 11] Certain contemplations with nibbana as an object of samādhi lead, if developed, to the level of non-returning.[60] At that point of contemplation, which is reached through a progression of insight, if the meditator realizes that even that state is constructed and therefore impermanent, the fetters are destroyed, arahantship is attained, and nibbāna is realized.[61]
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He [the Buddha] says that the non-Self which he once taught is none but of expediency ... He says that he is now ready to speak about the undisclosed teachings. Men abide in upside-down thoughts. So he will now speak of the affirmative attributes of nirvana, which are none other than the Eternal, Bliss, the Self and the Pure.[119]
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According to the contemporary Vipassana-movement, the jhāna state cannot by itself lead to enlightenment as it only suppresses the defilements. Meditators must use the jhāna state as an instrument for developing wisdom by cultivating insight, and use it to penetrate the true nature of phenomena through direct cognition, which will lead to cutting off the defilements and nibbana.[citation needed]
Insight alone suffices[edit]
The emphasis on "liberating insight" alone seems to be a later development, in response to developments in Indian religious thought.[3][50] Vetter notes that such insight is not possible in a state of dhyana, since discursive thinking is eliminated in such a state.[63] He also notes that the emphasis on "liberating insight" developed only after the four noble truths were introduced as an expression of what this "liberating insight" constituted.[64] In time, other expressions took over these function, such as pratītyasamutpāda and the emptiness of the self.[65
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Buddhism Chapter
Christianity Chapter
Islam Chapter
QMRIslamic architecture encompasses a wide range of both secular and religious styles from the foundation of Islam to the present day. What today is known as Islamic architecture owes its origin to similar structures already existing in Roman, Byzantine and Persian lands which the Muslims conquered in the 7th and 8th centuries.[1][2] Further east, it was also influenced by Chinese and Indian architecture as Islam spread to Southeast Asia. The principal Islamic architectural types are: the Mosque, the Tomb, the Palace and the Fort. From these four types, the vocabulary of Islamic architecture is derived and used for other buildings such as public baths, fountains and domestic architecture.[3][4]
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QMRThe Rashidun Caliphate (Arabic: الخلافة الراشدة al-Khilāfah ar-Rāshidah) is the collective term comprising the first four caliphs—the "Rightly Guided" or Rashidun caliphs (Arabic: الخلفاء الراشدون al-Khulafā’ ar-Rāshidūn)—in Islamic history and was founded after Muhammad's death in 632 (year 11 AH in the Islamic calendar). At its height, the Caliphate controlled a vast empire from the Arabian Peninsula and the Levant, to the Caucasus in the north, North Africa from Egypt to present-day Tunisia in the west, and the Iranian plateau to Central Asia in the east. It was the largest empire in history by land area up until that point.
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QMR There are four binding sources in Islamic law for Sunni jurists—
the Quran,
the Sunna,
"consensus" (ijma), and
"analogy" (qiyas) --
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QMRThe International Jew is a four volume set of booklets or pamphlets published and distributed in the early 1920s by Henry Ford, an American industrialist and automobile manufacturer.
In Spring 1920, Ford made his personal newspaper, The Dearborn Independent, chronicle what he considered the "Jewish menace". Every week for 91 issues, the paper exposed some sort of Jewish-inspired evil major story in a headline. The most popular and aggressive stories were then chosen to be reprinted into four volumes called The International Jew.[1]
It is to be distinguished from The International Jew: The World's Problem which was the headline in The Dearborn Independent and is the name of a collection of articles serialized in The Dearborn Independent. It is also to be distinguished from the title of the first volume of the series, namely The International Jew, The World's Foremost Problem.
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"Go and learn"[edit]
Four verses in Deuteronomy (26:5-8) are then expounded, with an elaborate, traditional commentary. ("5. And thou shalt speak and say before the Lord thy God: 'A wandering Aramean was my parent, and they went down into Egypt, and sojourned there, few in number; and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous. 6. And the Egyptians dealt ill with us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage. 7. And we cried unto the Lord, the God of our parents, and the Lord heard our voice, and saw our affliction, and our toil, and our oppression. 8 And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders.")
The Haggadah explores the meaning of those verses, and embellishes the story. This telling describes the slavery of the Jewish people and their miraculous salvation by God. This culminates in an enumeration of the Ten Plagues:
Dam (blood)—All the water was changed to blood
Tzefardeyah (frogs)—An infestation of frogs sprang up in Egypt
Kinim (lice)—The Egyptians were afflicted by lice
Arov (wild animals)—An infestation of wild animals (some say flies) sprang up in Egypt
Dever (pestilence)—A plague killed off the Egyptian livestock
Sh'chin (boils)—An epidemic of boils afflicted the Egyptians
Barad (hail)—Hail rained from the sky
Arbeh (locusts)—Locusts swarmed over Egypt
Choshech (darkness)—Egypt was covered in darkness
Makkat Bechorot (killing of the first-born)—All the first-born sons of the Egyptians were slain by God
With the recital of the Ten Plagues, each participant removes a drop of wine from his or her cup using a fingertip. Although this night is one of salvation, Don Isaac Abravanel explains that one cannot be completely joyous when some of God's creatures had to suffer.[20] A mnemonic acronym for the plagues is also introduced: "D'tzach Adash B'achav", while similarly spilling a drop of wine for each word.
At this part in the Seder, songs of praise are sung, including the song Dayenu, which proclaims that had God performed any single one of the many deeds performed for the Jewish people, it would have been enough to obligate us to give thanks. Some sing instead The Women's Dayenu, a feminist variant of Dayenu, by Michele Landsberg.[21][22]
After Dayenu is a declaration (mandated by Rabban Gamliel) of the reasons of the commandments of the Paschal lamb, Matzah, and Maror, with scriptural sources. Then follows a short prayer, and the recital of the first two psalms of Hallel (which will be concluded after the meal). A long blessing is recited, and the second cup of wine is drunk.
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The Four Sons[edit]
The traditional Haggadah speaks of "four sons"—one who is wise, one who is wicked, one who is simple, and one who does not know to ask. This is based upon the rabbis of the Jerusalem Talmud finding four references in the Torah to responding to your son who asks a question.[17] Each of these sons phrases his question about the seder in a different way. The Haggadah recommends answering each son according to his question, using one of the three verses in the Torah that refer to this exchange.
The wise son asks "What are the statutes, the testimonies, and the laws that God has commanded you to do?" One explanation for why this very detailed-oriented question is categorized as wise, is that the wise son is trying to learn how to carry out the seder, rather than asking for someone else's understanding of its meaning. He is answered fully: "You should reply to him with [all] the laws of pesach: one may not eat any dessert after the paschal sacrifice."
The wicked son, who asks, "What is this service to you?", is characterized by the Haggadah as isolating himself from the Jewish people, standing by objectively and watching their behavior rather than participating. Therefore, he is rebuked by the explanation that "It is because God acted for my sake when I left Egypt." (This implies that the Seder is not for the wicked son because the wicked son would not have deserved to be freed from Egyptian slavery.) Where the four sons are illustrated in the Haggadah, this son has frequently been depicted as carrying weapons or wearing stylish contemporary fashions.
The simple son, who asks, "What is this?" is answered with "With a strong hand the Almighty led us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage."
And the one who does not know to ask is told, "It is because of what the Almighty did for me when I left Egypt."
Some modern Haggadahs mention "children" instead of "sons", and some have added a fifth child. The fifth child can represent the children of the Shoah who did not survive to ask a question[18] or represent Jews who have drifted so far from Jewish life that they do not participate in a Seder.[19]
For the former, tradition is to say that for that child we ask "Why?" and, like the simple child, we have no answer.
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Roasted sacrifices were no longer possible after the destruction, and roasted meat was therefore disallowed on seder night, to avoid ambiguity.
The questions are answered with the following:
We eat only matzah because our ancestors could not wait for their breads to rise when they were fleeing slavery in Egypt, and so they were flat when they came out of the oven.
We eat only Maror, a bitter herb, to remind us of the bitterness of slavery that our ancestors endured while in Egypt.
The first dip, green vegetables in salt water, symbolizes the replacing of our tears with gratitude, and the second dip, Maror in Charoses, symbolizes the sweetening of our burden of bitterness and suffering.
We recline at the Seder table because in ancient times, a person who reclined at a meal was a free person, while slaves and servants stood.
We eat only roasted meat because that is how the Pesach/Passover lamb is prepared during sacrifice in the Temple at Jerusalem.
The four questions have been translated into over 300 languages.[16]
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Mah Nishtanah (The Four Questions)[edit]
Main article: the four questions
The Mishna details questions one is obligated to ask on the night of the seder. It is customary for the youngest child present to recite the four questions.[14] Some customs hold that the other participants recite them quietly to themselves as well. In some families, this means that the requirement remains on an adult "child" until a grandchild of the family receives sufficient Jewish education to take on the responsibility. If a person has no children capable of asking, the responsibility falls to their spouse, or another participant.[15] The need to ask is so great that even if a person is alone at the seder they are obligated to ask themselves and to answer their own questions.[15]
Ma nishtana ha lyla ha zeh mikkol hallaylot?
Why is this night different from all other nights?
Shebb'khol hallelot anu okh’lin ḥamets umatsa, vehallayla hazze kullo matsa.
Why is it that on all other nights during the year we eat either leavened bread or matza, but on this night we eat only matza?
Shebb'khol hallelot anu okh’lin sh’ar y'rakot, vehallayla hazze maror.
Why is it that on all other nights we eat all kinds of vegetables, but on this night we eat bitter herbs?
Shebb'khol hallelot en anu matbillin afillu pa‘am eḥat, vehallayla hazze sh'tei fe‘amim.
Why is it that on all other nights we do not dip [our food] even once, but on this night we dip them twice?
Shebb'khol hallelot anu okh’lin ben yosh’vin uven m'subbin, vehallayla hazze kullanu m'subbin.
Why is it that on all other nights we dine either sitting upright or reclining, but on this night we all recline?
The second question substitutes for a different question, present in the mishnah but removed by later authorities due to its inapplicability after the destruction of the temple:
Shebb'khol hallelot anu okh’lin basar tsali shaluk umvushal, vehallayla hazze kullo tsali.
Why is it that on all other nights we eat meat either roasted, marinated, or cooked, but on this night it is entirely roasted?
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The Four Cups[edit]
There is an obligation to drink four cups of wine during the Seder. The Mishnah says (Pes. 10:1) that even the poor are obliged to drink the four cups. Each cup is imbibed at a specific point in the Seder. The first is for Kiddush (קידוש), the second is for 'Maggid' (מגיד), the third is for Birkat Hamazon (ברכת המזון) and the fourth is for Hallel (הלל).[9][10]
Passover Seder table
Traditional arrangement of symbolic foods on a Passover Seder plate
The Four Cups represent the four expressions of deliverance promised by God Exodus 6:6-7: "I will bring out," "I will deliver," "I will redeem," and "I will take."[9]
The Vilna Gaon relates the Four Cups to four worlds: this world, the Messianic age, the world at the revival of the dead, and the world to come. The MaHaRaL connects them to the four Matriarchs: Sarah, Rebeccah, Rachel, and Leah. (The three matzot, in turn, are connected to the three Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.) Abarbanel relates the cups to the four historical redemptions of the Jewish people: the choosing of Abraham, the Exodus from Egypt, the survival of the Jewish people throughout the exile, and the fourth which will happen at the end of days.
The four cups might also reflect the Roman custom of drinking as many cups as there are letters in the name of the chief guest at a meal, which in the case of the Seder is God Himself whose Hebrew name has four letters.[11
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QMRSeder customs include telling the story, discussing the story, drinking four cups of wine, eating matza, partaking of symbolic foods placed on the Passover Seder Plate, and reclining in celebration of freedom.[3] The Seder is performed in much the same way by Jews all over the world.
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QMRThreads and knots[edit]
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The tassel (tzitzit) on each corner is made of four strands, which must be made with intent. These strands are then threaded and hang down, appearing to be eight. (It is customary that each of the four strands is made of eight fine threads, known as kaful shemoneh). The four strands are passed through a hole (or according to some: two holes) 1-2 inches (25 to 50 mm) away from the corner of the cloth. There are numerous customs as to how to tie the tassels. The Talmud explains that the Bible requires an upper knot (kesher elyon) and one wrapping of three winds (hulya). The Talmud enjoined that between 7 to 13 hulyot be tied, and that "one must start and end with the color of the garment." As for the making of knots in between the hulyot, the Talmud is inconclusive, and as such poskim ("decisors of Jewish law") have interpreted this requirement in various ways.[4] The Talmud described tying assuming the use of tekhelet dye, however, following the loss of the source of the dye, various customs of tying were introduced to compensate for the lack of this primary element.
Though many methods exist, the one that gained the widest acceptance can be described as follows:
The four strands of the tzitzit are passed through holes near the four corners of the garment (Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 11:9-11:15) that are farthest apart (10:1). Four tzitzyot are passed through each hole (11:12-13), and the two groups of four ends are double-knotted to each other at the edge of the garment near the hole (11:14,15). One of the four tzitzit is made longer than the others (11:4); the long end of that one is wound around the other seven ends and double-knotted; this is done repeatedly so as to make a total of five double knots separated by four sections of winding, with a total length of at least four inches, leaving free-hanging ends that are twice that long (11:14).[5]
Notice how the fourth is different than the other three (it is longer) That is the pattern of the quadrant model. The fourth is always different
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QMrThe Hebrew noun tzitzit [tsiˈtsit] (Hebrew: ציצית, Modern tzitzit, Tiberian sˤisˤiṯ; plural tzitziyot) is the name for specially knotted ritual fringes, or tassels, worn in antiquity by Israelites and today by observant Jews and Samaritans. Tzitzit are attached to the four corners of the tallit (prayer shawl) and tallit katan (everyday undergarment).
Other pronunciations include Biblical and Middle Eastern (i.e., Mizrachi): ṣiṣit (pl. Ṣiṣiyot), Spanish and Mediterranean (i.e., Sephardic): tzitzit; European and Yiddish (i.e., Ashkenazi): tzitzis; Yemenite (i.e., Temani): ṣiṣith; Samaritan: ṣaṣat.
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QMRThe Zohar assumes four kinds of Biblical text exegesis, from the literal to the more mystical:
The simple, literal meaning of the text: Peshat
The allusion or hinted/allegorical meaning: Remez
The rabbinic comparison through sermon or illustration and metaphor: Derash
The secret/mysterious/hidden meaning: Sod[3]
The initial letters of these words (P, R, D, S) form together the word PaRDeS ("paradise/orchard"), which became the designation for the Zohar's view of a fourfold meaning of the text, of which the mystical sense is considered the highest part.[3]
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The Sephirot and the Four Worlds[edit]
These ten levels are associated with Kabbalah's (Zohar) four different "Worlds" or planes of existence, the main part from our perspective of the descending "chain of progression" (Seder hishtalshelus), that links the Infinite Divine Ein Sof with our finite, physical realm. In all Worlds, the 10 Sephirot radiate, and are the Divine channels through which every level is continuously created from nothing. Since they are the attributes through which the unknowable, infinite Divine essence becomes revealed to the creations, all ten emanate in each World. Nonetheless, the structure of the Four Worlds arises because in each one, certain Sephirot predominate. Each World is spiritual, apart from the lower aspect of the final World, which is our "Asiyah Gashmi" ("Physical Asiyah"), our physical Universe. Each World is progressively grosser and further removed from consciousness of the Divine, until in our World it is possible to deny God. In descending order:
World of Emanation (Hebrew: אֲצִילוּת, Atzilut): In this level the light of the Ein Sof radiates and is united with its source. Divine Chochmah, the limitless flash of wisdom beyond grasp, predominates.
World of Creation (Hebrew: בְּרִיאָה or alternatively[15] בְּרִיָּה, Beri'ah): In this level, is the first creation ex nihilo, where the souls and angels have self-awareness, but without form. Divine Binah, the intellectual understanding, predominates.
World of Formation (Hebrew: יְצִירָה, Yetzirah): On this level, creation is related to form. The Divine emotional Sephirot of Chesed to Yesod predominate.
World of Action (Hebrew: עֲשִׂיָּה, Assiah): On this level creation is relegated to its physical aspect, the only physical realm and the lowest World, our realm with all its creatures. The Divine Kingship of Malchut predominates, the purpose of Creation.
In the Zohar and elsewhere, there are these four Worlds or planes of existence. In the Lurianic system of Kabbalah, five Worlds are counted, comprising these and a higher, fifth plane, Adam Kadmon-manifest Godhead level[clarification needed], that mediates between the Ein Sof and the four lower Worlds.
As the four Worlds link the Infinite with our realm, they also enable the soul to ascend in devotion or mystical states, towards the Divine. Each World can be understood as descriptive of dimensional levels of intentionality related to man's natural "desire to receive", and a method for the soul's progress upward toward unity with or return to the Creator. (The terminology of this formulation is based on the exposition of Lurianic Kabbalah by the 20th Century Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag).
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Ezekiel's Tomb in Iraq. Ezekiel's vision of the Divine Merkabah-Chariot,[6] and Isaiah's vision of the Kisei HaKavod-Throne of Glory,[7] are related in Kabbalah to beholding the Four Worlds from Yetzirah, and from Beriah
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These four worlds are spiritual, Heavenly realms in a descending chain, although the lowest world of Assiah has both a spiritual and a physical aspect. The physical level of Assiah is our physical finite realm, including the cosmological Universe studied by Science. Consequently, as Kabbalah is a metaphysical study, its reference to Ohr ("light") is a metaphor for Divine emanation, and the terms "higher" and "lower" are metaphors for closer and further from Divine consciousness and revelation.
The 16th-century systemisation of Kabbalah by Moshe Cordovero brought the preceding interpretations and schools into their first complete rational synthesis. Subsequent doctrines of Kabbalah from Isaac Luria, describe an initial Tzimtzum (withdrawal of the universal Divine consciousness that preceded Creation) to "allow room" for created beings on lower levels of consciousness. Lower levels of consciousness require the self-perception of independent existence, by the created beings on each level, to prevent their loss of identity before the magnificence of God. This illusion increases with more force in each subsequent descending realm. The number of graduations between the Infinite and the finite, is likewise infinite, and arises from innumerable, progressively strong concealments of the Divine light. Nonetheless, the four worlds represent fundamental categories of Divine consciousness from each other, which delineates their four descriptions. Consequently, each world also psychologically represents a spiritual rung of ascent in human consciousness, as it approaches the Divine.
Kabbalah distinguishes between two types of Divine light that emanate through the 10 Sephirot (Divine emanations) from the Infinite (Ein Sof), to create or affect reality. The continual flow of an immanent lower light ("Mimalei Kol Olmin"), the light that "fills all worlds" is the creating force in each descending world that itself continually brings into being from nothing, everything in that level of existence. It is this light that undergoes the concealments and contractions as it descends downward to create the next level, and adapts itself to the capacity of each created being on each level. A transcendent higher light ("Sovev Kol Olmin"), the light that "surrounds all worlds" would be the manifestation on a particular level of a higher light above the capacity of that realm to contain. This is ultimately rooted in the infinite light ("Ohr Ein Sof") that preceded Creation, the Tzimtzum and the Sephirot, rather than the source of the immanent light in the "Kav" (first emanation of creation after the Tzimtzum), in the teachings of Isaac Luria. Consequently, all the worlds are dependent for their continual existence on the flow of Divinity they constantly receive from the Divine Will to create them. Creation is continuous. The faculty of Divine Will is represented in the Sephirot (10 Divine emanations) by the first, supra-conscious Sephirah of "Keter"-Crown, that transcends the lower 9 Sephirot of conscious intellect and emotion. Once the Divine Will is manifest, then it actualises Creation through Divine Intellect, and "subsequently" Divine Emotion, until it results in action. The reference to temporal cause and effect is itself a metaphor. The psychology of man also reflects the "Divine psychology" of the Sephirot, as "Man is created in the image of God" (Genesis 1:27). In man the activation of willpower through intellect and emotion until deed, requires time and subsequent cause and effect. In the Divine Sephirot and their activation of Creation, this does not apply, as limitations only apply to Creation.
The Book of Job states that "from my flesh I see God". In Kabbalah and Hasidism this is understood to refer to the correspondence between the "Divine psychology" of the Four Worlds and the Sephirot, with human psychology and the Sephirot in the soul of man. From understanding the Kabbalistic description of the human soul, we can grasp the meaning of the Divine scheme. Ultimately, this is seen as the reason that God chose to emanate His Divinity through the 10 Sephirot, and chose to create the corresponding chain of four Worlds (called the "Seder hishtalshelus"-"order of development"). He could have chosen to bridge the infinite gap between the Ein Sof and our World by a leap of Divine decree. Instead the Sephirot and Four Worlds allow man to understand Divinity through Divine manifestation, by understanding himself. The verse in Genesis of this correspondence also describes the feminine half of Creation: (Genesis 1:27) "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him, male and female created He them". Consequently, some of the Sephirot are feminine, and the Shechina (immanent Divine presence) is seen as feminine. It is the intimate relationship between the Divine sceme of four World and man, that allows man's ascent more easily to Divine consciousness (see Dveikus).
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QMRThe Four Worlds (Hebrew: עולמות Olamot/Olamos, singular: Olam עולם), sometimes counted with a prior stage to make Five Worlds, are the comprehensive categories of spiritual realms in Kabbalah in the descending chain of Existence.
The concept of "Worlds" denotes the emanation of creative lifeforce from the Ein Sof Divine Infinite, through progressive, innumerable tzimtzumim (concealments/veilings/condensations). As such, God is described as the "Most Hidden of All Hidden",[1] and Olam is etymologically related to, and sometimes spelled as,[2] עלם (Noun: העלם Helem meaning "concealment"). While these dimmings form innumerable differentiated spiritual levels, each a particular World/Realm, nonetheless, through the mediation of the sephirot (Divine attributes), five Comprehensive Worlds emerge. "Higher" realms metaphorically denote greater revelation of the Divine Ohr light, in more open proximity to their source, "Lower" realms are capable of receiving only lesser creative flow. The Worlds are garments of the Ein Sof, and Hasidic thought interprets their reality as only apparent to Creation, while "from above" the Divine Infinite fills all equally.
As particular sephirot dominate in each realm, so the primordial fifth World, Adam Kadmon, is often excluded for its transcendence, and the four subsequent Worlds are usually referred to. Their names are read out from Isaiah 43:7, "Every one that is called by My name and for My glory (Atzilut "Emanation/Close"), I have created (Beriah "Creation"), I have formed (Yetzirah "Formation"), even I have made (Asiyah "Action"). Below Asiyah, the lowest spiritual World, is Asiyah-Gashmi ("Physical Asiyah"), our Physical Universe, which enclothes its last two sephirot emanations (Yesod and Malchut).[3] Collectively, the Four Worlds are also referred to as ABiYA, after their initial letters. As well as the functional role each World has in the process of Creation, they also embody dimensions of consciousness within human experience.
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QMRPardes" refers to (types of) approaches to biblical exegesis in rabbinic Judaism or to interpretation of text in Torah study. The term, sometimes also spelled PaRDeS, is an acronym formed from the same initials of the following four approaches:
Peshat (פְּשָׁט) — "surface" ("straight") or the literal (direct) meaning.[1]
Remez (רֶמֶז) — "hints" or the deep (allegoric: hidden or symbolic) meaning beyond just the literal sense.
Derash (דְּרַשׁ) — from Hebrew darash: "inquire" ("seek") — the comparative (midrashic) meaning, as given through similar occurrences.
Sod (סוֹד) (pronounced with a long O as in 'sore') — "secret" ("mystery") or the esoteric/mystical meaning, as given through inspiration or revelation.
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Its activity may be divided into four branches:
Legislative
Administrative
Judicial
Spiritual and cultural.
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QMRThe Council of Four Lands (Va'ad Arba' Aratzot) in Lublin, Poland was the central body of Jewish authority in Poland from 1580 to 1764. Seventy delegates from local kehillot met to discuss taxation and other issues important to the Jewish community. The "four lands" were Greater Poland, Little Poland, Ruthenia and Volhynia.
The terms "Council of Three Lands" and "Council of Five Lands" and more have also been used for the same body. In 1623 the Jewish communities from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania withdrew from the "Council of Four Lands" and established the "Council of the Land of Lithuania".
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Distribution[edit]
This species is widespread in North America, Central America, South America and the Greater Antilles. Below, the distributions of the four groups (see taxonomy) are described as they occur roughly from north to south:
The nominate (A. s. striatus) group is widespread in North America, occurring in all of the forested part of USA and Canada, breeding in most of it. Populations in the northern part of the range migrate south and spend the non-breeding season (winter) in the southern USA, Mexico and Central America as far south as Panama, with a smaller number spending the winter in the Greater Antilles. Resident populations exist in temperate parts of the USA, Canada (in a few coastal regions), Mexico (highlands from Sonora to Oaxaca), Cuba, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico.
A. (s.) chionogaster (white-breasted hawk) occurs in highlands from far southern Mexico (Chiapas and Oaxaca), through Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, to Nicaragua. It is, as far as known, resident, but some local movements may occur.
A. (s.) ventralis (plain-breasted hawk) occurs in the coastal mountains of northern Venezuela and Colombia, south through the Andes from western Venezuela, through Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, to central Bolivia. A disjunct population occurs in the Tepuis of southern Venezuela (likely to extend into adjacent parts of Roraima in far northern Brazil, but this remains unconfirmed). It is, as far as known, resident, but some local movements may occur.
A. (s.) erythronemius (rufous-thighed hawk) is widespread in eastern South America in eastern and southern Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, north-eastern Argentina and south-eastern Bolivia. It is, as far as known, resident in some regions and migratory in others. The movements are generally poorly understood, but it only occurs seasonally at some localities in Argentina.
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QMRThe sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus) is a small hawk described from Hispaniola, with males being the smallest hawks in the United States and Canada, but with the species averaging larger than some Neotropical species, such as tiny hawk. The taxonomy is far from resolved, with some authorities considering the southern taxa to represent three separate species: white-breasted hawk (A. chionogaster), plain-breasted hawk (A. ventralis), and rufous-thighed hawk (A. erythronemius).
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Jaws 3-D (1983)[edit]
Main article: Jaws 3-D
The plot of Jaws 3-D moves away from Amity Island to SeaWorld in Florida, a water themed-park with underwater tunnels and lagoons. As the park prepares to open, it is infiltrated by a baby great white shark which attacks and kills water-skiers and park employees. Once the baby shark is captured, it becomes apparent that a much larger shark, the mother, is present. The characters of Martin's sons from the first two films are developed further in this film: Michael Brody (Dennis Quaid) is the Chief Engineer of the park, and his younger brother, Sean (John Putch), arrives at the resort to visit him. The events of the earlier films are implied through Sean's dislike of the water because of "something that happened when he was a kid". The events and character development from Jaws 3-D are independent from the rest of the series.[3]
Jaws: The Revenge (1987)[edit]
Main article: Jaws: The Revenge
The fourth and final film, Jaws: The Revenge, sees the storyline returning to Amity Island, but ignores all plot elements introduced in Jaws 3-D. No mention is made to Michael's girlfriend from the previous film, Kathryn Morgan (Bess Armstrong), or his career change from an engineer at SeaWorld to a marine biologist. In fact, one of the Universal Studios press releases for Jaws: The Revenge omits Jaws 3-D entirely by referring to Jaws: The Revenge as the "third film of the remarkable Jaws trilogy".[3] By the start of the film, Martin Brody had died of a heart-attack, although his wife, Ellen Brody (Lorraine Gary), claims that he died through fear of the shark. Her youngest son, Sean (Mitchell Anderson), now working as a police deputy in Amity, is dispatched to clear a log from a buoy. As he does so, he is attacked and killed by a shark. Ellen becomes convinced that a shark is deliberately victimizing her family for the deaths of the first two sharks. Michael (Lance Guest) convinces her to spend some time with his family in The Bahamas. However, as his job involves a lot of time on and in the sea, Ellen fears that he will be the shark's next victim. When her granddaughter, Thea (Judith Barsi), narrowly avoids being attacked by a shark, Ellen takes a boat in order to kill her family's alleged stalker. Hoagie (Michael Caine), Michael and his friend Jake (Mario Van Peebles) find Ellen, and then proceed to electrocute the shark, driving it out of the water and impaling it on the prow of Ellen's boat.
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Jaws (1975)[edit]
Main article: Jaws (film)
The original Jaws, directed by Steven Spielberg, is based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name. It tells the story of Police Chief Martin Brody (portrayed by Roy Scheider) of Amity Island (a fictional summer resort town), in his quest to protect beachgoers from a great white shark by closing the beach. This is overruled by the town council, headed by the Mayor (Murray Hamilton) that wants the beach to remain open in order to sustain the local tourist economy. After several attacks, the Police Chief enlists the help of marine biologist Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and a professional shark hunter, named Quint (Robert Shaw). The three voyage out onto the ocean in Quint's boat - the Orca. The shark kills Quint, but Brody manages to destroy it by shooting at the highly pressurized air tank that he has wedged in its mouth. In the end, Brody and Hooper are seen swimming away from the sinking Orca, having both of them managed to survive uninjured the shark attack on the boat.
Jaws 2 (1978)[edit]
Main article: Jaws 2
The first sequel, Jaws 2, depicts the same town four years after the events of the original film, when another great white shark arrives on the shores of the fictional seaside resort of Amity Island. Directed by Jeannot Szwarc and starring Roy Scheider again as Police Chief Martin Brody, who, after a series of deaths and disappearances, suspects that the culprit is another shark. However, he has trouble convincing the town's selectmen. He has to act alone to save a group of teenagers, including his two sons, who encounter the shark whilst out sailing.
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QMRThe success of Jaws led to three sequels, and the four films together have earned nearly $800 million worldwide in box office gross.
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Types and Functions[edit]
There are four basic types of shark teeth that vary according to the diet of the shark; those species that have dense flattened teeth for crushing, those that have needle-like teeth for gripping, those that have pointed lower teeth for gripping and triangular upper teeth with serrated edges for cutting, and those that have teeth that are tiny, greatly reduced, and non-functional.[3]
Eastman1901-web
Dense Flattened Teeth[edit]
Dense flattened teeth are used to crush prey like bivalves and crustaceans. These Sharks include nurse sharks and angel sharks. They are typically found at the bottom of the ocean floor because this is the habitat in which their prey live. Their teeth are flat in order to easily crack open the shells their prey uses for protection.[4]
Needle-like Teeth[edit]
Sharks with needle-like teeth commonly feed on small to medium fish and or other small sharks. Their teeth are especially effective for their prey because they can easily grip their slippery and narrow meals. Some examples are the blue shark and bull sharks. These sharks specifically use their teeth to feed on small prey like squid, flounder, stingrays, and even hammerhead sharks.[4]
Pointed Lower Teeth and Triangular Upper Teeth[edit]
This combination of pointed lower teeth with triangular upper teeth are especially useful for cutting prey that consist of large mammals and fish. The combination of teeth entails serrated edges to cut the larger prey into smaller portions in order to easily swallow the pieces. The most famously known shark with these teeth is the Great White shark, which feeds on animals such as sea lions, dolphins, other sharks, and even small whales.[4]
Non-Functional Teeth[edit]
The teeth of plankton-feeders, such as the basking shark and whale shark, are greatly reduced and non-functional.[1] These sharks filter feed on prey by opening their mouths to let tiny organisms get sucked into their mouths to feed without using their teeth at all.[4]
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QMRSharia requires that there be four adult male Muslim witnesses to a hudud crime or a confession repeated four times, before someone can be punished for a Hudud crime.[3
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Hinduism Chapter
QMRVarna may be translated as "class," and refers to the four social classes which existed in the Vedic society, namely Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras.[6] Certain groups, now known as Dalits, were historically excluded from the varna system altogether, and are still ostracised as untouchables.[7][page needed][8]
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QMRChar Dham (literally: 'the four abodes/seats') are the names of four pilgrimage sites in India that are widely revered by Hindus. It comprises Badrinath, Dwarka, Puri and Rameswaram. It is considered highly sacred by Hindus to visit Char Dham during one's lifetime. The Char Dham defined by Adi Shankaracharya consists of three Vaishnavite and one Shaivite pilgrimages.[1][2]
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Other Religions Chapter
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