Palestine, land of
enchantment and magic.
There's no way not to
love this place, even if
we only know it from
books. Because it was
there that the greatest
story of all time
happened, starring Jesus
of Nazareth. A
surprising story, as
great and extraordinary
as the presence of Jesus
in our lives is
extraordinary and great.
He arrives softly and
fills our hearts. And
particularly we,
spiritists, understand
it in its real
magnitude, thanks to the
Spiritist Codification,
brought by Allan Kardec.
If this fascination with
Palestine is surprising
for us, it is not
difficult to imagine why
the Israelites had so
much love for their
land, a love that had
and still has meaning,
as Palestine was a
beautiful country: with
its plains; deep
valleys, the central and
eastern plateaus, high
mountains, where in them
his people saw the
greatness of God;
deserts, seas, lakes,
rivers and varied
climate.
Rivers and lakes exerted
true charm and magic,
and those who admired
them were fascinated by
the placidity of their
waters. The Jordan River
originates from the
confluence of four
rivers. The Jordan River
is the most important in
the ancient world. It is
linked to religious
manifestations, from the
days of Abraham to the
days of Jesus and was
the scene of the
ministry of John the
Baptist and the baptism
of Jesus. And also, Lake
Tiberias, or Sea of
Galilee, whose banks and
beaches were the
location of important
events in the life of
Jesus.
The climate was varied.
Its geographical
position, its rugged
topography, its
proximity to the
Mediterranean Sea and
the proximity of the
desert contributed to
the beautiful dawns,
strong frosts, and snow
common on the mountains.
There were lilies in
abundance. “And with
clothes, why are you
worried? Look at the
lilies of the field –
said Jesus –, how they
grow, and do not work or
spin. And yet I assure
you that not even
Solomon, in all his
glory, was clothed like
one of these. Now, if
God so clothes the grass
of the field, which
exists today and
tomorrow will be cut
down and thrown into the
fire, will he not do
much more for you, men
of weak faith?”
(Matthew, 6: 28 to 30).
At that time, the book
Proverbs (3:13 and 14)
was studied:
The joys of the wise!
Happy is the man who has
found wisdom,
the man who attained
understanding!
Winning it is worth more
than silver,
and its profit is more
than gold.
Today, we remember the
communication of the
Spirit of Truth, in
Paris, 1860, recorded
in The Gospel
According to Spiritism,
chapter 6, item 5:
“Spiritist, love one
another, this is the
first commandment;
Instruct yourselves,
here is the second. All
truths are found in
Christianity; the errors
that have taken root in
it are of human origin;
and behold, from beyond
the grave, which you
believed empty, voices
cry out to you:
Brothers! Nothing
perishes. Jesus Christ
is the winner of evil;
be the conquerors of
wickedness!”
Abraham, the Hebrew
patriarch –
The story of Abraham is
told in the book Genesis,
the first work of the
Old Testament, starting
in chapter 12.
Abraham, considered the
first great patriarch of
the Hebrew people, from
whose descendants the
Messiah would emerge,
was a native of the city
of Ur, in Chaldea,
located in the
Mesopotamian valley,
between the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers, in the
Persian Gulf, modern-day
Iraq.
Around the 20th century
BC, he leaves Ur and
heads to Haran, to the
north, accompanied by
his father. He was
married to his cousin
Sara. After the death of
his father, Abraham
leaves his father's home
and continues in search
of the Promised Land. He
went to Shechem, in the
Jordan River valley,
where there was good
land for cultivation.
There he settled and
lived most of his life.
After being tested by
God, at whose command he
had to sacrifice his own
son, Isaac, Abraham
built an altar, formed
his alliance with
spiritual mentors and
began the monotheistic
religion.
There was a great
drought in that region
when Abraham moved to
Egypt with his family
and flock. On his return
to the Promised Land,
via the Negev, he and
his family were not well
received by the
Canaanites, mainly due
to disagreements with
his nephew Lot, who also
had disagreements with
the shepherds of
Abraham's flock.
Therefore, uncle and
nephew separated, and,
on his advice, Lot
settled with his tribe
in the plain of the
Jordan, south of the
Dead Sea.
Abraham had several
children. Of them, the
most cited are Ishmael,
son of Hagar, his wife's
slave, and Isaac, son of
his wife Sarah. Isaac
married at the age of 40
Rebekah, Laban's sister,
with whom he had two
sons, the twin brothers
Esau and Jacob. Esau,
being born first, had
the right to the
progeny, but exchanged
it with Jacob for a dish
of lentils.
By order of Isaac, Jacob
was sent to the house of
Laban, in Haran, where
he met his cousin Rachel
and fell in love with
her. Laban demanded
that, in order to
receive her in marriage,
Jacob work for him for
seven years. After the
deadline, cunningly, in
place of Raquel, his
father gave him Lia, his
eldest daughter. After a
wedding week, Laban also
handed over Rachel, with
the requirement that, to
marry her, Jacob would
have to work another
seven years.
During the trip to
Haran, Jacob dreamed of
a ladder that rose from
the Earth and God's
angels went up and down
it. This ladder
symbolizes the process
of evolution of Spirits
on Earth. On the way
back from Canaan, Jacob
dreamed that he fought
with an angel until
dawn. As he was not
defeated, the angel gave
him the name Israel and
told him that this
should be his name from
now on, since from his
descendants, who would
be twelve, the twelve
tribes of Israel would
originate. As we know,
in the division, each of
the lands was named
after one of Jacob's
sons. This is the origin
of the people of Israel.
According to Saint
Jerome, scholar, and
compiler of the first
Bible in Latin, Jacob's
dream is, in fact, a
message of man's
spiritual and
persevering combat with
his inferiority – the
Intimate Reform, as we
spiritists know it.
The saga of Jacob and
his love for Raquel are
described in a
well-known sonnet by the
poet Luís de Camões:
For seven years, the
shepherd Jacob slaved
for the father of
beautiful Rachel,
working not for the man,
but only for her,
knowing ever since he
began
that she alone was the
only reward he craved.
His days, dreaming of
the wedding that lay
ahead,
passed by, content to
see her from time to
time,
until her father plotted
his duplicitous crime,
by placing Leah in
Jacob's marriage bed.
Learning the cruel
deception, Jacob, in
tears,
had lost the one he
loved, as if, somehow,
he hadn't truly earned
the proper wife.
But he starts all over
again, for seven more
years,
saying, "If life wasn't
so short, beginning
right now,
I'd serve even longer
for Rachel, the love of
my life."
Jerusalem -
Jerusalem, one of the
most famous cities in
the world, occupies a
prominent place in
biblical history. During
its long history, the
city has known several
names: Urusali, Salem,
Jebus, Zion, Jerusalem,
whose name means “sacred
peace”; City of David,
City of Judah, Aélia
Capitolina, name given
by Emperor Hadrian.
Jerusalem is located on
a high plateau near the
Jordan River valley, in
the so-called mountains
of Judah, 21 kilometers
west of the Dead Sea and
51 kilometers east of
the Mediterranean Sea.
Because it had a very
large economic movement,
Rome had its seat of
government there, with
its proxies. It was then
divided into three
neighborhoods: High City
– Mount Sion, where the
rich lived; Lower City -
along the Cedron valley,
where the poor gathered;
Temple neighborhood –
with many outbuildings.
The city is a religious
center and place of
pilgrimage for Jews,
Muslims, and Christians.
The places considered
holy are under the
jurisdiction of these
three religions.
Herod, who when Jesus
was born had already
reigned for 29 years,
beautified Jerusalem
(destroyed 17 times and
rebuilt 18 times), which
became one of the most
beautiful cities in the
Middle East, equipped
with palaces, theaters
and, above all, the
Great Temple, designed
by David and built by
Solomon, destroyed by
Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC
and rebuilt after the
liberation of the Jews
by Cyrus the Great, king
of the Persians. It
should be said that this
is the second Temple.
The first was built by
Solomon and contained
several overlapping
inner courtyards and
gates.
This is the chronology
of the history of
Jerusalem, through the
ages:
In the year 1,000 BC,
King David founded
Jerusalem, the capital
of the Israelite
Kingdom.
In 586 BC, the
Babylonian army, led by
King Nebuchadnezzar,
conquers the city,
exiles the Jewish
rebels, and burns the
Holy Temple.
539 BC, Cyrus of Persia
defeats the Babylonians
and takes the city,
allowing the Jews to
return from exile.
Jerusalem is rebuilt.
The Second Temple rises.
322 BC, Alexander the
Great includes Jerusalem
on his route of
conquests. The process
of Hellenization of the
city begins.
164 BC, Judas Maccabeus
leads rebellion against
the cult of Zeus.
64 BC, General Pompey
takes the city,
beginning more than two
centuries of Roman
hegemony.
6 AD, Pontius Pilate
confronts and defeats
the rebellious Jews, and
the city is again
destroyed. The diaspora
begins with the exile of
the rebels.
135 – Emperor Hadrian
faces a new revolt, and
the Jews are expelled
from Jerusalem.
313 – Constantine adopts
and legalizes, through
the Edict of Milan,
Christianity in the
Roman Empire.
From 476 to 634 –
Palestine is a province
of the Eastern Roman
Empire.
From 634 to 750 – It is
ruled by Muslim caliphs.
From 750 to 960 -
Becomes part of the
Syrian government, under
Arab rule.
From 960 to 1095 –
Palestine is dominated
by the Egyptians.
From 1095 to 1187 – The
Crusades take place to
liberate the Holy Land.
From 1187 to 1250 –
Palestine became part of
the Ottoman Empire,
under the leadership of
Saladin, in 1187.
From 1250 to 1517 –
Palestine is governed by
Egyptian military
forces.
From 1517 to 1914 – The
Turks invade Jerusalem
and dominate it for 400
years, during which
Palestine is part of the
Ottoman Empire.
From 1914 to 1948 –
After the invasion of
Palestine by the allies,
England supports the
creation, in Palestine,
of a home for the Jewish
people, becoming known
as the Balfour
Declaration, in 1917. In
1922, England takes over
the Mandate for
Palestine until May 15,
1948, by delegation from
the United Nations
League. On November 29,
1947, the United Nations
Assembly, under the
presidency of the
Brazilian Osvaldo Aranha,
voted on the resolution
that recommended the
establishment, in
Palestine, of a Jewish
State and an Arab State.
1948 – On May 14, 1948,
the State of Israel was
proclaimed, the first
Jewish autonomous
government in a long
time. The following day,
the State of Israel was
invaded by Jordan,
Syria, Lebanon, Iraq,
Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.
The city is divided: the
western part belongs to
the State of Israel and
the eastern part to
Jordan.
1967 – On June 5, 1967,
Israel was invaded again
by four Arab countries
simultaneously. The
Six-Day War guarantees
Israel's total hegemony
over Jerusalem. The
walls that divide the
city are torn down.
1980 – Proclaimed the
capital of Israel by the
Knesset. Israel
considers the city of
Jerusalem to be its
capital, housing the
seat of government.
There is, however, no
international consensus
on this issue. The city
of Tel Aviv is also
considered the capital
and is home to several
international embassies.
It is remarkable,
finally, to recognize
that the inhabitants of
the region, of biblical
lands, have always had
their peculiar way of
life, maintaining their
customs and religious
particularities, despite
all the vicissitudes
they faced.
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