segunda-feira, 27 de dezembro de 2010

Os Reis Magos

   


Galgalath, Malgalath e Sarrachim, para os Hebreus. Hormizdh, Yazdegerd e Perozadh, para os Persas. Os Sírios conheceram-nos como Larvandadh, Hormisdas e Gushynasaph. Muitos outros nomes lhes foram dados, consoante a cultura e a tradição. Os latinos ouvem falar de Gaspar,  Balthasar e Melchior.
  Quem eram os Reis Magos?
  As informações disponíveis apontam para sábios, conhecedores das antigas tradições Zoroastrianas, estudiosos da Astrologia e da Astronomia, eruditos nos textos antigos, nas histórias da História, nas lendas de muitos povos...
  Gushynasaph vê o seu nome associado a Gondophares, que veio a ser o fundador da cidade de Kandahar, no Afeganistão.
  O "Opus imperfectum in Matthæum", do séc.VI , conta que os Magos, após as ofertas a Jesus, regressaram às suas terras, por caminhos diferentes testemunhando a chegada do Ungido. Muitos anos mais tarde, já idosos, reencontraram-se para a celebração do Natal, numa cidade da Arménia, onde terminaram a sua passagem pela esfera do mundo físico, em Janeiro de 55 AD.




sábado, 25 de dezembro de 2010

25 de Dezembro



     Yeshua  já nasceu. Os pastores recebem o aviso e correm para Bethlehem. Os Magos do Oriente estão a chegar, seguindo a estrela...







Ave Maria
Gratia plena
Maria, gratia plena
Maria, gratia plena
Ave, ave dominus
Dominus tecum
Benedicta tu in mulieribus
Et benedictus
Et benedictus fructus ventris
Ventris tuae, Jesus.
Ave Maria

Ave Maria
Mater Dei
Ora pro nobis peccatoribus
Ora pro nobis
Ora, ora pro nobis peccatoribus
Nunc et in hora mortis
Et in hora mortis nostrae
Et in hora mortis nostrae
Et in hora mortis nostrae
Ave Maria

quarta-feira, 22 de dezembro de 2010

Alban Arthuan


        No solstício do Inverno celebra-se o Alban Arthuan, traduzido como A Luz de Arthur, estabelecendo a ponte com a lenda Arturiana.
  Mas os rituais são mais antigos...desvanecem-se nas brumas do tempo, antes do tempo ser contado em horas e minutos.Rituais que apelam ao plano mais íntimo, mais primevo,mais mágico, que o mundo tecnológico não pode entender,porque não se podem pesar, nem medir, nem quantificar, mas apenas sentir...

                

terça-feira, 21 de dezembro de 2010

Solstício do Inverno - Midwinter day



"Stone glade in dark wood
pine branch in watchers hand
smoke of iron calls forth the forest guardian
hear the flight of winter geese
the running of the woodland host!
Hera the clash of brave antlers
in the name of the Lord fo Animals!
Hear the breathing of the God, rampant and fertile,
hear the footfalls af the antlered one.
hear Kernunnos enter stone glade in dark wood!"

from The Lost Books of Merlin






 O Solstício do Inverno celebra a supremacia da Luz sobre a Escuridão, na grande roda do eterno retorno.
 O Solstício relembra-nos que. por mais longa que noite possa ser, chegará sempre a madrugada,  
 prenunciadora de um novo dia, da vida que recomeça...

 "Rise, dear Lord of sunlight, rise.
 Return to us, and return us to the light.
 On winter days you live within us
 like a secret blaze.
 Rise now again, Lord Mithras,
 rise up victorious."

 from the Mithraist Rituals



 Neste Solstício relembremos  "The Book of Secrets", na mágica voz de Loreena McKennitt:


When the dark wood fell before me
And all the paths were overgrown
When the priests of pride say there is no other way
I tilled the sorrows of stone

I did not believe because I could not see
Though you came to me in the night
When the dawn seemed forever lost
You showed me your love in the light of the stars

Chorus:
Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me

Then the mountain rose before me
By the deep well of desire
From the fountain of forgiveness
Beyond the ice and the fire

Chorus

Though we share this humble path, alone
How fragile is the heart
Oh give these clay feet wings to fly
To touch the face of the stars

Breathe life into this feeble heart
Lift this mortal veil of fear
Take these crumbled hopes, etched with tears
We'll rise above these earthly cares

Chorus

Please remember me
Please remember me, ...

segunda-feira, 20 de dezembro de 2010

Chansons de Noël


        Até aos Reis, irei tentar apresentar, com regularidade, se possível todos os dias, uma versão de um tema Natalício. Existem inúmeras, "clássicas" ou não. Veremos as que mais agradam.
       Começamos bem: Les Petits Chanteurs à la Croix de Boix.

   

sábado, 11 de dezembro de 2010

Adeste Fideles


       "Adeste Fideles"

Adeste Fideles
Laeti triumphantes
Venite, venite in Bethlehem
Natum videte
Regem angelorum
Venite adoremus
Dominum
Cantet nunc io
Chorus angelorum
Cantet nunc aula caelestium
Gloria, gloria
In excelsis Deo
Venite adoremus
Dominum
Ergo qui natus
Die hodierna
Jesu, tibi sit gloria
Patris aeterni
Verbum caro factus
Venite adoremus
Dominum


quarta-feira, 8 de dezembro de 2010

Hanukkah






















Baruch Atah Adonai, Barucha At Shekhinah,
Eloheinu Melech Ha-Olam;
Baruch Atah YHVH/Elohim,
Eloheinu Melech Ha-Olam -
asher kidishanu b'mitz'votav v'tzivanu l'had'lik neir shel Chanukah.
(Amein)"

"Abençoado sejas, Senhor. Abençoada a Tua Shekhinah,
Regente do Tempo e do Espaço;
Louvado sejas, Senhor,
Soberano do Universo -
Que nos purificaste com os Teus Mandamentos Que nos conduziste à Luz das Luzes do Hanukkah.
(Amen)"


Diz a Kabbalah que a Shekhinah é a Face da Divindade mostrada aos homens,a Luz da Sua presença. A Shekhinah é, igualmente, a parte materna da Divindade, a energia que vive (e dá vida) que habita no centro do Universo, que é o seu espírito, o seu sopro vital
"e  formou o Senhor o homem do pó da terra, e soprou em suas narinas o fôlego da vida; e o homem foi feito alma vivente." Genesis 2,7



 


Termina o Hannukah, a festa das luzes Judaica. Começa a celebração do Natal, a festa da luz, para os Cristãos.
 Que ambas sejam um símbolo da luz que deve arder no coração de toda a humanidade.

sexta-feira, 3 de dezembro de 2010

Hanukkah
















O Zohar ensina que tudo é "novo" quando iluminado pela luz que existe para lá do Sol.

 Quando acendemos as velas, no Hanukkah, devemos olhar, não para o que as luzes iluminam, mas para a luz em si mesma.

 No entanto, para ver a luz, até podemos fechar os olhos. A luz que procuramos, não está nas velas do Hanukkah;está no nosso espírito, no nosso "eu", no nosso coração. 
A luz "para além da luz", a "luz que arde no centro do mundo" está ao nosso alcance, mas não podemos segurá-la com as mãos...

 Os Cabalistas ensinam que o Hanukkah é o símbolo da primeira parte do nosso trabalho: o "trilho da aprendizagem".

 Relembremos que, em cada dia, mais uma vela fica acesa, exactamente como a luz que procuramos: mais intensa, em cada dia que conseguirmos ver a luz das velas e não o que está em seu redor...

quinta-feira, 2 de dezembro de 2010

Hanukkah

There are many stories about Hanukkah.
One of them is " The Light in the Window" by Rabbi Eli Hecht.

"During World War II there was a group of fighting Polish partisans who had broken out of the Nazi war camps. These partisans consisted of a few Jews and former Polish officers. They organized a resistance force that used to harass the Germans.

On one of their missions, they found an old, starving rabbi who had been left for dead by the Nazi murderers. One of the Catholic partisans took mercy on the man and nursed him back to health. The rabbi was of no real use to the partisans and was given the job of cooking and praying for the safety of the fighting men. Strangely, this group of partisans suffered no casualties for the rest of the war.

When the war was over the group broke up. Some went back to Poland; others traveled to Latvia. Others became wandering people with no homeland. As the Russian government clamped down on the people, depriving them of their freedom, the group decided to flee.

A plan was made to leave the Russian territories by night. An informant helping these escaping partisans told them, "You must cross the river in the winter when it's frozen. When you reach the other side of the river you'll be entering no-man's land. There you will find a hut. This hut is used by a Russian soldier who is in charge of preventing border crossings by all unauthorized people. His job is to shoot anything that moves. However, at one o'clock in the morning he leaves his hut and walks a few miles to the next hut, where he meets another soldier. There the soldiers exchange reports and supplies. Then he returns to his watch. The complete trip takes him approximately two hours. During that time, you can warm yourselves in his hut but you must be out of there by the time he returns."

This group of brave men consisted only of the younger people. Most of the older people had given up hope, deciding to remain behind in the Russian territories. The only old man willing to travel with them was the rabbi. A heated argument broke out: "Let's leave him," said one. "After all, he can find food in one of the towns. We really do not need to be slowed down by a frail, old man. We have done our share."

A religious Christian partisan exclaimed, "If we leave him, we are all doomed. I will not leave without him." Reluctantly, they included the rabbi.

It was a cold and miserable night. A blizzard broke out. Sure enough, the leader was correct: the old man could not keep up with the rigorous climbing and running. The blizzard increased and more than once they had to stop to carry the old rabbi. As light as he was, he was now a big burden, slowing down the entire group. More than once, they argued if they should just leave him.

It was one o'clock in the morning when they arrived at the hut which, by now, was half buried in the snow. They could smell the fire and warmth coming from the hut. They waited and waited for the soldier to leave. It seemed like forever.

It wasn't a moment too soon that the soldier left. Almost frozen to death, the fleeing group fell into the hut, each one trying to get his icy hands and frostbitten feet closer and closer to the fire.

The old rabbi moved away from the group. He opened a small bag and took out an old and rusty menora. Then he took a small piece of string, rolled it into a wick and proceeded to fill the menora with some oil from a small tin bottle that he miraculously had with him.

The very act of which was taking place put everyone into a trance. Not a word was uttered nor could a sound be heard. Spellbound, everyone watched the rabbi.

In a barely audible voice, the rabbi recited the blessings for the lighting of the menora, picked up the menora, and placed it by the window of the hut. Then he lit the menora and began to sing an old Jewish song, "Maoz Tzur-Rock of Ages," which speaks of G-d's miracles for his people.

Like an erupting volcano, the leader was jolted out of his stupor and yelled, "Put out that light! You will bring the Russian soldier back here. We will all be caught and shot."

The rabbi tried to explain that it was the first night of Chanuka and that he had kindled the light in order to keep the commandment of remembering the miracle of Chanuka. "No, " said the rabbi. He would not extinguish the flame. "It must burn for half an hour. This is according to the ancient Hebrew law."

Suddenly the door of the hut flew open. A tall soldier holding a machine gun yelled at the startled group to put their hands up into the air.

The Russian soldier approached the old rabbi, looked at the menora, and said to him in Russian, "I, too, am a Jew. I have not seen a menora in six years." He kissed the rabbi's beard and broke out into tears.

The soldier proceeded to tell the group, "After I left the hut I suddenly remembered that I had left some reports in a drawer. As I was returning I saw a light coming from the hut. I couldn't believe my eyes.

"There it was, a menora in no-man's land, in the middle of a blizzard, right in my hut."

The soldier told the group that they were safe and proceeded to take out a large bottle of vodka, giving each one a drink. He said, "It's good that I was on guard. Another guard would have killed all of you! Come. I will show you how to cross the border. Remember me, Rabbi. Pray that I have a Chanuka miracle and will be able to leave the army safely and be with my family."

The very shaken but relieved little group followed the soldier out across the border. Somehow they made their way to freedom and then they all went their separate ways. The old rabbi went to Israel. He told this story to fellow survivors who, in turn, told it to me as a small boy."

Quoted  from   http://www.lchaimweekly.org

quarta-feira, 1 de dezembro de 2010

Hanukkah

 A festa do Hanukkah,celebra a demonstração do poder do Senhor, quando, na sequência da vitória da revolta contra os opressores, liderada pelos Macabeus,  apenas se encontrou uma ínfima quantidade de azeite sacralizado, para a lamparina que arde incessantemente no templo sagrado. Não deveria ser suficiente para um dia, mas ardeu, sem se apagar, durante todos os dias necessários para produzir novo azeite virgem e sacraliza-lo, por forma a manter a chama acesa. Essa a razão do Hanukkah, a festa das luzes, que, naturalmente, consigo arrasta muitas outras tradições, hábitos e costumes, que se foram enraizando, com o dobar dos séculos. 
Aqui recordaremos algumas, nos próximos dias.


Até lá: Feliz Hanukkah!!