ephraims shofar vol 1
DESCRIPTION
The first Israeli-Mormon magazine to help members of the Church reconnect with their Israeli heritage.TRANSCRIPT
7/21/2019 Ephraims Shofar Vol 1
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ephraims-shofar-vol-1 1/20
olume 1: Tevet 2015
hwhyl vdq
7/21/2019 Ephraims Shofar Vol 1
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ephraims-shofar-vol-1 2/20
Ephraim’s Shofar is a free electronic magazine so please freely distribute it
© Benjamin Thompson November 2015
Chief Editor: Benjamin Thompson
My name is Benjamin Thompson, I am of the Tribe of Ephraim, and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-DaySaints. I live in the Bay Area of California. I have always been attracted to Israeli culture and then I discovered that my
ancestors were Jewish. Since then I have studied my ancestral culture and language. This study has greatly blessed me.As I searched I discovered that there were more people like me who wanted to study their Israeli heritage but did not
know where to start. The purpose of this magazine is to help all those with Israeli heritage who are interested in learningabout their heritage and to help them not feel alone.
Would you like to write an article for Ephraim’s Shofar?
Send articles by e-mail with Ephraim’s Shofar in the subject line, to:
Please be sure to include your name that you want published, and, if you wanttoo, also add which tribe of Israel you are from.
Would you like to automatically receive Ephraim’s Shofar every month?Send us an email with your name and the word: Subscribe in the subject line:
Disclaimer:It should be noted that though Ephraim’s Shofar is madeby members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-DaySaints, it is not an official publication created by the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The opinionspresented in this publication do not necessarily reflect the
opinions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.Ephraim’s Shofar is not meant to establish doctrine oranswer questions for the Church. It is intended only to helpall people interested in exploring their Israeli heritage andcultural background from the perspective of the
Restoration.
7/21/2019 Ephraims Shofar Vol 1
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ephraims-shofar-vol-1 3/20
A Forgotten CultureBy Benjamin Thompson
N my opinion, we often forget thatwe, as members of the Church,are also part of the House of
Israel. It does not matter if you are ofliteral descent or adopted in but tothose who do have Jewish ancestors
it takes on a little different meaning:Our ancestors were scatteredbecause of their wickedness. As partof this, our ancestral culture hasbeen destroyed and forgotten.Instead, they have adopted thecultures where they have been
scattered to. All members of theChurch within this nation are faced
with a somewhat similar dilemmatoday.
As the surrounding culturebecomes more corrupt and wickedbefore the Lord, we risk becoming
dragged along with it, even if we do
not know it. We are warned in theBook of Mormon that in the last days“they have all gone astray save it bea few, who are the humble followersof Christ; nevertheless, they are led,that in many instances they do errbecause they are taught by theprecepts of men.” (2 Nephi 28:14). So
assuming we are the humblefollowers of Christ we must admitthat there are times that we errbecause we have been taught the
precepts of men. I believe our modern
society is the reason for this. OurAmerican culture was originally abeacon of light to the world, but nowit has been perverted andscientifically designed by the wickedelites to destroy and enslave us. As
they push this wicked culturalagenda upon the nation, it has
become more apparent that aconflicting culture needs to arise tohelp push back this wicked cultural
agenda.Due to the diaspora, we, as
Israelites, have forgotten that we dohave a conflicting culture that hasthe power to overcome this wicked
cultural agenda: The culture of theHouse of Israel. This culture, when
combined with the doctrines of therestoration becomes a powerful toolin the cultural war. And it is a war.A war of words and ideas. Its
casualties are our children. As theybecome enamored with a culturescientifically designed to destroy and
enslave them, they cannot help butto become corrupted and dragged
along by it.As with all things the Lord has
given us free agency to develop ourown cultural ideas. It is not theresponsibility of the Church to
provide us with culture. The Church
must have the ability to insert itselfinto any culture in the world. It is up
to us to use our own free agency todevelop our own culture within our
own respective nations.I believe it would benefit us
greatly to re-examine our ownancestral cultural heritage as
I
7/21/2019 Ephraims Shofar Vol 1
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ephraims-shofar-vol-1 4/20
Israelites. This culture was developedby prophets and servants of the Lordin ancient times. The Lord guided thecreation of this culture. It is based off
of the revealed words of the Lord.
How could this restored Israeliculture not benefit us? That beingsaid it must also be stated that ourancestors had also corrupted it, so itis not perfect in its current form, butwhen the doctrines of the Restored
Gospel are used to correct the errors,it returns it to its more original state
as the Lord originally intended it. The purpose of Ephraim’s
Shofar is to help Restored Israelites
understand their cultural heritageand to show them how it can bringblessings to their lives. This is notmeant to say that all traditions of thesurrounding culture are bad, but we
must look at all things as to whetherthey conflict with the Lord’s word or
not. All good traditions ought to bekept and all bad traditions ought tobe rejected. The other purpose ofEphraim’s Shofar is to help all those
interested in learning this culture sothat they can better understand thescriptures. The scriptures were
written by Israelites, who had theirown culture and wrote to those who
also had this culture. The scriptureswere meant to be read by those whoalso had this culture. By studyingthis culture you will gain a greaterunderstanding of the scriptures.
I would also like to point out
that the things discussed here arenot meant to be taken as
commandments from God, but weare free to use wisdom and study to
shape our lives as well. It is my hopethat we can be a light to the worldspiritually and culturally. May peacebe with you!
t-aHebrew Corner By Benjamin Thompson
HOUGH it is not absolutelynecessary to learn theancestral language of our
fathers and mothers, I would highlyrecommend it. In Ephraim’s Shofar,we will provide you with free Hebrew
instruction in order to help you tounderstand the language of ourfathers and mothers. It is a languagedesigned by God to help us to
understand his ways better. We willprovide small portions to make iteasier for those with not a lot of timeto be able to start being familiar withHebrew.
To start with, learning theHebrew Alphabet (or, in Hebrew,
Alefbet) is an absolute necessity. Though anybody can learn the
letters, understanding the lettersthemselves become another matterentirely. Each Hebrew letter isdesigned to teach a Godly principle.
The first Hebrew letter is Aleph
(Ah-lef) – (shown in picture below).
The funny thing about Hebrew
is that it has no vowel letters likeEnglish does (a,e,i,o,u), instead you
simply have to be taught the correctpronunciation. The letter Aleph by
7/21/2019 Ephraims Shofar Vol 1
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ephraims-shofar-vol-1 5/20
itself actually does not have anypronunciation. Instead, it takes onthe sound of the vowel associatedwith it (more on that later). For now
just memorize its form and name.
Hebrew letters also take on therole of numbers. If Aleph is used asa number, its number is “one”.
Some Hebrew letters are alsoadded to the front (prefix) or end(suffix) of a word to add descriptive
words. Aleph is also used as a prefix.When Aleph is added to the front of a
word where it usually does not go, itmeans “I will …”.
Now for the symbolism! Tounderstand this letter we mustdeconstruct its individual parts(pictured above).
Starting with the second linenext to the number 2: This linerepresents time from beginning to
end, or rather the first and the last. This symbolizes that the Lord is theFirst and the Last, the Aleph and the
Tav. This also represents everythingin time. The upside down L shape
next to the number 1 representsrising above. The L shape next to thenumber 3 represents descendingbelow. Since the prefix form of Alephmeans “I will …” this is also added to
its symbolism. The letter Aleph is
trying to teach us that the Lord, whois the first and the last, will riseabove all things and descend belowall things, even using His own voicethrough the letter Aleph, the Lordsays, “I am the First and the Last, Iwill rise above all things and descendbelow all things.” How beautiful!
Studying the Restored TorahPart 1
By Benjamin Thompson
HE Torah (the first five books of
the Bible) is much more than just the Law of Moses. Though
it does contain the Law of Moses, theBook of Mormon has shown us howto use the Torah using the new
interpretation that Christ personallytaught to the Nephites when Hevisited them.
Greater yet, the Lord hasrestored many things that were
removed from the Torah through theProphet Joseph Smith, showing usthat the Lord still intends for us touse the Torah, though not in the waythat the Jews do.
The Torah is not only aspiritual document, but it is also a
cultural, economic, and politicaldocument as well. The Torahcontains a lot of the wisdom of God.It is meant to help us to build up aculture that is pleasing unto God.
It is my hope to inspire you to
make the study of the Restored Torahimportant to you. In studying theRestored Torah we must understand
that the Lord teaches us in two ways:First, by direct commandment.Second, by example.
An example of a directcommand is this: “Thus says the
7/21/2019 Ephraims Shofar Vol 1
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ephraims-shofar-vol-1 6/20
Lord …”. The Lord directly tells ussomething that he wants or does notwant. The second way is just asdescribed, by example, the Lord will
give us stories and expects us to
meditate upon them.As part of Ephraim’s Shofar, I
will show you a new way to look atthe Restored Torah in the hope thatit will greatly benefit you. To startwith we will look at the very
beginning of the Restored Torah, thatwe call the Book of Moses.
Book of Moses 1:1-2“The words of God, which he
spake unto Moses at a time whenMoses was caught up into anexceedingly high mountain, and hesaw God face to face, and he talkedwith him, and the glory of God was
upon Moses; therefore Moses couldendure his presence.”
As we study the scriptures it isour duty to put ourselves into theshoes of the writer and try to think of
ourselves in their position. As weread about Moses meeting God faceto face, it is as if we are meeting God
face to face. Eventually we will meetGod face to face. The most important
principle to see in this passagethough is that every single one of ushas the ability to approach God andto speak with him. Though we maynot have a grand vision as Moses did,
we can still pray and have the
guidance and teaching through theHoly Ghost. It becomes our
responsibility to learn how toapproach God and to learn from Him.
Book of Moses 1:3-8“And God spake unto Moses,
saying: Behold, I am the Lord God
Almighty, and Endless is my name;for I am without beginning of days orend of years; and is not this endless?And behold, thou art my son,
wherefore look, and I will show thee
the workmanship of mine hands, butnot all; for my works are without end,and also my words, for they nevercease; wherefore, no man can beholdall my works except he behold all myglory; and no man can behold all my
glory, and afterwards remain in theflesh, on the earth. And I have a work
for thee, Moses, my son; and thou artin the similitude of mine OnlyBegotten; and my Only Begotten is
and shall be the Savior, for he is fullof grace and truth; but there is noGod beside me; and all things arepresent with me, for I know them all.And now, behold, this one thing I
show unto thee, Moses, my son; forthou art in the world, and now I show
it unto thee. And it came to pass, thatMoses looked and beheld the worldupon which he was created. And asMoses beheld the world, and the
ends thereof, and all the children ofmen, which are and which werecreated; of the same he greatly
marveled, and wondered.”
The Lord introduces himself toMoses (and us as well). He is the LordGod having all power, no beginning,and no end. More important Moseslearns that he is a son of God. We
are also the children of God. This
means that the Lord loves and guidesus, just like we love and guide our
own children. The Lord personalizeshimself to us.
Next, the Lord then introduceshimself as the Creator. The Lord doesnot tell us this out of a sense of pridein his work. It is so that we can
7/21/2019 Ephraims Shofar Vol 1
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ephraims-shofar-vol-1 7/20
understand that since He created allthings, He also knows howeverything works. He knows whatgoes well together and knows what
does not work. We can trust what he
says because he is our Father. The Lord also says that there is
no other God but him. Any otherthing that presents itself as a God isfalse. Any teaching, thought, idea,principle, philosophy, or way that
contradicts what the Lord has said isfalse.
Book of Moses 1:9-11“And the presence of God
withdrew from Moses, that his glorywas not upon Moses; and Moses wasleft unto himself; and as he was leftunto himself, he fell unto the earth.And it came to pass, that it was for
the space of many hours beforeMoses did again receive his natural
strength like unto man; and he saidunto himself, Now, for this cause, Iknow that man is nothing, whichthing I never had supposed; but now
mine eyes have beheld God; but notmine natural but my spiritual eyes,for mine natural eyes could not have
beheld, for I should have witheredand died in his presence; but his
glory was upon me, and I beheld hisface, for I was transfigured beforehim.”
Moses after experiencing such
a powerful vision is left to himself
and his own power. He comes tounderstand that we, as humans, are
nothing when compared to God. Thismeans that mankind must depend
on God for truth and direction.Mankind is corruptible and can leadastray.
Book of Moses 1:12-23“And now it came to pass, that
when Moses had said these words,behold, Satan came tempting him,
saying, Moses, son of man, worship
me. And it came to pass that Moseslooked upon Satan, and said, Whoart thou, for behold I am a son ofGod, in the similitude of his OnlyBegotten; and where is thy glory, thatI should worship thee? For, behold, I
could not look upon God except hisglory should come upon me, and I
were transfigured before him. But Ican look upon thee in the naturalman. Is it not so surely? Blessed be
the name of my God, for his Spirithath not altogether withdrawn fromme; or else where is thy glory, for it isdarkness unto me, and I can judgebetween thee and God; for God said
unto me, Worship God, for him onlyshalt thou serve. Get thee hence,
Satan, deceive me not; for God saidunto me, Thou art after thesimilitude of mine Only Begotten.And he also gave unto me
commandment, when he called untome out of the burning bush, saying,Call upon God in the name of mine
Only Begotten, and worship me. Andagain, Moses said, I will not cease to
call upon God. I have other things toinquire of him; for his glory has beenupon me, and it is glory unto me;wherefore, I can judge between himand thee. Depart hence, Satan. And
now, when Moses had said these
words, Satan cried with a loud voice,and went upon the earth, and
commanded, saying, I am the OnlyBegotten, worship me. And it came to
pass, that Moses began to fearexceedingly; and as he began to fear,he saw the bitterness of hell;nevertheless, calling upon God he
7/21/2019 Ephraims Shofar Vol 1
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ephraims-shofar-vol-1 8/20
received strength, and hecommanded, saying, Depart hence,Satan; for this one God only will Iworship, which is the God of glory.
And now, Satan began to tremble,
and the earth shook, and Mosesreceived strength and called uponGod in the name of the OnlyBegotten, saying to Satan, Departhence. And it came to pass, thatSatan cried with a loud voice, with
weeping, and wailing, and gnashingof teeth, and departed hence; yea,
from the presence of Moses, that hebeheld him not. And now, of thisthing Moses bore record; but because
of wickedness, it is not had amongthe children of men.”
Next, Moses is tempted by theDevil. This is very telling to us
because it shows us that if we receiverevelation from God we also can
receive revelations from the Devil. Infact I would say that since there mustbe an opposite in all things we alsomust be tempted by the Devil
through revelation to the samedegree that God has given usrevelation. Just because we receive
a revelation we must be aware thatwe could also be deceived by the
Devil. We must judge all revelationsthrough the square of the Scripturesand the Prophets that the Lord hasgiven to us.
Book of Moses 1:24-35
“And it came to pass, thatwhen Satan had departed from the
presence of Moses, that Moses liftedup his eyes unto heaven, being filled
with the Holy Ghost, which bearethrecord of the Father and the Son; andcalling upon the name of God, hebeheld again his glory; for it rested
upon him, and he heard a voice,saying, Blessed art thou, Moses, forI, the Almighty, have chosen thee,and thou shalt be made stronger
than many waters; for they shall obey
thy command even as if thou wertGod. And lo, I am with thee, evenunto the end of thy days, for thoushalt deliver my people frombondage; even Israel my chosen. Andit came to pass, as the voice was still
speaking, he cast his eyes and beheldthe earth; yea, even all the face of it;
and there was not a particle of itwhich he did not behold, discerningit by the Spirit of God. And he beheld
also the inhabitants thereof, andthere was not a soul which he beheldnot, and he discerned them by theSpirit of God, and their numberswere great, even as numberless as
the sand upon the seashore. And hebeheld many lands, and each land
was called earth; and there wereinhabitants on the face thereof. Andit came to pass, that Moses calledupon God, saying, Tell me, I pray
thee, why these things are so, and bywhat thou madest them? And beholdthe glory of God was upon Moses, so
that Moses stood in the presence ofGod, and he talked with him face to
face. And the Lord God said untoMoses, For mine own purpose have Imade these things. Here is wisdom,and it remaineth in me. And by theword of my power have I created
them, which is mine Only Begotten
Son, who is full of grace and truth.And worlds without number have I
created, and I also created them formine own purpose; and by the Son I
created them, which is mine OnlyBegotten. And the first man of allmen have I called Adam, which ismany. But only an account of this
7/21/2019 Ephraims Shofar Vol 1
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ephraims-shofar-vol-1 9/20
earth, and the inhabitants thereof,give I unto you; for behold there aremany worlds which have passedaway by the word of my power; and
there are many also which now
stand, and numberless are they untoman; but all things are numberedunto me; for they are mine, and Iknow them.”
Moses passed the test. He
correctly identified the differencebetween the Lord and the Devil. He
was not deceived by false revelation.In response the Lord returns toMoses and shows him everything
concerning this earth and that theLord has created many earths justlike this one.
The reason for Moses telling usthis is not a show of personal
greatness. Just like the Lord told ushe is the Creator so that we will learn
to trust him, so to can we also trustMoses because the Lord showed himeverything concerning this earth.Moses was taught by the Lord what
works and what does not work. Wecan trust Moses as a servant of Godand we can rely upon the words that
he has written.
Book of Moses 1:36-42“And it came to pass, that
Moses spake unto the Lord, saying,Be merciful unto thy servant, O God,and tell me concerning this earth,
and the inhabitants thereof; and also
the heavens, and then thy servantwill be content. And the Lord God
spake unto Moses, saying, Theheavens, they are many and they can
not be numbered unto man, but theyare numbered unto me, for they aremine; and as one earth shall passaway, and the heavens thereof, even
so shall another come; and there isno end to my works, neither to mywords; for this is my work and myglory, to bring to pass the
immortality, and eternal life of man.
And now, Moses, my son, I will speakunto you concerning this earth uponwhich thou standest; and thou shaltwrite the things which I shall speak.And in a day when the children ofmen shall esteem my words as
naught, and take many of them fromthe book which thou shalt write,
behold I will raise up another likeunto thee, and they shall be hadagain among the children of men,
among even as many as shall believe. These words were spoken untoMoses in the mount, the name ofwhich shall not be known among thechildren of men. And now they are
spoken unto you. Amen.”
To end this chapter the Lordshows us that he has gone throughthis cycle of creating worlds over andover again. Since he has done this so
many times, we can know that heknows exactly what he is doing.Ultimately, the Lord’s goal is to take
us, His children, and to make usgreater than we currently are.
We are also warned thatmankind is wicked and will alter thewords of God and of Moses, but tocombat this, the Lord would raise upanother who was like Moses so that
we could have these lost words again.
This other servant is Joseph Smithwho restored what was lost in the
Torah. The Lord tells us that hewould be like Moses. In this way,
just like we can trust Moses, we canalso trust Joseph Smith. May theLord bless you as you learn to trustHim and his servants.
7/21/2019 Ephraims Shofar Vol 1
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ephraims-shofar-vol-1 10/20
LOOKING AT ISRAELI TRADITION:
Lighting the Sabbath CandlesBy Carly Mitchell, Ephraim
VERY Friday night among
observant Jews, Jewishwomen in every household
light the candles in preparation for
the Sabbath. I had first seen thistradition performed in the
movie Fiddler on the Roof, but I hadnever really thought about it until my
son brought it up to me to try it. Hehad to show me how to do it becauseI didn’t know how. We are Latter-Day
Saints but we have always beeninterested in Jewish traditions. To
be honest, I didn’t really think muchabout this one until I actually triedit. I was amazed, and surprised, as Ifirst tried it when we were having aPassover dinner that my son washosting. He was teaching us how all
Jewish feasts and traditions pointtoward Jesus Christ. The Holy Ghostfell upon me as I did the lighting ofthe candle ceremony letting me know
that I was doing something good.
The lighting of the Sabbath
candles is not mentioned in the Bibleat all. Instead, it is a tradition. We
know that not all traditions are badas long as they do not contradict the
scriptures and the prophets.I would recommend to you that you give this tradition a try and see if
it blesses your home as it has blessedmine. To do this tradition correctly,it is done on the night before the
Sabbath day (or any other holyday). For us that would be Saturday
night since we keep the Sabbath onSunday in remembrance of theLord’s Day. It is done at dinner time
when the family is all sitting downtogether to eat. It is the first thingdone, even before blessing the food. The woman of the house stands
opposite her husband, puts a scarfon her head, and then lights two longcandle sticks.
She waves her hands threetimes over the flame, each time
bringing her hands towards herheart. Then, she recites these wordsfrom Numbers 6:24-26--“May the
E
According to Jewish tradition, the reason
women light the candle is that when
Abraham did it the oil in the lamp would last
for the day, but when Sarah did it the oil
would last for the week. He saw this as a
sign that Sarah was supposed to do it. Later,
when Isaac took Rebekah as a wife, when
Rebekah lit the lamps the same thing
happened for her. Isaac saw this as a sign
that she was a worthy successor to Sarah.
Women who are married light two candles,
women who are not married only light one
candle. The first light is for herself and the
second light is for her husband.
7/21/2019 Ephraims Shofar Vol 1
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ephraims-shofar-vol-1 11/20
Lord bless thee, and keep thee; maythe Lord make his face shine uponthee, and be gracious unto thee; maythe Lord lift up his countenance
upon thee, and give thee peace.”
She sits back down. They then havethe blessing over the food and eatdinner like normally. Like I said
before, this is not a commandment,but a tradition, but I think this is a
good tradition because it invited theHoly Ghost. I would highlyrecommend giving this tradition atry.
REMEMBERING OUR HERITAGE: The Ensign of Ephraim
By Benjamin Thompson
CCORDING to the Book ofNumbers (Numbers 2:2) eachof the tribes of Israel were to
pitch their tents by their tribal
ensign. An ensign is basically a flag. The Bible does not actually describe
these flags. I was curious about myown tribe’s tribal flag so I started tostudy information about it.
As a result of my research I
concluded that the Tribe ofEphraim’s flag is actually called avexilloid. A vexilloid is a type of
banner that is hung on a cross likestaff. It was a black background,with a bull, and the symbol of Egypt.
The symbolism of the bullcomes from the blessing of the tribesof Joseph in the Book ofDeuteronomy (Deuteronomy 33:13-17). Ephraim is compared to a
bullock, which is a bull. Manassehis compared to a unicorn, which is a
mistranslation of the Hebrew wordRe’em. We will save that discussion
for next time though.Why did the Lord give the bull
symbol to the tribe of Ephraim?Understanding the reasoning behind
A
In my opinion the reason women light the
candles is to represent that women are the
fire of the home, and that, like fire warms
and comforts all those around it, so too ought
women to do in their own homes.
Jewish tradition also has it that before
reciting the above quote, she covers her eyes
and says this quick blessing: Blessed are
you Lord our God, King of the Universe who
sanctified us with his commandments, and
commanded us to kindle the light of the Holy
Sabbath. I do not use this blessing because
the Book of Mormon teaches us that we are
not sanctified by the commandments only by
the Son, and it is also not done in the name
of the Son.
7/21/2019 Ephraims Shofar Vol 1
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ephraims-shofar-vol-1 12/20
this will help us to understand whowe are. The bull is a very useful workanimal, it is very strong and durable. The problem is that bulls can also be
considered ‘wild’. A bull must be
broken to be useful. So too is the Tribe of Ephraim a wild bull to theLord. The Lord wants to use the tribeof Ephraim for his work but ourrebellious spirit must be broken sothat we can do it. Our ancestors were
a rebellious tribe, even to the pointwhere they whole-heartedly turned
away from the Lord. To break theirspirit the Lord scattered them in thehope that in their scattering they
would learn obedience. That time isnow, we are learning to be obedientto the Lord and He is using us tobegin the Restoration of Israel!
Why the color black? This
color, according to tradition, may bethe color of the gem on the priestly
breastplate for the Tribe of Joseph. Itis meant to remind us of the priestlybreast plate the Levitical High Priestis supposed to wear.
What is the symbol of Egypt? This is where we don’t really knowwhat that looked like. Some people
have suggested and oasis with trees,others have suggested a pyramid. In
my opinion the solution is simple,what was the symbol of Egypt inancient times. The answer was
simple: This symbol is thehieroglyph for the land of Egypt. It
represents the two mountain rangeswith the valley and river Nile running
through it. The Israelites spokeEgyptian so I do not see why they
would not know this symbol. Now,the reason for adding the symbol ofEgypt was to show that Joseph was
“over Egypt”.
I hope that this has given youa greater insight on the Tribe ofEphraim.
FEATURED ISRAELI CUISINE:
hsr[
(Ah-ree-sah) By Benjamin Thompson
SRAEL originally had its own
special cuisine. Due to thediaspora much of our cultural
foods have been forgotten. Modern
Israeli foods are a combination ofdishes adopted by Israelites aroundthe globe. Fortunately, we haverecords of the type of foods that ourancestors ate so we can begin to
recreate our original cuisine.After much study, I discovered
that not only is original Israelicuisine really healthy but it is alsoreally tasty. I eat more and more likean original Israelite every day and
find that it is worth it! The recipe I have decided toinclude for this month is one of my
favorites. I eat it with just about everymeal! It is called in Hebrew Aresah(Ah-ree-sah). The reason we know somuch about Aresah is because themodern day recipe known as Tabouli
I
7/21/2019 Ephraims Shofar Vol 1
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ephraims-shofar-vol-1 13/20
is descended from it and is still eatentoday in the Middle East.
The Hebrew word Aresahmeans cracked sprouted grain. It is
often erroneously translated as
‘dough’ in the Old Testament. Wholegrain kernels were sprouted for threedays (do you see the Christiansymbolism there?) then they were leftto dry in the sun. These dried kernelswere then cracked so they formed not
a flour but a finely ground meal thatI would say was like sand. This
cracked grain was then soaked untilit became soft and then was mixedwith leafy greens that were available.
No cooking was necessary for it. Today you do not have to go
through this process to prepareAresah (though to be honest I preferto sprout my own grain, dry it, and
crack it myself). In modern times the Turkish word ‘Bulgur’ is used to
describe this type of cracked grain.Bulgur is usually available in yourlocal Middle Eastern or Indiangrocery store for a really good price. I
used to buy it myself until I startedcracking my own Aresah.
Below is a basic recipe to make
Aresah. Anything can be added orsubtracted based on like. The key to
Aresah is the cracked grain with leafygreens. As long as it has that it isacceptable as Aresah:
½ cup dried Bulgur
1 large bunch fresh Parsley
1 large bunch fresh Cilantro3 cups chopped Dandelion leaf
(Arugula leaf may also be usedinstead).
½ cup chopped mint leaves.1 Tomato - diced½ Onion – diced Juice from one Lemon
½ cup Olive OilRed Wine or Apple Cider Vinegar totasteSalt to taste
1. Start by soaking the dried bulgurin water (it doesn’t matter how muchbut I would put in at least twice theamount of bulgur). It should take 20minutes to soften (it depends on thegrain though, most bulgur is wheat
and wheat usually takes around 20minutes). While your bulgur is
softening you can start to prepare theother stuff.
2. Chop the all the leafy greens finelyand put them in a mixing bowl.
3. Dice the tomatoes and the onion.
4. Pour in the olive oil, at least 1/2cup. All the leafy greens should have
a glow to them.
5. Squeeze lemon juice into mixture.
6. I don’t actually measure my redwine vinegar I put in a few splashes
It is an Israeli tradition to not only say ablessing before eating a meal, but also for the
one who is preparing the food to say a quick
prayer of thanks to God for giving us the fruit
of the earth before cutting the vegetables and
fruit to be used.
Did you know that both dandelion and
arugula were used in Ancient Israel which iswhy I prefer to use them. Another common
plant was mallow and wild lettuce. The
common folk often harvested wild greens
because it was cheaper than trying to grow
leafy greens like lettuce and such that we
use today.
7/21/2019 Ephraims Shofar Vol 1
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ephraims-shofar-vol-1 14/20
give it a stir. If it is not tangy enoughI add more until I like the taste.
7. Sprinkle salt to taste.
8. By this time your bulgur might beready. It should have nearly doubledin size. You can take a spoon andtaste some. It should be soft like ithas been cooked. Drain the bulgurand then mix it in with the leafy
greens until it is evenly mixed.
9. Now you are ready to serve! Aresahis often used as a side to other dishesto enhance their flavor.
BEING PREPARED:Lentils and Food Storage
Carly Mitchell, Ephraim
ENTILS are a wonderful item tohave in your family’s foodstorage supply. They store well
for long periods of time. Here is a listof selling points on the humble,
versatile lentil.
1.
Quick Cooking: You can beeating lentil soup or stew madefrom scratch within half an
hour.2.
Less Water: Beans are very
nice but they take a lot of waterand time. First you soak beansovernight, dump the water,
add fresh water then cook forhours and hours. That’s awhole bunch of resources thatmight not be able to be spent
in an emergency situations.
With lentils, just add water,cook, done in twenty minutes! This can even be done whilecamping.
3.
Lentil Sprouts: Lentils arequick and easy to sprout. Soak
them for a few hours, strain,leave them in a bowl, bag, or
jar rinsing once or twice dailyuntil they are to your desiredmaturity. This is a fine way to
get a fresh vegetable into yourdiet.
4.
Lentil Flour: Lentils can beground into flour and used forbaking or pancakes. Lentil
flour can be used alone oradded to grain or nut flour. It
is gluten free for folks whoneed to take that route. Youcan even make sprouted lentilflour for added nutrition and
sweetness. Just sprout thelentils a tiny bit, let dry, thengrind into flour.
Here are some recipe ideas. Since
we are talking about food storage andpossibly emergency circumstances,whatever you have handy is what togo with.
Lentil Soup
½ cup dry lentils2 cups water
Any vegetables you haveSautéed onions
A splash of hot sauceSalt and pepper to taste(do not add salt until lentils are soft)
7/21/2019 Ephraims Shofar Vol 1
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ephraims-shofar-vol-1 15/20
Lentil Stew ½ cup dry lentils2 Cups water1/3 cup hulled barley or 1 cup
cooked rice
potato cubes, celery, carrot slices,sautéed onions and mushroomsSimmer much of the water away.Salt and pepper to taste(do not add salt until lentils are soft)
Lentil Loaf (like meat loaf)2/3 cup dry lentils then cooked
1/3 cup dry barley then cooked
In a large bowl mix together onions,
mushrooms, grated carrots--whatever you have!Add any seasonings you like.Stir in a few beaten eggs.I also like to add in flax meal.
Put in a loaf pan. I like to line the
loaf pan with parchment paper foreasy removal.
Cover and bake at 375 degrees for
about an hour, maybe a bit longer.
All of these recipes are rather
sketchy. The reason is that there isnot right or wrong way. When using
food storage, and especially inemergency conditions, we need touse what we can get. Be creative! Itwill never taste the same twice. It willalways be an adventure!
Israeli Culture inthe New Testament
by Benjamin Thompson
ID you know that there aremany aspects of Israeliculture in the New
Testament? Many of these cultural
points are missed due tomistranslation. It is mistranslatedbecause the translator did notunderstand Israeli culture.
Understanding Israeli culture will
help you to understand the New Testament better.
The word “Napkin” occurs inthe New Testament four times: Luke19:20, John 11:44, John 20:7, andActs 19:12). In Greek the word is
soudarion (soo-dar-ee-on), in Hebrewthe word is txpjm (mit-pa-chat). The
problem is that the translators didnot understand the word so theyused napkin. The word is actually
referring to a head scarf worn bymen. In modern Arabic we refer tothis as a shemagh or keffiyah. This
head scarf symbolizes that you are afree man and also of noble birth.Since all of us are the descendants ofAdam, we all are of noble birthright.Head scarves are still worn by bothChristians and Jews in the MiddleEast.
D
The color and style of the head scarf
represents the tribe and/or region of thewearer. Notice the netted pattern on this
head scarf. It is possible that this pattern
goes back to the Sea of Galilee and
represents fishermen from that region. This
pattern has become common in the Middle
East.
7/21/2019 Ephraims Shofar Vol 1
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ephraims-shofar-vol-1 16/20
Israeli Culture inthe Book of Mormon
by Benjamin Thompson
(Above: Moroni prays over the gold plates)
UST like Israeli culture can beseen in the New Testament, we
can also see elements of Israeliculture in the Book of Mormon. Many
of these cultural points are missedbecause we do not understand Israeliculture. Understanding Israeli
culture will help you to betterunderstand the Book of Mormon.
Look at Mosiah chapters onethrough chapter six. These chaptersare very interesting from an Israeliperspective. The Nephites take theirtents and encamp themselvesaround the temple. They listen to the
words of King Benjamin and theyoffer sacrifices according to the Lawof Moses.
People who are not aware ofIsraeli culture would take no noticeof the significance of this event. Whatwe are looking at is the Nephitepractice of the Festival of Tabernacles (Sukkot). In this festivalIsraelites would leave their homes todwell in tents. It was required for
them to go to the temple at this timeto offer sacrifices as the Torah says.
They would also go to hear the wordsof the High Priest. We can see fromthe Book of Mormon that theNephites continued this practice ofcelebrating the Festival of
Tabernacles.
Did Native Americans know aboutthe Sticks of Judah and Joseph?
(excerpt from “Israel will be Gathered”
Evening and Morning Star, Independence, Mo.,Vol. 2. No. 1., June, 1833)
N the forepart of the last month,about three hundred and sixtyIndians, of the Kiekapoos and
Pottowattamies, pitched their tentson the east before this town, andtarried one night. They were on their
way to the place assigned them forthe land of their inheritance, being
gathered by the government of theUnited States, …
Their agent remarked that
“they drunk no spirituous liquors,”and those who saw them can beartestimony that they were quiet andinoffensive, and different from manyother tribes that have been gathered.
They have a prophet, in whom theyplace great confidence, and he
instructs them that the day is nigh,when the Great Father will send hisSon on the earth: then [as he says]white man and red man be one.
Their idea of what is to come topass in the last days, theresurrection of the righteous, and
their living on earth with the Lordwhile wickedness ceases to trouble
the saints, seems to be very correctas far as we could ascertain. They arevery devout apparently, and praynight and morning; yes, evenchildren and all. They have two flat
sticks about one foot long, tied
together, on which are severalcharacters, which, they say, the
Great Father gave to their prophet,and mean as much as a large book.
They say one of these sticks, is for theold book that white man has [thebible?], the other for the new book[the Book of Mormon?], white man
J
I
7/21/2019 Ephraims Shofar Vol 1
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ephraims-shofar-vol-1 17/20
has it written on paper, Great Fatherwrites it in red man’s heart.
They seem to pray from thesesticks—and worship on the Sabbath
with great solemnity, commencing
with a salutation from the greatest oroldest to the least that can walk, andending with the same token offriendship.
Joseph Smith and Herbal Medicine
Preface (Preface from the book Joseph Smith and Herbal
Medicine, Preface written by Dr. John R. Christopher.
Heinerman, John, Joseph Smith and Herbal Medicine,Majority of One Press 1980.Reprinted with permission.)
T is very refreshing to have a booksuch as this one come out so thepublic can know what the original
teachings of the Mormon Churchwere in regards to healing of the sick.
The admonition in the 42nd section,43rd verse of the Doctrine and
Covenants of our Church was quiteplain when it states: And whosoeveramong you are sick, and have notfaith to be healed, but believe, shallbe nourished with all tenderness,
with herbs and mild foods. This revelation was given
through Joseph Smith, the Prophet,
in 1831 in the presence of twelveElders and is considered counsel tothe saints. I was happy to return toSalt Lake City, the center stake of
Zion, with the knowledge of herbs. I
had graduated from an herbal collegein Vancouver, B.C. (the DominionHerbal College) and knew I would bewelcomed home with open arms byall the Church members, now that Ihad this knowledge of herbs as an aid
for healing the sick. The Prophet Joseph Smith and President
Brigham Young had both studiedand used herbs, but the knowledge ofthese principles was pushed into the
background and practically forgottenby many, because orthodox medicinewas now being so broadly taught andaccepted by "most" of the saints.
Instead of being accepted, as I
had hoped, I was generally ridiculed,laughed at, and, at times, arrested
and imprisoned for my teachings andpractice as an herbalist. Many of mypatients were converts to theMormon Church from foreign lands,
where the practice I was teachingwas well accepted. Even though thepeople from other countries came to
me, "certain" members who hadgrown up in the Church ridiculed
me. It was hard to take. Though nearly forty years have
passed by since starting an herbalpractice in Utah, and although I havebeen accepted as a teacher and
lecturer worldwide, at home in my
own Church, many people feel that Ishould still be classified with witch
doctors. Still, there are many peopleof my Church who agree with me.
The Prophet Joseph used anumber of herbs in hisrecommendation for the sick, but oneof his favorites was cayenne, as it
I
7/21/2019 Ephraims Shofar Vol 1
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ephraims-shofar-vol-1 18/20
was with President Brigham Young.When I returned to Salt Lake City topractice, I do not think much morethan a pound of cayenne per month
was being used in the entire state of
Utah for nutritional purposes (or so acertain spice company in Salt LakeCity told me), and it was quite a jobto teach my students and patientsthe value of, and how to use,cayenne. The company who "does
up" and markets my herbal formulastold me this morning that they are
now using from twenty-five to thirtytons of cayenne per year inshipments to people for nutritional
purposes. This is only one of anumber of herbal processors here inthe state, so you can see the trend inthe popularity of this herb alone, andcayenne is only one of many herbs
being used alone or in formulastoday.
Cayenne is one of God'swonderful herbal creations thatnever ceases to amaze! Lecturingrecently, we heard the following
story:One person told how he had
cut deeply with a sharp instrument
the inside of his hand, fingers andpalm. The blood spurted out in
streams. He poured a large amountof cayenne pepper into the wound,and within seconds the blood flowslowed down to congealed drippingand the bleeding stopped entirely
before many seconds had passed.
With a goodly amount of cayennecovering the wound, he then
wrapped it. He was so excited aboutthe rapid results he could hardly wait
for the regular herb meeting. But, ashe said, the "punch line" was lost,because instead of a nasty raggedscar to show how severely he had
been hurt, the area was healed andthere was no scar.
Many of the old herbalistsclaim that in cases of severe cuts,
gunshot wounds, etc., cayenne can
be taken internally as a tea and thebleeding will stop by the time, inmost cases, you can count to ten.Cayenne goes immediately into theblood stream and adjusts the bloodpressure from the top of the head to
the bottom of the feet, equalizingpressure over the whole body. This
takes the high pressure, whichcauses rapid bleeding, away from thewound and clotting starts
immediately.Cayenne has been accepted by
some of the orthodox medicalprofession, as mentioned in MerckIndex, Materia Medica and
Pharmacology and other standardvolumes. Let's go into more detail.
In the first place cayenne isclassified as a "stimulant."Stimulants are herbal agents thatquicken, excite and increase nervous
sensibility, thereby stimulating thefunctional activity and energy of thebody. These herbs (stimulants) are
natural native substances.(Remember that alcohol is not a
stimulant, but an irritant and adepressant.) Stimulants increase thepower of the pulse and carry theblood to all parts of the body, tendingto equalize and restore the balance of
circulation in all parts.
Cayenne has been used forages to aid stomach ulcer cases. We
have seen some of the extremelypainful cases given relief, and then
healed by using cayenne faithfullyeach day over a period of weeks ormonths. It should be used untilpains are gone and permanent relief
7/21/2019 Ephraims Shofar Vol 1
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ephraims-shofar-vol-1 19/20
is assured. A story flashed back tomy mind of an interesting case ofstomach ulcers. A lady had beenattending our herbal lecture series
for some time. One day she told us
about her husband’s severe case ofstomach ulcers.
The recommendation fromtheir doctor was to have part of hisstomach removed, but he said hewould rather suffer the pain than
risk such an operation. He alsorefused his wife’s suggestion to try
cayenne, ridiculing her studies.When he would see me in town, hewould bellow, “Hello, Doc! Killed
anybody with cayenne, today?” Hebecame so obnoxious, I avoided himwhen I could. Months went by andone day I saw him coming down thestreet toward me. I tried to avoid him,
but he came, “head on.” This time Iwas amazed, because there were no
cutting remarks or sarcasms. In fact,he was very apologetic and asked ifhe could talk to me for a minute, andthen told me this story.
He had come from work, onenight, “sick enough to die,” withstomach ulcers. His wife was not at
home. He was in such pain hewanted to commit suicide. He went to
the medicine cabinet to find somekind of medicine poisonous anddeadly enough to kill him. But hediscovered his wife had thrown outall the old bottles of pharmaceutical
medicine. All that was left in the
medicine cupboard were some herbsand a large container of cayenne
pepper. He was so angry that, uponseeing the cayenne, figured it, in a
large dose, would kill him by burninghim up. He took a heapingtablespoon of the cayenne in a glassof hot water, gulped it down and
rushed into the bedroom. He fellupon his bed and covered his headwith a pillow so the neighborscouldn’t hear his “dying screams.”
The next thing he knew, his wife was
shaking him awake the nextmorning. She had told him he hadslept all night (instead of being upevery half hour for anti-acid tablets). To his amazement he discovered thatthe pain was gone, for the first time
in months. He continued usingcayenne three times a day faithfully.
I have had a very interestinglife watching thousands of peoplereceive successful results with the
use of herbs. Many calls and letterscome from people who say their liveshave been changed to healthier andmore pleasant living through the useof herbs.
Cayenne is one of the finesthealing, nutritional herbs known to
mankind. It is not a drug, it is a foodof the highest value. I personallyhave used it faithfully for well overthirty years. This is one reason I have
the strength and energy to lecture in40 to 50 cities a year all over theUnited States and Canada, i.e., one
week in the west coast, next week inCanada, and the following week-Ohio
or New York. With natural living, theuse of cayenne and other herbs, I, atmy age, have been fortunate enoughto not suffer “jet lag” with all this year-round traveling. I praise the
Lord for restoring, and expanding the
knowledge of Herbology and hope Joseph Smith and Herbal Medicine
will encourage its readers towithstand the undeserved ridicule.
7/21/2019 Ephraims Shofar Vol 1
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ephraims-shofar-vol-1 20/20
Humor: Modern Culturalisms By Benjamin Thompson
Oy Vey! Modern culture would be
funny, if it wasn’t so sad anddestructive to us. Consider the words
of an older Lamanite:
When told the reason for daylightsavings time the old Indian said… “Only a white man would believe that
you could cut a foot off the top of ablanket and sew it to the bottom of a
blanket and have a longer blanket.”
http://www.republicoflakotah.com/2009/daylight-savings-time/
Look what modern society has done.
God established the Sun to be ourtime piece. God gave us longer hours
of light in the summer so we can domore work. God gave us shorterhours of light in the winter so we can
have more rest. Now our culturechanges the clock so we can workmore in the winter when Godintended us to rest. We are even
taught by public schools that weshould have breaks in the summer.Oh well … guess I should go back to
work now.
Q+A:
Do you have a question that youwould like answered in this
magazine? If you have a question,
most likely other people do as well. If you would like to have a relevantquestion answered, please sendquestions to:
Don’t forget to put Q+A in the subject
line!