There is a saying of
Yeshua HaNotzri from the “Gospel of the Hebrews” that has been quoted by Origen
(ca. 185 – 254 CE) (Commentary on John 2:12; Homily on Jeremiah 15:4) and by
Jerome (347 – 420 CE) (Commentary on Micah[commenting on Micah 7:6]; Commentary
on Isaiah 11 [commenting on Isaiah 40:9];Commentary on Ezekiel [commenting on
Ezekiel 16:13]) that translates into English from Greek in Origen as "Just
now my Mother, the Holy Spirit (Breath), took me by one of my hairs and brought
me to Tabor, the great mountain". The “Gospel of the Hebrews” is a
non-canonical work associated with early Jewish followers of Yeshua HaNotzri,
written in Hebrew originally (cf. Epiphanius, Panarion 30.3:7 - "Hebrew
language and letters"; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah 4 [commenting on
Isaiah 11:21] - "Hebrew speech"), but with fragments only preserved
in Greek or Latin translations, as in Origen and Jerome.
The “Gospel of the
Hebrews” has been associated with the Ebionites by Eusebius (263 – 339 CE)
(Eccl. Hist. iii.27.4) and Jerome (On Matthew xii.13). The Ebionites, as known
from hostile “Church Fathers” and from the apparently Fourth Century
“Pseudo-Clementine” Homilies and Recognitions, which probably preserve some of
their teachings (cf. Jeffrey J. Bütz, 2010, The Secret Legacy of Jesus: The
Judaic Teachings That Passed from James the Just to the Founding Fathers and
Keith Akers, 2000, The Lost Religion of Jesus: Simple Living and Nonviolence in
Early Christianity), appear to have believed that Yeshua HaNotzri is not God, but
the True Prophet, in whom the Holy Spirit (also called the Spirit of the
Christ) found in previous prophets ultimately has come to rest, and who lived
and taught a life of pacifism, vegetarianism, and simplicity that could lead
his followers to share in that Spirit and become “Christs” as well. The “Gospel
of the Hebrews” is likely the same gospel in which Yeshua indicates having come
to abolish animal sacrifice, and in which Yochanan the Baptizer eats cakes
rather than insects and Yeshua refuses to eat the meat of the Pesach (cf.
Epiphanius, Panarion 30.13:4-5; 30.16:4-5; 30.22:4).
When the portion of
the saying quoted above in English translation that says “my Mother, the Holy
Spirit (Breath)” is expressed in the colloquial Hebrew of the Second Temple
period, as preserved as a literary language by the Mishnah (usually called
Mishnaic or Rabbinic Hebrew, as opposed to Biblical Hebrew), it can be “Imma
Sheli Ruach HaQodesh (or HaQadosh)”. Now, the roshei teivot, or initial letters
of the four Hebrew words, are aleph, shin, resh, heh. These letters spell “asherah”,
which, if taken as the proper name “Asherah”, can be a reference to the
“Feminine” aspect of God as known from the First Temple period (e.g. finds at
Kuntillet Ajrud and Khirbet el-Kom) and also through Kabbalah (Zohar I, 49a,
and Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, Or Ne'erav, chelek zayn). In the Kabbalistic
sources, "Asherah" is a name for the Shekhinah, which means happiness
or bliss. So, in this case, Yeshua HaNotzri would not only be asserting the
“Femininity” of the Holy Spirit (Breath) here, as his “Mother”, but tying “Her”
directly to “Asherah” as Absolute Bliss. He also is affirming that, as Divine
Breath, "Asherah" is an inherent aspect of God, not a separate deity
or consort as was mistakenly believed by some in antiquity.
If the roshei teivot of
“asherah” are instead taken as expressing not a proper name but a common noun,
then what can be understood is a reference simply to happiness or bliss in
general. Probably, one is meant to understand it both ways, as we shall see.
The final Hebrew
letters (sofei teivot) of each word in “Imma Sheli Ruach HaQodesh (or HaQadosh)”
(aleph, yud, chet, shin) spell the words “ei chash”, which in Mishnaic Hebrew
mean “without having pain” or “without feeling pain”. It is tempting to see a
further import of this saying as being a teaching to avoid causing pain to any
creature, which would be consistent with the vegetarian and anti-animal
sacrifice message of the Ebionites and their “Gospel of the Hebrews”.
The remaining Hebrew
letters in the phrase - mem, lamed, vav, qof, dalet - have a combined numerical
value (40+30+6+100+4) of 180. This is very significant in that it represents 10
x 18. The number 18 is the value of the Hebrew word "chai" meaning
life or living. Ten is a number representing totality or completeness in
Biblical and Kabbalistic understanding - 10 commandments, 10 sefirot for example.
So, 10 x 18 or 180 symbolizes the totality of living beings.
One further item also
is worth noting – the number of letters on the saying is 13, which equals echad
or one in Hebrew. The oneness may be both that of the Divine Breath with
God and also that of the continuity of the totality of living beings with the Divine.
Taken together, all of
these above elements help us to comprehend this Hebrew saying as follows: there
is an integral relationship between experiencing the “Mother” that is the
"Feminine" Divine Breath in all living beings, the Shekhinah, the
Infinite Freedom To, as perfectly one with God, the Holy One Blessed be He, the
Infinite Freedom From, in Absolute Bliss, and not causing pain but only providing happiness to the totality of living beings. In addition, there can be a causal
interpretation: by not causing pain and only giving happiness to the totality
of living beings, understood as continuous with the Divine, one can have the bliss of experiencing God’s inherent Divine
Breath as one’s “Mother”.
