Journey Unto Shiloh: Part 2

Let's move right into the heart of the issue, since the groundwork was already established in Journey Unto Shiloh: Part 1. I was talking about experiences that we may refer to as an epiphany, but most certainly are out of the ordinary as you will clearly appreciate with what is about to follow. In the spring of 1986, the second of these epiphanies began and progressed steadily for several months duration. The onset, or should I say ‘introduction’ was to say in the least, ‘startling’, as it began at approximately 3am one night in May and definitely woke me from a sound sleep. The grip on my left shoulder felt like a vice, and no, I was not having a heart attack as some of you might be currently thinking or suspecting. I said shoulder, not chest. I can excuse you for thinking so because even I desperately tried to rationalize what was occurring by any other means than accepting it for what it truly was; another epiphany. The seizing of my shoulder was only a means to gain my full attention, the words whispered into my ear was the real heart of the message. This time, unlike my previous experience 14 years earlier, I had no automatic translation to rely on. The language remained foreign to me, yet familiar. Superficially, it sounded like Hebrew, but its structure was different, many of the words not having a Hebrew equivalent. It is now almost 30 years later and I remember the words as if they were whispered to me just yesterday. “Lamah kanini, avivu ishu shultani.” I cannot forget them; I am not permitted to forget them! They are marked indelibly upon my gray matter for an eternity and I cannot erase them no matter how hard I may have tried.

So what does one do in that situation? My first assumption was perhaps the words were Arabic and since by next morning my shoulder was feeling a little stiff, I decided I would visit my good friend, Eldin Al-Fahani, the local pharmacist for some anti-inflammatories. Eldin also happened to be a Sunni Muslim from Iran, so I thought he might be able to decipher the message if it did happen to be Arabic. His first reaction was to request to see my shoulder. He was more interested in physical manifestations from my night visitor than the actual message. Primarily because he didn’t immediately recognize the language either and wanted some reassurance that I wasn’t pulling his leg. Not having the benefit of a mirror readily available, nor the ability to twist my neck to an angle that permitted viewing my shoulder, I was a bit startled when Eldin began to chatter excitedly upon examining my shoulder. Apparently, he had never seen a bruise like it before, it actually being completely ochre in colour without any of the usual purplish tinge expected from blood seeping into the damaged area. Until he handed me a mirror, I did not fully appreciate his description of it looking like a burn with the impression of four fingers and a thumb. Looking at the reflection, he was right. That is exactly what it looked like. Obviously, it was not a tight grip as I had first thought, but instead a hand that lightly rested upon my shoulder leaving this unique impression. An impression I should mention that took several weeks before it finally faded and disappeared. This only made Eldin more excited and now convinced, he made several phone calls to associates to see if they could help with the translation of the message as he now considered it definitely worth his time to investigate.

After a few discussions with his colleagues, he came back to me with an answer but he did so apprehensively. He looked troubled and I had to prod him in order to get the information I originally sought from him. He explained that one of his university friends thought the language was Aramaic, the old lingua Franca of the Middle East. His friend interpreted the message as a warning that said, “Why do you bother me? If you persist then I will hurt you.” Immediately, to a devout Sunni, that sends warning bells about evil Jinn and they become frightened by the prospect. As much as I tried to tell Eldin that Jinn don’t exist, (not something I recommend to say to a devout Muslim), and that I knew the message was not intended as a threat, he wanted nothing more to do with it. In fact, we barely spoke after that time. Personally, I knew he had to be wrong. His friend had to be wrong! What would be the point of a revelation where I’m told not to bother someone, or something, if they were the ones obviously bothering me. That would not make any sense. But without the benefit of a proper translation I could not pursue it any further. It would remain a mystery and did so for another 12 years.

Subsequent episodes occurred that year but none as dramatically or as physically significant as this first one of which I’ve described the surrounding circumstances. Unfortunately, the key to fully unlocking these other insights rested with the translation of the first and that meant all I did was carry the messages within my head for the next twelve years without appreciating or understanding why. Of these subsequent messages, all of them were delivered in the same manner of my very first experience back in 1972. They were images, but when they appear, they are automatically transformed into thoughts, which then have an immediate understanding. It is difficult to explain as this sounds extremely convoluted but it is the best I can do. There are words, but none are spoken if that makes sense. Almost as if the thoughts are transposed from whatever language they may have been and are immediately understood. Any that have had what I describe as an ‘epiphany’ will understand completely what I am describing. Those whom have not shared the experience may find it somewhat confusing but that is where faith is required to simply appreciate that these events can and do happen. One of the revelations spoke of “one that is a Jew but not of our people, he who seeks to understand the Torah but cannot find it, be there as his guide.” Initially my first thought was that this person would be from one of the many Jewish subgroups, which the Orthodox Rabbinate refuse to accept as being Jewish. Which for the most part includes 90% of the Jewish population since the Orthodox consider anyone that is not one of their own, not to be Jewish. My next thought was that would be too easy and certainly not worthy of being presented as a ‘revelation’. The meaning had to be far more occult and I would have to search much deeper. Seeking to understand the Torah but not finding it, was a definite riddle and I knew its resolution was buried in those ancient words that I needed translated. As for the last part, that was obvious. What else would my role be, if not to teach and guide as was clearly established back in 1972?

The one message that was repeated constantly throughout those months was that, “first will be last.” This particular message was one that would influence most of my fundamental beliefs because I interpreted it as saying that ‘as it was in the beginning, so will it be in the end.” I have not changed that initial interpretation, only expanded it over the past couple of decades because I realized it was far more encompassing than I originally thought. Determining exactly what constitutes the original beliefs of the Children of Israel after they have been layered with so many coats of interpretation, ratification, and dare I say modification, would require someone other than myself to undertake the task. I was left to assume that would be this mysterious entity whom was an outsider yet born Jewish.

The last of the messages that came that year was very simple and to the point, but again without the key of the original message it did not provide me with a clear understanding of its intent. Simply stated, that final message was “Shiloh Comes.” I was left to ponder whether that meant Shiloh had already arrived and was now on his way, or whether it was an event still to take place in the future. Perhaps it meant that that this Shiloh was born during 1986, or else turned of age into manhood that particular year. What if Shiloh was not a person but an actual event? Again, I knew that the original message in that unknown language was key to identifying the true meaning. I knew it was going to take time to resolve the mysteries but I never anticipated it would take as long as it did. For an explanation, I invite those following this series to read Part 3, which will follow soon. I will only say that the significance of Genesis 49:10 is far greater than any of prophets that we read regularly in the Tanach. As I mentioned, it took 12 years to find the meaning to the original message but it finally happened in the summer of 1998. Strangely enough it was with the help of a Palestinian Christian Pastor but even then, the message he obtained for me was not entirely correct. And even once I found out the actual translation, it wasn't until 2010 that I actually understood its meaning. Until then, Shalom Aleichim, the journey continues.

Avrom Aryeh-Zuk Kahana