We have been hitting upon what the Churches have taken up as far as pagan teachings so it is only right that we share what the Jewish people of today have incorporated into their religious rituals have many flaws.

One that is especially bothersome is that what Jeremiah warned the Children of Israel not to do has crept into their Sabbath worship....The Queen of Heaven I have taken only this portion here because it is quite a long article but you can click into link at the bottom and get the complete article, which is a real eye opener. Gerlinda

For Fair Use Discussion and Educational Purposes
Sabbath Queen Being Worshiped by the Jews

Shabbat Hamalka

By Ilil Arbel, Ph.D.
Among the goddesses representing either the female side of Yahweh or his consorts, such as Asherah, Shekhina, Anath, and Lilith, Shabbat Hamalka has a unique personality and origin. Her myth strongly influenced Jewish thought, and contributed to the strength of home and family that had improved the odds for physical and spiritual Jewish survival.

The name means Queen of the Sabbath, and the entity is the personification of the Jewish day of rest, Saturday. She still possesses a prominent position in Judaic mythology. For example, Israeli children, even in completely nonreligious surroundings, still sing songs to her every Friday afternoon (in Hebrew "Erev Shabatt" meaning the Sabbath Eve) before the Queen "descends" from Heaven to grace the world for twenty-four hours. When the Jews started their return to Palestine, long before the state of Israel was declared, new mythology had to be created or recreated. Shabbat Hamalka, prominent and romantic, was one of the first candidates. The great National Poet Chaim Nachman Bialik, who was an expert on folklore and mythology, had a lot to do with preserving the image of the Queen in the renewed home of the Jewish People. He invented "Oneg Shabbat," meaning "Sabbath Joy," and combined the customs of group study, festive dinner, lectures, and singing of both old and new songs. The custom spread to the United States and is still observed by many.

Her origin is extremely ancient, and as the centuries rolled, Shabbat Hamalka acquired magical qualities, combining the character of Queen, Bride, and Goddess. In addition, she took on strong erotic/romantic and cosmic/spiritual significance.

The usual Judaic connections to Akkadian myths exist in her image, because the word Shabbat resembles the name of the Akkadian feast of the full moon, Shabbatu. The romantic character of the two holidays also had much in common. For example, marital intercourse on Friday night was considered a sacred duty, exactly like the sacred sexual activity during Shabbatu. However, the Akkadians never had a weekly day of rest - the idea seems to start in the second chapter of Genesis.

In the thundering, dramatic first chapter of Genesis, God spends six days engaged in the creation of the world. In chapter 2, the story continues in a gentler fashion: "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made." (King James Version)...

Some Judaic ancient sects put a different interpretation on the Sabbath, but for traditional Judaism, it was a day of glowing joy from the very first. The general prohibition to work, mentioned in the Bible, was expanded in the Talmud, which listed all the forbidden activities with its usual thoroughness. It solidified the strong attachment between the Jews and the Sabbath by emphasizing that God forgave sinful, even wicked individuals if at least they loved and honored his Day of Rest.

It described the need for beauty and order in the home on the Eve of the Sabbath in almost poetic terms -- so different from the charmingly prosaic, matter-of-fact attitude the Talmud usually adopts. Most important, one passage in the Talmudic literature (describing events in the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE) already shows the early personification of Shabbat Hamalka: "Rabbi Hanina used to wrap himself in festive clothes towards evening on Friday and say: 'Come, let us go to receive Shabbat the Queen.' Rabbi Yannai used to put on festive clothes on the eve of the Sabbath and say: 'Come, O bride, come, O bride!' "

In a Midrashic passage the image develops: "Rabbi Shimeon Ben Yohai said: The Sabbath said before God: 'Master of the worlds! Each day has its mate, but I have none! Why?' The Holy One, Blessed be He, answered her: 'The Community of Israel is your mate.' And when Israel stood before Mount Sinai, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: 'Remember what I told the Sabbath: 'The Community of Israel is your mate.' Therefore, remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy."

Up to this point, she already embodied both Bride and Queen. The Cabbalists, however, developed the myth to its full spiritual and romantic capacity and infused it with mystical, cosmic meaning...

During this time, the gender of the Sabbath was debated, based on two verbs used in two versions of the Fourth Commandment. In Exodus, the Commandment declares "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." In Deuteronomy, the Commandment declares "Observe (or Keep, in some versions) the Sabbath day to keep it holy." The Zohar equates "Observe" with the female side of the Sabbath, and "Remember" with the male side, thus giving the Sabbath both genders. This is not as paradoxical as it sounds, if one compares it to the description of Shekhina, who is at the same time the female aspect of Yahweh Himself -- and his wife. Duplicate divine personas happen often in Judaism, because it combines a strong patriarchal outlook with an equally powerful presence of the Goddess. So the male side of the Sabbath came to be associated with "Yesod," the male principle of God in the Kabbalah, and the female side associated with Shekhina, who is Queen, representative of the Community of Israel, and Bride of God. This allowed Shabbat Hamalka to become the Bride of Yesod, or simply put, the Bride of God. It also intensified the distinctiveness of a glorious female entity, ready to be worshiped.

She must be received in style. A paragraph in the Zohar starts: "One must prepare a comfortable seat with several cushions and embroidered covers, from all that is found in the house, like one who prepares a canopy for a bride. For the Sabbath is a queen and a bride. This is why the masters of the Mishna used to go out on the eve of Sabbath to receive her on the road, and used to say: 'Come, O bride, come, O bride!' And one must sing and rejoice at the table in her honor ... one must receive the Lady with many lighted candles, many enjoyments, beautiful clothes, and a house embellished with many fine appointments ..."

On Friday night, all the men, representing Yesod, went to receive the Bride in the open fields around town. The poetry they recited for the ritualistic greeting included many allusions to the "Sacred Apple Orchard," a mystical place where God and his consort Shekhina celebrated their union and conceived the Souls of the Just. The connection to Ashera, who was always worshiped in glades and groves, is obvious.

Each man returned home to be received by his wife, who represented the Shekhina/Shabbat. All other females of the household were also honored on Friday evening. The husband picked up branches of myrtle, the symbol of marriage which was always prepared for weddings as well. He then recited Chapter 31, Verses 10-31 of the Book of Proverbs, describing the "Woman of Valor," and relating the verse mystically to both his wife and Shabbat Hamalka, thus merging their images for the evening in a cosmic/spiritual context. The ritual and festive meal continued well into the night, leading to the hour of midnight, when it was considered a spiritual duty to retire and have a sacred sexual union between husband and wife. Midnight was chosen because according to Kabbalistic tradition, this was the exact time when the highest aspects of the male and the female sides of the godhead performed their own union...

At the end of the day, the men assembled again, usually at the rabbi's house, for the "Melaveh Malka" ritual, meaning "Farewell to the Queen." The ceremony included singing songs in her honor, eating and drinking, and a lecture or discussion. The Queen then departed and the work week, full of hardship and sometimes suffering, was about to begin again. The entire community, however, was always keenly aware that Shabbat Hamalka would never be away from them for more than six days.
[Source: http://www.pantheon.org/articles/s/shabbat_hamalka.html)





Sabbath Queen Being Worshiped by the Jews

Does it surprise you that the Jews today worship the goddess just as they did in the Old Testament when they embraced the idolatrous worship of Asherah? It should not. The Roman Catholics give profound attention to “the Queen of Heaven” under the guise of venerating Mary, the mother of Christ. Why should not the Jews worship this same goddess under a different guise, pretending that she is a manifestation of the female attributes of Yahweh? Even the Protestant Christians give unwitting homage to the Queen of Heaven as they annually account Easter as their most holy day. Easter is an Anglicization of the name Ishtar which itself is a transliteration of the Akkadian/Babylonian/Chaldean name of the goddess which the Bible identifies as Astarte and Ashtoreth.

Judges 2:11-13
The People of Israel did evil in God's sight: they served Baal-gods; they deserted God, the God of their parents who had led them out of Egypt; they took up with other gods, gods of the peoples around them. They actually worshiped them! And oh, how they angered God as they worshiped god Baal and goddess Astarte!
[THE MESSAGE Bible]

I Kings 11:5-6
For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and after Milcom the detestable idol of the Ammonites. And Solomon did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and did not follow Yahweh fully, as David his father had done.

Jeremiah 7:18
“The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out libations to other gods in order to spite Me.”

Present on the table, or altar where the Sabbath candles are located, one will also find these same symbols mentioned by Jeremiah. There is the cup of wine corresponding to the libations offered to the Queen of Heaven, and there is the Challah bread which accords with the dough which was kneaded and baked into cakes for the queen of heaven.

http://parablesblog.blogspot.com/2015/03/attractive-deception-part-9.html

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For Fair Use Discussion and Educational Purposes

Let this article speak to you about the pagan goddess that is known as the Queen of Heaven and how she has been a part of all cultures down through the ages. Now, where do you suppose this came from?

Is this the Lady that is part of Baphomet who has both sexes? When you worship her, you worship him. Yes, you do! He is really ugly with a Goat's head.

But, she is made to look so beautiful, caring, the doting mother of her son and of course, she becomes your mother, if you let her. Read your Bibles, please and stop believing the tales that have made their way into the lives of believers who ought to know better.

Jeremiah 10 is a must read to learn how deeply The Queen of Heaven was entrenched in the lives of the Children of Israel and it shouldn't be surprising that she continues to be invited into the Sabbath meal. The traditions are so hard to give up.

Yes, the Catholics, Protestants, Islam, Hindu, etc. all love this Madonna Worship by partaking in pagan traditions in her honor.

Commandment #1

I am The Lord Thy God, you shall have no other gods before me.

He promised to come down as a man to deliver his creation from the clutches of the Evil One and he did when He came as the visible One, Yeshua, the Christ. His Spirit was poured out on Pentecost to help us in our walk and into the Truth of all things.

The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob/Israel is One God not three with a Mother.

I pray that this idol worship gets thrown out once and for all...everywhere.

Gerlinda