A PREFACE TO LEARNING THE ARAMAIC LANGUAGE OF JESUS
From the Office of the President of The Aramaic Bible Society, Inc. (This article did not originate with the author and I wish to acknowledge the ideas, thoughts and inspiration of Mark Tyou and Ed ben Yosef with deep appreciation. They are disciples for the truth of scriptures that can be found only in the Aramaic language of the Prophets and Jesus the Christ. Robert E. Allen, Jr., President)
A number of people have inquired and asked for a course in the Aramaic language of the Lord Jesus. We have complied by offering the original courses developed by that highly educated man of God Dr. George M. Lamsa. Born in the land of Jesus and the Prophets with their language we also have supplemented these Lamsa courses. We have added the more modern course in "Classical Aramaic" by Dr. Rocco Errico and Fr. Michael Bazzi. Now we are told that a new course is needed. We are told that a new course should be accompanied with oral readings on audiotapes! Fine. Those who are interested should begin sharing their tithing with this ministry and share it routinely without our having to ask.
In seeking financial support from the reader it should be noted that the spiral bound book "Enlightenment … from the Aramaic" now available for the Gift Offering of $25 + $3 S&H will prove to be especially useful garnering the full meaning of Jesus' words from Aramaic to English. Aramaic is a language which inherently expresses the manner in which the mind functions. It deals simply with the ideas of "sin", "evil", "Satan" and "devil" in the Christian vernacular, as mere archery terms conveying the ideas of "going astray", being "in error", or "missing the mark". The words "I saw Satan falling down" means Jesus saw light driving out darkness and His truth triumphanting over the power of evil. (See Luke 10:18, Gospel Light, Lamsa)
English and other western languages stem from Sanskrit roots which, as an objective language, makes it particularly difficult to express a subjective reality. The truths expressed in Lamsa's New Testament of 1940 and especially in the book "Enlightenment … from the Aramaic" can awaken one to the natural experience and joy of communication with a singular reality and proximity with the mind of Jesus!
But this is only a beginning. One born and raised with the Western mind-set may well spend a lifetime eradicating the Western "database of the mind". Many of us, regardless of ancestry, have been trained to essentially think like Greeks and Romans. The reading of the Tanakh (Hebrew Old Testament), the Torah (Five Books of Moses) and Lamsa's translations of the Peshitta will help one with the deprogramming process. Reading about the culture and customs of the East can also assist one who is trying to think with an Eastern mind-set. For some it may be necessary to incorporate the culture and customs of the East in their own life. Prayer, fasting, clean water and a proper diet are surely of special importance. It is not just the mind-set but indeed, the "napsha" that must be transformed, but all of these things that help in making the mind and our napsha more peaceable.
Should the reader have a serious interest in developing an Eastern mind-set we are privileged to be in the position of citing the on-going work of a diciple now 41 years of age. Trained as a lawyer, I believe his experience with the Socratic method for questioning a position will be invaluable for self-training. Such a person might well become gifted with visions of solutions to questions about life as was the Prophets, Jesus and Lamsa.
As a young boy in New York he was more inclined to reach for a donut and a soda if he wanted a snack. Now, he reaches for figs or dates, and generally drinks water or fruit juices. His body has been re-adjusting. Though he once ate meat 3-5 times a day, he has now been a vegetarian for seven years! He began to change his meat-eating habits by first learning to adhere to the Levitical health laws of the Torah (Book of Leviticus). Eventually, he adapted to a vegetarian diet; the original diet given to man in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 1:29). Once a patient with ulcers, he believes that this diet has contributed greatly to his health It also has helped him think more clearly. He keeps about 25 different herbs at hand, of which he makes teas almost every morning. He does these things so that he will learn to think and act as the Patriarchs and Prophets did; they eventually began to learn to think like the Most High. The Nazarene Messiah seemingly did this quite naturally … how?
It is not accomplished by human means alone. To do this, one ultimately needs to let his/her napsha succumb to the rukha d'koodsha (in Hebrew, "Ruach Ha Kodesh"). This is the only way a true transformation can occur. Much of what we desire of the Way of the East is already in us; a spiritual-genetic code, if you will. This is the original "database of the mind-spirit (napsha). We must learn to tap into that resource. Over the course of several thousand years, mankind has lost its way and though it may be likened to finding that venerable "yellow brick road" it is still out there. When we find it, it will take us all the way back home. It is God's will that we return and revere Him. Are you ready?
Robert E. Allen, Jr. December 15, 1998