Biggest Family Feud Ever Recorded Affecting Entire World

Nadene Goldfoot

                                                

Abraham and his niece who he married, Sarah,  had a son named Isaac. Abraham and Sarah were living in Beersheba in the land of Canaan when Isaac was born. 

The biblical account states that Abraham settled in Beersheba after returning from the land of the Philistines, and it was there that Isaac was born to him and Sarah. The Torah was hand-written for centuries, copied so carefully that with one error the papyrus or  paper was thrown away, destroyed and re-started.  AI says:  The Torah was not "published" in a single event, but was compiled over centuries, with the final version believed to have been completed around the Babylonian exile (c. 539 BCE). The oldest surviving complete Torah scroll dates to the 11th or 12th century. 

Isaac was almost sacrificed by his father as according to the custom of the day, but, as the story goes, G-d intervened this time with this family who did this on Mt. Moriah.  Abraham was unique as people went because he then saw that such a custom was no good and he started to believe that there was only one (1) G-d in the world and not many as those around him believed.  He then took his family and moved.                                  

Now Isaac had a half brother named Ishmael. Again, Ishmael happened to be Abraham's 1st son by another woman, Sarah's handmaid, Hagar, That is said that he went through the marriage ritual with her.  This sounds like a soap, and is as complicated as today's series.  Ishmael was about 13 years old when Isaac was born, and was jealous of him.  Ishmael didn't treat the new baby kindly, then or later, and it got so bad that Sarah  told Abraham that they had to leave, and they did.               

    Hagar and Ishmael lived in the town of Paran in Negev, land Israelites had gone through after leaving Mt. Sinai.  I hope it had some oasis in it at that time;  pretty sad looking now.  

 They lived in Paran.  However, when Abraham died, Ishmael joined his brother Isaac in burying him.  The Wilderness of Paran was a large desert region in biblical times located in the central Sinai Peninsula, between the Sinai desert and Palestine, and west of the Arabah valley. It's shown on Bible maps in the area of modern-day Egypt and Israel. The region was significant as the desert where Ishmael lived and later as a stop during the Israelites' exodus from Egypt. 

Ishmael had a daughter who married  Esau.  It is this man, Ishmael, who traditionally is called the ancestor of the Arab peoples. 

Arabs are a Semitic people like the Jews, of course.  The lived on the Arabian peninsula and regions close by but after Mohammad was born (570-632) and was known for his creation of Islam by conquering the greater part of the "civilized" world.  

What are Semites?  We both come from SHEM, one of the 3 sons of Noah.  Abraham came from this line.  So do we.  We speak languages similar to Hebrew, so we have some similar words in Arabic and Hebrew, enough to show we have a connection!    

 
       Twins were born in the family of Issac and Rebekah.  They were named  Jacob and  Esau.  This was recorded by Moses who was born in 1391BCE and died in 1271BCE and wrote this after he was 80 years old, so that must have been about 1310 BCE while on the Exodus.  He had a chance to speak to all the elders of each tribe then, and take down all the events of his people.  Eventually this was all placed in 5 books that start off our Torah, or Old Testament as many others call it, called THE FIVE BOOKS OF MOSES.

Now Issac was fond of  his 1st born, Esau, but Rebekah liked Isaac much more, and helped him receive Isaac's blessing, which deprived Esau and many things.  They parted, when Esau was ready to kill Issac causing him to flee to the city of Haran.  But he returned to his family 20 some years later and tried to make up with Esau, but it didn't work. Jacob went through some tests of G-d, and his name changes to Israel.  The story is written to symbolize back then the relationship between the 2 nations, and how they developed this lifelong hostility.                          

Moses was literate. This took place 3,335 years ago.   His history was of being a Prince of Egypt son of a daughter of the Pharaoh (unnamed) who was educated along with the other princes of Egypt in reading and writing, and evidently geography as well.  He also learned what a prince must know about an army.     

This sounds impossible, doesn't it, but scientist say that we, homo sapiens (mankind) , have been around for the past 200,000 to 300,000 years, so Isaac's family were quite the modern one for his day.  

Think of Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims.  The  USA was created in 1776; 249 years ago and they looked and were quite different from  us today in several ways.  249 years ago was a long time ago. 

This split between Jews and Arabs has been going on ever since.  Yet they were said to be related to each other.

Scientists tell us that the men are from the same branch. 

The Abrahamic Accords are trying to bring all of them together.  

Please send this onto any Hamas member you know.  

 The most common Y-chromosome haplogroup among Arabs is Haplogroup J1, which is particularly dominant in the Arabian Peninsula and its subclades are widespread in other Arab populations. Other haplogroups, such as J2, are also common, especially among Arabs from the Levant. 

The most common Jewish Y haplogroups are Haplogroup J (including J1 and J2) and Haplogroup R (particularly R1b and R1a). Haplogroup J is prevalent in the Middle East, while R is common in Europe, suggesting both Middle Eastern origins and a European component in Jewish populations. The specific frequency of each haplogroup can vary between different Jewish communities, such as Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews.                                   

Women have mt haplogroup and are harder to follow.  The maternal gene pool of Arab populations is diverse and varies by region due to different migration patterns and historical gene flows. The common mitochondrial (mtDNA) haplogroups among Arab females include a diverse mix of West Eurasian and African lineages, with R0a (specifically pre-HV1/R0a1) being the most prevalent in the Arabian Peninsula, followed by various subclades of J, H, and U.

• R0a (pre-HV1/R0a1): This is the most frequent and diverse haplogroup found in Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Peninsula, accounting for a substantial percentage of maternal lineages (e.g., 18% in one Saudi study). Its presence predates the Neolithic period in the region. In summary, no single mtDNA haplogroup defines all Arab women due to a complex genetic history involving ancient migrations and continuous gene flow. Instead, several haplogroups of West Eurasian and African origin are commonly found, with R0a often being the most prominent in the Arabian core region. 
• Jewish women tell a different history.  The most common mitochondrial (mt) haplogroup for Jewish females is Haplogroup K, particularly within the Ashkenazi Jewish population. About 33% of Ashkenazi Jews belong to Haplogroup K, with specific subclades like K1a1b1a and K1a9 being especially common, representing a significant portion of this group. 12 most prevalent mtDNA haplogroups in Ashkenazi Jews, i.e., K1, K2, U (non-K), H, V, J1, J2, T, N1b, I, X, W
• Update: 11/7/25 at 5:09am
• Resource:
• https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2386827/
• https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1810519/#:~:text=A%20study%20of%20115%20Yemeni,based%20on%20255%20HVSI%20sequences.

 

 

 

  

Why Many Jews Don't Eat Shellfish

Nadene Goldfoot                                               

                               Crabs are bottom feeders that eat a wide variety of things, primarily as omnivores that consume both plant and animal matter. Their diet includes detritus, algae, and vegetation, as well as animal-based foods like worms, mollusks, crustaceans, other crabs, and carrion.  the decaying flesh of dead animals; even human bodies.

                          Chef Vicky Bisht's Post of Poster

Crab salad?  Lobster Tail?  Oysters on the half-shell,  Shrimp of all sizes?  No thank you.  It isn't a kosher fish.  If a Jewish person, Orthodox or Conservative, is keeping kosher-that is following the laws of Kashrut, he or she does not eat shellfish or any other non-kosher fish.  Read on.  

According to kashrut, the Jewish dietary laws, shellfish is not kosher because it lacks fins and scales. This prohibition is found in the Torah and is considered a divine commandment, for which no additional reason is required by observant Jews. The specific criteria for which aquatic life is permitted are detailed in Leviticus 11:9–12 and Deuteronomy 14:9–10. 

• Leviticus 11:9-10: "These you may eat, of all that are in the waters: Everything in the waters that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat. But anything in the seas or the rivers that has no fins and scales, of the swarming creatures of the waters and of the living creatures that are in the waters, is an abomination to you".
• Application: Shellfish such as crabs, shrimp, oysters, and lobsters do not have fins and scales, so they are not kosher. Other non-kosher aquatic creatures, like whales and dolphins, are also excluded.
  
                           ocean catfish
•                                              
  
                                Eels
• People worldwide eat eels, but they must be cooked because their blood contains a toxin that is poisonous when raw. Eel is prepared in many ways, including grilling, smoking, stewing, and frying, and is a staple in various cuisines, but never in Jewish ones.  
•  Fish with fins but no scales are called scaly or scaleless fish, and include groups like catfish (very popular in the southern USA), and eels, so popular among many other peoples;  sturgeons ( For meat and caviar: Some Gentiles consume sturgeon for its meat and eggs (caviar), sharks, and some types of skates and chimaeras. Instead of scales, they have evolved other forms of protection, such as bony plates, tough skin, or a slimy coating.  Catfish is popular in the South due to its historical abundance, cultural significance, and role in Soul Food traditions. It became a staple as an affordable protein, and large-scale farming in states like Mississippi and Alabama, which produce the majority of US farm-raised catfish, further cemented its place in Southern cuisine. A common preparation is deep-frying the fillets after coating them in cornmeal

Just as many of us have asked, "Why?" Why do we follow such a law?  

• Divine decree: The primary and most direct reason given within Orthodox Judaism is simply that God commanded it in the Torah. From this perspective, the law is a chok, a divine statute without a knowable reason, and is a way for Jews to show their discipline and connection to the divine.
• Health and safety: Some suggest that the dietary laws may have originated from health and safety concerns. In ancient times, shellfish were more likely to cause illness if not properly prepared, and many varieties are bottom-feeders that consume waste. This theory holds some weight for certain food laws, but it is not a complete explanation for kashrut as a whole.
• Symbolic distinction: Another interpretation suggests that the laws were intended to set the Israelites apart from neighboring cultures. Prohibiting certain animals that were common staples for other coastal peoples, like the Philistines and Canaanites, helped establish a unique identity for the Israelites.
• Order and classification: The criteria of "fins and scales" can also be seen as an attempt to create order within the aquatic world. The rules categorize animals based on consistent physical attributes, or phylums and creatures that don't neatly fit the categories for kosher animals are excluded. This contrasts with invertebrates like shellfish, which do not conform to the model of a kosher fish. 
• Remember your high school biology class and learning about thephylums animals are listed under?  Isn't it amazing that this ispretty much what Moses was following under G-d's command-ment?     Do we eat any Cartilaginous fishes?   
• Yes, we do, if we are not Jewish.  Yes, many species of cartilaginous fish, including various sharks, skates, and rays, are eaten by humans around the world. They are consumed in diverse ways, such as dried, smoked, or salted, and are a part of traditional diets in many cultures, particularly in Asia and parts of Africa and South America.                              

  Cartilaginous fishes Temporal range: 439–0 Ma  PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Early Silurian (Aeronian) - Present
  Example of cartilaginous fishes: Elasmobranchii at the top of the image and Holocephali at the bottom of the image.
  Scientific classification
  Kingdom:	Animalia
  Phylum:	Chordata
  Subphylum:	Vertebrata
  Infraphylum:	Gnathostomata
  Clade:	Eugnathostomata
  Class:	Chondrichthyes Huxley, 1880

  Crabs are a very popular cuisine for many people, but not Jewish ones that keep kosher to the best of their ability.    Crabs generally have five pairs of legs=10 legs, and they have "pincers" or "claws" on the ends of the frontmost pair,

• Crab Temporal range: Early Jurassic–Present  PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
  Top row, left to right: Dromia personata (Dromiidae), Dungeness crab (Cancridae), Tasmanian giant crab (Menippidae); Middle row: Corystes cassivelaunus (Corystidae), Liocarcinus vernalis (Portunidae), Carpilius maculatus (Carpiliidae); Bottom row: Gecarcinus quadratus (Gecarcinidae), Grapsus grapsus (Grapsidae), Ocypode ceratophthalmus (Ocypodidae).
  Scientific classification
  Kingdom:	Animalia
  Phylum:	Arthropoda
  Class:	Malacostraca
  Order:	Decapoda
  Suborder:	Pleocyemata
  Clade:	Reptantia
  Infraorder:	Brachyura Linnaeus, 1758
  Sections and subsections[1]
  Dromiacea Raninoida Cyclodorippoida Eubrachyura Heterotremata Thoracotremata