#but rather an attempt a rebirthing Constantinople

[chiss-ticism]

you have a new tzim you say? 👀👀

Oh, yeah I do! She's an STC for a Gehenna / Cult campaign I'm throwing together for my players now that we're finished with our first go-round of Chicago By Night. Funnily enough, and I really need to get back to writing that family tree, her ghoul is one of Blondie's nieces. Here's the breakdown: :)

BASIC INFORMATION:

NAME: Fatima Rai

FEELS STRONGLY ABOUT (convictions): - Not harming innocent people. - The guilty should be made to suffer.

In life she would've had golden brown skin, but it's lost a bit of its luster in the years since. She has ebony black hair that's parted in the middle and swept over her shoulders. It stops just at her shoulders.

Tall and lanky, notably so. She stands at 6'2'' and has an unnerving stillness to her movements. Rarely blinks.

ALLEGED HISTORY & CURRENT ROLE AMIDST THE CULT:

While not particularly keen to share details of her Pre-Embrace life, Fatima Rai came to the compound five years prior to the start of the campaign (Chiss Note: that would be 1995) - offering her exceptional medical services in exchange for Asylum from a wider world she doesn't think herself properly equipped to be apart of. She, albeit hesitantly, willingly submitted herself to both the Blood Bond and the background checks without much in the way of complaint. In terms of prior Sect affiliation, she claims that both her and her Sire were Autarkis - content to live on the outside of any political squabbles that may've found their way into their domain so long as their property wasn't included in it. Or, well, her Sire was. To them, she was just another portion of their admittedly sizable horde - a tool to be used in their night-to-night practices. The irony of now bending the knee to another master is not lost on her, though as is the nature of the Blood Bond, she doesn't seem to mind all that much - so long as she and Becky are treated equitably. Using skills that she picked up as a carry-over from her time as a mortal, she tended to the other servants the best way she knew how to; patching them up when and where she could. Her skills with a scalpel also, notably, translated quite well into the time she spent indulging in the varied uses of Vicissitude and Fleshcrafting. As it currently stands, Fatima is seemingly loyal to the cause - even if she is a bit awkward in her stature and bedside manner. Many of the cult's other members were unnerved by her cold and mildly-off putting mannerisms, an adage that still holds true for new recruits, but over time they came to realize that she has her quirks just like everyone else and seemingly has their best interests at heart. Her Ghoul, 17-year-old Becky Masterson, is notably much more chipper than she is - handling the more human side of their joint medical operation. Fatima, notably, also prefers to speak using American Sign Language when she can help it, keeping Becky at her side always to act as a translator for anyone that needs it and so that she can make sure no harm comes to a single follicle on her Ghoul's head.

DISCIPLINES:

Blood Sorcery (from Bagger) A Taste For Blood - (By tasting a drop of blood, the user can discern certain basic traits of the one to whom it belongs.)

Protean Vicissitude - (Rare outside clan Tzimisce, this power allows the vampire to demand obedience of their own flesh. Skin, muscles, and even bone can be sculpted or warped out of shape, the end result sometimes unnervingly beautiful but just as often monstrous. Skilled users can craft bizarre characteristics or reshape their entire bodies, though larger transformations exact a heavy toll on their physique. Kindred who use Vicissitude create everything from useful body tools to... expressive... ornamentation) Fleshcrafting - (Extending their mastery over flesh, the vampire can inflict their ministrations on the bodies of others. The power is rightly feared, as many of its users have a reputation for inhuman torture, though some employ it to great effect to enhance and adapt their servants and allies.) Horrid Form (never witnessed by the cult's leaders, merely warned about after being Blood Bonded.) - ("With a mastery of the body so complete that it surpasses natural limitations, the vampire can take on a truly monstrous form, complete with vicious claws, protruding fangs, ridged features, and corded muscles. Although its exact traits can vary between occasions, the form often has an individual, specific appearance that manifests every time this power is used, a vision of the user's Beast made flesh. Some look like hellishly malformed animals, some look demonic or atavistic, and some defy any sense of worldly familiarity. Many incorporate the traits of other vampires in nature, such as leeches, bats, ticks, and mosquitoes, magnified to grotesque proportions.")

ADVANTAGES AND FLAWS

Linguistics: English, Hindi, American Sign Language.

She, for the most part, doesn't look as if she could hurt a fly. You know better. (Ingenue)

Retainer (Ghoul, Becky.)

Constantinople (The Trinity) ("Outside the Ashirra, vampire tradition refers to Istanbul as "Constantinople." You are one of the few who know why. Constantinople represented everything possible in a city where vampires shared idea and discussed philosophy without falling to carnage.")

-

Weak-willed (••) ("You struggle to assert your own personality when confronted with the will of another. You may not necessarily be submissive; perhaps you feel more confident when following another person's lead.")

Enemy (••) (From Bagger) ("...Tight nit group of Weak Mortals... Kids who solve mysteries...")

Transparent (•) ("For whatever reason, you aren't a good liar, and it shows.")

ATTRIBUTES AND SKILLS

Intelligence (••••)

Strength (•••)

Stamina (•••)

Resolve (•••)

-

Medicine (••••)

(S: First Aid) Academics (•••)

(S: Historical applications of medicine)

Science (•••) (S: Genetics)

[reb-shlomo-blog]

Micah Five: Waiting For the Messiah

Micah Five: Waiting For the Messiah

By Reb Shlomo Phillips © 10.23.2013 (most recent update August 07, 2017)

There are certain verses in the Tanach that are sometimes inaccurately cited as evidence that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah. In this study we will consider one of these texts. Identifying the Messiah is very important. Recognizing false Messiahs can be just as important because millions have been led astray. Even such luminaries as Rabbi Akiva (born in Caesarea, Israel in 50 CE, died: 137 AD in Caesarea Maritima, Israel) have been fooled into accepting false claimants. In his case, Rabbi Akiva followed the failed Messiah Simon Bar Kokhba (died 135 CE) in what is known as the Bar Kokhba revolt against the Roman Empire in 132 CE. Bar Kokhba came MUCH closer to fulfilling the prophetic requirements than Yeshua/Jesus by establishing an independent Jewish state which he ruled for three years as Nasi ("Prince"). Israel was conquered by the Romans in 135 following a two and half-year war. The Bar Kokhba revolt marked a time of high hopes followed by violent despair. The Jews had high expectations of a Torah-based kingdom and a third Beit HaMikdash (Hebrew: "House of the Holy" or Holy Temple), but in the end they were persecuted and once again sold into slavery. The Jews did not yet merit HaMashiach ben David and his theocratic rule. The final battle of Bethar saw their complete destruction.

Sabbatai Zevi (August 1, 1626 – circa September 17, 1676) was another would be Messiah. He was a famous Kabbalist who was active throughout the Ottoman Empire for a time. He too came much closer than Yeshua/Jesus to wearing the Messianic crown with his Sabbatean movement. However in February of 1666 CE he arrived in Constantinople and was imprisoned under the Islamic blasphemy laws. Given the choice between life as a Muslim and execution by ordeal as a Jew, Sabbatai Zevi chose Islam and became a heretic.

To date everyone who has reached for the Messianic crown has failed, including the tzadikim Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson (the left) and the Nanach Rebbe, Rabbi Israel "Saba." Most of the claimants died as honorable Jews, some became heretics like Sabbatai Zevi, but in all cases they failed to meet the prophetic requirements. In Yeshua's case, he failed and was executed by the Romans for treason. After his death his talmidim (students) created a (Rabbinically rejected) reform sect of Judaism which, within a hundred years, became unquestionably heretical and, within another hundred years, became a completely separate religion and the biggest enemy of the Jewish people in history. Since the rebirth of Israel in 1948 many Christians have changed their attitudes and now support the Jewish people and our secular country Baruch HaShem! Sadly however many merely use this as a pretext as they seek to genocide Yiddishkeit through assimilation, replacement theology, and conversion. This fact brings us back to our current consideration.

Needless to say, Jews are very wary of Messianic claimants History has taught us well, and yet still today there are claimants accepted by some Jews as the Messiah despite the requirements established by our holy prophets.

HaShem has given us plenty of evidence to identify the Messiah. All who have died have failed, however charismatic living claimants can still be appealing due to our strong desire for his reign. Nonetheless, Messiah has not yet come.

         But he will!

There is ongoing debate on this section of Micah among the scholars, both Jewish and Christian.

First, remember that Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah, living during the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah during the Assyrian attack on Jerusalem. Klal Israel was under siege and like Isaiah, Micah was addressing their imminent concerns. Unless the text says otherwise (which it does not) the initial contextual assumption should be that the prophet was writing to his fellow Jews alive at that time:

Micah 4:13 Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion, for I will make your horn iron, and I will make your hooves copper; and you shall crush many nations, and you shall devote their plunder to the Lord, and their wealth to the Lord of all the earth. 4:14 Now you shall gather yourself in troops, O daughter of troops; he has laid siege to us. With a rod they strike the judges of Israel on the cheek.

The natural context of this section therefore is not addressing the coming of THE Messiah (HaMashiach ben David), nor the End of Days, but rather concerns a messiah who will rescue the Jews under discussion. Likely this mashiach (anointed one) was Cyrus the Great who is called "messiah" in Scripture and who later freed the enslaved Jews (i.e. the Southern Kingdom of Judah) from Babylon, see Ezra 5:13. This understanding is the clear meaning of this prophecy when read in its entirety. Rashi supports this understanding:

Now you shall gather yourself in troops, O daughter of troops: Now, at the time of its [Israel’s] evil decree concerning the iniquity, which has increased, you shall gather yourself in troops, O daughter of troops; O daughter of the Chaldeans [Babylonians], gather troops, for now you shall succeed with the troop that laid siege upon us.

Micah 1:1 The word of the Lord that came to Micah the Morashtite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, [and] Hezekiah, the kings of Judah, which he prophesied concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

Micah 5:1 And you, Bethlehem Ephrathah - you should have been the lowest of the clans of Judah - from you [he] shall emerge for Me, to be a ruler over Israel; and his origin is from of old, from days of yore.

In this case the Jews did not defeat their enemies directly. There are important truths to be learned here that we wont delve into now, however understand that HaShem used the might of Babylon and then had the Persian ruler Cyrus free His people and return them to the Land for His Purposes (Ezra 5:13). ALL things are in the Hands of HaShem and ALL things work together for our ultimate redemption as Rebbe Nachman explains so wonderfully.

...then the Messiah will come, because the redemption is mainly dependent upon this [i.e. emuna], as the verse says, "Come, look from the top of amanah/emunah/faith" (Rebbe Nachman, Likutey Moharan 1.7.1).

Isaiah 45:1 So said the Lord to His anointed one, to Cyrus, whose right hand I held, to flatten nations before him, and the loins of kings I will loosen, to open portals before him, and gates shall not be closed.

to His anointed one: Every title of greatness is called anointing. Compare Numbers 18:8. "To you I have given them for greatness (לְמָשְׁחָה)." Our Sages, however, said: To the King Messiah, the Holy One, blessed be He, says, "I complain to you about Cyrus..." as it is stated in Tractate Megillah 12a.

In his comments Rashi reminds us that certain things will have to happen to signify the coming of HaMashiach (i.e. THE Messiah). IF these verses are interpreted as talking about the Messiah, all of the other requirements must still be met for his arrival. These include:

Isaiah 2, 11, 42; 59:20

Jeremiah 23, 30, 33; 48:47; 49:39

Ezekiel 38:16

Hosea 3:4-3:5

Micah 4

Zephaniah 3:9

Zechariah 14:9

Daniel 10:14 See my What the Messiah Must Accomplish study for more specific requirements.

However he notes on this verse:

"...from you [Klal Israel] shall emerge for Me": the Messiah, son of David, and so Scripture says (Psalm 118:22): "The stone the builders had rejected became a cornerstone."

Rashi's comments on verse 2 make it clear that the Messiah has not yet come:

Therefore, He shall deliver them until the time a woman in confinement gives birth: He shall deliver them [the people of Israel] into the hands of their enemies until the coming of the time that Zion has felt the pangs of labor and borne her children; Zion, which is now seized by the pangs of labor [as Micah is writing], is now called a woman in confinement. [i.e., now the labor pains will cease and the redemption will come about.] But our Sages state that from here we deduce that the son of David will not come until the wicked kingdom spreads over the entire world for nine months (Yoma 10b, Sanh. 98b). But, according to its simple meaning, this is the structure as I explained.

Rashi continues:

... and the rest of his brothers: The brothers of the King Messiah; i. e., the rest of the tribe of Judah. ... shall return upon the children of Israel: Judah and Benjamin shall join the other tribes and become one kingdom, and they shall no longer be divided into two kingdoms.

Verse 3 tells us that HaMashiach (if this is who is being discussed here as Rashi believes):

...shall stand and lead with the might of the Lord, with the pride of the Lord, his God: and they [the ten Houses restored and reunited] shall return, for now he shall become great to the ends of the earth.

Prior to being exiled from their homes in 70 - 73 CE about half of the Jews were still living in Babylon (they did not return to Israel once they were freed even as nearly half of today's Jews remain in the United States). Jesus made no attempt to lead these Jews back to Israel as required by the prophecies. By no twisting of scripture can it be shown that Jesus fulfilled this essential part of the prophecy. Whoever is being referenced in verse 1 can not be Jesus for this reason and Rashi would certainly agree with this.

Rashi further explains:

and lead: And lead Israel and they shall return: They shall return now from the exiles [under this man]. for then he shall become great: i.e., [he will be] their king. until the ends of the earth: And they shall bring tribute to him [i.e. to the Messiah] with horses and chariots.

If Micah 5:1 is addressing the Messiah therefore and not Klal Israel collectively, as Rashi believes, based on this text and objective evidence, the reference can not possibly be to 'the man from the Galil' because he failed to meet Micah's description. Whoever is being referenced in these verses, whether HaMashiach or Israel collective, the requirements by which HaMashiach will be recognized remain unfulfilled. So, while there is some debate among the Jewish sages as to whether this verse is talking about the Messiah or not, what is abundantly clear is that thus far no one has fulfilled the role of HaMashiach ben David (nor that of Mashiach ben Yosef).