The Torah is the Arabic name of Bible !

"He said: 'Even so: Allah (God) createth what He willeth: when He hath decreed a matter He but sayth o it 'Be,' and it is! And Allah (God) will teach him the Book and Wisdom, the Torah (Law) and the Gospel," The Qur'an (3:47-48).

That is a splendid question. Inspired can have many different meanings. Literally to inspire is to breathe in, to inhale. But it has acquired many other meaning such as to influence. John Kennedy was inspired by Thomas Jefferson. Thoreau was inspired by nature. Darwin was inspired by the many species and the obvious similarities between groups of them. Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad PBUH believed that they were inspired by God who was the One God of Abraham. Tertullian and Athanasius believed that they were inspired by a Trinity God. The real Amergin (Amhairghin) the ancient Irish poet and druid (18th Century BC) believed he was inspired by Aed Álainn, Danu, Brigit, Lugh, and Dagda of the Celtic Pantheon.

Personally I think all such mental inspiration is either self generated or "inhaled" from some great person of fame.

Here is the inspiration of the real Amegin:

Original Gaelic Version: First copies were in Ogham Script.
Amergin’s (Amhairghin’s) Invocation to Ireland in 1698 BC.

GUI DO AMHAIRGHINE (1698 BC)

Toghairm na hÉireann

Áiliu íath nÉireann
éarmach muir
mothach sliabh screatach
screatach coill citheach
citheach ab eascach
eascach loch linnmhar
linnmhar tor tiopra
tiopra túath óenach
óemach ríg Teamhrach
Teamhair tor túathach
túathach mac Mhíleadh
Míleadh long libearn
libearn ar nÉirinn
Éireann ard díglas
dícheatal ro gáeth
ro gáeth bán Bhreise
Breise bán buaigne
Bé adhbhul Ériu
Érimon ar dtús
Ir, Éber, áileas
áiliu íath nÉireann

Amhairghine Mac Miled (1698 BC)


English Version: Amergin's Invocation of Ireland

Amergin's Invocation

I invoke the land of Ireland
Much coursed be the fertile sea,
Fertile be the fruit strewn mountain,
Fruit strewn be the showery wood,
Showery be the river of waterfalls,
Of waterfalls be the lake of deep pools,
Deep pooled be the hill-top wall,
A well of tribes be the assembly,
An assembly of kings be Temair [Tara].
Temair be the hill of the tribes,
The tribes of the sons of Mil,
Of Mil of the ships, the barks!

Let the lofty bark be Ireland,
Lofty Ireland, darkly smug,
An incantation of great cunning:
The great cunning of the wives of Bres,
The wives of Bres of Buaigne:
The great lady, Ireland
Eremon hath conquered her,
I, Eber have invoked for her
I invoke the land of Ireland.

Amhairghin MacMil, 1698 BC.

Amergin the lesser

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Militant Agnostic: I don't know, and neither do you. There is no evidence of God so belief is optional.

Can anyone be "inspired," then? Maybe we all have that ability within us?

It's from the Hebrew for "law" (actually the more correct way of looking at it is to use the concept of "discipline" more than "law" as used in civil law). Obviously Hebrew and Arabic have many words that are the same or similar.

Just for the fun of it, I once played an audio tape from a Jewish singer named Ofra Haza, who sang mostly in Hebrew, and some of my Arabic students actually thought it was a dialect of Arabic or one of the other Middle Eastern languages.

Shalom,
Vern

Metis,

You said:and:
For a long time i have been under the impression that the Judaic faith was one which is rife with dogma and rules. I obviously owe all those who follow the faith a sincere apology.


It appears to be a most flexible faith, which is something to be respected, in my opinion.

Peace, Love, & Light

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The Peaceful Place: http://www.agedhippy.plus.com/

"An object is perceived, or not perceived, according as the mind is, or is not, tinged with the colour of the object. "
Patanjali - Sutra 4:17

Thanks for your response. We do have some Jewish groups that are "rife with dogma and rules" as you stated, but the vast majority of Jews are not as such. The Orthodox and chasidim ("ultra-orhtodox") comprise of only about 15% in Israel itself and the largest single branch in the States is the Reform. You've maybe heard of the statement that two Jews have three opinions on everything?

Shalom,
Vern

Yes.... i've a feeling that it was from you....

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The Peaceful Place: http://www.agedhippy.plus.com/

"An object is perceived, or not perceived, according as the mind is, or is not, tinged with the colour of the object. "
Patanjali - Sutra 4:17

There is a wonderful little story (midrash):

On that day, Rabbi Eliezer put forward all the arguments in the world, but the Sages did not accept them.

Finally, he said to them, 'If the halakha [religious law - JS] is according to me, let that carob-tree prove it.'

He pointed to a nearby carob-tree, which then moved from its place a hundred cubits, and some say, four hundred cubits. They said to him 'One cannot bring a proof from the moving of a carob-tree.'

Said Rabbi Eliezer, 'If the halakha is according to me, may that stream of water prove it.'

The stream of water then turned and flowed in the opposite direction.

They said to him, 'One cannot bring a proof from the behavior of a stream of water.'

Said Rabbi Eliezer, 'If the halakha is according to me, may the walls of the House of Study prove it.'

The walls of the House of Study began to bend inward. Rabbi Joshua then rose up and rebuked the walls of the House of Study, 'If the students of the Wise argue with one another in halakha,' he said, 'what right have you to interfere?'

In honor of Rabbi Joshua, the walls ceased to bend inward; but in honor of Rabbi Eliezer, they did not straighten up, and they remain bent to this day.

Then, said Rabbi Eliezer to the Sages, 'If the halakha is according to me, may a proof come from Heaven.'

Then a heavenly voice went forth and said, 'What have you to do with Rabbi Eliezer? The halakha is according to him in every place.'

Then Rabbi Joshua rose up on his feet, and said, 'It is not in the heavens' (Deuteronomy 30:12).

What did he mean by quoting this? Said Rabbi Jeremiah, 'He meant that since the Torah has been given already on Mount Sinai, we do not pay attention to a heavenly voice, for You have written in Your Torah, 'Decide according to the majority' (Exodus 23:2).

Rabbi Nathan met the prophet Elijah. He asked him, 'What was the Holy One, Blessed be He, doing in that hour?'

Said Elijah, 'He was laughing and saying, 'My children have defeated me, my children have defeated me.'

By the way, Wikipedia has a fine entry on the Tanakh.

Thats very interesting. Wellcome to interfaithforums.

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When a man sleeps in his bed, his soul leaves him to soar above, each soul according to its own way.......
The Zohar