Zion Surrounded by Secret Combinations

(A Tale of Two Cities)

Primary Content (From 1 Sefer Moses, the Book of Beginnings):

• Chapter 8 – Secret Combinations
• Chapter 9 – Passing Down

Additional Reading (Comparison Texts):

• Genesis 6-7 from the Inspired Version of the Bible
• Zenos – Chapters 4-5 (From the Plates of Brass)
• Book of Melchizedek – Chapter 2:1-27 (from Plates of Brass) 
• 1st Book of Pah Nahtahn 7:53-155 (from the Ayahtkuhyaht Nemenhah)

Objectives:

• Compare and Contrast: Zion (City of Enoch) vs Pre-Babylon (City of Lamach)

Kabbalistic Concepts:

• Shekinah
• Celestial Zion, The Bosom of the Father

Engage:

Engage the Concepts through Comparison

We studied these two chapters from 1 Moses together because they give us the story of two different ways to organize people into cities.  The City of Cain/Lamech, and the City of Enoch.  Consider the two extremes.  What principles are they each built upon, how are they similar, how are they different? 

Engage the Spirit through Contemplation

The concept of Shekinah was introduced in the reading from the last discussion, but it has significantly more information about it in this discussion’s reading.  Especially the reading from Zenos.   Shekinah is a hard concept to put into a box and say “this is what that is”.  It is associated with trees, mothers, cities, the presence of God, and many other things.  In this reading, it is the tree of life, and Eden, and Zion.  It is a good topic for contemplation.  Read through it, wrestle with the idea a bit, and then spend some time just thinking about it in prayerful contemplation in search of understanding what is meant when she is mentioned.

Engage the Group through Discussion

When you meet together as a group to discuss the content of these chapters, here are some ideas to help get the discussion going:

• In Zenos we read that the city of Enoch was taken up to the Bosom of the Father.  What does that mean?

• In 9:30, it mentions that they lived in a Land of Promise. What does it mean for a place to be a land of promise?  Did the generations before them not live in a promised land?