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Support a Hebrew Pantheon
Donald Michael Kraig
Support
A few months ago I was given a copy of a letter that had been sent to this magazine. This letter was simply a personal attack on me and was filled with errors and misconceptions. I was asked at the time not to refer to the source of the letter and was given the opportunity to respond to it. I did so in my column that directly followed the letter, pointing out the errors and deceptions the anonymous author was trying to present as fact.
It was only when the issue with the letter and my reply came out that I learned that the group (which is probably the sponsor of the letter) was interested in buying advertising from us (New Moon Rising) contingent upon our printing the letter. This is nothing less than economic terrorism. They will give you money if, and only if, you publish their opinion. Are they trying to make this magazine into another mouthpiece for themselves (the group has its own newsletter)?
In a nation where the media is already controlled by a variety of forces, I firmly support such alternative media as this and other magazines and journals that exist with little or no advertising. I know the expense and problems that exist in getting such a magazine going. Although this has never been revealed before, Judy and Scot wanted to pay me to write for their magazine. From the beginning I refused to accept any payment. When they insisted, I told them to send any money to the charity of their choice. I have not made one cent from my writing in this magazine. I have done it so that I, in some small way, might help Judy and Scot, whom I know and love. I have also done this to support this magazine. I certainly hope that the group that sent in the letter attacking me will now meet their obligation and take out a nice big advertisement in this magazine. You can help by buying a copy or getting a subscription yourself.
Hebrew
Unfortunately, a section was accidentally omitted from my reply to the letter in the previous issue. I want to reply to it here for two reasons. First, I do not want anyone to think that the person who wrote the letter had so much as even one minor point correct. Second, I think it brings up an interesting subject, and I can go into greater depth on the topic here. First, this is what the person hiding behind anonymity wrote:
He [Don Kraig] gives, or tries to give a pronunciation of the Hebrew in his book [Modern Magick]. Where did he learn this so-called "Hebrew?" True, there are two main dialects of Hebrew, but is he trying to invent his own? With magical work, since hundreds of years of power have been built into the Hebrew language, one draws upon tradition for best results.
Although he implies that this is a criticism of my book, it is clear that he (or she?), has not bothered to read my book. I first discussed this matter in the "Author's Note" that appears before the "Contents" pages:
Some will notice unusual spellings of the Hebrew when transliterated into English. Since there is no single, agreed-upon way of changing the sounds of Hebrew into English, I have chosen to represent the Hebrew by the way it sounds, not by archaic spellings. Thus you will find `Sephiroht' the proper method of pronouncing the word, instead of the old `Sephiroth.'
On pages 52 and 53 I also write about Hebrew pronunciation:
All languages, including Hebrew, change their pronunciation over the centuries? Is it any wonder that Hebrew has changed over the past two thousand years?
Turning to look at Hebrew as it is spoken today in Israel and in synagogues around the world and discounting local dialects does not help our understanding of Hebrew pronunciation. For Modern Hebrew it is not the same as Biblical Hebrew. About a hundred years ago a man named Eliezer ben Yehuddah came to believe that Hebrew should once again become a living language. It had been relegated merely to religious documents and study rooms much in the way Latin is today. Through his efforts, Hebrew, like a phoenix, rose from the dead and became a living language, and was adopted as the language of the State of Israel.
But in the process many changes in the language's very nature took place:
1. Certain letters that had two different sounds no longer do so (see the book Sepher Yetzirah for a list of all the original double-sounding letters.)
2. The Hebrew letter called the `vah' or `vahv,' usually having a `v' sound (although it may also sound like `oh' or `oo'!), may have originally sounded like our `w' and was called the `waw.'
3. Even today certain Hebrew letters can have several sounds. The Aleph can sound like `ah,' `eh' or `aw'? The system of points and lines to indicate the vowels was added hundreds of years after Ezra compiled the Torah (circa 400-300 B.C.) so they may not be accurate.
The way the words are pronounced is important. But no, it is not worth our time to seek out the ancient pronunciation of Hebrew. Most of the rituals used today were really created long after Biblical Hebrew was mere memory.
In this book, (Modern Magick) the pronunciation used are those of modern Hebrew. In this way you will be tapping into the energies of millions of people who speak the tongue every day, rather than guessing at what ancient Hebrew may have sounded like.
The anonymous letter writer says in regard to Hebrew pronunciation that one draws upon tradition for best results." That would be great if there was only one tradition! Look at the first word in the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagrams. In modern Hebrew it is pronounced `Ah-tah.' Israel Regardie used a particular European dialect and pronounced the word `Ah-toh.' Yet following that same dialect he would have pronounced `Ah-doh-nai' as `Ah-doh-noy' and `Ah-men' as `Oh-main' or even `Oi-main.' Certainly we should follow all the dialect rather than just some of it. This, by the way, is a variation on Ashkenazic and has nothing to do with the Sepharid/Ashkenazic pronunciation the anonymous letter writer tells of.
I have also seen (or read of) other traditions that pronounce Ah-tah as `Ah-teh,' `Ah-tay-ee,' `Ah-tor' and even `Aaahhwwwer-taaahhrr.' With all these different "traditional" pronunciations, I chose to use the only version where we are sure of the pronunciation. I would add that a member of a group should copy the group's pronunciation to help the group's egregore manifest.
Finally, in his letter Mr. Anonymous asks where I learned my "so-called" Hebrew. A fair question. I studied Hebrew for four years at Adat Shalom Synagogue that still exists at the corners of National and Westwood Boulevard in West Los Angeles. For a time I was in training to be a cantor, I led religious services for | 
