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45 - November 4 thru November 10, 2002, Vol XII

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Writer believes it is
Is the Ark of the Covenant in Yemen?

BY GARY VEY
GARYVEY@EARTHLINK.NET
WWW.VIEWZONE.COM
With all the unsettled world events, it is easy to become distracted from the small discoveries that may, someday, comfort mankind and rescue nations like Yemen from poverty and domination by her neighbors, both near and far.
Prior to the most recent global crises, I had been working on several inscriptions that were translated from the Mareb region and the various museums in Sana'a, using a method of interpretation that proved to be a breakthrough in translating similar writing in other parts of the world, yes, even in America.
The same alphabet that is inscribed on the walls of Saba's archaeological site has been found on virtually every continent. It is very old, much older even than the Sabaean empire, and I spent most of 2001 visiting sites and documenting these petroglyphs, from Colorado to Yemen to the outback of Australia. While this special language is not to be confused with the more recent Himyaritic, that utilizes many of the same symbols, it does reveal a place in history for Yemen that should, someday, reward the good Yemeni people for their adherence to Allah and their unique respect for other people.
Without becoming too academic or scientific in this article, I would like to share the message obtained from my expedition to Yemen in 2001. I think you will find great comfort in these translations, which have been summarized below:
Menelik (spelled M-N-L-C-C), the only son of Queen Saba (Queen Sheba) and Solomon, was depressed when he learned that his father's kingdom had been overcome and the temple in Jerusalem was sacked. His grief was deep ("The happiness of the Son was poisoned...") and this worried his mother.
Shortly after this invasion of Jerusalem, Menelik received word that the Ark of the Covenant (the "cell of the Lord" AT-EL), formerly housed in Solomon's Temple, was relocated to what is now Yemen and was in the protection of Menelik. The text refers to an "oath" that was taken by Menelik to protect the ark, perhaps agreed upon when he visited Solomon several years earlier.
Menelik also received a warning from Nathan, Menelik's half-brother, that the ark could be harmful to his health and that it had caused vision problems and "trembling" (seizures?) when Nathan had attempted to interact with it. Menelik, however, had none of these adverse reactions and eagerly interacted with this object, constructing a special chamber underground in which he stored the ark and conversed through it with the Lord.
As the danger of invading neighbors became real for the kingdom of Saba, Menelik announced that the ark had instructed him to enter the underground chamber with the ark, and to have the entire construction covered with sand to conceal it and protect it from hostile forces. Menelik informed his mother, Queen Saba, that he would remain buried with the ark for a long period of time.
Following her only son's instructions, Menelik was buried with the ark. However, his mother had a chamber constructed adjacent to the ark chamber and had a secret peephole installed so that she could monitor his condition while he was buried. She secretly planned to open the chamber and rescue her son should he be in peril. On many occasions, Queen Saba viewed her son inside the chamber and, on one occasion, noted that he was receiving a revelation of the future from the ark, which made a sound like thunder. As she watched Menelik interact with the ark, she noted that he trembled and shook from the visions that were being shown to him.
As time passed, the thundering noise and movement of her son ceased. On one occasion the queen noted that a worm crawled out from the peephole. This suggested that Menelik had died. The queen was determined to open the chamber and rescue her son but she recalled her promise to him and remembered his words, stating that he would be buried for "a long time."
She wept ("...cried an ocean of tears...") that his vision of the future also included the realization that she had doubted his word and she prayed that he would forgive her for her doubts.
Determined to honor her son's wishes, Queen Saba had the chamber reinforced with stone and consulted with the builders and masons to design an enclosure that would protect the buried chamber from future earthquakes, floods, and other natural phenomenon. The chamber was thus made more sturdy, and a large dam was constructed around the buried chamber to protect it from water and floods.
In the Yemen museum there is another stone which dictates the conditions that should exist prior to any attempt at opening the chamber. These include the occupation of the land by a "friendly" nation and the warning that the ark must not be moved and should not be used for any national or personal benefit. The ark is to be used for the benefit of mankind and petitions to the Lord are to be made by collective prayer in the area of the buried chamber and through the "priest" of the ark (Menelik?).
Following the burial of the chamber and the surrounding temple, Queen Saba "dimmed her kingdom" and moved to Ethiopia with the prohibition that the area where the ark and Menelik were buried should be forgotten, lest future hostile nations and "blind prophets" should seek it out.

Giving up on life
Don't ignore the suicidal

BY SA'AD SHARIF TAHER
FOR THE YEMEN TIMES
Committing suicide has been great human problem historically that philosophers and scholars have discussed for centuries. Greek philosophers, mainly Aristotle, considered it "an immoral action that harms family and society." Still, it exists nowadays and will continue to be a social problem.
Some studies suggest at least half million people die every year around the world due to suicide. That's one suicide death a minute. Studies also note it's an increasing problem among young people.
Psychologists declare that committing suicide is a kind of aggression on one's self because one cannot direct his aggression towards society or somebody else. Dorkaim, an anthropologist, defined committing suicide as "death that results directly or indirectly from an action the person (victim) does to himself."
Reasons
Committing suicide is when a person himself without the urging of others, or any kind of redeeming social value. Therefore, it is difficult to point out reasons for it. But there are known psychological, social and medical factors that lead to committing suicide.
Psychological diseases and troubles are the main ones. But Freud, the famous psychologist, said, "it is directing inside aggression to oneself." So there frustration between one's ideal world and realty.
Home, sometimes people commit suicide as a result of disappointing relationships, such as with one's family. Studies suggest men are more successful at suicide, although women make more attempts. Suicide among women is most common in the 20-29 year-old range.
Most suicides take place in spring and autumn.
It's also known that about one in five young boys and one in four young girls tend to suffer from depression.
In Arab society there are additional reasons like financial disasters, poverty, unsuccessful love and struggles between generations.
The weakness of religious discipline, psychological stressors, or social and family problems including break-ups, low spirits and feelings sin and guilt, can all be factors.
Methods
Suicide can take various forms, including:
1 - Dual suicide, when two people agree to commit suicide together, like lovers.
2 - Mass suicide, when one suicide leads to others to their death without their desire. A mother, for example, commits suicide by gas, which causes her husband and kids' death.
3 - Assisted suicide, to shorten pain of the sick, when there is no hope to recover. The debate over this type of death is increasing, and it is becoming more socially accepted, particularly in countries where people are living longer lives.
4 - Murder-suicide: when a man kills his wife and kids then kills himself. Such kind was known among depressed men who felt that life was meaningless.
Help
Youth should be helped to overcome thoughts of suicide, which can be done by:
1 - protecting sick people by sending them to hospitals.
2 - building quiet relations between a sick person and a helper.
3 - kind observations without blaming people directly.
4 - continual treatment through anti-depressant drugs.
5 - social and psychological treatment, and convincing the patient to be active in society.
6 - giving help to strengthen the patients' psyche.



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