I’d longed to find the historic Mystic Jesus: the one who speaks to my heart. I finally found evidence of Him through “Revelations of the Aramaic Jesus,” a live online class and book by Dr. Neil Douglas-Klotz.
Douglas-Klotz earned a Ph.D. in translating ancient Aramaic, Hebrew and Arabic—the Semitic languages. Starting with the Aramaic Peshitta Bible, used by Middle Eastern Christians today, he sought to find a more accurate translation of Jesus’ teachings by translating directly from Aramaic to English.
No translation is 100 percent accurate due to the language’s heavy reliance on context and slang that may have had different meanings in Jesus’ times. Today, the Bible has been translated into 3,142 different versions,: Most were translated from Greek, not Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke.
Through his methodical study of the ancient languages as well as the culture Jesus lived in, Douglas-Klotz believes that Jesus was a mystical figure who preached about the importance of nurturing a personal relationship with God, celebrating the connectedness with all creation and embracing a love for all.
Like modern Jews, Jews in Jesus’ time sang or chanted their prayers. Historians believe that the first Christians did too. This led me to chant the beginning of the Lord’s Prayer in Aramaic. This practice takes me out of this hectic world, allowing me to feel the vibrations of the words Jesus most likely spoke.
You are probably most familiar with the King James Version of the Lord’s Prayer, which went through several translations to get to the prayer we know today. Here are comparisons of the first few lines.
King James Version (Oral Aramaic translated into Greek translated into English):
Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come.
From oral Ancient Aramaic to written Aramaic:
Abwun d’bashmaya nethqadash shmakh. Teyte malkutakh.
Aramaic to English, an alternative translation to the KJV: God that is above us, within us, without us and around us, help us make space in our hearts for your sacred light and help us to nurture it. Let your vision and life energy work through us now.
Here’s the short chant (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAc6nRYECvA) I’ve made as a part of my daily devotion. It takes less than 2 minutes and brings me peace. May it do the same for you.