"Man Of Constant Sorrow"--Work of Fiction Based On the Song Lyrics and Covers From the Soggy Bottom Boys and Charm City Devils

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. (Disclaimer copied and pasted from TVTropes.org)

©2013 Nicole Czarnecki. All rights reserved by the author. "Man Of Constant Sorrow" is listed as "Traditional" and written from 1888-1913 according to Wikipedia, and thus has no copyright date or has an expired copyright. The cover by the Soggy Bottom Boys was copyrighted in 2002, and the cover by the Charm City Devils in 2012. The lyrics are in the public domain.

The author has done thorough- and accurate-research, and used prior knowledge to the best of her knowledge and ability.

Lyrics taken from http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/s/soggy_bottom_boys/i_am_a_man_of_constant_sorrow.html at the time of the writing of this work. 

A reference list of sources used for specific information (not common-knowledge, general, non-copyrightable or public-domain information*) at the time of this writing can be found at the end of this work. (*e.g., language is not copyrightable)

(In constant sorrow all through his days)

I am a man of constant sorrow
I've seen trouble all my days
I bid farewell to old Kentucky
The place where I was born and raised

(The place where he was born and raised)

For six long years I've been in trouble
No pleasure here on Earth I found
For in this world I'm bound to ramble
I have no friends to help me now

(He has no friends to help him now)

It's fare-thee-well my old true lover
I never expect to see you again
For I'm bound to ride that northern railroad
Perhaps I'll die upon this train

(Perhaps he'll die upon this train)

You can bury me in some deep valley
For many years where I may lay
And you may learn to love another
While I am sleeping in my grave

(While he is sleeping in his grave)

Maybe your friends think I'm just a stranger
My face you never will see no more
But there is one promise that is given
I'll meet you on God's golden shore

(He'll meet you on God's golden shore)

Chapter 1

"Out; out!" they screamed. And that was that--Kehillath Kodesh Adas Israel had kicked him out, sat shiva for him, and sent him packing. He mumbled, "You can't even get your damned Hebrew right!" So much for Liberal, or Progressive, or Tolerant, or Inclusive, or whatever-the-Hell "Judaism" they called it, anyway--besides, they had to liberalize (really, bastardize) the Hebrew, anyway: it was "Kehillat-Kodesh Adat Yisra'el", anyway. 

He was angry enough that he couldn't think clearly. How dare they deal with him in that manner! "Liberal" in zayn tuchus! "Progresiv" in zayn tuchus! "Tolera'nt" in zayn tuchus! "Far kirev" in zayn tuchus! He wasn't a cursing man, but fury raged within him--he had been treated in such a shlekht shteyger, and he was a Levite! How dare those Yisra'elim! How dare those 'am-ha'aretz! How dare those minim!

He used the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad to catch a train as far away from Louisville as possible--to somewhere, to anywhere, and to somewhere and anywhere but Louisville. He just didn't know where. Un "Brith Sholom" in zayn tuchus--an adat-l'hab'rit-shalom surely wouldn't kick an ish l'shalom out of any "Brith Sholom"--which, to him, would still and always be "Kehillat-Kodesh Adat Yisra'el", "Holy Community of the Congregation of Israel". 

Chapter 2

40 years later, and his life had completely changed--he was born when his now-ex congregation was founded, of age when the Emancipation Proclamation was made (for Sefer-B'Midbar read "Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, by the descent from their fathers, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel."), and now of age plus a score of years. Incidentally--or perhaps not so--, he was of the same number of years as Moses when Moses' life changed--as the New Testament read, "And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel. And seeing one of them suffer wrong , he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed , and smote the Egyptian: For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not."

As Moses' life had changed over the course of a day, so also did the life of this Levite. He hadn't intended to change his life overnight--or, since his conversion happened during the day and as he thus joked to himself, "overday". He took a covered wagon to Cincinnati, Ohio, and then a train to Baltimore, Maryland. Finding no church with which he was satisfied or any Hebrew Christian congregation, he worshiped alone in his home on the Jewish and the traditional Christian Sabbaths--Saturday and Sunday, although some Christians observed their Sabbath on Saturday like the Jews did.

Then one day, he received a mysterious letter: "Mister Leve, a rumor concerning you is as such--that your Jewish neighbors have spied on you, since they have suspected you to be a Hebrew Christian among them. The rumor is also that you worship alone. ' Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised ;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching .'

"Mister Leve, if you insist on worshiping in your home, then I insist that we start a congregation in your home--for I am a Hebrew Christian myself, and many establish congregations within various' congregants' homes. The rumor, by the way, continues that your former congregation is Brith Sholom of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations--which, as I have heard and as I mention incidentally, has congregants among it that called their denomination of Judaism "Liberal" or "Progressive" before the Union itself did (and I would credit them as prescient and clairvoyant in that matter if only their denomination were "liberal" and "progressive", for who can have true liberty in worship and progress in his growth of faith without first having liberty and growth in Yeshua our Messiah?")

"Therefore, I propose that we found a congregation in your home and christen it 'Kehillat-Kodesh b'Chofesh-Ha'Emet'--'Holy Congregation In Freedom of the Truth'. By the way, I have no knowledge of how fluent you are in Hebrew; so I hope that you don't mind that I transliterated and translated my Hebrew name for your congregation for you.

"Shalom b'HaShem-Yeshua Mishichenu--Peace In the Name of Jesus our Messiah."

[To be continued...]

Playing With Fire In the Name of Yeshua And In the Profession of Messianic Judaism

As a Messianic Jew, I am absolutely offended by this article. Firstly, we're not even to use titles like "Rabbi" or "Rav" but for Yeshua (cf. Matt 23:8-10). Secondly, we're under the New Covenant, no longer Torah (cf. Romans 7:4-25, Colossians 2:13-17). Yeshua came to fulfill the Torah, and Torah is mandatory only for non-believing Jews and gerim (cf. Matthew 5:17-19, Galatians 3, 4:21-31). Thirdly, in using "Rabbi" or "Rav" for Messianic pastors and requiring ourselves to be under Torah, we ourselves are falling away and agreeing with our very enemies (cf. Galatians 3:17, 5:7-12). We can't even keep Torah if we try, and good luck to those of us who try to burden ourselves with Torah (cf. Acts 15:10, Hebrews 6:4-6).

Another Petition Against Nehemia Gordon (To Which The Title Link Leads)

1. First of all, Nehemia Gordon violates the tenets of real Karaism. For example:


1. "Karaites consider traditional Christianity (any form of Christianity which holds that Jesus / Yehoshua has divine or semi-divine status) to be outright idol worship, in that it raises one of Elohim's creations to the level of creator, either in part or in full. Incidentally, this is precisely the view that Islam holds towards Christianity."
2. Since Karaism holds that "traditional Christianity...[is] outright idol worship", Karaites are to "not consent unto [the Christian, whether Jewish or gentile], nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him;  but thou shalt surely kill him; thy hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to draw thee away from the LORD thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is in the midst of thee. " 
2. Secondly, as previous petitioners wrote, "That rabbis have good things to say about A Prayer to Our Father is a moot point. That pastors have good things to say about the book is moot as well." Nehemia is profiting off of Tanakh and violations of Deuteronomy 13:9-12. "Ye shall not make with Me--gods of silver, or gods of gold, ye shall not make unto you." (Exodus 20:19)
3. Thirdly, Nehemia is verbally abusive. Real Karaites do not verbally abuse people.

Again, Nehemia is nothing more than an abusive hypocrite and opportunist. 

Petition Against Nehemia Gordon From A Group Of Non-Messianic Karaites That Even Messianics Should Sign

 I advise everyone to sign the PetitionOnline petition against Nehemia Gordon. According to what Nehemia claims is his interpretation of Scripture, he should "shalt surely kill [a Messianic Jew like me]; thy hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to draw thee away from the LORD thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. " (Deuteronomy 13:10-11, JPS)

So, Nehemia is not even being consistent towards what he claims is his own interpretation of Scripture--the Karaite one. He is instead deceitfully working in church settings, etc. to attempt to turn people away from Yeshua--thus, he's using (if you will) an Anti-Messianic equivalent of the Mohammedan taqiyya. This is not a Karaite principle in any way, shape, form, manner, circumstance, or fashion.

By the way, see "The Hebrew Yeshua vs. the Greek Jesus". Nehemia is grossly inconsistent, for example. He tells people not to use Jewish tradition that is not in the Tanakh, yet he said "Kaddish" (which is not in Scripture) when his dad died and answered "No, not according to Jewish tradition" when I asked if I could name a pet after a deceased relative.

Also, remember that Nehemia verbally abused me, and he has no problem hurting others. As the petition reads,  Nehemia "is doing more harm than good. We don't care about how your works are received by pastors, rabbis and Christians. We don't care about 'fantastic reviews.' We take no stock in them. Their comments are meaningless to us. Our eyes are on you and the effects your actions are having." Nehemia is nothing more than an abusive hypocrite and opportunist. 

Update On the Situation With Nehemia: Again, My Warning About Him Stands

I later got a very-manipulative private message from Nehemia. I will not publish the contents of that message, since the evidence here is enough. I will say that I get that hurt people hurt people (as I myself have sadly done several times), but having been hurt doesn't excuse or sanctify hurting others.

Let me also say this: someone gave Nehemia the benefit of the doubt and said that he was using the mentality of a third grader! I wish that, that were true; but that's sadly what verbal abusers want especially their victims to think. "Oh, he's just being childish, having a hard time getting his thoughts together, and unable to cope with the situation as he sees it." It's more of the act of a verbal abuser. Most kids have no clue of how abuse and hurtful certain actions can be. Adults do, and they can use those actions to try to discomfort, manipulate, and control people. Most kids are just trying to feel secure and make sense of matters. Adults, on the other hand, are trying to make others feel insecure and senseless.

MK Michael Ben-Ari: A Reflection of Anti Messianics On the Israeli Far Right (And On Any Side of the Political Spectrum In Even the Diaspora, Really)

First of all, how can a girl who is blind even call the police if she's not allowed to have Braille literature? Yad L'Achim wouldn't let her have a Braille-keypad phone to call the police--some of whom probably work with Yad L'Achim. Secondly, Michael ben-Ari is no real theologian or historian, or he would know that Tanakh speaks of a New Covenant, dam is what makes kippur-l'hanefesh, G-d is the only Mashiach/Moshiach (Redeemer/Savior), and Yeshua was a Tanakh-observant Jew who shed His own blood for His people.

So, we can already see hear that Anti Messianics are especially "without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools,  and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things."

I Learned The Hard Way: DO NOT TRUST NEHEMIAH GORDON ON ANYTHING!

Nehemiah is a deceiver and abuser! In fact, I had the unfortunate chance of encountering his verbal abuse. Watch how he twists my words here:

• Tonya Travis Rabbi Rashi (1040-1105 A.D.) wrote: “Behold the almah shall conceive and bare a son and shall call his name Immanuel. This means that our Creator shall be with us. And this is the sign: the one who will conceive is a girl (Naarah), who never in her lif...See More

  about an hour ago · Like
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  Nehemia Gordon Hi Tonya Travis, If you are going to quote Rashi, you should bring the whole context. Earlier in the passage Rashi comments: "The maiden (almah) - My [=Isaiah's] wife will become pregnant this year, which was the 4th year of Ahaz." The Greek says parth...See More
  

  
  

  Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, παρθένος
  

  

  www.perseus.tufts.edu
  

  

  
  

  Hide browse barYour current position in the text is marked in blue. Click anywhere in the line to jump to another position:

  46 minutes ago · Like
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  Nicole Maratovah Czarnecki I do recall Rashi being Anti Messianic myself.

  25 minutes ago · Like
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  Nehemia Gordon Nicole Maratovah Czarnecki, I requested carrying out this discussion without the usual Christian rhetoric. Calling a Jewish rabbi "anti-Christ" is extremely offensive. This was the slogan that was shouted at Jews for centuries as they were butchered in...See More

  18 minutes ago · Like
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  Nicole Maratovah Czarnecki I said Anti Messianic, not Anti Christ or Anti Messiah.

  17 minutes ago · Like
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  Nehemia Gordon Are you saying Rashi was opposed to Messianic Jews? In his day the Messianic Jews, if they existed, had far more to fear from the Roman Catholic Church they did from the rabbis. Being a Jew was bad enough. Being a Judaizing Christian was an invitation for torture.

  15 minutes ago · Like
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  Nicole Maratovah Czarnecki Yes. "Anti Messianic" is equivalent to "Anti Missionary". Remember that especially in those days, Messianic Jews were considered traitors for joining the Catholic Church, which told them to drop all and any Jewish roots and practices at the door. So (as Messianic Jews do today), they still get a hard time from both sides.

  12 minutes ago · Like
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  Nehemia Gordon That's the broadest definition of "Messianic Jew" I've ever heard. A Jew who converts to Catholicism is a "Messianic Jew"? Is that your position?

  10 minutes ago · Like
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  Nicole Maratovah Czarnecki A Messianic Jew is simply a Jewish Christian, and Catholicism was (and is still) considered Christianity. I'm pretty offended that my words were taken out of context, by the way--and you know that I've even spoken against proselytization (incuding or forcing conversion).

  9 minutes ago · Like
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  Nehemia Gordon I would like to hear from some Messianic Jews on this page if they agree that "a Messianic Jew is simply a Jewish Christian" and if a Jew who converts to Catholicism is considered a Messianic Jew.

  5 minutes ago · Like
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  Nicole Maratovah Czarnecki You heard from me.

First of all, I never said Anti Messiah or Anti Christ. Secondly, I am a Messianic Jew. Thirdly, while some Messianic Jews were and are Roman Vaticanists, many Messianic Jews recognized and recognize not Roman Vaticanist and know that Roman Vaticanism is a cult--plainly and simply! I could go on, but you get the point!

If you ever want to defend someone, don't defend Nehemia Gordon--he will twist your defense of his arguments (e.g., that Rashi was not talking about Jesus and was actually--like all really-devout P'rushiyin are--Anti Messianic and don't believe Yeshua to have been the Messiah at all!) into something that you never even said!

By the way, I think that I now know why he and his fiancee broke up--I myself wouldn't want to be married to a verbal abuser who twists my defenses of or additions to his arguments into attacks that were never made, and implies that I'm not something that I actually am, for example (Since Nehemia treated me as he treated me, I can imagine how he treated her!) ! Also, if you're in a verbally-abusive relationship--friendship or otherwise--, hightail it as soon as you realize that you are in such a relationship!

By the way, I unfriended you, unliked your page, and am no longer following you on Twitter, Nehemia! What a shame that Isaiah 29:13 applies to you, and all the proof that one needs to see that Isaiah 29:13 applies to you is to ask themselves and answer for themselves this question: Can verbal abusers really worship Yehovah? After all, for instance, "[t]hou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour." Unredeemed men abuse people; men of Yehovah don't.