The Lord's Prayer
Aramaic OUR FATHER AND MOTHER –
Abwûn d'bwaschmaâja

Cultural and linguistic area of origin and tradition

• Jesus himself spoke Aramaic, similar to Hebrew. His images and his way of thinking were shaped by this language and culture. For example, this language does not have linear thinking as we are familiar with it. There is no past or future tense for verbs; the context determines how it is understood. However, there is a so-called "intensive form" of the verb; something is done with intensity. This alone makes it clear that the attitude towards life was different. This is also evident in the difficulty of translating the name of God in Exodus 3 (which Moses learns at the burning bush): I am there; or: I am who I am; I will be who I am; I will be who I was; I am who I am there; ….
• Furthermore, Oriental language is very onomatopoeic and body-oriented; external events are perceived holistically in the body; the language is poetic and rich in imagery. It thrives on being ambiguous, meaning, and enabling many things.
• The language survived less through the written word, but rather through narrative traditions. Words and stories were meant to touch, move, convey meaning, and create an atmosphere (around a campfire or in a Jewish study house). We still know the magic of oriental narrative today.

In addition, the Oriental understanding of truth, even today, is different from the Western understanding of the Greek/Roman tradition, which is characterized by reason and ratio. Oriental: The description that draws me into the experience is true. As they say: 5 Jews, 7 opinions, and that was by no means a problem; rather, what was at issue was somehow "in between." In the attempts to resolve the conflict in the former Yugoslavia, a major problem lay in communication. In the Quran, they strive for a literal understanding – which remains difficult even today.

• The first Christians from the Aramaic-speaking region passed on their liberating experiences, the Gospel (Greek, literally "Good News"), orally in the Semitic narrative tradition. Among them were Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians. Palestine was occupied by the Romans at the time, but many Greeks also lived there; for both, written communication was already a cultural asset. The Greeks wrote the New Testament, in the form we know it, in their language. This was soon translated into Latin, which then became the church language of the Roman Christians. Both languages reflect a completely different way of thinking, much more spiritualized, with differentiated tenses and much more precise formulations. Paul himself was a Roman citizen and wrote in Greek. The experiential horizon of Jesus' message, as well as his linguistic images, had to be transferred to a different cultural background. The Semitically formulated and experienced message was transformed by Greek and Roman thought. In addition, early translation errors shaped entire centuries.
• When the texts to be included in the New Testament were selected at the Council of Nicaea in the early 4th century, most of the (oral) traditions in Coptic, Syriac, Hebrew, and Aramaic were excluded. Emperor Constantine desired a uniform, universally applicable religious code that corresponded to Western and Roman thought; the others were excluded.

However, some of the ancient Aramaic traditions are preserved in the churches of the Middle East.

• The Peshitta, the Aramaic Bible, which dates back to the 4th century and is based on oral and ancient Aramaic written traditions, claims to have preserved the more original narrative flow.
• Today, linguists are attempting to make the old narrative images accessible again and return to the ambiguity implicit in the words themselves. They are trying to trace the etymologies that were so vivid back then. However, this research has not yet reached German-speaking theology. Various attempts at translation are now circulating. The text underlying the "Aramaic Lord's Prayer" comes from the ancient Aramaic versions of the text.
• In Aramaic, God is defined as both "Alaha" (holy unity that excludes nothing), and "Abwun" (procreative-bearing, everlasting creative power, male-female-beyond-all). In Hebrew, the Bible also says: "Abba, dear Father." The Old Testament name of God is, also in Hebrew, "YHWH." After the exile, from approximately 700 to 539 BC, this name was not allowed to be pronounced and was variously transcribed: "The Name," "The Eternal," "The Holy One," "The Eternal," "The Place," "Elohim," "Adonai," etc.

All other names for God refer only to qualities of God, e.g., Lord of Hosts. Jesus used the familiar "Abba" (Father), which suggests familiarity in interaction.

• The Aramaic word for prayer means "to set a trap" and thus "to catch" something. Today we could say: to seek the right frequency to "hear" God, to "align oneself." It's less about talking than about entering into a relationship. So, less about talking than about entering into a relationship.

General information on the structure of the Lord's Prayer in the context of Matthew

In the Gospel of Matthew, the Lord's Prayer forms the center of the so-called Sermon on the Mount. It is framed by two themes that reflect the triad of Jewish piety: alms give = have compassion, Pray, and Fast = Maintaining freedom from dependence. The individual phrases of the prayer are explained and arranged around the Lord's Prayer, or rather this thematic block: Hallowed be Thy name – Beatitudes Mt 5:1-12 Thy kingdom come – salt and light Mt 5:13-16 Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven – Antitheses Mt. 5:17-48 Give us this day our daily bread – Giving alms – Praying – Fasting Mt 6 Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors – On Judging Mt 7, 1-6 And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil – Warning Mt 7, 7-23 For yours is the kingdom and the power … – Building a house on the rock Mt 7, 24-28

Our Father in Heaven, Father and Mother of the cosmos, primal source of love. (FX Jans-Scheidegger) "O You! Breathing life in all, Creator of the shimmering sound that touches us. O Birther! Father-Mother of the cosmos, all that moves, You create in light. You radiant One: You shine within us and without us—even the darkness glows when we remember" (Quotations from Douglas-Klotz, The Lord's Prayer, p. 34) Abba – abwun Procreative, giving birth to love, cosmic love power. Abba is the pet form and, in everyday contexts, a loving form of address. Abba is the pet form in a family context, = Papa. But it is also a word that could sometimes be said to other family members. It expresses a great loving intimacy and belonging. The speaker belongs to the family and belongs to everything that makes up this family. Addressing God as Abba for us means that all those praying are included in the family. The fact that the creative power can be addressed in this way heals and transcends all our images of father or mother. In this address, Jesus establishes a relationship… God is not distant or unapproachable, but like a loving father to whom I can turn with trust. In heaven: the sheltering, shining, vibrating sphere, that which shines and rises. Also a holy place that is within us but has nothing in common with the profane of the world.

     Hallowed be Thy name:       Prepare the space of the heart in us, so that we may receive your light and your sound in Experience peace. (FX Jans-Scheidegger)
"Help us to breathe a holy breath, in which we feel only You—thus we create a shrine within ourselves, in wholeness. In peace, the Name lives, a separate inner space, a holy of holies, open and giving light to all. Help us to let go, to cleanse the inner space of busy forgetfulness, so that the Name may live." (Quotations from Douglas-Klotz, The Lord's Prayer, p. 40) The name... that is the word for God that was not allowed to be spoken: YHWH was often called. It puts me in a relationship with God: what name do I give him and do I treat this special thing with respect. Even in our understanding, the holy is still something "set apart", removed from everyday life. In this way, something is to be freed or prepared for the presence of God in the human being. A free space for the presence of the holy within oneself is to arise. All mantric paths are rooted in this idea. What name do I have for the secret? Go to the space within you that is holy. How do I sanctify the name? God is my secret.

Thy kingdom come! Thy reality be revealed. FX Jans-Scheidegger "Let your counsel govern our lives and clarify our intention for common creation. Desire with and through us the reign of universal fertility on earth. Your reign arises suddenly when our arms spread out to embrace all creation." (Quotations from Douglas-Klotz, the Lord's Prayer, p. 45) The word "come" contains the idea of mutual desire and will. And the word "kingdom" implies direction, more like advice, not dominion. So, rather: let creation be realized, let your reality shape me.

What is God's will and how can we fathom it? Fundamentally: God's will for me cannot be completely alien to my will, because how else could we do His will? God wants us to do His will, so HE/SHE must make this will visible to us as well. Example: God will not ask me: You did not fulfill my will because you did not become a cellist in Asia? In our own depths, in our gifts and possibilities, in our deepest selves, we touch the will of God because we are His image. But how can we be sure that what we perceive is God's will and not the will of others who interpret Scripture better or arise from my fear or need for recognition? "God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God and God in him/her"... so it says in 1 John and many other places in the Bible. The most important commandment is to love God AND your neighbor AS YOURSELF. Conforming to God's will should lead in the following direction: discovering God's power of love within my power of love, conforming more and more to His power of love. God's power of love is the sound of my life: Where does my sound resonate against the background of this sound? Where does YEHOSHUA resonate within me? (almost all vowels) We must abandon the idea that we must find God's will outside of ourselves! For this usually only leads to falling prey to the will of others. I am certain: God works and I become (Luther). God is alive in us when we open ourselves to Him. Only the holy has the ability to truly heal people... I cannot force God to fulfill my will; rather, I sense, sense, and pray for His will within me. In what quality does God resonate/come to me? In Aramaic, "will" also means "desire" or "heart's desire." We can perhaps approach God's will with the practice: what is it that I truly want to do right now, in this moment? God's will is not abstract, far from our salvation, or overpowering. His will is mostly everyday and relates to his/our deepest longing.

Etymologically: Heaven comes from shirt: sheltering. "Heaven" is a "tea kettle"; this does not mean the blue sky with the clouds, it does not mean the universe, but heaven, the kingdom of heaven, which is present "in our midst/in our midst". The "invisible world" of God is that which shines behind things or in things and people, and cannot be perceived with the usual senses. God dwells in heaven: God has a name, is opposite to us, i.e. can be addressed with regard to the essence of his being, which leads to love. In Jesus' "repent" this dynamic is meant. God wants to establish the primal order, the harmonic structure (J. Keppler). We ask that God's heart's desire take on the same consistent form in our lives as it does on the levels of sound and light. How does one bring the unio-mystica experience into harmony with everyday life in space and time? What is my voice that I can and should let resonate in the sound of the world? Possible translations are: Your one longing then works in ours – as in all light, so in all forms – May the burning desire of your heart unite heaven and earth through our harmony. Help us to love where our ideals end, and let acts of compassion grow for all creatures. Let heaven and earth form a new creation as we discover your love in ours.

Other translations:
Grant us daily the bread and understanding we need: the necessities for the call of growing life. (Neil Douglas Klotz, The Lord's Prayer, p. 55)

Bread was sacred in the Near East. It was baked for a single day, and it was baked not only for one's own needs but also for others. Bread is not only a staple food but also called the "giver of life" and was treated with reverence. Daily bread is a reminder of God's presence. And it is not prayed for tomorrow or the day after, but for today. "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:33-34). God lives in everyday life, in every day. The word for bread – lachma – is also said to mean insight – and from a similar linguistic root, the word hochma – holy wisdom, or also truth – teaching – understanding. With this request, we ask both for the earthly, physical, and also for daily insight so that our wisdom may grow. In the previous petitions, God's will is to be done; God's fullness is to be visible in space and time. We are to discover God's love in our love. For this we need nourishment. Therefore, the request is logical: Give us this day our daily bread. But this does not just mean nourishment for the body, but also for the soul. Bread and insight and knowledge. Lächem aram – in Hebrew this means both: In everything, God can be recognized; in everything is his breath. "I am the living bread." God appears from timelessness into time. Then comes the insight that we are the light of the world (Matthew 8). When we ask for our daily bread, we are asking for what is essential to life today. Grant us what is urgent now, so that the original order is maintained/preserved. And it means: Discover my own measure. Discover our measure. Everyone has a different measure of insight. With freedom, we are also given responsibility. This expresses respect for myself and for others: Don't give me what I need, but give us—what we need. This small request also reminds us of the works of mercy—give us all what we need. Not for my greed, but for us.

A request that challenges us and questions us. It takes the old saying: what you do not want done to you, do not do to others, and takes it to a different level. If I condemn others, can I then receive forgiveness for the same actions for which I condemn others? Shouldn't a self-examination also take place: How do I behave, am I so different from the other person? The 18th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew contains the story of the "wicked servant." (Matthew 18:21-35), which makes this clear once again. In this request, we question our behavior.
Other translations:
“Lead us out of the guilt that clings to us, as we release what others owe us” (Neil Douglas Klotz, The Lord’s Prayer p. 60)
“Loosen the bonds of our mistakes, as we also release what binds us to the entanglements and guilt of others” (Franz-Xaver Jans-Scheidegger).
These requests often fall something like: That means I must forgive, even if the other person has done something bad, murdered, raped children, etc. This request does not mean that. Forgiveness cannot be demanded. It is about questioning how we behave. It is about adding the misdeeds to the manure so that they become humus and new things can grow and flourish. How many victims become perpetrators themselves because they tie themselves up in knots and do not unravel these entanglements. In this way, they carry the perpetrator around with them. Franz-Xaver Jans-Scheidegger says something like this: We often cling to what we lacked and then make our own point of view absolute. In doing so, we conceal our lack. And remain indebted to others. A return to unity is necessary. Forgiving is expiation. Guilt is a transgression, my journey has passed. I am stealing something from another. I do not acknowledge him. Stolen possession. Gospel of Matthew: is to blame: fruits that trigger a bad influence on consciousness. Gospel of Luke:  Guilt is more like an unintentional offense. The threads of my life's meaning are tangled (Mary as the Untie of Knots, a statue) or dashed hope. Exoneration means returning from entanglement and attachment to freedom. This is a constant practice: Thy kingdom come. Develop. Forgiveness in its original state. Turn around. Loosen the bonds/bandages/shackles with which we have bound ourselves. Return to our original beauty. Forgive 7 times 70 times. Remove the burden, free us from the secret misdeeds of the past. Those close to you release you from the obligation to make amends for your mistakes.

Lead us not into temptation – often leads to confusion: Does God tempt? Yes, according to Genesis, chapter 22, he did so with Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his son. (Genesis 22 1-19 ) And so the passage is sometimes interpreted: God, please, do not lead me into temptation, I do not know if I can endure it. However, the letter of James says: (Chapter 1: 13 )"When a person is tempted, he should not say, "God has tempted me." Just as God cannot be tempted to do evil, he does not tempt anyone to do it. In French, Spanish, and Chinese, the passage reads: "Let us not enter into temptation." We find the translation "Lead us into temptation" even more beautiful. Rabbis always have different interpretations and debate. Is there a truth to this? What resonates with you about each translation, and what response comes from the heart?
Other translations:
Let us neither be seduced by the surface of life nor become so introverted and self-centered that we can no longer act simply and humanly at the right time.
Protect us from hoarding false wealth and from the inner shame of not having given help at the right time. Don't let superficial things mislead us, but free us from what holds us back. (Adapted from Neil Douglas-Klotz, The Lord's Prayer, p. 65)
What is temptation? What is temptation? Jesus was also tempted.(Luke 4:1-13) Jesus was tempted on three levels - and the devil used the Bible - he quoted God's word in the story to tempt.

The ancient word roots of “Nesjuna” “nisyona” means temptation, forgetfulness , Materialism – They evoke the image of a flag blowing in the wind, fluttering back and forth like our minds do when they are unsettled: by materialism, by emotions, by the desire for power. An image of getting lost in appearances, the inability to look deeper when needed. Prayer reminds us not to forget our origin in creation and in the divine breath, but also not to wear ourselves out with all that needs to be done, not to lose ourselves. Not to get lost in temptations - not to forget the healing that has already happened to us!! Do not be guided by the "weather vane", do not be deceived - neither by inner nor outer forces. Do not look for the riches of heaven in the wrong place. Guide us in temptation: to be certain that this worldly thing is always wearing me down - and to ask for God's help so that I can see through it. Because I also know that I can't do it alone, that I need help in my everyday life, with all the temptations that exist. It's also about resisting the temptation to do everything everyone else does. Resisting the temptation to let others live our lives. Then we would follow our own unique path and live our own lives.We shall never rest until we become what we have eternally been in God” (M. Eckkehardt). Advertising trivializes temptation; the temptation doesn't refer to a cream cake. For the desert fathers and mothers, it was a test of humanity. They knew that a storm leads to deeper roots. Luther's catechism states: If we take refuge in something (not in God, which can also be a person), we have fallen victim to temptation. "Whatever you cling to is your God." Temptation is power and strength... Finding balance, facing the shadow. Religion can also become a temptation. The devil quotes the Bible in the story of Jesus' temptation (Luke 4:1-13, among others).

But deliver us from evil: The request refers to all the "evil" that happens to me, whether from others or from myself, within me. What is evil? Aramaic:  “Bischa” = evil, immaturity in the sense of an inappropriate action. This immaturity also means an inner sense of shame for not bearing proper fruit. We are no faster/further than the weakest part of our soul. Even that part fulfills its purpose in God's universe. Our vulnerability can connect us to the earth. The Aramaic pasan means: separate us, free us, redeem us. Be separated from situations before they catch us. Become aware of the trap and be rescued from it. This request can also mean: Separate us from our mistakes. Evil is a dimension within us that we must reckon with. We must recognize our own limitations, which also cause us to harm others. Sever the bonds that isolate us. When we allow ourselves to be freed from error and evil, the birth of God occurs within us. Evil can also mean that sometimes, through our ideals, we transport ourselves into the past or future and are not in the present, where we are needed and should live.

This doxological (praise-filled) ending is present only in the Gospel of Matthew. It is missing from the Gospel of Luke. Since other Jewish prayers also end with praise (including Psalms), it can be assumed that at least something similar must be expected at the end.
While the rhythm of the speech gradually increases throughout the prayer, it calms down in this verse, like a wave fading away. At the beginning, the "kingdom" is part of the request; now it is reality. The original order of the world shall be realized; freedom, peace, love, and unity shall flow over to me.
The appropriate response to praise God is praise.

The ancient word roots of dilachia (=Your) implies more than possession, but points to a vegetative field: a fertile, rich field ready for sowing or harvesting.

Malkuta is divine potentiality. It's worth mentioning that Malkatu, a very similar word, means goddess.

Haila refers to the producing and sustaining life force or energy

In Teshbuchta – Glory is contained in “sound, song”: a divine sound, a singing in harmony, a fiery power.

L'ahlam almin (Eternity) is not to be understood statically, but rather as meaning: from one event to another, from age to age. It is based on a cyclical understanding of life.

At the end of the prayer, we acknowledge the inexhaustible, majestic source we have been privileged to call "Abba." All is Yours, I am Yours.

While the visible empires pass away (Assur, Chaldeans, Romans, Ottomans, Spain/Portugal, Commonwealth,…) the invisible source of the invisible remains ever present.

Other translations:
To you comes the all-effective will, the living force to act, the song that beautifies everything and is renewed from age to age.
From you comes the amazing fire, the glorious power of rebirth, which brings light and sound back into the cosmos (Neil Douglas Klotz, The Lord's Prayer, p. 70)

Amen – truly sealed a contract, an agreement, a soil on which something special will grow in the future. (Ament is in Egypt. The mysterious ground of existence.) Everything becomes present. Now. So be it. So it is.

Other translations:
I affirm all this with my whole being. (Franz-Xaver Jans-Scheidegger)
May they be the soil from which all my actions grow. Sealed in trust and faith. (Neil Douglas Klotz, The Lord's Prayer, p. 71)