Word is made flesh as God reveals himself... as a fish

An obscure Jewish sect in New York has been gripped in awe by what it believes to be a mystical visitation by a 20lb carp that was heard shouting in Hebrew, in what many Jews worldwide are hailing as a modern miracle.

Many of the 7,000-member Skver sect of Hasidim in New Square, 30 miles north of Manhattan, believe God has revealed himself in fish form.

According to two fish-cutters at the New Square Fish Market, the carp was about to be slaughtered and made into gefilte fish for Sabbath dinner when it suddenly began shouting apocalyptic warnings in Hebrew.

Many believe the carp was channelling the troubled soul of a revered community elder who recently died; others say it was God. The only witnesses to the mystical show were Zalmen Rosen, a 57-year-old Hasid with 11 children, and his co-worker, Luis Nivelo. They say that on 28 January at 4pm they were about to club the carp on the head when it began yelling.

Nivelo, a Gentile who does not understand Hebrew, was so shocked at the sight of a fish talking in any language that he fell over. He ran into the front of the store screaming: 'It's the Devil! The Devil is here!' Then the shop owner heard it shouting warnings and commands too.

'It said "Tzaruch shemirah" and "Hasof bah",' he told the New York Times, 'which essentially means that everyone needs to account for themselves because the end is near.'

The animated carp commanded Rosen to pray and study the Torah. Rosen tried to kill the fish but injured himself. It was finally butchered by Nivelo and sold.

However, word spread far and wide and Nivelo complains he has been plagued by phone calls from as far away as London and Israel. The story has since been amplified by repetition and some now believe the fish's outburst was a warning about the dangers of the impending war in Iraq.

Some say they fear the born-again President Bush believes he is preparing the world for the Second Coming of Christ, and war in Iraq is just the opening salvo in the battle of Armageddon.

Local resident Abraham Spitz said: 'Two men do not dream the same dream. It is very rare that God reminds people he exists in this modern world. But when he does, you cannot ignore it.'

Others in New Square discount the apocalyptic reading altogether and suggest the notion of a talking fish is as fictional as Tony Soprano's talking-fish dream in an episode of The Sopranos .

Stand-up comedians have already incorporated the carp into their comedy routines at weddings. One gefilte company has considered changing it's slogan to: 'Our fish speaks for itself.'

Still, the shouting carp corresponds with the belief of some Hasidic sects that righteous people can be reincarnated as fish. They say that Nivelo may have been selected because he is not Jewish, but a weary Nivelo told the New York Times : 'I wish I never said anything about it. I'm getting so many calls every day, I've stopped answering. Israel, London, Miami, Brooklyn. They all want to hear about the talking fish.'

A devout Christian, he still thinks the carp was the Devil. 'I don't believe any of this Jewish stuff. But I heard that fish talk.'

He's grown tired of the whole thing. 'It's just a big headache for me,' he added. 'I pull my phone out of the wall at night. I don't sleep and I've lost weight.'

From
"A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion”
by John Dowson

The story
as told
in the Maha-bharata
represents Manu
as engaged
in devotion
by the side
of a river
and
the fish
craving his protection
from the bigger fish.

Manu placed the fish
in a glass vase
but it grew larger and larger
till the ocean
alone
could contain it.

Then it warned Manu
of the coming flood
and
directed him
to build a ship
and
to embark
with the seven Rishis.

He did so
and fastened his ship
to the horn
of the fish.

Then
according
to the rendering
of Professor Williams-

"Along the ocean
in that stately ship was borne
the lord
of men
and
through its dancing
tumbling billows
and
its roaring waters:
and the bark
tossed
to and fro
by violent winds
reeled
on the surface
of the deep
staggering and trembling
like a drunken woman:
land was seen no more
nor far horizon
not the space between;
for everywhere around
spread the wild waste
of waters
reeking atmosphere
and boundless sky.
And now
when all the world was deluged
nought appeared
above the waves
but Manu
and
the seven sages
and the fish
that drew the bark.
Unwearied thus
for years
on years
that fish pulled
on the ship
across the heaped-up waters
till
at length
it bore the vessel
to the peak
of Himavan;
then
softly smiling
thus the fish addressed the sage:
‘Haste
now
to bind thy ship
to this high crag.
Know me
the lord of all
the great creator
BRAHMA
mightier
than all might
omnipoent
by me
in fish-like shape
have you been saved
in dire emergency.
From Manu
all creation
gods, Asuras, men
must be produced;
by him
the world must be created
that which moves
and moveth not.’"

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