As the saying goes, there are no atheists in foxholes; there are certainly none in the depths of the oceans.
Three U.S. WWII sunken submarines with all of their crewmen K.I.A. which were found in some way or another (Memorial service, physically finding, mistaken location over a 4 year period on the same calendar week should be in all rights considered highly improbable.
As is evident on the main menu, documenting lost submarines is something that any naval historian would jump at the chance to do, and from the grace of the master of the universe I have been privileged in some form or another of doing this three times. I live in a country whose first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, said that you have to be a realist to believe in miracles, because for the
life of me I could not explain what I see in any other way. Without going off on a tangent here, I simply want to tell you what this means in Hebrew, because that is where I see all the correlations where coincidences do not fit the bill (and we do not believe in coincidences). My background is from a religious Jewish perspective and I have been living in Israel since 1981.
During the 3rd week of May 2005 the wreck of the US submarine Lagarto (SS-371) was located some distance off the coast of Thailand. This was the 1st wreck of an American submarine lost during WWII. I was informed of this a short time later by one of my contributors & eventually was in contact with Steve Burton, head of the diving company that found her. I was also put in contact with Nancy Kenney, the daughter of William Mabin, who still lies aboard the entombed wreck. She would inform me of a Memorial Service sponsored by American Legion Post 639 that would be held on Saturday, 17 September 2005 for the Lagarto's crew in Springfield Missouri.
The preceding week's Bible portion that was read in synagogues was in Deuteronomy, 21:10 to 25:19. In Hebrew it is called Ki Teitzei La Malchama: (When you go off to war) That Friday night, Rabbi Zev Leff of Moshav Mattityahu (where I live) spoke about the commandment of HaShevat Avedah, translation: returning a lost object. this also includes helping to return a lost body as well. In Chapter 22, verse 3: "You shall return every lost thing of your brother's...". 74 of the 613 commandments are in this reading. The one commandment in particular which is a shared event (which I see) in this sequence over a 4 year period (2005-8) is the commandment of HaShevat Avedah,
On 24 August 2007, the Grunion (SS-216) was found on the same Bible reading. It was found near the island of Segula, which in Hebrew means special treasure, or jewel. It is a common word in Hebrew and it is found 8 times in the Bible
#1. Exodus 19:5, #2. Deuteronomy 7:6, #3. 14:2 & #4. 26:18. #5. Malachi 3:17. #6. Psalms 135:4 #7. Ecclesiastes 2:8 #8. Chronicles I 29:3
The company that found the Grunion, Williamson Associates, was acting as a subsidiary of Nauticos; also helped find Israel's lost submarine, the Dakar, which amazingly was neither lost or found in the Bible reading of Ki Teitzei. It was found on the reading of Nasso, which is in Numbers
4:21 - 7:89.
On 12 September 2008 I received a response from Charles R. Hinman, director of
oneternalpatrol.com. He informed me that the last state in the U.S. to set aside its memorial for the 52 lost WWII boats, Oregon, was finally dedicating their submarine memorial to their assigned boat, the Albacore (SS-218). Since WWII, this boat's resting place which is believed to be in position 41.49N, 141.11E. and for the last 64 years thought to be in northeastern Hokkaido is actually off the eastern coast of southern Hokkaido's Kameda Peninsula. This info also arrived on the same reading for the week. Same reading on the same subject matter for 3 years in a row. Note: The Hebrew Calendar is a lunar based 354 day year with a 19 year cycle which includes 7 leap years built into it; one about every 2-3 years.
I initially looked for correlations based on the Gematria of longitude and latitude, but there are too many possibilities regarding usage of words and letters in different arrangements. I then added up the numbers of the lost boats, 371, 218 & 216 but the number 805 was greater than the number needed, which has to be 613 or less. I then added the numbers of the dead crew members, 86, 85 & 70 and got 241.
In Hebrew lettering, words correspond to numbers, 241 corresponds to the letters Resh, Mem & Aleph, which among other things make up the Hebrew word Amar, which translates as; To Say.
I inquired Yeshiva Ohr-Somayach to look into a Kabbala connection via Rabbi Shlomo Hillel of Jerusalem. The answer that I received was that there was no connection.
There are 2 possibilities of this number occurring in the overall figure of 613 commandments which the Jewish people have received from G-D. There are 248 positive commandments, 365 negative.
That positive number (241) in the series of 248 refers to the commandment in Exodus 22:04; In Hebrew, the commandment starts off with the word Ki Teitzei "If a fire breaks out, and catches in thorns, so that the sheaves, or standing corn, or the field be consumed, he that kindled the conflagration shall surely make restitution".
The Rambam (Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon) in his famous commentary on the Bible written 800 years ago, uses the word Ki Teitzei (when you go out) as the first words in his description of this commandment. It is the only time these words are found in his commentary.
The negative number 241 in the series of 365 refers to Deuteronomy 24:17, "Thou shall not pervert the judgment of the stranger, or of the fatherless; nor take a widow's garment as a pledge;"
If anybody wants to verify the Hebrew dates based on the Torah reading of Ki Teitzei with the happenings of the Lagarto on 17 September 2005; Grunion on 24 August 2007; Albacore on 12 September 2008; & Dorado on 19 August 2023
the Hebrew calendar is right here for your benefit, the Torah reading should say Parashat (Reading) Ki Teitzei when those dates are entered.
For a few moments of interest, on 23 August 2012 I received a spreadsheet with the discrepancies that I had posted with that of sub losses from oneternalpatrol.com., which I subsequently updated. As I worked my way down the list, the first of the 3 boats that I dealt with was the Albacore, and it showed an addition of one from the list of 241, which would have fudged the math. In any event, everything is for the good, so I figured things would work out. Further down the list, the Lagarto appeared with a subtraction of one, so the math worked out anyway!
On 8 June 2022 I received a request from Steve Katona, a volunteer researcher with the US Navy History and Heritage Command (NHHC). He was looking for specific photos of Albacore that didn't appear anywhere else but on this site. He was trying to i.d. the Albacore, which was one of 5 US subs lost in the area. I recommended Dave Johnston to him, the best person I know in the business. We waited for the results & I was tentatively thinking that wouldn't it be nice if it was found on Deuteronomy, 21:10 to 25:19, usually in mid-late August or early September.
After 14 plus years of waiting, the US Navy informed the world that the Albacore was positively identified on the 16th of February 2024, coinciding on the weekly reading of the Torah, in the book of Exodus 23:01-25:01 that corresponded with positive number (241) in the series of 248 referring to the commandment in Exodus 22:04; "If a fire breaks out, and catches in thorns, so that the sheaves, or standing corn, or the field be consumed, he that kindled the conflagration shall surely make restitution". So, after all, Ki Teitzei was there, but it was read in the reading that contained the relevant commandment. For those of us who don't believe in coincidences, it was a welcome answer, still way above my pay grade and beyond my ability to understand.
On the 19th of August 2024 Ki Teitzei again, I received a letter from Charles R. Hinman, (sent during Shabbat, 12 hour time difference between Israel & Hawaii) when I am forbidden to access this technology) director of
oneternalpatrol.com regarding the making of a documentary on the loss of the Dorado (SS-248)“Details Plain Language,”
There were 77 crew members on board when she was lost, making the total to 318. The Hebrew word for that is conversation.
Nonetheless, no matter what I can attempt to speculate is that at the end of the day, everything we as human beings think happens because we believe the world revolves around us, my power, my knowledge, the strength of my arm, etc. It is all irrelevant when you don't include the God factor (however it relates to you), and in Israel since 7 October it relates to what Rav Zamir Cohen says here Isaiah 60;21 All Israel have a share in the world to come, as it is said; Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever; they are a plant of my own, the work of my hands, wherein I may glory.
Translation from Koren
Publishers of Jerusalem, Israel. PDF of the Dakar
courtesy of Bruce Abele.