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Like many Mesoamerican pyramids, each was constructed around a core of rubble held in place by retaining walls. The walls were then faced with adobe bricks, and then covered with limestone. The base of the Pyramid of the Sun measures 730 feet per side, with five stepped terraces reaching a height of some 200 feet.

The Aztecs were a Mesoamerican civilization that built massive pyramids as a way to worship their gods. Many pyramids had a temple at the top, which was often used for human sacrifice. Temples were devoted to gods and could also have the remains of kings buried within them.

Conquered by the Assyrian King Shalmaneser V, they were exiled to upper Mesopotamia and Medes, today modern Syria and Iraq. The Ten Tribes of Israel have never been seen since.

Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, 10 of the original 12 Hebrew tribes, which, under the leadership of Joshua, took possession of Canaan, the Promised Land, after the death of Moses. They were named Asher, Dan, Ephraim, Gad, Issachar, Manasseh, Naphtali, Reuben, Simeon, and Zebulun—all sons or grandsons of Jacob.

Melchizedek

The pillar of fire and pillar of cloud were manifestations of the presence of Yahweh in the Book of Exodus in the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible’s Old Testament. The combination meant that the Israelites “could travel by day or night”.

Levites are the descendants of the Tribe of Levi, one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Levites are integrated in Jewish and Samaritan communities, but keep a distinct status. There are estimated 300,000 Levites among Ashkenazi Jewish communities.

Biblical peoples A Jew is prohibited from marrying a male Moabite and Ammonite convert (Deuteronomy 23:4); or an Egyptian or Edomite convert up to the third generation from conversion (Deuteronomy 23:8–9).

According to tradition, 18 high priests served in Solomon’s Temple (c. 960–586 bc) and 60 in the Second Temple (516 bc–ad 70). Since that time, there has been no Jewish high priest, for national sacrifice was permanently interrupted with the destruction of the Second Temple.

Synagogue aliyah On weekdays, this reading is divided into three; it is customary to call a kohen for the first reading (aliyah), a Levite for the second reading, and a member of any other Tribe of Israel to the third reading.

It belongs by right of blood to cohanim, who trace their lineage back to Aaron. A cohen must also preserve his ritual purity by avoiding contact with the dead and hence may not attend funerals, except those of close relatives.

Cohen (Hebrew: כֹּהֵן‎, kōhēn, “priest”) is a Jewish surname of biblical origins (see: Kohen). It is a very common Jewish surname (the most common in Israel), and the following information discusses only that origin.

A male Kohen may not marry a divorcee, a prostitute, or a dishonored woman (חללה) (Leviticus 21:7) A Kohen who enters into such a marriage loses the entitlements of his priestly status while in that marriage.

A Jew who is a Cohen, a descendant of the priestly class, will only attend the funeral and burial of his immediate family as he is otherwise forbidden to come near a corpse. You may see a close friend or relative who is a Cohen remain outside the funeral parlor or cemetery because of this law.