Yes, it’s Hanukkah! One of my favorite times of year. We began lighting candles on the 22nd of December, the 24th of Kislev. A facebook friend thoughtfully sent me a picture of a very interesting Hanukkiah, an unusual one to be sure.
Since we are in Hanukkah I’ve been thinking about a lot of things as my candles burn. One of them of course is the Maccabees, what was it like to live at that time, in those days?
I recently received a email from Judah Maccabee. I know! But he seems to be good friends with my Rabbi who must have let him use his computer. This is just the first part of the email he sent.
I time-traveled over 2,000 years to talk to you.
My name is Judah. I’m pretty famous in the Chanukah story.
I’m writing to you today because I need your help.
My brothers and I fought a war to take back our temple and the freedom to be Jewish.
People like to think of us as warriors. Born Fighters. Commanding a small but well-trained army.
Nonsense.
We’re just like you.
Regular people, going about our day.
The pressure grew and grew. And finally, instead of saying “You know what they should do…?” for the millionth time, we just did it ourselves.
It wasn’t easy to inspire people to help. Most of them wanted to keep their regular routine and hope that someone else would step up.
Thank G-d, enough people stepped up, and the story of Chanukah happened.
If you are unfamiliar with the story of how Hanukkah began, the first battle, here you go. But the part about Mattityahu is the part I’m getting at. When the Syrians came to their village in Modiin and built an alter and demanded that Mattiyahu sacrifice on it, to the Greek gods. He refused. A Hellenistic Jew stepped forward to do the sacrifice in Mattiyahu’s name. Mattiyahu killed him, then he and his sons went after the Syrian officers and the rest and routed them.
See, the battle of Hanukkah wasn’t about killing Jews, like The National Socialist German Workers’ Party was. It was about killing Judaism. If you were willing to forgo the practice of Judaism, like the Hellenized reformed Jews were, then everything was hunky dorey. If you weren’t? Not so much. Like Communism, they forbade the practice of Judaism.
So back to Mattiyahu, he recognized the threat of what the Syrians were demanding. Then he took the appropriate actions. He knew who his enemy was.
Do we know today? Do we recognize who our enemies are? Who sees us as enemies?
I don’t know if these two stories have gotten much in the way of #MSM #FakeNews attention. I don’t believe they have.
One is the 70 year old Jewish doctor Sarah Halemi who was thrown off a balcony from three stories up by a muslim yelling about allah’s snackbar. Seems he was angry after a fight, with his own family and the result was a 70 year old woman in the same building dying. The Franceistan courts have taken the matter very seriously. They declared the man cannot stand trial as he was high at the time. Jewish blood is cheap to the French courts.
In America we have another member of the religion of pieces that tried to blow up a plane with 150 souls on board. Bucket O’Chum was a Iraqi mechanic working for American Airline. Really American? You couldn’t find Americans to do the job? Bucket O’Chum attempted to sabotage the guidance system on the plane to bring it down. He faces up to three years in jail. Up. To. Three. Years. 150 people. He may serve as much as one week for each attempted murder. That much? I wonder how many other jihadis work for American Airlines?
It seems to charge either one of these murderers appropriately would be islamaphobic. Really?
The right people in positions don’t see a problem with letting them into these positions, apartment buildings, jobs and the like.
Then there was the Pensacola attack. Pentagon screens Saudi military trainees after Pensacola jihad massacre, finds no “current threat”
Ah.
So who does some in government regard as enemies? Well, when it comes to the aspiring tyrant, VA Governor Ralph Northam-Demoncrat, it would be gun owners. Because every life is to be respected. Northam on Abortion Bill: Infant Could Be Delivered and Then ‘Physicians and the Mother’ Could Decide If It Lives
Right.
And he just wants a few things from Virginia citizens (right now). Just a few common sense infringements (for now).
The new measures will include “universal background checks, banning the sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, restoring the law that limits purchases to one gun a month, and a red flag law that would empower a court to temporarily remove a gun from a person deemed to be a risk to himself or others.”
Because hey, he’s about safety (for now). He even offered to let people keep their “assault weapons” if they registered them with the state. Because registration has never lead to confiscation.
In addition to letting people keep their legally purchase rifles, he is willing to let gun rights groups continue to have their meetings too!
Which kind of tells you Northam, a Demoncrat, really does consider people control acceptable. When he was asked about the growing number of Second Amendment Sanctuary cities he said he wouldn’t retaliate, that’s not what he’s about. He then changed the word and said there would be “consequences”. Ah, all better then.
A fellow Demoncrat in the US House of Representatives, Donald McEachin, then suggested using the National Guard against American citizens. So of course the National Guard started getting calls. Not a lot of comfort there.
“We understand and respect the passion people feel for the U.S. Constitution and 2nd Amendment rights. We will not speculate about the possible use of the Virginia National Guard,” he added.
But Demoncrats from VA have lots of ideas on how they can control people.
Here’s the deal: a Virginia Democrat, Jennifer Wexton, has proposed a bill which would use your credit card purchases to track your gun purchases, and history shows that this data will be used against you.
The battle of Hanukkah was about people living as free people in their land, worshiping G-d as he had instructed them. And to some that was just unacceptable. The Maccabees weren’t the modern forerunner of the IDF, they were regular people who stood up. Just like those in Virginia who are fighting back against attempts by Hellenizing Demoncrats to force them to live in subjugation to whoever decides they will “rule” and not “serve” as an elected official.
Hands down, best Hanukkiah ever!
Light a candle, freedom, and fan the flame. Share and spread the light.
Happy Hanukkah
Chag Hanukkah Samach
חג חנוכה שמח
