At This Time

I’ve made no secret that I love Hanukkah. I always find miracles humbling, amazing and awe inspiring. And what is Hanukkah but the time of miracles? This year, there are some big ones.

This is the second prayer for the candle lighting of the Hanukkiah

Hebrew
Barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu, melekh ha’olam
Blessed are you, Lord, our God, sovereign of the universe
Hebrew
she’asah nisim la’avoteinu bayamim haheim baziman hazeh. (Amein)
Who performed miracles for our ancestors in those days at this time

And I guess that’s one of the things I’ve been thinking about. “In those days, at this time.”

This year is the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the Jewish people. It’s been 70 years since the U.N. voted Israel a nation, just a note, G-d had voted it long before that. It’s been 22 years since the Jerusalem Embassy act was passed in the US with bi-partisan support saying that the US would move their embassy to Jerusalem, where Israel has the seat of their government. There is no other nation on earth that has not designated their capitol and other countries have told them “No, it’s not”. And for 22 years for reasons of “security” Presidents have signed the loophole waiver, from Bill Clintoon until….President Trump.

The claim was always “security”. It would be discussed and the arabs would threaten “Days of Rage” “Day of Hissy fits” “Days of Pique” “Days of Temper Tantrum”. Here’s a helpful desk calendar from IsraellyCool.

Helpful to schedule your day of “Hissy fit”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the world and the US President would cave. I listened to a radio show in this last week when Rabbi Chaim pointed out “Do you really want to live under the threat of terrorism? Where your lives are controlled by a threat?”. His co-host Yitzach told about a email he received from a friend in the US who asked him his opinion on President Trump’s actions. It was very clear the friend didn’t like President Trump and was very critical of the action. Yitzach told him it was about time, and it was the right thing to do. The friend answered back that he guessed it was, he just didn’t like President Trump and couldn’t believe he could ever do the right thing, and didn’t want to think he had. AND he guzzles Diet Coca Cola!! Classic Trump derangement syndrome. Probably listens to cnn or mslsd (both #FakeNews). May I just point out that Oslo was suppose to bring peace, and how’s that worked out?? Um, not so well. And the media has yammered on and on about how President Trump broke the status quo. By finally implementing a LAW passed 22 YEARS ago?

And that brings me to Hanukkah. Hanukkah is different from Purim. With Purim we celebrate the very survival of the Jewish nation. Haman had decreed all were to be killed. Dead, met, מת

With Hanukkah, I think the case could be made it was something even worse, the Greek Antiochus had decreed that Jews would not allowed to be, well, Jews. He wanted to kill their souls, not just their bodies. They couldn’t observe feasts, Shabbat, Rosh Chodesh, or anything really that G-d had instructed. The Greeks worshiped the physical form, logic and Antiochus, never the most stable of rulers couldn’t abide that the Jews, well at least the backwards ones in flyover country would defy him. The more “enlightened” of the Jews worshiped at the alter of the demoncrats and Hellenism and were fine with casting off the chains of duty to G-d.

But then there was the Maccabees. Mattathias and his sons, his warrior son Judah who most assuredly were not going to “coexist”. They had no illusions as to what that would result in. There’s actually a bit of a pattern in this area. This is actually a T-shirt:

The fate of nations that have come against Israel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s available here.

Chronology of the Jewish People and Hanukkah

To read more about the specifics of Hanukkah, TZP has some columns.

Some things are worth fighting for

It’s The Most MACCABEE Time of the Year!

My little attempt at poetry, Twas a Night During Hanukkah

Cleaning the Menorah for Next Year

And so, President Trump, and his recent speech about Hanukkah and Jerusalem.

Predictably, some of the arabs living in Israel (sometimes known as Falestinians by me) had reacted with ________ depending on the day. They are so miffed that Abu Mazen has refused to meet with Vice-President Pence and are threatening to cut ties with the U.S. No word if they will continue to take our money yet though.

And from the other loony toon spectrum Hamass is planning to “liberate occupied Tel Aviv”. No, I’m not making that up, I couldn’t.

You see, with the arabs living in Israel, it really isn’t about Jerusalem or the Alka Seltzer Mollusk. It never was. When they pray they face Mecca, they turn their Hamasses towards the Mollusk, not usually sign of reverence. More a sign of a 15 year old boy mooning a teacher he doesn’t like.

Remember I said The Maccabees didn’t live with illusions? There should be no illusions that giving in to arab terrorism will result in peace, it will not. There should be no illusions that “compromising” with anti-gun people or politicians will result in good gun laws. It will not. Like the Maccabees, we need to live with no illusions about people or situations.

In those days, at this time. The Maccabees were raised up, and were there to fight for Jewish life, Torah and Israel.

I don’t know about you, but there are times I’ve felt compelled to do something when it really didn’t make a lot of sense to me. I couldn’t think of a good reason, but I felt like I was suppose to do it, and so I did. Only later it might become apparent why I need to do, buy or learn whatever. But I was very glad I had heeded the urging.

In those days, at this time. Remember last week when I talked about Jacob going back for the tupperware of oil? He had just struggled with the angel, his hip had been wounded, he has a new name, he’s headed to face off with his brother who has sworn to kill him and he goes back for a tupperware of oil?

On the Chabad web site, From the Talmud:

Rabbi Shlomo Luria, the Maharshal, suggests that these jugs contained the oil that Jacob had designated for anointing the monument he had set up many years earlier during his flight to Haran.3 This was holy oil, then, so Jacob did not want to leave it behind.4

Interestingly, these jugs may be linked to the miracle of Chanukah. According to Tzeidah la-Derech, “G‑d said to Jacob: You risked your life for a small jug of oil for My sake. In return, I will repay your descendants, the Hasmoneans, when a miracle will happen for them with a small jug of oil.”

In those days, at this time. We too are here in these days at this time for a purpose. We all are blessed with one, and we all fit together like a jig saw puzzle. The staff at Zelman’s Partisans, the people in the Second Amendment community, the people who take the kids out and give them their first experience safely learning to shoot, pro-freedom politicians, Second Amendment activists of all kinds, all of us fit and work together. May we all be blessed with knowing our purpose, and enjoying the blessings of Hanukkah and Christmas.

I’ll leave you with this humorous little video clip a good friend of mine from Israel shared with me a few days ago.

And how could I not give you a Hanukkah video?? It has English subtitles and it’s beautiful. I love it because they say Nes Gadol Haya POH!! Not Sham. That’s because they are in Israel, not anywhere else.

My Favorite Hanukkiah

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chag Hanukkah Samach

חג חנוכה שמח

Merry Christmas too!!

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