It's like you are there.  A cool video that brings you inside the Holy Temple making you feel wonderful, and embraced by G-d. 

But first - I have a confession to make.  Let me tell you about it.  Well, you know that it is Chanukah vacation, and it's a slower pace now.  And with this mindset, I thought that I would make some pop corn and sit and watch a movie that one of my guests had checked out from the video store.  It was called Benjamin Button, about a man who was born old and aged backwards.  I thought, great, no prob, the idea of someone going through life backwards sounded intriguing and they needed to return the video soon.  And so I sat and watched, and watched, and watched...  The movie was un-ending!  But I wanted to see how it would wind up, if he would be a baby in the end, or die with the mind of a baby but be 6 feet tall, or whatever, and what he learned from life, etc.  Well, I finally got to the end of watching, and zzzzzzzzzz.  What a waste of my precious time!  It's winter, and night time comes early.  I had started watching in the mid afternoon, and now, it was all dark outside, and I hadn't accomplished anything that day. Not even learned anything or come away with anything after watching that looooooong movie.  Thumbs down on that one.  ...But it won't be thumbs down on this one. 

Watch this move below (thanks to Judith who sent this to me) it really is uplifting and a wonderful holiday experience.  May we merit the Third Temple soon in our time, amen!

When I think of Moldavia/Moldova, I think of the television show 'Dynasty' and the wedding massacre they made where everyone was shot and you didn't know who would survive for next season.  The script writer thought it would boost their ratings. What I don't think of,  is church led anti-semitic pograms against the Jews. But sadly, this is exactly what I have to report on.

I woke up this morning to the news in Hebrew, reporting about a Moldovan church priest who led his congregants
on an anti-semitic mission in Kishinev, to destroy a menorah in the town's square for the 8 day Chanukah holiday, and replace it with the wooden cross.  (see also our updated story)

The priest, marching with his congregants following behind, is reported to have been spouting anti-Jewish
and racial slurs.

"The Jews can try to kill us, to traumatize our children," but Moldovan Orthodox believers will resist, the priest said, speaking into a sound system. Moldova, he said, was an Orthodox country, and the Jewish people are trying to "dominate people." Allowing the menorah to be set up had been "a sacrilege, an indulgence of state power today,"
 
Marching towards Europe Square where the Chanukah menorah stood, he and his church-goers, in what looked like a 'religious cleansing' type ceremony, stole the Jewish menorah.  They then marched with the ripped off Jewish symbol of religious freedom, to Stefan cel Mare Square, where they dismembered the menorah and placed it's pieces 'upside down', in a sign, not unlike the satanic custom of contempt.
 



They did this in broad daylight.
They were not even violent or scary looking, as old women were part of their ilk.
Yet no one, no one watching this, did anything.

"Never again" you say?
It's at least 60 years after Hitler and the Holocaust, and 500+ years after the Inquisition where they burned Jews at the stake.  The world has learned nothing. 

Lest you forgot, the whole Chanukah holiday story is commemorating the fight for religious freedom.  It was the first time that a war had ever been fought - not for water, natural resources, wealth or borders, - but for religious freedom. Under the Greek-Syrian rule, Jews were not allowed to be Jews. They were forbidden from reading the Torah, from keeping the commandment of circumcision, and were totally religiously oppressed. They were commanded to 'Hellenize' ('globalize' [sic]). 

Seems like today we are seeing a repeat of the intolerance and hatred of the nations once again to anything Jewish. This time in Moldova.

The Dynasty cast had a script writer that in the end didn't improve their ratings, however, we too have a script-writer.  His name is G-d Almighty. He calls us His first born, His 'Chosen People'.   He writes in His script, the book of Numbers 24:9  "Those that bless you are blessed, and those who curse you are accursed."   The cast of characters we saw act in this video above, also didn't improve their ratings, and THEY will have to answer to G-d!

Why do we take it?  How is it that a society chooses to sleep, rather than wake up from their bad dream and fix things?  Sometimes it takes 'the shock factor' to do what 'rationalization' smothers. The little known Chanukah story of how the Hasmonean revolt started, was actually because of a very brave woman!

(This blog is a re-post from 2007)

The background of the Chanukah story recalls the struggle for religious freedom from the Hellenistic Syrian-Greeks in the year, 165 B.C.E.  Antiochus, who was the occupying King at those times, sought to crush our Jewish identity and passed decrees against the practice of Judaism.  We were forbidden from studying the Torah, we were forbidden to keep the Shabbat  (Sabbath) and we were forbidden from making a brit milah (circumcision).  To do so meant the death penalty.  

"Hellenistic rituals and sacrifices were instituted in the Bet HaMikdash (the holy Temple in Jerusalem), thus desecrating the sacred center of Jewish ritual life. Many Jews were impressed by the culture and power of their Greek conquerors and adopted their customs and practices. These Jews came to be known as "Hellenists". –Sound familiar to our situation today?

“Other Jews were infuriated by the oppressive decrees aimed at destroying their religion, and vowed revenge. They were led by Mattityahu, a Chashmona'i (Hasmonean) who lived in Modiin with his five sons, who came to be known as the Maccabim. This name is derived from the first letter of each word in the phrase "Mi kamocha ba'elim Hashem?" ("Who is like You, O L-rd, among the mighty?".   After three years of guerrilla warfare in the hills and forests against the strong and powerful armies of the Syrian-Greek King Antiochus, the relatively small and poorly armed Maccabim won, and recaptured Jerusalem.  But WHAT started this revolt? What shocked the Maccabim into action?

One of my favorite stories of Chanukah is the story about Chana (Hannah).  Not the extremely powerful story of Hannah and her 7 sons, but a different ‘Chana’. 

This 'Chana' used what I think is an important strategy to wake people up from their stupor.  Shock.

Too many of us do not want to change our daily routine.  We are comfortable in our lives and we don’t want disruption, and so it easier to bear burdens if they come in servings that we are able to swallow. If an evil regime passed all their terrible laws at once, people would be convinced they must fight.  But if the laws are ushered in one by one, in bite sized pieces, we learn to adapt.   We act this way because it is easier to be a little uncomfortable than have to go to battle and face having to risk it all, to lose everything we have worked for and even possibly risk our lives and that of our children.  No one likes disruption, and so we swallow the evil.  

Sometimes we need someone to slap us, to wake us from our stupor and fight the evil that has embedded itself in our midst.  A young woman who lived many years ago did just that.  And we should all thank her.

 The story from the Midrash goes like this: 

The Marriage of Chana, Daughter of Mattathias (Mattityahu)  - Read below or see story here.

"As part of their campaign to break the spirit of the Jews, the Greeks decreed that every maiden must spend her wedding night in the bed of the regional governor, and that only afterward would she be permitted to her husband. They wanted to destroy Jewish sanctity and degrade the Jews.  As a result of this decree, the Jews stopped marrying. For three years and three months, no wedding was held in Judea. Then it came time for Hannah, daughter of Mattityahu the Hasmonean to marry. In spite of the decree, Mattityahu held a great celebration, inviting the leaders of the nation, for Mattathias' family was extremely prominent. The bride sat, as was customary, at the head table, but suddenly stood up, clapped her hands together, and tore her expensive wedding dress, exposing herself. 
Everyone looked away in embarrassment, and her brothers ran to fall upon her and kill her for shaming herself and her family.

But Hannah exclaimed to them all, 'now you are so zealous as to shield your eyes? For THIS you are zealous, yet you are willing to have a Greek see me naked and have his way with me?' "

The story continues, "Why, when I shame myself before my relatives and friends are you so filled with embarrassment and anger that you wish to kill me, but you agree to surrender me this night so the heathen governor can lie with me? Why do you not learn from Simon and Levy, sons of our forefather Jacob, who avenged the rape of their sister Dinah (in Genesis, chapter 34)?  They were only two brothers who fought and took a whole city to free her, I have FIVE brothers - and where are you?"

This, my friends, is what spurred the revolt of the Maccabees on the Syrian-Greeks and led to the first holiday commemorating religious freedom and the lift of the yoke of Hellenism and Greek occupation.

The story of Hannah goes on:

"Everyone realized that Hannah was right; her brothers discussed the matter and came to a decision. They dressed their sister in the finest garments and brought her with great ceremony, at the head of a large procession, to the King. Hannah's brother's declared, "We are the sons of the High Priest, and it is not fitting that our sister be given to the governor. Our sister is fit only for the King himself!" The brothers' words found favor in the King's eyes.

The brothers accompanied Hannah to the royal bed chamber, and thereupon, seized the King and killed him. Afterward, they stormed out killing ministers, guards, and servants, who were in the palace. So began the Hasmonean revolt. "

A sequel to this event is the story of yet ANOTHER Jewish Heorine named Yehudit (Judith).   "Yehudit was a beautiful woman who single-handedly saved the Jewish town of Bethulia during the Hasmonean revolt. 
When her city was surrounded and besieged by the Syrian army of General Holofernes, she made a plan to save her people. She left the city walls of Bethulia with her maid in what looked like her fleeing to Holofernes' camp.  She told the cruel General Holofernes that she wanted to save herself and told him that the defeat of the Jews of the city was near. Impressed with Yehudit's beauty and her prediction of his defeat of the Jews, he invites her to celebrate with him 'alone'.   Yehudit tells him she must eat her own food which she made, and shows him the cheese delicies she has brought with her.  She feeds him this salty cheese, which induces the general to wash it down with wine and he falls into a deep sleep. She then approaches his bed and says a prayer:

"Answer me, O L-rd, as You answered Yael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, when you delivered the wicked general Sissera into her hands. Strengthen me this once that I may bring Your deliverance to my people whom this cruel man vowed to destroy, and let the nations know that You have not forsaken us..."

Yehudit then unsheathed Holofernes' heavy sword which was hanging near his bed and brought it down upon his neck with all her might.

She leaves his bloody corpse soaking his mattress and takes the head and her maid away from the slumbering enemy camp to Bethulia. She tells the Jews of Bethulia that victory will soon be theirs. She takes the head of Holofernes and puts it on a stake in public view to strengthen the will of the people. She then tells the Jewish men to wait for dawn to make a surprise attack. The enemy's camp is not prepared for a Jewish onslaught on them. When the morning comes with the charge of the Jews towards their camp, Holofernes's men run to their commander's tent where they find his headless body on the blood soaked mattress. In their shock, fear and confusion, they flee for their lives.  The Jews won the revolt and Yehudit was their hero."

This Chanukah, we must remember the valor and strength of the Jewish women who risked their lives, to keep Israel Jewish.  To Chana and her 7 sons, to Yehudit, and to Chana the daughter of the high priest who shocked the Jews into action, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

A former terror member, this Muslim man, Dr. Hamid Tawfik tells Israel what it must do to fight its enemies. He says he is trying to reform Islam and wake up the millions of Muslims to see Israel as a blessing, and not believe the anti-Semitic propaganda that they were taught by their leaders. 

I won't write anymore. Why mess with perfection?  This video says it all. 

Kudos to Yoni Kempinski who conduceted this interview for Israel National NewsTV.

Sometimes when I get curious, I go to the 'enemy's' websites and read what they are saying about us.  I always come away feeling so good afterwards, as they post on these sites how well we are doing.  It's like the old joke about the story of a Jewish man who was riding on the subway reading a Neo-Nazi newspaper.  A friend of his, who happened to be riding in the same subway car, noticed this strange phenomenon.  Very upset, he approached the newspaper reader:

"Moshe, have you lost your mind? Why are you reading a Neo-Nazi newspaper?"

Moshe replied: "I used to read the Jewish newspaper, but what did I find? Anti-Semitism in Europe, terrorism in Israel, Jews disappearing through assimilation and intermarriage, Jews living in poverty. So I switched to the Neo-Nazi newspaper. Now what do I find? Jews own all the banks, Jews control the media, Jews are all rich and powerful, Jews rule the world. The news is so much better!"

And so it is with reading what the Arabs are saying about the Jewish communities in Judea & Samaria that made me really happy to read.  (Inserted italics are my comments) They say as follows:

"Settlements: The Facts

There are currently 121 [yippee!  ken yirbu (may it multiply)] Israeli settlements and approximately 102 Israeli outposts built illegally on Pales-tinian land occupied [liberated] by Israel in 1967. All of these settlements and outposts are illegal under international law and have been condemned by numerous United Nations Security Council resolutions. Israeli outposts are considered illegal under Israeli law." " ...to be continued

Please view this video BEFORE continuing to read.  It shows you the miracles that G-d has bestowed upon us, and what the enemies of Israel, the Arab States, the Obama Administration in the White House, the International Community and the 'Leftists' want to rip up and destroy!

Be a witness to the first ever look at the beautiful Jewish settlement communities scattered like Jewels throughout the so called west bank. This is the land at the cradle of Jewish civilization and is known today as Yehuda and Shomron or in English as Judea and Samaria. The return of our people to this Holy Land is proof that our Beloved G-d is keeping His promise He made with our father Abraham in which he said to him, "To your descendants I will I give this Land" At that time G-d established in Hebron the covenant of B'rit Mila. So today the 122 beloved settlement communities provide proof that G-d has not forgotten His Beloved people.

Film by Ezra Ridgley: Author of the book, 'Judea & Samaria: The Land of G-d' at:  TorahAlive.com
 

I hope you didn't think that these 'settlements' the world condemns are just a bunch of trailer homes on a hilltop.  tsk, tsk, did you fall for that?  If so, I hope this video opened your eyes and corrected the 'enemy's' propoganda.

Continuing now with the Arab propaganda website...

"These settlements and outposts are inhabited by a population of some 462,000 Israeli settlers. 191,000 Israelis are living in settlements around Jerusalem and a further 271,400 are further spread throughout the West Bank. The settler population has grown consistently between 4-6% per year over the last two decades, a much higher rate of growth than Israeli society as a whole (1.5%).  [yippee!  ken yirbu (may it multiply)]

... In 2008, amidst the �settlement freeze� agreed upon in the Annapolis framework, tenders for new settle-ment building increased by 550% from 2007. Actual settlement construction has increased by 30% since the launching of the new round of peace talks. Settlement building around Jerusalem has increased by a factor of 38.  [yippee!  ken yirbu (may it multiply).  Now I am really happy and want to dance a jig!]

A total of 9,000 further housing units have been approved in East Jerusalem, and approximately 2,600 new housing units are being built east of the Separation Wall, comprising 55% of all settlement construc-tion activity.  [Ahh, this is just cream on the pudding!) 
These settlements and outposts are inhabited by a population of some 462,000 Israeli settlers...


Settlements are built on less than 3 percent of the area of the West Bank. [Dang!  Only 3%? We need to do better, ...although, if it is just 3% and we have built so much, then maybe we aren't doing so badly!]  However, due to the extensive network of settler roads and restrictions on Palestinians accessing their own land, Israeli settlements domi-nate more than 40 percent of the West Bank. [I am feeling really good! Tell me more! I'm a'lovin it!]

...Settlements are the cause of great inequalities in ac-cess to natural resources between Israelis and Palestin-ians.    [Don't ask me why they keep hyphenating words over two syllables long in this article. Maybe it is hard for them to read or pronounce?  Even the name 'Palestinians' which they gave themselves. sheesh!]  Many settlements are built on prime agricultural land confiscated from Palestinians, or over key water resources such as the Western Aquifer basin, springs and wells.

Israeli West Bank settlers domestically consume an amazing 280 liters of water per day, per person com-pared to 86 liters per day available for Palestinians in the West Bank - [I know, guilty.  We take showers and they apparently don't.] only 60 of which are considered po-table. The World Health Organization recommends a minimum of 100 liters per day � [Oh, yes, from the W.H.O. whom we trust our lives with [sic], and the people who want forced vaccinations for a flu that, though contageous, is not any deadlier than other common flus.] meaning that settlers utilize far more than double the water required, while Palestinians do not approach the minimum.  [Do the Arabs living in Israel also contribute to the finding of new water sources, or the science of re-cycling/reusing grey water, etc,,, not!]

But only looking at domestic use is misleading. The brunt of water resources consumed by Israel are for farming and industrial purposes. [Guilty, yes, we do grow food to feed people, and make the land bloom rather than leave it a ghastly backwards desert region which it has been under Muslim rule.] When one looks at these numbers, the inequality between Israel and Palestinian resource sharing grows dramatically.

It is also misleading to look at the amount of land ac-tually �settled� in the West Bank (3%), as opposed to the more than 40% of West Bank residential and vital agricultural land confiscated around the settlements themselves.

By stealing both the land and water resources from Palestine, the Israeli settlers and the Israeli state have literally made the �desert bloom� whilst Palestinians are left with little of their own wealth by which to compete. [When you had your (supposed') great nation of Palestine (NOT!) all these last centuries under the Ottoman Empire, why didn't YOU make it bloom?  Why didn't you find the water resources and nurture  and tend the land? Why did you keep the land down and barren? You are a bunch of cry babies and no more the owner of this land, than the mother of the baby that told King Solomon that it was alright with her if he sliced the baby in half.] 

And so, I say, write on, you who have chosen to be G-d's enemies by cursing His People. Keep crying to the world while the lovers of Israel laugh with joy at all the progress we have made ...and that makes your blood boil, though it shouldn't.  You can choose to stay living in the 12th century as barbarians, while we continue to tend the land, grow food to feed people, grow flowers that we often export to people's tables in Europe, and keep building homes and schools that help all Israeli citizens and which enable the bringing of Jews home after our long wandering of the globe.  It's all prophesized in the Bible.  Maybe you should read it.

Long live those stubborn and Land-of-Israel-loving Jewish pioneers. King Solomon would say to the world, that by the settler's actions, this Land is our baby!