Jewish Heart Test

At the center of the miracle of Hanukah, and the war of the Macabees over the Greeks, stood the Beit HaMikdash – the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

Temple Menorah

The Beit HaMikdash was the House of G-d on earth, the center of Jewish life and worship. Throughout the year, in all of our prayers, we pray for the Temple’s rebuilding. The yearning for the Temple’s rebuilding is synonymous with our yearning for Jerusalem, for the coming of Mashiach, and the ingathering of all of our scattered exiles.

Here is a simple test to see if your Jewish heart is yearning for the Temple the way that it should.

How many of you observe the following practice, as set down in the “Kitzur Shulcan Aruch,” the basic handbook to Jewish Law?

“After the destruction of the Second Temple, our Sages, of blessed memory, ordained that on every joyous occasion, we must remember the destruction of the Holy Temple, as it is written, ‘If I forget thee O Jerusalem, may I forget my right hand…if I set not Jerusalem above my highest joy’” (Tehillim, 137:5).

This, for instance, is the reason a glass is broken during a Jewish wedding ceremony, to recall the destruction of Jerusalem, and the Jewish ideal of setting the rebuilding of the Jewish Nation in Israel over our private joys.

The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch continues:

“The Sages have decreed that no Jew should build for himself a house painted and decorated in royal style; nor should he paint the entire interior of the house, but he may plaster it, paint it, and leave unpainted the area of a square cubit opposite the entrance, commemorative of the destruction of the Temple.”

How the wall is supposed to look

What’s the situation in your home? Have you left a square unpainted in commemoration of the Jerusalem Temple?

I can hear the cries now: “Is he kidding? Not finish painting my decorator living room? Over my dead body. And be careful not to walk on our imported white rug when you come to visit, and don’t you dare sit on the couch!”

"Keep off the couch!"

In order to evaluate where INN readers are holding on their yearning for Jerusalem, please send in a one word answer,  either “Yes” or “No,” whether your wall has a stark, unpainted square opposite the front door of your house. You can figure out the percentages for yourself in the Talkback section of this post.   

The Hellenists of Today

While many people consider the leftists in Israel the Hellenists of today, the term more fittingly describes the Jews of the Diaspora who have the ability to move to Israel, but prefer to maintain their allegiance to the foreign country and foreign culture where they live. This is exactly what a Hellenist is – as Webster’s Dictionary states: “a person living in Hellenist times who was Greek in language, outlook and way of life, but was not Greek in ancestry, like a Hellenist Jew,” or an American Jew, or English Jew, or Australian Jew of today. Ask any Israeli leftist what his identity is, and he will answer, an Israeli, or a Jew. Ask a Jew from the Diaspora what his identity is, and he will answer, an American, or a Frenchman.

Even the Hanukah dreidel makes this distinction clear.  In the Diaspora, a kid spinning the dreidel understands that “A great miracle happened THERE.” In Israel, and not in Paris, Melbourne or New York.  He realizes that the real Jewish place is Israel. That’s where Jewish history happened, and that’s where it is unfolding today. Spinning the dreidel in the Diaspora is class B Judaism, like the minor leagues, or listening to the World Series on the radio instead of being at the ballpark – or better yet, being a player in the game.

Like listening to the World Series on the radio

Hanukah and Purim are both holidays established by the Sages, but we only recite the joyous Hallel prayer on Hanukah. Why? Because, even though the Jews were saved on Purim, it was only a partial salvation since they were still living under the Persians in a foreign land. In contrast, the salvation of Hanukah, and its joy, were complete, for the victory led to renewed Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel.  Only in israel can there be true Jewish joy. 

How joyous it is to see the Hanukah lights exploded over Gaza! “We thank Thee for the miracles, for the redemption, for the mighty deeds and triumphs, and for the battles which Thou didst perform for our fathers in those days, AT THIS TIME.”

And who is dropping the bombs over Gaza? The Israeli leftists! Miracle of miracles! How wonderful is G-d in all of his works!

Happy Hanukah!

The Secret Of Hanukah

In deference to readers who find my writings on jewish sexuality incongruous to their IsraelNN palettes, I am providing a link to this important article on our jewishsexuality.com website. For those brave souls who venture onward, let it simply be said that from a Kabbalistic point of view, the general national weakness that the Jewish People are experiencing today, with its cultural, military, and economic offshoots, stems from the very same source of spiritual pollution.  

Secret of the Oil