Light of 7 Menachem Av 5786 | אור ז' מנחם אב התשפ"ו
Here's a video I wanted to post for ever so long, but I lost the connection to it. Avi Abelow kindly provided me a link to this Pulse of Israel special:
It's a beautiful example of how a community that was hit by great tragedy was able to be revived by a Torah wedding and a new beit knesset. It took place in Nahal Oz, one of the communities that was viciously attacked on October Seventh, 2023/Simchat Torah 5784, and since this video was taken, has a synagogue as well as a brand new Torah.
I could not find anything on the Internet about the uniqueness of a Torah wedding, so I am taking on the work of describing it: Carrying a freshly written Torah on a wagon or something similar in a parade with a lot of people going with it through the streets of the neighborhood of the village, town or city where it will be read out loud, and the calligrapher who painstakingly hand-wrote the Torah (called a sofer) even helping a number of neighbors fill in, for a small donation each, one of the final letters of it before it is read. It symbolizes the reenactment of the wedding of the Torah to the Jewish People.
Without even thinking about it, I found one thing about which the Internet may have no knowledge. Until today.
With God's help, may all who watch it be blessed abundantly.
Did you know that Shmuel Sackett went to jail in Israel, for her sake, decades ago? Neither did I, until I watched this video and couldn't stop watching until the end — which I rarely experience with something this long.
I admit, it helps that there's a lot more about what Shmuel has been doing since then, to where he is today.
Watch, and let me know what you think in the comments!
-HDG
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P.S. A while back Shmuel wrote us (the mailing list), blowing away the notion that all our soldiers, alive and dead, are back in Israel. Three people still need to be returned, from times before "October 7th":
Ron ben Batya (Ron Arad - he may still be alive)
Eliyahu haKohen ben Sophia (Eli Cohen)
Yekutiel Yehuda Nachman haKohen ben Sarah (Yehuda Katz)
Blogger's Note: This first part is about as close to real "breaking news" as I can ever manage! A major part of the process leading up to the Very End of Days. The second is a comment to Tomer Devorah about a topic she wrote about a few years ago, and brought up in another post a couple of months ago.
I'm writing about a summary of the true story of the nations' very real conspiracy against the Jews, predicted in Psalm 83 by Asaf, known as the Seer: A set of five essays, written in scholarly fashion by a man named David Moses ben Abraham and first posted by Jewish Home News, has spelled out how first, the Catholic Church, and then Islam along with it, set out to disperse, defame and, if at all possible, destroy the Jewish People.
The part that remains is how we are to deal with this situation that was handed down to us today; and how Mr. ben Abraham clarifies how we must think about it in order to handle it correctly and effectively.
These words, disperse, defame and destroy, which I'm calling "the unearthed 3Ds" for now, were derived from my study of the five essays linked below, and comprise the pattern taken by the nations to rid the world of us, as if it were possible. The sun, moon and stars are still in the sky, and HaShem promised us that we would exist as long as they do (read Jeremiah/Yirmiyah 31: 34-35 according to the Tana"ch. Mr. ben Abraham went according to the King James version, where the verses are 35-36.)
(I'm adding v. 36 of the Tana"ch version because it clearly states:
Thus said HASHEM: If the heavens above could be measured or the foundations of the earth plumbed below, so too would I reject the entire seed of Israel because of everything they did — the word of HASHEM.
-Artscroll translation¹. This adds even more weight to the verses above it.)
My understanding of this, in a nutshell, is that those who condemn
Israel have to know a lot more than they can possibly know in order to
condemn Israel. And they refuse to know what they can know, never mind the limitations on what they know.
These are the "unearthed 3Ds" that even Natan Sharansky must learn. Disperse, defame and destroy.
His "Three Ds of antisemitism" were delegitimization, demonization and double standards, and I used them as an excellent guideline for many years. However, mine, in response to the Jewish Home News article discussed in this section, go back to the earliest days of the "modern" (since the Roman Empire and the beginning of the Catholic Church) era.
I am convinced that this is what the Israeli government must focus on learning; and even if they won't, we citizens need to; and any other Jews who want to know the truth about why many Jews, Israelis or not, get it so wrong about how we got into the position we're in.
It's not so much about what the nations do; it's what the Jews do.
Many thanks for the permission of Mordechai Sones to blog on this very important topic. I may write about this again, be"H, b"n.
FOOTNOTES:
¹The Prophets: Jeremiah, Artscroll Mesorah Publications, Ltd., First Edition 2014. R' Sherman, Nosson; R' Zlotowitz, Meir, managing editors; pp. 276-77.
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I would like to propose stopping what Tomer Devorah calls "the Eliyahu challenge at the end of days" test dead in its tracks (see video below 🖗). In my
humble opinion, the Muslims are completely unqualified to administer it;
and all the more so, no one else qualifies either. This is yet another attempt at "Disperse, defame and destroy."
Why? Here are three reasons:
1. They "obey" our commandments in reverse. Lying, stealing, murder and more are constantly practiced against the kufar — anyone who either isn't Muslim or who has defected from Islam. Especially Jews, but could be anyone.
Our commandments say not to do any of these. Now that I think about it: Whether you are Jewish or not, please pray for us that HaShem will give us the Biblically-mandated court system in Israel.
(The death penalty is a separate thing from murder, since it is a possible just judgment given by a lawful court. The Jewish courts of old were known to not hand out these severe judgments freely. I am not qualified to speak about today's courts in any detail, and governance in general in Israel in this context, although I do have my thoughts about them, considering the scandals that have risen recently within our current system as administered by our current government.)
2.
They haven't been tested the way we have, including being culled on a regular basis for the
past 2,000 years, beginning in Egypt. Only one-fifth of of our population, who were slaves in their entirety generation after generation for over 200 years (in other words, there were no other Hebrews, Israelites or Jews left in the entire world), left Egypt because all the rest died in the three days of darkness due to their desire to stay in Egypt, resulting in lack of faith in the redemption led by Moses our Teacher (Moshe Rabbenu) at the behest of God. All the rest of those who accompanied us out of there were "erev rav" (the mixed multitude referred to in Exodus, who came along with our ancestors).
All the rest of the culling was done by human beings who hated Jews.
3. They haven't had the equivalent of the Erev
Rav accompany them and intermarry with them for the last three thousand years plus, messing up our laws, tripping us up constantly in our own eyes and the eyes of the world.
The results would only be what would be expected from any other nation. They're only impressed when we win, despite ourselves.
Whether we're being tested by a teacher or a judge, or whomever (except
HQB"H and the Heavenly court), such a person or group of people would have to have gone
through the same "curriculum" as what is being tested on the Jews, and PASSED. After all, don't teachers and judges have to go through tests, not only of the material they learn, but also of their character?
Where is the evidence that the Muslims have passed such tests regarding the Jewish people, whom they would presume to judge? Their great populations and power are not the answer. We Jews learn from the Torah that Esau (the Western World) and Yishmael (the Arab/Middle Eastern world, or a significant portion thereof) will have great power and numbers of people, but that doesn't make them the heirs to the Jewish fortune that is ultimately promised to us.
After all, who would presume to exterminate and then inherit?
This is the video Tomer Devorah made of the Eliyahu challenge at the end of days...may it never be.
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Some context with our times and recent events: Jewish resilience stems from the knowledge that when God makes a promise to His people (the ones He expects to obey Him), we know that He will keep it, no matter how long it takes. I want to acknowledge here the contribution the living former hostages of the Simchat Torah massacre, both female and male — since the women got out of captivity first — have made to the preservation of the Jewish people in the Holy Land, just by encouraging Shabbat observance (although more observances are probably being encouraged as well).
And, thank God, the Goldin family finally has their son Hadar's body back, and has put it to rest properly, after over 10 years in captivity (yes, I know this is old news, but I'm still appreciating it.).
At the same time, within the time frame of the hostage release, the sudden explosion of the revelations of the evil deeds of our governance system — which include the more bureaucratic, military and juristocratic parts of the government that the public doesn't vote for — are being exposed and dealt with, God willing. It must be quite an experience for longer-term Israelis than I (only 18.5 years for me at this writing; it's pretty overwhelming for me too.).
Last but not least, for now: The latest attempt at genocide from Iran (or proxies, or something resembling them), whether on "their own" people, or ours. At this writing, "the jury's still out" as they say.
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Over any plans to deplete the earth of people — of which the Jewish population is a prime target — I would rather Mashiach be revealed now, or very soon, because the whole point of this open miracle from God is to be witnessed far and wide all over the earth by both the good and the evil who will be alive at that time.
5 Iyar 5786 | ה' אייר ה'תשפ"ו Happy 78th Birthday, State of Israel! Here's hoping the leadership here wakes up and the d33p state disappears!
My favorite "news" source in these days of "war feeling very close to me" are the media led by Avi Abelow, an IDF reservist for at least 20 years (from what I can tell). I remember when he put out the movie Home Game in 2005, depicting the lead-up into the Gerush from Gush Katif, that shows how teenagers back then felt about the impending expulsion (the leadership called it "disengagement." We know now how bad that mistake was! We see how it led directly to the Simchat Torah massacre on October 7, 2023.).
Avi manages to be very encouraging and tough at the same time. Here's an example of how he speaks to us...
If there were an election for Mashiach ben Yosef, I would suggest that Avi run for it. His media outlets are Pulse of Israel and Israel Video Network. You can also click on these links on my sidebar here 👉👉👉. They are in two different spots.
The best thing of all is that Avi encourages his audience to look to God for deliverance from our troubles, rather than our leadership or that of the US or other countries...and he's not a rabbi or any other kind of preacher! Just a regular Jew.
Below is another example, this time with an employee or associate (I don't know what they are called) of IVN.
The UN voted in Iran — of all countries — to be on a committee dealing with human rights, on 16 April 2026. Last Thursday, at this writing! Spoiler: By a landslide! Can you believe this? If you click on the link immediately above, with the title of the post, you'll get to see the final vote for it.
As Leah commented at the end of her article,
UN members sit there and condemn Israel for anything and everything.
And then tyrannical regimes get put on committees dealing with human
rights. How twisted and backward that is! The UN is far from a
trustworthy institution. This clip of the UN is sadly just one of many
examples of how this organization is a farce. Anyone who takes the
United Nations seriously does not live on this planet.
Even if it feels like much of the world is against you,
stand on the right side of history. Stand with morality. Don’t give in
to the nonsense that seemingly permeates the entire world sometimes.
Swim against the tide. Because in the end, it will be worth it.
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Abba, please redeem us now! Help us do real teshuva (return, repentance) and let the Kingdom come!
(If you prefer to take in more than one video in a session, R' Allen has assembled them all HERE.)
Congratulations on a job well done!
Introduction
I've been wondering for a long time what my people have to say about Mashiach and the Jewish People, and how scholars of Biblical Hebrew understand some of the most pertinent prophecies regarding them.
Finally, someone is rising to the occasion.
R' Hoshea Allen has been creating a series of videos that explain the Hebrew in the prophet Isaiah, chapter 52:13 through all of chapter 53, called The Suffering Servant.
This is the first part, which covers 52:13, the third-to-last verse of the chapter.
R' Allen discusses these well-known prophetic utterances said to involve Mashiach, mainly due to fervent Christians preaching the gospel, convinced that Isaiah's words there allude to their man-g-d. A problem lies in the fact that they don't teach it from the original language and therefore can't possibly translate or understand it correctly and in context.
Even Christians in Israel are most likely not to be familiar with the nuances and even the simple meanings of Biblical Hebrew. Particularly when it comes to the Prophets, it is not so simple.
The writings of the prophet Isaiah under discussion are accessible HERE (Hebrew & English, starting with Isaiah 52:13). You will be able to scroll down to the appropriate verses being discussed from there in the remaining parts of this series. The rest of the videos are linked to at the top and bottom of the main part of this post.
Ramban is the famous Nahmanides (R' Moshe ben Nahman); it's a Hebrew acronym. R' Hoshea's notes in Hebrew, for viewers to follow along with this video — should they so choose — are on Al haTorah HERE.
The whole earthly reason the Jewish people are oppressed is because the nations, especially the ruling secular governments, even more than the Christians and the Muslims (as if this weren't enough, already, with very few exceptions), don't want us to have our place in the world. Weakness, smallness and dependency are their watchwords for us. They were genuinely afraid when, over this past summer, we were temporarily victorious in the Middle East, some even calling us the "hegemon" of the Middle East.
It doesn't mean we won't win in the end, but perhaps we've been delayed for a while. Hopefully, it won't be too much longer. R' Pinchas Winston wrote an article in 5772 ( called Interpreting Signs: Parashas Vayechi about the approximate time period when tichiyat hametim (resurrection of the dead) could happen, 214-210 years before the year 6000. According to this, all the Jews have to be here by 5790 (four years from now).
In truth, we haven't been ready for our final deliverance for a very long time. A great many here, as our state sits on the Holy Land of Israel, the Jews with many levels of relationship with God relying on her merit paired with their observance — those who consider themselves to be the "adults in the room" and who haven't been the majority in the nation for quite some time — don't want to see the Kingdom of Israel rise, along with our laws ensuring adherence to the Torah, replete with explanations in the Prophets and Writings as to why these laws exist and are necessary.
Lately, their self-perceptions, and the actions that followed, which have been backed by the United Nations and other international organizations, have been challenged and found wanting. The judgments and the consequences the secular-oriented governances around the world have not yet been rendered.
Because their system still stands for the time being, we don't have a real chance to prove how effective Jewish Law, and its non-Jewish component, the Seven Noahide Laws, would be in ensuring that goodness and justice win in the world.
Thus, our vulnerability.
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Some variables to consider:
Christians are very good at getting people scared about going to hell; I know this from personal experience. Many times people are so scared that they don't think about the implications of believing the way the believers in Jesus are directing them to do...let's begin at the beginning, the way they usually present their religion and their man-g-d.
(For modern readers, "beget" is an old English word that has to do with the male's part in reproduction. The word that indicates this in Hebrew is "zera" (זרע), or seed. Nowadays, it's used in a gender-neutral way concerning concepts. See here for more details on beget, and much more.)
As for Islam: No matter how much their laws resemble ours, we must not make the mistake of thinking that they would enforce them in the same way.
Islam's laws are more similar to Jewish Law; in fact, many of them ARE OUR LAWS. It's the way they are enforced under Islam, rather the opposite from how we were commanded to do so if our current governance were not in the way, that makes the difference.
Have you noticed that they've been making an open attempt to conquer Europe — they may have
succeeded there already — and the United States — they've only just begun
in New York City and other places there...? It's part of their grand strategy.
We are looking at a perfect example of another strategy, currently ongoing in Iran. There is much to sympathize with, particularly regarding their civilian population.
In fact, Iran (formerly PERSIA..sound familiar?) was taken over, by Muslims who don't seem to have come from there, in 1979. We can see this by the uprising happening as I type; the orders of the leadership seem to have no regard in them for the civilian population, reportedly arresting over 2,000 and killing 27 as of 6 January 2026, and killing at least 217 from 28 December 2025 to 9 January 2026. These numbers include children: 6 in the first link. The second doesn't mention them.
It's interesting to see all the ethnicities in Iran nowadays; religiously, most of their
families were not Muslims in 1979, when the Muslims took it over. (See Wikipedia there.)
Also, most of the Muslims who lead the country today are not Persians. A prime example is the supreme leader himself: Seyyed Ali Khamenei is Azeri (family from Azerbaijan).
A chilling Israel Realtime update on 11 January cites human rights organization estimates to be 2,000 to 6,000 killed.
I take this trend estimate to possibly mean the Iranian leadership doesn't care about them because they are not related to them. The people of the land Iran sits on, we should know and remember, are PERSIANS. They come from an indigenous civilization: different from ours, but still originating in the region. Their current leadership isn't directly related nationally to most of the people they rule over.
(Similarly, it's possible that the world is confused over the Jews of Israel because certain parts of our leadership don't relate to us citizens much better than the Iranian leadership does with the Persian population.)
I'd like to note that it is the Persian Iranian civilians who have been on Israel's side for quite a long time now. I suspect their "government" knows this too. As I've been writing this article, the death toll has increased a lot.
I'm not the only one (certainly, there are many others who know better than I). Avi Abelow, on behalf of one of his media outlets, Israel Unwired, wrote this excellent article about how Iran's revolution is unraveling (unfortunately, at great cost to the civilian population, which might be far greater than anything posted on news sites).
A more penetrating article about the history and situations a civilian in Iran might remember and encounter is Iran: "The Final Battle" by Dr. Anjuli Pandavar (who's now on Substack, by the way. See below.).
And here's another point to consider: While today most Western-cultured nations have mixed populations, in other parts of the world it isn't quite so much that way. I found it interesting that most other parts of the world's nations have only one people in them.
Independently, a second person found the same link and posted it there not long after. The comments to the rabbi's article reflect optimism in this regard. I will add that even if it doesn't come true exactly the way he worded it, there might be another way that it will, with the help of God.
When the Ribono shel Olam (Ruler over Creation) finally takes His place openly, the secular organizations that oversee and overrule much of the religious world, will have to go away in one way or another, or even the other.
And, there won't be any time to convert to Judaism (or whatever our way of life will be called then) because only when we're down do we accept converts. The reason is that they must convert only because they're convinced it's the truth and they want a real relationship with God, not because we're the "top dog."
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Here are some authors who specialize (or tend to) in dealing with Xians:
NOTES: "Lib" stands for LIBERATION, for those who don't remember those days, or who weren't alive yet, then.
This post was inspired by an article from Vision Magazine, "They didn't teach me Hanukah" by Danit Grady. Like her, I didn't learn the real story of Hanukkah until later in life. For me, it was MUCH later.
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People might be forgiven for thinking that from the end of the Holocaust until the Six-Day War, almost 20 years, was the process of liberation of the Jewish people from the notion that we were weak and helpless against our enemies. We had gained and declared a state, after all, within the boundaries of our ancestral homeland in the Middle East.
The June 1967 victory was so great, the world stood up and took notice. But, unfortunately, it's hard to describe the relationship between the Israeli government and its citizens as having any kind of unity. The army and the government were taking all the credit for the victory, but the rest of us — as well as many Arabs who witnessed this with their own eyes — saw the miraculous happenings. Unlike the Holocaust, which ended almost 20 years prior, God was not "hidden" from the Israeli Jews that fateful June.
Our leadership, however, was oblivious. They have taken credit for every victory then and ever since. We've been paying for it even during the Simchat Torah/October 7th massacre and followup war.
I was a pre-teen at the time of the "6-Day War", and it was the first time in my life that I could stand up straight and look my peers in the eye. It didn't last very long, unfortunately.
We cannot allow them to get away with whatever shenanigans they've been up to, then and ever since. The liberation we were expecting at that time didn't come. It still hasn't.
Rather than accepting and ensuring that Judaism would flourish in the Land, our leadership suppressed and mocked anything particularly Jewish, to the point of allowing Arab Muslims to be in our government, even though these were enemies of the so-called Jewish leadership that invited them in and the laws of the country, and especially of our religion and relationship with God.
Certain leaders made a point of abdicating leadership, for example the handing over of the Temple Mount to the Arabs there and not allowing Jews the same rights. (Ideally, no one should be up there at all until King David's scion and heir to the throne is revealed (and who would also be Mashiah). But no one was ready to treat Jews equally with Arabs. Either both on, or both off.)
The article linked to above, if you haven't read it already, is about the struggle of the Hebrew people to retain our religion and the culture that grew out of it. You might want to say that nowadays it's about the Palestinians...but unfortunately for us, and also for you, dear reader, is that today the moniker Palestinian is applied to the wrong people. Our government screwed up, quite frankly, when then-prime minister Golda Meir decided to throw that name to the dogs, so to speak. They picked it up and ran with it, and we don't even bat an eyelash when we hear it used by our enemies as their identity.
EVERY REFERENCE TO PALESTINIANS UNTIL THEN WAS TO THE JEWS. The Palestine Post (and many other names of things I can't think of right now) was JEWISH. My maternal grandmother was a Palestinian Jew (not many American Jews can say they have a relative who was a Palestinian Jew before the declaration of the state; but I can, and in her merit I returned here, after asking Heavenly Permission.).
But I didn't only come here to rehash a bit of history. I came here to insist that we demand liberation from the necessity to follow the dictates of the nations so that we can recover ourselves from our own sources.
The best way to do that is to SAY BYE-BYE TO THE NATIONS and come home to the Land we were given by God millennia ago. Even Israel Behind the News is writing about this HERE, saying: "Jews are no longer welcome. The days of comfort for Jews in the west are over!"
While things were relatively good in lands across the seas and over dry land, we might have needed to ask permission to come home, as I wrote about doing in the link three paragraphs above. But now HQB"H (God) seems to be forcing us to reconsider and even run home as soon as possible!
Despite everything I heard about our governance system while I was still in chutz la'aretz, I have not regretted a single moment since I made aliyah. I have found that it's more important to choose a city, town or village — wherever you want to live — where you can make friends with your neighbors, if you don't already have friends there, and trust them.
It may even be that HaShem will guide you there, in times like these.
We may never have a completely joyful occasion again until we're all gathered together and Mashiah makes himself known.
We need to try to have a happy Hanukkah as best as we possibly can, through our tears.
...and maybe we should call what should have been the Jewish Liberation movement back in the 1960s/5720s the "goodness liberation" movement...and have it now, in the 2020s/5780s. What do you think?
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P.S. The US First Amendment to the Constitution limiting certain forms of expression from freedom of speech is exemplified by the phrase "shouting 'fire!' in a crowded theater." Why? See here for more.
The reversal there and in Europe is more evident by the day.
20 Tishrei/Tashri 5786 | כ' תשרי התשפ"ו 6th of the 7 days of Succoth
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Online pics have recently become more aggressively sales-oriented...so no more with articles unless I take them myself. Sorry about that.
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Most of us choose sovereignty, from what I've been reading and hearing...so why hasn't HaShem let us have it? He turns the hearts of the leaders...or are they too stubborn to listen?
Well, how much have we learned in the last two years, the aftermath of the October Seventh Massacre so far?
Will we ever have peace without our Biblically-mandated homeland(s) that include Yehuda, Shomron and Aza?
Will we ever have peace without total victory over ALL the enemy organizations among the nations, whether Xian or Muslim?
Will we ever have peace with the current system, which includes a military leadership that often seems to favor the other side's victory, even in public?
And do the nations, especially the USA, understand yet that whoever divides Eretz Yisrael is in BIG, BIG, BIG trouble? Apparently NOT! (See the SEARCH for lists of Biblical references, not only Jewish, but also Xian ones — see explanation below.*)
Did we learn yet that every single Jew who lives in Eretz Yisrael needs to consider the Kingdom of God to be our proper governance system — and let go of the idea that it's equivalent to Iranian (or any other kind of) Islam???
Especially, that our current governance does not allow for a Jewish victory over our enemies, but rather war after war after war, ad nauseam.
The one thing I think (you don't have to believe what I think, but you do have to think about your own reality, and your understanding of our blood enemy) is that Islam is both very much like Judaism, and radically the opposite as well.
It has the same rules, but they are followed very differently. Anything we would consider a sin, they feel comfortable doing, as long as it is justified as "for Alla". Stealing, lying, murder and much more are all included, even though they have courts — all against, and opposite, the Ten Commandments.
A funny thing: If I were to translate the last sentence into Hebrew, the word NEGED נגד means both "against" and "opposite" and would certainly be included.
Furthermore, things they do, they accuse us of doing...stealing land that belongs to the Jews is at the top of the list, necessitating the war of genocide against the Israeli Jews that they've been perpetuating, with the help and encouragement of the rest of the world, ever since we started returning home as a nation.
And somehow, I think they "won't be able to find all the dead bodies" — liars that they are. I just pray that all the living ones are still alive when they're returned to us, and that the ones that are not, will be found quickly and delivered whole.
If we don't claim sovereignty over our lands and act upon it, the gentiles are doing so on their own behalf!
Happy Succoth and a good and sweet year to all my people around the world as well as Israel! And may the culmination of our troubles begins now.
*I tried to get sources that speak of dividing the Land of Israel, like this term: "God says specifically not to divide Israel - Jewish bible sources only" — and the search engine still came up with Xian sources along with the Jewish sources, even though they don't actually quote or refer to them. At least they admit that the Bible says in many places that they will be judged for dividing up our Land for their purposes.
So, if you need to read something that lists all the references to HASHEM's command NOT TO DIVIDE MY LAND, you may safely ignore the Xian sources and read only the Jewish ones within the linked pages.
It seems I have no choice in this matter, if my goal is to get us to the place where we can identify quickly where God forbids dividing or eliminating Israel.
Recently I wrote about the origins of Mashiach HERE, which the Xians don't refer to in their writings, as far as I can tell.
Does the USA know what it is to be Israel in the Middle East?
I, for one, am not sure they do. This goes for the rest of the world as well. We're not the only ones who follow the United States of America.
A very important vote is coming up in the UN later this month (it turns out to be the beginning of the next month according to the Jewish calendar), which is probably going to result in Israel changing its behavior regarding the other nations for better or for worse, however you think of it. I was going to post the video below last month, but somehow I got sidetracked. Or, maybe HaQadosh Baruch Hu (God, the Holy One, blessed be He) planned it that way. 😉
In any case, Israel is on the chopping block again for the umpteenth time, for no good reason. The way she changes her behavior may not be what everyone expects. If our government has any sense, it will know how to do this successfully, without all of us citizens having more problems than we already do.
The most important thing our government can do ahead of time is DECLARE SOVEREIGNTY OVER JUDEA, SAMARIA AND GAZA. NOW. BEFORE THE VOTE.
Don't wait until the UN meeting. This is not a punishment for the nations, but an affirmation of what has been true all along. People who read and understand their Bibles and Qurans should be for this action, whether Jews or not. It is part of our making teshuva, returning to our roots and who we are.
Above all, don't mess around with partialannexation(<<— links are examples). From what I can see, the country is behind Israel taking this decision. Gaza MUST be included.
Include it all, and be taken seriously!
Whether or not America (mostly meaning the Executive Branch of the American government, but also including the Legislative Branch) decides to continue to support Israel even if we take actions she doesn't like depends largely on what we can do for her. But if we find ourselves unable to do for ourselves some very important things because she won't allow us to, or support our moves, it will end badly for her as well as for us, and probably worse. If we aren't overwhelmed by what we face daily as it is, at some point we will be. Israel risks ending up not being able to do anything for itself, much less for the USA and other allies. And if this turns out to be true, then...use your imagination.
We may have to do things that will make them regret that they betrayed us (of course, I don't know them all.).
Understand: This is not a threat. Rather, a sober assessment.
Let's watch this 6-minute video that explains a number of very important reasons why.
(Blessed are You, HaShem, our God, King of the Universe, Who frees prisoners [and hostages - HDG]!)
The hostages taken from Israel to Aza, both dead and alive...who have committed no crime except that they are Jews or supporters of Jews (like working on our farms, etc.).
Our prisoners in every land, whether Christian, Muslim or other — or, God forbid, in our own land — only because we are Your chosen nation and not for any crime they are accused of having committed, but they actually didn't...
Our prisoners in every land, whether Christian, Muslim or other — or, God forbid, in our own land — who committed crimes and are over-punished, their sentences extended far beyond those of others who committed similar crimes, because we are from Your chosen nation (I think of Jonathan Pollard in this context; thank God he's free now and has a life!). May our over-punished and falsely accused and falsely convicted prisoners be released immediately, beginning in our own country...
Our prisoners who have committed crimes and were lawfully and truly convicted of them without forced confessions (unlike, for example, Amiram Ben-Uliel. Search amiram ben uliel forced confession from your favorite search engine and see what you get. All but one of my results say unequivocally that he was coerced...), and were sentenced as any other criminal with the same crimes would be, as above, may they be released in due course, and their sentence not be extended.
Finally, release the people of Israel (the Jewish People, lest others try to supplant, supersede or take over from us by force) from the yoke of the nations, as You promised long ago; at this point we are all hostages now, on one level or another. We believe You now, as we did then.
You are FOREVER, You REMEMBER, and You are IN CONTROL.
It is only against You that we have sinned, apart from "criminality" as the nations define it, and not according to any version of Your law. Please bring us back to Your Precious Self, and teach us Your True Ways, and establish Your laws according to Noah, the ancestor of us all, all over the world, so that we might all return to You out of love, and connect with You in love.
And may we never again cause You pain, disappointment, or anger, but rather pleasure, pride and joy.
Amen! Let it be so ! אמן! כן יהי רצון
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Footnote
* Today we might say: לשחרר אסירים l'shakhrer asirim for freeing prisoners (at least according to Google Translate). The prayer is far older, so expressions have changed. When geulah shlemah (the complete redemption) comes, Hebrew will be reset according to what H' considers a clear language (alternatively, the nations will no longer speak of idols). See THIS PROPHECY in both Hebrew and English.
The idea that Messiah is someone who would be supernaturally created (like the "virgin birth" of JC, for example), was not predicted by the Jewish scriptures. A prophecy in what we know as "2nd Samuel" (in Hebrew, Shmuel Bet שמואל ב) should explain the background of the real Jewish Messiah, promised by the very real Living God.
By the time we're done here, you'll see why the Christian Church in all its forms has got its figurative foot stuck firmly in its mouth. Especially the pastors and other spiritual leaders in churches and governments all over the world (at this writing, Mike Huckabee represents them in my mind) who deal with Israel and Jews in such a way as to try to make Judaism disappear in the face of the false religion of "Christianity," especially and particularly in the homeland of the Jewish People.
Dear God, please let the shock ensue, the false walls come down, and the truth come out. But let no Jew, whether loyal or repentant, be harmed, whether in Israel or outside the Land.
The one real standard that the Christians go by, whether they mean it or are just using it as a ploy of some kind, is that one has to prove everything by its presence in Scripture. By this they include the Tanach (Torah, Prophets and Writings), which they call the Old Testament, which a person can understand in more than one way: They can't outright get rid of it — because it would completely delegitimize them — but rather, they disparage it and rarely refer to it, except when it serves their interest.
However, one of their favorite books is included in it: The book of Psalms, written and compiled by none other than King David. And they love the Prophets...or so they say.
It is by no means the only place one can find this information scripturally, but it is the foundation on which it all rests.
Let's begin.
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The books of Samuel testify that two Prophets, Samuel and Nathan, came to King David to
make and confirm not only him King of all Israel, but also his seed,
son-after-son, forever. As part of this, we'll see that the term
Mashiach always refers to the legitimate King of Israel.1
Accordingly, the Mashiach will be revealed, whether in this generation or the next, or whenever; he is a human being and not a supernatural creation. I believe that the disparagement of the classic Jewish Testament books contributed mightily to the rejection by Christians of this testimony in favor of the "virgin birth" that supposedly God begot, or sired, a detail that is to be found nowhere in the Jewish Testament.
It still continues today.
The prophetic statement of King and Mashiach has been there all along: It's the entire perek (chapter) 7 in the book of 2nd Samuel and is backed up by individual statements in both parts of the book of Samuel, the first and the second.2
This portion of 2nd Samuel, where God promised King David, after he was anointed King of Israel and fought the wars he needed to, when He did away with his enemies all around, that his direct male line from his time until the present— whenever that "present" is, because the promise is forever — is the messianic family as well as the royal family, FOREVER.
Even if, or when, the intervening generations of this line abandon God's Torah and stop walking in His laws (also in Psalm 89, specifically verses 30-38, written, not by David, but rather by Eitan the Ezrachite),
He will never forget His promise to David. It will come about, no matter how long it takes, no matter how winding the road is, before it comes to its never-ending fulfillment.
That's why we have said that the Mashiach has had the potential of revealing himself, or being revealed, in every generation. That's also why reference to mashiach ben David is made constantly in the Jewish prayer books.
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In your reading of the Holy Scriptures, have you ever noticed that King Saul, before he was rejected as king, was also referred to as Mashiach haShem2? (We would have to know where to look for that. It's in the Hebrew text, and if you don't have a Tanach or an "Old Testament" with Hebrew, it won't be there. My source has both, and my references are to a Jewish version published by Artscroll3.)
...and by none other than David, who was not yet king, himself, in different places in 1st Samuel. David knew that the properly-anointed Jewish king also means that he's Mashiach.
David, the youngest son of Jesse/Yishai, was anointed by the prophet Samuel/Shmuel in 1 Samuel 16 according to God's command.
In English: The anointed one of the Lord. It always refers to a king of Israel, including all the tribes.
Unfortunately, King Saul slipped up badly, and even his son Jonathan and all the rest of his sons paid with their lives. So, there was no male descendant to whom to pass the kingship on.
See this article, "Who is Mashiah in Tanach" for more details. The main Scriptural reference is 1 Samuel 24:7 and surrounding text. To summarize the point, it is written that, while Shaul haMelech was Melech (king), he was the Mashiach haShem (anointed of the Lord). All I know is that now that there is no "nation of Amalek" to speak of, we only know him by his behavior, specifically the goal of genocide against the Jewish People. The current leadership of Iran, and Hamas in Gaza, along with its brother organizations there, are prime examples of this.
As written above, 2 Samuel 7, the whole chapter, is about the prophecy concerning King David from the prophet Nathan. It includes David's relationship with God and the promises He made to him, concerning Israel and himself.
There are lots of commentaries as well as verses on this page; the site is called Al haTorah (About the Torah), and you can customize what you want to examine: To the right of the page you can choose the pasuk (verse) by Hebrew letter. On the left on each pasuk you can choose the E in a box to view the English translation, and it shows both Hebrew and English. That's how I copied the relevant verses in Hebrew and English, below.
The one problematic thing is that the page numbers in Hebrew end up being in the middle, or at the end, of sentences; I tried to put them at the beginning and it doesn't work for me. I apologize, especially to those who are more fluent in Hebrew and therefore notice these details.
I bolded the parts most relevant to this discussion, particularly in verse 12 and below, in both languages.
10 And I will appoint a place for My people Israel and I will plant them that they may dwell in their own place and not be agitated anymore. Neither shall the wicked afflict them anymore, as at the first,
11 even from the day that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, Hashem tells you that Hashem will make you a house.
12 When your days are fulfilled, and you shall lie with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, that shall proceed from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
29 Now let it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You; for You, Hashem God, have spoken and with Your blessing, may the house of Your servant be blessed forever."
Many comments on the word זרע alone run throughout the site I got this from.
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It takes a firm emunah among the generations to hang on until this all happens; but knowing that God is All-Knowing, All-Seeing, All-Powerful, and Everywhere helps, no matter how bad the situation looks.
If you studied the p'sukim and their translations above carefully, I think it should be clear that the Mashiah cannot be the "only begotten son of God" and a direct male descendant of King David simultaneously.
In addition, it can be seen that God never promised that He Himself would sire a child at all, never mind one who would be half human and half God, or all God; He commanded His vegetable, animal and human creations to "be fruitful and multiply." Therefore, there is no "wiggle room" to allow for a human being to be sired directly by God, and no room for another nation to have a leader who will bring the whole world back to Him.4
This is the foundation of the prophet Daniel's 'rock not made by human hands.' "Scriptural proof" of any other messiah is on a shaky foundation, and we all know what a building on a shaky foundation is called: Fallen and broken.
What really shakes me up about this is that I never heard about it before a rabbi pointed out (I would give him credit, but I don't remember who it was; it was a long time ago) that the Hebrew term zera'זרע actually refers to flesh-and-blood children and cannot be 'spiritualized,' as Christians particularly tend to do.
I wonder why this point is not brought up more often. After all, no matter how you look at it, it's like saying that the masculine half of the reproductive process is irrelevant.
The end has not yet arrived. May it come soon, in our days!
Here's a short video a bit late, sorry about that (my fault, not the fault of the person who sent it to me.).
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1The kings of Israel, when separated from Judah, are not what is referred to here; only the unified nation of the Jewish People.
2The phrase, Mashiach haShem, is found in the following pasukim (verses) in 1st Samuel: 24:7 (twice); 24:11 (David actually referred to King Sha'ul to his face here as Mashiach haShem); 26:9, 11, 16, 23; 2nd Samuel 1:14, 16; 2:4, 7 (the latter referring to David, who was anointed king of Judah).
3My Artscroll translation takes bayit, usually house, and translates it as dynasty — in context about a royal family, this also makes sense.
4This does not mean that the whole world has to become Jews, as has been written and said many times before. In fact, it will be the end of accepting conversion candidates! Everyone loves a winner and, as we often say about other things, "the opposite is also true." If you are not a Jew, and understand that only people who have found the truth in the Jewish scriptures despite all the lies, the attempts at ridding the world of Jews, and even when Jews have been evil, you might still be a candidate. But you might want to do it now, and not wait until we have survived it all, arrived at victory, and the world is free of evil.
