A Faithful Heritage...

(REVISED 27.02.06)









Why Be Jewish?
(Ask The Rabbi at www.aish.com)
Question From: New York City - anonymous(at)yahoo.com - 11/17/2000

I have a question about converts. After witnessing countless acts of anti-Semitism and persecution against the Jews, why would anybody want to be a part of that? While I can see where they'd be sympathetic toward Jews and inspired by their perseverance and survival, I do not see why anyone would willfully say, "Hook me up with this religion so that people might wanna kill me, too!"

Maybe I cannot fully understand the mind of a person turned onto Judaism, but it doesn't seem logical to want to be a part of a religion that is constantly being attacked even in today's "modern" world.

I love being Jewish, but I want to know why people would want to join.

THE AISH RABBI REPLIES:
You have good intuition. The Code of Jewish Law says that when someone approaches a rabbi expressing interest in conversion, the rabbi should initially discourage them with warnings about the threat of anti-Semitism. Those who do end up converting, however, do so because they believe in the Torah and want to be part of our legacy -- whatever the cost might be.

Over the past 4,000 years, whether during the Inquisition, Crusades, pogroms or Holocaust, Jews have endured the torments of exile, torture and ovens -- yet continued to remain loyal to the Jewish people. Abraham himself was thrown into a fiery furnace. That gave strength to others to follow, and in our generation, Natan Sharansky willingly underwent years of psychological and physical torture for the sake of being Jewish.

I'd like to suggest that you ask yourself the same question: Why is it worth it to identify as a Jew? Of course, a Jew is always a Jew -- regardless of whether they reject their heritage, ignore it, or practice another religion. But theoretically -- why not just change your name and assimilate away?

To the Western ear, "sacrificing your life for a belief" sounds like a drastic action. Is there logic and reason to what our ancestors did? And where did they find the strength to lay down their lives for Jewish beliefs.

The answer is that even stronger than the human will to survive, is the drive for meaning in life, and to make a difference in the world. It is amazing but true. We see that a mother will send her beloved son off to war -- with the very real risk of his getting killed -- because she believes in the justice of the cause.

Rabbi Noah Weinberg says: Everyone should find a cause so meaningful that they'd forfeit their life for it. Because if you don't know what you are willing to die for, then you haven't begun to live. If you don't have meaning in your life, then all the physical enjoyments, the beautiful vacations and even the wonderful spouse and children, can make you feel that something is missing.

This is the secret of Jewish heroism. This is why so many Jews throughout history have sacrificed their lives for what they believe. Because when you go ahead and LIVE for that cause, it is with unparalleled power and pleasure.

So what is the "Jewish cause?"

Values that the civilized world takes for granted -- monotheism, love your neighbor, peace on earth, justice for all, universal education, all men are created equal, the preciousness of life -- are foundations of Judaism. So though we were exiled, oppressed, beaten and gassed, in the process we defined the moral makeup of humanity. This is an enormous impact and we accomplished it under the most adverse conditions.

For the rest of the story: Ask The Rabbi

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Author's Note: So why is it worth re-identifying for me??? Peace of mind... After three generations of a daughter carrying a middle name that wasn't even Jewish, but secretly marked the lineage... great aunts and a grandmother afraid to remember... and me, I'm afraid to forget.

One of my mother's first cousins--the male son of the oldest aunt--took what was left of mother's and my physical heritage and sold it to a pawn shop... As the fourth generation to carry the middle name, I went on eBay--cause I can't afford the $325ea., 3-tiered brass Sabbath candle holders (C-7 with lions) at the New York Lower East Side Restoration Project--and started searching.... for my daughter who hasn't even been conceived yet. One item I found was a brass 3-tiered shabbat candleholder by an artist named Oppenheim. Another--a sabbath art poster--came all the way from Israel, and a beautiful silver-plated Hanukkiah (menorah) originally sold in New York City.

This time when I celebrated Hanukkah and tonight when I light candles for the Sabbath, I no longer observe under fear of persecution or under fear that some friends might think I've returned to the bondage of Old Testament law (what's that really mean, anyway?), but out of the freedom of faith... in my Creator who asked me to remember,

Please...

L'Chaim!!! & Good Shabbos (Shabbat Shalom) ^..^

Author's note is ©2006 by Kat-Renée Kittel. All Rights Reserved. Please be kind and give credits to author and founder of the Laughter Safety Valve Commission™. Thanks.

Got Chutzpah (aka Agape Is A Five Letter Word... For Chutzpah) is inspired by The Chairman of The Laughter Safety Valve Commission™. See Turnabout's Fair Play and kind comment left by Mr. Anonymous. (Dear Richard, Thanks for the hug.)

***Cached pages are not authorized representations of this page nor do they represent the staff writer of this website. Previous page versions have been obliterated by the LSVC, Tech Publications Dept. The editorial staff of the LSVC are not responsible for Laughter Safety violations caused by any unauthorized use of outdated information.***

(In memory of #26947... a distant cousin.)

A Rededication to the G-d of Miracles

A/N; This post reflects the personal beliefs of the staff writer and not necessarily the opinions of The Chairman or The Staff of the Laughter Safety Valve Commission™
(but that's okay...The Chairman's my Big Brother... ^..^)

Chanukkah (Hanukkah)
A rededication to the G-d of Miracles

Nes Gadol Hayah Sham!! (A great miracle happened there!)

For eight days, Chanukkah honors and celebrates the historic victory of the Maccabbees and the miracle of the oil. Chanukkah or the Festival of Dedication is also called the Feast of Lights. An eight-day festival beginning on the 25th day of Kislev, the holiday commemorates the victory in 165 B.C. of the Maccabees over King Antiochus Epiphanes and the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem.

Spelling-- The Hebrew word Chanukah means "dedication," and has only five letters in the original Hebrew. In English there are at least 16 ways to spell it, including: Channuka, Channukah, Chanuka, Chanukah, Chanuko, Hannuka, Hannukah, Hanuka, Hanukah, Hanukkah, Kanukkah, Khannuka, Khannukah, Khanuka, Khanukah, Khanukkah, and Xanuka.

From history we know that the Kingdom of Greece replaced the Kingdom of Media-Persia. The first King of Greece was Alexander the Great. At the zenith of his power, Alexander died. Two of the four Kings that replaced him were from the Ptolemaic dynasty based in Egypt and the Seleucid dynasty based in Syria. Toward the end of the Greek rule, Antiochus IV arose from the Seleucid dynasty. He declared himself Antiochus Ephiphanes (“God Manifest”). Behind his back he was called ‘epimanes,’ meaning madman.
 
In the 2nd century BCE, the Syrian-Greek regime of Antiochus sought to pull Jews away from Judaism, with the hopes of assimilating them into Hellenism -- Greek culture. Antiochus outlawed aspects of Jewish observance -- including the study of Torah -- which began to decay the foundation of Jewish life and practice. During this period, many Jews began to assimilate into Greek culture, taking on Greek names and marrying non-Jews (that's what happened in my family...)
 
During the years 171 – 165 BC, Antiochus perpetrated a holocaust against the Jewish people. He outlawed Judaism, and ended the Temple sacrifices. In 168 BC, he committed an abomination of desolation against the Temple by sacrificing a pig on the altar and erecting an image of Zeus, which looked very much like Antiochus himself! Not being satisfied with this, his forces spread out all over the country forcing the Jewish people to sacrifice swine and punishing any who would even circumcise their children with the penalty of death.
 
In a town called Modin just south of Jerusalem, there lived an aged priest named Matitiyahu with his five sons. When the forces of Antiochus came in they demanded that Matitiyahu sacrifice a pig. Mattathias, being a righteous man, simply refused. As a crowd gathered the tensions built up to the boiling point. Then, out of the throng, came a Jewish man who was willing to sacrifice the pig just to placate the enemy and relieve the tension. Matitiyahu was so angry at this treachery, that he killed the man and then with his five sons killed the henchmen of Antiochus. Matitiyahu then bade ‘all who are zealous for God,’ to follow him. With that Matitiyahu and his sons went into the surrounding hills and began a guerilla war, which lasted several years. In the process of time Matitiyahu died. His eldest son Judah, known as the ‘maccabee’ (lit. hammer) for the way he fought, began to lead the group, which henceforth bore his nickname. In the face of vast superior forces, the Maccabees miraculously routed the Syrians and drove them away. Antiochus sent thousands of well-armed troops to crush the rebellion -- but the Maccabees succeeded in driving the foreigners from their land.
 
In what we commonly now call December -- 165 BCE, Judah and his followers liberated Jerusalem. The Holy Temple was in shambles, defiled and desecrated by foreign soldiers. They began cleansing the Temple. On the 25th day of Kislev, they re-dedicated the Temple to the G-d of Israel. When it came time to re-light the Menorah, they searched the entire Temple, but found only one small jar of oil bearing the pure seal of the High Priest. Miraculously, the small jar of oil burned for eight days, until a new supply of oil could be brought. From then on, Jews have observed a holiday for eight days in honor of this historic victory & the miracle of oil.

Counting the time from the beginning of the persecution of the Jewish people by Antiochus in 171 BC to the rededication in 165 BC was exactly 2,300 days. G-d kept his promise to the day! (According to Daniel 8:14, the Temple was to remain desolate for exactly 2,300 days). Judah and his followers declared this to be an eight-day feast and to celebrate it annually. Rabbinic tradition tells us that Chanukkah was declared to be an eight-day feast due to the fact that one day’s provision of oil burned for eight. While I personally believe this, the original reason Chanukkah was set as an eight-day feast--the holiday just missed had been Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles--Lev. 23:33-43), an eight-day celebration. In fact, in the early days of celebration, Chanukkah was actually referred to as Second Tabernacles.
 
The Holiday Today. Chanukkah is now observed by lighting the nine-branched Chanukkah menorah each night. The center candle called the shammash (lit. servant) is lit first and then is used to light the others, adding one new candle each night. Other customs include spinning the dreidel (a top with Hebrew letters on the sides), eating "oily" foods like potato latkes (pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly donuts), plus giving Chanukah gelt (coins) to children.

(FYI: In the Christian New Testament (Brit Hadashah), the festival is referred to as the Feast of Dedication (John 10:22). Jesus (Yeshua in Hebrew), being a good Jewish boy, celebrated along with the rest of his family....sorry no Christmas tree...)

 
This information was merged from three sources: www.Aish.com - What is Chanukkah by Marshall Roth https://www.shalomnyc.org/feasts/chanukkah.htm & http://www.beth-el-messianic.org/hanukkah.html  

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  ©2006 by Kat-Renée Kittel. All Rights Reserved. Please be kind and give credits to author and founder of the Laughter Safety Valve Commission™. Thanks.

Got Chutzpah is inspired by The Chairman of The Laughter Safety Valve Commission™. See Turnabout's Fair Play and comment left by Mr. Anonymous. (Dear Richard, Thanks for the hug.)

 
***Cached pages are not authorized representations of this page nor do they represent the staff writer of this website. Previous page versions have been obliterated by the LSVC, Tech Publications Dept. The editorial staff of the LSVC are not responsible for Laughter Safety violations caused by any unauthorized use of outdated information.*** 

 
(Revised: 27.02.06)