In The Footsteps of The Maccabees

Happy Hannukah!

I've updated an old post containing the lectures of Dr. Hagai Ben-Artzi, where he explains the battles of the Maccabees in eight short videos. Go ahead and click here!

Today is The 20th of Kislev: #JewishFamilyDay

"Jewish Family Day" is a day when we will all work together to strengthen the traditional Jewish family.

Channuka is a time when Jewish families get together. Here is a video President Trump's and the First Lady's Channukah reception that I'm posting in honor of #JewishFamilyDay:

Learning About the Hasmonean's Military Victories

In the Al Hanissim prayer, which we recite many times throughout the eight days of Hannukah, we thank God for helping the Jewish People defeat the armies of the Syrian-Greeks:

And [we thank You] for the miracles, for the redemption, for the mighty deeds, for the saving acts, and for the wonders which You have wrought for our ancestors in those days, at this time—

In the days of Matityahu, the son of Yochanan the High Priest, the Hasmonean and his sons, when the wicked Hellenic government rose up against Your people Israel to make them forget Your Torah and violate the decrees of Your will. But You, in Your abounding mercies, stood by them in the time of their distress. You waged their battles, defended their rights, and avenged the wrong done to them. You delivered the mighty into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of the few, the impure into the hands of the pure, the wicked into the hands of the righteous, and the wanton sinners into the hands of those who occupy themselves with Your Torah. You made a great and holy name for Yourself in Your world, and effected a great deliverance and redemption for Your people Israel to this very day. Then Your children entered the shrine of Your House, cleansed Your Temple, purified Your Sanctuary, kindled lights in Your holy courtyards, and instituted these eight days of Chanukah to give thanks and praise to Your great Name.

How many of us know the details of these battles that we mention in our prayers so often? How many of us know where they took place and how they were fought?

Dr. Hagai Ben-Artzi has an online series explaining the battles.

Update: parts 5. 6 , 7 and 8:

Zot Channuka

Some pics from the last day of Channuka in Jerusalem. Click on them to zoom in:

Should We Get Excited About the Upcoming Elections in Israel?

If you ask me, the answer is yes. We should be thrilled that we have an independent Jewish government here in the land of Israel. I know, not everything here is conducted according to Jewish Law. But even in such a situation, we have a reason to be happy. To prove this point, let's take a look at the start of Maimonides' Laws of Chanukah

:In [the era of] the Second Temple, the Greek kingdom issued decrees against the Jewish people, [attempting to] nullify their faith and refusing to allow them to observe the Torah and its commandments. They extended their hands against their property and their daughters; they entered the Sanctuary, wrought havoc within, and made the sacraments impure.

The Jews suffered great difficulties from them, for they oppressed them greatly until the God of our ancestors had mercy upon them, delivered them from their hand, and saved them. The sons of the Hasmoneans, the High Priests, overcame [them], slew them, and saved the Jews from their hand.

They appointed a king from the priests, and sovereignty returned to Israel for more than 200 years, until the destruction of the Second Temple.

Now, this 200 year sovereignty included some not so wonderful regimes, such as that of King Herod. Still, the Maimonides sees this period as important, and mentions it among the reasons that we are praising and thanking God during these days of Chanukah.

So, let's get back to the upcoming elections. It is a privilige to be here, to live in this generation, to be able to take part in deciding who will govern us. However, and that is a big however, "Happy is the man that hath made the LORD his trust, and hath not turned unto the arrogant, nor unto such as fall away treacherously." Politicians are not always trustworthy, and that's an understatement. Anyone familiar with what politicians say before elections and what they do after they are elected knows this. So get excited, but don't get too excited. In the end you may be sorely disappointed!

Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu zt"l Lighting Hanukkah Candles at the Western Wall

I miss him.

I also miss the Lubavitcher zt"l.

Post Channuka Post

May we merit to have a deep faith in God and His Torah, and may we merit to express this faith in our daily actions all year round.

Happy Hanukkah

A Hanukkah Song By John Lennon?

Who Defeated The Arabs?

I read an interesting story about Rabbi Benny Eisner that I thought was worth sharing with the English speaking world.

One time Rav Benny arrived at one of the veteran ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods in Jerusalem (Ge'ula or Me'ah She'arim) with an Israeli flag flying from his automobile. Suddenly he noticed that a "holy flock" of local youth was congregating around his car. He got out of the car and asked them, "Tell me, who defeated the Canaanite kings, Joshua or the Holy One, blessed be He?"

The answered him, "For sure, the Holy One, blessed be He!"

He continued to ask, "And who defeated the Greeks, the Hasmoneans or the Holy One, blessed be He?"

They answered, "For sure, the Holy One, blessed be He!"

In the end he asked, "And who defeated the Arabs, the IDF or the Holy One, blessed be He?"

That question confused them a bit!

Zot Channuka

Seen in Jerusalem just a few hours ago:

Yesterday's Cellcom Tsunami: Some Geeky Details

I don't think that there was anyone in Israel who wasn't affected by this in one way or another:

It's a black Chanukah for Cellcom: an estimated three million clients of Israel's largest cellular phone company have been unable to send or receive calls and text messages since early Wednesday afternoon. The company said the problem was caused by a fault in the company's core program.

Cellcom Director Amos Shapira said in a press conference that the company is not ruling out the possibility that its software was intentionally sabotaged.

Speaking on Army Radio in the afternoon, Shapira said: “I will not go back [home] to light [Chanukah] candles until the problem is taken care of. I estimate it will happen in a matter of hours.”

"These are very complex systems, so fixing them takes many hours,” he explained. “This is the most serious malfunction the company has known since it was founded.”

He said dozens of engineers and programmers were hard at work fixing the malfunction but could not say for sure that the system would not be down for days.

Clients affected by the failure who attempt to dial out receive a message saying that their phone has no reception. People calling the affected clients receive messages saying the network is busy.

All the geeks in Israel were wondering what exactly happened. What computer system fell and how? Was it sabotage or espionage? I found an article (in Hebrew) that explains a little bit about Cellcom's tsunami. Read it geeks!

Happy Hanukkah or Chanukah or However You Spell It

Sorry, but I didn't write anything new in honor of the holiday. Click here for some old stuff!

A Public Service Message

Channuka is almost here...do you know where your Menorah is?

The Hasmoneans Ruled Gaza and the Negev

Just in time for Channuka:

Israeli archaeologists have made a stunning historical discovery: a Hasmonean king conquered Gaza and the Negev, and for decades prevented the Nabateans of 2,000 years ago from using the Incense Road.

It was the Incense Road that the Nabataeans used to transport precious spices such as myrrh and frankincense to the Mediterranean Sea and Egypt.

According to Dr. Tali Erickson-Gini of the Israel Antiquities Authority, Hasmonean King Alexander Jannaeus (Yannai) conquered Gaza in 99 BCE, and built a fortress with four towers inside an earlier Nabataean caravanserai (roadside inn). With the aid of this fortress, Yannai thus blocked all Nabataean activity along the Incense Road, and in effect forced them out of the Negev.

Alexander Yannai was the great-grandson of Matityahu, the Jewish High Priest who led the Hasmoneans in fighting for Jewish religious freedom and autonomy from the Seleucids (Syrian Greeks), as marked by the holiday of Chanukah.

IAA researchers are currently processing finds from archaeological excavations at sites located along the Incense Road that were previously exacavated by the late Dr. Rudolph Cohen of the Department of Antiquities. One such site is Horvat Ma'agurah, located on a ridge 3.4 kilometers west of Sde Boker. The site is situated at a strategic point overlooking Nahal Besor, where the Incense Road was located, connecting Petra with Gaza.

"We are talking about a revolutionary discovery that will redraw the maps of the region which describe that era and greatly increase the territory governed by the Hasmoneans," said Erickson-Gini, who serves as scientific editor of the excavation.

"Despite the evidence of the historial Josephus, according to which King Alexander Jannaeus conquered the southern coast of the Land of Israel and the harbor in Gaza -- which was of paramount importance to the Nabataeans -- and even further south, no clear archaeological proof of this has been found in the field. And it was because of this lack of proof that historians were inclined to dismiss the possibility that the Hasmoneans did indeed control the Negev," he said.

It is now clear that the Hasmoneans kept hold of the fortress located on the Incense Road -- the principal trade route of their Nabataean enemies -- until the year 66 BCE, thus blocking any enemy movement along the road between Halutza and the Northern Sinai. This cut off trade between Petra and the ports, dealing a death blow to trade throughout the Negev for decades.

The discovery also validates the claim that another Nabataean site -- Nessana, where a multitude of coins of Alexander Jannaeus were discovered -- was actually ruled by the Hasmonean king.

Zot Channuka

There are a million things to write about. I just don't have the time. If you want to know what's going on check out Jameel and Dave who are liveblogging the war. I just hope that they don't send in ground troops. It is not good to die for Olmert, Livni, Barak or Abu Mazen. On the other hand, if the government wants to drive the Arabs out of the Gaza Strip and return this part of the land of Israel to its rightful owners, the nation of Israel, I'm all for it.

What's Wrong With This Picture?

Update: Read this post to find out the answer.


BTW, Happy Channuka!

Zot Channuka

Click here for one of my better posts.

Update: Jameel of the Muqata was at Kever Yosef. Click here to see Jameel's amazing post.

Thoughts For Channuka, Day 3:

Rambam, Laws of Learning Torah 6:13:

עוון גדול הוא לבזות את החכמים, או לשנוא אותן: לא חרבה ירושלים, עד שביזו בה תלמידי חכמים--שנאמר "ויהיו מלעיבים, במלאכי האלוהים, ובוזים דבריו, ומיתעתעים בנביאיו" (דברי הימים ב לו,טז), כלומר בוזים מלמדי דבריו. וכן זה שאמרה תורה, "אם בחוקותיי תמאסו" (ויקרא כו,טו)--מלמדי חוקותיי תמאסו. וכל המבזה את החכמים--אין לו חלק לעולם הבא, והרי הוא בכלל "כי דבר ה' בזה" (במדבר טו,לא).

It is a great sin to denigrate Torah scholars, or to hate them: Jerusalem was not destroyed until they denigrated the Torah scholars in her midst, as it is said, "but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets..."(II Chronicles 36:16), that is to say they mocked those that teach His word. Similarly this that the Torah said, "and if ye shall reject My statutes..."(Leviticus 26:15), those that teach My statutes. And anyone that denigrates Torah scholars does not have a portion in The World To Come, and he is included in the verse, "Because he hath despised the word of the LORD..."(Numbers 15:31).

May God save us from this!

Channuka: Day 2