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Like all good Jewish holidays, Chanukah is all about; “They
came to destroy us, we won, let’s eat!”
Like so many others before, the Greeks attempted to wipe out the Jews and
failed.
Along with heroic stories of the Maccabees and the final victory that gave the Jewish nation back their land and their Temple, many look at Chanukah as a miraculous military victory over the Greeks. The truth is, the Greeks did not attack the Jews, it was the other way around. (Well, sort of)
Along with heroic stories of the Maccabees and the final victory that gave the Jewish nation back their land and their Temple, many look at Chanukah as a miraculous military victory over the Greeks. The truth is, the Greeks did not attack the Jews, it was the other way around. (Well, sort of)
Unlike the PLO or Hamas charters, the Greeks were not out to
murder the Jews or drive us into the sea, in fact, the real account of Chanukah
is quite the opposite. 12356789
The Greeks understood the Jewish connection to the Land
of Israel as they understood our connection to God and the Torah (Bible).
It was very clear that without destroying our connection to our religion, it would be impossible to separate us from our land.
It was very clear that without destroying our connection to our religion, it would be impossible to separate us from our land.
The Greeks also understood that it was not our physical might that allowed us to survive years of persecution but rather the strength of our soul. There were no gas chambers, concentration camps or suicide bombers that targeted Jewish women and children and there was no plan to annihilate the Jews.
The Greeks did not slaughter us or blow us up, they invited us to their games, philosophical debates and worship of the body.
What an offer! No more anti-semitism, no more murder!
We would be united with our Greek neighbors. A binational Israel that would bring peace.
What an offer! No more anti-semitism, no more murder!
We would be united with our Greek neighbors. A binational Israel that would bring peace.
Those Damn Settlers!
A small group of “crazy” Jewish” settlers decided they would
not give up their faith, nor will they defile the Temple in Jerusalem with
Greek idols or philosophy for the sake of "Peace".
They took on the great Greek empire and army and won.
They took on the great Greek empire and army and won.
The Maccabees were condemned by the Greek Senate as fanatics who are hungry for
blood and were shunned by Jews who had accepted the Greek invitation for world peace.
With a quick search through Googleonemus
or Youtube of
Neapolis one could find numerous videos of philosophers from around the world and even some Jews who publicly bashed
and spoke against that small group of "hawkish" Jews who decided to stand up for their religious,
national and historic right to the Land of Israel instead of agreeing to a generous offer for Peace.
While the Greeks and Jewish Hellenists condemned and scorned
the Maccabee’s stubborn stand and struggle for the Jewish soul and categorized them as fanatic Zionists and obstacles to peace, the Maccabees stood strong backed with a
thousand years of Jewish tradition and spirituality and most of all truth.
Even after the miraculous victory over the Greek
Empire the Maccabees continued their struggle to prove the power of the soul over body. The Temple was defiled with Greek statues and impurity and the
Maccabees searched for a flask of pure oil with which to light the Menorah. While
one cannot see, taste or smell the difference between pure and impure oil, the
Jews understood there is something in this world that is more than meets the
eye and searched for the pure oil.
Most of the flasks in the temple were trampled and broken by
the Greeks as an act of defiance against the idea of purity but the Maccabees found one small flask of oil that was sealed with the
stamp of purity from the Jewish high priest.
While many laughed at the idea that one flask would last longer than a couple of hours, the Maccabees understood the power of spiritual purity and poured the oil into each one of the seven branches of the Menorah. The oil that should have lasted one day lasted eight days and stood as the symbol of victory of the Jewish soul over the Greek worship of the body.
What does the story of Chanukah have to do with the
Palestinians?
The answer is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
The answer is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
There were no Palestinians involved in the story of
Chanukah.
In fact there is no historical recollection of such an Arab nation, State
or country. The Jews were in the Land of Israel before Islam existed and the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem as well as the Jewish kingdoms that ruled Israel predated any Palestinian or Arab claims over The Land of Israel.
As Naftalli
Bennet, the head of the Israeli Jewish Home party, so eloquently put it, “One cannot occupy his own home”
The next
time you claim Judea, Samaria or any other part of the Land of Israel was
occupied by the Jews and rightfully belongs to a people called “Palestinians”,
take a stroll through Rome and walk under Titus's Arch and take a good
look at the vessels that were carried out of Jerusalem and tell me again who
lights the Menorah to commemorate their independence in the Land of Israel?
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