Posted on 11/27/2013 7:20:54 PM PST by Phinneous
An audio class on the origins and practices of Chanukah in Jewish teachings, with application to our modern culture.
WE need to reawaken the warrior spirit or we will pay a heavy price around the world...again.
bkmk-listen
Can you summarize what the message is?
There are different tacts. Self-defense is of course important (and the best defense as well...a good offense) But for Jews, like the point of this audio class, unabashed faith and Torah learning/practice are what protects us. How else could we have survived as a sheep among the wolves all this time?
A friend of mine told me he was in an airport when the time for praying the morning prayer came. Most orthodox Jewish men go through some mental calculation—”Do I put on my prayer shawl and phylacteries (black leather boxes worn on the head and bicep containing certain passages of the Torah inside) right here at the gate? Or do I find a private room, or wait until I reach my destination.... When suddenly a same-sex marriage report came on the CCTV... If these guys can be proud of their shtusim (foolishness) why can’t I be proud and pray in the middle of an airport?! So he did.
Religious men and women should double down in holy chutzpah. Think of the cultural rot that the youth proudly display in their fads and mannerisms— and we should double down in our godly culture and holy and American mannerisms. The hell with Hellenizing.
Just like the ancient Maccabees, we should stick to our G-d and our guns, in that order. ;)
I am very ignorant of Judaism, I live in an area where the Jewish population is small. I saw something this evening that surprised me so I am hoping you can explain it to me. We were in a Target store doing some shopping and I usually include their Christmas decorating dept. when I am in there. Also wandering around the Christmas section were two orthodox Jewish men, they were wearing yarmulkes and black coats. I know this is the first day of Chanukah, and I always thought these evenings were to be spent at home.
Chanukah does not have the Biblical prohibitions of “work” as do the major Jewish holidays. Nothing too odd about shopping.
Candle lighting is somewhere around 5-5:30, but gatherings don’t have official rules.
That said, there are occasional Christian missionaries or just Christian kooks who dress like orthodox Jews. Or maybe it was ZZ Top on tour...
Neither Chanukah nor Purim prohibit work and travel, in contrast with Yom Kippur and Rosh HaShanah and the three pilgrimage festivals (Sukkot, Passover, Shavuot), which do. The four additional fast days in the Hebrew calendar likewise allow people to go to work, if they wish. While families do like to get together to light the menorah and sing Chanukah songs, Chanukah is not a Jewish Christmas. During the eight consecutive days of Chanukah, people go about their business, except for during the Sabbath, which of course has a prohibition against working. While it’s desirable to light candles early, one may light them later.
We light candles at home with or families, chill out by the candles for about half an hour, and then continue with Standart operating procedure. If you ever see a Jew with a yarmulkah in a store on Saturday ask him in shock, “Isn’t it Shabbos!!?!?”
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