Thursday, April 19, 2018

FROM MOURNING TO JOY: ISRAEL CELEBRATES 70 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

jpost


Israel’s 70th Independence Day and annual torch lighting ceremony took place at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem Wednesday evening.

As a bereaved father read the Yizkor prayer and the Israeli flag was returned to full mast, Memorial Day segued into Independence Day. This year, 1,500 singers, dancers, speakers and performers took part in the annual event which was attended by an audience of 6,500.

3 comments :

  1. I'm wondering what the atmosphere was in Ezra's day, when he wanted to bring the golah back to Israel. He also faced opposition from sanballat etc. But many people saw the miracle then .

    ReplyDelete
  2. Eddie says: “I'm wondering what the atmosphere was in Ezra's day, when he wanted to bring the golah back to Israel. He also faced opposition from sanballat etc. But many people saw the miracle then.”
    Many people in Ezra’s days saw that God frustrated the evil plans of our enemies: “When our enemies learned that it had become known to us, since God had thus frustrated their plan, we could all return to the wall, each to his work. From that day on, half my servants did work and half held lances and shields, bows and armor. And the officers stood behind the whole house of Judah rebuilding the wall. The basket-carriers were burdened, doing work with one hand while the other held a weapon. As for the builders, each had his sword girded at his side as he was building. The trumpeter stood beside me.” (Nehemia 4:9-12).
    Ezra and Nehemia greatly bemoaned assimilation in their days and did what they could to stop the assimilation.
    Megilah 15a
    R. Nahman [according to a better reading, Rab. V infra] said: Malachi is the same as Mordecai. Why was he called Malachi? Because he was next to the king [V. Esther 10:3. And he was looked on as an angel (mal'ak) (Maharsha)]. The following was cited in objection to this: Baruch the son of Neriah and Serayah the son of Mahseyah and Daniel and Mordecai, Bilshan, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi all prophesied in the second year of Darius! This is a refutation. It has been taught: R. Joshua b. Korha said: Malachi is the same as Ezra, and the Sages say that Malachi was his proper name. R. Nahman said: There is good ground for accepting the view that Malachi was the same as Ezra. For it is written in the prophecy of Malachi “Judah has broken faith; abhorrent things have been done in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned what is holy to the Lord— what He desires—and espoused daughters of alien gods” (Malachi 2:11). And who was it that put away the strange women? Ezra, as it is written “Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel of the family of Elam spoke up and said to Ezra, We have trespassed against our God by bringing into our homes foreign women from the peoples of the land; but there is still hope for Israel despite this” (Ezra 10:2). … R. Eleazar b. Hanina also said: Let not the blessing of an ordinary man be lightly esteemed in thine eyes, for two men great in their generation received from ordinary men blessings which were fulfilled in them. They were, David and Daniel. David was blessed by Araunah ארונה, as it is written “All this, O king, Araunah gives to Your Majesty. And may the Lord your God, Araunah added, respond to you with favor!” (2 Samuel 24:23). Daniel was blessed by Darius, as it is written “By the king’s order, Daniel was then brought and thrown into the lions’ den. The king spoke to Daniel and said, Your God, whom you serve so regularly, will deliver you.” (Daniel 6:17).”
    My theory is that Donald Trump is a modern Cyrus the Great. We’re living in the beginnings of the full redemption.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Eddie says: “I'm wondering what the atmosphere was in Ezra's day, when he wanted to bring the golah back to Israel. He also faced opposition from sanballat etc. But many people saw the miracle then.”
    Many people in Ezra’s days saw that God frustrated the evil plans of our enemies: “When our enemies learned that it had become known to us, since God had thus frustrated their plan, we could all return to the wall, each to his work. From that day on, half my servants did work and half held lances and shields, bows and armor. And the officers stood behind the whole house of Judah rebuilding the wall. The basket-carriers were burdened, doing work with one hand while the other held a weapon. As for the builders, each had his sword girded at his side as he was building. The trumpeter stood beside me.” (Nehemia 4:9-12).
    Ezra and Nehemia greatly bemoaned assimilation in their days and did what they could to stop the assimilation.
    Megilah 15a
    R. Nahman [according to a better reading, Rab. V infra] said: Malachi is the same as Mordecai. Why was he called Malachi? Because he was next to the king [V. Esther 10:3. And he was looked on as an angel (mal'ak) (Maharsha)]. The following was cited in objection to this: Baruch the son of Neriah and Serayah the son of Mahseyah and Daniel and Mordecai, Bilshan, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi all prophesied in the second year of Darius! This is a refutation. It has been taught: R. Joshua b. Korha said: Malachi is the same as Ezra, and the Sages say that Malachi was his proper name. R. Nahman said: There is good ground for accepting the view that Malachi was the same as Ezra. For it is written in the prophecy of Malachi “Judah has broken faith; abhorrent things have been done in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned what is holy to the Lord— what He desires—and espoused daughters of alien gods” (Malachi 2:11). And who was it that put away the strange women? Ezra, as it is written “Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel of the family of Elam spoke up and said to Ezra, We have trespassed against our God by bringing into our homes foreign women from the peoples of the land; but there is still hope for Israel despite this” (Ezra 10:2). … R. Eleazar b. Hanina also said: Let not the blessing of an ordinary man be lightly esteemed in thine eyes, for two men great in their generation received from ordinary men blessings which were fulfilled in them. They were, David and Daniel. David was blessed by Araunah ארונה, as it is written “All this, O king, Araunah gives to Your Majesty. And may the Lord your God, Araunah added, respond to you with favor!” (2 Samuel 24:23). Daniel was blessed by Darius, as it is written “By the king’s order, Daniel was then brought and thrown into the lions’ den. The king spoke to Daniel and said, Your God, whom you serve so regularly, will deliver you.” (Daniel 6:17).”
    My theory is that Donald Trump is a modern Cyrus the Great. We’re living in the beginnings of the full redemption.

    ReplyDelete

ANONYMOUS COMMENTS WILL NOT BE POSTED!
please use either your real name or a pseudonym.