FIRST THOUGHTS ON THE FIRST DAY

A good friend of God and mine, whose name is Ruel, which literally means "friend of God," wished me a happy new year with these words, 

"Greetings Jonah, asking father God to make His face shine upon you and your loved ones and May His favor rest on you throughout the new year."

His choice of words, "His face shine upon," got me thinking. Thinking gets me writing in my journal. Here are my first thoughts on this first day of the new year. 

HOW

When God's face shines upon a people they multiply, they are blessed. When God turn's his face, his protection is withdrawn and death and destruction ensue. This is "how" it goes.  

Why does this happen? Because of our disobedience to God. God has told us explicitly what things we are not to do. God even wrote them down on two stone tablets.

Our disobedient (sinful) nature was solidified in Genesis 3.9. After Adam ate the Forbidden Fruit, God calls out to Adam:

And the Lord God called to man, and He said to him,"Where are you?" In the Hebrew it is:

וַיִּקְרָ֛א יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶל־הָֽאָדָ֑ם וַיֹּ֥אמֶר ל֖וֹ אַיֶּֽכָּה

Of course Hashem, the almighty Lord God (יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהִ֖ים), knows "where" Adam is in a locational sense. God knows where we all are, at all times. That was obvious to Jonah. His disobedience was the deliberate use of the concept of where he was. Jonah channeled the concept of Adam's disobedience in the Garden. Then Jonah willingly went down to the pit of sheol in telling the Sailors to through him overboard. He knew his disobedience was the cause of the perilous seas that were destroying the boat.

The Hebrew word that we see in Genesis 3.9 for the word "where" is אַיֶּֽכָּה.  It sounds like "ayeh".

There are two words for "where" in the Hebrew bible. One version is a more generic straightforward request for location. On the other hand, the version of "where" we see in Genesis 3.9, is אַיֶּֽכָּה (Eicha), and it implies a deeper meaning. Here are two other spots this version of "where" is used in the bible: 

In Genesis 22:7, when Abraham and Isaac are ascending the mountain on the way to the "Binding of Isaac,"Isaac calls out, Hineh ha'esh...v'ayeh haseh l'olah? -- "Here's the fire, but where is the lamb for the offering?"  

Another example of the use of this form is found in The Book of Job verse 14.10. Vayigva adam y'ayamot, v'ayeh? -- "A man dies and then where is he?"

In each of these instances, God is not making a simple request for the location. So we the reader need to ponder for a deeper meaning. This dramatically changes the meaning of God's question. The implication is that something transformative has happened. 

In the case of Adam in the Garden, the answer to "where are you" is also the answer for how it happened -- disobedience. By expelling Adam from the Garden, God has in essense withdrawn His face by placing Adam outside of the Garden. 

When God shines His face on us, we are blessed. We are multiplied. But when we are disobedient, God may turn His face and withdraw. 

We see the Israelites' disobedience throughout the Hebrew bible. The Israelites have suffered greatly. This is a pattern we find in the bible and throughout history. Jews are well aware of it. It even has a date, the 9th day of the month of Av, Tisha'B'Av  - the saddest day in the year for spiritual Jews. Scripture has been written for it. 

There is a Hebrew book written which expresses the deep lamentations of the prophet Jeremiah. It is noted for it's dark imagery of the devestated city of Jerusalem and the Temple. This scripture is read in Temples by Jews on Tisha B'Av. The book opens in 1.1-2 with the following words:

"O how has the city that was once so populous remained lonely! She has become like a widow! She that was great among the nations, a princess among the provinces, has become tributary.

She weeps, yea, she weeps in the night, and her tears are on her cheek; she has no comforter among all her lovers; all her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies."

Most people know this as the "Book of Lamentations," but that is not the actual Hebrew title of the book. The Hebrew title for this book is אֵיכָ֣ה (Eicha).  

Notice how similar אֵיכָ֣ה and אַיֶּֽכָּה are to each other? In fact they are virtually the same. The only difference is a slight difference in the vowels, the little dots and dashes. They alter the pronunciation of אַיֶּֽכָּה  (ayeh) which means "where" to אֵיכָ֣ה  (Eicha) and means "how."

Thus, the Book of Lamentations in essence asks the great question of "how" could God have allowed great tradegy to befall us. But like the question of "where," we are left to ponder. And the answer that the sages, the prophets and many others conclude, is disobedience. 

Here is the interesting thing. There are no vowels, in the actual Torah. So in effect, אַיֶּֽכָּה (where) and אֵיכָ֣ה (how) are in some sense the same thing. That is something to ponder. 

THE WAR IS OVER THE PEACE

RUSSIA HAS ALREADY WON, BUT UKRAINE AND THE WEST EITHER DOESN'T REALIZE IT OR WON'T ADMIT IT. 

Ukraine can not sustain itself without massive capital improvements to restore power, water, sewer, communications, transportation, hospitals, housing etc.Those improvements can not be made during a war time. If Ukraine was a person you could say that it is a "Dead Man Walking."

Putin knows this. Time is on his side. If Putin can survive, he just needs to wait and let the Ukrainian people suffer until they're willing to make the peace deal he can live with.

A vast amount of Ukraine's natural resource wealth will have to be spent on rebuilding Ukraine. Those improvements are essentially "The spoils of the war." There is no way that Putin/Russia wants those improvements to be made by Western companies. And there's no way Western companies want to let those spoils go to Russia and China. 

The battle at this point is for the peace and who gets the spoils. Meanwhile the Ukrainian people suffer! Such is the real tragedy of war!

"IF WE DON'T END THE WAR, THE WAR WILL END US." H.G. WELLS

THE WAR PIGS ARE AT IS AGAIN!
UKRAINE - SAME SHIT! DIFFERENT WAR. 

COVID IS GOING AS PLANNED

When I read the news from China about Covid, my take is not that of a healthcare crisis. What I see is a covert eugenics project going as planned.

It is my opinion since the virus started in 2019 that the Wuhan Virus, Covid, was designed in Chinese labs to purposely kill older people. In other words, the "gain of function" virus is a covert eugenics plan to reduce the aging population, in China particularily, who put the most strain on government health care and are least productive. I would not be surprised if our own CIA and Dr. Faucci was on board. 

Governments around the world are all facing the insurmountable challenge with the strain of healthcare costs. The actuarial reality is that countries simply can not afford to meet the high costs of long term care.  

Covid is overwhelming hospitals now, but the cost of dealing with a 70 year old person who will die in a few days or even weeks from Covid is a small fraction of what their health care costs would have been over the next ~20 years otherwise. 

China has a rapidly aging population. According to Chinese state media, China is already approaching a “moderately aging” scenario, in which 20% of its population is ages 60 and older. By 2035, that percentage is expected to rise to 30%, or more than 400 million people.

By 2100, China also appears poised to roughly double its “dependency ratio” – the proportion of its population that is outside working age (either ages 0 to 14 or ages 65 and older), compared with the proportion that is working age (15 to 64). 

Both age groups, the young and the old, are dependent and lower productivity.  The "future" depends on the young. The most telling feature about the design of the Wuhan Virus is the target population at highest risk. Notice how Covid mysteriously kills elderly and spares the very young, unlike the typical flu.

Coincidently, the Wuhan virus will largely solve China's demographics problem and increase it's productivity per capita.    

Eugenics isn't new in China. China has long had ambitious eugenic plans.  Some of which that have been very public about. 

For 30+ years limited families from having more than one child. It wasn't until 2015, just a few years before the virus was ready to be leaked from a top secret biological weapons labratory in Wuhan, that the CCP relented, and married couples were told they could have two children.

In 2019 U.S. intelligence started to warn that China was engineering "biologically enhanced" soldiers in it's People's Liberation Army. There have been scholarly papers writen that examine China's ambitions to apply biotechnology to the battlefield, including what they said were signs that China was interested in using gene-editing technology to enhance soldier performance. A prominent former member of Congress warned that "There are no ethical boundaries to Beijing's pursuit of power." 

Hitler did it in Europe to kill Jews, gypsies, mental patients and the disabled. Margaret Sanger did it in the USA to kill Black babies. Xi Jinping is doing it now in China to kill old people and others with premorbidity conditions. Eugenics is alive and going very well in China! Covid is going as planned!  

MIRACLE OF MIRACLES

L'Chaim

Miracle - definition 1. a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency.

The Hebrew spelling of Hanukkah חֲנֻכָּה begins with the 8th letter in the Hebrew alphabet, Chet ח, which is also the Hebrew number 8.

ח=8

The 8th day of Hanukkah is considered by Jewish sages as the most important DAY of Hanukkah. It is called Zos Hanukkah, which translates to "This is Hanukkah."  

"Zos" is the trait of Hanukkah. In other words, the 8th day is like ALL of Hanukkah - all the miracles wrapped into one. You might say, the miracle of miracles. 

The Maccabees celebrated Sukkout, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles (Booths), once they rededicated the Temple. It too concluded with an all important and distinguishable 8th day. That day is called Shemini Atzeret, which means "Eighth Day of Assembly." The 8th Day was "The last day of the Great Feast."  The great "Water Pouring Ceremony" took place. The celebrants would call out "Hoshana Rabbah" which means "please save us." They were seeking "Great Salvation."

Whether it is Zos Hanukkah or Shemini Atzeret, 8 is very great!   

There is so much that can be said about the number 8. After all, the mathmatical symbol for infinity is an 8 on it's side. 

In the world, times revolves around the number seven: the seven days of the week. Eight, however, represents transcendence, a level that is beyond the natural order. 8 brings us to new beginning -- A New Song.  Noah's family of eight represented a new beginning.  In the Christian Gospels, Yeshua rises on the day after the Sabbath- the eighth day. 

Leviticus 12.3 -- And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.

Hanukkah, Festival of light, is celebrated for eight days. 1 Maccabees 4:59 -- Then Judah and his brothers and all the assembly of Israel determined that every year at that season the days of the dedication of the altar should be observed with gladness and joy for eight days, beginning with the twenty-fifth day of the month of Kislev. 

According to Torah sages, Life can only be considered "true" when it is infused with Godliness, because the body by itself is temporary, and any­thing temporary cannot be true. True life is immortal and everlasting. The way one acquires everlasting life is by con­necting with God. 

Thus, infinity, salvation and chet (8) are all connected. You have likely heard the expression L'chaim, "to life."

The Hebrew symbol for the expression L'Chiam is spelled Chet-Yud (חי). The Yud is the 10th letter - devine completeness. Chet (8)+ Yud (10) = 18, which is a very special number indeed! The symbol חי is very familiar to Jews. It is often seen in Jewish art and jewelry.  Jews almost always give financial gifts in multiples of 18 so as to give the gift of life!

Ancient Tablet with Babylonian Value for Pi

Even if you are not Jewish or know Hebrew, the Hebrew letter Chet ח may look familiar to you because it is very similar to the letter Pi (π). Pi has been known for almost 4000 years. Pi is hidden through gematria in the first verse of the Torah (Genesis 1.1). 

Modern Mathematicians began using the Greek letter π in the 1700s. But as you can see on the ancient Babylonian table above, it was used long before that. 

The ancient Babylonians calculated the area of a circle by taking 3 times the square of its radius, which gave a value of pi = 3. One Babylonian tablet (ca. 1900–1680 BC) shown above indicates a value of 3.125 for π, which is a closer approximation.

Pi is an infinite number. Isn't it ironic that something which encloses space, a circle, would have a formula that has an infinite value. 

Such is the circle of life. Such is the miracle of mircles. Happy Zos Hanukkah!

P.S. I have some more in another blog article titled Hanukkah and the Number 8.

THIS JEW ON CHRISTMAS EVE (I AM NOT ALONE)

CHRISTMAS, it is late or early and the house is very silent. 

Silent Night is a famous Christmas song.  It is a tradition for many to sing it on Christmas eve. Here are some of the lyrics that were written in 1816 by a young priest in Austria, Joseph Mohr.  

"Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright. 'Round yon Virgin Mother and Child, Holy Infant so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace, Sleep in heavenly peace.

Silent night, holy night! Shepherds quake at the sight! Glories stream from heaven afar, heavenly hosts sing Alleluia! Christ, the Savior is born, Christ, the Savior is born.

Silent night, holy night, Son of God, love's pure light. Radiant beams from thy holy face, with the dawn of redeeming grace. Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth, Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth."

 Holocaust book about the "longest night."

It strikes me as profoundly ironic that when an older Jew hear's the word "Night" in the spiritual context of Christmas, there is a good chance they will think of Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass. (Kristall is glass, not Christ.) 

The Hebrew word for "how" is Eicha.  Eicha is the Jewish name for the "Book of Lamentations." Eicha (Lamentations) is a theological and prophetic response to the destruction of the First Temple (Beit Hamikdash) in Jerusalem in 586 B.C.(E.). It is believed to have been written by the prophet Jeremiah.

EICHA is not concerned with the historical details of the destruction, but rather with larger theological questions: Why did God, who had once been Israel’s redeemer, acquiesce to the destruction of His holy city and temple? Why is God’s love no longer evident? How can it be that “the city that was full of people” now “dwells alone” In Lamentations 1:1, the first word in Hebrew, Eicha, is the basis for the name of the book.

On Christmas Eve, which coincided with the 7th Night of Hanukkah this year, I went to a Christmas Eve dinner. I brought my Hanukkiah (menorah) along and lit it before dinner. At dinner, one of guests said that on Christmas it was tradition for him and his friends to get together and sing "War Pigs." 

I recognized the song because it is by one the most famous 1970's heavy metal rock bands. Black Sabbath, War Pigs, is sung by the iconic Ozzy Ozborne.

War Pigs is reputed to be an anti-war anthem. Originally, “War Pigs” was titled “Walpurgis” after the Christian feast of Walpurgis Night. But according to song's principle lyricist and the band original bassist, Geezer Butler, in a 2010 interview with Noisecreep, Walpurgis is essentially “Christmas for Satanists.” Here are the lyrics:

Generals gathered in their masses

Just like witches at black masses

Evil minds that plot destruction

Sorcerers of death's construction

In the fields the bodies burning

As the war machine keeps turning

Death and hatred to mankind

Poisoning their brainwashed minds

Oh Lord yeah!

Politicians hide themselves away

They only started the war

Why should they go out to fight?

They leave that all to the poor, yeah

Time will tell on their power minds

Making war just for fun

Treating people just like pawns in chess

Wait till their judgment day comes, yeah!

No more war pigs have the power

Hand of God has struck the hour

Day of Judgment God is calling

On their knees the war pigs crawling

Begging mercies for their sins

Satan laughing spreads his wings

Oh Lord yeah

The band's name, Black Sabbath, conjures up images of a Black Mass.  A Black Mass is a ceremony which celebrates death and destruction held by various Satanic groups over the centuries. It is intentionally sacrilegious and a blasphemous mockery of a Catholic Mass.

War Pigs is possibly the magnum opus of Black Sabbath. The lyrics provide an image of burning bodies ignored by the unstoppable war machine bringing death and hatred to all the land.  The generals and politicians who bring war face judgement in the end, but Satan laughs and appears to fly off. It is as though Satan leaves a trail of death and destruction throughout history; corrupting the minds of all who aren’t strong enough to resist Satan's sorcery

Interestingly, in the Hebrew Talmud, Jesus is accused by the pharises of being a sorcerer.  The New Testamant, essentially confirms this in Matthew 12:24, "But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils."

There is perhaps no greater trail of death and destruction than the tragic events through history associated with Jews and Tisha B'Av. Jews have asked themselves for thousands of years, HOW could so many tragic events in history befall us. Eicha reverberates throughout history.  In Jeremiah's time they asked "how" God could have allowed for the destruction of the first temple. In my time, Jews ask how the Holocaust could have happened. 

On Christmas Eve, when Christians sing Silent Night, this Jew, me, am reminded of the "Longest Night," the Holocaust. I am not alone. The question has to be asked. How could the Austrians that gave us Silent Night, have also given us Hitler and the Holocaust?  Eicha? 

While Jews and Christians have different beliefs about the Messiah, they do both believe in a Messiah. Jews and Christians both believe in the "Shield of David" -- God's protection of his chosen people. Jews and Christians both believe that sin is disobedience. But when it comes to evil influence in the world, Jews and Christians diverge. Each answer the question of "How" very differently. Jews believe in Man's "evil inclination" which is called "yetza hara" in Hebrew. Christians take evil a step further with the belief in a super natural force of evil -- a fallen Angel called Lucifer, otherwise known as Satan. 

If Satan does exist, then War Pigs seems to hit the nail on the head in. Satan laughing spreads his wings.

In these times, very religious Jews and Christians see many signs that the scriptures prophesied of. Both are watching for the Messiah. Christians expect to see the anti-Christ first. Time will tell if there is a Satan. Then, we will all see who the Messiah is and whether he is pierced. 

Fear the Lord. Merry Christmas. 

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline." Proverbs 1.7

HANUKKAH HAPPENED

As we celebrate the Light, let us also remember the warriors who fought and died to keep the Light burning. 

The First and Second Books of Maccabees are the most detailed accounts of the battles of Judah Maccabee and his brothers for the liberation of Judea from foreign domination. The military prowess of Judah Maccabee, the Hammer, is legendary. To put it bluntly and crudely, the Maccabees were bad-@$$ warriors! 

A statue of Judah Maccabee can be found at the United States Military Academy, a symbol of his influence as a warrior on George Washington and subsequent officers of the United States Army.  Below is a picture of West Point Cadets claiming their heritage.  

The Books of Maccabees are the earliest historical account of the rededication of the Temple. Hanukkah is Hebrew for dedicate. You could say the Maccabees hanukkah'ed' the Temple. 

Yet, these books are missing from the Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh. There is some debate about why.  Nonetheless, while the original Books were written in Hebrew, the Hebrew books were lost to the Jewish world for many centuries.

Hanukkah is the only holiday in the Jewish calendar that does not have a corresponding mishnaic tractate. 

Ironically, the Books of Maccabees survived because they were translated to Greek and became part of the Christian canon. 

Interestingly, there is renewed interest in these texts in the Jewish community. "Students of Jewish history and Jewish literature recognize the value of these documents that took such pains to record details, events and personalities of a major period in Jewish history."

Jews will find something more in Maccabes; Something which is common in the Christian mindset, but not a theme in the Jewish mindset. Maccabees, particularly the 2nd book, was quite vivid about the belief in resurrection. 

Judah Maccabeus and his brothers were zealous Jews of the priestly Levite tribe. They fought with complete faith that they would be victorious in death. It is impossible to read the story of the "Mother and Her Seven Sons" in Maccabees II and not be moved by their faithfulness and confidence in resurrection.  (Link to story. Warning: It is a downright gruesome story.)

The holiday of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, brings Jew and Christian together. It is a holiday we both can celebrate. After all, we both want to bring more Light into the World.  

You say December, we say Kislev, but we both celebrate on the 25th!  The 25th of December on the Gregorian calendar is the 359th day. 359 is the numeric value of the word Messiah in Aramaic, the predominant language at the time of Jesus. 

P.S. Light is a common theme with other religions. Diwali (also spelled Divali), the festival of lights, is one of the major holidays of Hinduism and is also celebrated in Jainism and Sikhism.

CHET -- 8

Chet is the 8th letter in Hebrew alpha-bet. It gematria value is 8. 

The number eight in Hebrew is shemonah (שְׁמֹנֶה). The letter chet (ח) also represents the number eight.

The word Hanukkah means "dedicate." While the holiday of Hanukkah is not in the Torah, the word hanukkah (dedicate) is found throughout the bible. 

A major theme of the Hanukkah holiday is the number eight - 8 nights, 8 lights. Do we find the concept of dedication and the number 8 associated with one another in the bible? What else is associated with "dedication" in the bible? 

The eighth letter of the Hebrew alef-beyt (alphabet) is the letter "chet" ח. It is said that the letter chet is the fusion of two letters: the vav and the zayin with a bridge that unites the two.  Think of the fusion as a marriage. In Jewish tradition when two people dedicate themselves to one another, it takes place under a chuppah (חוּפָּה), symbolic of God's presence. The Chuppah חוּפָּה begins with the letter chet (8) and ends with פה, which is the word "here." The shape of a chuppah even looks like the letter ח.

If that marriage produces a baby boy, the Jewish child will have a bris on the 8th day. Bris means covenant (agreement or promise). It is a sign of dedication to God.  

In the time of the Maccabees, the Greek Selucide King built a gymnasium where men competed in the nude so it could be seen which men were circumcised and thus dedicated to Judaism.

The first born is dedicated to God on the 8th day in Exodus 22.29 where the Torah says, "On the eight day So shall you do with your cattle and with your sheep: seven days it shall be with its mother, on the eighth day you may give it to Me."

In Leviticus 9.1 God summoned Moses and Aaron to make sacrafices of dedication. "And it was on the eighth day, that Moses summoned Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel."

In 1 Samuel 16.10 it says "And Jesse presented his seven sons before Samuel; and Samuel said to Jesse, "The Lord has not chosen these."" It was the eighth son, David, who was to be annointed King. David would dedicate his life to serving the Lord. 

Psalm 8 speaks to the what David understands. In Psalm 8.10, another great number, David declares, 

"O Lord, our Master, how mighty is Your name in all the earth!"

The number 8 and the letter Chet ח have significance throughout the bible but there is one man whose name actually comes from the same root word as Hanukkah. Enoch's name means "dedicated," "trained" and disciplined." Enoch is believed to have been taken up to God. It says in Genesis 5.24 "Enoch walked with God, and he was no longer, for God had taken him."

If we are thinking about the #8 in a New Testament context, we might consider what happens after Revelation chapter 8 and after the 7th seal and 7th Trumpet is sounded. 

"The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up."