CEASEFIRE RESOLUTION - LETTER TO COUNCIL MEMBERS

 

Dear Beacon and Poughkeepsie City Council Members:

The definition of antisemitism authored by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) was nearly unanimously adopted by the Dutchess County Human Rights Council and the Dutchess County Legislature in 2023. It is endorsed by the Jewish Federation of Dutchess County.

This definition stipulates actions, any one of which, is deemed anti-Semitic. One of those is:

"Applying double standards by requiring of it a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation."

Now let's consider what this city council knows:

• Regardless of any believed justification, this council must recognize that the current war began with the attack by Hamas on Oct 7th before which there was a ceasefire. Hamas has broken every ceasefire there has been.
• This council must recognize that the attack by Hamas on Oct 7th was planned for the purposes of drawing Israeli soldiers into Gaza for a deadly conflict that would take place amongst a dense civilian population.
• This council must recognize that Hamas has the ability at any time to put a halt to the war by surrendering themselves, their weapons and the hostages. Furthermore, by not doing so Hamas chooses to continue the war.
• This council must recognize that Hamas intentionally distributed hostages throughout Gaza, thus forcing the IDF to fight throughout Gaza in order to recover it's citizens. Clearly, Hamas made extraordinary plans and efforts to hid the hostages thus prolonging the conflict and adding to civilian losses. 
• This council must recognize that by storing weapons intended to kill Israelis in schools, hospitals, mosques, U.N. offices and homes throughout Gaza that Hamas deliberately endangered civilian lives.
• This council must recognize that Israel has the right to use force to seize and destroy weapons from their enemy vowed to use them kill Jews again and again.
• This council should know that Hamas murders any Palestinian opposition in Gaza and that Hamas pays the families of terrorists who murder civilian men, women and children.
• This council must know that Hamas deliberately and strategically prevents civilians from escaping the violence and from receiving humanitarian aid. Furthermore, Hamas leaders divert money and resources intended for civilians to their personal benefit.  
• This council should know that Hamas controls the educational system in Gaza and uses it to brainwash children to grow up dreaming to kill Jews. 
• This council should know that the only hope Hamas instills in the civilian population is the death of all Jews in Israel.
• This council must understand that Israel is fighting an enemy that is a terrorist organizations which is sworn to the destruction of Israel.
• This council must recognize that a ceasefire will be used by Hamas like the dozens of other ceasefires it violated, to reload in order to pursue it's mission to kill more Jews.
• The members of this council must be able to imagine whether they would be calling for a ceasefire if it was their family and friends who were brutally raped and murdered on Oct 7th.
• This council has every reason to believe Hamas means it when they vowed to repeat Oct 7th again and again. 

This council must recognize that this resolution demands a behavior of Israel that it has not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.

Therefore, the resolutions before members of both city councils fit the very definition of antisemitism which this County's own Legislature and the Human Rights Commission adopted.

By passing this resolution this council would literally be endorsing antisemitism. Passage of this resolution will damage the reputation of this City, validate hatred of Israel and endanger the lives of Jewish residents you are sworn to serve.

This resolution as written is highly offensive to many of your city's residents who have contributed to the well being of this city for many years and in many cases a lifetime.

The resolution should NOT be passed by this city council. I urge you to put it down and consider real ways of helping civilians on both sides RATHER THAN of cursing Israel.

Respectfully,

R. Jonah Ritter
Parent and Grandparent to Beacon residents 
City of Poughkeepsie Homeowner
Vice President of the Jewish Federation of D.C.
Past President Vassar Temple
Past President of the D.C. Realtors Association

 

2 MORAL QUESTIONS

Consider the following hypothetical scenario as a basis for whether Israel has a moral obligation to ceasefire in Gaza.  After you read the scenario below, answer 2 simple questions. 

HOW MANY PEOPLE WOULD YOU KILL IN THIS SCENARIO?  

SAY there is a room with 10 people in it.

SAY that every one of the 10 people in that room is armed with a gun. 

SAY that room is right next to a room with you and your entire family and close friends in it. Say that only one man in your room, you, has a gun and it is your responsibility to defend your entire family and friends in your room.

SAY that every single one in the room of 10 next to your room is determined to kill every single person in your room. All ten of them pray to kill you, dream of killing you and teach their children to want to kill you. In fact they are so determined to kill you that they consider it the highest honor to die themselves in the effort of trying to kill you.  

SAY that 2 of the people from the room next to you break into your room. The two of them kill your father, rape and kill your wife and daughter. They also kidnap your mother and cousin and take them back to their room where the other 8 people are. They are torturing your mother and cousin. 

SAY those 10 people did this with the expectation that you would come to their room to rescue your family members. And, they were preparing to kill you when you do. 

Answer the following two moral questions:

1. Would you go to rescue your family members?

2. If you do, how many of those ten people are you prepared to kill?  In other words, at what point did you ceasefire?

In this scenario, let's further say that there are some additional unarmed non-combattens in the room with the 10 people.  They are aware of the situation at play, including what their roommates did to your family. What's more, they are quite thrilled and proud of what their roommates did to your roommates!

These unarmed non-combattens are free to leave the room. In fact, you encouraged them to do so and gave them time to do so!  But they chose to stay, being fully aware of the risks. Who is to blame if some of those unarmed non-combattens are killed or injured during the ensuing battle? 

EXERCISE YOUR 6TH SENSE

Take events in America and around the world since around the start of this millennium, the year 2000. Imagine these as images. They could be people, headlines or even a concept. The images do not need to be in chronological order. Your thoughts can be random. They will be random.

Scan the globe -- The images and thoughts can be of something 5,000 thousand miles away or in your state. They can be of political or financial or cultural events or anything meaningful to large bodies of people. The subjects and images aren't personal even though you may have personal opinions about them. You might even find yourself having a conversation with someone in your mind. 

Stand back. Widen your lens. Remove your ego from what you see. Don't judge the images. Simply see the pictures as a collection, like a collage or a reel. Allow feelings to drift by you -- let them just come and go. You may have a feeling but don't apply any emotion to what you see -- Just watch.

Don't overthink this exercise. Allow God's Spirit, in your subconscious, not your intellect, to choose what you see. You don't even need to be aware that you're seeing anything. Your subconscious mind can process this without you consciously seeing and knowing what is happening. All you need to do is intentionally direct your mind and allow yourself some time, some seconds, to perform this task uninterrupted by other demands and distractions. Shut off everything else. 

Don't be concerned if totally random and seemingly irrelevant and trivial images pop up. Don't focus or think about the images, just let them scroll by you like a series of shutter frames. Do the same with the thoughts associated with any image. When you reach the present let the inertia take you forward in time. Sense the future and the way the world is heading. 

Now, let go of ALL the images. Rather than traveling in time, move beyond the dimension bounded by time. Enter the spiritual realm. There is only Light.  Connect with the Love in the Light. This is the Light of the Creator. 

Form an intention for the Glory of the Devine to reveal Himself. Seek correction and guidance.  Pray for that. Pray for the world.  As difficult as things seem, come to a place of gratitude to the Lord.  

You are exercising your "sixth sense" and applying it to the situation mankind is faced with. This is your Spiritual sense. It is your ability to make a connection with the Creator, Hashem. 

Epilogue:

Our world is facing a crossroads.  Humanity has reached a crucial threshold. We are in a spiritual battle.  Evil forces are at hand. Good will prevail, but many will suffer terribly.  We have an important role to play, but in order to play a positive role we need understanding so we do what we can to minimize the suffering.  

❤️🙏

WHAT WOULD NIXON SAY ABOUT THE POLITICS TODAY?

DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN A MAN WAS RUINED FOR TRYING TO COVERUP THAT HIS ASSOCIATES SPIED ON HIS POLITICAL OPPONENTS? 

You may be too young to remember Watergate when President Nixon was run out of office for covering up for his associates illegal efforts to wiretap his political opponents.  But you are probably old enough to remember when Trump said that Obama wiretapped his campaign associates in Trump Tower. 

2017 -- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump accused predecessor Barack Obama on Saturday of wiretapping him during the late stages of the 2016 election campaign, but offered no evidence for an allegation which an Obama spokesman said was "simply false".

The media loves Obama and hates Trump. So they mocked Trump for making that claim. Fast forward two years...

2019 -- "The FBI apologized to the secret court that handles national security investigations for the way it conducted surveillance of a former Trump campaign adviser during the 2016 election, according to a court filing made public."  

It was also discovered that they lied to the FISA Court!  The FBI Attorney also admited altering evidence used for the the FISA application. In fact the FBI made 17 errors or omissions in its FISA warrant applications to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA Court) for surveillance of Trump associates. 

Painting of Clinton in blue dress
hung in Jeffrey Epstein’s home

The common expression that rose out of the infamous Watergate hearings was that "the coverup is worse than the crime." It didn't work that way for the powerful Clinton's with Bill Clinton's sexual misconduct involving Monica Lewinsky and certainly not concerning his close relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.  It didn't work that way when Hillary conspired with the DNC to defeat Bernie Sanders in the primary.  It certainly didn't apply to Hillary who's crimes dwarf what Richard Nixon did by allegedly deleting 18.5 seconds on his office's recording tape.  

2016 -- "Former Clinton IT Aide Describes Destruction of Old Devices as Routine. Three witnesses plead the fifth at hearing on State Department email vulnerabilities." 

In the case of Hillary, she new the crime of creating a fake dossier to support her false claims that Trump colluded with Russia was worse than any coverup. So Hillary had hard drives bleached, phones hammered and 30k+ emails deleted that were under subpoena. But Hillary didn't get in trouble for her crimes or the coverup.

2016 -- FBI Director James Comey called "Hillary Clinton and her staff's actions "extremely careless" in handling classified data over a private email server while she was secretary of state.  Comey recommend that no charges be brought against her.

So much for the coverup being worse than the crime!  You would think it ended there for Trump but that was just the beginning!

The conspirators used a senile old man as their puppet to go after Trump. Not Joe Biden. The senile man was Robert Meuller.  For Trump, his family and the American people it meant of years of a witchhunt playing out in the daily news and his first impeachment trial. 

2019 -- During Congressional hearings, Louie Gohmert, Former United States Representative, proved that a clueless, doddering Mueller had no idea that his team was full of vicious Trump-hating hacks. Peter Strzok used FBI phones to send messages like "We'll stop Trump" & that the Russian investigation was an "insurance policy."

The list of other outrageous actions that where meant to fool the American people and effect Presidential elections is too long to list, but here is one more. 

10/19/20 (Days before the Presidential election) -- More than 50 former senior intelligence officials have signed on to a letter outlining their belief that the recent disclosure of emails allegedly belonging to Hunter Biden, pictured here, “has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”

Since June 2015, just short of a decade, the list of things that Obama/Biden, Hillary, the DNC, the Deep State and corrupt actors in the FBI and the DOJ have done to "get Trump" and his closest supporters is arguably the most grievous political crimes in the history our country!  The media was complicit on all of them!

This may be the worst...

Actions leading up to the Washington protests on January 6th 2021 and what's happened since represent nothing less than a coordinated effort to entrap and imprison patriotic Americans in order to create a false narrative that would be used to destroy a massive Conservative movement in America. All of which is done with the obvious intention to interfere with Trump's election efforts years later. This is literally playing out in the USA Supreme Court THIS VERY WEEK in response to several states' efforts to keep Trump off the ballot in 2024.

Prosecutions in Georgia and New York are no different in terms of their political purposes. The American people see now that our DOJ and State Attorney Generals have weaponized our justice system in order to alter election outcomes. Trump calls it what it is -- election interference. That's why those efforts are having the opposite effect on Trump's popularity. 

For nine years, millions of Conservative Americans have made claims that sounded like crazy conspiracy theories. Social media blocked our posts. Support for the "orange man" even put a strain on personal relationships. Very sad. And those theories have proven to be correct.

There are over 80 million citizens who are vilified for wanting to put American interests ahead of foreign interests and special corporate interests. There is still a movement who believe America will be great when our representatives serve "we the people" instead lining their pockets.

It is plain for everyone to see:  The emperor (Joe Biden) has no clothes. Even Democrats and many in the media have finally come to see that.

We may never know what was on those infamous 18.5 seconds of missing Nixon tapes or Hillary Clinton's server, phones and emails. But we know enough!

I didn't vote for Trump in 2016, but I have been saying all along the way, the hypocrisy is greater than the truth!! 

If Richard Nixon was alive and witnessed the last nine years, what would he say about all this? I think he would agree with what many are saying today. What has been done to get the Trump family and villainize the Conservative movement, not to mention Evangelical Christians, makes what Nixon did and what happened at the Watergate look like shoplifting. 

The Left is guilty of the lies they've accused Trump of doing. 

I HAVE A DREAM

Isn't it interesting how the presumed meaning of the expression "I ____ a dream" changes based on past or present tense -- "had" verses "have?" 

When one says they "have a dream" it isn't clear to others whether that person has a fantastic fantasy OR a hopeful desire for some possibility.  In my case, my dream is both a hopeful desire AND a fantastic fantasy. 

Whereas, I believe in the power of the Word* to reveal, sustain and transform people; My dream is that studying the bible can fix many of America's serious problems. 

Most Americans are not biblical literalists. Nor do most Americans believe the Word is truly Devinely inspired. Nor do they believe in a "living God" and a supernatural world with a relationship between heaven and earth in which blessings and curses can come down. 

God has been driven out of schools and homes. Children no longer receive a religious education. And in my opinion the education children do receive is often woefully poor and inadequate. 

Most Americans do not not read, study and understand the Bible. A survey from 2021 found that only 11% of Americans even read the Bible daily--a rate that has fallen dramatically over the last 60 years. 

I personally believe that is the reason for many of the problems in America.  Therein lies the solution. It stands to reason that if we reversed the figures and 90% of Americans studied the Bible daily the beneficial effects would be amazing.

Could it be that simple?  

To begin with, as a result of regular reading and study, even non-believers would start to believe in the Creator. That would lead to over 100 million people who would begin to pray from the heart on a regular basis. 

This alone, not politicians, would start to fix many of our nation's problems. I believe the following "rates" would all go down:  

•  Depression
•  Drug and alcohol abuse 
•  Suicide 
•  Violence 
•  Crime
•  Bullying
•  Child abuse 
•  Divorce
•  Rape
•  Illiteracy 
•  Poverty

In addition, as Americans are transformed by the Word, there would be better candidates for political office and Americans would elect better leaders at every level of government. 

As the leaders and the people absorb the Word and develop a deeper understanding of God's ways. The truth will reveal itself and our country would find the ways to cooperatively solve the problems we have. 

So there you have my dream--both a hopeful desire and a fantastic fantasy. 

In order for a dream to come true we need to believe in it. Any successful athlete or entrepreneur will tell you that we "will" our dreams into reality. Won't you help me?  You know where to start! 

* To be clear, by the Word I am referring to the Judeo-Christian bible. The bible our nation was founded and built on. 

WHAT COMES AFTER CHANUKAH

With Chanukah 2023 (5784) in the books I was thinking about the New Year. For the Maccabees the "religious new year" started on the 1st of Nisan, the Passover month.  That is actually the beginning of the ecclesiastical New Year. 

Looking back to look ahead reminds me of the prophet Daniel, especially around "the holidays."

The biblical prophet Daniel described a vision of future historical events. Daniel foresaw the fall of Persia and the rise of Greece. That's the history of Alexander the Great. 

Daniel also foresaw the breakup of Greece into four kingdoms that occurred when Alexander died and his two sons were murdered. He even singled out one of the kingdoms which was lead by Antiochus Epiphanes IV.  Daniel also foresaw his fall. 

Then came Chanukah, and it was winter in Jerusalem. The Maccabees defeated Antiochus. That victory is the basis for Chanukah, which always falls on the 25th of Kislev, around December, when it is winter.

Let's read how Daniel described it...

Daniel 8:15-22 TLV

“Now it happened that while I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, behold, standing before me was one with the appearance of a man. Then I heard a human voice coming from between the banks of the Ulai, calling out saying, ‘Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.’ “He came near to where I was standing, and as he approached I was terrified and fell on my face. But he said to me, ‘Son of man, understand that the vision pertains to the time of the end.’ “While he was speaking to me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face to the ground. But he touched me and stood me up, and said: ‘Behold, I am going to inform you about what will happen later in the time of wrath, for the vision pertains to the appointed time of the end. The ram that you saw with the two horns stands for the kings of Media and Persia. The buck, the male goat, is the king of Greece; and the large horn between his eyes is the first king. The four horns that replaced the one that was broken represent four kingdoms that will arise from this nation, though not with its power. 

167 bce historically, after the Maccabees defeated Antiochus, Jews took back the Temple and freed the Land. In order to deter the Greeks from coming back and ensure their safety, Judaea put it's faith in Rome and made the first ever treaty with the Roman Republic. 

After the fall of Antiochus, Judaea started a very prosperous period known as the Hasmonean dynasty. This was the ruling dynasty of Judea and surrounding regions during the Hellenistic times of the Second Temple period, from circa 140 bce to 37 bce.

Rome was strengthened too from this relationship with Judaea. For a time Israel was blessed and the Roman Republic benefited from Judaea!  We saw the rise of the Roman Empire which began in 27 bce.

Just before the time of Rome's expansion from a Republic to the Roman Empire, Rome appointed "Herod the Great" as king of Judaea. Herod's rein went from ~ 37- 4 bce. Herod went on a building spree, including a large expansion of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem. The Temple was raised, enlarged, and faced with white stone.  It was truly a sight!! He also built huge palaces, Masada* and Caesarea MaMaritima.

* This is a picture of my family with my son Alex and the Torah at the altar in the temple on the top of Masada which was built by King Herod. Alex had a bar Mitzvah ceremony at our temple in Poughkeepsie. Then we all went to Israel thanks to my parents. 

King Herod and Israel were under the thumb of the new and more powerful Roman Emperor and all that brought. Daniel foresaw the end of Antiochus and rise of Rome and the Roman Emperor.  Let's read how Daniel described it...

Daniel 8:23-25

“‘Now toward the end of their reign, when the measure of transgressions is completed, a stern-faced king, a master of intrigue, will arise. His power will be mighty, but it will not be by his strength alone. He will cause extraordinary devastation, and succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy both the powerful and the holy people. By his cunning he will cause deceit to prosper under his hand and he will consider himself superior. He will destroy many, taking them unaware. He will even stand up against the Prince of princes, yet he will be broken, but not by human hands. 

Daniel was very disturbed by his vision. Daniel put it this way...

Daniel 8.26-27

“Now the vision of the evenings and mornings that has been told to you is true, but seal up the vision for it concerns many days from now.’ “Then I, Daniel, was stricken and languished for days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business, but I was astounded at the vision and no one could explain it." 

Here's an interesting fact about Chanukah that is actually recorded in the Books of the Maccabees. After the Maccabees' great victory, when the Jews dedicated (Chanukah) the temple and annointed the altar with the Shemen Hamashiach (anointing oil for Messiah), Judah Maccabee declared to all the land to "remember the 13th of the month of Adar and Mordecai Day." That is a direct reference to the Fast of Esther and Purim!  Low & behold, that is actually the next big Jewish holiday after Chanukah. Purim begins on the evening of March 23rd in 2024. 

Now you now what comes after Chanukah!  Purim is another "holiday" with an evil man who tried to wipe out the Jews. Haman was a figure like Antiochus. Like in the story of Chanukah, the Jews turn the tables on him.  Purim follows Chanukah on the Jewish calendar, but what follows in Daniel's prophecy is a more evil and powerful figure. 

The times described in Daniel 11 are "end-times" that even Daniel didn't understand.  

Daniel 12:3-4

'Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavenly expanse. And those who turn many to righteousness will be like the stars forever and ever. But you, Daniel, close up the words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will run back and forth and knowledge will increase.’ 

Do you understand what Daniel is saying?!

Daniel 12:8-10 

Now I heard, but I did not understand. So I said, ‘My Lord, what will be the outcome of these things?’ Then he said: “Go your way, Daniel. For the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end. Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly. None of the wicked will understand, but the wise will understand. 

For times such as these, keep in mind that the Lord is our Shepherd the Shepherd knows his Sheep!  We can take comfort in Psalms...

Psalms 23:

A psalm of David. ADONAI is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me: Your rod and Your staff comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You have anointed my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the House of ADONAI forever. 

HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Epilogue:

I've been blogging for 12+ years and have written nearly 450 posts. Over that times I have written several about Chanukah.  Here are links to most of them:  

It Takes a Hammer to Drive a Nail

The Moriah Plant

Hanukkah and 8

Miracle of Miracles 

Did God Plan Hanukkah 

Hanukkah Trivia

To my Christian friends, I encourage you to read John 10. For a more in depth explanation there are many pastors who teach about Daniel and Antiochus. Here is an example: 

History and Prophecy (Part 1)

History and Prophecy (Part 2)

GLORY TO GOD

Kabbalistic Tree of Life

Isaiah 60:1-2 TLV

Arise, shine, for your light has come! The glory of ADONAI has risen on you. For behold, darkness covers the earth, and deep darkness the peoples. But ADONAI will arise upon you, and His glory will appear over you. 

The word "Glory" has special meaning and significance in both Judaism and Christianity. Christmas is a good day to ponder this relationship. Here is what I surmised.

Given the supernatural quality of the birth and death of Yeshua I decided to turn to kabbalistic sources for the Jewish viewpoint. That is why I included the Kabbalah Tree of Life illustration above.

My knowledge of Kabbalah is miniscule, so pardon my limited ability to explain what I am trying to share. 

The Hebrew word for Glory is Tiferet - Hebrew: תִּפְאֶרֶת  - Lit. 'beauty, glory, adornment. On Kabbalah's¹ Tree of Life, Tiferet is the sixth Sefira. In the Jewish Kabbalah, the Sephiroth spheres on the Tree represent emenations of God in the human psyche. In Kabbalah all things are linked to God through these emanations. The lines connecting the spheres are pathways. There is a hierarchical aspect to the Tree with the bottom of the diagram being akin to the base of a tree and the top being the crown.

The sphere of Tiferet/Glory has the common association of "Spirituality", "Balance", "Integration", "Beauty", "Miracles", and "Compassion." You can see Tiferet (Glory) at the center of the Tree.

Tiferet is the force that integrates the Sefira of Chesed ("Kindness") and Gevurah ("Strength, also called Din, "Judgement"). Those two forces are, respectively, expansive (giving) and restrictive (receiving). Either of them without the other could not manifest the flow of Divine energy; they must be balanced in perfect proportion by balancing compassion with discipline/judgment.

Notice in the Tree of Life image above that the Tiferet occupies a place on the middle pillar and it takes a central place in the lower face of the Tree of Life.  It has both a higher and lower reflection.

Tiferet is unique amongst the Sephirot as it is connected to all the other Sephirot except Malkuth.

Malkuth means Kingdom and is associated with the realm of matter/earth and relates to the physical world.

The Tiferet's position down the center indicates to many Kabbalists that it is somewhat of a "converting" Sephirot as all the other words cross over the middle path via Tiferet (Glory). 

With Christmas upon, here are some scriptures with the word glory.  

John 1:14, NKJV

It is written, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Luke 2:14-20

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth shalom to men of good will.” And when the angels departed from them into the heavens, the shepherds were saying to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened which ADONAI has made known to us!” So they hurried off and found Miriam and Joseph, and the Baby lying in the manger. When they had seen this, they made known the word that had been spoken to them concerning this Child. And all those who heard were amazed at the things the shepherds told them. But Miriam treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, just as they had been told."

Shechinah Glory

The rabbis teach us that the Word of God is referred to as the Shechinah (שכינה) pronounced Shekhina in English. The word derives from the root Shechen (שכן), which means to dwell.  The term is used to describe God’s manifest glory or His visible presence in the creation.

There is an important Jewish book attributed to a 1st-century rabbinic sage named Nehunya ben HaKanah (a contemporary of Yochanan ben Zakai) that is called the Sefer HaBahir (Hebrew: סֵפֶר הַבָּהִיר) "Book of Clarity" or "Book of Illumination."

During the period of the "early church," this 1st Century Rabbinic sage Nehunya ben HaKanah said: “God is the place of the world.” The sages further articulate that the part of the Divine sphere that interacts with man is the Shechinah. This interaction represents God in the lower spheres, which some refer to as the natural realm. 

Isaiah 40:22 

“He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.”

In the Bahir, a mystical religious text attributed to this same 1st-century rabbinic sage Nehunya ben HaKanah, it states that the Sixth Sephirot is the adorned, glorious, delightful throne of glory, the house of the world to come. It's place is engraved in wisdom as it says 'God said: Let there be light, and there was light.'

John 3:19-21 TLV

“Now this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world and men loved the darkness instead of the light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, so that their deeds will not be exposed. But whoever practices the truth comes to the light, so that it may be made known that his deeds have been accomplished in God.”

Again, on the kabbalistic Tree of Life, to the left of 

Tiferet is the word Gevurah which is the emenation of judgment. To the right is the word Chesed which is the emenation lovingkindness. There are other fascinating relationships on the Tree as well -- even the Hebrew letters in the pathways have a meaning.  

Frankly, as I meditate on this matter there is much more than I have the room or words to express in this post.  There are many online resources available about Kabbalah. I would just caution the reader to seek reputable credible sources. Here is an introduction to the Tree of Life.

There are many aspects of Kabbalah which correspond to an understanding of Yeshua.  For more on this refer to this article:

Jesus and the Mysteries of Kabbalah 

For an overview of Kabbalah watch this video.

The Book of Zohar -- Kabbalah Explained Simply

Finally, to help explain Christmas in a very ironic way I am going to share a very Jewish article from a Hassidic website.  I put a link to it here: 

https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/147415/jewish/Make-Your-Own-Sanctuary.htm

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

- John 3:16

Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah! "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth shalom to men of good will.”

Epilogue:

By Rabbi and acclaimed author on the topic Kabbalah Tzvi Freeman:

"As much as the human soul yearns to rise up and merge within the light of its Creator, so much more so does the Infinite Creator yearn to be found within the human soul.

If so, what force could stand between them? What could hold back the Creator’s infinite light?

Only His desire that this union occur with our consent, that we be the ones to crack open the door.

Even when the soul’s yearning has faded, forsaking its Beloved, wrestling itself from His love and even openly rebelling…even then, He cries out to us and knocks on our door.

“Open for me just an infinitesimal pinhole,” G‑d pleads, “and I will open for you a vast, infinite portal to all My love, from My very core of being.”

In order to experience spiritual evolution one forms intentions for connection with the Devine. It seems to me that this invitation to receive understanding from the Creator is essential to both Judaism and Christianity.  

"God is unseeable, and yet, he invites us to look for him. God is incomprehensible, and yet he invites us to know him.”

Isaiah 60:19-22 TLV

"No more will the sun be your light by day, nor the glow of the moon be your light, but ADONAI will be your everlasting light, and your God for your glory. No more will your sun set, nor will your moon wane, for ADONAI will be your everlasting light, as the days of your mourning end. Then your people will all be righteous. They will possess the land forever— the branch of His planting, the work of My hands— that I may be glorified. The smallest will become a thousand, and the least a mighty nation. I, ADONAI, will hasten it in its time.” 

Epilogue:

I wrote a blog post about 7 months after this one the I think relates to this. Click here to read "The Perfector."