CRYING DOESN'T COME EASY

I have trouble crying. Decades ago I discussed this with a psychologist. I wanted to cry, to release, but it wasn't happening. 

Some things could make me cry -- like a beautiful touching story about an animal that rescued someone. I remember crying myself to sleep when I was 14 years old the night my horse was dying. 

Sometimes, rarely, I would burst out crying, sobbing, because something deeply sentimental would finally hit me. Like crying about the death of my parents, long after the funeral. Or weeks after dropping our children off at college for the first time and realizing that they'd never be "living at home" again. Or the loss of my dog when another dog reminded me of Benji.

I don't think I'm that unique. What is it about men? I can't speak for all men of course. But I have one theory about some men, in particular, some Jewish men. 

I think many Jewish men have had the crying cried out of them even before they were born. That's right, before they were born. I never saw or heard my father cry. Although, when I went to his bedside when he was weeks away from dying, when he couldn't even speak, his eyes welled up with tears when he saw me. He reached for my hand and held on. I believe he knew it was the last time we would see one another. 

Generations of Jewish suffering, persecution, and profound grief and hardship have required resilience for survival. Eventually tears dried up, replaced by communal memory of pain without tears. Could that response somehow have been passed down? 

Jews cry when we reach safety; when we see a Jew rescued. That was a major theme in the book I just finished reading -- Hostage. 

Sometimes we cry when a non-Jew expresses love for us and Israel, and we get the sense that they understand.

Not Crying -- It's a Thing

Psychologist tell us that it's hard for some people to cry due to emotional suppression from past trauma or societal pressure, leading to numbness or being in "survival mode," which blocks emotional release. 

It's often harder for men to cry due to a mix of biology (hormones like testosterone potentially inhibiting tears, prolactin promoting them) and societal pressures, where cultural norms teach boys to be stoic, suppress emotions, and view vulnerability as weakness, leading to emotional containment or lashing out instead of crying.

Frankly, I am envious of men with a soft loving heart who cry easily, for the right reasons. I have a few dear friends like that. They are precious to me. One of them is in the hospital having life necessary surgery today.  Another mutual friend. I tell this friend, I cry through him. 

God's speed Tony. ❤️‍🩹🙏

We all look forward to seeing your smile again soon! 

JEWS ARE OCCUPIERS

LET'S GO BACK ~2000 YEARS

What did Jesus call the area some say is "occupied" by Jews? 

ACTS 1:8—But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

In this scripture verse scene, Jesus was addressing His disciples, the core group of followers present after His resurrection, commissioning them to be His witnesses. 

That core group of Jesus's disciples, the Apostles, were all Jewish, as was Jesus himself; they worshipped in synagogues, observed Jewish feasts. They were essentially a Jewish sect who called themselves "followers of the Way."

Prior to Jesus, 

Jesus walked in a land occupied by Jews. 

Eretz Israel, the Land of Jacob (Israel) has always been occupied by "Tribes." In addition to the Tribes of Israel, "the land" was occupied by the following tribes:

• Canaanites
• Amorites
• Hittites
• Jebusites
• Perizzites
• Hivites
• Girgashites
• Rephaim
• Anakim
• Philistines
• Kenites
• Kenizzites
• Kadmonites
• Amalekites
• Midianites
• Moabites
• Edomites
• Arameans

Notice there was no tribe called "Palestinians." 

Genesis 12.1—Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.

Remember, Abraham lived in the land God showed him before the Nation of Israel returned some 400 years later. So did his son Isaac, "his only son" (Gen. 22 2), Isaac never left the land. Isaac's son Jacob also lived in the land before his mother told him to get away.  Jacob sent Joseph to check on his brothers who were grazing their sheep around the Valley of Hebron. Hebron is in the Judaean Mountains approximately 19 miles from Jerusalem. 

The Emergence of Isreal

The Kingdom of "Israel" emerges around 1200 BCE, NOT as an external invasion, but as a hill-country people who gradually displaced, absorbed, or coexisted with others. That "hill-country is around Hebron, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem (pre-1000 BCE). Hebron is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the region. Early Israelite settlements appear in small villages in this rugged terrain

Israel became a "United Monarchy" under King (David/Solomon) 1000–930 BCE. King David was born in Bethlehem, which is a few miles south of Jerusalem. 

The Tribes of Israel began to be called “Jews” only after the Babylonian Exile, roughly 6th–5th century BCE, and only in reference to the people of the Kingdom of Judah. Before that, they were called Israelites like all the other "ITES" in the Land, not Jews.

Before the Land of Israel there was Canaan and the Canaanites. Canaan is the Son of Ham, Grandson of Noah, who appears after the Flood. His descendants populate the land later called Canaan. This is explicitly stated in Genesis 10, the “Table of Nations.” (These were NOT descendants of Cain from the bible story of Cain and Able.) They were descendants of Ham which includes the Egyptians. In the bible, Canaan is cursed:

“Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.” (Genesis 9:25)

The Universal Pattern

For 95% of human history the entire earth was occupied by tribes at one time or another. There are still places such as in the Amazon that are "occupied by tribes." But that doesn't make the Amazon a nation! 

Nations forming from tribes follows a universal historical pattern:

Tribes →
Chiefdoms →
City-states →
Kingdoms / Empires →
Nation-states

Every civilization passed through tribal stages including Europe, China, and the Middle East.

On a relevant tangent, I am looking forward to starting a book today that was released in April 2025. It is called "Israel and Civilization—The fate Jewish Nation and the Destiny of the West" by the brilliant Josh Hammer, who was a close friend and personal advisor to Charlie Kirk. 

What Makes Israel Unique Among All Nations in the World

Israel is unique among the nations and tribes. Only Israel was promised to the children of the Patriarch by God in the bible. Israel is is the ONLY nation given it's name by God!  The nation of Israel is the only nation born as a result of sacrafice commanded by God—The command to sacrifice the Passover Lamb. Israel is the only nation of people who were lead out of another nation, Egypt, by the almighty outstretched arm and hand of God and shown the way to the land by God’s gloriful Light, his Shekhinah. 

Contrasting Israel with America

As a point of reference, the Land of America was "occupied" by Native American tribes until 1492—and in fact beyond—European colonization, but the point at which they lost political control and territorial sovereignty differs by region.

By contrast, the term “America” comes from the name of a European explorer, and it entered use in the early 16th century. The term "America" came into use after it originated from the name Amerigo Vespucci (1454–1512). He was an Italian navigator sailing for Spain and Portugal who explored the coasts of South America.

First Use of the Name “America” was in 1507, whrn a German cartographer named Martin Waldseemüller published a world map with a the new continent “America” on it. That was the feminine Latin form of Americus = Amerigo.

CONCLUSION

Should every nation be divided up and given back to the tribes that once occupied it? Good luck with that! 

Very few modern countries have maintained the identities of their original tribal peoples intact, because most nations evolved through conquest, assimilation, migration, or state-building. However, there are some notable exceptions where tribal identities remain strong, socially and politically, even if the nation itself has modern borders. Israel and America are two examples. Israel is still bringing home it's tribes! Israel is arguably the clearest historical example where a tribal identity survived millennia.

As for the Hittites, Jebusites, Perizzites, Hivites, Girgashites, Rephaim, Anakim, etc., forget about those nations. There is a greater chance of the Kingdom of Babylon reemerging. (Pun intended.)

Israel is held to a double standard. It is the only nation that isn't allowed to follow the same universal pattern as every other nation.  By the same token, it is the only nation whose pattern of establishment is of God.  

Epilogue:

People often see the Hebrew letter lamed (ל) in the outline of Israel, but that perception is symbolic and subjective. 

The letter lamed is a tall vertical stroke with a curved or angled top, like a shepherd's staff. Lamed is the only Hebrew letter that rises above the line. 

The silhouette of Israel does not objectively or intentionally resemble the Hebrew letter lamed, but some people perceive a symbolic similarity and use it devotionally or poetically — not historically or geographically.  It is similar to how Italy, a nation famous for footwear looks like a boot. 

It also must be a coincidence that Lamed is the 12th letter in the Hebrew Alphabet. 😉

THE MASKS ARE COMING OFF

When someone laughs, KACKLES, immediately after saying something that isn't funny, it often reveals something about their internal state or social awareness:

Below are some possibilities:

• Nervous energy or discomfort - They may be uncomfortable with what they just said, whether it's awkward, potentially offensive, or just landed poorly. The laugh is a release valve for their own tension.
• Seeking approval or connection - The laugh can be an implicit question: "Is this okay? Are we good?" It's a social lubricant attempting to smooth over uncertainty about how their comment was received.
• Undercutting their own seriousness - Sometimes people laugh after saying something sincere or vulnerable as a way to protect themselves. If you reject what they said, they can claim "I wasn't being serious anyway." It's emotional hedging.
• Awareness of transgression - If they said something slightly mean, inappropriate, or boundary-pushing, the immediate laugh acknowledges "I know I probably shouldn't have said that" while simultaneously trying to deflect consequences through levity.
• Habitual anxiety pattern - For some people, this becomes an automatic verbal tic during any potentially charged moment, regardless of content.

A manic kackle like Kamala Harris or Tucker Carlson (Qatarlson) often signals that something is happening beneath the surface that the person is trying to manage or discharge through laughter. It's rarely about finding their own comment amusing.

That nervous laugh can definitely be a tell that someone knows they're concealing their actual position or motive. It's the laugh of someone who:

• Knows they're being deceptive or evasive - They've just said something that doesn't represent their true belief, and the laugh leaks out as psychological discomfort with their own dishonesty.
• Is testing the waters - They're floating a controversial idea while maintaining plausible deniability. The laugh says "I'm just joking... unless you agree with me, in which case I'm totally serious."
• Feels guilty about manipulation - If they're attempting to influence you toward something they know you'd resist if stated directly, that laugh can be the sound of their conscience briefly breaking through.
• Is experiencing cognitive dissonance - The gap between what they're saying and what they actually believe creates internal tension that escapes as nervous laughter.
• This is different from garden-variety social anxiety. There's a quality of knowingness to it - they're aware of the gap between appearance and reality, and the laugh is the pressure release from maintaining that gap.

In spiritual direction or pastoral contexts, you learn to notice these moments. They're often invitations to gently create space for honesty: "I notice you laughed just then - is there more you're thinking about this that you haven't said?"

Tucker's bazaar kackling outbursts have become quite a signature move. They "tell" when he's:

• Saying something he knows is inflammatory - floating a conspiracy theory, making an accusation, or pushing a narrative that's controversial even by his own audience's standards. The laugh provides cover: "I'm just asking questions here, folks."
• Expressing something extreme while maintaining deniability - He can advance a position without fully owning it. If called out, the laugh retroactively frames it as performance rather than sincere belief.
• Signaling to his audience - "We both know what I really mean here, don't we?" It's a wink to those who share his actual views while giving him distance from explicit statement.
• Managing his own relationship to what he's saying - There's often a quality of "can you believe I'm allowed to say this on television?" to it.

His laugh functions as a rhetorical escape hatch. It's harder to pin someone down when they've wrapped their claims in performative amusement. And it creates a permission structure for the audience: "If he's laughing about it, it must not be that serious... but also, maybe it's totally serious."

It's a sophisticated technique, actually - whether conscious or habitual. The laugh does enormous work in terms of plausible deniability while still advancing ideas.

Tucker has a giant following on the Right and in the MAGA Movement. Tucker has come out from behind his mask. Now that he has been named "Antisemite of the Year" and called "the most dangerous antisemite in America," I suspect he will be laughing less and straight-talking his Jew and Israel hatred more plainly. 

The Timing Is No Accident

Charlie Kirk was holding back the dam.  When he was murdered a leadership vacuum* was created in the Conservative party. A rush to acquire the Turning Point USA audience, clicks and CASH ensued. A battle for the heart of the Conservative Party is underway. Make no mistake, Qatar is on the side of Tucker.

*The power of a vacuum: I blogged about another time in History four years ago when there was another "Leadership Vacuum."

THE MASKS ARE COMING OFF AND THE KNIVES ARE COMING OUT

Tucker is normalizing Jew Hatred. He is making it "OK," even valid, in the mainstream of the Conservative movement. 

When someone receives that kind of public designation - and from the Anti-Defamation League, no less - it can indeed function as a breaking point where the pretense becomes unsustainable or unnecessary.

Tucker's trajectory has been notable: platforming Holocaust revisionist Darryl Cooper, the "Churchill was the chief villain of WWII" conversation, his increasingly explicit rhetoric around "globalists" and power structures with clear antisemitic dog whistles, his commentary on Israel that goes well beyond legitimate policy criticism into something darker.

CONCLUSION

The mask is off!  Once you've been publicly named, the cost-benefit analysis of concealment changes. If you're already paying the social price, why maintain the exhausting dance of plausible deniability? The nervous laugh becomes less necessary when you've decided to own the position.

NO Laughing Matter:  What this means for Jewish communities is genuinely dangerous. Tucker has massive reach and influence. When antisemitism moves from coded language and nervous laughter to explicit statement, it normalizes and emboldens. History shows us this pattern clearly.

Epilogue:

Sinister stuff. This is important to know.  

https://youtu.be/8JVHdoE-i1M?si=rb5-02cJ97L4VDYq

Josh Hammer lays out the problem with Tucker very well in this interview, even though many people are not fans of Jonathan Tobin who is interviewing him.

https://youtu.be/dbVtAh4_bCk?si=LsaL6xX-VOUYevxt

LOVE IS A BRIDGE

Love is a bridge that connects us to our soul, to one another, and to God.

Deuteronomy 7:7-8—It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

PART ONE: LOVE CONNECTS US TO OUR SOUL

When the apostle John declares "God is love" in 1 John 4:7, he crystallizes the Hebrew Bible's central witness. The Shema commands Israel to love God with all their heart, soul, and strength—but this flows from God's prior love: "

Exodus 34:6—The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,"

Chesed (חֶסֶד), God's steadfast love, appears over 240 times in Scripture. In Psalms 136.1 scripture tells us to "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever."

The prophets reinforce this: Hosea shows God's unwavering love despite Israel's unfaithfulness; Jeremiah 31:3 declares "I have loved you with an everlasting love"; Isaiah 54:10 promises God's kindness will never depart.

We are created in the image of a loving God—designed for loving relationship. To love truly  is to fulfill God's will.

Why Love Is So Difficult

Love requires vulnerability, sacrifice, and death of the self-protective ego.

Genesis 3 shows the fracture: after the fall, shame replaces trust, and self-protection becomes our default. Jewish tradition speaks of the "yetzer hara" (יֵצֶר הַרַע) which means the "evil inclination" or "bad impulse" in Judaism. It is a powerful inner drive that pulls us toward self-centeredness, scrambling for significance and terrified of inadequacy. 

The Hardest One to Love is Yourself

You know every failure, every compromise, every gap between who you want to be and who you are. Unlike external enemies you can avoid, you're stuck with yourself. No escape from the mirror.

"You should have known better." "You'll never change." These aren't the enemy's accusations—they're our own, and they're relentless. We see the chasm between God's holiness and our brokenness. Self-contempt masquerades as humility. But hating yourself isn't honoring God—it's calling His creation garbage. 

C.S. Lewis observed we can forgive enemies occasionally, but the person we live with constantly is much harder. You live with yourself every moment, knowing your repetitive sins, your broken-record failures.

Lewis's observation cuts right to the bone. Lewis was ruthlessly honest about the domestic nature of sin - how it's not the dramatic falls that wear us down but the same petty resentments, the same familiar failures, morning after morning.

Leviticus 19:18, "Love your neighbor as yourself", isn't an isolated command, rather it  is the heart of the Torah's vision.

You can't give what you don't have. If we despise ourself, we can't love others.   To love ourself we have to accept ourself. We need  foregiveness. This is where repentance comes in.  But for repentance to be effective we have to believe God will foregive us. 

The longest journey is from head to heart—from knowing God loves you to believing you're worth loving.

Narcissistic "love" is a defensive fortification. The narcissist doesn't love who they actually are. They love an image they've constructed, and they're in a constant state of panic that reality will puncture it. 

When We Love Ourselves, We Connect to Our Soul

When love and accept ourself we connect with who God created us to be. Not the performance version. Not the defensive version. Your true self—the image beneath all the layers of protection.

When you see yourself as God sees you—beloved not because you've earned it but because Love itself chose you—something shifts. You stop living from outside in (driven by others' approval, fear of failure) and start living from inside out.

This is the bridge love builds: from the fragmented self to the integrated self. From self-hatred to self-acceptance. From performing to being. From exile to home.

Love connects us to your soul—to who we truly are and God always meant us to be.

A little chuckle on the subject:

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1C7yF6YTwk/

PART TWO: LOVE CONNECTS US TO ONE ANOTHER

When we stop calculating, stop protecting, stop demanding reciprocity—we participate in the divine life itself. To truly love is to ascend into God's own nature.

Yeshua reinterprets Jacob's ladder (Genesis 28) that connected earth and heaven: the Son of Man is himself the ladder (John 1:51). Love incarnate is the connection point. When we love, we ascend.

Eastern Christianity speaks of "theosis"—becoming by grace what God is by nature. Second Peter 1:4 says we "become partakers of the divine nature." Love is the mechanism of divinization.

We don't ascend by withdrawing from human love. We ascend through loving the neighbor, stranger, enemy. Matthew 25: when you fed the hungry, clothed the naked, "you did it to me." The mystical and practical are one. You climb by loving the person right in front of you.

When Moses encountered God, his face shone (Exodus 34:29). When Stephen was stoned, his face was like an angel's (Acts 6:15)—while forgiving his murderers. His ascent occurred in his descent into suffering love.

We are trapped in our ego. When we love others, and extend forgiveness our soul is able to break free and ascend.  Acts of true love give us a glimpse to the future final glorification of God’s Kingdom to come. 

Love is our ladder, our wings, our participation in divine life. When we truly love, we become who we were always meant to be.

Love Is A Bridge Between Jew and Christian

Jews and Christians share the same foundational revelation: the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob whose essence is love—chesed, rahamim (רַחֲמִים), ahavah (אַהֲבָה); Deserving our loyalty and devotion. When a Jew recites the Shema and a Christian echoes the Lord's prayer, we're responding to the same voice of Love.

Doctrine matters, but love is the deeper grammar. A Jew loving faithfully, sacrificially, obediently, and a Christian doing the same are alike. 

For Christians: God entered humanity specifically as a Jew—circumcised, keeping Sabbath, celebrating Passover, quoting Torah. Christians who despise Jews despise the flesh God chose to wear. 

Jews await Messiah's coming; Christians await his return. Both live in "already/not yet" tension, longing for the day Isaiah 11:6-9 describes:

"The wolf will live with the lamb;
    the leopard will lie down with the young goat.
The calf and the lion will graze together,
    and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow and the bear will graze,
    and their young will lie down together,
        and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child will play
    over the hole of the cobra,
        and the weaned child will put his hand on vipers’ dens.
9 They will neither harm nor destroy
    on my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full
    of the knowledge of the Lord,
        as the waters cover the sea.”

When Jews pursue justice because Torah demands it and Christians pursue justice because Yeshua embodied it, we find ourselves side-by-side. Justice for the widow and orphan, welcoming for the stranger—are no more or less Jewish or Christian. 

Love connects us to one another—across theological divides, across histories of pain. 

PART THREE: LOVE CONNECTS US TO GOD

We can't bootstrap our way to self-love. That's where God comes in. God doesn't just give us techniques. He does something radical: He loves us first, while we're still unlovable—even to ourselves. "We love because he first loved us." (1 John 4:19)

God doesn't stand outside our struggle. He enters it. Yeshua knows betrayal, denial, abandonment. Yeshua doesn't condemn our failure, He enters it and loves us in it.

Self-love isn't a work we accomplish—it's grace we receive. The difficulty of loving our self drives us to dependence. The believer in God’s Salvation is rescued. Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ), a common short form of Yehoshua (Joshua), meaning "Yahweh saves" or "the Lord is salvation."

Jonah 2:9—But I with the voice of thanksgiving
    will sacrifice to you;
what I have vowed I will pay.
    Salvation belongs to the Lord!”

Learning to love yourself is seeing yourself as God sees you. 

The journey from knowing God loves you to feeling lovable—that's where God comes in daily through prayer and fellowship. 

God doesn't love humanity in general.  He knows man is evil. 

Genesis 6:5—The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

He loves us personally with our own particular history, specific failures, unique wounds. We can't love ourself with the intimacy God is able to. We are too aware of our darkness. But God can and does. 

Love Is the Bridge to God

This is the final connection: love connects us to God. Not through theological precision. Not through our moral performance. The bridge isn't something we build—it's something we walk across. The bridge is love itself.

When we truly love—with love that costs everything and asks nothing in return—we're not just doing something God approves. We are becoming the image that God had for us in the Garden. This is an act of recieving the heart spoken of in Ezekiel 36:26—I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

The Circle Completes:  The bridge has three spans: love our self as God loves us, love others as God loves them, and in loving others, we encounter God. 

The Invitation — God invites us to walk across the bridge despite our brokenness. Love spans the chasm between who we are and who we are meant to be, between us and your neighbor, between earth and heaven.

Step onto the bridge. Trust that love will hold you. Believe that God has made a way home. As we walk, we'll discover; love is not only the destination. Love is the bridge. And that bridge is a door. 

LOVING, LONGING, LOVING

I am writing this to you, my friends. 

Life is fragile. Relationships are too. Time moves on. We do not know how long we have, together and then distant, blessed even to be a memory.

There's a tenderness in recognizing fragility—not as something to fear, but as something that makes each moment precious. The temporary nature of our time together doesn't diminish its value; it magnifies it. Every conversation, every shared meal, every ordinary Tuesday becomes sacred when we hold it with open hands, knowing nothing is guaranteed.

Blessed even to be a memory...

Having lost my mother and father these last few years, I find myself consciously holding on to memories. Sometimes though, oftentimes times, a memory surfaces from the littlest trigger. So too with aunts & uncles, and even a name from the past. I'm to an age when the years are dotted more & more with conversions. 

Even after physical presence ends, love persists in a different form. We carry each other forward. The people who've shaped us remain woven into who we are, how we see the world, what we value. Memory becomes a form of continued presence, a way love transcends the limitations of time and distance. 

Jews will say to the bereaved, "May their memory be a blessing" or in Hebrew, "Zichronam livracha (z"l). The concept is not just acknowledging the deceased, it's expressing hope that the person's life—their character, their deeds, their love—continues to bless the living. Their memory becomes active, not passive. It shapes how we live, how we love, how we treat others.

When someone's memory is a blessing, they haven't truly left us. Their influence ripples forward through the lives they touched, the kindness they modeled, the wisdom they shared. They live on in the hearts and actions of those who remember them. It's a profound understanding of legacy. 

James 4:14 says our life "is a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes," but that brevity doesn't make it meaningless—it makes it urgent. It calls us to love well now, to reconcile quickly, to say the words that matter while there's still breath to say them.

The word "Christmas" literally means "our Messiah." Jews and Christians both believe in their being a Messiah. Jews long for the Messiah. So do Christians!  

Even though Christians believe Jesus is the Messiah who has come, believers still live in profound longing for His return, for the fulfillment of all He promised, for the restoration of all things. The New Testament is filled with this yearning—"Come, Lord Jesus" (Revelation 22:20), "Maranatha" (1 Corinthians 16:22).

We both look around at suffering, injustice, death, broken relationships—the very fragility I spoke of earlier—and we ache for the day when "He will wipe every tear from their eyes" (Revelation 21:4). In that sense, Christians are still a people of longing, still waiting, still not fully satisfied.

So there's something deeply connective about Jews and Christians both being people who live in hope for the Messiah—looking forward to when God's anointed one brings complete shalom, justice, healing, and the fullness of God's presence. Both communities refuse to accept the world as it is and insist something more is coming.

Until that day comes and Messiah arrives, we live to love. Not because everything is resolved or perfect. Not because we have all the answers or can fix what's broken. But because love is what we're made for, what we're called to, what echoes the divine nature itself. 1 John 4:8 says simply, "God is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13 - "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

Until that day comes—we live to love. We love imperfectly, but we love. We love knowing it's fragile, but we love anyway. We love because we've been loved first.

This makes Christmas bittersweet in a way. Christians celebrate that God has come near, that the rescue mission has begun, that hope has entered the world. But we also feel the incompleteness—the Messiah came as a vulnerable baby, not yet as the conquering king. We celebrate what has begun while longing for what's still to come.

Jerusalem, Jerusalem...how often I have longed. What are we to do? We are to love. 

1 John 4:7-8—Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

Numbers 6:24-26 - "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace."

Jerusalem, Jerusalem

Matthew 23:37 reads: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.”

Luke 13:34 is nearly the same cry, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.”

Why does Yeshua repeat, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem" in both verses?

We know that it is significant in the Hebrew bible when a word is repeated. The repetition of "Jerusalem, Jerusalem" in both Luke 13:34 and Matthew 23:37 echoes a known Hebrew Bible poetic device where doubling a word intensifies emotion, urgency, or emphasis. 

Here are two wonderful examples in the Tanakh:

Isaiah 26:3 - "Shalom, Shalom" ("Peace, peace") in emphasizing perfect peace, a deep, lasting peace and a foundation of trust for stability for those who focus and rely on Him. Here is the full text.

"You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you," 

Another powerful example of repetition is in Psalm 13:1-2. In these verses we hear David’s cry of exasperation expressed with the repetition of "How long?" Here is the full text:

"A psalm of David.
1 How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?". 

Psalm 43.3 "O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles."

KAVANAH -- INTENTION

The verses in Matthew and Luke are pure intention. Below I am going to break down what I believe Yeshua's, Jesus's, "kavanah" is in those versus from Matthew and Luke.

When Yeshua starts by repeating "Jerusalem, Jerusalem" followed by "you who", Yeshua is amplifying that He is speaking to the people of Israel. Now that I have "your" attention, and it is quite clear who Yeshua is speaking to, what is it He wants Israel to know and understand? 

They Were Sent -- Intention

Firstly, that the Hebrew prophets were sent to Israel, to the Jews. They were sent intentionally. The Hebrew prophets were sent primarily to Israel and the Jews to call them back to covenant faithfulness with God, warn of judgment for idolatry and injustice, and urge repentance. 

They Were NOT From—They Were Sent. 

The New Testament provides birthplaces or origins for several of the 12 apostles. And we know the birthplace of Jesus is Bethlehem. None state Jerusalem; They were all "sent" to Jerusalem. One apostle that the gospels do not tell us the birthplace of, is Stephen.  Stephen, was the first Christian martyr. He was stoned to death.

One Who Was NOT Killed

It is notable that in those gospels verses (Luke 13:34 and Matthew 23:37), when Jesus says "Jerusalem, Jerusalem," all twelve apostles were still alive. All of them were killed violently with the exception of the apostle John. (Not to be confused with John the Baptist.)

Thus, Yeshua's statement in Matthew and Luke is a factual statement about the past prophets and simultaneously a prophecy about the fate of the apostles at the same time. It is an example of His Omnipotence.

The Book of Revelation was written by John decades after the Gospels. John had an extended lifespan and was the last surviving apostle.  

John the Baptist heralded Jesus' arrival as the Messiah, while the apostle John proclaimed the end-times in Revelation.

What is Yeshua's message? 

Longing

Yeshua is expressing his desire–he "longed." He longed so deeply that he grieved.  

In Luke 19:41-44, as He nears the city on the way to His crucifixion, Jesus weeps, lamenting, “Would that you had known the things that make for peace!" Yeshua is grieving Jerusalem's

blindness to Him as Messiah, echoing the "longed" desire of Matt 23:37/Luke 13:34.

Persistence‐–He Never Gave Up

Yeshua tried multiple times --"how often." He tried with the 12 tribes, he tried through the prophets. He tried again with the 12 apostles. His death was his last resort.

Longing Foreshadowed Lamenting 

 

After "Jerusalem, Jerusalem," in the Garden of Gethsemane before his crucifixion, Yeshua laments with raw human anguish, repeating "Abba, Father... take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will" (Mark 14:36; Matt 26:39). Yeshua repeated three times amid bloody sweat (Luke 22:44)—as He anticipates the cross's horror. He recoiled over the thought of the "Cup of Wrath" to come. This "cup" (Isa 51:17; Jer 25:15) symbolizes God's stored wrath against sin, poured out in judgment on the cross. 

Longing To Gather

We are right in the middle, between the end of Hanukkah and the beginning of Christmas. The day Jerry Seinfeld famous dubbed Festivus. 

This non-commercial holiday's celebration, as depicted on Seinfeld, occurs on December 23 just before Christmas, and includes a Festivus dinner, an unadorned aluminum Festivus pole, practices such as the "airing of grievances" and "feats of strength", and the labeling of easily explainable events as "Festivus miracles." 

The Miracle of Hanukkah

There is a fascinating connection between the "Jerusalem, Jerusalem" verses in John 10:22-31, John 11:35-53 and the story of Hanukkah. I'm going to share some verses from the Book of Maccabees, where we get the story of Hanukkah, but before you read the verses below, read those verses above and then come back to here!

Selah

Thank you and welcome back. Now I want to call our attention to prayers of the Maccabees in the Book of Maccabees.  I'd be willing to bet 99.9% of people, even those who celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah, are unaware of these:

A prayer for Gathering & Deliverance:

2 Maccabees 1:27 -- 

"Gather those together that are scattered from us, deliver them that serve among the heathen, look upon them that are despised and abhorred, and let the heathen know that thou art our God."

Quick rhetorical question: Which prophet served among the heathen?  Hint: He was an important sign. 

In addition, are prayers for Atonement & Resurrection described in the verses 2 Maccabees 12:42-46.

Back To Jerusalem

Back to our verses in Matthew and Luke, and Yeshua's ultimate kavanah (intention). He sought to "gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings."

Why does a hen gathers her chicks under her wings? 

A hen gathers her chicks under her wings to shield them from predators, provide warmth, and offer comfort during danger or cold.

This image reminds of Bob Dylan.

Born 1941 was a Jew named Robert Allen Zimmerman who changed his name to Bob Dylan. In the late 1970s he embraced Jesus as his savior and became an Evangelical Christian. Bob wrote a song called "Shelter from the Storm" which appeared on his iconic 1975 album, Blood on the Tracks, a widely acclaimed landmark record.  The song evokes gathering amid turmoil with its repeated refrain: a mysterious woman offers refuge to a wanderer battered by life's chaos: "Come in... I'll give you shelter from the storm." 

I wonder if Bob is painting an image of the wrong woman in Proverbs 9?  Humans do seek refuge in the wrong places, especially in the entertainment industry! 

Proverbs 9:13-18

Folly is an unruly woman;

    she is simple and knows nothing.

She sits at the door of her house,

    on a seat at the highest point of the city,

calling out to those who pass by,

    who go straight on their way,

“Let all who are simple come to my house!”

To those who have no sense she says,

“Stolen water is sweet;

    food eaten in secret is delicious!”

But little do they know that the dead are there,

   that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead.

How often has Jerusalem, Israel and the Jewish people suffered choas? How often have we faced dark storms? How often have we been scattered?  More times that we can count. Every time the Lord rescued us. But wouldn't it be nice to live in Shalom, Shalom; to have "Perfect, Peace"? 

Shema; Hear, oh Israel...

"...and you were not willing.”

But We Didn't Listen. We didn't hear. 

Conclusion

I'm going to give you my conclusion in a song. On another one of Bob Dylan's famous albums, "Slow Train Coming," is one of his very many hit songs. It is titled, 🎵 You Gotta Serve Somedody. Shema, hear. Here is a link to listen to my conclusion. 

Happy Hanukkah 🕎 and Merry Christmas🎄

SAGE OR PROPHET

What Christmas would be complete without considering Daniel's prophecy concerning the Messiah. Especially on the 8th day of Hanukkah!

A person's title can have a giant affect on how they are perceived and the authority they are granted. One of the greatest and most profound examples of this has to do with famous bible figure Daniel, of the Book of Daniel. 

Impact on Perception

Titles amplify Daniel's influence: sages see unmatched intellect in exile; prophets embody foretold hope. This duality affects authority—sage for ethical guidance, prophet for eschatology. Modern interpreters blend both, viewing him as faithful servant amid pagan courts.

To the Jewish scholar, Daniel is a "Sage." To anyone who believes Jesus came on the scene as the Messiah, Daniel is a "Prophet."

These distinctions highlight how interpretive lenses affect biblical figures' legacies. The contrast underscores the power of titles in granting perceived wisdom or foresight.

Sage Isn't A Bad Thing

In fact, "sage" is a good thing. Judaism views the rank of a sage as superior to a prophet due to deeper insight from God's Spirit, the Ruach Hakodesh.

The Jewish Sage Gamaliel

I will mostly quote now from this article, "Gamaliel: Renowned Jewish Sage of Ancient Times"

Gamaliel was mentioned twice in the Acts of the Apostles. He was a Hebrew Sage that had a big impact on Jewish history and early Christianity. He was a key figure in the Sanhedrin, the top ancient Jewish law group during the Temple period. His wise and kind way with the apostles made him well-respected by early followers of Jesus who were still Jews.

Gamaliel took over as the Sanhedrin’s leader after his grandfather Hillel.  He followed in his family’s footsteps, making laws that were kind to women and outsiders. His open-mindedness made him stand out among other Pharisees.

He was known as Gamaliel ha-zaqen or “Gamaliel the Elder.” His teachings are found in the Mishnah, a key Jewish text. As a Rabban, he was one of seven doctors of Jewish law, greatly influencing Jewish law. His actions were seen as kind and forward-thinking.

The Deciding Factor with Daniel

Daniel's exceptional wisdom outweighed all the gentile wise men in King Nebuchadnezzar II's Kingdom of Babylon. Because of the emphasis on Daniel's interpretive skill and wisdom over direct prophecy, his book resides in the "Writings," and NOT in the "Prophets" of the Hebrew bible. This distinction reflects this emphasis on ruach ha-kodesh as "inspired knowledge," also known as "intuition."

Christian View as Prophet

Even though Daniel interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's dreams with divine revelation, Christians regard Daniel as a major prophet for his prediction of Messiah's kingdom and end-times (Daniel 7–12).  Prophecies such as the seventy weeks (Daniel 9:24-27), which is linked to Jesus' comings, elevated Daniel's prophetic status.

The Basis For The Different Understanding 

The distinction between Jews and Christians understanding of the Ruach Hakodesh needs to be pointed out in order to appreciate why Daniel is classified as a sage versus a prophet.

It All Centers on the Ruach HaKodesh

Jewish and Christian understandings of Ruach HaKodesh diverge sharply, explaining why Daniel embodies sagely wisdom rather than prophetic status in Jewish eyes. This distinction roots in prophecy's cessation post-Malachi and Ruach's redefined role, elevating interpretive genius over visionary revelation.

Jewish Concept of Ruach HaKodesh

Ruach HaKodesh denotes divine inspiration for profound insight, not a personified entity or ongoing prophecy. Jewish belief holds sages surpass prophets through this Spirit-driven discernment, as it yields Torah-deep understanding amid exile. Daniel's visions reflect such elevated wisdom (ruach ha-kodesh), placing his book in Ketuvim (Writings) rather than Nevi'im (Prophets).

Christian Concept of Holy Spirit

Christians view the Holy Spirit as the third Trinitarian person—active, indwelling, and prophetic—who empowers foretelling, like Daniel's Messianic timelines (Daniel 7–12, 9:24-27). This personal, eternal Spirit equates Ruach with New Testament outpouring (Joel 2:28-29; Acts 2), affirming Daniel's prophetic mantle. 

Conclusion

I do not put as much stock in the distinction between having divine wisdom and being a prophet. As I see it either way the Book of Daniel, and Daniel himself, are amazing. I think we would all do well to give Daniel the grace he deserves.

Daniel's legacy transcends titles like sage or prophet, uniting Jews and Christians in awe of his unwavering faithfulness and divine insight. His book reveals profound wisdom amid exile, offering timeless lessons on integrity and God's sovereignty. Daniel's story inspires across traditions. His visions encourage hope amid uncertainty, blending wisdom with foresight.

Citations:

[1] Ruach and the Hebrew Word for the Holy Spirit — FIRM Israel https://firmisrael.org/learn/ruach-the-hebrew-word-for-holy-spirit/

[2] The Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh) - March 2015 - Jewish Jewels https://www.jewishjewels.org/news-letters/ruach-hakodesh-march/

[3] Holy Spirit vs. Ruach HaKodesh: Divine Presence https://www.thehiddenorchard.com/holy-spirit-vs-ruach-hakodesh-revealing-the-essence-of-divine-presence/

[4] The Ruach HaKodesh: What can we know about “It?” Part I https://rabdavis.org/the-ruach-hakodesh-what-can-we-know-about-it-part-i/

[5] Spirit in Judaism - part 2: Rabbis and Chasidism - Segullah https://www.segullah.net/spirit-judaism-part-2/

[6] Holy Spirit in Judaism - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Spirit_in_Judaism

[7] What is the doctrine of the Holy Spirit in Judaism? - Reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/Judaism/comments/1pdemvm/what_is_the_doctrine_of_the_holy_spirit_in_judaism/

[8] I have a question. I have come to believe that the Holy Spirit isn't a ... https://www.facebook.com/groups/christianstodayneedtorah/posts/9399733163411152/

[9] RUACH HAKODESH (The Holy Spirit) - Facebook https://www.facebook.com/kofiowusupeprah/posts/ruach-hakodesh-the-holy-spirit/798343762292507/

[10] Daniel, the Prophet Who Was Not a Prophet | Messianic Bible https://www.messianicbible.com/feature/daniel-the-prophet-who-was-not-a-prophet/

[11] Why Isn't the Book of Daniel Part of the Prophets? - Chabad.org https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1735365/jewish/Why-Isnt-the-Book-of-Daniel-Part-of-the-Prophets.htm

[12] Prophet Daniel - Orthodox Church in America https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2016/12/17/103559-prophet-daniel

[13] Daniel - Insight for Living https://insight.org/resources/bible/the-major-prophets/daniel