Happy Hanukkah!!
#hanukka
November 17 2017 During the night I had two visions. I was standing in the door of our family’s home and heard a loud voice saying “Get to the wilderness,” and I was instantly in a forested land standing on the banks of a beautiful creek and seeing flocks of birds feasting in the trees that had their branches bent over from the weight of ripe fruit across the creek. The same voice then said “Tell my people and my elect to get to the wilderness and there I will care for them as a father cares for his son.” I woke up and realized it was a message from God.
I fell asleep again and had another vision and I was on the banks of that creek again in that wilderness and the voice spake to me from heaven saying get to the mountains. I looked to my right and there were mountains like only a few have seen, majestic, beautiful, and very hard to climb. The voice said “Climb this mountain”. I had only gone a few steps when I was at the top and the voice said again “Look around you at the nations of the earth and see the evil and darkness. For they work iniquity against me and against each other.” And I looked around and there were scavenger birds flying in circles above the towns looking for something. Smoke was everywhere, there was chaos, fire and darkness and lights everywhere because of how dark it was. Noise, loud music, and neon lights were in the mix too. The voice spoke for the last time that night saying “Get ye to the world and warn them of my coming judgement. Plead with them. Enlist the assistance of the church. Also speak to the church and tell them I said to wake up and get to work. Dwell in the wilderness and I will be with you and bless you. I woke up and realized that that was the last and final message for me that night.
#dreamsandvisions
In Genesis 41:18-19 Pharaoh describes the fat and skinny cows using the same adjectives used for Rachel and Leah in Genesis 29:17. His dream used imagery that resonated with him, but it also contained triggers to help Joseph interpret it. Episodes in his own family history helped Joseph to interpret Pharaoh's dream and also to realize the purpose of the terrible events of his own life.
Rabbi Fohrman at Aleph Beta draws out some remarkable parallels between Pharaoh's dream and Jacob's family. AlephBeta's content is always great!
#miketz
https://www.alephbeta.org/torah/genesis/miketz
Q17: Who was responsible for raising Esther after her parents had died?
#quiz
Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”
Genesis 41:16
God offered Pharaoh an "answer of peace". Even God's curses are given for our welfare. If only we would trust him.
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Robert Kepha Ben Yisrael Chamberlin
In a post by another person who denounced the observance of Chanukkah, which you then shared to the Min Hazaqen Torah Study Group, you asked this question, "What's the truth then?"
I assume that you posted his message, because you have heard varying opinions on social media and have come to us for wisdom in this matter. I'm hoping that the following rebuttals to that person's post will help you better understand the truth about Chanukkah, and that not all of the opinions you have heard are based on an understanding of all the facts.
In the post that you shared, the author said:
**"The holiday of Hanukkah revolves around the LIE of the nine Branch candlestick that was born from the LIE of the miracle of the oil. This is very similar to the way that the holiday of Christmas revolves around a tree that is rooted in paganism once again a fableistic lie. Nowhere in Scripture are we told to lie to our children in fact we're told to train up a child in the way he is to go which of course would not be the way of a liar. Nowhere in the books of Maccabees will you find any evidence of the supposed miracle of oil that brought about the 8th Day celebration of Hanukkah you see this holiday is based off of lies just like Christmas. The dreidel game is an attempt by the evil one to teach our children to gamble which relates to the god of luck. This holiday of gift giving and merry making is none other than a Jewish appeasement to Christmas."**
In the quote, that man began his comment with an assertion, "The holiday of Hanukkah revolves around the LIE of the nine Branch candlestick that was born from the LIE of the miracle of the oil."
This statement is incorrect, since the observance of Chanukkah, which means "dedication", is founded upon the events in the book of Maccabees, and it would be beneficial to you and others to read it for yourselves. We will be posting two chapters each day for the eight days of Chanukkah, and if you read them, you will get a better understanding of Chanukkah, and hopefully, you will see how those men and women who stood up against the Greeks actually did so to preserve the Torah and the observation of the commandments of YHWH. To say that Chanukkah is a LIE is a very bold assertion from ignorance of the truth.
The facts are that the Greeks tried to destroy the Torah and those who observed the Torah, but those who intended evil were defied and defeated; the altar, having been defiled with pigs' blood, had to be rededicated for the proper use as a place of worship of YHWH Most High. It took eight days to cleanse the Temple and the priests. If you know the Torah concerning the red heifer and the cleansing of a man defiled by a corpse, you would know that the Maccabees, who fought against the Greeks, were priests and had to endure a seven-day ritual of cleansing after having touched dead bodies. They had to do this so that they could officiate at the altar. Thus, the eighth day was the time when they could start.
He continued, "This is very similar to the way that the holiday of Christmas revolves around a tree that is rooted in paganism once again a fableistic (sic) lie."
The rest of his words equated Chanukkah to Christmas, but we understand that the Maccabees were fighting against those pagans who would pervert the worship of YHWH, changing the truth into a lie. There are many ways to remember the Maccabees and what YHWH did through them. The practice of observing these events using dreidel and gelt was a diversion tactic in the first millennium AD, when Rome was severely persecuting all the Yehudi (Jews) and those who would gather to remember the Torah and the things that YHWH had done. It was a terrible time, and the “gambling” game helped the children to remember and acted as a cover for the meeting of the adults. Think of Rome, the Roman Catholic Church, with decrees to torture and kill any who would defy the authority of Rome by gathering for Torah readings and fellowship. The soldiers would diligently seek out Torah observant people to kill them, but when they went into a home where the kids were playing a game like popular Roman games, they were less likely to be noticed as gathering for Chanukkah or any other religious meeting.
Do your own research. You asked, "What is the truth?" Read the book for yourself and settle it in your own mind about how you will remember it, or not.
We celebrate Chanukkah, because we remember the men and women who fought and died to preserve the Torah and the way of YHWH. Without that dedication and rededication of the Temple and the altar, where would Yeshua have gone three times a year in observation of the moedym found in Leviticus 23? Where would his mother have gone to bring the lamb required as a substitute for the first-born son? Where would the people have gone to hear the Torah taught? Where?
YHWH could have preserved His Torah and altar some other way, but He did it with the Maccabees, and we are thankful that He preserved His house, otherwise Yeshua would not be able to say, "My house is a house of prayer for all people," because there would have been no house. Instead of a house of prayer, the Temple grounds would have been a place of sexual orgies and a shrine for every deity known to man – except YHWH.
Others will try to distract you from the truth, because there will be many false teachers and those who claim opinion as fact. They will steer you away from remembering the wonders of YHWH and the Torah. Just as Antiochus Epiphanes, the Greek ruler of the time, they want you to forget YHWH.
As long as we live and breathe on this planet, may we NEVER forget that the world hates YHWH and those who love Him. Yeshua said, “They hate you because they hated me first.” The usurper prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour, and he will not stop until he is destroyed. We remember the Maccabees’ events, because the world’s oppression of the people of YHWH is not over. It will grow worse until Yeshua returns, so the question is: “Will we hold fast to the Torah and the ways of YHWH, or will we submit to the world’s corruption of the truth?”
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