Don't Miss the Maccabean Message

Alerting all Maccabees!

History has just sent us an ominous message from the ancient past.

A sling stone [1] was recently discovered near Hebron. It bears the name of a Seleucid tyrant, Diodotus Tryphon [2], who tyrannized our Judean ancestors and executed Judah Maccabee's brother and successor, Yonatan the High Priest. It also bears an idolatrous symbol of Zeus, "king" of the Greek deities.

Just in time for Chanukah, which just so happens to marks the 2,160th anniversary of the miraculous victory [3] of the Maccabees over their Seleucid oppressors after the latter had despotically trampled religious freedom in attempt to impose their pagan public policies.

It was this very tyrant who reigned during the vicious persecution, bloody battles, wondrous liberation of Jerusalem, and the epic miracle of the Temple’s rededication.

The irony of this timely discovery cannot be overstated.

Is history pelting us with the same deadly projectile that was hurled at our Maccabean ancestors in their struggle for freedom?

Is it a wake-up call? Are the Ancients trying to warn us that we are under attack by depraved tyrants once again who wish to destroy our precious religious liberties and subjugate us to their pagan “public-health” agenda?

Is it beckoning us to rise up like Mattathias and his sons who boldly flaunted the tyrant’s public policies and fought back fearlessly in defense of their religious freedom?

Is this little sling stone reminding us that freedom is a value worth fighting for?

Is it urging us to heed the call of Judah Maccabee and his brothers who cherished liberty as a value that transcends life itself?

Are we heeding the call?

Have we complacently forgotten the timeless message of Chanukah, that religious freedom, individual rights, and essential human liberties, must be prioritized before all else, including (alleged) public health?

Isn’t it high-time for all modern-day Maccabees to mobilize and end the tyranny?

Can we muster the moral fortitude and selfless courage of our ancestors and reassert our sacrosanct freedoms?

Isn’t it time to liberate the Sanctuary and rekindle the lights of freedom?

Let’s act NOW. G-d is on our side. History is on our side, and so is the future.

Together, you and I, we will be part of the new unfolding Chanukah miracle in the making. בימים ההם בזמן הזה – in those days and in THIS time.

Amen.

 

Notes:

[1] See image below.

[2] Diotodus Tryphon was an ancient Greek king who reigned over the Seleucid Empire between 142 and 138 BC.

[3] In the year 139 BCE.

The 3cm. lead projectile discovered at a South Hebron Hills archaeological site

(photo credit: COGAT SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

The historic projectile was discovered at Zif, an archaeological site in South Hebron Hills
(credit: COGAT SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

Defying Mainstream Tyranny

 

All Hebrew baby boys had to be 'mainstreamed' into Nile-policy compliance without exception. No exemptions were granted. [1]

Nearly all parents submitted... they were in deNile.
One brave mother dared to defy the mainstream trend.

She cited religious exemption and kept her child home for as long as possible. Then she built him an ark so he'd survive, just like Noah survived the surging mainstream trends of his day. She preferred to surrender him to nature (i.e. Divine providence) before subjecting him to mainstream submersion. [2]

This child grew up to be a conscientious objector to slavery and took bold action to stop authoritarian abuse of human rights, at great personal sacrifice. [3]

He and his brother were not afraid of speaking truth to power. Citing their G-d-given right to religious freedom, they challenged the mightiest tyrant on earth and liberated their people for all time.

Together with his brother and sister, he led his people though the wilderness to freedom.

All because their mother would not submit to the dominant mainstream narrative.

And in our turbulent times, the heroic Yocheveds among us are fearlessly building their arks, prepared to sacrifice everything to protect their young.

But what can be done to save all the other children from mainstream a-Nile-ation?

Who will stand up in defense of the children?

Who will insist on defending our religious liberties that hang perilously in the balance?

Who will speak truth to power and liberate our enslaved people from the grips of tyranny, an authoritarian assault that has no precedent nor parallel in all annals of history?

Who will be today’s Moses’ and Aarons’ if not we?

Notes:
[1] Exodus 1:22
[2] Ibid 2:2-3
[3] Ibid 2:12