Affichage des articles dont le libellé est King David. Afficher tous les articles
Affichage des articles dont le libellé est King David. Afficher tous les articles

On the Last Day of Passover

Nadene Goldfoot                                      
The Exodus from Egypt to the Jewish Homeland
There has been a custom for some to hold a special dinner called the Seudart Moshiach on the last day of the Jewish holiday of Passover which commemorates the Exodus from Egypt.  This is the time we hear a lecture from the head of the family giving the dinner "Seder" of our story of having been slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt and being redeemed by the Hand of G-d who sent us Moses to debate the Pharoah and lead us back to where he wanted us to live, which was Canaan.
                                                                         
Traditional plate starting Passover Seder's 1st night  that helps to tell our story; the
egg, shank bone, bitter herbs, haroseth, parsley and horseradish
Passover, April 2, 2007 with my daughter-in-law, her mother and guest
at my home
Passover is celebrated and remembered for 8 days outside of Israel but 7 days in Israel.  The extra day allows for time change away from Israel.  After all, it's only been recently that we know what time it is in Jerusalem if we live in Oregon, USA.  Right now it is 7:17 pm in Jerusalem while here it is 9:21 am, a difference of about 10 hours, and we in Oregon are on daylight saving, so actually it would be 8:21 here standard time-11 hours difference.  This last day of Passover has been associated with the qualities of the Messiah and what the future will be like. with complete peace found on earth.
                                                                           
I write this at a time that Iran has threatened the lives of all Israelis with atomic weaponry within a few years, but that no nation on earth except that one involved, Israel, is highly concerned, and also at a time that Israel has been finding people from the Lost Ten Tribes taken away by Assyria as well as by the Babylonians and the Romans.  The return to Israel has been happening ever since the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE, more so since the late 1800s. At that, Israel has been speeding up return of exiles.

While I lived in Safed, I saw many Ethiopians settled there, said to be descendants of Queen of Sheba and King Solomon.  So many Israelis were from exotic places.  Among native English speaking Jews, I was surrounded by South Africans, Canadians, Brits, Australians,  and a few Americans.

Jews have not forgotten that this was a prophecy by Isaiah and that for many years it has been happening.  .  .
Isaiah  was a prophet who lived and prophesied in Jerusalem from the death of Judah's King Uzziah (Azariah)  (780-740 BCE)  until the middle of King Hezekiah's reign from 720 to 692 BCE.   He came from a noble family and was closely connected with the royal court and popular in public affairs.
                                                                 
Isaiah (740-701 BCE) son of Amoz; in Jerusalem
            His prophecy starting with #11:1 tells us that the 10 Tribes that were stolen away by the attacking Assyrians in in 722-721 BCE will also be redeemed by the future Messiah, who will descend from the son of Jesse, father of King David.  David ruled from 1010 BCE to 970 BCE.
                                                     
David as youth
fighting Goliath, a
Philistine giant
                   
David when King of Judah
in Hebron, took
Jerusalem in his 8th year
David was not an only child.  He was the YOUNGEST son of Jesse. That means there were other sons.   A sister known was Zeruiah.  She would fit the bill as well being a shoot of Jesse's roots. She must have married and had children.   David had married King Saul's daughter, Michal, but had no children by her.  He is known for his son, King  Solomon by Bathsheba.   DNA testing of the Y haplogroup would help to decide if someone was of this line from Jesse.  Other tests would be noted.  The Torah gives these details:

The family line of Jesse is that he married Ithra's daughter. who was the mother of King David.  Jesse's father was Oved, and Oved was the son of  Boaz who married Ruth, a Moabite.  Ruth converted to Boaz's religion of believing in ONE G-d.  Moabites lived in Moab, a country in southern Transjordan.  It was bounded by the river, Heshbon in the North, the river Zered in the south, the Jordan and the Dead Sea to the west, and the Syrian Desert on the east.  They were kindred to the Israelites, being traditionally descended-like the Ammonites-from Lot who was Abraham's nephew.  This is how Arabs and Jews go back to Abraham.

"The spirit of Hashem will rest upon him---a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and strength, a spirit of knowledge and fear of Hashem.  He will be imbued with a spirit of fear for Hashem;  and will not need to judge by what his eyes see nor decide by what his ear hear.  He will judge the destitute with righteousness, and decide with fairness for the humble of the earth.  He will strike the wicked of the world with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips and he will slay the wicked.  Righteousness will be the girdle round his loins, and faith will be the girdle round his waist."  
His prophecy lets us know in the next part #6 of what will be after his appearance and deeds and this has not yet happened to us.                                          
#6 The wolf will live with the sheep and the leopard will lie down with the kid;  and a calf, a lion whelp and a fatling will walk together, and a young child will lead them. 
                                                                             
Abnormal meeting of animals from different areas, bear
of America with lion and tiger of Africa..able to make
friends without getting hungry

 A cow and bear will graze and their young will lie down together;  and a lion, like cattle, will eat hay.  A suckling will play by a viper's hole;  and a newly weaned child will stretch his hand toward an adder's lair.  They will neither injure nor destroy in all of My sacred mountain;  for the earth will be as filled with knowledge of Hashem as water covering the sea bed.  . 
                                                                           
Raised happily together as pup and kitten
have no reason to hate each other
This means that even the animals will coexist in harmony with each other.  It shall be on that day that the descendant of Jesse who stands as a banner for the peoples, nations will seek him, and his resting place will be glorious.  
                                         The prophecy continues with the most interesting part.
                                                                         
Jews praying at Western Wall in Jerusalem
Today almost all men and women must serve in IDF
It shall be on that day that the Lord will once again show His hand, to acquire the remnant of His people, who will have remained, from Assyria and from Egypt and from Pathros and from Cush and from Elam and from Shinar and from Hamath and from the islands of the sea.  He will raise a banner for the nations and assemble the castaways of Israel;  and He will gather in the dispersed ones of Judah from the 4 corners of the earth.  

This special last feast day was instituted in the 18th  century by the Baal Shem Tov who was Rabbi Yisroel ben Eliezer, a famous mystical rabbi and founder of Hasidism.  This was his way to translate an intangible belief into a tangible action.

Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch, the Tzemach Tzedek of the first half of the 19th century followed this custom.  He explained the connection between the 1st and the last day of Passover and between the 1st redemption and the final redemption of the Jewish people this way:

   "The last day of Passover is the conclusion of that which began on the 1st night of Passover.  It was the beginning.  The last day is our festival commemorating the final redemption, when the Holy One, Blessed by He, will redeem us from the last exile through our righteous Moshiach (Messiah), who is the final redeemer.  The 1st day of Passover is Moseh Rabbeinu's festival (Moses);  the last day of Passover is Moshiach"s festival.  

A misunderstood part of his prophecies have been 52: 13-53: 12.  Jewish commentators interpret this as referring to the Jewish people.  The Christian church believes it is foretelling the story of Jesus.  
He tells of uncircumcised and defiled people who will no longer enter Jerusalem.  For naught were you sold, and without money will you be redeemed.  

Hashem spoke...."As for Egypt, My people went down originally to sojourn there.  But Assyria oppressed them without justification;  so now, why should I remain here?  ---the word of Hashem---where My people was taken for naught?  Their rulers glorify themselves---the word of Hashem---and constantly, all day, My Name is blasphemed.  Therefore, My people shall know My Name---therefore, on that day, that it is I Who speaks, here I am! " ......

What we all agree on is that he prophesied about redemption and comfort and are of supreme importance to Judaism and Christianity.  

Then again, "Why Isaiah 42:1-13 is not about Muhammad?"  The debate is with Christians who say it is about Jesus.  Let's look at it.  It speaks about the Messiah according to Jewish knowledge.
Jews feel  he will be accepted by all.

   Behold My servant, whom I shall uphold;  My chosen one, whom My soul desired;  I have placed My spirit upon him so he can bring forth justice to the nations.  He will not shout nor raise his voice, nor make his voice heard in the street.  He will not break even a bruised reed nor extinguish even flickering flax;  but he will administer justice in truth.  He will not slacken nor tire until he sets justice in the land and islands will long for his teaching.......  

I wonder if Isaiah knew of his own demise.  According to legend, he was put to death by King Manasseh (720-692 BCE).  He had protested strongly against moral laxity, attitudes towards the poor and underprivileged  that he saw which were the lack of kindness, pity and justice.  He said this was more important to G-d than offering sacrifices.  He taught that Assyria's actions were G-ds instrument of divine anger. He was against all treaties with neighboring states, and that Israel were the people of G-d and therefore had to trust only in HIM.  He said that the people of Israel would be punished for their sins but not exterminated and that a remnant would return and renew their link between G-d and the Land of Israel.  He said that at the END OF DAYS G-d would judge the nations.  
                                                                        
Dishes are Desert Rose pattern, Franciscanware
California made
My research asks the question whether or not there is value in the custom of the last day of Passover being dedicated to the above discussion about the last redemption and Israel feels there is.  The faith in Mashiach by so many of us is non-realistic.  Many say they do believe, but how many of us really think it's going to happen, and at that, soon?  Of all my life in Oregon, I've never been to a last Passover day celebration such as Chabad and other Hassidim must celebrate.  However, when I was in Israel from 1980 to the end of 1985, I know that there was a lot of talk about The End of Days with the educated in Safed.  Children were pounding on their desks calling for the Moshiach.  There were stories of a rabbi walking about seeking the Moshiach by looking at young children.  I personally knew a young boy who would have been one, he was so smart and so questioning, the son of Americans who had  made aliyah from the east coast.  Surely he's a rabbi today.  I attended classes where we were told the time wasn't far off.  At the rate history is unfolding, one surely would think it's imminent.

Resource: http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/66033/feast-messiah-passover/?utm_source=Breaking+Israel+News&utm_campaign=4ea18f7c22-BIN_morning_4_16&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b6d3627f72-4ea18f7c22-83518689#1AueMhY3xZdguovA.97
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Isaiah.aspx
The New Standard Jewish encyclopedia
Tanach (Bible) The Stone Edition, ArtScroll Series of the Mesorah Heritage Foundation

NO Proselytiziing, Please, and I'll Tell You Why

Nadene Goldfoot                                                               
Moses with the Strongest Deal in the World
"You shall not recognize the gods of others in My Presence!"
Moses told all of Israel to hear the decrees of the deal.  
"Hashem, our G-d, sealed the deal (a covenant) but with us-we who are here, 
all of us alive, today.
Face to face did Hashem speak with you on the mountain, from amid the fire.  I was standing between Hashem and you at that time, to relate the word of Hashem to you-for you were afraid of the fire and you did not ascend the mountain--saying:
I am Hashem, your G-d, who has taken you out of the land of Egypt, 
from the house of slavery.  "
Remember that this happened in days when Greeks and Romans and Egyptians believed in many gods
and people that were part gods.  This was one of the first 5 commandments we were to learn.The Israelites were children of Abraham and children of others  and had learned that there was
only one G-d in the universe from Abraham, but had been slaves for 400 years of the Egyptians.  
Moses was an adopted Egyptian Prince from the line of Abraham and educated in the Egyptian royal academy.
He wrote the first 5 books of what non-Jews call the OLD TESTAMENT-we Jews call the Torah while on the 40 year trek from Egypt to Canaan, the Jewish Homeland.  

For over 2,000 years, people have been busy proselytizing Jews to follow their other religion, and Jews have remained adamant about not leaving their own religion.  This happened with Christian knights, the Crusaders  from Europe, taking Jerusalem from the Muslims.  The pressure never really stopped, but only got worse when Spain, which had become Catholic, turned against the Jewish population and said it was either conversion time or hit the highway, and if you stayed and continued to remain a Jew, it was the stake for you.  Many who were able to, left for Portugal and other places.  Now I see we have missionaries hitting Sderot on the border of Israel and Gaza who are proselytizing those Jews who have been enduring bombs from Gaza.
                                                                       
Egyptian soldiers drowning in the chase after the Israelites

Here's a message to proselytizers of Christians and of any Muslims who think that Jews are an easy target to convert.  We're not easy targets.  We've lasted in our beliefs for 2,000 years since so many of us had to leave our country in 70 CE , and we're not a stupid people. Moses was our leader and so we Israelites have followed his laws  from about 1311 BCE till today. That's 3,327 years.    Our ancestors who left Egypt as slaves signed an oath with Moses that they would not deviate from our beliefs, and that they would pass on the knowledge to their descendants. It was the deal of all time, a deal stronger than what Donald Trump would make with the Iranians, and we are keepers of our deal with G-d.   Moses had been told things by G-d and our ancestors took it very seriously.  When they didn't, they received punishment.  Moses was special.  He made a believer out of our long ago relatives.  He made it very clear that we were to believe that there was only ONE G-d, and we were to follow commandments that he handed down to Moses.

Jews have always been faced with people who said they were a prophet, and they wound up proving that they weren't.  So false prophets or false messiahs have been in our past history.  Moses warned us that this would happen.  He said, "If there should stand up in your midst a prophet or a dreamer of a dream, and he will produce to you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes about of which he spoke to you, saying, "LET US FOLLOW GODS OF OTHERS THAT YOU DID NOT KNOW AND WE SHALL WORSHIP THEM!," Do not hearken to the words of that prophet or to that dreamer of a dream, for Hashem (the NAME)G-d, your G-d, is testing yu to know whether you love Hashem, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul.  Hashem, your G-d, shall you follow and Him shall you fear;  His commandments shall you observe and to His voice shall you hearken;  Him shall you serve and to Him shall you cleave.  Deuteronomy 13: 1-5).  He was talking about false prophets.  Even Christianity has hearkened to this and teaches it; no false prophets.  All 3 religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam accept Moses as a prophet.  Jews see it differently in that Jesus and Mohammad are regarded as false prophets. For Jews, the things that were to take place when the Messiah does come did not happen with Jesus; in fact they were persecuted more, and lost the Temple and their empire and were scattered like grain by the winds of war.  It's in these days that they have been found, harvested back and returning to Israel once again.
                                                                           
Jeremiah, As Michelangelo depicted him
Jews were also reminded of this teaching of Moses by Jeremiah, a later prophet of the 7th-to 6th century BCE. He started to prophecy in 625 BCE, and it was helpful that he belonged to a priestly family of Anathoth near Jerusalem.  His prophecy started with scolding the Jews for their idolatry, and after King Josiah of Judah's  reform in 621 BCE, warned it to keep the covenant then made with G-d.   This was after the Assyrians had attacked Israel in 722, 721 BCE when the best and strongest of the people of 10 of the 12 tribes were kidnapped and taken away.   He was angry about false prophets he was encountering and said that G-d spoke to him saying that, "These prophets prophesy falsehood in MY NAME!  I did not send them nor command them nor speak to them.  A false vision, divination, emptiness, and the deception of their heart are they prophesying to you.  128 years later the Babylonians attacked twice, once in 597 BCE and again in 586 with  Nebuchadnezzar leading his soldiers, they attacked and destroyed the land and took people away.  Jeremiah was a scolder, giving out gloomy news which caused bitter resentment.  It was in 605 BCE, when Nebuchadnezzar sat on his Babylonian throne that Jeremiah said that he would conquer Judah, and was arrested by King Jehoiakim who feared such news would have a bad effect on the people.
                                                                       
Zechariah of 6th Century BCE, prophesied  positive things; about events of the day, foretold prosperity, ingathering  of exiles, liberation from foreign yoke, and expansion of Jerusalem.
  His visions and their interpretation he said were by an accompanying angel.
Encouraged people to rebuild the Temple.  
Zechariah, the Prophet,(born in first half of 6th century BCE) was a prophet living during the period of the return from the Babylonian Exile.   He reminded people that G-d would judge His people through false prophets. He was told by G-d,  "For behold, I am setting up a shepherd in the land:  he will not pay attention to the decimated ones;  he will not seek out the youth;  he will not heal the broken one;  and he will not nurture the weak one;  but he will eat the flesh of the healthy one and break their hooves."  Zechariah was referring the Edom (the Roman Empire), in whose lands the exiled Jews would settle and be maltreated.  Also, Herod, the notorious king placed on the Judean throne by the Romans, who reigned towards the end of the 2nd Temple period.  They were not to be believed or followed.

We almost had a Messiah.  It was a Jewish general, Shimeon ben Kosiba, known as Bar Kokhba (son of a star).   Rabbi Akiba, one of the greatest scholar in Jewish history, believed that Bar Kokhba was the mashiach.

Now we have 2 very similar words to learn. " Mashiach" is a Hebrew word.  The root of it as well spell it out is Mem-shin-chet, which means to paint, smear or annoint.   The word "Moshiah" comes from the root spelled out as Yod-Shin-ayin, which means to help or save.  They both use a shin "sh" which is the most common letter in Hebrew, and the mem "M" which they both start with.  M is a common prefix used to turn a verb into a noun like the verb tzavah (to command) become mitzvah (a commandment).  The word Mashiach is not related to Moshiah.  the logic of that is like saying that "RING" IS RELATED TO SURFING BECAUSE THEY BOTH END IN ING."  The English derivitave of Mashiah is Messiah, the annointed one, the ultimate deliverer and mashiah is used as an adjective referring to kings, who are people that had to be annointed in order to serve the post. which meant that they received Divine sanction and the unique inviolability of status.   Jews do not believe they need saving.  They save themselves by their own mitzvahs-good deeds.
                                                                 
Shimeon Ben Kosiba/ Bar Kokhba, died 135 CE
Charismatic, brilliant revolutionary leader, nephew of Rabbi Eleazar of Modiin
and known to be of Davidic descent.  He had to fight against Hadrian, Roman General.
Letters from him were found near the Dead Sea where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.
The revolt came because the Romans had turned Jerusalem into a Roman colony and the Romans
prohibited circumcision, major factors.  
The prerequisites of the Messiah is that he must be descendant of King David who would be able to break the alien yoke and establish a golden age.  Today with DNA testing, and this would be testing the male line I presume to be of J1 for King David's Y haplogroup, there are many Jewish men carrying this line.  Bar Kokhba almost fit the bill.  He fought the 3 year war from 132 to 135 CE  against the Roman empire and caught the 10th Legion by surprise and retook Jerusalem.  He again resumed sacrifices at the site of the burned Temple and made plans to rebuild it.  He established a provisional government and began to issue coins in his name.  Ultimately, the Romans were stronger and crushed his revolt and killed him, but that was the longest anyone had ever held out against the Romans.  After his death, his followers realized that he was not the talked about Mashiach.

The Jews are waiting for one of  the following to happen.  Some people believe that G-d has a specific date for the man, the mashiach, to appear.  Most feel that the conduct of mankind will decide the time of the mashiach's coming.  He is to come at a time when he is most needed or in a time when he is most deserved.  Perhaps one of these factors will happen to bring him about.
1. If Israel repented a single day
2. If Israel observed a single Shabbat properly
3. If Israel observed 2 Shabbats in a row properly
4. In a generation that is totally innocent or totally guilty
5. In a generation that loses hope
6. In a generation where children are totally disrespectful towards their parents and elders.

Ezekiel ( 6th century BCE Prophet-member of the priestly family of Zadok, may have served in the Temple before its destruction in 586 BCE.  He was exiled before that date to Tel Abib on the river Kebar in Babylonia where he prophecied over a period of about 22 years) said that before the time of the Mashiach, there shall be war and suffering. In Ezekiel  38:16, he said,  "and you advance against My people Israel like a cloud covering the earth.  It will be at the End of Days that I will bring you upon My land, in order that the nations may know Me, when I become sanctified through you before their eyes."  Many people feel we are now in the End of Days.  What with Iran coming into atomic powered weapons such as missiles shortly to be used against Israel, it is no wonder people feel this is happening.

Jews do not believe that the Messiah is any part of G-d or divine in any way, so that is not what we have been waiting and praying for.  Our only salvation comes from G-d, not an intermediary.  Jews do not concern ourselves with the Messiah's identity for he is to be a regular person and his appearance will not change our relationship with G-d.  Any idea that G-d would appear to us in the flesh is abhorant to us.  The idea is like  idolatry and we cannot follow such ideas.

It is not respectful  of anyone in our history from Abraham to Moses to any of the prophets or the 10 Commandments to try to proselytize us to another religion.  It shows disrespect and lack of understanding of what we believe and why.  We haven't proselytized anyone to ours, and the old adage that is found in Jewish teaching of the Golden Rule is to not do to others something you do not want done to you.

After 1985 when I returned from Israel after living there for 5 1/2 years, I heard about some proselytizers who had been in Israel on a kibbutz of Holocaust survivors who had lost their faith in G-d, people who were the most susceptible to these proselytizers, broken people.  They had gone through so much and had survived, to make it and heal again in Israel, and here were the vultures picking on their bones, trying to wean them away from why 6 million of their people had been brutally slaughtered.  They had the chutzpa to brag about it in an interview for a local newspaper.  You can't imagine how angry I was or what I did about it.  So here I am writing, please lay off, proselytizers.  Respect our religion.  You don't have to be Jewish, just respect us as we respect you and yours.  We're not harming you.  In fact, Israel has been doing a lot of mitzvahs in the field of science and has been helping people so much in the medical fields.

Resource:  http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124254#.Vw1dPNQrJkg  Missionary Activity in Sderot
http://www.gty.org/blog/B140210/beware-of-false-teachers
http://www.jewfaq.org/mashiach.htm
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/monotheism/
http://www.shamash.org/lists/scj-faq/HTML/faq/17-03.html
Tanakh, (Bible) the Stone Edition  which includes prophets, writings, 

Holiness To Jews In Hebron Taken By UNESCO

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                          
Housing Cave holding Jewish Patriarchs and Matriarchs in Hebron, Judea.

The most holy site in Jerusalem to Jews is the Temple Mount in Jerusalem where the 1st and then the 2nd Temple had been built.  The 2nd most holy site is the Cave of Machpelah-the Tomb of the Patriarchs, which UNESCO took from Israeli protection and gave to the rioting Palestinians.  Why?  Well, it happens to be situated in Hebron, now a Palestinian town.  The Palestinians call it "Sanctuary of Abraham or the Ibrahimi Mosque (Arabic: الحرم الإبراهيمي‎, "  This was a legal transaction and is cited in the Torah.  


UNESCO Declares Tomb of Patriarchs and Rachel's Tomb Muslim Sites
The vote in Paris was 26 in favor, six against and 15 abstentions. The US, Germany, United Kingdom, Estonia and Netherlands, Czech Republic voted against the resolution while a number of other European countries such as Albania, Austria, Ethiopia, Angola, France, Spain, and Italy were among those that abstained.
This means they will be in the hands of the Jordanians.  What religious leader could there be from the Palestinians?  
                                                                             
View of Cave of Patriarchs and the Tel Rumeida neighborhood in Hebron
Hebron, also called in Hebrew, Kiriath-Arba, is a very ancient city in Judah, 18 miles south of Jerusalem.  Before Abraham's time, it was controlled by the Hittites.
                                                                           
Abraham, the father of Ishmael and Isaac, had bought the plot of land 3,700 years ago with this cave from from a Hittite when he needed a plot to bury his wife and niece, Sarah. Ishmael's mother was Hagar, the handmaiden of Sarah and daughter of the Pharaoh.  The Bible connects the Hittites with the Canaanites being some lived in Eretz Yisrael at an early period.  They were one of the 7 different people from whom the Israelites conquered Canaan.  Later, they joined up with King David and were warriors in his army. King  Solomon, David's son,  married some Hittite women.

  Today, a mosque stands on this very site.  This became the family burial place and holds not only Sarah but also Abraham, son Isaac, grandson Jacob and his mother,  Rebecca and her sister, Leah.  Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Rebecca and Leah are our Jewish Patriarchs and Matriarchs.  Rachel, Jacob's wife, is buried near Bethlehem where she died in childbirth with Benjamin.
                                                                                 
Grandson of Abraham is Jacob and his family, standing with Rachel and baby Joseph, Leah with  6 children, and their handmaidens, Zilpah and Bilhah and their children by Jacob
Both the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Rachel's Tomb have just been handed over to the Palestinians who have no connection to Rachel and only to Abraham by UNESCO, an arm of the United Nations.  They have given in to demands of the Palestinians because they are now living in Hebron and Bethlehem and hate Jews, showing it and their decision not to be peaceful by rioting and knifing  Jews in Jerusalem at this very time of this decision.

Abraham (2nd millenniuim BCE)  had bought a double cave.  A massive building covers it in which many artifacts from the Early Israelite Period of the past 30 centuries have been uncovered from the days of Herod.  It has been a place for gatherings and Jews come to pray at the graves of their Patriarchs.

Moses (1391- 1271 BCE)  had died outside of Canaan and Joshua took over as leader of the Exodus from Egypt.  He assigned this very piece of land to be Hebron to Caleb, one of the leaders of the tribe of Judah and a member of the Kenizzite family,  and it became a levitical city and a city of refuge.  David reigned there for 7 1/2 years before making his capital in Jerusalem.                  
 (
                                                                               
Jews lived in Hebron during the Byzantine Period and under Arab rule.  The modern city of today is somewhat to the east of the historical location and was one of the 4 sacred towns to Jews; Hebron, Jerusalem, Tiberias and Safed.  Jews lived in Hebron throughout recent centuries and in 1890 had a population of 1,500 with a yeshivot and other religious schools.  The great Lithuanian yeshivah of Slobodka was transferred there in 1925.

In  1929, while the USA suffered from the worst stockmarket crash of all time, the Arabs massacred 67 Jews in Hebron, instigated and encouraged by the hateful Haj Amain al-Husseini, the Sherif of Jerusalem.  At that time, 700 Jews were living in Hebron.  Survivors fled from Hebron in order to continue living.  About 30 Jewish families returned 2 years later in 1931.  The Arabs rioted again in 1936, chasing any Jews living there away.

We know that May 14, 1948 was the birth of modern-day Israel, verified and legalized through both the League of Nations and the United Nations, a birth that was voted on and accepted by the majority of the world's nations. Hebron's population in 1967 was 38,310.  After the Six-Day War of 1967, a number of Jews had returned to Hebron and established the Kiryat Arba quarter east of the city.  This section held 3,700 Jews in 1988. 
                                                                              
 It was then that the Chief Rabbi of Israel's Defense Forces, Major-General Rabbi Shlomo Goren, was the 1st Jew to enter the Cave of Machpelah.  "Many restrictions are imposed on Jewish prayers and customs at the Tomb of the Patriarchs" because it was still controlled "by the Muslim Waqf (Religious Trust) that took control during the Arab conquest." 
                                                                                     

 Moshe Dayan had allowed this Jordanian control over the Temple Mount as well because of the Dome of the Rock mosque there, too.   It was his step towards having peaceful relations with the Jordanians. He was Israel's Minister of Defense during Six Day War. Before that, he was in the army and was chief of general staff of the Israeli army from 1953 to 58.  He joined the Knesset in 1959.  Today 700 Jews are living in Hebron and 250,000 Arabs.  

Throughout history, Jews have seen foreign conquerors and invaders come and use the site for their own purposes depending on their religion.  The Byzantines and Crusaders turned the spot into a church.  Muslims built a mosque here when they conquered Hebron 700 years ago.  They then forbid Jews entry to the Tomb.  They were not even allowed past the 7th step on the staircase outside the building.

With Jerusalem's liberation in 1967, 300,000 people have come yearly to visit the Tomb of the Patriarchs.  It is divided into 3 rooms:  Ohel (tent) Avraham, Ohel Yitzhak (Isaac), and Ohel Ya'akov (Jacob).  Jews have not been given access to Ohel Yitzhak, the largest room, with the exception of 10 days a year.  Why this room is a mystery to me.
                                                                                     
Abbas, Chairman of Palestine Authority
Now, with this ruling, will Jews be allowed to visit their holy sites?  We know that Palestinians have already said that they will not allow any Jews to live in their Palestine, once they have it.  Under Israeli law, all religions have been free to visit their holy sites.  There is no comparison between the 2 people.  When under Muslim ruling, this is how they treated Jewish sites.

"Upon its capture by the Arab Legion, the Jewish Quarter of the Old City was destroyed and its residents expelled. Fifty-eight synagogues—some hundreds of years old—were destroyed, their contents looted and desecrated. Some Jewish religious sites were turned into chicken coops or animal stalls. The Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives, where Jews had been burying their dead for over 2500 years, was ransacked; graves were desecrated; thousands of tombstones were smashed and used as building material, paving stones or for latrines in Arab Legion army camps. The Intercontinental Hotel was built on top of the cemetery and graves were demolished to make way for a highway to the hotel. The Western Wall became a slum area."  

Resource: http://honestreporting.com/idns-10212015-unesco-israel/?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=email_this&utm_source=email
 https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/machpelah.html
"http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/28970/israeli-president-holds-hebrons-jewish-roots-close-heart-judea-and-samaria/
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_print=1&x_context=7&x_issue=4&x_article=1355
Victor Sharpe, writer
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/17745
Update: http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2015/10/unrwa-admits-that-employees-post.html#.Vim6htKrRkg

Morality of Our Enemies: Present and Past

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                       
Palestinians demonstrating 

                                                                           
A young rabbi and his wife were shot and killed in drive-by shooting.  Their 4 children were in back seat witnessing their parents' deaths.  
What turns my stomach is the morality displayed by the Palestinians.  They are made joyous over the death of innocent Jews of Israel.   The Palestinians do not seem to share our morals.  From Palestinian Media Watch we learn that "Palestinians have been celebrating the murder of Israelis by distributing the pictures of dead bodies of Israelis and the terror scenes on Twitter and Facebook, according to the official PA daily. The "most significant" picture is that of the dead bodies of the young Israeli couple Naama and Eitam Henkin who were murdered in front of their four children last week. According to the PA daily, the killing of the couple brings "joy" to Palestinians who see the killing as "heroic".  This is their practice, to give out candies and be happy when they hear of a Jew killed by one of them.  They call the killers martyrs and name streets and places for them.  

Palestinians danced in the streets when they heard about 9/11 and the 3,000 Americans that were killed.  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKT-9OpneoY)
                                                                                                                 
IS on the prowl 
Today Palestinians have reason, one would think, of fearing IS as this Salafist group has been cutting off the heads of Sunnis, followers of Islam but of a different sect than IS.  IS is a group gone mad and enticing to other madmen and women.  They are the epitome of evil.  They kill and rob others.  

                                                                                 
                                                                           
During the Exodus 3,200 years ago, Moses taught the Jews to not cheer when the Egyptian soldiers who were chasing them died in the returning water and drowned.  The Jews were told that they were G-d's children, also.  Our lessons came to us while on the Exodus from Moses who was told these things by G-d. It was during a time when mankind was practicing the most vile of habits as judged by today's standards.
                                                                         
It's taken a long time for us Homo Sapiens to learn about having morals. It's possible that Cro-Magnon (early humans) knew something and did have some social standards. They were in the Middle East 37,000 years ago.                                                                          

     
 Remember  the story of Lot, Abram's nephew who was the son of Abraham's brother, Haran?
  Lot had traveled with Abraham but quarreled with his uncle and decided to settle in famed city of Sodom. Have you read  the story of Sodom and Gomorrah?  Sodom's people were most wicked without any morals at all.  Abram had been born in the year 1948 BCE  from the time of creation as Avram, the Hebrew-speaking Ivri (Hebrew)  who came from the other side of the Euphrates River with his father, Terah.  The Sodomites wanted to sodomize (gang rape) some strangers. who had sought refuge in Lot's  house in Sodom.    At that point, Lot offered his 2 daughters to the masses who were rioting outside his window because they wanted the strangers that were with Lot.  The code of honor was that a guest was safe in his house, and he chose to offer his daughters to pacify the crowd instead. Lot didn't realize it but the strangers were angels.    You can only imagine what the mob would  have done to his daughters.  One sees that females were not at the same level as males yet of importance.                                                                      
Then, of course, according to the original Jewish story, Abram offered Isaac to G-d, ready to do child sacrificing, which was obviously done in those days at that locale.  It turned out to be a story showing when this practice stopped with the Jewish people as G-d then told him that he was to sacrifice an animal, instead. With Abram's birth, the world had gone into a new phase of intelligence and understanding. It was then his name changed to Abraham because he was told he would be the father of many nations.  (Genesis 17:5).
                                                                           
Later, when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, in about 1310 BCE,  he had to go through the land of the Amaleks, who chased them with great hostile forces.  The Amaleks themselves were a nomadic people who wandered between the southern lands  and Canaan,  and had attacked the Israelites in the desert near Rephidim shortly after the Exodus had started and they killed the weak and weary travelers that lagged at the end of the line.  Other lands had not reacted as violently when they realized that 600,000 men, women and children were going through their lands to reach their destination.  "The Amaleks had their origin within the Edomites, being descendants of Esau. They are often associated with Edom, living in the same area as Edom"     Edom, also called Idumea, was around Mt. Seir and mountainous. The people lived by hunting.  They had kicked out the Horites who had lived their first.  These people, also Semites,  were tribal with a chief, and later had a monarchy.  They fought against King Saul and later, King David.   Finally they became part of the Jewish people as John Hyrcanus, ruler in Jerusalem 135-104 BCE  converted them by force. He was the son of Simon, the Hasmonean.   Herod was one of the Idumean  descendants.                                                        

We know that when Joshua  in the 13th century BCE reached Canaan, there was a fight for the land, and the most all of the Canaanites were slaughtered in that battle.  Those that lived were taken into the new society by marriage.  Few left the land.  Canaanites, a people descended from Canaan, son of Ham, were divided into 11 peoples who occupied the area between the Nile River of Egypt and the Euphrates River of Iraq.  The recent people of Syria had called themselves Canaanites.  Going back even further, the Canaanites were a mixture of Horites, Hittites and Hebrews who dated back to the Hyksos period of the 17th century BCE, Philistines who had lived along the coast in the 12th century BCE, and the Arameans in the north in the 11th century BCE.  
                                                                         
King Saul sparing the life of Agag
When Saul was Israel's first king, he captured Agag, the Amalek  king  in a battle  and spared his life.  Samuel, the prophet was not happy about this bid of kindness because the Israelites had been told to wipe out the Amaleks by G-d because they were so evil.
                                                                           
King David
The Amaleks were finally defeated by the Israelite men under Joshua's leadership.  Israelites regarded the Amaleks as an eternal foe.  Later, during the period of Israel's judges before they had a king, of the 12th and 11th centuries BCE, the Amaleks penetrated western Israel at various points and their presence was a standing threat to the peace of the country.  During King David's time, (1010-970 BCE)  the Amaleks invaded southern Judea and burned the town of Ziklag.  David fought and defeated them mightily, with only 400 escaping from him.                                                                            
Haman and his 3 cornered hat
When Hezekiah, King of Judah  reigned from 720-690 BCE,  the tribe of Simeon overwhelmed the Amaleks and settled in their territory.  The name, Amaleks, has remained as a symbol of everlasting enmity to Israel.  Haman, the villian in our Purim history  that took place in Persia, who had the morality of Hitler, was an Agagite and was regarded as a descendant of Agag, King of  Amalek.  Haman wanted to kill all Jews in the empire and had a decree for it to happen.
                                                                         
Moses taught us to have morals and to not be like the people around us.  That's why so many laws existed.  We were to remember and be above the actions of others since we were to act as the examples of good behavior so as to be copied.   This is what we are all about;  people of the Golden Rule of not treating people in a way we wouldn't want to be treated, and people of the Mosaic Law.
                                                                             
 The story is that all the people were visited and offered the 10 Commandments, but there was always given some kind of excuse as to why all 10 could not be followed.  Finally, Moses accepted them all for us to follow.  I find it interesting that Hammerabi, king of Babylon from 1728 BCE to 1686 BCE also had had a code, but the 10 commandments from Moses surpassed and improved on that list.  His penalties for not following his code were severe.  Hammerabi held to the Jus Talionis (eye for an eye) punishment.   The 10 Commandments have appeal to the human conscience through the religious and ethical nature of the Torah .  Hammerabi's code depended on custom and obedience to the king's will.

Update: 6:57pm Thursday: Jerusalem especially has been under attack this last week.  "Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat:

“Come out today with your licensed guns, for those who know how to use it, that’s what needed right now. In a way, this is like reserve duty.”

This is a complete list of attacks that Arutz7 has published, it will give you some idea of what we are facing here in Israel.Thursday, October 1:
Rabbi Eitam and Naama Henkin were gunned down in their car near Itamar, in Samaria. The young parents, who were in their thirties, were residents of Neria in Samaria. They were murdered in front of the eyes of their four children, aged four months, four years, 7 and 9, who were in the car at the time. A five man Hamas terror cell that carried out the attack was arrested several days later.  from friend Victor Sharpe's article, Israel is one big terror attack right now.  Information sent to him by  a Danish friend, Jane Kiel, in Jerusalem, Israel:
Also happening: Israeli Man Seriously Hurt in Jerusalem Stabbing Attack – Stand for Israel
Hamas, Islamic Jihad Praise Wave of Terrorist Attacks – Israel Hayom
Khamenei Bans Negotiations with the US – Arutz Sheva
Empathetic Jon Bon Jovi Dedicates Song to Israel – Stand for Israel


Resource:  http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=15818
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cro-Magnon
http://www.bible.ca/archeology/bible-archeology-exodus-amalekites.htm
http://www.weaselzippers.us/236242-palestinians-share-their-feeling-of-joy-of-seeing-pictures-of-dead-jews/