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March 2015 
Greetings one and all!

 

Tuesday Night, March 3rd when Netanyahu speaks to Congress is the very day recorded in the book of Esther that all the Jews were to be killed. The 13th of Adar, the twelfth month on the Biblical calendar.

 

Esther 3:13 And the letters were sent by posts into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey.

  

The key to the Jews survival from the evil Persian Empire vowing their extermination was Mordechai's and Esther's determination to "break protocol" in making their case before the government!

 

What also is incredible as far as timing goes is this:

The first Gulf War (2 August 1990 - 28 February 1991ended exactly on Purim. Then the 2nd gulf war in 2003 with the invasion of Iraq picked up again on the very next biblical day which is Shushan Purim March 19th 2003. In Sushan the capital, the battle lasted another day and the holiday was not celebrated until the 15th.

 

The whole story of Esther is about a Persian madman who declares his intent to destroy the Jewish people. Now 2500 years later you have a religious fanatic running a country who also declares not only the end of the Jewish people but wants to bring about an apocalyptic end to bring in their Islamic Messiah. I don't know who is more insane the ayatollahs or the Obama administration who wants to give them nuclear weapon capability! Not only that they believe ISIS beheads people because they don't have jobs or an education!

 

In Esther when Haman approached the King he said:

Esther 3:8 And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king's laws..

 

In the Gemara, which is a rabbinical analysis of the Bible, the phrase "there is a certain people" could be rephrased to mean "There is a sleeping nation"

According to Arutz Sheva, Rav Dovid Miller, Rosh Kollel of YU's Gruss Kollel in Israel, pointed out the Gemara in Megillah 13b he says:

We were vulnerable and literally on the brink of elimination and extinction as a people because we were asleep. Our eyes were closed to what was happening around us. We didn't take the threats seriously, and we didn't stand up for our right to simply exist. Haman, like so many of our shrewd enemies throughout Jewish history, understood that going about business as usual, living with our eyes closed and sleepwalking through life exposes us and makes us particularly vulnerable and susceptible to attack.

Iran is modern day Persia and its leaders are modern day Hamans sharing the same explicitly stated goal of wiping out our people. If they are successful, they can accomplish in minutes what it took the gas chambers years, to kill 6 million Jews and with it the Jewish homeland. We must not allow that to happen.

Haman recognized and took advantage of yoshno am echad, there is a nation that is sleeping. All he had to do was continue to lull the Jewish people into a false sense of security, to breed complacency and apathy and at that moment he could accomplish his goal of ridding the world of our people. So how did we survive? What spoiled his plan? Why did we ultimately triumph over Haman such that we are here today and he is a distant memory? The answer is simple: Mordechai and Esther, two heroes stood up and, like an alarm, rang and rang until they woke up our people from their practically comatose sleep.

 

We need to realize Israel wasn't just founded in 1948 but 3,500 years ago that existed for 1,500 years before being driven from their country 2,000 years ago. They have survived over the millennia as a people group in spite of being scattered all over the world only to return to their homeland about 70 years ago. History proves it. Archaeology proves it.

 

What is amazing is the additional timing of these events. We see the decree to kill the Jews was written and announced at Passover which is the 14th day of the first month:

Esther 3:12a Then were the king's scribes called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and there was written according to all that Haman had commanded unto the king's lieutenants, and to the governors that were over every province, and to the rulers of every people of every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language; in the name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king's ring.

 

Esther 3:13 And the letters were sent by posts into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey.

 

Then we see Esther fasted for three days and three nights from Passover the same day the same three days Yeshua battled over the grave and resurrected then appeared before the King of Kings!

 

Esther 4:15,16a Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer, Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day.

 

 

Here we also have two weeks from the Prime Ministers speech the elections in Israel on March 16th which is followed by the total solar eclipse on March 20th plunging Northern Europe into total darkness. Read this enlightening article!

Realize this is also the first of Nisan when Moses tabernacle was dedicated and the beginning of the religious New Year on the Biblical calendar. Two weeks before the next Blood Moon appearing on Passover!

The next two months could be exciting, hold on to your shorts!


 

Pastor Mark

 

Recipes

Hamantaschen are the traditional pastry of Purim. Their three-sided shape is sometimes thought to be modeled on Haman's hat.

 

SERVES: 8-10

PREPARATION TIME: ABOUT '/2 HOUR PLUS 2 HOURS TO CHILL THE DOUGH COOKING TIME: 20-25 MINUTES PER BATCH


Ingredients: 
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
  • 1 � teaspoons baking powder
  • � teaspoon salt
  • 10 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 � sticks), room temperature
  • cup sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 tablespoons orange juice
  • teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 jar strawberry preserves
Directions: 

1.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy. Add the egg and beat until just incorporated.

2.  Add the juice and vanilla. Beat until smooth.

3.  Gradually add the flour mixture until well incorporated. You may wish to transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead it until smooth, but this is not necessary.

4.  Divide the dough into 2 balls and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

5.  Preheat the oven to 350�F. Lightly grease two cookie sheets, so you can prepare one while the other bakes.

6.  Remove one of the balls of dough from the fridge and roll out on a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin to about Ya inch thick. (Or you can roll out the dough between two sheets of plastic.) Using a 3-inch round cookie cutter or the rim of a drinking glass, cut out rounds. Re-roll any scraps.

7.  Spoon a heaping teaspoon full of jam into the center of each round of pastry. Using your fingers, pinch the edges of the dough together around the filling to form a triangle. Pinch the edges tightly at each corner so that the filling stays in the cookie.

8.  Place the hamantaschen about 1 inch apart on the cookie sheets.

9.  Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until very lightly brown or golden. Cool them on the sheets 5 minutes and then move to wire racks to cool completely.

10. Repeat with the remaining dough until all the cookies are baked.

 

The Best Crockpot BBQ Chicken


Ingredients: 
  • 2 lbs boneless, skinless  chicken breasts
  • 1 cup  BBQ sauce
  • 1/4 cup Zesty Italian dressing
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • salt to taste

Directions: 

1. Season chicken breast lightly (a small pinch per breast)  with some sea salt and place in your crockpot.

2. In a mixing bowl combine BBQ sauce, Italian dressing, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce. Stir until well combined.

3. Pour over chicken, cover and cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours

4. Once time is up, you can serve the breast whole, or shred with 2 forks. If shredding, recover and let cook in sauce for about 10-15 more minutes to soak up all that delish flavor.


SPINACH SALAD JARS

 

Ingredients: 
  • 2 cups garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 cup diced tomatoes
  • 1/2 diced red onion
  • 4 oz. baby spinach (4 big handfuls)
  • 4 white mushrooms
  • 4 hard-boiled eggs

Quick Salad Dressing

  • 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
  • A pinch of salt and pepper

Directions: 
  1. Layer ingredients in the order they are listed in a 1-pint mason jar. Pop on the lids and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Optional Dressing: 

CREAMY VINAIGRETTE SALAD DRESSING

MAKES: ABOUT � CUP, SERVES 6

PREPARATION TIME: 10 MINUTES

Ingredients: 
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • � teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons tarragon vinegar
  • 8 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 egg

Directions: 

 

1. Mix the first 8 ingredients together.

2. Beat the egg and add the above mixture to it. Beat well.

3. If you like, you can add mashed anchovies to the dressing.

Dressing can be stored in the fridge for up to a week.

 
This Day in Jewish History 

Adar-Nissan 


 

[10 Adar]

  • Massacre of the Jews of Freiburg, Germany, 1349, in the Black Death riots.
  • Jews of the Austrian Empire were granted equal civil and political rights, 1849.

[11 Adar]

  • Pope prohibits anti-Jewish sermons, 1434.

 [16 Adar]

  • King Agrippa I began the construction of a gate for the wall of Jerusalem, 42 c.e. The day was designated a holiday.
  • Jews were excluded from public offices and dignities in the Roman Empire, 418.
  • Jews of New Amsterdam were denied the right to erect a synagogue, 1656.
  • The ghetto pillars of Ferrara, Italy, were destroyed by the professors and students of the Athenaeum, 1848.

 [17 Adar]

  • The Bulgarian commissar for Jewish affairs, Alexander Belev, signed an agreement permitting Germany to deport 26,000 Jews to extermination camps, 1943.
  • The Jewish quarter of Old Jerusalem was besieged by Arabs, 1948.
  • The Jews of the Old Quarter of Jerusalem were cut off from the Jewish community of New Jerusalem when access to the gates in the walls of Jerusalem was barred to them.

[18 Adar]

  • Jews of Smyrna, Turkey were attacked by Greeks charging the Jews with ritual murder, 1901.
  • The Pope reaffirmed a Church rule forcing Christianity upon a Jewish child who was baptized against the will of his parents and in violation of canonical law, 1747.
  • Napoleon I issued a decree suspending for a decade the emancipation of Jews in the French-occupied European countries, 1808.
  • A Russian imperial decree ordering the expulsion of all Jewish artisans, brewers, and distillers from Moscow, 1891.

[19 Adar]

  • The restriction of the sale of Arab land to Jews in Palestine, as stated in the MacDonald White Paper, went in effect, 1940.
  • Capture of Ein Gedi by Israel, 1949, brought to an end the military engagements of the War of Independence.

 

 [22 Adar]

  • Jews of Uberlingen, Switzerland, were massacred, 1349.


[23 Adar]

  • Massacre of the Jews of Estella, Spain, 1328.

[24 Adar]

  • Jews of Wurtzburg were massacred by the Crusaders, 1147.
  • The Pope issued a bull banning all social intercourse between Christians and Jews. 1451.
  • Jews of Lithuania were granted permission to return to the country after a brief exile of 8 years, 1503.
  • First organized Arab assault on a Jewish settlement (Petach Tikva), 1886.
  • Jews of Gluchor massacred by Ukrainian mob, 1918.
  • German troops marched into Prague, 1939.
  • Germany occupied Hungary, 1944.

 [25 Adar]

  • King of France orders the detention for ransom of all Jews in Paris attending shul on Shabbat, 1181.
  • Jews of Strasbourg burned at the Jewish cemetery, 1349.
  • Petition circulated among prominent Americans (not Jews) requesting U.S. government aid to reestablish a sovereign Jewish state in Eretz Yisrael, 1891.
  • U.S. President Harrison was petitioned in 1891 to aid in the reestablishment of Palestine as a sovereign Jewish state, 1891.

[26 Adar]

  • The Pope issued a bull ordering the burning of the Talmud, 1244.
  • The Jewish community of Newport, R.I. purchased a plot of land for a burial ground, 1677.

[27 Adar]

  • Tzidkiyahu HaMelech, last King of Judea, died in Babylonian captivity, 561B.C.E.
  • Jews were massacred by rioters in Stamford-fair, England, 1190.
  • King of Austria grants favorable rights to Jews, 1255.

[28 Adar]

  • Antiochus V granted religious freedom and autonomy to the Jews of Eretz Yisrael, 163B.C.E. Date was celebrated as a holiday marking the cancellation of decrees prohibiting circumcision, Torah study and Shabbat observance.
  • Jews of Prussia were granted rights, 1277.

 [29 Adar]

  • Napoleon captured the city of Jaffa, Palestine, 1799.
  • Jews of Austria were required by law to belong to the government-established religious community in their town, 1890

[30 Adar]

  • Headquarters of the Jewish Agency in Jerusalem was bombed, resulting in the death of many Jews, 1948.

[1 Nissan]

  • King Hezekiah commenced the reconsecration of the Temple.
  • Cyrus was crowned "King of Babylonia and King of all lands, "538B.C.E.
  • The plot of Bigtan and Teresh to assassinate Achashveirosh was discovered by Mordechai.
  • Ezra and his followers left Bavel for Jerusalem, 457 B.C.E.

[2 Nissan]

  • Moshe performed the first para aduma rite.
  • Jews of Mayence, Germany, were massacred, 1283.
  • King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella signed a decree expelling Jews from Spain, 1492.
  • Anti-Jewish riots broke out in Jerusalem, 1881.

[3 Nissan]

  • A decree expelling Jews form Spain and Sicily was issued, 1492.
  • In the Children's Action of 1944, Nazis raided the Kovno ghetto and removed all children for execution.

[4 Nissan]

  • Anti-Jewish riots broke out in Dabrowa, Poland, 1938.
  • A convoy of physicians, scientists, and guards, totaling 75 people, was ambushed on the way to Mt. Scopus, 1948.

[5 Nissan]

  • Yehoshua sent scouts to survey Jericho and the surrounding territory
  • Rehovot was attacked by Arabs, 1893.
  • 2500 Jews of Lublin were massacred and the rest of the Jews were deported, 1942.

[6 Nissan]

  • The town of Afula was founded, 1925.

[7 Nissan]

  • Jews of York, England, committed mass suicide rejecting an invitation to submit to baptism, 1190.
  • Hebrew University opened in Jerusalem, 1925.

 

[8 Nissan]

  • The feast of Achashveirosh, which lasted for 180 days, came to and end.

 [9 Nissan]

  • 57 Jews were killed in Bury St. Edmunds, England, 1190.
  • Anti-Jewish riots broke out in Seville, Spain, 1391.
  • Jews of Vienna, Austria, were accused of profaning the host. Many of those who refused to embrace Christianity were burned at the stake, 1421.

[10 Nissan]

  • Yahrzeit of Miriam. The mobile well, which supplied water to the Jews in the desert, dried up.
  • The Jews, led by Yehoshua, crossed the Jordan and erected 12 monuments at Gilgal. 
History found at OU
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