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b’ezrat HaShem, With the help of G–d
On the 1st day of Hanukkah 5765,
2172 Years After the Uprising of the Maccabees Against the Hellenising Seleucids,
The Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement Came to Modi'in to Swear Faithfulness to the Covenant Between the G-d and People of Israel and to Carry the Heritage of the Maccabees to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem
"The Faithful members at the tombs of the Maccabees in Modi'in."
"Two members of the Faithful prepared to light the Hanukkiah in front of the tombs"
2172 Years after the great uprising of the Maccabees against the Hellenistic Seleucid empire which controlled the land of Israel, The Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement came again to Modi'in, the town of the Maccabees, to swear faithfulness to the G-d of Israel and the eternal covenant that He made with the people of Israel when He gave them the land of Israel more than 4000 years ago. The goal of this unique event was also to carry to Jerusalem and the Temple Mount the spiritual, moral and national heritage of the Maccabees. This event took place at a very critical time in the history of Israel when, in the midst of the great time of the redemption of people and land of Israel, foreign and pagan worship by the Moslems still continues on the Temple Mount.
"Rabbi Yehuda Stern indicating the tombs of the Maccabees."
The Faithful Movement undertook this important event 37 years after the godly redemptional war of 1967 when the G-d of Israel gave great victory to the Israeli forces and the Temple Mount, the location of the First, Second and Third Temples, was liberated and the Arabs ran away from the Temple Mount but the weakness of the Israeli leadership allowed them to continue their pagan worship. This godly war was not an accident. The G-d of Israel expected His people to rebuild His house and to open a new godly age in the history of Israel and all the world. The end-time vision of the G-d of Israel that He shared with His people through Isaiah was tragically delayed. When Isaiah gave his exciting prophesy - "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. And many people shall go and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for from Zion shall go forth Torah, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall decide for many people; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, nor shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come, and let us walk in the light of the Lord." (Isaiah2:2-5) - his eyes were lifted to the Six Day War which would open the fulfillment of this vision.
Year after year during the festival of Hanukkah, the Temple Mount Faithful Movement has come to the tombs of the Maccabees to swear faithfulness to his vision and to say to the people of Israel, mainly to its leadership, and to all the world that we shall never rest until this vision becomes a reality and we that shall dedicate our lives to making this vision a reality in our lifetime as G-d expects of us. We also came to say that we shall never rest until the land, which G-d gave to Abraham and his seed, in the same boundaries that He promised, will become the land of His people and the place of His renewed kingdom. We also came to say that we shall do everything to fulfill the expectations of the G-d of Israel of His people to again become a Biblical nation with a biblical mission, to be a holy nation, a kingdom of priests and His treasure among the nations. (Exodus 19:5,6)
(left to right)
"The natural rock monument of a lion, the location of the first battle and the place where Judah Maccabee was buried."
"The ancient way to the Biblical village of Beth Horon. This is the site of the 2nd battle of the Maccabees."
"The Latrun area - the location of the 3rd battle."
On the first day of Hanukkah 5765 (Wednesday 8th December 2004), the Temple Mount Faithful Movement gathered in Jerusalem and then traveled to Modi'in with great hope and prayer that this year the miracle that G-d performed for the Maccabees He would again perform for Israel in our time. We came to open the door for the fulfillment of the vision of Isaiah and the Maccabees. We came to again start the godly revolution of the Maccabees; to liberate the Temple Mount from the foreign pagan Islamic occupation; to purify the Temple Mount; to rebuild the Temple; to remove the Islamic enemies of Israel from the Holy Land; to defeat their terror against the people of G-d; to ignore the political and cultural pressure that comes against Israel from almost all the world.
When we came to Modi'in, the holy atmosphere of the place and the history of the Maccabees and their heroic struggle and victories against the greatest empire of their time came so strongly to our attention and hearts. The uprising of the Maccabees began in 172 BCE. On their way to Jerusalem the soldiers of Antiochus Epiphanes killed many Jews. They entered the Temple, stole many of the Temple vessels and made it a temple for their pagan worship of Zeus. They stopped the Jewish worship in the Temple and forbad the Jews to practice their faith. They killed everyone who was caught observing the Sabbath, Rosh Chodesh and circumcision. The Jews in the Judea were commanded to participate in the pagan worship and to sacrifice pigs to the pagan idol. Under the strong pressure of Hellenism there was a great danger of them losing their Jewish identity.
(left to right)
"Tel Beit Sur - the location of the 4th battle."
"beth Zecharia - the location of the 5th battle."
"Kfar Shalem - location of the 6th battle."
In those critical times, the G-d of Israel raised the high priest Mattitiyahu who, together with his 5 sons, Yochanan, Shimon, Yehuda (Judas), Elazar and Yohonatan, changed the history of Israel and saved it. An officer of Antiochus came to Modi'in and built a pagan altar in the middle of the town. He commanded Mattitiyahu to sacrifice a pig to the idol. Mattitiyahu immediately swore faithfulness to the G-d of Israel, killed the officer and called to the Jews: "He who is with G-d will come with me." They killed the soldiers and began the great uprising against the foreign pagan emperor. This uprising was initially directed to the Temple Mount and Jerusalem, the house of the G-d of Israel and the heart and soul of the people of G-d. On the mountains of Beth Horon and Jerusalem they experienced major victories. They started with 200 Jews who fought guerilla battles against the Seleucid army. From victory to victory more Jews joined the Maccabees. In the 4th battle, which took place 3 years after the start of the uprising, 10,000 soldiers of the Maccabees defeated more than 60,000 Seleucid soldiers. This battle was commanded by Yehudah after his father had died 2 years previously. This battle opened the way to Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. The Maccabees came to the Temple Mount and found the house of G-d terribly desecrated. They immediately started to purify the Temple. 3 years after the initial desecration of the Temple, the first sacrifice was again made to the G-d of Israel. Then another miracle occurred. All the pure and holy oil used for worship had been desecrated. The G-d of Israel granted a miracle when a small cruse of pure oil was found on the Temple Mount which was sufficient for only one days burning in the menorah. The miracle was that it lasted for eight days. To commemorate this miracle and the great godly victories of the Maccabees the festival of Hanukkah was initiated which is celebrated to this day.
(left to right)
"Chadashah - the location of the 7th battle."
"Atarah - the location of the 8th battle."
"The tomb of the high priest Mattatiyah, the father of the Maccabees who started the uprising against the Seleucids."
After the liberation of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Yehudah the Maccabee continued the war and had 4 further victories before falling in the 8th battle. After the death of this great hero his brother, Yohonatan, became the leader and after him Shimon who again renewed Israeli sovereignty over the liberated land of Israel.
On the way to Modi'in, the Temple Mount Faithful Movement passed the places where the great victories occurred. The sons of Mattitiyahu who died in the battles were buried in Modi'in and the Faithful Movement came to their tombs to commune with their spirit and to fulfill their testament to all the generations of the people of Israel. It was the first year that members of the Movement from the United States of America, Australia and Canada had participated in this exciting event.
In front of the tombs the Hanukkah menorah was lit by Reuven Goldberg, an Israeli hero who was injured in one of Israel's battles and still requires crutches in order to walk and Yoel Adler read from the Book of the Maccabees. It was an exciting moment when he read Shimon's answer to the foreign ruler when asked by him to return the land which the Maccabees had liberated; "We did not liberate a foreign land but the land which G-d, the Creator of the world, gave to us and to our forefathers in an eternal covenant and which was stolen from us by you. Now G-d has returned it to us and you have no right or part in it." Then Gershon Salomon called on the Israeli nation and its leadership to fulfill the expectation of the G-d of Israel of them to remove the enemy from the Temple Mount after G-d had returned the sovereignty of this most holy place, to immediately purify it and to rebuild the Temple. He told them that G-d will again give them the strength, spirit and victories if they would trust Him and if they would ignore the pressure that comes from the many enemies that surround Israel and their allies all over the world. Together with the G-d of Israel, Israel will become the majority and all others the minority. More than at any time in the past, the spirit and heritage of the Maccabees is so needed by Israel and especially by its leadership. He said that the members of the Faithful Movement from outside Israel who participated in the event represented the many friends of Israel from all over the world who stand with the Faithful Movement and Israel today with great love and devotion. He said that time is short and soon the heritage of the Maccabees will again become a reality in our lifetime, the Temple Mount will be purified, the Temple will be rebuilt and will become a house of prayer for Israel and all the nations as prophesied by Isaiah thousands of years ago when he spoke of the end-times, the time in which we are now living. (Isaiah 56)
"Lighting the Hanukkah menorah at the tombs of the Maccabees."
"Reuven Goldberg, a disabled Israeli war hero lighting the hanukkiah at the tombs of the Maccabees saying the blessings.
After the Hanukkah prayers, we lit the torch of the Maccabees to carry it to Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. It was so exciting when some of the youth of the Faithful ran with the torch for part of the way to the mountains of Beth Horon where the great victories of the Maccabees took place. On the way to Jerusalem we passed the tomb of Samuel, the great prophet who anointed David and united the 12 tribes into one kingdom. Over the past years, Ramah, the town where he was born, judged and prophesied, has been the subject of archaeological excavations. It is situated on one of the highest mountains close to Jerusalem and close to the valley of Givon where Joshua prayed for the sun and moon to be stopped and his subsequent defeat of the 5 Canaanite kings. As with other places in Israel this area has much exciting Biblical history.
Later we arrived at the Old City of Jerusalem where, at the Jaffa Gate plaza, we raised the godly flag of Israel with the Star of David, tore up the flag of the PLO terrorist organization and trampled on coffins representing the evil idea of a "Palestinian" state in the holy land of the G-d and people of Israel and the evil plans to divide the land of Israel like the "Road Map," the "Gaza Disengagement," and other false and anti-godly plans which will never succeed as the G-d of Israel will not allow them to as He has never allowed other evil plans and agreements to succeed throughout history. In the name of the G-d of Israel Gershon stated that a foreign pagan state or any other authority will never be established on the holy mountain of G-d, Jerusalem and the land of Israel. He called on Ariel Sharon to keep faithful to the G-d of Israel, to His Word and to the mission, which He gave to His people and to reject any pressure that comes on Israel and to immediately cancel the evil "Gaza Disengagement" plan which will again divide the land of the G-d and people of Israel. He called on Sharon to immediately purify the Temple Mount and rebuild the Temple. He called on him not to miss the historical privilege that G-d gave him to be the messenger of G-d to fulfill all these prophetic end-time plans.
"Marching in the Jaffa Gate plaza of the Old City."
"Lighting the hanukkiah in the Jaffa Gate plaza."
"Leaders of the demonstration at the Jaffa Gate."
"The demonstrators at Jaffa Gate holding a banner with the words 'If I forget you Jerusalem.'"
After relighting the hanukkiah from the torch of the Maccabees, we prayed Psalm 122 in Hebrew. One of our friends from the U.S.A. read it in English.
"Gershon reading Psalm 122 at the Jaffa Gate plaza."
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"A Song of Ascents of David. I was glad when they said to me, Let us go into the house of the Lord. Our feet shall stand inside your gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is built as a city which is bound firmly together; There the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord. For thrones of judgment were set there, the thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; those who love you shall prosper. Peace be within your walls, and prosperity within your palaces. For my brothers and companions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be within you. Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek your good."
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This exciting Psalm of King David was an important lesson to a crowd of Arabs who stood close to the demonstration. They understood that the Islamic occupation of the Temple Mount and the land is over and now the G-d of Israel and the Universe has returned His people to the land exactly as He promised before all the nations in His prophetic Word. It was also an important lesson and message to all the nations who deny the covenant which G-d made with Israel and in which He gave the Holy Land to Israel alone.
"Tearing up the terrorist PLO flag at the demonstration at Jaffa Gate."
"The coffin with the slogan "never a 'Palestinian' state."
"The coffin representing the 'Disengagement Plan'."
"The Faithful marching from the Jaffa Gate to the Temple Mount."
After this demonstration we marched with the flags of the Temple and Israel and the torch of the Maccabees through the narrow streets of the Old City to the Temple Mount singing and praying the Hanukkah prayers. The climax of this important historical event was when the Faithful marchers together with their friends came to the Temple Mount, the holy hill of G-d. Exactly as the Maccabees felt in their time, we were so sad when we saw the holy hill of G-d desecrated by the pagan Moslems. At the same time we felt the wings of the history of the great godly revolution which happened in this place when the G-d of Israel brought His people back to their holy mountain and returned its sovereignty to them and opened the gates of His holy hill to purify it and to rebuild his holy house. The presence of G-d was so strong in these moments and we felt that time is short and that nothing can stop the desire of G-d to dwell again in His holy house among His people and all the world and to see the heritage of the Maccabees becoming a reality in our lifetime by His blessings. We could again hear in our spirits the voice of Haggai coming from the holy hill calling on the people of Israel as in the time of Haggai;
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"Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, saying, This people say that the time has not yet come, the time that the Lord's house should be built. Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it time for you, yourselves, to dwell in your well timbered houses, while this house lies in ruins? And therefore thus says the Lord of hosts; consider your ways. You have sown much, and bring in little; you eat, but you have not enough; you drink, but you are not filled with drink; you dress yourself, but there is no warm; and he who earns wages earns wages to put it into a bag with holes. Thus says the Lord of hosts; consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, says the Lord. You looked for much, and, behold, it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? says the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, and everyone of you runs to his own house." (Haggai1:2-9)
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"The torch of the Maccabees arriving at the Temple Mount and being used to light the hanukkiah."
"Marchers from the Faithful Movement arriving at the Temple Mount with the temple flags."
Gershon called on the people of Israel and its leadership to respond like Zerubbabel responded to the call of Haggai:
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"Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him, and the people feared before the Lord. Then Haggai the Lord's messenger spoke the Lord's message to the people, saying, I am with you, says the Lord. And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked in the house of the Lord of hosts, their God," (Haggai 1:12-14)
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After more than 2000 years the hanukkiah of the Maccabees was lit in this place from the torch which had been carried from Modi'in. The heritage and testimony of the Maccabees was again brought to the place which is the heart of Israel and all the world to soon be fulfilled again. Like our forefathers we again swore faithfulness to the Temple Mount and Jerusalem -
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"If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember you, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy." (Psalm 137:5,6)
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Gershon called on the people of Israel to be strong and to trust in G-d's promises and Word. He encouraged everyone and said that this critical time is the end-time birth-pains of redemption exactly as prophesied and that time is short and complete redemption is soon to come.
Throughout the history of Israel in the time of exile and destruction nations and powers occupied the Temple Mount and the land and built their foreign and pagan shrines on the holy hill of the G-d and people of Israel. All of them were removed under the judgement of G-d. He did not allow any one to plant their roots in the land of Israel. He kept the land for His people to return to and to rebuild His house, Jerusalem and the land in the end-times in which we are now living. The same will soon happen to the Islamic shrines on the Temple Mount. Nothing, not even all the world, can stop the determination of G-d to bring about all His end-time vision and plans with the people of Israel and all the world. This will come to pass in our lifetime if we shall continue our struggle and campaign to rebuild the house of G-d and His kingdom in Israel and from there all over the world with all our determination and dedication.
This historical and exciting event was ended with the singing of the national anthem - Ha Tikvah (The Hope) - with our faces towards the site of the Holy of Holies and with Psalm 126 which was prayed together by the Israelis and their dear friends who came from all over the world to participate in this event.
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"A Song of Ascents. When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, we were like men who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing; then they said among the nations, The Lord has done great things for them. The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad. Bring back our captivity, O Lord, like the streams in the Negev. Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who goes forth weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come back with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him."
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Everyone reading this report is called on to stand with, strongly encourage and help and be a part of The Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement which is conducting a holy battle at this godly and critical time for the G-d of Israel and the Creator of all the Universe, for His house, His city - Jerusalem, His holy land - Israel - and for the godly future of His people - Israel - and of all mankind. Let us answer the call of G-d to all of us which is repeatedly heard in these days from His holy mountain and Jerusalem.
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"Thus says the Lord of hosts: Let your hands be strong, you who hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, who spoke on the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, saying that the temple might be built. ... so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing. Do not fear, but let your hands be strong." (Zechariah8:9,13b)
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In G-d we trust.
If you would like to see more pictures of this demonstration, go to http://ngng.co.il/gallery/chanukah/index.html
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