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Navigating This Advent /Chanukah With Christlike Calm · OneLegUpAlex Media

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Today we discussed the crossover of Advent and Hanukkah. Well, today is the
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second week of Advent and the fourth night of Hanukkah, and I think I
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want to point to a story I found on the Hill when looking up something
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with regarding the similarities between the Christian Advent and the eight Nights of Honikah,
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and I found this extraordinary article from the pandemic era, But I think it
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applies to this year because unfortunately Jewish Americans and Jewish all over the world are
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a little more pensive or a little more nervous this Manora lighting. But I
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encourage those afraid to light the Manora proudly because the Jewish people are a resilient
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people. Now do I think that now who's actions are harming American Jews?
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Because the fact that the bombings are being highlighted and that is angering a pro
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Palestine movement that doesn't give one cramp about innocent Jewish people in America. That's
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the problem. And furthermore, they don't even want to talk to Jewish people
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to work out differences. They rather spit into American Jews faces or tell them
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to go to Hell. At what point is what the pro Palestinian protesters are
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saying about the Jews. At what point is that could can centered hate speech?
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Da Bragg I have to ask, I have to ask. But at
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the same time, the Hanukkah is bringing the Jewish community together for Menora lightings,
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both big in the city and small in their own homes, and that's
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a beautiful thing in a time of chaos, in turmoil and worry about families
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and Israel. But I want to point to you on the second week of
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having this article by actually someone who served as the governor of New Jersey for
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ninety minutes. His name is mister Farmer Jewis I'm getting the full name here,
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John Farmer Junior, and John Farmer Junior is someone that held the office
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of Governor and Lieutenant governor. He was in the office nine nine to two
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thousand and two, and he was the Attorney General of the state of New
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Jersey. And John Farmer Junior, during the pandemic in twenty twenty, talked
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about how advent and Hanikkah underscore of the virtue of patience. This was back
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on December thirteenth, twenty twenty, and he mainly made this a pandemic related
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article because it was right in the thick of the pandemic, the first Christmas
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during the pandemic. And here's what he said. And I think this line
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from the article is as much important then as it is now. If ever
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a year demanded, however, that the seasons of celebration, of patience,
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waiting, and renewal of spiritual life be observed as intended, he says,
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Surely it is twenty twenty I would add, mister Farmer Junior, surely it
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is twenty twenty three as well. Surely the time has come to follow the
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biblical teaching that whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do
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for me. Surely this is beyond politics, beyond libertarian orthodoxy. We should,
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in other words, cultivate and celebrate the holiday season the forgotten virtues of
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patients of waiting. Advent celebrates waiting on four successive Sundays, observing the centuries
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long patients of the Jewish people in waiting for the deliverance, as described in
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the words of the Advent hymn Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel and Ransom captive
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Israel. Successive Sundays observe the peace that comes from acknowledging the need for assistance
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and forecasting its arrival, the faith and love and waiting that can redeem the
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world's suffering, embodying the shepherds and the magi, and finally, the joy
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that comes from realizing is our salvation comes not from the deeds of the High
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and the mighty, but from the humblest sources imaginable. In the Christian story
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a baby born to poor parents in a stable. The lighting of the minora
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candles on Hanukkah celebrates the relighting of the temple in Jerusalem, when oil that
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should have lasted for only one day kept the temple lip for eight. Even
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for non believers, there is power in the myth and metaphor of these stories.
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They speak to patients rewarded to keeping the light of hope burning through the
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darkest of days. I know he wrote this in twenty twenty, but John
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Farmer's article can relate to the second Week in Advent as both Christians and Jews
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see the struggles that the Israeli people are going through, that the Jewish people
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of America and around the world that have nothing to do with the conflict in
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Israel verse Hamas are going through right now. I feel like some of these
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words he's saying in this article can apply to Now this has been a singular
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year marked by conflict, disease, and death. It is ending with the
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virus. Well, he says, the virus creates things never before, now
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could it. You also say the Hamas Israeli war has been a virus that
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the Middle East has dealt with for decades on end. The Palestinians and Israelis
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have always been at odds. And I mean the governments, not so much
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the people. The people want peace on both sides, not the governments and
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not those that work for the governments of Israel and Palestine. But for the
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first time, this virus that has been the conflict in the Middle East has
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spread here and has really really brought worry and unnerved feelings for the Jewish people
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because there are tons more pro Palestine protesters who are doing more than just protesting.
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They're saying hate speech by telling an innocent Jewish woman burn in hell that
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happened yesterday or a couple of days ago. It's hate speech when you say
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gas the Jews, is it not? And why aren't they be prosecuted for
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hate crimes? Saying that advocating for that. So I thank the calendar in
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a way for being here to light the Manora again, to celebrate Christmas again,
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because those times there's still this hope that we can get out of the
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captivity that Hamas has held the world in. Now because we're all worried,
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we say, minded people are worried about the hostages? Are we not?
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And the captivity that has been put on American Jewish people because of these actions
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between Israel and Hamas cannot be ignored this Hanukkah. So may it not only
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may may God not only ransom captive Israel, but ransom captive the Israelis that
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have nothing to do with this war and the Jewish people that have nothing to
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do with this war. And for Christians who try and impose Jesus Christ on
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a group that doesn't want to acknowledge him, that doesn't believe He's come yet,
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can you ease off on that and just accept that, you know,
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your Jewish brothers and sisters are suffering, and they don't need to be reminded
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to believe in Christ this year. That will come in their own time when
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they feel it, if they ever do. But they do not need to
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hear the evangelistic approach to Christmas. Right now, they need to just hear
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the hope that Jesus brings, but don't tell him, hey, believe in
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him. You got to believe in him or you're gonna be, you know,
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going somewhere else in heaven. That's not what the Jewish people need to
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hear right now. So this admin and Hanukkah can be used to unify two
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very strong forces that not only want to you know, rid the world of
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terrorism, but bring peace and come. I've said this over and over again.
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Do you know do you know that Jewish people have protested just by rallies
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and really a jubilee in a sense of songs, of hope, of prayer.
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They've done it calmly. They're not advocating for ceasefire in a violent way.
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Now, a lot of the Jews are not advocating or ceasefire at all
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because I believe, like they do, that a ceasefire means Hamascats load up
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and do more harm to Israel, which we don't want either. But isn't
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it crazy that the protesters that say ceasefire and peace and whatnot are the least
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peaceful group aka pro Palestinian protesters are the least peaceful group. Something is not
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right with But I applaud the Jewish people for being the better and bigger man
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in this situation, who when they come together, it is peaceful and it's
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prayerful, it is Christly, believe it or not. I mean, the
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point of Christmas season is to honor the birth of Christ. And very few
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times in the Bible was he ever actually violent. Yes, he did the
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marketplace flipping of when he saw the church in the temple, well, when
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he saw the temple try and make money in the God in the Lord's house.
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But he also so came at life with this calmness that we're actually seeing
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from the Jewish people right now, that peace, through strength and staying together
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will win over violence. And I applaud them for not causing chaos when they
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rally for their brothers and sisters in captivity in Israel, and when they rally
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against Tamas and their atrocities against Israel. Because there are times where I look
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into them and I say, man, these palasadine protesters that advocate such hateful
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things, don't they need to be taught a lesson? But maybe karma,
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and maybe karma will come to them and their hate speech that should be prosecuted.
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Their hate speech that college campus presidents this Hankikah week could not even condemn.
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But they make a big deal about Jews again, Harvard hates Jews.
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That's a problem, not the fact that Harvard's president, you pens president an
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MIT's president could barely say, yes, we condemn hate speech that says for
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the genocide of Jews. Yes, it's a fiery, fiery podcast on the
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second week of event. And I know the main message should be that Christian
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that advent and Hanikah comes at the right time, and I believe it does,
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and I believe now is the time to be patient, to believe that
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God's with us, and he's seeing everything going on, He's seeing the evil
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being done, and I only these wrongs, that evil being done on both
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sides. I don't know that's necessarily wrong, because there are Palastinians getting killed
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and heard that had nothing to do with the war either, and that now's
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auctions as impacting American Jews, I believe that, But as a state,
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they must be allowed to defend themselves. I like the idea of going into
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the Hamas tunnels and flooding them out, dropping them out. That's great that
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I agree with, that needs to be more of. But I also believe
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that these eight days, these eight nights where we light the Minora and celebrate
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Advent, need to be of peace, need to be of understanding that actions
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in Gaza are impacting our Jewish brothers and sisters here, because no matter how
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heinous Hamas is, the pro Palestinians don't care about the heinouses. They care
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about avocating for the eradication of the Jewish people. And that is hurtful that
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that's even allowed to be said without any consequence on the streets of New York.
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I know there's free speech and everything, but what about hate speech?
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Isn't there something called hate speech? Still is not a thing? Or does
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that only applied to one side, or does that only apply to one side?
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So it's true we light the Manora with heavy hearts this year, and
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we do like we do light the Christmas Tree with heavy hearts this year,
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but with the same message of calmness, of coming together, of unity,
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and maybe of recognition that God's got this, no matter how hateful the streets
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of New York may sound. With the pro Palestinian forces. God's got this,
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and Emmanuel will come once again. And as I love this rendition of
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God and countries or for king and countries, Oh come, Oh come Emmanuel.
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But it's true, true, He will come. God will come an
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ransom captive Israel. More this week on the Alex cart Podcast