Kindness to Animals

Kindness to Animals: Story of the Calf
Babylonian Talmud, Bava M’tzia 85a

Text:
Rabbi Y’hudah HaNasi observed a calf as it was being led to the slaughterhouse. The animal broke away from the herd and hid itself under Rabbi Y’hudah’s clothing, crying for mercy. But Y’hudah pushed it away, saying, “Go. This is your destiny.” They said in heaven, “Since he showed no compassion, we will bring suffering to him.” For many years after this act, Rabbi Y’hudah suffered a series of painful illnesses. One day, Y’hudah’s servant was sweeping the house. She was about to sweep away some young weasels that she found on the floor. “Leave them alone,” Y’hudah said to his housekeeper. Subsequently they spoke of Y’hudah this way in heaven, “Since he has shown compassion to these rodents, we will be compassionate with him,” and he was cured of his illness.

Interpretation:
This tale involves Rabbi Y’hudah HaNasi, the editor of the Mishnah. The tale revolves around the theological concept called reward and punishment, a belief that one is rewarded in life by God for one’s acts of kindness, and punished by God for not following in God’s ways. As the tale begins, Rabbi Y’hudah HaNasi fails to fulfill the mitzvah of compassion for animals. For this transgression, he is struck down with a variety of illnesses.
Time passes, and once again Rabbi Y’hudah is presented with an opportunity for showing compassion to animals, this time some weasels. Having learned his lesson well, Rabbi Y’hudah informs his servant not to lay her hands on the animals. For this act of kindness, he is rewarded by being cured of his illness.

Kindness to Animals: What Does Judaism Say?
Judaism has always been aware of the importance of proper treatment of animals. The fourth of the Ten Commandments, which ordains the Sabbath, mandates that “the seventh day is a Sabbath to God: you shall do no work, you, your son or daughter, your male or female servant, or your cattle…”(Exodus 20:10).
In Deuteronomy 22:10, we are told that “you shall not plow with an ox and mule harnessed together.” The reasoning here is that since these animals are of different size and strength, the smaller one would suffer.
One of only two mitzvot legislated in the Torah for which a reward is presented is the following: “If along the road you come upon a bird’s nest with fledglings or eggs, and the mother is sitting over the fledglings or on the eggs, do not take the mother together with her young. Let the mother fly away and only then take the young, in order that you may fare well and have a long life” (Deuteronomy 22:6-7). Commenting on this law, the medieval philosopher Maimonides states that the mother is chased away to be spared the painful sight of her offspring being removed.
Maimonides’s concern with the suffering of animals is also reflected in his legal code, the Mishneh Torah:

If one encounters two animals, one crouching under its burden and the other unburdened because the owner needs someone to help him load, he is obligated to first unload the burdened animal because of the commandments to prevent suffering to animals
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Murder and Preservation of Life 13:13

The Rabbis of ancient times spoke at great length about the responsibility that humans have for animals. At a time in history when animals were undoubtedly treated very cruelly but other peoples, the Sages elaborated upon the mitzvah of tzaar baalei chayim, literally “compassion for the pain of living creatures.”
One of the most memorable laws in all the Talmud is one that says that “a person is prohibited to eat until one first feeds one’s animals” (Talmud, B’rachot 40a). Even on Shabbat, when there are so many work restrictions, one is required to properly care for one’s animals. This law was initiated when the Jewish people were primarily agriculturalists, but the law is still in force today.
The laws of keeping kosher guarantee that an animal is permitted to be eaten only if it is slaughtered in such a way as to cause instant death. All animals killed through hunting are un-kosher. It is no surprise, therefore, that hunting remains a generally unpopular sport among Jews. Questions for reflection

1. How do you feel about the use of animals in medical research?
2. Can you think of a time when a person will use an animal in a way that might otherwise be considered cruel?

Adapted from Ronald H. Isaacs, A Taste of Text: An Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash
(New York: UAHC Press, 2003), 41-55. 
http://tmt.urj.net/archives/4jewishethics/032907.htm 

"Mizrach" North, South, East & West

Yom Teruah

Truth or Tradition?

Come Out of Babylon!

"Don't be gay and grow a beard"

April; the month of sacrifice

"The End of April: A Time of Human Sacrifice

Why do we often witness tragedy and senseless deaths during the second half of April? The list of violent events that occurred during this time period is simply staggering. Here are some of them:

• April 19, 1993 – Waco Massacre: An FBI assault lead to the burning down of the compound of a sect named Branch Davidians, killing 76 men, women and children.
• April 19, 1995 -  Oklahoma City bombing – 168 people killed.
• April 20,  1999 – Columbine High School Massacre - 13 people murdered, 21 injured.
• April 16, 2007 – Virginia Tech Massacre – 32 killed; 17 injured.
• April 16, 2013 – Boston Marathon Explosions – 3 killed; 107 injured.
• April 18, 2013 – Fertilizer plant explosion, Texas – 5-15 killed (Notice that this event occurred almost exactly 20 years after the Waco Massacre, which is in the same area. Also, on April 16, 1947, a ship loaded with ammonium nitrate docked at the Port of Texas City and erupted in flames, causing a massive explosion that killed approximately 576 people).

There were many other violent occurrences that happened during that time period. In fact, CNN published an article in 2011 titled What is it about mid-April and violence in America?, discussing the events that occur in Mid-April. Sadly, the article only bashed “conspiracy theorists” and basically said “If you look for answers further than mass media, you are crazy and potentially dangerous”. However, two years later, the violent trend continues.
Is it all a coincidence? For those in the know, there are no such thing as coincidences. In 2011, I wrote an article about the death of Bin Laden, announced between April 30th and May 1st (see Why the Death of the Man Who Was Not Behind 9/11 Was Announced on May 1st). In that article, I briefly described the ritualistic significance of May 1st (May Day) and its relation to a god that is still important for to the occult elite: Baal.

The Cult of Baal Never Disappeared

Throughout many centuries and across many civilizations, the second half of April has always been a time of blood sacrifice. The worship of Baal took many names (Enlil, Molech, etc.) and spread across several civilizations. Being a sun god and a god of fertility, rituals celebrating Baal took place after the vernal equinox (a time of rebirth) and often involved human sacrifice.

“The cult of Baal celebrated annually his death and resurrection as a part of the Canaanite fertility rituals. These ceremonies often included human sacrifice and temple prostitution.”
- Baal, Encyclopedia Mythica

Although the observance of these rituals was sometimes condemned by religious movements, it never truly disappeared.

“The religion of the god Baal was widely accepted among the ancient Jews, and although it was put down at times, it was never permanently stamped out. Kings and other royalty of the ten Biblical tribes worshiped the god. The ordinary people ardently worshiped this sun god too because their prosperity depended on the productivity of their crops and livestock. The god’s images were erected on many buildings. Within the religion there appeared to be numerous priests and various classes of devotees. During the ceremonies they wore appropriate robes. The ceremonies included burning incense, and offering burnt sacrifices, occasionally consisting of human victims. The officiating priests danced around the altars, chanting frantically and cutting themselves with knives to inspire the attention and compassion of the god.”
- Ibid.

As a sun god, Baal’s worship involved human sacrifice and fire. Today, in the occult-elite ruled America, this time period often equals fire (or gun fire) and death. These rites were even mentioned in the Bible:

“They have built the high places of Baal to burn their children in the fire as offerings to Baal–something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind.”
- Jeremiah 19:5

From the Babylonian, Assyrian and Phoenician civilizations of the Middle-East (their Mystery religions come from the same point origin), the cult of Baal spread to distant civilizations, such as the Celts, who observed Beltane rituals on May 1st (Beltane originates from the word “Baal”). While the observance of Baal rituals differed from one civilization to another, they were nevertheless grounded in the same occult concepts of numerology and sacrifice. In other words, they were all tapping into the same magickal knowledge.
Today’s occult elite still observes these rites, but with one major difference: They are now carried out on unsuspecting civilians and spread across the world through mass media. Fed and amplified by the fear and trauma of the masses, these mega-rituals are seen by all, but only celebrated by the occult elite. More than ever, we are dealing with Black Magick.
Other sites dedicated to occult numerology have published information emphasizing the importance of this time period.

“April 19 – May 1 – Blood Sacrifice To The Beast, a most critical 13-day period. Fire sacrifice is required on April 19.
April 19 is the first day of the 13-day Satanic ritual day relating to fire – the fire god, Baal, or Molech/Nimrod (the Sun God), also known as the Roman god, Saturn (Satan/Devil). This day is a major human sacrifice day, demanding fire sacrifice with an emphasis on children. This day is one of the most important human sacrifice days, and as such, has had some very important historic events occur on this day.”
- Occult Holidays and Sabbaths, Cutting Edge

Another article briefly describes the elements required to carry out the elite’s mega-rituals.

“The human sacrifice required during many of these occult dates needs to contain the following elements, each one of which is exaggerated to the highest possible degree:
1. Trauma, stress, and mental anguish, sheer terror
2. The final act in the drama should be destruction by a fire; preferably a conflagration.
3. People must die as human sacrifices, especially children, since The Darkness views younger human sacrifice as most desirable”
- Advent of Deception

Of course, not every event that occurs during that time period is related to Illuminati human sacrifice. However, most of the events mentioned above fit right in the mega-ritual “criteria” checklists. If you look carefully at the facts surrounding each one of these events, you might conclude that they were either carried out by government officials or blamed on mind-controlled patsies. Most of these events are absurdly gratuitous, generating even more trauma and causing people to wonder “what kind of evil people would do such a thing?” Unfortunately, these evil people rule us, and the same events are then used to further extremist political agendas.

The powers that be have become masters at combining pragmatic politics with occult rituals.

In Conclusion

Those who know about occult calendars enter the second half of April wondering if something horrific is about to happen. Sadly, every few years, it does, and the public is traumatized with a senseless and violent event. Almost every time, a closer look at the event leads to strange and suspicious facts, and, more often than not, hints towards an inside job. While many will ascribe the occurrence of these events during the end of April to coincidence, the fact remains:  Mass violent events involving death and fire happen regularly during the same time period that is occultly dedicated to Baal, who is worshipped through fire and human sacrifice. Whether this is all done on purpose or just the result of some crazy universal synchronicity, the fact is still there and cannot be disputed.

Incidentally, the compound that was burned down in the 1993 Waco Massacre was named Mount Carmel Center. In the Bible, Mount Carmel was where Elijah defied the prophets of Baal, challenging them to pray to Baal until he lit a fire in front of them. No fire was lit. Was the fire at Mount Carmel Center a symbolic revenge of Baal? "

By the Vigilant Citizen

http://vigilantcitizen.com/vigilantreport/the-end-of-april-the-most-magickal-time-of-the-year/

Extremely talented group. אל הציפור

Zephaniah 3:20 - Shabbat Shalom!

“At that time I shall bring you in, even at the time I gather you, for I shall give you for a name, and for a praise, among all the peoples of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes,” said יהוה.

Rejoice!

Pesach: Chametz

"What is Chametz? (It’s not Yeast)

Chametz is any food that contains wheat, barley, oats, spelt, or rye that has fermented. These particular grains will ferment by themselves in the presence of water. This process can begin in as little as 18 minutes.

Obvious foods such as breads, cakes, pastries, pasta, cookies, crackers, pretzels, breaded foods, etc. must be consumed or disposed of before Pesach. However, as we are not permitted to consume, derive a benefit from or possess any chametz we need to look a bit further. As such, to make sure that we have no chametz in our possession it is important to review all packaged products or processed foods. If they are not certified kosher for Passover, assume they are not. All raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, and kosher meats are kosher for Pesach. Sephardic Jews and now more and more Ashkenazi Jews do not remove or limit the use of legumes (kitniyot) for Pesach.

But what about Yeast?

Ex 12:33-34, 39 (NASB 1995 update) 33 The Egyptians urged the people, to send them out of the land in haste, for they said, “We will all be dead.” 34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls bound up in the clothes on their shoulders. … 39 They baked the dough which they had brought out of Egypt into cakes of unleavened bread. For it had not become leavened, since they were driven out of Egypt and could not delay, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.

Dt 16:3-4 (NASB 1995 update) 3 “You shall not eat leavened bread [Chametz] with it; seven days you shall eat with it unleavened bread, [matzah] the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste), so that you may remember all the days of your life the day when you came out of the land of Egypt. 4 “For seven days no leaven [Se’or] shall be seen with you in all your territory, and none of the flesh which you sacrifice on the evening of the first day shall remain overnight until morning.

Se’or is what is prohibited in our homes. Yeast is natural occurring, living, microorganism which is everywhere. It is what ferments wines, beers, grains, etc. As we know we can have wine (as Yeshua and His disciples did at Pesach) we know that we can have some forms of yeast. What we learn is that all se’or is yeast, but not all yeast is se’or. (Just like all Levites are Hebrews but not all Hebrews are Levites. They may be Gadites, Ephramites, Jews, etc..)

The passages in Ex and Dt show us that the only ingredients for the bread were a fermentable grain, water, heat, and a short period of time. The opportunity for the grain to ferment after water was added over time is the key formulation. We know that if we add yeast or a lump of fermented sour dough to fermentable dough it is immediately considered fermented and is by definition se’or. Therefore, we know that yeast was not added. We also know that grains such as corn, rice, etc. rot if water is added to them and they are allowed to sit for a long period of time. They do not ferment on their own over time. As such, it was not corn meal or rice cakes that they were taking out of Egypt that did not have “time to leaven.” From this we learn that those grains are not required to be removed from our homes, even if they have been fermented with yeast. Conversely, we learn that the five grains that ferment in the presence of water, if there is any chance that they have been permitted to ferment since harvesting, must be removed from our homes.

Brewers yeast is one exception. As it is a fermented barley it is by definition chametz and all products that contain it must be removed for Pesach.

Baking soda, leavening agents, etc are irrelevant at Pesach and do not have to be removed from ones home, unless they are made from a fermented grain.

Other areas of consideration:

• Pre-ground “raw” wheat flours are often presoaked in water before grinding and may or may not be kosher for Pesach and do require certification.
• Oats are can also be “heat-treated” to keep them from rotting. If the “heat treatment” is done dry they are kosher for Pesach, however if it is done with “wet steam” they may be chametz and do require certification.
• Barley and “pearled barley” are kosher for Pesach and do not require certification.
• Sprouted Barley, barley malt, malt, malted barley, etc are by definition chametz.
• Unfortunately, grains are sometimes used in products such as soda-pop and decaf coffee and are not listed in the ingredient list. Not all soda-pop and decaf coffee are forbidden at Pesach but they do require certification. However, because of the Ashkenazi limitation on kitniyot which includes corn syrup, no soda-pops are currently certified kosher for Pesach and therefore they should be removed and avoided during Pesach.
• Beer, Whisky, grain alcohols, etc are by definition chametz and must be consumed or removed before Pesach.
• All alcohols and wines should be checked to make sure they are in fact kosher for Pesach or they should be consumed or removed before Pesach.
• Vinegar is a re-fermented alcohol. Malt vinegars are by definition chametz as is any product containing malt as it is made from a fermented barley. Wine, apple, and white distilled vinegars are usually fine for Pesach. However, white distilled vinegars can be made from wheat which would make it chametz and wine, apple and white distilled vinegars may contain additives that are chametz or be made on equipment that also processed chametz products such as malt vinegars. Care should be taken to review all products that contain vinegar. Some authorities in the US however do not have a problem with distilled vinegars as the majority of them used in processing foods (such as pickles, ketchup, mustard, olives, etc) or sold are made from corn and are therefore not chametz. They may not contain a hechsher saying it is kosher for Pesach however, because it does contain kitniyot which the Ashkenazi Jews avoid during Pesach. Many people do not remove it from their homes, but avoid consumption because of the vagaries surrounding products containing vinegar. As such consult your local Orthodox Rabbi for a ruling.
• Girl Scout cookies are kosher, but they are not kosher for Pesach. Be sure to check when they will be delivered so that you do not have them delivered just before or during the week of Pesach before you order them.
• For all corporate meals, congregational meals, or meals with guests, it is best to adhere to the strictest standard which is to not use any processed or packaged products unless they are marked kosher for Pesach. As stated before raw fruits, vegetables, meats, nuts and certain grains as noted are fine without a hechsher stating kosher for Pesach.

Cooking:
Cooking is permitted on festival Shabbats as long as the preparation has begun before the festival Shabbat began, the “eruv tavshilin” including the blessing, has been prepared before the festival. This permits cooking on festival Shabbats for meals to be consumed on weekly Shabbats that follow immediately after a festival Shabbat. Note that if a day is available between the festival Shabbat and the weekly Shabbat, cooking for the weekly Shabbat or the regular week day is prohibited on the festival Shabbat.

Cooking is always prohibited on the weekly Shabbat. This is the case even when a festival Shabbat follows immediately after the weekly Shabbat. In that case the “eruv tavshilin” including the blessing, must be prepared before the weekly Shabbat. Then after sunset on the weekly Shabbat, the cooking of the meals for the festival Sabbath may resume. Again, cooking on the festival Shabbat is limited to what will be consumed on the festival Shabbat. Cooking for a meal on a regular week day that follows the festival Shabbat is strictly prohibited.

Ex 12:14-16 14 ‘Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance. 15 ‘Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses; for whoever eats anything leavened from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. 16 ‘On the first day you shall have a holy assembly, and another holy assembly on the seventh day; no work at all shall be done on them, except what must be eaten by every person, that alone may be prepared by you.
By reason of specific to general we see that because cooking is permitted specifically on the festival Sabbaths of Pesach, cooking is permitted on all festival Sabbaths (except Yom Kippur which is a fast day.) By applying the 9th rule of Yishmael we see that the permission to cook on a festival shabbat is a specification that is to provide a leniency to a general prohibition.

Ex 16:4-5, 15-29 4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction. 5 “On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” (here we see that the preparation is to take place on the sixth day. They are not permitted to gather it or cook it on the seventh day, the weekly Shabbat.) … 15 When the sons of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat. 16 “This is what the Lord has commanded, ‘Gather of it every man as much as he should eat; you shall take an omer apiece according to the number of persons each of you has in his tent.’ ” 17 The sons of Israel did so, and some gathered much and some little. 18 When they measured it with an omer, he who had gathered much had no excess, and he who had gathered little had no lack; every man gathered as much as he should eat. 19 Moses said to them, “Let no man leave any of it until morning.” 20 But they did not listen to Moses, and some left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and became foul; and Moses was angry with them. (cooked or raw it went bad by the following morning.) 21 They gathered it morning by morning, every man as much as he should eat; but when the sun grew hot, it would melt. 22 Now on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. (First we note they gathered twice as much on preparation day, but we see that was not enough and Moses corrects them.) When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, 23 then he said to them, “This is what the Lord meant: Tomorrow is a sabbath observance, a holy sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, (all of it on preparation day) and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning.” (what was not consumed is to be set aside. They are not to set it aside raw as tomorrow is a Shabbat observance, a holy Shabbat to HaShem.) 24 So they put it aside until morning, as Moses had ordered, and it did not become foul nor was there any worm in it. 25 Moses said, “Eat it today, (There is no permission to cook it. Cooking on a weekly Shabbat is strictly prohibited. That is why there is a leniency provided for festival Shabbats.) for today is a sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. 26 “Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the sabbath, there will be none.” 27 It came about on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. 28 Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions? 29 “See, the Lord has given you the sabbath; therefore He gives you bread (the word here is lechem, inferring cooked manna as it is in the form of a food stuff, not raw.) for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.”

On the Pashat (plain meaning) of the text we see that cooking is strictly prohibited on all weekly Shabbats.
As cooking is permitted on festival Shabbats for food to be consumed on the festival Shabbat, it is customary to bless HaShem for such a privilege and to show recognition of the keeping of the commandment not to cook on the weekly Shabbat. In blessing HaShem before the festival Shabbat, with the comingling of foods, we are setting apart the festival Shabbat and showing that we are keeping it holy by not doing general cooking for regular week days."

http://jerusalemcouncil.org/halacha/kashrut/chametz-not-yeast/ 

The History of Saint Valentine's Day

●▬▬▬▬▬๑۩۩๑▬▬▬▬▬●
... for I, your Elohim, am a jealous ELOHIM" (Exodus 20:4-5).

Exodus 23:13
And ye shall be on your guard as to everything that I have said unto you; and shall make no mention of the name of other gods -- it shall not be heard in thy mouth.
●▬▬▬▬▬๑۩۩๑▬▬▬▬▬●

Lupercalia --will you be keeping it this month?

This is the real name for Valentine's Day that so many of us  FOLLOW THE HEATHEN'S and observe.

The feast is a ancient Roman, pagan, festival honoring the goddess Juno, the said wife of Zeus, and Pan, the "god of nature" who was half man and half goat.

It was renamed for a Saint who was killed by the same Romans.

After the conversion of Constantine, Gentile Christian names were given to their heathen holidays.

Yehshuah said,
 John 4:22
22"You other nations don't really know the one you worship.
But we Jews do know ELOHIM we worship, and by using us, ELOHIM
will save the world.


Stop the foolishness; if you are not a GENTILE, leave the worship of the Roman and Greek gods to the Romans and Greeks, and return to the pure faith that Yeshuah established.

The History of Saint Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day started in the time of the Roman Empire.

In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honor Juno. Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses.

The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage.

The following day, February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia.

The lives of young boys and girls were strictly separate.

However, one of the customs of the young people was name drawing.

On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl's name from the jar and would then be partners for the duration of the festival with the girl whom he chose.

Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry.

Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns.

Claudius the Cruel was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues.

He believed that the reason was that roman men did not want to leave their loves or families. As a result, Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome.

The good Saint Valentine was a priest at Rome in the days of Claudius II.

He and Saint Marius aided the Christian martyrs and secretly married couples, and for this kind deed Saint Valentine was apprehended and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off.

He suffered martyrdom on the 14th day of February, about the year 270.

At that time it was the custom in Rome, a very ancient custom, indeed, to celebrate in the month of February the Lupercalia, feasts in honor of a heathen god.

 On these occasions, amidst a variety of pagan ceremonies, the names of young women were placed in a box, from which they were drawn by the men as chance directed.

A few pastors of the early Christian Church in Rome endeavored to do away with the pagan element in these feasts by substituting the names of saints for those of maidens.

And as the Lupercalia began about the middle of February, the pastors appear to have chosen Saint Valentine's Day for the celebration of this new feast.

So it seems that the custom of young men choosing maidens for valentines, or saints as patrons for the coming year, arose in this way.

Christmas vs. Hanukkah

Find out the hidden truth of Christmas
 

Hebrew vs. Gregorian calendar

"What is the difference between the Hebrew and Gregorian calendars?

The Hebrew calendar was used in Israel in Bible times, and is still used by Jews for religious purposes. It is based on 12 lunar months (354 days) but with an additional month added every few years (7 times every 19 years) to keep the calendar in line with the solar year (365 days). Originally the months began with the observation of a new crescent moon, but over time this was replaced by mathematical rules.

The following chart shows the months and how they line up (approximately) with our modern Gregorian calendar.

Israel had two years, a civil year and a religious year (just as we have both a calendar year and a financial year). The civil year started in the month Ethanim (corresponding to our September/October) with the Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement and Feast of Tabernacles. The religious year started six months later with the month Abib (also called Nisan) and included the Feasts of Passover, Unleavened bread and Firstfruits. The other major feast was Harvest (also called Pentecost), 50 days after Passover."

By Rob J Hyndman
http://bibleq.net/answer/3578/

"The Gregorian calendar

The Gregorian calendar is the one used in the western world today.

The Gregorian calendar is today's internationally accepted civil calendar and is also known as the "Western calendar" or "Christian calendar". It was named after the man who first introduced it in February 1582: Pope Gregory XIII.

Calendar features

The calendar is strictly a solar calendar based on a 365-day common year divided into 12 months of irregular lengths. Each month consists of either 30 or 31 days with 1 month consisting of 28 days during the common year. A Leap Year usually occurs every 4 years which adds an extra day to make the second month of February 29 days long rather than 28 days.

Realigned with the equinox

The Gregorian calendar reformed the Julian calendar because the Julian calendar introduced an error of 1 day every 128 years. The introduction of the Gregorian calendar allowed for the realignment with the equinox, however a number of days had to be dropped when the change was made.
The Gregorian calendar was first adopted in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain in 1582. The Gregorian reform consisted of the following changes:

• 10 days were dropped in October 1582.
• New rules were set to determine the date of Easter.
• The rule for calculating Leap Years was changed to include that a year is a Leap Year if:
  1. The year is evenly divisible by 4;
  2. If the year can be evenly divided by 100, it is NOT a leap year, unless;
  3. The year is also evenly divisible by 400. Then it is a leap year.

For example, the years 1900, 2100, and 2200 are not Leap Years. However, the years 1600, 2000, and 2400 are Leap Years.
The Julian calendar is currently (between the years 1901 and 2099) 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar because too many Leap Years were added. The Gregorian calendar is off by about 1 day every 3236 years.

Switching to the Gregorian calendar

The Gregorian calendar would not be adopted until much later in Great Britain and America. It wasn’t until September 1752 that 11 days were dropped to switch to the Gregorian calendar.
Sweden and Finland had a "double" Leap Year in 1712. Two days were added to February – creating a date of February 30, 1712. This was done because the Leap Year in 1700 was dropped and Sweden's calendar was not synchronized with any other calendar. By adding an extra day in 1712, they were back on the Julian calendar.
Japan replaced its lunisolar calendar with the Gregorian calendar in January 1873, but decided to use the numbered months it had originally used rather than the European names. The Republic of China originally adopted the Gregorian calendar in January 1912, but it wasn’t used in China due to warlords using different calendars. However, the Nationalist Government formally decreed the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in China in January 1929.

Who designed the Gregorian calendar?

Although the Gregorian calendar is named after Pope Gregory XIII, it is an adaptation of a calendar designed by Italian doctor, astronomer and philosopher Luigi Lilio (also known as Aloysius Lilius). He was born around 1510 and died in 1576, six years before his calendar was officially introduced."

http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/gregorian-calendar.html

Do your own research about Christmas

A Joke Made in Heaven

A young unmarried chassid named Meir spent the festivals in the court of his Rebbe, Rabbi Dov Ber, the "Maggid" of Mezeritch. When it was time to take leave and he was admitted to the Rebbe's room, he complained about the difficulties he was having finding a wife. Because of his poverty, no one would offer him a match.

"Go in peace," said the Rebbe. "Accept the first marriage proposition that is suggested to you."

On his way home the young man spent the night in a village inn, where he found a group of empty-headed loafers wasting their time in drinking and foolish jesting. Being cold from his journey, he found a seat in a corner next to the stove. He tried to be unobtrusive, but the mischief-makers spotted him, and asked him where he was from and what was his business. He gave them the name of his home town, and told them that he had just visited the Maggid of Mezritch.

"What did you want from the Rebbe, and what did he answer you?" they pried.

He told them: "I asked the Rebbe to pray that the Almighty arrange that I meet my destined marriage partner, and he told me that I should agree to the first match that was proposed to me."

At this, one of the party jumped up and exclaimed: "Excellent! I've got a first-class match for you. My sister is a young divorcee, and she has a dowry of hundred silver rubles -- and she's here right now! If you're agreeable, we can shake hands on it."

Now in fact this good-for-nothing was in no way related to the young woman; she was the daughter of the wealthy innkeeper, who was not home at the time.

Meir answered coolly: "Fine, I agree."

The prankster ran into the kitchen, explained the joke to her and asked her to play her role, saying it would be excellent for the inn's business, as many celebratory drinks would certainly be ordered. She innocently agreed, and when she emerged into the main room, was greeted with loud cheers and applause.

The band of loiterers thereupon ordered vodka with which to treat the young chassid on the occasion of his unconventional engagement, and had a great time toasting l'chaim and offering him their blessings, all the while snickering behind his back. Then one of them came up with a further suggestion: "Why don't we arrange the marriage ceremony straight away? Then we can throw a really great party!"

One of his friends objected: "But none of our crowd knows how to draw up the marriage contract and run the ceremony."

Meir, overhearing them, promptly volunteered that he knew how to do both. This gave them even more cause for mirth. They took a clean tablecloth and held it up with four broomsticks over the heads of the couple as a chupah canopy. The chassid wrote out the ketubah document; and then he duly sanctified the giggling young lady as his lawful wedded wife according to the rites of Moses and Israel.

His companions now enjoyed their practical joke so much that they tugged at his hat from all sides, made fun of him without any restraint, and even started to slap him around a bit. Seeing how things were faring for him, the young man made his escape and spent the night in the cottage of one of the gentile villagers. In the morning he ventured as far as the door of the inn, but was afraid to enter lest he be beaten up again. Just at that moment he heard one of the servants saying: "Here comes the 'father of the bride' at the front door!"

The young man approached the innkeeper, and said, "How do you do, father-in-law!"

The innkeeper was somewhat taken aback: "Who is this? What is he talking about?" he asked.

His daughter, who had come out to greet him, explained: "This young man has been providing us with a little entertainment, and last night we had a engagement and marriage ceremonies, just for fun! You'll be pleased with how much extra food and liquor was sold."

Her father did not like the sound of what he heard, and plied her with questions in order to find out exactly what had taken place. When he heard her answers, he shouted furiously at Meir: "Dolt! What's the idea of marrying this young lady? Those idiots may not understand the implications of a ketubah and a wedding ceremony in front of witnesses, but if you are a chassid and a yeshivah student as you appear, you should certainly know better. Didn't you realize that they were making fun of you?"

And, to make his point clearer, he slapped the hapless young man across the face. Soon enough, however, he had second thoughts on the subject, and told himself: "Since I'm already tied up with this tramp, I'll have to speak to him politely in order to be able to get out of this mess. If I get angry, he'll take no notice of me."

He therefore changed his tone, asked the young man to give his daughter a bill of divorce, and promised him twenty silver rubles for his trouble. To his surprise, the visibly impoverished young man quickly refused. He raised his offer several times, but each time with the same lack of success.

"You might as well stop trying to buy me off," said Meir finally. "Let me tell you what is really going on. My Rebbe told me to agree to the first match that was proposed to me, and that's what I did. This crowd may have treated the whole matter as a joke, but I took it seriously. I accepted the offer according to the Rebbe's instructions, and I certainly will not withdraw from it without a specific order to do so from the Rebbe. If you don't agree to the match, let us go to the Rebbe together; let him decide."

The dismayed innkeeper realized he had no option but to travel to Mezeritch. When they arrived, he put his complaint to the Maggid: "One day, while I was away from home, along came this pauper, believed a band of jokers who told him my daughter was their sister, and accepted their proposal to marry her. Then they set up a wedding canopy, and he betrothed her in front of witnesses! I offered him some money to give her a get (bill of divorce), but he won't agree without your approval. I am now willing to offer him one hundred silver rubles, as long as he gives my daughter a divorce."

"I'll discuss the matter with the young man," said the Maggid.

When the innkeeper returned a few hours later, the Maggid told him: "I discussed the divorce with the young man, and he is agreeable -- provided that you give him a thousand silver rubles. But what about your daughter? Isn't it high time that she got married? Allow me to propose an excellent match I have in mind for her. I personally vouch that this young man is a learned and pious Jew, stems from a family of refined lineage, and is himself a man of outstanding character..."

"I shall gladly accept whomever recommend, Rabbi," said the innkeeper, who had the greatest respect for the famed Chassidic leader.

"The new bridegroom had only one fault," continued the Maggid. "He was a pauper, and his poverty made him look frail and unattractive. But now that, too, has been rectified. You see, he has just come into possession of a thousand silver rubles, which he will bring into the marriage. This way you will lose nothing at all by buying off the 'first husband'...".

"You see," concluded Rabbi DovBer, "there's no need for a divorce and another marriage. I assure you: it is a match made in heaven. May you both journey home with joyful hearts."
The innkeeper took the Rebbe's counsel to heart, went home happily with his son-in-law, and the newly wedded couple lived their life together in harmony.

---

Adapted by Yrachmiel Tilles from A Treasury of Chassidic Tales (Artscroll) and other written and oral sources. Another version of this story cites Rabbi Moshe Tsvi of Sevran as the Rebbe, identifies the innkeeper as Mr. Tsvi Velbka, and reports the wedding as taking place on Lag B'Omer night.

Biographical note: Rabbi Dov Ber, (d. 1772), known as "the Maggid of Mezritch," succeeded his master, the Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov, as the head of the Chassidic movement. Many of the leading chassidic dynasties stem from his disciples (Lubavitch, Chernobyl, Karlin et al), students of his disciples (Gur, Sanz, Belz, etc), and his descendents (Rhizhin, Sadigor, Tchortkov, etc). The classic anthologies of his teachings are Likutei Amarim and Torah Ohr (published by Kehot as Maggid Devorav l'Yaakov), and Ohr HaEmmes.

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/482519/jewish/A-Joke-Made-in-Heaven.htm

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