August 5, 2014 SnyderTalk: Tisha B’Av – The Ninth of Av

1--Intro

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: may they prosper who love you.” Psalm 122: 6

________________________________________

2--SnyderTalk Lead Headline for use

#####

Rabbi Shraga Simmons—Tisha B’Av – The Ninth of Av:

What Happened on the Ninth of Av? On Tisha B’Av, five national calamities occurred:

  • During the time of Moses, Jews in the desert accepted the slanderous report of the 10 Spies, and the decree was issued forbidding them from entering the Land of Israel. (1312 BCE)
  • The First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians, led by Nebuchadnezzar. 100,000 Jews were slaughtered and millions more exiled. (586 BCE)
  • The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans, led by Titus. Some two million Jews died, and another one million were exiled. (70 CE)
  • The Bar Kochba revolt was crushed by Roman Emperor Hadrian. The city of Betar – the Jews’ last stand against the Romans – was captured and liquidated. Over 100,000 Jews were slaughtered. (135 CE)
  • The Temple area and its surroundings were plowed under by the Roman general Turnus Rufus. Jerusalem was rebuilt as a pagan city – renamed Aelia Capitolina – and access was forbidden to Jews.

Other grave misfortunes throughout Jewish history occurred on the Ninth of Av, including:

  1. The Spanish Inquisition culminated with the expulsion of Jews from Spain on Tisha B’Av in 1492.
  2. World War One broke out on the eve of Tisha B’Av in 1914 when Germany declared war on Russia. German resentment from the war set the stage for the Holocaust.
  3. On the eve of Tisha B’Av 1942, the mass deportation began of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto, en route to Treblinka.

[…]

To continue reading, click here.

SnyderTalk Comment: This year, Tisha B’Av begins at sunset on August 4, and it ends at sunset on August 5.  Yahweh bless the State of Israel and the brave Jewish people who put their lives at risk every day just to live in the land that You gave them by promises sealed with Your Name.  Yahweh please let Your righteous judgment rain down on their enemies.  One more thing Yahweh: Maranatha.

#####

________________________________________

#####

#####

________________________________________

13--Perspectives 2

#####

Suzanne Fields: The Jews Refuse to Play the Victim—The current wave of anti-Semitism is linked to the conflict in Gaza, but the mindless hatred of the Jews and all things Jewish bubbles and squeaks in the crevices and dark places of society, like a volcano lying in wait to bury another generation of Jews. The Jews in Israel vow to fight back until the rockets are silenced and the tunnels are destroyed, eliminating what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calls the campaign of “destroying our citizens and killing our children.” Israel answers with the familiar vow of “Never Again.” Who among the decent and the civilized can fault free men for that?

Tablet Staff: Top Secret Hamas Command Bunker in Gaza Revealed: And why reporters won’t talk about it—The idea that one of Hamas’ main command bunkers is located beneath Shifa Hospital in Gaza City is one of the worst-kept secrets of the Gaza war. So why aren’t reporters in Gaza ferreting it out? The precise location of a large underground bunker equipped with sophisticated communications equipment and housing some part of the leadership of a major terrorist organization beneath a major hospital would seem to qualify as a world-class scoop—the kind that might merit a Pulitzer, or at least a Polk. So why isn’t the fact that Hamas uses Shifa Hospital as a command post making headlines? In part, it’s because the location is so un-secret that Hamas regularly meets with reporters there. On July 15, for example, William Booth of the Washington Post wrote that the hospital “has become a de facto headquarters for Hamas leaders, who can be seen in the hallways and offices.” Back in 2006, PBS even aired a documentary showing how gunmen roam the halls of the hospital, intimidate the staff, and deny them access to protected locations within the building—where the camera crew was obviously prohibited from filming. Yet the confirmation that Hamas is using Gaza City’s biggest hospital as its de facto headquarters was made in the last sentence of the eighth paragraph of Booth’s story—which would appear to be the kind of rookie mistake that is known in journalistic parlance as “burying the lede.”

Charles Krauthammer: The American Interest in Gaza—The Arab League backed the Egyptian cease-fire-in-place, which would have left Hamas weak and isolated, to ensure that Hamas didn’t emerge from this war strengthened and enhanced. The American interest is to endorse and solidify this emerging axis of moderate pro-American partners (Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf states, and the Palestinian Authority) intent on seeing Islamist radicalism blunted and ultimately defanged.

Dennis Ross: How to Think About the New Middle East—President Obama instructed Secretary of State Kerry “to push for an immediate cessation of hostilities based on a return to the November 2012 cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas.” However, first, the 2012 agreement had done nothing to prevent Hamas from building up an elaborate network of tunnels to launch rockets and infiltrate Israel – and Israel is not about to live with tunnels that penetrate the country and constitute, in the words of one Israeli, “a loaded gun at our heads.” Second, this is a different Egypt today, under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, and it views Hamas as a threat rather than a potential ally. It has no interest in saving Hamas or allowing it to gain from the current conflict. Third, the Saudis, Emiratis and Jordanians see the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group from which Hamas sprang, as just as threatening as Iran. These moderate Arab states want to see Hamas lose and not win. Kerry, to his credit, envisioned the cease-fire he was trying to arrange as one in which fighting would stop but Israel could finish destroying the tunnels. It has not worked yet, but if the U.S. works exclusively through the Egyptians, it may yet happen. The administration needs to approach the Middle East with the broader goal of how it can ensure that U.S. friends in the region are stronger and their adversaries (and ours) are weaker. Ultimately, President Obama and Secretary Kerry would be wise to approach the current conflict, and its end, with that objective in mind.

Soeren Kern: Spanish Anti-Semitism is Alive and Well— Israel’s military operation in the Gaza Strip is drawing attention, once again, to the persistent scourge of anti-Semitism in Spain. As in many other European countries, Spanish media coverage of the conflict has been decidedly biased against Israel. Print and broadcast media from across the political spectrum have portrayed Israel as the aggressor, and have made scant effort to report that the current conflict was prompted by rocket attacks from Hamas-controlled Gaza that escalated even before Hamas-affiliated militants kidnapped and murdered three Jewish teenagers in June. Beyond the biased reporting, which is actually nothing new, some of the anti-Israel rhetoric in Spain has become so virulent that it has plainly crossed the line into unabashed anti-Semitism, observers say.

Michael Curtis: No More Spanish Historic Mistakes about JewsMy Fair Lady has told us that the rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain.  She might now tell us of the outbursts, if not yet a tempest, of vicious antisemitic noises and the danger of tempestuous thunder showering the country with irresponsible condemnations of the State of Israel. Jews have had a long connection with Spain and its possessions.  Some reputable scholars are certain, and a number of others believe, that Spain’s greatest writer, Miguel de Cervantes, came from a family of conversos, Jews who in 1492 were forced to convert to Catholicism or be expelled, and that Don Quixote contains many references to Kabbalah or Jewish traditions. At the current exhibition in the Museo del Prado in Madrid in July 2014 of the paintings of El Greco (Domenikos Theotokepoulos), popular discussion of his origins suggest that even he, born in Crete and raised as a Greek Orthodox Christian who spent most of his life in Toledo, might have had Jewish origins. Apparently, El Greco’s main associates, and his mistress and the mother of his child, were Jewish converts.

Liam Hoare: Why Europe Has Trouble Fighting Anti-Semitism— In the first six months of 2014, there was a 36 percent increase in the number of anti-Semitic incidents recorded in the United Kingdom, a new report released by Britain’s Community Security Trust (CST) revealed Thursday. Between January and June of this year, 304 incidents of anti-Semitism were noted by the CST, as compared to 223 in the same period in 2013, 312 in 2012, and 294 in 2011. While there are positive trends beneath the headline figure–violent anti-Semitic incidents have fallen for the past two years and are at their lowest level since 2001–other types of incidents have risen in number, leading to an increase in the overall figure. Damage to Jewish property went up 35 percent–one widely-reported example of anti-Semitism was the desecration of gravestones at Blackley Jewish Cemetery in Manchester, some broken in two, some daubed with Nazi and anti-Jewish graffiti, which took place at the end of June. There was also a 34 percent increase in “abusive behaviour,” which encapsulates “anti-Semitic graffiti on non-Jewish property, one-off hate mail, anti-Semitic verbal abuse and those social media incidents that do not involve direct threats.” The most common type of anti-Semitic incident remains “random, spontaneous, verbal anti-Semitic abuse, directed at people who look Jewish, while they go about their business in public places,” the report details.

Malcolm Lowe: Christians in Israel: Pluses and Minuses— Israel is rightly seen as a place in which Christians enjoy a safer life than in all other countries in the region. When the Pope visited Jerusalem recently, however, two major Israeli newspapers published op-ed articles by guests who questioned that view. Both articles are available in English. Both contained some errors of fact, but their greater fault lies in mistakes of broader perspective. Nevertheless, there is a need for improvement in Israel’s dealings with Christians. Writing in the mass circulation newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth (May 26), and quickly translated for its English website Ynetnews.com (May 30), Farid Jubran headlined his article: “Christians’ life in Israel not so wonderful.” For sure, he admitted at the outset: “The Christians’ situation in the Middle East is difficult. In Iraq, Syria and Egypt, churches are torched and Christians are slaughtered over their religion as a matter of routine. In some parts of Syria the Islamic Sharia laws have been applied, Christians are forbidden to conduct ritual ceremonies in public and special taxes have been imposed on them.”

Anthony H. Cordesman: Israel and Hamas—Since 2005, the initial cause of each round of fighting has been repeated attempts by Hamas to change the strategic facts on the ground. In each round, Israel’s decisive military edge has left Hamas weaker than before and failed to have any meaningful political impact that benefited Hamas. Each time, Hamas has recovered its ability to pose a threat while it has improved its tunneling efforts and capability to use rockets, missiles and mortars to strike into Israeli territory – although without any meaningful strategic benefits to Hamas. When one looks at the cost to Palestinian civilians of Hamas’ actions, it is impossible to respect any aspect of Hamas’ intentions and strategy. There is something inherently horrifying in using a population as a weapon.

Steven Stotsky: How Hamas Wields Gaza’s Casualties as Propaganda— An informational battle of competing messages directed at international audiences parallels the military fighting between Israel and Hamas. Accompanying a barrage of wrenching images are Palestinian fatality statistics alleging disproportionate numbers of non-combatants. These figures are crucial because they form the basis of accusations that Israel uses excessive and indiscriminate force. Hamas, the terrorist group controlling Gaza, endeavors to turn Israel’s military superiority to its own advantage by portraying the Israeli response to intense rocket and mortar fire as disproportionate and indiscriminate. In doing so, it hopes to turn public opinion against the Jewish state, as well as bolster its own standing at the expense of the Fatah-led Palestinian National Authority in the West Bank.

#####

________________________________________

#####

#####

________________________________________

9--Jerusalem Post

#####

Despite reduction of boots on the ground, clashes continue in Gaza

‘We are preparing to attack, not just defend,’ IDF source says

IPS foils attempt by Islamic Jihad prisoners to tunnel out of Israeli jail

IDF Eradicates Hamas’ Crown Jewel

Foreign Secretary Hammond: Gaza war could lead to rise in UK anti-Semitic attacks

Report: Israel tapped John Kerry’s phone when he was brokering peace talks

Elkin: Gaza war to be probed, but after fighting ends

WATCH: Reporter in Gaza startled by Hamas rocket whizzing over her head

Behind the lines: Under Gaza’s shadow, Islamic State advances

Thousands in Washington protest against war in Gaza and US support for Israel

#####

________________________________________

10--Arutz Sheva

#####

Arabs Enter Jewish Home in Binyamin Region

Jews Fined for Singing ‘Ani Maamin’ at Auschwitz

Watch: Dramatic Footage of Police Thwarting Car Bomb Attack

MK Regev: Put An End to Zoabi’s ‘Farcical Antics’

Leftist MKs Push Peace Talks Despite Gaza

Possible Security Incident in Ashkelon Coast Area

Watch: IDF Soldiers Celebrate Shabbat in Gaza 

Former IDF Rabbi Speaks on Deaths of IDF Soldiers 

Spain: Hundreds Attend Anti-Semitic Rally 

Thousands Attend Pro-Israel Rally in Paris

#####

________________________________________

#####

#####

________________________________________

11--THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

#####

Ahead of funeral, Netanyahu calls Goldin a ‘great hero’; rockets pound south

Analysis: As Israel withdraws troops from Gaza, a dilemma for Hamas

Netanyahu: Forces to redeploy as tunnel task ends, but all options open

The beginning of the end of Operation Protective Edge

Israel aims for unilateral end to Gaza operation

How do you bandage the wounds you can’t see?

New Yorkers support Israel through unique ‘Art Vigil’

In Gaza, the IDF has forsaken the element of surprise

Berlin interfaith prayer house aims to foster dialogue

SnyderTalk Comment: An interfaith prayer house?  I suppose it’s a place where people can go to worship the god of their choice, the assumption being that all gods are equal.  I have a word of advice for Yahweh’s people: don’t go there.  He doesn’t like being lumped together with the menagerie of gods that people fanaticize about.  He is the only true God, the Creator, and ultimately the Judge.  Wild imagining can’t change that.

Livni calls for PA control over Gaza, disarmament

SnyderTalk Comment: Livni has a problem.  She doesn’t know when to keep her mouth shut.  Netanyahu and Israel would be better off if she would abandon her quest for the prime minister’s job and dedicate herself to J Street.  She can’t do too much to tarnish the image of that group.  In fact, she fits right in.

#####

________________________________________

12--Other News

#####

Jon Voight blasts Bardem, Cruz over Israel letter

Islamic State seizes two Iraqi towns, oil field, defeating Kurds

Three Ninnies and a Jackass: This Week in Gaza

Almost 100 killed during attacks in China’s Xinjiang last week

Obama Defends Handling of Gaza, Ukraine Conflicts

Islamic extremists impose reign of terror in Iraq

Filipinos told to leave Libya after beheading

Obama: Hamas Did Not Honor Gaza Cease-Fire 

US calls shelling outside UN school in Gaza ‘disgraceful’

SnyderTalk Comment: It’s shameful and disgraceful for the U.S. government, our government, to criticize Israel for attacking military targets in Gaza when we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Hamas stores and fires weapons in forbidden locations (hospitals, schools, etc.) and that they place civilians in harm’s way and beat them if they try to leave.  We should condemn Hamas and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel.

Not so golden: Wealth gap lasting into retirement

SnyderTalk Comment: I really don’t enjoy reading articles like this one.  Inevitably, the people who write them want you to feel sorry for the “victims”, but in most cases the “victims” victimized themselves.

Let me explain: about 75% of American citizens are overweight and roughly 45% are obese.  Those excess calories that people eat aren’t free.  People have to buy them.  Over years of time they increase their body fat content and deplete their bank accounts.  I believe that most people in the United States today could retire wealthy by simply eating less and saving the money that they didn’t spend.  I’m not kidding.  I’ve done the math.

About a year ago, the Huffington Post published an article titled “80 Percent Of U.S. Adults Face Near-Poverty, Unemployment: Survey”.  I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw the title.  The first thought that ran through my mind was I wonder if the author ever goes to the mall or out to eat.  My next thought was a little more cynical: I wonder if the people who report that they are “facing near-poverty” ever look in the mirror.

I’ll be candid: it is impossible for 80% of the people in the United States to be “facing near poverty” while 75% of them are overweight and 45% are obese.  Common sense tells us that.

And what about debt?  Think about the gimmicks that businesses use to encourage people to buy things they don’t need with money they don’t have:

“No money down and no payments for 12 months.”

“We will loan you 100% of the equity in your home.”

“Bring your car title to us for quick cash.”

I could go on, but you get the point.  A very large percentage of the people in America have lived off debt their entire lives, and they don’t think it’s a problem until they face retirement.  At that point, it may be too late.  I’ll go one step further: it is too late if they don’t change their habits.

I wrote a book titled What Will You Do with the Rest of Your Life?  In it, I talk about these problems and many more in great detail.  This is the bottom line, though: people make conscious decisions every day of their lives that determine their financial condition and their ability to do the things that Yahweh created them to do.  If they squander their resources, of course they will suffer the consequences.  If, on the other hand, they live within their means and save for the future, they will be well-off financially.

Again, I explain all of this in great detail in the book.  You should read it.

Hosea 8: 7 says that if we sow the wind, we will reap the whirlwind.  I think that most Americans have been sowing the wind, and when they reach retirement age they finally realize that Hosea was correct.  That’s when they have to face the fact that they are about to reap the whirlwind.

#####

________________________________________

#####

#####

________________________________________

Email Distribution List:

I have created an email distribution list that I use to notify people when I post a new SnyderTalk.  If you would like to be on that list, send your email address to nhsny@yahoo.com, and put “add me to your distribution list” in the subject line.  If you know others who are interested in SnyderTalk content, tell them to send me their email address, and I’ll put them on the list.

________________________________________

4--Scripture of the Day Yahweh

Genesis 23: 17-20

17 So Ephron’s field, which was in Machpelah, which faced Mamre, the field and cave which was in it, and all the trees which were in the field, that were within all the confines of its border, were deeded over 18 to Abraham for a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city. 19 After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field at Machpelah facing Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 So the field and the cave that is in it, were deeded over to Abraham for a burial site by the sons of Heth.

SnyderTalk Comment: There can be no doubt about who has legal title to this land.  It belongs to Abraham and his descendants through Isaac and Jacob/Israel.  Try telling that to “Palestinians” who live in Hebron today.  Their violent reaction will surprise you.

This is the bottom line: they hate Yahweh, and in their world, Israel is only a surrogate for Him.  Read His Name is Yahweh.

________________________________________

5--HNIY Print form 3

His Name is Yahweh explains why the Name of God, Yahweh, is so important.  It’s available in eBook format and in paperback.  It’s also available for free in PDF format.

  • God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This [Yahweh] is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.” (Exodus 3: 15)
  • “Therefore behold, I am going to make them know—this time I will make them know My power and My might; and they shall know that My name is Yahweh.” (Jeremiah 16: 21)
  • “Behold, the days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land.  In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely; and this is His name by which He will be called, ‘Yahweh our righteousness.’” (Jeremiah 23: 5-6)
  • Yeshua said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” (John 8: 58)

________________________________________

6--His Name is Yahweh Audio Presentation 5

#####

Hamas is No Peace Partner for Israel

Click here to download the entire audio presentation for free and with no strings attached.  Share it as often as you want.

#####

________________________________________

14--Blessings from Revelation 2

Blessings in the Book of Revelation is a book that you need to read, especially now.  There are blessings throughout the Scriptures but Revelation is the only book in the Bible actually containing a specific blessing for reading it. It’s repeated twice, once at the beginning and again at the end. This is the reason that I believe Revelation should be the first step toward studying biblical prophecy. Though not easy to do, Revelation can be broken down and understood by anyone, not just the academic elite. So, Revelation’s blessings are for everyone.  Click here to order the eBook.  Click here to order the paperback.

________________________________________

Other Books by Neil Snyder

  • Stand! is a suspense novel that exposes the lies, corruption, and greed underlying the theory that man-made CO2 emissions are responsible for global warming.  Professor Wes Carlyle and Karen Sterling, his research collaborator, carefully scan the audience for their would-be attacker—a member of the enviro-gestapo who has been following them for days.  Wes spots his man in the back of the room leaning against the wall.  Suddenly, another man in the audience steps forward and moves toward Karen at a menacing pace.  With a vicious stroke, he swings a billy club at her head.  Click here to order the eBook.  Click here to order the paperback.
  • What Will You Do with the Rest of Your Life? deals with a question that every Christian has to consider: what should I do with my life?  Click here to order the eBook.  Click here to order the paperback.
  • Falsely Accused is a true story about a young woman who was accused of committing a double homicide.  It’s about a travesty of justice, and it reveals Yahweh intervening in the life of a believer to rescue her from danger in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.  Everyone will enjoy the book, but young people in particular need to read it because the mistakes made that led to the problem could have been avoided.  They were the kinds of mistakes that young people are prone to make.  As they say, forewarned is forearmed.  Click here to order the eBook.  Click here to order the paperback.

15--Concentric Circles 5

Back to the top

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *