Alexander Jannaios And Alexandra
Full of their success, thoroughly satisfied,
King Alexander Jannaios
and his wife Queen Alexandra
move through the streets of Jerusalem
with musicians in the lead
and every kind of pomp and circumstance.
The work begun by the great Judas Maccabaios
and his four celebrated brothers
has now been concluded brilliantly,
work relentlessly carried on
among so many obstacles and dangers.
Nothing unseemly remains now.
All subservience to the haughty monarchs
of Antioch is over. Clearly
King Alexander Jannaios
and his wife Queen Alexandra
are equal to the Selefkids in every way.
Good Jews, pure Jews, devoted Jews above all.
But, as circumstances require,
also skilled in speaking Greek,
even on familiar terms with Greeks and Hellenized monarchs—
as equals, though, let that be understood.
The work begun by the great Judas Maccabaios
and his four celebrated brothers
has indeed been concluded brilliantly,
concluded in the most striking way.
poem by Constantine P. Cavafy
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Related quotes
Bible Stories: Esther (Part V, D)
The Jews Defend Themselves:
On thirteenth day of Adar month,
Jews carried out the King’s order;
Their enemies were killed that day;
The people were afraid of them.
The governors, princes and scribes
Feared Mordecai’s rising power;
The King too honored him greatly.
In Susa, five hundred were killed,
Including ten sons of Haman;
All foes of Jews were caught that day;
Such things happened throughout the land;
As per the wish of Queen Esther,
All ten sons of Haman were hung
On poles in Susa openly!
That day, fifteen thousand were killed;
Their properties were seized elsewhere.
Jews celebrated on next day;
The day was declared ‘holiday’;
They exchanged gifts, food and greetings!
Copyright by Dr John Celes 4-18-2007
poem by John Celes
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The Jews are the most tenacious people in history. Hebron is there to prove it. It ties 20 miles south of Jerusalem, 3,000 feet up in the Judaean hills. There, in the Cave of Machpelah, are the Tombs of the Patriarchs. According to ancient tradition, one sepulcher, itself of great antiquity, contains the mortal remains of Abraham, founder of the Jewish religion and ancestor of the Jewish race. Paired with his tomb is that of his wife Sarah. Within the building are the twin tombs of his son Isaac and his wife Rebecca. Across the inner courtyard is another pair of tombs, of Abraham's grandson Jacob and his wife Leah. Just outside the building is the tomb of their son Joseph. This is where the 4,000-year history of the Jews, in so far as it can be anchored in time and place, began.
Paul Johnson in A History of the Jews, Chapter One: Israelites (1987)
Submitted by Dan Costinaş
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We're Jews, my family, and Jews break down into two distinct subcultures: book Jews and money Jews. We were money Jews.
Jesus the King
On the hill of Calvary
Hung up on a tree,
Stripped bare for all to see-
Jesus, King of the Jews,
The carpenter of Galilee,
Dying for me and you.
The soldiers and priests
Shaking dust off their feet
While his followers few, did weep.
Hah, Jesus Christ the King! ?
Hear them in mockery sing
Great Caesar be our only King!
But though they reviled,
And though they mocked.
He cried, 'Father forgive; they know not.'
For he was the great I am,
A shining light, brighter than the sun's flame.
Almighty God robed in flesh, Son of Man.
Jesus, the one who will and has been,
The one who of all will one day be seen
The Creator of every living being.
Despite their mocking,
And though they denied him:
He was still their King.
Tis still the same today,
Whether you like it that way:
Jesus the King, here to stay.
You can defy him, in defiance raise,
But one day, him, everyone will praise.
You will praise, it's just about what place.
You can curse him, spurn his love.
Shake your fists at the sky above.
Nothing you do will be enough.
Because he made you, therefore your King.
Doesn't matter if you don't like him,
Won't ever change a thing.
He has been the King,
Is the King,
Will be the King,
Forever lives the King.
Lift your hands and sing,
Long live, Jesus the King!
The majority's voice will never change,
The endowment of he who came:
Jesus the King, forever the same
You can deny him,
Doesn't change a thing-
Jesus is still your King.
Has been the King, is the King, will be the King! Long live Jesus Christ the King! Lift your hands and sing, Long live, Jesus the King.
Story behind the poem:
This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible:
1Ti 6: 14-16 That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.
Can you feel the awe rising? I can.
And an interesting tidbit:
Joh 19: 19-22 And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.
This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin.
Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews.
Pilate answered, What I have written I have written.
What I have written, I have written. What an epic statement! Jesus will forever be the KING of kings. Nothing will ever change it!
JESUS IS KING!
GZ
poem by Joses Tirtabudi
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Bible Stories: Esther (Part IIIA)
Esther’s Problems:
Mordecai saw Haman’s order;
He walked through the city crying,
Just dressed in sack-cloth and ashes,
Until he reached the royal gates,
To tell Esther and seek her help.
Her eunuchs brought this news to her;
With anguished heart, she sent garments;
But Mordecai refused the clothes;
He gave Haman’s order to her:
‘All Jews would be killed in one day! ’
Haman was second to the king
And sentenced every Jew to death.
Mordecai explained to Hathach
The things that Esther was to do;
She was to pray to God before
She met the king and pleads with him,
To save the lives of all the Jews.
Esther sent the eunuch saying,
She had not been called by the king
For nearly thirty days till then;
One who saw him without summon,
Would be put to death by routine,
Unless the king held his scepter!
But Mordecai reminded her,
Her family will have to die,
And Esther too, a Jew, though queen!
There was no time to wait or plan;
Invoking God’s help, she must start.
Esther told all Jews in Susa
To fast for three days and three nights
And then she went to see the king,
Even if she had to perish!
Copyright by Dr John Celes 4-17-2007
poem by John Celes
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In 200 B.C.
"Alexander son of Philip, and the Greeks except the Lacedaemonians--"
We can very well imagine
that they were utterly indifferent in Sparta
to this inscription. "Except the Lacedaemonians",
but naturally. The Spartans were not
to be led and ordered about
as precious servants. Besides
a panhellenic campaign without
a Spartan king as a leader
would not have appeared very important.
O, of course "except the Lacedaemonians."
This too is a stand. Understandable.
Thus, except the Lacedaemonians at Granicus;
and then at Issus; and in the final
battle, where the formidable army was swept away
that the Persians had massed at Arbela:
which had set out from Arbela for victory, and was swept away.
And out of the remarkable panhellenic campaign,
victorious, brilliant,
celebrated, glorious
as no other had ever been glorified,
the incomparable: we emerged;
a great new Greek world.
We; the Alexandrians, the Antiocheans,
the Seleucians, and the numerous
rest of the Greeks of Egypt and Syria,
and of Media, and Persia, and the many others.
With our extensive territories,
with the varied action of thoughtful adaptations.
And the Common Greek Language
we carried to the heart of Bactria, to the Indians.
As if we were to talk of Lacedaemonians now!
poem by Constantine P. Cavafy
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For many years, our Messianic Jewish brothers and sisters have paid a great price. Other Jews have rejected them, and the Christian church would require they walk away from their traditions to fit into the Gentile culture. We must face these past wrongs.
quote by Bill McCartney
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Of the Jews (50 A.D.)
Painter and poet, runner and discus-thrower,
beautiful as Endymion: Ianthis, son of Antony.
From a family on friendly terms with the Synagogue.
"My most valuable days are those
when I give up the pursuit of sensuous beauty,
when I desert the elegant and severe cult of Hellenism,
with its over-riding devotion
to perfectly shaped, corruptible white limbs,
and become the man I would want to remain forever:
son of the Jews, the holy Jews."
A most fervent declaration on his part: "...to remain forever
a son of the Jews, the holy Jews."
But he did not remain anything of the kind.
The Hedonism and Art of Alexandria
kept him as their dedicated son.
poem by Constantine P. Cavafy
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Hes A Go Getter
Hes a go getter, go getter
When his wife gets off from work, hell go get her
Now Ive got a neighbor that lives down the road a ways
His wife holds down a steady job, he dont turn his hand all day
I know that most of you will know the kind Im talkin about
The kind that rather than have to work, hed rather do without
But hes a go getter, a go getter
When his wife gets off from work, hell go get her
Theres a group of men in the court house yard any time that you go by
Playin checkers and tradin odds and makin jokes about their wives
They wait all week for pay day and they hold the moneys plenty
And the wife thats worked those long hard hours never gets a penny
But hes a go getter, a go getter
When his wife gets off from work, hell go get her
Yes hes a go getter, a go getter
When his wife gets off from work, hell go get her
Hes a go getter, a go getter
When his wife gets off from work, hell go get her
song performed by by Dolly Parton
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Let us not mind the happiness...
Let us not mind the happiness and the grief that come our way,
For they are inseparable from our life.
None can evade them, for Lord Raghunath himself has inlaid them!
Let us not mind the happiness and the grief that come our way!
Even an upright man like King Nala, whose wife was Queen Damayanti,
Had to roam half-naked in the forest without food or water.
Let us not mind the happiness and the grief that come our way!
Even the mighty brothers like the Pandavas,
Who had Queen Draupadi for a wife,
Underwent hardships for twelve long and exacting years in the forest Without even proper sleep.
Let us not mind the happiness and the grief that come our way!
Even a woman as chaste as Sita,
Whose husband was none other than the Lord,
Was abducted by Ravana and subjected to suffer terrible misery,
Let us not mind the happiness or the grief that come our way!
Even the King as powerful as Ravana, who had Mandodari as queen,
Had all his ten heads severed and his great Lanka ravaged!
Let us not mind the happiness and the grief that come our way!
Even a person so righteous as Harishchandra,
Who had Taralochana as his queen,
Had to bear immense agony and serve in a menial caste!
Let us not mind the happiness and the grief that come our way!
Even an ascetic as great as Shiva, who had Parvati for his wife,
Was deceived by a bhil woman and had his austerities disturbed
!Let us not mind the happiness and the grief that comes our way!
When all the gods are in distress,
They remember antaryami, the lord of their hearts,
And indeed are rescued by the Sarangdhar, the bearer of the mighty Saranga bow, the Narsaiyya's Lord!
Let us not mind the happiness and the grief that come our way!
poem by Narsinh Mehta
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The Queen
The French Queen
Offered cake to the hungry
Marie Antoinette
The English Queen
Lost her head for her King
Anne Boleyn
The Russian Queen with no children
Loved cats a lot
Catherine the Great
The Queen of Sidewalks
Fell asleep at work
City Whore
The Queen of Computers
Fell asleep at the keyboard
Her identity is protected
poem by Jankovic Zoran
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The Holocaust never quite leaves Israeli Jews alone. Arabs use it against them and they use it against Arabs. Jews use it against other Jews. Even the president of the United States, it seems, can use it against the prime minister of Israel.
quote by David K. Shipler
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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In business you need two Jews for one Greek, two Greeks for one Syrian and two Syrians for one Armenian.
I Had Parents-They Were Jews
I HAD PARENTS /THEY WERE JEWS
I had parents-
They were Jews-
I am a Jew
But what of their childrens’ children
And their children, if they have them?
What of this one Freedman- Zeibert family?
What of us, the only family I come from?
What of us?
Where are the Jews?
Will there be any
In a generation or two?
What of all those generations who struggled and sacrificed and stayed alive before us as Jews?
What of them?
What of me?
What of us?
poem by Shalom Freedman
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Alexandrian Kings
The Alexandrians were gathered
to see Cleopatra's children,
Caesarion, and his little brothers,
Alexander and Ptolemy, whom for the first
time they lead out to the Gymnasium,
there to proclaim kings,
in front of the grand assembly of the soldiers.
Alexander -- they named him king
of Armenia, Media, and the Parthians.
Ptolemy -- they named him king
of Cilicia, Syria, and Phoenicia.
Caesarion stood more to the front,
dressed in rose-colored silk,
on his breast a bouquet of hyacinths,
his belt a double row of sapphires and amethysts,
his shoes fastened with white
ribbons embroidered with rose pearls.
Him they named more than the younger ones,
him they named King of Kings.
The Alexandrians of course understood
that those were theatrical words.
But the day was warm and poetic,
the sky was a light azure,
the Alexandrian Gymnasium was
a triumphant achievement of art,
the opulence of the courtiers was extraordinary,
Caesarion was full of grace and beauty
(son of Cleopatra, blood of the Lagidae);
and the Alexandrians rushed to the ceremony,
and got enthusiastic, and cheered
in greek, and egyptian, and some in hebrew,
enchanted by the beautiful spectacle --
although they full well knew what all these were worth,
what hollow words these kingships were.
poem by Constantine P. Cavafy
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The King and Queen and I
Oh, Scotty, have you visited the Picture Gallery,
And did you see the portraits of the King and Queen and me?
The portraits made by Longstaff, and the pictures done by Jack,
Of the King and Queen and Lawson and the lady all in black?
The King is robed in royal state, with medals on his breast,
And, like the mother Queen she is, Her Majesty is dressed.
The lady’s dressed in simple black and sports no precious stones,
And I a suit of reach-me-downs I bought from Davy Jones.
We’re strangers two to two, and each unto the other three—
I do not know the lady and I don’t think she knows me.
We’re strangers to each other here, and to the other two,
And they themselves are strangers yet, if all we hear is true.
I s’pose we’re just as satisfied as folks have ever been:
The lady would much rather be her own self than the Queen;
And though I’m down and precious stiff and I admire King Ned,
I’d sooner just be Harry, with his follies on his head.
We four may meet together—stranger folk have met, I ween,
Than a rhymer and a monarch and a lady and a queen.
Ned and I might talk it over on the terrace, frank and free,
With cigars, while Alexandra and the lady’s having tea.
Anyway, we’ll never quarrel while we’re hanging on the wall—
Friends! we all have had our troubles—we are human, one and all!
If by chance we hang together—hang together on the line,
And the thing should shock the Godly—then it’s Longstaff’s fault, not mine.
poem by Henry Lawson
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Usurper Antiochus IV Defiled First Temple In Jerusalem
Antiochus attacked defiled First Temple in Jerusalem
sacrificed a pig on holy altar erected a statue of Zeus
as himself in the temple raided sacred Temple treasury...
minted his 'Theos Epiphanes' God manifest coins
at Antioch silver tetradrachm of Antiochus IV struck
'Basileus Antiochus God Manifest Bearer of Victory'
'Basileus Antiochus translates 'The king made manifest'
'made manifest' implies the deification of Antiochus
face shown with radiate crown indicating aura of divinity...
Antiochus IV the 'little horn' of Daniel 8: 9? Banned
the traditional religion of the entire Jewish people?
Outlawed all sacred Jewish religious rites traditions?
Observant Jews were ordered to worship Olympian Zeus
as supreme god forbidden from keeping sacred Sabbath?
Forbidden from celebrating traditional feasts forbidden...
from admitting to be a Jew? Decree issued ordered Jews
to adopt Greek customs partake of Greek sacrifices
to put to death all Jews who would not publically consent?
Antiochus raging like a wild animal took Jerusalem
by storm 'ordered his soldiers to cut down without
mercy those whom they met and to slay those who took
refuge in their houses. There was a massacre of young
and old, a killing of women and children, a slaughter
of virgins and infants. In the space of three days, eighty
thousand were lost, forty thousand meeting a violent
death, and the same number being sold into slavery.'
Antiochus IV antichrist archetype prefigure antichrist!
2 Maccabees 5: 11-14.
Two Jewish women arrested for having circumcised sons
on prescribed eight day 'were publicly paraded about the city
with their babies hanging at their breasts then thrown down
from the top of the city wall'? Jews who assembled
in nearby caves to observe the sabbath in secret
were betrayed' all burned to death to enforce decree.
2 Maccabees 6: 1-11
Antiochus 'The Mad One' the first vile Seleucid
king to use divine epithets on his minted coins
to proclaim himself divinity god made manifest
forced Jews to abandon customs of their ancestors
at pain of death to live no longer by the laws of God
Antiochus was struck down by disease in 164 BC...
poem by Terence George Craddock
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Look at the Justice Department, it's full of Jews...The lawyers in government are damn Jews.
quote by Richard Milhous Nixon
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Bible Stories: Esther (Part IIA)
In reward for his great service,
Haman, son of Hammedatha,
Was raised to the highest rank,
Second to just the King himself;
All servants and all officials
Would kneel and bow their head to him
As per the royal order then;
But Mordecai would ne’er do this;
All wondered why he thus behaved;
Being a Jew was his excuse.
When servants told Haman of this,
He was much angered by the news;
He planned to punish Mordecai,
And destroy every Jew that lived!
All Jews would be killed in one day-
The thirteenth day of Adar month,
In the twelfth year of the King’s reign.
Haman brain-washed the king and said:
“Scattered among your kingdom, Sir,
Are certain people with own laws,
Who do not obey King’s orders.
Haman would pay a heavy sum
In silver to the treasury,
If King issued a new decree
To have them destroyed in one day.
They were a hurdle to progress;
The king handed his signet ring
To Haman, as he impressed him;
He empowered him to act fast;
Calling all scribes, then Haman wrote
An order on the King’s behalf
And sealed it with the royal ring:
“All Jews in all the provinces
Both young and old, of both sexes
Would face mass annihilation;
Their goods would be confiscated! ”
The king’s decree was sent to all
The Governors of his kingdom,
To make forthwith preparations.
poem by John Celes
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If anyone thinks that Jews can steal into the land of their fathers, he is deceiving either himself or others. Nowhere is the coming of Jews so promptly noted as in the historic home of the Jews, for the very reason that it is the historic home.
quote by Theodor Herzl
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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