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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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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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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Bible Stories: Esther (Part VB)
Esther Brings About the Downfall of Haman:
The King and Haman dined with wine;
The happy King asked Queen Esther,
“Tell me your request, anything! ”
Esther replied, ‘Your majesty,
If I‘m your favorite truly,
O spare my life and my people! ’
“I’ve come to know that we’ve been sold;
Our people will be destroyed soon;
Their property will be seized too;
Our children will be taken slaves;
The foe’s a member of your court! ”
The king asked, “Who dared to do thus? ”
‘Dear King, that evil man’s Haman! ’
Said Esther Queen, in almost tears.
Haman was panic-stricken fast;
The King went into the garden;
Haman was begging for his life;
He threw himself on the Queen’s couch,
And pleaded to be forgiven.
The angry King then asked Haman,
“You want to rape my wife right here? ”
Haman was too shocked to reply.
Just then, a eunuch told the King,
Haman has set a pole ready
For Mordecai who saved your life;
The pole is seventy-five feet high,
And stands right in his very house.
The King said, ‘Hang Haman on it.’
Haman was hung upon that pole
He’d erected for Mordecai;
The King got over his anger!
Then Mordecai took Haman’s place
As Esther was his relative;
King’s signet ring was given him
And Haman’s wealth too went with it.
Then Esther begged the King again,
‘Cancel the order Haman wrote.’
The King replied, ‘How can I bear
To see my people mistreated?
Could I destroy my own people? ’
The King allowed a new order
To save the lives of every Jew!
Copyright by Dr John Celes 4-17-2007
poem by John Celes
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Tell me a story,
Tell me a story, And what I want to hear,
About a king in the Bible, of Saul and his spear;
He wanted to kill David, but David spared his life,
While Saul was asleep, David took the jug, spear, to show
Saul that he was near.
Please tell me a story, Of Esther the Jewish queen,
And of uncle mordecai, and Haman who was mean;
Wicked Haman hated, the Jews, and wanted them dead,
But he got his punishment, to be hung by his head.
Tell me another story, of Jonah and the whale,
When God said 'go to Ninevah, he needed a kick in his tale;
He ran the other way, then caught a large ship,
But; when a storm blew up, but he got the flip.
Tell me one more story, before I get off to bed,
How Jesus talked to a crowd, and food they were fed;
There were 5,000 people, and only 5 loaves, and two fish,
It was a miracle of Jesus, and not just an answer to a wish.
poem by Margaret Haig
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Bible Stories: Esther (PartVII)
What Message Does The Story Convey?
God chooses Mordacai, an upright Jew,
Who brings up Esther, related by blood;
God gives a dream to Mordacai, one day,
Of things that happen later in his life!
The man gets chance to serve in King’s courtyard;
And saves the King from being killed by plot;
The King remembers what the man has done,
Rewarding him when opportune time comes!
God makes a Jewish girl of beauty rare,
The Queen and wife of Artaxerxes King,
Who rules a kingdom from Ind to Sudan,
And through her saves the entire Jewish race.
The wicked Haman gets punished by King;
Because his arrogance had gone too far;
God never spares an evil-hearted man,
Who schemes to destroy God’s beloved people.
The fervent prayers of the Jewish race
Evokes the sympathy and grace of God;
The Lord never abandons righteous souls;
The innocents are protected by Him!
God transforms rulers’ hearts to change for good;
Good Emperors are blessed by Providence;
The scattered Jews are ‘shepherded’ so well;
These are some points that Bible stories tell.
God has a special plan for everyone;
Our piety and fortitude will help;
No evil minds can destroy God’s people;
The wicked get punished even on earth.
Copyright by Dr John Celes 4-20-2007
poem by John Celes
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It's not the Jews that killed Christ. It was a political situation, and it was the Romans who killed Jesus. They put Jesus on the cross, not the Jews.
quote by Monica Bellucci
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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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.
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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Bible Stories: Esther (Part III)
Mordecai prayed to God:
“O King of the universe,
O Lord of everything,
No one dare oppose you;
You knew my heart when
I didn’t bow to Haman;
I can’t honor a man
More than my GOD.”
“Our foes are bent on killing us;
Spare us, O LORD, your people;
Turn our sorrow into joy;
Neglect us not, our foes are strong;
You reclaimed us from Egypt;
O hear our cries for help;
Our enemies could ruin us;
We’re on the verge of death! ”
poem by John Celes
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And we've also had now the speaker of the Parliament in Iraq using blatantly anti-Semitic remarks, saying the Jews and sons of Jews are the problem of all the violence that's in Iraq.
quote by Jan Schakowsky
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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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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They Aint Makin Jews Like Jesus Anymore
(kinky friedman)
Well, a redneck nerd in a bowling shirt was a-guzzlin lone star beer
Talking religion and-uh politics for all the world to hear.
they oughta send you back to russia, boy, or new york city one
You just want to doodle a christian girl and you killed gods only son.
I said, has it occurred to you, you nerd, that thats not very nice,
We jews believe it was santa claus that killed jesus christ.
you know, you dont look jewish, he said, near as I could figger
I had you lamped for a slightly anemic, well-dressed country nigger.
No, they aint makin jews like jesus anymore,
They dont turn the other cheek the way they done before.
He started in to shoutin and a-spittin on the floor,
lord, they aint makin jews like jesus anymore.
He says, i aint a racist but aristitle onassis is one greek we dont need
And them niggers, jews and sigma nus, all they ever do is breed.
And wops n micks n slopes n spics n spooks are on my list
And theres one little hebe from the heart of texas is there anyone I missed ?
Well, I hits him with everything I had right square between the eyes.
I says, Im gonna gitcha, you son of a bitch ya, for spoutin that pack of lies.
If theres one thing I cant abide, its an ethnocentric racist;
Now you take back that thing you said bout aristitle onassis.
No, they aint makin jews like jesus anymore,
We dont turn the other cheek the way we done before.
You could hear that honky holler as he hit that hardwood floor
lord, they sho aint makin jews like jesus anymore!
All right!
No, they aint makin jews like jesus anymore,
We dont turn the other cheek the way they done before.
You hear that honky holler as he hit that hardwood floor
Lord, they aint makin jews like jesus anymore.
Everybody!
They aint makin jews like jesus anymore,
They aint makin carpenters who know what nails are for.
Well, the whole damn place was singin as I strolled right out the door
lord, they aint makin jews like jesus anymore!
No, we aint makin jews like jesus anymore,
We dont turn the other cheek the way they done before.
Well, the whole damn place was singin as I strolled right out the door
lord, they aint makin jews like jesus anymore!
song performed by by Kinky Friedman
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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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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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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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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Shaving cream
Shaving Cream
On the day that yet another car bomb exploded
in Baghdad, I forgot to buy shaving cream and
had to go back to the shop, there is weariness
about bad news from Iraq. I also forgot to buy
a litre of milk and a goat cheese.
Four thousand US troops killed, which, after
five years of war, as an amazing small number;
but then, this is a war where civilians get to do
the dying.Six hundred thousand or near a million
dead, no one knows or cares, but it might end up
as being as great a crime as the holocaust:
Was it five or six million Jews who perished?
This is a number that concerns deniers greatly,
who are of the opinion that only about 2oo Jews
died, regrettably of typhus, on a train journey
between Poland and Russia.
What we do know, is that the holocaust was
worst criminal act known to man; it is therefore
an eternal shame that Israel uses this tragedy to
silence us when they continue to unlawfully take
more of Palestinian land
It is much easier to take up Tibet’s cause, isn’t
strange that the riots it happens know as
the Olympic in Beijing looms? Forget Iraq and
the Gaza strip, where our hands are bloodied;
this new cause will make us feel morally superior
poem by Jan Oskar Hansen
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Lost in translation
At My favorite Chinese restaurant
The other day, I somehow got to thinking
about ethnicity
I wondered if there were Chinese Jews
So I asked my waiter
Explicitly:
“Do you have Chinese Jews? ”
I innocently asked
my Chinese waiter
“I don’t think so, I really don’t know,
But I’ll ask the manager and
Let you know later”
He returned in a while
And said with a smile
“no…No have Chinese Jews.”
I couldn’t believe it: a bazzillion people
No “Morrys“…“No Sheckys? ”
What astounding news! !
I queried him again
“could you check
Once more my friend? ”
He denied and replied,
“I regret to admit ItAnd don’t want
To offend
But what you ask for
Has us completely
Confused”
“So sorry to say… that for today
We have only: Grape..Orange…Tomato
and Prune Jews.”
poem by David Whalen
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Not Just A Bad Review
We’d not have had a Tisha B’av or Holocaust
if they’d just given us a bad review,
but we’ve been killed by them, not just divorced:
that’s what we mean by “hard to be a Jew”.
The Arabs say we are the favorite folk
of which they wish to be entirely rid;
unfortunately this is not a joke:
it’s still true that it’s shver tsu sayn a yid.
Kenneth Turan, senior movie critic for the LA Times, addressing an audience at UCLA today, was asked whether he thought the role of Jews has historically been fairly represented in Hollywood movies. He replied that it was impossible to do so. “After all, ” he said, “historically Jews haven’t just got bad reviews. I wish that were all that they’ve received.”
11/27/07
poem by Gershon Hepner
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Yes the Jews do many foul things and they distort our foreign policy but not everything that goes bad can be blamed on the Jews.
quote by Tom Metzger
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Holocaust
In a cold and silent world, weeping people wait,
Hoping and praying to not face this solemn fate.
But even thought they were quiet, as quite as they could be,
They were still found in the dark ghettos, the whole Jewish family.
The cries from the little ones so confused and so afraid,
Were ignored by the wretched Nazis, who caused heartbreak in that day.
They led them on a tearful trail toward to dreaded Auschwitz place.
And treated them like guinea pigs. testing them face to face.
Not to care in the world did the Nazi leaders possess,
Toward the unfair treatment to which placed the Jews in distress.
And all these fears and terrors led up to this fatal loss,
Of all the millions of innocent Jews killed in the Holocaust.
poem by Brenda Kodesh
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