The winter Solstice Of 2006
Since ancient times the sun was seen a god that created and sustained life on Earth. The winter solstice, shortest day and longest night (northern hemisphere) was celebrated in pagan times as the birthday of the sun 21st - 22nd of December. As the Roman empire adopted Christianity in the forth Century, the date of the birth of the great Sun was postponed for 3 days for a double celebration. On the 25th of December Christianity Celebrates the birth of Jesus. Early Christianity which still practiced circumcision thus credited the first of January as the day Jesus was circumcised and given his name ישוע. Yet there are other reasons for this date to be commemorated. Jesus himself knew the projections the 25th day of the proceeding winter month, within Judaism (Jesus was born Jewish and died Jewish). According to John 10:22 Jesus was in Jerusalem on his birthday! "At that time they celebrated Hannukah in Jerusalem, it was winter." Hannukah = חנוכה is derived from two words:
Janu = חנו = Camped Kah = כה = 25.
The date is important for it comes to commemorate the reason for its being. The Greeks conquer Judea in 175BCE, Antiochus Epiphanes rules out Judaic practice, Shabbat, Circumcision etc. This act to annihilate the monotheistic practice is mentioned in Daniel 7:25 "And he shall speak great words against the most High… and think to change times and laws…". One of these laws was to sacrifice of swine on his birthday ("And the swine, though he divide the hoof' and be cloven-footed, yet he chews not the cud ; he is unclean to you" Leviticus 11:7. "And the swine, because it divides the hoof, yet chews not the cud, is unclean to you: you shall not eat of their meat, nor touch their carcasses." Deuteronomy 14:8. "That sit on graves, and spend the night in vaults, that eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable things in their vessels." Isaiah 65:4.)
This abominable sacrifice of swine was to be on the holy altar of the temple in Jerusalem, on the birthday, the 25th day of each lunar month (hence the term lunatic). At one point the Hasmonean family of priests took action and fought off the Greek decree. Their triumphant victory was achieved on the same 25th day of the lunar month, of Kislev (Maccabe's I 4:54), Thus comes the name "camped" on the "25th".
Even though the Greeks were out of the picture, the new priests were corrupt, capitalistic and cruel. Israel was in turmoil, shredded into sects, all hoping for better days even though the better days are still being awaited. Nevertheless Christianity translated the birth of Jesus as closing the circle of the Greek interference and thus claiming that Jesus was born on the 25th, the 25th day that the temple was defiled, the 25th day that the miracle occurred, defeating the Greeks, and purifying the temple.
The winter Solstice with all respect to history did not change its position in time and space, and still falls on the 22nd of December. What was fascinating this year is that this wonderful date coincided with the Jewish Calendar that commemorated the Solstice. The biblical calendar is very ambiguous, and thus had to be defined by Rabbi Akiva during the 2nd Century CE. He chose the lunar calendar, even though the priests used a Solar calendar (Yoma 6). There is one story in the bible that does define the year calendar. The biblical calendar is calculated in the year of the flood (Genesis 7:11 +8:14), mentioning dates for calculation (Genesis 7:11+7:24+8:3-4) and at the same time dates that commemorate the firs days of the seasons "In the tenth month, on the first day of the month"(Genesis 8:5) – 1st of Tevet is the 1st day of the winter season, the Winter solstice, during the festival of Hannuka. This year these dates and days that rotate around different cycles yet are there to define the cosmic moment in time, all coincided with each other on ONE day.
[Solstices = Genesis 8:5 + Equinox = 8:13].
In Jerusalem we prayed for rain on the day after Sukkot "שמיני עצרת" the next day it poured. The fall/autumn season was fairly dry, yet that night of the new month, the new season on the winter solstice… It started raining again. Not enough? the first days were perfect with rain at night and sunny days. "ברוך את ה' משיב הרוח ומוריד הגשם".
Never forget that God is full of miracles, never lose hope in the almighty creator. Even in the after math of the war, we had during summer, it's in these small rain drops that you know God is still standing by your side and guarding your paths.
Since ancient times the sun was seen a god that created and sustained life on Earth. The winter solstice, shortest day and longest night (northern hemisphere) was celebrated in pagan times as the birthday of the sun 21st - 22nd of December. As the Roman empire adopted Christianity in the forth Century, the date of the birth of the great Sun was postponed for 3 days for a double celebration. On the 25th of December Christianity Celebrates the birth of Jesus. Early Christianity which still practiced circumcision thus credited the first of January as the day Jesus was circumcised and given his name ישוע. Yet there are other reasons for this date to be commemorated. Jesus himself knew the projections the 25th day of the proceeding winter month, within Judaism (Jesus was born Jewish and died Jewish). According to John 10:22 Jesus was in Jerusalem on his birthday! "At that time they celebrated Hannukah in Jerusalem, it was winter." Hannukah = חנוכה is derived from two words:
Janu = חנו = Camped Kah = כה = 25.
The date is important for it comes to commemorate the reason for its being. The Greeks conquer Judea in 175BCE, Antiochus Epiphanes rules out Judaic practice, Shabbat, Circumcision etc. This act to annihilate the monotheistic practice is mentioned in Daniel 7:25 "And he shall speak great words against the most High… and think to change times and laws…". One of these laws was to sacrifice of swine on his birthday ("And the swine, though he divide the hoof' and be cloven-footed, yet he chews not the cud ; he is unclean to you" Leviticus 11:7. "And the swine, because it divides the hoof, yet chews not the cud, is unclean to you: you shall not eat of their meat, nor touch their carcasses." Deuteronomy 14:8. "That sit on graves, and spend the night in vaults, that eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable things in their vessels." Isaiah 65:4.)
This abominable sacrifice of swine was to be on the holy altar of the temple in Jerusalem, on the birthday, the 25th day of each lunar month (hence the term lunatic). At one point the Hasmonean family of priests took action and fought off the Greek decree. Their triumphant victory was achieved on the same 25th day of the lunar month, of Kislev (Maccabe's I 4:54), Thus comes the name "camped" on the "25th".
Even though the Greeks were out of the picture, the new priests were corrupt, capitalistic and cruel. Israel was in turmoil, shredded into sects, all hoping for better days even though the better days are still being awaited. Nevertheless Christianity translated the birth of Jesus as closing the circle of the Greek interference and thus claiming that Jesus was born on the 25th, the 25th day that the temple was defiled, the 25th day that the miracle occurred, defeating the Greeks, and purifying the temple.
The winter Solstice with all respect to history did not change its position in time and space, and still falls on the 22nd of December. What was fascinating this year is that this wonderful date coincided with the Jewish Calendar that commemorated the Solstice. The biblical calendar is very ambiguous, and thus had to be defined by Rabbi Akiva during the 2nd Century CE. He chose the lunar calendar, even though the priests used a Solar calendar (Yoma 6). There is one story in the bible that does define the year calendar. The biblical calendar is calculated in the year of the flood (Genesis 7:11 +8:14), mentioning dates for calculation (Genesis 7:11+7:24+8:3-4) and at the same time dates that commemorate the firs days of the seasons "In the tenth month, on the first day of the month"(Genesis 8:5) – 1st of Tevet is the 1st day of the winter season, the Winter solstice, during the festival of Hannuka. This year these dates and days that rotate around different cycles yet are there to define the cosmic moment in time, all coincided with each other on ONE day.
[Solstices = Genesis 8:5 + Equinox = 8:13].
In Jerusalem we prayed for rain on the day after Sukkot "שמיני עצרת" the next day it poured. The fall/autumn season was fairly dry, yet that night of the new month, the new season on the winter solstice… It started raining again. Not enough? the first days were perfect with rain at night and sunny days. "ברוך את ה' משיב הרוח ומוריד הגשם".
Never forget that God is full of miracles, never lose hope in the almighty creator. Even in the after math of the war, we had during summer, it's in these small rain drops that you know God is still standing by your side and guarding your paths.
