אני עושה עליה, בעזרת יהוה....

It means, "I do aliyah, Yehovah willing!" To make a long story short, I have been going through a difficult time right now and was having temptations of self harm again. Yehovah (ברוך הוא.) must've heard my cries. I didn't solicit the opportunity to make aliyah, although I've desired to do so if Yehovah ever wills that I should do. But, lo and behold, someone (I won't say who for right now.) asked me if I'm Israeli, etc. and wanted to make aliyah. So, again, Yehovah must've heard my cries.

I told my contact frankly that:

1. I'm a Patrilineal Jew.
2. I'm a Messianic Jew.
3. The חרדים (the so-called "יהודים אורתודוקסים" and "חסידים") would want to rid of me quickly.

He or she understands my concerns; and believe me when I say that I am not considering (let alone jumping at) this opportunity lightly, and:

1. I'm not content with being one who is "“settled” in New York and New Jersey."
2. I take ספר ירמיהו וכל תנ''ך seriously. That includes פרקים ירמיהו 8 ו 16.
3. Since Jews who "saw themselves as “settled” in New York and New Jersey" have chosen death rather than life (See פרק ירמיהו 8.) and those of us who live (Jewish and gentile) are all headed to Israel at some point, anyway (See פרק ירמיהו 16.), I might as well go as early as possible and while I can choose life rather than death.
4. I've already had discouragement. When I told two family members that I have a contact who offered to help me, one disbelieved me and said that I'd end up right in the sex trade if I trusted my contact.

So, I'll be doing תפילות, צומות, ותעניות, and asking others to do the same with and for me.  I'll also be retaking up רוזטה סטון בעברית (Using גוגל and קונקורדנציה סטרונג does not suffice.). I'll also be looking at הספרים ומילון מ'כיתה העברית שלי.

Besides, I need a תחלה חדשה, and this might be it.

To My Persecutors...

I ask you to examine yourself. Contrary to what you want to think, I mean no harm against you or anyone else. In fact, especially if you claim to be wise, remember that "[r]ebuke is more effective for a wise man
Than a hundred blows on a fool."

This is part of why I am dealing with you. I think about you and I think about others. My actions are not just for me or my benefit. I always dread (read: sadly expect) that someone will eventually try to oppose me. I am not perfect, and I will admit when I am wrong and not walking in integrity. However, I'm right when I'm right, and I'm not right because of me—I'm right when I'm right only because of Christ.

I am not Moses; I am not Jeremiah, and I am not any other of the prophets or righteous people of blessed memories or blessed names—I am not worthy to be even considered among these. Nonetheless, I try to stand up to evil. When I do stand up to evil and you persecute me, I have to ask (as did Moses when our countrymen were persecuting him), "Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the Lord?"

Also, why do you glorify the Amaleks—whether or not you mean to do so? The Torah states:

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-Lord-Is-My-Banner;[c] 16 for he said, “Because the Lord has sworn: the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

The Torah does not state that we are to remember Amalek in any other way or context but in regards to what he did against Israel. We are not to revive him, and we are not to enable any Amalek in this generation. Even when we do Purim readings in the synagogues (Messianic and otherwise), we do not revive or remember Haman. In fact, we make a deliberate effort to drown out his name when we read it.

We rejoice that Haman (Yemach shemo u'zichrono.) cannot hurt us anymore, and we don't want to hear his name. Nonetheless, we don't (or at least we shouldn't) rejoice in the death of the wicked. 

What A Prize Candle Can Teach One About Shabbat, Humanity, Etc.; And...

Yes, I put a link to Prize Candle's website in the title on my own volition, unbeknownst to Prize Candle until they read this blog entry. Speaking of unbeknownst matters, that my sister had the "brill" idea of digging out the Prize Candle before it was naturally ready to come out is her schtick—she dug hers out and got the "brill" idea to dig out the ring (and she hates that I use the slang for "brilliant" to annoy her!)—in other words, Mom won't know that Michelle had the idea until I either squeal, let Michelle confess, or share this blog entry.

Here are just a few of the lessons (There are many more that I'll probably even think of as I type or that you could add as you read this, for example.):

1. A Prize Candle can be a great Shabbat candle. It has eco-friendly soy wax, a manifestation of tikun ha'olam v'tzedek—and soy wax is kosher. It also saves the work of having to hold a Havdalah candle, since it comes in a glass container—which can be recycled and/or reused later—tada! Another manifestation of tikun ha'olam v'tzedek.
2. Like Shabbat, the Prize Candle (at least if you get it for a gift and/or join the Candle of the Month Club like I did) gives you things to which to look forward—lighting the fragrency candle itself (like sanctifying Shabbat) and waiting for the ring (like waiting to find discovered treasures within kiddush Shabbat).
3. The wax can remind of you of the following verse: "I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me." Just as when wax melts when a candle is lit, so we can feel "like wax" when we're put under pressure.
4. Each of us, like a candle has a wick, is called to be a light. "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."
5. Israel is called to be a light to the nations and has treasure within her.
6. Our days are like wax, melting away. After those days end or earlier, in time either way, our treasure might be revealed.
7. Sometimes (like Michelle dug out the candle and Mom actually even used a knife to see if she could get through the wax that was holding the ring in and down), God digs through our days with pain to reveal our treasure.
8. Like only Prize Candle ultimately knows the value of the ring within the candle, only God ultimately knows what our treasure is worth.
9. Sometimes (and see Lesson 7 above), God uses other people to reveal our treasure.

I think that the most-important lessons have to be Lessons 3-8. So, Jesus; bring the fire; melt me like wax in a Prize Candle, and reveal my treasure which You have created.

PS Mom came home as I typed...and yes, I squealed before I could get into trouble (and Michelle told me that I should've seen the look that Mom gave her).

So What Does Forgiveness Do?

Besides what was already mentioned (and forgive me if I repeat myself), forgiveness:

1. Sometimes makes you even forget what the person who offended you did in the first place.
2. May not make you forget what the person who offended you did in the first place, but it may make you realize that what the person did in the first place is not worth holding a grudge over or actually even that bad. This doesn't mean that the person is right for what he or she did—in fact, he or she may be (at best) completely misguided in what he or she did (and may even continue to be doing), and even (at worst) deliberately wanting to be blind to what he or she did (and may even continue to be doing). Also, what did Jesus say? "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." (I don't have the reference right in front of me, by the way...it's Luke 23:34a. I was darned close—I thought that it was Luke 23:24 or something like that.).
3. Make you the better person in that moment. "Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”" (Luke 17:3-5) 
4. Make you realize how much you need to be forgiven and hypocritically fall or fall back into unforgiveness. "Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who arespiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted." (Galatians 6:1)

After all, Rabbi Jesus warned, "But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison." (Matthew 5:22-25)

Therefore, especially if you're Jewish like me—especially if you are Non Messianic and still under the Old Covenant—, for you to fast on Yom Kippur (which is on or around October 3, 2014, depending on which calendar you observe) would be quite hypocritical and pointless, for you will not be forgiven despite that you are שומר או שומרת הצום של כיפור.

Unforgiveness Hurts...

"Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart; thou shalt surely rebuke thy neighbour, and not bear sin because of him. Thou shalt not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD. "

(Leviticus 19:17-18, JPS)

Sometimes, people show how far they can go with unforgiveness. Oh well; it's still worth the risk of seeing if they forgive you & forgiving them for not forgiving you. Now, are most people going to agree with Jesus' words on this? Absolutely not! In fact, I know that some of the people who have left me unforgiven vehemently disagree with Jesus, but they would at least came to agree with the passage from Leviticus—they some apparently do not. 

Nonetheless, what did Jesus—despite what he was, whether or not he was the Messiah or just a great rabbi—say?

"“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." (Matthew 5:43-48, NKJV)

Meanwhile, what about me? Is there unforgiveness in me? Sure, and I know that I won't be forgiven until I forgive—and even if I'm not forgiven for my faults, I have to forgive others for theirs (including for not forgiving me). Again, what did Jesus say?

• "And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plankis in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye." (Matthew 7:35)

• "And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”" (John 20:22-23)

As my mom said, by the way, only those who have and/or trust in the Holy Spirit can truly forgive.

• "Forgive, and you will be forgiven." (Luke 6:37c)

• "“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matthew 6:14-15)

Again, there is unforgiveness in me; and I won't be forgiven until I forgive, even if I'm actually not forgiven in the end. But why is this there unforgiveness in me? Am I not a believer? I'm a believer, and one who is both:

• Left unforgiven for my faults by some people (and I am being generous and forgiving by not naming names, at least this time if I've ever named you—you know who you are, and may what I am able to write here convict you of your unforgiveness)

and

• Blamed for and left unforgiven for sins that I didn't even actually commit. For example, I was abused as a kid and blamed for things that I did not do and called a sinner for righteous things that I did do.

Why is this relevant? Jesus said, "[T]o whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”" (Luke 7:47b) This is why I myself have a hard time forgiving people—especially since some people might take my forgiving of them as a sign that they can hurt me again. Plus, I have Obsessive Compulsive and Generalized Anxiety Disorder; so, I'm afraid that I might take it as a sign that they can hurt me again just because I've forgiven them.

Meanwhile, here is one more word from Jesus (through his emissary Paul, whether or not you believe that Jesus spoke directly or indirectly through Paul) before I go back and conclude with one more passage from Tanakh (not counting Hadashah):

"[I]f anyone has caused grief, he has not grieved me, but all of you to some extent—not to be too severe. This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man, so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow. Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. For to this end I also wrote, that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices." (2 Corinthians 2:5-11)

Unforgiveness truly does hurt. As stated, "This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man, so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow."

In conclusion, I urge you to think about the following passage and watch the video that follows it:

"Didst thou not just now cry unto Me: 'My father, Thou art the friend of my youth. Will He bear grudge for ever? Will He keep it to the end?' Behold, thou hast spoken, but hast done evil things, and hast had thy way...

"Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every leafy tree, and ye have not hearkened to My voice, saith the LORD. Return, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am a lord unto you, and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion; and I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. " (Jeremiah 3:4-5, 13-15, JPS)

Why Not Convert To Non-Messianic Judaism? Tanakh Itself Should Give You A Hint As To Why.

If I were you, I would not convert to Judaism. I come from a Jewish background (unbeknownst to me for years), and Yeshua did not have me find out until I was secure in the Messianic Jewish (Jewish Christian) faith (and Christianity is a Jewish sect that derived from Essenism, which is with what John the Baptist was affiliated).

In Judaism, you have to keep 613 laws. Concerning the Moabites, for example: "4 An Ammonite or a Moabite shall not enter into the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation shall none of them enter into the assembly of the LORD for ever; 5 because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Aram-naharaim, to curse thee. 6 Nevertheless the LORD thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the LORD thy God loved thee. 7 Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever."

Yet there are other mitzvot, or laws, which state, "Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart; thou shalt surely rebuke thy neighbour, and not bear sin because of him. Thou shalt not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD."

In light of those seemingly-contradictory mitzvot, the New Testament states the following (See Romans 7:4-25 for context.):

"13 Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. 16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me."

The point is that we were willing to, in this case, hold a grudge against the Mo'avim and Amonim; and Yehovah knew that. That's why He gave us over to that sin.

Yet, if you convert to Judaism, you will have to follow logic like this:

"Whereas certain other nations are allowed to marry into Judaism (if they have converted) after a certain number of generations, when it comes to men from Amon and Mo’av descent, the Torah rules that no such people are ever allowed to marry Jews (23:4). Why are they given such harsh treatment? The pasuk (23:5) tells us that this ban is due to the fact that they hired Bilam to try and curse us, as well as the fact that they did not allow us to pass through their land to go to Eretz Yisrael; they did not greet us with food and drink. But why does this mean that they get harsher treatment than the Egyptians, for example, who can join our ranks after three generations? The Ramban (23:5) explains that these two nations (Amon and Mo’av) were expected to act kindly to us. For generations ago Avraham Avinu saved Lot (the father of both these nations) from captivity, and as such these two nations should have been grateful to us and should have aided us. But since they spurned Avraham’s kindness and exhibited a lack of gratitude, they showed themselves unworthy of joining the Jewish ranks - for a Jew’s life revolves around gratitude. The first word of the day we say is thanks (modeh), and the word yehudim comes from the word hoda’ah, which means to thank. Indeed, such is the centrality of this trait of gratitude, that the reason the Torah gives for eventually allowing Egyptians to join the Jewish fold is because (23:8) we were hosted in their land. Yes, they treated us harshly for two centuries, but (before that) they hosted us in their land and provided us with food when famine had hit Eretz Yisrael. Even for this we are to show a degree of gratitude."

On the other hand, you could become a Karaite Jew; but I already laid out what Romans 7:5-24 says, and Karaites do not believe it. So,

"Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. 15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.'"

The rabbis treat themselves as gods. In Bava Metzi'a 59 of the Talmud, for example:

Why [the oven of] 'Aknai? — Said Rab Judah in Samuel's name: [It means] that they encompassed it with arguments2  as a snake, and proved it unclean. It has been taught: On that day R. Eliezer brought forward every imaginable argument,3  but they did not accept them. Said he to them: 'If the halachah agrees with me, let this carob-tree prove it!' Thereupon the carob-tree was torn a hundred cubits out of its place — others affirm, four hundred cubits. 'No proof can be brought from a carob-tree,' they retorted. Again he said to them: 'If the halachah agrees with me, let the stream of water prove it!' Whereupon the stream of water flowed backwards — 'No proof can be brought from a stream of water,' they rejoined. Again he urged: 'If the halachah agrees with me, let the walls of the schoolhouse prove it,' whereupon the walls inclined to fall. But R. Joshua rebuked them, saying: 'When scholars are engaged in a halachic dispute, what have ye to interfere?' Hence they did not fall, in honour of R. Joshua, nor did they resume the upright, in honour of R. Eliezer; and they are still standing thus inclined. Again he said to them: 'If the halachah agrees with me, let it be proved from Heaven!' Whereupon a Heavenly Voice cried out: 'Why do ye dispute with R. Eliezer, seeing that in all matters the halachah agrees with him!' But R. Joshua arose and exclaimed: 'It is not in heaven.'4  What did he mean by this? — Said R. Jeremiah: That the Torah had already been given at Mount Sinai; we pay no attention to a Heavenly Voice, because Thou hast long since written in the Torah at Mount Sinai, After the majority must one incline.5
R. Nathan met Elijah6  and asked him: What did the Holy One, Blessed be He, do in that hour? — He laughed [with joy], he replied, saying, 'My sons have defeated Me, My sons have defeated Me.

Speaking Of Shabbat...

If I already posted this from Yahoo! Answers before, please let me know. Nonetheless, a refresher always helps. On Shabbat especially, to talk about the different forms of Judaism would begin to give others—including Jews who don't know what the heck their own people do, and those who suspect that they are Jewish and would like to have an idea of what Jews do—an idea of what Jews do on Shabbat. Granted that this is basic, modified from the original Yahoo! post, and more for reference than anything else; but it should still give you an idea of what Jews do on Shabbat.

Conservative Judaism is the closest form of Judaism to Orthodox (really, Orthodox Pharisaic) Judaism. Conservative (Masorti) Judaism broke away from Reform Judaism in order to maintain Matrilineal Descent as the rue for "Who is a Jew?" and other traditions, although they do not believe in the inerrancy of Tanakh or the Talmud. The hierarchy is something along the lines of: 

1) Haredi ("Hasidi", "Chabad") Judaism (including Kabbalah) 2) Orthodox Judaism 3) Conservadox Judaism 4) Reformodox Judaism 5) Conservative (Masorti) Judaism 6) Reform (Liberal, "Progressive") Judaism 7) Reconstructionist Judaism 8) Renewal Judaism or Alternative Judaism 9) Humanistic Judaism 10) Atheistic Judaism 


There's also Karaite (Mikra'iti, Scripturalist) Judaism and Messianic (Christian) Judaism, neither of which are accepted by Pharisaic (Mainstream) Judaism.

Now that you have an idea of each of the forms of Judaism, you can pretty much guess what a Jew who affiliates with a given denomination of Judaism does on Shabbat. If you can't, keep reading...

1) Haredi ("Hasidi", "Chabad") Judaism (including Kabbalah)—will not work on Shabbat. "Work" certainly includes even writing, and may even include walking for the extremely-haredi Jew. For the Jew who does not even walk on Shabbat, he or she may sit in his or her home and privately worship (He or she would certainly not walk to shul.). If he or she has any light on in his or her dwelling, the light will come only from the Shabbat candles, as "work" includes turning on a light switch!
2) Orthodox Judaism—will not work on Shabbat. "Work" may include even writing for the more-Orthodox Jew (as opposed to the Modern Orthodox Jew, depending on what he or she is writing). He or she will usually walk to shul, and drive only if tikun ha'olam v'piku'ach nefesh (e.g., getting a disabled family member to shul) requires him or her to do so (He or she may hire a shabbos goy to drive the family member, however.). If he or she has any light on in his or her dwelling, the light will come only from the Shabbat candles, as "work" includes turning on a light switch!
3) Conservadox Judaism—will mix Conservative and Orthodox practices.
4) Reformodox Judaism—will mix Reform and Orthodox practices. 
5) Conservative (Masorti) Judaism—may or may not work on Shabbat, depending on whether he or she leans toward being Orthodox or Reform. "Work" may include even writing for the more-Orthodox Conservative Jew (as opposed to the more-Modern-Orthodox Jew, depending on what he or she is writing). He or she will usually walk to shul, and drive only if tikun ha'olam v'piku'ach nefesh (e.g., getting a disabled family member to shul) requires him or her to do so (He or she may hire a shabbos goy to drive the family member, however.). If he or she has any light on in his or her dwelling, the light may come only from the Shabbat candles, as "work" may include turning on a light switch! 
6) Reform (Liberal, "Progressive") Judaism—may or may not work on Shabbat, depending on whether he or she leans toward being more traditional or more liberal. "Work" may include even writing for the more-Orthodox Reform Jew (as opposed to the less-Orthodox Reform Jew, depending on what he or she is writing). He or she will usually drive to shul—if he or she attends shul at all.  He or she will also likely turn on light switches.
7) Reconstructionist Judaism—may or may not work on Shabbat, depending on whether he or she leans toward being more traditional or more liberal. He or she will write, usually drive to shul—if he or she attends shul at all—, and likely turn on light switches. 
8) Renewal Judaism or Alternative Judaism—may or may not work on Shabbat, depending on whether he or she leans toward being more traditional or more liberal. He or she will write, drive to shul—if he or she attends shul at all—, and turn on light switches.  
9) Humanistic Judaism—would not be opposed to working on Shabbat. He or she will write, drive to shul—if he or she attends shul at all—, and turn on light switches.  
10) Atheistic Judaism—would not be opposed to working on Shabbat. He or she will write, drive to shul—if he or she attends shul at all—, and turn on light switches. 


Karaite Judaism and Messianic (Christian) Judaism, meanwhile, accept few to no Orthodox practices as authoritative. Karaite and Messianic Jews, therefore, usually work on Shabbat except for in the ways which are prohibited by TaNaKh—for Messianics, TaNaKH ("H" stands for "[B'rit] Hadashah", or "New [Covenant] [or "New Testament"]"). Both Karaites and Messianics usually write, drive to shul, and turn on light switches.

And Liz Was Right....

Pop-Pop was no longer alive within five years. While I can say only "Baruch Dayan Ha'Emet v'Melech Ha'Olam", I will certainly never pretend or believe that Pop-Pop was a great man. Also, the best that one can do for the dead is speak the truth about them. After all, and as my mom recalled to me:

Matthew 8:18-22
The Cost of Discipleship

New King James Version (NKJV)

18 And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side.19 Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”
20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
21 Then another of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
22 But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

I don't know where he is, but I do know that there are fools who are deceived into thinking that Jack Czarnecki was a great man. Even if he turned around at his final moments, that does not make him to have been a great man. I am also quite sure that many of the dead who will be at Pop-Pop's funeral will not want me there, so I would not mind if I am even disinvited.

Apparently, though, Dad wants me and my sister there. I can guarantee you that, nonetheless, his wife and stepdaughters, his nephew Greg, and his cousin Janet—for example—will not want me there. In fact, I'd be honored if they would not want me there. They are my enemies, not my brothers and sisters. While Scripture states that I ought not rebuke fools—for they will hate me more if I do so—and that I ought to love my enemies, it does say:

Matthew 5:22

But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.

It also says to "judge righteously" (Proverbs 31:9)—and without rehashing the discussion, I will remind you that it never says to not judge; it just says not to judge hypocritically. Also, I am angry at Greg and Janet—among others—with cause. Firstly, they are fooled into thinking that the man who committed second-degree murder against his mother with murder-malice intent was a great man. Secondly (as I have discussed before), Janet was absolutely okay with Great-Grandma's vile actions against Vilmosz Rusznak; and as far as I know, even Pop-Pop would not have been that vile—certainly, his parents were not. After all, Great-Granddad Czarnecki's families stopped talking to us when we became Anusim (except for the deed change regarding the farm in the 1960s), and the same certainly would have gone for Great-Grandma Czarnecki's families—in fact, one family member had a daughter by the name of Jutte Jurkovitsova within the Turczocz, Hungary Jewish community; so she wasn't looking to become an Anusit or Messianic Jew anytime soon. So, they were not given the opportunity to help, anyway; and they would have if they could have. Thirdly (and I'm being generous by not bringing up specifics), I know that Greg has some very-Pop-Pop-like sins for which he still needs to repent.

As I stated, with Greg and Janet among many of the dead being at Pop-Pop's funeral and probably not wanting me there, I would not mind if I am even disinvited. After all, I have no time for council among the wicked. "Depart from me, you evildoers, [f]or I will keep the commandments of my God!" (Psalm 119:115)

Whether Jack Czarnecki is merely physically dead or dead altogether, only God (B"D"E) knows—he apparently died peacefully and very quickly, even within five second of being administered morphine and in his sleep. Scripture does say, "When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die because of it. But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is lawful and right, he shall live because of it." (Ezekiel 33:18-19) So, he could have been made right with his Maker. In either case, though, "let the dead bury their own dead" and may I be disinvited from the funeral if—God forbid—I would have to have council among them. "I have hated the assembly of evildoers, [a]nd will not sit with the wicked." (Psalm 26:5) After all, Jesus warned, "“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.  And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple." (Luke 14:26-27)

PS: Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) 4:16 and The World

I saw a quote that said, "No matter how famous, or rich you become, the weather will determine the attendance at your funeral." I don't buy it. People have braved the worst kinds of weather to attend a millionarie's or celebrity's funeral, and I'm even questioning that "There was no end of all the people over whom he was made king;
Yet those who come afterward will not rejoice in him." (Kohelet 4:16a-b)

Unless Sholmo was writing about normal times and not the End of Days, we certainly remember kings and other celebrities—and we even pass down the knowledge of them to our children and grandchildren, and their grandchildren and their grandchildren. For example, who doesn't know about King Hammurabi?—and he died in 1750 BCE! Who doesn't remember or know about Elvis—the "King of Rock and Roll"? "Yet those who come afterward will not rejoice in him." Really?

Again, unless Shlomo wasn't being told about the time that is "such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be." (Mattityahu 24:21. cf. Markus 13:19, 1 Timote 4:1-2, and Romim 1:22-24), I question Kohelet 4:16a-b. Even a certain celebrity (and I guarantee that he'll be remembered) got 924 "likes" and 112 comments as well as 11 shares for one picture within five hours today. He also got 9 "favorites", 27 retweets, and 17 comments within the same amount of time. Unless the time where we say "Will a man make gods for himself, Which are not gods?" (Yirimiyahu 16:20) comes soon, the veracity of Kohelet 4:16a-b is a question for me.

Public OpinionPoll Results

Why The Hell Do I Care About My Self-Loathing Family, Especially When They Persecute Me?

I'm more worried about my family than I am about me, and I worry about other families who think that: a) I and others are joking. b) I and others are lying. Jeremiah 8:1-6 is going to be applying to my and other families if we don't get our **** together really soon, and that's what scares me—I didn't choose to find out that, in my own family's case, we're Jewish and we betrayed relatives during the Holocaust. I, as was everyone else who didn't know, was told that relatives wrote to us during the Great Depression to ask for money. Nobody told me that a cousin named Vilmosz Rusznak was desperately reaching out to cousins whom he considered apostates, let alone that we stopped writing to him—and the worst part is that not only are we in denial about what happened and the consequences of the happening, but we're also getting awfully close to making the same mistakes and having worse befall us for doing so.

We have relatives who were closer to those relatives and who are in Israel now, and we could very well let them fall into the hands of Rouhani, Putin, etc. if we don't get our **** together—and what does G-d say will happen if we even stay in the Diaspora, let alone leave our relatives who are already in Israel unhelped? 
"“At that time,” says the Lord, “they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves. 2 They shall spread them before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and which they have served and after which they have walked, which they have sought and which they have worshiped. They shall not be gathered nor buried; they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth. 3 Then death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of those who remain of this evil family, who remain in all the places where I have driven them,” says the Lord of hosts." (Jeremiah 8:1-3)


Nonetheless, I really resent that people would say that I am lying about what happened. What reason would I have to lie? You think that I like what happened, let alone that I'm getting persecuted for finding it out and talking about it? Give me a break—and I'm not here to help only our family: I'm here to help both our family and families who have been in situations like ours.

By the way, the United States is currently ~$16.965976 Trillion dollars in debt. We're not going to have a place to which to turn when push comes to shove—Vilmosz tried to make aliyah when the time for him to do so came too late; and our secret is out now—Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, etc. are not our lands—, so Europe won't back accepting us when "each shall flee to his own land" (cf. Isaiah 13:14 and Jeremiah 50:16).

That said, "“Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”"

You do what you want; I'm making aliyah, and I'm not helping you when push comes to shove—I have family who will listen to help out. 

Update: Here's how I put it to a friend with pictures:

• I am worried.

  My one cousin in particular thinks that I'm making **** up and that this is all a joke to me.

  And looking at what times we're in now, I'm really worried about his fate.

  This is the nasty comment that I received from him—and this after I found out that my great-great-granddad Rusnak was complicit in the deaths of his cousins who were murdered in the Holocaust:
• 
  

  "How could you possibly presume guilt from a picture taken years later? You must really hate your family and hate your ancestry. Andy and Julia were not ethnic Jews, and had no cousin named Vilmosz. Vilmosz's family never reached out to the Zlata Idka Fosko/Rusnaks. Your thinking and your comments about Andrew Rusnak make me sick. Why don't you share your beliefs with Joseph Rusnak and see what he thinks about your comments about his grandfather?"
• 
  

  
  

  And I've told Joe—he laughed.

  That is, I told him that we're Jewish. He doesn't believe it.
• 
  

  And what am I supposed to do when the U.S. and global economies crash; WWIII happens, and they get wiped out? After all, "death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of those who remain of this evil family, who remain in all the places where I have driven them,” says the Lord of hosts."
• 
  

  Not only that, but we're still ****ed up from what my great-great-granddad and my great-grandma (his oldest daughter did). If you count from him, I am of the fourth generation from him. From her, I am of the third.

  
  

  "‘The Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.’"
• 
  

  And this is what he looked like 27 vs. 69, by the way....

  At 27: https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/1070017_206618619494801_1559005036_n.jpg

  

  At 69 (about two years after Vilmosz and other cousins died at Auschwitz): https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/995923_206618582828138_1461355789_n.jpg

  

  And he had quit working in the coal mines in his 30s to 40s. He did not do any more hard labor after that. He was a church sexton and cemetery caretaker.
• Where else would that kind of wearing down come from? G-d curses those who do such heinous things as my great-great-granddad did. And this was him shortly before that...

  https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/581641_206618032828193_1103245314_n.jpg

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Update: I want to know what you would do: 

  
  

  Public OpinionPoll Results