DECEMBER 2016 BLUFFTON SUN RABBI DR ARTHUR SEGAL
Shalom and greetings:
Ending our tour through the Jewish calendar, December brings us Chanukah from sundown on 12/24 to 1/1/2017.
Chanukah means "dedication.'' Just as the Maccabees rededicated the Syrian-Greek desecrated Temple back to God, we are to rededicate our lives to God. The Chanukah menorah is lit one candle the first night, two on the second and so forth up to eight, to remind us that our spirituality should always be increasing,(Talmud Shabbat 21b). Not wanting Chanukah to be a war victory holiday, they used Zechariah 4:6-8: "Not by might and not by armies but by My Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts," into Chanukah's Sabbath.
Judea belonged to the Egyptian-Ptolemaic Kingdom until 200 BCE when Seleucid-Greek-Syrian King Antiochus III defeated King Ptolemy V. Judea was annexed to Syria. Antiochus guaranteed the Hebrews to "live according to their ancestral customs" at the Jerusalem Temple. In 175 BCE, Antiochus IV invaded Judea at the request of Tobias. The Jewish Tobias clan, led the Hellenized [reform, modern] faction of Jews, and were expelled to Syria by the pro-Egyptian Traditional Hebraic Hashmonian family. The exiled Tobiads lobbied Antiochus IV to recapture Jerusalem. The king was intervening in an internal civil war between the Traditional Hashmonian Maccabean Hebrews and the Hellenized Jews in Jerusalem.
These two groups violently fought over who would rule with Hebraic Traditionalists contesting with Hellenized Jews. The civil war escalated when Greek-Syrian Antiochus sided with the Hellenized Jews against the Hebraic traditionalists who were pro-Egypt, and Syria's enemy. Antiochus allowed the Hellenized Jews to practice Judaism, but prohibited the religious practices of the Hebraic Temple. Antiochus abandoned the Seleucid practice, going back to Alexander the Great, of religious freedom.
Eventually the Hebraic Hashmonian Maccabees won. The Hellenized Jews escaped and help found Hierapolis {Turkey]. By 62 BCE 50,000 Jews lived there. Meanwhile back in Jerusalem, around the same time, Hashmonian Hebraic King Yannai, stole the priesthood, and had a public disagreement over Jewish versus Hebrew Sukkot rituals. The Jews pelted him with citrons, and Yannai killed 6,000 Jews, plus 800 Rabbis at a dinner party. His death was a Rabbinic -Judaic celebration for centuries,(2 Shevat), and this is one of the main reasons the Books of Maccabees are not in the Jewish Bible.
Rabbi Arthur Segal is an international lecturer, author, and teacher. Visit him at www.JewishSpiritualRenewal.org . Email at RabbiASegal@aol.com
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Jewish Renewal
Jewish Spirituality
Hilton Head Island, SC; Bluffton, SC; Savannah, GA
RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: HILTON HEAD JEWISH INTERFAITH WEDDINGS: DESTINATION :LOCALS
JEWISH WEDDINGS OFFICIATED BY RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: TRADITIONAL, INTERFAITH, CO-OFFICIANT, DESTINATION
"One of the Joys of being a Rabbi," says Rabbi Arthur Segal," is working closely with the bride and groom and officiating at their wedding." He can do this with couples living near by or with couples having a destination wedding in the greater beautiful Hilton Head Island area.
Rabbi Arthur Segal helps develop a custom ceremony with the couple so that each word in the ceremony rings true to them. His ceremonies can range from the very traditional to what ever the couples desires. Rabbi opines that this is the couple's special day, and to treat each wedding as unique.
For those who are having an interfaith wedding, Rabbi takes special care to respect both traditions, again with total input from the couple. He will be pleased to co-officiate at weddings, using non-Trinitarian language.
Rabbi will work closely with the wedding planer and/or caterer to make sure the wedding is seamless, and the bride and groom can totally enjoy themselves on their special day.
Rabbi Arthur Segal is available, and actually prefers, to be at the rehearsal, to ensure all is going smoothly, and to get to know the bridal party, and family, before the actual wedding day.
For those that wish to have a Ketubah, rabbi will work closely to make sure everyone's name has correct calligraphy on the document, in English and Hebrew, so the signing ceremony is flawless.
For a beautiful gallery of Ketubahs go to JudaicConnection.com (My couples receive a $15 shipping discount)
Rabbi Arthur Segal tries to limit his weddings to Hilton Head, SC, Bluffton, SC, Palmetto Bluff, SC, Savannah, GA, and Charleston, SC, but has been known to make himself available elsewhere, even out of the USA. He will also conduct weddings and recommitment ceremonies on cruise ships.
In keeping with Jewish ethics, if the couple resides in Rabbi Arthur Segal's town, Rabbi will ask, unless there are some special circumstances, if the couple has first asked the local pulpit rabbi to officiate.
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Jewish Renewal
Jewish Spirituality
Hilton Head Island, SC; Bluffton, SC; Savannah, GA
RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: CRUISE SHIPS: JEWISH WEDDINGS: INTERFAITH: DESTINATION
JEWISH WEDDINGS OFFICIATED BY RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: TRADITIONAL, INTERFAITH, CO-OFFICIANT, DESTINATION
"One of the Joys of being a Rabbi," says Rabbi Arthur Segal," is working closely with the bride and groom and officiating at their wedding." He can do this with couples living near by or with couples having a destination wedding in the greater beautiful Hilton Head Island area.
Rabbi Arthur Segal helps develop a custom ceremony with the couple so that each word in the ceremony rings true to them. His ceremonies can range from the very traditional to what ever the couples desires. Rabbi opines that this is the couple's special day, and to treat each wedding as unique.
For those who are having an interfaith wedding, Rabbi takes special care to respect both traditions, again with total input from the couple. He will be pleased to co-officiate at weddings, using non-Trinitarian language.
Rabbi will work closely with the wedding planer and/or caterer to make sure the wedding is seamless, and the bride and groom can totally enjoy themselves on their special day.
Rabbi Arthur Segal is available, and actually prefers, to be at the rehearsal, to ensure all is going smoothly, and to get to know the bridal party, and family, before the actual wedding day.
For those that wish to have a Ketubah, rabbi will work closely to make sure everyone's name has correct calligraphy on the document, in English and Hebrew, so the signing ceremony is flawless.
For a beautiful gallery of Ketubahs go to JudaicConnection.com (My couples receive a $15 shipping discount)
Rabbi Arthur Segal tries to limit his weddings to Hilton Head, SC, Bluffton, SC, Palmetto Bluff, SC, Savannah, GA, and Charleston, SC, but has been known to make himself available elsewhere, even out of the USA. He will also conduct weddings and recommitment ceremonies on cruise ships.
In keeping with Jewish ethics, if the couple resides in Rabbi Arthur Segal's town, Rabbi will ask, unless there are some special circumstances, if the couple has first asked the local pulpit rabbi to officiate.
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Jewish Renewal
Jewish Spirituality
Hilton Head Island, SC; Bluffton, SC; Savannah, GA
RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: ROSE HILL MANSION: JEWISH WEDDINGS: INTERFAITH: DESTINATION
JEWISH WEDDINGS OFFICIATED BY RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: TRADITIONAL, INTERFAITH, CO-OFFICIANT, DESTINATION
"One of the Joys of being a Rabbi," says Rabbi Arthur Segal," is working closely with the bride and groom and officiating at their wedding." He can do this with couples living near by or with couples having a destination wedding in the greater beautiful Hilton Head Island area.
Rabbi Arthur Segal helps develop a custom ceremony with the couple so that each word in the ceremony rings true to them. His ceremonies can range from the very traditional to what ever the couples desires. Rabbi opines that this is the couple's special day, and to treat each wedding as unique.
For those who are having an interfaith wedding, Rabbi takes special care to respect both traditions, again with total input from the couple. He will be pleased to co-officiate at weddings, using non-Trinitarian language.
Rabbi will work closely with the wedding planer and/or caterer to make sure the wedding is seamless, and the bride and groom can totally enjoy themselves on their special day.
Rabbi Arthur Segal is available, and actually prefers, to be at the rehearsal, to ensure all is going smoothly, and to get to know the bridal party, and family, before the actual wedding day.
For those that wish to have a Ketubah, rabbi will work closely to make sure everyone's name has correct calligraphy on the document, in English and Hebrew, so the signing ceremony is flawless.
For a beautiful gallery of Ketubahs go to JudaicConnection.com (My couples receive a $15 shipping discount)
Rabbi Arthur Segal tries to limit his weddings to Hilton Head, SC, Bluffton, SC, Palmetto Bluff, SC, Savannah, GA, and Charleston, SC, but has been known to make himself available elsewhere, even out of the USA. He will also conduct weddings and recommitment ceremonies on cruise ships.
In keeping with Jewish ethics, if the couple resides in Rabbi Arthur Segal's town, Rabbi will ask, unless there are some special circumstances, if the couple has first asked the local pulpit rabbi to officiate.
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Jewish Renewal
Jewish Spirituality
Hilton Head Island, SC; Bluffton, SC; Savannah, GA
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Jewish Renewal
Jewish Spirituality
Hilton Head Island, SC; Bluffton, SC; Savannah, GA
