Happy Hanukkah from all of us at IFC.
As you all know, we at IFC have had a busy couple of years leading up to the Freedom Amendment vote on November 8th. The naysayers on both sides of the aisle told us we would never get this passed. History tells us it’s best not to bet against committed American Patriots.
A few days ago Hanukah started, it’s the 2200-year-old Jewish celebration of the Festival of Lights. This year it will end on Christmas Day.
Did you know our own General George Washington was well-versed in and inspired by Hanukkah?
From a recent article by Paul Dowling at The American Thinker;
“It was the night of December 25, 1777. Christmas Day had been observed glumly and after eating their rations the men were bedded down for the night — all except the Jew. [Actually, the first night of Hanukah — beginning on the 25th of Kislev, 5538, on the Hebrew calendar — would have begun at sundown on December 24, 1777.] In a corner of the drafty wooden shack that served as their barracks, as quietly as possible, he lit his menorah, an eight-branched candelabrum that he had carried with him from overseas in his knapsack ever since the war had begun.” As he lit his menorah, the Jewish soldier wept softly to himself, a detail that did not escape the notice of General Washington, as he was making his appointed rounds. Approaching the soldier and touching him on the shoulder, as an aide-de-camp looked on, the general proceeded to ask, “Why do you cry, son?” to which the soldier replied, “Actually, I am not crying. I’m praying with tears for your victory.”
Per Rabbi Sharfman, the rest of the conversation went something like this:
“And what is this strange lamp?” asked the commander.
“This is my Hanukah lamp,” and the young man related briefly the ancient story — how long ago a small bedraggled but patriotic army routed a huge and powerful foe.
“You are a Jew, a son of the Prophets, and you say we will be victorious?” the general declared, his eyes fixed on the flickering flames of the menorah.
“Yes,” the soldier unhesitatingly replied. “The God of Israel who helped the Maccabeans will help to build here a land of freedom for the oppressed.”
To the Harts, General Washington recalled on his luncheon visit when Hanukah was again celebrated, that the warmth of the glowing candlelight and the words of optimism and courage on that darkest night at Valley Forge uplifted him and gave him the fortitude to fight against all odds for victory.”
Happy Hanukkah my friends and fellow IFC members. Small committed forces have been winning battles and wars for centuries, you all just won another one.
Shoot Straight, Speak The Truth, and Never Surrender Our Liberties.
Dave Funk, President
Iowa Firearms Coalition
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