Jerusalem Knights

ד' לחודש התשיעי תשע"ד

The Jerusalem Knights Festival is almost over,...thank goodness. I first heard about this annual festival from my friend Eitan at A Jewish Israel. When first hearing about this event, while others might have thought about the romance of it all, or the fun they had at a Renaissance Fair in America, I immediately thought about the Crusades. After all, knights + duels + killing + attempts to conquer + Israel = The Crusades.

Sure, knights in shining armor, damsels in distress, quests, magic, Merlin and King Arthur, Robin Hood and Ivanhoe are fun, as are Renaissance fairs. I get that.

The Lord of the Rings and The Wheel of Time, two of my all time favorite series, are extensions of this, albeit not precisely the same time period.

But, what I cannot get my head around is the Christian claim to the Land of Israel, especially when they are still at it, infiltrating the Shomron, lobbying for "religious rights," and enlisting members of K'nesseth to aid them in their sneaky entrance into permanent residence status, and more.

The Crusades were also our first major taste of the wars between Esau and Yishma'el,...with Jews stuck in the middle, as always. This was later manifested in the control over Israel by the Ottoman Turkish Empire, then a change of hands to the British Mandate.

To most, Jerusalem Knights is just another one of those "exciting [non-Jewish] events," recently re-elected Mayor Nir Barakat has promised to inject into the city.

And so, I find it a bit disturbing that Jews are not only cheering for such an event to take place in the Old City of Jerusalem, but are inviting this kind of denial of history into the very city, which is still being fought over (See Zech. 12-14).

Two poor schlubs waiting to be executed.
Could they be Jews?

It would not bother me so much, if all those participating in the fantasy were not so numbed out to the reality and the symbolism of it all.

Acknowledge the bloody and sneaky history of Esau, then be my guest, and have at it.

The Wheel Of Time: A Bittersweet Ending

כ"ו לחודש העשירי תשע"ג

A Memory Of Light Cover

January 8, 2013 is the official release date of the fifteenth, and final, book in Robert Jordan's The Wheel Of Time series.  The title is A Memory Of Light (#14).  It is known as Book #14, as the prequel to Book #1, A New Spring, is considered Book #0. 

Jordan died while in the middle of Book #12, what was to be the last book.  Jordan's widow sought someone to complete the series, using her late husband's notes, including his outline for the ending.  Due to the large amount of material, the last book turned into the last three books.

The author, and The Wheel Of Time fan, she found for this endeavor was Brandon Sanderson.

A friend of mine bought a copy in a Jerusalem bookstore back in December.  Before anyone starts yelling "Zionist conspiracy," I will say that many people around the world were able to obtain pre-release date copies, often under the the condition that they not reveal any of the content until after January 8, or something like that.

To my good fortune, he finished it rather quickly, and lent it to me.  Of the 909 pages, I'm on page 174.  Although there is no comparison between the writing, in particular the dialogue, of Sanderson and Jordan, all Wheel Of Time fans have been waiting with baited breath for the continuation of the plot, and various subplot lines, and well as the answers to countless, unanswered questions, elements to which Sanderson does do justice.

In a nutshell, The Wheel Of Time series could be described as something of a Lord Of The Rings.  Yet, instead of three sets of characters set on three different stages, and engineering three parts of the plot simultaneously, there can be up to seven or eight, simultaneously occurring stages of interacting characters.

In addition, one minor character might appear in Book #3, disappear in Book #4, and the re-appear in Book #8, only to be raised in status from minor to major character.  So difficult is it to keep track of the characters and plot at times, the on-line WOT Encyclopedia have become a necessity, rather than a complement to the series.

When I finish Book #14, it will be bittersweet.  I have been told that almost all of my questions will be answered, yet no longer will I be able to look forward to what happens next, as there will not be anymore "next."

I recommend the Wheel Of Time Series to any fantasy lover, and to anyone enamored by the sword fights and magic, like those in the Arthurian legends.

Will All Of My Wheel Of Time Questions Be Answered In The Final Book?

3 of the Ninth Month 5772

Now that I have finished Towers Of Midnight, book 13 in the soon to be 14-book Wheel Of Time series, I have a few questions. I will try to keep the spoilers to a minimum. But, there are a few spoilers below, especially if you have not gotten very far in the series.

1. Will Nynaeve find out about the complete Healing of Stilling by Asha'man?

2. Will Siuan and Leane ever achieve their full power?

3. Will Setalle Anan be Healed?

4. What did Aviendha see in the rings in Rhuidien?

5. How do the Aiel Wise Ones establish their hierarchy?
(A friend of mine suggested that their hierarchy is based on the amount of ji collected over time. Is it?)

6. Will Liandrin escape the Seanchan, especially now that Suroth is out of commission?

7. Will Elaida escape the Seanchan?

8. Will Galina escape Therava?

9. Will Amathera regain her status as Panarch, or any status at all, perhaps as a rallying point for Taraboners to escape the reins of the Seanchan?

10. Will Nynaeve heal the rest of the Asha'man?

Min's Viewings:

11. How will Alivia "help Rand die?"

12. What is the "darkness" around Davram Bashere?

13. What does the "broken crown" above Perrin indicate?
(The popular theory is that Faile will Queen of Saldea, where the crown is known as the "Broken Crown.")

14. What is the thing that is "odd" about Aviendha's babies?
(Aviendha's visit to the glass columns in Rhuidien suggests that they could channel from a very young age. Is this correct? Anything else?)

15Min said that Cadsuane Sedai was going to teach something to Rand and to the Asha'man. It was something they had to learn, but were not going to like it.
(A friend of mine suggested that this already occurred, and that it backfired. Did it? What was it? Did I miss it?)

16. Is there is a third entity within or part of Rand's identity?

List your theories, and your questions below as comments.