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Cheryl Freier Author of “The Wild Grasses: Hidden Truth Poems” Skip to contentHomeAbout the authorAbout the bookIN CONTINUATION OF OUR FAITH AS JEWS IN THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT
Posted on August 20, 2013 by cherylfreier IN CONTINUATION OF OUR FAITH AS JEWS IN THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT
We are not all heroes, but that fact is already known by us. In thinking about our history of Jews in America, way back in the past when President Washington was General Washington, we as Jews played a significant part in resisting the British and in winning the freedom of our country, America.
There is the story about a cantor, Cantor Gershom Mendes Seixas, who led the Congregation of Jews in the small synagogue, Shearith Israel, which was located in New York. When General Washington was losing the battles in New York, he made the decision to withdraw his troops from New York. The Jewish population, having escaped from religious persecution in Europe, being ardently for freedom and for religious freedom, knew that they had to flee the state. Their plight was harried when in August of 1776, Lord Howe of the British docked his fleets on the shores of New York City.
The cantor took with him the Torah and all other key religious objects like Torah books and together with the rest of the members of the congregation fled to Philadelphia which was then the head of the young American government. Together with Jews from Philadelphia, they built a synagogue. One of the members of the congregation, Hayman Levy of New York contributed eighty pounds and was thus given the honor of opening up the doors to the Ark.
When the war ended, the cantor returned to Congregation Shearith Israel in New York and resumed his role as the leader of the congregation. This story, which is taken out of the ‘annals and words’ of history, is a viable example of our willingness as Jews to practice our religion and to renew our vows of our faith every year at Rosh Hashanah. We are following what G-d had intended. (Source: Google, History Of The Jews In America)
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged and The Shepherd Boy And The Sheep Alphabet, Blossoms Around The Circles Hidden Truth Poems, CHERYL FREIER is the author of: The Grayling Hidden Truth Poems, The Day Of The Hidden Truth Poems, The Wild Grasses Hidden Truth Poems | Leave a comment | Edit
On The Coming Rosh Hashanah Holidays, We Remember Who We Are
Posted on August 15, 2013 by cherylfreier
The history of Jewish people goes all the way back to the days of Moses from the Bible. G-d himself decreed the holiday of Rosh Hashanah. It is written in Leviticus 23:23-25 that G-d told Moses that on the seventh month of the year and the first day of the month, that a celebration be held in which no one works; there is to be a Holy service in which large horns are blown to announce to the people that this is another year that we are given life. But in return for being given life, the people are to fulfill the promise of why they were chosen by G-d to be his chosen people. These promises are renewed year after year to follow the responsibilities assigned by G-d in order to be a Jew.
During the Holocaust, history tells us that our faith in being Jewish was tested by mortals, the Nazis, who were despoilers who sought to deny the Jewish people their very heritage and their religion, and their very existence. There are testimonies to our faith and courage, particularly, as history points out, that the people of Denmark resisted the Nazi terror and saved over 98 percent of their Jewish population by devising clever schemes to outwit the Nazis and to transport the Jews of Denmark to Sweden. This historical feat of justice and mercy happened in 1944 just in time for the Rosh Hashanah holidays of that war year.
In looking carefully over the complexity of the make-up of the Danish people, one cannot dismiss the research of the Danish people’s ancestral history. The Danes were once populated by one of the Lost Tribes of Israel, that of the Lost Tribe of Dan. The reality of the facts and research are too stark to refuse recognition. The Tribe of Dan celebrated the beginning of the renewal of the harvest in March, and they celebrated and worshipped the Sabbath. Indeed, language experts have proven that the derivation of the Dutch language may very well come from the Hebrew language.
There is a renewal of hope during the Rosh Hashanah holiday for its history; it is a renewal for the responsibility to care for all peoples, and to follow the paths and ways of the Bible for righteous thoughts, and to work for peace and prosperity amongst all nations of peoples.
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The Past Filtered By Outlined Memories
Posted on August 6, 2013 by cherylfreier The fragility of ‘life’ rests on so many tangibles as well as intangible happenings. Back in the history of the Jewish people, when the Kingdom of Judah still existed, the renowned prophet of the Jewish people, Isaiah, asked the king of Judah, Ahaz for a sign that his faith in the Lord of the Jewish people was restored and would be everlasting. Ahaz never responded and he continued his worship of idols. Isaiah knew then that the Kingdom of Judah was doomed. Isaiah prayed, “O Lord, Thou art my G-d, I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
Years later in the 1940’s, the Nazis in their propaganda and military campaigns in WWII, they were unstoppable in their evil. The war raged on and innocent people suffered at the Nazis hands. Evil doers do eventually outdo themselves; however, the Nazis had bluffed and bullied their way all the way to controlling major countries of Europe: Austria, Czechoslovakia, and others on what really was an unbelievable impossible happening—logistics wise alone. It is amazing that the war lasted so long on this thin thread of possible realities; and amazing that they managed to control people of the countries of Europe. The Nazis’ lack of moral perspectives projected them into this whirlwind of throes for winning, and seizing, and destroying.
But history has shown that ‘this luck of circumstances’ did eventually come to an end. Oil, for instance, has always held a major key in deciding who has the upper hand in political as well as military power. During WWII, Germany received oil from its own refineries in Germany, and from Austria, but most of its oil needs used for the purpose of winning the war came from the oil refinery facilities of the Ploesti Oil fields, which was located 30 miles north of Bucharest, Romania. Because of the Allied blockade of oil and products, and many other goods to Germany during the war, the need for more oil increased. In order to win the war, Germany had to capture other oil fields. The mostly likely place to accomplish this endeavor they thought was in Russia.
It was in the year, 1942 that Germany sought to capture three oil fields in Russia. In August of 1942, the Germans set out to capture the small oil field of Maikop; they were successful in capturing this oil field, which yielded to them 19 million barrels of oil annually. The other two oil fields located in the Carpathian Mountains were Grozy and Baku–Baku being the largest of the three oil fields with its production of 170 million barrels of oil per year. The Germans were never able to capture these two oil fields. Nor were the fields immediately useable for fuel needs for their war effort, for the Russians destroyed all refinery equipment and it became a monumental task for the Germans to restore, and the Germans were not able to do this. Thus, the loss of the use of these oil fields was a major contributor to their loss of the war.
Thus when Stalingrad was recaptured by the Russians, strategically, and logistically, the Germans had no choice—they had to withdraw even from the Maikop oil fields, further depleting their oil supplies. Secondly, after the loss of 50 percent of their oil production from the Romanian oil fields’ refinery, as a result of the Allied bombings and the war theatre which was entitled, Operation Tidal wave, which took place in August in 1943. This was one of the biggest battles of the war—one third of the B24’s were destroyed and the number of air men lost was staggering.
The British since 1940 had long since recognized the need for bombing German oil refineries. In March of 1944 there was a plan for the task of a combined bomber offensive on a plan for the destruction of 14 synthetic plants and 13 refineries. Indeed the bombing of the oil refineries became the highest priority on Sept. 3, 1944 on military tactics of the war effort. In fact, it was not until January of 1945 that the effort was lowered and the concentration became on transportation plan targets.
WWII was a bitter defeat for the ‘icon powers’ of evil and destruction. WWII was a reaffirmation of ‘good’ overcoming, and overwhelming, and destroying evil. It took a while for this to happen. In the book, The Wild Grasses Hidden Truth Poems, the realities and suffering for those who were innocently caught in the throes of this conflict was phenomenal. It is surprising to me that any one survived the horrors. Yet, this is the story of our people: we survive at all costs and ‘the remnants return’. Such was the story for my husband and his three brothers and sister and for his mother and father. They refused to despair. They refused to be captured and did all that they could to elude the protagonists in the war. As I wrote in the book, “…Then they piled snow as high as they could on the very top of the branches; and they built a small door, which they could move and crawl out of. They each had a canteen, and they put the snow into it so they had water; they had berries which they had picked along the way; they had picked some of the wild grasses, and they had with them some dried mushrooms, so they had enough to eat for at least two days.” Thus, their minds were put into gear to survive. Their faith in G-d was renewed every day that they survived.
Posted in Holocaust | Tagged 1942, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Europe, Germany, King of Judah, Nazis, Ploesti Oil fields, propaganda, WWII | Leave a comment | Edit
The Tale Is Finally Told
Posted on August 1, 2013 by cherylfreier Who knows what secrets will be revealed tomorrow? What secrets? Perhaps the tragic events that the wild grasses, and the winds, or sands had witnessed many years ago.
Lying deep on the ocean’s sands and silenced, fathoms away from the crests of the waves and the flowing salt waters, lies mysteries not only about science and exploration, but about people who long ago went down with their ships. Recently, the news media revealed that a diving team had uncovered a shipwreck; it had been found lying deep on the ocean floor about 170 feet southeast of the city, Galveston, Texas. The ship lay 4,363 feet below the ocean’s surface.
On first examination, the ship seemed just like any other ship that had its structure weakened and had gone down in a fierce storms—the ship sunk as an unfortunate occurrence. But, upon further investigation, the unraveling of the mystery shipwreck was revealed. The wreck had been seaworthy and had sailed the seas as none other than a pirate ship. Upon further exploration of the sea area, another pirate ship was discovered; and after continuous exploration of area, a third ship was found, each within a mile of each other. The third ship had all of the evidence of being a hostage ship to the other two pirate ships.
When one thinks about what could have happened on that stormy day, the drama that must have happened and unfolded: a ship laden with goods—-transporting articles like china and pottery from Great Britain and Mexico, and muskets from Canada, was seized and boarded by pirates. There must have been some struggle and most likely prisoners were taken on board the pirate ship. It is possible that the second pirate ship came to raid the first pirate ship—what daring and intrigue on the open seas; what mysteries and dangers to the innocent captain and all of his innocent mates on the ship; they did not, however, go to their seas graves in vain for the sea would someday reveal what happened. There are no real secrets.
When the Nazis marched into Austria, Poland, and Czechoslovakia, they did so under subterfuge; people believed the Nazis that they would not do any people any harm. British high officials followed a policy of appeasement. They wanted to kill off millions of innocent people in the gas chambers while they were spewing out news about camaraderie, and a better and more united, and prosperous world if Germany was the super power. Inmates who escaped told the real story: of strife, and inhumanity, inhuman conditions, and the fragility of life for people who were not included in their Nazi party regime; it took time, but their secrets were revealed to the entire world.
In the book: The Wild Grasses Hidden Truth Poems, the main characters, the Freier family find a magical house; the winds, and the wild grasses, as well as the angels, and the trees in the forest sent them through the forest and they found this house. They were able to pray freely and celebrate the Passover holiday in this house. The forest and the forces of nature released this peaceful oasis to them in their time of need. They survived the war and were able to tell some of the ‘secrets’ that they had witnessed.
Posted in Holocaust, Time | Tagged Cheryl Freier, drama, Germany, Nazis, Passover, pirate, shipwreck, The Wild Grasses | Leave a comment | Edit
The Finding of King David’s Palace Relates To All Of Us In This Present Day
Posted on July 30, 2013 by cherylfreier The name of King David is spoken with praise nearly by everyone at least once or twice during the year and probably many more times. When news of an archeological find such as this one is broadcast to the public, people start to ask questions: how, what, where, when, and how does this recovery relate to the people living in this day and age. It relates. It is very powerful to see remnants of its existence. It is most poignant. Why? Because it proves that it is real; that King David did exist, he did build palatial palaces in strategic places in Israel to help to defend Israel. How does this happening particularly relate to us? It is a living monument that goes back all the way beyond the birth of Christ; it gives a most concrete example that people at that time stood up for their rights, and were willing to fight to the death for territories, and for their manifest retention of their spiritual growth which, of course, was engendered in their religion. Mostly, it meant the continuance of the practice of worshiping one G-d, the practice which was begun by their forefathers, Abraham, Issac, and Jacob.
The Wild Grasses Hidden Truth Poems, although written so many hundreds of years later, is about a family who is fighting to survive a brutal war. Yes, they wanted to survive to live on, but they wanted to survive most of all, because they believed in their religion, and their G-d, and wanted to worship freely for the rest of their lives. One of the major reasons Hitler and his Generals wanted to annihilate the Hebrew people was because Hitler felt that they were inferior to the master race. But here through excavation, you have proof that the Kingdom of Israel was a mighty kingdom—a rich and a powerful one that extended in territory from Damascus itself in one direction and all the way to the Mediterranean Sea in another direction. Its wealth of gold and gems at that time was astounding. Indeed, through the excavation, there is now undeniable proof of the existence of that palatial palace that existed for 500 years. Indeed, there are very few peoples on this earth who can claim such an inheritance. The little bunker that the Freier family built under the ground to live in was not palatial; the caves that they lived in—in the deep woods was not palatial either. These monuments in the hills and deep woods in Slovakia during the Holocaust might not have been on any grand scale, but it served a purpose: to provide safety, and the opportunity for the family to pray in peace, and to remember that their heritage goes back to the time of King David and goes back even farther than that. Their heritage goes back to the time of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, the three Patriarchs who had the blessings of G-d himself for their genuine goodness to people and for their devotion to one G-d.
Posted in Devotion, Holocaust | Tagged archeology, birth of Christ, Cheryl Freier, God, King David, spirituality, survival, The Wild Grasses, war, World War II | Leave a comment | Edit
Different Times, Different Places, But So Much The Same
Posted on July 19, 2013 by cherylfreier The Wild Grasses Hidden Truth Poems is about a family of four sons and one daughter and their parents and goes into detail how they lived from day to day to survive WWII. Yes, they as a family worked together, planned together, prayed together and hoped together so that the unity of the family became a powerful force in counteracting the fears of death and despairing thoughts. Their survival, as well as the survival of others who survived the oppression of the Holocaust, was none other than a miracle. One cannot forgo the thought that even though they worked and planned how to survive on a daily baiss, that there was a divine intervention, which many times was successful in counteracting the unrighteous zeal, the thirst for Jewish blood, and the quest for the undoing of the Jewish people.
History does repeat itself, but let us put a qualification in this statement—if we allow history to repeat itself. The people of Judah thought that a new age of new revival was upon them and they rejoiced. The Assyrian Empire was crushed and the Jewish people delighted in their renewed sense of spirit. But it was not long before the prophet, Jeremiah predicted gloom. Josiah was king and it seemed like his political policies were giving rise to a renewed spirit for the Lord. But the prophet, Jeremiah was not fooled. He predicted gloom, mostly because so many Jewish people had sinned before this era. But the plight of the Jewish people was soon determined by the mightiness, and the power of the Babylonians. The Babylonians under the leadership of their able king, King Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Judah. The Jews were again a conquered people. Even though there was a rebellion and Judah, which was the City of Jerusalem, was won back by the Jews for a short time in history, the history of the Jews changed dramatically at this time in history. This timeline in history brings forth the beginning of the Diaspora, the wandering of the Jewish people from country to country. Eventually, they made roots in Europe.
The Wild Grasses depicts among other things, the heartlessness of the Nazi Party to allow the Jews to remain in Europe as a people. G-d and his emissaries, the Angels from Heaven, thought this very unfair and tried to save as many people as they could. Thus, it was not only the faith of the Freier family that helped them to survive, but it was a message from G-d to the angels that as many Jews as possible had to survive.
Posted in Holocaust, World War II | Tagged angels, Cheryl Freier, family, history, Holocaust, Jews, miracle, survival, The Wild Grasses, World War II | Leave a comment | Edit
The Wild Grasses – Excerpt
Posted on July 18, 2013 by cherylfreier Martin said, “That was nice of you to help my father”. “Well, I was doing it to help another person who might need me,” the man said. “Are you a soldier? “Joseph asked. “No, not exactly, in any army, we are a large family, we have been woods people for generations”. Joseph smiled. The man smiled. The man was of many motions. His arms were always moving. Joseph asked, “There is a sparking wooden cottage near to one of the mountain passes, “do you know who lives in that cottage?” The mountain man answered with a quick answer, “Of course I do, my son Saul and his young wife Rebecca live in that cottage”. Joseph smiled and they all smiled back. “Well, got to be getting back to my wife and family,” the mountain man said, the man of many motions’ his legs and feet moved just as swiftly as his hands and arms. And he was gone in a flash: up and around the mountain and through caverns in a flash—it took him no time at all. Along his merry way, he found the goat and the goat went with him.
Posted in World War II | Tagged Cheryl Freier, cottage, family, father, mountain, nature, soldier, The Wild Grasses | Leave a comment | Edit Search for:
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■The Past Filtered By Outlined Memories
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Tags: freedom to worship, heroes, Jewish history, Martin Freier's poetry, memoirs, remembering Martin Freier, the novels: The Grayling Hidden Truth Poems and The Wild Grasses Hidden Truth Poems, WWII