I have been tossing up whether or not to blog this, but because it's driving me crazy, I decided to blog it and get it out of my system.
I spent many years in London growing up, and at some point in time there was a band called "Wham!" who were huge in the 80's. In those days I had never even heard of the word "Moshiach" and I was very different to who I am now.
If you are old enough to remember Wham! and the lead singer George Michael, you will know how popular and famous [sometimes infamous] he was at the time. It is a little known fact that George Michael was actually Jewish. In June 2008, Michael told the Los Angeles Times that his maternal grandmother was Jewish, but she married a non-Jewish man and raised her children with no knowledge of their Jewish background due to her fear during World War II. George Michael, although a Jew, lived his entire life as a devout Xtian.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Michael]
George was incredibly gifted, and in an interview he said that the music would "come down" to him and he could feel it at the back of his neck when he'd got the entire thing - the music, the lyrics and the sound of the final production. So he was sort of "given" his songs, they were meant to be. George Michael's fame was meant to be.
Interesting..... but that is just an introduction.
The actual point of this post is to bring to your attention that a song [written by George Michael] that was released by Wham! in 1984 has, in 2023, gone to the No. 1 spot on the British pop charts. That song is called "Last Xmas".
George Michael died in 2016, on Xmas day actually. Seven years later, his Xmas song is No. 1, 39 years after it was first released.
Last Xmas.... is this a sign that it is actually The Last Xmas ever ?
I think it is.
I know someone is going to come here and say "aren't we all MEANT to be?" and the answer is yes of course, but in some cases the Hand of G-d can be seen at work. Other time it's not so obvious.
ReplyDeleteThe other member of Wham! is Andrew Ridgeley.
ReplyDeleteHe has a Jewish father.
I didn't know that Ridgeley's father was Jewish.
ReplyDeleteAndrew was very kind to George and looked after him at school. They were a music match destined to meet.
Do you remember that just 2-3 years ago there was a story about a slip of the tongue that the Queen had.... she said something about 'wishing the world enjoys this last xmas....
ReplyDeleteSGK
Don't remember that, but she may have been inadvertently referring to her own passing.
ReplyDeleteI was a Wham fan and Duran Duran, just a teen then. Yes I think this could be it. We are here.
ReplyDeleteRemember the significance of the number 39. The lamed-tes melachos of Shabbos, so Shabbos again. Also, remember the first few batches of captives released totaled 39 plus one Russian citizen=40. The concept of 40 malkos for a Torah transgression, which are actually 39. 39 scud missiles. I don't know what it all means but 39 years after this Jewish man who lived as a Notzri (and passed away on Xmas) released "The Last Xmas" the song is at the top of the charts again...Interesting. TC
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder TC, I knew about the 39 melachos but couldn't see how it related to George Michael, but adding in all those other 39s is very interesting.
ReplyDeleteShabbos is a taste of Olam HaBa, which is above nature, and people were saved on Simchas Torah in the merit of their Shabbos observance...Maybe when we keep Shabbos, living "above nature" Hash-m protects us "above nature," and the Jewish People experiences miracles. Which we certainly are experiencing, even though there has been so much pain and loss...Even the success of the pogrom on Simchas Torah was a miracle, though a "reverse miracle." TC
ReplyDeleteWow, yesterday before you posted this I thought this year maybe the last Xmas
ReplyDeleteRonit
I remember this song also growing up in the UK.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that it is now number 1 tells us a lot.
Its probably an indication of how people miss the good old days where it wasn't offensive or racist to be proud to be white and English etc.
I think many people miss those days and with all the madness in the world and the city centres being taken over by "Free Free Palestine" they prefer the 80s with its comparitive simplicity.
Sir Peter Charles Ledenthwaite of Sittingbourne (Name added for extra effect)
I loved George Michaels music but felt guilty listening to it as it was very raunchy and he was openly gay. Very interesting that he had a Jewish neshama. I think there must be many jews out there who are not aware they are jewish and probably some are antisemites. About the planets which I alsofind fascinating, as I have said for years that global warming etc is part ofthe messianic labour pains, why are astronomers not talking more about this if the planets are so near and causing such strange cloud formations? Are there not similar cloud formations documented from other years? There has also been strange ones here in Gibraltar, literally on the other side of the world to you😊
ReplyDeleteThey don't want us to know about the planets because of the chaos that would ensue. But many are building bunkers, even Mark Zuckerberg is building a giant bunker in Hawaii. They think they can escape the Star that way. What happens if a giant earthquake destroys their bunkers? No-one can escape if Hashem doesn't want them to.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why astronomers aren't talking about it, maybe they've been ordered to sign a non disclosure, just like the guy who discovered the system in 1978. Meanwhile amateur astronomers are definitely talking about it, but Google doesn't allow factual information to come up in searches, all you can find on Google is a bunch of lunatics talking about Planet X.
So far I don't see any chaos, but I don't know what Hashem has planned.
That Obama movie "Leaving the World Behind" is all about the approaching Star or planets, or both.
A bit late now as it's after Xmas, but I found your article about George Michael fascinating. H' sends us signs in all sorts of ways, not necessarily obvious or even Torah-dig. I'm in the North London Jewish community. George Michael was known as an incredibly kind and generous person who did his acts of chesed behind the scenes (this is also related by the non-Jews. Andrew Ridgely never had any musical talent, yet Michael made sure he was financially secure for the rest of his life.
ReplyDeleteThe entertainment world is renowned for it's venality and egoism so GM was an exception. I guess the Jewish soul shines through even when obscured by the secular lifestyle.
Pet Monkey: I also lived in North London, NW4 actually.
ReplyDeleteYes George gave incredible amounts of tzedaka, and a lot of it was done anonymously.
He did publicly say to Andrew, at the end of the last Wham! concert, that he couldn't have done any of it without Andrew. Even though Andrew did not write the songs, he played an integral part in helping George realize his talent.
Getting back to this post. I just found out that George's mother Lesley Angold was born on Dec 24 1938, which was the 2nd day of Chanukah that year. She was a Jew, but lived her life without acknowledging it, due to circumstances probably beyond her control.
ReplyDeleteGeorge Michael died on xmas day 2016 which was the 1st day of Chanukah that year.
His sister Melanie die on xmas day 2019 which was the 3rd day of Chanukah that year.
All of them connected the festivals of xmas and Chanukah. All of them were Jewish, but lived their lives as xtians.
Anybody want to decipher this mystery?