Plucking the Eagle's Wings

The American Revolution and the Children of Israel

tension built in the colonies, British General Thomas Gage sent soldiers to seize munitions that were stockpiled in Sommerville, Massachusetts. Caught off guard, the colonists met in Worchester, Massachusetts, on September 21, 1774 to organize companies of Minutemen, who were to ride the countryside to warn of approaching British forces. September 21 was the 16 th of Tishri, the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles commemorated Israel's wanderings in the wilderness. The next consecutive Hebrew feast is the Passover, which would take place in the spring of the following year. On another Jewish feast day, America was making itself ready to "separate from Egypt!" According to Scripture, on the fourteenth day of the Hebrew month Nisan, the Hebrews prepared the Passover meal in Egypt. Late that night, as they sat eating in their homes, the destroyer went through the land of Egypt and killed all firstborn. April 14,1775 corresponds to the Hebrew date Nisan 14, 5535, the day when Jews prepared for Passover. On April 14, 1775, orders arrived for British Commander Thomas Gage to move against the rebels and arrest their leaders. Captain Oliver De Lancy executed the orders. De Lancy led the 17 th Light Dragoons, a cavalry unit. The insignia upon their helmets depicted a huge skull and crossbones, which symbolized their mission. Thousands of years before, as the Hebrews prepared for Passover, the destroyer (or death angel) made its way across the land. Is it a coincidence that De Lancy's arrival fell on the eve of Passover, or is this yet another American connection to the Hebrews? On April 15, the first day of Passover, the Provincial Congress fled Concord after being warned by Paul Revere that the British were coming. On Easter Sunday, Revere rode to Lexington to warn John Adams, John Hancock, and others. On April 18, British patrols scoured the countryside to find colonial informants. One of these patrols encountered a farmer from Lincoln, Massachusetts. The colonial farmer heard them coming and mistook them for countrymen. He asked, "Have you heard anything about when the regulars are coming?" Upon hearing this, a British soldier slashed the farmer across his head with a sword and took him prisoner. The poor man was finally released after being told to keep quiet lest his house be burned and he would again be taken prisoner. This was the first American blood shed at the onset of the Revolution. The man's name was Josiah Nelson and here we find another parallel.

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