The Lion Of Judah - a photo on Flickriver

The Lion Of Judah

            The following is Rabbi Judah Ceitlin’s story: 

“On Thursday afternoon, I was sitting at a Starbucks in Sunrise, Florida, in deep thought after a friend from Israel had shared the latest reports of devastation caused by Iran’s missile strikes.

“As I got up to leave, I noticed the tattoo on the right leg of another patron who was also leaving. The tattoo pictured a lion, with a broad mane and a piercing gaze.

“The image was striking. Israel recently launched its military effort to dismantle Iran’s nuclear threat, calling it Operation Rising Lion. The name is inspired by the verse: “A people that rises like a lion and leaps up like a king of beasts” (Numbers 23:24).

“As we both walked out, I asked about his tattoo. He smiled and explained that his maternal grandmother is descended from the Spanish noble family de León, which means lion. Their family coat of arms, he said, features a lion.

0”I have an affinity for lions, too, I told him. My first name is Yehuda, like the biblical tribe whose symbol was a lion. And my middle name is Leib, Yiddish for lion.

“He appreciated the connection. Then he added something else: his father is Druze, from Lebanon, and he was raised with a respect for multiple traditions.

“That led us to speak about the current conflict, which affects. not only Jews but also Arab Muslims, Christians, the Druze in Israel, and others.

“War is never the answer,” he said, “but sometimes you have to fight evil with whatever you can.”

“Israelis are doing just that.

“In this week’s Torah reading of Shlach, the spies describe the Holy Land of Israel: “The people who inhabit the land are fierce; the cities are fortified and very great” (Numbers 13:28).

“The Or Hachaim explains that the verse transcends its history, implying that even now, only people of extraordinary strength can truly thrive in that land.

“Today’s Israelis embody that strength. May they succeed in uprooting the terror that threatens not just their borders, but the entire free world. And may the day soon come when the lion can lie down in peace.

Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin
Chabad Tucson”

Taken on: June 20, 2025

Sets appears in: • June 2025 In Photos • Judaism more » • Israel At War \|/ October 2023 • Israel's Protector • Israel « less

Stats: 391 views

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