Category Archives: Israel

November 30, 2014 · 12:29 pm

Inside Israel

Once again, it’s time to hear from our sister in Jerusalem about what she is witnessing there as a believer in Yeshua. Put your prayer shawls on and pray for Israel and Sister J. Now here she is …

May you be blessed and encouraged and may The Lord be glorified and blessed and hear our heartfelt praise. For HE ALONE IS WORTHY. Yeshua − The Lamb of God.

As the huge winter storm dumps a year’s worth of rain on our dry thirsty ground in 2 days, effectively ending the drought that has been with us for the past 7-10 years, I remember the words to an old song: “It’s a happy day, and I thank God for the weather. It’s a happy day, and I’m living it for my Lord, Halleluiah…”

Some of you may remember a lesson that I learned during my first days in our homeland during ulpan (language class). That year, 1994, was also an extraordinarily rainy winter. Monsoon floods made the daily wet trek to class uncomfortable and learning while shivering in wet clothing for 5 hours in the unheated stone rooms made it difficult to be thankful.

One day there was more then the usual murmuring along with the chattering teeth in the classroom. The teacher, who was a religious lady, taught us, with an inner authority. “THANK YOU, LORD, FOR THE RAIN. THANK YOU FOR THE WATER FROM HEAVEN AND YOUR MERCY TO US. ALWAYS BE THANKFUL FOR THE RAIN AND NEVER COMPLAIN ABOUT IT LIKE YOUR ANCESTORS DID. REMEMBER: WE LIVE IN A DESERT AND THE RAIN IS A GIFT.” I have not forgotten that particular lesson.

I was able to repeat that lesson MANY times today at work. I must admit that I dressed like a snowman this morning to swim to work against the wind. Many others forgot to dress warmly. Nonetheless, each time a patient grumbled their way into the clinic this morning, they got to hear the lesson I learned twenty years earlier. They didn’t get to leave until they were thanking God for the gift of His blessing of rain. And THAT, my friends, is from a people who don’t celebrate American Thanksgiving.

BLESSED Thanksgiving to all of my dear American friends. I miss this wonderful day set apart to be thankful, but I have learned the lesson and have chosen to be thankful with every breath. HE IS WORTHY.

HE IS WORTHY and we must be thankful in the storms of life. It is incredibly stormy here both within AND without, that is for sure. As the record storm outside rages, and the basement of our building fills with water, which reminds me of the wise man building his house upon the rock. I then wonder how this nation can stand so much and not blow apart as a stick house built on the sand in a tornado. It FEELS as if we are inside a whirlwind.

Is there one country in this world that is not frothing at the mouth against us, more and more openly each day? Yes, I DO know that there are many believers who stand with us, so please don’t feel as if you have to apologize. I understand and it DOES have to be this way for it is written, but it is astonishing to see the rapidity with which antagonism is turning into deep hatred. Or is it just that the hatred has been hidden and is finally coming to the surface?

But it is not only from outside of our borders, and I am not even referring to the riots, murders, attacks, uprisings and the increasing battle for Jerusalem. The government is in crisis as the frustration and constant attacks from outside strengthen the opposition within. Our Knesset meetings look more like a boxing arena with members of Knesset (Parliament) being ushered out for causing disruptions, even fist fights. I do not know how our Prime Minister is able to withstand this magnitude of criticism being hurled in his face.

My constant question to The Lord is: “How do YOU want me to walk in the midst of these troubles to bring You glory?”

I MUST trust Him with the progression of events too large for me, but HE has called me to walk in the midst of this. And we are told to Glorify HIM in the midst of the fires and ALSO the flood and the whirlwind.

Well, I KNOW that we are called to “Look away unto Him” and to “Worship Him” and to “Know Him” and to “Walk with Him in His Spirit.” This brings me to the topic that has been very much on my heart to speak about: the Jewish Roots and or the Hebraic Roots movements.

FIRST of all: I need you to KNOW that I KNOW NOTHING OF THESE MOVEMENTS PER SAY. I am NOT an expert for sure. But I have a front row center seat to observe some of the storms that appear to be raging about them, and even then I would not have commented. Oh boy! Lord, please help me choose the words so carefully. It is a two edged sword that comes out of the mouth of The Lord in the Revelation to John. That two edged sword divides asunder between soul and spirit, bone and marrow and is a divider of the thoughts and intents of the heart. He tells us to contend for the Truth that was once given…

I never had any teaching about Jewish roots etc. I never went to a Messianic congregation. I am Jewish. I was born Jewish and raised in traditional, but not Orthodox Judaism. I was taught the basic Bible stories and knew that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Job, and Jonah were ours, but Jesus was NOT. Yet, at the darkest moment of my life, I met Him − this forbidden Jesus − face to face. And I was drawn up out of the miry clay pit into His wonderful Light and davka (wouldn’t you know it?) There was Jesus and He was Jewish. Now THAT changed my life.

Yes, I thought I was the only one that this had ever happened to. I didn’t know where to turn. So I turned to Him and He told me to read The Bible. So I did, from beginning to end. Well, actually, I started with Job because that was the only book name I recognized, but what a place to start! In His wisdom, it was the right place for me.

THEN from beginning to end, again and again. All along the way I asked Him how to proceed and He led me in tender faithfulness. My DEAR first Pastor, Jim Hill, taught me a great and precious Truth: that our Lord IS Perfect Balance. “Balance is extraordinary. It is NOT something that comes naturally to me. My nature and my flesh can be extreme and emotional, but He is BALANCED. YES LORD, I WANT THAT in my life.

And so I prayed (and still do) that He would balance me. And I found out that The Holy Spirit IS Balanced, so when I am filled with His Spirit I am also filled with His Balance.

So what does His Balance have to do with Jewish Roots? A lot! You see, now I was a Jew, but I believed in Jesus. How can this be? How do I walk? I went to a wonderful Church and each time we moved to a different area He led me to the Church for me to continue to grow. Yet, I was ALSO a Jew. Balance? Where Lord? I found that as I kept reading His Word from beginning to end, and as His Spirit grew within me, I UNDERSTOOD things that I hadn’t understood.

As I followed Jewish observances (holidays for example) when I was with my family growing up, they were a shadow, not just to us children but to the adults as well. I know because I asked later on. But suddenly the meanings for them were GROWING in me. So I could partake of them, not because I HAD to, but because I LONGED to in my heart. It was wonderful and brought me joy. I felt that I was worshipping Him and bringing HIM joy, too. When I shared these things with my Gentile brothers and sisters, it wasn’t for them to BECOME Jews, but to share because that is what His Light does. It spreads and shares. His light, just like plants, causes us to grow.

I had MANY identity crises as I grew up, and it didn’t quite end when I became a believer. Identity crises are part of our fleshly lives perhaps, but NOT a part of the kingdom of God. There HE is our identity and, in this kingdom, His identity is neither Jew nor Gentile, man nor woman etc. Now we KNOW that in the flesh there are many crises. It is foolish to say that there aren’t because we are men and women, Jews or Gentiles, in the flesh, and yes, we live in the flesh. But as I see it, the key to walking in BALANCE is found in 1 Corinthians 7:17-24:

“¹⁷But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him walk. And so I ordain in all the churches. ¹⁸Was anyone called while circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Was anyone called while uncircumcised? Let him not be circumcised. ¹⁹Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters. ²⁰Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called. ²¹Were you called while a slave? Do not be concerned about it; but if you can be made free, rather use it. ²²For he who is called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who is called while free is Christ’s slave. ²³You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. ²⁴Brethren, let each one remain with God in that state in which he was called.

And 1 Corinthians 9:19-23:

¹⁹For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; ²⁰and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; ²¹to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; ²²to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. ²³Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.

When it comes down to it, it is not who we are that matters, but it is Who HE is and to be found IN HIM, we need to be looking at Him. Yes, I believe with all of my heart that ALL of His Word reveals who HE is, so as I see it, it seems sad that some would miss or even REJECT learning about what He has to reveal of Himself through His holidays and directions (laws) when He gave them to us to lead us to Himself. But it is also sad to see some try to shed the gift of who they were made to be, to try to become someone else. This could be through pride or even to embrace man’s traditions that have kept those men from finding Him as He is. And that in doing so without balance, some even sow discord and rebellion in the body, unintentionally I’m sure. BALANCE. Oh, blessed BALANCE.

I am afraid that I may not be sharing in a way that is clear, and this is such an important topic because it IS touching the apple of His eye and the very heart of what He is doing now in this time and this age with the Jews, with Israel, with the world and the Church. We have got to find HIS heart. There appears to be not much time left to be neutral or “on the fence.” AND LORD KNOWS THAT ISRAEL AND THE JEWS NEEDS THE TRUE CHURCH TO STAND WITH US. FINE-TUNED AND MATURE AT THIS VERY TIME. THIS IS THE TIME! THIS IS THE HOUR!

You have no idea how thankful I am for each of you.

Lovingly, and for His glory,

your sis J in Jerusalem, where the battle has begun.

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November 23, 2014 · 8:36 am

Inside Israel

Blessings, dear brothers and sisters, and all glory to Him Who is and Who was and Who is to come and Who has triumphed and will triumph! May HE be glorified and blessed and may you be encouraged.

Tensions were HIGH at the shuk (market) today. It felt like being inside of a pressure cooker even though there were very few people there for a Wednesday. The train ride from my house to the shuk was heavy as well. The Har Nof (meaning: mountain view) neighborhood where yesterday’s terror attack claimed 5 lives, is just a neighborhood or two over from the one in which we live. So, many Har Nof residents ride the same train. You could see and feel the weight of their grief.

Although CNN’s original report read: “Deadly attack on Jerusalem Mosque.” Four rabbis and one Druze policeman were axed, stabbed and shot to death during 7 a.m. morning prayers at a quiet synagogue in West Jerusalem. One of the murderers worked at the super market on the same street, another cleaned the synagogue.

As I have said and will KEEP on saying: “the battle was ALWAYS about Jerusalem, the place where God chose to put His Name.”

On the train, many eyes were red from weeping. The book of Psalms was more evident then the free newspaper this morning.

At the shuk, where the stalls are about evenly divided between Jewish and Arab merchants, the air was quite tense. Four female soldiers stood at one of the entrances, but I saw no others in spite of the announcement that there would be a large presence of police and soldiers at all public gathering places. Yesterday, Hamas called for anyone with a car, gun, a stone, a tractor, an axe, or kitchen knife to take them up and kill Jews.

I must admit, although not afraid, I kept that in mind as I passed in front of trucks and forklifts unloading produce. Greeting the Arab and Jewish vendors that I trade with regularly, I prayed for His Hand to restrain emotions that might be ready to ignite, for their own good, not for mine.

The shuk is a unique place, where people simply work hard, trying to make a living, working together year after year. Yet even here, one spark has often been enough…too often.

I overheard one vendor comment to a customer, “Where are the police? Where are the soldiers? I don’t see ANY!” He sounded more then a bit nervous.

I looked around and discovered he was right. None. Perhaps they were undercover? But then again, we were told that their presence would be evident.

I stopped for cucumbers. One Arab vendor has the crispest and freshest I have tasted outside of a garden so I am willing to pay a bit more for them. I walked over to his stand and again felt the tension.

“How is it that you ALWAYS have THE best cucumbers in the entire shuk?” I asked the proprietor as he relaxed and beamed at me proudly and smiled.

“I search them out,” he answered.

Another customer lowered the tension even further when she said, “He is also the best man here!”

I smiled at him and said, “I am usually here much later and there are others working.”

We laughed as he said, “Oh, you mean the YOUNGER ones!”

It was good to be able to leave someone with a smile. It was different at a stand further on. The young hawker there is known for his loud yelling that his prices are the best. As others and I picked out fruit, he began his usual call: “Clementine’s. Only 4 shekels a kilo.”

The woman beside me started to yell at him to stop his yelling. “I have ears that you are hurting and I have eyes to see with. Stop that.”

He said, “No. I have to tell others that my prices are better.”

She became unglued. “I have been shopping here since before you were born and we know your prices. You cannot yell in people’s ears. Stop it right now! Have you no respect for what we are suffering here?”

I was surprised at her passion, and so was he. Obviously her nerves were fraught. I was also surprised at his uncharacteristic display of sensitivity when he said, “I’m sorry,” and stopped yelling. He is a rough young Arab man and I was thankful to see him respond so gently. I will shop there more often.

Heading toward the train again, I thought about the wonderful Bible study that we had the previous night at women’s prayer meeting. A dear sister had on her heart 1 John 4:7-the end of the chapter.

How wonderfully appropriate, I thought. God is just so good to feed us with what we need. We had initially arrived at the meeting with much talk about the events of the day and two sisters in particular expressed fear concerning the rapidly escalating situation. As we turned our eyes on Yeshua again, focusing on the word, which is His Essence, our sister said that she had spent years asking just WHAT LOVE IS?

As she unfolded like a delicate flower the Truths that He showed her, in the midst of them was the reminder that – “Perfect Love casts out all fear.”

There is such peace in knowing that He has numbered our days, the hairs on our heads, hedged our paths, trained our feet, and made our ears able to hear: “This is the way, walk ye in it.” And if that way leads to a fiery furnace, what in the world do we have to fear if we know Him and are seeking to walk in His will.

There is such a great Peace in knowing that He Who made us and draws us to Himself is indeed”LOVE.” Sometimes all that we can do and be here is a vessel for His Presence in the midst of the pressure cooker.

Recently my Pastor spoke about something that my heart has been majoring in for a long time, but he said it so much better then I do. We read Matthew 24, where Yeshua speaks with the disciples about the last days. But when the disciples asked Him when it would happen and what would be the signs, His answer was very clear: “Take heed that you are not deceived.”

Living here, many people become caught up in prophecy, eschatology (whatever that is), times and seasons, signs and wonders etc.

One day a brother was speaking about these things to me and what came out of my mouth surprised me, but I listened because it was true: I said to him, “Oh my! I am still trying to learn to come, hear and obey and to love one another. Once I learn that, perhaps I’ll move on, but right now I will just trust that HE KNOWS these things and will do it all perfectly and will even be able to move me into the right place at the right time.”

So Jesus’ answer to the disciples question about when and how was: “See that you are not deceived.”

Lately I have been getting a lot of questions and comments about the way the Church is or is not embracing the things concerning the Jews and Israel. I see divisions and hear some amazing things. I feel that it’s important to address them, and yet who am I to do that? I am no authority, but I am concerned. I do have opinions that have been formed through much reading of scripture, prayer and walking, but what I want to ask is for YOU to do something. I will pray about addressing this a bit the next time that I write, but if you feel that this is at all an issue on God’s heart, will YOU pray about it too? I have told you many times that I am neither a teacher nor a prophet – just a sheep. But I am here…set in the heart of Jerusalem and I do see this as an issue close to God’s heart and therefore one that the enemy hates. I don’t want to touch the subject without prayer preparation. What do you think?

THANK YOU FOR YOUR LOVE AND PRAYERS AND PRAYERS FOR THIS NATION – FOR HIM TO BE GLORIFIED. I send you MUCH love.

Blessings,

from your sis J

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November 16, 2014 · 8:33 am

Inside Israel

May THE LORD be glorified, magnified and blessed …and may you be blessed and encouraged.

We live here in the midst of the struggle between Isaac and Ishmael, between Jacob and Esau, and between The God of Israel and His enemies. This struggle has re-surfaced with five being rammed by cars and two more stabbed to death. Riots are increasing in number and intensity. Our level of alert has been raised once again. The presence of soldiers and police is both comforting and alarming. Alarming because we know that the need is great, comforting because they are there to protect us.

I pray for all of them. For their salvation first, but also for their safety and for them to have wisdom and gentleness WITH discernment. It IS a tense time!

But this was what I expected.

If you have read my letters for any length of time, you will remember me saying often: “It is all about Jerusalem.” It is NOT about the settlements (a very poor translation of a word that would better be interpreted village then the word settlement). It is NOT about occupation. It is NOT about rights or jobs or finances, although all of these issues have been exploited as steppingstones to get to this point. It has ALWAYS been about JERUSALEM. The burdensome stone. The place where God chose to put HIS Name. The city which HE chose in ISRAEL to plant Himself and establish His seat for His purposes. And it is precisely because HE chose it that the battle has always been over it.

Years ago when the peace negotiations were far younger, the west laid out their strategy of dealing with the easy issues first and ease into the thorny ones: Judea and Samaria (called the west bank by the west), the so called “right of return” and JERUSALEM.

I said at the time, “Uh oh. This means giving up land, arming the Palestinians, tying our hands, and THEN plundering the rest of the land.”

But you see, it isn’t our land to give.

GOD SAID that this is HIS land and we do not have the RIGHT to touch it and to divide it. On Yom Yerushalaym (Jerusalem Day) each year, I speak of the promise made before God by this nation – when Jerusalem was restored to Israel for the first time in 2,000 years – that we would guard her and that she would never again be divided.

But there is a different kind of tension right now because there is also rioting among the Israeli Arabs and not just the Palestinians. Palestinians, you might remember, are NOT Israelis by their own choice. They did not accept Israeli citizenship. They are the ones who want half of Israel (actually, all of it). But there are a good number of Arabs who DID take Israeli citizenship at the formation of the state, who stayed on the land, who became full citizens, who live and work and play here and some of whom serve in the armed forces or other branches of service. They vote and have full medical and educational rights etc. They have every right that all Jewish citizens have, but in an incident last week with a riot, an Arab Israeli boy was killed.

I was in the shuk (market) on the following day. During the Gaza War, good relations existed between Arabs and the Jews. It was always business as usual.

There are two Arab vendors in the shuk that I trade with on a weekly basis. They are always kind, but not that day. There was tension, which took me by surprise. “Guard your heart and keep it soft,” I said to one young man in particular. He didn’t answer, which was unusual for him.

The Moslem mufti’s are calling for a Jerusalem intifada, and indeed, the Hamas leader said in his first statement after the Gaza war: “We have won in Gaza. ON TO JERUSALEM!”

That call was echoed across the Moslem populations world wide. THEY KNOW THAT IF THEY WERE TO DIVIDE JERUSALEM, or worse, to take her, THEY WOULD BE STABBING THE JEWS IN THE HEART.

BUT GOD, WHO IS RICH IN MERCY AND KNOWS HOW TO GLORIFY HIS NAME, IS NOT TAKEN BY SURPRISE. He is not sleeping and His purposes will not be thwarted. His great Name WILL BE GLORIFIED!

I read both 2 Chronicles 20 and Ezekiel 16 in the same day and was touched by the fact that it is all so simple – the way to Him and the way away from Him. This message is foundationally the same from Genesis through Revelation: turn FROM Me and I will turn from you. Turn TO Me and I will turn to you. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. He has made the way straight, and narrow and also simple. How great is our God.

While riding the lite rail, my attention turned from my thoughts as the doors opened and a family boarded. A carriage with a tiny baby, pushed by an older brother, a small Mother carrying another little one with 4 small boys of graduated height following closely at her skirt as she said clearly and persistently, ”Shhhh! Shhhh!”

That admonition, heard by the whole train, was repeated gently but firmly, as if she were breathing it, through the entire trip. An older sister authoritatively held the hand of a smaller one as the thin father brought up the rear. All heads turned with the regular rise and fall of the “shhhh! Shhhh,” which, by the way, was obeyed. I began to count and learned there were nine small noses in all and two parents.

Eleven train tickets is a price not easy to come up with, explaining the children’s delight about being on the train. They were all neatly dressed in homemade clothes, a bit worn, but still clean. The girls had their hair modestly braided. The parents were also neat, and although very thin and tired looking and obviously poor, they looked strong and functioned as a peaceful unit. I watched as the excited children remained well behaved and heeded the constant reminder of “shhhhh! Shhhhh.”

It was interesting to notice the responses of the other passengers. Although Haradi families, and even full and large ones are a common sight, you don’t often see a family much larger then 7 on the train, if for no other reason then the cost. There was obvious disdain and disgust on some faces. This is the liberal, left wing reaction to religious families. Period. They simply do not believe in large families. It is an ideological issue.

Other parents on the train looked on with awe and admiration. Some of the rambunctious young people watched and became less rowdy and a bit more aware of their own behavior. Religious families ARE in fact usually larger then secular ones because they take seriously the Biblical injunction to be fruitful and multiply and believe that children ARE the blessing of The Lord. In fact, they have turned it into a command. At any rate, it is fun to see this type of Biblical battle lived out on the streets daily.

Thank you for your prayers both personally and for this nation. May His kingdom come and His will be done both in our small private lives as well as in our nations,…His purposes for His glory.

Your sis,

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November 9, 2014 · 9:40 am

Inside Israel

Greetings, dear body of Messiah, friends, sisters and brothers, greetings with love and prayer for blessing. May you be encouraged and blessed and may THE LORD be glorified and find pleasure in His body.

The intense and long holiday season has come to an abrupt end and we have been plunged into the pressure cooker again. It is an odd feeling to be standing with a tiny country alone against all of the other governments in the world. The lines seem to be drawn more deeply as the days draw short. There are those who do NOT believe in God but in (the god of) humanism. There are those who fight for other gods, (alla being the most obvious right now). And there are those who believe The One True God, who know and walk with His Son, The Lamb. It seems to me that the fact that it is a religious battle has become obvious even to skeptics. Where do we stand in this and HOW do we stand and walk?

My cell phone rang today while I was in prayer. It was a number that might have been important so I answered it. It turned out to be a most strange call.

“Shalom, Shula?’” the voice said.

“No. You must have a wrong number,” I answered.

“Who is this?” she asked.

I don’t know why I answered but I did.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” she asked.

“I’m really busy now, I’m sorry,” I answered, but when she wanted to call back the following day I asked where she was calling from.

“I am from a yeshiva (learning school) that studies kabala,” she said.

Kabala is Jewish mystical studies. Jewish witchcraft in my understanding of witchcraft. (Feel free to look it up on google. I don’t want to go into it here)

“I fear God and study Torah (The Old Testament) and Neve’em (Prophets). I am not interested in kabala,” I said.

“Oh! We ALSO study Torah,” she continued.

‘Thank you but no, I am not interested.”

I thought the conversation was over, but she asked, “Can I put your name in the cave of the grave of Rabbi Shlomo?”

“No! Do NOT put my name in any grave! I stand before The Living God and I do not want my name in any grave or before any Rabbi.”

I had wished that I could tell her more, but I couldn’t for security reasons as she had my name and phone number. I wanted to tell her that I know The One who WAS dead and in the grave but Who is now ALIVE and owns the keys to death and hell. As usual I could kick myself when these times pass. Why didn’t I say more? But then I realized I was still on my knees and could pray for her. God could also prepare me for such opportunities and teach me HOW to MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN LIVES FOR HIM IN THIS TIME AND AGE.

People are discouraged and many have no hope. The pressure that comes from hearing constant criticism takes a toll. The pressure that comes from trying to explain again and again what should be evident settles like a yoke around the neck. When a 3-month old baby and a 21-year old woman were killed last week by a young Palestinian man who purposefully turned into a crowd standing at a train station, a collective pain went through the nation. The USA termed it “a tragic accident.”

But none of this takes God by surprise and that is so comforting!

The tree in front of our merapeset, with which He comforted me, covering me in His sukka just a short time ago, drops more leaves with every shake of the wind. The deep green is rapidly turning to yellow and brown and I can again see my husband’s shop across the road, no longer obscured by the rich foliage. My flowers are looking old and shivery. Today, as I walked from work to the bus today I took a deep look at the grapevines, fruit trees and abundance of flowering shrubs and they all seemed to be shaking off their summer splendor at once. It happens subtly and yet it seems to happen suddenly.

How the changing seasons reflect His faithfulness AND His character.

Rolling clouds block the sun and chill the air as helicopters circle above, adding sounds and tension to the heightened police presence through out the “city of peace.” The heart of the conflict.

Humorous articles appeared in the press today depicting the difficulty that Hebrew reporters have had finding the translation of the curse words that were spoken by a US administrative official concerning our Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, which was quoted in a respected American magazine. Curse words are NOT replete in Hebrew so how DO you translate that?

But we need the humor break now and then, as the events of the day/week/month/year have not been funny at all. Following the Gaza war this summer the Hamas leader called upon all Palestinians to take Jerusalem. Since then there have been daily riots, throwing of rocks and Molotov cocktails, as well as several murders and attacks.

Last night after speaking at a conference concerning Jews praying on the Temple Mount, which is forbidden for Jews to pray there, the speaker was shot and critically wounded by an Arab gunman who was later killed by police. Simmering tensions boiled over. Today Temple Mount is closed to all.

Temple Mount: (har h’bayit in Hebrew) Mount Moriah − the place where Abraham took Isaac in wonderful obedience to God and then God provided the lamb. The place where the first and second temples were built, where God chose to put His Name, where Jesus, Yeshua, walked, stood, taught, prayed, healed, delivered. So much more can be said about this tiny spot.

Two older men sat near me on the bus, one sat across from me and the other beside me; “Ah! What a mess!” the first one said. “He’s a nudnik! I voted for him and he’s a nudnik!”

He was speaking about our Prime Minister. The heated world rhetoric has grieved, embarrassed and discouraged many Israelis.

“Ah, but look…just a few weeks ago during the war the US was behind us,” the other man replied.

“I don’t know. It’s bad…bad.”

The first one began referring to the prescribed scriptures. “Remember our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Abraham had Isaac AND Ishmael…they were brothers and then Isaac had Jacob and Esau.”

“Yes, they were twins and they struggled and fought in the womb and that is still happening today. We are still fighting with Esau through the Palestinians.”

The other one almost brought me into the conversation when he said “No. Esau is the father of the Christians.”

My eyes flew wide open and I turned to stare at him. Wow! I thought. He sure missed THAT one.

It was time for me to get up and run from the train.

The seasons change. It is in the air, in the colors, in the way people are dressing and walking. As I stood at the train station, an elderly street musician who made aliyah from Siberia began playing our national anthem, ha’tikvah, The Hope. It is a haunting melody and commands my heart and attention and speaks the words of a prayer.

I looked around and wondered if would any stop? Are they thinking as they hear this? Are they praying? It is not often heard in the streets. Some paces slowed a bit, some faces deepened. I have never heard him play it before. It arrested me as I tried to embrace the bigger picture swirling around me. May the hope and the VISION, not die, at least not the part that has been planted by God. May HE water it and dung it and give it the increase 100 fold. Here are the words translated:

English translation of Hatikvah

As long as deep within the heart

A Jewish soul yearns

And toward the edges of the east

An eye to Zion looks

Our hope is not yet lost

The hope of two thousand years

To be a free people in our Land

The Land of Zion and Jerusalem.

It is time to close this letter and get off to bed. I am so thankful for His body and thank you for praying His Heart for this season. God bless and keep you.

Lovingly,

your sister in Jerusalem

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Filed under Christians, Church, Israel, Jerusalem, Prayer, Prophecy, spiritual warfare

Tagged as Christianity, Church, Israel, Jerusalem, Kingdom of God, Prayer, Prophecy, Spiritual warfare

October 26, 2014 · 8:14 am

Inside Israel

Greetings dear sisters and brothers,

May you be blessed and may The King of kings and Lord of lords be blessed and glorified.

My husband coined a word years ago: “looksee.” I love it. I was thinking of that as I completed my time in The Word this morning with waiting on Him in the portion of scripture that was for me today:

¹⁰I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, ¹¹saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”

¹²Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lamp stands (Revelation 1:10-120

Yes Lord, may these letters be − “hear and looksee to us.”

So I thought about what I have been seeing and hearing.

The holidays are past and life has poured on us again, fast and furious. Just before it did, however, we saw a most wonderful thing.

I have described simchat torah to you before (literally joy of the Torah or Word). It is the very last day of the fall feasts and marks the end of the yearly cycle of scripture reading for the Jews. The scriptures are read by Jews everywhere, according to a prescribed schedule. It is announced in the newspapers and on bulletin boards and expounded upon there as well as in synagogues, on the radio etc. Simchat torah marks the time to begin once again in Genesis 1:1… “IN THE BEGINNING…GOD…”

As my husband and I sat and read, I suddenly heard singing and said, “Listen! There is singing. Come…let’s go and see.”

I opened the doors to our merapeset and there across the street from us, under my husband’s hair dressing shop, in the square below, were many people dressed in white. As we watched, 3 beautiful Torah scrolls appeared in their elaborate casing and were lifted high above the heads of the people. Three very elderly leaders held them up and people began to dance joyfully around them. Songs of thanksgiving to God for His Word rose with a reverent, worshipful joy. More and more people joined in. Soon several fellowships were at the core and many individuals from the neighborhood emerged from apartments and joined in. The women danced in a circle to my right and the men danced around the scrolls to my left. It went on for a full 1 and a half hours non-stop.

The very elderly men did not slow down and their worshipful joy was contagious. I stood on my merapeset, with my hands lifted to The Lord and worshipped and prayed for the full revelation of Yeshua The Living Word, to come to them. It was evident that many of them truly love The Word. May they meet HIM Who IS The Word and embrace Him with such delight.

What a wonderful end to the holiday.

In the past, at our other apartment, small groups of worshippers would pass by our window singing and dancing, but they were small groups. Only at the wall had I seen this many outside…and even at the wall they were smaller groups. I felt as if The Lord had given me a special gift. I share it with you.

And at sundown the train rang it’s now familiar bell, putting us back on schedule. It was all over for another year: The days of preparation, Rosh h’shana (trumpets), the 10 days of awe leading to Yom Kippur (the day of atonement) and finally the 7/8 days of Sukkot (feast of tabernacles) ending with Simchat torah. Whew! By this time everyone local is holidayed out.

As if to make it clear that we need to get on with it now, there have been intermittent heavy rains and winter weather. The city, filled with Christian visitors from around the world, emptied once again while the empty grocery shelves are filling up. There is a different feeling in the air.

Have we gained His strength from being renewed in His eternal promises? It gets put to the test immediately.

Ebola drills having started are stopped as 3 young Israelis die in an avalanche at Katmandu, Nepal, and many others are injured. Israel loves her young people and this turns into national mourning, particularly as one of the fatalities was the first religious woman air force pilot with whom we all celebrated such a short time ago.

America’s John Kerry again makes statements, which we actually saw him say it on film. It was NOT misread as the government spokeswoman said. His words are terribly damaging to Israel, basically accusing our stubborn stance about the land as the reason that people from around the world are joining ISIS. And speaking of ISIS, an Israeli Bedouin medical student was killed in Syria fighting against that group.

Thankfully his family was horrified and asked forgiveness of the nation and said that he had lost his way. So much grief, as awful wars rage around us, and as world pressure intensifies on every level. God is the only answer and so few want Him.

One thing has become very plain during this season: it is no longer speculation but the world HAS indeed turned the corner into the path of God’s divine judgment… or so it seems to me. We have the cry-prayer of Habakkuk’s heart, “Lord, in judgment remember mercy.” But we also have the very clear understanding through Scripture that judgment does indeed include the suffering of innocents. From the very beginning of scripture, this is evident all the way through to the end. How do we walk in the Day of Judgment? How do we stand? I believe it is time to know. It is time to hear…to look…and to see.’

A friend of mine, a pastor’s wife, called the other day and told me that she was awakened in the night by a loud knock. She got up and went to the door and there was no one there. She asked her husband if he was knocking on something and he said no. It happened again the next night and she realized that The Lord was waking her. “I don’t know what He is saying to me. I get up and wait but nothing…what do I do?”

I said, “You do just what Samuel did. You say, ‘Here I am Lord, speak for your servant hears.’ It isn’t OUR job to do anything but to present ourselves. Moses turned aside at the bush. It was THE LORD Who initiated the talking. He was to turn to The Lord and wait. It is not up to us to work up a word (usually from our flesh…) but to stand before Him, turn to Him and trust Him.”

May we learn God’s ways in judgment that we may become the body He called us out to be.

It is time to sleep and begin another week on the bus and train…back to normal in the midst of Jerusalem. I thank you so much for your gracious prayers and loving care. God be with you dear sisters and brothers.

Your sister J

Inside Israel

Greetings dearest sisters and brothers with peace and mercy from Him Who alone can pour these out. All glory to God Who gives us all things of Himself richly to enjoy.

With barely the hint of a moment to catch our breath, the third of the fall feasts is upon us. Following Rosh Hashanah (feast of trumpets) and the 10 days of awe leading up to Yom Kippur (the day of atonement) the gears shift dramatically giving an interesting glimpse into the Heart of God: Sukkot (the feast of tabernacles) begins at sundown on a Wednesday night.

*NOTE: It is now the night of Sukkot and we were blessed beyond blessing by our first rain, accompanied by lightening, thunder and rainbows from Haifa to Eilat. We in Jerusalem had a wonderful drenching. Scripturally, the early rains begin during Sukkot. What a symbol of God’s faithfulness.

As you may know, we generally experience NO rain during summer at all and count on the early rains and the latter rains for our yearly water supply and KNOW that it is a blessing from God when they arrive.

Sukkot is undoubtedly my favorite holiday, except for maybe Passover and Yom Kippur and then there is Shavuot (Pentecost). I will just focus on Sukkot right now. I love it.

What does GOD say? Not just say but He COMMANDS all Israel to STOP. But this time, having blown the shofar, having called the people to repentance and set us aside to repent, now we are to quickly build flimsy, temporary huts with leafy branches for the roof so that we can see the stars through them. Then we dwell in them for 8 days, while we rejoice before God, remembering the great deliverance from Egypt and giving thanks for His abundance.

And not only that, but this is one of the 3 pilgrim feasts. Three times a year, all Israeli men are COMMANDED to “come up to Jerusalem to rejoice before Him.” Passover, Shavuot (Pentecost) and Sukkot (feast of tabernacles).

When you read Psalms and see the heading “song of ascents” around Psalm 120 and on, these are the songs that were, and are still, sung as the people went up to Jerusalem.

You can read the scriptures referring to Sukkot in Deuteronomy 16, Leviticus 23, and Nehemiah 8 to see the scriptural background of this feast.

These are but a few of the many times in scripture that Sukkot is referred to. In Zech 14 it says that the saved among the gentiles will come up to Jerusalem to worship during the feast, and oh they do by the thousands from around the world, and the Israelis wait and watch with wonder, awe and appreciation. There are indeed, MANY gatherings, conferences and prayer convocations taking place right now in Jerusalem and throughout the country attended by believers from around the world. The Christians marching and waving flags from their countries are the highlight and delight of the Israelis during the popular Jerusalem march, which is scheduled to take place on Tuesday.

I love watching the city in a happy tizzy, running hither and yon gathering materials to build their sukkas and to gather the necessary ingredients for the holiday. First there are the 4 species: a willow branch, a palm branch, a myrtle branch and an etrog or citron fruit. The three branches are wrapped together and the etrog is held separately and brought as an “offering” of sorts, with prayer, to the western wall and daily to the sukka (market).

There are also the 7 species: Deuteronomy 8:8: “A land of wheat and barley, grapevines, figs and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and dates.” that grace most tables in the sukka. The sukkas are fun and although the different denominations impose different rules concerning what should and shouldn’t be about the sukka, the scriptures give us the liberty to build them with joy and rejoicing and all of the creativity that the Lord placed in us. I love looking at pictures on the web of sukkas in Jerusalem during the 1800s.

And now it is Thursday, the first day of Sukkot. We decided to go to the western wall of the temple in the Old City as in our reading together this morning we were in 1 Kings chapters 5-8. That’s where Solomon completed the first temple and Solomon prayed. And his powerful prayer which he prayed on his knees with his hands in the air has echoed through the ages and truly is more powerful then pogroms, and Hitlers, and replacement theology.

It includes those who come from the nations who are not part of the tribes of Israel. My husband was struck by hearing over and over again, “when the people sin…when they pray toward this place and repent…hear them.”

He showed me a you-tube video of the wall on Yom Kippur with thousands of people there repenting and turning toward that place where The Lord chose to put His Name. Then we talked about why he often sees people on the bus stand and face east (the Temple Mount with the wall being a remnant of the temple) as they pray and others pull over at sunset as they say their prayers and get out of their cars and stand facing the Old City to pray and so forth.

But what struck us most was that Solomon’s prayer for the dedication of the temple and the people TOOK PLACE ON SUKKOT. (the feast of the 7^th month) and after he blessed all of the people they rejoiced for 7 days here in Jerusalem and round about and then returned home to rejoice for another 7.

So off we went to the wall to look at some of those stones shaped in the quarries so that “no sound of a tool would be heard in the temple.” And surely we are being shaped that way, or at least I am and I suspect that you are too. Hammered away on, shaped and chipped out in a pit somewhere and THEN coming together to be part of His temple, the body, growing, knit and joined to bless and reflect HIM.

And that is why this letter is so late.

I don’t dare write if there is something wrong with my spirit that I’m aware of and there was. I really really enjoy sukkot. I get to sit outside in my sukka with earth and plants around me and it feels simple and rural. I was born in NYC but have always been very much a rural person.

When I left NY permanently at around 20 years old I swore that I would NEVER again live in a city. (I also fully believed that I would not live past 30, but that’s a different story.) BUT GOD Who answers prayer has heard the DEEPEST cries of my heart: “I WANT TO KNOW YOU! I WANT TO DIE TO MYSELF AND BE CONFORMED TO YOUR IMAGE! I WANT YOUR BEST FOR ME NO MATTER WHAT! YOUR WILL AND NOT MINE BE DONE! OVERRULE THIS WILL AND FLESH OF MINE AND LET ME BECOME NOTHING BUT A SIGNPOST TO YOU!”

Your heart too, right? Ouch! Some of us are more stubborn and self-willed then others perhaps. At any rate, He Who knows our hearts better then we ourselves do must lead us all on His path to Himself. Mine includes living in the nosiest part of the CITY with difficult neighbor and being told by my husband this year that we were NOT BUILDING A SUKKA.

Talk about a pouting, rebellious wife…oy!

That is NO way to approach the command of The Lord to rejoice before Him. To compound that, the police again contacted me that the neighbor complained that we were making too much noise – while we were sleeping.

“But Lord! I want to describe the joys of Sukkot to my sisters and brothers abroad and to send them happy photos of us in our sukkah! Wahhhh!” Temper tantrum… temper tantrum.

So I had to work late, forgot to take chicken out of the freezer for dinner which I didn’t want to cook anyway and there was NO fresh chicken to buy at the shuk by the time I was on my way home. There to find out that my husband had invited a guest, a brother in The Lord.

Hum! I defrosted some chicken in a bowl of salt water and sukkot came, ready or not.

BUT, as with Solomon’s prayer and countless others through out history, He heard my prayer: “Lord! Be a sukka unto me and over this black self-willed heart of mine and change my hard heart and exchange it for your soft one.”

“Wow! Looks like GOD built you a sukka this year,” Bob said.

I was shocked. He continued, “With that tree right over this merapeset and all of these flowers around that you planted, I feel as if I’m in HIS sukka, the best one ever.”

My husband beamed and I broke through to a repentant heart.

Thank You Lord for Your Holy Spirit, Your faithfulness, Your quarry in which You pound away at our misshapen surfaces, and Your incredible patience. Thank You Lord for the glimpses of Your Heart and Character that we glean through scripture, through Your holidays and even Your law as well as Your grace. Thank You that we are changed into Your image even from glory to glory although we still see through a glass darkly. And thank You that as You command the children of Israel to sit in flimsy dwellings where we are and where we can see the sky and remember that IT IS YOU WHO BROUGHT US UP FROM EGYPT, WHO DELIVERED US FROM SLAVERY AND DO YET DELIVER US ALL FROM THE HOUSE OF BONDAGE THROUGH YOUR SON YESHUA. IT IS ALWAYS YOU AND YOUR STRENGTH. NEVER OURS.”

And THIS is the message of Sukkot. We rejoice before our Father Who know that we are but dust. Yet He remembers our frame and we too must remember that we really aren’t very strong and powerful. And yet precious to Him. This is the message of Sukkot!.

Come and join in. I will, Lord willing, write more about what I see, hear and smell AND taste, during this time. BLESSINGS to you sisters and brothers!

Love,

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Tagged as Christianity, Church, Israel, Jerusalem, Kingdom of God, Prayer, Prophecy, Spiritual warfare

October 12, 2014 · 9:07 am

Inside Israel

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

Blessings to you again and may this letter be to His glory, faithful, and edifying to you.

Twenty years ago, on our first Yom Kippur in the land, I wrote my first letter to bare witness to what I was seeing and hearing. This morning in my meditation verse of Revelation 1:5, I sat before The One Who sends grace and peace, Yeshua h’Meshiach, “The Faithful Witness.” I asked Him to measure my faithful witness against His and to conform me into His Image. A big, grandiose prayer perhaps, but not too big for Him Who calls us all to be nothing less then faithful witnesses of Him in this upside down world.

That Yom Kippur 20 years ago was a shock to my system. Although I was blessed to have experienced deep silence in Alaska, in rural California, and in many other places, I (who had been born in NYC) had never experienced the drama of a city turning off its engines and vehicles. It’s difficult to know how much sound motors make until they suddenly stop. I experienced the “great blackout” in NYC in the 60s when everything electrical stopped, but the vehicles continued.

That sunset, 20 years ago, I was struck by the SUDDEN, DRAMATIC silence as it was ALL unplugged. Yom Kippur is not like Shabat, even then, there are many sabbath breakers…but not on YOM KIPPUR.

At that time we lived in the neighborhood of Gilo, just below us was a mosque. Shortly after the city fell silent, the minaret began full blast and I mean full blast. I did not need to understand Arabic to realize that there was an angry and incriminatory diatribe being preached intermingled with Koran readings. As opposed to a normal day, this continued for the entire 25 hours of the fast. In the morning I got up and took my Scriptures and went out on to the merepeset (balcony) and read out loud facing the minaret. It was my first glimmer of the ancient battle between God Almighty, The God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, God The Father of Yeshua, against the god named Alla (one of the names of His ancient foe.)

There was another spiritual battle that my eyes were opened to on that day, which I had not at all understood before. This was the battle between certain parts of the Church and God’s plan concerning Israel and the Jews.

At the time we were sharing the apartment with a lovely couple from New Zealand or some place near there. They volunteered to live here for a season. I have often heard that people should have their spiritual house in order before coming here because the spiritual warfare is so tough, particularly for people with hidden sins. They are often overthrown and fall into great confusion when they live in Jerusalem. I have witnessed that this is true.

The husband began some secret drinking. So as the Yom Kippur fast approached, he announced that there was no way that he was going to take part in a heathen fast because he knew he was saved by The Blood. We explained that we also knew that truth and were not fasting for our own souls. Instead, we humbled ourselves to pray for the people of the land as they sought Him and also to identify as Paul wrote:

“For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law;…” (1 Corinthians 9:19-20)

This poor man became furious and began to rage that he would not fast (which none of us insisted on him doing), and he didn’t. He also got quite drunk. I did not understand at the time. In fact, I wondered what we had done to offend him. No one had required him to fast and surely no one was being judged by whether he did or did not. I just didn’t understand that other things were at work, such as sifting and exposing of hearts.

But it did not take many years for me to understand that, like it or not, what the Church does with God’s purposes for Israel and the Jews is some sort of plumbline in these latter days.

It is now heading toward 4 p.m. and the synagogues are full, people having fasted and prayed. Some stood for the full night and day. Yesterday from 2:00 onward our airport, Ben Gurion, was closed to all traffic, incoming and outgoing flights were halted until 10 p.m. tonight. We became a nation cut off from the outside world…a nation closed in to seek God.

My reading today included time in Jeremiah, turning my heart to cry out for our people still in darkness, still veiled, still seeking according to traditions and yet blind. MERCY is HIM. My heart trembles before Him.

My reading also took me to Hebrews and I read chapters 8-10. I worshipped Him Who MADE THE WAY INTO THE HOLY OF HOLIES. What perfect chapters for today!

We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.

For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another— ²⁶He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. ²⁷And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, ²⁸so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before,“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,”^[ ¹⁷then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”¹⁸Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin. (Hebrews 8-10)

What wonderful chapters, reminding me of the joy that awaits my brethren after the flesh when Romans 9-11 and Zecheriah (just to name some) are fulfilled and they are set free and fully cleansed by The Atoning Blood of Yeshua. How wonderful that there will be no need for a third temple made by human hands – and even if it were to be built it could not be fulfilled since it was The Lord Himself Who filled the Ark of the Covenant with the 10 commandments, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the pot of manna. They are gone. For we learn in Revelation 11:19 –

“Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.”

BUT THE LORD IS BUILDING HIS TEMPLE HERE AND NOW, HIS BODY. For we are the temple of the Living God. Although HIS TEMPLE was destroyed 2,000 years ago and the people dispersed from the land, we are back.

Isn’t it good that our times are in His Hands??

Blessings to you dear sisters and brothers and BLESSING AND HONOR AND GLORY AND POWER TO GOD WHO SITS ON THE THRONE AND UNTO THE LAMB.

Lovingly from still quiet Jerusalem,

your sis J

Click on to see MyGFA site.

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Filed under Christianity, Church, Israel, Jerusalem, Prayer, Prophecy, spiritual warfare

Tagged as Christianity, Church, Israel, Jerusalem, Kingdom of God, Prayer, Prophecy, Spiritual warfare

October 5, 2014 · 8:28 am

Inside Israel

I greet you dear sisters and brothers, with the humbling knowledge that you and I have been freed from sin and forgiven by the kapara (atonement.) The Precious Blood of The Perfect Lamb has set us free from the Law. We are unworthy, and yet ever thankful to be one in Him for His glory. How beyond wonderful is that?

I told you in my last letter that I would try to describe the tashlikh practice, but we are also in the time of the kapara and so much is passing before my eyes and ears that beg to be described.

I told you that it was when I was meditating in Micah 7:18-20 that I realized the source of tashlikh, and that is indeed where it comes from. l simply copy it here and encourage you to research it further as it is very interesting:

Tashlikh (Hebrew: ‫תשליך‎meaning casting off) is a long-standing Jewish practice usually performed on the afternoon of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, although it can be said up until Hoshana Rabbah. The previous year’s sins are symbolically cast off by reciting a section from Micah that makes allusions to the symbolic casting off of sins, into a large, natural body of flowing water (such as a river, lake, sea or ocean). The name Tashlikh and the practice itself are derived from the Biblical passage (Micah 7:18-20) recited at the ceremony: “You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”

If you continue searching the word tashlikh in Google or another search engine you will find some beautiful prayers and deeper understanding of how many Jews become aware and burdened by the weight of their sins and truly seek forgiveness in so many ways. Yes, for many it is ritual and tradition without true soul searching, but for many others these traditions are doors through which they seek God’s provision for cleansing. I trust that He Who is Faithful can use these doors to lead many and finally all to Himself and His provision: Yeshua or Jesus.

Yeshua or Jesus is THE Kapara…THE Atonement…THE One provided by God The Father. It’s not the chicken or the money used in the rather strange kapara ceremony that took place all through the city today.

Kapparot (Hebrew: ‫כפרות‎, Ashkenazi pronunciation, Kapporois, Kappores) is a Jewish ritual practiced by some Jews on the eve of Yom Kippur. The person swings a live chicken or a bundle of coins over one’s head three times, symbolically transferring one’s sins to the chicken or coins. The chicken is then slaughtered and donated to the poor for consumption at the pre-fast meal.

I recall seeing both of these rituals in NYC when I was a child. My Grandparents were Orthadox and although they died when I was small, I remember going with my father and grandfather to the synagogue. I must have accompanied them also both to the river for tashlikh and to kapara at one time. Of course, we now live in a modern world and these practices take place amidst more and more controversy every year, even in Jerusalem.

In past years I witnessed tremendous tenderness among the general population – an unusual kindness as they were actively seeking repentance. This year seemed different. People seemed edgy and hostile, quick-tempered with one another. I wondered what had changed. Maybe a certain fatigue had settled in with a frazzled hopelessness. It made my heart sad.

Today at the shuk (marketplace) I witnessed a scene that personified the situation.

A young Haradi man and an old religious man were entering the shuk area where the kapara is performed. A youngish women’s libber sort of lady with a sign on her back and another in her hand that she attempted to post at the entrance, approached them and said that the slaughter of ritual chickens was cruelty to animals, even though they are slaughtered by a butcher and the meat is given to the needy. For a short while they discussed the ritual versus animal rights, but it wasn’t too long before angry shouts replaced discussion.

As I continued along my way, my heart ached and I prayed for my people who were swallowing a camel and straining at a gnat again. While seeking forgiveness they were engaged in angry debate.

My mind flashed back to the night when they came for Yeshua. It was a similar night and a time of preparing the heart to worship and give thanks for the deliverance from Egypt and from the death angel through the obedience to the sprinkling of the blood of the lamb on Passover. While sacrificing the lamb and seeking to please God, they took HIM to HIS cross.

How often do I miss HIM while I strain at a gnat?

How often do I slaughter my sister or brother or my husband because I am right?

But I think back to the one ray of hope that I witnessed today. It was at work in the busy waiting room. There was an emergency among emergencies, and people who had already been waiting had to wait longer. Having worked there for 17 years now, there are many people whom I know very well and dearly love. One lady began to flatter me with much praise for my goodness and patience which I SO know are HIS and NOT mine.

I told her, “No no Na’ama! EVERYTHING good that I have and do comes from Elohim.”

She smiled as if to say, “Oh…and so you are humble too…”

So I went on and a boldness took over: “You know, I get up very early in the morning and I read the Tenach and the Neve’eem (Old Testament and Prophets). (No, I did not mention the New Testament as it would have been inappropriate just then to what was being said). I read them day after day in my mother tongue so that I can understand. Do you know that they are easy to understand? You can read them without a Rabbi.”

At this point several other patients began listening.

“You really can not read them day after day after day without a real fear of The Lord coming into you. The prophets teach us and warn us and tell us the way that we must walk before Him and when you look at that with your heart every day, and ask HIM to come into your bad heart and change it, He does share Himself with us.”

Suddenly something happened. I didn’t mention forgiveness but the answers shocked me.

Na’ama sighed and looked at both Mali and me. “Ah! But I find it so hard to forgive! I KNOW that I HAVE to forgive everybody everything but that is so hard. How can I forgive?”

Mali immediately agreed and said that she also needed to forgive and she KNEW that He required us to forgive. “But how can I forgive? It is just so hard!” Mali said.

Into my mind flashed that I can forgive others because I know the awful things that I have been forgiven, but these sheep don’t know that. No! They DON’T know the forgiveness yet of God, but they know that He requires them to forgive. Wow…they know that instinctively.

As I did the dishes just now and listened to the last news broadcast, they ended with slichoot (forgiveness) prayers sung. The announcer said, “And as we close for the last evening broadcast before the closing for Yom Kippur, we will leave you with the Slichoot prayer sung by − get ready…I kid you not − The Gospel Choir.”

I suspect that we are yet to hear the end of that one.

God bless and keep you. Perhaps you will join in prayer for Israel at this most special time when the people believe that the books of life and death are open and our names are written in one or the other. The traditional greeting − “G’mar hatima tova” (may you finish the fast with a good signature”) − takes on new meaning for us who know our names are inscribed in The Lamb’s book of Life. We are praying this inscription becomes reality for the still lost sheep of Israel. May this year ALL OF ISRAEL FINISH WITH A SIGNATURE UNTO LIFE.

Lovingly,

your sis J

Inside Israel

Psalm 107 – “Oh, give thanks to The Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy and gathered out of the lands, From the east and from the west, From the north and from the south.” 1-3 …”For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness. 7”

Greetings brothers and sisters in Yeshua, Jesus, King of kings and Lord of lords, may HE alone be glorified and blessed and praised and worshipped and adored in the fullness of The Father – Abba God, Adonoi, Elohim through His Holy Spirit. Blessings to you with love on this beautiful Rosh h’shana.

How good He is! So many terrorist attacks were planned for last night and this day. So many disasters were predicted and prophesied; for us, none of them have taken place. This is not boasting, although perhaps it is boasting in God and His faithfulness to keep us humble and not knowing the hour, to keep us dependent upon Him and knowing that He will bring all of His promises to pass, both those of judgment but also of mercy.

To my great surprise, yesterday morning as I was having devotions I came to the end of both the book of Luke and the book that I was meditating in − the book of Micah. The last words in the book of Micah were:

Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in mercy. ¹⁹He will again have compassion on us, And will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins Into the depths of the sea. ²⁰You will give truth to Jacob And mercy to Abraham, Which You have sworn to our fathers From days of old. (Micah 7:18-20)

Now, I will not mince words. Micah was a pretty hard book to meditate through and most mornings left me shaking and begging for mercy. Then, there it was − His mercy, His promise, His Character. “Who is a God like You?”

I turned the page for the next verse to meditate in and guess what? That was the end of the book. No…He will NOT pass over judgment and we are yet in the midst of Revelation, but to this people in this part of the story (His dealings with Israel) these words are today’s headlines.

As I looked at the Hebrew for these verses I was totally surprised to find the foundation verse for one of the main traditions coming up this week is found right here, particularly in verse 19. It says: “HE will have compassion on us and that HE will subdue our iniquities and that HE will cast our sins into the depths of the sea.”

The word here in Hebrew for casting (our sins into the depths of the sea) is tashlic. I will describe the tashlic ceremony later this week, Lord willing. The problem is that WE (as a people) are still trying to do this ourselves when HE, as our GOD has promised to do it.

Ok…I confess that I am too excited and this letter might get too confusing if I continue to jump ahead of myself. I am excited because of The Words that I have read over the past few mornings and today. But I am called to be “a faithful witness” so let me share with you more of what I am seeing first.

Levit 23:22 This is the day of the blowing of the shofarim (trumpets) and a ‘holy convocation’ with no ²³Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴“Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. ²⁵You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord.’”

The weather is beautiful today, with the wind of Jerusalem making the tree leaves and flowers dance as if worshipping before The God Who has brought Jerusalem to this quiet restful state in the face of so many threats.

Last year we heard many shofarim being sounded according to the command written in the above verses, but this year, as my husband’s back is recovering, we are not out walking and not hearing as many, so we blew our own a few times. How I love the sound, even if we don’t bring forth the clean sound that others who are more proficient are able to do.

I also don’t see the persimmons blowing in the wind as I do on the days when I go to work and pass through many gardened streets. The word for persimmon in Hebrew is rimon (a pretty word) [רימון] and it is one of the symbolic fruits of the season. I love this beautiful fruit whose bud is one of the first to appear. It is an almost florescent pink orange crown that comes shooting forth, commanding the eyes to look. The top half of the bud begins to swell and the bottom half (the crown) blossoms out.

Daily as I walk to work I watch the fruit develop and the small green immature fruit turning into regal red bursting globes. The shuk (market) is full of them as well as the trees during these holidays and each table displays them. They give us much to think about. The royal globes with a crown on top have an opening that exposes hundreds (200 to 1600 so I understand) juicy, healthy, yummy seeds to add to salads or eat by the handful or to squeeze into juice. I always think of the fruit of The Spirit as I look at these − some producing 100 fold.

I now hear more shofarim sounding through the street in front of our apartment as the sun begins to go down. It has been a delightful day after having wonderful, beloved sisters and brothers in The Lord around our table last night. How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell in unity together.

Just think of it: the faithfulness of God. How the body of Messiah continues to grow in number and strength, an indigenous body after 2,000 years of being only a tiny remnant along with the rest of the people of Israel. We are here again.

May we all be one AS HE IS ONE. I now have 3 more days off from work so I hope to write again. May I be a faithful witness…may we each be faithful to all that He has called us to. God bless you. Lovingly, your sis in Jerusalem

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Inside Israel

Shalom Dear brothers and sisters,

May The Lord be glorified and blessed and may you be blessed and encouraged in Him. I am thankful for you.

Apples and Honey. As big things, humongous things, swirl all around us: Scotland, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Yemen, Ebola, ISIS (or ISIL depending upon who is speaking), wars and rumors of war, life changing decisions and world shaking events mixed with people-shaking fears. We here in Israel sweep away the dust of war and enter the “frenzy mode” of cooking and shopping and preparing to feast before The Lord, because HE said to do it. It has often made me laugh to see all of the crisis events put on the back burner while the focus among my people turns to fulfilling the commandment.

Tradition plays a big part in every Jewish holiday, and certainly there are as many traditions as there are families (much like our Christian traditions), but all of them seem to place family, friends and food just under God.

There is little actually written in the scripture about this feast, the first of the three fall feasts. So, much of Rosh H’ashana is actually characterized by traditions. Finally, I’m beginning to understand the why of traditions. They seem to me to be focus tools, implemented to help us focus on something that God commanded and then to establish it as important in our lives.

The danger of traditions, as Yeshua constantly taught, was they may take the place of God’s commands and become the focus in and of themselves. It seems to me as I live among so many traditions that it is a heart issue, often individual. Some people focus on God and some on the tradition.

Never the less, I will describe to you some of the traditions that I witness. Hopefully, its flavor will encourage you toward God and His intent. And this is my prayer and the prayer of many other local believers that the fulfillment of these traditions may be seen and that hungry hearts may embrace the God Who calls us to His table with His trumpet blast, the sounding of the shofar.

There are definite foods that symbolize Rosh H’shana: Perhaps most prominent among them are apples (or pomegranates) and honey, almonds, dates, figs, and the head of a fish. The feast is built around these foods.

THEREFORE, the shuk (market place) just TEAMS with activity and people. Crowded streets, yummy smells and busy vendors fill the air with one resounding, “Shana tova. Shalom oo bracha vay bree-oot l col am Yisroel!” (Good new year. Peace and blessing and health to all of Am – the nation, the people, the tribes – Israel.) Gifts begin to be shared.

Working for a doctor, I am deeply humbled by the sudden blessing of a dish, a jar, some honey, a plant or a tablecloth from often aging patients who will take my hand and thank me for serving them this year. I purchase some lovely nuts from the shuk for two local shop owners who have been constantly kind and I want to thank them. Other gifts might go to the bus driver or a guard that sits at the market and a generous 20shekels (instead of the usual 1/2shekel) pressed into the hand of a familiar elderly beggar bringing such her surprised joy.

We are thankful for one another. It is GOOD to stop and remember that all of ‘us dust balls’ are made in God’s image.

And mingled with the sound of the impatient car horns is the high call of the shofar bidding each one to come to the mercy seat, as families and singles gathered with families. Come to the mercy seat with apples and honey, almonds and dates and remember the sweetness of the land and the promises that God Almighty has given us and be humbled at the thought of His Greatness.

My boss brings his shofar to work and each morning blows it in the 4 directions at the door of the clinic. An older learned patient who came by at 7 a.m. this morning told us about a time that he was asked to demonstrate and explain the blowing of the shofar to a class of 6 year olds.

He said to them, “Do you know how sometimes you need something very badly…maybe you are scared and you need a hug, or maybe you hurt your knee and you need your Ima or Abba to make it better? Do you ever run to Ima or Abba and don’t know what to say, so you just cry? Sometimes there is something inside of you that seems too big and you can’t say it, so you cry, am I right?’”

He said all of the children said, “Yes yes! That is right!“

He continued. “Well…THAT is the blowing of the shofar. We are the children of Adonai and we don’t know what we need, but we need Him and we call to Him and we cry to Him and we come to Him. And when we blow the shofar, we are crying to Him and calling each other to come and cry to Him too. He is our Abba.”

He told us that the children ALL seemed to understand.

I understood and saw how it fit in with our prayers this morning for the hearts of the people to be turned to Him this season of the fall feasts and for them to come to Him and SEE HIM AS HE IS.

So he calls this the Feast of trumpets and commands us to come aside and stop all work and have a holy convocation and to blow the shofarim (ram’s horn trumpets). KNOWING that exactly 10 days later we are called to afflict our souls and seek repentance. We know that the shofar is calling us to Him at this time, just as it called the children of Israel to the mount when the 10 commandments were given and they feared greatly when they heard the trumpet blast. Tt is a fearful thing to fall into the Hands of The Living God…if you do not know that you are covered by The Blood of The Perfect Lamb!

With tons more to say, I will leave you with ‘AMEN!’ as we turn our hearts to Him to press into the reality of all He is, all He asks, all He calls us to…each one called alone, and yet as one in His body. God Bless and keep you dear brothers and sisters.

Lovingly,

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Filed under Christianity, Church, Israel, Jerusalem, Kingdom of God, Prophecy, spiritual warfare

Tagged as Christianity, Church, Israel, Jerusalem, Kingdom of God, Prayer, Prophecy, Spiritual warfare