Letters from Jerusalem
May 18, 2023
PSALM 14712-13
Sisters and brothers in Yeshua, Messiah, Lord, King...may HE be glorified here in Jerusalem today. It is His due. He Alone is worthy!
Today is Jerusalem Day. It is now 3:45 in the afternoon our time and the flag marchers have been gathering as well as their opposers.
LIBERATION OF JERUSALEM 1967
What is the IMPORTANCE of Jerusalem in God's economy? It is mentioned AT LEAST 815 times in The written Bible!
"Yet I have chosen Jerusalem, that My name may be there, and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’ 2 Chron 6:6
"(but he shall have one tribe for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel)" 1 Kings 11:32 (even in judgment),
Oh sisters and brothers, I have just looked at hundreds of verses and my eyes grow weary and I can not write more...but YOU know them...this city has been chosen both for His glory and His praise, it is here is where the manifest hatred of God is played out...it is a battlefield between The Lord and His enemies.
I believe that that is why it is important to be free to march through our own city...our capital city which God gave back to us through a miracle after 2,000 years. It is not politically correct, but it is NOT for the purpose of incitement (from most people) nor to subdue a people...but to STAND in the place that He has given us without fear and intimidation. The world hates this day and the media is screaming, but I for one will rejoice and I send these two videos that you might share in the rejoicing and PRAY FOR THE FULFILLMENT OF HIS PURPOSES HERE...MAY HE BE SEEN AND GLORIFIED. May we be found obedient, knowing HIM!
Additional Information: Our sister in Israel has found a place to live.
PSALM 14712-13
Sisters and brothers in Yeshua, Messiah, Lord, King...may HE be glorified here in Jerusalem today. It is His due. He Alone is worthy!
Today is Jerusalem Day. It is now 3:45 in the afternoon our time and the flag marchers have been gathering as well as their opposers.
LIBERATION OF JERUSALEM 1967
What is the IMPORTANCE of Jerusalem in God's economy? It is mentioned AT LEAST 815 times in The written Bible!
"Yet I have chosen Jerusalem, that My name may be there, and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’ 2 Chron 6:6
"(but he shall have one tribe for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel)" 1 Kings 11:32 (even in judgment),
Oh sisters and brothers, I have just looked at hundreds of verses and my eyes grow weary and I can not write more...but YOU know them...this city has been chosen both for His glory and His praise, it is here is where the manifest hatred of God is played out...it is a battlefield between The Lord and His enemies.
I believe that that is why it is important to be free to march through our own city...our capital city which God gave back to us through a miracle after 2,000 years. It is not politically correct, but it is NOT for the purpose of incitement (from most people) nor to subdue a people...but to STAND in the place that He has given us without fear and intimidation. The world hates this day and the media is screaming, but I for one will rejoice and I send these two videos that you might share in the rejoicing and PRAY FOR THE FULFILLMENT OF HIS PURPOSES HERE...MAY HE BE SEEN AND GLORIFIED. May we be found obedient, knowing HIM!
Additional Information: Our sister in Israel has found a place to live.
May 13, 2023
Exodus 28:9, 12, 15, 21, 29, 30 “Then you shall take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel…And you shall put the two stones on the shoulders of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. So Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord on his two shoulders as a memorial…. You shall make the breastplate of judgment. Artistically woven according to the workmanship of the ephod you shall make it: of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, you shall make it. …And the stones shall have the names of the sons of Israel, twelve according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, each one with its own name; they shall be according to the twelve tribes…. So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel on the breastplate of judgment over his heart, when he goes into the holy place, as a memorial before the Lord continually. And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the Lord. So Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel over his heart before the Lord continually.”
Dear brothers and sisters in The Lord…THE LORD! The King, The Savior, The Way, The Truth, The Light, Life itself, The Lord Yeshua The Messiah, Who was and is and is coming again. May HE be glorified and blessed and worshipped, and may you be encouraged and blessed. May He Alone be SEEN.
I greet you from the city of The Great King, the city set upon a hill, chosen for His purposes to bring Him glory. The city that is hated and adored and yet exists because of His will and for HIS PURPOSES. I had to turn my red alert ‘app’ back on my phone. The rockets are flying again in Operation Shield and Arrow (in Hebrew ‘magen’ is shield and ‘khetz’ is arrow). So far, 1 Israeli citizen has been killed in a direct hit on an apartment building in the town of Rahovot. Israel has been using precision rockets to assassinate the leadership of Islamic Jihad, an extremely militant terror group headquartered in the Gaza Strip along side but not working with Hamas, supplied and backed by Iran. Israel has (or SHOULD have) zero tolerance of rocket fire into our country…as I’m SURE…your countries do or would? As usual, rockets had started up again, one here and one there. This time they were not coming from Hamas, but Islamic Jihad. Part of the fuel for this particular eruption is the fact that our enemies viewed our infighting over judicial reform as weakness. Most timely, however, is that in 3 more days it will be Jerusalem Day, marking 56 years since the Old City of Jerusalem was miraculously returned to our hands after 2,000 years of occupation. The wonder of it all…and to us as believers who know His Word and see His plan…unfolding before our eyes…we can only be full of wonder and thanksgiving! But to the enemies of our God, it is a catastrophe…that wonderous day is approaching and as it says in Revelation 12:12 “Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” The enemy MAY shake everything but he can not rob that which is clinging to God and he can not destroy God’s plan in the life of those who choose Him Who chose us. It may LOOK ruined (don’t forget…Israel lay dead in the ashes for 2,000 years!! For those born before 1948 the only LOGICAL solution was that OBVIOUSLY God had judged the Jews …’the Christ killers’…as apostate and substituted the Church as His only representative on the earth. Two thousand years! sisters and brothers! No wonder replacement theology was the accepted norm. It made logical sense. Obviously, God’s plan had not worked…we Jews were too stubborn …too bad and evil and finally completely reprobate! God could not accomplish what He had planned…or could He … and can He yet?) Replacement theology was satan’s use of our shallow faith and lack of rightly dividing the Word of Truth: it was the humanly logical explanation of God’s failure to fulfill what was written!
I was reading Exodus 28 and 29 this morning as part of my regular daily reading. As I have said many times, I read in the order that it is written…Genesis-Revelation…with 4 different daily portions: Through the ‘Old Testament’ (Tenach)…through the prophets…through Psalms, Proverbs, and ‘the poetic books’…and through the ‘New Testament’…but I read in order. I don’t skip around. So today I am reading in Exodus, Jeremiah, Job and 2 Timothy. It has been His choice for me to read this way and I plan to continue until He changes it. ANYWAY…in Exodus 28, I was struck a fresh by the beautiful symbolism described in the words printed above…which seem so appropriate today as many of you have noted to me that you are participating, in one way or other, with a call to prayer and fasting for Israel. According the scripture at the top of the letter, the priest was to bear the names of the tribes of Israel on his shoulders, (facing up to the heavens) and on the breastplate, over his heart, facing toward them…seeing them and suffering their obstinacy and their sins…over his heart! And INSIDE the breast plate (oh, how compassionate our God!) were the mysterious ‘Urim and Thummim’. In Hebrew those words mean ‘Light’ and ‘purity – implying simplicity’. What a merciful picture of those who pray…who stand in the gap praying with Habakkuk 3:2 “In wrath remember mercy”!
So to those who watch and pray (may we all…for we all are commanded to ie: Mat. 26:41, Luke 21:36, Eph. 6:18, 1 Peter 4:7 among many others) I encourage you to watch over Jerusalem with Jerusalem Day set for 18-19 May and Shavuot (Pentecost) set for 25-26 May…May the watchmen be quiet and listening…and then NOT quiet and praying as we hear from HIM His will.
And, on a personal note, speaking of Jerusalem: When we made Aliyah (it will be 29 years ago in July), we did NOT intend to live in Jerusalem. We looked to settle in the North…the Golan…or the south…the Negev. I left my birthplace when I was 21 with ‘set in stone’ purpose to NEVER AGAIN live in a city. God was gracious to me and planted me for so many years in the wild. However, it was Derek Prince who said to us, laughing, “You can’t choose to live in Jerusalem…Jerusalem chooses whom she wants to live in her!” and thus she had apparently chosen us. That is why as I have been painfully searching for my next place to live, I didn’t dare look outside of Jerusalem.
So here’s the story:
I was weeping before The Lord about my apartment during my morning devotions and as I came to Jeremiah 6:1 I was struck by the words “You children of Benyamin, gather yourselves to flee from the midst of Jerusalem. Blow the trumpet in Tekoa and set up a signal fie in Beit H’Kerem…” (as far as I know, this is the only place that Beit h’Kerem…the neighborhood that I live in…is mentioned in the Bible)
Well, no. I did NOT take that as a ‘thus saith The Lord’ to me because it isn’t, and I wanted no presumption, but I laid it on the altar and asked Him to direct me. He had called us to Jerusalem…I ONLY want His will. I think that it was the next day, 2 Wed. ago, I think, I landed in the hospital with a bad infection. While I was there, a dear sister who is also an anesthesiologist, said ‘By the way, you know that I moved to Mevaseret Zion? I LOVE it there! And buses are great and you are in the center of Jerusalem in 20 minutes.’ Graciously, I was sent home from hospital on Thursday. J, who has been ‘WITH’ us (both staying in our home and woven into our hearts and spirits) for the past two years, was scheduled to leave on Saturday night following the Kehila meeting. I longed to spend that Shabbat dinner and Shabbat with her so God was wonderfully gracious to me again. When I got home TWO sisters sent me an advertisement from a list that advertises through believers weekly, but it is geared mainly toward non Israelis here. It was for an apartment in MZ. I said ‘no way’…but couldn’t get it out of my mind. On Sunday I sent an email to the owners. Please God, it looks as if it will be my next home! It is in Castel (Kastel) where we were on that amazing tour on Independence Day…several blocks away! It is a two room apartment underneath the owners who are wonderful believers and the bus stops across from the house! Kastel is like a moshav and is one of the Mevaseret neighborhoods. I will send a photo of the outside. I HAVE SUCH PEACE ABOUT THIS! INSPITE of the fact that it is furnished (something I VERY much did NOT want) which means that I will have to get rid of even so much more of things that are part of my entire life. This is painful. Also, we have not yet signed because they promised it to a man who was coming part time for the summer as a tourist and he doesn’t not want to back down. He has not put any downpayment up as yet…but please pray (as I did with the owners and the sisters who brought me) that only THE WILL OF THE LORD will be done. It is not yet set in stone. I must be out of here in two and a half weeks…I know that He will have me where He wants me in time.
Oh, the work that He does on us to bring Him to Himself! Just another thought before I close: As I was reading in Exodus 29 this morning and verses 42-43 brought me to my knees: “This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet you to speak with you. And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory.” It is clear through out the Brit ha Hadisha (new covenant) that it is not through a building of stone that He will again reign…but that it is His intent that through His body He purposes to display HIS GLORY.
“…having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit”. Ephesians 2:20-22
1 Peter 2:4
Hebrews 8:2 and 9:7
1 Corinthians 3:16 among so many others.
May we be found of Him in HIS Peace…taking ALL things from His Hand with thanksgiving and praise! May we display His glory in the midst of our own fires, no matter what, and may we allow those fires to sanctify us and make us fit for His use. May we die to self and not be deceived but be filled with His Holy Spirit and His Spirit of discernment and prayer and a love for His Word. May we love His ways and know His Presence. We are all so weak and in need of His grace and mercy!
Thank you so much for your prayers and loving support for me personally through this past fiery year, and mostly for His purposes in Israel and our people, so greatly needed! May our people have the revelation of Yeshua (my young upstairs neighbors are really responding!) and be able to cross the bridge to open the doors of their hearts to Him.
May you be blessed and may The Lord be glorified!
Exodus 28:9, 12, 15, 21, 29, 30 “Then you shall take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel…And you shall put the two stones on the shoulders of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. So Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord on his two shoulders as a memorial…. You shall make the breastplate of judgment. Artistically woven according to the workmanship of the ephod you shall make it: of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, you shall make it. …And the stones shall have the names of the sons of Israel, twelve according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, each one with its own name; they shall be according to the twelve tribes…. So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel on the breastplate of judgment over his heart, when he goes into the holy place, as a memorial before the Lord continually. And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the Lord. So Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel over his heart before the Lord continually.”
Dear brothers and sisters in The Lord…THE LORD! The King, The Savior, The Way, The Truth, The Light, Life itself, The Lord Yeshua The Messiah, Who was and is and is coming again. May HE be glorified and blessed and worshipped, and may you be encouraged and blessed. May He Alone be SEEN.
I greet you from the city of The Great King, the city set upon a hill, chosen for His purposes to bring Him glory. The city that is hated and adored and yet exists because of His will and for HIS PURPOSES. I had to turn my red alert ‘app’ back on my phone. The rockets are flying again in Operation Shield and Arrow (in Hebrew ‘magen’ is shield and ‘khetz’ is arrow). So far, 1 Israeli citizen has been killed in a direct hit on an apartment building in the town of Rahovot. Israel has been using precision rockets to assassinate the leadership of Islamic Jihad, an extremely militant terror group headquartered in the Gaza Strip along side but not working with Hamas, supplied and backed by Iran. Israel has (or SHOULD have) zero tolerance of rocket fire into our country…as I’m SURE…your countries do or would? As usual, rockets had started up again, one here and one there. This time they were not coming from Hamas, but Islamic Jihad. Part of the fuel for this particular eruption is the fact that our enemies viewed our infighting over judicial reform as weakness. Most timely, however, is that in 3 more days it will be Jerusalem Day, marking 56 years since the Old City of Jerusalem was miraculously returned to our hands after 2,000 years of occupation. The wonder of it all…and to us as believers who know His Word and see His plan…unfolding before our eyes…we can only be full of wonder and thanksgiving! But to the enemies of our God, it is a catastrophe…that wonderous day is approaching and as it says in Revelation 12:12 “Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” The enemy MAY shake everything but he can not rob that which is clinging to God and he can not destroy God’s plan in the life of those who choose Him Who chose us. It may LOOK ruined (don’t forget…Israel lay dead in the ashes for 2,000 years!! For those born before 1948 the only LOGICAL solution was that OBVIOUSLY God had judged the Jews …’the Christ killers’…as apostate and substituted the Church as His only representative on the earth. Two thousand years! sisters and brothers! No wonder replacement theology was the accepted norm. It made logical sense. Obviously, God’s plan had not worked…we Jews were too stubborn …too bad and evil and finally completely reprobate! God could not accomplish what He had planned…or could He … and can He yet?) Replacement theology was satan’s use of our shallow faith and lack of rightly dividing the Word of Truth: it was the humanly logical explanation of God’s failure to fulfill what was written!
I was reading Exodus 28 and 29 this morning as part of my regular daily reading. As I have said many times, I read in the order that it is written…Genesis-Revelation…with 4 different daily portions: Through the ‘Old Testament’ (Tenach)…through the prophets…through Psalms, Proverbs, and ‘the poetic books’…and through the ‘New Testament’…but I read in order. I don’t skip around. So today I am reading in Exodus, Jeremiah, Job and 2 Timothy. It has been His choice for me to read this way and I plan to continue until He changes it. ANYWAY…in Exodus 28, I was struck a fresh by the beautiful symbolism described in the words printed above…which seem so appropriate today as many of you have noted to me that you are participating, in one way or other, with a call to prayer and fasting for Israel. According the scripture at the top of the letter, the priest was to bear the names of the tribes of Israel on his shoulders, (facing up to the heavens) and on the breastplate, over his heart, facing toward them…seeing them and suffering their obstinacy and their sins…over his heart! And INSIDE the breast plate (oh, how compassionate our God!) were the mysterious ‘Urim and Thummim’. In Hebrew those words mean ‘Light’ and ‘purity – implying simplicity’. What a merciful picture of those who pray…who stand in the gap praying with Habakkuk 3:2 “In wrath remember mercy”!
So to those who watch and pray (may we all…for we all are commanded to ie: Mat. 26:41, Luke 21:36, Eph. 6:18, 1 Peter 4:7 among many others) I encourage you to watch over Jerusalem with Jerusalem Day set for 18-19 May and Shavuot (Pentecost) set for 25-26 May…May the watchmen be quiet and listening…and then NOT quiet and praying as we hear from HIM His will.
And, on a personal note, speaking of Jerusalem: When we made Aliyah (it will be 29 years ago in July), we did NOT intend to live in Jerusalem. We looked to settle in the North…the Golan…or the south…the Negev. I left my birthplace when I was 21 with ‘set in stone’ purpose to NEVER AGAIN live in a city. God was gracious to me and planted me for so many years in the wild. However, it was Derek Prince who said to us, laughing, “You can’t choose to live in Jerusalem…Jerusalem chooses whom she wants to live in her!” and thus she had apparently chosen us. That is why as I have been painfully searching for my next place to live, I didn’t dare look outside of Jerusalem.
So here’s the story:
I was weeping before The Lord about my apartment during my morning devotions and as I came to Jeremiah 6:1 I was struck by the words “You children of Benyamin, gather yourselves to flee from the midst of Jerusalem. Blow the trumpet in Tekoa and set up a signal fie in Beit H’Kerem…” (as far as I know, this is the only place that Beit h’Kerem…the neighborhood that I live in…is mentioned in the Bible)
Well, no. I did NOT take that as a ‘thus saith The Lord’ to me because it isn’t, and I wanted no presumption, but I laid it on the altar and asked Him to direct me. He had called us to Jerusalem…I ONLY want His will. I think that it was the next day, 2 Wed. ago, I think, I landed in the hospital with a bad infection. While I was there, a dear sister who is also an anesthesiologist, said ‘By the way, you know that I moved to Mevaseret Zion? I LOVE it there! And buses are great and you are in the center of Jerusalem in 20 minutes.’ Graciously, I was sent home from hospital on Thursday. J, who has been ‘WITH’ us (both staying in our home and woven into our hearts and spirits) for the past two years, was scheduled to leave on Saturday night following the Kehila meeting. I longed to spend that Shabbat dinner and Shabbat with her so God was wonderfully gracious to me again. When I got home TWO sisters sent me an advertisement from a list that advertises through believers weekly, but it is geared mainly toward non Israelis here. It was for an apartment in MZ. I said ‘no way’…but couldn’t get it out of my mind. On Sunday I sent an email to the owners. Please God, it looks as if it will be my next home! It is in Castel (Kastel) where we were on that amazing tour on Independence Day…several blocks away! It is a two room apartment underneath the owners who are wonderful believers and the bus stops across from the house! Kastel is like a moshav and is one of the Mevaseret neighborhoods. I will send a photo of the outside. I HAVE SUCH PEACE ABOUT THIS! INSPITE of the fact that it is furnished (something I VERY much did NOT want) which means that I will have to get rid of even so much more of things that are part of my entire life. This is painful. Also, we have not yet signed because they promised it to a man who was coming part time for the summer as a tourist and he doesn’t not want to back down. He has not put any downpayment up as yet…but please pray (as I did with the owners and the sisters who brought me) that only THE WILL OF THE LORD will be done. It is not yet set in stone. I must be out of here in two and a half weeks…I know that He will have me where He wants me in time.
Oh, the work that He does on us to bring Him to Himself! Just another thought before I close: As I was reading in Exodus 29 this morning and verses 42-43 brought me to my knees: “This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet you to speak with you. And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory.” It is clear through out the Brit ha Hadisha (new covenant) that it is not through a building of stone that He will again reign…but that it is His intent that through His body He purposes to display HIS GLORY.
“…having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit”. Ephesians 2:20-22
1 Peter 2:4
Hebrews 8:2 and 9:7
1 Corinthians 3:16 among so many others.
May we be found of Him in HIS Peace…taking ALL things from His Hand with thanksgiving and praise! May we display His glory in the midst of our own fires, no matter what, and may we allow those fires to sanctify us and make us fit for His use. May we die to self and not be deceived but be filled with His Holy Spirit and His Spirit of discernment and prayer and a love for His Word. May we love His ways and know His Presence. We are all so weak and in need of His grace and mercy!
Thank you so much for your prayers and loving support for me personally through this past fiery year, and mostly for His purposes in Israel and our people, so greatly needed! May our people have the revelation of Yeshua (my young upstairs neighbors are really responding!) and be able to cross the bridge to open the doors of their hearts to Him.
May you be blessed and may The Lord be glorified!
April 27, 2023
PSALM 133 “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity!
It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron,
Running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing—Life forevermore.”
Brothers and sisters in Yeshua, loving greetings! May THE LORD of all be glorified and blessed. May He Who created the heavens and the earth and all that is within it, The Author and Finisher of our faith be pleased and may you each be encouraged and blessed.
*(This letter was begun several times and is now a very late letter indeed. Nonetheless, I pray that I CAN finish it tonight and that it will be edifying. Please forgive both the tardiness and the exhausted writing)*
I was just at the store across the street to pick up a few items. It’s noon, usually a quiet time at the store, but it was jammed with somber looking people, and a ‘different’ sort of ‘energy’…the old memory of this feeling was recognized and stirred.
Tonight, at sundown, will begin Israel’s Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of terror. It really began last week when families started visiting the graves of their loved ones. There are very few families in Israel that are not lighting a memorial candle for at least one beloved one, and how many are lighting literally dozens for relatives and friends. Whole families have been lost to terror…brothers, husbands, fathers, sons, mothers, sisters, daughters, wives killed in the line of service to the country as well (for we still have a ‘people’s army’) …almost every family in Israel has been touched. Our Memorial Day is both personal and communal. The country opens it’s hearts and floods the land with shared pain of grief, sorrow, lost hopes, and also comfort, courage, and, yes, renewed hope. I can not explain it. One needs to experience it…but I try to explain anyway.
We have, I believe, the unique ‘tradition’ written into our basic law, that Independence Day immediately follows Memorial Day. I have made feeble attempts over the years to describe this indescribable transition…from grieving to joy that takes place after sundown tomorrow night, when the flags that will be lowered to half mast tonight, will rise to full mast tomorrow night and we will again witness “beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning and the garment for praise for the spirit of heaviness” …I HOPE! At the moment, Psalm 133 sounds like an impossible dream.
This year, the Israeli flag has been used as a symbol by the opposition in their demonstrations against the government policy of judicial overhaul claiming that they (the opposition) are the ‘real Israelis’. In the midst, those who believe in settling the land often join the demonstrations from the opposing side, also waving flags and soon it becomes the battle of the flags. One way or other, at this moment Israel is literally COVERED with blue and white! The crowds in the store were buying ahead of Wednesday’s Independence Day celebrations when most big food stores will be closed, and tomorrow will not be a day for shopping. Those of us who pray are praying that it will not be marred by violence, hatred and even the beginning of a civil war.
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I wrote the above 2 days ago. Both Memorial Day and Independence Day have passed (without violence, praise God!) and now I am facing the first anniversary of Eric’s going home, according to the western calendar. Tomorrow, after work, I plan to go to har h’menucha (the mountain of rest) …and then continue to look for a new place to live, since I have not yet been able to find one. It has been a very intense time.
Last night, our daughter and Granddaughters gathered in front of my computer screen to watch the amazing transition ceremony bringing us from grieving to joy. They did it again! The 12 flames were lit by torches …one of each of the tribes of Israel…by people who have impacted for good some area of society: This is always an emotional and uplifting experience. ‘The story’ (beginning with Passover) is remembered and replayed in a spectacular display of song, dance, speeches…it IS dramatic as the joy and emotions rise. Soldiers and children dance, and silent fireworks begin. As the fireworks begin, our daughter and the children went outside, since we currently still live only a couple of blocks from where the ceremony takes place, we have a front row seat! They blended in with the crowd and moved along to the local street party where there were fun activities set up for the many children (although it was already 10pm at night) and goodies from roasted corn on the cob to cotton candy and just a gathering of people reminding one another of the miracle of the country and what we have already lived through.
Today was a wonderful day! Our Kehila (fellowship) gathered to celebrate together. We began by taking a tour of Castel. The story of Castel had my heart pounding. We are blessed to have several wonderful tour guides in our Kehila, so we understand what happened not only from an historical point of view but also from a spiritual one and it is heart pounding! During the war of Independence in 1948, Jerusalem was being choked off, starved, without food or water being able to get to the residents (many of the patients from the doctor’s office where I work were children or teens during the war, and told me about the famine and how they waited for the convoys to bring food and water from Tel Aviv. Snipers along the only route were attacking the convoys and preventing them from reaching Jerusalem with supplies.) Castel was the high point that needed to be taken by the tiny Israeli defenders, or Jerusalem would starve. What happened was a miracle. The tactics which we learned today, became the pattern for the training of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), our army today. What an exciting tour! How thankful I am for this encouragement in the midst of the year that I have been walking through. After the tour, we gathered at the home of one of our families who have a beautiful home on Yad h’Shmonah (I know that some of you have stayed at this believing moshav) for BBQ (called ‘mangel’ in Hebrew), fellowship, encouragement and worship.
This is a ‘nothing letter’. I needed to let you know that, yes I am still alive and no, I still have not found a place to live. (I must move before 1 June). I have been blessed in a ten thousand ways and I NEED to share. J, who has been with us for two years, plans to move out of country in about 10 more days. That will be yet another huge change. I have met with two young men at different times who came on their first tours…one, the son of a friend from the days when I met Him nearly 48 years ago. The son wasn’t yet born! Then L, whom I last saw when he was a young teenager was just here…what a wonder and joy…what IS THE LORD DOING IN MY LIFE? I have been running around like a chicken without a head…and I should have been asleep 2 hours ago now. It is a journey…it is a saga…may I glorify HIM Who is so lovely to behold!
Below, I copied a little ‘blurb’ in our local news which surely looks prophetic to me! I must sleep and be up to work tomorrow…tomorrow…Oh Lord, be glorified!
Blessing and honor and glory and praise to Him Who is All in all…and loving blessings to you.
A ‘HEADS UP’ PERHAPS?
Moscow to host Turkey, Syria, Russia, Iran meeting on Tuesday
Turkey's defense minister said he planned to meet his Syrian, Russian and Iranian counterparts in Moscow on Tuesday, state-owned Anadolu news agency said, amid efforts to rebuild Ankara-Damascus ties after years of animosity during the Syrian war. Anadolu cited Defense Minister Hulusi Akar as saying the countries' intelligence chiefs will also attend the meeting in Moscow. (Reuters)
PSALM 133 “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity!
It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron,
Running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing—Life forevermore.”
Brothers and sisters in Yeshua, loving greetings! May THE LORD of all be glorified and blessed. May He Who created the heavens and the earth and all that is within it, The Author and Finisher of our faith be pleased and may you each be encouraged and blessed.
*(This letter was begun several times and is now a very late letter indeed. Nonetheless, I pray that I CAN finish it tonight and that it will be edifying. Please forgive both the tardiness and the exhausted writing)*
I was just at the store across the street to pick up a few items. It’s noon, usually a quiet time at the store, but it was jammed with somber looking people, and a ‘different’ sort of ‘energy’…the old memory of this feeling was recognized and stirred.
Tonight, at sundown, will begin Israel’s Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of terror. It really began last week when families started visiting the graves of their loved ones. There are very few families in Israel that are not lighting a memorial candle for at least one beloved one, and how many are lighting literally dozens for relatives and friends. Whole families have been lost to terror…brothers, husbands, fathers, sons, mothers, sisters, daughters, wives killed in the line of service to the country as well (for we still have a ‘people’s army’) …almost every family in Israel has been touched. Our Memorial Day is both personal and communal. The country opens it’s hearts and floods the land with shared pain of grief, sorrow, lost hopes, and also comfort, courage, and, yes, renewed hope. I can not explain it. One needs to experience it…but I try to explain anyway.
We have, I believe, the unique ‘tradition’ written into our basic law, that Independence Day immediately follows Memorial Day. I have made feeble attempts over the years to describe this indescribable transition…from grieving to joy that takes place after sundown tomorrow night, when the flags that will be lowered to half mast tonight, will rise to full mast tomorrow night and we will again witness “beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning and the garment for praise for the spirit of heaviness” …I HOPE! At the moment, Psalm 133 sounds like an impossible dream.
This year, the Israeli flag has been used as a symbol by the opposition in their demonstrations against the government policy of judicial overhaul claiming that they (the opposition) are the ‘real Israelis’. In the midst, those who believe in settling the land often join the demonstrations from the opposing side, also waving flags and soon it becomes the battle of the flags. One way or other, at this moment Israel is literally COVERED with blue and white! The crowds in the store were buying ahead of Wednesday’s Independence Day celebrations when most big food stores will be closed, and tomorrow will not be a day for shopping. Those of us who pray are praying that it will not be marred by violence, hatred and even the beginning of a civil war.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I wrote the above 2 days ago. Both Memorial Day and Independence Day have passed (without violence, praise God!) and now I am facing the first anniversary of Eric’s going home, according to the western calendar. Tomorrow, after work, I plan to go to har h’menucha (the mountain of rest) …and then continue to look for a new place to live, since I have not yet been able to find one. It has been a very intense time.
Last night, our daughter and Granddaughters gathered in front of my computer screen to watch the amazing transition ceremony bringing us from grieving to joy. They did it again! The 12 flames were lit by torches …one of each of the tribes of Israel…by people who have impacted for good some area of society: This is always an emotional and uplifting experience. ‘The story’ (beginning with Passover) is remembered and replayed in a spectacular display of song, dance, speeches…it IS dramatic as the joy and emotions rise. Soldiers and children dance, and silent fireworks begin. As the fireworks begin, our daughter and the children went outside, since we currently still live only a couple of blocks from where the ceremony takes place, we have a front row seat! They blended in with the crowd and moved along to the local street party where there were fun activities set up for the many children (although it was already 10pm at night) and goodies from roasted corn on the cob to cotton candy and just a gathering of people reminding one another of the miracle of the country and what we have already lived through.
Today was a wonderful day! Our Kehila (fellowship) gathered to celebrate together. We began by taking a tour of Castel. The story of Castel had my heart pounding. We are blessed to have several wonderful tour guides in our Kehila, so we understand what happened not only from an historical point of view but also from a spiritual one and it is heart pounding! During the war of Independence in 1948, Jerusalem was being choked off, starved, without food or water being able to get to the residents (many of the patients from the doctor’s office where I work were children or teens during the war, and told me about the famine and how they waited for the convoys to bring food and water from Tel Aviv. Snipers along the only route were attacking the convoys and preventing them from reaching Jerusalem with supplies.) Castel was the high point that needed to be taken by the tiny Israeli defenders, or Jerusalem would starve. What happened was a miracle. The tactics which we learned today, became the pattern for the training of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), our army today. What an exciting tour! How thankful I am for this encouragement in the midst of the year that I have been walking through. After the tour, we gathered at the home of one of our families who have a beautiful home on Yad h’Shmonah (I know that some of you have stayed at this believing moshav) for BBQ (called ‘mangel’ in Hebrew), fellowship, encouragement and worship.
This is a ‘nothing letter’. I needed to let you know that, yes I am still alive and no, I still have not found a place to live. (I must move before 1 June). I have been blessed in a ten thousand ways and I NEED to share. J, who has been with us for two years, plans to move out of country in about 10 more days. That will be yet another huge change. I have met with two young men at different times who came on their first tours…one, the son of a friend from the days when I met Him nearly 48 years ago. The son wasn’t yet born! Then L, whom I last saw when he was a young teenager was just here…what a wonder and joy…what IS THE LORD DOING IN MY LIFE? I have been running around like a chicken without a head…and I should have been asleep 2 hours ago now. It is a journey…it is a saga…may I glorify HIM Who is so lovely to behold!
Below, I copied a little ‘blurb’ in our local news which surely looks prophetic to me! I must sleep and be up to work tomorrow…tomorrow…Oh Lord, be glorified!
Blessing and honor and glory and praise to Him Who is All in all…and loving blessings to you.
A ‘HEADS UP’ PERHAPS?
Moscow to host Turkey, Syria, Russia, Iran meeting on Tuesday
Turkey's defense minister said he planned to meet his Syrian, Russian and Iranian counterparts in Moscow on Tuesday, state-owned Anadolu news agency said, amid efforts to rebuild Ankara-Damascus ties after years of animosity during the Syrian war. Anadolu cited Defense Minister Hulusi Akar as saying the countries' intelligence chiefs will also attend the meeting in Moscow. (Reuters)
April 6, 2023
Exodus 12:19 “For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land.”
Deuteronomy 16:3-4 “You shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, that is, the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste), that you may remember the day in which you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life. And no leaven shall be seen among you in all your territory for seven days, nor shall any of the meat which you sacrifice the first day at twilight remain overnight until morning.”
Luke 12:1 “He began to say to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”
Luke 13:21 “It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”
1 Corinthians 5:6-8 “Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”
Galatians 5:9 “A little leaven leavens the whole lump.”
Resurrection and Passover greetings to each one of you,
May you be blessed and encouraged and may the fullness of Who He IS be enlarged in each of us this year. May He Alone be glorified and may He be blessed in each of us…may our understanding be enlightened and may we grasp again the fullness of what He has done for us…with thankful hearts.
Today is the first day of Passover and we (Janet, my friend from Alaska, who is still with me until 7 May) hosted a different sort of seder last night for a local pastor and his wife. At my (pushy) prompting, we decided to read the first 12 chapters of the book of Exodus (Shmot -שמת in Hebrew) instead of reading through the Haggadah. I think that it is reasonable to say that we were blessed.
God stated that the PURPOSE of the 7 day feast of Passover, and of the seder itself, is TO REMEMBER…and to TEACH THE CHILDREN. What are we supposed to remember exactly and what are we supposed to teach and be taught?
Afterall…we are under grace and not the law…right?...
As I was reviewing these questions for my own self, I thought a great deal about the ‘leaven’. Here in Jerusalem, there is much emphasis put on leaven. Well…frankly…in the Bible there is too. God has a lot to say about leaven. I know that leaven is something added in (like yeast in bread) that causes the bread to rise. Rising up in the scriptures usually refers to pride or rebellion. For any of us who bake, the example is clear: a good leaven ‘puffs up’ the product…the taller the better usually…it is the purpose of leaven.
Doing without leaven for 7 days seems to be an extremely hard command to keep when you consider the amount of grumbling and complaining and even hoarding of leavened products in ‘preparation’ to ‘the great denial’…the ‘ordeal’ of doing without leavened products! Arab and non-kosher restaurants will do a THRIVING business during the week long holiday.
What is it exactly that makes this SUCH a bone of contention?
I was remembering back to when I met Him in 1975. Right after He came into my life, I recall someone asking me when I was going to get baptized. Now, I had just experienced a dramatic salvation…a true Damascus Road experience, yet my reaction was something like ‘Whoa! Isn’t that a little extreme? I mean...I AM Jewish and I don’t know about this ‘baptism’…WHY would He require this? It doesn’t make sense to me…it’s a tradition, probably a gentile one at that… what’s the point?’ I was really quite on my high horse about it. So…I took it to The Source…I prayed about it. I still remember His gentle, loving response to me (although not word for word) the basics of what He said:
‘Does THIS offend you? Is it such a big thing to submit your pride, rebellion and understanding to Me and simply DO what I SAY because of love? Do you NEED to understand? You are entering the door of obedience by faith…’
How humbling it is to obey Him by faith because of love. I don’t think that I will ever grasp the theology of it, but to simply obey because of love? I wanted that to become a foundation stone in my life.
I thought of that as I cleaned the leaven from my house.
I am NOT SAVED BY SCRUBBING MY HOUSE FROM LEAVEN. But that my HEART would become leaven free, for this I strive toward Him in love. For me, whom He chose as one FILLED with rebellion and her own ways, I’m thankful that He makes ‘small obedience’s’ to check my heart.
Here in Jerusalem, the stores removed the leaven and whatever leavened products are left are literally SEALED (shrink wrapped) in plastic…entire aisles and shelves…which are clearly marked ‘hamtez…against the law to tamper with this seal until Passover is over.’ Then the burning of the leaven (khametz – ‘kh’ indicates the guttural sound that is more than a ‘h’) takes place during the day before the seder meal at sundown. The city places centrally located metal bins for that purpose, and I was able to take a photo for you from my merepesset (balcony) of the one across the street. I plan to attach it on the bottom of the page. It is usually done by families…children with a father or mother or both parents…as a teaching experience and I do enjoy listening to the parents answering their children’s questions. However it is not only the families, but throughout the day, the elderly and the singles come and dump bags into the fire as well…it is an individual thing. Traditionally, the previous night is the ‘search for the leaven’. It is often still done with a bird's feather ‘broom’ and a flashlight and it teaches the children to look for the leaven in the ‘secret places’. We pray ‘Search me Oh Lord’ reciting Psalm 139. Is it only me or do you also have ‘lazy places’ in your heart…where your heart grows kind of weary…and hard…and wants to coast and not be so vigilant. How the enemy loves to sow leaven into my lazy heart!
So for me in particular, Passover IS a time to search out the leaven in my heart…to serve others and to clean out the old and make room for the new. It is a time to REMEMBER what HE has done and to renew my commitment to obey Him…whether I understand or not. And it was my first Passover without family.
I have been deeply blessed by your emails and they have encouraged me greatly. I have not answered them because I am spending all of my time packing…throwing away (SO hard!) and searching for an apartment. No, I have not yet found one. I need to be out by the end of May. I have been seeking The Lord much (way too often all night instead of sleeping – NOT good!) and He surprised me by moving me to extend the range of the monthly rent that I would consider paying, beyond what seems to me prudent. I did open up a range of apartments not as seedy, yet I don’t yet find ‘mine’, so I greatly appreciate continued prayer. I have not walked this way before and I continue to let go of the rudder in the ongoing storm. My work in the Doctor’s office is to end on the last day of September and, as I said before, at my age, I am likely ending my working career. It will be exciting to see the path that He has planned ahead.
Last week, I went to the shuk to prepare for the seder. The seder plate which holds the symbols of the service, includes a ‘shank bone’, representing the lamb sacrifice. Every year I search for one too late and come back with either a beef bone or a chicken bone. This year I asked the butcher ‘Do you have a nice bone for my seder plate?’ He grinned broadly and produced a beautiful bone. ‘It’s Lamb’ he said. I was thrilled! He wrapped it…’That will be 92 shekels’ he said, still grinning. OOPS! ‘Oh no! I’m sorry…I can’t possibly do that!’ I told him. His face dropped. ‘It’s a mitzvah!’ he said (a good deed – commandment). ‘To eat the meal is also a mitzvah and I can’t do both.’ He got the point and reluctantly gave me a smaller bone.
Israel continues to be in the pressure cooker. I have permission to forward to you part of Gina Dittmer’s report that she sent out following her participation with the Intercessors for Israel prayer tour. I thought that it was particularly excellent…sensitive…and I do share this view. If you pray for Israel’s current situation, please take notice. There is more going on…but…I am leaving that to another time. I will include Gina’s link here and the photos below.
“During my time in Israel, an Israeli believer told me that I don't understand much of the turmoil surrounding the judicial reform that has been and still is happening in Israel.
Well.....THAT was the understatement of the year (and the year is still young)!
The protests and rioting have been going on for weeks now, and it has been getting more and more "hot" and dangerous in ways that it was not before.
The truth is that it is SO COMPLICATED and divided. Some believers in Israel support the demonstrations and are against the judicial reform. Some believers in Israel are completely for the judicial reform and totally against the protesters and any push-back. Then there is the big muddled mess in the middle...not wanting government overreach, but not wanting protesters to interrupt daily life and especially not in the dangerous turns the protests have taken recently...wanting to see a resolution but confused about how it all got to this point.
Most people (in Israel and outside Israel) would accurately be labeled as "confused" about this situation and the dramatic uptick in violence, strikes, protests.
So, please know that I will NOT attempt to explain the situation and how to pray in this email update!
The story changes, depending on who you ask or what article you read!
A very vague and shallow and brief introduction is that some sort of reform/change is needed in that the Supreme Court has begun to overreach. Netanyahu/Likud campaigned partly on judicial reform. Likud won the election and was successful in forming a coalition government with several other parties, officially beginning as the 37th government of Israel at the end of December 2022.
Now, we are in the current very concerning situation with both sides (the current coalition and the opposition) accusing the other side and not trusting the other side. Sound familiar in anyone else's governments?
As I said, this is a very vague introduction. This issue of judicial reform seemed to be the spark that set everything off, but there are so many other issues and complications.
I will include some of the articles (those that seem less inflammatory) so you can educate yourselves if you choose to. (see below)
But mostly what I want to address is how to pray!
When we spoke of this situation during our trip (and we had a tour of the Knesset at the beginning of our official prayer journey - no photos from our time there as we left cameras/phones on the bus), we prayed regarding the nations that are sticking their noses into this situation and trying to manipulate outcomes.
We prayed from Psalm 33
(8) Let all the earth fear יהוה; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. (9) For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood fast.
(10) יהוה brings the counsel of the nations to naught; He thwarts the plans of the peoples. (11) The counsel of יהוה stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations.
This goes for all the nations trying to manipulate the internal affairs of Israel, as well as for Israel's government itself.
We recognized that this is the most divided time in Israel's modern history. We prayed for unity in this nation. Hineh ma tov u ma na'im shevet achim gam yachad. (Psalm 133:1) See how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity –
We prayed that the current Israeli government will be godly and righteous according to YHVH's ways and Word...no fear of man (or nations), to have wisdom and godly counsel, to know what to do and not to do. We also prayed for the salvation of the MKs (the members of Knesset). We prayed for them by name.
The next day we drove north and had some important prayer stops along the way. Our last stop before arriving at our hotel in the Upper Galilee/on the edge of the Golan Heights) was a late afternoon boat ride on the Sea of Galilee (Kinneret). It was a beautiful and still afternoon/evening - perfect for a boat ride. Hanna, our sister and guide (and wife of Eliyahu who was the Chairman of IFI for so long until he passed away in 2019), had hand-picked the boat and crew. I don't know if she also hand-picked the music the crew played during our boat ride....but.....
We prayed regarding topics while floating on the Kinneret.
Many of us were dealing with grief and mourning (3 of us lost close family members all within a few days of each other at the start of the trip, and we also received word that Steve Lightle had also passed away suddenly...Steve was highly involved with IFI and Operation Exodus and known and loved by many on the prayer journey).
The beauty of the evening, the prayers we prayed while floating on such a special body of water, the emotions we were all feeling, the turmoil happening in Israel....all culminated in a very special, highly spiritual, holy moment as we were making our way back to shore. The crew put on the song "The Blessing" (Aaronic Blessing from Numbers) in English as we chugged back to shore with a beautiful evening sunset unfolding in the still majestic sky. We all sang and BLESSED Israel as the song played. (Here is a link to one version of the song in both English and Hebrew... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFhuNyQWqec )
This is how I want to leave you with this first prayer update and journey report. We blessed Israel. We prayed for Israel. ONLY GOD has the understanding of what is happening and the answers of how to pray. We must follow His guidance in how to pray and not our own understanding (I am so grateful, because I have no understanding!).
Remember the update I sent when I first arrived in Israel? I talked about "emet" - TRUTH. There is only one truth, and it is God's truth. Let us pray that He will reveal His Truth and provide guidance for all Who seek Him into His Truth.”
May The Lamb of God…Who has taken away our sins with His Own precious Blood, be glorified and seen as we remember what He has done! HIS BLOOD PREVAILS!
I send my love.
Your sis
Exodus 12:19 “For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land.”
Deuteronomy 16:3-4 “You shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, that is, the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste), that you may remember the day in which you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life. And no leaven shall be seen among you in all your territory for seven days, nor shall any of the meat which you sacrifice the first day at twilight remain overnight until morning.”
Luke 12:1 “He began to say to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”
Luke 13:21 “It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”
1 Corinthians 5:6-8 “Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”
Galatians 5:9 “A little leaven leavens the whole lump.”
Resurrection and Passover greetings to each one of you,
May you be blessed and encouraged and may the fullness of Who He IS be enlarged in each of us this year. May He Alone be glorified and may He be blessed in each of us…may our understanding be enlightened and may we grasp again the fullness of what He has done for us…with thankful hearts.
Today is the first day of Passover and we (Janet, my friend from Alaska, who is still with me until 7 May) hosted a different sort of seder last night for a local pastor and his wife. At my (pushy) prompting, we decided to read the first 12 chapters of the book of Exodus (Shmot -שמת in Hebrew) instead of reading through the Haggadah. I think that it is reasonable to say that we were blessed.
God stated that the PURPOSE of the 7 day feast of Passover, and of the seder itself, is TO REMEMBER…and to TEACH THE CHILDREN. What are we supposed to remember exactly and what are we supposed to teach and be taught?
Afterall…we are under grace and not the law…right?...
As I was reviewing these questions for my own self, I thought a great deal about the ‘leaven’. Here in Jerusalem, there is much emphasis put on leaven. Well…frankly…in the Bible there is too. God has a lot to say about leaven. I know that leaven is something added in (like yeast in bread) that causes the bread to rise. Rising up in the scriptures usually refers to pride or rebellion. For any of us who bake, the example is clear: a good leaven ‘puffs up’ the product…the taller the better usually…it is the purpose of leaven.
Doing without leaven for 7 days seems to be an extremely hard command to keep when you consider the amount of grumbling and complaining and even hoarding of leavened products in ‘preparation’ to ‘the great denial’…the ‘ordeal’ of doing without leavened products! Arab and non-kosher restaurants will do a THRIVING business during the week long holiday.
What is it exactly that makes this SUCH a bone of contention?
I was remembering back to when I met Him in 1975. Right after He came into my life, I recall someone asking me when I was going to get baptized. Now, I had just experienced a dramatic salvation…a true Damascus Road experience, yet my reaction was something like ‘Whoa! Isn’t that a little extreme? I mean...I AM Jewish and I don’t know about this ‘baptism’…WHY would He require this? It doesn’t make sense to me…it’s a tradition, probably a gentile one at that… what’s the point?’ I was really quite on my high horse about it. So…I took it to The Source…I prayed about it. I still remember His gentle, loving response to me (although not word for word) the basics of what He said:
‘Does THIS offend you? Is it such a big thing to submit your pride, rebellion and understanding to Me and simply DO what I SAY because of love? Do you NEED to understand? You are entering the door of obedience by faith…’
How humbling it is to obey Him by faith because of love. I don’t think that I will ever grasp the theology of it, but to simply obey because of love? I wanted that to become a foundation stone in my life.
I thought of that as I cleaned the leaven from my house.
I am NOT SAVED BY SCRUBBING MY HOUSE FROM LEAVEN. But that my HEART would become leaven free, for this I strive toward Him in love. For me, whom He chose as one FILLED with rebellion and her own ways, I’m thankful that He makes ‘small obedience’s’ to check my heart.
Here in Jerusalem, the stores removed the leaven and whatever leavened products are left are literally SEALED (shrink wrapped) in plastic…entire aisles and shelves…which are clearly marked ‘hamtez…against the law to tamper with this seal until Passover is over.’ Then the burning of the leaven (khametz – ‘kh’ indicates the guttural sound that is more than a ‘h’) takes place during the day before the seder meal at sundown. The city places centrally located metal bins for that purpose, and I was able to take a photo for you from my merepesset (balcony) of the one across the street. I plan to attach it on the bottom of the page. It is usually done by families…children with a father or mother or both parents…as a teaching experience and I do enjoy listening to the parents answering their children’s questions. However it is not only the families, but throughout the day, the elderly and the singles come and dump bags into the fire as well…it is an individual thing. Traditionally, the previous night is the ‘search for the leaven’. It is often still done with a bird's feather ‘broom’ and a flashlight and it teaches the children to look for the leaven in the ‘secret places’. We pray ‘Search me Oh Lord’ reciting Psalm 139. Is it only me or do you also have ‘lazy places’ in your heart…where your heart grows kind of weary…and hard…and wants to coast and not be so vigilant. How the enemy loves to sow leaven into my lazy heart!
So for me in particular, Passover IS a time to search out the leaven in my heart…to serve others and to clean out the old and make room for the new. It is a time to REMEMBER what HE has done and to renew my commitment to obey Him…whether I understand or not. And it was my first Passover without family.
I have been deeply blessed by your emails and they have encouraged me greatly. I have not answered them because I am spending all of my time packing…throwing away (SO hard!) and searching for an apartment. No, I have not yet found one. I need to be out by the end of May. I have been seeking The Lord much (way too often all night instead of sleeping – NOT good!) and He surprised me by moving me to extend the range of the monthly rent that I would consider paying, beyond what seems to me prudent. I did open up a range of apartments not as seedy, yet I don’t yet find ‘mine’, so I greatly appreciate continued prayer. I have not walked this way before and I continue to let go of the rudder in the ongoing storm. My work in the Doctor’s office is to end on the last day of September and, as I said before, at my age, I am likely ending my working career. It will be exciting to see the path that He has planned ahead.
Last week, I went to the shuk to prepare for the seder. The seder plate which holds the symbols of the service, includes a ‘shank bone’, representing the lamb sacrifice. Every year I search for one too late and come back with either a beef bone or a chicken bone. This year I asked the butcher ‘Do you have a nice bone for my seder plate?’ He grinned broadly and produced a beautiful bone. ‘It’s Lamb’ he said. I was thrilled! He wrapped it…’That will be 92 shekels’ he said, still grinning. OOPS! ‘Oh no! I’m sorry…I can’t possibly do that!’ I told him. His face dropped. ‘It’s a mitzvah!’ he said (a good deed – commandment). ‘To eat the meal is also a mitzvah and I can’t do both.’ He got the point and reluctantly gave me a smaller bone.
Israel continues to be in the pressure cooker. I have permission to forward to you part of Gina Dittmer’s report that she sent out following her participation with the Intercessors for Israel prayer tour. I thought that it was particularly excellent…sensitive…and I do share this view. If you pray for Israel’s current situation, please take notice. There is more going on…but…I am leaving that to another time. I will include Gina’s link here and the photos below.
“During my time in Israel, an Israeli believer told me that I don't understand much of the turmoil surrounding the judicial reform that has been and still is happening in Israel.
Well.....THAT was the understatement of the year (and the year is still young)!
The protests and rioting have been going on for weeks now, and it has been getting more and more "hot" and dangerous in ways that it was not before.
The truth is that it is SO COMPLICATED and divided. Some believers in Israel support the demonstrations and are against the judicial reform. Some believers in Israel are completely for the judicial reform and totally against the protesters and any push-back. Then there is the big muddled mess in the middle...not wanting government overreach, but not wanting protesters to interrupt daily life and especially not in the dangerous turns the protests have taken recently...wanting to see a resolution but confused about how it all got to this point.
Most people (in Israel and outside Israel) would accurately be labeled as "confused" about this situation and the dramatic uptick in violence, strikes, protests.
So, please know that I will NOT attempt to explain the situation and how to pray in this email update!
The story changes, depending on who you ask or what article you read!
A very vague and shallow and brief introduction is that some sort of reform/change is needed in that the Supreme Court has begun to overreach. Netanyahu/Likud campaigned partly on judicial reform. Likud won the election and was successful in forming a coalition government with several other parties, officially beginning as the 37th government of Israel at the end of December 2022.
Now, we are in the current very concerning situation with both sides (the current coalition and the opposition) accusing the other side and not trusting the other side. Sound familiar in anyone else's governments?
As I said, this is a very vague introduction. This issue of judicial reform seemed to be the spark that set everything off, but there are so many other issues and complications.
I will include some of the articles (those that seem less inflammatory) so you can educate yourselves if you choose to. (see below)
But mostly what I want to address is how to pray!
When we spoke of this situation during our trip (and we had a tour of the Knesset at the beginning of our official prayer journey - no photos from our time there as we left cameras/phones on the bus), we prayed regarding the nations that are sticking their noses into this situation and trying to manipulate outcomes.
We prayed from Psalm 33
(8) Let all the earth fear יהוה; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. (9) For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood fast.
(10) יהוה brings the counsel of the nations to naught; He thwarts the plans of the peoples. (11) The counsel of יהוה stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations.
This goes for all the nations trying to manipulate the internal affairs of Israel, as well as for Israel's government itself.
We recognized that this is the most divided time in Israel's modern history. We prayed for unity in this nation. Hineh ma tov u ma na'im shevet achim gam yachad. (Psalm 133:1) See how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity –
We prayed that the current Israeli government will be godly and righteous according to YHVH's ways and Word...no fear of man (or nations), to have wisdom and godly counsel, to know what to do and not to do. We also prayed for the salvation of the MKs (the members of Knesset). We prayed for them by name.
The next day we drove north and had some important prayer stops along the way. Our last stop before arriving at our hotel in the Upper Galilee/on the edge of the Golan Heights) was a late afternoon boat ride on the Sea of Galilee (Kinneret). It was a beautiful and still afternoon/evening - perfect for a boat ride. Hanna, our sister and guide (and wife of Eliyahu who was the Chairman of IFI for so long until he passed away in 2019), had hand-picked the boat and crew. I don't know if she also hand-picked the music the crew played during our boat ride....but.....
We prayed regarding topics while floating on the Kinneret.
Many of us were dealing with grief and mourning (3 of us lost close family members all within a few days of each other at the start of the trip, and we also received word that Steve Lightle had also passed away suddenly...Steve was highly involved with IFI and Operation Exodus and known and loved by many on the prayer journey).
The beauty of the evening, the prayers we prayed while floating on such a special body of water, the emotions we were all feeling, the turmoil happening in Israel....all culminated in a very special, highly spiritual, holy moment as we were making our way back to shore. The crew put on the song "The Blessing" (Aaronic Blessing from Numbers) in English as we chugged back to shore with a beautiful evening sunset unfolding in the still majestic sky. We all sang and BLESSED Israel as the song played. (Here is a link to one version of the song in both English and Hebrew... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFhuNyQWqec )
This is how I want to leave you with this first prayer update and journey report. We blessed Israel. We prayed for Israel. ONLY GOD has the understanding of what is happening and the answers of how to pray. We must follow His guidance in how to pray and not our own understanding (I am so grateful, because I have no understanding!).
Remember the update I sent when I first arrived in Israel? I talked about "emet" - TRUTH. There is only one truth, and it is God's truth. Let us pray that He will reveal His Truth and provide guidance for all Who seek Him into His Truth.”
May The Lamb of God…Who has taken away our sins with His Own precious Blood, be glorified and seen as we remember what He has done! HIS BLOOD PREVAILS!
I send my love.
Your sis
March 17, 2023
“And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.” Genesis 22:8
Dearest friends, mostly far away but near in my heart…Greetings in Yeshua the Messiah Who has brought us near to God and made us one family. May HE be glorified and blessed and may you be blessed and encouraged!
I was able to buy some fresh spring garlic this morning, and even though I only bought two (you buy them with the greens and they can be braided into wonderful wreaths or strings to dry out) yet the strength of their pungent aroma has filled the apartment. They are one of our ‘sure signs’ of Spring and the approach of Pesach (Passover)!
The streets are being cleaned as well as each apartment and most significantly hearts…preparing to throw out the leaven both physically and that which has settled in the soul. Even in this year as I am packing without yet a place to move to (more below), time must be taken to prepare for Pesach. In many ways it is like birth or death… they usually don’t come at ‘convenient’ times…but they COME and there is no stopping them.
The Islamic feast of Ramadan began on Thursday and I needed to take a taxi home from work. The taxi driver, who was Arab, seemed guarded to me. When I asked him how he was he answered as a Jew would; “Baruch h’Shem” (bless The Name) often used ‘lightly’ by religious Jews which sort of says ‘It’s really tough but we will bless The Name of The Lord anyway.’ When I left the cab I said ‘Chag Sameach h’yom’ or ‘Happy holiday today’ wishing him a happy (and PEACEFUL) Ramadan. He turned quickly around for the first time and smiled with surprise: ‘Toda! Toda!’ ‘Ofcourse!’ I told him…’I wish you and your family ALL the best!’ There is so little that we can do sometimes and this was the little that I was able to do and I was thankful that I did. His eyes were filled with gratitude.
Yesterday was Shabbat and the streets were so much emptier than usual. I walk our little dog and as I pass families or singles going to or from prayers at the Western Wall I get to ring out ‘Shabbat Shalom!’ and they answer back with smiles ‘Shabbat Shalom!’ Such a small thing…meaningless? I don’t know. I think of the parable of the talents and the man with one talent who went and hid his. May my ‘one’ somehow speak for Him…in any way possible.
My times have been intense…my Scripture reading means more to me than ever…and the three verses that I share today are all from my reading yesterday. “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” What faith! That verse overwhelms me every time that I read it…everytime that I walk with Avraham to the mount with a pounding heart…can you imagine such FAITH? ‘YES LORD. EVEN THIS I WILL DO FOR YOU HAVE REQUIRED IT OF ME’…The faith of our father Avraham: may we, who have been given so much more revelation than he had, somehow know Him enough to understand and walk even as he walked! God will provide for Himself the lamb…The Lamb that cleanses for sin…The Lamb Whose Blood avails…The Lamb Who will lay on the altar…or the cross…THIS IS PASSOVER. But WE are so privileged to know that God HAS provided THE LAMB!
I do hope that you will take this time to read the book of Exodus, atleast the first 12 or so chapters. May you read it with wonder…and with faith…and think about the blood of the pure lamb being applied to the doorposts and lintel: The simple obedience called for to walk out by faith in the midst of grave danger and the unknown…our God calls us to this.
In Israel it is taken seriously. As a child, I was taught to take it seriously. ‘No leaven shall be seen in any of your houses for 8 days, or you will be cut off…for the Jew and the non-Jew (translated into English as stranger) in your midst. YOU WILL REMEMBER…YOU WILL REJOICE…YOU WILL UNDERSTAND THE LAMB! Passover!
Jonah 4:7-8 “But as morning dawned the next day God prepared a worm, and it so damaged the plant that it withered. And it happened, when the sun arose, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah’s head, so that he grew faint. Then he wished death for himself, and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”
And then my reading took me to Jonah where I read these verses and I thought; ‘This TOO is my God’. I was speaking to a younger friend here recently who has been wearing herself out ‘battling the enemy’ and as I pray…I see that GOD does indeed prepare worms and to give the enemy the credit stops the growth opportunity laid before us. NOT all worms are from God…nor all plagues…but we must have His discernment. God sends plagues…wars…famines…and yes, even suffering for His correction and His purposes and then all we seem to have is the choice of how we will respond (not react, but respond) …even in the midst of His Own chosen children he allows for the ‘wearing down of the saints’, of the killing of James with the edge of the sword, for one to be sick nigh unto death and for another to be shipwrecked…but oh how shall we respond? 1 Peter 4:12 exhorts us: “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you;”
“It is well with my soul” well…here. I copied this from Wikipedia:
“This hymn was written after traumatic events in Spafford's life. The first two were the death of his four-year-old son and the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which ruined him financially (he had been a successful lawyer and had invested significantly in property in the area of Chicago that was extensively damaged by the great fire). His business interests were further hit by the economic downturn of 1873, at which time he had planned to travel to England with his family on the SS Ville du Havre, to help with D. L. Moody's upcoming evangelistic campaigns. In a late change of plan, Spafford sent the family ahead while he was delayed on business concerning zoning problems following the Great Chicago Fire. While crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the ship sank rapidly after a collision with a sea vessel, the Loch Earn, and all four of Spafford's daughters died. His wife, Anna, survived and sent him the now famous telegram, "Saved alone …". Shortly afterwards, as Spafford traveled to meet his grieving wife, he was inspired to write these words as his ship passed near where his daughters had died. Bliss called his tune Ville du Havre, from the name of the stricken vessel.
When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to know
It is well, it is well, with my soul.”
(it’s well worth looking up the entire hymn and singing it at the top of your lungs for He hath done great things for us…even triumphing over the grave whose sting can not touch us, praise God!) Am I there? Are you? I hope that you are…I am not yet…but I aim for the mark of HIM Alone.
Philippians 3:6-9 and 11-13 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you…. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
So…no. I have not yet found an apartment.
This final scripture, which I also read again yesterday, following Avraham’s sacrifice and Jonah’s worm, has become my food and song.
I was incredibly blessed to have our daughter sacrificially come here to help for 3 full days! We (she) packed many boxes and we threw out innumerable huge garbage bags of ‘precious things’ and put the most useful or special into boxes to give away. There is so much more to do…so many years’ worth of collecting the signatures of our lives…
The rents have gone up since the last time that we had to move, 9 years ago, and my job is scheduled to end the last day of this September. At my age, I do not expect to be able to go on to another paying job. That means that any apartment that I find will be smaller than the 2 bedrooms that we currently have.
We looked at ads for apartments and went to see one. I have seen two now. The first one was in a neighborhood that is accessible by bus and I did not find a shopping area, but there must have been one somewhere. It had two rooms and a small garden. In the garden there were 3 olive trees and a shesek tree…but… there were 4 steep and rugged steps and a bit of a treacherous hill to get to the apartment. There was no room for a washing machine inside the house and the current tenants had one outside sitting in the mud. Sarah said ‘We will find better.’ Right after she left, I found one on a beautiful street very near where I am now…but…it was just one room with a small window above the door. It felt like a motel and I realized that I would become depressed in one room. I deeply appreciate your prayers for His choice of a place to live. I also have a little old dog and she must come with me. I have never walked this way before…but this IS for His glory and it’s NOT about me…it’s for His sake. I want to grow in Him. The battle with anxiety shows me how weak my faith is.
The situation here in Israel? Depressing…explosive on so many levels both internal and external. One encouraging article I will share Bnei Brak locals wait with flowers and sweets, protesters moved to tears | Watch
The first night of Passover…the Passover Seder, is Wed. 5 April. I do wish you a blessed Pesach. May what He cares about be what we care about…may we see all that comes our way from HIS perspective…and for His glory.
I thank you for your love, your prayers, as we strive together to know Him and glorify Him. May The God of all glory…The Creator…be known deep in your hearts and mine.
I send loving blessings, Your sister in Jerusalem
“And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.” Genesis 22:8
Dearest friends, mostly far away but near in my heart…Greetings in Yeshua the Messiah Who has brought us near to God and made us one family. May HE be glorified and blessed and may you be blessed and encouraged!
I was able to buy some fresh spring garlic this morning, and even though I only bought two (you buy them with the greens and they can be braided into wonderful wreaths or strings to dry out) yet the strength of their pungent aroma has filled the apartment. They are one of our ‘sure signs’ of Spring and the approach of Pesach (Passover)!
The streets are being cleaned as well as each apartment and most significantly hearts…preparing to throw out the leaven both physically and that which has settled in the soul. Even in this year as I am packing without yet a place to move to (more below), time must be taken to prepare for Pesach. In many ways it is like birth or death… they usually don’t come at ‘convenient’ times…but they COME and there is no stopping them.
The Islamic feast of Ramadan began on Thursday and I needed to take a taxi home from work. The taxi driver, who was Arab, seemed guarded to me. When I asked him how he was he answered as a Jew would; “Baruch h’Shem” (bless The Name) often used ‘lightly’ by religious Jews which sort of says ‘It’s really tough but we will bless The Name of The Lord anyway.’ When I left the cab I said ‘Chag Sameach h’yom’ or ‘Happy holiday today’ wishing him a happy (and PEACEFUL) Ramadan. He turned quickly around for the first time and smiled with surprise: ‘Toda! Toda!’ ‘Ofcourse!’ I told him…’I wish you and your family ALL the best!’ There is so little that we can do sometimes and this was the little that I was able to do and I was thankful that I did. His eyes were filled with gratitude.
Yesterday was Shabbat and the streets were so much emptier than usual. I walk our little dog and as I pass families or singles going to or from prayers at the Western Wall I get to ring out ‘Shabbat Shalom!’ and they answer back with smiles ‘Shabbat Shalom!’ Such a small thing…meaningless? I don’t know. I think of the parable of the talents and the man with one talent who went and hid his. May my ‘one’ somehow speak for Him…in any way possible.
My times have been intense…my Scripture reading means more to me than ever…and the three verses that I share today are all from my reading yesterday. “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” What faith! That verse overwhelms me every time that I read it…everytime that I walk with Avraham to the mount with a pounding heart…can you imagine such FAITH? ‘YES LORD. EVEN THIS I WILL DO FOR YOU HAVE REQUIRED IT OF ME’…The faith of our father Avraham: may we, who have been given so much more revelation than he had, somehow know Him enough to understand and walk even as he walked! God will provide for Himself the lamb…The Lamb that cleanses for sin…The Lamb Whose Blood avails…The Lamb Who will lay on the altar…or the cross…THIS IS PASSOVER. But WE are so privileged to know that God HAS provided THE LAMB!
I do hope that you will take this time to read the book of Exodus, atleast the first 12 or so chapters. May you read it with wonder…and with faith…and think about the blood of the pure lamb being applied to the doorposts and lintel: The simple obedience called for to walk out by faith in the midst of grave danger and the unknown…our God calls us to this.
In Israel it is taken seriously. As a child, I was taught to take it seriously. ‘No leaven shall be seen in any of your houses for 8 days, or you will be cut off…for the Jew and the non-Jew (translated into English as stranger) in your midst. YOU WILL REMEMBER…YOU WILL REJOICE…YOU WILL UNDERSTAND THE LAMB! Passover!
Jonah 4:7-8 “But as morning dawned the next day God prepared a worm, and it so damaged the plant that it withered. And it happened, when the sun arose, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah’s head, so that he grew faint. Then he wished death for himself, and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”
And then my reading took me to Jonah where I read these verses and I thought; ‘This TOO is my God’. I was speaking to a younger friend here recently who has been wearing herself out ‘battling the enemy’ and as I pray…I see that GOD does indeed prepare worms and to give the enemy the credit stops the growth opportunity laid before us. NOT all worms are from God…nor all plagues…but we must have His discernment. God sends plagues…wars…famines…and yes, even suffering for His correction and His purposes and then all we seem to have is the choice of how we will respond (not react, but respond) …even in the midst of His Own chosen children he allows for the ‘wearing down of the saints’, of the killing of James with the edge of the sword, for one to be sick nigh unto death and for another to be shipwrecked…but oh how shall we respond? 1 Peter 4:12 exhorts us: “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you;”
“It is well with my soul” well…here. I copied this from Wikipedia:
“This hymn was written after traumatic events in Spafford's life. The first two were the death of his four-year-old son and the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which ruined him financially (he had been a successful lawyer and had invested significantly in property in the area of Chicago that was extensively damaged by the great fire). His business interests were further hit by the economic downturn of 1873, at which time he had planned to travel to England with his family on the SS Ville du Havre, to help with D. L. Moody's upcoming evangelistic campaigns. In a late change of plan, Spafford sent the family ahead while he was delayed on business concerning zoning problems following the Great Chicago Fire. While crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the ship sank rapidly after a collision with a sea vessel, the Loch Earn, and all four of Spafford's daughters died. His wife, Anna, survived and sent him the now famous telegram, "Saved alone …". Shortly afterwards, as Spafford traveled to meet his grieving wife, he was inspired to write these words as his ship passed near where his daughters had died. Bliss called his tune Ville du Havre, from the name of the stricken vessel.
When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to know
It is well, it is well, with my soul.”
(it’s well worth looking up the entire hymn and singing it at the top of your lungs for He hath done great things for us…even triumphing over the grave whose sting can not touch us, praise God!) Am I there? Are you? I hope that you are…I am not yet…but I aim for the mark of HIM Alone.
Philippians 3:6-9 and 11-13 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you…. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
So…no. I have not yet found an apartment.
This final scripture, which I also read again yesterday, following Avraham’s sacrifice and Jonah’s worm, has become my food and song.
I was incredibly blessed to have our daughter sacrificially come here to help for 3 full days! We (she) packed many boxes and we threw out innumerable huge garbage bags of ‘precious things’ and put the most useful or special into boxes to give away. There is so much more to do…so many years’ worth of collecting the signatures of our lives…
The rents have gone up since the last time that we had to move, 9 years ago, and my job is scheduled to end the last day of this September. At my age, I do not expect to be able to go on to another paying job. That means that any apartment that I find will be smaller than the 2 bedrooms that we currently have.
We looked at ads for apartments and went to see one. I have seen two now. The first one was in a neighborhood that is accessible by bus and I did not find a shopping area, but there must have been one somewhere. It had two rooms and a small garden. In the garden there were 3 olive trees and a shesek tree…but… there were 4 steep and rugged steps and a bit of a treacherous hill to get to the apartment. There was no room for a washing machine inside the house and the current tenants had one outside sitting in the mud. Sarah said ‘We will find better.’ Right after she left, I found one on a beautiful street very near where I am now…but…it was just one room with a small window above the door. It felt like a motel and I realized that I would become depressed in one room. I deeply appreciate your prayers for His choice of a place to live. I also have a little old dog and she must come with me. I have never walked this way before…but this IS for His glory and it’s NOT about me…it’s for His sake. I want to grow in Him. The battle with anxiety shows me how weak my faith is.
The situation here in Israel? Depressing…explosive on so many levels both internal and external. One encouraging article I will share Bnei Brak locals wait with flowers and sweets, protesters moved to tears | Watch
The first night of Passover…the Passover Seder, is Wed. 5 April. I do wish you a blessed Pesach. May what He cares about be what we care about…may we see all that comes our way from HIS perspective…and for His glory.
I thank you for your love, your prayers, as we strive together to know Him and glorify Him. May The God of all glory…The Creator…be known deep in your hearts and mine.
I send loving blessings, Your sister in Jerusalem
March 1, 2023
“The Lord will destroy the house of the proud, But He will establish the boundary of the widow.”
Proverbs 15:25
Greetings in The mighty Name of Yeshua,
Faithful! Merciful! All Sufficient! Pure and Holy He is! THIS is our LORD! He knows the way when we can not see it and He is our Peace in the storm over which we have no power; when we are weak He is strong. May HE be glorified and blessed and may you be encouraged.
What can I share with you about the events going on here in Israel? Many of you know more than I do concerning events taking place in front of my eyes, nevertheless I know that there are others who have no idea what has been going on. In a nutshell (a very tiny one), there has been a strong resurgence of terror and we have had some horrifying, seemingly random deadly attacks, mostly in Jerusalem but also around the country. On top of that, the political upheaval has led Israel to the brink of civil war, something many countries around the world are experiencing. Ideological differences have reached a boiling point and each side is convinced that the other side is stupid, wicked and going to destroy the country. We are having a battle mainly over judicial reform that has brought hundreds of thousands into the streets, resulting in violence that is being fueled by the media. I know: It IS a common story that is being replayed everywhere. Here is a link to an excellent article that can explain the battle over Judicial reform in Israel.
both sides right and wrong The body seems just as divided over the issues as the rest of the country and The Lord keeps reminding me that my kingdom is NOT of ‘this world’.
Neither is your kingdom of this world.
Ten months ago , the Lord CLEARLY told me that I had not passed this way before and that it was VITAL that I keep my eyes on Him. It's funny because I THOUGHT that I was indeed keeping my eyes on Him and yet I now see how much I lean on my own understanding…the things that I ‘know’ and the things that ‘I can do myself’ or that ‘I like’ or ‘agree with’. In these cases, my eyes are NOT on Him…they are on my own personal preferences and opinions. You know, the Rabbis were (and often are) wise. They knew and studied the scriptures…but they MISSED THE MESSIAH! Jn. 7:50-51: “Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, “Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?” They answered and said to him, “Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.” You know…? We too can miss The Lord. I can miss Him…and like you, I really do not want to…I am AFRAID to miss Him.
The world is changing in front of our eyes. The HUGE disastrous earthquake in Turkey and Syria, was heartbreaking and happened on our doorstep. Many here felt it and there have been lots of strong tremors since. Israel is nervous. The building that I live in would crumble in a quake unless God’s mercy intervened. Is it my age or are the changes truly speeding up? I’m sorry for repeating myself, but the changes just seem so incredibly dramatic since we arrived in July of 1994. The 3 story tall building law has given way to gigantic high rise luxury apartments. My funny stories about getting used to our post offices and banks will soon be totally obsolete as the post offices and banks are disappearing and we rapidly move toward becoming a cashless society. When we made Aliyah, it was so hard to learn to navigate a system totally alien to us, but that system is disappearing and the new one bears no resemblance to anything that I have known or navigated before.
I am not of this kingdom and I must keep my eyes on Him and keep myself from becoming bogged down in my opinions and personal preferences; they won’t matter in His kingdom.
My 77th birthday passed and The Lord gave me a wonderful gift when a sister from my fellowship told me that she has a car and wondered if I would like to get out of town! This past Sunday we went to the beach. I have not been to the beach in 7 years. My husband had developed a sensitivity to the sun, and then we had to give up the car so time went on and I never got to the beach, and rarely went out of the city. I have always loved the ocean…(I’m sure that many of you can say the same)…there is something about its vastness…the mystery of the sound of the waves mixed with the wind…I was beside myself with joy. The peace of His Presence filled me and I was refreshed and invigorated. After the beach, we went to my favorite place in Israel…The Scroll of Fire. It is a quiet memorial on a hill top surrounded by 6 million trees that were planted for those who were killed in the Holocaust. The symbolism in this monument is beyond words. The shape of the monument is of both a scroll and of two chimneys … like the ones in the concentration camps. Inside the scroll, in Hebrew and English, is Ezekiel 37:12, 14 “Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the Lord.’” After that, we drove on and stopped at the moshav that our oldest daughter and family lived on…how wonderful the memories.
I came home full.
There was a knock on the door so soon after we came home…and there was my landlady. ‘I have something hard to tell you. It’s not nice but I have to tell you.’ she said. ‘My daughter’s marriage just broke up and she wants to live here…you have to leave. I know that it’s not nice, but she is my daughter.’ I couldn’t answer her. I had no words. Legally I believe that I have 2 months. The daughter is coming tomorrow to see if the apartment is right for her and her child. I do not know where I will go or what to do with all of my late husband's things that remain unsorted…a life’s worth of collected items that suddenly need to be gone so that I can fit into a yet smaller place…and where? And how?
Into all of this comes Purim...the holiday that celebrates the book of Esther. On the 6th will be the fast of Esther. Less and less people here seem to partake in the fast, perhaps the most important part. From sunset on the 6th through the 7th will be the celebration of Purim throughout the country except in the 'walled cities' (Jerusalem being the main one). From sundown on the 7th through sundown on the 8th is 'Shushan Purim' and the celebrations will be here. The celebrations of Purim have also changed since we got here...it is NOT my favorite holiday. BUT GOD IS STEADFAST AND STAYS THE SAME...HE CHANGES NOT.
Please, I do covet your prayers. I know that He has a place for me and that He has established my boundaries. I’m sorry that this letter is being closed hurriedly but it is time for prayer meeting and I must end. God bless and encourage you all. His kingdom come, His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Lovingly, your sister here.
ani b'derek אני בדרך
“The Lord will destroy the house of the proud, But He will establish the boundary of the widow.”
Proverbs 15:25
Greetings in The mighty Name of Yeshua,
Faithful! Merciful! All Sufficient! Pure and Holy He is! THIS is our LORD! He knows the way when we can not see it and He is our Peace in the storm over which we have no power; when we are weak He is strong. May HE be glorified and blessed and may you be encouraged.
What can I share with you about the events going on here in Israel? Many of you know more than I do concerning events taking place in front of my eyes, nevertheless I know that there are others who have no idea what has been going on. In a nutshell (a very tiny one), there has been a strong resurgence of terror and we have had some horrifying, seemingly random deadly attacks, mostly in Jerusalem but also around the country. On top of that, the political upheaval has led Israel to the brink of civil war, something many countries around the world are experiencing. Ideological differences have reached a boiling point and each side is convinced that the other side is stupid, wicked and going to destroy the country. We are having a battle mainly over judicial reform that has brought hundreds of thousands into the streets, resulting in violence that is being fueled by the media. I know: It IS a common story that is being replayed everywhere. Here is a link to an excellent article that can explain the battle over Judicial reform in Israel.
both sides right and wrong The body seems just as divided over the issues as the rest of the country and The Lord keeps reminding me that my kingdom is NOT of ‘this world’.
Neither is your kingdom of this world.
Ten months ago , the Lord CLEARLY told me that I had not passed this way before and that it was VITAL that I keep my eyes on Him. It's funny because I THOUGHT that I was indeed keeping my eyes on Him and yet I now see how much I lean on my own understanding…the things that I ‘know’ and the things that ‘I can do myself’ or that ‘I like’ or ‘agree with’. In these cases, my eyes are NOT on Him…they are on my own personal preferences and opinions. You know, the Rabbis were (and often are) wise. They knew and studied the scriptures…but they MISSED THE MESSIAH! Jn. 7:50-51: “Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, “Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?” They answered and said to him, “Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.” You know…? We too can miss The Lord. I can miss Him…and like you, I really do not want to…I am AFRAID to miss Him.
The world is changing in front of our eyes. The HUGE disastrous earthquake in Turkey and Syria, was heartbreaking and happened on our doorstep. Many here felt it and there have been lots of strong tremors since. Israel is nervous. The building that I live in would crumble in a quake unless God’s mercy intervened. Is it my age or are the changes truly speeding up? I’m sorry for repeating myself, but the changes just seem so incredibly dramatic since we arrived in July of 1994. The 3 story tall building law has given way to gigantic high rise luxury apartments. My funny stories about getting used to our post offices and banks will soon be totally obsolete as the post offices and banks are disappearing and we rapidly move toward becoming a cashless society. When we made Aliyah, it was so hard to learn to navigate a system totally alien to us, but that system is disappearing and the new one bears no resemblance to anything that I have known or navigated before.
I am not of this kingdom and I must keep my eyes on Him and keep myself from becoming bogged down in my opinions and personal preferences; they won’t matter in His kingdom.
My 77th birthday passed and The Lord gave me a wonderful gift when a sister from my fellowship told me that she has a car and wondered if I would like to get out of town! This past Sunday we went to the beach. I have not been to the beach in 7 years. My husband had developed a sensitivity to the sun, and then we had to give up the car so time went on and I never got to the beach, and rarely went out of the city. I have always loved the ocean…(I’m sure that many of you can say the same)…there is something about its vastness…the mystery of the sound of the waves mixed with the wind…I was beside myself with joy. The peace of His Presence filled me and I was refreshed and invigorated. After the beach, we went to my favorite place in Israel…The Scroll of Fire. It is a quiet memorial on a hill top surrounded by 6 million trees that were planted for those who were killed in the Holocaust. The symbolism in this monument is beyond words. The shape of the monument is of both a scroll and of two chimneys … like the ones in the concentration camps. Inside the scroll, in Hebrew and English, is Ezekiel 37:12, 14 “Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the Lord.’” After that, we drove on and stopped at the moshav that our oldest daughter and family lived on…how wonderful the memories.
I came home full.
There was a knock on the door so soon after we came home…and there was my landlady. ‘I have something hard to tell you. It’s not nice but I have to tell you.’ she said. ‘My daughter’s marriage just broke up and she wants to live here…you have to leave. I know that it’s not nice, but she is my daughter.’ I couldn’t answer her. I had no words. Legally I believe that I have 2 months. The daughter is coming tomorrow to see if the apartment is right for her and her child. I do not know where I will go or what to do with all of my late husband's things that remain unsorted…a life’s worth of collected items that suddenly need to be gone so that I can fit into a yet smaller place…and where? And how?
Into all of this comes Purim...the holiday that celebrates the book of Esther. On the 6th will be the fast of Esther. Less and less people here seem to partake in the fast, perhaps the most important part. From sunset on the 6th through the 7th will be the celebration of Purim throughout the country except in the 'walled cities' (Jerusalem being the main one). From sundown on the 7th through sundown on the 8th is 'Shushan Purim' and the celebrations will be here. The celebrations of Purim have also changed since we got here...it is NOT my favorite holiday. BUT GOD IS STEADFAST AND STAYS THE SAME...HE CHANGES NOT.
Please, I do covet your prayers. I know that He has a place for me and that He has established my boundaries. I’m sorry that this letter is being closed hurriedly but it is time for prayer meeting and I must end. God bless and encourage you all. His kingdom come, His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Lovingly, your sister here.
ani b'derek אני בדרך
January 30, 2023
“The Lord will perfect that which concerns me. Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever: Do not forsake the works of Your hands.” PSALM 138:8
יהוה יגמור בעדי"” – Adonai will finish for me…
“…but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”
1 CORINTHIANS 1:10
Greetings dear sisters and brothers, created in His image and for His glory.
May HE be glorified and blessed, and may you and I be edified, exhorted and encouraged to walk together, all the way through, by His Spirt.
I have often wondered how…or if it is indeed possible…that any two people can communicate verbally. Add to experience, personality, generation, culture…DIFFERENT LANGUAGE?!? It is indeed impossible…BUT GOD! The God Who looked upon the tower of Babel and confounded their tongues…The same God Who poured out His Spirit on Pentecost (Shavuot) and everyone heard the interpretation of those speaking in tongues according to their own mother tongue…GOD DOES IT BY HIS SPIRIT and we are called to walk in the unity of The faith by His Spirit! May His GRACE be added to my words, that you might hear whatever He deems worthy of being heard.
Even in this time and in this world.
He doesn’t take division lightly. His ‘way’ is ‘One’.
I remember so vividly something that happened to me the first week that I was saved…48 years ago. I was lying on the floor in my army surplus mummy sleeping bag (my bed at the time) and I was reading my new Treasure (His Word) and praying and thinking about all that had happed. Suddenly I remembered ‘The Shma’!…the foundational prayer of Judaism: “Hear oh Yisrael, The Lord, The Lord IS ONE.” I closed my Bible and looked up and said ‘Oh Lord HELP! Tell me! They say that You are three but we say that You are One…HELP!’ (something to that effect…a desperate cry as my foundation was being laid).
This is what I saw: I ‘saw’ HIM…and He ‘squeezed out’ His Heart and said to me ‘This is Jesus…My Heart, given to all mankind’, and He put it back. Then He ‘squeezed out’ His ‘mind’ and said to me ‘This is The Holy Spirit, given to My children’, and He put it back. Then He spread His arms and looked at me with great pity and depth and said “BUT I ALONE AM!” and I totally understood ‘the trinity’ from that moment unto this. I can add nothing to it nor take anything away.
But that IS how it IS when He actually speaks to each of us.
Not so with our many noisy words; and ours can be ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ or ‘partial’ or mean different things to different people. AAHHH!
I would be surprised if there are any of you that have not heard about the events in Jerusalem this week…the two successful terror attacks and everyone’s interpretation. I don’t know how much any of you might or might not know about our security forces nearly nightly raids into Jenin named ‘Operation Break the Wave’. It has been ongoing here in Jenin for the past year. Jenin, a large Palestinian city and center of operations, includes an area indistinguishable from the rest of the city, called the Jenin refugee camp. I know that western eyes picture a refugee camp as an area crowded with pathetic tents housing hopeless displaced humans, but Jenin’s ‘camp’ is not distinguishable from the rest of the city. (see photo below) It has historically been a hotbed for terror. Jenin is not a city of Israeli Arabs. These are people who did not accept the offer of citizenship when the modern state of Israel was formed, therefore they are not Israeli citizens. Most of them hold Jordanian citizenship.
About a year ago it was found that most of the ‘lone wolf terrorists’ who were attacking Israelis with increasing intensity, were either coming from Jenin, being trained there or being sent out from there, so nightly arrest waves began under the name of ‘Operation Break the Wave’. Many have been arrested over this past year but where violent resistance has been met, there have been deaths and injuries. Several days ago there was intelligence received that a major attack against Israel was being planned in Jenin and that night, as the plot was uncovered and our forces went in to arrest the group, strong resistance was met and 9 Palestinians were killed during a 3 hour battle.
Please remember that these were men ‘caught in the act’ of preparing a major terror attack.
Friday night 7 Israelis were shot dead and 3 more wounded outside a Jerusalem synagogue as prayer services were coming to an end. Joyful celebrations took place in many Palestinian areas. On Saturday (Shabbat) a father and grown son were seriously stabbed by… A THIRTEEN YEAR OLD BOY (!) incited by the glory given to the ‘great martyr’ the night before. This thirteen year old boy left his mother a note that read ‘I am sorry but I know that tonight you will be proud of me!’ Today I watched interviews with his classmates who are determined to follow his ‘brave example’. Children!
Is the situation tense? Yes. I have now been here 28 years and my experience teaches me to say: ‘Wait quietly before The Lord.’ I have no idea what will happen…May we ALL TOGETHER petition The Lord for His Will, His Way, His mercy. The situation will NOT ‘stand still’ but we must.
I walked into my vet’s office today to get Gila’s (our old dogs) yearly rabies shot and I said to my favorite vet ‘Aryeh! How are you doing?’ He wasn’t looking so great. We’ve been friends for the past 28 years and I have found him to be a colorful man who has done so much in and for Israel during his nearly 80 years. He is still the veterinarian for Jerusalem’s impressive Biblical Zoo. ‘I’ll be ok as soon as BB goes!’ was his answer. Oops…change the subject. Division, division and more division. I didn’t pursue it. Right after Gila’s vaccine, a cat was being neutered and the friend who went with me asked me if she could help with the surgery. Now, that might seem strange to you but I have gotten used to it. The first time we went to Ariyeh, there was a goat being fixed up and there was no door between the receiving room and the treatment area…we got to watch everything. When one of our cats was neutered, we lent a helping hand, and when one of our dogs needed an emergency surgery we got to ‘hold this skin back here’ and ‘put your finger here to stop the bleeding.’ I don’t think that there is another vet like this in Jerusalem anymore (although I may be wrong).
On my way home, I found myself thinking about what a wonder it has been to be a ‘bridge’ between ‘times and seasons’. I grew up in the ‘Old New York City’ and remember slate sidewalks and cobblestone streets and the horse drawn wagons of the rag collectors, the call of the Gypsy monkey grinders and the wooden barrels of pickles. My sister, born only 3 years later, does not remember these…but there I stayed until the first ever major NYC power outage that proved to me that I wanted to leave this endless city and learn how to survive without depending upon water pipes, supermarkets and electricity. After walking and hitchhiking across America and Canada, I lived on an Indian Reservation in the Northwest for a year or two and was there when the Bureau of Indian Affairs built the first electric supplied houses. I met Eric in the hippie days of drug ridden San Francisco and we lived in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains when there was only one traffic light and we had neither running water, electricity nor any heat other than the wood that we cut and chopped for cooking as well. Then we moved to Naknek, Alaska living there before the one road was paved or telephones arrived and again we heated, cooked with wood and had kerosene lamps and outhouses. We watched that all change and in a short time, again, there were phones, a paved road, electricity…modern life seemed to chase us.
When we moved to Jerusalem 28 years ago, it was also another world. Has this happened to each of you as well? Perhaps it is a normal phenomenon of aging…living this long. I have aged and Jerusalem has aged. Tall buildings and more lite rail are being built everywhere that I look. English is now a language heard all over the city and foods that I remember from years back are appearing in our stores.
HOWEVER…Although I have run the race thus far, watching ‘modern life’ overtake me, I see also the pages of The Eternal Word running too. Those Words are established and steadfast…but they are PROGRESSING. The Words that we depended upon yesterday are still true, but I find that I must ALSO ‘turn the page’. HE is ‘yesterday, today and forever the same’ but His calendar pages turn and I find that in more ways than personal ones, I have not passed this way before and I must listen more closely. There seems to me, again, to be a shifting and a shaking and it feels much more violent…much deeper.
The ONLY thing that I can offer in such a season is my response. I search The Word for the response that He seeks for in me in such a time as this.
It is time to close this email and I found that I have said nothing new and I pray that I did not waste your time. Many have asked ‘how I am’ and I thank you so very much for your concern. I am back working, but my boss, who is planning to retire at the end of September, has me working only Tuesday and Thursday now at half time. It is probably better for my health. My arm is healing slowly and the doctor said that I can still lift not more than 1 kg with it and that it will likely be yet another 6 months before it heals firmly. I’m set to turn 77 in a couple of weeks and my body feels it …and I’m learning to walk a new path that I didn’t choose, however ‘The Headship’ that I am now under is unchanging and secure! I’m learning afresh how to sit quietly, listen and obey: Old lessons to apply more deeply…examine honestly. I’m seeing more clearly the importance of the body according to His pattern and plan and the horrors of arrogance, pride, worldliness, rebellion. May His mercy lead us deeper into His heart!
I greatly appreciate each email and I’m thankful for your friendship and mostly your prayers for this nation and our people…and my family. May The Lord BLESS you and KEEP you and cause His Face to shine upon you and give you HIS PEACE.
Loving blessings, your sister in Jerusalem.
(I am not re-reading this, so please do excuse mistakes and poor writing.)
--
ani b'derek אני בדרך
יהוה יגמור בעדי"” – Adonai will finish for me…
“…but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”
1 CORINTHIANS 1:10
Greetings dear sisters and brothers, created in His image and for His glory.
May HE be glorified and blessed, and may you and I be edified, exhorted and encouraged to walk together, all the way through, by His Spirt.
I have often wondered how…or if it is indeed possible…that any two people can communicate verbally. Add to experience, personality, generation, culture…DIFFERENT LANGUAGE?!? It is indeed impossible…BUT GOD! The God Who looked upon the tower of Babel and confounded their tongues…The same God Who poured out His Spirit on Pentecost (Shavuot) and everyone heard the interpretation of those speaking in tongues according to their own mother tongue…GOD DOES IT BY HIS SPIRIT and we are called to walk in the unity of The faith by His Spirit! May His GRACE be added to my words, that you might hear whatever He deems worthy of being heard.
Even in this time and in this world.
He doesn’t take division lightly. His ‘way’ is ‘One’.
I remember so vividly something that happened to me the first week that I was saved…48 years ago. I was lying on the floor in my army surplus mummy sleeping bag (my bed at the time) and I was reading my new Treasure (His Word) and praying and thinking about all that had happed. Suddenly I remembered ‘The Shma’!…the foundational prayer of Judaism: “Hear oh Yisrael, The Lord, The Lord IS ONE.” I closed my Bible and looked up and said ‘Oh Lord HELP! Tell me! They say that You are three but we say that You are One…HELP!’ (something to that effect…a desperate cry as my foundation was being laid).
This is what I saw: I ‘saw’ HIM…and He ‘squeezed out’ His Heart and said to me ‘This is Jesus…My Heart, given to all mankind’, and He put it back. Then He ‘squeezed out’ His ‘mind’ and said to me ‘This is The Holy Spirit, given to My children’, and He put it back. Then He spread His arms and looked at me with great pity and depth and said “BUT I ALONE AM!” and I totally understood ‘the trinity’ from that moment unto this. I can add nothing to it nor take anything away.
But that IS how it IS when He actually speaks to each of us.
Not so with our many noisy words; and ours can be ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ or ‘partial’ or mean different things to different people. AAHHH!
I would be surprised if there are any of you that have not heard about the events in Jerusalem this week…the two successful terror attacks and everyone’s interpretation. I don’t know how much any of you might or might not know about our security forces nearly nightly raids into Jenin named ‘Operation Break the Wave’. It has been ongoing here in Jenin for the past year. Jenin, a large Palestinian city and center of operations, includes an area indistinguishable from the rest of the city, called the Jenin refugee camp. I know that western eyes picture a refugee camp as an area crowded with pathetic tents housing hopeless displaced humans, but Jenin’s ‘camp’ is not distinguishable from the rest of the city. (see photo below) It has historically been a hotbed for terror. Jenin is not a city of Israeli Arabs. These are people who did not accept the offer of citizenship when the modern state of Israel was formed, therefore they are not Israeli citizens. Most of them hold Jordanian citizenship.
About a year ago it was found that most of the ‘lone wolf terrorists’ who were attacking Israelis with increasing intensity, were either coming from Jenin, being trained there or being sent out from there, so nightly arrest waves began under the name of ‘Operation Break the Wave’. Many have been arrested over this past year but where violent resistance has been met, there have been deaths and injuries. Several days ago there was intelligence received that a major attack against Israel was being planned in Jenin and that night, as the plot was uncovered and our forces went in to arrest the group, strong resistance was met and 9 Palestinians were killed during a 3 hour battle.
Please remember that these were men ‘caught in the act’ of preparing a major terror attack.
Friday night 7 Israelis were shot dead and 3 more wounded outside a Jerusalem synagogue as prayer services were coming to an end. Joyful celebrations took place in many Palestinian areas. On Saturday (Shabbat) a father and grown son were seriously stabbed by… A THIRTEEN YEAR OLD BOY (!) incited by the glory given to the ‘great martyr’ the night before. This thirteen year old boy left his mother a note that read ‘I am sorry but I know that tonight you will be proud of me!’ Today I watched interviews with his classmates who are determined to follow his ‘brave example’. Children!
Is the situation tense? Yes. I have now been here 28 years and my experience teaches me to say: ‘Wait quietly before The Lord.’ I have no idea what will happen…May we ALL TOGETHER petition The Lord for His Will, His Way, His mercy. The situation will NOT ‘stand still’ but we must.
I walked into my vet’s office today to get Gila’s (our old dogs) yearly rabies shot and I said to my favorite vet ‘Aryeh! How are you doing?’ He wasn’t looking so great. We’ve been friends for the past 28 years and I have found him to be a colorful man who has done so much in and for Israel during his nearly 80 years. He is still the veterinarian for Jerusalem’s impressive Biblical Zoo. ‘I’ll be ok as soon as BB goes!’ was his answer. Oops…change the subject. Division, division and more division. I didn’t pursue it. Right after Gila’s vaccine, a cat was being neutered and the friend who went with me asked me if she could help with the surgery. Now, that might seem strange to you but I have gotten used to it. The first time we went to Ariyeh, there was a goat being fixed up and there was no door between the receiving room and the treatment area…we got to watch everything. When one of our cats was neutered, we lent a helping hand, and when one of our dogs needed an emergency surgery we got to ‘hold this skin back here’ and ‘put your finger here to stop the bleeding.’ I don’t think that there is another vet like this in Jerusalem anymore (although I may be wrong).
On my way home, I found myself thinking about what a wonder it has been to be a ‘bridge’ between ‘times and seasons’. I grew up in the ‘Old New York City’ and remember slate sidewalks and cobblestone streets and the horse drawn wagons of the rag collectors, the call of the Gypsy monkey grinders and the wooden barrels of pickles. My sister, born only 3 years later, does not remember these…but there I stayed until the first ever major NYC power outage that proved to me that I wanted to leave this endless city and learn how to survive without depending upon water pipes, supermarkets and electricity. After walking and hitchhiking across America and Canada, I lived on an Indian Reservation in the Northwest for a year or two and was there when the Bureau of Indian Affairs built the first electric supplied houses. I met Eric in the hippie days of drug ridden San Francisco and we lived in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains when there was only one traffic light and we had neither running water, electricity nor any heat other than the wood that we cut and chopped for cooking as well. Then we moved to Naknek, Alaska living there before the one road was paved or telephones arrived and again we heated, cooked with wood and had kerosene lamps and outhouses. We watched that all change and in a short time, again, there were phones, a paved road, electricity…modern life seemed to chase us.
When we moved to Jerusalem 28 years ago, it was also another world. Has this happened to each of you as well? Perhaps it is a normal phenomenon of aging…living this long. I have aged and Jerusalem has aged. Tall buildings and more lite rail are being built everywhere that I look. English is now a language heard all over the city and foods that I remember from years back are appearing in our stores.
HOWEVER…Although I have run the race thus far, watching ‘modern life’ overtake me, I see also the pages of The Eternal Word running too. Those Words are established and steadfast…but they are PROGRESSING. The Words that we depended upon yesterday are still true, but I find that I must ALSO ‘turn the page’. HE is ‘yesterday, today and forever the same’ but His calendar pages turn and I find that in more ways than personal ones, I have not passed this way before and I must listen more closely. There seems to me, again, to be a shifting and a shaking and it feels much more violent…much deeper.
The ONLY thing that I can offer in such a season is my response. I search The Word for the response that He seeks for in me in such a time as this.
It is time to close this email and I found that I have said nothing new and I pray that I did not waste your time. Many have asked ‘how I am’ and I thank you so very much for your concern. I am back working, but my boss, who is planning to retire at the end of September, has me working only Tuesday and Thursday now at half time. It is probably better for my health. My arm is healing slowly and the doctor said that I can still lift not more than 1 kg with it and that it will likely be yet another 6 months before it heals firmly. I’m set to turn 77 in a couple of weeks and my body feels it …and I’m learning to walk a new path that I didn’t choose, however ‘The Headship’ that I am now under is unchanging and secure! I’m learning afresh how to sit quietly, listen and obey: Old lessons to apply more deeply…examine honestly. I’m seeing more clearly the importance of the body according to His pattern and plan and the horrors of arrogance, pride, worldliness, rebellion. May His mercy lead us deeper into His heart!
I greatly appreciate each email and I’m thankful for your friendship and mostly your prayers for this nation and our people…and my family. May The Lord BLESS you and KEEP you and cause His Face to shine upon you and give you HIS PEACE.
Loving blessings, your sister in Jerusalem.
(I am not re-reading this, so please do excuse mistakes and poor writing.)
--
ani b'derek אני בדרך
January 20, 2023
Prayer Points for Israel
Prayer Points for Israel
- Praise:
The Torah portion continues the story of God setting His people free from Egyptian bondage. A number of this Shabbat's verses declare that our God reigns in the earth, not Satan and not man. In these very chaotic and dangerous days, this is really good news.- I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there in order that you may know that I am YHWH in the midst of the earth.Ex. 8:22
- Moses said to Pharaoh, '…I will lift up my hands to YHWH, and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail, so that you may know that the earth is YHWH's'. (Ex. 9:29; 15:18)
- Hallelujah! Lord Yeshua, You do reign over the earth today (Matt. 28:18; Acts 10:36).
- We rejoice that Your reign includes the small details as well as the large (Est. 6:1; Matt. 10:29-31).
- We praise You for being in complete control as Your kingdom rules over all (Psa. 103:19).
- Thank You Lord Yeshua for sharing with us this incredible truth that You have already overcome the world so that we can boldly follow You regardless of the tribulation we will face (John 16:33).
- In today's very confusing world, we thank You that as we consistently pray from Your word, You gradually give us insight as to Your specific will in most situations (Psa. 119:18; 1 John 5:14-15).
- We rejoice that You Lord, are a God of peace and rest, and not a God of confusion (1 Cor. 14:33).
- We bless You for being able to rest in You because while we are often blindsided by today's events, You who know the end from the beginning are never taken by surprise (Isa. 42:9; 46:9-10).
- Government:
The opposition parties that lost the election, along with most of Israel's media, despise PM Bibi Netanyahu and the parties in his right-wing coalition. They are inciting against Israel's new leaders through twisted, untruthful reports and headlines, warning that what the coalition wants to legislate, especially about judicial reform, could lead to a civil war, which of course, their incitement makes more likely. Also, the Supreme Court this week ruled that Aryeh Deri, head of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, cannot be a minister because of past financial criminal activities. This has deepened the current division in the nation over the unelected court's overreach against the elected leaders. So our prayer burden has increased since the elections although our intercession was basically answered for a coalition that will lead Israel more in line with His will.- We plead with You to teach us to pray into these very convoluted issues (Luke 11:1).
- Lord, let at least some of the current government ministers and many of Israel's judges see that You are Israel's King (Isa. 33:22) whom they are supposed to serve (Psa. 2:10-11).
- God, You hate what the opposition is trying to do (Prov. 6:16-19), so we ask You to frustrate their efforts to stir up strife (Dan. 6:22).
- Use this most likely last term in office for Bibi to bring glory to Your holy name (Psa. 115:1-3).
- Turn his heart towards Your will in both what he should do and what he should not do (Prov. 21:1).
- Again we ask for godly counselors to surround all of Israel's current ministers (Prov. 11:14; 15:22).
- Make Your priorities the priorities of Israel's current government (Matt. 6:10).
- We have asked You to clear out the dross (Isa. 1:25) and if the Supreme Court's decision with Deri is part of Your answer, we thank You.
- Show Bibi what to do with Deri and how to prevent the coalition from falling (Psa. 51:6; 111:10).
- We continue to ask You to restore righteous judges and advisors as per Isaiah 1:26, and pray that Justice Minister Yariv Levin's proposal to reform Israel's judiciary system will contribute to that.
- May all changes in any of Israel's laws be in line with Your Word, and not with anti-God liberalism or rabbinic traditions when those traditions stray from the Scriptures (Psa. 119:97-104; Mark 7:13).
- Enable Finance Minister Bezaleel Smotrich to work closely with Netanyahu and to surprise many Israelis with how well they together war against Israel's very high cost of living (Deut. 15:11; 24:14).
- Download to the whole government Your prophetic declaration that Israel is supposed to be a nation set apart – and then give them grace to start acting like it (Ex. 33:15-16; Num. 23:9b).
- Give Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer unity and wisdom to stand against the increased anti-biblical international pressure against Israel (Neh. 2:20).
- Let them use Your Word boldly when defending Israel internationally (Psa. 119: 41-43; Mic. 4:2b).
- Lord, as these three try to shield Israel, shield them from manipulation and deception (Psa. 91:4b).
- IDF:
The new Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi took his post this week. He is an "observant" Jew, the first to hold this position, and he also lives in a "settlement" east of Jerusalem. His responsibilities are enormous as he must make sure the IDF can defend Israel from external and internal enemies.- Lord, as the IDF is a fulfillment of Your prophetic promise in Ezekiel 37:10, we ask You to ensure that it remains an exceedingly great army, and we give You all the glory for it (Isa. 41:10-16).
- Surround Halevi with godly counselors and give him ears to hear them (Prov. 20:18; 24:6).
- Speak to him as he reads Your Word and give him a heart to obey (Psa. 119:18, 98, 130).
- Give Halevi and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant a godly working relationship (Psa. 133:1).
- Guide all negotiations between Israeli politicians and security personnel, and let Your will be that which prevails in every decision they make (2 Chr. 14:11).
- Let Halevi continue in everything that the former Chief of Staff Kochavi did that was of You, yet help him modify anything that is not of You for the IDF from this time onwards (Prov. 16:9; 21:31).
- Reduce the accidents that have taken soldiers' lives and guard them as they guard Israel (Psa. 140:7).
- We give You the glory for Israel's breakthroughs in innovative weaponry (Prov. 8:12).
- May these weapons be brought quickly to the point of active use (Psa. 144:1; Jer. 51:20).
- Direct Israel's when it comes to with whom they are to share any new technology (Isa. 39:1-7).
- Internal security:
Again in the Torah and prophetic portions we hear God emphasizing that He has sworn to give all of the land of Canaan to Israel's forefathers, and that He will provide security in it for His people (Ezek. 28:25-26). The new coalition needs to move ahead and possess more of that land (Obad. 1:17), as only in this way will there be a chance of security since the Islamic-Arab mindset is to fear the strong and to lord it over all those who are weak and appeasers.- I will bring you in unto the land, about which I swore to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for a heritage: I am YHWH. (Ex. 6:8) Amen and thank You God!
- Whether it is all at once (Obad. 1:17), or little by little (Deut. 7:20-22), lead the coalition to extend Israel's sovereignty over more of the land west of the Jordan River.
- Guide Israel to extend its sovereignty over Judea and Samaria in Your way and timing (Psa. 31:15).
- Thank You for the 1,000 Israeli youth – along with many others – who are petitioning the coalition to extend its sovereignty over the Jordan Valley now (Deut. 2:29b; 11:31).
- Encourage the coalition to support the expansion of all Israeli communities in these areas, enabling more people to live there by increasing infrastructure and housing (Isa. 65:21; Jer. 31:3-5).
- We pray that Area C – located in Judea and Samaria, and which according to the Oslo Accords, is still under Israeli control – would be guarded over by Israeli law more effectively (Jer. 33:12-14).
- Let Israel publicly shame the EU for illegally financing the Palestinians to build towns and houses in Area C behind Israel's back – and somehow use this to fulfill Isaiah 60:10.
- Deafen them to the criticism and condemnations from the UN and their "friends" (Psa. 38:11-13).
- Protect Israelis from every enemy encroachment and terrorist attack (Psa. 3:1-8).
- Continue to give the IDF supernatural success in their war on terrorism and terrorists (Psa. 44:4-6).
- Lord, tear apart the terrorists' infrastructure and cause great division among them (Psa. 17:13; 55:9).
- External security:
Iran's internal situation continues to give its evil leaders major headaches. This is a sign that God is hearing our prayers concerning their anti-Israel plots and it should encourage us to press on until this threat is removed and the Iranians are set free to be allies with God's nation.- From the Torah portion: I have raised you [ Pharaoh ] up for this, in order to show My power in you, and that My name may be declared throughout all the earth. (Ex. 9:16; cp. Rom. 9:14-18) Lord, may this be the same spiritual principle that You use in relation to Iran's wicked leaders today.
- Destroy the ayatollahs as You have said and receive all of the glory (Isa. 40:21-24; Jer. 49:38a).
- Send a perverse spirit into the minds of all of Israel's enemies among Iran's leaders (Isa. 19:14).
- Let them see Israeli activity everywhere, using that paranoia to totally confuse them (Psa. 129:5).
- Dry up all of the finances of Iran's leaders and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp that keeps them in power (1 Tim. 6:9; Jam. 5:1-6).
- Continue to build up the Iranian believers, using them as a blessing in their nation (Jer. 49:38b).
- Let Halevi and the IDF Iran Command leaders come quickly into one accord concerning how to deal with Iran – both offensively and defensively.
- We praise and thank You for the success You have given Israel in stopping Iran from establishing itself in Syria, and ask that these attacks would not stop until Iran flees (Psa. 68:35).
- Prepare Israel to make a devastating pre-emptive strike against Hizbullah in Lebanon if and when needed and directed by You (Psa. 144:1; Prov. 21:31).
- Let it be so overwhelmingly successfully that the fear of Israel and of You, the God of Israel, causes all of Israel's neighborhood enemies to tremble and fear and ask Israel for peace (2 Chr. 17:10).
- Show Israel that it must depend on You, and not on any other nation (Psa. 146:3-5; Isa. 31:1).
- Let the warning in the prophetic portion against Israel's allies who are not trustworthy be heard in the capitals of the Western nations today – especially America (Ezek. 29:6-7).
- Aliyah:
Despite an increase in anti-Semitic attacks, most Jews in the West – where most of the Jews in exile reside – remain there. A war drove out many Jews from Russia and Ukraine, so what will it take for Western Jews to wake up? We are praying that they respond to God's merciful drawing (Jer. 31:3) before He needs to chase them home (Jer. 16:16).- Lord, the aliyah brings You glory, so we ask for it to greatly increase this year (Isa. 43:5-7).
- Show Jews in the West that Israel is the safest place for them in these days, especially those who go outside with baseball caps covering their kippot [ Jewish skull caps ] (Jer. 31:10).
- Tear apart their false comfort zones and then send angels to drag them out of exile (Gen. 19:16).
- Give Jewish leaders in exile courage to lead their flocks to safety in Israel (Josh. 1:9).
- Release all Jews who want to return but are being hindered – whether by governments, finances, family or community members or deceptive theology (Ex. 9:1).
- Open the gates in Israel to all Jews who want to return but who might be hindered by skin color or religious preferences or lack of "sufficient" finances (Isa. 62:10).
- Lord, increase the number of new immigrants that You bring to Israel in 2023 way above the almost 75,000 who came in 2022 (Ezek. 39:27-29).
- Guide Ofir Sofer, Israel's new minister of aliyah and absorption, filling him with a passion to serve and succeed in this capacity (Josh 1:8), and let him consult with Pnina Tamano-Shata who did such a great job in this ministry in the last government.
- Streamline Israel's bureaucracy that too often makes the process of aliyah and absorption much more of a pain than it ought to be (2 Kin. 7:17; Isa. 62:10).
- Impart to new olim [ immigrants ] divine persistence in dealing with their new life (Luke 18:2-5).
- Encourage Netanyahu's government to settle new olim everywhere in Your land (Jer. 32:43-44).
- Reveal to many more gentile believers that You want them to help carry and pay for, as well as pray for, the Jews in their nations to make aliyah (Isa.49:22; 60:4-10; 62:6-7).
- Show the Church that the clearest example today of God answering the prayer of may Your name be sanctified (Matt. 6:9b) is the restoration of the land to the Jews and the Jews to the land, which will sooner or later (Sooner, Lord!), lead to the salvation of all Israel (Psa. 106:47; Ezek. 36:1-36).
- Salvation:
The most effective evangelists and revivalists in history usually had intercessors behind the scenes storming heaven for souls. After all, no one comes to Yeshua unless the Father draws them so why not talk to the One who has the power to save – and then when talking to those who need saving, most of the heavy work is already done (John 6:37, 39, 44-45, 65)!- Lord, many of Your people are back in the land and we remind You that as You said they would be saved after they returned, please pour out Your Spirit today (Jer. 32:37-40; Ezek. 36:24-29).
- Reveal Messiah Yeshua to Your people in visions and dreams (Joel 2:28).
- Yeshua Lord, remove all false images that the Jews have of You when You walked in Israel in the flesh – as well as all false expectations of Messiah that they have received (Gen. 45:1-5; Isa. 53:1).
- Let more Jews see the beauty of their precious Lord and King Messiah (Psa. 90:17).
- Lord, turn Your people to You; cause Your face to shine and save them (Psa. 80:3, 7, 18-19).
- Exalt Your Word – and not man's – in Your people's hearts and minds (Isa. 55:11; Heb. 4:12).
- Reveal Yourself by removing the veil over Jewish eyes when they read Moses (2 Cor. 3:14-16).
- Let signs and wonders be evident as believers present Yeshua to the Jews (1 Cor. 1:22).
- Anoint Israeli believers to be salt and light throughout Israeli society (Matt. 5:13).
- Let every Jew who has ever been provoked to jealousy by a gentile believer be drawn today to that which they sensed in the heart of those precious provokers (Rom. 11:11; 1 Cor. 3:6-7).
- Water:
We continue to ask God to open the heavens over His land.- Thank You that Israel is not facing a water crisis this year (Psa. 135:7; 147:7-8).
- Yet we do ask You, based on Your mercy (Matt. 5:45), to pour out the latter rains (Zech. 10:1)
- IFI:
As you can tell from reading this alert, the need is great and often the situation changes quite suddenly. We treasure you prayers for us to be able to handle frustrations and doubts and fears and confusion and to hear our Shepherd's voice leading us in His paths so that our prayers ultimately bring Him glory. Thank you for that as well as all the other ways in which you support us.
January 7, 2023
…” And suddenly six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his battle ax in his hand. One man among them was clothed with linen and had a writer’s inkhorn at his side. They went in and stood beside the bronze altar.” …And The Lord said to him, ‘Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.” …” They each went straight forward.” Ezekiel 9:2, 4, 10:2
Oh Blessings…love beyond words I am sending in The Precious Name of The Lord, Yeshua h’Meshiach, Jesus Christ, The awaited Messiah. In this new year according to the western calendar, may HE be blessed and glorified and my all things be made new in Him. May we each drink deeply from His Word daily and may we also drink the cup prepared for us and fulfill His purposes, some great and some small…but all that is in and of Him is for His glory…and worthy to be done. Blessing and honor and glory to Him and may you be encouraged and blessed.
I do wish you each a blessed new year. Thank you for your love and prayers and patience with me through this last one, which for me, and many of you as well, bore stripes and wounds hard to bear…may we grow thereby and may we run the year ahead in His strength, by His mercy.
This morning I found myself remembering some of the early lessons that I learned in Ulpan (Intensive immersion Hebrew language class) 28 years ago. In a class of between 40 – 50 other students, most of whom were from the former Soviet Union, others from France, Argentina and some Arabs who were planning to go to university, we sat together in the (physical) cold, with anticipation and fears concerning a new life and a new language…I wish that I could adequately describe the atmosphere.
As I set my foot to the path this morning, I remembered a saying that we were taught in ulpan (in Hebrew) “All new beginnings are difficult”. The other one was “All work is noble”. Tomorrow morning, I return to work for the first time since 17th July when I fell on the bus and broke my arm. Here it is…2 January on the western calendar…a new beginning…the end of 2022 when my life partner, Eric, after 50 years together… left, graduated…left me here to continue without him. Then the broken arm…then covid; Thankfully, He shook me into the DEEP KNOWING that I have never walked this way before (and neither have you) …All new beginnings are hard. This year I learned that I really don’t know ANYTHING…and that it is NOT ‘about me’. I say that I am THANKFUL that He shook me int the knowing, because without Him making it so plain, I would have likely AGAIN taken off in my own strength; things that I ‘know’. In this new life before me, I honestly know NOTHING.
So, if I know nothing and it isn’t about me…then what?
Here am I Lord (Abba). In Hebrew that is ‘Hi’nay’ni Abba’ הינני אבא…the words spoken by Samuel as a child…the words spoken by Avraham…the words spoken by countless, nameless, others through out the ages who chose to follow Him…and HE HEARS, and HE answers. He leads…and He knows the way!
Two days have passed since I began this letter (by the time that you read it, it is more like 5 days) and yesterday I returned to work. It felt strange and I felt very vulnerable. I found that I had forgotten how to use parts of the medical program that I work with and suddenly I felt completely incapable. “ABBA, help!” He quieted my heart and helped me to continue. Thank you for your prayers. I am scheduled to work only on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I have never walked this way before. I am still reticent to get on a bus, particularly with my arm only partially healed, so I opted to take the train to the center of town and walk from there for an hour on to work. It was really a blessed time of prayer and worship and I trust that He will open the doors daily. How much of my life I have wasted fretting about situations that He solved and things that have come to pass.
You know by now that I don’t often comment on political things. The Lord has dealt with me in such a way that I have a fear of Him, knowing that I have ‘my opinions’ and ‘my reasonings’ but that my vision is limited…and my reasonings are filtered through my experiences and my own personal preferences. Part of my morning devotions are currently in Ezekiel. It is now more than 9 years since The Lord arrested me in my steps and said: ‘I want you to learn My ways in judgment!’ It was a command and I felt the gravity of not obeying. As I read in my regular readings, I began to write down HIS WAYS in Judgment, and at the same time, asking Him for His discernment to understand His commands to us…how we are to walk and RESPOND during His judgments. It has humbled me beyond words! His promises for blessing and love and forgiveness which we cling to and take comfort in, stand alongside His promises of judgment…’IF’! His GRACE is not an ‘easy fix’ or ‘easy antidote’ against His promised judgements if we persist in our own ways, but it IS a great and holy gift if we deliberately run into it!
And so, as people debate and stand behind governments and men, I sometimes (never enough) tremble and pray for His kingdom to come and His will to be done for it seems to me that the kingdoms around us…ALL of them…NOT just yours or ours…the kingdoms and governments of THE WHOLE WORLD are infected with confusion and stumbling in the dark. I hear the opinions and the prophets…but my eyes see, and my knees tremble at what my eyes see.
HOWEVER…I HAVE AN OPINION THAT I WANT TO SHARE…because of what my eyes are seeing. I will try to truly make this short and concise…it is concerning our new minister Itamar BenGvir’s quick visit to Temple Mount. You may see videos of it throughout the media.
“Christians and Jews may only visit the site (TEMPLE MOUNT) as tourists and only for four hours per day five days per week. Israel also restricts the number of religious Jews that can visit at a time.”
“The site, along with the whole of East Jerusalem (which includes the Old City), was controlled by Jordan from 1948 until 1967, and has been occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967.”
ISRAEL MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS - the-temple-mount-background (I encourage you to read this concise article)
The Temple Mount is probably THE most complex issue…the very core of the spiritually wrestling match in the Middle East…and dare I say the whole world. Two have laid their claim: God and His enemy. 1 Kings 9:1-3 is only one of many places that confirms: “And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he wanted to do, that the Lord appeared to Solomon the second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. And the Lord said to him: “I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built to put My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.”
You might remember Ariel Sharon’s visit to Temple Mount in Sept. 2000. Etched in my memory are the events of September 1996. It was Yom Kippur…the most solemn day in the Hebrew calendar…when our daughter Sarah and I decided to visit the nearby synagogue and pray amongst those seeking God…for them to find HIM… To our GREAT surprise we found ourselves sitting in the women’s section sitting directly above Binyamin Netanyahu who was obviously truly seeking God. We found out a few hours later why he appeared in such an agony and why The Lord had set us there to pray: He opened the Hasmonaean Tunnels that night…beginning construction of what is now known as “the tunnels” which many of you who have been here have gone through. I remember so clearly the terrorizing threats; ‘Al-Aqsa Mosque is being desecrated! They are unleashing hell! They are throwing the Middle East into war! Rise up with stones and guns and defend Al-Aqsa with your blood!’ It was scary and they were accused of irresponsible, provocative behavior. SEE THIS WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE FOR A VIEW BACKWARD
Over the 28 and a half years that I have lived in Jerusalem, I have seen that YES God gave us this land and as Joshua was told “I have given…go and possess” …the giants were many and the accusers were all about, BUT GOD HAD GIVEN THE LAND!
I was reading this morning in Acts and two situations struck me (although I wasn’t reading in that spot). One was in Acts 19: see particularly 32-34 “Some therefore cried one thing and some another, for the assembly was confused, and most of them did not know why they had come together. And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander motioned with his hand, and wanted to make his defense to the people. But when they found out that he was a Jew, all with one voice cried out for about two hours, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!” and Acts 21 particularly see 27-31 and 34 “Now when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place; and furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” (For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)
And all the city was disturbed; and the people ran together, seized Paul, and dragged him out of the temple; and immediately the doors were shut. Now as they were seeking to kill him, news came to the commander of the garrison that all Jerusalem was in an uproar” 34And some among the multitude cried one thing and some another.
So when he could not ascertain the truth because of the tumult, he commanded him to be taken into the barracks.”
The news tonight bemoaned the visit of one of our new lawmakers as “angering the Palestinians and drawing a slew of condemnation.” JEWS ‘VISIT’ TEMPLE MOUNT DAILY, and yet the world is screaming that we are ‘changing the status quo’ by allowing his visit. I appeal to you to do some research into WHAT IS THE STATUS QUO ON TEMPLE MOUNT SINCE 1967.
I have written in depth in the past about the history (both ancient and current) and spiritual significance of Temple Mount. I will only add now that YES, Israel ‘owns’ Temple Mount since the 1967 war although the world does not accept the fact that The Lord fulfilled His promise and after 2,000 years Jerusalem was restored to the ones (unworthy as we are) whom HE promised it to and gave it to. Yes, Israel gave control of Temple Mount (although under Israeli sovereignty and law) to the moslem wakf and Jordan.
AND IT WILL LEAVE THIS SUBJECT THERE FOR YOU TO PRAY INTO SHOULD THE LORD PUT IT ON YOUR HEART.
I walk a new path. I have never been here before. I have no need to run home and fix warm nutritious meals … I have never been ‘alone’ before…ever. And ofcourse I am not ‘ALONE’. Our friend J is with me until atleast May and Elena and the children live nearby. THE LORD IS THE MOST POWERFUL PRESENCE. But what has been required of me for a lifetime has changed. And it is a new day. May my eyes and heart be open to all that He chooses for me.
And you. May the year ahead of you become a trophy of His faithfulness…and yours! May He be glorified and may we be refined and sanctified…fit for The Master’s use…and may His Love and discernment be displayed in and through us. Loving blessings, your sister in Jerusalem. (7 Jan 2023)
…” And suddenly six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his battle ax in his hand. One man among them was clothed with linen and had a writer’s inkhorn at his side. They went in and stood beside the bronze altar.” …And The Lord said to him, ‘Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.” …” They each went straight forward.” Ezekiel 9:2, 4, 10:2
Oh Blessings…love beyond words I am sending in The Precious Name of The Lord, Yeshua h’Meshiach, Jesus Christ, The awaited Messiah. In this new year according to the western calendar, may HE be blessed and glorified and my all things be made new in Him. May we each drink deeply from His Word daily and may we also drink the cup prepared for us and fulfill His purposes, some great and some small…but all that is in and of Him is for His glory…and worthy to be done. Blessing and honor and glory to Him and may you be encouraged and blessed.
I do wish you each a blessed new year. Thank you for your love and prayers and patience with me through this last one, which for me, and many of you as well, bore stripes and wounds hard to bear…may we grow thereby and may we run the year ahead in His strength, by His mercy.
This morning I found myself remembering some of the early lessons that I learned in Ulpan (Intensive immersion Hebrew language class) 28 years ago. In a class of between 40 – 50 other students, most of whom were from the former Soviet Union, others from France, Argentina and some Arabs who were planning to go to university, we sat together in the (physical) cold, with anticipation and fears concerning a new life and a new language…I wish that I could adequately describe the atmosphere.
As I set my foot to the path this morning, I remembered a saying that we were taught in ulpan (in Hebrew) “All new beginnings are difficult”. The other one was “All work is noble”. Tomorrow morning, I return to work for the first time since 17th July when I fell on the bus and broke my arm. Here it is…2 January on the western calendar…a new beginning…the end of 2022 when my life partner, Eric, after 50 years together… left, graduated…left me here to continue without him. Then the broken arm…then covid; Thankfully, He shook me into the DEEP KNOWING that I have never walked this way before (and neither have you) …All new beginnings are hard. This year I learned that I really don’t know ANYTHING…and that it is NOT ‘about me’. I say that I am THANKFUL that He shook me int the knowing, because without Him making it so plain, I would have likely AGAIN taken off in my own strength; things that I ‘know’. In this new life before me, I honestly know NOTHING.
So, if I know nothing and it isn’t about me…then what?
Here am I Lord (Abba). In Hebrew that is ‘Hi’nay’ni Abba’ הינני אבא…the words spoken by Samuel as a child…the words spoken by Avraham…the words spoken by countless, nameless, others through out the ages who chose to follow Him…and HE HEARS, and HE answers. He leads…and He knows the way!
Two days have passed since I began this letter (by the time that you read it, it is more like 5 days) and yesterday I returned to work. It felt strange and I felt very vulnerable. I found that I had forgotten how to use parts of the medical program that I work with and suddenly I felt completely incapable. “ABBA, help!” He quieted my heart and helped me to continue. Thank you for your prayers. I am scheduled to work only on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I have never walked this way before. I am still reticent to get on a bus, particularly with my arm only partially healed, so I opted to take the train to the center of town and walk from there for an hour on to work. It was really a blessed time of prayer and worship and I trust that He will open the doors daily. How much of my life I have wasted fretting about situations that He solved and things that have come to pass.
You know by now that I don’t often comment on political things. The Lord has dealt with me in such a way that I have a fear of Him, knowing that I have ‘my opinions’ and ‘my reasonings’ but that my vision is limited…and my reasonings are filtered through my experiences and my own personal preferences. Part of my morning devotions are currently in Ezekiel. It is now more than 9 years since The Lord arrested me in my steps and said: ‘I want you to learn My ways in judgment!’ It was a command and I felt the gravity of not obeying. As I read in my regular readings, I began to write down HIS WAYS in Judgment, and at the same time, asking Him for His discernment to understand His commands to us…how we are to walk and RESPOND during His judgments. It has humbled me beyond words! His promises for blessing and love and forgiveness which we cling to and take comfort in, stand alongside His promises of judgment…’IF’! His GRACE is not an ‘easy fix’ or ‘easy antidote’ against His promised judgements if we persist in our own ways, but it IS a great and holy gift if we deliberately run into it!
And so, as people debate and stand behind governments and men, I sometimes (never enough) tremble and pray for His kingdom to come and His will to be done for it seems to me that the kingdoms around us…ALL of them…NOT just yours or ours…the kingdoms and governments of THE WHOLE WORLD are infected with confusion and stumbling in the dark. I hear the opinions and the prophets…but my eyes see, and my knees tremble at what my eyes see.
HOWEVER…I HAVE AN OPINION THAT I WANT TO SHARE…because of what my eyes are seeing. I will try to truly make this short and concise…it is concerning our new minister Itamar BenGvir’s quick visit to Temple Mount. You may see videos of it throughout the media.
“Christians and Jews may only visit the site (TEMPLE MOUNT) as tourists and only for four hours per day five days per week. Israel also restricts the number of religious Jews that can visit at a time.”
“The site, along with the whole of East Jerusalem (which includes the Old City), was controlled by Jordan from 1948 until 1967, and has been occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967.”
ISRAEL MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS - the-temple-mount-background (I encourage you to read this concise article)
The Temple Mount is probably THE most complex issue…the very core of the spiritually wrestling match in the Middle East…and dare I say the whole world. Two have laid their claim: God and His enemy. 1 Kings 9:1-3 is only one of many places that confirms: “And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he wanted to do, that the Lord appeared to Solomon the second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. And the Lord said to him: “I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built to put My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.”
You might remember Ariel Sharon’s visit to Temple Mount in Sept. 2000. Etched in my memory are the events of September 1996. It was Yom Kippur…the most solemn day in the Hebrew calendar…when our daughter Sarah and I decided to visit the nearby synagogue and pray amongst those seeking God…for them to find HIM… To our GREAT surprise we found ourselves sitting in the women’s section sitting directly above Binyamin Netanyahu who was obviously truly seeking God. We found out a few hours later why he appeared in such an agony and why The Lord had set us there to pray: He opened the Hasmonaean Tunnels that night…beginning construction of what is now known as “the tunnels” which many of you who have been here have gone through. I remember so clearly the terrorizing threats; ‘Al-Aqsa Mosque is being desecrated! They are unleashing hell! They are throwing the Middle East into war! Rise up with stones and guns and defend Al-Aqsa with your blood!’ It was scary and they were accused of irresponsible, provocative behavior. SEE THIS WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE FOR A VIEW BACKWARD
Over the 28 and a half years that I have lived in Jerusalem, I have seen that YES God gave us this land and as Joshua was told “I have given…go and possess” …the giants were many and the accusers were all about, BUT GOD HAD GIVEN THE LAND!
I was reading this morning in Acts and two situations struck me (although I wasn’t reading in that spot). One was in Acts 19: see particularly 32-34 “Some therefore cried one thing and some another, for the assembly was confused, and most of them did not know why they had come together. And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander motioned with his hand, and wanted to make his defense to the people. But when they found out that he was a Jew, all with one voice cried out for about two hours, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!” and Acts 21 particularly see 27-31 and 34 “Now when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place; and furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” (For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)
And all the city was disturbed; and the people ran together, seized Paul, and dragged him out of the temple; and immediately the doors were shut. Now as they were seeking to kill him, news came to the commander of the garrison that all Jerusalem was in an uproar” 34And some among the multitude cried one thing and some another.
So when he could not ascertain the truth because of the tumult, he commanded him to be taken into the barracks.”
The news tonight bemoaned the visit of one of our new lawmakers as “angering the Palestinians and drawing a slew of condemnation.” JEWS ‘VISIT’ TEMPLE MOUNT DAILY, and yet the world is screaming that we are ‘changing the status quo’ by allowing his visit. I appeal to you to do some research into WHAT IS THE STATUS QUO ON TEMPLE MOUNT SINCE 1967.
I have written in depth in the past about the history (both ancient and current) and spiritual significance of Temple Mount. I will only add now that YES, Israel ‘owns’ Temple Mount since the 1967 war although the world does not accept the fact that The Lord fulfilled His promise and after 2,000 years Jerusalem was restored to the ones (unworthy as we are) whom HE promised it to and gave it to. Yes, Israel gave control of Temple Mount (although under Israeli sovereignty and law) to the moslem wakf and Jordan.
AND IT WILL LEAVE THIS SUBJECT THERE FOR YOU TO PRAY INTO SHOULD THE LORD PUT IT ON YOUR HEART.
I walk a new path. I have never been here before. I have no need to run home and fix warm nutritious meals … I have never been ‘alone’ before…ever. And ofcourse I am not ‘ALONE’. Our friend J is with me until atleast May and Elena and the children live nearby. THE LORD IS THE MOST POWERFUL PRESENCE. But what has been required of me for a lifetime has changed. And it is a new day. May my eyes and heart be open to all that He chooses for me.
And you. May the year ahead of you become a trophy of His faithfulness…and yours! May He be glorified and may we be refined and sanctified…fit for The Master’s use…and may His Love and discernment be displayed in and through us. Loving blessings, your sister in Jerusalem. (7 Jan 2023)