Sunday, March 31, 2013

Ahava Love Letter (#48) - "Back To The Future"

Ahava Love Letter

"Back To The Future"

“And He said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” (Mark 16:15)

Dear family of friends,

The year 1980 was a good one, looking back now from my comfortable rocking chair I am sitting in. That young family of Laurie and I, numbering four, with our two wee ones Josh and Ben, headed east on I80 in northern Illinois, in our brown, four door Chevy Nova. We were moving to our new frontier land of Michigan.

Our main purpose was for us to be involved with a church called Shiloh Fellowship in East Lansing (renamed around 1983 to New Covenant Christian Church.) My “other job”, to help pay the bills of course, was going to be at a Canon retail copier dealer, Hasselbring-Clark. Though my heart was to be working full time in a “real job” with a Christian ministry, this was the Lord’s plan for me now - to work in the “secular marketplace” while living my life as a believer. Someday I was hoping to have that “real job” with a ministry.

As office manager of the business, headed by Ellis and Noelle Clark, together we experienced its growth multiply from around 15 staff members to over 50, covering seven years. The day I left, exactly seven years to the day in August of 1987, was the start of the next 26 years of administrative, accounting and adventurous work with seven ministries. The Lord was giving me some of the desires He had put in my heart since I was a young Roman Catholic boy.

In the summer of 2010, having traveled to Israel 10 times, plus China, India, and Trinidad/Tobago once each, I left my secure, full time, full benefits, well paying ministry position as a USA Director to start “Love For His People, Inc.” from scratch. I thought it would be a “step up” in the plan of the Lord. From His perspective, it was. From mine? Well, not exactly. To tell you the full story, I would need to write 50 “Ahava Love Letters”. (I know you want me to keep this short.)

These past three years He has taught me to continually give thanks, pray daily (literally) for our daily bread, and appreciate the quiet times with Him. (Those I had plenty of, as work didn’t materialize to “fill my time.”)

Over this past “desert” period, in addition to having our small "Love For His People" ministry, I sought to connect with another ministry for full time employment. Surely this was the Lord’s plan too – to bring my experience, skills and character to one of the local Charlotte, NC ministries of INSP TV, Billy Graham Evangelical Association, Sid Roth’s Messianic Vision, Salvation Army, Samaritan's Purse, MorningStar with Rick Joyner, or the Charlotte Rescue Mission. I think I remembered them all where I applied/interviewed at! And then there were the "out of town" ones too, which included Israel.

I have discovered though, that after working those many years with seven ministries (Derek Prince Ministries, Mahesh Chavda Ministries/All Nations Church, Vision For Israel, Covenant Keepers, Samaritan's Purse, Charlotte Rescue Mission and Antioch International Church) that the Lord has put me back in the "marketplace." I now know why.

People “out there” need the Lord! Just as Steve Green sings his beautiful song, “People Need the Lord.” (YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iccU-87Km-M )

Jesus (Yeshua) has given me His love for those I now work with at an organization in uptown Charlotte, as an accountant. It is this realization that they need Him too, as I have come to know Him. So much of His love and provision, that brings excitement to my soul and spirit.

And as my good pastor and friend, Peter Wyns of Antioch International Church has said, “I have received my next marching orders.”

And yes, you guessed it. I am headed “back to the future.”

Ahava to my family of friends,

Steve Martin

Founder/President

P.S. Lest you might think otherwise, our ministry of Love For His People, Inc. certainly continues!

Love For His People, Inc. truly appreciates your generous support. Please consider sending a monthly charitable gift of $5-$25 each month to help us bless Messianic Jews in Israel. You can send checks to the address below. Todah rabah! (Hebrew - Thank you very much.)

E-mail: ahavaloveletters@gmail.com martinlighthouse@gmail.com

Facebook pages: Steve Martin and Love For His People

Twitter: martinlighthous, LovingHisPeople and ahavaloveletter

Websites: http://loveforhispeople.blogspot.com www.loveforhispeople.org

YouTube: loveforhispeopleinc

Love For His People, Inc. is a charitable, not-for-profit USA organization. Fed. ID#27-1633858. Tax deductible contributions receive a receipt for each donation.

Ahava Love Letter #48 Date: In the year of our Lord 2013 (04/01/13)

Saturday, March 30, 2013

HE IS... the King of Glory, the Lion of Judah

Happy Resurrection Day!

Jesus (Yeshua) is Alive and Well

The King of Glory

The Lion of Judah

Yeshua, King of Israel

Happy Resurrection Day!

What really happened in Jerusalem - Charles Krauthammer

Charles Krauthammer: Opinion Writer

What really happened in Jerusalem

The Washington Post Published: March 28, 2013

“I honestly believe that if any Israeli parent sat down with those [Palestinian] kids, they’d say, ‘I want these kids to succeed.’ ” — President Barack Obama in Jerusalem, March 21, 2013

Very true. But how does the other side feel about Israeli kids?

Consider that the most revered parent in Palestinian society is Mariam Farhat of Gaza. Her distinction? Three of her sons died in various stages of trying to kill Israelis — one in a suicide attack, shooting up and hurling grenades in a room full of Jewish students.

She gloried in her “martyr” sons, wishing only that she had 100 boys like her schoolroom suicide attacker to “sacrifice . . . for the sake of God.” And for that she was venerated as “mother of the struggle,” elected to parliament and widely mourned upon her recent passing.

So much for reciprocity. In the Palestinian territories, streets, public squares, summer camps, high schools, even a kindergarten are named after suicide bombers and other mass murderers. So much for the notion that if only Israelis would care about Arab kids, peace would be possible.

That hasn’t exactly been the problem. Israelis have wanted nothing more than peace and security for all the children. That’s why they accepted the 1947 U.N. partition of British Palestine into a Jewish and Arab state. Unfortunately — another asymmetry — the Arabs said no. To this day, the Palestinians have rejected every peace offer that leaves a Jewish state standing.

This is not ancient history. Yasser Arafat said no at Camp David in 2000 and at Taba in 2001. And in 2008, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert offered a Palestinian state on all of the West Bank (with territorial swaps) with its capital in a shared Jerusalem. Mahmoud Abbas walked away.

In that same speech, Obama blithely called these “missed historic opportunities” that should not prevent peace-seeking now.

But these “missed historic opportunities” are not random events. They present an unbroken, unrelenting pattern over seven decades of rejecting any final peace with Israel.

So what was the point of Obama’s Jerusalem speech encouraging young Israelis to make peace, a speech the media drooled over? It was mere rhetoric, a sideshow meant to soften the impact on the Arab side of the really important event of Obama’s trip: the major recalibration of his position on the peace process.

Obama knows that peace talks are going nowhere.

First, because there is no way that Israel can sanely make concessions while its neighborhood is roiling and unstable — the Muslim Brotherhood taking over Egypt, rockets being fired from Gaza, Hezbollah brandishing 50,000 missiles aimed at Israel, civil war raging in Syria with its chemical weapons and rising jihadists, and Iran threatening openly to raze Tel Aviv and Haifa.

Second, peace is going nowhere because Abbas has shown Obama over the past four years that he has no interest in negotiating. Obama’s message to Abbas was blunt: Come to the table without preconditions, i.e., without the excuse of demanding a settlement freeze first.

Obama himself had contributed to this impasse when he imposed that precondition — for the first time ever in the history of Arab-Israeli negotiations — four years ago. And when Israel responded with an equally unprecedented 10-month settlement freeze, Abbas didn’t show up to talk until more than nine months in — then walked out, never to return.

In Ramallah last week, Obama didn’t just address this perennial Palestinian dodge. He demolished the very claim that settlements are the obstacle to peace. Palestinian sovereignty and Israeli security are “the core issue,” he told Abbas. “If we solve those two problems, the settlement problem will be solved.”
Finally. Presidential validation of the screamingly obvious truism: Any peace agreement will produce a Palestinian state with not a single Israeli settlement remaining on its territory. Any settlement on the Palestinian side of whatever border is agreed upon will be demolished.

Thus, any peace that reconciles Palestinian statehood with Israeli security automatically resolves the settlement issue. It disappears.

Yes, Obama offered the ritual incantations about settlements being unhelpful. Nothing new here. He could have called them illegal or illegitimate. It wouldn’t have mattered — because Obama officially declared them irrelevant.

Exposing settlements as a mere excuse for the Palestinian refusal to negotiate — that was the news, widely overlooked, coming out of Obama’s trip. It was a breakthrough.

Will it endure? Who knows. But when an American president so sympathetic to the Palestinian cause tells Abbas to stop obstructing peace with that phony settlement excuse, something important has happened. Abbas, unmasked and unhappy, knows this better than anyone.

Read more from Charles Krauthammer’s archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/charles-krauthammer-what-really-happened-in-jerusalem/2013/03/28/5b018070-97d2-11e2-b68f-dc5c4b47e519_story.html

Friday, March 29, 2013

Tourists Flock to Israel on Good Friday - Inside Israel - CBN News - Christian News 24-7 - CBN.com

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Israeli Soldier Held In Captivity - Gilad Schalit: I was scared people would forget me

Gilad Schalit: I was scared people would forget me

By JPOST.COM STAFF

10/17/2012

Freed IDF soldier describes his more than 5 years in Hamas captivity, says: State paid the price for me, I will send my kids to IDF.

Gilad Schalit arrives from captivity

Photo: REUTERS/Handout

"I was scared people would forget me," freed IDF soldier Gilad Schalit said in his first interview since his release from Hamas captivity, broadcast in full on Wednesday by Channel 10.

Speaking about his more than five years in Gaza, Schalit described everything from his sleeping patterns to his feelings upon release.

"I didn't sleep very well," Schalit said of his captivity. "People were there bothering me. I would wake up in the middle of the night."

He added affably: "But I had plenty of time to make up for sleep in the day."

Describing methods he used to pass the time, Schalit said he used to make up games. "I used to play a lot of games on my own as well. I used to make a ball out of a sock and throw it around all sorts of places, like into a garbage can."

He added that he also drew maps - of the country, of his community and of his favorite places - so he would not forget them.

"I used to write, I used to make lists, I used to follow sport events," he said.

Asked about daylight, Schalit said he was allowed to watch television, but he wasn't allowed outside. "I saw the sun through the TV," he remarked. "I imagined it too."

Schalit was released in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, in accordance with an Egypt-brokered deal.

"The week they told me I was being released felt like an eternity," he said. "I didn't sleep. I slept maybe an hour [that night.]"

Speaking of his release, Schalit said he felt a sense of great "relief" when he crossed into Egypt and that he was disconcerted by the "flurry" of people around him after only seeing a few people for nearly six years.

"I was really tired and slept well," Schalit said of his return home. "Then I wandered around my house."

He added wryly that when he was forced to be interviewed on Egyptian television, the interviewer was the first woman he had seen since being taken captive.

Schalit also said it would be "difficult to send my kids to the IDF. But in the end the State saved me from that place. It fulfilled its part in the prisoner exchange. It paid the price. I will certainly send my kids to the army."

He added: "I hope that they won't have to go, but for now that doesn't seem like an option."

JTA contributed to this report.

http://www.jpost.com/National-News/Gilad-Schalit-I-was-scared-people-would-forget-me

The Death of Jesus and His Disciples

The Death of Jesus Christ (Yeshua HaMashiach) and His Disciples

The Death of Jesus

For the next 60 seconds, set aside whatever You're doing and take this opportunity! Let's see if Satan can stop this.

THE (SCIENTIFIC) DEATH OF JESUS

At the age of 33, Jesus was condemned to death.

At the time Crucifixion was the "worst" death. Only the worst criminals were condemned to be crucified.

Yet it was even more dreadful for Jesus, unlike other criminals condemned to death by Crucifixion. Jesus was to be nailed to the Cross by His hands and feet. Each nail was 6 to 8 inches long. The nails were driven into His wrist. Not into His palms as is commonly portrayed.

There's a tendon in the wrist that extends to the shoulder. The Roman guards knew that when the nails were being hammered into the wrist that tendon would tear and break; forcing Jesus to use His back muscles to support himself so that He could breath.

Both of His feet were nailed together. Thus He was forced to Support Himself on the single nail that impaled His feet to the cross. Jesus could not support himself with His legs because of the pain so He was forced to alternate between arching His back then using his legs just to continue to breath.

Imagine the struggle, the pain, the suffering, the courage.

Jesus endured this Reality for over 3 hours. Yes, Over 3 hours!

Can you imagine this kind of suffering? A few minutes before He died, Jesus stopped bleeding. He was simply pouring water from his wounds. From common images we see wounds to His hands and feet and even the spear wound to His side... But do we realize His wounds were actually made in his body.

A hammer driving large nails through the wrist, the feet overlapped and an even larger nail hammered through the arches, then a Roman guard piercing His side with a spear. But before the nails and the spear Jesus was whipped and beaten. The whipping was so severe that it tore the Flesh from His body.

The beating was so horrific that His Face was torn and his beard ripped from His face. The Crown of thorns cut deeply into His scalp.

Most men would not have survived this torture. "He had no more blood to bleed out, only water poured from His wounds. The human adult body contains about 3.5 liters (just less than a gallon) of blood.

Jesus poured all 3.5 Liters of his blood; He had three nails hammered into His members; a crown of thorns on His head and, beyond that, a Roman soldier who stabbed a spear into His chest.

All these without mentioning the humiliation He suffered after carrying His own Cross for almost 2 kilometers, while the crowd spat in his face and threw stones (the cross was almost 30 kg of weight, only for its higher part, where His hands were nailed).

Jesus had to endure this experience, to open the Gates of Heaven, so that you can have free Access to God; so that your sins could be "washed" away.

All of them, with no exception! Don't ignore this situation.

JESUS CHRIST DIED FOR YOU!

I Love You

He will return the 2nd time as the Lion of Judah

He died for you! It is easy to pass jokes or foolish photos by e-mail, but when it comes to God, sometimes you feel ashamed to forward to others because you are worried of what they may think about you.

God has plans for you. Show all your friends what He experienced to save you. Now think about this! May God bless your life!

60 Seconds with God... For the next 60 Seconds, set aside what you're doing and take this opportunity! Let's see if Satan can stop this.

He said (Matthew 10:32 & 33): "Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before My Father in heaven; but whosoever denies Me before others, I also will deny before My Father in heaven".

Yes, I love God. He is my source of life and my Savior. He keeps me alive day

and night. Without Him, I am nothing, but with Him "I can do all things through Him Who strengthens me". Philippians 4:13.

This is the simple proof. If you love God and you are a believer and trust in salvation through Christ Jesus, share this with all those you love if you want to.

And now for His disciples, Apostles in the faith.

1. Matthew

Suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia, Killed by a sword wound.

2. Mark

Died in Alexandria, Egypt, after being dragged by Horses through the streets until he was dead.

3. Luke

Was hanged in Greece as a result of his tremendous peaching to the lost.

4 John

Faced martyrdom when he was boiled in huge Basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution In Rome. However, he was miraculously delivered from death. John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison Island of Patmos.

He wrote his prophetic Book of Revelation on Patmos. The apostle John was later freed and returned to serve as Bishop of Edessa in modern Turkey. He died as an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully.

5. Peter

He was crucified upside down on an x-shaped cross. According to church tradition it was because he told his tormentors that he felt unworthy to die in the same way that Jesus Christ had died.

6 James

The leader of the church in Jerusalem was thrown over a hundred feet down from the southeast pinnacle* of the Temple when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. When they discovered that he survived the fall, his enemies beat James to death with a fuller's club. * This was the same pinnacle where Satan had taken Jesus during the Temptation.

7. James the Great

Son of Zebedee, was a fisherman by trade when Jesus Called him to a lifetime of ministry. As a strong leader of the church, James was ultimately beheaded at Jerusalem. The Roman officer who guarded James watched amazed as James defended his faith at his trial. Later, the officer walked beside James to the place of execution. Overcome by conviction, he declared his new faith to the judge and knelt beside James to accept beheading as a Christian.

8. Bartholomew

Also known as Nathaniel was a missionary to Asia. He witnessed for our Lord in present day Turkey. Bartholomew was martyred for his preaching in Armenia where he was flayed to death by a whip.

9. Andrew

He was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Patras, Greece. After being whipped severely by seven soldiers they tied his body to the cross with cords to prolong his agony. His followers reported that, when he was led toward the cross, Andrew saluted it in these words: 'I have long desired and expected this happy hour. The cross has been consecrated by the body of Christ hanging on it.' He continued to preach to his tormentors For two days until he expired.

10. Thomas

Was stabbed with a spear in India during one of his missionary trips to establish the church in the Sub-continent.

11. Jude

Was killed with arrows when he refused to deny his faith in Christ.

12. Matthias

The apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot was stoned and then beheaded.

13. Paul

Was tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero at Rome in A.D. 67. Paul endured a lengthy imprisonment, which allowed him to write his many epistles to the churches he had formed throughout the Roman Empire.

These letters, which taught many of the foundational Doctrines of Christianity, form a large portion of the New Testament. Perhaps this is a reminder to us that our sufferings here are indeed minor compared to the intense persecution and cold cruelty faced by the apostles and disciples during their times for the sake of the Faith. "And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: But he that endureth to the end shall be saved." Matthew

Faith is not believing that God can; it is knowing that God WILL!

JESUS CHRIST DIED FOR YOU!

God has plans for you. Show all your friends what He experienced to save you. Now think about this! May God bless your life!

60 Seconds with God... For the next 60 Seconds, set aside what you're doing and take this opportunity! Let's see if Satan can stop this.

All you have to do is:

1. Pray for the person who sent this message to you

2. Then, send this message to people, the more the better.

3. People will pray for you and you will make that many people pray to God for other people .

4. Take a moment to appreciate the power of God in your life, for doing what pleases Him.

If you are not ashamed to do this, please, follow Jesus' instructions.

Yes, I love God. He is my source of life and my Savior. He keeps me alive day

and night. Without Him, I am nothing, but with Him "I can do all things through Him Who strengthens me". Philippians 4:13.

This is the simple proof. If you love God and you are a believer and trust in salvation through Christ Jesus, share this with all those you love if you want to.

Whispers In Secret - Bill Yount

Whispers In Secret - The Shofar Has Blown

Posted: 27 Mar 2013

I talked to mom last night at 88 yrs. old. She said, "Bill, I can't tell everyone this for they wouldn't believe it, but wanted to let you know. I was feeling discouraged and all of a sudden I was in the lap of Jesus. I don't know how I got there. He put His arm around me and I felt the greatest peace I have ever known."

This is one more reason why I call mom everyday to see what God is doing in her life. I know the day will come when I call her and the phone will ring with no answer.

Before I get up to minister lately I have found myself weeping at times, The last meeting I asked my wife if she had any more kleenexes. I've noticed the atmosphere is so different when this happens. God comes in on the wings of brokenness. He is healing our broken wings to fly again.

Can you keep a secret?

I am learning that when God whispers one of His secrets to us sometimes it is to be kept between us and Him. Not many of us can keep a secret. It is tempting when you are told not to tell anybody, to want to tell everyone.

It's been two months now but it seems like I have been in this fiery furnace of trial forever. It must be the intense heat of seven times hotter that's affecting my vision, for I just saw a man step into my furnace. And this man looks like the Son of God! How can it be, that I now feel so free?

All I want now is to carry the presence of the Lord, for I hear the cries of a dying world. I can hear billions.

It's Maple Syrup Season. The sap of the Holy Spirit is flowing in spite of cold weather that refuses to let go of us. Newness of life is now flowing.

Blessings,

Bill Yount

Bill Yount - The Prophetic Weekly Post theshofarhasblown@juno.com
http://www.billyount.com

‘Rockin’ Rabbis’ on the American Bible Challenge

Joshua Stanton , Times of Israel

March 25, 2013

Joshua Stanton is Associate Director of the Center for Global Judaism at Hebrew College and founding co-editor of the Journal of Inter-Religious Dialogue. Joshua's website

"Are you going to introduce yourself as ‘rabbi’?” she asked.

“Nah,” I responded. “I’m not a rabbi yet. Could I say ‘rabbinical student?’”

“But you’re almost a rabbi, right?” she responded.

“Well, yeah. But ordination’s still in a couple of months. I’m a Schusterman Rabbinical Fellow… so ‘rabbinical fellow?’”

“That works.”

It’s not everyday that I have the chance to kibitz with a television producer (even one from the warm and welcoming Odyssey Networks), and certainly not before getting on camera. Even less likely was this particular occasion: filming shorts for the new season of the Game Show Network’s hit American Bible Challenge.

The show appeals to a broad base, but I sensed that it was far more geared toward a Christian audience. Not to mention, of course, the fact that it engages discussions of both the Torah and Christian Bible.

Yet there I was, a future rabbi, sharing why I decided to go to rabbinical school and about Judaism more broadly.

And the show is about to get a whole lot more religiously diverse in the next few weeks. This season, three rabbis, known by their team name as “The Rockin’ Rabbis” (Philip Weintraub of Newburgh, New York, Jeffrey Abraham of Nyack, New York, and Eve Eichenholtz of Roslyn Heights, New York) will be competing for up to $140,000.

The Rockin’ Rabbis are competing against 17 other teams on season 2
of the game show The American Bible Challenge

To my knowledge, it will be the first time the show has had a rabbi, much less a trio of rabbis, competing.

Some might look at their participation as good fun. Others, as a publicity stunt. Still others as the chance for interfaith dialogue (in a most unusual setting!).

But the presence of the new rabbinical team might point to a different phenomenon altogether: an interest on the part of some Jews in reading the Christian bible. Far from an exercise in assimilation, it stems from the increased recognition that embedded within Christian texts are kernels of wisdom about early rabbinic Judaism.

If Jesus was a rabbi, then he and his followers would likely exhibit traits similar to those of other rabbis and their discipleship circles. In learning about one early rabbi (albeit a unique one, whose followers eventually split from the rabbinic tradition), we as Jews might gain insight into our own tradition.

While some of us still experience surface tension in reading the sacred texts of other traditions, concern associated with reading the Christian Bible may be decreasing.

With animosity quite low between Jews and Christians in the United States, Jews may grow increasingly comfortable with the insights they gain from Christian texts, even as they recognize the differences inherent to them.

If this trend continues, I wouldn’t be surprised if another team of rabbis or Jewish lay leaders winds up on The American Bible Challenge!

Hopefully, future contestants from our community will be just as menschy. The Rockin Rabbis won’t be pocketing any money if they win. Instead, they plan to donate their winnings to the UJA Federation of New York’ s Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund.

http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/rockin-rabbis-on-the-american-bible-challenge/

Photos: Old City of Hevron Attracts 15,000 Visitors

Over 15,000 people visited Hevron on Wednesday and more are expected on Thursday.

Israel National News, 3/28/2013

מערת המכפלה

דוברות היישוב היהודי בחברון

Hebron's Jewish community hosted over 15,000 people on Wednesday and more are expected on Thursday. Ohel Yitzhak, the Isaac and Rebecca Hall is open to the public.

The hall is located in the ancient Cave of Machpelah complex. Visitors took part in sightseeing tours of the historic city including the Cave of Otniel ben Knaz and the Tomb of Avner ben Ner, and modern sites such as the Hebron Heritage Museum at Beit Hadassah, the Avraham Avinu synagogue, and other places.

On Thursday the the Hebron community will hosts tens of thousands at the annual Passover music festival, with performances from top name acts. New York based singer Lipa Schmeltzer will headline the concert along with local musicians Haim Israel, Udi Davidi, the Kinderlach, Yishai Lapidot, Amiran Dvir, Benyamin Landau, Nadav Gilad, Ohad Mashiach and more.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/166618

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Resurrection Day!

(Artwork from Crosscards.com/cards)

We send our greetings to all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ (Yeshua HaMasiach) for eternal salvation. Because He lived, died, and rose on our behalf, we have true reason to celebrate and give Him thanks.

With our love for His people,

Steve and Laurie Martin

Send a free e-card: http://www.crosscards.com/cards/easter&pcat=holidays&c=happy-resurrection-day/

Monday, March 25, 2013

Pesach (Passover) Holiday to Begin Monday Eve

Jewish families world over will sit down to the Seder Monday evening, read the Haggadah and recall the Exodus. Chag Sameach!

By Arutz Sheva, Jerusalem Post

First Publish: 3/25/2013

Matza factory

Israel news photo: Flash 90

Passover (Pesach) will take place this year between sunset on Monday, March 25, and sunset on Monday, April 1. The first and seventh days are marked as Sabbath-like holy days (Yom Tov) in which work is forbidden.

Jews outside of Israel, and those visiting Israel only for the holiday, observe an additional day in both the beginning and end of Pesach, which lasts eight days for them.

On this evening, the enslaved Jews were freed from Egyptian bondage after the Ten Plagues forced King Pharaoh of Egypt to listen to Moses and Aaron's call to "Let my people go!" The best known name of the holiday is Passover, to commemmorate the passing over of the Jewish homes during the plague that killed each Egyptian firstborn son. The holiday is also known as the Holiday of Matzahs, the Holiday of Our Freedom and the Holiday of Spring.

Jews are commanded to tell the story of leaving Egypt as if it had happened to them personally and not as a mere historical event, in order to emphasize the importance of our hard-won and precious freedom.

The government of Israel sold its “chametz,” leavened bread, to an Arab before the holiday in order not to transgress the commandment of not owning any chametz during the holiday. This includes any food product that contains leavened wheat, oat, barley, rye, or spelt products.

After a search for remaining chametz in houses Sunday night, Jews burn it the following morning, several hours before Pesach begins. Not a drop of chametz is allowed to remain in Jewish hands during the entire holiday, so that each family sells its own chametz for the week as the government does.

Dishes also are changed for the holiday or were made kosher through a procedure that depends on what material they are composed of. Glassware dishes can be koshered for Pesach by cleaning, leaving them unused for a period of time and then dipping them in water. Metal, if completely cleaned, is dipped in boiling water and prior to the holiday, large vats of boiling water are manned by people at various locations for that purpose. Not all materials can be made useable for Pesach and a rabbi should be consulted with any questions.
In the absence of leaven, Jews will eat specially prepared unleavened bread, or matza, on Pesach, as was done at the Exodus, when the Jews did not have enough time to wait for dough to rise before leaving Egypt.
First-born males over 13 are required to fast on the day before Passover – in commemoration of the fact that first-born Jewish males were spared when first-born Egyptian males were killed during the tenth plague – but may be released of this obligation by participating in a special festive meal, like the ones that accompany the conclusion of study of a tractate of the Talmud or a circumcision, on the morning before Passover.

The traditional Seder is held Monday night – Monday and Tuesday nights for Jews outside of Israel. The guide for the Seder is detailed in the Haggadah, literally "narration," which relates the story of the Exodus from Egypt.

A plate placed on the Seder table contains several special foods: a roasted egg, symbolizing the special holiday sacrifices which were brought in the Temple; a roasted shank bone, recalling the Passover lamb offered and eaten by every family in Jerusalem in Temple times and brought in Egypt right before the Exodus; a mixture of chopped apples, nuts, wine and cinnamon known as charoset, symbolizing the mortar that the Hebrew slaves in Egypt used to make bricks; sprigs of parsley and lettuce, symbolizing spring; a bitter herb symbolizing the bitterness of slavery; and salt water, recalling the tears shed by the Hebrew slaves in Egypt. There are additional explanations for some of the symbols.

Three whole pieces of matza mark the division of the Jewish people into priests (Cohanim), Levites and the general population are also placed on the table. There are also other explanations for this custom, as there are for almost all of the customs.

During the course of the Seder, the Ten Plagues are recalled. When each of the Plagues is mentioned, each participant dips a finger into his/her cup of wine and removes a drop; even though the Jews were oppressed in Egypt, we are reminded that we must not rejoice over the Egyptians' suffering. Our cups of wine cannot thus be full.

Four cups of wine are drunk at specific parts of the seder, to remember the four words symbolizing redemption that appear in the Biblical Exodus narration.

One of the more popular Seder customs for children concerns the afikoman, a special piece of matza that is the last food eaten during the Seder. The head of the household customarily hides the afikoman somewhere in the house, and the children then search for it. Once found, the afikoman is "ransomed," since the Seder cannot continue until the afikoman is eaten. This helps to keep the children focused on the Seder and to pique their curiosity regarding the entire Passover epic.

On the morning of Monday March 26, festive prayers, including a prayer for dew during the spring and summer, and special readings, will figure prominently in synagogue services.

During the intermediate days, between the first and last days, special prayers also are recited in synagogue. In Israel, all of Pesach is an official holiday for schools and most government offices and vacationing families fill the national parks and museums, many of which are free.

Jewish tradition maintains that the parting of the Red Sea and the destruction of the Egyptian army occurred on the seventh day of Passover, but even though Passover celebrates the Exodus from Egypt, Jews nevertheless do not rejoice over the death of the Egyptians in the sea and only an abridged version of Hallel (Psalms 113-118) – a holiday prayer – is recited after the first day of Passover.

On the Sabbath of the intermediate days of Passover (Saturday March 30), the day's special readings will include the Song of Songs and Ezekiel's vision of the valley of dry bones (Ezekiel 37:1-14).

From the evening prayer ending Tuesday March 26, Jews will keep a nightly count of the 49 days (seven weeks), until the evening of Tuesday, May 14, one day before the holiday of Shavuot. This count commemorates the Temple offering of the omer, or sheaf of new grain, in keeping with the Biblical injunction of Leviticus 23:15-16.

Maimouna – an informal, yet widely celebrated holiday which originated among the Jews of North Africa, particularly those from Morocco – will be celebrated immediately after Passover, from sunset on Monday April 1. According to custom, families prepare elaborate tables with various sweets and baked goods, and host friends and family members. Whole neighborhoods often close as celebrations spill out into the streets and parks.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/166559

Israelis tell Israel Today what Passover means to them

Monday, March 25, 2013 | Israel Today Staff

Around the world Jews, and not a few Christians, are preparing to celebrate the biblical festival of Pessach (Passover), the chief of the appointed times given by God to the nation of Israel.

Israel Today went out on the streets of Jerusalem to ask local residents what it means to them to be once again celebrating Passover as a free and sovereign nation restored to its biblical homeland.

Yossi Krisp: “It means liberty, it means freedom, it means family.”

Gal Yerushalmi: “It’s so important to celebrate this here in Israel. We are Jewish and this is our country, and we’re happy for this freedom.”

Beyla Potash: “Passover is the beginning of a nation.”

Yeshurun Luz: Passover means "liberation from the other nations, from being under the rule of other nations, and as a personal liberation from whatever holds me. It has been and it will be one of the most kept holidays of the Jewish people.”

Moshe: “It means remembering the miracles we had when we were slaves in Egypt.”

Israel Levin: “It doesn’t only represent something that happened a few thousand years ago; it represents something that is able to happen to us all the time. In every generation our enemy tries to destroy us and God saves us. But it's not only about national security, it’s also something that relates to each and every person; that there’s power for a person who yearns for freedom from his own personal things that hold them back.”

Moshe Frank: “No pizza… and no bagles!”

Adam Segal: “It’s a holiday of thanking God for our freedoms; spiritual freedom, physical freedom, freedom to develop as people, and freedom from oppression. One of the most important things according to Torah (Bible), is you’re supposed to teach your children that God is the one who took us out from the land of Egypt. And that develops an appreciation from generation to generation to connect with God and connect to the Jewish people, and to be eternally grateful for where we are and where God brought us."

Yisrael Dalayahu: “It means two things; we remember our ancestors who were delivered from Egypt, and we are waiting again to be delivered from all our problems and all our neighbors and the war to come.”

Sarah Goldman: “It represents for me the deep, strong love that God has for His people. That even when we were at the worst spiritual level that one could possibly be in, God came and took us out of Egypt. Not through the back door, but in front of everybody. It shows that He loves us and He cares for us. And even when all seems to fail, God always comes through.”

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23757/Default.aspx?hp=article_title

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Israeli Arab Christian wins popular singing show

Apartheid state? Israeli Arab Christian wins popular singing show

Sunday, March 24, 2013 | Israel Today Staff

Lina Mahoul

In yet another example of just how silly are the claims that Israel is a racist apartheid state, 19-year-old Lina Mahoul, an Arab Christian from the northern town of Acre, became the second winner of Israel's wildly popular singing competition show, The Voice.

Nearly every Israeli eye was glued to the television Saturday evening as Mahoul faced off against Ophir Ben Sheetrit, an Orthodox Jewish girl from Ashdod, in the final.

For those who believe Israel is a state that practices racism against its minorities, the choice should have been obvious. Of course the Jew would win! Those racist Israelis would never vote for an Arab!

How wrong such sentiments are, as proved on Saturday night, when Israelis voted overwhelmingly for Mahoul, who in turn played to her audience by performing a touching rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah."

During her final performance, Mahoul's family and friends could be seen happily enjoying the moment surrounded by Jews. Again, not really a picture of apartheid.

It was also pointed out that the young Mahoul volunteers at Magen David Adom, the Israeli Jewish version of the Red Cross.

Watch Lina Mahoul's winning performance:

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23755/Default.aspx?hp=readmore

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