V’ahavta וְאָהַבְתָּ ‘…And you shall love…’ - "Stay the Course" - Hadassah from Jerusalem

V’ahavta  

וְאָהַבְתָּ    ‘…And you shall love…’ 

Stay the Course

Hadassah from Jerusalem

“Pussy cat Pussy cat where have you been?”

“I went to London to visit the Queen.”

“Pussy cat, Pussy cat, what did you there?”

“I frightened the mouse under her chair.”

A familiar nursery rhyme. And a bit of silly little nonsense to entertain our children.

Little Pussy Cat had a mission, so to speak. He was going to London to visit the Queen. A very important mission actually. Taking whatever preparations necessary to make the journey, he was going to go before his Sovereign. A pilgrimage of sorts. And after planning and making provision and traveling with determination to be in her presence, what did he do? He frightened a mouse under her chair.

A very worthwhile endeavor. Something that was actually easy for him to do. Something that needed to be done.  But, he got distracted from the original plan. His eyes were off the Queen and his visit with her. He forgot his main purpose for coming.

These couplets have a very important lesson and warning for us all. Especially for those who love the Jewish people and Israel. Those who know the Lord’s heart to support, pray for and bless them.

There are many worthwhile and necessary causes in this world. So many in need of comfort and help and support. At every turn there are those crying out for what we have to give. 

We are not to turn a deaf ear to their cries. We are to be the hands and heart and words of Y’shua to those around us. But there is a need to guard what the Lord has entrusted to us and not neglect it because of being distracted by the clamor of the world’s  need.

It is imperative that we not let the noise of the world keep us from hearing the voice of the Lord. For the tyranny of the urgent compel us to take on burdens that are not ours to carry.

Distraction means to divert or draw away. We can be so drawn away from our commitment to the Jewish people and Israel that we ‘forget’. Forget to intercede. Forget to share the Good News. Forget to support financially. Just plain forget that we are but a remnant within the Body of Christ.

And it can be very painful to have to weigh out our commitments. To get involved in some of those that are clamoring for our attention and not others. 

I’ll give an example: There was a young man who was living in a foreign country where the Bible is not available. There were many Believers living in that country in order to share the Good News with the citizens. The people’s need was great and they were hungry for the Truth. This young man had been sent there specifically to be with the Jewish community. His work was massive and he was pretty much alone in that field.  

When asked why he didn’t have Bible studies for the hungry neighbors and students around him his answer: "If I opened up for Bible study, I would be able to have 3-5 studies a day, seven days a week and it would be different groups all the time. I know how great the need is. But there are many here to do just that. Hundreds actually.  However, I am the only one here for the Jews."

He knew his purpose. As painful as it was to not have the Bible studies, if he did, there would be no one left for the Jewish people. He kept the course and trusted God to take care of the others. He did not allow distraction to sway him off his mission.

The Enemy knows God’s heart towards the Jewish people and Israel. He knows the importance of their redemption, restoration and return to the Land. He is well aware of the return of Y’shua and will try to thwart God’s plans.  He is the Master of Distraction, drawing us off course and diverting our energies. Of course the activities we would be engaged in can all be necessary, helpful and very righteous. But in the meantime…. What about the burden of Israel. Who will be picking up what we may lay down?

Proverbs 4:25-27 is our encouragement to live intentionally. Purposefully. And not be distracted by ‘the mouse under the chair’ so to speak.

"Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the left or the right…"

Listen. Know for certain your mission. Stay the course and resist distraction. 

Shalom!

Hadassah

Nissim & Hadassah

Jerusalem, Israel

Hadassah and Nissim, her accountant husband, live in a settlement just outside Jerusalem with their dog Molly. After making Aliyah (immigrating) from the U.S. with their five children in 1989, they are now semi-retired and open their home to guests and those wishing to make Aliyah. When not busy with their 16 'GrandWonders', they enjoy a quiet life of study, prayer and learning to serve the LORD.  #8 09.09.17

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V’ahavta וְאָהַבְתָּ ‘…And you shall love…’ - "Perfect Love Without Fear" - Hadassah from Jerusalem

V’ahavta  

וְאָהַבְתָּ    ‘…And you shall love…’ 

^{Perfect Love Without Fear} 

Hadassah from Jerusalem

"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear: because fear has torment." 1 John 4:17,18

These verses were in my ‘Daily Light on the Daily Path’ devotional for today. The well-known part of this passage is ‘…perfect love casts out fear’. But I am moved this morning by the full text and its implications.

John is telling us that our love, made perfect, full and complete; puts us in a position that we do not need to fear the day of judgement. The day is coming when Y’shua will separate the sheep from the goats. The fire will be ready to put our life’s works in and see what survives as gold. BUT there is assurance before Him- I AM HIS. Yes- I will have much of my life’s deeds go up in smoke. There will be much I will regret. But I, because of HIS great love and atoning sacrifice- may have boldness in that day. The confidence that rests not in works of righteousness that I have done- BUT by HIS mercy I stand. His manifest Grace. His unbounded Love.

I was confirmed in the Lutheran Church at age 13. My pastor - E.E. Bosserman - was a rather formidable man. A handsome, retired navy Chaplin, he carried himself a bit removed and rather regally. We loved and respected him and slightly feared him. We knew he loved us and his way of showing us was to make sure we knew our Catechism. He taught us well. He taught us Truth. I remember many of his Saturday morning confirmation lessons but the one from Revelation has always stuck with me.

He read to us:

"Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.  His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God."  Rev. 19:11-13

I was enthralled with this powerful, awesome and fierce image of my Savior. I was inexplicably attracted and drawn to Him. I understood that He was coming in Judgment but the words the Pastor read made my heart swell and I felt… peace… and love.

My best friend at the time almost fainted! She fell on the floor sobbing in fear. She became quite hysterical. Poor Pastor Bosserman was quite beside himself to know what to do. He immediately dismissed us and called her mother.

I absolutely could not understand her reaction. It was like we had seen two different things. I realize now, in one way we had. Even at that age, I was called to be His. The love of the LORD was being made perfect in me. His sweet draw on my young heart was undeniable. It would still be 5 more difficult years before I surrendered completely to Him, but I will always have engraved in my heart that moment when I knew His great love.

Judgement day- No I am not afraid. I do not approach it with any pride or arrogance. I will fall on my face when I see Him because He is mighty and awesome and a consuming fire. And that fire will consume anything in me that is not Him. I embrace that time and fervently await the King’s coming.

Shalom!

Hadassah

Aug. 30, 2017

Nissim & Hadassah

Jerusalem, Israel

Hadassah and Nissim, her accountant husband, live in a settlement just outside Jerusalem with their dog Molly. After making Aliyah (immigrating) from the U.S. with their five children in 1989, they are now semi-retired and open their home to guests and those wishing to make Aliyah. When not busy with their 16 'GrandWonders', they enjoy a quiet life of study, prayer and learning to serve the LORD.

#7  08.30.17

The Law of the Messiah - V'ahavta (...and you shall love...") - Hadassah from Jerusalem

Hadassah

Jerusalem, Israel

V’ahavta  

וְאָהַבְתָּ    ‘…And you shall love…’ 

The Law of the Messiah

Hadassah from Jerusalem, Israel

To know and to do God’s will. This seems to be the question on most true Believer’s hearts: LORD what is your will? God has made His will clear in the Word that He has given us- His commandments, His Laws. But especially through His Son Y’shua’s words and example did He reveal Himself and His heart towards us and His will.

With so many decrees and laws to know and follow we can get bogged down- overwhelmed. Even in His day, an observant Jewish man asked Y’shua which Law is the greatest. Recorded in three of the Gospels (Mt 22:37, Mk 12:30, Lk 10:27), Y’shua quotes to him from the well-known daily prayer the Sh’ma (Deut. 6:5): “And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

In Mark, Y’shua continues: "The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

The second commandment is actually the ‘how to’ live out the first commandment. How do we love God so completely- by loving the Family of Faith.

“If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” (I John 4:20)

And the LORD tells us that the world will know we are His- by our love for one another!

“A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so also you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.” 

(John 13:34,35)

In Galatians 6:2 we read a practical application: "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

 In this verse we see the specific fulfilling of the Law of Christ is done by bearing each other’s burdens. How do we show this love for one another in the Body of Messiah? Taking care of the widows and orphans, praying for those who are hurt and sick, sharing physical provision…. The list is endless.

When a Body member is going thru a major illness or crisis- one that seems to have no solution or end in sight- can we come to them in their suffering and walk with them? Can we listen without judgement and unasked-for advice? Will we ‘carry’ them on our shoulders in prayer? Are we able to lay down our lives for them in acts of loving kindness and service?

To bear one another’s burdens IS to FULFILL the Law of our Messiah. It is the maximum of His example when He came and ultimately carried our burden of sin and suffering.

It is not easy to consistently walk with someone who is suffering. To keep them encouraged. To hold them in your heart before the Throne. To not get weary in well-doing. We must remember- that we are yoked with the Messiah in this walk and He says that His burden is easy (Mt 11:30). 

Continually go to Him and ask for the Grace to endure WITH your Brother. To weep with your Sister. Being very realistic about your personal limitations- do not let those be and excuse to not be ‘present’. We each have a part we can play and with the Grace of Y’shua we can answer His passionate garden question:  ‘Will you not tarry with me one hour?’

We can choose to love one another and ‘tarry’ with one another and so fulfill the Law of our Messiah. 

Nissim & Hadassah

Jerusalem, Israel

 Hadassah and Nissim, her accountant husband, live in a settlement just outside Jerusalem with their dog Molly. After making Aliyah (immigrating) from the U.S. with their five children in 1989, they are now semi-retired and open their home to guests and those wishing to make Aliyah. When not busy with their 16 'GrandWonders', they enjoy a quiet life of study, prayer and learning to serve the LORD.

#6  08.24.31

Tisha B’Av and Hatred Without Cause - V'ahavta (...and you shall love...") Hadassah from Jerusalem

V’ahavta  

וְאָהַבְתָּ    ‘…And you shall love…’ 

V'ahavta (...and you shall love...")

Hadassah from Jerusalem

Tisha B’Av and Hatred Without Cause

Tisha B’Av is an annual fast day in Judaism which commemorates the anniversary of a number of disasters in Jewish history, primarily the destruction of both the First Temple by the Babylonians and the Second Temple by the Romans in Jerusalem. 

There is a long list of calamities over the course of Jewish history including the Crusades, expulsion from many countries, the start of WWI, approval for the ‘Final Solution’ and even the modern day expulsion from Gush Katif.

Baseless Hatred- Sinat Chinam- the sages say, is the reason for the destruction of the second Temple. Many stories are given about unjust treatment of each other even hateful acts done toward fellow Jews. These are given as examples of ‘baseless’ hatred and thereby the cause for the Shekinah departing from Jerusalem.

The long list of tragedies is horrific, and Tisha B’Av is considered the saddest day on the Jewish calendar, but I propose there was once a much more horrific day in our history. A time when the Sinat Chinam was so far out of control that it alone was the cause of the removal of the Temple. And it’s continuing practice resulting in continuing trauma.

King David wrote as a prophet these words, telling not only of his own suffering but of The One who would come: Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me. Psalm 69:4

Years later, the Messiah Y’shua would quote this scripture as He was the fulfillment of these very words: "If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: 'They hated me without reason’."  John 15:24,25

But He also knew that He was the embodiment of Isaiah 53, "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not." Isaiah 53:3

How broken-hearted he must have been- the sheep rejecting, despising their Shepherd. 

We read The Messiah’s Lament:

And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” Luke 19:41-44

The saddest day in Jewish history was not the destruction of the Temple- which Y’shua knew was coming. The saddest day was when we did not know the time of our visitation! We not only missed His ‘visitation’ we went further. Instead of embracing our Messiah we cried ‘Crucify Him!’ THAT was the saddest day in Jewish history.

What is the solution to this heart-breaking, baseless hatred of Y’shua that is continued to this day? Our people fast and pray and repent almost equally as on Yom Kippur. Repent of baseless hatred. Make vows to ‘do better’ in mitzvot and ahavat Yisrael  (good works and love of fellow Jews). But is that enough?

Y’shua himself gave the answer to the undoing of this grievous sin:

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! ³⁸ See, your house is left to you desolate. ³⁹ For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” Matt 23 37-39

And what will cause our people to cry out in such a surrendered manner? Certainly not man-made righteousness.

"And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son." Zechariah 12:10

Only when this happens will we cry out  ברוך הבא בשם יהוה

Baruch Haba b’Shem Adonai.

May it be in our day to see this come to pass. 

עד כמה פעמים חפצי לקבץ, לקבץאת בניך כאשר תקבץ תרנגולת את אפרוחיה תחת כנפיה ירושלים, ירושלים

Editor's Note: Tisha B'Av in 2017 begins at sundown July 31 and ends at sunset Aug. 1.

Nissim & Hadassah

Jerusalem, Israel

 Hadassah and Nissim, her accountant husband, live in a settlement just outside Jerusalem with their dog Molly. After making Aliyah (immigrating) from the U.S. with their five children in 1989, they are now semi-retired and open their home to guests and those wishing to make Aliyah. When not busy with their 16 'GrandWonders', they enjoy a quiet life of study, prayer and learning to serve the LORD.

07.17.31 #5

V'ahavta (...and you shall love...") Hadassah from Jerusalem - “Just Say Yes”

V’ahavta  

וְאָהַבְתָּ    ‘…And you shall love…’ 

V'ahavta (...and you shall love...")

Hadassah from Jerusalem

“Just Say Yes”

“Now the LORD had said to Abram, ‘Get out of your country, from your family… to a land that I will show you…’ So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him.” Genesis 12:1,4

God said. Abram obeyed. He left everything- home, family, friends, country, all that was familiar. He was going… only God knew where. Abram trusted, completely. He said, ‘Yes’ by his obedience.

One night in 1979, God spoke to my husband and told him to take his family to Israel. To live. At the time, we had no idea why we would go to Israel. We weren’t missionaries. We knew nothing about Israel other than what was in the Bible and the news. We had no friends there. And we hadn’t a clue about Jewish immigration - Aliyah as it's called. We hadn’t even heard the word before!!

Clueless would adequately describe us at the time. 

The only thing we knew for certain - God said “Go”. We said, “Yes”.

With our hearts looking towards the Land, we spent the next 10 years learning and getting prepared. Finally, in 1989, we took our five children and followed the Lord to Israel. It wasn’t a Garden of Eden. There were probably more tough times than good ones. LOTS of ‘giants’ in the Land and, as we learned, in our hearts also. We were tested and tried and stretched. And…. we learned.

We learned who Y’shua really is and what a relationship with Him is like. We, on the battleground, became more experienced in spiritual warfare. We practiced loving when we weren’t loved. We experienced the Presence of God.

Through all of that there never was a time that we regretted our decision. We have now lived here for a combination of 18 years.

Haifa Bay - photo by Hadassah 

This week I was blessed to travel the Land for five days. From Caesarea, to Haifa Bay, to the Sea of Galilee, and Capernaum.  Down to the Dead Sea and then on to Mitzpa Ramon, a crater near Egypt. What a wonderfully blessed place this is.

While I was watching the sun come up from the crater and worshipping, I was overcome with gratitude. I cried out to God, “Why have we been allowed to live here?”

And just as at times before when we have asked this question, the answer was the same - because you said “Yes!”

Mitzpa Ramon, a crater near Egypt

Those who follow Y’shua have many times when He says to us, "Leave all that is familiar. Move into My will. Receive My promise, My task, My desire."

It is always so easy to start weighing out the pros & cons of obeying. But like Abram, God is wanting our unqualified yes!

In relation to Israel (which is what these messages are about), what is He asking of you?

Using the Word as your insight to His will and plan, where is your part?

What about sharing the Gospel with Jewish people who do not know their Messiah as yet? 

(Romans 1:16, 10:1)

To pray for the peace of Jerusalem? (Psalm 122:6)

To be a watchman on the wall? (Isaiah 62:6)

To comfort His people? (Isaiah 40:1)

If you are truly Jewish, to make Aliyah? (Isaiah 43:5,6; Jeremiah 29:11-14)

If you are Gentile - to help facilitate the Aliyah? (Isaiah 49:22)

Has He made His desire known?  He has a place for you in what He is doing these days in Israel.   

I would encourage you, like Abram, to say, ‘Yes’.

With our love from Israel,

Hadassah

Nissim & Hadassah

Jerusalem, Israel

June 2017

Hadassah and Nissim, her accountant husband, live in a settlement just outside Jerusalem with their dog Molly. After making Aliyah (immigrating) from the U.S. with their five children in 1989, they are now semi-retired and open their home to guests and those wishing to make Aliyah. When not busy with their 16 'GrandWonders', they enjoy a quiet life of study, prayer and learning to serve the LORD.

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06.21.17  #3