Israel is calling me. Whether I'm looking for it or not, it's right there. However obscure, or unrelated...it's right there. I was watching "The Big Chill" (1983). In this movie, Glen Close is Sarah, and Kevin Kline plays her husband Harold. This reminded me: was Ruth Gordon a Holocaust survivor? You know, Ruth Gordon from "Harold and Maude"? (1971). Anyway, in Harold and Maude, there's a quick shot where Maude's sleeve is rolled up to reveal a stamped number on her arm.
The first time I noticed this number, I gasped: "Is that real??". A couple days ago, I was thinking I ought to look that up. So tonight, Kevin Kline playing Harold reminded me. I found an article written when Ruth Gordon died at the age of 88. As I read, I noticed that the first quote by a fellow actor who worked with Gordon...was from none other then Glen Close! I gasped a little, and giggled. Then I glanced at my TV screen: "There she is," I said. Apparently, Close was in a movie with Gordon called "Maxie," which, at the time of Gordon's death had yet to be released. The article, said nothing about Gordon having anything to do with the Holocaust. If this had been true for her, it absolutely would've been mentioned in a piece giving a recap of the life of such a social activist. Being that Gordon's last names was actually Jones, it was unlikely that she might've been involved in the Holocaust (at least, I thought so). However, one never knows...it's not impossible.
I came to the conclusion that the character Maude must've been a Holocaust survivor. So I found another article on the film "Harold and Maude.". This article, mentioned many hidden gems in the now famous cult classic. The author mentioned that this movie was the first place she'd ever heard the music of Cat Stevens. The article, BTW, is called "For the Love of Harold and Maude". Anyway, getting back to Cat Stevens, the author mentioned that she was constantly seeing his name everywhere, and he was all over the news (at the time). In her list of newsworthy events in Stevens life, was...(drumroll)...his deportation from Israel! I did not know that Cat Stevens had BEEN deported from Israel! (What can I say, I could not have cared less that he changed his name and converted to Islam, and all that). It was YEARS ago, and at the time it actually took place, I was a tiny baby! Wow. I'd gone on this little "detour" to take a little break from my various Israel Facebook pages, stories of the latest rockets fired, and never ending posts about this bad deal with Iran...yikes! I wanted some way to be steered away from all of that.
So, in a seemingly unrelated topic...there it is again! Israel, looking right at me! I don't care how obscure it is, or how (not) a big deal this seems. Israel, right now, is like the identical digits I keep seeing on clocks...always appearing in my life when I'm not looking for it. Wow. I LOVE this!! :)). Something (someone) bigger than myself is guiding me, saying "I'm paying attention.". Gee, what IS this crazy faith, anyway? BTW, Maude was the Holocaust survivor, and her stamped number let's us know that briefly without an in your face, "The Sorrow and the Pitty" sort of exposure. This leads me to believe that was certainly not real.
Thursday, July 16, 2015
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
One For Israel... (Keep it Going)
In Israel, there is an outreach ministry called "One For Israel". This is a messianic ministry that helps give aid to Holocaust survivors, and helps to share the message of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ...not only with the people of Israel, but folks all over, through various websites, all in Hebrew.
One for Israel also films the testimonies of Jewish folks who have come to know Yeshua as their savior (in both English and Hebrew, with subtitles). These testimonies are posted on Facebook, and also used as promos on You Tube. These videos are a powerful tool that helps to carry the message of Christ to many. Now, the ministry is facing opposition, because certain folks are attempting to raise money, and (it is my understanding), find legal grounds to have these recorded testimonies removed (from both Facebook and YouTube). These videos are a very important outreach tool, both for Jewish folks who are curious about salvation, and those who are not Jewish, but want to know more about Judaism and the Jewish faith. This is a call to prayer: May those opposed to the message of "One for Israel" be won over by it themselves.
The facilities of "One For Israel" ministry are in Israel College of the Bible, which is in central Israel, in the city of Netanya. According to their website, they are the only Hebrew speaking Bible college in Israel, and also the world. The college has a media center which includes a messianic radio station called "Agape FM". The school was established in 1990, and I personally came to know more about them earlier this year, through YouTube. I did an online sarch to see if there even is a Bible College in Israel, and was lead to Israel College of the Bible, who had just completed their brand new campus in Netanya. I am now a regular listener to "Agape FM" online, I follow the ministry and the college on Facebook, and through this social media interaction, I've come to thoroughly enjoy their ministry tools, and sweet love for Yeshua.
God is so good. The fact that I "stumbled on" this Bible college seems to have now become yet another puzzle piece in my journey of faith. In my case, I love these ministry tools, because I desire to know more about Judaism, and I am just tickled pink that the message of Yeshua is reaching Israel and the Jewish people. Again, please pray with me, that these testimonies of faith will be allowed to remain on YouTube and social media sites. I also encourage everyone to visit Facebook and "Like" "Israel College of the Bible," "One for Israel," "Agape FM" and also the page "Prayer Warriors for Israel.". Thank you to the staff of Israel College of the Bible, and everyone involved with "One for Israel" ministry.
PS... please share! :))
http://www.oneforisrael.org/
One for Israel also films the testimonies of Jewish folks who have come to know Yeshua as their savior (in both English and Hebrew, with subtitles). These testimonies are posted on Facebook, and also used as promos on You Tube. These videos are a powerful tool that helps to carry the message of Christ to many. Now, the ministry is facing opposition, because certain folks are attempting to raise money, and (it is my understanding), find legal grounds to have these recorded testimonies removed (from both Facebook and YouTube). These videos are a very important outreach tool, both for Jewish folks who are curious about salvation, and those who are not Jewish, but want to know more about Judaism and the Jewish faith. This is a call to prayer: May those opposed to the message of "One for Israel" be won over by it themselves.
The facilities of "One For Israel" ministry are in Israel College of the Bible, which is in central Israel, in the city of Netanya. According to their website, they are the only Hebrew speaking Bible college in Israel, and also the world. The college has a media center which includes a messianic radio station called "Agape FM". The school was established in 1990, and I personally came to know more about them earlier this year, through YouTube. I did an online sarch to see if there even is a Bible College in Israel, and was lead to Israel College of the Bible, who had just completed their brand new campus in Netanya. I am now a regular listener to "Agape FM" online, I follow the ministry and the college on Facebook, and through this social media interaction, I've come to thoroughly enjoy their ministry tools, and sweet love for Yeshua.
God is so good. The fact that I "stumbled on" this Bible college seems to have now become yet another puzzle piece in my journey of faith. In my case, I love these ministry tools, because I desire to know more about Judaism, and I am just tickled pink that the message of Yeshua is reaching Israel and the Jewish people. Again, please pray with me, that these testimonies of faith will be allowed to remain on YouTube and social media sites. I also encourage everyone to visit Facebook and "Like" "Israel College of the Bible," "One for Israel," "Agape FM" and also the page "Prayer Warriors for Israel.". Thank you to the staff of Israel College of the Bible, and everyone involved with "One for Israel" ministry.
PS... please share! :))
http://www.oneforisrael.org/
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Magic
Was listening to a radio program this morning called "The Times of Israel" where the host of the show was talking about the Blood Moon craze and he very flatly said there was no Biblical basis for it, while seeming to give examples of scripture indicating that there WAS basis for it. Okay, now, I've decided I'm not going to give scriptural examples here, because, believe it or not...I don't wish to start a theological debate. That's not the purpose of this entry.
The theme of this blog, is of course me discovering Hebreic roots...the Hebreic roots of Yeshua, which believers in Him should have as common ground, whether they are Hebrew by their biological blood, or they've been grafted into the olive tree by Yeshua's shed blood. I've come to believe that while we cannot know the day or the hour that Yeshua will come to take his bride home, we CAN know the season in which this particular event will occur...as foreshadowed by all sorts of other events leading up to it...for example, wars and rumors of wars. Two pastors come to mind, relating to Blood moons; one was mentioned this morning, and the other I was led to find online. Pastor John Hagee, and Pastor Mark Biltz.
It is my personal belief that when someone reads the scriptures for all they're worth, they are often led to investigate certain things that are between the lines in Scripture, but maybe not specifically stated. For example, in the Jewish culture, the new day actually begins at sundown and is half way through at sun up (or so I've heard). To my knowledge, there is not a specific Bible verse that says this...it's a part of Hebrew culture that is either learned through practice or known about from some other source. In the Bible, "feast days" are divine appointments with God. I am sure there always was eating involved as well, but more importantly, they were..."stop and reflect" times with God. Remember Me. Celebrate Me. Spend the day in Self examination. In biblical days the times of the year were determined by the seasons, which were determined by the sun and the moon. The calendar, was simply not divided into weeks and months, and years, with Sunday being the first day of the week. Now, today, the widely accepted view is that Monday is the first day of the week, and Sunday is the last...at least, this is what I thought as a kid :) (This is why those two days are called a week (end), right?
Anyway, my point is, our calendar is much different today than it was in Jesus's time. Holidays, or "holy" days, were also quite different in Jesus's day, in the Hebrew culture. These occasions were not celebrated on the same day each year (as they usually are in our culture) because the cycle of the moon marked their timing each year. This "revolving" change signified when to plant and harvest and plant again. I'm going to exclude the men here for a moment, because, another example is a woman's menstrual cycle...every 28 days, yes? But because not all of our months have the same number of days anyway, the time of the cycle is never exactly the same. I suppose this is a bit ironic because now I'm going back to the idea of blood moons. Just how long IS a year on a Jewish calendar? I don't know, but in any case, it does not equal 365 days, as our years of 52 weeks.
So, being that God created the sun and moon to signify seasons, somehow, I doubt that he has ever followed the same calendar that we do. That being said, why could there (or should there) NOT be blood moons that have "signified" or "marked" certain events in history...as pertaining to God's people? For example, the radio host pointed out John Hagee's observation that there was a blood moon very very near the time Israel became a state in 1948. I say "very very near" because the radio host felt it necessary to point out that the supposed blood moon did not occur right in 1948 when Israel actually became a state. My response would be, "And?...your point is what?". The Father is not obligated to align his time table directly with ours. The fact that there was a blood moon at all is an incredible thing, don't ya think??
I've heard rabbi Mark Biltz teach a lot on blood moons, and when he does, he's able to go backwards, through history and point out approximately when blood moons have occurred (according to the Hebrew calendar), show how these have correlated with certain events. He goes back through the past, comes up to the present and then puts the past and present together to show a "completed circle" of events and the blood moons that seemed to "mark" or signify their coming. A person seeing a blood moon once in life, let's say, probably would be a memorable thing, I don't know. But to try to get a bigger picture, documenting when many have happened, and looking at events surrounding them...just might not be a coincidence.
We are in a love relationship with our creator, and he is making it no mystery that he wants to "woo" us to himself. The scripture tells the beautiful story of the lost coin. A bride, preparing for her wedding loses one of the coins that are sewn into, or attached to her veil. These coins that adorn her are quite valuable, so she shines a light, and sweeps the house searching for it...till she finds it. In the same way, I think Yeshua "sweeps" the earth, searching for the missing "treasures" that are that remnant of the bride he is soon coming to collect. Perhaps blood moons simply represent the "cycles" of preparation leading up to the "coming" of our bridegroom and the wedding feast. We are in a continual "dance" with our Heavenly Father, a divine romance that is cultivated through a love relationship while our savior "keeps time" until the day he can come and get us to be with him. Perhaps blood moons are just one "light" the savior shines to let us know that he's "looking" for us. This is beautiful, and romantic and wonderful, is it not?.
I truly believe that God (Elohim) wants us to continually pursue him with wonderment. He wants us to be "tickled pink" by him as he is by us. The Biblical tales of the Old Covenant, paint a rich picture of the redemption Yeshua made possible with the new covenant. It is amazing to be able to embrace tradition with a childlike faith and let it open our eyes to the fact that God has made us participants in his plans. We are the apple of his eye, we are holy spirit sealed. This takes simple belief that comes from exploring who God is through his word. So, even if there have never been "blood moons" that have shone in a charcoal sky signifying certain events, this idea can sorta...make us believe in magic again, and help us return (Teshuvah) to our creator, if we may have become estranged from him. This, to me, is worth far more than arguing that the dates of the blood moons through history do not add up, or wondering why there apparently, was not one during the Holocaust, for example, or dismissing the phenomenon completely because the moons that shone, did not appear directly WHEN these milestones took place...translation: It took a while. Perhaps this is because God was creating a little "suspense" so we'd keep watching. "Remember me," he says. "Celebrate me."
All of this, helps me to embrace my savior, and rest in his love, rather than forcing myself to understand that I am a mindless speck, who is not allowed to. Am I just one who is waiting to have her "ears tickled"? In this case, if it works, why not? I'd rather hear a story about God sending "signs" to say that something important is happening...than argumentative reasons as to why it just isn't possible. We are being numbed to death with what we should NOT believe or think...and we have it shoved down our throats that there is absolutely NOTHING we can do for God because he paid all. So, where does this leave me? This leaves me in the "desert" of the world, sifting through sand in search of water while I keep telling people "Jesus saves.". Once again...Hebrew roots to the rescue! The stories and traditions and celebrations and feast days provide the evidence of a faith worth dying for, when a Christian cannot take their heart out and put it on the table so others can tell that it's a "saved" heart. By themselves, these things do not provide salvation to anyone... and this seems to be the preverbal "Chokehold" we keep Jewish folks in, feeling that we must show them their "error"... while THEY have all the evidence.
What I'm finding out is that most Christians have no "roots" planted showing where our faith originated from. We literally think they are not necessary. Christ paid it all on the cross, and this is all we believe to be important. We believe that ultimately our deeds do not affect us, because our eternal security only rests on one thing. We have no knowledge of the brutal treatment Jews have faced throughout history, in the name of people who said they were Christians. Were these people telling the truth? I want to say: of course not!! But we need to consider that the contemporary Evangelical "Christian" message of salvation takes thousands of years of history and seems to say that it's nothing but legalism. We seem to "throw out" over half a Bible that we say we live by, and believe...while we expect others to believe in Jesus. How is anyone supposed to do that, when we've discredited all the evidence? Not only that... this Old covenant "legalism"... and belief that no Jewish tradition or feast day is necessary to Christianity, creates an insulting sort of anti-Semitism, that we believe Jewish folks need to accept, because it is simply the "correct view.". Isn't this basically a "repeat" of what the Jewish people have endured all through history?
No thank you. Not interested. I will never deny Jesus...but in order to make this true, I must not deny his story either. Anyway...isn't that what "history" is?...the stories of those who've come before us? So many seem to love to talk about what Jesus (Yeshua) died for...but they treat the way he lived, as though it were irrelevant. For the time being, I've not witnessed to anyone in a while. This is because I know I need the witness of others more experienced than I am. I think it's better for me to ask the Father's forgiveness, because, I've known not what I've been doing. I then want to sit and listen to the tradition of lifting a bride's veil to confirm her identity...because of the story of Jacob, who worked seven years for Rachael only to find out he'd been tricked into marrying her older sister instead. I'd like to listen to the story of what blood moons are...because the sun and moon were the original clocks people lived by. This is magic (or at least if feels like it) because the reasons this is real are bigger than I am. Maybe magic is not for unreal things...maybe it's for real things that seem to have surreal causes or origins. When we trust, when we believe...when we become as little children so we can grow up...maybe this is when reality begins to happen.
The theme of this blog, is of course me discovering Hebreic roots...the Hebreic roots of Yeshua, which believers in Him should have as common ground, whether they are Hebrew by their biological blood, or they've been grafted into the olive tree by Yeshua's shed blood. I've come to believe that while we cannot know the day or the hour that Yeshua will come to take his bride home, we CAN know the season in which this particular event will occur...as foreshadowed by all sorts of other events leading up to it...for example, wars and rumors of wars. Two pastors come to mind, relating to Blood moons; one was mentioned this morning, and the other I was led to find online. Pastor John Hagee, and Pastor Mark Biltz.
It is my personal belief that when someone reads the scriptures for all they're worth, they are often led to investigate certain things that are between the lines in Scripture, but maybe not specifically stated. For example, in the Jewish culture, the new day actually begins at sundown and is half way through at sun up (or so I've heard). To my knowledge, there is not a specific Bible verse that says this...it's a part of Hebrew culture that is either learned through practice or known about from some other source. In the Bible, "feast days" are divine appointments with God. I am sure there always was eating involved as well, but more importantly, they were..."stop and reflect" times with God. Remember Me. Celebrate Me. Spend the day in Self examination. In biblical days the times of the year were determined by the seasons, which were determined by the sun and the moon. The calendar, was simply not divided into weeks and months, and years, with Sunday being the first day of the week. Now, today, the widely accepted view is that Monday is the first day of the week, and Sunday is the last...at least, this is what I thought as a kid :) (This is why those two days are called a week (end), right?
Anyway, my point is, our calendar is much different today than it was in Jesus's time. Holidays, or "holy" days, were also quite different in Jesus's day, in the Hebrew culture. These occasions were not celebrated on the same day each year (as they usually are in our culture) because the cycle of the moon marked their timing each year. This "revolving" change signified when to plant and harvest and plant again. I'm going to exclude the men here for a moment, because, another example is a woman's menstrual cycle...every 28 days, yes? But because not all of our months have the same number of days anyway, the time of the cycle is never exactly the same. I suppose this is a bit ironic because now I'm going back to the idea of blood moons. Just how long IS a year on a Jewish calendar? I don't know, but in any case, it does not equal 365 days, as our years of 52 weeks.
So, being that God created the sun and moon to signify seasons, somehow, I doubt that he has ever followed the same calendar that we do. That being said, why could there (or should there) NOT be blood moons that have "signified" or "marked" certain events in history...as pertaining to God's people? For example, the radio host pointed out John Hagee's observation that there was a blood moon very very near the time Israel became a state in 1948. I say "very very near" because the radio host felt it necessary to point out that the supposed blood moon did not occur right in 1948 when Israel actually became a state. My response would be, "And?...your point is what?". The Father is not obligated to align his time table directly with ours. The fact that there was a blood moon at all is an incredible thing, don't ya think??
I've heard rabbi Mark Biltz teach a lot on blood moons, and when he does, he's able to go backwards, through history and point out approximately when blood moons have occurred (according to the Hebrew calendar), show how these have correlated with certain events. He goes back through the past, comes up to the present and then puts the past and present together to show a "completed circle" of events and the blood moons that seemed to "mark" or signify their coming. A person seeing a blood moon once in life, let's say, probably would be a memorable thing, I don't know. But to try to get a bigger picture, documenting when many have happened, and looking at events surrounding them...just might not be a coincidence.
We are in a love relationship with our creator, and he is making it no mystery that he wants to "woo" us to himself. The scripture tells the beautiful story of the lost coin. A bride, preparing for her wedding loses one of the coins that are sewn into, or attached to her veil. These coins that adorn her are quite valuable, so she shines a light, and sweeps the house searching for it...till she finds it. In the same way, I think Yeshua "sweeps" the earth, searching for the missing "treasures" that are that remnant of the bride he is soon coming to collect. Perhaps blood moons simply represent the "cycles" of preparation leading up to the "coming" of our bridegroom and the wedding feast. We are in a continual "dance" with our Heavenly Father, a divine romance that is cultivated through a love relationship while our savior "keeps time" until the day he can come and get us to be with him. Perhaps blood moons are just one "light" the savior shines to let us know that he's "looking" for us. This is beautiful, and romantic and wonderful, is it not?.
I truly believe that God (Elohim) wants us to continually pursue him with wonderment. He wants us to be "tickled pink" by him as he is by us. The Biblical tales of the Old Covenant, paint a rich picture of the redemption Yeshua made possible with the new covenant. It is amazing to be able to embrace tradition with a childlike faith and let it open our eyes to the fact that God has made us participants in his plans. We are the apple of his eye, we are holy spirit sealed. This takes simple belief that comes from exploring who God is through his word. So, even if there have never been "blood moons" that have shone in a charcoal sky signifying certain events, this idea can sorta...make us believe in magic again, and help us return (Teshuvah) to our creator, if we may have become estranged from him. This, to me, is worth far more than arguing that the dates of the blood moons through history do not add up, or wondering why there apparently, was not one during the Holocaust, for example, or dismissing the phenomenon completely because the moons that shone, did not appear directly WHEN these milestones took place...translation: It took a while. Perhaps this is because God was creating a little "suspense" so we'd keep watching. "Remember me," he says. "Celebrate me."
All of this, helps me to embrace my savior, and rest in his love, rather than forcing myself to understand that I am a mindless speck, who is not allowed to. Am I just one who is waiting to have her "ears tickled"? In this case, if it works, why not? I'd rather hear a story about God sending "signs" to say that something important is happening...than argumentative reasons as to why it just isn't possible. We are being numbed to death with what we should NOT believe or think...and we have it shoved down our throats that there is absolutely NOTHING we can do for God because he paid all. So, where does this leave me? This leaves me in the "desert" of the world, sifting through sand in search of water while I keep telling people "Jesus saves.". Once again...Hebrew roots to the rescue! The stories and traditions and celebrations and feast days provide the evidence of a faith worth dying for, when a Christian cannot take their heart out and put it on the table so others can tell that it's a "saved" heart. By themselves, these things do not provide salvation to anyone... and this seems to be the preverbal "Chokehold" we keep Jewish folks in, feeling that we must show them their "error"... while THEY have all the evidence.
What I'm finding out is that most Christians have no "roots" planted showing where our faith originated from. We literally think they are not necessary. Christ paid it all on the cross, and this is all we believe to be important. We believe that ultimately our deeds do not affect us, because our eternal security only rests on one thing. We have no knowledge of the brutal treatment Jews have faced throughout history, in the name of people who said they were Christians. Were these people telling the truth? I want to say: of course not!! But we need to consider that the contemporary Evangelical "Christian" message of salvation takes thousands of years of history and seems to say that it's nothing but legalism. We seem to "throw out" over half a Bible that we say we live by, and believe...while we expect others to believe in Jesus. How is anyone supposed to do that, when we've discredited all the evidence? Not only that... this Old covenant "legalism"... and belief that no Jewish tradition or feast day is necessary to Christianity, creates an insulting sort of anti-Semitism, that we believe Jewish folks need to accept, because it is simply the "correct view.". Isn't this basically a "repeat" of what the Jewish people have endured all through history?
No thank you. Not interested. I will never deny Jesus...but in order to make this true, I must not deny his story either. Anyway...isn't that what "history" is?...the stories of those who've come before us? So many seem to love to talk about what Jesus (Yeshua) died for...but they treat the way he lived, as though it were irrelevant. For the time being, I've not witnessed to anyone in a while. This is because I know I need the witness of others more experienced than I am. I think it's better for me to ask the Father's forgiveness, because, I've known not what I've been doing. I then want to sit and listen to the tradition of lifting a bride's veil to confirm her identity...because of the story of Jacob, who worked seven years for Rachael only to find out he'd been tricked into marrying her older sister instead. I'd like to listen to the story of what blood moons are...because the sun and moon were the original clocks people lived by. This is magic (or at least if feels like it) because the reasons this is real are bigger than I am. Maybe magic is not for unreal things...maybe it's for real things that seem to have surreal causes or origins. When we trust, when we believe...when we become as little children so we can grow up...maybe this is when reality begins to happen.
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Just your Average Joe?
I follow a lot of Israel pages on Facebook, so I see a lot of posts and news stories about celebrities going to Israel and all the fanfare they receive. Just yesterday, I saw a story about Michael Douglass and his family arriving there. Apparently, Jon Bon Jovi now has a concert scheduled there for October. I remember when Madonna said that she "considers" herself Jewish...that was also newsworthy, apparently. When Kim Kardashian and Kanye got there, of course, it was the same scenario. Even the latest Duggar baby...wonderfully named Israel, was EVERYWHERE. Every Israel page I follow seemed to post about that little guy continuously for a week (at least) :)
Congratulations to them on a healthy baby boy, and love to Israel!! Hey, why not? I get that. But lets get back to Michael Douglass for a minute. From what I understand, his family is now in Israel for his son's Bar Mitzvah. This is WONDERFUL!! Amazing! Mazel Tov! Now, if I recall correctly, an article came out about a month ago in which Michael Douglass said that he is Jewish, but he had never really celebrated his Jewish roots or heritage. Douglass said that he now wanted to change this...and he wanted his children to also know their Jewish roots. So, very soon after that, another story came out, saying that Douglass's son was given a bad time (bullied) for wearing a star of David. This story also went all over social media and, understandably, gleaned a lot of support. Now, the Douglass family is celebrating his son's Bar Mitzvah in Israel, and apparently, Michael Douglass has sustained an injury (at the Bar Mitzvah). So this...is also newsworthy...I guess.
Okay, it's not hard, I would think, for famous individuals who can afford what they like to do things like visit Israel. I would imagine that this gives them A LOT of exposure that sometimes, even THEY would rather not have Like MJ said in the song..."Just leave me alone." Right? Anyway, this is ISRAEL. This is The Holy Land; this is the Promised Land, this is THE place where so many Biblical things happened. This is where Jesus Christ, Yeshua Hamashiach walked and talked and performed his miracles. (!!!). People all over the globe...myself included, dream about making it someday to this tiny country. In my case, my desire to go, has flourished pretty recently. But many people have wished and hoped and dreamt and prayed about getting to Israel for decades. I'm sure, the reasons for this vary greatly... but no doubt, many times it's a financial issue. Many of us simply can't afford it. So is the case with me, and many others. My own mom used to describe Israel tours, and how much they cost to people everyday because that was her job. But she was behind a desk everyday, with a headset on. Anyway, she never actually WENT..and so I've not been either.
To anyone fortunate enough to have gone on one or many Israel tours, congratulations to you...how amazing! To anyone who wants to get to Israel so bad they can (almost) taste it...I so empathize with you. My mom used to describe to me that the water in the Dead Sea is so dense, people can just sit on top. She used to tell me how sometimes she would get calls from people asking if she had been to Israel herself, and what could she tell them about it? (??). How different it must be when you've been to a place and seen it firsthand...especially Israel!! :) But whatever the particular reason for wanting to go, I'm sure many of us have our heartstrings tugged, if we read or hear of a story where another celebrity has arrived there, and they receive all the notoriety that comes with it. Anyway, because my mom's job was telling folks how wonderful and amazing Israel is, I learned quickly not to soak up all of the negative news reports that are EVERYWHERE surrounding this tiny little paradise. Mom would often get calls from people concerned about whether it was safe to visit. The only special instruction given was that everyone just stay with the tour...which of course is just par for the course, no matter where one travels.
I think if I had one wish (one wish of many) but one wish, I would set up a fund for everyday people (more specifically, low income people) who would like to go to Israel, but can't afford it. Not a college scholarship, and not a Kickstarter Campaign. I have no idea right now what the criteria would be: Would there be special incentives for someone who was born in Israel and want's to go visit, for example? What about a college student? No idea, so I should think about this more. I'm just thinking about all the average folks out there who love Israel, and want to go see it...no fanfare, no publicity, no celebrity welcome. Just someone who gets to stare at the Sea Of Galilee and feel as though they hear angels singing... (HALLLL-lelujah). Wow!! I would love to this myself...but would also love to help someone else find their dream. PS...an absolute must, would be spending money, because things are expensive in Israel, so this would be included in the total amount. Yes...I think that would be great! I would also encourage each person granted the fund to keep a travel blog while there...and if you see any famous faces while visiting the Holy Land...let me know! :))
Congratulations to them on a healthy baby boy, and love to Israel!! Hey, why not? I get that. But lets get back to Michael Douglass for a minute. From what I understand, his family is now in Israel for his son's Bar Mitzvah. This is WONDERFUL!! Amazing! Mazel Tov! Now, if I recall correctly, an article came out about a month ago in which Michael Douglass said that he is Jewish, but he had never really celebrated his Jewish roots or heritage. Douglass said that he now wanted to change this...and he wanted his children to also know their Jewish roots. So, very soon after that, another story came out, saying that Douglass's son was given a bad time (bullied) for wearing a star of David. This story also went all over social media and, understandably, gleaned a lot of support. Now, the Douglass family is celebrating his son's Bar Mitzvah in Israel, and apparently, Michael Douglass has sustained an injury (at the Bar Mitzvah). So this...is also newsworthy...I guess.
Okay, it's not hard, I would think, for famous individuals who can afford what they like to do things like visit Israel. I would imagine that this gives them A LOT of exposure that sometimes, even THEY would rather not have Like MJ said in the song..."Just leave me alone." Right? Anyway, this is ISRAEL. This is The Holy Land; this is the Promised Land, this is THE place where so many Biblical things happened. This is where Jesus Christ, Yeshua Hamashiach walked and talked and performed his miracles. (!!!). People all over the globe...myself included, dream about making it someday to this tiny country. In my case, my desire to go, has flourished pretty recently. But many people have wished and hoped and dreamt and prayed about getting to Israel for decades. I'm sure, the reasons for this vary greatly... but no doubt, many times it's a financial issue. Many of us simply can't afford it. So is the case with me, and many others. My own mom used to describe Israel tours, and how much they cost to people everyday because that was her job. But she was behind a desk everyday, with a headset on. Anyway, she never actually WENT..and so I've not been either.
To anyone fortunate enough to have gone on one or many Israel tours, congratulations to you...how amazing! To anyone who wants to get to Israel so bad they can (almost) taste it...I so empathize with you. My mom used to describe to me that the water in the Dead Sea is so dense, people can just sit on top. She used to tell me how sometimes she would get calls from people asking if she had been to Israel herself, and what could she tell them about it? (??). How different it must be when you've been to a place and seen it firsthand...especially Israel!! :) But whatever the particular reason for wanting to go, I'm sure many of us have our heartstrings tugged, if we read or hear of a story where another celebrity has arrived there, and they receive all the notoriety that comes with it. Anyway, because my mom's job was telling folks how wonderful and amazing Israel is, I learned quickly not to soak up all of the negative news reports that are EVERYWHERE surrounding this tiny little paradise. Mom would often get calls from people concerned about whether it was safe to visit. The only special instruction given was that everyone just stay with the tour...which of course is just par for the course, no matter where one travels.
I think if I had one wish (one wish of many) but one wish, I would set up a fund for everyday people (more specifically, low income people) who would like to go to Israel, but can't afford it. Not a college scholarship, and not a Kickstarter Campaign. I have no idea right now what the criteria would be: Would there be special incentives for someone who was born in Israel and want's to go visit, for example? What about a college student? No idea, so I should think about this more. I'm just thinking about all the average folks out there who love Israel, and want to go see it...no fanfare, no publicity, no celebrity welcome. Just someone who gets to stare at the Sea Of Galilee and feel as though they hear angels singing... (HALLLL-lelujah). Wow!! I would love to this myself...but would also love to help someone else find their dream. PS...an absolute must, would be spending money, because things are expensive in Israel, so this would be included in the total amount. Yes...I think that would be great! I would also encourage each person granted the fund to keep a travel blog while there...and if you see any famous faces while visiting the Holy Land...let me know! :))
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Israel's Memorial Day (Thank you for your Example)
Listening to "Voice of Israel" online. Today is Memorial day in Israel. Yom Hazikaron. Never have I seen anything like the sirens sounding in Israel, and seeing everyone...stop. I mean, cars come to a stop on the freeway. People walking in public places stop and bow their heads. If people are out eating, they will put down their utensils and stop talking. And all of this...is only from me watching it on FB. I am now listening to the stories of family members of victims online...A special broadcast of Voice of Israel, dedicated to those who gave their lives.
So, on MEMORIAL DAY in Israel, everybody stops and...remembers. Wow. This is what this day is for, correct? So, the entire occasion is taken quite seriously by, the whole country. This fills me with a somber humility, that I have been pretty unaccustomed to. I think this is sad. I think it's sad that Americans (as a whole) are not sad on our Memorial Day. I'm not saying that no one here feels anything on our Memorial Day...but in honesty, that's what it feels like. Our country is huge, and I think the very fact that we are divided into states might suggest the walls we put up signifying our general "personal space" mentality.
What do typical Americans do on Memorial Day Weekend? In my experience, we rejoice over the fact that WE have a long weekend and a shorter work week. We plan picnics and barbecues, and trips to the lake...trips out of town because we'll have an extra day to have fun. We are encouraged through TV commercials to do a lot of extra shopping because stores have Memorial Day sales. We do have many parades, which are largely happy traditions where folks bring lawn chairs, and watch people clad in uniforms riding in old war vehicles, and I bet that most of us wonder who had the job of restoring these old "classics" rather commemorating those who lost their lives defending us. If we're home to see the evening news, we'll see highlights of, say rows of American flags at Arlington Cemetery, for example. The President might go there to commemorate soldiers. We DO have actual remembrances of those who've died, yes. But they seem few and far between, separated, individual, spaced out...and to most of us, they are impersonal because we are "removed" from what's going on. There seems to be very little recognition or appreciation of the millions of lives lost...the blood shed so that we could have our freedom. There might be a radio program somewhere, with sound bytes from times past. But most of us might watch war movies on TCM, while ordering take out food because it's summer time, and we love the excuse not to cook. After a while, we'll change...say..."Saving Private Ryan," if we watch it at all. We must watch "something happy" now because this is too depressing.
I've never been to Israel before, but I am now jealous because of a very defined sense of family that seems to be universally shared throughout the whole country. Now, Israel is tiny...it's a small country. But you know what? Who cares, because I want to know how this sense of everyone being connected to everyone else is achieved. Americans simply do not experience this. We are all broken off into little clusters, which can and do extend beyond our own families, yes. But even so, we are taught so much to value our own space, mind our own business, and live for the "now.". We are largely uninterested in history. We think it's pretty pointless because it's already happened.
Besides, we will do anything to keep from being depressed, or being aware of profound sadness or grief. We do not want to look death or aging in the eye (Heaven forbid). So most of us talk and analyze everything to death: We hate our government, or we don't care, because we hardly know anything about it. We watch the news for five or ten minutes, we shake our heads and say, "Oh God, how awful," while many of us are probably pretty glad that it does not affect us personally. We turn our TV's off, and seem to get offended because this sadness is ruining our pleasure.
Israeli's seem to be grateful (in a way) to remember the suffering...simply because this reminds them of immense joy. They gather together with quiet respect, showing their loved ones who've gone before, that they LOVE them. They take time. They bow their heads. They PACK cemeteries to recognize a connection, now broken...but NOT...because Israeli's keep it alive! They remember. They appreciate...and they teach their children to do the same. When I was a child, America's Memorial day, was mostly just a chance to get out of school for a day. Israel is so tiny, that whenever anyone dies in war, or terror attacks, it is always someone that everybody knows, and there is great sadness. Now as I said, geographically, things are quite different here; but what I think is tragic about the US, is the way we are so incredibly desensitized to violence and war in general, through our mass media, largely. Translation: we watch too many war "movies" and then we glorify the violence with things like academy awards, and 90% of what we see on our news has to do with some kind of violence. We shut it off, if you will...we separate ourselves from it...and we seem to forget to "feel " that it's even happened.
Now, there's nothing wrong with celebrating in general. There's nothing wrong with parades, there's nothing wrong with academy awards, I just think it's so tragic that culturally, where I come from, we keep trying to think of ways to avoid taking the bitter with the sweet. We avoid most of the bitter, rather than embracing it, and in many ways, things like Memorial Day take on a rather saccharin, detached, disrespectful tone. Remorse gives way to arguments over things people have said on Facebook. I'm unsure about anyone else, but I personally have grown weary of a deep sense of being a wanderer without an anchor. I see the deep sense of unity going on in Israel now, and seem to hunger for the "equality" and sense of agreement with each other that is flowing through the veins of her people. This is like a refreshing drink of "living" water to me. It's life, in the middle of so much death. I, from a country known for the "equality" of everyone, am asking how this is accomplished, and suddenly longing to be a part of it.
So, on MEMORIAL DAY in Israel, everybody stops and...remembers. Wow. This is what this day is for, correct? So, the entire occasion is taken quite seriously by, the whole country. This fills me with a somber humility, that I have been pretty unaccustomed to. I think this is sad. I think it's sad that Americans (as a whole) are not sad on our Memorial Day. I'm not saying that no one here feels anything on our Memorial Day...but in honesty, that's what it feels like. Our country is huge, and I think the very fact that we are divided into states might suggest the walls we put up signifying our general "personal space" mentality.
What do typical Americans do on Memorial Day Weekend? In my experience, we rejoice over the fact that WE have a long weekend and a shorter work week. We plan picnics and barbecues, and trips to the lake...trips out of town because we'll have an extra day to have fun. We are encouraged through TV commercials to do a lot of extra shopping because stores have Memorial Day sales. We do have many parades, which are largely happy traditions where folks bring lawn chairs, and watch people clad in uniforms riding in old war vehicles, and I bet that most of us wonder who had the job of restoring these old "classics" rather commemorating those who lost their lives defending us. If we're home to see the evening news, we'll see highlights of, say rows of American flags at Arlington Cemetery, for example. The President might go there to commemorate soldiers. We DO have actual remembrances of those who've died, yes. But they seem few and far between, separated, individual, spaced out...and to most of us, they are impersonal because we are "removed" from what's going on. There seems to be very little recognition or appreciation of the millions of lives lost...the blood shed so that we could have our freedom. There might be a radio program somewhere, with sound bytes from times past. But most of us might watch war movies on TCM, while ordering take out food because it's summer time, and we love the excuse not to cook. After a while, we'll change...say..."Saving Private Ryan," if we watch it at all. We must watch "something happy" now because this is too depressing.
I've never been to Israel before, but I am now jealous because of a very defined sense of family that seems to be universally shared throughout the whole country. Now, Israel is tiny...it's a small country. But you know what? Who cares, because I want to know how this sense of everyone being connected to everyone else is achieved. Americans simply do not experience this. We are all broken off into little clusters, which can and do extend beyond our own families, yes. But even so, we are taught so much to value our own space, mind our own business, and live for the "now.". We are largely uninterested in history. We think it's pretty pointless because it's already happened.
Besides, we will do anything to keep from being depressed, or being aware of profound sadness or grief. We do not want to look death or aging in the eye (Heaven forbid). So most of us talk and analyze everything to death: We hate our government, or we don't care, because we hardly know anything about it. We watch the news for five or ten minutes, we shake our heads and say, "Oh God, how awful," while many of us are probably pretty glad that it does not affect us personally. We turn our TV's off, and seem to get offended because this sadness is ruining our pleasure.
Israeli's seem to be grateful (in a way) to remember the suffering...simply because this reminds them of immense joy. They gather together with quiet respect, showing their loved ones who've gone before, that they LOVE them. They take time. They bow their heads. They PACK cemeteries to recognize a connection, now broken...but NOT...because Israeli's keep it alive! They remember. They appreciate...and they teach their children to do the same. When I was a child, America's Memorial day, was mostly just a chance to get out of school for a day. Israel is so tiny, that whenever anyone dies in war, or terror attacks, it is always someone that everybody knows, and there is great sadness. Now as I said, geographically, things are quite different here; but what I think is tragic about the US, is the way we are so incredibly desensitized to violence and war in general, through our mass media, largely. Translation: we watch too many war "movies" and then we glorify the violence with things like academy awards, and 90% of what we see on our news has to do with some kind of violence. We shut it off, if you will...we separate ourselves from it...and we seem to forget to "feel " that it's even happened.
Now, there's nothing wrong with celebrating in general. There's nothing wrong with parades, there's nothing wrong with academy awards, I just think it's so tragic that culturally, where I come from, we keep trying to think of ways to avoid taking the bitter with the sweet. We avoid most of the bitter, rather than embracing it, and in many ways, things like Memorial Day take on a rather saccharin, detached, disrespectful tone. Remorse gives way to arguments over things people have said on Facebook. I'm unsure about anyone else, but I personally have grown weary of a deep sense of being a wanderer without an anchor. I see the deep sense of unity going on in Israel now, and seem to hunger for the "equality" and sense of agreement with each other that is flowing through the veins of her people. This is like a refreshing drink of "living" water to me. It's life, in the middle of so much death. I, from a country known for the "equality" of everyone, am asking how this is accomplished, and suddenly longing to be a part of it.
Monday, April 6, 2015
Dedication and Devotion...
I just heard something that made my blood boil. Surprise, surprise, it was on Christian radio coming from a "Christian" pastor. The message was all about "not being under the law.". Unfortunately, I did not hear the very beginning, so I'm unsure what scriptures he used...but I DO know, it was Paul's letter to the Colossians. Anyway...the exact quote he used (and I'm not naming him) was:
"This law (Old covenant) does not mean anything to us today, unless you're a Jew living in Israel."
Gee, yes...AND?? Your point is WHAT?? What if someone IS a Jew living in Israel today? What then? What if someone is a Jew NOT living in Israel? What if someone claims to have given their heart over a JEWISH Messiah?? What then? Does this pastor realize how many people he has just deemed "exempt" from the freedom of Yeshua in that one sentence? Was this man trying to say that only Non-Jewish believers have the truth because we KNOW that we're not under the law?? Was he trying to say that Jewish folks are "stupid" because they ARE under the law ( He said it only means something if your a Jew living in Israel). What if you're NOT a Jew, living in Israel? So, YOU got it goin' on, while all the Jewish folks in Israel are BOUND by the law, but Christians are not?? What in HELL is going on here?? Listen, those who are Jewish have enough trouble with anti-Semitic finger pointing as it is, don't you think? They do not need more from the CHRISTIAN church of all places, who TEACH that we need to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Does anyone else find anything WRONG with this? Listen, I don't intend to go on for days here, I wanna make this short and sweet; but what about those Jewish folks living in Israel? Could it be that they know something about dedication and devotion that we in the western world don't because we're too busy calling it legalism??
That's exactly what this pastor kept calling it too. Legalism. It is true that all the religious tradition in the world, in and of itself can never cleanse a man of his sins, because God's standard is perfect. None of us are perfect so we've missed the mark, and Yeshua Hammashiach has paid for where we've missed the mark...but do we not have a greater problem when we do not understand that God is really not interested in us picking and choosing what we can and can't "get away with?". Do we not see that Christians claim to worship a JEWISH Messiah? Do we not see that tradition, and the DESIRE to follow God's law, should be what shows Him that we love him? Again, I liken it to being deeply in love with someone, and wanting to do everything you can to please them: Will we do it perfectly? No; but the desire to TRY runs through our veins like blood because we are on FIRE for that person! :) Right? A minister can stand at his pulpit and say that these are matters of the heart all he wants. It is not about what we eat and drink. Okay, but...are you SURE? Don't actions show people that we love them even more than words? Usually. Don't we say that all the time? Don't we seem to chant it like a mantra, even? "Love is a verb"... Remember DC Talk?
I am not telling ANYONE what not to eat, or drink, or ware. (Gosh, I feel like I'm quoting Matthew all the sudden); but is it just possible that this is why God gave us the mandate in the first place? Isn't he saying to us: "Be holy, for I am holy"? Is it possible that the law is instructions for actually carrying out matters of the heart BECAUSE we know we are no longer bound by it? We've been saved, so now we are covered when we fall short AS we're following his instructions...not as we're sifting through them and ridding ourselves of them because we're taking the freedom, but not the responsibility. And anyway, doesn't this argument about "to drink alcohol or not drink alcohol" CREATE the very sort of legalism that the pastor was accusing Jewish folks of having? Is it just possible that the Jews in the book of Colossians were flaunting themselves as being too perfect...and this is NOT what God requires? But we should not throw the baby out with the bathwater, and behave like we are exempt from the law (instruction) of the Original Covenant.
Now this pastor said that we should stay away from certain things as a means of making sure our brother does not stumble. This should be our desire. Sure. Perhaps it's more simplified to do this with a "set of rules" then not. Will we break them? Sure... we broke our parents rules, didn't we? Did our parents not love us anymore? Of course not. Why would we think God would not love us, then? Is it possible that because of Yeshua's death on the cross, we are now SAFE to follow God's law...and screw up? (Because the grace covers that)? I don't mean, on purpose...I mean, even when we do our BEST we make mistakes, right? Of course. But God says, you won't be "burned" for any imperfections now, because Yeshua's death paid for it all. We are SAFE now, to follow the law as best we can. Ladies and gentlemen, may I suggest that we are supposed to run TO that safety and live within His mandate...not away from it. Instead, pastors are preaching this message with an empty beer can sitting on their pulpit, saying it's not about what we eat or drink...these are matters of the heart. Really? Well then, with all due respect sir, I'd get rid of the beer can, and pay more attention to the Jews living in Israel.
"This law (Old covenant) does not mean anything to us today, unless you're a Jew living in Israel."
Gee, yes...AND?? Your point is WHAT?? What if someone IS a Jew living in Israel today? What then? What if someone is a Jew NOT living in Israel? What if someone claims to have given their heart over a JEWISH Messiah?? What then? Does this pastor realize how many people he has just deemed "exempt" from the freedom of Yeshua in that one sentence? Was this man trying to say that only Non-Jewish believers have the truth because we KNOW that we're not under the law?? Was he trying to say that Jewish folks are "stupid" because they ARE under the law ( He said it only means something if your a Jew living in Israel). What if you're NOT a Jew, living in Israel? So, YOU got it goin' on, while all the Jewish folks in Israel are BOUND by the law, but Christians are not?? What in HELL is going on here?? Listen, those who are Jewish have enough trouble with anti-Semitic finger pointing as it is, don't you think? They do not need more from the CHRISTIAN church of all places, who TEACH that we need to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Does anyone else find anything WRONG with this? Listen, I don't intend to go on for days here, I wanna make this short and sweet; but what about those Jewish folks living in Israel? Could it be that they know something about dedication and devotion that we in the western world don't because we're too busy calling it legalism??
That's exactly what this pastor kept calling it too. Legalism. It is true that all the religious tradition in the world, in and of itself can never cleanse a man of his sins, because God's standard is perfect. None of us are perfect so we've missed the mark, and Yeshua Hammashiach has paid for where we've missed the mark...but do we not have a greater problem when we do not understand that God is really not interested in us picking and choosing what we can and can't "get away with?". Do we not see that Christians claim to worship a JEWISH Messiah? Do we not see that tradition, and the DESIRE to follow God's law, should be what shows Him that we love him? Again, I liken it to being deeply in love with someone, and wanting to do everything you can to please them: Will we do it perfectly? No; but the desire to TRY runs through our veins like blood because we are on FIRE for that person! :) Right? A minister can stand at his pulpit and say that these are matters of the heart all he wants. It is not about what we eat and drink. Okay, but...are you SURE? Don't actions show people that we love them even more than words? Usually. Don't we say that all the time? Don't we seem to chant it like a mantra, even? "Love is a verb"... Remember DC Talk?
I am not telling ANYONE what not to eat, or drink, or ware. (Gosh, I feel like I'm quoting Matthew all the sudden); but is it just possible that this is why God gave us the mandate in the first place? Isn't he saying to us: "Be holy, for I am holy"? Is it possible that the law is instructions for actually carrying out matters of the heart BECAUSE we know we are no longer bound by it? We've been saved, so now we are covered when we fall short AS we're following his instructions...not as we're sifting through them and ridding ourselves of them because we're taking the freedom, but not the responsibility. And anyway, doesn't this argument about "to drink alcohol or not drink alcohol" CREATE the very sort of legalism that the pastor was accusing Jewish folks of having? Is it just possible that the Jews in the book of Colossians were flaunting themselves as being too perfect...and this is NOT what God requires? But we should not throw the baby out with the bathwater, and behave like we are exempt from the law (instruction) of the Original Covenant.
Now this pastor said that we should stay away from certain things as a means of making sure our brother does not stumble. This should be our desire. Sure. Perhaps it's more simplified to do this with a "set of rules" then not. Will we break them? Sure... we broke our parents rules, didn't we? Did our parents not love us anymore? Of course not. Why would we think God would not love us, then? Is it possible that because of Yeshua's death on the cross, we are now SAFE to follow God's law...and screw up? (Because the grace covers that)? I don't mean, on purpose...I mean, even when we do our BEST we make mistakes, right? Of course. But God says, you won't be "burned" for any imperfections now, because Yeshua's death paid for it all. We are SAFE now, to follow the law as best we can. Ladies and gentlemen, may I suggest that we are supposed to run TO that safety and live within His mandate...not away from it. Instead, pastors are preaching this message with an empty beer can sitting on their pulpit, saying it's not about what we eat or drink...these are matters of the heart. Really? Well then, with all due respect sir, I'd get rid of the beer can, and pay more attention to the Jews living in Israel.
Sunday, April 5, 2015
No Foolin' Around
On April Fool's Day, actress Mayam Bialik put an April Fool's post on her blog dealing with incorporating "pot" into the sader meal. One of the jokes involved putting joints into the menorah rather then candles, and just taking a hit whenever you needed one. There were many other things in the post that involved getting high and singing and other things of that nature. I read the post and busted up laughing...I must admit. I was imagining everybody laughing while they were getting high. I debated for a minute, and then I posted her post on my FB page. But in reality, I thought, "You know, that's terrible. They should not be making fun of the Passover meal, that is very sacred and represents a cleansing and a purifying process." Now Mayam Bialik is Jewish herself and she has written about her roots in Israel. She was where I came across this April Fool's entry, and I figured, if she laughed at it, and found it funny, then I could too (even though I'm not Jewish). So later that evening, I saw a post from one of my Facebook friends, which said, basically, that they did not understand all this April Fool's stuff, because it was anti-Semitic.
I paused a moment. Oh dear. Had this person read the post I'd put on my page? I was not sure, and I did not ask...but I felt bad. I would NEVER want to give any impression that I were being disrespectful to those who are Jewish, those who are from Israel, or for any Jewish holiday/feast day. For the record, I LOVE Passover, because I love the idea of cleaning out the leaven. Spending deliberate, planed time with God and beginning again...making a fresh start. Because I'm not Jewish, I've not been raised celebrating these traditions or knowing what they mean...It's only been recently that I've been finding out that our western holiday, Easter, is actually based on the spring equinox, and fertility and other traditions that have little or nothing to do with Jehovah Jire, the God who provides... The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This is the God that I presumably worship. Do I know who I'm worshipping? Not if I'm celebrating Easter. (At least in my opinion).
My goal, in all of this, is to be as close as I can to my savior and Lord: Yeshua Hammashiach. I know, as soon as I write this that I need to be who I am without apology because many folks who are Jewish, do not believe that Yeshua is the Messiah, and I suppose, this is because the Tanak speaks of Yahweh, the Father. All I can say, is that I do. I made the decision to be converted (as a Christian) when I was 15. We call it "getting saved" of course...and that's what happened to me. I have read the Old AND the New Covenant's, and am convicted in my heart that Yeshua's undeserved death, hung on a tree, is what paid for our sins. When I say I've read them...that's not cover to cover. I mean that his Holy Spirit has come alive for me through the scripture that I have absorbed. Anyway, I believe the faith that I have is missing a tremendous amount of depth...and on that note, there are many scriptures that I do not understand that I believed I did, because I've not been taught to look at the scriptures with a Hebrew perspective. In short, I think that through history, we have changed the Jewish calendar and replaced the original feast days with what are largely pagan holidays. I can tell you, I have celebrated Easter and Christmas all my life, and won't be offended if anyone gives me best wishes on these days. I just want a deep connection to things like Passover and Palm Sunday (because of the donkey and palm branches), Sukkot, Yom Kippor... These are Biblical feast days that were part of the savior's life, and for most of my short "Christian" life, I believed these did not apply to me.
Anyway, talk about mixed messages! I claim to want to "embrace" the Jewish faith so much (and let's face it...April Fools Day is probably the worst day of the whole year for BAD Jewish humor) and then I post something on FB that was totally mocking one of the Old Covenant feast days. Now, don't misunderstand me: this post is not to say anything negative about Mayam Bialik. She was celebrating April Fool's Day, and she said so in her post, and that's her choice, and that's cool. But being that this is only my first Passover (and I have no idea what I'm doing), being that I've never had a Menorah in my house before (although I would love to), being that I have so much to learn; AND being that I really did not agree with the article anyway, as far as whether it was funny (no), I really should not have re-posted something that took such a crass, blatant "shot" at something so sacred and holy, and wonderful. I LOVE Isreal and I LOVE Israel's people...I stand with them, not against them. I never want to give anyone reason to believe otherwise. Certainly, my intent was never in any way, to appear anti-Semitic. :)
On a final note...I have no idea who bgan Aril Fools Day, but the information I read said that pope Gregory changed our calendar from the Julius Calendar, to his own, and that New Years Day had been previously celebrated on April 1st, rather than January 1st. So, if true...that could explain a lot.
I paused a moment. Oh dear. Had this person read the post I'd put on my page? I was not sure, and I did not ask...but I felt bad. I would NEVER want to give any impression that I were being disrespectful to those who are Jewish, those who are from Israel, or for any Jewish holiday/feast day. For the record, I LOVE Passover, because I love the idea of cleaning out the leaven. Spending deliberate, planed time with God and beginning again...making a fresh start. Because I'm not Jewish, I've not been raised celebrating these traditions or knowing what they mean...It's only been recently that I've been finding out that our western holiday, Easter, is actually based on the spring equinox, and fertility and other traditions that have little or nothing to do with Jehovah Jire, the God who provides... The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This is the God that I presumably worship. Do I know who I'm worshipping? Not if I'm celebrating Easter. (At least in my opinion).
My goal, in all of this, is to be as close as I can to my savior and Lord: Yeshua Hammashiach. I know, as soon as I write this that I need to be who I am without apology because many folks who are Jewish, do not believe that Yeshua is the Messiah, and I suppose, this is because the Tanak speaks of Yahweh, the Father. All I can say, is that I do. I made the decision to be converted (as a Christian) when I was 15. We call it "getting saved" of course...and that's what happened to me. I have read the Old AND the New Covenant's, and am convicted in my heart that Yeshua's undeserved death, hung on a tree, is what paid for our sins. When I say I've read them...that's not cover to cover. I mean that his Holy Spirit has come alive for me through the scripture that I have absorbed. Anyway, I believe the faith that I have is missing a tremendous amount of depth...and on that note, there are many scriptures that I do not understand that I believed I did, because I've not been taught to look at the scriptures with a Hebrew perspective. In short, I think that through history, we have changed the Jewish calendar and replaced the original feast days with what are largely pagan holidays. I can tell you, I have celebrated Easter and Christmas all my life, and won't be offended if anyone gives me best wishes on these days. I just want a deep connection to things like Passover and Palm Sunday (because of the donkey and palm branches), Sukkot, Yom Kippor... These are Biblical feast days that were part of the savior's life, and for most of my short "Christian" life, I believed these did not apply to me.
Anyway, talk about mixed messages! I claim to want to "embrace" the Jewish faith so much (and let's face it...April Fools Day is probably the worst day of the whole year for BAD Jewish humor) and then I post something on FB that was totally mocking one of the Old Covenant feast days. Now, don't misunderstand me: this post is not to say anything negative about Mayam Bialik. She was celebrating April Fool's Day, and she said so in her post, and that's her choice, and that's cool. But being that this is only my first Passover (and I have no idea what I'm doing), being that I've never had a Menorah in my house before (although I would love to), being that I have so much to learn; AND being that I really did not agree with the article anyway, as far as whether it was funny (no), I really should not have re-posted something that took such a crass, blatant "shot" at something so sacred and holy, and wonderful. I LOVE Isreal and I LOVE Israel's people...I stand with them, not against them. I never want to give anyone reason to believe otherwise. Certainly, my intent was never in any way, to appear anti-Semitic. :)
On a final note...I have no idea who bgan Aril Fools Day, but the information I read said that pope Gregory changed our calendar from the Julius Calendar, to his own, and that New Years Day had been previously celebrated on April 1st, rather than January 1st. So, if true...that could explain a lot.
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