The pot and the kettle

Jews and Arabs at the bittersweet intersection of Israel and the Church

David S. 

Nov 6, 2016

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Have you ever heard the expression “the pot calling the kettle black?”

It means accusing each other of faults we ourselves have.

To our great sorrow both Israel (Yisra-El) and the Christian Church and have been a very “mixed bag,” reflecting El-ohim and Christ rather intermittently and dimly throughout the centuries.

Here in the “Holy” Land the shortcomings of both Israel and the church are keenly felt—both by Messianic Jews and by Arab Christians.

Puzzled at Israel

Many Arab Christians are puzzled at the modern state of Israel. On the one hand the Old Testament obviously says much about the people of Israel returning to their land. On the other hand, Arabs living in this land have suffered in real ways because of the Jewish state, the “holy people.” The paradoxical question arises: “How can the country of Israel be a fulfillment of Bible prophecy if it has many elements that are downright ungodly?” Many Arab Christians have negative associations with Israel. They feel like second class citizens here. Therefore some have concluded that all those promises to Israel in the Bible must not apply to the present day state!

Puzzled at the Church

In just the same way for almost two millennia, Jewish people have been puzzled at the church. On the one hand the church has adopted both the Jew from Nazareth and the Hebrew Scriptures as their own. On the other hand Jews have suffered at the hands of the European Church establishment from the very beginning. Century after century Jews asked: “How can Jesus be our Messiah if ‘His’ church hates us, discriminates against us, expels us, tortures us and kills us?” Instead of making the Jewish people jealous (Deuteronomy 32:21, Romans 10 & 11), the church has often made the Jewish people nauseous.

An Ancient Conundrum

How can Israel and the “church” be so sinful?

How can His people, called by His name, be so broken and imperfect?!

How can those who were called to be a light to the nations have been, so often, sputtering candles?

Just as modern Israel is a very mixed bag, so also ancient Israel was a very mixed bag. There were godly kings and there were ungodly kings (the majority). The Hebrew prophets conveyed scathing indictments and rebukes of the sins of both Israel and Judah.

Even in sin, Israel was referred to as the (emerging) “kingdom of the LORD” on earth (I Chronicles 28:5)! Even in idolatry, Israel was called (by faith prophetically) the “virgin” daughter of Zion—in the midst of her wayward, adulterous unfaithfulness toward God (Isaiah 37:22, Jeremiah 31:21).

A Bride Being Purified

In Ezekiel 16 and Hosea 1-3 we read parables of Israel as the adulterous woman whom the faithful bridegroom God woos back, purifies and betroths again to Himself.

The New Testament echoes this language in referring to the church as a betrothed woman—not yet purified—but now in a process of preparation, to be given clean garments before her marriage to the bridegroom Yeshua (II Corinthians 11:2, Revelation 19:7-8).

Mercy to All

Romans 11 describes both Israel and the Gentile believers, as being branches of the olive tree.

In the precise context of prophetically predicting and describing dynamics between the church and Israel which are valid to this very day, Paul says: “For God has enclosed them together in disobedience, in order that He might show mercy to all…” (Romans 11:32 mod. CJB).

So here we are, two communities living a bit awkwardly side by side at the intersection of Israel and the church— God’s peoples in this earth, flickering with an unsteady, wavering light. The Messianic Jews and the Christian Arabs in this land are inextricably connected to both. Indeed we are all very much “works in progress.” Thankfully, “…He who has begun a good work in you will complete it…” (Philippians 1:6).

This article originally appeared in Oasis Newsletter by Tents of Mercy, November 2016, and reposted with permission.

https://kehilanews.com/2016/11/06/the-pot-and-the-kettle/

The Earth as in the days of Noah

Elhanan ben-Avraham 

Nov 5, 2016

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‘The earth also is polluted under its inhabitants, because they have transgressed the Law, violated the statute, and broken the everlasting covenant’- Isaiah 24:5-6.

The earth’s waterways carry human and industrial waste to the sea, corrupting much of the life therein. Water- that basis for all life- is in shortage to an increasing world population, often defiled and undrinkable in many regions of human population. And the air is choked with pollutants of every kind, leading to ‘global warming,’ some contend. All this is affecting all flesh, all living things.  Wars and insurrections are abounding, to only exacerbate the environmental situation across the globe.

The above quote from the Biblical prophet Isaiah continues: ‘Therefore, a curse devours the earth, and those who live in it are held guilty’ (24:6). The original Hebrew word there for ‘curse’ is allah (ki allah achla aretz), interestingly the homonym to the deity of Islam, Allah. The entire chapter 24 describes a dire and mirthless situation on the Earth due to that curse- or allah– that has spread upon it. Islam, with its Jihad– or holy war- is fomenting violence around the world, while at the same time the fastest growing religion worldwide, due to forced conversion and high birth rates, now spreading stealthily throughout Europe and the West, especially with the vacuum being created by the decline of Christianity and the rise of Secular Humanism in the West.

It is similar to the days of Noah, which are described as “the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the Earth was filled with violence” (Genesis 6:11). The Hebrew word used there for violence is hamas, which denotes violence, deceit, corruption. Hamas is the reason, according to the Bible, that G-d brought the flood upon the Earth in the days of Noah, and ‘the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually; God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth’ (6:12).

It may be less of a coincidence, and more of an indicator of the times in which we live, that one of the most violent organizations in the Islamic world is called Hamas. And the Messiah has indicated that the latter days upon the Earth before his return would be “as in the days of Noah” (Matthew 24:37).

‘The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth he has given to mankind’ (Psalm 115:16). Therefore, let mankind now living upon the Earth take account and responsibility for these admonitions, and wisely discern the times in which we live, and “Be watchful, and strengthen the things that remain, that are about to die” (Revelation 3:2).

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Elhanan ben-Avraham

Elhanan ben-Avraham, born in 1945, is a professional artist, poet, writer and father of two, grandfather of four, living in Israel since 1979. He has served in the IDF, taught the Bible internationally, published two illustrated books of poetry, and painted two large Biblical murals in public buildings in Jerusalem, among many other works. He and his wife live in a quiet village in the Mountains of Judah.

https://kehilanews.com/2016/11/05/the-earth-as-in-the-days-of-noah/

A Clear-eyed American View of Palestine in 1939

November 17, 2016, 6:37 pm chell Bard

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Mitchell Bard Dr Mitchell Bard is the Executive Director of the nonprofit American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE) and a foreign policy analyst who … [More] lectures frequently on U.S.-Middle East policy. Dr. Bard is the director of the Jewish Virtual Library, the world’s most comprehensive online encyclopedia of Jewish history and culture. He is also the author/editor of 24 books, including The Arab Lobby, Death to the Infidels: Radical Islam’s War Against the Jews and the novel After Anatevka: Tevye in Palestine. [Less]

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• After Anatevka – Tevye in Palestine Excerpt 36: The Peaceful Life

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• After Anatevka – Tevye in Palestine Excerpt 35: Preparing for War

Israel’s detractors would have you believe that U.S. support for the establishment of Israel, and the special relationship that has evolved in the succeeding decades, is something new, contrary to U.S. interests and a sole function of the mythically omnipotent Jewish lobby. This is nonsense.

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A few months ago a correspondent sent me an interesting historical document that sheds some light on the attitudes of Americans, and members of Congress, nearly a decade before the establishment of Israel. It displays a sophisticated understanding of the Jewish people’s connection to their homeland that today’s propagandists seek to erase.

When the Balfour declaration was issued, it was not intended to establish another ghetto in Palestine. To add to what has already been quoted on this subject, President Wilson’s statement of March 5, 1919, found in the Palestine Royal Commission’s report on page 34, ought to make this matter clear to Americans. President Wilson said:

I am persuaded that the Allied Nations, with the fullest concurrence of our Government and people, are agreed that in Palestine shall be laid the foundation of a Jewish commonwealth.

The Jewish population of Palestine has grown from 55,000 in 1918 to its present figure of 450,000. The Arab population has risen from 400,000 in 1920 to about 950,000, an increase of over 50 percent in 17 years. Under Turkish rule the population was almost stationary.

From all this it follows that since the Jewish population will not be allowed to increase by more than 75,000, and since there will be no restriction placed upon Arab immigration, the Jewish National Home will soon be swamped by the surrounding non-Jewish population, and Jews will properly feel that they have been led into a trap by promises that they would be able to build up a commonwealth, and instead find themselves an ever-decreasing minority, subject, as in Europe, to the whims of an often unfriendly or hostile majority.

McCormack also recognized the dangers minorities faced in the region – Jews and Christians.

Technical protection that is given the Jewish homeland may very well turn out to be of no more value than the proverbial scrap of paper. Minority rights have come to be a phrase without any real meaning. Jews have had ample experience in this direction.

There is precedent for believing that a minority in an Arab-dominated Palestine would not fare well, regardless of what form their legal rights might take. There is the glaring example of what has occurred to the Assyrians in the neighboring country of Iraq. The Assyrians are a remnant of that proud race which once ruled Mesopotamia. Their ancestors established the great empires of that region. Greatly reduced in numbers, they occupied territory in the kingdom of Iraq. Unlike the great majority of the inhabitants of that country, they are Christians whose Christianity dates back to the second or third century. They have suffered terrible persecutions on account of their religion for centuries, but it was under the kingdom of Iraq that they faced extermination. The interference of the League of Nations saved a small remnant of 10,000, who are now living in Syria, and these people are disturbed at what may happen to them when France leaves Syria and they are again a small minority in an Arab state.

It is idle to suggest that if the British could remain in Palestine they would be able to protect Jewish rights. The British were still in Iraq and were unable to save the Assyrians. It is too slender a thread upon which a people can hope to continue its existence. If the world is in earnest regarding its promise to the Jewish people, and the acceptance of the mandate by 52 nations includes most of the world, then the least that can be done is to permit the work of building the Jewish National Home in Palestine upon the firm foundation of the provisions of the mandate.

Although it is not directly connected with the discussion of the Jewish homeland, it might be well to point out to the Christian Arabs of Palestine that they should consider seriously this experience of the Christian Assyrians in the neighboring Iraq. The Palestine Christians are a minority, a much smaller and a much weaker minority than the Jews of Palestine. It does not seem to be the height of good judgment and good tactics for the Christian Arabs of Palestine to be the forefront of this struggle to bring about the Mohammedan domination of Palestine.

One of the nonsensical arguments promulgated by the British was the notion of the “absorptive capacity” of Palestine. This was used as an excuse for limiting Jewish immigration at a time when the Jewish population was 450,000. Their lack of imagination could not have foreseen modern Israel with its population of more than 8 million. McCormack, however, saw through the British argument:

One of the arguments advanced for the curtailment of Jewish immigration into Palestine is that the country is already overcrowded. This was the tenor of a report by Sir Hope Simpson as far back as 1930. The government at that time rejected this report, and time has shown that this rejection was correct, as 150,000 Jews and an equal number of Arabs have entered the country since that time, and there are still large stretches of vacant land in the country capable of development and settlement by large population.

The Jewish development of the country has demonstrated as correct the figures on population possibilities of Palestine as set out in the Zionist declaration, submitted to the peace conference. This document reads as follows:

The population of Palestine in the days of Christ, before the present scientific methods of cultivation were thought of, and when the external trade was not comparable to that now enjoyed in Palestine, amounted to 4,000,000. Evidence was given at the peace conference that in the population of Lebanon, which resembled Palestine in many respects, had a density of 160 per square kilometer. The population of Palestine is only about 50 per square kilometer. On that basis there is room in Palestine for an increase of 3,000,000 without encroaching on the legitimate interests of the people who are now there. Italy, where the conditions are not unlike those of Palestine, in that it is a mountainous country with no minerals, has a population per square mile three times that of Palestine. On the Italian basis, Palestine ought to provide accommodation for a population of 4,000,000.

From this it is apparent that it is entirely within the bounds of possibilities to absorb within 1 year the 100,000 refugees which the Jewish Agency for Palestine says can be accommodated, and also the 10,000 refugee children for whom homes are already provided.

Finally, McCormack reminds us that support for the creation of Israel was not a thoughtless effort by imperialist nations to create an outpost in the Middle East — as Israel’s detractors today sometimes assert:

The establishment of the Jewish National Home has been endorsed by the 52 nations which approved the mandate. They acted after long and careful study. The American Congress unanimously adopted the Lodge-Fish resolution after an extended hearing before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Five Presidents of the United States have spoken in unmistakenly [sic] glowing terms of the accomplishments of Jewish Palestine. American legislatures, including my own State of Massachusetts, have adopted resolutions favoring the reconstitution of the Jewish commonwealth. Distinguished Americans from all walks of life have expressed their approval of the work that Jews have done in Palestine toward the upbuilding [sic] of the Jewish homeland. All these responsible nations, high government officials, legislative bodies, and distinguished personalities have acted with great deliberation. It is impossible to believe that such a distinguished company can all be wrong.

Dr. Mitchell Bard is the author/editor of 24 books including The Arab Lobby, Death to the Infidels: Radical Islam’s War Against the Jews and the novel After Anatevka: Tevye in Palestine.

http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/a-clear-eyed-american-view-of-palestine-in-1939/?utm_source=AICE+email+%23188+%28November+21%2C+2016%29&utm_campaign=AICE+e-newsletter+%23188%3A+11%2F21%2F16&utm_medium=email

The Writing is on the Wall – “First the Saturday People, then the Sunday People”

David Silver 

Nov 6, 2016

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A photo of the knives found on the persons of two Palestinian children, 8, near the West Bank settlement of Migdal Oz on October 26, 2016 (IDF spokesperson's office)

On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all of the surrounding nations. Whoever tries to move it will surely hurt themselves. – Zechariah 12:3 

I do not read Arabic, but I have heard from a number of reliable sources that there is a lot of graffiti in East Jerusalem and the Arab villages that are slogans which make the above statement. This is a Islamic declaration which makes the intention of Muslim Arabs and Muslims everywhere, to first of all wipe out the Jewish people and then to wipe out the Christians. These are not just words intended to create fear in the heart of their enemies. The terror campaign against Israelis continues almost daily. On Wednesday this week two 8 year old Arabs who were carrying knives, confessed to police that they had been sent by their elders to attack Israelis. And in keeping with their slogan, the Muslims are killing Arab Christians in almost every Arab country, and driving the Christian communities out. Se we need to take that slogan very seriously.

Israel does not just have to defend herself from the Muslim enemies, but as we are seeing in the news the United Nations and the European Union have aligned themselves with the Islamists and are attempting to destroy Israel. The UN and EU have been hijacked by the Muslim nations to become Israel’s “public enemy No. 1.” What sort of ignorant people are the representatives of the nations that voted with the Muslims to deny the Jewish people’s Biblical and historical connection to the land of Israel and more specifically the Holy city of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. The nations that voted for that resolution just knifed the Jewish people in the back.

But the God of Israel is not blind. The Bible tells us that Israel is the pupil or lens of God’s eye. (Zech 2:8). He has seen it all and He is not impressed. In siding with the Muslims the Western nations are directly opposing the God of Israel, who is a God of love, but also a jealous God (Exodus 20:5), a God of war (Exodus 15:3), and a consuming fire. (Deut 4:24). These nations have doomed themselves to destruction. The question is not a matter of if, but when. How much more will YHVH put up with, before Isaiah 26:21 is fulfilled The LORD will come out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquities (anti-Semtism, abortion, sexual immorality, idolatry). And He may well use Islam to vent His wrath on these rebellious Western nations.

Today Islamic terrorists are active or preparing to become active in almost every nation, but most political and religious leaders have chosen to turn a blind eye to the reality of this modern day Jihad that is well under way against Israel, the Church and the Western way of life. Last Friday thousands of Muslims gathered to pray at the Colosseum in Rome. This was not just an Islamic prayer meeting, it was a declaration of war. The well-known preacher Yussuf al Qaradawi said that the day will come when Rome will be Islamized. It remains to be seen whether it will by the word or by the sword. As that prayer meeting was taking place in word, ISIS released a video in which the Coliseum is burned and bombed.

The Western nations and Europe are in serious trouble. American philosopher Lee Harris said a most important thing: “The glory of the West has been the eradication of the virus of fanaticism, but perhaps we have achieved it at the price of our defeat.” While the West continues to side with those who intend to take over their nations for Allah, and continue to deny the God-given rights of the Jewish people to live in the Promised Land and worship the One True God on His Holy mountain, their troubles will surely increase to the point of their destruction, and unless they repent, that cannot expect any help from Heaven. The heavy stone of Zechariah 12:3 is aleady on the roll.

Speaking about heavy stones, click on the video below that takes you to the Western Wall showing you the Jewish history very clearly there.

David together with his wife, Josie, founded Out of Zion Ministries, whose mission is to fulfill God’s call on Israel as His ‘Chosen Nation’ to be a light to the Nations as well as to encourage the Church to fulfill God’s call to the Gentiles to assist in the spiritual ingathering of the Jewish people

https://youtu.be/R140jDNA2Q4

https://kehilanews.com/2016/11/06/the-writing-is-on-the-wall-first-the-saturday-people-then-the-sunday-people/

Jerusalem Interfaith Conference: Ecumenically Correct, Intellectually Dishonest

 Hannah Weiss

Nov 3, 2016

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PM Netanyahu meets with East Asian and Israeli religious leaders in Jerusalem, September 12, 2016. (Photo: Haim Zach/GPO)

“When Buddha Met Abraham” was the byline chosen for the Interfaith Conference hosted by Israel’s Foreign Ministry from September 11 to 15 in Jerusalem. It was the first indication that this religious outreach was not global, but rather between Judaism and Asian religions.

Sure enough, the invited guests were “20 spiritual leaders of the major East Asian faiths (Hindu, Buddhist, Taoism, Sikh, Jain, Shinto, Zoroastrianism), among them some of the most senior spiritual personalities in Asia.” Representatives of the Jewish faith were identified only as “rabbis from all the streams of Judaism” along with “leading intellectuals in the fields of interfaith dialogue and Jewish thought.” The Asian guests had the option of meeting with leaders of Israeli Muslims and Christians outside the Conference framework.

A survey of the Conference organizers, however, raised interesting questions. This religious gathering was hosted by Israel’s Foreign Ministry, not Religious Affairs. Even more strange, Jerusalem’s dialog with Eastern spirituality was sponsored by groups from the US rather than Israel, some of which are not connected to Judaism… or even to religion. Conference sessions were held at the Truman Institute for the Advancement of Peace, a conflict-resolution organization located on the Hebrew University campus but founded largely by Americans. Other partners were the ecumenical World Council of Religious Leaders (WCRL), headquartered in New York City; and the American Jewish Committee (AJC), also based in the USA.

The physical and/or spiritual distance of these organizations from Jerusalem would suggest Manhattan or Washington DC as a more logical venue. Instead, they chose a city whose only significance is derived from Biblical history, to host an affirmation of Biblically forbidden teachings.

Nevertheless, the Israeli government enthused about the Conference as a history-making event. That being so, it was odd that the interfaith implications received almost no attention, even from its own organizers.

The WCRL was presumably the most sympathetic religious player. This obscure organization has been trying to merge Jewish and Hindu faith in past years, and its General Secretary was present at this gathering long enough to make a statement. But this “first-time” Conference did not even make it into their calendar of events. The politically-oriented Truman Institute likewise did not mention the Conference taking place in its halls, either beforehand or afterward.

The Jewish sponsors considered the religious exchange as just a platform for mutual political-cultural support. The AJC reported it as an opportunity to give the non-Jews “a deeper understanding of Judaism and Israel, and to promote global interreligious awareness” for a more “peaceful world.” According to the Foreign Ministry, the hot items on the agenda were “the purpose of religion in modern society, safeguarding the planet, the rights of the individual and a just society, [and] the place of religious leadership in advancing peace and the global welfare.”  The meeting with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was published as a photo-op.

In the rare cases where faith-based aspects of the gathering were touched on, political correctness prohibited any real dialog in comparing the God of Abraham with Eastern religions. The remarks of Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin to Conference participants included a reminder of the September 11 terror attack on New York as “a disaster created directly by distorted religious belief”; an appropriate comment, even if he was unwilling to name Islam as the common threat to all the religions represented. But Mr. Rivlin went on to suggest that “our traditions have much in common; we all share a deep concern for human life and dignity…” which set the stage for dishonesty on all sides.  

The ecumenically correct diplomacy of President Rivlin, in proposing joint “prayer and meditation, for a better and healthier world, and for a peaceful and tolerant global society”, was answered by similarly warm wishes for “world peace and harmony” from leaders of the (Indian) Hindu and (Chinese) Buddhist communities. Aside from the heartwarming expressions of mutual tolerance, the impression was one of “Abraham” seeking Asian cooperation in supporting Israel’s identity as a Jewish state, and “Buddha” offering to share the Eastern secret of how to live in harmony with the rest of the world.

Not only did this encounter fail to proclaim the Jewish message of world peace and harmony under the rule of YHVH, the one and only God; it allowed these Eastern religions to claim a spiritual superiority which they have yet to demonstrate in practice.

Hinduism has a long history of disdain for human life and dignity, embodied in the caste system, which one native of India says has been adopted by the Sikhs. And the Hindus are as far from “peace and harmony” with the Muslims as the Jews are; perhaps even farther, since there is nothing in Israel comparable to the religious riots in India. The Jains likewise have fought bitterly with the Hindus over holy sites in India, which would imply that Israel’s handling of the holy sites under its care might be a more apt model for a “tolerant global society”.

Shinto is focused on Japanese traditions for placating demons, it boasts of having “no absolutes”, and it denies the existence of human evil… which makes that faith irrelevant for addressing issues of social justice and human rights. Taoism (Daoism) is a Chinese moral code that applies only to the individual; since it discourages human intervention to stop evil, and teaches that man is “not obliged to make the world a better place,” the high priority placed on both by Jewish faith is definitely not a “shared concern” for Taoists.

Zoroastrianism is a monotheistic religion that originated in pre-Islamic Persia and closely resembles Judaism and Christianity, with conflicting theology but similar ethics and values. It has less than 300,000 followers worldwide at best, most of them Iranians, Indians and Kurds. Since this faith has no central leadership, it’s not clear how the (unidentified) participant was selected as a “leader”.

Last but not least is Buddhism, marketed as the most compassionate and tolerant of all faiths, which nevertheless has various sects condemning one another. The religion is united, however, in its private prejudice against non-Buddhists. Added to that is the unsavory partnership of Tibetan Buddhists with the Nazis during the Holocaust, and the ease with which today’s Dalai Lama keeps company with the Hitler-worshipping mystic Miguel Serrano. (The Dalai Lama was not invited to this Conference, probably for political reasons; but he is welcomed to Israel separately every few years.)

The President of the Buddhist Association in China went so far as to claim, “All these five major religions [recognized in China: Buddhism, Catholicism, Daoism, Islam, and Protestantism] emphasize mercy and compassion, peace and freedom; we can exist peacefully.” This was a bold denial of the fact that China is flagged for persecution of Christians (even “government-sanctioned” churches) as well as certain Buddhist and Muslim groups.

The slogan “When Buddha Met Abraham” was presumably meant as a welcoming gesture to the leaders of the Asian religions. In cultural terms, we might assume that the descendants of Abraham were trying to emulate his reputation for showing hospitality to strangers (a Jewish tradition based on Genesis 18). In terms of geopolitics, Asian religious leaders do have an interest in mutual cooperation, particularly in a united stand against Islam, the system of political-spiritual conquest that masquerades as a religion.

But the common ground ends there. Like the imaginary meeting of Abraham and Buddha, the shared spiritual values that were proclaimed between the two faiths is pretense.

There are light-years of distance between the message of Abraham the first Jew, who was pronounced righteous because of his trust in God (Gen.15:1-6), and the message of Siddhartha the Buddha (“enlightened one“), who proclaimed his attainment of salvation by superior self-effort. The Ten Commandments, the cornerstones of Judaism, begin with two prohibitions that negate the Eastern religions: “You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them….”

Even rabbinic tradition implies that if Abraham had ever met Buddha in real life, our forefather would have tried to persuade his guest to embrace the one true God, El Elyon, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Until our nation returns to the faithfulness of Abraham towards God, our spiritual dialog with other nations will continue to be crippled by the dishonesty displayed at this Conference, which sacrifices eternal truth for temporary acceptability.

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Hannah Weiss

http://www.restorersofzion.org

Hannah Weiss lives in Israel with her husband Hillel, their three children and two grandchildren. Besides writing on issues relevant for followers of Yeshua, she also works as an English writer, editor and translator for Israeli exporters and academics. Hannah is part of a small home fellowship, Restorers of Zion, which serves the Body of Messiah by focusing on neglected or dysfunctional areas of Scriptural teaching and practice.

https://kehilanews.com/2016/11/03/jerusalem-interfaith-conference-ecumenically-correct-intellectually-dishonest/

Newt Gingrich: Seven questions for the New York Times

By Newt Gingrich

Published November 16, 2016

FoxNews.com

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The facade of the New York Times building is seen in New York. (REUTERS)

On Sunday, the publisher and the executive editor of the New York Times published a letter to the paper’s readers, promising to “rededicate” the paper to its “fundamental mission”. That mission, they said, is to “report America and the world honestly, without fear or favor, striving always to understand and reflect all political perspectives and life experiences in the stories that we bring to you.”

This is as close as the Times is likely to come to apologizing to its readers for a year and a half of unbalanced–and often unhinged–coverage of the presidential race.

SEAN HANNITY: TRUMP MUST IGNORE THE MEDIA AND TRUST HIS GUT

I grew up in an era when the New York Times was the greatest newspaper in the world. Throughout my political career, there were plenty of moments when I thought the paper’s coverage had an unfair slant. But I knew it remained America’s most revered newspaper, and that generally its reporters held themselves to the highest standards.

It was sad to see a 165-year-old paper destroy its credibility over one election season. But the Times’s complete abandonment of its old standards was obvious to anyone who read its coverage.

Thus I watched with some regret as all of that went out the window this election cycle. It was sad to see a 165-year-old paper destroy its credibility over one election season. But the Times’s complete abandonment of its old standards was obvious to anyone who read its coverage.

The paper wrote stories that were unrelentingly hostile to Trump and his supporters.

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It allowed reporters to include their personal opinions and political analysis in news coverage.

It allowed political reporters to spew their animosity to Trump on social media. (I am old enough to remember when reporters maintained the conceit that they did not have political opinions.)

It published stories about Trump in which it distorted the accounts of interviewees, according to the subjects’ own testimony.

It published front page stories and editorials with headlines that accused Trump of “lying”–but never so characterized any of Hillary Clinton’s well-documented lies.

And now the same publisher and the same editor that oversaw this partisan assault are promising to “rededicate” themselves to reporting “honestly”. Perhaps even the paper’s liberal readership has tired of reporting that increasingly resembles the state-controlled propaganda of totalitarian regimes.

Before readers take the paper at its word, they should ask its leadership some of the following questions:

1. Does the Times have any reporters, editors, or columnists who will say they voted for Trump, and has it hired any new ones?

2. Has it hired any reporters who are even Republicans?

3. Has it changed its policies that allowed journalists to express their opinions about the events and people they covered in their news stories?

4. Will it ask the Pulitzer Prize board to withdraw, and its reporters to return, any prizes that might be awarded for news stories that contained reporters’ personal opinions?

5. Have its editors retracted misleading news headlines that expressed opinions or pure speculation–such as the paper’s coverage of Trump’s tax returns?

6. Has it fired reporters who admitted to writing politically motivated “news” stories and encouraged interview subjects to talk to them so they could stop Trump?

7.  Has it retracted its shameful election-eve front-page story “reporting” on Trump’s innermost thoughts and feelings, virtually every sentence of which is filled with reporters’ opinions and speculations–featuring claims like “he is struggling to suppress his bottomless need for attention”?

If the answer to all of these questions is “no”–why would anyone believe that the paper is now “rededicated” to honesty? And why would anyone trust the New York Times to report on American politics?

Newt Gingrich, a Republican, was speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. He is the author of the new novel "Treason" (Center Street, October 11) and co-author, with his wife Callista Gingrich, of "Rediscovering God in America: Reflections on the Role of Faith in Our Nation's History and Future" (Center Street, May 17, 2016).

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2016/11/16/newt-gingrich-seven-questions-for-new-york-times.html

Was Mary Magdalene ever a prostitute?

Dr. Eliyahu Lizorkin-Eyzenberg 

Nov 3, 2016

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Mary Magdalene meets Jesus (screenshot Youtube)

Mary Magdalene is definitely one of the most well-known female characters of the New Testament; popularized in dozens of films, stories and even once in popular rock opera – Jesus Christ Superstar. In almost all popular presentations she is portrayed as a former prostitute who comes to Jesus in the spirit of true repentance. While the gospels are known for its graciousness towards persons (both men and women) with moral failings; in our interpretation of the Bible, I believe we have misrepresented the person we call Mary Magdalene.

There are several Marys – not least, of course, Mary the mother of Jesus. But there are also Mary of Bethany, sister of Martha and Lazarus; Mary the mother of James and Joseph and Mary the wife of Cleopas. Equally important, there are two unnamed women who are expressly identified as sexual sinners – the woman who anoints Jesus’ feet with costly perfume, and an adulteress whom Pharisees bring before Jesus to see if he will condemn her (this incident is not found in most ancient manuscripts).

Do the Gospels actually support the notion that Mary Magdalene was once a prostitute? The answer is, surprisingly – “no.” Quite the opposite. In the gospels Mary Magdalene is afforded a very high status indeed, one might even argue higher than that of the twelve.

So who was Mary Magdalene? Well… we don’t know much of her story, but there are some things we do know for sure.

Mary is a traditional Jewish name (Mariam) and Magdalene is a form reflecting the Hebrew original, which means “a tower” (Migdal); referring either to a place with that name or to her character as observed by her community. So, for an experienced reader, her name should already give a hint of her towering personality that is yet to be revealed.

The association of Mary Magdalene with prostitution (albeit repentant) is the result of post-New Testament interpretations; identifying the actual Mary Magdalene with several other women; at least one of whom was indeed a prostitute. Mary was one of the, if not the most, common Hebrew name at that time. So simply because someone named Mary was a prostitute does not mean that Mary Magdalene was in fact one as well. The long and short of it is that there is simply no scriptural basis to link these “sinful women” stories to Mary Magdalene.

The interpretation hinges on a reference in Luke 8:2 that speaks of Jesus casting demons from Mary Magdalene, sometime prior to her becoming his committed follower. However, when demons left people (men included) in no case was there a demon of sexual addiction or of sexual immorality cast out. Why then, in the case of this woman, do we need to immediately think that the spirits Jesus cast out were of a sexual nature?! Have we made the same interpretive mistake here as we did with the Samaritan woman of John’s Gospel labelling her too – a woman of ill repute? Have we also allowed the chauvinistic hermeneutics of the past to influence our modern interpretation? The answer is – yes, probably, so.

But is there more to the story? Did this Mary have a particular status in the early believing Jewish Jesus-following community? Think about it! Mary Magdalene heard his teachings, saw his miracles, witnessed his shameful and torturous death. And… are you ready? She was given the honor of being the very first one to witness his resurrection. As if this were not enough, this righteous woman was given the privilege of announcing the news of good to Jesus’ discouraged male disciples. (Jn. 20:18)

Why Jesus, dying on Calvary’s cross to redeem God’s people, had to be a male is an extraordinary theological question; but no less important is the significance of the fact that the very first witness of the resurrection of the Jewish Christ had to be a woman and not a man (contrary to the contemporary conventions of witness acceptability).  You see… just as the first woman in the garden of Eden spread the news of the evil to humanity, Mary Magdalene in the Garden of Gethsemane spread the news of “the good” – the news that the Jewish Christ has risen, and Israel’s God now was reconciling humanity to Himself.

This article originally appeared on Israel Study Center and is reposted with permission.

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Dr. Eliyahu Lizorkin-Eyzenber

http://israelstudycenter.com/

One of Dr. Eliyahu Lizorkin-Eyzenberg's greatest passions is building of bridges of trust, respect and understanding between Christians and Jews, overcoming centuries of difficult, but almost always joined history. He strongly believes that both Hebrew Bible and the New Testament scriptures have much to teach both communities. Outside of his expertise in the ancient languages (Biblical Hebrew, Koine Greek, Syriac and Old Church Slovanic), he has a command of three other modern languages (English, Russian and Hebrew).

https://kehilanews.com/2016/11/03/was-mary-magdalene-ever-a-prostitute/

Christian Martyrs of the Past and Present

Caspari Staff 

Nov 2, 2016

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The 1st of November (or the next Sunday after that) is celebrated as the All Saints’ Day in the Western Christianity. Originally the day was to commemorate the believers who had died because of their faith as martyrs. Later on the All Saints’ Day has gotten more broad meanings by becoming the memorial day of all dead saints, believers, or even all the dead friends and relatives. The dictionary definition of ‘martyr’ is ‘a person who willingly suffers death rather than renounce his or her religion’. Historically martyr meant specifically a Christian who died because of his faith. But today martyr can also mean many other things and a ‘martyr’ is not necessary a Christian anymore. Someone who suffers a lot because of his or her beliefs or principles may be called a martyr. Or someone whose life is hard because of the other people and they just put up with that may be called a martyr. And then in Islam there is a whole different concept of martyrdom.

When we Western Christians think of martyrs we usually think of the Christians who lived and died because of their faith in Jesus in the first centuries AD. The pagan Romans persecuted the Christians and fed them to the lions. Luckily that all is long past history now. Of course also we face the persecution because of our faith like when a co-worker ridicules of faith or when there is a ‘funny’ joke about ‘stupid believers’ in a talk show. But luckily that is all. Luckily today no one has to really suffer or die because of Jesus. Or is it really so?

Today the Christians are the most persecuted group of people in the world. Although the numbers vary between 1000 and 10 000 martyrs per year there is no doubt that every day someone dies because of his or her faith in Jesus. Every day more than one of our brothers and our sisters pays the ultimate price of following Jesus. Apart from them tens of thousands of Christians suffer daily because of their faith. They are thrown into prisons or prison camps, they are been beaten, starved, tortured… Their houses and churches are being burned, some have their children taken away, some end up in slavery. No, this is not happening somewhere in the ‘dark history’ and ancient past. This is happening today – yes, today – in countries like North Korea, Nigeria, Iraq, Syria, India, China… This is happening to our brothers and sisters. And because we are one in Christ it is happening to us.

Majority of the Christian martyrs lived and died in the areas dominated by the radical Islam. In Islam there is also a concept of martyr, shahid. But while a Christian martyr dies ‘passively’ because of his faith, a Muslim martyr is actively contributing to his death by taking part of jihad against the enemies of Islam. Christian martyrs by definition don’t seek death. They just rather die than deny their faith. The shahid is seeking to die for Islam because that is the way to ensure his place in the Paradise. Christian martyrs leave their lives in to the hands of God. They rather give up their live here on Earth to gain an everlasting live with God.

When I think of the All Saints’ Day I don’t think so much of the martyrs of the first Christian centuries. I think of the martyrs of today. I think of my brothers and sisters who have given up their earthly life as a witness. And I pray for all my other brothers and sisters who are being persecuted and who may have to face the same question: Will you deny your Lord and continue your life or will you keep your faith and go to be with your Lord? And I pray that if I ever had to face that question I would have the courage to answer: I believe in Him who has conquered the death.

This article originally appeared on Caspari Center, October 20, 2016, and reposted with permission.

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Parashat Noach – Gen 6:9 – 11:32

Nov 3, 2016

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And the L-rd dispersed them from there over the face of the whole earth; and they ceased to build the city. – B’resheet/Genesis 11:8 

This text is the penultimate verse in the narrative of the Tower of Babel. The story goes that after the flood, the descendants of Noah “migrated from the east and settled in a valley in the land of Shinar” (B’resheet 11:2). There they decided to build a tower “with its top in the sky” (v. 4). But HaShem confounded their plans by making them speak different languages and – as the text says – dispersing them all over the earth. What is this story about and what can we learn from it today?

Addressing the grammar first, the first verb in the text, , is the Hif’il prefix 3ms form of the root , “to disperse themselves, be scattered” (Davidson), with a vav-conversive construction to make it a completed event in the narrative sequence. In the Hif’il voice, the root has an active meaning, “to disperse, scatter or confuse”. The verb is followed by its subject, , HaShem, and object, , them. The second verb, , is the Qal 3mp prefix form of the root , “to cease, leave off, fail” (Davidson), again in a vav-conversive construction as the next completed event in the narrative sequence. It is followed by , the Qal infinitive of the root , “to build” and its object, , the city.

Nechama Leibowitz describes the way that mankind has evolved building technology. No longer restricted to mountainous areas where stone is available for building, man can now make use of the clay to be found in the valley floor to make bricks and fire them. She comments that, “Man who has the power to reach these technical heights soon imagines that he is all-powerful,” and points to the psalms: “Why do nations assemble, and peoples plot vain things; kings of the earth take their stand, and regents intrigue together against the L-RD and against His anointed? ‘Let us break the cords of their yoke, shake off their ropes from us!’ He who is enthroned in heaven laughs; the L-rd mocks at them” (Psalm 2:1-4, JPS). Then she steps to the words of the prophet – “For the L-RD of Hosts has ready a day against all that is proud and arrogant, against all that is lofty — so that it is brought low … against every soaring tower and every mighty wall … Then man’s haughtiness shall be humbled and the pride of man brought low. None but the L-RD shall be exalted in that day” (Isaiah 2:12-17, JPS) – and explains that “Only then will there be an end of idolatry, that is, man’s pride which takes advantage of the wisdom implanted in him by G-d in order to turn himself into a deity and worship the work of his own hands.”

Why was the tower built? The Sages of the Talmud simply say that “The tower was built with unworthy motives” (b. Sanhedrin 109a). Nahum Sarna tells us that, “a prime motivation of the builders is said to have been the consolidation of group unity. However, in the present context, the stated purpose of the builders, ‘that we be not scattered all over the world,’ constitutes a direct challenge to the intent of G-d as expressed in the blessing to postdiluvial humanity: ‘Fill the earth’ (B’resheet 9:7). Man did not perceive this to be a blessing and so derived means to thwart its fulfillment.”

Rashi adds, “That which they said – ‘Lest we be dispersed’ (11:4) – came true for them. This is an example of what Solomon said: “What the wicked fears will come upon him” (Proverbs 10:24).

HaShem acted to enforce His plans and make sure that mankind did not stay in just one place and focus on the tower alone. This was, Umberto Cassuto explains, “as He had originally planned, contrary to the wishes of the sons of men when they said, ‘lest we be scattered’ (B’resheet 11:4).1 A similar example occurs in Shemot 1:10: Pharaoh said of the Israelites, ‘lest they multiply’ and immediately afterwards it is written, ‘But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad’ (v. 12), as though to say: Pharaoh said, ‘lest they multiply’, but the L-rd said, ‘they would multiply the more’; and as the L-rd willed so it was.” Nahum Sarna adds that “the pathetic futility of man’s rebellious resolve is laid bare.”

Ibn Ezra takes a different tack, echoing some of the above, but asking a serious question: “The builders of the Tower wanted to keep the people together in order to frustrate G-d’s plan for man to replenish and inhabit all parts of the earth, as commanded in B’resheet 1:28. Are the countless distractions and unproductive enterprises that occupy man’s time and energies a frustration of G-d’s desire for man to use his time wisely and well? Is G-d’s plan to replenish and inhabit the earth G-d’s plan for humanity or is it only a means to an end? What is the end plan?” Some writers within early Judaism suggested that scattering could be a good event. The writer of 2 Baruch, set in the closing years of the first temple, records HaShem saying, “I shall scatter this people among the nations that they may do good to the nations” (2 Baruch 1:4).

The Scriptures record another time of dispersion in the early days of the church after Stephen was killed: “And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles” (Acts 8:1, ESV). This was, however, enough to take people far beyond the physical area of Israel and its neighbours: “Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch” (11:19, ESV). We know that a portion of the Jerusalem church remained with the apostles in the city because Rav Sha’ul visited Jerusalem for the council in Acts 15 and again just before his arrest in Acts 21. Was this a deliberate dispersion, as some suggest, because the followers of Yeshua were not obeying His mandate to: “be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (1:8, ESV). With the 2 Baruch passage in mind, Darrell Bock comments that “a similar positive result emerges from this persecution … out of this scattering emerge major outreaches”2 as the following chapters indicate.

Let’s re-ask Ibn Ezra’s question, because although he was writing in the 10th century, it seems to have particularly resonance in our day. Are we endlessly distracted – by technology, noise and entertainment – so that we never actually concentrate on anything for more than five minutes together? Are we easily sidetracked into unproductive enterprises that take us away from the urgency of the kingdom? Do our plans and ceaseless activity frustrate G-d’s desire for us to use the time He has given us wisely and well? Are we engaged upon replenishing and occupying the earth for the kingdom of G-d according to G-d’s plans and purposes?

Addressing the question from a different point of view, how do we respond to Yeshua’s instructions: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20, ESV)? The first thing to notice is that while the second verb “make disciples” is an imperative – a command – the first, , is not. It is a participle and has the idea of conducting oneself, living or walking; a very close parallel to the Hebrew concept of halachah – the way of walking out the Torah in every day life, how to apply it. This means that while some people rightly hear the word ‘Go’ and are called to serve G-d overseas or in some missionary field away from home, no-one may exclude themselves because we all live our lives in front of people; we all talk to people at work, at home and at leisure – our life is visible all the time. Most of us are called to serve where we are, where we have been planted, among the people G-d has chosen for us to bless and impact with His story, His Good News.

The second thing to notice is that we are commanded; we are a commanded people. As we go, in our lives, we are commanded to make disciples. This means that we do not have the option of sitting in our own little castles, within our comfort zones, our own little empires or enclaves. Just as the builders of the Tower of Babel were dispersed in order to carry out HaShem’s original instructions to fill the earth and dwell there; just as the early church in Jerusalem was dispersed in order to carry out Yeshua’s mandate to fill the earth with the witness of Yeshua and to make disciples; so too if we do not move and carry out our orders to fill the earth with our witness to Yeshua and dwell visibly in the kingdom, we also will be dispersed and sent on our way. We are not building our own city, but looking for the city that G-d has already built and prepared for those whom He has called. That’s you and me! Let’s go before we have to be pushed.

1. – Umberto Cassuto, A Commentary on the Book of Genesis, Part Two – From Noah to Abraham, Magnes Press Jerusalem 1984, 965-223-540-7, pages 247-248

2. – Darrell L. Bock, Acts, ECNT, Baker, 2007, page 318

Further Study: Job 40:11-14; Luke 1:51-55; 2 Corinthians 10:3-6

Application: Are you sitting on your hands and hoping that no-one will notice you? Are you keeping your head down and trying to escape notice while being very busy with your own little world? Time to hear the Master’s call and hit the trail – there’s a world out there that needs to see us walking!

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Jonathan Allen

http://www.messianictrust.org.uk/

Jonathan and his wife, Belinda, lead Messianic Education Trust, which is an educational ministry based in England. It is a part of the Tikkun family of ministries, serving the Messianic Jewish community in Israel, Cyprus and the USA , as well as former republics of the Soviet block.

https://kehilanews.com/2016/11/03/parashat-noach-gen-69-1132/