Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas: The Man Behind the Mask
Decades before the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the world, prompting the widespread use of face masks, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas had twisted together his own version of a mask—one that hid his lifelong motives and remade him into a credible world leader....
Single Mother: Mila’s Story
Less than two years ago, Mila and her husband immigrated to Israel. They brought their five younger children, while their two adult children decided to stay in Ukraine. Just as they were beginning to navigate the challenges of being in a new country, COVID-19 struck. ...
Biblical Israel: Tower of David
The only gate on the western side of the modern Old City of Jerusalem is Jaffa Gate (so named because the road leading to Jaffa goes through this gate). Inside Jaffa Gate stands the Citadel or the Tower of David. This structure has nothing to do with David, which can…...
Weekly Devotional: Be Steadfast
“He gives strength to the weary, and to the one who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run…...
The Ice Cream Wars: Will Anti-Israel Hostility Melt?
The founders of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, have suffered a brain freeze—but not from eating too much ice cream at one time. No, their brain freeze is due to backing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS)....
Mourning Mother: Zoya’s Story
Zoya is an older widow who had immigrated to Israel in 1995 with her husband, and her son, Pavel. Since her husband’s death several years ago, Pavel, who was 42 and lived at home, was her only family. He was kind, generous, and loved by many—and he was a blessing…...
Biblical Israel: Damascus Gate
Visitors to the Old City of Jerusalem today can enter the city through seven gates scattered around its eastern, southern, western, and northern sides. These gates, like the walls of the Old City, date to the Ottoman Period (16th-20th centuries). Along the northern stretch of the Old City walls are three…...
Weekly Devotional: The Path of Wisdom
“My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, listening closely to wisdom and directing your heart to understanding; furthermore, if you call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it like...
Israelis and the Summer Olympics: Will Anti-Semitism Compete, Too?
Due to COVID-19’s untimely appearance last year, the Tokyo Summer Games are still called the 2020 Olympics. Ninety athletes—55 men and 35 women, Israel’s biggest delegation yet—are vying for medals in 18 sports. The games begin tomorrow, July 23, and last until August 8, offering sports fans worldwide the thrill…...
Holocaust Survivor: Tauba’s Story
“I never thought I would hear the horrifying sound of bombings again, especially in Israel,” said Tauba, an 83-year-old Holocaust survivor. When the Nazis invaded Latvia, she was just a little girl living in Riga. Her father put her and her mother on the last train to Kazakhstan—where they hid...
Biblical Israel: Western Wall
The Western Wall refers to the western retaining wall built to support the Temple Mount platform. In the first century, this wall faced the city of Jerusalem, and as such, it had four gates in it that led onto the Temple Mount platform. The gates alternated in their access lower…...
Weekly Devotional: The Value of One
All the tax collectors and sinners were approaching to listen to Him. And the Pharisees and scribes were complaining, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them!” So He told them this parable:...
Christians and Jews in Israel Connect Through Modern Readings of Ancient Scripture
An American-based reading-aloud Bible initiative—the Nationwide Bible Reading Marathon—was just completed yesterday morning, July 14, at 7:14 across the world virtually in respective time zones. In Israel, the birthplace of the Bible, the reading uniquely brought Jews and Christians together to recite the assigned chapters 25-66 in Isaiah....
Lone Soldier: Shoshana’s Story
Shortly after her parents emigrated from Bulgaria to Israel, Shoshana was born. Growing up, sadly, her home never felt like “home.” The fighting and screaming… Her childhood was filled with constant anxiety and stress, and she had a difficult relationship with...
Biblical Israel: Mount Tabor
In the northeastern corner of the Jezreel Valley sits the solitary, dome shaped hill of Mount Tabor. The steep slopes on all sides of the mountain lead to plateau on top, 1000 meters by 400 meters in area. The tribal territories of Zebulun, Issachar, and Naphtali meet at Mount Tabor....
Weekly Devotional: How Do You Want To Be Judged?
“Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you” (Luke 6:37-38 NKJV). Matthew’s parallel adds, “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure…...
Israel: Money Well Spent for America’s Most Beneficial Ally
Most American taxpayers are distressed by the way the United States Congress wheels and deals with our national budget. While members of Congress jockey for political advantage, the unwieldy budgets have now contributed to a colossal $28 trillion debt at this writing. Nevertheless, despite its recurring budget power-struggles and often reckless…...
Elderly Widow: Huana’s Story
When Huana immigrated to Israel with her husband and two children in 1989, the couple worked in a factory, and for years they were content. They lived in Sderot, and despite rocket attacks from Gaza, the family adapted. But then, her husband started...
Biblical Israel: Hebron
The city of Hebron played an important role, particularly within the Old Testament narratives. The city features prominently in the stories of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as Joshua and Caleb, and, eventually, David, who reigned for his first seven years at Hebron. ...
Weekly Devotional: Wisdom Is a Skill You Learn
“The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom; and with all your possessions, acquire understanding. … I have instructed you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in upright paths” (Proverbs 4:7, 11 NASB). Our modern world often equates wisdom with intelligence, or wisdom as the result of life…...
Israel’s Search and Rescue Unit in Florida on Another Heroic Mission of Mercy
Even before the expert Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Search and Rescue Brigade arrived in Florida, they had already mapped via satellite the collapsed Champlain Towers South. Carrying with them the hope that their survey would add to the lifesaving efforts of all rescuers on the site, Israel’s “Helping Hand” operation…...
Hope and Rehabilitation
They had once been homeless, living on the streets, with many of them survivors of drug or alcohol addiction. This group of men had successfully completed a rigorous live-in rehabilitation program. Now, in a half-way home in Israel, facing the Mediterranean Sea, they were given a place...
Biblical Israel: City of David
The first seven and a half years that David reigned, he reigned in Hebron, which sat in the heart of the tribal territory of Judah, David’s tribe (2 Samuel 5:5). As he expanded his rule to all of Israel, he decided to conquer the city of Jerusalem, which until...
Deeds Worthy of Repentance
“Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance” (Acts 26:19-20 NKJV). A key…...
Arson by Balloons: Floating Incendiary and Explosive Devices Target Innocent Israeli Civilians
For generations, toy balloons have been a source of fun and joy. That was certainly true in Israel—until Hamas turned these instruments of amusement into implements of terror....
Biblical Israel: Beth Shean
Located at the intersection of two significant roads that crossed the land of Israel from west to east, through the Jezreel and Harod Valleys towards the land east of the Jordan River, and north to south, through the Jordan River Valley, Beth Shean’s prominence came due to its location. The…...
Weekly Devotional: Slow to Anger in a World of Tempers
“Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but one who has a hasty temper exalts folly” (Proverbs 14:29 NRSV). We live in a world full of tempers. On our streets, in our homes, on our social media, people express their temper often and loudly. Anger seems to simmer under…...
Anti-Israel Hostility Is Soaring While Dictatorships Get a Free Pass
When it comes to what drives spiraling anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment, hate is always at the helm. The global mainstream media’s anti-Israel bias could not be clearer. By frequently abandoning or twisting context and facts, they often reveal unrelenting hostility toward the world’s only Jewish state. Astonishingly, they will single…...
Family in Crisis: Aviva’s Story
For many in Israel, COVID-19 has not only caused financial hardships, but it has also taken a mental and emotional toll on people. The isolation and restrictions made life even worse for those already struggling to get by. And for Aviva, a single mother raising two children by herself, it…...
Biblical Israel: Ein Gedi
The name Ein Gedi means “spring of the kid (young goat).” Ein Gedi, which is the largest oasis on the western shore of the Dead Sea, sits between two riverbeds (in Hebrew, nahal, in Arabic, wadi): Nahal David to the north and Nahal Arugot to the south. The oasis contains…...
Weekly Devotional: Do You Sanctify His Name?
“But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not trust Me to show My holiness in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land I have given them’” (Numbers 20:12 HCSB). The children of Israel found themselves in the wilderness of…...
Israel’s Ancient Political Dramas: Good Kings, Bad Kings, No Kings, and the King of Kings
Drama has dominated Israeli politics going back to ancient times, when the Jewish nation experienced seasons with good kings, bad kings, and no kings. Its political baggage is packed full of successes, failures, prosperity, disaster, peace, war, unity, betrayal, and...
Holocaust Survivor: Lisa’s Story
“I was seven when we were forced by the Nazis into the ghetto,” Lisa recalled sadly. “Food was very hard to come by, and you’d wake up not knowing if you’d have anything to eat that day. Then each evening, we’d see carts going down the road—filled with the bodies…...
Biblical Israel: Shrine of the Book
The discovery at Qumran of the first seven Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 required a suitable place to house them. The American Jewish architects Armand Bartos and Frederic Kiesler were tasked with designing a home for the scrolls at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. On April 20, 1965, the...
What Would World Health Look Like Without Jewish Medical Discoveries?
Older Americans will recall the panic when polio struck their children, either crippling them or resulting in their deaths. In 1952, 58,000 new cases broke out in the United States and more than 3,000 children died. Polio dominated the minds of fearful parents. Enter Dr. Jonas Salk, who in 1953…...
Life-saving Bomb Shelter: Gil’s Story
Imagine waiting at a bus stop and suddenly hearing a bomb siren—with only 15 seconds to find shelter. Tragically, this is the trauma many Israelis face today, and it is taking its toll. Israel is no stranger to war and terrorism. The Israeli communities next to Hamas-ruled Gaza have endured years…...
Biblical Israel: Temple Mount
The Golden Dome of the Rock provides one of the most iconic and recognizable images of any city’s skyline within the world. The Islamic shrine completed in A.D. 692 by the Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik stands upon the platform of the Temple Mount, which was constructed during the first centuries…...
Arab Journalists and Pro-Israel Christians Agree: Hamas is the Problem
When United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Israel, and the United States signed the Abraham Accords on the White House lawn on August 13, 2020, it signaled a historic, miraculous opening of cooperation and benefits to each nation. Morocco and Sudan then joined the Accords,...
Biblical Israel: Second Temple Model
The large, scale model of Jerusalem in A.D. 66 offers one of the main attractions at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Hans Kroch, who owner of the Holy Land Hotel in Jerusalem, commissioned Professor Michael Avi-Yonah and his students to create the model in...
Weekly Devotional: Outpouring of the Holy Spirit
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Luke 1:8 NKJV)....
The Gaza Strip: What Could Have Been
With 28,000 miles of stunning shoreline, the Mediterranean Sea annually beckons a third of the world’s international tourists to its gentle waves and pleasant climate. Twenty-two countries and over 3,000 islands show off a tapestry of assorted cultures, geographies, languages,...
Victim of Terrorism: Yelena’s Story
When her father died in battle during World War II, Yelena was a young girl living in Russia. This loss devastated her for a long time. But Lena overcame her grief, and went on to earn a medical degree, working as a maternity doctor for nearly 35 years. In 1996,...
Biblical Israel: Pool of Siloam
Located on the southern part of the rock cliff that marks the hill of the City of David (in Jerusalem), near the southern end of the Tyropoean Valley sits the Pool of Siloam. The pool was accidentally discovered in 2004 by workmen laying a new sewage line in the...
Weekly Devotional: Do You Consider the Poor?
Blessed is he who considers the poor; the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble. The LORD will preserve him and keep him alive, and he will be blessed on the earth; you will not deliver him to the will of his enemies. The LORD will strengthen him on…...
Shavuot (Pentecost): The Feast of Weeks
“On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on…...
The U.S. Congress Has a Chance to Help Veterans in Our Country and in Israel
A bipartisan light sometimes shines in the United States Congress despite its numerous gridlocks. This holds true for an important bill that, if passed and signed by the President, will help military veterans in both the United States and Israel. Called the United...
Victim of Terrorism: Zeev’s Story
How sobering it is to know that we are witnessing the last generation of Holocaust survivors in Israel. Most are in their 90s, and many came to their ancestral homeland following the horrific events of World War II. They were broken but determined to fight the war of Israel’s birth…...
Biblical Israel: Avdat
Located in the modern Negev Desert on the spur of a mountain ridge, overlooking the plain around the canyon of En Avdat (the “Spring of Avdat”), sits the ancient ruins of the Nabatean city of Avdat. Avdat sits along the ancient caravan routes that crossed the barren lands from Elat…...
Weekly Devotional: Finding God in the Ordinary
“He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap. As you do not know what is the way of the wind, or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, so you do not know the works…...
UN Human Rights Council Pushes “Human Wrongs” Against Israel
The United Nations initiated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 after the Nazi genocide of six million Jews. Its words affirmed the dignity of all world citizens, regardless of who or what they were or where they lived. Indeed, it was a fine and desperately needed effort to…...
Biblical Israel: Shiloh
Shiloh served as the place where the Israelites erected the Tabernacle and placed the Ark of the Covenant after they conquered the land (Joshua 18:1). It became a place for religious pilgrimage and the celebration of festivals (Judges 21:19; 1 Samuel 1:3). The parents of Samuel,...
Weekly Devotional: Coming in Last to Serve God Best
“For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are…...
When Evil Demands an Encore, Stop It in Its Tracks
In 1925, Hitler’s book, Mein Kampf (“My Struggle”) was published, containing the script for Hitler’s genocidal plan. He wrote it while serving only nine months of a five-year sentence for attempting to overthrow the German Republic in 1923. It began in a beer hall. German...
New Immigrant: Snezhana’s Story
When Snejana, her husband, and their three children emigrated from Ukraine to Israel in 2018, she had high hopes, despite the obstacles of starting over in a new culture. They found an apartment that looked fresh and clean, and seemed perfect for their family. ...
Biblical Israel: Megiddo
Situated in the western Jezreel Valley at the foot of the lowlands of Mount Carmel stands the ancient mound of Megiddo. It overlooks where Nahal Iron crosses through the Carmel lowlands, which provided passage for one of the branches of the most important...
Weekly Devotional: Behold Your God
Life can often distract us. It might be the unrelenting stress and busyness within our own lives, the whirlwind of anxiety often generated by a 24-hour news cycle, or the latest novelty being presented as the solution to our problems. We find ourselves consumed by the worries of the moment…...
Torah Reading Commentary: Repentance
It is often said that we live in a “secular age,” a term popularized by the title of Charles Taylor’s famous book. For several decades in the lead-up to the turn of the millennium, membership in traditional religious institutions among Americans was always around 70%. Today, it is less than…...
Iran and Israel: Once Friends, Now Foes
During the Persian Empire and beyond, rulers, religions, and the well-being of the Jewish community shifted like the Middle Eastern desert sands. When it comes to news about Iran, reports today are dominated by deadly threats to Israel from Iran’s Imams, whose goals are set on establishing a modern caliphate with…...
Business Development: Nathanial’s Story
Nathanial had a rough start in life that could have held him back. He grew up in a poor Israeli neighborhood, with only his mother to offer him encouragement. Yet, this brilliant young man loved computers, and had a vision to make his mark in the field of computer cybernetics....
Biblical Israel: Arbel
Arbel sits high upon the sheer limestone cliffs along the northwest corner of the lake of Galilee, northwest of Tiberias, overlooking the fertile plain of Gennesar. The Arbel Cliffs form the southern boundary of the plain of Gennesar and provide a striking visual landmark along the northwest shores of the…...
Weekly Devotional: Sons that Do His Will
“What do you think? A man had two sons; and he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he repented and went. And he went to the second and said the same; and he answered,…...
Israel’s Memorial and Independence Days: Sorrow and Joy, Back to Back
During Israel’s 2020 Memorial Day observance, Dvora Waysman, an Israeli author and syndicated journalist, observed, “Israel is a country where so many parents have been called upon to bury their children, and the earth is saturated with tears. In the whole land, there is barely a family that has not…...
New Immigrant Center
Every year, thousands of immigrants travel to Israel—families with children, single men and women, seniors and young people… They come to fulfill a dream: To live in the land of their forefathers and establish roots. But despite their zeal, they face great challenges. ...
Yom HaAtzma’ut: Israel’s Independence Day
“Who has ever seen anything as strange as this? Who ever heard of such a thing? Has a nation ever been born in a single day? Has a country ever come forth in a mere moment? But by the time Jerusalem’s birth pains begin, her children will be born” (Isaiah…...
Yom HaZikaron: Israel’s Memorial Day
A week after Yom HaShoah, Israelis mark Yom HaZikaron (“Israel’s Memorial Day”) remembering those who died fighting for the country even before it was established and for those murdered in terror attacks....
Biblical Israel: Masada
Masada, a palace-fortress built by Herod the Great (Matthew 2), sits on the south-western shore of the Dead Sea, fifteen and a half miles south of Ein Gedi. The fortress sits atop an isolated rock plateau that overlooks the Dead Sea Valley below. This naturally fortified rock was first built…...
Weekly Devotional: The Power of Legacy
Abraham never saw the fulfillment of God’s promises to his offspring. Yet, because he listened to God’s voice and kept His commandments, God extended the covenant with Isaac and his offspring. We tend to think about our spiritual lives through the lens of ourselves, through the finiteness of our lives....
Yom HaShoah: Israel Stops and Remembers
Sirens sounded in Israel yesterday at sundown and again at 10 this morning, Israel time. For two minutes cars stopped on the highways. Drivers stepped out and stood. Shoppers paused at cash registers. Crowds walking on sidewalks stopped in their tracks. The nation is pausing together in silence and stillness…...
Remembering the Holocaust
The Holocaust is etched in Israel’s national memory. Each year, its victims are honored on one special national holiday called Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Memorial Day.) All places of entertainment are closed. That morning, a siren sounds across the country—and everything stops for two...
Biblical Israel: Dead Sea
The Jordan River flows into the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth, at 1,300 feet below sea level. It formerly received six million tons of water daily from the Jordan River. It forms part of the Rift Valley. It is forty-three miles long and nine miles wide. It is…...
Weekly Devotional: He Is Risen
“Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus....
Torah Reading Commentary: Sacrifice
Indeed, there is a Jewish custom to begin the religious education of a child not with the story of creation, the story of the Exodus, or the grand sweep of Moses’ summation—but with Leviticus. Why? As with so much else, there are multiple interpretations—each of which can be true....
Holy Week and Passover: Centuries-Old Persecution of Jews
Holy Week took on a new dimension for me on Palm Sunday night. My husband and I attended a Turner Classic Movies Fathom event on the big screen. The epic movie The Ten Commandments was shown as a tribute on its 65th anniversary. Stunning in every way, the movie had…...
Biblical Israel: Church of the Holy Sepulchre
The traditional location of the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which sits within the heart of the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The origin of the church goes back to the Emperor Constantine. His mother the Empress Helena on…...
Weekly Devotional: The Crucifixion
“And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.’ And they divided His garments and cast lots. And the people stood looking on....
Passover: The Feast of Unleavened Bread
For thousands of years, the Jewish people have told the story from the book of Exodus on the eve of Passover, “the fourteenth day of the first month” (Leviticus 23:5) in a special meal with symbolic food called a Seder, which means “order” in Hebrew. There are many traditions from…...
Torah Reading Commentary: The Passover Seder
This year’s Passover Seder will be celebrated on March 27, and we should take time to discover the opportunities that are open to us spiritually and the opportunities we have to improve the world. The Haggadah—the greatest hits of Jewish thought—exists to guide us through that divine journey....
Think Iran Hasn’t Expanded Its Terror Toolbox? Think Again
Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Syria are members of an infamous club. The U.S. State Department identifies them as the world’s most dangerous terror nations. Their four leaders are a menace to the world as well as to their own citizens. And Iran—with its foothold in Syria...
Biblical Israel: Garden of Gethsemane
Mark and Matthew identify Gethsemane as the place Jesus went with His disciples after eating the Passover within the city of Jerusalem, prior to His arrest (Matthew 26:36; Mark 14:32). These two Gospels provide the only mention of this place within ancient sources; thus, pinpointing its location proves difficult. ...
Weekly Devotional: Not Our Will But Your Will Be Done
“Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. When He came to the place, He said to them, ‘Pray that you may not enter into temptation.’ And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and…...
Torah Reading Commentary: The Bible and Us
The prerequisite to understanding any story is answering the question: What is its genre? This might seem like an easy task, but it’s really not. Let’s say that someone gets offended by a joke. The jokester says that he was just trying to be funny. The listener says that the…...
Israel: An Environmental Wonder Making Its Deserts Like Eden
In Israel, the Holy Land, the earth itself is indeed Holy! The earth where Jesus walked overflows with flowers and vineyards that depict nature as a visual symbol of rebirth. With the profusion of emerging plants and vast flocks of migrating birds, the renewal of spring is...
Single Mother: Sonya’s Story
Ten years ago, Sonya* had just immigrated to Israel, when she met the man she would marry. He was charming, had a great job, and since he was from Israel, he made her feel secure in her new country. They had two children. And for seven years, life seemed good. …...
Biblical Israel: Mount of Olives
The Mount of Olives is a north-south ridge that sits on the eastern watershed of the hills around Jerusalem. To its east, the land slopes drastically down towards the Jordan River Valley and the area around Jericho, towards the Dead Sea. The steep fall-off of the topography east of the…...
Weekly Devotional: Remember All That God Has Done
“And He sent Peter and John, saying, ‘Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.’ So they said to Him, ‘Where do You want us to prepare?’ And He said to them, ‘Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water;…...
Torah Reading Commentary: Mercy
God could have created the world using any technique and done so instantaneously. Instead, He chose to do so with a succession of expressions, each beginning with “God said.” We are all familiar with the Ten Commandments, but the correct translation is: Ten Words. God’s words are demonstrably powerful and…...
Iran Aims “Eco-Terrorism” at Israel’s Coastline
In a conversation with Moses, God portrays Israel as “a land flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8). Israel has certainly fulfilled this description, making their dreams come true in their modern homeland. Recently though, Israeli citizens woke up to a nightmare and learned that oil tar was coming ashore killing…...
Rescuing Women from Prostitution
In southern Tel Aviv, there once was a proud, working class Jewish neighborhood that deteriorated over the years. Sadly, it is now filled with brothels, addicts, drug dealers, and rampant crime. And prostitution is common there. Young women who look sick and malnourished walk the streets—selling their bodies openly to…...
Biblical Israel: Jordan River
The most dramatic geographical feature of the biblical land of Israel is the scar of the Rift Valley. Created by the tectonic plates, this forms part of the Syro-African Rift, the longest scar on the face of the planet. Within the land of Israel, the Rift Valley is referred to…...
Weekly Devotional: The Temple Cleansing
“Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, ‘It is written, “My house is a house of prayer,” but you have made it a “den of thieves.”’ And He was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and…...
Torah Reading Commentary: What Might Exodus Say About Clothing?
The person wearing the uniform also feels an enhanced sense of responsibility, as he knows he is literally embodying the values that his or her uniform conveys. And this feeling, though generated by the clothing one puts on, becomes deeply felt....
Palestinian Textbooks Incite Violence Against Israel
The world marked another International Day Against the Use of Child Soldiers just a few weeks ago on February 12. Yet the Palestinians repeatedly violate this worthy United Nations and UNICEF-sponsored goal in their textbooks. Shaping young minds with erroneous...
New Immigrant: Sergey’s Story
Working as accountants in Kazakhstan, Sergey and his wife Alina are a Jewish couple who felt drawn to live in Israel. They finally immigrated with their two children. They also had a passion for the world of beauty and hair styling and used the move to change careers. Arriving in…...
Biblical Israel: Sea of Galilee
The Sea of Galilee is the lowest freshwater lake on earth. It sits 600 feet below sea level. It is a lake, and not a sea; thus, the Evangelist Luke correctly describes it often as a lake (5:1; 8:22, 33). The Lake of Galilee sits in the Jordan River Valley, which…...
Weekly Devotional: The Triumphal Entry
“Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying: ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace…...
Purim: The Story of Esther
It’s a festive time of celebrating, where children dress in costumes to celebrate the Jewish people’s rescue from—and victory over—a wicked government minister who wanted to destroy them thousands of years ago, as recorded in the book of Esther in the Bible....
Torah Reading Commentary: The Theology of Details
Parshat Mishpatim is full of detail, but in the way all laws are. In order to govern behavior, laws need to predict and describe that behavior—and the only way to accomplish that is with an abundance of detail....
Purim’s Persian Queen Esther: An Advocate Then and Example Now
Queen Esther is beloved in the pages of biblical history. Her story reflects how one ordinary person responded to God’s call—and how her courage and obedience resulted in an extraordinary rescue of her Jewish community during King Ahasuerus’ reign (486–465 B.C.). God used...
Biblical Israel: Dan
The Bible identifies Dan as the northernmost point of ancient Israel (Judges 20:1; 1 Samuel 3:20). The site of Dan sits at the southern base of Mount Hermon, in the upper portion of the Jordan River Valley, at the juncture of the ancient north-south and east-west caravan routes. Its location…...
Weekly Devotional: Learning Meekness
“Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all the people who were on the face of the earth” (Number 12:3 ESV). Our modern culture, even our Christian culture, celebrates strong, bold, and yes, even arrogant, leaders. Moses wouldn’t fit. Yet God selected Moses as the vehicle of His…...
Torah Reading Commentary: The Genesis of Distinctions
This art of making distinctions also informs Jewish biblical politics, with resonance into the present day. For instance, take a general question: How should we regard the stranger in our midst? It entirely depends, as Parshat Mishpatim says, upon the distinctions we must make....
A Jewish Patriot of Colonial America: An Example for Future U.S. Support of Israel
Long before Ellis Island became the gateway to America, Haym Salomon, a Jewish immigrant, fled from the political unrest and violence in his native Poland. He settled in New York in the early 1770s and set up a brokerage business that included foreign securities. To protest the British, Solomon joined…...
Relief for Terror Victims
What if you saw your entire year’s income disappear in minutes? For the last two years, this has been the plight of Israeli farmers living near Gaza. Enemies across the border have been launching fire kites and balloons that burn their crops rapidly and threaten Israel’s food...
Biblical Israel: Dan Spring
The land of Israel did not merely provide the stage upon which biblical events played out, its flora, fauna, climate, and geology provide the images, metaphors, and vocabulary that biblical writers used to communicate their message whether in narrative, poetry, or prophecy. There are places...
Weekly Devotional: Where God Dwells
“For thus says the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with those who are contrite and humble in spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite” (Isaiah…...
Torah Reading Commentary: Jethro’s Concern
The parsha (Torah portion) we Jews read last week in synagogue was about the greatest moment in the history of humankind: when God gave the Ten Commandments (and, according to some scholars, the entire Torah) to Moses at Mount Sinai....
Jerusalem’s Temple Mount: Arguably the Most Disputed Real Estate on Earth
Three thousand years of recorded history sit atop, around, and below the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Israel’s capital city. The 37-acre trapezium-shaped platform rises 2,400 feet above ground. Judaism’s holiest site, the Western Wall (Kotel in Hebrew), is on the southwest side. Built by King Herod during Roman occupation, it’s one…...
Blessing Arab Communities in Israel
Lost employment, closed businesses, lockdowns…The current pandemic has brought hardship across the Holy Land. And CBN Israel has delivered aid to many during this time. But how do you reach those who are desperate—yet have a hard time asking for help?...
Biblical Israel: Mount Carmel
Mount Carmel is a limestone ridge that bisects the coastal plain of the land of Israel branching off from the mountains of Samaria west towards the Mediterranean coast. It is most famous as the location for the confrontation between Elijah and the prophets of Ba’al (1 Kings 18:19).Today,...
Weekly Devotional: What Are You Saying?
“The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak what is just. The law of their God is in their hearts; their feet do not slip” (Psalm 37:30-31 NIV). Our modern world has provided each of us with a variety of platforms to communicate and let ourselves be…...
Torah Reading Commentary: Reversion to the Mean
One of the most important concepts in finance is “reversion to the mean.” Core to everything from options pricing to stock valuation, this concept incorporates the belief that prices will revert to the place where they mostly have been. If a stock is trading at significantly below its historic price-to-earnings…...
The Israel Law Center: Fighting for Justice on Court Battlegrounds
“Money drives terrorism,” declares prominent American attorney Alan Dershowitz. “If funding is cut, terrorism is reduced.” So says Dershowitz in his review of Nitsana Darshan-Leitner’s 2017 book Harpoon: Inside the Covert War Against Terrorism's Money Masters. The book addresses Israel’s tactics of starving terrorist organizations of the funds they need…...
School Supplies for Children in Sderot
It’s one of Israel’s poorest cities, and the top target for terrorism. For over 15 years, Sderot has endured constant rocket attacks, day and night—and its children and teens suffer from PTSD. Families who could afford to move away have gone to safer areas—while the rest have been left with…...
Biblical Israel: First Century Tombs and Burial
Bible readers find the issue of Jewish burial customs and tombs interesting due to the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus. While the Gospels do not provide an exact location for the tomb of Jesus, although tradition and archaeology does support the traditional location of the Holy Sepulchre,...
Weekly Devotional: Waiting For His Word
“Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. … I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope” (Psalm 130:1, 5 NKJV). No one likes to…...
Torah Reading Commentary: Moses, Pharaoh—and Our Religious Experience
It is a cliché to say “there is no such thing as a bad question.” But, unlike most clichés, this one is not true. There are some bad questions. One is: “Is he religious?” There are several reasons why this is a bad question. One is that it is imprecise....
Tu B’Shvat: Celebrating Nature
“When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden. For three years you are to consider it forbidden; it must not be eaten” (Leviticus 19:23 NIV). Tu B’Shvat is also known as Rosh HaShanah La’Ilanot, the New Year of the Trees. Israel actually…...
Faith Communities Worldwide Honor International Holocaust Remembrance Day
If we held a moment of silence for every victim of the Holocaust, we would be silent for eleven-and-a-half years. You have probably seen or heard this devastating truism before. Six million European Jews were murdered. Countless others were tortured. Yet we must remember—so that such an atrocity never happens…...
Holocaust Survivor: Michael’s Story
Jerusalem Central Town, a non-profit organization, is a very special CBN Israel partner. They provide a safe home for people aged 80 and over—all of whom survived World War II and the Holocaust. And Michael, an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor, is their chairman and advocate....
Biblical Israel: Qumran
Located on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, about seven miles south of Jericho and twenty miles north of Ein Gedi, sits the ruins of Qumran. Eleven caves around Qumran yielded, arguably, the most important archaeological discovery of the twentieth century: the Dead Sea Scrolls. The current name, Qumran,…...
Weekly Devotional: The Quantity of Forgiveness
“Then Peter came up and said to him, ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven’” (Matthew 18:21-22 RSV). Peter came to Jesus asking…...
Torah Reading Commentary: Moses and Tom Brady
In Exodus 5-6, God prepares to free the Jewish people from many years of torturous and murderous slavery. Yet when God’s prophet, Moses, tells the Jews about their impending change of circumstance, their response is not jubilation, exhilaration, gratitude, or hope. In fact, they had to be commanded to prepare...
Trump’s Achievements and Hopes for a Robust Biden U.S.-Israel Relationship
Thousands of words have been written about President Donald Trump’s exceptional policies toward Israel and the greater Middle East. His administration’s actions are pretty well known. Yet Israel—a nation familiar with constant hostility, relentless terror......
Lone Soldier Home
Israel has a national army that requires mandatory service of its citizens. And for Israeli teens, turning 18 means swapping school books for military uniforms, and putting other dreams and goals on hold. But for a young immigrant, the challenges of army life can be far more daunting....
Biblical Israel: Chorazin
Located two and a half miles north of Capernaum, Chorazin sits in the hills overlooking the lake of Galilee at 45-46 meters above sea level and 267-273 meters above the lake. Although only mentioned once in the Gospels (Matthew 11:21-24; Luke 10:13-16), Jesus cursed the village for not repenting when…...
Weekly Devotional: Out of the Depths
“Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications” (Psalm 130:1-2 NKJV). Have you ever been there? In the depths? Have you ever felt so overwhelmed by life and its circumstances that you…...
Torah Reading Commentary: When Change Happens
The life of our father Jacob—and with it, the book of Genesis—is coming to an end. On his deathbed, Jacob says perhaps the most beautiful and moving expression of love and gratitude ever spoken, “I had not expected to see [even] your face, and behold, God has shown me your…...
Iran’s Nuclear Quest, Twelvers, and Growing Christian Conversions
Readers, on January 12, just after I completed my column, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., with explosive new intelligence. He stated, “Al-Qaeda has a new home base: it is the Islamic Republic of Iran. As a result, Osama bin Laden’s…...
Holocaust Survivor: Tanya’s Story
Tanya was just 14 years old when the Nazis invaded Ukraine, bringing on the Holocaust. Looking back, she admits sadly, “I remember life was so normal until that day. The war started, and everything changed. Many of our family and friends died.” Fortunately, her mother worked at a local hospital—so…...
Biblical Israel: Magdala
The site of Magdala sits a little over three miles north of Tiberias, on the southern edge of the plain of Gennesar, on the shore of the lake of Galilee. Ancient sources seemingly refer to this site by three names; Greek and Latin sources refer to it as Taricheae; Hebrew…...
Weekly Devotional: Peacemakers
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9 NIV). Jesus expected His followers to be instruments of peacemaking. Those who do so, according to Jesus, will be called children of God. For Jesus, the peacemaking efforts of His followers is the condition for them…...
Torah Reading Commentary: Manasseh and Ephraim
Every Friday evening at sundown, we Jews engage in one of the most sacred experiences of being a Jew—and the happiest of being a person. We cease work, turn off all electronics, and focus entirely on the important matter at hand: welcoming God’s special day, Shabbat. We dress in our…...
Worldwide Religious Persecution: Where Does Israel Stand?
As we enter a new year, religious persecution will undoubtedly continue to impact millions across the globe, with such atrocities as Nigeria’s Christians being massacred, China’s Muslim Uighurs enslaved, and Jews murdered in their synagogues. For three years, an organization called Church in Need tracked Christian persecution in particular saying…...
Biblical Israel: Capernaum
Mentioned more than any other location in the Gospels, apart from Jerusalem, Capernaum sits on the northern shore of the lake of Galilee. The Gospels indicate it served as an important base during Jesus’ ministry around the lake, with Matthew referring to it as “his own city” (9:1)....
Weekly Devotional: Going When You Don’t Know Where
“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was to go. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents…...
Torah Reading Commentary: Looking Old
The two greatest people in the world meet. The first is the great man of faith, who lives according to the undeniable and clear direction of God. The second is the most powerful ruler in the world. The person who arranges this meeting is the son of the first man,…...
Despite the Pandemic, Israel’s 2020 Innovations and Aid Are Not Locked Down
Recent news out of Israel sounds grim. The nation has entered a third national lockdown, with strict regulations and hefty fines for infractions. Not surprisingly, tourists are nowhere to be found. On top...
Biblical Israel: Herodium
Three miles southeast of Bethlehem sits Herodium, the palace fortress built by Herod the Great (Matthew 2). Overlooking the birthplace of Jesus, Herod’s fortress guarded the eastern roads through the wilderness from Bethlehem to En Gedi....
Weekly Devotional: The Patience to Wait
“Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah....
Torah Reading Commentary: Joseph the Interpreter
One of the magnificent gifts of the Bible is how multiple interpretations of the same passage, even when they differ significantly, can teach us truths that can help us live better, happier, and more meaningful lives. A classic example is in the great story of Joseph....
Bethlehem: Jesus’ Birthplace Endures the Impact of COVID-19 and Ongoing Threats
Each Christmas, we have the opportunity to rediscover the Gospel accounts that covey the most miraculous birth story ever recorded in history. After Mary and Joseph’s 80-mile trek from Nazareth, Mary gave birth to Jesus in the small town of Bethlehem. Located five-and-a-half miles south of Jerusalem, this town was…...
Hani and the Children’s Club
He never imaged it might come to this. As a child, Hani loved the sense of camaraderie he found at the local children’s club in Jerusalem’s Old City. In fact, he and his friends who still live nearby reminisce about the good times they’d enjoyed in this place of...
Biblical Israel: Bethlehem
Bethlehem gains its notoriety as the birthplace of Jesus (Matthew 2:1; Luke 2:1-7); however, by the time of Jesus’ birth, the village already had quite a history. Bethlehem first appears in the Amarna Letters (14th century B.C.) as a Canaanite town. Its name comes...
Weekly Devotional: Glory to God
Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You…...
Torah Reading Commentary: Joseph the Missionary
We Jews have a concept of the lamed vavnik—that there are 36 people in every generation upon whom the world rests. My family has been deeply fortunate to know many of them....
The Miracle of the Abraham Accords Shining Brightly During Hanukkah
By Arlene Bridges Samuels Although the eight days of Hanukkah festivities are ending, seasonal miracles are continuing to spread light across the Middle East. When Israeli children play dreidel games, the Hebrew phrase, “A great miracle happened here” is ever-present. Each dreidel (spinning top) is stamped with Hebrew letters that…...
COVID-19 Food Distribution
With the outbreak of COVID-19 and the resulting economic downturn, a new threat has arisen across Israel: the threat of hunger. Large segments of the population struggle with having enough to eat, and CBN Israel’s food distribution programs have seen the...
Biblical Israel: Beersheva
The site of Beersheva figures prominently within the Patriarchal stories of the Old Testament, particularly with Abraham. It also became the defining limit of the southern extent of the kingdom of Israel, from Dan to Beersheva...
Weekly Devotional: Raising Up the Humble
“And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. He has helped…...
Hanukkah: The Festival of Lights
“It was now winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of Hanukkah, the Festival of Dedication. He was in the Temple, walking through the section known as Solomon’s Colonnade” (John 10:22-23)....
Torah Reading Commentary: Deborah – Rebekah’s Nurse
Parsha Vayishlach is packed with several notable events, including Jacob wrestling with an angel, Jacob marrying Rachel and Leah, Jacob and Esau reuniting, and the rape of Dinah and its aftermath. Each of these, and others, is extraordinary....
The Menorah: Israel’s National Symbol is a Hanukkah Inspiration
The imposing 15-foot-high bronze menorah that stands like a sentinel outside Israel’s Knesset Building has long been a tourist favorite. A photo op in front of this extraordinary candelabrum offers a lasting memory for groups or lone visitors who pose before...
World War II Veteran: Arkadi’s Story
It was December 1942, and Arkadi was enjoying a relaxing visit with relatives in Minsk, Belarus. Suddenly, the Nazis raided the city overnight. His loved ones were taken away to the ghetto, as he witnessed a massacre—with the dead piled up in the streets....
Biblical Israel: Nazareth
Nazareth—the boyhood home of Jesus—sits on a limestone ridge (the Nazareth Ridge) in the Lower Galilee that separates the Jezreel Valley to the south from the Beit Netofa Valley to the north. Nazareth first appears in ancient literary sources in the New Testament...
Weekly Devotional: The Proclamation of Good News
“Zechariah asked the angel, ‘How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.’ The angel said to him, ‘I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you…...
Torah Reading Commentary: All His Years? Yes!
In the portion of the Torah (the Parsha) that we Jews will read in synagogue on Saturday, Jacob is, per Genesis 32:24, “left alone” and spends the night wrestling with a man and/or an angel. The man/angel, bested in the fight, tells Jacob to let him go. ...
Obama’s New Book Lacks Important Context and Omits Significant Israel History
Former President Barack Obama has penned a 728-page memoir, A Promised Land, that was released on November 17 and has already amassed record-breaking sales in its first week: 1.7 million copies. Lauded for its eloquent use of language, the book nonetheless has engendered criticism regarding Israel—and I’d like to add…...
Aiding Ethiopian Families
Imagine walking through the desert for weeks—a long, dangerous trek, where you shed whatever weighs you down. And arriving in a new country with nothing—all to fulfill a dream. This is the plight of Ethiopian Jews who immigrated to Israel, the land of their ancestors....
Biblical Israel: Caesarea
The book of Acts mentions Caesarea a number of times. In Caesarea, the Gospel came to the Gentiles for the first time as Peter proclaimed Jesus to the God-fearing Roman Centurion Cornelius and his family, who subsequently received the Holy Spirit as the Jews had (Acts 10)....
Weekly Devotional: Why Have You Been Sent
“And he stood up to read; and there was given to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor....
Torah Reading Commentary: Thanksgiving
In Leviticus 10, the elder sons of Aaron (the high priest who was the older brother of Moses) bring before God a “strange fire that He had not commanded them.” This act, which seems like an ancient display of religious extremism, earns these two young men a penalty. God sends…...
Mike Pompeo: the 70th United States Secretary of State and True Friend of Israel
When Mike Pompeo stepped onto the soil of the Binyamin region in Israel’s biblical heartland last week, the importance of that event generated a dramatic course correction. Pompeo’s visit was a diplomatic earthquake, the first time a U.S. Secretary of State had visited Judea and Samaria. The eruption that ensued…...
Single Mother: Shlomit’s Story
She is a single mother of four young children—ages 2, 4, 5, and 7. And living in Israel, Shlomit worked hard at her job as a caretaker for the elderly... until the COVID-19 outbreak.“People are very scared of the virus, so they are taking care of their aging parents themselves,”...
Biblical Israel: Elah Valley
The biblical writers often assume their readers knew the geographic and regional dynamics of the land of Israel. Sites and locations offer more than simply places on a map; they provide the living landscape that shaped and formed the biblical stories. In addition, the authors of...
Weekly Devotional: Sufficient for the Day
“Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11 NASB). Jesus often alluded to passages from the Old Testament in His teachings. When He taught His disciples to pray, He instructed them to say, “Give us this day our daily bread.” This image would have drawn to the minds...
Torah Reading Commentary: Parenting
One of the wonderful things about studying the Torah results from its premise: Every word matters. The importance of every word, and sometimes every letter, leads to a fundamental question: What does it mean when every word matters? It is not that every word is crucial to...
Iran, the Palestinians, and the Future of U.S. Middle East Policy
Most Americans are unaware that the nation of Iran has the United States in its crosshairs. They’re oblivious to the chilling truth that this trigger-happy Middle Eastern country considers us the “Great Satan” and wishes us harm. Israel, however, is all too aware of this ongoing threat. They are forced…...
Aiding Terror Victims with Disabilities
The attacks were relentless. Living in the Israeli city of Sderot means near-constant bombardment from missiles launched by Gaza’s Hamas terrorists. Many individuals and businesses that could leave the chaos have moved out, destroying the city’s life and economy....
Weekly Devotional: The Best Laid Plans
Paul wanted to go to Rome. He said as much in his letter to the Romans. Paul wrote to them, having never been to Rome, but now he planned to go—after he delivered an offering from the saints in Greece for those in Judaea....
Torah Reading Commentary: God’s Deal—Doing Well by Doing Good
In Deuteronomy 6:16, the Torah provides an instruction that seems prosaic: “You must not test the LORD your God as you did when you complained at Massah.” This seems prosaic and even skippable, but then the reader remembers this is the Torah—everything is...
The United Nations Attempt to Delete Israel’s Ancient History
Imagine waking up one morning to news that the Eiffel Tower is no longer considered French. That the pyramids are not Egyptian. And that the Statue of Liberty is not a beloved symbol of the United States. Your reaction would be astonishment. Yet, here’s a fact that is barely a...
Holocaust Survivor: Tamara’s Story
As an 84-year-old, Tamara is an optimist—despite enduring the terror of the Holocaust and World War II. Yet, she has spent her twilight years living out her dream in a battle zone. Tamara was a child in a Jewish community in Kyiv, Ukraine, when the war started....
Weekly Devotional: Abandoning Love
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: … ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear evil men but have tested those who call themselves apostles but are not … I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my…...
Torah Reading Commentary: “Here I am”
One of the most enjoyable aspects of hosting the podcast, “The Rabbi’s Husband,” is learning why my guest chose the passage we are discussing. There are thousands of biblical passages to choose from, and a guest—by virtue of having selected the one under discussion...
Jesus’ Overlooked Statement That Could Have Changed Jewish History
Is it possible that overlooking one of Jesus’ most profound declarations could have been a leading cause of the cancerous spread of anti-Semitism in churches and communities throughout the world? This cancer has...
Weekly Devotional: Those That Please God
“Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; play the lyre to our God, who covers the sky with clouds, prepares rain for the earth, and causes grass to grow on the hills. He provides the animals with their food, and the young ravens, what they cry for. He is not impressed...
Torah Reading Commentary: Abraham – The Constitution of Faith
One of the many lessons about biblical understanding I have learned from my Christian friends is the principle of “First Mention.” This principle, in the words of Pastor R.T. Kendall, states, “The way a word is first used in the Bible will be the way this word is...
Abraham Accords Agreement Welcomes Sudan into the “Circle of Peace”
President Trump’s foreign policy is dramatically reshaping the Middle East. The intensely complex, conflict-ridden region is moving into a new era. On a conference call in the Oval Office on October 23, Trump announced Sudan’s entry into the Abraham Accords Peace...
Victim of Terrorism: Lena’s Story
Lena and her husband were working the factory night shift, when her phone rang. It was the police—reporting that her apartment building was hit by a rocket. The couple rushed home and stood there in shock. Their apartment was gone....
Weekly Devotional: If God is for Us
Between our 24-hour news cycle and social media, it’s pretty easy to find ourselves overwhelmed by anxiety, fear, and hopelessness. The struggles of today, the worry of tomorrow threaten to drown us in despair—even those who believe in Jesus....
Torah Reading Commentary: The Right Man?
One of the infinitely great and true aspects of the Torah is the complexity of every major figure. Indeed, perhaps the mark of genuinely knowing a biblical character—from Adam to Abraham, from Rebecca to Miriam, from Jacob to Joseph, from Judah to...
Not Fake News: Israel Holds its Fourth Christian Media Summit
Mistrust of the media is a modern global phenomenon. Yet on October 18, Israel’s Government Press Office (GPO) extended a warm hand of trust to Christian media organizations from across the world. Despite this summit being a virtual Zoom event due to...
Single Mother: Natalya’s Story
The attacks were relentless. Living in the Israeli city of Sderot means near-constant bombardment from missiles launched by Gaza’s Hamas terrorists. Many individuals and businesses that could leave the chaos have moved out, destroying the city’s life and economy....
Weekly Devotional: From Slavery to Servanthood
“For the sons of Israel are My servants; they are My servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God” (Leviticus 25:55 NASB). In the Exodus from Egypt, God freed the children of Israel. He liberated them...
Torah Reading Commentary: Cain’s Sin
What was Cain’s sin? Everyone who has heard his name will give the same answer: murdering his brother, Abel. Of course, that is right. But if that were Cain’s only sin, there would not have been a Torah passage about it....
Red Alert: The 15-Second Window
The dreaded yet familiar alarm sounds outdoors and on mobile phones. Several pedestrians sprint toward a bomb shelter at a bus stop. A dad stops his car, jumps out, and dives into the back seat to cover his children. This is not fiction....
Victims of Terrorism: Anna’s Story
The attacks were relentless. Living in the Israeli city of Sderot means near-constant bombardment from missiles launched by Gaza’s Hamas terrorists. Many individuals and businesses that could leave the chaos have moved out, destroying the city’s life and economy....
Weekly Devotional: What You Value Most
“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer us his only son, of whom it was said, ‘Through Isaac shall your descendants be named’” (Hebrews 11:17-18 RSV)....
Simchat Torah: Celebrating the Torah
On the day following the seven days of Sukkot, Simchat Torah is celebrated, which literally means, “rejoicing with the Torah.” The Bible says on that day to have another “holy convocation” on which sacrifices are offered to the Lord and no work is...
Torah Reading Commentary: Keeping Our Eyes Undimmed
Perhaps the most puzzling idea in moral thought is that it is okay to do something because it is natural. This idea is, and always has been, so important and prevalent that the great 20th-century Rabbi, Norman Lamm, declared in a 1974 sermon,...
United Nations at 75 is Usually United Against Israel
Like a giant international shredding machine, the United Nations still betrays its lofty goals enshrined in its 1945 charter. Maintaining world peace, friendliness among nations, respect for human rights, mutual problem solving, and promoting...
Counseling for Terror Victims in Sderot
Loud sirens blaring… frantic scrambling for shelter… a frightening torrent of rocket attacks… For many, this is life in Sderot—a city in southern Israel near the Gaza border. For residents caught in the crossfire, the challenges are great. Children grow up facing emergency...
Weekly Devotional: A More Excellent Way
Paul’s community of believers in Corinth was a mess. They had all kinds of issues. A man had taken his stepmother from his father. There was the question of eating meat sacrificed to idols. They abused the Lord’s Supper by the wealthy eating and getting drunk while...
Sukkot: Feast of Tabernacles
“On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Lord’s Festival of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. For seven days present food offerings to the Lord, and on the eighth day hold a sacred...
Torah Reading Commentary: What is Worthy? A Challenge from Jonah
One of the abiding principles of Jewish biblical interpretation is that there are “70 faces to the Torah.” This means that there are multiple ways to legitimately interpret and properly learn from any biblical passage (70 is used because seven is the Jewish...
National Mall Comes Alive with Songs, Shofars, and Speakers
September 26, 2020, in Washington, D.C., is a day that will join history-making prayers from the last few centuries, when tiny groups of Christians and big prayer movements changed nations and advanced missions worldwide....
Weekly Devotional: The Day of Atonement
“So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God” (Matthew 5:23-24 NLT)....
Yom Kippur: The Day of Atonement
On the tenth day of the appointed month in early autumn, you must deny yourselves. Neither native-born Israelites nor foreigners living among you may do any kind of work. This is a permanent law for you....
Torah Reading Commentary: Jonah’s Mistake—and Ours?
There is a magnificent term in boxing: “pound for pound.” It is a sophisticated concept acknowledging that talent and accomplishment cannot be measured by the simple fact that larger fighters could beat smaller opponents....
Palestinian Leadership Responds to the Abraham Accord
Evangelical Christians have long venerated President Harry Truman for his boldness as the first world leader to recognize Israel’s statehood in the United Nations vote on May 14, 1948. Now, 72 years later, another momentous decision has taken...
Single Mother: Hagra’s Story
She was out of options and out of time. Hagra had worked hard as a single mother to support herself and her 10-year-old son after her husband abandoned them. But she was suddenly stricken with acute renal failure and needed an urgent kidney transplant....
Weekly Devotional: When God Rains on Your Parade
“Elijah the Tishbite, from the inhabitants of Gilad, said to Ahab, ‘As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word’” (1 Kings 17:1 NKJV)....
Rosh Hashanah: Feast of Trumpets
“Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. On the first day of the appointed month in early autumn, you are to observe a day of complete rest. It will be an official day for holy assembly, a day commemorated with loud blasts of a trumpet....
Torah Reading Commentary: The Truth of Multiple Truths
Every generation produces, in unplanned, organic, and ultimately mysterious ways, its own ways of describing the world. Sometimes the outcomes are of only mild curiosity. For instance, perhaps no one knows or cares why the term “groovy”...
Israel Launches Another Exodus of Ethiopian Jews
Last week, the Israeli Knesset approved another round of immigration for 2,000 more Ethiopian Jews in 2021—an endeavor bearing a $51 million price tag. The decision represents decades of welcoming this branch of the African diaspora home—...
Single Mother: Oksana’s Story
Life seemed so ideal when her family moved to Israel from Russia. Married to a pastor, Oksana raised their four children, while he gave inspiring sermons and helped others. Then, her world came crashing down: She discovered her husband was leading a double life....
Weekly Devotional: A Fast that Pleases God
Have you ever noticed that we can approach God with seemingly the right intentions and desires, but in His eyes, our motivations and desires matter little in light of how we treat others?...
Archaeology Proves Israel is the Jewish Homeland
No one questions the historic legitimacy of Egypt’s Sphinx, Italy’s Pantheon, or Greece’s Acropolis—nor the indisputable claims to their ancient heritage. Yet many individuals and organizations attempt to submerge Israel’s history and liquidate...
Single Mother: Nadia’s Story
The teenage girl’s future looked bright. Immigrating to Israel from Russia for an academic program, Nadia finished her economics degree with honors. She found a good job in her field, and her parents and sister planned to move to Israel and join her....
Weekly Devotional: The God Who Makes the Axe Head Float
“They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees. As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. ‘Oh no, my lord!’ he cried out. ‘It was borrowed!’ The man of God asked, ‘Where did it fall?’ When he showed him…...
Torah Reading Commentary: Like a Blind Man Groping in the Darkness
The Jewish year and, thus, the annual cycle of the Torah reading is coming to an end. As we reach the latter half of the concluding book of the Torah, Deuteronomy, Moses knows that he is soon to die without being able to enter the Promised Land. But he is…...
Israel: Making Life Better for the World
Israel creates outsized innovations that sometimes border on the impossible. Making water from air and helping paraplegics walk are only two of this nation’s modern-day miracles. Perhaps another of Israel’s most remarkable accomplishments...
Weekly Devotional: Displeased with God
God’s mercy offends us. When God forgives our sins and we do not receive the reward of our disobedience, we revel in His mercy toward us, and we may even desire such for those like us. But what about those we don’t like, or even our enemies? That is more…...
Torah Reading Commentary: Love With Rules Is All You Need
Last week, Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli became the latest two people to be sentenced for their crimes in the college admissions scandal—where parents cheated in a variety of ways...
Hamas Balloon Intifada Takes to the Air Again
“We will get slaughtered if we are not defended,” warned Security Chief Elan Isaacson in summing up the daily terror reality for Jews living near Gaza. “We are stopping two million Palestinians from infiltrating.”...
Food Distribution for Single Mothers
They are widowed, divorced, or abandoned. They are Israel’s single mothers, making up over 95% of the 130,000 single parent families there. Many are in crisis situations,...
Weekly Devotional: The One Who Dwells with the Humble
“For the High and Exalted One who lives forever, whose name is Holy says this: ‘I live in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and lowly of spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the oppressed.’” (Isaiah 57:15 HCSB). We live…...
Torah Reading Commentary: Why God Hates Astrology
Jews and Christians are accustomed to think of God in conjunction with “love.” But the author of the Torah, who taught us to think of God this way, occasionally injects something that is discordant and thus causes us to consider deeply the source of and reason for this...
Brokered by the U.S. the Abraham Accord Goes Modern
Ancient history is once again surfacing in modern times. Several generations have passed since the first of a series of world-changing events occurred—when Israel was reestablished...
Supplies for the Elderly During COVID-19
It’s tragic that so many of Israel’s elderly survived World War II and the Holocaust—only to face the deadly COVID-19 virus. It hit this group the hardest, with almost all of Israel’s coronavirus-related deaths occurring in...
Weekly Devotional: The Cares of Life
We refer to the parable that Jesus tells in Luke 8 as “The Parable of the Sower.” The problem, however, is that the sower is not the point of the parable, neither is the seed. The parable is about the soil and the question:...
Torah Reading Commentary: The Fundamental Question
In Deuteronomy 11:26, God announces what might be the foundational statement of human responsibility: “See, I present before you today a blessing and a curse.” This is the great biblical assertion of free will....
Israel Offers Aid to Lebanon Amid Catastrophe
Once considered the “Paris of the Middle East,” Beirut has been in decline for decades. And on August 4, a massive explosion blasted a 141-foot-deep crater into the capital city...
Single Mother: Wendy’s Story
Wendy was frantic… Abandoned by her husband, who refused to pay child support or alimony, she barely made ends meet. How could she support three children on a tiny income? She worked any jobs she could find, just to put...
Weekly Devotional: The Patience to Wait
“Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest” (Psalm 126:5-6 NLT). Farming in ancient Israel was tough. You cleared your...
Torah Reading Commentary: The Worst Jew in the Torah
Who is the worst Jew in the Torah? This might seem like the kind of inquiry more appropriate for kids trading sports cards than for those seeking guidance and wisdom from the sacred book of Judaism and the fundamental text...
U.S. Congress Gets it Right
Imagine for a moment that the United States Congress fulfills a biblical promise in a tangible way. Lawmakers may not connect their legislative decisions to the Bible, but the Lord moves among them in what I call a “divine...
Weekly Devotional: Broken on the Side of the Road
“As He drew near Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging. Hearing a crowd passing by, he inquired what this meant. ‘Jesus the Nazarene is passing by,’ they told him. So he called out, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on...
Torah Reading Commentary: Compelling Case for a “Why Do” List
A married man with a loving family goes on a trip and has an affair that ruins his marriage, damages his kids, and destroys his family. A successful executive buys the stock of a...
Israel and the United States: In it Together
Seven thousand air miles may separate us, but the United States and Israel are adding another layer of friendship and cooperation to our already robust relationship. As our nations face the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic...
Weekly Devotional: Complaining to God
“Lord, how long will You forget me? Forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long will I store up anxious concerns within me, agony in my mind every day? How long will my enemy dominate me? Consider me and answer, Lord my God. Restore brightness to…...
Torah Reading Commentary: Caleb, Joshua, and the Grasshoppers
As discussed in last week’s column, in Numbers 12 we see God's anger (directed at Aaron and Miriam) when words are used purposelessly to malign another person. In Numbers 13 and 14, we see a similar anger when the Jewish people...
COVID-19 Food Distribution in Ramla
Imagine living in a community where poverty is rampant, and you fear for your safety—surrounded by crime, drug dealers, and homicides. For those living in Ramla, a city of Jewish and Arab residents, with its roots going...
I’m a Chassidic Jew, and I Will Not Apologize
In the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests, it’s time for all minorities to stand up and demand equal treatment, civil rights, and cultural liberty. This includes Native Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans...
Weekly Devotional: What Kind of Disciple Are You?
“Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name” (Psalm 86:11 NKJV). Are you a lifelong learner? Do you desire daily to learn from the Lord? Walking with the Lord, walking in His truth, means that we...
Torah Reading Commentary: No Perfect People
Everyone in the Torah is flawed. In fact, it is often the best people in the Torah who have the greatest flaws. While the Torah says and shows that a good relationship can help repair a personality defect, no Torah character is without his or her flaws....
Single Mother: Faina’s Story
When they moved to Israel from Belarus, Faina and her husband had just come to faith in Christ and attended a local congregation with their baby boy. Life was good, and she was happy. But when she became pregnant again, she noticed disturbing changes...
Weekly Devotional: Sinning Against Others
We often think that God takes more seriously the sins we commit against Him than those we commit against others. It’s not that we think we should sin against others, but we tend to allow ourselves a bit more freedom and grace for these sins. What does the Bible say…...
Torah Reading Commentary: What We Crave
The Torah, in Numbers 11, offers a tantalizing possibility. In so doing, the Torah performs its wonder in guiding us toward a happier, better, and more meaningful life today—in this case by showing us what might be the most fundamental human need...
Single Mother: Yamit’s Story
When the terror attack happened years ago in Jerusalem, Yamit believed her husband had fully recovered. Yet the attack left him with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It surfaced years later—long after he could file an insurance claim to get the treatment he needed....
Weekly Devotional: A Moment for Awe
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the world we live in? The daily grind, newscasts filled with bad news, an economic downturn, a frightening diagnosis, or simply the distractions of life? It’s easy to be overwhelmed. We can easily lose sight of God amidst the chaos....
Torah Reading Commentary: If Moses Needed a Mentor, Don’t We All Need One?
Every week in synagogue, we Jews read a portion (a parsha) of the Torah, scheduled so that we complete the Torah in an annual cycle. The parsha that was read last week was Beha’aloscha, which is in the middle of the...
Weekly Devotional: Your Will Be Done
“Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42 NASB). How often do we think about Jesus in the garden on the Mount of Olives? How often do we consider His deep resolve to submit to the will of…...
Holocaust Survivor: Fisher’s Story
They thought the Nazis would never find them. In an isolated village in Ukraine, Fisher and his parents believed they were safe—until German troops came upon them in 1941. From then on, life became one horror after another....
Weekly Devotional: The Blameless Way
“How blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord. How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, who seek Him with all their heart” (Psalm 119:1-2 NASB). The writers of the Bible, especially the psalmists and prophets,...
Single Mother: Masaret’s Story
She had run out of options. Although she’d been raised in an ordinary Israeli home, Masaret had made some extraordinarily bad choices. Getting in with the wrong teenage crowd. Drinking heavily. Partying nonstop. Dating a drug...
Weekly Devotional: Do You Guard Your Mouth?
“The one who guards his mouth preserves his life; the one who opens wide his lips comes to ruin” (Proverbs 13:3 NASB). Our age of social media enables everyone with an opinion to put it out there for everyone to see. We live in an age where people feel they…...
Holocaust Survivor: Raisa’s Story
She was locked in the basement. It would be years before she’d see the sky again. Raisa was just a child when a family friend rushed her and her mother out of town to safety. For the rest of the war, they stayed with Raisa’s non-Jewish...
Weekly Devotional: Blessed With Daily Desires
“May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars cut for the structure of a palace; may our granaries be full, providing all kinds of produce; may our sheep bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields....
Weekly Devotional: The Promise of the Father
Pentecost was one of the three pilgrimage festivals within ancient Judaism. Along with Passover and Sukkot (Tabernacles), the Law of Moses required every able-bodied male to appear before the Lord on these festivals. In the first century, that meant coming...
Single Mother: Yevgenia’s Story
She did the right thing. Yevgenia decided to raise her precious little boy even though the father wanted her to abort the child. This single mother, living with her son and caring for her own mother, was blessed with an excellent job...
Weekly Devotional: Forgive As You Have Been Forgiven
“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions” (Matthew 6:14-15 NASB)....
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