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....
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....
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....
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...
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....
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...
Keeping Our Eyes Undimmed: The Torah’s Guide to Conquering Our Nature
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...
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...
What is Worthy? A Challenge from the Biblical 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....
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....
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....
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....
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....
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....
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…...
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...
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…...
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,...
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…...
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...
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:...
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...
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...
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...
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...
The Torah’s 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...
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…...
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...
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...
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...
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…...
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....
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....
If Moses Needed a Mentor, Don’t We All?
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...
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....
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...
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...
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....
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...
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)....
Single Mother | Olesiya’s Story
The one thing she didn’t have was time. Olesiya had to work two jobs just to get by. As soon as she got off her second job, she rushed home to care for her children. The young single mother had never expected to raise her children alone, but her husband…...
Rain In Its Season
“If you carefully obey my commands I am giving you today, to love the Lord your God and worship Him with all your heart and all your soul, I will provide rain for your land in the proper time, the autumn and spring rains, and you will harvest your grain,…...
Holocaust Survivor | Boris’ Story
They were terrified. Boris and his mother were standing in line for the gas chamber, separated from his father, who had been judged suitable for doing hard work. Then a soldier recognized Boris’s father as a leather specialist....
A Life Worthy of Christ
“Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without…...
Holocaust Survivor | Polina’s Story
They thought they’d escaped. Instead, Polina and her mother had been caught by the Nazis and sent to Bodina, a cruel place known as a walking death camp. There, they experienced only pain, despair, and sorrow. Polina still tears...
Seeking God
“He sought God throughout the lifetime of Zechariah, the teacher of the fear of God. During the time that he sought the Lord, God gave him success” (2 Chronicles 26:5 HCSB). These words describe the early days of the reign of King Uzziah of Judah. He started out his r...
New Immigrant | Julia’s Story
It was not what they expected. Julia and her husband left everything behind and moved to Israel. But they did not expect this kind of adversity. Everything was so new—and overwhelming! The cost of living was expensive and usually, new immigrants were not given...
Who is My Neighbor?
“Just then an expert in the law stood up to test [Jesus], saying, ‘Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ ‘What is written in the law?’ He asked him. ‘How do you read it?’ He answered: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your…...
Holocaust Survivor | Arkadi’s Story
He was too young to suspect trickery. Lured by a Nazi guard with the promise of treats, Arkadi reached eagerly for a chocolate. But the ensuing blows left the child with severe brain damage, leading to vocal cord impairment...
The Lord Who Delivers
“And God spoke all these words, saying: ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me’” (Exodus 20:1-3 NKJV). Why did God begin the Ten Commandments by stating, “I am…...
New Immigrant | Svetlana’s Story
It had always been a powerful dream. For decades, Svetlana had felt the pull of living in Karmiel, Israel. Now the timing seemed perfect—her son had moved there with his family. But Svetlana’s husband got cold feet....
The Torn Veil
“The curtain secluding the Holiest Place in the Temple was split apart from top to bottom; and the earth shook, and rocks broke” (Matthew 27:51 TLB). The Jewish community viewed the Holy of Holies as the place of God’s Shekinah glory, the dwelling of His divine presence....
The Lamb of God
The ancient Romans executed tens of thousands by crucifixion in their vast empire. By all accounts, crucifixion was a torturous means of death, intended to cause its victims maximum suffering and humiliation. As Roman soldiers drove nails into Jesus’ body...
Move Forward
“Then they said to Moses, ‘Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?’ … Moses said to the people, ‘Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today;…...
Single Mother | Eden’s Story
They were about to be evicted! Eden was pregnant and because her husband was not yet an Israeli citizen, she was the sole breadwinner. The couple had met in Israel but learned that the path to citizenship was not always an easy one...
Hiding from God
“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and they hid themselves from the Lord God among the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:8 HCSB). When Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating the…...
New Immigrant | Irina’s Story
It was even harder than she’d feared. Worried about being alone and friendless in a strange land, Irina had been uncertain about immigrating to Israel. It wasn’t easy to leave her homeland behind, along with a steady job and good friends....
Patient Endurance
“The word of the Lord came to me saying, ‘What do you see, Jeremiah?’ And I said, ‘I see a rod of an almond tree.’ Then the Lord said to me, ‘You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it’” (Jeremiah 1:11-12 NASB). This interchange…...
Social Events for Holocaust Survivors
Their words are haunting. “We want someone to care about us—to talk to us and ask about our day.” All too often, those who survived Nazi cruelty no longer have any connection with family members....
The Lord is My Shepherd
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the…...
Rejoice in Desolation
“Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord!…...
Holocaust Survivor | Rita’s Story
The memories are still painful. Rita can never forget the shame and humiliation of being forced—at age 10—to strip naked in front of grown men, stand under a freezing shower, and have her head shaved...
God, What are You Doing?
“How long, O Lord, will I call for help, and You will not hear? I cry out to You, ‘Violence!’ yet You do not save. Why do You make me see iniquity, and cause me to look on wickedness? Yes, destruction and violence are before me; strife exists and contention…...
Holocaust Survivor | Jacob’s Story
He felt so helpless. Not as badly as when Jacob had seen Nazis shoot people in the street, or assault his sisters, or take his parents away—never to return. And he couldn’t forget the horror of watching his grandmother...
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