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It’s a giant leap of faith for a young person to leave their native land and immigrate alone to Israel. Yet, it can be a bigger hurdle becoming a citizen and navigating a new culture and language. And since the October 7 attacks, those now coming from Ukraine’s war to another war in Israel are facing compounded challenges. 

That’s why absorption centers, called ulpans, are critical to helping these new arrivals adjust. And friends like you are a vital part of this effort, through CBN Israel’s partnership with the Jewish Agency.

For example, one absorption center in Haifa serves about 250 lone Russians and Ukrainians. Thanks to faithful donors, these students live in a dorm setting, receive intensive Hebrew lessons, and make new friends and connections through the social programs. And learning Hebrew quickly is vital in helping them enter the job market, or higher education.

Nastia, the director of the program, was once a new immigrant herself. In addition to an education, she says that students receive 24/7 mentoring and ample psychological support. As she puts it, “They come alone; they leave as a community.” 

She observes, “When the war broke out here, immigrants heading to Israel didn’t know how to react, but now we see they still want to come. We also expect more immigrants after the war ends.” These absorption centers are important for the future of the students—as well as for Israel’s future.

Nastia added, “If it wasn’t for CBN’s support, we wouldn’t have been able to continue helping and hosting our immigrants. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart!”

That’s just one way your gifts to CBN Israel can offer a helping hand to new immigrants and to Israel—while also providing nutritious meals, housing, and other necessities to those in crisis.

Please join us in reaching out!

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By Marc Turnage

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 on by the Hasmonean king Alexander Jannaeus (ruled from 103-76 B.C.). Herod the Great made it into a palace fortress that could provide protection if he needed to flee Jerusalem, as well as protecting the balsam industry at Ein Gedi, which provided the cash crop for Herod’s kingdom. 

Herod built two palace complexes on top of Masada, one on the western side (the oldest), and one on the north, which boasted three levels cascading down the northern slope of the rock scarp. Both had functioning Roman style baths, living quarters, storerooms, and decorations fitting for a king. Herod also had a pool on top of Masada, as well as gardens. 

Masada receives on average only an inch to an inch and a half of rainfall annually. The need for water of Herod’s luxuries on Masada required an ingenious water catchment system using gutters, the natural slope of the plateau; he also captured the rainwater that fell to the west of Masada diverting it into channels, which flowed into cisterns along the slopes of Masada. The cisterns on Masada held millions of cubic liters of water ensuring that the residents of Masada could survive along the arid shores of the Dead Sea, as well as enjoying the luxuries of the pool and bathhouses. 

Masada’s popularity derives from the story told by Josephus about the defenders of Masada during the First Jewish Revolt (A.D. 66-73). According to Josephus, a group of Jewish rebels, Sicarii, led by Elezar ben Yair held up in Masada through most of the revolt. A couple of years prior to the fall of Masada, which took place on Passover of A.D. 73, this group of rebels slaughtered the Jewish community at Ein Gedi. 

Josephus tells a tale how the Tenth Roman Legion laid siege to Masada, built a ramp up its western slope (the remains of which visitors can still see), yet when they stormed the mountain, they found that the defenders had killed their families and then themselves instead of facing slavery at the hands of the Romans. Josephus provides our only account of this story, and while it offers a daring and captivating tale, it most likely did not happen in exactly that manner. Nevertheless, visitors to Masada see evidence of the lives of the Jewish rebels. 

Not needing the luxury of Herod’s royal palace-fortress, the rebels converted portions of the palaces into more serviceable and functional purposes. The room that served as the stables for the donkeys used to bring water from the cisterns below, the rebels converted into a synagogue. Archaeologists found ancient scrolls fragments from the remains of the Jewish rebels. Some fragments preserved portions of biblical books, like Ezekiel; other fragments contained portions of other ancient Jewish literature, like Ben Sira. 

Masada offers a fascinating window into the changing political landscape of the land of Israel in the first century. In this way, it enables us to understand themes and trends that we find within the New Testament.

Marc Turnage is President/CEO of Biblical Expeditions. He is an authority on ancient Judaism and Christian origins. He has published widely for both academic and popular audiences. His most recent book, Windows into the Bible, was named by Outreach Magazine as one of its top 100 Christian living resources. Marc is a widely sought-after speaker and a gifted teacher. He has been guiding groups to the lands of the Bible—Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy—for over twenty years.

Website: WITBUniversity.com
Facebook: @witbuniversity
Podcast: Windows into the Bible Podcast

“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 his bed of illness; you will sustain him on his sickbed” (Psalm 41:1-3 NKJV).

Our Western Christianity often relegates our spirituality solely to our own relationship with God. However, this is not the view of spirituality we find in Scripture. In the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, our path of relationship to God lies through other people, particularly the poor and suffering.

“Blessed is he who considers the poor; the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.” This is a rather challenging and profound statement, because it ties our deliverance from God in the day of trouble to how we serve and take care of the poor.

Our treatment of others, especially the needy, influences God’s reaction to us. According to the psalmist, He protects those who consider the poor, sustaining them on their sickbed, healing them from their illness.

Some want to interpret the “beatitudes” in the Bible—those passages that begin with “blessed” or “happy”—as “I will be blessed and happy” when I do such a thing. However, that is not necessarily the meaning in the Bible. A person who lives as the “beatitudes” instruct walks in the ways of God. This is the path of obedience. That makes them blessed.

We meet God in the poor, needy, suffering, and broken in our world. Loving and caring for them shows that we recognize His image in them. God then responds by protecting and delivering us in our time of need.

Jesus also embraced this worldview. In Matthew 25:35-46, He identified the righteous as those who cared for the poor and suffering; they receive the reward of eternal life because they recognized God’s image in the “least of these.”

One of the hallmarks of the Christian faith since the beginning has been the care for the poor, needy, suffering, and broken. The Roman world of the first century did not care about the poor. Roman society had no moral obligation or mechanism to care for the poor and needy.

But Jesus’ movement did. His followers had a strong sense of obligation as given by their Lord, and they grew because of it.

Do we see God in the poor and suffering of our world? If not, we need to listen more carefully to the psalmist and look a little harder, because those who do are blessed of the Lord.

PRAYER

Father, give us eyes to see the poor and suffering around us. Move us to action because this is where You reside. Amen.

By Nicole Jansezian

With new threats from Iran and Hezbollah as Israel’s war in Gaza stretches into its sixth month, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) faces a personnel challenge and has ordered leave to be temporarily paused for all combat soldiers.

While military service is mandatory for all 18-year-old men and women and most Jewish Israelis serve their time after high school, many Arab citizens—both Muslims and Christians—opt not to enlist.

Currently, only 3.5 percent of the Arab population serves in the military, according to the IDF, despite being more than one fifth of the nation’s citizens.

Christians comprise only 2 percent of the country’s population, but one group of Christian Israelis are trying to encourage the young members of their community to play a larger role in serving and defending their nation—and CBN Israel is supporting the cause.  

Arameans are Christian citizens of Israel who have been in the land since the time of Jesus and have recently fought to categorize their identity as separate from Arab citizens.

Many of them also believe that as a minority population in Israel, they must integrate into the nation—and that includes serving in the army.

Dozens of Aramean teens recently took part in a Christian-Jewish military prep course that would not only help them prepare to serve in the military but also to get to know others with whom they wouldn’t have regular interaction.

The graduation, in February, prepared another 48 teens ready to enlist in the IDF. Shadi Khalloul, who founded Kinneret in 2017, said 1,000 students applied.

The program at Kibbutz Beit Zera, near the Sea of Galilee, is called Kinneret and is sponsored through partnership with the Jewish Agency.

After seven months, new batches of teens graduate after learning each other’s languages and cultures and developing relationships and trust that did not previously exist.

Earlier this year, CBN Israel attended the most recent graduation and has joined arms with Khalloul in helping integrate the Christian community better into Israeli society through such a valuable program.

Nicole Jansezian is the media coordinator for CBN Israel. A long-time journalist, Nicole was previously the news editor of All Israel News and All Arab News and a journalist at The Associated Press. On her YouTube channel, Nicole gives a platform to the minority communities in Jerusalem and highlights stories of fascinating people in this intense city. Born and raised in Queens, N.Y., she lives in Jerusalem with her husband, Tony, and their three children.

We see many news stories about the Israel-Hamas war, but it is sobering to hear firsthand accounts from those living it every day. Yulia and her family, who work as musicians, fled their home after October 7, as their village and livelihood came under siege from Hamas terrorists.

Yulia shares, “The first day when the tragedy began, all our concerts were cancelled. We are completely and entirely in God’s hands. We don’t know what will happen tomorrow.” She adds, “We left our home, the home we love—where our friends are, and our children’s friends.”

Describing their traumatic experience, she recounts, “We lost so many families. Our children received calls, and would find out about friends that were killed. One girl disappeared. Hamas captured her whole family.” With so many losses, where could they turn for help?

Thankfully, friends like you were there for Yulia’s family. Through CBN Israel, caring donors provided much needed financial assistance to help them buy food, clothing, and other basic essentials during their time of evacuation.

Yulia exclaims, “We are very, very grateful for your help! We feel your love for the Jewish people… We had placed our hope in our country’s strength, and now, more hope in God is arising, especially among non-believers. Their hearts are opening to hear about God…”

Your gifts to CBN Israel can bring God’s hope to others who are hurting—including Holocaust survivors, immigrants, and single mothers.

As the war continues, so do the needs. Your support can offer groceries, housing, trauma therapy, and emergency supplies to victims of terrorism, while supplying ongoing aid to those in need who are trying to survive.

Please join us in helping Israel at this crucial time!

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By Marc Turnage

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 a visit to the Holy Land (326 A.D.) was shown this location by local Christians and identified as the place where Jesus’ crucifixion and burial took place. Upon that site, her son built the first church, which was called the Church of the Resurrection. 

Archaeological excavations within the church have uncovered the history of the site. In the 8^th-7^th centuries B.C., the location of the Holy Sepulchre was a large limestone quarry to the northwest of the walled city of Jerusalem. According to the excavator, the site continued to be used as a quarry until the first century B.C. when it was filled in with soil and stone flakes from the quarry. The site at this time became a garden or orchard that contained fig, carob, and olive trees. At the same time, it developed into a cemetery. Within the complex of the Holy Sepulchre, tombs dating to the first century have been discovered.

One of the challenges for modern visitors to the church is its location within the modern Old City of Jerusalem and its walls. Jesus was crucified outside of the city walls. The modern Old City walls, built in the 16^th century, however, have nothing to do with the walls of Jesus’ Jerusalem. Jews did not bury within the walls of city, but rather outside. The presence of first century tombs within the Holy Sepulchre complex indicates that this location stood outside the walls of Jerusalem in Jesus’ day. 

Jewish tombs in the first century consisted of two types: kokhim and arcosolia. The most common being the kokhim. A kokh (singular) was a long, narrow recess cut into a rock tomb in which a body, coffin, or ossuary (bone box) could be laid. The typical kokhim tomb was hewn into the hillside and consisted of a square chamber. The entrance to an ordinary kokhim tomb was a small square opening that required a person entering to stoop. The height of the chamber was usually less than that of a person, so they often cut a square pit into the floor of the chamber. This pit created a bench on three sides of the chamber where the bodies of the deceased could be prepared. 

After the chamber and the pit were cut, the kokhim were cut level with the top of the benches and perpendicular to the wall of the tomb in a counter clockwise direction, from right to left, in every wall except the entrance wall. One to three kokhim were usually cut per wall. The kokh had roughly vaulted ceilings and were the length of the deceased or a coffin. After the deceased was placed into the kokh, a blocking stone sealed the square entrance of the tomb. Small stones and plaster helped to further seal the blocking stone. The tomb was sealed in a manner that it blended into the surrounding hillside. 

In addition to the kokhim tomb, arcosolia tombs began to appear sporadically during the first century. The arcosolia is a bench-like aperture with an arched ceiling hewn into the length of the wall. This style of burial was more expensive since only three burial places existed within a tomb chamber instead of six or nine, as typically found within kokhim tombs. Approximately 130 arcosolia tombs have been discovered in Jerusalem and over half of them also contain kokhim. Ossuaries (bone boxes) could be placed on the arcosolia benches.

The tomb identified within the Holy Sepulchre as the tomb of Jesus was originally an arcosolium (singular) with an antechamber; however, the centuries of pilgrims and the various destructions of the church have deformed and obliterated the tomb. What visitors see today is a later structure; nevertheless, the tomb originally contained a first century arcosolium tomb. 

The Roman Emperor Hadrian built on top of the quarry-garden-cemetery a raised platform with another platform on it where he built a temple to Venus/Aphrodite in the second century. This pagan temple was removed when Constantine built his church. 

Constantine built a rotunda around Jesus’ tomb. The rock of Golgotha was exposed to the open air in a garden, and on the other side of the garden, Constantine built a basilica church. 

The question arises whether or not the Holy Sepulchre contains the location of Jesus’ tomb. What we can say is this: 1) The site was a cemetery in the first century with first century tombs. 2) From the second century until the arrival of the Empress Helena, the actual tomb had been covered for 300 years. The fact that the local Christian memory remembered this location, where a first century cemetery existed, even though it was covered by the Hadrianic temple strongly suggests the authenticity of the site. 3) When Helena was shown this site, it sat like now within the walled, urban city of Jerusalem, which would have seemed strange to ancient pilgrims as it does to modern. 

Yet, the memory of the local Christian community remembered that this location once lay outside of the walls of Jerusalem. Ten to fifteen years after Jesus’ death and burial a wall was built in Jerusalem that enclosed this area into the city. 

Pilgrims to Jerusalem often wonder if the Holy Sepulchre marks the site of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. The archaeology and tradition of the site support its claims. 

Marc Turnage is President/CEO of Biblical Expeditions. He is an authority on ancient Judaism and Christian origins. He has published widely for both academic and popular audiences. His most recent book, Windows into the Bible, was named by Outreach Magazine as one of its top 100 Christian living resources. Marc is a widely sought-after speaker and a gifted teacher. He has been guiding groups to the lands of the Bible—Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy—for over twenty years.

Website: WITBUniversity.com
Facebook: @witbuniversity
Podcast: Windows into the Bible Podcast

One verse of the Bible that truly captures the emotion of the moment comes from the disciples who encountered Jesus on the road to Emmaus: “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32 NKJV)

The excitement, the awe, the amazement shine through their words. They had encountered the resurrected Jesus, who opened the Scriptures to them and set their hearts ablaze. They realized their hope had not died but was resurrected with their Master.

The Gospels spend most of their narratives describing Jesus’ last week before He died. The New Testament highlights the events of His last week as the foundation of the Christian faith. Jesus walked out of the tomb.

For His followers, it offers hope in the midst of despair, light in the midst of darkness, life instead of death. It also provides a model for us of how to submit to God’s will even in the midst of our own suffering, how to forgive even those who perpetrate a horrible crime against us, and how to trust God even when the circumstances seem impossible.

The encounter with the resurrected Jesus set His followers’ hearts ablaze, and they went throughout the known world suffering hardships, ridicule, loss, and even death because they could never forget the reality of the resurrection. That reality consumed them, and they were forever committed to following Jesus. Why? Because He walked out of the tomb.

The empty tomb provided the hope of Jesus’ followers. It gave them an unwavering sense of calling to “go and make disciples of all the nations” (Matthew 28:19 NKJV). It offered them the promise of life eternal. It was the foundation of all they did and who they were.

May you realize afresh that He is risen! May you see that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to you and me today. Let’s put our unwavering hope and trust in the God who wants to bring healing, restoration, and transformation to our lives.

PRAYER

Father, You are our hope. Even in our darkest circumstances, You bring light and life into our lives, and therefore we trust You. Thank you for the hope we have in the resurrection. Amen.

By Nicole Jansezian

Even when the number of immigrants to Israel is on an upswing, many times retaining new citizens is a larger challenge than bringing them to the Holy Land in the first place.

That’s why ulpans, otherwise known as absorption centers, are critical to assimilating new immigrants into Israel. This is especially true during times of war.

“Part of the solution to recover from the atrocities of October 7 is Aliyah (immigration to Israel)—having more young adults with energy, with passion, with education to come and help build a better future in the land,” said Danielle Mor, director of Christian Friends of The Jewish Agency.

One such absorption center is in the coastal city of Haifa in northern Israel. Young Russians and Ukrainians mill in and out of classrooms where they have intensive Hebrew lessons and begin making new connections through the social programs.

The program focuses on helping young adults who came to Israel alone leaving behind family and friends.

“We don’t just teach our students but offer psychological support at least twice a month during their program,” said Nastia, the director of the program who was once a new immigrant herself. “Toward the end of their stay with us we also plug them into a social support program.”

The students live in a dorm setting and the intensive language lessons are designed to propel them to a level of Hebrew that is sufficient to get them either into the job market or into higher education.

“We have here a staff that works 24/7 to mentor them to support them and every need they have,” Nastia said. “Whether its emotional or practical, we want to help guide them in their next steps in Israel so they can make a solid network of friends. They come alone; they leave as a community.”

Danielle noted that every immigrant has a challenging time not to mention coming from one war—such as in the Ukraine—to another in Israel.

“Now, when they’re coming from a situation of war, integration is that much more difficult,” she said. “We’re dealing here with about 250 lone young adults that have come to Israel to start a new life.”

CBN Israel has been supporting the Jewish Agency in this effort.

“CBN was doing this work before the war started, and now they are helping these immigrants who need a chance and who need an opportunity to get a good start in their new country and to go into a life of meaning and purpose,” Danielle said. “This is so important for the future, not just of the individuals that CBN touches through the Jewish Agency, but overall, for Israel.”

Nastia said the recent immigrants had to navigate a terrible war and then face the uncertainty of starting over in a new country and in a new culture.

“When the war broke out here, immigrants heading to Israel didn’t know how to react but now we see they still want to come. We also expect more immigrants after the war ends. There will be a new wave of immigration,” she said. “If it wasn’t for CBN’s support we wouldn’t have been able to continue helping and hosting our immigrants so thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Nicole Jansezian is the media coordinator for CBN Israel. A long-time journalist, Nicole was previously the news editor of All Israel News and All Arab News and a journalist at The Associated Press. On her YouTube channel, Nicole gives a platform to the minority communities in Jerusalem and highlights stories of fascinating people in this intense city. Born and raised in Queens, N.Y., she lives in Jerusalem with her husband, Tony, and their three children.