Category: English

The situation in the field:

Judea and Samaria are highly tense. There are many attempts by terrorists and Palestinian civilians to perpetrate sabotage, murder and injury against settlements and civilians.

Terrorists are preparing in mosques as a launching pad to harm civilians and soldiers in Judea and Samaria.

Just last night, in the city of Jenin, they were preparing to carry out a terrorist attack in a mosque. Just before they left the mosque, an Israeli fighter jet struck the squad and hit them.

In the area of the settlements bordering the Gaza Strip, terrorists are still being searched for, and in fact today a terrorist was captured who infiltrated on the first Shabbat, and among the terrorists who were captured alive, we found in their hands maps to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and the surrounding settlements, including military bases, for occupation and fighting and murder. And another news was released this morning: A 4-year-old girl was taken captive to Gaza after her parents were murdered.

In the cities of Israel, there has been the organization of citizen forces to protect the cities themselves from some of the local Israeli Arabs under the influence of Hamas, Hezbollah and the local Arab leadership.

Local shooting and fighting is increasing in the north along the Lebanese border. More and more citizens are being moved out of the border areas and into more distant areas. It can be noticed that some of the products are missing from the shops and some of the shops are closed.

More and more we hear about the stories of the heroic acts of citizens and soldiers who are the ones who prevented with their bodies and blood, a much bigger disaster, on that Sabbath (07.10.23.).

There are more and more manifestations of anti-Semitism and acts of murder in Europe, the USA and other places. The army is currently ready to enter Gaza

  ” Hear my cry. For I am afflicted; deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me”   (Psalm 142:6).

Pray for Israel, pray for Sabra Mordechai Ben Yakov

These days, when we are really under attack both from the south – Gaza, and from the north – the border of Lebanon and Syria.

The people of Israel are facing cruel enemies today. On this front, babies, children, old people and even soldiers are being attacked.

Think about the fact that the lives of the citizens, in their daily lives, are in a state of uncertainty. They have to run to the shelter every time they hear the alarm.

Every day there are physical and psychological injuries and even deaths.

There are still bodies of Israelis who were slaughtered and have not yet been identified, when the family still does not know the fate of their loved ones, but we must check carefully for the dear injured families waiting.

Just today (10/18/23), in one of the burned and destroyed houses, the soldiers found a young mother and a child five years old. They had been slaughtered and burned in attic, for me as a Jew remind me the story of Anna Frank. More atrocities are being discovered every day.

The President of the USA visited Israel today (18.10.23). He met with affected families, he met with leaders and army officers, at the end of the visit he told his people, the people of Israel and the whole world, that what he saw was during the Holocaust, and Hamas is worse than ICIS.

The despicable and cruel enemy, who appears as a “hero” in his own eyes, is trying with all his might to sow despair among the people of Israel through horrific films. They know how to deceive people in the West by telling lies about their suffering.

One of the lies told by the terrorists was: “the Zionist enemy” bombed the hospital and five hundred civilians were killed. Israel, as always, checked and investigated and found evidence to prove that this was false propaganda. The results showed that in the same area in one of the parking lots of all the vehicles, from there they tried to launch a rocket towards Israel and the rocket exploded there and indeed caused the vehicle but not as they said.

While we are concentrating on the fighting in the Gaza area, the war is also on the horizon in the north, and fighting is already taking place, and some of the residents in the border areas are being evacuated. Today, it is clear to everyone that the terrorist organization of Hezbollah in Lebanon is even worse and more cruel than the Hamas organization. They have a lot of experience in committing atrocities in the civil war in Syria. We have seen their exploits among the civilians there.

We, the Jewish people living in Zion, are used to fighting without anyone’s help, but with our Father in Heaven accompanying and among us. He is the one who is with us, and as he promised (Deuteronomy 1:30): “The Lord your God, who goes before you, will fight for you…”. The God of Israel is the One who created heaven and earth and rules the entire world. He is the One who will help, who will not rest nor be silent….He will not slumber nor sleep the watchman of Israel…,

The same Creator is expecting and testing the nations of the world and especially the believers who love Him, who are connected to His plan and who stand with Him at the side of the people of Israel, in a clear and visible way. Who pray for Israel, who lend a hand and help. This is exactly the time when every believer will check what he personally can do in the place where he is, in his country, in his city, for the sake of the people of Israel. This will be the fulfillment of God’s request, and it will be the fulfillment of God’s command: “…comfort comfort  my people…” (Jeremiah 2:1-2).

My beloved friends, we have decided to distribute some of your letters of encouragement among the Jews here in Israel (not letters of instruction, judgment, etc., just encouragement, the wording is very important).

Please be in prayer for the people of Israel and for Sabra.

We will all remember to say in Hebrew: “AM ISRAEL HAI, OD AVINU HAI” – “The People of Israel lives! Our Father still lives!

Let’s all read together Psalm 100:
 “A Psalm of Thanksgiving, shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness, Com before Him with joyful singing. Know that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the Lord is good.
For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.” 

May the blessing of the Most High be upon you, your family and your congregation.

From the land of Zion and the city of Jerusalem

Your brother in faith Mordechai ben Yaakov.

Shalom dear friends of Sabra

Before I started Update 4; while I was thinking, I heard on the radio that at 12:30 there will be a funeral for a lone soldier who was killed this week. There was nobody to attend the funeral of this soldier. The army made a call and ask if you are able to participate in the funeral and pay their last respects to the soldier, since the funeral is far from the area where I am, unfortunately I could not come. Afterwards, I heard that many of the participants who did not know him at all wanted to attend, and although it is forbidden to gather more than fifty people, more than a thousand people gathered. I was so touched by the unity we everywhere see in this difficult time in Israel.

(One of the products in such emergency situations we need transistor radios on batteries, and not only to hear information about what’s happening on the fronts, which is important in itself, but occasionally we receive instructions from the army and the police, instructions on how to act in certain moments and how to behave).

Today I received a phone call from one of the army officials. He asked me to check the possibility of donations for;

1. There is an urgent need for medical equipment and medicines for the wounded (the number of wounded is particularly high). For this matter, the army needs donations intended for the benefit of this issue.

2. Donations for the benefit of the families of the wounded, to make it easier for them to take care of their loved ones.

If any of you are interested in making a donation, please do so through our bank account:

1.      To Israel bank account: Sabra foundation: Hamizrahi Tefahot Banks

Afula, Jerusalem str 4: account nr: 20.474.134647

MIZBILITSWIFT IL39-0204-7400-0000-0134-647 IBAN

            2. by PayPal : you can find the pay pall details on our   website   

                www.sabraholyland.org

       3.   Or you can send a check too the following address:                                                                  

              Sabra foundation

              P.O. Box 7644

              Afula 1871060

              ISRAEL

We all know the scripture: “…every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing The Lord your God has given you…”                                             Deuteronomy 16:17).

Remember the saying: by giving, you will receive more than you have already received.

May the blessings of the Most High be upon you, your family and your congregation.

From the land of Zion and the city of Jerusalem

Your brother in faith Mordechai ben Yaakov

To show love by deeds (to show faith by deeds).

The nation of Israel is now in the midst of preparations for a difficult war, and it is apparent that it will be a war on a number of fronts.

This is the place for all lovers of the God of Israel not only for unity and prayer for the people of Israel, but also for action and deeds.

Sabra fund in Israel As messengers of all lovers of Israel and supporters of Sabra, we have started our work in favor of the war effort that was imposed on us.

Immediately after the shock on Shabbat, we began preparations on Sunday. We, (all our volunteers)  were preparing to receive residents from the northern and central regions who were leaving their homes.

Yesterday ( Monday 11.10.23), we visited the Ashkelon and Ashdod area in order to understand the needs there and to start providing aid (bottles of shampoo, soaps, toilet paper and sweets for the soldiers).

On the way back we were stopped by the police and the army. There were about 12 other cars on the way because of the situation (rocket fire). Because of the alarms in almost all of Israel (including Afula), we were not allowed to continue our trip to Afula.

Like the others, we spending the night in the car, when the alarm went off, we had to get out of the car (during the alarm) and lie down on the ground (securities issues) .

We finally arrived in Afula at Sabra house  at 8:30 in the morning.

 We had fresh croissants that we bought at a bakery for our guests (the guests from Finland, and from Netherlands) and had breakfast with them (they also spend sometimes in the Security room) .

Personally, I am so proud of our guests, who have shown tolerance and to a certain extent also calmness and faith.

The next day (12.10.23) we took hot food and drinks to a military unit. They are about fifty soldiers who are in the assembly areas and are training before they go to the battle zone.

We went out there and were joined by a wonderful couple from Holland, Lisa and Wesley, who happened to be staying with us (and every believer knows that nothing happens by chance).

The excitement was great, not only because of the food and drink, but because of the very act of giving; the giving of love, the giving of the heart. Not to mention the cost, but to give the same love and happiness and to say that we are one of you, dear soldiers.

 When you saw the same representatives of the soldiers who were receiving the same packages of food, you could see and you could really feel the happiness and the joy in their eyes.

For us, the givers, it is clear that this is just before… just before the hard battles.

The struggle is not a march. The struggle is not a journey. From this battle it is not clear who will return and how. To each and every one of these soldiers we give our love and our unceasing prayers until his safe return. We believers, who so much want to be in touch with the Most High and with His word, understand that it is our duty to pray and to help.

Personally, I have been through several wars in my life, and I know very well who they are fighting against, and I know very well that every one of the fighters is in need of us, is in need of our encouragement, is in need of our prayers.

We are going to ask our Heavenly Father to watch over our soldiers and to bring them back in peace.

“God on high who dwells in power, the King to whom peace belongs, look down from Your holy dwelling place and bless the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces who risk their lives for the sake of peace on earth.

We will not cease to hope, for He who sits on high is with us, as it is said:

(Deuteronomy 20:4), “…it is the Lord your God who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to deliver you…” And let us say Amen!

May the blessings of the Most High be upon you, your family and your congregation.

From the land of Zion and the city of Jerusalem

Your brother in faith Mordechai ben Yaakov

Simchat Torah (last day of feast of tabernacle) is a holiday which even the secular Jew (most of them) love. It’s when Jews go out into the streets with Torah scrolls, dancing and singing, also with them many believers from all over the world, who get excited and sing and dance along with the Jews.

All this happens every year, but not this year, Simchat Torah on the last Shabbat (10/07/23).

This Saturday was different. A Sabbath of destruction and annihilation!

Thousands of terrorists crossed the border from Gaza and entered Israel, by sea, by air (drones) and by land, destroying the separation fence and breaking into the settlements bordering Gaza, kibbutzim, villages and cities such as Sderot, Ofakim and Ashkelon.

They went into the settlements, broke into the houses, killed children, killed women, and they killed the men.

The night before, thousands of young people between the ages of 22 and 40 were having a big party in an open field nearby. The party was to end around 6:30 in the morning, but at that very moment, suddenly, thousands of rockets came down while at the same time, thousands of terrorists started shooting and killing these young people, abusing the wounded and taking prisoners.

At the time of writing of these lines, there is still uncertainty, we only know that there is a catastrophe but still do not have an understanding of the magnitude of it.

On Sunday, the army will begin to recruit the soldiers of the reserves.

It is true that we are in great pain. The grief is great. I could compare it to Israel being a wounded lion at the moment. But a wounded lion will fight and defend itself even more bravely when the Lord of all the earth is on its side.

I want to remind us all of what the book of Jeremiah says: “Alas, for that day is greater than any other like it, and the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it …” (Jeremiah 30:7).

Creator of the world with the people He chose, He was and is and will be with the people of Israel forever, as it says: “…for I am with you, says God to save you, for I will bring annihilation among the nations among which I have dispersed you, but upon you I will not  bring annihilation, and I will give you over to judgment, but I will never eliminate you completely” (Jeremiah 30:11).

And something personal for every believer who loves the Lord of all the earth. The Lord of the whole earth, who created every fly, every plant, and every little seed. He is the same God who looks into our souls, especially when each soul is a part of Him and belongs to him.

And regarding the IDF? Just as David said: “…from the blood of martyrs, from the milk of heroes, Jonathan’s bow will not be drawn back, and Saul’s sword will not return empty…” (2 Sam 1:22).

The Maker of the world is in the camp, among the soldiers!

Come and let us pray!                                                                                                                        

God on high who dwells in might, the King to whom peace belongs, look down from Your holy habitation and bless the soldiers of the military forces who risk their lives for the sake of peace on earth. Let all the inhabitants of the earth know that sovereignty is Yours and Your name inspires awe over all You have created – and let us all say Amen

May the blessings of the Most High be upon you, your family and your community.

From the land of Zion and the city of Jerusalem

Your brother in faith Mordechai ben Yaakov

It’s time to reach out, it’s time for encouragement and support!

This is the time to take hold of the verse (Isaiah 41:6), “…let every man help his neighbor, and let his brother speak up…”.

I assume that most of the people who love the God of Israel and His Word and commandments, also love the believers in Israel and care for them and what is happening to them now.

Those who see and shed tears after seeing the atrocities committed by those vile people, (those fanatics who hate the Jews – the children of the God of Israel. Exodus 4:22). We pray are being moved to prayers of support for us living in the midst of this Horror.

These evil-hearted people, whose cruelty knows no bounds, are capable of grabbing a pregnant woman, cutting open her belly, taking the child out and dragging her away, the child dragged along with its mother by the umbilical cord. Stripping women naked, raping them, and then murdering them. Burning Jews alive, including children and infants.

Most of you must have seen this, because these vile murderers took pictures of themselves in the act, out of sheer joy, supposedly as an act of heroism.

I do not want to update you with the same stories, but I want to remind you who these scoundrels are and who their ancestors are.

Even before the founding of the state, about a hundred years ago, their ancestors were involved in the murders and abuses of the time.

I will mention only a few of several events: August 1929, a pogrom against the Jews living in Hebron. Those Jews did not harm or hinder the rioters. Yet they murdered 67 Jews, including terrible maltreatment. Also in Hebron there was another pogrom during the time of the Sultan in 1517.

In the same year, 1929, there were also pogroms against Jews living in Haifa, Jaffa, Jerusalem and other areas in Israel.

During the British Mandate, Jews were also attacked in the Galilee, Tel Hai, and Metula. During the War of Independence, there were very difficult events in Gush Etzion, Old Jerusalem and Beit Arava (the Dead Sea coast).

After the establishment of the state in the 1950s, the rioters who infiltrated Israel from the Gaza Strip stopped buses, raped and murdered all the bus passengers.

They entered the settlements and abused the peaceful residents just as they do today, except that today they behave more cruelly than their ancestors.

The years pass and we reach the 21st century, and with the passing of years the hope was their view would change, perhaps the “modern”, age had changed their cruel hearts. But not so, the other way around, today they are worse, even proudly documenting and exploiting their heinous acts.

Israel has pulled out since they handed over Gaza, and they are the ones who now control their lives, in Gaza there is not a single Israeli, nor a single soldier. Every now and then there is a round of fighting and every time many countries try to mediate and tell us that we have to help them with money and  allow entry of Gazans into Israel to work.

Instead of developing Gaza, they use the money given them to develop weapons and ammunition and other destructive tools. The workers, we allow to enter Israel, many have become spies against us.

Today we, the Jewish people sitting in Zion, are bleeding with sorrow, we are bleeding for the soldiers who were captured alive and beheaded. For the children and women who were slaughtered. For the Holocaust survivors who went through hell in that dark period of the past. Today the suffering they went through as children has come to them again, and they are being made to Suffer in their old age.

Even as I write, there are still terrorists, hiding during the day and coming out at night to kill and maim, disguised as IDF soldiers.

They infiltrate by drone, by land and by sea.

There is one more thing I want to inform you about.

There are those among the  believers around the world who stand against the people of Israel and claim that the God of Israel is still punishing the people of Israel for their sins. As for this guilt being a sin in itself. Let’s note the verse: “…and God will hear your disputes and remember His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob…” (Exodus 2:24).

My dear beloved, the Creator of the world is looking into each of us and how right now the Gentiles will treat His people. It is not explicitly stated that He will judge them, but let us not forget the people of Israel before the Lord of the whole earth (Zechariah 2:8).

We, Sabra, have begun intensive preparations to receive families from the war zones in the north.

And we have already begun to help the soldiers with various things, from clothing to food.

Personally, on normal days, I don’t ask for donations, I ask for prayers. I believe that the Creator of the world is the one who speaks to His believers in this matter.

At the same time, I am being asked by many believers who want to help their fellow Jews who are fighting and the citizens who are under brutal attack, how we can help

We will update you again soon.

STAND BY ISRAEL WITH SABRA!!!

May the blessings of the Most High be upon you, your family and your community.

From the land of Zion and the city of Jerusalem

Your brother in faith Mordechai ben Yaakov

All these years, I’ve been going up to Jerusalem to rejoice in prayer, and to feel a bit of the joyful feelings expressed by King David in the House of the LORD. Because of the “situation” with the pandemic that is rampaging through the world, not many of my friends can come to the mountain where the King of Glory dwells on earth. I am happy to appoint myself as their representative and pray there for them.

To touch the stones of the Kotel, the only remnant of the second Temple; to pray and praise there; and occasionally to enter the local sukkah close to the Wall – it’s a feeling I have no words to describe. But I will try anyway.

I’m not a Nazirite, and so I drink a glass of wine now and then, and I recite a blessing over the wine. One of the feelings you get from drinking a glass of wine (one only!), is a sense of the warmth spreading through your body and blending into your soul. At such times I wonder to myself: Is this feeling symbolic of what real faith feels like, when it rises up inside us and spreads through our body and soul? And does this kind of faith show itself through us to the outside world?

It’s not such a crazy idea. After all, the strength of true faith is its love for the Creator of the world, and that fervent desire to cling to Him. It can burn within us, showing in our face, and finally breaking forth from us. Like the flames that burned but did not consume the bush that Moses saw, this kind of fire gives warmth and light to those around us.

It’s noteworthy that during the holiday of Sukkot, when we are to gather in “the work of our hands”

– our good deeds and good thoughts – and present them to our King as an offering, we are explicitly commanded to be “altogether joyful” (Deut. 16:15) – inside and outside. The Scriptures give thanks to the Creator for the similar effect of wine, “which makes a human heart cheerful, so that it

makes the face to shine…” (Ps. 104:15)

There is something else unique about Sukkot, even beyond the great gathering with the Shekhina (the manifestation of Hashem’s glory) and with friends who we don’t get to see every day. In this great three-way gathering, we meet inside humble, temporary huts. Far from the luxury of palaces or villas, they are not even proper houses; just four flimsy walls and a thatched roof that a strong wind could blow apart. But when those simple walls enclose us, we can feel the Cloud of Glory over our heads, just as in the days of the wilderness when the children of Israel wandered for forty years.

Then again, they weren’t really wandering. That Cloud led the way every day, protecting and guiding, perhaps pausing in its movement so that the slow walkers could catch up with the rest of the people. As long as they followed the Cloud, they would never lose their way. In His time, they would reach the Land of Promise, flowing with milk and honey.

We might view that Cloud as a mobile Sukkah covering, big enough for the entire Israelite camp.

It’s the same for us. Even when we feel like we are aimlessly wandering in the modern chaotic world, we too have this constant Guide and Protector. As long as we follow Him, we will never be lost. And if we learn to stay directly under that Heavenly Covering, we will feel sheltered in body, mind and soul. We will find rest and become “altogether joyful”.

The same relaxing and cheering inner glow that wine produces in us is to be found when His Shelter of Peace wraps around us, and causes our faith and love to flow out from inside us. As we gather with others, His Peace and Joy spread out and bring us all closer together. What is inside and outside mingle and mix, becoming one great song of love to Him.

And here’s the relevant point for today: Our physical separation becomes meaningless, because our Father is not limited by distance. He pulls all of His people, wherever they are found, beneath His Sukkah-Cloud.

The feeling when we are united with Him and with one another is one of not only joy and love, but safety and confidence, expressed in the verse written by King David: “For on the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle.” (Ps. 27:5) That last word in Hebrew is literally, “Sukkah”!

So, let’s make a decision to not be troubled by the pandemic during this holiday of Sukkot, but to make a greater effort to send forth our joy to Him and to one another. “A three-fold cord is not quickly torn apart.” (Eccles. 4:12) With love from Zion in the Land of Promise,

“Now in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy assembly; you shall do no laborious work. It will be to you a day for blowing trumpets.” (Num. 29:1)

Unlike many Torah instructions, this one about “blowing trumpets” is not a command; it’s a statement of fact. This feast will be a day on which blowing trumpets is considered fitting and necessary. Why?

Elsewhere in the Scriptures, we read that those who walk with the Creator know (or should know) the answer: “Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound [or, shout]! LORD, they walk in the light of Your face.” (Ps. 89:15)

What the Hebrew (v. 16) literally says is this: “Blessed are the people who know a teruah.” In other words, blessed are those who can hear such a shofar blast and recognize what it means. They are the ones who walk in Light from the Creator’s face.

Jewish tradition built on this verse, assigning specific meanings to the different “voices” of the shofar:

• Teruah: Close companionship, affection, yearning for the Creator’s presence.
• Shevarim: Sorrow and brokenness over our sins.
• Tekiah: Exaltation for the King, affirming His rule over all of creation.

The teruah thus came to represent a place of intimacy, walking in the Light of the Holy One in unbroken friendship, as Adam and Eve did in the beginning.

In an earlier lesson, we learned that there were two kinds of trumpets commanded by the Creator to be blown by the people of Israel: the shofar (ram’s horn) and the silver trumpet. Both were able to sound the teruah blast, which had multiple meanings depending on the circumstances. Jewish tradition also built on this context.

We learned that the teruah from the shofar is a call for us to remember the Creator (as we are remembered by Him), to acknowledge Him as our King, to return from exile, prepare for judgment, and be released from the bonds of slavery and death. The teruah from the silver trumpets (blown by the sons of Aaron only) doubled as a command for the people in the desert to start moving forward and as a distress call in wartime, asking the Holy One to remember them.

Both instruments were blown over the sacrifices on the holy altar, “as a reminder of you before your GOD” (Num. 10:10). This was particularly commanded on the new moons and festivals: “Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our feast day.” (Ps. 81:3) Since Yom Teruah was both a new month AND a festival, the multiplied trumpet calls echoing on the LORD’s holy mountain must have been awesome in their many-sided message:

“Remember our GOD! Know that He remembers you! Acknowledge Him as our King! Come back to Him in repentance! Move forward to meet Him! Call on Him in distress, and beg Him to triumph over those who want to destroy us!”

By this point, we should be close enough to Him to “walk in the light of His face” – a place of joy, intimacy, and confidence. We will have broken through the barrier that was hiding His face. The Hebrew of Psalm 81:3 doesn’t actually say we are to blow the trumpet “at the full moon” (yareach), but rather “at the covering” (keseh). What is this thing “covering” His face and hiding Him from our sight? Our sins, together with our refusal to admit them (Deut. 31:17-18, Isa. 59:2, Micah 3:4).

For this reason, the entire month before the Day of the Teruah is dedicated to preparing for this encounter, individually and as a community. It is indeed a fitting day on which to blow the shofar, as the echo of the Creator’s call.

And yet returning to the Holy One is so difficult that many do not experience this kind of breakthrough. That’s why He has promised to close the gap for us, if we will only listen attentively to His call:

“‘Return to Me, and I will return to you,’ says the LORD of armies…. Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD listened attentively and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and esteem His name. ‘And they will be Mine,’ says the LORD of armies, ‘on the day that I prepare My own possession; and I will have compassion for them just as a man has compassion for his own son who serves him.’” (Mal. 3:7-17)

The Creator has also promised that He will show His face by returning all of His people to the Promised Land – and by pouring out His Spirit on them:

“‘When I bring them back from the peoples and gather them from the lands of their enemies, then I shall show Myself holy through them in the sight of the many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD their GOD because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then I gathered them again to their own land; and I will leave none of them there any longer. I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ declares the LORD GOD.” (Ezek. 39:27-29)

And to make it still easier for the lost wanderers to return, the Holy One has resolved to forget that we ever sinned! When we plead like King David, “Hide Your face from my sins, and wipe out all my guilty deeds” (Ps. 51:9), the Creator answers:

“I – I alone – am the One who wipes out your wrongdoings for My own sake. And I will not remember your sins.” (Isa. 43:25)

“I have wiped out your wrongdoings like a thick cloud, and your sins like a heavy mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you!” (Isa. 44:22)

It all begins with recognizing the call of the teruah, and knowing how to answer it.

But many have lost this understanding, and they have no one to lead the way back. If there are not enough shepherds to bring the flock of the LORD out of the dark fog and into His Light, then the Creator will do it Himself:

“My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was no one to search or seek for them.… Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and look after them. As a shepherd cares for his flock on a day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day.” (Ezek. 34:6-12)

In fact, the Creator is determined to reach even those who have lost the ability to hear:

“Bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the ends of the earth – everyone who is called by My name, and whom I have created for My glory, whom I have formed, even whom I have made. Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes, and those who are deaf, even though they have ears.” (Isa. 43:6-8)

Those who He considers to be His are not only from Israel; they include peoples from “‘all the nations who are called by My name,’ declares the LORD who does this.” (Amos 9:12).

May this be a year when GOD’s people everywhere receive new ears to hear His call, new eyes to see His Light, and a new spirit to know the message of the teruah!

Be blessed by the Most High from Zion and Jerusalem,

Mordechai ben Yakov

Part 1 – Day of Judgment, Forgiveness and Safety

“A Psalm of David. The earth is the LORD’s, and all it contains; the world, and those who live in it.” (Ps. 24:1)

On Rosh Hashana (literally, “Head of the Year”), we sing, speak and pray about this particular Psalm. The theme of the day is renewing our coronation of the Lord of all the earth and acknowledging His rule over us.

Jewish tradition says that GOD began creating the world on the 25^th of the month of Elul (the sixth month), and by the time He created man it was the 1^st of Tishrei (the seventh month). Only then did He become King – because there is no king without subjects to honor him!

Does that mean that if people do not acknowledge the Creator, He will stop being King? Hardly! All things in the universe praise Him endlessly, each in their own way, “for He commanded and they were created.” (Ps. 148:5) But humans are the only creatures in the cosmos who can explore, analyze and appreciate what He has created – its goodness, precision, durability, and overwhelming complexity. Our own bodies, as King David observed, are “awesomely and wonderfully made.” (Ps. 139:14) And he knew nothing at all, compared to what we know about the human body today!!

So, as a human being, I can spend my days honoring the King and Creator, or trying to ignore Him. As David so well expressed it, there is really no such thing as living without Him:

“Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol [the grave], behold, You are there. If I take up the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will take hold of me.” (Ps. 139:7-10)

Psalm 24 tells us how we are to behave, so that “the King of Glory will come in” through our gates. And when He comes, His first act is like that of the ancient monarchs: He sits as Judge, to receive an accounting from His subjects on their actions, to measure their behavior by His righteous laws, and to decree rewards or punishments accordingly.

Because He is merciful, our King accepts repentance from those who have broken His laws. He allows us, the transgressors, time to make amends with those who were hurt, offended or led astray by our sins.

We have yet another advantage: This merciful Judge is also our Heavenly Father. In every way, He is our Source of life, our Provider, and our Protector from all evil. “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life; whom should I dread?” (Ps. 27:1)

 “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, GOD. My soul thirsts for GOD, for the living GOD….” (Ps. 42:1) Thus wrote the sons of Korah, who had seen their earthly father receive the harshest punishment imaginable for his sin. Their response was not only free of bitterness against the Judge for that verdict, but they ran to breathlessly seek Him – like a deer dying of thirst.

All these witnesses tell us that we can trust the Creator’s judgment, and that we should consider any punishment He sends as discipline from the wisest of all Parents, Lawgivers or Rulers. We are to count it as a sign that we really are His beloved children:

“My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD, or loathe His rebuke; for whom the Lord loves He disciplines, just as a father disciplines the son in whom he delights.” (Prov. 3:11-12)

It’s clear that we all need forgiveness for something, since the Preacher wrote, “there is not a righteous person on earth who always does good and does not ever sin.” (Eccles. 7:20) There is literally no one on the earth who does not sin (1 Kings 8:46, 2 Chron. 6:36). We cannot receive forgiveness, however, until we acknowledge specifically what we’ve done that requires forgiveness. Living in denial will only make us miserable, and even physically sick (Ps. 32:3-4).

The wise Preacher also urged us to extend forgiveness to those who sinned against us, and to look in the mirror before calling down judgment on them: “Do not take seriously all the words which are spoken, so that you do not hear your servant cursing you; for you know that even you have cursed others many times as well.” (Eccles. 7:21-22)

For this reason, during the season of Rosh Hashana both receiving and giving forgiveness are high priorities. It’s a time to sit quietly before the King of kings, and to apply the Light of His word in order to discover where we need cleansing. Our goal is to live in His presence the whole year round, with a clean conscience and a joyful heart.

“One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD and to meditate in His temple…. When You said, ‘Seek My face,’ my heart said to You, ‘I shall seek Your face, LORD’…. Teach me Your way, LORD, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.” (Ps. 27)

Of course, to “dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life” doesn’t mean that I quit my job, leave my family, and move into a house of prayer 24/7. Even the writer of those words, David, spent many years first caring for sheep, then fighting battles, and finally ruling over the twelve tribes of Israel. Yet his heart was continually with the Creator, regardless of what his hands were doing at the moment.

The Psalmist highly recommended that we do likewise. He found the Creator to be a spiritual dwelling place that provides protection against a host of earthly threats: “the trapper… the deadly plague… the terror by night… the arrow that flies by day… the plague that stalks in darkness… the destruction that devastates at noon…. For you have made the LORD, my Refuge, the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil will happen to you, nor will any plague come near your tent.” (Ps. 91:3-6, 9-10)

Given how often “plague” is mentioned in this chapter, its advice is supremely relevant for today.

But dwelling with the Holy One requires “clean hands and a pure heart,” along with a soul free from deceit (Ps. 24:4). That’s why we are given a holy time-out to examine our hands, heart, and soul, to make the necessary confessions and repairs, to give and receive the forgiveness and cleansing that will open the Refuge to us. This is the message of Rosh Hashana, in Scripture called the Day of the Shofar Blast, and the Day of Remembrance.

May the Lord of all the earth hear our prayers and grant us to be listed in His Book of Life.

A happy and sweet New Year, a year of forgiveness and protection, to all our dear friends. Be blessed by the Most High from Zion and Jerusalem,

Mordechai ben Yakov

For two thousand years, we have been marking and experiencing Tisha B’Av, the Ninth of the fifth month, with sadness. We read the book of Lamentations as though it happened yesterday. Even when the return of the exiles began in recent years, we were still affected by that trauma of past centuries.

Actually, we know, as does the rest of the world, that the tragedy of Tisha B’Av did not come upon our people as a surprise. Nor was it the result of military or national weakness. It was because of spiritual sickness, or more accurately, spiritual flabbiness. We had distanced ourselves from the Creator. We were preoccupied with life in this world (“let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die”). You could say that we had simply become modernized. But this imbalance is exactly what turns a healthy person (or society) into a sick one.

We had received a directive and command from our God, the Maker and Lord of the world: “Be holy, for I Myself am holy.” (Lev. 11:44-45; Lev. 19:2; Lev. 20:26). He separated us from the rest of the peoples to be His (Lev. 20:26; 1 Kings 8:53). When the people of Israel are far from the way of Hashem and are not obedient to His laws, they are very far from being “holy”.

By means of the Exile, the Creator was able to convey to His Chosen People that they were not on the right road. Yet the time would come when He would return them to the place where they belong – according to the promise the Creator had made to the forefathers, even swearing an oath to them.

Various other religions decided that the punishment Israel received for their sins would be forever, and that God chose other people to take Israel’s place. The “proof” was that Israel was sitting in exile, suffering, persecuted, with their God doing nothing to save them. Even the Temple, once called His House, was destroyed and never rebuilt. “Now,” says this new and more correct religion (called Replacement Theology), “the spiritual ‘Israel’ is us.”

For the past 2000 years that this replacement theory has been embraced, its teachers have developed it, given it different colors, and used different kinds of “new evidence” to convince the world of its validity. Today, it wears a mask of democracy and equality (which ends up being fake). Yet its roots do not come from either democracy or equality – on the contrary, it’s the Jewish faith that exemplifies equality of all men before the Creator.

Those who promote Replacement Theology have “forgotten” or “not managed” to read the promises of Hashem in Jeremiah 31:35-37:

This is what the Lord says,
He who gives the sun for light by day
And the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,
Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
The Lord of armies is His name:
“If this fixed order departs
From Me,” declares the Lord,
“Then the descendants of Israel also will cease
To be a nation before Me forever.”
This is what the Lord says:
“If the heavens above can be measured
And the foundations of the earth searched out below,
Then I will also reject all the descendants of Israel
For everything that they have done,” declares the Lord.

The promises are equally clear about returning Israel to their homeland (Jer. 16:15; Jer. 23:7-8; Jer. 30:1-3). So is the promise to save Israel and take revenge on their oppressors (Jer. 30:10-11). There’s a special threat hanging over those who took advantage of the exile to take Israel’s homeland for themselves (Ezek. 35:5-15; Joel 3:2).

So, there is hope for Israel. What does our God want from us? To return to Him from the place where we have fallen. To cry over the brokenness of His House, but with hope for a new House, as in the days of old.

Our Father, our King, renders judgment as a King should, but with compassion like a Father over His children. He gives hope for the future that is promised to His people. We recognize that everything which happened to us during our wandering in the desert, all the trials and sins that we committed during that time. But it’s equally important to pay attention to how the Creator saw those forty years in the desert:

“Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says: “I remember regarding you the devotion of your youth, your love when you were a bride, your following after Me in the wilderness, through a land not sown.”’” (Jer. 2:2)

My dear friends, this is a bedrock truth. Our Lord remembers the difficult and complicated trek of Israel through the desert for forty years. It was a hard and pitiless road, with the sun beating down by day, freezing nights, without a green tree or flower to refresh the soul. Besides the merciless environment, there were many spiritual and physical enemies along the way, all trying to short-circuit the Almighty’s plan. In contrast, Israel was like a bride in love, trailing after her Groom wherever He led. And the Groom never forgot this!

Blessed be His Name – with a Groom like this, a Father like this, a God like this, there is certainly hope for all of us who believe in Him, as well as for those still on the way to faith in Him. So, although we cannot forget the destruction of two Temples, we trust that the third Temple will be built as promised.

Let us walk in His ways, without trying to be overly clever. Amen and amen!