News and Reflections
Rosh Hashanah – The Jewish New Year
The Bible commands the Israelites to sound the Shofar on the first day of the seventh month (Numbers 29). And indeed, Jews have been celebrating the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah on that day for thousands of years, a day alternately known as the Feast of Trumpets.
Fighting Global Terrorism
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett traveled to the US last week for his first meeting with US President Joe Biden. Speculation abounded as to what the atmosphere and outcome of the meeting would be. Bennett and his team had already landed in the US and Bennett had already met with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken when news broke of the terrible terrorist attack at the Kabul airport, killing dozens of people including 13 US marines. As the tragedy unfolded, the Biden-Bennett meeting was postponed to the next day.
Tithing
Is Tithing Biblical? Both Jews and Christians tithe but do they understand the word in the same way? What does the Bible have to say about tithing? And what does tithing have to do with the Temple, the church, or with charity? Sondra Oster Baras, an Orthodox Jew...
Community at a Glance: Bet Yatir
This is the series you have been waiting for – the chance to visit communities in Judea and Samaria, from the comfort of your home, and catch a glimpse of life in each and every community!
A Visit With Shmuel: Tene Omarim
Join me now, as I enter Tene Omarim... I was inspired by the natural beauty and the people, during my recent visit to Tene Omarim. An isolated community located in the Southern Hebron Hills, Tene Omarim is surrounded by breathtaking, serene desert views that have...
A New Hebrew Month is Upon Us
The Hebrew calendar is a lunar one and it is based on the monthly cycle of the moon rather than on the annual cycle of the sun. A solar year is 365 days and the months are merely a convenience — dividing the year into 12 roughly equal periods of time. The lunar calendar, however, is based on the renewal of the moon which happens regularly every 29 or 30 days. The lunar year, therefore, is roughly 11 days shorter than the solar year.
Facing the Apocalypse
Facing The Apocalypse Jews and Christians base their visions of the End times on Scripture and much of that Scripture comes from the Hebrew Bible, a book sacred to both Christians and Jews. Both Christians and Jews are waiting for Messiah, albeit with different...
A Visit With Shmuel: Talmon
I traveled through winding, narrow, mostly two-way roads in the rugged hills of Samaria to visit Talmon. Talmon was established in 1989 by a handful of families, committed to reviving and resettling a Jewish presence in the Biblical Heartland of Israel. Located...
Community at a Glance: Dolev
This is the series you have been waiting for – the chance to visit communities in Judea and Samaria, from the comfort of your home, and catch a glimpse of life in each and every community. Dolev is located in an area full of natural streams and pools. Some of the...
9th of Av
The book of Lamentations, read each year on the 9th of Av, concludes with the hopeful verse “Restore us to You, O L‑rd, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old.” This is a reminder that all that suffering was a necessary prelude to happiness and goodness, with the coming of the Messiah.
