The Day of Atonement is, indeed, the holiest day of the year. The most important element of the holiday, however, is the atonement connected with it. “You shall be clean before the Lord from all your sins.” And again at the end of the section: “And this shall be a statute forever for you, that atonement may be made for the people of Israel once in the year because of all their sins.” (verse 34)
I see now with my own children, that news is very much a part of our lives. They live the news. When the government was threatening to give away Gush Katif, my daughters LIVED the news, making their way to a community in Gaza, being some of the last people to be pulled from the synagogue as the army took over. Maybe the news is such a part of us because Israel is ours. Maybe it’s because we’re so small and vulnerable. Maybe it’s because we care so much.
August 1, 2017 By: Sondra Baras Today is the 9th of Av, the day according to the Hebrew calendar that commemorates the destruction of both Temples in Jerusalem: Solomon’s Temple and Herod’s Temple (which was a rebuilt version of the earlier Temple of Ezra and Nehemiah). For centuries, this date marked the terrible fate that … Read more
Twice, Scripture tells us that the glory of God has filled the Tabernacle, which, in essence is what the Tabernacle was for. When God first instructed Moses on this issue, He said: “And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst” (Exodus 25:8). Clearly, in having His glory fill the Tabernacle, He is dwelling among His people.
One has to wonder what is so special about this particular place, why did God tell David to go to this specific threshing floor and make a sacrifice? We find the answer that ties everything together and shows us the master plan that God had in mind from the very beginning in 2 Chronicles 3:1 Now Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem
It is gratifying to read about the prime minister of India visiting Israel and about the enormous naval carrier docking in Haifa. But when young people who are being taught to love Israel from childhood come to Israel to express their love and support, people to people, there is no better gift for Israel.
The city of Shechem is first mentioned in Genesis 12:6 Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land. This is the first place where Abraham enters the promised land and this is the first time that Abraham hears God say “this” is the land that I promised to show you.
Terrible news has come out of England in these past few days. First a horrific massacre at a concert in Manchester and then just days later, a coordinated attack in the center of London. ISIS took responsibility for the attacks. England is reeling and in Israel we understand. ISIS and their bedfellows have declared war on us all.
Exactly 50 years ago, in just six days, the IDF liberated all of Judea and Samaria, the Golan Heights and the Jordan Valley and returned us to our historic heartland. This Jubilee year is a time of celebration, of jubilation!
We owe our lives to these people. We owe our freedom, our independence, the miracle of our existence, to these young people who loved their land and their people and who were killed in the prime of their life.