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From: heb_roots_chr@mail.geocities.com Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 1997 2:56 AM To: Hebraic Heritage Newsgroup Subject: Focus on Jerusalem
From Nehemiah Trustees Covenant Fund To: Torah Lovers
Subject: Focus on Jerusalem Shalom from Israel, As we near the end of the counting of the Omer (the counting off of 50 days from just after Hag HaMatzot [Feast of Unleavened bread] until Shavu'ot [Feast of Weeks]) I can't help but reflect upon what the talmidim (disciples) must have been thinking when Yeshua told them to "wait in Yerushali'im for the gift my Father promised," just a week before Shav'uot. They probably reasoned amongst themselves about the significance of this gift, but more importantly about its timing, and the place of delivery. Even though they would have to return to Yerushali'im anyway, owing to the Torah command to go up to the city three times a year, one of them being on Shavu'ot, I'm sure they began to put the pieces together and understand the links between the greatest gift the Jewish People had ever received from the hand of G-d, i.e. the Torah, and the gift of the Spirit of the Holy One, blessed be He, which they would receive on this self same Feast day. One of the things they must have deduced was that the G-d of Israel was definately faithful to His own schedule. Even though Israel, at various stages through-out their history, failed to keep the Mo'adim (appointed seasons/feasts), G-d Himself would always keep His appointments, and deliver His promises in accordance with that schedule. But why in Yerushali'im? Why couldn't He have just delivered His gift in say, the Galilee, where most of Yeshua's ministry was played out? What is it about Yerushali'im that gives rise in our hearts to such great expectations, not only then, but today? Well, in a few days time, we are going to explore the answer to that question more fully, when I release the next in the series of "Feeling Jewish? - Questions & Answers" for Hag HaShavu'ot. But for now, I want you to focus on Yerushali'im and just as bnei Israel (the children of Israel) would, during the counting of the Omer, enter into a time of introspection, in preparation for receiving the Torah, let us do the same, in preparation of commemorating the gift that G-d would make available to all, enabling us to appropriate the Torah in our lives. Remove yourselves, if you will, for just a moment, from your current geographical setting, most likely far from Yerushali'im, and transport yourself to the Eternal City in your minds eye. Now even though if you were to ask your travel agent to book you a trip to the Eternal City, the chances are he will book you on a flight to Rome. But in so doing, he'd be wrong. The Eternal City is not Rome. Rome wasn't around at the beginning of time. But Yerushali'im, the Midrash tells us, was. And for something to be eternal, not only does it have to be there at the beginning of time, but it has to be there at the end of time as well. When HaShem created the universe, He didn't create it as an expanse, as a myriad of stars spread out on an almost infinite blackness. Rather, He first created a single point, and from there all space and time unfolded. We know where that point is. It is a rock that sits on top of a small hill nested between several others of very similar appearance. On that rock, Avraham brought his son Itzhak as an offering. It was around that rock that the Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple) was built. The name of that rock is the Even Shetia, the `Foundation Stone.' That rock is the center of the universe. Around that rock was the Beit HaMikdash and around the Beit HaMikdash was Yerushali'im. Around Yerushali'im is the Land of Israel. And around the Land of Israel is the Universe. Exactly 30 years ago, from next Wednesday (the 4th of June), the eternal city was united again under Jewish rule after the passage of some 1900 years under Gentile rule. The Hebrew date was the 28th of Iyar. Today, it is known as "Yom Yerushali'im" (Jerusalem Day). It just so happens that the 28th of Iyar is also important in Jewish history for another reason: On the 28th of Iyar, Shmu'el (Samuel) the prophet passed away. What do the two have in common? At the beginning of the reign of King David, Yerushali'im was not in Jewish hands. When King David re-conquered the Land of Israel, Yerushali'im was in the hands of the Yevusim (Jebusites). The exact location of Mount Moriah, the place of the Even Shetia, was no longer known. Before David could plan the building of the Holy Temple he had to know exactly where Mount Moriah was. It was the prophet Shmu'el, together with King David, who, through prophetic insight, established which of the hills in Yerushali'im was in fact the correct location. Maybe it was for this reason that Yerushali'im was `re-discovered' in June 1967 on the exact date of Shmu'els passing from this world. But there's more. It the first Book of Shmu'el 15:29, the following revelation is written: "He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind." The Hebrew words for "Glory of Israel" is "Netzach Yisrael" and that phrase can be understood in two ways: First, it can mean the `Eternal One of Israel' -- HaShem -- who will not lie, who will never desert His people through the long night of exile. But "Netzach Yisrael" can also mean `the eternity of Israel' or `the victory of Israel' will not lie. The survival of the Jewish People, and their identity through both persecution and the cunning embrace of assimilation, will not lie. It will stand as an everlasting proof that the Jewish People are what the Torah calls them: An eternal nation with a G-d given mission. It was Samuel the prophet who said `the eternity of Israel will not lie' nearly 3,000 years ago. How could he have known that the Jewish People would still be around in 1967, some 3,000 years after he spoke that prophecy? And not only were they around, but they were re-capturing the city he had helped to re-identify on the exact day that he passed on to the world of truth. You see, the heart of a Jew is Yerushali'im and even in our morning prayers we say: "To you HaShem is the Greatness, the Power, the Glory, and the Victory (Netzach)..." The Talmud (Berachot 58a) tells us that Netzach here refers to Yerushali'im. Victory is Yerushali'im. Eternity is Yerushali'im. But the enemy of all ages doesn't like this, and he is bent on destroying this ideology or any people who accept this ideology, for he knows that once Yerushali'im regains its place in this world, he himself must come to an end. In order to stay this order of execution, HaSatan has mobilized the world of Islam to claim Yerushali'im as its own and to use this as a catalyst to stir the rest of the nations against the City of our G-d. War is inevitable, and the Islamic aim to control Yerushali'im is its fuel. HaSatan has cleverly arranged for one of Islam's main goals to be the acquisition of "Islamic territory," which in this case is all the land comprising the State of Israel, from the Jordan River to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Therefore, Islam cannot and will not tolerate the presence of the ancient people fo G-d in their midst or a Jewish Yerushali'im. For if the Jews are back in their Land, and dwell in Yerushali'im, then they shall call upon the name of the Lord, and the Mashiach will return. A collision therefore, is about to occur in both the unseen spiritual world as well as in the physical world, and the so called "Peace Process" is merely a mechanism that HaSatan has introduced to insure that this confrontation is fully backed by the world of nations as they embrace their idols of peace, in direction opposition to the Lord, the G-d of all the earth. Israel has always been the one severely criticized by the media and by world leaders for exacerbating the situation in the Middle East and jeopardizing this idol of the nations -- the "Peace Process" -- and it will surely climax with the conflict over Yerushali'im as the two opposing forces vie for the same territory, and the same designated capital. The Bible is not silent on this subject, nor should any Bible Believer be silent. As Yom Yerushali'im dawns next week, remember Psalm 122, and read the prophets, especially Zechariah 12:2-9, and pray! Turn your eyes and your hearts towards Yerushali'im. The Messianic promise is that G-d will prevail and "Netzach Yisrael" will shine forth for the Eternal One of Israel cannot not lie. He will keep His promise, the promise He made to our fathers. "This is what the LORD says: `Yet in the towns of Yehuda and in the streets of Yerushali'im, there will be heard once more the sounds of joy and gladness, the voice the bride and the voice of the bridegroom, .... For I will restore the fortunes of the Land as they were before,' says the LORD." Yermiyahu (Jeremiah) 33:10-11. Before I close, I would like to leave you with a story that I came across, which sums up the world view that all of the Church should posess regarding their relationship to Yerushali'im. Its a parable about two friends, and in fact is a drash (story/commentary) on the verse in the Torah Portion "Parshat Kedoshim" which was read a few weeks ago from Viyikrah (Levitcus) 19:18: "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbour as yourself. I am the HaShem". Remarkably, the story comes from Jewish sources, and yet Yeshua arrives at the exact same conclusion when he gave his drash on the same passage. Rabbi Akiva, who lived 100 years after Yeshua stated, also in agreement with Yeshua, that this is the fundamental principle of all the Torah. ------------------------------ Once, there were two friends. Seldom was there a friendship such as this. Literally, there was nothing that one would not do for the other, so great was their love for each other. It happened one day that one of them was falsely accused of a capital offense. He was arrested and incarcerated in the dungeons of the king. Following a summary trial, he was sentenced to death. His friend spared no effort, neither by day nor night, to have him released and pardoned. He sought audiences with those of power and influence in the land. All was to no avail. The date for the execution was set. It was a gray, unforgiving morning that saw this innocent man walking sadly to the gallows. A sea of faces, some ghoulish with delight, some crying, thronged the route to the gallows. And there too stood his friend, with a look of unspeakable sadness on his face. The condemned man was already standing on the scaffold. The hangman, draped in a black hood, placed the noose around the neck and like some fiendish bespoke tailor, adjusted it to size. Eighteen inches to the right of the condemned man there was a trap-door. The hangman threw the lever to make sure that the trap-door would open efficiently under the feet of this hapless Jew. The accused man gazed into the abyss where the trapdoor had opened. This was to be his portal to the next world. Suddenly there was a disturbance in the crowd. A man was shouting "Stop the execution! Stop the execution!" It was his friend. Unable to bear it any longer, he ran up the steps of the gallows and shouted "Stop the execution! Stop the execution! You're hanging the wrong man! I am the one who's guilty! Hang me - not him!" The crowd murmured excitedly. This was much more than they had bargained for in this real-life medieval soap opera. When the accused man saw that his friend was trying to save him by sacrificing himself he started to shout "Don't listen to him! Don't listen to him! I'm the one that's guilty, not him! Hang me!" To which the other shouted back "No! It's not true! I did it! Hang me! Back and forth they shouted at the hangman "Hang me!" "No! Hang me!" The hangman was standing between them. As each of them shouted, his head turned back and forth. As the shouting escalated in speed and volume, it seemed that if the hangman turned his head any quicker, he would be the first one to lose his head! At any rate, it was clear that there would be no execution that day. A disappointed crowd slowly dispersed. The affair reached the ears of the king and he commanded that the two should be brought in front of him. "Now, what is the truth of this matter?" demanded the king. "Why are you both so keen to `take the drop' and hang from the gallows? If you tell me the truth, I will pardon you both." "The truth is that neither of us are guilty of the crime, your majesty. We are friends. I could not bear to see my friend go to his death. So I decided I would give my life so he would live." "The same is true for me" said the other. The king spent some moments looking from one to the other. He was obviously deeply touched by what he had heard. Then he spoke: "I will keep my word and pardon you both. But on one condition -- that you too make me your friend!" The Torah teaches us: "Love your neighbor as yourself -- I am HaShem." When a person loves his friend as much as he loves himself, then "I am HaShem" -- HaShem makes Himself a friend to them both. Make Yerushali'im you friend, and iquire as to its peace today. Shabbat Shalom, Uri .*********************************************************************. * SUPPORTING ISRAEL * *SUPPORTING THE MESSIANIC REMNANT Uri Marcus (Secretary for...) * * =============================== The Nehemiah Trustees Covenant Fund * * > .___ _.______.____ ._____. < P.O. 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