Shiloh

Joshua 18:1The whole assembly of the Israelites gathered at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there.

Lunch in Bethlehem

This is the typical mediterranean cuisine.  It is delicious and fresh and certainly filling.  Best lamb chops I've ever eaten!

3rd story

While walking in the Jewish quarter one morning, we came upon a little shop just inside the Zion gate parking lot.  We thought we were on a movie set and had met Tuvia from Fiddler on the Roof.  This delightful man and his son had the most charming attitudes.  Seriously, when they spoke it sounded just like the cadence in a song with the deep richness of pitch that drops low and then goes high.  Watch Fiddler on the Roof and you'll know what I mean.

As we chatted about everything from where we're from to what we've been doing so far on vacation, the shopkeeper introduced himself as Rom Kohen.  With his crinkling eyes that seem to always be smiling, he nudged me and said, "you know what that means don't you."  Why yes, I do.  "Kohen" means priest.  He was from the Levitical line (Aaron's family) of priests.

He then asked if we would like him to bless us with the priestly blessing.  OF COURSE!  We're never going to turn down anyone who prays for us!

So this animated and inspiring man put his hand on my head and proceeded to recite the blessing in Hebrew.  I was so enthralled that I didn't even catch the word he used for YHVH.  Even when he prayed once again for Bret, I still didn't think to listen for what he said.  It was probably "Adonai" or "Ha Shem" since they refuse to say our Father's name.

"Oh Father, You're definitely moving in this place.  Hopefully it won't be long until Your people give up their idol worship and once again come back to obeying You as Your word declares.  Remove their blinders and silence the ones who are leading them off course!"

Just when we thought our trip could not get any better, YHVH decides to bless us one more time.  We were absolutely speechless...............

Num 6:22-27  YHVH said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:  

“YHVH bless you and keep you; YHVH make His face shine on you and be gracious to you;  YHVH turn His face toward you and give you peace.”’

So they will put My name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

Story #2

Rom 11:25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

“The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
 For this is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins.”

Amazing, Bret and I were honored to be a part of this promise.  One of the scribes in the Jewish quarter where we bought the Torah scroll, came up to us and asked if we were Messianic and what did we want with a Torah scroll.  We told him we for sure believe that Yeshua is the Messiah that scripture speaks about.  Well imagine our surprise when this orthodox Jew told us he used to be a Catholic Priest in Mexico but has come to the knowledge of the truth.  He asked if he could have an hour of our time to share it with us.

Of course Bret and I ...AGAIN, could not believe what our Father had planned for us on this trip!  We readily agreed to this conversation and we hung out until the shop closed so we could spend time hearing what "H" was going to say to us.

He began with a philosophical overview about truth versus lies and who would actually hold that truth.  (He meant the answer to be the Jews).  But he was not prepared for our rebuttal. In fact, coming to him on his terms and speaking philosophically, I told him that if YHVH wrote down the way to serve Him and we then asked Bret (sorry Honey, for using you as the guinea pig) began stating all kinds of rules around one of those commands.....then if we obey Bret's rules, who are we actually following, YHVH or Bret?

Of course this led to explicit examples pointing to his kippah, the arm bands, the tefillim, mezuzahs,, how far you can walk on Sabbath, the Feasts, and on and on and on and on.  Our hour turned into 2.5 hrs and "H" asked if we could come back the next evening.

WOW!!!!! Did that really just happen?  Did we just sit with an orthodox Jew and did he allow us to disagree with him, even charging him with a complete misunderstanding of the text.....and the poor guy wanted to sign up for more?  What are you up to Father?  Can we be any more blessed on this trip, thinking we had just experienced some incredible favor but then to find it was only the beginning?

Needless to say, we agreed wholeheartedly to return the next evening but this time, we would bring our Bible and he would bring his.

We came armed for battle.......and this was what happened.

"H" did NOT bring his Tanak (jewish bible) so that he could verify or read what we were reading in Hebrew.  That in itself was incredibly telling about his faith.  He is following Talmud traditions, the doctrines of men just like he did while in the Catholic church. So I started by showing him that Aaron’s two sons changed only slightly, the incense ingredients, (“strange fire”) and they were incinerated for doing so.  I got him to agree that we cannot change what YHVH instructed.  I went from there to all the scriptures that say we are not to “add” or “take away” and he agreed with those.  I then showed him many things that are not in the Bible and why we do not keep the Feasts.  We read the very explicit instructions and he wanted to ignore them to continue saying we should keep feasts even though he had already confirmed the other previous subject matters.  Although he cannot tell us what specific instructions of the Feasts he is actually keeping since they revolve around the Temple and Levitical system/sacrificing. 

We moved from there to Yeshua.  I showed him that Isaiah 53 could not be a human, Isaiah’s son, Hezekiah’s son, the nation of Israel or any other man because Ezek 18 reminds us that no man dies for the sins of another, only his own sin.  Therefore, the suffering servant of Isa. 53 is God.  I showed him Isa 7 and 9 that calls him “Immanuel (GOD with us), “Almighty God, Everlasting Father”.  I brought out the point that He was pierced and then showed him Zechariah’s words confirming the “piercing”.  YHVH calls it “Me” who was pierced and also “Him” who was pierced and that he was a firstborn son.  That took us to Psalm 2, about the Son, then Daniel 7 then Daniel 2 all confirming the inheritance and the "dashing to pieces like pottery" of the other kingdoms.   AS well as the “son of man” coming on the clouds which is a description used ONLY for  YHVH.  All these passages confirming the details of the Messiah and the fact that Daniel 2 and Daniel 9 tell us He came before the Temple was destroyed during the Roman Empire in the 1st century.

He listened, he wanted to disagree but really could not at that point.  I think as a Catholic, he realized (after we pointed it out) that he followed man’s doctrinal nonsense and he has simply exchanged that for the doctrinal nonsense of rabbis in Judaism.   He stated that he wanted to continue this conversation by phone.  My thoughts are that he will go to a rabbi and get some excuses.  What he does not realize is that I argue this ALL THE TIME, every single week almost with Jews online.  I’ve heard all the excuses and the twisting of scriptures, as well as the complete denial of clear messianic verses.  

But, we will be faithful to stay engaged as long as he will listen.  What is very apparent is that YHVH is turning His attention back to the firstborn.....one more sign of the times we are living in for sure.

I promised you a story.....

and this is a doozy!

On Sunday afternoon, we headed to the Jewish quarter to say "hello" to the scribes that we met last year.  We had commissioned some work from them and bought two beautiful pieces that are framed in our home.  Now these are orthodox Jews; kippah, tallit (prayer shawl), phylacteries (leather box on head) and arm bands.  They even refused to shake hands with me because they are not allowed to touch a woman other than their family.  But they are very very nice people and eager to share their talents.

As we were looking around at their newest ideas, "Y" (I'll call him this to preserve his identity) excitedly showed me some Torah scrolls that he had been collecting and selling.  Some were in those beautifully decorated boxes made of everything from wood to metal, velvet coverings and ornate decor.  I just stood there stunned,......afraid to say much because I had been told it was next to impossible to get an orthodox Jew to sell a gentile a Torah scroll.  And even if they would, it would start in the 5 figures and go up from there.  I guess that price is understandable given the countless hours it takes to transcribe the Torah.....and all under the strictest guidelines....even down to the parchment skins.  Y told me a new scroll cost upwards of $50K.

Y was showing off his collection and I was nodding with amazement over each one.  Trepidatiously, I asked the price of a few of them to see if he was really offering to sell to us.  To make a long story short, not only was he willing but we came home with a 200 year old Torah scroll in a beautiful old velvet covering that did not break the bank (less than one of our airline tickets).  Both Bret and I looked at each other with mouths agape as we paid for it, watched them wrap it up and we parted with our treasure.  In fact, I barely remember the walk back to our hotel that evening....we were so stunned at what just happened.

I didn't write about this while in Israel just in case it caused too much attention.  We made it home with the scroll and had only one slight hiccup.  In Toronto Canada, I was randomly selected for an "agricultural screening" when we entered customs.  I thought the scroll (which we carried in bubble wrap and concealed bags) was going to get scrutinized but good news is they were simply looking for fruits, vegetables or meats brought out of Israel into other countries.

my obsession with doors continues.....

the Christian quarter

His name is not "Jesus"

Did  you know that the name "Jesus" is a transliteration of a translation of another translation?  Did you know that the sound and the letter "J" (or equivalent) does not exist in Hebrew, Greek or Latin?  Did you know that the letter "J" is only a few hundred years old in the English language?  Yet when people find out that "Jesus" is not the name given to our Savior, it is not the name that the angel told Mary to name her baby, people get all bent out of joint and upset.  Why?  That does not make sense.  

Equally, what does not make sense is the lack of curiosity or desire to use the actual name that our Messiah had.....especially when that real name has meaning.  Come on people.  Habits are only habits until you break them.  Then we can get back to the instructions in scripture to never bring the name to nothing.

This plaque was in the Christian quarter on a rec center.

a little bit of home

We found a quaint little Italian restaurant today for lunch.  Finally, a break from Mediterranean cuisine and the opportunity to eat a meal we would find in the US.  Scrumptious!