My fears became a reality when I received a message from my friend Rabbi Yehudah Glick, who lives not far from the place of the abduction of the three teenagers. He informed me with painful words that the bodies of Eyal, Gilad, and Naftali had been found buried near Hebron. Immediately, three words from the Hebrew Scriptures came to mind that are difficult to read at times like these: וְהֵן לָא ve’hen lo
(but if not). As much as I stood on my faith and hoped and prayed that God would do what I asked, sometimes God doesn’t.
Since hearing about the kidnapping of Eyal, Gilad, and Naftali I have thought about three teenagers in Scripture named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They were thrown into a fiery furnace but came out unscathed, without even the smell of smoke on their garments. How amazing and miraculous it would have been for the story of Eyal, Gilad, and Naftali to end in the same way as that of their predecessors so long ago, but maybe their lives were on a parallel path. Since hearing about the untimely and tragic deaths of these three young men by the hands of terrorists three words spoken Continue Reading…
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised anymore when Israelis raise their eyebrows of suspicion when I say that I love the land, language, people, and God of Israel while also being introduced as a pastor from the United States. I have never once been asked which denomination I am associated with, as most Israelis differentiate between Catholics and Protestants, but don’t tend to distinguish between Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians. But as a result of a Presbyterian campaign known as B.D.S.—Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions—even my eyebrows of suspicion are raised! Continue Reading…
This article was originally published at Breaking Israel News. (Click this image to view it there)
The Pope, a Jewish rabbi, and a Muslim religious leader ascend the Temple Mount together. This sounds like a setup for a joke, doesn’t it? But if it’s true, inquiring minds want to know if representatives of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam will be able to pry open the sealed door of exclusivism so people from all nations can be free to pray on the Temple Mount.
It has been just a few weeks since Rabbi Yehudah Glick and I sent a personal letter to Pope Francis requesting his help: Continue Reading…
This article was originally published at Breaking Israel News. (Click this image to view it there)
After having a brush with the conflict and chaos that is connected with the holiest piece of real estate in the world, I have decided to take a step back to get a historical, linguistic perspective on what most people call the Temple Mount. I always find value in understanding the name of a place through the language of those closest to it. In Hebrew, the Temple Mount is called Har haBayit (“Mount of the House”) and in Arabic it is called Haram al-Sharif (“Noble Sanctuary”).
For those who claim that the present Temple Mount has no connection to its biblical foundation, language comes to the rescue. When the Roman Emperor Hadrian decided to “rebuild” Jerusalem in 135 C.E. he had Continue Reading…
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