Standing with Israel

The sounding of the shofar is a wake-up call to his people. What does the sound DO to us physically? It certainly shocks. It causes us to pause. But what makes this sound so unique?

The first shofar blast occurred on Shavuot at the giving of the Torah (Matan Torah) at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:16,19). This shofar blast was of heavenly origin and is the first time the Bible records the sound of the shofar being heard.

The sound of the shofar is the sound of Adonai’s promise of provision. One of the primary readings on Rosh Hashanah is the binding of Isaac found in Genesis 22. In this passage, the Lord tests Abraham by commanding him, “Take your son, your only son whom you love – Isaac- and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains about which I will tell you.” Abraham and Isaac went, and Abraham proceeded to bind Isaac upon the altar. He was about to offer his beloved son to the Lord when, – at the last moment -, an angel called to Abraham not to sacrifice Isaac. As Abraham lifted his eyes, he saw a ram that was caught in the thicket by its horns. Abraham offered the ram in place of Isaac, and the named the place “Adonai Yirah” – as it is said today, “On the mountain the Lord will provide.”

The shofar that is blown on Yom Teruah is a ram’s horn and reminds us that Adonai is our provider.

The sound of the shofar is the sound of new beginnings. It reminds us of the time God breathed the breath of life into Adam. It is therefore the reason we celebrate the birthday of the world, the creation of humanity.

The sound of the shofar is also the sound of freedom. The shofar was sounded at the start of every seventh year, the sabbatical year, or in Hebrew “Shemittah”- announcing that it was time to release all Hebrew slaves from their six years of servitude. According to Jewish tradition, it was on Rosh Hashanah that Joseph was freed from prison in Egypt.

The sound of the shofar is the sound of change, transformation and hope. It symbolizes that things can and will ultimately change. Ultimately, the sound of the shofar symbolizes that things can and will change. This promise of change should instill hope into our hearts, reminding that our future will be better than our past.

The sound of the shofar is a call for God’s people to arise, turn and return to Him with greater relational intimacy. When we return to God, we experience transformation and restoration in our lives.

Last weekend we witnessed Palestinian militants firing rockets from Gaza into Israel. Islamic Jihad, the smaller of the two militant groups in Gaza, shot around 1175 rockets towards Israel. After two days of violence, a ceasefire took place. According to the IDF, more than 100 of these rockets fell short in Gaza, killing at least nine people, including children. Thanks to Israel’s advanced weaponry, they were able to eliminate all the leaders of this group.

Who is this Islamic Jihad group? Just like the PLO, al Qa’eda, ISIS, and Hamas – they have their spiritual roots in the Society of Muslim Brothers (or Muslim Brotherhood) – Jamāʿat al–Ikhwān al–Muslimīn).

Their slogan is “Islam is the solution.” They teach that Palestine could be “freed from the danger of Jewish domination” through “an organized and methodical armed struggle.” The logo of a Qur’an in one hand and a rifle in the other today serves as a symbol for both the PIJ and Hamas.
 
The strategic goal of the Muslim Brotherhood is multifold: the destruction of Western civilization through a long-term civilization-killing Jihad from within (“by their [our] hands”) and through sabotage (“the hands of the believers”). Secondly, they support the global Islamic movement to establish an Islamic super-state, the Caliphate.

Jihad is their solution to liberate the Holy Land. The Islamization of “the Zionist enemy” is their goal. They reject any peaceful solution for the “Palestinian cause” and affirm the jihad solution and martyrdom as the only option for their “liberation”. Their goal is to create a state of terror, instability, and panic in the souls of Zionists and especially the groups of settlers, forcing them to leave their homes.

For them, Islam is the only solution for the conflict. Jihad is their way to liberation. Their martyrdom awards eternal life in paradise. Victory or martyrdom is the only way for jihad.

A peaceful solution based on recognizing the right of Jews in Israel or in part of it is a solution that contradicts the logic of their Qur’an. “The Qur’an is our constitution; Jihad is our path; Victory to Islam; Death to Israel; Revolution, revolution until the victory.”( Hasan Al-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood)

It is clear that the “Palestinian Jihad” (PIJ) is a murderous terror organization, which invests much time and effort in killing Jews and Israelis. PIJ and the Islamic Republic of Iran have been much involved in planning terror and rocket attacks on Israel over the years. This is the root behind the conflict and recent events in Gaza and Israel. It is Tehran that coordinates the moves.  PIJ is quite open about the military equipment and support it receives from Iran – aid which has reached a total of $70 million per year.

Iran’s strategy in preparing to annihilate Israel involves supporting Hamas and PIJ on the west, Hezbollah on the northwest, Syria on the northeast, and Yemenite Houthi drone armies on the farther east. Iran itself is hard at work developing nuclear weapons, cruise missiles and drone armies for its own use, as well as conventional rockets and missiles to send through Damascus International Airport for trans-shipment to Lebanon and Gaza.

The relations between Hamas and PIJ have sometimes been good, and at other times rocky. However, both groups have Muslim Brotherhood roots and share the twin goals of destroying Israel and replacing it with a Palestinian state ruled by an Islamic government.
 

Understanding this background, the world should realize that ceasefires with jihadi Islamists are not worth the paper they are written on. They will never last.

Shavuot (Hebrew) or Pentecost (Greek) was originally an agricultural holiday that marked the wheat harvest in the Land of Israel. (Exodus 34:22) The word Shavuot means “weeks”, and it marks the conclusion of the counting of the Omer, 49 days (7 weeks) after the Exodus from ancient Egypt. It is also referred to as Pentecost due to its timing after Passover, “pentecost” meaning “fifty” in Greek, since Shavuot occurs fifty days after the first day of Passover.

According to Jewish tradition, Shavuot also marks the date when Moses received the Law, and it is celebrated as such by religious Jewish people today. The giving of the Torah (the first five books in the Hebrew Bible) to Moses at Mount Sinai is not as well-known among non-Jews as Passover or Sukkot, the Feast of Booths, yet it is one of the three major festivals often called “pilgrim” festivals because in Bible times, all Jewish males were required to observe them at the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

The two holidays, Passover and Shavuot, are linked by more than just their proximity. The Exodus from Egypt, which Passover celebrates, marked the beginning of physical freedom for the Jewish people. But Shavuot is a reminder for the Jews that physical liberation was incomplete without the spiritual redemption represented by receiving God’s Law.

Shavuot is also called Atzeret, meaning “the completion,” because together with Passover it forms the completion of a unit. Jews gained their freedom from Egypt on Passover to receive the Torah on Shavuot. It was literally where heaven met earth!

The Torah reminds us that there is such a thing as right and wrong in God’s eyes. He cares enough to give us a glimpse into his Holiness. (Leviticus 19:2) It is impossible for even the most pious human being to keep God’s law perfectly, – we all mess up. Nobody can keep the 613 dos and don’ts. The Almighty didn’t give us the Law to make us perfect, but to show us His perfection!

The two tablets engraved with the 10 commandments bear comparison to the ketuba – the wedding contract a groom gives to the bride.

For Christians the Torah is synonymous with the 5 books of Moses in their Old Testament, but many view them as unnecessary. They don’t understand that they are foundational to the New Testament and were read by Jesus himself in the Temple in Jerusalem. They fail to understand that by celebrating this holiday they practice the same traditions and rituals that Jesus embraced. – Biblical holidays are nothing less than God’s appointed times.

Shavuot is celebrated by presenting an offering of two loaves of new grain to the Lord. (Lev.23:16-17) Why two loaves? Two represents the unity between Word and Spirit, heaven and earth, body and soul, Jew and Gentile. In the book of Ruth, we see the power in the unlikely marriage between Boaz, the Israelite, and Ruth, the Gentile.

Shavuot represents not only unity, but also the unification of opposites. The same language ‘Rashi’ used to describe the love and unity that existed among the people of Israel who camped in the wilderness, right in front of at Mount Sinai.

Shlomo Yitzchaki ( רבי שלמה יצחקי‎); 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105, today generally known by the acronym ‘Rashi’, was a medieval French rabbi and author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud and commentary on the Hebrew Bible (the Tanakh)

The Jubilee ( יובל ) is the year at the end of seven cycles of (Sabbatical years) or Shemitah. According to the Bible, it had a special impact on the ownership and management of land in the Land of Israel. The Book of Leviticus tells us that The Year of the Jubilee was a year of release from indebtedness and all types of bondage . All prisoners and captives were set free, all slaves were released, all debts were forgiven, and all property was returned to its original owners. In addition, all labor was to cease for one year, and those bound by labor contracts were released from them. One of the benefits of the Jubilee was that both the land and the people were able to rest.

The Jewish Jubilee Year was counted from the time the Israelites were given those instruction at Mount Sinai.  My understanding is that a Year of Jubilee always follows a Sabbatical Cycle of 7 years x 7 times or 49 years total. In this case, the 50th year would constitute the Jubilee Year. In September, 2021 on Rosh HaShanah 5782 – Israel began to observe the Shemitah or 7th-Year Sabbatical rest. This makes 2022 the 117th Jubilee Year since its inception.

We cannot understand the full impact of this without knowing its historical background. For more than 80 years before the Exodus, the Israelites had been slaves in the land of Egypt, without freedom and without possessions. When they reached the land of Canaan, Joshua divided the land among their tribes and their families, so that each had his own inheritance. Every adult male among them became a land owner. This land was a permanent possession that could never depart from his family. If a man became poor he could sell part or all of his land, but only temporarily. It would always revert to him or his descendants at the year of Jubilee. If he became even poorer and was unable to pay his debts, he could sell himself into slavery, and work to pay off his debts. Again that slavery could only ever be temporary. When the great Day of Atonement in the year of Jubilee came he became a free man once again and repossessed his inheritance.

When we look at these great Jubilee events, we see how the two main aspects of Jubilee – freedom and restoration of inheritance – have been fulfilled in them.

This is why we must look forward to the fulfilment of this year of Jubilee in our present time. Will we be freed from the threat of communism and have our inheritance restored?

Most people will tell you that the modern State of Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East. But is really a democracy?

Let’s look at the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel. It reads: “Accordingly we, members of the People’s Council, representatives of the Jewish community of the Land of Israel and of the Zionist movement, are here assembled on the day of the termination of the British Mandate over the Land of Israel and, by virtue of our natural and historic right and on the strength of the resolution of the United Nations General Assembly, hereby declare the establishment of a Jewish state in the Land of Israel, to be known as the State of Israel.”

Then, the declaration touches on important issues such as equality, justice, peace, development, openness and assisting fellow citizens. But nowhere in the entire document was the word democracy mentioned.

In my search on Wikipedia and on several Israeli government websites I found that the State of Israel defines itself as a parliamentary democracy, but that the founders of the state had refrained from calling the new country the Republic of Israel because of the democratic connotation of the word republic. – In a parliamentary democracy, the citizens choose their representatives for parliament according to their political affiliation, and then the political parties choose their leaders.

In his writings, Herzl laid out plans for how the country should be created, Jewish immigration, treatment of minorities, official work hours, equality for women and minorities, health insurance, military service, and mandatory free education. – Again, the word democracy was nowhere mentioned. – The only time that word was used, was in a document prepared by the United Nations in 1947, that proposed a partition plan to divide Palestine into two independent, democratic states – a Jewish one and an Arab one. – As we all know, a Palestinian state (and certainly not a democratic one) – never came into existence.

Do you know that Israel is the only country that does not have a Constitution and is unable to draft one since the concept of a “Jewish State” contradicts democratic principles of pluralism, secularism and equal rights? – But then why would Israel need a constitution when it has an eternal covenant with the Almighty?

Israel does not separate religion and government. It routinely passes religious laws on issues of family, marriage, divorce, and immigration to prevent non-Jews from immigrating or to remain in the country that gives Jews priority.

One of the major tenets of Judaism is the belief that a redeeming figure known as the Messiah will appear at the end of history, bringing about a profound and positive change in the world. – In Jewish eschatology, the Messiah is a future Jewish king from the Davidic line, who is expected to be anointed with holy anointing oil and rule the Jewish people during the Messianic Age and world to come. 

The Messianic Redemption will be ushered in by a leader, a descendant of Kings David and Solomon, who will reinstate the Davidic royal dynasty. According to tradition, Moshiach will be wiser than Solomon, and a prophet like Moses.

Since the Messiah will begin His rule by judging and purging evil from His earth (Joel 3:1–17) and establish His earthly throne on Mount Zion in Jerusalem (Ps. 2:6), it looks like Israel’s future will be a kingdom and not a democracy.

Spring Cleaning is a tradition that allows us to freshen up our homes and get a head start on the coming seasons of spring and summer. This tradition originates in an ancient Jewish custom of thoroughly cleaning the house in preparation for the springtime feast of Passover.  

Many wives love this time of the year because it is the only time the entire family joins in for the required deep cleaning. Because some women feel overwhelmed by the task, it is recommended to start the cleaning early, right after Purim.

Several days before the Passover, there is an elaborate preparation of cleaning the house from top to bottom, removing all the leaven. – Passover, or ‘Pesach’ in Hebrew, literally means to “skip over”, referring to the angel of death who skipped or passed over the Hebrew households, marked by the lamb’s blood on their doorways. God instructed the Hebrew people to hit the road in haste once the Pharaoh agreed to let them go. So, they had to bake their bread quickly, not allowing it to rise, which resulted in unleavened bread or ‘matzah’ in Hebrew.

In bread making, yeast (leaven, ‘chametz’) is used to make the dough rise from a dense mass of flour to airy bread. Yeast causes the process of fermentation to happen in bread, which is crucial to the bread rising. That is why the rabbis tell us that ‘Chametz’ is any food product made from wheat, barley, rye, oats or spelt that has come in contact with water and been allowed to ferment and “rise.”

“You shall not eat leavened bread; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste), so that you may remember all the days of your life the day when you came out of the land of Egypt.” (Deuteronomy 16:3)

Jewish sages teach that leaven symbolizes sin and evil inclination. In Judaism, yeast has come to symbolize arrogance because yeast bread raises itself up, above the level of ‘matzah’, or unleavened bread. But this happens only because it is filled with pockets of hot air. Just as yeast causes fermentation in bread and wine, a helpful process, it becomes sour when not controlled.

In preparation for Passover, our homes are cleaned and all of the chametz – unleavened bread – has been removed. A parent hides small pieces of bread throughout the house and children are required to “search and destroy.” The traditional tools include a feather, wooden spoon and candle. We conduct the search, using a candle or flashlight to illuminate areas. This ceremonial search for chametz is called ‘Bedikat Chametz’. When a piece is found, it is swept onto the wooden spoon using the feather, and then deposited into paper bag. The parents make sure all pieces hidden are found. – The following morning, usually sometime between 10 and 11 o’clock, the leaven is burned.

The light illuminates all the dark places where ‘chametz’ likes to hide. The police will tell you that most evil deeds are done under cover of darkness.

Happy Passover Spring Cleaning!

The Latin words “Novus Ordo Seclorum” appear on the reverse side of the great seal of the United States and on the back of the U.S. one-dollar bill. Translated they mean “New Order of the Ages”. This Latin motto was suggested in 1782 by Charles Thomson, a founding father – chosen by Congress – to come up with the final design for the great seal of the United States.

Soon after World War I and in connection with the formation of the League of Nations, then U.S. President Woodrow Wilson used the term ‘New World Order’, hoping that it would finally become possible to create a system for maintaining international peace and security. According to Kissinger it was a model of a world order which to some extent remains relevant even today. The globalist agenda’s goal is to eventually rule the world. This is not a right-wing conspiracy, but a plan that evolved over time.

Ever since Russia decided to attack Ukraine, the media keeps cheering on President Volodimir Zelensky and the Ukrainians, while demonizing Russia and Putin as another Hitler.

Before that we only heard about the Corona virus for the last two years. Now, people are taking off their masks and nobody talks about it anymore. Is the virus gone? Or is something else taking place?

A few months before the release of COVID-19 from the Wuhan lab in China, Karl Schwab and Bill Gates held a simulation of a worldwide pandemic at a symposium they termed Event 201. They envisioned millions of lost lives and the opportunity for a Great Reset to follow. In their mind, a pandemic could present a perfect set of circumstances to reset the globe’s political and economic future by the year 2030. That way there would be a New World Order.

Unfortunately it didn’t go as planned, because 99.8% of the world population survived the virus. So now the fear of COVID is no longer viable.

The NWO has moved on to what they call Phase II of the Great Reset. By deliberately poking the Russian bear, the United States under the direction of the NWO has lit a match that has cost the lives of innocent Ukrainians and with it the possibility of igniting a worldwide nuclear World War III. Their goal is an authoritarian one-world government—which will replace sovereign nation-states. A world with open borders!!

Klaus Schwab’s World Economic Forum played a role in provoking Russia in a much broader conflict between the New World Order and the nationalists.

Zelensky, who won the presidency in 2019, was heavily bankrolled by a corrupt Ukrainian oligarch, named Igor Kolomoiskly. In 2014, Ukraine’s democratically elected president, Victor Yanukovych, was toppled by the CIA in favor of a puppet who would serve the New World Order’s purpose for using the nation as a money-laundering hub. Ukraine was hardly a democracy prior to the invasion.

Opposition journalists are routinely jailed there because there is no freedom of the press in Ukraine. Democrats in leadership positions (Biden, Pelosi, Kerry) either sat on the boards of energy companies in Ukraine or were doing business in Ukraine.

When a new Ukrainian prosecutor, Kostiantyn Kulyk, opened an investigation into the business dealings of Burisma with Hunter Biden on the board, Joe Biden – then vice president – threatened to withhold financial aid to Ukraine. He even bragged about it on camera! The Democrats used to falsely charge President Trump with exactly what Biden is guilty of in Ukraine.

The NWO, which seems to control the European Union, NATO and the U.N., was instrumental in the installment of Joe Biden in the United States because Donald Trump was a nationalist. The NOW was also involved in toppling the regimes of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, Gadhafi in Libya, and the shipment of ammunition to ISIS in Syria, in an effort to topple the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.  Putin – who at one time worked with the World Economic Forum – believed he was next in line. He suspected the NWO was using Ukraine to create a revolution in Russia, with America funding bioweapon labs with pathogens on the Russian border.

While the media has kept Americans in the dark when it comes to the New World Order and the power behind the movement, it is important for everyone to learn about this new ruling class, the billionaire oligarchy behind it, and its ties to the World Economic Forum.

Klaus Schwab, a German economist, formed the World Economic Forum in 1971. Its mission is to erase national sovereignty as well as capitalism and replace it with a one-world centralized authoritarian communist government under the auspices of the billionaire oligarchy that meets yearly in Davos. Schwab openly stated, in his version of the future, “you will own nothing and be happy”.

This is not the first totalitarian movement seeking global domination, but unlike other evil movements in past years, today’s evil power grab carries the risk of global annihilation.

I pray that we will resist the call to war.

 “I will bless those who bless you, but I will curse anyone who curses you: and by you all the families of the earth shall be blessed”. (Genesis 12:3)

In Hebrew, the word for curse is arur or אָ רַ ר.

This word carries with it a sense of divinely imposed bad luck or misfortune.

The unfortunate circumstance that befalls you could be the result of the Lord directly sending a disaster your way……or……He withdraws His mighty hands of protection and blessing from you, thus allowing evil from some ungodly source to bring destruction in your life…It is in essence judgment.

In Genesis 12, the Almighty spoke to Avram about His great nation, – Israel. The verse is sobering, and its implications for today are critical.

If we want to learn from the past on how this principle pays out, we need to telescope Jewish history.

• King Abimelech desired Abraham’s wife, thinking she was his sister. As a result, every woman in Abimelech’s life was cursed with infertility. (Gen.20:1-18)
• The Moabites hired a soothsayer named Balaam to curse the Israelites. Instead, G-D cursed the Moabites. (Nehemiah 13:1-2)
• Rahab, the harlot, helped the Jews in Jericho. As a result she was spared death. (Joshuah 2:1-21)
• Jews were threatened with annihilation in Persia under an evil ruler, named Haman. His plan backfired, and Haman was hung on the gallows built for a Jew. (Esther, chapters 3 – 7)
• All the nations that mocked Israel and or rejoiced in her downfall, only forced G-D’s hand against themselves. (Amalekites, Amorites, Hittites, Perrizites, Jebusites, Gibeonites, Midianites, Edomites, Babylonians, Philistines and others.)

The pattern persists until today:

• Emperor Constantine came to power and made Christianity the official religion. The new church adopted virulently anti-Jewish laws. Soon after that the Roman Empire crumbled, and the Dark Ages began. It was during the same time period that the “religion” of Islam started to emerge.
• In the 11th and 12^th centuries the Crusades started. Dispatched by popes and kings, “Christian soldiers” from England and France marched to “liberate” Jerusalem. But liberate meant liquidate. Crusaders slaughtered tens of thousands of Muslims and Jews along the way. Soon after, the bubonic plague decimated much of Europe.
• A few centuries later, many Jews migrated to Spain. The nation grew into a world power. But in 1492 Spain expelled every Jew in that country. The Spanish Empire fell from its global influence.
• By the late 1800s, Great Britain played a key role in rebuilding the ancestral homeland for the European Jews. As long as Great Britain treated the Jewish people kindly, things went quite well for her. “The sun never sets on the British Empire” it was said, as the kingdom spanned the earth. Britain, however, took nearly 80% of the land given to hold in trust for the Jews, and handed it over to the Arabs, to appease them for the sake of petrodollars. As you know, Great Britain’s Empire is no more.
• Germany was left in shambles after it’s Nazi generated Jewish genocide.
• ]Following the atrocities of World War II, there was a lot of antisemitic violence in Ukraine. Just look at what is happening in the Ukraine today.

G-D says “Israel is the apple of his eye” (Zechariah 2:8) Anyone attempting to poke a finger in the pupil of His eye, will end up with an eye injury themselves. – It’s true in physics and it’s true in life.  One of the laws of physics is that for every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction.  The inescapable truth in life is that every action has consequences, whether we’re wise enough to recognize it or not.

The word “pur”means a single “lot”; “purim” is the plural form of “pur” and means “lots”.

Casting lots was a method used by the Hebrews to determine the will of God. Lots could be sticks with markings, or stones with symbols, which were thrown into a small area, and then the result was interpreted. “The lot is cast into the lap, but it’s every decision is from the LORD.” (Proverbs 16:33). The practice of casting lots is mentioned in many instances throughout the Bible. The closest modern practice would probably be like flipping a coin in a game of chance. However, it is chance by divine design.

Going about his business in the king’s court one day, Esther’s cousin Mordechai, overheard a plot to assassinate King Xerxes of Persia. He reported the details to Queen Esther who passed this information on to the king. The plotters were arrested and hanged. (Esther 2:19-23)

Haman was later promoted to the King’s chief councilor. He was a descendant of the Amalekites, the nomadic people who harassed and attacked the Hebrews during their exodus from Egypt. They were so wicked that God commanded King Saul to attack them and destroy everything that belonged to them. He instructed Saul not to spare anyone. (1 Samuel 15:3) Saul did not fully obey God’s command and allowed some of these evil people to live. Haman descended from those who were left.

All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel or pay him honor. When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel or pay him honor, he was enraged. When he learned who Mordecai’s people were, he decided to destroy all of his people, the Jews. (You can read the story in the book of Esther, chapter 3)

In the first month, Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Xerxes, the lot (pur) was cast in Haman’s presence to determine the day and the month for the destruction of Mordecai’s people on a single day, and the lot fell on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar. Haman convinced the King to write a decree for their destruction.

However, Mordecai found out about Haman’s plot and begged Queen Esther to intercede with the king on behalf of her people. For Esther, the time of decision had arrived. She asked Mordecai to get her countrymen to join her in a three-day fast, concluding her message with a statement that resonates down to this day in its simple faith and courage: “In case I must perish, I must perish.” ( Esther 4:15-17) – Until now, she had kept her identity secret.

Haman didn’t know that Esther was related to Mordecai, or even that she was a Jew. He had built the gallows for Mordecai, 75 feet high. Esther gathered courage and invited the king together with Haman to a meal. Esther opened up to the king and told him that there was a plot to kill her and her people. The king became angry and demanded to know the person behind such a wicked plot. She pointed at Haman.

The angry king went outside to ponder about the news. In the meantime, Haman tried to plead with Esther to save his life because he knew that such an act would attract a death sentence. In the process of pleading with Esther, he fell on her bed as a result of the fear and anxiety. King Xerxes became even more angry when he found Haman in such proximity to his wife.

Haman was executed through hanging, just as he had planned for Mordecai. In       Persia, once a decree was ordered, it could not be recanted. But the king issued a counter-decree, allowing all the Jews to have weapons to defend themselves.

Purim is a story of people standing in their faith against evil with courage that did not compromise. In the end, the Almighty set his people free, and punished those who planned evil.

Leviticus Chapter 23 וַיִּקְרָא

“1. Adonai said to Moshe: 2. Tell the people of Israel: The appointed times of the LORD, which you shall proclaim as holy convocations (מִקְרָאֵי קֹדֶשׁ ), are My appointed times (מוֹעֲדָי )  3 . Six days shall work be done; but on the seventh day is a Shabbat of complete rest, a holy convocation; you are not to do any kind of work; it is a Shabbat for Adonai in all your homes. 4. These are the appointed times of the LORD, holy convocations, you are to proclaim at their appointed times.”

In Hebrew these appointed times are called moedim (מועדים). G-D appointed special times in the calendar year for us to set time aside for him. The word moedim does not solely mean a festive time or a season of celebration. It is a time to remember and reflect on all of the times when God revealed Himself to mankind.

The Hebrew language has fewer words than our English language, yet every word is rich with meaning. Likewise the words mikraei kodesh ( מִקְרָאֵי קֹדֶשׁ ), which are  translated as holy convocation, can also mean dressed rehearsal.

There are four Spring moedim and three Fall moedim. Below is a list of their English names with Hebrew transliteration:

Spring Moedim

Passover – Pesach

Feast of Unleavened Bread – Hag HaMatzot

First Fruits – Yom Habikkurim

Festival of Weeks (Pentecost) – Shavuot

Fall Moedim

Feast of Trumpets– Yom Teruah (Rosh Hashanah)

Day of Atonement – Yom Kippur

Feast of Tabernacles– Sukkot

To the Jewish people, the moedim are important. They are commanded by G-D, and are times of celebration and remembering. Children grow up with these traditions and pass them on from generation to generation.

Sadly, most Christians do not understand the history and meaning of Jewish holidays, even though Jesus – born into a Jewish family – observed them. They are not familiar with the various Feast Days, and what each of them represents.

Israel serves as an example and a lesson to the world. Understanding its holidays will therefore help us understand what the Almighty wants to teach us. If the moedim are important to Him, they should also be important to us.