True Israel?

There was a comment made recently comparing the State of Israel and True Israel, in reference to the Jews vs the Christians. What the? Oh boy. *facepalm*

Ok, true Israel is the same as the State of Israel. There is no difference. The Israel we know today is the same Israel who came out of Egypt all those years ago. Over many generations they've been dispersed to the far reaches of the earth, and are now being brought back, but they are the same group of people. The Christians did not replace them. There is no 'Old' and 'New', 'Old' and 'True' Israel. There is just Israel. G-d did not set Israel aside and pick up a new group of people instead to be his prize possession. It just doesn't work that way. G-d does not change his mind, so why would he swap one group of people for another?  In replacing the Jews with the Christians, you're calling G-d a liar.

It can be understood as a family. A father has 2 sons, his older biological son and his younger adopted son. He loves them both, for they are both his children! The father does not forsake his older son in favor of his younger son, does he? Nor does the adopted son have any right to say to the biological son "Away with you, this is my place". No! The adopted son should be glad to be a part of the family.

Likewise it could be understood as a tree. The roots, trunk, and branches are the Jewish people. There are also other branches grafted in, those are the Christians. Without the roots, the whole tree will die.

The Messiah was a Jew, right? He did everything a Jew did. And by being his followers, we should strive to do everything he did, right? He loved his brothers, and so should we. We need to understand our roots so we know where we come from, and that through the Messiah we are grafted in to the tree of life so to speak. The Christians did not replace Israel, and we never will. What did the Master say in John 10:16 "And I have other sheep that are not of this flock. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd." We will all be one flock, one family. Together. 


Concerning the State of Israel vs true Israel, there is no difference, it is the same. Instead of sibling rivalry, why don't we try some brotherly love? The whole world will benefit from it.

  

The Shmira Project

Operation Protective Edge started between Israel and Gaza on July 7. Today is day 21. Since then, I personally have felt like there is nothing I can do to help. There have been some great projects where you can send money and they buy food, clothing, and other necessities for the soldiers, or send these items yourself, but I don't have any cash or useful items to give at this point.

Then the Shmira Project came across my Facebook news feed. Here is a little bit about them:

Hebrew word "shmira" (pronounced shmeerah) means "guarding" or "protecting". In modern Hebrew, shmiraalso means guard duty. The Shmira Project is an ongoing, grassroots program that pairs IDF combat soldiers with Jews around the world who do acts of kindness, prayer or Torah learning to increase the soldier’s spiritual merit and protection.


This is a grassroots program. We pair IDF combat soldiers with people around the world who do acts of kindness, prayer or Torah learning to increase the soldier’s spiritual merit and protection.

I signed up last night. It helps me to have the name of one of the soldiers fighting, as well as the entirety of the IDF to pray for. Please consider also signing up and doing your part in increasing the soldiers merits, and keeping them in your prayers. May Hashem grant them success, and may they all come home alive and well to their families.

Isaiah 11

On the last day of Pesach we read Isaiah 10:32-12:6 as we look forward to the Messianic age.

My favorite part is all of chapter 11. Verses 6-9 talk about how during the Messianic age,

"The wolf will live with the lamb;
the leopard lie down with the kid;
calf, young lion and fattened lamb together,
with a little child to lead them.
Cow and bear will feed together,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
An infant will play on a cobra's hole,
a toddler put his hand in a viper's nest.
They will not hurt or destroy
anywhere on my holy mountain.
for the earth will be as full
of the knowledge of Hashem
as the water covering the sea."

What a beautiful picture. I hope to live long enough to see these times. I would love to pet a lion without fear of him eating me. To see a child play with a snake, knowing that they are safe together. There are opinions out there that say this will happen throughout the land of Israel, but especially on the Temple Mount when the Messiah comes.

Verses 11-13:

"On that day Hashem will raise his hand again,
a second time,
to reclaim the remnant of his people who remain from (the north, south, east, and west)
He will hoist a banner for the Goyim,
assemble the dispersed of Israel,
and gather the scattered of Judah
from the four corners of the earth.
Efrayim's jealousy will cease-
those who harass Judah will be cut off,
Efrayim will stop envying Judah,
and Judah will stop provoking Efrayim."

Sound like brothers? Haha :) Verses 15-16:

"Hashem will dry up the gulf
 of the Egyptian Sea.
He will shake his hand over the Euphrates River
to bring a scorching wind,
dividing it into seven streams
and enabling people to cross dry shod.
There will be a highway for the remnant of his people
who are still left from Ashur,
just as there was for Israel
when he came out from the land of Egypt."

The offspring of Your servant David may You speedily cause to flourish, and enhance his pride through Your salvation, for we hope for Your salvation all day long, and look forward to salvation. Blessed are You, Hashem, Who causes the pride of salvation to flourish.

Sound the great shofar for our freedom, raise the banner to gather our exiles and speedily gather us together from the four corners of the earth to our Land. Blessed are You, Hashem, Who gathers in the dispersed of His people Israel.

Psalm 6

Psalm 6 is the one I read this morning. It starts out with David pleading to Hashem to not rebuke him in His anger, nor to chastise him in His wrath. This makes me think of a parent disciplining their child, and is a reminder to not do so in the heat of their anger. Collect yourself first, then correct your child. For we are much stronger than they, and we don't want to do or say something we might regret later. Punishment and correction is a necessary part of life. Proverbs 19:18 says to "Discipline your son, for there is hope; let your soul not be swayed by his protest." Just as a son is disciplined by his father, so are we disciplined by Hashem.

I love that by the end of the Psalm, David cries "Depart from me, all evildoers, for Hashem has heard my plea, Hashem will accept my prayer." Such hope and confidence in Hashem has he! My prayer is that I will continue to learn to depend on Him the way David did, and continue to strengthen my faith.

Prayer For Finding A Husband

A friend of mine asked a few days ago for me to send her this prayer. I love the way this prayer is put together, focusing on character and not physical attributes. For the character is what's important. Asking for provision of a husband at the right time, as well as for his protection. I think it is a good idea for us all to be praying for our spouses, future or present. Proverbs 18:22 says "He who finds a wife finds a great good, he has won the favor of Hashem." I believe this goes for finding a spouse in general, we could read "She who finds a husband finds a great good…" The woman isn't the great good to be found, it is that relationship, a great good to both partners. 

Prayer For Finding A Husband

May it be Your will, Hashem, my G-d and G-d of my forefathers, that You provide me, in Your great mercy and loving-kindness, my suitable marriage partner at the right time. May he be worthy of fathering a great Torah and G-d-fearing scholar, and be descended from righteous, honest, and G-d-fearing ancestry. Accomplish this as You did by providing a match for Adam, Avraham, Yitzchak, Ya’akov, and Moshe, each one at the appropriate time. May my future husband be good-natured, of pleasant ways and good deeds, gracious, learned, G-d-fearing, charitable, and kind.

May he be devoid of defects and faults, and be humble and modest, rather than hot-tempered and irritable.  May he be healthy and strong. Do not let anyone’s cruelty, hateful intentions, or deeds get in the way of my intended match. May the words of my mouth and the mediation of my heart be pleasing before You, Hashem, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Counting of the Omer

Last night started the counting of the omer. The omer is the 50 days between Pesach (April 14 this year) and Shavuot (June 4 this year). I like to put a mark on each day on my calendar, something physically tied to the counting. On each day, we say a prayer, count which day of the omer it is, and read Psalm 67.

"Blessed are you, Hashem, our G-d, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and has commanded us concerning the counting of the omer. Today is the ___ day of the Omer, which is ___ weeks and ___ days of the Omer. The Compassionate One, may He return for us the service of the Holy Temple to its place, quickly and in our days. Amen." 

Psalm 67 "May G-d favor us and bless us, may He illuminate His countenance with us. To make known  Your way on earth, among all nations Your salvation. The peoples will acknowledge You, O G-d; the peoples will acknowledge You - all of them. Regimes will be glad and sing for you, because You will judge the peoples fairly and guide with fairness the regimes on earth. The peoples will acknowledge You, O G-d; the peoples will acknowledge You - all of them. The earth will then have yielded its produce; may G-d, our G-d, bless us. May G-d bless us, and may all the ends of the earth fear Him."

Chag Sameach, and happy counting!

I'm back!

Wow! It's been over a year since I've posted anything! And even before that I wasn't very consistent. Oops. I'm trying to get back into writing, so hopefully I'll be more consistent in my posting this time. :)

Since my last post, I have dispersed my flock. There were a number of issues going on, mostly parasite issues, and some of them would be cured only by not having the sheep (or any other ruminant, for that matter) in these pastures for a year or more. So last spring I sold all my ewes, and the lambs left in the fall. I'm down to one ram. I can't bring myself to get rid of him yet. I have him in clean pastures, away from all the harmful stuff and he looks really good now.

One of the local 4-H clubs has snagged me as their sheep project leader. This has been a fun journey! For the past few years I've been able to work with the sheep students during the summer, working on showmanship and the fitting of their animals mostly. But this year I'm able to work with the kids through the whole process. I'm really excited to see the growth and development in the students and their animals throughout this season!

I've also graduated from the college with my degree in Early Childhood Education. Someday when I marry and have children, I'll be able to use that to homeschool my own children with a more full knowledge of how to do so, and have some extra resources on hand. By G-d's grace alone was I able to complete that degree only 2 weeks after turning 20! What a crazy ride that was! It was very intense and very difficult, but I learned a lot.

I'm also currently in the process of launching my own sewing business, Graceful Seams. Stop by and check it out! I'm really excited about it! :D

There have been a few changes to the blog. Nothing major, just little things. The background photo has been swapped. It's a photo from my trip to Israel in the fall of 2012, the sunrise at Elon More. I've also added more to the "About Me", and changed my admin name to a nick name a friend of mine gave me a few years ago, and it stuck! You'll see it on most of my photos too.

So, there is a very brief update! Hopefully I'll be posting more consistently this time around! Chag Sameach!