SABBATH : A Sign Forever

Signs are important. We could hardly get along without them. We have signs for road safety, for identifying stores, indicating dangers like poison, radiation or high voltage wires, for finding geographic destinations, or merely navigating our way through an airport or sports stadium.

Signs were also important in the ancient world, including the ancient nation of Israel. The God of Israel gave signs to his people and used them for their benefit. One of the most notable was, of course, the rainbow after Noah’s flood. Another was the Sabbath rest on the seventh day of the week. This sign was given to Israel “forever” (Exodus 31:17).

Ruth: Romance and Redemption

Ruth meets Boaz: Ruth 2

In Israel, the barley harvest began in the spring. The community in Bethlehem observed God’s law concerning harvesting: “When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest…. Leave them for the poor and the alien” (Leviticus 19:9-10).

"And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, ‘Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor’" (Ruth 2:2). Illustration above by Dan Andreason; below by James Tissot

Ruth was both poor and an alien. She had few prospects in Judah, as Naomi had warned her. However, she was able to provide for Naomi and herself by working hard gleaning the grain left by the harvesters (Ruth 2:2).

There is an almost idyllic quality to the Bethlehem community described in Ruth, which — especially when one considers it existed during the turbulent period of the judges — testifies powerfully to the difference a few people living God’s way can make. Bethlehem would later become famous, first as the “town of David” and later as the birthplace of the Messiah (Luke 2:4-7).

“As it turned out, [Ruth] found herself working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech” (Ruth 2:3). Boaz was a “man of standing [Hebrew: ‘ish gibbor chail, implying Boaz was physically impressive and had noble character]” (verse 1).

Boaz asked his foreman who the stranger gleaning in the field was. The foreman replied that she was the young woman who had accompanied Naomi back from Moab. Boaz then told Ruth to continue gleaning in his field, and helped her far beyond the demands of the law. He even ordered his harvesters to make Ruth especially welcome, enabling her to gather extra barley.

Ruth then asked Boaz, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me — a foreigner?” (verse 10). Ruth’s expression about finding favor in Boaz’s eyes, used by her on three occasions (verses 2, 10, 13), was a culturally appropriate way of showing respect. Ruth thus displayed the type of attitude the apostle Paul later taught Christians to have, when he said, “In humility consider others better than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3).

ISRAEL - The British Mandate

The British promised to create a Jewish state, but served their own Arab-linked interests as millions died in the Holocaust.   

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

World War I changed the map of the world. This huge conflict waged over four years (1914-1918) pitted the Allies (chiefly France, Britain, Russia, and later, the U.S.) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Turkish Ottoman Empire) against each other. The end result of the struggle was very dramatic:

• Russia of the Czars disappeared. In the midst of the war, and in some part because of it, the Russian Revolution succeeded, creating the Communist state known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

The History of Hatikvah

In celebration of Israel’s birthday we examine the history of our national anthem.

by Marnie Winston-Macauley

Israel, our homeland; a small country that stands for huge ideas and ideals. This small country took a barren desert, surrounded by enemies, and turned it into a lush land, wealthy in its values, and remarkable in its achievements for the region, and for the world.

With the anniversary of Israel’s independence upon us, let us celebrate by looking at our anthem, Hatikvah which has been the voice of Jews for over one hundred years.

The Miracle of Jewish History

by Rabbi Ken Spiro

In the final analysis, Jewish history makes no rational sense.

On January 16, 1996, then President of Israel, Ezer Weizmann, gave a speech to both Houses of Parliament of Germany. He gave this speech in Hebrew to the Germans, fifty years after the Holocaust, and in it he beautifully summed up what Jewish history is. He said:

"It was fate that delivered me and my contemporaries into this great era when the Jews returned to re-establish their homeland ...

"I am no longer a wandering Jew who migrates from country to country, from exile to exile. But all Jews in every generation must regard themselves as if they had been there in previous generations, places and events. Therefore, I am still a wandering Jew but not along the far flung paths of the world. Now I migrate through the expanses of time from generation to generation down the paths of memory ...

Israelis You Should Know: Golda Meir

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Lived: 1898-1978

Occupation: Teacher, Politician, Author

Why she’s impressive: After immigrating to Israel from the U.S. with her husband Morris in 1921, Meir served Israel in many key positions, including Israel’s envoy to Moscow, Minister of Labor, and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

After World War II, she traveled around the world to rally support for the establishment of the Jewish state. When she was elected Prime Minister of Israel in 1969, Meir became Israel’s first and the world’s third woman to hold such an office.

What Is Aliyah?

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In its simplest sense, aliyah is when a Jewish person immigrates to Israel – but this is part of a larger movement, the return of the Jewish people from exile around the world back to the land promised to them by God.

The term is derived from a Hebrew word meaning “to go up” or “to ascend,” referring to the journey to a land with exalted meaning for the Jewish people – the land of their spiritual ancestors.

For many Jews living outside Israel, making aliyah is a lifelong dream with deep spiritual motivation. As Rabbi Eckstein writes in his book How Firm a Foundation:

Proof of Ancient Bethlehem Discovered in Jerusalem

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Imagine living in a place so rich with history that significant archeological finds are commonplace. That’s the reality in Israel.

Case in point: the recent discovery of a seal, or bulla, that dates from the 7th or 8th century BCE found in routine excavations by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) in the walls around Jerusalem National Park.

Eli Shukron, director of the excavation for the IAA, explains the significance of the discovery, “This is the first time the name Bethlehem appears outside the Bible, in an inscription from the First Temple period, which proves that Bethlehem was indeed a city in the Kingdom of Judah, and possibly also in earlier periods.”