Dear Family in the Messiah Yeshua! Greetings and blessings to you from your brothers and sisters at “Holy Land Ministries”, Israel!
In just a few days we will be commemorating one of the most tragic dates in the Jewish Calendar, marking the destruction of both Temples in Jerusalem.
The destructions of the First Temple in 586 BCE and the Second Temple in 70 CE, happened around 655 years apart, but on the same calendar date, on the Tish’a B’Av ( תִּשְׁעָה בְּאָב), the ninth day of the month of Av in the Jewish Calendar.
Tisha B’Av is never observed on Shabbat. If the 9th of Av falls on a Saturday, the fast is postponed until the 10th of Av. This year the Tish’a B’Av 2022/ 5782 begins at sundown on Saturday, the 6 August 2022 and ends at nightfall on Sunday, 7 August 2022 according the Gregorian calendar.
This date of Tisha B’Av is always takes place at the hottest time of the year, in the middle of the heat of the long Israeli summer, at the same time it actually happened in history. Every year at this time, Tisha B’Av is observed by mourning and fasting which helps to better realize the unimaginable horror and disaster that befell on that day.
As usual, we are offering you the teaching of our Israeli rabbi and our precious brother in the Messiah Yeshua on the significance and lesson of this tragic event:
בס״ד
תשעה באב 5782
Tisha B’Av
Few days are sadder to the Jewish people than the ninth day of the month of Av. This date concludes a period of three weeks from the seventeenth of Tammuz, which commemorates Nebuchadnezzar and his armies breaking through the walls of Jerusalem and their twenty-one days of terror and death upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to the ninth of Av, which is the date when both the First and Second Temples were destroyed. For this article, I would like to focus on the passage of Scripture which contains the term from which these three weeks were named.
ב בָּכ֨וֹ תִבְכֶּ֜ה בַּלַּ֗יְלָה וְדִמְעָתָהּ֙ עַ֣ל לֶֽחֱיָ֔הּ אֵֽין־לָ֥הּ מְנַחֵ֖ם מִכָּל־אֹהֲבֶ֑יהָ כָּל־רֵעֶ֙יהָ֙ בָּ֣גְדוּ בָ֔הּ הָ֥יוּ לָ֖הּ לְאֹיְבִֽים׃ ג גָּלְתָה יְהוּדָה מֵעֹנִי, וּמֵרֹב עֲבֹדָה–הִיא יָשְׁבָה בַגּוֹיִם, א מָצְאָה מָנוֹחַ; כָּל-רֹדְפֶיהָ הִשִּיגוּהָ, בֵּין הַמְּצָרִים.
איכה א׳. ב-ג ״ מגילת
“She will utterly cry in the night, and her tears upon her cheek; there is not for her a comforter from all of her lovers, all her friends have betrayed her. Judah has gone into exile from affliction and from the abundance of labor, she sat among the nations; she did not find any rest; all of those who pursue after her; they will overtake her, between the points of pressure”.
Lamentations 1:2-3
These two verses express the sorrow and death which the Jewish people experienced at the hands of the Babylonians. Although G-d used Nebuchadnezzar and his soldiers to punish those in Judah for their rebelliousness and idolatry, it must be pointed out the Babylonians did not act out of obedience to the purposes of G-d. Rather, it was due to their greed and desire to conquer peoples for the objective of expanding their empire that they attacked Judah and destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. When examining Lamentations 1:2-3, several observations can be made. Jeremiah speaks in verse two about the people crying in the night. Certainly some of the atrocities that the Jewish people suffered occurred at night, but there is an additional reason why the verse states, “She will utterly cry in the night.” Night is mentioned to inform the reader that the people were in spiritual darkness.
This was the outcome of their rejection of the Law of Moses and refusal to follow the leadership that G-d wanted to provide His people. In Jeremiah 6:16, there is an excellent example of the character of G-d and His love for His people and the rebelliousness of the people of Judah.
כֹּ֣ה אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֡ה עִמְדוּ֩ עַל־דְּרָכִ֨ים וּרְא֜וּ וְשַׁאֲל֣וּ ׀ לִנְתִב֣וֹת עוֹלָ֗ם אֵי־זֶ֨ה דֶ֤רךֶ הַטּוֹב֙ וּלְכוּ־בָ֔הּ וּמִצְא֥וּ מַרְגּ֖וֹעַ לְנַפְשְׁכֶ֑ם וַיֹּאמְר֖וּ לִ֥א נֵלךֽ׃
“Thus said the L-rd, ‘Stand on the ways and look, ask for the eternal lanes, which is the good way and walk in it and find relaxation for your souls,’ but they said, we will not go”.
HaShem was offering to reveal to His people the “eternal lanes,” that is, the way which leads into the kingdom, where one can experience true rest. In spite of this wonderful opportunity that G-d was offering His people, they refused to walk upon it. In short, the people were not interested in the Kingdom nor the blessing they could receive there. They were utterly connected to this world and were only mindful of the material things that this world can offer. Because of this condition, Jeremiah said in our passage from (Comforterמְנַחֵ֖ם) (The word). a comforter is not for her thereאֵֽין־לָ֥הּ מְנַחֵ֖ם (Lamentations is a name which the Talmud relates to the Messiah (Sanhedrin 98b). The entire phrase which Jeremiah prophesied was, “there is not for her a comforter from all of her lovers, all her friends have betrayed her.” The intent of this verse is that the Messiah will not come from any of the idols that Judah is worshiping and Judah is not in the spiritual condition to be redeemed at that time. In fact, those who she thinks are her friends and will help her, are in reality the very ones who will betray her and will demonstrate that they are her enemies.
It is important to state that when Nebuchadnezzar conquered Judah, the exile did not begin immediately. According to Jewish tradition, there were approximately 11 years when the Babylonians ruled over Judah before the total destruction of the city and the events which led to the period which we are studying יםִרָצְמַּה יןֵבּ (Bein HaM’tzarim) between the points of pressure). In verse three, Jeremiah states, “Judah has gone into exile from affliction and from the abundance of labor…” The prophet is referring to these years before the major exile took place, when those in Judah suffered great affliction at the hands of the Babylonian rulers.It was during this time that Nebuchadnezzar enslaved those in Judah and forced them to work harshly for his empire’s objectives. The verse concludes with the words, “she sat among the nations; she did not find any rest; all of those who pursue after her; they will overtake her, between the points of pressure”.
The primary thought of the phrase, “she sat among the nations;” is that the Jewish people are displaced from the Promised Land and outside of the will of G-d. Because of this, Jeremiah states, “she did not find any rest.” There is an inherent relationship between the will of G-d and finding rest. It is important that each one learns that it is impossible to find that inner peace that everyone’s soul longs for, apart from being in the will of G-d. When one is out of the will of G-d, not only is finding rest an impossibility, but also it empowers our enemies against us, for Jeremiah wrote, “all of those who pursue after her; they will overtake her,”. The Hebrew word, ָיגוּהִשִּׂהwhich is translated here as “they will overtake her, ”contains a nuance of victory. In other words, when G-d’s people reject His instructions and pursue their own objectives, it empowers the enemy to defeat us. There is simply nothing which is good that comes from rebelling against the commandments of G-d. The Babylonian Exile lasted seventy years and caused great pain, sorrow, and destruction, when the idolatry that Judah engaged in did not profit them at all. What an important lesson for each person to learn. One must remember that disobedience never benefits and in fact harms not only the disobedient person; but oftentimes, many other individuals as well and perhaps for many generations.
The passage concludes with the term that these three weeks are called by יםִרָצְמַּה יןֵבּBein HaM’tzarim. Although I have translated these words as “between the points of pressure”, the idea that is expressed here is one being crushed between two narrow straits. The application for believers today is when a person behaves in accordance with one’s carnal nature, he will soon experience stress and discomfort in a far disproportionate manner to the sinful offence he or she has done. In conclusion, the transgression which one commits (G-d forbid), is never worth the results of such rebellion.
May you have a meaningful observance of Tisha B’Av.
Dear Friends, please continue to pray for the work of our ministry house in Beer Sheva.
Our Beer Sheva shelter is still mainly occupied by Ukrainian refugees, women and their children, whom we received several months ago due to the tragic events, still going on in Ukraine…
For some months already these poor people, uprooted from their home and surroundings, have been living in our shelter, trying to adjust to the local reality and find some peace of mind, as much as is possible in their difficult circumstances. Up until today, most of them are unable to obtain the proper work permit due to the various obstacles of our local bureaucracy and thus are mainly depending on ministry resources for all their basic needs.
In spite of many the hardships of our refugees, it is a joy to watch their children. Apparently, the L-rd has a special grace for children in almost every circumstance, as they find it much easier adjusting to the new country, culture and climate, enjoying every little treat, Birthday celebrations, gifts etc provided for them by the loving Hand of our Father through His people.
Please pray for these dear Ukrainian people, our present shelter residents in Beer Sheva, as they are going through constant anxiety, waiting for news from their homeland, from their families and loved ones, earnestly praying and hoping for the end of the war in Ukraine.
That the Love of the Messiah will preserve and keep them through all the challenges and hardships, they are enduring at this time.
“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”.
Romans 8: 38, 39
Dear Friends please pray for Alina!
Alina has been selflessly serving and looking after poor elderly people for years. She is taking them to the sea side, bringing them gifts, trying to help them with their many requests, and most important, is giving them the warmth of her heart, her thoughts and attention. Needless to say, they adore her and like a little child are waiting for her visits.
Thanks to Alina, we have found many of these needy lonely elderly people in Ashkelon, as she has introduced us to many of her wards.
Alina came to Israel from Moscow thirty years ago. She comes from a family of doctors and received an excellent varied education.
Though, as it is often the case with the people born in the former Soviet Union, Alina had a very vague idea of G-d or His Revelation. Even though she was Jewish, she had no Jewish religious education and like many other Jewish people coming from the former Soviet Union, had very little knowledge about the G-d of Israel, His Word and His Messiah.
We have been praying for Alina for a sometime already. The team members in Ashqelon have been witnessing to her, have shared the Gospel with Alina and invited her to the ministry events. Since we met Alina, she has been always open and interested in Biblical Truth, she has listened with great enthusiasm and attention, but only recently she has expressed a strong desire “to know the will of G-d for her life and to serve Him concisely and wholeheartedly”, according to her own words.
Please pray for this precious Jewish lady, for the full revelation of the will of G-d in her heart, for the precious gift of repentance and for the new supernatural birth in Alina’s life. That Alina’s heart will be fully committed to her Lord and Messiah! That the glory of Yeshua will be manifest fully in Alina’s life and bring even more light and blessing to the needy people around her.
“You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; 3 clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.”
2 Cor, 2,3 (NKJV)
Dear Family, we are very grateful for your prayers for Roman and Larisa, our dear brother and sister in the Messiah. Just to remind you, Roman and Larisa are Jewish immigrants from Russia and new residents of our shelter in Ashqelon. We have written their story in more detail in our previous publication. Please continue to pray for this precious couple.
Here below is their personal letter/ update:
“Dear brothers and sisters, HLM friends and ministry partners! From the bottom of our hearts, we would like to thank you for your prayers and for the accommodation that the L-rd has provided for us in Israel through you at this time! In spite of many hardships, we are so glad to be here! As it was expected in our situation, we are going through a lot challenges and adjustments, getting used to the heat of the Israeli summer, dealing with the specifics of the Israeli culture and local bureaucracy. And yet we are truly blessed being in Israel, in the Land of our fathers, learning to live and serve our Messiah in the middle of the crisis and difficulties which are inevitable part of this life.
One of the major challenges that we are facing at this time is our health. We are asking for the L-rd’s “natural” and “supernatural” healing for both of us and for the doctor’s ability to establish a correct diagnosis and prescribe the right treatment for it. In spite of the famous achievement of Israel’s medical science, we fully realize that the success of it and actual healing come from the L-rd’s Hand alone!
Since our arrival in Israel, almost every Shabbat we spend with the local community of believers, among friends, new Jewish immigrants and guests of the ministry. What a joy for us at last to celebrate Shabbat in Israel surrounded by Yeshua’s family!
Roman is entrusted to lead the study group of the weekly Torah Portion, which we discuss and study during the week and during our Shabbat gathering.
Please pray for the L-rd’s anointing and His guidance as we are sharing and explaining Biblical Truth to the new immigrants who are coming to our Shabbat celebrations and Feasts.
Some of them are hearing the Word of G-d for the first time in their lives.
We also have joined the HLM ministry to the elderly and needy in Ashqelon. Every week before Shabbat we bring food to our dear older people, to the Holocaust survivors and others, seeking to share with them the love of our Messiah, in a way that they can comprehend.
Most of them are already limited in walking and we are personally delivering food into the flats.
Some of them are still of sound mind, but some are in a very fragile mental and physical condition. Please pray that the Lord will use and bless our labor and efforts in His timing.
“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” Galatians 6:9 NKJV”.’
Holy Land Ministries 