Newsletter #7 - Late October 1999

Shalom everyone,

Well the Jewish holidays are pretty much past for this year. I had to purchase a Jewish-American calendar to keep track of both sets of holidays. I can also communicate better with my Israeli contractors. For example, the 16th of October, 1999 on our Gregorian solar calendar is the 6th of Cheshvan, 5760 on the Jewish lunar calendar. Furthermore, the 16th of October, 2000 will NOT be the 6th of Cheshvan, 5761! You can see how confusing it is.

The most recent holiday was Simchat Torah, or Rejoicing of the Torah. The Torah refers to the first five books of the Bible's Old Testament. Each Sabbath (Shabat) in synagogues all over the world, a specific portion of the Torah is read, until by the end of a one-year period they have read through the whole thing. The next week they start over again at Genesis, the beginning. On the last day of this cycle, the Jews celebrate by dancing around the synagogue carrying the Torah scrolls. Kevin and I occasionally visit a Messianic congregation (Christian Jews) which meets over a pool hall in Tel Aviv. This church also celebrated a Christian Simchat Torah by having everyone hold their Bibles, join hands, and dance around the meeting room singing! We had several groups of international visitors who had come to Israel for the International Christian Embassy's Feast of Tabernacles. They brought their tambourines and blew on rams' horn trumpets. We also had a guest musician who really whooped it up, Rob Stearns. Those who are familiar with contemporary music will remember him for "It's All About You, Jesus," as well as his terrific Easter song, "Children, Watch the Lamb." The people playing pool below us probably wondered about all the commotion!

Many Messianic congregations speak only Hebrew. They make it quite clear that their purpose is to minister to Jews. But, the congregation we visit has English translation, and they make us feel welcome, although they know we are not Jewish. (Several church members asked me. No one ever asks Kevin!)

Not only do religious Jews try to follow the rigid Old Testament rules, they also have rules to follow in their religious writings called the Talmud. My boss explained to me that there are some rules that aren't written in the Torah or Talmud, but are followed simply because they are a family tradition. For example, if your father and grandfather wore a kipa and sidelocks, you are expected to also, as are your sons after you. For those of you who have seen the movie "Fiddler On the Roof," and remember the song "TRADITION!", there are still people who believe wholeheartedly in tradition! Recently our observant Jewish engineer went on a business trip to Troy, Alabama to watch the rollout of their first AGM-142 missile. I wonder if he was able to find any kosher food there?

Kevin and I heard a speaker on the Middle Eastern mindset. The past is more important here than it is to the western mindset, which was influenced or "hellenized" by Alexander the Great. That is why tradition and remembering past events are so important here. In the same way some Southerners talk about Sherman's march to the sea and the burning of Atlanta - in the Mideast, there is still resentment about the Crusades that took place during 1100-1300 A.D.! The Crusades were an attempt by some Christian European nations to take back the Holy Land by force from the Muslims. However, some Crusaders slaughtered all the Jews and Muslims they could find on their march to Palestine, even those living far away in other countries. Some way to win friends and influence people. The Mideast mindset is very relational. People aren't just individuals, they are the son of so-and-so, or the father of so-and-so. If you ever wonder why Jesus used the teaching methods he did, remember that He was not a Southern Baptist preacher speaking to a 20th century American congregation. He was raised in an agricultural Jewish society, and used teaching methods that people of that culture and time period would understand. Most Americans understand the teachings of the Apostle Paul better than those of Jesus, even though both were Jews, because Paul was raised under the Hellenistic method of thinking.

Kevin installed a mezuzzah (little scroll), a going-away gift from friends, on our doorframe. Many Jews kiss their finger and touch the mezuzzah upon entering a building. There is even a mezuzzah on the doorframe of the pool hall!

Kevin and I visited the Holocaust Museum, Yad Vashem, located on Mt. Herzl in western Jerusalem. This is not a "fun" experience, but it is definitely a must-see. All foreign dignitaries are taken to Yad Vashem. In fact, the Prime Minister of Sweden was there that same day to place a "rock of remembrance" on a tree planted in honor of a Swedish Righteous Gentile (a non-Jew) who saved many Hungarian Jews from death. There is a whole forest of these trees, including ones for Oskar Schindler and Corrie Ten Boom. Some of the people actually lost their lives helping the Jews. There is also a tree for the King of Denmark. The King chose to wear a yellow Star/Shield of David in public to identify with the Jews. Because of his example, many other non-Jewish Danish citizens also started wearing the Star. Possibly for this reason, Denmark only lost 50 Jews compared to other conquered countries that lost millions, like Poland. Large tour groups of rifle-toting Israeli soldiers are brought here during training to reinforce why Israel was established as a homeland for the Jews and needs to be strongly defended. I have never in my life been surrounded by so many weapons. Some of the comments in the guest book were: "Never forget! Never again!" and "My father's entire family was lost in the Holocaust" and "We are the new generation of Germans, please don't blame us for what happened." There are also beautiful pieces of art on display that the Nazis stole from the Jews, and no one has ever come to claim them. Especially moving was the memorial for the 1 1/2 million children who died. You walk through a completely dark building containing many lights shining like stars in the blackness, as the children's names are read aloud one by one. A small section of the museum describes the Nazi persecution of non-Jews who were considered "inferior" by the Nazis, such as Gypsies, Slavs, the handicapped, the sickly, and homosexuals who refused to change their lifestyles. You could be a blond blue-eyed Aryan Christian, but if you had medical problems you were dead meat. However, the museum was established to focus on Jewish Holocaust victims, and it offers no apologies for this viewpoint.

Kevin took an Embassy bus trip to the Land of the Philistines. They saw the area where David slew Goliath, and they explored a bunch of limestone caves. One of the caves was used to hide valuables, such as olive oil, from tax collectors! So, they had tax shelters even back then! The tour group ended up in a carob grove and pulled some of the fruit off the tree. It looks like a dark brown, hard, curly pole bean that you open up, and throw out the little seeds. Carob seeds all weigh exactly the same, so the Jews used to use them to weigh diamonds. This is where we get the term "carat." The tour group also visited the location where the Philistines stole the Ark of the Covenant from the Jews. The English Bible says that the Philistines were plagued with rats and tumors after this incident, so they decided it would be a good thing to return the Ark to its rightful owners. Along with the Ark, to appease God they sent back a gift of golden mice and golden tumors. (In English it's conservatively translated as "tumors," but in Hebrew the word "ophel" means "hemorroids" - they really tell it like it is! Boy howdy, rats and hemorroids - what a nasty plague! Wonder what the golden ones looked like.)

Recently a visitor to our office told me I was fortunate that I got a job in Israel instead of a job in England, because of the English toilets. He spent the night in an old English castle, and the toilet in his room took 15 minutes to flush. He complained to the hotel management that this was unacceptable in a country that had invented the indoor flush toilet. He said the inventor's name was Mr. Crapper! My British assistant did not appear to be amused by this conversation.

In our next newsletter, we will try not to mention toilets, hemorroids, General Sherman, rodents, or the IRS. Instead, we will stick to less controversial subjects, like politics and religion.

Kevin & Elizabeth