Here is a little video of the pastor’s children, Nathanael and Naomi:
Have a great weekend!
All posts by heidifredsgaard
A trip to Galilee and the Golan heights
In the beginning of the week I was guiding on an amazing trip to Galilee and the Golan heights together with the Danish pastor, David.
Here is just a video from the Danish missionpilots:
Glimpses of the work
Simchat Torah – Rejoicing of Torah
Last night and today I have together with my Jewish neighbor, Yehuda, experienced how the new reading cycle of the Torah (the Law = the 5 books of Moses) in the synagogues is celebrated. The Feast of Tabernacles is now ending and the Jews are celebrating how they just completed the reading of the Words of God and that they’re looking forward to hearing the Words again.
Last night we went down to the Western Wall, where they had taken out the Torah scrolls of their ark in the synagogues to dance around with them and kiss them.
A very patriotic movement, which has nothing to do with the Orthodox Jews, also celebrated the day, and my neighbor obviously had to take part in it:
This morning we went toĀ Netivyah, a Messianic Jewish congregation, i.e. a Jesus-believing congregation, that definitely also celebrate Simchat Torah. The last part of the Deut. was read and then the first piece from Gen. In addition, they read a part of the Gospel of John about Jesus and then (after 1 Ā½ hours), there was a sermon. Then again there was dancing around the Torah scrolls.
The entire service lasted forĀ 3 Ā½ hours!
Sukkot – the Feast of Tabernacles
Yom Kippur is barely over before the next holy feast in the Jewish calendar has taken over here in Jerusalem. Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles, Ā you can read about in Lev 23.39-43. It is a celebration that lasts for 7 days plus an extra holy day (so the feast surpasses PassoverĀ which is 7 days).
Here the Jews build booths, which they live in throughout the feast – and why do they do that? – They do this in memory of the time they were stayingĀ in the desert in tents. One can not immediately see the connection between the tents in the desert and the booths of today, but the explanation comes here:
Sukkot, like both the horn blowing feast and Yom Kippur was a harvest feast. And at harvest time you often left your house in the village and went out to the field to live in small huts (sukkah) covered with leafy boughs, cause it was a long walk and you wanted to prevent others from stealing your harvest. This booth was thus a temporary shelter – a temporary solution. Similarly, the desert time was a temporary solution before the people of Israel reached the Promised Land.
But why build booths today? Why call it a celebration that commemorates the sad time in the desert?
Because the desert time was not so sad after all! Read Deut 8,12-18 and see how God reminds his people that they were dependent on him in the desert! He protected them from snakes, lizards and scorpions; he let the water flow out of the rock; he sent manna for them to eat. Israel was clearly dependent on God!
Even before they reached the Promised Land, God commanded them to remember this desert time they found themselves in. They had to look back to it as the ideal time where God was very close to them. Look back to a time which was temporarily. But what exactly does that mean?
The Jews are still “on their way“, which we are as Christians as well. We are only temporarily here where we are now. The ultimate goal is still waiting ahead, and we need to be reminded about that. – And at the goal, we are invited to be close to God, as the Israelites were in the desert, and we will here be celebrating the great Feast of Tabernacles! Therefore, the Jews both look back to the desert time and forward to the coming kingdom of God when they are builing and living inĀ their booths.
For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.Ā (Psalm 27,5)
Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. (Zechhariah 14,16)
Therefore, they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.Ā (Revelation 7,15-17)
The Jewish-looking girl
One day after beingĀ to a service atĀ King of Kings I’m speaking with two friends from there while we’re waiting for the tram, which I’m going to take back home.
One of them is Peggy, a girl my age being trained here for her medical studies. She’s from London, but has roots in Ghana. The other one is Anthony, an elderly man, also from London and with African roots. He is one of those amazing and inspiring storytellers who use big arm movements as he’s talking about how God has made āāhim able to travel throughout the world to tell others about God and Jesus. I notice that a Jewish guy my age is looking at us, smiling a bit in between our talking.
After having got on the tram this Jewish guy comes to me, saying a lot of words in Hebrew. I ask him if he speaks English, after which he blushes and asks gently in English if I was afraid of the big man. Very surprised I answer him “no, no” and ask him if I really had given him that impression. And he answers, still red in his face, that he thought the big man was trying to convert me. I didn’t need toĀ say anythingĀ – I did not speak Hebrew and that revealed that he was wrong – I’m not Jewish.
Moreover, I have recently been in the Bible Society’s bookshop to buy postcards. As I know that Danes from another organizationĀ are working in a Bible store I asked if it was here. It was and I told him I was from another Danish mission organization. “Are you Danish?” wasĀ the very surprising answer from the man behind the counter. “You don’tĀ look Danish, I thought you were fromĀ here. And that’s a compliment by the way.”
Perhaps my response to similar incidents in the future should be: Maybe I look Jewish, because I believe in Jesus / the Jewish Messiah.
Yom Kippur – Day of Atonement
It’s almost been a week since Yom Kippur, and what that day is all about for the Jews I want to introduce to you now.
As I was writing in my post about Rosh Hashanah, this horn blowing feast begins 10 days ofĀ introspection of last year’s sins and various attempts to remedyĀ this to be written into the Book of Life.
Yom Kippur, Day of Atonement is the day where this Book of Life is sealed, and there’s no more options for changing next year’s fate.The Jews on this day therefore make a special effort to obtain God’s forgiveness and to fulfil his Law. It is the most holy day for the Jews!
In the law, Lev 23:27, it is said: The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, on the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to the Lord. (In Lev 16 you can read more about how this day passed during the temple period)
The thing mentioned about humbling the souls (fasting) is respected by even the most secular Jews. Therefore everything is closed in Israel – all traffic, commerce, television and radio. (Of course it’s Israel, and I find myself among many Arabs who doesn’t really care about the Jewish feasts.)
The Jewish lithurgy for Yom Kippur is very comprehensive, and it is primarily taking place at the Western Wall. Especially in the last hour before the blow in the horn from Rosh Hashanah sounds, and the gates of heaven are closing for prayers, there are a huge gathering of praying Jews dressed in white (the color of purity) garments at the wall.
Then the horn sounds; the fast is over and a few Jewish families find their foodpackages, others are bying cake from some orthodox Jews having prepared this, while the majority of the orthodox men are dancing on their way home to their wives who have now started cooking again.
The mood is good cause you trust in God, that he is merciful and has forgiven your sins in the past year.
All these festivities which we experienced this evening and as we experience at occasions like the Jewish bar mitzvah (confirmation) got me thinking… Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice, the ultimate scapegoat who atones for all our sins. (Lev 16 –> Hebr 10,12-14) By faith in Him, we are therefore already written in the Book of Life! We are already taking part in salvation!
We might learn something from the Jewish way of celebrating in the middle of the gravity and seriousnessĀ when we are having our communion, baptism and confirmation.
Chaos and then silence – Yom Kippur
This is how it looked like Friday morning at the Jewish Market, Mehane Yehuda. The day before the day (Day of Atonement – Yom Kippur) where everything shuts down and the Jews start fasting.
On the big day, Yom Kippur, there was on the contrary (almost) complete silence. Only a few Arab cars and tourists could be seen on the highway.
Hiking in the holy land
Hiking seems to be the theme of this stay in Israel! – Both in and outside Jerusalem.
At the beginning of this week I was at another desert trip – this time in the Negev desert, more precisely in the world’s largest natural crater, Makhtesh Ramon.
This crater is 40 km long, 9 km wide and 300 m deep and it is formed through erosion circles – transformation from sea to desert.
In the evening we camped and made food, had a fire and some time worshiping. It was amazing! The first day was the birthday of one of the participants so we sang one of our danish birthdaysongs for him:
We wereĀ down in this amazing crater for 3 days, butĀ I missed some great views on the second day since we had a car that should be driving from camp to camp. I was in that car for a moment on this day accompanied by two of the other participants. We found an almost deserted bedouin-camp where we spend eight hours of relaxing, reading, eating ice cream and drinking coke.
Rosh Hashanah – the Jewish New Year
Yesterday and the day before Jews celebrated the new year, 5775. Rosh Hashanah means “head of the year,” New Year.
That we also celebrated in great style with the Danish Church! We held a Rosh Hashanah ritual meal which many Jews does, but from a Christian perspective. An example of how to do this can be found here: http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Blessings/Holiday_Blessings/Rosh_Hashanah_Blessing/rosh_hashanah_blessing.html
Rosh Hashanah is actually the horn blowing feast as spoken of in Genesis 23,24-25. The use of horns is dating back to the sacrifice of Isaac, when Abraham instead was told to sacrifice a ram whose horns got stuck in the bushes. Moreover, it is mentioned several times in the Old Testament how such a horn was blown at the days of new moon in remembrance of God and for the hope of the coming Messiah.
According to rabbinic tradition Rosh Hashanah is the day when God takes stock – the day he opens the Book of Life and writes the righteous into it and erase the evil from it. Next weekend the Jews will be celebrating Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement. And in these days in between they are to rectify their misdeeds in the past year and ask for forgiveness. On Yom Kippur it is too late – here the book of life is being sealed.
It is interesting that in the New Testament it is clear, that when Jesus returns the trumpet will sound from the sky. The original Hebrew word, which in Greek is translated into trumpet, is in fact the horn. Horn blowing is thus a precursor of the final judgement – when the horn is to sound from the sky. And at that point you have to be ready! In the Revelation of John 4,1 it says that even God’s voice sounds like the sound of this particular instrument. Horn blowing thus becomes a symbol of God’s voice which calls onĀ us – God is trying to get our attention!
It was my task at our New Year’s party to give a presentation about the Jewish celebration. And I ended this with the following words:
“As non-Jews, as Christians believing in Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, we must thankfully not fear for our salvation. Jesus, he has arranged this for us. He took the punishment for all our sins, and therefore we are already written into the Book of Life. A huge relief! Jesus is in this way the fulfillment of this feast of the old covenant.“
Israel experienced by Heidi 