Understanding War in Israel:

[koberstein]

Understanding War in Israel: Biblical Sessions​

with Rabbi Jason Sobel​

UPDATES, TEACHINGS, and PRAYER​

“Shalom.” This profound Hebrew word takes on even greater significance in light of the horrific events currently unfolding in Israel since October 7th, 2023 a day that will not be forgotten.
King David’s most well-known Psalm, the 23rd, mentions going through the “valley of the shadow of death.” This phrase certainly captures the experience of Israel today. Today we are grateful for the hope that awaits us in the next (inspired) line: “I will fear no evil, for You are with me.”
Rabbi Harold Kushner’s comments on this verse are encouraging: “God’s promise was that when we had to face the pain and unfairness of the world as we inevitably would, we would not have to face it alone, for He would be with us.” And so we pray that a palpable sense of that shepherding presence would wash over Israel today. The God who personally knows the pain of unjust loss is eternally present to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The Jewish People // A History of Persecution​

The Jewish people have suffered tremendous persecution, from the pogroms of the 19th century (state-sponsored riots against the Jewish people in Eastern Europe) to the genocidal the Holocaust of Nazi Germany.
I lost most of my family during the Holocaust. My grandmother had to decide who she was going to save: her parents or her brother, his wife, and their newborn baby. She rescued her brother and the newborn baby. The Nazis murdered he mother and father in transit. The Jewish people have never stopped feeling the trauma of the Holocaust. Even to this day that pain is still real. It echoes throughout history.
Read more about Rabbi Jason Sobel
In nearly every generation, there have been attempts to wipe out the Jewish people—from Haman in ancient Persia to Hitler in 20th-century Germany. These campaigns were not only demonic, but they were also irrational. Haman wanted to destroy the Jewish people because of his wounded ego. With defeat looming, Hitler diverted critical resources away from the military to kill more Jews. These decisions were not logical because they were demonic. Antisemitism is demonic. And Satan consistently attacks the Jewish people for at least three reasons:

1. Western Civilization was built on Judeo-Christian moral principles, namely, the Ten Commandments. According to the Old Testament, if you annihilate the Jewish people, you make God a liar and invalidate Scripture. Satan wants to destroy the foundation of a culture the Lord has used to spread the gospel globally.
2. If you can’t get to someone directly, you go after their family. Satan knows God loves the Jewish people in a unique way. He can’t hurt God, but he can get to the Jewish people, God’s people.
3. Messiah is not coming back until Israel says “BARUCH HABAH BSHEM ADONAI!” —“Blessed be He who comes in the name of the Lord, Yeshua, as the Messiah” Psalm 118:26. Theoretically, if you could destroy the Jewish people, you would either delay the Second Coming or prevent it altogether.

The significance of the Nation of Israel is nearly impossible to overstate. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, one of the most loved and respected Jewish voices of the 20th century, famously said, “Israel enables us to bear the agony of Auschwitz without radical despair, to sense a ray of God’s radiance in the jungles of history.”
We continue to pray and work so this light shines brightly until the Messiah returns and establishes His Kingdom!

Shalom