Comfort My People — Nacham

{image_1}The second section of the book of Isaiah, sometimes called “The Book of the Consolation of Israel,” begins, “‘Comfort, yes, comfort My people!’ says your God” (Isa. 40:1). But, how does one comfort God’s people? A study of the word “comfort” will instruct us. The root form of the Hebrew word is nacham, meaning to be sorry or to be moved to compassion or pity but can also be translated as “repent or regret.” How can it be translated with words that seem so far apart in meaning to us? How can comfort be related to repentance?

Revolutionizing Diabetic Care

{image_1}In people with diabetes, the pancreas doesn't produce or release insulin as it should, so the body can't metabolize sugars properly. That means blood sugar levels have to be monitored continuously, even at night when diabetics' blood sugar can get dangerously out of control. But nighttime monitoring and dosing is a sleep-stealing activity, particularly for parents of diabetic children.

Hydroelectricity without a Raging River

{image_1}What could be simpler than generating electricity for municipal water monitoring systems from the flow of the water itself? That's the breakthrough idea of Israel's HydroSpin. Hydroelectricity is among the cleanest of today's clean energies, a wonderful way to produce power in places blessed with raging rivers. Israel isn't [such a place]. But HydroSpin, based at Kibbutz Lavi in northern Israel, has come up with a new way to power a “smart water network” (SWAN) by marshalling the flow of water in pipes.

Ground-breaking Cancer Vaccine

{image_1}Vaxil BioTherapeutics, a biotechnical company near Tel Aviv, has produced a ground-breaking therapeutic vaccine for cancer patients which could prevent about 90% of cancers from coming back. Vaxil was founded in 2006 by Dr. Lior Carmon, and the vaccine is now in clinical trials at the Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem.

Dark Clouds Rising in the Middle East

{image_1}Traditionally, storm clouds visit Israel only in the winter months. But this year, storm clouds of war, conflict, and threats are brewing—and they may reach Israel and the region anytime. In some cases, rain drops are already falling and raising concerns of hurricanes to come. Iran’s nuclear program continues to be at the forefront of Israel’s concerns, but a host of other dangers are making for a very dark horizon.

Menorah “Bread Stamp” Found

{image_1}A 1,500-year-old ceramic stamp bearing an image of the seven-branched Temple menorah was discovered near the city of Akko at Horbat Uza. The Byzantine Period (sixth century AD) item was discovered in excavations prior to the construction of a railroad track. It belongs to a group of stamps called “bread stamps” because they were usually used to stamp baked goods.

Ancient Seal Confirms Temple Practices

{image_1}Newspapers around the world reported in December the discovery of a tiny object of fired clay, about the size of a button, stamped with an inscription in Hebrew: deka leyah, meaning “pure for God.” The object was discovered in excavations organized by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) beneath Robinson’s Arch on the Temple Mount’s western wall. According to the archaeologists in charge of the excavation, the object was used to mark things brought to the Temple as ritually pure.

Islam’s Genocidal War on the People of God

First the Saturday people…

{image_1}A recent article in Israel National News stated it is a “truism” that anti-Semitism is an extremely prevalent phenomenon in the Muslim world today. The author went on to make a strong case for the origins of that anti-Jewish prejudice in Islamic theology.

Mount Zion’s “Snookery”: Chocolate Almond Velvet Ice Cream

{image_1} “Snook” was the wife of BFP’s founder, Dr. G. Douglas Young. Though she wasn’t a teacher, writer, or speaker like her husband, Georgina Young was as involved in the work of the Institute of Holy Land Studies—the school Dr. Young founded in Jerusalem—as he was, just in different roles: decorator, homemaker, hostess, cook, and “mom” to students far from home and war-weary Israeli soldiers.

Growing Forests in the Desert

{image_1} Leave it to Israeli scientists to figure out a way of growing trees in the barren sands of the Aravah Desert. The trees aren't just meant to look pretty. This pollution-reducing forest planted over the summer is soaking up harmful excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and releasing beneficial oxygen. Another “green” bonus is that the trees are nurtured with recycled sewage water and saltwater. The project is a research collaboration between Tel Aviv University's Porter School of Environmental Science, the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and the University of Tuscia in Viterbo, Italy.

Ethiopian Orphan Saved by Israeli Doctors Returns

{image_1} Yared Worde from Ethiopia visited Israel in November to see for himself the hospital where his life was saved after major heart surgery in 1999. Yared, now 27 years old, was an orphan who lived on the streets of Addis Abba scrounging for food and a basic existence. When he was 12, he was diagnosed as having rheumatic heart disease and was referred to the Save a Child's Heart (SACH) program at the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon.

Conditions for Peace Deadlocked

Over Israel’s Right to Exist

{image_1} “The demands of this enemy [Israel] are strange and amazing demands, unique in the history of conflicts…They [Israelis] are not satisfied with Palestinian recognition that is a function of their state and its existence, but want recognition of the eternal right of Israel to exist. Possibly their nature will bring them to ask for compensation for the years that have passed without their state's existence, during the time it had the right to exist upon our skulls…