Dispatch from Jerusalem

Joy—Simcha

{image_1} Simcha (pronounced sim-CHAH) is a word of many meanings. From the root word sameyach, it means glad, happy, or joy. “Serve the LORD with gladness [simcha]; come before His presence with singing” (Ps. 100:2). Note that in Hebrew or English, this is a command. How often have the Jewish people faced devastating circumstances with an inner joy drawn from their foundational focus on the Divine? This inner joy produces fortitude and strength.

Rare First Temple Seal Found

{image_1} In excavations the Israel Antiquities Authority is carrying out in the northwestern part of the Western Wall plaza in Jerusalem, a rare and impressive Hebrew seal was discovered that dates to the latter part of the First Temple Period. The seal was found in a building, which dates to the seventh century BC, when the kings Manasseh and Josiah reigned.

Creating the Next Knesset

How Israel’s Elections Work

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Though Israel is a democracy, its election system is not representative, but party-focused. In other words, rather than electing representatives of a party, voters cast ballots for the parties themselves. The parties’ candidate lists—the ranking of party members running for office—are chosen ahead of time by the parties themselves, determining the likelihood of a particular candidate making office. The number of seats taken by a party, determined by the percentage of the vote the party receives, determines how many of their candidates make the 120-seat Knesset (Parliament), starting with the top ranking member. In other words, a candidate ranked 10th on the Labor list would only make the Knesset if the Labor party gains at least 10 seats.

Jewish Philanthropic World Devastated

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The loss of US $50 billion in a financial scandal late last year, involving Jewish Wall Street wizard Bernard Madoff, has devastated Jewish charities. The loss is estimated at between US $600 million to US $1 billion.

What can you do in 15 seconds?

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I can read a paragraph, eat two-and-a-half bites of apple, drink a small glass of water, or walk down two flights of stairs. Fifteen seconds is also the amount of time residents of Sderot have to run to a bomb shelter after the Tevah Adom alarm (Color Red Alert) sounds, telling them a missile has been fired at them. Over the past eight years, thousands of missiles have been launched at this small town in the western Negev, situated right next to the Gaza Strip. Sderot’s population of 24,000 people live under the shadow of terror, running for bomb shelters frequently.

North Korea Providing WMD

{image_1} An Israeli delegate to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) assembly in October accused North Korea of providing weapons of mass destruction [WMD] to at least six Middle East countries. The Israeli delegate said that six countries in the Middle East had obtained the means to produce nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles covertly from North Korea, thereby ignoring commitments they are bound by as members of the Non-Proliferation Treaty that fully accepts the IAEA’s right to conduct inspections.

Land—Eretz

By Teri Riddering, Coordinator, BFP Spanish Resource Center

{image_1} Some Christian theologians report that the generic term eretz, for “land,” is the fourth most frequently used noun in the Old Testament (the Jewish Scriptures), used 2,504 times in the Hebrew sections and 22 times in the Aramaic sections. The general use of this term refers to the Earth in the cosmological sense, but it is also the designation of a specific territory, primarily the Land of Israel.

8500–6750 BC Prehistoric Funerary Found in the Galilee

{image_1} Archaeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, digging in the Nazareth hills at Kfar Ha’Horesh, have discovered a prehistoric funerary (burial chamber) precinct dating to around 8500–6750 BC. The Pre-pottery Neolithic B precinct, a massive walled enclosure measuring 10 meters (32 feet) by at least 20 meters (64 feet), is interpreted as having been a regional funerary and cult center for nearby lowland villa.

Jewish Population Growing

{image_1} A Jewish Agency report noted that Rosh Hashana 2008 sees 13.3 million Jews living around the world, as opposed to 13.2 million on the eve 2007’s Jewish New Year. The report’s count included all those listed or declaring themselves to be of the Jewish faith and holding no other religious denomination. According to data, 2008 saw a rise in the number of Jews living in Israel, as 70,000 new Israelis were inducted in the state. The situation in the Diaspora indicated the opposite trend, as the number of Diaspora Jews decreased from 7.8 million to 7.75 million.

Hanukkah—A Light in the Darkness

{image_1} To much, if not all, of the Christian world, December is a very important month. It is filled with cooking, cleaning, entertaining, visiting friends and relatives…a constant flurry of activity, all focused on one holiday that acknowledges a defining moment in Christian history. For the Jewish people, December holds not one or two but eight days to celebrate events that occurred over 2,000 years ago. Hanukkah has become an integral part of the sequence of Jewish holidays celebrated annually and known as the festival cycle.