Report from Israel #3 - Welcome to Jerusalem

By Janice Beurling

Shalom! We are here in Jerusalem safe and sound. As we adjust to this new time zone, we’re taking delight in all the sights and sounds of this wonderful city.

When we arrived on Thursday, our first task was to lay in some food supplies because, not only did Shabbat begin on the next afternoon (with almost everything closed for 24 hours), but Memorial Day and Independence Days will follow in quick succession. So we wanted to be sure we had enough food in the apartment to last us about a week. Shopping in the grocery stores and corner supermarkets is a challenge because most goods are labelled only in Hebrew. We’ve had to rely on pictures. Dad did try to talk me into buying a cleaning product he thought was laundry soap, but I was pretty sure it was something else since the pictures were of sparkling clean ovens and toilets! Nevertheless, we’ve succeeded in acquiring enough food to fill our fridge. Shop staff have been unfailingly helpful even when they don’t speak English.

Yesterday, we took a cab to the Old City and walked through the Armenian Quarter. Our first stop was a restaurant called the Armenian Tavern. From a simple door on the street, we went down some steep stairs into the basement which is lavishly decorated. We had the most wonderful lunch of grilled meats, grilled vegetables and pita bread. Afterward we walked out of the Old City by way of the Zion Gate and visited Mount Zion and the Upper Room. We saw many tour groups -- some from Indonesia and Sri Lanka, some from Germany and Spanish-speaking countries.

The Upper Room is not, of course, the same room where Yeshua (Jesus) and the disciples had their last Passover together and where the disciples waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Shavuot (Pentecost). Rather, it is a room built by the Crusaders about 900 years ago in the spot traditionally believed to be the location of the original Upper Room. The architecture of this room reminded Dad and me of the many churches and cathedrals we saw in France some years ago -- and not surprisingly since this room was built by men of the same period and nationality.

This morning we took a cab to the Garden Tomb and spent a wonderful hour wandering about the gardens of this pleasant and relaxing place. How delightful it is to step away from the crowds and heat to spend a few moments in the place that may have seen the most amazing day in history -- when the Lord rose from the grave!

Afterward, we walked down the street to the area of the Damascus Gate. A few steps away from the Peddlers Market, we found the entrance to King Solomon’s Quarries or Zedekiah’s Cave. This amazing cave system was a quarry, some believe, for the stones of Solomon’s Temple.

“Solomon also had 70,000 porters and 80,000 quarriers in the hills, apart from Solomon’s 3,300 officials who were in charge of the work and supervised the gangs doing the work. The king ordered huge blocks of choice stone to be quarried, so that the foundations of the house might be laid with hewn stones” (1 Kings 5:29-31).

Others believe this cave system was where King Zedekiah hid from the Babylonians when Jerusalem was besieged and destroyed.

Whatever its origins, it is the largest artificial cave ever discovered in Israel. The cave mouth, right below the Old City wall, was blocked hundreds of years ago and rediscovered in 1854. It was opened for tourists in 1985, with a pathway and lights through the cavern. The cave extends under the Old City itself. That’s some basement! At its longest, the cave is about 230 meters. At its widest, it is more than 100 meters. Its average height is that of a four-story building.

Dad, Krista and I walked through the caverns (Mom stayed at the top and guarded the entrance from any stray Babylonians). It was a fairly easy stroll down and not difficult to climb back up. In many places, the marks of ancient quarrying is clear even to the novice. Much of the stone removed from the cave was Melekeh stone, a soft white limestone that becomes very hard when exposed to the sun and air.

After we emerged from the dark, cool and humid cavern back into the warm sun, we entered the Old City by the Damascus Gate. What a change! In the quiet cave we were the only people. Entering the Muslim Quarter of the Old City was wall-to-wall people, loud recorded music and non-stop calls from shopkeepers. We slowly made our way through the narrow, busy bazaar. Eventually we reached a quieter, more open bazaar where Krista spotted a store selling leather sandals. The shopkeeper found her a pair she liked … and the bargaining began! My sister is not shy and soon she was walking away with her new shoes for her price.

We finally reached the Jaffa Gate and took another cab home. We’re enjoying a well-deserved rest, building up our reserves for tomorrow when we go to Tel Aviv for a special ceremony at an air base. Memorial Day begins tomorrow evening, followed by more ceremonies on Independence Day, so we may not have a chance to write again for a couple of days.

Shalom from Jerusalem!

Here are some photos Krista and I took during the last two days (click on images for larger versions):

Lunch at the Armenian Tavern in the Old City

The Upper Room

Mount Zion Rooftops

The Mount of Olives from the Roof of the Upper Room

Resting on Mount Zion

The Garden Tomb

Krista at Golgotha

Flowers at the Garden Tomb





A Girl in Quiet Study at the Garden Tomb

Zedekiah's Cave









Crowds at the Damascus Gate

Mom and Dad get ready to join the crowds at the Damascus Gate

Spices in the Bazaar

A Bead Shop in the Bazaar

A Door Handle in the Old City

A Bread Seller in the Old City

Krista Buys Shoes

Report from Israel #2 - Beurlings and Bagels

By Janice Beurling, Director of Communications

The car is packed and we're ready to head to the airport!

I mentioned in my previous note that the catalyst for today's journey from Toronto to Israel was the Israeli government's desire to honour my uncle, George Beurling. Canadians who lived through World War II will probably remember reading about George in the newspapers. Younger Canadians may remember studying about him in history classes at school.

Let me refresh your memories by telling you a little about George Beurling.

George was born in Montreal almost 90 years ago. As he grew up, George became a wonderful athlete -- swimming, diving and mastering marksmanship. But what George loved to do more than anything was fly; piloting an airplane was his greatest joy.

One day, England declared war on Germany, and George said, “Maybe I can help.” Soon he was helping in Europe as a fighter pilot with England’s Royal Air Force.

Before long, everyone was amazed at his almost supernatural eyesight and his genius with air strategies and the way he had completely mastered the science of deflective shooting.

By the end of the war, George had shot down more enemy aircraft in his Spitfire fighter plane than any other Canadian pilot. When he returned home to Canada, he was received with great fanfare and was regarded as a singular hero.

Not long after this war, the Jewish people of the world began to prepare for another war, which they knew would take place as soon as Israel proclaimed her independence. So the call went out for Jewish airmen who could help defend the new state of Israel.

George said, “Maybe I can help.”

But when he volunteered to join the fledgling Israeli Air Force, they said to him, “You can’t help, you’re not Jewish!”

Then the enemy nations came to George and said, “Come and fight for us instead. We will give you a great deal of money!”

But George answered, “If I fight against Israel, I know that I will be fighting for the wrong side.”

So he persisted and eventually convinced the Israeli Air Force to accept him as one of their fighter pilots.

The Israelis sent him from Canada to Rome. From Rome he was to fly an airplane to Israel but, just after his plane took off, it caught fire and crashed. George was killed. He was only 27 years old.

The Jewish people buried him in Israel and inscribed on his gravestone, “Killed in Action.”

Even though I was born after George's death, the events of his life have shadowed me most of my life.

Like George, I was carefully nurtured from birth by believing parents and grandparents. In fact, my father led me to place my trust in Jesus when I was only three years old.

Like George, the heroes of my childhood were the men and women of the Bible, people like Moses and Daniel, Esther and Paul. I was taught to be like them -- to honour God, to serve God and to love God as they did.

As a child, I thought that since the people of the Bible were Jewish and we were like them, then it logically followed that we were Jewish too. After all, my grandfather read his Bible in Hebrew, and I knew that my Uncle George, the great hero, was revered by the Jewish people and was buried in Israel. Didn’t that mean we were Jewish too?

As I grew up, I gradually realized that we were not Jewish. It was quite a disappointment to me. But I had to admit that all the bagels on Bathurst Street -- and I love bagels! -- could not change the fact that I was a Gentile.

Nevertheless, at an early age, I began to understand that God’s work in my life was not rooted in my identity, but in His. God loves me because of Who He is, not because of who I am.

The Jewish community has continued to express appreciation for George and an interest in my family. Sometimes, this has been difficult for me to understand. George has been a story to me. He died decades ago. Yet the Jewish community keeps telling his story over and over.

Then something happened to ignite my passion and compassion for Israel and her people. In 1985, an Israeli official spoke briefly at the funeral of my grandfather (George’s father). The Israeli said that Grandpa had given to Israel the greatest gift a man could give -- the life of his son.

I could not believe my ears! How I wanted to make this man understand that what he was describing was precisely what God Himself had done for Israel as well as the whole world! He gave the life of His Son!

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

Many of the Jewish people of Israel and Canada have identified the Beurling family, my family, as righteous Gentiles. Well, I am a Beurling who wants every Jewish person to know that my righteousness is not because of my name. Like any other person on this earth, Jewish or Gentile, the only righteousness I will ever know is because of Messiah Jesus. He is our righteousness.

"But by His doing you are in Messiah Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, "LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD" (1 Corinthians 1:30-31).

Janice Beurling
(My next post will be from Jerusalem!)

Report from Israel #1

In the coming weeks, one of our long-time Canadian staff members, Janice Beurling, is going to contribute reports on her upcoming trip to Israel.

If you’ve never been to Israel, you’ll want to read about the adventures she and her family will have. If you have been to Israel, reading her reports will bring back many wonderful memories for you.

Janice explains the reason for her trip in the note below. Enjoy!


Shalom, Partners in Ministry

Later this week, I have the privilege of heading to Israel with my family. This won’t be a typical guided tour of the Land. I highly recommend visiting Israel with a tour group (I've been on three organized tours myself), but we're looking forward to the informality of this trip. Here are a few things that will make our trip different:

· Our visit will last for three weeks, not the usual eight or ten days of a guided tour.

· Rather than staying in a hotel, we’ve booked a three-bedroom apartment in Jerusalem for the duration of our stay.

· Instead of travelling about on a tour bus, we plan to use public transit, cabs and a rental car.

· We’re going to shop in local stores and markets for our food – not hotel restaurants.

· We’ve planned and arranged most of our itinerary on our own rather than rely on travelling with a guide.

· We plan to visit some of the typical highlights of a tour, but at our own pace.

· We’re going to visit a number of less well-known tourist sites that don’t make it onto most tour itineraries.

But there’s another element that will make our trip a little different.

Last summer, my father, Rick Beurling, was contacted by a representative of the Israeli Ministry of Defense and invited to visit Israel as their guest. The purpose of this invitation was to honour Dad’s brother, the great Canadian WW2 fighter pilot, George Beurling (often called Buzz Beurling), who joined the Israeli Air Force in 1948 and who died before Israel’s War of Independence had ended.

Dad has been asked to lay a wreath at the Israeli Air Force service on Pilot’s Mountain outside Jerusalem during Israel’s Memorial Day (April 19); this day honours those who have died defending Israel or by terrorism. On another day, he will also have the privilege of attending a military memorial service for George at his grave in the Haifa Military Cemetery. Additional plans include a visit to one or two Israeli Air Force bases.

Needless to say, my mother, sister and I decided to join Dad and “supervise.”

I know that our Partners in Ministry love Israel and God’s chosen people and I thought this would be a wonderful opportunity to share an unusual visit to Israel with you. I’ll be posting reports and photos from our three-week trip here.

Please pray for us as we expect to have many moments when we can explain to Israelis just why Christians love the Jewish people. (Because of the Jewish Messiah, of course!)

Lord willing, we’ll arrive in Jerusalem on Thursday, so start watching the blog for our reports on Friday!

Shalom in Jesus,

Janice Beurling
Director of Communications
Chosen People Ministries (Canada)

Hanukkah, a Festival of Light and Dedication

by Joseph Gray, Canadian Director

Here is an interesting Bible trivia question: Where in the canonical books of the Bible (Protestant and Jewish canon) do we find reference to the Feast of Hanukkah?
Many people will quickly jump to the Hebrew Bible assuming that they will find the reference to Hanukkah there. Although the full account of the story of Hanukkah may be found in the Apocryphal Books of Maccabees (accepted in the Catholic canon of the Bible), there is no reference to the Feast of Hanukkah in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). The reason for this is that the events of Hanukkah take place at a relatively later date, during the inter-testamental period; the Maccabean revolt and the events celebrated at Hanukkah took place about 166 BCE.

So, apart from the Books of Maccabees in the Apocrypha, is there a reference to Hanukkah in the Protestant or Jewish Canon? The answer is yes. Surprisingly, this reference may be found in the B’rit Hadashah (New Testament). In John 10: 22-23a we read, “At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem; it was winter, and Yeshua was walking in the temple.” Hanukkah in Hebrew means dedication. By the time of Yeshua (Jesus) Jewish people celebrated this joyous winter festival of dedication and light.

It is certainly appropriate that Yeshua, a fully observant Jew, would be in Jerusalem to celebrate the Festival of Hanukkah. Many of the miraculous events Hanukkah commemorates took place in the city of Jerusalem a mere 130 years before His time on earth.

Hanukkah celebrates the victory of the Maccabees and their small band of Jewish freedom fighters over the Syrian Greek army and the tyrannical king, Antiochus IV. Antiochus had desecrated the holy Temple in Jerusalem by offering pagan sacrifices there. He also outlawed the practices of Judaism and the study of Torah (the Law). Jews who violated his harsh edicts were cruelly tortured and murdered.

After defeating the powerful armies of King Antiochus, the Maccabees and their followers set about cleaning up and rededicating the temple in Jerusalem, preparing it for renewed worship. Unfortunately they found only a small supply of sacred olive oil. This amount of holy oil would be enough to light the menorah (lamp stand) in the Temple for only one day. It would take eight more days to prepare new oil for the Temple menorahs. The great miracle of Hanukkah is that the tiny measure of oil burned for those eight days until the new supply of oil could be prepared.


According to one ancient rabbinical account, when the Temple was rededicated at the time of the Maccabees, a new altar was built. The desecrated stones from the former altar were set aside; they were unfit for sacred sacrifice. However, because they had been intended and used for sacred purpose, they could not simply be discarded. The leaders were unsure what to do with these stones, so they were set aside in the hope that, when the Messiah came, He would tell them what to do with them.

How appropriate it is that John tells us it was the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah) and Yeshua was in the temple. Yeshua, the long awaited Messiah of Israel and the True Light of the world appears in Jerusalem, in the temple, during this festival that celebrates the miracle of light! Truly, He came to cleanse our earthly temples and to fill them with the glory of God.


Yeshua said, “I am the Light of the world; whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).

At this joyous season of light, may you know the light of the Messiah Jesus and the joy of walking in Him.

Purim and Yom Kippur?

by Joseph Gray, Canadian Director

Purim has always been one of my favourite Jewish holidays. The story of Purim centres on a young Jewish girl, Esther. God raised her up though a series of dramatic twists and turns to become Queen of Persia and then used her to help save the Jewish people from almost certain destruction at the hand of the wicked Persian Prime Minister, Haman. The powerful drama of the story of Esther captures the imagination each time it is told.


At Purim, we gather to read the Book of Esther and celebrate with seasonal treats. For example, Hamantaschen is a sweet pastry baked especially at Purim that is meant to look like a three-cornered hat (Haman’s hat). Purim is a time of joyous masquerade and fun. Children are encouraged to raucously join in the fun by grinding their groggers (toy noise-makers) to drown out the name of wicked Haman.

For all this fun and festivity, is there a more serious meaning to the feast of Purim?

Rabbi Joseph Karo, a medieval Jewish scholar and mystic, once wrote a treatise noting a parallel between Purim and Yom Kippur. This seems incredibly strange considering that Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) and Purim are so completely different in their mood and tone. Yom Kippur is probably the most sombre and serious of all the Jewish festivals, a day of fasting and repentance. Purim, on the other hand, is a day of joyous celebration. As we remember how God used Esther to save Israel from destruction, our celebrations take on a near comical tone. What could these two festivals possibly have in common?

Rabbi Karo noticed the similarities in the Hebrew names of these two holidays. “Yom ha Kippurim” (the Day of Atonement), he wrote, sounds interestingly like the Lord was saying that the Day of Atonement was “a day like Purim.” Although on the surface we know that the name Purim comes from the Persian word for “lots” (lots were drawn by Haman to determine his planned date for the destruction of the Jewish people), is Rabbi Karo’s theory too farfetched?

Let me suggest an interesting connection. We read in the Torah that on Yom Kippur the High Priest would enter into the Temple and then the Holy of Holies to make sacrifice and intercession for his own sins and for the sins of the people of Israel. It was as if God in His gracious mercy provided this vehicle, this action if you will, to expiate Israel’s sins. Purim, on the other hand, shows the gracious redeeming and saving action of our God on Israel’s behalf with little or no participation on the part of His people (no priests, no temple). In the story of Purim, God used a powerless Jewish girl (Esther), her praying uncle (Mordecai) and a Gentile King (Achashverosh), to save His people Israel from destruction. He saved both the righteous and the unrighteous among Israel. God saved Israel simply because He is the faithful, merciful God of the covenant.

In the Brit Hadashah (The Renewed Covenant), Rabbi Sha’ul writes, “He [God] made Him Who had no sin [Yeshua], to be sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteous of God.” Rabbi Sha’ul was drawing directly from the promises he had studied in the Prophet Isaiah: “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment which brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).

As we celebrate with joy at Purim, we again recognize God’s amazing love. The Jewish people did nothing to merit or earn God’s miraculous rescue at Purim. God saved us because He loves Israel and is faithful to His covenantal promises (even when we are faithless). Even greater is the miracle of Israel’s future total national redemption to which Purim points. As Rabbi Sha’ul once wrote, “In this way all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26). May that day of Messiah’s coming return be soon.

Have a wonderful Purim!

Hanukkah - Freedom, Light and Oil

by Joseph Gray, Canadian Director

Hanukkah is certainly one of the most joyful of the Jewish festivals. Families gather around the brightly glowing Hanukkah candles, one added for each of the eight nights of the festival. Eight joyful nights of songs, story telling, and thanksgiving for the great miracle God performed in the days of the Maccabees.

At Hanukkah we commemorate the great victory Judah Maccabee and his small band of Jewish zealots had over the tyrant Antiochus IV and his armies. We remember also the greater miracle of the small flask of oil which, although a supply sufficient for just one day, burned for eight days in the newly liberated, cleansed and rededicated Temple in Jerusalem.

Among these reasons to rejoice, three themes emerge as we celebrate Hanukkah, freedom, light and oil. Why is each of these important for us today?

As we study and retell the story of Hanukkah, some people of today might find it hard to relate to the zeal of the Maccabees and their freedom-loving band of followers. Why, we might ask, would someone be willing to risk his life and security for what many might consider a minor religious or philosophical disagreement? After all, the Hellenistic culture Antiochus was trying to impose upon the Jewish people had much to offer. Hellenistic art, philosophy, architecture and poetry were sophisticated, modern and impressive. In fact, the influences of Hellenistic culture continue to impact our culture to this day. Some influential Jewish voices at the time of the Maccabee revolt argued for compromise and inclusiveness. Why make such a fuss over this alien culture? Couldn’t a compromised, modern version of Judaism emerge as a hybrid Judeo-Hellenism? Certainly it wasn’t worth losing your life over, was it?

Having to choose between unadulterated biblical faith and the worldview of the prevailing culture is something the people of God have always faced. Joshua challenged the children of Israel at Shechem, “If following the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves whom you will serve. As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). Later in Israel’s history, Elijah the prophet also called for a choice: “How long will you waiver between two opinions? If the Lord is God then follow Him. If Ba’al is God then follow him” (1 Kings 18:21). Like Phinehas, who stood up and took a radical stand against Israel’s compromise with the immorality of the Midianite culture (Numbers 25), there have always been faithful voices in Israel to call us to teshuvah (repentance) and to turn back to God. These brave voices, like the Maccabees, have often been in the minority; to most people, their convictions have seemed unenlightened and out of touch with modern culture.

For those like the Maccabees who took their stand for God, even at the cost of their lives, the choice was clear. The human soul is created for God. To live in disobedience to God’s Law is suicide. The choice is as simple as that. Those who stood faithfully upon the promises of God, even at the expense of shedding their own blood in martyrdom, fully understood what was at stake. In the hands of God, the precious offering of one life can be used to perform great miracles. Like that small flask of pure temple oil, our seemingly small lives can burn brightly with God’s Spirit when we fully offer ourselves to Him.

Yeshua (Jesus), the Messiah of Israel and of all mankind, taught in Jerusalem at Hanukkah. He said, “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. For this reason my Father loves me, because I lay down my life for the sheep. I lay it down only to take it up again” (John 10:14-17). Yeshua also taught, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).

At Hanukkah we celebrate the miracle of the oil and God’s gift of freedom and light. May you and those you love be blessed this year with the greatest gift of all – freedom, joy and the light of Messiah Jesus.

The High Holy Days

By Joseph Gray, Canadian Director

At this time of year, Jewish people around the world enter into the most solemn and holy season in the Jewish calendar. Known as the Days of Awe, these ten days begin with Rosh HaShanah (the New Year and the Biblical Feast of Trumpets) and ends with Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). The Days of Awe are a time of personal reflection, repentance and turning to God, culminating with Yom Kippur, a solemn day of fasting and prayers of repentance.

A Good Question
Since the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 CE (AD), the rabbis have taught that personal prayer, repentance and good deeds are sufficient to replace the biblical sacrifices required on the Day of Atonement. A good question we should ask as Jewish people is whether this rabbinic explanation is consistent with the instructions found in the Torah.

In Leviticus 17 we read, “I have given you the blood to make atonement.”

In chapter 16 of the same book, we read God’s original instructions to Israel concerning Yom Kippur. On this most holy day, the high priest would enter into the Holy of Holies to intercede on behalf of the people of Israel. The high priest could only enter into this holy space once a year on Yom Kippur. Before entering the Holy of Holies, the high priest had to prepare himself by ritual washing in the mikvah and personal sin sacrifices to atone for his and his family’s own sin.

This is important to remember. God gave Yom Kippur to Israel not out of His judgment for sin, but out of His deep grace, mercy and love for Israel.

In Leviticus 10, Nadab and Abihu, Aaron’s sons, had just been destroyed by fire from heaven because they entered into the Holy Place in a casual way. A few chapters later, God gave Israel the Day of Atonement as a sign of a greater atonement yet to come. God acted in mercy to restore the broken fellowship between Himself and Israel.

A Temporary Solution
The atonement sacrifices required on Yom Kippur could, however, only be temporary solutions, since the high priest himself was a sinner in need of continual atonement along with the people of Israel. The Yom Kippur sacrifices were also imperfect sacrifices, a sign of a more perfect sacrifice yet to come.

In addition to the special sacrifices on the Day of Atonement, the Bible commands that two goats be set apart for Yom Kippur. Lots were drawn and one goat was sacrificed for Israel. The other goat was chosen for Azzazel. Upon this second goat the high priest laid his hands and confessed the sins of the children of Israel. Then the goat was driven into the wilderness to die. According to tradition, a red ribbon was tied around the neck of the Azzazel goat, symbolic of the sins of Israel. Again, according to tradition, each year at Yom Kippur the ribbon miraculously turned white as a sign that Israel’s sins had been forgiven by God. Interestingly, this same tradition records that the Yom Kippur ribbon stopped turning white during the last generation that worshipped at the Temple.

The destruction of the Jerusalem temple by the Romans in 70 CE (AD) was and continues to be a traumatic moment in the history of the Jewish people. How could worship and atonement continue now that the temple had been destroyed?

As I mentioned earlier, many of our rabbis reached one conclusion. Prayer, repentance and good works, they taught, would now replace the temple sacrifices.

A Permanent Solution
But another voice arose at the same time, a voice that, perhaps, was more consistent with what the Hebrew Bible and the God of history had been saying all along. The writer of the Book of Hebrews, a Jewish follower of the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus), encouraged the scattered exiles of Israel with these words:

“We have a better sacrifice and a better High Priest!”

Yeshua, Who is like us in every way, yet with out sin, offered His life as a complete and final atoning sacrifice. He is both the perfect sacrifice and Israel’s perfect High Priest. He lives to intercede for us before the throne of glory. Unlike the ancient temple sacrifices, His sacrifice does not need to be repeated each Yom Kippur. That’s a Yom Kippur that we can believe in and even celebrate with joy!

May you and your loved ones, be blessed with a sweet New Year and the assurance that your name has been written in the Lamb’s (Yeshua’s) Book of Life.