Teaching Letter

Lamed- The Tallest Letter

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The largest letter in biblical Hebrew is the lamed. This letter is positioned at the very center of the aleph-bet (Hebrew alphabet), towering over all the other characters. It is the only letter that ascends above the top line. For this reason alone, it stands out and is instantly discernible in all texts. The lamed, therefore, has been the cause of much reflection by Israel’s sages through the millennia. Since God does nothing by happenstance, they reason, there must be significance in the fact that the lamed is so tall.

Lessons from Nehemiah

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Editor's note: Cheryl Hauer, Deputy National Director for Bridges for Peace (BFP) in the United States, delivered a wonderful study on Nehemiah in relation to BFP as we look to the future. You, our many bridge builders, are a part of this plan, and so I asked Cheryl to write out her notes so that I could share them with you in this month's Israel Teaching Letter.

The Source of Anti-Judaism, Anti-Semitism, and Anti-Zionism

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Heresies, Hurts and the Holocaust

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When a Christian becomes more involved with Israel, the Jewish people, and learning about the Jewish roots of our Christian faith, we discover that a dark evil lives in our Christian closet: a legacy of hatred toward the Jewish people that culminated in discrimination, persecution, exile, and death, and included horrific events such as the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Pogroms, and the Holocaust.

God’s Law and the Christian

{image_1} One of the most misunderstood words in the entire Bible is the one we Christians translate as “law “or “the Law.” In Jewish terms, it is understood as Torah, or halachah, a Hebrew word whose root meaning is “walk” or “way.” Remember, Psalm 119:105-106 says, “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

Tithing

“Tithe” meant “tenth” both in Hebrew and Greek and was referenced two thousand years before Yeshua was crucified. Abraham brought tithes to Melchizedek before there was a Temple (Gen. 14). 

God’s Lamp, Man’s Light – Mysteries of the Menorah

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Often I invite guest authors to contribute to my Israel Teaching Letter series. This month I am excited to introduce Dr. John D. Garr, founder of Restoration Foundation and editor of Restore! magazine. Let’s see what Dr. Garr has to teach about the menorah:

A Living Sanctuary

The Scriptures about the tabernacle and feasts of the Lord given to Israel are often considered tedious to read. Christians wrongly believe that these are things of the past and have little to do with Christianity. Of course, these passages reflect much about the nature and character of our eternal God, who is “the same yesterday, today, and forever.” All Scripture tells us something about God that, once learned, will help us to become better disciples of our Lord.

Unholy War

A new kind of battle is raging around the world. It is unlike any war in the past. It is hard to define. It is being waged without clear borders. It is staffed with soldiers that are unscrupulous and operate in underground cells which are nearly impossible to identify. Almost every news broadcast details another incident in the battle and a depressing by-product is that the world economy is taking a beating due to consumer fear.

The Seven Species

{image_1} “For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land where you shall eat food without scarcity, in which you shall not lack anything”
(Deut. 8:7-9).