Shalom friends,

I'm writing this just as the election returns from Israel are coming in. As expected, the Kadima Party under acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has won and is in position to form a new government. Olmert has announced that he will pursue the policy of unilateral disengagement launched by Ariel Sharon. What will this mean for the future of the state of Israel? Will a Kadima-led government be good or bad for the lives of Messianic Jews in Israel? Time will tell.

 

Even after the election, uncertainty remains, but one thing that is certain is the UMJC's commitment to stand with Israel, and especially with its Messianic Jewish community. This commitment was included in our original statement of purpose over 25 years ago: "To aid in the causes of our Jewish people worldwide, especially in Israel."

Last month I wrote about one of these causes. UMJC President Jamie Cowen and I were in Israel at the invitation of member of the Knesset, to visit some of their humanitarian aid efforts. He asked us as representatives of the Messianic Jewish community to help with one particular project, providing Passover food baskets for the families of fallen Israeli Defense Forces soldiers. I'm happy to report that with your help, we met the initial goal of providing food baskets (worth $100 each) to 150 families, and it looks like we'll be able to do even more. It is a great honor for a Messianic Jewish organization based in the USA to assist with a project carried out under the auspices of the Knesset of Israel.

One of the reasons the door is beginning to open to Messianic Jewish participation in Israel is because of the efforts of Israeli Messianic Jews on behalf of the poor. When Jamie and I were in Israel, we visited some of our Messianic Jewish friends who are involved with humanitarian aid efforts there. Now the UMJC is launching 49 days of prayer in solidarity with the Israeli Messianic Jewish community.

This Prayer Campaign takes place during the period known in Jewish tradition as Sefirat ha-Omer, or counting the sheaf, as described in Leviticus 23:15-17:

And from the day on which you bring the sheaf of elevation offering-the day after the Sabbath [of Passover week]-you shall count off seven weeks. They must be complete: you must count until the day after the seventh week-fifty days; then you shall bring an offering of new grain to the Lord. You shall bring from your settlements two loaves of bread as an elevation offering . . .

This time of counting begins during Passover, "the season of our deliverance," on the evening of April 13 this year. It concludes on the eve of Shavuot (or Pentecost), June 1, the festival that celebrates the giving of Torah. As we pray through these seven weeks, our theme is "Two Loaves-One Lineage," to emphasize solidarity with Messianic believers in Israel.

Click here for your prayer guide, or contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it with your postal address, and we'll send you as many as you need right away.

At every festival in biblical times, worshipers would present an offering to the Lord. In the same way, our Prayer Campaign involves an offering. Each night, after the blessing and prayers outlined in the prayer guide, we set aside some money. It is exciting to watch the offering grow as our prayers multiply through the seven weeks. Finally, on Shavuot, we bring the offering to our local congregation, or send it to the UMJC, to be shared with Israel.

The offering for Shavuot includes two loaves, as in Leviticus 23:17: "You shall bring from your settlements two loaves of bread as an elevation offering . . ." This year, one "loaf" or half of the offering goes to help the UMJC continue its work of strengthening Messianic Judaism worldwide. The other "loaf" goes to the Messianic community in Israel, to support causes like these:

• Yeshua-believing Israeli families who are undergoing harassment and intimidation because of their faith.
• A Messianic Jewish group working to advance civil rights and freedom of religion in Israel, especially on behalf of Messianic Jews.
• Helping a grass-roots Messianic community with space to meet.
• Messianic Jewish feeding programs for the poor in Jerusalem and Nazareth.
• A dental program for the Israeli Ethiopian community.

As we share in Two Loaves with believers in Israel, we express our solidarity as One Lineage in Messiah.

This year's Prayer Campaign runs from April 13 through June 1, and I hope you will be part of it!

In Yeshua,

Russ