Today, I'd like to share an update letter from my friends that live in Israel. Since my recent trip there, everything about this nation has deeper meaning to me. Simcha explains Christmas the the jewish people and has shared with us a little portion of this teaching in his monthly update to us. I attached it at the bottom and pray it blesses you as it has blessed me.
As we close this year and ready ourselves for the new year, remember the Hebrew year is "Pey." This is the year to say! I believe it is a year to declare a thing and it will come to pass. Say what you want. Pray what you want. Say and pray the will and word of God into the earth and see what God will do. Our words carry weight.
If you live in the area I invite you to our New Year's Eve service from 10 PM to 12 AM on January 31, 2019, as 23 pray in the new year. Afterwards we celebrate with a light breakfast together. We will also be fasting January 2-23, 2020 from 6PM to 6PM. We once again have fasting journals available. Remember "Be Complaint Free."
As we close this year and ready ourselves for the new year, remember the Hebrew year is "Pey." This is the year to say! I believe it is a year to declare a thing and it will come to pass. Say what you want. Pray what you want. Say and pray the will and word of God into the earth and see what God will do. Our words carry weight.
If you live in the area I invite you to our New Year's Eve service from 10 PM to 12 AM on January 31, 2019, as 23 pray in the new year. Afterwards we celebrate with a light breakfast together. We will also be fasting January 2-23, 2020 from 6PM to 6PM. We once again have fasting journals available. Remember "Be Complaint Free."
Most Jews in Israel and around the world reject the idea that Christmas is a Jewish holiday. As far as they are concerned, Christmas is a Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of someone they don’t believe to be the Messiah and is in direct opposition to their Jewish faith. Many Holocaust survivors claim Hitler and the Nazis were Christians and that the Christian church is anti-Semitic; that in the name of Jesus the Church persecuted Jews as “Christ-killers.”
Even many non-Jews around the world who celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on Christmas day do not realize that He is the Messiah of Israel, as well as the Savior of the world. The prophet Isaiah made this Messianic prophecy to Israel about the Jewish Messiah, Who also fulfilled the promise God gave to Abraham in Genesis 12:3 that through Him all nations would be blessed. Therefore, the prophecies of Messiah’s coming, His sacrifice for humanity, His resurrection and return to earth apply to Israel as well as to all nations.
“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us; dominion will rest on His shoulders, and He will be given the name Pele-Yo‘etz (wonderful counselor), El Gibbor (mighty God), Avi-‘Ad (everlasting Father), Sar-Shalom (Prince of Peace)”. Isaiah 9:6
The world celebrates Christmas with cheers, decorated evergreen trees, flickering lights, manger scenes and baby Jesus, all the while unaware of its Jewish roots. That the story took place in Israel with Israelites and angels who spoke Hebrew seems far away. But the fact is that Mary was Miriam, Joseph was Yoseph and Jesus was Yeshua – all Hebrew names. Yeshua was born in Beth Lehem (the house of bread in Hebrew) fulfilling the Hebrew prophet Micah’s words as recorded in Micah chapter 5:1 “But you, Beth Lehem Ephratah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting days.”
The story of Christmas starts with God’s angel appearing to the priest Zecharya (Zechariah in English which means God remembers in Hebrew) who was chosen by lot to enter the Temple of the God of Israel for the incense offering (Luke 1:9-11). This was in accordance with the law God gave to Moses for the priests from the tribe of Levi. Exodus 30:7-8: “Aaron must burn fragrant incense on the altar every morning when he tends the lamps. He must burn incense again when he lights the lamps at twilight so incense will burn regularly before the Lord for the generations to come.” The angel announced to Zecharya that his barren wife Elisheva (Elizabeth means in Hebrew my God promises) would bear him a child to fulfill the prophecy of Malachi 4 to “go as a forerunner before Him (the Messiah) in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children” (Luke 1:16-17). His name would be Yohanan, meaning God pardons (known as John the Baptist in English.)
A short time later the angel Gavriel (Gabriel, means God is my strength) appeared to Miriam, announcing that she would conceive by the Holy Spirit of God. Miriam was a young Jewish virgin from the Jewish village of Natzeret, Israel, engaged to a Jewish man, Yoseph, of the house of David. The angel Gavriel told her (in Hebrew) “Do not be afraid, Miriam; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Yeshua (meaning Salvation in Hebrew.) (Jesus is the English letters of the name Yeshua.) He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and God will give Him the throne of His father David (the Jewish king.) And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end” (Luke 1:26-33).
It is no coincidence that the Savior of the world would have a Hebrew name and would be born of a Jewish mother in a Jewish town near Jerusalem, the Jewish capital. He is Emmanuel (God with us in Hebrew) Who will sit on King David’s throne forever and rule from Jerusalem. All nations will come to hear the Word of the Lord from Zion (Jerusalem). (Isaiah 2.)
When Yoseph (Joseph) learned Miriam was pregnant, he feared she had been unfaithful to him. As a righteous man, he didn’t want to expose Miriam to public disgrace and planned to divorce her in secret. But the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said (in Hebrew), “Yoseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Miriam as your wife because what is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Yeshua (meaning Salvation) because he Yoshia (will save) his people (Israel) from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel' (which means in Hebrew, God with us.) Matthew 1:18-25. Only in Hebrew does it make sense that His name Yeshua - Salvation in Hebrew - has the root word for what He will do: – He will save, Yoshia. Even the word Christmas itself comes from the word Christ, which is a translation of the Hebrew word Messiah, a totally original Jewish concept.
We present this holiday to our Jewish people in this Jewish setting with Jewish characters, saying that Yeshua is our Jewish Messiah, as well as the Savior of the world and that he didn’t come to start a new religion. As a matter of fact, Yeshua was against man-made religions as well as men’s traditions.
Pray for the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of our Jewish friends, family, and neighbors to see that Christmas celebrates the birth of our Jewish Messiah Who came to the world in Israel.
From the first verses in the New Testament, we see how Jewish it is. "This is the genealogy Yeshua the Messiah (a Hebrew word), the son of David, the son of Abraham" (the father of the Jewish nation). Yeshua’s birth and incarnation were prophesied in the Hebrew Bible, written in Hebrew, by Hebrew prophets. Yeshua's Jewish parents took him to the Jewish Holy Temple when He was eight days old to be circumcised; how much more Jewish can you get?
We wish you Mary Christmas and Happy Hanukka. We love and appreciate you very much and we want to hear from you. We welcome any comment, questions, and prayer requests. We appreciate your love and prayers for Israel and your stand with our ministry for the salvation of Israel and the nations.
In His love,
Simcha and Bella Davidov, Ashdod, Israel
Even many non-Jews around the world who celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on Christmas day do not realize that He is the Messiah of Israel, as well as the Savior of the world. The prophet Isaiah made this Messianic prophecy to Israel about the Jewish Messiah, Who also fulfilled the promise God gave to Abraham in Genesis 12:3 that through Him all nations would be blessed. Therefore, the prophecies of Messiah’s coming, His sacrifice for humanity, His resurrection and return to earth apply to Israel as well as to all nations.
“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us; dominion will rest on His shoulders, and He will be given the name Pele-Yo‘etz (wonderful counselor), El Gibbor (mighty God), Avi-‘Ad (everlasting Father), Sar-Shalom (Prince of Peace)”. Isaiah 9:6
The world celebrates Christmas with cheers, decorated evergreen trees, flickering lights, manger scenes and baby Jesus, all the while unaware of its Jewish roots. That the story took place in Israel with Israelites and angels who spoke Hebrew seems far away. But the fact is that Mary was Miriam, Joseph was Yoseph and Jesus was Yeshua – all Hebrew names. Yeshua was born in Beth Lehem (the house of bread in Hebrew) fulfilling the Hebrew prophet Micah’s words as recorded in Micah chapter 5:1 “But you, Beth Lehem Ephratah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting days.”
The story of Christmas starts with God’s angel appearing to the priest Zecharya (Zechariah in English which means God remembers in Hebrew) who was chosen by lot to enter the Temple of the God of Israel for the incense offering (Luke 1:9-11). This was in accordance with the law God gave to Moses for the priests from the tribe of Levi. Exodus 30:7-8: “Aaron must burn fragrant incense on the altar every morning when he tends the lamps. He must burn incense again when he lights the lamps at twilight so incense will burn regularly before the Lord for the generations to come.” The angel announced to Zecharya that his barren wife Elisheva (Elizabeth means in Hebrew my God promises) would bear him a child to fulfill the prophecy of Malachi 4 to “go as a forerunner before Him (the Messiah) in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children” (Luke 1:16-17). His name would be Yohanan, meaning God pardons (known as John the Baptist in English.)
A short time later the angel Gavriel (Gabriel, means God is my strength) appeared to Miriam, announcing that she would conceive by the Holy Spirit of God. Miriam was a young Jewish virgin from the Jewish village of Natzeret, Israel, engaged to a Jewish man, Yoseph, of the house of David. The angel Gavriel told her (in Hebrew) “Do not be afraid, Miriam; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Yeshua (meaning Salvation in Hebrew.) (Jesus is the English letters of the name Yeshua.) He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and God will give Him the throne of His father David (the Jewish king.) And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end” (Luke 1:26-33).
It is no coincidence that the Savior of the world would have a Hebrew name and would be born of a Jewish mother in a Jewish town near Jerusalem, the Jewish capital. He is Emmanuel (God with us in Hebrew) Who will sit on King David’s throne forever and rule from Jerusalem. All nations will come to hear the Word of the Lord from Zion (Jerusalem). (Isaiah 2.)
When Yoseph (Joseph) learned Miriam was pregnant, he feared she had been unfaithful to him. As a righteous man, he didn’t want to expose Miriam to public disgrace and planned to divorce her in secret. But the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said (in Hebrew), “Yoseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Miriam as your wife because what is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Yeshua (meaning Salvation) because he Yoshia (will save) his people (Israel) from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel' (which means in Hebrew, God with us.) Matthew 1:18-25. Only in Hebrew does it make sense that His name Yeshua - Salvation in Hebrew - has the root word for what He will do: – He will save, Yoshia. Even the word Christmas itself comes from the word Christ, which is a translation of the Hebrew word Messiah, a totally original Jewish concept.
We present this holiday to our Jewish people in this Jewish setting with Jewish characters, saying that Yeshua is our Jewish Messiah, as well as the Savior of the world and that he didn’t come to start a new religion. As a matter of fact, Yeshua was against man-made religions as well as men’s traditions.
Pray for the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of our Jewish friends, family, and neighbors to see that Christmas celebrates the birth of our Jewish Messiah Who came to the world in Israel.
From the first verses in the New Testament, we see how Jewish it is. "This is the genealogy Yeshua the Messiah (a Hebrew word), the son of David, the son of Abraham" (the father of the Jewish nation). Yeshua’s birth and incarnation were prophesied in the Hebrew Bible, written in Hebrew, by Hebrew prophets. Yeshua's Jewish parents took him to the Jewish Holy Temple when He was eight days old to be circumcised; how much more Jewish can you get?
We wish you Mary Christmas and Happy Hanukka. We love and appreciate you very much and we want to hear from you. We welcome any comment, questions, and prayer requests. We appreciate your love and prayers for Israel and your stand with our ministry for the salvation of Israel and the nations.
In His love,
Simcha and Bella Davidov, Ashdod, Israel
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