Counting the Omer

From Passover to Shavuot. How to count the Omer from a biblical Hebrew perspective up to Pentecost (in Yeshua´s fulfillment).



Counting the Omer

Birkat Cohanim (Priestly Blessing) Pesach 5772 (09-04-2012)

Birkat Cohanim, the Priestly blessing at Pesach 5772 (17th Nissan) / 09-04-2012 at the Kotel in Jerusalem.

Doors of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre opened by a Muslim because of division ´Christians´

It’s big and tall gates. The door of thick wood and iron. Christians around the world know it as the entrance gate of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

The tomb is one of the holiest Christian buildings [not for us] in Jerusalem. They believe the church was built on hill Golgotha, where Jesus Christ was crucified and the tomb where he rose again [which is only a guess].

Wajeeh Nuseibeh, not Christian, is Muslim and his family lived for generations in the town who became Israel’s capital city. The Shrine was guarded for centuries by a Muslim family. Wajeeh is one of the descendants of the family who is now the caretaker [keyholder] of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. “No one in the whole world can be open the church except for me,” he said, as reported July 31, 2006 in Time megazine.

When Caliph Umar took control of Jerusalem in 638, he commissioned an Arab soldier, Wajeeh ancestors, keeping the church. Since then the family Nuseibah not only keep the church but also acts as a referee for seven Christian sects fighting over each other. The three strongest groups – Roman Catholic, Greek, and Armenian – holds 70 percent ownership of the church. Each group claimed a right to have a shrine. Each one put his angel sculptures inside the basilica.

Several years ago, for example, about 500 Greek and Franciscan priests bickering for hours, throwing and hitting with a stalk bench chandelier. This happened because of one sect have to cross another’s sacred. During the centuries of suspicion and hatred, it took only a trustworthy Muslim that holds the key. “The Christians judge me neutral,” said Wajeeh.

Wajeeh is paid around $ 5 per month by each sect. So, he receives about $ 33 per month to take care of the place. But, he’s done it’s job seriously because of his family. Wajeeh get extra money as a tour guide.

“Sometimes people yell at me. ‘You’re Muslim. What are you doing here?’ I tell them, ‘We’re not fanatics. We respect the Christians’, “said Wajeeh

Our Comment: We as followers of Yeshua/Jesus must no close de Door for eachother in strife, as these so called ´christian´ denominations do! Thereby they hinder and closes access to the Kingdom of heaven for people.

Arab Bedouins love Israel, proudly serve in Israel army!!

Happy Passover from IDF Soldiers

Good Pesach / Passover !

Chag Pesach Sameach

'Anne Frank'-kastanjeboom geplant bij Yad Vashem

Avner Shalev, Chairman of Yad Vashem, plants the sapling from the chestnut tree that Anne Frank wrote about in her diary.

Een jonge kastanjeboom, nazaat van de kastanjeboom waarover Anne Frank schreef in haar dagboek, wordt maandag 26 maart geplant bij het Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial instituut.

Het Anne Frank Huis besloot om jonge boompjes te schenken aan Yad Vashem en andere instellingen toen de boom ziek werd. In 2010 is de boom omgevallen, na veel discussie en pogingen tot behoud.

Anne schreef drie keer in haar dagboek over de boom, de laatste keer op 13 mei 1944, en noteerde toen 'Onze kastanjeboom staat in volle bloei. Hij zit vol met bladeren en is zelfs mooier dan vorig jaar'.

De jonge boom wordt geplant nabij het monument voor de kinderen en de Internationale School voor Holocaust Studies, in aanwezigheid van Hanna Pick, een overlevende van de Holocaust en vriendin van Anne Frank, Avner Shalev, voorzitter van Yad Vashem, Yehudit Inbar, directeur van de Musea Division en leerlingen van middelbare scholen uit Jeruzalem.

Source: IsraelToday.nl

Hanna Pick, Holocaust survivor and childhood friend of Anne Frank, waters the sapling.

Read: Sapling from Anne Frank’s tree to be planted at Yad Vashem



Yad Vashem´s Children Monument (photo´s by group Henoch, march 2010).

Life Under Fire!

Passover: A Time of Freedom and Food

Passover commemorates our freedom from slavery and the birth of the Jewish nation: A healthy, liberating experience for both body and soul!

Our ancient customs at the Seder and the special foods we eat – tell the amazing story of our freedom. And they help us to re-enact those precious moments of liberation, some 3300 years ago.

Marror (bitter herbs) remind us of the harshness and bitterness of slavery. Matzoh, the “poor man’s bread” that we ate as slaves, transforms itself, during the Seder, into the bread of redemption. The four cups of wine are drunk while reclining like kings – a royal beverage celebrating our newly found freedom.

Unfortunately, for impoverished families in Israel, Passover can be a time of stress, hunger and despair. When there’s no food on the holiday table, Passover is no longer a time of freedom. Tragically, it can be transformed into another experience of bondage, depression and despair.

What is Lemaan Achai?

Fortunately, there is an organization called “Lemaan Achai” (it’s meaning in Hebrew: “for the sake of my brethren“). And they certainly live up to their name.

Many people do not know that one out of every four families in Israel lives below the poverty line. And that one of every three kids in Israel suffers from “food deficiency”.

Passover is an especially costly time – buying matzoh, wine and other essential food for the entire seven-day holiday. For impoverished families, this extra burden can be impossible to bear. This is where Lemaan Achai steps in.

Why is Lemaan Achai Successful?

“Lemaan Achai” is a non-profit organization aiding poor families in the city of Bet Shemesh, Israel. What makes Lemaan Achai unique is its successful program to help Israel’s needy families survive and then get OUT of their crisis.

Lemaan Achai helps poor families to get back on their feet, through back-to-work programs, financial management counseling, and over twenty-five innovative and effective social services rehabilitation programs.

The Passover Aid Project

Lemaan Achai’s Passover Aid Project distributes direct aid to over one hundred and eighty impoverished families (over six hundred kids) who are participating in Lemaan Achai’s programs.

Many of the families that were helped last year are not on this year’s Passover “Aid List” – because they were brought back on their feet and no longer need charitable help.

Our Passover Appeal to You

Please support Lemaan Achai’s vital efforts on behalf of these families. We ask you to help provide for their Passover needs. For the sake of our brethren.

Source: unitedwithisrael.org

www.lemaanachai.org