Waiting in Hope

“We wait in hope for the Lord;
   he is our help and our shield.”—Psalm 33:20

Hanok was only ten when he, his mother, and two brothers left their rural village and set out for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capitol. Belonging to the Beta Israel, “House of Israel,” as the Ethiopian Jews called themselves, Hanok and his family dreamed of one day immigrating to Israel.

For seven years, they lived in a refugee camp. Conditions in the camp were horrendous, with cramped living conditions, inadequate medical attention, and a lack of other basic necessities, such as food and clothing. Still they waited, hopeful for the day when they would be able to board a plane bound for Israel, hopeful that God would hear their prayers and bring them home to the Promised Land.

For Hanok and his brother, Tadasa, that prayer was answered, their dream realized, when the two received word that they were cleared for immigration by the Ethiopian government. With the help of The Fellowship’s On Wings of Eagles program, which brings needy Jews from the four corners of the earth to Israel, the two boarded a plane to begin their new life in the Holy Land.

It was a bittersweet occasion for the brothers. Because of government restrictions, their mother and other brother were prevented from joining them. Even more tragic, Hanok’s mother was one of hundreds of Ethiopian Jews who died in the refugee camps while waiting for their opportunity. Hanok does not know what has happened to his other brother.

Through the efforts of the Israeli government and organizations like the Jewish Agency for Israel and The Fellowship, the final group of Ethiopian Jews have been cleared to make aliyah (immigrate to Israel). Over the next three years, they will make this historical – and biblical — trip to a land that many have only dreamed about or read about in Bible stories.

For all, it will mean reuniting with family members who already have made aliyah to Israel. It will mean seeing children, parents, and grandparents after years of separation. It will mean that their years of waiting in hope will have been fulfilled — just as God promised.

Undoubtedly, the story of the Ethiopian Jews is historical and prophetic; but it is also inspirational. Their story is the story of God’s people throughout the ages as they waited upon the promise of God:  Abraham and Sarah for a son and heir; the enslaved people of Israel for a deliverer; and countless others.

Their story is the story of answered prayer, as God is in the midst of all who wait upon Him in hope.

http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/waiting-in-hope-2

A Celebration of Heritage

“All the people came together as one in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the teacher of the Law to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel.” — Nehemiah 8:1

Just a few weeks ago, Irish Americans (and even some who are not) celebrated their unique heritage and culture during St. Patrick’s Day. Parades were held; people donned green; and in my former hometown of Chicago, they even dyed the Chicago River green.

While these celebrations are mostly light-hearted and joyous occasions, they do serve a purpose in helping people remember their ancestral roots. They keep alive the rich traditions and strengthen the tie to their homeland.

For centuries, the Ethiopian Jews have celebrated their Jewish faith and roots in a unique holiday, known as Sigd, which means “to prostrate oneself.” The celebration is believed to have started in the 15^th century when the priests gathered the Beta Israel, “House of Israel” as they call themselves, to strengthen their faith in the face of great persecution.

The priests were inspired by the description in the book of Nehemiah of how the Jews who had returned from Babylon after seventy years of exile dedicated themselves to follow God:  “All the people came together as one in the square of the Water Gate. They told Ezra the teacher of the Law to bring out the book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel” (Nehemiah 8:1).

Prior to the mass aliyah (immigration to Israel) of Beta Israel, which began in the 1980s, generations of Ethiopian Jews would walk for days to a mountaintop where thousands would join in prayer and the reading of the Torah. Following the afternoon prayers and blowing of the shofar, the entire community would descend from the mountain for a joyous feast.

In this way, the Ethiopian Jews celebrated and remembered their connection to Jerusalem and renewed their commitment to Jewish unity.

Sigd is now an official holiday, celebrated by all Jews in Israel, and Ethiopian Jews who have made aliyah to Israel gather at the Western Wall in Jerusalem to commemorate this day. It is truly an inspiring and spiritual experience.

Although the holiday of Sigd is one that Ethiopian Jews have exclusively celebrated for centuries, it is a holiday that many Jews can relate to. Jews in Israel have gathered from Europe, America, Russia, Iran, and countless other countries of their birth. Uniting in Jerusalem is the answer to our prayers, because all of us were once strangers in a strange land.

The holiday of Sigd commemorates the struggles all who resettle went through to arrive in the Holy Land. It also reminds us about the love that God will always have for His children, wherever they may be found.

http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/a-celebration-of-heritage-2

Strangers in the Land

“‘To you I will give the land of Canaan
   as the portion you will inherit.’
 When they were but few in number,
   few indeed, and strangers in it,
they wandered from nation to nation,
   from one kingdom to another.”—Psalm 105:11–13

For thousands of years, since the Jews were expelled from their land by the Romans in 70 C.E., the people of God have, indeed, wandered from one nation to another. As they tried to settle, raise their families, and live according to God’s word and law, they remained strangers, often facing persecution, opposition, and hardships.

Even after two thousand years of exile from their homeland, the Jews were not accepted into the fabric of society. By the mid-1800s, Jewish thinkers came to the stark conclusion: “The Jews have lived and labored among the nations for almost two thousand years, but nonetheless they cannot become rooted organically within them . . . . We shall always remain strangers among nations.”

With the birth of the State of Israel, the long-held dream of the Jewish people returning to their homeland — the land given to them by God — became a reality. And since that time, more than three million Jews have returned to Israel.

But for many Jews today, the dream of returning to the Holy Land has remained just that — a dream. That is why The Fellowship and our partner organizations, like the Jewish Agency for Israel, have worked tirelessly over the years to bring persecuted Jews home from the four corners of the world.

For the next two years, our focus will be on helping the final group of Ethiopian Jews make aliyah, or immigration to Israel. Despite centuries of anti-Semitism, physical destruction, land confiscation, and enslavement, these Jews have maintained their Jewish heritage and prayed for their return to Jerusalem.

The Ethiopian Jews have never lost hope that they will return home. They have tirelessly and continually held to God’s promise of the portion of land that they will inherit.

Miraculously, The Fellowship and our ministry partners have been given the privilege of helping fulfill this dream of coming home for thousands of Ethiopian Jews. Join us today in praying for the Ethiopian Jews and for the completion of this prophetic work which has been ongoing for the past twenty years.

With your prayers and support, these Jews will no longer be strangers, but will be home at last.

http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/strangers-in-the-land-2