Shalom Chaverim (friends)
Greetings from the beautiful land of Israel and welcome to this week's Torah study from Parashat Shlach L'cha שְׁלַח-לְךָ (Send Forth), in which Moses sent 12 spies (meraglim) to scout out the Promised Land.
The spies came back with huge clusters of grapes and other fruits of the land - evidence of the abundance of this land that flows with milk and honey.
The Grapes of Canaan (watercolor circa 1896–1902 by James Tissot)
Many nights, they have invited us to their campfire where we have had wonderful conversations about God and faith. They listened intently as I shared my testimony one night over the fire. God gave me the ability to speak fluently in Hebrew and express how I came to believe in Yeshua as Messiah (Mashiach).
The next day I gave them a Tanach and Brit Hadashah (Old & New Testament) in Hebrew which they gladly received.
But the spies brought back more than just fruit; they also came bearing terrifying reports about the 'giants (nephilim or anakim) in the Land'.
This reminds me so much of the Land of Israel today. We see evidence of God's abundant blessings here: the land that lay barren for over 2000 years is once again fruitful and prospering!
Fruit at Carmel Market in Tel Aviv www.goisrael.com
The ruined cities of this Promised Land have been re-built and are now filled with people; but, my beloved chaverim, the reality is that there are still 'giants in the Land'.
Today, 100,000 people are expected to show up for the 17th annual Gay Pride parade in Tel Aviv. God have mercy!
The 'Rainbow Flag' next to the Israeli one
The 16th annual Gay Pride parade, last year. Photo by Ofer Vaknin
This past week was particularly difficult for us personally as a family. Sometimes the pressures of living in Israel can feel overwhelming (especially when coming from a totally different culture and language)!
The ruined cities of this Promised Land have been re-built and are now filled with people; but, my beloved chaverim, the reality is that there are still 'giants in the Land'.
Today, 100,000 people are expected to show up for the 17th annual Gay Pride parade in Tel Aviv. God have mercy!
The 'Rainbow Flag' next to the Israeli one
The 16th annual Gay Pride parade, last year. Photo by Ofer Vaknin
This past week was particularly difficult for us personally as a family. Sometimes the pressures of living in Israel can feel overwhelming (especially when coming from a totally different culture and language)!
In this parashah, only 2 of the spies (Calev & Joshua) said, "Let us go up at once and possess the Land; for we are 'well able!' The other 10 spies discouraged the people, spreading fear, doubt, and panic among the people of Israel, causing them to want to go back to Egypt.
In the end, only Calev & Joshua survived out of all the adult Israelites to enter the Promised Land. The carcasses of the rest lay scattered all over the wilderness because of their sin of unbelief. The Ten spies were killed by the Lord.
The Ten Spies Who Had Spread the False Report Died (1984 illustration by Jim Padgett, courtesy of Sweet Publishing)
I am sorry to confess to you that I send you this Torah study this week with a humbled and contrite heart, for when I faced the giants this week, I succumbed to an emotional meltdown - acting much more like my Israelite ancestors than I would care to admit.
Instead of standing in courageous faith, I gave in to fear, doubt and panic. Oye! I did everything that I am telling you NOT to do in this week's Torah study: grumble, complain, cry, have a negative attitude and think about going back.
So just in case you thought that I've got this all down pat, you can be assured that we are all in this journey together, growing and falling and picking ourselves up and, by the grace of God, continuing to walk with Adonai.
We truly do need and appreciate your prayers and support to continue bearing good fruit here in the Land! At this time, the grapes in Israel are still tiny on the vines; but here is a photo of a grape cluster from our village in the 'time of the season of the ripe grapes.' YUM!
The report from the Land is not all bad, however, as many good and wonderful things have been happening.
Yesterday, I taught a message on relationships to the Messianic youth group at the King of Kings assembly in Jerusalem. It was an awesome time and I'm so thankful to have the opportunity to speak into their lives. It is amazing how God can take our messes and make it our message!
** Please pray for Liat &her friends: Gabby, Naamit, Samuel, Yan, D'vorah, Yoseph, Carl, & all our Israeli Messianic youth who really have a great deal to cope with here in the Land as young believers in Yeshua the Messiah. It can be challenging enough as an adult, let alone all the additional challenges of being a teenager in the midst of this generation of young people here in the Land.
One study shows that rates of anger, risky behavior, recreational drinking of alcohol, physical inactivity, long hours of computer use and negative feelings about their schools remain high among Israeli youth, according to Dr. Yossi Harel-Fisch, head of the national research program for the health of youth at Bar-Ilan University’s School of Education.
Teenagers drinking and smoking Hookah 521. (photo credit:Ariel Jerozolimski)
His surveys showed that during the intifadas, Palestinian terror caused serious harm to the psyches and moods of Israeli teens. http://www.jpost.com/
After the youth meeting, we attended the King of Kings Media School graduation and had the privilege of seeing some of their film productions. On-line evangelism is really taking off from Jerusalem to the Jewish people in the nations and we witnessed a powerful film that will likely impact millions! One video of the testimony of an Orthodox Jewish man who came to faith has reached over 5 million people on-line (including many Jewish people)! Halleluyah!
My youngest daughter, Liat (15) is registered for a 9 day intensive course in film making and video production next week at the King of Kings Media School . Thank you for everyone who has donated to help make this opportunity available. Some of you have seen Liat's videos on her new Vlog http://mylifeinisrael.net/
Liat hopes to improve her skills and produce great films for the Kingdom of God.
After the KOK Media School grad, we fought the heavy traffic and non-existent parking (because of the current Jerusalem Light show playing in the Old City) to go to a dance performance in the historic outdoor arena of theSultan's Pool.
It was funny to see that instead of selling snow cones and cotton candy, vendors came through the stands selling bagelle (a favorite round, sesame bread) with zahtar (a favorite spice eaten with humous and bagelle). :) 
Sultan's Pool open auditorium concert
The Sultan's pool is situated directly beneath the walls of the Old City in the Valley of Hinnom, which used to be a garbage dump and site of ritual sacrifice to pagan gods. This led to the naming of the Jewish concept of purgatory (hell) as Ge - Hinnom (valley of Hinnom).
This open air auditorium, now used for many concerts from internationally renowned musicians, was once an ancient water source built by Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottoman Sultan who built the current walls of the Old City of Jerusalem.
Jaffa Gate Jerusalem Old City photo: www.goisrael.com
We have also been building a beautiful relationship with our neighbors, Shirlee and Yossi, a couple of 'free spirits' from Tel Aviv who have a cabin and camp out in this beautiful spot overlooking the valley near our home.
Many nights, they have invited us to their campfire where we have had wonderful conversations about God and faith. They listened intently as I shared my testimony one night over the fire. God gave me the ability to speak fluently in Hebrew and express how I came to believe in Yeshua as Messiah (Mashiach).
The next day I gave them a Tanach and Brit Hadashah (Old & New Testament) in Hebrew which they gladly received.
One night they asked me to bring my auto-harp and I played and sang worship songs over the hills of Judea. They said that they felt genuinely touched in their heart.
Please pray for our witness to Shirlee and Yossi and others like them who are so open and ready for the harvest. Thank you so much for standing with us here in the Land of Israel with your faithful prayers and generous support.
Love Hannah
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