Though the Fire Rages, God Surrounds His People

On Sunday, August 15th Tiferet Yeshua’s WhatsApp women’s group exploded with messages: a fire was raging out of control in the Jerusalem hills and a dear family from Tiferet Yeshua with five children, plus grandparents living with them, was stranded in their village because the fire had cut off all access roads. The wife was in Jerusalem when the fire broke out and her husband was at home with all five children and the grandparents. “They are waiting for the rescue services to evacuate them by helicopter,” was the voice message she sent in the WhatsApp group. You could hear in her voice the shock of the reality that she as a mother and wife was facing at that moment: everything most precious to her in the world was surrounded by flames with no way out. She was in constant contact with her husband, but there was no way for her reach them. All she could do was pray and wait. 

In the meantime, people were sharing pictures of eerily smoke-darkened skies from Jerusalem all the way to the Jordan River Valley near the Dead Sea. Another hour went by and still the family had not been evacuated. 

Smoke fills the skies over Jerusalem and the Jordan River Valley

Finally later in the evening we got word that the family had been successfully rescued by helicopter. It’s hard to imagine your children from ages one to fourteen are being evacuated by helicopter from a fire that’s burning out of control. Hours after the whole ordeal began, at midnight, the children were finally reunited with their mother. The father stayed behind because he is a volunteer firefighter with their village fire brigade. He said that when they left their village, the fire was a meter from their house and shrubs in their yard were starting to catch fire. “In ten minutes,” he thought, “we won’t have a house left.”

(scenes of devastation around the family’s village)

The next day the Lord put on our hearts this verse from Psalm 125:2

יְרוּשָׁלִַם הָרִים סָבִיב לָהּ וַיהוָה סָבִיב לְעַמּוֹ מֵעַתָּה וְעַד-עוֹלָם

As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people,

both now and forevermore. 

As we were standing in prayer for this family and all the people having to flee for their lives from the flames, this verse encouraged us that God would surround them in protection, just as the mountains around Jerusalem, where this fire was raging, surround her. This family is beloved in Tiferet Yeshua and has the gift of “bringing in guests” to their home: many of us have been graciously and warmly hosted for wonderful Shabbat and holiday dinners. Their village is nestled on the top of forested rise in the Jerusalem Hills, and the views from their home are breathtaking – pine covered hills in every direction. 

The next day after their dramatic rescue from the fire, the father sent word that not only had their house survived, but the trees surrounding their home were not touched by the fire. When they look out from their windows, they still see green. Another family of believers in their neighborhood experienced the same thing.

The family’s village which was miraculously protected

The wife said she felt God’s grace surrounding her in the moments of sheer terror over her family, and that grace upon grace has been been carrying them through the whole ordeal day by day. While they have not been allowed back into their home, they asked us to share the story of the amazing grace the Lord has been pouring out on them during this whole ordeal – that even when flames of terror are surrounding us, the Lord surrounds us with His protection and grace.

First Aid and the Gospel of Love

by Moti Cohen

Feed Tel Aviv was born as a response to the dire need caused by homelessness in one of Israel’s worst areas not far from congregation Tiferet Yeshua. Our desire was to meet the immediate needs of those living on the streets in this area. As we began, the Lord gave me these verses from James 2 to be our guide:

“Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?’” 

As an outreach, we want to provide for the physical needs of the people living on the street which are, first and foremost, food and warm clothing. In addition to food, warm clothing, and unconditional love (of course!), we also need to have a first aid kit with us at all times.  

It is hard to imagine what it’s really like living on the streets—the hunger, the extreme weather, the rats. And you would be surprised how not having the basics of soap and water can put someone’s health at risk. People living on the streets often end up in the hospital because of wounds that have become infected, and some even end up with limbs amputated because the infections are so severe. When our team of volunteers goes out onto the street, we make sure to have basic first aid with us to be able to treat wounds in the people we meet.

Living on the streets also puts people under the constant threat of physical violence. One evening, Dennis, a young man we know well, came to the soup kitchen facility with his face covered in blood. He was breathing hard because he was in such pain and asked us if we had antiseptic. I saw that his nose had been hit and  was badly cut. Our volunteer team immediately took him to the sink and gave him towels to first stop the bleeding.

Like I mentioned, we have known Dennis for a long time, and he is one of the toughest guys on the street. His Russian accent might fool you, but he also speaks fluent Arabic. In the IDF, Dennis was a commander of an elite unit that would disguise themselves as Arabs, and, from within the Arab community, they would neutralize terrorist activity.

So here is this big, army commando with his nose smashed in, telling us what we need to do to take care of his wound. We could see that his wound was severe and were trying to convince him to let us call an ambulance, but he would not have it. Finally, one of our brave volunteers, Laylah, stepped up and began pouring antiseptic over his open wound. I can’t imagine how much it hurt, but Dennis didn’t make a sound.  

Some of the others then came and started praying for him. After that, we were able to convince him to let us call an ambulance for him (because he really needed professional medical care). A week later we saw Dennis again, and this time he had a smile on his face. His wounds were healing, and he thanked us for the help we gave him. We thank God that we were there for Dennis that night, to help, support and to pray for Him.

Thanks to your support of us, we can continue being a living witness of God’s love by bringing practical help and first aid to those who desperately need it.

Tearing down the Dividing Wall of Hostility

In mid-May this year a war broke out with Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. While rocket barrages were raining down on Israeli cities, a wave of mob violence between Arabs and Jews tore through several of Israel’s cities where Jews and Arabs live side-by-side. For many Israelis, dealing with air-raid sirens and bombs slamming into their communities is something they are prepared for. On the other hand, the hatred and violence that erupted in previously peaceful communities was deeply shocking and traumatic for Israelis. Arab mobs lynched Jews and torched businesses, homes and synagogues. Jewish mobs attacked Arabs. It was a terrifying reminder that a deep hatred and animosity is simmering just beneath the surface and which can erupt with murderous violence.

As believers, we know that our war is not with flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12), and during the period around the riots, we could feel the demonic charge in the atmosphere. At the same time, we realized that our most powerful weapon for pulling down strongholds is the same weapon Yeshua used two-thousand years ago: love. In the aftermath of the war, Jewish believers in communities where there had been violence and rioting felt the Lord leading them to take a stand in love and unity with Arab believers in their communities.

Changing the Spiritual Atmosphere over our Cities

On July 20^th, Pastors Gil and Moti joined a group of Arab and Christian leaders in Tel Aviv\Yafo, an area where there had been much violence and bloodshed during the war with Gaza. The Jewish and Arab leaders began with a time of fellowship and taking the Lord’s supper together and afterward, they went to the areas of the city that had suffered racial violence to pray and take a stand in forgiveness, love and unity. Jewish and Arab believers came together in the same way in other cities that had suffered racial violence during the war with Gaza in May. Those leaders shared with us that after they felt a shift in the spiritual atmosphere over their cities after they took a bold stand of forgiveness and love with their Arab brothers.

Tearing down the Wall of Enmity

“For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.”

-Ephesians 2:14-16

That same week, we invited Maroon, an Arab pastor, to come share his testimony in our main service. Maroon grew up in the Old City of Jerusalem during the eighties when there was a violent Arab uprising against Israel. By his own admission, Maroon was filled with hatred for the Jews. In his teenage years, he started using drugs and eventually found himself on the streets.

Pastor Gil with Pastor Maroon

At one point, one of Maroon’s friends disappeared for a while only to show up again months later, drug free. He told Maroon what had happened: he had been at a drug rehabilitation program where he said, “Jesus set me free.” Eventually, Maroon’s friend convinced him to go to the same rehab program at House of Victory in Haifa, the first bible-based drug rehabilitation program in Israel. What Maroon did not know about this program was that it was run by Jews for both Jewish and Arab drug addicts.

God put Maroon on a path of confrontation with one of the most defining elements of his character: hatred of the Jews. At rehab, it took Maroon a few days to realize that there were Jews on the staff ministering to them as well, and he almost left. However, God met with Maroon in a powerful way when a Jewish man laid hands on him and prayed for him. He said it was like waves of love washing over him. God’s love completely transformed Maroon’s heart and set him free from a deep hatred that had held him hostage for years. Today Maroon ministers as a pastor in several Arab congregations, including one here in Jaffa not far from Tiferet Yeshua.

Maroon gets a Surprise from the Past at Tiferet Yeshua

Pastor Moti who leads our Feed Tel Aviv outreach to the poor in south Tel Aviv had invited Samira (not her real name), an Arab woman he knows, to come hear the testimony of Pastor Maroon. Samira is a believer who works at an outreach ministry for prostitutes located next to the soup kitchen facility where Moti serves each week. When Moti invited Samira, he had no idea that she knew the Arab pastor who would be sharing. Samira had no idea either.

When Samira arrived, she felt shy and nervous about coming into the building of a Jewish congregation and hesitated a few minutes outside the entrance. Then one of our congregation members saw her there on their way in, asked her if she was looking for Tiferet Yeshua and warmly invited her in. Some of us had met Samira before while volunteering at the ministry where she works, and we all happened to be standing next to the entrance the moment she came though the door where she was showered her with hugs and warm greetings.

After Maroon’s message, Samira came up to Maroon and asked, “Do you remember me?” It took a moment – thirty years had passed since the last time they had seen each other. Samira turned to Moti and said, “The last time I saw him, we were doing drugs together on the street.” Samira said that Maroon had been so full of anger and hatred that nobody wanted to be around him, even his fellow Arab drug addicts. “The transformation in this man is amazing,” she said. “Only God can do that.”

A Good Day for Democracy in Israel

Discipleship though Outreach to the Poor

The vision of our Feed Tel Aviv outreach was born, first and foremost, out of a desire that our congregation would be a blessing to the community around us. One community near Tiferet Yeshua happens to be the worst area for homelessness and drug use in Israel. Since its beginning, Feed Tel Aviv has been a labor of love that has blessed many of us by seeing lives touched and people saved from the streets. What I never imagined is the fact that Feed Tel Aviv would become a “discipleship training” of sorts for believers who want to serve the poor and learn how to witness on the streets but don’t know how to begin or have the opportunity. It has been such a surprise and a joy for me that through this ministry we get to see so many sincere believers from all over Israel who want to serve the poor get touched with the passion for outreach and sharing the gospel!

Recently, a man named Eliav contacted me: he is a youth group leader from a congregation in the north. Eliav wanted to know if it was possible to bring their youth group to Tel Aviv to volunteer with us during our outreach to the homeless. I told him that we would be happy to have them join us, and we set a date for them to come. Eliav brought his youth group—twelve young men and women, salt of the earth, who want to devote their time serving Israeli society.

Moti and Eliav with the youth group from the north preparing food for the outreach

The first thing we did was to prepare the food together, making over a hundred hamburgers and other sandwiches to hand out on the streets. That day in Tel Aviv turned out to be quite cold and rainy, so we also prepared large pots of hot sweet tea and filled a few large serving thermoses to take with us. We also brought with us winter gear—jackets, blankets, gloves and hats—in order to give to the homeless who would end up sleeping on the street though the cold night. The fact that there were so many helping hands with the youth volunteers made it much easier to bring the winter gear and tea thermoses with us.

The youth taking bags of winter gear onto the streets

That day the youth group had many special encounters with people on the street. Some people just wanted food. Others asked for prayer in addition to the food and warm clothing. Some just wanted to talk and pour out their hearts to someone who would listen. It was amazing seeing these young people responding with love to some of the most shocking sights of poverty and desperation they have ever seen. With God’s grace, these youth overcome their shock and feelings of awkwardness and began praying for and sharing the love of God with the people on the street.

Eliav praying for a woman on the street.

Eliav and his youth group are Hebrew and Russian speakers: because a large percentage of the homeless drug addicts are from a Russian background, there was a special connection and they ended up spending much more time speaking with, listening to and praying for Russian speakers they met. Many drug addicts, even Arab addicts, came up to this group of young people to give them a warning: “We were young like you when we started trying drugs, and look where we ended up. Don’t make the mistakes we did!” It was a powerful thing for the youth to hear such sober warnings from the drug addicts themselves, and to hear their sincere hurt and regret over the choices they had made.

We are so thankful that God is putting it on the hearts of many here in Israel to devote time to serving these “invisibles” on the street and that He is using this outreach to train believers here in Israel to walk out their faith like Yeshua did: reaching out to the lost and suffering with love, mercy, and hope.

Thanks to your support, we can continue this important outreach here in Israel. Thank you!

-Moti Cohen

Exciting Harvest Testimonies

The past six months, we have been experiencing what we can only call a harvest that God has been bringing in. Israelis from all different backgrounds have been reaching out to us in numbers we have never before experienced. Some have been searching and found information about Yeshua and the New Testament online. Some started searching because of a powerful dream or vision they had. Some we have met during street outreach. No matter the story, they all have one thing in common: they have a hunger and an openness to the gospel that we have never seen before. Clearly, God is stirring up the hearts of His people! Here are some of their stories (their names have been changed to protect their privacy):

A Scene from the New Testament appears to a man in a dream:

Yaron, a man from a secular background who never really searched for God or spiritual meaning in His life, had a dream about Yeshua. In the dream, he saw Yeshua teaching on a mountain surrounded by a great crowd of people. Yaron could see that there were people who received what Yeshua was teaching and believed, while, at the same time there were others who did not believe, and it caused a division among them. Yaron knew nothing about Yeshua or the New Testament (which is amazing because the dream is a scene straight from the New Testament!) The dream stuck with him, and he began searching for information about Yeshua online and even was connected with Tiferet Yeshua through a local outreach ministry. Yaron is now studying with us weekly and growing in his faith. He wants to be connected with a local congregation or home group (he lives in the south). There are a couple congregations in his area, but they cater to Russian and English speakers. We are praying for a Hebrew-speaking, culturally Israeli home group in this area where Yaron can connect!  

A spiritually hungry man we met on the street: When we were doing street outreach, we met David. Not only was he open to talking to us, but he was happy to take a New Testament. He has been delving into the New Testament and meeting with us a couple times a month for discipleship.

A man overheard a conversation about Yeshua at work and was intrigued: About eight months ago, one of our congregation members was sharing the gospel with someone in a store, and Pinchas, who worked in the store, came up to him and asked him, “Are you talking about Yeshua? For years I have felt drawn to him!” The man from our congregation connected Pinchas to Kosta from our team who is devoting his time solely to discipling new believers. Pinchas, a Jewish immigrant from South America, has been studying the New Testament with Kosta every week, joining weekly meetings, and is growing in his faith. The Lord is touching him and setting him free from his old lifestyle of sin in powerful ways.

A Religious man finds answers in Yeshua:  Eitan grew up in a religious family and went to a religious school. From a young age he asked questions about traditions and faith but was never satisfied we the answers he was given. He began searching outside the traditional Jewish religious world he grew up in, and he came across outreach videos online. Eitan began reading the New Testament online and fell in love with Yeshua, and even committed his life to Him before reaching out to us online. Eitan is deeply committed in his faith and is preparing for water immersion next week.

A Yeshiva student wants to learn about Yeshua seeks someone to study the New Testament with: just last week, a woman at Tiferet Yeshua who has a Facebook outreach profile received a call from an unknown number. Yossi, a young man from Jerusalem, wanted to join Tiferet Yeshua’s prayer and worship meeting. It turns out he is from Jerusalem and studies at a Yeshiva. Devorah, the woman who received the call, was unprepared for the call, but the Holy Spirit led the conversation, and this young man who has been reading the New Testament online prayed with her to invite Yeshua into his heart. He told her that he would be in touch with her in the morning to study the New Testament together, and he called the next day! Please pray for Yossi and for Devorah whom the Lord is using to disciple him!

A man sees a New Testament at his friend’s house: When Tomer sees a New Testament on the coffee table at his friend’s house, he asks her, “Are you a Messianic Jew? I’ve been reading the New Testament and I’m interested in learning more with someone.” Tomer’s friend connected him with Kosta at Tiferet Yeshua. This week, Tomer met with Kosta in person, and he gave his heart to the Lord. Please keep him in prayer as he commits himself to discipleship and growing in his faith.

Without healthy, local congregations, there would be no place for these seekers to connect, to be discipled and to grow in their faith. Please consider partnering with what the Lord is doing here in Israel by supporting Tiferet Yeshua.

Israel’s Green Passport – Crossing a Red Line

by Tamar Afriat

Several weeks ago, Israel honored Holocaust Memorial Day, a solemn day of radio and television broadcasts devoted to holocaust survivor stories, difficult and chilling documentaries, and deeply touching memorials to the survivors. It is a national day of mourning. Israel was born out of the ashes of the holocaust: even if your parents or grandparents are not holocaust survivors, you know someone who is the child or grandchild of survivors. At this point you may be wondering, “What does the holocaust have to do with Israel’s green passport system?” The answer is: absolutely nothing. But that is precisely the issue: recently some believers abroad and even a few here in Israel have begun comparing the Israeli government’s vaccination campaign to Nazi medical experimentation and the green passport system to the Nazi use of the yellow star.

When I first became aware of this fact, I was shocked. Israel-supporting Christians were comparing Israel’s government to the Nazis because of its vaccination campaign? Criticizing Israel’s government is fair— we Israelis have plenty of criticism of the government and the way it has handled this pandemic. Expressing concern about the covid-19 vaccine and criticizing the way the government is dealing with the pandemic is one thing. Comparing Israel’s attempt to deal with the pandemic (an unprecedented health and economic crisis) to the tactics of the fascist, racist National Socialists who instituted one of the world’s most brutal and murderous totalitarian regimes ever and perpetrated genocide and torture on an unprecedented scale against Jews and other undesirables…is way beyond the pale. It is wrong and dangerous.

Using the Holocaust-Hyperbole as a Political Weapon in the US

When I started researching the covid-19\holocaust comparisons, I quickly discovered that they were already surfacing last summer: like when a Kansas newspaper published a cartoon comparing its state’s mask-mandate to the yellow star. In reaction to that cartoon, Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt tweeted: “To compare COVID-19 rules to the slaughter of millions in the Holocaust is disgusting, wrong and has no place in our society.”  But that was just the beginning.

A March 29th Fox News article quotes Republican congressman Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina stating that proposals for vaccine passports in the US “smack of 1940’s Nazi Germany.” On the same day, the Libertarian Party of Kentucky tweeted: “Are the vaccine passports going to be yellow, shaped like a star, and sewn on our clothes?” That tweet caused a wave of condemnation, including from the spokesman of the Kentucky Republican Party who publicly responded by saying that their state’s party members “will always condemn this kind of hateful and extreme rhetoric.”

However, the trend of March 29^th continued unabated, with the former US ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell tweeting a meme comparing vaccine passport with Nazism. Ironically, in 2019 Grenell, who is a member of the US Holocaust Memorial Council, tweeted: “Never compare the Holocaust to anything. Ever.” Back then he raised that standard as a response to liberal Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who was then labeling immigrant detention camps on the Mexican border “concentration camps” and using the phrase never again—which is the byword of holocaust remembrance—in connection to the border situation.

Christians Focus the Holocaust Rhetoric on Israel

For some months, the vaccine passport-holocaust canard circulated in social media, making itself acceptable speech in the anti-vaccine camp. It was particularly upsetting, however, when Christian leaders began using this speech specifically to describe Israel’s vaccine campaign. Prominent Christian leaders called the Israeli vaccine campaign “a war crime” and compared it to the barbarous medical experiments performed by Nazi doctors on Jews and other “undesirables” without their consent, without anesthesia, in de-humanizing conditions. What the Nazis did can only be labeled torture.

A gypsy holocaust victim injected during a Nazi medical experiment (source: Holocaust Encyclopedia) and the Israeli Prime Minister (source: AP). Most pictures from Nazi medical experimentation are too grotesque to publish here.

These leaders also likened Israel’s green passport to the yellow star which the Nazis made Jews wear as they began systematically removing them from all spheres in society in preparation to annihilate them. Note: their reason behind making Jews wear the yellow star was to systematically remove them from society and annihilate them because they hated them and viewed them as racially inferior. To label Israel’s vaccine campaign a gross human rights violation on par with Nazi medical experimentation and to call the green passport system the yellow star and a slippery-slope to totalitarianism, is simply insane—but what is mind-boggling is that there are many people, many believers, who do not bat an eye at this comparison.

It is important to see how extreme these comparisons are

A Quick Reality Check

In case we have forgotten, there is a global pandemic on, and every nation around the world (perhaps with the exception of Brazil which has largely adopted personal freedom over quarantine and vaccine, to unfortunately disastrous effect) is trying to get covid-19 vaccines to its citizens and re-open its economy. Therefore, Israel is not special or extraordinary in that regard. The Nazi regime, on the other hand, was advancing a campaign to conquer the world with its radical, racist cultural theory in a brutally violent war. They were not trying to stop a global pandemic – that is, to save lives and livelihoods.

It is interesting to note that in his address to the Conservative Political Action Conference in February of this year, former President Trump took personal credit for the swift production of the covid-19 vaccines in the US, saying: “I Pushed the FDA like they have never been pushed before…What the Trump administration has done with vaccines has in many respects perhaps saved large portions of the world. Not only our country, but large portions of the world.” I have yet to see anyone compare former President Trump to the Nazis for what he did concerning the covid vaccine. Sadly, some Christians and a few believers here focused on Israel for that instead.

A Lesson from the Holocaust

Viktor Klemperer, a Jew who survived Nazi Germany in the city of Dresden, risked his life by keeping meticulous diaries of daily life during the Rise of the Third Reich and throughout the war. He was also a linguistic professor and offered insights about the powerful role extremist language played in the Nazi’s take-over of German society. Klemperer observed: “Words can be like tiny doses of arsenic…they are swallowed unnoticed, appear to have no effect, and then after a little time the toxic reaction sets in.”  Right now, many are using reckless language and exaggeration to express their opinions and alarm about government handling of the coronavirus without taking into consideration how powerful their words are: unwittingly they are sewing fear and confusion. A natural reaction in the human heart to fear and confusion is anger and hate. Antisemitism has seen a dramatic rise during the last four years, particularly during the pandemic, even among Christians. The Nazi comparisons used by some Christian leaders recently to criticize the Israeli government is deeply troubling and should be a red flag to us all.

A note on the use of the Nazi epithet in Israel

In Israel, the ultra-orthodox community makes regular use of the “Nazi” epithet or put on the yellow star in protest when they feel persecuted or oppressed by the secular government. Whenever the Israeli police has to engage with ultra-orthodox communities, they are called “Nazis”. Most Israelis shrug their shoulders at this because the ultra-orthodox communities are viewed as “fringe” or extreme to begin with.

This year, Israeli anti-vaccination protests began using the holocaust comparison, with protestors donning yellow stars. In response, Israel’s Yad V’Shem issued a warning against “the demagogic abuse of Holocaust imagery and language which distorts the past as well as the current reality for political purposes.” Further they added, “Exploiting these terms from the Holocaust, in order to incite and inflame hatred, desecrates the memory of the Holocaust.”

Surprising Encounters that Keep Us Going

by Moti Cohen

Sometimes our work serving the homeless in south Tel Aviv can be intense and emotionally challenging, but one thing I have learned: God always gives us grace to continue in the calling He has given us by showing us that we are doing is making a difference. I would like to share a couple encounters we had over last few months which were a great encouragement to me and to the teams of volunteers who serve with me.

A Surprise Encounter at the Super Market

Each month we prepare 1,400 hot, home-cooked meals to serve the homeless, so, needless to say, I spend a lot of time in the supermarket. The past several months I noticed that a young Arab man who worked at the meat counter would go out of his way to give me wonderful service. He always smiled at me, almost like he knew me, and made sure I was getting what I needed, even if he wasn’t serving me directly.

One very rainy day in Tel Aviv, I was doing the shopping during a downpour and I practically had the place to myself. When I got to the meat counter, the polite young man was there to greet me with a smile. “You don’t recognize me, do you?” he asked me. I told him that I didn’t. “I’m not surprised that you don’t recognize,” he replied. “The last time you saw me a year ago, it was in a rainstorm like this, and I was lying like a dog in the street. You and your people brought me hot tea, soup, warm clothes and a sleeping bag.”

I was shocked. The young man standing before me was tall, handsome and looked healthy. I remembered that night, and back then he was a shadow of the man standing before me. “I will never forget what you all did for me,” he said. “The love and kindness you showed me stirred something up in me, and that night I vowed to get off the street.” He explained to me how has a daughter and that he promised himself to get off the street for her.

Each time I go into that store, I ask him how he is doing: he is grateful for his job which keeps him busy during the week. He said that the weekends are difficult because he is alone, and every few months he cracks and goes down to south Tel Aviv for a hit. I asked him, “Do you remember what we talked to you about that night last year?” I reminded him that we shared with him about the love of God. This young man is from a Muslim background, and God is giving grace on how to share Messiah with him. Please keep him in your prayers!

Brining warm meals to the homeless on the street

A Seed that Bears Fruit Comes back to Visit

This past year we have begun partnering with a discipleship program run by Yuval and Valerie Yanai called Your Kingdom Come: each week during their studies, the students of the program join me in preparing food and serving it on the streets in Tel Aviv. One evening after our outreach on the streets, we still had food left over and decided to distribute it at a nearby park where many drug addicts and migrants congregate.

There in the park, a certain young man caught Valerie’s eye, and she tried speaking to him. When she realized that he only spoke Russian, she asked one of the youth serving with them who knew Russian to translate for her. Valerie felt burdened for this young man and he seemed open and receptive: she shared with him about God’s love, that He has a plan for his life, and that God’s grace will give him strength to get off the street. Finally, they gave him the contact information of a drug rehabilitation for Russian-speakers in Jerusalem run by believers.

Fast forward two months: Valery is at their discipleship training center near Jerusalem when she notices a young man fixing a light and recognizes him: it is the is the same young man she witnessed to in the park! It turns out that he contacted the rehab center that very night and has been there ever since. How did he end up at Yuval and Valerie’s discipleship center, you ask? The leaders of the rehab center decided to bring some of the young men in their program over to help with some building maintenance at the discipleship center and to join their program for the afternoon.

That afternoon, Valery got to see the young man she had witnessed to in the park two months earlier leading worship for the students in the program: it turns out that he is a gifted musician and has found what is intended for—worshipping God. Praise God for his goodness and faithfulness to save the lost and to bless us so deeply by giving us glimpses of the fruit that comes from seeds of the gospel we sew!

Thanks to your generous support, we are able to continue reaching the homeless in Tel Aviv!

Covid-19 and Harvest

by Tamar Afriat

We are year in this covid pandemic (which has felt more like ten years!) and I believe it is important for us to stop for a moment and take a step back. When I look around in the secular society and even among believers, I see much fear and confusion. But when I look at God and focus on what He is doing, I am filled with gratitude and excitement. I will go so far as to say covid has been a blessing, and most of us don’t know it.

A year ago, Gil wrote these words:

“Why would God use a plague to judge the earth? …Trial and tribulation are a tool that God sometimes uses to wake people up, to cause them to seek Him. Looking at the present sufferings in that light, this pandemic can be seen as an expression of God’s grace and love in that He is shaking the very things that may be hindering many from seeking Him. God is more concerned about our eternal destiny with Him rather than keeping us comfortable in our temporary lives here on earth.”

The Covid Harvest at Tiferet Yeshua

While we have experienced many trials and difficulties the past three months here at Tiferet Yeshua, at the same time we have had an unprecedented number of young Israeli seekers, some from religious backgrounds, contacting us and joining us each week in our services. Gil had the opportunity to partner with an outreach ministry here in Israel to teach a seminar on Yeshua’s parables. From that seminar, two young people have been joining our services regularly.

It is such an amazing blessing that God gave us the budget to hire Kosta last year to focus on discipleship: Kosta is busy meeting weekly with new believers for discipleship and communicating with new seekers who are asking for New Testaments and information about Yeshua.

Surprising Testimonies

Kosta shared this testimony about a young man he is discipling through zoom:

While I was praying for E., I felt like I couldn’t continue, like something was blocking me. God put on my heart that E. has an issue with forgiveness. So, I stopped and asked him if there was someone in his life he was not able to forgive. He told me that there was a difficult situation with someone at work, and he had told himself that he would never forgive this person. So, I prayed for E., that God would touch his heart to help him with forgiveness. The next week when we met, he told me, “I can’t believe it! When I went back to work after you prayed for me last week, I saw that guy, and I was actually happy to see him! I can’t understand it. It’s like my heart has totally changed toward him.”

Another young man, B., who reached out to us through our Facebook page, came to faith all on his own through seeking information online about Yeshua. He began reading the New Testament on his own and asked Kosta if there needed to be witnesses for baptism. The reason: he already made the step of to commit his life to the Lord and baptized himself in the Mediterranean.

God is Doing a Quick Work

We have shared about H., a man from a religious background who came to faith at Tiferet Yeshua this last year. H. committed his life to the Lord over the summer and immediately started joining Moti at our weekly Feed Tel Aviv outreach to the homeless. This week I saw H. at the congregation: he was there for a meeting with Gil and Kosta, and he had a young man with him. It turns out that H. witnessed to this young man during Feed Tel Aviv outreach. Apparently this young man has a very difficult life story. During their meeting, H. told him: “I want you to know, whether or not you choose to follow Yeshua, I will be here for you. I will help you in any way that I can.” A nine-month old believer witnessing to others and leading them to the Lord – how many of us could take a lesson from this “babe” in Messiah?

Global Harvest

I am convinced that God is using the Covid crisis to cause people all over the world to seek Him while He yet may be found. The question is: are there workers for the harvest? Yeshua’s words come to us now, almost with urgency:

Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.

~John 4:35

We are praying that that the Bride of Yeshua would look to her Bridegroom who wants to share with her what He is doing because He wants her to partner with Him. Our prayer is that God would send workers to His harvest in every nation of the world.

We want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who support us! Your generous giving is allowing us to have workers who can devote their time to this harvest.

A Season of Trials at Tiferet Yeshua

by Gil Afriat

In the first nine months of the covid-19 pandemic, it seemed like our congregation was being protected from the covid-19 virus. Yes, it was challenging for all of us being in long-term quarantines, not being able to meet in person, and trying to care for those who had suffered either financial or emotional difficulties. However, we were all so thankful that only two people from our congregation contracted the disease and both recovered quickly and without major symptoms.

Hope and Fear

Starting late December, just as Israel was beginning to vaccinate its citizens, more serious cases of the virus started to arise in our congregation. The Israeli government’s massive vaccination campaign caused responses on opposite ends of the spectrum in the community of believers and in society at large – hope and fear. Some felt hope that the vaccination was grace from God to allow us to start making our way out of this pandemic. Others, however, were gripped with fear—some legitimate concerns about the vaccine were engulfed by a tidal wave of conspiracies about the vaccination. To this day, fear continues to cloud the decision-making of many believers, causing much confusion.

Covid Hits Tiferet Yeshua

Then on February 2^nd, we heard from a dear family in our congregation that the whole family was sick with covid, and the father, Orel, had been admitted to the hospital with breathing difficulties.

Orel and Monica Obreja are parents of nine children, making the seriousness of Orel’s condition feel more dire. They are also a well-known and beloved family in Tiferet Yeshua: we are a small congregation that feels very much like a large spiritual family. While Orel was in the hospital, Monica was so weak that she could not even stand on her feet. When she finally started improving a week later, two of her teenage sons were admitted to the hospital with breathing difficulties. That same week, Olga, one of our team members, and her whole family contracted the virus. Then we got word that the doctors had decided to put Orel in an induced coma in order to intubate him, which meant that his condition was dire.

The Valley of the Shadow

The following week, Orel’s condition took a turn for the worse, and Monica called us in tears: the doctors had told her that he only had a few days to live. A week later, our sister and co-laborer in the ministry, Olga, was admitted to the hospital with breathing difficulties. Then we learned that the music leaders of our worship team, a husband and wife team, were also infected with the virus. It felt like illness was all around us and death was knocking on the doors.

We did all that we knew to do: we prayed non-stop. We asked our international friends and partners to pray as well. Without having to ask or organize anything, the congregation came together and provided food and groceries for Orel’s family. Olga’s family was provided for as well. We felt like all the challenges we faced up until this point through the last year were nothing in the light of this struggle.

Battling in Prayer

For two weeks, the whole congregation was praying, fasting, and trying to help care for the immediate needs of our families who were hit with covid. We were encouraged with updates from Monica that the doctors were amazed that Orel was still alive. Then by the week of February 21st, we had news that his condition had slightly improved. We knew it would be a long process of healing for Orel and that we would have to organize long-term support for the Obreja family, but we were also hopeful that soon we would celebrate Orel’s healing.

Purim’s Death Knell

As we approached Purim that week, we learned that our worship leader couple was now bedridden with covid and that another woman from our congregation was also very sick with covid. As a pastor of a small flock, the attack on the lives of our people felt raw and deeply personal. Purim, a holiday of joy, celebration and divine turn-arounds, was on Friday that week, the day of our services (which we still hold on zoom), and we were preparing to hear a message of faith and hope for that day. Two hours before our service was to begin, however, Monica called to tell me that Orel had passed away.

I felt broken and confused, and yet I had to find a way to lead the service, to share with everyone the devastating news and point them, somehow, in the direction of His comfort and healing—one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. I should have known, though, that it had nothing to do with me—Holy Spirit arranged the service in such an intimate and special way. It was healing and encouraging to everyone, me included.

God is Sovereign

This season of trials has taught me much. The greatest lesson I have learned is that the more I grow in my faith, the closer I draw to God and the more I understand about Him, at the same time I am discovering how little I know about Him and His ways as well. All I need to know in these challenging times is that God is sovereign, and He causes all things to work together for the good of those who love him (Rom. 8:28) – even suffering and the untimely death of a loved one.

Beauty for Ashes

We barely see one step in front of us, but God sees the end from the beginning and where each event will ultimately lead us. Along the way, God’s Word prepares us for these moments: when we pass through the valley of the shadow of death, He is with us (Ps. 23). We are actually blessed when we mourn because He will comfort us (Matt. 5:4). We consider ourselves happy to endure in sufferings (James 5:11). We discover Him intimately close to us when we are the most broken and vulnerable. In that place, He promises us beauty for ashes, oil of joy instead of mourning (Isa. 61:3), that if we sow in tears, we will reap in joy (Ps. 126:5). We are holding onto all these promises that He will bring about a rich harvest in each one of us of being closer to Him, more dependent upon Him, and filled with a joy that not even death can steal.