Passover is at the door in ten days and people ought to be cleaning their homes, but the weather in Israel is dust storm after dust storm and cleaning is futile during dust storms. Paul commands the church in Corinth a very interesting command: “Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (1 Cor. 5:6-8)

The preposition “therefore” is teaching us that there is a conclusion coming after an argument presented. So, when Paul says to the Corinthians to purge the old leaven after he tells them that “a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough” he must be talking to people who know something about cleaning the house from leaven for the Passover and people who know something about unleavened bread. If people know nothing about unleavened bread they will end up with a cookie cracker at the very best. The preposition “therefore” appears again in verse 8, with a command to celebrate the feast but not with the old leaven of malice and wickedness. The reason is given for why the Corinthians church ought to celebrate the feast and that is because the Messiah is our Passover and was sacrificed for us. It is clear from the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians that he connects the church with the exodus story. We see this in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, when Paul identifies the Exodus and the crossing of the Red Sea and the pillar of fire and cloud with baptism and with the Holy Spirit: “Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.” (1Cor. 10:5)

The idea that the Passover LAMB is the Messiah is so wonderfully revolutionary concept. If we just read the plain text of the exodus story it sounds like magic. It sounds like anyone who killed a one year old lamb and smeared his door posts with the blood of this animal would be saved from the plague. Paul reveals that behind the blood of an innocent lamb who’s blood is smeared on the door posts there is an eternal plan of an eternal Torah of an eternal God and the little lamb and the blood is only a physical parable of a much greater reality. Wonderfully simple and wonderfully planned by the God who knows what will be millenniums before it happens.

Our friends from Japan had an awesome study session for two and a half days in the Galilee. We gathered eight Israeli Jewish leaders of congregations and four from Japan and spent the time in study and prayer and planning and examining the future of the Jewish disciples of the Messiah in Israel. Please pray with us that we be used as tools in God's hand to bless Israel with Good News and with good congregations and ministries that will be a real effective blessing for this nation. It is not impossible to see the promises of God fulfilled and Romans 11:25-26 (based on many passages in Isaiah the prophet and in the Torah) become a reality in our own lives.

We have so many young families that have some serious problems of financial survival and both as a congregation and also as a ministry Netivyah helps with what it can help right now. However, I do believe that prayer can open divine storehouses that will become a demonstration of God's grace and God's promises of provision for His children can even duplicate the miracles of the Exodus of water for the thirsty and Mana for the hungry.

We have also did a reform in the food distribution and have near doubled the number of people who are going to receive food. We appreciate so much all of you who give finances to provide food for the hungry. Most of those who come to receive food are old Russian immigrants who live on a set pension from the government and almost every month they have to chose between buying medications or buying food. We are only helping them with the bear necessities so that they can survive in this land and feel the great blessing of returning to the homeland after 2000 years of exile, persecution, pogroms, holocausts, gas chambers, Crusades, and terrorism. The little that we do is nothing more than a small light in the dark tunnel of Jewish Christian relationships over the last two millenniums. Those of you who support humanitarian aid for the poor of Jerusalem are actually serving to remedy an historical wound and show that Christians and Jews can bless each other and show love for each other and help.

We all continue to pray for our sick and suffering: I know that Ruby in Oklahoma needs special prayers this week. She is with her pain and illness preparing to celebrate her mother's 100 birthday. Paulo in Brazil is doing better and we need to keep praying for the miracle of healing to sustain and to continue. In Jerusalem baby “N” is at home from the hospital but still very much traumatized by the ordeal of being more than a month in the hospital out of her two month old life here on Earth. We need to continue to pray for baby “N” and her family for a full and speedy recovery.

Marcia, my wife, has been in bed the whole week with a very bad infection of the upper respiratory system. She has been taking anti-bionics for roughly a month, but is still very much sick and having a very hard time breathing. Please lift her up before the Lord since all this infection is above and beyond the diabetic and rheumatoid arthritis and other problems that she has.

We have Sara and Zvi, and Ahuva, Leah, Miriam, Sarit, Liora, David, and David, all who need God’s merciful hand of healing to touch them and heal and strengthen.

Please pray for Israel as a state! We seem to be doing things that don't build good relationship with our friends in the United States and we seem to be going in a direction that will bring a very big and major war with our Arab neighbors and may be even escalate to a much bigger war. Some of our so called friends like Turkey are turning fast against us and we manage to offend our closest allays with out any rhyme or reason. I hope God has not given us a spirit of confusion and wrong. I pray for God to give Israel and our leadership a Spirit of Peace, Joy, and Wisdom, to be able to do His will and walk on His path that leads to eternal life.

God bless all of you and have a wonderfully joyful Passover and celebrate the Exodus from Slavery to Freedom, from Darkness to light, from death to life eternal.

Joseph Shulam