Today was Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish New Year. We had our special service in the congregation with the special Rosh HaShanah prayer and of course the blowing of the Shofar (Ram's Horn) which is the main part of the Biblical feast of Trumpets. Our congregation was full and there were people from several different congregations attending our services today and guests from a few different countries. Rosh HaShanah is actually a Biblical but it is not the Biblical New Year. It is the feast of trumpets that comes on the first day of the seventh month – that is today. The children of Israel were to blow the trumpets on this day and make this day a Sabbath day – a day of no work. It is only in the time after the Babylonian Exile that the first day of the seventh biblical month was deemed to be the New Year. In Jewish Tradition there are three main issues that are connected to this holiday: Kingship, Memories, and Trumpets. The weather in the Middle East actually changes at this time and the rainy season starts soon after Rosh HaShanah especially by the time of the Feast of Tabernacles often the first rain falls. Now the issue of Kingship is well connected to the feast of trumpets. The blowing of the Shofar (trumpet) is to announce that we crown God as King over us. The part of memories is connected to what is read publicly from the Torah on this feast of trumpets – it is the story of Isaac's birth and the sacrifice of Isaac as it is told in Genesis 21 and 22. The reason this story is important is mainly because it shows two things, first that faith has no limits and God can ask His faithful servants to do the most outrageous and unreasonable things just like He did Abraham. Second thing that this story shows is that you ought to never give up on God and that in the last moment He always comes through and provides that Ram for the Sacrifice and save His faithful servants. I personally learn from this story that no matter how hard it is and how difficult the challenges are in the end God will see me through even if it is in the midnight hour. The story of Isaac's sacrifice is the classic New Beginning / New Birth story – from being tied on the altar and ready to die and be sacrificed Isaac become the heir of the divine history of salvation for all mankind. The Shofar / trumpet as actually a three part function, it is an announcement of war against idolatry, it is also a call for unity and gathering the troops, and it is the order to go forward. All three of these parts of Rosh HaShanah come together in the worship and celebration on this day. It is actually the opening of the religious holidays season in the Middle East, this evening also Ramadan the Muslim holiday end, and our Arab Muslim friends can actually start eating in the day time beginning with tomorrow. Rosh HaShanah is on the first of the Seventh month and on the tenth of the Seventh month is the day of Atonement / Yom Kippur and on the 14th of the same month comes the Feast of Tabernacles that lasts eight days. So most of the seventh month is actually one holiday after another. Christians normally don't connect to the Biblical holidays, but there is no doubt that Yeshua and the Apostles celebrated the Biblical holiday and not those who are traditionally called “Christian Holidays.” Identity is something that a person is born with, but he is also responsible to acquire some of it. We all acquire identities when we give our lives to God and are born again into a new life – dedicated to different values and guided by a different set of rules and having an allegiance to a different Kingdom, God's Kingdom. Pray for the Jewish people all around the world that during this holiday season the Lord will bring a clear understanding of who Yeshua is and what is His role in the salvation of all the world.

Terry Jones, a Baptist Minister from Florida wants to burn the Quran, the Holy Book of Islam! Mr. Terry Jones has a small Baptist church near Gainsville, Florida. How else could Mr. Jones get world wide publicity for free? It is the hight of selfishness and manipulative use of religious freedom to ignore the danger and hate that such a hateful act can bring upon Christians all around the world. There are Christians in Muslim countries who are already suffering persecution in the hands of Muslims. There are already 21st century martyrs who have given their lives in order to minister and bless suffering people in countries like Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Darfur, Nigeria, and others. The muslims don't mind spreading hate and they don't mind burning books and even churches. What shall Christians do about it? Do Christians have the divine mandate and right to spread the same hate and the same jihadist / fascist radicalism as do the Muslims? Don't we as disciples of Yeshua the Messiah have a weapons of war than burning books? As a Jewish Disciple of Yeshua I can tell you that burning books, any books is not an option and it does not accomplish anything good for the Kingdom of God.

On the night of May 10, 1933, an event unseen in Europe since the Middle Ages occurred as German students from universities once regarded as among the finest in the world, gathered in Berlin to burn books with "unGerman" ideas.

The students, along with brownshirted storm troopers, tossed heaps of books into a bonfire while giving the Hitler arm-salute and singing Nazi anthems. Among the 20,000 volumes hurled into the flames were the writings of Henri Barbusse, Franz Boas, John Dos Passos, Albert Einstein, Lion Feuchtwanger, Friedrich Förster, Sigmund Freud, John Galsworthy, André Gide, Ernst Glaeser, Maxim Gorki, Werner Hegemann, Ernest Hemingway, Erich Kästner, Helen Keller, Alfred Kerr, Jack London, Emil Ludwig, Heinrich Mann, Thomas Mann, Karl Marx, Hugo Preuss, Marcel Proust, Erich Maria Remarque, Walther Rathenau, Margaret Sanger, Arthur Schnitzler, Upton Sinclair, Kurt Tucholsky, Jakob Wassermann, H.G. Wells, Theodor Wolff, Emilé Zola, Arnold Zweig, and Stefan Zweig. Of course there were Hebrew Bibles, and Scrolls of the Torah, and Talmud, Mishnah, Midrash books, and Biblical commentaries.

“That was mere foreplay. Where they have burned books, they will end in burning human beings.” (German: “Das war Vorspiel nur. Dort, wo man Bücher verbrennt, verbrennt man am Ende auch Menschen.”) - Heinrich Heine, A Jew who became a Christian said this in (1821). Joseph Goebbels the German Propaganda Minister in Adolf Hitler's Nazi Government made sure that the words of Heirich Heine became true in 1933 in Berlin.

The world can't afford to allow more burning of books. Books are never either good enough or bad enough to be burned. I see books like grave stones of dead people. All books except the Bible are grave stones, they are the tombs of live ideas that have been buried under by ink and paper.

I ask you to join me in prayer that this Terry Jones from the Baptist church in Florida will have the good sense not to show hate and not to bring more hate into the world, but to show the Love of God by reaching out to every Muslim in his community and giving them a wonderful leather bound copy of the Bible in Arabic and a letter of apology for his foolish idea to burn the Quran.

Remember the teaching of Yeshua, by the measure you measure to others you yourself will be measured.

This season of the year in Israel is a season that all the non-profit organizations mobilize to bless the poor and provide food so that all can celebrate the holidays and have sufficient food to feed their families during the feasts. Netivyah too gave out a specially big package of food to the needy of Jerusalem. We distributed just before Rosh Hashanah several tons of food. Most of the people who come to us for food are older Russian immigrants who arrived in Israel as pensioners on a very small pension that is just enough to keep body and soul together if even that. What we are doing is actually freeing some of these older generation Russian immigrants and single mothers from the daily worry of how they will feed themselves and buy medications at the same time. You are doing what Paul did in the first century – you are helping the poor of Jerusalem enjoy the Lord's blessings and the charity (love) of God that is flowing through your gifts for those whom you have never met and all this in God's name! You have the credit in heaven and these people will enjoy their food and thank God for the food and for your love. Please continue to pray for this work of pure humanitarian care and love for the poor people of Jerusalem.

Please pray for all the kids in our congregation in Jerusalem. We have a whole lot of kids in our congregation that have just started school. The challenges of children these days in school are not small and this is especially true for children who come from homes of believers in God and in Yeshua. The values of that are being taught in schools these days are so far distance from the values that our children learn at home and in the congregation. I feel that children of believers all around the world need our prayers and they need as we say in Aramaic “Siata de Shmayah” - “help from heaven.”

We are working on getting the conference in Portugal setup and there are two main needs right now. The first we need here too “Siata de Shmayah”. We need help and intervention from Heaven so that this conference will be what God wants it to be – a boost and help to the reclamation and restoration of those lost Jews back to the fold of Israel and the Kingdom of God. Second, we need those who want to attend to go ahead as soon as possible and register through our web page: http://www.anussimconference.com/

We keep praying for our sick and elderly brothers and sisters in Jerusalem, in Brazil, Finland, and United States. Last week I forgot to include our dear sister Ruby in Oklahoma. Ruby has been suffering for many years very strong pain in her back. We pray that God will first of all releave the pain and second to guide the doctors to do the right things for Ruby's situation. Third we pray that the body of the Messiah in Oklahoma City be able to function better and give Ruby the support that we are commanded as Disciples of Yeshua to give to those who need to see the Love of God in their daily needs.

We pray for Dr. Tim Tucker in Finland who is suffering from A.L.S. and is in need of a daily miracle so that he can return to a more functional life. I did hear from Miika Tim's son that there is a little improvement in Tim's condition. Please keep praying for Tim. In the same city of Kuopio in Finland we have another very dear sister who is suffering from very bad health – Tellervo. Tellervo is one of the early pioneers in Finland for the Restoration Movement both for the church and for support and prayer for Israel. In Brazil we have a young man called Paulo who is doing so much better with his health but still needs our prayers for healing. Please don't forget him. We also pray for our dear sister Liz in Georgia, and for Marcelo in Brazil who has just gone through a knee surgery.

In Jerusalem we continue to lift, Ahuva, Leah, Ilana, Sarit, Zvi and Sara, and Naama. We also thank God for the improvement in Marcia's knee and continue to pray for her full healing. We also lift up Danah and Noaam in California and pray for the Lord's hand to be healing and visible in their lives.

We wish all of you and all our friends in supporters in Holland, Finland, Germany, England, Korea, Japan, Brazil, the United States, Australia, China, and Hong Kong, and Singapore, and of course Israel a very blessed Rosh HaShanah and a wonderful year in every way and every aspect of their lives and ministry.

Remember – God is restoring His Church and all we have to do is follow the blue-print – His Word. Follow by doing more and speaking less!

Love to all of you from the Shulam household and all the Netivyah Staff! Joseph Shulam