During this season the Jewish Holidays come in clusters. First there is Rosh HaShana (The Jewish New Year) and ten days later comes Yom Kippur (The day of Atonement) and four days later come the Feast of Sukkoth (The Feast of Tabernacles). The terrorist suicide bombers also come in clusters. Last night there was another suicide bombing not far from the Hebrew University Campus on Mt. Scopus, and not far from where I was supposed to be right at the same time! I was late to an appointment at the Hyatt Hotel on Mt. Scopus and a young woman from the Aschar Refugee Camp near ancient Schem (Nablus of today) exploded herself and killed two Israeli policemen and wounded several civilians. Some students from the Hebrew University who attend our congregation live so very close to this bus station and often take the same bus. They heard the explosion and immediately called their families to let them know that everything is fine with them. One father immediately called me from Colorado to check on his daughter and talk about the situation. What a world we live in - instant communication from the mountains of Colorado to the City of the Great King, the Present City of Jerusalem that is called Hagar (Galatians 4). The Fatach - Yasser Arafat's organization took responsibility for this bombing. We know another woman from the same place, spelled "Sychar" in John 4:4. This Samaritan Woman also had some hard feelings toward Jerusalem and toward Jews, but she was giving water to Yeshua and willing to hear His message.

In this Yom Kippur, day of Atonement our congregation will stay in a hotel down town Jerusalem to be close enough to walk to the congregation. We will meet on Friday evening and on Saturday morning and Saturday afternoon. Three long meetings in 24 hours and almost every one in the congregation will not eat or drink anything, not even water, for these 24 hours. We dedicate this time to prayer and gratitude toward our God and Messiah for the Atonement that He provided us on the Cross and intercede for the nation of Israel and their Salvation. It is a very powerful event in the calendar of our congregation, and I believe that we shall have guests from all around Israel who will come and stay in the same hotel with us and join us. As I have written before the day of Yom Kippur is so very special in the Land of Israel because everything is closed, paralyzed, no driving at all, no shopping at all, no restaurants at all, nothing but prayers and study of God's Word takes place in the whole country. I realize that people who have never seen such a thing can't really imagine this and can't imagine that they can't just get in their car and drive. It is not the law of the country that stops people from driving; it is the moral obligation and identification with the nation that powers the community to take this quite behavior.

Join us and all of Israel in prayer for the salvation of Israel and the forgiveness of our sins by the Messiah. The task of preaching the Good News of the Messiah in Israel is so enormous and we feel so small and incompetent to face this task. WE need your prayers to be strong and vigilant and have the energy to keep up with this task. We need your prayers to be able and raise a new generation of leaders that will take the task and run with it forward until the Messiah returns.

Preaching the Good News in Israel these days requires a true multitasking. We have the humanitarian work of the Soup-Kitchen, and the evangelistic work of Kol-HaYeshua radio broadcasts that is done by the gracious auspices of Trans World Radio who pays for this broadcasting. We have the research work that Netivyah does and publishes both in books like the commentaries and also through the "Teaching from Zion" and through the Hebrew books that we publish. There are so many other things that are needed to be able to spread the Good News effectively in this land. We often help Jewish and Arab brothers and sisters with benevolence and finances because some just don't have any recourse because of their faith in Yeshua. Netivyah needs your prayer and support because it gives everything it has for the wellbeing and welfare for the followers of Yeshua in this land that is both in the spirit and also in the material aspects of their needs.

I ask you to pray for this week-end when we are going to be gathered for so many hours in our building in prayer and study of God's Word. We will be crowded and hungry and tired and above all ready to hear from God's Word.

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God be with you all and bless you to have the strength to keep praying. Joseph Shulam

Jerusalem in Jom Kippur 2004