The year 2011 began with the release of Jonathan’s second book, A Rabbi Looks at Jesus of Nazareth. In March, Jewish Voice Ministries announced the birth of Hannah Bernis, Jonathan and Elisangela’s second daughter.

As Jonathan’s family was growing, so was the ministry and staff of Jewish Voice. The media department remained at the studio facility, but other departments moved into a new building with space for a chapel, prayer room, a warehouse for product inventory, and ample room for the Global Outreach team’s Medical Clinic preparations.

In the news, Venezuela, Argentina, and Brazil announced they would recognize a Palestinian state with a Jerusalem capital. Jonathan told Jewish Voice Today readers: Standing with Israel has never been popular, and I believe it’s going to become even more divisive issue in the months ahead.

Jewish Voice will always stand with Israel – the Apple of God’s eye – and will inspire and equip you with what you need to stand firm as well. Jewish Voice held a three-night festival in Rosario, Argentina, in August 2011, and 9,500 people attended and enjoyed the lively music and dancing. The festival resulted in 450 people coming to new faith in Yeshua (Jesus) along with 3,000 who filled out cards to receive more information; 300 of those acknowledged being Jewish.

By the beginning of 2012, the world had already been chattering for some time about the ancient Mayan calendar that went no further than 2012. As the world panicked wondering if this was a prophecy of the world’s end, Jonathan Bernis encouraged Believers saying, “Though the world around us may be reeling with uncertainty, we have ‘put our hope in the living God’ (1 Timothy 4:10).” That same year, the organization introduced its Jewish Voice Today readers to perhaps some of the most difficult-to-reach Jewish people, those living right here in the United States. In his opening letter of the March/April issue, Jonathan explained: Generally speaking, American Jews are not as open to the Gospel as Jewish communities in Ethiopia or India.

The Western Jew may be put off by Christian terminology, which harkens back to a 2,000-year legacy of persecution in the name of Christ and Christianity. The Western Jew may not see his need for a savior or [may] have an entirely different expectation of Messiah, if any at all. Yet, the biblical call remains the same: “To the Jew first” (Romans 1:16). We must be willing to answer the call and take the Good News not only to the Jews scattered around the world, but to those here in America as well. Jewish Voice Ministries worked to prepare for the launch of a television special that was three years in the making.

The following year, the ministry would share the miraculous story of Israel and reach out to American Jewish people with the message of the Messiah. In September, 22,700 people attended the Mexico City Hear O’ Israel Festival of Jewish Music & Dance held in the Auditorio Nacional. A big part of each festival is the street ministry that takes place the week before the events.

As team members distributed invitations on the streets of Mexico City, they also led 302 people to faith in Yeshua. In all, 773 people accepted the Messiah, and Outreach partners planted Gospel seeds among tens of thousands. Also in 2012, Jewish Voice conducted its first Medical Outreach to a newly encountered group of Jewish people with clear ties to the ancient Levites – the Lemba of Zimbabwe. That first Clinic would launch an explosion of new Messianic Believers, leaders and congregations in Zimbabwe.

Find out more about the Lemba in next month’s edition of our JVMI 50th Anniversary blog series.

Join us on the Jewish Voice Blog each month in 2017 as we unfold the Jewish Voice story and show how two ministries with the same heart merged and became Jewish Voice Ministries International as you know it today.

Check out Flashback Fridays on our Facebook page, where you’ll see glimpses of our 50-year journey.

Discover the entire inspiring JVMI story with our beautiful, full-color coffee table book, Jewish Voice: A Look at 50 Years.

Through more than 200 photographs, it chronicles 50 years of ministry, including biographies, stories and reflections from television guests, partners and staff.

Previous JVMI 50th Anniversary blog posts:

Meet Louis and Chira Kaplan

The Early Years - Jewish Voice Broadcasts

Jonathan Bernis

Hear O’ Israel Ministries

Meeting, Partnering, and Merging

Jewish Voice Ministries International

Called to Ethiopia

JVMI: 2008–2010

The Feast of Sukkot is the only biblical festival in which God commands Israel to rejoice (Leviticus 23:40).

Sukkot is a feast of many names. Sukkot (soo-KOTE) is the Hebrew word for “booths,” also referred to as “tabernacles.” Therefore, the festival is also called The Feast of Booths and the Feast of Tabernacles. Sukkot is also sometimes called the Feast of Ingathering because it is celebrated following the last harvest before winter.

God’s instructions for observing Sukkot are found in the Torah in Leviticus 23, Numbers 29 and Deuteronomy 16.

The eight-day Feast of Sukkot is highlighted by God’s command to build booths, temporary structures, and dwell in them for seven days. The Feast begins and ends with a Sabbath. The first day includes a Sabbath rest as well as a sacred assembly where a lulav (LOO-lahv), a bundle of four specific types of vegetation, is waved before the Lord. The lulav celebration developed from Leviticus 23:40 where God instructed Israel to take these branches “and rejoice before the Lord.”

Today, Messianic Jews and other Jewish people around the world celebrate the Feast of Sukkot in the same way. Each family builds a sukkah (SOUH-kah) in the backyard, or on a patio or balcony if they live in an apartment or condominium. Meals are eaten in the sukkah, and friends are often invited to visit. While not all choose to sleep in the sukkah, many do.

Here are three reasons we can rejoice during Sukkot.

God’s Provision

The booths of Sukkot remind us of God’s provision for our ancestors who lived in tents in the wilderness for 40 years. God protected them, provided for their needs and supplied food each day. He made water spring from rocks, and He supernaturally prevented their clothes and sandals from wearing out through all that time. Living in a sukkah (SUH-kah) for seven days each year offers a vivid reminder of how God continues to care for us today.

God’s Promise

As Jewish people look up at the evening sky through the leafy roof of their sukkot, they remember God’s promise to make Abraham’s descendants as numerous as the stars of the heavens. God is faithful. He keeps His covenants. Sukkot celebrates His steadfast love and commitment to His people.

God’s Presence

God was with Israel when they wandered in the wilderness. First, He was present with them in the pillars of cloud by day and fire by night. His presence dwelled in the Tabernacle. Moses prayed, “If Your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here” (Exodus 33:15 NIV). Reflecting on Israel’s years in the Sinai desert reminds us of how important God’s presence was and is today.

When Messianic Jews and other Believers placed their faith in Yeshua the Messiah, God sent His Spirit to dwell within us (1 Corinthians 3:16). Psalm 16:11 says, “…abundance of joys are in Your presence, eternal pleasures at Your right hand.” At Sukkot, we rejoice in God’s presence.

Each of the biblical Feasts of the Lord foreshadow God’s redemptive plan for mankind. Sukkot looks ahead to Yeshua’s Second Coming when He will dwell with Believers in His eternal Kingdom.

Applying Sukkot to Your Life

• How has God provided for you recently?

• How has God blessed you through His biblical promises?

• How have you recently enjoyed God’s presence?

God’s Blessings at Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the Jewish year.
It is the annual Day of Atonement on which
God covered and removed the sin of Israel.
Fasting, Sabbath rest, repentance, and prayer are
important parts of Yom Kippur in Jewish life.

On this holiest day of the Jewish year,
may you fully know the rest
given to us by Messiah Yeshua (Jesus)
when He became our complete atonement.

May the love of Yeshua surround you on this holy day.

“...the righteous Messiah Yeshua – He is the atonement for our sins...”
― 1 John 2:1-2

Another terrorist attack has rocked Israel – and those of us who love the Jewish people. This time, a Palestinian terrorist turned his rage toward a small, peaceful community northwest of Jerusalem.

An Israeli police officer and two civilian security guards were killed and a third wounded on Tuesday in the attack on the settlement of Har Adar, The Times of Israel reported.

The assailant approached the entrance to Har Adar just after 7 a.m., as part of a group of Palestinians who work in the community, according to The Times. He opened fire on security personnel without provocation and was then shot and killed at the scene.

The terrorist, a 37-year-old laborer and father of four, did not have a known history of involvement in terrorism, reported the Shin Bet domestic security service. Police said he did have a legal work permit, making him one of only a few Palestinians with such a document to commit a terror attack in recent years.

The killer’s wife had recently left him, fleeing to Jordan and leaving him with their four young children several weeks ago, according to the Shin Bet. The security service additionally reported that the man “had significant personal and family problems,” including domestic violence.

Har Adar is known as a quiet village, located just beyond the so-called Green Line, which delineates regions of Jordan, Egypt and Syria that Israel captured during the Six-Day War in 1967. The Palestinian Authority claims that much of the territory (including the entire West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem) should be part of an independent Palestinian state.

The area has rarely seen tension or violence. And, according to HonestReporting.com, a website that identifies its mission as working to “defend Israel from media bias,” the attack took place at the entrance to the village, not at a West Bank border crossing or checkpoint, as some major media outlets have reported. The entrance allows Palestinians with valid permits “to work in an Israeli community in an area characterized by peaceful relations.”

Not a typical terrorist profile

Observers reported that the assailant didn’t fit the typical profile of a Palestinian terrorist, which is often a young, unmarried man. The attacker was also known to nearby residents.

The Hamas terrorist group applauded the attack, calling it “a new chapter in the Jerusalem Intifada” and saying that the fighting will continue “until the complete freedom of the people and the land” is accomplished.

The Israeli government blames Palestinian political and Islamic religious leaders for inciting the violence. Additionally, they say, social media sites that glorify violence and encourage attacks are also at fault.

Since September 2015, approximately 51 Israelis, two visiting Americans, an Eritrean national, a Palestinian man and a British student have been killed in attacks by Palestinians, according to The Times.

Dark thoughts

If we agree that this attack is somewhat unusual, then we can’t avoid the darker thought that those who hate Jews might have crossed a line this week, directing their rage at a quiet and peaceful village where Jews and Palestinians were known to coexist.

I don’t like that thought.

But I know that God is in control of, not only my life, but the world I live in. Yes, the world is damaged by sin and evil. But His perfect plan of peace and human redemption will prevail. Our enemy Satan has the momentum in the Middle East right now. But that won’t always be the case. And when Yeshua (Jesus) returns in power and glory, Satan will be conquered and all will be set right – for Israel and the entire planet.

We have to hold on to that truth. Our hope must spring from our unshakable belief in the lordship of Yeshua and no one else.

As you pray about these tragic developments – and I hope you pray regularly for the Jewish people – please also consider a special gift for Jewish Voice. As you give, you’ll stand with Israel, which needs trustworthy friends like you, genuine security and the chance to hear the Good News of the Gospel.

Shana Tova!

It means “good New Year for you.” And even though Rosh Hashanah, the head of the Jewish New Year 5778, was last week, we continue to pray for a good New Year for you. In fact, let’s join together during this season of the Fall Feasts to pray for Jewish people around the world, that they will not only have a good year, but also be blessed in the Messiah.

Yom Kippur, observed sundown on September 29 through sundown September 30 this year, is the Day of Atonement from Leviticus 16. Jewish people view the Ten Days of Awe leading up to Yom Kippur as a critical window of time to ensure one’s name is written in the Book of Life through repentance, seeking forgiveness and good deeds. As believers in Yeshua, we know that it is through Him alone that we are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, whether Jew or Gentile.

During this time of year, let’s pray for:

• A fresh revelation of the sufficiency of the sacrifice of Yeshua the Messiah for ourselves as Believers and for all who will receive Him
• The Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) to convict of sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16:8)
• God’s kindness in restraining judgment to lead people to repentance (Romans 2:4)
• Jewish people to accept Yeshua as Messiah and Savior. As Acts 4:12 tells us, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (TLV)

Sukkot, or the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles), is a festive time of fellowship which comes after Yom Kippur. It is a time of remembering the Lord’s faithfulness to the Children of Israel in the wilderness. As Jewish people look up to the starry night skies through the branches covering the sukkah (booth) – which many build in their backyards or over balconies and porches – they are also reminded of God’s promises to make Abraham a great nation. This weeklong holiday looks forward to when the Lord will truly dwell, or tabernacle, among His people – the day when Yeshua returns to Earth.

It’s a great time to pray for:

• Greater unity between Messianic Jewish and Gentile Believers as a witness to the Jewish people of Yeshua as the Messiah
• The nations to be open to the Good News of Yeshua, for the strengthening of Believers there, and for the salvation of those who don’t know Him
• Jewish people worldwide to be drawn to return to live in the land of Israel. Sukkot is a picture of pilgrimage to Jerusalem

We pray: Lord, in our day, we ask that You will fulfill the prophetic symbolism of the Fall Feasts when we will be gathered together around the Lamb of God, Yeshua. Thank You that You are drawing people from every tongue, tribe and nation to intercede for all Israel to recognize Yeshua as their long-awaited Messiah. May this year draw us closer to the time when the people of Israel say, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Matthew 23:39). In Yeshua’s name, amen.

Jewish tradition teaches that every Rosh Hashanah (rosh ha-SHAH-nah), the Lord pronounces judgment for the coming year for each person’s life. Ten days later, on Yom Kippur (yom kih-POUR), tradition holds that He seals the judgment.

The days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, known as the Days of Awe, are a time of reflection in which Jewish people focus on repentance, giving to charity and pursuing reconciliation with God and man. They do so in hope of securing a favorable judgment from the Lord for the year to come and being inscribed in the Book of Life.

Yom Kippur literally means “Day of Atonement.” It is the holiest day of the Jewish year, accompanied by fasting, extensive prayer and introspection. Services in the synagogue focus on the recitation and proclamation of the numerous passages in the Hebrew Scriptures that declare the Lord will forgive the sins of the people of Israel. These Scriptural declarations are believed to serve as substitution for the sacrifices that can longer be made in the absence of the Temple in Jerusalem.

Messianic Jews around the world often join with the broader Jewish community in the observances of Yom Kippur. As we do, we reflect on the gifts of Yeshua that add to our commemoration of this most holy day on the biblical calendar.

The Gifts of Confession, Forgiveness and Salvation

One of the main prayers in the synagogue on Yom Kippur is the confession of an extensive and specific list of 44 sins codified in the prayer referred to as the Al Chet (meaning, “for the sin”). This prayer is based on the confession of “all the iniquities of the children of Israel” that the High Priest was instructed to make over the scapegoat (Leviticus 16:21-22).

This specific list is believed to have been handed down through the centuries from Moses and Aaron and recorded by the sages and rabbis of Israel. Often times, the person reciting the prayer strikes his chest with the naming of each specific sin. This is a sign of grief over having committed that sin. This confession, along with teshuva (teh-SHOO-vah), which means repentance, is believed to grant forgiveness for the penitent of heart.

As Messianic Jews, those who declare Yeshua as the promised Messiah of Israel, we join this prayer with great confidence that our confession of sin leads to forgiveness, and our confession of Him as Messiah also assures us of salvation!

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

“For if you confess with your mouth that Yeshua is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

We often add to our Yom Kippur petitions the plea that our people would share in the assurance of the forgiveness of sin and the salvation that can only be found in Yeshua.

The Gift of Redemption from Sin

The word “atone” means to “cover.” When we seek atonement for sin before the Lord, we are asking that He would cover our sins. The Torah-prescribed practices of Yom Kippur are the means by which the Lord said He would cover the sins of the children of Israel year after year. The writer of Hebrews affirms that the blood of goats and bulls has power to cleanse us.

“For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh” (Hebrews 9:13 ESV).

While affirming that power, Hebrews also identifies the limits to the power of the blood of animal sacrifices, saying that it cannot take sin away.

“…for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4).

“Indeed, every [priest] stands day by day serving and offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins” (Hebrews 10:11).

Speaking of Yeshua’s sacrifice, the writer of Hebrews states:

“He entered into the Holies once for all—not by the blood of goats and calves but by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:12).

“…He is the mediator of a new covenant, in order that those called may receive the promised eternal inheritance – since a death has taken place that redeems them from violations under the first covenant” (Hebrews 9:15).

As Messianic Jews join other Jewish people around the world to commemorate Yom Kippur, we call on the Lord to make atonement for our sin, and, while we ask Him to cover it, we also have great confidence in Yeshua’s sacrifice to have redeemed us from sin, that is, to take it away completely. How much more there is for us in Messiah’s blood in the Heavenly Holy of Holies! Not just a covering of our sin, but redemption from it historically, today and eternally. Oh, that our people, Israel, would join us in the redemption from sin found in Yeshua!

The Gift of Being Sealed in the Lamb’s Book of Life

The practices of Yom Kippur are observed with the goal of having one’s name written in the Book of Life. Moses, David, Daniel and Malachi all refer to books where people’s names are written. Moses and the Lord indicate that those whose sins are forgiven are written there (Exodus 32:32-33). David refers to it as the “Book of the Living” where the righteous are written (Psalm 69:28). Daniel states that those from the people of Israel who are written in this book will be delivered at the time of the end (Daniel 12:1). Malachi refers to those remembered for fearing the Lord and meditating on His Name being written there (Malachi 3:16).

From these biblical expectations – forgiveness of sins, indication of righteousness, deliverance and remembrance – Jewish people seek the Lord through prayer and Scripture recitation at Yom Kippur, asking Him to write them in the Book of Life.

John the Beloved refers to the Book of Life five times in his Revelation of Yeshua the Messiah, which was canonized as the Book of Revelation at the end of the New Covenant Scriptures (Revelation 13, 17, 20, 21). John adds something that is not explicit in the references from the Hebrew Scriptures: that the Book of Life belongs to the Lamb.

“…written from the foundation of the world in the Book of Life of the Lamb who was slain” (Revelation 13:8).

“But there shall by no means enter [New Jerusalem] anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life” (Revelation 21:27, NKJV).

Who is this Lamb? He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David (Revelation 5:5). He is the one redeemed us to God by His blood (Revelation 5:9); he is the One to whom blessing, honor, glory and power are due, the One who sits on the Throne (Revelation 5:13).

Yeshua owns the Book of Life. And He is the One who secures those written there.

Oh Yeshua, make Yourself known to our people Israel! May this year be the year that they call on You and are inscribed in the Lamb’s Book of Life!

These Gifts are Available to All

In recounting the gifts of Yeshua in the practices of Yom Kippur for Messianic Jewish people, it is important to know that these gifts are freely available to all who will call upon Him.

“For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever trusts in Him will not be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all – richly generous to all who call on Him. For ‘Everyone who calls upon the name of Adonai shall be saved’” (Romans 10:11-13).

The traditions of Yom Kippur, derived from the Scriptures, point us to the redemption in the blood of Yeshua shed once for all. Anyone who follows Him, Jew or Gentile, can walk in the gifts He has given us. Those gifts are commemorated by the holy day of Yom Kippur.

For Reflection:

• Take some time to reflect on these Yom Kippur gifts given by Yeshua, and thank Him for them.

• How do they affect your daily interaction with God?

• What steps can you take to more fully rest in these gifts?

“The effective prayer of a righteous person is very powerful” (James 5:16 TLV)

hank you so much for your prayers for our recent Mberengwa Outreach in Zimbabwe. God used your prayer to undergird the ministry taking place during the Outreach in Mberengwa, and we saw great fruit.

With your prayers, we were able to treat thousands of patients during the week. Hundreds visited the prayer room and many were transformed with new life in Messiah when they came to faith in Yeshua (Jesus). 

As a further item of praise, on Wednesday, September 13, Jewish Voice welcomed our 400,000th Medical Outreach recipient since we began this program in Ethiopia in 1999. 

We ask for your continued prayer support as we work toward reaching more people around the globe with the Good News in 2018.