InTouch

IN TOUCH No.166 January – March 2011

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Israel...A Country To Live For: Pages 8–9

hw"q.Ti tiqvah

Hebrew WordStudy: 0

Standing With Israel: Pages 4–5

“Be My Witnesses”: Page 6

“...and all peoples on the earth will be blessed through you.”

Genesis 12:3

Having come into the New Year of 2011, I find myself very keen to promote the move from simply processing to actively progressing our objectives at CFI-UK.

Particularly in these times of financial constraint and the increasingly limited time available for our activities, it is essential that we are good stewards of all we are given, making sure this is used to good effect. I am also very conscious that we need to better reach those in the Christian community who may consider joining us as a Christian friend of Israel, if the subject of Israel and God’s purposes for the Jewish people were well-enough explained to them.

As far as CFI-UK is concerned, this year has started at a pace with my leading a clergy tour to Israel in the second week of January with many going for the first time. The aim was to provide a first-hand engagement with the Land and its people, showing the dynamics of the existing conflict from a wider perspective, but also the significance of the Land and its people as the backdrop for the working out of God’s plan for the redemption of humankind. Upon my return I will be working at finalising the details of our young adults (20’s to 40’s) active tour in the summer. Such tours are one way we are seeking to progress our objective.

We have also re-produced our first booklet in the re-launched ‘Israel in Context’ booklet series, which is being applied to most of our CFI-UK published booklets. The aim is to use these to take the message about Israel and make it more accessible to those not so familiar. In fact the theme of presenting ‘Israel in Context’ is really key in the confusing times in which we live. The five main subject categories under the series title ‘Israel in Context’ are: the Bible, Current Affairs, History, Prayer, and the Church’s Jewish Roots. This is another significant way we are aiming to progress our objective.

We continue to hold a very wide range of books and teaching CDs and DVDs available through our website, but in line with progressing our objective we are keen to promote those items that are most relevant to the message that we wish to share. We are gradually going through these subject by subject with the aim of running various promotions through the year as applicable. We want to get the message out from our resources stock, off the shelves and into the hands of those that can make good use of it and in so doing progress our objective.

In our advocacy work we have continued with our joint CFI-UK and Zionist Federation lobby day. This has over the years enabled us to stand alongside the Jewish community in support and friendship by taking on prevailing issues important to them. We are working together on various events through the year and this is yet another way in which we can progress our objectives.

The above are just a few of the ways we are seeking to focus our efforts. Clearly the more resources we have, the more can do, but with whatever we have, we desire to use it to best effect to reach today’s generation and to be good Christian Friends of Israel.

Jacob VinceDirector ~ CFI-UK

Processing to Progressing

In Touchis the magazine of

Christian Friends of Israel UK

CFI-UK seeks to bless Israel by means of practical and

moral support, and to serve the Church in teaching about

God’s purposes for Israeland the Hebraic roots

of our faith.CFI also produces a monthly

News Report, a monthly Prayer Letter and a Middle

East Update CD/MP3.Please send for full details

of the practical projects and also of the many teaching

resources available.As an educational charity,

we carry a variety ofresources relevant to our

purpose. We do notnecessarily endorse every

view expressed by ourguest writers or authors

of these resources.

Published by:CFI Communications

PO Box 2687EastbourneBN22 7LZ

Tel: 01323 410810Lo-call 0845 230 3067

Fax: 01323 410211Email: [email protected]

Websites: www.cfi.org.ukwww.isrelate.com

www.keshercourse.org.uk

Registered CharityNo. 1101899

Front Cover Main ImageCourtesy of CFI Jerusalem

Smaller images© DesignPics.com &

Courtesy of CFI Jerusalem

2 Y January - March 2011 Y Christian Friends of Israel In Touch 166

An old song many years ago went like this: “Getting to know you, getting to know all about you, Getting to like you, Getting to hope

you like me.” It has also been said, “It is a very ancient saying, but a true and honest thought, that if you become a teacher, by your pupils you will be taught.” (From the musical, The King and I, by Rodgers and Hammerstein)

First I wish to say I am a teacher. My specialty is Biblical Hebrew – a lifetime of work. One day I was reading where the Tanach says 10 Gentiles will take the sleeve of a Jew and say “We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you” (Zechariah 8:23). In the early 1980’s I knew nothing about many true Believers who were doing voluntary work (for God) in Israel.

One day I walked down a certain street in Jerusalem and a sign on a building caught my attention: CHRISTIAN FRIENDS OF ISRAEL. I wondered, “Christians? Friends of Israel? I didn’t know we had any!” I was living in the past history of Christianity toward my people. I decided to be courageous and knock on the door. It was a very small place with a few people in the main room and I introduced myself. After getting to know Ray and Sharon Sanders, I ended up working together with them for more than 18 years. I can say that THIS was the greatest accomplishment of my life! CFI and I were able to do many things “together” for the Jewish people.

ExpEriEncing rEal christiansBesides being a Rabbi, I was an Optician and with CFI’s help we were able to make 14,000 pairs of glasses for the poor and needy in Israel, including Russian immigrants, Holocaust survivors and Ethiopian Jews. The years between 1988 and 1998 were very exciting and fruitful years of working side-by-side, hand-in-hand for Israel. I saw for the first time in my life, REAL CHRISTIANS, who were willing to put their lives on the line daily to bring a blessing to my people. At present CFI is still my daily “vitamin” which I take every morning early when I arrive. I have decided that the knowledge I have gained through a lifetime of studying God’s Word, the Torah and Biblical Hebrew does not belong to me alone, but I must share it with my Christian friends. The decision was made after looking into many translations of Bibles and discovering that each one translates the Bible a little differently. I got very excited and decided to write a series of books on the Five Books of Moses explaining the original Biblical translation directly from the ancient Hebrew. [nB. The 3 large paperback, 170-page volumes of "The Language of God" are ONLY available directly from Rabbi Yaakov and CFI Jerusalem: please contact them for further details]

BiBlE study from JEwish pErspEctiVEMy grandchildren and CFI have taught me how to use the Internet and I share with Christian study groups every week. I like to use SKYPE to build what I call “mushrooms” in other nations. This way we can conduct “Bible classes” where we can see each other and discuss the translation of a word in THE WORD. I also utilise email to answer questions and to stay in touch with my “students” from around the world.

Building a BEttEr futurEThe motive for all of this is that I feel I have a mission to decrease the tension and negative relationships Jews and Christians have had in the past and to try to start a new page in Jewish–Christian understanding and cooperation. It is all about getting to know each other. To do this, I need your help so that together we can fulfill the words of the prophet, “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it” (Isaiah 2:24). I believe that God brought me to CFI Jerusalem and to the world to help heal the historical relationship between Christians and Jews, and bring us together to build a better future, especially when today we are both confronted with the Islamic world.

I would like to end this article by reminding us of the famous quotation, “Together we stand, divided we fall.” Please feel free to email me at: [email protected]. Maybe we can arrange a time to meet one another on SKYPE and build “mushroom” Bible conversations.

In Touch 166 Christian Friends of Israel Y January - March 2011 Y 3

GettingTo Know YouA Jewish Hand Extended by Rabbi Yaakov Youlus

largest Ever cfi-uK/Zf lobby of parliamentWednesday, January 26th 2011 saw 300 Christians and Jews come together from all over the UK, and descend on

Parliament in order to meet their constituency MPs and raise their concerns about the rising Islamic extremism on UK campuses, the existence of a Hamas-related centre in London as well as their individual local issues of concern.

In the morning the Lecture Hall at Westminster Methodist Central Hall was the venue for a training programme led by Professor Eric Moonman, Zionist Federation (ZF) and Jacob Vince, Christian Friends of Israel (CFI-UK). Speakers during the pre-Lobby briefing included Alistair DeKare Silver, a student at Leeds University, Geoffrey Smith, former Director of CFI-UK, and Simon Barrett from Revelation TV.

The rest of the day was devoted to individual meetings with almost 100 MP’s, and the large lobby group, meeting initially in Committee Room 14 of the Palace of Westminster, was addressed by Sir Alan Beith (Lib Dem), David Burrowes (Con), Louise Ellman (Lab), Robert Halfon (Con), Nigel Dodds, (DUP), Lee

Scott (Con), Theresa Villiers (Con), Luciana Berger (Lab), and Jim Shannon (DUP), together with Lord Munroe Palmer (Lib Dem) when the group later moved to Committee Room 10. All of these speakers, without exception, emphasised the growing demonisation and delegitimisation of Israel and the Jewish people, and the accompanying need for members of both faith communities to keep in regular contact with their local MPs as a counter-balance to the negativity towards Israel that pervades so much of the UK’s media.

The Chief Rabbi, Lord Sacks, greeted the participants, thanking the Christians for their support for Israel, and emphasised that peace for Israel and her neighbours would be a gain for all. On behalf of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Jerry Lewis thanked the organisers and encouraged participants to contact their MPs to keep them informed about Israel.

Participants were shocked to discover the scale of suffering among Christian communities in the Middle East and were urged by Geoffrey Smith to raise this issue with their MPs – over 93 congregants in Canon Andrew White’s church in Baghdad had been killed last year. Out of 13 adults whom he baptised in November 2010, 11 had been murdered within a month. In Egypt over twenty Coptic Christians were killed the same month, while in Iran the government had stepped up its campaign against Christians forcing many to flee the country or face criminal charges including a possible death sentence.

Israel is the one country in the Middle East where the Christian community has grown numerically, remaining around 2% of the total population. Census data within sovereign Israel shows the Christian population has grown by a multiple of four from 34,000 in 1949 to 154,000 in 2009 – a demonstration of religious freedom. However in Bethlehem, under the Palestinian Authority, the Christians have declined from 70% of the population to less than 15% in the same period.

The 2011 Lobby was an historic opportunity for Jews and Christians to stand together in Parliament for freedom from intimidation on university campuses in this country and for religious freedom in the Middle East.

(All foreground images © 2011 Adrian Korsner Photography ~ www.jazzpics.co.uk ~ Used with permission)

Standing with Israel:


so what happens next?It is such an encouragement to members of the Jewish community to see tangible evidence of Christians standing shoulder-to-

shoulder with them at the annual joint-Lobby of Parliament. But that is just one day each year. There are other events where members of both faith communities also come together, and these too are also deeply appreciated. But even then it is only for one-off gatherings at particular times and in particular places.

For the last couple of years some politicians, social and media commentators, journalists and Christian speakers have been saying that we have entered a period of time not unlike the 1930s and the rise of Nazism in Germany. Much of the Church throughout the world – never mind Germany – was silent then. This must not happen again!

Nearly 7 years ago CFI-UK established a network of Advocates. Currently they are found in just over a quarter of the UK’s parliamentary constituencies. This is not enough...wE nEEd morE!

Being a CFI-UK Advocate is not a heavy burden. Apart from the invitation to join the annual joint-Lobby, there is little travel involved. It is nearly all about building a relationship with your local MP, and regularly reminding him/her that there are people in their constituency who are not prepared to allow the anti-Semitism of the 1930s to be the defining “spirit” of the second decade of the 21st century.

If you want to know more about the CFI-UK Advocates network, please indicate on the enclosed Response Form, or call CFI-UK on the usual office number (01323 410810) and ask to speak to Robin Benson, or send an email to: [email protected]

However, if joining the Advocates network is not possible, then there is still something we all can do...

write to our mp

There are several Christian organisations concerned with Israel and the Middle East. One special characteristic of CFI-UK is that we encourage our members to get personally involved as well as helping through prayer and finances.

Over 100 of our supporters took part in the meeting at Parliament on January 26th and used that opportunity to meet their MP personally. These relationships are very important and depend on you at a grass-roots local level taking the initiative. Even if you could not come to Westminster in January you can still be involved.

All the MPs who addressed the joint-Lobby group stressed the importance of constituents writing to their MP or contacting him/her by email. This is now becoming vital every time there is a crisis affecting Israel. Make sure your MP knows there are constituents who support Israel, and make sure that he/she has heard an accurate statement of the facts. It is just as important to write to an MP who does not support Israel as to one who does. So do not be discouraged!

First, find out who your MP is. On the Internet you can go to the website: findyourmp.parliament.uk (nB no www is needed for this website address) and enter your Postcode. Or you can ring the House of Commons Information Service on: 020 7219 4272.

When you have your MP’s name you can go to his/her website and find an email address or you can write to your MP by name at: The House of Commons, Westminster, London SW1A 0AA.

If you write or plan to meet the MP at a constituency office, pray and keep a calm spirit! Be concise in the point you are making. Keep your letter to one side of a sheet of A4 at most. Sometimes you only need write four or five lines, but the fact you have written will register with him/her. Never quote more than one Scripture in your letter. Check that your facts are correct. You can phone the CFI-UK office for advice or the Board of Deputies of British Jews on 020 7543 5400 and ask for the Public Affairs Department.

You can also ask your MP to contact the Foreign Secretary on your behalf, if you have a question to ask about what the government is doing e.g. to stop the persecution of Christians in Egypt or incitement to hatred in the West Bank. Ask for a reply. Then your MP will HAVE to contact the minister and forward a reply to you. And make sure you include your return address for the reply!

Pray for your MP, whether or not you support the same party. This is Biblical, and ask the Lord to make you a blessing to Israel from your own home. It is generally better to write a letter than to email (emails can be deleted – a physical letter cannot be ignored), but there are urgent situations when you need to get through an important message. So be prepared to use both, if you can.

Finally let CFI-UK know what reply you receive from your MP. It helps to send a copy to the CFI office. Please do not pass up on this opportunity to do something tangible...to give your prayers and your financial support ‘hands and feet’.

geoffrey smith, former CFI-UK Director & robin Benson, Assistant Director CFI-UK


For More Than 1 Day

The Apostle Paul emphatically reminds the Church that Israel remains “beloved” of God and that “the gifts and the call” upon His elect people are “irrevocable” (Romans

11:29). The core of that call is to be witnesses to the nations that there is one God, the Holy One of Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Isaiah 43:10; 44:8).

In a parallel way, the Church has a call upon it as well: to witness to the nations that there is one Lord and Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, whom God raised from the dead. “You shall be my witnesses!” was Jesus’ final injunction to His faithful disciples (Acts 1:8). So both Jews and Christians carry a mandate to bear witness. The challenge for Christians has always been how that witness is rendered and to whom.

This is a particularly sensitive issue in Israel. Evangelical Christians for decades have demonstrated unwavering support of the Jewish state—based on Biblical principles alone, not on any hidden agenda to convert Jews—and yet they are always under suspicion as covert “missionaries” by the religious community.

This surely is a volatile matter, with complex historical antecedents, that defies simplistic solutions. But may I suggest a few thoughts on Christian witness that are not always understood by evangelicals:

1. When it comes to the Jewish people, Christians are in the unique position of being both witnesses and debtors. To the other nations our responsibility as witnesses is straightforward. But with respect to Israel, we also are Scripturally exhorted to recognise that to them belong the promises, the covenants, the patriarchs, the giving of the Torah, and the worship of the true and living God (Romans 9:4-5). From the Jewish people comes the Messiah Himself and salvation ( John 4:22). In Him we have been brought near to Israel’s God, whereas apart from Him we would have no share in the spiritual heritage of Abraham’s offspring. We would be “strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:11-12).

2. So when we have the opportunity to interact with Jewish people, let us never be arrogant or exhibit the religious triumphalism that has characterised Christianity for twenty centuries. Rather let us be humble, respectful and deeply appreciative. Jesus came to the Jewish people as a servant on behalf of the truthfulness of God’s promises (Romans 15:6). Our attitude should match His. Our love, like His, should be unconditional and non-self-serving.

3. Whether to bear witness to Jews or not is a “forced option” (in William James’ terminology). It is unavoidable. Christians are bearing witness whether they consciously choose to or not. The real issue is: is it a good and faithful witness or the opposite. All too often in Church history it has been the latter. In its missionary zeal the Church has dishonoured our Lord, the Jew, Jesus of Nazareth, and demeaned and even demonised His brothers and sisters after the flesh, the Jewish people—all in the name of Jesus’ love!

4. Authentic love is relational and respectful. It is never “I–It”, but always “I–You” in its approach to the other. All deceptive, manipulative or coercive tactics must be rejected. To target Jews for proselytising and treat them as any other nation is enormously disrespectful and ill-informed. The other nations do not worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They are not the recipients of the oracles of God, nor the preservers of Holy Scripture. They are not in continuing covenantal relationship with the Lord God. Israel is. As a nation (independent of the spiritual status of any particular individual) Israel’s election is irrevocable. There yet remain promises to the Jewish people that God will keep.

5. As appealing emotionally as “Dual-Covenant” theology may appear, it does not accord with New Testament Scriptures. On the other hand, evangelicals are not called to judge who is saved and who is not. God will be the Judge. We are called simply to be His witnesses. And the most transparent and enduring witness we can render is to lead a life that speaks of a holy difference, and when asked, to be prepared to give an account of the hope within us—thanks to God’s redemptive act through Jesus our Lord.

Copyright © 2010. All Rights Reserved. Permission to reprint or publish this article must be requested in writing from Dr. Pryor at www.jcstudies.com

“Be My Witnesses!”


Aileen Elizabeth Hardie (née Calvert) was born on Monday, 9th May 1938 at St Luke’s Hospital, Bradford. Her mother taught her to read using the King James Bible – so when she started school at 4 years-old she could read quite well, something that stood her in good stead then, and has given her immense pleasure and relaxation thereafter.

Aileen was a great puzzle-solver and enjoyed knitting and cross-stitch – producing some beautiful work. She was also a proficient seamstress, as several wedding dresses for family and friends have testified.

From being quite young Aileen wanted to become a nurse, but her family thought she did not have the necessary stamina, being too frail. Nevertheless, she determined at 18 years to train at a good London hospital. She was delighted to be accepted at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, this being her first choice. This was despite having a strong Yorkshire accent which she quickly tried to lose.

Educationally, Aileen did well at Keighley Grammar School, and in due time qualified as a nurse, a midwife, district nurse and health visitor. She was of a mind to become a health visitor tutor, but priorities changed when she came to know Jesus as her Lord and Saviour.

She met Ralph Hardie on the occasion of their baptism in December 1965 at Halford House in Richmond. It was in fact the first baptism to take place at Halford House. Ralph remembers the fellowship had borrowed an inflatable pool which was placed in a corner of the ground floor meeting room which had a solid floor and was then filled by a hosepipe through the window. It was December and the water was very cold!

Aileen’s death came in December 2010, 45 years later almost exactly to the day of the anniversary of her baptism. So is there any significance in the figure of 45 years? Remember that Biblically, Israel’s passing through the Red Sea is taken as a figure of baptism. From there, it took Israel 40 years to reach the Promised Land; and then (according to Leviticus 19) the trees they planted were not to be harvested for three years. In the fourth year the fruit was for the Lord and only in the fifth year – 45 years after the baptism of Israel – were they to enjoy the fruit. In that way they would receive a rich harvest. What a rich harvest Aileen will present to the Lord in His Kingdom!

Aileen and Ralph were married at Halford House in 1968 – three years after their baptism. Again it was a first – the first time the upper meeting room was used for a wedding service. They set up home in East Twickenham, bringing up the family and integrating with the Christian Fellowship at Halford House, over many years. They were blessed with three wonderful children – Jonathan, Kate and Rachel, all happily married. The family now extends and includes eight grandchildren.

Ralph and Aileen started as volunteers with Christian Friends of Israel at Teddington and moved here to Eastbourne with CFI in 1999. Their commitment to this ministry has enabled CFI to become the major resource in the UK for teaching on the Hebraic roots of the Christian faith. Tens or even hundreds of thousands of Christian cassette tapes and CDs processed by Ralph and Aileen have gone around the country and throughout the world.

About three years ago, Aileen was diagnosed as having Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. She bravely underwent extensive treatment until the medical profession could do no more.

Always loving, encouraging and a wonderful testimony to the Lord’s goodness over 42 years of marriage and family life, she has gladly been taken to rest with her Lord and ours. Aileen battled with tiredness all her life and increasing poor health, and was a most precious wife and mum. Ralph, the family and, I know, many friends already miss her so much, and we are gathered here today to give thanks for her life.

When a person is born all rejoice, when they die, all weep. But the Jewish Sages said this should not be so. King Solomon said “A good name is better than fine perfume and the day of death is better than the day of birth” (Ecclesiastes 7:1). Why? Because when a person is born, what they will be like when grown or what their deeds will be, whether good or evil, is not known. When they die, however, if they depart with a good name and leave the world in peace, people should rejoice.

Rabbi Levi illustrated this with the parable of two ships in the Mediterranean Sea: one leaving the harbour and the other entering it. As the one left the harbour all rejoiced over it, and as the other entered the harbour all did not rejoice. A wise man who was there said to the people “This should not be so. As I see it things should be the other way round. As a vessel leaves the harbour all should not rejoice because they do not know what seas it will encounter, what storms it will face. But when a vessel enters the harbour all should rejoice over it, for they know it has come back safely from the sea and has safely entered the harbour.”

Aileen has safely entered the harbour and her name is treasured by all who remember her. So our grief and loss is tempered by rejoicing as we celebrate her life and give thanks to the Lord.

(Extracted from the tribute given at Aileen Hardie’s memorial thanksgiving service, January 6th, 2011 by Geoffrey Smith)


A Faithful Haverim

Visiting Israel always re-energises us. For Margaret the effect begins when we reach Heathrow Airport. A

year ago when we set out with a group from Britain, she needed a wheelchair, but now, with a new hip and regained mobility, she is looking forward to cooking for twenty staff and volunteers two days a week at the CFI Jerusalem office. Margaret is excited if a little daunted by the prospect.

For me, having recently relinquished my desk at the UK office, it is an opportunity to sit in for Ray and Sharon Sanders in Jerusalem for two months while they tour the Far East on a speaking trip with more than forty engagements. With their encouragement I will spend much of this time filming in Israel while assisting in the office as needed.

The plane is full and the flight passes quickly. It is nearly 11.00pm by the time we are at Ben Gurion Airport looking for a sherut (a shared taxi) for the last part of our journey to Jerusalem. Our fellow passengers include two girls on their way home to Beit HaKerem – the same neighbourhood of Jerusalem as the flat where we are to stay – and a young diplomat from Brazil on his way to an international conference in Jerusalem on the diamond trade. This is his first visit to Israel so I use the journey to point out landmarks and reminders of Israel’s War of Independence in 1948. The Israeli girls listen to the commentary from an English tourist with some surprise. The Brazilian is only here for five days and first impressions are important so it is time for a little public diplomacy – even late at night.

Beit HaKerem is a lovely neighbourhood of Jerusalem. We have not stayed here before. Streets are lined with mature trees and some of the original homes built in 1927 remain among the newer apartment blocks.

On Friday at sundown we find the local synagogue for the inauguration of the Sabbath. The service lasts an hour or so. One of the English-speaking congregants helps me find the place in the Hebrew prayer book. Afterwards other congregants invite us to dinner with their families. These are special times and to my surprise they provide an introduction to some innovative companies for filming.

On Saturday we attend a messianic congregation where we were members twenty years ago when we first lived in Jerusalem. Then on Sunday we join one of the Church fellowship services. In all three contexts we find ourselves immediately at home and welcome.

Monday mornings need an early start. We catch the bus at 7.00am to go shopping in the city for lunch. There is a good bus service and the drivers get to know us. Food shopping is fun and a bit of a challenge. Food is more expensive than in London and we have to provide a nourishing hot meal for 20 people on a budget of £1.00 per person. Margaret wants to do one of her trifles for dessert but there is no custard powder and the directions on a packet of vanilla powder are in complicated Hebrew. Another shopper translates and we get to the office with bags of shopping just in time for prayers at 9.00am.

It is a joy to work with staff we previously only knew by telephone or email: Vesco in Accounts, Linda in Human Resources and Helene in Outreach – managers with lovely Christian character and leadership gifting who share team responsibility with me in Ray and Sharon’s absence. The Bridal Salon and Distribution Centre closed in August, but in this transitional period the Forsake Them Not team is out and about bringing comfort to Holocaust survivors. Meanwhile Israeli war-veterans come to a party at the CFI office, and there are contacts with Ethiopians and calls for help from needy people and victims of terror in Sderot.

Israel: A Country To Live



By mid-day the smells coming from the kitchen are beginning to percolate through the building. Margaret is hard at work alongside Felicia – an American volunteer – and Nina from Khazakstan. Lunch is a time of fellowship for staff and volunteers from many countries and with Rabbi Youlus – the grandson of the Chief Rabbi in Allenby’s time – who explains that like Joseph in Genesis 37:16 he is here to “find his brothers.” (see Page 3 of this edition of In Touch for more information)

During the afternoon I meet with the media team to plan our filming schedule for Tuesday and Thursday. I came with the desire to tell the story of what is happening behind the headlines in Israel, but I had no idea how far we could get. From just a few contacts, I meet members of an influential policy think-tank in Tel Aviv, a senior adviser to the President, innovative medical start-up companies, a dentist who in his spare time has patented a water purification system using wetlands techniques, and I am given introductions to Nobel prize-winners in science, developments in alternative energy and pioneers of space exploration.

There is so much more than anyone could cover in just two months. What an amazing country this is – a people and a country to live for... and to die for. What creative energy is being engaged here in discovery and scientific innovation!

In Beersheva we meet Professor Yoel Margalith – the only one to survive the Holocaust from his community and whose life work with mosquitoes has saved millions of lives in Africa, Asia and America.

In Jerusalem we meet Moshe Tzabari – son of Yemenite Jews who came to Israel in the 1970s – who is this year beginning clinical trials of a revolutionary regenerative implant developed jointly by the Hebrew University and the Hadassah Hospital to heal bone fractures. In Tel Aviv we visit the life-sciences incubator where innovations are nurtured and develop into new companies with applications worldwide.

This is the hidden reality of Israel – a source of creative energy and a blessing to the nations...just as God said it would be.

geoffrey smith January 2011(Photos courtesy of CFI Jerusalem)

For... And To Die For!

One of the implants using the patient’s ownstem cells to create new bone cells

Filming in the Regenecare laboratory, Jerusalem. (L to R: Yulia Kutischev/CFI Jerusaalem, Geoffrey Smith, and Moshe Tzabari/CEO Regenecare)

In the Christian life, faith, hope and love stand like three mighty pillars. Although abstract and spiritual in nature, their effects are very real; and when the storms of life come sweeping past they outlast even the strongest physical structures or materials. All else may crumble in life’s adversities, “but these three remain: faith, hope and love” (I Corinthians 13:13).Love, as we know, is the greatest. But flanked either side of love are faith and hope. It is good, therefore, to return constantly to all three attributes: to examine them more closely and to ensure that they occupy the central position they deserve in our lives.It is without apology, therefore, that we now re-examine ‘hope’, which we touched upon in ‘Waiting & Hoping’ (issue 142, Feb-Mar 2007). There we learnt that, of several Hebrew verbal roots relating to ‘hope’, the most common is hw"q' qavah, ‘to wait, look for, hope, expect’. From this root are derived the words wq; qav ‘line’, hw"q.Ti tiqvah ‘cord; hope’, and hw<q.mi miqveh ‘hope’. The image of a line, cord, or rope is helpful: like a rock-climber or person being hoisted up to a rescue helicopter, Biblical hope provides a reliable ‘attachment’ between us and our goal/salvation.The common understanding of ‘hope’ has been diluted with vague notions based on wishful thinking. But as the online dictionary.com acknowledges, an archaic meaning of ‘hope’ is “to place trust in; rely upon”. Secular ‘hope’ is often created or destroyed with the turn of events; it is usually based on feelings and desires; its focus is fallible people or things; it is often uncertain and unreliable. In contrast Biblical ‘hope’, including tiqvah, is created through belief, faith, and trust in God; it is focused on His infallible character and the promises in His Word; it is independent of feelings and desires; it is not shaken by the turn of events; it is always certain and utterly reliable.The foundation of Biblical hope is the truth revealed in God’s Word. As we read and ingest the promises of the Bible our faith is built up; and our faith, in turn, gives rise to a sure and certain hope. For instance, the very last verse of the book of the prophet Amos, declares: “‘I will plant them [My people] on their own soil, no more to be uprooted from their land, which I gave them’, declares Yahweh your God’” (Amos 9:15). Based on this, we believe that God certainly has not finished with Yisrael; Yisrael has a future and a hope. Indeed, it was this hope which inspired the title and central theme of the Israeli national anthem: HaTiqvah (‘The Hope’).Similarly, we read in I Timothy 1:15 that “Messiah Yeshua came into the world to save sinners”. If we respond to this message and turn to God, then we can have faith that we are forgiven and redeemed. This, in turn, ignites within us the confident hope that we will one day see God and live forever in His presence!What a contrast there is between the vague, secular notion of

wishful thinking, and the Believer’s sure and certain hope! This was brought home to me most forcefully on recently attending two funerals within the space of 6 weeks. Firstly, my own dear mother died aged 82; then Aileen Hardie, a good friend and faithful volunteer with CFI UK, died aged 72. Both funerals were wonderful tributes to two women who poured out their lives in the service of God, and in so doing blessed many people. Whilst there is inevitably sadness at our loss, there is not the crushing despair of having little or no hope of being reunited; on the contrary, there is the very real comfort in the sure and certain hope of resurrection. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Messiah Yeshua from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:3-5).

John C.P. Smith

hw"q.Ti tiqvah

“‘For I know what plans I have in mind for you’, says Yahweh, ‘plans of shalom and not for evil; to give you a future and tiqvah’” (Jeremiah 29:11)

WHERE DOES THE ACCENT LIE?

The accent in most Hebrew words falls on the last syllable: this is referred to as ‘ultimate stress’ and the emphasised syllable is called the ‘tonic syllable’. So, contrary to popular usage even amongst some Jews, the correct pronunciation for hw"q.Ti (‘hope’) is tiqvah, not tiqvah, and for hr"wOT (‘teaching; law’) it’s torah, not torah.However, there are exceptions where the stress is placed on the second-to-last (penultimate or pretonic) syllable, including certain bisyllabic (two-syllable) nouns called segolates (or segholates) and some other forms, such as pair-words like ‘hands’, ‘feet’, and ‘eyes’. Common examples include #r,a, erets (‘earth’), rq,Bo boqer (‘morning’), %r,D, derekh (‘way’), ds,x, chesed (‘love’), ~yId:y" yadayim (‘[pair of ] hands’), ~yIl;v'Wry> Yerushalayim (‘Jerusalem’), ~x,l, lechem (‘bread’), %l,m, melekh ('king'), vp,n< nefesh (‘soul’), rp,se sefer (‘book’), ~yIn:y[e einayim (‘[pair of ] eyes’), xs;P, Pesach (‘Passover’), qd,c, tsedeq (‘justice’), vd<qo qodesh (‘holiness’), ~yIl;g>r: raglayim (‘[pair of ] feet’), ~yIm;v' shamayim (‘heavens’).Some words ending in guttural letters (h, x, or [) appear to fall in the above category (ie with penultimate emphasis), but in reality they can be classed as having ‘normal’, ultimate stress albeit with a tiny vowel extension (eloquently termed ‘a non-syllabic glide element’!). This ‘small’ vowel facilitates pronunciation of the final guttural letter by ‘bridging’ it from the preceding long vowel, e.g. [:WvyE Yeshua’ (‘Jesus’), x:yvim' mashiach (‘anointed’, ‘Messiah’), x:Wr ruach (‘spirit, breath, wind’).The Masoretes developed a sophisticated system of accent marks, which denote the stressed syllables and also function like commas, colons, semi-colons, etc. Thus, when reading the Hebrew Bible it is clear which syllable carries the emphasis. The following are the words from the first verse of the Bible. Those who have learned a little Hebrew may be able to see how the accent marks correspond with the stressed syllables (bold): tyviÞarEB. bereshit (‘in the beginning’), ar"äB' bara (‘created’), ~yhi_l{a/ Elohim (‘God’), taeî et (direct object marker), ~yIm:ßV'h; hashamayim (‘the heavens’), taeîw> ve’et (‘and’ + direct object marker), #r<a'h' ha’arets (‘the earth’).


CFI Resourceshebraic insight: God And Community

Whilst the Christian church is often a congregation-based experience that is largely performance and audience focused, this set of studies by Dr. John Garr looks at how in Jewish culture, communities provide for social interaction with interactive study, prayer and worship experiences. An in-depth study guide suitable for individuals, families and congregations focusing on the Hebraic foundations of the Christian faith.

Booklet: 32 pages ~ £4.50 (incl. UK p&p)

Hebraic Insight: God And FamilyIn the face of attacks on the family in the West, this study looks at an Hebraic understanding, based on the Scriptures, of God’s design for it as the place for social, academic and spiritual growth through a healthy holism that focuses it on Him and His Word. An in-depth study guide suitable for individuals, families and congregations focusing on the Hebraic foundations of the Christian faith.Booklet: 32 pages ~ £4.50 (incl. UK p&p)

Stability: Torah – The Guardian Of IsraelA detailed study of the relationship between the Torah that God gave to the Jewish people at Mt. Sinai and its function as the guardian of Israel which He designed to teach and preserve His people until the time of the Messiah. Booklet: 56 pages ~ £7.00 (incl. UK p&p)

Kingdom Living:Learning To Walk With GodIn this 7-part DVD video teaching series, recorded live last October at Belsey Bridge Conference Centre, near Bungay in Suffolk, Dr. John D. Garr answers four key questions: What has God always wanted from His people? How can we know that God is with us? How does walking with God reveal true discipleship? How can you walk with God in family and community? The set also includes a full set of teaching notes in Adobe PDF® format on a separate data CD-ROM. Session titles are: Walking with God, Walking in Covenant, Walking in Faith, Walking in Blessing, Walking in Discipleship, Walking in Stewardship, and Walking in Fellowship.7-DVD Set + Notes on CD-ROM: £48.00 (incl. UK p&p)

90 years on: Legal Aspects of JewishRights in the Mandate for PalestineThe first in a series entitled 'Israel in Context', former CFI-UK Director Roy Thurley gives a presentation on the legal status of Israel today and her right, under international law, to all the land originally ceded to her in the Balfour Declaration.

In April 1920, the newly-formed League of Nations met in San Remo, Italy to decide the future of the Middle East in the aftermath of World War I. From this gathering flowed various international legal agreements, including those out of which eventually emerged the reborn nation state of Israel.

Exactly 90 years later, and in the same venue, the European Coalition for Israel held a commemorative conference. This booklet was created from the material presented at that gathering, combined with illustrative graphics provided by Eli E. Hertz and the Myths & Facts website.

Booklet: 10 pages - £4.50 (incl. UK p&p)

israel: a twice-promised landSpeaking at CFI-UK’s 2010 Annual Celebration, former CFI-UK Director Roy Thurley gives a 45-minute presentation on the legal status of Israel today and her right, under international law, to all the land originally ceded

to her in the Balfour Declaration. This is an audio and video recording of the material published in the booklet detailed immediately above.

Audio CD - £4.50 (incl. UK p&p)Video DVD - £6.50 (incl. UK p&p)

ancient gates:Worship From The Deserts Of IsraelOn this recent release from Avner and Rachel Boskey, there are thirteen songs in English and some Hebrew. Worship, celebration and intercession from the Middle East. Ancient musical instruments combine Mizrachi (Middle Eastern) sounds and modern rock, authentic klezmer synagogue prayers and intercessory ballads.Music CD: 13 tracks - £14.00 (incl. UK p&p)

All of these items can be ordered using the enclosed Response Form. They are also available from the CFI-UK webshop. Please see page 2 of this magazine for further details.


CHANGES TO ‘IN TOUCH’As we said in the previous edition of In Touch, we are moving from six editions a year to four. So you hold in your hands the first magazine for 2011. We apologise that it is a little later than we had planned, but the unforeseen delay has allowed us to give you a report on the annual Lobby of Parliament within ten days of it occurring. We will continue to offer the same varied content including Bible teaching, updates on CFI activities, and comment on current events connected with Israel and the Jewish people, and trust that the magazine will continue to be a blessing to all our readers.

For your diary...Since the last magazine, some of the diary items have already passed...and some have been postponed until later in the year. So at the present time, for 2011, God willing, please note the following dates:1. CFI-UK Prayer Conference: April 4th to 6th – Rockwell Green, Somerset – details in the next CFI-UK mailing.2. CFI-UK Annual Conference: October 14th to 15th – Victoria Baptist Church, Eastbourne – details in the next In Touch.3. CFI-UK national speaking tour with David Dolan as guest speaker: October 2011 – details in the next In Touch.

There are other items in the pipeline, including one or two possible tours in Israel. Details of all of these will be published as soon as they have been finalised.

CFI Area Reps NewsBeing a CFI-UK Area Representative can have all sorts of consequences. Many can be very positive...and some not so. We received this mini-report from David and Lynne Brown in Cardiff, and thought we should pass it on for your encouragement, and as thanks to God.

In early January, David wrote: I forgot to include in my report an incredible blessing that is related to our JW ( Jehovah's Witness) experience. You know that over 7,000,000 are controlled by nine men at New York Bethel, the World Headquarters of The Watchtower. This is only possible because they have convinced their followers that they are the New Jerusalem selected by God to be the replacement of Israel. They claim supernatural though not inspired understanding of the Bible.

This last six months has seen a panic not seen within the Watchtower since Ray Franz produced the book Crisis of Conscience, when he was kicked off of the governing body, a new more brutal Elders Book has been implemented, and a crackdown is on.

I also work with Reachout Trust and Revelation TV, and we generate stacks of cries for help worldwide from people like Lynne and I that were trapped under this regime. The point is that since our becoming involved with and having access to CFI materials, we are able to provide for others the exact same things we ourselves were desperate for. CFI is responsible for at least four baptisms into Christ, not including Lynne and I, and also the refreshing clean waters of truth that are bathing the wounds of many others that we have provided literature to. I know that items are being seen by people in other countries that have been posted on. The most heart-warming one though is that of a family in Peterborough that was shattered through the dis-fellowshipping and shunning of their teenage daughter. Christian Friends of Israel materials have helped not only the parents come to the Lord, but have also brought that family back together. The Watchtower yoke is gone from them.

This would be an area little understood to most, but it is another blessing that the Lord has given to this fantastic ministry.

Shalom,David.

Lance Lambert's 80th BirthdayIt is Lance's 80th birthday on February 6th, and Pearl Coleman, one of CFI's faithful supporters, submitted this poem she has written in honour of this milestone in his life.

Oh how wonderful to get the chanceTo pay a tribute to dear Lance.

Whose school of prayer taught me to prayAnd celebrates his eightieth today.

Dear Lance who loves the great I AM,And considers much of the Church a sham

Has rhetoric and elocution beyond measure,And humour in his talks to give us pleasure.Interspersed with the seriousness of the day.Prompting us of the need to watch and pray.As he updates us with the Middle East News,

Sharing with such humility his viewsOf the way he discerns events will go,

According as the Word of God will show.

Historian superb and raconteurThere is not a voice which I prefer,It causes me to heed his every word

And remember every message I have heard.I almost know those messages by heart.

For in my spiritual growth they’ve played a partTo cause me to cry out to our precious Lord.To fasten my belt of truth, take up the sword.

I do not care how much you search.You will not find a greater gift to the Church.

Honour, humility and humour are hisWe give glory to the Lord for all of this!

On his eightieth birthday I want to dance,Dear Lord we thank you for our Lance!

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Code Title / Description - ALL PRICES INCLUDE UK POSTAGE & PACKING Price Qty TOTALcfi-uK highlighted resources (see page 11)

BT92 Hebraic Insight: God And Community ~ Dr. John Garr - (Study Booklet ~ 32 pages) NEW! £4.50

BT94 Hebraic Insight: God And Family ~ Dr. John Garr - (Study Booklet ~ 32 pages) NEW! £4.50

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S131 Kingdom Living DVD Set ~ Dr. John Garr - (7 Video DVD sessions + Full Notes on CD-ROM) £48.00

BT93 90 Years On ~ Roy Thurley - (Booklet ~ 10 pages ~ new edition ~ Please note amended price) £3.00

CD608 Israel: A Twice-Promised Land ~ Roy Thurley - (Audio CD ~ 45 minutes) £4.50

D104 Israel: A Twice-Promised Land ~ Roy Thurley - (Video DVD ~ 45 minutes) £6.50

MC51 Ancient Gates ~ Avner & Rachel Boskey - (Music CD ~ 13 tracks) £14.00

othEr rEcEntly rElEasEd cfi-uK rEsourcEscfi-uK 25th annual celebration 2010 audio recordingsCDS108 Friday PM & Saturday PM Audio Messages ~ Lance Lambert - (2 Audio CDs) £9.50

CDS109 Saturday AM & Saturday PM Audio Messages ~ Dr. John Garr - (2 Audio CDs) £9.50

cfi-uK 25th annual celebration 2010 Video recordingsS129 Friday PM & Saturday PM Video Messages ~ Lance Lambert - (2 Video DVDs) £13.50

S130 Saturday AM & Saturday PM Video Messages ~ Dr. John Garr - (2 Video DVDs) £13.50

cfi-uK residential conference: “Kingdom Living - Learning To Walk With God” ~ guest speaker: dr. John garrCDS115 Complete Set of 7 Teaching Sessions + Bonus CD ~ Dr. John Garr - (8 Audio CDs) £34.00

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