Happy Hanukkah!!

Hanukkah is almost upon us, and we have some materials available to help you and your family celebrate.

A Light in the Darkness, an anthology published by First Fruits of Zion. It has an interesting re-telling of the story of Hanukkah (I learned some new things from it, and here I thought I knew everything!), and teaching about how Hanukkah relates to the prophecies in Daniel, and why it is important for New Covenant believers to keep this feast. It has blessings and instructions for lighting the candles, activities for children and readings for each night of Hanukkah. We still have several of these books available for sale.

A Family Guide to the Biblical Holidays by Robin Sampson and Linda Pierce. This book is an excellent guide for all the festivals. This description is from the website:

Learn the teaching method God uses to teach His children. The ultimate hands-on Bible lessons! Teach your children the way God instructed the Hebrews to teach their children—with annual events telling the story of His people and the coming of Jesus.

This giant, 585 page telephone-size book gives an an extensive look at the nine annual holidays: Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, Pentecost, Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Tabernacles, Hanukkah, Purim and the weekly holiday—the Sabbath!

This book includes information that will fill ten books: one on each of the seven holidays in Leviticus, the Sabbath, plus Hanukkah and Purim, and tons of information about the importance of our Hebrew Roots. You'll use this book over and over for years to come!

You will learn the historical, agricultural, spiritual, and prophetic purposes of each holiday, showing how each points to Christ and creative ways to teach them to your children!

In this book you get all the information listed above PLUS projects, crafts, recipes, games, and songs for celebrating each holiday.

Also instructions for a weekly Bible study and instructions using the Special Home School Section to incorporate the teaching of the biblical holidays with the academic school subjects!

The chapter on Hanukkah can be viewed online here. Be sure to look at the other links as well, and the parent website, Heart of Wisdom, where they have other Messianic publications geared especially for home schoolers. We have this book in our library, but if you would like your own copy, order them online at Our Hebrew Roots store.

Hebrew, Anyone?

Many people inquire about Hebrew learning resources, especially while our classes at Beth Shechinah are suspended. Here are some of the best online resources I have found:

Hebrew for Christians: an excellent site with detailed lessons and exercises, audio and printer-friendly pages for talmidim (students) of all levels. He has done extensive research into Hebrew and Jewish customs as well, and includes articles and teachings based upon Hebrew studies. With downloadable PDF's and frequent updates, this is a site you will want to bookmark.

Navigating the Bible II: This is an online bar/bat mitzvah tutor, offered in English, Russian, and Spanish. It will help you locate the parasha reading for your Hebrew birthday, and has audio files to help you pronounce it and cantor it, and a summary of each portion. It has a reference guide to the people, places, plants and animals mentioned in the Bible and a text search.

Akhlah: The Jewish Children's Learning Network: Here there are many fun and colorful exercises and learning aids. Don't think this is just kid's stuff- Hebrew is Hebrew, and the more fun it is to learn, the more you will retain. They have information on all the Jewish customs, festivals, traditions, and Bible characters, besides crafts for the holidays and a "Hebrew Word of the Day". An excellent resource for home-schooling as well.

BibleGateway.com: A searchable online Bible in over 50 versions and 35 languages: I include this because it is a handy tool to use as a concordance, flip back and forth between Hebrew and English, and to compare various translations. On the homepage, type in your keyword or reference, and then you will be able to choose from the versions and languages. (Languages are listed alphabetically.) The main site is also available in Spanish.

Making a Baby

Now that I have your attention, this article came through my mailbox today, and I hope you are as blessed as I was by the deep miracle of God's creation of a new human being.

"TWO ARE BETTER THAN ONE" MINISTRIES
Jim & Marie Watt – Beth Chesed,Tacoma
PO Box25116 – Federal WayWA 98093-2116
Web: www.2rbetter.org – Fax: 253.474.0189
Tel: 253.874.4265 – Email: jmbetter@gmail.com
October 15, 2006


"JEWISH HOLY DAYS: THE MAKING OF A BABY"

Zola Levitt discovered an amazing correlation between Jewish Holy Days and the forming of a human baby, from conception to birth. While preparing for writing a book for new parents, Zola contacted a gynecologist for some help in understanding gestation. During that session, the gynecologist showed him a series of pictures, pointed to the first one (an egg and a sperm) and said, "On the fourteenth day of the first month, the egg appears." The statement struck a chord in his Jewish mind because that was the date of Passover. He remembered the roasted egg on his family table every Passover. Now, for the first time, he knew what it meant! Not wanting to lead the gynecologist off from the subject at hand, he didn't say anything, but continued to listen.

The gynecologist continued: "The egg must be fertilized within 24 hours, or it will pass on." This reminded Zola of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the seed of grain that "Fell into the ground and died" in order to produce a harvest, the firstfruits of which was presented to God. Next, the gynecologist said, "Within two to six days, the fertilized egg attaches itself to the wall of the womb and begins to grow." And, sure enough, the Jewish evangelist thought, "The Feast of Firstfruits is observed anywhere from two to six days after Passover!"

Next, he was shown a photo of an embryo showing arms, hands, fingers, legs, feet, toes, a head, eyes, etc. The caption said, "Fifty days." The gynecologist continued, "Around the fiftieth day, the embryo takes on the form of a human being. Until then, we don't know if we have a duck or a tad-pole." Zola thought, "That's Pentecost!"

The next picture showed the embryo at seven months. The gynecologist said, "On the first day of the seventh moth, the baby's hearing is developed. For the first time, it can hear and distinguish sounds outside the womb." Zola knew that was the date for the Jewish Festival of Trumpets.

The gynecologist continued, "On the tenth day of the seventh month, the hemoglobin of the blood changes from that of the mother, to a self-sustaining baby." Zola thought, "That's the Day of Atonement, when the blood was taken into the Holy of Holies!"

Next, the gynecologist said, "On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, the lungs become fully developed. If born before then, the baby would have a hard time breathing." And Zola thought, "That's the festival of Tabernacles, a time of celebrating theTemple, home of the Shekinah glory or Spirit of God." In the New Testament, the Greek term pneuma, normally translated as "breath," is applied to the "Holy Spirit."

Birth takes place on the tenth day of the ninth month. Eight days after birth, in Jewish families a son is circumcised. Zola noted that the eight days of Hanukkah are celebrated right on schedule, nine months and ten days after Passover.