It was on this day in 1913 that the National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods was formed. This was an American organization for Jewish women which departed, very dramatically, from the old ways of Judaism as had been practiced in Europe. At that time in history, American women began to play greater roles in policy-making and […]
It was on this day in 1790 that the French National Assembly granted full equality and citizenship to Portuguese Jews who were living in France. France was one of the first nations to pass such liberal policies, allowing foreigners to have full rights along with French Nationals. France was once considered a pioneer in liberal […]
On this day in 1945, the Russian Army liberated over 2,800 survivors of the Auschwitz extermination camps. All around Europe, other camps were being discovered and the survivors liberated, most of them Jews. But for millions more it was too late. The carnage was so great and so heartless that it’s still difficult for us […]
On this day in 1939, Adolf Hitler announced his intention to exterminate all Jews in the event of a war. By this time, however, Hitler had already determined there was going to be a war and that he was going to destroy Europe’s Jews. We know that he already had their extermination in mind, because […]
It was on this day in 1980 that the border between Egypt and Israel was declared open, once again, allowing travelers to follow the ancient “King’s Highway” that connected these two nations. This was a very significant event in the maturing relations between Israel and Egypt, former longtime enemies. This treaty has been beneficial to […]
A Year of Fulfilled Promises At the beginning of the year the Lord told us at OCI, that this would be “a year of fulfilled promises.” That the words that have been spoken over this house and our lives were going to take place this year. Wow, what a way to start off the New […]
In times past, today was considered a day of fasting in commemoration of the belief that today marked the end of the period of the Elders who were contemporaries of Joshua. These were the people who witnessed the miracles in the wilderness and the crossing over the Jordan. They would have borne testimony to the […]
It was on this day in 1930 that the fifth aliyah to the Holy Land began. Perhaps some of you are not familiar with this term, aliyah. It is the Hebrew word that defines immigration to Israel; if someone is going to move to Israel, it is said that they make “aliyah.” The root word, […]
What do you do when someone says something negative about you, publicly? It might be true, or it might not be true. It might be something that happened a long time ago. Regardless of the situation, someone – maybe another believer – discloses something about you for all to see. What do you do? Our […]
Counting from the month of Aviv in the spring, Shevat is the eleventh month and is mentioned by name in in Zechariah 1:7. The name, “Shevat,” has some interesting connotations. The root word means “to control” or “to rule” and is often translated in the Bible as “scepter.” It is rendered as “a rod” which […]