Ani Yosef update…

Posted on May 29, 2018 by

An update on the first Ani Yosef trip to Jerusalem, planned for Sukkot 2018, is up at https://aniyosef.com/2018/05/29/sukkot-2018-update-tour-details-and-prices/

Come see the update and pray about joining us!

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Amazing Days!!

Posted on May 29, 2018 by

Do we have a clue how AMAZING is the time that we are living in??  Check out this incredible video created in Ecuador on the 70th anniversary of Israel!!  Can you hear echoes of ‘every tribe, tongue and nation?’  Of special note, the song is sung on the equator…  Both hemispheres crying out…  Baruch Hashem!!

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“Another Wave Offering”

Posted on May 19, 2018 by

I want to share a group email I received this morning with excellent thoughts and insight into Shavuot. I pray this challenges and blesses you as it did me.

Shalom Fellow Israelite,

The Counting of the Omer is almost over. Several times in history the marking of time during the seven weeks has culminated in significant events. It is believed that that was the case with the Torah being deposited at Mt. Sinai, and it was certainly true after Yeshua’s post-Resurrection forty day period on earth, and then the following ten days leading to the Spirit’s descent upon those who in the fullness of time became the first fruits of Shavuot (Shavuot is also the Feast of Bikkurim – first fruits).

This year in particular, the period marked by the Omer counting has been full of events in the Land of Israel – some ordained by heaven, others by man, while the natural and weather conditions have also been erratic.

Continue reading →

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500,000 +!! Major mile marker…

Posted on May 16, 2018 by

Just over five years old and now at a half million views, natsab.com is small by many standards, but has impacted many people’s lives with truth and challenging thoughts. Thank you for being here and sharing this journey as we grow together.

Truly, as the verse above says, doing His commandments leads to understanding. We don’t have understand first, we DO first and then comes understanding.

May each of you be blessed with great understanding.

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Ani Yosef website now live.,

Posted on May 9, 2018 by

As most readers have already noticed, an amazing opportunity to serve has unfolded before us.  For Sukkot this year, we are taking up to 100 people with us to Jerusalem for the feast and to serve our brother Judah by picking up trash and helping to value the land of our fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!  And, we are doing so at an amazing price!!

Well, as things have continued to unfold, the multinational leadership team for this trip has taken steps to establish what very well may become a regular service trip!!  We now have a name and a website where we can house details and information about developments and current projects.

Come by and take a peek!!

AniYosef.com

And, of course, space is filling quickly.  If you want to join us for this inaugural trip to Jerusalem for Sukkot 2018, here are the details….

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Jerusalem for Passover, two pilgrims’ adventures….

Posted on April 24, 2018 by

One of the great joys of going up to Jerusalem for the feasts is to gather on the weekly Shabbats at Independence Park.  Some time back, it sort of became an unwritten date on every ephramite’s calendar: 2pm at Independence Park.  Everybody will be there in a huge group talking excitedly, meeting new friends, making contacts and trading stories!  Dozens of nations are represented and multiple languages heard, though English is the primary.

Well, I had a special encounter with Dave McKnew and Rafael Trevino and heard part of their story.  This morning I received a lengthy email detailing their respective trips to Jerusalem, how they met and how the Father knit them together.  Enjoy!!

Going to Jerusalem for Passover

David McKnew and Rafael Trevino

Jeremiah 3:17
17 “At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of YHVH (LORD), and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of YHVH, to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts.

I really had no idea why I felt a desire to go to Jerusalem for Passover but after my pilgrimage to the Holy Land it would be crystal clear. The first time I felt a slight desire to go to Israel was in June of 2017 while laying in my hammock in a very remote area of Kauai called the Kalalau Beach along the Napali coast. I had a thought “why have I not visited Israel, I can take time out to come to a beautiful beach like this to enjoy God’s creation but I have not taken the time to visit God’s holy land the only area on earth He
has said to have placed His name forever”. I did not think about it again until some unusual events had taken place just a few months after I had that thought.

August 21st 2017 just a couple months after that thought on the beach, we had an amazing eclipse sweep across the United States from the West Coast to the East Coast. I noticed some very interesting signs which were pointing to Jerusalem when the eclipse shadow
had passed over 7 Salem’s.

Continue reading and see their many beautiful pics:  Going to Jerusalem for Passover

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3rd B’ney Yosef National Congress Report ~ Ephraim and Rimona

Posted on April 23, 2018 by

Following is a terrific report from the 3rd B’ney Yosef National Congress.  Also, I want to give you a quick reminder to pray, promote and consider participating in the Bney Yosef organized trip to Jerusalem for Sukkot 2018!!

Friday, April 20, 2018

3rd BNEY YOSEF NATIONAL CONGRESS REPORT

The concluding session of the 3rd Bney Yosef National Congress brought us tearfully ever closer to Bney Yehuda. Following a sequel of divine arrangements, we watched a video clip with an accompanying song about (mostly orphaned) Jewish children who after the 2nd World War were discovered hidden in Christian institutions. A young rabbi who was on a quest to find them did so by singing out loud the Shma. When the children heard the familiar sounds they came scurrying out of their rooms, making their way back to their identity and freedom.   The recently emerging Ephraimites, who are leaving organized religious institutes, are also being identified by their response to the call “Hear Oh Israel”. Thus the video clip made for a symbolic and significant conclusion to the four day gathering on the hills of Ephraim at the Eshel HaShomron hotel.  (Link to the said clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKGyI88ZkS8).

The stage for this momentous finale was already set on the previous day when we heard from an observant young Jewish woman, who was with us by mere chance. Rabbi Harry Rozenberg, who was scheduled to speak that afternoon, had a car failure. Shira, the young woman who is also his secretary, volunteered to drive him to his appointment, not knowing what to expect and who would be the Rabbi’s audience. About an hour into Rabbi Rozenberg’s presentation Ephraim stood up and motioned to him to take an interlude, as something was about “to happen”. This made Shira very nervous. It was 3PM (time of the daily sacrifice in former days), and the one hundred strong group stood up facing Jerusalem and sang the Shma to Shira’s utter amazement. With tears streaming down her face (Continue reading at Etz B’ney Yosef….)

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Jerusalem on $50 a day!! At Sukkot!! No kidding!!

Posted on April 16, 2018 by

**Update:  As of 5/22/2018, 59 spots already reserved.

How would you like to spend 16 days in Israel before and during Sukkot 2018 for a shade more than $50/day per person?  Oh, the $50 includes breakfast and dinner!!  And, the trip does involve working four of the first five days.  The balance of the time is experiencing Yom Kippur and Sukkot in the Land.

The Overview

Three years ago, while in Jerusalem for Sukkot, I was taking in this amazing place and feast, but was bothered by trash on the ground in many public places in and around Jerusalem.  I had a vision then of returning with a team to pick up trash before Sukkot and then to celebrate and tour.

Well, during our most recent visit, Pesach 2018, the Father suddenly began to open doors and assemble a team from Europe and North America to help support just such an endeavor.  More exciting is that He expanded the vision from a team of 30 to a team of 100 and He made a way for the price to be a very reasonable, even cheap, $50/day.**

**Tours fees and transportation are ala carte and extra.  I.e., As soon as we nail down individual prices for each of the five day tours, we will release that.  Costs are site entry tickets and in the two day trips, a share of the bus cost, probably about $15/person or so for the two long day trips.

If this excites and interests you, here are the details: Continue reading →

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Two FUNNY videos from Pesach….

Posted on April 13, 2018 by

So, we are back in the US and getting over jet lag while dealing with mild depression from having to leave Israel.  Honestly, “there” feels more like home than “here,” but I digress.

As previously shared, we had an awesome Pesach Seder with a very multinational gathering from Europe and North America.  After the dinner, good friend and brother, Heinz Suter, introduced us to a little game/tradition that they do around their Pesach table in Switzerland after the meal.

The idea is that someone is the interviewer and different guests can go up and role play some character from the Passover story.  Heinz played the the interviewer for “Breaking Egypt News” and four or five of us got up.  My son, seeing me go up, decided to video.  The following is the unintended comedy that ensued.  Then, a couple people later, not to be outdone, Kelly, my wife, played a role.  Everything is improv.  Here the videos are for your enjoyment… Continue reading →

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They call mine a “Jewish soul”…

Posted on April 8, 2018 by

On board ElAl music plays softly on my headset, a lilting melancholy tune as we taxi. Thoughts of the Judean

hills and views of Tiberius flit through my mind and my eyes are suddenly moist with tears.

I’m surrounded by joyful laughs and children’s giggles at the end of a vacation or the wonder of flight and the journey home. But, not me. I am leaving home as we climb into the sky above the Mediterranean.

Brothers, newfound friends and maturing relations, in the Land would call mine a “Jewish soul,” but I was reading Herzl a little while ago. Like his vision for the Jews and a place for them to live, he understood keenly that it begins with identifying as a nation.

I identify with Israel, not as a Jew, but as a son of Abraham, Isaac and jacob, a descendent of the Northern Kingdom, the house of Israel, Ephraim – Judah’s brother.

I am Hebrew, an Israelite. I have crossed over. I belong South of the Jabbok in the foothills of the Golan. It is my native soil, the place I am destined to thrive.

Thrive!! This is what I want for kol Israel

Continue reading →

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Traveling home

Posted on April 8, 2018 by

I love to travel but must say, it is a

sickness. Somehow airports, security, sitting and food (airport and airplane) are either bad or worst.

We arrived at Ben Gurion early only to find out our flight is already delayed nearly two hours…. aaargh… so, we sit.

Boys were hungry and we all agreed on burgers… predictably

Continue reading →

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Sunset and our time in Israel is fading….

Posted on April 7, 2018 by

Today has been another special day.  We began with an early breakfast on the covered patio before traveling into Jerusalem to attend synagogue at the invitation of Rabbi Rosenberg.  Our reception was very warm and we were excited to see Jan Kahn Taimoor again.

After synagogue, they were very interested in our stories and asked many intuitive questions.  I felt blessed to make some very close connections with a couple of the guys there who were from New York.

Once the fellowship broke up we departed for Independence Park with a large picnic in hand.  Our plan was to eat at the park and get a little rest before the crowd showed up.  Things started as planned…  we ate and were just getting comfortably sprawled on the blankets when the first family showed up, then the next, then Ephraim and Rimona and, well, no nap.  🙂 Continue reading →

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Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem!!

Posted on April 6, 2018 by

Tonight marks the next to last night we are here and our last erev Shabbat (afaik) until Sukkot! It is a bitter sweet time of impending separation and trips to the airport, but we had a special evening of fish, wine and salad with lively conversation around the table.

Late this afternoon, Rosa and Victor, of Germany, began preparing fish for dinner.  She is some kind of good cook!  Our whole menu and food prep here has been an adventure based on finding the desired ingredients or suitable substitutes, and Rosa has proved to be more than up to the challenge.  Mother of 9, she is quite experienced in the kitchen and tonight proved it again!

Yesterday, we purchased several fresh fish in the shook when we flew through getting ready for the high Shabbat and Rosa turned them and a few vegetables along with potatoes into a sumptuous meal.  Fred and I contributed a salad…

While dinner was being prepared, Continue reading →

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The Highway of Holiness

Posted on April 6, 2018 by

The last time we stayed in this moshav, we had a number of feast days wherein we would stroll the afternoon away wandering through the neighborhood.  We have not had so much time this visit… until today.

Last night as we discussed what we might do today, we decided to drive to Ein Kerem to hike a trail that I spotted yesterday as we came home.  Then, around noon today I asked about doing that and Marie, the experienced member of the team, having lived in Israel for 8 years, said, “No, I think the Israeli Trail passes by the front gate.  Maybe we just walk out there and see how far we can go.”

Sounded good to us!!

So, we loaded up with water, strapped on shoes or boots and set out on another adventure!

At the entrance to the moshav, Marie veered off to one side and found a very nice sign with a regional map and information, which she already knew from multiple hikes in the region, on trail markings! Interestingly, the trail is called Continue reading →

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The everlasting Word!

Posted on April 6, 2018 by

When this was written, what commandments was the author or Author referring to? Just our verses later:

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5

Maybe it should read, “trust in the Word with all your heart and lean not on your own doctrines.”

The Lord will not violate His Word. His Word reveals Him. When we filter His Word through doctrines and our own understanding, we are no longer trusting Him, rather we are trusting the men that tell us what the Word says.

The Word is simple. His commandments are not burdensome.

My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
Proverbs 3:1 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/pro.3.1.KJV

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