Weekly Parasha: Parasha Va'etchanan & Sermon: Affliction is Good

Shalom and Blessings;

The protests here are now getting violent and bloody. Tuesday night five anti-Netanyahu protesters were attacked by a group of pro-Netanyahu protesters and the result was injuries and arrests; there seems to be no end or letup in sight. The protests and riots are taking place in Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem and Caesarea where Netanyahu has his private home. Our city, Ashkelon, thank God is quiet. The government has approved a payout of stimulus checks to all Israelis; singles will be receiving the equivalent of $220.00 U.S while a family with up to three children will be receiving the equivalent of $880.00 U.S. Netanyahu's justification for distributing the money this way, while the unemployed are standing in food lines for handouts, is that people will spend the money they receive on Israeli products and services and that will stimulate the economy to created jobs; we are praying he is right. Ellen and I have determined to do our part.

Since the Israeli air strike this week on Syria which killed a Hezbollah fighter, Hezbollah has attempted to infiltrate into Northern Israel to carry out a terror attack. By the grace of God they were detected by a female solider manning the surveillance cameras and then repelled. No one believes that Hezbollah wants to escalate the conflict into an all-out war, but no one is taking any chances either and our military has beefed up their presence along the Israel-Lebanon border.

My cold has improved but I am still experiencing congestion and excess mucus discharge. Please continue to pray that I will be totally healed. Miriam is out of the hospital and in a recovery hotel, Karin's symptoms did not develop into a serious case of Covid, however, Yafa has been placed on a ventilator, we have not heard about her since. Please keep her in prayer.

Hi Ellen here…hoping you are all well, we are keeping you in our prayers. Well it has been an eventful week as you read above…Yes, our friend Miriam is recovering nicely. As she is now in a "corona" hotel her son Matan is in the north as part of the anti-terrorist attacks by Hezbollah…all calm now but Jack and I pray a hedge of protection for our IDF troops. You know I was thinking, with all that is going on, as believers we are to be joyful…but I truly believe we can suffer from a bout, although a small one, of depression. It came to me concerning Elijah…after receiving threats on his life from Jezebel he sat down and prayed in the desert feeling worn out and lonely…"I have had enough Lord…take my life, I am not better than my ancestors." 1Kings 19:4…Elijah seemed to have given up hope. Although we strive not to get to the point of death…depression sometimes comes over us as a wave of sadness and hopelessness.

Let us purpose this week to turn our sadness into garments of praise and dwell only on the good things…remember to give thanks in ALL things, we love you Lord.

Visit our blog for more teaching and to view previous Torah commentaries: https://weeklyparasha02.blogspot.com/