BUS BOMBS and PASSOVER

 

Today (Saturday 23 April) is the first day of Passover and I have had a quiet day at home enjoying the peace and rest of a special Shabbat. The religious attended special prayers at the synagogues while many thousands of others flocked to the parks and reserves to enjoy the perfect spring weather and the beauty of our Land. Last night  families, often extended families and guests, all over Israel, and indeed Jews all over the world, gathered together to celebrate the Festival of Passover, commemorating the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, some 3,500 years ago, and their return to the Promised Land. I also was blessed to join a family and celebrate with some twenty others.

 

An Israeli family holding a Passover Seder
http://www.israeltoday.co.il/Portals/0/news/130331_haggadah.jpg

During the Seder, beautiful prayers are recited and songs are sung as we tell the story of God's deliverance of the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt, and how He brought us into the Promised Land, a  wide land of freedom and plenty. We are enjoined to celebrate the Passover, in every generation, as if we ourselves had been slaves in Egypt and have known first hand the LORD's deliverance from Pharaoh, the journey through the desert for 40 years, and finally the arrival in the Promised Land. We are also commanded to pass this knowledge on to our children, and Jews have faithfully kept this feast and passed on the story, generation after generation, for 3,500 years. The Feast of Passover is  rich in symbolism and meaning for all, but for Messianic believers and Christians everywhere it has even greater meaning as we celebrate the Passover lamb, Yeshua, that was sacrificed for our sins, to bring us out of slavery to sin and into eternal life.  Furthermore, for those of us who live in the land it has also an additional meaning. For two thousand years Jews have finished the Seder with the prayer  that they will be able to celebrate the Passover 'next year in Jerusalem'. What an incredible privilege and joy it is to be amongst those who have fulfilled this ancient longing and can today celebrate it in Jerusalem. The prophets of old told of an even greater exodus than that from Egypt: 

 

  Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that it shall no more be said, ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’  but, ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them.’ For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers.

Jeremiah 16:14-15 

 

 It is my belief that the ingathering of Jews, and the remnant of Israel, from the four corners of the Earth to the Land of Israel that is occurring today is the fulfillment of this prophecy. How much we have to celebrate!!!

 

When I travel around this Land as I love to do, I am over and over again awed by its abundance and its beauty. It is truly a good Land and all the more so when you compare it with the searing deserts just a stones throw away all around us. 

A flock of sheep grazing in the meadows of Judah  in Spring 2016, with a field of winter wheat in the valley below.
Beit Guvrin, Judah.

 

On the Eve of Passover I read how God's deliverance of Israel came about because he heard their cries for help.

Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage.  So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.  And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them.

Exodus 2: 23-25 

 

 Although God is returning us to the Land as He promised the process is far from complete. We still have not entered into full freedom in the Land. We still have many enemies around us and within us. On the Monday before the Passover  I left work  in the afternoon and went to the supermarket for my weekly shop. On my way home I drove up the congested Moshe Bar'Am street in the rush hour traffic. Just seconds later, on that very street, a bomb went off on a number 12 bus, setting it, another bus and a passing car on fire. Miraculously all the passengers somehow got off, or were evacuated, from the vehicles and no one died, except the perpetrator of the attack, who died a few days later. Twenty-one passengers however suffered injuries, several of which are classified as serious to moderate. Apart from smoke inhalation, burns and shrapnel injuries, some passengers also suffered penetration wounds from nails and pieces of metal that  the terrorist had loaded into the bomb. When you see the photos of the inferno the bomb caused it is truly astounding that no one died. Even the emergency personnel remarked on that. That said the  people on this bus are my neighbors, and many of them have very grave injuries and their lives will never be the same. This bus line runs from my neighborhood of Armon Hanatziv ( also known as East Talpiot) to Haddassah Hospital, and would be the bus I would take to work if I did not have a car.

 



The scene of the bombing
http://cdn.timesofisrael.com/uploads/2016/04/20160418080831.jpg
 

This is the second attack in 6 months on a bus from my neighborhood. Another was boarded by two terrorists who opened fire on the passengers, and also attacked some with knives, killing 4 and injuring many others.  Yesterday's attack however was the first bus bombing in Jerusalem since 2011, when a suicide bomber attacked a bus near the Central Bus Station.  This latest attack raises the spectre of the Second Intifada (2000-2008) and the many suicide bombings of buses, markets, restaurants and other  crowded public places which took place during those years. We are waiting with bated breath to see if this is an isolated event or the beginning of a third intifada.  

The terror organization, Hamas, has claimed responsibility for the attack which was carried out by 19 year old, Abd al-Hamid Abu Srur, a resident of the Palestinian refugee camp of  Aida next to Bethlehem. The day he died of his injuries,  his family celebrated by handing out sweets on the streets and singing praises in honor of his martyrdom.

Hamas' martyrdom poster for Abd al-Hamid Abu Srur, the terrorist responsible for J'lem bus attack
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4794447,00.html

On the day before Passover another tragedy struck - this time a traffic accident. A bus drove into the wall of a tunnel near Haifa and 54 people were injured, some critically or very severely. The cause of the accident is not yet clear.


Emergency workers rescue the injured at the scene of the accident
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4794943,00.html

So it is that this Passover too our celebrations are shadowed by loss, fear and grief. Perhaps our LORD will hear again our groanings and come to our rescue for His Name's sake and for the sake of the covenant he made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Please pray with me for our people as we celebrate the remainder of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (which follows the Passover) over the next few days. May our roads, our celebrations and our gatherings be protected.  Many thousands are on the very congested roads travelling to parks, forests and beaches,  and the various holiday events happening around the country. Some 1.1 million travelers are expected to pass through Ben Gurion Airport. Tensions are very high in Jerusalem especially around the Temple Mount, and are expected to peak during the Blessing of the Cohanim (the Priestly Blessing of the people) which takes place on the morning of  Monday, 25th. For this event thousands gather at the Kotel (Western Wall).



Birkat Hacohanim (The Priestly Blessing) Passover 2013
 (note the proximity of the Mosque of Omar with its grey/silver colored dome above the Kotel)
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rNkeRn8xSRo/maxresdefault.jpg

 

Now just a glimpse of one of Jerusalem's loveable eccentricities. In Jerusalem's narrow alleyways car traffic is often impossible so some of Jerusalem's police use horses. These horses are kept in beautiful condition. Here is a photo I took last week of some police horses taking a rest in the shade as their riders enjoy a coffee break in a quiet side street.

 

 



 This is a reminder to pray especially for the 3,000 police who are guarding our city over this holiday, and the thousands of soldiers, and border police all over the country. They are not at home celebrating with their families but are putting their lives on the line, day and night, so that we can.

 

CHAG SAMEACH - A HAPPY PASSOVER TO YOU ALL.