Shalom Friends,
In the last year, I have read hundreds upon hundreds of Israel-related articles, scores of books on subjects related to Israel, Islam, and the Middle East, and I’ve had many conversations with professional scholars of one sort or another. Why? I want to keep abreast of what’s happening in order to speak more decisively on issues related to our world. Serving you requires it and the ministry expects it, so I must stay informed.
To be honest, the extreme exposure to various information sources has left me somewhat disheartened—and mildly depressed. Excited as I was when asked to follow in Zola’s footsteps at the helm of a significant television ministry, I, frankly, never expected that a mild form of depression would attach itself to me as an occupational hazard.
It’s not a clinical depression, in my estimation, but more a by-product of negative information overload. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon said, “In much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow” (1:18). In essence, he said that coming to terms with the world can sometimes be depressing. Solomon’s summary statement came on the heels of his saying, “I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this [is a] burdensome task God has given…” (1:13).
Solomon noted the link between knowledge and sorrow. I, too, find that the “burdensome task”of self-educating for my post has disheartened me by making me aware that anti-Semitism is not only alive and well in this world—something that I, a descendant of German Jews, would rather forget—but that it is actually flourishing!
However, anti-Semitism has changed since yesterday’s Germany, when anti-Jewishness was very blatant. Past rhetoric like the “Jews are bloodsuckers” offends today’s sensibilities.Though yesterday’s bombast is gone, the spirit behind it is present. Today, denigrating a race—the Jewish race or any other—is unacceptable; so Jew-hating must be veiled and presented in a permissible guise, such as an intelligent political discussion, but one that focuses on castigating Israel.
Jimmy Carter—who, as you may recall, left the White House ingloriously after demonstrating his inability to get the better of his “Iranian Hostage Crisis”—is now supposedly an expert on peace and the Middle East. He enjoys the personal and financial support of powerful Arab benefactors and has become their “poster child,” in which capacity he gives voice to how the Jews are the scourge of the Middle East. His liberal friends at The New York Times, the BBC, and elsewhere get “in line” behind him and decry the Jewish State’s alleged perfidy. I am amazed because it is so untrue!
Personally, I find all the non-reality sickening and it prompts me to stand up and contend more forcefully. But who am I, really? What can I do?
I have a TV program now, true, but it doesn’t have the viewing audience of the BBC. Yes, I have a newsletter—the Levitt Letter—but it doesn’t have quite the reach of The New York Times. But, I do have an asset that neither the BBC, The New York Times, nor the former president of the United States can claim:
You!
Once, an Old Testament prophet named Elijah was feeling demoralized. Disconsolate, he complained to God, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of Hosts… [but people have] killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left and they seek to take my life” (1 Ki. 19:10). By way of response, God, in effect, said, “Hold on; you’re not alone.” The biblical record actually puts it like this: “I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal” (v. 18).
You and I are in the same army—standing together!—as we take on the prevailing darkness, spreading God’s Word, literally around the globe and back to Israel, via television!
There is a war going on, and your letters of support encourage me. That, coupled with the reminder that “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds” (2 Cor. 10:4), bolsters my confidence in the battle’s ultimate victory.
What an exciting time to be alive; what a fascinating time to be in Israel.
In fact, I am writing to you from Israel. I came here with my nineteen-year-old son Jacob a few days before our summer tour group is to arrive, so that he and I could “pal around” a bit.
While strolling through Tel Aviv last night, Jacob asked me an interesting question: “Where’s the war?” I know what American news reports led him to expect—sensational commotion for which mass media camera crews travel to the Holy Land’s worst neighborhoods. However, when Jacob and I arrived, his eyes discovered many young people walking around, relaxed, talking and laughing. He commented on the fact that many young men and women were holding hands and kissing. The scene looked happy and peaceful to him.
This, friends, is the mystery that is Israel!
Like any nation, it has a few rough areas, but by and large, Israel is an oasis in a desert of despair. For Jews, the miracle of modern Israel is “paradise restored.” For students of Bible prophecy, Israel’s re-emergence is a portent of imminent events. Israel is different things for different people. Would you like to galvanize what it is for you?
Please consider joining us for an Israel tour and enhancing its impressions on your mind’s eye. If you are like the many thousands who have come with us—one or two small busloads at a time—you’ll be amazed. You’ll find yourself a confirmed lover of the real Israel, disconcerted when you hear any Israel-bashing. Our Fall Tour offers four options:
For a tour brochure, please call Tony at (214) 696-9760 during office hours (CT) or 1-800-WONDERS (966-3377), anytime.
Your messenger,
Jeffrey L. Seif
P.S. In joining the “army of the seven thousand who have not bowed to Baal,” you’ll be surprised at how rewarding it is to help us, and others like us, to bring God’s Word to a generation in tremendous need.
Dear Jeff,
In the largely secular world, which is doomed to become increasingly depressing until Jesus Christ’s return, Israel is an oasis in the desert.
“Here is my gift for July. Please count me as a soldier in the “army of seven thousand who have not bowed to Baal” as you take God’s Word to our world’s neediest generation.”
Zola and his crew have taken the initiative to show Israel as the modern, beautiful country it really is. Viewers will be as surprised as our pilgrims are to see that this much-criticized nation is at least the equal of our own and in some ways superior!
Beautiful and useful, this lovely Jewish calendar provides the dates of all the biblical feasts and sabbaths. Learn the names of the months, the Holy Days and all the rest through the English phonetics like in our monthly Hebrew Lesson in the Levitt Letter.
This book’s brand new look at Jerusalem’s past, present, and future will inspire you to praise God’s faithfulness and motivate you to pray for the peace of Jerusalem like never before.
See Israel through the eyes of a faithful son who has made the land of his Father his life’s work. A love letter from a sincere writer to his homeland. An intensely personal and heartfelt look at God’s country, one of the most misunderstood lands in all history.
