Dear friends and family,

Our trip to Israel was a great success, December 9-17. We saw the hand of God moving in miraculous ways. This tour was initiated by the Ministry of Tourism for the State of Israel, the first time they have worked with messianic Jews. They arranged for us to use the premier touring company in Israel, Amiel Tours, and the best Israeli tour guides. They arranged for Raanan Gissen to speak to our group. He is the spokesperson for Ariel Sharon and the Likud government and has appeared countless times on western TV including CNN, CBS, NBC, BBC, etc. We stayed in 5-star hotels and were treated with exceptional care.

We were 52 people, including 12 messianic rabbis, representing about 20 messianic congregations across the US. We were quite a diverse group from different parts of the country and from various backgrounds. We visited many historic, archeological and cultural sites in Israel, and we also visited congregations and ministries.

Here are some highlights.

• In Tel Aviv we visited Kehilat Adonai Roi and Avi Mizrachi. Their building, Beit Esther, used to be the government headquarters under the Labor Party. Seven congregations now meet there. They also operate a coffee house and bookstore, called Dugit, just off Dizengoff Street.
• In Jaffa we visited Tanya Topilier and Holy Land Ministries. They feed the homeless and operate a men's shelter, mainly for Russian olim/immigrants. They are also one of the distribution centers for the Joseph Project, distributing humanitarian aid throughout Israel free of charge.
• We stopped at Beit HaTe'futsot, the Jewish Diaspora Museum, and saw how Jews outside of Israel have lived since 70 CE when the Romans destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem and expelled Jews to the four corners of the earth. The synagogue became the center of Jewish life and community: little "temples" modeled after the original Temple in Jerusalem.
• We stopped for a short time in Netanya and met with Evan Thomas and Kehilat Beit Asaph. Evan made aliyah 22 years ago. They are one of the few congregations in Israel with an Ark and sefer Torah (scroll).
• The Ministry of Tourism arranged for us to visit a remote IDF base in the Golan Heights. This was a mobile cannon facility with access only by special invitation. We were honored to meet the soldiers and officers.
• We had a tevilah / mikvah (baptism) in the Jordan River.
• Rita and I hiked up Matsada on Shabbat. We held a Shabbat service in the ancient synagogue at the top of Matsada. We began to sing and Israelis gathered around to see what we were doing.
• We then went to Ein Gedi, where David hid from King Saul. We saw the Qumran Caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered by an Arab shepherd boy in 1947 (a great year to be born). Some of us floated on the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth (1300 feet below sea level).
• Saturday night we worshipped at Kehilat El Roii with Ofer Amitai. I greeted the congregation in Hebrew and preached in English from I Chronicles 21. It was exhilarating for me to speak from the pulpit of a Hebrew-speaking congregation in Jerusalem.
• Then we visited the studios for Heart Rock TV, led by Richard Ayal Frieden, and then The JAMM in the center of Jerusalem (Jerusalem Arts Music and Media). They reach out to Israeli teenagers and point them to Yeshua giving them meaning and purpose in life. You could feel / Life there. David Dolan, author of three books on the Middle East, stopped by to say hello to our group.
• We had a bar mitzvah at The Wall (Kotel). People come from all over the country, even all over the world, to have bar mitzvahs at The Wall on Mondays. The orthodox rabbis knew we were messianic, and they greeted us with open arms. The ceremony went well, as the bar mitzvah boy chanted his Hebrew with expertise. The officiating rabbi then blessed us messianic rabbis. Wow. This may possibly have been the first messianic bar mitzvah recognized by the orthodox Jewish community.
• The night before we left, Raanan Gissen addressed our group. He said we must fight terrorism with tourism. That is partially why we were there at this time.

Ezekiel 37

¹¹ Then He said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off.'

¹² "Therefore prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel.

¹³ "Then you will know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people.

¹⁴ "I will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken and done it," declares the LORD.'"

We are hoping to take more tours in the future. People from our congregation are already asking me when I am going back. Maybe October or November 2003, LORD willing, the creek don't rise and war does not prevent us.

May this coming year be fruitful as you seek God and His will for your life.

Blessings and Shalom,
Hylan Slobodkin
Messianic Rabbi

Rita and IDF soldiers at Matsada. From left to right: Rabbi Bob Cohen, David Dolan and Richard Ayal Frieden and Rabbi Hylan Slobodkin, at The JAMM in Jerusalem Daniel Pink's Bar Mitzvah at The Wall, with the proud father, Philip Pink. Avi Mizrachi preaching at Kehilat El Roii in Jerusalem. Hylan and Rita in the cisterns of Zipori. Rita and Annette on the Sea of Galilee. Bryan, Brenda, Hylan, Rita and Annette on the Sea of Galilee Rita, Hylan, and Annette in Masada Synagogue Bob Cohen & Hylan Slobodkin at Masada A View of the Hike up Masada Praying within the Western Wall Tunnels MJAA Group Photo