Freedom isn’t Free

Passover is all about God liberating Israel from slavery in Egypt. And yet Israel’s liberty—or freedom—wasn’t free. It cost the Egyptian people the lives of their firstborn sons, and it would have cost Israel the same, except for the blood of a sacrificed lamb.

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Rebekah Bronn
Your Praise Report from Ukraine

Throughout the winter months we endured constant sirens, missile strikes, and drone attacks. Power outages and frequent interruptions of mobile and internet services knocked out heat, light, water, and communication for hours at a time. But praise God Almighty, in the midst of these hardships, ministry was blessed and fruitful.

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Rebekah Bronn
Glimpses of Heaven from the Jewish Bible

Ask a Jewish friend, “If you were to die, on what basis would you be allowed into heaven?” and you might well receive a blank stare. Many Jewish people have only a “maybe” belief in any kind of life after death—if even that. And yet there are hints of heaven in the Jewish Bible.

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Rebekah Bronn
Purim and the God of Providence

This year Jewish people all over the world celebrate the feast of Purim at sundown on March 6. Purim commemorates the dramatic rescue of the Jewish people found in the book of Esther—a book in which God’s name is not mentioned, not even once. And as we read this story, it may seem to unfold as a series of coincidences.

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Rebekah Bronn
Finding Hope During the Shoa: Maria Weinstein’s Story

Outside, she could hear the matches scratching. As the village around them exploded in flames, the Nazis attempted to set the last house alight. Within these walls, Maria Weinstein huddled in the embrace of her newly adopted family. There, amid the chaos, Jew and Gentile united as one family in fervent prayer.

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Rebekah Bronn
Baptism: Pagan or Jewish?

Baptism does not change Jews into Gentiles any more than it changes a man into a woman. Why then is there so much misunderstanding and fear among our Jewish people concerning baptism? One needn’t search very far to find the answer.

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Rebekah Bronn
Hanukkah: The Festival Of Lights

Much more than the “Jewish alternative” to Christmas, Hanukkah, meaning “Dedication,” recalls a dark time in the history of our people and our miraculous deliverance from that darkness. This eight-day holiday commemorates the victory of the Maccabees over the army of Antiochus Epiphanes, when God preserved and protected His people through the heroic actions of a small band of Jewish guerilla fighters.

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Rebekah Bronn
The Dark Side of Hanukkah: Should We Celebrate It?

When I read Maccabees, I was surprised to find that the values of our tolerant and inclusive modern Judaism are notably absent from this ancient story. What do we do with this? How do we celebrate Hanukkah without celebrating everything about the Maccabees? It’s easy to simply cancel something uncomfortable in history, but it is both harder and more important to learn from our ancestors—both from their virtues and their faults. Thankfully, we’re not the first generation of Jewish people to wrestle with this.

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Rebekah Bronn
Christmas Would Be Impossible Without Hanukkah

A common Hebrew phrase connected with Hanukkah is “nes gadol haya sham,” which means, “A great miracle happened there.” But did you know that without Hanukkah, we would not have Christmas? Two miracles plus a common theme link Hanukkah and Christmas in a way I hope will heighten your appreciation of both.

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Rebekah Bronn
Who is the Shammash?

The shammash is more than just a candle, it is the servant light by which all the other candles of Hanukkah receive their light. Because of this, its meaning is transcendent, provoking reflection on the beauty of its light and the meaning of its purpose. That meaning points beyond the simple candle to a special person.

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Rebekah Bronn