#aliyah jacobs

[alltimefail-sims]

Almost done taking the family photos and I am emotional!! 😭

This one is my personal favorite: the twins and their dad, Devon, when they were just toddlers. They were on the way to the community center for a family swim day! Because Devon passed away, I'm only able to show him through photos and family memories, and I thought this one really captured his spirit.

[mmaosa]

Aliyahsinterlude for Marc Jacobs Heavn

source: instagram (@heavn)

[ajortga]

cute and absolute

pairing: jenna ortega x actress!fem reader

word count: 1.8k+

summary: it doesn't go unnoticed that you are one of the only people that jenna lets her walls down with.

based off request!

-

Where Jenna only accepts r's touch ??? Tyy

-🥝

-

Jenna is squirming in the car, screaming at her friend to drive faster so she can eat. 

“I’ve been on set since 6 fucking AM! It’s been 10 hours and I’m hungry! I skipped breakfast for this damn shit! What the hell do you mean you can’t get a burrito right now? All I want is a damn burrito and you’re telling me that we have to pick up Y/N, our friend, and first buy the book you wanted because it’s closer? CLOSER?” She screams, gripping her knuckles that were already white enough.

Jacob, one of Jenna’s friends laughs hard, a little threatened but not enough to be stopped. “It’ll only take 15 minutes at most! It’s more convenient, the bookstore is along the way and closer to our location, then we can just buy any burrito you want aft-” 

“CLOSER? YOU KNOW WHAT’S CLOSER?” Jenna throws her arms up in dramatic effect, huffing, “Me going insane! My sanity is at 10% right now, and if I don’t get my burrito this instant, I’m going to crash this car and fucking run to the nearest place that has a burrito. DON’T touch me!” She yells, smacking her friend's arm away because she cannot think properly at this moment.

“I’m STARVING, and I’m a woman who needs food to survive in this film ECONOMY! Can’t you drive any faster?-"

Jenna suddenly hears your voice outside from the slightly opened car window. She peeks her eyes out, her hands holding the glass. She suddenly sees you, looking sweet, happy, and perfectly sane as you come out of your driveway. “Hi, Jenna!” You exclaim, completely unaware that she was just ballistic for a burrito 5 seconds ago.

Her frustrated demeanor melts off suddenly, a goofy grin on her face as she sees just how happy you are. She brings her hand up, waving. “Hi!”

She just forgot how hungry she was and the person she just was less than a minute ago. Why was she so upset that she had to wait longer so Jacob could pick you up? She stopped feeling the need to bang her head on the nearest wall. 

“Jacob was telling me that you had a long time on set, something about how I had to save him because you were going crazy, so I got you some snacks.” You pull out a bag filled with goodies from your pantry.

The man that was driving stuttered as Jenna slowly turned to him, “I did not say it like that.”

“Oh yeah?” You ask, grabbing your phone and swiping and squinting. “It says here, “Please save me from this woman, she’s acting like a toddler that just shit her pants. SOS, crying crying emoji..” Um, oh and here. “This girl is so dramatic, complaining about not getting her burrito, she's wailing in the back seat. Please save her.” Don’t lie to me.” You state with a grin as Jenna munches on chips.

He rolls his eyes, grumbling. 

Jenna interrupts, “Okay, Jacob, you traitor.”

“You cannot be talking, slapping my arm away when I try to calm you down but Y/N being some sort of angel and making you all cuddly.”

The fuming brunette slowly turns back to normal as you slither your arm around hers, laying your head on her shoulder. “Glad to know you love me. How was filming without me?”

Jenna sniffs, letting you ruffle her hair, “One of the directors was trying to show us how the scene should play out, the popcorn in the microwave caught on fire.”

You nod, awkwardly as you look around. “Was it your popcorn?” You guess.

She huffs and sinks into you, “Yes, and now I'm starving."

-

Aliyah is losing her mind. First, her father was fixing the doorbell, and now it seems to be ringing on its own. Now, her older sister won’t cooperate as she tries to steady Jenna’s legs that are in the air. The brunette shrieks, causing Aliyah to pull away and make her tumble.

Aliyah groans, “This is the thirteenth time already! Let me make this clear, you asked me to help you do this random one handed handstand, but you won’t let me even touch you so I can get you into the right pose? You’re so weird.” 

Jenna shrugs, her head on the floor as she hangs upside down from the couch. “I am letting you touch me!”

“No you aren’t! You start shrieking and then falling face flat when I do! How the hell are we going to make this work if you won’t cooperate?”

The two siblings hear some shuffling as you crawl through the dog door, fitting yourself in. They blink, staring at you as you wiggle yourself through and throw a hand in the air, showing that you brought food. “Burritos!”

“Y/N! What are you doing? Go through the back door you doofus! You could’ve just knocked!”

You finally manage to squirm your way in as you stand up, brushing some leaves off of you and throwing them into the trash. You flip your hair, crawling through doggy doors were one of your talents. You signal her Jenna to hear you out as you put up a finger, “First of all, I was ringing the doorbell like, five thousand times, then I knocked, and no one was answering! I’m not letting the food get cold.” You pause, looking at Jenna who is currently staring at you upside down and hanging from the couch. “What on earth are you doing?”

“Trying to do a one handed handstand.” 

“Oh, wait. Oh! I know how to do that!” Happily, you hand her sister the bag with burritos and tacos, before collapsing to the floor.

There was awkward silence as Jenna and Aliyah stared at each other, “Um..”

Jenna always knew you as the silly girl across the block. Even after 5 years of friendship, she thinks you’ve just gotten sillier.

“That wasn’t it, I haven’t done it in a year. Hold on.” You position yourself, slowly doing a handstand. Jenna can see your shirt slowly rising up and showing your stomach as you keep yourself steady. You lift an arm off and hang it up. “Did I do it?”

Jenna giggles and flops down the couch. “Yeah. I think so.” She crawls behind you and picks up your body that was upside down.

“Hey!”

-

“Okay, slow and steady..” You say softly, squinting and holding Jenna’s legs, making sure she was in the right position. “Aliyah, try steadying her while she puts one arm up.”

“No way, nope.” She argues, eating her taco, “She literally kept shrieking when I tried to and starting kicking and squirming.”

“She’s not shrieking right now?”

“Well you’re just different I guess, you’re her best friend, so..”

You raise your eyebrows, a smile tugging on your lips as you tickle Jenna and make her fall on you. “You just love me, don’t you!?” You giggle, hugging her as she squeals and nuzzles against you.

-

It was late in the evening as you got changed into pajamas and flopped onto your bed. Nights like this always felt better, where you would switch on a show, read a book, or call friends. You decide to check some emails, looking over some asking for you to star in movies, replying to companies that want you as their ambassador, you click out of the tab. 

A small ding sounds on your phone as you see that Emma had texted you. 

meh meh myers: LMAO look at this article i found about u and jenna: https://hypotheticalsofcelebrities

y/n: okay my own researcher and detective, or should i say pippa fitz amobi? u get me?

y/n: lemme go check it out

meh meh myers: yus ily

y/n: ur the pip to my ravi 🥺

meh meh myers: corny

You laugh at yourself as you open the link, the article named ‘Escalating Relationships, Cute or Absolute?’

You roll your eyes and scroll down.

Fans say that they’ve picked up on the actress’s behavior, scooting away from castmates who’ve gotten too close during interviews and only staying close to one or two close ones. Not that she’s uncomfortable, taken from the way she seems unfazed most times. But, it is noticed that she seems like a bundle of happiness with individuals. A clip right here shows her with a fellow castmate, Y/N L/N, both starred in the famous series, Wednesday. It is caught on how Ortega was silently making sure that her friend was okay during an interview that had turned a little more uncomfortable for the other girl, squeezing her hand and clinging onto her. It seemed to have worked, for how the girl began to relax. What a friendship they have!

The tiny moments of comfort and physical touch occur in other interviews too, as well as cute Instagram comments on each other's posts that come off as playful flirting. Some comments are pasted here.

Jenna Ortega commenting on Y/N’s post of a photoshoot press for Wednesday last year in September:

jennaortega: That’s my girl

Another one on a post of the girl just doing an Instagram photo dump this year in March:

jennaortega: if you squint closely you can see me doing the dishes for my wife in the third photo

jennaortega: i will take your last name if i have to

jennaortega: my woman, i love you

Y/N L/N commenting on a post for Jenna’s Adidas campaign last year in November:

y/n_l/n: i will be the only one applauding the longest for u

y/n_l/n: tis is why i got adidas merch

Fast forward to Christmas with a dump of Jenna’s favorite people (Y/N included) in December last year: 

y/n_l/n: I love you this is why I wanted to bake the turkey

y/n_l/n: merry christmas to my favorite person

Another one to a selfie of Jenna posted this year in April:

y/n_l/n: oh i’m interested, what’s your number?

y/n_l/n: sign my contract to be with me forever? comes with a long time of house wife chores!

-

What do you think? Are they just really good friends with the cutest flirting? Or secretly dating? Answer us down in our poll, cute, or absolute?

Final vote with 20K votes

Cute: 24%

Absolute: 76%

—

carrots4life: but like, their relationship is both cute and absolute! why aint that a option?

mangofrosties: they are def dating istg i’ve never seen them both this happy unless they are together

-

You smile, looking away from your laptop as you kick your feet. You do feel like Jenna had a soft spot for you, she always hugged you first, tried picking you up, falling asleep with each other on set. But she was just your best friend, you would all say to interviewers.

The door slightly creaks as you turn, smiling. “Hey baby, I think you should see this.”

Jenna flops on the bed with you, letting you cuddle her as she kisses you and reads your screen, a goofy grin on her face.

“I guess they caught on that we might be more than friends. I mean, it's not a lie that we are best friends, girlfriends is just a small little detail."

“Cute and absolute.”

[girlactionfigure]

THURSDAY HERO: Rabbi Herschel Schacter 

Rabbi Herschel Schacter was a young U.S. Army chaplain who helped traumatized Holocaust survivors rebuild their lives, and later became an influential leader in the Orthodox movement and a strong advocate for Soviet Jewry.

Herschel Schacter was born in Brooklyn in 1917, the son of immigrants from Poland and the youngest of ten siblings. His family was religious, and he was educated at the finest yeshivas before obtaining smicha (rabbinic ordination) in 1941. Rabbi Schacter served as a pulpit rabbi for a year before enlisting in the Army after Pearl Harbor. After attending Army Chaplain school at Harvard, he was sent to Europe with the VIII Corps and fought in the Battle of the Bulge.

Rabbi Schacter was one of the liberators of the Buchenwald concentration camp. He stayed in Germany for two and a half months after the war, tending to the broken spirits of survivors, most of whom had lost their entire families. Many were the only survivor from their entire town; everyone they ever knew had been murdered. A famous photograph shows him leading Shavuot services at Buchenwald (above). This photo occupies an entire wall at Israeli Holocaust Memorial Yad Vashem.

What Rabbi Schacter saw at Buchenwald was hell on earth. The inmates who were still alive – barely -were emaciated, lying on filthy planks and covered in lice, hollow-eyed ghosts blinking in the sunlight and without the energy to even lift their heads. The stench of rotting flesh and feces was overwhelming. 

Rabbi Schacter noticed Yisrael Meir Lau, 7 years old, hiding behind a pile of corpses. Known as Lulek, the child had lost most of his family and had been on his own since age 5. Rabbi Schacter cared for the boy and helped him immigrate to Israel, where he would one day become Chief Rabbi.

Rabbi Schacter’s son Jacob, a prominent Orthodox rabbi and professor at Yeshiva University, wrote in a piece for Tablet Magazine, “My father spent the rest of his life describing what he saw in Buchenwald and what he did during his 10 weeks there. His work focused on a number of different areas: he tended to the psychological needs of survivors; he worked hard to reunite families; he founded a kibbutz outside Weimar for young survivors preparing to make aliyah [move to Israel]; and he organized a transport of children to Switzerland.”

Another story that illustrates Rabbi Schacter’s massive impact concerns Yoav Kimmelman, a 16 year old from a Hasidic home who lost every single member of his large extended family, around 60 people. The Holocaust destroyed Yoav’s faith and identity as a Jew. According to Rabbi Jacob Schacter, Yoav was “done with God, done with Jewish life, done with Jewish destiny, done with the Jewish people.” Rabbi Herschel Schacter reached out – literally – and singlehandedly brought Yoav back to Jewish life. It happened when Rabbi Schacter was taking 200 child survivors to Switzerland. He wanted young Yoav to go with him, but the boy had no interest in being around fellow Jews and he refused to go. Rabbi Schacter asked him to come to the train station to say goodbye and while there, the rabbi reached down and physically dragged Yoav onto the train. The teen was angry and sullen, but the rabbi convinced him to join a minyan and read Torah in the DP camp. Long story short, Yoav Kimmelman remained religious and at his death, he left 80 descendants, all of them Torah Jews. “That’s all because my father had the guts to pull him onto that train when it left the station,” said Rabbi Jacob Schacter.

Rabbi Herschel Schacter became a prominent leader of Orthodox Judaism in America, helping to rebuild from the ashes and grow the movement. He was elected president of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations in 1968. Dr. Rafael Medoff, in his book “The Rabbi of Buchenwald,” wrote: “He was the first Orthodox rabbi to reach that level of leadership. Until then others saw Orthodox leaders as fit to be heads of Orthodox groups, but not larger ones. Rabbi Schacter broke that mold. He was sufficiently savvy and sophisticated to represent the entire [Jewish] community, not just the Orthodox minority.”

At the very beginning of the movement to free Soviet Jewry, in 1956, Rabbi Schacter was part of the first rabbinical delegation to visit the USSR since 1917. He then went to Hungary to help Jewish refugees flee during the Hungarian revolution. 

Rabbi Schacter served as a pulpit rabbi in the Bronx for more than 60 years and was known as a brilliant and inspiring orator, beloved by his congregation. He passed away in 2013 at age 95 and was survived by his beloved wife Pnina, two children, four grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. Pnina Schacter died in 2018.

For healing the broken spirits of Holocaust survivors and helping them rebuild their lives, and for his devotion to the Jewish people and his decades of leadership, we honor Rabbi Herschel Schacter as this week’s Thursday Hero.

[alldancersaretalented]

Nuvo Orlando: Junior Solo Results

10th: Layla Morgan (Carolina Collective), Gia Roppa (Viera Dance Conservatory), Aurielle Williams (Peaches), Brooklyn Harris (Carolina Collective)

9th: Catherine (All American), Aliyah Mendoza (Marshall Ellis), Nina Kiglies (Xplosive Dance), Jane Hunt (Carolina Collective), Ella Sullivan (WFDC)

8th: Ava Andre (Central Florida), Jayden Secall (Peaches), Juliana Velasquez (Dance Universe)

7th: Madison Jackson (Soar Studios), Camilla Rugeles (Xplosive Dance), Adelaide Bleakley (Peaches)

6th: Shiloh Rodriguez (Dance Town), ? (Xplosive Dance)

5th: Nina Coelho (Marshall Ellis), Fiorella Mezzadri (Dance Universe) (?), Nissi Perez (Dance Town), Salem Howell (G-Force)

4th: Mila Talab (Dance Unlimited), Waverly Summerill (Dance Universe), Brooklyn Roelofs (Your Haven), Abigail Bruno (Dance Unlimited)

3rd: Aliette Valdes (Dance Unlimited), Kaylin Jacobs (Your Haven), Faith Sherwood (Dance Universe), Madison Harper (Dance Universe)

2nd: Ella Dobler (WFDC), Gabriel Gebara (G-Force)

1st: Isla (The World of Dance and Talent), Amabella Tarrago (Stars), Anita Rodriguez (Stars) , Julia Ferreira (Peaches)

[wwethennowforevertogether]

~ Bienvenue sur ta Ligue simulée ~

Ce blog sera une fédération simulée sur la puissance montante du catch américain! La WWE ( World Wrestling Entertainment ! Créée en 1952. Sur cette fédération vous pourrez choisir uniquement des Superstars de la WWE ou bien d'anciens de la WWE. Je n'autoriserai que quatre superstars &/ou Womens par personnes. Je vous souhaite un excellent moment sur cette ligue virtuelle et vous souhaite bonnes chances pour votre carrière!

Attention, parmi vos 4 superstars vous devez au moins choisir deux superstar ou Womens sous contrat avec la WWE. Les deux roster seront réuni, c'est à dire qu'il n'y aura plus que un Show par semaine

WWE SUPERSHOW

 General Manager: Sonya Deville

- Adam Cole - AJ Lee - AJ Styles - Aleister Black - Alexa Bliss - Alicia Fox - Aliyah - Andrade - Angel Garza - Apollo Crews - Asuka - Austin Theory - Baron Corbin - Batista - Bayley - Becky Lynch -Beth Phoenix - Bianca Belair - Big Cass - Big Show - Billie Kay - Bobby Lashley - Big E - Brandi Rhodes  Brad Maddox - Brody King - Corey Grave - Brie Bella - Cameron - Candice Michelle - Carmella - Cash Wheeler  - Cesaro - Charlotte Flair - Christian - Chris Jericho - CM Punk - Cody Rhodes - Damian Priest - Dana Brooke - Daniel Bryan - Daniel Garcia - Darby Allin - Dean Ambrose(Jon Moxley) - Dolph Ziggler - Dominik Mysterio - Drew McIntyre - Edge - Elias - Emma - Enzo Amore - Eric Young - Eve Torres -  Eva Marie - Finn Balor - Jeff Hardy - Golderg - Iyo Sky - Jack Swagger - Jeff Hardy - Jey Uso - Jimmy Uso - Jinder Mahal - Joey Gacy - John Cena - John Morrison - Johnny Gargano - Jungle Boy - Justin Gabriel - Kairi Sane - Kaitlyn - Kane -  Karrion Kross - Keith Lee - Kelly Kelly - Kevin Owens -  Kofi Kingston - Lacey Evans - Lana - Layla El - Lita - Liv Morgan - Madcap Moss - Mandy Rose - Maria - Matt Hardy - Maryse - Melina - Max Dupri - Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) - Mia Yim - Michelle McCool - Mickie James - Montez Ford - Murphy - MVP - Naomi - Natalya - Nia Jax - Nikki ASH - Nikki Bella - Otis - Pac - Paige Vanzant - Peyton Royce - R-Truth - Randy Orton - Rey Mysterio - Rhea Ripley - Ricochet - Riddle - Robert Roode - Roman Reigns - Ronda Rousey - Ruby Riott - Sami Zayn - Sarah Logan - Sasha Banks -Scarlett Bordeaux - Seth Rollins - Shanna - Shawn Spears - Shayna Bazler - Sheamus - Shelton Benjamin - Shinsuke Nakamura - Shotzi - Solo Sikoa - Sonya Deville(GM) - Tamina - Tegan Nox - TJP -  The Fiend'' Bray Wyatt - The Miz - The Undertaker - The Rock - Titus O'Neil - Toni Storm - Trish Stratus - Trey Miguel - Wade Barrett - Xavier Woods - Zack Rider (Matt Cardona) - Zahra Schreiber - Zelina Vega - 

[sadittyprincess]

Heaven by Marc Jacobs predictions:

Uzi and JT

Aliyah Core girl

Ice Spice

Olivia Rodrigo

NewJeans

Gabbriette

Jennifer Coolidge

Lil Wayne

Willem Dafoe

Destroy Lonely

Missy Elliot

[tessherongraystairs]

Here's a basic overview of my love life the past three years

L - shitty ex who accused me of assault after cheating on me and ghosting me for 8 months even tho 1) we never ever went beyond basic making out and 2) we were never alone. We were either in public or with a friend

T - shitty ex who left me for L, gaslit me all the time, said I was faking my mental illnesses to copy them, hit me, would threaten to commit death if I ever left them, and so so much more

Aliyah(german class girl) - said I was faking being autistic and supports jkr. Enough said.

Oliver(debate boy) - called me a slut for wearing a short skirt and high heels to a debate comp. Gotta love misogynistic trans guys😒

Brevvan(eng lit boy) - cheated on me before he moved to alaska with my now ex best friend

Jacob(ex rival) - biphobic and misogynistic asshole who told me that since I had feelings for him I couldn't possibly be gay anymore(despite him being a gay man(WHO HAD FEELINGS FOR ME BEFORE I REALIZED I WAS TRANS))

Dex(loml) - current partner, the best fr, childhood bestie

Lei(math class) - broke up with me because of commitment issues then got together with me and dex then ghosted us then lead us on for months and now we don't talk because I can't fucking do it anymore, but dex is still head over heels and can't move on

Sean(other debate boy) - WHERE DO I EVEN START UGH. I'll have to record what happened with him because omfg he's such an asshole and it was such a situation

Roze(fine asf trans girl that was also dating sean) - I MISS HER😭😭 she was so amazing but we broke up because she had feelings for someone else(a mutual guy friend) and I just saw her for the first time in three months yesterday bc her bf was uncomfortable with us hanging out before (he has trust issues cause of past exs so I'm not all that upset about it)

Hanna(current crush) - KAT SHES SO UGHHHHHH. we get along so well, we both read fanfic, we like the same shows and games and stuff, she actually likes hanging out with me and doing stuff, she listens to my bullshit 24/7 and holy fuck she's HAWT. I feel for her rn like how you feel about Sophie and men named Thomas

I laughed at the last line

all Ik is that u somehow fall for allll the red flags

dex seems cool and so does the latest one

damn

[privilege-rpg]

Welcome to Privilege! Thank you so much for applying; we're so excited to write with you. Please make sure to read over the new member checklist before sending in your account, and try to get the account sent to us within the next 48 hours so we can get you set up with the OOC discord link and into the game!

Matthew Hummel, Played by Jeanne

Jacob "Jake" Puckerman, Played by Shae

Naomi Puckerman, Played by Jo

Delilah Rose, Played by Dane

Aliyah "Ali" Rutherford, Played by Jana

Anastacia "Staci" St. James, Played by Andie

Morgan Weston, Played by Jay

[alltimefail-sims]

Meet the Jacobs (and Young) Family!

Jaleesa is going through it with pregnancy symptoms, but she's handling them like a champ. She scheduled her C-Section (she had to have one with the twins, too) and is starting to prep the nursery. Meanwhile, the twins have created a "BFF-pact" in solidarity against the new baby. Besides conspiring though, Aliyah is hitting the books hard and Omari, ever the free spirit, is spending most of his time crafting and playing with the family hedgehog. He's also joined scouts, and Aliyah is loving soccer!

Aunt Nia and Grandma Deborah are fully settled in! Nia must be inspired by the new environment because she's actually taking the time to go back to school online and get her diploma. It has nothing to do with her mom's looming judgment... but that certainly doesn't help.

[violettesiren]

“Blessed are you, God our God, Sovereign of the World, who has given us the Torah of truth, planting within us life everlasting.” —the prayer recited after an aliyah (a going up) to read from the Torah

Let me speak to you as the tree I climbed as a child, the one in the far corner of my grandmother’s yard, whose bark was a tapestry of rough diamonds. Your first branch was low enough to leap to, textured enough to hold me. And each branch after placed as though to keep me climbing. I paused only to press my ear to your trunk and hear it: the heartbeat of water moving toward the leaves, the conversation between roots and sky. Climbing until my hair twined your needles’ spines; until, anointed by your green, you took root within me; so I speak from the part of me who grows you, grows with you, who will always live in your branches. And in the boughs, so many there with me. A vantage we could not have reached on our own, a vision otherwise beyond us. All of us, in that overstory, unalone.

Aliyah by Jessica Jacobs

[casspurrjoybell-18]

The Vanilla Scented Rogue

*Warning Adult Content*

Chapter 2: Risky Promises

A S H T O N - B L A K E

I leaned against the tree as I sipped on my drink, Aaliyah standing beside me staring at Alpha Jacob's tent.

"What do you think they're talking about right now?"

Aaliyah turned to look at me, her eyebrows nit together.

"They've been in there for quite awhile," she stated, frowning as she moved her gaze towards the tent again.

She raised her left hand to her mouth before starting to chew on her thumbnail, the action clearly showing that she was beyond nervous.

"Adam is probably telling Jacob about how it's unsafe to camp here any longer. Jacob is probably saying something about it being fine."

I sighed.

"Probably," she agreed after a minute or two but it was clear I didn't ease her nerves when she turned to look at me with worried eyes.

"It's gonna be fine," I stated, my voice sort of unsure.

"I hope so. If it really is as unsafe as Adam says it is, I don't want to be here any longer," she shared with me, her voice somewhat muffled because her thumbnail was still stuck between her two rows of perfectly straight teeth.

"I hope you know Adam will never let anything bad happen to you, Aaliyah. Neither will I, you're like my little sister."

I looked down at her, smiling at the thin girl.

"And you're like my older, annoying brother," she chuckled but even then, her laugh didn't seem genuine.

She looked back at the tent before sighing loudly, her worried eyes eventually turning to look up at me again.

"I'm glad to be of service."

I rolled my eyes playfully, running a hand through my hair before looking away. I turned my gaze towards Alpha Jacob's tent, my eyes stuck to the makeshift door until I saw Adam walk out. He looked absolutely pissed. He walked towards us, his jaw clenched as he pulled Aaliyah into a hug.

"Adam? What happened?" Aaliyah was the first to speak, her voice tiny.

"Alpha Jacob," he grumbled, into her long dark hair.

"Alpha Jacob happened."

"What happened with Alpha Jacob?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at the obviously upset male.

"He's decided he's going to try to catch them off guard by taking a group of people, have them walk through miles and miles of woodland and then try to sneak into the Alpha's land," Adam replied, sighing into Aaliyah's hair before letting her go.

"All because Alpha Jacob wants to talk to the Alpha."

"That would be a bloodbath."

My eyes widen as I speak.

"I know," he replied, sighed and taking Aaliyah's hand into his as he continued to speak.

"I tried to reason with him but he wouldn't listen. He's taking a group of men with him tonight. I'm supposed to be going along with them," he spoke, as he looked at me.

I turned my head to look at Aaliyah, her hand gripping Adam's tightly as she stared down at the ground. She looked scared.

"I'll go instead," I volunteered, turning my eyes back to Adam's.

He looked at me, obviously confused, before speaking.

"You don't have to come along, Ash. I'm sure Alpha Jacob has already picked who's going."

I turn my gaze back to Aaliyah who was still looking at the ground, her worried eyes filled with tears. She didn't seem to hear my statement, in fact, she seemed like she was in a whole other world.

"Still. I'll go as well," I restated before looking at Adam.

"Alright, I'll go tell Alpha Jacob that we have a volunteer," he said, shrugging softly, before looking down at his beautiful mate.

"I'll be back."

He smiled at her before kissing her lips. He looked at me before letting go of Aliyah's hand and walking back towards Jacob's tent. I watched as he knocked on the makeshift door a total of four times before being let into his Alpha's tent.

"I'll make sure he remains safe."

I look at Aaliyah, smiling at the girl who quickly rushed towards me and hugged me.

"Thank you, Ash."

She hugs me tightly, her head pressed against my shoulder.

"Bring him back to me, please."

She lets out a breath as she spoke to me.

"I will. I'll bring him back to you," I promise her as I continue to hold her, hoping to ease her nerves.

"You come back too, alright? I need you both," she spoke before pulling away from me, looking up at me with her lips pressed tightly together.

I nod in understanding, smiling at her.

"Ashton," I hear someone yell.

I turned my head, my eyes catching on Adam and Jacob who were now standing by each other in front of the Alpha's makeshift door. Adam was staring at Aaliyah and my interaction, his eyes mostly focused on his mate, while Alpha Jacob was simply ogling Aaliyah as he summoned me. Adam seemed to notice my eyesight on them last, clearing his throat before calling another guy I despised over, the guy's group of minions following him.

My eyes drifted to Ryan, the man now standing a few feet away from the Adam and Alpha Jacob, his eyes trained on me as he listened to Adam speak words I couldn't hear. Being a Rogue was slightly different than simply being a werewolf. We didn't have phenomenal hearing and phenomenal healing abilities because we didn't have the strength of an actual pack to help us.

We had an Alpha, yes but Jacob wasn't chosen by the Moon Goddess herself. He chose himself to build his own pack filled with wolves that no other pack would choose. Ryan rolled his eyes before nodding to whatever Adam said, crossing his arms before he looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you deaf or something? Alpha Jacob called you over here, dumbass," he spoke, his minions standing by him snickering at his statement.

He had been standing by some of the stronger men and women in our little pack who were most likely going with us to the other Alpha's pack.

"Let's go," he spoke impatiently.

I rolled my eyes before looking at Aaliyah, forcing a smile as I looked at the petite dark-haired girl.

"Bye."

I leaned forward, kissing her forehead before leaving her behind. I noticed Adam walk over to her shortly after I reached the group of people who were going with us to complete Alpha Jacob's dumb plan. I smiled as Adam and Aaliyah hugged, their arms wrapped around each other so tightly that Aaliyah was practically invisible because of Adam's ability to hide her in his chest.

I wondered if they thought that it would physically hurt if they were to leave each other for more than a minute. I wondered if it actually did hurt to leave your mate. I smiled at the sight of them before focusing on Ryan who was telling the others the plan. I almost laughed as Jacob stared at Ryan in hate, his eyes narrowed and his arms crossed as Ryan told the others the plan for him.

"By surprise," he stated.

"We'll mask our scents before sneaking up on them, once we slaughter all the guards who are standing watch by the boundary line, we'll accompany Jacob into the pack-house so he can meet with..."

"That's the dumbest plan I have ever heard," I interrupt.

Ryan stares at me in annoyance before opening his big mouth, probably to tell the others that Jacob's plan will work successfully when in reality we'll all die if we use it.

"Keep your opinions to your-self," Alpha Jacob starts.

"What's going on over here?" I heard Adam speak, now standing beside me.

"I was telling everyone that the plan was to mask our scents, sneak up on the guards patrolling their borders, kill them and then sneak Alpha Jacob into the pack-house so he can meet with the Alpha. It's pretty late so I don't expect anyone to be up when we go into the pack-house but if someone's up, we could simply just kill them," Ryan said, his tone slightly annoyed I looked over at Adam, snorting when I saw his expression that read 'What the fuck.'

"Fine," Adam sighed, which made my eyes widen

"But instead of killing the guards, just knock them out. Same with the pack members, just knock them out. There's no need to kill them unless they try to kill us."

"Alpha Jacob told us to kill them," Ryan spoke before looking over at Alpha Jacob.

"Sir, didn't you say to just kill the guards so it's easier to get through the borders?"

Jacob stood there with his hands in his pockets for a few minutes before answering.

"Just do as Adam says."

He rolled his eyes, before starting to walk towards the other Pack.

"No kills tonight," Adam states before starting to walk.

I looked back at where Aaliyah was last standing only to see that she wasn't there. I took a breath before focusing on the fire I had been previously standing in front of. I watched as the flames danced together before following the others towards the pack, a sense of nervousness filling my body for unknown reasons. I will make sure Adam returns to Aaliyah but what if I can't return to Aaliyah?

[2q5b]

VAYIGASH

By Agnes

December 21st, 2023

I think this is a drash about faith.

Faith is sort of embarrassing to talk about.

It has gotten branded as a kind of Christian word.

And yet — it’s all over Judaism — but aslant —

There is God’s faith...fulness. Which is more about loyalty, steadfastness.

And as for us, we are more often enjoined to fear God than to have faith in God.

Ask a Jew if she believes in God and often the answer will be, Ehhhh…

I have a memory of my father saying, once, “Oh, friendships will sort of fade away. You’ll have a family, that will be the focus. And your friendships will become less and less important.”

Friendship was then — continues to be — central to my sense of self, to my sense of the life I have participated in creating.

And yet — there is so much in our society that insists that friendship – which is to say, relationships without a certain legal or ritualized container – are lesser, somehow. I go to a shul that goes out of its way to honor the centrality of community to Jewish life — and actualizes that commitment in any number of ways — and yet, when it comes to the moments of ritual at the center of weekly services, legal and biological family comes first. There is an aliyah for wedding anniversaries. There are aliyot for parents of new children. The unit of the immediate family is central to every bnei mitzvah. And who says mourner’s kaddish? Really a very narrowly defined set of relationships — parents, grandparents, children, siblings, spouses. The rest of us sit, and think privately of the people we loved and lost. Specific legal obligations define familial relationships, make them real. 

Friendship is nice, sure. But it rests on different grounds. It is not made official, legally or halakhically. It rests on a ground of faith.

Towards the end of this week’s parsha, we read about how Jacob slowly acquires all the farmland of Egypt on behalf of Pharaoh. The famine he predicted is on, and getting worse. Egyptians from all over come to Joseph for food. And Joseph takes their money, and gives them food. And then the money is gone, and they come back, because they still need food. Give me your livestock, says Joseph, and I’ll let you eat. And they do. And then the livestock is gone. And they come back, because they still need food. And they say, we have no money, we have no livestock. All we have left is our land, and our labor. And Joseph says, okay, I’ll take both, and then I’ll let you eat. 

And in this way all the money, all the livestock, all the farmland of Egypt passes over into Pharaoh’s hands, by way of Joseph, and all the people of Egypt become serfs. Sharecroppers, really. 

And to complete this process of ensuring complete dependency, Joseph takes one last step. 

“And [Joseph] removed the population town by town, from one end of Egypt’s border to another.”

And then Joseph says to the people,

הֵן֩ קָנִ֨יתִי אֶתְכֶ֥ם הַיּ֛וֹם וְאֶת־אַדְמַתְכֶ֖ם לְפַרְעֹ֑ה ׃

“Whereas I have this day acquired you and your land for Pharaoh.”

It’s chilling. Joseph, in this moment of natural disaster, happens to have a lot of power. And he seeks to make that power permanent. I don’t need to remind you that we have a long history of forced relocation in this country. 

And the Hebrew word here has that edge to it — קָנִ֨יתִי אֶתְכֶ֥ם — I have acquired you — purchased, even.

That word does have other resonances, elsewhere.

Famously, in the song of the sea, just after God has brought the people out of Egypt:

עַד־יַעֲבֹ֤ר עַמְּךָ֙ ה

עַֽד־יַעֲבֹ֖ר עַם־ז֥וּ קָנִֽיתָ׃

Till Your people cross over, hashem, Till Your people cross whom You have acquired.

(Exodus 15:16)

We, in that story, become like the Egyptians — we become dependents on someone else. And in that way enter into a kind of relationship.

So we may be chilled by the ways in which Joseph “acquires” the Egyptian people. But there is a model for it elsewhere — God acquires us. In fact, according to the midrash, there are four things God is said to acquire in Tanach: Israel – us; Wisdom, or Torah; Heaven and Earth, and the Holy Temple. 

Purchasing, acquiring, then, can’t be all bad, no? If it’s something God does?

How bad can it be, if one of the things one can acquire in this way is wisdom? 

The rabbis cite Mishlei, Proverbs, when they talk about God’s acquisition of wisdom.

ה קָ֭נָנִי רֵאשִׁ֣ית דַּרְכּ֑וֹ קֶ֖דֶם מִפְעָלָ֣יו מֵאָֽז׃

“Hashem acquired me at the beginning of God’s path As the first of God’s doings of old. (8:22)

But there is something missing there. Later in Mishlei, we get the following: 

לָמָּה־זֶּ֣ה מְחִ֣יר בְּיַד־כְּסִ֑יל/ לִקְנ֖וֹת חׇכְמָ֣ה וְלֶב־אָֽיִן׃

What good is money in the hand of a fool To purchase wisdom, when he has no heart? (17:16)

Acquisition – even as practiced by God – even when its object is something as deep and unlimited as wisdom – has its limits. 

Joseph, dear Joseph, was so often invited into relationship and then tossed aside — into a pit, into a prison. He was invited into intimacies, and then forgotten. Dear Joseph! Tender, visionary, sensitive, and queer. And also: he has a complicated relationship to relationship. He was shaped by trauma and exclusion. 

It is understandable that he might seek a relationship that would feel solid, undeniable. 

A relationship that doesn’t require the painful, terrifying work of faith. A relationship rooted in power and dependency. “I have acquired you,” he says to all the people of Egypt. I have built, step by step, an unbreakable relationship. It’s foundation may be power and dependency. It may be built on fear, control, and precarity. But to Joseph it feels safe. 

It feels safe because it requires very little faith to sustain.

And a relationship without faith is maybe the only kind of relationship he knows how to form. 

I wonder if I am thinking about faith this week because I have been struggling. I have felt unable to enter the room of certain conversations. I am not replying to emails, I am quiet in group texts. A little hopeless, a little middle-of-the-night awake and sad, anxious; a little stuck in grief of all that has already happened. It all feels so impossible already – what point is there in continuing to try so hard? God’s presence feels more like an idea than a daily accompaniment. I talk to her and that feels good but then there is a reminder of the world. 

I wish there was something I knew I could do, and be done with it. I wish there could be some relief. 

I don’t know what will happen in Gaza. I don’t know what will happen to all the relationships frayed and bridges burned and lives destroyed. But some part of me knows that there is a thing called faith and I need to have that. 

Joseph must have learned about relationships, at least a little bit, from his father, Jacob. Jacob, after all, is the one who tried to secure his father’s love by changing his legal status, purchasing a birthright on the DL with a bowl of soup. This is the Jacob who wanted a blessing from an angel, and got it because he had a mean chokehold when he got that angel on a wrestling mat. This is a man who felt that love was scarce, that it was only through strength and shrewdness that it could be secured. Epic Jacob, gorgeous Jacob, legendary, iconic Jacob!

And this is the Jacob who, in this week’s parsha, tells Pharaoh, מְעַ֣ט וְרָעִ֗ים הָיוּ֙ יְמֵי֙ שְׁנֵ֣י חַיַּ֔י.

My days have been bitter and few.

Two weeks from now, we’ll read how a new king arose over Egypt. And that new king did not know Joseph. And all the power Joseph felt he acquired will be gone. His days, in the eyes of this new Pharaoh, might as well have been bitter and few as well. 

I don’t think our texts only show us things that are supposed to be clearly admired or condemned. I think our text shows us messy things, ugly things. I think our texts show us people shaped by their parents and their broken hearts. People acting in messy ways, ways that have generational consequences. It’s good to have this kind of ugliness in our pasts, because it is a way of saying, this past, too, can have a future — now find it. 

You cannot acquire faith. It is not a legal status. It is not a form of ownership. You cannot buy it with a bowl of soup, and you cannot buy it with all the grain in Egypt, even during a famine. You step into it, day after day.

For love is fierce as death,

Passion is mighty as Sheol;

Its darts are darts of fire,

A blazing flame.

Vast floods cannot quench love,

Nor rivers drown it.

If a man offered all his wealth for love,

He would be laughed to scorn.

(Song of Songs 8:7-8)

I will not be called to the Torah with my friends, to mark any anniversaries. We will not, in a traditional service, at least, say Kaddish for each other when, God forbid, one day one of us is gone. Our friendship cannot be acquired, it can only be sustained, as an ongoing work of faith. 

The name of our parsha is Vayigash. And he approached. 

An approach can be a risky move. A move of vulnerability.

Our hearts are broken. The world is a nightmare. 

I do think there are forms of relationship that can never be secured legally.

I do think there is ugliness in our past.

I think we need to talk to each other.  

I think we need to dream towards relationships.

Relationships that will scare us, compromise our defenses, sustain us. 

I do think we need faith.

Bo-u, ve-nigash.

[girlactionfigure]

ALIYAH #1

I’m leaving Britain and moving to Israel 

Even if it wasn’t for the antisemitism I’d be leaving

Britain is a dying society 

I’ll be fine in Israel 

It’s the most dynamic, creative and positive place I’ve ever been - even though surrounded by Islamic fundamentalist psychopaths who daily try to destroy it 

You can forget the power of positivity and optimism 

It’s become taboo in England 

That’s one thing I’ll never understand or make peace with 

Britain is currently a shit hole - but if you try to express positivity, pride and optimism in the idea of salvaging something good about ourselves and improving things - you’ll be shamed and beaten down by smug, elitist morons who have a stranglehold over our culture - a culture that they have made desperately dull and oppressive 

Britain is a place that hates individuals who stick their head above the parapet, hates self-belief, hates pride, and it hates success 

Our enemies have contributed to this grim culture of floundering confusion and self-loathing Useful idiots do the donkey work 

And our leadership seem to lack entirely any connection with the grandeur or grand ideas that drive not just a society forward - but a civilisation

Israel isn’t perfect of course

But Jewish civilisation - for all our kvetching - is infused with positivity on such a cellular level that it seems impossible to extract it from every instinct we have

Even our kvetching is celebrated. Think about that. We celebrate our skill and ingenuity at complaining.

It’s impossible for Jews to ever be truly pessimistic

We are the descendants of Jacob - who wrestled with an angel and refused to let go of a shitty situation unless it was turned into a blessing

We waited for ten fucking plagues with our bags packed to leave Egypt

Others would have unpacked after three.

A Jew who doesn’t believe in miracles isn’t a realist.

Whether you believe in miracles or not - we are the descendants of those who did - and that triumphant impulse of hope has saturated the unconscious rhythm of our entire being

Preparing for Shabbat bespeaks faith that Shabbat will come

Raising your kids Jewish bespeaks faith they will raise theirs too

Muttering Oy bespeaks belief that on some level your pain is heard

So whatever problems lie ahead for us - who knows how we’ll solve them - but we’ll find a way

If something is broken it can be fixed

Zionism is proof

Once our nation was broken

We were scattered around the world

The re-establishment of our nation in our ancestral home - after two thousand years - is the most audacious act of repair in the history of the world

Every Jew who makes aliyah carries back a small piece of the broken kingdom

Together we’ll build something even better than before

If you’re a Jew I hope you’ll come.

I hope you’ll come soon

And why not now??

The sea has parted.

Just walk through

The path is trodden smooth by the hopeful

LEE KERN

MAY 7

[rickpoet]

Has anyone noticed that we’re all getting older? Pharaoh sure noticed the lines on Jacob’s face when they got to meet. Check out my new poem for this week’s text. And see the full text at the link in the first comment. https://jewishpoetry.net/never-ask-a-patriarch-his-age-a-poem-for-parsha-vayigash-aliyah-6/

[destinyimage]

Isaiah’s Secret Message to Gentiles: The End-Times Mandate to Fulfill God’s Ultimate Plan

Of all the many unique features that the Gentile relationship with the Jew holds, Israel’s redemption is arguably the most important.

Isaiah speaks about the salvation and blessing of the Gentiles like no other and emphasizes the importance of the Gentile role in God’s plan for the Jew fifteen times. Gentile is stated as often in his writings as it is used in all the rest of the Old Testament. Isaiah’s prophecies are the only ones quoted in the Gospels (Matthew 4:15, 12:18; Luke 2:32).

If Paul is considered the apostle to the Gentiles in the New Testament, Isaiah could be the apostle to the Gentiles in the Old Testament. He seems to rejoice in God’s plan of salvation for all the nations. In his own words:

This is what the Sovereign Lord says, “See, I will give a signal to the Gentiles, and they shall carry your little sons [Jewish boys] back to you in their arms, and your daughters [Jewish girls] on their shoulders (Isaiah 49:22 TLB).

Also, the following:

And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth (Isaiah 49:6 KJV).

As one reviews the extraordinary range of involvement for the Gentile in God’s plan for the Jewish people, the Gentile calling is essential to God’s plan for the Jewish people.

One area is the Ruth Calling, a deeply prophetic calling which is dramatically affecting the Gentiles and bringing much-needed partnerships to the Messianic Jewish mission.

The Ruth Generation

Many are familiar with the story of Ruth; a woman who became famous for her compassion for her Jewish mother-in-law, Naomi. Ruth stated, “Where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God” (Ruth 1:16 NIV). The question her statement raises: What does it mean to acknowledge a common destiny as Ruth did with Naomi?

For one, today it acknowledges oneself in a common future with the Jew; this is a profound truth with great relevance. Countless individuals are letting go of their own Gentile church culture to affirm their lot and future with the Jewish people. Often as part of the cost, it can bring separation from loved ones, accusations of converting to Judaism, or even erecting a wall of division; but despite it, they continue.

The real benefit that comes to the body through the Ruth generation is the true understanding of God’s heart for His firstborn. They come to be vital partners in the Messianic call, while demonstrating the model of the One New Man that is provoking both to Gentile Christians and the Jewish people. They become end-time light-bearers of God’s benevolent nature toward the Jewish people.

Aliyah, Jewish Return to the Land

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When God finally gave to the Jews their homeland in 1948, Jews returning to the land fulfilled what is termed “Aliyah” (Return). The essence of Aliyah is a virulent force in the Jewish people. Many of the Jewish people who return to Israel will do so with the assistance of the Gentiles. And Gentile ministries exist today whose sole purpose is to facilitate the return of the Jewish people.

Thousands are serving as these shepherds’ rods pointing the lost sheep of Israel back to Zion.

Jews who live outside Israel, the Diaspora, often return to Israel when anti-Semitism begins or economic and political difficulties arise. Some are compelled spiritually and prophetically, and some leave to take part in their own cultural return to live with their people in an entirely Jewish state.

More than 400 Scriptures in the Bible foretell the Jewish people’s return to the land of biblical history. The ingathering of the exiles, then, is a timeless principle. Tom Hess’s book, Let My People Go, is a classic reading for this train of thought. Consider the following:

And kings shall be thy nursing fathers and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me (Isaiah 49:23 KJV).

Thus saith the Lord of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you (Zechariah 8:23 KJV).

Provoking the Jews to Envy

With the gospel message falling to the Gentiles after Israel rejects her Messiah, the Gentile church has proclaimed the truth of the One True God to virtually every nation and tongue. Yet, the Gentile church was also to provoke the Jewish people to envy, a commission that is given in Romans 11:11 (NIV): the words of Paul, “Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.”

Moses writes: “I will make them envious by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation that has no understanding” (Deuteronomy 32:21 NIV).

Sadly, Christendom has not understood the scriptural understanding of the relationship between the Jew and the Gentile—the Jew and the Christian church.

In this current time, however, God is wonderfully restoring love for the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. He is restoring the Jewish root and making the church a more Jewish-friendly centered place. The body is being prepared to fulfill her final mandate to the Jew.

Gentiles Stand Against Anti-Semitism

Yeshua’s return, and the passage at length:

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?” The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Then he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.” They also will answer, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?” “He will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.” Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. (Matthew 25:31-46 NIV).

God’s devotion to His firstborn is affirmed again in a judgment that takes place at a future time in the Valley of Jehoshaphat. It is spoken of in Matthew 25 and is specific to the Jewish people.

Often misquoted and used to impart a heart for the poor and the needy, this future event occurs upon Yeshua’s return before entering the Kingdom of Heaven, or the Messianic age.

For more clarification, and as noted, the nations are brought into a valley outside Jerusalem that is formed by three hills and shaped like a throne seat. It is called the Valley of Jehoshaphat.

Those gathered for this judgment are the Gentile nations called sheep and goats. The goat Gentile nations are those who have mistreated the Jewish people; the sheep Gentile nations are those who supported, fed, and protected the Jewish people, Messiah’s brothers, during the great and dreadful tribulation period.

For greater context, this takes place at the end of the Tribulation period to determine who enters the Messianic Kingdom during the last half of the Great Tribulation. Amid this profound period of anguish, the non-Jewish nations aligned with the antichrist’s regime partake in the persecution of the Jewish people, thus relinquishing their opportunity to enter the Messianic Kingdom.

Those according to the flesh and natural seed of Abraham are Yeshua’s brethren, the Jewish people (Matthew 10:6; John 1:11). Throughout the book of Acts, Paul addresses his Jewish brothers forty-five times. In almost every instance, he speaks to a Jewish audience, his brothers.

 We should note that salvation is first and always in the belief in Yeshua. But the actions of this later group, the goat Gentiles, is simply damning evidence of their allegiance to the antichrist. For this reason, they join in the most horrific persecution of the Jewish people ever in human history.

In closing, review the following passages of the extraordinary role that the Gentile has in the cause of Zion. Let us pray that God continues to move upon the hearts of nations to fulfill the church’s end-days mandate to “all Israel.”

Gentiles are seen as gathers of the exiles: “‘But now I will send for many fishermen,’ declares the Lord, ‘and they will catch them…’” (Jeremiah 16:16 NIV).

Gentiles are guiding the Jews back to Jerusalem: “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘See, I will beckon to the nations [Gentiles], I will lift up my banner to the peoples; they will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their hips’” (Isaiah 49:22 NIV).

Gentiles are drawn to Israel:

And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee… (Isaiah 60:3-4 KJV).

The nations will be drawn to the Glory of Israel.

Gentiles recognizing God’s favor on the Jews: “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In those days ten men from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, “Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you”’” (Zechariah 8:23 NIV).

Gentiles provoking the Jews to envy: “Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious” (Romans 11:11 NIV).

Gentiles sharing with the Jews of their material blessings: “They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings” (Romans 15:27 NIV).

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