March 23, 2024 - Bar Mitzvah

The Jerusalem Prayer List – March 23, 2024

By Joseph Shulam - From Mount Juliet, Tennessee, USA

The Torah portion that will be read in synagogues around the world is my Bar-Mitzvah reading. When I was 13, my father sent me to the neighborhood Rabbi to study for my Bar-Mitzvah.  Bar-Mitzvah is the right of passage for any male child moving from being a child who is not responsible for himself. Still, his family, especially the father, is responsible for him in a whole new sphere – when you finish your 12 years of life, he has to read publicly from a Torah scroll written by hand. The Torah scroll has no punctuation or Hebrew vowels. These are indicated as dots and lines above and beneath the text. Here is an example of the first verse of the Torah portion for this Shabbat, Leviticus chapter 1:1-2, with the vowels on top and under the consonantal text.  

”וַיִּקְרָ֖א אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֑ה וַיְדַבֵּ֤ר יְהוָה֙ אֵלָ֔יו מֵאֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵ֖ד לֵאמֹֽר׃ דַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל־בְּנֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֲלֵהֶ֔ם אָדָ֗ם כִּֽי־יַקְרִ֥יב מִכֶּ֛ם קָרְבָּ֖ן לַֽיהוָ֑ה מִן־הַבְּהֵמָ֗ה מִן־הַבָּקָר֙ וּמִן־הַצֹּ֔אן תַּקְרִ֖יבוּ אֶת־קָרְבַּנְכֶֽם׃“   

This printed text of the Torah includes the vowel signs of dots and lines.   The same text in the handwritten scroll looks like this:

ויקרא אל משה וידבר יהוה אליו מאהל מועד לאמר דבר אל בני ישראל ואמרת להם אדם כי יקריב מכם קרבן ליהוה מן הבהמה מן הבקר ומן הצאן תקריבו את קרבנכם!

As you can see, the consonants are the same, but the dots and lines that make the vowels are not there, making the reading very difficult. Essentially,  when a male child completes 12 years of life he has to prepare to read the Torah portion of the sabbath of his birth in front of the whole congregation of his text and then bring a message based on his reading. It is a classic right of passage, and it is important for the child and his family and the whole community. From this point forward, this child is no longer under the responsibility of his father and family. He alone is responsible before the LORD. It is a big moment for the family, the child, and the community. From that day on, the community will look at this child as a member of the community who is responsible, as every other male, for his actions and commitments. Can you imagine reading a text in your language with no commas, question marks, exclamation points, or end of sentence? The Hebrew scrolls of the five Books of Moses don’t have any signs of syntax or punctuation, making reading the Hebrew text difficult! 

Dear Brothers, we have to thank the Jewish Rabbis who lived in the land of Israel in the city of Tiberias on the shores of the Sea of Galilee between the 7th Century and the 9th Century CE for the big help to all Jews and Christians seeking to read the Hebrew Bible in the original language. I bring this small bit of information because I have encountered all around the world many people who don’t realize that, as Christians, we have a relationship with Israel as a nation. With Jews we have a common heritage and partnership that binds us together like no other nation, because our relationship is one that was bonded by God when He sent Yeshua His Son to the Earth to save us all. 

Since this Torah portion is the portion of my birthday, I had to read it before the whole community in the synagogue on Yehuda Street, between Beth-Lehem Road and Hebron Road in Jerusalem. I shall never forget how proud my father and all the family were that I read my Torah portion, Leviticus 1:1 – 16. I know for sure that my father didn’t understand a word of what I was reading and not a word of my short message explaining the text. You see, my father and mother were both unbelievers in God. My father mocked the religious Jews and their lifestyle and their attitude toward the state of Israel. 

Now, I must open up the main subject of the book of Leviticus between chapter 1 and chapter 13. The subject is sacrifices to God—the work of the Levites in the Tabernacle. Today, we don’t have a set liturgy when we go to our respected congregations. One or two individuals decide our worship. Very few people know ahead of time what will happen in the assembly. The worship consists of a few songs, a message that is sometimes a message of some people’s intelligence. We take communion and go on our way. The emblems of the sacrifices are consumed with a spoon of grape juice and a stale piece of “unleavened bread!” 

 It is hard for us to imagine the concept of worship and the vast amount of hard work it took for the Levites to serve the crowd of tens of thousands, each bringing one type or another of sacrifice to the Tabernacle in the wilderness of the Sinai Desert or Jerusalem. Sacrificing was messy work, not to mention the cost and expenses of bringing an animal from your village in Carmel (near the Dead Sea on top of the hills of Judea) to Jerusalem. The animal for sacrifice had to be perfect without a blemish or a broken bone, not blind or crippled, a perfect specimen of his species.  

The book of Leviticus starts with a limitation regarding the kind of animals that can be brought to the temple and offered as a sacrifice to the Lord. The first verse of the book of Leviticus already gives clear limitations on what animals are acceptable for sacrifice on the Lord’s altar. The point is that God has rules and limitations. Good intentions and a sincere heart are not enough to please Him. Sacrifice must be according to His rules and not our whims, desires, and appetites. This point might be hard for Christians and Jews in the West to accept. From years of ministry around the world, I can say clearly that we, as disciples of the Messiah, must enter into our worship mindset with great fear and trembling because our worship is the only way that we give God something as an act of adoration and honor and proclamation of how great is our LORD and How Magnificent are His works.  

I will not enter into all the butchering details that the book of Leviticus describes as instruction for the Levites to be extremely careful in their attitude toward God and in their desire and attempt to magnify Him and adore and honor and express our gratitude for His mercies endure forever! 

Barry Shulam - Please Pray for the Annusim Conference in Brazil 29th to the 31 of March. I will be staying with Mom and Dad will be traveling alone. Please also pray for the safe journey for Dads Travels.

The Antisemitism is rising in the world and Netivyah International is working on a major campaign to provide materials and speaking engagements for Church to combat this Virus of Hate agains Israel and Jews worldwide.

To contribute specifically for this new Antisemitism project.

Battle Against Antisemitism

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For updates or request please email us at Prayer@netivyahinternational.org

Pray for faithful brothers and sisters in Israel. If you want to post an encouraging message  there are multiple public platforms you can do it on.  This will provide you a way to connect with the family of faith on this list who can access Facebook,  Internet Website and Instagram.

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Your prayers for brothers and sisters you don't know personally are pure love and building of the Body of the Messiah. It is Agape Love since you are doing this without any selfish interests and casting a vote in Heaven for someone who is your brother. Still, you don't know them, and God looks at these prayers that are unselfish and genuine expressions of love and care for another link in the long chain of love and faith that binds us together even though we might not know each other in this world. 

When we all get to Heaven, it will be a joy to meet people we prayed for and sometimes even cried for. Brothers and sisters who are physically strangers but spiritually a part of the same body of Christ, I believe that one day we will have the privilege to sit together and share: "I remember praying for you to be healed!" "I remember praying for you to be safe when you were fighting in Gaza to free the hostages from the cruel hands of the terrorists of the Hamas in Gaza."

Continue earnest prayers for our war with Hamas to end soon and all the hostages to be returned safe and in one piece home to their loved ones!

Pray for our soldiers, especially for the soldiers we know and appreciate Emanuel, the son of Victor and Ayala, Amiel and Solomon Eze, Kiel Intrater, and any other children of Believers, and, of course, for all of the men and women serving this country.  

I hate that our boys, the men of our congregation, still serve in the Army. Most of them in reserves have to fight and use weapons and do war to protect the civilian population of Israel from terrorism driven by hate and blindness. 

 Please pray for the Middle East and for the world to see and understand what reality is in this part of the world. The land that provided for King David, the prophets, and Yeshua the Messiah want peace with our neighbors.

But our neighbors don't want the hand that is stretched out in peace. They want to kill all the Jews and take the land, which is flourishing and a blessing for all the world, and make it a dump like their own place in Gaza and the Arab countries. 

[note from Barry Shulam]

Update:

• We completed the Biopsy this Monday and are awaiting the consultation with the doctors on April 11th. after Joe returns from the Annusim Conference in Brazil.  
  

• Please keep Joe and Marcia in your prayers. Please keep praying for Marcia Shulam, my wife. Pray that Marcia's memory will stop weakening, her arthritis will be healed and stop being active, and her strength to return to where she can take more care of herself. If you feel compelled to help the Shulam family, you can provide support at https://www.netivyahinternational.org/support-us.

In Jerusalem:

 Pray for the following brothers and sisters who need divine grace and the gentle touch of the hand of God for healing and strength.

• Batya Segal is coping with the cancer treatment's effects and is faithfully waiting for clean PET Scan results.

• Ilana Ahijervie is a dear sister who is 98 years old and suffering from memory problems.

• Please pray for our dear sister, Lea Kurkey.

• Sarit, a sister born in Jerusalem, is over 88 years old and lives alone. She has no close family and suffers from several old-age illnesses.

• Your prayers for Alexander, Sarah, and Andrew, who were raised as believers but have left their faith behind, have been answered. The Divine Shepherd guided these members of the same family gently back to the fold. Please keep praying for their general and spiritual welfare!

• Pray for Adam's father and mother, Barry and Dalia. They have some health problems and challenges.

• Pray for Miriam and Hannah, her daughter. Miriam is a dear sister and has lost her husband recently.

• Pray for Daniel S. and his children.

• Pray for Gary, our dear leader in the Ro'eh Israel congregation, and his health, as well as for his wife Melanie and their family.

• Pray for Um Mahmud Abu-Eid, Jimmy Abu-Eid, and all of the family. This is a dear family of old friends that needs healing and wisdom for the children and for their work.

• Please pray for the Romero family, who live deep in the Negev desert. It is hot there, and they are far from our congregation, and we miss them.

• Please pray for Shannon's father, Michael McGoff. Michael had heart surgery and we need to pray for his full recovery.

In the U.K.:

• We bless our dear sister Celestine with health and blessings from Heaven for her life and her family. We pray for the Lord to be her comfort and provide sister Celestine with all her physical, spiritual, and social needs with His grace.

• Pray for Deborah Isaiah. I pray for the Lord to find Deborah Isaiah and lead her to a blessed life, family, and a solution to her problems.

• Pray for our dear brother Dennis D'Costa and his family as they find their way and have a clear vision of what and where God wants them to live, serve, and grow their family. Lord, open the right doors for Dennis D'Costa and his family.

In Australia:

• A dear friend from Hong Kong, Bonnie, asked that we pray for her brother, Ray Chen, who lives in Australia. Please mention Ray Chen and ask God to show this man the grace of God and God's powerful healing of body and soul, restoration of faith, and life of holiness and sanctity.

In Finland:

• Ester, a dear sister in the faith, is anxious about the results of some tests she has completed. We are thankful for the tests being done, and please pray for happy results. Waiting can be stressful, and we want to pray for her needs.

• Mauno Lemponen has been diagnosed with cancer in advanced stages. We are asking for God's Will to be done, giving him healthy days with family—prayers for Hilka, Miika, and Ester, who support each other. 

• Pray for Keijo and Salme, our dear partners and fellow workers in God's flock. Both Keijo and Salme have some challenging heart issues.

• Sipra, our dear sister in Nokia, is a widow with some health issues.

• Pray for Satu-Maria, Sinni Tuuli, Anne Mirjami, our dear sisters

• Pray for Eva H., Patty, Andrea, Julia, Victor, Aaron Tani, and Hillel.

• Please remember to pray for Kari Antilles' health in Finland. He has been a dear brother and supporter of Netivyah in prayer for many years.

In Brazil:

• Pray for the Congregations related to Netivyah in Brazil to have the strength and stamina to face the challenges ahead of them with courage and strength of faithfulness to the Lord and to the vision of the restoration of the church and Israel.

• Pray for the millions of victims of the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisition who have been forced to convert to the Catholic church and now want to return home to the land of Israel and the faith of our fathers.

• Pray for the state of Israel to open the doors for these lost Jews to be able to return and fulfill God's promises to the prophet Ovadyah:

"But on Mount Zion, there shall be deliverance, And there shall be holiness; The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. The house of Jacob shall be a fire, And the house of Joseph a flame; But the house of Esau shall be stubble; They shall kindle them and devour them, And no survivor shall remain of the house of Esau, For the Lord has spoken. The South shall possess the mountains of Esau, And the Lowland shall possess Philistia. They shall possess the fields of Ephraim And the fields of Samaria. Benjamin shall possess Gilead. And the captives of this host of the children of Israel Shall possess the land of the Canaanites As far as Zarephath. The captives of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad Shall possess the cities of the South. Then saviors shall come to Mount Zion To judge the mountains of Esau, And the kingdom shall be the Lord's." — Obadiah 1:17-21 [NKJV]

• Pray for a dear young man, Paulo, from Curitiba, Brazil, who seriously needs our prayers for sanity and mental health.

• Pray for Rita Sassai, from Vitória, ES.

• Please pray for a dear sister named Claudia Rita Souze Arau. She has cancer and needs God's healing hands to touch her with healing. 

• Fatima Maria Docarmo Guimararaes - pray for her health and her granddaughters' twin babies.

• Pray for Livia Schnell Nothen. She has some issues with her physical health and a growth in her adrenal gland. 

• Guilherme Antonio Nothen Becker is suffering from back problems.

• Aratuza de Oliveira and his wife. Pray for their 3-year-old child, Caique de Oliveira Becker, who has severe problems with his eyes, and ask the Lord to give healing to his eyes. 

• Please pray for Bruno Henrique Cardoso Jr. for his studies and his health. 

• A 70-year-old Pastor, Paulo C. Pereira Braga Dias, is the father of a dear sister in Brazil and suffers from diabetes.

• Pray for Roberto Morias, a dear brother who is going through heart surgery and an angiogram.

In Asia:

• Please pray for dear sister Bee Kim, a 71-year-old who lost consciousness on February 26, 2023. She has not regained her consciousness after a massive stroke.

• Pray for Pastor TJ in Taiwan.

• Pray for Deborah Ruth, a dear sister from China.

• Pray for sister Reiko Ishiida, Elder Takeo, his wife Tomoko from Tokyo, Dr. Yuizawa, Pastor Yushida, and his family.

• Pray for Sister Yoko Nagumo in Japan.

• In India, Pastor Isaac, from Chennai, needs our prayers. Pastor Isaac is suffering from kidney problems and has to have dialysis several times per week.

• Tony Tam, his wife Luisa, and his son Marco need special prayers for their situation.

•  We continue to pray for Zhou Wenrian, the Abe family, Toru San, Yumi Ohara, and her family: Deborah Ruth, Ayla, Daniel, and their daughter. 

• Pray for Dr. Song and his wife, Sister Harriet Kim and KIBI Ministry

In the United States of America:

• new Roger West had a medical scare this week. Please pray a prayer of thanks to Yeshua thanking him, that the issue was identified and not life threatening.  

• Keep the Family of Raymond Dennis Jimenez Sr. In your prayer since has gone to be with the Lord.

• Brother Philip Slate and his wife. She is suffering from several physical and mental health challenges.  

• Drayton Ford (Marcia's great nephew), age 14, has had health issues related to mold exposure that are affecting his ability to heal and participate in a public school with mold contamination. Please pray for the family to have support and peace in the choices they need to make for Drayton's health and schooling

• Barbra and  Angie in Alaska. Barbra has some pains and discomfort related to old age. Please lift them in prayer for strength and reduction in pain.

• Ray Jimenez from California is battling leukemia. Pray for God to sustain him and his time with the family.

• Rabbi Levy had a Stroke in Dallas. Please pray for the doctors and his recovery.

• Please continue to pray for the daughter of Bill Culwell, who is very sick with cancer and is receiving a second round of treatment. Please pray for success and healing.

• Jonathan Bernis is in a long six-month recovery from a liver transplant. We thank God for this match. Please pray for this new liver to function and provide much-needed function. Please pray for Elisangela and the girls and the doctors and nurses attending our dear brother Jonathan Bernis. 

• Andrew Huffines has complications from long-term COVID-19. 

• Please pray for my family in the United States: Barry, my son, and his wife, Beth, and for Joey, my grandson. Pray for their divine protection and health.

• Please pray for Danah, my daughter's health issues. I pray for the Lord to give Danah wisdom, peace, and calm in life and her work.

• Pray for Noaam, my granddaughter. She is working two jobs now and needs good health and wisdom to make the right choices and plans for life, education, immigration to Israel, and just general protection from all harm.

• Pray for David Young, the preacher in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, who is back to preaching after recovering from medical issues.

• Aaron Hook, Nancy Hook's oldest son, needs our prayers for wisdom and healing from past life issues.

• Lift for blessing and healing Jonathan B., his wife Aviva, their new baby, his mother, and his brother Daniel. 

• Pray for these important men of God: Rabbi Salt, his family, and Rabbi Hasselblad. They are both older and need protection and blessings.

• Also, pray for Ilana Avramov, who is married to my cousin Nissim and lives in New York City. Ilana has fallen and is now in rehab, learning how to walk again. We pray for her full recovery. She and Nissim both need our prayers. 

• Pray for Steve Mock - His cognitive condition has declined, and we ask for the grace of God and His Healing and strength.   Steve and Josie's son Joseph has received a wonderful and glorious report. After the last bone marrow transplant, the report is that the doctors didn't find any leukemia in his body! Praise the Lord!

In Canada:

Pray for three women of God in Canada who need healing: Lynda, Sandy, and Joanne.

I am asking for a special prayer for a dear brother and friend who is now doing very important work in a very dangerous and precarious part of the world. Just mention DadyLion in your prayers and ask for divine protection and angelic accompaniment for this man of God.

For updates or requests please email us at Prayer@netivyahinternational.org