Teaching Team

HaYesod Trip to Israel

By Daniel Lancaster  | Comments (3) | Posted on May 14, 2007

Shalom from Saint Paul, MN where Boaz and I landed last Friday morning at about 1:00 AM after nearly two crazy weeks back in Israel. It was good to be back in the land, but our trip to Israel with colleagues Joel Powell and Toby Janicki was not a vacation. We were in Israel specifically to film segments for the new, completely revised HaYesod program which is currently under development.

We are trying to keep the details under wraps, so I can’t tell you too much about the new HaYesod, but it’s going to be fantastic--streamlined and far more engaging--when it is all finished. Although we don’t anticipate completing the project before summer of 2008, we will be releasing a trailer-style teaser for the new program in the next few weeks. Our reason for filming in Israel is that we want to renew FFOZ’s original emphasis on “the land, the people and the scriptures of Israel.” The land of Israel is not a prop or simply nice scenery for us, it is the real foundation of who we are and why we do what we do.

For all of us, a trip to Israel is a sort of homecoming. Our ministry and teaching is deeply rooted in the Holy Land, even though most of our offices and teachers are currently located in North America. The Torah is supposed to go forth from Zion, not North America, and we intend to begin to refocus the ministry toward that end.

While in Israel, we worked hard with very little sleep, late to bed and up before dawn each day, shooting footage at Beer Sheba, Old City Jerusalem, the Kotel, Temple Mount archaeological park, Mount of Olives, Tomb of David, Holy Sepulcher, Sea of Galilee, Capernaum, Korazin, Sahknin, Nazareth, Caesarea and several places between.

Not every shot, however, is intended for use in HaYesod. In order to help defer the expenses of the trip, we also shot footage for a forthcoming documentary which we are planning on titling “Sect of the Nazarenes.” The documentary follows the story of the Jewish believers in the land of Israel through the Bar Kokba revolt. With God’s help, “Sect of the Nazarenes” will be finished and available by Chanukah this year.

It was great to be there with Boaz Michael. He’s an Israeli citizen and knows his way around, where to find the best restaurants and enough street-Hebrew to navigate with. He also has some serious Israeli driving skills.

It was especially nice to hook up with Ze’ev Avneri (Avner), our designer. Prior to this trip I had never visited the FFOZ Israel office, neither had I personally met Avner and his family before. Spending a little bit of time with him, his wife and his children was a true delight.

Prayer highlights included davening at the western wall—the remains of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, on the Mount of Olives from where the Master ascended, at the (so-called) Tomb of David where the early believers allegedly met together after the destruction of the Temple, on the Mount of Beatitudes where the Master is thought to have delivered the sermon on the mount and wherever else we found it necessary to pull over the car and pull out the siddur. In Sahknin we cleaned the mausoleum and courtyard of the tomb of Jacob of Kefar Sekania (a believer and possibly on of the original 12 disciples) and prayed the afternoon prayers.

I will be returning to Israel this fall with the FFOZ Israel tour. If you didn’t get signed up for the tour yet, you may have already missed your opportunity, the bus is already full, but you can get your name on the waiting list, or be first in line for 2008. We are committed to getting you to experience Israel, one way or another.

Today, as I post this blog, it’s the 41st day of the Omer, the anniversary of the Master’s great Aliyah, His ascension to the throne from the Mount of Olives. May we all be privileged to ascend to Jerusalem, soon and in our lifetimes, to greet Him as He returns.

About the Author: Daniel Lancaster is FFOZ’s Director of Education and regular contributor to messiah magazine. He is the author of Torah Club Volumes Two, Four and Five, and the FFOZ books Mystery of the Gospel, Restoration and more.

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