Founder’s Blog

HaYesod Field Update #8

By Boaz Michael  | Comments (13) | Posted on March 4, 2008

Fourteen to sixteen hour days are the norm for us here in Israel as we enter the final week of shooting our short teaching segments for the new HaYesod program. At times during this trip it looked impossible to get everything done prior to our departure home on March 6th. At those times I asked for your prayers and it seems as if the Father answered our requests—as of this morning it looks like we will hit our goal by Thursday and get everything done.

A picture says a thousand words and because I need to keep on schedule I do not have a lot of time to write about our adventures. Since my last report we have had some really, really, intense shots—such as an early morning shot in and through the Damascus gate, a shot in the court yard of the Great Synagogue, a shot walking through Jerusalem’s busy, open market on Friday morning and a teaching at a kosher Burger King. One of the most stressful aspects of doing these teachings in these environments are the onlookers hearing our words or reading our scripts and knowing that one of our lines can easily be taken out of context.

We have saved one of the most intense shots for last. In the next couple of days I am doing a segment that is intended to challenge the perception that the Pharisees represented the antithesis to the Master’s teachings and that modern day religious Jews should be cast in that same light. It will also challenge HaYesod students to see that, while there are some people from every group that are insincere, the true “Pharisee” from the days of the Apostles sought God and tried to walk in his ways.

This teaching and many of the others that we are doing here are not theologically deep or intense—they are short teachings that are intended to change perspectives and ad helpful filters that will enable people to make theologically deep changes and choices when the whole teaching is presented in HaYesod. The challenging thing with this shot is that I am considering doing it in an orthodox Jewish area of Jerusalem, and as I said earlier, if one line is heard or read that is taken out of context things could go bad real fast. Just imagine standing in a pool of black hats and asking the question, “are all Pharisees hypocrites?”. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Here are some pictures from the past couple of days.

In the crowded Mahane Yehudah market on Friday, with people preparing for Shabbat.

Sunday morning, a session at the Jaffa Gate.

With limited parking in Jerusalem, we often have to haul our equipment over long distances to get to a specific location.

Some of the team preparing and discussing the kosher Burger King shot.

The "hot" kosher Burger King session in the Ben Yehudah pedestrian mall attracted many passersby and interested individuals and crowds.

Discussing the script on top of Tel Sheva, near the modern city of Beer Sheva in the Negev.

About the Author: Boaz Michael is the president and founder of First Fruits of Zion.

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