Christian Media: Observations
Monday, October 20, 2008
Larry Huch Ministries
Inspiration Television
Monday, October 20, 2008
7 pm EST
Selling "Prophecy Decoded," a six-CD series on prophecy from a "Jewish perspective."
Pastor Larry says it's the "best" prophecy series you'll ever listen to. He usually does not teach on prophecy because he used to think it was all doom and gloom, but after the anointing of G-d fell on him, Pastor Larry believes that end-time prophecy is exciting because "we will go out before the doom and gloom" -- "we will go out with a shout."
With your $40 purchase of Pastor Larry's CDs you'll receive a free gift- a bottle of anointing oil that Pastor Larry wants you to use on "your childrens' pillows, your husband's pillow, and your checkbook," so that your family and your finances will be "anointed for the end times."
You will also receive another free gift: An Israeli/American flags lapel pin, in order to show our support as Americans for Israel. Why? Because, in the Bible it says that G-d will bless those who bless Israel.
In the last segment, Pastor Larry reminds us that he knows from studying the Jewish roots of the Bible that you never come before G-d with empty hands. Now, we think of this when we think of going up to Jerusalem, but we know that when 2 or 3 are gathered in His Name, His presence is there. So, as Pastor Larry and his viewer(s) gather together through the television, he would like you to consider sowing a seed into his ministry.
7:30 -- Morris Cerullo is now telling us that in the years leading up to the financial crisis, "the L-rd led him" to issue "Financial Crisis Alerts" and he prays that "you have responded as I have directed you to" so that you can be ready financially for the end times.
His son, David, (who is the financial head of Inspiration TV) has written "Eve of Destruction" a book that questions whether or not this is the end of America.
You are also offered the "Save America Now" DVD: a prime time special broadcast before the last Presidential election and loaded with "anointed" performances by various Christian singers and pastors.
All these ministry resources can be yours for a suggested gift of $30 or more. These gifts will "inspire you, direct you, and keep you" during these turbulent times.
Cerullo ends with: "Please, don't procrastinate: Get into the cycle of what G-d has prepared for His people in these end times."
Labels: cerullo, Christian, culture, end times, huch, Jewish Roots, media
posted by Shoshana @ 7:21 PM
Why I Like Sarah Palin:
Thursday, September 04, 2008
[Ed. Note: I know, I know, this is supposed to be a blog that focuses on the Messianic movement and subsequent veins thereof; since we live in a world in which "we are all links in a chain" as my mother would say, political commentary matters-- especially to believers, and especially to Jewish people. So, I'm getting political; so should the yeshiva-boys. (Like they already don't in their own way....)]
I'm sitting here listening to Chris Thile's album Not All Who Wander Are Lost which is *the* perfect soundtrack to accompany a discussion about the Republican Veep nom, because the bluegrass tunes, much like the hockey mom-turned-Governor, are so inherently American. As much as I hesitate to admit it sometimes, there is something so freaking beautiful about the soul of this country. According to the democrats, because I am a white, middle class, Jewish female in a certain age bracket, with a certain level of education under her belt, who lives in a certain area of the country, I am supposed to be a cynical, self-loathing, nation-hating anti-patriot bent on self-destruction through the socialization of my federal government. But, you know what? I can't be. I like this place too much.
There are a lot of perspectives I could take on Sarah Palin.
I could write as a woman about how great it is to see another woman get nominated for V.P., but honestly, in the world of feminist tripe, how shallow of a comment is that?
I could write as a Jew and get antsy about her Evangelical background and attendance at a church where David Brickner from Jews for Jesus was invited to speak, but honestly, I find her faith more helpful than harmful. After all, it isn't like the woman or her pastor are strapping explosive vests onto their kids and sending them into crowds of Jews; her son is going into the Army to beat Al-Quaida, not crash himself into a national landmark.
Heck, I could even write within my democrat-approved demographic and say that because of my age, my gender, my education, my geographical region, and my ethnic makeup that I think Sarah Palin is no Hillary Clinton, which is true. Sarah Palin is no Hillary Clinton-- which is why I would vote for her in a heartbeat.
But, I think I'm going to write this one out as a working class, Wal Mart-shopping, cowboy-boots wearing, ponytail-bearing, once-and-therefore-always-Texan, history-loving American with hardcore flag-waving roots. So, let me begin by saying: I like Sarah Palin because she's an American, just like me. She's a wife and mother with normal kids and a husband who works hard. She goes to church and actually believes in the Bible she holds every Sunday, because she understands that leaders must have the attitude of servants. Yet, she's proud enough of her history to "take the bull by the horns," as my grandfather often said, and "tell it like it is." The best thing the McCain camp could have done, they did: They researched and found a politician with the right combination of government experience and down to earth American character.
Joe Biden was all over the mainstream media during this morning's news hour, scrambling with his liberal newscaster cohorts to throw half-hearted blows in Palin's direction. It is evident that they don't have a thing to go on. Sure, Sarah's delivery was great, and her one-liners about B. Hussein Obama were fantastic, but even more than that: everything she said about energy independence, fighting terrorism (and B. Hussein's willingness to negotiate), and the economy was right on the money. As Clive Crooks over at the Atlantic Monthly notes:
Well, the Democrats have a problem. They had a few days of calling her a clueless redneck, a stewardess, a nonentity, and she has hurled that back in their bleeding gums. (If I were Joe Biden, I'd start practising for October 2nd right now.) Even before tonight's speech, they had backed off the "no experience" strategy, because (as the Republicans intended) that was sending shrapnel in Obama's direction.But, here's the kicker: Most who can't beat 'em, join 'em, but Palin is forcing the hardcore liberals to draw a line in the sand. Crooks goes on to say:
Where they will have to end up is obvious: McCain-Palin is an extreme right-wing ticket. It is a team that will prosecute the culture war against all that is decent and civilized in the United States: that must be the line.Classic Marxists to the end, the liberals play the pot calling the kettle black. Suddenly, Sarah Palin, who represents the majority of American citizens (what one bleeding-heart liberal I know called "the poor farm girls of the American midwest"), is the one attacking all that is "holy and good" (and I use those terms very loosely in this context) in the eyes of liberals the nation-over. Liberals who would sooner sell us out to Iran than stick a few drills into barren Alaskan tundra. Liberals accuse the Evangelical Hockey Mom of waging a war they created and are busy fighting every day: a war against the culture and values that made this country great. Do they really think all us lipsticked pit bulls will let them get away with that?
You see, the thing about Sarah is that she resonates with a person who is tired of being let down by a system that is so overloaded, you can't half-see the pork from the bull, let alone wade through it all. Perhaps the mainstream media is having such a hard time criticizing her because she isn't this or that-- like so many of the rest of us average Americans, Sarah Palin just is, and there's not much arguing with that.
Yesterday, I couldn't have given a hoot about this election. My only concern was keeping my passport updated so I could make a quick run for it if B. Hussein got elected. Now, I'm interested. I'm interested to see if the real America I love is all it's cracked up to be. I'm interested to see the real America put up a fight-- and win.
Labels: America, American elections, culture, Liberals, McCain, Sarah Palin
posted by Shoshana @ 5:45 PM
Israeli Music is Amazing
Monday, February 11, 2008
I picked up 15 new Israeli CDs this weekend.
Yes, fifteen. Hey, I get to this store twice a year at best-- I have to stock up.
Among the albums, I bought Sarit Hadad's "Ashlayot Metukot" ("Sweet Illusions"):
The album contains one of the most powerful songs I've ever heard. Titled, "Shma Elohai (Kshe'Halev Bocheh)" it was written after the "brutal lynching and mutilation" of two IDF reservists, Vadim Nurzhitz and Yossi Avrahami in October of 2000. If you don't recall the incident, perhaps the infamous picture will shake your memory bank:
The palestinian terrorist holds up hands covered in Israeli blood, moments before the bodies of the soldiers are thrown out of the window for the crowd below to pummel and destroy.
Here are the lyrics in English, translation via HebrewSongs.com:
SHMA ELOHAI (KSHE'HALEV BOCHEH)The store owner, who is Israeli, always plays the CDs for me before I buy them. "Listen before you buy! We'll play anything you like-- that way you know you like it before you buy it!" My Hebrew is rough, so I always ask her what the songs are about; inevitably, she replies, "They're all love songs, always love songs." But they're more than that. The crap you listen to on Top 40 constitutes "love songs" to most Americans. Israeli musicians may sing a lot about love, but it isn't always romantic and fun-- sometimes it is hard and painful, like the love lost through senseless murder, and love sought from enemies out of the desire to live in peace.
HEAR MY GOD (WHEN THE HEART CRIES)
When the heart cries
only God hears
The pain rises out of the soul
A man falls down before he sinks down
With a little prayer (he) cuts the silence
Shma (Hear) Israel my God,
you're the omnipotent
You gave me my life,
you gave me everything
In my eyes a tear,
the heart cries quietly
And when the heart is quiet,
the soul screams
Shma (Hear) Israel my God,
now I am alone
Make me strong my God;
make it that I won't be afraid
The pain is big,
and there's no where to run away
End it because I can't take it anymore
(make the end of it because I have no more energy left within me)
When the heart cries,
Time stands still
All of a sudden, the man sees his entire life
He doesn't want to go to the unknown
He cries to his God right before a big fall
Israeli music is powerful. The store owner was amazed at my interest in and knowledge of Israeli pop culture. "American Jewishness doesn't really have much to offer," I explained to her, "Israel is where our culture is."
"Right?! Exactly!" And then she gave me four CDs for free.
Labels: culture, Israel, Jewish American, Jewishness, Judaism, music, Sarit Hadad, Shma Elohai, Zionism
posted by Shoshana @ 9:45 PM
Know Your People
Sunday, October 14, 2007
I'm watching a DVD of Broza doing one of his infamous Masada concerts, where he plays all night until the sun rises for a crowd of thousands. There used to be this great blog on Israeli culture called Shaister, but since it's "temporarily unavailable" I'll summarize by stating that Broza on Masada is like a one-man Woodstock without all the mud and chaos. A folk artist on the popularity level of Bob Dylan, David Broza has been writing, composing, and performing since the 70s in Hebrew, English, and Spanish. He's lived in various places around the world (including the U.S.) and, most recently, he toured the bomb shelters of northern Israel during the War with Lebanon in 2006. His music incorporates Israeli, Spanish, and American rock/jazz sounds and is mainly acoustic in nature, carrying with it a very mellow, easy-going vibe, without being as meditative/ethreal as, say, Idan Raichel. The crowd ranges in age from 16 to 45, or thereabouts, and looks to be composed mainly of hippies. From what I've observed, there's a pretty big hippie population in Israel, mainly due to the fact that life is so incredibly hard that most young people seek release in a free love lifestyle (and all the drugs, alcohol, and sex that goes along with it).
Yesterday I made a trip to my favorite Judaica store in the city and was happily surprised to see that the Israeli owner was stateside for a change. She carries a growing selection of Israeli music in her store, and over the course of a few years I've developed a great collection of CDs by many Israeli artists including Shoshana Damari, Boaz Sharibi, Arik Einstein, Ofra Haza, Ruchama Raz, Sarit Hadad,Idan Raichel, and (of course) David Broza, to name a few. (You know, this blog post is going to take me an hour to write because this DVD is so distractingly good.) Each time I go, I pick up a few CDs and we talk Israeli music. Yesterday, the owner's jaw practically dropped to the floor when she looked through my selections. "You like Broza? You like Sarit? I love Sarit! Her music is so happy! Here," she digs through the box, "I'm giving you this CD complimentary-- on me. Is good!" It's as if she can't get over the fact that I'm not just there because I like Israeli jewelry-- it's because I like Israel, I like the culture, I like the sound and the language, and I want to know more. A Jewish woman from the 'burbs was next to me in line, and when I told the owner I listened to Israeli music to familiarize myself with Hebrew, not only did her jaw drop, but the woman next to me was floored. The Israeli owner was charmed, and the Jewish American thought I was nuts.
Before I popped the DVD in the machine, I hopped past one of those 24-hour Christian networks and caught Preacher X telling his listeners that if they "sowed the $1000 seed" HaShem would begin to sew seeds for them in abundance, and they would receive the "Boaz blessing." I don't know what he meant by that, but I do know that Boaz didn't love Ruth because she was rich, he loved her because she cared--about the people and the land of Israel--even if that meant picking scraps and living the life of an outcast. Boaz loved Ruth because she didn't walk away, instead she walked towards-- Ruth made both a spiritual and a literal aliyah. What kind of a testimony of love could we Messianics make if we followed Ruth's example and showed a genuine interest, not just in the fiscal welfare of Israel, but in the lifestyle and the culture of the land? "We don't just want to bless you for tax purposes or heavenly reward," we'd say, "we want to bless you because we care about you, about what you think and what you do, and as your family we're proud of you and all of your amazing accomplishments."
American Jews like to say that without Jewish American money, Israel would never survive; I know for a fact that without Israeli courage and tenacity, Jewry the world over would be up the creek without a paddle. So, the next time you want to send some money Israel's way, don't just draft a check to a charity, seek out alternative ways you can bless Israel while learning about the people of the land at the same time. Seek out places to buy Israeli media; there are tons of places across America that are Israeli owned and operated, and get their stock from the land. FYI: A great artist to seek out is Ahron Razel, a Modern Orthodox musician who sings songs about Israel and HaShem: the lyrics of his album "The Burning Bush" are taken straight from Tanak. And, of course, you can't truly consider yourself an educated Jew until you've listened to the music of Ofra Haza, including her infamous rendition of Carlebach's "Am Yisrael Chai" for the Eurovision song contest.
Labels: Broza, culture, Israel, Jewishness, Messianic Judaism, music, Ofra Haza
posted by Shoshana @ 3:34 PM
