Journey Home to Israel

Daily Journal for Tuesday, November 11, 2008

“God can be wherever we let Him in,” reminded Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, IFCJ founder/president, during a Tuesday morning inspirational talk with participants in the three-day extension portion of The Fellowship’s 2008 Journey Home Tour to Israel.

Against a backdrop of the ancient ruins of Bet She’an – where King Saul and his sons were hung after losing the battle against the Philistines – a crew filmed the rabbi for upcoming segments of his popular “Return to Zion” TV program.

Amidst remnants of giant columns dating to the Eighth Century A.D., when the city known as Scythopolis was destroyed by a massive earthquake, Rabbi Eckstein contended that Christians must find God beyond from 9 to 11 a.m. Sundays in church and Jews must find God beyond from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays in synagogue.

Discussing Jacob in Genesis 28, Rabbi Eckstein told his listeners that, perhaps, Jacob thought God’s presence was only in Israel and that he couldn’t find God’s presence outside of Israel. Instead, the rabbi insisted, “God can be everywhere – in each moment of life.”

“We just have to look for Him and find Him,” explained the rabbi, as listeners sat on rocks under a sweltering sun. “Always live in expectation of finding God in every moment.”

Rabbi Eckstein contradicted a common interpretation of scripture that Jacob seemed to be cutting a deal with God when Job said, “If you, Lord, will be with me, then I will accept you.” Instead, according to the Hebrew translation, Jacob is more interested in feeling the presence of God than cutting a deal with God.

Jacob’s dream of a ladder to heaven is a reminder that “you can endure anything if you feel God’s presence,” the rabbi stated.

“What brought Job comfort was that he felt God talking to him … he felt God was still with him; and, as long as he felt God was with him and he wasn’t alone, Job was comforted and he could endure,” Rabbi Eckstein explained.

The importance of having a dream was also stressed by the rabbi. He said the majority of people don’t have a dream, a goal they want to attain – whether that dream and goal be learning to play the piano, learning to whitewater raft, spending more time with their grandchildren, or spending 15 minutes a day with the Bible.

Rabbi Eckstein encouraged Fellowship partners to have a goal and dream, even if they are unable to achieve it: “You may fail – you will fail – before you reach your goal. That’s being human. But what’s important is that you have a dream, and you keep moving toward it.

He urged his audience to adopt the Nike slogan “Just do it.”

“Get into it; walk up [Job’s] ladder,” he said. “Take that first step [to achieving your dream] – that’s often the hardest part. The first step often becomes like training for a marathon – you have to set aside time and places to do it, and you have to pick yourself up and start again when you fall down.”

“We have to start from where we are and who we are,” he reminded. “Wherever you are, that’s where God’s angels are to be with you when you fall.”

Wednesday will be the final day in Israel for this year’s Journey Home Tour. After spending the morning with Rabbi Eckstein at Masada – the site of the last Jewish stand against the Romans in 73 A.D. and the mass suicide of its 960 defenders – the group will return to Jerusalem before departing for Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv and their flights back to the United States.