Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur was Saturday, September 11. It occurred to us this week that we never posted about this special holiday! It is the one holiday of the year when no one drives. Israel is also the only place in the world that has a holiday with no cars out on the roads.

Yom Kippur is a very quiet day. It is the day on which the Jewish people fast and pray, begging God to forgive their sins.

This is Hebron Road, the main artery between Jerusalem and Bethlehem (normally an extremely busy street) with no traffic on Yom Kippur.

Caleb and Josiah on their scooters in the middle of Hebron Road.

Tim couldn't resist - he had to experience sitting in the middle of the road reading a book.

After brunch, we went with our friends Keith, Laura, and Maryann to the Promenade and saw a family beating an olive tree to harvest the olives.

Our new dear friends!

Tim learned something through his studies that struck us about Yom Kippur. The Jewish people spend 25 hours fasting from food and drink and have many other restrictions on this day. They pray intensely for their salvation, essentially. They consider whether their names are written in the Book of Life. They beg God for forgiveness of their sins so they may be saved. What Tim learned is that, even after these intense 25 hours, some of them wake up the next morning still wondering if it was enough--whether or not they are forgiven. We are thankful beyond words that we can be assured of our salvation because of God's Son, Jesus Christ, who has fully paid for all of our sins - past, present, and future! Thank you, Lord, for the confidence we have that our names are indeed written in the Book of Life because of our Lord Jesus!