July / August 2005

Shalom Friends -

Summer is a quieter time for many, allowing us to rest from the over-stimulation of our modern world. For us at En-Gedi, it is time for us to do less in public and instead to focus our energies on our creative work. These past months we haven’t been writing emails to you, but instead have been occupied with some big projects that we hope will spread living water, both physical and spiritual, throughout the world.

Here's some of our latest news:

• For your Fall Bible Study: Listening to the Language of the Bible on Sale
• Pray for the Living Water Project in Uganda & Kenya
• Upcoming book: New Light on the Difficult Words of Jesus, by David Bivin
• Fall Pastor’s Breakfast and Fellowship Dinner with David Bivin
• Join us for the Sukkot Festival in Dayton, OH, Oct. 28-29
• Hebraic Study Week for Pastors Nov 14 – 18:Thru Messiah’s Eyes II
• Come with us to the Land! Israel Study Trip May 20 – June 2, 2005

Fall Bible Study Special!

Many are thinking now about what they will be doing in Bible study groups this fall. We hope you’ll consider studying Listening to the Language of the Bible: Hearing It Through Jesus’ Ears, along with its Companion Bible Study with a group of friends. Listening to the Language of the Bible is a guide for discovering the richness of the Scriptures in their Hebraic setting. From seemingly odd phrases, it shares important insights from Hebrew and Jewish culture that clarify reading and deepen Bible study. For more information about the two books, see this link.

Right now we have both books on sale in our bookstore:

Listening to the Language of the Bible (LLB) - $8.95 (instead of $9.95)
For orders more than 10 books - $7.95 (instead of $8.95)
Companion Bible Study (CBS) - $5.99 (instead of $6.99)
For the set of both LLB & CBS - $12.50 (instead of $15.00)

Pray for the Living Water Project in Uganda and Kenya

En-Gedi has been involved in a service project of installing seven water purification units, called “Living Water Systems” in sites in Uganda and Kenya. Over the past four years, our Executive Director, Bruce Okkema, an engineer, has traveled twice to Uganda to assess sites and get government permissions, and in June we finally sent a 40-foot shipping container full of units and equipment there. On August 10, Bruce arrived back in Uganda and is spending almost two months there to complete installation of 6 units in Uganda and 1 in Kenya.

Every day is an adventure in a vastly different world. If you would like to keep up with Bruce’s progress, use the “Letters from Africa 2005” button on the En-Gedi home page to read his daily reports, with pictures. (He actually is editing the website from Uganda!)

Right now we ask for your prayers. The container full of units has arrived in Uganda, but Bruce has spent his first week working through red tape – going to all the governmental offices wanting documentation, sometimes even traveling by “boda-boda” (back seat of a motorcycle taxi) around Kampala. At the very end of today, he miraculously got permission for the release of the container. Tomorrow morning he believes they’ll finally be able to get the water units. The time is short for the project, and it’s important not to have any more delays, so please be praying for him.

Upcoming book: New Light on the Difficult Words of Jesus,
by David Bivin

We are delighted to give you an early glimpse of a book that will be published by En-Gedi this fall, called, New Light on the Difficult Words of Jesus: Insights from His Jewish Context, by David Bivin. Bivin is the founder and editor of Jerusalem Perspective, a magazine (now online) that explores the Jewish context of the Gospels. He has traveled and spoken internationally for more than 25 years, and also authored the book Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus: New Insights from a Hebraic Perspective – which has been widely popular since it came out 20 years ago. (The book is available in our online store.)

Since then, Mr. Bivin has written dozens of important articles on Jesus’ life in Jerusalem Perspective that have been foundational for us and others who teach in this field. This summer En-Gedi chose about three dozen to edit for a general audience.

Some of the book’s themes are:

• Jesus’ ministry as a first-century rabbi and his expectations of disciples
• Insights on his teachings from understanding their rabbinic context
• His main message about the Kingdom of Heaven, and our place in it

See these links to read the flyer and the Table of Contents and the Foreword written by Dwight Pryor. Marvin Wilson, author of Our Father Abraham, Professor of Biblical Studies at Gordon College, writes about the book:

“In Jerusalem, David Bivin has interacted for decades with some of the best Jewish scholarship in the world. This book displays many of the brilliant Hebraic gems the author has mined that help illuminate the pages of the Gospels. Clearly written and very readable, Bivin shows why Christians need rabbinic sources if they intend to know and understand Jesus in his first-century Jewish setting. New Light on the Difficult Words of Jesus is a valuable resource for every serious student of Scripture.”

The book is currently at the printer, and will be available for order ($12.95) through En-Gedi after October 1. (If you are part of a bookstore interested in carrying this book, please contact us for wholesale pricing.)

Events with David Bivin, October 6 & 7, 2005

David Bivin, from Jerusalem, Israel, will be in western Michigan this fall for two public events with En-Gedi to celebrate the release of his new book, New Light on the Difficult Words of Jesus. This will be at the beginning of his U.S. speaking tour, so En-Gedi’s distant readers may be interested in attending one of his weekend seminars in another city. He and his wife Josa will also be in Birmingham, Houston, Tulsa, and Garden City, CA. Please see the Jerusalem Perspective website calendar for details.)

Pastor’s Breakfast – Thursday, October 6th

On Thursday, October 6th, David Bivin will be speaking at En-Gedi’s Fall Pastor’s Breakfast at 7:30 AM at Providence Church (821 Ottawa Ave, Holland, MI – note location change). Along with introducing his new book, he’ll speak on one of the topics that the book addresses:

Jesus' Technical Terms About the Law

What did Jesus mean by, "I came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it?" Several of his sayings contain technical terms and idioms used by other rabbis of his time, like "abolish," "fulfill," "bind," and "loose." Understanding these can shed light on what Jesus' sayings about the law would have meant to his first-century listeners.

We invite all pastors and seminarians to join us – all we ask is that you RSVP by email or by phone (616 355-2200) so that we can plan for food and make nametags. There is no charge - a free-will offering basket will be available.

En-Gedi Fellowship Dinner, Friday October 7th, 2005

Please come and celebrate with us the debut of this new book that we hope will be a blessing to many. On Friday, October 7th, David Bivin will be speaking at En-Gedi’s Fall Fellowship Dinner, at 6:30 PM at Providence Church (821 Ottawa Ave, Holland, MI – note location change). Along with introducing his book, he will give an after-dinner talk entitled:

How Kosher was Jesus?

How observant was Jesus of the rulings of other rabbis of his day? Did he reject their teachings? A closer reading shows that he lived within the laws and traditions of his time. Knowing more about the Jewish practices that Jesus observed can help us understand him much better.

Certainly David will be able to sign copies of his book at the dinner. (Please be sure to meet his wife Josa, a dear friend of ours too.) Once again, it will be potluck-style, and free-will donations will help with expenses - this is not a fund-raiser. We just ask you to bring a dish to share - we will provide tableware and beverages. We also ask that you RSVP by email or phone (616) 355-2200 and give each of the names of those planning to come.

Join us for the Sukkot2005 Festival in Dayton, OH, October 28-29

We’d also like to invite those of you within driving distance of Dayton, Ohio to join us for the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) Celebration that is being held by the Church of the Messiah on Friday and Saturday, October 28-29. En-Gedi’s directors Lois and Bruce will be leading one of the workshops, called “Listening to God’s Word through Jesus’ Ears,” where we will be talking about reading the Bible more Hebraically. We will have En-Gedi’s materials available for sale there.

Even if we weren’t speaking, we’d encourage you to go – for many years we’ve driven seven hours each way just to attend. We are always amazed at the fabulous Hebraic worship on Friday and Saturday nights, and excellent teaching at the Saturday sessions. This year will be especially good because Dwight A. Pryor, President of the Center for Judaic-Christian Studies, will be teaching three sessions on Saturday. He is an incredibly wise and gifted presenter, and just a day of study with him will be worth the travel.

For further information or registration call 937 374-0147or see www.churchmessiah.com or www.thedavidcompany.org. (En-Gedi is not involved in conference administration.)

Pastors' School of Discipleship: November 14 – 18, 2005

En-Gedi is honored and excited to co-host a week of intensive Hebraic study for pastors and seminarians led by Dwight A. Pryor, president of the Center for Judaic-Christian studies. In March of 2004 we hosted our first seminar of this kind, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. Dwight Pryor is an internationally-known speaker who combines a thorough knowledge of Hebraic studies with a enormous depth of wisdom for how it can impact the church today. More information and a registration form are available at this link.

Thru Messiah's Eyes II, Renewing the Christian Mind,
Recovering the Church's Hebraic Heritage

Dwight A. Pryor, President
Center for Judaic-Christian Studies, Dayton, OH

November 14-18, 2005
Prince Conference Center · Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI

We invite you to join us for five days of study with Dwight Pryor, a powerful communicator who will be sharing key Hebraic insights relating to Jesus, his Jewish life and atoning death and resurrection. We will grapple with how understanding Christ in context relates to our lives and his ambitions for the church. We will also look at how it impacts us as pastors and leaders as we walk before our flocks as godly shepherds. We will also gain some vital insights into the ministry and writings of Paul in his Jewish context, and look at how these connect to the teachings of our rabbi, Jesus.

See link for more information and registration.

Come with us to the Land!
Israel Study Trip May 20 – June 2, 2006

Start thinking now about whether you would like to join En-Gedi’s directors on a study trip to Israel next May, called “A Study in New Testament Backgrounds.” Our guide will be Dr. Steve Notley, who lived in Israel for 16 years and taught at Jerusalem University College, where he was chair of New Testament and directed student land study programs. Now at Nyack College in New York, he is one of the most knowledgeable scholars around on Jesus' Jewish context. From living in the land and taking hundreds of trips with students, Dr. Notley will show us the important, "non-touristy" places that you can't see with others.

The cost of the 14 day trip will be $2,900 from Grand Rapids or $1550 for just the land portion of the trip, for international participants – arrangements can be made to travel from elsewhere in the U.S. too. (Costs are still subject to confirmations.) This is an outstanding value, and our guide will be one of the best. Travel arrangements will be made by Emmaus Educational Services, who is partnering with En-Gedi to sponsor this trip. For more details, see the www.emmausonline.net website, specifically the May 2006 En-Gedi Study Trip.

Finally, as the summer wanes and you enter the busy season ahead, we wish the Lord’s guidance on all you do. Please keep us in your prayers.

Lois Tverberg & Bruce Okkema
Directors, En-Gedi Resource Center