And there was evening, and there was morning-the new day.

The emptiness of the heart is a heavy burden for someone to carry. Anyone who has experienced the presence of God and lost it as a result of a sinful life knows precisely what that feeling is like. 
“I was walking alone in the streets of Tel Aviv one Friday evening, and the air was filled with the sounds of families gathering for their Shabbat meals. Suddenly, I heard music and singing coming from somewhere.” “What is that?” I asked a girl standing on the street in front of the building where the singing was coming from. “That is the meeting of our Messianic Jewish Congregation”, she replied. I asked if I could come in, and she replied, “Of course!” Through the glass doors, I saw people worshipping God in a way that made my heart jump with excitement. Could God accept me once again???”

This is the story of a young man who used to attend church, but vanity consumed him and he started to live according to the rules of this world. He moved to Tel Aviv and didn’t know where he could find a congregation of believers. His heart’s desire was to return to God, to hear and study His Word, and to serve Him. And that evening, as if by accident, he was walking next to Beit Immanuel precisely at the time of our Shabbat service. We are so amazed to see God’s miraculous work in restoring lives that were destroyed by the enemy.
More recently, the Lord has brought some new people who didn’t know Yeshua as their Messiah before. After just a few meetings they have decided to dedicate their lives to Him. They are now being prepared for baptism soon. With new believers joining the congregation, we saw the need for some in-depth Bible classes. As soon as we started the teachings once a month, many people who have been in the congregation for several years joined us simply out of a desire to study God’s Word and to grow spiritually.

Israel still receives many new immigrants who don’t know the language of the country. Jews for Jesus started a project that organizes Hebrew classes for these new immigrants and we found that this is a wonderful way to preach the Gospel. We teach from the Hebrew Bible, and some of the students sit in the lessons with tears in their eyes as they hear of God’s love. Please pray with us that the seeds planted in their hearts will bring fruit and that many will be saved.

Many people come to our Shabbat services. Some find us on the Internet (http://messianic-jews.org/) and others even stay at Beit Immanuel Guesthouse (www.beitimmanuel.org). We are happy to welcome these friends from all over the world into our fellowship. As services are in Hebrew we provide simultaneous translation into English, but we need to purchase an additional set of translation devices. Please pray that we will be able to buy a set, and if you feel called to help us please contact us. Perhaps you will be one of the many people who benefit from the English translation.
May the Lord bless you richly! We thank you for your prayers and support. 

In Messiah, Aleksey Raikhstadt.