Nourish Your Biblical Roots with Yael Eckstein

People of faith often say they are “walking with God,” but what does that really mean? While it probably means different things to different people, you might say it means having a close relationship with God. Some feel closest to God in prayer, while others might draw nearer to God when reading Scripture. In today’s episode, host Yael Eckstein will share with what it means in the Jewish tradition...

On the debut of “Conversations with Yael,” join podcast host Yael Eckstein, President and CEO of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews , as she and Michele Bachmann, former member of the U.S. Congress and the current Dean of the Robertson School of Government at Regent University, exchange views on the importance of Israel today and its significance for all Christians. Michele and Ya...

How many of us have made choices solely to please or impress others? If we’re honest, we all have done that at one time or another. But what would our lives look like if other peoples’ opinions truly didn’t matter to us? Would our priorities be different? Would we spend our time differently? Make different choices if we had no need to impress others? In today’s podcast, Yael Eckstein explores what...

Imagine if you woke up tomorrow with only the things that you had thanked God for today? How would that change the quality of your gratitude? As we’ll discover on today’s podcast, it’s easy to thank God when we are truly in need and He provides for us. But what about when things are going well, and we are blessed with good health, family and friends, and enough food to eat? It’s human nature to ta...

If you have ever felt like giving up, today’s episode is dedicated to you. This month, Jews around the world observe the darkest day on the Jewish calendar, Tisha B’Av, the ninth day of the month of Av. On this day, Jewish people weep for something that occurred more than 2,000 years ago — the destruction of both the First and Second Temples that once stood in Jerusalem. Yet, as host Yael Eckstein...

Do you ever wish for an easier life? Or think that if your life were easier it would be better? The Israelites wished for an easier life after they realized how hard it would be to enter the Promised Land. With so many challenges – a difficult land to capture and cultivate — they believed that because God had put them in this position, He actually hated them! In today’s episode, host Yael Eckstein...

In many ways, it was hard to avoid getting angry at something during the past year. With the elections, the heated political debates on social media, and all the issues that came up during the pandemic, you probably felt your buttons being pushed at some point. Truth is, we all get angry. But as we’ll learn in this week’s episode, there’s a great cost to holding on to our anger. Even Moses grew an...

How often do you really take the time to enjoy the blessings in your life? It’s easy to focus on what we don’t have or compare our life to others. But if we’re not careful, we might miss out on what’s right in front of us! In today’s episode, host Yael Eckstein turns to the Bible to unpack the powerful message that God knows how unique we are, and because of this, He gives us exactly what we need...

How do you view the bad things that happen to you? Do you feel that God has forgotten you? That He doesn’t love you anymore? Or worse, that He’s out to get you? If we truly believe that God is the source of everything that happens in our lives and that God is good, that means everything that happens to us must also be good. Right? But we sometimes don’t look at it that way. In today’s episode, hos...

When was the last time you saw God’s miracles happening around you? It’s true, the Red Sea isn’t parting in front of us like in Moses’ time and, in fact, if you listen to the news today, it can be difficult to see God’s hand at work in our world. But why do we assume miracles are ancient history that only happened during biblical times? In today’s episode, host Yael Eckstein explains that while so...

What does it really mean to be a wealthy person? In today’s episode, host Yael Eckstein explores the biblical story of Korah, a man so wealthy that he got a false sense of importance and began a rebellion against Moses – and against God Himself. Do you know what happened next? Let’s just say it didn’t end well for Korah. While most of us know that money is impermanent, sometimes we can lose sight...

The entire fate of the Israelites turned on one word: BUT. Instead of entering the Promised Land, the children of Israel were condemned to wander the desert for another 40 years. One word. If we’re honest, we’ve all made the same mistake. Maybe you’ve said, “I got a new job, but it’s really hard”? Or maybe, “My son gets good grades, but he struggles in sports.” That one word diminishes our blessin...

What is your name? Do you know the meaning of your name, or why you were given your name? According to Jewish tradition, every person has three names: one that they are called by their parents, one that they are called by others, and one they are remembered by. On today’s episode, podcast host Yael Eckstein shares verses from the Torah (the first five books of the Bible), and some fascinating Jewi...

More than 3,500 rockets have been fired into Israel by Hama terrorists in Gaza, and while there have been calls for a ceasefire, Israelis are bracing for more. As casualties continue to mount and conflict has broken out on other fronts, podcast host Yael Eckstein, President and CEO of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, answered questions about the current situation during a recen...

What if you were asked to name the most important quality in a person of faith? What would you say? Honesty? Purity? Compassion? Scripture actually has an answer to this question. In honor of the Jewish holiday Shavuot , the Festival of Weeks, which begins tonight, we’ll learn about the one quality that can take our faith to the next level. The biblical figure Ruth demonstrated this quality when s...

It’s human nature to want to fit in, isn’t it? In fact, sometimes we sacrifice what makes us different in order to be like everyone else. But God made each one of us as unique individuals with a different role to play in His Kingdom. In today’s episode, podcast host Yael Eckstein takes a deeper look at how the twelve tribes of Israel were placed when they encamped in the desert and what lessons th...

Want to receive more blessings in your life? If so, you might consider doing… less. That’s right! Conventional wisdom says that the more we work, the more we will achieve… and the more blessings we’ll have in our lives. But as we’ll learn on today’s podcast, that isn’t always the case. Host Yael Eckstein explores a biblical directive, known as the sabbatical year, to let the land lay fallow every...

As kids, who didn’t count down the days until the end of school and the beginning of summer vacation? Even as adults, we sometimes count down the days to an important event — a milestone birthday, a wedding, or a special vacation. But if you think about it, in counting down the days, we can mistakenly relegate those days as obstacles to get through in order to reach the anticipated event, rather t...

We all want to have a positive influence on others and leave our mark on the world, but how do we do that? More importantly, where do we start? On today’s episode, podcast host Yael Eckstein explains how the service of the High Priest on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur, teaches us how to be a positive influence. We’ll learn from Yael’s teachings and perso...

Our God-given ability to speak has incredible power. On today’s episode, podcast host Yael Eckstein shares Jewish teachings that reveal how our words have the potential to cause terrible destruction, but also the potential to build, to heal, and to inspire. We will explore how to harness this great power in order to speak only good things into our lives and into the world. For more information on...

What does it really mean to be kind? The definition of kindness, according to Jewish thought, might not be as simple as we might think. On today’s podcast, host Yael Eckstein explores Jewish teachings from the Bible about what true kindness is… and what it isn’t. And these lessons can be gleaned from the biblical laws of eating kosher! Additionally, we discover how acts of authentic kindness can i...

Think you know the whole story of the Israelites’ redemption from Egypt and the splitting of the Red Sea? Think again! On today’s special Passover episode, podcast host Yael Eckstein shares Jewish teachings about what happened in the moments before the Red Sea split and the lesson it teaches us about overcoming obstacles, acting in faith, and seeing miracles in our own lives. For more information...

It has been said that if you win the morning, you win the day. On today’s podcast, host Yael Eckstein shares a Jewish teaching about the priest’s daily service as described in the Bible, first in the Tabernacle and then later in the Temple, which offers us some interesting insights on how we should approach each new day. By adopting the right mindset, Yael explains we can experience every day with...

Wouldn’t it be nice to always feel so blessed that your heart overflows with gratitude no matter what’s going on in your life? In today’s episode, Yael Eckstein talks about the importance of recognizing our blessings and giving thanks to God — even during hard times … especially during hard times. Jewish tradition teaches that having an attitude of gratitude is essential in our service to God and...

Have you ever felt like everything in life is falling apart? Have you ever felt like giving up? For many of us, this past year has presented many challenges and difficulties. In this episode, podcast host Yael Eckstein reveals what Moses did when he built — and rebuilt — the Tabernacle many times over and what his actions teach us about how to rebuild after experiencing setbacks in our lives. For...