Nourish Your Biblical Roots with Yael Eckstein

What will your legacy be? Maybe it will be how successful you were in your career. Or maybe it will be how much you loved your family. In today’s episode, host Yael Eckstein turns to the Bible to show how we can leave behind a strong legacy of faith. When we prioritize doing good deeds and supporting the people in our lives in positive ways, we create a lasting impact that reaches far beyond our o...

So, you want to make a real difference in the world… but you don’t know where or how to begin. As we’ll learn on today’s podcast, we can make a difference in the lives of others by simply asking, “How are you doing?” In a world where so many people are hurting, we should never underestimate the power of greeting every person with genuine care. It can save a life—even our own! This week, host Yael...

We are truly living in prophetic times as described in God’s Word, aren’t we? It began with the Book of Exodus, when God redeemed Israel from Egypt and promised to bring them home on “ eagles’ wings .” On today’s episode, host Yael Eckstein will explore how the Bible prophesied about the times we are in right now—and what this means for us in our personal and spiritual lives. As people of faith, w...

“It has taken courage to birth these nations.” These words are an enduring theme in the life and work of Bishop E.W. Jackson—a pastor, an attorney, a U.S. Marine, and a Christian friend of Israel. A proud American who also stands for the Jewish state, Bishop Jackson sat down recently with Yael Eckstein to discuss his own experiences and his thoughts on the ongoing violence being experienced not ju...

As the High Holy Days come to a close, Jews around the world spend one last day in an intense celebration with God before resuming their normal routines. Simchat Torah, which means “Rejoicing in the Torah ,” is unlike any other observance we experience in synagogue. As host Yael Eckstein describes in today’s podcast, the entire congregation—from the youngest children to the oldest adults—takes out...

Do you know the one holy day that the entire world will celebrate in Messianic times? According to the prophet Zechariah, it’s the Festival of Tabernacles, or as it’s called in Hebrew, Sukkot (Zechariah 4:16). Unity among all of God’s children is a major theme of this joyous biblical celebration that is part of the High Holy Days that Jews around the world have been observing. Host Yael Eckstein l...

“I’m sorry.” It’s been said that these are two of the hardest words to say. We’ve all found ourselves needing to apologize… and dreading it. And we’ve all been hurt by someone who wouldn’t apologize for what they did. In this special episode about Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement , Yael Eckstein explores how those two words relate to the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. Admitting our wrongdoing...

How many of us think about repentance as we celebrate and usher in a New Year on January 1? When Jews usher in the Jewish New Year on Rosh Hashanah , the main focus is on repentance, or teshuvah, which means to “return” to God and to who we really are. The sound of the shofar, the ritual trumpet, signals this time to reflect on the past twelve months, fix any behavior that isn’t helpful, and retur...

“Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly. Gather the people…” These biblical words, from Joel 2:15-16, are used by Pastor Lou Engle to describe an upcoming gathering of people of faith, of A Million Women , of one million Esthers, who are called to gather on the Mall in Washington, D.C., on the holiest day of the Jewish year, Yom Kippur—the Day of Atonement. This week...

Did you know that God has an alarm clock for our souls? Beginning a month before the start of the High Holy Days, the sounds of the shofar, the biblically mandated trumpet, can be heard throughout synagogues across the world, calling people to reflect, repent and return to God. On this podcast, Yael Eckstein, President and CEO of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, continues explo...

Every year, Jewish people in Israel and around the world take a special spiritual journey. And on today’s podcast, host Yael Eckstein shares how preparing for the upcoming High Holy Days can teach us all—Christians and Jews, alike—about connecting with God and ourselves. In coming weeks, Yael will explore how the sounds of the shofar awaken the soul; how Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, teaches...

Have you ever noticed how many “30 Day Challenges” our society gives us? Challenges to lose weight, to learn a language, to straighten up your house, or even straighten up your finances! The world loves to give us month-long challenges. But did you know the Jewish people have been doing a 30-Day Challenge for thousands of years? That’s right! The Hebrew month of Elul began last night at sunset. An...

The Bible isn’t just stories of epic happenings and holy miracles. It’s not all Noah filling the ark or David defeating Goliath, mighty armies falling at the hands of God’s people or great heroes rising from humble beginnings. God’s Word is full of meaning—even in the places we might not expect. And this week’s podcast is one of those places. Host Yael Eckstein takes a look at a passage in Scriptu...

“How does a nation come to Jerusalem?” That’s a question that comes up during Yael Eckstein’s latest conversation—with former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman. A Nobel Peace Prize nominee and the co-architect of 2020’s groundbreaking Abraham Accords, Friedman freely shares about his work in the ambassadorship. And aside from his time in the embassy, the ambassador has also enjoyed a long a...

“Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” (Ruth 1:16) These words from the Bible—spoken from the Gentile Ruth to her Jewish mother-in-law, Naomi—were quoted in a Christian publication in 1932. As anti-Semitism rose in Germany—soon to spread across Europe, along with the Second World War—even then, Christians were standing up for th...

What is the one thing we must teach our children if we want them to never give up on their values and beliefs? We must teach them hope. On today’s podcast, host Yael Eckstein shares how perpetual hope in God’s promises has sustained the Jewish people through enslavement and exile, through pogroms and persecution, and even through the Holocaust. Each year, on the Jewish observance of Tisha B’Av, th...

If you’ve ever felt like giving up, today’s episode is especially for you. In less than two weeks, Jews around the world will 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 happened more than 2,000 years ago—the destruction of both the First and Second Temples that once stood in Jerusalem. But, while...

“My heart is broken for the Jewish people, and I want to help in any way that I can.” These words, from an elderly farmer in America, longing to help the people of Israel—God’s people—in their time of need inspired Rabbi Daniel Korobkin when he heard them recently. As the rabbi tells Yael Eckstein in this podcast conversation, “it shook so many of us so deeply… it was moving to see this kind of ca...

“I’m amazed to see all the love.” That’s what Ohad Roth of the Jerusalem Development Authority (JDA) said when he visited the U.S. this year. That’s what he said about the love he and his fellow Israelis felt from their Christian friends in America. Friends like The Fellowship’s faithful supporters. Roth, the JDA’s Director of Tourism, and Anat Landa, the Director of International Conferences for...

“I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.” (Psalm 77:11) When he sat down to speak with The Fellowship, this is the psalm that Pastor Tony Suarez mentioned in his discussion of Israel—and the responsibility that people of faith, both Christian and Jewish, have to “learn the Scripture” and tell “the history of the Jewish people.” We all, as people of fa...

Have you ever noticed that the irony of our times is that we have more time-saving technology, but less time to spend on the things that really matter to us? In this episode, host Yael Eckstein talks about how the ancient observance of the Sabbath—a time to relax, rethink, and reset—is exactly what we all need to combat the challenges of today’s modern world. Yael takes a closer look at the Israel...

“One generation commends your works to another.” (Psalm 145:4) Early in his podcast conversation with Yael Eckstein, Pastor Dumisani Washington quotes these words of King David when speaking of the lessons of faith his parents passed down to him. And it is this continued generational legacy—to younger generations and to other people of faith—that Pastor Washington and Yael focus on in this inspiri...

For Christian music fans of many generations, Petra means rock. From the band’s early years in Ft. Wayne—“playing in parks and prisons and coffee houses” to decades of international success on the biggest stages, Petra not only changed with the evolving musical landscape, they defined Christian music. And for all of those years—culminating in last year’s 50th anniversary world tour—Petra was led,...

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 tha...

Today, Jews in Israel celebrate Jerusalem Day— Yom Yerushalayim —commemorating the miraculous reunification of God’s Holy City after the Six-Day War of 1967. But as podcast host Yael Eckstein explains, we ALL—Christians and Jews—should celebrate Jerusalem Day! Not only is Jerusalem God’s designated place where His Temple once stood and will someday stand again, but as we read in Psalm 137:5, “If I...