Brittany Loewenstein – What's New at JS https://jerusalemseminary.org/whats-new Whats New at JS Thu, 24 Dec 2020 08:23:29 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://jerusalemseminary.org/whats-new/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/cropped-logo_only_512x512-32x32.png Brittany Loewenstein – What's New at JS https://jerusalemseminary.org/whats-new 32 32 Back Home in Israel in time for the Holidays https://jerusalemseminary.org/whats-new/2020/10/25/back-home-in-israel/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=back-home-in-israel https://jerusalemseminary.org/whats-new/2020/10/25/back-home-in-israel/#comments Sun, 25 Oct 2020 08:45:40 +0000 https://jerusalemseminary.org/whats-new/?p=85

Back Home in Israel in Time for the Holidays

Just as Israel was settling into a New Year and a new lockdown our teachers quietly, and non-eventfully in the best way possible, landed back in the land, as quietly as they took off. It has been a true miracle for us to see the Lord open the skies during a global pandemic, in between two lockdowns in Israel, and all to the small, quiet coastal country of Togo in West Africa. The three week intensive course was over in a blur, but the impact it left on the students, our teachers, our staff, and the body in Togo seemingly started waves that will continue to grow.

First the students. 18 students, among them Bible translators, seminary students, and pastors were the first in Togo to take part in this intensive, immersion based, Biblical Hebrew course taught by teachers sent out from Israel. Most of the students were from Togo, but Central Africa and the Ivory Coast were also represented. The students were challenged to push beyond the classical translation approach and actually communicate in Biblical Hebrew, something many of them found challenging, but in the end all of the students were able to push through and gain new depths of understanding in the language.

As our team on the ground, Nathanael and Ayala, met with a translation project in the North and representatives of Wycliffe, SIL and the Bible Society stationed in Togo, they also learned the important role pastors play in the reviewing of new translations and rejoiced at the impact the course will have on these translations through the pastors who were in attendance. Likewise a number of the seminary students have their eyes on becoming local Biblical Hebrew teachers. We learned so much about the interconnectedness of the local body in translation efforts and are so proud of the students, the work they accomplished in the course, and look with faith towards the path prepared by our Heavenly Father for each one.

“When a language doesn’t have a translation there is more responsibility on the pastor to teach correctly and even know Hebrew,” stated Ayala during a Zoom panel discussing the project.

Our teachers juggled rigorous schedules of six hours of frontal instruction a day and then sitting on their balconies well into the night to prepare themselves for the next day’s material. In return they were encouraged to see many believers coming from such hugely different backgrounds than theirs working so hard to learn Biblical Hebrew and giving their lives to serve our King. 

“This is an important step for…. congregations here, to go out and give from what we have.” ~ Natanael

“We as Israelis have the privilege, maybe the calling, to have Biblical Hebrew be something more natural to us.” ~ Ayala

Hebrew can seem automatic for our teachers and staff living here in Israel, but truthfully there is a great need worldwide to continue teaching and edifying the nations in the Bible’s original language. As Nathanael and Ayala met with the translation team for the Efe language they learned that the translation is being done primarily from a French translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, not from the original Hebrew. This is the status of most efforts underway in Togo, and the world over, whether it be from English, Spanish, or other languages with previous translations. Our hearts, and the hearts of many in Togo, leap at the idea of getting as many members of these translation teams as possible into a functioning relationship with Biblical Hebrew through the immersion method.

We thank God for reviving first Hebrew as a modern language, and now Biblical Hebrew in reading, writing, and speaking, so that this vision can be pursued. This course has opened many doors in Togo, including already a request for at least three more courses in the coming year, as well as more stirring in the hearts and minds of those in Togo and our staff. Our prayer requests are with the students as they continue their journeys with their newly learned skills, our teachers as they reflect and consider which steps to take next, Togo and the future the Lord has for Biblical Hebrew there and for more nations to join in the immersive Biblical Hebrew family. 

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]]> https://jerusalemseminary.org/whats-new/2020/10/25/back-home-in-israel/feed/ 2 Midway Through the Biblical Hebrew Course in Togo https://jerusalemseminary.org/whats-new/2020/09/10/jerusalem-seminarys-school-of-hebrew-togo-update-september-2020/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=jerusalem-seminarys-school-of-hebrew-togo-update-september-2020 https://jerusalemseminary.org/whats-new/2020/09/10/jerusalem-seminarys-school-of-hebrew-togo-update-september-2020/#respond Thu, 10 Sep 2020 06:49:04 +0000 https://jerusalemseminary.org/whats-new/?p=59

Midway Through the Biblical Hebrew Course in Togo

What is it like to attend a fellowship in the capital of Togo during a global pandemic? Our two amazing Biblical Hebrew teachers, Natanael and Ayala, are about to experience this for the second time as they come to the close of their second week teaching an intensive Biblical Hebrew course in that very city: Lomé, Togo. The government in Togo has allowed only a few congregations to open up and they are taking it very seriously. From handwashing stations, to true two meter apart seating, worshipers in Togo are blessed to be back at it, and determined to set an example so churches all over Togo can reopen. 

During the week Natanael and Ayala are busy speaking Biblical Hebrew! As native Israelis who have completed the Hebrew for the Nations instructor’s course they came equipped with impressive skills in speaking the language of the Bible and the usual English skills acquired by many Israelis. However, in Togo the students speak a range of local languages and learn French, not English, as an International language. Biblical Hebrew is therefore the common language and the students are only in the beginning stages of really speaking the language. This unique situation has provided the course in Togo with a challenging, yet rich environment for truly pursuing the immersion method in instruction of Biblical Hebrew. By the beginning of week two our Hebrew for the Nations teachers were reporting that they had already reached a language threshold where they felt they could speak relatively freely and see that the students were really understanding. We can only imagine what it must be like to sit in that room with two Israelis speaking the language of King David to a class full of West African students, and hearing the students reply in turn! Praise God for His love for the entire world, where Israelis take the time to train African students in the Bible’s original Hebrew!

In other exciting news we have seen the body in Israel come together to provide 18 leather-bound Bibles in side-by-side Hebrew and French that travelled through the sky with Natanel and Ayala. The students were very blessed to receive the bibles and they have been a great educational asset during the ongoing course. This gift is one that will stay with the students and continue blessing them and encouraging them in their language efforts long after our course has come to a close. We ask for continued prayer for endurance and wisdom for our teachers and the students as they forge forward into week three of instruction and plant seeds to be reaped in the Kingdom of our God and King by endeavouring to bring the Word as accurately and speedily as possible to all who would hear.

Jerusalem Seminary would like to thank Kehila News for sharing and rejoicing with us concerning the latest update regarding our Bible Translators Biblical Hebrew course from Togo.

 
]]> https://jerusalemseminary.org/whats-new/2020/09/10/jerusalem-seminarys-school-of-hebrew-togo-update-september-2020/feed/ 0 Togo Bound! – JS’ School of Hebrew Togo Update August 2020​ https://jerusalemseminary.org/whats-new/2020/08/23/togo-bound-js-school-of-hebrew-togo-update-august-2020%e2%80%8b/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=togo-bound-js-school-of-hebrew-togo-update-august-2020%25e2%2580%258b https://jerusalemseminary.org/whats-new/2020/08/23/togo-bound-js-school-of-hebrew-togo-update-august-2020%e2%80%8b/#respond Sun, 23 Aug 2020 09:19:43 +0000 https://jerusalemseminary.org/whats-new/?p=32

Togo Bound! - JS’ School of Hebrew Togo Update August 2020

We at Hebrew for the Nations are thrilled to announce the first fruits of our 2020 Biblical Hebrew Instructor’s Course. This fruit is taking on the sweet taste of two recent graduates going out from Jerusalem to Togo to teach an intensive Biblical Hebrew course throughout the month of September, Ayala and Nathanael! The sweetness of this opportunity for Ayala and Nathanael to go to Togo is magnified by the bitterness we faced needing to cancel two other planned international courses to Mexico and Nigeria due to the global pandemic we have all come to share.

We are praising Yeshua that the borders to Togo are open and our new instructors are able to move forward with this important work. Nathanael and Ayala will be flying out next week! We know that both the expectant students in Togo, as well as our newly qualified teachers, will blossom linguistically much more effectively in person rather than through online instruction. At least fourteen students (17+ if adjacent borders open, please pray!) will begin to learn and communicate exclusively in Biblical Hebrew for this three and a half week course aimed at empowering Bible translators, Hebrew teachers and seminarians. Our prayer is that not only will their skills in the language be strengthened, but that it will also flow within and out of them and help them to see the Bible through more contextual eyes.

While we are thankful for the open path to Togo, we are continuing to pray that neighboring countries will likewise open their borders and allow more translators to join the course. Thank you for taking the time to read this and we treasure any prayers towards this H4N course and the journeys and instruction of Nathanael and Ayala. Peace to all and thank you for sharing in our joy as we witness our King carry out good work through His people!

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