Reflections

This week I welcome a fellow staff member from The Fellowship’s Israel office, Gadi Teichman

Ahead of International Women’s Day, I was asked which women inspire the work I do at the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. And believe me, it is an honor and a privilege to be in the position—as President and CEO of a large international aid organization, as a wife, as a mother—of being asked to be a voice for women today.

The ongoing war in Ukraine began one year ago. And while the world’s focus may no longer be on the war-torn nation, Yael writes at The Jerusalem Post of the moving people and powerful stories that we are still seeing on the ground as The Fellowship continues to provide aid for those whose lives have been upended.

This week Yael pays tribute to her beloved abba, Fellowship Founder Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, of blessed memory, with a very special guest—Beryl Eckstein, her uncle and her father’s younger brother.

That’s one of the greatest things about my role at The Fellowship—getting the opportunity to see dreams being fulfilled. And last week, I was privileged to see this once again.

It’s hard to believe that February 6 marks four years since my father’s soul left this world. Four years since my dear abba, Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, suffered a heart attack—and our hearts were broken. However, while I miss my father every single day, and I don’t think that will ever change, I will take this time not just to mourn his death, but also to celebrate his life.

The Jewish holiday of Tu B’Shvat is known as the “birthday” of the trees. Coming to us from the Holy Land of Israel, Yael explains why this celebration of spiritual awakening is observed during the dead of winter.

On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which is observed annually on January 27, we proclaim “Never Again!” Yet, the increase in anti-Semitism around the world has many people asking if history could repeat itself. Today, Jews are increasingly singled out and senselessly harassed, beaten, and even murdered in broad daylight.

Long before the ongoing war began in Ukraine last year, IFCJ Canada has been on the ground in the region—for three decades—providing aid for the neediest of God’s people there.

This week, Yael welcomes back to the podcast Bishop Paul Lanier, for the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, to help her launch The Fellowship’s 40th Anniversary year, and 20 years in Canada.

This week, Yael welcomes to the podcast Gordon Robertson, President and CEO of The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), and a long-time friend and supporter of Israel and her people.

As 2023 dawns, I’m excited to look back on everything we accomplished together in 2022, and I anticipate all of the holy work we will do together in the days, weeks, and year ahead.