Will 2014 be a big year for Israel?
Keeping the Biblical commandments in Israel just got a strong supporter: the Israeli government. On Sunday, Israel’s cabinet approved 100 million Shekels ($28.8 million) to assist farmers and others willing to assist with the Biblical Shmita (Sabbatical) year, according to a report from Ynet.
The Shmita is Biblical command to let the Land of Israel lie fallow, or rest agriculturally, every seven years. It is originally commanded in the Biblical books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, and it is linked to significant blessings from Heaven for keeping the commandment. On the flip side, the Bible notes that the first major exile of the Israelites was a consequence for their unwillingness to keep it then. So it’s a big deal.
Ynet reported viagra online mexican pharmacy that this is the most the government has ever done this much for the Shmita.
Of the 100 million shekels allotted to helping with keeping the commandment, 45 million will go towards farmers who don’t work their fields, and 20 million will go to fruit tree producers.
The remainder will go to groups and other projects associated with the Shmita.
In a world where politics and religion are kept separate often times, this is a refreshing occasion where the government is actually helping people follow the Bible.
The Shmita begins on the holiday of Rosh Hashannah (Jewish New Year or the Feast of Trumpets) which begins in the evening of September 24.
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, June 1, 2014)