Jonathan Feldstein

When Israel faces crisis and grief, the Jewish people and those who stand with it unite and are inseparable. This intuitive lesson is rooted in our faith and has biblical roots, such as in Ecclesiastes 4: Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls

Among the 613 biblical commandments to which Jews are obliged, one is especially personal and unique—for two reasons. Pidyon Shvuyim means redeeming captives. Jews are biblically obligated to redeem captives, under all circumstances, though there are many rabbinic commentaries as to how and at what cost, lest paying a price that’s too high would incentivize

Many have asked what has been going on in Israel since three Israeli teenage boys were kidnapped last week. One could follow both the Israeli news—where it’s almost all that is being covered—and the international news—where it’s barely been covered at all. If you’d like news sources, please email me directly. But I would like

June 14 marks International Blood Donation Day. It is intuitive to all that in Israel, donating blood is a vital lifeline for all Israelis, taking a voluntary donation of a pint of the most precious lifesaving substance and giving it to an anonymous recipient whose life is in jeopardy. Heart to Heart is proud to

Shavuot (Pentecost) is one of the three biblical festivals at which the Jewish people would bring offerings to the Temple in Jerusalem. We observe the anniversary of Moses receiving the Torah, and commemorate and reaffirm it as if we were there. Among the traditions of Shavuot are studying Scripture all night, reading the book of

Two holidays—connected by Scripture—come to mind this week. Mother’s Day, which was this past Sunday, is not biblical, and Shavuot (Pentecost) is, but the connection nevertheless runs deep. Recently, I had the privilege of hosting two good friends who are Christian leaders from the United States while they were visiting Israel. One of them, Linda,

Last year, I was invited as a guest to the Memphis Friends of Israel Festival (MFOI) to speak and promote Heart to Heart. I had no idea what I was getting into, and hadn’t been to Memphis in more than 20 years, but I immediately agreed to join, and am sure glad I did. This

Recently, I had coffee with a prominent Christian journalist visiting Jerusalem. At one point our conversation turned to the Holocaust, and I was surprised by his question whether or not the Holocaust was part of the Israeli national psyche. I was surprised because he is someone both knowledgeable and well-connected and because, since childhood, not

Recently, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie made news when, speaking at a gathering of the Republican Jewish Coalition, he used the term occupied territories to describe what’s otherwise known as biblical Judea and Samaria, or more commonly and sometimes pejoratively, the West Bank. Having grown up an easy bike ride from the governor’s residence in New

The hardest part of telling Daniel’s story is that it is in the past tense. Despite heroic efforts to save his life, it does not have a happy ending. On April 17, 2006, during Passover, a suicide bomber detonated a belt full of explosives and shrapnel in Tel Aviv, killing 11 and injuring 70. Daniel

In 2013, I had the special privilege to meet pastor Mark Biltz of El Shaddai Ministries. Pastor Mark is bright, friendly and engaging.He expresses a unique love and support for Israel and immediately jumped on board as a partner and supporter of Heart to Heart, the virtual blood donation program I have the privilege of…

It’s been tremendously exciting watching the snowballing support for Heart to Heart in the past few months. There are many highlights and many plans ahead that are truthfully bigger than I had imagined would be happening so soon. But what this is all demonstrating is that the importance of Heart to Heart—providing direct and tangible

Recently, I wrote of attacks Israel was facing on two fronts, both threatening Israel’s physical existence each in its own way. Writing from Israel as an Orthodox Jew, sharing perspectives largely with a Christian audience, I am mindful not to commit three main transgressions.The first is not to be offensive to Christians (or anyone else…

On March 11, Israel observed “Good Deed Day,” on which more than 550,000 people participated in more than 8,000 projects in hundreds of communities, performing various acts of kindness, from feeding the hungry to painting worn buildings. Known for their volunteerism, Israelis draw from the biblical mandate to love your neighbor as yourself. And their

This week, Israel came under attack on two fronts. As of this writing, the attacks continue. It’s likely that only one of these made the news, that of terrorists in Gaza firing dozens of rockets and mortars at southern Israel, endangering more than one million Israelis. This attack was just in time to welcome British