As Israel battles Hamas, which in Hebrew translates as violence, we see Israel in the valley of Achor which means 'Trouble'. Through this trouble there is a door of Hope.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)
Hope if seen in actuality as a matter of the past is not hope but a present possession. Israel does not have peace, but rather violence and bloodshed in their midst. Hosea says
Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.
And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. (Hosea 2:14-15)
The door, or opening, of hope is about seeing the way to a good end. Hosea gives a context here that Israel is to be brought once again into the wild barren place to listen to God. Initially from the 1800s we see Jews returning not to study and be buried but to reclaim and redeem dry barren land – this is the wilderness. It was both a wilderness literally and politically. Jews were without 'a body' and entity in the wilderness politically until 1948.
The work to reclaim the land from invaders who drank no alcohol, and who had few vineyards, led to the planting of vineyards in the wilderness from the beginning.
In 1848, a rabbi in Jerusalem founded the first documented winery in modern times but this establishment was short lived. In 1870, the first Jewish agricultural college, Mikveh Israel, was founded and featured a course on viticulture. The root of the modern Israeli wine industry can be traced to the late 19th century when the French Baron Edmond de Rothschild, owner of the Bordeaux estate Château Lafite-Rothschild, began importing French grape varieties and technical know how to the region. In 1882, he helped establish Carmel Winery with vineyards and wine production facilities in Rishon LeZion and Zikhron Ya'akov near Haifa. Wikipedia
Rishon Le Zion means first to Zion. Israeli wine has gone on to become of some note, with Israel obtaining a status outside Israel for boutique and fine wines from the 1990s. Much of the more recent blessing of wine, comes from the now productive mountains of Judea and Samaria.
Then Hosea says that the valley of Achor is to be a door of Hope. Some time ago I supposed that this must mean the trouble and hope of the door of entry to the land:
Jews who had been with the partisans or had been hiding in forests; or who were hiding in monasteries in various countries, gathered in a rising stream and moved in the direction of Aliya, immigration to Palestine. That was the only path left to them despite the White Paper.Great is the day of Jezreel
But we only needed to wait as we now enter the time when literally the valley of Achor is the opening of hope in Isarel. The valley of Achor has another name – in modern terms it is the Jordan valley –near where Israel entered the land. The process of redemption in the land is one of being 'in the wilderness' until the coming of Messiah. The Jordan valley is the key..
Listen to one of the more powerful voices – this was from in August 2023
Katsover claims that we are still bound by the “Mapainik” ( Labor) concept of ‘one more dunam and one more goat’ [Translator’s note: this refers to a tactic of gradual, step-wise accrual of land and assets], which was correct for the days before the establishment of the state but now, we must go to the next level: the lack of sovereignty results in our being perceived as occupiers and the entire world relates to us in this way”.
To those who wonder what the application of sovereignty is, the answer is simple: a governmental decision that a specific area belongs to the State of Israel. The Sovereignty Movement is now focusing on the application of sovereignty over the Jordan Valley, which enjoys a broad consensus on the Right as well as the Left. tovnews.co.il (Chose English on the pop down menu as you go into the site)
On the 5th of October word went out there was to be a convoy to claim the Jordan Valley on October 13. It likely never went ahead as the Gaza war intervened.
CAR CONVOY TO JORDAN VALLEY
G-d willing, on the Friday after the holiday, October 13th, join us on a car convoy to the Jordan Valley.
All details are in the attached flyer. (The English flyer will hopefully be ready soon but we wanted you already to mark your calendar- gathering at 8:30 am Mishor Adumim-we posted the translation of the Hebrew flyer here below at end of email ).
*Precisely now, when there are negotiations with Saudi Arabia, the need to apply sovereignty over the Jordan Valley takes on much more importance*.
*Our friend, Middle East expert D"r Mordechai Kedar explains it well in a short clip* (the video is in Hebrew. We hope Dr Kedar will also make an English version).*Link: Dr. Mordechai Kedar: Conditions for peace with Saudi Arabia – Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MNW_2_40zs
Friends, the more our representatives in the government feel the demand for sovereignty arising from the people, the greater the chances for it to happen.
The car convoy is being organized jointly by the organization *Israel 2030*, under the leadership of architect Michael Lobovikov, *the Public Council for the Jordan Valley* under the leadership of General Uzi Dayan and former Minister of Agriculture Avraham Katz-Oz and *the Sovereignty Movement*.
See you, G-d willing, on the Friday following the holiday. Bring your family and friends. Adorn your car with Israeli flags and come.
*Sovereignty over the Jordan Valley – there is a national consensus!*
Strengthening Sovereignty: https://www.jgive.com/new/en/usd/donation-targets/60201
Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar The Sovereignty Movement
TRANSLATION INTO ENGLISH OF HEBREW FLYER:
*The Sovereignty Convoy to the Jordan Valley*
Friday, October 13th, 2023
8:30 am – Gathering at the Mishor Adumim gas station
*The convoy will include three points of observation and information:*
*Maabarot HaYarden* –The Jordan valley and our National Heritage
*The Monument* – The Jordan Valley as Israel’s national security belt
*Gitit Junction* –
The vision of Zionist sovereignty and settlement in the Jordan Valley
Estimated time of conclusion in Gitit – 1:00pm
The event is coordinated with security forces
When Jews in Israel say 'The Jordan Valley as 'Israel’s national security belt' – they could also say Valley of Achor is part of their security belt, or a path of hope. They also say that the sovereignty over this valley and the area along the Jordan stops them 'being perceived as occupiers' by the 'entire world'. Possession of the valley of Achor is seen as 'the door', or opening, of hope.
As the Six Day war showed, possession of the land of the Jordan Valley is possessing the gates of Jerusalem and the mountains in terms of land access from the North, the Dead Sea and Jordan. This valley was part of the great ancient road of the migrations of peoples. The Jordan valley is even more valuable as land by the river is fertile. For now Arabs hold Jericho and seek to settle the Jordan Valley, but the Valley of Achor near Jericho in the Jordan valley is promised to the sons of Jacob. From the river Jordan to the sea, actually as the plain of Sharon by the coast, is also given to Jews the sons of Jacob.
And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there. And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me. (Isaiah 65:9-10)
