What’s the best way for children to learn? Teach them the power of asking questions. For millennia, the Jewish faith has held that the best way to serve God is by constantly learning and growing — and in order to learn, one must ask questions. Podcast host Yael Eckstein continues her summer series on passing on our faith to the next generation by exploring how the annual observance of Passover helps instill in her children the value of asking questions. Jewish families commemorate the most impor...
Jul 24, 2022•23 min
Join host Yael Eckstein as she welcomes Israeli statesman and former UN Ambassador Danny Danon to the podcast, as they discuss how he successfully championed Israel and her people in an environment that’s often hostile to the Jewish state. As Ambassador Danon shared with Yael, growing up, he was inspired by one guiding principle —if you want to make change happen, you have to be in a place where you can make a difference. As an adult, Ambassador Danon was able to make a difference in how the wor...
Jul 20, 2022•33 min
With increasing demands on our time and attention coming from all sides — emails, text messages, Zoom calls, social media — how can families today find the time to connect with each other, and more importantly, with God? For thousands of years, Jewish families have answered this dilemma with one word — Shabbat , the Sabbath. Podcast host Yael Eckstein continues her summer series on passing our faith on to the next generation by exploring how the weekly observance of the Sabbath — a 25-hour cessa...
Jul 17, 2022•22 min
According to renown Christian leader Billy Graham, the greatest legacy we can leave the next generation is not money nor the material things we’ve accumulated, but a legacy of faith and character. Passing on our faith is of paramount importance to both Christians and Jews. In Judaism, it’s called “ l’dor v’dor,” from generation to generation. As we will learn in Yael Eckstein’s special podcast series, Generation to Generation, passing on faith through the rituals and holy observances that occur ...
Jul 10, 2022•25 min
What if you were asked to name the most important quality in a person of faith? What would you say? Honesty? Purity? Compassion? Scripture actually has an answer to this question. In honor of the Jewish holiday Shavuot , the Festival of Weeks, better known to Christian by its Greek name, Pentecost, we’ll learn about the one quality that can take our faith to the next level. The biblical figure Ruth demonstrated this quality when she followed her mother-in-law Naomi back to Israel and joined the ...
Jun 05, 2022•20 min
Nearly 13 years ago, a pastor in North Carolina made a life-changing decision to answer God’s call to bless Israel by bringing needy and persecuted Jews back to their biblical homeland. Four years later, this pastor enlisted his church, Hope Community Church in Winston-Salem, N.C. to join him in this mission, pledging to raise $1 million to help Jews make aliyah (immigrate to Israel). This past year, Bishop Lanier and Hope Community Church surpassed that goal, raising more that $1.5 million and ...
Jun 01, 2022•52 min
Today, Jews in Israel celebrate Jerusalem Day — Yom Yerushalayim — commemorating the miraculous reunification of God’s Holy City in 1967. But as podcast host Yael Eckstein explains, we ALL — Christians and Jews — should celebrate Jerusalem Day! Not only is Jerusalem God’s designated place where His Temple once stood and will someday stand again, but as we read in Psalm 137:5, “ If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill .” God does not want us to forget His eternal capital! I...
May 29, 2022•25 min
Since last September, the people of Israel have been living out the biblical command to observe a sabbatical year as found in the Book of Leviticus. But what does that mean? For many in Israel, it has meant allowing fields to go unplowed, not planting a vegetable garden, or simply letting the ground rest. And while this biblical directive is focused on the land, there is a deeper spiritual lesson for us all. As podcast host Yael Eckstein shares, the practice of shmita, the sabbatical year, teach...
May 15, 2022•21 min
As kids, who didn’t count down the days until the end of school and the beginning of summer vacation? Even as adults, we sometimes count down the days to an important event — a milestone birthday, a wedding, or a special vacation. But if you think about it, in counting down the days, we can mistakenly relegate those days as obstacles to get through in order to reach the anticipated event, rather than as the priceless gift that each day is. On today’s podcast, host Yael Eckstein shares biblical v...
May 08, 2022•21 min
As we pause this month to celebrate the women in our lives, host Yael Eckstein welcomes to the podcast two modern-day Women of Valor who have influenced and mentored her — Michele Bachmann, former member of the U.S. Congress and current Dean of the Robertson School of Government at Regent University, and Penny Nance, CEO and President of Concerned Women for America. Together, these powerhouse women discuss with Yael both the difficulties and opportunities women of faith in leadership face today,...
May 04, 2022•52 min
What does it really mean to love your neighbor as yourself? As Christians and Jews, we agree this is one of the most important commandments to follow, but what does that really look like? What does it mean to love our neighbors as ourselves? On today’s podcast, host Yael Eckstein shares two insights from Jewish teachings from the Bible that explain how we can obey this commandment on a daily basis. As Yael shares loving others is not dependent on our emotions, but on our actions! We always have ...
May 01, 2022•22 min
For many Jews, Yom HaShoah , Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, is deeply personal. It’s a day to remember one of the darkest times in history that resulted in the horrific murder of six million Jewish souls. While it is a somber day when the entire nation pauses to remember the lives lost at the hands of the Nazis, it is also a time for us all to remember the lessons from the Holocaust. It is a time when we renew the pledge that the Jewish people adopted after this catastrophic event: Never fo...
Apr 24, 2022•23 min
Think you know the whole story of the Israelites’ redemption from Egypt and the splitting of the Red Sea? Think again! On today’s special Passover episode, podcast host Yael Eckstein shares Jewish teachings about what happened in the moments before the Red Sea split and the lesson it teaches us about overcoming obstacles, acting in faith, and seeing miracles in our own lives. For more information on today’s episode visit mybiblicalroots.org ....
Apr 17, 2022•23 min
In today’s special Passover episode, host Yael Eckstein explains the unique and sometimes unusual traditions for the Passover seder that are actually meant to encourage questions. In fact, the telling of the Exodus story begins not with facts and explanations, but with questions. As Yael explains, this time-honored tradition of asking questions during Passover is an annual reminder that God wants us to be lifelong seekers. By asking God our questions and entering Passover with a spirit of curios...
Apr 10, 2022•22 min
April 28 is Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, when Israelis and Jews around the world honor the six million souls who perished at the hands of the Nazis with solemn ceremonies and a nationwide moment of silence. In the aftermath of the Holocaust, the Jewish people vowed, “Never forget.” Yet, as host Yael Eckstein and her special guest Elisha Wiesel discuss on today’s podcast, an alarming number of adults today know nothing about the Holocaust. Elisha brings a unique perspective to the conv...
Apr 06, 2022•44 min
If you are like many health-conscious people, you are concerned and mindful of what you put into your mouth. The question is, though, are you as concerned about what comes out of your mouth? In our world, gossip and slander are the norm — we hear and see it on the news, on social media, and even from those around us. If we truly understood the power of our words and how they can affect others — for good and for bad — we’d probably be more careful about what we say. On today’s episode, host Yael ...
Apr 03, 2022•20 min
There’s a saying in the Jewish tradition that we don’t see things as they are; we see them as we are . Think about that. Whether we tend to focus on the negative or positive aspects of our life has everything to do with how we view our world. Often, if we want to change our situation, we need to start by changing our perspective. In today’s podcast, host Yael Eckstein explores an important spiritual lesson about how we can change “narrow eyes” into “good eyes” by broadening our focus to see the ...
Mar 27, 2022•23 min
If you have ever asked yourself “why do bad things happen to good people,” you’re not alone. It’s a question that has been asked since time began. And with the whole world watching the carnage and suffering of innocent people in Ukraine, this question certainly is pertinent right now. The truth is that sometimes life just doesn’t make any sense. We want answers, but our questions remain unanswered, and we are confused and lost. In today’s episode, host Yael Eckstein looks to Jewish teachings tha...
Mar 20, 2022•23 min
This month, Jews around the world celebrate one of the most joyous holidays on the Jewish calendar – Purim, which commemorates the events written about in the Book of Esther . During this celebration, people in Israel host big parties, share holiday treats with friends, and dress up in costumes and masks — a lot like Halloween. But unlike Halloween, people go door to door in order to give treats, not receive them. And the costumes have nothing to do with ghosts or gore. As we’ll discover on toda...
Mar 13, 2022•21 min
Most of us would agree that humility is an important virtue. But being humble is also one of the most misunderstood character traits. Many of us think of a humble person as someone who is meek or quiet. Or someone who doesn’t think too highly of themselves. In today’s episode, host Yael Eckstein unpacks what it means to be humble by looking at Moses, who Scripture describes as “ more humble than anyone else ” (Numbers 12:3). As we well know, Moses certainly wasn’t meek or lacked the confidence t...
Mar 06, 2022•21 min
The entire world is witnessing unthinkable events that have not been experienced on European soil since World War II. Russia has invaded Ukraine. Bombs are falling on innocent Ukrainian citizens. Refugees are fleeing by the hundreds of thousands into neighboring countries. To discuss the current situation and The Fellowship’s response to this humanitarian crisis, host Yael Eckstein, President and CEO of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, welcomes back to the podcast Michele Bac...
Mar 04, 2022•26 min
Do you know what the best thing to do is when overwhelmed with an insurmountable task or a never-ending to-do list? Take a cue from the Bible and ask for help! It’s the most obvious thing to do, but for many of us, it’s also the most difficult thing to do. As we’ll learn from host Yael Eckstein in today’s episode, even Moses struggled to ask for help when he really needed it. But like Moses, we need to do it anyway, because asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness — it’s actually a step towards ...
Feb 27, 2022•22 min
On this special edition of Nourish Your Biblical Roots, host Yael Eckstein, President and CEO of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews , takes us to the subzero temperatures and the treacherous winter weather in Ukraine and the former Soviet Union to share the heartbreaking stories of elderly Holocaust survivors who live in abject poverty. Without lifesaving aid from The Fellowship and its Christian supporters — food, blankets, water, heating fuel — many of these precious souls wou...
Feb 23, 2022•34 min
What if the next time you faced a challenge, you tried looking up at the moon for encouragement? That might seem a bit strange. But in today’s episode, host Yael Eckstein tells us about the biblical holiday of Rosh Chodesh, the New Moon, that signals the start of each month, and what it can teach us about having faith. In Jewish tradition, the moon is a symbol of faith because it is literally a light in the darkness. And even though there are times of the month when we can’t see the moon, it is ...
Feb 20, 2022•22 min
What do you think you need to be happy? A better job? A new house? Do you have everything you need to be happy right now? The truth is that God already has given us everything we need, challenges and all, to be truly happy right now. But after the past several years enduring a tiring, difficult pandemic, happiness might not seem possible for many. On today’s podcast, host Yael Eckstein shares the powerful biblical tradition that shows us how we can find happiness and stay joyful, despite the bro...
Feb 13, 2022•25 min
If someone asked you, “What’s your special talent?”, what would you say? Unless we excel in some particular area, many of us might say we’re not talented at anything. But that couldn’t be further from the truth! As host Yael Eckstein shares with us today, God has invested in each one of us unique gifts and abilities. And He expects us to do something with the gifts He has given us. We all have something to contribute to the world and make it a better place. But how do we go about reaching our fu...
Feb 06, 2022•24 min
Join host Yael Eckstein, President and CEO of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, as she pays tribute to her beloved father and mentor, Fellowship Founder Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, who passed away three years ago this month. Yael celebrates her father’s extraordinary life with a special guest —Beryl Eckstein, her father’s younger brother. In this very personal and emotional podcast, Beryl Eckstein recalls growing up with Yechiel, who was always “full of energy and the life of the ...
Feb 02, 2022•1 hr
We all know that giving to people in need is an important thing to do, but that doesn’t mean that it’s easy. When we’re short on time or money — or both — it’s hard to give those things away. But in today’s episode, host Yael Eckstein turns the concept of giving completely on its head. She explores verses in the Book of Exodus where God commands the Israelites to contribute to His purposes where we’ll discover a hidden message in the original Hebrew that will change your perspective on giving — ...
Jan 31, 2022•24 min
We live in a world that tells us that we have to be perfect. But what if God’s blessings are found in our imperfections? In today’s episode, host Yael Eckstein looks to Scripture to understand how to embrace our imperfections and use them as a springboard to holiness and greatest. As we’ll discover, every time we overcome our flaws and imperfections, we get closer to God — and rise higher than even the angels! If you’ve ever felt inadequate, or if shame and guilt have held you back in life, this...
Jan 23, 2022•23 min
Christians and Jews may not agree on everything, but one thing that most of us agree on is that we are living in prophetic times described in the Bible. It started with the Book of Exodus, when God redeemed Israel from Egypt and promised to bring them home on “ eagles’ wings .” In today’s episode, host Yael Eckstein will explore how these verses prophesied about the times we are in right now – and what this means for us in our personal and spiritual lives. As people of faith, we are called to be...
Jan 16, 2022•26 min
