My Stamp Bible

The Vulture (or Golden Eagle) that Disturbed Abraham's Vision About 10 days ago, I decided to take a look at stamps dedicated to Masada. I don't remember what triggered this search, I think it may have to do with a few people who made a very precise list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites as a theme of the postcards they wish to receive. The results on the online catalogue were quite interesting, as I did not know that the Dutch Antilles had issued a 3 stamp series in honour of an international stamp exhibit in Israel in 1998. The three sites they chose are Masada, the Dead Sea and the Zion Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem. Both the Gate (actually all the walls and gates of Jerusalem) and Masada are recognized as UNESCO World Heritage sites! So, as Masada is in Israel, and thousands of tourists visit it year-round, plus – many soldiers of the IDF get “sworn in” at this ancient fortress, Israel issued (according to the catalogue) 6 postage stamps and one ATM label showing Masada ...

This week's Torah Portion begins and continues with a promise to Abram (later changed by G-d to Abraham) that he will have a “multitude of descendants”. In the first covenant, the promise is that they will be : “like the (grains of) sand/dust of the earth” (Genesis 13:16). And, later: “lift up your eyes to heaven and count the stars in the night sky, if you (possibly) can... thus shall be your descendants” (Genesis 15:5). In next week's Torah Portion, as well, G-d repeats this promise to Abraham (with the comparison to the stars) which is the verse which is printed on the SHOVAL (collectible tab) of the stamp shown here. Not sure why they chose a later verse in the Bible, instead of the original one. Ephraim Moses Lilian was a Jewish artist (born Drohobytch, Ukraine 1874 – died Badenweiler, Germany 1925). The Israeli Postal Service issued in 1977 Three of his paintings depicted on postage stamps. This one showing Abraham gazing at the starry night sky; By the Rivers of Babylon...

This coming Sabbath, we will read in the Torah (Deuteronomy 29:23) a very harsh description of what will happen in the Promised Land, if the Jewish People do not keep the Covenant they made/signed with G-d in the Plains of Moab (AKA the Trans-Jordan, or, the East Bank of the Jordan River). Moses tells them that the "whole land will be (or, " is " in this translation which I don't understand) brimstone, salt and burning... like the overthrow of Sodom & Gomorrah..." Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld mentioned in our Yeshivah's Rashi class that a modern-day example of such an event is what took place 38 years ago (April 26 th , 1986) in Chernobyl (then USSR, now in the Ukraine), when there was a leak/explosion in nuclear reactor #4. Until now, according to experts, nothing that grows in the Exclusion Zone (10-20 Miles Radius) is safe for human consumption! You all know that my first love (in collecting) was for stamps from Israel, and I have about 75% of the approxim...

 It is very important, in my humble opinion, to recognize and appreciate the people & organizations who "have our back"! Acknowledging these people is something the Jewish People have been doing, ever since the times of our Forefather Abraham. When he was commanded to circumcise himself and the men in his household, the Midrash (Genesis Rabbah 42:8) teaches us, based on the words "the members of the Covenant (or "allies") of Abraham" (Genesis 14:13) – that they advised him to follow through with it and to circumcise. Even though they, themselves, were uncircumcised – they supported him in this extremely difficult decision! So, the stamp and the verse that I am showing here – was issued by the State of Israel in 2022 to acknowledge "Christians who stand for Israel". At the bottom of the stamp, called a SHOVAL in Hebrew, and a "collectible tab" in English, the quote is from G-d's very first (scriptural) conversation with Abraham: ...