The Jewish roots of Christianity

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Bible teaching with an emphasis on Israel, prophecy and the Jewish roots of Christianity

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Episode: “The Survivors”
In Auschwitz, guide Teresa Wontor-Cichy informs Katharine of the extremely slim chances the Jewish people faced in surviving here. In Israel, a high-tech “start-up nation” today, we hear from television Producer Tal Barda and Solar Panel Company CEO Avi Brenmiller.

WARNING: This program contain actual images from the Holocaust. Viewer discretion is advised.
Series: “Beauty For Ashes”
This series contrasts the horrors of the Holocaust with the rebirth of Israel. Isaiah 61:3 to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning…

WARNING: These programs contain actual images from the Holocaust. Viewer discretion is advised.

Caption transcript for Beauty For Ashes: “The Survivors” (3/9)

  • 00:02 Coming up on Zola Levitt Presents
  • 00:03 we'll explore the prophetic connection
  • 00:05 between the Holocaust and
  • 00:06 the rebirth of the State of Israel
  • 00:31 ISAIAH 61:3 "I will console those who mourn in Zion,"
  • 00:35 ISAIAH 61:3 "to give them beauty for ashes,"
  • 00:39 ISAIAH 61:3 "the oil of joy for mourning,"
  • 00:42 ISAIAH 61:3 "the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness,"
  • 00:46 ISAIAH 61:3 "that they might be called oaks of righteousness,"
  • 00:50 ISAIAH 61:3 "the planting of Adonai, that He may be glorified."
  • 01:00 Shalom Haverim , Welcome to our program Friends
  • 01:02 I'm Myles Weiss,
  • 01:03 and I'm Katharine Weiss.
  • 01:05 We want to welcome you to our series
  • 01:07 "Beauty for Ashes".
  • 01:08 In this series we contrast 2 of the
  • 01:10 most significant events in Jewish history,
  • 01:13 the Nazi Holocaust
  • 01:15 and the rebirth of the State of Israel.
  • 01:18 Yeah, it's amazing that during the time
  • 01:20 of the Diaspora, the dispersion,
  • 01:23 God has always had His heart
  • 01:25 and His mind and His eye
  • 01:27 on Zion, on Jerusalem,
  • 01:29 on the regathering of His people.
  • 01:31 He's the God of restoration.
  • 01:32 He is and it goes back to
  • 01:33 this is not something that happened in 1948
  • 01:35 this is something that goes back to
  • 01:37 the promise to Abraham.
  • 01:38 And the prophet Zechariah says in Zechariah 1:14,
  • 01:41 [ Speaking Hebrew ]
  • 01:53 And that has never ended.
  • 01:55 This is an eternal promise.
  • 01:56 And so when we look at the horror of the Holocaust
  • 01:59 we see the terrible things that took place
  • 02:01 in the death camps
  • 02:02 in Poland and throughout Europe.
  • 02:04 We really understand that in spite of that
  • 02:07 God has a plan for the Jewish people
  • 02:09 and He's going to do what He's going to do.
  • 02:12 I think Ezekiel 36 and 37 really said it clearly
  • 02:15 that He would open the graves.
  • 02:17 So we're about to go to Auschwitz
  • 02:20 and hear Katharine's interview with Teresa.
  • 02:22 Teresa is a historian who is sanctioned by
  • 02:26 the Museum at Auschwitz to speak to you.
  • 02:29 So let's go to Katharine's interview right now.
  • 02:33 We are here in Auschwitz,
  • 02:36 and I'm speaking with
  • 02:38 our guide and historian Teresa.
  • 02:40 As a woman and as a mother,
  • 02:44 it is just heart wrenching to think about
  • 02:48 what anyone went through
  • 02:51 but especially a mother being
  • 02:53 separated from their child
  • 02:55 or having to go through some of
  • 02:57 the horrific things they had to go through.
  • 03:00 Tell us a little bit about what
  • 03:02 they would encounter here.
  • 04:48 So is it true that the women and children
  • 04:51 were immediately just killed?
  • 05:58 You know they were diminished so.
  • 06:00 Their hair was cut off.
  • 06:02 Their clothes were taken.
  • 06:03 They were given a number.
  • 06:05 And the survival under...I mean,
  • 06:07 You can't even count the calories
  • 06:09 because it wasn't even a calorie meal.
  • 06:11 So the meal was basically boiling water.
  • 07:38 I've heard that they weren't even able to walk.
  • 07:41 They had to keep this pace of constant running
  • 07:42 or they were beaten.
  • 07:43 Is this true?
  • 09:27 Anybody that survived Auschwitz it's a miracle
  • 09:31 because you weren't meant to survive here.
  • 09:33 You were meant to be exterminated or worked to death.
  • 09:37 So the testimonies that I've heard from survivors
  • 09:40 where something clicked inside of them where
  • 09:43 they made the decision,
  • 09:44 "I will get out of here",
  • 09:47 or they said,
  • 09:49 "Tomorrow I'll go and touch the fence, just not today",
  • 09:53 as they were starving, freezing and being tortured.
  • 09:57 People could go and commit suicide
  • 10:00 by just grabbing hold of that fence.
  • 10:02 Is this true?
  • 11:35 Thank you for your knowledge,
  • 11:37 thank you for studying and
  • 11:39 thank you for helping us
  • 11:41 as we're in this journey to remember.
  • 11:44 Thank you.
  • 11:45 So I want you all to know that we're here to remember
  • 11:49 the lives that are lost
  • 11:51 and that we would say "never again".
  • 12:02 It's fascinating to hear the Polish view
  • 12:04 of the events that took place there.
  • 12:06 They were victimized as well
  • 12:08 but there was also some darker side to that story
  • 12:10 that will come up later in our series.
  • 12:12 This suicidality and the degradation that people went through,
  • 12:17 its totally understandable and yet
  • 12:19 the survivors that we meet
  • 12:20 are the strongest people that I've met in my whole life.
  • 12:23 The quality of who they are as people because
  • 12:27 they fought so hard to survive.
  • 12:29 We wanted to bring this series to you
  • 12:33 to remind all of us that this happened,
  • 12:35 that it was a horror,
  • 12:37 but we want to say that there is not a denial that this
  • 12:41 is a reality but its very true that
  • 12:43 this Holocaust did happen.
  • 12:45 But after this we will take you to Israel
  • 12:48 and you'll hear about the start up nation.
  • 12:51 Our resource this week
  • 12:53 The Messianic Roots Lapel Pin.
  • 12:55 Show that you recognize
  • 12:57 the Jewish roots
  • 12:58 of the Christian faith
  • 13:00 by wearing this ancient symbol
  • 13:01 believed to have been used as a seal
  • 13:03 by the early followers of Jesus.
  • 13:05 Approximately 1 inch long.
  • 13:07 This unique pin combines
  • 13:09 the Menorah,
  • 13:11 the Star of David,
  • 13:12 and the Christian Fish.
  • 13:13 For this resource and more
  • 13:15 call 1-800-Wonders
  • 13:17 or visit us at levitt.com
  • 13:22 Hi, I want to thank you
  • 13:23 for continuing to support
  • 13:25 Zola Levitt Presents.
  • 13:26 That's how we've been
  • 13:27 able to bring you
  • 13:29 our television program
  • 13:30 for many years now.
  • 13:31 But not only on television.
  • 13:33 You can also connect
  • 13:34 with us online.
  • 13:36 You can go to our
  • 13:37 Face Book Page anytime
  • 13:39 as well as the You Tube Channel.
  • 13:41 and thank you very much
  • 13:42 for your continued support.
  • 13:45 For insightful perspectives
  • 13:46 on Israel and Bible prophecy
  • 13:49 ask for our free monthly newsletter,
  • 13:51 the Levitt Letter.
  • 13:53 At levitt.com you can
  • 13:55 read the newsletter,
  • 13:56 watch the TV program,
  • 13:58 or visit our online store.
  • 14:00 Stay current with us on
  • 14:02 social media via Face Book and Twitter.
  • 14:04 Come with us on a tour
  • 14:06 of Israel or Petra
  • 14:07 or a cruise
  • 14:09 to Greece and Ephesus
  • 14:10 Please contact us
  • 14:11 for more information.
  • 14:14 We would love to host you in Israel.
  • 14:17 It is our joy to bring pilgrims to Israel
  • 14:20 to watch as their hearts open and
  • 14:23 their minds are renewed with a depth in the Word
  • 14:25 Just a life changing experience.
  • 14:28 So get in touch with us at 1-800-WONDERS
  • 14:30 and come with us to Israel.
  • 14:32 It will be the time of your life.
  • 14:33 Yeah, it will set you on a course
  • 14:35 that is an eternal course.
  • 14:37 And it's His heart
  • 14:38 for His homeland.
  • 14:40 We also want to remind you
  • 14:42 of the newsletter.
  • 14:43 This is a very informative letter
  • 14:45 that tells you about what's happening
  • 14:47 in this world today.
  • 14:48 It's free to you, just write to us.
  • 14:50 And when you support this ministry
  • 14:53 these newsletters go directly into jails
  • 14:55 and they are educational
  • 14:56 and they are informative
  • 14:58 and they are a blessing.
  • 14:59 Yeah we've heard some incredible reports
  • 15:01 of people sharing the newsletter, the Levitt Letter
  • 15:03 with Muslim friends in prison
  • 15:06 and beginning a dialogue about the Gospel.
  • 15:08 So your support for our ministry
  • 15:10 helps the Gospel to go forward
  • 15:12 even into the prisons in America.
  • 15:14 Now lets go back to Israel
  • 15:16 where Katharine will interview
  • 15:17 our Israeli Producer, Tal.
  • 15:21 Here we are in Tel Aviv
  • 15:23 One of the beautiful
  • 15:25 cities off the coast.
  • 15:26 And I'm here with our
  • 15:28 Israeli Producer Tal.
  • 15:30 And we'd love to hear about the project
  • 15:31 that you've been working on.
  • 15:33 The "Start Up Nation" project.
  • 15:34 Tell us a little bit about that.
  • 15:35 Yeah, so Hi,
  • 15:38 I've been working on a documentary
  • 15:40 that is following "Israeli Start ups"
  • 15:45 in different stages and
  • 15:47 bringing out the human story of
  • 15:49 the people behind the start ups.
  • 15:51 And its been really amazing.
  • 15:53 Also in Tel Aviv meeting all these people
  • 15:56 that had ideas in their mind
  • 15:59 and executed them or are
  • 16:01 on the way to execute them.
  • 16:03 And its always ideas that start
  • 16:05 from just a small idea on the bus,
  • 16:07 or somebody thought about something
  • 16:09 on their way to work and
  • 16:11 then it gets developed
  • 16:13 with more people and
  • 16:14 with more minds and inspiration.
  • 16:17 And we have a lot of people here working
  • 16:18 on different and amazing technologies
  • 16:21 and start ups.
  • 16:22 And Tal you've also lived here in Tel Aviv.
  • 16:24 Tell us a little bit about life
  • 16:26 here in Tel Aviv.
  • 16:27 So I've been here for the past 10 years I think.
  • 16:29 And I love it really.
  • 16:32 And I enjoy being here.
  • 16:34 First of all the sun.
  • 16:36 But a lot of very creative people.
  • 16:39 And its been really great being here and meeting people
  • 16:42 and having a lot of inspiration and ideas.
  • 16:45 And just a huge city with so many things to do.
  • 16:48 And I really feel like I'm
  • 16:50 in New York or London or Paris.
  • 16:52 Close to the Sea.
  • 16:54 So I really love it here.
  • 16:55 It's so beautiful.
  • 16:57 And we want to thank you for helping us
  • 16:59 while we're here in the Land.
  • 17:00 You've been such an added blessing to us.
  • 17:03 So thank you Tal.
  • 17:04 Thank you for sharing too.
  • 17:05 Thank you.
  • 17:07 You know Israel is not what you see in CNN obviously.
  • 17:11 We love to bring you the life part of Israel
  • 17:13 from reforesting the forests -
  • 17:16 You know I think its one of the only
  • 17:18 nations that has actually increased their forests.
  • 17:21 They make a point to rebuild and to restore.
  • 17:25 And they make a point to " Tikkun Olam "
  • 17:28 to "Repair the World".
  • 17:30 To not only bring solutions that will help them
  • 17:32 but will help the world.
  • 17:33 You know I love the app that sold for 1.3 billion dollars.
  • 17:39 Google acquired it
  • 17:41 and its "waze".
  • 17:42 And my son turned me on to it.
  • 17:44 It's an amazing app that helps you get through traffic.
  • 17:47 The LA people said that it helped them get
  • 17:49 through the gridlock that they call Armageddon.
  • 17:52 Its just been such an amazing app that
  • 17:55 helps you get from one distance to another
  • 17:57 without facing the traffic.
  • 17:59 And it will even warn you of pitfalls that are ahead.
  • 18:02 That's just one of them.
  • 18:03 There's solar power that's affected Africa and India.
  • 18:08 WIX is to build your own web site.
  • 18:10 Or the Israel Defense Forces
  • 18:13 which is going behind the scenes
  • 18:15 and affecting the horrible circumstances
  • 18:17 and doing it in cyber war.
  • 18:21 Not to mention that they've created
  • 18:22 something that's called "ReWalk".
  • 18:24 Its an ability to help people that
  • 18:26 are paraplegic to walk again.
  • 18:29 Or there is ORCAM
  • 18:30 that helps a blind person to communicate
  • 18:33 outside of having somebody to help them.
  • 18:35 So here we are in modern Tel Aviv.
  • 18:39 The ancient and the modern have come alive.
  • 18:41 The people are alive.
  • 18:43 The desert has bloomed.
  • 18:45 And the mind has been enlightened
  • 18:47 to create what God had told them to create
  • 18:49 that they would be a light to the nations.
  • 18:52 And they are doing that.
  • 18:53 And its our joy to bring you the true story from Israel.
  • 19:00 Myles - Israel is blessed with abundant amounts of sunshine,
  • 19:02 which is one of the reasons solar energy has flourished here.
  • 19:05 Located just west of Tel Aviv is Brenmiller Energy.
  • 19:09 Here, I caught up with President and CEO Avi Brenmiller
  • 19:13 to find out why he started this company
  • 19:15 that specializes in designing, building
  • 19:18 and operating thermo-solar power plants.
  • 19:23 I established my own company
  • 19:24 together with two of my sons.
  • 19:26 Trying to do two things -
  • 19:28 basically making the technology cheaper
  • 19:31 or the power produced from
  • 19:32 this kind of technology cheaper.
  • 19:34 And two - storing enough solar energy so it can be
  • 19:40 used during more hours per day.
  • 19:43 This is innovative.
  • 19:44 This is something I think
  • 19:46 others have thought about
  • 19:48 but you've been really
  • 19:49 working towards implementing it.
  • 19:50 You said in one of your bios I read -
  • 19:53 scale ability, making things available
  • 19:55 whether they're huge or small -
  • 19:57 Right
  • 19:57 power availability
  • 19:59 meaning even when the sun is not shining -
  • 20:00 Right
  • 20:01 and price competitiveness
  • 20:03 which I'm calling sale ability.
  • 20:05 So you can have that poem.
  • 20:06 Okay - thank you.
  • 20:07 Your welcome.
  • 20:08 But the idea being that
  • 20:09 you're working on all those fronts.
  • 20:12 But tell us a little bit about
  • 20:13 the idea of storage or availability.
  • 20:16 Okay - All the time I was thinking
  • 20:21 how do we bring the world of renewable energy,
  • 20:24 or solar energy and fossil fuel energy together.
  • 20:28 Because we as human beings need a lot of power
  • 20:31 during the evening, during the nights, during cloudy days.
  • 20:35 So one has to bring those technologies
  • 20:38 together in a cost efficient way.
  • 20:41 Otherwise, its two different worlds like we are today.
  • 20:44 And someone will take care
  • 20:47 about joining them together.
  • 20:49 Eventually we are paying now for both.
  • 20:51 Right - But here you're talking about
  • 20:53 on a massive scale
  • 20:55 of using all available means
  • 20:57 to produce the most efficient energy.
  • 20:59 Has there been a lot of resistance to that?
  • 21:01 Eventually - Initially yes.
  • 21:04 I think now when people are really tackling the
  • 21:06 issues of having those worlds separated they're
  • 21:09 also looking for ways to bring them together.
  • 21:12 So I've been pitching this for years , Now I hear
  • 21:15 more and more people are excepting that approach.
  • 21:18 Bringing hybrid as well as fossil fuels,
  • 21:22 getting as much solar as you can get to the equation
  • 21:25 as it makes economic sense to get to this equation.
  • 21:29 And keeping our air cleaner -
  • 21:32 all of this at an affordable price.
  • 21:35 Otherwise there's no point in doing it.
  • 21:37 It makes too much sense.
  • 21:38 It makes absolute sense
  • 21:40 to be as renewable as possible
  • 21:45 but not overlook the fact that
  • 21:47 we are where we are currently.
  • 21:49 And so what's next for your company?
  • 21:52 Next is the first commercial plant.
  • 21:56 Its only 1.5 mega-watts a day.
  • 21:58 This is a small plant in the thermal world,
  • 22:01 but it will be reconnected
  • 22:03 and it will prove to everybody that this is real.
  • 22:07 We need to prove it to the government,
  • 22:09 the regulators, to the banks
  • 22:11 because they have to finance bigger projects.
  • 22:13 So this project is really a kick start
  • 22:15 but we have other projects coming in.
  • 22:18 Afterwards 10 mega-watts,
  • 22:20 40 mega-watts, and probably
  • 22:21 a project which is more than 100 mega-watts
  • 22:24 not only in Israel but worldwide.
  • 22:26 This series is about the miracle of Israel in the 20th century
  • 22:34 coming out of the horror of the Holocaust.
  • 22:37 I believe and I believe my viewers believe this is
  • 22:39 all the fruit of the promise from HaShem to Abraham.
  • 22:43 So it goes back 4,000 years, not 100 years.
  • 22:47 But the Holocaust -
  • 22:50 I like to think the world blinked for a moment,
  • 22:52 there was a moment of compassion on the Jewish people
  • 22:54 and this amazing miracle opened up for a reborn state.
  • 22:59 What about your personal connection with
  • 23:02 the Holocaust and your family life?
  • 23:05 OK - both of my grandparents were murdered
  • 23:08 in the Holocaust.
  • 23:09 So my mother and my father
  • 23:13 ran away from Poland to Russia
  • 23:17 at the beginning of the war
  • 23:19 but they were the only ones
  • 23:20 who managed to run away.
  • 23:21 The rest of the families were killed.
  • 23:24 So we are a very, very small family.
  • 23:26 And this is really -
  • 23:30 probably affecting any major decision I make in my life.
  • 23:36 I'm a graduate of Ohio State University
  • 23:38 and it was very convenient for me stay in U.S.
  • 23:41 but the decision was to go to Israel because I found
  • 23:43 that probably for me as a Jew being a member of a family
  • 23:48 that was killed in the Holocaust
  • 23:53 there's no better place for Jews.
  • 23:56 I want my children to grow in a country like Israel
  • 23:59 even though the U.S. was much more convenient
  • 24:01 with paying much higher salaries and so on.
  • 24:05 How do you explain this tiny place with
  • 24:09 a few million people being at the forefront
  • 24:12 of all this technological breakthrough
  • 24:14 and this brain trust that seems to be here?
  • 24:17 How do you see it yourself?
  • 24:20 In one word I would say it's survival.
  • 24:24 We the Jewish people had to survive for
  • 24:27 the last generations all over the world.
  • 24:29 When you need to survive you are becoming really
  • 24:32 effective in finding new ways to generate new stuff.
  • 24:40 Also today its a small country
  • 24:42 so the market here is small,
  • 24:43 so the world is our market.
  • 24:46 So economically - in order to survive
  • 24:48 you have to become really affective
  • 24:53 in the way you develop those things.
  • 24:55 The standard way is always there,
  • 24:57 so nobody needs us to do it in a normal way.
  • 25:00 So we have to come up with something new all the time.
  • 25:03 Maybe a couple of generations
  • 25:05 and everything will be okay
  • 25:07 and economically we will be fine
  • 25:09 and our kids - and peace will be here - okay.
  • 25:12 We will not be as effective or
  • 25:15 innovative as we are today.
  • 25:17 Right now we're still those guys
  • 25:19 who need to survive.
  • 25:28 In the midst of speaking of
  • 25:29 the darkness of the Holocaust
  • 25:30 it was such a joy to speak with people like Avi Brenmiller
  • 25:33 who have taken that survivor mentality
  • 25:36 that he inherited from his surviving family members
  • 25:40 and brought it to Israel where they
  • 25:42 are making life better for everyone on the planet
  • 25:46 through innovations and just forward thinking.
  • 25:49 It's interesting Katharine that
  • 25:51 the more agnostic among them
  • 25:53 say well we did this on our own.
  • 25:55 We're so smart, we're so wonderful.
  • 25:57 Though they'll never say it like that.
  • 25:58 And then the less agnostic,
  • 26:00 the more believing types
  • 26:01 say somehow God had to be involved in this.
  • 26:04 For us as believers, we know its the
  • 26:06 hand of God that delivered them.
  • 26:09 It has to be those two contrasts of the Holocaust
  • 26:13 and then what God has helped them to do
  • 26:17 by being a light to the nation
  • 26:19 to bring forth all these amazing
  • 26:21 gifts with their minds.
  • 26:24 You wrestle - is God real?
  • 26:27 Would he allow that much evil
  • 26:29 and this much blessing?
  • 26:30 And then the wrestling of humanity.
  • 26:33 Why do humans do such evil things?
  • 26:35 If you don't understand,
  • 26:37 there's these 3 spirits that are at work.
  • 26:39 There's the Devil,
  • 26:40 there's God and there's man.
  • 26:41 Right, we have choice.
  • 26:42 Whatever you're yielded to is going to produce.
  • 26:45 You know, this tiny little nation,
  • 26:48 its a miracle, they're surrounded by people
  • 26:51 that want to wipe them out.
  • 26:53 And yet they are standing for democracy.
  • 26:55 They are standing for health,
  • 26:57 they are standing for innovation.
  • 26:59 They are the first ones to be there
  • 27:01 when there's a disaster.
  • 27:02 We could go on and on.
  • 27:04 And we will because we know
  • 27:05 you love to hear about it.
  • 27:06 And we love to share the Good News
  • 27:09 of what God is doing.
  • 27:10 He is resurrecting the Land of Israel.
  • 27:12 And He's calling you to Himself.
  • 27:15 That's why we always like to end our program
  • 27:17 by reminding you
  • 27:19 Sha'a'lu Shalom Yerushalayim
  • 27:20 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
  • 27:25 Our monthly newsletter the "Levitt Letter"
  • 27:27 is free and full of insightful
  • 27:29 articles and news commentary
  • 27:30 from a Messianic perspective.
  • 27:32 Visit levitt.com
  • 27:34 to find our newsletter
  • 27:36 along with current and past programs,
  • 27:38 our television schedule
  • 27:39 and much more!
  • 27:40 Don't forget to order
  • 27:41 this week's resource
  • 27:43 by calling 1-800-WONDERS
  • 27:45 or you can purchase it
  • 27:47 from out catalogue
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  • 27:50 Your donations to Zola Levitt Ministries
  • 27:52 help these organizations
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Episodes in this series

  1. The Hope
  2. The Ground
  3. The Survivors
  4. The Chosen
  5. The Heart
  6. The Process
  7. The Future
  8. The Peace
  9. Extended Interviews with Holocaust Survivors

Guest organizations and links