Bartholomew's Notes

From the Gospel According to Mark (KJV):

And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

It’s a story that invites us to think about humility and the true nature of generosity and commitment. And what better way to show that these things are important  to you than to wear Widow’s Mite jewellery?

WND has the details of a miraculous Christmas offer:

You know the story of the widow’s mite from the Bible. But did you know that you can own one or more of these bronze coins from ancient Israel, circa 135 BC to 29 AD?

On a recent WND trip to the Holy Land, WND cofounder Elizabeth Farah met with Lenny Wolfe, a highly respected adventurer and antiquities dealer who has collected a treasure trove of these ancient coins and mounted them in sterling silver casings. Mrs. Farah decided to bring a little bit of the Holy Land back to share with her friends.

The WND Superstore has a limited supply of these in two sizes – small regularly priced at $59.99, but discounted for holiday shoppers at $49.99, and $69.99, discounted to $59.99. They come ready to place on your own chain or on a charm bracelet. At these prices, they won’t last long.

Each widow’s mite comes with a certificate of authenticity signed by the distinguished Lenny Wolfe, packaged in a velvet jewelry pouch inside a gift box.

WND regularly organises tours to the “Holy Land”, in the company of the likes of Jim Bakker and Jonathan Cahn, originator of the recent “Shemitah” end-times prophecy theory. And it seems that the real message of the “widow’s mite” is to do with the importance of Israel:

“This is something I’ve dreamed about,” said Farah. “I wanted to bring back biblically meaningful products from Israel for all of the lovers of the Jewish state in America and around the world. This is the first step. It’s a small one – indeed the smallest coin from Israel’s Roman era. But they are coins with real meaning – so much so that Jesus Himself commented on them”

Wolfe is indeed a well-known figure in Israeli antiquities dealing, and he is profiled in a 2008 book about the subject by Nina Burleigh:

I met with Wolfe on several occasions in Jerusalem, and in New York. He was always highly entertaining—sly, salacious, raunchy and suggestive—but it was also clear he knew what he was talking about, and unlike Oded Golan, whose explanations of his business were always obscure, Wolfe was  proud to describe exactly how the Israeli antiquities market works. “I’m a real motherfucker,” he told me the first day we met. “But I won’t sell a fake.”

Presumably those are not the words that appear on the “certificate of authenticity”.

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