Below are some articles written by our staff and contributors. Feel free to email us with your comments.

Coming soon! Within a Messianic Synagogue: First-hand account of what takes place in a fake shul.  This article exposes the truth of what occurs in a messianic "synagogue" in Miami run by a man who not only does not have smicha (rabbinic ordination) but isn't even Jewish. 

The Myths and Misconceptions of “Messianic Judaism”

Part 1

by Steven Becerra

They claim: “Messianic Judaism” is the unbroken continuation of the first “Hebrew Christians”

Missionaries will often say that their religion is simply the natural continuation of the faith of the Apostles. There are several problems, both historical and theological, with this claim. To begin with, those early “Hebrew Christians” were the last of the Jews of antiquity to believe that Jesus was anything more than a man. The Jews of the Second Temple period quickly realized that the historical Jesus did not fulfill the messianic prophecies before his death. By the time the second temple was destroyed in 70 CE  and things could not get worse for Jews in the Holy Land, what few Jews had any notion left of Jesus as a messianic figure were then thoroughly convinced of how erroneous that belief was.  
Once the belief went to the Greek and Roman world via the Apostles, the nascent Christian faith became a religion of the Gentiles. But it should be noted that the belief that made its way across the Mediterranean was NOT Judaism. It wasn’t even “Hebrew Christianity”.  Paul had already made fundamental changes to the belief system. It had no Torah observance, circumcision, or use of Hebrew as a language of worship. And though missionaries often show the New Testament written in Hebrew to “prove” the Jewish nature of their origin, the truth is that the Christian Gospels themselves were originally penned (long after Jesus had died we might add) in Greek. This is a historical truth: the Christian Gospels (or as the Messianic movement dubs them “New Covenant”) were written originally in Greek for a Gentile audience. This is significant because it underlines how far from Judaism these scriptures are.
Once Paul and later Constantine made their contributions, the religion had become unrecognizable. By the time of the Council of Nicea (325 CE), the Christian faith had already completely departed from its Jewish origins.
The simple fact is that there never was a continuous Jewish movement that held the belief in Jesus as Messiah. For centuries all of our greatest sages have warned of making mortals into divinity. They have cautioned us against false messiahs (and we have seen many in our history).
One of our greatest sages was Rabbi Moses ben Maimon whom some know as Maimonides and other as the RaMBaM; the contributions he made to Judaism cannot be overstated. If Jesus was the much anticipated Jewish messiah, Maimonides would have surely said something or written about it. Surely our greatest minds across our long and uninterrupted history would have said something! But they didn’t - quite the opposite. They warned against such idolatrous beliefs.
So we fast forward to today and we have to contend with some Messianic “rabbi” trying to tell us that there was never a lapse in “Hebrew Christianity” or a missionary trying to tell you that believing that “Jesus is messiah” is perfectly Jewish.  How can a group that professes love for all things Jewish and makes Herculean efforts to mimic our customs and traditions simply ignore that fact that generation after generation of rabbis and sages did not (and never will) believe Jesus was the Jewish messiah?
Are the messianic “rabbis” of today saying that they know more than our sages and rabbis of antiquity? Are they saying that all the greatest rabbinic minds of the modern era are all missing out on some “great truth” that only the Messianic movement has understood?
The only reason “Messianic Jews” use Yiddish expressions and attempt to learn Modern Hebrew is because Jews do. They support the State of Israel though there was no such thing as a “messianic Jew” in it’s founding. Some go as far as to adopt orthodox garb and change their names to more Hebrew-sounding names. Why trouble to appropriate centuries of tradition and then absolutely ignore that Jews simply do not believe in Jesus as a messiah or as a divine figure and that we chose exile and death rather than convert? 
I often wonder what must go through the minds of these so-called “Messianic Jews” when they pray the Shema. Are they aware that those were often the last words Jews prayed before they met their horrible deaths at the hands of those who wanted to impose their Jesus-based beliefs on them?
Messianic Judaism is a new phenomenon and has very little history of it’s own. Just because a group traces its spiritual origins to something that happened two thousand years ago does not mean it is that it is the “unbroken continuation” of it.

The Israeli Front

Missionary activity in the Holy Land and what is being done about it.

This is from Yad L'Achim:

An internal memo circulated among missionaries, and obtained by Yad L'Achim, reveals details of their 'successes' in Israel

Yad L'Achim has obtained an internal memo that sums up the "successes" of a huge missionary campaign that is operating throughout Israel.

"During the course of the campaign, we have received 1,220 calls to our offices, most of them in response to billboard and bus ads," says the memo. "We've distributed 9,700 flyers and made 7,927 phone calls, of which 3,397 resulted in making contact with people. We've received details regarding 712 Israeli Jews who expressed an interest in learning more about J."

The theme of the campaign is a play on Hebrew words that says that J equals salvation. The theme is being promoted on bus advertising and on huge banners displayed at major intersections.

Recently, Yad L'Achim managed to obtain material circulated among the missionaries pronouncing that "the campaigns are set to start in 2008 and continue through 2013. These are perhaps the most important things we have ever done in fulfilling our mission of bringing the messianism of J. to the Jews.

The internal communication goes on to explain why Israel is the focus of the missionaries' efforts. "In Israel there are some 5.4 million Jews, more than at any other time in history," it says. "However, only a tenth of a percentage believes in that man. This is the one place in the world where when we go to the streets to make direct appeals we don't need to wonder who is a Jew. All we need to do is go out and speak to anyone we meet."

In recent weeks, the country has been flooded with notices of all kinds and sizes seeking to reach Jews. Hundreds of missionaries have manned dozens of intersections in the north of the country brandishing banners with their poisonous messages. On Sukkos, in an attempt to confuse innocent Jews, the missionaries held a lulav and esrog in one hand and the banner with the other.

In addition, buses around the country were plastered with advertisements bearing missionary messages.

In response, Yad L'Achim dispatched teams of activists to areas where the missionaries were active. They circulated in cars bearing loudspeakers and warned, in Hebrew and Russian, of the intentions of the missionaries and the serious danger they posed.

Yad L'Achim chairman Harav Shalom Dov Lipschitz fired off letters to the heads of Egged and Dan, the country's largest bus companies, and they quickly announced that the signs would be removed.

Egged explained that the error was made by the company that handles its advertising. "We have an agreement with the Cana'an [advertising firm] that there is to be no missionary material advertised on our buses," said Tomer Levi, of Egged. "In this case, the Cana'an company wasn't careful to check the content of the ads."

Dan's spokesman, Eitan Foxman, also apologized and said the company hadn't been aware of the content of the ads. "The ads were taken down and the subject was dealt with immediately and thoroughly."

To make matters worse, the missionaries brag of their success in presenting President Shimon Peres with missionary material – apparently at some public event.

Yad L'Achim has learned that the missionaries use this fact in trying to distribute their material in crowded public places. "Do you want to receive the brochure that the president received?" they ask passersby.

"This is chutzpah that crosses all lines," says Rav Lipschitz. "To present the president with such material and then to use this fact to entice others? They know no boundaries."

Rav Lipschitz expressed amazement at the public's quiet in the face of the missionary onslaught. "The indifference is incomprehensible," he said. "How can it be that when it comes to a subject that is so important, so existential, that there hasn't been an outcry from one end of the country to the other!"

Rav Lipschitz called on the Knesset "to pass a missionary law that will be the first and most important step in blocking their destructive activities."

For more information: www.yadlachim.org or  info@yadlachim.org.

 Recommended Links:

• We highly recommend the website of our friends at Jews for Judaism: www.jewsforjudaism.org. They have many great resources, multiple locations, and material you can download.
• Here is a great site by  Rachel-Esther bat-Avraham called Becoming Jewish. It has a great Counter-Missionary section.
  
• Our friend Rabbi Aaron Schwarzbaum has a really great site: Torah Life and Living. 
• We also recommend this website by Rabbi Stuart Federow: www.whatjewsbelieve.org 
• This comprehensive website is by Michoel Drozin: Their Hollow Inheritance.
• Messiah Truth has many resources and lots of reading.
• This is the Yad L'Achim site in both English and Hebrew.

• This short and easy to read handbook is used by us as well as Jews for Judaism. It was written by rabbi Bentzion Kravtiz.
• Here it is in several other languages including Spanish, Hebrew, Russian, and Portuguese.
• These great downloads include "Answering Dr. Brown's Objections to Judaism", "Guide to Missionary Tactics", and many others. 
• Rachel-Esther bat-Avraham has provided this excellent  Counter-Missionary Guide.

Books:

• Is The Christian Movement Called "Messianic Judaism" a Form of Judaism? Written by Gerald Segal    
• Missionary Claims & Jewish Responses. Written by Gerald Segal 

* Coming soon: information on purchasing Mr. Segal's published works.

• "Don't be Fooled!"
• "Recognize Messianic Missionaries"
• Latest Community Alert
  

 Modern Disputations and Rude Welcomes

(Article expires in 1 week. Coming soon:  The Great Debate)

 Sha’arei Teshuva recently sent a small delegation including Rabbi Goldsmith and I to a debate between Dr. Michael Brown ( leading messianic author) and Rabbi Barry Silver in Delray Beach Florida. What follows is an account of the events that took place at the auditorium where the debate was held. We will soon have an article recounting the actual debate but thought this would shed a light on the world of messianic missionaries.

-We were intercepted as soon as we arrived. We were warned that police were on call to haul us away. We were followed and watched every minute. My elderly Rabbi was ushered this way and that. We were constantly warned that we could be removed by force if necessary. We had no flyers, no placards, no lettering on our shirts; absolutely nothing that could be construed as a “demonstration” or a “protest”. It was fortunate that we knew that, when dealing with cults on their home turf, one should avoid too much eye contact, large hand gestures when speaking, raising one’s voice, or anything else that can be used an as excuse to be attacked or accused of aggression.

When we were nowhere to be found on the RSVP list (not surprising), I approached the waiting list table (as we were rudely told to do) and gave the number of our party (4). I then re-approached the table after getting a call from a colleague saying she couldn't make it, so I wanted to notify the nice woman at the table that we were only going to be 3. Mrs. Finesilver approached with mad contempt in her eyes and said, "sit down or we will call the police". I was so astonished at the hatred in her eyes that I pretended not to hear her and said "I'm sorry I am having trouble hearing you over the noise...I am simply trying to tell your friend that we won't be requiring all the seats we mentioned...we wouldn't want someone to be left without a seat on our account...now what was that first thing you said?". At that point, a woman in a church t-shirt held her by the shoulder and tried to calm her. 

I knew that we did the right thing by taking the precautions we did. An elderly Rabbi, a 21 year-old girl, and I were being treated to some good old-fashioned missionary anti-Semitic persecution. We sat as quiet as we could and tried to look small. When we were told that we were going to be escorted off the premises FOR NO REASON, I called Rabbi Silver to inform him that we were being threatened with arrest (which was a threat made many times that evening). He said he was on his way and he would help mediate the matter. Once he arrived, he spoke to someone whom we couldn't see from where we were. He returned shortly and said, "Follow me". As we went into the debate hall behind him we were accosted yet again. We tried to explain that we were told to follow Rabbi Silver and that he said the matter had been resolved. In short order men in the same church t-shirts appeared (surely hoping for a struggle). My party seeing that no explanation would suffice remained quiet and endured one insulting remark after the other. We stood there as they yelled at us, threatened us repeatedly, and even physically “escorted” us out of the hall.  Mr. Finesilver even said "do all Jews not listen or just you?" to Rabbi Goldsmith.

We were taken outside to the lobby again and told we would have to leave (again under threat of arrest). We called Rabbi Silver yet again to tell him that we were being threatened. In the end, all who were waiting for seats were let in. At that point, we were approached by Mr. Finesilver, this time with a more conciliatory tone, and asked if we could talk (no doubt at that point he saw I would involve Rabbi Silver and it would possibly delay the event). 

We actually ended up (by design or fate) seated directly behind the Finesilvers. The debate proceeded without so much as a hiccough from us, which is more than I can say for the members of the Everlasting Life Outreach church and the many “messianic Jews” there. They shouted, interrupted, and even insulted Rabbi Silver on many occasions. The group of youths behind us even said openly bigoted remarks. Those people made a mockery of an already obscene event. It became a town hall meeting and now reminds me of the disgusting outburst by Joe Wilson during the presidential address. It was completely inappropriate. Rabbi Silver had to ask for his speaking time back on several occasions. They had no concept of disagreeing while still respecting decorum.

Rabbi Goldsmith at the end of the event even asked Mr. Finesilver for an apology, which he NEVER gave. We did nothing to disrupt the event, and still we were disrespected and threatened on numerous occasions. This church obviously doesn't practice what it preaches but rather adheres to the same modus operandi as other radical movements. 

Thankfully, both Mr. and Mrs. Finesilver, their congregation, and I dare say the entire debate did not disappoint. Though both men, Brown and Silver, were respectful towards each other, it was just another Christian disputation in the same tradition as the Disputation of Barcelona. The fear for our safety that we felt, the shouting, the yelling at our faces, the attempts at confrontation, the taunting, the bigoted rumblings of the crowd, the uniformed men at our flanks, the very real threat of force and arrest...indeed this was exactly what we expected from this "ministry" because it shows exactly what is in store for the Jewish people; an unrelenting onslaught of public persecution by zealots, false Jews, and closeted anti-Semites. It will only serve to strengthen our conviction, give good Christians a bad rap, and prove the missionaries’ desperate need for validation.

Sha’arei Teshuva will continue its work of researching and exposing the deceptive and forceful proselytizing of the Jewish community in South Florida. We will also continue to answer and address the objections of missionaries and those who wish to turn Jews towards polytheistic paganism in the guise of “messianic Judaism”. Despite the taunting and provoking of the opposition, we do not debate such people because we understand (now more than ever) that these events seek only to give the missionary a pulpit to preach to their own choir and convict Jews (often in absentia) of being spiritually blind and stubborn. It is a public display of Anti-Semitism and religious fascism done “out of love for the Jew”. This “love” drives them to imitate our ways (even as they condemn the Rabbinic teachings that inspire them). This “love” compels them to seek us out and harass us. This “love” drives them to want to convert every last one of us to their religion. This “love” is often a codeword for intolerance and prejudice. Let us not be so naïve; this is a type of “love” the Jew can do without.

*Related reading: this download refutes Dr. Brown's argument against Judaism. 

"Don't be Fooled!"

"Recognize Messianic Missionaries"