Will Jewish Leaders come to Know the Lord?
A Reform Rabbi accepts Yeshua (Jesus) as his Messiah.
"For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, without ephod or teraphim. Afterward, the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God and DAVID THEIR KING (the Messiah). They shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the Latter Days." (Hosea 3:4-5)
I have been involved in this Messianic Revival for 30 years, since its rebirth in 1970. During this time, we have seen hundreds of thousands of people accept Yeshua (Jesus in Hebrew).
The Messianic Movement has spread throughout the world. There are hundreds of Messianic synagogues that lift up Yeshua.
One thing we have not seen, though, is a turning to God by Jewish leaders, civil or religious. Many Jewish religious leaders became followers of Yeshua in the first century AD (see Acts 6:1-6 and Acts 15:5)!
Why not today?
Perhaps it is because most Jewish religious leaders do not wholly believe Scriptures anymore. Perhaps it is because most spiritual revivals are "lay revivals" starting from the bottom up.
However, God is stirring the hearts of Jewish leaders today!
Not many, but some. A President of a synagogue in New York state Yeshua. The leader of a Jewish community in the former Soviet Union receives the Messiah Yeshua at a Messianic conference.
Just recently, I had the pleasure of meeting a Reform Rabbi from Australia who has recently come to believe in Yeshua. I believe that you will find his story fascinating.
A (Reform) Rabbi's Journey
"I was born on April 6, 1941. My family belonged to an Orthodox synagogue, although we were not Orthodox in practice. We attended the synagogue on the main festival days and my brother and I attended cheder (religious class).
"After World War II, news filtered through that the Jewish population of Europe had been decimated. We blamed Christianity for the Holocaust and I grew up not wanting anything to do with Jesus.
"I had my Bar Mitzvah at the age of thirteen, but because of the way my Rabbi treated me, I left the synagogue and vowed never to return. For the next seven years, I remained a confirmed 'fanatical atheist'. Then I met and fell in love with a girl who asked me to accompany her to a dance at her synagogue youth club.
"It was a Reform (liberal) synagogue and there I met a young and dynamic Rabbi who showed me that Judaism could be open, wonderful and loving. I was so impressed that I eventually took over running the synagogue youth group. Four years later I enrolled at the Leo Baeck Theological College of Judaic Studies in London. After eight long years of full-time study I was finally ordained as a Rabbi in 1970.
"My first synagogue was a bad experience. Eventually I left, disillusioned, angry with God and depressed.
"In 1974 I took another position as Rabbi in a synagogue in the East End of London. During this time I married my first wife, Naomi, and we had two children, Daniel and Nina.
"In 1981 we responded to an invitation to move to Australia and lead a congregation in Melbourne. Sadly, the move did not have a good effect on our marriage and in 1983 Naomi and I were divorced. However, we remained good friends and agreed to share equal custody of our children.
"I remained Rabbi of the synagogue for approximately ten years. It was during this time that I established a close relationship with a Christian minister and began to feel as if I had more in common with him than I did with my fellow Rabbis.
"I met and married Johanne, my second wife, in 1992 and in 1995 God blessed us with a beautiful boy, Akiva.
"During this time I began to explore alternative religions and philosophies. Then in November of 1997 I noticed a member of my congregation was undergoing a complete change of character. He had been a very hard-headed businessman, but now I began to see a softer person emerging.
"I pestered him and eventually he told me that he had attended a breakfast in Washington, D.C. and as a result was now meeting with a group of men once a week there in Australia for breakfast, Bible study and prayer.
"I asked if I could come. I found the group was made up of followers of Jesus. I now found myself being forced to confront my earlier concepts about Jesus.
"What really impressed me about this group was their sincere and impromptu prayers not read from prayer books. After a few weeks, I was asked to conclude the breakfast in prayer. At the end, I found myself concluding with the words 'through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.'
"It took me a week to recover from that!
"I had been brought up to never mention the name of Jesus and now I had prayed to Him!
"It was obvious that God was directing me along a completely new path. He was putting a new heart in me and was showing me a new path, to believe in Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God and to walk with Him.
"What was supposed to happen next?
"I went to Washington, D.C. for the Presidential Prayer Breakfast. On the last day I found myself walking on to the platform and announcing that I was a Rabbi that had just accepted Jesus and I needed their prayers to go home and tell my wife, family, synagogue and community!
"The next day I began my journey home.
"I went to Toronto, Canada to visit my brother Michael. I spent the day praying that Yeshua would give me the right words to say. Finally, after dinner I announced that I had accepted Yeshua as my Messiah. Mike, his wife and three children all jumped up and exclaimed 'Hallelujah!' They had been believers for eight years but were afraid to tell me!
"However, when I returned to Australia and told my wife, she was devastated and eventually left me. My congregation asked me to resign. They felt betrayed. I lost many friends and more as the news spread.
"Even though this last year has had much pain and sadness, I am excited about my journey with the Messiah. I have much hope and expectation for the future.
"Now, I attend a Messianic Jewish congregation in Melbourne. I have come to realize how Jewish faith in Jesus really is. My Jewish world has become much richer, more fulfilled, more meaningful since I accepted Yeshua my Messiah.
"It is as if my Jewish faith and practice has now found its goal and purpose through faith in Yeshua as the Messiah. Should this come as a surprise? After all, did not Yeshua claim to be the Messiah for the Jewish people? Was not the New Testament written by Jewish people?
"For me the zest and vitality of Judaism and love and truth of Yeshua have now been combined into one magnificent whole. What a combination!
Will you pray with us for more Jewish leaders to accept Yeshua?
"Behold I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it?" (Is. 42:9a)
This is truly a wonderful testimony!
If you have been touched by this wonderful testimony then I would encourage you to support this work of God among God's Chosen people.
A great tidal wave of spiritual revival is coming upon Jewish people worldwide that will sweep possibly millions in to the Kingdom, hopefully many more Rabbis like Harold. Will you pray for this to happen?
Kesher Ministries International (KMI) is laboring in God's Harvest field amongst the Jewish people all over the globe. We need your prayers and financial support. To join our Kesher Club and become a monthly supporter begins at as little as $15 a month.
Do you know how little $15 a month is in today's economy?
Here in America we spend untold amounts of money on second cars, third and fourth TVs, CD players, CDs, VCRs, computers, computer games, movies, going out to eat, going on vacations, all while the ministry of God languishes for lack of funds.
We need to make sacrifices to support the work of God. Supporting outreach ministries such as KMI are sacrificial giving. Will you join with KMI today? If you cannot pledge will you give a very generous gift this month?
God bless you and write soon!
In Messiah Yeshua,
David Chernoff
President of Kesher Ministries International