Afer Yoel and his five siblings, all born in the U.S., made aliyah with their mom and dad, he and his brother Dan served in an elite unit in the IDF, where both have narrowly escaped death in combat. Yoel, a Messianic Jew, shares his story and reflects on the difficult subject of God’s protection in battle.

Movie Review: Wish I Was Here, directed by Zach Braff, 2014

Looking at several scriptures in the pentateuch, prophets, and writings, we see a specific motif, “son of God.” Upon closer inspection, the glory and divinity of this figure, based on the text, points to a somewhat startling conclusion. Read more here!

If you could choose just one word to describe what you want people to know about you, what would it be? Were you surprised by the first thought that came to your mind? Usually what we want others to know about us reflects what we most value in ourselves. All of us are complex combinations […]

My friend and colleague, Jhan Moskowitz has a one-word answer for those who ask, “What is the most difficult obstacle facing a Jewish person considering Christ?” He says, “Loyalty.” He then adds, “Loyalty is a virtue but when employed in the service of a lie, it ceases to be a virtue.” Jhan has put his […]

Nowadays no one gets too far without personal identification (ID). Imagine if, rather than simply glancing at our driver’s licenses or passports, people in airports, border checkpoints and even the local grocery stores actually scanned our IDs. Now imagine waiting in line for airport security finally getting to the front of the line where you […]

Book Title: Comfortably Jewish Author: Garrett R. Smith Date Published: 2010 Publisher: Purple Pomegranate Productions; 1st edition ISBN: 978-1881022886 Reviewer: Shoshanna Pucci Questions about cultural identity have recently demanded my urgent attention, raising three young children who are soaking up all of the traditions and cultural cues that my husband and I present. Though my […]

As Shaun Buchhalter notes, being a Jewish Puerto Rican is probably more common in New York City than elsewhere. But that didn’t make it any easier, especially during the December holidays. Born to a Jewish father and a Puerto Rican Catholic mother, 30-year-old Shaun grew up in what was then the very Jewish neighborhood of […]

A Satmar Orthodox Jewish man once told me, “Messianic Jews aren’t Jewish!” He went on to add, “Reformed, Conservative, Hassidic and most ‘Orthodox’ Jews aren’t really Jewish either. . . .” Jewish identity was a simple matter for him. Real Jews follow the teachings of the Satmar rebbe. But for most Jewish people, including Jewish […]

Israel Yoel Ben David reports, “God brought an Orthodox man to our door asking for food for his family. I invited him in and as I looked for a few cans of food to give him, I mentioned that we were believers in the Brit Hadashah (New Covenant). He then asked if I would answer […]

It was September of 2006. Jews for Jesus had just finished their largest-ever effort to proclaim to the people of New York that Jesus is the Messiah. They’d written many new pamphlets to draw attention to their message, using various icons from popular culture as the theme. They distributed the pamphlets in public venues throughout July, and were surprised to find a lawsuit filed against them in September from, of all people, Jackie Mason, the subject of one the pamphlets. To so many he was like their own Zeyde with such a superb and canny ability to see what is so funny in what is so ordinary.

There is more than one way to view strength when it comes to the Jewish people and the Jewish Messiah.

In the ’70s, the messianic movement” was understood as a moving of Jewish people to faith in Yeshua in the context of Jewish culture. “Messianic,” while not formally defined, had a clear connotation of “Jewish and a believer in Jesus.” For a variety of reasons, the landscape has changed significantly. The term “messianic” has been […]

It’s been said that, Statistics are like witnesses—they will testify for either side.” Of course, if one conducts a statistical study with a pre-conceived conclusion, that adage is appropriate. However, statistics, properly gathered and interpreted, can be very helpful. Those of us in the messianic community who are interested in understanding trends in the Jewish […]

From Mosaic times to today, the problem of Jewish memory loss regarding God and how to follow him.

It’s 3:00 a.m. I’m sitting in a Jewish deli in New York City, eating blintzes with three high school-aged, second-generation Jewish believers. They are all on Halutzim, a teen mission trip I lead each summer, and we are in one of the most compelling conversations I’ve ever had. We’d been talking since 10:00 p.m. about […]

Book Title: Generation J Author: Lisa Schiffman Date Published: August 18, 1999 Publisher: HarperOne; First Edition edition Genre: 1. Women & Judaism2. Jewish Life ISBN: 978-0062515773 Reviewer: Jews for Jesus I hadn’t a clue about what it meant to be a Jew. I was lost, a Jew without a path.” And so begins 35-year-old Lisa […]

Mommy, does Grandma believe in Yeshua? “No, sweetheart, she doesn’t.” “But why not? She’s Jewish, isn’t she?!” All four of our children have initiated conversations much like the one above with my wife or me, and some of you who are parents have told me of similar interactions in your homes. Some messianic kids have […]

A secular, Tunisian Jew becomes convinced of the messiahship of Jesus.