Nothing, not even dating a Christian girl, could threaten Sam’s deep sense of Jewishness. He lived a full Jewish life in a very traditional community in Costa Rica. He’d attended Jewish day school as a child and had gone to synagogue every morning. When he encountered antisemitic professors in college, first, he stood up to them. Then, he did the only sensible thing: he made aliyah (emigrated to Israel).

Israel was the first place that truly felt like home. In Jerusalem, even the streets are named for famous Jewish characters in history. It was the place where the stories he’d grown up listening to came to life. He served two years in the army and then returned to Costa Rica to his family and his community.

When he and Val met while they were both working in the nonprofit world, it was clear they had much in common. They taught children in the arts, interpreted, and laughed together. Sam even volunteered to help Val in her program just so he could get to know her better. They started dating and things were getting serious until they bumped into the one word that could separate them.

They were discussing marriage, and Val asked whether, at their ceremony, they’d be able to pray in Jesus’ name. Sam answered, “You can do your Jesus prayers, and I’ll do my Jewish prayers.” It seemed logical enough to him that two faiths should be able to coexist.

Sam realized that for Val, everything came back to Jesus.

It started to become a hangup for him, however, when he realized that for Val, everything came back to Jesus. Praying in Jesus’ name was not optional for her—it was a given, just like Sam’s Jewishness was for him. The first time she ended a prayer for Sam with “in Jesus’ name,” it made him extremely uncomfortable. And it eventually became obvious that the religious question was an issue for both of them. Neither could separate faith or culture from their core identities.

They decided coexistence wasn’t good enough. Rather, sharing their true selves meant trying to understand each other’s faith.

So they began to have some intentional conversations on the deeper areas of family and life. That’s when they realized how different their opinions were around the things they valued most.

When Sam asked her what Shabbat dinners might look like in their home, she said, “Well, you will be responsible for that.” Yet the rhythms and traditions of Jewish life were such an intrinsic part of his identity—he wanted to be able to share them with her, just like she wanted to be able to share her faith with him.

It seemed like the best place to grow in understanding of each other’s beliefs was to go back to where they both began. So they read the Bible together, starting with the Hebrew Scriptures. That felt like common ground in many ways. But when they moved on to the New Testament, there was more to discover. Sam and Val both realized for the first time that the writers of this “Christian” book were Jewish. They were living, working, and following Jesus in the same places where Sam had walked in Israel. Not only that, but the one Val loved praying to also had a Hebrew name: Yeshua.

Sam’s curiosity was piqued. He had always been taught that Jesus and Jews just didn’t go together. But how could that be true when Yeshua and all his first followers were Jewish? Sam had to learn more—but he would do it on his own. The story of Jesus was starting to mean something to him, and he needed to know whether that would still be true if Val wasn’t in the picture.

So, he broke up with his Christian girlfriend—and went to church instead!

He started attending a weekly meeting at a local congregation. “I found a very strong, beautiful, and loving community of people that I never thought possible.”

He found himself believing quickly—too quickly to judge how best to tell his family what he was learning. Surely there would be pushback, maybe even rejection. When he finally did share with them, however, they were very understanding.

Acceptance from his family surprised him. Love from Christians at church, given the antisemitism he’d grown up with, rather shocked him. But what really changed everything for him was experiencing the love of God.

I was overwhelmed with a sense of perfect eternal love… and this is when I realized … what following Jesus looks like.

I had this encounter where I was listening to worship music, and I was overwhelmed with this sense of perfect eternal love… and this is when I realized, wait a second, there’s something here more profound, there’s something here spiritual happening, this is what following Jesus looks like—this is what it can look like in my life.

Now Sam knew that he’d gone beyond an intellectual acceptance of who Jesus was. He’d had an encounter with God—something he could own personally.

Following Yeshua was no longer just Val’s thing; it could be their thing together. He couldn’t wait to tell her. Soon after the first conversation about their shared faith, she called him up and asked him to get back together.

Soon, they were planning an intercultural wedding: one that honored both traditions, one where they would pray Jewish prayers and Jesus prayers together.

After their wedding, Sam and Val maintained their habit of reading the Scriptures together. He became more comfortable identifying as a Jewish follower of Yeshua; she grew in her understanding of her husband’s people and culture. This gave Sam and Val a solid foundation to face the tragedy that no one could have predicted.

They were still newlyweds when Israel was attacked on October 7. Like so many others, they had to grapple with not only the horrors of that day but also the ensuing threats against Jewish people. Sam had grown up with antisemitism—but he felt shocked when it showed up right outside his door, living in America in 2024.

Val turned to the Old Testament prophecies and remembered how God has never left his people. She shared those passages with Sam and comforted him. They found the strength to not only wade through their fears, but to use them as a catalyst to make a difference in their community.

Together, Sam and Val now help coordinate events at a local donation-based coffee shop and art gallery. They live in a community with other Christians and Jewish people. They’re trained to meet with other interfaith couples like themselves, providing a safe space for them to process and learn. In the Botbol’s journey, the stories of both his faith and her faith are coming to life.

Watch Sam and Val tell their story!