Missionary Sex

There was to will be an assembly of the faithful yesterday on Wednesday in Ariel to raise consciousness about a supposed problem of missionary activity here in Judea and Samaria.  I say "supposed" because as far as I know, this is no missionary activity being undertaken by the HaYovel people, those accused of such a 'crime', most recently here (and my reply here).

Here's the poster, under the headline "Jews for Sale?  Jewish Souls in a Final Sale":

A bit to the hysterical to my taste.  And there are those that go after people like Mike Huckabee.  And on and on.

My own thinking was published last year in Hebrew (i am polishing an English version).

Of course, there real, and not imagined problems in the field of inter-religious relations or relationships. yes, there is the Messianic Jews for Jesus groups and others.  But I am now referring to illicit ones by Jews.  As reported:

Israeli police say they have broken a prostitution ring where Jewish women were brainwashed into having sex with non-Jewish men as a path to religious redemption...the prime suspect was an eccentric 60-year-old man from Kiryat Arba, a hardline settlement in the southern West Bank.

Police say they arrested a group of eight "messianic" men and women who targeted vulnerable women and "prostituted them under the influence of drugs and alcohol."   They told them that having sex specifically with non-Jews would "save the Jewish people and bring about redemption."

...some 15 women had been recruited, some of whom were believed to be minors.  Their "clients" included Palestinians from the West Bank and foreign workers from Tel Aviv, the newspaper said.

The affair was brought to the attention of police by Lehava [which claimed] the prostitution ring was operational for six to seven years and involved "four or five women."

As in point 1 here and on page 37 of this book, it is quite possible to understand that sexual relations with non-Jews are not considered to have any validity in a Halachic sense.  The conclusion that the women should have drawn is that how, then, can sex with non-Jews assist the coming of a redemption era?  How can their souls be saved?  The sex doesn't count.

One response could be that these girls' Rabbis never dwelt on this subjects. And that is connected to a problem I have with the claims that Christians will snatch Jewish souls amongst the vineyards.  Do they educate their pupils?  Do they instruct them how to counter the arguments that might be used to sway them?

Just like in this case of sacrified prostitution, use sex to missionize for Jewish purposes, so, too, in the matter of fear of possible missionary activity by Christians (again, of which there is no credible evidence but suspicions that feed and fund activity that is detrimental to the settling of the Land of Israel, the key is pre-education.

And that is the responsibilities of the Rabbis and educators.

^

Responding to JewishIsrael's Ellen Horowitz

Ellen Horowitz, a good friend, in a personal sense, who heads JewishIsrael, a group that has erred in the matter of the HaYovel group, left a comment on a post here and I think I should upgrade the discussion.

She wrote:

JewishIsrael is taking a very painstaking and careful approach to this problem. People in Yehuda and Shomron were up in arms about the Wallers and their missionary affiliations long before JewishIsrael started investigating or issuing reports.

We don't know what kind of hot heads are dwelling among you who see fit to issue provocative poster campaigns and threaten rabbis. That is not JewishIsrael’s style. However, we don't need people like you and David Rubin leveling false accusations at us over an issue that requires serious debate and consideration by the Jewish community.

The rabbis who have thus far viewed the same material we presented at Har Bracha are very soft spoken, mild-mannered and thoughtful in their approach. And yet they concur that the material presented is "of great concern, very serious in nature, and requires follow-up" and "they can't understand how Rav Melamed could possibly ignore such vital information."

I'm reminding you that it was you who originally suggested to me that there be a serious site set-up to inform the Jewish community of the various problematic evangelical groups and personalities active in Israel.

At the very least these leaders in Yehuda and Shomron should have the integrity to admit to their own communities that, "Yes, for what we consider to be the good of the yishuv, we made a decision to partner with hundreds of Christian missionaries. But they have assured us that they will not proselytize or share their faith with you - at least not here in this community. But we don't have control over their larger agenda and what they do and what their plans are for the rest of Am Yisrael"

Perhaps it is the lack of honesty that is the real "Chilul Hashem".

Let's go over that and concisely respond.

"People in Yehuda and Shomron were up in arms about the Wallers"

People?  And there are people who aren't, who don't care or who are actually excited about their volunteering.  And maybe those "people" are wrong"?  And who cares if JI was late?  You're in at present and leading the charge.

"You"?

Why not "you"?  How do you know they are amongst "us" but not "you"?  I don't.  But I can guess they are much more motivated by what "you" put out then anyone else on this planet.  They didn't get that link from out of thin air?  Or maybe it was Mina Fenton who was the source and she is much more connected to JI than HaYovel is to me. Or maybe they just fed off your misinformation?

False accusations?

No more than yours, and much less.

"The Rabbis".

Maybe the word threat should be clarified, soft-spoken or otherwise.  If a meeting is called by you, and you inform the person, a Rabbi, that if certain demands are not met, then verbal or published injury against the Rabbi will be taken, most people would think that a threat.

 

"The material".

Of course, the question is: is your "material" relevant, true, exact or supposed?  Does it actually indicate your main charge - that HaYovel is a danger in that its participants engage in missionary activity?  Does it?  How 'vital' is it?  Or is the innuendo?  Guilt-by-association?  Implied?

More important, is it not true that some of your rabbinical support not even care about the details?  For them, the issue is not missionary activity but something termed "achiza ba'aretz" and "ma'amd"?  For them, it is not an issue of halacha but theology and therefore, they prefer not to deal with the particulars and that, perhaps, even if I proved that I am correct as to what is actually happening, or more importantly, what is not happening, it wouldn't make a difference with them?  And so, all this discussion is useless.  They are interest in facts.

it was you who originally suggested

Well, if I was so smart then, why don't you trust me now?

I never said there wasn't a problem.  What I am saying is that in this specific instance, you're wrong.  And I will add that given the situation Israel is in, and given the guidelines I think exist in the Tanakh, and given halachic possibilities, we should not reject outright rapprochement but rather seek new frameworks.

"to partner with hundreds of Christian missionaries".

They aren't though.  Can't you get that?  Have you proof that they do missionize in Yesha?  Has anyone been snared?  I fully accept that a Christian, especially an evangelical, sees his purpose in life to convince others to believe in Jesus.  I trust our Rabbis and educators are doing their job to offset that threat.  The situation here is different.  You refuse do admit that and  prefer to smudge the reality to fit your agenda.

"Lack of honesty"?

What lack of honesty?  You haven't proven, in a solid, indisputable fashion, any of your specific claims.  Doesn't that count as a moral failing on your part?

^

Rabbi Eliezer Melamed Expresses Support for HaYovel

My readers are aware of my support for the HaYovel effort, led by Tommy Waller and family (here; and here).  Others oppose.

Yes, there are Christians who seek to proselytize but I am satisfied that HaYovel is a genuine effort in the paradigm of the "foreigner who comes" which is the first stage before "the foreigner that accompanies" in my theological reading.

Now, Har Bracha's Rabbi Eliezer Melamed expresses full support (the original Hebrew is here):---


The Enveloping Light of the Sukkah

The mitzvah of sitting in the Sukkah is unique in sanctifying man’s daily routines. The eating and drinking, the chatting, and the sleeping which we do in the Sukkah are elevated and sanctified to the point where they are deemed mitzvot.

It is specifically on Sukkot that we merit this, because Sukkot is Chag HaAsif (the holiday of ingathering). This is when both the physical and spiritual ingathering of the year are completed – the ingathering of grain and fruit, as well as the ingathering of all our Torah study and all of our good deeds. Thanks to the repentance and atonement that we undergo during the month of Elul and Aseret Yemei Teshuvah (the ten days of repentance), this ingathering is innocent and pure, and we can thoroughly enjoy it.

Sukkah and the Land of Israel

In this sense, the mitzvah to live in the Sukkah and the mitzvah to settle the Land of Israel are similar (Vilna Ga’on, cited in Kol HaTor 1:7). Both of these mitzvot envelop us, and we immerse ourselves in their atmosphere of holiness. By doing so, even our mundane activities become sanctified.

By settling the Land, the Jewish people show the world that when life is illuminated by faith and Torah, everything becomes sanctified: eating, drinking, and sleeping; family life and interpersonal relationships; work and craft; business and scientific research.

The Sukkah of Peace

If we gather together all the different types and degrees of goodness, even those which seem to contradict each other, God spreads His Sukkah of peace over us, and the Jewish people stand united and with solidarity. If each positive quality stands alone, there is no unity. But on the holiday of ingathering, when all positive qualities are gathered together, unity appears. Thus our Sages state: “It is appropriate for all Jews to sit in one Sukkah” (Sukkah 27b). Similarly, taking the four species together hints at the variety of Jews who join together on Sukkot.

The Land of Israel unites the entire Jewish people, including all its groups and subgroups; the redemption depends upon this. Therefore, it comes as no great surprise that all the evil in the world has risen up against the Jewish people, which has returned to rebuild its homeland in accordance with God’s word as conveyed by His servants the prophets.

Israel and the Nations of the World

Since Sukkot reveals the sanctity of all spheres of life, the holiday is relevant to non-Jews (who are traditionally referred to as the seventy nations of the world). Accordingly, our Sages state that the seventy bulls which we offered in the Temple over the course of Sukkot were offered on behalf of the seventy nations. (See Peninei Halakha, Laws of Sukkot 1:13.)

Our relationship with non-Jews is complex. Throughout our long history, they often viciously abused us; nevertheless, our basic attitude towards them is positive.

The following two quotes from the Sages illustrate this attitude. The Talmud states, “Woe to the non-Jews, who lost something but do not know what they lost. When the Temple stood, the altar atoned for them. Now who atones for them?!” (Sukkah 55b). According to the Midrash, “The Jews said, ‘Master of the Universe, we offer seventy bulls [for the non-Jews]; they should love us, but they hate us.’ Thus we read in Tehillim 109:4: ‘They answer my love with accusation, but I am all prayer’” (Bamidbar Rabbah 21:24).

Sukkot in the Future

Because Sukkot is the holiday which expresses the connection between Jews and non-Jews, in the future it will be the litmus test for the nations of the world. All who ascend to Jerusalem on Sukkot, to bow before God and to celebrate together with the Jewish people, will merit great blessing. This accords with what Zechariah says about non-Jews: “All who survive of all those nations that came up against Jerusalem shall make a yearly pilgrimage to bow to the King, Lord of Hosts, and to observe the holiday of Sukkot. Any of the earth’s communities that do not make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem to bow to the King, Lord of Hosts, shall receive no rain. . . It shall be afflicted by the same plague with which the Lord will strike the other nations that do not come up to observe the holiday of Sukkot” (Zechariah 14:16-18).

Attitude Towards Philo-Semitic Christians

In modern times, we have witnessed increased support for Israel among evangelical Christians. Lord Balfour is probably the best-known among them. Thanks to his belief in the Bible, he spearheaded the British decision to establish a national home for the Jewish people in the Land of Israel. Since the foundation of the State of Israel, the numbers of philosemitic evangelicals have increased. They see with their own eyes how the Jewish people is returning to its land after its awful, two-thousand-year-long exile, and is creating a prosperous country. They see new settlements and vineyards flowering in the very areas described by the Bible, and they are excited by our miraculous return to Zion. They are overwhelmed by the fulfillment of the ancient prophecies of the prophets of Israel.

However, Jews must deal with the question of how to relate to friendly Christians. For close to two thousand years, Christians have persecuted the Jewish people – murdering, debasing, expelling, or forcibly converting them. How is it that suddenly Christians love us? Furthermore, how do we handle the Rambam’s declaration that Christianity is idolatry?

The Attitude Towards the Jews and the Torah Is the Litmus Test

It would seem that everything depends on their attitude towards the Jewish people and the Torah. The most serious problem we have with Christianity is its denial of God’s choice of the Jewish people and of the eternal relevance of the Torah. Christians have classically believed in supersessionism, maintaining that they have replaced the Jews and that the Torah and its commandments are no longer binding. Because of these beliefs, they caused us a tremendous amount of suffering. Additionally, they did as much as they possibly could to convert Jews to Christianity.

As Rav Kook puts it: “The primary poison contained in belief systems which deviate from the Torah, such as Christianity and Islam, is not in their concepts of God, even though they differ from what is correct according to the fundamental light of the Torah. Rather, [the poison] is in what results from them –abrogating the practical mitzvot and extinguishing the [Jewish] nation’s hope regarding its complete renaissance” (Shemonah Kevatzim, Kovetz 1, #32).

Elsewhere, in discussing Jewish attitudes towards different religions, Rav Kook states that our goal is not to replace or nullify them, but rather to gradually elevate and correct them, so their dross will disappear. This will inevitably lead [the religions] to return to their Jewish source (Igrot HaRa’ayah, Vol. 1, p. 142). It seems that Christian philo-semites are undergoing a very impressive process of elevation never previously experienced by Christianity. Therefore, with the appropriate caution, we are spiritually and ethically obligated to relate to this process very positively.

Tommy Waller

Recently, a troublemaker distributed libelous materials accusing Tommy Waller, an American Christian, of being a missionary. This despite the fact that Tommy has been actively recruiting Christian volunteers for Israel for ten years, and not a single Jew claims that Tommy or any of the thousands of people he has brought here have tried to undermine their faith. Therefore, I feel it is incumbent upon me to speak on his behalf.

Out of an abiding faith in the uniqueness of the Jewish people and in the Divine mission to settle the Land, Tommy has rallied support for Israel from American Congressmen and Senators. The head of the Shomron Regional Council, Mr. Gershon Mesika, told me that Tommy’s activities have been very influential. Each year, through the summer, he organizes groups of Christians who love Israel to volunteer here. As he is a big believer in family values, many of the volunteers come with their entire families, including the young and the elderly. In recent years, at the request of the Regional Council, the Har Bracha settlement has hosted the volunteers on a hilltop near our community. From this base, the volunteers set out to work in vineyards and orchards throughout the Shomron.

Because of our difficult history with Christians, and due to concerns about possible missionizing, I felt it necessary to meet with Tommy. I wanted to have an upfront discussion with him about precisely what his positions were. At the same time, I wanted to convey a Jewish position without kowtowing or obsequiousness.

In the course of our conversation, I asked him: “If a Jew were to come before you and ask you whether it is better to be a Jew or a Christian what would you tell him?” He responded: “I would tell him to be a Jew!” Tommy added that he had not always thought this way. Originally, like other Christians, he was interested in everyone becoming Christian, but eventually he realized that this earlier position was the result of ignorance. Now, following his exposure to the Jewish renaissance in the Land of Israel, he wishes for all Jews to observe the Torah and mitzvot.

I asked Tommy what led him to dedicate his life to bringing Christian volunteers to Israel. He told me that he read Yeshayahu 61:5: “Strangers shall stand and pasture your flocks; aliens shall be your plowmen and vine-trimmers.” This greatly moved him, and he said to himself: “Maybe I can be the one who is privileged to fulfill this holy verse!” Ever since then, he has encouraged people to visit Israel and to help Jews work the land.

Every summer Tommy brings hundreds of volunteers, some for a week and some for longer periods. They bring us greetings of peace and friendship from tens of millions of Americans who love us, and when they return home they serve as loyal ambassadors for Israel.

For the Sake of Heaven

When I began to look into this issue a number of years ago, I publicly declared that I would not accept any money for myself or my yeshiva from Christian friends of Israel, so that I could research the subject without a conflict of interest. I also made a statement to that effect in my column about two years ago.

In the meantime, at the initiative of a Jewish go-between, the Har Bracha settlement received such a donation, 120,000 shekels which it used towards building a park that cost over half a million shekels. When I heard about this, I asked the secretary general of Har Bracha to do me a favor and return the money. This was not because I felt there was any halakhic problem with accepting it, but because I wanted our positive attitude towards Christian philo-semites to be purely for the sake of heaven. The righteous secretary general apologized and said he had not thought I had included the settlement in my commitment. (In truth, while I am the rabbi of the settlement, I cannot make commitments for it.) To my delight, he nevertheless responded positively to my request and returned the entire amount.

Hopes of Redemption

Sometimes I see these honored guests walking on our roads and paths, and I am filled with great love; I am deeply moved and have to hold back tears. How beautiful are these people, who volunteer enthusiastically, crossing oceans and continents to come express their wonderful connection with us. How they shine with joy at being privileged to see the miraculous return to Zion, to walk on holy ground, and to contribute to making the desert bloom. Perhaps they are the pioneers who begin to fulfill the words of the prophecy:

In the end of days, the Mountain of the Lord’s House shall stand firm above the mountains and tower above the hills, and all the nations shall stream towards it. Many peoples shall go and say: “Let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord, to the House of the God of Jacob, that He may instruct us in His ways, and that we may walk in His paths.” For Torah shall come forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge among the nations and arbitrate for the many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not take up sword against nation, and they shall never again know war (Yeshayahu 2:2-4).

------------
For related articles by Rabbi Melamed, see “Christians Who Love Israel” and “Make His Deeds Known Among the Nations.”


___________

UPDATE

The sections Tommy Waller and For The Sake of Heaven are not in the Arutz 7 site.

^

So, Now We Have "Christ's Settlers"

Well, according to the story in The Forward (a weekly that at times has a backwards view of reality):

Christians Called To Serve Jewish Settlers

Evangelicals Volunteer on West Bank Because the Bible Says So

This screen shot shows and even more sensationalisty twist. Par for the course. Either they have to sell newspapers or slam us revenants.

I hope that endears us to the liberal, humanist, multiculturalists out there.

Excerpts:

Psagot, West Bank — It is a typical, even stereotypical, West Bank settlement scene: bearded young men pruning vines while enthusing about the Chosen People’s God-given right to this region. But in this case it is Jesus, and not Jewish identity, that animates these tillers.

...Now, the settlers have international harvest help of their own. The young Christians working in the Psagot Winery’s vineyards near Ramallah in mid-March were members of HaYovel. Last year, this Tennessee-based evangelical ministry started a large-scale operation to bring volunteers to tend and harvest settler grapes. They attach epic importance to their work.

“When you see prophecy taking place, you have the option to do nothing or become a vessel to it,” said volunteer pruner Blake Smith, a 20-year-old farmer from Virginia.  HaYovel preaches the old-school ideology of Religious Zionist settlers with one innovation: a sacred role for Christians.

The group’s members believe that the establishment of the State of Israel, its subsequent conquering of East Jerusalem and the West Bank, and specifically the flourishing of agriculture in the occupied areas are fulfillments of biblical prophecies. Like many settlers, HaYovel cites a prophecy by Jeremiah that refers to the Samaria region of the West Bank: “Again you shall plant vines on the mountains of Samaria.” And like them, HaYovel believes that the settlement movement will help to bring the Messiah to Jerusalem — the only difference being that the volunteers anticipate a second coming.

But these Christians also focus on a prophecy rarely cited by settlers [but I do], who tend to place ideological value on using only avoda ivrit, or “Hebrew labor,” whenever possible. “And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and foreigners shall be your plowmen and your vine-dressers,” Isaiah prophesized to the Israelites.  HaYovel...has made reverence of settlers into a central religious virtue.

“Being here, we just want to serve — and to bless the Jewish people in building up the land,” said Joshua Waller, a HaYovel ministry leader...“We are not here to teach anything, just to learn,” Joshua Waller said shortly before the talk began.

To some of the volunteers, becoming settler laborers is a way of righting a historical Christian wrong. “This is a crazy time,” said Joe Trad Jr., a 23-year-old college dropout from Missouri. Over 2,000 years of contention, he said, “we saw Constantine and the Holocaust. Yet today, in this spot of the world, you have Christians and Jews for the first time with the same goal.”...

...Tommy Waller visited Israel for the first time in 2004, and resolved to start an initiative to help settler farmers. He set up HaYovel and began bringing small delegations to the West Bank in 2006 — the same year that he left the Amish community. Last year, he expanded the operation, bringing in 300 instead of his normal retinue of fewer than 100. He hopes to reach 400 this year.

...The group does have some opponents who fear that HaYovel is not honest when it denies any missionary agenda. Shlomo Aviner, chief rabbi of Beit El, rejects any joint Jewish-Christian ventures. [Har Bracha Rabbi] Eliezer Melamed, a hard-liner who has sworn not to accept Christian donations for his yeshiva, had ruled that HaYovel is “not working to convert us, God forbid, rather, to strengthen us.”

...Settler wineries are flourishing. Eshkol Hazahav, one of Israel’s most prestigious wine-tasting competitions, awarded West Bank settlement wineries a record seven of its 50 prizes in 2010. But settler wineries tend to be smaller than those on the other side of the Green Line that divides the occupied West Bank from Israel’s pre-1967 boundary. The settlers complain that margins can be tight — especially as many of them, for ideological reasons, refuse to employ Palestinians, who will generally work for less money than Jews.

HaYovel’s volunteers work for long stints, sometimes up to three months, providing hundreds of hours of free labor at the busy seasons of the grape-growing year. They choose vineyards, and only vineyards, to deploy their help because farming them is particularly labor-intensive, and because they are mentioned specifically in biblical prophecy. In the latest trip, which ended on March 20, 35 volunteers pruned a total of 100 acres of vines at Psagot, Shiloh and elsewhere. “It takes a lot of expenses off farmers, who are struggling in this area,” said Nir Lavi, owner of the Har Bracha Winery.

The HaYovel faithful are well aware of strong anti-settlement lobbies among both Jews and Christians...HaYovel responds to such viewpoints with two words: covenant and prophesy.

Tommy Waller insists that his ministry bears no antagonism toward Palestinians, whom it wants to see living peacefully in the West Bank. But he insists that the biblical promise to give the Israelites the Land of Israel, and various prophecies, justify Jewish rule there. Given the significance of West Bank sites to Jewish history, he argues that demanding an end to Jewish rule in the West Bank is akin to “anti-Semitism.”

“If you take away Shechem [Nablus], Beit El, Shiloh and Hebron — places where Jewish identity came to being,” asked Waller, “is there still a Jewish identity?”

Jabotinsky once spoke of how he longed for his fellow Jews to have, at times, a "goyische kop".

How right.

_____________

P.S. I'm trying to leave this comment there:

As a supporter of Tommy's effort, may I point out that the challenge for the Rabbis in this age of 'on the edge of Redemption' is the phenomenon of the "foreigner' who will be coming to Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:2-3), who will accompany (Isaiah 56:3; 6) as well as the verses in Isaiah 60 - "3 And nations shall walk at thy light, and kings at the brightness of thy rising. 4 ...they all are gathered together, and come to thee; thy sons come from far, and thy daughters are borne on the side. 5 ...the wealth of the nations shall come unto thee. 6 ...they shall bring gold and incense, and shall proclaim the praises of the LORD... 10 And aliens shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee; for in My wrath I smote thee, but in My favour have I had compassion on thee. 11 Thy gates also shall be open continually, day and night, they shall not be shut; that men may bring unto thee the wealth of the nations, and their kings in procession. 12 For that nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted...16 Thou shalt also suck the milk of the nations, and shalt suck the breast of kings; and thou shalt know that I the LORD am thy Saviour, and I, the Mighty One of Jacob, thy Redeemer."

This is a complex issue but the point is that we can cooperate, within defined areas of activity. Those who honor us, and the successes we have had, and see in these occurences Divine inspiration, are to be welcomed for we are all Bible believers which makes us closer to a more moral, a more just life for all mankind. And part of that is the reestablishment of Jewish spvereignty in the homeand which is in the territory that was intended: Judea, Samaria and Gaza. We work with what we have been blessed.
^

JewishIsrael Claims: "Medad 'Found Jesus'; Is Venal

There is a site devoted to exposing missionary activity by Christians, Messianic Jews and what-not in Israel. It is JewishIsrael.

As with persons who are enthusiastic about their work, or too deeply ideological consumed by their mission (sorry about that play on words), or even needing to screed their message to obtain contributions, they hyper their call to action as well as fudge their 'facts'. They engage in classic guilt-by-association and in my specific case now, impugn one's motives and character.

I think even they have now committed a Jewish Halachic crime of 'halbant paninm' *.

In this post, the are attacking, mainly, Tommy Waller's efforts. But before Tommy and his HaYovel group of volunteers are touched upon, allow me to mention...me.

Here's what they write:

Jesus in Shiloh

Nitzana is not the only place where Jewish lines are being crossed by Christians. It seems that Yisrael Medad found Jesus in Shiloh. Medad, who works with the Menachem Begin Heritage Center and serves as a foreign media spokesperson for the communities in Yehuda and Shomron, blogged about new archaeological church excavations, which could put Shiloh on the map in a big way – for Christian pilgrims. What is most disturbing is the comparisons Medad draws, when perhaps he should have drawn differentiations instead...

...Medad's enthusiasm is most likely not theological in nature. It may derive from his hopes for a possible windfall for Shiloh, his hometown. With the prospect of increased Christian tourism and support, it is unlikely that interested parties in Yehuda and Shomron are going to call for a moratorium on cooperation with evangelical messianics anytime soon. However, rabbis, Jewish community leaders and activists should understand that they are playing with some pretty strange fire. Extreme caution is called for, lest Torah observant Jews break new theological ground, rather than hold Israel’s ground in Yehuda and Shomron.

From the halls of the CUFI Summit in Washington, to the Hills of Yehuda and Shomron, to liaison and winery offices, to the pages of a website, Mike Isley and Tommy Waller are united in messianic Christian fellowship.

I do not know who wrote that fiendish (I almost wrote devilish but I might have been accused of assuming Christian semanitcation - I made up that word, I think, but not to be confused with incantation or worse, incarnation) portrayal. I think one of the activists of JewishIsrael was for many years a Christian Messianist although she was born Jewish, later returning to the fold but, of course, Ellen Horowitz, a good Jewish girl, formerly of the Reform persuasion, and whose husband is trying to help people with other issues which need attention, is responsible for the content. I was informed, although not sure this was publicised, that Mina Fenton, one of the more fanatic anti-missionary activists, is no longer affiliated with JewishIsrael because she is too...ah, I cannot embarass anyone in public, so let's just say the two didn't see eye-to-eye anymore.  I admit, I cooperated with the two women - and others - in the matter of  Vatican attempts to wrest control of Mt. Zion from Israel over five years ago or more and would still do so.  I harbor no guilt-by-association prejudices but try to deal from issue to issue and position by position.  And in an aside, in the post, you can see a good few pictures of David Wilder who has 'repented' his previous cooperation and gone over to Ellen's side.  Imagine what people are now thinking when they see David's picture there.

Now, as I seem to shun posts that go on and on, let's try to be to the point:

a) in writing this:

Nitzana is not the only place where Jewish lines are being crossed by Christians. It seems that Yisrael Medad found Jesus in Shiloh.

the logical intimation is 1) Jewish lines are being crossed; 2) they are being crossed like in Nitzana; 3) Yisrael Medad did what was done in Nitzana; 4) Yisrael Medad found Jesus.

And what was done in Nitzana?

a synagogue in Eretz Yisrael was deliberately used as a forum for a Jew-gone-Christian to publicly testify her faith in jesus

Did I do that?  Did I do all that, including the above 1-4?

Is JewishIsrael crazy?  Is the writer mentally disturbed?  Or, perhaps, was caught up in an esctatic (I almost wrote orgiastic but I think that would be inapporiate) grip of religious fervor?  Or theological thundering?

Well, just to assure you,what I found was the name of Jesus in several inscriptions from the Byzantine period (333 - 614 CE) at Tel Shiloh and environs.  In addition, I have not "gone over".  Moreover, I do not cooperate with either missionaries or Jews-for-Jesus people in matters of faith or other concerns.  I do, however, seek to bolster Israel's security and the existence of the state, its diplomatic standing and other political matters and will work with anyone who is not engaged in using that cooperation to further 'soul-snatching'.

One of my mentors on this issue is the great nationalist poet Uri Tzvi Greenberg who was even bold enough to pen a poem, INRI פארן צלם  that was typographically formed as a cross (here in Polish translation; see, too, this paper and especially p. 12 and here ands here).  Oh, he didn't convert if you are wondering.

To return to Shiloh, Tel Shiloh has been know as a site of Christian residency for almost a century since a Danish excavation began to uncover what we now know are three Byzantine-era basillicas.  In that sense, Tel Shiloh is no different from hundreds of other locations that attract Christian tourism.  If JewishIsrael is suggesting all non-Jewish tourism to Israel be halted as part of their campaign, well, I know a good few tour guides, hotel owners, cafe managers, taxi and bus drivers and souvenir shop owners that may be upset.

Two more points.  The first, in writing:

a moratorium on cooperation with evangelical messianics...playing with some pretty strange fire. Extreme caution is called for, lest Torah observant Jews break new theological ground, rather than hold Israel’s ground in Yehuda and Shomron.

I am aware that there are those among Christians who seek to advance Christianity over the true essence of God's Covenant with People of Israel as expressed in His promises regarding the Land of Israel.  If there is "strange fire", it is that which is being stoked by JewishIsrael.  If any "extreme caution" is required, I know who needs to review their methodology of argumentation and analysis.  If anyone is breaking new ground, - theological - no; political - yes, then it is JewishIsrael.  If anyone may be contributing to a weakening of the Jewish people's hold on the ground in Judea and Samaria, I think it is JewishIsrael.

My second point, in summary, is that in writing

From the halls of the CUFI Summit in Washington, to the Hills of Yehuda and Shomron, to liaison and winery offices, to the pages of a website, Mike Isley and Tommy Waller are united in messianic Christian fellowship

you can see, again, an invidious maneuver to smear anyone - and most certainly me  -involved in the effort to seek links between Jews and Christians, to be tainted as potential "messianic Christians" fellow travellers, at the least.

This is an intolerable line of argumentation, to be rejected and denounced.

Oh, and one last point, the title of the post is "The Sons of the Foreigners will Plant Strange Worship in Your Land" which you may assume echoes this from Isaiah 62:8 - "The LORD hath sworn by His right hand, and by the arm of His strength: Surely I will no more give thy corn to be food for thine enemies; and strangers shall not drink thy wine, for which thou hast laboured."

But the phrase "sons of foreigners", in Hebrew בני נכר, is in other portions of Isaiah's prophecy and most definitely not in the way JewishIsrael would want you to think about relations with non-Jews.

In Isaiah 60, you can read:

And aliens shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee; for in My wrath I smote thee, but in My favour have I had compassion on thee. 11 Thy gates also shall be open continually, day and night, they shall not be shut; that men may bring unto thee the wealth of the nations, and their kings in procession. 12 For that nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted. 13 The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the cypress, the plane-tree and the larch together; to beautify the place of My sanctuary, and I will make the place of My feet glorious. 14 And the sons of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee, and all they that despised thee shall bow down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee the city of the LORD, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel. 15 Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man passed through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. 16 Thou shalt also suck the milk of the nations, and shalt suck the breast of kings; and thou shalt know that I the LORD am thy Saviour, and I, the Mighty One of Jacob, thy Redeemer. 17 For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron; I will also make thy officers peace, and righteousness thy magistrates. 18 Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, desolation nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. 19 The sun shall be no more thy light by day, neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee; but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. 20 Thy sun shall no more go down, Neither shall thy moon withdraw itself; for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. 21 Thy people also shall be all righteous, they shall inherit the land for ever; the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, wherein I glory. 22 The smallest shall become a thousand, and the least a mighty nation; I the LORD will hasten it in its time.

And in Isaiah 61, we further read:

5 And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and aliens shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. 6 But ye shall be named the priests of the LORD, men shall call you the ministers of our God; ye shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their splendour shall ye revel.

I have pointed out this prophecy to Ellen, her assistants and even Rabbis who advise her.  It is the exact opposite of the message they are propagating. It suggests that what I am doing is most definitely what should be done.  Carefully, intelligently and wisely.

So far, no one has even attempted to address its import.  Empty responses.  Hollowness.  No wise reactions.  No intelligent discussion.  No careful debate. The Rabbis they are spoonfeeding with information who cannot read or understand English is another issue, like Rav Dov Lior and Rabbi Elchanan Bin-Nun. The ganging up on Rav Eliezer Melamed is also atrocious.

That says a lot about what JewishIsrael is all about.

If you think like me, please, let Ellen know.  You can contact her at info@jewishisrael.com.  The Current Board Members include:

Administrative Director: Avraham Leibler
Public Relations Director: Shulamit Leibler
Content and Research Director: Ellen W. Horowitz

Rabbinic Director: Rabbi Dr. Sholom Gold
Academic and Religious Advisor: Rabbi Dr. Jeffrey R. Woolf
Academic Advisor: Professor Richard A. Landes
Community Affairs Advisor: Anita Tucker

If you want to let them know what you think, and you don't have to agree with me, for it's a free blogosphere, let them know as well.

P.S.  In truth, I could have written 3000 more words, but it's erev Shabbat.  I managed to do the chicken soup and shop.  And there is so much more positive things to do.

______________________________

*

halbanat panim, literally "whitening the face," but understood as doing something which shames or embarrasses someone in public. For example...Rabbi Elazar HaModai warns us that someone who shames another in public has no share in the world to come! (Avot 3:15) .

And yes, my wife has that post up, but I try to keep personal issues out of my blogging life.


PPS I left this as a comment over at JewishIsrael's blog. Will it go up?  It has.

^

Hayovel in the Vineyards

A video slideshow of the great work being done by HaYovel, led by Tommy Waller and family:



^

The Waller Family

I spoke tonight before a group affiliated with the the Waller Family.

I learned that

The Waller's are a family of 13. They live part of the year in Nashville and part of the year in Israel. Working with the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria in their vineyards, blessing the people of the land, and bringing the hope of our Messiah to those in the land. About 10 years ago Tommy Waller came home...took his family out of main stream society and brought them to a small town outside of Nashville, Franklin, to live amongst the Amish where he could raise his family himself and teach them the principles in the word by showing them and living them out daily. They practiced organic farming and lived off the land.

Here's an explanatory video:



Their site is here.

I found them a wonderful group of people. The children were very well behaved and respectful. They are now sleeping down by the Tel and will be working there and in our vineyards.

I thank them for coming. And no, they didn't try to convert me. We bonded as persons of a spiritual consciousness, recognizing the importance of a Jewish presence in our Land.