Torah portion Naso
The Strongest Man Is Not From Nazareth As children, we heard bible stories that described Samson as the “strongest man who ever lived.” Movies like Cecil B. DeMille’s 1949 classic, Samson and Delilah, captured the imagination of millions and glorified Samson’s long hair as the secret of his
There is No Such Thing as an “Unforgivable Sin” One winter day, I received a call from Robert, a Jewish man who had accepted Christianity. He asked if we could meet for lunch and discuss the Jewish perspective of numerous bible passages, which he believed proved that Jesus was the
Torah portion Shelach
The Crowd Cheered When I Refuted the Missionary On a warm summer day, I stood in front of the Jews for Judaism booth at a Jewish community’s Celebrate Israel Festival. As I answered people’s questions, I was interrupted by two missionaries who had crashed the event. They challenged
Torah portion of Korach
Pouring Ice Water on a False Prophet While visiting a park with my children, a middle-aged man approached me and asked if I was a rabbi. He assumed that only rabbis cover their heads with a kippah or yarmulke. I answered yes, and explained that although I am a
Torah portion Chukas
Why The King Destroyed a Copper Snake Growing up on the East Coast, I was never afraid of garden snakes, which I occasionally discovered in my backyard. When I moved to California and started hiking in the mountains, I encountered my first rattlesnake. Although I did not panic, I developed
Torah portion Balak
Do Jews Believe In The Devil? When I was seven years old, our family gathered around our black and white TV to watch the first episode of “Mr. Ed,” the talking horse. We always wondered how they got the horse to move its lips. That was make-believe. However, in
Torah portion Pinchas
Five Sisters Refute Missionaries This week’s Torah portion, Pinchas (Numbers 25:10-30:1), provides a fascinating insight into women’s rights and a powerful rebuttal to missionaries. Before entering into the Land of Israel, God instructed Moses, “Take a census of all the congregation of the sons of
Torah portion Matot-Massei
The Rise and Fall of Anti-Semitism Jews worldwide are experiencing a rise in anti-Semitism. Whether physical or verbal, the threats are dangerous and distressing. One painful anti-Semitic trope against Jews is that we are hypocrites. Historians point out that this stereotype gained credibility because it is repeated
Torah portion Devarim
How to Fix a Broken World Some critics of Judaism argue that the Jewish Bible is full of irrelevant laws and regulations that do not advance a relationship with God. Nothing could be further from the truth. This false argument is dispelled by the book of Deuteronomy, which contains many
Torah portion Va’etchanan)
The Search for Spiritual Enlightenment Growing up in the Sixties, I experienced the hippy movement and participated in the search for peace and spiritual enlightenment. One individual tried to convince me to accept Christianity and promised that if I did so, I would “find peace in my heart.” His arguments
Torah portion Eikev
The Minister’s Words Broke Her Heart In 1980, when Baptist minister Bailey Smith said, “God does not hear the prayer of a Jew,” the Jewish community was outraged. After the public outcry, I was lecturing on a college campus when a distraught and heartbroken Jewish student approached me with
Torah portion Re’eh
Standing Up to a Prophet of Doom The evangelical street preacher stood in the middle of the UCLA campus and attracted a large crowd by spewing insults at ethnic groups and minorities. This “Prophet of Doom” accused professors, blacks, Hispanics, and other minorities of being “non-believers” who were condemned
Jews for Judaism offers individual and group sessions with people who are searching for spiritual meaning, dating an individual who is of another faith or thinking about converting to another faith.
Join