I was born with a congenital hearing difficulty and at the age of 22, I suffered a serious stroke that left me walking with a limp. A Christian co-worker told me that I could be miraculously healed if only I would put my faith in Jesus. Knowing that it was wrong for a Jew to believe in Jesus, I withstood her spiritual enticements – even though deep down, I fervently wanted to hear and walk perfectly.
For five years, the thought of being miraculously cured of my two handicaps seldom left my mind. Then, I met another Christian co-worker who assured me that if I would come to church with her, I could pray to be healed. After years of wrestling with such offers, I accepted her invitation.
The people I met at church were very loving and the song service was so uplifting. When I met with the pastor after the service, he assured me that if I prayed to accept Jesus as my saviour, I could be healed and become “born again.” I plunged in and began attending church regularly and reading the New Testament every day.
When I told my parents that I had become a Christian, they were extremely upset. Desperately searching to find help for me, they were referred to Jews for Judaism by an acquaintance who had attended one of their programs. With my parents’ encouragement, I agreed to meet with Rabbi Michael Skobac, Julius Ciss and their wives for a Shabbat lunch.
I arrived at the Skobac’s home with lots of questions and was determined to challenge these “anti-missionaries.” Rabbi Skobac and Julius responded to my barrage of questions very genially, with great patience and amazing detail. They provided many authentic reasons why Judaism does not accept Jesus as the Jewish Messiah and how miracles cannot prove the truth of any religion since all religions experience them. I learned so much that afternoon that I was forced to humbly admit that I had made a terrible mistake in embracing Christianity.
Soon after, I attended Jews for Judaism’s Counter-Missionary Survival Seminar, as well as several adult education programs. Through the teachings of Judaism, I’ve been able to accept myself the way G-d created me, as a Jew, and I’m enormously grateful to Jews for Judaism for helping me find the path to the truth.
