Lighting Up The Nations, A Book Review

Lighting Up The Nations: Jewish Responsibility Towards the Nations Today and in the Messianic Era Edited by Rivkah Lambert Adler Ph.D is a fascinating and varied collection of essays about how Jews should react to Christian interest in the Jewish Bible and theology.

In the past half a century quite a number of Christians have begun to doubt their own theology. Careful reading of the Jewish Bible make it clear that their religion goes against basic principles, Saturday Sabbath and more. Even more confusing for them is the survival, growth and military victories of the State of Israel and the fact that the Jewish People have somehow gotten stronger after the Holocaust. Christian doctrine makes it clear that the Jewish People would cease to exist. But we haven't cooperated. Thank Gd we're thriving instead.

How are Jews supposed to react to Christians who want to ask us questions? The tradition response was that it's forbidden to enter such dialogues with Christians because they must certainly have an ulterior motive to convert us, Gd forbid. But now things are changing. There are rabbis and knowledgeable Jews willing to dialogue and even teach Noahide Laws and Jewish Thought to searching/curious Christians. This sometimes even results in Christians converting to Judaism.

As a forty year resident of Biblical Shiloh, I'd find it ironic that davka church groups from all over the world were enthusiastically flocking to Tel Shiloh, the site of the Biblical Tabernacle, when Jews were ignoring it. We used to host groups in our home and led them on tours of the ancient site. Every time I go for a swim in nearby Ariel I'm reminded of them,  because the swimming pool I go to in Ariel was funded by Christians in honor of Billye Brim, who had been a frequent guest of ours. 

The essays in Adler's Lighting Up The Nations were written by a number of people, not just Adler. I'm not listing my "favorites," because I highly recommend that one real all the chapters. Granted this isn't light reading, but each chapter contributes something important. Read at your own pace. 

Some chapters deal with Noahides, converts, Torah learning with Christians, and others correct the bad translations that Christians follow to reinforce their theology. Of course we shouldn't forget that quite a few Christians end up converting to Judaism as a result of their serious Bible studies.

I hope you get much out of Lighting Up The Nations, as I have.

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Geula Watch Press (September 27, 2021)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0999378937
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0999378939

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein's Narrow "Bridge," A Book Review

As I read Zev Chafets' fascinating biography of Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, I kept on thinking of various titles to call the review I was to write, like "The Fine Line" or "Tightrope," but in the end played with the book's title, The Bridge Builder.

First of all I must say that Zev Chafets did a great job writing this book. My gut feeling all along, and before reading it, was not to like Eckstein. Even though I know a number of people who do a bit of what Eckstein does, and my husband and I have had dealings with Christian zionists for decades, I'm more negative than ambivalent about the dependence Israel and Jewish social/financial/charity funding has on Christian, especially evangelical money. I must admit that decades ago, many times I had hosted groups of Christians in my home and led them on tours of Tel Shiloh and very happily accepted their monetary thanks. But as time went on I became more and more uncomfortable with the close relations that were being established. Was this all one big, rich Trojan horse? Were they really out to buy our souls?

Apparently Eckstein, too, in the beginning felt that your ordinary Jew could not be expected to know how to counter the theology problem. It's one thing for Jews to accept the money, but there could be theological influences when getting too close to enthusiastic Christians. Too many Jews are too ignorant of Judaism to understand the nuances and protect their Jewish religious identity.

Eckstein confided a lot to Chafets, who wrote of Eckstein's difficult relationship with a cold, critical father. Eckstein found more warmth and acceptance in the Christian and especially evangelical leadership, though he keeps on insisting that he has always remained an Orthodox Jew, praying to Gd, keeping Shabbat and Kashrut.

Eckstein's close relations with Christians, also, caused the Kollel, Torah Study Center, which he had been attending to question his allegiance to Judaism, causing him great emotional and spiritual pain. This was before his stupendous financial fundraising success.

And all along, there have been Jewish groups that while being grateful for the money would refuse to allow it to be revealed that Eckstein's Christian donors were the source. When Eckstein made having a proper sign as recognition, some groups refused the money.  But many more accept and request more and more funds.  The numbers, the millions of dollars donated to Jews all over the world (and also Arabs in Israel) by Eckstein's various funds/organizations stagger the imagination.

Money speaks making Eckstein a very powerful man. He is not the only Jew raising money for Jewish, especially Israeli causes from Christians. Eckstein is the best connected with powerful evangelicals and media personalities.

Zev Chafets makes Yechiel Eckstein into a very likeable person and admits that if he was to have a rabbi, then Eckstein would be the one. There's no claim of objectivity from the author. Yechiel Eckstein is a success story. I know of so many people who tried to make a success at fundraising. Some did well, but nobody reached the volume that Eckstein did, even those who also targeted similar Christians and evangelicals. If you want to know more, then read the book.

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