A trusted inside source has informed me that volunteers have even set up a tent in Har Bracha where they worship and pray to Jesus every morning before heading to the field. The tent is also used for speakers to address them. And these folks aren’t here to merely visit. Part of their plan is to plant roots and remain in Eretz Yisroel.
For those who may find this incredulous, this age of social media and Youtube videos can confirm everything. There are numerous videos of prominent religious Jews sitting in meetings with the infamous Tommy Waller (of the notorious missionizing Waller family) inviting thousands of Christians to join “The Harvesters.”
The Torah’s Perspective
How does one deal with spiritual contagions in Israel? Let’s take a look at the authentic Bible.
Deuteronomy 12:3: “And you shall destroy their name from this place.” (This week’s portion of the Torah reading.)
Judges 2:1-2: “‘The angel of the L-rd came up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, “I made you go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the Land which I swore unto to your fathers, and I said….’You shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land. You shall smash their altars…”
As sons of Abraham, we have an obligation to bring the knowledge of The One to the world. In order to spread the knowledge of G-d, we have to first comprehend that knowledge ourselves. The Torah prohibits gentiles from living in Israel unless they accept the Halachic conditions of “resident strangers.” The definition of “resident stranger” varies according to different Halachic positions. Maimonides would represent a more stringent approach. The Halachah understands that even fine, non-hostile gentiles (with the exception of “resident strangers”) can adversly affect the spiritual integrity of Am Yisroel. Many Jews have readily adopted the pro-Israel evangelical lobby in the war against the Arabs and Islam. This is no ally. The evangelists have a stated goal of wanting to convert Jews. To endanger the Jewish soul means we have gained nothing and lost everything.
Confrontation: Spitting On Rav Soloveitchik’s Psak Halachah
On one level, several prominent leaders of “modern-orthodoxy” contributed to this outrageous phenomenon, and laid the groundwork for sanitizing their agenda. They have created a new forum for discusion/meetings which previously never existed. In recent years, many of these individuals abrogated their Rebbe’s psak Halachah, and engaged in one form or another of “interfaith-dialogue.” Rav Soloveitchik (of blessed memory) had a consistent position: that Jews are prohibited from engaging in any form of religious discussion, debate, or dialogue with members of other faith communities. His so-called students are trampling upon his psak Halachah. His classic essay “Confrontation” articulates his position fully.The Rav would be sickened to see this outrage if he were alive today .
In recent years, one of these rabbis went so far as to adopt the language of the missionary. He was featured in videos where he called Jesus “rabbi jesus,” and even used such ideologically loaded terms as “branches” or “grafting” that are laden with unmistakeable Christian associations and interpretations.
Another individual (not a talmid of the Rav) used the written word to “kasher” Jesus. Without getting into the nuances of his work, there is no definitive evidence that a specific historical Jesus existed that has any commonality with the various contradictory and mythical gospel accounts. The scholarship was premised on one particular historian’s viewpoint, which is contested by other scholars; and the end result is that it reads like a polemic which reimagines Jesus as a palpable figure for religious Jews. It is agenda driven. (The Rambam and Ramban’s unique perspectives provide some insight into the Jewish perspective on Jesus. Let the diligent reader explore this on his own.) Whether Jesus was a real Jewish figure, a composite of several figures, or based upon two different figures in the Gemara, Judaism does not venerate his memory. If he existed, he was not a good Jew.
