Penina Taylor is a woman with a mission – to fight missionaries. She's an expert in the field. She knows their tactics and understands their philosophy, because, prior to her commitment to a Jewish life, Penina's greatest passion was to convert Jews to Christianity.
Penina grew up in a single-parent home. Her Jewish mother struggled to make ends meet while studying to become a registered nurse. Left on her own much of the day, she became the object of abuse. Traumatized and miserable, she fell in with the "wrong crowd." It wasn't long before she was smoking and drinking, and failing school. "I was tumbling head over heels straight into the abyss," Penina explains. "I had lots of existential questions, but absolutely no answers."
At age 15, Penina talked with one of her schoolmates about the direction her life was taking. Her friend spoke about putting her trust in God and developing a relationship with Jesus. "The strength of her belief resonated with me. I was searching for something deeper than myself, and this was the answer."
Penina's mother, who had helplessly watched her daughter slipping away, was amazed at the dramatic change.
Penina began attending church with her friend, and soon became a born again Christian. "Now that I was living for something higher than myself, I stopped smoking and drinking and began to do well in school," Penina said. "I was empowered with a sense of purpose, and that, in itself, is life-altering." Penina's mother, who had helplessly watched her daughter slipping away, was amazed at the dramatic change and assumed that something so powerful must be true. Both she and Penina's younger sister converted to Christianity.
After high school Penina attended Bible college where she was trained as an evangelist. She also fell in love with her best friend's brother, Paul, and became engaged to be married.
Over the years Penina had lost contact with her father, but now that she was about to get married, she wanted him to walk her down the aisle. "The winter before my wedding he came to Florida to spend two weeks getting reacquainted with me and my sister. During that time he fell in love again with my mother and wanted to remarry her. But there was one problem: he was Jewish. So I talked to him about Christianity and he converted."
Penina got married to Paul and started a family. She had a busy life – as a counselor for the Billy Graham Crusade, and a popular Evangelical speaker in her own right. It’s all chronicled in Penina’s memoir, Coming Full Circle http://www.
"Torah Observance"
Fast forward 10 years. Penina was in the midst of her daily prayers when she had a distinct feeling that God wanted her to light Shabbat candles. "I couldn't understand why I felt this way. It wasn't as if I had seen it at home. My mother never lit Shabbos candles; my grandmother never lit Shabbos candles. When I told my husband about it, he responded that if this is how I believe God wants me to worship Him, then that is what I must do."
Although Penina knew that Jewish women light candles to usher in Shabbat, she had no idea how to go about it. "The only Jewish memory I had was of the Passover Seder at my grandparents' house. My grandfather would hand out the worn Maxwell House Haggadahs and, after reading a paragraph or two, we'd sing ‘Dayeinu’ and begin our meal.” Years earlier, Penina had asked her grandmother for one of these Haggadahs. Now, with the inspiration to light Shabbat candles, she was glad to find that the Haggadah included the transliterated blessing for lighting candles.
A few months later Penina's husband remarked how the Jewish Bible (“Old Testament”) says that Jews are prohibited from eating shellfish and pork. Paul, sincere in his service of God, wanted to ensure that his Jewish wife and Jewish children don't eat those things.
So Penina stopped eating pork and shellfish.
A few months later, while Penina was studying the New Testament, she came across a ambiguous passage that seemed to imply that a married woman must keep her hair covered while praying. "I called our pastor to ask him what it means. He explained that although married women should keep their hair covered while praying, he does not teach this since he knows they will never listen,” Penina explains. “After that, I started covering my hair during prayer, and since I was praying off and on throughout the entire day, it wasn't long before it was covered all the time."
Observing these mitzvot had a tremendous impact on Penina's soul. Deep within her, she felt herself being drawn to Judaism, yet she fervently believed in Jesus. "Then my parents came for a visit. One of their suitcases was packed with tzitzit and kippahs and all kinds of Judaica. 'We now belong to a group who combine their Jewish heritage with a belief in Jesus,' they told me.”
That was Penina's introduction to Messianic Judaism.
The Taylors were keeping Shabbat and kashrut – and heading a messianic congregation.
Several years later, Penina, Paul, their children and her parents moved to Maryland where they opened their own messianic congregation. Paul preached, Penina played guitar, and Penina's father took care of all the administrative work. "Here I was the head of a so-called Jewish congregation, yet I knew almost nothing about Judaism. I knew I had to learn more, so I began frequenting the local Jewish book store. The first book I read used the term 'Torah observant.' Both my husband and I latched onto that. We decided to become 'Torah observant messianic Jews' and started incorporating more and more Jewish observance."
It wasn't long before the Taylors were keeping Shabbat and kashrut – and heading a messianic congregation. Penina helped create a Messianic Passover Haggadah.
Eventually the Taylors bought a house in the heart of Baltimore's orthodox community. "We saw it as a great opportunity to convert Jews. After all, with my husband wearing tzitzit and a kippah and me dressed modestly in long sleeved shirts, skirts and a headscarf, we thought we'd fit in perfectly."
Their first Shabbat, the Taylors were about to jump into their car to drive to their messianic congregation when they suddenly stopped. "We couldn't drive; that would blow our cover. Everyone would realize that we weren't what we pretended to be. So we decided to attend one of the shuls within walking distance of our house."
The shul warmly welcomed the Taylors. When the rabbi wanted to honor Paul by calling him up to the Torah, Paul explained that although he was dressed like a Jew, he's not. "That was an act of incredible integrity on his part,” Penina says.
After a few weeks Paul felt that it wasn't fair to be dishonest with the congregation. "When we invited the rabbi to our house, he assumed that we wanted to talk to him about converting. When Paul told the rabbi what we believe in, the rabbi almost fainted from shock. From the expression of horror on his face, I understood how other people viewed what we were trying to do. I had visions of posters against us plastered all over the neighborhood, and I was frightened that we'd be forced to leave our beautiful house. But the rabbi quickly composed himself and responded, 'Although what you believe is not Judaism, you, Penina, are a Jew no matter what, and you and your children are more than welcome to continue coming to shul.”
The rabbi also insisted that Penina meet Mark Powers, then director of the anti-missionary group, Jews for Judaism.
Over the course of numerous meetings, Mark showed them how the biblical verses upon which their Christian belief was based, were – when examined in the original Hebrew – were mistranslations and taken out of context.
"I was shaken to the core,” says Penina. “So much of my belief hinged on these verses – and I was left with many, many unanswered questions. I spent the next few weeks challenging Mark. I discovered that my faith was built on a lie. Slowly but surely, the building crumbled until it totally disintegrated."
Full Circle
Penina, together with her parents and four children eventually became Torah observant Jews – though Paul remained a Christian. "Some people thought I should ask for a divorce. But my husband is one of the most sincere and honest people I've ever met, and I loved him. I knew that eventually he'd come around."
It took four years, but Paul persisted in his spiritual struggle and eventually converted to Judaism. A few hours after Paul, now Pinchas, emerged from the mikveh as a Jew, he and Penina were married in a Jewish ceremony. The entire community – who were like family to them – joined in the celebration.
Two years later, in December 2006, the Taylors took the big step and moved to Israel, where today they are living as observant (non-messianic!) Jews. What does Penina see as the biggest difference between Judaism and Christianity?
“Instead of the main motivating factor the fear of burning in Hell forever, there is the positive motivation of fulfilling the purpose for which I was created.”
They’re not leaving Judaism out of conviction, but rather from ignorance.
For her part, Penina has devoted her life to helping Jews caught in the web of Christianity find their way out. "I see so many young people who are searching, yet pulled by foreign beliefs. They’re being offered a feeling of warmth and community that they may have never gotten growing up in Jewish circles. So the soul is yearning, and they mistakenly thing that this ‘Christian love’ will fully satisfy them. They're being given falsified ‘proofs’ and meaningless answers. They’re not leaving Judaism out of conviction, but rather from ignorance. The Jewish community desperately needs educational programs to counteract this.”
In looking back on her Messianic years, Penina reflects: “My biggest regret is that I facilitated a few close family members becoming Christians, and they have not yet returned to Judaism as the rest of my family has. In trying to turn people around, I don't argue; I just try to educate and let them come to their own conclusions. If they're sincerely honest, the truth will prevail."
(64) Amram, April 27, 2020 5:34 PM
Penina
Penina was convinced to come back to Judaism because, according to her mentor, most of the verses used by Christians were used out of their context. However, I am now very used to read talmud and other Jewish writings, and never saw so many verse of the Tanach used out of the context than in these Jewish writings. They used 2, 3 or 4 words from a verse to give a very strange interpretation.
(63) Anonymous, August 11, 2019 11:15 PM
Interesting thought provoking
As a man in search of faith... this story resonates with me.
Born and raised in conservative Christianity ...but seeing the lies and questioning all but G-d and His faithfulness to mankind and desire for us to love and follow His commands. My journey is in one sense only beginning but in another I have been searching all my life.
Thank You for this article ...especially its final paragraph.
(62) Rhoda Adler, February 29, 2016 9:25 PM
i am so glad you explained about your journey to Judism. i am really interested since one of your sons married my granddaughter. and i did not know this. i admire you for telling your story and living your mission to
g-d. I think it took a lot of courage to explain this to people of all faiths and i am proud to be in the same family as you..
(61) MESA, January 29, 2016 2:55 PM
I had the privilege of meeting Penina through headwrapping groups. I then had the privilege of meeting her when she spoke about her journey. Her story is mindblowing. May she and her family continue to inspire all of us to grow closer to HaKadosh Baruch Hu and to help our fellow Jews do the same.
(60) Anonymous, March 23, 2014 7:43 PM
We just converted to Judaism in the last two years. These kind of testimonies are so encouraging. Thanks for sharing.
(59) Darlene, November 30, 2013 8:32 PM
Just what I was looking for!
I was raised in a Christian environment (Mom/Prot & Daddy/n-p Catholic) learning all the OTstories and those about Jesus. That's just the way it was. I did have questions though and got in a lot of trouble even asking them. I was told I was too young to understand and I just had to blindly accept what the elders told me. Not buying it. I just couldn't believe that everyone who didn't believe in and accept Jesus would go to Hell. That didn't fit with a loving G-d at all in my mind. It was during a high school (secular) world history class that I first heard about the Council of Nicea and how the Bible came to be in its current form. My questioning of the dogma began in earnest and I grew away for formal church attendance. I didn't like the hypocracy I saw either. Enough.
I still went to St. Patrick's Good Friday services, sunrise services on Easter, and Mid-night services on Christmas Eve - but talked to G-d on my own otherwise.
I have always believed in G-d and have known He's been with me though all of my life. No question. And I still find great comfort in the Old Testament. My favorite - The 23rd Psalm. If I can quote that I can get through anything!
Last year I was looking for information about the Council of Nicea and found the book “Jesus Wars: How Four Patriarchs, Three Queens, and Two Emperors Decided What Christians Would Believe for the Next 1,500 Years.” by John Philip Jenkins. Reading it changed my life.
I've been getting involved in the local Jewish Community Center and picked up another book “What I Wish My Christian Friends Knew About Judaism” by Robert Schoen. Just starting in on all the Holidays.
From what I've read so far and understand from my Jewish friends - Judaism reflects what I've known/felt since I was five. I'm not sure about a formal conversion yet - but I've learned never to say never. I feel I'm coming home too. Thank you for sharing Penina's story.
(58) Michael Lafferman, May 17, 2013 3:16 PM
Incredible journey & incrediblely inspiring.
Thank you Aish for sharing this story of Penina for Our journeys are similar yet different. In all truth the Xian brought me to Judaism after being lost in all kinds of new age & eastern trips, similar to my dear friend Gutman Locks from way out there stuff to then getting into the born again shenanigans to eventual a dear Orthodox friend & brother showing me the truth. I have taken up the banner to combat Xian conversion trickery of Jewish people too in my own ways & learn tons from the amazing Lady Penina to be effective in the processes accordingly. To do the fiddler on the roof routine is the only way it seems to be, cause the Xian many of them have good hearts & souls just have to jiggle & juggle for a lack of other words to keep them our friends while showing they got shammed too. Shabbat Shalom
(57) JG in Toronto, June 4, 2012 1:09 AM
what an accomplishment!
Penina and Pinchas, you and your family should feel so proud! What seemingly insurmountable odds you have beaten. The route you took to Torah Judaism was certainly unusual -- one could even say "miraculous"! So don't dwell on those who were led astray and who you couldn't steer back. Find satisfaction in your ongoing anti-missionary successes. Your story is inspirational!
(56) Debra, March 11, 2012 11:26 PM
Thank you Penina & Debbie
Jews need to be educated in their faith, this is vital. I also recoment Rabbi Tovi Singer's 'Let's Get Biblical' series. Christianity is anti- Jewish and not founded on Judaism as most people believe, but rather on distorted Jewish texts that condem G-d's Holy people and their way of life. It is even a lie for the gentiles as it just isn't truth. "Messianic Jews" are Christians pretending to be Jews, or sadly misinformed Jews. They need to be lovingly called back home.
(55) Elisabeth Soros, November 21, 2011 2:38 AM
Baruch Hashem!
Dear Penina and Your Family! You are great!I understand You completly.I did go over a unbelivable time.I do not know, how I have done it.But all the strugle what I went through I would do it again and again.I would do evrything for my faith even if it is a other holocost be.Hashem find the jewish souls.
Penina, February 29, 2012 10:48 AM
The Struggle helps us grow
Elisabeth, thank you for sharing. While the struggles may not be fun at that time we are going through them, they are exactly what we need to help us to grow and growing is a good thing, because you are not growing, you are dying.
(54) Beverly Kurtin, May 15, 2011 11:34 PM
Winning by Lying
There is a problem: Jewish children are not brought up to know what Judaism is, what we believe, and WHY we believe what we do, Christianity is a fire escape religion, Believe in Jesus and you will not go to a terrible hell. Judaism does not preach a hell, There is a sheol in which souls are corrected for a period of time and then enter the world to come. Christians twist our scriptures to "prove" that Jews should accept Jesus as God. The number one biggest lie they tell is found in Leviticus 17:11 " For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life. The missionaries to the Jews blithely say to Jews, "You don't have blood sacrifices, so you will go to an everlasting burning Hell because without the blood that Jesus spilled for you, you have no atonement." The first time I heard that, I laughed. You took that out of context, do you understand what chapter 17 says and what it is all about? At that point they still point to verse eleven., "Stop lying to yourself, Leviticus 17 is about NOT EATING BLOOD. Verse 11 tell WHY we're not to eat blood, Its only purpose is to be sprinkled on the horns, it has nothing to do with atonement from the blood of a guy who died thousands of years later." Go to any number of verses in the bible, not your bible, THE bible, the Jewish bible. It says very clearly NO MAN CAN DIE FOR THE SINS OF ANOTHER. That means that even Jesus can die for anyone's sins. God HATES human sacrifice, so why would he accept the death of Jesus as an acceptable sacrifice? He was HUMAN. It wasn't until almost 400 years before the Nicene Council declared that Jesus was God. ABSURD! Jesus was a human being only. Our children and many adults need to know about what the Tenach has to say. Christianity has nothing to offer, NOTHING. The apostate Paul of Tarsis wrote most of the Christian books. Go to www.whatjewsbelieve.org...LEARN!
(53) Andy, May 15, 2011 8:40 PM
Seems to me that Penina owes a debt of gratitude to the Christian church
It seems to me the Orthodox community should do more to reach Jews like Penina and her family when they are in crisis as did the Evangelical Christian church, which succeeded in motivating her to turn her life around. I'm glad it ended so well and all returned to the Jewish fold but for certain many get lost and we need to examine what efforts we Jews can make to make sure that all Jewish kids are part of the community and given attention when in difficult circumstances
(52) Anonymous, March 2, 2011 7:20 PM
please help me understand what you are saying by being specific about the "lie" you were told and the Book, Chapter, Verse of the Biblical reference to that lie
Please elaborate on your generalizations so I can understand ..in my seeking to understand more than to be understood... "Over the course of numerous meetings, Mark showed them how the biblical verses upon which their Christian belief was based, were – when examined in the original Hebrew – were mistranslations and taken out of context. Please tell me what was taken out of context and what THE CORRECT ORIGINAL HEBREW translation is. "I was shaken to the core,” says Penina. “So much of my belief hinged on these verses – and I was left with many, many unanswered questions. I spent the next few weeks challenging Mark. I discovered that my faith was built on a lie. Slowly but surely, the building crumbled until it totally disintegrated." What lie was your faith built on? Plese be specific to really educate and led others to deep meaningful understanding not specualtion and conjecture. Thank you for sharing and God Bless you
Penina, August 12, 2011 2:29 PM
More information
Dear Anonymous, Many of my articles and audio lectures can be found at my website - www.shomreiemet.org. While not everything is posted there yet, there is enough to get you started. Some of my audio lectures are also available on itunes and at torahanytime.org All the best! Penina
Mychal, March 1, 2012 3:18 PM
Reply to Anonymous
Rabbi Tovia Singer at www.outreachjudaism.org has a lecture series where he goes through every claim Christians make about Jesus being foretold in the Bible, and he details exactly where it's wrong--either a mistranslation or something taken out of context. You can order the CDs from his site, or you can also listen to them for free online or download them to an MP3 player at: http://www.simpletoremember.com/articles/a/anti-missionary-mp3s/ I've listened to all of these and I highly recommend them.
(51) Anonymous, June 1, 2010 12:07 PM
To question # 42
Your comments are very valid. I live in a small southern town- the "BIble Belt" so to speak, and most members of our small temple are intermarried. So am I. Born Jewish, but raised almost secular, I decided to explore my religion at midlife...after marriage and family and no, splitting up families is not the answer.Two wrongs don't make a right and people are not disposable. I am not in favor of intermarriage. I think it is hard and even wrong on many levels. That said, I give great honor to my husband who has helped me raise our children as Jews. Living in a Christian culture has taught me the importance of giving our children a strong religious- Jewish- background. Secular Judaism has done us a great disservice. I have seen many secular Jews attracted to, and married to non- Jews who have embraced a more spiritual connection. Only when we find this in our own religion, and give this to our children will we change the current trend in intermarriage. We don't have to accept intermarriage but we can not reject the kind souls that have married those of our faith. We have to ensure that our own kindness and spirituality shines bright too. We have to feed the souls of our own children or they will naturally look elsewhere. My Christian neighbors are comfortable with their spirituality- but looking at the source of it- it was "taken" from us- from Judaism, and altered to fit their doctrine and is now foreign to so many secular Jews. The time to give our children spirituality is long before dating and marriage. Raising them without this and then complaining about a perfectly wonderful person, albeit not a Jew, at dating time is way way too late. Thanks to Penina- I know exactly what she is talking about.
(50) Debbie Shapiro, May 30, 2010 1:37 PM
response to comment #43
QUOTE:(43) Avigayil S, May 27, 2010 intresting, engaging story I like the happy ending! was well written... is the persons name really penina shapiro? RESPONSE: No, Penina Taylor is the name of the woman who returned to Judaism after being involved with a messianic cult; Debbie Shapiro (that's me!) is the author of the article!
(49) abigail, May 29, 2010 3:10 AM
know how you feel-just reverse
i was raised catholic.Dropped out.Explored judaism. then got sick went back to catholocism,now back to trying conversion to judaism. Odd what i felt at five really stuck with me all along.What did people beleive in before this,where's the prayer to g-d? i wish you well Abigail.i think i'm home now!
(48) Anonymous, May 28, 2010 3:18 PM
Penina is very brave but she was only after the truth
I think Penina is very brave and didn't settle for good enough. She knew what she was doing was not right and she was willing to admit it to the world at all costs. Hashem asks us to seek truth and to be true to the Torah, morality, values, and to do the best we can to overcome our yetzer hara. Penina and her family have taken a long journey and thank G-d they've come home.....
(47) Yossi, May 28, 2010 6:26 AM
Differences between Judaism and Christianity
There are of course endless differences between Judaism and Christianity, but if I had to summarize it all in one sentence I would say: "Jews worship the living G-d while Christians worship a dead Jew".
(46) Anonymous, May 27, 2010 6:42 PM
typo and comment
they mistakenly thing that this ‘Christian love’ will fully satisfy them. ____ One mitzvah leads to another, and eventually "the truth will prevail". It is inevitable: if one labors, one will find. It is an inspiring story, one that will be repeated again and again in others' lives--variations on a theme.
(45) Anonymous, May 27, 2010 3:42 PM
coming to truth, i hope
Just one year ago I would have looked on blog posts like this with guilt and panic and then promptly prayed that Y...... would keep me safe from "people" like Penina Taylor. All the while still struggling to understand what would seem to be huge inconsistencies in the "Messianic" faith that I have been following. I am not a Jew, but a gentile. I entered a "Messianic" congregation precisely because it seemed to be teaching the Torah, demonstrating an acceptance and encouraging a "Jewish" understanding of faith in Y....(the "hebrew" named that gets thrown around in Messianic circles in place of J....). It is important to understand something about this movement as it exists today, which even it seems that even the righteous gerim have not mentioned. While a component of this sect is very much about convertng Jews (ie. J4J), there is an even greater element of this sect that is a far more ominous. This is the predominantly Gentile portion of "Messianic Judaism", which itself seems very much an oxymoron. This group has decided theat they are indeed "biblical Judaism". This amounts to taking on certain aspects of Halachic practise, throwing away what is deemed to be "too Rabbinical", all the while furthering the notion that the only "real Jews" are those who have accepted J... as "Mashiach". I don't have the space to describe all the manner of distortions and anti-semitic lines of teaching this has generated and continues to generate inside this movement. It is also very ironic that the "boogeyman" as it were in side MJ circles is those people, both gentiles and Jews, who get too "caught up" in "Jewishness" and observing Halachich practice, and end up converting to Judaism. My prayer in the past was that I would never get caught in such a way. Where I stand today I wonder if that isn't the case because the truth of what "real Judaism" is , as opposed to "the pretend variety" is only going to be revealed by those actually looking for it. Kol Tuv!
(44) Anonymous, May 27, 2010 1:43 PM
John what are you looking for?
John, have you gone to Penina websites? I'm not a christian but I wouldn't think that a christian would find the way Penina explains her journey would be offensive. Listening to some of her talks on her website I kinda thought she was almost being to nice about it to the point I thought she needed more Jewish learning. She can still sound like a christian. However, this is her non threating approach for Jews that are still involved in christianity w/o jags toward christianity. John if you are a non Jew, where you are at may just be where you are surpose to be. This site is not trying to convert non Jew christians to Judaism and Penina's message is to hopefully bring back Jews to their Jewish faith. Furthermore to prevent them into going into christianity to begin with. For a Jew the teaching of christianity which is design for non Jews; to follow their concept is an enemy to our souls. This is why we care about the Jews that are involved in it. If you are a non Jew you would not have that battle going on inside of you over the issue of christianity. For Jews that are honest, and not repeating what the church as told them to say, they do have that battle of "this" isn't right, I'll keep trying to make it so, and for years you can carry that on, then you face the reality it isn't right and isn't ever going to be. It's a gentile religion, and if you are a Jew then it's just NOT your religion. Like the saying a Fish out of water. A Fish (Jew) needs to be in water (Judaism) A Fish was not intended to live on dry land (christianity)
(43) Avigayil S, May 27, 2010 12:45 PM
intresting, engaging story
I like the happy ending! was well written... is the persons name really penina shapiro?
(42) Anonymous, May 27, 2010 7:35 AM
So he should divorce me?
Yael, So what do you suggest,my husband of 19 years divorce me to marry a Jewish woman? I guess you missed the part about my husband NOT even being a practicing Jew AND our son's conversion to Judaism. I guess people like you will always make my son feel like an outsider in his chosen religion. My son, by my work, has had more of a Jewish education than my husband by his Jewish mother. We keep a kosher kitchen. I am welcomed in his kollel for a woman who brought not one but two Jewish men to their faith. Perhaps if Jews were not so mean toward the Christian spouse, there might be more stories like my husbands. Then again, I suppose I should have known better. My son and I will never be looked on with anything other than contempt by most Jews. I am sorry I shared anything. I will not make that mistake again.
Margarita, March 12, 2012 2:50 PM
interesting story
your story is very interesting and very unusual. when you say we are mean, this is not right in my eyes. there are is a sad parts of your story - your husband had no idea of his Jewish identity. i do not think that since you have decided to convert people are mean to you, rather other way around. do you not see a problem with the situation like that? if you are truly believe that Judaism is a way to live, do you not see the problem with children not brought up to believe it? or disinterested enough to give up their faith for possible happiness? i might have missed out on a comment that you are referring to, but you should know that we do not encourage divorces. if the comment i see is the one in your reference - it points out that your husband should have known who he is and than he would marry a Jewish woman. maybe in your case since you are genuine in your conversion it was a miracle to bring you to faith? but it is not mean to you, it is truthful to your husband's upbringing. again it was interesting to read your story and you are leaving me puzzled with you accusing my community to be mean to you. furthermore, if will stop speaking out against intermarriage (which i doubt you want for your son now), we will only lose more Jews to ignorance.
(41) John, May 26, 2010 5:31 PM
polarized comments
I wish to thank those that showed me some web links concerning the mistranslation issue. I've looked quickly and will go back for some more looks. Is there anwhere where I could read studies on this without the requisite shots taken at differing viewpoints. I am christian, I have some "denominational" schooling. I would rather find truth than consensus, but would also like to find that truth in a non confrontatioonal way if at all possible. Thanks again John
(40) Yael, May 26, 2010 5:11 PM
sad and happy
How amazing it is to see the prophecies come true: that in the time before the coming of Mashiach, many non-Jews will be "misyahadim," converting to Judaism, as in Megillas Esther. How sad, however, to see from the comments how many mixed marriages there are out there and how many people are losing their Judaism. If you are a non-Jewish woman married to a Jewish man, your children are not Jewish. A conversion without Torah observance is not a kosher conversion. Don't fool yourself into thinking that because you are encouraging him to learn about Judaism, you are both in a "good" marriage. By virtue of your marriage, he is sinning. Sorry, but that is the plain truth.
(39) Anonymous, May 26, 2010 1:02 PM
# 37 Penina's Email address
Penina's Email address look at comment # 14
(38) Anonymous, May 26, 2010 12:58 PM
Penina Taylor as 3 websites
Click on the Highlighted one in this article. (www.comingfullcirclebook.com) You can read the first chapter. Penina Taylor has three websites with articles and a radio interview. Has her Email address also. Much info like Jews for Judaism site, Penina's from a personal angle.
(37) Anonymous, May 25, 2010 11:25 PM
very impressive
I am inspired by the authors integrity and yearning for truth. If it is ok, I would appreciate it if Aish could publicize the authors email addresss or another person's contact info because I recognize people in very similar scenarios. Thank you so much, and keep up the amazing work!!!
(36) Bonhomme, May 25, 2010 7:40 PM
Persecution to write home about
Richard, aren't you stretching a bit? They actually attacked you?
(35) Pleasant, May 25, 2010 12:20 PM
Well!
If we as jews would offer free sunday school and hebrew school the way the christians do, and help each other look out for each other's kids while single mothers are working like the christians do, this story never would have had to be told.
(34) Anonymous, May 25, 2010 6:27 AM
raised Christian, converted to Judaism
I converted at age 45 ( had been attending shul for 8 years prior to that). As a kid, I never really believed Jesus was G-d. for one thing, it didn't make any sense. If one quality of G-d is omnipresence, that is not something that humans can be. I also thought it was mean to say "no one gets to the Father but through me" (if Jesus actually DID say those words attributed to him...) I couldn't beleive that people who weren't Christian would go to hell just because their understanding of the divine was different than Christianity. It also didn't make sense to me that you'd need an intermediary (Christ) to make sure G-d heard your prayers. Why couldn't you just talk to G-d on your own? I didn't get references to "being saved" . I didn't think humans were "born sinful". It didn't make any sense. Eventually, I moved away from Christianity, first exploring different denominations...even going so far as to going through a year of conversion classes to become Catholic (was raised Protestant), but i just couldn't commit - i still didn't believe in Jesus. I was attracted to the mysticism of Catholicism. After doing some New Age type things - meditation, neo-paganish stuff, it was through the meditation that i became aware of my Jewish neshama. It was strange and intriguing... an amazing journey. I hope others find their way back.
(33) r klempner, May 25, 2010 5:42 AM
a big lesson here
There's a lesson in this story for every parent that echoes other stories I have heard. I was once approached in the park by a woman who turned out (only after several chats) to be a Jewish woman who was a practicing missionary for the Messianic church. She also turned to Christianity because she was an adolescent "falling into the abyss." She had been bulemic and had been abused in several relationships. She was approached early in her college career by missionaries who told her the lies and mistranslations mentioned by others here, supplied her hope and comfort, and she was sucked in. As far as I know, she has not done teshuva. Another woman I know lived in an extremely verbally abusive home, and she also was approached in college. She changed her mind just before adopting a Messianic identity. Parents 1) MUST attend to the emotional health of their children, because if they don't, their spiritual health is at risk; and 2) must teach their children the basics of why Judaism is truth and why Christianity is not (which doesn't require them to be Orthodox) before letting them loose in the secular world (either in public school or in college).
(32) Richard ben Serai, May 25, 2010 3:25 AM
'Spiritual' anger
I have taught Biblical Hebrew to mixed groups of Christians and Jews over the years, some of the Christians made claim to being 'messianic' and were trying to be more Jewish than Jews. All was OK until I began to point out the translation errors and the fact that any kind of Christian theology has to be based upon the LXX Greek translation as the original Hebrew m'qara cannot support Christian claims. It was when I pointed this out - as a part of teaching a language, not as Jewish 'evangelism' (is this an oxymoron?) - that many of the 'messianics' became angry and threatening. A couple of older men, 'leaders' in their little congregations, accused me of being a 'false prophet' who's intention was to lead the 'faithful' astray. My Hebrew bible was tossed onto the floor and I was man-handled. They claimed they were correct as they "had the spirit". I remained calm buit pointed out that they had a 'spirit' alright, but it wasn't the Spirit of G-D. It taught me that regardless of the 'loving' language, at the core and beneath the facade of Christianity is unrelenting violence based on duplicity and, quite frankly, lies. I should have known this anyway, given the long history Christians have of hatred and violence toward Jews, but I'd hoped things had changed since the Shoah, I'm afraid I was wrong. Here in Australia there has never been 'official' discrimination or oppression of Jews, but things are changing, demographically and otherwise - there are about 100,000 Australian Jews and four times as many Muslims and the current Australian government is becoming pro-Arab and Palestinian, down-grading our traditional ties with Israel. [It was Australian troops who liberated the then Palestine from Turkish rule during WW1]. It is something we need to watch.
(31) Shirlee Rosenthal, May 25, 2010 2:37 AM
I am happy that Penina and her family returned to their Jewish roots and her husband has converted to Judaism. We are losing to many of our people to intermarriages.
(30) Anonymous, May 25, 2010 2:13 AM
Social influence
The story shows the power of your friends' influence over you, even when you don't realize it. The story says very little about theological arguments or logical reasons for converting to one faith or another. Here, a Christian was interested in her family traditions and longed to be around other people with those traditions. She played a big role in Messianic Judaism, and then thought she could all by herself live in a Jewish community and bring them all to Christianity. She was so wrong. It is very hard to go it alone. Ultimately it was their decision to obediently attend non-Christian services that made their minds likewise obey the teachings in those services. What I get out of this was that the person longed for family traditions and culture to such a degree that it eventually overcame her theological ideas, which played a very small role. Her conversion to Judaism was in full swing long before she was presented with a different idea of reading scripture.
(29) Anonymous, May 25, 2010 12:37 AM
Christians do support Judiasm
There is so much unkindness in these comments. I am a Christian. 19 years ago, I married a man who was at the time a non practicing Jew. I (yes me, the Christian) sought out a Kollel for him to join and made sure that he attends shul as often as possible. Our son is in the process of conversion and has been raised Jewish by both of us (yes me the Christian). I understand that most Jews think of women like me as a threat. But what I have seen here in the comments is very sad. I am not an Evangelical Christian and even I find them to be annoying, but they are a small section of Christians. I do not, nor have I ever tried to convert anyone. I am not a snake oil salesman, I spout no “swill” nor am I fake in my concern or kindness for people of other faiths. I have done all that I can to support my husband in his return to Judaism.
(28) Anonymous, May 24, 2010 11:27 PM
Also raised a Christian and now an orthodox Jew
As a descendant from a Jewish family some generations back on my father's side, who was a practising Christian for a number of years, I converted several years ago to Judaism after an unexpected and amazing spiritual journey. There are some very good and kind people who are Christians and there is a real spirituality in that religion, and I found it immensely hard to leave it behind. I was genuinely trying to come closer to Hashem and to have the relationship with Him that He wanted me to have and that came first for me. In the end, after much incredible help along the way, it was Hashem Himself who literally showed me directly that all there is is G-d, with no intermediary necessary. He made it clear to me in various ways that I was supposed to be a Jew. Subsequently, it took a huge fight to come home as a Jew, and the immense agony of waiting many months to reach the mikvah was almost unendurable and deeply costly emotionally and physically. Ultimately it was wholeness I sought, and now as a Jew I feel far more whole in myself than I have ever been, my soul is home, and I have found my connection to the loving Creator of us all is far deeper as a Jew than it ever was as a Christian. This is my path and I believe essentially that everyone has to find their own path to come closer to G-d. Nevertheless I do think that Hashem is calling many Jewish neshamas home to the Jewish people and to Israel, and many incredible things are happening. Personally, I do still maintain some friendships with Christians I knew from before who, despite the theological differences, respect and even support my path and have a big enough trust in the infinite G-d whose ways, as Isaiah says, are not our ways, to believe that my journey truly is of G-d and the right path for me. In turn, while it is well to be aware of the missionizing agenda of some Christians, I am sensitive towards and respect those Christians who respect and show sensitivity towards my own path as a Jew.
(27) , May 24, 2010 10:05 PM
I was compelled into christianity and it never felt right. First, what was being done to me was directly against G-d's laws. I would see people that coveted, wanted what they donated to be talked about and always anonymous is best. I read the Old Testament and even with the poor and misguided pseudo-translations what happened for 12 years was completely torturous and almost unending. I have been studying Judaism and it is the only tradition that has any meaning that resonates within me but what I need most, the opportunity for conversion to Orthodox, no one up to this point has given me. Maybe I am too much a straight shooter... I just don't have the kind of time left to be coy. I tell the truth when I say that without this... it's too painful to say. There is freedom in God's laws and for a woman like me that knows what love is not, celibate and chaste for a couple of decades, the protection of the home and shul would only lighten my world and bring peace to me. I daven daily because I love to. I love the rituals and want nothing more than studying and living specifically the Jewish way of life. For me, there is no other. I know what struggle is. Every day is a struggle and no one responds to email, a call and it brings me to tears. I am grateful for what I have and I thank G-d daily, but I want the peace that conversion would bring to me. I will keep praying to G-d for the answers, 'cause nobody else has responded. :):) Thank you for your articles and this website. It helps me maintain myself. If you love and fear G-d, please say Amen. K
(26) Chana, May 24, 2010 9:39 PM
Great story, great replies
I found Penina's book fascinating but not always easy for me to read. As a giyores with missionary relatives, I also know the deception employed by these people. They will twist anything to make it fit their agenda. I am greatly heartened to read here of others who have made their way back!
(25) Sarah Leah, May 24, 2010 5:27 PM
Once a Jew, always a Jew
The Rebbe once told a man that was in line for dollars "Once a Jew always a Jew". The man he was saying it to was a Jew that converted to christianity. A Jewish neshama (soul) is holy and needs to return to its source. I am SO glad to read that this story has a happy ending. If we don't cling to our roots, we will die. Torah is our life and connection to the Holy One, blessed be He.
(24) Anonymous, May 24, 2010 3:34 PM
From Judaism to Jesus to Judaism
Messianic communities are becoming the popular thing. With that, even mainstream christianity has started infusing Judaism into their services.Jews are finding a direction in Judaism, and christians are trying to copy us. It has started with us, we are getting in-touch with Judaism ourselves. We have brought to the world the knowledge and inspiration of Judaism on a more personal level. The Internet and Jewish teaching being written has helped us to stay in touch with Judaism as adults. More books to inspire us. Education is very important and the tools are out there now, it's up to us to read them. Now we can listen to a Rabbi give a lecture on the Internet, read about other Jews and what they have gone through. Everyone has a book they can write. Some in segments in submitting comments. The Internet has opened up the opportunity for the Jewish population to be informed. Ordering books that otherwise you can't find at your local bookstore. From Jesus to Judaism the difference, Hashem is higher than Jesus. Messianic communities is about man. Proverbs 22:6 Train a lad in the way he ought to go; He will not swerve from it even in old age. I am very thankful I was taught as a child Jewish teaching. Through the experimental years Hashem was always with me. He has been for all of us, that's why we have returned back to Judaism. For 2000 years the christians has turned to the Jewish people to teach them, then the christians distort it. Thanks again for sites that counter their distortions; we are calling them on the carpet on what they have distorted. Many Jews has experimented, Penina is not alone on this. What or Who brings us back? The grace of G-d. Hashem knows no Man, no matter how great they may be, can replace or substitute our relationship with Hashem. Hashem is our first love and will be our last love.
(23) Lloyd A Oestreicher, May 24, 2010 2:23 PM
Nice article.
(22) Folke Holtz, May 24, 2010 11:47 AM
Very touching story.
I have been reading Peninas book, and I highly recommend it. it surely shows us the important of digging in our own traditions and see and experience its richest treasure. Today it is very important that the Jewish education is full of life and inclusivness, in order to show the young generation its meningfull value. Peninas story show just this. it is first then you are radical for Judaism you feel its value. Then Penina writes of her messianics period I can just recognize the ungenuin life they have about how to live Jewish. You can not mix a Christian faith and a Jewish faith. Because either one will take over. And think if every jew had become Christians we would not have any Jewish people around, no Israel and no comming Messiah as we wait on according to Rambams 13 articles. Besides going to an another relgions the assimilation is our worst enemy. Let´s fight it by education. And last I will thank AshTorah for many good articles who do indeed involves us all regardless our Jewish affilation
(21) Nechama Safra, May 24, 2010 7:49 AM
To John
John, I suggest you read Penina's book, "Coming Full Circle" for a lot of input. Wishing you success.
(20) Richard, May 24, 2010 2:51 AM
lists of the mistranslations to john
john if you truly wish to learn the proceed to this link http://www.virtualyeshiva.com/counter-index.html there you will find in depth the mistranslations, forgery and deceptions of the christian belief.
(19) muman613, May 24, 2010 2:38 AM
#2 Go to Outreach Judaism
Rabbi Tovia Singer does an excellent job debunking the mistranslations of the Torah by the Christian rewriters. Clearly they mistranslated in order to portray their false messiah as the predicted Moshiach. But if you study Jewish scripture in Hebrew you realize that the King James bible is very poorly translated. The classic example is the word 'Alma' which you believe means Virgin, which actually means a young woman. It occurs in other places in the Torah and it is always translated as young woman, not as virgin ever. Please go to http://www.outreachjudaism.org and do some research. Any truth seeker must know that the New Testament is false because Hashem clearly in the Torah promises to never break the covenant which he made to the Jewish forefathers. There is no New Testament, in other words... There is Torah, and it will last till the Moshiach comes.
(18) Alice, May 24, 2010 2:35 AM
RE: Mistranslation
Hi John, You might be interested in checking out the following web page: http://www.jewsforjudaism.com/jewsforjudaism/questions-a-answers-primary-234 It's a long address so it might be easier to copy and paste! I hope you enjoy the website - good luck in your search!
(17) Eema, May 24, 2010 1:40 AM
correct translations
Jews fro Judaism's site is here http://www.jewsforjudaism.org/ I didn' t see a quick route to all the translating differences but the discussion about the virgin birth prophecy is here: http://www.jewsforjudaism.org/faq-primary-211/birth-of-jesus-primary-360/73-almah-virgin-and-parthenos
(16) Devorah, May 23, 2010 11:57 PM
response to #2
You may wish to search www.outreachjudaism.com for the answers to your question.
(15) Anonymous, May 23, 2010 11:55 PM
John, for a very thorough guide to the mistranslated verses, you can take a look at the Jews for Judaism site (http://jewsforjudaism.org), which has many relevant FAQs and downloadable guides with that information.
(14) Penina, May 23, 2010 8:40 PM
More than happy to elaborate
John, my email address is director@shomreiemet.org - you can email me and I'd be happy to discuss the verses with you. People can also email me there if they are interested in booking me to speak. I'll be in the US in Oct and Nov.
(13) Ishchael, May 23, 2010 7:38 PM
from a prosolyte's view
I came from Long House religion (American Indian) at age 5, to christianity till I was 12, to learning that my father was Jewish. I didn't know what to believe, so I studied. I have lived Jewish for 30 years, and finally converted. I have realized the biggest difference between christianity and Judaism is that christians are all about "personal" salvation, and Jews are all about community. My Seneca tribe from Long House was all about community and the sanctity of nature, so there are some similarities. Some say that Indians are actually the lost Hebrew tribe. While my wife is/was a baptist, she is now considering taking the dip in the Mikvah. My children have all been Bar/Bat mitzvah, but it is my wife I am most concerning about. We all have the right to our own beliefs, but my wife's mother is always in shock as to why she won't accept jesus and wants me to be saved as well. It's as though christians are like snake oil salesmen who'll do anything tho get you to buy their swill. It is taking some time, but I know the yearning for the truth and the study of Torah will win out. I felt the pull back to Judaism; I'm not out to convert my wife, but I know she will find her way as I did.
(12) J LaLone, May 23, 2010 6:15 PM
What a long and difficult path
I found myself afraid for Penina and her family. It is always horrible to be influenced and led by lies. I am glad most of her family found their way home. When on the Internet doing research and study, one has to be careful, because there are many Chrisian and Messianics who lay traps for those who are innocent or in need. It is such an evil behavior. Best of luck to this family who found their way back to Judaism.
(11) Leah, May 23, 2010 5:51 PM
I was forty years in Evangelical Christianity
I was one of the original "Jesus Freaks" of the late 60's. Converting a Jew to Christianity won us crowns in heaven. About six years ago I heard the very real call to Judaism. Research showed my ancestors may have been Jewish. Last month I went before a Beit Din followed by immersion in the Mikvah. Two days later I was introduced to my Synagogue as Leah Bat Avraham v' Sarah. Now my passion is to help other Jews find their way back. I love Tovia Singers book "Let's Get Biblical" for showing my Jewish friends what the Torah really says about "Jesus".
(10) Rachel, May 23, 2010 5:48 PM
Wonderful story
I hope my husband reads it. He was born Jewish, attended a reform shul with his family off and on, but their knowledge of Jewish spirituality and observance was limited. About 9 years ago, he was "looking for something" and fell into a baptist church near where we live. That community was very "welcoming" and although I tried to warn him that the warmth wasn't truly sincere, he continued to attend and even became baptized. I consulted my rabbi at that time who suggested I consider divorce. I couldn't do that. I love him very much and only wanted to see him happy. So instead I prayed. A lot. I also continued my own level of Jewish observance (attending shabat services, celebrating Jewish holidays, lighting candles at shabat, etc). The change in him was slow, but it did happen. Within the past three to four years, he started to become more interested in Jewish observance, even took me to a couple of shuls in our neighborhood. We now belong to a reform congregation. He quit attending the church. He visits this site and the Chabad site regularly. He's come "full circle" also and I attribute that to my continuing to stick to MY convictions and to god hearing my prayers.
(9) Tammy, May 23, 2010 5:19 PM
Another person returns!
My mother was raised christian and so we were too. She knew her family was Jewish though. I followed her beliefs until I started to teach my own Torah class and thought that I would go study "undercover" at a Shul. Well....as you can guess that opened up a lot of questions to me. After studying, and being turned on to Tovia Singer's site Outreach Judaism and then to Jews For Judaism I realized I too had been living a lie. I converted to Judaism with some of my kids, my husband is on board and we went to the Mikvah! Our first trip to Israel will be this next Spring and B'H...I am home now, where I belong!
(8) Anonymous, May 23, 2010 5:04 PM
Messianic Chrisitans a real problem in Israel
Nothing is a waste. Ms. Taylor can use her experience in a good way for the Jewish Community and for the good of Israel. Messianic Christians is a real problem in Israel, whether those living their or elsewhere. Her story shows that God is in control. If the only religious teaching as a young woman was christian, it is being used for the good now. It was like pre-school. Giving Ms. Taylor the knowledge there is a God. What the messianic communities are producing is counter than what they are trying to do. That is because God is in control. It spurs Jews back to their roots. In the long run this is what is happening. It's all baby steps back to God. It's not hard to throw the lies out when you come to know the truth. A person I have known most of my life and I have interfaith dialogue phone debates all the time. For a good debate to take place, it helps to know the info the christians are using. Ms Taylor has learned that info. And also the lies which are so easy to spot when you come to know the truth. There is something positive coming from all of this. Ultimately the Jewish People one by one are coming home.
(7) Rachel, May 23, 2010 4:52 PM
Answer to Mistranslation Question
These mistranslations are one of many reasons I chose to convert to Judaism. One verse in particular stands out in my mind. In the king James bible it says, "A VIRGIN will conceive", which of course makes the idea of Mary and Jesus believable. In (Isaiah) it actually says, "A YOUNG WOMAN will conceive," not a virgin. You can do a quick search and find many of these small but significant errors in translation.
(6) Hanna bat Sarah, May 23, 2010 4:40 PM
Thanks for this article it help people that are in the journey back to Judairm.
Thank you Debbie for this article. I can relate to this story. My husband and I have returned to Judaism too and used to attend a messianic congregation. But every time we did Shema something was bothering me. I asked myself that if G-d is One and Only, how come they teach us that Yeshuah (Jesus) was man and G-d and if G-d is the Eternal, Blessed be He, how come man can killed G-d? From those question I started searching more in the Jewish text books about Machiach. Also I found out about those verses Penina mention, in another article here in Spanish web of Aish.com ("Why Jew don't believe in Jesus"). It was just what I needed to show to my husband, because he was still not to sure about the steps we were taking leaving the Messianic congregation and going to a regular Synagogue. We understood that what we were toll was base on a mistraslation. I thanks for this article, because it help people like us that are in the journey back to Hashem, to Torah, to Judaism, incourage us and let us know that we are in the right path, in the path of truth.
(5) peter, May 23, 2010 4:21 PM
I have simmilar feelings
when examined in the original Hebrew – were mistranslations and taken out of context. Could you give some spesifics.
(4) Lilian, May 23, 2010 4:03 PM
Similar to my story!
I grew up totally secular. Always had a pull towards Judaism, but was very intimidated by it. I eventually became a Chrisitan and a Messianic Jew. But the incorgruence between what the scriptures said and how we were living lead me to keep seeking. I was sure that my family was Jewish, but could not prove anything. We immigrated to the US in the late 50's and anyone who could provide any kind of information was long gone. Over the years we lost touch with family members. But I KNEW in my heart that I was Jewish. I read materials from Jews for Judaism and my belief system crumbled like a house of cards. I was blessed to meet an Orthodox Rabbi who listened to my story. I went through the conversion process because of the lack of documents to support what I knew to be true in my heart. My quest begain in 2002 and ended with my conversion in 2007. I have never looked back. For the first time I felt whole. I had always felt like something was missing. The Rabbi who helped me with my studies and preparation said that he believed without a doubt that I had been at Sinai. Today, I live an observant life and I have never been happier. But I often think about all of the Messianic Jews I met along the way. They are searching, just like I was. I pray that HaShem will lead them back one by one. I also try to educate whenever I can and let HaShem do the rest..I agree with the author "The truth will prevail if they are sincerely seeking".
(3) Miriam, May 23, 2010 3:21 PM
Baruch Hashem
What a tremendous blessing to come back to Judaism. G-d was calling and you listened. What simcha this is. I am so proud of you.
(2) John, May 23, 2010 2:27 PM
Mistranslation
I am greatly interested in being shown these mistranslated verses that the author claims the Christian Beliefs are based on. Plus of course the "correct" translations.
(1) Anonymous, May 23, 2010 1:41 PM
so interesting
I'm so impressed by stories like this. It's as though Judaism calls out to the soul to return. It focuses on the importance of reaching out to our college campus kids with warmth and acceptance; then we can educate our Jewish brethren in Torah and our history and have them return to their people.