Apples of Gold Nov/Dec 2020

Today I went to the office of the Ministry of the Interior, where most of the workers are religious and wear long beards and cover their heads. When I gave my identity card to one of the workers, he was surprised. “Zvi Kalisher!” he declared. “Do you know who he was?” he asked me, recognizing that I had the same name as a famous rabbi.

“Yes,” I said. “He was a very important rabbi many years ago.”

“Do you belong to his family?” he asked me. “I am proud to serve someone like you. But how can you, who belong to such a family, not cover your head?”

“Are all those who cover their heads righteous?” I asked. “The important thing is faithfulness to the Lord. You go to the synagogue three times a day and pray Deuteronomy 6:4–5: ‘Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.’ Does it say to love the Lord with all your hat?”

“It is interesting to hear someone say this,” he replied. Since it was such a small office, others joined the conversation. They had never met someone who speaks about the Bible yet does not wear a religious hat.

“As we see it, you cannot believe in God because you do not cover your head,” one said.

“You have made a big mistake in your thinking,” I replied. “I do not go before people wearing camouflage as you do with your beard, hat, and clothing. I come with my heart and this small Bible. You go to people with a big stack of rabbinical books that contain nothing but fictitious stories. Sadly, you are far from the truth and do not know what it means to know the Lord,” I told them.

“Do you belong to those Reform Jews?” one asked.

“No! I belong to those who worship the Lord according to the Bible, not according to old traditions and superstitions,” I replied.

I could tell they wanted to make me look foolish now and show me how wise they were. But Luke 12:11–12 promises, “Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” With this armor of God (Eph. 6:11) I go before such people.

I was sure they would cast me out of the building. With such people you cannot immediately make a big declaration about your faith in Jesus, as the many tourists do who come to Israel for a few days. We who live here must go slowly so as not to make enemies. Sometimes I talk for hours with people, creating a friendship before I mention the Messiah.

After we talked for a while, I read for them Zechariah 12:9–10: “It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced.”

“About whom is this written?” I asked.

They looked at one other. Then someone asked me, “Do you know?”

So I read Isaiah 53:5–6: “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. . . . And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

“Take a good look,” I said. “Is this the real Bible from which I read?”

“Yes. Why do you ask this?” one responded.

“Because you cannot say this is not the truth since you know it is from the Holy Bible. I am sure that now you know about whom this is written. The fictitious stories you are taught will not teach you this truth. You are walking in deep darkness,” I told them.

“What we have heard from you we will bring before our rabbi,” one said. Please pray these people learn the truth about the Lord.

The Friends of Israel Archives

Zvi Kalisher (1928–2014) was a Holocaust survivor who was known for his unswerving faithfulness to the Lord and his bold witness in Jerusalem. He was with The Friends of Israel for more than 55 years.