Apples of Gold Sep/Oct 2026
During the Christian holidays, the ultra-Orthodox are very busy. They come to people’s houses and tell them, “Do not listen to people who call themselves good Israelis but believe in ‘This Man’ [Jesus]. We are warning you—be careful!”
I live among many immigrants. Recently, two ultra-Orthodox men came to my neighborhood to warn people about Christians like me. There is no sign on my door saying I am not new to the neighborhood like many others, so they came to our house to speak to us too. They were very nice and asked me if I was religious and kept the Jewish holidays.
“It is written, ‘If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, then I will give you rain in its season’ [Lev. 26:3–4],” I said. “What is more important than water? Yes, I obey His commands as well as I can.”
I directed them to Isaiah 60:1 and read, “Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you.” Then, I turned to the chapter they did not like: Isaiah 53.
“Do you believe in what this chapter says?” one asked me.
“Why not?” I replied. “This was not written by men walking down the street but by the Holy Spirit of God. I believe that what is written here is God’s Word. As His Chosen People, we must believe and bring this truth to others so they can know the full truth and see the Light.”
“How long have you lived in Israel?” one asked me.
“I have lived here for 57 years,” I answered. “I fought in our wars.”
“But are you trying to brainwash our people?” he questioned.
“I do not tell people fictitious stories,” I said. “I tell them the truth of the Bible.”
“Can you show us your Bible?” he asked. I showed them, and they were so surprised when they saw the New Testament in my Bible.
“Do you believe in this New Covenant?” one asked.
“Yes, I do,” I said.
“This belongs to Christians,” he said. “They want to poison us!”
This time, I read Jeremiah 31:33 for them: “This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”
“You can read about this New Covenant here without even opening the New Testament,” I told them.
Frustrated, one man said, “Let us speak only about the Hebrew Scriptures.” So, I turned to Micah 5:2 and asked, “Tell me, is the book of Micah part of the Scriptures?”
“Of course,” he answered.
“Then read what is written here,” I said: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.”
“About whom is this written?” I asked.
They did not know what to say. They looked at each other, hoping the other could answer me. Then one turned to me and asked, “Are there more verses about This Man?”
“There are many,” I said. “You can continue to read. And please bring your rabbis who have sent you to me.”
I directed them to read Isaiah 7:14: “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”
When they read the verse, one asked the other, “Why have our rabbis never shown us these verses?”
When I began to read Isaiah 53, one said, “Enough!”
But I said, “This is not enough. You must know the whole truth instead of telling people that your rabbinical traditions are the truth.”
I was sure they would fight against me, but one said, “We have learned much today, and we see the truth with our own eyes now.” Joyfully, I read Isaiah 9:2 to them: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.”
“You have given us much to think about,” he said. “We will bring this to our rabbis.” I pray that they will and that their rabbis will also see this great Light.
From The Friends of Israel archives
