The New York Times reported on Dec. 5th that Jews for Jesus has apologized to Jackie Mason to settle Mason's lawsuit against the group based on a broadside that JFJ had been distributing that bore the words: "Jackie Mason: a Jew for Jesus?" The article states that Mason settled "for a three-paragraph letter from David Brickner, executive director of Jews for Jesus, offering ''sincere apologies for any distress'' the pamphlet had caused."
The NYT went on to report that after the settlement was reached in the federal judge's chambers, verbal jousting took place between Mason and Brickner in the courthouse hallway.
Along with the apology, Jews for Jesus has agreed to "retire" the pamphlet, perhaps the first time in its short history that JFJ has voluntarily censored itself.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Friday, August 25, 2006
Quick Retribution
It appears that after the legal action Jews for Jesus took against the Google over the Jews for Jesus Blogspot site, Jackie Mason has taken them to court for using his likeness on their gospel tracts.
Seems like Jackie doesn't like his likeness and mannerisms (his trademark if you will) being used.
With the rise of the blogs, they'll get more attention for this "controversy" than from their many previous attention maneuvers. Unfortunately, it wont be the good kind.
Seems like Jackie doesn't like his likeness and mannerisms (his trademark if you will) being used.
With the rise of the blogs, they'll get more attention for this "controversy" than from their many previous attention maneuvers. Unfortunately, it wont be the good kind.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
What happened to Whisteblower?
Jewsforjesus.blogspot.com is now a JFJ site. What happened to Whistleblower?
Sunday, August 06, 2006
So Many Blogs
This one was a pretty good blog once:
http://jewsforjesus.blogspot.com/
Now it is very boring. What happened to Whisteblower? Did JFJ win the Google Lawsuit?
Also these seem to be new JFJ Blogs or related blogs:
http://goyforjesus.blogspot.com/
http://shutuphead.blogspot.com/
These are Ex Jews for Jesus Blogs. They are kind of boring too since they've been inactive for quite some time.
http://exjewsforjesus.blogspot.com/
http://forjewsforjesus2.blogspot.com/
http://churchjewsforjesus.blogspot.com/
http://paralleluniversejfj.blogspot.com/
http://goodjewsforjesus.blogspot.com/
http://victimsjewsforjesus.blogspot.com/
http://secretjewsforjesus.blogspot.com/
http://whathappenedjewsforjesus.blogspot.com/
The views expressed are not necessarily those of Ex Jews for Jesus, and the authors take full responsibility for the content.
http://jewsforjesus.blogspot.com/
Now it is very boring. What happened to Whisteblower? Did JFJ win the Google Lawsuit?
Also these seem to be new JFJ Blogs or related blogs:
http://goyforjesus.blogspot.com/
http://shutuphead.blogspot.com/
These are Ex Jews for Jesus Blogs. They are kind of boring too since they've been inactive for quite some time.
http://exjewsforjesus.blogspot.com/
http://forjewsforjesus2.blogspot.com/
http://churchjewsforjesus.blogspot.com/
http://paralleluniversejfj.blogspot.com/
http://goodjewsforjesus.blogspot.com/
http://victimsjewsforjesus.blogspot.com/
http://secretjewsforjesus.blogspot.com/
http://whathappenedjewsforjesus.blogspot.com/
The views expressed are not necessarily those of Ex Jews for Jesus, and the authors take full responsibility for the content.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
an article about David Brickner
2006-03-31 -- The Los Angeles Jewish Journal
A Tenuous Claim as a Jew for Jesus
by David Klinghoffer
Here is an interesting tidbit: The world's top "Jew for Jesus" is, by
ancestry, a non-Jew. Fancy that.
You know Jews for Jesus, the lovable San Francisco-based organization that
uses the appeal of Jewish kinship to introduce Jews to "Y'shua ha Mashiach"
(Jesus Christ). Its executive director is a pleasant fellow named David
Brickner. After he critiqued my book, "Why the Jews Rejected Jesus," in a
Jews for Jesus publication and later graciously retracted a prominent
factual error he made, we started e-mailing.
Brickner's bio on the Jews for Jesus Web site emphasizes his distinguished
Jewish lineage, calling him "a fifth-generation Jewish believer in Jesus."
That got my attention, since belief in Jesus is among the most powerful
known acids on the existence of the Jewish people. When Jews accept Jesus,
they marry other Christians or their children do, thus disappearing into
the Christian population.
Did David Brickner's family beat the odds? Actually, no.
According to Jewish law, a Jew is defined as someone who either a) has a
Jewish mother or b) was converted by a rabbinic court. I asked Brickner
about his mother. He replied a few days later with candor:
"She is not halachically Jewish," he wrote, using the term for the body of
Jewish law. "Her father was Jewish, but her mother was not. Both of my
father's parents were Jewish. My parents made aliyah many years ago, and my
mother was accepted as a Jew under the Law of Return. That may not make a
difference to you, but it does to me."
But look, I pointed out, most American Jews maintain that only a Jewish
mother counts in making a Jewish baby. While the Reform movement agrees
with Jews for Jesus in affirming patrilineal descent, Conservative and
Orthodox Jews make up 54 percent of America's affiliated Jewish community
(33 and 21 percent respectively). I wrote to Brickner:
"So when you tell Jews, 'Hey, I'm a Jew just like you, and I believe in
Y'shua!' you are using the word 'Jew,' with its implications of kinship, to
mean something which you know very well that most of your listeners do not
understand it to mean. That's deception."
Brickner replied:
"I think it a bit ironic that the insult comes from you in light of your
own yichus [ancestry]. Maybe there is some pathology behind your rigid
declaration."
He was referring to the fact that my own birth parents are non-Jews, as I
wrote in my 1998 memoir about adoption and conversion, "The Lord Will
Gather Me In."
In exposing Brickner, am I guilty of pathological rigidity? I don't think
so, for three reasons.
First, truth in advertising: If Brickner were the head of Jews for Saving
the Whales, it wouldn't matter if he is unambiguously a Jew or not. But
because his group's whole pitch is based on the claim that lots of actual
Jews believe in the Christian messiah, Brickner's identity matters.
Second, his story beautifully illustrates the sociological pattern I
mentioned earlier. Brickner points out that he has acknowledged, briefly,
his non-Jewish background in a long sentimental article about his family's
Jewish roots. It's tucked away on the Jews for Jesus Web site, if you know
where to look.
We learn in the article, "It all began about 100 years ago in the Kamenky
Jewish quarter of Zhitomir, Russia. My great-grandmother, Esther, daughter
of Reb Levi Yitzkak Glaser, married Julius Finestone, a Jew who believed in
Jesus."
How the little Jewish girl, presumably with rabbinic approval, married a
professed Christian is left unclear.
Anyway, Esther's son Fred married a non-Jew, Ruth. Ruth's daughter was
David Brickner's mother. Thus at least in this one branch, the Glaser
family has disappeared from the eternal nation. When I asked Brickner about
his own wife, the former Patti Vasaturo, with whom he has two kids, he
joked that Mrs. Brickner is a "Moabite." He was alluding to the non-Jewish
ancestry of the biblical Ruth, who was a Moabite by birth.
So it goes.
Today, interestingly, there are "Messianic Jewish" communities that
encourage "Jewish living." Very nice. When I spoke at the Atlanta Jewish
Community Center recently, a young guy came up afterward, introduced
himself as a Messianic Jew, and told me he'd grown up as I did, in a Reform
temple.
"Believing in Y'shua," he said, "I feel more Jewish than ever."
I looked at the wedding ring on his finger and asked if his wife is Jewish.
Take one guess what he replied. For all his "feeling Jewish," I sadly
explained, he had consigned to oblivion any hope that he will have Jewish
progeny.
Finally, reflecting on Brickner's case allows us to ask why Jews for
thousands of years have cared about matrilineal descent to begin with.
Isn't all this terribly dusty, hidebound, and rabbinic?
In the current issue of the journal Azure, Rabbi Meir Soloveichik explains
the spiritual significance of the legal principle. Far from being "merely"
rabbinic, matrilineal descent is assumed by the Bible itself. In the book
of Ezra (10:2-5), it's given as being "according to the Torah" to treat
children born of non-Jewish women as outsiders to the community.
But why should the Bible care? Because Jews aspire to have a relationship
with God like the one modeled for us in the intimacy of the relationship
with our mother.
Writes Soloveichik, "It is because of God's maternal relationship with
Israel, Isaiah explains, that the Jewish people will never be abandoned:
'Can a woman forget her child, refrain from having mercy on the son of her
womb?'"
It is hardly surprising, then, that a Jew for Jesus should find himself
unable to accept the Jewish mother as the criterion of Jewish identity. For
our argument with Christianity turns upon the same two focal points that
give meaning to matrilineal descent in the first place: namely, the Torah
and its Author.
Christianity has, for centuries, meant giving up what is unique about the
Jewish relationship with God, the relationship He framed at Mount Sinai in
the eternal grammar of the Torah's 613 commandments. The Torah over and
over again affirms its own eternity as a practical obligation not to be
altered in any way (Deuteronomy 13:1, 29:28, 30:11-14, etc.), a faith
voided by the apostle Paul, who called Torah a "curse" from which we are
"discharged" (Roman 7:6).
In return for giving up Torah, what does a Jew for Jesus get? A Jewish
Christian will say: A relationship with God. Eternal reward. The truth.
But we already had those things. Some bargain.
Hey, I don't mean to be too hard on Brickner. I like the guy.
I even feel warmly toward Jews for Jesus. In 1983, I was a high school
senior taking classes at UCLA. Strolling on Bruin Walk one day I
encountered a Jews for Jesus missionary named Sid who stumped me with
Isaiah 53, a favorite Christian proof text. A typically ignorant product of
a typical bar mitzvah education, I was stunned and scared to realize how
little I understood about Judaism. The experience set me on a path to
living as an Orthodox Jew.
I am convinced that, like Sid, Brickner wants to help. Nor did he set out
to deceive Jews by claiming to be Jewish. It's just that he isn't, in fact,
a Jew for Jesus. Too bad for him that a more accurate name for his
organization, "Gentiles for Jesus," doesn't have the same ring to it.
David Klinghoffer's book, "Why the Jews Rejected Jesus: The Turning Point
in Western History" (Doubleday), was issued this month in paperback. He is
a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute. His Web site is
www.davidklinghoffer.com.
A Tenuous Claim as a Jew for Jesus
by David Klinghoffer
Here is an interesting tidbit: The world's top "Jew for Jesus" is, by
ancestry, a non-Jew. Fancy that.
You know Jews for Jesus, the lovable San Francisco-based organization that
uses the appeal of Jewish kinship to introduce Jews to "Y'shua ha Mashiach"
(Jesus Christ). Its executive director is a pleasant fellow named David
Brickner. After he critiqued my book, "Why the Jews Rejected Jesus," in a
Jews for Jesus publication and later graciously retracted a prominent
factual error he made, we started e-mailing.
Brickner's bio on the Jews for Jesus Web site emphasizes his distinguished
Jewish lineage, calling him "a fifth-generation Jewish believer in Jesus."
That got my attention, since belief in Jesus is among the most powerful
known acids on the existence of the Jewish people. When Jews accept Jesus,
they marry other Christians or their children do, thus disappearing into
the Christian population.
Did David Brickner's family beat the odds? Actually, no.
According to Jewish law, a Jew is defined as someone who either a) has a
Jewish mother or b) was converted by a rabbinic court. I asked Brickner
about his mother. He replied a few days later with candor:
"She is not halachically Jewish," he wrote, using the term for the body of
Jewish law. "Her father was Jewish, but her mother was not. Both of my
father's parents were Jewish. My parents made aliyah many years ago, and my
mother was accepted as a Jew under the Law of Return. That may not make a
difference to you, but it does to me."
But look, I pointed out, most American Jews maintain that only a Jewish
mother counts in making a Jewish baby. While the Reform movement agrees
with Jews for Jesus in affirming patrilineal descent, Conservative and
Orthodox Jews make up 54 percent of America's affiliated Jewish community
(33 and 21 percent respectively). I wrote to Brickner:
"So when you tell Jews, 'Hey, I'm a Jew just like you, and I believe in
Y'shua!' you are using the word 'Jew,' with its implications of kinship, to
mean something which you know very well that most of your listeners do not
understand it to mean. That's deception."
Brickner replied:
"I think it a bit ironic that the insult comes from you in light of your
own yichus [ancestry]. Maybe there is some pathology behind your rigid
declaration."
He was referring to the fact that my own birth parents are non-Jews, as I
wrote in my 1998 memoir about adoption and conversion, "The Lord Will
Gather Me In."
In exposing Brickner, am I guilty of pathological rigidity? I don't think
so, for three reasons.
First, truth in advertising: If Brickner were the head of Jews for Saving
the Whales, it wouldn't matter if he is unambiguously a Jew or not. But
because his group's whole pitch is based on the claim that lots of actual
Jews believe in the Christian messiah, Brickner's identity matters.
Second, his story beautifully illustrates the sociological pattern I
mentioned earlier. Brickner points out that he has acknowledged, briefly,
his non-Jewish background in a long sentimental article about his family's
Jewish roots. It's tucked away on the Jews for Jesus Web site, if you know
where to look.
We learn in the article, "It all began about 100 years ago in the Kamenky
Jewish quarter of Zhitomir, Russia. My great-grandmother, Esther, daughter
of Reb Levi Yitzkak Glaser, married Julius Finestone, a Jew who believed in
Jesus."
How the little Jewish girl, presumably with rabbinic approval, married a
professed Christian is left unclear.
Anyway, Esther's son Fred married a non-Jew, Ruth. Ruth's daughter was
David Brickner's mother. Thus at least in this one branch, the Glaser
family has disappeared from the eternal nation. When I asked Brickner about
his own wife, the former Patti Vasaturo, with whom he has two kids, he
joked that Mrs. Brickner is a "Moabite." He was alluding to the non-Jewish
ancestry of the biblical Ruth, who was a Moabite by birth.
So it goes.
Today, interestingly, there are "Messianic Jewish" communities that
encourage "Jewish living." Very nice. When I spoke at the Atlanta Jewish
Community Center recently, a young guy came up afterward, introduced
himself as a Messianic Jew, and told me he'd grown up as I did, in a Reform
temple.
"Believing in Y'shua," he said, "I feel more Jewish than ever."
I looked at the wedding ring on his finger and asked if his wife is Jewish.
Take one guess what he replied. For all his "feeling Jewish," I sadly
explained, he had consigned to oblivion any hope that he will have Jewish
progeny.
Finally, reflecting on Brickner's case allows us to ask why Jews for
thousands of years have cared about matrilineal descent to begin with.
Isn't all this terribly dusty, hidebound, and rabbinic?
In the current issue of the journal Azure, Rabbi Meir Soloveichik explains
the spiritual significance of the legal principle. Far from being "merely"
rabbinic, matrilineal descent is assumed by the Bible itself. In the book
of Ezra (10:2-5), it's given as being "according to the Torah" to treat
children born of non-Jewish women as outsiders to the community.
But why should the Bible care? Because Jews aspire to have a relationship
with God like the one modeled for us in the intimacy of the relationship
with our mother.
Writes Soloveichik, "It is because of God's maternal relationship with
Israel, Isaiah explains, that the Jewish people will never be abandoned:
'Can a woman forget her child, refrain from having mercy on the son of her
womb?'"
It is hardly surprising, then, that a Jew for Jesus should find himself
unable to accept the Jewish mother as the criterion of Jewish identity. For
our argument with Christianity turns upon the same two focal points that
give meaning to matrilineal descent in the first place: namely, the Torah
and its Author.
Christianity has, for centuries, meant giving up what is unique about the
Jewish relationship with God, the relationship He framed at Mount Sinai in
the eternal grammar of the Torah's 613 commandments. The Torah over and
over again affirms its own eternity as a practical obligation not to be
altered in any way (Deuteronomy 13:1, 29:28, 30:11-14, etc.), a faith
voided by the apostle Paul, who called Torah a "curse" from which we are
"discharged" (Roman 7:6).
In return for giving up Torah, what does a Jew for Jesus get? A Jewish
Christian will say: A relationship with God. Eternal reward. The truth.
But we already had those things. Some bargain.
Hey, I don't mean to be too hard on Brickner. I like the guy.
I even feel warmly toward Jews for Jesus. In 1983, I was a high school
senior taking classes at UCLA. Strolling on Bruin Walk one day I
encountered a Jews for Jesus missionary named Sid who stumped me with
Isaiah 53, a favorite Christian proof text. A typically ignorant product of
a typical bar mitzvah education, I was stunned and scared to realize how
little I understood about Judaism. The experience set me on a path to
living as an Orthodox Jew.
I am convinced that, like Sid, Brickner wants to help. Nor did he set out
to deceive Jews by claiming to be Jewish. It's just that he isn't, in fact,
a Jew for Jesus. Too bad for him that a more accurate name for his
organization, "Gentiles for Jesus," doesn't have the same ring to it.
David Klinghoffer's book, "Why the Jews Rejected Jesus: The Turning Point
in Western History" (Doubleday), was issued this month in paperback. He is
a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute. His Web site is
www.davidklinghoffer.com.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
More Jews For Jesus Goodwill
JFJ gets more good press from a blog called The Hatemonger's Quarterly. Strangely, it is in the context of government spying:
... we, the crack young staff of “The Hatemonger’s Quarterly,” can monitor the search words e-travelers use to head to our “website.”
We know, we know: You are upset that we have such invasive power over you. But don’t worry: We’ve already sold all of your information to the lovable folks at Jews for Jesus, and they should be over your house any minute with some informational brochures.
Heh.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Is Jews For Jesus Persecuted? The Google Lawsuit
If you've been following the Jews for Jesus lawsuit against Google, you may find this development interesting.
Over at jewsforjesus.blogspot.com, an unrelated but similar site, "Whistle Blower" discusses Jews For Jesus' justification for their lawsuit. "Whistle Blower" points us to an article on JfJ's RealTime site. This quote struck me particularly hard.
"We view this as a spiritual attack coming at a sensitive time in our ministry.
We are headed into our largest evangelistic campaign ever this summer. I guess
it's "par for the course" that we find some of our energy and resources being
tapped. I am sure that Satan as well as our earthly opponents would like to
discourage us just as they would like to see our trademark misused by others to
spread negativity, lies and confusion under our name—a name that exists to make
the name of Jesus known"
You see, this "hostilty" is not a consequence of JFJ's destructive culture. No, it's spiritual warfare. It is a convenient way to pass off taking personal responsibility for misdeeds and paint themselves as the victim.
Many former staff of Jews for Jesus can attest to the ministry's abusive nature.
If you are reading this and are Christian, please ask yourself why this particular ministry has so many "enemies" from within its own ranks?
Christians are persecuted in this world. It was stated plainly by Jesus Himself. But note this difference; Dr. Dobson is vilified primarly from non-believers who disagree strongly with his message. Jews For Jesus, on the other hand, is receiving their negativity from former staff, many of whom are still Christian.
Why?
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Is JFJ honest?
Recently Moishe Rosen stated on a public forum the following:
"Jews for Jesus has opposition who are unprincipled and are willing to adopt guises so that they appear to be other than what they are."
I'm not sure what Rev. Rosen is talking about, but it's interesting that JFJ would complain about dishonest tactics given the history of Jews for Jesus. JFJ is proud that they always are (supposedly) upfront and honest about who they are, but JFJ used to commonly practice something that proves this is not the case (I'm not sure if they still practice it). When JFJ musicians or street theatre groups would perform in public, they would commonly use "ringers" to attract attention from passers-by and thus generate a crowd of onlookers. This was especially prevalent during New York City summer "campaigns." These ringers would pretend to be regular spectators but in reality they were usually JFJ volunteers who were asked or told to watch the proceedings in a neutral role, without any identifying clothing such as a Jews for Jesus shirt or jacket.
I'm sure there are other more glaring examples of JFJ's dishonesty, but I never got close enough to the inner circle to discover these.
"Jews for Jesus has opposition who are unprincipled and are willing to adopt guises so that they appear to be other than what they are."
I'm not sure what Rev. Rosen is talking about, but it's interesting that JFJ would complain about dishonest tactics given the history of Jews for Jesus. JFJ is proud that they always are (supposedly) upfront and honest about who they are, but JFJ used to commonly practice something that proves this is not the case (I'm not sure if they still practice it). When JFJ musicians or street theatre groups would perform in public, they would commonly use "ringers" to attract attention from passers-by and thus generate a crowd of onlookers. This was especially prevalent during New York City summer "campaigns." These ringers would pretend to be regular spectators but in reality they were usually JFJ volunteers who were asked or told to watch the proceedings in a neutral role, without any identifying clothing such as a Jews for Jesus shirt or jacket.
I'm sure there are other more glaring examples of JFJ's dishonesty, but I never got close enough to the inner circle to discover these.
Make sure to check out http://jewsforjesus.blogspot.com/
Be sure to check out http://jewsforjesus.blogspot.com/
What's being written there at this time is really interesting and new!
What's being written there at this time is really interesting and new!
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Yeshua or Y'shua?
Jews for Jesus is unique in its spelling of the Hebrew word for Jesus. They spell it "Y'shua" instead of "Yeshua."
I first encountered the unique spelling of the word "Y'shua" in the book title "Y'shua: The Jewish Way to Say Jesus," written by Moishe Rosen. I will not comment on the CHUTZPA of such a title. I see three key affronts in this spelling.
First, an affront to the Hebrew Language. The name Yeshua, which appears in the Biblical text in the 2nd temple period (The high priest Yeshua ben Yehozadak, mentioned in Ezra 3:2, 10, 18 e.g., appears as Yehoshua in Haggai and Zechariah; similarly, Yehoshua [Joshua] ben Nun is called Yeshua in Neh. 8:17). The standard transliteration of the name in English translations (including the JPS) is Jeshua (retaining the German J, pronounced Y, as in Jerusalem [Yerushalayim]). Since JPS can arguably be considered more of a standard of Jewish usage than JFJ, we would be more fair in saying that "Jeshua" is 'the Jewish way to say Jesus.' Obviously, the substitution of Y for J would better convey the original pronunciation for today's English readers.
Second, it is an affront to accepted standards of Hebrew transliteration. The Yod in Yeshua is vocalized with a Tsere, a vowel which is usually long, sometimes short, but never "ultra-short" as an apostrophe in transliteration might imply. Even the ultra-short sheva, which vocalizes the Yod in "Jerusalem" and "Jericho," is typically rendered by an ultra-short e (as in the English word "believe," unless you come from the deep south).
Third, it is an affront to the English language which requires a vowel following Y if the Y is to be pronounced as a consonant. Without a vowel, the Y itself takes on a vowel function, typically pronounced as a long E, as in "Yves St. Laurent" and "yquem" (pronounced "ee-quem") a "fine, rich sweet white wine", or as a short i, as in "Yggdrasil" (pronounced "ig-drasil"), "the ash tree which, in Scandinavian mythology, binds earth, heaven, and hell." Hence, Y'shua should be pronounced as "EE-Shua," as in "Como estan Paco y Shua?"
Drash: A brief linguistic evaluation indicates that, in fact, the spelling of the name Y'shua actually throws new and important light on Jesus' true identity. Of course we know that in Hebrew the Yod and Vav are often interchangeable depending on their position in the word. When the root Yalad ("give birth") is cast in the passive (niphal) form, the yod is replaced by a vav, vocalized as a vowel (long o), "nolad." Similarly, the Y' in Y'shua, since it must be pronounced as a vowel, may actually represent a long o sound and hence should be written O'.
Turning to the second element of the name, we note that in the Greek transliteration of the Messiah's personal name in the New Testament, an upsilson represents the u of Y'shua. It is well known that the actual pronunciation of the upsilon, even in the second temple period, was a long e sound--hence the second part of the name would be written "shea" (similarly, note that another form of Joshua's name (Yehoshua) was Hoshea (Deut. 32:44)).
Putting the two elements of the name together, we see that the name should actually have been written "O'Shea"--indicating that Jesus was not in fact Norwegian but Irish!
:-)
I first encountered the unique spelling of the word "Y'shua" in the book title "Y'shua: The Jewish Way to Say Jesus," written by Moishe Rosen. I will not comment on the CHUTZPA of such a title. I see three key affronts in this spelling.
First, an affront to the Hebrew Language. The name Yeshua, which appears in the Biblical text in the 2nd temple period (The high priest Yeshua ben Yehozadak, mentioned in Ezra 3:2, 10, 18 e.g., appears as Yehoshua in Haggai and Zechariah; similarly, Yehoshua [Joshua] ben Nun is called Yeshua in Neh. 8:17). The standard transliteration of the name in English translations (including the JPS) is Jeshua (retaining the German J, pronounced Y, as in Jerusalem [Yerushalayim]). Since JPS can arguably be considered more of a standard of Jewish usage than JFJ, we would be more fair in saying that "Jeshua" is 'the Jewish way to say Jesus.' Obviously, the substitution of Y for J would better convey the original pronunciation for today's English readers.
Second, it is an affront to accepted standards of Hebrew transliteration. The Yod in Yeshua is vocalized with a Tsere, a vowel which is usually long, sometimes short, but never "ultra-short" as an apostrophe in transliteration might imply. Even the ultra-short sheva, which vocalizes the Yod in "Jerusalem" and "Jericho," is typically rendered by an ultra-short e (as in the English word "believe," unless you come from the deep south).
Third, it is an affront to the English language which requires a vowel following Y if the Y is to be pronounced as a consonant. Without a vowel, the Y itself takes on a vowel function, typically pronounced as a long E, as in "Yves St. Laurent" and "yquem" (pronounced "ee-quem") a "fine, rich sweet white wine", or as a short i, as in "Yggdrasil" (pronounced "ig-drasil"), "the ash tree which, in Scandinavian mythology, binds earth, heaven, and hell." Hence, Y'shua should be pronounced as "EE-Shua," as in "Como estan Paco y Shua?"
Drash: A brief linguistic evaluation indicates that, in fact, the spelling of the name Y'shua actually throws new and important light on Jesus' true identity. Of course we know that in Hebrew the Yod and Vav are often interchangeable depending on their position in the word. When the root Yalad ("give birth") is cast in the passive (niphal) form, the yod is replaced by a vav, vocalized as a vowel (long o), "nolad." Similarly, the Y' in Y'shua, since it must be pronounced as a vowel, may actually represent a long o sound and hence should be written O'.
Turning to the second element of the name, we note that in the Greek transliteration of the Messiah's personal name in the New Testament, an upsilson represents the u of Y'shua. It is well known that the actual pronunciation of the upsilon, even in the second temple period, was a long e sound--hence the second part of the name would be written "shea" (similarly, note that another form of Joshua's name (Yehoshua) was Hoshea (Deut. 32:44)).
Putting the two elements of the name together, we see that the name should actually have been written "O'Shea"--indicating that Jesus was not in fact Norwegian but Irish!
:-)
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Jews for Jesus sues Google over blog
SAN FRANCISCO - Christian evangelical group Jews for Jesus is suing Google Inc., saying a Web log hosted through the Internet search leader's Blogspot service infringes its trademark.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in New York on Wednesday, seeks to force Google to give Jews for Jesus control of the site as well as unspecified monetary damages.
"We have a right to our own name and Google has allowed the use of our name on Blogspot without our permission," said Susan Perlman, associate executive director with Jews for Jesus.
"Our reputation is at stake," Perlman told Reuters.
Google's Blogspot and Blogger services allow people to set up Web logs, or online journals known as "blogs" for short, for free. A Google spokesman was not immediately available for comment on the lawsuit.
The disputed blog, http://jewsforjesus.blogspot.com, was started in January 2005 by someone taking the name "Whistle Blower" and airing critical views of the San Francisco-based organization, which seeks to convert Jews to Christianity.
The site has only three entries, the last of which was made on May 9.
Comments on the blog showed that Jews for Jesus attempted to persuade Whistle Blower to transfer the domain to the group but was rebuffed.
Perlman said the critical tone was not behind the suit.
"One of the wonderful things about the Internet is that there is freedom of expression, but there should be a protection ... so that organizations like ours can represent ourselves," Perlman said.
Monday, January 02, 2006
Who is Ex-Jews for Jesus?
It seems that it cannot be conceived that former JFJ staff might spontaneously come together to speak out about past hurts experienced through Jews for Jesus as a consequence of JFJ's own actions.
The truth is Ex-Jews for Jesus are individuals who served with Jews for Jesus at different times and in different places. Many of us have never met one another face to face, but we all share do share a common bond and we do share common experiences. No one former staff person leads us, but the desire to share what happened to us while serving and after serving with Jews for Jesus does.
http://www.exjewsforjesus.org/
The truth is Ex-Jews for Jesus are individuals who served with Jews for Jesus at different times and in different places. Many of us have never met one another face to face, but we all share do share a common bond and we do share common experiences. No one former staff person leads us, but the desire to share what happened to us while serving and after serving with Jews for Jesus does.
http://www.exjewsforjesus.org/
Friday, December 23, 2005
Blogs
http://forjewsforjesus2.blogspot.com/
http://churchjewsforjesus.blogspot.com/
http://paralleluniversejfj.blogspot.com/
http://jewsforjesus.blogspot.com/
http://goodjewsforjesus.blogspot.com/
http://victimsjewsforjesus.blogspot.com/
http://secretjewsforjesus.blogspot.com/
http://whathappenedjewsforjesus.blogspot.com/
The views expressed are not necessarily those of Ex Jews for Jesus, and the authors take full responsibility for the content.
http://churchjewsforjesus.blogspot.com/
http://paralleluniversejfj.blogspot.com/
http://jewsforjesus.blogspot.com/
http://goodjewsforjesus.blogspot.com/
http://victimsjewsforjesus.blogspot.com/
http://secretjewsforjesus.blogspot.com/
http://whathappenedjewsforjesus.blogspot.com/
The views expressed are not necessarily those of Ex Jews for Jesus, and the authors take full responsibility for the content.
Monday, December 12, 2005
Shunning
The practice of "shunning" of former employees of Jews for Jesus is described at http://www.exjewsforjesus.org/j4jquestions/shun.html
Another description of shunning is at http://www.exjewsforjesus.org/j4jquestions/#abusive which says that JFJ shunning included "various levels of cutting off communication with these former members, which have ranged from a complete prohibition against communicating with the person to less extreme forms of cut-off. Often rumors were spread about former members to damage their reputation."
Remember that these are former employees of an organization, not members of a church, that are being shunned, and that current employees are doing the "shunning." This shunning is talked about in some of the ex-Jews for Jesus stories. See, for example, http://www.exjewsforjesus.org/stories/mimi.html and also http://www.exjewsforjesus.org/stories/journey4.html
Apparently this unfortunate practice continues. If JFJ is disturbed by accusations that it is a cult, it should discontinue shunning, which is (sociologically speaking) one of the hallmark traits of a cult.
Another description of shunning is at http://www.exjewsforjesus.org/j4jquestions/#abusive which says that JFJ shunning included "various levels of cutting off communication with these former members, which have ranged from a complete prohibition against communicating with the person to less extreme forms of cut-off. Often rumors were spread about former members to damage their reputation."
Remember that these are former employees of an organization, not members of a church, that are being shunned, and that current employees are doing the "shunning." This shunning is talked about in some of the ex-Jews for Jesus stories. See, for example, http://www.exjewsforjesus.org/stories/mimi.html and also http://www.exjewsforjesus.org/stories/journey4.html
Apparently this unfortunate practice continues. If JFJ is disturbed by accusations that it is a cult, it should discontinue shunning, which is (sociologically speaking) one of the hallmark traits of a cult.
I liked being in Jews For Jesus
Once, Jews For Jesus gave me audiences to speak to. People that were interested in what I had to say. Pretty Christian girls were interested in me, because I worked for Jews For Jesus. Suffering for Christ made me feel noble. I liked that people looked up to me as an expert in Evangelism. I liked having my name on publications that tens of thousands of people read, published and distributed by Jews For Jesus.
But, now I am appalled that during my tenure, in Jews For Jesus, that arrogance was passed down from the leaders. I was taught that Jews For Jesus and its trained workers, knew, better than the rest of the Church, on most matters. It is a shame, that even the Christian world, having a "cool" position, like Missionary, makes you popular, like a football player, in a high school. It is sad to recall that the majority of suffering I endured had more to do with cruel leadership, and little to do with Christ, and the deprivation I endured had more to do with making money for the Organization, than being "a good soldier for Christ." I was not treated with dignity or regard, by Jews For Jesus, though I did receive praise from those who did not fully understand this group, or how I was treated in it.
http://exjewsforjesus.org/
http://exjewsforjesus.blogspot.com
But, now I am appalled that during my tenure, in Jews For Jesus, that arrogance was passed down from the leaders. I was taught that Jews For Jesus and its trained workers, knew, better than the rest of the Church, on most matters. It is a shame, that even the Christian world, having a "cool" position, like Missionary, makes you popular, like a football player, in a high school. It is sad to recall that the majority of suffering I endured had more to do with cruel leadership, and little to do with Christ, and the deprivation I endured had more to do with making money for the Organization, than being "a good soldier for Christ." I was not treated with dignity or regard, by Jews For Jesus, though I did receive praise from those who did not fully understand this group, or how I was treated in it.
http://exjewsforjesus.org/
http://exjewsforjesus.blogspot.com
Sunday, October 02, 2005
terror
Terror and dread.
My life in jews for jesus was one of regular terror. Never knowing which innocuous action was going to bring down the dreaded yelling, or public humiliation. Or worse, yet, an off hand remark, or the unforgivable action, that will keep you from that promotion, that desired assignment, or pay raise, and inevitably thrown back in your face for years.
In the corporate world, one would have objective job evaluations, based on objective, attainable criteria. In JFJ: Good enough was never enough. And those who excelled, seem to be knocked down a few pegs, so they would not get a "swelled head." But the offenses bringing on wrath seemed quite random, difficult for new staff to anticipate. The offense would not be dereliction of duty, often, but not being able to read the mind of Moishe Rosen. And if you did not follow an unwritten, or yet to be made up rule:You might be publicly ridiculed, for the effect of spreading the word, that there was a new unwritten rule.
It seemed there were whipping boys in JFJ who were more naive, and seemed to walk into these quicksand traps sprung by the leadership. Those who began to sense a trap, a "tests" coming up, had a less grueling time in JFJ. But getting the brunt of the random "object lesson", or viewing it, (and being so relieved it was not you,) caused an atmosphere of absolute terror. You never knew when these, spot checks, tests of reactions, or random tirades, were going to happen to you. You lived in constant vigilance, and dread. TERROR!
Somebody who has not been in an abusive family, alchoholic family, or cult could not think that the word terror or dread are appropriate. But in Jews For Jesus, all staff is overworked, overstressed, isolated, indoctrinated,and sleep deprived. Losing your perspective of right and wrong, appropriate and inapropriate was just a matter of time. Your whole world revolved around Jews For Jesus, and you did not want that world in a upheavel. So when a man with the charisma of a Jesse Jackson lashes out at YOU. There is nothing left in your world to give you the assurance to say"Why be bothered? This guy is crazy, and God loves me." You are crushed, and humiliated, and you will do ANYTHING, EVERYTHING you can to make sure it NEVER happens again. Just the way the executive intended.
You couldn't even talk to an objective person, because it would break an unwritten, and later written rule against speaking ill of JFJ, or relating anything not public about JFJ. So your parent, college friend, pastor, could not tell you how ludicrous an occurence was. There was no objectivity, only isolation among others, who are also afraid to be seen as disloyal (critical of any the executive director does.)
Jews for Jesus mastered the "art of terror to motivate." They used the stick, and the stick that looked like a carrot. Stalin used terror to control his people in the Soviet Union. Saddam Hussein studied and copied Stalin's tactics in Iraq, with the same effect, his people were to afraid to talk to their neighbor's about opposing Saddam Hussein. Now, I do not say that Moishe Rosen, and David Brickner are the same as Stalin. Stalin killed millions of his own citizens, many innocent ones, randomly, to create an atmospere of terror. They just create an atmosphere of terror, and would humiliate, yell with firocity, fine, demoralize, to control absolutely. They have only ruined hundreds of lives. Not an equal comparison, but the same techniques.
I was terrified of Moishe for years after I left Jews for Jesus. His imposing presence I guess intimadated me, even when he seemingly had no place in my life. Not unlike a father, who lives in the back of a grown child's mind, in my mind he had grown into an adopted warped, father figure. This I believe was not hapenstance, but Moishe was trying to be the father-figure, for us all. Again, to control.
I confess, that terror of Moishe continued until he was quite ill. Only then, when he was getting feeble, did I have the courage to think of speaking the truth. I began to speak candidly to my post Jews For Jesus friends, and finally told them about my stories, and opinions, and experiences, in Jews For Jesus. For, now I can act like a free man, and I can speak my mind, but not free from dread. I post this anonomously because I still dread the inevitable retribution that placing my name with this post will have. Those who do speak out receive this retribution as a "lesson" to those still in JFJ and exJFJ to stay quiet. If not you, then a relative.
Once we were slaves but now we are free. Only this "Pharoah" still has "chariots", so we have to be careful.
Pity us if you like. But Stalin was not a happy man. Saddam Hussein was not a happy man. They were pitiful men, obsessed with power, paranoid. They could never truly be happy and relaxed, with the people around them, because they trusted no one.
http://exjewsforjesus.org/
http://exjewsforjesus.blogspot.com
My life in jews for jesus was one of regular terror. Never knowing which innocuous action was going to bring down the dreaded yelling, or public humiliation. Or worse, yet, an off hand remark, or the unforgivable action, that will keep you from that promotion, that desired assignment, or pay raise, and inevitably thrown back in your face for years.
In the corporate world, one would have objective job evaluations, based on objective, attainable criteria. In JFJ: Good enough was never enough. And those who excelled, seem to be knocked down a few pegs, so they would not get a "swelled head." But the offenses bringing on wrath seemed quite random, difficult for new staff to anticipate. The offense would not be dereliction of duty, often, but not being able to read the mind of Moishe Rosen. And if you did not follow an unwritten, or yet to be made up rule:You might be publicly ridiculed, for the effect of spreading the word, that there was a new unwritten rule.
It seemed there were whipping boys in JFJ who were more naive, and seemed to walk into these quicksand traps sprung by the leadership. Those who began to sense a trap, a "tests" coming up, had a less grueling time in JFJ. But getting the brunt of the random "object lesson", or viewing it, (and being so relieved it was not you,) caused an atmosphere of absolute terror. You never knew when these, spot checks, tests of reactions, or random tirades, were going to happen to you. You lived in constant vigilance, and dread. TERROR!
Somebody who has not been in an abusive family, alchoholic family, or cult could not think that the word terror or dread are appropriate. But in Jews For Jesus, all staff is overworked, overstressed, isolated, indoctrinated,and sleep deprived. Losing your perspective of right and wrong, appropriate and inapropriate was just a matter of time. Your whole world revolved around Jews For Jesus, and you did not want that world in a upheavel. So when a man with the charisma of a Jesse Jackson lashes out at YOU. There is nothing left in your world to give you the assurance to say"Why be bothered? This guy is crazy, and God loves me." You are crushed, and humiliated, and you will do ANYTHING, EVERYTHING you can to make sure it NEVER happens again. Just the way the executive intended.
You couldn't even talk to an objective person, because it would break an unwritten, and later written rule against speaking ill of JFJ, or relating anything not public about JFJ. So your parent, college friend, pastor, could not tell you how ludicrous an occurence was. There was no objectivity, only isolation among others, who are also afraid to be seen as disloyal (critical of any the executive director does.)
Jews for Jesus mastered the "art of terror to motivate." They used the stick, and the stick that looked like a carrot. Stalin used terror to control his people in the Soviet Union. Saddam Hussein studied and copied Stalin's tactics in Iraq, with the same effect, his people were to afraid to talk to their neighbor's about opposing Saddam Hussein. Now, I do not say that Moishe Rosen, and David Brickner are the same as Stalin. Stalin killed millions of his own citizens, many innocent ones, randomly, to create an atmospere of terror. They just create an atmosphere of terror, and would humiliate, yell with firocity, fine, demoralize, to control absolutely. They have only ruined hundreds of lives. Not an equal comparison, but the same techniques.
I was terrified of Moishe for years after I left Jews for Jesus. His imposing presence I guess intimadated me, even when he seemingly had no place in my life. Not unlike a father, who lives in the back of a grown child's mind, in my mind he had grown into an adopted warped, father figure. This I believe was not hapenstance, but Moishe was trying to be the father-figure, for us all. Again, to control.
I confess, that terror of Moishe continued until he was quite ill. Only then, when he was getting feeble, did I have the courage to think of speaking the truth. I began to speak candidly to my post Jews For Jesus friends, and finally told them about my stories, and opinions, and experiences, in Jews For Jesus. For, now I can act like a free man, and I can speak my mind, but not free from dread. I post this anonomously because I still dread the inevitable retribution that placing my name with this post will have. Those who do speak out receive this retribution as a "lesson" to those still in JFJ and exJFJ to stay quiet. If not you, then a relative.
Once we were slaves but now we are free. Only this "Pharoah" still has "chariots", so we have to be careful.
Pity us if you like. But Stalin was not a happy man. Saddam Hussein was not a happy man. They were pitiful men, obsessed with power, paranoid. They could never truly be happy and relaxed, with the people around them, because they trusted no one.
http://exjewsforjesus.org/
http://exjewsforjesus.blogspot.com
How many were labeled "Unstable or Mentally ill" ?
How many who have left JFJ staff were labeled "Unstable or Mentally ill?"
It is absolutely frightening!
What is funny, is that when we were on JFJ staff WE BELIEVED THE RUMORS!
Sometimes we even convinced ourselves that "Something Must Be Wrong With Me."
Nothing is wrong with me or you!
Something is wrong with Jews for Jesus.
http://www.exjewsforjesus.org/
It is absolutely frightening!
What is funny, is that when we were on JFJ staff WE BELIEVED THE RUMORS!
Sometimes we even convinced ourselves that "Something Must Be Wrong With Me."
Nothing is wrong with me or you!
Something is wrong with Jews for Jesus.
http://www.exjewsforjesus.org/
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Prostitute of Jews for Jesus
MANY MANY former Liberated Wailing Wall members who have communicated about their negative experiences in JFJ (called by David Brickner and Moishe Rosen a "microcosm of the larger organization of Jews for Jesus"), refer to the Liberated Wailing Wall as "The Jews for Jesus Prostitute" and themselves as having been "prostitutes" for Jews for Jesus, because of the sleepless and completely spiritually void schedule with one week off in 18 months and one day off a week.
When asked why the Liberated Wailing Wall (LWW) gets so little time off, David Brickner's pat response was always, "It costs too much money to keep the team on the road to give them more than one day off per week."
It is also well known in Jews for Jesus that the LWW makes very little front end money by singing in churches. Most of the income comes in the form of "residual giving," which means people continue to give for years after an initial concert.
The residual income amount is in the millions of dollars per year.
That is why the LWW is called "the Prostitute of Jews for Jesus."
Jews for Jesus leadership doesn't care how spiritually bankrupt the LWW team members become during their 18 months of "Prostitution." They only care about the names, addresses and phone numbers they collect to continue fund raising for JFJ.
Do the research yourself. Interview a few different music professionals or semi-professional bands, booking agents, or managers. Ask them what, in their professional experience, is the longest a music group should be on a tour.
Those I've spoken to about LWW's 18-month tours are disgusted by the unprofessional prostitution of poor young people who don't know they are being used and abused by Jews for Jesus.
When asked why the Liberated Wailing Wall (LWW) gets so little time off, David Brickner's pat response was always, "It costs too much money to keep the team on the road to give them more than one day off per week."
It is also well known in Jews for Jesus that the LWW makes very little front end money by singing in churches. Most of the income comes in the form of "residual giving," which means people continue to give for years after an initial concert.
The residual income amount is in the millions of dollars per year.
That is why the LWW is called "the Prostitute of Jews for Jesus."
Jews for Jesus leadership doesn't care how spiritually bankrupt the LWW team members become during their 18 months of "Prostitution." They only care about the names, addresses and phone numbers they collect to continue fund raising for JFJ.
Do the research yourself. Interview a few different music professionals or semi-professional bands, booking agents, or managers. Ask them what, in their professional experience, is the longest a music group should be on a tour.
Those I've spoken to about LWW's 18-month tours are disgusted by the unprofessional prostitution of poor young people who don't know they are being used and abused by Jews for Jesus.
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