B’NAI BRITH & FRANK DIMANT
www.bnaibrith.ca

B'nai Brith Canada is the action arm of the Jewish community. We believe in: 

1.Reaching out to those in need
2.Fighting antisemitism, racism and bigotry;
3.Promoting human rights and peace throughout the world. 

We do this through a wide range of activities, both at the national and local level. 

Reaching out to those in need 

B'nai Brith recognizes that every community is different; every community has its own unique needs. Each year, local B'nai Brith groups across the country reach out to those around them, helping to fund and organize activities that meet those special needs ­ everything from running breakfast programs for kids, to visiting hospitals and seniors homes, to helping families through hard times with the donation of food baskets.
 
"As government programs experience cutbacks, there's an urgent need in our communities for added assistance," says Anne Freeman, Chair, Centre for Community Action. "In the greater Toronto area alone there are 20,000 Jews who live below the poverty line, most of them seniors. We are committed to responding to those in need and, with further support from our generous sponsors, we hope to expand the reach of our programs to improve their quality of life." 

B'nai Brith works closely with a number of social service agencies to identify and reach those in greatest need. Our partners include: Big Brothers and Sisters from Halton Peel; Jewish Family and Child Service; Agincourt Community Services; Eva's Place ; Redwood Shelter; Interval House, Bloorview McMillan Centre, Reena, Kadimah and Zareinu. 

Highlights 

Local B'nai Brith groups are making a difference with a number of community initiatives, including: 

* Helping families through tough times. B'nai Brith delivers food and gift baskets to both Jewish and non-Jewish families in communities across Canada. For example, we gave more than 4,000 food baskets in Montreal during Rosh Hashanah and Passover this year. We provided gift baskets to 1,000 families in Toronto during Hanukkah and Purim.
* Providing student scholarships. The costs of education have risen dramatically over the last decade. Some local B'nai Brith groups provide funding each year to students who demonstrate a high degree of involvement in human rights or other community issues.
* Visiting hospitals and seniors homes. Local B'nai Brith groups continue the tradition of visiting hospitals and seniors homes during the holidays to comfort the sick and the lonely. We also organize visits to children who are not able to go home for the holidays.
* Organizing outings for kids. Some children never have the chance to experience things like a professional sports event; a trip to an amusement park or the local bowling alley. Local B'nai Brith groups take great joy in making it happen. For example, each year we take Toronto inner city kids to see the Blue Jays baseball team in action.
* Sports and social programs for Jewish youth and adults. B'nai Brith runs athletic leagues and other programs to bring together Jewish youth and adults on a social and recreational basis, building friendships and a strong sense of community. 

Overcoming the forces of hate 

To live in peace and harmony is a fundamental human right. But in today's world, the opposite forces of hatred and violence seem to be gaining strength. We're seeing increasing hate on the Internet, harassment and even increased violence. B'nai Brith and police Hate Crimes Units across the country have corroborated a recent increase in racist and antisemitic activity.
B'nai Brith's League for Human Rights has long been at the forefront of the effort to stem the rising tide. We focus our work on two fronts: 

1. We report incidents and support the victims. Our Anti-Hate Desk tracks hate crimes against all minorities in Canada , with a focus on antisemitic incidents. We also maintain an Anti-Hate Hotline at 1-800-892-2624, which victims can call 24/7 for front-line counseling and assistance. 

2. We empower communities to take action. Our Taking Action Against Hate initiative is an educational forum that brings together different segments of our society, including community members and leaders, anti-racism experts, educators, students, media personalities, government and law enforcement representatives to increase networking and reinforce positive relationships. It teaches participants how to recognize hate and provides practical strategies to counter the trend of violence and hatred in our society. Plans for next year include creating a French version of the program to reach a wider audience across the country. 

"We believe in the power of awareness and education as a tool to combat hate and promote human rights," says Allan Adel, League Chair. "Our biggest enemies are indifference and ignorance. We need, and welcome, the support of the broader Canadian community to help us help the victims and bring the perpetrators to justice." 

In the future, the League will explore further use of legal means to halt or disrupt the operations of known terrorist organizations with representatives in Canada . The B'nai Brith legal department will play a key role in this effort. The department has a proud history of successful legal interventions. It includes prominent members of Canada's legal community led by renowned human rights lawyer David Matas.
"Our legal system can be an effective instrument to combat antisemitism, hate and racism," says Mr. Adel. "We will continue to take an innovative approach to dealing with legal issues."

Strengthening Canada-Israel relations 

There have always been deep ties between Israel and the Jewish community in Canada . B'nai Brith's Canada Israel Public Affairs Committee (CIPAC) works to strengthen those bonds, while promoting greater understanding and support from the broader Canadian public.
One of B'nai Brith's most recent initiatives was to sponsor a formal 15-week dialogue series in Montreal to encourage increased Judeo-Christian understanding. With continued support from the community, we hope to condense this program into a more concentrated program and distribute it widely to both Christian and Jewish communities across Canada . The demand and the interest is there ­ "and it's growing," says Amos Sochaczevski, Chair, Institute for International Affairs.
"We want to take advantage of every opportunity to promote a better mutual understanding between Canada and Israel ," he says. "As we dialogue with other community groups we begin to remove the barriers to unity and understanding. We can also more effectively act to correct some of the negative misperceptions about Israel created by the media." 

Highlights 

Other key B'nai Brith initiatives to promote positive Canada-Israel relations include: 

* Representing Canadians concerned about Israel in the public arena by responding to biased reactions to Israel's policies on the part of government, the media, human rights groups, unions and other public groups. For example, we have organized a weekly Friday rally in Montreal to counterbalance virulently anti-Israel demonstrations staged there on a weekly basis.
* We engage in regular consultations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure open lines of communication and relay the community's concerns to the government.
* We provide an educational and leadership development program that includes public lectures with world-class experts, confidential briefings on sensitive topics, advocacy training and briefs and publications on important international issues.
* We work to counter the aggressive anti-Israel propaganda that has surfaced recently at campuses across this country. We are now in the process of creating an information piece to explain to students the issues Israel is facing. It will be distributed as a special insert to every major Canadian university campus newspaper.
* We arrange missions to Israel that bring Canadian Jews, Christians and diverse groups of national, regional and local community leaders together.
For example, in August 2004, the largest aboriginal representation ever from Winnipeg visited the Holy Land. The inspiration for the trip stemmed from last year's B'nai Brith Canada's Holocaust and Hope Study Tour to Israel, which was specially arranged for aboriginal educators in the wake of the Ahenakew Affair.
* We provide a broad forum for deepening Christian understanding of Judaism, Zionism, the challenges Israel faces, as well as the universal threat of terrorism to all democracies. Through a strategic alliance with pro-Israeli Christian groups, we ensure that our message is delivered to a wider spectrum of Canadian communities.

DR. FRANK DIMANT 
VICE PRESIDENT, B'NAI BRITH CANADA  

Dr. Frank Dimant, as one of Canadian Jewry's senior leaders, is a frequent lecturer, writer and media commentator on both Israeli and Middle East affairs and World Jewish issues.
He is Executive Vice President of B'nai Brith Canada and the C.E.O. of the organization's Institute for International Affairs and the League for Human Rights. He also serves as publisher of Canada's largest circulated Anglo-Jewish publication, The Jewish Tribune. Dr. Dimant is co-editor of the history of Canadian Jews entitled "From Immigration to Integration", published in 2001.
Frank Dimant has lead B'nai Brith Canada missions to destinations throughout the world, including Ethiopia, The Soviet Union, Hungary, Romania, Poland, China, Germany, England, France and Lebanon. He also accompanied Canada's Prime Minister on an official delegation to Auschwitz, and was part of the Prime Minister's entourage to meetings in Israel. He was also a member of the Minister of Trade's delegation for the signing of the Free Trade Agreement.
He currently serves on the Global Forum on Antisemitism and is also a member of the Va'ad Hapoel of the World Zionist Organization and the Jewish Agency for Israel. In addition, he has been invited as a consultant to the Departments of Justice and Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada Consultation in Ottawa.
He was awarded a commemorative medal marking the 125 th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada and has been honoured for his leadership by the State of Israel Bonds organization. He has received tribute from the City of Tel Aviv in recognition of helping to create two Family Medical Clinics in underprivileged areas of the city. In the early part of 2003, Frank Dimant was honoured with the Queen's Jubilee Medal commemorating the anniversary of Her Majesty the Queen's ascension to the throne.
In May of 2004, Dr. Dimant was presented with a family Coat of Arms in recognition of his leadership in the Canadian community. In an unprecedented event, the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario personally made the presentation to Dr. Dimant. Frank Dimant was also presented an Honorary Doctorate from Canada Christian College for his commitment to creating true partnerships with the Christian community. Frank Dimant was the first member of the Jewish community to be honoured by the college.
Frank Dimant is married to Florence Kupfert, a noted educator who is Chair of the English Department at Eitz Chaim Schools. They have three children, daughter, Aviva married to Simcha Zieleniec, Miriam, married to Avi Klein, and son Arie Dimant. Three grandchildren, Menachem Moishe, Amiel Shmuel and Chava Neshama Zeleniec live with their parents in Jerusalem.
 
FATHER ELIAS CHACOUR
www.meei.org

Elias Chacour was born November 29, 1939 in the village of Biram in Upper Galilee in Arab Palestine, to a Palestinian Christian family, members of the Melkite Catholic Church, an Eastern Byzantine Church in communion with Rome.
At the age of eight years, he experienced the tragedy of his people. He was evicted, along with his whole village, by the Israeli authorities and became a deportee and a refugee in his own country, the Palestine of his birth. Because he remained in the country of his forefathers, he was granted citizenship of Israel when the state of Israel was created in 1948.
Father Elias Chacour came to Ibillin as a young priest in the 1965. He quickly saw the lack of educational opportunities for Palestinian youth beyond the 8th grade. A vision of a school for all the children of Israel began to take shape in his mind. Today, this vision has become a reality in the village of Ibillin, Galilee.
In the early 1980’s, on an empty hillside now known as the Mount of Light, a classroom building was begun. The newly formed high school moved from temporary quarters in the community center to the new building as soon as it was ready. The original High School has expended considerably and the history and background speaks of the expansion on the Mount of Light.
He has become an ambassador for non-violence and someone who not only preaches, but lives, the Sermon on the Mount. He travels often between the Middle East and other countries around the world. In addition, hundreds of groups of visitors, fact-finding missions, and pilgrims have visited and continue to visit with him in Ibillin. He has received many International peace awards and been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize on three occasions. On March 10th, 1994, Father Elias Chacour received the prestigious World Methodist Peace Award that has been presented in the past to such pilgrims for peace as former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and the late Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat. On Feb 19th, 2001, Abuna was announced to be the recipient of the Niwano Peace Prize.
Abuna (Arabic for Father, the affectionate and respectful term given to their priests) is the author of two “best selling” books, Blood Brothers and We Belong to the Land.
Blood Brothers covers Abuna's childhood growing up in the town of Biriam in Northern Israel, his development into a young man, and his early years as a Priest in the Melkite (Greek Catholic) Church in Ibillin, Galilee. This book has been translated into 28 languages. The first six chapters of Blood Brothers can be read in eBook here. You may order this book online at Barnes and Nobel.com or Amazon.com.
Abuna's second book We Belong to the Land includes many stories of his work in the development of Mar Elias Educational Institutions, from humble beginnings to major schools for educating Palestinian young people and for helping to bring about reconciliation in a land of strife. This book has been translated into 11 languages.

LIGHT FOR ALL NATIONS & NIZAR SHAHEEN
www.lfan.com

Light For All Nations is an evangelistic television ministry that focuses its outreach to Arabic-speaking people. It is a registered charity in Canada and the United States . It is an independent corporation that often works in cooperation with other Christian ministries. Light For All Nations recognizes the importance of a local body of believers and, as a result, has helped to birth several new churches. It also serves to link viewers to believers and is an “arm” of the local church.
Light For All Nations was founded in 1984, making it the first and longest-running Arabic language Christian television program. God gave the vision for the ministry to Nizar Shaheen from Cana of Galilee in the Holy Land . The ministry began production in Toronto and was aired on a local station. Three years later, Light For All Nations began on a channel that reached six countries in the Middle East . In 1988, the ministry spread to cover all of Canada and some parts of the United States on the Vision TV Network. The Middle Eastern coverage increased greatly in 1996 when the ministry began on a satellite station. Light For All Nations is currently on four satellites, broadcasting four times daily, with a potential viewing audience of over 400 million people - covering all of North Africa, the Middle East, the Gulf countries, and much of Europe. Light For All Nations is also aired on some local and national stations, such as in Sudan , Lebanon , and Tanzania .
The ministry of Light For All Nations boldly proclaims the wonderful Good News of Jesus Christ and powerfully declares the Word of God. We invite people to accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour, offer Bibles and discipleship/Christian learning materials. Since we strongly believe in the power of prayer, we provide a toll-free number for our viewers to call in with their prayer requests, accept Jesus into their hearts, or receive spiritual encouragement. The response has been great, and thousands of people have come to know the Lord. We often make referrals to local pastors, for we desire to see every new believer grounded and growing in their faith.
Light For All Nations is a vital and relevant outreach that presents the Gospel using the media of television in a professional, high quality, and attractive manner. Production takes place in Canada and the Holy Land . The host and producer, Nizar Shaheen, is an expert communicator and Bible teacher who is culturally sensitive and understands the Middle Eastern mentality, thus, with the empowering of the Holy Spirit, he is effective in reaching his people for the Lord. The topics, teaching, interviews, and music are geared to the general Middle Eastern populace, many of whom have misconceptions about Jesus Christ and the Bible. The truth is presented in a non-threatening, loving way that has been well-received and proven effective.
Light For All Nations operates through the regular giving of missions-minded people who are an integral part of the ministry. Our supporters share in the great harvest of souls and they make up an important prayer support team.
 
NIZAR SHAHEEN

Nizar Shaheen was born in Nazareth and raised in the nearby town of Cana of Galilee . He came to know the Lord Jesus as his Saviour through the witness of a missionary in his village. The call of God was clearly upon him, which was confirmed on three different occasions by the Lord's miraculously sparing of his life from death then speaking to his heart with the words from Isaiah 43:1, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; your are Mine.”
After his salvation, Nizar began to study Scripture and had a burning desire to preach and teach. Nizar committed his life to full-time service of the Lord and, after marrying Ellen Mainse from Canada (who had come to study in Jerusalem ), the young couple moved to Belgium where Nizar attended Bible college. During this time, the Lord put on Nizar's heart the vision of an Arabic language Christian evangelistic television program which would reach people in countries that are closed to missionaries – people who might otherwise never hear the Gospel.
In 1984, Nizar began to produce and host the Arabic language program Light For All Nations in association with Crossroads Christian Communications, Inc. (the 100 Huntley Street television program in Canada ). The Lord blessed the Light For All Nations program and it quickly spread from being aired in Toronto , to all across Canada and in some parts of the United States . In 1987, the program was aired on the Middle East Television station and, in 1996, the program began airing on satellite to reach Europe , North Africa , the Middle East , and the Gulf countries (the 10/40 window).
In 1996, after Light For All Nations became an independent corporation, the ministry branched out and Nizar returned to his homeland with his wife Ellen and their five children to produce the Arabic program from the Holy Land and tape many on-location Bible teaching segments. While the administration office remained in Canada , the Jerusalem office was equipped to fully produce the television program. During the five years that Nizar lived in the Holy Land with his family, the Light For All Nations program was enriched with much local and Middle Eastern content. Shortly before returning to Canada in the summer of 2001, the Lord blessed the Shaheen family with their sixth child.
For the year of 1999, Nizar taught the New Testament daily on the Canadian Christian television program, 100 Huntley Street via taped segments from the Middle East . Since October 1998, Nizar has been hosting an English program called Let There Be Light which is being aired by CTS in North America .
Nizar is an ordained minister of the Southern Baptist Convention in Israel and works closely with many churches of different denominations. He conducts revival meetings in Canada and abroad, and has held many seminars for married couples and youth. He has done many radio programs and hosted video productions for other Christian organizations. During the years 2000, 2001, and 2002, he hosted the Christmas specials produced by the national Israeli television station in the Arabic language (with Hebrew subtitles).
Nizar has extensive biblical knowledge, including the background and lands of the Bible as well as archeological knowledge of the Holy Land . He has written a devotional commentary on the entire Old Testament called Day Unto Day (published by Crossroads Christian Communications Inc. 1988, 1989) and a two-volume book entitled The Unique Christ (published by Crossroads Christian Communications Inc. and Castle Quay Books, 2002, 2003). Nizar has led several tours to the Holy Land for people from North America , and while living in Jerusalem , organized and hosted several one-day tours to significant places for local people. This afforded him the opportunity to preach the Gospel to many who do not attend church. Through these tours, many have experienced salvation.
Nizar is a gifted communicator in both the Arabic and English languages.
He was the recipient of the 2005 Individual Achievement Award in International Broadcasting from the NRB (National Religious Broadcasters). He is culturally sensitive and proclaims the Gospel boldly. The Light For All Nations ministry is well received and has resulted in many people coming to know the Lord Jesus as their Saviour. 

JEWS FOR JESUS & ANDREW BARRON
www.jewsforjesus.ca

“We exist to make the Messiahship of Jesus an unavoidable issue to our Jewish people world-wide."
Jews for Jesus Canada is a Jewish evangelistic agency dedicated to bringing the Gospel into places where a significantly Jewish testimony is needed. We were born here in 1981 as a result of an ongoing testimony in the United States that eventually demanded a permanent presence in Canada.
Jews for Jesus began as a result of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the United States circ. 1968-1973. This time was known as "The Jesus Movement". Many of these young cause-oriented hippies were Jewish and many came to know Jesus as their Messiah. While this was happening Moishe Rosen (the founder and present director) was developing progressive and relevant methods and principles of communicating the Gospel to Jewish people.
This was necessary because of the 'Implied Social Contract' in Jewish Culture. The contract stated that "Jews don't believe in Jesus. If they do they are no longer Jewish." This device of excommunication by definition is the primary defense mechanism of Jewish people against the Gospel message.
Because we are a Jewish mission and not a mission to Jews our approach is Jewish. Jewish people tend to relate to one another more intensely than non-Jews. We tend to be more emphatic in interpersonal communications. Too few have realized this, and consequently, the Gospel message has become irrelevant to Jews. The church has compounded the problem because it tends to avoid that which is difficult, and generally feels more comfortable with methods that are predictable in their presentation and response. This has led to the exclusion of our people from the Church's message.
We are one of the few mission agencies with organized opposition. Most Jews would be just as pleased if we would disappear and allow them to keep on ignoring what God wants all people to know. But, in a sense, this opposition is a tribute to our effectiveness. Those Christian scholars and missiologists who have studied our methods are most enthusiastic about our strategy, integrity, and ability to carry out the work. However, Christian leaders who endorse us draw much ire from Jewish leaders, and so very few do. For this reason, we have had to take much of the fire directly.
In theology we are not innovative, but represent mainline evangelical thought and preach the historic gospel upon which all true Christians agree. Our front-line missionaries are Jewish, and are ordained or commissioned by their own churches and approved to our ministry. Educational requirements are strict and most of our missionaries are at or near the Master's level in theology or missions education.
Many in Canada have stood with us and supported our efforts. For this we are thankful. We invite your involvement too. Our public approach is bold in that we may often be seen handing our own special brand of Gospel tracts on the streets of Toronto and other major cities. Our personal approach, though, is sensitive. Our missionaries are trained to be sharp and perceptive, yet gentle and caring.
Please call or e-mail us if you have Jewish friends that you know are open to the Gospel. Most Jews hear about Jesus from people like you. So if you want to have an adventure in witnessing, witness to your Jewish friends! Our Toronto office is stocked with the most up-to-date and progressive literature and books available in Jewish missions today. We also have a monthly newsletter at no cost to the interested Christian. Our missionaries are trained to present visual and practical demonstrations for the body of Christ. Contact us to schedule a presentation at your church or fellowship meeting. To schedule our mobile evangelistic music team, the Liberated Wailing Wall, please e-mail or call us at 416-441-0807.  You may view current our speaking itineraries in Canada or in the US.
Most people know Jews who were for Jesus as a reality in apostolic times. The Christian era began with converted Jews preaching to Gentiles. But in reality they weren't "converted Jews" - they were converted sinners who were Jewish!! They never renounced their heritage or the faith of their fathers. They were very Jewish. But then again isn't believing in Jesus a very Jewish thing to do!

ANDREW BARRON

I was a scientist, an engineer. The only God I could bring myself to believe in was far too busy coordinating the clockwork of the cosmos to concern himself with me, and I saw little reason why I should concern myself with him. Faith in a God who actually cared would be intellectual suicide. Unless, of course, God was not who Spinoza and Einstein made him out to be.
Sometimes people walk up to me--people I don't even know--and say, "Why don't you get a real job?" I'm not a panhandler, I'm not on welfare; I'm not even a starving artist. The fact is, I'm a fairly well-fed, decently-dressed working man. The question of my employment isn't really a question; it's a comment on the fact that some people don't think too highly of my occupation. They might be surprised to know that I left my "real job" working on the space shuttle program at Martin Marrietta to work with Jews for Jesus. So how did a nice Jewish boy like me end up becoming a missionary?
My name is Andrew Mark Barron. My parents were born and raised in New York City. I spent the first year of my life (1959) in that bastion of Jewish civilization known as Brooklyn; then my family moved to Queens and there we stayed until I was 11.
Our Conservative synagogue in Queens both puzzled and fascinated me. While it seemed to me that the velvet-lined pews were not meant for something so mundane as sitting, they lent a certain elegance to worship. The first thing one saw upon entering our synagogue was a huge golden plaque engraved with a list of names of people's dead relatives. I silently wondered why people paid to write their loved ones' names on that big brass list, and why, on special days, a lamp next to the plaque was lit. Once inside the sanctuary.  I was momentarily awed by the majestic altar, the very size and beauty of which seemed to command admiration and respect.
Then the service would begin. Almost mechanically, I would stand up for certain parts and then sit down again. My mind wandered and I wondered--wondered about things like why God cared if we sat or stood. And why did we have to whisper in the sanctuary? Perhaps these rituals had something to do with keeping away evil spirits. It didn't occur to me to ask; it seemed natural for "religious" things to be mysterious. Though there was much I did not understand, I developed an early awareness of God and the fact that things pertaining to him were to be somehow set apart from the ordinary.
The first person who told me about loving God was my Hebrew school teacher. I was 10 years old when I began attending cheder after school. We had a class of about 25 boys and girls which met twice a week. Our teacher was also the synagogue cantor. I don't remember his name but I do remember that he told us he loved God. I hadn't ever thought of God as someone to be loved.
I never forgot my teacher's explanation of why he prayed when he awoke each morning. He told us that when we sleep, our bodies are close to death. To wake each morning was a miracle, and a sign of God's ownership and watchful care over our bodies. He thanked God each morning for letting him wake instead of leaving him to sleep forever.
I rode my bicycle 4 kilometers to Hebrew school in the winter and was pleased to think that, like my teacher, I was doing something to make God happy. I remembered hearing how Abraham Lincoln walked for many kilometers in the dead of winter to return a book. Maybe I would become the first Jewish President and people would tell stories about how I'd ridden to Hebrew school in the freezing cold!
Everyone in New York City was Jewish, or at least it seemed like it. But when I was 11 years old, we moved to Monroe, in upstate New York, and I discovered that I was in a minority. My mother explained that being Jewish was special. We were obligated to have higher morals and stricter intellectual standards than others. She often pointed out that many of the world's greatest achievers were Jewish: people like Albert Einstein and Jonas Salk. Their great accomplishments, she explained, were due to the fact that they were Jews.
I enjoyed knowing that I was different from the others, and that I was destined for greatness. My mother probably intended that I develop just enough pride to hold fast to my Jewish identity in the midst of a Gentile society. She succeeded, but I may have gotten a bit of an ethnic "superiority complex" in the process.
Childhood memories of Jewish life snap to focus when I recall the aromas which seemed to herald most of our holiday observances. Our nostrils twitched as the pungent sting of ammonia signalled the coming of Passover. Then their was the must and dust of my yearly trek into the attic to retrieve our Passover dishes. And, finally, there were the fragrances of chicken soup, tzimmis, brisket and chicken. My grandmother's deft hands separated the egg whites from the yolks as she prepared her famous desert and when she put it in the oven to bake, the whole house was filled with the sweet aroma of "the-most-delicious-spongecake-you-have-ever-tasted."
I loved to breathe in the scent of the fresh-cut wood when it came time to build the huts for Sukkot. And Purim was great for the fresh-baked smell of hamantaschen, not to mention the delicious taste! But even more than the holiday cookies, I enjoyed raising the ruckus which was only permitted in the synagogue on that one incredible night of the year. As we cheered Mordecai and booed wicked Haman throughout the reading of the megilla, I think my voice was the loudest of all!
My ideas of God changed as I grew older. When I was 14 years old, I watched my grandmother die a slow and painful death which resulted from hardening of the arteries in her brain. She had been an altruist all her life. Where had it gotten her? What good had it done her to keep all the religious rituals so faithfully? In 1974, Grandma Jenny's name was added to the brass plaque in our synagogue in Monroe. I thought bitterly that if such was her reward, it left much to be desired. The thought of a loving God seemed absurd.
I began to wonder about the distinctions between Jews and Gentiles, and why they were separated. One day I was playing basketball with some friends when a man came to join us. As he approached the court, one of the boys mumbled to me that he was a priest and asked me if I was allowed to play with him!
I considered my friend's question. Once I had visited a Catholic church and wondered if being there would somehow make me dirty. Now in high school, I wasn't sure if I was supposed to worry about being contaminated by this basketball-playing priest or vice versa. But the court was a far cry from the Catholic church, so I decided it wouldn't hurt me to play ball with him. If he had a problem about playing with me, well, what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.
Thoughts of Jesus were few and far between. I assumed he was Catholic. I figured that the Gentiles were looking for a way to be more like Jews, so they built a religion around a Jew who was Catholic. I might have realized how silly that was had I given it more thought, but saw no reason to bother about it.
After High School, I saw my self as a sophisticated college student...which meant that I had no tolerance for superstition and no need for God.
In college, I became friends with Dr. Cissy Petty. Cissy was the director of student activities and my boss. I did part-time office work to earn a little extra pocket money. One day she told me that Jesus was my Saviour. At first I thought she was crazy, but then I realized that she probably didn't realize who I was. Therefore, I informed her that I was Jewish, expecting that she would immediately realize her mistake. But she still thought that Jesus was my Saviour! In addition, she asked what being Jewish meant to me. I wasn't certain how to answer.
To me, being Jewish was sort of a birthright to success. After all, I was following in the footsteps of Albert Einstein and Jonas Salk!
I shrugged off the fact that Cissy thought being Jewish shouldn't keep me from believing in Jesus. But I could not shrug off the fact that she lived differently from every one else I knew. She acted as though God were actually watching. She had a morality that seemed to be more than a social standard. C.S. Lewis described it when he wrote: "There is something above and beyond the ordinary facts of men's behavior, and yet quite definitely real--a real law, which none of us made--but which we find pressing on us."(C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Macmillan Publishing Co., 30.) It was amazing to observe God's reality in Dr. Petty's life. She gave me a Bible towards the end of my senior year: the inscription was dated May 20, 1981. I accepted it only to avoid hurting her feelings.
Cissy Petty was just one of the many reasons for me to begin thinking about God again. A book called God and the Astronomers, written by a famous astrophysicist named Robert Jastrow piqued my interest. Jastrow was convinced that the creation account was backed by science. Even though he wrote as an agnostic, there was something in his conclusion that jolted me into thinking more seriously about God. Jastrow wrote, "For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the Power of Reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the final peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries." (Robert Jastrow, God and the Astronomers, New York: W.W. Norton & Co. Inc.,1978, 116.)
I majored in Space Science at the Florida Institute of Technology, so I spent hours and hours up in the observatory. Sometimes I paused from observing the stars and planets to wonder if I, too was being observed. It was the strangest feeling, but studying the vastness of the universe just naturally led me to think about God. One night a friend and I were watching a spectacular meteor shower. As we counted the "shooting stars", he mused over the thought of the planet earth as a mere experiment in someone's gigantic petri dish--in which case he said all our striving and the meaning we attribute to life would be a ridiculous joke.
I was not given to such cynicism, but I did wonder how a God who was busy making the sun shine and keeping the planets with all their moons in orbit could possibly care about me. I believed God existed because of the phenomenal order to the universe; yet I felt that human beings were far to miniscule for his notice.
Upon graduation I moved to Denver, Colorado, to take a job with Martin Marietta. They paid me quite well considering I was "fresh out of college." I wasn't surprised that my dreams of success were becoming a reality, but I still could not resolve the spiritual questions I had begun to ponder in college. I had expected my knowledge of science to supersede my belief in God. Instead, it seemed to point to his existence, to insist upon it in a way that I could not ignore.
It came time for a holiday and I went back to Florida. While there, I visited my friend Cissy. She gave me a Jews for Jesus pamphlet and I addresses a note requesting more information to their headquarters in San Francisco. I don't remember much of what the pamphlet said except the title, "Hospital Tsuris," and frankly, I forgot about writing the note until three or four months later when the response came.
One of their staff, Mitch Glaser, ended up with my note just before a trip he had scheduled to Denver. I was surprised when he called and introduced himself over the telephone, but I agreed to meet with him. Mitch and I had a good rapport, and he was able to answer some of my questions about how a person could be Jewish and believe in Jesus. Still, I wasn't quite ready to believe. I had oral surgery the day before and had taken plenty of Percodan to kill the pain. I knew I wasn't quite myself, so I told Mitch that I was probably crazy to even be thinking about Jesus.
I felt much better the next night, so I went with Mitch to watch him do a presentation about the Passover. He talked about the Jewish roots of the Christian faith and explained how Jesus' death and resurrection were in keeping with God's plan for redeeming our people even as far back as Moses. Before he left, Mitch put me in contact with Eliezer, who works with the American Board of Missions to the Jews. Eliezer is an older Jewish believer in Jesus whom Mitch new to be a wise and godly man.
From the first time I walked into his home, it reminded me of my grandmother's house. First their was the familiar smell of moth balls in the closet when I went to hang up my jacket and then the aroma of chicken soup wafting in from the kitchen--I felt at home instantly! Eliezer and his wife, Sarah, might believe in Jesus, but they were mishpochah, they were Jews.
I spent time with Eliezer and observed the people who came to his home for Bible studies. I was impressed by the way they related to God, especially in prayer. It was incredible to hear people praying for daily concerns, not needing a liturgy to approach the Maker of the Universe.
Eliezer and I read the Bible together. We studied the messianic prophecies, and we read from the Gospels so I could see for myself who Jesus was and what he taught. "The Sermon on the Mount" from the book of Matthew really took me by surprise. I saw that people can be clean on the outside, and still be dirty on the inside. I realized that one didn't have to be a criminal by societies standards in order to be a sinner in God's sight.
I had grown in my reverence for God. I knew he was real, and that he was holy. I knew I was separated from him because I couldn't measure up to his standards. I wanted to be part of the people he called his own.
The biggest obstacle between me and Jesus was my pride. I was a scientist, an engineer. Until now, the only God I could bring myself to believe in was far too busy coordinating the clockwork of the cosmos to concern himself with me, and I'd seen little reason why I should concern myself with him. I had a couple of words to describe faith in a God who actually cared--intellectual suicide.
No one could explain to me why the Creator of the Universe should care about his people, but after confronting Scripture I knew God is not who Spinoza and Einstein had made him out to be. He is not some impersonal force. He is a personal creator who made us because he wants to be involved in our lives. He constructed us with souls that can be fed only by his hand. I concluded that believing God cares is not intellectual suicide-- believing that he doesn't care is spiritual starvation.
I came to faith in Jesus as my Messiah on May 20, 1982. I went home that night to read the Bible Cissy had given me. I was astounded to see her simple inscription: From Cissy Petty to Andrew Barron, May 20, 1981. It had taken exactly one year from the time she had given me that Bible to the time that I finally read it...as a believer in Y'shua.
Cissy had challenged me to think about spiritual matters. But somehow, it took other Jews who believed in Jesus to help me overcome my prejudices. When I realized I could be helping my people discover the Messiah, building space shuttles, exciting as it was, no longer seemed like a career for me. I can't be angry with people who tell me to get a "real job." If they'd just look to God with an open mind, they'd know that the job of proclaiming his Messiah is very real.