WANNA-BE JEWS DEDICATE TORAH SCROLL

Many Jewish news outlets reported on a Torah dedication at Congregation Temple Bethel in Philadelphia. From the headlines you would think this was a normal Torah dedication at a Jewish synagogue.

Headline on ynetnews

African-American Jews gain acceptance
Congregation of African-American Jews in Philadelphia reaches out to broader Jewish community in bid to persuade Jews to break through racial division.

but here are some interesting excerpts from the article

The founder of Temple Beth'El, Louise Dailey, studied with a rabbi, but was not ordained by a recognized branch of Judaism. The synagogue has a kosher kitchen and a mikvah, or ritual bath, but Dailey also adopted some traditions that are alien to the ancient faith. Congregants called her "Mother Dailey," and she ordained Bowen, her daughter, before she died.

and

The ceremony was a mix of Hebrew readings and shouts of "Hallelujah!" — a worship style typical of African-American churches. The booming music came from what Christians would call a "praise band" — with electric guitars, drums and keyboard. There was a dress code — another unusual tradition for Jews — of blue, silver or white clothing. Bowen's garb was far from typical for a rabbi. She wore an elaborate, flowing white gown — like a wedding dress — with matching white shawl and a yarmulke.

The Jewish Exponent reported

At the start of the ceremony dedicating the congregation's new Sefer Torah, Rabbi Debra Bowen of Congregation Temple Beth'El in Philadelphia summed up the situation: "I'm beside myself, as are most of Congregation Temple Beth'El," she said. "We've been unable to sleep, unable to eat -- and our medical personnel have told us that we have 'Torah fever.' " Congregants of all ages came in droves for the big event at the largely African-American "Conservadox" shul in West Oak Lane.

But here are some telling excerpts from their article

When the congregation's response wasn't lively enough, Bowen reached into her soulful rabbinic arsenal for a guaranteed reaction: "I need to get some hallelujahs!" "This is how we daven!" exclaimed Bowen. The predominantly African-American synagogue occupies an unusual place in the Jewish communal landscape: a vibrant, lively Jewish congregation comprised of a population not traditionally thought of as Jewish.

The article claims the founder, Louise Elizabeth Dailey, converted to Judaism but the "shul's" website doesn't say anything about a conversion in the bio on Dailey. It does however say that Rabbi Debra A Bowen, who is Daily's daughter, received her ordination from her mother. According to the website, Dailey was a baptist (xian) non-Jew. She decided to call herself a Jew and teach others "Judaism". When she got a following she decided to buy a building and call it a "synagogue".
Congregation Temple Bethel runs a Hebrew Academy that teaches the New Testament along with Mishna and Talmud. The following is an excerpt from the website

The year 1995 was a milestone for Congregation Temple Beth `El. We were blessed with Rabbi Dahton Nasi as our Temple Rabbi who is an erudite scholar and a wonderfully warm and approachable person. Prior to his membership with Congregation Temple Beth`El, Rabbi Nasi served as Temple Rabbi and spiritual leader at Adath Emet Yisrael from 1962 to 1972. He received his rabbinical ordination documentation in 1962 after completing the required courses at a private university and at Rutgers College. Among his credentials beyond his Teudah at S'meechut is a Doctor of Divinity degree from the American Bible Institute. He also concentrated on such elective disciplines beyond his Rabbinic and Hebraic studies as counseling and applied psychology. Additional accomplishment of Rabbi Nasi is that he was founder and administrator of the Jehu S. Zebulun Hebrew School of Hebrew and Cognate Studies.

These people are not Jews. They are just observing another form of xianity mixed with Judaism. As if there weren't enough fake Jews around with the messianic Jews, Ephraimites, Hebrew roots xians, Netzarim, Black Hebrews/Israelites.

How does it happen?

These days you can never know for sure who it really is that is davening next to you in shul.

For Jerusalem's Hebrew-speaking Catholics, Jewish identity is cardinal

"...Neuhaus, the community's vicar, is a 46-year-old Jesuit priest raised as a Jew in South Africa. His path to Catholicism began when his parents sent him to study in a yeshiva in Jerusalem as a teenager. Neuhaus told of how in Jerusalem, he met a Russian-Orthodox nun related to the family of the last tsar of Russia, Nicholas II. "I was 15, and she was 89," Neuhaus carefully explained. "She had an incredible influence over me from a spiritual standpoint. She radiated the presence of God. Her influence raised many spiritual questions about my faith." Neuhaus promised his parents that he would discuss his religious direction with them and wait 10 years before making a final decision. He did as he promised, converting and becoming ordained at the age of 26.... "Many of our members attend synagogue as an act of solidarity."

An Enlightening Article

One insight into why our people are at risk from missionaries:

The Dead-End of Jewish Culture

Xian "love" will destroy your soul

EXCERPTS FROM CASPARI MEDIA REVIEW MARCH 31

Anti-missionary Activities

HaModia, March 25 (pp. 1, 5), 26, 2009

Under the headline "Arad: Increase in missionary violence against city residents," HaModia (March 25, p. 5) reported the alleged incident in the following manner: "A shocking incident of assault took place last Thursday, near the meeting place of the mission on Gil'ad St. Two innocent residents stood there, exercising their legitimate right to inform passersby of the deceptive activity designed to convert being conducted in the building by the missionaries, and the need to keep a distance from the place and their crowds. The missionaries, whose anger is greatly aroused by protest activities of this kind, decided to attack the two men. All along, the missionaries have been attempting to present themselves as Jews and thus capture innocent Jews in their snare. The moment they understood that the two were endeavoring to expose their true purpose, they began to use physical violence. As already stated, last Thursday, another grave case of assault took place on the part of the missionaries, who pursued the men and tried to attack them in a very serious and extraordinary manner. By the grace of heaven, the two men managed to escape without harm. Yad L'Achim has reported that a complaint has been lodged with the police in Arad over the incident and that it is hoped that those responsible for the assault will be brought to trial. Orthodox elements in Arad told HaModia that the violence perpetrated by the mission in the city is one of the most well known cases and that the missionaries are a thorn in their side because they try to disguise themselves as 'compassionate and good people' in order to attract people and snare them in their net. It was further reported that the person responsible for the mission in the city's market, a man infamous in the past for having hit and injured residents and damaged their property, has been under house arrest recently, until his trial, scheduled for the coming months, is held. The man has been revealed as a danger to the public because of his serial violence and grave attempts to harm residents. People who see him wandering around outside their houses are requested to report the incident to the police on the grounds that he is violating the terms of his house arrest. Among the incidents of missionary violence was the wounding of a disabled IDF soldier whom they beat severely. Arad residents are waiting to see how the law enforcement authorities will act to restore peace and security to the city."

According to the same paper (March 25, p. 1), "dozens of Sha'arei Chesed [a Jerusalem neighborhood] residents will participate in the discussion to be held today in the district court regarding a petition to build a Christian prayer house in the neighborhood ... The petition, made by the Messianic congregation 'Netivyah,' was recently presented to the district court following the success of the residents' struggle in their appeal against the construction of the five-storey building ... According to the plans, the building will contain a large prayer hall and a conference hall, lecture- and class-rooms, and a kitchen and dining hall apparently intended to serve hundreds of outside visitors." One of the neighborhood residents was quoted as saying that the protesters include "'religious, traditional, and secular residents alike, with no distinction. This is an attempt to construct a huge public structure which will serve as a meeting place in the heart of a religious neighborhood. It's a serious disturbance and threat from all angles.'" The piece further reported that R. Shmuel Auerbach had given his support to the protest, stating that to do so was "'a biblical commandment [mitzvah d'oraita] to uproot idolatry from the land,'" it also being a mitzvah to participate in the court hearing.

HaModia (March 26) reported that that the "missionary" bulletin "Prayer for Israel" stated recently that "'[Binyamin] Netanyahu has promised us that he won't support any attempt on the part of the religious parties to pass a law stopping the activities of Israeli missionaries which is liable to prevent them from sharing their faith.'" Citing the "typical commentary" given by the bulletin, the article further cited it as saying, "'A radical right-wing government is a double-edged sword: while it safeguards Israel's national security, it doesn't protect the missionary organizations within the country. Our priority is naturally the protection of our fellow believers.'"

The Pope and the Vatican

Yediot Ahronot, March 25; HaModia, March 27; Haaretz, March 30; Jerusalem Post, March 30, 2009 Israel expects to spend six million shekels on the pope's visit to Nazareth alone, according to a report in Haaretz (March 30). Nazareth City Council has elected to "entrust organizing the mass to an external production company due to its complex logistical demands and the tight time frame. Organizers will still need to recruit funds for a satellite communication infrastructure to transmit the mass to a worldwide audience. They must also arrange security measures and organize transportation. The Vatican is expected to send Israel its guidelines and requests for the ceremony over the coming days. As of yet, Israel has received only the plan for the ceremony's set, part of which will comprise ancient artifacts."Yediot Ahronot (March 25) provided details concerning all 25 events scheduled during Benedict XVI's visit. Participants at these will be pre-invited guests only, whose background will be investigated before they are allowed to take part. Much of the preparation is linked to security issues, Israel being ready to field an assassination attempt on the pope's life or a terrorist attack designed to cloud the visit. The Vatican is also feeling the pressure of a German pope who grew up in Germany during the Holocaust visiting the Western Wall and Yad Vashem. It will thus take pains to ensure that none of his speeches contain controversial statements but attempt to appease everyone concerned - "Israelis, Palestinians, and members of all the religions." One logistical problem has already revealed itself: no building license has been issued for the construction of an amphitheater at the Mount Precipice in Nazareth, leading to fears that the Interior Ministry will forbid any such work and frustrate the planned mass.In light of the pope's upcoming visit, HaModia (March 27) joined the chorus of people perusing the history of Pius XII, stating that the answer lies hidden in the secret Vatican archives, which resemble a nuclear shelter.David Rosen, head of the American Jewish Committee's Department of Interreligious Affairs and chairman of the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations, contributed an opinion piece entitled "Pope Benedict XVI and the Jews" to the Jerusalem Post this week (March 30). Rosen suggested that the pope's efforts to restore relations with the Jewish community should come as no surprise to those familiar with his record: "He was the first pope to invite Jewish leaders both to the funeral of Pope John Paul II and, above all, to the celebration of his own ascension to the throne of St. Peter in 2005. Little more than a month later he received a delegation of the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations. This roof body, embracing the principle [sic] Jewish advocacy organizations as well as the major streams of contemporary Judaism, is the official partner of the Holy See's Commission for Religious Relations with Jewry. Notably he received this Jewish delegation almost immediately into his pontificate, before he had even received delegations from other branches of Christianity, let alone other religions." Citing several of Cardinal Ratzinger's writings and speeches, Rosen stated: "It is significant to condemn anti-Semitism as evil and it is remarkable to condemn it as 'a sin against God and man' as did Pope John Paul II (words that have been reiterated by Pope Benedict XIV himself). However to describe anti-Semitism as an assault against the very roots of Christianity means that for a Christian to harbor such sentiment is to attack and betray his own faith - a message of enormous pedagogical importance in the struggle against hatred directed towards Jews and Judaism." Finally, in relation to the State of Israel, Rosen wrote: "Not everyone in the Church has appreciated the central role that Israel plays in contemporary as well as historic Jewish identity. Pope Benedict XVI does, and he fully realizes that the relationship between the Vatican and the State of Israel is inextricably bound up with the relationship between the Jewish people and the Catholic Church."

Copyright 2009, Caspari Center.