While on a college campus, I once met a student named Lisa who introduced herself as a “Messianic Jew.” To break the ice, I told her that I was also a Messianic Jew.
Her response remains etched in my memory: she asked if I was "pre or post" Messianic. I responded that I was "pre," waiting for the Messiah to arrive, while she insisted that she was "post" and that the messiah was already here.
After clarifying our differing perspectives, I suggested that since we have something in common, we should talk. So, we sat on campus for six hours, deeply immersed in a discussion about God, the Messiah, and the Tanach.
At the end of this conversation, Lisa expressed an interest in learning Hebrew. We began studying together every week, and I eventually invited her to join my family for Shabbat. She accepted the invitation, and rather than coming just for Shabbat dinner, she chose to stay with us for the entire Sabbath.
Lisa joined us for three consecutive Shabbats. At the conclusion of that third week, something remarkable occurred: she told my wife and me that she had experienced a profound spiritual awakening. She was finally open to hearing the Jewish response to Christianity.
I recognized the significance of this moment and recalled the Talmudic statement in Shabbat 118b where Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai said, “If Israel were to keep two Shabbats properly, they would be redeemed immediately.”
Our subsequent conversations focused on mistranslated proof texts and how the Tanach’s view of the messianic age has not been fulfilled. We then turned our discussion to the infinite nature of God, who is non-corporeal and transcends the limitations of time and space.
I could see that Lisa grasped this concept immediately. She proclaimed that she could no longer accept the doctrine of the Trinity or the belief that Jesus was God in human form, because the Trinity is more than a “mystery,” as Christians call it; it is a theological contradiction.
From that moment on, Lisa experienced a deep and personal relationship with God and immersed herself in the study of Judaism. Slowly, she decided to live her life according to the moral and spiritual teaching of the Torah, especially the Shabbat that had transformed her heart.
In the Torah portion of Emor, Leviticus 23:3 describes the observance of the Shabbat like this: “For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a Sabbath of complete rest, a holy gathering.”
Beyond the physical tranquility Shabbat offers, it provides a unique spiritual opportunity, when we are unburdened by the distractions of work and materialism, to find clarity and connection with God.
The public reading of this passage about Shabbat is close to the anniversary of the passing of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. We celebrate his life not only because he understood the transformative power of Shabbat, but also because he revealed the mystical dimension of Judaism that enables us to appreciate our infinite Creator.
May the merit of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai continue to inspire many more people like Lisa to return to their God-given heritage.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Bentzion Kravitz
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