Martyrs and Captured Babies

Hi Batya,

You pose a very thoughtful question!

Following Rabbi Brody’s lesson: yes, Jews for Jesus are considered “captured babies”. These people are almost totally ignorant of Judaism. They did not have a orthodox Torah education and grow up in a Torah-observant home.

Rabbi Tovia Singer is an internationally known expert in bringing Jews out of Christianity and back to Judaism. He has found that these precious souls do not get into Christianity because Christianity solves some theological conundrum. Rather, it solves some personal need. A warm, loving missionary gives this Jew a wonderful story about how everything is solved if he becomes a believer. The Jew is told that it is not necessary to convert to Christianity. He is still a Jew – a perfected Jew, a fulfilled Jew, a redeemed Jew!

How to respond to him? Rabbi Singer says that unless you are prepared and confident to cite passages from Tenach to counter this Jew’s “good news”, DO NOT ENGAGE. Simply tell the person that it is a private matter to you and you wish to keep it that way. If you think the person would be open to reading up about why Jews do not accept Jesus and the NT, suggest that this person read Rabbi Singer’s book “Let’s Get Biblical”. It’s excellent! Some “believers” read the book to find ways to counter Jews’ arguments, and instead, the “believer” himself returns to Judaism.

For more information about Jewish “believers” and missionaries, I recommend Rabbi Singer’s website Outreach Judaism and especially his YouTube channel.

Another response is to pray for this person and all other Jews that he might have influenced – that they return to the Gd of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ALONE.

What about Jews for Jesus? They identify as Jews but proselytize Christianity.

Are they to be viewed as kidnapped children if they meet the other halachic terms (i.e. grew up without a Torah education?)

I am not asking out of hateful motivation, but to know how to respond to overtures from a specific person in my life.