Each Friday we were having fellowship dinners, a 50/50 mix of Messianic and Secular Jews. In essence, the ‘haves’ (Believers and Secular) sharing Shabbat dinner with the ‘have-nots’ (Believers and Secular). Something about all this love sent the Datim into a frenzy.
On June 17th things really got out of hand when hundreds of Datim had us surrounded and sealed off. We who prepared the dinner couldn’t get out and the needy couldn’t get in.
Before the week was up they managed to have me barred from the Storefront for 15 days. What were we going to do about the up coming Friday night dinners?
As Friday, June 24th approached we got wind of the Datim’s intentions. They were gearing up for something even bigger than last week, with police permission to stand within spiting distance from us and our food.
Well, God gave us a wonderful game plan!
The Datim with their police escorts showed up…but we didn’t. We had rented a bus and had a brown bag / pot luck quiet Shabbat dinner, in a park on the outskirt of town.
And today, Friday the 1st of July, history repeated itself. Another quiet Shabbat dinner in the park!
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Edwin Beckford
July 1, 2005