An Open Letter to Rabbi Yosef Sheinin, Yad Lachim, and others

by Jim Linduff on Friday, March 11, 2011

The other day, I opened up my Twitter account and was forced to read some form of written vomit comparing me, personally, to Hitler due to the fact I am a Messianic Jew.  This was apparently both a mass characterization directed at all Messianic Jews, and a direct written insult to me. It was also the last straw; I do not intend to stand for much more abuse like this from corrupt, morally deficient, and officious religious officials who claim to be representative of the people of Israel, yet do everything within their power to destroy them from within. That would be you, Rabbi, your enablers and your followers, who abuse your authority, oppress others, and outright lie in order to advance your wicked agenda.  

 The author apparently thought he was defending Judaism from the likes of me. It would be comical, if it wasn’t such a histrionic and emotional outburst of sheer verbal vomit reduced to 140 written characters or less.  It was also an ignorant comment, and totally devoid of any fact, reason, logic, or qualitative exchange of ideals. I knew immediately that some “counter-missionary” must have felt some type of smug satisfaction from authoring it. I also knew that he was probably some Yeshiva student who thought he was doing the right thing, because he had been misled by the likes of you.

 A little research showed me exactly where the author came up with this little gem; it seems to have been a well received mantra at that recent masterpiece you, Rabbi Sheinin, orchestrated in Ashdod. Therefore, I hold you personally responsible, as a principal, and this is the reason I am writing this letter.  I’ll probably never know who the individual was who decided to send this little piece of Lashon hora ( לשון הרע) in my direction, as an accomplice in your histrionic hatred of Messianic Jews, but I really don’t care. I will pray for his repentance, and that he finds the truth, which is much more than he will apparently do for me.  

I challenge you to repent. You, of all people, know you are wrong, and have violated the Commandments of G-d. As a Messianic Jew, I know the law, and I know that I have an obligation under Leviticus 19:17 to rebuke sinners.  In regards to this obligation, consider yourself rebuked, and I honestly pray you will repent, and learn the Truth. I wont bore you with an attempt to convert you to Yeshua; I know as well as you do that it would be a waste of my time and yours.

 I am a realist. I know you won’t repent, and seek Yeshua, because finding the truth about Yeshua would cause you to lose everything you have worked for and would challenge everything you know due to the lies you and others have promulgated. Its easier to remain what we are; it’s a lot harder to sacrifice for the truth.  When you enjoy privileges in the society you live in due to your religious position, it would most likely be very difficult to admit you are wrong and turn your life around, so I suppose I cannot blame you for remaining in sin indefinitely to keep the adulation of men intact that you now enjoy, as well as the generous pension, deferment from military service, and other perks you enjoy.

Under the law, you, as a Rabbi, a Jew, and a citizen of Israel, are obligated to love all human beings who are of the covenant (Lev. 19:18), not stand by idly when a human life is in danger (Lev. 19:16), and not to wrong any one in speech (Lev. 25:17), carry tales (Lev. 19:16) cherish hatred in your heart (Lev. 19:17) bear a grudge (Lev. 19:18) put any Jew to shame (Lev. 19:17) or, most importantly, to curse any other Israelite (Lev. 19:14)  or to indulge in evil thoughts and sights (Num. 15:39). It would seem  that you need to spend a little time on your knees praying to G-d for repentance, Rabbi, and I certainly hope you see fit to take my rebuke seriously. You will stand before G-d for judgment the same as anyone else.  Due to the fact that you occupy a seat of authority, you will be held to a higher standard. Know this.

I recognize the fact that you are a Rabbi, and you probably spent years learning the Torah so you could become the Rabbi of Ashdod and sponsor these hideous rallies in your area of operations, which are nothing but carefully packaged and delivered festivals of hatred and discrimination.

 I also recognize the fact that you are considered a public servant, with a duty to protect and serve your constituents, and a Rabbinic court official. I would question your effectiveness at this serious judicial task, being a former Magistrate myself and familiar with court proceedings, due to your more than apparent lack of moral clarity as demonstrated by the rallies.

My largest concern in regards to you and your recent actions is the fact that you are appointed as a judge and officer in a community of Israel, which bears a certain amount of responsibility in the Torah that I cannot understate. There is an entire segment of Judaic law which applies to your actions. Therefore, you will recognize the validity of my argument as stated above, if you examine it honestly and do so from a neutral point of view, which I am absolutely sure you would not do.  

 I also understand that you, being Ultra Orthodox, will probably not want to hear a thing I have to say, and to that I would reply that I fully expect you to adopt that tactic because the superior message is the one being delivered in this letter. You are wrong, and you know it. You probably also know that it would be best for you to not answer this message.  

 If you do answer it , I expect you  will most likely offer some rationalization from the Mishnah or Gemarra to the call for repentance I have requested. To this, I will answer in the classical Messianic Jewish manner; which states that we shall not add unto the word of G-d or diminish it, but keep the Commandments of G-d. (Deut 4:2). Therefore, I will not accept your Talmudic explanation of your actions, or whatever justification it may offer you due to the fact that codified Rabbinic opinions, no matter how wise, do not carry more authority than the Torah.  

Faith is superior to rationalization, and bears much more honesty. Rationalization is for sinners. Faith combined with good works are indicators of the faithful of G-d. There is no other explanation needed.  I see no good works coming from you, so your fruit bears witness to your actions. It is evil, vile and despicable what you are doing, and if you do not have the moral clarity to recognize this, then you need to find another line of work.

In regards to comparison to Hitler, your characterization of Messianic Jews as being equivalent to Hitler is totally unacceptable, irresponsible, and is characteristic of classical incitement speech. You, being an educated man, know this, and bear full responsibility for the harm it causes, especially since you are Jewish and know how this tactic has been used against the people of Israel through the centuries.  

The fact that you are using this type of last ditch scare tactic confirms one fact that you care not to admit to your followers:   Messianic Jews bear the superior message in this exchange of ideals, and you feel a desperate desire to discredit them to advance your causes.  This is sinful, and you know it. It is oppressive, persecutory, and had the intended result of causing direct or indirect harm to individual Jews who are in the Covenant of Israel, and as a Rabbi, you also know that you need to repent for this.  I would go so far as to recommend you repent immediately for the harm you are causing to others, and really mean it. Remember, we will all stand before G-d to be judged, you included.

You may question my ability to call you to repentance, being an exalted Rabbi and all. Let me explain who I am, just so you know. You may feel free to take whatever information you gain from this letter to add me to your highly vaunted super secret squirrel Yad Lachim databases, and label me as a “Dangerous Messianic Jew”.  As a matter of fact, I would encourage it.  To assist you, I will gladly sign this letter so that you and your minions can view it without the aid of your glasses.  

I am an average guy, who works for a living. I served in the military, law enforcement, and as a Judicial officer. I have put my life on the line to help others many times. I am no one special, and I do not hold myself out to be anything important. Therefore, you will probably feel the urge to stomp all over me like you do others. Please understand this point, however; I will challenge you on every point, and I will not lie down and take it like a coward. I will look you in the eye every step of the way.

Sincere Regards

James Linduff