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Jews for Jesus
MOISHE ROSEN, A SPOKESMEN AND LEADER OF JEWS FOR JESUS ANSWERS PERTINENT QUESTIONS ON THIS EXCITING NATIONWIDE MOVEMENT. WHAT IS THE ESSENCE OF THE JEWISH BIRTHRIGHT? WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A JEW FOR JESUS? WHY ARE SO MANY JEWS ACCEPTING JESUS CHRIST AS THEIR MESSIAH? HOW DID THE JEWS FOR JESUS MOVEMENT EVOLVE? WHAT ARE THE GOALS AND STRATEGIES OF ITS MEMBERS? HOW ARE JEWS FOR JESUS CONTRIBUTING TO THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH? HOW DOES ONE BECOME A COMPLETED JEW? WHAT EVANGELISM TECHNIQUES DO JEWS FOR JESUS USE? HOW ARE JEWS FOR JESUS ADAPTING THE CULTURAL TRADITIONS OF THE JEWISH RELIGION TO THEIR NEW BELIEFS? WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF THE JEWS FOR JESUS MOVEMENT?
126 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1974
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June 15, 2025
THE FOUNDER OF THE CONTROVERSIAL ORGANIZATION TELLS HIS STORY
Moishe (‘Michael’ was his birth name) Rosen (1932-2010) was raised by parents who were Reform Jews from Austria.
He wrote in the Preface to this 1974 book, “Because my life has involved more action than contemplation, it’s natural that this story, which is largely a personal account, should focus on encounter and confrontation, rather than on doctrine and theory… When a Jew claims to believe in Jesus, he is sure to generate controversy. I can only hope that the controversial passages in this book do not obscure the overriding purpose, which is to convey the tremendous impact that the Messiah has had on me and on the other Jews for Jesus.”
He recounts, “My father’s belief---‘religion is a racket’---made more and more sense to me as I got older. Jewish traditions might be all right, but liturgical rigamarole and irrelevant theology seemed to be all the local synagogue had to offer. I was a practical, hard-working young man, completely unspiritual. Like all good Jewish boys, I felt an intense loyalty to my family. But my ethical approach to the outside world was thoroughly pragmatic: I liked to get along with other people because life was easier that way, but I felt no particular desire to find a divine will for my life.” (Pg. 21)
Hie future wife, Ceil, “came from an Orthodox Jewish family which kept separate dishes and ate only kosher foods. But Ceil herself was a professed atheist who reacted violently against the restrictive customs that her family had imposed on her. I generally tried to observe the main fast days, such as Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, but she had nothing but contempt for such practices… Such antireligious influences didn’t make me to receptive when I met my first serious Christian. He was a young man named Orville Freestone, who introduced himself to me at a Denver bus stop on Yom Kippur in 1949. I had just attended a service at a synagogue… and he was returning from work.” (Pg. 21)
Freestone told him, “‘I’m all the more pleased to meet you because you’re Jewish… Every Jew I meet helps to increase my faith in God and the Bible, because every living Jew is evidence that the God of the Bible exists and that He keeps His word.’ … I had always thought the existence of Jews was some kind of affront to Christians because we denied that He was the Messiah and had actually killed him… I was absorbed by his knowledge of the Bible… and the apparent sincerity of his beliefs. But more than that… he believed in a glorious destiny for the Jewish people… He told me that one day Jews would bear the message of redemption to all the world. Rabbis and other Jewish teachers … had all seemed embarrassed by the idea of Israel as a chosen people… Orville gave me a pocket New Testament, and I promised to read it.” (Pg. 22)
But later, he mused, “If I read that book… then I might believe in Christ… [and] I will have become a Christian… And that means I will have joined the people who have persecuted us. It would amount to ethnic treason. My family would disown me, disinherit me. My friends would desert me. Other Jews would consider me… a betrayer to my people… If all the rabbis get together and say that Jesus is the Messiah, then maybe I’ll go along with them. In the meantime, it’s not my problem.” (Pg. 23)
He continues, “By rebuffing Orville I thought I had succeeded in pushing Christianity permanently out of my life, but I was wrong. The next spiritual onslaught came from… my atheistic wife…” She remembered later, “I had met Orville Freestone through Moishe, and I decided to get in touch with him and his wife… I had asked God to show me whether Jesus was the Messiah… So I asked Him to help me find somebody to talk to… Soon afterwards… a Hebrew-Christian missionary… came to our door…. The next day… I went to a Baptist church … I walked forward at the minister’s invitation and publicly professed my faith in Christ.” (Pg. 25)
Moishe asked his father whether he should get a divorce, and was told, “You can’t be serious about divorcing her. She’s a nice Jewish girl from a nice family.” (Pg. 26)
Soon, “I realized I actually believed what my wife had been saying… I told Ceil… We began to pray… We went to church the next morning… and I went forward and professed my faith publicly… My whole outlook on life changed drastically. If Jesus really was a Promised one… then it seemed important for me to learn all about Him…” (Pg. 27)
There were some cultural adjustments to make: “church services involve very little conversation … The synagogue is much noisier… I also had to learn not to get up and walk around because Jewish tradition permits the congregation to enter and leave at will during the 3-hour service.” After learning that there was no direct ‘cost’ for attending a Communion service, he thought, “That was a great improvement over the synagogue, where we had to buy tickets for most of the big events.” (Pg. 28-29)
He reports, “Both my mother and father had disowned me for the better part of the year that followed my announcement… of my decision to follow Jesus… no one in my family would talk to me. Jewish … friends shunned me.” (Pg. 35) Nevertheless, “Christianity was an all-or-nothing proposition for me, and that meant following to the letter every admonition and suggestion … of those in authority.” (Pg. 37)
Years later, “After we moved to Los Angeles, I continued to do outdoor speaking in the public parks. Because I was a Jew advocating Christianity, I managed to draw a variety of Jewish listeners… Jewish hecklers … always want to be the best. Their heckling is … [done] for sport.” (Pg. 45) He continues, “As I grew more adept in handling these tough outdoor audiences, I realized the most important skill… is storytelling, not abstract declamation.” (Pg. 46)
He recounts, “It would have been impossible to keep score of how many people I led to Christ… My journals show that in ten years of ministry … there were 265 Jewish [converts]… and about 1,100 Gentiles.” (Pg. 48) He told Jews, “I haven’t rejected [the Law]. Jesus said he came not to destroy but to fulfill the Torah. I know God is pleased when a Jew observes all the law, but I’ve never met a person who could do it.” (Pg. 49) He also told a man, “What often passes for Judaism today has no more relation to authentic, biblical Judaism than Unitarianism has to New Testament Christianity.” (Pg. 51) He also observes, “I’ve also had to learn to answer some distinctively Jewish moral arguments that don’t depend on religious doctrine [e.g., Hitler and the Holocaust].” (Pg. 52)
He says of the Jews for Jesus movement, “These young people, ranging in age from the late teens to the middle twenties, were attracted to Jesus by… His call for a total commitment. They joined a movement, not an organization… many of our young people came from the hippie subculture, where communal living and extended family units were a way of life… The hippie and Jewish tribal traditions have merged in the Jews for Jesus movement… But several attempts by hostile groups to infiltrate the tribe have forced us to examine more closely the apparent motives of anyone who expresses an interest in joining us.” (Pg. 75-76) He explains, “The Jews for Jesus have become controversial because of confrontation tactics… But demonstrating is only one of our means of confrontation.” (Pg. 88)
He acknowledges, “According to … Jewish law, a person is a Jew if his mother was Jewish or if he converts to Judaism… so we’re Jewish under the law… The problem we face is that not all rabbis and other Jewish leaders are willing to accept us as Jews.” (Pg. 95)
One of their members, Stuart Dauermann, “had developed a distinctively Jewish sound… His compositions make up the bulk of the repertoire of our touring singers, the Liberated Wailing Wall… [who are] introducing this music to thousands of Christians in church presentations around the country.” (Pg. 108, 111)
Rosen and his movement were always highly controversial; but this book is very helpful in understanding more about him and his organizations.
Moishe (‘Michael’ was his birth name) Rosen (1932-2010) was raised by parents who were Reform Jews from Austria.
He wrote in the Preface to this 1974 book, “Because my life has involved more action than contemplation, it’s natural that this story, which is largely a personal account, should focus on encounter and confrontation, rather than on doctrine and theory… When a Jew claims to believe in Jesus, he is sure to generate controversy. I can only hope that the controversial passages in this book do not obscure the overriding purpose, which is to convey the tremendous impact that the Messiah has had on me and on the other Jews for Jesus.”
He recounts, “My father’s belief---‘religion is a racket’---made more and more sense to me as I got older. Jewish traditions might be all right, but liturgical rigamarole and irrelevant theology seemed to be all the local synagogue had to offer. I was a practical, hard-working young man, completely unspiritual. Like all good Jewish boys, I felt an intense loyalty to my family. But my ethical approach to the outside world was thoroughly pragmatic: I liked to get along with other people because life was easier that way, but I felt no particular desire to find a divine will for my life.” (Pg. 21)
Hie future wife, Ceil, “came from an Orthodox Jewish family which kept separate dishes and ate only kosher foods. But Ceil herself was a professed atheist who reacted violently against the restrictive customs that her family had imposed on her. I generally tried to observe the main fast days, such as Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, but she had nothing but contempt for such practices… Such antireligious influences didn’t make me to receptive when I met my first serious Christian. He was a young man named Orville Freestone, who introduced himself to me at a Denver bus stop on Yom Kippur in 1949. I had just attended a service at a synagogue… and he was returning from work.” (Pg. 21)
Freestone told him, “‘I’m all the more pleased to meet you because you’re Jewish… Every Jew I meet helps to increase my faith in God and the Bible, because every living Jew is evidence that the God of the Bible exists and that He keeps His word.’ … I had always thought the existence of Jews was some kind of affront to Christians because we denied that He was the Messiah and had actually killed him… I was absorbed by his knowledge of the Bible… and the apparent sincerity of his beliefs. But more than that… he believed in a glorious destiny for the Jewish people… He told me that one day Jews would bear the message of redemption to all the world. Rabbis and other Jewish teachers … had all seemed embarrassed by the idea of Israel as a chosen people… Orville gave me a pocket New Testament, and I promised to read it.” (Pg. 22)
But later, he mused, “If I read that book… then I might believe in Christ… [and] I will have become a Christian… And that means I will have joined the people who have persecuted us. It would amount to ethnic treason. My family would disown me, disinherit me. My friends would desert me. Other Jews would consider me… a betrayer to my people… If all the rabbis get together and say that Jesus is the Messiah, then maybe I’ll go along with them. In the meantime, it’s not my problem.” (Pg. 23)
He continues, “By rebuffing Orville I thought I had succeeded in pushing Christianity permanently out of my life, but I was wrong. The next spiritual onslaught came from… my atheistic wife…” She remembered later, “I had met Orville Freestone through Moishe, and I decided to get in touch with him and his wife… I had asked God to show me whether Jesus was the Messiah… So I asked Him to help me find somebody to talk to… Soon afterwards… a Hebrew-Christian missionary… came to our door…. The next day… I went to a Baptist church … I walked forward at the minister’s invitation and publicly professed my faith in Christ.” (Pg. 25)
Moishe asked his father whether he should get a divorce, and was told, “You can’t be serious about divorcing her. She’s a nice Jewish girl from a nice family.” (Pg. 26)
Soon, “I realized I actually believed what my wife had been saying… I told Ceil… We began to pray… We went to church the next morning… and I went forward and professed my faith publicly… My whole outlook on life changed drastically. If Jesus really was a Promised one… then it seemed important for me to learn all about Him…” (Pg. 27)
There were some cultural adjustments to make: “church services involve very little conversation … The synagogue is much noisier… I also had to learn not to get up and walk around because Jewish tradition permits the congregation to enter and leave at will during the 3-hour service.” After learning that there was no direct ‘cost’ for attending a Communion service, he thought, “That was a great improvement over the synagogue, where we had to buy tickets for most of the big events.” (Pg. 28-29)
He reports, “Both my mother and father had disowned me for the better part of the year that followed my announcement… of my decision to follow Jesus… no one in my family would talk to me. Jewish … friends shunned me.” (Pg. 35) Nevertheless, “Christianity was an all-or-nothing proposition for me, and that meant following to the letter every admonition and suggestion … of those in authority.” (Pg. 37)
Years later, “After we moved to Los Angeles, I continued to do outdoor speaking in the public parks. Because I was a Jew advocating Christianity, I managed to draw a variety of Jewish listeners… Jewish hecklers … always want to be the best. Their heckling is … [done] for sport.” (Pg. 45) He continues, “As I grew more adept in handling these tough outdoor audiences, I realized the most important skill… is storytelling, not abstract declamation.” (Pg. 46)
He recounts, “It would have been impossible to keep score of how many people I led to Christ… My journals show that in ten years of ministry … there were 265 Jewish [converts]… and about 1,100 Gentiles.” (Pg. 48) He told Jews, “I haven’t rejected [the Law]. Jesus said he came not to destroy but to fulfill the Torah. I know God is pleased when a Jew observes all the law, but I’ve never met a person who could do it.” (Pg. 49) He also told a man, “What often passes for Judaism today has no more relation to authentic, biblical Judaism than Unitarianism has to New Testament Christianity.” (Pg. 51) He also observes, “I’ve also had to learn to answer some distinctively Jewish moral arguments that don’t depend on religious doctrine [e.g., Hitler and the Holocaust].” (Pg. 52)
He says of the Jews for Jesus movement, “These young people, ranging in age from the late teens to the middle twenties, were attracted to Jesus by… His call for a total commitment. They joined a movement, not an organization… many of our young people came from the hippie subculture, where communal living and extended family units were a way of life… The hippie and Jewish tribal traditions have merged in the Jews for Jesus movement… But several attempts by hostile groups to infiltrate the tribe have forced us to examine more closely the apparent motives of anyone who expresses an interest in joining us.” (Pg. 75-76) He explains, “The Jews for Jesus have become controversial because of confrontation tactics… But demonstrating is only one of our means of confrontation.” (Pg. 88)
He acknowledges, “According to … Jewish law, a person is a Jew if his mother was Jewish or if he converts to Judaism… so we’re Jewish under the law… The problem we face is that not all rabbis and other Jewish leaders are willing to accept us as Jews.” (Pg. 95)
One of their members, Stuart Dauermann, “had developed a distinctively Jewish sound… His compositions make up the bulk of the repertoire of our touring singers, the Liberated Wailing Wall… [who are] introducing this music to thousands of Christians in church presentations around the country.” (Pg. 108, 111)
Rosen and his movement were always highly controversial; but this book is very helpful in understanding more about him and his organizations.
May 8, 2019
I picked up this book at a used book sale for $1. Had heard of the "Jews for Jesus" organization, but knew very little about it and nothing about the founding leader Moishe Rosen.
What a pleasant read! To read how Moishe came to know Jesus Christ from a Jewish family and then how God used him to found the Jews for Jesus was fascinating! In addition, the book was a concise, short read (126 pages).
The start of chapter 9 begins with this quote by Stuart Dauermann: "In our society anyone whose religion matters is considered to be too religious. For most people, a religious faith is like a blood type. It's just something you put on your identification card, but it doesn't affect your life very much, except in emergencies." This is true in so many ways.
The Christian faith mattered so much to Moishe Rosen that he just had to tell others about Jesus. And he was especially burdened for his fellow Jews.
The following are some quotes taken from the book:
"Everyone who is an active member of our core group works, and works hard." p. 76
"We'll accept any sincere Christian, or sincere seeker after the truth, who shows a willingness to work." p. 76
"Accepting responsibility is the key to discipleship." p. 77
"Holy boldness is not a natural thing. It takes spirit-filled people to set aside their dignity and humble themselves and risk the abuse that confrontation might bring." p. 88
"For us, confrontation means that we have to be viable, visible, and vocal." p. 88
"In street clothes, denims, or informal dress we're able to identify with the culture and age group of the people we most want to encounter." p. 89
"I feel that one should dress according to the dictates of the situation." p. 89
"Effective evangelism often takes place within an arena of confrontation; yet many Christians hesitate to evangelize simply because they know that confrontation occasionally produces conflict, and they hope to avoid the unpleasantness that might occur. But if we're not willing to endure possible difficulties and risk possible rejection, we'll never be able to achieve much for God or experience much spiritual satisfaction." p. 90
"Jesus constantly mixed with the Jewish people, argued with them, forced them to think. So did Paul and the other apostles." p. 106
"I was a salesman before becoming an evangelist, and so I know that excessive puffing of the product in either field can have an unhealthy impact on unsuspecting, undiscerning individuals." p. 122
"
What a pleasant read! To read how Moishe came to know Jesus Christ from a Jewish family and then how God used him to found the Jews for Jesus was fascinating! In addition, the book was a concise, short read (126 pages).
The start of chapter 9 begins with this quote by Stuart Dauermann: "In our society anyone whose religion matters is considered to be too religious. For most people, a religious faith is like a blood type. It's just something you put on your identification card, but it doesn't affect your life very much, except in emergencies." This is true in so many ways.
The Christian faith mattered so much to Moishe Rosen that he just had to tell others about Jesus. And he was especially burdened for his fellow Jews.
The following are some quotes taken from the book:
"Everyone who is an active member of our core group works, and works hard." p. 76
"We'll accept any sincere Christian, or sincere seeker after the truth, who shows a willingness to work." p. 76
"Accepting responsibility is the key to discipleship." p. 77
"Holy boldness is not a natural thing. It takes spirit-filled people to set aside their dignity and humble themselves and risk the abuse that confrontation might bring." p. 88
"For us, confrontation means that we have to be viable, visible, and vocal." p. 88
"In street clothes, denims, or informal dress we're able to identify with the culture and age group of the people we most want to encounter." p. 89
"I feel that one should dress according to the dictates of the situation." p. 89
"Effective evangelism often takes place within an arena of confrontation; yet many Christians hesitate to evangelize simply because they know that confrontation occasionally produces conflict, and they hope to avoid the unpleasantness that might occur. But if we're not willing to endure possible difficulties and risk possible rejection, we'll never be able to achieve much for God or experience much spiritual satisfaction." p. 90
"Jesus constantly mixed with the Jewish people, argued with them, forced them to think. So did Paul and the other apostles." p. 106
"I was a salesman before becoming an evangelist, and so I know that excessive puffing of the product in either field can have an unhealthy impact on unsuspecting, undiscerning individuals." p. 122
"
December 30, 2017
A man raised by a father who felt that 'Religion was a racket' he meets some genuine Christians and realizes that Jesus was the Messiah. He gets some Bible college training and goes out to minister, insightful.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews