Gil Student posted on his blog on Monday about a missionizing effort underway in New York. Someone created a DVD called "Days of Moshiach" and sent them to Jewish people all over NYC this past weekend, but specifically to Crown Heights, Lakeway, and other orthodox areas. I won't help the video's Google ranking by linking to its website, but I will say that you can find it easily with any search engine.

The website has a home page, separate English and Yiddish introductions, and separate pages to download the video. The tiny bit of introductory material on the site is scripted to give away nothing about the content of the film or its goals. It is written in an Ashkenazi format (using "Toyrah", "mitzvos", "tzores", etc.) that is intended to make it look more normative.

The movie itself is apparently made up of various clips from the movie "Jesus of Nazareth" (which I think is in the public domain) and some pieces from another source, possibly (though not probably) from the creators of the film themselves. "Days of Moshiach" is voiced-over in Yiddish, apparently in an attempt to make it more palatable to Orthodox Jews. Since I am not Ashkenazi and do not know Yiddish, I cannot critique the content of the film, but a few people have said that the Yiddish is fluent and well-spoken. The movie gives away no information at all about its creators. It doesn't even have credits or attributions at the end, only a P.O. Box address.

Since I could not easily find any information about the movie's creators, I decided to search a little deeper. However, they have covered their tracks quite effectively. As I mentioned, there is no information on the website about who owns it. The owners even went to the trouble of registering the domain name through Domains by Proxy to keep the registration info a secret. The return address on the DVD envelopes was:

AMJP
P.O. Box 21685
Brooklyn, NY 11202-1685

However, the address given at the end of the film is:

Hope in Moshiach
P.O. Box 1185
Roswell, GA 30077-1185

Searches on both of these addresses did not lead to any information, and the "Hope in Moshiach" website (also registered through Domains by Proxy) forwards directly to the "Days of Moshiach" website. I was unable to find any information on "AMJP", even when making up names that fit, like "American Mission to the Jewish People", etc. Searches for Messianic groups Roswell, Georgia only brought up a few hits, but the websites did not have links to the movie nor was the HTML code in any way similar to the movie website's code. The in The "Days of Moshiach" website code is very clean and very minimal, using HTML 4.01 and image maps. There is no actual text on the website and the JPEGs don't have any exif information. The website's IP address (68.178.211.123) resolves to GoDaddy, where the site is apparently hosted. All this clearly points out that the movie's creators did not want to be found.

If you have read the other portions of my website (start here) you know my views on the Hebrew Christian elements in our community. These groups invariably cause more problems than they solve. Their militant evangelism makes them an anathema within the Jewish community. Their actions also make it hard for the rest of us to live peaceful lives within the Jewish community because we are associated with these people.

The in-your-face approach to telling people about Moshiach only causes tensions. How many people have been convinced by these tactics? Better yet, how many orthodox Jews have been convinced by them? Is making enemies the best way to "win souls"? I think not. Yeshua said that he is the stumbling block, that he is the offense. We don't have to add our own offenses.

If you really want to impress people with what you think is true, then live it. Worry about your relationship with the Creator and let Him deal with the hearts of others. I am not going to go out on the streets and accost Jews (or anyone else) with my beliefs. Been there, done that. I don't even consider that approach to be truly spreading "good news." I live my life. I follow Torah. I answer questions when and if they are raised, and I live unashamed of what I believe. That is enough. If someone sees Hashem in me and wants to know what I think, I will gladly tell them. Anything else borders on being insulting—even degrading—and only causes tensions within the community.

Labels: Messianic Judaism