Rabbis teach Christians in new online learning courses
For launch of Root Source, Yehuda Glick, one of the teachers, returns to Begin Center for first time since assassination attempt
A new group is trying to turn rabbis into internet video stars in order to help Christians learn more about the roots of their religion and Judaism. The for-profit company, called Root Source, aims to fill a gap for Christians who are looking to deepen their knowledge of the Bible and Israel, and to do so in a forum that is specifically directed towards Christians. The company celebrated its launch on Monday night in Jerusalem.
“As a national religious Jew, I feel that there’s a certain affinity between Jews who believe in God and believe in the religious miraculousness of the modern state of Israel, how it fits in with the redemptive process of history, and Christians feel the same, either intuitively or after study,” explained Gidon Ariel, the co-founder of Root Source.
“Our teachers are along the national religious scale, who recognize the positive aspects and prophetic commandments for Jews to reach out to the world to teach about God,” Ariel told the Times of Israel. “Christians are fascinated by this and are very thirsty for this. They’ve been looking to fulfill their thirst on websites that do not target Christians as their audience, but rather Jews.”
Root Source currently has about a dozen teachers, including Shomron Regional Council spokesman David Ha’Ivri, Hebrew teacher Seth Young, and Temple Mount activist Rabbi Yehudah Glick, among others.
Each of the teachers has their own channel, and records a weekly 10-15 minute lesson on a specific topic such as Hebrew Language, the Land of Israel, or Words of our Fathers. Students subscribe for $7-$19/month for two channels, a sliding rate depending on their economic status. So far, Root Source has approximately 300 paying students and tens of thousands signed up for the free newsletter.
Ariel’s partner, Bob O’Dell, a hi-tech entrepreneur and philanthropist, is a staunchly pro-Israel Christian from Austin, Texas. Root Source had a beta launch last fall, and officially launched a month ago, but the celebration was postponed until O’Dell could be in Israel.
O’Dell is fascinated by the phenomenon of blood moons and astrological connections between astrology and the history of the Jewish people. After years of studying eclipse charts and tomes of Jewish history, O’Dell presented his findings on Monday evening that the Exodus from Egypt occurred on April 10, 1579 BCE.
Though participants and speakers hailed the program as “the dawning of a new age in Christian/Jewish relations” there is still a lot of suspicion surrounding any Jewish/Christian initiative especially in Israel.
“It’s no secret that Jews and Christians for thousands of years have not had the best relationships for various reasons, including theological differences and great anti-Semitism,” said Ariel. In Israel, more conservative rabbis assume that all Christians are trying to proselytize and convert Jews, explained Ariel. “We are promoting a safe place for our students,” he said.
“These are Christians who are interested in learning more from Jews. There are plenty of Christians who are anti-Semitic and much more anti-Israeli than any of our students. Others say, what do you need to learn from Jews? Aren’t your pastors enough? We recognize the challenge but the time is ripe to do this.”
While there are many written resources for Christians fascinated by Judaism, this is the first multi-media initiative.
Speakers at the launch, at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center, included MK Ayoub Kara (Likud), a Druze from Daliat al Carmel, and and Jerusalem City Councilor Aaron Leibowitz (Yerushalmim). Also present was Rabbi Glick, the Temple Mount activist who was shot at the Begin Center on October 29.
“This is the first time I’ve been back here since I was ‘born again,’” Glick told the Times of Israel, jokingly referencing the many evangelicals in the room. “I had butterflies in my stomach about coming here, it was not a very simple decision, but I’m going to continue what I’m doing,” said Glick, who is still weak but is able to walk unassisted.
“In a civilized world, when one person slaps another, it doesn’t prove he’s right. Violence proves a weakness. It doesn’t matter if it’s terrorism, or violence in the family, it’s all a weakness. If he expresses weakness, I have to continue being strong.”
