Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast (JPB) Global, Tuly Weisz makes history, 2025-05-29

Jewish Integrity

Rabbi Tuly Weisz, director of Israel365, suggests crossing interfaith theological lines by embracing a “full Judeo-Christian spectrum” at the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast (JPB). This was something that even JPB director and messianic believer Albert Vexsler deemed as "historic."

Transcript

00:00So the brother asked me, you know, if I'm not a friend of Yaron, what am I doing there? Why was

00:06I there? And I told him that as somebody who works with Christians and who really appreciates

00:11Christian Zionists, I was moved by the sacrifice that Yaron made for the Jewish people. And I saw

00:19that he kind of flinched a little bit. And I thought maybe I offended him.

00:27And it certainly wasn't on purpose. Did I say something wrong? What did I say? And, you

00:35know, he said something very profound that I've been thinking about nonstop ever since

00:39that. He said that, you know, their father was or is an Argentinian Jew and their mother

00:47is a German Christian. And that Yaron was a believer, not a Christian, but a believer.

01:00And then he said something to me, he said, you know, since the war, the Israelis have shown

01:07so much compassion and affection for the Druze community. The Druze have suffered a lot.

01:15They serve in the IDF and they've been killed in the war. Their civilians have been killed

01:19and Israelis are really embracing them because of the covenant, the blood covenant that we

01:25share with the Druze right now. And he said to me, he said, well, where is the compassion?

01:31Where is the affection for the community of believers who have so much more in common with

01:38Israelis and with the Jewish people? Where is the affection? We believe we are Jews and where is

01:46the embrace of our community right now? So honestly, as an Orthodox Jew myself, I didn't realize

01:56that Yaron and believers consider themselves Jewish. And in my work at Israel 365, I'm starting to

02:09understand, I'm starting now after 13 years to understand that it's no longer the case that you

02:16have Jews and you have Christians. You have binary sort of definitions of who is a Jew and who is a

02:22Christian. Rather, in our complex modern world, after the expulsion from Spain and after centuries of

02:33persecution and after centuries or at least generations of assimilation, generations of

02:40intermarriage, you have a lot of people who are almost like on the spectrum between Jews and

02:48Christians. You have millions of Christians. You have millions of people, literally millions of people

02:51who like Yaron are somewhere in between. Yaron's death alongside Sarah demonstrates that because of

03:00their dedication to Israel, all those on the spectrum, the Jewish Christian spectrum, share a common fate,

03:10a blood covenant, and that it's as dangerous to be on the spectrum, even if you're a little closer to

03:16the Jewish side or the Christian side, it's dangerous to be anywhere on that spectrum.

03:23So I knew that I was going to be coming here tonight, and if you don't mind, I'd like to ask

03:29you a question just to help me with my own processing of this latest tragedy in Israel. So my question is,

03:39who here identifies? Maybe even stand up. If you identify as somebody who is either Jewish or Christian or

03:49somewhere on the spectrum, stand up if you feel like you're on that spectrum between the Jews and the

03:55Christians. Wow. It's unbelievable. The Jewish community has no idea. Thank you. The Jewish community has no idea,

04:07and no idea even how to grapple with this. So friends, let me just conclude and share with you that this

04:17coming week is Shavuot. And on the festival, we read the book of Ruth, and we hear the inspirational

04:24story of a Moabite woman who is married to a Jew, and she says that your people are my people,

04:33and your God is my God. And Ruth is rewarded for her courage and for her commitment as the mother of

04:45royalty, becoming the matriarch of King David and of the royal family of David, including, of course,

04:55the Mashiach, the Messiah. The Jewish people, we needed Ruth then, and the Jewish people, we need Ruth

05:01today. We, the Jewish people, we must not push away the Yaron's and the Sarah's anymore. We must not push

05:19away any of you. We must find ways to engage so that all of you here on the spectrum can be a bridge

05:35between Israel and the rest of the world and serve a function that the Jewish people can't serve.

05:40And if we do that, then we know that Yaron, his legacy will be a blessing. Let me just pray.

05:49Avinu Shabbat Shammayim, our Father in heaven, your beloved Israel, the apple of your eye is now in a war,

06:00and we beg you for intervention. Guide the hands of the brave men and women of the IDF,

06:06and all those who represent Israel around the world. Rescue the Israeli hostages and bring them

06:15home swiftly to their families. Bring comfort and consolation to the Lishinsky and the Milgram

06:23family and all the bereaved families of the nation of Israel. Bless the efforts of the Jerusalem

06:31prayer breakfast in bringing Jews and Christians together in your holy city. May you give us wisdom,

06:39encourage, and strength to navigate the complex waters of healthy Jewish-Christian reconciliation,

06:48Hashem. Raise up a generation of Ruths who courageously turn towards the people of Israel

06:56Israel and to the God of Israel with compassion and with commitment. And let us, Jews and Christians

07:04and those on the Judeo-Christian spectrum, and all of those in the middle, stand shoulder to shoulder

07:12in the streets of your beloved Jerusalem to await the arrival of the Mashiach, the son of David,

07:21the son of Yishai, and the son of Ruth. Amen. Amen.

07:27Amen.

07:41I don't know if you realize what just happened.

07:47I understand. I understand you are carried away, you know, with the conversations at the

07:55table, and it's okay. But I think Rabbi Thule just did something that has not been done

08:03for centuries, even millennia.

08:08I know it's going to take time even to digest this message, because it was a message of

08:31inclusion, of love, and of compassion. And I think it is so, so needed in Israel today.

08:42Thank you. So, dear Rabbi Thule, thank you.

08:57Thank you for visiting Lishinsky family. And thank you for saying, because I feel in my heart,

09:05it's not just the words, you mean, what you say. I think we are in a very holy moment.

09:17And I even don't know what to do. But it's, but it definitely is a moment that will go into

09:29history. I sense that we have heaven's attention. So, I'm really thankful for your words, for

09:42your heart, for your love, for your prayers. Thank you. Enjoy your meal.

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