Michael Z. in Israel
When Michael Z. left the Soviet Union for a new home in Israel in 1989, his only goal was to get away from a difficult life. Little did he know that he was running headlong toward a rediscovery of his Jewish identity in a way he never thought possible.
Born in 1956 to a Jewish family in the city of Lvov, Ukraine, Michael's childhood hung under the shadow of a violent past. His father was a Holocaust survivor whose parents had been killed by Nazis during the War. From an early age, Michael was taught that the "Christians" had caused the Holocaust. His father often said that if there were a God, "He perished in Auschwitz." There was no religious observance in the family home.
As he grew older, Michael took an interest in music and also received a university degree in engineering. In 1988, he married Natalie, an artist with a spiritual curiosity that had led her into Eastern thought and other such interests. They discussed spiritual matters openly, but Michael remained uncommitted to any faith. He even read the New Testament and developed an admiration for Jesus as a teacher. Jesus was Jewish, after all. But this was far from accepting His claims to be the Messiah. As he once said to Natalie, "That is not for me."
In 1989 Michael and Natalie decided to leave the USSR. At first they discussed migrating to the United States. However, their choices were suddenly narrowed and their only option became Israel. "Why not?" Michael thought.
Only three days after their arrival, Michael and Natalie were already in an ulpan, an intensive Hebrew course offered to newcomers. It was here that God seemed to take a hand in things. Out of a class of fifteen people, five were believers in Yeshua the Messiah. A few of them were also Messianic Jews.
Dr. Ray Gannon had a special impact on Michael and Natalie's lives. He invited them for Shabbat dinner with his family, and a friendship grew. The closeness and love of the Gannon family for each other and for them was something new for Michael and Natalie. Where did this kind of love and acceptance come from, Michael wondered. Ray simply said, "From Yeshua the Messiah."
For the first time, the story of Yeshua began to make sense to him. Still, something in him continued to resist. The last hurdle to overcome was the idea that Yeshua was not for the Jewish people. Yet how could that be, if He Himself was Jewish, as had been His first followers?
Ray continued to love them, and through his friendship he challenged Michael to consider the possibility that Jesus was the promised Messiah. Finally, after much thought and consideration, Michael made his choice. One evening he and Natalie prayed together* and became followers of Yeshua. From that time on, the kind of love they first encountered through their friends entered their lives and stayed with them.
Michael's journey from Ukraine to Israel was more than an escape from the Soviet Union. It has been a rediscovery of his Jewishness. Now he believes not only in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but also in the Messiah who was sent in fulfillment of the Jewish Scriptures.
The prayer Michael prayed can be prayed by you as well. If you find yourself drawn to Yeshua and believe as Michael did that He is the Messiah, you can receive Him, right now, by praying:
Dear God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I believe that Yeshua is the Messiah and that He died for my sin and rose from the dead. I acknowledge that nothing I can do will make me worthy of having a relationship with You. I repent of my sin and accept Your forgiveness through what Yeshua did for me. Help me now to live my life for You. In the name of Yeshua. Amen.
