Rabbi Tovia Singer Fights Missionaries: 'It's Easier to Prevent a Jew from Converting to Christianity Than to Bring Them Back'

It's no longer a secret that in recent years, Christian missionaries have increased their activities in Israel, attempting to convert unsuspecting Jews to Christianity.

Although the idea of converting to Christianity seems ludicrous and distant to most Jews, missionary leaders are aware of this and use deceitful and misleading methods - such as presenting Christianity with a Jewish veneer - and taking advantage of young and vulnerable populations to bring Jews to believe in Jesus. Such Jews who have adopted Christianity call themselves by the misleading term: 'Messianic Jews'.

Rabbi Tovia Singer, a world-renowned expert on Christianity, combats this troubling phenomenon and helps Jews return from the darkness of Christianity to the embrace of Judaism.

Rabbi Tovia Singer

Recently, the internet buzzed when a dramatic video was released where Rabbi Singer happened to encounter a Christian missionary advocating for faith in Jesus on the streets of Jerusalem. Rabbi Singer confronted him and within a few short minutes, proved, based on the Tanakh and differentiated from the New Testament, that Christianity is false and misleading.

The rabbi is also involved in countering Christian missionaries who come from abroad with the goal of establishing TV channels in Israel, converting Ethiopian Jews, and infiltrating unsuspecting Jewish communities. This is done in coordination with the organization 'Beyneynu', itself founded by a former Christian missionary who aimed to convert Jews, discovered the truth, and converted to Judaism.

We met with Rabbi Singer to obtain an overview of this concerning issue.

"My life is dedicated to helping Jews who find themselves in the darkest place known as Christianity, heaven forbid, and I help them return to their Judaism," says Rabbi Singer. "And more importantly, the greater thing I can do is prevent Jews from ever reaching Christianity in the first place. It's much easier to prevent a Jew from converting to Christianity than it is to extricate them from it. So I ensure that knowledge of the Tanakh and the methods missionaries use are available to the world, and I do this through writing, video production, and recorded lectures."

What is the more appropriate approach to take when approaching a Jew who has fallen to Christianity? Emotional or intellectual-philosophical?

"I employ both approaches, with the emotional approach coming first. To every Jew, Christianity is not only distant and foreign but also hostile, given all the suffering it has caused us over the last 2,000 years. Therefore, members of the sect of Messianic Jews are usually very sociable and welcoming to any new Jew who shows interest. Despite their beliefs encompassing all the foundations of Christianity, you won't find Christian symbols in Messianic communities that would emotionally affect a Jew, such as a cross, in order to blur the clear line between Christianity and Judaism."

"Still, Jews who have fallen to Christianity are the Jews who are easier to reach and approach. If you approach such a Jew and say the right things in the right way, they will return to Judaism immediately."

What makes a Jew even consider Christianity? What might drive them there?

"When I first started, I didn't understand this, but now the matter is clear to me. As human beings, we may often experience betrayal or harm from those close to us, who were supposed to protect us.

"The New Testament presents Jesus as someone betrayed by those closest to him - the Jewish people - which causes people to emotionally identify with this imaginary friend and develop a desire not to abandon faith in him, so as not to make him experience what he already has in the past. It sounds ridiculous to us, but this is how Christianity draws in its believers."

Is there a specific way you prefer to try to help such Jews?

"Yes. It's always preferable that the conversation be one-on-one, rather than a discussion or group debate, because when there's any sort of audience, it will cause that Jew to feel attacked, and consequently, they'll attack back.

"Rarely, there might be a situation where a Torah-observant Jew falls into Messianic Christian beliefs, and of course, they don't want those around them to know about it. In such cases, I send them to a distant yeshiva and continue working with them. Once a Jew who has fallen into Christianity understands that Christianity is false, they go back to Judaism."

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You hold debates with Christian professors and Ph.D. holders. Here in Israel, we don't see many debates. Can you tell me what the purpose of the debate is?

"The purpose of the debate is not to convince the other side of the truth of my words. Of course, I'd be delighted to see a Christian abandon their false beliefs and adopt the true faith, but the purpose of the debate is always to prove to my audience, who read my books and watch my videos, that my claims are not made in a vacuum, where there's no learned Christian professor to respond, but even when a Christian professor hears these claims, he remains without a response."

"Therefore, the debate is a powerful tool because one sees that what I'm teaching is 'bulletproof', even against learned Christians. And everything is done politely, and everyone gets along. Interestingly, many times, learned Christian professors attempt to prove Christianity from the New Testament itself, which is a circular argument."

I assume you've noticed that many Israelis aren't aware of Christian missionary efforts.

"Yes, thank Hashem. That's excellent, and I hope our brothers and sisters won't be exposed to this filth. Such exposure could make them more vulnerable. There are many people in Israel who believe in Hashem, and yet they are quite lost spiritually... You know, in the US, if you ask someone what their religious faith is and they answer, 'I'm secular', it means they don't believe in God.

"But in Israel, you can ask an Israeli Jew what their religious faith is, and they'll answer that they are secular. Ask them if they believe in God? And they'll immediately answer: 'Of course I believe!' Israel is a very religious country, highly traditional. A 'secular' person says: 'Sure, I'm secular, but that doesn't mean I'll eat chametz on Passover or eat on Yom Kippur. I would never do that'.

"In fact, this is a very dangerous situation because the State of Israel is full of millions of Jews who are thirsty for closeness to the Creator of the world, but they have no access to the source of drinking. They're hungry for a relationship with Hashem, but the scant education they received in the kibbutz and Tel Aviv, etc., is insufficient to withstand missionaries, and this is a weakness.

"Those missionaries are eager to come and fill this void with Christian messages, by altering Bible verses, taking verses out of context, and even inventing verses that aren't in the Bible at all! This method isn't new at all; it can be found in the New Testament, where there are verses supposedly quoted from the Tanakh, but in fact, they're entirely fabricated.

"However, Israelis have an advantage - they can learn the Tanakh in the original language in which it was written, the holy language in which the Torah was given at Mount Sinai by the Creator of the world."

Why do missionaries want to convert Jews at all?

"Christians believe that only if the Jews convert, then 'Jesus the Messiah' will return to this world, supposedly. They're convinced that if Jews believe in him, he will reveal himself to them. In practice, they aim to convert the whole world, but Jews are their main focus. This is why billionaires from South Korea and Canada, for example, funnel money to missionary activities here in Israel.

"It's extremely important for Israelis to understand that these are the very Christians who are very pro-Israel. Those Christians who seek to convert Jews are the same Christians who donate a lot of money to the State of Israel.

"These aren't BDS people, these aren't Catholic Christians, monks, and nuns who want to convert Jews. They're not involved in this; it's the evangelical Christians, the most pro-Israel Christians, who want to convert Jews to Christianity. There are no free gifts; it's true we receive financial support from them, but it comes with a dangerous price, as they're the ones implanting Christian missionaries here."

Do you think there's an antidote to missionary work? What advice would you give parents to 'vaccinate' their children against missionaries?

"Well, the sole spice, the only antidote to the Christian missionary work, is the study of the Tanakh. Understanding Jewish sacred literature, knowing Jewish history. Whoever has a real connection with Hashem, no missionary can take that away.

"Israelis don't need to learn the New Testament, but they do need to study the Book of Daniel, they do need to relish the Book of Isaiah. People watch my lectures and think I'm a genius, but in reality, all I'm doing is teaching them the Tanakh. That's all, it's very simple. And they wonder: 'How did I not know this?', and the answer is - because you never studied the Book of Daniel! The Book of Daniel contains only 12 chapters, a beautiful book. A great loss for anyone who doesn't study it. Learn our sacred Tanakh! That's the only vaccine against Christian missionary work," concludes Rabbi Singer.