From Christian Missionary to Torah Scholar: The Remarkable Journey of Gavriel Aryeh Sanders

The life story of Gavriel Aryeh Sanders is fascinating and almost unbelievable. Once a Christian missionary dedicated to converting Jews, he eventually traveled a long and winding road that led him to a full halachic conversion. Today he is a knowledgeable, observant Jew, immersed in Torah and actively fighting Christian missionary efforts. We met with him for a particularly compelling conversation.

A Childhood of Spiritual Emptiness

“I grew up in a Christian home,” Sanders begins. “My mother was a non-observant Catholic, and my father was Baptist — Christian only by definition. My parents divorced when I was two and a half, and my mother raised me alone. In those days, single-parent families were rare. It was difficult.”

At age 16, Sanders dropped out of high school and became involved in the youth culture of the 1960s and 70s. Missionaries soon approached him, showering him with the attention he was starved for.

“Over time, I became an enthusiastic and effective missionary, and I learned how important it was to spread the ‘salvation’ of Jesus specifically to Jews,” he explains.

How “Messianic Judaism” Captured Him

During that period, the movement of so-called “Messianic Jews” began to emerge. “They used Jewish symbols, culture, and holidays to present themselves and their message as authentically Jewish,” Sanders says. “But in truth, it was Christianity wrapped in… a tallit. At the time, of course, I couldn’t see it. I thought it was an honest and effective way to help Jews feel comfortable believing in Jesus — as if it were a genuinely Jewish thing to do.”

Today, it is estimated that around 300,000 Jews in North America are involved in Christianity in some way — many through over 400 “Messianic synagogues.”

Early Encounters with Israel

Sanders first came to Israel as a student in an ulpan (Hebrew language program) at a kibbutz, where he began spreading belief in Jesus among the students. The kibbutz members reacted strongly: the ulpan director immediately expelled him and four of his friends, and forwarded their names to the Interior Ministry's blacklist.

Seeking assistance, Sanders turned to the Jewish Agency. “I was allowed to join Kibbutz Ein HaMifratz to complete my ulpan studies. They required me not to speak about my Christian beliefs, and not even to answer questions. That forced me to focus inward and begin thinking: Is my faith really the only correct faith? I began to fear the questions forming in my mind.”

A Growing Internal Crisis

After completing Hebrew studies, he returned to the U.S. and worked for a large missionary organization. Two years later, he began a master’s degree in teaching English as a second language so that he could return to Israel and use his profession as a platform for missionary work.

“For the next three and a half years, I joined a ‘kiruv’ organization working in ten kibbutzim. I was hired to teach middle-school and high-school students. I was careful, but something began happening that would take me entirely out of church service, out of Christianity altogether, and away from Jesus. That ‘something’ was the Hebrew language.”

As his Hebrew improved, he began examining the Christian “proofs” for Jesus in the Hebrew Bible — and was troubled to find major discrepancies between the Hebrew original and its Christian translations.

Leaving the Church and Searching for Truth

“When I left Israel in the summer of 1984, my soul was storming,” he recalls. “I returned to a very large church and worked day and night as a pastor to quiet the doubts inside me. Two years later, I left decisively. It was public and painful. I spent eight years trying to find stability — even going to Saudi Arabia to teach English for the Saudi Navy.”

But something kept pulling him toward Judaism. He enrolled in a Reform conversion and adult Bar Mitzvah program. “After nine months, I thought, That’s it — I’m Jewish!”

Soon he was even giving weekly Torah portion classes at the Reform synagogue. But the liberal concepts — such as the idea that Torah is no longer binding, deeply troubled him. “If the Torah isn’t true, then neither are you,” he told himself.

Two years later, he approached the very stringent California Rabbinical Council for an Orthodox conversion. Initially rejected, he persisted. Eventually, they accepted him as a conversion candidate, but the process moved slowly.

What kept you going?

“I remember participating in a seminar where suddenly so many questions became clear to me — Mount Sinai, the miracle of the Jewish people, national revelation, the chain of tradition, the binding nature of mitzvot. These were the core ideas I would later find fully explained in Rabbi Zamir Cohen’s teachings and in Hidabroot.”

(Photo: Shutterstock)

A True Halachic Conversion

Sanders later underwent a full Orthodox conversion according to all halachic requirements.

“In December 1999, I emerged from the Los Angeles mikvah as Gavriel Aryeh ben Avraham Avinu. I immediately began working for Jews for Judaism, and eventually moved to New York.”

He then worked for ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications for about a decade in marketing and public relations. For the last six years, he has been a Hebrew teacher at a Jewish high school in Long Island.

“Now my wife and I are in the process of making aliyah,” he says proudly.

Family, Mission, and a New Life

Sanders’ wife is a born Jew who grew up in a Torah-observant home. “Her father is from Haifa. We met and married in New York twenty years ago. Now it’s time to return home to the Jewish people in the Land of Israel — to support Torah.”

Sanders has produced hundreds of radio programs in New York and several in Israel. “My focus has always been to deliver a positive message that uplifts listeners and helps them discover their unique place in God’s world.”

He dreams of continuing his work through modern technology for the sake of the Jewish people.

“If I had to define Judaism in one word,” he says, “it would be elevator. We were given spiritual technology to satisfy curious minds and hungry souls. How could I not use what I’ve learned to lift others? I have an obligation to do so!”

A Word of Thanks

Sanders concludes by thanking Hidabroot and especially Rabbi Zamir Cohen, the organization’s chairman.

“Hidabroot helped me tremendously. Rabbi Zamir Cohen’s teachings helped my spiritual roots grow deeper and deeper. He takes complex topics and explains them clearly, showing how Judaism is not just a ‘religion’ but a real relationship with the Creator. To find this wisdom, you need living waters within you — and it’s worth every difficulty on the journey home to mitzvot and Torah.”