A Soul Returns: The Prophecy of Converts in Our Time - Rabbi Tovia Singer

Um I want to give the gentleman Victor who I was told two weeks ago converted officially. So Victor please. >> Thank you. Shalom. >> Shalom. >> Provide to a singer and I was literally listen to your whole class that day and it was amazing. I was in the process of my conversion back then and Baru Hashem. Um I finished my my my process uh two weeks ago on the 14th of Kislv. My name is Joseph Yehuda. I come from Guatemala. I came from the beautiful coast of the Caribbean that belongs to Guatemala. I grew up in a very poor family and a very little island probably about 12 houses when education is was the worst or nothing. Um I grew up in a in a family in a non-religious family but they call themselves Christians. Um broken and abusive. So I didn't have no school, no no high school, no nothing. But at age of 13 something literally start it's like it was like a bright light hitting my my heart in my brain then I needed to learn to pray. It was like something that I never knew never know nobody tell me about anything like that and someone somehow I start talking to a god that I never hear before or it wasn't never presented to me. It was like a deep deep connection to this being in disguise. Somehow I remember when I was younger in that age, my dad used to tell us the stories about the Bible, the Torah. And he used to tell us the story of Noah and and the rain, how rain came in and destroy everything and also the story of Moshe taking the Jewish people from Egypt from the slavery. And he was he was supposed to Catholic. His mother was very Catholic, but we were not raised religious point blank. But daddy's story stay deep in my heart and my mind and never left until today's day. And I'm just wonder why did he do that? And I will probably never understand why. But I believe that Hashem uh always use ways to bring his people back and to give the message to the souls of the Jewish people. And for me is an honor. I feel so humble that I I belong I I knew in my heart I belong to the the Jewish people before when I start this process. But now I'm part of the tribe and I am so humble. I'm so pleased. I'm so I'm so blessed that Hashem choose me from one of the corners of the earth. And uh Rabbi Tobia as well mentioned it before. Hashem being is literally the prophecy is happening. It's happening to me is happening to Raquel, to Toba, to everyone listening. I think uh we are the testimony of the prophecy. >> That's beautiful. I I just mentioned anecdotally, I don't even know the numbers, but I've been doing this a long time. A very significant number. It's not half. It's a little less than half of the people who go through a conversion or eventually discover that they're they were Jewish all along. It's not the majority because it's not always so not everything is accessible, but we're living in a time when there's more information than ever. So, it's very quite frequent that people discover that that they they were Jewish all along, which is Hashem calling them back. And I'm very grateful to hear from you. I'm very, you know, grateful to you. >> Ysef Ysef >> even better. >> Such such a connection. >> You You have two very powerful names. What did you want to say? Yi. >> Yeah. At the last days of my before a week before my process, before my technique, Rabbi Sinner, my my mentor, he asked me, "Do you choose a name?" And I said, "Yes, I have." And I love the name of Eli Yahu Yahushua. I thought it was very powerful. The meaning was amazing. So a day before my mik day, Rabbi Sinner presented me tomorrow this person is going to do this and his name is going to be blah blah blah blah. But somehow I felt something deep in my heart that that name did not belong to me. And before I went to sleep, I say, "Hashem, you know me before I before I was in my mother's womb. and you know how confused I am about the name that I'm choosing because I think I'm choosing for myself and I'm not allowing you to choose for me. Will you please choose the name for me? So I went to sleep. The following day in the morning I did exactly the same thing. I went to LA. I live in nearby um about 10 a.m. in the morning. Somebody from our who knows me text me. The message says, "Hey Victor, this is so and so. I just want you to know that your name shall be Joseph. Why? Joseph was a dreamer. Joseph has dreams. And so he start with this message. But I honestly didn't even read the whole message. I honestly I was so nervous. I didn't pay attention to the message. But the name Joseph got it stuck in my in my mind. And literally minutes before the mikba day, the same day, I keep thinking I don't have a name. I don't have a name. And I cannot have this going like this. And I say, "Hashem, please give me the name that I'm supposed to have, the name that you choose for me." And I'm still having in my mind the name Ely Yahoo somehow kicking my my head. And at the moment when I got into the waters, the waters of the Mikbet, they asked me, "What is what is the name that you choose?" Instead of using the name Eli Yahu, my tongue was twisted and I said, "Yep." And I uh I was like my prayer was answered. Hashem choose my name. >> Wow. That's incredible. Yosefi Oda. That is incredible. Amazing. But do you have something that you want to ask? >> So my family, they were not religious. They're not religious. But uh somehow not long ago, I I spoke to my brother and explained uh the process that that was uh of what I was going through uh Judaism and and the love, the connection that I have. and he's not even religious person but his message back to me was like you know we are Christians and I said something like you probably are but I wasn't I was never I never believe in social person so how do you approach someone with that kind of mentality even if he's not a religious person >> if your goal is to persuade someone so using chess as a metaphor you always want to play the black piece not the white piece no enjoys aggressive people. When I walk into a store and a salesperson gets very aggressive, I want to run out of the store. What I always do when someone now when someone tries to convert me, it's simplist. I mean, I I dab them for such events. That's a that's a lot of fun. But I always ask a very simple question. I ask, tell me, what's the most compelling reason you think I should believe in your religion? No matter what it is, if someone's an atheist, if someone's a Muslim, what's give me your best shot like what's the most compelling reason? And the mistake people make is I in my view if you want to change a person's mind. If you want the person to reconsider is don't impose what was important to you, but listen carefully. That's why the shows I do are always structured in a question answer where I'm answering that person's question, not why I think. So now you have to be familiar with the material. Of course, 62 miles southwest of where I am right now is the Gaza Strip. I wasn't trained in using weapons. It would be a mistake for me to go there and fight terrorists. But if you're familiar with the material, so you just ask the person, tell me what's the most compelling reason in your view that I should believe what you believe. You have nothing to worry about. And the person I I this happened to me Friday night. I'll tell you craziest story. Friday night I was sitting at the shabas table and there was a Christian at the shabas but I didn't know it there was a Christian at the shabas table and a whole group of people and I the Christian wanted to persuade me so I said please what's the most compelling reason why you think a Jew should be a Christian so he said because the disciples of Jesus they all willingly died for their religion and if they were liars why would they willingly die for what they believe. You know, liars make bad martyrs. That's what he said. So, I asked him a question. I asked him, "Please tell me a single source anywhere in the Christian Bible that says that there was a Christian disciple that willingly died for what he believes." He said, "What are you talking about? Peter willingly died, crucified upside down, and Paul was beheaded in Rome." I said, "Please, please show it to me." And he had a New Testament with him. and he started turning pages and when I saw he was frustrated I said to him let me save you a lot of time it's not in there it's a Roman Catholic invention from the 3rd century much later that these that Peter was crucified upset all these stories are not even in the Christian Bible and Paul doesn't die in the Christian Bible he's actually released from prison at the end of the book of acts and it blew his mind away like he just thought it must be some verse somewhere I just would say is the best way to persuade someone is not to be aggressive to rather ask tell me what is your best most persuasive what do you tell me your give me your best shot and ask like be a mench no one wants to be treated disrespectfully and then answer with thought and then you'll be just fine that's what I that's what I'd recommend just ask what's your best shot that's all now if you if you're not familiar with the if you're watching my stuff then you're familiar with the material And that's all that's very easy. Always ask someone, tell me what you think is important to you. Thank you.