114 — Hating August (Louisville: 1993)

As I entered my fourth decade, my identity was beginning to solidify.  Pegi had returned to nursing, specializing in cardiovascular surgery, Abi was starting elementary school and I had a meaningful and promising career in life insurance.  My relationships with parents and family had grown. Spiritually, my sense of Jewish identity was developing.  I was sorting through my religious experiences of the previous two decades, discarding what didn’t work for me while intensifying focus on what seemed to be reliable.  I dug more deeply into the valuable strains of my religious experience while acquiring new tools of spiritual inquiry. 

My mom had died in August of 1991 just before I started graduate studies.  My father died in August of 1992.  My great Aunt Selma, the last of my closest family connections, died in August of 1993.  I was beginning to hate August!  However, I began to understand that their lives would be carried forward in mine.  In the same way, Abi would carry Pegi’s and mine.  (She would pass it on to Aiden—for whom I have been writing all of this.)

You would think that experiencing the loss of parents would have a negative effect on personal identity.  Actually, that is not what I experienced.  I was no longer bound by the pressure of parental expectations.  That wasn’t a rejection of their roles in my life.  Instead, I became aware of a deepened and stronger personal identity because of them.  They were not dead—they were very much alive in me.  I was their continuation and would add my story to theirs.  I wasn’t yet fully conscious of this yet, but this long story reached back many generations, not just as a human story, but as a Jewish story.  

After the 40 years of wandering in Sinai, the Jewish people were about to enter the Promised Land.  In his last words in דברים (Deuteronomy), Moses explains the story:   

For you are a people consecrated to the ETERNAL your God: of all the peoples on earth, the ETERNAL your God chose you to be the treasured one.

It is not because you are the most numerous of peoples that GOD grew attached to you and chose you—indeed, you are the smallest of peoples; but it was because GOD favored you and kept the oath made to your fathers that GOD freed you with a mighty hand and rescued you from the house of bondage, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

Know, therefore, that only the ETERNAL your God is God, the steadfast God who keeps this covenant faithfully to the thousandth generation of those who show love and keep the commandments, 

[Deuteronomy 7:6-9 Revised JPS, 2023]

I was beginning to see that the Jewish perception of God was based on our direct experience of God as a caring and loving Creator.  His Torah (instruction, teaching, law) and the boundaries it defined were safeguards to allow us to live fully, happily and successfully.  God “treasures” us—not because of our merits, but because of His character—His name/identity/character/essence.  The motivation to keep His commandments is based on our response to His lovingkindness.

Roman Law versus Jewish Law (Torah):

The Roman perspective/idea of Law is rigid, rough and without nuance.  This is because the “gods” who are its source are disconnected from human life and nature.  It is full of hard edges because its gods are arbitrary, self-serving and disinterested (even malevolent) towards human beings.  The Roman gods have no concern for people—they are are only concerned with pleasing themselves.  For someone who grows up in the West (highly molded by Roman thinking), just the word, "Law" conjures up negative boundaries that are brutally enforced.  The point is the boundary--restricting life--only allowing minimal liberties, but the greater purpose or "why" is to enforce and restrict—to minimize freedom to live for some semblance of order which pleases them.

The Torah concept of law is softer, more malleable when it comes to humans and even nature and therefore more powerful.  Jewish thinking is relational--connected to a warm and loving Creator.  Its boundaries protect liberties for purpose of fulfilled living.  Shalom (peace/fulfillment/contentment) is God’s desire for us.  

The systems (religions) that develop out of each are necessarily different:

• The Roman law distorts the “law of life” into restriction and death. 
• Jewish law (Torah) leads to life in its fullness.

My Jewish identity had been sparked with the birth of Abigail and had expanded by means of reconnection with my family.  The sudden disappearance of my closest familial connections during these three Augusts, strengthened my emerging identity as a Jew.  I began to grasp something of the significance of Moses’ words:

You shall faithfully observe all the Instruction [Torah] that I enjoin upon you today, that you may thrive and increase and be able to possess the land that GOD promised on oath to your fathers.

[Deuteronomy 8:1 Revised JPS, 2023]

Next:  115 — Don’t Be in a Hurry to Be an Old Man (Written Aug 2025)

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39 — The Return of the "Wondering" Wanderer (Salisbury: April 1977)

I had come to Rhodesia convinced that their struggle was not racial.  From the myopia of life in Texas, I was fueled by the radically rightwing views of my pastor-teacher.  Urged by my personal need to expiate the guilt of my flashback-induced discharge from the Navy and my obsession with finding a “purpose” for my life, I wasn’t open to dissenting thoughts.

My recent biblical studies had focused on the life of David as a shepherd-warrior, prototypical Hebrew king, and psalmist from whom I drew daily encouragement.  It was only natural that I would then assume my conservative political opinions to be in concert with biblical history.  However, deep beneath my guise as a tough-talking American “Christian soldier” on a divine mission—was a Jewish heart. 

There is something about being a Jew that is more than religion, more than culture, more than tradition, more than politics, and more than . . . well, it is just “more than.”  I have been puzzling over this for decades.  I am not the only one who struggles with this.  Take for example the ongoing debate in modern Jewish society around “Who is a Jew?”  This is important, especially with regard to the “right of return” for Jews immigrating to Israel.  But, the debate around Jewish identity is at the heart of every social, marital and political discussion for the Jewish community.  This debate has gone on for millennia. 

Fueling this debate is something intangible, but real, that beats in the heart of every Jew.  Often, it is a subconscious influence that impacts the life choices of those who have wandered far from Jewish circles.  The strange reality was that I was about as far from Jewish circles as one could get.  Yet, I found myself reacting and responding to events and circumstances in ways that were contrary to the Christian-fueled nuclear reactor that was my mind.

During my first weeks as a chaplain, I spent much of my time in the chaplaincy office at Army HQ, just a mile from our home in Salisbury.  Since I was “regular” army, and the only full-time chaplain-sergeant, I was quickly meeting the other chaplains who were serving out their periodic national service.  The officer-chaplains had their own local churches, but the sergeants were typically lay persons who had an interest in ministry, but were neither ordained nor had pastoral responsibilities.

One morning, I was introduced to a Methodist minister who, although ordained and actively serving as pastor to several congregations, was only a sergeant.  Why?  Because, as a black African, the Army would not commission him. This shocked me. The Reverend Abraham Nyazema was known by his nickname, pronounced “Abe-E.”  He had this infectious smile that accompanied his ever-present good humor.  The moment we met, we were friends. 

Abe had traveled extensively, which was unusual for a Rhodesian African.  Aside from the obvious financial limitations of the average African, the Rhodesian passport was not readily accepted in other countries.  Nevertheless, he had visited the US on several occasions and had close friends from his visit to my hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.  How strange that the two of us could reminisce about Louisville!

One of his sons was teaching and practicing medicine in London.  Abe was no average bush African.  He was in every way, an educated and traveled citizen of the world, yet he could not be a chaplain officer! 

We two sergeants decided to take our conversation away from the confines of the office.  Where could we go?  Well, Abe wasn’t allowed in the HQ Sergeant’s Mess because he was black.  Hmm, well we could go into town and get some coffee or tea, but there weren’t any restaurants or shops that would allow us to sit together! 

This was ridiculous!  Where was the evidence of Ian Smith’s “meritocracy” where the best of all races could rise to the top?  And what purpose was served by keeping whites and blacks from having tea or a meal in a public place?  This was beginning to sound like plain old American Southern-style segregation.

We finally purchased sodas from a street vendor and settled on a park bench.  This was the same park that Pegi and I had explored that first Sunday afternoon after arriving in Rhodesia a few months before.

I don’t remember the details of our conversation.  I do remember that I felt a kinship with Abe that I never felt with another Rhodesian.  I also remember that we were able to discuss the issues of racial discrimination and that we were in agreement that whites and blacks alike needed to find peaceful political solutions.  We also agreed that the terrorist forces of Mugabe, Nkomo and Sithole must be stopped.  This is why Abe had joined the Chaplain Corps—to minister to the all-volunteer African soldiers of the Rhodesian African Rifles (RAR) and Selous Scouts.

During the 13 months I spent in Rhodesia, I never did meet a black African who supported the terrorists.  Of course, you wouldn’t expect them to open up to a white man and risk arrest!  But, I did meet Africans like Abe who expressed a desire for more effective African leaders.  I began to “wonder” if I had it right.  There was more to this conflict than a noble struggle of Rhodesians to fight back the forces of international communism. 

I began to be reminded of the vestiges of discrimination that I had witnessed during my childhood in Louisville.  Like many Jewish children growing up in the 50s and 60s, I had been virtually raised by a black maid.  Anna May Brown had bathed me, fed me, loved me, and spent more time with me in my childhood than had all three of my parents (mother, father, and step-father). 

“May” who cared for me from birth until her death when I was 13, was always there for me.  She bathed and fed me as a child.  She washed my clothes, cleaned the mess known as my room, cooked my meals, and was waiting for me at the kitchen table each day when I came home from school.  I know she prayed for me every day and it was the memory of her Christian love that served as an example for me. 

Her death affected me more deeply than the later deaths of any of my parents.  May exemplified goodness, kindness and a living trust in God. I remember visiting her home in the West End of Louisville, a black ghetto.  But her poor ramshackle house was surrounded by a carefully nurtured garden and the inside was neatly decorated with secondhand furniture.

I had attended an integrated high school, and my closest friends were on the basketball team, many of whom were black.  One of my closest friends, Ben Wells, lived in the all black section of Harrod’s Creek just a few miles from my home in the East End of Louisville.  I was shocked when I went to a party at his home to find that his beautiful five bedroom home was on a dirt road!

Here I sat in Rhodesia where whites lived in simple luxury, faithfully attended by blacks who lived in one-room servant’s quarters without electricity or running water.  And now I was hearing how that it is virtually impossible for those blacks to live out their aspirations for anything better. 

Think about it—Abe and I couldn’t even be seated in the same coffee shop!  My Jewish heart was in turmoil.  Thousands of years of persecution ran through my Jewish veins.  Something was wrong here and there was something wrong with the Christian thinking that I had adopted.

Next:  40 — Unstable and Unreliable (Salisbury:  May 1977)

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2 — A Word of Caution from a Wondering Wanderer (Chicago: Feb 26, 2009)

A word of caution here before we progress.  I have been putting off writing this part of the story for the last 10 years.  The reason for this is that 10 years ago I walked away from a 30 year focus.  

I have been hesitant to tell this story because I am sure that it will cause offense to many.  I was concerned that it could even have a negative impact on my family's relationships and especially my daughter as she navigated her teen years.  

But I am working on my 60th year and my wife and I have been on this journey together for 33 years.  My daughter is an adult with her own son to raise.  Both my wife and daughter have been encouraging me to get this into print for some time now.  And, if I don't tell this story, no one else will be able to explain it to my grandson!  

This is a pretty wild story that will take us from my childhood in the USA, to Africa, southeast Asia, Israel, and back. It includes my time as a soldier in African army and my return to work side-by-side with my former enemies.  It is a pretty wild ride, but that is not what caused me to hesitate.

The Cause of Hesitation

The next few installments in this saga detail a course change that would cause me to "wander" for three decades.  Because I wondered as I wandered, I would end up completely overturning the life choices I made during my “Seven Days in May” (chap 5-11). 

This is not to say that 30 years were a total bust, but my conscious motivation for the entire period would be overthrown.  Because I always wondered as I wandered, I would eventually find an underlying motivation that would lead me to reject my conscious motivation.

Now does this seem confusing to you?  Let me make this plain.  Over the course of 7 days in May 1969, I would wander away from my Jewish faith.  I had already dismissed my Jewish upbringing as being inadequate for the course of my life.  

Now I began to take a course that was definitely not Jewish.  I would begin to become interested in Jesus—although this was a much different Jesus than the one in traditional Christianity.  I would start as a "Jesus Freak" on the outside of organized “churchianity," but eventually would find myself as a pastor, missionary, and even a seminary professor right smack in the middle of a well-established Christian denomination.  But, because I wondered and because I was always questioning everything (one element of my Jewish heritage that never abated), I was always in trouble with some religious "authority."  The more trouble I got in, the more I wondered.  At the end of 30 years progressing deeper and deeper into Christian religion, I walked away from it and returned to my Jewish faith.

So, in the next few segments I will detail how I wandered into Christianity.  Later we will document how I wondered my way back to Judaism.

My story will relate the challenges I faced, both theologically and experientially.  If you stick with me as I narrate this journey, you will probably be challenged too.  Whether you are Jewish or gentile, religious or irreligious, a faith adherent or agnostic/atheistic—you are likely to be frustrated with me.  But if I am to tell my story, I have to be open with you.  I hope you can remain open with me as you read. 

————————————————————

Next:  3 — Wondering Wanderer (Madison, Wisconsin:  1967)

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1 — Starting Where I Am (Chicago: 2009)

My ancestor is Abraham.  Yeah, that Abraham who lived 4000 years ago.  I am pretty sure you know some of his story as it is told in the first part of the Bible, Genesis chapters 11-25. 

Abraham says:

וַיְהִ֞י כַּאֲשֶׁ֧ר הִתְע֣וּ אֹתִ֗י אֱלֹהִים֮ מִבֵּ֣ית אָבִי֒

And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house . . . .

Genesis 20:13 - The Koren Jerusalem Bible

He identifies himself as the first in a long line of “wanderers” through life, listening for the voice of God.  You know us variously as Hebrews; children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; children of Israel; people of Judah — or just “Jews.”

We all have our own stories to tell as God has caused us to wander through life.

This is my story.

***********************

Chicago:  Feb 16, 2009

One of the advantages of being a "wandering" Jew is that I can just start where I am.  I should have started 9 years ago, and there have been a few aborted beginnings, but beginning has always been the problem.

I don't want to start with my publication Messianic Jewish Congregations:  Who Sold this Business to the Gentiles?  Lanham, MD:  University Press of America, 2000.  That was just a point in time, and although it represents something of where I was in 1997—well, I have wandered since then.  I could have started with my childhood and bored everyone!  There will be time for that.  I sure couldn't start with the chapter about me in Robin Moore's 1977 book, Rhodesia.  I only slightly resembled his characterization of my military adventures in Africa at the time.  I remember he put some words in my mouth that I don't understand to this day.

Should I start with my late teenage years as a secular Jew raised by a Reform mother and Orthodox father?  Or should I start with my LSD and teargas experiences as a University of Wisconsin-Madison student in 1967?

Where do you start the story to explain how a nice Jewish boy from Louisville ended up as a Christian missionary in Africa?  And then how do you begin to explain how the birth of my only child, Abigail, in 1986 began the path that would end my association with Christianity, my career as a seminary professor, and bring me back to be a practicing Jew?

And how did I get stuck working for AT&T for 9 years?  Who cares—I am actually happy to be one of the 12,000 who were just "canned" as a part of the current economic crisis.   The result is that this is where I am—call me retired, call it my retirement career, call it what I should have done 9 years ago instead of taking that "temporary" job with AT&T while I looked for a teaching position at a secular institution.

This is where I have wandered and it is where I will start.  I will probably upset Jews and Gentiles alike as I tell my story, but hey what are you going to do—fire me?  Too late for that—AT&T beat you to the punch!

In each context I try to accurately reflect the thoughts and feelings that I had at that place and time.  

Next:  2 — A Word of Caution from a Wondering Wanderer (Chicago: Feb 6, 2009)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 — Starting Where I Am (Chicago:  Feb 2009)

2 — A Word of Caution from a Wondering Wanderer (Chicago: Feb 6, 2009)

Wandering the USA:  Kentucky-Wisconsin-California-Texas  (1967-1976)

3 — Wondering Wanderer (Madison, Wisconsin:  1967)

4 — So Who Is Timothy Leary and What Does He Have to Do With Anything? (Madison: 1968)

5 — Seven Days in May:  Day 1 - Part I (Madison:  1970)

6 — Day 1 - Part II:  Jewish LSD Freak Meets Jesus Freak (Madison:  May 1970)

7 — Day 2 (Madison:  May 1970)

8 — Day 3 - The California Appeal (Madison:  May 1970)

9 — Day 4 - The Wicked Witch of the East (Iowa:  May 1970)

10 — Day 5 - Communal Life Means Sharing Your Peanut Butter (Santa Cruz, California:  May 1970)

11 — Day 6 - Learning to Laugh (Santa Cruz:  May 1970)

12 — Day 7 - Is There a Hangover from Prayer? (Santa Cruz-May 1970)

13 — Like the Water?  Go Navy! (Louisville, Kentucky:  July 1970)

14 — A Day in the Sand on the Beach—A Frozen Beach! (Great Lakes, Illinois:  Nov 1970)

15 — Wake-up Call from Above (Great Lakes:  Nov 1970)

16 — Whistling Is Safer than Singing (Great Lakes:  Dec 1970)

17 — ♪♪ On Wisconsin, On Wisconsin ♪♪ (Louisville:  Jan 1971)

18 — Chris the Hippie Meets Chris the Hippie! (Madison: Jan 1971)

19 — SDS vs. Christians (Madison:  Feb 1971)

20 — Houston, We Have a Problem! (Houston:  June 1971)

21 — From Jewish Hippie to Texas Conservative (Houston:  June 1971)

22 — Finding Love and War (Houston:  1973)

Wandering Africa:  Rhodesia  (1976-1978)

23 — Honeymooning In A War Zone (Houston to Rhodesia:  1976)

24 — Two Eggs Boss?  You Sure? (Salisbury, Rhodesia:  Nov 1976)

25 — Fit or Fat?  (Salisbury, Rhodesia:  Nov 1976)

26 — A Rhodesian "Rebel" I Loved (Salisbury, Rhodesia:  Dec 1976)

27 — Tea with the Judge (Rhodesia: Dec 1976)

28 — The Convoy (Rhodesia: Dec 1976)

29 — No Umbrella for the Rain Forest (Victoria Falls, Rhodesia:  Dec 1976)

30 — Avocado on a Hot Tin Roof (Salisbury:  Jan 1977)

31 — The Rhodesian Light Infantry (Salisbury: Jan 1977)

32 — Field "Trip" (Salisbury: Jan 1977)

33 — The Interview (Salisbury: Feb 1977) 

34 — The Interview, Addendum (Salisbury:  Feb 1977)

35 — Reverse Gear and Fast! (Salisbury:  March 1977)

36 — Another Colonel In the Church (Salisbury: March 1977)

37 — Stand at attention when you talk to ME! (Salisbury:  March 1977)

38 — Pistol-Packin’ Chaplain (Salisbury:  March 1977)

39 — The Return of the "Wondering" Wanderer (Salisbury:  April 1977)

40 — Unstable and Unreliable (Salisbury:  May 1977)

41 — Hugged Instead of Slapped (Salisbury:  July 1977)

42 — From Death to Birth (Salisbury:  July 1977)

43 — Farm Life in a War Zone (Salisbury & Wedza: Aug 1977)

44 — Tea with Land Mines (Umtali, Rhodesia:  Aug 1977)

45 — A Half Bottle of Jack Daniels (Salisbury:  Aug 1977)

46 — ♪♪ Paranoia Strikes Deep ♪♪ (Salisbury:  Aug 1977) + Addendum:  Thoughts on PTSD

47 — A Genuine “Crippled Eagle” (Salisbury:  Sep 1977)

48 — Tea with the General (Salisbury:  Sep 1977)

49 — Balla Balla, Bulawayo and Matsheumshlope (Rhodesia:  Oct 1977)

50 — "Muck" and Mire (Bulawayo:  Oct 1977)

51 — War Fever (Bulawayo:  Oct 1977)

52 — American Visitors (Bulawayo:  Nov 1977)

53 — This Phone May Be Tapped! (Bulawayo:  Dec 1977)

54 — Tell Them to Go!  (Salisbury:  Dec 1977)

55 — The Rebel I Loved and Lost (Bulawayo:  April 1978)

56 — “The French Would Sell Their Mothers!” (Bulawayo:  April 1978)

57 — Finding Out for Myself (Leaving Rhodesia:  May 1978)

Wandering the USA:  Texas-Wisconsin-Kentucky (1978-1983)

58 — Are We There Yet? (New York:  May 1978)

59 — In Uniform for Church? (Houston:  May 1978)

60 — ♪♪ On Wisconsin, on Wisconsin ♪♪ Again! (Jan 1979)

61 — Me a Pastor? (Neshkoro, Wisconsin:  Dec 1979)

62 — “Sparks” In Our Ministry (Berlin, Wisconsin:  Spring 1980)

63 — The Brothers In Responsibility (Louisville:  Spring 1980)

64 — A Brother from Zimbabwe (Louisville:  1980-1981)

65 — Tired of Waiting (Louisville:  1982)

66 — Listen for the Music and Follow It (Louisville:  1983)

Wandering Africa:  Zimbabwe (1983-1987)

67 — Back to the Jameson Hotel (Louisville:  Nov 1983)

68 — By Train from Johannesburg to Harare (Southern Africa:  Dec 1983)

69 — “Kalanyoni” -- The Call of the Bird (Harare, Zimbabwe:  Dec 1983)

70 — Colorless Sunday Services (Harare:  Dec 1983)

71 — “A Whiter Shade of Pale” (Harare:  Dec 1983)

72 — Hitchhiking in Zimbabwe (Harare: Dec 1983)

73 — The Road to Wedza (Zimbabwe:  Jan 1984)

74 — Fun and Games with Zimbabwe Immigration (Harare:  Jan 1984)

75 — Darkness and FOG (Harare:  Jan 1984)

76 — Computer Programmer or Pastor? (Harare:  Jan 1984)

77 — Fun and Games with Zimbabwe Immigration—Again!!! (Harare:  Jan 1984)

78 — The Beginnings of Ministry (Harare:  Feb 1984)

79 — Overturning the Rhodesian Paradigm in a Church (Harare:  Feb 1984)

80 — Hold the Rain! (Harare:  Mar 1984)

81 — Taking Our Show On the Road

82 — A Tale of Two Phone Calls (Zimbabwe:  May 1984)

83 — Detoured from Wedza’s Tobacco Road

84 — The Tobacco Road (Wedza:  May 1984)

85 — Under the Big Top (Wedza:  July 1984)

86 — “But you were invited!” [Intro]  (Wedza:  July 1984)

87 — "But, I repeat--you were invited!” (Wedza:  July 1984)

88 — All Politics is Local (Wedza:  July 1984)

89 — You Don't Understand that God Sent You (Wedza-Harare-Kariba:  July 1984)

90 — Contrasting Hearts (Harare:  Aug 1984)

91 — Too Much Mutton! (Kariba:  Sep 1984)

92 — Where Is Home Anyway? (Kariba:  Sep 1984)

93 — The End of the Journal — Not the End of the Journey (USA:  Sep/Oct/Nov/Dec 1984)

94 — A Triumphal Return!  Uh-oh, another detour . . . (Chicago:  July 4, 2013)

95 — Get on with that “Triumphal Return” already!  (Zimbabwe:  Jan 1985)

96 — Those Polymorph Thingies (Wedza:  Feb 1985)

97 — This Is Ridiculous—Another Detour!!! (Chicago:  June 2014)

98 — Time to Ponder (Wedza:  March 1985)

99 — When All Seemed Promising (Wedza:  May 1985)

100 — A decade-long detour. So forgive the reintroduction!   [ Includes:  Harare Having Any Fun Yet?  (Harare:  Jan 1986)]

101 — Another 7 Days in May—This Time in Israel (Tel Aviv, Israel:  May 1986)

102 — Abigail! (USA:  June 1986)

103 — Stuck in the States (Louisville:  Aug-Sep 1986)

104 — Why Are You Traveling to Israel? (Oct 1986)

105 — No Longer Welcome (Harare:  Oct 1986)

106 — The Northern Wasteland (Lusaka, Zambia:  Nov 1986)

107 — Leaving Africa:  🎶 “Hello, I Must Be Going!” 🎶 (Harare:  Nov 1986)

Wandering the USA:  Kentucky (1987-1997)

108 — Starting Where I Am Again! (July 4, 2024  --  June 3, 2025)

109 — More Wandering and Wondering (July 2025)

110 — Fond Farewell? (Zimbabwe to Louisville:  Spring 1987)

111 — Teaching Myself to Swim (Louisville:  Fall 1987)

112 — Treading Water Can Be Pleasant . . . for a While (Louisville:  1987-91)

113 — My Father Told Me a Joke (Louisville:  1991-92)

114 — Hating August (Louisville:  1993)

115 — Don’t Be in a Hurry to Be an Old Man (Written Aug 2025)

Wandering Southeast Asia:  Singapore (1997-1999)

116 — Don’t Hurry, But Pick Up the Pace! (Louisville to  Singapore:  1991-1999)

Wandering the USA:  Chicago (1999-2023)

117 — Meeting the Rabbi (Chicago:  Fall 1999)

118 — 🎶 “Teach Your Children Well” 🎶 (Fall 1999)

119 —  One Small Step for a Man—A Giant Leap for this "Wasser"-man (Chicago:  Fall 1999)

120 —  Jewish-ish, Jewish-er — Just Jewish (Chicago:  1999-2022)

No Longer Wandering:  ISRAEL (2023 . . . )

121 — Planting My Flag (Israel:  Aug 30, 2023)

122 — O Jerusalem! (Israel:  Aug 30 - Oct 7, 2023)

123 — The Sum of the Matter (Israel:  Hebrew Year 5784)

Messianic Jewish Congregations:  Who Sold this Business to the Gentiles?

Messianic Jewish Congregations:  Who Sold this Business to the Gentiles?

Jeffrey S. Wasserman, Ph.D. 

Copyright©1997, 2000, 2012

Preface and Acknowledgments

Chapter 1 - Who Sold this Business to the Gentiles

Chapter 2 - The History and Theology of Messianic Judaism

Chapter 3 - An Emerging Identity

Chapter 4 - The North American Expression

Chapter 5 - The Israeli Expression

Chapter 6 - The Future for Messianic Congregations

Appendix - Congregational Survey

Bibliography  

Afterthoughts 

Postscript:  What’s Next? (Jan 20, 2026)

Why “unleavened” bread? (Jan 21, 2026)

Explaining It All (May 14, 2026)

Video Classes:  Lectures on World Religions

Religions of the World - Fall 2022

Jeffrey S. Wasserman, Ph.D. 

Intro to World Religions

Lesson 1 - What is religion? part 1

Lesson 2 - What is religion? part 2

Lesson 3 - What is faith and how does it work?

Lesson 4 - God, gods or something else?

Lesson 5 - Hinduism - part 1

Lesson 6 - Hinduism - part 2

Lesson 7 - Hinduism - part 3a

Lesson 8 - Hinduism - part 3b

Lesson 9 - Hinduism - part 4

Lesson 10 - Hinduism - part 5

Lesson 11 - Hinduism - part 6

Lesson 12 - Hinduism - part 7

Lesson 13 - Hinduism - part 8

Lesson 14 - Hinduism - part 9

Lesson 15 - Buddhism - part 1

 

 

For more Afterthoughts and my other publications, visit my website:  www.confessionsofawanderingjew.com