In this story I will share how eight years ago God saved me from depression, nihilism and suicidal ideation. What is fascinating is how the miracles that happened to me are providentially intertwined with the miracles that happened to my dear friends the Schleifer family, also on Chag Succot eight years ago.
God guided me back to Judaism through an encounter with a Christian missionary, Olive Wilson. It was through her that I was introduced to the Machlis home where I found my place in the Jewish community. My story highlights God's ironic sense of humor to use "the church" to lead me, a Jewish woman, to find my true purpose. Such is the mysterious workings of Yad Hashem.
I am in touch with Olive to this day; she is a dear friend and I consider her from "the righteous amongst the nations." She has a great love for Israel and a deep respect for the Jewish people and would never attempt to persuade a Jew to embrace Christianity.
As for my opinion on the matter, I want to make it clear that I believe that Christianity is idolatry (Rambam, 13 principles of faith) and I condemn Christian missionaries who target Jews for conversion. Personally, the "Jews for Jesus" type and other evangelists who use deception and manipulative tactics make my blood boil. I stand in agreement with a statement made this past Succos by Rabbi Moshe Machlis: "People who target Jews for conversion are more evil than Hamas or Hitler."
I hope to write another article where I expand on this further.
on simchas torah avi proclamed in the shul - my freinds a great miracle happened here on this chag 8 years ago. a baby boy with a non functioning heart survived a birs. join me in thanking hashem for his incredible love and the kindness and blessings he has shown my family.
what miracle? actually 2 miracles happened that succot for the benefit of his precious yechial, one he only learned about years later. this miracle happened to me and you will see how my story and yechiel connects that succot of that year was a time of yad hashem and open miracles.
Accidentally walking into a christian bookstore on Jaffa street. Gave me the idea for a character for a novel I was thinking about. Weeks later met a Jewish man when I returned to the bookstore who had also accidentlaly wandered in and he introduced me to Aish Hatorah essentials program which also helped me undertsand and recconect to Judasim. Gave me a curiosity to understand christianity for myself and as research for my book so that one day when i was condiering trying yet again to overdose my sister called and said "Dina you have options in life" that inspired me to instead see if Christianity could be a path I can take here on earth instead of leaving this world altogether via suicide.
succos my mother encouraged me - practically pushed me out of the house - to explore churches. after close to five years of isolation and seclusion she was desperate to see me recconect with people. I met a lovely annabaptist woman and then returned on isru chag - did not want to be rude or impose on any of the tourists but i saw a woman sitting alone on a bench under the tree in the garden spacing out. i made it clear toher that i had no intension to convert and my curiosity for christianity was intelectual and for research for a book. discovered she was also a writer and she introduced me to blogger and invited me to come be her guest in ireland. year and a half later she did host me in cypress but before that we connected again in jerusalm when she returned in february. matzada and then she told me about machles so in her next trip we went to him together. i rented a bed in a youth hostel and loved it so much i continued coming every week and several months later got my own apartment in jerusalem and have been living here ever since.
as a project to help in my recovery i decided to get my speech therapy license in Israel and reinstate my usa license as well. this was 2 years after i met olive and while looking for a job in the field i was also looking for an apartment - took a 6 week sublease also over succot. the shabbos before succos i met abother dear friend. her 2 year old son was very energetic and he kept running into the tent the shul of the shul, i realized i recognized his moms face someone i knew of from back in ny. if her son had not been mischivous we would have never met. desperate for a long term apartment i asked everyone and anyone around the neighborhood and thats how i got the number to a real estate agent Avi Shleifer, he was not able to help me with my apartment search but told me that he often has singles in his home and so when i did sign a lease in the neighborhood over, i reached out to him for a shabbat invitation. several months later his son got approved for speech therapy through the kuppah but with covid and his son only speaking english it seemed it would be impossible to find him a therapist. luckily i had gotten my license by then, had a few months under my belt working again in the field and met them through these series of chance encounters and thus a beuatiful opportunity was born. yechiel did more for me helping me to develop as a therapist and as a person than i did for him. hashem was planting the seeds two and a half years older introducing me to christianity and to olive to get me out of depression and back into the field of speech therapy and to machles and back into the jewish community so that i would be ready to be the perfect shalioch in time for when he turned two years old. but at the same time god was laying that groundwork - that was one miracle that hashem orchestrated to help yechiel at the time that he was born. his actual survival as a newborn was also a miracle in and of itself.
story of yechiel and his heart.
chemical explanation to the number 8
explanation of numbers in judaism - 6 all sides of a cube, 7 the inside pnimius and 8 above nature, perfection.
conclusion
Notes:
In choosing this title I hoped to capture both the spiritual depth of Shemini Atzeret and its connection to the number eight, which symbolizes transcendence and going beyond the natural order. Including "God's Abundant Love for the Jewish People" adds an emotional and theological dimension, emphasizing the intimate relationship between God and the Jewish people that Shemini Atzeret celebrates, which can be seen in the open miracles that happened to both me and my friends during this time of year.
the spiritual depth of Shemini Atzeret and its connection to the number eight, which symbolizes transcendence and going beyond the natural order.
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