Sarah's Long Way Home

She Cried When He Said Her Parents Are In Hell

Sarah grew up in Brooklyn, surrounded by educated Jewish friends and family who were proud but not religious.

When Sarah encountered a Jew who believed in Jesus, she was skeptical at first but was drawn to the love and acceptance her new friend offered.

For years, Sarah read the Bible, attended church, and considered herself more Jewish than the Jews from her old neighborhood. Eventually, she joined a “Messianic synagogue” where they called their leader a “rabbi” and practiced Jewish rituals. Sarah believed she had found a “perfect solution” for her nagging guilt about abandoning her Jewish heritage.

The turning point came 30 years later with the death of her parents. When Sarah asked her Messianic leader to say the Kaddish (the mourner's prayer) for them, he refused, stating callously that since they were non-believers, they were “burning in hell.” Shocked by the callousness of this answer, Sarah cried and questioned the choice she had made.

So, Sarah bought a Jewish Hebrew-English Bible and compared it to the Christian translations she had been taught. Noticing significant differences, she contacted Jews for Judaism with questions. Every week for nearly a year, we studied the Bible over the phone. I patiently explained how the passages had been mistranslated and taken out of context. I also demonstrated how the correct translation validated Judaism as a spiritually fulfilling path to God.

For Sarah, the most painful and confusing passage, quoted to her by missionaries, stated that “there is no remission of sin without the shedding of blood.” They told Sarah this is from Leviticus 17:11 and that it means that she and her parents would perish unless they accept Jesus, since Temple sacrifices are no longer available.

Sarah desperately wanted an explanation.

First, I pointed out that the original quote from Leviticus 17:11, in the Torah portion Acharei, states “The life of the flesh is in the blood... to make atonement on your soul,” with no mention of blood being the only way to make atonement. The New Testament misquotes Leviticus in Hebrews 9:22 and amazingly says, “One could almost say that without blood there is no forgiveness.” The word “almost” means not all sins need blood

This makes sense for several reasons. According to Leviticus chapter 4, only certain unintentional sins required a sacrifice. Furthermore, the Bible lists many forms of atonement besides blood, including giving charity and offering incense and even offering fine flour for those who could not afford an animal.

Second, the Prophet Hosea in chapter 14 explicitly teaches that when there is no Temple, we can “offer our prayers in place of sacrifices.”

Third, sacrifices were only effective if they were preceded by repentance, as King Solomon says in Proverbs 15:8, “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination.” Repentance is always the main method for achieving forgiveness. This is illustrated in the book of Jonah, when the people of Nineveh were forgiven because they “turned from their evil ways” without shedding of blood.

Finally, Sarah was comforted to learn that the Bible does not teach eternal damnation for the righteous; rather, as Ecclesiastes 12:7 says, “the soul returns to God Who gave it.”

Sarah eventually realized that the path to God was never closed and didn't require an intermediary. She could pray directly to God as Psalms 145:18 says, “God is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth.”

Right before Yom Kippur, Sarah returned to Judaism. Standing in the synagogue, she cried once again, but this time, her tears weren't from grief or fear; they were tears of joy, marking her return to a direct, spiritual relationship with God and her people.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Bentzion Kravitz

www.JewsForJudaism.org ● info@JewsforJudaism.org ● www.SMARTalks.com

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