Coexisting in a Religious World of Divide: A Journey of Faith in Christianity and Judaism

By Elisheva Irma Diaz and Joseph Shulam

“The extraordinary twists and turns of the spiritual journey of Elisheva Irma Diaz reflect and illumine the tumultuous era in which we live. The universally recognized border separating Judaism and Christianity is now a blur. Elisheva’s story shows that the insecurity that has ensued may also open us up to unimagined blessing.”

— Rabbi Mark S. Kinzer, PhD, author of Jerusalem Crucified, Jerusalem Risen (2018), and Searching Her Own Mystery (2015)



As powerfully quoted by Joseph Shulam in the foreword of this book, “There are medical books written by doctors who have researched, studied issues, and gained knowledge in their professional capacity. However, very few of these medical books were written by doctors who themselves have experienced the illness in their own bodies”.
This author’s journey to reclaim her Sephardic Jewish heritage led her on an adventure that began in the early nineties with a full-time Christian ministry that eventually propelled her into a powerful ten-year insightful journey. She went from an ordained Pastor of Pastors with a successful ministry into Judaism and soon after her transition, enrolled herself in formal rabbinic studies and was ordained a Rabbi in 2012. Through this spiritual journey filled with intense study and spiritual experiences, she writes what some may think, but would most likely never say. She has further concluded without a shadow of a doubt that both Judaism and Christianity are broken but God has chosen to dwell in them both. She is quick to confess, “Christianity and Judaism broke my heart, yet, both Christianity and Judaism brought me closer to the knowledge of God”. Blessed be He!

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Aug 5, 2019
• ISBN: 9781973669890

Elisheva Irma Diaz

Dr Elisheva Irma Diaz is a born and raised Angeleno. She is an international author, public speaker, and lecturer. She is widely known for her spiritual gifts and communication skills. In addition to her far-reaching interfaith ministry, she is in charge of the bereavement department at Emanate Health Hospice and Home Care (previously Citrus Valley Hospice and Home Health), which is affiliated with Emanate Health, Queen of the Valley Hospital, Inter-Community Hospital, and Foothill Presbyterian Hospital in San Gabriel Valley, California. As a young adult, she entered the political world and served in a grassroots congressional campaign, which after a victory, opened many doors in Washington, DC. The height of her national experience in politics and government was during the Reagan and Bush White House years, where she served on transition teams and with the public liaison office. She traveled throughout the United States building special-interest coalition groups and later worked with Arriana Huffington as a consultant and public speaker. Soon after this, she built a fairly large ministry. This ministry founded an institute that trained and ordained pastors. She was instrumental in planting churches that are still around today. She was the executive producer of her own international television program, which aired for fourteen years in 170 nations. Her experience as a diplomate in government opened doors in South America where she visited and was hosted by the government annually for fourteen years. Consistently, she was given a strong voice to address parliament, which included members of the United Nations. Simultaneously, she worked with business and religious leaders across South America. It was during this time that Elisheva (Irma) known as Pastora Irma began working with her team in the slum areas of Brazil, helping orphanages in their quest to rescue infants and children from the streets. She traveled throughout South America, including Argentina and Ecuador, focusing on teaching (Government, Business and Religious) leaders in biblical ethics. Because she is a Sephardic (Hispanic) Jew and has knowledge of the Holy Land through her Hebrew studies, she has taken study groups to Israel since the early nineties. She holds a master’s degree in theology and a doctorate of divinity degree from Covenant Life Theological Seminary in Gainesville, Georgia. She furthered her education with her focal point on Rabbinic studies. She graduated in 2013 from Gratz College (a private coeducational Jewish college in Melrose Park, Pennsylvania). In addition to her ordination as a minister in 1986, she was also ordained a rabbi in 2012. She is the founder and president of Ayekah Jewish Foundation based in Los Angeles and Vice President and Co-founder of the Coalition for Sephardic Hispanic ladino legacy. To have Dr Elisheva Irma Diaz, BAJS, MTS, DD speak at your special event, please contact us at: Email address: [e-mail] or [e-mail] Visit our websites: www.ellishevairmadiaz.com or www.Ayekah.org

Book preview

Copyright © 2019 Elisheva Irma Diaz.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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Bloomington, IN 47403

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org

ISBN: 978-1-9736-6990-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-6991-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-6989-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019910084

WestBow Press rev. date: 08/05/2019

Contents

Acknowledgments

Author’s Notes

Foreword

Introduction

► Restoration and Reinstatement

► Opening the DNA Path

► My Spiritual Encounter

► The Crux of the Matter

► L’dor V’dor (Hebrew: From Generation to Generation)

Chapter 1 In the Cleft of the Rock

► Humanity’s Strengths and Weaknesses

► On the Inside Looking Out

► Revelatory Truths and Spiritual DNA

Chapter 2 The Brokenness of Judaism and Christianity

► First-Century Religion (Hillel, Shammai, and Jesus)

► The Progression of Religion (A Little Bit of History)

► Cultural Religion and Scholarly Religion

Chapter 3 And I Will Give You a Heart of Flesh

► The Divine Mirror

► The Hovering of the Eagle

► The Outpouring of His Spirit

► What Will Jew and Gentile Look Like in the Messianic Era?

► What Does Ego Have to Do with Religion?

► Egoism

► Enlightenment (Prophetic Insights)

► What Does It Mean to Have a Heart of Flesh?

► I Am with You in Your Brokenness

► Misunderstandings about the Law and the Prophets

► We Are Not Under the Law but Are Under Grace

► Where Are the Broken Pieces of the First Set of Tablets?

Chapter 4 HaShem Chooses to Dwell in Both Judaism and Christianity

► The Dwelling Place of God

► HaShem Chooses to Dwell in the Brokenness in Both Judaism and Christianity

► Force-Feeding Is a No-No

► Bitachon

► Build Me a Place That I May Dwell with You (Shekinah and Seven Spiritual Levels)

► Is There More than One Mishkan?

► The Wise of Heart

► The Difference between Need and Want

► Messianic Judaism

Chapter 5 Spiritual Integrity

► Accountability

► The Duties of the Heart and the Duties of the Limbs (Chovos Halevavos)

► The Blind Leading the Blind

► All In

► The Devotion of the Heart

► Ah and Oy

► Study

► Ethics

► Cheshbon HaNefesh (Hebrew: Spiritual Accounting of the Soul)

Chapter 6 The Enigma of Passion

► The Law of Attraction

► Passion Is Ultimately Linked to the Heart

► Showing Up for Ourselves

► Two Types of Passion

► When Passion Seems to Let Us Down

► And God Saw That It Was Good: Restoring Things to Their Original Intent

► Scattered Feathers

Chapter 7 The Mount of Transfiguration (Moses, Elijah, and Jesus)

► Spiritual Insights

► The Prophecy of Malachi and Four Hundred Silent Years

► The Phenomenon at the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1–11)

► Moses Transfigured

► Our Chain of Transmission

► Elijah: Whoever Has Ears, Let Them Hear

► The Voice of the Prophet Must Take a Place at Our Table: Eliyahu Hanavi

► Jesus (First Century)

► The Inner Circle

◆ Family Dynamics

■ The Four Sons in One

◆ Peter

◆ James and John, Sons of Thunder

■ John

■ James

► Back to the Mount of Transfiguration

► Restoration and Reinstatement

Words from My Heart

► Touching but Not Touching

Recommendations for Further Reading and Reference

About the Author

Dedication

This writing is dedicated to the blessed memory of my earthly father who, until the day he took his last breath, loved me and supported me unconditionally. I honor you for the father and grandfather you were to so many while you were with us. Thank you for showing me the way to love my heavenly Father.

DadandITahoe.jpg

Daniel Diaz

1924–2018

(House of Sanchez Del’Gadillo)

To my daughters, Christina and Jeannette, thank you for helping me come up with the title of this book and for the countless visits we spent dialoging about its content.

To my son, Albert and daughter-in-law Diana, thank you for our early morning coffee clutches and discussions that always give me much food for thought.

To my grandchildren, (listed from eldest to youngest) Julian, Simon, Juliette, and Jacob. You rock my world!

A special thank you to my niece Yvette Marie Diaz-Langworthy for always believing in me and never losing sight of who I am. Thank you.

I love you all. May this writing be fruit that abounds for all of your lives. L’dor V’dor (Hebrew: from generation to generation).

Acknowledgments

In appreciation for all your support and prayers (listed in alphabetical order):

Cherrie and Manny Aldana, Margo and Len Appelbaum, Wanda and Anthony Calime, Sylvia Ramos Carlin, Tamiko Crump, Katy Ingersoll, Jann and Neil Mathies, Patricia Morales, Gavriella Perez, Adriana Silva, Tammy Tagge, and Adrienne and Jeffrey Thompson. Thank you.

For those, too many to mention that have prayed for me and asked continuously about this project. You know who you are. Thank you. May you be blessed bountifully for your good thoughts and faith in me.

Author’s Notes

Disclaimer: The views expressed in Coexisting in a Religious World of Divide are those of the author and may or may not all be shared by those listed in the endorsements and acknowledgments.

Scriptural references: Except where noted, scriptural references are taken from the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked the Israel Bible are taken from The Israel Bible, copyright © 2018 by Menorah Books, Jerusalem.

Scripture quotations marked JPS or TNK are taken from the JPS Tanakh, copyright © the Jewish Publication Society.

Scripture quotations designated (ESV) are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright © 2000, 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Also cited is Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac (Shlomo Yitzhaki, known as Rashi based on the acronym of his Hebrew initials).

Note: When referring to Jesus, it is duly noted that although not acknowledged by mainstream Judaism or generally used in Western Christianity, he was also respectfully known by the name Yeshua. For the sake of clarity for most of my readers when referring to Yeshua, the name Jesus will be used when he is mentioned.

The initialism B"H (Hebrew: Baruch HaShem, 52789.png ) is an expression like Thank God (literally, blessed be the name) as defined by Yehuda Shurpin (a noted scholar and researcher). This initialism is used in this writing. BH 52791.png ) is a reference in Hebrew to baruch HaShem (blessed is God) or b’ezrat HaShem (with the help of God). Others opt for BSD ( 52793.png ), which is the initialism for the Aramaic phrase b’syata d’shmaya (with the help of heaven). (The quotation mark before the last letter is the Hebrew way of signaling that this is an initialism or an otherwise nonstandard word.)

God’s gender: The issue of calling God He or she is fairly recent. It is agreed, however, by most that God is neither male nor female. Many nowadays will make it a point to tickle the ears of their audience by referring to God as He or She, and others will just say She to make their point that it is possible that God can be a female and does not have to be a male to be powerful and omnipresent. But God is neither gender (John 4:24). This writer is not concerned with trends or tickling ears to fit into modernity and acknowledges that tradition calls God the Father, which is a male, and calls His Spirit Shekinah, the Mother and/or female essence of God. When speaking of Shekinah, it is tradition to refer to she and to God as Father as He. God can perfectly identify with the needs and emotions of all people, male and female, and I am certain He is able to meet us at the place that we call home in our faith. Genesis 1:27 says in the Torah: God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. This writer believes both male and female have been made in God’s image and that He understands both. In our faith we must be able to refer to God in the way we feel the closest to Him. Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of Adonai is, there is liberty (paraphrased from 2 Corinthians 3:17). The author’s tradition is to refer to God the Father as He and Shekinah as she.

Sources referenced in Coexisting in a Religious World of Divide: Sources may or may not be indicative of what the author has concluded as being the truth for her on her personal journey. Although the author duly cites sources throughout this writing, we all can agree, especially as Bible scholars and educators, that great minds and inquisitive hearts have without intent fallen in sync with each other for God’s purposes. It then must be noted that it is understood that some of the sources used in Coexisting in a Religious World of Divide are not accepted by Judaism and/or Christianity but must be included for educational purposes and to solidify the timely message within this writing.

Coexisting in a Religious World of Divide

A Journey of Faith in Christianity and Judaism

Foreword

By Joseph Shulam

There are medical books written by doctors who have researched, studied issues, and gained knowledge in their professional capacity. However, very few of these medical books were written by doctors who themselves have experienced the illness in their own bodies.

Elisheva (Irma) Diaz has written a book that is very personal, exposing her past, her present, her wishes for her own future, and her longing for the vast ocean of the Jewish and Christian communities.

Elisheva (Irma) writes about a journey of faith, a journey that she has traveled in person, a journey that took her through the glories of heaven down into the darkest, most prejudicial valleys of human behavior. The journey that Elisheva (Irma) takes in her book is a path of the best of faith in God to the duties of heart. She avoids falling and sinking into the hopelessness of division and religious prejudice that is the daily diet for many religious communities, both on the Jewish and the Christian side.

In the last chapter of this work, Elisheva deals with two of the biggest challenges for both the Jewish and the Christian community: restoration and reinstatement of the greatest truths of both faiths that can never be a motive of separation and enmity but must forever be a motive for cooperation and partnership. The source of hope for the future and the challenge for the present for both Jews and Christians is in the ability to agree on what is common between the two communities and wait for the coming of the Messiah to ask Him the question that Rabbi Shlomo Riskin¹ suggests: Messiah, is this your first coming or Second Coming?

I endorse this book, and also Rabbi Elisheva (Irma) Diaz, because I believe that restoration of our true faith in the Almighty One of Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, will be possible only through the cooperation and partnership between Jews and Christians as brothers and sisters in the process of tikkun olam, repairing the broken world that we experience daily.

Joseph Shulam is the director of Netivyah Bible Research Institute in Jerusalem, Israel, a respected biblical/Hebrew scholar, author and co author of A Commentary on the Jewish Roots of Romans (May 1998), A Commentary on the Jewish Roots of Acts (vols. 1 and 2, 2003), Hidden Treasures: The First-Century Jewish Way of Understanding the Scriptures (2007), Commentary on Galatians (2008), and Planted in the House of the Lord: God, Israel, and the Church (2012).

He travels worldwide educating and equipping many as they await for the coming of the Messiah (https://netivyah.org/about/about-netivyah/).

Introduction

Restoration and Reinstatement

Our journeys in life are destined by our Creator (the architect of it all), and while it is believed we do impact the rhythm of the twists and turns, everything we do and everyone we meet offers some kind of learning curve available for the taking. Every journey is filled with messages for us from both the natural and the spiritual realm. Some choose to embrace and learn from both, and others prefer one over the other. Tragically, some deny both and continue to struggle where they could have obtained victory. But this writer believes that our Creator and His universe want us to embrace all that is accessible to us.

To date my journey has been revolutionary in both realms, and from my perspective the things I have learned from my family upbringing, my culture, being a young adult in politics, my studies, my research, and through religion and spirituality has been and remains one of the most adventurous, enlightening, and radical experiences a person could have. I am spiritual and not religious. I enjoy tapping into deep spiritual studies and am always curious about the spiritual realm for the purpose of being enlightened. I thrive on who God is to me as I learn and teach. It is because of this that I believe God has allowed me to taste of supernatural experiences. Through my travels I have witnessed blind eyes opened and people healed and set free from depression and oppression, and I have watched those giving their hearts over to God transformed. B"H.

I was inspired to write Coexisting in a Religious World of Divide as prophetic insight. Although this writing conceptually can be applied to all faiths, you will find my focus is more fitting to my experience. I was reared as a Catholic in private school under the tutelage of nuns. I later became what is known as a born again Christian and found myself with my own fairly large full-time ministry as an ordained pastor of pastors that included planting churches that are still around today. During this time, days evolved to weeks, months, and years of studying and pondering about my Jewish heritage. After many years in ministry, I embraced Judaism, pursuing my education in rabbinic school and becoming ordained a rabbi. I literally devoured ancient texts and Hebrew thought, which is what feels like home to me. These experiences led me to where I am today.

Moving on, I would like to first bring clarification to what Coexisting in a Religious World of Divide is and is not. As its author, I have found what I am writing herein to be controversial but true for me and what I believe God has shown me through my experience in these two religious camps. You will notice quickly that this work is not meant to tickle the ears or to take sides, as there is no such logic in the spiritual realm. At certain points as you read, you may feel as though there is a persuasive tone leaning toward one side; however, that may only be because of the message, which is filled with legitimacy and expressed with sincerity. Most importantly, it is what I personally believe to be prophetic insight that is simply being delivered and can be received or rejected.

The phrase I am telling you the truth in Hebrew, divrei’ emet’ ani medaber imkha, in rabbinic literature can imply that what is being stated carries with it the weight of revelation or is a divine conclusion brought on by inspiration. It is my hope that while you are reading Coexisting in a Religious World of Divide, the words I tell you the truth will resonate within you if not as your truth, then at the very least as a truth to consider. This work is purposely not formulated as a scholarly writing; nonetheless, it has within it a fusion of scholarly insights. It is food for thought for the hour. There are layers upon layers of spiritual depth for us as human beings to explore, and everyone is called to different levels. Coexisting in a Religious World of Divide should be considered a first step to the more. Consider this: if you were to climb a ladder toward heaven for enlightenment and it was seven rungs from the earth (which has great symbolism), this would probably be the first rung with overtones of what the second could be like as we make our way toward and to the light. Being spiritual is one thing, but having the passion for illumination is yet another. One cannot skip rungs on the ladder thinking one will skip important truths, as that always results in clouded lenses. We are here on earth, and we all at some point must learn to coexist with the myriad of people and the diversity that comes with them. This does not mean we must agree with everyone, but we must learn to live together in peace and, for those of like mind, work together for peace.

This author believes that Coexisting in a Religious World of Divide has assigned readers. If this book crosses your path, it is most likely because it was meant to. Hopefully when you are done with the book, you will pass it along as food for thought or recommend it to others. Then, take the time to meditate on the possibilities, as only then will the material herein settle deeper in you, and only then will dimensions be released for more understanding. What is written herein, then, is only for the purpose of scratching the surface. There is more, much, much more.

I tell you the truth.

(Divrei’ emet’ ani medaber imkha.)

Opening the DNA Path

You may have already read or at least perused my book Wrestling for My Jewish Identity. It is in that writing that I was able to share about my religious transition from Christianity to Judaism, first as a pastor with a successful traveling ministry and then as a rabbi celebrating my Jewish heritage. It is in Wrestling for My Jewish Identity that I share what inspired me to do what I did and what I went through to do it.

I grew up in a Catholic home. While there were some Jewish interfaith surrounding me on my mother’s side, my happy youth was filled with Christmas Masses, christenings, confirmations, and some bar mitzvahs, and as a consequence Catholic and a few Jewish weddings. As a child I had many spiritual experiences, most of which I did not understand. When I was very young, they scared me and I always went to my big brother Danny for solace. He was my safe place. Later, I learned to face these experiences with courage and curiosity. Skipping ahead some years, as a young adult, I applied randomly for a job with a lobbyist (Michael O’Donnell) in Los Angeles, who ended up being a great friend (this opened the door to a twenty-plus-year career in politics). From grassroots to national and eventually international opportunities, later unimaginable doors opened where annually I was invited to address members of parliament in South America. Working with individuals like Pat Robertson on several national ventures opened many doors for me both in politics and in ministry. Later, working closely on a daily basis with individuals like Arianna Huffington taught me to broaden my scope and, quite frankly, think a little more for myself. Today I am an ordained rabbi and a graduate of Gratz College. I was determined to take back what had been taken from my ancestors through the Spanish Inquisition.² I learned everything I could about this buried Jewish identity I had been so drawn to for years. I was determined to resurrect it in our lineage, and I did just that.

Thoughts constantly raced through my mind: How dare anyone expect or, worse, force someone to walk away from their identity? The Spanish Jews³ suffered just because they were Jews. I knew in my heart I would be misunderstood, and I knew in my heart I would lose people in my life whom I loved because I knew well what they believed. My transition and what I went through to do this was one of the hardest things I ever had to do.

I was mortified about how it all went down and by the way I was treated, and at the same time I realized that most in my