A Rabbi Comes to Jesus
The Testimony of Rabbi Joseph Azriel
As a young man growing up in Morocco, I personally experienced persecution from people who called themselves Christians. I would ask myself how they could worship a Jewish man on Sunday, and all week long taunt and harass Jewish people. I could never figure this out. I wanted to understand what kind of person this Jesus was who could inspire so much hatred to me and my people.

My next experience with the name of Jesus occurred in Israel during the Yom Kippur War in 1973. As a rabbi and cantor,* I was directing the Yom Kippur services in my synagogue.

On Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, Israel's most holy of days, all is usually quiet, as we consider the holiness of the day. The silence of the day erupted into great noise as we found ourselves under attack. Soldiers were running everywhere to join their units in defense of our country. I had to join my unit also and managed to get to the Golan Heights by five that evening. I was the driver, part of a four-man tank crew.

That night, the Syrians managed to conquer quite a bit of the northern part of Israel. It was very difficult for us to maneuver because of the many Syrian land mines. We were ordered to counterattack the Syrians forces. The fighting was fierce, but we were slowly advancing. One of my crew cried out, "Look how many dead and wounded we have! Let's pray."

I said to him, "There is not time to pray now. We have to advance."

"I don't care," he replied. "We need to stop everything and pray."

Right there, in the middle of the attack, we prayed. I was stunned. As he finished his prayer, he said, "Ba Shem Yeshua,"—"In Jesus' name." Again I was stunned. That soldier was a Jew and yet he prayed in the name of Jesus!

Bombs and artillery were falling all around us and there he was standing very proudly praying. I was astonished. Where and how could he find the strength to pray in such circumstances? I said to him. "Why are you praying to Yeshua? Who is Yeshua? Do you want to bring more problems upon us?"

This particular day was very hot, with not a bit of wind. The air was stagnant, and it was difficult to breathe. Soldiers who were experts at finding and defusing mines were all around us as my crewman finished his prayer. Suddenly, a strong wind came and blew away the sand and small stones that were concealing the mines. I was amazed. I thought to myself, "Am I dreaming? Is this really happening?" Who knows how many lives were saved because of that wind from nowhere?

The next day there appeared to be a ceasefire between Israel and Syria. It was at that time that we realized we were surrounded. Death was staring us in the face. My crewman said, "Let's pray again." I said, "Why do you want to pray now?" Just then the battle began, and bombs were falling like rain from the sky. We were ordered to go to Mt. Hermon, the largest mountain in Israel, but we waited until our crewman was finished with his prayers.

We had driven not more than half a kilometer when our tank was hit by a shell. The impact nearly destroyed the tank. Two of the four of us were killed. I was badly wounded and spent nine months in the hospital. The one who prayed walked away with no injuries!

Recovering from my wounds in the hospital gave me time to think about these events. My praying friend came to visit me frequently, but I could not believe his words about Jesus. I was a rabbi. How could I betray my faith and my people by considering the religion of those who persecuted us? Yet, I was constantly meeting believers who would not leave me alone. I had no idea that so many Jewish people believed in Jesus.

When I got out of the hospital, I studied the Scriptures. I wanted to know about the Messiah and Jesus. Eventually God sent a missionary family to make contact with me. They gave me a New Testament which was printed in Hebrew. They shared with me about Judaism, Jewishness, and Jesus. In 1986 I prayed to receive Jesus in to my heart.

Since He came into my heart, I have found the peace that I looked for my whole life. My wife and my six children have all accepted Jesus. I will spend the rest of my life serving Him.

--Joseph