(It is our policy not to divulge either the names or locations of those who write us, unless requested by the writer. Hebrew Roots reserves the right to condense letters to save space. Every effort will be made to retain the essence of the communication. Responses to the letters may be for clarification, or for the general edification of our readership and are not necessarily directed toward the person writing the letter.)

Dear Dean and Susan,
      Please place me on your mailing list. I wish to subscribe to the newsletter Hebrew Roots. I just received my first issue (May/June 96) and I am so happy to get solid food again instead of social fluff, gossip, and “half baked’ ideology.
      I was baptized in 1986 but left ____ in 1991. After much studying I found that learning more about Judaism brought the Bible as a whole much more understandable and that nobody can separate “Jews” and “Christians” for we are truly one branch on one tree--grown together as a family unit.
      I am glad to read your focus on God’s Holy Days. Today, with so many different ideas I feel the truth about these days is being lost. It’s a never ending battle teaching the truth. Give Satan an inch and he’ll take a mile. Thanks so much. Take care.

            AR

      P.S. Question: Is it OK to pray while wearing a tallit (prayer shawl)? After much research on the subject I find the tallit a beautiful symbol of God’s love for His people. But everyone I have spoken to in different Churches of God seem to frown on the idea of wearing one in prayer. They scorn the shawl as being Jewish or comparing it to the rosary or other such paganism. I don’t think this is true. What is your opinion on this?

            AR

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Shalom Aleichem AR,
      Thank you for your kind letter and thoughtful question. When one really understands Romans chapters 9, 10 and 11, it becomes obvious that the Church is not supposed to be a replacement for Israel. Rather, all Believers are to be grafted into Israel. Some, Israelites (Jews and others) have been temporarily cut out of the “Olive Tree of Israel” due to their unbelief. That is God’s doing and has been done for His purposes. But Romans 11:26 says; “And so all Israel shall be saved;...” “Jews” and “Christians” are all to be grafted into the ‘good’ olive tree which is Israel. (More on this in a future issue.)
      As to your question about the tallit (prayer shawl). I see no problem with wearing a prayer shawl during prayer if that helps you to draw closer to your heavenly Father and your Messiah. The tallit has fringes or tzit-tzit on it’s corners. Our Messiah, Yeshua wore these same fringes or tzit-tzit on His garments. That is what the woman with the issue of blood touched when she became healed. The tzit-tzit are tied in such a way that they represent the 613 commandment that are found in the Torah. When she touched Yeshua’s tzit-tzit she touched His outward, physical symbol of righteousness and, because she believed it would heal her, it did. This was an outward act of an inner faith. (Faith without works is dead, being alone. James 2:17).
      One word of caution. If your wearing of the taut at a public worship service offends other people it may be the better part of wisdom to use it in the privacy of your home until they can come to accept it as a valid expression of worship. This would comply with the principle found in Romans 14.
      May the peace of God
      be with you always,

            DEW

Dear Dean and Susan,
      I received your first issue of Hebrew Roots from the Servant’s News. I am amazed and pleased at the spiritual quality of what the Eternal Yahweh has moved you to do. It is indeed a great work of faith and spirit. Let Him continue to work through you in the humility that He has evidenced in you.
      The insights which He has offered you are truly inspired in His Spirit of knowledge and understanding, and the “Meditation” section is well put together, and is the best way that I have ever seen, of drawing forth the substance of His Truth on a subject, from His Word.
      Let Yahweh bless the effort He has caused through you, and let the Work be done.
      Please let this sharing from Sukkot just past be a measure of His greatness in His People. He supplies all of our wants in perfection of need.
      Your in Yohshouwa
      Moshiach,

            GDB

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Shalom Aleichemn GDB,
      Your kind words are truly humbling. Believe us when we say that if our heavenly Father were not supporting our efforts it would have failed several months ago. We are learning to know when what we are doing is on the right track, because that is when the spiritual attack begins from the other side. Your prayers for our well being will be much appreciated. This is not an easy road on which we find ourselves traveling.
      May the peace of God
      be with you always,

            DEW

Dear Dean & Susan,
      Thank you very, very much for the work you are doing. It is my personal belief that God deliberately scattered the Church in order to free up and expand Biblical knowledge through efforts such as yours.

            MH

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Shalom Aleichem MH,
      Another reason is so that every person will have the opportunity to prepare for the time when they must come alone and stand before God to answer for what they believe.
      May the peace of God
      be with you always,

            DEW

Dear Hebrew Roots;
      Please add us to your Hebrew Roots mailing list. Are you Jewish or part Jewish or coming from a Gentile or Church of God history?
      Thank you,

            SG

~

Shalom Aleichem SG,
      Thank you for your subscription and for your question. Several have written asking about my background.
      To the best of my knowledge I am not Jewish, or even part Jewish, although my maternal grandfather came from Europe and was surnamed Fischer, which is often times a Jewish name. Whatever he was, he had little use for religion.
      As a child, I had no religious training outside of a few Bible stories. Religion was never discussed in our home. My Church experience was very minimal and I was Biblically illiterate.
      Then one night I heard a voice on the radio telling me to take the Bible down off the shelf and blow the dust off of it. I did not even own a Bible. That was in the fall of 1965. I did manage to find a Catholic Bible that belonged to my first wife (now deceased). In early 1966 1 received my first issue of the Plain Truth magazine.
      In April of 1968 1 was baptized by two ministers from the Worldwide Church of God. In the fall of 1969 1 entered Ambassador College in Pasadena Ca. as a married student and attended one year. In 1979 I Left the Worldwide Church of God and began attending with the Church of God, International (CGI) in the Pasadena area. In 1981 I was ordained an elder in that organization.
      Late in 1994 CGI and I began to part company. They would probably say it was because I was teaching ‘Jewish’ things. In reality, the question was Matthew 18, how to resolve differences between brethren. Since I felt they were not living up to those scriptures, we were never able to get to the point of discussing the ‘Jewish’ factor.
      Over the past several years, many people urged us to begin writing about the things we had been learning concerning the Hebrew roots of our Christian faith. This publication was begun in the spring of 1996. Please pray that what we do in this teaching ministry will bear good fruit in the sight of our Creator God.
      May the peace of God
      be with you always,

            DEW

Dear Dean and Susan,
      Thanks for the offer to be put on your mailing. I thoroughly enjoyed the Roots paper. It’s refreshing to be given the Hebrew slant on the gospel. We are members of a Messianic congregation in ________.
      I did not see a way to donate to you. Please let me know about that.

            IT

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Shalom Aleichem IT,
      Thank you for your letter and your expression of support. While Hebrew Roots is sent free of charge to anyone desiring to “grow in grace and knowledge,” it does require financial support. This support comes entirely from freewill do-nations. We do not charge for any of our tapes or the publication itself, but we do thankfully accept whatever our subscribers feel they can afford and wish to send. Please see the box on page 2 for more information.
      May the peace of God
      be with you always,

            DEW

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