What "Extraordinary" Thing Happened When a Group of Evangelical Pastors Blessed a Group of Visiting Yeshiva Students?

Benjamin Dukas : Feb 22, 2016
Times of Israel

Within a minute, every chair in the room was empty, as Orayta students and pastors alternated in an unbroken circle, singing the ancient song of Jewish strength and indomitability…

(Israel)—[Originally published as: "Chicken, with inspiration on the side"-Reprinted with Permission from Times of Israel] This week, I had an experience that strongly deepened my faith. But it didn't come from learning a new piece of Torah in a sefer (book), or attending a tisch with singing, or hearing an inspirational shiur (class) given by one of my Rabbis. I wasn't surrounded by the beaten, majestic cobblestones of the Old City (where I live) or in the gorgeous hills of Judea whose beauty and grandeur show the greatness of God. One of the most spiritually uplifting experiences of my life took place in a restaurant, in a room full of non-Jews. (Screengrab via YouTube)

The evening began like many others. My friend Jakie's mom was in town, and in accordance with ancient Jewish tradition, she took a bunch of her son's friends out to dinner. When our group of twenty arrived at The Eucalyptus Restaurant, located right outside of the Old City, we were ushered upstairs into a private room with five, round ten-person tables. At first we thought the restaurant had made a mistake, but we were told that we had two of the tables in the room, and the other tables were for another private party. Jakie's mom was upset that our group was split up, and asked if we could move to one long table in another room, but the staff told her that was not possible.

After we were seated…

Continue reading to find out what happened, here.

Watch a clip of the joyous dancing here.