HE SET THE
CAPTIVES
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Elliot, Joyce, Rhena, & Seth
Klayman

ELLIOT'S TESTIMONY

   The day of graduation from boyhood to manhood arrived for me at age thirteen when I ascended to the beema (Lectern) in the Synagogue and read from the Torah (Five Books of Moses),  the Prophets, and the Siddur (Prayer Book).  A reception of mazel tov (Congratulations) greetings, money, and good Jewish food followed my Bar Mitzvah (Literally, Son of Commandment).  For the next two years, the Sunday morning minyon (Quorum of at least ten men), breakfast of lox, bagels, and cream cheese lured me to the Synagogue.

   During my teenage years, my interests centered around my physical well-being and development.  I diligently trained in a progressive weight lifting program and received awards as a result.  Karate, motorcycling, and health fanaticism were further vehicles in my pursuit of happiness.

LAW

   In my home, there was much emphasis on education.  Seeking to please my parents, I entered the College of Business Administration at the University of Cincinnati where I majored in Accounting.  After graduation, I enrolled in the College of Law on the same campus.  It was during this time that I was introduced to marijuana, hashish, hallucinogens and sundry other drugs.

   After receiving a JD degree from Law School, I was accepted at Harvard Law School in a Master's Program and was elated to know I had achieved the pinnacle of my dream. 

   After graduation, intent on finding the truth, I traveled through England, France, Holland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland.  During my travels, I became aware that God was alive and that He was personally interested in me.

GRACE

   One day I ventured into the woods just north of Helsinki, Finland.  I really needed to find some answers.  The undercurrents of dissatisfaction I had experienced evolved into an awareness of the emptiness of my life.  I was caught up in a vicious circle; each diversion I chose to fill the vacuum of my life resulted in only temporary satisfaction and I was soon searching for the next "kick." 

   When I was ready to leave the woods, I found myself hopelessly lost, both spiritually and physically.  I did not have the answer to life's questions.  In desperation, I cried out to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and Yeshua (Jesus) revealed Himself to me.

   The Lord mercifully answered my prayer as He replaced my heaviness with His love and peace.  As He led me out of the confusion of the forest, I felt like a new creation. 

   In Oslo, Norway, two young men gave me a Brit Hadasha (New Covenant/Testament).  As I read the Scriptures, they confirmed the reality of my experience with God in the woods.  Saul of Tarsus, a practicing Jew, wrote, "Old things are passed away; behold all things become new." (II Corinthians 5:17)    And that was exactly what had happened to me.  I had been "born again" by the Ruach Hakodesh (Holy Spirit).  My interests were changing from a desire for what the world had to offer to a desire for the things of God.

AFTERMATH

   Returning to Cambridge, Massachusetts, I wrote to my parents informing them of my experience, and asked permission to come home.  Although my parents disagreed with my faith in Messiah Yeshua they did finally consent to my return.  In the basement of our home, I found a Tenach, (Old Covenant) and as God guided my reading of it, I came to see the fulfillment of God's promises of the Old Covenant in the New Covenant.  My jewishness was not eradicated but completed!

   In Cincinnati, I enrolled in an evening Bible School and secured work at a law office.  A new secretary named Joyce was hired to help me in my work.  I was attracted to her and we soon became friends.  Six months later, she too entered into a personal relationship with Messiah.

   God has also been gracious to my family.  My brother came to know the Lord within a year of my salvation.  My father, who had a heart condition, accepted Yeshua as his Saviour several years before his death.  My mother is no longer antagonized by my faith in Yeshua but encourages me in it and enjoys congregational functions.

   I am now happily married to my ex-secretary Joyce and we have taken up residence in Columbus, Ohio with our daughter Rhena and son Seth.  Baruch Hashem! (Blessed be His name)  He has made us part of His family and we continue to worship and serve Him.  For we are not ashamed of the gospel of the Messiah for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes; to the Jew first and also to the Gentile.

JOYCE'S TESTIMONY

   By the time I was thirteen, I left the Synagogue and spent my leisure time attending numerous parties and dances. Two years later, I was confronted with the existence of poverty in certain parts of New York City, where some people were actually starving.  Desiring to help rectify this situation, I volunteered my services as a Junior Nurse's Aide.  I pursued this work for a year and derived much satisfaction from it.  Later I sought the solution to this  problem through politics.

TRIAL

   At the University of Cincinnati I met people who were members of a political organization called "Students for a Democratic Society" (SDS).  This was a Communist oriented group based on Marxist-Leninist theory.  When I joined their ranks, I hoped that we would help each other to become better human beings and to alleviate the injustices of society.

   It was during this time that I helped organize a protest demonstration at which I was arrested. My father flew out from New York to be with me during the trial and faithfully attended the proceedings.  But I hardly even said  "hello" to him.  The trial lasted for almost four weeks after which I was convicted.

   At the sentencing, I turned around to look at my father.  It was a tremendous shock to see him visibly age before my eyes; he had become an old man bent under a heavy burden.  I had not been able to cry at all during the trial, but at that point, I broke down.  I just could not bear to face his suffering and told him how sorry I was.  He put his arms around me and told me that regardless of what might happen, he would always love me.  I realized at  that moment that although I had been searching for love and trying to love others, my own father had already loved me unselfishly and I had failed to return that love.  I felt wretched! I was sentenced to thirty days in jail.  My father's desire to appeal kept me from immediate incarceration.

SEARCH

   We returned to New York, where I secured a job working for the United Church Board for Homeland Ministries. I had never known that there were so many ministers or that there were so many Gentiles.  While reading through the ministers' files, I discovered what the Lord was doing for them.  I realized that God or religion was meeting a need in their lives and I also became more aware of a void in my own life that needed to be filled.

   Eight months later, I quit my job and returned to Cincinnati.  I looked up some old friends who told me of a job opening as a receptionist in a law firm.  After obtaining an interview for the position, I was subsequently hired and began to work for a young attorney named Elliot Klayman.

   Within three weeks our "working" relationship was developing into a close friendship.  Elliot shared with me the experience he had the previous year in Finland, which had redirected the course of his life.  I was filled with hostility at his acknowledgement of faith in Yeshua Hamashiach (Jesus, the Messiah) and retorted, "I was born an atheist and will always be an atheist."

GOD

   Although I tried to reject what Elliot was saying, my curiosity was aroused and I found myself actually asking God if Yeshua really was His Son. One evening, after spending a short time in prayer in the privacy of my own room, I opened up a Bible.  The page I turned to quite unintentionally contained Psalm 22 which I had never read before.  When I read, "They pierced my hands and feet... " I knew who the Messiah and Saviour was and what I had to do with this truth. I surrendered my life to Yeshua.

   The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has since filled me with His love for all people.  My primary concern is that each person would come to know Messiah Yeshua as personal Saviour and Lord of his/her life.  Yeshua has indeed granted me the desires of my heart.  He has shown me the path of life and I have discovered that in His presence is fullness of joy.

RHENA'S TESTIMONY

SETH'S TESTIMONY

   When I was 16 months old we moved to Columbus, Ohio.  There we attended Beth Messiah.  Most of what I know about the Lord I have learned in Shabbat (Sabbath) School at Beth Messiah and at home.

   When I was five years old I went into my dad's office and sat on his lap and there I prayed to accept Yeshua into my life.   Since then I have been growing in the Lord.  I have spoken to many of my friends about the Lord and some have prayed to receive Him.  My younger sister Rhona is also a believer in Yeshua.  It is a joy growing up in a believing home filled with Yeshua's love.  You do not have to sit on your dad's lap to accept Yeshua into your life.  You can accept Him where you are by praying to receive Him:

-MENORAH MINISTRIES-