My Spiritual Search

One weekend, during a cocktail party for bachelors, I met an Israeli friend with whom I'd served in the Israeli Air Force. He invited me for a Friday dinner. A week later I arrived at his house and was surprised to find out that he is married to a Christian woman, but they are still having the Kiddush before dinner. When I asked, he explained that for me to understand him I should join him at his synagogue. Then, he said, I'll be able to explain.
A week later I accompanied him to the Friday prayer and to my amazement I saw a cross on the parokhes. I've never seen anything like this before. Some of the worshipers donned yarmulkes, while others were not even Jews. Their chants sounded Christian, but the lyrics were definitely Jewish. The synagogue was called Aaron Kadesh. I visited the strange place again a few weeks later on a Sabbath, and saw that after prayer, the rabbi handed out the Eucharist, handing out "sacred" wine and bread as in a Catholic church.
This was not a reformist synagogue, but a Messianic Temple. Sometime later, I was invited for the Seder in the Cornerstone Church. There, I met a rich Jewish convert who introduced me to some of his priests, a group of friends who study together every Sunday in the hotel he manages. I decided to join them and spent a year studying the Christian angle from a reliable source. The priests got to know me personally and occasionally invited me to their home to chat, or study, or partake in ceremonies that I usually just watched.
One day, my brother-in-law called from Israel. He currently gives lectures in Israel's largest repentance movement. He told me that he was sending his 3-year-old to a Talmud torah, asked me why I never visit Israel anymore, and said he fears for me because he had heard that I am a spiritual seeker. "I hear you are a bit confused," he said. "I'm your brother. Don’t you forget that! There is this rumor here that you are about to convert to Christianity. I don't know if it is true, but I will be coming to the US to lecture for the Arachim Movement in upstate New York. Could we meet? I'm a former priest and a priest's son. My father was the eldest priest in Mexico. I know all about Christianity. I convinced my family to convert to Judaism. I'm sure I can enlighten you."
I met him some five months later. During the conversation, I claimed that if we engaged in a debate, I would eat him alive. Still, soon after our meeting ended, I called my friend and asked for help. He updated the priests I used to meet on Sundays and asked them to discuss the theological struggle between Judaism and Christianity. I took notes, taped, and studied their words for months, meeting the priests more frequently than before.
Five and a half months later, I went to meet my sister, her husband, and their little son Adiel in upstate New York. On that meeting and the conversation with the rabbis who came with him, I will tell you next time, God willing.