Testimonies

שלום! I live deeeep in the heart of Texas and started studying Sephardic Biblical Hebrew early in 2008. I use that every day in my personal Bible study and in Bible study discussion groups. I'm not as strong with Ashkenazi pronunciation nor Yeminite.

Most Shabbat mornings I'm in an FFOZ Torah Club. I love living Torah Observant.

I started studying Mussar a few weeks ago. I am currently reading The Jewish Spiritual Path of Mussar, Everyday Holiness by Alan Morinis. I am seeing the Brit Chadashah in new lights all the time.

I'm also studying Women's Wisdom, The Garden of Peace for Women by Rabbi Shalom Arush, in the English translation by Rabbi Lazer Brody.

I've been wondering if the concept of "The Divine Presence" is the same as our understanding of the Ruach Qodesh?

I'm interested in the Mishnah snapshots videos and learning from all of the videos. I'd like to be able to work through them all in order. I've come across some of Izzy's videos over the years on YouTube. I enjoy them because I always learn something.

I am from Inglewood, California born and raised. I left home at 18 and joined the army, and for the next 21 years, had one adventure after another. I grew up in a semi religious home, so my knowledge of God was extremely limited.

After my second year in the army, someone witnessed to me and I gave my life to Yeshua. For the next 15 plus years, I was in a non-denominational church. I had a strong love for Messiah, and learning His word, and had grown quite a bit. My ministry is teaching and I had done quite a bit of that. I was always a student of the Bible and wanting to learnmore. It was this desire that put me on the course of becoming a Messianic believer.

At some point, I began to study various things such as "religious holidays", and "denominational" doctrines. I suddenly realized there were some things missing in Christianity. Many practices and beliefs were more traditional than biblical. One day I was watching a YouTube video, and the speaker was discussing the Hebrew Scriptures. He commented that if we were to take the task of learning the Scriptures in their original context, it would change your life forever. I took the challenge.

I began to look online for articles and videos on learning Hebrew. I finally found a video on YouTube, and by day 3, I not only knew the alef bet, but actually how to read the Scriptures. After studying the Hebrew texts and doing various Hebrew word studies, my views on Scripture began to change.

Eventually I found myself in opposition to more and more of my Pastors teachings. The more I learned the less comfortable I felt in my Christian church. I was no longer learning anything there, and ended up leaving forever. During this time, I had found a Messianic Congregation and had been "double dipping", so to speak, going to both meetings.

When I left the church, I began to attend the Messianic Church fulltime. I continued pretty much teaching myself the Scriptures from the Hebrew perspective, until I finally came to a place where I had learned all I could on my own. I needed a teacher. I began searching for online classes but had no idea what to choose until one day a friend referred me to Holy Language Institute. So, here I am.

Thank you,

Michael

Sherri here from So. CA. I’m a retired 65-year-oldmother of four adult children, (all who love the Lord!) and 4 beautiful grandbabies. My husband and I were married at 19 and will be celebrating 47 years together this year. We were both born again at age 20. God is good!

Approximately three years ago, I was hit will an insatiable desire to read the Father’s word as it was originally written. I had tried to learn Hebrew without much success. It may be due to my 65-year-old memory bank having a zero balance! But I am trying again with Izzy’s lessons, which I must say I am very hopeful so far. I just finished lesson 2 and am encouraged by Izzy’s teaching style. He has a gift from the Father. 

Thank you, Izzy, for sharing this gift with us. So, before I completely start rambling that is all for now. I love being a part of this family. To live with our Lord and like-minded individuals for eternity is a dream that will come true. Virtual hugs to all until we get Home! I know it goes without saying, home is looking better all the time. It is a great time to be alive to see these things jumping off the pages of scripture. Ok, now I’m done… ;)

I was raised in a Christian home and I have been going to an Evangelical church ever since I was 4 years old. We were living in Kuwait back then although my parents are Greek Orthodox, they always believed that Evangelicals know the Bible very well. It was important to them for us to be raised Christians and have a relationship with Jesus-Yeshua.

I accepted him as my savior when I was 9 years old at Gilead Mount here in Jordan.

I was opinionated and throughout my childhood, I experienced lots of rejection from almost everyone in my life. Because of that, I thought of ending my life several times but God protected me from myself.

A few years back I was convicted by the Holy Spirit to forgive my teacher and my father which caused me to encounter God is very deep way. I had never experienced anything like that before. It healed me and revealed to me my identity in Him and has been guiding me to be the person He called me to be.

The healing Journey sometimes gets overwhelming but it is very rewarding at the same time. Jesus-Yeshua is everything to me. He is my comforter, my friend and my ABBA who takes care of me.

Hi, I’m Brad. I grew up in a very typical secular home in Alaska. My father instilled in me a love for education, work and a hatred for stealing. My mother was Catholic and instilled in me a curiosity for GOD. My journey with ADONAI did not start until 1996 when I was converted and baptized in the 7th Day Adventist Church. There, it was instilled in me a love for GOD’S Word and discovering the TRUTH.

The more I studied, however, the more I realized that 7th Day Adventists were not the Last Day Church and that no religious organization replaced Israel. By 2002 I was seeking out Jewish Messianic teachers and congregations. I was briefly involved in a Messianic congregation in North Carolina who, ironically, met in the basement of a 7th Day Adventist Church. They introduced me to and developed a love within my heart for the Hebrew language, ADONAI’S Festivals, and the wisdom that can be found in Jewish traditions.

Since then I have studied several Messianic and/or Hebrew Roots teacher’s materials; one in a formal on-line setting. I have also visited a couple Messianic congregations in Arizona; Phoenix and Tucson.

My primary mission, however, was and still is to study to discover the truth, pass this information on to my wife and sons, and working to support my family and those in need in Israel.

I’m average in every way, but I guess my gift would be a natural desire to help.

My name is Jaqueline, I live in Kwa-zulu Natal, South Africa. I am a mother of two boys and take care of my bed-ridden father.

My mother was ripped away from us very tragically 6 years ago and my brother committed suicide almost 3 years ago. My husband abandoned me for another woman 4 years ago.

During this time of loss and pain, I tried to commit suicide 3 times but failed, God would not let me die, you see, because He had plans for my life even though I could not see it. Through all the pain, suffering and loss I found Jesus. I have felt His love and comfort. He who brought me to my knees with His Holy presence was the one who would lift me up with His righteous right hand. I fell passionately in love with Jesus.

For the last 2 years, while looking after my father, I studied the word every spare minute of every day. I am currently doing 9 bible courses through various organizations and colleges. Through generous donations from churches, I am very blessed to be able to study for free. Taking care of my father is a full-time job, so we have to survive on my father’s pension.

I would love to study biblical Hebrew and Greek as well. The Lord has saved me healed me and brought me to Himself. My passion for Jesus and the word grows daily. I am truly blessed.

May God bless you for your faithful work and love.

Yours in Christ Jesus

Jaqueline

What an exciting moment to be here on the journey at this moment! My name is Brittany. My husband and I live on a mountain east of Portland, Oregon and I work from my computer doing marketing for a Christian marketing company that helps churches promote their events. It is ironic a bit because many American churches have no idea about the whole truth of Yeshua. But this is where He has me for now so I serve diligently and I’m grateful for the opportunity to stay home. We are expecting a baby boy in August, his name is Mikah. For who is like God? 

I have known the Holy Spirit all my life and received “Jesus into my heart” (American religion lol) at 4 years old. I was THRILLED! I gave up on religion in my young adult years and got lost out in the world. Abba encountered me afresh a while later and I’ve been running after Him full speed ever since. I just came out of the wilderness isolation season and now I’m flowing in a season of favor. I’m hungrier than ever for His Word. Sooo bring it on!

I’m passionate about sound and shifting atmospheres and initiating Heaven on earth like Yeshua prayed. I’m passionate about seeing people be free through worship, prayer, intimacy with Abba.

I’ve been learning from Izzy’s YouTube videos for a long time and I’m so excited to now learn whatever it is this membership class is going to teach me!

My friend, Rachelle, and I are both on a great journey of discovering Truth, fueled by our love for Abba and our brother Yeshua. We both have been spurred by the Holy Spirit with His inquisitive nature.

One thing that came to me a few years ago, that just won’t let go, is His NAME. The Word talks about the significance of the Name, and yet we all just shrug it off without a second thought.When we see all of these European names in the New Testament and the name of the Messiah starting with a letter that didn’t exist until 500 years ago (or so). I’m thrilled to have found Izzy’s teachings because they answer so many questions. Thank you, Izzy, for fulfilling Yeshua’s call to “feed His sheep”.

Thank you again!

Brittany

I was born in Scranton, PA on June 17, 1950. My father, who was Jewish, was a coal miner and died from TB on April 1st of 1950. I never knew him.

At that time, I was the sixth child and my mother couldn’t take care of us, so she placed us into an orphanage. We were all tested for TB, and I was positive for juvenile TB. I was sent to a sanitarium outside Philadelphia until I was 14 months old. I was then returned to the orphanage.

My first memory was going into a foster home when I was about three. My foster parents couldn’t have children but were exceptionally good to me and eventually wanted to adopt me. They’d take me to Hebrew school on Saturdays (honoring my father) and to Christian Sunday school because my mom wasn’t Jewish.

When I was four and a half, my appendix burst. Even though I was rushed to the hospital, I died on the operating table because they couldn’t find my mother to authorize the procedure. They finally found her in a bar and had to sober her up before getting permission to operate. I had a brief but full “out-of-body” experience, which started my spiritual quest for God.

When I was eight, my foster mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer, so CPS and the orphanage relocated me to live with this woman who said she was my mother. I lived with her, her new husband, and by this time nine children (ten including me), all claiming to be my brothers and sisters. Life there was very difficult. My mom would often say, “I wish you would have died instead of your father.”

I could no longer handle the physical and mental abuse, so I emancipated myself at 17 and lived in the YMCA in downtown Scranton. It was near my high school, and I worked every day after school and on Saturdays—cutting grass, filling people’s furnace stokers with coal, shoveling snow—to support myself.

In September 1968, I met a Pentecostal girl at a football game. She later became my wife. I graduated from a vocational high school in June 1968 and got a job right after graduation. A year later, after joining the Union, the company went on strike. The only option was to either enter the military under my decision or the government’s. So, I joined the USAF in August 1969, where I served 23 years. During my military service, my life changed drastically, and I accepted Yeshua as my Messiah.

In 1977, I became an Assemblies of God minister. But something was missing. I could not reconcile the Trinity dogma and the anti-Semitism I experienced. I left the ministry and began a personal search for Yeshua, quickly becoming a Jewish/Christian teacher.

In 1987, my wife was diagnosed with chronic progressive Multiple Sclerosis. This solidified my dedication to Abba’s work, with caring for my wife as my main purpose.

A few years ago, I was asked to create a Messianic Jewish Bible study here in Sacramento, California. The group consists of gentile believers who wanted to learn the Scriptures from a Jewish perspective. It has evolved into a quasi-synagogue, with bi-weekly classes and full observance of the Holy Days. I have also co-conducted Holy Day ceremonies for over 20 years with other Messianic organizations and congregations. Just last year, we purchased a Torah scroll and had an Ark built by a Jewish Russian cabinetmaker.

Nobody in our group speaks or writes fluent Hebrew, so I decided to learn Hebrew myself and in turn teach and encourage others in our congregation. I am the only person in our small community with any Jewish background. I will be 70 this June 17th and have decided I have waited long enough to fully read and write Hebrew.

My name is Brian Mooto Mwangelwa. I am a Male Zambian citizen aged 36, married with 3 kids. We have 2 girls and 1 Boy. 

I was born and raised a Seventh Day Adventist until two years ago when I was introduced to Hebrew Roots. I got so connected that I and my family decided to leave SDA and join other messianic believers. I am serving as a church elder in the Ministry Called House of Prayer for All peoples. We are a Torah Observant church. The ministry currently has an estimated membership of 40 to 60 people. We observe and fellowship on Shabbat as written in the scriptures of Yahweh.

I signed up with Holy Language Institute to enable me to learn Hebrew and understand the scriptures from the Hebrew perspective. I hope to share the knowledge that I will acquire with the believers in my community. My specific goal is to learn and pass the information to other people for the benefit of Yahweh's kingdom through small groups. I am so excited about learning the Hebrew alphabet that is so rich and Yeshua centered.

My spiritual journey has been amazing. I have had and some pitfalls here and there. Above all, I have found peace in the Messianic faith as compared to SDA. I am very much involved in faith community engagements and street outreach. I work in the capacity of an assistant accountant at Minor Hotels Zambia Ltd. For fun, I love sports such as soccer. Regarding anything I would like to share; I hope to visit Israel and see its historical sites in the near future.

I have spent a lot of time searching for a Hebrew school and I thank Yahweh that He led me to your institution. I hope to meet you. Yahweh Bless You and Keep you.

Shalom

Brian

My name is Latasha and I reside in Marietta, Ga.

I grew up in both Georgia and New Jersey. As a child, I didn’t really know much about Yeshua, except occasionally, when I would spend weekends or summers with my grandmother who would take me and my cousins to church.

Throughout my teenage years, I attended youth services at a local church and I even taught younger children at the churches’ summer camp. I believe that even then, Yeshua was tugging on my heart.

It wasn’t until I was 19 that I really accepted Yeshua into my heart. Sometime later, I felt led to attend seminary at Andersonville Theological Seminary, in 2013. During that time, I would spend hours learning the word of God. Yet, it wasn’t until I saw a video of Izzy teaching the Alef-Bet on YouTube in 2014 that I began to understand Jesus as Yeshua. From that moment, I fell in love with the Holy Scriptures and I wanted to know everything about Yeshua, Israel, and Hebrew.

Eventually, I started the lessons offered, but did not continue due to financial difficulties and me pursuing a second bachelors at Liberty University. Thankfully, now, I am a better state to dive into Hebrew studies, which to me, develops a level of intimacy with Yeshua and The Father like nothing else in this world. Currently, I am pursuing my career in law and I hope to start law school this upcoming year.

I enjoy fellowship with friends and family and I am still finding my way around connecting with believers in Yeshua. I am glad to reengage with this ministry and I look forward to connecting with everyone in the Holy Institute Family.

Blessings,

Latasha

Shalom chaverim, this might seem weird but what I really want to tell you that recently, less than two years ago I just had my third major upgrade as a disciple… I define the first upgrade as becoming a disciple, accepting salvation and wanting to learn how to love and help others.

Maybe you would like me to use the expression that I have been born again, again and again. That expression is a bit bold, so even if you do not like it, I hope you let me tell this story anyway.

I was born in an academic town in northern Sweden and I spent my first five and a half years in a block where many of the adults/parents where still students and many were from other countries, many from Finland.  When I was five, I wondered why Finnish wasn’t taught to us children. I had observed that speaking Finnish was healthy for humans and enjoyed by many of the adult neighbours I knew and trusted. Some adults, however, used to say that Finnish was a difficult language. I knew that was not true because I had heard children speaking Finnish in Finland and on the ferry, and wondered what kind of trauma can cause loving adults to repeat such a lie.

When my father had completed his studies, he became a teacher and we moved 1000 kilometres to the south. He chose his new job so that we could live closer to our relatives on my mother’s side. My father quickly made a new friend from Italy in our new town of residence, as they were both far away from their childhood homes. My father grew up even further to the north.

I was eleven when I came to faith. I and my brother, my closest sibling by age, had been free to walk on our own to all Christian activities for children we liked and we probably had a lot of persons praying for us. We also have two younger sisters born in southern Sweden. For me, one last step was reading the fantasy book “Never-ending story” by Michael Ended and reflecting on the message of the book. I read it in Swedish; it was originally written in German. 

As an adult I moved back to Sweden, using university as my excuse. I naturally longed to go back and I was curious to see how I could reconnect to my memories.  At that time, I had just realized that I needed a fellowship with believers of all ages. I quickly found a Lutheran congregation close to my new home. I felt guided to spend some time there and be a good member. It was there that I meet my future husband and I also heard Finnish in the services 2-3 times a year. When I was 20, the Spirit started to call me to learn Finnish. I protested and argued that it was too late. Now, I am a grown-up, engaged Swedish woman. God, is it really you telling me this?

I fussed so much with God alone without even mentioning the idea about Finnish to any human, not even my boyfriend. I even went to Spain as an exchange student for one term. I didn’t like the climate of Spain so afterward, I chose to go to the Peatlands as my specialty is in Ecology, to keep me working in a cooler climate.

My second upgrade I count from when I finally accepted to study Finnish. It was at a class of Wetland Ecology where I saw the sign which God had promised to give me in our secret discussions. The class was given by a professor, raised in Wisconsin but who also later in life gained citizenship in Canada. He surprised our tiny group by recommending a scientific journal in Finnish, with only some abstracts in English. The journal’s name was SUO. “Suo” means “peatland”. Finland in Finnish is “Suomi”. My teacher jokingly said, “Finland has the largest proportion of Peatland experts per capita; they have all gone crazy.” I thought to myself: “We are not crazy, maybe just patriotic. Is there anything wrong with that.”? I was Finnish enough, and I had an alibi (science) and some sure allies, those experts my teacher just told me about.

18 years later I saw my next upgrade approaching, I had to fight for it and the fight was in two stages. I was surrounded by the enemy while doing my trainee job in a kitchen as usual. The Spirit just whispered in the mornings: “Stay awake.” The enemy showed me ridiculous and unnecessary illusions mostly about a good comrade from my time in High School. What I needed to say was: “I do not want another believer as an idol, I can read the Bible for myself, nor do I want to be adored for anything, not even for the little therapy of learning Finnish.

My third upgrade came maybe 6-7 weeks later when I decided to learn Hebrew. Now I am a toddler again, and a veteran, a veteran toddler. I also have the perfect alibi; I just look like a language nerd, learning one advanced language after another. But this time I do not want an alibi or an excuse. I rather want people to see the truth which is that I love Yeshua. Nowadays I do not want science anymore. I have learned how to study even without a university. I just want a calm half-time job with cooking, translating or even just reading and typing. In my free time, I want to continue with my studies, so you can pray for me that I get the right job.

I'm Gianni and I'm 38 years old. I’m married and have 2 little boys (4 and 2 years old). We have Italian Roots but we live in Belgium.

As Child, I learned a lot from my aunt about G-d because at that time she attended a Christian church (Not Catholic).

My parents are business people and they worked a lot to give us a better life here in Belgium. My parents and the rest of my family are not really religious and they don't like or agree with what we do or stand for!

As a child, I grew up with my grandparents most of the time. In my youth years, because my parents were always working, I focused my attention on the street with the wrong friends and everything went wrong.

But HaShem never let me go. In 2003 I decided to follow Yeshua and leave my old life behind me. I went to a Pentecostal / Evangelical bible school for 1 year.

In the following years, I had a lot of questions and the churches that I attended at that time couldn’t answer. I did not feel free to express myself. In 2013, after a lot of discussions, I decided to stop attending Christian churches and had an identity crisis for some years after that.

I have followed a lot of studies online from the Hebrew Roots movements. For years, now, we have hosted a small group at home.

I want to practice my Hebrew and learn to pray, read and speak better Hebrew.

Greetings in Yeshua

Gianni 

We’ve believed in Yeshua as our Messiah for many years; however, since 2005 as we homeschooled our children, God started teaching us about God's Appointed Times vs man-made holidays. We didn't realize it until 2017 when Adonai started downloading information on us like a fire hydrant about His holidays and Replacement Theology in the Church. It has made us realize how far away the church is from its Jewish Roots. We have also realized the church has clothed Yeshua in pagan clothing. We want to learn all we can so we can help the church understand the repentance that needs to take place in order to provoke Jews to jealousy and return to the ancient paths.

In 2008, we started pursuing overseas mission work. God closed the doors on us about a year later but has used our physical therapy business as a launching/landing pad for overseas workers of the Gospel since that time over and over again. Since around 2013, we feel we have been called to have a clinic overseas in the area of Jordan or Israel. It sounds big, but God has shown us that He wants us to pursue it, and if He opens doors, we are willing to go and/or send others from our clinic that are like-minded. We want to learn as much as we can in order to hire and develop workers that are willing to share the love of God in Truth. We desire for all to know Him in His fullest. We believe that God has put the brakes on us going overseas until we learn more about the Truth of His Torah and how He wants us to follow and obey His commandments.

Many things, not just one, lead us to believe that we are to take our clinic model overseas. We have had Muslim friends that we have spent time with and prayed for since around 2010 tell us we should put a clinic in Jordan. In 2013-14, we had about 3 different encounters in which we were encouraged to put a clinic overseas—our Jordan Muslim friends, a mission pastor, and Adonai just speaking to our hearts prior to both of these encounters. It blew us away that one of those encouragements came from the Muslim family that is from Jordan. Because of this, we started working toward having 5 clinics stateside to fund an overseas clinic. Currently, we have two clinics.

Physical therapy is different than many business models—people come for physical therapy to have treatment 2–3 times per week and spend 45–60 minutes each session. We have learned over the years that many times when someone is dealing with a chronic physical injury, they also have spiritual and/or emotional issues that are causing it to be difficult to heal from the physical ailment. People are very willing to listen to spiritual counseling during their treatments because they are dealing with pain and injury and want to get better. Therefore, it is very easy to share Truth during the time spent with patients. This is why a mission pastor encouraged us to consider using our business model overseas to reach the unreached people groups of the world.

We want to equip ourselves as much as possible if God is calling us because we have realized how much we don’t know. We also have realized that even if we don't go overseas, God wants us to learn and do—obeying His commandments. While learning the Torah, we have realized how beneficial it would also be to understand Hebrew better. We have sought out as many resources as we can find to help us become better equipped. Currently, we are leading a Torah Club through FFOZ in Northwest Arkansas studying Shadows of Messiah. We want to learn to do things here better before we consider ever doing the same things in a different culture. Other resources we have learned from have been Rabbi Shapira with Ahavat Ammi, Breaking Israel News, El Shaddai Ministries, and Beth Yeshua International Ministries. More than anything, God has brought patients and staff into our lives that have also been studying and becoming more obedient to God’s Torah in love.

Over the past two years, we as a family have chosen to avoid Easter & Christmas—realizing their pagan roots. We have been learning and observing God's Appointed Times. This has caused some HARD issues with our extended family, which have not come alongside yet. Truly, we have rocked our kid’s worlds by changing from man-made holiday celebrations to God’s Appointed Times as well as changing our diet, yet they have been willing to learn and do.

Now, about our family. Below in the picture are our most precious people God has given us. From L to R—Jace: He is 21 and a student at the University of Arkansas. He should graduate with his Bachelors in Business this next year and plans to pursue his Master's degree as well. He has a very strong heart for mission work and has traveled overseas to the Maldives and Indonesia. He is very intentional about international outreach at the U of A while he studies.

Next is Ryli. She is 17 and attends high school at Shiloh Christian School. Her 8th grade Bible teacher understands the importance of the Torah and she has encouraged him to teach her friends Torah weekly. She is full of energy and very social. She wants to be a vet and LOVES horses. She is very skilled with horses, and God has shown us that there are actually some facilities using horses to help kids in Israel heal emotionally. This too, has caught our attention.

Next is my husband Joe, and myself. We are 50 and want to finish the race well. We have no retirement fund, instead, we pour our money into our family, business, and people God puts into our path. We are broken like so many others but know our righteousness is only through Yeshua our Messiah. However, because we love our Abba Father, we want to obey Him.

To our right is our son, Jasper, and his wife Sarah. Jasper is 25 and has been married for about 2 years. He writes music and works at our clinic. If you look him up on Facebook, he is currently working on releasing his song. He recently released a new song called The Sinner this Friday. He has been inspired a great deal by Switchfoot and Jon Foreman. He too understands how much we need to grasp hold of God’s absolute Truth from cover to cover. His wife Sarah is a 3rd-grade teacher and is very supportive and learning with us. She is adorable.

Jaret, on the far right, is a Freshman at the University of Arkansas. He was the star running back in football last year and has an amazing testimony about trusting God. It would take a lot of space for me to write about that story here, but maybe we can share that another time. He is currently taking a semester off from school, and really trying to figure out what God wants him to do next. He thinks he might want to pursue being a pilot. He loves people and is very social, but doesn’t really get everything we are doing with changing life as he knew it from 5–10 years ago. He is as loyal as they come.

Hello community!

First of all, I am looking forward to learning. I am taking it very slowly. Since about 2012, I have been on a journey of understanding Judaism and the Jewish Yeshua. He is my everything and first love. In 2012, I tried to learn Hebrew, but got distracted and sort of put it on a shelf. A friend of mine was heavily involved in the messianic community, but it became so ritualized and appeared unloving that I became averse to it all.

In 2015, I had a couple of odd experiences with the Lord. While doing seemingly menial tasks like helping a friend tile their floor with my husband, I would see out of nowhere an open vision of Yeshua standing before me wearing a tallit. This happened several times and would make me cry.

I could not understand this, until now. I grew up in various streams of ministry over the years, primarily Charismatic and Pentecostal / Prophetic movements. I have a passion for the Word of God and have been deeply grieved at the false teaching and preaching out there. Some of which, I consider demonic. I know this must sadden the Lord more than anyone. I am not sure how, but I have felt compelled to come back to elements of Judaism. Since I can remember, Jewish people have always been drawn into my life and I feel drawn to go to Israel. Unfortunately, a fear of flying has kept me back, I must confess.

Recently, my friend Benjamin introduced me to messianic messengers and rabbis like Greg Hersberg and others. I've watched their YouTube streams and been blessed that Benjamin awakened my heart to these things. Then, I stumbled onto Holy Language Institute YouTube pages. I was particularly drawn to the Torah meaning (arrows) teaching. As a martial artist, jujitsu practitioner this appealed to me and my husband who likes to shoot guns---and has A LOT of them. Ha!

It's been refreshing to listen to Rabbi Hershberg. He and Holy Language Institute ironically responded to an email I sent them at the same time. I find that to be compelling evidence that the Holy Spirit is leading me. Not only that, but twice last week, (2 different) occasions, I saw 2 different men, with kippahs at Trader Joes. This was after I contemplated going to Israel and immersing myself. I don't think that was a coincidence.

We attend a church in Phoenix, Arizona. We love our pastor and our congregation. He is very awakened to these elements but there is not a lot of solid teaching and that is challenging. He is, however, a precious man of God.

Over the last couple of years, I have had some serious paradigm shifts. I recently decided I could no longer celebrate Christmas or Easter. I am starting to celebrate the feasts and learn more about them. I feel awkward---and it's all new, of course, but I want to learn more. I would like to learn Hebrew but it, honestly, seems overwhelming. More than ANYTHING, I want to become closer to Yeshua in oneness with HIM. There is nothing on this earth that I desire more than to be conformed to HIS image.

I am a licensed, Christian trauma and attachment therapist for children and adults. I also do work with an organization that offers trauma training for those that work in other parts of the world. My husband works in local politics and is a musician. We love music, art, reading, and writing. We also love being outdoors and working out. We love our goddaughters Eden and Everly and savor our times with them.

I look forward to learning. Again, I am taking my time. But I can sense there is a strong community of support.

Blessings!

Kim

I am Kimi and I live in Tracy, CA. It’s taken me some time to commit to this course. I had a benign tumor removed in November of 2018. I wanted to start the course in May, but was overwhelmed. Around Father’s Day, I got a call from my 95-year-old cousin, Babe. She was in the St. Joseph hospital in Murphysboro, IL for heart failure. She has been an important person in my life, even though I wasn’t up for the trip that involved bringing her here to recover. It was God that moved me through the next five months of her resting here in CA, and me returning her to IL and getting her into a supportive living facility.

I experienced many struggles and blessings. Babe wanted desperately to return to her home and I kept in close communication with our Lord, Yeshua, to make sure I was fulfilling His quest for her. I also was blessed with a sister in Yeshua that I prayed for 60 years ago. I have 5 brothers. I’m 66. God answered my prayer 60 years later by blessing me with my new sister. We instantly bonded. She is my closest friend and mentor on my renewed journey with the Lord.

I was born into the Lutheran church and baptized at 3 with my two older brothers. It was not immersion, but water sprinkled on my head. I grew up in the Swedish Covenant church. My father was a minister’s son of this denomination. We always dreaded after church. My father was jealous of the retired world and 2 military men who never left the US but had a higher rank than him. He was an officer and pilot shot down in the Pacific. So, the dialogue was always hateful.

I wanted to be a Catholic at grade school age because I would be able to rid myself of all the sins this church proclaimed we had. I even imagined myself becoming a nun. My mother was raised Catholic and converted to Protestantism. I felt invisible growing up within the family structure, yet I also experienced inappropriate behavior at the hands of my father. I left home at 18 and lived with my older brother in Oahu. He had also left home at 18 due to a different type of mistreatment by my father. (He was my half-brother but whole in my eyes.) I grew to love my brother more as a father figure I could trust. Neither one of us stayed close to God.

Years later, my brother became born again following the teachings of his Jesus. I never stopped believing in God, but I didn’t seek Him and followed Shlomo’s ungodly lifestyle. I was on and off the path. I married a man who worshiped the Hawaiian gods. I was intrigued for a while until my husband told me to throw away my Bible. I lost interest in his belief system and refused to get rid of my Bible. I had two children by him and after 5 years of verbal and physical abuse, we divorced.

My children, 3 and 5, grew up with me in CA. I brought them to several churches and made the Presbyterian church our home church until they were in high school. I planted the seed and then let them choose. They chose no church. I was a lousy ambassador of the Lord. I felt pressure from myself and in church with the mark of divorcée. I didn’t seek counsel and now imagine it was my own guilt that failed my children. In my 30s and 40s, I wanted to believe and couldn’t understand how my brothers had such strong faith. I just felt unworthy.

In my late 50s, I went to Temple with my ex-sister-in-law. I loved hearing the rabbi tell us how we were special and God loved us. I wanted to convert. Strangely I felt this nagging betrayal to Jesus. I wanted to join God’s chosen people, but I couldn’t give up Jesus.

Present day, I became hungry to learn the word from the original text. I don’t feel born again. I feel born. I have the complete Jewish Study Bible and feel that I have only touched the surface. I have an app to learn Hebrew. When I pronounce my words correctly, I instantly feel joy. Again, to be transparent, I have not been a disciplined student and just opened up the beginning of your web page. In my 30s, I didn’t understand why people in my Christian associations didn’t acknowledge that Jesus was a Jew. In my 60s, I was inspired to be introduced to Messianic Jews through YouTube and found Izzy at Holy Language Institute.

My husband and I renewed our vows before God on 9/22/19. Our original vows took place in a courthouse. My husband needs a kidney and is on home dialysis and still goes to work. My brain surgery and his blood disease that destroyed his kidneys brought us back to church. I was a bit disappointed because he fell in love with a nondenominational church and I wanted to go to pursue a Messianic church. So here I am, hungry and still quite worn out by my adventure with God and still healing from brain surgery. I ask Yeshua to please help me stay on course to really get to know Him.

I read that you don’t use the Trinity. My new sis is a chaplain at St. Joseph hospital. She explained that God the Father sent His only Son to live in the flesh to understand our struggle as humans. When He died to remove our sins and promise salvation and rose again, He left His Holy Spirit here to help us until His return. That was the best explanation I had ever heard. That His Spirit dwells in each of us who believe. I struggle every day with old behavior that fills my brain with thoughts of “God is a fairy tale.” I fight back with the help and faith in my Yeshua, Hallelujah! My God-given sister, that lives in IL, constantly reinforces my faith. That is my nutshell of my journey to your instruction. I hope it made sense.

With love in Yeshua,

Kimi

I would like to tell you something fantastic about me, however, I have no claim to fame. I do love Elohim more than anything else. I use Elohim not to impress you with all the Hebrew I don’t know. I use it because is the easiest way to express love for God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost. When Jacob’s name was changed to Israel, God had a multitude of nations to choose from. He chose the Israelites. When God chose the Hebrew language to deliver his grace and mercy and his righteousness and laws, he had a multitude of languages to choose from. Frankly, I am ashamed that I am so unfamiliar with the people and the language that God has chosen to give light to us Gentiles. Elohim knows everything about me, and I know so little about him. Because he loved me first, I have a desire to know him more. This is the reason I want to be able to learn and live within the Hebrew thoughts as expressed in the Hebrew language.

Now, to tell you a little about myself. I live in Arkansas and attend a local Methodist Church. I’m 71 years old and have been married for 47 years. My wife and I have seven children. I have a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M in psychology with an equivalence to a master’s degree in counseling psychology. I spent 3 years in the U.S. Army and 17 years in the U.S. Coast Guard. In addition, I retired from state employment while working in child protective services. Pretty mundane and normal. As I said, in the beginning, I have no claim to fame.

I have ordered the workbook that goes with the Hebrew Quest classes and I am looking forward to receiving it. I do have a Tanakh and several other Bible translations. I sincerely appreciate the opportunity and look forward to the completion of Hebrew Quest and further studies.

Best regards, Max

I live in Alaska and have been going to a gathering that meets on Sabbath Friday evenings for a couple of years and this is where I have began to learn about the Hebrew roots of my faith.

This past Passover was so meaningful and moving to me that I just decided I had to figure out a way to learn more on my own and was checking my email and one was titled “holy language”. Most emails I don’t recognize, I just delete, but I opened this one and felt drawn, after reading it, to sign up for the lessons.

I am already going on lesson #4 of Hebrew Quest and am loving it! I have never studied the Bible like this before! It’s fascinating! I feel like I’m deciphering a hidden code of some sort. I’m hoping to get more of my family interested. My husband in particular. He is pretty busy so setting aside the time can be difficult. I believe we would all benefit to make it a priority tho.

I have a strong desire to really know Yeshua and The Father (if it is possible for a human to know a God?) I have known the Christian religion my whole life but have not felt like I really KNOW God. I just spent my life trying not to tick him off and, well, stay out of hell of course! But I want more than that if it’s possible ya know? So I’m hoping this study will help.

I’m not sure what else you want to know about me. I am married with 2 children (boy and girl) Girl is grown and married and lives next door. Boy is developmentally delayed, born blind and deaf and lives with his dad and I.

I have a beautiful standard apricot and white colored parti poodle that I think I love more than any other creature on this earth and she has a best friend-little black bossy miniature poodle who also lives with us and barks too much. The two of them force me to get out every day rain shine sleet or snow or 20 below for their daily walks! And I’m sure it’s good for me or I would probly just hibernate through the long winters!! But my husband has gotten me hooked on skiing over the years as well and that also helps! 

Thanks again and thanks for providing this study!

Sincerely,

Valarie

Izzy and all volunteers, thanks so much for everything you do to make this ministry a functioning reality that gives ordinary people like me to opportunity to actually begin to read and understand the Bible in Hebrew! I can't even begin to describe how exciting this is! It takes time and effort and nothing happens overnight but slowly and surely, progress is being achieved.

Also, I want to mention that perhaps even more importantly than learning Hebrew (as noble and fantastic as that is) is the guidance and advice given about how we Christians can relate to the Jewish people and how we can respectfully honor the Shabbat and appointed times and do our best to live out the mitzvot of the Torah without getting arrogant towards both Jews and Christians! Unfortunately, I see this happening too often and I have been guilty myself! We seem to think that we know more than the Jews while at the same time, looking down on other Christians! It's a tragedy! Izzy's Mishnah Snapshot series (the public ones) were instrumental in opening my eyes and adjusting my own attitude. (I listened to these YouTube lessons before I signed up for the Holy Language Institute.)

Looking back now... going through Hebrew Quest (self-paced) and Hebrew Verses and then the more comprehensive Mishnah snapshots, all of these lessons have been a blessing... Hebrew Quest helped me with knowledge, Mishnah Snapshots helped me with wisdom, Hebrew verses (espcially the Matthew and Romans lessons) seems to have done both. However, I would still probably be stuck in the "Hebrew Roots arrogance rut" if not for the Mishnah Snapshot series... espcially the lessons on Sacred Name doctrine!

Shalom and keep up the fabulous work!!!!

Edgar

Shalom! My name is Megan. I had the opportunity to grow up in church and have had several great mentors over the years who have really challenged me to deepen my relationship with God. I'm starting to learn Hebrew because I really love God and I yearn for a better understanding of Him and what He wants from/for me.

A few months ago I was going through Genesis and was drawn into an all-consuming sprint to understand what the Bible actually says (compared to things I’ve always accepted as facts without reading it in the Bible for myself) and how that affects what I believe. I'm not kidding, when I didn't absolutely have to do something else, I was reading everything I could (religiously procrastinating, if you will). This lasted for many weeks and I couldn't stop - my soul was frantic as I searched for answers and instead found several political agendas and verses taken out of context. I reached out to many friends and family members across denominations, attended Catholic and Eastern Orthodox masses, and started reading the catechism in addition to my normal habits (it was insane). The problem was, some of the assumptions seemed bad and the arguments were poor or misguided. But it was so odd, because despite this search that seemed to be yielding holes and weak spots with answers that weren't satisfying, my heart was on fire and my love for God was growing. Once I turned to Jewish and Messianic Jewish sources I found answers that actually made sense and was able to rest and be content.

This search led me to Holy Language Institute when I was looking for reviews on the Jewish New Testament Commentary. I watched many of the videos posted on HLI’s YouTube channel, and watching them became something that I was looking forward to every day, so I joined.

I’m very thankful that God hears us, loves us, and brings us closer to Him when we ask.

I was inspired by Izzy's videos on YouTube before deciding to join. I like what I'm seeing so far. I'm a blessed husband, and father of two children, of which one has not been born yet, will be delivered probably within two weeks from now. It's a blessing to hear Izzy preach and the reason why I joined is that I want to see Christ in the Old Testament. For example how the Lord said: "If ye would have believed Moses, ye would have believed me because he wrote about me."

I'm a student of Biblical Hebrew (currently for one course anyway) at University here in Sweden, and one of my goals in life is to become a fluent reader of Biblical Hebrew to hear the voice of the Master/Lord Jesus in the native tongue. It's a huge blessing to hear God speak in His own language. 

I'm fascinated with how God said for example about the manna (which metaphorically is Christ) that "the children of Israel saw that there was no worm in him" (Exodus 16:24). And they let it rest until the morning, as Moses hath commanded, and it hath not stank, and a worm hath not been in it. I already understand that God created the Hebrew language to testify about His Son, so that there is not a surprise that the Manna is a "him" grammaticly speaking, as well as "Jacob's ladder". Which Jesus Himself referenced to in the Gospels.

I really don’t remember a time when I was not following Yeshua. Even as a kid I would go to church with friends and such. My mom and dad were followers but did not regularly attend. 

I know the things I have heard and probably could apply them to my family. My mom was a Christmas and Easter Christian, and my dad was just a professing Christian. My brother as a kid went with friends to their church but I think he has fallen away.

Growing up I went to various churches and denominations. As a freshman or sophomore in college I went to a “Lutheran” church and have found home. I really feel like reading the “Lutheran Church Fathers” really got me into Hebrew. They are really pointed …. If you don’t read the original language of God then you are missing loads.

I am an avid searcher of the Web and have been a lurker of HLI for 2 or 3 years. Through my mom I have learned how to read and speak Hebrew through Eteacher. I have just pieced everything together and am currently trying to get my vocabulary up and the non-standard verb forms. Hitpael, Pual, etc with odd structure.

I am currently returning to school for accounting. My BS in Math and Physical Science as a teacher was great, but public school teaching has lost its good points. I love teaching and helping just not if the students or the system will not take ownership. 

When I was a child, I had a love for Israel and Egypt and didn't know why. When I was 12 I became a Christian and when I was 16 I decided I wanted to learn Hebrew so I took myself to Temple Emmanuel and studied the language, all the while thinking I was just another goyim for Jesus. I even joined Jews for Jesus and had a shirt that said, "Goyim for Jesus". My teacher at Temple gave me the name Yael.

I remembered that my great grandmother had told me about her genealogy (my mother's side) and the name Gould stuck in my head. When I was older I joined a Messianic congregation and learned that Gould is a Jewish name! My mom still didn't get it, lol! I learned much about Jewish practices when I was a member of that congregation. I even taught my son to read Hebrew and he was able to read the child's part during a Messianic Pesach Seder I hosted one year.

Last year I took a DNA test and the results shocked me and my siblings; Ashkenazi Jewish, Middle Eastern, Greek, Italian, Eastern European, Western European, and Iberian Peninsula (Spain, Morocco). It also showed that the man I'd been raised believing was my father wasn't my biological father. My biological father was the one who was Middle Eastern, Greek, Italian, and Iberian. I wish I'd known him. I know, however, that I'm a Jew and VERY proud of it! DNA doesn't lie.

In 1998 I became an Orthodox Christian in Washington State and now attend a Coptic Orthodox Church here in Honolulu. Orthodox Christianity is quite Jewish in its liturgical practices and is the oldest form of Christianity, the Coptic church being one begun by St. Mark himself. Four different languages are spoken and heard during the service and I love it all.

I've studied 11 languages during my life (I'm now 56) and I want to get better at my Hebrew. I'm a police officer and met an Israeli the other night in our cellblock who'd been arrested for drunk driving. I could hear his accent and asked where he was from. When he said he was Israeli I smiled and said, "Shalom!" He got all excited and several times during my shift we'd exchange Hebrew phrases and he re-taught me how to count. Little did he know I was a Christian. When he got bailed out, he invited me to Chabad. He told me "Remember there is only one God and not Jesus." I told him, "But Jesus was Jewish!" He put his hand on my head and said a prayer in Hebrew and told me he'd pray for me and I told him I'll pray for him too. That was a great shift! My fellow police officers saw themselves how happy I was to hear Hebrew and I felt like I belonged, like he was a relative, even though I'd never met him and he isn't a Christian.

I pray that Yeshua HaMashiach will continue to use me to bless others and share the truth of who He is. Hawaiʻi is a real melting pot and I'll meet other Jews both from the U.S. and Israel. If my Hebrew was better, perhaps I could be more of a blessing to them. I'm glad I discovered your website on YouTube while looking for Messianic music in Hebrew; I started listening to Elihana Ilia's music and it took me to Holy Language Institute. I'm excited about learning more!

May our Lord God and Savior Yeshua HaMashiach keep you, bless you, and continue to use you to glorify Him, because this life is not about us. It's only about HIM!!!

I was taken to church as a child, but around the age of 16 decided this religious stuff was not for me. Not long after that, I started to experience the drugs of the day. 

I can remember times when I should have died. I pulled out to pass a car and there was a car that should have hit me head on. But it didn't, G-d had plans. Another time I hit black ice and went from side to side on a bridge that was around 80 feet above the ground. As I was going from side to side, I was taking G-d's name in vain and telling HIM that He did not have the right to take my life. I didn't die; G-d had a plan. 

Around the age of 22, I turned back to the church hoping to find some peace; instead, I had a life changing experience with Yeshua. A few years later, I understood the plan that had probably kept me alive. I felt called to share His Word. I went to seminary at night and became a bi-vocational preacher for almost 20 years. 

I can remember all those years thinking, how could Job have said, “Even though He slay me, I will still trust Him.” Then comes the rest of the story or plan: I had always worked six days a week, 14 hour days. Made what I thought was my own way. Then I had the first heart attack and that could not keep me down. I went back to work in two weeks. Another year goes by, I had a minor stroke. 

Then had to have my colon removed, another heart attack, then came heart spasms. In all the health issues, I learned some hard lessons. It is Yeshua who gives us the health and strength to work. Even when that health and strength is gone, it is still Yeshua who sustains our very lives. Through all of the health issues, I have come to the same conclusion as Job, “Even though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” We have nothing without Him; He is the sustainer of life. 

The plan was not just to know Him, but it is to walk with Him daily. I also have learned that God has all the resources that we will ever need, BUT he uses others to get the resources from His hands to the hands of the person in need. 

If we don't obey Him, the resources are delayed until someone else hears him. He uses all of us to get the resources into the hands of those in need. It has taught me to be careful to listen. For if we don't listen, someone's needs might not be met when they needed them the most.

I thank you for listening to G-d at the Holy Language Institute, you are meeting a need. You are taking the resources from the hand of G-d and placing them in our hands. To that we say thank you. 

Tim

I am a Korean pastor. I really want to teach my church members the Bible correctly, so I decided to learn the Hebrew Bible. I have already studied basic Hebrew through YouTube lectures. In my last class, the teacher introduced your website. I am a part-time pastor, and my other job is as an accountant. My goal is to teach the Christian Bible correctly so that people can understand the Word of God exactly and devote themselves to the Kingdom of God. Sometimes, when I have time, I go on mission trips. The attached picture is one I took in Cambodia in June of this year. I hope to achieve my goal through your lectures. Thank you! God bless you!

Hi, I've shared my testimony before, but now I want to tell how we actually use our Hebrew. 

On Friday night we celebrate a Shabbat meal complete with candle lighting, blessings for the wife and husband, children, and the bread and wine. We sing our blessings in Hebrew and English. Then we gather on Shabbat afternoon, here in my living room along with a weekly guest and often other visitors. We read the Torah, Haftarah, and Brit Chadasha, midrash as we go, and then break for lunch. And maybe get teaching from an online teacher.

As we read the portions, we divide the readings up for the 4 adults and 2 kids who read and the first line or two are read in Hebrew before we read in English. Some of us are still just sounding out the words, but usually we get an understanding of the verse from the few words we know from our small vocabulary. We use the Ernest Klein Etymological dictionary and the Langensheidt dictionary to look up words that really catch our attention or make us question something in English translations. 

Another way we're using our Hebrew is that my daughter is going to be Bat Mitzvah'd this spring. Her Portion is Acharei Mot. She will lead the prayers from the Siddur in Hebrew and English and then read the first paragraph of her Aliyah in Hebrew. I'm also hoping she'll have the chance to learn the Havdalah song in Hebrew to close out of the ceremony at the end of the day. 

We're very excited about our progress in Hebrew. I've been teaching the children for a few years. We have grown sons, one of whom was taught Hebrew through a congregation we attended previously, and where he did his Bar Mitzvah. My two other sons used Izzy's Hebrew Quest to learn. More recently the younger family buckled down and learned using Search the Sidra and the Sarah David program and we diligently worked every Shabbat to get our proficiency up. With the end of that Search the Sidra course, we needed to keep going, and that's how we began reading from our Hebrew Bibles as we read the portions.