My Theory

I spent a lot of time pondering over the years about where we got our Thalassemia.  It was brought to mind with each pregnancy (7 in all!) as I wondered if this child would also be affected.  We certainly didn't look Greek (the most likely guess according to Dr. Stam).  When I started studying Prussia I learned that it became the immigration destination for many people from Israel.  Seems that massive persecution was happening in Israel and many were fleeing.  Hhhhmmmm.....could my ancestors have immigrated and then kept their heritage a secret?  The idea fascinated me and thrilled me at the same time!

I looked back on my life and realized that I had always had an interest in Israel and all things Jewish.  I had  attributed that to two close friends of mine during high school....one was Jewish but her family wasn't active in their faith and my other friend's father was an Orthodox Rabbi.  I spent a lot of time in their home.  It was always fascinating to me...especially Shabbat....no electricity, many rituals, they even took the light bulb out of the frig!  And their children drank wine during the meal....wine! I then remembered that most of my papers in high school and college had to do with Israel or the  Holocaust. I have always had an interest in Israel and the Jewish people.

I began to do some research on my maiden name....turns out that many with that name perished at Auschwitz and other concentration camps....next to the listing of their name was the word "Juden".  Another piece of the puzzle?

About 20 years ago, I bought my first book on learning about the "Biblical Holidays".  I put it on the shelf.  I always meant to use it but you homeschooling Mom's know how that can go.  I usually either pass on or sell curriculum that doesn't work for us or we don't use. I never was comfortable passing it on.  Why?

As I began to consider all of these things, I began to wonder if we were Jewish. If, perhaps, our ancestors fled Israel because of persecution and settled in Prussia, keeping their faith a secret.  Could they have kept it so secret that even their descendants didn't know?  About a year ago, I came across some used books on Jewish feasts....I bought them and did some reading.  I found my Biblical Holidays book and the boys and I began reading.  If I was  Jewish, I thought perhaps I should try to learn more about the Jewish faith.

About 6 months ago, a dear friend who was considering missionary work in Israel told me about an online Torah Study being led by a messianic Rabbi.  The boys and I decided we wanted to participate.  It has been fascinating!  Jesus and the disciples were, after all, Jewish.  Learning more about their faith and customs has greatly enhanced my own faith. I have learned that the Jewish feasts are such a clear reflection of Jesus as the Messiah.  I have also learned that by going back to the original Hebrew, many passages became much clearer....or their meanings were actually totally different than what I had been taught.  Jeremy and I have had many of those "aha!" moments.  Strong's and Zodhiates have become very good friends to us as the boys and I have studied.  We often stop the transmission so that we can look things up and double check what the Rabbi is saying.

This same friend sent me a link to a place that did DNA testing.  They were working on something called the DNA Ancestry Project.  Looked interesting but I couldn't afford it.  It went on my "someday" wish list.

And then, one day, in the middle of a phone conversation, an exciting thing happened....

Stay tuned to find out how my theory proved out ;)