The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
“So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”
Numbers 6:22-27
As a Messianic Jew, I’ve been privileged to share my heritage on the World Race.
But nothing could’ve prepared me for this.
We arrived in snowy Novi Sad, greeted by Pastor Bera, our new host with a passion for God and history.
It didn’t take long for us to get into deep conversations about the history of Serbia.
Once he learned about my Jewish heritage, his response surprised me. “Well, now you’re the only Jew in Novi Sad.”
He begins to tell me about Serbia’s involvement during the Holocaust, and that Serbia was one of the only countries to be considered “completely eradicated of Jews” by the Nazi party.
“Serbia… The first country after Estonia to be declared ‘Judenfrei,’” a term used by the Nazis during the Holocaust to denote an area free of all Jews.”
— Historian Christopher Browning, on the subject of Holocaust and Serbian involvement
Pastor Bera tells me that most of the Novi Sad Jews were taken to Auschwitz.
He says that now, in the center of Novi Sad, stands one of the largest synagogues in Europe. Since 1941, it’s been unused and empty.
I share this story with my team. My teammate Megan is also a Messianic Jew.
One of my teammates says she feels like we should go and pray at the synagogue, even if we can’t get inside. The others enthusiastically agree.
A few days later, we wake up early, bundle up, and head for the synagogue.
The building sits in the center of the city, prominent and beautiful. We walk through the gate and test the doors, just to see. Locked.
One of the guys speaks up, suggesting we do a prayer walk around the building. We agree and split up. As I walk, my hand tracing the bricks, I see ugly marks left on its walls. Marks that break my heart.
“Miranda!” Someone calls. “A key! We have a key!”
I run toward the front where a security guard stands, a large brass key in his hands.He unlocks the door and we walk in.
Excited chatter turns to silence as we walk through the door, taking in the massive temple, the walls ornate with Hebrew lettering.
I imagine the temple as it once was, full of life and music, and my eyes fill with tears. I can’t stop the sobs that come quickly and unexpected.
I make my way to the front and knelt in front of the Ark.
My Messianic teammate Megan kneels beside me. Soon, our teammates’ prayers echo around us. Megan looks at me.
“We need to do the Shema.”
It’s a traditional Hebrew prayer, sung at the beginning of every service. We invite our teammates to turn towards Jerusalem and pray with us.
“Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one”
My teammates stand as the echoes fade and silence seeps back into the room.
I take a deep breath.
My last team can tell you that the Aaronic blessing is very close to my heart.
In the prayer, I can hear my father’s voice, my grandfather’s, my cousin Jayde’s, our family rabbi. It carries a lot of weight in my life.
On the race, I’ve sung the blessing over our hosts. Over our ministries. Over my teammates. My squad.
Many of them can now sing it almost by heart.
But when the Holy Spirit prompted me to sing it at this moment, I didn’t want to. I didn’t think I could. And I almost couldn’t.
I feel very vulnerable sharing this video with you. But I believe in the power of the Lord’s promises and I want to invite you into that.
Please don’t just listen to these prayers, but join us in agreement.
May Adonai bless you and guard you –
(Yevharekh-kha Adhonay veyishmerekha …)
May Adonai make His face shed light upon you and be gracious unto you –
(“Ya er Adhonay panaw elekha vi unnékka …)
May Adonai lift up His face unto you and give you peace –
(“Yissa Adhonay panaw elekha viyasem lekha shalom.”)
Shalom.
