Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Anointed have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. Revelation 12:10-11
Veronique's Testimony, Part One
HE CHOOSE THE WEAK TO SHAME THE STRONG
Although I come from an interesting Jewish bloodline, I firmly believe this: a person is not a Jew because of his appearance, nor is circumcision something physical only. A person is a Jew inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart, brought about by the Spirit, as the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 2:29. I want to tell this story because it is fascinating and it explains an important element of Jewish life, the hope and the longing of a people to know their Messiah. My family are descendants of Sephardic Jews from Spain. I remember the story my mother told me of my famous ancestor, Rabbi Ephraim El Enkaoua, who is well remembered and honored among our relatives. It is an amazing true story passed down the generations through seven centuries.
It was the Middle Age, a dark age characterized by fear and hatred of Jews and a time of Jewish persecution across Europe. England had expelled their Jews in 1290, France in 1306 and other countries soon followed their examples. The Bubonic plague, also known as Black Death, reached its peak in 1348 and was blamed on the Jews who were suspected of poisoning the wells. Most Jews were not affected by the Black Death because they practiced the strict Levitical law regarding hygiene, especially in regard to touching sick people and dead bodies. The Black Death is estimated to have killed about half of Europe's population. Fear of the Jews gripped the hearts of people in Europe.
It is unfortunate that the cruelty of that particular early Christianity was based on ignorance of God's word, since most people at that time were either not literate enough or did not have access to copies of God's word. The Roman Catholic church did not help, instead of reading the Scriptures to the mass, they choose to focus on lithurgy and rituals that the mass accepted without questions. What happened? This people perished from lack of knowledge. Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Some English version translates, lack of knowledge as "ignorance." The opposite of ignorance is knowledge and awareness. It was not until the invention of the printing press that this veil of ignorance lifted as the Holy Bible gradually became available to the mass. The educational system improved and the literacy rate increased. This is partly in fulfillment of the prophetic promise from the prophet Habakkuk, 2:12-14: For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the sea is covered by the waters. The human heart has a longing for that awareness, for light and peace, because the Almighty Father put it there. The gross darkness covering the earth is gradually being lifted and today, most believers look forward to the day when the whole earth will be filled with an awareness of God's glory, from sea to sea, from every corner of the earth, and in every little niche.
It is in that context, in a world where awareness of God was virtually absent except for a few saintly people, Ephraim was born in Toledo, Spain in 1354. Anti semitism was rampant all over Europe. The Jews of Spain experienced peace until 1390 when King Alfonso died and the persecution of Spanish Jews began. Many Jewish communities in Spain suffered, they had to choose between forced conversion or death. Many Jews choose to face death rather than convert. So it was with Ephraim's father. He saw his father die as a martyr, burned at the stake. He quickly escaped with his brother in the middle of the night. They went toward the south of Spain and later arrived in Morocco. There, Ephraim later split with his brother and went to the east toward Tlemcen.
People on the outskirts of the town of Tlemcen, saw him arrive, of all things, on a lion, holding onto a snake which he used to harness the lion. He had learned to control these animals and had an exceptional gift with them. The people were quite in awe of Rabbi Ephraim. He was also well versed in the healing art using herbal and medicinal plants. Words of this exceptional man spread to the Jewish community and he was often asked to help their sick people.
One day the only daughter of the Sultan, of the kingly family of Beni Zion, was sick and dying. The Sultan was desperate and asked for Rabbi Ephraim. When the Rabbi arrived, the Sultan asked him, “I have heard that you are a great doctor and have saved many lives. Save my daughter’s life and name your price.” After examining the daughter, the Rabbi told the Sultan that he should be the only doctor to treat her. He treated her with his own brand of special herbs and to everyone’s amazement, she became well. The Sultan was very grateful and asked the Rabbi his price for the recovery. The Rabbi did not want the offer of gold, he only wanted one thing-- to live with his fellow Jews within the city and to build a house of prayer there. Back then, and in most countries, it was common for Jews to live outside the city. This unusual request was granted. Because of this man, the Jews were permitted to live within the city of Tlemcen. Later other cities of North Africa began to follow this example.
Ephraim eventually founded a yeshiva (a Jewish school) and synagogue that became a thriving cultural center for the Jewish people of North Africa. The center was much needed and allowed the Jews to shed the strange and superstitious Berber customs and beliefs they had adopted from their indigenous Arab neighbors. Not only was Rabbi Ephraim a physician, healer, writer, teacher, and founder of a community center, he was a revered person by many Jews of North Africa. There is a street named after him in the town of Tlemcen, Algeria. Every year, thirty days after Pesach, thousands of Jews come to see the grave of this well known Rabbi. The words that were inscribed on his grave were: “He was our pride, our support, the Glory of Israel and we ask God that ‘the Maker of Miracles’ protect us and help to send us the Messiah.”
That was the lives of my ancestors, people of Sephardic descent. While Europe persecuted the Jews, the Jews of North Africa were living decently, albeit as second class citizens under Muslim rule. They were forced to pay taxes while the Muslims were exempt, but for the most part it was a peaceful co-existence for decades. The final expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492, the same day Columbus (who was rumored to be Jewish) sailed for the Americas, had left Spain penniless. They should have remembered God's word to Abraham in Genesis 12:3: And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.
After the Middle Age, the Age of Renaissance and the so called Age of Enlightenment, Europe continued to force the Jews to live in separate communities, yet they somehow managed to survive. Some times, they were forced to wear a a badge on their clothing, which was originally issued by the Pope... the Nazis were not the first to invent this. Hundred of years of hatred and bigotry finally culminated in the Holocaust. Europe invented many excuses for hating the Jews, but one common theme of that hate emerged: "Christ killers." This particular twisted reasoning comes from a passage in Matthew 27:25, when Yeshua was brought before Pilate, who did not want to be responsible for the execution of an innocent man, so the people answered him: "Let his blood be on us and on our children!” Many Christians interpreted this passage as saying Jews were responsible for the execution of Jesus. How can 80 generations of Jews from that time until the present be responsible for killing Him? They failed to understand the real purpose of Yeshua's death and resurrection. He died willingly of his own choice for all of us, according to God's will, as a payment for our sins.
Out of the ashes of the Holocaust, came the rebirth of Israel as a nation in 1948. One year after the signing of the United Nations Partition Plan, the British withdrew from the occupation of Israel and that very same day, Israel declared their independence on May 14, 1948. There was no time to appoint a new government, the Declaration of Independence had to be signed in one day. It was an incredibly prophetic day, as seen by the most remarkable of all prophets, Isaiah.
Before she travailed, she brought forth;
Before her pain came, she gave birth to a boy.
Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things?
Can a land be born in one day?
Can a nation be brought forth all at once?
As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons. (Isaiah 66:7-8)
During World War II, the Jews of North African were protected by the Allies. The French colonization of Algeria lasted from 1830 until 1962. A large influx of European immigrants, came to start life in Algeria but the vast majority of the inhabitants were the indigenous Muslims. My grandfather became a French citizen right after joining the French army and serving his time during World War I. In the 1960’s, things had begun to change. The Arabs of Algeria resented the presence of the French and wanted greater political autonomy. Since many Jews had become French citizens, in the eyes of the Arabs, they were also considered enemies. French citizens were terrorized and killed. Fearing for their safety and their families, many French citizens began the tedious and slow process of moving back to France. War between France and Algeria concluded in 1962 when Algeria gained independence.
My father was born in Oran, Algeria which is a little further east than Tlemcen. He was the youngest of eight children, and a successful businessman. He owned a chain of mercantile shops which his oldest brothers managed for him. I was born in 1958, growing up among the occasional noise of bombs and shootings until I was 4 years old when my mother took me and my one-month old baby brother to France for safety. My father remained behind to run the business with his brothers. I was born a perfectly normal and healthy hearing child. Right after we moved to France, I became sick with the German measles, the mumps, high fever, and a few episodes of unconsciousness. I lost my hearing gradually and by the time I was six, I became profoundly deaf.
One night in Algeria, my father and his brother were walking toward the car when some Muslims drew their guns and asked them to move toward the wall. Trembling, they walked toward the wall, fearing for their lives, when suddenly out of nowhere, from the building above them, they heard guns going off, bullets hitting the concrete sidewalk near their would-be executioners. Scared for their lives and thankful for the distraction, they jumped in the car and drove away fast. Father never looked back and decided at this point in his life to drop everything to join my mother in France. He was thankful for whoever distracted his executioners. He never met the people who saved his life. He left his business and livelihood behind, with no time to pack everything. In France, he had to start all over again. He was not as successful as he had been in Algeria and this disappointment must have weighed on him and affected the family. My parents could not handle the stress of having a deaf child; they had disagreements on how best to raise a deaf child. My mother wanted me to get an oral education, hearing aids, no homemade signs. My father had other ideas, he was known to use some sign language with a deaf customer. They became divorced when I was about 10 years old and shortly afterward, my mother came to the United States with me and my brother--for a better life, especially a better education for me. We started out with her sister in New Jersey, then moved out to our own place and she eventually re-married.
After graduating from public high school in New Jersey, I went to a college for the Deaf at the Rochester Institute of Technology. That was my first exposure to Deaf culture and the first time I learned American Sign Language. Learning about the Deaf culture has been rocky road but I learned ASL fast, because I felt like it was my native language. Eventually, I did not feel so frustrated trying to understand people. My speech and communication skill gradually improved. To my surprise, my mother did not object to my learning sign language this time, because she knew the education was paid for by the local vocational rehabilitation service.
Now comes the best part of my story... the part where I get to meet my Messiah! It is the heart and soul of the story and the reason why the Jewish people have endured as much as they have today. They are a very special part of God’s plan. Without the Messiah, a Jew’s perspective of the purpose of life is confused and cloudy. Putting the Messiah into my life was like putting on a new pair of glasses and seeing things I had never seen or understood before. Some of my favorite verses are 1Corinthians 1:27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things-- and the things that are not-- to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. Matt 11:25 At that time Yeshua said, I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. I was only 19 years old when I met my Messiah. My real life was just beginning. (Story continues to part 2, click here for more of Veronique's testimony.)
© Copyright 2011. By Signs & Wonders Ministry. All Rights Reserved. No part of this story might be reprinted or posted on the internet without permission.
