"The secret of Judaism. . ." ~ LKMilam

This story is said to be true, but I do not have the authors complete identity or the complete identity of the teenage boy, Yankel, described in the story.  What did catch my eye and heart this morning was in the last paragraph.  “Let me tell you the secret of Judaism. . . .”  I believe it is a secret that all people should embrace.  And even more importantly, if it is exercised through the love of Christ, it will be everlasting.

I found four verses in our King James Bible that say, "love your" - we are to love through Christ even our enemies.  So thankful for the instruction and guidance of our God through the Scriptures.

Matthew 5:44  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

Luke 6:27  But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,

Ephesians 5:25  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

Colossians 3:19  Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.

Please share your thoughts. And so, the story goes. . .

In Crown Heights, there was a Jew, Yankel, who owned a bakery. He survived the camps. He once said, “You know why it is that I’m alive today? I was a kid, just a teenager at the time. We were on the train, in a boxcar, being taken to Auschwitz. Night came, and it was freezing, deathly cold, in that boxcar. The Germans would leave the cars on the side of the tracks overnight, sometimes for days on end without any food, and of course, no blankets to keep us warm,” he said. “Sitting next to me was an older Jew – this beloved elderly Jew - from my hometown I recognized, but I had never seen him like this. He was shivering from head to toe, and looked terrible.

So, I wrapped my arms around him and began rubbing him, to warm him up. I rubbed his arms, his legs, his face, his neck. I begged him to hang on. All night long; I kept the man warm this way. I was tired, I was freezing cold myself, my fingers were numb, but I didn’t stop rubbing the heat on to this man’s body. Hours and hours went by this way. Finally, night passed, morning came, and the sun began to shine. There was some warmth in the cabin, and then I looked around the car to see some of the other Jews in the car. To my horror, all I could see were frozen bodies, and all I could hear was a deathly silence.

Nobody else in that cabin made it through the night – they died from the frost. Only two people survived: the old man and me… The old man survived because somebody kept him warm; I survived because I was warming somebody else…”

Let me tell you the secret of Judaism. When you warm other people’s hearts, you remain warm yourself. When you seek to support, encourage and inspire others; then you discover support, encouragement and inspiration in your own life as well. That, my friends, is “Judaism 101”.

Please Pray for us,

 

Tom & Linda Milam

Missionaries to America

Phil. 2:16