Elaine Jacobs has a deep, personal connection to the topics she addresses in “Finding Jesus in Judaism.”
Jacobs was born into a practicing conservative Jewish home, where she observed all customs, feasts and traditions, but converted to Christianity while in college. She hopes to help readers better understand the Jewish faith and culture so they’ll be more knowledgeable as they witness to their Jewish friends.
Insider’s view
Her self-published book offers a lot of detail for those who want an insider’s view.
She defines the term Jew, both through cultural identity and religious practice. She explains a wide array of terms and beliefs, as well as sects, customs and other aspects of the Jewish faith.
Jacobs addresses elements of Scripture and Jewish teaching, including the Torah (the five books of Moses), the Tanakh (the Jewish Bible, which Christians call the Old Testament), the Talmud (a textbook of ancient writings) and the Shulchan Aruch (a condensed version of the Talmud).
She also makes note of some reasons Jews don’t believe Jesus is the Messiah.
For example, the Trinity— a three-in-one God — is foreign to Jewish teaching, in light of the Shema from Deuteronomy 6:4: “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is One.” In addition, she said, “The Jew does believe in the coming of the Messiah, but they don’t believe He has come yet, in the form of a man.”
To learn more, the book is available on Amazon here.
