If you have ever attended a Messianic Passover Seder, it is likely that you have found your faith in Messiah transformed in some life-changing way. Perhaps the presentation deepened your understanding of the Lord’s Supper. Perhaps it helped you more fully grasp the connection between the promises of the Hebrew Scriptures and their fulfillment in the New Testament. Or perhaps it was at a Messianic Passover celebration that you, like many others, gave your life to Messiah for the first time or rededicated your life to the Lord.

For some of our Russian staff members, Passover has been a time when they have not only encountered Messiah, but also found new meaning in their long-suppressed Jewish identity. Here are some of their stories.

Boris Goldin — Seeing Passover in a Different Light

Boris Goldin emigrated from Kiev, Ukraine to Brooklyn, New York and came to faith in Messiah after his wife, Shulamit, became a believer in Yeshua (Jesus). At first Boris resisted her witness and argued vehemently with her. But after a year and a half of searching, Boris came to understand the truth of the Gospel and received Messiah. Boris is now on staff with Chosen People Ministries, serving the Lord among Russian-speaking Jewish people in South Flor ida and leading a Bible study at our Messianic Center in Boynton Beach.

“I remember as a boy in Ukraine, we had pieces of matza (unleavened bread) that we kept hidden at Passover — but that’s all I remember about it. Father smuggled it into the house lest the Soviet authorities find out. There was one small synagogue in Kiev and my grandfather took me, but there were never people my age there. I celebrated my first Passover as a believer at a Seder led by Mitch Glaser in Brooklyn in 1993. I was able to recognize the Messiah in the Seder in so many aspects of Yeshua’s life, death and resurrection. The lighting of the candles, the bitterness of the horseradish—I started to see it all in a different light. Before I became a believer, I read Isaiah 53 and it had a great effect on me. Now I was able to see the relationship between the Passover and the Suffering Servant descr ibed in that chapter. Probably the most meaningful thing for me was the breaking of the bread and the drinking of the third cup, the Cup of Redemption. This to me is the most sacred part of the Seder; it is like a reenactment of the Father sending the Son into the world as both sacrifice and redeemer.”

Maxim K. — Surprised by Passover

In 1996, Maxim became one of the many citizens of the for mer Soviet Union who made aliyah (immigrated) to Israel. He came to believe in Messiah in the city of Eilat in southern Israel four years later. Maxim has been a part of Chosen People Ministries for eight years now, working in children’s ministry as well as with young adults. He also reaches out to Holocaust survivors.

“Back in Russia, I knew nothing about Passover. The first time I celebrated Passover was in a Messianic congregation in Eilat. I was surprised to understand the meaning of Passover for the Jewish people, the meaning of the sacrifices on behalf of Israel, and the meaning of the Passover Lamb as a sign of the coming Messiah. For me, as a believer and as a Jew, Passover brings an insight into the sacrifice of Messiah. By learning the story of Exodus, I also understood a deeper meaning of this feast in my own life. When I learned about Yeshua as the Passover Lamb, and compared His sacrifice with the sacrificial lamb of Passover, I was even more assured that the Scriptures are God’s Word and are trustworthy!”

Luda Ford — A Family Celebration

Born into a Bukharan Jewish family in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Luda immigrated to New Zealand in 1979. There she studied English with a woman who used the Bible as a teaching tool, and she became a believer in 1982. Sensing a calling from God to go to Israel, she moved there in 1989. Later, after pursuing Jewish studies at Moody Bible Institute, she joined Chosen People Ministries’ staff in 1999. Luda and her husband, Randall, currently minister among the Bukharan Jewish community in Queens, New York.

“Growing up in Uzbekistan, we were not very religious. I only have a hazy memory that we ate matza at Passover because we were Jewish. After I became a believer, I heard teachings about Passover, but I didn’t have many feelings about it. It was only when I actually celebrated it in a home with believing friends in Jerusalem that Passover became real to me, and I found that it was very beautiful. What is most meaningful to me about Passover is enjoying it as a family celebration. I also see it as a great connection between Jewish believers in Yeshua and the rest of the Jewish people. The message of the Messiah becomes more significant with each passing year, as we speak about it and share wonderful family time when we celebrate it.”

Rita Ivenskis — Coming Home Through Passover

Rita Ivenskis was born in Ukraine and immigrated to Australia in 1979. She came to faith in 1991 through the witness of a good fr iend. Rita has served on the staff of Celebrate Messiah, Chosen People Ministries’ Australian ministry partner, for the past fourteen years as a missionary and teacher in the Russian Jewish community. Her husband, Elia, is also a believer, and Elia’s father, a Holocaust survivor, received Messiah shortly before he passed away last year. Rita’s parents also came to faith before they died.

“Although I knew I was Jewish, I had no background whatsoever in the observances of Judaism as I grew up in Ukraine. My grandfather was killed in the War and I think that Ukrainian Jewish people of my parents’ generation were simply afraid to live as observant Jews. The first time I celebrated Passover was with Lawrence and Louise Hirsch at Celebrate Messiah in 1996. It was something very special. I felt like I belonged to the Jewish people — that after years of wandering in the wilderness, I had finally come home to God. The Feast of Passover helped me understand my Jewish soul and identity, through my relationship with Messiah. Passover reminds me that Jesus is my Messiah and the Passover Lamb. He is the atonement for my sins and through Him, I have this wonderful relationship with God. I can talk with Him every day — and know that He hears and answers my prayers.”

My story begins three years ago. It was May 2007, and I was in Israel three nights before my flight to America.  Five friends and I were getting high, and the police caught us. I have never felt so ashamed and scared in my life.

I was born in Israel and come from a religious family. My father is Baal Teshuva (a secular Jewish person who becomes religious) and the rest of my Moroccan Israeli family is Orthodox. I was always the black sheep of the family simply because I didn't follow the rules of being a "good Jew."

So as I was getting ready to travel to America from Israel, I was humiliated by getting caught with drugs and I was even more embarrassed for my parents. I am their only son, and I just wanted to make them happy.

It was a miracle that the police let us go so I was still able to fly to America. After a year in California, I moved to New York City and found a job as a mashgiah kashrut (kosher supervisor) even though I never observed the Shabbat (Sabbath).  A person with this job has to be orthodox and observe all of the Jewish customs, so I lied to my boss. I needed a job and I needed the money. My real goal was to be a photographer and to get rich.

One day, a guy came in to my restaurant and spoke with me in Hebrew. I was surprised to see that he knew Hebrew, so I asked if he was Jewish. He said no, but he loved Israel. He believed that the Jewish people were incredibly important, and that the Messiah came from Israel. He also told me he was a Christian, but that he wanted to live in Israel. He wanted his kids to speak Hebrew and to serve in the Israeli army.

I was surprised at this man. An American, non-Jewish man who could be rich and live the life I wanted, actually desired to move to Israel.  I didn't understand why.  I told him that when Israelis are done with the army, we want to leave Israel. I told him that it was incredible that he wanted to move there even though he was not Jewish and had no family in Israel.

We became good friends and started to hang out. After a while, he invited me to his birthday party. That is where I met my first two Jewish believers, Robynne and Naomi. I got to know them a bit and later met another Jewish believer named Ryan at Robynne's Hanukkah party.  Ryan began coming to my apartment and we would read the Bible.  I had many questions about Yeshua (Jesus) and he would take his time answering them.

As Passover was approaching three months later, my mother and father came to New York to celebrate the holiday with me.  I had a huge fight with my mom and she walked out.  I found myself sitting on the train on my way to work, closing my eyes, and saying, "God, if you are there, please help me. I'm having such a hard time with my parents; if Yeshua is the Messiah, I  will follow him. But please, if he's not the Messiah, just take all of those people away from me because this is only making me depressed!"

Immediately after I said this to God, my whole body was shaking and I had chills all over. I started to cry and didn't understand what was happening, but I felt like someone was with me!  This was the day I accepted Yeshua into my life!

After a year as a believer, I opened the Bible and found this verse:

For the upright will inhabit the land,
and those with integrity will remain in it,
but the wicked will be cut off from the land,
and the treacherous will be rooted out of it.
- Proverbs 2:21-22

After reading this, I realized I had to go back to Israel.  So I enrolled at Israel College of the Bible in the city of Netanya to start in early 2010. When I originally left Israel, I told my mom that I would only be staying six months in America - and I actually stayed three years. But after finding God and His Messiah, God led me to move back to Israel.

Israel is so beautiful and the word of God is so powerful here. There is no way to describe how amazing God is.  Moving from a big city like New York to a small city in Israel as a believer was hard. Living with my non-believing parents is still difficult, but my dad sees the changes in my life, and I am talking with him about God almost every day!  He is very interested in knowing about Yeshua. My friends are the same way.  They think that I went a little meshugah (crazy) in New York but are open to hear. It can be complicated in a way; a new Israeli believer comes back to the land with a fresh and real faith, but some people can't seem to understand you.  Yet it is still amazing to be a believer in the Land!

Four weeks after I returned to Israel, the students in my Bible college and I went to share the good news with Israelis at the Bombamela festival (a new age festival held during Passover). This is where you see Israelis following after other gods and going after idols! I was so sad when I saw that this was happening in Israel. There were a few religious Jews there who strongly opposed us.  Yet I love my people and realize how much they need Yeshua.

Israel is not easy, but I feel safe here because God is protecting us every day. To be on the train and to know that there are so many unsaved Jewish people around me breaks my heart.  It makes me feel like I want to stand there and just shout the name of Yeshua to everyone. However, there are also some amazing congregations and many strong believers here.  I was surprised to see how many people love Yeshua and have given Him their lives!  I'm growing stronger in my faith every day here in Israel. The word of God is real here, and it is almost like living in the book of Acts.

I want everyone to know that we are doing our best to share the Gospel with Israelis, but we always need more people to come help and support us.

Little is known about Carl Lutz, a man who helped save the lives of thousands of Jews in Budapest during World War II. Lutz was born in Switzerland in 1895, but immigrated to the United States at the age of 18. He stayed in this nation for more than 20 years, studying at Central Wesleyan College (Warrenton, Miss.) and George Washington University (Washington, D.C.) and pursuing a career as a Swiss diplomat in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and St. Louis. He ultimately left the United States in order to become the vice-consul at the Swiss Consulate in Jaffa, Palestine (now Israel). While there, his diplomatic work allowed him to negotiate the release of German prisoners, an action that provided leverage in his later dealings with the Nazis while in Hungary.

After his assignment in Jaffa, Lutz took on the role of vice-consul with the Swiss consulate in Budapest, Hungary. Shortly after his arrival in 1942, Lutz began cooperating with the Jewish Agency for Palestine, issuing an estimated 10,000 letters of safe conduct to Jewish children whose parents were willing to send them to Palestine. Presumably, Lutz's desire to work with the Jewish agency stemmed from his time living and working in Palestine, as well as his deep faith in the God of the Bible.

Jan Karski is unique among the many hundreds of righteous gentiles for his singular effort to bring the truth of Hitler's campaign against the Jews to light in Western Europe and the United States.

He was born in 1914, in a diverse neighborhood of Lodz, Poland, whose population was primarily Jewish. Karski served in a variety of diplomatic posts even before joining the Polish ministry of foreign affairs in late 1939. His career was put on hiatus, however, with the outbreak of World War II and his subsequent conscription into the army. He was taken prisoner by the Red Army early in his service, and narrowly avoided death at the hands of the Russians by taking part in a prisoner transfer that sent him to Germany. Karsi escaped from the train while en route to a POW camp, and made his way back to Warsaw. Upon his return to his native country, Karski immediately joined the resistance movement in Poland, one of the first of its kind.