In Common

A brief post-Shabbat thought.....Do you know what David Brickner has in common with David and Joel Chernoff?


1. Brickner and the Chernoffs do not have a Jewish mother, making them non-Jewish
2. Brickner and the Chenoffs have a father who left Judaism prior to their sons' birth, and who became missionaries to the Jewish people
3. Brickner and the Chernoffs were never raised in true Judaism
4. Brickner and the Chernoffs are top leaders in the Messianic movment

David Brickner is the President of Jews for Jesus. David and Joel Chernoff are both on the board of the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America (MJAA). Joel is also on the board of the International Messianic Jewish Alliance. They present themselves as Jewish (David Chernoff calls himself a "rabbi"), though clearly none of them are Jews.

On a side note, the History section of the MJAA website is missing some important information. It was the Chernoffs' father, Martin Chernoff, who helped convince the Hebrew Christian Alliance of America to change its name to the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America. Martin Chernoff also founded one of the earlier Messianic congregations, Beth Messiah of Cincinnati....funded by a Baptist ministry.