Izzy here. I was recently in Phoenix at the annual Messianic Jewish leadership roundtable, hosted by Rabbi Jonathan Bernis and Jewish Voice ministries. It was a significant time and there are several things I could share with you, but the highlight of the conference - and what I'm most excited to tell you about - was a conversation I had with Rabbi Itzhak "Tzahi" Shapira. (I won't tell you Tzahi's story here because you can watch it for yourself here or at the bottom of this email.)

Tzahi did something controversial this summer - he spoke at a Hebrew Roots conference in Portland, Oregon called Love for Israel. That caught my attention because Messianic Jewish Rabbis don't generally speak at Hebrew Roots events. In fact, they can even have their credentials pulled for doing so. So I got on YouTube and watched the two impassioned talks he gave. You can watch them too, here and here or at the bottom of this email. I personally think these two talks are a very anointed and prophetic message, and that every person in the Hebrew Roots movement should hear them!

After watching Tzahi's talks, I felt I needed to contact him. And shortly after that, lo and behold there he was in Phoenix - grabbing my arm and pulling me aside and saying we needed to talk!

The reason I'm telling you this is because Tzahi and I are in similar situations. We're Messianic Jews, and our home is the Messianic Jewish movement. But we believe God is calling us to build relationships with people in the Hebrew Roots world, so despite our reservations and disagreements with some things, we kind of live with our feet in two worlds and walk the fine line.

I could tell you more, but for now I'll tell you that I sincerely believe that Tzahi's our man and I'm behind him 100%. We've agreed to be allies and work together as individuals and organizations, and - on a practical level - I hope you'll take a moment to check out his website, connect with him on social media, and sign up for emails from him here.