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a call to help in Ethiopia by Robert I. Winer, M.D. Several years ago, a popular television personality hosted a prime time show in which the long-lost safe of Al Capone would be opened. For the entire week before the show, ads tempted the audience to tune in. What was the allure? Why was the show a big hit in the ratings? Perhaps, people wanted to see this "buried treasure" because of curiosity or fascination with gangsters. Perhaps it was the chance to experience, even if it was only vicarious, the forbidden fruits of a lawless life. The day finally came. The sense of excitement was palpable as the show began. The host explained that the safe would be opened later in the show. He carefully avoided telling you the exact time of the opening, presumably so you wouldn't change the channel to see another show only to switch back when the safe was opened. The tension grew as show progressed. There were the usual background stories and pictures that you would expect, focusing on the wealth of Capone, tempting you that the safe could possibly house a fantastic treasure. At last, the moment came. The huge safe was center stage as a man with a large blow torch was putting the finishing touches on the "safe cracking." The door opened -- it was empty. The host closed with some type of trite goodbye and that was it. The hype never materialized. Over the past few years, I found two "buried treasures" that didn't disappoint. Some might think they weren't too exciting and they surely weren't worth millions of dollars. Yet these treasures led to several journeys that I believe have had very positive results and will have a deep impact in the future. A Personal Vision I love libraries where I can browse through the stacks. While researching another subject I pulled out a dusty volume off a shelf, "The Journals of Joseph Wolf," published in Bombay, India in 1832. I had read about Wolf but never seen anything he had written. I was excited because like me, Wolf was a Jew who believed in Messiah Yeshua. Driven by his desire to speak to other Jews about Messiah he became an explorer. Wolf spent most of his life traveling throughout Asia and Africa. Many of the Jewish communities he found were unknown to world Jewry, then centered in Europe. It was Wolf who was the first European to discover the community of black Jews in Abyssinia (today's Ethiopia). He brought the news back to Europe where it created tremendous interest. People were fascinated at the prospect of black Jews. I copied the book and read it cover to cover several times. My initial excitement soon faded to be awakened later. In May of 1991 the world learned that over 14,000 Ethiopia Jews had been airlifted to Israel in a little over a day. My joy quickly faded when I learned that Operation Solomon's rescue efforts didn't include the Falash Mora, the 25,000 to 60,000 Jews considered to be Christian by Israel's Ministry of the Interior. While I was burdened to help these oppressed Jew, I didn't do anything until I came across another book in 1993. Again I was browsing, this time at Bryn Mawr College library. I was drawn to a particular book by its title, "Travels in Abyssinia." To my surprise it was written by a Jewish believer Henry Stern. Stern, who I had never heard, learned of Wolf's discovery and in the 1850's spent three years in Abyssinia among the black Jews. As I read an awesome thought overwhelmed me; the Falash were discovered by Wolf, a Messianic Jew, and later thousands brought to Messiah through Stern, a Messianic Jew. And now I, a Messianic Jew, reading a 135 year old book realized that no one was helping these Falash Mora left in Ethiopia. As I researched the subject, I learned that after the work of Stern little had been done because of political reasons. The gap was obvious and my burden for these people grew, especially after I learned that many were starving and a few had even died. Many were in desperate straits. They couldn't return to their homes and they weren't wanted in Israel. It seemed that the spiritual fathers of this community were Messianic Jews. If Messianic Jews didn't help this community, who would? So I prayed keeping in mind that the immediate need was to feed the hungry. During prayer I heard God saying deep on the inside, "Switzerland." With a conviction that God wanted me to move forward in this burden for Ethiopia, I called the only people I knew close to Switzerland, a Messianic Rabbi in France. This resulted in an invitation to speak about the Falash Mora at his congregation in Paris. A short time later, I shared my burden with another Messianic Jew who decided to accompany me. These "open doors" paved the way for a further revelation a few days later which gave me the faith to move forward into an unknown ministry. While praying with my eyes closed, I had a vision. I wasn't sleeping so I knew it wasn't a dream. I saw scene that semed rather dreary. The sky was dark and it was drizzling. I stood at a dock about to board a ship that looked like Christopher Columbus's ship, the Nina. The ship's sails were torn and it didn't look in great shape. A crowd of people at the dock was urging me not to go. They said the ship wasn't sea-worthy. The weather was bad and the ship had no posted destination. I couldn't fault their reasoning. They made sense. Yet I knew I had to go. So I got on the ship and sailed away. Inside, I knew with certainty the vision's meaning. God was speaking to me, saying, "Go to Europe. It doesn't matter that you don't know your exact destination. Trust me, I'll provide you with what you need." The trip was a life changing experience (I've written about it in detail in "Ten Commandments for Success," chapter 1 on Empathy. Beside raising money to help the Falash Mora the trip changed me, deepening my faith and trust in God. The Present Situation The Falash Mora are the descendants of those brought to the Lord by Stern. As a group, for most of the last 140 years they have lived separate from both the traditional Jewish and Christian community. They have continued to maintain circumcision, keeping of the Shabbat, and abstinence from pork. Most of them reside in the areas around Gondar (500 miles north of the capital, Addis Ababa). In January, 1994 I organized a delegation sent to Ethiopia to learn first hand about the situation and deliver financial aid to nearly one hundred families. We found many of the Falash Mora to be in a desperate situation, suffering from starvation and lacking proper shelter and clothing. Worse still is that many are without hope of an improvement in their condition or immigration to Israel. As a result, we partnered with other organizations to help the Falash Mora. Our chief partner has been Operation Tikvah (Hebrew for Hope) founded by me as a work of the International Relations Committee of the Messianic Jewish Alliance of American, a committee I chair. Since that time over $100,000.00 of aid has been distributed to our needy Jewish brethren in Ethiopia who face death without our help. I urge you not to forget the continuous ongoing needs of our brothers and sisters in Ethiopia. Please consider joining us in prayer and with your financial support.
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