This past month, thousands of Christians took to their computer screens and smartphones to join over 700 invite-only attendees to this year's annual Christians United for Israel (CUFI) summit to celebrate and honor the life of Rabbi Aryeh Scheinberg of blessed memory.
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The San Antonio rabbi passed away recently, two weeks shy of his 81st birthday. Besides leaving behind over 300 families who belonged to his congregation Rodfei Sholom, the Orthodox rabbi left behind over 10 million CUFI members, many of whom regarded him as their rabbi.
I first met Rabbi Scheinberg nearly six years ago, when I sat down with him and CUFI founder Pastor John Hagee for an exclusive interview about their friendship. Just a few months earlier, the rabbi and his community awoke to swastikas, Ku Klux Klan writings and other anti-Semitic graffiti spray-painted on their cars and homes.
When news of the anti-Semitic attack surfaced, the rabbi immediately received a visit from one of his closest friends, Pastor Hagee.
"As soon as I heard this had happened," Hagee said in our October 2015 interview, "my wife and I came down immediately to express our solidarity with the rabbi, with his congregation and the Jewish community of San Antonio. I want to say to all of the Christians in America, we stand with the Jewish people. An attack against this synagogue is an attack against Christians everywhere. We are united."
The bond between Pastor Hagee and Rabbi Scheinberg celebrated its 40th anniversary this year. It was 1981 when Pastor Hagee had the idea to support Israel and the Jewish people with the first "Night to Honor Israel." But to get his idea off the ground, he wanted the blessing of the San Antonio Jewish Federation.
Following Hagee's initial conversations with the Federation, Scheinberg met the pastor and was "convinced that it was worthwhile to give this person an opportunity. I told the Federation that I was very impressed with the pastor and we should give his idea a shot. At that point I think the community was ready to participate in a Night to Honor Israel."
"There would never have been a Night to Honor Israel or a Christians United For Israel that now has over 2.5 million members; and $95 million for humanitarian causes would never have been donated to Israel – if we hadn't been successful in that first meeting," said Hagee back in 2015. Six years later, CUFI now exceeds 10 million members and has donated over $300 million to Israel and Jewish causes. None of this support would have been possible if Rabbi Scheinberg didn't take a chance that Pastor Hagee was sincere about his support for Israel and the Jewish people.
Scheinberg told me that it was "G0d's plan for us" that brought us together. "In Jewish thought, we believe that you connect with people with your heart and soul and then your mind kicks in to process that relationship. When I met Pastor, it wasn't me saying let's give it a chance – there was something about him. I knew we were going places – I felt it. When I went back to the Federation it wasn't just to recommend that we give it a try. I told them that this person was going to do something wonderful for our people."
During their 40-year friendship, Pastor Hagee and Rabbi Scheinberg have visited Israel together dozens of times – leading congregations of Christians and Jews to the Promised Land.
Rabbi Scheinberg has also been a regular presence at CUFI events. From leadership conferences to the annual summit that draws crowds of over 5000 Christian Zionists, this year his attendance was greatly missed.
Due to Covid restrictions, this year's summit was held in Dallas instead of Washington, DC, and in-person attendance was limited to 700. But through the power of technology, thousands more attended the conference virtually. And Rabbi Scheinberg was, in spirit, still part of the festivities.
"It was truly a moment of destiny. From the moment they met it was love at first sight. Whether they walked shoulder to shoulder in their beloved Jerusalem or the halls Congress, they were friends they were partners, and they are brothers now and forevermore."
These are the opening words narrated by Pastor Hagee's wife Diana in a video tribute to Rabbi Scheinberg that brought tears to the eyes of many, this past Month when CUFI held their first summit after the rabbi's passing.
The video is a historical look through the years of the bond between the pastor and rabbi. From the beginning of their friendship to their many trips to Israel and events honoring Israel and showing solidarity with the Jewish people, CUFI reveals a partnership between two men who love Israel and cherish their friendship.
As stated in the video, Rabbi Scheinberg "changed the history of the Jewish-Christian landscape as we see it today."
"One of the great joys of my life has been to see how CUFI has enabled Christians and Jews to come together. We cannot heal the wounds of the past, but we can ensure that as friends, neighbors and spiritual brethren, we walk forward together," Hagee told the Haym Salomon Center. "
Rabbi Scheinberg made all of that possible by teaching me and countless others about Jewish history and moreover the modern Jewish experience and by personally exemplifying the open-minded approach necessary for Jewish-Christian relations to thrive on a personal level.
CUFI is currently the largest pro-Israel organization in the country – supporting the Jewish state, standing with the Jewish people and combating the growing scourge of anti-Semitism and its many faces. Through its legislative arm, CUFI Action Fund, the organization is one of the most influential voices on Capitol Hill and in state legislatures.
None of this would be possible if an Orthodox rabbi hadn't taken a chance on an Evangelical pastor.
"Without Rabbi Aryeh Scheinberg, there would be no CUFI. He took a chance and opened his heart to me decades ago, thus enabling the first Night to Honor Israel to take place," explained Hagee. "We are all here today because Rabbi Scheinberg said, "yes." In the years since, his friendship and advice enabled CUFI's birth, growth and many successes.
"God has a special plan for Jews and Christians together to strengthen one another. We need each other and we can give strength to each other; and to me, that is one of the great miracles of our day – the unity of Jerusalem and the unity of Jews and Christians together" – Rabbi Aryeh Scheinberg.
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