Rabbi Tovia Singer (born 1960) is an American Orthodox rabbi and the founder and director of Outreach Judaism.[1] Outreach Judaism is managed under the Eits Chaim Indonesia Foundation, which describes itself as an advocate for the Jewish faith, the Jewish people, and the State of Israel.[2] After five years in Indonesia, Singer moved to Jerusalem, Israel in 2019 where he now lives in the Jewish quarter of the Old City.
Tovia Singer | |
|---|---|
 Rabbi Tovia Singer in 2024 | |
| Title | Founder and director of Outreach Judaism (a counter-missionary organization) |
| Personal | |
| Born | 1960 (age 63–64) Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Denomination | Orthodox Judaism |
| Alma mater | The Mir Yeshiva |
| Occupation | Rabbi |
| Website | www |
| Position | Rabbi |
| Synagogue | Beit Torat Chaim Jakarta, Indonesia |
| Position | Founder and Director |
| Organisation | Outreach Judaism |
Outreach Judaism
editSinger is the founder and director of Outreach Judaism, a Jewish counter-missionary organization.[3] It describes itself as "an international organization that responds directly to the issues raised by missionaries and cults, by exploring Judaism in contradistinction to fundamentalist Christianity."[4] Singer cautions regarding congregations that "are designed to appear Jewish, but are actually fundamentalist Christian churches, which use traditional Jewish symbols to lure the most vulnerable of our Jewish people into their ranks."[5] Outreach Judaism was described by J. Gordon Melton in 2002 as an example of "the current state of Jewish counter-cult activity."[6]
Other activities
editFrom 2002 to 2010 Singer hosted The Tovia Singer Show on Arutz Sheva's Israel National Radio. The show launched again in October 2013. The radio show had many prominent guests, including Israeli and American politicians, rabbis, terror victims, and authors. Among those who came on the show were: 47th Governor of Texas Rick Perry; American stand-up comedian in political satire, Jackie Mason; former US ambassador for the UN, John R. Bolton; businessman Ronald Lauder; Israeli Ambassador Dore Gold; American-born Israeli historian, author and politician, Michael Oren; Dead Sea Scroll expert Prof. Lawrence Schiffman; American conservative political activist, Alan Keyes; Israeli politician, Danny Danon; former American ambassador and an ardent anti-communist, Jeane Kirkpatrick and many others. Singer was also one of the first who interviewed Walid Shoebat. In 2006, Singer interviewed Wafa Sultan on the show.[7]
Singer is the author of the book and audio series Let's Get Biblical: Why Doesn't Judaism Accept the Christian Messiah? His new expanded edition is a two-volume book that takes a critical look at long-standing Christian charges against the Jewish faith.[8] According to David Brickner it has "grabbed the attention of many evangelicals simply because it has been so widely distributed."[9] A book review by Jewish Values Online described Singer as "a master of his material" and that "his meticulous research and command of Biblical sources is most impressive."[10]
Together with Eits Chaim Indonesia Foundation,[11] whose founders are of Dutch Jewish descent, Singer started the only Jewish Center legally acknowledged by the Indonesian Minister of Religious Affairs - Torat Chaim. Since Judaism is not yet a recognized religion in Indonesia, religious freedom for Torat Chaim and its members is guaranteed and protected by the Christian Desk of the Indonesian Religious Affairs Department.[12]
On November 25, 2022, the Jerusalem Post reported that Lihi Lapid, the wife of Prime Minister Yair Lapid, sued Singer for reporting a claim by missionary Chaim Malespin that Mrs. Lapid believes in Jesus.[13][14] Lapid claimed that Singer apologized for this, which Singer denied in a response published in the Jerusalem Post on November 27.[15] Lapid's claim was for £190,000; Singer countersued Lapid for defamation for £72,000. Both suits are pending.[16]
Works
edit- Singer, Tovia (2010). Let's Get Biblical. RNBN Publishers; 2nd edition (2010). ISBN 978-0615348391.
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Outreach Judaism Inc.
- ^ Yayasan Eits Chaim Indonesia
- ^ Michael C. Duke, "Messianics pervert Passover at some Houston-area churches", Jewish Herald-Voice, April 2, 2009.
- ^ About Us, Outreach Judaism website. Accessed January 9, 2011.
- ^ Simon Schoon, "Noachides and Converts to Judaism", in Jan N. Bremmer, Wout Jac. van Bekkum, Arie L. Molendijk. Cultures of Conversions, Peeters Publishers, 2006, ISBN 978-90-429-1753-8, p. 125.
- ^ J. Gordon Melton, "The Modern Anti-Cult Movement in Historical Perspective", in Jeffrey Kaplan, Heléne Lööw. The Cultic Milieu: Oppositional Subcultures in an Age of Globalization, Rowman Altamira, 2002, ISBN 978-0-7591-0204-0, p. 285, note 4.
- ^ Michael Cappi. A Never Ending War, Trafford Publishing, 2007, ISBN 978-1-4251-1567-8, p. 326.
- ^ Rabbi Tovia Singer, "Let's Get Biblical: Why Doesn't Judaism Accept the Christian Messiah?", 2014, ISBN 978-0-99609-131-2, [1]
- ^ David Brickner, "Encountering Jewish Resistance", in J. Dudley Woodberry (ed.) Reaching the Resistant: Barriers and Bridges for Mission, William Carey Library, 1998, ISBN 978-0-87808-380-0, p. 90.
- ^ "The Jews and Jesus" on Jewish Values Online.
- ^ Yayasan Eits Chaim Indonesia
- ^ Rabbi Yosef Serebryanski, "Jews in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea", The Jewish Press, August 28, 2015.
- ^ "Lihi Lapid sues man who said she's Christian, cites Tel Aviv Rabbi ancestor", The Jerusalem Post, November 25, 2022.
- ^ "Yair Lapid's wife: I am not secretly a Christian". Israel National News. 2022-10-31. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
- ^ "A response to Lihi Lapid's lawsuit against me - opinion". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
- ^ Sacerdoti, Jonathan (1 March 2023). "Rabbi in legal battle with Yair Lapid's wife over Jesus-worshipping claims". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 14 May 2023.