Former messianic leader has much to teach Jewish community
DEBRA MORTON GELBART
Contributing Writer
Tom Gagliano of Glendale, now known as Yossi Gagliano, is part of the Orthodox Jewish community as a member of Chabad of the West Valley. But his journey to Judaism took an unlikely detour.
Raised a "not very religious" Lutheran, he began asking spiritual questions when he was in his late 20s. "My wife and I gravitated to Judaism and began to practice Jewish traditions in our home," said Gagliano, 47. "But we kept asking ourselves what to do about our Christian backgrounds. When we found out about messianic Judaism, it seemed like we could have it all."
In 2000, he established a messianic congregation in Glendale. But, he said, "the more that I tried to understand Judaism, the more I realized that Judaism and Christianity are diametrically opposed to each other and the more I realized how wrong I was to try (to convert mainstream Jews). I eventually found it impossible to reconcile Christianity and Judaism, so I sought help within the Orthodox Jewish community."
Two years ago, he closed down his congregation and he and his family began the process of a formal Orthodox conversion.
"I believe Jews who assimilate into (Christianity) suffer from multiple personality disorder," Gagliano said. "As they struggle with their identity, they seek expression for their 'Jewish side' in superficial Jewish traditions. But that never really answers their identity crisis. The only way I was able to disengage from my 'Christian side' was to learn more about what the Torah says and what Judaism really is about."
He said messianic missionaries "concentrate on secular and Reform Jews who didn't get answers to their questions as kids because some topics - such as a relationship with God or whether heaven or hell exists - sound too Christian. I believe these Jews are primed to be approached by messianic believers. But if they educate themselves about the (Jewish perspective on) topics of interest to them, they'll learn the depth of Jewish traditions and the beauty of Judaism.
"Within my own family and in the Christian community," he said, "I'm an apostate because I gave up believing in (Jesus). But I've never been closer to Hashem in my life."
Gagliano welcomes questions from Jewish News readers about responding to messianic activity. He can be contacted at yossigagliano@gmail.com.
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