 In their interest of converting Jews to Christianity, Jews for Jesus, Messianic Jews and Hebrew Christians claim that what they're doing in their religious practice is 100% Jewish. They claim that to believe in Jesus is the most Jewish thing that you can do. However, calling it Jewish doesn't make it Jewish. The famous American president Abraham Lincoln once asked, how many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Well, four he answered. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg. Let's see how Abraham Lincoln's lesson applies to Jews for Jesus. Plain and simple, Jews for Jesus and Messianic Jews are following evangelical Protestant Christianity. Their beliefs are not Jewish and have no relation to Judaism. On every basic issue of theology, the Jews for Jesus and Messianic Jews reject the Jewish point of view and embrace the perspective of Christianity. For example, Jews for Jesus believe in the Christian concept of the Trinity and worship the man Jesus as God. Judaism insists on a pure monotheism that worships only the Creator of the world and no physical created being. Messianic Jews maintain that the only way we can be forgiven for any sin is by accepting Jesus and believing that he died as an atoning sacrifice for us. Judaism follows the Torah or biblical teaching that each individual can secure forgiveness through repentance, a sincere rejection of past wrongs, and a resolve to change one's ways. Hebrew Christians believe that it is impossible to have a relationship with God unless we believe in Jesus. Judaism insists that we are able to relate to God directly with no intermediaries. These Jewish Christians accept the Greek or New Testament as part of the Bible in addition to the Hebrew Scriptures, the Torah, prophets, and writings of the Tanakh. However, the Jewish Bible does not conclude by saying to be continued. Messianic Jews assert that all people who don't believe in Jesus will face an eternity in hell. The Torah defines the worship of anything or anyone other than the Creator as idolatry, one of the gravest sins. Jews for Jesus believe that they must convert every person on the planet to Christianity. Judaism has never taught that non-Jews must convert to Judaism to attain spiritual fulfillment. Our rabbis taught that all righteous people from the nations of the world have a share in the world to come. Jews for Jesus and Messianic Jews claim to reject the Talmud and rabbinic teachings and follow only what is taught in the Torah and Bible. However, in practice, they do exactly the opposite. For example, Jews for Jesus celebrate the holiday of Hanukkah, which is mentioned only in rabbinic sources, not the Torah. Messianic Jews wear keypot or skull caps, accustomed found only in the Talmud, not the Torah. Jewish believers in Jesus wear prayer shawls resembling those of traditional Jews who designed them according to rabbinic tradition. The actual design of prayer shawls is not mentioned in the Torah. Hebrew Christians light Shabbat candles, a practice ordained by the rabbis of the Talmud, and not found in the Torah. Jews for Jesus celebrate a Boyz Bar Mitzvah at age 13, a practice found only in rabbinic sources and not the Torah. Messianic Jews follow the weekly cycle of Torah and have Torah readings instituted by our rabbis and not delineated in the Torah. Jews for Jesus and Messianic Jews strongly argue for the Jewishness of their movement by claiming that Jesus and all his original followers were Jews. But not everything that Jews do is necessarily in line with Judaism. Those who built and worshipped the golden calf were also Jews. However, there is a very significant issue that we must recognize and appreciate when thinking about Jews for Jesus and Messianic Jews. These Hebrew Christians are not villains. They are victims. They are victims of misleading, proselytizing, and are vulnerable to a due to severe Jewish malnutrition. Invariably, they never acquired a sophisticated level of Jewish education. For them, Judaism was merely an expression of culture or ethnicity with no real meaning. They've never experienced a rich spiritual path that has sustained us as Jews, vibrant, and learned people for over 3,300 years. So, how can we Jews who are committed to Judaism help those Jews who have embraced Christianity? Well, the vital first step is to display warmth rather than hostility. Show them what it means to be a passionate Jew who strives for closeness to God and personal integrity. Be a role model who reaches out to help his fellow Jew and derives inspiration from his heritage. These are the most powerful ways to help those who have strayed and help show them the way back home. Remember, a little bit of light can dispel a lot of darkness.