Returning to My Hebrew Roots

“Therefore, my people shall know my name…” Isaiah 52:6

My Journey Began Early

My search for truth did not begin in retirement. It began during childhood. I was raised in a Southern Baptist church, where I encountered a painful contradiction at an early age. I wanted to bring my Black friends to Sunday school, but the preacher told me they could not attend because “they have their own church.” Even as a child, I knew something was wrong. A church that preached the Creator’s love was refusing to welcome my friends because of the color of their skin. That experience taught me that a preacher can stand behind a pulpit, hold a Bible, and still defend injustice. It also planted a question that would follow me throughout my life: how much of what churches teach comes from Scripture, and how much comes from human tradition, culture, prejudice, politics, and institutional power? My abridged testimony tells the story of the Creator’s preservation of my life, my military experiences, my struggles, my failures, and the long road that eventually led me back to the Hebrew roots of the faith.

Read: The Creator Had a Plan for My Life

My Testimony

When Faith Became Political

The 2016 presidential election became another turning point for me. I watched television preachers and religious leaders repeatedly tell believers to “vote the Bible” and vote Republican. Political loyalty was increasingly presented as evidence of Christian faithfulness.I began asking whether churches were teaching people to follow the Creator or simply teaching them how to vote. I watched biblical language become mixed with nationalism, political fear, fundraising, and the pursuit of power. The Creator does not belong to the Republican Party or the Democratic Party. His Kingdom cannot be reduced to an American political platform, and no political candidate should be treated as a religious savior. I had once seen religious authority used to defend racial separation. During the election years, I saw religious authority being used to direct political behavior. The issues were different, but the method was familiar. That realization caused me to examine American religion much more carefully.

Retirement Became a New Beginning

When I retired in 2022, I finally had the time to study theology deeply. I began testing beliefs that I had accepted because they had been repeated from pulpits for generations. What I discovered did not immediately bring me peace. At first, it made me angry. I had been a lifelong believer and seeker of truth, yet I came to believe that much of Western Christianity had separated the Messiah from His Hebrew identity, His people, the covenant, the Torah, the prophets, the Sabbath, and the appointed times. I began attending a Jewish synagogue and studying Scripture from a Hebrew perspective. I turned toward my Jewish and Israelite friends because the Bible did not begin in Europe or America. The covenant, the prophets, the apostles, and the Messiah all arose from the people of Israel. I did not believe I was abandoning my faith. I believed I was finally uncovering its roots.

I have returned to my Hebrew roots, the ancient paths—the Torah, the Jewish Messiah, and a life of obedience that restores peace and power. And I’m here to declare: you can return too.

This site is my testimony, my outcry, and my offering. It is a place where years of spiritual awakening are poured out in the hope that you—yes, you—will see what I now see. The hour is late. The lines are being drawn. This is not entertainment. This is not tradition. This is your call to come out of her! To get out of the churches of Babylon and turn to the Torah! Your Hebrew roots!

The Secret Was Covenant

Through my studies, I began discovering what I call the secrets of the Kingdom. They were not truly secrets because they had been present in Scripture all along. They felt like secrets to me because I had not been taught them during a lifetime in American Christianity. At the center of everything was covenant—a blood covenant. Covenant is not a casual religious membership. It is not merely repeating a prayer, attending a service, or claiming belief while continuing to live entirely according to our own desires. Covenant involves relationship, loyalty, repentance, obedience, sacrifice, responsibility, and faithfulness. Biblical faith is not a do-nothing religion. The Creator calls His people to live differently because they belong to Him. Covenant affects how we worship, how we treat our neighbors, how we conduct business, how we care for the poor and vulnerable, and how we pursue justice and mercy. This understanding changed the way I read Scripture and the way I understood the Kingdom.

The Creator Cannot Be Bought

My studies also caused me to reject the capitalistic religious message promoted by many television ministries and celebrity preachers. People are often told to “plant a seed,” make a pledge, or send money with the expectation that the Creator will provide healing, prosperity, debt relief, deliverance, or special favor. The spiritual seed described in Scripture—the Word planted within a person—is turned into a financial transaction. The Creator cannot be bought. His favor is not merchandise. Forgiveness, healing, and deliverance are not products that ministries can sell. Giving can be an act of faith and generosity, but money cannot replace repentance, obedience, justice, mercy, or a genuine covenant relationship with the Father.

Returning to the Hebrew Messiah

I also began reconsidering the identity and name of the Messiah. The English name “Jesus” was not the name His Hebrew family would have called Him during His earthly life. He was born among the people of Israel, lived as a Jew, taught from the Hebrew Scriptures, and walked within the covenant world of His people. I now seek to understand Yahshua within that Hebrew foundation rather than through an image shaped primarily by later Western culture, religious institutions, artwork, politics, and denominational traditions. For me, returning to the Hebrew Messiah means returning to the Torah, the prophets, the covenant, the appointed times, and the ancient paths. It means testing inherited teachings rather than accepting them simply because they are old, familiar, or popular.

Peace in My Hebrew Roots

In returning to the Hebrew roots of the faith, I found something I had searched for throughout much of my life: peace. This peace did not come from a political party, a television preacher, or a denominational institution. It came from studying the Torah, drawing closer to the Father, and understanding faith as a covenant way of life. I sometimes feel as though I spent forty years wandering in a spiritual desert. My Jewish friends and teachers helped me see how much wisdom exists in the Torah, the Hebrew language, Jewish history, and the covenant story of Israel. Yahshua was Torah-observant, and I want my life to reflect His example. I am still learning, still questioning, and still being corrected, but I now know the direction in which I am walking.

What You Will Find Here

This website examines Scripture, prophecy, Hebrew roots, justice, religious corruption, world events, and the signs surrounding the return of the Messiah. You can explore:

Biblical Studies

Studies of Scripture, biblical people, covenant history, and important passages that are often misunderstood or overlooked.

Hebrew Roots

Articles about Torah, Hebrew names, Sabbath, appointed times, Israel, covenant, and the Hebrew identity of the Messiah.

Church and Culture

An examination of how racism, nationalism, political power, money, and human tradition have influenced American Christianity. Defended slavery, ensuring that Christianity in America remained a tool for white dominance.

Prophecy and the End Times

Studies concerning the great falling away, deception, Babylon, the lawless one, and the signs of the Messiah’s return.

Eastern Messiah Signs Watch

Evidence-based intelligent briefs on significant developments involving Israel, Iran, the Middle East, wars, earthquakes, extreme weather, and other events connected to this continuing watch.

Justice and Righteousness

Reports and commentary concerning injustice, exploitation, concealed wrongdoing, vulnerable people, and the biblical responsibility to defend those who cannot defend themselves.

Economic Watch

Reports examining debt, inflation, interest rates, global economic changes, and the weakening of political and financial systems.

An Invitation to Search

This website is not connected to a denomination, political party, or religious organization. It represents my personal testimony, independent study, and continuing search for truth within the Hebrew Scriptures. I do not ask visitors to accept everything I write without examination. Test the Scriptures. Test the spirits. Investigate the historical setting. Study the covenant. Listen to Jewish voices, and seek the Father with humility and discernment. If you value truth over tradition, integrity over tribal loyalty, and thoughtful study over blind acceptance, you are welcome here. My journey is not finished, and I do not claim to possess every answer. I am still learning, still seeking, and still being restored. What I can do is share what I have discovered and invite others to examine it for themselves. The hour is late, but the invitation remains open. Return to the ancient paths. Return to covenant. Return to the Word of the Almighty. Shalom—peace.

More Resources

Born and raised in New York City, of the tribe of Judah, Rabbi Berkson is well grounded in Torah and brings a Hebraic understanding to his teachings. He went to Hebrew school as a child and was Bar Mitzvah at age 13. Rabbi Berkson was also classically trained as a trumpet player and has been blowing the Shofar for more than four decades.

Rabbi Berkson has always made the teachings he shares available free to everyone. Through the Internet and word of mouth, many people from around the United States and worldwide, who have received and been helped by his teachings, started to reach out to him seeking counsel and discipleship, and expressing a desire to have a congregation planted in their areas. To meet these needs, in September of 2013, Rabbi Berkson launched MTOI – Messianic Torah Observant Israel.

Over 60,000 rockets have exploded in Israel in recent years. Israeli artists transform missiles into expressions of beauty. Rockets into Roses are precious, hand-sculpted pieces of art created from actual rockets that landed in Israel, truly “beating swords into plowshares.” PROCEEDS SUPPORT ISRAELI VICTIMS OF WAR.

Yahshua is Salvation