Light from Zion

How a Norwegian woman is making Torah available to non-Jews

By RIVKAH LAMBERT ADLER
Britt Lode with ‘The Light from Zion.’ (photo credit: BRITT LODE)
Britt Lode with ‘The Light from Zion.’
(photo credit: BRITT LODE)
“Today we have the privilege of living in very special times where we see an extraordinary awakening on the part of the nations and their need to connect to the light of the Torah. No doubt this is prophecy being fulfilled in our time.”
– Rabbi Moshe Goldsmith of Itamar in a foreword to The Light from Zion.
Britt Lode is a Norwegian woman whose relationship to Israel and to the Torah started nearly 20 years ago when she first attended pro-Israel meetings with her husband. In an interview with In Jerusalem, Lode related that a majority of Norway’s population of five million is supportive of Israel, and that every week there are such meetings all over Norway.
Her own journey has taken place gradually, over time.
“God worked with our hearts. We felt very drawn to everything that’s going on with Israel and the Jewish people. I was really jealous. When I was reading Tanach [Jewish Bible], it was like ‘All this belongs only to the Jews!’ and I was envious [because] I thought I was not a part of this.”
As her own Bible study continued, Lode came to believe that she is a descendant of the ten lost tribes who were exiled from the Land of Israel and separated from the core of the Jewish people by Assyria approximately 3,000 years ago.
Lode described the thought process that led her to conclude that she is connected to the Jewish people through her lineage.
“Israel was so strong in my heart. Why am I feeling so drawn to Israel and the Jewish people? One explanation can be that I am a part of it. I am your sister from the Tribe of Joseph, who wants to be part of this people that everyone speaks badly about.”
All over the world, people are waking up to their Hebrew identity. The ones who are, strictly speaking, still Christians tend to identify as part of the larger Hebrew Roots movement. Others have left Christianity and reclaimed the biblical status of ger toshav.
Lode considers herself independent of any movement. Through her growing attachment to Israel, she has been working closely with Jewish people for more than a decade. About four years ago, much to her surprise, she discovered a wider perspective on studying the Bible and “the amazing treasure the rabbis are holding and have kept very well – the depth of the commentaries, how to think.
“Christian tradition is very narrow compared to the Jewish tradition at how to look at the biblical scriptures. The rabbis have, since Moses, maintained the tradition that is passed on from generation to generation. That’s amazing, fascinating and really unique, that we have a source that goes back thousands of years. And during all these years, they have been discussing in depth and in breadth all these scriptures. Collectively, they hold a vast amount of information and wisdom.”
This finding changed Lode forever.
“It was like a new world had opened up, a world I hadn’t known about. Since this changed my life and how I look at the rabbinic tradition, I thought there would be other people who would be interested. I found this very interesting and useful for my spiritual growth and thought other people loving Israel would also feel the same.”
As a result, Lode started translating parasha commentary (articles about the weekly Torah portion) from English to Norwegian and sharing them with a few hundred people by email, in addition to posting her translations on Facebook.
“I got feedback that people appreciated it. People loved it and asked for a book.”
About a year after she began translating and sharing parasha commentary with non-Jews in Norway, Lode recounted, “It was really in my heart to do a book. I wanted different rabbis [to contribute] so the reader could see diverse ways of looking at the parasha.
Rabbis focus on myriad aspects of the parasha. People would like a variety of approaches. In one book, people would experience many ways of looking at it.”
How does a woman in Norway get rabbis to write parasha commentary for a non-Jewish audience? She didn’t know too many rabbis, let alone native English speakers who were willing to write for a non-Jewish audience.
Initially, she shared her idea with Rabbi Moshe Goldsmith of Itamar. With his help, she networked – on Facebook, through email, sometimes through cold calls. In the end, she convinced 12 prominent rabbis to write parasha commentaries and small lessons for each holiday in the Jewish calendar.
Although driven by a mission to expose non-Jews – especially Christian Zionists – to traditional Jewish perspectives on the Bible, Lode shared that “The rabbis wrote so everyone can read it, both Jews and non-Jews.
We have created a book together that is a common project for Jews and non- Jews.” Every rabbi donated his work to the project.
According to Lode, some individuals might be skeptical about such a book since they “still have this idea from their traditional Christian thinking that the rabbis can be dangerous to their faith.”
At the same time, she expects to find readers among Christian Zionists.
“Christians who love Israel are interested in learning everything about Israel, so they are more open. And maybe some Christian leaders might be interested.” AWARE OF the disquiet that might be aroused in the Jewish mind by non-Jews studying Torah, Lode insists that there is “nothing in this book that would make a Jewish person uncomfortable to read it. We need not do anything to upset each other. It’s more important that we have shalom, have peace and are united.
“I feel the excitement that God put on my heart. Let’s put aside what we have disagreed about for 2,000 years. Let’s work on what we agree on.” She is mindful that “Only the Jews have preserved the holidays, the scriptures the traditions. If I want to come back to where I belong, I need to learn from the Jewish people.”
Gidon Ariel of Ma’aleh Hever near Hebron is the director of Root Source and co-publisher of The Light from Zion (published by Gefen Publishing in cooperation with Root Source Press and Oljetreet Publishing). He describes the book in his foreword as “a 100% kosher” presentation of Torah ideas taught by some of the top Torah teachers of our time.
“I think that The Light from Zion’s main innovation is its opening up the phenomenon of well-known, traditional Israeli Orthodox Jewish teachers teaching Christians and other non-Jews Torah, for out of Zion must come the Torah and the Word of God from Jerusalem,” Ariel wrote.
One of the better-known contributing rabbis is Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo. He told In Jerusalem, “I believe that it is the task of the Jewish people to send the religious and moral values of Tanach and Judaism to the gentiles for the betterment of all humanity. All knowledgeable Jews should be involved in this.”
Addressing himself to the hesitation that many Jews feel about teaching Torah to non-Jews, contributing author Rabbi Gedalia Meyer of Ma’aleh Adumim told IJ, “Whatever halachic objections that may have existed in the past as far as teaching Torah to non-Jews are long gone with the easy access to printed and digital material in many languages. It is senseless to say that non-Jews cannot have access to Torah knowledge when it is available at the press of a button.
“There isn’t any major difference between writing for a non-Jewish audience and writing for a Jewish audience. Perhaps a few exclusively Jewish terms have to be reworded, but other than those relatively insignificant adjustments, it’s standard Torah. Speaking for myself, the messages were just as ‘Torah true’ as in anything I would write for a strictly Jewish audience.”
Reflecting on the book project as a whole, Meyer said, “I genuinely believe that this is a great idea and was honored to be asked to participate. I think it’s about time that all this great Torah wisdom that we’ve had bottled up for centuries is finally getting out in the world where it belongs.
“It may be true that only Jews will be able to uncover this wisdom from the Torah, but it should be available to anybody who sincerely respects it and wants to enhance their moral and spiritual life through it. I believe that this can only help Jews and Israel, as we struggle through a world that seems increasingly anti everything we do or say. I truly hope that this project ignites a trend in this direction.”
After teaching Torah to non-Jews for nearly three decades, Rabbi Chaim Richman, contributing author and international director of the Temple Institute in Jerusalem, doesn’t see this as a new trend at all.
“This book was not born in a vacuum. Non-Jewish interest in Torah study has been growing exponentially for many years. I don’t even think that ‘the phenomenon of non-Jews studying Torah’ can be called a phenomenon anymore! “As a result of their experiences over the centuries throughout the lands of their exile, the Jewish people have become very insular.
However, as more and more non-Jews are becoming attracted to the truths of the Torah, this dynamic is changing, and the Jewish people are learning to rise to this challenge.
“The Jews [have] a profound responsibility as the guardians and trustees of the Torah, and are called to be a light unto the nations, and it is their job to bring the repository of the light – the Torah – to the nations,” Rabbi Richman told IJ.
While it may be true that pockets of non-Jews have been studying Torah for some time, Rabbi David Katz, co-author of The World of the Ger and an expert on the status of non-Jews in the Torah, spoke to IJ about the Torah that has not yet been shared.
“There is a midrash [rabbinic teaching] that says Moshiach [the Messiah] comes to teach Torah not just to Jews, but to the nations.”
He refers to this as “geula [redemption] Torah.” He explained, “Geula Torah has yet to come out. It’s been with us the whole time. It’s just that now the conditions are right for it to come out.”
Lode agrees.
“I think the interest of non-Jews learning Torah will only increase.
I think we are in the very beginning of that. I believe this is part of the redemption. And it’s amazing to be able to be a part of this time. I believe we are living in the middle of the most exciting times ever. And that is also what’s pushing me, giving me the strong faith to do it. Something is going on!” Lode, who has three children and works as a social worker, is planning to translate the book into Norwegian. The book is a non-profit project and the proceeds from the sale of The Light from Zion will be directed to needy families in Israel.
“I think it’s a very unique project,” she concluded.


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