Divine Light in Unexpected Places​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

It happened today, on my return from the flight.

Between heaven and earth, inside a bubble of metal floating above the clouds, in a place where time bends and space contracts – I met light.

Joel G. was his name. His silver hair like dawn’s light broke over his forehead, and his eyes – oh, the eyes – as if they had gathered wisdom from fifty-seven years of life across three continents.

A blue shirt with white stripes, meticulously ironed, and a plastic Casio watch on his wrist – all told a story of authentic simplicity.

I opened the Gemara. Joel G.’s eyes lit up with curiosity. He watched the dance of my fingers across the Aramaic text, following my whispers in an ancient language.

“Excuse me,” he said in a soft voice, “perhaps you could spare me a few minutes? I’ll read, translate it myself, and you can help me. It’s one of the loves of my life – to read in the holy tongue.”

Something in the way he said “holy tongue” – made me agree without hesitation.

Drop by drop, a hidden treasure was revealed to me: Joel G., a Protestant Christian preacher from Dakota, serving for thirty years in a church in Johannesburg.
A man whose every cell radiated genuine humility. His Bible – wrapped in leather worn from use – looked as if his very life was etched between its pages, networked with markings, notes, and insights.

Around us, passengers sank into screens and changing movies.
“Look,” Joel G. smiled quietly, “I prefer a bad book to a good movie.”

As the conversation deepened, I told him about Rabbi Jacob Emden’s teachings. In his writings, he presents a clear and consistent approach that views Christianity and Islam positively. According to him, these religions performed an important role in eradicating idolatry and spreading truths and good virtues in the world. They spread values taken from Israel – belief in the unity of God, belief in the creation of the world, reward and punishment, providence, and prophecy.”

Joel G.’s eyes widened in surprise, and for a moment, he looked like someone who had found a precious treasure.

As the plane circled above a Greek island and the sun shone through the airplane window, Joel G. surprised me with his knowledge of contemporary Jewish thought. His voice was like water flowing over smooth rocks as he quoted from Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z”l: the belief that there is room for different peoples and the recognition of diversity as a desirable value. Only faith in such a God, as described by the faith of the Bible, can understand that everyone turns to God in their own way, and together they all turn to the same single source.”

Three hours passed like one eternal moment.
Joel G., in his simplicity and depth of faith, reminded me why we, the Jews, are a chosen people – not as a privilege, but as a sacred responsibility.

We parted only in body, not in spirit. A plane will land, people will continue on their way – but meetings of souls remain etched forever.
I thought: God’s light shines in many diverse souls, and sometimes it glows especially in the unexpected encounters that life presents us.

This is our picture – two people from different places, who for a moment became a dialogue of peace and love.
A Jew and a preacher, between heaven and earth, together finding the light pulsing through the veins of the universe.

This is the man. And this is the testimony: God speaks to us also through the face of the other.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​