Pulling The Thread Podcast: Tracing Jesus Before Christianity Emerged, Jesus the Jew within Judaism! · Jeramiah Giehl

An Entire Messianic Congregation Converts to Judaism - A Conversation with Richard Cortes - Part 2: Foundational Faith: Episode 14

·1 hr 7 min·4 clips

Richard argues that Christian Zionism supports Israel for an end-times battle, not for Jews themselves.

Richard Cortez picks up the story from a time when everything felt unstable and he did not know what would happen from one day to the next. He says he told the people who stayed behind that he and his wife were planning to convert, even though he still did not know what that would mean for FOTW. For a long stretch, he lived with the possibility that he might close the doors entirely and move on. The conversation keeps that uncertainty in view instead of brushing past it. From there, it moves into the deeper conflict at the center of his transition. He argues that anti-Judaism in the New Testament and in Messianic Christianity can be subtle enough that Christians do not recognize it. He says people can be taught to hate Jews without realizing that is what is happening. He also presses on the contradiction between claiming love for Israel and carrying teaching that he believes still harms Jews. The exchange treats that contradiction as dangerous precisely because it is easy to miss. Richard says he did not see it clearly until he began digging more seriously into Judaism. That shift changed how he read Christian claims about love, support, and biblical authority. The conversation frames this as a moment of awakening rather than a clean conversion story. He speaks from inside the tension, not above it. The tone stays personal and direct throughout. It holds onto the fact that this is not just theology but a real-life reorientation. Toward the end, the emphasis turns toward where he feels he has finally landed. He describes Judaism as the place where he was meant to be, after a lot of wandering, and speaks about finding himself at the feet of Mount Sinai in a symbolic sense. The close is warm and relational, with thanks, holiday greetings, and an open-ended sense that the journey continues. The episode leaves him as someone still moving, but now moving from within a chosen faith rather than out of confusion.

As heard by us

A lived account of conversion, uncertainty, and the hard questions around Jewish belonging.

Richard Cortez, the leader of FOTW, gives a grounded account of moving from Messianic pastor to Judaism and of helping run a Torah education center in Sholo, Arizona.

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Why you'd press play

Hear how a former Messianic pastor's path turns toward Judaism, and why that turn matters.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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