the decisions that were made in that very room. Next, my case began. My lawyer stood up, facing the Supreme Court justices and told my story. Almost immediately, the justices began interrupting him, challenging his statements with looks of hostility that chilled my bones. My lawyer calmly continued, unphased by the harsh insults. At one point, the President of the Supreme Court looked straight into my eyes and said that the moment I believed in Yeshua, I stopped being Jewish. Though I had anticipated this possibility from the beginning, I could not have imagined how hearing that statement from the person with arguably the most authority in all of Israel would shatter me. How does a person reconcile a calling they believe is from God and an outcome that appears to negate it? My mind wandered back to recent memories of friends who had prayed seemingly impossible prayers filled with the hope and confidence that God could turn the impossible into possible. Cancer diagnoses, seasons of unemployment, and failed relationships. How do we, as humans, wrestle with the knowledge that God is big enough to answer our deepest prayers, and yet, many times, appears silent?
BIO
Mara Frisch served in Messianic Youth Ministry for over 12 years in various roles locally and nationally including: Youth Director of Beth Messiah Synagogue; Ministries Director of the Young Messianic Jewish Alliance (YMJA); and in several positions on the YMJA Executive Committee. She received her BA in Psychology and Speech Communications from Miami University of Ohio; her MEd in Curriculum and Instruction from University of Cincinnati; and her MA in International Law and Conflict Resolution from Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. Currently, Mara is pursuing law school at Elon University, where she is concentrating in immigration law. In her free time, she enjoys flying on trapezes and teaching ice-skating.
Identity and Experience
Facing these questions has been more difficult than facing the Supreme Court justices. And while I still have not gained all of the answers, I have learned something of perhaps greater importance. I’ve learned that my faith can endure even after the greatest disappointment of my life. It is possible that I’ll never understand exactly why God led me to sell my belongings, move to Israel, and appeal to the Supreme Court. But I believe that my ability to say with sincerity that God is still good is of far greater value than an Israeli identification card denoting citizenship. And in the end, I believe that something miraculous did genuinely occur. God enabled me to see that His love was enough to sustain me even when I could not recognize it. What is impossible with men is possible with God.
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