In general, I favor a holistic approach, a general approach. When missionaries quote passages from the prophets, one way of debating, of interacting with the missionary is focusing on that particular passage and showing how it doesn't mean exactly what the missionary would have it say. I favor an approach which sees the big picture without even getting into the details of that particular passage but if you understand why the prophets are here, how the prophets are here, how we know the prophets are authentic, the debate doesn't get off the ground. And the same thing applies to rabbinic literature. If rabbinic literature is read in its complete context, in its social context, then the debate doesn't get off the ground. But it's important to respond to the missionary quotations of rabbinic literature one by one, one step at a time. For many reasons, first of all, each one of these passages needs to be explained. And also, once you go through some of these quotations of rabbinic literature, you get a feel of what level of integrity, scholarship, or knowledge we are dealing with. So there's a tedious path but a necessary path. Most of the missionary quotations for rabbinic literature are not only wrenched out of the full context, they're wrenched out of the local context. But before we get there, some are actually invented pretty much out of thin air. I'll give one example. There's a fellow whose name is Arnold Fruchtenbaum, and he has a little booklet called Three Messianic Miracles. In this book, he describes an elaborate procedure which he claims he obtained out of reading rabbinic literature. And according to his book, there are two categories of miracles. There are miracles that only one-a-year run-in-the-mill prophets can perform, and then there are those special miracles which only the Messiah can perform. One of those miracles would be the healing of a Jewish leper. The healing of a non-Jewish leper, if you know Scripture, Alisha did that. But the healing of a Jewish leper, that's something that only the Messiah could do. Now, rabbinic literature is very vast, very big. Where does it say this? Where did he get this idea from? And again, according to his template, according to his version of history, what happened was that Jesus came along and performed all the necessary messianic miracles, and still the Jews rejected him. And he, Arnold Fruchtenbaum and his messianic buddies are the ones that are truly in line with the old Jewish tradition that states that the Messiah has to perform certain miracles, and that's how we're supposed to identify him. But this piece of rabbinic literature doesn't exist outside the imagination of Arnold Fruchtenbaum. I actually, I never spoke to Arnold Fruchtenbaum, but I did interact with a different messianic rabbi who quotes Arnold Fruchtenbaum, who quotes this concept of messianic miracles. And I asked him, I asked him, where did you pick this idea up? Where does it say this? You know, it was something that I missed. And he told me, well, if you look in the Talmud and Sanhedrin, I think 98, you'll see, so I looked in Sanhedrin 98, and I didn't see. And I asked him, what did you see in Sanhedrin 98 that I didn't see? Well, he says, didn't you see, it speaks about the Messiah being afflicted by leprosy? So I said, yes, of course I saw that, but that speaks about the Messiah himself suffering leprosy. It says nothing about the Messiah healing leprosy. It says nothing about messianic miracles versus other miracles. He said, yes, but it speaks about the Messiah and it speaks about leprosy. This is where we got the idea from. I'll give you another one. This is actually from a very respected compendium. There's a compendium on Isaiah 53 written by two Christian scholars, driver and newbauer. It's considered very respected. It's several hundred pages long, and it takes the passage of Isaiah 53 and gives you all the rabbinic literature that was ever written and perhaps some that was not written about Isaiah 53. Now, the fact that rabbis, now Isaiah 53 speaks about the suffering servant of God who was ultimately vindicated and his suffering is somehow associated with the sins of mankind and he's bearing the sins of mankind, which obviously plays right into the lap of Christian theology where the Messiah is supposed to suffer for the sins of mankind. And even though we understand that the Pshat of the text applies to the Jewish people as a whole but there are many rabbis who understood that this is talking about the Messiah mainly on a level of medrish but perhaps even on a level of Pshat and I will explain that just like we understand there's a tradition and there's a belief amongst the Jewish people that Elijah the prophet, Elioa Navi, is a human being who is alive but it is somehow miraculously being preserved somewhere in heaven. He's sort of in between a human being and an angel and he lives on from the times of 3,000 years ago until today. Some people believe, some Jewish people believe, and maybe some people still believe that that Messiah is such a person that he's a person that lives but he's sort of in between human and angel in the sense that God is preserving him and just like we believe about other righteous people that they're suffering somehow purifies the collective soul meaning to say is that we understand that suffering purifies a person. It humbles a person, it makes a person a better person, a person closer to God. A person can utilize the opportunity of suffering to become closer to God but a righteous person certainly utilizes suffering for that purpose. We also understand the concept of a collective soul meaning to say is no one lives on an island. Everyone interacts with other people. If I become a better person and I interact with other people, it will make it easier for them to become better people. If you become a better person, it will be easier for your child to be a more godly person. It will be easier for your friend to be a more godly person. When you're in the company of godly people, it's easier to be a better person. When you're in the company of wicked and evil people, it's harder to be a godly person. So we all impact each other. So if someone suffers and he interacts with other people and we understand that there's a concept of interaction, not only what we would see as regular interaction but even unspoken interaction. We're all one soul. We all stand in this one covenantal relationship with God and if a righteous person suffers, it elevates everybody. That's such a teaching in Judaism. Others understand the concept of the suffering of Messiah. In the following manner, in a way that puts the metrics and the chat together, the Jewish people suffer and the Jewish people are refined through their suffering. They become better people through their suffering. And the Messiah will be produced by the Jewish community. Ultimately, when the Messiah comes, you'll be a member of the Jewish community and all that refinement experienced by the Jewish community will impact and influence the way the Messiah will function and perform his mission. A third way of understanding this is that every righteous person throughout history is a step in accomplishing the Messianic goals. So when we say the Messiah suffer, we mean the Messiah that exists within every Jew or within every righteous person. But there are statements in rabbinic literature that speak about the suffering of the Messiah. But there is not one statement in all of rabbinic literature which says that it's important to believe in the suffering of Messiah. That's critical to believe in the suffering of Messiah. Or if you don't believe in the suffering of Messiah, you're condemned to hell forever and ever, which is a basic Christian teaching. But the professor's driver and newbauer seem to have found just this teaching. And again, the way this compendium works is most of the book is devoted to translations of various quotations from rabbis. But this introduction, I don't think it was actually written by driver and newbauer. It was written by some other fellow. And this quotation is so critical that it made it into introduction. And I'll read from the introduction of this compendium. He says, the faith in the vicarious sufferings survived in the mystical school. In other words, the concept of believing in the vicarious suffering is something, it's a strata of truth which survived in traditions of Judaism in the mystical school, in the Catholic schools, so that even a writer of the latter part of the 16th century preserves from a work quoted as an authority in the Talmud, et cetera, the concept of believing in the suffering of Messiah. When you come to the compendium itself, it's even sharper. He speaks about Rabbi Simon Bar-Yekhai, a great teacher of the Jewish people who learned how man must suffer for his iniquities. Then he speaks about, he says as follows, this translation quote-unquote of driver and newbauer. The meaning of which is that since the Messiah bears our iniquities, in other words, Messiah's carrying our sins, which produced the effect of his being bruised, it follows that whoso will not admit, anyone who does not believe that the Messiah thus suffers for our iniquities, anyone who doesn't believe in the suffering of Messiah must endure and suffer for them himself. So here he has a quote from rabbinic literature, actually like he said, from the beginning of the 16th century, which is pretty late, of belief in the concept, belief in the suffering of Messiah, and it's critical that you believe in it, or else you're going to suffer it for it yourself. This quote is from an ethical work known as, Reishas Chachma, written by Rebel Yol, Dividas, and we are fortunate enough to have the original Hebrew. And there are actually several mistakes in the translation of driver and newbauer. I will not get into the technicalities, I will just point out the critical mistake. The critical mistake is as follows. First of all, what is the context? What is Reishas Chachma speaking about? This is an ethical work. He's speaking about accepting suffering with love. He's speaking about recognizing that suffering purifies you, and God forbid when suffering comes your way, you should accept it from God and take advantage of opportunity to grow in your relationship with God. And it gives us many reasons why this should be our attitude, why we should have a positive outlook when God forbid suffering comes our way. And he says as follows. He says, we know, he speaks about these traditions, that the Messiah suffers for our sins. And again, he seems to be going with this concept that the Messiah is living somewhere and he's suffering for our sins. And then he says as follows, therefore, whosoever wants that the Messiah should not suffer for his sins should accept suffering upon himself. In other words, he doesn't say anything about believing in the suffering of Messiah. He doesn't say anything about if you don't believe in the suffering of Messiah, you won't get atonement just the opposite. He's saying if you want to save the Messiah, his suffering, you should accept your suffering and utilize your own suffering as a way to get closer to God. And by doing that, you're saving the Messiah some suffering. This is the polar opposite of what driver Neubauer are claiming that Rebellio Dividas actually says. So this is the only quote in all of Rabbinic literature, which speaks about a critical Christian concept, belief in the suffering of Messiah. And after you take this quote away from driver Neubauer and rightfully so, and then there are actually zero quotes in all of Rabbinic literature which speak about this concept is that you must believe in the suffering of Messiah. In Genesis Rabbah, it speaks about the Messiah coming. And it speaks about, it's coded in a relatively popular book called The Return of the Kosher Pig by a fellow named Zachi Shapiro, and he quotes Genesis Rabbah 98.9 as to support the concept is that the Messiah will first be accepted by the Gentiles and only later be accepted by the Jewish people. The actual quote what it does read is that the Jewish people will not need the teaching of Messiah. In other words, so what will the Messiah do for the Jewish people? He'll gather in their exiles. In other words, what the Medrish actually says is not that the Gentiles will accept the Messiah and the Jewish people will reject him, rather what the Medrish is saying is that the Jewish people were already taught by God the teaching that the Messiah has to offer will benefit the Gentiles but the Jews already possessed that teaching and the benefit that will come to the Jews will be different than the teaching of Messiah rather will be the ingathering of their exiles. As a general rule I believe that you shouldn't take a person more seriously than he takes himself. That's practical. And Zachi Shapiro has this book, The Return of the Kosher Pig in which it's filled with quotations from rabbinic literature of course proving that all these rabbis believed in a divine Messiah, etc. And the Jews who don't believe that are not really being faithful to the Jewish tradition because the true Jewish tradition is that there is a divine Messiah according to Zachi Shapiro with the Rambam himself who turned Judaism in this violent turn away from these concepts but then the Rambam backed out and contradicted himself but it seemed like the rest of the Jews didn't figure that out but this is sort of his template. Now at one point in his book he argues against the JPS translation. The JPS is a popular translation which was written by scholars of Hebrew and at some point they translate the Hebrew word mimenu as from them. Plural mimenu means that technically we know that the word could mean from him or from them. And Zachi Shapiro insists that the JPS is wrong and no, the correct translation is singular from him and therefore he comes up with his particular scriptural interpretation that he's trying to support. He's arguing with the JPS. Okay. Now it happens, you know, with JPS written by Yon Bin, it's possible that they're wrong but you have to realize they invested a lot of time and effort in producing that translation so you would think that before a person takes a strong position against the JPS, he'll do his research and he'll do his fact-finding and then he'll come to his conclusion. But not only did Zachi Shapiro not do his research and not do his fact-finding but he himself throughout his book translates the word mimenu as from us, throughout his own book. So one second, how could you fight with the JPS and argue with them and build your whole scriptural interpretation in that particular argument on the basis they translated it wrong when he himself acknowledges throughout his book, he translates the word mimenu, actually sometimes confuses the concept of from and to, we'll put that aside, but he uses plural to translate the word mimenu. So he's not taking his own argument seriously. So why should we take his argument seriously? But you know why we should take his argument seriously? Because many unsuspecting people take his argument seriously. He goes before audiences of people, sincere people, but people who can't read Hebrew, people who can't check out what he's writing, and he teaches them. And he presents his presentation and they walk away saying, hey, the rabbis believe like this, I heard it from a rabbi himself. Someone who knows Hebrew in the original, he's in Israeli, he speaks Hebrew in the original. And so many unsuspecting people fall for the drivel that he's selling. I'll give you an example. I think it's going to be the last example for him. This is a prayer that appears in every version of the liturgy. In other words, whether it's Sfardi, Ashkenazi, Hasidic, Ashkenazic. This is a prayer that's at every Shabbos. And on the basis of his understanding of this prayer, which he actually doesn't report or doesn't tell his audience that this is a prayer recited by Orthodox Jews, every Shabbos in public, rather he tells us this is a quotation from the Rambam. This is a quotation from Maimonides. Now anyone who knows anything about the Yad HaZakah, the halachic work of Maimonides, knows that Maimonides put in his book a text of the Siddhar. So he's actually quoting from the Siddhar and he presents the following quote. And he claims that Maimonides said this.  In other words, he's quoting the Rambam as saying, it's a duty of every created being to exalt and to glorify David. Now we know David is the prototype of the Messiah and if it's our duty to exalt and to glorify him, then he must be divine. So on the basis of this prayer, Tsachishapiro comes to the conclusion that the Rambam violated his own principles. He speaks about only one God and that Messiah is only human. No, but here the Rambam goes back on what he taught in the principles and he tells us that no, every human being on earth has to exalt and glorify David, the Messiah. But is that, I said one second, I said this is a prayer that we say every week. I don't remember saying that. I hope you don't remember saying that because we don't say that. What we do say is as follows. It is indeed the duty of every created being before you, O Lord, our God, the God of our fathers, to praise, to acknowledge, to sanctify you, God. In other words, to sanctify God through the medium of the songs of David, your servant. In other words, we're glorying, exalting and sanctifying God and David's songs are the medium and the method and the expression that we use to glorify God, not the Messiah, not David. This is the level of scholarship that Tsachishapiro brings to the table. On the basis of such scholarship he's willing to say that the Rambam has no principles. That the Rambam, he writes 13 principles and he got all the Jews to believe this. He violated, he took Judaism on a violent turn away from its biblical moorings, but he himself went back on himself. He didn't take himself seriously. But this is the scholarship that we're up against. And this is the scholarship that, sadly, people are buying. I'll give you another example of Tsachish scholarship. And this has nothing to do with quoting rabbinic literature directly, but I interacted with Tsachish. And I read his book and he presents a quotation from Ramchal, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Uzzato, a giant of our people who lived a few hundred years ago during the 1700s, and I could not, for the life of me, find that quotation in any of the books of Ramchal. I read it on the computer, just type in and it's supposed to spit it back to you. And he actually has the Hebrew text over there. So, you know, for being in English translation, maybe I'm typing in the wrong word, he has the Hebrew text, type it in, it's not coming back. What happened? So I contacted him, I tried to get it out of him. Where he found this? And this is where he found it. He found it on a website of some person in Israel who believes that today, or day and age, he's getting messages from Ramchal. And this fellow has pages and pages of literature. He believed Ramchal revealed to him in dreams and visions or whatever it would be. But I think of much more serious nature is the idea of telling an unsuspecting audience that these are the words of Ramchal, a giant of Judaism, and telling that these are, without telling the audience that these are not the words of Ramchal, of a rabbi who decided that Ramchal appeared to him. But this leads us to our general response to the Christian, the missionary quotation of rabbinic literature. The general response is is that we have to see this literature in context. It's not about books, it's about people. Ramchal himself was aware of this concept of people quoting missionary literature, quoting rabbinic literature to support rabbinic, to support missionary ideas. Ramchal, in his days, it was right after the situation where many people followed Shaab Taitzvi. Shaab Taitzvi was able to confuse people into leaving the fold, into believing wrong things, things that are considered incorrect and violations of our covenant with God on the basis of misreadings of Kabbalah. In the days of Ramchal, Christians were doing that as well. And Ramchal directly addresses it. He has a book called Kinas Hashem Tzivakis, which means zealousness for the lord of hosts or the zealousy of the lord of hosts. And in this book, he directly addresses this, he directly addresses the concept, the primary concept which people use rabbinic literature for, I mentioned was the concept of a divine messiah, or that God is not absolutely one. And Ramchal, who was one of the foremost Kabbalists that our teachers, that Israel ever had, clearly explains that no, God is absolutely one. And when we worship God, we worship no one else but God. And when the Kabbalists speak of the faces of God, the hand of God, the different attributes of God, they're only describing God's interaction with the universe as it appears from our perspective, but they're not trying to redirect our worship. And there is a concept of praying and having certain attributes of God in mind when you pray that does not mean that we are praying to a given attribute of God. Ramchal makes that very clear. It means, for example, if I'm asking God for rain, I'm seeing God as the one that produces rain. Of course I know that God is above the whole concept of giving rain, but that's sort of the focus. And if I see God as God for healing, I'm seeing God in a slightly different face. If I'm thanking God for one thing, it's a different face or a different aspect, but it's all with the knowledge that God is above and beyond all of nature. Perhaps one of the favorite missionary quotations from Kabbalistic works is a quotation from the Zohar, which plays right into the Trinity. The Zohar speaks of the Shema, so as Israel the Lord is our God, the Lord is one. And the Zohar actually says we see three names in this verse. The Lord is our God, the Lord. Those are three names, and then it says it's one. These three are in some mysterious way one. Wow, this sounds exactly like the Trinity. And many mission, this is not a quote that is dishonest on the local level, because they're reading the Zohar correctly. It's not like the driver Nubauer quote, which the quotation doesn't say in the source or the Sachi quote, which is not connected at all. They're quoting the Zohar correctly. The Zohar does speak about the Shema. The Zohar does speak about the three names being one. But what they are doing is wrenching the Zohar out of its complete literary context. Whoever wrote the Zohar was a person. What did he believe about the oneness of God? What did he believe about the way we're supposed to worship God? Over here, he's not writing about he's speaking about the Shema. It's actually a dissertation about the four sections in the Fillon. And this is where he speaks about this aspect of the Shema. One page earlier in the Zohar, one page earlier in the Zohar, he speaks about the prohibition of worshiping idols. The prohibition of attributing any image to God. The prohibition against even believing about God that intrinsically he possesses any attribute. And the Zohar clearly says that God is above and beyond every attribute. He's above and beyond all nature. All the attributes that we see are only ways that he chooses to appear. The ways that he chooses to interact with his creations. And the Zohar actually quotes Deuteronomy 4 which speaks about the prohibition against worshiping idols. It makes it very clear what it believes about the Trinity. It does not believe in the Trinity. It believes in the oneness of God, the absolute oneness of God. When the Zohar is speaking about the three names of God, we understand that it's follow. Or three attributes of God. Moses is speaking to the Jewish people. And what is he telling them? He's telling him, the Lord who is our God. These words have meaning. The Lord, the master who is our God. Those two words themselves are different names of God. One is relating to God as the master of all creation. That's the first word. The Lord. The second one is a more personal word. It's a word we're using possessive terminology about God. We're talking about God as our personal God as or an individual could say my God, but here it's talking to the Jewish people as we spoke about this intergenerational community, eternal Israel, our God, the God who stands in this covenantal relationship with us and who we stand in a covenantal relationship with him.  We speak about the God who has a personal relationship with the Jewish people. The word elokhenu, our God has some other connotations as well. It means the power that we trust in. Because the Hebrew word el just means power. In Scripture it used the word elegi Byron which means powerful warriors. It means power. When we speak about God as a power and as our power, what do you mean our power? He's the power which energizes the entire universe. But we're saying this is the power that the Jewish people trust in. We don't recognize, don't believe, we acknowledge that any power that exists is only an expression of God's power. There's another meaning to the word elokhenu to our God. It means that his purpose is our purpose. We yearn for the same thing that he yearns for. What he's trying to accomplish here on earth is what we're trying to accomplish here on earth. That's another meaning to elokhenu. So this is speaking about God not so much as the master that brought everything into creation, but the one with whom we stand in a personal relationship. And then we end up saying the Lord is one. And in the second time we're saying the same word, the Lord. But we're now speaking after we spoke about God as Lord. And after we're speaking about our personal relationship, we're now speaking as Lord in the sense of future. And is one reminds us of the famous prophecy of Zechariah which is at the end of the elokhenu prayer. On that day the Lord will be one and his name will be one. What do we mean when we say that he will be one and his name will be one now? As Moses said. So what does he mean he will be one? What he means to say is in the minds of men men don't see him as one. But there will come a day when all mankind will be facing in the same direction. They'll have the same perception of God. And his name will be one means that all of mankind will have the same perception of God's will on earth. There are people who acknowledge that God is above and beyond all nature but they have a different perception of what God wants from humanity. But on that day all of humanity will be joined together and there'll be only one concept of God existing in the minds of men. So in a certain sense the three names of God in the Shema refer to the past, the present and the future. The past meaning the Lord who the master brought the world into being. The present the God with whom we stand in a relationship. The power we trust in. The purpose that we yearn for. And then the Lord is one meaning to say is the Lord who eventually all of mankind will come to acknowledge as one and now all of those aspects of God are only one and even though we might be seeing different aspects but we understand that all those aspects are truly one.  Who were the hearts given to when he said that statement. And had the Jewish people understand the Shema throughout history. A little aside. At one point when in my life when I was discussing with a rabbi who I consider my teacher about missionary work he asked me the following question. He said, the missionaries use the Shema. They quote the Shema to prove the trinity. They quote the three names of God and they finish off with a hud. Here we see three is one. How do you respond when the missionaries throw that argument at you? And this is what I told him. When Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence when he wrote the Declaration of Independence what he meant to do. He was really a loyalist. He really was loyal to King George the Third of England. And he was trying to give expression to his loyalty to that document. Sadly the American people completely misunderstood him and took it in a different direction. In other words this is the declaration. This is what was on the lips of the Jewish people when they went to the stake, dying, rejecting Jesus. There's no question that this is not what the Shema means. There's just as much a chance of the Declaration of Independence being a declaration of loyalty to King George the Third of England as the Shema meaning the declaration of loyalty to the Trinity.  Because they were speaking to the Jewish people and this had the Jewish people throughout history recorded history, understood what they meant. And this is the way they communicated. But we still didn't touch. So again we answered some of the missionary objections one by one. We gave a few examples. There's a general response to the missionary of rabbinic literature. Just ask yourself this rabbi that the missionaries are quoting what do you write on the subject? What else did he say about the subject? And almost always you can find a dissertation directly on the subject. But I think we still didn't touch on the main point. We spoke about the idea of how missionaries don't just quote rabbinic literature. It's not just talking the talk, they walk the walk. What I mean to say is that we are missionaries that we're the garb of the Orthodox community. This is not just a ploy to lure Jews in, but they sincerely believe that they belong. That they are part of the community. That they're just a valid expression of Judaism as Chabad or Breslav or Sautmer or Lake with Yashiva. In other words, I think they're just another expression of Judaism. In a certain sense, it's a great compliment because the fact that they're trying to join our community, they're trying to be part of our community is a recognition and an acknowledgement that we are the covenant community. They're not trying to join another community. They're trying to copy us. Invitation is the highest compliment. In other words, they recognize we're the covenant community. We're the community that stands in a covenant relationship with God. But in a certain sense it's a very harsh rebuke against our community. It's something that we have to take seriously. Because basically what they're saying is we're just as Jewish as you. So one second, what does it mean to be a Jew? What does it mean to be a Jew? Well, being a Jew means, from an Orthodox perspective, keeping Chabas according to all the laws that say in the Mesh Dabura. Take, check. Eating kosher with all the HaShe'erim according to the latest stringencies that come out of different Yeshivas. Check. That's another thing that I do. Being a Jew means not carrying outside on Chabas unless there's an error. There you go. That's another thing I do. Et cetera, et cetera. Those are all the things being a Jew. And the Christian who believes in Jesus, who has his heart devoted to Jesus, can check off the whole thing. He says, look, I'm a Jew. But is that what it means to be a Jew? Does it, the meaning of being a Jew, is it about keeping Chabas, about keeping kosher, about learning Torah? Let's look to the Bible, to the Word of God to find the solution to our problem. We're not going to take the Christian route of using the Bible to find the solution to a problem, which is first deciding on what you want the answer to be, and then searching the Bible to see where you could plug in that answer. No. Let's see where the Bible directly addresses this issue. And let's just define the issue. The way we understand the issue, in short, in simple terms, is Jesus was a fraud. He was a false prophet, and that's how the Jewish people have identified him throughout history. The same people who taught us that Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel were inspired by God and taught us that Jesus was not inspired by God. So in other words, we're going to look at the way the Bible presents the issue of the false prophet. And when the Bible presents the situation of a false prophet, it tells us as follows. It describes a false prophet, and it describes a prophet who comes and tells us to serve a God that our fathers did not know about. In other words, this referring back to the Sinai Revelation that you did not know about. To serve other God that you never knew. In other words, God is someone that we're supposed to be familiar with. It's a perception that we should have obtained. And of course, by the Exodus and by the Sinai Revelation we achieved. We obtained a certain perception of God like we coded before unto you. The Jewish people were shown to know who it is that is the power that the Lord is the power in the heavens above and the earth below, and there is none else. So it's a God that you never knew. And he brings, he performs a sign or a wonder. In other words, this prophet, let's assume he stops the sun in the sky just like Joshua did. Jesus never did anything near that. But Joshua stopped the sun in the sky. This is the example that Talmud uses as a miracle that a false prophet could technically do. And we're supposed to ignore that miracle. Why? The Torah goes on to tell us. Because it's a test from God to see if you truly love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your mind. It goes on to say do not listen to the words of the... Do not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams.  It is the Lord your God you should follow. It is he that you should fear. It is his commandments that you should guard. And it is his voice that you should listen to. And it is him that you should serve. And it is to him that you should cleave. We have all these expressions of following God, of obeying God and this idea of loving God. One second. If you would tell me that we have a test, we have a false prophet coming along performing a sign or a wonder attempting to confuse us. Which quality do you think we'll pull out of our arsenal to be able to withstand that test as a false prophet? At first glance we would say clarity, knowledge if I am well versed in the writings of Judaism and the teachings of Judaism, I'll be able to refute the claims of the false prophet. But that's not the attribute, that's not the quality that the Bible turns us to. The Bible turns us to the quality of love. If someone is standing in a relationship with God he doesn't see the mitzvahs as something that we do. But it's something that lives in your heart then the missionary knock on the door is meaningless. The missionary could only talk to someone whose heart is not already full whose path is not already overloaded. Everything that we need in a spiritual relationship we have with God. We're not missing anything. If we're looking for a path to follow that's the path to follow. If we're looking for someone to cleave to we have it. If we're looking to a voice to hear we have it. The human being could have where the divine is there. We have it all. And it was given to us at Sinai. It was given us to Exodus. It was passed on through Moses, through our ancestors, from generation to generations. We don't need to listen to the words of the false prophet. So, if we see Judaism as following a certain set of rules then yes, we have a problem. We have a serious problem. But that's not what Judaism is. Judaism is all about a relationship with God. And it's true. Judaism is all about a relationship with God. But I will not say that. And the reason I will not say that is because in the culture that we live in, those words are misunderstood. When people think about a relationship with God, love, loyalty, they think about the 60s, they think about doing what you want. It's not love of God. It's self-centered. It's not easy to encapsulate Judaism in a few sentences, but I'll try. And I'll try to use the words of the prophet and the directions that the prophets give us. It's all about a relationship with God. But it's a relationship that is channeled through observance of the commandments. It's a relationship that respects our standing as servants of God through observance of the commandments, through love of the commandments, through loyalty to God through the commandments. It's a relationship that's shaped through observance of the commandments. Not only is our relationship to God shaped by the commandments, but our observance of the commandments and our relationship to God is shaped by the universal principles of justice and charity. In the book of Isaiah, this is the hafhtoro that our sages chose for the holiest day of the year. For Yom Kippur, in the morning we read where God complains about people who are seeking a relationship with him as if they have already done charity, they have done justice. In other words, justice and charity are the framework and the foundation of a relationship with God. In the book of Jeremiah chapter 22 verse 16, God points to Josiah's caring and judging, taking on the case of the poor and impoverished and he points to that, that is knowing me. Knowing means a relationship with God. It doesn't end there, it doesn't end with the universal principles of justice and charity because the prophet Isaiah goes on to speak about the observance of the Shabbos and I'll take a moment to try to explain the context. You can be a very just person, you can be a very giving person but with all of that you could be a self-centered person, you could be a person that's giving for the sake of being able to look yourself in the mirror and say I'm the giver, those are the takers. That's not the type of giving that God wants you to talk about. The type of giving that God wants you to live and perform is a giving which is a taking, meaning to say we're all takers. And that's what the Shabbos teaches. The lesson of Sabbath is that everything that we have is but a gift from God. The mastery that we have over the world is a gift from God. Everything that we have is a blessing from God and anything that we're giving is just sharing God's blessings. We're not giving God anything back which He didn't first give us. It's in the context of Shabbos that we have justice and charity. It's in the context of justice and charity that we have a relationship with God that we have performance of the commandments. One more aside to explain why justice is so foundational to a relationship with God. What is justice? What is the sense of justice? Justice means recognizing and living with an understanding what belongs to me belongs to me what doesn't belong to me doesn't belong to me. But that's not just a piece of information that we carry in our minds. That's a feeling. When injustice is done it irks us. There's a spot inside of us which hurts when we see an injustice. If someone takes something which doesn't belong to him especially if that's something belong to us then we say that's unjust and it's wrong and we feel the wrongness of it and that's good. That's the lamp of God within us. That's part of the godly side of man that he senses injustice. Different people have different levels of that feeling of how strongly they feel about an injustice. How important it is to them that justice be done that which belongs to whoever belongs to be given to him and that which doesn't belong to whoever doesn't belong to not go to the person that doesn't belong to. The basis of our relationship with God is a recognition that God is master and that we are subjects. It is only to the degree that you have that feeling in your heart which is that that which doesn't belong to me I will not take. It's wrong and it's evil to take. It's only to that degree that you could say with sincerity I acknowledge I am a subject of God because what does the word master and subject mean to you any more than your feeling of justice. Everything that I have is his. That's your sense of justice. Your sense of justice is your foundation in your relationship to God. Your relationship to God cannot be more meaningful than your sense of justice. Your sense of charity is foundational to your meaning to God because the goodness of God and our love for God is built on the understanding that God gives. God is a selfless giver. It means to the degree that you appreciate selfless giving and that it's meaningful to you that you could say I love God. I love his selfless giving. So being a Jew according to the prophets being is a nation that stands in a covenantal relationship with God. It means a relationship that's shaped by the commandments that's molded by the commandments. It means an observance of the commandments that's molded by a sense that's molded and shaped by the observance in Shabbos and the circle goes around. That's what Judaism is and that's what we stand for. But this is not all. There's one more concept I want to talk about and that is the concept of Messiah. I said we're going to talk about the concept of Messiah. We know that Messiah is not just a belief in Judaism. It's a yearning in Judaism. The prophets speak about it in the same breath. That the Jewish people will yearn for the Lord their God and they will seek the Lord their God and David their king. In other words, part of being a Jew means yearning for the Messiah. What is this yearning all about? Why are we supposed to yearn? Why are you supposed to look forward? Why are you supposed to seek the Messiah? Let's take this question one step further. The concept of a king in Judaism is a little bit negative. The first time the Jewish people asked for a king the prophet said God is your king. What do you need a king for? In other words, the concept of one man lording over other people is against the basic principles of justice. The major teaching one of the major lights that Judaism brought to the world is that all men are equally subject before God. The concept of elevating one person and saying because he has this quality or that quality elevates him above other people is a step towards idolatry. The beauty of this mountain is so great that we all have to humble ourselves before the beauty of the mountain. But Judaism tells us no. The beauty of the mountain is a gift that God granted the mountain and the mountain is just the subject of God as much as you are. Any man possesses whether it's quality of leadership, charisma, spirituality Judaism tells us it's all a gift from God.  Intrinsically you are all equal before God. So the concept of a king technically would seem foreign to Judaism. And in fact when the Jewish people asked for a king the first time God said no. He gave them a king but it wasn't something he was happy with. But here we have the opposite concept. How do we understand that in light of the Jewish teaching about the equality of man and the negative view that Judaism has about one man leaning over another. We spoke about the concept that being a Jew is not just a set of beliefs. It's not just a set of laws to follow. It's not just a relationship.  We stand in a relationship with God and we yearn for God's plan to be fulfilled here on earth. In the Rosh Hashanah prayers the prayers on the first day of the year we speak about the yearning that we have that all of humanity should acknowledge the sovereignty of God. Every day in the Qadish we say Yisqad al-Visqadah shamei rabah which means may be exalted and praised his great name may God's great name be exalted in the Alaynu prayers many times a day. Therefore we hope that all we look forward to that time when all of mankind will acknowledge your oneness. In other words the Jewish people walk around not only with a mission in life but with a yearning with a hope and a hope for the future of mankind and when we say it's very easy to hope that he should recognize the sovereignty of God. The hope is that each one of us should come to a deeper recognition of the sovereignty of God. In a certain sense we could say that we all live with a song in our hearts. God says in the book of Isaiah it is this nation I created. I created this nation for myself that they should speak my praises. We speak the praise of God we have the song of God's praise in our hearts we realize that the happiness of humanity the success of humanity will come about when all of mankind will acknowledge that they are truly subjects of God and live with that and lead their lives according to that truth. Generally what a king does is a king comes to the table and says to the people of the society, listen I have this to offer you I possess so much wealth I possess so much military might I am well connected or I could give you so much possession that will give me I will give you security I will establish you on a financial basis that's what a king would technically come to offer either with his possessions or with the talents that he has real or imagined and of course that's not the king that the Jewish people should be looking for because again the Jewish people believe that anything that any man possesses is just a gift from God and that's a primary foundational teaching of God any quality even a spiritual quality that a person brings to the table is but a gift from God but then David came along and David didn't tell the people I possess I have there's something that I have that you don't have and I'm going to allow you to use it or a talent that I have all David did was he took the song the yearning that was in the heart of the Jewish people and he put it into words David is called by the prophets it's not easy to translate those words the words Zamiroes Israel means the song of Israel it's not David's song he didn't compose the song it's our song it's the song of Israel what David did was he gave pleasantness to the song he gave articulation to the song it's just like a people a country that when they see their flag they know we have to follow that we didn't have a flag but when we saw David's heart as it's revealed in the book of Psalms we saw that's our yearning he gave expression to what already exists it's not a new yearning it's not a new loyalty the loyalty that we have to David is the loyalty that we have to God because he's someone who doesn't point anyone to himself he doesn't divert an iota of the attention that belongs to God towards himself on the contrary he takes his own submission he tells us I am poor I am impoverished I am a sinner he doesn't say I am sinless I have qualities that you don't have you guys are all just people and I'm divine no I'm just as human as you are and the only thing I have to offer is humility and submission to God and he gave words to our song we stand now in a relationship with God and we have a loyalty to the house of David when we pray for the Messiah we don't pray for a man that will come in the future that's an unknown there's just like in English history you have wars between the house of Tudor and the house of Stuart in other words people had a loyalty to a certain dynasty that dynasty stood for something the Jewish people have a loyalty to the dynasty of David and all the real Messiah will do the real Messiah will do is pick up the song where his ancestor David left off that is what the real Messiah is all about


Mamu vipem penzim tizumaju ASP embaz Inakwa jesu keleo numezo kupotana namusani yambawamusani wangili Ali anza sana akiwam young sana kwenya industry miaka zakin na nani na nani Lakini Ndutaya kena azimiwa kia kwenya sana hi kwishi ya hapa Balia li pata fusa kweza kutoka kenya Aka safiria kenda Europe kido kuna Aka jkulisha na sana ake bile bile Aka ndile na maisha ake kama kawahida Amirudi in Chini na Amirudi na kikapu yamatunda Matunda ni kowa sana Matunda ni kwa na industry Matunda yoti ni kwa fahiri am Kenya Namitizamaju ASP embaz Mamu vipem bro Freshi Freshi sana bro Fahiri amitizamaju embaz wali mbawana kutizama kumariya kwanza Nivizuri waju na ito na nani na maisha vipe Mine ito abani asila Kutoka Nairobi hi Musani Njimboza kiki Njimboza gospel music I'm from Nairobi Kenya But I live in Finland currently So I'm doing different projects in Finland And now I'm here so, yeah Wemi ni Musani wa injili Wemi ni gospel artist Nuskwizi gospel artist Tatuji ni gospel artist Tututangalia mienendo Tututangalia mavazi Tututangalia injili Tututangalia wimbo Tufouti ni ipe Tufouti ni roh Kilimpa na wana We have people are different Utandru suni yongge nichanganyi How much is it? People are different So it depends on somebody's calling Somebody's passion Why are you doing the gospel music? So I can't really say I can't really say If it's about the outlook Gospel music is not about the outlook Vilatuna kwangalia Mtazamu kuleinje It's about the heart Napia The actions that come out of Your normal day-to-day life Mambokayo So as a Christian As a gospel music artist What you do Should actually affect Other people's lives Positively So you should be an inspiration in the society So that's what I am So people have different Callings, different passion Different reasons why they do gospel music So I can't really speak about other people But I can speak about myself So that's why I do what I do Is it in a better position to tell us Because one being an artist Is it a calling to be an artist? Yes it is definitely It's a calling It's passion It's doing what you like Because first for you to do music Whichever kind of music it is But now for me, gospel music You really have to love it And you can't love what you don't It really has to come from within Because sometimes You might be doing music But then it's not paying So if it's not a calling If you're not passionate about it Then you might stop Or maybe drift away from what you're doing Laki ni kama nilektu kukoroyako Kwa hatiako yani wunaipenda tu sana So it doesn't matter kama nalipa, halipi Because that's what you That's what is in you It's something that you're called to do And then you're doing it because of so many reasons Not just the material stuff So for me it's a calling So people are called in different ways And then the grace Pena lingana na grace yamsi Mimtuna na grace aina gani Uki linga nisha nyimbozileza kina kama vili wuna sema Nyimbozileza kama Angela Chibalonza delet Meiha sol rest in peace Wakatiuna pita Sikusina yandapia Times are changing And then of course there is the generational Different generations are coming up So there could be some difference In terms of how people are doing music now Nahizo and those times But again the message is still the same Gospel music Injili will always remain The Bible says that the word of God will come to be here And it will be here forever and ever It is here for eternity So it doesn't matter how you communicate It doesn't matter how you reach out How you write your songs or whatever you're doing I think the most important thing is Why you're doing the gospel music Why you're doing it And the kind of music that you do And your lifestyle Because your lifestyle should reflect The music that you're doing People have different lifestyle We've seen Kenyan gospel artists They're living large Ya you can live large But still be a Christian Like me I live large But I'm Christian Now I can't go with the teachings and the preaching Because what I'm saying is that We can see few individuals maybe Of course we're human beings We make mistakes We've seen individuals now In places we're buying Of course we cannot judge Only God can judge us I'm on a party I'm on a club I'm on a party That's different If living large is about Starehe Starehe ile ya ku Madem, kufanyanini Suji, Paomba enini That is totally different I don't agree with that But if living large is Just living your life God akiki kublesiha tu daji fichaban God akiki kublesiha tu daji hende shagariako I'm out of panda So if that is what you mean Then I agree That is okay You should do that kind of life Even if you're a Christian Lakin ikama nile stareha Ile kuleinje vilu na sema Paomba Wana dadanini I don't You don't agree with that No, no, no You don't agree with that Because sometimes Mila Juliza Because for one to be Of course it's a calling For one to be a gospel artist Understand you are a very Spiritual gospel artist Do you take time to read Bible Do you take time maybe To go for a training For a session Because I believe For one to write a song You have to understand the Bible Is it a mask for someone To have a background Of course we've gone through Systema by Wilan Siari The Bible I think that it's wise But it's not a must It's wise to know the Bible As a gospel As a Christian Gospel music artist It's wise But it's not a must Because God Can call anybody The Bible says that God Can even use tones To praise him Mawe haja Soma mawe haja Hende shule So it doesn't It is very wise As a Christian Because there are so many challenges And for you to overcome The challenges You have to know the word You have to pray also But it's not that If you don't know the word God has ikutumia God has ikutumia God has ikutumia Irregardless Like me Yes, irregardless Because there are times There are times when There is an interview When I say There is a time Eric Komondi raised the concern When the years started To say It's a calling Mungamimungalesha Gospel artists are doing it wrong It brought so many Conversation, debate People were like No I have ikutumia When I am here And then It has a difference In the industry Because people were hating What Eric was saying And Eric was being honest Yes Yes Bina damu No one is comfortable With being corrected Amabai being corrected And then nobody is perfect So even me I am imperfect In my own way I am not perfect So Eric Komondi Is a kwa lisa maqitu Maybe he is a kwa zamungine Maybe he is a kwa nafanya kitu And sometimes We might not be doing things Either knowingly Or unknowingly Ineza kwa maybe sijuwi Mi na ona mi nkosawa Lakini sijuwi I am not informed So kule nje Ule mginai kwangali And do anona E umte Vile nafanya If I kwa nafanya evo So Eric kwa neza kwa nongia From that point of view But for me As the person Ule mbae na communicateua I take it differently So that's That could be the reason For that kind Yeah Since you are away So many things happened You know You left when you were young Very angry To be in the industry Of course you are in the industry With some few songs Now there are transitions The generations that were there There is a new generation Of course they are coming Another new generation While you are away So many things happened Just to mention few Because There used to be gospel awards There used to be a gospel wave A groove awards You know The Kesha The Zatifas vibes You know, everything happened But now this Even the funds Even our churches now There are so many things Happened differently Now from your point of view Are we heading to the end As the final end coming Because we are divided I can tell that I can feel that You can see that as well Yeah The Bible says that When the end times In the book of Revelation When it gets to that time Kuta kwa na so many Acts that will happen So as you are putting it That could be a signal For It could be a signal for such Or for those times But it doesn't mean that the world Is coming to an end Life has to go on It doesn't mean Sikama village Shaka holon I'm here in Asia And then things happen So the fact that Very weird things are happening Currently Or maybe people are divided Gospel music has shifted The way people do their music Things have shifted Some people have even moved away From gospel music It doesn't mean that the world Is coming to an end We will still be here People will still be here Even after we have gone There will still be new people And that's why I'm doing what I'm doing That's why I'm coming back home That's why Because I've been doing my tours My gospel music tours In Finland, in Europe I've been to Sweden I've been to Germany Doing my own tours I've been to Spain I've been to Estonia I've been to France I've been to so many countries Doing my own gospel music tours But then Looking back at home I felt it's also wise It's also very wise To come back home So that's why I'm coming back to Nairobi That's why I'm here Like now I have about 15 singers Who are here They came all the way From Finland Wa Mekuja for a tour For a music tour And they'll be here For 7 days We're doing with them A tour in Nakuru After this We have about 45 singers Who are coming again To Nafanyanao tour Nairobi, Nakuru For about 7, 8 days And then we also go to Mombasa And these guys are coming From different countries They're coming from Spain They're coming from Germany They're coming from the US They're coming from Norway So these are some people That we have already been Doing tours with them Over there in Europe That's why we're having Another group also Coming back Coming to Kenya in July On 5th of July We have a very huge Worship concert in Nakuru We have another concert In Masaimara Something that hasn't happened before So as you're saying These things used to happen before That's what you said, I think But now it seems like Things are not the same again That's why we're coming Godana tumiawa To be different Godana raise Different new generation Godana raise new people To come and take over So it's not that the world is coming To an end Amat nalekia muisho Amat gospel music in Nafifia No, no, no There are so many people that Even me, if I didn't do it There are many people that God could use But I'm gracious I'm humble enough So we have tours I'm doing in Nairobi, Nakuru Masaimara, Mombasa And then after this I'm going back to Europe I have my tour there again From August, mid August Until September I'm going to Switzerland I'm going to Spain I'm going back to Finland also To Sweden After that I'm coming back again With my team We have a tour in Nairobi Nakuru, Mombasa, Kisumu So there are so many things coming up As you come on As you come on As you come on I was sitting there Because I want to ask you About now your tour Are you bringing artists All across the world What is your aim? What do you want to change? Are you planning to work With the local gospel artists? Definitely We are planning to work With the local gospel artists To show you Why that is important Last year we had a group Of about eight people From Nairobi here Who came to Finland I invited them there And then we had some tours together And they were there for two months And that has really helped many people Because from them They are those people Who have been able to get Different opportunities over there A year before We also had about 15 people Who we had tours with them In Finland In Sweden, in Netherlands And out of that group We have about four people Who are already over there Doing different things musically So by me coming here With my team We are not just doing It's not just about me Or my own music But you're also creating other platforms For guys who are here Like now that you're going to Nakuru We're engaging so many local artists That are coming on board In Nakuru alone We will have about 150 singers That are coming along We have international choir directors That are coming also And they'll be having sessions With these guys And then we are also intending to Actually let me mention this We intended to start a music school So that we can create a platform Where these guys Can actually be also going to Europe It doesn't mean that We are Sisi to Kocini No, no, no But just creating a platform A balanced platform Where we will be able to Be able to learn How to do music How to create music How to create gospel music How to reach out And then we will be able to Be able to explore the world Yes, yes My question was coming too Because you can have a nice program You can have a nice show Now when it comes to Preventation What is next for that few Individuals that you've identified That have talent Because once you believe Your country to go back You have your own life I have my own life to live Now what will happen to now To the artists that you Identify the individuals That you want to mentor That's why we're in the process Of establishing a music school As I mentioned And that is coming up from Next year We want to have A sustainable way Of empowering these guys So that We don't just work with them For one month We can be able to sustain That mentorship program So that in the next Two, three, four years We can have a click of people That we'll be proud of Like now we have a click Of people that are in Europe Catasy of my brand Catasy of our organization That have been able to do Different things And they're now staying there So we're going to talk About how to help up here So that after Two, three, four, five years We're going to help them And say, come on God, thank you to me I'm a Flandi I'm an organization Flandi I've been working with Yes, yes So we thank God That he has given us This opportunity That now aims to me To provide a long term Mentorship to so many guys And of course, yes I can tell the future is bright now Let's talk about your music You haven't changed your vibes You haven't changed the message You haven't changed the rhythm Concept is still the same You are becoming another Sensational artist in town What is the plan You want to take this piece You want to be the new chairman Of Gospel What is it? I'm a chairman of Gospel We're not there We're focusing on Very different things My music is very different Right now I'm doing I'm doing so many I will call myself An international brand Why call yourself an international brand Why? Because I do concerts On weekly basis I do concerts internationally Last month Before I came here I was in Spain For a week Have you checked my tour? Have you seen my tour? I've just seen your page But I didn't go to it Last week Before I came here I was in Spain I was in Sweden I was in Estonia Doing tours Music concert tours And after I go back I'm still going to Switzerland I'm going to I'm going to Netherlands I'm going to I'm going to I'm going back to Spain So I have a huge I have a huge I have a huge brand banner out there So when we're chairman I can't No No People are different People have different vision People have Different passion As I told you So that's not my focus That's not my area of focus Okay Just understand this Any collaboration so far Any artist you're looking maybe for To partner, work with About have a session or mentor My team hasn't thought of that Yet They haven't mentioned But if something comes up So you never know about Keshu Maybe something might happen There could be some kind of Interest from either parties Myself or somebody else I will in mind That we are open to New ideas working with people But so far we haven't really planned That this is what you're doing Yes, yes But we are currently Focused on pushing Our own projects and brands And different other activities Yes I believe you're in a better position To tell us maybe What are we doing wrong As gospel artist What are we doing wrong Is there something you feel like We're doing it wrong As gospel artist Yes, gospel industry The glory is gone That is personal That is personal No, you can see it You can just suggest maybe Because we don't Because what happened to Kusemokweli What happened to Kusemokweli I know you have An individual that Individual gospel artist That you normally sometimes listen to Yes You prefer to listen to Of course there are friends There are those friends That you feel like It's about them Of course you don't need to mention them But from an artist's point of view You can say We are missing out on this Are we focusing more on Shobis No, I wouldn't say that I wouldn't say that You said that You know or you think There could be some artists That I'm looking up to I'll give you an example By the way Yeah, I listened to By the way, next year Towards the end of the year We are planning to bring Kirk Franklin here Into our next Music gospel festival Next year So my team is In the process Of engaging him So that's one of the guys That I look up to And then you also mentioned Angela The late Yes Angela the late It makewa hapo For ages And it's still there So I don't know If people are not I don't know if people are not Doing things From a long time Point of view I don't know ...we should look for long-term basis ... ...we should not see just physique with gospel musiki. ...but now... It is not just about there now. ...it's about the future.... ...it's about something I haven't heard about until the time Kajo founding. Kamaviliu naongi ya kusu Angela Until now, Goda Limchukua over 10, 20 years ago But how easy we are still talking about her So that's the question people should be asking themselves So I can't speak about other artists But for me, that's what I'm looking at Artists but you can comment and suggest maybe You know why because we are here to engage I believe Bani you have something to say Because why we are doing interview Because to inform, educate and entertain as well I feel we still have a point maybe A valid reason to tell us Because for those that are aspiring Maybe to be gospel artists in future Maybe to learn from this interview There is something we are missing The glory days are gone On that point I will say I am a student of history I will say We are our We mentioned Angela Tibalonsa I'm happy you've mentioned that I will say Legend Yes, it's our home Yes, many more I think that Most of us Got to a point kakwa comfortable In the sense that We really were able to Engage almost the whole country in Kenya We were able to Wind souls We were able to really spread the message out there The message of hope about Christ We were able to really sing The real gospel music and people really came to Christ But then after that then what Then what Because most of these people Most of these people you're talking about We were born in Kenya We were born in Kenya too But how impactful has it been You can't compare us for example With people from Let's say Sinach Sinach amikwa And now in souls God has been raised from one glory to the other Okangalia what comea kina Let's say Adah for example God has been raised from one glory to another Okangalia, kama hum say We mentioned kakwa God has been raising them from one glory to the other And that is all about Being Christian By being Christian There must be growth by glory From here to the next step From one glory to the next step But for us I think I think they lack some kind of transition They lack some kind of Moving out there I think so, I will say so That is why you can't mention somebody by name Who maybe has gone beyond Our country Beyond Kenya Like we will say Sinach Sinach is a preach Sinach is a share word Sinach Juzio emikwaki In the community Minister Chacha is a joylosting A massive Imagine all those people Want to follow Christ Want to identify through That lady So you can imagine, but we haven't had our people, those that we look up to do that. Oh, they are comfortable with titles and positions and money. Ya, so that's why when you ask me about chairman, I can't answer that because that's not my focus. I'm focused on so many other, yes, yes, I'm focused on how can I grow from one glory to another. How can I reach out there in minister, not just in Kenya. How can I be used by God, how can I be a vessel so that God can use me, not just in Kenya, not just in Europe, not just in Finland, not just in Spain. I can go to the US, I can go to Japan, I can go to Asia, I can go to all these places. These other people from outside other countries are moving around. They are going out there to share the word, to spread the word through the gifts that God has put in them. But for us, it hasn't happened. Opportunities are not there for us? They are there. Opportunities are there. Are we selfish? I think it's about the transition and people are comfortable, I think. Ununasa wuki sama, I'll refer again to the statement chairman. Why will I want to be a chairman? For what? I laugh not at you. Eh? Chairman of gospel? I haven't get any. What chairman? I can't focus on such man. That is not what I'm called to do. I'm not called to be chairman for what? I'm called to do so many things. Like now I'm bringing 200 gospel singers. That's amazing. Yeah, 200 gospel singers from 9 countries. From Norway, from Switzerland, from Spain, from Finland, from Germany, from Japan, from Estonia, from... I mean, that is Asia. Japan, from USA, from Brazil. Gospel singers. So why will I be doing such?  There is an end goal you want to achieve. I believe now you have what it takes now to be the face of the gospel interest in Kenya.  Are there opportunities now, once they are here, our local artists, our local gospel artists, forget about the upcoming gospel artists. Yeah, but you see, I can't put myself there and say I'm the face of gospel music in Kenya. But no one has done what you are doing. So it's for them to say, it's for them to see, it's for them to learn, it's for them to... But I can't see easy jack up on same... Of course you can't claim, but people will say what you are doing. Nashkormungu. If that happens, then Nashkormungu. My objective is to create a platform to have, not just to minister in Kenya, but to minister also internationally. Because we don't have limits, man. E-E-E-E, God only to... God only to... Yes, yes, we don't have limits. My objective is to have those guys come to Kenya, create also platforms for other guys from here so that they can also have openings, not just in Kenya, but internationally. Look at South Africa, look at TZ, look at Nigeria, look at what they are doing. But actually we can go here about 8, 9, 10 years ago, we can reach out sana in terms of music, actually gospel music, we can share sana, reach sana through our music. Our music was rich, it used to be listened by so many, actually globally, I would say in the African continent, but not anymore. So that's why we have, that's why we are coming in to fill that gap. Because there's a gap as you are also putting it, there's that gap. It's a process of taking time, just understand maybe as we wind up. It's not something that you'll do it alone. You need a team. I don't know now are there offices, are there a team that is working on that because you have a busy schedule, you have your tour bag, your visitors will leave. Now what will happen once you are away? I have a team of course, the team that's managing all my projects in terms of music and also in terms of the project implementation. I have separate teams that are doing that. So even if I'm not around, things are still moving. That's why we are even already planning for the festival next year. Next year we are actually looking at having 1,000 singers all across the globe. So far we have about 600 that have already made confirmations from Denmark, from USA, from Switzerland, from Sweden, across Europe and they've already made confirmations but our target number is 1,000. I told you we are looking at having, my team is in the process of engaging Kakfrantli because he's really been, yes, in terms of gospel music. He's one of the guys that has really pioneered. So my team is doing a great job. Even if I don't have a great team that is supporting me, I told you in the month of December this year, we are planning for my tour now in Kenya. We are coming to do my tour, my music to reach out. We really want to reach out from different corners in this country. We are moving to Nairobi, of course it will be Nairobi here, we'll be in Mombasa, we'll be in Kisumu, we'll be in Eldoret, we'll be in Nyeri. So my team is building up that plan. We have also, my team is building up a plan about the tour to Europe. After I finished this one, we are leaving Kenya in the month of July on 27th. After that we go to prepare for the tour in Europe. We have a month tour in Europe. After that then we start pushing for December and then of course there is next year. So I have a huge team with me. I have offices in Nakuru, Nairobi. Things are moving. I don't have to be, yes, definitely have to be here. Of course many upcoming aspiring gospel artists will want to maybe partner, volunteer, come on board. I don't know if there are social handles, social media platforms whereby they can reach out. Yeah, they can reach out. Facebook, Bani Asila, Insta at Asila Bani, YouTube you can DM me at Asila Bani. And then of course they could also watch my music, my new song and my other projects also. They are welcomed. We have a very big gig in Nakuru on the 9th of July. That's the biggest gig we are doing. I'm singing alongside 200 singers from Europe. We are also doing some projects with them. We are in the process of doing the audio, video production, both from there and then from finishing up when they come here. So they should join us also on that day. If we get the information early enough, they could also be slotted in the program. We have so many people coming on board. We have the ambassadors, we have the European Union ambassador who is coming on board. We have the Finnish ambassador to Kenya who is coming on board. We have the Swiss ambassador to Kenya's representative that's coming on the 9th of July. We have the county government in Nakuru, the governor herself, she's also coming on board. So this is quite a huge project. Gospel artists, locals, both Nairobi, Kenya, Nakuru, wherever you are, Mombasa, feel free to reach out and then let's do stuff together. For your fans that are watching maybe, they always love your work, they always want to support your work, talk to them. Maybe there's something cooking before the concert? There are so many projects cooking. There are so many things coming up. We have several. I call my songs projects because we really invest time in them. I call other projects that we do projects like the music school I told you about that's a project. It's not just a song. We're not just doing a song that we're doing a song. No, no, no. So we have so many projects coming up. There are so many surprises before the festival, before 9th of July, before 12th of July in Masaimara, before the Mombasa tour. We have so many surprises coming up. So they should stay tuned for the great surprises that are coming up. We've been watching Bani for the first time. Let them know your social media handles as well. At Asila Bani, insta, reach out, let's do stuff together. Bani Asila Facebook and then of course YouTube Bani Asila. I've been doing this in Europe. I have a great support in Europe. So I'm looking forward to also work together with my family in Kenya in this journey. This is your home. Kenyans will definitely support you. Talk to the gospel industry, gospel artist. Because a message to them. Because some of them want to secular. People are bashing out them. They're calling their names. You as an artist, some things happen. You know, life sometimes in Mani na Shuka. Una kusakwenda karnisa. Atakunado na samalazimu henda chas. Now these people watch 10 church services across socials. Talk to gospel artist, gospel industry. I think that the sky is not the limit. And let's aspire to grow. Twachana na imambu ya Kenya. Twachana na imambu ya Niyake. Shawryake.  So a family an ataka. Lakin ni twachana na Kenya is. Kenya i me toshaba. Kenya i kusakwenda fanya. We've reached out in Kenya. Let's aspire to grow. There's so many. There's a huge space out there. There's a huge space. Uki angalia kule angel ki enda in concerts. You don't hear of any... My message is that people should aspire to grow beyond Kenya. People should aspire to grow beyond Kenya. And then these debates are chairmen. Apana. Apana. That's not my... How can I even... Where do I get time to think about it? Right now I have... You saw them. Yeah, yesterday. Yes. We were there at the airport. Yes. The next week I have 55 singers coming. Yes. Singers. Atituari singers. Gospel music ministers. After that. After that we have 200. A flight over 150 people coming. Okay. So I'm going to... I'm going to go to the chairmen. And then things to be done. All right. Shukran sana kuzungmila nasi na... Imani piya wumaeza kuongelesya wataeza kujufunza na... Kitwa wamaeza jufunza. Gospel artists. There are so, so many opportunities out there. Yes, yes. Ya ni imagine kuna concert skubu asana si na happen. Asia, France, Ghana. Lakin na kuna gospel artists kutuka Kenya na enda. Jamani. Let's challenge ourselves. I know we have cars. I know we have money. I know we are living large. There is so much... There is so much than that. There is nothing. Pesas, yunini. There is so much to life. Amma to gospel music. To reaching out. Than just these material things. We are not called to... Don't look at the money. Amma de ka. Atakama una garikumi una pesangati. Ura ishi runda. No, that's not gospel music. There is so much. Imagine kama ukonahio na you haven't done anything. Imagine Sinach. You haven't done anything na ukonahio. So imagine if God gave you that grace to go beyond Kenya. And then now be that person that you have been. What kind of life will you be living? So we can just arrange everything. That's not for me Iban. My focus is not the Range Rover. My focus is not security. Two million three million. No. There is so much. There is so much for telling you. Sinach. I was at her concert, by the way, in the U.S. I was in that place at Joel Austin's church when she was there, when she was ministering. About almost fifty thousand people. Nasiwa Kenya. Wipes. Will you want such a thing to minister in that kind of place? Or will you want a Range Rover? Maybe I want something that will impact you. Will you want to be driving up a street in Nairobi at a Range Rover and see this? Amu na takaku minister. Of course, what of God come. Exactly. That is really blessing. Yes. So for me, it's not about that. We don't have money. We don't have money. It's not about Peter. But then after we talk about what happens. That is why, we know Lisa, we know Mia, Gospel music industry in Kenya in a shift. That's what you told me. See Mimi? That's what you said. Five, ten years ago, it was different from now. Because our focus is different. Let's focus on ministering. Let's focus on reaching out. Let's focus on impacting lives. That's what guys are doing here, out here. Let's not focus on material things. Alright. Ita kuangumu. Ita kuangumu, lakini watajaribu. Thank you for speaking to us. I don't have much to say. I understand you have a lot to do. So God bless you. I'm looking forward to work with you to support you anytime. And for the industry, hopefully we'll understand, we'll learn something from this exclusive interview. We know here to bash names or here to troll names. But we're here to educate and inform. Thank you so much Bani. Na, God bless you. Na, thank you. Shukran sana. Alright bro. Na, thank you. Na, the next two. Na, the next two. Si, paspotiko. Paspotiko.


High risk myeloma is a term or nowadays we use ultra high risk myeloma even to describe the patients that with current standard of care treatment do unfortunately encounter an early relapse and because in younger patients we use very standardized treatments with an upfront induction therapy transplant and a maintenance therapy. That's often the kind of treatment that we use to define who is relapsing early or not because there's about 20-25% of patients who relapse with a disease within two years after the transplant and we know that these patients unfortunately have a very unfortunate outcome afterwards. The problem is that the disease is really difficult with current treatments to bring into a good remission again and the remission again that is kept there. So we have done over a long time gone in many groups in terms of trying to find genetic markers that can help us identify these patients before they even start their very first treatments. That's a very, very diagnosis of myeloma and we have made big progress there so we can identify patients not on the means of genetics in terms of co-occurrence of two or more high risk markers or double hit or by means of gene expression profiling which shows us a gene expression high risk signature. So the OptinMark 9 trial is a trial that we designed about 7 years ago when we saw that these genetic markers can help us, that genetic markers and gene expression markers can help us identify patients with high risk disease so patients who have a high risk of their disease coming back within two years particularly with the current standard of care maintenance treatment with linolydomide. So we designed a trial whereby we screened everyone for these genetic markers at the time in the UK, these were not standard of care everywhere so not every patient could access them so we asked for a sample centrally where we did molecular profiling for two or more genetic high risk markers as well as for gene expression profiling and if any of the two was positive the patient was given the option to say I want to type part in this trial and our thinking was that the treatment has to particularly be improved both at the beginning but particularly the maintenance therapy has to be improved. So we actually used 18 months of a three drug combination maintenance therapy and then they move all on to diurel and maintenance therapy and this concept was actually highly successful we compared the outcomes against the patients that we enrolled in the previous trial with the same molecular features and the outcome was on multiple times better so the progression free survival instead of being below 40% in the new treatment regimen was 77%. The outcomes are so good that we're even now taking the results forward to a commissioning application to see whether we can potentially get reimbursement for this treatment in our healthcare system. So although we have made big progress with Optimum Mach 9 and really many patients are still in a remission now that would normally have relapsed due to their aggressive disease we did nevertheless see that 20% of patients even with this currently best treatment that we could think of relapsed with their disease. So we wanted to learn more about who are these patients and I think in this case it came as an absolute advantage that we had done so much effort on doing the genetic profiling and the gene expression profiling because we could now look at whether any of these genetic or gene expression markers were more likely to be linked to an early relapse. So we identified particularly patients that had three high risk markers co-occurring as well as a slight trend towards those that have a gene expression high risk signature or and or plasma cell leukemia to have an early relapse within these first 18 months of treatment despite the very good treatment so the as much as that's of course as such a sad finding I think it nevertheless gives us the hope that we can use these diagnostic tools in the future to identify these patients early to really try new treatment approaches such as by specific antibodies or CAR-T cells. So we have several ways of identifying patients with high risk myeloma either through genetic profiling this uses the DNA of the cell which is the inherited information normally that is present in every cell but in a tumor cell it has really gone through a lot of changes a lot of mutations and we have identified several mutations that are linked with a shorter survival now on their own they're not very powerful and with new treatments we actually can overcome some of them but when two or more of these markers co-occur unfortunately we do know that the disease is more aggressive seems to be more resilient against treatment and find ways around treatment more easily and that is actually true the more of these risk factors are present the more aggressive the tumor unfortunately becomes so for example we call those with two markers double hit and those with three triple hit they can even be four co-occurring markers in forms of quadruple hit. There is also another way of looking at the aggressiveness of the cell it has not to do with the DNA but with the RNA the RNA is kind of like the living library it's a status of how the cell is behaving at that very moment and we know that RNA and gene expression profiling which you use to identify the RNAs that are present in a cell can tell us something about how the cell is behaving and doing in this moment and there are signatures that have been identified so effectively a combination of genes when they're expressed that can tell us that the cell is more aggressive than another one and particularly we have found that many of these genes have to do with how quickly these cells can divide how quickly they can multiply and this is a different type of information than the genetics so you can not get the full picture with either the one or the other test is actually really combining the two tests where you get the most power of giving the patient a very precise diagnosis about the current disease. So I think the results from the optomark 9 trial for example and this has been unfortunately shown in similar trials like the concept trial or here the IFM 2018 trial were presented as well we know now that probably for three quarters of patients with otahyros disease we can offer really good treatment much better treatment than we could offer before through combined induction therapy for our five drugs with the CD38 antibody but particularly by improving the consolidation and maintenance therapy however we still see that there is a quarter of patients or 20% of patients that do even with such treatments have very aggressive disease and early relapse and I think this is a very strong signal both of these findings mean a we should really really work very hard and jointly together to offer better diagnostics for patients if you don't know about these markers you will never know how to identify these patients and of course this is often different access in different countries so it's very clear that there is also money involved so there has to be really a very clear strategy in the community moving forward that we really try to make it as equal as possible the access but I think what it also tells us that we still identify patients that need or could really be considered for yet new trials new approaches with new treatments coming on we always have the choice whether we recommend to a patient maybe a more risky but very novel treatment and I think with better diagnostics we can have a much better in communication and discussion with the patient about whether to take part in the trial for example so we have seen an improvement of the outcome of patients with high-risk and ultra-high-risk patients already by the current treatments that we have by mostly by combining several different agents together we realize that the joint effect on these aggressive cells is better when we attack it from different sides of course what we have with that also borders that the patient needs more treatment ideally of course we would want to have a treatment that really really goes to the source to the reason why these cells are more aggressive and these are tools that we're lacking at the moment there are very promising new developments about for example the new drugs that are targeting the product of the T414 translocation which is called NSD2 and if these inhibitors are successful they could potentially offer hope for patients with this type of high-risk disease another option is of course that we have more powerful drugs in itself in themselves such as for example we now see by specific antibodies as a single therapy already having higher response rates than even if we combine three drugs before and it's going to be a lot about finding out how these drugs work in ultra-high-risk disease and how we can use them best to benefit our patients


1 mg per day finasteride is effective for male androgenetic alopecia and has a similar efficacy to 5 mg per day, 1% solution and topical finasteride. However, it may cause sexual side effects such as erectile dysfunction and decreased libido, which can lead to depression in some patients. It is important for patients to be educated about the possible short and long-term side effects of finasteride. This article was authored by A.K. Gupta, M. Venkataraman, M. Talapta, and others.