Last month, “The Israel Bible” hit the road, inspiring Jewish and non-Jewish Americans alike as Rabbi Tuly Weisz set out to further promote his 70th anniversary edition of “The Israel Bible” – already a bestseller on Amazon.
Traveling from New Jersey to Miami from August 12-25 and many cities in between – Weisz promoted the world’s first Tanakh centered around the Land of Israel, the People of Israel and the dynamic relationship between them, complete with the original Hebrew text, transliteration of select Hebrew verses and the New Jewish Publication Society translation.
Weisz, an Ohio native, immigrated to the Jewish homeland before publishing “The Israel Bible” and becoming the director of Israel365, hoping to engage Jews and Christians with the Bible and the land of Israel in the context of the golden age of Jewish-Christian relations.
With a clear goal in mind of educating Jews and Christians on their shared biblical heritage and the role Israel plays in the Torah, “The Israel Bible” was showcased at a Barnes and Noble bookstore, synagogues, Christian television shows and churches. According to Weisz, the diversity of his hosts speaks to the wide audience of “The Israel Bible” – produced and read by Jews but also inspiring the Christians public that, according to Weisz, does not often hear about Israel.
His tour brought a vital part of Israel to the United States.
“It was special for me to be back at the Easton Barnes and Noble store with “The Israel Bible,” Weisz told Breaking Israel News, recalling fond memories of his hometown bookstore.
Weisz also led a bible study at the Beth Jacob Congregation in Columbus Ohio, where he previously worked for five years as a Rabbi.
In addition to the in-person book signings and community visits, Weisz appeared on various television programs, including an interview with Dante Thompson, CEO of Dove Broadcasting in Greenville, SC and on Club30 TV with Earl Cox of Israel Always in Augusta, GA.
Also in Augusta, Weisz presented Dorothy Spaulding, president of Watchmen Broadcasting WBPI, with “The Israel Bible” alongside Cox, Dr. Cary Summers, CEO of the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC and IDF Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yechiel Gozal, CEO of Yachad L’man Hachayal.
Summers, whose goal included “sharing about the Museum of the Bible and the story of Israel as denoted in the Bible,” spoke of the harmony between his mission and the mission of “The Israel Bible.” “We both want to engage all people into the study of the Bible,” he told Breaking Israel News.
“Tuly’s mission is to enable the students of the bible to look deeper into the Hebrew text while the mission of Museum of the Bible is to engage all people with the Bible through its history, stories and impact,” said Summers.
He voiced his concern that “in the United States, we are at one of our lowest times in history in Bible knowledge.”
What’s at stake, he said, is society at large, and the solution lies in the most influential book in the world: the Bible.
“When hope is gone societies turn into chaos,” he maintained. “The Bible has been the most burned, the most banned, the most debated book of all times and it is still the bestselling book year after year. There is something very powerful about that book, and it is the one book in the world that can provide hope.”
Based on the response of “The Israel Bible” tour, perhaps the book is doing just that.
Weisz and Summers maintained that the great response they received illustrates that they were able to meet their shared goals.
“In the program with Dorothy Spaulding, she was so enthusiastic about what “The Israel Bible” represents, she began pitching it for me,” Weisz said, referring to Spaulding’s support for the Bible as physical manifestation of the burgeoning unity between Jews and Christians.
“Television and radio hosts in the Bible belt were appreciative of having guests from Israel, because they love Israel and the Jewish people – they talk day in and day out about Israel on their programs, educating viewers on the importance of Israel,” posed Weisz.
“Seeing that they have allies in Israel was encouraging to them and even more encouraging to me to see such a response in areas where there is no Jewish community,” he said. “Being so far from Israel but feeling the love was a wonderful experience for me.”
