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Rivkah Weber, 29, and David Costello, 37, attended a synagogue in West Ridge, Chicago, a few months after moving to a nearby neighborhood.
A Chicago couple claiming to be part of the Orthodox Jewish community has been accused of proselytizing after being exposed to "Christian missionaries".
Rivkah Weber, 29, and David Costello, 37, attended a synagogue in West Ridge, Chicago, a few months after moving to a nearby neighborhood.
But on May 14, they found themselves facing a man who attended the office, recognizing that Costello was actually a Christian who had staged a similar waterfall in New York.
Rabbi Levi Notik, spiritual leader of the FREE Chicago Center, confronted the imposters after receiving disturbing news from Brooklyn.
"They have beliefs about Kefira and Christianity," Notik told COL LIVE. "He denies nothing, on the contrary, he insists that he is right and that he has no regrets."
But on May 14, their cover is unveiled: a Brooklyn man present at the ceremony recognizes Costello at the FREE Chicago Center.
By the next day, the Jewish community in Chicago had begun posting articles about the couple on social media. Many began to express their dissatisfaction at being deceived.
& # 39;[T]To answer the rumors, it is true that a couple has settled in our community for the purpose of proselytizing … These are confirmed missionaries, "read in a message, according to the report. Jewish telegraph agency.
"They have beliefs about Kefira and Christianity," said Rabbi Levi Notik after clashing with the couple. "He denies none of this, on the contrary, he insists that he is right and that he does not regret anything"
Photos of the couple were also included in the message. Weber is conservatively dressed while wearing a blanket over her hair while her husband wears a yarmluke and has her hair on the sides.
The couple admitted that his goal was to try to get the Jewish community to feel more comfortable with Jesus.
"We want the Jewish people to recognize Yeshua as Moshiach and as a Jewish messiah," Costello said in an interview with JTA. He used the Hebrew words for Jesus and the Messiah in speaking, including mixing Hebrew and Yiddish.
He added, "We keep the Torah and the mitzvahs. We actually have an Orthodox life in our home and every day of our lives, and they say it's just to deceive and get the Jews to believe in Jesus. & # 39;
The father of two said that he had grown up in a Christian New Jersey family, but explained that his maternal great-grandmother was Jewish. His wife – whose real name is Rebekah – was born into a Christian family in North Carolina. She may have Jewish ancestry on her father's side.
The father of two said that he had grown up in a Christian New Jersey family, but explained that his maternal great-grandmother was Jewish. His wife – whose real name is Rebekah – was born into a Christian family in North Carolina. She may have Jewish ancestry on her father's side
The two men learned that they were not back in the Chicago community and Costello lost his job at a kosher store.
Documents dating back to 2016 revealed that Costello had been employed by Global Gates, which aims "to see the gospel transformation of the most un-evangelized peoples groups of the world (sic) who have come to cities gates of and through them reach their communities around the world. "
But the company was convinced that the couple was no longer involved with them.
& # 39; They were previously employed by Global Gates for less than a year. Their relationship with Global Gates ended in July 2017, "they said.
An information bulletin from Johnson for Israel County, an evangelical group based in Texas, suggested that the couple had done missionary work in Brooklyn in 2016.
"David and Rivka have taken a very expensive and yet daring stance for the Lord in Brooklyn while they live kosher among the Hasidim while serving Jesus as their Savior," reads the newsletter. "I hope today that you will be able to learn a little more about their ministry, commit to praying for them and even be aware of how you could support their efforts.
Costello admitted that the post spoke of them, but misinterpreted their mission.
The Chicago rabbis expressed their disgust at information and moments when they knew something was wrong with the couple.
A report from Johnson County for Israel, an evangelical group based in Texas, suggested that the couple did missionary work in Brooklyn in 2016.
"They came to Chicago, they settled in their neighborhood, dressed and behaved externally like Hassidic Jews," said a leader. "They were welcomed into the community and sympathized with everyone."
"People feel betrayed. If you want to believe in something and sell it, it's your business. But entering a community and portraying it as something you are not, prey to people, unsuspecting, is unacceptable. & # 39;
Another rabbi said that Costello knew a good part of the Bible but had difficulties with the Hebrew words.
Weber, said the rabbi, still wore too much color in his wardrobe and also had difficulty with certain words in Hebrew and Yiddish.
The two men learned that they were not back in the community and Costello had lost his job at a kosher store.
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