Rabbi Jim in the Studio!

Once again I welcomed Rabbi Jim Appel to Bagels and Blessings.   We had an interesting discussion about why some Jews are secular, whether or not the Bible is really the inspired word of God, and the High Holidays!   The discussed the Messiah and how Yeshua is in the center of all our holidays, and of course we mentioned some great books written by Rabbi Jim.

Here's a little bio:

Rabbi Jim has been the spiritual leader of Congregation Shema Yisrael in Rochester, New York since 1996 and a Jewish follower of Yeshua since 1977. He is ordained by the International Alliance of Messianic Congregations and Synagogues.


He previously worked for Xerox Corporation in Webster, New York, for 24 years as an optical engineer and engineering manager. He holds more than 45 patents in the areas of copier imaging systems and laser printing. Appel received a bachelor's degree in optical engineering from the University of Rochester in 1967 and a master's degree in physics from the University of Southern California in 1970.
Rabbi Jim decided to follow Yeshua after a long spiritual search. He grew up with parents who taught him that God did not exist and organized religion deceived and oppressed people. In 1967 after completing college, Jim became disillusioned with life as an atheist. He rejected his parent's teachings and began his search for spiritual reality. This search took him into the world of mind-altering drugs and yoga meditation, and ended with a dramatic encounter with Yeshua the Messiah, who revealed himself to Rabbi Jim in the privacy of his bedroom without the assistance of any other person.

He is the author of "Messianic Judaism Class, Teacher Book," "Rosh Hashanah, Yom Teruah, The Day of Sounding the Shofar," and "Yom Kippur the Day of Atonement," all available at Amazon.