How Mathew Left Christianity and Became a Noahide!
Noahide Weekly Podcast with Rabbi Moshe Perets
The following article was composed by Mathew Emmanuel Slovacek for the Noahide Academy of Israel.
My Journey Back Home!
"All began when I was 30 years old, at this stage I’m married with two daughters. My marriage wasn’t perfect, I definitely wasn’t perfect! Unfortunately I lived a life of breaking all the rules, and eventually leading to a negative path in my life. Throughout the years I had assumptions about life but people said I was wrong. I was baptized in a catholic church, raised as an altar boy and sung sometimes in the choir, one thing was always on my mind... why follow a man and not God or why a trinity? In church they’d ask for money as a sign of peace, when did peace cost money? How can one man bear the weight of my sins then times that by everyone on earth. It’s definitely a bit much for one man to take on. In other words it was OK to pass your problems on to someone else and let them deal with it.
Safe to Say
Safe to say I didn’t agree with cat’holicism or ch’ristianity, to have to sacrifice someone for everyone’s sins but yet committing murder at the same time. Don’t get me wrong if he was encouraging people to do what’s right in life is one thing, I mean after all he was Jewish, then why “crucify” then.?! None of this made sense! It contradicted the Torah. But unfortunately to most people in order to understand is to learn and we can’t force people to understand if they’re not willing to learn...
After my 30th birthday I was curious about my middle name “Emmanuel” in Hebrew means God is with us, and searching this meaning sent me on a journey that I’ll never forget. My life flashed before my eyes (as they say) but understanding this concept meant I had purpose and I was meant to be.
Its Own Purpose
The expansion of this concept would mean also that everything in this universe had its own purpose, it was our choice if we did it positively or negatively, free will. Not to mention also I did get a “spiritual message”, you could say a spark within. But that message was meant for me. But that’s the thing, some people call it hallucinations, but what happens when you become that person that sees things spiritually and everything you heard about from others talking about the Torah becomes true and all its stories within it. You realize there’s a price to pay if you don’t get your act right, then realize all the opportunities you’ve had to correct your life instead of thinking it.
Wasn’t Easy, Lost Some Friends Too
Most of my life I chose negative, easy to blame others for my choices but after waking up spiritually I finally had control to correct my life. I started to read a lot of subjects to help guide me. Unfortunately this lead to the end of my marriage as I also was in a mental institute, when you hit rock bottom and have lost a home, children and money death would have seemed the only option. At the time I said to myself “what would my daughters think if daddy gave up” so I tried a different route. Wasn’t easy, lost some friends too. People who didn’t agree with my path, some of the hardest choices I faced but you see later on those challenges make you grow as a whole.
Along with reading many subjects to help correct myself I also did a DNA test, turned out I had a Jewish line in my family and made me read a lot on Jewish culture, Torah, lifestyle and eventually I came to a conclusion, to fix me I’d have to go to the beginning. The path I chose before lead me to my own downfall and I’d lost everything what more did I have to lose? So I chose Hashem! Plus I fear him, you could say he scared me. Like learning to walk again I studied the Seven Commandments, and learning the theory meant I had to do the practical things now!
This took time, along the way understanding the laws of Hashem also meant visiting the mistakes of my past which meant repent. I remember three days of crying because of all the wrongs I had done, understanding not of blaming others but taking responsibility of my own actions. I had done this alone for some time, you start to realize most people break the law without even knowing and yet the world is filled with misconceptions and not realizing the true beauty and essence that was there since the beginning of time and that’s Hashem. For so long I had judged others and yet I had no place to because if Hashem could show mercy on someone as horrible as I was then who am I to judge?
For so long I didn’t love me, and you start to realize Hashem wanted the best for us but in order to achieve that you have to put in the work, how can I love another if I didn’t love me? Everyday was a new challenge but everyday is a reward in knowledge. To better yourself and those around you, to ignore the ignorance of others because in truth negative words can’t hurt only actions speak for itself. I didn’t have to impress others, show achievements or brag about my possessions. Take out the materialistic of your everyday life, take out the gossip of others. What do you have? Love, happiness, Hashem. Light always defeats dark in every battle.
Now the contradiction... either understanding the Seven Commandments or the 613 laws of Torah, how can any other religion make sense? We have cat’holicism that encourages idol worshipping, not to mention “death crucifixion” but contradicts that which a Jew knew that a new religion couldn’t be formed because it was forbidden. We have already the Torah so how does that work?
It was said that the blind would lead the blind, and unfortunately we have so many in this world idol worshipping and yet have forgotten the Creator Blessed Be He. Almost in every religion there’s a “middle man” and people follow them yet instead of respecting and honouring the laws of Hashem. It’d be hypocritical of me to say I did not follow that before, but I say this as man who had lived in the dark, who before chose chaos that walked the negative path until I saw the light of Hashem and realised I was wrong and now trying to correct my ways, not to be burnt in a fiery pit of hell because the church told me. The saying goes “ask a Jew” the utmost love in Jewish people to want to help others and make a positive change to the world and why, because it was the right thing to do. I wonder who taught them that?
I’m 39 years old now, only been a year since studying at the Noahide Academy of Israel (noahideacademy.org) but that’s how long I have been learning eight years slowly by myself and a year with a very good friend at the Academy and still more to learn of course, Hashem endless love comes with endless education but that’s the journey. To prove that, I am happily married again with three beautiful children trying to walking on the path of Hashem. I still haven’t seen my daughters yet but I wait with open arms and ready to tell my story to them. Because that’s the thing I live by, I can’t fix what was yesterday but I can make tomorrow better and work for it, so they know daddy didn’t give up and be sure to know I may fall a hundred times but I will get up a hundred and one times to get it right. Hashem taught me not to give up, that we all can be better because after all “God is with us”! Amen, may It Be His Will!"
By Mathew Emmanuel Slovacek
The Noahide Academy of Israel blesses Emmanuel and his family to always go from strength to strength in good health, in abundance of all good things and with joy of heart, Bezrat HaShem.
With Rabbi Moshe Perets Blessing
Rabbi Moshe Perets is the President of the Noahide Academy of Israel, Founder and Executive Director of NoahideAcademy.org, the world’s largest Noahide informational website. He accomplished his Rabbinical Studies at the Chabad Yeshiva and his medical studies at the University of Louvain in Brussels, Belgium.
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