Rabbi Daniel Zion and a Legacy of Hope

The Chief Rabbi, The Metropolitan Bishop of the Orthodox Church and the King of Bulgaria become surprising allies in the race to rescue Bulgaria’s Jewish population from deportation orders that will lead to certain destruction in Hitler’s death camps. Add to the mix, a mysterious vision that compels a respected Rabbi to declare that Yeshua (Jesus) is the promised Messiah which many years later leads him to save the life of a young mother and a legacy of multiple generations of Jewish followers of Yeshua. This is a new book by Avi Mizrachi that weaves the story of his own family’s journey from Bulgaria, to Israel and ultimately to faith in Yeshua with the incredible and relatively unknown history of Rabbi Daniel Zion and his legacy. The book has been meticulously researched and is a highly recommended read.

During the 8 years of researching the details of this book, which included interviewing relatives of Rabbi Daniel and even an audience with the current King of Bulgaria, Avi’s daughter Devorah worked on a Hebrew version that documented the life of Rabbi Daniel Zion, his heroism and his faith in Yeshua the Messiah. This book is now available in Israel for future generations to study and discover. She remembers her grandparents talking about Rabbi Daniel with great affection and she wanted Israeli society to know about what he did before the story became lost forever.

The official book launch recently took place in Jerusalem with university professors, journalists, and representatives from the Holocaust museum at Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, as well as Holocaust survivors, and members from Rabbi Zion’s family all attending the event.

You can find more info about the book at legacyofhopebook.com and you can order a printed or Kindle copy through Amazon: ORDER 'LEGACY OF HOPE'

Let’s pray that the Lord uses this book to bring many to a revelation of the Messiah of Israel!

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A Life-Changing Vision

“Around the year 1934, a most amazing event took place. While in prayer, Rabbi Daniel had a vision of a glowing man. When the vision faded, he first went for advice to his fellow rabbis and Jewish friends, but they were unable to explain it. After some thought, he decided to go to Metropolitan Stefan. Rabbi Daniel told him about the vision; Stefan smiled and told him that if it happened again to say to the man, “Here I am.”

The rabbi agreed and returned to his regular prayers. It was not long until he had a second vision. This time, when the glowing man appeared, Daniel said,

“Here I am. Who are you?”

“Ani Yeshua,” the glowing man replied, which means “I am Jesus.”

As soon as the vision cleared, the rabbi retrieved his dusty, torn New Testament [which Metropolitan Stefan had gifted him in another part of the story] from his study shelf and began to read. As he turned the pages, his heart swelled with joy and with the knowledge that Yeshua was indeed the long-awaited Messiah. With his New Covenant in hand, Rabbi Daniel once again went to visit his friend Metropolitan Stefan, this time to tell him what had happened and to ask what he should do with this newfound dilemma.

“Don’t convert,” Stefan advised him. “You can remain a Jew and still believe in [Yeshua] Jesus.”

After much discussion, the two men agreed that Daniel should indeed remain a rabbi and head of the Bet Din [supreme rabbinical court) of Bulgaria. He could believe Yeshua was the Messiah of his people Israel, but at the same time continue to observe the Law and the Commandments, preserving his Jewish identity in full.”

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"Near the end of summer 2015, my father, Avi Mizrachi, announced with great excitement, “We are going on a family trip to Bulgaria to explore and discover more about our our vague heritage.

He caught me off guard with his news, as I was right in the middle of finishing my final project for my master’s degree. After he left, my mind wandered from the books of study at hand to all the incredible memories I had of my grandparents and of the stories they shared with my sisters and me.

Their sporadic narratives often left us girls wondering if there was more to our heritage than they remembered or intended to share with us. Despite my looming deadline for my M.A., I felt a growing excitement and irresistible urge to take this family heritage trip... within a couple of weeks I found myself in Sofia, Bulgaria. Once there, I was in awe at seeing the very places my grandfather had described in his stories...

With many pieces of the puzzle still missing, I decided I would try to find some of the missing pieces and start putting the puzzle together. Though this decision launched my personal journey of research into history and heritage, I realised that the things I discovered over the next seven or so years constituted the core of this book. My discoveries from that time span the years prior to the holocaust, all the way through to the establishment of the state of Israel... My hope is that you will experience these historical events as if you were a part of our Jewish family in Bulgaria and later in Israel... May you be inspired by this family journey, from generation to generation, to continue to stand for what is true, right, and just.”

Devorah

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BOOK REVIEWS

"For years we have heard the name of Rabbi Daniel Zion and some of the stories of his faith and heroism. Avi Mizrachi, who knew Daniel, has done an invaluable service to the body of Messiah in Israel, as well as for Jews and Christians around the world. He has diligently documented the extraordinary events surrounding the man who was the chief rabbi of Bulgaria during WWII, and yet was a humble follower of Yeshua. It is an amazing story of faith in God and what He can do through courageous people. This book will be an encouragement for all believers, especially for those who find themselves in challenging times.”

Carol and David Pileggi, Christchurch, Jerusalem.

"The book carefully and precisely adds otherwise unknown information about the horrors of the Holocaust years in Europe, but also honours the often hidden heroes of that era. Two of those heroes were the chief rabbi of Bulgaria and the Metropolitan bishop of Bulgaria. Together, the rabbi and the bishop successfully encouraged the King not to deliver their 48,000 Bulgarian Jews to the Nazis for extermination. The memory of the rabbi is indelibly etched in the hearts of those families who were later able to find safety in Israel.

Another less known part of the history that needs to be told is that this honoured rabbi created quite a dilemma as he began to let people know that he had come to believe that Jesus is indeed the promised Messiah of Israel. Though the rabbi was deeply loved and honoured, the rabbinic councils of Israel did not know what to do with him.

This amazing man of God looms large in Avi Mizrachi’s own family, as others who came to faith in Jesus because of the rabbi’s life and teaching.”

Don Finto, author of “Your People Shall Be My People”.

You can find more info about the book at legacyofhopebook.com and you can order a printed or Kindle copy through Amazon: ORDER 'LEGACY OF HOPE'