David S. Taylor

IT Consultant

"In Search of Truth"

  I, and my family come from the Biblical tribe of Levi. Although I bear the last name of Taylor, my family name is originally Hochman. My father was born and raised an Orthodox Jew in Brooklyn, NY. As a professional musician, he played for many years with Guy Lombardo, and on the Ted Mack show. The name Taylor came about thus: in order to leave Poland and enter the United States, my grandfather assumed another person’s identity, and chose the name ‘Schneiderman.’ Later my father chose the name Taylor (tailor in Yiddish is ‘schneider’) as a stage name, since “Sheldon Isadore Schneiderman” wasn’t exactly a ‘great stage name’ for a performer! Then, along came me.  

      I was raised in a traditional Jewish home and attended my synagogue weekly. At a young age, I was always very moved during the synagogue services, felt a deep closeness to G-d, and desired to be a rabbi when I grew up. I excelled in my early years, a Bar Mitzvah at 13, the rabbi worked with me within the instructions given to him by my devoutly Orthodox grandfather. He must have been pleased at my ceremony as I remember lots of hugs and tears on that day.

The following year I was given my first job by my rabbi, where I was actually hired and paid to teach the beginner’s Hebrew School class at my synagogue. Every Shabbat, I sat on the bema with my rabbi and the president of our synagogue, assisted removing and replacing the Torah scroll in the ark at the weekly readings. I continued to be very involved in my synagogue until I neared 16 years of age, at which time, I became more interested in playing guitar and hanging out with my friends. At 18 years of age I was earning a living as a guitar player in a band of ‘music scholarship musicians’ from a local college, and I decided a musician/entertainer would be my career.

During this time, my sister Debbie, who, like me, also had strong ties to our synagogue and our Jewish identity, told my family she believed in ‘Jesus’. Oy! Although I no longer attended synagogue and was ‘far from G-d’, I was shocked. I had a deep disdain for ‘Christians’ and especially towards ‘Jesus’, and I told her to never speak to me about ‘Him.’

During my early 20’s, I became interested in Eastern philosophy, reading books by Carlos Casteneda, Krishnamurti and others, and also studied Korean martial arts, attaining a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Still something was missing, and my interest in whether or not a “Supreme Being” really existed began to take hold of me. Somehow, I had the sense that a person, though sincere, could be wrong in their beliefs, and when they died end up in a place they wouldn’t want to be.  

One day, as I was walking on the beach, about to go surfing, I remember looking up to the sky and asking aloud, “If You are really there, please show me. The Christians say that “Jesus” is the only way, the Buddhists say “Buddha” is the enlightened one, this person says this, that person says that; how am I supposed to know? Whatever it is, I just want to know the truth because I don’t want to be wrong.”  

My career as a musician continued, I was teaching martial arts, and at 23, I married my wife, Laurie. After year and a half I discovered that I didn’t want all the responsibilities that came with marriage. I wanted out. I told Laurie that I wanted a divorce, but she was raised with strong values and didn’t give in to my request. Unbeknownst to me, she began to cry out to God in prayer.

Our marriage continued to get worse, until one day I woke up and out of nowhere, this question popped into my head—“What IF “Jesus” is the Messiah?” As the day went on this question began to bother me to no end. As days passed, being the analytical person that I am, I began seriously considering what this meant and its ramifications. In fact, I became consumed with the prospect. I knew that if “Jesus” truly was the Messiah, then I, as a Jew, should believe in Him. If He really was the Messiah then whatever He said concerning this life, the world to come, and how to get there, had to hold the greatest weight of any words that have been spoken. But was He the Messiah, or not? I needed to know.

One night I began to relate to Laurie that ‘Jesus’ was bothering me and I began asking her questions. She suggested I speak to my sister, Debbie. The next night Debbie and I went to work out at a local health club. When I saw her I said, “Debbie, Jesus is bothering me 24 hours a day. I can’t get Him out of my head!”

She said to me, “David, I can prove to you that Jesus is our Messiah.” I said to her, “if you can prove to me that ‘Jesus’ is our Messiah from my Hebrew Bible, then I’ll do whatever it takes to believe in Him. Just don’t try to show me from your ‘Christian Bible.’ (I had always believed the Christians had changed the words in our Bible. I was actually scared of the ‘red letter’ passages I had seen.) Debbie proceeded to show me passages of Scripture from my Hebrew Bible. I was astounded!

I finished my workout and went to sit in the sauna. As I sat there, I reasoned to myself, “On one hand, if I put my trust in “Jesus”, I stand to lose my family and friends, but, on the other hand, it was clear to me, from my own Hebrew Bible, that He has to be the Jewish Messiah. At that moment I opted for Messiah, and as I sat alone in a sauna at a martial arts center at 2 a.m., I confessed to G-d that I had gone my own way and not His, that I had sinned against Him, and I asked “Jesus” to come into my life. I told him that I believed He was my Messiah and that He rose from the dead on the third day.    

David & Laurie today

Afterward I saw Debbie and said, “Well, I did it. This doesn’t mean I have to start telling everyone about “Jesus” and go to a church, does it?” She laughed.

The next day, I told Laurie what I had done. Later that week, Laurie also prayed and placed her faith in Messiah. As that week progressed, my life became radically different. Suddenly I saw Laurie in a way I had never experienced before—I had such a love for her.

 It was as though I was seeing her through someone else’s eyes. As I write this, we have been married for going on 25 years. This has been wonderful G-d’s work in our lives. We have also been blessed with two wonderful children, Julie and Daniel, who have become Bar and Bat Mitzvah, and are also Jewish believers in Messiah with a strong sense of Jewish identity. We’ve been members of a Messianic Jewish congregation for 20 years, and the musical talent G-d gave me I’ve been privileged to use over the years as a worship leader. My love for Yeshua, and for my heritage as a Jew, is passionate.  

G-d answered the prayer I prayed on the beach over 20 years ago, for Him to show me the truth. I discovered that Truth is a Person, as Yeshua stated about Himself, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man comes to the Father but by Me.” He has done a truly amazing work in my life, and for this I am eternally thankful.  

Return to "Believers' Stories"

Music by David Taylor

Home