Copyright 2024 Joseph Shulam
In 1918, the head of the Yeshiva in Thessalonica sent his young son, Daniel, to serve the Jewish community in Sofia with the many new immigrants following the wars. Rabbi Daniel Zion served loyally and was elected the chief Rabbi of Bulgaria. His notable accomplishment was his activity during World War II, saving thousands of Jewish lives from Nazi destruction. This act of salvation was partly due to his special relationship with the Metropolite Stephan of the Orthodox Church of Bulgaria, whom he befriended after experiencing Yeshua in a vision.
Stephan, who was well versed in the delicate relationship between Jews and Christians, only encouraged the Rabbi to forget about Christianity and concentrate on Yeshua himself. Rabbi Daniel never converted to “Christianity” after he started to believe in Yeshua and remained faithful to the Torah, keeping the style of Orthodox Judaism. A song that he wrote about his faith can probably best express his attitude toward Yeshua the Messiah:
No not I, No not I, only you are Yeshua in me!
Only you bring me before the God of my fathers,
Only you can heal me from every evil illness,
No not I, No not I, only you are Yeshua in me!
Only you teach me to love all creation,
Only you teach me to love even the enemy,
No not I, No not I, only you are Yeshua in me!
For this reason, I will stay in your love,
Forever will I be within your will,
No not I, No not I, only you are Yeshua in me!
Rabbi Daniel started collecting a select small group of Jewish people to study the New Testament each Saturday afternoon in his house. Among these Jews were some of the leading Jewish community members in Sofia. His faith became a well-known secret in the Jewish community of Bulgaria. However, his position was honored, and his services were highly esteemed so that none of the Jewish functionaries in Sofia could openly criticize the Rabbi. And because he remained well within the framework of the Jewish community in Bulgaria and did not stop living as an Orthodox Jew in all the rigor of the strictest observance of the Torah, there was little that his opponents could point out as heresy. In the background of things, the leadership of the Jewish community started to isolate him slowly.
In 1944, the Communists’ coup d’état brought down the fascist Government of Bulgaria. Rabbi Daniel Zion remained the leader and the chief Rabbi of Bulgaria until 1949, when he, with most of the Bulgarian Jewish community, immigrated to Israel. In Israel, Rabbi Daniel was immediately accepted as the Rabbi of the Bulgarian Jews. In 1954, Rabbi Samuel Toledano became the Chief Rabbi of Israel. He invited Rabbi Daniel Zion to be a judge in the rabbinical court of Jerusalem. When the rumors started to fly that Rabbi Daniel Zion believed in Yeshua, Rabbi Toledano invited Rabbi Zion to his office and asked him personally about these rumors. Rabbi Daniel explained to Toledano his position. He explained that he accepts Yeshua as the Messiah, and he does not accept Christianity as the true expression of the teaching and person of Yeshua the Messiah. Rabbi Toledano told him he could live with this position as long as Rabbi Daniel kept it to himself. When Rabbi Daniel said that he did not think such a message could be kept a secret, Toledano was forced to take Rabbi Daniel to the rabbinical court, allowing the other Rabbis to decide what should be done. In the court, after evidence of Rabbi Daniel’s faith in Yeshua, the Messiah was presented in the form of four books that Rabbi Daniel had written in Bulgarian about Yeshua. The right to speak was given to Rabbi Daniel. Here are the words that Rabbi Daniel Zion spoke in his defense:
“I am poor and feeble, persecuted and vulnerable. Yeshua conquered me, and with the New Man, he honored me; he delivered me from the poverty-stricken self with his great love; he loved me. Every day, the cunning devil aspires to grab my faith; I hold on to my encouragement and chase the devil away. I stand here alone in my faith; the whole world is against me. I give up all the earthly honor for the sake of the Messiah, my friend.”
The Rabbinical Court stripped Rabbi Daniel of his Rabbinical Title, but the Bulgarian Jews in Israel continued to honor Rabbi Daniel as their Rabbi. A Russian Jew who was one of the early Zionist settlers in Rishon LeZion and had become a “believer” had given Rabbi Daniel Zion a building on Yeffet St. in the heart of Jaffa for a Synagogue. In that Synagogue, Rabbi Daniel officiated until October 6, 1973.
In this Synagogue, Rabbi Daniel Zion did not often speak of Yeshua openly but usually brought stories and parables from the New Testament. However, Rabbi Daniel would bring home a group of his followers to study from the New Testament each Sabbath after the Synagogue. Many missionaries, missionaries, and Christian Societies visited Rabbi Daniel Zion in his Jaffa home. They wrote many articles about him and, on rare occasions, offered him large amounts of money for using his name in their ministries. In every case, Rabbi Daniel rejected their offers. He did not want to destroy his witness with the people of Israel for a handful of dollars. If anyone gave him a free-will offering without any strings attached, the Rabbi would accept it and pass it on to Jewish charitable organizations for the blind, orphans, and widows. He lived in abject poverty. Nothing in his own house was of value, and he would never lock his home.
Rabbi Daniel Zion wrote hundreds of songs about Yeshua, the Messiah, the Sabbath, and healthy living. He also wrote books on vegetarianism, health food, and natural living. Rabbi Daniel’s significant contribution to Messianic Judaism is his example. He lived 100% a Jewish lifestyle and was 100% a follower of the Messiah Yeshua. He did not compromise faith for money from the Christian missions, nor did he succumb to the pressures of the chief rabbinate. Yeshua was his savior and friend, and until the last days of his life, Rabbi Daniel Zion lived up to the poem that he wrote with the acrostic of his name:
Daniel Zion, the Servant of God. Rabbi Daniel Zion z"l
The (Daver) Word of God is my path, The (Ner) Lamb of God is my guide,
The (Iraat) Fear of God is the beginning of Wisdom, The (Ahavat) Love of God is my Life, The (Laasoth) Doing the will of God is my aspiration,
Righteousness (Zedek) and Justice are my goals,
His (Isurim) Suffering is my atonement.
He will (Veyagen) protect you in all your ways,
The (Nezah) Eternal one of Israel is my comfort.
In 1979, Rabbi Daniel Zion departed to be with the Lord at the ripe old age of 96 years. The Bulgarian Jewish community of Israel gave him full military and state honors. His bier stood in the center of Jaffa with a military guard and, at noon, was carried by men to the Holon cemetery on foot. He was buried as the Chief Rabbi of Bulgarian Jews who saved them from the Nazi holocaust