What does it truly mean to find your purpose — and what happens when the path you were certain of turns out to lead somewhere completely unexpected? In this rich, soul-stirring conversation, Barry Shore welcomes Gavriel Sanders, a Jerusalem-based teacher and thinker who spent over two decades as a passionate Christian missionary before an eight-year journey of deep study and honest reckoning brought him to Judaism.

Gavriel grew up as Mark — not Jewish — and became deeply immersed in the Jesus Movement and Pentecostal church world of the 1970s and 80s. He studied Bible college, learned Hebrew to read original texts, taught on kibbutzim in Israel, and genuinely believed he had found the one true path.

Then, one evening at a Chabad House rally during the 1984 LA Olympics, he heard — for the first time, from Jewish voices — a compelling counter-argument. That moment cracked open a process that would take years to complete.

One of the most memorable threads in this episode is Gavriel's honest question: "Do I believe something because it's true, or is it true because I believe it?" He sat with that question through an eight-year gap between leaving the church and entering the synagogue, eventually satisfying the rigorous requirements of the Los Angeles Rabbinical Council of California after nearly two years of scrutiny.

Now living in the heart of Jerusalem, Gavriel reflects on service as the heart of Jewish identity, the concept that chosen-ness means being a model of values — not superiority — and why difficulty, not comfort, is often the Creator's greatest gift. His journey is a testament to the joy of living with purpose, honesty, and courageous self-examination.

Gavriel Sanders is a Jerusalem-based educator, musician, and speaker who spent 20 years in the Christian church world before converting to Judaism. He has been living observantly under a kippah for 27 years and continues to engage in meaningful dialogue on faith, identity, and spiritual growth.