Tslil Goldman: A Musical Star of Note
Causing a buzz around the Messianic Jewish news circuit over the last month or so (which, shockingly, I’m only hearing about now) is the confident, unapologetic, Messianic Jewess, Tslil Goldman. The 22 year old (whose name means ‘musical note’) appeared on Israeli national television as a contestant on the Israel show, haCochav haBa, (The Next Star) which is essentially an X-Factor/Pop Idol clone. Tslil is one of thirteen children from a Messianic Jewish family, who came along and sat down for the hosts of the show to introduce themselves and share a little about their home life and faith. Tslil’s father, Yariv, explained that Messianic Jews believe both in the Jewish Scriptures and in the New Testament, and that the promised Messiah of Israel had already come. That his name is Yeshua.1
Although Tslil initially turned down the offer to go on the show. She apparently had concerns about being on the show and whether it was what God wanted for her. The show called her back a while later and she somehow managed to talk about Yeshua to the lady who called her for an hour and a half! What’s even more amazing is that the lady on the other end of the phone told Tslil that she also believed, but had never met anyone else who did! I can understand the relief Tslil must have felt after a responsive and encouraging conversation like that. “Wow, God is already using me in this TV program. It feels right.” After Tslil’s audition aired, a ton of people contacted her about her faith, interested in these Messianic Jews on TV. This was a very different response than what Shai Sol received just a few years earlier. She was mocked online and attacked in the streets of Ashdod. Of course, Ashdod is a very religious city that has a history of persecuting Messianic Jews. Tslil went out on stage before some of Israel’s most successful singers and, probably, more than a million viewers. Every judge chose her and much of the public, also, gaining a whopping 88% score, almost unheard of on the show. This show uses a combination of both the judges having a vote and viewers at home. Israel pushed her over the top, even before the last judge voted!2
What this overwhelming support means for Tslil, is that she is on her way to competing for the chance to represent Israel in the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest. This is remarkable, for a Messianic Jew to potentially be on the stage at the highly popular international contest for Israel. Especially when you consider that back around 2014, another Messianic Jewess was on the same show, however the public reaction was very different. Like Tslil, Shai Sol was upfront about her faith, however, she was mocked online and was also attacked in Ashdod, a town which doesn’t have a particularly good track record in it’s treatment of Messianic Jews.
Anyone who knows Tslil would never have imagined that she would be able to perform in front of large audiences, let alone on live television. A family crisis had left the young girl without a mother, a confused father and without God in her life. When her childhood friend died in a car crash, Tslil was devastated and overcome regular panic attacks which became a frightening reality in her young life. After years of teenage despondency, Tslil eventually found her way back to faith in God and Yeshua. “Now when I look out over the crowds I am nervous, but not afraid. I see the people, people I love. And I know I have a purpose to be here, for Yeshua,” she shared.
Tslil loves Israel and her Jewish identity in Yeshua is important to her. She will not work on the Sabbath, which according to the commandment includes not lighting fire traditionally understood to mean not turning on lights or using electronic devises including telephones. She served in the Israeli Defense Forces where she worked with troubled teenaged girls who live in a government hostel. She still keeps in touch with some of the girls and tries to encourage them. Since her successful performance, Tslil has been offered numerous contracts to work with Israeli musicians, but she refuses to use her musical talents anywhere that does not honor God. In the meantime, young people from all over Israel are contacting her on Facebook to talk about her Messianic faith. Tslil also travels around the country with a local circus performing on stilts, a skill she learned as a child, and waits for another chance to sing for Yeshua.3
Check out Tslil’s own song, Love you til the end;
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