Messianic Rabbi Survives Near-Death Medical Crisis, Living Out the Message He Once Preached on the Book of Job
For Immediate Release (Macon, GA) —Rabbi Greg Hershberg went from teaching on the book of Job to enduring a Job-like, life-threatening medical nightmare, and has chronicled his journey in the new book, “At Death’s Door: 50 Days Between Life and Death and the God Who Didn’t Leave” (Aneko Press).
On November 13, 2023, the 65-year-old Messianic Jewish leader collapsed in a St. Louis airport. What followed was a 50+ day ordeal: a life-threatening staph infection in his bloodstream, acute kidney failure requiring dialysis, internal bleeding, and a grueling 12.5-hour emergency surgery in which surgeons removed seven infected stents and a portion of his aorta. He coded twice, lost more than twice his total blood volume, and at one point his heart continued beating with virtually no blood left in his body — what his veteran vascular surgeon called medically inexplicable.
“I lost twelve units of blood during surgery; the average person has eight units,” says Hershberg. “There was no clinical explanation for why my heart continued to beat. My surgeon, who trained his entire career to deal with facts and measurable outcomes, could only describe what happened to me as a ‘phenomenon.’ There are moments, even now, when I have visions that I cannot fully explain. I see the Lord standing over me in the operating room with His hands upon me. Why did I not die? I still don’t have an answer. Miracles never fit neatly within our understanding.”
“At Death’s Door” includes testimonies from his wife Bernadette and their four adult children who stood with him through multiple brushes with death. It also features endorsements from attending physicians who witnessed the miracles firsthand.
In addition to his health deteriorating, Hershberg admits facing intense spiritual attacks during his ordeal, and openly shares moments of deep despair — including asking his wife Bernadette to end his suffering.
“I remember telling my wife one night just to put a pillow over my head and end it,” says Hershberg. “But my wife’s steely determination and wit broke that moment of anguish as she answered, ‘I don’t look good in orange.’ Sometimes the most faithful prayer a person can utter is simply, ‘Father, I have nothing left.’ That was the place I had reached. Darkness had descended upon me. I was not faithless; I was depleted. And there is a difference.”
From his hospital bed, Hershberg gave away more than 75 copies of one his earlier books, “Don’t Die in Your Sins,” to nurses, doctors, and other medical professionals. Today, still marked with a physical limp from his medical crisis, Hershberg says he is more tender, compassionate, and equipped to comfort those walking through unexplained suffering, chronic illness, or caregiving seasons. Two years before his crisis, Hershberg taught a series on the mystery of suffering from the Book of Job. Now, he says, he wouldn’t teach it differently, but he would feel it on a more personal level.
“I went from teaching the mystery of suffering to inhabiting it in real time,” says Rabbi Hershberg. “I know people with faith stronger than mine who have gone into operating rooms and not come out. Cancer has taken people who love God. Children have died in the arms of their parents. When I tell my story, I do so carefully. I’ve had to wrestle with why I am here and someone else is not. But whether in healing or in loss, God is still near to us. The same God who sustained me on that operating table is the same God who sits with people in their grief. His presence is not dependent on the outcome. He is there in the miracle as well as in the mourning.”
On November 13, 2023, the 65-year-old Messianic Jewish leader collapsed in a St. Louis airport. What followed was a 50+ day ordeal: a life-threatening staph infection in his bloodstream, acute kidney failure requiring dialysis, internal bleeding, and a grueling 12.5-hour emergency surgery in which surgeons removed seven infected stents and a portion of his aorta. He coded twice, lost more than twice his total blood volume, and at one point his heart continued beating with virtually no blood left in his body — what his veteran vascular surgeon called medically inexplicable.
“I lost twelve units of blood during surgery; the average person has eight units,” says Hershberg. “There was no clinical explanation for why my heart continued to beat. My surgeon, who trained his entire career to deal with facts and measurable outcomes, could only describe what happened to me as a ‘phenomenon.’ There are moments, even now, when I have visions that I cannot fully explain. I see the Lord standing over me in the operating room with His hands upon me. Why did I not die? I still don’t have an answer. Miracles never fit neatly within our understanding.”
“At Death’s Door” includes testimonies from his wife Bernadette and their four adult children who stood with him through multiple brushes with death. It also features endorsements from attending physicians who witnessed the miracles firsthand.
In addition to his health deteriorating, Hershberg admits facing intense spiritual attacks during his ordeal, and openly shares moments of deep despair — including asking his wife Bernadette to end his suffering.
“I remember telling my wife one night just to put a pillow over my head and end it,” says Hershberg. “But my wife’s steely determination and wit broke that moment of anguish as she answered, ‘I don’t look good in orange.’ Sometimes the most faithful prayer a person can utter is simply, ‘Father, I have nothing left.’ That was the place I had reached. Darkness had descended upon me. I was not faithless; I was depleted. And there is a difference.”
From his hospital bed, Hershberg gave away more than 75 copies of one his earlier books, “Don’t Die in Your Sins,” to nurses, doctors, and other medical professionals. Today, still marked with a physical limp from his medical crisis, Hershberg says he is more tender, compassionate, and equipped to comfort those walking through unexplained suffering, chronic illness, or caregiving seasons. Two years before his crisis, Hershberg taught a series on the mystery of suffering from the Book of Job. Now, he says, he wouldn’t teach it differently, but he would feel it on a more personal level.
“I went from teaching the mystery of suffering to inhabiting it in real time,” says Rabbi Hershberg. “I know people with faith stronger than mine who have gone into operating rooms and not come out. Cancer has taken people who love God. Children have died in the arms of their parents. When I tell my story, I do so carefully. I’ve had to wrestle with why I am here and someone else is not. But whether in healing or in loss, God is still near to us. The same God who sustained me on that operating table is the same God who sits with people in their grief. His presence is not dependent on the outcome. He is there in the miracle as well as in the mourning.”
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About Greg Hershberg:Rabbi Greg Hershberg is the leader of Beth Yeshua International, a global Messianic ministry with congregations across six continents. He was raised in Orthodox Judaism in New York City, but while on his honeymoon in Israel, had an encounter with Jesus that changed his life. He was ordained through the International Association of Messianic Congregations and Synagogues. He has written several other books including “From the Projects to the Palace,” “Don’t Die in Your Sins,” “A Life for God,” and “Things God Hates, Things God Loves.” Visit www.bethyeshuainternational.org for more information.
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