The Bronze Halo Award-winning musical “Mendel’s Messiah” is headed to streaming platforms worldwide, bringing gospel music, Jewish storytelling and spiritual themes to audiences through a new cinematic adaptation directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Bradford May.
Executive produced, written and composed by husband and wife duo Jeremiah and Wendy Ginsberg, the film follows Mendel Moskowitz, a Jewish candy store owner in Brooklyn whose life is shattered after an antisemitic mob destroys his shop. After crying out to God in despair, Mendel embarks on a supernatural journey guided by the Angel Gabriel that leads him to discover Yeshua, or Jesus, as the promised Messiah.
A former Broadway attorney who once represented major theatrical figures and institutions, Jeremiah Ginsberg told The Christian Post earlier this year that the roots of “Mendel’s Messiah” trace back decades to a spiritual encounter that changed the course of his life.
“I met first the Father, and then He introduced me to the Son,” Ginsberg told CP of a spiritual experience he said occurred decades ago while he was still practicing law and had not yet become a Christian. “The Father had told me, ‘You will build for me a new house of worship.’”
For Ginsberg, who identifies as a Messianic Jew, conversion to Christianity came at a significant personal cost: “When I became a believer, my wife and my children left me,” he said. “My only friend was the Lord Yeshua.”
That encounter, he said, eventually inspired the creation of what was originally titled “Rabboni,” a stage musical centered on the Jewishness of Jesus and the belief that Christ is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.
Over the next four decades, the production evolved through church performances, Off-Broadway runs and international presentations, including performances in Jerusalem. The musical later earned a Bronze Halo Award and ultimately became the feature film now preparing for release.
“We’re pioneers in this,” Ginsberg said. “Nobody came before us.”
The film arrives at a moment when concerns over rising antisemitism and anti-Christian hostility continue to escalate — and May said the themes explored in “Mendel’s Messiah” feel especially timely as a result.
“There is persecution against Christians that’s going on all over the world, and Jewish people as well,” May said. “It’s a feel-good story, but it also deals with real issues.”
May, whose career spans more than five decades and approximately 180 films, said he first connected with the Ginsburgs in 2024 before helping bring the long-running stage production to life on screen.
“We shot it at Robot Studios in Fort Lauderdale against an LED wall,” May said, explaining that the technology allowed the filmmakers to recreate ancient Israel without expensive overseas filming locations. Production lasted roughly 25 days, with filming completed in 2025.
“I really just kind of took their lead on what they wanted to do and actually put it on film,” May said. “But also create my own brand as well, which is the visuals and the style.”
The veteran filmmaker described the project as one of the highlights of his career, adding: “It’s this late in my career, it’s been extremely special,” he said.
The movie features fantasy, comedy, spiritual warfare and biblical storytelling, something May said emerged naturally from the source material’s Jewish humor and theatrical roots.
“It opens with a candy store shopkeeper who is in the middle of these riots with antisemitism,” May explained. “He goes home, and he prays to God … and asks if there was ever a time for the Messiah to come, wouldn’t this be a great time?”
Wendy Ginsberg, who co-wrote and executive-produced the film alongside her husband, said the project will hopefully entertain audiences while also encouraging them to go deeper into their faith.
“The movie is basically a Messianic outreach,” she said. “Believers will be thrilled, and people that don’t know or haven’t made the decision to accept Jesus as the Messiah, they will see that He really is the promised Jewish Messiah.”
She noted that while the film includes comedic demons representing hate, fear, lust and pride, the story ultimately is uplifting, centering on hope, redemption and the triumph of Christ over evil.
“You can see where the roots of antisemitism go way, way back,” Wendy Ginsberg said. “It’s satanic. … But it’s not a horror movie. They’re funny bad guys.”
“We want people to come away feeling hopeful and joyous,” she added. “And say, ‘Yes, I believe.’”
The project also marks another major milestone for the couple, who say they nearly brought the musical to Broadway in the 1980s before financial setbacks derailed the production. Now, decades later, the Ginsburgs say they believe the timing is providential.
Ginsberg revealed the film is expected to premiere at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., a development he called especially meaningful amid today’s cultural climate.
“We are independently financed,” May added. “They put their money where their mouth was, and we completed what we call a big, beautiful movie.”
According to the filmmakers, “Mendel’s Messiah” is intended to be the first installment in a planned series of five films. According to Jeremiah, it’s all part of his mission to further the Gospel through art.
“This is the beginning,” Jeremiah Ginsberg said. “The Davidic dynasty is being born.”
Originally published by The Christian Post.
