Another kind of worship

We are in tough financial times (I was recently cut to part-time at my job, so I know that times are tough). Unfortunately during times of financial struggle one of the most important acts of worship, giving to the work of our synagogues and congregations gets put last or sadly off the list of monthly expenses. We can pay the cable or cell bill, but sending in a check to our congregation can be put off. I have sadly seen this in my own life that if I am going to reduce or cut some item from my budget, it is amazing how my tithe seems to be an easy fund to take from. We need to see giving to support our synagogue is as much an act of worship as praying through the siddur, studying Torah and singing songs. We can worship G-d with our wallets and we need to so as to be like our Messiah, who gave all for his talmidim.

It is a practical thing that to keep our synagogues going (paying our rabbis, rent, utilities and other expenses), planting new congregations and building up other areas of the future of Messianic Judaism require financial support. Without big fundraising arms like the Jewish Federation or telethons like Chabad, it is up to those of us in our synagogues to support our synagogues and to also give toward starting new congregations.

I have made it first priority in my finances that I give to my synagogue at least 10% of my income. I know for most people it is difficult to live on 100% of your income, so 90% will be more difficult, but this is an act of worship to our G-d and an important discipline. If G-d has really blessed you and you can give more than 10% then give more, there is no better investment that you can make than building a mature Messianic Judaism.

This is a simple act of worship that I encourage you to join me in for the support of your local synagogue and the furtherance of the Messianic Judaism movement.

Statistics show that about 20% of people support their local congregation financially. Can you imagine how more vital the future of Messianic Judaism could be if we can double or triple the amount of those who are financially supporting their synagogues and also giving toward establishing new Messianic synagogues and to build up MJTI, the Messianic Jewish seminary.

This is a simple act of giving back to the one who has given us so much, we have been given our very lives by G-d, He has given us the Torah and He has given Yeshua our Messiah, who has written G-d's Torah on our hearts. Let us then give back to our G-d from what He has given us and support the work of Messianic Judaism.

http://www.towardblog.com

Taoist Wisdom for Messianic Judaism

Woe to him who wilfully innovates
While ignorant of the constant

- Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching 16b

These words come from a non Jewish source, namely Lao Tzu the author of Tao Te Ching, one of the primary texts of Taoism, the basic form of Chinese religion. You may wonder where do words from Taoism come into my thinking?

I graduated in 2002, with my BA in Religious Studies from California State University Northridge. I with the guidance of my advisor who is the Coordinator of the Jewish Studies program was able to make my upper division work primarily in Jewish studies, though to complete the major I needed courses in two other religions. I was hoping to take Christianity and Islam, yet the Islam class was cancelled for lack of enrollments. I did take Christianity and of my other choices I opted for Taoism. To say the least dealing with a non-theistic religion was challenging to say the least, I fought on and eventually got a B+ in the class, based primarily on my 25 page paper that posited that Lao Tzu was a gentile prophet that spoke about the coming of the Messiah. I intertwined quotations from Tao Te Ching with similiar passages from Isaiah (a contemporary of Lao Tzu) and also tying in the Tao with the Word from John 1. It made for one of my most creative adventures in putting a Jewish Studies spin on one of my non-Judaism classes.

Though I was lost through most of the class, I did take the above phrase "Woe to him who wilfully innovates" as a phrase that shapes my view of building a mature Messianic Judaism. This phrase represents an ancient wording of the phrase my rabbi and mentor Stuart Dauermann told me and others in a class we had on Jewish prayer, "You cannot depart from where you have not been". As both Lao Tzu and Rabbi Dauermann put forward it is of vital importance to be mindful of the past and traditional understandings and this is critical for building a Messianic Judaism for the future that is relevant and connected to both Judaism of today and mindful of the past.

Being that the liturgy and the siddur is a passion of mine and will be the focus of my further studies in my graduate programs, I am mindful of what has been done over the last 15 years in "Messianic liturgy" and for the most part much of the work has been to try to create a completely new "Messianic" liturgy that rewrites or reworks the traditional prayers of the siddur to make them more "Messianic" or more "Yeshua-focused", as if the siddur is devoid on it's own of Messianic hopes, calls for restoration and salvation and other themes relative to our life in Messianic Judaism. This can be seen in the "Messianic shabbat candlelighting prayer" that replaces "sanctified us by your commandments and commanded us to kindle the Shabbat lights" with "sanctified us by faith in Yeshua, the light of the world and in His name we light these candles". In so doing we are trying to create our own Judaism from scratch and establising a Messianic Judaism that has no connection or relevance outside our synagogue walls. Other attempts have been to remove prayers, especially "mystical" prayers like Lecha Dodi and other prayers inspired by kabbalists and Jewish mystics.

This is not to say that we cannot create new liturgical prayers and liturgical services (which would be hypocritical on my part being that I created a "Seudat Mashiach" hagaddah for a final seder of Passover, which was inspired by the observance of a meal honoring the Messiah which was begun by Baal Shem Tov and is still observed at Chabad), yet when we do create new liturgies we need to be mindful of established practices and create new services in line with establsihed norms. In creating the "Seudat Mashiach" I used the Passover hagaddah as the guide for the flow of the service and added in Messianic readings and took the focus of redemption in the traditional seder and focused the story of redemption on the future Messianic redemption. So then it was new, inspired by the practice of the Hasidim and also tied to the Hagaddah as the basis for the service. This can be seen as an innovation that is "mindful of the constant"

I have been attending Friday Night Live, a contemporary Erev Shabbat service for 18-40 year olds for the last four years. This is a fairly complete Conservative service yet set to musical accompaniment and contemporary music which it makes it both contemporary and traditional. This is another example of an "innovation that is mindful of the constant" as our words detail.

We have so much in the siddur that we can draw from and Yeshua is so ever present throughout the siddur with prayers for the Messianic redemption, G-d's salvation and other prayers. We can build a mature Messianic Judaism that reveals Yeshua in the very prayers that the Jewish people have been praying for the last 2000 years and we don't need to "reinvent the wheel". We have so much that we can draw from Judaism today to build a Messianic Judaism for the future. And when we make innovations they need to be thoughtful and made in line with norms of Jewish religious life.

This is a challenge for us to take up the task to work with the raw materials of the last 2000 years of Judaism, mindful of our righteous Messiah and seek to make Him known within Jewish space. We can honor Yeshua via the traditional liturgy where He is ever present and bring new presentations of this vital piece of our religious literature alive with the life that we have been given by G-d's spirit. So then let us move forward, do new things yet always mindful of "the constant" and lift our Messiah up via these powerful words.

The most relevant Messianic Judaism will be a Messianic Judaism that is a recognizable Judaism and an entering into Jewish space. We then have to be careful that we don't establish a Messianic Judaism that is foreign to the larger Jewish world. This is not good for ourselves to be in our "Judaism" of our own design and also it makes us even more outsiders to the larger Jewish world.

http://www.towardblog.com

Issue for the Next Generation - On Intermarriage

One of the most important issues for the next generation of Messianic Judaism and interestingly a rarely discussed issue is the question of intermarriage.

As the wider Jewish world has moved from Tevye's traditional stand of "Never!" to intermarriage (he had allowed his first daughter to marry a Jew without the help of a matchmaker, second to marry a Jewish "outsider" from the big city, yet when his third daughter fell in love with a non-Jew that was a line that could not be crossed), to today where more than half (54%) of all Jews have married non-Jews from 1996 to the present, according to the 2000 National Jewish Population Survey, we see that there is a crisis for the continuance of a distinct Jewish people.

Sadly the numbers of Messianic Jews marrying non-Jews I would posit is even higher than the rest of the Jewish world, especially in previous generations. For the Messianic Jews in their 20's and 30's who represent the future of our movement and are now moving toward the chuppah it is vitally important to take seriously the issue of choosing to date and to marry a Jewish person. The issue of Jewish survival and a distinctly Jewish core and influence in Messianic Judaism for the future is dependent on having future generations of Messianic Jews reared in Messianic Jewish homes by parents who are Messianic Jews.

There are those in the larger Jewish world that hold Messianic Jews to a higher standard for fidelity to Jewish, especially with our belief in Yeshua as Messiah setting us up to be seen as "other". This could be seen in a recent article in the Los Angeles Jewish Journal written by David Klinghoffer where he wrote:


...since belief in Jesus is among the most powerful known acids on the existence of the Jewish people. When Jews accept Jesus, they marry other Christians or their children do, thus disappearing into the Christian population.
(Los Angeles Jewish Journal, 03/31/06)

We have to take this seriously for both the future of our movement by keeping Messianic Judaism, a Judaism of Jews and for the Jewish community and also so as a witness to the larger Jewish world of our fidelity to Jewish life and building Jewish families and not seen as apathetic to Jewish life and melding into the larger Christian world after becoming followers of Yeshua demonstrated by marrying non-Jews and setting ourselves up to meld into the non-Jewish world.

We need to take this to heart as we look to make important life choices. This can call for sacrifice to follow this through. On a personal note, I will freely admit that a few years ago, I did not pursue a relationship with a Jewish woman who liked me (and which I liked back) because of the fact that I am not yet Jewish. I am now in a no man's land on this issue, being that I am now looking to pursue conversion to Judaism. I know that at this time in my life that I shouldn't pursue a relationship with a Jewish woman until after I at least begin the conversion process and also I know that it would be problematic to have a relationship with a Messianic non-Jewish woman unless she is also on track to convert to Judaism. So I am in a quandary if I hold true to my values, of which I intend to. So those who seek to follow what I am calling for, you are not alone.

One of my friends came up with a mantra that he shared with a Jewish guy who was dating a non-Jew:

Not a Jew, not for you.

Though simple and seemingly crass, it is powerful in that in it's simplicity it reveals the heart of the matter Jews should date and marry Jews and non-Jews should date and marry non-Jews.

To those who are already intermarried, I am not going to say "put away your foreign spouses", but I say it is vitally important for you to see that if you have children or plan to have children, it is vital that your children are raised as Jews and that you encourage them to find a Jewish spouse.

We as the next generation of Messianic Judaism can play a vital role in keeping Jewish life and Judaism alive in our world by our choices on who we marry, especially with those of our age in the larger Jewish world for which marrying Jews and building Jewish homes and community are becoming less important, given the increased willingness to intermarry.

This is an issue that calls for more discussion than this one post and I hope this begins an important dialogue as we work to build up a Messianic Judaism for the future and to do our part to keep alive the Jewish people, the seed of Abraham as an ongoing testimony to the world of the faithfulness of our G-d.





http://www.towardblog.com

Living Torah - Revealing Messiah

In this week’s besorah reading we come to the brit milah of Yeshua. In performing this act Yosef and Miriam showed their commitment to walking in Torah faithfulness and this Torah faithfulness made them to be people to reveal the Messiah to those they came in contact. This can be seen in their encounters in this reading with Shim’on and Hannah.

We read first of Shim’on in verse 25:

There was in Yerushalayim a man named Shim`on. This man was a tzaddik, he was devout, he waited eagerly for G-d to comfort Isra'el, and the Ruach HaKodesh was upon him.

Shim’on was a G-dly man, a tzaddik, faithful to the Torah who was waiting for the Messiah. His faithfulness to G-d was rewarded as he was in the Temple when Yeshua was brought for his brit milah. It was his Torah faithfulness that made him ready to encounter and accept the living Torah, Yeshua our righteous Messiah as the Redeemer of Israel and the one for which he had spent his whole life longing to see. It was through Yosef and Miriam’s Torah faithfulness that brought about the possibility of his encountering Messiah and it was Shim’on’s own Torah faithfulness that made him open to see Yeshua as his Messiah.

It makes me think of Paul’s words in Romans 10:4

The goal at which the Torah aims is Messiah.

It was by walking Torah that Messiah was made known to Shim’on and it was his faithfulness to Torah that opened his eyes to see his Messiah in the baby in his arms.

We next come to an encounter between Yosef, Miriam and Yeshua with Hannah, a righteous woman who had devoted much of her life to serving G-d in prayer and fasting in the Temple courts. She was devoted to G-d’s service and to walking in his Torah, and lived a life marked by this devotion. She too saw in this eight day old baby her Messiah, the hope of Israel come to bring G-d’s salvation and she began thanking G-d and telling others that the long hoped for Redeemer had come to Israel. Her lifelong devotion to G-d was rewarded as she like Shim’on saw their Messiah and rejoiced at his coming.

It was through the faithfulness to G-d’s Torah that Yosef and Miriam were used as emissaries to make Messiah known, even in their simple act of having brit milah performed on Yeshua and thereby their actions made for an act of proclaiming the Messiah. Shim’on and Hannah’s life of faithfulness to G-d and his Torah made them open to recognizing their Messiah when he was made know to them. It was the Torah faithfulness of both sides that made an opening for the Messiah to be revealed.

This besorah reading gives us some important lesson for making Messiah known to our Jewish people. First off it is by us seeking to live Torah faithful lives and build Torah faithful communities we along with obeying G-d, we make ourselves available to be ones to credibly make the Messiah known. Secondly we can learn that it is important to support all efforts of the Jewish world to seek to live Torah faithful lives as important acts of preparing those who are yet to see the Messiah in Yeshua, to be walking on a Torah faithful path and hopefully like Yosef and Miriam we can be the ones who in our acts of Torah faithfulness can make Messiah known to them and see many more tzaddikim like Shim’on and Hannah come to rejoice in their Messiah.

May we live Torah faithful lives and may we see many of our people, see Yeshua as the Messiah through our lives.



http://www.towardblog.com

A Different Kind of King

A Reflection on Yochanan 19:17-41 - A Different Kind of King

In this week’s besora reading we come to Yochanan’s account of Yeshua’s execution by the Romans. This is a gruesome scene of pain and suffering and eventually the death of our righteous Messiah. Yeshua’s death like many before him and many after him was by the Roman’s favored form of execution, the stake. A slow, painful death reserved for criminals, slaves and enemies of the State.

We read in this passage that Pilate had a notice attached above Yeshua’s stake that read, YESHUA FROM NATZERET THE KING OF THE JEWS. Though it can be seen as an insincere mocking of Yeshua and the religious leaders, these words written to malign, bear a stark truth, that this beaten, bloodied, soon to be dead Galilean tradesman was and is the King of the Jews.

This is the Messiah, the King of the Jews, the hope of Israel, beaten, bloodied, crying out in thirst, soon to have a spear plunged into his heart.

Though this is a gruesome picture and one that we try not to think about too much, we need to realize that this was part and parcel of what the Messiah was to be. Yes, Yeshua will one day return to rule and to reign and be the King Messiah for which our people cry for daily in the siddur, for which we see foretold by the prophets and the writers of the Brit Chadasha, but before his majestic reign came an appointment with a Roman stake and a brutal death that secured atonement and brought to reality the words of the angels who heralded at his birth that they were bearers of good news for all the People of Israel.

We now look forward to that glorious day (may we see it soon) when Yeshua returns to rule and to take up the throne of David, yet as we look forward it is important that we at times look back to this time of suffering and rejection that was also part of the path that Yeshua had to travel. Though on the stake he was the maligned, rejected one, he still as the notice over his head proclaimed was the King of the Jews, an oppressed, suffering man, standing in for and bearing the suffering for his people who like him were oppressed and suffering under Roman rule.

Yeshua gives us a different picture of what a king is. Not in robes, on a throne and surrounded by opulence, but unclothed, nailed to a stake and surrounded by brutal Romans soldiers and those who sought his death. Though not as we usually picture a king, Yeshua here was living out his role as Mashiach ben Yosef, the Messiah who would suffer and die for Israel’s sin. Like his namesake, Yosef, Yeshua is also an unrecognized redeemer of his people. As much of the Jewish world is yet to see their Messiah in Yeshua, he still suffered rejection to bring them redemption and like the revelation of the despised, rejected and forgotten Yosef as redeemer, may we look forward to that day when all Israel recognizes the despised one nailed to the Roman stake as the Redeeemer of Israel and the true Jewish Messiah.

May we live lives that builds communities where the despised one can be seen as the one who is redeemer and king!

http://www.towardblog.com

Defining Messianic Judaism - The Committed Non-Jew

Will Messianic Judaism be the only expression of Judaism that excludes from full participation the Committed Non-Jew?


This is a question that faces us as we look to forming a true Messianic Judaism. This question is irrelevant for a "Messianic Movement", which is really just Hebrew Christianity under a new name. This is an issue for a Judaism to deal with and in our discussion vital for a Messianic Judaism. As a Judaism we must ask Jewish questions and be prepared to give Jewish answers.

As a Judaism, we face a problematic issue, namely Non-Jews in Messianic Judaism and in the life of Messianic Jewish synagogues. This may seem to be a disturbing concept to many that see Messianic Judaism as the "Jewish Church" and the place of Messianic Judaism being the Jewish cultural form of the Universal Christian Church. But we have to deal with the issue of Non-Jews in our midst, are they a part of synagogue life or merely supportive attendees? Below I will categorize some types of Non-Jews in our midst:

1. The Pro-Israel Christian
2. The "Anti-Church" Christian
3. The Supporter of the "Jewish Church"
4. The Involved Synagogue Attender
5. The Committed Non-Jew


• The Pro-Israel Christian attends a Messianic Synagogue on Shabbat and a Christian Church on Sunday. They support Israel and the Jewish People. They also enjoy the music and dancing that is a part of our Movement. But their theology and faith commitment is to Christianity. They may at times comment that we are being "too Jewish". These Non-Jews make up a part of our Movement, yet their commitments lie within the Church.


• The "Anti-Church" Christian is a Gentile Christian who out of a protest or rejection of the Church attends a Messianic synagogue. They pose a problem to Messianic Judaism because their involvement in our Movement is not for us, but as a protest against their problem with the Church. They are not committed to a Jewish life and over time will find something about Messianic Judaism to turn them against us. These are the most problematic Non-Jews.


• The Supporter of the "Jewish Church" is a Gentile Christian that sees Messianic Judaism as the "Jewish Church" akin to Hispanic and Korean Churches. They support us as a cultural form of Christianity. These Non-Jews support our existence, though their understanding of us is flawed. These Non-Jews make up the bulk of Christians that support the Messianic Jewish Movement.


• The Involved Synagogue Attender is the Non-Jew that makes up a large part of the Non-Jews in Messianic Synagogues. They have taken to the synagogue and to aspects of Jewish life. Though much of the expression of Judaism is based in the synagogue. They have a commitment that is more than mere attendance. They observe Shabbat and the Festivals in synagogue life and study Jewish books, but they are content as they are as Non-Jews in a Messianic synagogue.


• The Committed Non-Jew is the Non-Jew that has been called to Messianic Judaism and has been drawn to a Jewish life. Beyond the commitment of the Involved Synagogue Attender, they seek to follow Torah in all aspects of daily life, including Shabbat and Kashrut. The Committed Non-Jew's commitment to Messianic Judaism and the larger Jewish world marks a clear distinction in their commitment and calling. They like the Egyptians that left Egypt and with Israel stood at Mt. Sinai have been drawn to the G-d of Israel and to the People of Israel in a unique way. This commitment can lead to "conversion" or "commitment" to Judaism in other forms of Judaism. Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist and even Humanistic Judaism have a mechanism/process for The Committed Non-Jew to cast their lot with Israel. Though many conversions to Judaism in other forms of Judaism is for marriage to a Jewish person, of those in Messianic Judaism the prime desire of many is a commitment to Judaism and the Jewish people.


A Messianic Jewish conversion process would be an outward affirmation by the Messianic Jewish community of an inward commitment that many have made years ago. These Committed Non-Jews have walked a Torah life and meet the Torah's requirements of Shabbat and Passover observance, only lacking brit milah or dam brit to complete the process.

As a Judaism we have to deal with this issue of The Committed Non-Jew, if we are going to truly be a Judaism. This does not discredit the other Non-Jews in our Movement, of which the Involved Synagogue Attender plays an important role, but it marks out a process or rite of passage for The Committed Non-Jew, to complete the process of commitment to Judaism that has begun in their life.

There is a concern about a possible "bandwagon effect" if Messianic Judaism established a conversion process. This fear is unfounded if the Rabbis and leaders follow strict guidelines. Of the Non-Jews that I know in my synagogue only 2 or 3 would seek this conversion process and all have been involved in Messianic synagogues for many years. These are people who have a calling to sojourn with Israel and who as Non-Jews seek to make Torah their life.

So then, how can we hold back the "bandwagon effect or "mass conversion" of Non-Jews to Messianic Judaism?

First off, like in other forms of Judaism the Rabbis and leaders must rebuff those seeking conversion, so as to test their commitment to the process. This rebuffing is also a test of the calling and commitment to the whole of Jewish life.

Also important is education in that the prospective convert must be committed to a Jewish life and to their connection to all of Israel not just "saved Jews". The prospective convert must be actively a part of the life of a Messianic synagogue and have training and knowledge of Torah and Jewish practice. They should also stand before and be examined by a Beit Din made up of recognized Messianic Jewish leaders in which there commitment to Jewish life will be examined. Also of great importance is that for prospective male converts brit milah or dam brit must be done. Circumcision is the sign of the Covenant in the flesh and this must be a part of the conversion process. At least for men this will be a real sign of commitment to Judaism and a Jewish life. The prospective convert should also go through immersion as the final act of commitment to Messianic Judaism. Also important in the process is the taking of a Hebrew name, as they become son or daughter of Abraham and Sarah.

We stand in an awkward place in that the writers of the Brit Chadasha expected the Messianic Age in their lifetime and they did not address the issue of the Non-Jew within the Messianic synagogue. They did not foresee the two millennia that would pass since the time of Yeshua and we stand to define ourselves without direct guidance from the early Messianic Jews. Though the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15, addresses required conversion to Judaism of Non-Jews before joining the Messianic community, the Council did not rule on voluntary conversion of which the concluding phrase "Moshe is preached in all the synagogues every Shabbat" leaves open a deeper commitment and even a "conversion" of the Messianic Non-Jew to Judaism. The requiring of Non-Jews to convert to Judaism is clearly forbidden by the Council and we should seek to speak out against any "Messianic" group that begins conversion as a requirement for affiliation. This conversion to Messianic Judaism is for those who have a calling and commitment to Judaism and to the Jewish people and is truly an external confirmation of an internal "conversion" experience.

If we are going to be a Judaism, a true Messianic Judaism, we have to deal with the issue of the Non-Jews in our synagogues and to especially deal with the issue of the Committed Non-Jew.





http://www.towardblog.com

Messianic Judaism - A Judaism for All Jews

On the afternoon of Yom Kippur about a year ago, I and about 6 or 7 people were sitting in my synagogue talking about the role of Messianic Judaism Synagogues. We discussed that the important role of the Messianic Judaism Synagogue is to be a place for all Jews to come and worship, those with and without Yeshua faith.

One of the people commented "So what if you had half of the people in your synagogue were Jews who were not Yeshua believers?"

My first thought was "Amen, may it be so!", this would be what a Messianic Judaism Synagogue should be a place for all Jews, those who have found Messiah and especially for those who are willing to look for him and are in process. She saw this as a negative, seeing that the Messianic Judaism Synagogue was just a "believer" place. Another person commented about "lessening Yeshua" in the synagogue to make this a reality.

Both are wrong views, one that our synagogues should be just for Yeshua believers and two that to be a synagogue for all Jews we have to lessen or hide Yeshua.

One of the greatest gifts that we as a Messianic Judaism can give to the larger Jewish world is to build synagogues and a Judaism for all Jews (the descendants of Jacob and converts to Judaism).

As we last fall came to the conclusion of the High Holydays, wherein the doors of our shul were open to all Jews who wanted to hear the shofar blast, hear Kol Nidre, pray Yizkor and be in synagogue on the holidays without having to buy tickets or pay membership fees.

We can and must build a Messianic Judaism that is a Judaism where all of the Jewish people will be at home and where Jewish life is lived and celebrated within the context of Torah with Yeshua, our righteous Messiah as our example.

This contrasts to the closed nature of most churches as a place of belonging for Yeshua believers only. This openness to all Jews exceeds even outreach wings of Judaism like Chabad that are open to all Jews, except Messianic Jews (from experience I know of many people who have been excluded from local Chabad houses after their Yeshua faith being discovered). Both of these approaches are excluding forces, Messianic Judaism must be different from these models.

This is right in line with the values of a post missionary Messianic Judaism, in that our focus would be to build Jewish faith communities for the sake of living Torah faithful lives wherein we acknowledge and honor Yeshua as the Jewish Messiah.

We need to make our Messianic Judaism Synagogues a place for all in the Jewish community to come to worship the G-d of Israel, again stand at Mount Sinai and here the words of Torah and for those in mourning to stand within a Jewish community and recite the words of Kaddish.

This is a transformation of the usual view of a Messianic Judaism Synagogue as a Jewish missions outreach and follow-up center to us becoming ongoing, living Jewish faith communities wherein Torah study, Torah living, Jewish prayer and Jewish life is at the core of our existence. As my beloved rabbi recently commented "a place where we are having a great time being Jews".

This is our task to open our doors to all Jews and be the new inclusive home for all the Jewish people and bring glory and honor to our G-d as we build communities wherein all of Jacob's seed are called to live Torah and live in the reality of Yeshua, our righteous Messiah who came and will return to take His place as King of All.

May we do the work to make this a reality!




http://www.towardblog.com