...toward a messianic judaism.

2011-04-11T14:30:00.001-07:00

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Another kind of worship

2009-02-26T11:27:00.000-08:00

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.

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Taoist Wisdom for Messianic Judaism

2009-02-25T00:09:00.000-08:00

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.

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Issue for the Next Generation - On Intermarriage

2009-02-24T21:03:00.000-08:00

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.

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Living Torah - Revealing Messiah

2008-11-24T09:55:00.000-08:00

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.

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A Different Kind of King

2008-07-30T08:04:00.000-07:00

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!

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Defining Messianic Judaism - The Committed Non-Jew

2008-06-25T08:19:00.000-07:00

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.

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Messianic Judaism - A Judaism for All Jews

2008-05-29T18:02:00.000-07:00

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!

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The Lamb that was slaughtered.

2008-04-24T09:27:00.000-07:00

In this week’s besora reading from Revelation 5:1-14, we come to a timely reading that fits well with Passover, a story of a sacrificed lamb or as Dr. David Stern translated it in the Jewish New Testament, a “slaughtered lamb”.

Though the use of “slaughtered” is much more graphic
than sacrificied, I think it is fitting, especially as we have
considered the redemption from Egypt and the sparing
of the firstborn because of the blood of the slaughtered
lambs whose blood placed on the doorposts marked out
a home of those who took hold of God’s provision.

In this week’s reading we come to a vision from the
book of Revelation, as Yochanan tells of an event where
the unfolding of his story and the events of his book are
on hold being that there is a sealed scroll that needs to
be opened to continue the events of the story and the
unfolding of his “revelation of Messiah Yeshua”.
Yochanan says that an angel called out asking if anyone
was worthy to open the scroll and was greeted with no
answer, which caused Yochanan to weep. Then we read:

One of the elders said to me, “Don!t cry.
Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the
Root of David, has won the right to open
the scroll and its seven seals.” Then I saw
standing there with the throne and the four
living beings, in the circle of the elders, a
Lamb that appeared to have been
slaughtered.
Revelation 5:5-6

The one who was worthy was the Lion of the tribe of
Judah, the Root of David, a reference to Yeshua, our
righteous Messiah. We will see that his worthiness to
take the scroll was based on his being the Lamb that was
slain. It is the “slaughtered lamb” that has proven
himself through his suffering and death that can take his
place as the one to keep the story going and to continue
the unfolding or revelation of the Messiah and his
workings in the world.

It is not easy for us, now separated for nearly 2000 years
from the Temple sacrifices and the annual killing of the
Passover lamb, to take in fully the depth of what
“sacrifice” really means. Even at a higher level is the
self-sacrifice of our Messiah that took place during the
Passover, nearly two millennia ago. Though we may not
have experiential knowledge, it is important for us to do
the best we can to take in the great sacrifice and how the
death of Yeshua played a vital role in his future place
where he will reign as King Messiah. His worthiness to
rule all the created order was confirmed by his
willingness to suffer and die to bring atonement for
Israel and the Nations.

As we conclude Pesach, the celebration of redemption
from Egypt may we be mindful also of the second
redemption, the redemption that was brought about by
Yeshua, who was the great Passover lamb.

May we honor him, who is worthy to play his role as the
Lion of the Tribe of Judah, because of his being the
“slaughtered Lamb,” and joyfully join the chorus with
these words:

Worthy is the lamb that was slain, and has
redeemed us to God by his blood, to
receive power, and riches, and wisdom,
and strength, and honor, and glory, and
blessing! Blessing, and honor, glory, and
power, be unto him who sits upon the
throne, and unto the Lamb, forever and
ever.
Revelation 5:12-13

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A Pre-Passover Meditation - The Afikoman

2008-04-17T18:32:00.000-07:00

I hope that you will have a happy and kosher Pesach.

This is a reflection and meditation on Pesach from my last seder with my family:

As we came to after the meal and my nephew handed me the afikoman bag, I sensed something special needed to be said and I knew that unlike past seders that this afikoman held a new revelation about the holiday and about the great sacrifice of our Messiah.

As I told about the afikoman being hidden away and redeemed and relating how there is belief that the early Messianic Jews added the eating of the afikoman to the seder as Yeshua said to be done "in remembrance of me", it hit me anew that this was a more powerful time and spiritual experience then I had realized in the past.

I distributed the afikoman matzo around the table and then looking intently at my piece of matzo began with the words of our Messiah:

"This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."
(Luke 22:19)

It profoundly hit me that in the midst of the sacred time of Passover where we remember and celebrate the redemption from Egypt that on another level we are also at this point in the seder reflecting on the redemption from sin that was bought for us by the self sacrifice of our righteous Messiah, Yeshua. In essence after the meal there is a holiday within a holiday and a redemption story within a redemption story and it took my Pesach to a new level of holiness and experiencing G-d's goodness and love in such a profound way.

It was hard to complete the recitation of the above verse, because of the full impact of the meaning of these words and that in essence Yeshua was bringing a new broader meaning and more to our observance of Passover by this revelation and the full reality the following day when he gave his life for us.

So as we are now approaching the beginning of Pesach may each of us take some time in the next few days to take in the wonder of G-d's redemptive work in our lives, he brought Israel out of Egypt with an outstreched arm and a mighty hand and roughly 1500 years later he would bring both Israel and the Nations another redemption, from slavery to sin and death, this redemption brought with his outstreched arms and mighty hands nailed to a Roman cross.

How great is G-d's love?

I can't put into words, so I will just sit back and in wonder just sit quietly and reflect on all he has done and all He will do in the future and may we all live lives that glorify our Messiah and magnify the G-d of Israel.

May G-d bless you and keep you and grant you His peace...

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The Cost of Following the Messiah

2008-02-29T10:39:00.000-08:00

In this week's besorah reading we come to a central point of Messianic Judaism, that being the identity of the Messiah and what it means to follow him.

Yeshua begins asking his talmidim, "Who do people say that I am?" The answer to this question will make clear how his words and actions are being understood by the masses. The talmidim give various answers, "Yochanan the Immerser, Eliyahu, and others that some prophet of long ago has risen." (v. 19). Yeshua then asks a followup question, "Who do you say I am?" (v.20), to which Peter responded, "You are the Mashiach of G-d!" Yeshua then warned his talmidim to be careful with this declaration because of the high cost it's truth will cause for him, including suffering, rejection by the the head cohanim and torah teachers and an eventual death sentence.

After making his talmidim aware that his Messiahship will cost him dearly, including an impending execution stake, Yeshua makes them aware that to be his talmidim that they too will have to "take up their execution stake". For most of his talmidim they had to literally lay down their lives, many on stakes themselves, including Peter. As followers of the Messiah who would suffer, be rejected by the Jewish leaders and later killed, Yeshua makes it clear that his followers must be prepared to face suffering, rejection and even self-sacrifice to walk in the path that he has set before them.

Fortunately for us in America in the 21st century, the threat of being killed for following Yeshua is not a daily concern (Baruch Hashem), but suffering and rejection from family, friends, co-workers, teachers, rabbis and the larger Jewish community are real and our union with Messiah and being his talmidim comes at a cost, including being excluded from minyanim, exclusion from Jewish communal events and fundraisers and even being removed from free trips to Israel, when our following of Yeshua becomes known. These are all devastating and I have experienced the pain of many who have suffered for their connection to Yeshua.

Though this can be devastating and hurtful, we must realize that we are not alone for being excluded and even for the suffering we bear, our Messiah, Yeshua, the King of Israel, the very Torah of G-d made man, was rejected by the greatest sages of his day, he a son of Israel was turned over by the leaders of his day to face the brutal arm of the Roman judicial system. Our Messiah's rejection took him to an execution stake, we are his talmidim, we must walk his path of rejection, in the full awareness that we are followers of the true Messiah of Israel.

After making the talmidim aware of the path ahead of him, a Roman execution stake and the cost that they as his talmidim will bear for following him, this besorah reading ends with Yeshua giving his inner circle of talmidim a preview of his glory, in what is commonly called the "transfiguration".

Though there was rejection and suffering ahead in the near term, it was all prelude to the full revelation of Yeshua, the suffering servant who will one day step into his place as King Messiah and be the one that Paul refers to in Philippians 2, as the one to whom all knees will bow.

We have found the Messiah, we are his talmidim, may we walk in his ways, stand firm in our trust despite suffering and may we soon be worthy to see the fullness of our Messiah's glory, when he will come to rule and reign as the rightful King of Israel, may this come soon and in our day!

Building Messianic Jewish Community - More than Saturday morning.

2008-01-30T10:55:00.000-08:00

To obey is better than sacrifice

I want more than

sunday and wednesday nights

Cause if you can’t come to me every day

Then don’t bother coming at all

(To Obey is Better Than Sacrifice by Keith Green)

As we continue to explore the building of a Messianic Judaism for the future we need to realize that intrinsic to living a true Messianic Judaism is that it is more than just something we do on Saturday mornings but a lifestyle done seven days a week guided by our Torah.

The above words written by Keith Green, a Jewish follower of Yeshua who left this world before the Messianic Judaism movement began, and therefore framed his Yeshua faith within the Christianity of his day, lays out that a life of following G-d is not just attending services but living everyday for G-d. I imagine that if Keith would be living today as a Messianic Jew that I imagine the lyric would be "I want more than saturday mornings...".

Though we don't have Sunday and Wednesday as our days of religious services (common in evangelical Christianity), the lesson we can learn is that there is more to a Messianic Judaism life, more to walking in the way of Torah, than just attending Shabbat services and doing Messianic Judaism for 2-3 hours on Saturday mornings. Messianic Judaism is a life of walking Torah everyday and is more than just being a Sabbatarian, but a Jewish life of walking a Torah life each day.

So how can we consciously build up a daily walking in Torah ways?

The key is community, being that Judaism is to be lived communally. We need to seek to build up chavurot, Erev Shabbat gatherings, home study groups and even seek to build intentional communities of Messianic Jews living together, either in shared housing, in the same apartment building or in houses in the same neighborhood. We need to be in community to fully live out our lives walking Torah in "the other 6 days".

We have to move beyond the "commuter synagogue" model wherein are "community" is grounded in whatever people are willing to travel 20-50 miles to Saturday services and at 2pm, head back to their separate lives. If we want Messianic Judaism continuity, we have to have Messianic Judaism community.

May we seek to walk in G-d's Torah each day and seek to build living breathing 24/7 Messianic Judaism communities!

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The 25th of December - The Christmas Dilemna

2007-12-18T22:14:00.000-08:00

I DON'T CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS.

CHRISTMAS IS A PAGAN HOLIDAY!

The day of great anxiety for many people in the Jewish world and especially for us in Messianic Judaism, wherein the non-celebration of Christmas has become a marker of our fidelity to the Jewish people by not celebrating a Christian holiday.

The great extreme as noted by my comments above is the hard line take that Christmas is a pagan holiday, being that the 25th of December was the celebration of Saturnalia until Constantine co-opted it and changed the day to a celebration of the birth of Yeshua.

As a child after I found out about the pagan backstory of Christmas, I thought that it was making an unholy day (celebrating a pagan deity) to be holy by honoring Yeshua's birth. Though this was a good perspective as I look at it now, the above later anti-Christmas attitude was built into my Messianic psyche.

Like "church bashing", we need to realize that we cannot build our Messianic Jewish identity by attacking the Church and Christian practices, yes where the Church is wrong like in anti-Judaism and anti-Torah attitudes we must respond, but in areas of the Church's religious observances that can be seen as an attempt to honor G-d in "Gentile space" we need to have a proper perspective.

My mom is a hardcore Christmas celebrant, 365 days a year there is some Christmas themed knic-nac or artwork around her home. She even wore a "Jesus is the Reason for the Season" sweater when she bought me my Rebbe Soul and Neshama Carlebach CD's at the local Judaica shop a few years ago (I imagine that confused them a bit).

So then does my mom worship a pagan deity in her observance of Christmas? No she is living out her Christian faith in her own "Gentile space" and she is celebrating the birth of her Saviour and L-rd, namely Yeshua, who she acknowledges as the Jewish Messiah and the Saviour of the World.

So then we need to understand that there are many devout Christians who seek to celebrate the birth of Yeshua and they celebrate it on December 25th.

Yes, there is a vast number of people caught up into the secularized "Holiday Season" and we can see that these people are not seeking to honor the birth of the Messiah, but there are also a lot of people who do seek to honor G-d at this time of year.

It is ironic that a local Conservative synagogue that I attend on occasion is next to a Catholic church and I was thinking that as the Jews are concluding Shabbat this year that next door the Catholics would be preparing for Christmas a few days later.

So then let us all come to see Christmas in a proper perspective and honor the fact that in the Church there are non-Jews honoring the birth of the Messiah.

This leaves me a thought for us in the Messianic Judaism community for us to work on in house, that being the need for us to develop an appropriate celebration for the coming of our Messiah. We have as our distinctive as a Judaism our belief that the Messiah has come, we should build into Sukkot, which is believed to be an appropriate season for Messiah's birth, a liturgy that celebrates the birth of Yeshua at this time that we focus on living in tabernacles, we should take the opportunity to celebrate when our Messiah tabernacled with us.

So then we have two tasks:

1. Step back and appreciate Christmas in the context that it is a celebration in "Gentile space" and that many celebrants are seeking to celebrate the birth of Yeshua, their L-rd and Saviour and not to celebrate a pagan holiday.

2. We as a Messianic community need to develop a celebration of the coming of our righteous Messiah as a part of Sukkot.

May all followers of Yeshua honor him on the 25th of December (and every day!), either with gifts, carols and egg nog or as I and others who practice Judaism by glorifying our Messiah by honoring Him and lifting him up before our world by living a Torah life.

Shalom to you all and to all a good night...

(originally posted on 12/22/04 on towardblog)

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Are we dedicated - A pre-Hanukkah meditation...

2007-11-28T21:26:00.000-08:00

In Yochanan 10:22, we come to what is considered to be the first historical reference to Hanukkah, as Yeshua went to Jerusalem at the time of Hanukkah. The events of Hanukkah took place after the conclusion of the writing of the Tanakh and therefore are not covered in the Hebrew Bible.

The crowds in Jerusalem ask Yeshua:

"How much longer are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us publicly!" (Yn 10:24)

Yeshua responds:

"I have already told you, and you don't trust me. The works I do in my Father's name testify on my behalf (Yn 10:25)

When asked about his messiahship, Yeshua pointed to the works that He did in his Father’s name were the demonstration of His messianic claims. It was His dedication to doing G-d’s will that marked Yeshua out as the Messiah and true servant of G-d, who like his forebearers the Maccabees were determined to do G-d’s will by staying faithful to following Torah.

The Maccabees were faced with the Syrian-Greeks' call to assimilate into Hellenistic culture and leave Torah life behind including Shabbat, kashrut and circumcision. Some of the Jews gave in and left behind Torah living and fully embraced Hellenism and assimilated away from their G-d ordained way of life, but fortunately for us there was Mattathias and his sons who said "NO" and chose to fight and lay down their lives for Torah. This fight for Torah living helped to preserve Jewish life and faith at that critical time in history and it kept alive Jewish faith and life that allowed for a pious Jewish family to travel to Bethlehem about 160 years later for the birth of our righteous Messiah, Yeshua (so then Hanukkah is important for both Jews and Christians).

We who are building a Messianic Judaism are standing like the Maccabees as people with a choice to continue holding to a G-d honoring, Torah faithful life, walking following of our Messiah. We face a call to us from the Church to embrace our place as Christians (of Jewish heritage) and abandon Torah faithfulness and a call from the larger Jewish world to reject Yeshua faith and "return" to the Jewish world.

Both of these choices are wrong and would be actions taking us out of G-d's plan.

We cannot embrace a Christian identity that would over time mean an end of a distinct Jewish presence for Yeshua within the body of Messiah. We also cannot abandon our faith in Yeshua as our Messiah, which would be dishonoring G-d by denying the Messiah that He sent.

So then we must fight the call to leave our distinct identity as Messianic Judaism, a distinctly Jewish, Torah faithful way of life that honors Yeshua as Messiah and L-rd.

At this time of focusing on the dedication of the holy Temple in the time of the Maccabees are we willing to dedicate ourselves to stand where we are for Messianic Judaism and even fight for this profound place that G-d has placed us in His plan?

I sure hope we are...

May you have a blessed Hanukkah!

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Our Community of Reference

2007-10-24T11:28:00.000-07:00

One of the most important factors in building a Messianic Judaism is to understand who is our community of reference.

In understanding and embracing the Jewish community and Judaism as our community of reference, our "home base", we are making a huge leap from our Hebrew Christian past to begin to fully grasp our Messianic Judaism future.

My synagogue is in the Pico-Robertson area of Los Angeles, a distinctly Orthodox Jewish neighborhood with at least 11 Orthodox synagogues within walking distance of my shul. These communities are our community, our community of reference and the ones that we are in relation.

My synagogue is next to a Lutheran church and our facilities are used by a Foursquare Church on Sundays. Though these are good communities and led by good people, they are not our community of reference. They are Christian churches seeking to be a home for all people of the world and primarily oriented to non-Jews. We are united in our belief in Yeshua, yet we are distinct religious communities.

To build a Messianic Judaism we must orient ourselves to being a part of the Jewish world and seek to be living, breathing Jewish faith communities that glorify our G-d by honoring G-d's Torah and truly giving glory to Yeshua, our righteous Messiah.

May we be the builders of our Messianic Judaism future!

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Don't Know - An Important Lesson Learned

2007-10-09T08:46:00.000-07:00

In a moment of reflection on my life I came to an interesting life lesson characterized by the simple phrase "Don't know".

The lesson that I learned is simply this, that it is ok to not know everything and also if you don't know something it is alright to simply say "I don't know that".

For so many people, me before learning this, there has to be an answer to all questions and there must be a yes/no answer to all issues, grey areas or "don't knows" were either compromises or worse, denial of truth.

The "don't know" lesson is important to what my beloved rabbi calls the "census of the redeemed" or it's opposite "the census of hell".

Both in the Church and among the Jewish Missions culture the answer to the question of the eternal destiny of all people, including the Jewish People is a settled issue, that being all non-Yeshua believers are categorically in the "census of hell" and are without hope and without G-d in this world and in the next. This is a settled issue and anyone who is not ready to answer unequivocally that all Jews who do not/did not embrace Yeshua as Messiah are damned are somehow unfaithful to the Bible and to G-d and also that these people are or may be espousing "dual covenant" theology.

I think that it is important to realize that all knowledge of G-d's dealings are in His hands and though we are given some insight into G-d's work, there are things that we don't know and I will say the mystery of how G-d distributes the merit of Yeshua's death is one of those issues. We do know that all who come to eternal life enter by Yeshua's sacrifice and that by explicit faith trust in Yeshua there is assurance of atonement, but there is more to the issue of the atonement that I think we do not know fully in how and to whom this new life is distributed.

So then we can and in some cases must say "don't know" on some important issues knowing that there are areas where G-d has not fully revealed His full plan to us, yet know that He is in charge of all things and will do that which is right.

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Messiah Has Come! - the Worst News Possible for the Jews?

2007-09-25T22:02:00.000-07:00

And the angel said, Have no fear; for truly, I give you good news of great joy which will be for all the people:

For on this day, in the town of David, a Saviour has come to birth, who is Messiah the L-rd.
(Luke 2:10-11)

The above passage that is read in churches around the world at Christmas services declares that the coming of the Messiah is good news of great joy to all the people, this all the people in the Church's universal viewpoint would be all the Nations of the world. Yet this message was given specifically to Jewish shepherds in the fields outside Bethlehem, making this "good news" for all the people, specifically referring to the Jewish people, the first ones to recveive the news. What should be much more than just "good news" for the Jewish people and more appropriately "super great totally amazing news" for the Jewish people, that Yeshua, the Messiah, the descendant of David, the Redeemer has come! He who is one that is cried for each day in the liturgy, the Hope of Israel was born into this world. The Redeemer has come, the Redemption cried for in the prayers of Israel has been inaugurated.

Yet in traditional Christian teaching and the theological assumptions driving the Missions to the Jews, like Jews for Jesus and others, the coming of the Messiah was not even just "ok news" and not even just bad news, but the worst news possible at the time for the 99% of the Jewish people of Yeshua's time and for the 99% of Jews today.

As is taught by the Church and the Missions, the Jewish people from Sinai to the death of Yeshua could be "saved" by believing in G-d, observing Torah commands, offering sacrifices at the Tabernacle/Temple and living ethical lives, yet when Messiah came the only way to be "saved" was to pray a "sinner's prayer" and embrace Yeshua as Messiah.

Under this way of thinking, the coming of the long awaited Jewish Messiah, instantaneously changed the fate of all the pious Jews that were believing in G-d, observing Torah commands, offering sacrifices at the Tabernacle/Temple and living ethical lives, rather than having their lives bettered by the coming of Yeshua, they were now damned and on their way to Hell, unless they immediately prayed a "sinner's prayer", rejected Judaism and Torah observance to become a Christian (of which the "sinner's prayer" was not introduced into Christian teaching until the revivals of the 19th century, so the Jews (and non-Jews) of the 1st to 19th century were really in trouble!)

So then in the common teaching of the Church and Missions, the coming of the Messiah did not open up G-d's redemption to "all the people" of Israel like the angel declared, but good news to only a few Jews who converted to Christianity and abandoned Torah life, but for most of "all the people" of Israel it brought a mass condemnation of all those Jews who were not pre-cross followers of Yeshua.

This thinking also has made for a difficult proposition to present Yeshua as good news for the Jewish people of the 21st century being that as taught and believed in the Church the coming of the Messiah (under this thinking) has meant the unquestioned mass eternal damnation of the last 50 generations of Jews. Including those Jews who have not seen a Jewish Messiah in the person of the "Jesus" of the Church or Y'shua of the Missions, but the "g-d of the goyim" that was anti-Jewish, anti-Judaism and anti-Torah and taught His followers likewise.

The "Jesus" of the Church and the "Y'shua" of the Missions that is presented to Jewish people, can rightly be called "another Yeshua" of "another good news" (Gal. 1:6-9), rather than as the Messiah to bring redemption and a reviving of Torah living for the Jewish People, in contrast their "Jesus" or "Y'shua" brings mass condemnation to most of the Jewish people and salvation to only an elect few Jews who become Christians and a for them a life now free from obeying G-d demonstrated by rejecting incumbent Torah observance!

The Messiah has come, He should be seen as super great totally amazing news for all of the Jewish people! The coming of the Messiah should make life now and in the future better for the Jewish people, only by seeing Yeshua as the Jewish Messiah, who comes to bring redemption and new life walking Torah will the coming of Yeshua be good news.

May we make Yeshua known as the one who brings redemption, new life in Torah by the power of G-d's Spirit and a renewed connection to the G-d of Israel and more than that may we do the work to make this a reality!

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Messianic Judaism - Beyond Evangelistic Shtick

2007-09-25T18:09:00.000-07:00

In defining what Messianic Judaism is it is important to deal with the issue of Torah observance and to see what the differing voices in the larger spectrum say on this issue. In doing this we can see clearer those who affirm a Messianic Judaism that is a Torah honoring movement for Yeshua and those who hold for a Jewish cultural form of Evangelical Christianity.

This is the divide between Messianic Judaism and Jews for Jesus/Missions/Hebrew Christian movement.

Below is a post from Year 1 of towardblog looking at Jews for Jesus' view of Torah observance for Jewish believers in Yeshua:

Jews for Jesus affirms Jewish believers who, for the sake of honoring our heritage and developing a Jewish testimony, choose to give up some of what grace allows to conform to dietary standards and various other Jewish practices. As long as such practices are not presented as incumbent upon others in the body of Messiah, Jewish or Gentile, we hope to be an encouragement to those who desire to uphold their Jewish identity in this way.

(from Fall 2003 Havurah, a publication of Jews for Jesus)

The above quote from JFJ's Havurah newsletter was looked at in a previous post.

In this post I want to look further at this statement from Jews for Jesus.

In their statement above they put forward that a Messianic Jew can observe Torah commands if they choose to give up some of what grace allows to conform to dietary standards and various other Jewish practices.

Torah observance is not an "abandoning of grace", but an embracing of obedience to G-d.

Observing kashrut, Shabbat, the Festivals and other Torah commands is an act of obeying G-d and faithfulness to the covenant G-d made with all the Jewish People.

If we choose not to obey Torah commands we are not "living in grace", but "living in sin".

Non-observance of Torah commands is an act of disobeying G-d and not walking in His ways, not a benefit of being a follower of the Messiah.

Torah observance like dietary standards and various other Jewish practices is not just shtik to be used for evangelistic outreach (which sadly is the case for Jews for Jesus and other Jewish missions), but it is a matter of obeying G-d and living lives that honor Him.

I close with a statement by another Messianic Jew on the topic of grace and sin:

What may we say, then? are we to go on in sin so that there may be more grace?
In no way. How may we, who are dead to sin, be living in it any longer?
(Romans 6:1-2)

Let us live in obedience to G-d and observe His Torah!

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The Messianic Synagogue - A Place for All Jews

2007-09-25T10:55:00.000-07:00

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

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

My first thought was "Amen, may it be so!", this would be what a Messianic 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 synagogue was just a "believer" place. Another person commented about "lessening Yeshua" 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 just came to the conclusion of the High Holydays, wherein our doors 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 Judaism where all of the Jewish people will be at home and where Jewish life is lived and celebrated.

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, we 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 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 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!

Time to Change

2007-09-17T11:31:00.000-07:00

In what is commonly known as Yeshua’s parable of “the prodigal son” which can be found in Luke 15:11-32, we find a fascinating story of a young man that leaves his father’s home, using his portion of his father’s inheritance, to live a life pursuing pleasure and the other son that stays at home with his father and his loyal to his father.

After the younger son spends his new found riches on reckless living, the wine, women and song of his day, a famine comes and he goes from the man of riches and luxury to being a hired hand on a pig farm (not the most kosher place for a Jewish boy to be) and now out of hunger he desired to eat the scraps thrown to the pigs just to survive. It is at this point that the error of his ways comes to him and he decides to make a change in his life and seek to return to his father’s house in repentance, knowing that even if he could be accepted back as a slave that he would have food and would not have to wallow with the pigs any longer.

In preparation of speaking to his father we get these words of a changed man seeking repentance:

I'm going to get up and go back to my father and say to him, "Father, I have sinned against Heaven and against you;

I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired workers." '

(vv 18-19)

He realized that there would be a cost for him to return home and that he had to humbly seek any opening with his father that he had abandoned.

With his repentant heart and the above repentant words he left for his former home and his father.

We next read in verse 20:

So he got up and started back to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran and threw his arms around him and kissed him warmly.

His move away from his life of futility that led him to a pig pen and his willingness to go back in repentance to his father brought not condemnation from his father but forgiveness and restored relationship from a father that was waiting for his return.

The “prodigal son” came to see his bad path and his abandonment of his father and made a change and returned in repentance to his father, who was waiting for him to return.

As we are now in the midst of the High Holyday season, a time of annual communal reflection on our lives and where we have fallen short of walking in G-d’s Torah and our times as a prodigal from our father, HASHEM, the G-d of Israel, we too have the opportunity to follow the example of the prodigal son as we read in this besorah reading, to realize that we have gone in the wrong path, decide to change our wrong path, return to G-d in repentance and to begin a new.

As we are entering this holy time as the Jewish People have for thousands of years we again hear the shofar blasts calling our souls to repentance, may each of us examine our lives like the “prodigal son” did and follow his example and in repentance return to G-d and his Torah this High Holyday season and may we each know the acceptance of our repentance and the restored relationship with the G-d of Israel, our father and our king.

New Year's Resolution - Worshipping G-d with your wallet

2007-09-11T11:01:00.000-07:00

We are now at the start of a new Jewish year and akin to those who each December 31st, make new year's resolutions in this post I will be reflecting on new things that we can do together at this time of newness for the world around us.

First up is Worshipping G-d with your wallet.

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.

To this end just before Rosh Hashanah about 2 years ago, I made two commitments that I encourage you to take up as new disciplines in your life:

1. I made it first priority in my finances that I give to my synagogue at least 10% of my income. I know it is tough for most people to live on 100% of your income (this sadly keeps credit card companies and banks thriving), so living on 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. My fondest dream would be able to one day make enough money to give away 50% of my income (one check for giving, one check for me). There is no better investment that you can make than building a mature Messianic Judaism.

2. I began giving to the UMJC to help with planting new Messianic synagogues. If you have more money that you can give towards building a Messianic Judaism future (after supporting your synagogue) then I encourage you to start contributing toward building new synagogues via the UMJC. I would like to challenge you to give just $20 a month to the UMJC or even better $20 per pay period. Think about if 500 new contributors to the UMJC sent $20 a month, that is $10,000 more per month that can be used toward establishing new congregations.

These are simple acts that I have taken up and I encourage you to join me in this important act of worship of our G-d by doing a practical act for the furtherance of our movement.

To make it easy for me I have used my bank's online banking feature to setup my synagogue and the UMJC as a "bill" that gets paid the day after payday. If you have online bill pay at your bank you can take advantage of this too.

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 supprting 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.

Non-Jews in Messianic Judaism

2007-08-24T08:47:00.000-07:00

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 challenging issue, namely the place of 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. This is the place of understanding of my own mother. She has attended services and Seders at the various congregations that I have attended yet she sees us as like the Hispanic and Vietnamese Churches that meet on the grounds of her Baptist Church. 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 Rabbinic 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 Rabbinic 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 Rabbinic 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.

Leadership is influence

2007-08-24T08:42:00.000-07:00

Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.

These above words from the book, 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell, were transforming in my understanding and perception of what leadership means.

It seems so built in our understanding that a leader is someone with a position like the President, a Rabbi, Minister, CEO, Manager, etc. With this perspective it would seem that leadership and being a leader is confined to a class of people who are the "leaders" and that "regular" people can't be leaders outside a defined leadership title.

This was seen in a clear way at the Young Messianic Jewish Scholar's Conference in 2003, when it was announced that there were plans to eventually add a Young Messianic Jewish Leader's Conference in the winter, as a complement to the Young Messianic Jewish Scholar's Conference which takes place in summer. One of the attendees commented "I am not going to be a congregational leader so I don't think that it would interest me". I thought at the time, even before reading 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership that there is more to leadership and especially for those of us of the next generation of Messianic Judaism we must be involved in a leadership role for the future of our movement.

I think that all of us need to understand that whether we are a Rabbi, Elder, Synagogue President or if you are just a congregant in your shul that you can be a leader and you may already be a leader.

Do you influence people?

Do people seek your wisdom and advice?

Do people say "I wonder what *your name here* thinks about this?"

If any of the above, you may already be influencing people (hopefully for the good!) and therefore you are a leader.

The question "I wonder what *your name here* thinks about this?" demonstrates Maxwell's law "The Law of E.F. Hutton", which is that when a true leader speaks people listen. If people are wondering what your take is on an issue you have influence over them and therefore you are a leader.

I challenge you to read this book and also explore his other books. I have become a big fan of audiobooks and I have bought about ten of his books in audio format. I fortunately have a job where I do data entry and I can listen to audiobooks during the day and thereby learn while I am working. Audiobooks make for a great supplement to reading books (which I do also).

So for a challenge to my fellow "young leaders" is that you need to find a mentor to help you learn and grow in your leadership capacities. Our movement will rise and fall on our role in taking up the mantle from the current leaders and also for our work to expand and broaden the vision of our movement for the future.

For those who are "older leaders" your task is to seek out those in your congregations and sphere of influence to mentor and help to guide these future leaders to be the people that they need to be, so that there will be a future for our movement. Your job is to pass on what you have learned and challenge us to do the great things for G-d that we can and will do.

Leadership is influence - nothing more, nothing less...

Messianic Judaism deserves nothing less than leaders to take us forward to build a mature Messianic Judaism for the future as we strive to see the day when "all Israel will be saved".

To get your own copy of the book click below:

Get the Audiobook at Audible.com

C.S. Lewis-What we know and don't know

2007-07-30T09:43:00.000-07:00

We do know that no man can be saved except through [Messiah];
we do not know that only those who know Him can be saved through Him.

(C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, p.64)

C.S. Lewis, one of the most important Christian thinkers in his classic work, Mere Christianity, offers an interesting point on the atoning work of Yeshua and it's application. Lewis was not a Messianic Jew, but as he referred to himself an ordinary member of the Church of England. Though not from our movement, Lewis offers some important insights for us.

Lewis clearly puts forward that salvation is only attained by the death of the Messiah. Yet in contrast to much of the Church and the Missions movement, Lewis also puts forward that the atoning work of Yeshua may not be as limited as is taught in Evangelical Christendom, wherein salvation is only made available to those who consciously pray a "sinner's prayer" and conform to evangelical standards of doctrine. Lewis in the context of his book was looking at the issue of the "other people", those who had not been presented the message of Yeshua.

For us we need to look at the Jewish people who have both been living lives of covenant faithfulness to the G-d of Israel by living Torah faithful lives and also the fact that they have not been offered a Jewish message of Yeshua for over 1900 years and still are not hearing one from the Jewish missions groups.

Is it not limiting the atoning work of Yeshua by saying that those Jews who were not given a Jewish Yeshua to follow, and therefore rejected the Gentile Christian Jesus and held tightly to faith in the G-d of Israel and to the Torah in their study and practice are categorically damned to eternal separation from G-d? These being the same kind of Jewish people that Rav Shaul said "earnestly serve G-d night and day" [Acts 26:7].

This is not some kind of univeralism, it's a practical question of what the Jewish "no" to Yeshua has meant. For nearly all Jewish people they have not been offered a Jewish Messiah in Yeshua, but the "g-d of the goyim" that calls Jews to reject Torah and Jewish life, a "Messiah" that they have and I would say should reject. This is rejecting a false "Yeshua", not the true Jewish Messiah.

If Rashi, Rambam, Heschel and other Torah faithful Jews are now in the presence of G-d they are there based on the atoning work of Yeshua. Do I know this for sure? I would have to say No, Scripture is clear that assurance of salvation is only attained by a faith trust in Yeshua, but I don't see this precluding G-d's application of the atoning work of Yeshua's death to those faithful Jews who lived Torah faithful lives and were unable to see and accept the "Jesus" of the Church or the Y'shua of the Missions as the Jewish Messiah.

Why Freedom?

2007-07-04T16:47:00.000-07:00

Today is the 4th of July, the annual celebration of America's birth and the freedoms that have been won in the past. At this time I thought it would be good to look at another freedom, freedom from Egypt and the reasoning behind G-d bring Israel out of Egypt.

The below is an article that I wrote for The Set Table on the issue of freedom from Egypt, Torah and our love for our Messiah.

The Set Table is a weekly Shabbat Table Guide produced by the next generation of Messianic leaders and scholars.

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As we seek to build a mature Messianic Judaism for the future I would like to offer a brief look at how our Torah observance relates to our righteous Messiah, Yeshua, the one who lived a life of complete obedience to Torah and is our example.

The Torah is the way of life of the Jewish people and is the guiding document of what it means to live out the covenant between G-d and Israel. We just recently observed Shavuot, the traditional time of the giving of Torah on Mt. Sinai; one of the most important parts of the story of the redemption of the Jewish people from Egypt was the purpose of freedom. When G-d sent Moses to speak to Pharaoh, we read:

Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, "This is what the L-RD, the G-d of the Hebrews, says, ‘Let my people go so that they may give me worship.'

Exodus 9:1 BBE

The worship of G-d embodied in Torah observance was the reason for being freed from Egypt and our way to participate daily in and celebrate G-d's great act of redeeming Israel from Egyptian bondage.

This week from Yochanan 14, we see some insights about the important issue of Torah observance for Messianic Jews from the teaching of Messiah Yeshua.

If you love me, you will keep my commands; and I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another comforting Counselor like me,
the Spirit of Truth, to be with you forever.

Yochanan 14:15-16, JNT

In verse 15, Yeshua gives us another level of what Torah observance means beyond being the obligation of Jewish people to order their lives according to Torah and a participation in the freedom from slavery in Egypt. For the followers of Yeshua it also is a way of showing love for our Messiah by observing his commands, Yeshua being the physical manifestation of the G-d of Israel, the giver of Torah.

This ties in well with the words of the Ve'ahavta section of the Shema wherein as we "accept the yoke of Heaven", embodied in observing Torah, we recite, "you shall love the L-rd your G-d with all your heart, all your soul and all your strength" (Deuteronomy 6:5). Each day as we recite the Shema, we affirm the connection between living a life of Torah observance and whole hearted love for G-d.

In verse 16, Yeshua promised that by obeying Torah we would be given the Spirit of G-d to be our Comforter and helper to live Torah. So in obeying Torah we are granted the Spirit of G-d so that we can more earnestly live within a Torah life. Let us seek to live lives of Torah faithfulness and in so doing we will be obeying G-d, celebrating freedom from slavery, showing love to Yeshua, our righteous Messiah and also opening ourselves to receiving the power of G-d's Spirit to live more fully the Torah.

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Who is Yeshua?

2007-06-21T18:44:00.000-07:00

Who is Yeshua?

This may seem to be an odd question, but earlier in the book of Mark, Yeshua asks his talmidim, who people were saying he was and then he asked who they thought he was, we read:

"Some say you are Yochanan the Immerser," they told him, "others say Eliyahu, and still others, one of the prophets."
"But you," he asked, "who do you say I am?" Kefa answered, "You are the Mashiach."
(Mark 8:27-29)

The answer given by Kefa was important and in a parallel passage in Matthew, Yeshua responds that Kefa’s affirmation of Yeshua’s Messiahship was to be the foundation on which the Messianic community would be built (Matthew 16:16-18).

In this week’s besorah reading we come to the trial of Yeshua before the Sanhedrin and Yeshua’s answer to the question of his identity. In this passage from Mark we read:

The cohen hagadol stood up in the front and asked Yeshua, "Have you nothing to say to the accusations these men are making?" But he remained silent and made no reply. Again the cohen hagadol questioned him: "Are you the Mashiach, Ben-HaM'vorakh?"
"I AM," answered Yeshua. "Moreover, you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of HaG'vurah and coming on the clouds of heaven."

(Mark 14:60-62)

When he was asked who he was, Yeshua identified himself as both Messiah and the Son of G-d (Ben-HaM'vorakh) and further identified himself as the Son of Man, the apocalyptic figure of Daniel who would come at the end of days.

So then what can we learn from our Messiah about the vital issue of who Yeshua is as we are building a Messianic Judaism for today and for the future?

Firstly, it is vital that we recognize and honor Yeshua as the Jewish Messiah. We need to take this to heart that we are a Judaism with a Messiah amongst us and empowering us to live G-d honoring, Torah faithful lives. The affirmation of Yeshua as Messiah led the early talmidim to exclaim:

"We have found the Messiah".
"We've found the one that Moshe wrote about in the Torah, also the Prophets -- it's Yeshua Ben-Yosef from Natzeret!"
(Yochanan 1:41, 45)

Like these talmidim we have found the Messiah! Yeshua is the Jewish Messiah, the Hope of Israel, the Root and Offspring of David and the One in whom the promises made to the Ancestors is uniquely answered.

Secondly, we need to embrace Yeshua as the Son of G-d, the very word of G-d who became a first century Jew to live a life of absolute faithfulness to the Father as our example and to lay down his life for our atonement.

So then to be a Messianic Judaism that truly follows Yeshua we need to take these two designations of Yeshua’s own self identification and embrace them and follow him who is both Messiah and Son of G-d. May we follow Yeshua’s example and seek to order our lives by G-d’s Torah and thereby be faithful followers of our righteous Messiah.

Shabbat Shalom.

Messianic Judaism - A Verb?

2007-06-20T22:57:00.000-07:00

This came to me while back as I was walking to my office one morning. I guess if Shaul could have his Damascus Road experience the concept "Messianic Judaism is a Verb" could be considered my Variel Street experience.

So then besides offending English majors what is my point?

The thing that hit me is that Messianic Judaism is not a religion of spectators or just synagogue attenders but we will only continue to have Messianic Judaism and for the future if we each take action to keep our movement alive and to take it farther toward truly being a mature Messianic Judaism and to fulfill and even surpass the dreams of those who moved us from the identity of "Hebrew Christian" to "Messianic Jewish" and now for us to move to be MESSIANIC JUDAISM, a Jewish faith movement that honors the Messiah of Israel, Yeshua our L-rd and coming king.

So then we need to move beyond just attending services and being a spectator and actively seek out what we can do to further our movement for the future.

If you are a leader:

Seek out younger people in your shul to mentor and train.

If you are in your 20's and 30's:

Seek out a mentor.

Seek out other young leaders and meet together for learning and encouragement.

All of us could use more Jewish education so look into classes at MJTI for training for the rabbinate and also for graduate level coursework:

Messianic Jewish Theological Institute

For adult education classes:

Adult Education Programs from UMJC

I am passionate about seeing new leaders to build Messianic Judaism so keep checking back here for more information.

The future is in our hands, we must do the work necessary and we must all play our part.

May we live our lives to honor our G-d and glorify our righteous Messiah by building a Messianic Judaism future!

Are You a Leader?

2007-06-20T07:15:00.000-07:00

Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.

These above words from the book, 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell, were transforming in my understanding and perception of what leadership means.

It seems so built in our understanding that a leader is someone with a position like the President, a Rabbi, Minister, CEO, Manager, etc. With this perspective it would seem that leadership and being a leader is confined to a class of people who are the "leaders" and that "regular" people can't be leaders outside a defined leadership title.

This was seen in a clear way at the Young Messianic Jewish Scholar's Conference in 2003, when it was announced that there were plans to eventually add a Young Messianic Jewish Leader's Conference in the winter, as a complement to the Young Messianic Jewish Scholar's Conference which takes place in summer. One of the attendees commented "I am not going to be a congregational leader so I don't think that it would interest me". I thought at the time, even before reading 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership that there is more to leadership and especially for those of us of the next generation of Messianic Judaism we must be involved in a leadership role for the future of our movement.

I think that all of us need to understand that whether we are a Rabbi, Elder, Synagogue President or if you are just a congregant in your shul that you can be a leader and you may already be a leader.

Do you influence people?

Do people seek your wisdom and advice?

Do people say "I wonder what *your name here* thinks about this?"

If any of the above, you may already be influencing people (hopefully for the good!) and therefore you are a leader.

The question "I wonder what *your name here* thinks about this?" demonstrates Maxwell's law "The Law of E.F. Hutton", which is that when a true leader speaks people listen. If people are wondering what your take is on an issue you have influence over them and therefore you are a leader.

I challenge you to read this book and also explore his other books. I have become a big fan of audiobooks and I have bought about ten of his books in audio format. I fortunately have a job where I do data entry and I can listen to audiobooks during the day and thereby learn while I am working. Audiobooks make for a great supplement to reading paper books (which I do also).

So for a challenge to my fellow "young leaders" is that you need to find a mentor to help you learn and grow in your leadership capacities. Our movement will rise and fall on our role in taking up the mantle from the current leaders and also for our work to expand and broaden the vision of our movement for the future.

For those who are "older leaders" your task is to seek out those in your congregations and sphere of influence to mentor and help to guide these future leaders to be the people that they need to be, so that there will be a future for our movement. Your job is to pass on what you have learned and challenge us to do the great things for G-d that we can and will do.

Leadership is influence - nothing more, nothing less...

Messianic Judaism deserves nothing less than leaders to take us forward to build a mature Messianic Judaism for the future as we strive to see the day when "all Israel will be saved".

To get your own copy of the book click below:

Get the Audiobook for FREE at Audible.com

Servanthood - The Cost of Leadership

2007-05-10T07:54:00.000-07:00

In Yochanan 20:17-28, we read about the important topic of leadership and we get some important lessons on leadership from our Messiah.

We read first of Ya'akov and Yochanan, the sons of Zavdai and their desire for a prominent role of leadership in the Messianic kingdom:

Then Zavdai's sons came to Yeshua with their mother. She bowed down, begging a favor from him. He said to her, "What do you want?" She replied, "Promise that when you become king, these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right and the other on your left." But Yeshua answered, "You people don't know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?" They said to him, "We can." He said to them, "Yes, you will drink my cup. But to sit on my right and on my left is not mine to give, it is for those for whom my Father has prepared it." (vv. 20-23)

Yeshua’s response demonstrates that Ya'akov and Yochanan were not aware that leadership, as Yeshua demonstrated it was a path of sacrifice.

In the next verses we get some important words from Yeshua on what a leader should be:

But Yeshua called them and said, "You know that among the Goyim, those who are supposed to rule them become tyrants, and their superiors become dictators. Among you, it must not be like that. On the contrary, whoever among you wants to be a leader must become your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave! For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve -- and to give his life as a ransom for many." (vv. 25-28)

The path to follow to be a leader like Yeshua is not the path of seeking power or position for selfish motives to be a tyrant or to be a leader without taking into account that there is sacrifice required. Yeshua lays out here that leadership requires one to be a servant and to like our Messiah demonstrate a life of leading by serving others.

With Passover just about a month ago, I am reminded of Yeshua giving his talmidim an important lesson in leadership which took place at Passover:

Yeshua was aware that the Father had put everything in his power, and that he had come from G-d and was returning to G-d. So he rose from the table, removed his outer garments and wrapped a towel around his waist. Then he poured some water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the talmidim and wipe them off with the towel wrapped around him. (Yochanan 13:3-5)

In this lesson on leadership we see our Messiah taking on the role of a slave and washing the talmidim’s feet, in this Yeshua’s teaching on leadership became a visual demonstration.

As we look to the future of Messianic Judaism we must seek to build up the next generation of leaders. For those of us in their 20’s and 30’s who will have to be these next generation leaders we must follow our Messiah’s example and grow as servant-leaders. For our mentors and teachers we need your support and help to stay on the right path and if we stumble off the path like Ya'akov and Yochanan did, like Yeshua did point us back to the right path.

So then let us seek to be like our Messiah and follow his example and lead by serving and may we each play our role in building a mature Messianic Judaism for the future!

It is incumbent to await the coming of Moshiach

2007-04-18T20:09:00.000-07:00

It is incumbent to await the coming of Moshiach every single day, and all day long.. It is not enough to believe in the coming of Moshiach, but each day one must await his coming..

Furthermore, it is not enough to await his coming every day, but it is to be in the manner of our prayer ‘we await Your salvation all the day,’ that is, to await and expect it every day,
and all day long, literally every moment!

- Chafetz Chaim, Chizuk Emunah

These words lays out another important principle for the building of a mature Messianic Judaism and that being the prime role of our righteous Messiah and the hope of His return to bring the Messianic age.

This is important in dealing with two potential criticisms of our movement:

1. That Yeshua gets lost in our practicing Judaism.

2. That we get so focused on the Messiah's return that we don't build a mature Messianic Judaism for the future.

The first point is seen by many critics of our movement to be our critical error, in that Yeshua is secondary to our Jewish practice. We need to realize that Yeshua is the one that is so ever present in the prayers of the siddur and embodies the hopes of Judaism, including the Judaism of today. As Judaism has developed since the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, the messianic hopes of the Jewish people have sought for the coming redeemer. We who are followers of Yeshua know that this one that is alluded to each day in the prayers of the Jewish people is our righteous Messiah, Yeshua.

Whenever I consider the connection of Yeshua to my daily practice of Judaism the verse:

"If you love me you will keep my commandments"
(Yochanan 14:15)

plays a significant role and was a part of a homily that I gave one Shabbat during Passover, relating the eating of matzo per the Torah's command to an act of love for Yeshua. In living a life within Judaism, seeking to follow Torah we are also performing an act of honoring our Messiah. So then this is also another response to those who hold to a Yeshua-Judaism dichotomy.

The second point and actually more direct to the words of Chafetz Chaim, is the prime duty to await the coming of Messiah. Yeshua is the long awaited Jewish Messiah that will come and establish Yom Shekulo Shabbat (A time of unending Shabbat). Though much of those in the Jewish world are expecting this to be the first appearing of Messiah, we know that this will be His glorious return. The coming of Messiah will be the full flowering of G-d's consumation of history and the hope of the ages, yet this Messianic hope must not keep us from seeking to continue to build a mature Messianic Judaism for the future (for a more extensive posting on this see "Messianic Jewish Education and the End of the Age" on this blog).

We must as the words say "await the coming of Moshiach, every day, even every moment", but while waiting we must be doing those things necessary to building our future, including establishing new Messianic syangogues, establishing educational programs, writing books, mentoring future leaders, writing children's curriculum, dealing with formation of Messianic halakha and other vital tasks.

We need to see that our Messianic hope be tied to the work that will bring about this consumation of all things and to do our part to see the fulfillment the words of Shaul in Romans 11:26,

"On that day all Israel shall be saved".

The salvation of the Jewish people is intrinsically tied to the work of our righteous Messiah and we as His followers must do our part to establish a place wherein the over 1900 year old breach of Yeshua from Jewish space will again be bridged and we can be the place where Jewish people can follow Torah, live in Jewish space and honor the Messiah of Israel and this can be done if we build a mature Messianic Judaism.

May we be worthy to see the coming of Yeshua, our righeous Messiah and if he tarries may we earnestly await His appearing and do our part in His service to establish Messianic Judaism for the future.

Redemption Story within a Redemption Story - A Pesach Meditation

2007-03-29T23:14:00.000-07:00

"This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."
(Luke 22:19)

It profoundly hit me that in the midst of the sacred time of Passover where we remember and celebrate the redemption from Egypt that on another level we are also at this point in the seder reflecting on the redemption from sin that was bought for us by the self sacrifice of our righteous Messiah, Yeshua. In essence after the meal there is a holiday within a holiday and a redemption story within a redemption story and it took my Pesach to a new level of holiness and experiencing G-d's goodness and love in such a profound way.

It was hard to complete the recitation of the above verse, because of the full impact of the meaning of these words and that in essence Yeshua was bringing a new broader meaning and more to our observance of Passover by this revelation and the full reality the following day when he gave his life for us.

So as we are now approaching the beginning of Pesach may each of us take some time in the next few days to take in the wonder of G-d's redemptive work in our lives, he brought Israel out of Egypt with an outstreched arm and a mighty hand and roughly 1500 years later he would bring both Israel and the Nations another redemption, from slavery to sin and death, this redemption brought with his outstreched arms and mighty hands nailed to a Roman cross.

How great is G-d's love?

I can't put into words, so I will just sit back and in wonder just sit quietly and reflect on all he has done and all He will do in the future and may we all live lives that glorify our Messiah and magnify the G-d of Israel.

May G-d bless you and keep you and grant you His peace...

Thinking About Passover - The Importance of Eating Matzo

2007-03-26T07:57:00.000-07:00

In June 1989, I was in Chicago taking some classes and also visiting the local Messianic Jewish congregations. One night I and a few other people went to a local primarily Jewish neighborhood to invite people to come to visit the local Messianic congregation.

At one door I came to, the door was answered by a young man about 17 or 18.

I introduced myself and then told him that I wanted to let him know about the local Messianic Jewish congregation. I told him that we had Shabbat services and that we celebrated the Jewish holidays like Passover.

He responded, "Do you eat only matzo during Passover?"

I and my companion responded, "No, just at the seder, not the whole week of Passover".

That was basically the end of our conversation.

At the time it hit me that if we ate matzo during the whole week of Passover then our message about Yeshua and Messianic Judaism could have been seen as more credible.

Starting the following Pesach in 1990 to the present, I have made it a point to only eat matzo during Passover and when I have had my own apartment I have also kashered the whole house for Pesach.

This is a vital lesson for us all to learn and that is that the message that Yeshua is the Messiah is more credibly declared by those whose lives show forth the living reality of being people who walk Torah as a follower of Yeshua. This encounter and the subsequent 17 years of eating matzo throughout Pesach have been a powerful learning experience and a powerful way of living out my commitment to G-d and also a tangible way to demonstrate a life living Messianic Judaism.

In the act of eating only matzo and avoiding all chametz on Passover we are not only observing G-d's Torah which is our duty on it's own but we are also demonstrating that as followers of Yeshua we are walking in G-d's way and thereby we are making our Messiah known as the One followed by adherents of a Torah honoring Messianic Judaism.

On the Web: Rabbenu: On the Greater Responsibility and Offensiveness to Some of the Jewish Way of Life

2007-03-15T21:01:00.000-07:00

Great new post by my Rabbi Dr. Stuart Dauermann from his blog:

On the Greater Responsibility and Offensiveness to Some of the Jewish Way of Life

http://rabbenu.blogspot.com/2007/03/on-greater-responsibility-and.html

Clarification on Conversion

2007-03-15T20:55:00.000-07:00

Something that may not have been made clear, what I am a proponent of is conversions to JUDAISM through the guidance of Messianic rabbis.

The potential convert is converting to Judaism and to join the Jewish people, not to Messianic Judaism or Biblical Judaism, much in the same way if one goes to the University of Judaism (Conservative) for their conversion classes the person is converting to Judaism, not Conservative Judaism.

If someone is converted to Messianic Judaism or "Biblical Judaism" they are not partaking in what I advocate.

The UMJC Position Paper on Conversion - An analysis

2007-03-03T22:24:00.000-08:00

Editor's note:
This blog post was posted at 10:24pm on Saturday (nearly 4 hours after Shabbat).
For those concerned about this possibly being posted on Shabbat, it was not.

An analysis of:
The UMJC Conversion Position Paper - The Majority Position

(Originally posted in multiple posts from 01/03/05 to 01/10/05)

At the September 1983 UMJC conference, a show of hands indicated that roughly 90% of the congregational leaders represented favored the Majority Position in opposition to the conversion of Gentiles to Messianic Judaism and the remaining 10%, the Minority Position that supported the conversion of Gentiles to Messianic Judaism.

You may say this paper is nearly 24 years old, why are you commenting on it, hasn't things changed in these years? Well this is still the official statement of the Union that is reference to in the FAQ section on the UMJC website, therefore it is still relevant. Hopefully like the author of this statement, who now supports conversion of non-Jews, other leaders and the Union will move forward in this important step to fully embracing our role as a Judaism, an authentic Messianic Judaism.

The UMJC statement points are in bold, my commentary in plain text below.

MAJORITY POSITION

1. Despite inferential, contrary arguments, a clear biblical emphasis plus serious practical problems should prevent the UMJC from promoting any such conversions.

This appears to be more of a preamble to the statement's further points that the statement will elucidate in the other points.

So then I will lay out a guiding view on my part to the issue. Based on the apocalyptic worldview of the early Messianic Jews, who believed the end of the age was quickly approaching and the return of the Messiah would be in their lifetime, we are left without clear guidance from the Brit Chadasha for our issue of conversion of non-Jews in Messianic synagogues outside of two issues:

1. The required conversion of non-Jews to Judaism before becoming followers of Yeshua, which was addressed in Acts 15

2. Conversion to Judaism to become a "super believer" as appears to be the problem addressed in Galatians

The conversion of a committed non-Jew to Messianic Judaism out of their desire to fully connect with Am Israel is not an issue addressed in the Brit Chadasha and with the apocalyptic vision of the early Messianic Jews this issue was not of importance to them with the soon end of the age.

2. Regarding conversions to Reform, Conservative or Orthodox Judaism, this can hardly be an option for any follower of Yeshua because these forms, despite their many differences, share an active disbelief in our Messiah. Close identification with, much less conversion to, any of these groups would be unbiblical.

The option of seeking out a conversion to other forms of Judaism is not a viable option for Yeshua believing non-Jews being that an essential part of the conversion process is the rejection of all previous religious beliefs, which would include the rejection of faith in Yeshua. This would be a huge problem and an option that no follower of Yeshua could do. So then the option of a conversion to Reform, Conservative or Orthodox Judaism is not an option.

Though this is a valid point against conversion to other Judaisms it doesn't deal with the issue of conversion of non-Jews to Messianic Judaism.

In my opinion the only option that there can be for the committed non-Jews is for there to be a conversion process within Messianic Judaism.

3. Several reasons may be offered against adopting a rite of passage for willing Gentile believers into Messianic Judaism.

a. In I Corinthians 7:18 Rav Shaul specially addressed the issue of conversion, directing all believers to be content in the state in which they were called. Gentiles should not convert to Judaism. Likewise, Messianic Jews should not consider it an option to forsake their divine calling as Jews.

The third point is broken into 5 parts (a-e) and will be dealt with separately. 3a is the first point dealing with a Biblical passage.

In I Corinthians 7, where Paul deals with not "changing status", which is typified by the phrase "in the state in which you were called" is his instructions to the believers in Corinth that in the light of the soon return of the Messiah, grounded in his apocalyptic worldview, that rather than changing from being a Jew to being a Gentile or from a Gentile becoming a Jew that his readers should just believe in Yeshua and be ready for the soon end of the age and the return of Yeshua.

What is lost on the above point from the Majority Position is that in the same passage Paul also includes instructions for those unmarried to not marry (7:8-9), those married not to divorce (7:10-11) and slaves to not seek their freedom (7:21-22), if these were the state in which the person became a believer. This brings up the following issues:

I was 6 years old and therefore single when I put my trust in Yeshua, should I not get married?
Was it wrong for slaves to seek freedom during the Civil War, if they became believers while in slavery?
Is divorce always prohibited if the parties became believers during the marriage?

I will imagine that the above questions would all receive a "no" answer. Then how can we take this passage as a Biblical mandate only for the conversion of non-Jews to Messianic Judaism?

I applaud and fully support the closing sentence:

Messianic Jews should not consider it an option to forsake their divine calling as Jews.

This is a vitally important issue but I Corinthians 7 should be understood as a passage that is rooted in the early Messianic Jews apocalyptic vision and should be understood as guidance to a community in preparation for the end of the age.

Paul and the other early Messianic Jews didn't foresee the now 2000 year spread of time since the resurrection of Yeshua and sadly we are left without their direct guidance on how to deal with issues of note, specifically for our discussion on the issue of non-Jews converting to Messianic Judaism.

b. There is no example in the B'rit Hadasha of a Gentile believer becoming a Jew. Rav Shaul's circumcision of Timothy (Acts 16:1-3) was a pragmatic measure primarily motivated by the Apostle's desire to have Timothy accompany him into the synagogues of Asia Minor. More important, Timothy was already half-Jewish by his mother and according to II Timothy 3:15, was raised according to the Jewish Scriptures. Thus, his circumcision cannot provide an adequate example for any such practice involving Gentiles today.

The fact that there are not examples of Gentile believers becoming Jews can be understood as that within the context of the Brit Chadasha their still was a sense of two communities of believers the "congregation of the circumcised" and the "congregation of the uncircumcised". This two-congregation approach can be seen in the ruling in Acts 15 that set forth the standards for the Gentile believers to live by and as Jews the Jewish believers had the Torah to live by. So then the issue of non-Jews in the Messianic Jewish congregations was really not an issue of their day. Paul was reaching the Gentile believers and they were founding Gentile congregations.

Now to the issue of Timothy, in Second Temple Judaism the identifying sign of being a Jew for men was circumcision, basically Jewish status for men was dependent on whether or not they had a foreskin or not. So then Timothy even though a son of a Jewish mother and being raised according to the Scriptures may have made him a good follower of the G-d of Israel but until his circumcision he was not a Jew. Though in modern times there is more lax definition of who is a Jew, in the context of life in the Brit Chadasha whether one was circumcised or not was the key to Jewish identity. This can be seen in the Jerusalem community being referred as the ones reaching out to the "circumcised" and Paul's mission to the "uncircumcised".

Paul's circumcision of Timothy was a conversion of a person of non-Jewish status, much like the conversions as an adult in Orthodox or Conservative Judaism for someone born of a Jewish father and non-Jewish mother; this was a matter of Timothy making a choice to embrace Judaism. It was also a practical matter for their outreach work in the Jewish communities so that Timothy's Jewish identity would be clear.

So then the fact that there is a lack of examples in the Brit Chadasha of Gentiles converting to Messianic Judaism is primarily based in the fact that their were two congregations one of Jews and one of non-Jews and therefore this was not an issue as today when Messianic synagogues are mixed communities of Jews and non-Jews. Timothy was not a Jew until his circumcision according to the understanding of Judaism at the time and therefore he can be seen as a convert to Messianic Judaism. Timothy is a good example for us for those among us in our congregations who are of questionable Jewish heritage and via conversion can clear up ambiguities in their Jewish status or for those who are seeking to reclaim the "faith of their fathers".

We can establish a credible Messianic Jewish conversion process and we must if we are truly going to build a mature Messianic Judaism for the future.

3c. Gentile believers who feel a strong identity with the Jewish people may join Messianic synagogues, participate in congregational life, and thus express a high degree of identification without actually becoming Jews. Conversion becomes unnecessary.

Though this is true that Gentile believers can express a high degree of identification with Jewish people via their involvement with the life of a Messianic synagogue, yet without a conversion process there is a roadblock to the ultimate identification with the Jewish people by joining the people of Israel like Ruth and others before have cast their lot with Am Israel.

This roadblock that bars the committed non-Jew from joining Israel is problematic for the non-Jew that seeks deeper involvement in the life of the Jewish people, whether that be in fully being a member of the Jewish people, being that their only viable connection is their attendance at a Messianic synagogue.

Like Timothy their is the issue of being able to function in ministry within the synagogue, being that the role of rabbi is exclusively a job to be held by a Jew, therefore without a conversion process this area of service is barred to the non-Jews in our midst who have this calling, yet cannot pursue this as a non-Jew. So then as we are now without a conversion process we are potentially keeping future rabbis from serving our synagogues being they cannot serve in the rabbinic role without being a Jew.

So then there are cases where conversion is necessary for the few committed non-Jews in our midst that would seek a strenuous and thoughtful conversion process. This is a step that we need to take in our move toward being Messianic Judaism.

d. A conversion to Messianic Judaism would not be recognized in Israel or among a majority of Jews in the Diaspora.

This point can be addressed in several ways, I will list three

1. Orthodox Judaism does not accept conversions as valid that were performed by Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist and Humanistic rabbis, yet all four movements continue to perform conversions.

Being that all Jews consider only conversions that are performed by an Orthodox rabbi as valid across the spectrum has not stopped the non-Orthodox movements to develop conversion programs. They perform their conversion rituals and recognize the conversions of other groups as valid. So then universal acceptance of conversion is not a bar to other Jewish groups, why should it be a bar to us?

2. Whether or not Israel recognizes our converts is not relevant, the fact that Israel has barred Jewish believers from citizenship hasn't stopped Jewish believers from seeking to live in Israel.

We cannot decide our community standards and life to fit into the laws of Israel. Being that Messianic Jews have been barred from citizenship hasn't stopped messianic Jews from seeking to immigrate to Israel.

3. A majority of Jews in the Diaspora do not recognize Messianic Jews as Jews.

Most Jews, I would say well over 90% would not consider Messianic Jews as Jews and Messianic Judaism as a valid expression of Jewish faith, does this stop us from being Messianic? The fact that our status as outsiders from the Jewish people has not hurt our claim to being who we are then why are we concerned with recognition of our conversions as valid? We need to do first and hope that the larger Jewish community will eventually recognize that we have truly committed non-Jews that are making a commitment to live with the Jewish people and dwell in Jewish space. As we have seen some inroads from the Jewish world to accept us as Jews who follow Yeshua, we hopefully can get recognition of these people that we are allowing to enter Am Israel.

So then we are already outside the Jewish people in the opinion of a majority of the Jewish community, yet we continue on as Messianic Jews, the question of the acceptance of Messianic conversions by the larger Jewish world should be less important than doing what is right for our community and the furtherance of Messianic Judaism.

e. Such a practice could easily result in "two-class" mentality among Gentiles in Messianic synagogues - the inner circle of converted Gentiles and the larger group of the "less committed."

The above point seems to be trying to create a problem that in all reality would not exist with proper teaching and congregational leadership. If there is a Messianic Jewish conversion process and a non-Jew were to go through this conversion process then the non-Jew would become a Jew and therefore there is no "two class" problem, we are back to where we are now and that is Jews (both by birth or conversion) and the non-Jews. It appears that we are dealing in various ways with the Jew/non-Jew issue in our synagogues and a Messianic Jewish conversion process would not create a new issue.

This can only be an issue if there is a lack of rabbinic leadership and guidance of the synagogues and therefore any problems are the fault of lack of leadership by the synagogal leadership and not the fault of a well thought Messianic Jewish conversion process.

Even a non-obligatory conversion of Gentiles would be viewed as heretical by many in the churches. Messianic Jews can ill afford risking possible rejection by the majority of the believing community, as would likely happen once such a practice became widely known.

The concluding paragraph brings to completion the Majority Position with what may be the biggest hurdle to a Messianic Jewish conversion process and that being concern over the opinion by Christians that we are engaged in a heretical activity. Being that the preliminary points have been demonstrated to be outdated and without firm grounding this is the last leg for the argument to stand on.

We must ask ourselves why are we giving the Church a say in the development of our movement?

We are willing to go outside the norms of Christian life by embracing a Torah lifestyle, including:

Shabbat observance
Kosher dietary standards
Jewish holyday observance.

Why are we not willing to truly embrace our unique and separate identity as the Yeshua believing community among the Jewish people and truly be a Messianic JUDAISM? I can understand our willingness to be under the authority of the Church in our days as Hebrew Christianity, when by our own naming we identified ourselves as Christians of Jewish heritage, but for a Messianic Judaism to be an identity with meaning we have to do what we need to do to build our Judaism identity and despite the conflicts that this may raise with the Church and even alienating many of our supporters in the Church is the price that we must pay.

Is it right for us to build a Messianic Judaism?

If so then the allowing of those committed non-Jews in our midst to fully connect with the Jewish people is something that we must do. A Judaism is defined by Jews living within Jewish space and therefore the allowing of those non-Jews who are called to cast their lot with the Jewish people to fully join with the Jewish people is part and parcel of what being a Judaism means.

This is in no way a slight to those non-Jews in our midst that are a vibrant and valuable part of Messianic Jewish life, yet they do not seek this deeper level of identification and connection. With proper guidance and clear standards the number of non-Jews seeking a Messianic Jewish conversion process will be small and many of the potential candidates that I know have been involved in Messianic Jewish life for over 15 years.

We have to ask ourselves do we want to build a Messianic Judaism and if this is so for us to be a Judaism we must make a way open for the committed non-Jews to fully connect with the Jewish people and this can only be done through a thoughtful and carefully developed Messianic Jewish conversion process under the leadership of respected Messianic rabbis and leaders.

So then let us step the nearly 24 years into the future from our Hebrew Christian past and embrace our Messianic Judaism future and make a way for those non-Jews amongst us to follow in the footsteps of Ruth and cast their lot with Am Israel.

Respecting Jewish Tradition - Doing the Shema

2007-02-28T23:20:00.000-08:00

שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יי ְאֱלֹהֵינוּ יי | אֶחָד: וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יי אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל־לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל־נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל־מְאֹדֶךָ: וְהָיוּ הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם עַל־לְבָבֶךָ: וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ וְדִבַּרְתָּ בָּם בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ בְּבֵיתֶךָ וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ בַדֶּרֶךְ וּבְשָׁכְבְּךָ וּבְקוּמֶךָ: וּקְשַׁרְתָּם לְאוֹת עַל־יָדֶךָ וְהָיוּ לְטֹטָפֹת בֵּין עֵינֶיךָ: ט וּכְתַבְתָּם עַל־מְזֻזוֹת בֵּיתֶךָ וּבִשְׁעָרֶיךָ:

Hear, O Israel; The L-rd our G-d is one L-rd; And you shall love the L-rd your G-d with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words, which I command you this day, shall be in your heart; And you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up. And you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. And you shall write them upon the posts of your house, and on your gates.

Along with being our statement of belief in the G-d of Israel and accepting "the yoke of heaven", as it is commonly referred to in Judaism, we also get commandments to do certain things in response to G-d.

1. Love the L-rd your G-d with all your heart, soul and might.

2. Keep these words in your heart.

3. Teach them to your children.

4. Speak about them at home and when you travel.

5. Speak them when you go to bed and when you rise in the morning.

These above don't need a great deal of asking "How do I do these?"

But the next show us the need for our Jewish tradition to help us obey G-d and honor His commandments.

6. You shall bind them for a sign on your hand.

7. They shall be as frontlets between your eyes.

8. You shall write them on the doorpost of your house and on your gates.

The Torah just gives us these commandments with none of the how to do them. From these commandments we get:

TEFILLIN
and
MEZUZAH

To fulfill the commandment to bind G-d's words on your arm and forehead our tradition developed tefillin. The tefillin consist of two cube-shaped leather boxes, one worn on the head, the other on the arm, with leather straps fixed to them for attaching them to the head and the arm. Into these boxes, known as batim, "houses," the four passages, written by hand, are inserted.

The hand tefillin (in the Rabbinic tradition the "hand" here means the arm) contains all four sections written on a single strip of parchment. In the head tefillin there are four separate compartments, one for each of the four. The four sections are: (a) Exodus 13:1-10; (b) Exodus 13:11-16; (c) Deuteronomy 6:4-9; (d) Deuteronomy 11:12-21. Although the box (bayit, "house," singular of batim) of the head tefillin has to be in the form of an exact square (in the part into which the sections are inserted; this part rests on a larger base), it is divided into four compartments for the insertion of the sections, care being taken that these should not be separated from one another in such a way as to interfere with the square shape. The box of the hand tefillin consists of a single compartment into which all four sections, written on a single strip, are inserted. The boxes have to be completely black as well as square-shaped.
(from http://www.myjewishlearning.com/daily_life/Prayer/Ritual_Garb/Tefillin.htm)

They are traditionally worn by men at the Shacharit or morning prayer service on weekdays. In Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist Judaism there are also women who will wear tefillin at morning prayers.

The tradition of wearing tefillin can be seen back at least to Second Temple period from Yeshua referring to some of the Pharisees making extra large boxes for their tefillin:

But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their tefillin and lengthen the tzitzit of their garments. (Matthew 23:5)

In these words Yeshua is letting us know that it was understood at this time that to fulfill the commandment to bind G-d's words to the head and arm, that this was to be done by wearing the tefillin. We also see in this verse that Yeshua was critical of the Pharisees for seeking to fulfill the commandment by making the tefillin larger to be seen or wearing extra long tzitzit. In so doing we see that at least in the time of Yeshua that tefillin were known and used.

Also in the Dead Sea community, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, there were also tefillin found that is on display at the Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem. So then this is an ancient understanding of the how to do these commandments.

When it comes to writing the words on the doorposts of the house and on the gates, our tradition came to develop the mezuzah. Originally the words of the Shema were actually engraved on the doorposts of homes later the mezuzah a box that contained a scroll with the Shema was attached to the doors of homes and businesses.

So in these brief examples we can see that our tradition helps us to understand and do G-d's commandments.

May we seek to walk in G-d's ways and live His Torah daily.

L'dor Vador

2007-02-25T17:26:00.000-08:00

As we think of l'dor vador and making a Messianic Judaism for the future, I would like to say that yes I fully support the ideas expressed in making Messianic Judaism more accessible to the youth and 20-somethings and I have done what I can among my peers to develop creative liturgical services that are engaging and relevant to those unfamiliar with Hebrew by using transliteration and English readings. But I think that before we talk of programs and new liturgies we must first deal with the most important way to get to l'dor vador and that is fostering and recruiting the next generation of leaders.

As I think about the founding members of the modern Messianic Jewish movement and those who began thinking "Messianic Jewishly" long before many of us younger people were born. For your work in the past, your work now and the future things that you will do for G-d and the establishing of a mature Messianic Judaism we younger people are truly grateful. Along with being grateful we know that for our movement to move into the 21st century that we will have to take up the work that you have begun and fulfill the vision now and create new visions for the future. So then we need your help. I feel confident that at least among those of us here in our 20's and 30's we realize that we have a role to play and I ask you to help us.

One of the most important moves that has been made for the future of Messianic Judaism is the Young Messianic Jewish Scholars Conference, the 6th Young Messianic Jewish Scholars Conference will be held later this year. This is one of the most important steps so far to build the future of Messianic Judaism.

For those of you who are leaders I want to encourage you to see this not as just an announcement of an event but as your opportunity and even your responsibility to both find future leaders in your community to attend and help them to get to this event. There is no better way to see a Messianic Judaism for the future but to build leaders now and this conference is a great step toward building future leaders and crafting a vision for our future.

For those of us in their 20's and 30's here this is more than an announcement or even an invitation but look at it as a previously scheduled appointment for you and you are just now been given the dates. I was going to say look at it as a military induction notice but that sounded a bit too militaristic, though the fight for the future of Messianic Judaism is a "just war".

So then as I conclude let's do our parts to see as many future leaders at the Young Messianic Jewish Scholars Conference as possible this year. The time is now for us younger people to take up the mantle and we need you leaders to help us in this great endeavor.

May we daily live out the spirit of l'dor vador and do what is needed to build a mature Messianic Judaism for the future.

For information on the Young Messianic Jewish Scholars Conference go to:

Yachad Network Events

Life Lesson: The Importance of Not Knowing Everything

2007-02-12T22:51:00.000-08:00

Last year as I celebrated my 38th birthday and in a moment of reflection on my life I came to an interesting life lesson characterized by the simple phrase "Don't know".

The lesson that I learned is simply this, that it is ok to not know everything and also if you don't know something it is alright to simply say "I don't know that".

For so many people, me before learning this, there has to be an answer to all questions and there must be a yes/no answer to all issues, grey areas or "don't knows" were either compromises or worse, denial of truth.

The "don't know" lesson is important to what my beloved rabbi calls the "census of the redeemed" or it's opposite "the census of hell".

Both in the Church and among the Jewish Missions culture the answer to the question of the eternal destiny of all people, including the Jewish People is a settled issue, that being all non-Yeshua believers are categorically in the "census of hell" and are without hope and without G-d in this world and in the next. This is a settled issue and anyone who is not ready to answer unequivocally that all Jews who do not/did not embrace Yeshua as Messiah are damned are somehow unfaithful to the Bible and to G-d and also that these people are or may be espousing "dual covenant" theology.

I think that it is important to realize that all knowledge of G-d's dealings are in His hands and though we are given some insight into G-d's work, there are things that we don't know and I will say the mystery of how G-d distributes the merit of Yeshua's death is one of those issues. We do know that all who come to eternal life enter by Yeshua's sacrifice and that by explicit faith trust in Yeshua there is assurance of atonement, but there is more to the issue of the atonement that I think we do not know fully in how and to whom this new life is distributed.

So then we can and in some cases must say "don't know" on some important issues like the eternal destiny of individuals, knowing that there are areas where G-d has not fully revealed His full plan to us, yet we can know that G-d is in charge of all things and will do that which is right.

The Future of Messianic Judaism - Passing the Torch

2007-01-31T06:44:00.000-08:00

As I have just returned from the 2007 Hashivenu Forum where the future of our movement was discussed and debated, again the issue of the impotance of passing on to future generations was of issue. The time for moving forward is now and the time to allow for future leaders to arise and more substantially play a role is vital. This is said in all respect for the current leaders that have pioneered this journey over the last 30 plus years.

Though not new words, the below are important words that I have written that still hold import and are words calling for the future of our movement to substantially begin. We have had a symbolic "passing of the torch" as a few young leaders have been given opportunity to join in leadership roles with the older generation, but the time now is to start moving more younger people toward where they will be and need to be in the future and to truly begin and work toward the "passing of the torch" to the next generation.

To this end some words about where we need to move as we go forward building a Messianic Judaism future:

The future of Messianic Judaism, the future impact that we can have in our Jewish world and our impact on the whole of creation by playing our role in bringing about the consummation of history for all humanity will have alot to do with the actions of those of us who are in their 20's and 30's now who will have to be the future Messianic rabbis, scholars, teachers, writers, song writers, musicians, shabbat school teachers and all the various roles in our community and synagogal life.

For awhile I and others of this age group have acknowledged that we are the ones to take Messianic Judaism into the future and to continue the work and expand on it and see a true Messianic Judaism for the future which is a Jewish life intrinsically united with the life and power of our righteous Messiah, Yeshua. Though talk is great and our acknowledgment of our role to play in the future is important, it is now time to make our words into actions.

For this to become a reality and for us to take up the torch of Messianic Judaism into the 21st century and beyond we need to do the following (not exhaustive):

1. Find a mentor for teaching, training and encouragement.
2. Find your spiritual gift (your mentor and peers can help you discover this).
3. Seek education and training to more effectively use your gifting.
4. Put your gifting to use.
5. Make prayer for the building of a mature Messianic Judaism a daily commitment.
6. Serve in your synagogue.
7. Seek peers for prayer, education and encouragement.
8. Encourage your rabbi and leaders who are currently in leadership.

For those currently in leadership for us we need you to:

1. Seek out future leaders to mentor.
2. Assist us in discovering our gifting and encourage us to use our gifts.
3. Make opportunities for us to use our gifting in the synagogue and community.
4. Give us feedback, both positive and negative, so that we can learn and grow to be the leaders that we need to be.
5. Join us in daily prayer for the building of a mature Messianic Judaism.

This passing of the torch involves the current leaders preparing us to receive the torch and for them to pass it on to us and then for us to accept the torch and our responsibility to take our awesome role of being the ones in which the future of Messianic Judaism will rest and also the opportunity that we can play a role in changing our world for G-d like the first generation of Jewish believers did in their world by their faithful service.

Beyond just our movement we can change the course of human history as we build a mature Messianic Judaism and reunite the breach of Jewish life from faith trust in Yeshua, the Messiah of Israel. This is both a joy and an overwhelming responsibility but it is our job and we must do it, if we are truly focused on living G-d honoring lives and playing our role in G-d's plan of the ages.

So then the time has come for us to step up to be the next generation of leaders. We must do what is needed to be prepared to take the torch and for those current leaders you need to do your part to train us and then to give us the torch and allow us to enter our role to play in the future of our movement.

This is a group project and we all must do our part!

So then let us begin doing what needs to be done so that we can magnify and sanctify the name of our G-d by building a mature Messianic Judaism for the future.

The Next Rabbi

2007-01-25T07:41:00.000-08:00

As we look to the future of Messianic Judaism, we come to the next generation of rabbis.

As the current generation of rabbis begins to grow older, it is becoming more of an issue over the choosing of the next rabbi for our synagogues. This is important for our future to have a clear plan on who will be the next leader of your congregation and the one to lead the synagogue further into the 21st century.

This is an important decision and hopefully is something that is being considered by the current generation of leaders.

This also calls forth those men and women in their 20's and 30's to be available and preparing to be the ones called forward to take on this vital role, as congregational rabbi and leader of a Messianic Jewish community.

This is a group project, one being the current leaders finding and mentoring their successor and two for the 20 and 30somethings to be preparing to be available for being called to play this role.

May we see a great new next generation of Messianic rabbis with a passion for Torah and Jewish life and a deep desire to build a Messianic Jewish faith community that make Yeshua known as the long awaited Jewish Messiah.

May each of us do the work necessary for this important work!

Moving Forward Toward a Messianic Judaism - Magnifying and Sanctifying

2007-01-24T07:24:00.000-08:00

And finally, all we do should be to magnify and sanctify the name of the G-d of Israel, for whom we live and move and have our very being!

All that we do living in Jewish space, honoring Torah, respecting Jewish tradition and glorifying Yeshua is our acts to magnify and sanctify the name of our G-d.

In Philippians 2, Shaul gives a reflection on the future glorification of Yeshua:

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Messiah Yeshua, who, although He existed in the form of G-d, did not regard equality with G-d a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.

Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

For this reason also, G-d highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Yeshua every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Messiah Yeshua is L-rd, to the glory of G-d the Father.

Though the passage from Philippians 2, is commonly referenced as a look to the future glorification of King Messiah and the hope of that day that is all Shabbat (which it is), the passage concludes with the words:

…to the glory of G-d the Father.

This future exaltation and honoring of Yeshua as Messiah and L-rd of All is for the specific purpose of the magnification and sanctification of the G-d of Israel. On that day will be the day of G-d’s name to be magnified and sanctified by all of creation.

By giving glory to Yeshua, which we can do now with our words via prayer and through our lives by walking Torah we do sanctify the name of the G-d of Israel. G-d’s name is sanctified by lives of covenant faithfulness and our ongoing living out the words of those who stood at Mt. Sinai and said:

And all the people, answering together, said, "Whatever the L-rd has said we will do". And Moshe took back to the L-rd the words of the people.

(Sh’mot/Exodus 19:8)

Our covenant faithfulness is tied to our observance of G-d’s Torah and by walking Torah we can truly magnify and sanctify our G-d.

I love the liturgy and draw so much in my spiritual journey from it. The final blessing before the Shema at Maariv, the evening service gives us a picture of G-d's love for us and our opportunity to show our love for Him and to magnify and sanctify His name by his gift of Torah. These stirring words serve as the final blessing before the Shema in the evening service.

אַהֲבַת עוֹלָם בֵּית יִשְׁרָאֵל עַמְּךָ אָהָבְתָּ
תּוֹרָה וּמִצְוֹת, חֻקִּים וּמִשְׁפָּטִים, אוֹתָנוּ לִמַדְתָּ

Ahavat olam beit Yisrael am'cha ahav'ta: Torah umitzvot, chukim umish'patim otanu limad'ta

Unending is your love for your people, the House of Israel.
Torah and Mitzvot, laws and precepts have you taught us.

In these words that in their recitation hit me so deeply (I have to hold back tears at times) spell out G-d's love for the Jewish people in such a powerful way and they also show that G-d's love for us is demonstrated in His gift of Torah, mitzvot, laws and precepts as a way for us to live our lives. It is such a great thing to stop and reflect on the great love that G-d has for us and to thankfully recount His great love demonstrated in His Torah at the moment that we stand on the brink of saying the Shema and declaring the oneness of our G-d and our taking on of being his people which includes our responsibility to Torah.

וְנִשְׂמַח בְּדִבְרֵי תוֹרָתֶךָ וּבְמִצְוֹתֶיךָ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד

V'nis'mach b'divrei torat'cha Uv'mitz'votecha l'olam vaed.
we will meditate on Your laws and rejoice in Your Torah and Mitzvot forever

As we are soon to again enter Shabbat and again stand at the feet of Mt. Sinai and hear the Torah read let us embrace the above words and rejoice in the gift of G-d's Torah and His lovingkindess to us for giving us this way to walk. May we all seek out new ways to rejoice in G-d's Torah and give back love to the one who has even more than giving us the written Torah, but He has given us the "living Torah", our righteous Messiah Yeshua, who has written G-d's Torah on our hearts.

G-d has shown us such great love and it is now up to us to show our love for Him by walking in His ways.

G-d has given us His Torah in love and it is by this same Torah that we can give back to him the glory and honor that He deserves and by this we can magnify and sanctify His name.

So as we seek to honor Torah we are magnifying and sanctifying the name of our G-d and thereby we are playing our part in building a Messianic Judaism that can be a focal point for drawing the Jewish people, our People to their Messiah, the unseen, yet ever present High Priest of all Israel, as my beloved Rebbe, Stuart Dauermann so often remarks. Also as we covered in the post on “Honoring Torah” we are by living Torah also showing our love for Yeshua and thereby we are granted G-d’s Spirit to more fully live G-d’s Torah.

As we conclude a quick look back at my blog posts “We honor the Torah” and “Living Torah, Loving Yeshua”:

The Torah is our life. It is at the core of a mature Messianic Judaism. The Torah is the way of living out the covenant between G-d and the Jewish people and therefore a relation to Torah is a required part of any expression of Judaism.

So then we must if we desire to build a mature Messianic Judaism need to live our life by the instructions that G-d has given in the Torah. Our seeking to live our lives in accordance with the Torah is vital for our own walking in G-d's ways and also as a demonstration to the larger Jewish world that we are a Torah faithful community.

So then, I encourage you to delve into the treasure trove of soulfull worship that we have in the siddur. In it we can so powerfully connect to the G-d of Israel and grow closer to Him and in the shared prayers of our people more intimately connect with the past, present and future of our people who daily pray these powerful words.

May we each day magnify and sanctify our G-d by both our words and our actions!

Moving Forward Toward a Messianic Judaism - Glorifying Yeshua, our righteous Messiah

2007-01-23T07:55:00.000-08:00

Fourthly, as we continue in this process toward a Messianic Judaism we come to the glorifying of Yeshua, our righteous Messiah.

We have so far covered the important issues of our honoring of the Torah, G-d's way of life for the Jewish people; the respecting of Jewish tradition, the Jewish people's communal way of living out the Torah and we now come to the key to our "Messianic" identity namely the glorification of our righteous Messiah, Yeshua.

We are seeking to move toward becoming a mature Messianic Judaism, a Judaism with a Messiah in our midst! This is such a powerful marker and rather than just looking for a Messiah of speculation, we have a Messiah who has demonstrated his Messiahship by a life of Torah observance and a willing self-sacrifice on the stake for us and He is with us today.

As I think about Yeshua, I am taken aback in the wonder of it all. Rather than waiting for a Messiah to come, we know today who the Messiah is and we await his return to complete the redemption of all things. I think to the wonder expressed in the Book of Yochanan when the first followers of Yeshua encountered him and Andrew excitedly told his brother Simon about Yeshua.

He found first his own brother Simon and said to him,
"We have found the Messiah".
(Yochanan 1:41)

Like Andrew we have found the Messiah! Yeshua is the Jewish Messiah, the Hope of Israel, the Root and Offspring of David and the One in whom the promises made to the Fathers is uniquely answered. So then we can only in great awe acknowledge him as both our L-rd and Messiah and thereby seek to glorify him and make him known as the King of Israel.

The Messiah has come, he is Yeshua and we as his talmidim now get the privilege and responsibility to glorify him as we await that great day alluded to in the Aleinu when all the nations of the earth will bow down and glorify Yeshua as the King of Kings and L-rd of L-rds. We get the awesome task and privilege to joyfully now today give honor and in thankfulness bow before him who is our Redeemer and coming King.

For us to build a mature Messianic Judaism the glorification of our righteous Messiah needs to be intrinsically a part of our communal life.

As I have said throughout these posts all of these elements come together in our goal to build a Messianic Judaism.

In another passage from the book of Yochanan (John), we come to a passage on the "lifting up" of Yeshua and below is my midrash (creative interpetation) of this verse.

"And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself."
(Yochanan 12:32)

I would like for us to look at the above verse in a different way than the usual reading, being that in context in verse 33 the passage concludes:

But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die. (Yochanan 12:33)

This passage is looking at the “lifting up of Yeshua” to be a reference to His impending death of the Roman cross. But I want us to as we consider the glorifying of Yeshua to “lifting up Yeshua” by living lives that embody a walking in Torah.

Yeshua said that in his being lifted up that all will be drawn to Him. For this let us consider the role we can play to lift Yeshua up within the Jewish community by living Torah honoring lives. Yeshua is the Jewish Messiah that should be followed by Torah honoring Jews. What can be expected to be part and parcel of the true Jewish Messiah but that Jews would return to lives of Torah. If Yeshua is the Jewish Messiah then His followers should be Torah faithful Jews. So if we seek to truly give the honor due to our Messiah then a life of walking Torah is our duty.

May we walk Torah and give the honor due to our Messiah by being his disciples as we follow His example and may we build a movement that is a movement that follows Yeshua's example!

Moving Forward Toward a Messianic Judaism - Respecting Jewish Tradition

2007-01-22T06:39:00.000-08:00

Thirdly we come to the question on “How do we live Torah?” and we can try to live out Torah on our own or like our People through history we can draw on our Jewish tradition. This is one of the most innovative parts of Messianic Judaism in that to be credible we must come to respect Jewish tradition and live in the G-d given way of life that has been preserved over the last 2000 years.

In the third section of the Shema (Bamidbar/Numbers 15:37-41) we read:

לז וַיֹּאמֶר יְי אֶל־מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר: לח דַּבֵּר אֶל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם וְעָשׂוּ לָהֶם צִיצִת עַל־כַּנְפֵי בִגְדֵיהֶם לְדֹרֹתָם וְנָתְנוּ עַל־צִיצִת הַכָּנָף פְּתִיל תְּכֵלֶת: לט וְהָיָה לָכֶם לְצִיצִת וּרְאִיתֶם אֹתוֹ וּזְכַרְתֶּם אֶת־כָּל־מִצְוֹת יְי וַעֲשִׂיתֶם אֹתָם וְלֹא תָתוּרוּ אַחֲרֵי לְבַבְכֶם וְאַחֲרֵי עֵינֵיכֶם אֲשֶׁר־אַתֶּם זֹנִים אַחֲרֵיהֶם: מ לְמַעַן תִּזְכְּרוּ וַעֲשִׂיתֶם אֶת־כָּל־מִצְוֹתָי וִהְיִיתֶם קְדֹשִׁים לֵאלֹהֵיכֶם: מא אֲנִי יְי אֱלֹהֵיכֶם אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִי אֶתְכֶם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם לִהְיוֹת לָכֶם לֵאלֹהִים אֲנִי יְי אֱלֹהֵיכֶם:

And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying,
Speak to the people of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a thread of blue;
And it shall be to you for a fringe, that you may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the L-rd, and do them; and that you seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, which incline you to go astray;
That you may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy to your G-d.
I am the L-rd your G-d, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your G-d; I am the L-rd your G-d.

This commandment to make fringes or in the Hebrew "tzitzit" was originally observed by affixing tzitzit to the four cornered garments that were worn in Biblical times.

Being that people today do not normally wear four cornered garments the commandment today is fulfilled by the talit or prayer shawl worn at morning services which we are all familiar. Among Orthodox and other traditonally minded men will wear a talit katan (or small talit) which is worn under the shirt and it like the prayer shawl has the tzitzit on the four corners of the garment. This is a way to daily observe the command beyond just wearing the large talit for morning prayer services.

In the Brit Chadashah we get an account of a woman who was healed from a 12 year medical conditional by touching the hem or more than likely the tzitzit of Yeshua:

Yeshua got up and began to follow him, and so did His disciples.
And a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years, came up behind Him and touched the fringe (tzitzit) of His cloak; for she was saying to herself, "If I only touch His garment, I will get well."

Yeshua by wearing tzitzit gives us a clear example of the importance of observing Torah and his respect for Jewish tradition that defined how the tzitzit were to be worn. Yeshua's Torah observance made a way for this woman to be healed. So Torah is practical on both a spiritual and physical life.

Yeshua is our example and may we follow His example and seek to live Torah each and every day!

So then we have briefly looked at how Jewish tradition has dealt with the fulfilling of the commandments of the Shema to wear tzitzit on the corner of our garments that is done by the talit at prayer services and the talit katan for daily observance.

As we continue to look at Jewish tradition and Messianic Judaism we come to another passage where Yeshua dealt with the issue of the observance of Torah via the Jewish traditions of his day.
In Matthew 23:1-3, Yeshua speaks about the Jewish leaders of his day, namely the P'rushim or Pharisees, who began the development of Jewish law that later Rabbis would codify in the Mishnah and Gemara to form the Talmud, the basis for Jewish traditional practice.

The teachers of the Torah and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you to. But do not what they do, for they do not practice what they preach

Though this passage has been used against the Pharisees and against Torah observance as being "for show" or "legalistic", let's look at what Yeshua is saying on a positive note.

1. Yeshua is acknowledging that the Pharisees were sitting "in the seat of Moses", which means that they were the ones that were recognized as the interpreters of the Torah for that time.

2. Being that the Torah teachers and Pharisees were the interpreters of Torah then Yeshua says to obey what they tell you about observing Torah.

3. Yeshua also warns against acting wrongly by not fulfilling G-d's commandments by doing things for show or the praise of men.

The problem that Yeshua highlights is not the meticulous observance of Torah and Jewish tradition, but that the Pharisees were saying to obey Torah and follow Jewish tradition, but not living out Torah.

This is important to realize that living Torah and walking in Jewish life is to be an ongoing activity and our focus in all we do needs to be to honor G-d and not just "observe traditions" but actively seek to honor G-d anew each day. So then for the building of a mature Messianic Judaism, we must respect Jewish tradition, which serves us in that it is the way for us to live out the Torah in our lives each day.

Moving Forward Toward a Messianic Judaism - Honoring the Torah

2007-01-21T11:23:00.000-08:00

Secondly to build a Messianic Judaism we need to honor the Torah.

The Torah is our life. It is at the core of a mature Messianic Judaism. The Torah is the way of living out the covenant between G-d and the Jewish people and therefore a relation to Torah is a required part of any expression of Judaism (especially for us as we seek to build a Messianic Judaism).

So then if we desire to build a mature Messianic Judaism, then we must live our life by the instructions that G-d has given in the Torah. The “Torah” is given a broader meaning in other expressions of Judaism to the full range of rabbinic texts (Mishnah, Talmud, Midrash, etc.). These texts are important in our development of a Messainic Judaism because they lay out how Judaism has been lived in the past and how we should live as a Judaism if that is where we are going (which I hope we are). We also have within the context of our understanding of Torah, the Brit Chadashah as our fuller instructions for living Torah as modeled by our Mesiah and his talmidim.

The Brit Chadashah can be seen as the way of understanding Torah life that reflected the views of the early Messianic Jews, much like the Mishnah, reflects the view of the early Rabbinic Jews.

We should then seek to live our lives in accordance with the Torah, this is vital for our own walking in G-d's ways and it is also can serve as a demonstration to the larger Jewish world that we as Messianic Jews are a Torah faithful community.

On the isssue of what it means to honor Torah and live Torah there is so much debate amongst people within the Messianic Jewish world with extremes from those who hold to an abolishment of Torah to those who are on the opposite extreme of meticulous Torah observance. But we need to step back and look at what the Torah is and how it functions in our lives.

Most basic is that the Torah is not a works based system of righteousness. No one is "saved" by observing Torah and no one ever was. The Torah is the way of life of the Jewish people and is the guiding document of what it means to live out the covenant between G-d and Israel. The coming of Yeshua was not the end of the Jewish people's bondage to Torah and the individual's attempt to earn salvation by works, but it was the ratification and reaffirmation of the Torah by the one who lived out the Torah's commands in absolute obedience to G-d.

The coming of the Messiah was an affirmation of the redemptive hopes embodied in the Torah and it was the flowering of the redemption in the person of the one who was referred to by the early Messianic Jews as "HaTorah", the Torah in flesh in our midst, a connection to this understanding can be seen in Yochanan 1:14, where Yochanan writes:

The Word became a human being and lived with us, and we saw his Sh'khinah, The Sh'khinah of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth.

Yochanan 1:14 (JNT)

So then if not as a way to earn salvation (which has always been based in faith in G-d) we come to the real place of Torah as the way of walking for those in relationship to the G-d of Israel and the way of life for the Jewish people, as those in covenant relationship to G-d.

In Yochanan 14:15-16, Yeshua said:

If you love me, you will keep my commands; and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another comforting Counselor like me, the Spirit of Truth, to be with you forever.

Yochanan 14:15-16, (JNT)

In these words of Yeshua we get another level of what Torah observance means above the main level of it being the duty of the Jewish people to order their lives according to Torah, for the followers of Yeshua it is also a way of showing love for Yeshua by observing His commands, being that Yeshua as the physical manifestation of the G-d of Israel is both the Messiah who came amongst us and was also the one who gave the Torah to the Jewish people. So by observing Torah we also show our love for Yeshua. As an added benefit Yeshua also promised that by obeying Torah that we would also be given the Spirit of G-d which will be our Comforter and will help us live Torah. So in obeying Torah we are granted the Spirit of G-d so that we can more earnestly live within a Torah life.

So then let us seek to live lives of Torah faithfulness and in so doing we will show love to Yeshua, our righteous Messiah and also receive the power of
G-d's Spirit to more fully live the Torah.

Moving Forward Toward a Messianic Judaism - Living in Jewish Space

2007-01-20T23:32:00.000-08:00

Over the last 2+ years, we have looked at important basic values that we need to grasp and put into practice in our lives so that we can move toward a Messianic Judaism for the future.

These basic values are:

Living in Jewish space.

Honoring Torah.

Respecting Jewish tradition.

Glorifying Yeshua, our Righteous Messiah.

Magnifying and Sanctifying the G-d of Israel.

In this new series of posts we will look back at some of the material that we covered in the previous posts and look to where we can go from here as we strive to move toward building a mature Messianic Judaism.

First off to build a Messianic Judaism we first must understand what it means to live in Jewish space.

To build a Messianic Judaism future we need to build in Jewish space and see our personal and communal lives as within the context of Judaism, a new and exciting expression of Judaism, a Messianic Judaism that embraces our righteous Messiah Yeshua and stands as credible communities of Jewishly oriented, Torah faithful followers of the Jewish Messiah.

So then what does it mean practically to “live in Jewish space”?

First and foremost we need to look at the foundational items of a Judaism and therefore the building blocks of Jewish space:

G-D
TORAH
ISRAEL

First off a Judaism and thereby an expression of credible Jewish space will include the recognition of the G-d of Israel. The embracing of the G-d of Israel may be the easiest to accept and most broad based part of all of our lives and the recognition that the G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is our G-d and the focal point of our religious life. This may be the easiest element of building in Jewish space for us.

Secondly is the Torah of Israel as a key element. Though next class will focus on our honoring of the Torah, for now we need to briefly see that the Torah is a vital element of our “living in Jewish space”. The Torah is the way of life for the Jewish people and G-d throughout the Torah makes statements that include phrases like “for all time” and “throughout all your generations” as the time period for His commands making it clear that the Torah is of ongoing importance to Jewish life.

If we are going to live in Jewish space then we must seek to learn Torah and live Torah. A life that is lived in the context of Torah is part and parcel of the way of life of the Jewish people and discovering what a Torah life means is key for us in one living our lives as G-d intends for us and also it stands as a demonstration to the larger Jewish world that we are Torah faithful followers of the Jewish Messiah, whether the larger Jewish world agrees with our choice of Messiah, they will see us walking in Torah ways and hopefully as we draw nearer to G-d’s Torah that we can have opportunity for our claims about Yeshua to at least be given a hearing.

For over 1800 years believing in Yeshua has meant rejection of the Torah and Jewish life, we who are building a Messianic Judaism stand as a challenge to this and as a testimony to the fact that there are Torah faithful Jews that embrace Yeshua. So then to build a credible Judaism and a credible expression of Jewish space we need to deal with and seek to understand and live our lives in the context of the Torah.

The People of Israel is also of vital import and may be the biggest issue for us to deal with in our quest to live in Jewish space. The “People of Israel” embraces all of the descendants of Jacob and those non-Jews who have converted to Judaism. All of the Jewish people are “us”.

For many Messianic Jews there is an “us” (Messianic Jews and Christians) and “them” (The larger Jewish world) dichotomy, which places the Messianic Jewish community as outside the larger Jewish world and therefore makes us no longer a presence for Yeshua within the Jewish world. This also places the larger Jewish world as outsiders. We have to realize that the larger Jewish world is intrinsically a part of who we are and that to be a credible expression of Jewish life then we must build a Messianic Jewish community that is open to and welcoming of all the Jewish people.

We need to build a Messianic Judaism that is a recognizable and credible place for Jewish people to belong and a place in which Jewish life is part and parcel of who we are, anything less is less than a credible representation of Messianic Judaism and a failing in our calling to be the Yeshua honoring, Torah faithful community within the larger Jewish world.

Are we willing to build a Messianic Judaism in Jewish space and if so what does that mean to us?

Anti-Judaism Confronted: Denigrating Judaism to Lift Up Yeshua?

2007-01-20T22:57:00.000-08:00

It is sad to see that Jews for Jesus and other missions that part and parcel of their presentation of Yeshua is a clear denigration of Judaism and the missionaries belief in the spiritual bankruptcy of all Jews who do not have Yeshua faith.

In this they are seeking to present the message about Yeshua by pulling down Judaism and presenting themselves as the ones to lead these people away from Judaism to the Jewish Messiah. Am I the only one to see a huge problem here?

Rather than lifting up Yeshua as the Messiah of Israel that calls all Jews to himself they take the tactic to seek to present their belief in the failings of the faith of the Jewish People. Making for a negative presentation ("Judaism is worhtless, become a Christian"), rather than a more effective and more biblical approach to offer a positive presentation ("The Jewish Messiah has come to bring you a renewed life following the G-d of your fathers").

If Yeshua is going to truly be lifted up He will be lifted up as the Jewish Messiah that is honored by Torah honoring, Judaism living Jews.

May we seek to make Yeshua known as the Jewish Messiah within Judaism of today not in contrast or opposition to it!

Defining Messianic Judaism: Our Community of Reference

2007-01-10T21:09:00.000-08:00

One of the most important factors in building a Messianic Judaism is to understand who is our community of reference.

In understanding and embracing the Jewish community and Judaism as our community of reference, our "home base", we are making a huge leap from our Hebrew Christian past to begin to fully grasp our Messianic Judaism future.

My synagogue is in the Pico-Robertson area of Los Angeles, a distinctly Orthodox Jewish neighborhood with at least 11 Orthodox synagogues within walking distance of my shul. These synagogues and the Jewish people attending them are our community of reference and the ones that we are in relation. The Jewish people are us, both those with and without Yeshua trust.

My synagogue is next to a Lutheran church and our facilities are used by a Foursquare Church on Sundays. Though these are good religious communities and led by good people, they are not our community of reference. They are Christian churches seeking to be a home for all people of the world and primarily oriented to non-Jews. They share Yeshua faith with Messianic Jews and in this we are in agreement yet we are distinct communities.

To build a Messianic Judaism we must orient ourselves to being a part of the Jewish world and seek to be living, breathing Jewish faith communities that glorify our G-d by honoring G-d's Torah and truly giving glory to Yeshua, our righteous Messiah.

May we be the builders of our Messianic Judaism future!

On the Web: Rabbenu: Do Jews Need The Gospel, Should We Proclaim It To Them, and If So, Why?

2007-01-02T23:23:00.000-08:00

Important new post by Rabbi Stuart Dauermann entitled:

Do Jews Need The Gospel, Should We Proclaim It To Them, and If So, Why?

Embracing Judaism, Are We Ready?

2006-12-28T08:02:00.000-08:00

Embracing Judaism is the title of a book on converting to Judaism, one of the many books for potential converts to Judaism to read as they contemplate or prepare for conversion.

This post will seek to ask us are we ready to embrace Judaism?

Are we ready to fully see Messianic Judaism as a Judaism?

or are we content just to use the name without embracing all that this name implies.

For building a mature Messianic Judaism we need to embrace Judaism as our identity core or as Dr. Mark Kinzer so aptly put in his booklet, The Nature of Messianic Judaism our "genus", with Messianic being the "species". I avoided biology in high school and college but what I know of biology the genus is the main grouping with the species being a grouping or kind of the genus. For those more familiar with the arts rather than the sciences, Dr. Kinzer was clearly putting forward that Messianic Judaism in it's authentic and mature form is a Judaism with Messianic being the type. Messianic is the adjective describing the noun Judaism.

An important and I will say a vital step in our maturation is the move toward establishing a rite of passage for the acceptance of a Judaism life for non-Jews, more commonly known in the larger Jewish world as conversion.

A Messianic Jewish conversion program is a clear acceptance of our place as a Judaism and the embracing of our identity as more than just a Jewish contextualized form of Christianity but as we truly need to be a Judaism, grounded in Jewish space that honors the Torah, respects Jewish tradition and glorifies Yeshua. This is a step that we must take if we are going to fully embrace our place as a Judaism and to fully accept our place in the destiny of the Jewish people within a recognizable Judaism.

For the detractors this is not a matter of seeking the approval of the Jewish community but to fully embrace the identity that G-d has given to the Jewish people to live as a Jewish community and like Judaism throughout it's history to allow for those non-Jews with a sincere calling and drawing to cast their lot with the Jewish people to have that opportunity. It is one thing to each Shavuot to read from and study the Book of Ruth, which is Jewish custom and laud Ruth the "good Moabite" who joined with the people of Israel and grandmother of King David who said some of the most powerful words in the Bible:

But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your G-d, my G-d". (Ruth 1:16 NASB)

But if this is where we leave the convert to Judaism to a revered person in the past are we not therefore not fully accepting our place as a Judaism and even worse as a "Judaism" unlike any other that does not allow the committed non-Jew to fully join with the Jewish people and embrace Judaism as their own.

If we are intent on building a Messianic Judaism for the future first off we must embrace our identity as a Judaism and an important part of this identity embracing is the accepting of a rite of passage/Messianic Jewish conversion process for the few non-Jews in our midst who like Ruth share a deep calling to fully accepting Jewish life and having their commitment to Judaism and the Jewish people recognized by the Messianic Judaism community under the guidance and oversight of respected Messianic rabbis.

This is something that we must do if we seek to build a mature Messianic Judaism for the future!

The Worst News

2006-12-24T15:52:00.000-08:00

The above passage which will be read tonight and tomorrow in churches around the world at Christmas services declares what should be "super great totally amazing news" for the Jewish people, Yeshua, the Messiah, the descendant of David, the Redeemer has come! The one that is cried for each day in the liturgy, the Hope of Israel was born into this world. The Redeemer has come, the Redemption cried for in the siddur has been inaugurated.

Yet in traditional Christian teaching and the theological assumptions driving the Missions to the Jews, like Jews for Jesus and others, the coming of the Messiah was not even just "good news" and not even just bad news, but the worst news possible at the time for the 99% of the Jewish people of Yeshua's time and for the 99% of Jews today.

As is taught by the Church and the Missions, the Jewish people from Sinai to the death of Yeshua could be "saved" by believing in G-d, observing Torah commands, offering sacrifices at the Tabernacle/Temple and living ethical lives, yet when Messiah came the only way to be "saved" was to pray a "sinner's prayer" and embrace Yeshua as Messiah.

Under this way of thinking, the coming of the long awaited Jewish Messiah, instantaneously changed the fate of all the pious Jews that were believing in G-d, observing Torah commands, offering sacrifices at the Tabernacle/Temple and living ethical lives, rather than having their lives bettered by the coming of Yeshua, they were now damned and on their way to Hell, unless they immediately prayed a "sinner's prayer" (which was not introduced into Christian teaching until the revivals of the 19th century, so the Jews (and non-Jews) of the 1st to 19th century were really in trouble!)

So then in the common teaching of the Church and Missions, the coming of the Messiah did not open up G-d's redemption to "all the people" of Israel like the angel declared, but good news to only a few Jews who converted to Christianity and abandoned Torah life, but for most of "all the people" of Israel it brought a mass condemnation of all those Jews who were not pre-cross followers of Yeshua.

This thinking also has made for a difficult proposition to present Yeshua as good news for the Jewish people of the 21st century being that as taught and believed in the Church the coming of the Messiah (under this thinking) has meant the mass eternal condemnation of 50 generations of Jews. These Jews who have not seen a Jewish Messiah in the person of the "Jesus" of the Church or Y'shua of the Missions, but the "g-d of the goyim" that was anti-Jewish, anti-Judaism and anti-Torah and taught His followers likewise.

The "Jesus" of the Church and the "Y'shua" of the Missions that is presented to Jewish people, can rightly called "another Yeshua" of "another good news" (Gal. 1:6-9), rather than as the Messiah to bring redemption and a reviving of Torah living for the Jewish People, in contrast their "Jesus" or "Y'shua" brings mass condemnation to most of the Jewish people and salvation to only an elect few Jews who become Christians and a for them a life now free from Torah observance!

The Messiah has come, He should be seen as super great totally amazing news for all of the Jewish people! The coming of the Messiah should make life now and in the future better for the Jewish people, only by seeing Yeshua as the Jewish Messiah, who comes to bring redemption and new life walking Torah will the coming of Yeshua be good news.

May we make Yeshua known as the one who brings redemption, new life in Torah by the power of G-d's Spirit and a renewed connection to the G-d of Israel and more than that may we do the work to make this a reality!

Woe to him who wilfully innovates - A Lesson from Lao Tzu

2006-12-20T23:08:00.000-08:00

Woe to him who wilfully innovates
While ignorant of the constant

- Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching 16b

The above words come from Lao Tzu the author of Tao Te Ching, one of the main texts of Taoism, a basic form of Chinese religion. You may wonder where do words from Taoism come into my thinking?

In 2002, I received 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 to be 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 enrollment.

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, I did an oral presentation on Humanistic Judaism in my "Religion and Society" class.

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 "Seudah Moshiach" 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 "Seudah Moshiach" 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 seven 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 own "Judaism" and also it makes us even more outsiders to the larger Jewish world.

May you all have a good Hanukkah!

The Dilemna of December 25th

2006-12-19T23:10:00.000-08:00

I DON'T CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS.

CHRISTMAS IS A PAGAN HOLIDAY!

These kind and loving words were delivered by me a few years ago when Shabbat fell on December 25th and I was seeking to share with my family that I wanted to go to Shabbat services and skip my family's Christmas day celebration (I would still take the gifts).

So then our current posting.

We are now about 5 days away from the 25th of December. The day of great anxiety for many people in the Jewish world and especially for us in Messianic Judaism, wherein the non-celebration of Christmas has become a marker of our fidelity to the Jewish people by not celebrating a Christian holiday.

The great extreme as noted by my comments above is the hard line take that Christmas is a pagan holiday, being that the 25th of December was the celebration of Saturnalia until Constantine co-opted it and changed the day to a celebration of the birth of Yeshua.

As a child after I found out about the pagan backstory of Christmas, I thought that it was making an unholy day (celebrating a pagan deity) to be holy by honoring Yeshua's birth. Though this was a good perspective as I look at it now, the above later anti-Christmas attitude was built into my Messianic psyche.

Like "church bashing", we need to realize that we cannot build our Messianic Jewish identity by attacking the Church and Christian practices, yes where the Church is wrong like in anti-Judaism and anti-Torah attitudes we must respond, but in areas of the Church's religious observances that can be seen as an attempt to honor G-d in "Gentile space" we need to have a proper perspective.

My mom is a hardcore Christmas celebrant, 365 days a year there is some Christmas themed knic-nac or artwork around her home. She even wore a "Jesus is the Reason for the Season" sweater when she bought me my Rebbe Soul and Neshama Carlebach CD's at the local Judaica shop a few years ago (I imagine that confused them a bit).

So then does my mom worship a pagan deity in her observance of Christmas? No she is living out her Christian faith in her own "Gentile space" and she is celebrating the birth of her Saviour and L-rd, namely Yeshua, who she acknowledges as the Jewish Messiah and the Saviour of the World.

So then we need to understand that there are many devout Christians who seek to celebrate the birth of Yeshua and they celebrate it on December 25th.

Yes, there is a vast number of people caught up into the secularized "Holiday Season" and we can see that these people are not seeking to honor the birth of the Messiah, but there are also a lot of people who do seek to honor G-d at this time of year.

It is ironic that a local Conservative synagogue that I attend on occasion is next to a Catholic church and I was thinking that as the Jews are concluding Shabbat this year that next door the Catholics would be preparing for the midnight mass services to kick off Christmas.

So then let us all come to see Christmas in a proper perspective and honor the fact that in the Church there are non-Jews honoring the birth of the Messiah.

This leaves me a thought for us in the Messianic Judaism community for us to work on in house, that being the need for us to develop an appropriate celebration for the coming of our Messiah. We have as our distinctive as a Judaism our belief that the Messiah has come, we should build into Sukkot, which is believed to be an appropriate season for Messiah's birth, a liturgy that celebrates the birth of Yeshua at this time that we focus on living in tabernacles, we should take the opportunity to celebrate when our Messiah tabernacled with us.

So then we have two tasks:

1. Step back and appreciate Christmas in the context that it is a celebration in "Gentile space" and that many celebrants are seeking to celebrate the birth of Yeshua, their L-rd and Saviour and not to celebrate a pagan holiday.

2. We as a Messianic community need to develop a celebration of the coming of our righteous Messiah as a part of Sukkot.

May all followers of Yeshua honor him on the 25th of December (and every day!), either with gifts, carols and egg nog or as I and others who practice Judaism by glorifying our Messiah by honoring Him and lifting him up before our world by living a Torah life.

Shalom to you all and to all a good night...

(originally posted on 12/22/04 on towardblog)

Lessons from the Maccabees

2006-12-15T07:33:00.000-08:00

We are near the start of Hanukkah and as we begin reflecting on the miracle of the season and the valiant fight of the Maccabees to keep Judaism life alive, I come to our task to build a Messianic Judaism future.

The Maccabees were faced with the Syrian-Greeks' call to assimilate into Hellenistic culture and leave Torah life behind including Shabbat, kashrut and circumcision. Some of the Jews gave in and embraced Hellenism and assimilated away from their G-d ordained way of life, but fortunately for us there was Mattathias and his sons who said "NO" and chose to fight and lay down their lives for Judaism and Torah. This fight for Torah helped to preserve Judaism in that critical time and it kept alive a faith and life that allowed for a pious Jewish family to travel to Bethlehem about 160 years later for the birth of our righteous Messiah, Yeshua (so then Hanukkah is important for both Jews and Christians).

But to us now. We who are building a Messianic Judaism are standing as pioneers and people outside the larger Jewish world and larger Christian world. The call to us from the Church and Jewish Missions culture is to embrace our place as Christians (of Jewish heritage) and the larger Jewish world is calling for us to reject Yeshua faith and "return" to the Jewish world.

Both of these choices are wrong and would be assimilating ourselves out of G-d's plan.

We cannot embrace a Christian identity that would over time mean an end of a distinct Jewish presence for Yeshua within the body of Messiah. We also cannot let go of our faith in Yeshua as our Messiah, which would be an ending of our connection to our Messiah and also a transgression of G-d's Torah by denying the Messiah of Israel.

So then we must fight the call to leave our distinct idenity as Messianic Judaism, a distinctly Jewish, Torah faithful way of life that honors Yeshua as Messiah and L-rd.

Are we willing to stand where we are and even fight for this profound place that G-d has placed us in His plan?

I sure hope we are...

May you have a blessed Hanukkah!

Defining Messianic Judaism: Beyond Lox and Bagels

2006-12-07T16:35:00.000-08:00

Who are these Jewish people that G-d is still working through?
Who are these Jewish people whom G-d has not rejected and will someday restore?
Who are these Jewish people who are beloved for the sake of the patriarchs
and for whom Paul longed to see their salvation?

Dr. Kinzer has helped me to see that they are people whose identity has been preserved, not by lox and bagels, but by a religion—Judaism.

Derek Leman quoted on Rabbenu

In the above words from his paper, Judaism and New Testament Faith: Evaluating Mark Kinzer’s Post-Missionary Messianic Judaism, Derek Leman lays out an important item for us to consider and embrace as we seek to build a Messianic Judaism for the future.

Namely, that the Jewish People are here today and we have the ability to build a Messianic Judaism because of the divinely guided work of preserving the Jewish people brought about by G-d through Rabbinic Judaism.

At the bleak time after the destruction of the Holy Temple in 70 CE, specifically the work in Yavneh beginning in 90 CE, the choice to keep Judaism alive and the continuing existence of the Jewish People was hanging in the balance. It was by the vehicle of the post-Temple Judaism developed by the Pharisees and later developed fuller by the Rabbis, including Yochanan ben Zakkai and others. This Judaism is the way of living Jewish life and following G-d's Torah that has kept the Jewish People these 1900 plus years as a dsitinct people and living testimony to the G-d of Israel.

More than bagels, lox, gefilte fish, Yiddish or any other cultural, custom or folkway the Jewish People are here today and we can even discuss building a Messianic Judaism because of the Rabbis who gave us modern Rabbinic Judaism and the Torah faithful Jews of the past (and present) that have held/hold to this G-d ordained life, walking Torah and living Torah.

Sadly much of the Missions culture and the remaining Hebrew Christians, espouse that Rabbinic Judaism is a "dead religion" or "false religion" and they see that "Messianic Judaism", is just a name for a Jewish cultural style of Evangelical Christianity. The "Messianic Jewish movement" or "Messianic Judaism" that they espouse is more of bagels and lox than Torah and traditional Jewish living.

A true Messianic Judaism that I am calling for is to be a vital, living Torah faithful Judaism for Yeshua, not just Sabbatarian Baptist Churches with Jewish pastors. Messianic Judaism must be a part of 21st century Jewish life and a recognizable part of the modern Jewish world.

This is a call to move beyond a Jewish cultural form of Christianity and to become a Yeshua infused part of modern Judaism.

May G-d grant us the strength for this holy task!

Messianic Judaism as a verb - A call to action.

2006-11-20T07:44:00.000-08:00

This came to me while walking to my office one day. I guess if Shaul could have his Damascus Road experience the concept "Messianic Judaism is a Verb" could be considered my Variel Street experience.

So then besides offending English majors what is my point?

The thing that hit me is that Messianic Judaism is not a religion of spectators or just synagogue attenders but we will only continue to have Messianic Judaism and for the future if we each take action to keep our movement alive and to take it farther toward truly being a mature Messianic Judaism and to fulfill and even surpass the dreams of those who moved us from the identity of "Hebrew Christian" to "Messianic Jewish" and now for us to move to be MESSIANIC JUDAISM, a Jewish faith movement that honors the Messiah of Israel, Yeshua our L-rd and coming king.

So then we need to move beyond just attending services and being a spectator and actively seek out what we can do to further our movement for the future.

If you are a leader:

Seek out younger people in your shul to mentor and train.

If you are in your 20's and 30's:

Seek out a mentor.

Seek out other young leaders and meet together for learning and encouragement.

All of us could use more Jewish education so look into classes at MJTI for training for the rabbinate and also for graduate level coursework:

Messianic Jewish Theological Institute

For adult education classes:

Adult Education Programs from UMJC

I am passionate about seeing new leaders to build Messianic Judaism so keep checking back here for more information.

The future is in our hands, we must do the work necessary and we must all play our part.

May we live our lives to honor our G-d and glorify our righteous Messiah by building a Messianic Judaism future!

Defining Messianic Judaism - We are not Jews for Jesus!

2006-11-16T07:19:00.000-08:00

WE ARE NOT JEWS FOR JESUS

Above is our response to most questions about our movement, whenever we are asked "So you're Jews for Jesus?"

This happened to me awhile back when two young women walking by my synagoue asked me some questions (see the post "A Relevant Messianic Judaism - A Field Study"). After answering the question "So what kind of synagogue is this" and I responded that we were "a Messianic synagogue, a synagogue that believes that Jesus is the Messiah".

One of the women said "You're Jews for Jesus?" I responded that we were not and then expalined that Jews for Jesus is a Christian missions organization but we are a Jewish faith community wherein we believed that Messiah had come and that Jesus is the Messiah. Both of the women after wishing me and the other people a "Shabbat Shalom" went on their way.

This was an important time for at least two people in the Jewish community to be presented with a practical distinction between Messianic Judaism and Jews for Jesus.

Jews for Jesus is an evangelical Christian missionary organization that is firmly grounded in Christian soil.

Messianic Judaism is a Jewish congregational movement that is (or should be) firmly grounded in Jewish soil.

If we are going to go forward as "not being Jews for Jesus" we need to take the bold move to make our words more grounded in reality. We need to make it clear that Jews for Jesus and other Christian missionary groups are not representative of a Messianic Judaism future.

A practical step would be to not allow Jews for Jesus and other missions groups to have displays/tables/booths/speakers at UMJC and MJAA Conferences.

This is something that hit me like a load of bricks at the 1999 UMJC Conference in Woodland Hills, CA, being that the seminars that I went to seemed honed on our identity as a Judaism and moving toward a Messianic Judaism future distinct from our Hebrew Christian past, yet as I left the seminars out in the lobby at the conference was Jews for Jesus and other Jewish missions groups.

It seemed that we were saying one thing was our identity (Messianic Judaism), yet by the Jews for Jesus booth we were allowing another identity (Hebrew Christianity/Evangelical Christianity) to be seen as us. It made for an untenable clash of identity and sadly highlights our need to build a unified identity that holds fast to ourselves as Messianic Judaism, a Judaism that honors Torah, respects Jewish tradition and glorifies Yeshua, our righteous Messiah and thereby move to being a credible Judaism.

So then are we Jews for Jesus or are we not???

If we are not then we need to take actions to make our words meaningful...

Another Good News About Yeshua?

2006-11-15T07:58:00.000-08:00

I am surprised that you are being so quickly turned away from him whose word came to you in the grace of Messiah, to good news of a different sort;
Which is not another sort: only there are some who give you trouble, desiring to make changes in the good news of Messiah.
But even if we, or an angel from heaven, were to be a preacher to you of good news other than that which we have given you, let there be a curse on him.
As we have said before, so say I now again, If any man is a preacher to you of any good news other than that which has been given to you, let there be a curse on him.

(Gal 1:6-9)

In these words of warning by Rav Shaul to avoid those who are preaching "another good news", we are challenged with what the good news of Messiah is and what it is for our discussion of the Jewish people and Messianic Judaism.

This is the good news of Messiah for Jewish people:

The Jewish Messiah has come, his name is Yeshua.
He offers you assurance of atonement and a renewed relationship to the G-d of Israel.
Through Him, G-d gives you the power to more fully live a Torah observant life through the Spirit of G-d.
Living a Torah honoring life is a way of demonstrating your love for the Messiah and is your continuing way to honor G-d and live out a Jewish life.

Any proclamation of the Messiahship of Yeshua to the Jewish people that does not include the incumbency of living a Torah faithful life is not the true good news about Yeshua but is "another good news" of "another Yeshua".

May we faithfully seek to present the true good news of Yeshua and make Him known as the Jewish Messiah who calls all the Jewish people to Torah honoring lives!

On Conversion - Embracing Judaism

2006-11-14T07:44:00.000-08:00

Embracing Judaism is the title of a book on converting to Judaism, one of the many books for potential converts to Judaism to read as they contemplate or prepare for conversion.

This post will seek to ask us are we ready to embrace Judaism?

Are we ready to fully see Messianic Judaism as a Judaism?

or are we content just to use the name without embracing all that this name implies.

For building a mature Messianic Judaism we need to embrace Judaism as our identity core or as Dr. Mark Kinzer so aptly put in his booklet, The Nature of Messianic Judaism our "genus", with Messianic being the "species". I avoided biology in high school and college but what I know of biology the genus is the main grouping with the species being a grouping or kind of the genus. For those more familiar with the arts rather than the sciences, Dr. Kinzer was clearly putting forward that Messianic Judaism in it's authentic and mature form is a Judaism with Messianic being the type. Messianic is the adjective describing the noun Judaism.

An important and I will say a vital step in our maturation is the move toward establishing a rite of passage for the acceptance of a Judaism life for non-Jews, more commonly known in the larger Jewish world as conversion.

A Messianic Jewish conversion program is a clear acceptance of our place as a Judaism and the embracing of our identity as more than just a Jewish contextualized form of Christianity but as we truly need to be a Judaism, grounded in Jewish space that honors the Torah, respects Jewish tradition and glorifies Yeshua. This is a step that we must take if we are going to fully embrace our place as a Judaism and to fully accept our place in the destiny of the Jewish people within a recognizable Judaism.

For the detractors this is not just a matter of seeking the approval of the Jewish community but as a full embrace of the identity that G-d has given to the Jewish people to live as a Jewish community and like Judaism throughout it's history to allow for those non-Jews with a sincere calling and drawing to cast their lot with the Jewish people to have that opportunity. It is one thing to each Shavuot to read from and study the Book of Ruth, which is Jewish custom and laud Ruth the "good Moabite" who joined with the people of Israel and grandmother of King David who said some of the most powerful words in the Bible:

Messianic Judaism: Another 1800 Years?

2006-11-13T07:49:00.000-08:00

It has been over 1800 years since the breach between Torah faithfulness and Yeshua faith began to be forged by both the Church and the Synagogue.

We are now beginning to rebuild the connection between Jewish covenantal faithfulness expressed in a Torah life and the recognition that Yeshua is the Messiah of Israel in our midst. We have come so far from the Hebrew Christian roots of the Messianic Jewish movement as we now in the 21st century are credibly building a true MESSIANIC JUDAISM, a Jewish faith community that holds to Torah and to our righteous Messiah.

But with this we also need to keep the work up and not to allow for the vital work that we need to do to fall to the wayside. I am 38 years old, 1800 years is nearly 50 of my lifetimes! The move to a Messianic Judaism for the future is a task that we must continue.

Can the Jewish people wait another 1800 years or more for a future generation to build a credible Messianic Judaism, a true expression of Torah life and Yeshua faith? We must keep the move forward and we must all do our part to build a mature Messianic Judaism for the future, now.

For our own walking in G-d's ways (by walking Torah and honoring Yeshua) and for the larger Jewish world to have a credible Yeshua that they can accept (the Torah faithful Jewish Messiah followed by Torah faithful Jews), we must do this work and build a mature Messianic Judaism.

We have come so far, now to continue toward the goal to build a mature Messianic Judaism, that is firmly grounded in Jewish space, that honors Torah, respects Jewish tradition and glorifies Yeshua, our righteous Messiah and in so doing we will magnify and sanctify the name of the G-d of Israel!

On Torah Observance : Yeshua, Our Example

2006-11-10T06:05:00.000-08:00

In Matthew 23:1-3, Yeshua speaks about the Jewish leaders of his day, namely the P'rushim or Pharisees, who began the development of Jewish law that later Rabbis would codify in the Mishnah and Gemara to form the Talmud, the basis for Jewish law and Jewish traditional practice.

The teachers of the Torah and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you to. But do not what they do, for they do not practice what they preach

Though this passage has been used against the Pharisees and against Torah observance as being "for show" or "legalistic", let's look at what Yeshua is saying on a positive note.

1. Yeshua is acknowledging that the Pharisees were sitting "in the seat of Moses", which means that they were the ones that were recognized as the interpreters of the Torah for that time.

2. Being that they were the interpreters of Torah then Yeshua says to obey what they tell you do do about observing Torah. In this our Messiah endorsed the Jewish tradition of His day and instructed His disciples to do the same.

3. Yeshua also warns against acting wrongly by not fulfilling G-d's commandments.

The problem that Yeshua highlights is not the observance of Torah and Jewish tradition, but that the Pharisees were saying to obey Torah and follow Jewish tradition, but not living out Torah. The problem here is hypocrisy, not observance of Torah and Jewish tradition.

This is important for us to realize that living Torah and walking in Jewish life is to be an ongoing activity and our focus in all we do needs to be to honor G-d and not just "observe traditions" but actively seek to honor G-d anew each day.

So then for the building of a mature Messianic Judaism, we must respect Jewish tradition, which serves us in that it is the way for us to live out the Torah in our lives each day.

On Torah Observance : The Quest

2006-11-09T08:11:00.000-08:00

So then comes our quest, the desired outcome, a true Torah centered Messianic Judaism. I have sought to detail this important issue that needs to be dealt with in our movement so that we can be a legitimate expression of Torah observant Messianic Judaism. I have sought to address the problem of non-observance of Torah in our movement and how Torah violation is justified based on Christian anti-Torah values, pragmatic laziness and the philosophy of "meaningful and life-giving" commandments.

Calling us a "Torah observant" or "Torah positive" movement while violating the Torah is dishonest and deceiving ourselves and deceptive to the larger Jewish world. The issue of Torah negativity exposes us to being seen as either ignorant of Judaism and Torah or an outright sham, that we are using Judaism and Jewish rituals in our Christian churches to draw in those Jewish people who fall for our trap. Sadly we can't deny the charge of being inauthentic in expressing one thing with our mouths while violating it with our actions. Judaism is not something you can do however you want add in Yeshua and Messianic dance and oila it is Messianic Judaism.

In the book, The G-d of Israel and Christian Theology, by R. Kendall Soulen, Soulen lays out the argument that the Jewish people in their "No" to Yeshua were saying "Yes" to the G-d of Israel. Though a disturbing phrase at first glance, I personally did not like this phrase until over time I came to grips with his point that for over 1800 years the Jewish people have been offered or forced a Yeshua that was stripped of Torah and Judaism, out of fidelity to the Torah and the traditions of their forefathers the Jewish people have said "No" to this Yeshua and His gentile religion, Christianity.

Sadly this is where much of the Messianic movement is, in embracing a Torah apathetic or even Anti-Torah stance we are truly embracing the Christian tradition of presenting a "Torah-free" Yeshua and because of fidelity to the covenant the larger Jewish world can never take us seriously as being one with the Jewish people. We are packaging Christian beliefs and values with Kipot, Talitot and a Magen David necklace and the larger Jewish world sees that we are not truly dealing honestly with the encounter at Sinai.

Even Reform and Humanistic Jews can criticize us for being outside the bounds of Jewish life without the Messiahship of Yeshua ever being an issue. We are coming off as confused about Judaism or even worse deceptive Christian missionaries trying to steal Jewish souls.

We have been given a great gift, whether Jew or Gentile, G-d has brought us to understand Him in the context of Messianic Jewish faith. We can build a credible Messianic Judaism, built on Torah observance and faith trust in Yeshua and bring back together the breach between Torah life and Messianic faith that has kept the vast majority of Jewish people in history from knowing their Messiah and the life that He can bring. But with this gift comes the responsibility to live Torah, to walk in G-d’s way and stand tall for His Torah. We need this for our own relation to G-d, but also to be the light that we need to be to draw the Jewish people to their Messiah and to be a light to all the world that we are people who know the G-d of the Universe and we live as a distinct people, bound to our G-d by an eternal covenant made at Mt. Sinai and put on our hearts by the atonement of Messiah Yeshua.

So then the challenge is for each of us to live this Torah and to seek G-d's face to see that our movement may turn back to G-d's Torah and that more people's eyes will be opened to G-d's Torah. The Messiah has come, we have found Him and now it is up to us make Him known by lifting Yeshua up before the world by living a life totally given to G-d and His Torah. May the L-rd grant you his strength and shalom.

On Torah Observance : Meaningful and Life-Giving

2006-11-08T07:46:00.000-08:00

Thirdly comes the most polished ideological viewpoint namely liberal views, not unlike the Reform and Reconstructionist movements, that sees the Torah as a past document and only adds back into Jewish life those aspects that are "meaningful and life-giving".

Under the mantra, "meaningful and life-giving", this philosophy grounded in liberal Jewish thought, basically throws out the Torah in total as a binding document on the Jewish people for all time and allow each generation and by extension each individual to be the one who decides what in Torah they want to observe or ignore based on whether they consider it "meaningful and life-giving". I am one to not be as concerned with what someone says as much as what he or she mean by what they say and what their statement or philosophy means in extension. The "meaningful and life-giving" philosophy rather than uniting our community truly fractures us into many individuals. The outworking of this philosophy is that there is not one Torah being taken around the synagogue during the Torah service-the one Torah given to Moses at Mt. Sinai, but it makes for 10, 25, 50, 100, 200 or more Torahs, based on the size of the congregation, dependent on how each individual slices up their responsibility to the Torah based on what they found to be "meaningful and life-giving", rather than living out the words of the people at Mt. Sinai:

"And all the people, answering together, said, "Whatever the L-rd has said we will do. "And Moshe took back to the L-rd the words of the people" (Ex 19:8)

This makes for disunity in that each individual will have his or her own Torah. This is fine for Christianity, which is a faith, based on the individual, but Judaism, as a communal faith needs community for survival. Torah observance under this philosophy is no longer a matter of obeying G-d's Word and living a life of holiness in service to G-d, but it builds up a "Messianic Judaism" that is truly just "playing Jewish" without having the soul of Jewish life and that is obeying G-d and living out Torah. The issue of Torah observance is an issue of obeying or disobeying G-d and not just merely doing "Jewish" practices. If we are doing "Jewish" practices and having Torah services detached from observing Torah then we are truly deceiving our ourselves, by thinking that we are being "Torah observant" if we observe only the Torah commands we find to be "meaningful and life-giving" and also we are being deceptive to the larger Jewish world to have Torah services and call ourselves "Torah observant" or even "Torah positive" if we are only observing and honoring the Torah of our own design, rather than the Torah that G-d gave to Moses. We need to see that this philosophy is challenged and seek to live Torah lives that show forth that living Torah is not just external "Jewishness" but an internal walking in G-d's ways and a life focused on G-d, infused by the Messiah who gives us life.

This philosophy is bound up in an ideology that has swept over much of the American Jewish world, being that Orthodox Jews make up only 5-10% of Jews in the United States. But rather than emulating the falling away from the Torah and obeying G-d that is epidemic in the larger Jewish world, should we not stand for Torah and obeying G-d? The fact that the larger Jewish world is not Torah observant leads to the push to make this philosophy normative in Messianic Judaism for the sake of "outreach" in that we will reach our communities because we are being like the community in which our congregations are located. Are we going to start having séances at our Messianic synagogue because that was done at a local synagogue or start embracing homosexuality as acceptable because of acceptance of homosexuality in the Reform and Reconstructionist movements, including having gay and lesbian Messianic rabbis? Are we going to violate the Torah to draw people into our synagogues? This makes as much sense as Shaul's rhetorical phrase, "should we sin that grace may abound?" both questions have an implied "NO".

We cannot sacrifice Torah observance to fit into a secular Jewish community or fit into Christian society or to amalgamate into secular society and become "Americans of the Jewish persuasion". The Torah is not a pick-and-choose document and it's not alright to violate it's commands for fitting in or making our congregations more appealing to secular Jews or to meet the approval of Christian denominations that give funding or organizational support to our synagogues.

The "meaningful and life-giving" philosophy is the most insidious of the three examples because it clothes sin in a coat of "reaching our community". So then we can sin by violating Torah so that we can draw people to Yeshua, so they can then become Torah violators with a spiritual seal of approval? This needs to be remedied and sadly this philosophy is entrenched to the point that to live a life of Torah observance in a congregation whose organization is founded on this philosophy makes for a difficult situation for the one who truly seeks to live a Torah life and seek to honor G-d, because the one seeking to follow G-d has to deal with compromise and even to violate their conscience and sin to be a part of congregational life.

Sadly I see the Messianic movement losing those who come to see Torah as life, but stand as rebels to the overriding philosophy of their congregation and for the Messianic movement as a whole. Those who seek to live Torah observant lives and seek to obey G-d are outsiders in most Messianic congregations, yet those who seek to be Torah observant, know that among Torah observant communities in the Rabbinic world they are also outsiders for being Messianic. So then those who live Torah have to live as a man or woman without a state, not able to be a full participant in either world.

On Torah Observance : Pragmatism

2006-11-07T07:48:00.000-08:00

Secondly, comes the issue of the problem of pragmatism, that sees Torah observance as "too hard", so then not observing Torah commands is alright if it's too much work or an inconvenience, like for example taking the effort to buy only kosher food, rather than going to the local Taco Bell or McDonalds.

The issue of pragmatism I believe is a major problem in that it is not ideological like Torah-negativity or the next issue (to be discussed in the next post) liberalism, but a philosophy based on doing what is easy rather than what is right. Living a Torah life is not an easy life but it's not too hard to be undoable.

Our American worship of convenience has spilled into our synagogues and has made living out a Torah life something that clashes with our convenience mindset. Buying kosher food takes discipline and some effort, fortunately in Los Angeles it is easier than other areas to find kosher butchers and kosher restaurants, but the extra effort to buy kosher food clashes with a convenience mindset. Sadly obeying G-d is made secondary to doing whatever is easier and more convenient.

We need to see that this view of Torah observance or lack thereof, that is based more on laziness than any other perspective is not coated in a palatable way to be an option for those who for the sake of convenience violate G-d's Torah. I believe that many people in our movement fall into this category, not based on an ideological aversion to the Torah fostered in the Church but fueled by a desire to live like everyone else in society while outside the synagogue walls.

Though most people live their life of Torah neglect based in seeking convenience and neglect they can find a spiritual grounding in the next viewpoint (discussed in the next post), that takes the ideas of the Enlightenment and the Reform and Reconstructionist movements to reconfigure Judaism as a "Choose your own Mitzvah" religion.

On Torah Observance : Reasoning Behind Non Observance

2006-11-06T19:36:00.000-08:00

3300 years ago on Mt. Sinai, Moses received the Torah from G-d, 2000 years ago the Messiah came and brought a renewal and ratification of the Torah in His life of Torah observance and his atoning death on the stake. We now stand in the beginning of the third millennium since the coming of our Messiah to live amongst us and the question that we must ask is, what have we done with His Torah and how are we living out the Torah in our day-to-day lives, and specifically for our discussion here, what about Messianic Judaism?

Though many talk about Messianic Judaism and Torah observance in our day, what are we as individuals doing to live out a Torah observant Messianic Judaism and on a corporate level, being that Judaism is corporate rather than individualistic, where is the Messianic movement in the progression toward being a Torah observant Messianic Judaism? Is there a move or not?

I will put forward some thoughts that I have personally been working through individually and also in concert with others. This is hopefully a beginning of dialogue and debate and I hope that the reader joins the discussion.

The issue of non-observance by individuals and in congregational policies I believe is based on some factors detailed below:

• Torah negative views from the Church that influences individuals and congregational leaders.

• Pragmatism that sees Torah observance as "too hard", so then not observing Torah commands is alright if it's too much work or an inconvenience.

• Liberal views, not unlike the Reform movement, that sees the Torah as a past document and only adds back into Jewish life those aspects that are "meaningful and life-giving".

The first issue is Torah negative views from the Church, this is an evident problem. We have many people that may wear kipot and talitot in our synagogues but their core philosophy ranges from aversion to the "Law" to an outright "anti-Torah" attitude.

For the last 1800+ years the Church has defined itself as against legalism and against the Law (Torah) and this is well ingrained in the thinking of many Messianic Jews and Gentiles that have come from Church backgrounds. This poses a great trouble in that this aversion to the Torah is not quelled even by those leaders who refer to themselves as "Torah observant" or "Torah positive", even though this is one of the greatest of errors of Christianity-the belief that Torah is done away with by the coming of Yeshua.

This erroroneous belief system has caused much suffering physically for the Jewish people through pogroms, the Holocaust and other persecutions, but this also has brought a spiritual suffering to our People in that these errors have kept countless Jewish people from truly hearing the message that their Messiah has come.

We cannot allow for this Torah-negativity to grow, it must be brought to and end now, if we are going to have a G-d honoring, Yeshua faithful Messianic Judaism for the future.

Though many people have been drawn to Messianic Judaism via the Church, we have to realize that the anti-Torah attitudes fostered in the Church cannot be a part of our corporate life.

I will be covering #2 and #3:

• Pragmatism that sees Torah observance as "too hard", so then not observing Torah commands is alright if it's too much work or an inconvenience.

• Liberal views, not unlike the Reform movement, that sees the Torah as a past document and only adds back into Jewish life those aspects that are "meaningful and life-giving".

in subsequent posts...

Rabbenu: Children of Abraham by Faith

2006-11-06T08:04:00.000-08:00

Great new message from Rabbi Stuart Dauermann on what it means to be "children of Abraham".

Rabbenu: Children of Abraham by Faith

On Torah Observance : The Acts 21 Model

2006-11-06T07:54:00.000-08:00

And when we came to Jerusalem, the brothers were pleased to see us. And on the day after, Shaul went with us to Yaakov,
and all the rulers of the Messianic community were present. And when he had said how glad he was to see them, he gave them a detailed account of the things which G-d had done through his work among the Gentiles. And hearing it, they gave praise to G-d; and they said to him,
"You see, brother, what thousands there are among the Jews, who are believers in Yeshua as Messiah; and they all are zealous for the Torah".
(Acts 21:17-20)

This passage from Acts 21 is instructive to those of us building a Messianic Judaism for the future. This passage shows the model of the earliest followers of Yeshua and we should embrace their example and make it normative in our movement as it was in the early Messianic Judaism community.

When Shaul came up to Jerusalem and was greeted by Yaakov and the other leaders of the Messianic Judaism community what did they use as a demonstration to him of the miraculous work of G-d amongst the people of Israel that embraced Yeshua and their demonstration of faithfulness to Yeshua?

They with joy declared that there were thousands (actually the word could be myriads or tens of thousands) of Jews who were followers of Yeshua and they were all zealous for the Torah! It was lives of covenant faithfulness, Torah living that was seen as the greatest example of the early Jewish believers commitment to Yeshua.

As is part and parcel of the Messianic hope, that being when Messiah comes there will be better Jews, Jews returned to and enlivened in Torah living, was on display in Jerusalem. The Messiah came, tens of thousands of Jews put their trust in him and became zealots for Torah observance and Jewish life. It appears that they had not yet got the memo that they were now free from Torah observance as is taught by many of the Missions culture and the Church.

Among the early Jewish believers they had thousands of Torah faithful Yeshua followers to visibly present the good news that Messiah had come. But what about us?

With most Messianic Jews today, non-observant of Torah and sadly even some anti-Torah, we have lost the most powerful demonstration of the reality of our living Messiah in our midst. The earliest Messianic Jews could point to myriad of Jews living Torah faithful lives since they encountered Yeshua.

If we want to make Yeshua known as he truly is the Messiah of Israel, let us follow the model of the earliest followers of Yeshua and make Yeshua known by being Messianic Jews that are zealous for Torah and truly be living, breathing demonstrations of people and a movement following the Messiah of Israel by living Torah and thereby living lives that sanctify the Name of our G-d!

The Messianic Synagogue - Jewish Missions Planted Congregations

2006-11-03T06:45:00.000-08:00

In the article Jacob vs. Jacob by Deborah Pardo-Kaplan which appeared in the February 2005 issue of Christianity Today, the issue of the role of Jewish missions in the planting of Messianic congregations was discussed by Mitch Glaser, President of Chosen People Ministries.

He comments:

We'd have alot fewer congregations today if it weren't for the work of missions

Though I will agree with this assessment being that in my four years of working for Chosen People Ministries I am familiar and have been at many of the Chosen People congregations that were planted in the late 80's and early 90's.

But I would like to make some observations:

* The congregations started by missions are for the most part not reflective of a Messianic Judaism orientation and are primarily Jewish contextualized Protestant churches with Shabbat services (at least one that I know of in Los Angeles meets on Sundays and is affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church denomination).

* These congregations exist primarily as missions outreach posts and followup centers rather than Messianic Judaism faith communities.

So then yes there are more congregations currently established because Jewish missions started congregations but for the most part they are not reflective of a Messianic Judaism future but they are primarily tied to the Missions movement mindset and are therefore really just Jewish contextualized Protestant Churches with Saturday services.

For us to move forward to build a Messianic Judaism future we need congregations that are firmly grounded in Jewish space and reflecting a desire to be a true Messianic Judaism and rather than helping toward this goal the Missions planted congregations are not reflective of that vision and even worst many of these congregations are actively fighting against a Messianic Judaism future.

So let us focus on quality over quantity and seek to build legitimate and mature Messianic Jewish synagogues and congregations and to do this effectively we need to do this without the baggage that the Missions movement brings to the table.

May we do what is needed to see new congregations planted that are centers for the furtherance of a Messianic Judaism future!

The Messianic Synagogue - A Torah Living Community

2006-11-02T07:39:00.000-08:00

Jewish life is to be lived walking Torah and living out the Torah's commandments. Jewish life is also to be done in community and it is only in community that one can fully live a G-d honoring Torah life. Whereas Christianity can be lived out on a desert island and of which much of Christian thought especially in popular culture is "Jesus and Me", Judaism and for us Messianic Judaism is a religious life that can not be fully lived outside of a Torah community. Unlike other faiths we were given the Torah, a book of how life is lived and the Torah tells of a life lived in community.

I have some good friends that are seeking to be Messianic Jews without a synagogue and though they try diligently to live as Messianic Jews on their own, sadly they struggle to live a communal life without a community and even worse they end up looking outside of Jewish life and become involved in various Christian groups for teaching and community which is bound to strain, if not draw them farther away from connection to a true life of Torah.

It is only in a Jewish community can we fully live out a G-d honoring Torah life. And this life must be lived among other Jews in a Jewish community. A fully G-d honoring, Torah life for a Messianic Jew cannot be lived in a Church. This is why we need to build up Torah faithful synagogues and seek to draw all Jews both those with and without Yeshua faith to walk Torah in a community that honors our Messiah.

The people of Isra'el are to keep the Shabbat, to observe Shabbat through all their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the people of Isra'el forever; for in six days ADONAI made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day he stopped working and rested.'" (Exodus 31:16-17)

As the above verse from the Torah, commonly known as the V'shamru states, it is the People of Israel that will keep the Shabbat (community) and not the Person of Israel (individual). It is in community and in a growing, living and faithful community of Jews can the Torah fully be lived and G-d given the glory that He is due.

May we build these kind of Messianic synagogues and may we be active parts of the lives of these synagogues!

The Messianic Synagogue - Not A Half-way House

2006-11-01T08:45:00.000-08:00

The pitch is a scam. Think of "Messianic Judaism" as a half-way house. A rehab treatment facility for the theologically misdirected. A crutch to enable us Jews to get over our irrational phobia of Conversion to Christianity. It's a sort of phased plan or "plan of stages" to eliminate the unbelievers. Yes, the ultimate goal is to return us to our Jewish roots, i.e., the roots of that small segment of the Jewish community that, two thousand years ago, chose to abandon the faith of their ancestors and look elsewhere for their salvation. The first Christians.

(from the blog post An old battle on In Context)

I was looking to do a post on Messianic synagogues not being "half-way houses" for new Jewish believers to attend in their transfer from Judaism to Christianity and oila via Technorati, the blog search engine I found the above post from the blog In Context of which I am quoting the part on Messianic Judaism being a "half-way house" in the process of weaning Jews of their Judaism in stages.

The Messianic synagogue and Messianic Judaism is not and should not be a "half-way house" for Jews leaving Judaism for Christianity.

A true Messianic synagogue is a growing Jewish faith community that is welcoming to all Jews and is a place where Judaism is lived and practiced. Messianic synagogues are to be a place where the Torah is honored and lived in the context of Jewish tradition. A distinctive to other synagogues is that a Messianic synagogue is a place wherein the Jewish Messiah is known and glorified, namely Yeshua, our righteous Messiah.

If anyone set out to have a "Messianic synagogue" as a "half-way house" to transfer Jews from Judaism to Christianity I would speak out boldly and condemn this practice.

Of the many expressions of Judaism, those espousing a mature Messianic Judaism are some of the most determined to see a future for Judaism and the Jewish people and we see the Messianic synagogue as a vital part of passing on Judaism and Jewish life to the next generation and beyond.

In conclusion, a Messianic synagogue espousing Messianic Judaism is a Jewish faith community for all Jews wherein the Torah is honored, Jewish life and tradition is respected and the Messiah of Israel is glorified, all of this being done to magnify and sanctify the Name of the G-d of Israel.

The Messianic Synagogue - Not Contextualization

2006-10-31T05:21:00.000-08:00

For many of those in the Church who support the concept of Messianic synagogues and I imagine the view by some Messianic Jews is that the Messianic synagogue is a Jewish contextualized church, wherein Christianity is put in Jewish terms, with Jewish symbols and Jewish cultural trappings.

Though contextualization is common for making Christianity accessible among various ethnic groups of which this can be seen in Hispanic churches, Korean churches, Chinese churches...it is not what Messianic synagogues are to be.

Unlike the above it is incorrect to view Messianic synagogues as "Jewish churches".

Though sadly there are Messianic synagogues that are really just Protestant churches with Jewish cultural trappings and are "Jewish churches", that is not what a Messianic synagogue is or should be.

A Messianic synagogue should be a place where Judaism is the faith practiced, a Judaism with a Messiah in the midst, Yeshua our righteous Messiah.

So rather than being a contextualized church for Jews, we need to build Messianic synagogues wherein Judaism is practiced and lived with Yeshua as our example of a life devoted to G-d and His Torah.

May we build true Messianic synagogues!

The Messianic Synagogue - Building Credible Jewish Faith Communities

2006-10-30T06:36:00.000-08:00

Today there are a few hundred Messianic synagogues and congregations.

But the question for the future is how many are credible Jewish faith communities?

How many reflect a move toward a Messianic Judaism?

If we are going to move forward in the maturation of our movement we need to build these and future synagogues into credible Jewish faith communities.

A Messianic synagogue that is a credible Jewish faith community would be:

A place that is set in Jewish space, where the Torah is honored and lived with respect for Jewish tradition
A place where our righteous Messiah is glorified and therefore the Name of the G-d of Israel is sanctified.
A place where all Jewish people are welcome and a part of the community.
A place where Judaism is respected and practiced.

We can transform our current synagogues into credible Jewish faith communities and build new ones for the future and now is the time to begin this important work.

The future of our movement depends on our work to build up the Messianic synagogue to being a place where Yeshua is seen as the Jewish Messiah, honored within a Torah faithful, Jewishly connected faith community.

The Good News - Messiah Has Come!

2006-10-27T07:39:00.000-07:00

And the angel said, Have no fear; for truly, I give you good news of great joy which will be for all the people: For on this day, in the town of David, a Saviour has come to birth, who is Messiah the L-rd.

(Luke 2:10-11)

In the above section from Luke's account of the life of Yeshua we read of the birth of Yeshua, our righteous Messiah. The angel declares to the shepherds the good news for the Jewish people, that being, the Messiah, the descendant of Jesse has come!

The one that is cried for each day in the liturgy, the Hope of Israel was born into this world. The Redeemer has come, the Redemption cried for by our People has been inaugurated. The One in whom G-d's hand so mightily dwelt, the One in whom G-d's love was manifest so completely within the created order was the very One, who was named Yeshua, G-d's Redeemer, our Messiah.

In the very name of our movement, Messianic Judaism we acknowledge that we are movement who in our own self definition is connected to Messiah and our Judaism is a Judaism with a Messiah. So then it should be are very nature to daily revel in the joy of this reality.

G-d has given us His Messiah and we have come to acknowledge Him. This is the greatest thing about Messianic Judaism, we know the Messiah and He is a reality within our Judaism.

He is not just one that we pray about and long for (of which we should earnestly await His glorious return), but we have the reality, the very indwelling experience of our Messiah in our midst.

This hit me so clearly and deeply while praying the Amidah on the last Rosh Chodesh where there is the added prayer for the remembrance of Messiah, Son of David.

Rather than as a figure of speculation, as among others longing for Messiah, we know who the Messiah is and we today can live in the new life that only He provides as the very agent of G-d's salvation.

We can live now basking in the knowledge that the long awaited Messiah has come and He will return to rule and reign as is His due, because He is the great Son of David and the One to take the eternal throne as King Messiah and L-rd of L-rds.

This is the Messiah that fully enlivens us as MESSIANIC Judaism.

He is Yeshua, our living and coming King Messiah.

May we live in the reality of Yeshua in our midst and may we make Him known by living lives of devotion to G-d by walking in the way of Torah. May we live each day in the reality that our Messiah has come.

May we rejoice in the coming of our Messiah, the one who brings redemption, new life in Torah by the power of G-d's Spirit and a renewed connection to the G-d of Israel and more than that may we do the work to make Him known as the Jewish Messiah throughout the larger Jewish world by building a Torah faithful Messianic Judaism.

Torah Observance: Evangelistic Shtick or Obeying G-d?

2006-10-25T07:45:00.000-07:00

In defining what Messianic Judaism is it is important to deal with the issue of Torah observance and to see what the differing voices in the larger spectrum say on this issue. In doing this we can see clearer those who affirm a Messianic Judaism that is a Torah honoring movement for Yeshua and those who hold for a Jewish cultural form of Evangelical Christianity. This is the divide between Messianic Judaism and Jews for Jesus/Missions groups. Below is a post from Year 1 of towardblog looking at Jews for Jesus' view of Torah observance for Jewish believers in Yeshua:

What may we say, then? are we to go on in sin so that there may be more grace?
In no way. How may we, who are dead to sin, be living in it any longer?
(Romans 6:1-2)

Let us live in obedience to G-d and observe His Torah!

towardblog: year 3

2006-10-24T07:28:00.000-07:00

It is hard to imagine but today marks the beginning of year 3 for the blog.

What began as an online outlet for my early writings on Messianic Judaism has grown now to be a multi-year project and what I call my "volunteer part-time job".

The blog has grown from that first posting 2 years ago to now over 330 posts and has become a learning experience for me, hopefully a learning experience for you my readers.

It has also been a source of challenge to those who have visited who were met by a voice boldly proclaiming that the Messiah has come, He is Yeshua and that following Yeshua for Jews is a life of Torah faithfulness, points that have challenged either non-Yeshua believing Jews for my proclamation of Yeshua as Messiah or for those of the Jewish missions perspective who have been confronted by a proclamation that fidelity to and love for Yeshua for Messianic Jews is demonstrated by Torah living.

I thank all of you who have visited, commented and encouraged me in this holy task.

I look forward to the new things G-d will teach me and give me to share with you in this new year.

Shalom,

yochanan

Messiah: The goal at which the Torah aims

2006-10-19T19:56:00.000-07:00

Messiah is the goal at which the Torah aims.

- Rav Shaul - Romans 10:4 (JNT).

These are important words that includes the most vital issue of building a mature Messianic Judaism that being the unbroken connection between our righteous Messiah and the Torah.

The above rendering by David Stern in the Jewish New Testament signifies that Yeshua came to fulfill and fill full the Torah rather than cancelling the Torah.

So then we need to see that we cannot build a mature Messianic Judaism without an unbroken linkage between our Messiah and our Torah.

There can be no Yeshua-Judaism dichotomy.

G-d gave the Torah as the way of life for the Jewish people and this is a way of life that survived the coming of our Messiah. The Messiah gave us the example of a life dedicated to G-d and walking Torah. For us to build a mature Messianic Judaism we must follow our Messiah's example.

As with other branches of Judaism we must look deeply into what a Torah life means, respectful and filled with gratitude to the Sages that have struggled with the issues of Torah life and also as our distinctive we have the Brit Chadashah as another source for our formulation of Messianic halakha and norms of life.

So then we need to realize that both our "Messianic" and our "Judaism" are an undivided whole and that we are Messianic Judaism, a Jewish religious movement that seeks to live in Jewish space, walking a Torah life and honoring our righteous Messiah that has written G-d's Torah on our hearts.

We are privileged to be on this journey and to do this task and it is truly service to our G-d and as the Aleinu so powerfully declares:

Aleinu l'shabayach la-adon hakol

It is our duty to praise the Master of All

How better to honor and praise our G-d than to lift Him up by living as he intended as a people walking Torah and living in the example of our Messiah.

Shalom to you all...

Honoring Torah, Honoring Messiah

2006-10-18T07:48:00.000-07:00

As we seek to build a mature Messianic Judaism for the future I would like to offer a brief look at how our Torah relates to our righteous Messiah, Yeshua, the one who lived a life of absolute obedience to the Torah and is our example.

There is so much debate amongst people within the Messianic Jewish world over observing Torah ranging from those who hold to an end of Torah to those who are on the opposite extreme of meticulous Torah observance. But we need to step back and look at what the Torah is and how it functions in our lives.

Most basic for us to realize is that the Torah is not a works based system of righteousness. No one is "saved" by observing Torah and no one ever was. The Torah is the way of life of the Jewish people and is the guiding document of what it means to live out the covenant between G-d and Israel. The coming of Yeshua was not the “end of the Jewish people's bondage to Torah and the individual's attempt to earn salvation by works”,

Growing up in the Church I found this misunderstanding of the Torah as a “way of salvation”. Namely that the Jewish people “earned their salvation", a right relationship to G-d by doing Torah. This made the coming of Yeshua seem to be a bad deal for the Jewish people. I don’t know if I was really as insightful a child as I seem to recall that I was, but for now we will go forward with the is recollection. As a child I thought that all the Torah faithful Jews alive at the time of Yeshua were “saved by works of Torah” but as soon as Yeshua died then G-d changed his plans for salvation and now the only way was faith trust in Yeshua or in popular phrasing by “believing in Jesus and becoming a Christian”. This change of plans by G-d made all those Jews there that were “saved by works” instantly now “not saved” unless they quickly prayed the sinner’s prayer and accepted Yeshua.

This seemed not to make sense, that the death of Yeshua, the Jewish Messiah, meant the condemnation of most of his people, the People of Israel under this way of thinking.

Not that I discount the necessity of belief in Yeshua as Messiah for a right relationship to G-d, but I want to make it clear that under the basic belief that I learned as a child and that which is the majority belief held by my most Christians, that Judaism is a religion of “works based righteousness” makes the coming of Yeshua not a good thing for Jews and even worse if it was G-d’s plan to save people by works before Yeshua came and then He changed His mind, how can we trust Him not to change things again on us???

So then how should we see the coming of our Messiah to us in relation to the Torah?

Yeshua's coming was the ratification and reaffirmation of the Torah by the one who lived out the Torah's commands in absolute obedience to G-d. The coming of the Messiah was an affirmation of the redemptive hopes embodied in the Torah and it was the flowering of the redemption in the person of the one who was referred to by the early Messianic Jews as "HaTorah", the Torah in flesh in our midst, a connection to this understanding can be seen in Yochanan 1:14, where Yochanan writes:

The Word became a human being and lived with us, and we saw his Sh'khinah,
The Sh'khinah of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth.
Yochanan 1:14 (JNT)

If you love me, you will keep my commands; and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another comforting Counselor like me, the Spirit of Truth, to be with you forever.
Yochanan 14:15-16, JNT

In Yochanan 14:15-16, we get another level of what Torah observance means above the main level of it being the duty of the Jewish people to order their lives according to Torah, which applies to all Jewish people.

For us as followers of Yeshua it is also a way of showing love for Yeshua by observing His commands, being that Yeshua as the physical manifestation of the G-d of Israel is both the Messiah who came amongst us and was also the one who gave the Torah to the Jewish people.

For now we will just briefly reflect on that the Word of G-d came to live with us in Yeshua and by following and observing G-d’s written Word, the Torah we are showing our love for our Messiah!

So by observing Torah we also show our love for Yeshua. As an added benefit Yeshua also promised that by obeying Torah that we would also be given the Spirit of G-d, which will be our Comforter and will help us live Torah. So in obeying Torah we are granted the Spirit of G-d so that we can more earnestly live within a Torah life.

Basically by obeying Torah, we are given G-d’s Spirit to more fill our lives with G-d’s Torah by His power; this is a pretty awesome deal!

So then let us seek to live lives of Torah faithfulness and in so doing we will show love to Yeshua, our righteous Messiah and also receive the power of G-d's Spirit to more fully live the Torah.

Defining Messianic Judaism - Messianic Jews and Jewish Christians

2006-10-17T08:05:00.000-07:00

In the February 2005 issue of Christianity Today magazine there appeared an article entitled Jacob vs. Jacob written by Deborah Pardo-Kaplan.

There is much to be taken from her article that is one of the first, if not the first mainstream discussion of the issue of the differences between the Messianic congregational movement (UMJC, IAMCS and others) and the Missions movement (Jews for Jesus, Chosen People Ministries and others). Though this has been an in-house debate and discussion for years within the Messianic world this is the first time for the issues to be aired openly. Though those who are fanatical about unity may be upset at this article, I and others believe that it is important for lines to be drawn and people to honestly deal with what is their identity.

1. Are you a Jew living and practicing Messianic Judaism attending a Messianic congregation and living within Jewish space?

or

2. Are you a Jew living and practicing Christianity, attending a church and living within Christian space?

If you affirm #1 then you are within Messianic Judaism and a part of the Messianic congregational perspective.

If you affirm #2 then you are a Jewish Christian and part of the Christian world and also more than likely aligned with the philosophy of the Missions movement.

Both choices reflect Jewish followers of Yeshua, yet they reflect two different religious expressions and communities of reference.

David Brickner, the Executive Director of Jews for Jesus commented in the article on the 2002 UMJC Defining Messianic Judaism statement.

Messianic Judaism is a movement of Jewish congregations committed to Yeshua who also embrace a responsibility to Jewish life and identity

Mr. Brickner said that the definition would exclude the 75% of Jewish believers who attend churches.

Though Mr. Brickner sees this as negative, this is the very point of defining "Messianic Judaism" as being a Jewish congregational movement and a Judaism focused entity. Jews in the churches are participating in Christian life and not Messianic Judaism. What gets lost is the difference from being a Jewish follower of Yeshua and being actively involved in living out that following of Yeshua within a Messianic Judaism context.

I hope and pray that the 75% of Jewish believers who are now outside the world of Messianic Judaism (and outside of a G-d honoring Torah life) will come to see the importance of obeying G-d by walking Torah and begin living their life following Yeshua within Jewish space and in the life of a Messianic congregation. I think for us to make that a viable option we need to be willing to define Messianic Judaism as a living within the life of a Messianic congregation and living in Jewish space and therefore make a clear distinction between those Jews who are currently living within Messianic Judaism and Jewish space and those Jews living within Christianity and Christian space. Only with a contrast can there be an option to choose a new way of living life within Messianic Judaism as a Yeshua honoring, Torah faithful Messianic Jew.

May we all grow more in the image of our righteous Messiah who lived as our example a life within the Judaism of his day and a life devoted to living the Torah. If we live in his example Yeshua will be seen as he truly is the Jewish Messiah who is followed by Torah honoring Jewish people.

Making Disciples

2006-09-27T07:37:00.000-07:00

In Matthew 28:19-20, commonly referred to as “the great commission”, we hear from Yeshua his final words to his disciples as recorded by Matthew.

In these words we hear the calling for all those who are disciples of Yeshua, including us today. It is easy to think that our calling from Yeshua is to get people to believe Yeshua is the Messiah and to have people be attenders of our Messianic synagogues, both are important steps but Yeshua calls for his disciples to do more than just make “believers” or “attenders
but to make others into disciples.

A disciple of Yeshua is more than just a “believer” but also a doer. Yeshua says:

Go then, and make disciples of all the nations, giving them immersion, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Ruach HaKodesh:
Teaching them to observe all the commandments which I have given you.
(Matt 28:19-20)

The disciple of Yeshua is one who observes and does the commandments that Yeshua gave. This is a call to live a life of faithfulness to the Torah that Yeshua embodied and lived out amongst us. A disciple of Yeshua brings together two vital components, one being belief in the Messiahship of Yeshua and secondly, a life of walking in accordance to Yeshua’s commands, which for Jews would include living Torah faithful lives.

For us as the Messianic Jewish communities we need to take from our Messiah some important lessons. Firstly we need to ask ourselves, “Am I a disciple of Yeshua?” It’s important for us to be disciples ourselves before seeking to make disciples in our world. As we individually come to be disciples of Yeshua we can seek to build up our synagogues into living communities of Yeshua’s disciples, synagogues that are Yeshua believing and Torah faithful Jewish faith centers.

Once we build up ourselves and synagogues to be communities of disciples, we then are better prepared to call those in our local Jewish community and the larger Jewish world to come and join us as a disciple of the our righteous Messiah, Yeshua. It is by bringing together Yeshua faith and Torah living that we can both grow as individuals and communities to be disciples of Yeshua and communities of disciples, but also it opens us up to obey Yeshua’s call to make new disciples, new Yeshua honoring and Torah faithful Jews. The job and holy task of making disciples of Yeshua has been given to us. On the task we have as servants of Messiah, I am reminded of the opening words of the Alenu:

It is our duty to praise the Master of all,
to acclaim the greatness of the One who forms all creation.

How better to give praise to our G-d and to acclaim His goodness than for us to seek to be disciples of Yeshua, build Torah faithful Messianic synagogues made of disciples of Yeshua and to make new disciples of Yeshua. In this we on multiple levels fulfill the words of our Messiah and give the praise and glory due our G-d in a tangible way.

May we be disciples, may we make disciples.

Another 1800 Years?

2006-09-14T07:58:00.000-07:00

Messianic Synagogues - Judaism for all Jews

2006-09-07T22:18:00.000-07:00

One of the greatest changes and 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).

We can and must build a Judaism where all of the Jewish people will be at home and where Jewish life is lived and celebrated.

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, we 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 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 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.

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!

Encountering Yeshua - Actions and Words

2006-09-06T18:20:00.000-07:00

Yeshua said, “See; my hands and my feet: it is I myself; put your hands on me and make certain; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have”. And when he had said this, he let them see his hands and his feet. And because, for joy and wonder, they were still in doubt, he said to them, “Have you any food here?” And they gave him a bit of cooked fish. And before their eyes he took a meal.
(Luke 24:39-43 BBE)

In this passage, we see the report that two disciples make about their encounter with Yeshua on the road to the town of Emmaus. Yeshua demonstrated to them that he was the risen Messiah by physical demonstration. After the physical demonstrations, Yeshua turned to the Hebrew Scriptures and opened up to them what they said about him:

And Yeshua said to them, “These are the words which I said to you when I was still with you, how it was necessary for all the things which are in the writings of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms about me, to be put into effect”. Then he made the holy Writings clear to their minds. And he said to them, “So it is in the Writings that the Messiah would undergo death, and come back to life again on the third day”
(Luke 24:44-46 BBE)

Yeshua made his resurrection known to these disciples by physical acts of showing off the marks of his death on the cross and also by his opening up the meaning of the words of the Torah, Prophets and Writings about his life, death and resurrection. He made himself known as the risen Messiah by both actions and the words of Scripture.

For us who are his disciples, those who are followers of the risen Messiah, what can we learn from our Messiah from this passage?

First off, like Yeshua we can make him know physically as individuals and our communities begin to live Torah honoring lives. In so doing we will obey the G-d that gave us Torah and we can also reveal the living Messiah in our midst to the larger Jewish world by building Torah honoring Messianic synagogues, living communities of Torah faithful Jews that are followers of Yeshua.

Secondly, we can make him known through our knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures. In this passage we learn the importance of study the Scriptures. Yeshua made himself known to the disciples on the way to Emmaus by opening their eyes to the Scriptures of which they were familiar. It is significant that their encounter with Yeshua was made of greater significance because of their knowledge of the Scripture.

It is one thing to talk about living Torah, but along with observing Torah commands, it is also vitally important for us to study Torah. Yeshua made himself known to the disciples by words of Torah, may we like these men come to encounter Yeshua more each day as we delve into the words of the Scriptures and like them be emboldened to make the reality of our Messiah known in our communities.

May we as our Messiah showed us to be one of both actions and study and may we as we live Torah and study Torah become more in the image of our Messiah and grow as his disciples.

(from The Set Table, A Young Messianic Shabbat Guide)

The Messianic Rabbi - More than just a title.

2006-08-30T19:01:00.000-07:00

I was reading the other day comments online by a man who used the title "Messianic Rabbi", yet the point of view of his whole website and the opinions that he expressed were anti-Rabbinic Judaism, anti-Torah observance for Messianic Jews and opposed to the future direction of Messianic Judaism to being a Judaism for Yeshua and basically he was just an evangelical Christian minister of Jewish descent.

It seems ironic and sad that we have many "Messianic Rabbis" that are just this way, using a title from the larger Jewish world, even though they boldly speak out against the larger Jewish world and declare spiritually bankrupt "the rabbis" and the larger Jewish world.

This is wrong on many levels.

Messianic Judaism is not Evangelical Christianity practiced by Jews or the local Baptist Church with some Hebrew songs. Messianic Judaism is and should continue to develop as a Judaism, within the Jewish world, for the Jewish world, following the example of Yeshua, our righteous Messiah and responding to Torah daily.

If you are an Evangelical Christian minister of Jewish heritage, call yourself Pastor, Congregational Leader, Minister or Spiritual Leader, don't use the title "Rabbi", a title that you don't live up to, for which you do not have the educational training and which is representative of a leader of a Judaism community of which you are not.

Another important issue of "Messianic Rabbis" is the majority of "Messianic Rabbis" in our movement who are using this title without having taken a rigorous course of study in Torah, Rabbinics, Hebrew and Jewish studies.

In the larger Jewish world, the training for the rabbinate involves many years of study, either a graduate level of study in Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism or in Orthodox Judaism, a lifetime of study capped by intense Talmudic studies in yeshiva. The fact is that with this rigor comes the title of "Rabbi". The need for making our congregational leaders of the future knowledgeable in the Bible, Hebrew and in Jewish studies is not an option, but a mandate.

I know that the founding of Messianic yeshivot and graduate schools take time, effort and money, but sadly the issue is not even considered by many in our movement that we need these educational institutions. This is the great opportunity we have in building up Messianic Jewish Theological Institute for the training of the next generation of Messianic Rabbis and Scholars. For our leaders to stand under the title "Rabbi" they must be knowledgeable in the Torah, Rabbinics, Hebrew and Jewish Studies.

One of the requirements given to Timothy by Rav Shaul in I Timothy 3, was that the elders of the congregations, Rabbis and other leaders, needed to be respected by those outside the congregation:

And he (elder/Rabbi) is to have a good name among those outside the messianic community, so that nothing may be said against him and he may not be taken by the designs of the Evil One. (I Timothy 3:7, JNT)

If our "Rabbis" are merely those individuals who self-apply the title or those who receive ordination without a solid background in Hebrew, Rabbinics, Torah and Jewish Studies then we are misusing a title with great meaning in the Jewish world and we are also allowing for the Messianic community to be open to disrespect before the larger Jewish world, because of our ignorance of Judaism and the norms of Jewish life without our faith claims relative to Yeshua being the Jewish Messiah becoming an issue.

By developing a strong Messianic Jewish educational system we will allow for a future where we can have a mature Messianic Judaism that honors G-d and is infused by the power given us by Yeshua to live Torah.

C.S. Lewis, Yeshua and the Jewish People

2006-08-23T18:15:00.000-07:00

We do know that no man can be saved except through [Messiah];
we do not know that only those who know Him can be saved through Him.

(C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, p.64)

C.S. Lewis, one of the most important Christian thinkers in his classic work, Mere Christianity, offers an interesting point on the atoning work of Yeshua and it's application. Lewis was not a Messianic Jew, but as he referred to himself an ordinary member of the Church of England. Though not from our worldview, Lewis offers some important insights for us.

Lewis clearly puts forward that salvation is only attained by the death of the Messiah. Yet in contrast to much of the Church and the Missions movement, Lewis puts forward that the atoning work of Yeshua may not be as limited as is taught in Evangelical Christendom, wherein salvation is only made available to those who consciously pray a "sinner's prayer" and conform to evangelical standards of doctrine. Lewis in the context of his book was looking at the issue of the "other people", those who had not been presented the message of Yeshua.

For us we need to look at the Jewish people who have both been living lives of faithfulness to the G-d of Israel by living Torah faithful lives and also the fact that they have not been offered a Jewish message of Yeshua for over 1900 years and still are not hearing one from the Jewish missions groups.

Is it not limiting the atoning work of Yeshua by saying that those Jews who were not given a Jewish Yeshua to follow, and therefore rejected the Gentile Christian Jesus and held tightly to faith in the G-d of Israel and to the Torah in their study and practice are categorically damned to eternal separation from G-d? These being the same kind of Jewish people that Rav Shaul said "earnestly serve G-d night and day" [Acts 26:7].

If Rashi, Rambam, Heschel and other Torah faithful Jews are now in the presence of G-d they are there based on the atoning work of Yeshua. Do I know this for sure? I would have to say No, Scripture is clear that assurance of salvation is only attained by a faith trust in Yeshua, but I don't see this precluding G-d's application of the atoning work of Yeshua's death to those faithful Jews who lived Torah faithful lives and were unable to see and accept the "Jesus" of the Church or the Y'shua of the Missions as the Jewish Messiah.

Ahavat Olam - Unending Love

2006-08-18T07:39:00.000-07:00

Ahavat olam beit Yisrael am'cha ahav'ta: Torah umitzvot, chukim umish'patim otanu limad'ta

Unending is Your love for your people, the House of Israel.
Torah and Mitzvot, laws and precepts have You taught us.

These stirring words serve as the final blessing before the Shema in the evening service. As we now are near the end of another week and less than 12 hours to Shabbat, these words come to mind.

The most stirring rendition of these words in my opinion come from Craig Taubmann from Friday Night Live, a contemporary Erev Shabbat service at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles. Craig Taubmann along with Rabbi David Wolpe lead this service which is held on the second Shabbat of the month.

In these words that in their recitation hit me so deeply (I have to hold back tears at times) spell out G-d's love for the Jewish people in such a powerful way and they also show that G-d's love for us is demonstrated in His gift of Torah, mitzvot, laws and precepts as a way for us to live our lives. It is such a great thing to stop and reflect on the great love that G-d has for us and to thankfully recount His great love demonstrated in His Torah at the moment that we stand on the brink of saying the Shema and declaring the oneness of our G-d and our taking on of being his people which includes our responsibility to Torah.

V'nis'mach b'divrei torat'cha Uv'mitz'votecha l'olam vaed.

we will meditate on Your laws and rejoice in Your Torah and Mitzvot forever

As we go into Shabbat and again stand at Sinai and hear the Torah read let us embrace the above words and rejoice in the gift of G-d's Torah and His lovingkindess to us for giving us this way to walk. May we all seek out new ways to rejoice in G-d's Torah and give back love to the one who has even more than giving us the Torah, but who has given us the "living Torah", our Messiah Yeshua, who has written G-d's Torah on our hearts.

G-d has shown us such great love and it is now up to us to show our love for Him by walking in His ways.

Shabbat Shalom...

Yochanan 19:17-41 - The Lifting Up of Yeshua

2006-08-14T18:31:00.000-07:00

And he went out with his cross on him to the place which is named Dead Man’s Head (in Hebrew, Golgotha):
Where they put him on the cross with two others, one on this side and one on that, and Yeshua in the middle.
And Pilate put on the cross a statement in writing. The writing was: YESHUA THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
The writing was seen by a number of Jewish people, for the place where Yeshua was put to death on the cross was near the town; and the writing was in Hebrew and Latin and Greek.
Then the chief priests said to Pilate, Do not put, The King of the Jews, but, He said, I am the King of the Jews.
But Pilate made answer, What I have put in writing will not be changed.
And when Yeshua was nailed to the cross, the men of the army took his clothing, and made a division of it into four parts, to every man a part, and they took his coat: now the coat was without a join, made out of one bit of cloth.

This passage looks at the death of Yeshua, our righteous Messiah. Some people often overlook this event as it such a gruesome scene. Others subjugate it to Yeshua's resurrection that followed three days later. This is the story of one who would come and die for his people, who, though an heir of his father David and the one who would one day rule forever on David's throne, had a road of suffering ahead of him. For now his kingship was a different one, a kingship that required sacrifice.

Yeshua first had to suffer according to the words of the Hebrew Scriptures and then to take his place as the King of Israel. In Yochanan 19:28 we read,

After this, being conscious that all things had now been done so that the Scriptures might come true, Yeshua said, ‘Give me water.

Yochanan here speaks of the significance of Yeshua's death in light of the Hebrew Scriptures and Yeshua's role as the one to fulfill them.

Earlier in Yochanan, Yeshua spoke of his impending death (that we read about this week) and the reasoning why the Messianic hope would include his death, we read,

And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.' But he was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which he was to die

(Yochanan 12:32-33).

In context, this passage is looking at the "lifting up of Yeshua" as a reference to his impending death on the Roman cross.

Yeshua said that in his being lifted up that all will be drawn to him. First of all the lifting up of Yeshua, his death that we read about this week fulfills these words of Yeshua. The death of Yeshua draws people to him; we as his disciples are those who have been drawn to him.

Let us consider the role we can play to lift Yeshua up within the Jewish community by living Torah honoring lives. So if we seek to truly give the honor due to our Messiah then a life of walking Torah is our duty. As we seek to follow Torah we are "lifting up Yeshua" and thereby we are playing our part in building a Messianic Judaism that can be a focal point for drawing the Jewish people, our people to their Messiah. May we lift Yeshua up everyday by living Torah faithful lives!

(from The Set Table, an online Messianic Jewish Shabbat Guide)

To receive the weekly Set Table (click here)

Defining Messianic Judaism: A Commentary on the UMJC Statement

2006-08-13T11:41:00.000-07:00

Messianic Judaism is a movement of Jewish congregations and congregation-like groupings committed to Yeshua the Messiah that embrace the covenantal responsibility of Jewish life and identity rooted in Torah, expressed in tradition, renewed and applied in the context of the New Covenant.

In the Summer of 2002, at the annual conference of the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations the delegates approved the above statement that was written by Dr. Mark Kinzer and Dr. Daniel Juster. In a bold step that came with controversy then and continues today (and maybe for years to come) the UMJC's leadership decided that as we seek to build a Messianic Judaism for the future that most basic to this process is a self-definition. There are hundreds if not thousands of definitions of what Messianic Judaism is or should be and as one of the larger mainstream voices in the mix, the UMJC put forward the task for a statement to be written and tapped two of the tested and respected thinkers of our movement to write a basic statement on what Messianic Judaism is or more appropriately what it should be. With the various voices out there putting forward misguided and outright anti-Biblical "Messianic Judaism" or "Messianic Movements", like the Ephraimites and others, it is of great need for there to be a reasoned voice to step forward and say "This is what a true mature Messianic Judaism is" and our task is to make the statement a reality.

My first take on the basic statement is that if you are truly seeking to live in Messianic Judaism how can one find problem with above. Yet there are those who critique it. I say if you can't deal with a Messianic Judaism made up of Jews (and Judaism-respectful non-Jews) that is firmly grounded in Jewish space, reflecting a desire for Torah living and seeking to honor Yeshua within an identifiable Judaism then there is an option (actually tens of thousands) for you to live as a follower of Yeshua and this is your local Church. Messianic Judaism is a Judaism, if you can't deal with living within Jewish space then Messianic Judaism may not be the place for you.

Now to a little commentary:

Messianic Judaism is a movement of Jewish congregations and congregation-like groupings

The Messianic Jewish congregation and congregation-like groupings make for the great distinctive that we offer as a movement. Messianic congregations are living breathing Jewish faith centers that are in the midst of the Jewish community wherein our righteous Messiah is glorified within Jewish space where the Torah is honored and the G-d of Israel is worshipped. In contrast to the "missions model" that involves standing on street corners with tracts, the messianic congregation allows for both the message of Yeshua to be made known to the not-yet-Messianic Jews and even more it is an ongoing Jewish community that is part and parcel of the lives of those who attend. It is the messianic congregation that is the key vehicle for making our Messiah credibly known in the Jewish world. For the congregation-like groupings, I think that these are vitally important to play a role in extending the Messianic Jewish presence throughout our world. I think that we need to supplement our mostly regional Messianic congregations with home groups and chavurot and seek to build these congregation-like groupings into future Messianic congregations.

committed to Yeshua the Messiah that embrace the covenantal responsibility of Jewish life and identity rooted in Torah

This phrase sets out the two vital parts of what being a Messianic Judaism is and that is to understand that our identity is tied to a union of a life living within Torah faithfulness with faith trust in Yeshua, our righteous Messiah. Without the Torah, we may be a Messianic movement of which the Church is a Messianic movement. Without a faith trust in Yeshua as our Messiah, we may be another Judaism and then we would just be an independent movement of Jews. But as we should be we are Messianic Judaism, a Judaism that embraces covenantal responsibility and commitment to Yeshua. To unite our Torah and our Messiah as who we are is the only way we can truly live out a true Messianic Judaism.

expressed in tradition

This may be the most controversial part of the basic statement, the affirmation of Jewish tradition's role in who we are to be a Messianic Judaism. We must understand that there is not a vacuum of Jewish life from 70 CE to today. Messianic Judaism may have some connection to the Judaism of the early Yeshua believers in that we serve the same Messiah and also like them we are familiar with the teachings of their communities as expressed in the Brit Chadasha, but we are not in all reality a reviving of 1st century Messianic Judaism, we are building a Messianic Judaism within the context of Judaism as it has developed over the last two thousand years. This being said, we need to look at how Jewish people have done Judaism and are doing Judaism today as we build a Messianic Judaism for the future.

renewed and applied in the context of the New Covenant

As the basic statement concludes we come to the role that the Brit Chadasha (New Covenant/New Testament) plays in our movement. Along with the development of Jewish life over the last two thousand years we also have the reflections and guidance of the Brit Chadashah to guide us and to inform our creation of a mature Messianic Judaism. So then we have both the Rabbinical sages and the New Covenant writers to inform us in our living out our lives within a Yeshua honoring, Torah living life within Jewish space. We in essence can build with multiple sources something that is both old, renewed and new all at the same time.

So then we are now four years since the ratification of this statement.

Where are we in the process of making it a reality?

What have you done to make it a reality?

What are you going to do to make it a reality?

So now to our task, may we one day be living within a Messianic Judaism that will reflect this vision and this calling.

May G-d grant us the workers to make it happen and may each of us to do what is needed as we seek to build a mature Messianic Judaism.

(originally posted on towardblog on 12/26/04)

Yeshuati - A Reflection on King Messiah

2006-08-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

Hinei El yeshuati, evtah v'lo efhad,
ki azi v'zimrat Yah Adonai, vay'hili lishua....

With these powerful words we begin the Havdalah service to conclude Shabbat.

In this phrase from the Prophet Isaiah we conclude our experience of Shabbat, a foretaste of the Messianic kingdom, by firstly acknowledging that it is G-d that is "yeshuati" (my salvation).

It is no mistake that the One to fully embody G-d's salvation work was named Yeshua, even Him who is our righteous Messiah.

The One in whom G-d's hand so mightily dwelt, the One in whom G-d's love was manifest so completely within the created order was the very One, who was named Yeshua, G-d's Redeemer, our Messiah, as Yochanan would say:

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory" (Yochanan 1:14)

This is the greatest thing about Messianic Judaism, we know the Messiah.

He is not just one that we pray about and long for (of which we should earnestly await His glorious return), but we have the reality, the very indwelling experience of our Messiah in our midst.

This hit me so clearly and deeply while praying the Amidah on the last Rosh Chodesh where there is the added prayer for the remembrance of Messiah, Son of David.

Rather than as a figure of speculation, as among others longing for Messiah, we know who the Messiah is and we today can live in the new life that only He provides as the very agent of G-d's salvation.

We can live now basking in the knowledge that the long awaited Messiah has come and He will return to rule and reign as is His due, because He is the great Son of David and the One to take the eternal throne as King Messiah and L-rd of L-rds.

This is the Messiah that fully enlivens us as MESSIANIC Judaism.

He is Yeshua, our living and coming King Messiah.

May we live in the reality of Yeshua in our midst and may we make Him known by living lives of devotion to G-d and walking in the way of Torah.

Next Gen: Passing the Torch

2006-07-25T07:49:00.000-07:00

The future of Messianic Judaism, the future impact that we can have in our Jewish world and our impact on the whole of creation by playing our role in bringing about the consummation of history for all humanity will have alot to do with the actions of those of us who are in their 20's and 30's now who will have to be the future Messianic rabbis, scholars, teachers, writers, song writers, musicians, shabbat school teachers and all the various roles in our community and synagogal life.

For awhile I and others of this age group have acknowledged that we are the ones to take Messianic Judaism into the future and to continue the work and expand on it and see a true Messianic Judaism for the future which is a Jewish life intrinsically united with the life and power of our righteous Messiah, Yeshua. Though talk is great and our acknowledgment of our role to play in the future is important, it is now time to make our words into actions.

For this to become a reality and for us to take up the torch of Messianic Judaism into the 21st century and beyond we need to do the following (not exhaustive):

1. Find a mentor for teaching, training and encouragement.
2. Find your spiritual gift (your mentor and peers can help you discover this).
3. Seek education and training to more effectively use your gifting.
4. Put your gifting to use.
5. Make prayer for the building of a mature Messianic Judaism a daily commitment.
6. Serve in your synagogue.
7. Seek peers for prayer, education and encouragement.
8. Encourage your rabbi and leaders who are currently in leadership.

For those currently in leadership for us we need you to:

1. Seek out future leaders to mentor.
2. Assist us in discovering our gifting and encourage us to use our gifts.
3. Make opportunities for us to use our gifting in the synagogue and community.
4. Give us feedback, both positive and negative, so that we can learn and grow to be the leaders that we need to be.
5. Join us in daily prayer for the building of a mature Messianic Judaism.

This passing of the torch involves the current leaders preparing us to receive the torch and for them to pass it on to us and then for us to accept the torch and our responsibility to take our awesome role of being the ones in which the future of Messianic Judaism will rest and also the opportunity that we can play a role in changing our world for G-d like the first generation of Jewish believers did in their world by their faithful service.

Beyond just our movement we can change the course of human history as we build a mature Messianic Judaism and reunite the breach of Jewish life from faith trust in Yeshua, the Messiah of Israel. This is both a joy and an overwhelming responsibility but it is our job and we must do it, if we are truly focused on living G-d honoring lives and playing our role in G-d's plan of the ages.

So then the time has come for us to step up to be the next generation of leaders. We must do what is needed to be prepared to take the torch and for those current leaders you need to do your part to train us and then to give us the torch and allow us to enter our role to play in the future of our movement.

This is a group project and we all must do our part!

So then let us begin doing what needs to be done so that we can magnify and sanctify the name of our G-d by building a mature Messianic Judaism for the future.

Looking at Torah: Jews and Gentiles

2006-07-25T07:34:00.000-07:00

On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the Good News for the Uncircumcised, just as Kefa had been for the Circumcised; since the One working in Kefa to make him an emissary to the Circumcised had worked in me to make me an emissary to the Gentiles.

So, having perceived what grace had been given to me, Ya'akov, Kefa and Yochanan, the acknowledged pillars of the community, extended to me and Bar-Nabba the right hand of fellowship; so that we might go to the Gentiles, and they to the Circumcised. Their only request was that we should remember the poor which very thing I have spared no pains to do.

(Galatians 2:7-10 JNT)

There is one Messiah, Yeshua and there are two ways to follow Yeshua, the Jewish way and the Gentile way.

At the beginning of the Messianic community there was the "congregation of the circumcised" that was the Jewish believers that lived within Judaism of their day and lived a life of Torah observance these were the early Messianic Jews and in our day the adherants of Messianic Judaism. This connection to the ongoing place of Torah in the life of the early Jewish followers can be seen in the words of Ya'akov (James) to Rav Shaul:

“You see brother, how many tens of thousands of
believers there are among the Judeans, and they
are all zealots for the Law of Moses.”
Acts 21:20 (JNT)

With the work of Shaul/Paul the message of Yeshua spread to the Nations and there began to be a "congregation of the uncircumcised" the non-Jewish followers of Yeshua that began being referred to as "Christians" beginning in Antioch (Syria) and these non-Jewish followers of Yeshua were not bound to Torah observance but to a limited list of rules to follow found in Acts 15:

For it seemed good to the Ruach HaKodesh and to us, to put on you nothing more than these necessary things;

To keep from things offered to false g-ds, and from blood, and from things put to death in ways which are against the law of Moses, and from improper sexual desires of the body; if you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.
May you be happy.

Acts 15:28-29 (BBE)

In our day this Gentile expression of following Yeshua is known as Christianity.

So then as at the earliest days of the Yeshua movement there are two distinct religions with their own expressions and lifestyles for being a follower of Yeshua.

One for Jews which is Messianic Judaism which is a lifestyle bound to Jewish covenant faithfulness and responsibility grounded in Torah
and
one for non-Jews which is Christianity which is a lifestyle that is to be lived within the basic guidelines listed in Acts 15.

These two distinct religious communities form the larger "Body of Messiah" which is a unity made up of two distinct parts.

2 Religions and 1 Messiah.

May both Messianic Judaism and Christianity lift Yeshua up as distinct but united faith communities!

The Greatest Barrier - Jews for Jesus and the Jewish People

2006-07-19T07:10:00.000-07:00

The greatest barrier between the Jewish people and the Jewish Messiah
is
Jews for Jesus

The "fruit" of Jews for Jesus' motto "We exist to make the Messiahship of Jesus an unavoidable issue to our Jewish people world-wide" has been to alienate and harden the Jewish people to the message of Yeshua.

Being that the confrontation is the most important part of their work, the subsequent rejection of their message is seen by them as confirmation to them of the importance of their work. This is much akin to cult groups like the JW's and Mormons that see the slammed door in their face as confirmation of the "truth" of their message.

Sadly I see much of this generation of Jewish people so hardened and put off to the message of Yeshua because of Jews for Jesus.

Being that each JFJ campaign, like the current "Behold Your G-d", is preceded by or countered by groups like Jews for Judaism presenting "Responding to Missionaries" seminars, the practical result of Jews for Jesus' campaigns is to have the local Jewish community inflamed against Messianic Jews and Yeshua and via the work of Jews for Judaism for the local Jewish community to be taught reasons not to believe in Yeshua and thereby harden them more to the message. Sadly Jews for Jesus is in it's most practical outworking a fundraising arm for Jews for Judaism and other anti-Yeshua groups!

If Jews for Jesus (and other missions groups) truly are concerned about Jewish people coming to their Messiah then they would seek to communicate the message loving and credibly that the Jewish Messiah has come to the Jewish people by living lives that demonstrate that they are Messianic Jews that are living within a Jewish life of Torah faithfulness.

Any proclamation of the good news to the Jewish people of the Messiahship of Yeshua that is not tied to calling Jewish people to living a Torah faithful life is not the good news of Yeshua, but "another good news". Sadly this is the "good news" proclaimed by Jews for Jesus and other missions, a Torah free "Messianic Jewish" life.

In your face confrontation can only get rejection, yet sadly it seems that hardening the rejection to Yeshua by the Jewish people is more important to Jews for Jesus than credibly and lovingly sharing the glorious news that the Messiah has come and he is Yeshua.

May G-d open the eyes of David Brickner and Jews for Jesus to see that they are doing more to keep Jewish people from the Messiah than drawing them to him.

And for us who are truly interested in the Messiah being known in the Jewish community may we be the ones to credibly and lovingly present Yeshua to our Jewish community and in so doing do more than just make Yeshua unavoidable, but make Yeshua the one that the Jewish people embrace as their L-rd and Messiah!