The Messianic Rabbi – More than just a title.

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.

Living Torah, Loving 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)

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 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 God 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 God. 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 God) we come to the real place of Torah as the way of walking for those in relationship to the God of Israel and the way of life for the Jewish people, as those in covenant relationship to God.

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, 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 God 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 God which will be our Comforter and will help us live Torah. So in obeying Torah we are granted the Spirit of God 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 God’s Spirit to more fully live the Torah.

Yeshua teaching on leadership – Passing the torch to the next generation of leaders

It was around that time that Yeshua went out to the hill country to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.

When day came, he called his talmidim and chose from among them twelve to be known as emissaries:

Shim`on, whom he named Kefa; Andrew, his brother; Ya`akov; Yochanan; Philip; Bar-Talmai; Mattityahu; T’oma; Ya`akov Ben-Halfai:

Shim`on, the one called the Zealot; Y’hudah Ben-Ya`akov; and Y’hudah from K’riot, who turned traitor.

Then he came down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his talmidim was there with great numbers of people from all Y’hudah, Yerushalayim and the coast around Tzor and Tzidon; they had come to hear him and be healed of their diseases.

Those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being healed; and the whole crowd was trying to touch him, because power kept going out from him, healing everyone.

(Luke 6:12-19)

In this besorah reading Yeshua chooses his talmidim, those who would be with him throughout his work on earth and then to be his emissaries to take his message out after Yeshua leaves to return to the Father.  Yeshua chooses twelve men to fill these roles to be his students and companions, but also to be the ones that will have to take the message of Yeshua to future generations and to “the uttermost part of the Earth”.

Yeshua gives us an important lesson in leadership by like Moses before him, he as a leader knew that leadership involved sharing the responsibility and finding gifted individuals to assist, this can be seen in Moses’ appointing of the 70 elders to assist him in his role of leading the People of Israel in the desert.  Yeshua shows us the importance of a leader in preparing future leaders.  Yeshua knew that his time was short and a Roman stake soon awaited him, so for his message to continue he needed those prepared to take his message forward, hence he chose the twelve talmidim to mentor and then to send out to bring his message to future generations, of which we are beneficiaries of their faithful service.

What can we learn from this besorah reading for the future of Messianic Judaism?  One thing is the importance of current leaders choosing future leaders and preparing them for their important task of building Messianic Judaism for the future.  Secondly, like the talmidim those “young leaders” who are called to be mentored and prepared for future leadership must share Yeshua’s talmidim’s willingness to take up the task of being prepared to be a future leader and take forward the vision.

This can be seen by the analogy of passing a torch from one generation of leaders to the next.  This passing of the torch involves the current leaders preparing future leaders to receive the torch and for them to pass it on to them and then for those future leaders to accept the torch and their responsibility to take their awesome role of being the ones in which the future of Messianic Judaism will rest and also the opportunity that they can play a role in changing our world for God like Yeshua’s first talmidim 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 God honoring lives and playing our role in God’s plan of the ages.

So then the time has come for us to step up and follow the example of our righteous Messiah and play our role in the building up of the next generation of leaders. We must do what is needed for them to be prepared to take the torch and for those current leaders they need to do their part to train them and then to give them the torch and allow them to enter their 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 God by building a mature Messianic Judaism for the future.

Torah-free repentance: The problem with Jews for Jesus and other Missions to the Jews

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)

In the above sidebar to an article in the Fall 2003 Havurah newsletter addresses the view of Jews for Jesus (and I would say is representative of other Jewish missions groups) on the issue of Messianic Jews observing Torah commands like kashrut, Shabbat and others.  It is a huge statement that lays out their view that the observing of Torah and Jewish practices are seen as acts that one is “allowed” to do and by observing Torah and Jewish practices the Jewish believer is giving up of God’s “grace” that in their understanding no longer requires observance of Torah by Yeshua believing Jews.

In this short paragraph the organization, Jews for Jesus demonstrates that they see the Torah as no longer applicable to the life of Messianic Jews and also that obeying the Torah and observing Jewish practices is not doing an act of obedience to the God who gave the Torah but as an acceptable activity that one can do as “evangelistic shtick” for the sake of witness or some kind of heritage attachment.

This is not an expression of Messianic Judaism and despite Jews for Jesus’ many attempts to try to paint themselves within the Messianic Jewish world the above statement clearly puts them outside the realm of being a part of the worldview of Messianic Judaism and outside a life within Jewish space and at odds with the Messiah that they seek to proclaim.
Beside the sociological problem of the statement is the huge issue of Jews for Jesus (a prominent Evangelical Christian affiliated organization) saying that Jewish believers in Yeshua can obey God if they want to, but obeying God’s Torah should not be seen as incumbent!

Stop and think about this, they are seeking to draw Jewish people to believe in the Jewish Messiah, yet they do not take the Messiah’s own example of the importance of living Torah and therefore they are offering the Jewish community a “Torah free” and “Judaism free” Messiah.

Torah observance is an act of obeying God, it is not just an acceptable “abandoning of grace” for heritage connection or witness. Though it is true that obeying Torah and living Jewish life is a way of connection to Jewish heritage and a witness of God to the world, the obeying of Torah is to be primarily an act of obeying God’s commands and His Torah.

The call of missionaries like Jews for Jesus is for Jews to put their faith in Yeshua as Messiah and repent of their sins.  But what is Jewish sin, other than living outside the bounds of Torah?  What is the sign of true repentance but to turn from violating God’s Torah and seeking to live within it’s boundaries.  A call to Yeshua faith and repentance that does not lead toward a life of walking on the path of Torah is not a true call to repentance and can be an example of what Paul called “another Yeshua and another good news”, but this Yeshua is not the true Yeshua and this good news is at best inadequate and at worst leading people to live in rebellion to God with the stamp of approval from Jews for Jesus and other missions groups.

The shape of Jewish repentance is bound up in seeking to live Torah, a Torah-free life of a Messianic Jew is not a God honoring life.  If we are going to call Jewish people to accept Yeshua as Messiah our message must include that following God for all Jews (especially Messianic Jews) is a life tied to Torah.  If the great Messianic hope is Yom Shekulo Shabbat, a time of unending Shabbat, a time of all creation living in the light of Messiah and ordered by his Torah, should we not now who call Yeshua our Messiah begin now to live our lives ordered by the very Torah that the world to come will be lived?

So then for living God honoring lives and the building of a mature Messianic Judaism we need to obey Torah daily because that is what God commands and it is the Torah that is God’s way of living for all Jews (especially Messianic Jews!).

The Dual Redemption – A Pesach Reflection on the Afikoman.

I hope that you have had 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 passed 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 God’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 end of Pesach may each of us take some time in the next day to take in the wonder of God’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 God’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 God of Israel.

May God bless you and keep you and grant you His peace…

Women Rabbis in Messianic Judaism – An important step in our maturation as a Judaism.

In 1 Corinthians 16:19 we read:

The congregations of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the congregation that is in their house.

In the Brit Chadasha we get the reference to a fellowship of believers meeting in the home of Priscilla and Aquila and it is interesting that Priscilla’s name is mentioned first in Rav Shaul’s other references to her and Aquila, possibly making reference to her prime role as spiritual leader in their fellowship. So then it appears that from this reference that Rav Shaul acknowledged a leadership role for a woman, in this case Priscilla.

So in this example we can see a woman in a leadership role of a Messianic community. I think that this is an important example for us as the next generation of leaders to see that we do do have this example in the Brit Chadasha of a woman leading a congregation.

In the larger Jewish world there have been women rabbis in Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism for the last 20 or 30 years or so. For a fascinating study of women rabbis read the book, “Women Who Would Be Rabbis: A History of Women’s Ordination, 1889-1985″ by Pamela Susan Nadell.

I appreciate the halakhic thinking of Conservative Judaism that makes innovative rulings in concert with the tradition and in the case of women rabbis they did this very thing. Being that one of the main issues blocking women from the rabbinate is that women according to Jewish law are not required to perform time bound mitzvot. So then the halakhic committee of Conservative Judaism ruled that if a woman wanted to be a rabbi she would have to take upon herself the time bound commandments (thrice daily prayers, tefillin, tzitzit, for example). This being done and taking on these mitzvot as an obligation then women could study for the rabbinate.

Even in Orthodoxy there is more room for women in leadership roles than in the larger Messianic Jewish movement including the overseeing of Jewish schools and serving as halakhic advisors on specific issues of Jewish law in relation to women (family purity and other family issues).

So then from the Brit Chadasha and from the larger Jewish world there is acceptance and openness to women in leadership roles.

I feel that is important for the current generation to make it a priority to see the first formally ordained woman rabbi in the UMJC.  We need to be willing to validate a calling that some women have to stand as rabbis within the world of Messianic Judaism and also declare formally to the women and girls in the Messianic Judaism world that there is room for women leaders in our movement, even holding the highest role of leadership that of a rabbi.

May we all seek to fill the roles that God has for us and may we build a mature Messianic Judaism for the future!

The Lamb that was slaughtered…

In 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 reading we come to a vision from thebook 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 thePassover 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 come to 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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Conclude Pesach with a Seudat Mashiach/Messiah’s Feast (click below for free PDF)

Hagaddah Shel Seudat Mashiach

Welcoming a new blog, Chutzpah, to the blogosphere…

Today a new blog joined the blogosphere, Chutzpah.  Chutzpah is a guest blog on the newly launched, Messianic Judaism Media site.

The opening blog is entitled, Why the Jewish community is right to reject Jews for Jesus.  It is written by Walter Lieber.

This is a powerful post to kick off this new blog and will be the first of many thought provoking posts to come.

Eating Matzo – Building a Credible Messianic Judaism

As we are now just about to begin Passover, I want to share what is one of my most life changing stories relative to my observance of Passover.

In June 1989, I was in Chicago taking some classes and also visiting the local Messianic congregations. One night I and a few other people went to a local 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 think his name was Elliot.

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 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 on my own I have also kashered the whole house for Pesach.

This is a vital lesson for us all to learn and that our message about Yeshua as Messiah is more credibly declared by those whose lives showing forth the living reality of being one who walks Torah as a follower of Yeshua. This encounter and the subsequent 22 years of eating matzo throughout Pesach have been a powerful learning experience and a powerful way of living out my commitment to God 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 God’s Torah which is our duty on it’s own but we are also demonstrating that as followers of Yeshua we are walking in God’s way and thereby we are making our Messiah known as the One followed by adherents of a Torah honoring Messianic Judaism.

Our brethren in Chabad speak of Torah living as taking “baby steps” for those seeking to enter a more observant life or another way “one mitzvah leads to another”.  This was my starting point into kosher living and exploring kashrut beginning with just eating matzo during Passover led me to leave behind eating pork and shellfish and later on to only eating kosher certified meat.  But the first step to ordering my diet by Torah began with eating matzo throughout Pesach.  May this encourage you to make the “baby steps” you need to make to begin your Torah living journey.

So eat matzo and celebrate the freedom of the Pesach season.

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Conclude Pesach with a Seudat Mashiach/Messiah’s Feast (click below for free PDF)

Hagaddah Shel Seudat Mashiach

Pesach – Concluding with the Messiah’s Feast

The Seudat Mashiach or “Messiah’s Feast” is a final meal of Passover that is focused on the Messiah and his role as bringing the final redemption.

The celebration of the Seudat Mashiach began with the Baal Shem Tov, founder of the modern Hasidic movement in Judaism. I was unfamiliar with this custom until just before Pesach in 2002, I saw and ad in the LA Jewish Journal for the local Chabad houses having Seudas Moshiach gatherings on the final day of Passover. I did some research and found out that the meal consisted of matzah and 4 cups of wine, like the Passover seder, with this seder focusing on the redemption to be brought by King Messiah.

As the description of the Seudat Mashiach from the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Schneerson says:

“The last day of Pesach is the conclusion of that which began on the first night of Pesach. The first night of Pesach is our festival commemorating our redemption from Egypt by the Holy One, Blessed be He. It was the first redemption, carried out through Moshe Rabbeinu, who was the first redeemer; it was the beginning. The last day of Pesach is our festival commemorating the final redemption, when the Holy One, Blessed be He, will redeem us from the last exile through our righteous Moshiach, who is the final redeemer. The first day of Pesach is Moshe Rabbeinu’s festival; the last day of Pesach is Moshiach’s festival.” (Cited in Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XXII, p. 34.)

I then began to construct an order of service for a final meal of Passover that focused on the predictions, coming and future return of our righteous Messiah, Yeshua. Using the Passover hagaddah as a guide I developed a Hagaddah Shel Seudat Mashiach. In it is a service that begins with Messianic prophecies foretelling the coming of Messiah, passages from the book of Yochanan and Luke telling of the first coming of Yeshua and concluding with readings from Revelation telling of the coronation of King Messiah. It is a great time of dwelling in the final hours of Pesach, a time of remembering redemption from Egypt, to focus on the redemption from sin that was brought by Yeshua.

It is a new and yet old practice, new in that I began working on it about 8 years ago and old being that the original practice began over 200 years with the Baal Shem Tov, it is better to call it a renewal.

May we all celebrate the redemption that Yeshua has brought us each day and may we be able to celebrate the Seudat Mashiach soon with our Messiah in Jerusalem, until then we will celebrate His great works here in exile as we await his appearing.

To download the most recent edition of the Hagaddah Shel Seudat Mashiach (click below):

Hagaddah Shel Seudat Mashiach