Messianic Jewish Conversion: Avoiding “The Bandwagon Effect”

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 1 or 2 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 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, the life of the local Jewish community 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 their commitment to Jewish life will be examined.

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.

This calls for leadership and guidance by recognized leaders. We can take this important step in our maturation and I believe that there are respected leaders willing to take the responsibility for this important work of allowing those like Ruth, to tangibly cast their lot with the Jewish people.

Building A Jewish religious movement for Yeshua

 

In seeking to be a Judaism, a Jewish religious movement for Yeshua within the Jewish people and for the Jewish people we will ask Jewish questions, seek to give Jewish answers and credibly live out our lives as Messianic Jews as a part of the Jewish community, rather than the missionary model as one who goes into the Jewish community as an outsider to target the “unsaved Jews” for conversion to Christianity. We see the Jewish people as “us” and not “them” and therefore our desire is to live credible Jewish lives that we can make the Messiah seen within Israel as the Messiah followed by Torah honoring, Jewishly connected, Messianic Jews. Our hope is to be a light for Messiah within the Jewish world.

In this identity we embrace our oneness with all of the Jewish people as an act of faithfulness to God and to His Torah and not some act of “seeking man’s approval”. We seek God’s approval by living as he intended as a Torah community that follows the Jewish Messiah.

Yeshua is central to the building of a mature Messianic Judaism, because he is the Messiah that we honor. Our desire is to make him known within the People of Israel and this can only be done by seeing the Jewish community as our community of reference and living within Jewish life embodied in our respect for Jewish tradition and Torah living as we seek to be organically connected within the Jewish community as the Jews who follow Yeshua, the Jewish Messiah.

Yeshua can only be properly seen by the Jewish people as he really is as the Jewish Messiah, by being made known by a credible Messianic Judaism that reflects a love for all Jewish people and with a vital connection to the People of Israel.

May we live lives that make Yeshua known within a Judaism, Messianic Judaism.

It is incumbent to await the coming of Moshiach every single day…

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 primacy of our righteous Messiah and the hope of His return to bring the Messianic age.

This is important in dealing with two potential problems:

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” (John 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 God’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 fulfill the words of Rav 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 1800 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.

Developing Halacha – Creating Messianic Judaism for the Future

One of the fruits of the discussions among Messianic rabbis over the issue of Messianic Jewish conversion is seeking to answer the question:

If we are converting non-Jews, what are we converting them to?

The answer to this question is: to Judaism, has led to further questions over the issue of what standards of practice these converts will be called to live and what Messianic Judaism’s halacha will be.

This is an exciting fruit of the Messianic Jewish conversion development process that there is actual discussion and development of a Messianic Jewish halacha and this is an important part of the further maturation of our movement as a Judaism.

This is a vital step in our development to be the Judaism for Yeshua in the 21st century and beyond!

The Messianic Jewish Rabbinical Council (http://www.ourrabbis.org) has made the huge step of working out the bounds of Messianic Judaism life via their Standards of Observance which is a document detailing the development of communal Torah values for Messianic Judaism.

You can read more on the development of Messianic Jewish Halacha and download a copy of the Standards at:

http://ourrabbis.org/main/halakhah-mainmenu-26/introduction-mainmenu-27/sources-mainmenu-28

The Deleted Open Letter to Ralph Messer and His Followers

Below is an Open Letter that Rabbi Dr. Stuart Dauermann posted on Ralph Messer’s Facebook Page which appears to have been deleted.  Below read these insightful words by my mentor and pioneer of the modern Messianic Judaism movement.

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Ladies and Gentlemen,

When a person uses the term “Rabbi” for himself, he is obliged to adhere to the standards that Rabbis follow. You may be impressed with Ralph Messer’s personality, teachings, or charisma, but that in no way refutes that when he uses the term Rabbi of himself, he must adhere to certain norms. The way he used/abused the Torah is one which rabbis of all stripes find repugnant. This should matter to him and to you.

He may be the nicest, and most Spirit filled man you know. That is besides the point. The problem is two-fold: First he claims the title Rabbi when he is not a Jew nor has any reputable body given him the title. It is like me claiming to be Pope. Second, in ministering under that title, he tramples underfoot the norms to which all rabbis adhere. This is not a small thing and should be acknowledged by him and by all people of a sincere, respectful, and aware faith.

The problem is one of a sense of entitlement. No matter how filled with the Spirit some person might suppose themselves to be, they are not thereby entitled to do as they choose with things deemed holy to others. If someone came into your house speaking in tongues and pulled your/your wife’s wedding gown out of the closet to clean their car, would you say “Hallelujah?” or would you rather say “What do you think you are doing?”

The Rabbi just cleaned his car with the Jewish people’s wedding gown. We protest.

Thank you for reading.

Rabbi Stuart Dauermann
Jewish, and ordained under the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations

Steps toward 2nd generation Messianic Judaism

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 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 God 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 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 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 God by building a mature Messianic Judaism for the future.

http://www.towardblog.com

Messianic Jewish Education and the Future of Messianic Judaism

I am looking to start a focus on the importance of Messianic Jewish education to the future of Messianic Judaism from childhood through adulthood.  There is a synagogal focus on “Shabbat school” and Rabbinic training programs in many Messianic synagogues but the area of lifelong learning needs to be grasped for a true Messianic Jewish future.  I am currently applying to a doctoral program in Jewish education so I see towardblog being a sounding board for my studies and research.

Below is a classic towardblog post on the importance of Messianic Jewish education, early Shabbat shalom to you all…

We stand in a movement that was revived in force since the Six Day War in June 1967. The return of Jewish control of Jerusalem marked a new day for Israel, to reclaim the historic capital of Israel and it also saw a revival of the Jewish people whether toward Zionism-which was seen among Reform Jews and some Orthodox Jews, who before 1967 were opposed to Zionism and a return to Israel and also a move toward spiritual searching that led to many Jewish people finding the Messiah-of which many leaders in Messianic congregations came to faith in the late 60′s and early 70′s.

Though this reviving of a Jewish understanding of Messianic faith allows us to come to this discussion, I would like to put forward that the “end times revivalism” that is so emphasized throughout our movement, which is a carry-over from the evangelical Christian backgrounds of many Jewish believers, brings about a short-sightedness of the Messianic Jewish vision in that with the impending end of the age there really does not need to be a long-range vision for our movement. This shortsightedness can leave future generations without a vision, if we have future generations.

Not to say that I doubt the hope of the soon appearing of the end of the age and the Messiah reigning and ruling from Jerusalem, may it be soon and in our day, we still need to have a vision that holds to the impending return of Messiah, but also if he tarries, we need to keep the vision alive and establish Messianic Judaism for future generations and to establish Messianic Judaism even now as a credible expression of Torah life and a Judaism that is infused with the power of the Messiah and thereby do as the Shema calls us to do, “to love the L-rd, our God with all our heart, soul and mind”.

With many people focused on this being the final generation, based on the interpretation of Yeshua’s prophecy that the generation that sees the fig tree blossoming will see the completion of all things, of which this prophecy which has been understood to have been fulfilled by either the founding of the State of Israel in 1948, or more notably the recapture of Jerusalem in 1967.  If this is true then this places the end of time in the lifetimes of the readers of this blog, especially of those born near or after 1967.

With the soon return of Messiah, the planning and building of a Messianic future is in doubt.  Why seek to establish Messianic yeshivot, Messianic colleges, Messianic day schools and other Messianic institutions when with the end near, we can just use the existing secular, Christian and for some the mainstream Jewish institutions for education and institutional support.  For many Messianic Jewish institutions are really not needed with this end-times fervor.

The focus and importance of education in the larger Jewish world is overwhelming from the many educational programs in synagogues, Rabbinic schools and Jewish universities. The larger Jewish world knows that future generations will be kept and nurtured by a solid education in Judaism. 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 title “Rabbi” is used in our movement by most congregational leaders (even non-Jews) and we have to ask ourselves are we not doing ourselves a disservice to use the title of Rabbi, without requiring a rigorous course of study in Hebrew and Jewish studies for our congregational leaders? 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, Messianic universities and Messianic day 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. For our leaders to stand under the title Rabbi they must be knowledgeable in the Torah, Hebrew and Jewish Studies.

One of the requirements given to Timothy by Paul 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)

If our “Rabbis” are merely those who self-apply the title or those who receive ordination without a solid background in Hebrew, 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 even without our faith claims relative to Yeshua being the Jewish Messiah.

By developing a strong Messianic Jewish educational system we will allow for a future where we can have a mature Messianic Judaism that honors God and is infused by the power given us by Yeshua to live Torah.