The Discordant Army

Regarding one's spiritual development, the Netziv provides a terrific insight when commenting on the verse, "Follow the path of your heart" (Ecclesiastes 11:9). He states that each individual Jew must find their own way of serving God. Some people carry out their divine service through study or prayer, while others focus more on charity or acts of kindness. Of course, a person can engage in all of these at different times, but it's important to find a specific focus through which you can personally find meaning and fulfill your mission in life. Whichever particular path happens to attract you most, work on it. Every single one of us has the ability to cultivate the divine spark God has given us and achieve greatness.
-from The Power of the Individual
Lev Echad blog

It's Friday morning again and time to reflect upon the state of community (or lack thereof) in the Christian and particularly the "Messianic" world of faith. I was intrigued that blog writer Asher at Lev Echad would be writing on a theme that has been one of my favorites lately. I previously wrote about how an individual can be the answer to prayer and Asher also comments that each of us has something unique to give.

Joshua Brumbach also discussed this theme in relation to this week's Torah portion, Parashat Pekudei as illustrated by one man, Moses, completing the work on the Mishkan in the desert and opening the door for the Divine Presence to dwell among His people. While Joshua sees the act of Moses as a leader humbling himself to "get his hands dirty" and finalizing the Mishkan's construction, I see Moses representing each of us as we do our part to repair the world and prepare for the coming of the Jewish Messiah.

However, Asher touched on a very important point that I think needs to be drawn out:

This can be taken one step further when it comes to a person's career. Although it's terrific for any man or woman to pursue their professional dreams, if they decide to become a stay-at-home parent, for instance, they should also be proud of their work. It always bothers me when women say something like, "I'm just a housewife." In my opinion, that's the most important job on earth. You're raising a family, being gracious to guests, and maintaining a peaceful home, among other things. What's more important than that?! Great things tend to be accomplished by people who embrace what they do and give it everything they have - no matter who may denigrate them from the outside. Never let anyone undermine the passion you give to what you believe is your calling in life.

When I'm in services and reciting and singing prayers, I'm sometimes very aware of how poorly I speak Hebrew and how badly I sing (something like a frog with a sore throat). I could practice diligently and probably improve my Hebrew somewhat (though languages aren't among my talents), but nothing will ever make me a better singer. I also must admit (with some embarrassment) that although it is a kindness and a commandment to visit the sick, I feel sort of creeped out in hospitals. It's not that I can't go in a hospital to visit someone, it's just that I don't look forward to doing so. Gee. I don't look forward to obeying God and making someone's life a little happier. That sounds bad.

It's easy to look at what I can't do and to feel lousy about the holes in my faith, my deeds of kindness, and my personality. I don't know. Maybe you feel the same way about yourself or maybe you don't. Most people in the religious blogosphere tend to emphasize how terrific they are and showcase the areas where they are well accomplished, so it's hard for me to tell.

I have to struggle to remember that, as Asher says, I should never "let anyone undermine the passion you give to what you believe is your calling in life." Of course, not all denigration comes from the outside. Often, our worst enemy is the person inside our head. If you are (if I am) not skilled in many areas, there is still likely at least one thing you have to offer:

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot were to say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body’, that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear were to say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body’, that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? -1 Corinthians 12:12-17 (NRSV)

What's the one thing I do obsessively? What's the one thing I can't seem to go a day without doing? C'mon, it's not hard to guess. In fact, you're reading it now.

God "wired" me to write. I don't know if it does any good to anyone besides me (and I sometimes wonder even about me), but like a billion other people, I hop on the Internet, fire up Blogger, and spew my thoughts and feelings onto the web for someone or no one to read. I named my very first blog A Million Chimpanzees in "honor" of the phrase, "It's been said that if you give a million chimpanzees a million typewriters, they'll eventually reproduce the complete works of Shakespeare", essentially making fun of the importance of blogging (and in a world where anyone can create a blog, is there any significance to blogging?).

But whether it's worth it or not, here I am, a soldier among an infinite army of bloggers, marching to the drummer's beat I hear in my head and occasionally tripping over my own two feet, dropping my rifle, and falling into the mud. Sometimes, I even get stepped on. Sometimes I step on others. It's a mess.

Moses completed the Mishkan and ushered in the single most important event in the history of the Jewish people: bringing the living God into the community of Israel. Rabbi Jerome Epstein writes on the importance each, individual Jew has in repairing the world in order to summon the Messiah to rescue the Jewish nation and to "fix" humanity. Yet in both of these pictures, we see the individual acting within the context of community. Moses was the Prophet of the Children of Israel and each Jew acts within the context of overall Judaism, and it is Israel that the Messiah will save as a nation.

Thus says the Lord God: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and manifest my holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they shall settle on their own soil that I gave to my servant Jacob. They shall live in safety in it, and shall build houses and plant vineyards. They shall live in safety, when I execute judgements upon all their neighbours who have treated them with contempt. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God. -Ezekiel 28:25-26 (NRSV)

Although we are all gifted by God so that we may serve him, both Jew and Gentile, we don't act in isolation, even if we are alone. Certainly no one Jew can be separated from Judaism and even if a Jew isn't religious; even if a Jew doesn't believe God exists, he or she will always be a Jew. What about Christians? Our connection is by choice, not by birth. We can choose to quit. We can choose to fail. Do we operate in community or, like the endless stream of bloggers in cyberspace, do we march discordantly to a million different beats, each charting our own confused and aimless course, a parade of one without a leader or goal?

And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the people of Israel: From the tribe of Judah twelve thousand sealed,from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand,from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand, from the tribe of Asher twelve thousand,from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand,from the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand, from the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand,from the tribe of Levi twelve thousand,from the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand, from the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand,from the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand,from the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand sealed. -Revelation 7:4-8 (NRSV)

We see again in the apocalyptic Christian text that 144,000 members of each of the 12 tribes of Israel will be "sealed". But is there anyone else?

After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying,
‘Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!’ -Revelation 7:9-10

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. -Revelation 22:1-4 (NRSV)

Yes, the rest of us, at least some of us, will be there at the end. Just as the Master prophesied:

When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, ‘Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven... -Matthew 8:10-11 (NRSV)

So here I am and tonight the Shabbat enters the world once again. Some of us will welcome her into our home and we will attempt to taste a brief moment of the sweetness that will come when the Messiah reigns. The Shabbat is a day of worship and community and we can shine as a part of the body of Messiah. But the body is not whole. We have this congregation and that doing what they think best. Small collections of people spinning away from the other groups or disastrously colliding with them. We are together and we are apart. Within our own groups, we are sometimes together but we are apart. As I continue on my own individual path, I can feel myself pulling away from my group and charting my own course. But how can I be sure that I'm following God on the path and that the Messiah walks with me?

How can any of us?

But it's not who you are underneath, it's what you do that defines you. -Batman Begins (2005)

The road is long and often, we travel in the dark, alone.

Faith Means Being Alone

Fusing the existential acuity of Kierkegaard with the wisdom of the Old Testament, Boston Orthodox rabbi Soloveitchik has produced a timeless spiritual guide for men and women of all religions. In this soaring, eloquent essay, first published in Tradition magazine in 1965, "The Rav," as he is known to his followers worldwide, investigates the essential aloneness of the person of faith, whom he deems a misfit in our narcissistic, technologically oriented, utilitarian society. Using the story of Adam and Eve as a springboard, Soloveitchik explains prayer as "the harbinger of moral reformation" and probes the despair and exasperation of individuals who seek to redeem existence through direct knowledge of a God who seems remote and unapproachable. Although the faithful may become members of a "convenantal community," their true home, he writes, is "the abode of loneliness" as they shuttle between the transcendent and the mundane. Sudden shafts of illumination confront the reader at every turn in this inspirational personal testament.

from the Editorial Reviews section at Amazon.com for the book
The Lonely Man of Faith
by Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik

No, I haven't read this book and it's not on my "soon-to-be-read" list, though I'm probably going to put it on my wish list as it seems compelling. I came across this book while I was searching for other books on Amazon and it was the title that grabbed me: "The Lonely Man of Faith"

While I can't comment on Rabbi Soloveitchik's book, I can comment about loneliness in the "community" of faith. I put the word "community" in quotes, because, depending on your perspective, there isn't very much fellowship going on.

Most of us worship in a congregation of some sort. Some of us worship in more than one. I know a number of the folks I worship with on the Shabbat also worship in local Christian churches on Sunday. There are a lot of reasons for this, including having a spouse who is more traditionally Christian, needing a traditional Christian environment to supplement Messianic/One Law worship, and wanting to be a bridge between the church and the Hebraic worship context. However, I've also recently come across a blog that advocates non-church attendance in favor of an individual worship paradigm.

If you mean that time alone with Yeshua replaces community, I don’t think I can agree with that. While I can agree that time in prayer is enormously valuable, we still need close community to keep our focus as believers and to avoid self-deception. A person who is perpetually alone in their faith, unless they are extremely self-disciplined and focused, will eventually start to “drift” in their perceptions and over time, will start to create an internal “theology” that does not have much resemblance to the larger community of faith and accepted understanding and scholarship.

That was my response to blog writer Mike Gantt on Derek Leman's blog when discussing the topic of large "outer" faith communities vs. "inner circles". Please feel free to go to Derek's blog post to read the complete conversation as well as to Mike Gantt's blog to get his views on the matter.

It occurs to me that, whether or not we are a "community-based" believer in the Jewish Messiah, we are in some sense alone and isolated. Yes, we may have our congregations around us, but consider how we are understood and received outside of our communities. Being "Messianic" in whatever shape or form you conceive the practice, is "neither fish nor fowl" as far as both the Christian church and the traditional (non-Messianic) Jewish synagogue is concerned (let alone the secular realm). For all Messianic Judaism's protestations and claims of "community" with both the synagogue and the church, we (they?) aren't well understood by either. Churches tend to see Messianic Judaism (MJ) as being "under the law", while Jews see MJ as "Christians" and thus not "really" Jewish. There may be certain exceptions, but that's the general rule.

Splitting hairs further, calling yourself "Messianic" doesn't automatically mean you belong to everyone else who calls themselves "Messianic". One Law congregations call themselves "Messianic" but they don't have a lot in common with MJ congregations who associate with organizations such as the Messianic Jewish Theological Institute. The same goes for Two-House believers, and in-between those three camps, are a lot of individual people, home fellowships, and loose associations that, while claiming to be "Messianic", don't fit anyone else's mold except their own.

As has been previously pointed out to me, Jesus (Yeshua) didn't spend a lot of time complaining about being lonely or not having a sense of belonging, but no one denied that he was (and is) Jewish, either. While he was criticized and even nearly stoned a couple of times, he was (and is) part of Israel and a Jewish worshiper of the Father. His disciples didn't stop being Jews and didn't stop being Israel just because they were his followers, and they maintained most or all of their relationships with friends, family, and in the larger religious community throughout their connection with the Master.

I've been to churches where the people didn't really seem any different than in the rest of the world. When I was a kid, my parents took me to a Lutheran church and in my catechism class, I can tell you that the kids didn't treat me any better than the kids I went to school with. I'm not saying all churches are like this, but it seems that the church is making a great deal of effort to blend in with the rest of the community rather than allowing their values and principles distinguish themselves from the secular world around them.

Maybe being a person of faith is supposed to be lonely. But where do you strike a balance...or do you?

Messianic Judaism, MJTI style, emphasizes the distinctions between Jewish Messianics and Gentile Christians (especially those Gentile Christians who call themselves "Messianics"). This is done, at least in theory, to promote a greater association and community with the rest of Judaism (which for the most part, doesn't share the desire to have community with MJ) so MJ does and doesn't have community with groups outside of itself. One Law has associations with itself, but to the degree that they have a hard time (some of them, anyway) what the "apostasy" of the church, they don't have fellowship with Christianity. If One Law disdains the (non-Messianic) synagogue for its devotion to the Oral Law and it's denial of Jesus, then community doesn't exist in that direction, either. Plus, many One Law congregations have very specific theologies such that they don't have agreement with many other One Law congregations.

This is getting really complicated. What are we supposed to be doing again?

Oh yeah!

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

“Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” -Mark 12:28-33

Ironically, we all say we're obeying these commandments and I believe each and every one of you when you say it. It's just that we all have such many and varied ways of trying to obey the Master. We tend to pursue our chosen method of obeying God and following the Jewish Messiah with such zeal, that when we stop for a moment and look around, we can find ourselves very much alone. Sure, we are obligated to go through the narrow gate (Luke 13:22-30), but can you honestly say you alone are the only one who will be passed through?

Where do we strike the balance between our principles, values, and understanding of our role in God's kingdom, and having a life we share with others? Are we to hide in our ivory towers with only the select few who think and feel exactly the same way we do, or can be find a way to connect to others? Is there room in our hearts and theologies for people who don't believe precisely in the same manner as ourselves? Which is the sin, to admit others who aren't quite like us and risk "polluting" the community, or to stand firm and deny entry to anyone who doesn't pass the conformity test?

I don't know. I do know that I often feel isolated and alone in my faith. I can express such feelings online, but my Internet "community" is "virtual" at best. I haven't the faintest idea who I could share all this with face-to-face and who wouldn't be completely blown away by my revelations.

I suppose that's why prayer is so important.

And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you. -Friedrich Nietzsche

The road is long and we travel alone in the darkness.

Hope is Burning Like a Candle

I sit before my only candle, 
like a pilgrim sits beside the way
Now this journey appears before my candle
As a song that's growing fainter, the harder I play
That I fear before I end, will fade away
I guess I'll get there, but I wouldn't say for sure

from Song for Adam
Jackson Browne

I dusted off a very old CD, Jackson Browne's debut album from 1972 called Saturate Before Using which contains a number of "soulful" songs from my youth. Listening to tunes such as "Song for Adam", "Doctor My Eyes", and "Looking Into You" during my commute into work, brought back memories from many decades ago. Some of those songs also function as a counterpoint to my journey of faith and the general state of "religion" in the world around me.

I struggle with some of the undercurrents I see in Christianity as it's currently expressed. I follow a number of Christian Pastors and other believers on twitter and even among professional clergy, the narrow focus of the faith I find is alarming. It seems like "the end times" is just consuming Christianity, fixing the gaze and attention of the faithful forward into a future when Jesus will come, faithful Christians will be raptured, and everything will be hunky dory. Here's a couple of examples:

They laughed at Noah #Tworship #endtimes

Then they will deliver u 2 tribulation, & will kill u, & u will b hated by all nations because of My name. Matt 24:9 #Tworship #endtimes

I've already addressed my "issues" with focusing on an "X-Files-like" fantasy of the future in a recent blog as well as trying to promote being an answer to prayer in the current age. Frankly, if we keep our hearts and spirits prepared and keep our actions focused on serving God and helping others, the "end times" will take care of itself. Are we to defer caring about others for the sake of stroking our own egos and our personal salvation?

Oh people, look around you
The signs are everywhere
You've left it for somebody other than you
To be the one to care
You're lost inside your houses
There's no time to find you now
Your walls are burning and your towers are turning
I'm going to leave you here
and try to get down to the sea somehow

from Rock Me On the Water
Jackson Browne

What are we doing? Either we ignore the needs of people in the present and focus on the future, or we continually defend our right to bad mouth people we disagree with while defending our right to do so. More than that, when people complain to us about our casual attitude toward others, we accuse them of being mean spirited.

When did the community of faith become so distorted?

To answer my own question, I think we always have been. God's people have a long history of struggling to find our focus and then being able to keep it. Exodus 32 chronicles the "sin of the Golden Calf", which we read about and studied last week, but that's only one small sample of how those of us who have answered God's call to faithfulness allow our humanity to get in the way of His Holiness.

Where is the joy we are to have in serving God and loving our neighbor? Where is the pleasure we find in the pages of the Bible? Why aren't we listening to those who are wise?

"What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow: this is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn" -Shab. 31a

When was the last time you considered Hillel's words before blasting out a blog post or comment? Do we ever seek God and His will anymore, or do we just pander to our own desires and impulses? How does this make us any different than the world around us? Why should anyone care about our "witness" when we're no different than people who have no faith?

Well I looked into the sky for my anthem
And the words and the music came through
But words and music can never touch the beauty that I've seen
Looking into you
and that's true

from Looking Into You
Jackson Browne

If we can't find beauty in our own walk of faith, how can we expect anyone else to?

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. -Aesop

The road is long and often, we travel in the dark. The wind is coming up and threatening to put out the candle.

Traveling Alone

"Madonna said she just felt something was really missing in her life. After all the money, fame and everything, something was still missing. She came to our center where she felt she could just be herself, without the need to hide behind the curtain she always puts around herself. She can be an ordinary person. That's how she explained it to me."

Rabbi Yehuda Berg
Los Angeles Kabbalah Center
from The agent of Kabbalah

What attracts someone as unlikely to be involved in any sort of spiritual endeavour as Madonna to the study of Kabbalah? According to Rabbi Berg, as quoted above, it's a fundamental sense of emptyness or the feeling that, despite being materially successful, that something is still missing.

This is often the same reason people give for turning to Christianity, Buddhism, or some other form of religous observance and study. But Judaism, and certainly Kabbalah, aren't quite the same thing as other religious forms. For instance, Judaism doesn't seek converts and most often actively discourages people from attempting to convert. Also, Kabbalah isn't exactly a "Religion 101" class and Jewish mysticism can be very...mystic.

I find myself attracted to Judaism and sometimes I feel as if my newly-launched journey into studying the foundations of Christianity simply reinforces that attraction. I can't speak to Kabbalah, since I've never even read the Zohar (though it is on my reading list), but why are Christians and other non-Jews interested in and attracted to Judaism?

The other question that's important is, even if Gentiles are attracted to Judaism, why should Judaism, in any sense, open their doors to non-Jews? In the not-so-distant past, some Gentiles have feigned an interest and entered into Jewish study only to ultimately betray their would-be mentors. This would certainly seem to be ample motivation for Judaism to keep its doors closed. Rabbi Berg offers his perspective:

"We genuinely believe that Torah was given to everyone, and if these people come on Shabbat to listen to the Torah or on Rosh Hashana to hear the sound of the shofar, then we've done what it takes.

"We don't feel the need to convert them, and they're happy with the current situation too. We're happy to see them visit Israel because although it is the Jewish state, it has a huge attraction power."

In answering the question, "why should Gentiles reach out to Judaism?", Berg responds:

"It's a chance to broaden one's horizons. The Americans are a sort of herd, going where everyone's going. We believe people have to choose their own way. If it works for them they should use it, and if not they shouldn’t use it. There is a sort of openness in studying. There are famous people who are studying, which helps people connect."

""Torah was not only given to Jews; everything was given to everyone," Berg explains. "Kosher food is not necessarily ours either. Rabbi Shraga (Yehuda's father) says it's open to everyone and we're open to everyone in physical places too – on the Internet and through teachers teaching on Skype."

Of course, Rabbi Berg and the Kabbalah Center are not without their critics:

The Kabbalah Center is often slammed for allegedly trying to make headlines in any way, which does not match the principles of Kabbalah. "We had no intentional strategy to recruit famous people," Berg defends himself. "The way they reached us shows that it all came from them, not at all from us."

Indeed, the Kabbalah Centers are subject to widespread criticism. People say they extort money from people, advance a Torah which is distancing itself from Judaism, pretend to predict the future and adopt Christian symbols. There have even been claims that some of the content being taught in the classes is linked to anti-Semitism.

Rabbi Berg isn't the only one suggesting that Judaism and the Torah can have a wider appeal than just to the Jewish people. Rabbi Shmuley Boteach has almost made a career out of offering aspects of Judaism to non-Jews. Last November, I published a blog post reporting on his statements in the media promoting Seven Steps to Judaism for Non-Jews and one of Rabbi Boteach's better known books is Judaism for Everyone. What's going on here?

I don't have a Jewish perspective on why Jews would extend the Torah to non-Jews. Even Rabbi Berg says "There is a part in Judaism which wants it to be for Jews only", so the motivation for some Jewish Rabbis to reach a hand across the gulf that separates Jews from the rest of the world seems difficult to grasp. It is far easier to understand why Judaism would seek to isolate itself from the nations, given the long, painful, and often bloody history of how Gentiles in virtually every nation on earth, have sought to subvert, marginalize, subdue, harrass, and murder Jews.

This brings me back to the question, why are non-Jews attracted to Judaism? We don't have Jewish missionaries knocking on the doors of our homes trying to share the joys of the Torah with us. Synagogues aren't putting signs out front saying that "Everyone is welcome" and posting the times they offer services. Rabbi's aren't "televangelizing" on Saturday mornings, telling "the nations" to repent and seek the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

In fact, Messianic Judaism, the form of Judaism that by definition is most likely to seek to build a bridge between the Jewish and Christian worlds, struggles in its approach-avoidance relationship with Christianity and the Gentile disciples within their own midst (and keep in mind that in the world of psychology, "approach-avoidance" behavior is considered pathological).

I think that many Christians seek to satisfy their attraction to Judaism by joining the Messianic Jewish (MJ) world. The One Law (OL) movement within MJ is a particularly safe haven because of the basic premise in OL that Jews and Gentiles are completely equal, not only in the eyes of God, but in the observance of the mitzvot (Torah commandments). More "formal" Messianic Judaism proposes a "Bilateral Ecclesiology" approach whereby, Jews and Gentiles are equal in the sense of access to God, but not in terms of status, role, or mitzvot observance. While the majority of members in Messianic Jewish congregations are not Jewish, there is a drive in Messianic Judaism to develop a relationship with the larger Jewish community, and the presence of so many "Christians" in MJ congregations is at least an embarrassment if not actually an impediment to Jewish acceptance and community.

Despite all of the speed bumps, you still see Gentiles being drawn to the God of Jacob out of a sincere desire to find the true meaning of the God they (we) worship. Modern Christianity emphasizes belief and communal worship but tends to minimize directing the faithful to extend themselves into the world of doing charity and serving others (this isn't absolute, since many churches do have outreach and missionary programs). In contrast, Judaism promotes "deed over creed" and belief and especially spirituality as an abstract concept, are pushed to one side, in favor of "doing" the will of God, not just "feeling" it.

Judaism offers a structure that I don't think Christianity fully understands. Everyone belongs (if they're Jewish) and everyone knows their place. If you are a fairly concrete thinker, Judaism is a more understandable religious form. If you are an expansive and adventurous thinker, study of Torah and Talmud is also an attractive form of "doing" the mitzvot, since studying is a type of worship in its own right.

But does allowing Christians access to Judaism in any form make sense given the long, long history of enmity between these two "sister" religions? I sometimes wonder.

While on the surface, you can find numerous "interfaith" groups seeking to better the world based on their common values, this activity really obscures how truly alien Christianity and Judaism are to each other. The media uses the term Judeo-Christian as if there is more than a casual relationship between our two worlds but this is more of a political, rather than religious term. Christians still bristle at how Jews refuse to accept Jesus as the Jewish Messiah (and some churches still relate to Jews as "Christ-killers") and Jews still view Christian outreach with suspicion, seeing the specter of conversion and assimiilation continuing to cast a threatening shadow over a dwindling Jewish population.

As an intermarried husband (my wife is Jewish...non-Messianic), I live in a world where I walk on a bridge daily. My wife and I share children, a grandson, and a history of almost 29 years of marriage, but when she began the journey to reclaim her Judaism not many years ago, first through the Reform synagogue, and now with the Chabad, the world of religion and faith became one where we do not always easily interact. I know there are certain subjects that we do not address in conversation for the sake of peace in the home, and neither one of us is likely to be able (or in my wife's case, willing) to visit the other's place of worship.

Even having said all of that, I don't see myself surrendering my interest in Jewish study and worship. In one sense, it gives my wife and I a common platform on which to discuss God and who He is to us. On a more personal level, it provides a larger context for me to understand my own Christian faith with the realization that the Jewish people worshipped the One God and kept His Shabbat and His commandments thousands of years before the birth of Christ. I often ponder on the thought that when Moses was on Sinai immersed in the holiness of Hashem, my ancestors were no doubt making blood offerings to unspeakable pagan idols. Who am I and who is Christianity to say that the Jews have no valuable and instructive insights into the God we all claim to honor?

While I find the bridge between our two worlds compelling, and apparently so do a fair number of other non-Jews, I fear that my particular perspective is rather unique. Each of the groups I've mentioned, despite overtures of outreach and community, continue to reside within their walled castles and exist primarily to service their own members. Christians still tend to talk about improving their "witness" but emphasize transmitting a verbal message rather than offering a helping hand. Judaism, with the exceptions of people like Rabbis Berg and Boteach, continues to teach a Torah for the Jews and a distinctiveness from the nations that requires high walls and no points of entry for the Goyim. Messianic Judaism in some ways amplifies the Jewish message of separation from the nations in order to present a more "Jewish" message to larger Judaism, and the One Law movement continues to (for the most part) preach that the church is apostate and (non-Messianic) "Rabbinic" Judaism is a dead end.

I teach a message in my own little group that attempts to balance these positions and challenge some of our assumptions, but I'm only one person. Not being a dictator or a cult leader, I do not demand that my congregation (which doesn't actually "belong" to me) adhere to my view of the "world according to James", which in any event, is undergoing a continuing metamorphosis.

In the end, I can only speak for my own particular attraction to Judaism, since I see my world as a world of one; unique and even idiosyncratic. In Messianic Jewish and One Law groups, most intermarrieds share their faith, and Messianic Judaism represents a resolution rather than a conflict to a "mixed marriage". What works as a solution for most Gentile "Messianics" only furthers the divisions in my own life, including my married life.

Nevertheless, God is still there, and regardless of how anyone reading these words chooses to understand my faith and my dilemma, He is the God of all and, even though I am the merest speck floating on a vast ocean of Creation, I am still a person who was created in His image. Hopefully, that actually means something.

Assuming that God still chooses to be aware of me and my humble life and prayers, I will continue to move forward along the path upon which I now stand. I often refer to Jesus (Yeshua) as my traveling companion, but while he seems to be close at my side during some parts of the journey, at other times, I can't see him at all. It doesn't mean that he's not there (I hope), but that my perception of him has been dimmed through some lack in my own vision.

But it's that same vision that sees both Christianity and Judaism as required elements in my world of faith. I can't imagine one without the other, which again, makes me a rather odd duck, even in Messianic circles. I've noticed a significant drop off in interest on my blogspot lately, which may well mean that my journey along the path has lost its appeal to the rest of the world. While attracted to Judaism for the sake of God and to Christianity for the sake of my Savior, I still don't belong in purely one world or the other. Yet I cannot stay isolated in my small One Law group because my evolving understanding of God doesn't permit such as concrete vision of Jews and Christians as a fully fused identity, and Messianic Judaism in its most Jewish form, struggles with the very presence of people like me. Beyond that, my continued involvement in MJ/OL only serves to further separate my wife and I along the dimension of faith and especially communal worship.

I've been reading (Messianic) Jewish and Christian blog posts lately (yes, I "lurk" too) and in observing the language, concepts, and values being expressed, I realize that in all of those worlds, I am a "stranger in a strange land". I know that as a person of faith, I am most "alive" when I teach and interact with my group, but everything else in the world around me demands that I walk away from them and follow a different course. Though there are ample examples in the Bible that convince me a person of faith must be part of a convocation of worshipers, in my case, I can see no alternative but to proceed forward alone.

Will God choose to continue His relationship with me if I deliberately set myself adrift at sea?

The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. -Albert Einstein

Of all the stratagems, to know when to quit is the best. -Chinese Proverb

The road is long and often, we travel in the dark. The sky is clear as I journey, but I know a storm is coming.

Straightening the Path

While we have the responsibility of being "a light unto the nations" (Isaiah 42:6), we first have to be a light unto each other. As the saying goes, "charity begins at home." Still, we can't let this task overwhelm us to the point where we are either only good to Jews or only good to non-Jews. The more consistently we try treat other people well, the easier it will become to achieve both outcomes. Whether we're in shul on Friday night or out shopping during the week, we must always strive for top-notch behavior. Because of who we are, the world scrutinizes everything we do. At times, this is frustrating, but it isn't always a bad thing. It can also be a great opportunity to show people the kind of character God truly desires.

from The Chosen People
on the Lev Echad blog.

Does any of that sound familiar? As believers in the Jewish Messiah, we struggle to live a holy life that is pleasing to God (and I should know...I'm wrestling particularly hard with my "angel", just now). In the above example, Asher at Lev Echad is focusing on a life of righteousness based on God's requirement that the Jewish people are to be a "light to the world." In Judaism, obeying God is less what you believe or understand as an internal state, and more of a lifestyle. How you act and what you do counts for a whole lot more than how you conceptualize God (more "deed" than "creed", as I've heard said).

In Christianity, no one is chosen in the sense that Jews are chosen. If you're Jewish, you were chosen by virtue of being born to Jewish parents (or in less common situations, you choose to be a Jew by converting, thus you "choose to be chosen", as did Ruth). In Christianity (including Gentiles in the Messianic movement), such is not the case. While we may see ourselves as chosen "before the creation of the world" (Ephesians 1:4, 1 Peter 1:20), we, in fact, do have a choice to be a Christian or not. The responsibility isn't thrust upon us because we were born into a particular family, even if our parents are Christians.

Asher makes clear that being Jewish doesn't make a Jew better than anyone else; it simply defines the responsibilities of a Jew to God and to the world as different than the members of any other people group:

It has absolutely nothing to do with racial or ethnic superiority. It simply means we have a unique mission to make the world aware of God and his ethical demands. That's it. These demands are basic values of decency that everyone can understand and abide by, regardless of who they are or where they came from.

He makes it even clearer that Jewish behavior, as recorded in the Tanakh (Old Testament), is a very humbling example of why being chosen has nothing to do with individual or national merit:

We are not worthy of this title on our own merits. God only chose us because we are the descendants of the first ethical monotheist, Abraham (Genesis 18:19). That's the sole reason. In fact, to prevent ourselves from any arrogance that might be compelled by this title, one has to look no further than episodes throughout Tanach, where we have often failed to live up to God's standards. This is hardly a tradition based on inherent superiority. Instead, goodness is always based upon a person's overall behavior.

That last sentence is compelling because it seems to be extremely simple and straightforward. As I've been reading (currently from Bart Ehrman's Jesus Interrupted) and studying, the road that points toward holiness seems to be very complicated, with many twists and turns. It's like trying to untangle a knot in a string that was tied by Escher.

I think one of the attractions some people have toward Judaism is that it seems so much more "tangible" than Christianity. While the 613 commandments and their interpretations can be enormously complex, at the core, a Jew's behavior is well-defined and can be reduced down to a fairly plain statement:

That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn. -Shabbat 31a

Jesus (Yeshua) said something similar, but phrased it as a set of positive rather than negative commandments:

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” -Mark 12:28-31 (Deut. 6:4-5, Lev. 19:18)

Put that way, it seems as if the core of both Judaism and Christianity (and Messianic Judaism) is quite within our grasp. If we didn't know what else to do to live a life of righteousness, we could read those brief statements of Hillel and Jesus and then begin to implement them in our daily lives. Just realize what is "hateful" to you and then do not commit such acts toward others. Jesus expands on the concept and says that the source of our ability to do so resides in loving God with an intense love, and then to treat others in a way you would prefer to be treated.

That doesn't sound too hard, at least conceptually, but Hillel provides the clue as to what else is required: "That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn".

That's where I am now.

Those of us who call ourselves Christians have, in some sense, taken on board the original mandate of God to the Jews to be a "light to the world" (Matthew 5:14) and therefore, we are also responsible to live holy lives, not just for our own sakes and not just for God's, but for the sake of the people around us. In closing his blog spot, Asher describes Jewish "chosenness" and responsibility this way:

Due to the antagonism and responsibility this title brings, there's an old joke that most Jews would have preferred if God had chosen someone else. Nevertheless, spreading ethical monotheism to the world rests on our shoulders. The Chosen People idea is not dogma but historical fact. It's a powerful concept, but nothing to brag about. It's simply a calling we must try to live up to.

While Christians aren't Jews, if we call the Jewish Messiah our Lord and Master, then we also must try to live up to our calling. Not having been born into it, we have chosen to adopt that responsibility as our own and to transmit it to everyone we encounter, not so much by evangelism or proselytizing, but by treating everyone we meet respectfully and decently, just as we want to be treated.

Asher quotes the Reverend Edward H. Flannery as saying:

"It was Judaism that brought the concept of a God-given universal moral law into the world . . . the Jew carries the burden of God in history [and] for this has never been forgiven."

The Christian faith would not exist if not for the Jewish people, starting with Jesus, and continuing with the disciples who took the Good News to the pagan nations (the rest of us). While the process has seen many problems, and many difficulties exist in our understanding of who we are and what we must do, reading Hillel and Jesus also makes our mandate very clear. When in doubt (during the study of the Bible, for example), turn to God and out of an intense love for Him, love your neighbor (tangibly...not just "in your heart") just as you want God to love you.

For those of you who struggle with the concept of distinctions between people groups, I'd like to apply the words of Victor Frankl:

There are only two races of human beings: the decent and the indecent.

Jew or Christian, you can choose to obey God by loving God and by loving those around you, not just with your thoughts and feelings, but with your hands and your devotion.

The road is long and often, we travel in the dark.

Walking

While it is important to assist in the welfare of others, developing one's own character is equally important. One must arrange individual priorities in order to accomplish this. As the sages put it, "Perfect yourself and afterwards, perfect others!" (Talmud Baba Batra 60b) Nothing is so incongruous to growth however, when the individual needs so much improvement him/herself and fails to take action. This should be one's focus first.
-from The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Talmud
by Rabbi Aaron Parry

If I gave you time to change my mind
I'd find a way just to leave the past behind
-from Reason to Believe (1965)
by Tim Hardin (as sung by Rod Stewart)

I finished Rabbi Parry's book last night and immediately launched into Bart Erhman's Jesus, Interrupted, but Rabbi Parry's book had something to say about my current journey of faith (and it's momentary interruption) and perhaps how I'm going to proceed.

While I'm sure I'll never become a "Talmud expert", I still enjoyed Rabbi Parry's book and thought it a good vehicle for communicating a very complex topic to "idiots" like me. For several years, I've been receiving a daily "Daf" (folio) from Daf Yomi Digest, and while there are periods of time when I neglect my daily studies, I've recently returned to reserving a time each day for their review.

I can't really say I'm "studying" Talmud, since that would require a context provided by a proper Talmud instructor and class environment, but I can at least glean small bits of wisdom from the illuminating "Stories off the Daf" (and I even occasionally blog on a topic inspired by a Daf).

In comparing my readings of Jewish vs. Christian sources, I continue to find myself more drawn to Jewish writing for some reason. It seems to resonate with me on a more emotional or spiritual level, and while Rav Ami says not to "give over words of the Torah to an outsider", Maimonidies and the Meiri (Rabbi Menachem ben Solomon, 1249-1316) support the position that "the only restriction for a non-Jew is to learn Torah or Talmud as if doing so is a divine commandment", however accessing "the knowledge and wisdom therein is fair game."

The latter statements seem to go along with other Rabbinic opinions I've read in the past few months, so there is a provision for a non-Jew to continue a daily review of Torah and Talmud topics as long as he (me) does not do so saying that it's a commandment from God. That said, it really is impossible for a Christian to gain a deeper meaning into the teachings of the Jewish Messiah and his Jewish disciples without studying Torah. Since it also seems impossible to understand the Torah without reading Talmud, continual exposure to all of these sources is a requirement.

However, the Talmudic opinions of the sages aren't going to cover all of the areas where I'm obviously lacking, hence my checking Jesus, Interrupted out of my local library.

I'm more calm now about the discovery of just how many holes exist in the Swiss cheese of my understanding of the Bible, God, and faith than I was just a day or two ago. I'm discovering that it's not necessarily unusual to have this sort of revelation somewhere along the journey. While I've said in the past that a life of faith isn't always a life of ease, I truly wasn't prepared for the detours and rough conditions along the path I've chosen (or the one God has chosen for me, I still can't figure out which is which).

Although I feel very unequipped to continue my teaching duties at my congregation as they are outlined for the next several months, I nevertheless must try to do my best given my current understanding. I probably have no business trying to teach others about something I struggle so much with myself, and I hope and pray that His wisdom will fill in the gaps where I am woefully lacking. As the Talmudic quote I placed at the beginning of this blog post states, before rescuing someone else from drowning in the ocean, you must first learn how to swim yourself. So far, all I've got going for me is a bit of dog paddling.

With what is the road to faith paved? I can't say it's paved just with the pages from the Bible, because that's only part of the story. True, the very famous Psalm 119:105 says, "Your Word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path", but that could mean both the Bible as a document and our "living Torah" the Jewish Messiah. I believe it also includes the wisdom and compassion of other people of faith as expressed both in their teachings and especially in their acts of lovingkindness.

All of the stones that pave the road are held together with an invisible, intangible cement which we call "spirituality". Intellect is not enough because it's far too easy to "think" our way out of the faith. While study, knowledge, and wisdom are vital elements in a life of faith, keeping it all in your head isn't the same as applying faith as a lived experience. That experience includes doing the Torah, so to speak, by using what you've learned and gained to help others in small and (if it be Hashem's will) great ways. But it also means cultivating a holy life, not just with your fellow human, but with God.

Yeshua's (Jesus's) two greatest commandments (Matthew 22:37-40, Mark 12:28-44) say that both are necessary, starting with loving God with everything that you are, and then, as a product of loving God, loving your neighbor as yourself. What Yeshua didn't say (but to which the Talmud alludes) is that, in order to have an effective love for your neighbor, the relationship with God is essential. Too many people go along hating or at least disliking themselves or feeling worthless or ineffectual in their lives. That's hardly a good model on which to base "loving your neighbor as yourself.".

At the risk of sounding sentimental, what we get out of a relationship with God is not just the experience of us loving Him but of Him loving us. "For God so loved the world..." (John 3:16) is just about the first Bible verse most Christians memorize and I think with very good reason. When we fail to apply it to our own flawed and damaged lives, it's also the first lesson many believers (including me) forget.

In pursuit of wisdom and knowledge, faith and particularly God's love, ends up taking a back seat and sometimes even gets kicked off the bus.

The road pointing to our goal can seem lonely and often I feel as I've always walked it alone. Sometimes the only way to feel the love of an intangible God is through what He's left here for me and for everyone. The Bible is imperfect because God's people are imperfect. Yes, God could have made a perfect Bible, but He also could have made perfect people. He chose not to do either of those things. When we complain that this Christian or that Jew isn't living up to the standards set by God, we are stating the obvious. Our imperfections are why we need Him. The Bible is the same thing. It's imperfect. That's why we need faith, perseverance, and a way to look through a "spiritual lens" to be able to keep walking on the road, even when our legs feel like lead weights, and even when all of the sign posts around say that the road leads to nowhere.

When the road is dark, the Word really does provide a "lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path". Even if you don't believe that, I'm going to proceed hopefully anyway. After every fall, there comes a time when you have to get up again. That's why we fell so much as children...so we could learn to pick ourselves up. What we don't always see, is that through faith, God is the One helping us to our feet, brushing us off, and pointing us in the right direction again.

Someone like you makes it easy to give
and never think about myself.

If I listened long enough to you
I'd find a way to believe that it's all true...

Still I look to find a reason
to believe.

-from Reason to Believe (1965)
by Tim Hardin (as sung by Rod Stewart)

Good Shabbos

The road is long and often, we travel in the dark. But there's always a light showing us the way. We just have to look for a reason to believe.

Where is the House that God Built?

Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. In vain you rise early
and stay up late, toiling for food to eat - for he grants sleep to those he loves. -Psalm 127:1-2

For I am already being poured out, and the time of my departure has arrived. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have guarded the belief. For the rest, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Master, the righteous Judge, shall give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all those loving His appearing." -2 Timothy 4:6-8

I'm quoting from two recent blog posts, Writing in the Dirt and The Maggid's Blog respectively. I've been feeling a little uninspired and unmotivated on this blog over the past few days, but the combination of these messages suggested a topic.

Actually, I also have to include Derek Leman's report on Hashivenu 2011, Day 3 to the mix, since it also discusses the topic of "community", particularly between the church and the Messianic Jewish synagogue.

The solution may be found in a number of forms. New congregations that are solely Jewish can form. Existing mixed groups could find ways to be on a trajectory toward Jewish congregations. My own suggestion, well-received, was that many existing MJ congregations think of themselves as Judeo-Christian congregations with a Jewish minyan within. Over time, we can work toward an independent life for the Jewish minyans within our congregations.

What does this have to do with me?

Right now, it seems like "not much". As I feel myself mentally and emotionally divorcing myself from anything that calls itself "Messianic Judaism", I keep trying to envision myself going back to "the church". Frankly, the idea still feels rather alien to me, in part because of the quote from Psalm 127. In my search for a "church home", how do I know which one has been "built by the Lord"? As I read Derek's report on the Hashivenu conference (and I recommend giving it a look...lots of interesting stuff), I find myself also feeling alien in relation to Messianic Judaism. I suppose the latter comes from not ever having attended a "Messianic Jewish" congregation as opposed to a One Law group that was primarily Gentile-driven. Given Derek's description of the conference over the past three days, I don't think I'd fit in there, either.

So what's left?

I don't know right now. Like any Pending Divorce, there's a part of the process where you feel neither connected nor disconnected, but are cycling somewhere in between the two states of being.

That brings me to the comment Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4:6-8 as he was coming to the end of his life. I'm expected to "run the race" until the very end and I certainly want to, but as it stands now, I'll be a marathon runner somewhere out on the road in the middle of the night, away from anyone else, looking for sign posts.

My son complicated matters just a little while ago. I had lunch with him to discuss things that are going on in his life including matters of faith. Although both he and his wife are believers, they haven't ever attended a church together. They're currently living with my son's in-laws who also believe but don't attend a church.

Feeling my own sense of "disconnectedness", I asked him about going to a congregation and he suggested coming to mine.

Oh wow!

David's been to a Messianic (One Law) group before, so he knows more or less what to expect, but his wife will be taken by surprise, no doubt. Plus, I've never actually taught family members before, which I can only imagine is a unique experience. How can I tell him that I'm getting ready to leave soon? How can I tell him that as of this summer, I will be as much without a congregation as he and his family are now?

My son did say a funny thing, though. He said that when a person feels comfortable where they're at in their church or congregation, that's when they need to do something to make themselves uncomfortable. In other words, faith isn't supposed to be an easy going process.

I can relate to that very well. Now, all I need to know is where to find the house that the Lord built. I'm sure it must be around here...

...somewhere.

The road is long and often, we travel in the dark, ignoring the light of the world. Look for the lamp who lights your path or you may become lost in the dark forever.

"A Jew never gives up. We're here to bring Mashiach, we will settle for nothing less." -Harav Yitzchak Ginsburgh

Adopted Heirs

Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. -Ephesians 3:2-6

It's hard to see how the church believes it has replaced the Jewish people in God's covenant promises when you read these verses. It seems abundantly plain the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel. That's "together with", not "instead of". These few words alone shoot down the church's argument for Christian supersessionism, but what about the One Law viewpoint? Actually, Paul makes an interesting point:

This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. -Ephesians 3:6

Notice that Paul says in the promise in Christ Jesus, not in the promise in the Torah of Moses. The next logical question to ask is "What is the promise in Christ Jesus that makes Gentiles and Jews fellow heirs?"

I don't have a hard and fast answer, but tomorrow night, I'm going to ask a similar question: What did Jesus teach the Gentiles to obey? You can click the link to get the full summary of the class, but it's based on a series of articles I wrote on this blog some months ago. I'm trying to find out if it was the Messiah's intent to have the Gentile disciples learn and obey every commandment and covenant recorded in the Bible or if Jesus taught something that was more specific that was to be passed on to the Goyim?

The starting point for Gentile discipleship and "fellow heir-ship" isn't the Torah but the Gospels. Up until the Messiah came in human form, Gentiles could only fully access God and the covenants by converting to Judaism. Short of that, a Gentile who came to faith in the One God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, could become a God-fearer, which acknowledges God but doesn't give the non-Jewish person a standing before Him. I don't think (but I'm not a scholar) that the concept of a Gentile as a noahide existed in the First Century C.E., so that was the best a non-Jew could do if he or she came to faith in Israel's God.

Yeshua (Jesus) changed all that, but what did he do? That's the $64,000 question we all wrestle with.

Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands) — remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. -Ephesians 2:11-13

"Formerly Gentiles"? What? I'm not a "Gentile" anymore? Does Paul mean that I'm a Jew by the blood of Christ? Oh wow!

This is where it would be helpful if I could read ancient Greek and determine what the original word was for what we read as "Gentile" in English. Does Paul mean that when a Gentile becomes a disciple of the Jewish Messiah, he or she automatically becomes a "spiritual Jew"? Or does he mean something else...like using "Gentiles" to mean "pagans"?

Paul seems to be using the former status of the Gentile disciples to illustrate that, in their (our) natural state, before coming to faith, we "were separate from Christ" and "foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world." Coming to faith then, joins us with Christ and makes us joined to the covenants of promise, giving us hope and giving us access to God.

But does it make Gentiles functionally identical to Jews in every respect and thereby removing the status of "Jew" or "Israelite" from existence? If that were true, God would have to break every promise He ever made to the Children of Israel in the Torah and the Prophets that they would always be a people before Him.

Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.” -Exodus 19:5-6

I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high. -Leviticus 26:11-13

These are just two examples of God stating His intention and devotion to the Children of Israel as His "treasured, splendorous people". Of course, you could say that there were just a ton of non-Jews at the Sinai event, but as I previously mentioned, the "mixed multitude" lived identical lives to their Israelite counterparts and ultimately their offspring assimilated into Israel, becoming indistinguishable from the descendants of the Children of Jacob. If the "Ger" question were to apply to Gentile Messianic disciples, then the obvious answer is that we are to convert and assimilate into modern (Messianic) Judaism.

But that's not what Paul is saying. In fact, Paul was very much against Gentiles converting to Judaism in order to gain access to the promises.

Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. -Galatians 5:2-6

As far as I can see, that pretty much takes care of the "Ger" justification for identical Gentile and Jewish response to God and to the Torah. Now what about this?

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. -Galatians 3:26-29

The "neither Jew nor Gentile" part seems to confirm that Jews and Gentiles cease to exist under the Messianic covenant as distinct beings or people groups, which is not only the fear that every Jew has in relation to converting to Christianity, but is part of what the more conservative elements of Messianic Judaism have issues with in relation to One Law theology. However, Paul also says "nor is there male and female".

What a minute. The last time I looked at my wife, we had "distinctions" both in form and in function (and probably in role as well). Since God didn't blend males and females into one homogeneous, androgynous mass, what makes anyone think he took Jews and Gentiles and blended us all into one smooth, pureed mixture with no identifiable means of locating the original "ingredients"?

If, on the other hand, Paul meant that our standing in holiness and our access to God were the same, regardless of our gender, ethnic, or legal (slave vs. freeman) status, then we can be part of one body before the Messiah, and yet retain our individual forms and functions (kind of like a heart remaining a heart, the lungs remaining lungs, and a hippocampus remaining a hippocampus).

Does that solve the problem? Oh, heck no. I could write for hours (or days, or years) and not be able to "solve" anything. The neat thing about the Bible is that it can be interpreted in more than one way and therefore, different groups can use the Bible to establish different theologies, viewpoints, and worship patterns. While I believe there is one "right answer" to understand the Word, God is the only one who really knows it. The rest of us are dancing madly on the head of a pin trying to figure things out and guess what? We'll probably be doing that for the rest of our lives or until the Messiah returns, whichever comes first (that doesn't mean we shouldn't keep trying, but I wanted you to know what we are all facing together).

I can't get over the idea that the Messiah and his intentions are the key to everything. When Paul wrote the "grafted in" metaphor in Romans 11 he continued to make distinctions between the "natural branches" (Jews) and the "grafted in branches" (Gentiles) and the only thing they had in common is "the root" (Messiah) to which they were all attached. The two different types of branches remained two different types of branches. They didn't "morph" into a single type of branch. The commonality is the "nourishment" that fed them both.

That allows us to be "one body" and "one people" ("one tree"..."one vine with lots of branches") based on the source of our strength and our faith. We can "consume" the same God because the "alien" (former) Gentiles are now changed in status so that they (we) are capable of "eating" the "food of the Spirit" from which they (we) were previously unable to take in.

Like I said, I don't have all the answers. But I'd like to think that the questions are good ones. The journey along the path continues.

The road is long and often, we travel in the dark, ignoring the light of the world. Look for the lamp who lights your path or you may become lost in the dark forever.

"A Jew never gives up. We're here to bring Mashiach, we will settle for nothing less." -Harav Yitzchak Ginsburgh

All Scripture

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. -2 Timothy 3:16-17

Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. -1 John 3:4

For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath. -Acts 15:21

Back to Basics Tour, Part 3

I suppose you could say this blog post is a reprise of an article I wrote back in July called Is the Bible for Christians. I was trying to be ironic in the use of the title, since most Christians wouldn't think twice about whether or not the Bible is relevant in their (our) lives.

As in the first two parts of this series, I'm trying to establish some things that everyone who worships along the different points of the continuum of disciples in the Jewish Messiah can agree upon. It's been over 24 hours since I posted part 2 in this series, The Presence of Faith. Since comments of disagreement are very prompt to arrive and yet the comments section remains empty, I'll have to assume that everyone in the Messianic, One Law, Two-House and traditional Christian groups agrees with my point that we must all have a kind of faith in order to be "branches attached to the vine."

The point that I'm trying to make in today's blog is that the Bible is something we all have in common. I'll even take it a step further, just to add some spice, and say that the Torah is something we have in common.

That should inspire a few comments since Christians will disagree because "the Law is dead" and Messianic Jews (at least those on the more conservative end of the continuum) will disagree because the Torah is only for the Jews.

While I'd expect One Law and Two-House proponents to agree, based on their belief that grafted in Gentiles are obligated to the same 613 commandments as their Messianic Jewish counterparts, there may be another way of looking at this.

When I concluded my What Did Jesus Teach series, one of my findings was that it is impossible to understand the teachings of the Jewish Messiah and the Apostles who learned from him unless you have some grounding in the Torah. After all, Yeshua (Jesus) taught like the Jewish Rabbi that he was/is and thus, we can't understand the full measure of what he taught if we don't learn it from within that context.

Like it or not, for Christians to understand the teachings of Christ, they can't isolate themselves from the first two-thirds of the Bible (i.e. the "Old Testament").

Relax Messianic Jews, I'm not saying that Christians learning the Torah for the sake of Christ is the same as Christians trying to obey the identical set of Torah commandments that were set in place for Jewish Messianics (or Jews in general). But unless you're going to hunt me down carrying a pair of scissors and are prepared to snip out the bits and pieces of my Bible that contain content that only applies to Jews, I'm going to read it.

We've seen in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, and when Paul wrote that letter, the only written scripture in existence was the Tanakh or what Christianity calls the Old Testament. However, the very interesting comment James makes at the end of the Jerusalem letter in Acts 15:21, specifically references Gentile disciples of the Messiah and prominently mentions the Torah or "the Law". Why?

One Law proponents say this is evidence that Gentile disciples were supposed to learn and obey the full list of Torah commandments and, for a long time, I thought this was the only way to interpret this verse. Recently though, I've come up with another way of looking at it.

“And if he wants to do [the additional commandments] while saying that it was commanded to them we dont allow him to do [them] rather if he does them in order to obtain reward like one who is not commanded but does [we allow it], and thus our master was precise and wrote “in order to obtain reward”. Nevertheless regarding the commandments that require holiness and purity like Tefilin, Torah scrolls and Mezuzah I argue to be stringent that they should not allow them to do them.”

The Radbaz, in his commentary to the Rambam
from Torah and Non-Jews
at Christian for Moses.

This is just my opinion, but it's possible that, with Gentiles being brought into Messianic discipleship but not required to fulfill all of the Written commandments, oral traditions, or halachah, they (we) would still be permitted to voluntarily respond to as many of the Torah mitzvot (perhaps within certain limits) as we desired to take on, but that, not taking on all of the commandments, we would not be sinning. Again, it's just "a theory", but frankly, so is every other interpretation of the Jerusalem letter and especially its famous "last line". Much of how we determine our responsibilities to God are based on how we interpret the Bible. If there were only one way to interpret God's word, we would only have one religion, denomination, or sect. And we know that's not the case.

I also previously quoted a source stating the following:

Let’s first examine this from a purely rabbinic perspective. Neither in the Talmud nor in any of the early rabbinic works do we find a prohibition against Gentiles wearing tefillin. There is a passage in the Tosefta that instructs Jews not to sell tefillin to Gentiles (t.Avodah Zarah 2:4), and as some scholars point out, this may actually indicate that tefillin were worn by some non-Jews. We also find the example in the midrash and the Jerusalem Talmud of Rabban Gamaliel’s Gentile slave Tobi wearing tefillin.

Assuming for the moment that this is a statement of fact, then we have a precident for a non-Jew performing a worship practice that otherwise would be considered "strictly Jewish".

I'm not trying to shove "Gentile observance of the Torah" down your throat, but we can see that it is at least a supportable position, though a minority opinion in Judaism, and it does speak to one reason, beyond what I stated earlier, why Christians can be allowed to read and study the same exact Bible as the Jews, right down to the five books of Moses.

The quote from 1 John 3:4 can be a problem because defining sin as "lawlessness" could be viewed as support for the Gentile disciples being required to obey the full Torah commandments in order to avoid sinning. Of course, if that were the case, the ambiguity about Gentile Torah observance built into the rest of the Apostolic Scriptures seems to be kind of contradictory. Of course, you could say that John was addressing an exclusively Jewish audience, but then, Christianity would have to completely re-tool how they (we) study the Bible. I don't know of a single Christian teacher in any church who says we must learn to recognize the "Jewish-only" parts of the New Testament vs. the parts that apply to Gentile Christians. If that is indeed what's required, then we have a long, long way to go in understanding who Christians are in Christ.

Do Gentile Christians and Messianic Jews (and everyone else along the continuum of congregations and theologies) share the same Bible? Yes. Do all of the parts of the Bible apply to all of those populations? No. An obvious example are those portions of the Bible which outline the duties of the kohens and more specifically the High Priest. Only a Jew who is a direct descendent of Aaron can be a High Priest, so most Jews (let alone non-Jews) can read these portions with the understanding that the commandments related to this population do not apply to them.

On the other hand, it's not valueless for a Jew from the tribe of Benjamin to read those parts of the Torah having to do with the Levitical priesthood because of their rich symbolism and the history of God's actions among His chosen people. I don't think it's valueless for the rest of us either.

So beyond the sheer history lesson offered by the Torah for Christians, we see teachings in morality, images of how God interacts with human beings, and the laying of the essential foundation for understanding the words of the Messiah, all from studying the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings. Christianity's New Testament is built on the foundation of all of the scriptures that come before it and we ignore or marginalize that foundation at our own peril.

Like it or not, we share the same Bible...all of us, if we call ourselves disciples of the Jewish Messiah.

The road is long and often, we travel in the dark, ignoring the light of the world. Look for the lamp who lights your path or you may become lost in the dark forever.

"A Jew never gives up. We're here to bring Mashiach, we will settle for nothing less." -Harav Yitzchak Ginsburgh