The Forest

Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them saying:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

-Matthew 5:1-12

What does Yeshua want from us? Have you ever wondered? I wonder about it a lot. Maybe you already know or you think you know. Maybe you're completely secure in your understanding of who you are and where you fit in the Kingdom of Heaven (not to mention the community of believers).

But consider what you spend your time considering.

I've recently been blogging and conversing on matters of halachah and specifically on whether or not a non-Jew is allowed to lay tefillin in prayer. I've been following Derek Leman's latest Not Jewish Yet Drawn to Torah blog post. Unfortunately, these and many other similar conversations have left me empty lately.

Aren't these matters important? Shouldn't we debate how Jews and Gentiles are to engage in worship practices of the Messiah? Why can't I draw spiritual renewal from these debates? What's missing?

I've been having an email conversation with a friend this morning and I told him:

A lot of these debates, while necessary, tend to leave out the essential ingredient we need for our faith: Yeshua (Jesus). I think a message like "know Jesus better" is one which the whole "Messianic movement" (not just OL and TH, but all of MJ, too) needs to hear. It's not like matters of halachah or procedure aren't important, but we aren't supposed to put our faith in matters of halachah and procedure. Our faith is in the Messiah or we live in vain.

I quoted from Yeshua's beatitudes above. What is he saying is "blessed" or "praiseworthy"? Look at the list:

• Poor in spirit (boy, I can relate to that one)
• Those who mourn
• The meek
• Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
• The merciful (and I think we need a few more of these in the community of faith)
• The pure in heart
• The peacemakers
• Those who are persecuted because of righteousness

We can find people like these in our conversations, but they aren't always apparent. That's a problem, because I have a feeling that these are the ways we are supposed to primarily express ourselves in the world around us, including the Messianic blogosphere.

Consider the two greatest commandments (Matthew 22:37-40 quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18). Above all else, Yeshua is saying that we must "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" and "love your neighbor as yourself". The Master's parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) tells us who our "neighbor" is and as you can see, even someone we don't normally associate with; someone we don't even like, can be a "good neighbor".

Of all the commandments we learn from Yeshua and all that he taught from the Torah, we also know he gave us a new commandment to love one another (John 13:34), and that love tells the world around us that we are his disciples.

Does anybody besides me blog about this stuff?

My last blog post quoted the following words of the Master and I think we need to all hear them, not just for the encouragement, but for the reminder of what's really important:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” -Matthew 11:28-30

This morning, while composing the email I mentioned earlier and pondering the current state of development of the "Messianic movement" which we all seem to represent, I said this:

The current arguments in our little community are a classic case of not being able to see the forest for the trees. I like trees. It's nice to sit under one or to examine the intricate details God programmed into a branch or leaf. But continually operating on that level of microscopic focus won't show you the path through the woods which leads back to home.

I'm not putting down healthy debate, scholarly study, or getting into the "meat". I certainly can't argue against the person who wrote this:

We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. -Hebrews 5:11-14

On the other hand, if you are so focused only on the meal in front of you, it's possible to forget who is the source of our life.

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. -John 6:35

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” -John 6:51

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

Near Empty

If there is light in the soul,
There will be beauty in the person.
If there is beauty in the person,
There will be harmony in the house.
If there is harmony in the house,
There will be order in the nation.
If there is order in the nation,
There will be peace in the world.

-Chinese Proverb

It came down to Chicken Soup for the Soul or Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. My appetite could go in either direction and I wasn't sure which one was more appealing. I was at the public library during my lunch hour today, and even though I already had a book of my own to read, I found I really wasn't in the mood for 1930s vintage science fiction.

As I often do, I found myself wandering among the rather meager selection of Jewish religion books on the second floor and glanced at Chicken Soup for the Jewish Soul. I almost picked it up, but given recent conversations on the web, I wondered if it would be "kosher". Actually, I just wondered if it would even fit.

I was pulled between two poles: the need to find something to rekindle my spirit and the desire to "give in" to a sense of personal "fear and loathing" relative to religion (as opposed to "faith"?). I found Thompson's "Fear and Loathing" book and pulled it off the shelf. I also selected the more generic version of "Chicken Soup" trading in my "pastrami and kosher dill on rye and Jewish chicken soup" for the safer "peanut butter and jelly on wheat" reading selection.

I carried both books to a seat by the window in the back and pondered for a minute which one I should start first. I'd never read either book before and thought I should check them out, but I had to start with one of them. Both books are well known and considered classics in their own right. Chicken soup or fear and loathing? I'd been meaning to read them for years. What was I in the mood for?

I decided that chicken soup was probably healthier for me.

As the minutes to my lunch hour ran out, I decided to only check out Chicken Soup and I put Fear and Loathing back on the shelf (for the time being, anyway).

Forty-six pages into Canfield and Hansen's book and I can say that I'm only marginally interested. The thought of reading a book written by two motivational speakers isn't really "inspiring" to me. They generally promise to sell you a new personality (at inflated rates) and what you actually get is a few hours or, if you're lucky, a few days of elevation, followed by a return to your regularly scheduled life. That's not permanent change, it's just a temporary loan.

But I checked out Chicken Soup, so I might as well see it through. So far, a few of the stories have been heartwarming, a few have been tearjerkers, a few seem a little too contrived, and particularly one story seemed just plain strange ("I taught the audience how to vigorously rub their hands together, separate them by two inches and feel the healing energy"...huh?). I certainly hope more of the tales are of the "heartwarming" variety.

If you haven't guessed, I'm trying to find a compass heading that points me in the direction of who I am and what God wants me to do. Over the past several months, I've received a number of conflicting, if not confusing messages from a variety of sources. It's like walking into the Men's department at a clothing store and shopping for a sports coat. The different sales people keep making suggestions and giving me jackets to try on, but either the color is bad on me, they're too big, they're too small, the fabric itches, or something else doesn't seem quite right.

I don't know. Maybe I'm picky. After all, each one of these coats seems to fit each of the sales people offering them just fine. They just don't fit me.

Paul says there's a "peace beyond all understanding" but I can't seem to find it. Yeshua (Jesus) said the following:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” -Matthew 11:28-30

I've been following the conversation on Derek Leman's blog post Not Jewish Yet Drawn to Torah, Part 8, but it seems rather cerebral at this point. I don't have a problem with good scholarship, but it's not my primary need right now.

All of these debates about "yes, you can pray with tefillin", "no you can't" "obligated vs. permitted", "you can only rest on Shabbat if you don't do it jewishly" just aren't taking me in the right direction.

I think I need something more basic. Where's that guy who said "I will give you rest"? I'll take some of that, please.

What is the Halachah for Gentile Disciples?

Most of the other stuff you listed is not forbidden halachically as far as I know – reading from siddur is certainly not forbidden neither is praying together (you do this when visiting a synagogue anyway), observing Shabbat in the manner that you do (since it’s safe to assume that you are not observing it in a strict manner, therefor you would not be considered (by traditional authorities at least) as observing it JEWISHLY (which technically means – again, from traditional point of view – that you are NOT observing it at all!), lighting candles, etc. Speaking about lighting candles – a Jew must light Shabbat candles for him/herself – that is if circumstances allow to light them in the first place. If he/she can’t or missed the time to light them, there’s always next Shabbat. So, technically speaking you lighting them is for your personal benefit – it doesn’t fulfil the commandment (from a halachic point of view).

So, aside from tefillin, I don’t remember reading about any of this as being forbidden to non-Jews.

Gene Shlomovich from his comments on
Book Review: Tefillin, A Study of the Commandment of Tefillin

The link I just posted above leads not only to Gene's comments, but to a book review I just wrote about a new First Fruits of Zion (FFOZ) booklet about the history and commandments involving the use of Tefillin in Jewish (and possibly Gentile) prayer (and please feel free to read the review and comment about it on my other blog).

Gene's comments started me wondering about a subject that sometimes occurs to me when we have these conversations. Messianic Judaism, and particularly that expression that takes to heart the concept of Bilateral Ecclesiology (BE), tends to believe that the specific roles and responses of Jewish and Gentile disciples of the Messiah are different based on having a different status before God. From that perspective, authoritative rulings are not only rendered in the written Torah, but also in the Oral tradition and judgments of the learned Jewish sages. Halachah, as Gene mentions, is considered applicable to define both Jewish and Gentile responsibilities (or lack thereof) relative to what we think of as traditional Jewish religious practice.

One of the criticisms that Messianic Judaism has of the One Law and Two-House movements, is that these groups only consider the written Bible (Torah, Prophets, Writings, and Apostolic Scriptures) as authoritative and relegate the Oral law and rulings of the sages to the status of "opinions", which are then easily dismissed. This is why, for example, that a One Law practitioner can say they are keeping a type of kosher by only eating beef, chicken, and vegetables purchased at their local supermarket, while a Messianic Jew whose practice is more "rabbinically" centered, would require that their kosher meat be certified as such under rabbinic supervision, prepare their food in a kosher kitchen, not mix meat and dairy products, and so forth. Hamburger from Safeway or Albertsons just wouldn't do and a cheeseburger is out of the question.

As Gene formerly pointed out in the book review and as other comments there illustrate, the majority Jewish opinion would forbid a non-Jew from observing the Sabbath "Jewishly" and would forbid men from, among other things, praying while wearing a tallit and tefillin. While the rabbinic rulings are not unanimous, if a non-Jew were to walk into their local (non-Messianic) synagogue and ask the Rabbi what he or she thought of Christians wearing tzitzit and laying tefillin, it is very likely the Rabbi wouldn't support such activities.

But they don't believe that Yeshua is the Messiah either, and thus don't consider any of his teachings authoritative. Neither did any of the Jewish sages including Rambam, whose statements quoted in my book review could be interpreted as supporting Gentiles obeying more than the Seven Noahide Laws.

Halachah, in part, must make the assumption that all non-Jews are obligated only to the Noahide Laws, and a Gentile's responsibilities to God are contained within those limitations (and keep in mind that the seven laws can be further subdivided into multiple, specific behaviors).

Are non-Jewish people who have come to faith in the Jewish Messiah and who have become the Messiah's disciples (you can't get around Matthew 28:19-20) considered absolutely equivalent to Noahides? Is the Jerusalem letter (Acts 15) considered to be a specific and limiting container for Gentile Messianic disciples in precisely the same way as the Noahide Laws recorded in Genesis 9?

I've previously blogged that I don't believe the Acts 15 letter describes an absolute limit for Gentile Messianics, since Yeshua's teachings that we Gentiles are required to obey extend beyond the borders of the letter and into many principles directly drawn from the Torah mitzvot (visiting the sick, feeding the hungry, remaining faithful to one's spouse, not murdering, and so forth).

Everything hinges on the difference (assuming there is one) between the status of a Gentile Noahide and a Gentile Messianic disciple before God. The "requirements" are different for both groups and at least from what I can see. Gentile Messianic disciples are allowed, and perhaps required, based on the two greatest commandments  from Matthew 22:37-40 (which are derived from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18) to have a love for God not suggested by the Noahide commandments. I've never gotten the impression that Noahides would ever have the ability to "approach the Throne of God", at least in the same manner as those of us who are supposed to be fellow heirs (Ephesians 3:6).

I don't have an answer to this next question, but can we totally accept all of the halachah regarding Gentile religious practice, when every single ruling was written specifically for Gentiles who were either Noahides or pagans?

Wait! What did I say?

Gentiles have two classes...or three?

Consider this. We non-Jews in the movement are disciples of the Jewish Messiah, AKA "Christians". A concept and status not taken into account (for the most part) in halachah (and when it is taken into account, the "account" is usually not favorable, given the historic relationship between Christians and Jews). However, does any of the rabbinic judgments consider the difference between a "righteous Gentile" and a pagan (a Gentile who does not comply with the Noahide requirements)? They would have to if the status of "Noahide" were to have any meaning. But if Christianity and Messianic Judaism (in all its forms and variations) must accept the fact, based on the Matthew 28, that Gentiles are also able to assume the status as "disciples of the Jewish Messiah" and heirs according to the promise (Galatians 3:29), then there must be a difference between Gentile Messianics and Gentile Noahides. Otherwise, why not just have all Gentiles either convert to Judaism or become Noahides and leave it at that? Heck, Yeshua could have saved himself a lot of trouble if he didn't have to die for the sins of the world (John 3:16).

Like I said before, I don't have the answer to these questions, but these are questions we don't ask very often, if at all. I believe that, in some manner or fashion, we have to consider the possibility that halachah for Gentile Messianic believers may need to be "adjusted" to accommodate a status for us that the sages, by definition, would never have considered.

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

Pending Divorce

When I counsel an interfaith couple contemplating marriage, I always ask them to imagine what their life together will look like in five, ten, and twenty years. These pictures vary greatly. While no one can predict the future, and many things - positive and negative - give direction to our personal journeys, it is important for partners to hear each other's dreams. This is particularly important because the future that couples imagine as adults is often different from what they pictured as their adult lives when they were children, or even a few years earlier. It is also helpful for me to hear what each partner has to say aloud, so that I can identify for them what issues are yet to be resolved before they make a long-term commitment to each other.

From Making a Successful Jewish Interfaith Marriage
by Rabbi Kerry M. Olitzky and Joan Peterson Littman

I finished reading this book yesterday and while interesting and instructive, it didn't really apply to my particular intermarried situation. My wife and I were married when neither one of us were religious and my wife's Jewish mother (her father wasn't Jewish) died many years before we met. My wife's mother had estranged herself from her family on the East Coast decades before, so I had no Jewish in-laws with whom to relate, and so at that time, 100 percent of what this book talks about didn't exist for me.

That has changed considerably...but my marriage isn't what I want to talk about.

At different points in the book, as the authors were describing the various challenges facing intermarried couples, I couldn't help but draw comparisons to the "relationship" of the Jewish and Gentile disciples of the Jewish Messiah who have chosen a "Messianic" (for lack of a better term) expression of their faith (as opposed to a traditional Christian model). In many ways, our relationship with each other is like a mixed Jewish-Gentile partnership in terms of the difficulties we face and the hurdles we must overcome.

But sometimes it feels like a "shotgun wedding"; something arranged by someone outside of the couple and perhaps something either the "groom" or "bride" never really wanted.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” -Matthew 28:19-20

Meet the guy holding the "shotgun".

If Yeshua hadn't given this directive, I suppose things would have been a lot easier on everyone. Judaism in all it's variations would be wholly owned and operated by Jews and any non-Jews who entered the doors of a synagogue would be God-fearers and Noahides...a minor subset of the overall population. Assuming Paul wasn't chosen (and if there was no Matthew 28:19-20, why would he have been chosen) to be an emissary to the Gentiles, Gentiles would have continued to be idol worshipers and pagans, probably to this very day. Maybe Messianic Judaism would have been maintained as a Judaism recognized by all the other variations instead of seen as a form of Christianity.

Olitzky's and Littman's book tells a story (it's not written in a way that's easy to quote, so I'll just tell it outright) of a married couple who attended a Reform synagogue for many decades. The Jewish husband died and was buried in a Jewish cemetary. His wife continued to go to shul, be an integral part of the Jewish community, and live like a Jew well into her 90s, when she also died.

People had forgotten that she had never formally converted to Judaism (a decision made originally to avoid hurting her Christian parents when she was first married) but her will stated that she wanted to be buried next to her husband. She had purchased the plot and all was in order...except she wasn't Jewish. Apparently there was a huge debate on the matter since the woman lived a lifestyle just as Jewish as anyone else in the synagogue for almost 70 years. The responsible authorities finally agreed that the woman should be buried next to her husband, but several Jewish families left the synagogue permanently over the decision.

Isn't life swell?

I know someone's going to come along and quote culture, tradition, and law and say that this elderly woman's wishes should have been denied because she never formally converted, but like Ruth (who is an ancestor both of David and the Messiah), she lived an absolutely Jewish lifestyle for the vast majority of her days, perhaps more Jewish than many born but secular Jews.

At what point does tradition and halachah give way to compassion?

One of the book's authors, Joan Peterson Littman, converted to Judaism quite some time ago and leads classes for intermarried couples in her Jewish community. She tells the following story:

The more we learn, the more we discover how much we don't know - even after living a Jewish family life (convert to Judaism or not) for many years. But the feelings of "otherness" don't always go away. Joan reminds us, "I still get scared, after living a Jewish life all these years. I recently walked into a Jewish day school in the community in a swarm of teenage boys wearing yarmulkes. They all gave me the look, which I interpreted as 'What is she doing here?' - what I have come to call my 'goyim alert'. Later I came to understand that they were simply curious, wondering what I, an unfamiliar face, was doing at the school." It's easy to be defeated and feel afraid, to feel that you may never "get it", and disengage as a result. But it is far better to be motivated now and prepare for the life ahead of you. Rather than seeing the "long road" as a "long haul", join us as we see it, as a road filled with opportunity and joy.

One of the reasons I'm leaving the "Messianic world" this summer after many years is because I don't see road filled with opportunity and joy. While I can read an intent in the Apostolic Scriptures for a role for Gentiles in the Messianic community, I don't really see one. The recent "battles" over the acceptability (or lack thereof) of One Law and Two-House "participants" points out that, despite the fact that the majority of people in "formal" Messianic Judaism are Gentiles, we still struggle, like in the stories I just related, to fit in and be accepted. We are never sure we are "part of the family". I've heard stories of people who were adopted, grew up, got married, lived to middle age, and yet still were never sure that anyone truly loved them, all because they were given up they their birth parents.

Sure, Yeshua can say "make disciples of all nations, yada, yada, yada", but it took 15 years for that directive to even start to be enacted. It also required God to give Peter a special "nudge" (see Acts 10) before he got off the dime and visited the house of a righteous God-fearer. To this day, the Jews who worship the Messiah don't really want us there, particularly if we are tainted with having a "One Law" background or history.

My wife is (non-Messianic) Jewish so we are intermarried, and she has a more willing acceptance of my faith and religious orientation than most Jews who believe Yeshua is the Messiah. My daughter, who is also not Messianic, was surprised when I told her I was planning on leaving my congregation. No, she'd never step foot in the door, but she knows that I (at least at one time) felt that it was the right place for me to be.

While I'd like to think I have friends among Messianic Judaism, at least in a "virtual" manner (since we've never met), I don't know what to do to make this "marriage" work. We were "forced" together by the Messiah and by the Apostles, but the Messiah's latter day Jewish disciples are having a hard time with us and all our "Gentile goofiness".

While a lot of people have become particularly angry lately over all these matters, I'm not angry at anyone. I feel disappointed and a little depressed at watching "the dream" die. I commented on Gene's blog that I had my doubts I'd be invited to the Matthew 8:11 feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. I know that Gene, Yahnatan, Derek, and a number of other blogosphere denizens have said I'd be welcome in their communities and that we could "break bread" together, but what about the rest of us? There are a lot of good people out there who frankly, just don't know any better. Yes, I've also met a lot of people who have "alternative" theological ideas that border on "cultish" and some people of questionable mental stability, but there are also many, many sane, responsible, compassionate, and loving people who are dedicated to the Jewish Messiah and who honor the living God. What about them?

If the "partnering" of Jews and Gentiles in the "Messianic" movement is like an intermarriage, then the relationship is in trouble. I get the feeling that my "partner" wants a divorce and never actually wanted to get "married" in the first place. Olitzky and Littman expose the challenges of a Jewish-Christian intermarriage, but they ultimately paint a picture of hope and welcome. For those of us who have a common devotion to the Jewish Messiah, do we dare hope at all? What will our life together look like in five, ten, or twenty years? Or will there be a "together" at all?

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

String

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” -John 13:34-35

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. -John 15:5-8

Imagine there’s an infinte string stretching from one end of eternity to the other and we are all floating in the space around the string. All we have to do is take a hold of the string and while we’re each still floating in our own space as who we are, we can become connected. When I once said that a person whose only weapon was rage had already lost the war, I was talking about those people too angry, too hurt, or too proud to take hold of the string. They’ll always be in their own space alone, disconnected from the rest of the disciples of the Messiah and perhaps even from God. Eventually, those who do not take hold will be "picked up and thrown into the fire", though that is not what God desires.

Paul used the metaphor of connectedness through the Messiah, our “infinite string”, and we can relate like individual pearls on a necklace; separate and unique but still part of a whole. Yeshua said that he is the vine and we are the branches. Paul said that Jews and Gentiles are individual and unique branches connected to a common root. We can be different and distinct in our identies, roles, and duties, and yet part of a whole.

The hardest thing God will ever ask you to do is what you don't want to do. God is One. There are not two separate Gods for two peoples. There is One God for us all.

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.. -Hebrews 12:11-15 (ESV)

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

Each Other's Wounds

Many non-Jews were drawn to a message that through faith in Yeshua (Jesus) they were called to live the way Jews live without any distinction: Sabbath, dietary law, tzit-tzit, circumcision, etc. When First Fruits of Zion realized that what they had been teaching was an error, they changed. Many people felt spiritually homeless. They liked the One Law or One Torah teaching. It gave them a pseudo-Jewish identity, made them feel more important than “regular Christians.” So, Hegg is the father-figure who will pick up the leaderless minions.

What is my complaint? Well, it is that with all that is wrong in the world, with all that God wants us to do, be, and know, when I speak to groups of people I don’t waste any of that precious time deconstructing others in order to build myself up.

Derek Leman
Is Tim Hegg Serious?

By “Supersessionism”, he means replacement theology, and thus, gentiles who keep Torah are practicing replacement theology.

I interpret this statement as, “One Law and Two House Messianics are replacement theologians.”

Fine blog reader, am I misinterpreting this statement?

I feel like I’m the last of the hold-outs. Friends and family have been telling me to get out of Dodge and distance myself from FFOZ over Torah and the divinity of Yeshua, but I’ve held out. I’ve have been a staunch ally of FFOZ for 6+ years. I’ve stood up for them on the web, rebuked One Law folks for wishing their financial ruin, attended their conferences, promoted their materials, heck, even stumped for them at my local congregation.

Hearing Boaz call me a replacement theologian and an enemy of Israel freaking hurts.

Judah Gabriel Himango
Boaz Michael on Messianics

Introduction

Both Derek and Judah apparently became "birds of a feather" last week in using their personal feelings to respond to the ideas, philosophies, and statements of Tim Hegg and Boaz Michael. Unfortunately, we've seen the "fruit" of these two blog posts and let's just say I wouldn't want to put such fruit on my breakfast cereal this morning. I'd put a spoonful into my mouth and get my head blown off.

In my previous blog post I said I'd try to present my take on this whole "supersessionism" matter, even if it caused another round of "he said" and "she said" in our one small corner of the small "Messianic movement" (I imagine the majority of disciples in Yeshua [Jesus] are getting on with the business of feeding the poor and visiting the sick). Anyway.

Definitions

First, a basic definition:

Supersessionism (also called fulfillment theology or replacement theology) is a Christian interpretation of New Testament claims, viewing God's relationship with Christians as being either the "replacement" or "fulfillment" or "completion" of the promise made to the Jews (or Israelites) and Jewish Proselytes. Biblical expressions of God's relationships with people are known as covenants, so the contentious element of supersessionism is the idea that the New Covenant with the Christians and the Christian Church replaces, fulfills or completes the Mosaic Covenant (or Torah) with the Israelites and B'nei Noah. A major question in supersessionism is how or to what degree are the ethics of the Mosaic Covenant displaced or even completely abrogated by the New Covenant.

You may be asking what the above definition taken from Wikipedia (yes, I know..not really reliable, but all I'm looking for is very basic information) has to do with the One Law and Two-House branches of the "Messianic movement". After all, it specifically names the "Christian church". Be patient. I'm getting there.

Next, we need to understand the reaction of Judaism, any Judaism, to supersessionism as taken from the same source:

From a Jewish perspective, however, the Torah was given to the Jewish people as an eternal covenant (for example Exo 31:16-17, Exo 12:14-15) and will never be replaced or added to (for example Deut 4:2, 13:1), and hence Judaism rejects supersessionism as contrary to the Hebrew Bible at best (see also Antinomianism) and antisemitic at worst. For Judaism and other critics, supersessionism is a theology of replacement, which substitutes the Christian church, consisting of Christians, for the Jewish and B'nei Noah people. Modern Jews are offended by the traditional Christian belief in supersessionism, and some historians see supersessionism as one source of anti-semitism in western culture.

So now we see why there is so much emotion, not only from many Jews who view supersessionism as offensive and even a threat, but from any group who has allied with Messianic Judaism and yet has been accused by some Messianic Jewish groups of being guilty of supersessionism. Hence the "blood bath" in the Messianic blogosphere over the past week.

Who's Who

To recap, One Law groups (this is an abridged definition and I'm sure people will chime in and correct any errors I may make) is the belief that both Jews and "grafted in Gentiles" (Romans 11) are specifically "obligated" (as opposed to allowed or permitted) to obey all of the 613 commandments (of which, Judaism believes only about 200 can be obeyed outside of Israel in the 21st Century). In this sense, both Gentiles in the "Messianic movement" and Jews everywhere (but particularly in the Messianic movement) are identical in obligations, responsibilities, and behaviors as a result of the Gentiles being grafted in and being fellow heirs (Ephesians 3:6). Why would Jews in Messianic Judaism see this as a form of supersessionism since One Law proponents don't seek to kick the Jews out of the club, but to become their spiritual and behavioral brothers and sisters, doing all that Jews do and believing all that Jews believe? Ponder that question and we'll come back to it.

Two-House (and again, this is a very abbreviated definition) theorists believe that any Gentile Christian who is attracted to Judaism and to Torah obedience must actually be a descendent of Jews from one of the ten "lost tribes" of Israel. In effect, these people are not Gentiles at all, but rather Jewish. Since they are Jewish, by definition, they are obligated to the full and complete 613 commandments (or roughly the 200 I mentioned before) as well as (I assume the following, but I could be wrong) to all of the Oral Law and halacka that applies to more "obvious" Jewish people. How can Two-House be seen as supersessionist since, from their point of view, they are Jewish (albeit Messianic and having lived all their lives as non-Jews up to a certain point) and only seek to rejoin their Jewish brothers and sisters in worship of the Jewish Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus)?

I must admit that trying to understand the traditional Messianic Jewish point of view on these groups was a challenge for me for quite some time. After all, I come from a One Law tradition and I certainly didn't see how I was trying to replace the Jews. Several months ago, Derek accused me of being supersessionist and I took offense to his comments (though I didn't call him out personally on the Messianic blogosphere and after calling him a "racist" publicly, I emailed him to apologize...I still think he could have handled the situation better, though but after all, he's only human). I didn't see myself as trying to injure or replace anyone, but since the perception that I was guilty of such behavior had been presented, I tried to find out where that perception was coming from. After all, I know I'm not perfect. I've been wrong before (Gosh, does anyone in the blogosphere actually admit to that? I must be out of my mind). What was I missing?

It wasn't until this week that I began to comprehend how Messianic Judaism could arrive at such a conclusion. After all, no one ever just explains why they have their beliefs on the Internet, they just express upset or offense, sometimes to the point of the "wheels falling off the cart", so to speak. Oh well.

By strict definition (using Wikipedia), One Law groups and Two-House groups aren't supersessionalist in that they are not seeking to remove Jews from the covenant promises and replace the Jews with their own groups. That definition is more often found in the traditional Christian church as well as some other religions such as Mormonism (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints). So by what process can One Law and Two-House possibly be considered supersessionist by Messianic Judaism (or at least some quarters of MJ)?

It has to do largely with roles as opposed to behaviors as I understand it. This requires more than a little theological slight of hand or legerdemain to comprehend.

The Perceived Problem

If One Law groups aren't trying to replace Jews, what are they doing? They are joining them at an absolutely equal level to Jews in every aspect of religious and personal life, based on their understanding and their theology. What's wrong with that? It adds to the number of Jews worldwide, doesn't it? Well, no...since these are still Gentile (for the most part) "Christians" who are obeying or attempting to obey all of the Torah commandments as an obligation identical to their Jewish counterparts. The issue is rather subtle if you're not sensitive to it, but if you are sensitive to it, the light of realization must glare like a spotlight in your eyes. If you're Jewish by birth, ethnicity, faith, and tradition, what must it be like to see a large group of non-Jews attempting to emulate your every action and lifestyle and saying "I am exactly like you in every respect as a spiritual Jew and obligated to the Torah in exactly the same way as you are"?

I don't have a lived Jewish experience, so I'm having a hard time connecting to the emotionalism of the event, but (again, from the MJ viewpoint) it must be like watching Judaism being "diluted" in some sense. It must be like watching two different wines, a white wine and a red wine, being mixed together, which at least confuses if not obliterates the meaning and uniqueness of both wines.

I apologize if that's a bad analogy, but as I said before, I'm not really equipped to feel the emotionalism of this situation. That's just what it looks like when I read the various blogs on the topic.

Is that supersessionism? Not by strict definition, no. However, it appears to be perceived as a rather odd type of supersessionism in that it is seen as having a detrimental effect on "Jewish identity" within (and probably outside) of the Messianic movement. Nobody is replaced but an "exterior group" is seen as trying to plunge into the Jewish end of the swimming pool and say, "we're just as Jewish as you are, so we have the right to be in your water, too."

Now, the sixty-four thousand dollar question. Is their intent?

That is, do One Law groups, in part or on a whole deliberately intend, by their actions and theology, to set out and damage the Jews in the Messianic movement or Jews in general?

I don't have access to each mind in the One Law movement so I don't have an absolute answer, but based on my own experiences, I'd have to say "no". I think this is the source of the outrage and pain we've been experiencing from fellows like Judah and Dan when they are told that they are supersessionist. They don't feel supersessionist and they don't intend to be supersessionist (and since Dan is Jewish and Judah has a Jewish father, can they really "replace" what they already are?). It's hard to see how someone who says "I want to be just like you" actually hates you. I think part of the problem though, is that some One Law folks want to redefine what "Jewish" is and disregard (or disrespect) how Jewish people define themselves.

How about Two-House. If Two-House people are already Jewish, how can they replace what they already are? Aren't they just adding to the much depleted global Jewish population?

Well, wait a minute.

How do we know that any of the people in the Two-House movement have Jewish ancestors? We don't. To the best of my understanding, the only way we "know" Two-House people are Jewish is because they have an "inborn" attraction to Judaism and the Torah.

In my previous blog post, I quoted Aaron ("Jewzilla") as saying it's typical in Judaism to attribute the motivations of a Gentile who wants to convert to being a Jew as having a "Jewish soul". There's no objective way to prove such a thing, but to the degree that the person is sincere about converting, it's a convenient explanation, though unprovable by any means. So is the understanding of the Two-House movement that their members are "Jews" from the lost tribes.

From the Messianic Jewish (and other Jewish) point of view then, while Two-House people aren't seeking to replace "born Jews" but rather add to them, it's somewhat similar to the One Law situation. A group of (apparently) Gentiles are not just saying "I'm just like you because I was grafted in" but rather "I'm your long lost cousin from Schenectady come to rejoin the family."

Is there intent among Two-House people to replace people who were born Jewish and who have an ethnic and religious Jewish identity with their own populations? Probably not. However, as we saw in the One Law example, and from a Jewish point of view, it must be like having someone pour Merlot into your Chardonnay. The result isn't going to be what you originally expected.
At the very least, from a Jewish point of view, it must seem strange and, if in the Jewish mindset, such philosophies and behaviors are labeled as "supersessionist", then automatic emotional responses are triggered along with insult, offense and outrage.

So here you have three groups who, by expressing their points of view about each other are offended, insulted, and outraged...and yet who all claim to be brothers and sisters in the Messiah. Could that be considered ironic?

The Result

What a mess.

No, I don't expect anyone in the Messianic blogosphere to understand what I'm saying, but I think it needs to be said. We've created this mess and in some way, we've all contributed to it. It's not even so much what we say or our particular opinions and differing theologies, but it's "how" we deal with our emotions and act out in response.

Both Derek and Judah (representing each end of the continuum of "I feel insulted") could have handled their emotions and their responses better. On the surface, Derek "seems" the more dispassionate of the two, but I suspect this is an illusion produced by good editing of his blog post before mashing on the "publish" button.

Both men (and the rest of us, including me) could have handled this better. Both men could have prayed, read the Bible, and consulted with wise and dispassionate counsel (consulting someone experiencing just as much outrage as you doesn't count) before deciding to craft a response (or deciding not to). However, both men, and the rest of us, are just like all other men. Or as an instructor of mine was fond of saying, "Everyone is unique, but no one is special." We may all seem reasonable until someone pushes our hot topic button, and then off we go.

But what's done is done. You can't unring a bell.

I'm not saying we all are supposed to agree with each other and I guess we don't even have to like each other, but we are all (as much as we hate to admit it) in the same lifeboat together, adrift in a stormy sea that only the Messiah can calm (Mark 4:35-40). If the Messiah were to read all of our blogs, including this one, I imagine his response would be like this:

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” -Mark 4:39-41

Do we really think that when the Messiah returns, he's going to put up with our foolishness for even two seconds? Have you tried to imagine his response? Do you think he'll take your side (whatever side that may be) and "nail" the other guy?

Or do we'll all get a rebuke and a chiding for our lack of faith?

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

Who Has a Jewish Soul?

The Zohar opens with the image of the Jewish soul likened to a beloved rose among the thorns of materialism. The thorns wither the soul's sensitivity to G-dliness. Prune away the thorns, and the soul flourishes in G-d's shining light.

From Pictures with a Purpose
Chabad.org

In Judaism, "Jewish souls" awakening from among the gentiles is something that happens. All converts are such people. Perhaps, now that we're nearing toward the geula, HaShem is harvesting some lost souls throughout the world. I don't agree that their current state is where they are going to stay, if they're actually going to become truly part of Israel. But I'm sure that anyone who seeks out the urge and desire that they have for Israel and Tora, they will eventually end up in the right place. And may HaShem help them.

Aaron ("Jewzilla") in a comment on
Kineti L' Tziyon

I suppose I'll have to publish a little more of the transaction between Aaron and me for this to make sense:

James: Funny, that's more or less what my wife said to me once. Of all the Jews I can discuss matters of faith with, she's the only one who doesn't seem to be offended by who I am and what I believe. Of course, she loves me, which probably makes a difference.

Aaron ("Jewzilla"): James,

Follow up the passion with the fullest extent of action. ^_^

I'm not sure if Aaron was encouraging me to convert to Judaism (and if he was, I'll take that as a compliment) but what he said and the way he said it made me stop and think.

The various different manifestations of "Messianic Judaism" have been struggling especially hard recently to try and make sense of the non-Jewish presence in a "Jewish movement". Of course, Christianity is not thought of as a "Jewish movement" but the related worship of the same Messiah and the same God must be seen as some sort of connection between the Church and Messianic Jews. In the demilitarized zone between the two groups, you have populations of people characterized by the labels "One Law" and "Two House" who seem to be, at the same time, related and unrelated to both religious entities.

But who are we?

That's the Sixty-four thousand dollar question since "identity" is at the very core of the conflict between Jews and non-Jews in the Messianic and Christian communities (I use the plural since any real connection between Messianic Jews and the Christian church is largely theoretical at this point).

We are all here in the same "virtual" room, though we are using pieces of chalk to mark our various territories in that room and putting up signs at these chalk-drawn borders saying "No such-and-thus is allowed beyond this point".

I hope I'm exaggerating, but I fear I'm not...at least not by much.

I've got so much I could say about the conversations that have taken place in the "Messianic blogosphere" during the past week, I hardly know where to begin. I've tried to inject a little reason into what I see as an unreasonable set of situations in my blog posts What I Won't Miss and Imagining Ourselves, but reason seems to be the last thing that most people want at the moment.

I recently read a blog article called Torah and Non-Jews at Christian for Moses, which appears to be an extension of the previous blog post Orthodox Rabbi's View of Torah and the Gentiles (and I highly recommend reading both, along with related article Prayer and Non-Jews).

I'm beginning to see a building amount of evidence for allowing non-Jews to access areas of Jewish life that heretofore were considered "forbidden" or "exclusively owned by Jews". Lines of distinction have become blurred and we are all stumbling about, bumping into each other, saying "beg your pardon", and trying to regain our balance.

But who are we?

According to Aaron's comments, it is possible for a non-Jewish person to have a "Jewish soul" (and I'm very uneducated about how this would work) and it is believed that all Gentiles who convert to Judaism are such Jewish souls.

But isn't that a form of supersessionism (the hot topic of last week)? Isn't that a form of diluting the body of "real" Jews?

I suppose it depends on how you look at it. I've read Lydia Kukoff's Choosing Judaism, Anita Diamant's Choosing a Jewish Life and am in the process of reading Rabbi Kerry M Olitzky's and Joan Peterson Littman's book Making a Successful Jewish Interfaith Marriage. They all address this issue in one way or the other and confirm the general belief in Judaism that Gentile converts to Judaism are seen as having "Jewish Souls".

The authors of these books are rather liberal and take a stance that accepting converts and intermarried couples (more after the fact than before) actually strengthens Judaism rather than watering it down.

Interestingly enough, I see a sort of parallel between Gentiles being attributed to having "Jewish Souls" and the Two-House movement, which says that any non-Jew who is attracted to the Torah and Judaism must be a member of the lost ten tribes (as if no non-Jew in his or her own right could possibly be attracted to the beauty of the Torah for its own sake or for God's).

Of course it is Judaism's view that it is possible for some Gentiles to have "Jewish Souls" but it's a Gentile viewpoint that some non-Jews can really be "lost Jews" (and thereby hangs the difference). In both cases, the "belief" is the explanation for why a non-Jew could be attracted to Judaism enough to want to enter into some sort of "joining process". The former joining process (conversion or intermarriage) has always been seen with suspicion in Judaism and only accepted with difficulty (hence the necessity for books to educate potential converts, intermarrieds, their families, their Rabbis, and Jews and Christians in general). On the other hand, Messianic Judaism views Two-House as a rather odd form of "supersessionism" which is the act or attempt to replace or dilute Jews with non-Jews, and thus reducing or destroying Jewish identity.

What a mess.

This coming week, we will be reading and studying the Torah Portion Yitro, which features the remarkable act of millions of Jews and non-Jews standing at the foot of Mount Sinai and "as one man" accepting the Torah of God. The leader of this vast body of humanity is himself, an "intermarried" Jewish man who takes advice from his Gentile father-in-law.

Even at the level of the Mount Sinai event, there was a "mixing" of different people groups in relation to God and the Torah. Thousands of years later, Yeshua (Jesus) commits the ultimately confusing act of requiring his Jewish disciples to also make disciples of the peoples of the nations (Matthew 28:18-20) and Peter, the Messiah's "right hand man", actually witnesses Gentiles receiving the Holy Spirit of God before his very eyes and says that the Gentiles should not be restricted from baptism (Acts 10:44-48).

Yet, in the modern era, non-Jews who are attracted, not only to the Jewish Messiah but to the Jewishness of the Jewish Messiah, are having the most difficult time being allowed to make the actual social and religious connection to Messianic Judaism.

Are One Law and Two House members an abberation which damages Messianic Judaism and are their beliefs inexorably supersessionist? I'll try to address that in my next blog. The answer might not be what you think.

No matter how I answer the question, I'm sure to invoke yet another blood bath among the body parts of the Messiah who are all commanded to love each other (John 13:34).

We were so close, there was no room
We bled inside each other's wounds
We all had caught the same disease
And we all sang the songs of peace
Some came to sing, some came to pray
Some came to keep, the dark away

So raise the candles high, 'cause if you don't
We could stay black against the night
Oh raise them higher again and if you do
We could stay dry against the rain

From Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)
Melanie Safka (1970)

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