Messianic Judaism Quest

More… I appreciate Mr. Leman taking the time to respond. Unfortunately Mr. Leman’s response makes a number of assumptions.

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Mr. Lehman details an event in which he was barred from participating in a local Jewish campus service by the supervising liberal rabbi, expressing his disappointment at seeming inconsistencies in how he has been treated in various other non-messianic Jewish settings.

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The following post is drawn from a paper provided by a friend. He is a member of a traditional Jewish community but has expressed considerable tolerance and in interest in our discussions. He provided this and noted that in his view, the overwhelming majority of those in any way affiliated with Messianic Judaism, are in large part reflective of the fictitious Cardinal Lustinger the paper is drawn from. Enjoy.

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A reader recently raised the question as to how can we reconcile the anti-Messianic, or better said anti-Yeshua perspectives of many of the Sages that we are “promoting.” The challenge is real and has been raised by many leaders of various Messianic Jewish organizations.

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For others, and it seems myself, this is anything but true. The simple reality is that “parnasa” or livelihood and meaningful relationships seem to be out of reach. Yet in spite of the challenges and despair that often arises because of these two areas, the real point of internal tension is the point of religion (i.e. Judaism).

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An interesting post on the perspectives of Rabbi Dan Cohn-Sherbok on the subject of Messianic Judaism. He visited the Messianic Jewish Alliance Conference in 1998, and I believe also visited an annual conference of the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations.

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The idea of the “Ten Lost” tribes of Israel is popular within a variety of corners in the Messianic and “Hebraic” movements, for a variety of reasons. Part of it may lie in the ability of such a view to provide an relatively “easy” resolution to questions of identity for many non-Jewish individuals. It may also reflect the tendency towards the eschatological leanings of many.

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Many congregations approach this subject with a great deal of apprehension because they fear that incorporating “rabbinic tradition” is theologically problematic. This trepidation is partially predicated upon the notion that the early rabbis developed a system, which explicitly eliminated God from an active role in the halakhic decision-making process.

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According to Rabbi Hartman, the Torah provides the Jewish community with a historical memory of a living G-d who selected the Jewish people from among the nations through whom which He would be sanctified in history.

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So what is the halakhically oriented Messianic synagogue to do when presented with these and other issues which confront the validity of halakhah? The choices of course are difficult and may either serve to rebuff the individual or compromise the standards of halakhah which may serve to buttress their fledging existence.

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