Messianic JudaismThe challenge of instilling Jewish identity is something that the contemporary Jewish community is quite aware of in the United States as well as all over the world.
That challenge is only intensified in communities that characterize themselves as Messianic. The idea of reaching out to individuals on the fringes of the Jewish community, the outcasts of Israel, so to speak is a mission many Messianic Jewish communities might identify with.
What happens however, when someone refuses to follow the basic tenets of Jewish faith? How should one react to individuals that trust in Yeshua and yet refuse to adhere Jewish practices that are fundamental to Jewish identity? For most Messianic Jewish communities this does not present a problem since they do not embrace any notion of halakhah.
For those communities which do embrace the validity of halakhah, the choice in embracing someone and “rejecting” them becomes a very serious issue. A fundamental aspect of Jewish identity is circumcision. The lack of circumcision in an adult Jewish male, for example, presents the Messianic Jewish community with a no easy solution. The necessity of circumcision to Jewish identity is d’Oraita and is the act which marks Abram Avinu’s transition to Abraham Avinu. So powerful is the event of milah that it merits a change in name, a practice of course followed for converts to this day.
The abandonment of circumcision as an aspect of the covenant, has been adopted by Reform and some aspects of other “progressive movements.”  The basis of course lies in the general abandonment of halachah as a binding system.
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.
Tags: Circumcision, Halakhah, Israel, Jewish Faith, Jewish Identity, Messianic Jewish Identity, Messianic Synagogue, Progressive Judaism, Reform Judaism
13 responses so far ↓
1 Daniel // May 5, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Would it be fair to say that there are four types of Messianics?
Jews for Jesus (Protestant)
Evangelical Messianic (non-denominational)
Torah Observant
Traditionalist (halakhahly minded)
2 Daniel // May 5, 2008 at 12:31 pm
The last two are mostly independent but they are influenced by certain organizations or movements such as Mystical or Charismatic Judaism or Torah for the Nations Messianics.
Ohh! I forgot to mention End Times -Apocaliptic groups and subgroups that claim legitimacy on personal revelation and conspiracy theories and
Sabbatarians (Church of God, Seven day, etc) who claim everyone is a spiritual Jew.
3 aaron // May 19, 2008 at 2:09 pm
One must not abandon the covenant. To do so puts them in the same class as those who obeyed Antiochus…
4 Objector // Jun 30, 2008 at 3:54 pm
According to Rabbi Federow:
IN SHORT… Many people, Christians and some Jews as well, erroneously believe that just as one can be Black and Christian, just as one can be Oriental and Christian, one can also be Jewish and Christian. It is not true. The Jews are not a race. There is no genetic code passed from either mother or father to the child that makes that child a Jew. Even if all, or some, of the genetic code in a child could be proved to be of Jewish Origin, that would not make the child a Jew. Jewish law determines who is a Jew, and Jewish law is quite clear. If a person’s mother is a Jew, and that person has not converted to another faith, then that person will be considered fully Jewish, so long as that person wishes to identify solely as a Jew. Although one cannot convert to become a member of a race, for example one cannot convert to become an Oriental or an African-American, one who converts to Judaism does, indeed, become fully a Jew. Similarly, if one converts from Judaism to another faith, one is no longer a Jew.
5 slevi // Jun 30, 2008 at 4:09 pm
This definition is problematic because in the Tanakh there is a long history of jews worshipping other gods and idols and if the prophets and Talmud are to be believed, they are still Jews.
Even someone who denies G-d exists (an atheist) with a Jewish mother is Jewish.
Please define for us what constitutes another faith.
6 Objector // Jul 1, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Bad example to use: Those Jews who worshiped other gods were destroyed in their sin, similarly Jewish law derived from the Torah defines Jewish identity on not only that their mother is halacly Jewish but the child must adhere to Judaism and partake of Jewish costums not modified Christianized Bar/Bat Mitzvah’s which they do at Messianic churches. The moment a Jew joins a Christian/Messianic group and works in oposition to the rest of the Jewish Community he is no longer a Jew.
If the Messianics who are still halacly Jewish, believe in foreing things to Judaism they are apostates or heretics. Apostates if they go against the G-d ordained Sages of Israel (Rabbinical leadership and decrees) like most Torah observant messianics. Heretics if they deny Torah like most Messianics who at the end are Christians who incorporate Jewish things to attract Jews.
7 slevi // Jul 1, 2008 at 7:25 pm
So an observant messianic who encourages torah observance is still an observant Jew. thank you for proving my point.
Please explain ‘believe in foreing things to Judaism’. A friend of mine makes it a point to eat a ham and cheese sandwich on Yom Kippur (I’m serious). tell me if he is still jewish given a jewish mother, had a bar mitzvah, etc.
Also please explain why you can be an atheist and still be jewish with your reasoning. I know a few chazzanim who are atheists. I will pass your comments on to them…
Be very specific please.
8 Daniel // Jul 7, 2008 at 11:03 am
In all fairness to the objector, Slevi how can you know that many people that do things that are very convenient for your argument?
Everything you are pointing out is outrageous to begging with. You blow of any argument from traditional Jewish sources like they are inconsequential. If this is so they there is no point in debating.
In a recent article in the New York Times this is brought up: “Many Jewish leaders argue that because members of Jews for Jesus have adopted the central tenet of another faith, they have become apostates and are no longer members of the community. “We don’t believe you can be a carnivorous vegetarian,” said Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis. ”
If what the Rabbis say does not matter to you at all how can you say that you are Torah observant? Torah obervance requires commitment to the leaders of Israel as well as the rest of tradition and what keep the Jewish people unified and distinct from the rest of the world. Your protestant approach is what is the problem. If you are proposing for every Jew to be out on their own with no accountability to Tradition then you are not proposing Judaism, but a New Age philosophy.
9 slevi // Jul 9, 2008 at 7:08 pm
It is very simple. I would like him to specify exactly what types of things one can and poof! not be jewish any more.
He won’t do it because he will be turning anyone who is not orthodox into a goy.
His arguments remind me of Moshe Feinstein, who did not consider anyone who is not his level of shomer shabbas to be a reliable witness and therefore their signature on a ketuba didnt count. Therefore reform jews are not married by his standards…
Objector, please give me a list of what constitutes ‘acting against the community’. I suspect you won’t because you know what my response is going to be.
I would like to know why someone who denies G-d exists to continue to be jewish and an observant messianic does not. It is a very simple question and he won’t answer it.
10 Daniel // Jul 14, 2008 at 6:59 pm
I just found a website that says that everyone who partakes of mikveh (is baptised) and believes in Jesus/Yeshua becomes a Jew. This idea is not only historically disconnected and arrogant, is the creation of a new religion just by making stuff up! They don’t address halacka, how believing Jews have not been a sect of Judaism for 1900 years, 4000 years of Jewish History and Traditions, the sociological problems that occur for mischaraterizing a group of people as Jews that are not according to Traditional Jewish standards.
Without addressing any of those issues they claim to be able to get rid of the difficulties that children of only Jewish fathers go thorugh, as well as that Russian and Spanish/Portuguese Jewish descendants for not being able to fulfil Halacka.
This is irresponsible and dangerous for any form of negation of Judaism as it is, and has being for centuries always leads to Anti-Semitism, Two house Theory, British Israelism, Torah observance for the Nations. Every group always attacks Israel, Judaism and the Rabbis, just because some people want to be Torah-observant that does not take away the disregard for the authority of the Sages of Israel (all the Rabbis in History). They don’t consider at all what constitutes being Jewish.
11 Daniel // Jul 14, 2008 at 6:59 pm
They are: http://jerusalemcouncil.org
12 Daniel // Aug 6, 2008 at 6:19 pm
Regarding the first Jewish woman, Sarah an objector on a messianic site wrote the following:
“Abraham took great pains to send Eliezer his servant to get a wife for his son, Isaac from his kindred in Ur….Eliezer’s daughter (a Canaanite woman) wasn’t good enough for Isaac?
In addition, do you think that these women didn’t convert? Do you think Sarah, would have anyone in her house that she found to be even remotely non-Jewish for a daughter in law? I doubt it, she kicked out Hagar and Ishmael because they weren’t up to standard….
I think its clear from this and the fact that the forefathers kept all the Mitzvos in the Torah, including this one: Deut 7:1-4. Deut 7:1-4 tells us that you can’t marry a non-Jewish father or mother.
The inference from the verse is that matrilineal Jewishness is a reality.
However, if you were really committed to Judaism, you would convert regardless.”
If a gentile believer who is Torah observant is willing to become a Jew. His community should establish a rigorous conversion process that keeps Traditional Jewish Halacka! What I mean is that they should not start their own modified process. Messianism always modifies tradition and comes up with their own. This was the mistake of Christianity and is the mistake of the Messianics. Leave Judaism as it is, or go start your own religion. But Orthodoxy is a framework that considers the Oral and Written Torah to be equally authoritative. If this is true then there is no way to modify Halacka! Reform and Reconstructivist create their own halacka which is ussually agenda driven. If we claim to be “biblical” we should respect the Jewish people and their legislations derived from Torah as they have been taught throught the centuries.
13 slevi // Aug 7, 2008 at 6:07 pm
Daniel,
There is no need of conversion. I know a few people who felt they had to do this to perhaps feel closer to G-d or attain a higher ’spirtual level’ or something like that and regretted doing so for a variety of reasons.
I’m afraid haredis and chabadniks modify tradition on a pretty regular basis. If you don’t believe that, then you have to question why their traditions are not all the same.
‘hebrew roots ‘ christians are usually worse though…I’ll give you that.
As far as Sarah and Hagar go, I dislike being critical of the patriarchs and matriarchs, but if you read Bereshit 16, Hagar and Ishmael were her doing.
16:2 And Sarai said unto Abram: ‘Behold now, HaShem hath restrained me from bearing; go in, I pray thee, unto my handmaid; it may be that I shall be builded up through her.’ And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
3 And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar the Egyptian, her handmaid, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to Abram her husband to be his wife.
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