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Real Messianic Judaism

This article is an attempt to express my thoughts on a “definition” of Messianic Judaism. As with many things, this “definition” requires that I explain what I believe Messianic Judaism is not before I tell you a little bit about what I think Messianic Judaism is.

It is necessary that I say a word here about the “Messianic Jewish Definition” that was approved by the UMJC at the 2002 National Conference. I am glad to see that the Union is headed in the right direction in many areas, not the least of which is our desire to bring some focus to the boundaries of Messianic Judaism. I do not agree with some of the language used in the definition, mostly in regard to the place of Gentiles within Messianic Judaism, but I also know that it is a work in progress. It is intended to give the Union some forward movement in this long-neglected area, and the more we talk these things through, the more solid we will become in our understanding of ourselves.

Now, on to my own thoughts on Messianic Judaism.

A Short History

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries a movement called Hebrew Christianity started growing. It was a movement of Jewish Christians who wanted to learn about their “Hebrew Roots,” and it was used primarily as a springboard to show other Jews the truth about Yeshua. This movement was an outgrowth of the long history of Jewish followers of Yeshua dating all the way back to the first century.

As a result of the Jesus Movement of the 1960’s, the number of Jews who became believers in Messiah greatly increased. Many of those Jewish believers were from traditional families, and many had become bar/bat mitzvahs. They saw that their belief in Yeshua did not require them to give up their Jewishness, but that it gave them just that much more reason to be Jewish. Thus Messianic Judaism was born out of Hebrew Christianity, bringing to the forefront a greater focus on Jewish life and community. This change was not a change of nomenclature; it was not a semantic gesture intent on deceiving the Jewish community. It was a legitimate change of focus—the beginning of a new movement that was founded on a desire for a truly Messianic expression of Judaism. There were many Hebrew Christians who did not appreciate this new movement, and many of their leaders spoke out harshly against it. However, the movement was solidly founded and it began to grow.

Fringe detriments

Due to the fact that Messianic Judaism was born out of both Christianity and Judaism, it seems to draw people from a variety of religious backgrounds and theological dogmas. While this draw is one of the reasons that Messianic Judaism has grown so much in such a short amount of time, to someone looking in from the outside it can, at times, seem to be schizophrenic in its diversity.

The relative newness of the movement also has something to do with this draw. It seems to me that people who are on the fringe of other religions are drawn to almost any new belief system, mostly with the hope that it will uphold their own dogmatic views and pet theological theories. This is especially true of those on the fringe of Protestant Christianity, which has a well-known propensity for spawning diverse dogmatic theologies. It is not uncommon to follow a person’s life from one fringe Christian group to the next, as they get pulled here and there by the waves of doctrine, looking for a group that matches their personal dogmatic views.

In Messianic Jewish circles, however, this semi-schizophrenic diversity is not so clearly relegated to fringe groups as it is in Christianity. It is seen both in what I consider to be “normative” Messianic Judaism and in what I will call “pseudo-Messianic” circles. For instance, in normative Messianic Judaism there are a wide variety of beliefs on the observance of the Torah, from those who hold to the Christian mentality of “I’m free from the Law”, to those who attempt to look like Hasidim—complete with peyot and a streimel but lacking true yiddishkeit—and everything in between. There are also a wide variety of opinions on “the gifts of the Spirit,” with some Messianic congregations looking more like charismatic churches than Jewish synagogues. With this diversity in belief and practice being so common in normative circles, it is no wonder that pseudo-Messianics are blending in so well and having such a large impact on the movement.

And that impact is no small matter. It is very common to speak with someone who calls himself “Messianic” only to find out that he is more interested in promoting his own pet theories on the “End Times”, or teaching you the “correct” way to say G-d’s name, or talking about how all Gentiles are really Jews, than he is in studying the Torah or learning more about Yeshua or Judaism. It is almost as if these people are attempting to convert the Messianic movement into their own religion based on their personal dogmas, which is usually some “Messianized” form of fringe Christian dogmatics. Sadly, some of these people have actually been somewhat successful in this endeavor, as we will see below.

As the examples above indicate, this diversity is mostly founded on the propensity in some Messianic and pseudo-Messianic circles toward Christian theologies and practices.

Now, before you start to think that I am bashing Christianity or saying that all Christian beliefs are wrong and that Christians are going to hell, let me explain my position in a nutshell. Messianic Judaism is a form of Judaism, not a form of Christianity, and, as such, it must approach life and theology with a Jewish mindset. Though I am not a Christian, and though I do not agree with a lot of Christian theology, I am not anti-Christian. I am just very pro-Messianic.

Pseudo-Messianics

So, these Pseudo-Messianic groups are having a huge impact on the way people see Messianic Judaism; however, they are not valid forms of it. Three of the most common pseudo-Messianic groups are “Jews for Jesus”, the “Ephraimites”, and the “Sacred Name” group.

Jews for Jesus

Jews for Jesus is a Hebrew Christian organization. It can be easily classified as an organization because there are no Jews for Jesus synagogues and because the goals of the group are expressed in “missions” work, not in community-building. It can be classified as Hebrew Christian because it has the outward patina of a Jewish group (including a few Jewish symbols and a dash of Jewish culture), but, the leadership of J-for-J very clearly separates it from Judaism, taking Christian holidays as their official holidays and sending the Jews that they lead to an understanding of Messiah into the Church to become Christians. I do appreciate the fact that the individuals who work with J-for-J are believers in Messiah. However, because of the group’s community-less, Christian approach to teaching people about Messiah I am neither associated with it, nor do I consider it to be Messianic. The organization’s actions give other Messianic believers a bad name in the Jewish community, and it is not willing to see that its radical approach to teaching Jewish people about Messiah is much more apt to push them away than to draw them. The question that invariably comes to my mind is, “How many Jewish people did you push away from Messiah in order to get one to profess faith?”

Ephraimites

A movement known as “Ephraimite,” “Restoration of Israel,” “Two-Covenant Israel,” or “Two House” has grown quickly in the last few years. Most of those who are part of this group are Gentiles who believe that they are descendants of the 10 “Lost Tribes” of Israel. I will not go into the specifics here of why they are not Messianic, but I suggest that you take a look at the position paper developed by the UMJC and the MJAA that details the specifics of this movement and why their theology is Scripturally unsound. Again, this group purports itself to be Messianic, even, in many cases, proclaiming that it is “Torah Observant.” However, the fact of the matter is that their theological foundation is not a genuine love for Israel, but a twisted form of Replacement Theology that is more insidious than the regular strain.

Sacred Name

The Sacred Name group’s main claim to fame is the fact that they use the tetragrammaton in everyday conversation, saying that it is proper to do so because “we know the way to say it now.” They also commonly change the spelling and pronunciation of Yeshua’s name to include the first part of the tetragrammaton. Many of these people also teach that you cannot “be saved” unless you pronounce the name of G-d in this way (based on an improper translation of Romans 10:9 and other passages). Many times these people are also Ephraimite, but there are forms of the sacred name belief to be found in Christianity, too. This is a serious theological issue that places this group very clearly outside of the realm of authentic Messianic Jewish expression, and even outside of the range of Christian expression. For a much more in-depth look at this group’s teachings, see the write-up on “Let Us Reason.” (NOTE: This web site is only quoted here as a source of information on this one topic. I do not agree with the majority of their beliefs or teachings, but I do think that their in-depth history of the Sacred Name movement is very helpful.)

I have very big problems with these three groups, not the least of which is the fact that they are all working within their own unique forms of Replacement Theology. I do not consider them to be normative, and, in my view, they are not representative of the Messianic community.

Definition?

So, now that we have talked about some things that Messianic Judaism is not, here is a short description of what I believe Messianic Judaism is.

• Messianic Judaism is, first of all, Messianic, founding all of its beliefs and practices on the fact that Yeshua of Natzeret is the Moshiach and the Son of G-d.
• Messianic Judaism is a form of Judaism, not a form of Christianity.
• Messianic Judaism is not only for Jews. It is also for Gentiles who choose to join themselves to the G-d of Israel. The hopeful end of this inclusion is the ability for all Gentiles to see that they have been given citizenship in the commonwealth of Israel (Ephesians 2) and to understand the responsibilities that come with that citizenship.
• Messianic Judaism is not defined by other forms of Judaism, but it should define itself based on halacha formed in a Jewish context—on halacha founded on the Torah she’biktav, the Torat HaShlichim, the Torah shebal peh, and Jewish tradition.
• Messianic Judaism will be necessarily different from the other branches of Judaism, most notably because of our belief in Messiah, because of our acceptance of Gentiles without the necessity for conversion or Noachide teachings, and because of the other differences that are inherent in a Yeshua-founded, Torah-oriented lifestyle.
• Messianic Judaism will develop its own minchagim that teach the centrality of Torah observance in life while still providing some amount of flexibility within that observance. This flexibility is, in my mind, somewhat akin to the flexibility found in Conservative Judaism.

As with everything else on this site, the thoughts above are based on my own understanding of the movement and on my own interpretation of the Scriptures. We are not currently, as a movement, very close to the place that I hope to see us reach in my lifetime, and getting to that place will be a rough road. It will require making some hard choices and probably upsetting some people, especially people in the Christian community who will not understand our vision and our heart. It will definitely require a change in paradigm for many Messianic believers and a forced expulsion of cultic and fringe groups. It will require more maturity and the ability to not worry so much about what others think of us.

These goals are high, but I do not think that they too high for us to reach. I pray that we will all be unafraid to be transparent and flexible as we work to see Messianic Judaism become the movement that Hashem wants it to be.

‏תּוֹרָה‎ — The first five books of the Bible. Alternately, refers to the entire body of commandments of G-d. The Torah is read in the synagogue on a yearly schedule, starting and finishing on Simchat Torah.

‏נָצֶרֶת‎ — Nazareth, a town in Northern Israel, in the Gallil.

‏מָשִׁיחַ‎ — “Messiah”; means “Anointed One.” The concept of Moshiach as a deliverer is a completely Jewish concept.

‏הֲלָכָה‎ — Literally, “the way to go.” Jewish Law, the practical application of the mitzvot found in the Torah she’biktav and Torah shebal peh. More...

‏תּוֹרָה שֶׁבִּכְתָב‎ — The Written Torah, teachings and rulings found in the first five books of the Bible. More...

‏תּוֹרָת הַשְּׁלִיחִים‎ — Literally, “Teachings of the Emmisaries.” This is another name for the “New Testament,” a collection of writings of the followers of Yeshua within the first century after his resurrection.

‏תּוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל פֶּה‎ — The Oral Torah, teachings and rulings passed down orally from Mt. Sinai. More...

‏מִנְהָגִים‎ — (Singular ‏מִנְהָג‎, “minhag”) Custom, usually referring to customs of a specific community.

‏הַשֵּׁם‎ — Literally, “the Name.” A common replacement for the Shem Hameforash in everyday speech. See my article on The Name of G-d.