If Messianic Judaism claims to be a Judaism within the wider Jewish Community, than it behooves us to consider the place of halachah (The way we understand Torah and do what it says) in our midst. Messianic Judaism is more than just a form of “Biblical Judaism.” To make such a claim denies the history of the Jewish people over the last two-thousand years, and the fact that other forms of Judaism are also “Biblical.” Such a perspective also fails to acknowledge the role Rabbinic Judaism has played in determining Jewish life, teaching and practice; as well as the preservation of us as a people throughout recent history. We should understand halachah for what it is, and what it is not. What has been lost in the strictest forms of Orthodox Judaism in recent years is the fluidity of the halachic structure and the innovation out of which [...]
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Some Sephardic Jews are part of a distinct cultural heritage different from the majority Ashkenazi population in the United States, Israel, and elsewhere. Sephardic Jews traditionally spoke Ladino, a Judeo-Spanish dialect not Yiddish. “Sepharad” is the Hebrew word for Spain, but Sephardic refers to the descendants of Spanish and Portugu ...
The rabbis used to believe in a Messiah who would suffer and die, according to the prophets of Israel. The Talmud, for example, refers to a Messiah, Son of Joseph, who will be slain (Sukkah 52a). In presenting this concept of a Messiah who will be slain, the Talmudic rabbis refer to Zecharya 12:10. וְשָׁפ&# ...
The Torah says: “HaShem spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Speak to the Israelite people thus: When a woman at childbirth bears a male, she shall be unclean seven days; she shall be unclean as at the time of her menstrual infirmity. — 3 On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.” [Lev 12:1-3] This week we have a doub ...
The story of the Marranos, the lost Jews from Spain, started in the 14th century when the Spanish Inquisition of the Roman Catholic Church persecuted the large Jewish community in Spain and Portugal. Many Jews preferred to die rather than to give up their faith and convert. Many other Jews were forced to become Christians. Despite this, the church ...
This year, This April 7th 2013 / 27th of Nisan, 5773 is Yom Hashoa v’Hag’vurah- Holocaust Memorial Day. Really it is the Day of the Martyrs and Heroes . begins on Sunday, April 11th starting at sundown and continues through Monday, April 12th at sundown. The commemoration of Yom Hashoah is held on the 27th day of Nissan, one week after ...
Since September 2000, Israel and its citizens have been going through dark times. First, Homicide bombers were blowing themselves up (and by that taking lives of innocent civilians with them), and had become an overwhelming, frightening threat to the people of Israel. Then, rockets fired by Hamas from Gaza put hundreds of thousands of Israelis in s ...
In this article I will explore the role of leaders in the Messianic Jewish movement. This will include the qualities which a Messianic leader should possess, the need for proper training, the understanding of Hebrew and a vision for the future. I want to start out by saying that this article is written in love and not to attack anyone current ...
While we do have many things in common with our Jewish brothers and sisters we obviously have some major differences. One of the major differences is the belief in Yeshua as the Messiah. The concept of believing in a Messiah is not foreign to Judaism. One of the thirteen principals of the Rambam was “I believe with perfect faith in the coming ...
Weekly Sidra: Vayera (And he appeared) Torah Portion: Bereshit / Genesis 18:1-22:24 Haftorah: Melachim Bet / Kings II 4:1-4:23 Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, "Quick, three seahs of choice flour! Knead and make cakes!" 7 Then Abraham ran to the herd, took a calf, tender and choice, and gave it to a servant-boy, who hast ...
Bamidbar, Bemidbar, BeMidbar, or B’midbar (במדבר — Hebrew for "in the wilderness,” the fifth word, and the first distinctive word, in the parshah) is the 34th weekly Torah portion (parashah Hashavua) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the first in the book of Numbers. It constitutes ...
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