      
|
B'nai Chayim: Ask the Rabbi - Archive Click on a question below to be taken to the response. If salvation is only achieved through accepting Jesus, does that mean the 6 million Jews who perished in the Holocaust are in hell? The verse in 2 Samuel 7:10, was this verse written (in the Hebrew text) in the present tense or future tense. In other words, was it a statement of fact or a futuristic prophecy? I know a brother who is of Hebrew descent and was raised Christian. Does this make him a Messianic Jew, even though he doesnt live a Jewish lifestyle? Or would you consider him a Hebrew Christian? Can a Christian become a Messianic Jew, and if so, what is the procedure? I would like to know why Messianic Jews believe in Jesus when most Jews don't? Why do we not have sacrifices anymore and where can I find it in the Old Testament? Is Yeshua not one and the same person as Jesus or someone else? What is the divided house theology? Is the house of Judah the Jews and the house of Israel the "church"? Personally I don't think so. What do you think? I am a Jew who believes in Yeshua. I am looking for a study of the spiritual meaning of the precious stones found in the 12 foundations of the wall in the new heaven (Rev. 12:16-20). I would like to obtain the history and as much information as you can give on the Tallit. I would like to know about Ezekiel 37:19. We do not believe in Two House Theology, so how does Messianic Judaism interpret the prophecy about the two sticks? Hello! I very much would like to know how and why you celebrate Yom Yeshua? I also would appreciate if you please could provide me with some information about your liturgy, traditions and/or decorations for this particular day? When Miriam gave birth to Y'shua, was it a virgin birth? Some Rabbinical Jewish people have been saying the Hebrew word almah is referred to 'young women' and not virgin, is this true? And they are saying that Y'shua didn't fulfill all the requirements, but wouldn't they be fulfilled in the 2nd coming? And the Bible says that Y'shua has to be of direct linage to King David, but God is his father, could God have made Y'shua a direct linage to King David? We are studying colors in the Bible, and currently we are examining purple. My sources say that the dye to make the color purple came from a rare mollusk, specifically: Murex trunculus. First, isn't that unkosher? Second, even if it weren't Jewish people making the dye or the purple fabric, wouldn't it be unkosher to wear such a garment? 2 Sam 24:13: Depending on the translation, some bibles state that G-d gave David the choice of either 3 years of famine or 7 years of famine. The cross-reference given to this verse is 1 Chr. 21:12 which states (in pretty much ALL versions) a choice of 3 years of famine.... What gives? 3 and 7 years is quite a difference.... Which is correct, and why? Is there a reason that you do not put the "o" in the names of G-d? Could you give me the names of the seven covenant names of Yaweh? From reading the information on your website re: your beliefs, I am uncertian if you believe that Jesus (Yeshua) is G-d. Is He or not? I just had a thought as I was looking at your pic's on your website, I wanted to ask why the men wear a cap? I am a Christian who practices 1 Cor. 11 that a woman should wear a headcovering. Can you please explain to me why the men in your congregation cover their heads? We've begun to taken our first steps observing the Shabbat, with a Shabbat meal. However, we don't understand "why" certain things are done, or the meaning behind what we are doing. Specifically: What is the significance of the two candles, and why does the mother light them? Why is the bread dipped in salt? What is the true scriptural and spiritual stand on placing your parents in nursing homes? What is the origin of Satan? Why do you call yourself a Rabbi when it says in Mattithyahu 23:8 to call no one "Rabbi" for there is only one Rabbi and one teacher and we are all brothers? If you should follow all Jewish traditions, how come Jesus' disciples ate with unwashed hands? According to the Torah, doesn't it say that the Messiah is not G-d? In Romans, doesn't Paul say that the law isn't important anymore? Question: If salvation is only achieved through accepting Jesus, does that mean the 6 million Jews who perished in the Holocaust are in hell? Answer: When two worlds collide, there is often as much friction and debris as when two theological worlds try and understand events like the holocaust, which do not fit into the neat packages traditional theologies are fond of constructing. Judaism saw the heartland of Yiddishkeit decimated even more ruthlessly than the Roman destruction of the Holy Land in 70 C.E. and again in 132 C.E. Christians saw their brethren succumb to an antichrist and perform acts of demonic barbarism, the likes of which this planet has never seen. Even the Mongols just swept in to slaughter their victims - they did not dehumanize them, starve them and then systematically feed them into gas chambers and ovens. These were professing Christians who were Hitler's acquiescent henchmen and whose slaughter of the House of Jacob was the worst chapter of the generational demonic attack on the Apple of G-d's Eye.So Jews have struggled to understand the unspeakable horror and its bastards - those who deny it ever happened and Christians have often hidden in theological positions which are both ugly, and stupid, not to mention totally unbiblical. Now, as a Messianic Jewish believer, I am finally throwing off some of the nonsense which I have always had trouble accepting and at the same time, I am doing my best not to adopt some of the nonsense of which the synagogue has an equally alarming share. I always had a hard time believing that all those who had not had the chance to personally respond to the L-rd Yeshua and personally invite Him into their hearts, were eternally condemned. At the same time, I was also struggling with Noah's Ark and Evolution, the role of gender in leadership, the charismatic gifts, eternal security and that gem of all dispensational gobblygook, the rapture with all of its raping of the Revelation - adding and taking away like a psycho with a meat cleaver in one hand and buckets of maggots in the other. So, let me present the Scriptural case for those who have not had the chance to personally respond to our Messiah, as well as the case for those whose response to this same Messiah has lacked the spiritual reality to make it genuine. I base my case a passage in Romans - 2:13-16; on a passage in I Corinthians - 4:5 and in 2 Corinthians - 5:10; on a passage in Revelation - 20:11-14; on two passages in Acts - 17:22-31 and 14:16, 17; and on a passage in Ecclesiastes - 12:13, 14 and on a passage in John - 3:15-21. There are many other passages which could be used in support of the righteous judgment of G-d upon those who have never heard (Ps. 19:1-4 and Prov. 1:20-33 and 8:13-21 and 2 Chron. 16:9, to name a few), but I give these passages so those who read what I am about to say can examine the Scriptures to see if what I have said is true. We are all the physical descendants of one blood - of one man and one woman. Our L-rd flooded the earth and scattered the generations who grew from the survivors of that great catastrophe. He selected one man and one family, out of all of earth's families to be the vehicle through which all the families of earth could be blessed and brought into relationship with their Heavenly Father. Abraham and his household eventually produced David and David's line eventually produced our Glorious Messiah, who died on the cross for the salvation of all mankind, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile. Now many people and many peoples before the Cross and since the Cross have not had the opportunity of hearing of the marvelous love of G-d, and have died in ignorance - and many of them died seeking, because unlike the pagan Magi, they did not find that for which they sought - that which G-d planted in their conscience, in their culture and language and in the cosmos (here Rom. 1:18-32 gives a beautiful, harsh, extremely Jewish condemnation of the pagan nonsense the Roman world was defiled with). But, the lack of opportunity does not equal the lack of desire, and the spiritual realities of G-d have their roots in both the human heart and in the trauma of human history, so that the Hand of G-d has not been inactive in the lives and generations of those pagans who never succeeded in finding freedom in the truth of the light of David's Greater Son. They shall be judged on the contents of their hearts, just as all believers shall also be judged, in truth and righteousness. It is our privilege to walk with the Judge, but never to escape either His scrutiny or His righteous judgment - which is what Israel found out in the first two generations after her exodus from Egyptian bondage. G-d seeks for those who worship Him in spirit and in truth, not just in dogma and liturgy. The Gospel is the truth of G-d for the Salvation of all mankind. There is no other truth, nor any other access to G-d and Heaven, except through the Carpenter from Nazareth. He must personally judge each case, each life and each heart, all the while not desiring that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance - that all should come to the light and have their works judged that they were wrought in G-d. Many shall call Him L-rd, L-rd in that day and He shall say He never knew them, because their faith was sham, hollow and not built upon the spiritual realities of the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes - Matt. 25:31-46 speaks of a terrifying judgment where no theology is discussed, just spiritual realities. I have accepted the L-rd into my heart, but I sought for Him and for His truth long and hard before He cornered me. I did not accept a theological position, much as those who lead me to faith tried to reduce my experience to a formula, where the magic words of a stock sinner's prayer and the mystical experience of an emotional sensation they called sincere repentance, caused salvation to sprout in my heart, whether I liked it or not. Some thirty years later I am amazed that my faith survived these theological assaults upon authentic biblical teaching, and these insults to logical thinking which should always be derived from an honest, literarily valid interpretation of G-d's Holy Word. The Jews who died in the Holocaust are waiting with the rest of mankind to be judged after the second resurrection, when two books shall be opened - the Book of Life and the Book of Works. All men shall be judged out of both of them and the names which are written in them, that is in both of them, shall escape the second death. This escaping is based on the judgment of G-d upon the secrets of men's hearts, and upon the condemning and the approving activity of men's consciences, and upon the spiritual truth which is both cherished in the hearts of all true believers, and which is evident in their lives, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile - to the professed believer and to those who spent their lives languishing in ignorance and paganism, through lack of a better option, but whose heart desire and inner striving never gave up that highest of all spiritual quests - final truth and spiritual reality. Some died in the quest, without ever reaching their goal. Some reached the goal, but lost that which they quested for. Some gave up the quest and delved so deeply into darkness that they lived as spiritual mummies and zombies, devoid of all natural feeling and affection - the fornicating disciples of that great Whore of Babylon who has been deceiving mankind in every generation and culture, without yet ever succeeding in gaining the total domination of earth that she once enjoyed just prior to the flood. We may be on the verge of another great darkness, but those victims of Hitler's great darkness are safe in the keeping of the Just Judge, who shall raise them from the dead and sift through their hearts with as much grace and thoroughness as He shall sift through ours, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile. Theology doesn't save you. Faith does. Faith is both the quest for G-d and the shining forth of that faith - the works which James speaks of. Saved by works? Nope. Saved by faith? Yup, if it is real. Saved without faith? If the heart and life is filled with the spiritual quest for the same, then, in my understanding of biblical faith, this equivalent faith is the same thing as genuine faith, so also yup. Question: The verse in 2 Samuel 7:10, was this verse written (in the Hebrew text) in the present tense or future tense. In other words, was it a statement of fact or a futuristic prophecy? Answer: Discussions of special features of the Hebrew text are usually most helpful when verses contain meanings which might be clearer in Hebrew and which a translation may not catch. This passage is part of the response to David about his desire to build a house, and it has at least a threefold impact. First of all David is told that the L-rd will build him a house - a regime. Second is told the temple will be built by Solomon and finally, there is a messianic reference to the one the rabbis correctly call David's Greater Son - whom we acknowledge as Yeshua of Nazareth.The verse points ahead to David's descendants, who will form an eternal kingship over Israel. How this is to be is not clearly stipulated in this prophecy, but the permanence of the Davidic kingdom is something which David and the House of Jacob took great comfort in, especially given the upheavals under Saul and with Absalom. The centrality of temple worship, as a permanent location for the tabernacle, hence the shekinah glory of G-d is a significant feature of the promise to David. G-d is promising to make Mount Moriah the most special place on earth - a permanent geographic point of reference for His presence - and today it remains a permanent homing beacon for the Jewish people. The reference to Messiah, introduces an eternal aspect to David's Kingdom, not through a perpetual regime, but indicating a permanent ruler who will be David's son, not David - and not Solomon, but a future Son, who will reign eternally. So, to answer your question. It is both a present and a futuristic replay to David from G-d. It deals with David, Solomon, and the Davidic regime, which shall culminate in the rule of an eternal Messiah, a Son of David. Question: I know a brother who is of Hebrew descent and was raised Christian. Does this make him a Messianic Jew, even though he doesnt live a Jewish lifestyle? Or would you consider him a Hebrew Christian? Answer: A Messianic Jewish person is someone who is either of Jewish birth, or who has become a Jew and who lives a Messianic Jewish lifestyle. This lifestyle includes festival observance (especially the sabbath), the keeping of kosher and a regular involvement with both a local Mesianic Jewish congregation and the local Jewish community. In our midst we have many Gentiles who live a Messianic lifestyle and in the churches there are also Jewish people who live a Gentile Christian lifestyle. These people are Christians with a Jewish heritage, and may be called Christian Jews, though the term may not be very accurate.A Jew who becomes a Christian and who no longer practices Judaism is not a Messianic Jew. Many Jews who accept the L-rd are either not aware of Messianic Judaism, or have not had the opportunity to examine this form of spirituality. Your friend might find an examination of Messianic Judaism both beneficial and exciting. However, until this person becomes involved with the Messianic Jewish movement, he is a Christian of Jewish birth and not (yet) a Messianic Jew. If we could be of service in helping him discover the rich spiritual heritage of his Jewish roots, we would be more than willing to do so. Question: Can a Christian become a Messianic Jew, and if so, what is the procedure? Answer: Rom. 1:16 says the Gospel applies equally to two distinct groups of people: Jews and Gentiles. I do not know which branch of Christianity you belong to, so I am not entirely sure how to explain many of the issues involved in developing a Messianic Jewish lifestyle which both completely acknowledges Yeshua (Jesus) as the Messiah, the King of Israel, and which remains faithful to the Scriptures, from Genesis to the Revelation.Basically, Messianic Judaism is a fairly new re-constituted form of Judaism, which existed for several hundred years in the history of the early church, until the combined pressure of the Gentile church and the rise of Islam caused it to disappear. Many Christians today are discovering a deep attraction towards the Jewish roots of their faith, which is almost a spiritual calling and we need to come to terms with this "awakening". You see, most Jews who have become Christian over the years, have broken all spiritual and cultural ties with Judaism. Since the early sixties, Jew believers began to form Messianic Jewish synagogues where they could practice Judaism in a Messianic context. However, modern Judaism has undergone as many changes as modern Christianity, with as many traditions and superstitions. Messianic Jewish believers need to be able to navigate this minefield of possibilities so that their desire to express their faith in an authentically Jewish context, does not pull them into a traditional legalism. The Talmud says that in the first century there were as many as 72 different kinds of Judaism, all competing for the allegiance of a dynamic Jewish community which numbered nearly 20 million. After the revolts against Rome decimated this community, one group, a segment of the Pharisees, began a systematic purge of Judaism and took over. Their form of ritual Judaism has become the norm, and it is to biblical Judaism, what traditional Christianity is to biblical Christianity. Having said that, we need to deal with conversion among believers. This is a hot issue, both in the Jewish community and among Christians. I have several Jewish friends who have accepted the L-rd and have cut all ties with the Jewish community. I affectionately call them Gentile Jews (Goy Jews). They do not feel called to preserve a link with what they feel they were saved out of. I have several friends who feel called to live a Jewish lifestyle as part of the biblical expression of their faith in Yeshua (Jesus). I affectionately call this group Jewish Gentiles (Jew Goys). The Bible says not to try and become a Jew, as part of what it means to come to the L-rd ( I Cor. 7:17-24). However, it also says that Jews should NOT stop being Jews, when they come to the L-rd. We all need to remain with our calling. However, once you have come to the L-rd, should all Jewish Christians be obliged to maintain their Judaism? Should Gentiles who wish to join Judaism be prevented from doing so? One Jews scholar analyzed the racial makeup of Jewish communities around the world and made a startling discovery. Judaism has always welcomed converts, and has also lost Jews to conversion. There is so much Jewish blood in the European and Middle Eastern Gentiles, and so much Gentile blood in the European and Middle Eastern Jews, that the only real difference between the two groups is not genetic, but cultural and religious. I see it this way. In every generation, genetic Jews and their converts have been mixing their blood, so that the genetic link with father Abraham has not been lost. At times, among the Gentiles, there may be enough Jewish blood in someone that they sense what I have called a genetic imperative to return to some form of Judaism - kind of like a genetic gathering of the scattered children of the House of Jacob. So in our shul, we welcome Gentile believers who wish to become Jews and join the generational community of the House of Israel. We set up strict conversion procedures, so we can be sure they fully understand the generational commitment they are undertaking. We also tell them that their Judaism will not be accepted by the rabbinic Jewish community, including the government of Israel, should they wish to emigrate as Jews. If this is something you wish to explore, the best thing for you to do, would be to make time to come and see us for a weekend, so we could discover your intentions and help you fulfill you spiritual calling. I know I have not given you much detail about the "how to", but Judaism differs from much of Christianity in that it is a community experience, as much as it is an individual one. You are joining a community, so we would want to see you and get to know you, even if you continue to live where you do. Question: I would like to know why Messianic Jews believe in Jesus when most Jews don't? Answer: Such a question! In the First Century, most believers in Yeshua of Nazareth were Jews. The next biggest group were proselytes, or Gentiles in the process of converting to Judaism. Since the Jewish population of the Roman Empire was nearly 10% in the time of Yeshua, it is not surprising that then, most believers were Jewish. The term "Christian" was first applied to Jewish believers and proselytes in Antioch.After a series of bloody Jewish revolts against Rome, the Jewish population of the empire was severely cut down, and Jews no longer had a privileged position with the Roman authorities. Prior to the destruction of the temple, people were only allowed to practice legal religions - those which either included emperor worship as part of their beliefs and practices, or like Judaism, included prayers for his welfare as part of their liturgy (as a matter of fact, every day, AM and PM, before the temple was destroyed, prayers for the emperor's welfare were said in the temple in Jerusalem). Jews were now severely persecuted by the Romans, and gentile Christians bought into this by formulating what amounts to theological persecution - called replacement theology. This aberration teaches that the church replaces Israel, and that all the blessings and promises to Israel, now apply to the church. This flies in the face of Scriptures like Gen. 12:2,3 and Rom. 1:16 which speak of a double blessing for Abraham - to be a great nation and to be a blessing to all nations. Gentile Christians began to oblige Jewish believers to cease practicing any form of Judaism, and effectively painted a warped, hateful picture of Jews and the religious practices they performed. This situation resulted in a steady persecution of Jews, both theologically and by secular authorities, and eventually saw the extinction of any significant group Jewish believers within the Gentile dominated church. Beginning with Napoleon, the ghetto walls began to come down in Europe and Jews who became believers started to want to both maintain some link with their ancestral community, and also to practice Judaism from a perspective which acknowledged Yeshua of Nazareth as the Messiah. Today, Messianic Jewish believers practice a form of Judaism centered around faith in David's Greater Son, Yeshua of Nazareth. Traditional Jews, who practice a form of Judaism radically different than anything which existed in the First Century, have built up an amazing battery of protective theological resistance to the claims of Jesus of Nazareth, and label any Jew who believes in the Messiah from Nazareth as a traitor. Talmudic sources have tried since the sixth century to formulate a Judaism which gives the rabbis absolute control over Judaism, and which prevents Jewish people from reading one of the oldest Jewish documents in existence - the New Testament. We believe in Yeshua as the Jewish Messiah because that is who He claimed to be, and this is who the Bible presents Him as. He is the King of the Jews, as well as King of the Nations. Question: Why do we not have sacrifices anymore and where can I find it in the Old Testament? Answer: We do not sacrifice anymore because Yeshua is the actual fulfillment of what the sacrifices symbolized (as the Book of Hebrews teaches). The sacrificial system is mentioned valiantly in the Torah, but the most complete listing is found in Numbers chapters 28 and 29. Question: Is Yeshua not one and the same person as Jesus or someone else? Answer: Jesus is the English equivalent of the Greek name for our Messiah, and Yeshua is the Hebrew equivalent of Jesus we have chosen as our name for Him. So, yup, Jesus and Yeshua are one in the same. Question: What is the divided house theology? Is the house of Judah the Jews and the house of Israel the "church"? Personally I don't think so. What do you think? I am a Jew who believes in Yeshua. Answer: The UMJC has produced an excellent brochure about the divided house theology, which I recommend to you. Briefly, this teaching tries to draw a link between the supposedly lost ten northern tribes and the European nations. Believers in Yeshua are supposed to be the genetic descendents of this lost group, who are trying to come home to their Jewish faith and to their geographic homeland.The Bible clearly stipulates that this is nonsense. The northern kingdom was not the only place the ten tribes dwelt. When Jeroboam removed the Levites as priests, they moved south to Judah, along with members of all ten tribes who wanted to continue to worship G-d according to the stipulations of Torah. Also, in the longest genealogy in the Bible ( I Chron. 1-9), it mentions where survivors of this "lost" kingdom dwelt, at least down to the day when the chronicles were penned. Various Jewish sources also point to another amazing phenomenon which places this doctrine out of the realm of possibility. Since at least Babylon, Gentiles have been joining Judaism, and Jews have been leaving Judaism in such numbers that there is so much Jewish blood in most European Gentiles, and so much Gentile blood in most European Jews that there is no longer any significant racial characteristic which would distinguish these two groups from one another. In his book, The Diaspora, and Examination of the Contemporary Jewish Mind, Howard Saacher points out that most Jews who are alive today are the descendents of Gentile converts to Judaism, which is why Jewish people look like the people in the countries they live - and why the Nazis had to use birth records to identify Jews in the countries they conquered. I explain it this way. Israel is a generational community where genetic Jews and Gentile converts keep mixing their blood, so that neither the genetic link with Abraham is lost, nor will the House of Jacob ever become an isolated or closed gene pool, with all the problems such a closed blood group would experience. My own Judaism came both ways. Before I discovered my blood link to the House of Jacob, I had already quietly converted to the original spiritual context of the Gospel, which Messianic Judaism is. When I discovered my grandfather on my mother's side was an assimilated Jew, I understood why I have always been drawn to Judaism, even though I was not raised in it. The Talmud teaches that the spark of a Jew never goes out. Many "sparks" are igniting among Gentiles who suddenly discover a genetic link to the House of Jacob. Not all Gentile believers experience this yearning by any means. However, without getting too mystical I understand the current wave of interest among Gentile believers in Jewish roots this way, at least in part (which is to say there are some foolish and unfortunate aspects of misconstrued theology and functional racism which the Bible warns us against). When enough genetic material from the House of Jacob is gathered in a Gentile person for this spark to ignite, then their spiritual link to Judaism should be considered as true and authentic as that which the descendents of converts enjoy within any community still historically and culturally linked to Judaism. Not all Gentile believers in Yeshua experience this yearning, and not all those who have this yearning have this "genetic imperative". G-d protects the House of Jacob by renewing both the blood link to father Abraham, and enriching this blood with the courage of converts who, like Ruth, are tired of sojourning in heathenism, and want to take shelter under the wings of the Almighty. Yeshua's wings cover both the House of Jacob and those from among the nations who come to faith in Him and there are two generational, spiritual contexts where this sheltering can occur - one Jewish and one Gentile. Not two houses, but one house. Gal. 3:28 says that there is no Jew or Gentile in G-d. There is also no gender. When the Kingdom comes, we will all be one people again (Eph. 2:11-22). Until then, the Gospel will continue to have two equally acceptable versions, one Jewish, and one Gentile (Rom. 1:16; I Cor. 7:17-20 and 10:6-11), just as humanity will continue to have two equally acceptable genders (also ladies first and also to us guys). Question: I am looking for a study of the spiritual meaning of the precious stones found in the 12 foundations of the wall in the new heaven (Rev. 12:16-20). Answer: There are references to precious stones in Ex. 28:15-21 and Ex. 39:8-14, which concern the High Priests garments and the names of the twelve tribes. The reference in Rev. 21 reflects this imagery of precious stones, and is an interesting statement about the body of our Messiah. In Revelation, there is mention of the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles of the Lamb, in one indescribably beautiful Heavenly city- which is itself a picture of the glorious bride of the Lamb. Jews and Gentiles are united in our Messiah, because Abraham did become a mighty nation, and in Messiah, all nations are blessed in Abraham.As for the spiritual significance of the stones, let me direct you to I Cor. 3:9-15, where Rav Sh'aul (Paul) talks about the one foundation and the building which is occurring on that foundation. He mentions precious gems. Gems are permanent things of beauty, because they reflect light in a colourful display of "heavenly" splendor in earthly objects. However, as their beauty is only visible in the light, so any spiritual beauty (the gifts or the fruit of the Spirit), is also only visible in the light of our Messiah (John 3:17-21 and I John 1:7). We need to be precious gems, close to G-d's heart, especially since our Messiah became a man, and as our true High Priest, He carries us on His heart even now as He continues to intercede for us before the Father. Before we come to Messiah, we are gems in the rough. Before Israel left Egypt, the House of Jacob was also a collection of gems in the rough. Once we are in a relationship with our Heavenly Father, we become polished gems, and as we walk in His light, and deal with our earthly pilgrimage according to His Word, our gems stay polished and are full of light. If we walk away from Him, into the darkness of this world, our gems lose their luster. If we bury our faith in the ground, our gems may even degrade and lose their ability to reflect light. We are light reflectors (Matt. 5:16), precious gems in this life, which will one day cast off the burden of this life and burst forth to radiate with the eternal glory of His pure light -which is what the imagery of Rev. 21 indicates. This same idea of our future radiance is found in passages like I John 3:1-3 and Col. 3:1-4. I do not think we need to look at each separate gem to determine which of their characteristics may indicate some lessons for our lives. Gems cannot change, they can only be refined and polished. There is a difference between the list of stones in Exodus, and the one in Revelation. Why? John was describing what he saw and Moses had Betsaliel craft the stones according to the pattern which G-d had given him. The number twelve and the idea of reflected brilliance, close to the heart of the High Priest are the lessons which I believe the stones can teach us. One more. How does G-d see us? As precious stones, which each reflect His holy light with a different colour and an individual brilliance. Together we form a collective picture of the bride of our Messiah. Alone, we show different characteristics of the image of G-d in each of us, but only as long as we stay in the light. Without light, we are colourless. May the L-rd help all of us to stay in the light and to reflect His glory with great brilliance, until the glorious day of His appearing, when our true light will shine and, in our Heavenly bodies, we come into our true radiance. Question: I would like to obtain the history and as much information as you can give on the Tallit. Answer: The tallit actually came from the commandment in Torah to put fringes on garments, as a means to remember the commandments. This is what the word tallit, or tzit-tzit means. When clothing styles changed, and the long flowing garments of Bible times gave way to coats and jackets, Jewish people designed a prayer shawl with fringes to be worn as a special garment. It has three main parts: the actual shawl, the fringes and the blessing. The shawl is just like a shawl, which is worn over the shoulders, and which can come in various sizes and colors. The fringes are a series of knots and fringes, arranged in number and style to reflect the traditional rabbinic number of commandments (613), and a commitments to the patriarchs (the knots). The blessing, attached along the top of the shawl, is written in Hebrew and is recited when the garment is put on. This blessing is removed, if the garment is used as a burial cloth. There is another version of the tallit, called a tallit katan (or little tallit), which observant orthodox men where 24/7 underneath their clothes. The larger tallit is usually only worn during daylight hours when a Jew is praying. A fuller description of the meaning of a tallit would be found in one of many rabbinic sources, and would reflect an intricate set of rituals and rules which have developed ever since the tallit first became a separate garment. Ethiopian Jews have retained the use of a garment with fringes, which is worn as regular clothing by practicing Ethiopian Jews. Question: I would like to know about Ezekiel 37:19. We do not believe in Two House Theology, so how does Messianic Judaism interpret the prophecy about the two sticks? Answer: The Kingdom of Israel was divided into the ten northern tribes and Judah in the south. When Jeroboam removed the Levites from their priestly roles, many Jews from the ten northern tribes moved south, so that both Kingdoms, Israel and Judah, contained elements of all the tribes - with the possible exception of Judah, Benjamin and Levi in the northern kingdom. This split was never intended to be permanent, and after the return from Babylon, Jews from all twelve tribes settled as one people in what became known as Judah. The Samaritans were Jews from all twelve tribes who refused the edict of Ezra to send their Gentile wives home, and they settled in the central portion of the Holy Land, where their descendents can still be found..The two houses were the northern Kingdom, called Israel or Ephraim, and the southern Kingdom, called Judah. The restoration of their unity in the return from Babylon is what is being referred to by the passage in question. The kingship of David refers to the reign of Messiah Yeshua which is yet to come. The two sticks are the two former kingdoms, whose citizens were often languishing side by side in the captivity, and who needed to know the shape of things to come. Only the Kingdom of the House of David was promised a return, and King David ruled over a united House of Jacob. A return to a unified people, whom today we call the Jews is what the passage deals with. Question: Hello! I very much would like to know how and why you celebrate Yom Yeshua? I also would appreciate if you please could provide me with some information about your liturgy, traditions and/or decorations for this particular day? Answer: Yom Yeshua, or Christmas, is celebrated variently by different Messianic groups and differently by individual Messianic believers. Some are hostile to its pagan antecedents (Roman Feast of Saturnalia), and its pagan symbols (Druidic mistletoe, Norse evergreen, hung with offerings). Some are offended by its commercialism and secular glitz. Some refuse to celebrate it for these very reasons. However, Chanukah too has some paganisms, and is just as infested with legends, materialism and glitz - so perhaps puritists and idealists should ignore both festivals, since neither is a biblical festival.Some ignore, or endure the materialism of Christmas and concentrate on the spiritual aspect of a festival which celebrates the birth of Israel's Messiah. Some Christmas Carols have incredible lyrics and many aspects of a traditional church Christmas service are full of meaningful symbolism. As Messianic believers we are not hostile to everything Gentile or Christian (most of us, that is - we have our share of radicals and extremists). We live as Jews who acknowledge that Yeshua is the Messiah, and the focus of our worship and observances reflect this particular orientation. On matters of conscience, such as Christmas and Chanukah, we tend to favour the establishment and maintenance of sound personal convictions which are neither compromised by what we allow, nor are they imposed on those who may not share our particular perspectives Rom. 14:1-15:7 is an excellent discussion of the realm of personal convictions. Question: When Miriam gave birth to Y'shua, was it a virgin birth? Some Rabbinical Jewish people have been saying the Hebrew word almah is referred to 'young women' and not virgin, is this true? And they are saying that Y'shua didn't fulfill all the requirements, but wouldn't they be fulfilled in the 2nd coming? And the Bible says that Y'shua has to be of direct linage to King David, but God is his father, could God have made Y'shua a direct linage to King David? Answer: There are two words in Hebrew for virgin: beth-oo-lah (from a word meaning to be separate, be untouched , by implication pure, unsullied- also used figuratively of a city or a state, i.e. virgin Israel) and al-maw (a damsel, a maid, the word means veiled, private, the feminine form of the word eh-lem, kept out of sight, a lad, or a young man - also related to the word olam, which means forever, or eternity). Both words refer a young maiden. The first refers to her status as untouched, the second to her youth, or status prior to marriage, which in the Bible means prior to any sexual activity.Neither word appears sufficiently in the Scriptures for a clear distinction to be drawn between their usages, and in Hebrew, such a distinction would be artificial and not reflect their actual meanings, which are quite similar. In English a maid and a virgin have similar kinds of meanings, depending on the context. The context of Is. 7:14 is that of a miraculous sign. What is the nature of the sign? A maid, still veiled, and as of yet, sexually unconsummated, shall give birth to a child. For a young lady to give birth out of wedlock is a concept foreign to a Torah understanding of marriage, which was understood as the act of consummating itself. The sexual act turned a maid into a wife, or a harlot, or an adulterer. The sign which is being referred to is that a maid will conceive a child without consummating sexually. You see, to use the word al-maw in the same sentence as conceiving is a startling, impossible picture. A maid cannot conceive. A maid by definition is in the state of beth-oo-lah, until she consummates sexually. In Isaiah, she does not consummate, she conceives, which is doubly impossible in a natural sense. First, a maid can no longer be called a maid when she consummates sexually, and no woman, maid or wife can conceive without consummating. You see, to use the word for maid, versus virgin, speaks of a non-sexual conception. Maids were young ladies who had not yet consummated. Virgins were also young ladies, or any ladies, who had not yet consummated, but the term refers more to their pristine, pre-sexual state. In Isaiah, both words appear, and there is a clear reason for their varient usage. In Isaiah, the word for virgin was used symbolically to refer to either Israel or Babylon. The word for maid was used to refer to a person, and not to a symbol for Israel. The word for maid appears once in Isaiah, the word for virgin, appears at least four times. In the first case (maid), he is referring to a miraculous sign for Israel, in the second case(s) (virgin) He is symbolically referring to Israel. The maid was to be a person, the virgin was a composite picture of Israel, and once of Babylon. It is likely that Isaiah chose to use a different word for the miraculous sign, because Israel was not to be the sign, the sign was to be for Israel. And this was to be the sign. A young woman was to conceive without consummating sexually. As an aside, there are several miraculous births in Israel which prefigure the birth of Messiah. Sarah conceived after menopause. Rebecca conceived after years of sterility. Samson's parents were also seniors, and Samuel's mother was barren. An aged woman was also granted a child under the prophetic ministry of Elijah. The mother of the Elijah to come, John the Baptist also conceived in her old age. The earliest mention of Messiah in the scriptures is in Gen. 3:15, which is another surprising use of words. The seed of woman shall destroy the seed of the serpent. Women do not have seed (a euphemism for sperm), and yet, without the help of a man (sperm) a woman shall give birth to the serpent crusher. Isaiah's prophecy is part of that promise, and Yeshua's birth is the fulfillment of that promise made to our mother Eve. The use of maid refers to the non-sexual conception as a sign for the virgin Israel. The second part of your question refers to Messiah's lineage. Here I refer you to the two genealogies of our Messiah in the NT (Matt. 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-38). In the Bible genealogies serve a double function. They appear as transition devices between segments of a story, and they also identify the lineage of the person about whom the next installment is going to be concerning. In I Chron. ch. 1-9, which is the longest genealogy in the Bible, the lineage of the survivors is given, as a way of introducing the tragic story of the fall of the Davidic kingdom. These lists were never intended to be exhaustive, and were more like selective "word picture" albums to identify the main characters and the main transitions in Biblical narratives. In Matthew, you have the royal line of David, to show that Messiah is both a son of Abraham, and a son of David. However, the line of David was cursed under the last kings of Judah, when the king of Judah made a solemn oath to the King of Babylon and broke it (Jer. 22:30; 36:30; Ez. 17:19). So no-one who descends from the line of Solomon can sit on the throne of David. In Luke, we have the genealogy of Mary, Yeshua's mother, who was also of the Davidic line, but not from the Solomonic line. In Mary, we see that Messiah descends from Nathan, a brother of Solomon. In good Jewish form, Messiah inherits His right to the throne through his mother. Matthew's genealogy mentions five women, four of whom are gentile, and shows that Messiah is both from Abraham (a great nation), and from David (a blessing to all nations). In Luke we see that Messiah is the second Adam, the seed of the woman, who came to crush the serpent. G-d did not magically raise up a descendent to David, He selected a young maiden from the line of David, and miraculously, she conceived without consummating. Sorry to be so verbose, but the question needed some context. Be careful of those who make accusations which neither the language, nor the context of the scriptures support. Question: We are studying colors in the Bible, and currently we are examining purple. My sources say that the dye to make the color purple came from a rare mollusk, specifically: Murex trunculus. First, isn't that unkosher? Second, even if it weren't Jewish people making the dye or the purple fabric, wouldn't it be unkosher to wear such a garment? Answer: Kosher defines which animals may be eaten. Any Jew who touches a dead body, whether of an animal, kosher or otherwise, or of a human being, becomes ritually unclean, and has to go through a cleansing ritual to remove the defilement. Butchers who kill the animals themselves are excluded from defilement, as long as the animal is kosher. Temple sacrifices had to be performed on live animals by the priests. Worshippers could eat this meat, and not be defiled by touching it, as long as it was consumed within a specified time frame (same day or sometimes, the next day). Once the hide or the dye have been removed from the unclean animals, the treated hide or the rendered dye no longer renders anyone who comes into contact with them ritually unclean. Yochanan, who is called the Baptist, wore camel hair clothing and he was a "kosher" Jew, ritually clean. Some Jews may object to the wearing of pig skin, but the use of dye from crustaceans by the Jews of antiquity followed the stipulations I have already referred to. Those who touched the dead bodies of the crustaceans, and who rendered the dye, would be ritually unclean, but once the dye was extracted, it no longer defiled those who came into contact with it, as long as they did not try and eat it. Question: 2 Sam 24:13: Depending on the translation, some bibles state that G-d gave David the choice of either 3 years of famine or 7 years of famine. The cross-reference given to this verse is 1 Chr. 21:12 which states (in pretty much ALL versions) a choice of 3 years of famine.... What gives? 3 and 7 years is quite a difference.... Which is correct, and why? Answer: Sometimes, in the translation of ancient texts, minor details may be variently translated, and two or more readings of the same word, or the same verse may be passed down to us. The task of the textual critic is to try and re-establish the reading which, from the best available textual sources, appears to be closest to the original. Textual critics of the Bible face both a colossal and a rewarding job. Varient readings of the Tenach (OT) and the Brit Chadashah (NT), rarely affect the meaning of the text, and usually deal with minor details, where a number, a location, or a name may vary between manuscript families. The rewarding part of the job is to understand that, as far as the textual evidence goes, both parts of our Bible have come down to us essentially intact - that is in the same basic form that they were penned in. Liberal critics and others of no faith may question the authenticity of the texts, but they base their arguments on suppositions and pre-conceived notions, rather than on hard evidence. The colossal part of the task is to understand that the older the manuscript, usually, the poorer its condition. As well, there are any number of fragments, and partial readings. Citations of texts in other writings is also a source used by textual critics to try to re-establish the reading of the text as close to the original as the evidence allows us. So the colossal task shows us the delicay of the task, and the rewarding part shows us, that as far as the evidence goes, we have in both parts of the Bible, readings of the text that are so close to the original, that only minor details, such as the one you point out, vary. Rather than asking which reading is correct, we should say that varient readings are the human finger prints on the text which allow us to trace who translated it, when and where. The divine finger prints on the text mean that we have a text of the Bible which is essential unchanged, and whose message is clear, except for minor details which, in the best English: "Don't make no nevermind. " The question you ask can only be answered by indicating that with ancient texts it is sometimes not possible to establish which varient reading is older, hence closer to the original. A professional textual critic may be able to trace the variations of this text to the earliest source(s), but it is likely that sources of equivalent age exist and that both readings are possible from the textual evidence. Again with a detail of this nature, it really points to the historical accuracy of our Bible, and allows us to trace the human pilgrimage of its divine message. Question: Is there a reason that you do not put the "o" in the names of G-d? Answer: I do not put the "o" in L-rd or in G-d in deference to the traditional Jewish practice of avoiding pronouncing the sacred name. Not all Jewish sources follow this practice. The exact pronunciation of the sacred name, YHVH, has apparently been lost. It was only pronounced once a year in the Temple, during observances of the High Holy Days (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot). I comes from Exodus 3, and is a form of I AM in Hebrew. In most Hebrew texts, even the letters of the tetragrammaton (four letters) are replaced with two vavs, which look like oversized quotation marks, and Adonai is used in the place of the sacred name. In our services, I am not afraid to say: "Yahvew," but in writing I maintain the custom of not using the vowels, in English, when I write G-d and L-rd. Also when we read from the Siddur (Prayer Book), I also use Adonai, whenever the sacred name appears. In most English Bibles, the sacred name is usually identified by the use of "LORD," and Adonai is identified by the use of "Lord." Elohim is identified by the use of "God." So when YHVH Adonai Elohim is translated into English, you sometimes have: "LORD, the Lord God," which does make real sense in English, and some translations change it to read: "God, the Lord God." Question: Could you give me the names of the seven covenant names of Yaweh? Answer: Here are the seven covenant names of G-d.
Welcome
About Us Mission Statement
Services Programs
Sermons Calendar
News Contact |
