MASHIACH It’s impossible to fully understand a part of something when one has no understanding of the whole. To ‘understand messiah’ correctly requires a thorough education in all matters of Torah which involves study of Jewish oral Torah, as the concept of ‘the messiah’ is 100 percent from those teachings – specifically ‘aggadah,’ the non-legal portions, which includes developed concepts from midrash as well as the deeper esoteric teachings. Every word of the New Testament (NT) regarding Yeshua is grounded in this oral Torah. Unfortunately, the NT has been in non-Jewish hands for going on 1900 years and as well-meaning (or not) as its ‘adherents’ were, they really had/have no clue what they are talking about. This began to slowly change in the later 20th century, but even then most of the people ‘re-exploring’ the NT, even those from Jewish backgrounds, were still mired in Christian concepts, ways of thinking and methodologies. Much of what they understood and taught was simply new shades of “Jews4Jesus” theology, involving a great deal of “outward Jewish expressions of faith” (from using Hebrew words to meeting on Shabbat and eating kosher), but inwardly the understanding of the concept of Messiah remained decidedly not in accordance with the teachings of the sages of the oral Torah. Compounding the difficulty through this time, was the great effort put forth by Jewish ‘anti-missionary’ groups, who were very successful. What was interesting is the arguments used by the anti-missionary groups were themselves weak (as they avoided discussing anything outside of things directly related to the concept of Messiah ben David), yet this was (and remains) enough to carry the argument as they were in effect just arguing against the ‘latest flavor of Christianity.’ Many Jews (and some non-Jews) left messianic groups to either return to traditional Judaism or in some cases were just fed up enough to give up things altogether. Something started to change in the 1990s however and has been gaining momentum exponentially since then. First, was the availability of English texts of Jewish spirituality, particularly those dealing with the oral Torah and more esoteric matters – all related to the concept of Messiah in some way. Second, was the development of the internet which gave a platform for discussion across various groups globally. Third, was an infusion of Jewish interest into the discussion of the NT in a positive manner. This began a dramatic turnabout in Jewish views regarding Yeshua. In one generation’s time, he had gone from being viewed as a heretic whose name would not even be spoken, to groups like Chabad having lectures to show that he was actually a good Jew that upheld Torah. That is mind-boggling. So now what? No doubt, everything will constantly be in a state of tension as this is part of the process of change. Contraction (tsimtsum) is always the necessary first step to new creation. Traditional Jews will resist this ‘new view’ of Yeshua. Messianics will resist the emphasis on oral Torah. Christians will resist the move toward the Torah. The stress of the discussions will create the change. The paradigm shift is in progress. G-d is in control. We will one day see the single greatest spiritual development in human history since Mt. Sinai – in some sense even greater. And this will lead to the inevitable outcome of the coming of Messiah ben David. B”H SHABBAT SHALOM!
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 14:14:10 +0000
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