We are Messianic Jews - Torah Jews for Mashiach To our Jewish and Gentile brethren something to consider. Many people asks us or assume who we are through the understanding of historical Christianity. Nothing can be further from the truth. Here is a small sample of what we believe. You will find more details in Our ministry and Kehilat broshure Our community values Kehilat Etz Hayim What and How Kehilat community events and lifestyle on our Website Resources page The unity of God: We do not believe in the trinity. God is one. Our Rabbi Yeshua HaMashiach said: "One of the Soferim came up, hearing them reasoning together. Thinking that Yeshua had given a good answer to the Tzaddikim, he asked Him, "Which commandment is primary over all of them? "This is the primary commandment," Yeshua said. " Shema Yisrael HaShem Elokenu HaShem Echad. (Hear O Yisrael, HaShem our Elokim, HaShem is One)" On Praying: We do not pray to any one else but to God, the God of Israel (we do not believe in three gods, or any other). We do pray however in the merit or in the name of our Rabbi, Yeshua HaMashiach, we do not pray to our Rabbi Yeshua (that would be avoda zarah / idol worship). That is why many Christians is idol worshipers becouse they do not worship God of Israel but they worship Messyah of Israel and pray to Him. Rabbi Yeshua Himself told us how to pray to the Father in his merit (even rabbi Nachman said the same thing). Nowhere did Rabbi Yeshua say to pray to him. The person of messiah: We believe that messiah was born of a woman, and that he is a man, a righteous man. Man sinned, therefore a righteous man, who never sinned, a tzadik had to die in our place (read Yeshayahu / Isaiah 53 in the Hebrew Scriptures, and the Targum Onkelos, and many other extra biblical Jewish literature). We believe that our Rabbi, Teacher Yeshua is a descendant of King David. His genealogy was never contradicted, disputed in his time, nor was ever a point to discuss, since it was well known. We believe that: the Jewish messiah has been revealed, and his name is teacher Yeshua from Nazareth, Yeshua Hanotzri. We believe that he is a Rabbi (he is not dead but hidden for now, soon to be revealed again), an orthodox Rabbi (as understood in the context of 2000 years ago), a Pharisee, in today s standards, a true Jewish Israeli settler who believed that the land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people, who lived by the same Torah given by Moshe on mount Sinai. We believe that Rabbi Yeshua commands his followers to follow the Torah of HaShem as a way of life. Our Rabbi does not abolished Torah, he upholds it. He expands Torah deeper, he does not cancels it (heaven forbid). We believe that Rabbi Yeshua came first in the office of the suffering servant according the scriptures and Jewish traditions (Mashiach ben Yosef), and we believe that Rabbi Yeshua will return in the office of messiah, the conquering king (Mashiach ben David), Kehilat Etz Hayim 5772 / 2011 1
according the scriptures and Jewish traditions. We believe that Rabbi Yeshua kept the shabbat, kept kashrut laws, celebrated all of the Jewish holidays, and commanded us to do the same as he did. Any person who does not keep any of these commandments (like our Rabbi told us to do) and thinks that he is following HaShem, and His messiah, that person is wrong. The messiah should provokes us to do HaShem mitzvot (commandments) not to turn us away from them. We believe that thousands of Jews believed and have believed in Rabbi Yeshua to be the Jewish messiah throughout the generations. From Rabbis, to doctors, from teachers and students, from farmers and workers, thousands have come to believe that he is the Jewish messiah. We know, and acknowledge Orthodox Rabbis, Yeshiva students, and many learned people of today believe that he is indeed the hope of Israel, Melech HaMashiach (we do not believe that they need to come out of their Synagogue of their choice if they choose not to, meaning they do not have to come to a Messianic Jewish Synagogue if they choose not to). We believe that a Jew going to church should get out of there, and rejoin his people Israel. A good Jew never goes to Church but to teach the people from there to give up their paganism. We believe the whole Torah of HaShem is for us to do. Although for lack of Beit HaMikdash (Temple) and the present exile we can not perform some of its mitzvot (commandments), we are to do the most, to do every mitzva that we can at all time. Messianic Jews practice (at least we try) their faith in a way they consider to be authentically Torah-observant and culturally Jewish. We believe that Messianic Jews who are ethnically Jewish continue to be Jewish, since belief in the Jewish messiah is a Jewish biblical right / truth. We practice Judaism as we understand it, according to our Rabbi Yeshua Meleh Hamashiah, and seek to learn more concerning a life under the tutorship of the Torah, and Jewish tradition (We do not reject it, but welcome it, but seek to understand it in the light of the traditions of our messiah, his mesorah / tradition). The Bible; The Tanach and the Besora Tova HaGeula / Good News of Redemption (Badly called New Testament or Re-new Covenant / Brit Hadasha) are inspired writings by Messianic Jews. Thats why we often call it Ketuvey HaShlihim The writings of the Apostles We believe that we need to understand the Besora Tova through Jewish eyes, this book was written by Jews to the Jews, within a Jewish cultural setting (later on given a spin away from Judaism by anti-semites non-jews the Chrurch Fathers and others), thus we seek to redeem our Scriptures and teach them in a way that the historical context is restored, and shed of the goyish (gentile) interpretation that has been assigned for about 1800 years. We believe that the Torah will be fully re-established when messiah returns. We believe that the messiah of Israel will teach Torah from Zion (as it is written). We strongly believe that if you seek to understand the Besora Tova in its fullness, you need to know very well the Torah, the Jewish prophets, and Kehilat Etz Hayim 5772 / 2011 2
Jewish writings of 2000 years ago. We are Zionists. We believe that a true follower of God of Israel loves the land of Israel, loves the God of Israel, loves the Jewish messiah of Israel, loves the people of Israel (Jewish people). We believe that the land of Israel belongs to the world wide Jewish community (which will make aliya soon). We believe that the holy Temple will be re-build in its proper area, and the Islamic structure (the abomination that causes desolation) in the temple area will be torn down (may it happen very soon in our days). We believe that not ONE inch of the holy land should be given to terrorists or any one who does not stands for the interest of the Jewish people, this land is the homeland of the Jewish people. We believe that Jerusalem is the holy city, and Israel the center of the world. We support the government of Israel insofar does not violates the Scriptures of Israel. We do not agree with the giving away of Gaza, Hebron, Shechem, or any other territories to any one but those who love and respect the people of Israel. We do believe that some non-jews can and should live in the land of Israel insofar they help the people of Israel to settle the land of Israel. We believe that when messiah is revealed a second time, he will help / inspire Jews to return to the land of Israel. When Mashiach is fully revealed, he will bring world peace like, King Salomon did. Biblical end times. Messianic Jews hold all of the following eschatological beliefs: the End of Days, the second coming of Maran Yeshua as the conquering messiah (according to Jewish tradition, messiah was going to be revealed then hidden, then again revealed just like Moshe did), the regathering of Israel, a rebuilt Third Temple, a Resurrection of the Dead, and the Millennial Sabbath, the world to come. We do not believe in the pre-tribulation rapture (it was invented by a Catholic Jesuit named Manuel De Lacunza 1731 1801). We believe that because we have accepted the works of messiah on our behalf, that our demonstration of faith is following the commandants of God. We do not follow the commandments of God as a replacement of faith. We have faith, therefore we do the commandments of God. We do not uphold the idea of Benei Noach (Sons of Noach), we believe that any one who wants to have a serious relationship with God, should learn from Avraham, and do what he did. We believe that the idea of Benei Noach and 7 laws of Noah was invented when the Emperor Constantine forbade Jews to convert non-jews to Judaism under the penalty of death. We believe that Messianic Jews follow Judaism as we understand it, and do not and should not follow Christian practices (we should not), BUT we do understand that it is our duty to teach Christians concerning the Jewish roots of the faith, and reject all forms of paganism (we strongly believe that Christians should reject all pagan roots and practices). We believe in observing all Jewish feasts and fasts, including the Sabbath, or Yom Kippur. We believe that when the Jewish messiah is fully revealed, he will reinforce all of this. Kehilat Etz Hayim 5772 / 2011 3
We believe that Christianity as a religion have no more use. We believe that Christianity has no future. There is not a word in the Holy Scriptures where Chritianity survives, only Biblical Judaism. A key difference between Messianic Jews and Reform, Conservative, Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox Jews (except with for the Chabad movement) involves their beliefs about the messiah. The Chabad movement and us believe strongly in the Mashiach. We happen to disagree in who messiah is, but we believe that many chabadnics have come to believe in Rabbi Yeshua as the Jewish messiah (We met a few, from simple people, to Rabbis). We are not Jews for Jesus. Nor we are affiliated to that or similar organization. We believe that a Jews who comes to believe in Yeshua, their Jewish messiah should live a closer life to Torah. Jews should not pray to Jesus (Heaven forbid), nor acknowledge him (the Christian Jesus is NOT the same as the Jewish messiah). We believe that Jesus and Yeshua are two different persons. One is anti-torah, non-jew (Jesus), the other one is an Israeli Orthodox Rabbi, a Jewish settler who brings us closer to Torah, to love Israel, and the Jewish people. We believe that Jewish people going to Church should come out from there and learn to live a Torah life. We reject the testimonies of thousands of people who said have believed in the messiah of the Bible, but acted contrary to his ways (anti-semetic). We reject anti-semitisim, forced conversions, persecutions done in his behalf (even when they did not know him, nor the Jewish messiah ever asked them to do so). Any one who says that he loves the God of Israel and the messiah of Israel but hates Jewish people is deceived, rejects the rights to the Jewish people to the Holy Land (like Nutri Karta or Cristians of different denominations or Palestinian Christians), he has come to believe in the anti-messiah. It is impossible to love the God of Israel, love the Jewish messiah, and yet hate the Jewish people, and their right to the land of Israel. We reject all possible rejection of our Bible heritage. The Scriptures of Israel are Jewish, from Genesis to Revelations, and need to be understood within a Jewish context to be understood correctly. Any attempt to understand the scriptures in any other light will provoke errors (like people trying to understand the Besorah Tova HaGeula through Western or any other eyes, when all the writers of this amazing revelation are all Israeli Jews!). We believe in redeeming our messiah from the hands of those who have the wrong idea of who He is (this is why Jewish tradition says that Jesus is sitting at the gates of Rome). We want restore our Jewsih Messayh to His proper place: the gates of Jerusalem. In short, we want Mashiach Jewish. We believe that he is Jewish, and he did not created a new religion. He left to heaven an Israel Jew. After the return of Eliyahu, and Enoch, Mashiach will return as he left, a righteous Israeli Jew who should be listen, and followed. Please note that this paper is a conversation paper and do not discuss every point at length. This paper also do not reflect complex teaching on issues of Kehilat Etz Hayim 5772 / 2011 4
keeping of the commandments of God for different categories of people of God, namely Jewish and Gentile followers. This is something that will be addressed in the future. Etz Hayim Jewish messianic ministry Kehilat Etz Hayim 5772 / 2011 5