Jewish Tradition and our Messianic Community

The Jewish Symbols Floor Puzzle from All Things Jewish

During our past four midrash meetings we've discussed Jewish Tradition and its place in the Messianic Community; more specifically our Messianic Community. This discussion brought up related topics that we briefly addressed but I may, however, elaborate on them in the future. The timing of our series of discussions was interesting. In the middle of the discussions a new issue of FFOZ's Messianic Journal was released. In it was an article called Halachic Authority in the Life of the Messianic Community which addresses this issue from their perspective. We didn't discuss this article as a group, and since only one person had a copy, we provided those involved an opportunity to read it. Another interesting coincidence that happened about the same time was the Ralph Messer/Eddie Long incident. We spent some time discussing this event because we found it relevant to the topic of Jewish Tradition in the Messianic Community.

The reason for the discussion was to get an idea of the feelings and thoughts that the community has toward Jewish Tradition. I've got my own thoughts and opinions but I wanted to hear what others had to say before we make any changes to our services. Most of the folks in our congregation have a Protestant/Evangelical background. I, on the other hand, have a Roman Catholic background with very little exposure to the Christian church. I was brought up in a very liturgical form of worship and most of the other folks have not.

As expected, the feelings and thoughts spanned the gamut from pro-Jewish Tradition to no-Jewish Tradition. The related topics ranged from tzitzit ties to Two-House theology. We weren't trying to come to a conclusion, we were just talking. But the final consensus was to continue to approach Jewish Tradition in the same way that we have been—one tradition at a time, weighing each tradition against Scripture and against our core beliefs and then asking ourselves if it is helpful, relevant and meaningful. It was a good exercise and helpful to find out where everyone stands. As we continue to grow, we may not have the opportunity to have intimate discussions like this again. I want to take advantage of this while I can.

We are Messianic but not Messianic Jewish. We realize that since most of us are not Jewish, we will be criticized for adopting and altering Jewish Tradition to fit our needs. We are prepared for this and after watching what happened down in Georgia, we know what not to do.

There is so much more to say about this topic. This is why tradition will be left as an ongoing conversation in our community.

Related Articles:
The place of Rabbinic Tradition in Messianic Judiasm
by Dr. Michael L. Brown, 1988

Traditions: Some Thoughts on the Place of Tradition in Torah Communities
by Tim Hegg, 2001



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