- Messianic Judaism
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- Rabbi Moshe Ben-Chaim
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- Reader: Dear
Rabbi,
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- Hello. My name is xxxx. I am 16 years old and
have been born and raised "Jewish." I put that in quotes
because even though I was told that I am Jewish I only went to Hebrew
School for a year and was never able to learn much about my religion
but was always proud to be able to be a part of such an amazing
heritage.
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- I may not be extremely educated in Judaism but
I am a strong believer in God. Recently my mother was lead in a
different direction and found Jesus and had accepted him into her
life. She still considers herself to be Jewish and has titled herself
to be a Messianic Jew. It's been extremely hard or me to adjust to the
drastic change. Within the last year and a half there were many
changes that I was forced to accommodate to. I have tried very hard to
understand her beliefs and where she is coming from, but there are
many things about her beliefs that just do not make sense to me.
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- She says that she is still Jewish yet, from
what I understand about the religion, she is going against many things
that Jewish people have been fighting for, for so many years. I was
hoping that you could please help me better understand certain aspects
of messianic beliefs and answer some questions that have been running
through my head.
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- Thank you so much for taking your time to read
my letter. It would mean so much to me if you could somehow help me to
find my way out of my state of confusion. I will be looking forward to
your reply.
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- Sincerely, xxxx.
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- Mesora: Thank
you for writing me. I will respond after each of your questions below.
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- Reader: Question
1: I understand that the Tanach is the Torah, also known as the
Jewish Bible. My mother, who reads the Bible religiously, says that
the Bible can answer any question. Does the Tanach state anything
about Messianic Judaism, and if so what does it say?
Mesora: Before
I answer, please note something you just did: You accepted your
mother's statement and based a question to me on this acceptance. You
should always question your premises until you see an idea as clear as
2+2=4. I am referring to when you accepted your mother's statement of
"the Bible can answer any question". True, the Torah - not
the Christian Bible - contains all the knowledge we need for our lives
dedicated to understanding and following God. I felt it important to
clarify your mother's words, and point out a lesson to you. Having
said that, let me answer your first question. If by Messianic Judaism
you mean a Judaism which recognizes Jesus as the messiah, Judaism does
not recognize Jesus. He did not fulfill God's requirements which
determine one as the messiah. Additionally, Jesus does not follow
God's Torah principles. He violated God's Torah principles of not
adding or subtracting to the Torah's words. This means he does not
follow God. Jesus also wished to violate the Rabbis, who God said we
must follow. The Rabbi attested to Jesus's breaking of the commands.
So we see that those who God entrusted to interpret the Torah - the
Rabbis - unanimously said Jesus did not follow this Torah.
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- Reader: Question
2: Is Messianic Judaism true to the "real" Jewish
beliefs?
Mesora: As
I stated above, Messianic Judaism is not Judaism. As soon as one law
is not upheld, the entire system is no longer the original Torah which
God said we must never alter at all. God knew the future, which would
include Jesus and other false prophets. He therefore wished the Torah
be intact throughout all generations. To achieve this goal, God
included in the 613 commandments the laws of not adding to, or
subtracting from the Torah.
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- Reader: Question
3: What, aside from believing in Yeshua, is the main difference
between Messianic Judaism and Traditional Judaism?
Mesora: That
difference alone renders Messianic Judaism as no longer Judaism. No
other difference makes it any "worse", although there are
many deviations from God's words. Once it is not Judaism, additional
deviations cannot make it "further" from Judaism. If either
one, or all commandments are changed, it is no longer Judaism. It is
akin to saying "Once the animal is slaughtered, can I make it
'dead' any further?" Just as the slaughtered animal cannot be
killed any further, so too, Messianic Judaism is not Judaism at all.
Deviations in addition to primary corruptions are irrelevant.
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- Reader: Question
4: I have heard from many sources that Messianic Judaism's beliefs
are far from Traditional Jewish beliefs. Many have even gone as far as
saying that it is pure Christianity. What are your views on the topic;
and what do you know about Messianic Judaism?
Mesora: If
Messianic "Jews" believe Jesus to be God, they are
practicing idolatry. There are no other forces but God alone.
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- Reader: Question
5: Messianics state that they study the Torah through the Bible.
It is my understanding that the Bible does in fact have the Old
Testament in there along with the New Testament. How is it possible to
study the Torah through the Bible, aren't they just simply reading the
Old Testament? And what is the difference between the New and Old
Testaments? And why don't Jewish people read the New Testament? What
is the difference between the Old Testament and the Tanach?
Mesora: What
God gave to man has been proved via the event at Sinai. There, God
gave the Torah, the Five Books of Moses, in a written form to about 3
million people. The event was witnessed, and passed down through the
ages. This account reached us today, as it did the rest of the world.
This is only possible if this event occurred. Masses witnessing Sinai
created the undeniable truth about that portion of history. It is
through this method, that all other events in history are accepted
today as 100% accurate. Judaism is the only religion to lay claim to
such an event. All other religions are based on the word of one or a
few people. Such stories require others to simply believe with blind
faith. There is no way to disprove these stories, even though God
disagrees with them, and would not contradict Himself. The followers
of these other religions choose to believe in Jesus, Mohammed and
others. Their attachment to emotionally appealing stories lures them
away from realizing a rational proof available in the Torah. A proof,
the method of which, they use in other areas of life.
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- Our Torah consists not only of the Written Law
- the Five Books of Moses - but also in the Oral Law communicated to
Moses by God, and all the words of the Prophets and Writings. We do
not recognize that which was not through the Prophets. And it must be
clear that only those Prophets recognized by authoritative Orthodox
Jewish Rabbis have been unanimously recognized to the exclusion of all
others. There is no dispute who is a prophet, and who is not. It is
therefore audacious that another group called Christians should try to
teach us what we unanimously know is false, that being their
suggestion that Jesus was recognized by God. God's chosen nation has
more accurate information than those who pop up centuries later. It is
futile for the the New Testament to borrow the Old Testament's fame by
plagiarizing its name. In fact, their forgery is really proof to their
acceptance of Judaism's authenticity. One only forges that which he
feels is real.
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- Reader: Question
6: How is it possible for Messianic believers to call themselves
Jewish when they seem to go against so many things that Jewish people
believe in and have been fighting for for so many years?
- Mesora: As
I said in my very last statement, this is the method used by
counterfeits: They borrow terms from the authentic source, as an
attempt to cover up their fallacy, just to develop a facade of
credibility. Without such a facade, their content will be easily
refuted as false. But unfortunately, most people judge a book by its
cover, and they believe the lies. "Tell the world a lie enough
times, and they will swear it is truth." This is why the
Palestinians gain sympathy from certain groups.
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- I strongly suggest that your mother examine
her views from a rational standpoint. She will see the contradictions
and inconsistencies. God created only one, complete, unchanging
system. This is the best prescription for mankind.
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