Founder’s Blog

Heavy Burdens pt.2

By Boaz Michael  | Comments (8) | Posted on November 1, 2007

The recent release of our new book, Mezuzah: You Shall Write them on the Doorpost of Your House and on Your Gates, re-launched the series of booklets by First Fruits of Zion intended to address the application of the various Torah commandments. This book series is called, Mayim Chayim. Over the next year, G-d willing, we intend to publish 3 to 4 new titles covering topics such as tefillin, Sacred Name, Birkat HaMazon (grace after meals). The discussions and thoughts presented in Toby Janicki's recent post, “Heavy Burdens” prompted me to post my un-edited introduction to this series to solicit feedback.

Introduction to the Mayim Chayim Series
The Application of Halachah and Jewish Tradition in Messianic Judaism

Welcome to First Fruits of Zion’s Mayim Chayim series. The Hebrew term Mayim Chayim means “living water.” Our beloved Master Yeshua once stood up in the Temple during the Feast of Sukkot and declared, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:38). We hope this series of books about the application of the commandments of Torah will be like living water for you as you seek practical ways to implement the commandments of God into your daily imitation of Yeshua.

At First Fruits of Zion, we teach that the Law (Torah) of Moses was not abolished by the Gospel. We teach that God’s commandments are enduring, and that Jewish believers in Messiah should be keeping those commandments. Not only that, we encourage Gentile believers to take hold of their Hebraic heritage by walking in obedient submission to the full counsel of God’s Word. We believe that the Torah is good for all of God’s people.

When Jewish and Gentile believers take hold of this message, it invigorates their faith. The Bible comes alive in new and marvelous ways. Believers find the commandments of God to be full of the Father’s loving wisdom, and they recognize the life and teaching of Yeshua inside the Torah of Moses. But this new perspective leaves them asking, “Now what? How do I practically live out these commandments in my daily life?” In other words, “What should the practice of Messianic Judaism look like?”

These are questions of halachah. Halachah is a Hebrew word derived from the word “to walk.” It refers to the way that a commandment is walked out in life.

The Mayim Chayim series is meant to provide answers to the practical questions of Torah application. To find these answers, each of the books in this series looks to traditional Judaism. We want to know how the Jewish people have traditionally practiced the commandments. After all, “they were entrusted with the oracles of God” (Romans 3:2).

This has not always been our approach. In the early days of this ministry, we encouraged people to steer away from traditional Judaism’s interpretations. We felt that believers would be better served by making up their own interpretations to the commandments. We thought each person could decide for themselves how to live out the Torah. We encouraged every person and every community to be their own halachic authority.

At the end of day, we were not part of the solution, but another contribution to the problem. We had inadvertently helped to create a religious movement in which every man was doing what was right in his own mind and in his own eyes. The result was constant disunity and an ever deepening attitude of contempt for traditional Judaism.

In fact, it often felt to me that by encouraging people to shun the rabbis and their opinions, we were fostering a new type of anti-Semitism. We were fostering a move within Messianic Judaism that was anti-Jewish in its sentiments and its expressions.

As more and more Gentiles began to lay hold of Torah and the practice of Messianic Judaism, the situation began to cause me real concern. I noted how quickly Gentile believers dismissed traditional Judaism out-of-hand with an attitude that seemed arrogant: “Never mind how the Jews do it, we can do it better.” It did not seem that we were fulfilling our mission of strengthening the Body’s love and appreciation for the People and Scriptures of Israel. Instead, we were fueling people who already had real contempt for the People of Israel and the way they interpreted their Scriptures.

In Romans 11, Paul speaks of Gentile believers being grafted into the olive tree of Israel, but he warned those Gentiles not to become arrogant over the natural branches—the Jewish people. The anti-Judaism sentiments of many in the emerging Messianic Torah movement ran contrary to the Apostle Paul’s warning.

What does arrogance look like? If Gentile believers sit back and redesign the observance of Torah according to their own ideas while saying that Judaism is fundamentally flawed, is that not arrogant? To many of us at First Fruits of Zion, it felt as if we had contributed to a new way of the age old attempt to squelch and silence the Jewish people.

For Jewish believers, the situation was also unhealthy. We were encouraging them to break continuity with the rest of the Jewish people by shunning the old ways and adopting new ways of keeping Torah. Rather than maintaining a good witness to the rest of Israel, Jewish believers were alienating themselves from their fellow Jews.

There are other issues to consider too. To present the traditional halachah as if it is somehow morally wrong is the same as telling Jewish believers coming into faith from Orthodox Judaism that they have to leave their religion at the door in order to participate in Messianic Communities. Moreover, it precludes participation from Jewish believers who have already opted to live out Torah according to the traditional halachah.

First Fruits of Zion’s founding mission was to strengthen the love and appreciation of the Body of Messiah for the Land, the People and the Scriptures of Israel. What does it mean to love and appreciate the people and the Scriptures of Israel? At the very least, it should require learning something about the history, culture and tradition of Judaism before declaring it bunk. Many of the so-called man-made traditions of Judaism have been the very glue which has preserved the Jewish people through centuries of persecution and struggle.

So when it came time to begin creating these Mayim Chayim books in which First Fruits of Zion was going to answer questions of halachah, we had to decide whether we wanted to create a new halachic standard for the Messianic communities, or to stay with the traditional one. Although it would be tempting to create a new, easier to follow, Messianic halachah, doing so would inevitably feed the problem. Besides, that’s not our job. We are not the apostles, nor are we the sages.

None of this is to say that we have blindly or wholeheartedly accept everything handed down from traditional Judaism. Not at all. But we should at least take the time to be educated about the halachah before we dismiss it. Even within traditional Judaism itself there are different approaches and applications. Not even the halachah is monolithic. But at the same time there is respect for previous generations and respect for their understanding and their interpretation of the text.

Don’t misunderstand. I don’t expect everyone to suddenly start swallowing Jewish tradition whole. Even within our own staff, we have a broad diversity of practices. Some of the staff and volunteers with First Fruits of Zion are as traditional in their expression of Torah as orthodox Jews. Some of them are orthodox Jews. We have others who do not even wear a head covering and have no qualms whatsoever about eating meat and dairy together. Nevertheless, we respect each other’s convictions. One of the things that keeps the message of First Fruits balanced is that we have learned to coexist even when we disagree over the particulars. A commitment to love and unity despite differences remains yet to be seen in the broader Messianic movement.

To me, Jewish tradition is simply a form of interpretation. It’s a way of interpreting the text. The traditions in and of themselves are not biblically mandated, they are simply a way of interpreting what the Bible mandates. It’s not a sin to break a tradition, and it’s not a mitzvah to keep one. The traditions help us keep the Bible’s commandments by putting form around them, but not everyone will agree with traditional interpretations.

The Mayim Chayim series is meant to introduce Messianic Judaism to the traditional, halachic application of Torah. It should not be misunderstood to be a blanket endorsement of the halachah. We still need to be very cautious; we need to weigh the stringencies of tradition heavily before adopting them, and we need to always keep in mind the Master’s warnings about keeping tradition while neglecting the commandments, or placing tradition ahead of the weighty matters of Torah.

We need to carefully compare Jewish tradition against the teachings of Yeshua and the apostles. Yeshua and the apostles are the ultimate halachic authorities over us, not the sages. As much as we might learn from traditional Judaism, we must always remember that we are different. We have a different rabbi, and ultimately, our expression of faith and Torah will look different.

Think of the Mayim Chayim series as your window into Jewish tradition. When looking through a window, you don’t need to like everything you see, but you might see something you like.

It is my prayer that the Father will use the information in these booklets to inspire you to greater zeal for His commandments and devotion to His Son. May you be refreshed in rivers of living water.

About the Author: Boaz Michael is the president and founder of First Fruits of Zion.

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