Founder’s Blog

Meet Jordan Levy

A few months ago I announced that we would be augmenting our teaching staff with individuals with specific strengths and focus. As we celebrate our twenty-year anniversary we are looking ahead to the future. First Fruits of Zion is a growing a diverse ministry with a world changing vision. God has given us a unique voice and platform from which to share our vision of the coming kingdom. We feel that God has given us the mission of connecting Christians to their Jewish roots, educating God’s people in the paths of biblical life, and defending our Master Yeshua’s character and message before the Jewish people. To achieve these goals, we need the right people—people who share our mission, who are personally devoted to discipleship, of high character, and able to teach.

With that said, I would like to introduce to you Jordan Levy, a young Jewish believer and an talented translator and teacher. Jordan will primarily be working with our sister ministry Vine of David, but she will be doing some teaching crossover work with First Fruits of Zion. You will see some of her teachings in Messiah Journal and the newly reissued Messiah Magazine. She is currently working on several translation projects, working with the writings of early Messianic Jewish pioneers. Eventually, the fruits of her labor will appear in our Vine of David Messianic Luminaries Series.

I want to express my gratitude to God for bringing Jordan to our team and a thank you to all of your who support and strengthen our work through your friendship and generous donations to the ministry.

I asked Jordan to introduce herself to our FFOZ Friends and constituents. Meet Jordan Levy:

My name is Jordan Levy. As a young, Jewish woman devoted to the Messiah of Israel and devoted to Judaism, I want my people to recognize and receive the comfort that is found only in Messiah. The prophet Isaiah says:

Comfort, oh comfort My people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and declare to her that her term of service is over, that her iniquity is expiated; for she has received at the hand of the LORD double for all her sins. (Isaiah 40:1-2).

This verse pulsates in my heart and the entire fabric of my being. My calling and focus is primarily to the Jewish people, to call them to fulfill their sweet covenantal responsibilities as described in the Torah, and in doing so call them to Yeshua, the Messiah of Israel – for following him is a direct fulfillment of a command of Moses. 

However, the voice that I use to reason with and beckon the Jewish people will not merely be my own, but also the voices of the most revered rabbis who came before us, blazing the trails of faith in Yeshua while remaining observant and retaining their practice of Torah Judaism. Some of these rabbis include: Yechiel Tzvi Lichtenstein, Raphael Hirsch (Joachin Heinrich) Biesenthal, and others.

In addition to English, I speak Hebrew, Italian, and French. I will dedicate myself to translating the works of these men, bringing their voices back to life in our modern age by translating their words into the most international and accessible tongue (English). The works of these men have been filed away for a hundred years or more, and now it is time to bring their writings to light once again. Whether or not we agree with every teaching and interpretation espoused by these “forefathers” of ours, we can be sure that they deserve our utmost respect and deference, and perhaps these writings, which they wrote in their solitude, will touch the Jewish heart and challenge the Jewish mind once again.

These Chasidic and Orthodox Jewish rabbis and scholars can equip us theologically and give us encouragement and correction. They provide scholarship and rabbinic commentary in a movement that is in much need of educated predecessors. For those of us who are Jewish, the Messianic pioneers serve as personal rabbis calling us to better fulfill our covenantal obligations. For those who are Gentiles and Christians, they serve as teachers and encouragers who attest to Yeshua as the Messiah of Israel based upon the witness of those faithful disciples from among the Nations.

Of course, I also desire with all my heart to personally enter into the dialogue. I want to help teach Jews and Gentiles both. I want to use my own words to speak to the hearts, minds, and spirits of both and introduce both to our Messiah. I am also very passionate about teaching Gentile believers—whether they be in Messianic Judaism or mainstream forms of Christianity—to offer my insight and my understanding of Scripture and to teach about the wonderful and essential role that Gentile believers play within this beautiful union of the assembly of Messiah. However, first and foremost, my goal will be to facilitate, once again, a conversation and scholarly dialogue between the pioneers of Messianic Judaism, these honorable, godly men, and the people they desired to reach: the unbelieving amongst their beloved people.

May the words of these men continue to bless, encourage, and challenge all of us, and may these rabbis always and only be remembered for good. 

You can help support Jordan’s work at Vine of David and First Fruits of Zion by becoming an FFOZ Friend.

About the Author: Boaz Michael is the President and Founder of First Fruits of Zion.

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