The text upon which Judaism is founded is the Tanakh; to understand Judaism, once must read it. The Talmud is not a binding document, but rather a collection of Rabbic interpretations; while the content of the Talmud is not binding, the form of the Talmud is essential to defining Judaism's characteristic modes of Rabbinic deliberation.
The word Rabbinic in its widest sense can be predicated of all contemporary Judaisms, because they have been influenced by the style and content of the Rabbis of the Rabbinic Era (roughly 500 B.C. to 500 A.D.). In the narrow sense of the word, however, not all varieties of Judaism are Rabbinic.
The philosopher Edith Stein, who died at Auschwitz in 1942, achieved academic excellence of the highest order.
Rome's Chief Rabbi, Israel Zolli, risked his own life by smuggling Jews into the Vatican, where they were saved from the Holocaust. Zolli observed that, when there was loud public protest against the Holocaust (as in Amsterdam), the Nazis responded by increasing the number of roundups, arrests, and deportations. Rather than vocal opposition, Zolli worked as part of an underground effort which was very effective in saving lives; Jews in Italy had a far higher survival rate than elsewhere.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin founded the group "Toward Tradition", which applies Jewish views to contemporary culture. The group has had involvement from authorities like Rabbi Mayer Schiller.
Rabbi Yehuda Levin is a prominent leader of Jewish spirituality today.
Golda Meir made great progress toward a post-Holocaust societal healing when she publicly thanked Pope Pius XII for his role in saving the lives of thousands of Jews, even at the risk of his own life. The Chief Rabbi of the French Army came to the Vatican after WWII and said to the Pope, "immediately upon arrival in Rome, I have come to greet you and express my deep recognition for all that you have done for the people of my religion."
Where'd the other ones go? As mentioned above, Judaism is currently found in two major forms. Other forms which were practiced in earlier centuries were the Pharisee, Saducee, Essene, and Zealot. Contemporary Rabbinic Judaism preserves some aspects of both Pharisee and scribal traditions. Also lost to modern Judaism is genealogical identification with the twelve tribes; thereby the Levitical and Aaronic priesthoods have also been lost. These priesthoods have been "lost" in the sense that they were hereditary offices, and exact genealogies are now impossible; but, as Menachem Brody observes, "as you mentioned, most tribal lineages have been lost, but we find today in most Jewish communities families that hold a tradition of decendance from Cohanim and Leviim, even if the majority cannot trace the exact lineage to Aharon haCohen or Levi ben Yaakov. There are several reasons that seem to strengthen their claim: One is the surprising inverse relationship between the small number of Leviim, from a whole tribe, to the larger number of Cohanim, from a single family within that tribe. This fact is mentioned in the Talmud as a result of the small number of Leviim that joined Ezra in the return to Zion. Another important point is the lack of material benefits today to Cohanim, while they continue to be bound by strict prohibitions regarding Purity and marriage."
A healthy life-style the sacred writings of Judaism (the Tanakh) contain directions for living a life-style which is mentally, physically, and emotionally healthy: indeed, in the Hebrew world-view, mental and physical health are one and the same.
He who has realized that sun and stars and souls do not ramble in a vacuum will keep his heart in readiness for the hour when the world is entranced.
For things are not mute:
the stillness is full of demands, awaiting the soul to breathe in the mystery that all things exhale in their craving for communion.
Out of the world comes the behest to instill into the air a rapturous song for God...
The Syntax of Silence:
Our awareness of God is a syntax of silence in which our souls mingle with the divine, in which the ineffable in us communes with the ineffable beyond us.
It is the afterglow of years in which soul and sky are silent together, the outgrowth of accumulated certainty of the abundant, never-ebbing presence of the divine.
All we ought to do is to let the insight be and listen to the soul's recessed certainty of its being a parenthesis in the immense script of God's eternal speech.
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What is the difference between "Nazarene Judaism" and "Messianic Judaism"? Two Jewish authors respond in turn:
As someone who has been involved in Messianic Judaism for years and now intimately involved in Nazarene Judaism, I think I have a good handle on the difference and the difference cannot be explained without reference to Christianity because that is where the difference lies. Messianic Judaism, exemplified by the Messianic Jewish Alliance, is a Jewish cultural expression of Christianity and no more. It is no different than any other cultural group, e.g., Blacks, Hispanics, Koreans, molding worship styles and other forms of religious expression to their cultural style. Messianic Judaism finds it's roots in Christianity, partners with Christianity and identifies itself as just another 'denomination' within christendom. Their theology and biblical understanding come mainly from the Christian stream.After the first response (above) was posted, the following was written in reply:Their attitude toward Torah is that the commands are a cultural expression and are not important in and of themselves. Torah and Jewish culture are, to most, a means to an evangelistic end. Their attitude towards Gentiles is ambiguous at best and discriminatory at worst because they feel that too many Gentiles in the movement will hinder their 'evangelistic' mission by turning off their 'non-messianic brethren'. I speak here in generalities because there is no real standard in Messianic Judaism. Some congregations are somewhat Torah observant and some, when you attend, are like church on Saturday.
Nazarene Judaism, on the other hand, is an attempt to recreate the first century community of Yahushua's followers and in doing so finds identification primarily in Judaism and Israel. I will speak for myself here, although I think many Nazarenes would heartily agree that Christianity is a man made religion, an eclectic blend of Greek philosophy, Roman religion and Jewish ethics, born at the end of the first and beginning of the second century that at it's root it is anti-semetic and anti-Torah and is in no way, shape or form what Yahushua or His Talmidim had in mind what they embraced the Messianic fulfillment and took hold of the promises of the prophets. Torah is, for the Nazarene, the foundation of faith, theology and practice and is of value in and of itself. It has be explained and amplified by the Messiah but not changed or discarded (or made optional for Jew or Gentile). The Nazarenes are the current faithful remnant of Israel who are seeking God in all the covenants and as such are Torah obedient believers in Yahushua as the Messiah.
So although a Torah obeservant Messianic and a Nazarene may look similar on the outside, it is primarily the area of identification and the view of Torah that separates the two. And again, I speak in generalities because I have met messianics that put value on Torah and live accordingly. I believe that Nazarene Judaism is the next step in God's plan in the preparation of His bride Israel and that many messianics, and even quite a few christians, will feel His call and respond accordingly. This is obviously a very brief summary and anyone is welcome to reseach more info at either my website or the SANJ site, if you haven't done so already.
For the most part I agree with you. Yes, the Messianic movement had some of its beginnings as a Christian movement. It was and in many cases still is nothing more than a poorly disguised efford to "convert" Jews into Christians. My believe is that if Jews want to become Gentiles, that is their business. It is my belief that Jews were created as a people, at least that is how I understand the scripture. There are numberous other non-canonal early Hebrew writtings that also express this belief. Perhaps that is why they were not added to church cannon.Buy a book about Hillel, a Talmudic teacher.Messianic Judaism means what the title indicates. It is the practice of Judaism with the addition of the believe and tachings that Rav. Yeshua Ben Yosef is the Messiah. No person should have to convert to anything to accept Yeshua as Messiah. The original koine Greek Scriptures do not say that anybody must convert; only the mistransliterated english. Jews were created as a separate people, not a separate religion. I agree that Christianity is a man made religion. The church has not truly understood what it was doing; albeit was done with the best of intentions.
One of the biggest objections to the above outlined train of thought is, "That's nuts, are you saying that we can't preach the gospel anymore?" I am saying nothing of the sort. I am saying that when you do preach the gospel, and a Jew accepts Yeshua as Messiah, don't be offended if he says, "I am not a Christian, I am a Messianic Jew, I am still Torah observant, I don't celibrate Christian, and I wear tzit tzit, etc."
It is obvious that there will always be different opinions, the areas between church and Messianic Jewish believers is frequently clouded by grey areas.
Regardless of where you, my brother, or anybody else stands on this issue, I truly love my Christian brothers and sisters in the Lord. But there are differences in our practices and beliefs. Let us all appreciate this differences but continue to work together and not let them cause divisions; that is exactly what the Adversary wants.
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