Chalomot

“…your old men shall dream dreams (chalomot), and your young men shall see visions.” Joel 2:28

Once upon a time, I had the idea for Hashivenu. It all grew out of one phrase found in the Torah service, but quoted from Eicha/Lamentations 5:21: “renew our days as of old.” I sensed at that time that renewal for the Messianic Jewish Movement would not come through galloping off into some unforeseen Holy Ghost future, as some might have it, but rather that such renewal involved reconnecting with the past. The metaphor I often use is that a tree can only grow tall if its roots sink deep. It is by sinking our roots deep in our Jewish past that we will see a renewal in today’s and tomorrow’s Messianic Judaism. And I still believe that.

Under the good hand of God, a handful of others gathered around me, as we all sensed ourselves drawn to serve a cause not yet clear to us. But as we met and prayed together, the mission statement of Hashivenu became clearer, and we identified the seven Core Principles which since then have permeated our actions and the projects, including MJTI.

Now we see that God calls us not only to reconnect with the past, but also to serve the future. That is why we in MJTI, as well as in Hashivenu, also subscribe to what I term “The New Messianic Jewish Agenda.” Summarized nicely for us in Ezekiel 37:21–28, this agenda names seven aspects of what God is up to in bringing his people Israel, and thus the nations and all creation, to his foreordained consummation. He is (1) gathering Israel to the Land; (2) unifying us as a people; (3) spiritually renewing us; (4) gathering us around the Messiah as our King, and we, his servants; (5) bringing us back to covenant faithfulness, that is, Torah living; (6) manifesting his Spirit in the midst of the community; and thus, (7) vindicating his name in the sight of the nations. All of these future goals, already in process, need to shape our lives.

It is as if we are standing between two mirrors facing each other: looking into either mirror, we see ourselves, and the images of the other mirror reflected and repeated. Similary, as we keep our eyes on God’s past, we see his future foreshadowed, and looking into his future, we see the past preserved and illumined. And in each case, we see ourselves and where we stand, serve, and wait, connected to a holy past, committed to a holy future.

At the end of this month, we will be conducting our twelfth annual Hashivenu Forum, hearing papers and holding discussions around the theme, “Encountering the God of Israel in the Messiah of Israel.” As we pray with, listen to, and talk with each other, we hope to catch a clearer vision of the past we preserve and the future we serve. But more than that, we want most of all a clearer vision of the One who holds us, our past, and our future in his hands.

Published in Issue One / Volume Two / January 2010
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Stuart Dauerman

Stuart Dauerman

Stuart Dauermann, Ph.D. is Senior Scholar at Messianic Jewish Theological Institute and the Rabbi of Ahavat Zion Synagogue in Beverly Hills, California. Congregations.

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