From what I am saying, you can see that I like to compare Jewish tradition to a football that is either dropped or picked up, carried or handed off/passed by each generation—or not. And each of us may better understand where we are with respect to tradition by noting what our family of origin did, what we are doing with the football of tradition, and how intentional and successful or careless and unsuccessful we are in our attempts to transmit that tradition to the next generation.

We drop the ball whenever we stop practicing Jewish life. Sometimes, dropping the ball is a manifestation of neglect. At other times, a person may actually throw the ball of tradition down, rejecting it for one reason or another. Because I believe ours to be a holy tradition entrusted to us by God via previous generations, I consider dropping the ball to be both sad and tragic. But in most Jewish families, it is not hard at all to identify those who have either dropped the ball or thrown it away.

It is also not difficult to identify those who pick up the ball of tradition dropped by a previous generation. That has been the case in my own life. Although my immigrant father did not reject or despise his traditions, he did neglect them after arriving in America, failing to practice them consistently. And as surprising as it may be to some, it was after I came to Yeshua-faith that I picked up the ball, not immediately, but eventually and intentionally.

Among those who carry the ball, there are those who take care to hand it off or pass it on to the next generation. I see this as a very good thing. But this can only happen where there are attentive passers and eager catchers. At MJTI, we are seeking to pass on to the next Messianic Jewish generation our traditions and our Yeshua-faith. Please pray with us that we will find many from the next generation eager to catch and carry the ball toward God’s end zone.