“. . . every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.” Matthew 13:52
As January turns to February, many of us will be gathering in Los Angeles for the annual Hashivenu Forum. The Forum is a venue where Messianic Jewish professional and lay leaders gather to ponder the deeper meaning of our Messianic Judaism. This year, the focus of the Forum is “Encountering the God of Israel in the Messiah of Israel.” Our goal is to go beyond generalities to specifics.
It will be my privilege to present a paper at this year’s Forum. To readers of Verge, it will be no surprise that my thoughts will be drawn primarily from the wisdom of the Jewish sages. I do not draw from the sages simply because I think that they have nice or worthwhile things to say. The stakes in hearing their voices are far greater: They are the ones who, within the Jewish people, preserved and passed on God’s covenant love for Israel and the vital place of Torah in Jewish life. God, Israel, and Torah: These issues go to the heart of the Jewishness of Messianic Judaism.
“…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.
We are seeing at this time the building of more and more of a community of Jewish people, both in Israel and around the world, with a vision for the restoration of our people. One of the most powerful factors is the growing ability for leaders to discuss in depth the needs of the Jewish people in this age, taking into account the dangers of assimilation and humanism, which lead to a lessening of the uniqueness of our set apart people, and ultimately lead our people away from Hashem.
As we celebrated Chanukah a few weeks ago, evening after evening gazing into the light of the candles, Jewish followers of Yeshua are challenged to not let the light of the Jewish people ever be extinguished. Looking upon the example of the Shamesh (the Servant Candle) and thinking about our Mashiach, Yeshua, we make commitments anew to build and work for the restoration of our people from within. The Jewish people is not them but us. We have a responsibility to be faithful to Hashem in and through our lives inside the Jewish people. This requires us to take our place in both the discussion and the work.