The Messianic Jewish Theological Institute was formed to develop and educate rabbis and other leaders for the Messianic Jewish movement. This is our first and most important mandate. As Director of the School of Jewish Studies, my emphasis is on the educational side of that equation. But what exactly is a Messianic Jewish rabbi? Is he or she sort of Jewish pastor, whose main job is to preach, counsel, comfort, and exhort a congregation? While it’s true that many rabbis lead congregations, the core definition and main role of rabbi lies elsewhere. I want to focus on a single sentence taken from the “Definition of a Messianic Jewish Rabbi” of the Messianic Jewish Rabbinical Council (see http://ourrabbis.org). The work of a Messianic Jewish Rabbi is: To expound and apply Torah as fulfilled in and mediated through the person, teaching, and work of Yeshua.

Understood in a Jewish context, “Torah” means more than the first five books of the Bible. It also relates to the Scripture and tradition that arise from those books and have guided and shaped the Jewish people for millennia. The Messianic Jewish rabbi does not speak as an outsider who has merely studied the Torah academically, but as an insider, a member of the trans-generational Jewish people who has learned and lived the Torah.