For the majority of Jews in the Messianic Jewish movement, just as for the majority of Jews outside our movement, whatever religious behaviors we grew up with were random and spotty, souvenirs—vestiges of a time when those behaviors and values were part of an integrated way of life, when the question, “Why do we do this?” would have received an answer integrating that behavior with the warp and weave of Jewish life. But in our experience, such explanations were lacking, and the religious rituals or behaviors of our families of origin were, for the most part, the insubstantial echoes and imprints left by realities far more solid, now long gone.

When people from such homes come to faith in Messiah and seek to adapt their family-of-origin experience into the service of Yeshua, is it any wonder that the identities we form seem out of balance or dysfunctional? Is it not true that many Jews have abandoned Jewish life due to a combined lack of knowledge and failure of will? And if so, what kind of Messianic Judaism shall we build out of such people? Consider my Reacculturation Principle:

Because ambivalence and uncertainty as to personal/communal identity is widespread among Jewish Yeshua- believers, we must craft and pursue an informed process of courageously reclaiming Jewish life and identity from the vantage point of allegiance to our Messiah. Only in this way can we adequately rediscover and reinforce our core identity as Jews, a necessary precondition to a solid Messianic Jewish identity. I term this process “reacculturation.”

“…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.