Baltimore's Jewish Times asks, "Can Jews Believe in Jesus?"

In "Fusion of faiths," Baltimore's Jewish Times writer Maayan Jaffe asks, "Can Jews Believe in Jesus?"

The article retreads much old territory: rabbis, anti-missionaries, and spiritual leaders emphasize how Messianic Jews are a threat to Jewish communities while demonstrating their ignorance of (or refusal to acknowledge) key distinctions within the movement (e.g. the difference between "Hebrew Christian" and "Messianic Jew"). “Whether you wear a tallit, keep Shabbat, observe all the holidays, do Torah study, once you believe in Jesus as your lord and savior, you are by definition Christian," claims one rabbi.

Jaffe also investigates a newer development: these lines of reasoning are much less convincing to younger Jews, some of whom are calling for tolerance. "I don’t believe anyone [should be] barred from attending Hillel events lest they break some sort of rules,” wrote one respondent to an online survey. "It’s unfair to assume that all the Messianic Jews are missionaries and that allowing them to Hillel events threatens the institution of Hillel itself,” added another.

Messianic Jews mentioned in the article include Dr. Mitch Glaser, Walter Lieber, and Rabbi David Rudolph.

See the full article at http://jewishtimes.com/fusion-of-faiths/.

Update: more thoughts below as I continue to react to the article:

• "One could make a case within Judaism for certain reinterpretations of even ancient, deeply held practices. But that doesn’t mean one can declare pork kosher." Most Messianic Jews agree with this statement. Maybe you've got us confused with Reform Judaism, Rabbi Burg?
• "The real battle starts in the fall, when they are at the student activity fairs and things like that,” she said." One wonders what kind of battle Ms. Shaffin is expecting.
• "Rabbi David Rudolph of Tikvat Israel Messianic Synagogue, however, was met with opposition pretty much only from professionals; Messianic Jewish leaders now go by “rabbi” instead of priest." I'm at a loss on the second statement; I guess the author was unaware that only leaders in Catholic and Orthodox Christianities are referred to as priests, while leaders in other Christian denominations go by Pastor, Reverend, etc.

New book released, Introduction to Messianic Judaism

I have long been anticipating Zondervan's Introduction to Messianic Judaism, edited by David Rudolph and Joel Willitts. The book was finally released this week. You can order it from Amazon.com here.

I expect to post a fuller review of the book's contents after I have a chance to go through it. For now, here is the summary from Amazon.com as well as a listing of the table of contents:

This book is the go-to source for introductory information on Messianic Judaism. Editors David Rudolph and Joel Willitts have assembled a thorough examination of the ecclesial context and biblical foundations of the diverse Messianic Jewish movement. The work brings together a team of respected Messianic Jewish and Gentile Christian scholars, including Mark Kinzer, Richard Bauckham, Markus Bockmuehl, Craig Keener, Darrell Bock, Scott Hafemann, Daniel Harrington, R. Kendall Soulen, Douglas Harink and others. Opening essays, written by Messianic Jewish scholars and synagogue leaders, provide a window into the on-the-ground reality of the Messianic Jewish community and reveal the challenges, questions and issues with which Messianic Jews grapple. The following predominantly Gentile Christian discussion explores a number of biblical and theological issues that inform our understanding of the Messianic Jewish ecclesial context. Here is a balanced and accessible introduction to the diverse Messianic Jewish movement that all readers will find informative and fascinating.

x.  Introduction

                David Rudolph

1.  Messianic Judaism in Antiquity and in the Modern Era

                David Rudolph

2.  Messianic Jewish Synagogues

                David Rudolph and Elliot Klayman

3.  Messianic Jewish Worship and Prayer

                

4.  Messianic Jews and Scripture

                Carl Kinbar

5.  Messianic Jews and Jewish Tradition

                Carl Kinbar

6.  Messianic Jewish Ethics

                Russ Resnick

7.  Messianic Jewish Outreach

                Stuart Dauermann

8.  Messianic Judaism and Women

                Rachel Wolf

9.  Messianic Jews in the Land of Israel

                Akiva Cohen

10. Messianic Jewish National Organizations

                Mitch Glaser

11. Messianic Jews and the Jewish World

                Mark S. Kinzer

12. Messianic Jews and the Gentile Christian World

                Daniel C. Juster

13. Messianic Jews and Jewish-Chistian Dialogue

                Jennifer M. Rosner

14. Matthew's Christian-Jewish Community

                Daniel H. Harrington

15. The Restoration of Israel in Luke-Acts

                Darrell Bock

16. James and the Jerusalim Council Decision

                Richard Bauckham

17. Interdependence and Mutual Blessing in the Church

                Craig Keener

18. The Relationship between Israel and the Church

                William S. Campbell

19. The Redemption of Israel for the Sake of the Gentiles

                Scott J. Hafemann

20. Paul's Rule in All the Ekklesiai

                Anders Runesson

21. Equality in the Church

                Justin K. Hardin

22. The Supersession and Superfluity of the Law?: Another Look at Galatians

                Todd A. Wilson

23. The Bride of Messiah and the Israel-ness of the New Heavens and New Earth

                Joel Willitts

24. Mission-Commitment in Second Temple Judaism and the New Testament

                John Dickson

25. The Son of David and the Gospel

                Markus Bockmuehl

26. Jewish Priority, Election, and the Gospel

                Douglas Harink

27. The Standard Canonical Narrative and the Problem of Supersessionism

                R. Kendall Soulen

28. Summary of the Chapters

                Joel Willitts

xx. Conclusion

                Joel Willitts

Rudolph's "A Jew to the Jews" available on Google Books

I thought it was worth highlighting that David J. Rudolph's groundbreaking (yet expensive) monograph  A Jew to the Jews: Jewish Contours of Pauline Flexibility in 1 Corinthians 9 is available on Google Books.  Check it out here:

 A Jew to the Jews: Jewish Contours of Pauline Flexibility in 1 Corinthians 9

Joel Willitts Reviews Daniel Boyarin's The Jewish Gospels

If you're not following New Testament scholar Joel Willitts, you should be.  He's the one working with David Rudolph on Zondervan's forthcoming compendium of essays entitled Introduction to Messianic Judaism.


In his review of Daniel Boyarin's recent release, Willitts focuses in particular on Boyarin's claim that "Son of Man" is actually a divine title, derived from Daniel chapter 7.  This leads Boyarin to the surprising conclusion that

The theology of the Gospels, far from being a radical innovation within Israelite religious tradition, is a highly conservative return to the very most ancient moments within that tradition, moments that had been largely suppressed in the meantime-but not entirely . . . It follows that the ideas about God that we identify as Christian are not innovations but may be deeply connected with some of the most ancient of Israelite ideas about God (47).

Willitts has this to say:

Irrespective of the highly speculative nature of Boyarin’s argument, the claim that Daniel 7 contains both ideas,  individual and corporate, with one not outstripping the other is interesting. What’s more, the assertion that two divine beings is a thoroughly Jewish idea is extremely provocative. I have not studied the issue of the Son of Man sufficiently enough to have any definitive evaluation. However, I think Boyarin’s argument could open up new trenches for research.

Read the entire review here: The Divinity of Jesus in Early Judaism

Thoughts on Messiah Journal #109

Below are some thoughts on the most recent issue of Messiah Journal.

(Full disclosure:my own book review of the Jewish Annotated New Testament is published at the end of this issue.  I did receive a free copy of the journal.)

• Tzvi Sadan's article ("Halachic Authority in the Life of the Messianic Community"): I was glad to get to read this and glad that it's been put into print, since it articulates a number of important arguments in a succinct and eloquent way.  That said, in his treatment of Matthew 16, I was a little surprised that he failed to directly address verse 12 (unless I missed it)--in which it says that Yeshua "was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  I take it that Sadan reads this verse through the lens of Matt 23:1-2 and Luke 12:1, but I think it only weakens his argument for him not to state this explicitly.  (And even stated clearly, I think this is the one of the weak points in his argument...and this is coming from someone who shares Sadan's convictions in this area.)
• James Pyle's article ("Origins of Supercessionism in the Church") provides a helpful overview of supersessionism in Christian history.  I'm looking forward to his followup article on supersessionism today.
• Update (forgot to include this in my initial post): I enjoyed Rabbi Russ Resnik's initial article in a series he will be doing on "Living the Greatest Commandment" (the Shema) and very much look forward to further entries.  I'm particularly interested in seeing what Rabbi Russ brings out get integrated into our communal understanding, practice, and articulation of the Shema, including in public worship.
• Toby Janicki's article ("A Gentile Believer's Obligation to the Torah") has been a long time coming.  I've thought a number of times that the current discussion about Acts 15 is too reductionistic on the Gentile side of the equation--the "four prohibitions" of the Apostles aren't just four singular practices.  Rarely does anyone actually map the prohibitions onto the teachings of Paul or the other apostles, and I've longed for an ordered exploration of this topic.  Not only is Toby's article a great contribution towards that effort, but he also includes helpful forways into later Jewish and Christian interpretation on the issues.  A couple observations:
• I had never heard anyone propose the interpretation Toby proposes for Paul's perplexing reference to "baptisms for the dead" in 1 Cor 15:29.
• I also appreciated his take on Paul's reference to "the cup of blessing" in 1 Cor 10:16.   
• Another great scholarly take on the ritual demands of Paul's gospel to the Gentiles with respect to the Temple is Paula Frederksen's article Paula Frederiksen "Judaizing the Nations: the Ritual Demands of Paul's Gospel". 
• I also am intrigued by his proposal that Gentiles are enjoined to keep the "remember" portion of the Shabbat commandment (with respect to creation) but not the "guard" portion which relates to the exodus from Egypt.
• I do wonder about some of Toby's "these would only make sense if..." arguments, where he suggests that early Messianics must have been familiar with certain practices (such as benching), otherwise Paul's statement would make no sense.   Clearly, the Lord's Supper (even at it is practiced today) has its roots in mealtime blessings, but does the fact that few Christians today bench after meals prevent them from understanding Paul's reference to "the cup of blessing that we bless"?  So even though I wonder about the degree of adaptation that had already happened, I'm not at all threatened by the idea or by Gentiles recontextualizing the "cup of blessing" to reclaim .
• Aaron Eby's article ("The Writing on the Wall") is the second in a series on the destruction of the Temple; this time he surveys rabbinic responses to the Temple's descruction.  This series has been helpful for me in relation to discussions I've been having about the NT's theological evaluation of the Temple.
• The Levertoff excerpts are really great.  Keep 'em coming, FFOZ!
• The book reviews section includes two great book reviews from Jacob Fronczak (Scot McKnight's The King Jesus Gospel and David Rudolph's A Jew to the Jews).  The latter is rather expensive ($88.15 on Amazon.com), so Fronczak's review gives readers with a more limited budget an idea of what Rudolph covers in exquisite detail.  Also, Jacob's voice is relatively new to me (I discovered his blog, Hope Abbey, last summer), but I immediately welcomed his insightful contributions to the Messianic conversation.
• Last and least, my first contribution to Messiah Journal, a review of the Jewish Annotated New Testament.  I'll leave it to others to comment.  :-)

Messianic Jewish scholar launches new online resource

Messianic Jewish New Testament scholar David Rudolph has launched a new online resource: MJStudies.com.  The site is described as "a gateway to post-supersessionist New Testament scholarship."

What is post-supersessionist interpretation? A page on the site explains:

Messianic Jewish (MJ) post-supersessionist interpretation maintains that the New Testament writers affirmed (1) God’s covenant fidelity to the Jewish people, (2) that Jesus was Israel’s Messiah and participated in the unique identity of the God of Israel, (3) that Jesus-believing Gentiles were full members of God’s people without becoming Jews, and (4) that Jesus-believing Jews should continue to live as Jews in keeping with Israel’s calling to be a distinct and enduring nation.

Already the site is burgeoning with references to post-supersessionist books, essays, journal articles, conference papers, lectures and videos.  I intend to use it as a go-to reference to scholarly works on various scriptural and theological issues.

The next time you find yourself looking for a commentary on a book or passage in the Apostolic Writings / Brit Hadasha, you can go to mjstudies.com and see what's been published from a post-supersessionist vantage point.  And if you come across a resource which isn't on the site, you can suggest it via the site's contact form.

So check the site out by clicking below!  Or better yet--follow the MJStudies blog to stay up-to-date on the latest resources!

On a related note, last month Tikvat Israel Messianic Synagogue of Richmond, Virginia welcomed Dr. Rudolph as their new rabbi.  I, for one, am very glad to have Dr. Rudolph back on the east coast (and not too far from the D.C. area!).  Given his history of providing helpful resources for the Messianic Jewish movement and beyond, I am excited to see what Dr. Rudolph will bring to Tikvat Israel, which is already a dynamic Messianic Jewish community.  Mazel tov!

Update: Robin Parry of Theological Scribbles now has a blog post up highlighting the new site.

David Rudolph on "Paul's Rule"

A paper by Messianic Jewish scholar David J. Rudolph, "Paul's 'Rule in All the Churches' (1 Cor. 7:17-24) and Torah-Defined Ecclesiological Variegation," was featured in the online journal Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations. The article is available for free download at http://escholarship.bc.edu/scjr/ (along with a number of other articles of interest). Here's a teaser:

In preparation for this conference, I asked a number of church leaders if they were familiar with Paul’s “rule in all the churches.” Notably, not a single leader who responded to my ad hoc survey was aware of such a rule. Based on this response and my general familiarity with ecclesial theology, I think it is likely that Paul’s “rule in all the churches” has become a “rule in few of the churches” today. While many would probably be content to see this state of affairs continue, especially those who do not like church rules, there remains the nagging question, “Should a teaching that Paul considered important enough to be a universal rule be almost universally neglected by contemporary Christians?”

The aim of this paper is to introduce Paul’s rule to those who are unfamiliar with it, and to make the case that Paul’s rule is a lynchpin that sustains the church as a body of Jews and Gentiles . . .

Read the rest here...

Have you heard of the Jewish Audio Bible?

If you go to the iTunes store and search "Jewish," then click "All podcasts," one of the results that will come up is David Rudolph's Jewish Audio Bible podcast, where you can listen to the entire Bible in daily selections. Dr. Rudolph is proceeding through the Torah in one year, the Nach (Prophets and Writings) in two years, and the Shlichim (Apostolic Writings) in one year.

For the next few days, I'll be filling in for David Rudolph while he attends SBL New Orleans. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Click here to subscribe to the podcast...