Jews, Choose! (An Exhortation in Honor of Chanukah)

“A blogger writes about how one of Judaism’s holiest days ended, for her, in a strip club, while elsewhere a guy strolls into a tattoo parlor requesting a Star of David. Two women exchange wedding vows in a Jewish ceremony, and hipsters toss back bottles of HE’BREW, The Chosen Beer…. [Moses] couldn’t have seen these Jews coming.”
This is how a recent article begins, showcasing the so-called “New Jews” and the ways they express their Jewishness: with flagrant violation of Torah, and a heart ablaze for assimilation. They are “making [Judaism] and its culture work for them and others in a time when, more than ever, affiliation is a choice.” It’s an astute observation by Ms. Ravitz (the article’s author), and one that should make us shudder: it’s happening again—as it has continually since the beginning—Jews choosing… as if we had a choice. >> Read more…


With “the holiday season” now upon us, I thought it would be appropriate to share a few thoughts with you about Chanukah, the Jewish Feast of Dedication.
I recently witnessed a Jewish believer in Yeshua trying to concisely describe Messianic Judaism to a roomful of Christians. Now, I completely understand and can relate to the challenges a speaker faces when he needs to close the frame of reference gap and establish rapport with his audience. So I empathize with this man and the monumental task he set out to accomplish.
Our local Jewish newspaper here in Phoenix lists thirteen local Reform synagogues or congregations—a little more than a quarter of the congregational listings. Add to that the six listings for Conservative congregations, and the Reform-Conservative majority rockets past a third of all organizations listed. The Metropolitan Phoenix and surrounding areas’ Orthodox–the expected preservers of Torah, tradition and Jewish piety–surprisingly account for almost twenty-four percent of the local listings (the national average for Orthodox is 13% according to a Special Report by the 
Lindsey Miller laments about Pesach in Spain in her recent article,
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This was the question that the World Jewish Digest asked this past high holiday season in light of a 2006 Harris Poll “showing that just 30 percent of Jews in a nationwide survey said they were ‘absolutely certain’ there was a God.”
My wife, Esther, sat staring at my computer screen. “Kevin Geoffrey has… issues?” she questioned. “I’m not so sure about this blog thing, Kev.” But despite Esther’s hesitancy, I’m strangely comfortable with the idea. “Kevin Geoffrey has Messianic Jewish Issues” expresses the need I feel to be brutally honest about everything I write about here on my new web log — including myself. Yes, Kevin Geoffrey has issues… Messianic Jewish issues, that is! Hence, the goal of this blog: straightforward discussion of issues concerning Messianic Jewish identity and function in the 21st century.