“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.

Personally, I’m not a big fan of typical Chanukah observances for one simple reason—we tend to let them steal God’s thunder, so to speak. How do we do this? By affording Chanukah equal (or greater) attention with Adonai’s Feasts and appointed times, and by using it as a replacement for Christmas.

So many of us—after deciding that Christianity in all forms is “pagan” and “evil”—run screaming from the church’s religious clutches, only to impose our residual sense of religiosity upon “the right and true way” to live for God. Chanukah, then, becomes another casualty of our religious metamorphosis, as we swap out one over-hyped Christian holiday for a Jewish one. But just because Chanukah is mentioned as a passing detail in Yochanan (John) 10:22, that doesn’t give us permission to appropriate Chanukah for our own “Messianic” needs or agendas. The fact of the matter is, unlike the Feasts and appointed times designated by Adonai Himself, Chanukah is a man-made, Jewish holiday—and we only make it more so when we heap upon it the traditions and theologies of our own making.

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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. 

But this does not change the fact that I was completely mortified by the explanation that came stumbling forth.  I can only hope that the words employed came out of nervousness or ill-preparedness, but alas, Messianic Judaism was forever characterized for these Christians as “Church… with a Jewish flavor.”  If we are nothing more than “church” with a kippah—or a synagogue with Yeshua on top, for that matter—we have failed in our mission, and utterly lost our way.

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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 UJC), bringing the representational total for the “big three” Jewish denominations in Phoenix to just over sixty percent.  The remaining forty percent is made up of a smattering of “independent” congregations, Sephardic/Crypto Jewish cultural centers, and other types of organizations, such as the Center for Biblical Hebrew, Hillel Jewish Student Center, and the Jewish Center for Spiritual Growth.

With such diversity of Jewish cultural and theological expression here in Phoenix, it makes me muse about why Messianic Jews are not invited for inclusion.  Of course, the newspaper’s and community’s response to an inquiry from the Messianic camp is a foregone conclusion—to them, Messianic Jews have left the faith… we are an abomination, mixing the sanctity of Judaism with the perversions of a foreign religion.  That is the way they see it.  Within the local Jewish community, we are not even tolerated as an oddity or aberration—we are shunned, excommunicated, and declared no longer “Jewish.”

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Time Magazine recently published an article which implies that a rising number of Christian teachers regard “[Jewish] sources like the Mishnah and Rabbi Akiva as vital to understanding” Yeshua.  Surely, reference to this literature among the Hebrew Roots community is common, but according to the aforementioned article, it is also true of at least two Christian leaders.

My hope is that believers who come across factoids like this will not take them to heart, and will instead steer clear of Jewish literature as an avenue for understanding Yeshua.  Seeing the Master in His proper historical and cultural context is one thing, but the Talmud and other Jewish writings are ultimately useful and authoritative for one thing only: acquiring an understanding of Judaism—a Judaism which is historically and spiritually hostile to the Messiah Yeshua.  Indeed, did not the Master Himself say to the fathers of Rabbinic Judaism, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me.  But in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’” (Mark 7:7)  For all their alleged wisdom and insight, the Rabbis take us on a circuitous journey around and passing by the God of Israel, failing to deliver us into a deeper relationship with and knowledge of Him. 

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Lindsey Miller laments about Pesach in Spain in her recent article, “The Brightest Star.”  While schooling in Sevilla, she was unable to find a Passover celebration amidst the overwhemingly Catholic city, and instead found herself ogling the magnificent display of Domingo de la Resurreccion—the local celebration of Easter.  One of the things she noted about the people of Sevilla was that despite their Catholic affiliation and religious expression, far less than the majority actually believe in God.  This was, of course, a point of disconnect for her.

Ms. Miller’s most profound observation and conclusion, however, was as follows:

“… Spain possesses a religious unity that the United States lacks.  We do not have those unifying characteristics like a common hair color, face shape or type of cuisine.  In Spain, everyone has the same thick, dark-haired look: not I….  Now, back in the U.S., I feel so at home in part because of the diversity—I’m able to blend in….  But it’s more than that.  In Spain, religion is intricately interwoven with the Spanish way of life: there is no separation.  Here, perhaps because we’re allowed the luxury of deciding how and to what extent we want to celebrate our religion, the opposite is true.  We can separate it as much or as little as we want.”

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The CUFI website (Christians United for Israel, John Hagee’s Christian lobbying organization on behalf of the state of Israel) boldly displays Isaiah 62:1, emblazoned across its masthead, “For Zion’s sake, I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet.”  But given the content of Hagee’s new book, “In Defense of Israel,” I would personally prefer if Hagee would just sheket (be quiet)!  His defense of Israel is indefensible, and his Zionist agenda is euthanizing my Jewish people.

Now, don’t misunderstand—I am very much in favor of Christians supporting and loving Israel, and I am as supportive of the State of Israel, and its peace and safety as much as the next Jew.  But I am of the opinion that Israel’s security and blessing is not solely linked to the willingness of the United States to stand with her, but comes in conjuction with Israel’s fulfillment of her destiny as a light to the nations—which begins with knowing, accepting, and following Yeshua, the Messiah of Israel.  And herein lies the major issue I take with Hagee’s unbelievably flawed—dare I say, heretical—theology.  Before I get into that, however, I need to be fair: I haven’t read all of Hagee’s book.  Nevertheless, I am prepared to throw his baby out with his bath water based solely on the content of pages 132-143.  Why?  Because by Hagee’s own confession, the “Jesus issue” appears to be the crux of the book.  This is what he says, 

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In a recent article, George D. Hanus writes,

“The United States… is a country of immigrants.  For centuries, wave after wave arrived on these shores, fleeing persecution, hoping to better their economic condition and merge into the mainstream of American society…. Immigrant Jews rapidly learned English, adopted American dress styles and sent their children to colleges and graduate schools as they became respectable members of society…. Even while we were moving up the ladder, most Jews did not forget the Torah injunctions to remember our heritage.  So we Jews set up neighborhood synagogues, spent our free time involved with Federations and Jewish fraternal organizations… we collected money, attended meetings… and to religiously educate our children, we invented… Hebrew and Sunday school.  Imagine our surprise and shock, several generations later, when… our grown children did not follow in our Jewish footsteps.  Today… they are walking away from 4,000 years of Jewish history and we are shocked…. 

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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.”¹  According the issue’s cover story, 76% of Protestants, 64% of Catholics, and 93% of “Protestant Evangelicals… will tell you they are absolutely certain there is a God.  It simply begged the question: why don’t Jews believe in God?”

Why should we?  After all, we Jews are some of the most self-reliant, independent, stubborn people who ever walked the face of the earth.  Who needs God when you can take care of yourself?  Surely, we can take credit for the success we have had assimilating into the nations of the world.  We have every right to say, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” (Deuteronomy 8:16)

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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 21^st century.

The biggest issue facing the Messianic Jewish Movement is that we as a movement have issues! As small as we are, we are nevertheless amazingly fragmented — every corner of the movement vying for preeminance, collectively displaying an amalgamism of disarray to the public at large. While we struggle with trying to understand our identity and function in the world, we are kept too preoccupied to weigh in on matters of importance to our people — adding our voice to a dialogue that could otherwise affect restoration and salvation. It is these issues — issues of faith, of peoplehood, of covenant, of calling, of Messiah — that are the Messianic Jewish issues I wish to address in this forum. Be assured, though I try not to take myself too seriously, I am gravely serious about the issues that affect us not just as a movement, but as the remnant of Israel chosen to bring our people back to God — which, in turn, will be “life from the dead” for everyone (Ro.11:15).

Thank you for joining me in this ongoing discussion. I hope you will jump in, and I pray that you will be both edified and challenged as we work through these important issues together.