Mashiach & the 9th of Av

This coming Shabbat is an important day on the Jewish calendar called Tisha B'av (9th of Av).  Av is a month on the Jewish calendar and it is the 9th day.  Throughout Jewish history this has become a notorious day because, according to Jewish tradition, both Temples (one in 586 B.C.E, the second in 70 C.E.) were destroyed on this same day.  It is also the day that the 12 spies returned from spying out the promised land and ten of the spies gave an "evil report" to Moses and the children of Israel.

In modern history the 9th of Av was the day the first crusades were declared by Pope Urban II in 1095 which led to thousands of Jewish people slaughtered in the name of Christ.  It was also the last day Jewish people could leave Spain during the spanish inquisitions of 1492 or face certain death.

I believe, as we will discuss over the next 8 weeks that Yeshua was immersed by his cousin John in the Jordan river on the 9th of Av.  It starts what is a 40 day fast for Yeshua as he travels into the wilderness faces HaSatan and returns to his hometown of Nazareth and declares to the world that he is the one we have been waiting for.

This Shabbat, on the 9th of Av, I will begin the new sermon series, "Mashiach: The One We've Been Waiting For" and we will talk about all the awesome things Adonai has revealed through His son Yeshua and all that our Messiah fulfilled in these important weeks leading up the celebration of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot in September.

I am expectant that God will do awesome things in our congregation and our lives as we take time to focus on the visible image of the invisible God, Yeshua.  After all, he is the one we've been waiting for!

want to listen to the series? it begins Saturday, July 28th, 2012.  Click here to listen.

What the Heck is an Omer and Why Count 50 Days of Them?

The Days of the Omer (omer is a biblical measurement of grain) are so awesome but so many followers of Yeshua seem unaware of this awesomeness. Perhaps they are unaware because they have never heard of the Days of the Omer. Perhaps they are unaware because they include these days in their theology that teaches these things have been replaced by something new.  Perhaps they are unaware because they have never noticed these days in their Bibles.  

The Days of the Omer are commanded in the Torah as a period of fifty days that we count between Pesach (Passover) and Shavuot (Pentecost).  In Leviticus 23:15-22 we find one of several places that give instruction for these important days.  They are a part of the harvest celebrations which include Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles in the Fall).  Each of these holidays celebrate different parts of the harvest that God has given His people.   Most followers of Yeshua have heard of Passover and have participated in some kind of Passover Seder but many have never heard of Shavuot or Sukkot.  It is an interesting phenomenon because all three are so important in Scripture.  

Often it is said that Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) is the most important day on the Jewish calendar but this is simply not true.  The most important day on the Jewish calendar happens to fall once a week and is called Shabbat.  Following Shabbat the three harvest festivals are the only holy days which require a visit to Jerusalem to bring an offering of thanks to the Lord.  Then comes Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur.

The importance of Pesach and Shavuot is underscored by all that God has done for His people during these days.  Pesach is all about freedom: freedom from Egypt -- freedom from sin and death.  In the Torah, the exodus of Israel from Egypt takes place during Pesach. In the New Testament, the death and resurrection of Yeshua (Jesus) takes place during Pesach. 

Following Pesach and during the counting of the Days of the Omer, there are so many wonderful events: the parting of the sea of reeds, the giving of manna from heaven and the providing of quail from the East. Yeshua appears resurrected to His disciples during these same days. He appears to Peter, Thomas, John and over 500 witnesses that saw Him alive after He was put to death (a period of forty days, Acts 1:3).  One of the most important days on the Jewish calendar (and most unrecognized) is the fortieth day of Omer. This is the day that our Messiah Yeshua ascended into heaven to take His place at the right hand of God! This is the day that Yeshua, Who humbled Himself by coming lower than the angels and in a human body, takes His sacrifice to the real Holy of Holies. The real Holy of Holies that the Tabernacle and Temple were only copies or "shadows" of.  This is the day that Yeshua took His place as victor over sin and death, as King of Kings and as Lord of Lords.  The fortieth day of Omer is an awesome day!

All through the fifty days of Omer all of Judaism prepares itself for the receiving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai on Shavuot.  As a Messianic community we are also preparing for the receiving of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) given on the very same day, Shavuot, as recorded in Acts 2. What is typically understood as the start of the "church" is actually a bunch of Jewish people following the commandment to be in Jerusalem to bring free will offerings to the Temple on Shavuot thanking God for all that He has done! 

When I have attended churches and listen to Pastors preach through podcasts, so many say things like "we need to focus on Jesus" and "we need to be more like Jesus".  It seems to me that the fastest way to be like Jesus is to do what He did: to not ignore these days but celebrate them just like He did; to recognize all the awesome things God has done during these important days because He wants relationship with us and to give Him the glory that only He deserves because He is awesome!

There is no greater time on the calendar to celebrate all that God has done for His people than during Pesach, the fifty days of Omer, and Shavuot! These days are awesome because the God of Israel is awesome.  These days are awesome because we need reminders in our lives that there is no one as awesome as our God!  These days are awesome because they remind us of the awesomeness of Who God is and the awesomeness of all that He has done for those who call on His name!


For more on Shavuot read: Why I Don't Eat Dairy on Shavuot!

The latent antisemitism of "Hebrew Roots"

The term "Hebrew Roots" is used by various Messianic groups and Christian "Hebrew Roots" churches.  It can mean a variety of things and each group does not define the term the same way. Some "Hebrew Roots" congregations, while seemingly well meaning, have within them latent antisemitism.  I use the word latent because I do not think the antisemitism is intentional but nonetheless between the lines it is there.

For years now the main stream Messianic Jewish Movement has been fighting against "replacement theology" in Christianity.  Replacement theology broadly defined is the idea that the Gentile Church has replaced Israel and the Jewish people as the people of God.  This is a destructive theology because it misrepresents the intentions of God to save the world through our Messiah Yeshua and the responsibility of His Jewish followers to share the Jewish message of the Jewish Messiah with Israel and the nations.

In many cases, not all, "Hebrew Roots" proponents replace Israel in a different way.  That is to say not that the Church replaces Israel but that all Gentiles are Jews through the tribe of Ephraim.  It takes away the distinctiveness of the Jewish people which was given to us by God.  God called Abraham out of the nations to make a new nation that would lead the way in understanding and following the Creator of the universe.  All through the book of the prophet Isaiah, he calls the Jewish people to be a light to the nations -- not to convert them to Judaism but to show them the God of Israel.  In attempting to take away Israel's distinctiveness, some Hebrew Roots teachers are leading people into latent antisemitism and teaching Gentiles to cleanse themselves from being a Gentile. 

The Apostle Paul directly speaks to this in his first letter to the Corinthians : "Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches. Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what counts. Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him (1 Corinthians 7:17-20).

In my experience in ministry many Jews and Gentiles misunderstand the word Gentile.  It is not a curse word or something bad.  It simply means "nations" and God's desire is to bring all people back to himself (what we call the "model of return").  In Revelation John writes concerning Yeshua, “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth" (Revelation 5:9-10, italics mine).  Wow! Every tribe, language, people and nation. How could John recognize all of these different peoples and nations if they all looked the same and all came from one nation. Being from the nations (a Gentile) should be celebrated and honored not treated as a curse word or something to run away from.  Yes, often the scriptures tell the Jewish people to not be like the Gentiles around them.  But, what if those Gentiles turned to the God of Israel? This is not about Gentiles becoming Jews it is about the nations (Gentiles) turning to the one true God.

For me, the issue is identity.  No one should be telling Jews to become Gentiles or Gentiles to become Jews.  God didn't make a mistake when He birthed you in your particular family and with your particular background.  When we mess with identity we mess with God’s design.  All of us, Jews and Gentiles, were made in the image of God and our stories and the families we come from are a part of His plan and design. 

In teaching the New Testament we should not use the term Hebrew roots because the whole message is Jewish. Not just the roots. The idea that the world needs a savior, a sacrifice for sin, and an anointed one (Messiah in Hebrew, Christ in Greek) is Jewish.  When a Jewish person believes in Yeshua we remain Jewish.  When Gentiles believe in Yeshua they remain Gentile.  Together we form the body of Messiah, one olive tree (Romans 9-11) held together by the Messiah Himself.  The tree is Jewish with both natural Jewish and grafted-in Gentile branches.  Gentiles who believe that Yeshua is the Messiah are grafted into the commonwealth of Israel but do not become Jews.  Jews who believe in Yeshua remain in Israel and maintain their Jewishness (for an amazing discussion on this see David H. Stern's book "Restoring the Jewishness of the Gospel").

The latent antisemitism is signaled when a Hebrew Roots group uses language like "uniting the two houses of Israel" and makes statements like "for two thousand years we have been taught that Israel is the Jewish people and that the Jewish people are Israel. This misunderstanding has crippled our ability to glean the scriptures." Friends, there is no misunderstanding. Israel is the Jewish people. The Jewish people are Israel.  Gentiles are grafted into the commonwealth of Israel (Ephesians 2:11-16) without becoming Jews. They remain Gentiles.

According to the decision made by the original disciples of Yeshua at the Jerusalem council (Acts 15), Gentile observance of the Torah is different than that of their Jewish counterparts.  In God’s eyes there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles. Both are only saved by faith in Yeshua.  After salvation, the moment of accepting Yeshua, our lives look slightly different in terms of how we observe scripture.  Yet, our stories are similar because we all fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) and we all need Yeshua to gain eternal life.  Then, together, we fight for the whole world, all Jews and all Gentiles, to see the awesomeness of God and what He has accomplished for us in the death and resurrection of His son, Yeshua.

If you are a Jewish believer in Yeshua, don't give up your Jewishness.  If you a Gentile believer in Yeshua, don't give up being a Gentile.  Don't be fooled by the destructive teaching of some of these "Hebrew Roots" groups that want to confuse your identity and claim it is in search of the truth. Don't buy into the teachings of some "Hebrew Roots" groups because their production is beautiful and the presentation is pretty.  Dig in. Search it out.  Make sure the teachings are not trying to turn you into something God didn't create you to be. Don't buy into any theology that tries to take away the distinctiveness of the Jewish people or any people.

The truth is that God made you with an awesome plan for you.  If you don't know who you are and you accept ideas that make you think you are something you are not, then you will accomplish nothing.  Find your value in who you are! Your family background and your family heritage ought to be celebrated when you come face to face with the God of Israel.  He doesn't make mistakes and He didn't make one with you!

My Behind Before Me!

It's funny to see where you were born. Two weeks ago I did just that.  I went to the place of my birth for the first time since just about when I was born.  Ashland is a funky little town in southern Oregon surrounded by mountains and inhabited by hippies.  Yes, still.   It is a town known for Shakespeare but in my family it is known as Beth El.  Beth El is the place where our forefathers go, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  It is the place where Jacob commits his life to the Lord and God becomes Jacob's God and not just "The God of his fathers".

Thirty something years ago my parents were hippies.  They left New Jersey together and drove across the county in a nasty little van that they lived in until they could scrounge up enough to live in an apartment. They had my brother Jake in a hospital. But three years later (1979) they did it the "natural" way and decided to do a home birth.  Two weeks ago with my parents on the phone I walked up to the apartment where I was born and I knocked on the door. A skinny dude with a winter hat and a big beard came to the door.  I told him I was born in his apartment and he said in true Oregon hippie fashion, "Come on in man!" His wife came out of the kitchen with super long dreads and the apartment smelled like incense (maybe?!).  I felt like I was meeting my parents from thirty two years ago! It was surreal.  I went upstairs and looked at the little room where I came into existence and thought "man, this is crazy!"

I'm a New Yorker. Right now I am a New Yorker who lives in Seattle.  I love Seattle.  It's a funky, cool city and, yes, also still full of hippies.  Almost two years ago I was flying out to Seattle to find an apartment for my family.  I stopped in San Diego to attend a Bar Mitzvah and then San Francisco.  Flying from San Francisco to Seattle took me right over Crater Lake.  As I flew over I sensed the Lord saying to me "Welcome home, Matt." I tried to convince God that I am a New Yorker, which He knows, but I understood that for this time in my life I belong in the Northwest.  God has great things that He wants to do in me and through me here!

Back to Beth El (Ashland).  I have heard all of my life about Crater Lake, Lithia Park, the mountains, the Ashland Foursquare Church and Johnny Otto.  While in Maryland John and I had talked on the phone many times but I had never met him, as an adult.  I was excited to meet him and see all that I had heard about!

John is an awesome guy. He is 83 and has been serving the Lord for a long time. It's a funny thing to meet someone and hear yourself and your dad in his voice.  John is my Dad's spiritual father. If my dad is Timothy (from the Bible), John is Paul.  He taught my dad about the Lord; prayed with him in Lithia Park and encouraged him to follow the Lord with his whole life.  In those days neither of them had much money. My parents were in HUD housing and on food stamps.  They could hardly afford to have coffee together.  But they did. Met early. Prayed. Talked and trusted the Lord together.

I needed to see John and his wonderful wife, Becky.  I needed to see Ashland.  I needed to go backwards to understand my right now.  I needed to see, hear and touch where I started so I could better understand where I'm going.  As John, Becky and I walked in Lithia Park, John wanted me to see the places where he and my dad spent time praying.  One of the paths was grown over and we had to climb some rocks. John no longer walks very well but he was determined to get to the spot.  We got there and prayed and I had an opportunity to bless the man who taught my dad who taught me.  I am who I am because Johnny Otto took my dad under his wing and imparted everything he knew about the faithfulness of God to him.

Sometimes I find myself discouraged.  Sometimes ministry totally stresses me out. Sometimes I stress myself out.  Now, I think of my Beth El (Ashland) and am faced with the reality of the faithfulness of God.  In my family I am only a second generation follower of Yeshua.  If my children choose to walk with Yeshua, they will be third generation.  On my wife's side, her family has been walking with Yeshua for around 400 years.  Talk about God's faithfulness in bringing Laura and me together.  Of course as a Jew, my ancestors have walking with God for 5000 years.  There has been a lot of walking and I am grateful to God for both sides of my children's heritage.

So here in 2011, I discovered something I will take with me for the rest of my life.  The God of my fathers is awesome!  My journey has been awesome!  I love where I come from, where I am and where I am going.  I love that my passport says, "Ashland, OR." I love that the Lord has called this New Yorker to Seattle and I love that He is doing awesome things in me and through me.

Where has your journey taken you? 

Want more? listen to my sermon about this trip: Being RIGHTeous

7 weeks of Proof for the Messiah

Often the question is asked, "What is the proof that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Messiah?" Often the answer from many Messianic Jews is something along the lines of "He fulfilled all the prophecies for the Messiah!" I agree with that answer. But, I also believe that there is better evidence that is more compelling for my people, Israel, and ultimately the whole world.

In an article on Aish.com for the Torah Portion Re'eh, Rabbi Shaul Rosenblatt wrote an article called "Feats of Amazment."  He writes, "Judaism says: Use your mind. Don't judge by "miracles." Judge by evidence. In the primitive world, miracles impressed. Surely in the 21st century we should know better." What follows in this blog is "evidence" for the sake of my people and for the glory of the God of Israel. All of this is based on original research from my father, Rabbi David Rosenberg, of Shuvah Yisrael Messianic Synagogue in New York.

You can also listen to a recent sermon that I gave at Beit Messiah in Seattle called "Shattering Expectations."

Here is the evidence that Yeshua is the Messiah:

Torah & Haftarah Cycle

At Beit Messiah, we follow the weekly Torah and Haftarah cycles of reading, a traditional Jewish cycle of reading that is believed to date back to Ezra and Nehemiah. In one year we read B’reshit (Genesis) through D’varim (Deuteronomy) and then we start over in Genesis chapter 1 for a new year. The Haftarah cycle is made up of readings from the prophets and the writings of the Tanakh (Old Testament) that coincide with the Torah readings. For most of the year the reading of the Haftarah cycle seem random, meaning they are in no particular order and come from different books of the Tanakh. There is one seven-week period where the Haftarot are all from the same book and are almost in order. This seven-week period is known as the seven messages of Isaiah or the seven messages of consolation.

The Seven Messages of Isaiah

In this seven-week period (as I write we are in the 4th week) the Torah readings go through almost the whole book of Deuteronomy and the Haftarah readings are all from the Prophet Isaiah chapters 40-63. It is called the messages of consolation because after 39 chapters of judgment Isaiah seemingly changes his tune and preaches a message of returning to God and the blessings that will result for Israel for turning back. It is seven weeks during the year where the emphasis is on return and restoration. This makes sense because what always follows the seven message of Isaiah are the Fall High Holy days: Rosh Hashanna (call to repentance), Ten days of Awe (focus on repentance), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) and Sukkot (celebration of all God has done for His people).

Luke and the seven weeks

There is no specific mention of "the seven message of Isaiah" in the Messianic Writings (New Testament). There is no specific mention of "the Torah and Haftarah cycle" in the Messianic Writings either. But, there are key word indicators and the quoting of the Tanakh that tell us (the readers) what time of year it is. In the Besora (Gospel) of Luke we find five indicators of this seven-week period. In Luke chapters 3-4 we read about Yeshua's immersion in the Jordan River by His cousin John, the recognition of Yeshua by God the Father from Heaven, Yeshua's 40 days in the wilderness with the Devil, and Yeshua coming to His hometown of Nazareth and reading from the prophet Isaiah in Synagogue. 

In these two chapters of Luke there are five scriptures quoted from the Tanakh (plus a Psalm quoted by the Devil): Isaiah 40:3-5, Deuteronomy 8:3, Deuteronomy 6:13-14, Deuteronomy 6:16 and Isaiah 61:1-2.

Luke 3 begins with John quoting Isaiah 40. In Luke 4 Yeshua reads from the scroll of Isaiah 61:1-2 in synagogue. These two quotes from Isaiah are from the Haftarah readings of week 1 and week 7 of the seven messages of Isaiah. The three quotes from Deuteronomy are Torah readings from week 1 and week 2 of the seven messages of Isaiah -- five scriptures all quoted from the same seven-7week period of the Torah and Haftarah cycle. Luke 4:2 tells us that Yeshua went into the wilderness for 40 days. Keep in mind that John and Yeshua did not have their own versions of Tanakh available for personal use. They, as observant Jews, knew what readings were coming and when they were coming. Meaning that even in the middle of the wilderness Yeshua had on His mind what every synagogue in the world was reading during those same weeks. 

You ask, "What does this prove?" For one thing, Yeshua's immersion is generally understood as the beginning of His public ministry and the beginning of revealing to the world that He was the Messiah. Just like a cohen (priest) in the Torah, Yeshua's ministry began at the age of 30 (Luke 3:23). So, Yeshua takes 40 + days to reveal to the Jewish world who He is and He uses the readings of the weekly Torah and Haftarah cycle to do just that: reveal to the whole world that He is the Messiah. It is a genius move on the part of God -- to move and work through the framework of Jewish tradition, the Torah and the prophets in order to reveal to His people what He is doing. Yeshua did not meet people's expectations of what the Messiah was believed to be in the first century. After all, God does like to shatter our expectations and do something more compelling and incredible than we could ever imagine.

9th of Av

All of this begins on the Jewish calendar on the 9th of Av. Isaiah 40 is already read the Shabbat (Sabbath) after the 9th of Av. John was quoting Isaiah 40 because it was the reading for the coming Shabbat. The 9th of Av is a fast day in Jewish tradition and is called "the fast of the fifth month" in the prophets. It is only logical that Yeshua would begin a 40 day fast on a traditional fast day on the Jewish calendar. It is also significant because of the judgment that John lays down while quoting Isaiah. He warns the Jewish leaders by saying, "Already the axe is at the root of the trees, ready to strike; every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown in the fire!" (Luke 3:9). Well, if this takes place on the 9th of Av, right before the seven messages of Isaiah, then He is giving a warning for what will happen exactly 40 (always a number of judgment) years to the day that the second Temple is destroyed in 70 C.E. It is also interesting to note that what John is preaching is repentance and turning from sin. Repentance is the whole theme of the 7 messages of Isaiah and the month of Elul on the Jewish calendar which both precede the Fall High Holy days. 

The Devil

Why is Yeshua's first public act as the Messiah to deal with the Devil? Why not a miracle? Up until this point the Devil didn't know who he was dealing with. Yeshua, as His first act as Messiah, goes in the desert to deal publicly with His enemy. He is giving the Devil a warning shot. He is dealing the Devil his notice that he will be evicted from the premises. Yeshua is letting the principalities and powers of darkness in on God's plan to save creation. The only thing Yeshua has to say to the Devil in the wilderness comes from the first two Torah portions of the seven messages of Isaiah.

Nazareth

At the end of 40 days in the wilderness Yeshua goes home to Nazareth. The following Shabbat Yeshua goes to synagogue in Nazereth "as was His custom" (Luke 4:16). He is given an Aliyah to come and read from the Haftarah portion for that morning. The reading is from Nitzavim, the 7th week of Isaiah, and Yeshua reads Isaiah 61:1-2 and stops reading. Stop. If you look up Nitzavim you will notice that the reading listed begins in 61:10. Why is Yeshua reading verses 1-2? Keep in mind that Yeshua is reading from a scroll. He could not choose a scripture at random. He didn't pick one He liked. He read from the portion that the scroll was rolled to for that morning. After reading Yeshua says in Luke 4:21, “Today, as you heard it read, this passage of the Tanakh was fulfilled!” What?! In other words, Yeshua was saying, "I AM THE MESSIAH." He was saying, “I am the one who has come to ‘set the captives free, to recover sight for the blind...’". He was saying, "I am that guy!" Of course the people in Nazareth get angry and as they try to kill Yeshua, He disappears. 

The Messiah

In the infinite wisdom of the God of our Fathers, Adonai chose a seven-week period on the Jewish calendar to reveal who the Messiah was/is. There are many more details than I can share here but know this. There is compelling evidence and all of the evidence comes from Jewish context that is found all through the Messianic Writings. The Apostles were not founders of a new religion (Christianity) that worshiped another God (Jesus). They were Jews who found the Messiah that was promised to our Jewish people for the benefit of the whole world. What the Jewish leaders in the time of Yeshua could not see was what they refused to see: that Yeshua is the Messiah who came, died, rose from the dead, conquered death, ascended into heaven and sent His Spirit so that our eyes could be opened.

Look out for my next blog: Opening Your Eyes So The Power of God Can Work in You.

Why I Don't eat Dairy on Shavuot

There is a Jewish tradition to eat a dairy only meal during the holiday of Shavuot. This tradition comes out of Exodus 23:19, "You are to bring the best first fruits of your land into the house of ADONAI your God. You are not to boil a young animal in its mother’s milk." In discussing Shavuot and this verse, Rabbi Hayim Halevy Donin in his book, To be a Jew writes:

“Some see it as…emphasizing, on this festival which marks the giving of the Torah, the interdependence and unity of the Written and Oral Torah. For the very same verses that speak of bringing ‘the choicest first fruits of the land unto the house of the Lord your God’ in celebration of Shavuot also stress that, ‘You must not boil a kid in its mother's milk’ (Ex. 23:19, 34:6). On the basis of the latter part of these verses, the Oral Torah based its prohibition of eating meat and milk together. Hence, a separate dairy meal is deliberately eaten to emphasize the total unity of the verse and the authenticity of the Oral Torah." (Pg. 240-241)

This is why I do not eat a dairy only meal during Shavuot. As a Messianic Jew I do not believe in the "authenticity of the Oral Torah." For me if the Orthodox are "deliberately" doing anything to show the "authenticity of the Oral Torah" then it is my responsibility as a follower of Yeshua to make sure that my actions to do not conflict with my Chief Rabbi, Yeshua HaMashiach.

The Oral Torah is not bad. The Oral Torah is not evil. The Oral Torah should not be entirely thrown away. But, the Oral Torah was not given at Mt. Sinai. So, when the Oral Torah makes "laws" that God never made, then we should re-examine the intent behind these man-made laws and decide if our Messiah would follow them or not. Yeshua followed many "traditions" but, He also condemned leaders when they were treating man-made laws as if they were from God. And in doing so were lifting up the laws of men rather than the Written Torah that God gave at Mt. Sinai.

Mark 7 gives us an excellent example of this. The Pharisees in Mark 7:5 say to Yeshua, “Why don’t your talmidim live in accordance with the Tradition of the Elders, but instead eat with ritually unclean hands?” Yeshua answers in verses 8-9, “You depart from God’s command and hold onto human tradition. He said to them, “you have made a fine art of departing from God’s command in order to keep your tradition!” For these particular Pharisees the issue here is not whether food was kosher or not. The issue was if the disciples did not wash their hands "in accordance with the tradition of the Elders" then the kosher food they were eating was no longer kosher. The washing of hands is not commanded by God in the Written Torah. It is "commanded" in the Oral Torah and Yeshua clearly condemns these men for trusting in their own laws rather than what God actually commands in the Written Torah.

This is the same reason why I mix milk and meat on a regular basis. I have never "boiled a kid in its mother's milk." And I never intend to, mostly because that would be a weird thing to do. But the mixing of milk and meat is not boiling a kid in its mother’s milk. I recognize that I frustrate many of my Jewish brothers and sisters (and that many do not consider me a brother or a Jew). But, my identity is found in how the God of Israel views me not how anyone on this planet views me. I am a Jew because God gave me the last name "Rosenberg". I am a Jew because my father is Jewish (yes, my mother is not). I am a Jew because I trust in the God of Israel and His son that He sent as the "visible image of the invisible God" (Col. 1:15).

When the Oral Torah conflicts with the Written Torah; when Orthodoxy does something to celebrate the "authenticity of the Oral Law," we have a responsibility to check it with our Chief Rabbi who died and rose during Pesach, appeared for forty days during the counting of the omer, ascended to the right hand of the Father on the fortieth day and gave His Spirit on the same day as the Torah: Shavuot!

In short, Dairy Shmairy! Pass me a cheeseburger for the glory of God and in celebration for the authenticity of the Written Torah (Genesis - Revelation) and Yeshua our Messiah.

For more on Shavuot read: What The Heck is an Omer and Why Count 50 Days of Them?

I Want To Be Just Like You

When I was a kid one of the greatest add campaigns was "I wanna be like Mike" by gatorade.  I did! I really wanted to be like Mike!  But, more realistically, "I want to be just like you" has been something I have been saying about my dad, Rabbi David Rosenberg, my whole life.  My dad's desire is to be like Yeshua. "I want to be just like you" was the cry of my dad's heart as he watched his father as a child. For my dad there was a lot of disappointment and pain in the relationship with his dad.  But, through all the pain he found his true father, Adonai.

Yeshua is just like His father.  He often says things like, "My Father has been working until now, and I, too, am working" (John 5:17).  The Besorah (Gospel) of John continues, "Therefore, Yeshua said this to them: ‘Yes, indeed! I tell you that the Son cannot do anything on His own, but only what He sees the Father doing; whatever the Father does, the Son does too’” (5:19).  Yeshua was so in tune with the father that everything He did came from the father. 

The greatest thing I learned from my earthly father is the desire to be just like Yeshua,  who is just like His father. In fact, He and the father are one. Yeshua's prayer before He died was, "I pray not only for these, but also for those who will trust in Me because of their word, that they may all be one. Just as You, Father, are united with Me and I with You, I pray that they may be united with Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me" (John 17:20-21). 

Yeshua has enabled us (those who believe) to be just like Him. It's not just a hope. It's not just a prayer. It can be a reality.

It doesn't mean we will be perfect. It doesn't mean that we will be without sin. It doesn't mean we won't fight with our spouses. It doesn't mean we won't yell at our children. It doesn't mean all relationships will be the way they should be. It doesn't mean we will be perfect.

It means we can be like Him. It means we can put the needs of others before ours. It means we can be attentive to God's plan for our lives. It means we can trust our lives (and the lives of those we love) in the hands of the God who created us.

It means we can walk like Him. It means we can walk with Him. It means we can, through the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh), be united with our Messiah and be like Him. It means we can say like Paul, "try to imitate me, even as I myself try to imitate the Messiah" (1 Corinthians 11:1).

What are you doing to be like Him? What are you doing that is keeping you from being like Him?

If you want a song that speaks to these same issues pick up: "Just Like You" by Lecrae