This morning I listened to an audio teaching by Daniel Lancaster again and was reminded of the importance of this topic. This teaching is a really good reminder of how we should be actively treating others and thinking the best of one another. I was just going to post the link to the audio from the Beth Immanuel site, but it’s currently not listed (they are in the process of re-posting a lot of their audio). So, I have uploaded the audio file for your benefit here. Just click on the audio player below.
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Recently, someone started a discussion on Facebook as to whether followers of Yeshua should follow either a rabbinic (Pharisaic) path verses a more Karaite path in their Torah observance. I’ve got a lot of thoughts on this, but unfortunately am nearly always short on time due to pressing deadlines with my work. I would like to share, however, the brief response I wrote for this discussion:
It is natural to think that the Karaite way of doing things would be a better way of doing things. However, the Karaite interpretation is actually anti-Scriptural. Let’s think about it. If we were to go to a Karaite interpretation of Scripture, we would all being living out the Scriptures as we interpret them. Which means, we would not be in any kind of unity. Which means we would be celebrating the feasts at different times, celebrating them in different ways, trying to fulfill the commandments in different ways. In short, this is chaos and anarchy. The Master (Yeshua) was a Pharisee among Pharisees, in that he was in agreement with the Pharisees in all but one point: hypocrisy.
Here are 3 short examples of the many that can be sited to show his Pharisaic affinity:
He & his disciples kept the feast at the same times as greater Israel (which was determined by Pharisaic halachah)
He reclined at the Passover meal (a Pharisaic invention, seemingly contrary to the biblical mandate in Exodus)
He gave a blessing before eating, strictly a Pharisaic invention
The list could go on and on. These are just off the top of my head. It boils down to this: Yeshua was in agreement with Pharisaic tradition so long as it did not contradict with the written Word. We must examine the words of the Master and the Apostolic writings to determine whether a tradition is able to be kept or not, and follow his example.
The Karaite method is not even an alternative. If we were following the Karaite method, we would revert to the days of the Judges when “Every man did what was right in his own eyes…And they again did wickedness in the eyes of Hashem.”
Last year we enjoyed our first “Moshiach’s Seudah” which is basically a mini-seder that revolves around the telling of stories about Messiah. This is a fairly recent tradition, done mostly in chassidic circles. I don’t have time to post details, but we had a great time last year and are planning on it this year as well. We used both rabbinic lore and narratives from the Gospels. I loved it when my then 3-year-old’s eyes got as big as saucers as I dramatically told the story of Yeshua walking on the water to meet his talmidim. Here are a couple of resources:
This is a recent video from Toby Janicky of FFOZ. This is teaching #8 in a series called “Mishlei Musings.” (“Mishlei” is the Hebrew name for the book of Proverbs.) This episode is called “The Fruit of Humility.” It would have really helped me if I had watched this before we went into Passover, per my last post.
I was privileged to speak at a small, Pentecostal church in Oklahoma over the weekend. I was given total freedom as to the teaching topic and three speaking sessions (two on Shabbat and their Sunday morning service). My topic was “Becoming and Making Disciples of Jesus.” I spoke on the necessity of making disciples, rather than converts and emphasized the importance of knowing our rabbi. I introduced them to this person in the illustration, using it as a springboard for looking into the Jewishness of our Master and his teachings. It was a really good weekend, filled with positive feedback and interaction. The members of this church were warm, loving and accepting and hungry for the Word of G-d. Please pray for our brothers and sisters who have just been exposed to this life-long journey of rediscovering our master.
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