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Should Messianic Jews Be Worried About Assimilation?

www.israeltoday.co.il November 12, 2013 David Lazarus

Yaron knew that he had discovered something special and couldn't wait to tell his family and friends.

"I have found the Messiah," he exclaimed to mom and dad. "It's Jesus!" Unprepared for their extreme and irritatedresponse, Yaron retreated to his room in despair as his parents discussed where they had gone wrong raising theirfirst-born son.

Like Yaron, many Messianic Jews found themselves separated from families, friends and synagogue. Keeping theseties proved all but impossible. "Sometimes we reacted just like a bunch of teenagers," suggested one congregational

leader. "Our parents didn't understand us, so we cut our losses and went our own way."

A generation later some Messianics now wonder what went wrong. Integrating Messianic beliefs and a NewTestament culture into the Jewish fold has proven to be a very difficult task.

For many Messianic Jews in Israel cutting off all ties with Judaism seemed like the right thing to do. Synagogue lifewas already an unpleasant burden for the secular majority. Messianic faith allowed new freedoms from the strict legalrequirements of Judaism. Messianics developed expressions of faith and discovered new forms of worship andprayer, though these remain foreign to the average Jewish Israeli.

Other factors also contributed to the assimilation of Messianic Jews from Judaism and Jewish culture. But is thissomething the Messianic community should be concerned with?

Missionaries

Foreign missionaries working alongside the Messianics in those early years had very little understanding or evenappreciation of Jewish culture. Most could not speak Hebrew and few had any experience in Israeli family orsynagogue life. Messianics were not always encouraged to integrate their faith with proper respect for family andJewish culture and sometimes young believers were encouraged to make a clean break from culture and society.Some of the families are still hurting from the radical and insensitive ways Messianics tended to separate themselvesfrom family and friends and joined what appeared to be a foreign, Christian religion.

Anti-Judaism

For most of its history Christianity has had very little appreciation for her own Jewish roots. Many Christians in livingin Israel were overly concerned with "Judiazing" and tended to oppose any involvement with the synagogue, theJewish prayer book or Jewish learning. Young Messianics were often taught and believed that it was necessary tomake a clean break with anything Jewish in order to follow Christ.

Intermarriage

According to very conservative estimates as many as 80% of the Messianic Jewish men in Israel have intermarriedwith non-Jews. While most Jewish believers in Israel have not intermarried to avoid the burdens of a Jewishexistence, nor have they intended to assimilate, mixed marriages present a unique challenge to the Messianiccommunity, especially when the children of the Gentile wife are not considered Jewish.

Intermarriage amongst the Messianic believers is often an expression of the unique unity and reconciliation withGentiles they find in Yeshua. However, little thought has been given to the effect this might have on the Jewishidentity of the next generation. Can the Messianics survive the extraordinary high rate of intermarriage without losing

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their unique Jewish heritage, especially if their children are not Jewish? (Find more on this important subject in theupcoming edition of Israel Today)

Reconnecting with the Roots

One attempt to avoid assimilation among a small minority of Messianic Jews in Israel is to move out of the Messianiccongregations and go back to the synagogue and traditional Judaism in order to integrate Messianic beliefs with

Jewish life.

However, most Messianics would not consider going back to the synagogue. Significant numbers though are nowincorporating traditional Jewish worship, prayers and teachings into their congregational life. More and moreMessianic leaders are integrating traditional Jewish prayers and liturgy into their services. Many have begun readingfrom the "Parashat Hashavua" or weekly traditional Torah portions.

As Messianic leaders discover the beauty and spiritual richness of their Jewish heritage some of broken ties withfamily, synagogue and the Jewish people might be repaired. One highly respected Messianic leader sees this as asign of maturity. "When we were young we tended to only look at the fruits or the flowers. As we mature we becomemore interested in the roots," he said.