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Messianic Jews Find Fertile Ground in the Bible Belt
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More in NewsOxford, N.C. — Ellen and Tim Pitts say they aren’t the kind of Jews who go around preaching about Jesus Christ. Although they are self-described “messianic Jews” — the term of art preferred by those who accept Christian theology and assert a Jewish identity — the couple, who live with their three young children in an 18th-century farmhouse 40 miles northeast of North Carolina’s Chapel Hill, keep mostly to themselves, growing vegetables and raising chickens and goats. It is an inward-focused existence that seems aptly summed up by the name they’ve given to their homestead: HaTeva, or “the Ark.”
Still, in the past several months the Pittses have quietly launched a unique religious experiment in a deeply Southern community, where the Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway is the main road and Baptist theology dominates. Using the Internet, they have offered themselves up as informal tour guides in the hope of attracting other messianic Jewish families to the area and building a small community that, like them, celebrates a Saturday Sabbath and prays in Hebrew.
In its own small way, the family is on the leading edge of the new face of messianic Judaism. With roots in both Christianity and Judaism — Tim, 37, was raised in a mainline Christian church, while Ellen, 32, was raised in a minimally observant Jewish family before converting to Christianity — the Pittess are among a growing number of so-called “interfaith” couples that have found a home in the messianic movement. Unlike many of their messianic compatriots, who view proselytizing to Jews as a central purpose of their faith, the Pittses and families like them have embraced the movement primarily to satisfy their own, admittedly unconventional, religious needs.
“There really is a debate, and a very lively one, within the messianic world about the fundamental nature of messianic Judaism,” said Richard Nichol, who has led Congregation Ruach Israel in Needham, Mass., for a quarter-century and is a board member of Hashivenu (“Return Us”), a group founded around the year 2000 to promote greater “Jewishness” in the messianic movement.
This might have once been tossed off as a curious development in a fringe group, had it not been for a larger trend at work. According to several movement leaders and scholars of religion, messianic Judaism is expanding rapidly in communities across the American South, a growing region of the country that is attracting new Jewish residents more generally. (The movement is also flourishing in such Northern cities as Philadelphia, where it first sprang up in the late 1960s and early ’70s.) Although exact numbers are hard to come by, one Philadelphia-based umbrella group, the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America, estimates that there is currently a total of roughly 300 self-described Jewish messianic congregations in the United States, with upward of 30,000 adherents. According to religious leaders contacted by the Forward, the Atlanta area has six messianic congregations, up from one a decade ago, while Tampa, Fla., which had none 12 years ago, now has three.
It is a trend alarming to Jewish communal leaders.
“There is a pragmatic, serious interest in that part of Christianity that continues to believe in proselytizing to promote messianic Judaism,” said Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League. “So they’ve come up with this gimmick: If you can establish that you can be both [Christian and Jewish], then why not accept Jesus and be Jewish?”
“You can’t be both,” Foxman added. “That’s nonsense.”
Rabbi Bentzion Kravitz, founder of a counter-missionary group called Jews for Judaism, said that in his experience, the messianic movement includes many Jews who are sincere, but leaders and Christian organizations that have a missionary agenda nonetheless support it.
Although various Christian denominations promoted the formation of “Hebrew Christian” churches during the 19th and 20th centuries, the modern messianic Jewish movement stems from evangelical Christian efforts that bloomed during the 1960s, Kravitz said, after the founding of the modern Jewish state and Israel’s capture of East Jerusalem in 1967.
But four decades later, some members of the messianic movement are arguing that it has grown beyond its original focus on the conversion of Jews and is a distinct religious community in its own right.
In recent years, some of the movement’s religious leaders have argued that messianic Jews should not engage in Christian “outreach” to the Jewish community at large and should strive for a greater inward focus on their own religious development as part of the larger Jewish community. A touchstone for the group has become a book, “Postmissionary Messianic Judaism: Redefining Christian Engagement With the Jewish People,” authored by Mark Kinzer in 2005. Kinzer has been considerably less well received in such overtly Christian missionizing quarters as the Lausanne Consultation on Jewish Evangelism, which was founded by Christian evangelical leaders in 1980.
“We really feel that in order for messianic Judaism to be legitimate… we have to be deeply connected with the Jewish world and to see other forms of Judaism as having their value in the overall scheme of God’s purposes for the world,” Nichol said. He added, “That’s a little different than some people who would call themselves messianic Jews, who really view themselves as principally connected to the world of the church and somewhat more incidentally view themselves as somewhat Jewish.”
Whatever the politics over the future direction of messianic Judaism may be, movement leaders say that the American South is particularly fertile ground for expansion.
“In the Bible belt, you have many Christians who love Israel, so we attract more gentiles [to our services], plus there are a lot more intermarried couples down here than there would be in the Northeast,” said Derek Leman, religious leader of Atlanta’s Tikvat David Messianic Synagogue. A Web site for the Messianic Alliance of Metro Atlanta includes a page of information for “interfaith” couples that advises, “A Messianic Jewish Synagogue provides a bridge for a Jewish and Gentile couple.”
Forty minutes from the Pitts’s farmhouse, at Congregation Shaare Shalom in Cary, N.C., there are several couples with spouses who have mixed upbringings. “I never understood how Jewish I was until I married a gentile,” Ellen Pitts explained. “You just don’t realize, even if you don’t spend your life in synagogue… just how many [Jewish] things get into your being until you’re sort of sucked out of it to a different culture.”
On a recent Saturday morning, those with Jewish roots mixed easily with those from Christian backgrounds, and Jewish “flavor” was added to the proceedings: A scattering of men wore yarmulkes, the service included renditions of such familiar Hebrew prayers like the Shema and Jesus went by the name “Yeshua.” Nevertheless, the theological framework was Christian and evangelical.
“Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the children of Israel,” one speaker explained, “were standing on earth to represent Yeshua. They were holding his spot until he could come.”
Afterward, congregants milled around tables heaped with potato chips, brownies — and bagels.
Comments
"...they’ve come up with this gimmick: If you can establish that you can be both [Christian and Jewish], then why not accept Jesus and be Jewish?”
"“You can’t be both,” Foxman added. “That’s nonsense.”"
Oh, right. So Jesus wasn't Jewish? So the first Christians weren't Jews?
Abe 'The Enforcer' Foxman can take a running jump. Many if not most American Jews are heartily sick of his lavishly rewarded bullshine and paranoiac dictatorial tendencies.
Being from E.Europe, I know we had our own messianic movement way back in the 12th century which was widespread among Jewish Khazars who moved there from the Volga river region after their state had been destroyed by Russians. There is this story of two Khazars, a father and a son, who traveled from one Jewish shtetl to another proclaiming themselves to be Prophet Elijah and the Messiah. Now this is the real Messianism, not this phoney Christianity peddling under the guise of Messianism.
How can Jews become Christians is beyond me after all the persecutions that Jews have suffered from Christians. I hope these meshumeds after they die will meet not Jesus but their angry Jewish ancestors who will shower them with "aite klalos"(curses), haha.
Just like you can't be "a little pregnent", you can't be a little Jewish. These people are not Jewish, and why do we have to read about them in Jewish newspapers?
June 15, 2007 Dear Jennifer; Sad that you have nothing else to write about but Jews for Christians. I can only tell you and people like them that you are a follower of the Gd of Abraham, Isssac and Jacob or you follow Budda and other foolishness. Why oh why does forward always have backward stories when it comes to our wonderful Jewish Faith?
In the progress of Time,there is only one Gd and that is the Gd of Abraham, Issac and Jacob all others are nonsense. So it was and So it is and It will be until the coming of MOshiach Ben Dovid!
The first Jews (prior to Christ)were Proselytizers, so let's stop bandying that card around! Secondly, the real Messianic Jews are those who inherit both the blessings and the curses of the Bible and not as the non Jewish Christians would like to think, that the blessings of Israel are being saved for them, and lastly, of course all the 12 Jewish Disciples practiced the gifts and callings and the Holidays and ceremonies as any good Jews did, so of course Messianic Jews preexisted this quote "You can’t be both,” Foxman added. “That’s nonsense.” That's simply illiterate!
Next Jew for Allah
Please me money for God
All are dear to the Lord! Baroch Hamesh. LET anyone who wants to call themself a JEW,be a JEW. THey come in twelve tribal flavors.
My dear friend Rueben Kramer once told me a joke. Many Jews were on a trip to just opened Chinese places. So Rabbi Greenberg, a Jew, the first, and only non Chinese, to sit on the Chinese Merchants Board, and his wife a war hero in the Israeli war for independance,went looking for a long time,for a Jewish temple, that they heard existed, in a small Chinese village. They eventually found the place. It was small,very old,and a bit dusty. They finished praying,and lo and behold a Chinese man with a kipa on, tapped them on the shoulder, and asked them what they were doing in this sacred place. So Abe told the Chinaman that he was was praying. The Old Chinese man looked shocked,and surprised. Then he said,"Funny,you don't look Jewish to me"! Dr.Daniel Muffoletto ND President of Christians for MOSES (MOISHE)
These "Messianic" Jews are confused about which Messiah they are suppose to wait for. Real Jews are waiting for their own Messiah who has nothing to do with Jesus. When this Messiah comes Jews will celebrate by eating the Messianic bull and the huge fish called Leviathan. Jews even have a saying, "grois vi der shurhabr"(big like the Messianic bull).
One day I was walking on 42nd Street between 5th and madison Avenues down that gentle slope. A Hare krishna person approached me and i walked away. then I came upon a chabad Mitzvah Tank and the young man manning it said, after asking if I was Jewish, "Are there any mitzvahs in your home?" When I shrugged he said, looking at the Hare Krishna group, "You see what happens when there are no mitzvahs in a home?" As I rad the above article I thought of that encounter.
I don't know if Jennifer Siegel actually visited Sha'arei Shalom synagogue or if she wrote the story based on someone else's version of the service, but there was no Jewish flavor added to the service-- it was a Jewish service, and it was not necessary to add the flavor. The article also made a distinction between those with Jewish roots and those from Christian backgrounds, totally missing the point that Christians have Jewish roots too. As for "Jesus" going by the name of Yeshua, that was (and is) His name.
As for the potato chips, brownies, and bagels, I've eaten all three at the local reformed congregation I sometimes attend, so what's the problem?
G-d promised Avraham that all the nations of the earth would be blessed through him. Some of us who weren't born Jewish have nevertheless recognized that our blessings have come through Avraham and his descendants, the Jews. And now you're complaining about us worshipping with Jews rather than persecuting them? I don't think you know who your enemies aren't.
UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi,
thank you for the interesting article.
As I was reading the article, however, I noticed that it made it seem like the only Messianic Jews were either Gentile Jewannabees or they were Jewish but were brought up ignorant of the basic tenets of Judaism.
I can name off of the top of my head 8 - 10 Messianic Jews who I personally know and who had spent years in various Yeshivas as Haredim in Israel, the U.S. and England. They were brought up in Ultra-Orthodox communities, speak Yiddish, Hebrew, English and French and are now very active and very effectively convincing that Yeshua was and is the promised Moschiach and that the Brit Chaddashah tells how He went about presenting the way to eternal salvation.
So, what I am trying to say is that this is not some kind of fringe group that is off it's rocker with "Jews" of questionable heritage. These are people who have studied the Tenach, the Talmud, Zohar, Rashi and all of the other books "holy" to Judaism and are still to this day also very active in supporting and helping the Jewish community in other ways than showing our people how to make a true t'shuvah.
Thank you again for taking the time to read this comment.
Sincerely, Yochanan
If there is no hell, may Hashm make one for these false people who put a stumbling block before the blind.
Jennifer Siegel's fine article points to the ongoing Judaification of Christians. Since the Pope called us their "older brother," Catholics have been devastated by a decade of priestly sex scandels, and all Christian denominations are being overwhelmed by the "Jewish," mitzvah-oriented (anti-fundamental and anti-doctrinaire) Purpose-Driven movement. Add to these factors the growth of gentile Zionism, and the Messianic movement. It is highly unlikely that a literate, sane Jew will turn to this Christianized "Judaism," but many of the best and brightest Christians are attracted by the Jewish, Hebrew, Tanach, etc. aspects of a Jewishized Christianity.
I have seen this up close, as Messianics are enthusiastic about Edenics, a new field which demonstrates how every human is a "Hebrew." Or, at least, one who still thinks in a pre-Tower-of-Babel form of Proto-Semitic (www.edenics.org). Messianics (mostly Christians and their spouses of nominal Jewish background) adore this evidence of their Hebrew roots, and enjoy honoring the Sabbath and "feasts" far more than 80% of normative American Jews.
The trend away from prostletizing, seen in Seigel's article, is inherent in the "Two Branch" theology that has become popular. This states that Judaism is legitimate, and that Jews are not hell-bound nonbelievers. Jews have their covenant, and Christians have theirs. This laisse faire attitude of paralel lines to God is not belied by Messianic Judaism. They simply talk of grafting more than 2 branches. Of course for non-intermarried Jews, Messianic Judaism is "nicht a hin, nisht a hare." That's Yiddish, and the punchline of the joke: "What do you call a cross between a chicken and a rabbit?"
I understand the many negative responses to this controvertial article, but I want to stress the positive, hopeful aspects of the trend. Many of the sincere, searching gentiles who hook up with Messanic groups, Christian Zionist organizations and Sabbath-keeping fellowships (Sabbatarians) end up downgrading Yoshkah from a deity to a prophet. And some go on to be formal or informal Bnai Noach who remain gentiles but who only revere the O.T. (Original Testament).
So, Siegel's article may be disturbing, but it also contains some good news for the Jews, Isaac Mozeson
Typical of Abe Foxman! He's always the first one to muck around in someone else's theology whether it be Mel Gibson or these Jews. As Mr. Wise said before, why haven't the board of directors at the ADL fired this guy? What a pathetic organization.
Giving ink in a Jewish publication gives this movement unwarranted legitiamcy. You can be sure a "convenient, out-of-context" quote will be excised from this article by the Messianics to bolster their cause.
To Jennifer Siegel, This seems to be a fair and balanced article from everything I just read. For more info and articles on Messianic Judiasm please go to www.Messianic Times.com which has International News as well. I have been attending a Messianic Congregation now for over 7 years and I love it. We have a Torah, we chant from the Torah, sing in Hebrew and English combined. We cellebrate all the feasts, have Bar and Bat Mitzvas. We have Hebrew classes, chanting classes, and Hebrew and Israeli dance classes. We have Oneg after services for fellowship. The men wear kippa's and prayer shawls too. So, whats the difference in our services? Well, we found the Messiah and HIS NAME IS YESHUA as the prophets fortold in Daniel telling us when he would come before the destruction of the second Temple which was 70 AD and your still looking to find HIM. Otherwise, the Jews are Jews and die as Jews, and of course we eat Bagels too along with all the Goy who love the Jewish people and the Nation of Israel. Want more info?
Nice article. You foster goodwill and tolerance and raise an intriguing dimension to Jewish Christians or Christian Jews. Thanks to articles like yours those of us with more conventional viewpoints are able to understand and accept a little better, I think. There is room for everyone under the wings of the Sh'china. Apropos of these comments is an interesting and provocative read is Canadian Donald Harmon Akenson's "Surpassing Wonder".
I love it! Anything that breaks down barriers between peoples is great.
Abe Foxman, as usual as talking through his hat.
Messianic Jews are just Baptist Christians who pretend to be Jews. Over 80 percent of them have no Jewish background at all. The reason they're expanding in the South isn't because there are more intermarried couples (there are more in the Northeast) but because these Messianic Churches are mainly cults targeting other Christians interested in Judaism and the roots of Christianity.
Although I believe that many messianic Jews are sincere, I adamantly believe that they are mistaken in their beliefs. Messianic Judaism is an oxymoron, a movement based on Evangelical Christian theology that masquerades as Jewish by dressing itself up with the trappings of Rabbinical Judaism.
Their fundamental beliefs in the Trinity, bodily incarnation of God, abrogation of the commandments and salvation only through Jesus, are diametrically opposed to the Biblical Judaism of our ancestors. The original followers of Jesus did not accept these pagan beliefs and they only flourished due to the influence of Constantine and the Council of Nicene in 326 CE.
Unfortunately a profusion of mistranslations, misquotes and the fabrication of both biblical and rabbinical texts has misled most messianic Jews to think that they have a basis for their theology. At www.jewsforjudaism.org we offer a Jewish response to their incorrect claims and at the same time provide a deeper and more spiritual perspective on Torah and Judaism. Messianic Jews may desire to be recognized as a part of the Jewish community but that was ruled out 2,000 years ago when the movement adopted its non-Jewish beliefs. Many Jews have abandoned these false beliefs and returned to the beauty and happiness of Judaism. We encourage the rest to come home too.
being "messianic" has absolutely nothing to do with being Christian or Jewish. It is a bad label, and really all we are trying to do is beleive the Bible in its entirety, history and the holy spirit who leads us. The Tanak is the basis of beleif. How hard is that to understand????
These messianic Jews are real "meshugoyim". Everything is "farmisht" in their heads. I'm very "farklemt" over these guys, oy vey!