As I mentioned in Part 1, I began to read midrash out of curiosity. I had already studied midrash as part of my academic work on rabbinic texts, but my focus was elsewhere. Then came the curiosity. Over time, I became attracted to the concrete spirituality of midrash [1] and began to read closely and lovingly. Today I also research, teach and write about midrash. I am one of a growing contingent of Jewish Yeshua-believers who engage on various levels with the texts and traditions of Judaism.
The contemporary movement of Jewish Yeshua-believers began in the 1970's as part of the Jesus Movement. Thousands of Yeshua-believing Jews began to awaken to the covenantal importance of their Jewish identity. Many of them formed themselves into congregations where they could live their faith in a Jewish context. They were not willing to yield to the pressure that church and synagogue had put on Jews for nearly two thousand years: to choose between the two communities and two God-authored modes of life—Israel's Torah-based life with God or their chosen life with the Word become flesh. They were encouraged by the model of the early Jerusalem congregation that did not abandon its identity, embracing both Messiah and Torah (see especially Acts 21:20-21).
In the past thirty years or so, a number of Messianic Jewish leaders and scholars have explored theological and practical issues involved in integrating adherence to Yeshua with Torah observance in one all-embracing life with God (see "Bibliography: Messianic Judaism" below). They have made advances, but there is much work left to be done. I am convinced that an integrated Messianic Jewish way of life will come only when we move beyond individual endeavors to a communal Messianic Jewish project.
My friend and colleague Mark Kinzer touches on some key dimensions of this Messianic Jewish attempt to fashion a genuinely Jewish, genuinely Messianic way of life and thought. Kinzer observes that this attempt
raises complex questions, since we lack our own continuous communal tradition, and share in two broader communities that possess a tangled, joint history of mutual antagonism and denunciation. [Messianic Jews] must maintain a primary engagement with the wider Jewish community and its theological tradition if our claim to being a form of Judaism is to carry any weight. At the same time, our bond with the ekklesia must also be acknowledged and honored. (Kinzer 2001, 25)
The complexity of our situation arises not only from our participation in two communities, but also because
these two communities have disagreed with one another on fundamental matters. This is why our hermeneutic must be dialectical as well as ecclesial. We view these two communal traditions as one ruptured whole, the broken fragments of a schism that should never have occurred. To read and hear dialectically is to seek to gather up the fragments, to perform a tikkun, repair of what has been broken. We expect each tradition to offer correction and healing to the other. (Kinzer 2010, 8)
Kinzer's idea of an un-ruptured whole is not "one homogeneous whole," but a whole consisting of two inter-connected communities, developing in healthy dialog and interaction, who recognize and embrace inclusion in a larger whole that does not erase distinctions.
My work in midrash is part of an emerging Messianic Jewish project that seeks to deal in depth with these difficult textual and communal issues "performing a tikkun, a repair of what has been broken." This requires that I first "gather up the fragments." Like archeologists digging and sifting on their site, I find fragments here and there, slowly getting a feel for the site. I see how these pieces might fit together. Slowly, a picture—or parts of a picture—starts to emerge. Gaps become evident and cry out to be filled.
Archeologists usually work in teams that include professional and avocational archaeologists, students, and volunteers. It is their work as a team, and not merely the brilliant insights of the lead archeologist, that determines their success. That's the kind of teamwork that will enable us to gather the fragments and repair was been broken in the disastrous schism so long ago. [2]
Footnotes
[1] For example, in a midrash on Song of Songs 2:9, My beloved is like a gazelle, God is likened to a gazelle leaping from one place to another in Israel's history—Egypt, the Sea, Sinai, and into the future. To the knowledgeable audience of midrash, this conjures up scenes from the communal past, each a unique and powerful intervention of God. However they imagine Egypt, it is a specific place that was the locale of events of dramatic importance in Israel's history. The more in-tune the audience, the richer the associations.
[2] See Becker, Adam H. and Reed, Annette Yoshiko (Editor). The Ways That Never Parted: Jews and Christians in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007 and Boyarin, Daniel. Borderlines: The Partition of Judaeo-Christianity. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006.
Bibliography: Messianic Judaism
Harvey, Richard. Mapping Messianic Jewish Theology: A Constructive Approach. Carlisle: Paternoster, 2009. Juster, Daniel. Jewish Roots: A Foundation of Biblical Theology for Messianic Judaism. (Place unknown): Davar Publishing, 1986. Kinzer, Mark S. "Scripture as Inspired, Canonical Tradition," 2001 Hashivenu Forum (Pasadena, CA). Kinzer, Mark S. Postmissionary Messianic Judaism: Redefining Christian Engagement with the Jewish People. Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2005. Kinzer, Mark S."Finding our Way Through Nicaea: The Deity of Yeshua, Bilateral Ecclesiology, and Redemptive Encounter with the Living God." 2010 Hashivenu Forum (Los Angeles). Stern, David H. Messianic Judaism: A Modern Movement With an Ancient Past. Revision of Messianic Jewish Manifesto, 1988. Baltimore: Messianic Jewish Resources International , 2007.
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