An Open Letter on HashivenuBy Rev. David Daniels
January 4, 2006
To my brothers & sisters in the evangelical community generally, and the messianic community particularly:
Established in 1894, The Toronto Jewish Mission is Canada's oldest continuing outreach to the Jewish community. Founded upon the truth that the gospel of Jesus Christ is "for the Jew first and also for the Greek (Gentile)" (Rom. 1:16), we believe it is imperative to guard against any move that may dilute the evangelistic imperative to proclaim the gospel to all who have not believed in Jesus as Messiah and Saviour.
It is never our desire to engage in needless controversy, nor do we carelessly challenge the beliefs and practices of fellow believers in Jesus. However, we do believe it is right to warn believers about theological trends which can potentially damage the ongoing work of the gospel among the Jewish people.
The article following this letter is rooted in a question we received from an inquirer who visited our Messianic Forum website some months ago. This gentleman asked if we knew anything about a messianic group called Hashivenu, and if so, what we thought of them.
Never having heard of Hashivenu, we began searching online. We found their web site and learned that Hashivenu was a group of messianic Jewish leaders who believe in Yeshua (Jesus) but are committed to bringing the messianic movement closer to mainstream Judaism.
As we studied the core values of Hashivenu, we grew increasingly uncomfortable with some of the stated goals of the group. We felt the concerns were significant enough to warrant posting an article about them. Consequently, "Hashivenu, Messianic Judaism, and Christianity," written by staff member David Cooke, was posted on February 9, 2005. In that article he discussed some areas of concern to us.
Within a few weeks, we received several emails from Rabbi Stuart Dauermann, President of Hashivenu. Vigorously challenging the validity of our concerns, he chastised us for posting the article without first contacting Hashivenu. Rabbi Dauermann described the article as a piece of "misinformation and mischaracterization."
In retrospect, we recognized that we should have contacted Hashivenu, giving them an opportunity to respond to our concerns prior to posting our article. We apologized to Rabbi Dauermann for this, and in fairness to them, removed the article from our website until Hashivenu had opportunity to respond to our concerns.
Over the ensuing weeks, I attempted to discuss our questions with Rabbi Dauermann. The following is an email I sent to Rabbi Dauermann on September 14, 2005:
Brother Stuart:
For some time I have wanted to renew our discussion about Messianic Judaism - not in a combative manner, but with a sincere desire to understand the foundational beliefs inherent in the movement.
Today I took the time to re-read the core values of Hashivenu. Would you be so kind as to "unpack" the implications of this paragraph taken from Core Value #1?
"When we say that Messianic Judaism is 'a Judaism,' we are also acknowledging the existence of other 'Judaisms.' We do not deny their existence, their legitimacy, or their value. We are not the sole valid expression of Judaism with all else a counterfeit. We recognize our kinship with other Judaisms and believe that we have much of profound importance to learn from them, as well as something vitally important to share with them."
How does one recognize the "legitimacy" and "value" of a religious movement that, at its core, denies the all-sufficient atoning work of Yeshua, the Son of G-d? Given rabbinic Judaism's two millennia rejection of Yeshua, in what way does Messianic Judaism have "kinship with" these expressions of Judaism?
For example, how do I reconcile that view with the words of Yeshua? He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad (Matt. 12:30). You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also (John 8:19).
How should I understand the following text in light of the core value statement above? I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed (Gal. 1:6-8).
Stuart, if modern Judaism (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, et. al.) denies Yeshua, in what sense can one say that these expressions of Judaism hold equal legitimacy and value with Messianic Judaism which embraces Yeshua as the Son of G-d and as Messiah and Saviour? However much the various denominations within modern Judaism differ, at their core they are all opposed to Yeshua.
I look forward to your response. You will note that I have copied this email to those individuals who received our previous exchanges. I've included them in the hopes of encouraging of wider-ranging, and hopefully fruitful, discussion of these important matters.
Wishing you every blessing in Messiah,
David |
As the discussion unfolded from this email, Rabbi Dauermann, and one other messianic leader being copied in the discussion, discussed the various ways in which the term "legitimate" could be used. In essence, it was said the Judaism had been valuable in terms of keeping the Jewish community informed of God's covenant with them, and of the life-style expectations flowing out of that covenant. However, I have yet to receive any response to the biblical texts noted above. In my view, any religious expression which denies the person and work of Yeshua is by definition a false religion. Modern Judaism, in its ongoing rejection of Jesus is a false religion.
Challenging the beliefs of a fellow disciple of Yeshua is not something I take lightly. In supporting David Cooke's posting of the article, I did so with a genuine desire to promote a biblically-sound theology.
It has never been the intention of this ministry to cavalierly malign our brothers in Messiah at Hashivenu. The Torah command, "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbour" (Ex. [Shemos] 20:16), is one we take seriously. But we cannot risk losing ground in the great challenge of bringing the gospel to the lost within the Jewish community.
The current generation of messianic leaders who embrace the philosophy inherent in Hashivenu may survive with their faith intact, but we are genuinely concerned that the next generation will find itself mired in the extra-biblical traditions of rabbinic Judaism, and thus miss the true freedom of salvation in Yeshua haMashiach (Jesus the Messiah).
While we truly hope that the future will prove us wrong, our concern for the spiritual well-being of the messianic movement prompts us to re-post a revised article expressing our deeply-held concerns.
We sincerely hope that Hashivenu will remain open to the counsel of the wider evangelical community as we together seek the salvation of God's ancient covenant people.
With every desire for the salvation of the Jewish community,
David Daniels, Director
New Covenant House
The Toronto Jewish Mission
View:
Hashivenu, Messianic Judaism, and Christianity - Reposted.
