As I was learning Chumash & Rashi last week I came across the following comment of Rashi:
Its on Deut 26:11
And you shall rejoice in all the good that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the sojourner who is among you.
Rashi says:
And the convert who is in your midst – He brings but does not recite for he is unable to say “to our forefathers”. [1]
I remember once someone told me at the Kotel that I was allowed to pray the whole Amidah, save for the phrase ואלקי אבותינו, אלקי אברהם, אלקי יצחק, ואלקי יעקב
and G’d of our forefathers, G’d of Abraham, G’d of Isaac and G’d of Jacob
This seems like a reasonable charge as Im not Jewish.
But some would argue that this is possible as a believer in Jesus and reference especially Paul for this.
For example while addressing a largely non-Jewish congregation Paul says:
For I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink
And thus they induce from this that non-Jewish believers in Jesus can also call the Patriarchs their fathers.
Im not sure if this is rightfully so, at least not on the basis of this phrase, as even though he says our fathers, this does not necessarily mean he includes his audience in ‘our’, he could simply be using this phrase as he is teaching from within the Jewish camp. And this is not a stretch, think of a business presentation, it would be unlikely to hear a representative talk in the singular. Similarly the position he takes in his letter could be reflecting the Jewish believers in Jesus teaching a largely non-Jewish congregation, who they see as brothers albeit in a different way than their ethnic brothers.
When it comes to considering the possibility to call Abraham as their father, in a spiritual sense, I would have to concur on the basis of Paul’s writings, for he says:
That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all
But as for Isaac and Jacob, Im not sure…
Feel free to drop in your comments.
[1] R. Herczeg, Rashi (New York: Mesorah Publications ltd., 2007), p.272
In “The Art of Jewish Prayer”, rabbi Yitzchok Kirzner (expounding on the first benediction of the Amidah) points out the uniqueness of the phrase “The G-d of Abraham, G-d of Isaac, and G-d of Jacob”, as used in prayer. If this phrase was merely meant to remind one of their physical or ethnic heritage it would read “The G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”. The fact that HaShem’s name is used in conjunction with each patriarch’s name emphasizes how each forged his own relationship with G-d based on his unique character attributes.
Abraham’s main character trait was lovingkindness (chesed), Isaac’s was discipline and self-control (gevurah) and Jacob’s was truth and beauty (tiferet). With this in mind we pray this benediction with the understanding that it is our task to discover, relate to, and serve G-d according to our individual and primary nature and character traits.
According to Kirzner;
“The spectrum of all character types of Jews is reflected in the three characters of the forefathers. Every Jew can tap into the spiritual pools of the forefathers in order to learn how to relate to G-d according to his or her individual nature or circumstances. . . .This shows that each of us should strive to find a personal relationship with G-d when we pray” (The Art of Jewish Prayer – Judaica Press, New York, 2002, p. 46-47)
If a non-Jewish Christian is included in Israel through Yeshua the Messiah, then I see no difficulty in his using the formula: “Our G-d and the G-d of our forefathers” in prayer. Through and in Yeshua he is adopted as a non-Jewish member in the House of Israel. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob now are his forefathers “in Messiah”. Abraham was a non-Jew, Isaac was a non-Jew, and even Jacob was a non-Jew. Jacob was made Israel.
If we compare our inclusion by means of Messiah with the traditional Jewish inclusion by means of a giur, we see some remarkable similarities. A person who is Jewish by giur receives the name and the title of “son of Abraham”, because he is a follower, a disciple, of Abraham. In the ger the nation of Israel has a new beginning, a new birth, because an entire new bloodline is starting.
In almost the same way, someone is included in Israel by means of his faith in Messiah Yeshua. He is a follower and disciple of Abraham, because he shares in the faith of Abraham. By his faith in Messiah he is added to the believing remnant of Israel, and this believing remnant is part of the larger nation of Israel. I think that it can even be sustained that a new bloodline of the nation is starting in his person.
By this I do not mean of course that the descendants of non-Jewish believers are part of the remnant of Israel by their natural birth. As children of Israelites however they are Israelites, although they are not Jews. They are sanctified and separated from the world by having parents who belong to Messiah and are Torah observant. It can reasonably be expected of these children that they will become Torah observant believers too, and that in due time they will be fully incorporated in the faith community of Israel’s remnant. By becoming believers they will not only be the descendants of their parents, but also their followers and disciples. That’s why they can pray: “Our G-d and the G-d of our fathers”. They belong to the family of the faith.
Hi Geert,
I found this in one of your posts on the forum:
I wonder what exactly made you change your mind on this issue and come to:
Warmly,
Daniel
It is good if someone can change their mind. We are all learning and growing.
I agree with Geert here:
“If a non-Jewish Christian is included in Israel through Yeshua the Messiah, then I see no difficulty in his using the formula: “Our G-d and the G-d of our forefathers” in prayer. Through and in Yeshua he is adopted as a non-Jewish member in the House of Israel. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob now are his forefathers “in Messiah”. Abraham was a non-Jew, Isaac was a non-Jew, and even Jacob was a non-Jew. Jacob was made Israel.”
I am enjoying pondering your thoughts, Daniel, and those of your readers.
Shalom,
Maureen
I arrived at my conclusions mainly by three intuitions that I had to recognize as biblical principles. The first intuition was that the Bible knows of no separation between the spiritual and the physical domains; the second was that there can only be one people of G-d, not two or more peoples of G-d; and the third, that all other solutions of the relation between Israel and the Messianic Community result in serious difficulties.
The first principle forbids us to spiritualize things when we read passages like Eph. 2:11-13:
11Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; 12That at that time ye were without Messiah, being aliens from the citizenship of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: 13But now in Messiah Yeshua ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Messiah.
This text clearly teaches that Messiah believing Gentiles are included in Israel, and this is confirmed by Eph. 2:19:
19Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of G-d;
By choosing not to spiritualize the words of Paul in ::11-13, we easily arrive at the thought expressed a few verses later (in :15), that Jewish and Gentile believers are “one new man” in Messiah, by which the second principle is confirmed, that there can only be one people of G-d.
It seems hardly possible to spiritualize these words of Paul, although they are highly ‘spiritual’ in the original biblical sense of pertaining to the root of our reality and of expressing what Gentile believers essentially are in the light of G-d’s revelation in Messiah. It also seems hardly possible to find stronger words to express the truth that the believing Gentiles are included in the House of Israel. It is perhaps exactly because the Gentile believers are never seen as separate from Israel, as something on their own, that they are never called ‘Israel’ in the Bible. The paradox is thus that, on the one hand, only the Jewish nation is called ‘Israel’, and only Jews are explicitly called ‘Israelites’, and that yet, on the other hand, believing Gentiles are fully identified with the believing remnant of the nation of Israel.
As to my third intuition, if we separate Jews from Gentiles within the context of the Messianic Community, we entangle ourselves in a lot of serious questions that seem to be unsolvable. Are Gentiles covenant members? If yes, then their obligations must be the obligations of covenant members. If not, then what are they? Noachides? That would seriously contradict what is said about Gentiles as be the children of Abraham and as being included in the people of G-d. It is utterly impossible to express our saving faith in Yeshua the Messiah by means of the lifestyle of following only the Noachide commandments. Also the practical unity within congregations would be threatened if there were two groups that would be commanded to follow different lifestyles. A congregation cannot be a unity except in name only if this is the case. Such a program of two lifestyles within one community inevitably and in the long run results in a complete segregation of the two groups. I consider this to be harmful for the unity of Messiah’s Body. Finally, every solution that seeks something in between the Noachide option’ and the full Torah observance option fails to give a clear answer to the question of the basic identity of Messiah believing Gentiles. Are they covenant members, or not? That seems to be the basic questions, and I see only one possible answer: a resounding ‘Yes’.