Circumcision and non-Jews

One of the obstacles of converting to Judaism is for some people the fact that they have to be circumcized. In fact historically it has been the reason why some non-Jews decided to become God-fearers, which could range from occassional synagogue attendance to participation in prayer and study groups. Today a lot of people have chosen to circumcize their children, some for hygienic purposes while others do so because they believe they are commanded in it.

Among Christians there is some confusion and hesistance around this topic due to several of Paul’s remarks against circumcision, such as the following passage:

“Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.” Gal. 5:2-6

From what I have read when Paul is referring to circumcision he is mainly arguing against non-Jews converting to Judaism but be that as it may most people take statements like this at face-value and are naturally hesistant if not opposing towards circumcision. Especially when this is done not for hygienic purposes but in order to fulfill a commandment.

Nevertheless there are quite a few non-Jews who want to have their children circumcized not for hygienic purposes but because they believe they are fulfilling a commandment. In Islam its a commandment but even among Christians there are those who hold that its a commandment. And in this post I would like to show a very interesting response to this question by the Rambam, the foremost decisor in the Jewish legal process, on what relationship non-Jews have to cicumcision.

Like I mentioned before, its a requirement for one that aspires to convert but certainly its not an obligation incumbent on non-Jews. Nevertheless absence of obligation does not render fulfillment of commandments impossible and it seems in this case it is no different.

The words of the Rambam are cited in an article (p.2) written by R. Twersky:

“It’s allowed for a Jew to circumcize a non-Jew if the non-Jew wants to cut and remove the foreskin, since any commandment that a non-Jew does he is given reward for, but not [the same reward] as one who is commanded and does [it], and on the condition that he does it while acknowledging the truth of the prophecy of Moses our Teacher, that this commandment [comes] from the mouth of God above, and he believes in this, and he does not do it for another reason or on account of his own insights… as was explained in the Baraita of Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov, and already we wrote this in our work (Hilchot Melachim 8:10). And that which the Baraita said (Avoda Zara 26b): “A Jew can circumcize a non-Jew for the purposes of conversion.” That’s obvious! One who will be converted is [obviously] circumcized and is his corona is uncovered. [So what does it mean "for the purpose of conversion"?] You might have thought that that which it says “for the purpose of conversion” excludes the case of the circumcision of a non-Jew [who does not intend to convert], and if that were the case, then it would be impossible to circumcize him and let him remain in his non-Jewish status as a circumcized non-Jew. [Because of this possible incorrect inference] the Talmud explained that that which it says “for the sake of conversion” was not [stated] to exclude circumcision [generally] but rather to exclude the case of “moranah” which means if the non-Jew had some sickness or parasite on the foreskin, a Jew is not allowed to cut off the foreskin in order to heal him, because this cutting would not involve a mitzvah, rather the non-Jew simply desires to be healed. For this reason, the Talmud explained that the intention of writing “for the sake of conversion” was not to exclude circumcision in general…. and it is irrelevant if the non-Jew comes to be circumcised or for them to complete the circumcision, and there is no difference between an idol-worshipper and any other non-Jew. And anyone who comes to be circumcized for the sake of the commandment we can circumcize him according to the religious rules of how to behave. And [thus] wrote Moshe.” (Translation by a friend)

So it appears that a non-Jew can fulfill the commandment of circumcision and its only for this reason that a Jew would be allowed to circumcize him. Not for health or other reasons. Now lest one think that Jewish law doesnt allow medical treatment of non-Jews, this is not the case. It should be kept in mind that the Rambam was writing in terms of whether the circumcision could be considered a commandment, which only applies when the non-Jew’s motivation is not medical.

The Rambam’s conclusion on this issue is rather the opposite of what I thought at first. I would have thought that a mohel (person trained in circumcision) would only be willing to do it for hygienic reasons if the person is not Jewish. But the Rambam says explicitly that it can only be done if the intention is to fulfill a commandment and not for health reasons. Consistent with his general approach the Rambam allows non-Jews to fulfill commandments that they are not commanded in and even suggests that there is reward in this! Whether Paul would have thought likewise we dont really know, although the majority of Christians conclude from his letters the opposite of the Rambam’s conclusion.

Missionary activity

Yesterday I read an article in the Jerusalem Post, subtitled “Watch out missionaries”, about how Messianic Jews were being harrassed in Arad by local Gerrer Hasidim. The reporter wrote of the hardships the Messianics had to endure, ranging from being threathened and cursed on the street to having their buildings burnt down.

This wasnt the first time I heard about this, when I was in Israel I spoke to a pastor in Beersheva who told me firsthand how they were consistently harrassed and threathened and how one time the congregation was stormed, and he was thrown in the baptismal font!

These stories are disheartening, especially upon hearing how the Police doesnt involve itself very much…

However, there is another side to these stories, which I think should also be taken into account:

While in Israel volunteering in a soupkitchen I got to know a girl who worked there full-time. She was quite desperate for love – which I wasnt going to give her, besides normal friendship – but one day she told me that she went to see the dentist and while sitting in the lobby got to know this very friendly woman that also believed in Jesus but was Jewish.

This made me a bit uncomfortable as many Messianic Jews in Israel were simply Evangelicals with Jewish blood, which is not bad in itself, but in my opinion far from desirable.

I knew the girl was vulnerable, she had lost both of her parents, had problems with her eyes and just longed for friendship and love. Hence I was expecting the woman at the dentist and her fellow congregants to take advantage of her situation by extending her the love and friendship she desired, in order to convert her.

I returned home and came to Israel a couple of months later to hear the rest of the story:

At first it was nice, she was warmly welcomed and felt loved, and after some time she started to believe, but then noticed that they were trying to get her married to a Messianic Jew so that she would stay. That made her uncomfortable and the people werent so friendly anymore when she didnt cooperate, and she resolved to leave behind all this “Jesus-stuff” and never return again.

Though a case in itself, I think its important that this is known, that things like this happen, that counter-missionaries are not making everything up. Needless to say its not true that every Messianic Jew is a missionary hunting for prey but there are vulnerable people targeted, who are often not given the chance to make a well thought out decision.

Hence I can understand the tireless efforts made by organizations like Jews for Judaism or Yad L’Achim. That doesnt mean I agree with their methods, I am in the end a Christian as well, but if the tables would be turned and vulnerable souls among my family and friends would be targeted, I would surely also speak up.

Again note that Im not sanctioning their actions, Im just saying that their frustration is based on something real.

See also this article written by the director of Jews for Judaism that attempts to lay out why they are combatting missionaries. Interestingly, she herself was involved in the Messianic world as well before she converted (back) to Judaism.

Converting to Judaism III

This is post is continued from two previous posts; I, II

In this post ill give what I see as a problem attached to converting to Judaism.

Heres the problem:

If you reject Yeshua as Messiah, why not go further and reject the whole of Judaism as well.

STOP you would say, this is an error in your reasoning, but wait, let me explain.

When one reads the Tanakh it becomes apparent that there is a development, I mean one cannot conceal his eyes for the fact that todays Judaism is very different from Moses’ Judaism[1][2], or David’s Judaism, or Jeremiah’s Judaism, and although this in itself is not negative, on the contrary, we believers, consider it to be a legitimate and G’dly guided development, this shows that there is room for religion to be externally influenced and undergo change (albeit slowly and in mostly the same direction).

What has this to do with “rejecting Judaism” (Q) as a consequent of “rejecting Yeshua” (P)? (P=>Q) [3]

It is tied to the most common reason for rejecting Yeshua as Messiah; the ‘discrepancy’ (forgive me Im biased:P) between the NT and the Tanakh, mainly found in descriptions by the Prophets of who the Messiah would be, how he would act, what would happen when he’d come, etc.

The best objection that is posed is:

if Messiah has come why isnt there peace on earth? Isnt it written [...]and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.

And this objection is a very good one! Id say by far the best objection one can pose. Why, if my Rabbi is indeed the Messiah, isnt their peace on earth? Being a Christian (albeit an odd one:P), I know our answer pretty well We say, no but look at Isaiah Ch. 53, the Suffering Servant, this was prophesied to come to pass and has, and at his second coming, the other prophecies will be fulfilled. But how much evidence do we have for this? Very little, in general prophecies concerning Messiah are scarce, and those that would indicate two comings are even more hard to be found. [4]

Nevertheless, from my point of view, the events that took place around the person Yeshua of Nazareth, as recorded by the NT[5], sound credible enough for him to be made a candidate in the race for the Messiah [6]. So even though some of the thought that is presented in the NT may appear not to flow fluently with the Tanakh, theres a general direction that is very much in line with the previous revelation (see an earlier post of my take on how to approach the NT here).

Again, there are many ‘discrepancies’[7] in the Tanakh (thank G’d for Rashi!), yet we dont dismiss it altogether. Similarly, although at some points the NT presents a developed thought (or in the words of others: foreign thought), e.g. the Suffering Servant, or an emphasis on the role of G’ds spirit in the life of the believer, or conceptually, as the spirit-christology that is more apparent in the Synoptics as opposed/in complement to the logos-christology that is posed by the Johanine writings, this is not sufficient criteria for dismissing it, as the Tanakh is full with this. Examples of these would be the shift from ethnos to ethno-religion[8], the change in who constituted part of the nation of Israel[9] but also as my friend Geert ter Horst pointed out to me, the difference between Ezekiel the Prophet’s description of the future Temple and the Tanakh’s prescriptions.

I know Im not really convicing in this post, but let me share a real life example, I had a friend who was on a similar path as me, call it “the Christian for Moses-path”, but when critically examining the NT in relation to the Tanakh, that is, holding the Tanakh to be constant and thus not open to internal critique, but solely looking between the NT and the Tanakh, he found that it was not compatible with each other. He pressed for conversion but the Rabbi slowed him down and suggested Noahidism. Yet while pursuing this, and continuing his studies in the Tanakh, he found that if he were to use his rhetoric in the same way as he did previously, he couldnt hold onto Judaism either, as internally the Tanakh didnt seem to be compatible, and he didnt.

Does this prove my point? Not really, as you could find fault with his reasoning, yet I do think this is not necessarily an illogical step.

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[1] Theres a midrash about how if Moses would come into the Synagogue today, he wouldnt understand anything of it and people would have to explain it to him. This, I think, indicates the Sages z”l acknowledging the difference between todays Judaism and Moses’ Judaism instead of claiming it to be the unchanged form (although often todays Judaism is forced back into the text, but this is understandable as this is somewhat demanded for making it a ‘work-able’ concept).

[2] Im aware that its anachronistic to use the term “Judaism” but use it anyways for comfort sake

[3] Im supposed to study for my mathematical logic class now but am writing for my blog, in this way I ease my conscience by still doing something in relation to my course:P

[4] Wouldnt know of one actually… granted, the idea of a suffering servant and conquering king lends credence to the thought, one could say that the existence of those two concepts necessitates two comings but a specific verse or passage for this, I wouldnt know.

[5] One could easily throw in some Biblical Criticism to debunk the NT, however the same can be done to the Tanakh, and for those that have studied that issue a bit more in-depth (Biblical Criticism especially on the Torah), it is known that the results arent that well-founded.

[6] As my blog-name (Christian for Moses) indicates I believe him to be the actual promised Messiah of Israel.

[7] I put discrepancies between inverted commas, as I dont mean real discrepancies (although in some details there may be), but rather, seeming differences in concepts, these being mainly additions that are of a complementary nature.

[8] See Shaye D. Cohen, The Beginnings of Jewishness: Boundaries, Varieties, Uncertainties (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999), pp. 109-39

[9] Before the Babylonian exile people were mainly defined by descent and territory, to be an Israelite, one had to be either descended from Jacob or be a non-Jew living in the territory of the land of Israel (while accepting its governance). The boundary between Jews and non-Jews was mainly based on moral-religious grounds and thus permeable if one would live in ways that were in line with the religious morality of the nation of Israel. After the Babylonian exile this changed, descent became the chief factor in defining the nation and non-Jews living in the land of Israel were no longer regarded as part of the nation of Israel regardless of their observance.

Converting to Judaism? II

This post is continued from a previous post, see here.

After some discussion on why I thought it was impossible for me to convert, they asked the following question:

What makes you believe that Jesus is the Messiah? And rephrased, “whats the significance of His Messiahship?”

So I responded by saying that I believed He had fulfilled various prophecies, I didnt go into detail but named especially Isaiah Ch.53. I then proceeded by talking about how His resurrection by G’d was a very important part of the evidence, but then didnt proceed to expound on it because it seemed quite difficult to communicate this to someone who is not really acquainted with this history and thinks most of the Apostolic Writings, if not all, are corrupted.

Thus I proceeded to His atonement.

I said its through the death of the Messiah that G’d has reconciled the world to Himself. I said “the Messiah has been made the korban for all those who trust/believe in Him”. However I immediately weakened my own argument by noting the Ramban’s response; “why are the curses that originated from the seperation still here”.

I talked about how Messiah’s sacrifice was made in the heavenly Tabernacle and how theres thus no problem if sacrifices are resumed, but did quite a poor job in explaining all this.

In the end, I said זה קשה מאוד, and its true, its very difficult to communicate this knowing their responses in advance and actually seeing some merit in them. 

He said to me, “you’ve studied alot on your own but I think its time for you to continue your studies with a Rabbi or some Jewish institute”. I responded a bit sarcastic, “you mean Chabad or Aish haTorah?”. He said “well maybe you could take a year off and come study here in Israel”. To which I responded, “the end result of this seems quite clear to me” (i.e. rejection of my Rabbi and conversion). He asked why I thought that would be the case. So I explained that with such signficant external factors there would be little objective search for evidence.

I mean, when you actually live or participate to some extent in the Jewish community you cannot escape the attraction. I was there for only ten days and already felt this heavy attraction, קל וחומר when youre there for a year!

Dont I like the idea? Obviously there are some parts I like of the idea, I mean being part of the Jewish community brings so many benefits if not only for the very fact that its virtually impossible to live a lifestyle close to the Torah in the absence of a community. And I think this actually reflects a big theological difference between Christianity and Judaism.

In Christianity, at least in the Protestant tradition, theres much emphasis on the relationship between the individual and G’d, and this relationship is mainly accentuated by various dogma’s or creeds that are believed in. An example of this among Pentecostalists would be to ask the question whether one believes that the gifts of the spirit are for today, an example among Reformists would be to ask whether one believes that he is saved by grace alone.

This is all so foreign to the question that Jewish people ask among each other; you keep Shabbat? you daven? Obviously the answers to these questions indicate some of the beliefs that are associated with the level of observance, an example would be whether or not they believe in TMS, but theres much more emphasis on deeds and the relationship of the community as a whole wrt G´d. This too, is one of the things that makes me feel attracted to Judaism.

So Im living in the paradox, or as some call it, no-man’s land, but for now, Im ok with it, if this is the only way to follow my Rabbi, then so be it. I recall His words:

Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head

May it be His will that I will live up to the words of Peter:

Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away

ואמרו אמן

Converting to Judaism?

While in Israel Ive been asked about 30 times whether I wanted to convert to Judaism. My persistent answer has always been a resolute no. So I ask myself why do they ask this to me and not to just every tourist that comes to their country. To be sure theres good reason to ask me, I show a lot of interest in Judaism and share most of their beliefs. So the obvious question becomes “why not?”.

There was this time I was sitting at a family’s house and they asked me the question again, it was an open dialogue no pressure but just a desire to understand what was going on inside of me. So I explained I dont want to convert for two reasons, one, and this is the biggest reason, my belief that Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Messiah is not acceptable within Judaism, a great teacher maybe, but definitely not Messiah, and two, Im content being non-Jewish, I say “if G’d wanted me to be Jewish I would be born Jewish”. But again number 1 is the decisive one.

Still my interest or even love for Judaism continues, theres this attraction that pulls me, and I know Im contributing to it. I dont want it, I considered stopping for a while with all the studying in Jewish texts and just buy myself a set of Christian books:) I mean its quite logical when you read about 10 Jewish books to 1 Christian book you’ll find yourself being pursuaded or at least acclimated to the former.

So what is it that attracts me…

It certainly is their Torah and especially their tradition, its so rich and provides such a good framework for life, such a framework I miss in Christianity. Not only that but it seems to be the religion of my Rabbi, He seems to fit in so well, His words and life belong in that religion. Obviously the Sages z”l think not, and who am I to say who fits into their tradition, but really when His words are removed from under the layers that have been build on it by various church traditions they show this great Rabbi who has so much compassion for the children of Israel and is zo zealous to make them return to Hashem. Obviously He’s more than a great Rabbi and this is the dividing point; to claim that He is the awaited Messiah.

I asked the family what their thoughts were about me, where I would be in 5 years, and they respectfully responded they didnt know, but thought one of the two (i.e. Torah and Yeshua) had to give in, and seeing that I felt so attracted to Judaism and believed nearly all of it, as opposed to Christianity (at least in many ways), they saw a good chance of me converting.

Are they right? I dont think so, and certainly hope not.

One thing I must say is that I think I start to understand more how the early believers vanished, I mean the believers that were observing the Torah, if their situation is comparable to some degree to mine, its not hard to imagine how they vanished into the Church or the Synagogue.

To be continued…