In a recent column in the Jerusalem Post, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach wrote the following:

The news, therefore, that a leading rabbinical court in Israel refused to allow into Judaism a Chabad-educated conversion candidate because he believed the Rebbe is the Messiah is deeply troubling and constitutes an act of serious contempt for a non-Jew who has made sacrifices to ally himself with the Jewish people. Comparing this with a Jew-for-Jesus wishing to convert is preposterous, given that Jews-for-Jesus believe in the divinity of Christ (which no one in Chabad would ever assert about the Rebbe) as well as the irrelevance of the Torah to modern times.

As a member of the Yeshua messianic movement, I would respectfully submit that Rabbi Boteach is not completely correct in his assessment that those who look to Yeshua as the promised messiah subscribe to the idea that the Torah is irrelevant to modern times. In fact, among the Yeshua messianic movement, it is our insistence in the very relevance of Torah, even today, that sets us apart from mainstream Christianity.

Prior to becoming messianic, the last two Christian churches I attended were almost exclusively “grace-based,” which in practice means that, when push came to shove, attendees of those churches tended to believe that as long as they were “covered by the blood of Jesus,” anything goes because it’s all forgiven anyway. “Grace covers all” was the watchword, and I increasingly found myself ill at ease with such a viewpoint.

Why would Adonai offer up the Ten Commandments, and indeed the whole of the Torah, if it were only “culturally relevant to the time and culture of Moshe, but ready to be cast aside upon the appearance of Yeshua in human history.” Even the teachings of Rabbi Shaul (Paul) indicated a deeper struggle against violating the standards of Torah than is found in modern, grace-based churches. Faith in Yeshua as messiah without a conviction in the relevance of Torah to modern times is like a faith on diet pills; it will always be found wanting.

The revelation I found in the Yeshua messianic movement is not relabeled, warmed-over Christianity with a dash of Judaism for flavor. On the contrary, it is an equal balance. Yes, we have a messiah whose grace covers our human failings and inability to live up to Adonai’s perfect standard for human behavior and, far too often, our failure to even live up to His minimum standard, set forth in Torah.

While such forgiveness is precious, it did not come cheaply and it must be remembered above all that Yeshua was not a revolutionary starting a new religion. Yeshua the messiah was a faithful Jew who lived blamelessly the standards set by Torah; if anyone wishes to emulate Yeshua, the Torah is the only place to go to discover how he lived righteously before Adonai, and therefore the Torah – the written Torah, at least – is more relevant in the life of a Yeshua messianic than any other document they could possibly read.

While rabbinic Jews and Yeshua messianic believers do part ways on some areas of interpretation and conviction, the relevance of Torah to modern times is not one of them. That said, I certainly look forward to a new season of Shalom In the Home and Rabbi Boteach’s new book, The Broken American Male and How to Fix Him.

Three lessons.

That’s all that remains for the current cycle of lessons – a cycle that is one year (47 lessons, with space for some special weeks of instruction) in length – before we reach the end and start over again. I have been teaching the bar and bat mitzvah class much of that time. For the first few months, I was part of a two-person team that rotated in once a month. For the past seven months, I’ve been part of a two-person team that handles the teaching pretty much every week.

The book our study revolves around is the gospel of Matthew, with plenty of rabbinic and Torah teachings brought in along the way. It’s a challenging curriculum that even adults could gain knowledge studying. But now we’re reaching the end of Matthew. In the next three lessons, we will cover the death and resurrection of Yeshua, then move into the great commission and then it’s done.

And then, we start over, of course.

We don’t use a lot of multimedia to keep these young minds engaged. We don’t need DVDs or TVs or TV lift cabinets. All we do is expect them all to take part reading through the lesson, answering questions, paying attention, reviewing the material and figuring out (with help) how this all applies to their every day lives.

Because, as we often remind the kids, we could have them attend every single week for two years, push them through a bar or bat mitzvah ceremony and welcome them into the age of accountability with fanfare galore; and if, in that time, it never made a difference in how they lived and whether they thought about how each choice they make either honors or dishonors G-d, then it is all wasted time.

The teaching I’ve been sharing here recently, originating with my rabbi, Stan Farr, that Torah is G-d’s minimum standard – the point at which we fall short – should not be considered new or revolutionary to careful students of Torah and the teachings of messiah Yeshua. Whether young or old, healthy or in need of Medicare insurance, this is a teaching anyone can understand if they simply read what G-d’s Word has to say.

Let’s look at a relevant passage:

For I tell you that unless your righteousness is far greater than that of the Torah-teachers and P’rushim, you will certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven! You have heard that our fathers were told, ‘Do not murder,’ and that anyone who commits murder will be subject to judgment. But I tell you that anyone who nurses anger against his brother will be subject to judgment; that whoever calls his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing!’ will be brought before the Sanhedrin; that whoever says, ‘Fool!’ incurs the penalty of burning in the fire of Gei-Hinnom!
Matthew 5:20-22 (CJB / Stern)

Does this not make it clear that the Torah is but a minimum standard compared to G-d’s perfect standard of righteousness? Here, Yeshua references a simple commandment: You shall not murder. Does this mean that as long as we do not murder, we are living to G-d’s perfect standard of righteousness?

There are all manner of things, short of murder, that one can indulge in and steer clear of the letter of this commandment. One can sneer, despise, hate, plot against, assault, batter, disrespect and more – all without crossing the line into murder. Murder is the point at which we fail even G-d’s minimum standard, but a person who does not murder but indulges all that I have just named here is certainly not a master over their anger, are they?

That is Yeshua’s point. It is not merely rhetorical, to make a point, that Yeshua says that even saying, “Fool!” will put one in danger of the fires of hell. It is a real and serious communication by our messiah, from Adonai’s mouth to our ears. Yeshua is our perfect mediator between Adonai and us; we must listen to him and not write off such a serious message as hyperbole to make a point.

Our call is to love one another. Anything short of that is short of Adonai’s perfect standard for righteousness. The Torah, through valuable beyond words, is merely where the compromise between Adonai and us as to what the least we could do and still be within his favor is defined.

First communion invitations are not a concern for messianics, as we do not celebrate such a thing; however, we do celebrate bar and bat mitzvah as our young boys and girls enter their teen years, so there is a parallel invitation need.

Bar mitzvah happens for boys around the time they turn 13; bat mitzvah happens for girls around the time they turn 12. What does this mean? Let’s break it down. Mitzvah is a word that traditionally means “commandment” in both Hebrew and Aramaic, although it can alternatively also be translated as “good deed” or “righteous act,” which are simply shadings of the same root meaning. “Bar” means “son of” in Aramaic and “bat” means “daughter of” in Aramaic. So, in essence, the celebration could be translated either, “son of the commandment,” or, more loosely, “son of righteousness.” Similarly with girls, it would be “daughter of the commandment” or “daughter of righteousness.”

Basically, it is a coming of age celebration, but with a spiritual connotation. From a messianic perspective, it celebrates the age of maturity, when young men and women have studied Torah enough to have their own basic understanding of sin and righteousness, so that they are without excuse. It celebrates the time at which young people must become responsible for their own behavior, choosing what is righteous and pleasing to Adonai over what us unrighteous and sinful.

It is not, as many messianics believe, a full license into adulthood. Children in their teen years are still in need of some direction and assistance in making their way through the challenges of life and becoming prepared for full adult responsibilities; all a bar or bat mitzvah signifies is that no longer can they claim they did not know right from wrong.

Sometime today, if preliminary testing goes well, my mom will be getting her pacemaker put in. As much as I’d like to drive down to Rochester, walk up to the reception desk, and be directed to the nearest waiting room to see her through this, it’s not quite possible; both my wife and I are currently out of work and have been for almost a week.

But prayer is effective. I found out today that I’m in line for a job that could start as early as next Tuesday, if all goes well. The offer isn’t formally made just yet, though. And my wife received a call about a job offer today, too, so she may be back to work as well, laying our rent concerns to rest.

Adonai never gives us more than we can handle; but he knows a lot better than we do where those limits are.

A popular Twin Cities jewelry store, Kay Jewelers, uses the following motto: “Every kiss begins with Kay.”

Pardon me, but if it required diamond pendants for my wife to give me a kiss, we might hit our 50th wedding anniversary still childless, because our affection would never get off the ground.

Advertisers drive us to be materialistic and it slips into our prayer lives. Getting my bar and bat mitzvah kids to say one thing they’re grateful for each week is harder than performing a root canal. And even when they think of something – and this is true of most believers, not just kids – too often our gratitude is centered around something materialistic.

So, to lead by example, here’s the thing I am most grateful for today, and it doesn’t come easy saying this.

I am grateful that, even though sick and hospitalized, my mother is still alive. Even though my wife and I have been careful to try and treasure every new day she’s given with us since her stroke last August, I must admit it’s been easy to slowly slip into routine again and take it for granted that she’s still with us.

Thank you, Adonai, that my mother is still alive, for all the days you’ve given her, and however many more remain. Thank you, Yeshua, our messiah.

The whole world seems to be going high-def crazy. All TVs sold these days are HD-compatible, most are true HDTVs, complete with HDMI switches and cables and the whole nine yards.

Torah cornered the market on high definition back in the days of Moshe. Every Bible is host to the HDTorah, if only we were willing to read and obey it. Granted, there are the Ten Commandments, but beyond that, there are the 613 points of Mosaic law that accompanied them. These points cover every important aspect of life as it was mean to be lived by Jews in the land of Israel, a model for what society should be if it obeys and fears the G-d of Abraham, Issac and Jacob.

There is one myth that each person is expected to obey at 613 points; but that’s not even possible! Not because Adonai’s standards are too high, but because they are too high-definition.

What do I mean? Well, some of those 613 point are intended only for the Aaronic priesthood. Some are only intended for men; some only for women. Others are specific to other such subgroups.

This is the burden Yeshua offers. No 56 volumes of rabbinic interpretation and Oral Torah; no modern Christian legalism about avoiding the works of Mark Twain and J.K. Rowling. No make-it-up-as-you-go.

Instead, the messianic life offers a very high-def picture of God’s will for our lives; and a burden far easier than most legalistic religious leaders would burden us with. And in a way, easier to obey than the complex, subjective moral hoops Torah-hating Christian preachers of “grace without consequences” would have us follow.

Troubles never happen when we are safe, healthy, happy and completely able to deal with them. If that were the case, they wouldn’t be any trouble at all.

Tonight, I received a call from my dad. It seems my mom, who survived a stroke in August, is back in the hospital, this time with a very low heart rate and in need of a pacemaker.

This comes at a very bad time, as such things always seem to; both my wife and I currently have been working for temp companies and our current assignments both ended within a couple days of each other. Neither of us has found new assignments and so money is extremely tight right now; in fact, if at least one of us doesn’t start a new job soon, our ability to meet February rent could be in doubt. Even the best budgeting software can’t help you out when there’s no money coming in.

Yikes, right? In and of itself, that’s enough stress for anyone.

Now this with my mom. Our hearts are to be there when she goes into surgery in the next day or two; while we’ll find a way to be there if necessary, it really could throw our ability to meet February rent into even greater doubt.

It is times like these when we are put to the test of how deeply we believe the teachings of Torah; and having been through such a crisis (granted, we both had jobs back then) late this summer with mom’s health, we can only trust that Adonai will bring us through once again.

Greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world. Adonai will grant us his strength, regardless of the outcome.

There are certain myths that so pollute Christianity, they must be treated like a phase 1 environmental hazard. One such myth is that the Torah sets too high a standard for anyone to ever meet. Is that true?

Certainly, we all sin and fall short of Adonai’s perfect standard, but is that what the Torah is? Not at all.

As my rabbi has been teaching, Torah is actually a compromise on G-d’s part – and in our favor. G-d’s ideal was for Him to speak directly to each and every believer in a clear and perfectly understood voice. At Mount Sinai, the Israelites were given a taste of that perfect relationship between G-d and man, and it terrified them!

15 The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. 16 For this is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the LORD our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.”

17 The LORD said to me: “What they say is good. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. 19 If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account.

-Deuteronomy 18:15-19 (NIV)

Even the commands of Torah are compromises. Mosaic law allows for divorce; is that G-d’s perfect standard? Certainly not. As Rabbi Stan Farr has taught, Torah is merely G-d’s minimum standard – the point below which we fall short of “the least we can do” to demonstrate obedience to the L-rd, the G-d of Israel.

As I’ve said elsewhere, many Christians believe embracing Torah is legalism; but their standards are set far too low.

Most Christians believe that embracing the commands of Adonai is embracing legalism; their standards are far too low. Before I become messianic, I attended churches that shouted from the rooftops with joy, “Praise the L-rd, we are set free from the law!”

But exactly which of the Ten Commandments are they happy to be set free from? Are they hoping it is now OK to kill, to steal? That might be a bit over the top. Perhaps it is the more subtle commands, like wanting to be set free not to honor one’s parents, or the freedom to covet? That’s a bit more tenuous.

It seems many Christian churches are either searching for grace without consequences, or embrace legalism with a furor that would give even first-century Pharsees pause. Certainly many Christian churches prefer to preach against the sin of reading a Harry Potter novel more fervently than they preach against adultery.

It is within the messianic movement that I found the even-keel balance between grace and legalism. Yes, we are covered by Yeshua’s grace, but yes, it also matters what we do with it. Certainly, as Yeshua said, he holds us in his hands and no one can snatch him out; but we can jump out of our own accord, and I fear far too many folks are doing just that when they ignore the commands of Torah and exchange the truth of G-d for something else.

The Torah and the B’rit Chadeshah comprise the entire Word of the L-rd, and one cannot pick and choose what to obey and what to ignore like one would selectively take what they need off a shelf filled with Chrysler 300 accessory parts.

The messianic life is deeper than that; we must not ignore the Torah (which Gentile Christians refer to as “the Law”) for without it, how can anyone ever claim to know what “the will of the L-rd” is for us. No Christian church I ever attended had a good answer for us that didn’t seem subjectively invented. We don’t need to subjectively invent the will of Adonai for our lives; it’s outlined right there, in the Torah.

Praise G-d, we are not set free from the Torah; only from the perversion of Torah that leads to legalism.