Inside a Messianic Church: Or, Imitation is the Greatest Form of Flattery


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Notice the gaudy overuse of Jewish symbols and Hebrew here. Yahshua (Joshua) is Hebrew for Jesus.


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The caption reads "Rabbi Ralph Messer and Rabbi Randy Dryer representing both houses light the havdalah candle of repentance".

Havdalah, meaning "distinction" is a typically home ceremony that concludes Shabbat. It marks the transition from the additional holiness of Shabbat to the regular week day.

The "Rabbi", out of touch with his own Jewish heritage, is reading in things that are not there. What's going on here? It so happens the first song "Hamavdil" on page 623 of the widely used Artscroll Siddur is concerned with repentance and forgiveness. This secondary theme now becomes primary in Messer's plagiarised ceremony. The song is appealing to a Christian audience due to its overlap with the central themes of Christianity. This is a classic example of the phoniness of these ceremonies, and offers an insight into the processes producing them: Jewish material widely available contributes to these "innovations".


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Blowing the shofar.


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"Aaronic" Blessing.

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Torah.



Conclusion:

If these activities where to stay in this Church, there is no problem. Ultimately, no-one can claim a monopoly on ritual. Certainly I'm not suggesting there is anything illegal going on. However, as soon as it is marketed at the Jewish community as Judaism, it becomes of concern. There is no Judaism here, this is a Christian service with the actors dressed up as Jews.



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