The contemporary Messianic Jewish movement locates its roots in the original Jewish community of believers in Jesus that flourished in the century following the Crucifixion. The movement seeks to reconstruct that indigenous messianic presence within the Jewish community today. The modern origins of Messianic Judaism lie both in the lives of believers who lived quietly within the Jewish community and in the ministries of evangelists and missionaries. The evangelistic efforts slowly bore fruit in the emergence of small mission congregations, several of which eventually became the early Messianic synagogues.
As an Aramaic-speaking Galilean, Jesus would probably have been called something like Yeshua bar-Yosef—Jesus, son of Joseph. The most universal characteristic of Messianic Judaism is the use of this or similar Jewish-based terminology (e.g., Yeshua ha-Mashiḥ, Jesus the Messiah).
Also, Messianic Jews often draw on commonly used Jewish conventions for writing, such as c.e. (the Common Era) and b.c.e. (Before the Common Era) to replace the culturally pejorative usages a.d. (anno domine, “the year of our Lord”) and b.c. (before Christ). Another often-used convention is “L-rd” or “G-d,” derived from the custom of not pronouncing the tetragrammaton (YHWH).
The Messianic Movement Today
Messianic Judaism is a multifaceted renewal movement. It seeks both to rediscover a once-viable expression of Jewish faith and point towards the age-old goal of Christian renewal—to be like the New Testament church. Thus, it has the potential of incubating Christian renewal. It is also a renewal of what was once called Hebrew Christianity, a missionary outreach that less strongly identifies with the Jewish subculture than does Messianism.
Believer is the designation of choice for many Messianic Jews, due to cultural and historical baggage associated with the term Christian. For most Jews, “Christian” merely means someone who is not a Jew, whereas Messianic Jews claim to be simultaneously Jews and believers in Jesus.
Rapid growth followed the recovery of what one of the movement’s pioneer spiritual leaders called “the Messianic distinctive,” which contrasts it with the older Hebrew Christianity. In 1976 there were less than a dozen Messianic synagogues in only a few major cities. By 1982 there were thirty in twelve states and one province of Canada (plus some embryonic fellowships elsewhere). By early 1992 there were 146 congregations of varying sizes in thirty states and five Canadian provinces, plus others in Europe and Israel.
Generalizations about the specific worship practices of these congregations is difficult. According to Daniel C. Juster, former president of the Union of Messianic Congregations, approximately 5 to 10 percent of the messianic congregations adhere very strictly to the traditional Jewish liturgical prayers. On the other extreme 10 to 12 percent ignore liturgy altogether. By far the majority are divided into two schools of thought of approximately equal size. One of these is inclined to draw heavily on the Jewish liturgical tradition, with occasional efforts to rewrite prayers to draw out their messianic implications. The other draws on the prayers and rabbinic writings selectively, fitting the traditional materials into a worship service that may or may not conform to the parameters of traditional Jewish liturgy.
The Basic Structure of Jewish Worship
Traditionally, Jewish worship is Sabbath centered; although in Reform Judaism, early temples sometimes scheduled their worship services for Sunday morning. Similarly most Messianic synagogues hold their services on Friday evening or Saturday morning, or both. A few have Friday evening and Sunday morning services. Almost all observe Shabbat (the Sabbath), and only two have a Sunday worship service solely.
Although no single congregation necessarily utilizes every element of worship included in the following description, each of these elements is at least occasionally—in some places regularly—in use by some of the Messianic congregations. Traditionally, Jewish liturgical worship begins with prayers of praise, called brakhot (benedictions) or piyyutim (poems or hymns). Perhaps the most famous erev Shabbat (Friday evening) piyyut is “Lacha Dodi,” a later medieval hymn in praise of the Sabbath. It derives its name from the refrain, “Lacha dodi, likrat kalah, p’nei Shabbat n’kab’la” (“Come, my friend, the Bride to meet, The holy Sabbath let us greet”). Often, a brakhah is a quotation from Scripture (e.g., Exod. 31:16–17, Pss. 95–99). Saturday morning begins similarly, both services moving towards the Barkhu, the call to worship, followed by more praises, all of which focus the worshiper’s attention on the next act of worship.
The Shma‘ is the Jewish confession of faith: “Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.” It is customarily chanted using the tune that is all but universal among Ashkenazic Jews (i.e., Jews of central or eastern European origin).
Following praise and confession, the Jewish service focuses on petition in the Shmoneh ’Esreh (Eighteen Benedictions), often called the Amidah (the Standing Prayer). It is said quietly, but not silently, each worshiper standing as an individual before God. Everyone reads at his own pace and sits down when he has finished. Some or part of the prayer may then be chanted by the ḥazzan (Cantor).
On Sabbath morning, the Torah is read at this point in the service. Worship then concludes with a great thanksgiving prayer that points forward to the coming of the messianic kingdom—the Alenu—chanted to one of several variants of a commonly used synagogue tune.
The Torah Service
On Monday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings in Orthodox synagogues a portion of the Torah is read (Hayim Halevy Donin, To Pray as a Jew [New York, 1980], 233), following the parshat or sidra, the weekly lectionary. Although Messianic synagogues do not customarily have mid-week services, the lectionary is followed more in the breach than in regular observance. The custom of reading from the Torah at the Saturday service has been carefully maintained in many, probably a majority.
The Torah service begins with benedictions and with removing the Torah scroll from the ‘Aron hakkodesh, or “Ark,” its cabinet. Many of the Messianic congregations own at least one scroll, and others have preparations under way to procure one. Arks are often of simple design in Messianic synagogues, in contrast to often ornate arks of older, more financially secure traditional congregations. However, great care is taken in the design and building of even the simplest Ark.
The Torah blessings that precede the reading of the Torah are of great antiquity. Much of this service was already in use during Jesus’ lifetime, and thus constitutes a link with the Messiah and his times. Although abridgement often occurs, radical change is least likely in this section than, perhaps, any other segment of the liturgy. However, lack of adequate Hebrew education presents a challenge to the proper utilization of the Torah service. This problem is being addressed by curriculum development as well as by liturgical education in the service itself.
Reading from the Torah is an honor traditionally bestowed on a man but, following the example of Reform, increasingly bestowed on members with little regard to gender. The reader “ascends” to the bemah—the platform from which the worship leaders conduct the service—and says or chants at least the traditional benediction immediately preceding the reading, then reads from the Torah, usually an English translation. After concluding with the traditional post-reading blessing, spoken or chanted, the reader returns to his or her place.
Following the reading of the Torah, a reader chants or reads the designated portion from the prophetic scriptures, followed by one or more of the four traditional post-haftarah blessings. The first recalls the veracity of God’s Word, the second calls for the continued return of the Jewish people to Zion, the third recites the promise of the messianic coming (e.g., Yeshua’s second coming) and the fourth is a thanksgiving for God’s self-revelation in Scripture and in history. If a thirteen-year-old is having his or her bar or bat mitzvah, this segment is that child’s moment to display skill in the liturgy and the tradition.
The unique feature of Messianic Jewish worship is the third reading, often called Brit haddashah—the New Testament. As a congregation that believes the messiahship of Jesus, this reading is inevitable—and wholly without precedent in the synagogue liturgy. For this reason, there is no consensus about the liturgical setting, if any, surrounding this reading. Some congregations use the New Testament in education but have developed no liturgical setting for it. Others use it in worship with no liturgical surroundings. Still others use it in a liturgical setting as closely parallel that of the Torah or Haftarah as they can develop. Some of those using little liturgy use only one reading, often from the New Testament. Some of those using more liturgical tradition use it in addition to the Torah and Haftarah readings, while others use it instead of one or both of these. There simply has not been enough time for one or more “common usages” to emerge. Watching the Messianic movement may be instructive of the way in which the canon was handled in the first two centuries of church history.
Liturgical renewal within Messianic Judaism has been facilitated by the development of the Machzor For High Holy Days (Chicago: Congregation B’nai Maccabim, 1986) and Messianic Services for Festival and Holy Day (Palm Harbor, Florida: Menorah Ministries, 1992). As the Union of Messianic Congregations and individual Messianic congregations and rabbis continue to develop liturgical materials, worship patterns will likely become clearer, though diverse schools of thought will likely remain.