Monthly Archives: April 2010

All in the Name of Messianic Judaism, Part 1

Posted on April 30, 2010 by Derek Leman

In late 1987, I discovered Jesus. Prior to this I had been agnostic or even atheist. About a week later, I found out Jesus was Jewish. I jumped in with both feet in learning about the Jewish aspect of Jesus … Continue reading →

Posted in messianic, Messianic Jewish, Messianic Judaism | Tagged Fringe Groups, Sects | 20 Comments

PODCAST: Yeshua in Context – Seeds and Fruit

Posted on April 29, 2010 by Derek Leman

In the common thinking of the people, the kingdom of God would come suddenly and completely. One day the people would be oppressed and burdened with foreign rule and then the kingdom of Israel would rise meteorically and smash the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, messianic, Messianic Jewish, Messianic Judaism, Yeshua | Tagged Podcast, Yeshua in Context | 1 Comment

A Sad Discussion on Scot McKnight’s Blog

Posted on April 28, 2010 by Derek Leman

I’m definitely a Scot McKnight fan and I’m not putting this link here to suggest in any way that I have a problem with him. I think if you read carefully what Scot says in this post, you will see … Continue reading →

Posted in Messianic Jewish, Replacement Theology, Supersessionism | 11 Comments

J-BOM: Extremism in Pirkei Avot?

Posted on April 28, 2010 by Derek Leman

J-BOM stands for Jewish Book of the Month Club and is a term coined by young MJ blogger Yahnatan Lasko for a movement of bloggers and readers working through great Jewish books together. The April selection is Visions of the … Continue reading →

Posted in ethics, Judaism, messianic, Messianic Jewish, Messianic Judaism | Tagged Abraham Twerski, J-BOM, Pirkei Avot | 2 Comments

New Stuff at derekleman.com

Posted on April 27, 2010 by Derek Leman

I’ve spent a few hours redesigning some web pages today. I use Apple iWeb for my various websites (derekleman.com and tikvatdavid.com and mountolivepress.com). If you’re not an Apple person, iWeb is one of a hundred reasons to be an Apple … Continue reading →

Posted in Derek's Writings, Messianic Jewish | 3 Comments

Judaism as Competition for Christianity

Posted on April 26, 2010 by Derek Leman

In the May/June 2010 issue of Biblical Archaeology Today, Angelos Chaniotis of Princeton writes about “Godfearers in the City of Love.” The reference is to recent research at Aphrodisias in Turkey, not too far east of ancient Ephesus. The city … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Christian, Gentiles, Judaism, Mark Kinzer, messianic, Messianic Jewish, Messianic Judaism | Tagged Angelos Chaniotis, Ephraim the Syrian, Jewish-Christian relations, John Chrysostom, MJTI | 1 Comment

Yeshua’s Words

Posted on April 23, 2010 by Derek Leman

In the early days of my reading of Yeshua, when my context was secular, I quickly developed the idea that Yeshua was a poet. I’m no great expert on poetic literature, but I’m no slouch either. Although I was in … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Faith, messianic, Messianic Jewish, Messianic Judaism, Yeshua | 1 Comment

Tzedaka (Almsgiving)

Posted on April 22, 2010 by Derek Leman

About ten years ago at a UMJC Conference morning minyan (gathering for prayer), I remember being puzzled by a box that was put out for those participating to make donations to charity. Someone said this was an aid to prayer, … Continue reading →

Posted in ethics, messianic, Messianic Jewish, Messianic Judaism | Tagged Almsgiving, Tzedaka | 2 Comments

A Great Statement by the CCAR on the Kairos Document

Posted on April 21, 2010 by Derek Leman

Someone passed this on to me and I like the way these rabbis handle the Kairos document (all is explained at the link below): http://data.ccarnet.org/cgi-bin/resodisp.pl?file=kairos&year=2010

Posted in Messianic Jewish, Supersessionism | Tagged CCAR, Kairos Document | Leave a comment

J-BOM: Replacing Sin with Godliness

Posted on April 20, 2010 by Derek Leman

Posted in Judaism, messianic, Messianic Jewish, Messianic Judaism, Torah | Tagged Abraham Twerski, J-BOM, Pirkei Avot | 1 Comment

Post-Conversion Update

Posted on April 20, 2010 by Derek Leman

We completed the process last night with witnesses from two Florida synagogues and with two MJRC rabbis presiding. Yes, we feel different and we are ecstatic. I posted a few comments in the chain of comments on yesterday’s post (“Conversion … Continue reading →

Posted in Messianic Jewish | 1 Comment

Conversion Day

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Derek Leman

A journey of a thousand steps ends up somewhere. Isn’t that what the proverb says? Ours has ended up in Tampa, Florida, on this day of our conversion ceremony. A Dutch-German pastor’s kid (my wife) and a former agnostic, turned … Continue reading →

Posted in Gentiles, Judaism, messianic, Messianic Jewish, Messianic Judaism | Tagged Conversion, Proselyte | 32 Comments

PODCAST: Yeshua in Context – Beatitudes and Hope

Posted on April 16, 2010 by Derek Leman

The Yeshua in Context book, audiobook, and eBook is due for release in August 2010. I plan to publish a sourcebook as well with lists, charts, and further resources for study. In this podcast, we’ll explore the beginning of what … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, messianic, Messianic Jewish, Messianic Judaism, Yeshua | Tagged Podcast, Yeshua in Context | 2 Comments

Leviticus, Impurity, and the Odor of Death

Posted on April 15, 2010 by Derek Leman

In the first part of this series, “Leviticus, Impurity, and Mouldering Self-Portraits,” I started with a comparison by Jacob Milgrom, the premier Leviticus scholar, on impurity in the Torah and a novel by Oscar Wilde. I also tried to look … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christian, Judaism, Life to Come, messianic, Messianic Jewish, Messianic Judaism, Sacrifices and Purity, Torah | Tagged Jacob Milgrom, Leviticus | 5 Comments

J-BOM: Striving for the Ethical Life

Posted on April 14, 2010 by Derek Leman

Posted in Bible, Christian, ethics, Judaism, messianic, Messianic Jewish, Messianic Judaism, Torah | Tagged Abraham Twerski, J-BOM, Pirkei Avot | 3 Comments

Daily D’var

Posted on April 14, 2010 by Derek Leman

I’ve started a new feature for my synagogue family: daily readings with amazingly brief notes to help with the context of reading. I send them by email including the full scripture text in the email. Or you can just look … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Torah | 1 Comment

Leviticus, Impurity, and Mouldering Self-Portraits

Posted on April 13, 2010 by Derek Leman

I’ve never read The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. But I am familiar with the image created by Wilde in this novel, a gruesome image of the reality of evil. Dorian Gray had a portrait of himself commissioned. … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, messianic, Messianic Jewish, Messianic Judaism, Sacrifices and Purity, Torah | Tagged Dorian Gray, Jacob Milgrom, Leviticus, Oscar Wilde | 1 Comment

A Great Event for Yom HaShoah

Posted on April 9, 2010 by Derek Leman

Linda (my wife) and I spent an enjoyable evening last night on a webinar with First Fruits of Zion, Rabbi Michael Schiffman of Chevra (chevrahumanitarian.org), and Daniel Henessy, a certified instructor in the story of the Holocaust. The webinar is … Continue reading →

Posted in FFOZ, Messianic Jewish | Tagged Holocaust, Yom HaShoah | 2 Comments

PODCAST: Yeshua in Context – A Prodigal Story

Posted on April 9, 2010 by Derek Leman

The Yeshua in Context book, audiobook, and eBook is due for release in August 2010. I plan to publish a sourcebook as well with lists, charts, and further resources for study. In this podcast, I examine the beloved story of … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, N.T. Wright, Prophets, Yeshua | Tagged Podcast, Yeshua in Context | Leave a comment

J-BOM: The Ethical and Wise Path

Posted on April 8, 2010 by Derek Leman

Posted in ethics, Judaism, messianic, Messianic Jewish, Messianic Judaism, Talmud and Tradition | Tagged Abraham Twerski, J-BOM, Pirkei Avot | 14 Comments

The Problem of Christian Views of Jewish Life

Posted on April 7, 2010 by Derek Leman

A Jewish follower of Yeshua wrote a comment today saying that he came to following Yeshua late in life and is now experiencing an appreciation for some of the Jewish practices of his pre-Yeshua days. In other words, his story … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christian, Judaism, messianic, Messianic Jewish, Messianic Judaism, Torah | Tagged antinomianism | 4 Comments

The Problem of Christian Rabbinic Mythology

Posted on April 6, 2010 by Derek Leman

It’s a problem. The cause of the problem is at least partially motivated by something good: the desire to recapture the lost Jewishness of the New Testament, of Jesus, of Paul, and of Christianity. You hate to say something critical … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian, Judaism, messianic, Messianic Jewish, Messianic Judaism, Talmud and Tradition | Tagged E.P. Sanders, Shaye Cohen | 11 Comments

PODCAST: Yeshua in Context – The Handwashing Dispute

Posted on April 2, 2010 by Derek Leman

Posted in Bible, Christian, Judaism, messianic, Messianic Jewish, Messianic Judaism, Sacrifices and Purity, Yeshua | Tagged Podcast, Yeshua in Context | 8 Comments

J-BOM: Getting Started With Twerski

Posted on April 1, 2010 by Derek Leman

This is just a quick reminder that it is now April and the Jewish Book of the Month is Abraham Twerski’s Visions of the Fathers (available on judaism.com or artscroll.com, but not on amazon). I promised to give some abridged … Continue reading →

Posted in Judaism, messianic, Messianic Jewish, Messianic Judaism | Tagged ethics, J-BOM, Pirkei Avot, Twerski | Leave a comment

A Yom HaShoah Experience with FFOZ