From the Editor – Issue 23
By Andrew Sparks
This issue of Kesher does not have a theme, but diverse articles on topics such as the marginality of Messianic Judaism, motifs in the Moses narratives, Gentiles and the liturgy of Judaism, and Second Temple messianism fill out an issue of relevant topics for Messianic Judaism today. Kesher is back from a hiatus and issue…
Hesed And Hospitality: Embracing Our Place on the Margins
By Russ Resnik
On a recent Shabbat morning, after the Torah reading, the rabbi opened his d'rash by saying: Judaism is a religion of law. In Judaism, we ask the question, ‘What does the halacha say I should do?' Christianity is different. It likes to ask, ‘What would Jesus do?' But we already know what Jesus would do-he…
Gentile Yeshua-Believers Praying in the Synagogue: Why and How
By Jon C. Olson
Introduction I have been praying in the synagogue for more than twenty-five years-yet I am not Jewish. This essay explains in both theoretical and practical terms how and why Gentile Yeshua-believers may pray the traditional Jewish liturgy in the company of Jews. It is with a measure of trepidation that I discuss how Jewish and…
Complexity in Early Jewish Messianism
By Joshua Brumbach
"For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and he is the head over all rule and authority" (Col 2: 9-10). "Yeshua said to her, ‘I Am the Resurrection and the Life! Whoever puts [their] trust in me will live, even if [they]…
Jewish Christianity Reconsidered: Rethinking Ancient Groups and Texts
By Isaac Oliver
Jackson-McCabe, Matt, ed. Jewish Christianity Reconsidered: Rethinking Ancient Groups and Texts. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007. [DR1] Scholars have made considerable progress since the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when specialists in ancient Judaism and early Christianity, such as Emil Schürer, referred to the Judaism of Jesus' time as Spätjudentum ("Late Judaism").[1] The use of this…
Book Review
The Promise Lustiger, Jean-Marie Cardinal.
By Stuart Dauermann
Lustiger, Jean-Marie Cardinal. The Promise Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007. Jean-Marie Cardinal Lustiger (1926-2007), a child of Polish-born secularized Jewish parents, was raised in Paris, and, with his family, fled to the south of France (Orléans) during WW II. Tragically, his mother returned to Paris to take care of business affairs, was betrayed by her maid…
Book Review
Yet I Loved Jacob: Reclaiming the Biblical Concept of Election
By Stuart Dauermann
Kaminsky, Joel S. Yet I Loved Jacob: Reclaiming the Biblical Concept of Election Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2007. Joel Kaminsky is Director of the Program in Jewish Studies at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. He teaches courses on the Hebrew Bible and on ancient Jewish Religion and Literature. Kaminsky believes that the Christian and Jewish communities…
