Jewish Law as Rebellion by Nathan Lopes Cardozo
Having heard Rabbi Lopes Cardozo lecture a few times over the past twenty years, and being familiar with his local reputation as an innovative, engaging Torah teacher, I was not disappointed by his most recent book. Jewish Law as Rebellion: A Plea for Religious Authenticity and Halachic Courage1 is a collection of his short essays,…
Read MoreProphetic Peace: Judaism, Religion, and Politics, by Alick Isaacs
Reviewed by Paul L. Saal What do Ludwig Wittgenstein, Jacques Derrida, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Martin Buber, and Joseph Soloveitchik have in common? They are all Jewish or of Jewish ancestry. They were each academics and philosophers of sorts. Buber, Heschel, and Soloveitchik were all religious, the latter two were rabbis, the first two mystics. Wittgenstein…
Read MoreFrom the Editor – Issue 33
Jewish tradition and values are often expressed most effectively through lifecycle events such as marriage, birth, parenting, sickness, and death and mourning. Rabbinic stories picture Hashem himself participating in such occasions, blessing the bride and groom, visiting the sick, and burying the dead (for example, b.Sotah 14a). Messiah Yeshua follows his example, from blessing a…
Read MoreCultural Adolescence or Biblical Youth: a Religious Parent’s Challenge
Introduction In the last century, social and cultural changes in Western culture and America in particular have drastically altered parenting for religious homes, both Jewish and Christian. This paper will address the specific challenge posed by the emergence and extension of Adolescence as a distinct lifecycle stage, and the problems it presents to a biblical…
Read MoreLivui Ruchani: Spiritual Accompaniment in Messianic Jewish Community
Introduction This paper will discuss the power of Livui Ruchani, spiritual accompaniment.1 I offer why it is essential to the health of our communities and provide strategies for us to imitate Hashem, and answer the call to fulfill the law of Messiah and bear one anothers’ burdens to create a healthier encounter with grief and…
Read MoreTesting the Waters: A Reevaluation of Yeshua’s Five Sayings on βάπτισμα
The three synoptists Mark, Matthew, and Luke portray Yeshua making use of the Greek verb baptizo– (βαπτίζω) and noun baptisma (βάπτισμα) in five sayings: Luke 12:50, Mark 10:38–39, Mark 11:30 [with Luke 20:4, Matt 21:25], Matthew 28:19, and Acts 1:5.1 These sayings not only help define the contours and boundaries of baptizo– and baptisma in…
Read MoreImmersion: Connecting Jewish and Christian Traditions
Introduction Water is essential to life and all forms of life depend on it to survive. Not only does water sustain all forms of life physically, but the liturgical and spiritual use of water is common in both the Jewish and Christian worlds. From the time the Torah was given to the present day, the…
Read MorePost-supersessionist Analogy between Welcoming Gentiles in Scripture and Homosexual Persons Today
Introduction During the last half century, sexual standards and behaviors in the West have changed dramatically: increased use of contraception, living together without marriage, delaying of marriage, increased divorce, childbearing absent a lasting relationship with the father, redefinition of marriage, and increased approval of casual abortion, casual sex, cross-dressing and other behaviors previously considered unacceptable.…
Read MoreSpirit Hermeneutics: Reading Scripture in Light of Pentecost, by Craig Keener
Spirit Hermeneutics: Reading Scripture in Light of Pentecost,by Craig Keener Reviewed by Daniel Juster, ThD If I had the capacity to write a book on hermeneutics, I would have written Spirit Hermeneutics. I know of no book that so fully represents my own thinking on this topic. The book is broadly rooted in Pentecostalism, but…
Read MoreThe Love of God: Divine Gift, Human Gratitude, and Mutual Faithfulness in Judaism, by Jon D. Levenson
Reviewed by Russ Resnik Jon Levenson is a world-class biblical scholar, Professor of Jewish Studies at Harvard, and a writer gifted in engaging his readers on issues that might at first seem antiquated or esoteric. His latest offering, The Love of God, opens with “one of the most familiar passages in the Bible,” Deuteronomy…
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