Posts by Russ Resnik
Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times, by Jonathan Sacks
Reviewed by Russ Resnik Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, of blessed memory, was one of the preeminent Jewish voices of the past few decades—and one of the preeminent moral voices as well. His final book, Morality, is a fitting culmination to a career cut short by Rabbi Sacks’ death in November, 2020, just weeks after its…
Read MoreOral Hermeneutics: A Conversation with Bill Bjoraker
Oral Hermeneutics: A Conversation with Bill Bjoraker For most of their journey through history, the texts of Scripture have been passed on from mouth to mouth, or mouth to ear, rather than from scroll to scroll or page to page. This mode of transmission shaped the way Scripture was told, proclaimed, and interpreted through the…
Read MoreFrom the editor – Issue 38
Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has chosen us from all the peoples and given us His Torah. (Koren Siddur) Scripture is a gift, perhaps the defining gift, of the Jewish people and the community of Messiah that has arisen from among them. As with many gifts, we need to…
Read MoreFrom the editor – Issue 37
This issue of Kesher celebrates two recent coming-of-age events in the Messianic Jewish community. In September 2019 MJTI president-emeritus Dr. Mark Kinzer met with the highly influential Protestant Bible scholar N.T. Wright in a debate sponsored by Beeson Divinity School, Birmingham, Alabama. Their topic was the ongoing covenantal status and role of the Jewish people…
Read MoreThe Bible, the Talmud, and the New Testament: Elijah Zvi Soloveitchik’s Commentary to the Gospels Edited, with an introduction and commentary, by Shaul Magid
Reviewed by Russ Resnik Jesus is Jewish—it’s a truism not just in Messianic Jewish circles, but also in the wider worlds of biblical and historical scholarship. Use of the name “Yeshua” rather than “Jesus” reflects this truth. The open question, though, is just how is Yeshua Jewish? What kind of Jew was he? The ongoing…
Read MoreFrom the editor – Issue 36
Identity and community are inextricably linked. As one writer recently put it, “Patterns of conduct and virtue exist independently of any individual, and the most important parts of personal identity often emerge not as a result of private thinking but in groups that do and love the same things.”1 We discover who we are not…
Read MoreFrom the editor – Issue 35
Identity has been a buzzword for decades. I remember discussions from my early days about “identity crisis,” a term developed by psychologist Erik Erikson. Today we’re talking about “identity politics.” Jewish identity remains as compelling a topic as ever, especially within the Messianic Jewish community. We can best understand identity in the context of community.…
Read MoreWhat Should Messianic Jewish Leaders Say about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict?
Hillel used to say: If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?1 The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is inevitably polarizing, and seems to have become even more so in recent years. For instance, the New York Times headlined a…
Read MoreFrom the editor – Issue 34 – Israel at 70
This year Israel proudly marks seventy years as an independent state in the ancient Jewish homeland, and Kesher joins the commemoration with a penetrating look at theological, pastoral, and socio-political issues that come to the fore on this historic anniversary. We lead off with “The Besorah, Jerusalem, and the Jewish People,” by Dr. Mark Kinzer,…
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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