What’s Wrong with Natsari Judaism
Part I
Rabbi Yehudah ben Shomeyr
Therefore,
rid yourselves of all malice, of all deceit, hypocrisy and envy, and of all the
ways there are of speaking against people; and be
like newborn babies, thirsty for the pure milk of the Word; so that by it, you may grow up into deliverance. For
you have tasted that Adonai is good. – I Peter
2:1-3 CJB
Leave it to
Sheliach Kefa (The Apostle Peter) to get straight to the point, pull no punches
and be ever so concise and succinct.
At least two
major things wrong that I see in the Messianic/Natsari movement are:
1. LaShone Hara, otherwise known as the
evil tongue of gossip and slander. Included in this is the lack of loyalty and
edification to our brothers and sisters in the Body.
2. Desiring the Steak grilled up by the
Rabbi’s and that Sages have served up in the Talmud and Zohar even before we
have cut out teeth!
I am by no
means saying that this is an exhaustive list, but just two things among many
that jumped out at me while reading the Natsari Halacha (Way of Walking) of the
Brit Chadasha (New Testament/Renewed Covenant). Out of all that has become a
cancer to the movement, I would say these two are definitely in the top ten.
Many of us
are so busy in our synagogues, congregations and on our social media profiles online
busting the chops of the other guy that we neglect the Scriptures and not that
we want to delve into the Tanak and Brit Chadasha anyway, because we think we
know it all. No, we desire for some stoic grey haired Rabbi to teach us Kabbalah.
I see hair
splitting and nit picking and status updates turned into virtual and verbal mixed
martial arts fights. I see us setting our cardinal commonalities aside behind
our peripheral blinders as if we were horses and set our finely honed minor
doctrines in our direct path to argue about and stumble over. I see us
swallowing camels like anacondas and gagging at a gnat that flies in our mouth
when it is open and shouldn’t be. I see many who major on the minors and minor
on the majors. I see us kicking each other when we are down. I see such a lack
of love and loyalty; people dropping each other like a used tissue over minor
disagreements and simple misunderstandings. I see us all on the same team but
playing against each other as if we each were a rival team. We are like the Bad
News Bears of the religious world! We are like the Big Bang Theory Paintball
team, shooting each other before we even leave the barracks! I see much lip
service and empty promises made to one another and conveniently forget our vows
as soon as the situation does not suit us. We are like the politicians of the
religious world! I see ministries jealous and envious and unnecessarily intimidated
by one another. What ever happened to Moses’ declaration, “I wish all of YHWH’s
people were prophets!” and Yeshua’s command to His talmidim (disciples) when
others not a part of their group teaching in Yeshua’s Name, “Leave them be, if
they are not against us, they are for us.”
Not much
different than our past life in Christianity is it? Looks like when we moved
across the aisle we took some major baggage and stuffy old mentalities with us
huh?
I see us smugly
eyeball our Bibles as if it was a crooked two by four, puff our chests out and
lie to ourselves and all those around us and claim we know all there is to know
in The Book as we casually toss it to the side and crack open thick and dusty
books of men who despise our Messiah hoping to consume a delicate morsel those
we left behind in Christianity could never appreciate. I see us complaining about the tip of the ice
berg, “For goodness sake it’s just a hunk of ice!” As we desire to dive and see
the secrets beneath when we have failed to unlock all of the secrets of atoms, molecules
and past ages that lie on the tip! I have seen adult spiritual toddlers who
spewed out the milk in favor of meat and end biting off more than they could
chew and vomit what they could not digest. I see ungrateful milk suckers have
quail pouring forth from their nose and ears. I see us pitch a fit, throw our
bottles of milk in the face of God, point to our elders, cry and blat because
we want what they got on their plate.
I see us
take our first few wobbly steps and try and place our tiny feet into the Sandals
of the Sages and walk as if we were on Tyra Banks’ cat walk when we are really
stumbling in a ring of sawdust with oversized red shoes sporting a
multi-colored afro! We are like little kids desperately wanting to grow up and
be adults. And as Adults have we forgotten how carefree and good we had it as a
kid!? Enjoy the journey! Don’t rush it!
Is it any
wonder why some who have sojourned among us go back to Egypt or walk on a head
into Babylon? Is it any wonder that we have been labeled a cult by Christians
and a joke by Jews?
Therefore,
rid yourselves of all malice, of all deceit, hypocrisy and envy, and of all the
ways there are of speaking against people; and be
like newborn babies, thirsty for the pure milk of the Word; so that by it, you may grow up into deliverance. For
you have tasted that Adonai is good. – I Peter
2:1-3 CJB
Folks all we
have need of HaShem has graciously provided us; The Tanak (Old Testament) and
the Brit Chadasha (New Testament/Renewed Covenant) which is the teachings of
our Rebbe Yeshua and our Sages His Apostles. We haven’t even begun to exhaust what
has been given us by our Messiah. So what need have we of the stagnant diatribes
of men!?
We need to
keep it simple, get back to the basics and do it all out of love; for if we don’t
we are quickly heading for the precipice of our own making. Let us listen and
take to heart the words of Sheliach Kefa (Apostle Peter).
