The concept of a compassionate and personal G-d is not foreign to Rabbinic thought. One particularly interesting example is the concept of "the Shechinah in Exile."

According to the Tanya[1] (quoting the Gemara), “When they [the Israelites] were exiled to Edom, the Shechinah went with them.”[2]

I find this to be a very powerful idea. It is a picture of HaShem not as being distant, but as rather very near to us. It is a very personal conception of G-d - an idea that G-d suffers along with Israel and is exiled alongside the Jewish people. That G-d chooses to be exiled along with His people. In thinking about this concept, I cannot help but think about Abraham Joshua Heschel’s description of “G-d in search of man.”[3] That more than we think we are pursuing G-d, G-d is actually in pursuit of us. And not only is this a G-d who pursues us, but is so moved by, and with us, that G-d too is exiled along with Israel.

This very personal conception of a compassionate G-d is also a popular motif within Midrash. This is especially true within a particular group of texts from Eichah Rabbah regarding “Rachel Weeping.” These texts clearly demonstrate HaShem’s compassion over Israel where G-d is described as weeping alongside Rachel:

כיון שראה אותם, הקב"ה מיד, "ויקרא ה' אלוהים צבאות ביום ההוא לבכי ולמספד ולקרחה ולחגור שק." ואלמלא מקרא שכתוב, אי אפשר לאמרו. והיו בוכין והולכין משער זה לשער זה כאדם שמתו מוטל לפניו. והיה הקב"ה סופד ואומר אוי לו למלך שבקטנותו הצליח ובזקנותו לא הצליח.

“As soon He saw them, the Holy One, Blessed be He, immediately declared ‘HaShem, G-d of Hosts, on that day has called for crying, lamenting, pulling out one’s hair, and for putting on sack-cloth [Is. 22:12].’ If it were not written in Scripture, it would be impossible to say. [Yet], they would weep continuously from one gate to another as a man who’s dead is laid before him. The Holy One, Blessed is He, lamented and said, ‘Woe to him, to the king who succeeded in his youthfulness, but was unable to succeed in his old age.’”[4]

In this particular text from Eichah Rabbah, HaShem declares a day to cry and lament (ויקרא ה' אלהים צבאות ביום ההוא לבכי ולמספד), and is described as weeping along with Rachel (בוכה, ומבכה הקב"ה עמה). In another closely related text[5], “Rachel” is meant to be understood as representing both Rachel and HaShem (אל תיקרי רחל ... אלא רוח-אל).

These “Rachel Weeping” passages in Eichah Rabbah (and Seder Eliyahu Rabbah) exemplify an idea similar to the concept of the Shechinah in exile represented in the Tanya. In the Eichah Rabbah passages it is not just Rachel weeping over her children, but HaShem as well. As such, these texts, along with the Tanya's reference to the Shechinah in exile demonstrates a perception of the Divine that is personal, compassionate over the Jewish people, and actively involved our daily lives.

If Messianic Judaism claims to be a Judaism within the wider Jewish Community, than it behooves us to consider the place of halachah in our midst. Messianic Judaism is more than just a form of “Biblical Judaism.” To make such a claim denies the history of the Jewish people over the last two-thousand years, and the fact that other forms of Judaism are also “Biblical.” Such a perspective also fails to acknowledge the role Rabbinic Judaism has played in determining Jewish life, teaching and practice; as well as the preservation of us as a people throughout recent history.

We should understand halachah for what it is, and what it is not. What has been lost in the strictest forms of Orthodox Judaism in recent years is the fluidity of the halachic structure and the innovation out of which it was birthed. Gordon Tucker, of the Jewish Theological Seminary, helps to point out:

"The body of Jewish law is not uniform in texture, but is rather composed of materials which fall into two main categories, usually referred to as de-oraita (biblically ordained) and de-rabbanan (rabbinically developed). That which is de-oraita can be considered to be the very core of the system, which holds it in place and provides a frame of reference. It therefore must be treated as inviolable. Tampering with that which is de-oraita is tantamount to destroying the core of the Jewish pattern of life as it has existed for millennia…The much greater (that is, in terms of volume) overlay which is de-rabbanan, on the other hand, comes with procedures for change and development. What is de-rabbanan can develop, is in fact meant to develop, as the conditions of the Jewish community change. That is what ensures the vibrancy and the continuity of the halakha as the coordinate system which roots all Jewish communities."

Jewish law was never meant to be static, but rather to be reinterpreted in every generation. Rabbi Wayne Dosick describes halachah as “ever-developing” and “ever-evolving.” Halachah is derived out of evolving case law, which is based on prior precedent. As such, it is developed by wrestling with texts, the practicalities of daily life, and the teachings of previous leaders in order to decide halachic matters. It is a process. A process that is not set in stone, and not without inerrancy. However, while engaging with rabbinic texts and deciding halachah, Professor Tucker guides,

"Development in the domain of de-rabbanan must not be abrupt or discontinuous, [but] must be rooted in traditional exegetical methodologies, and above all, must be ratified by the community of the committed and informed."

This is exactly what the Messianic Jewish Rabbinical Council (MJRC) seeks to do - to wrestle with halachah in a way that is responsible to our history as Jews, to the halachic process, the inspiration of the Ruach, and the additional consideration of the Gospels and the Apostolic Writings. The MJRC is truly on the forefront of Messianic Jews who are re-engaging our texts, traditions, and the application of Torah in our lives today.

This is actually a historical moment! Although there have been significant rabbis who have come to faith in Yeshua over the last two millennia, and remained faithful to halachah and Jewish life, there has not been a body of Messianic Jewish leaders and rabbis engaging our tradition on this level since the earliest centuries. We as Messianic Jewish rabbis have a significant voice to add to the Jewish conversation of the last thirty centuries. As a body of ordained and educated rabbis, we are once again adding a voice for Yeshua within our tradition that has remained largely dormant for over 1,500 years.

Messianic Jews are obligated to engage in knowledgeable discussion with Jewish law. At times we may interpret it differently, especially in light of New Testament understandings. Yet, that does not mean we can just “do as we see fit.” We have a responsibility to ourselves and the larger Jewish world to engage in halachah through a knowledgeable and informed process.

This is a continuation of my previous thoughts on Jewish law and the Halachic process.

As followers of a Jewish Messiah, we are obligated to engage in knowledgeable discussion with Jewish law. At times we may interpret it differently, especially in light of New Testament understandings. Yet, that does not mean we can just “do as we see fit.” We have a responsibility to ourselves and the larger Jewish world to engage in halachah through a knowledgeable and informed process.

As a part of this process it is paramount that we also recognize and incorporate the role of the Brit Chadasha (New Testament).

Mashiach as the Embodiment of Israel

Jewish tradition teaches that Mashiach must be the quintessential Jew. An embodiment of the experience, sufferings, and joys of the entire Jewish people. A number of scholars have recognized that within Yeshua, as the Mashiach, is the embodiment of all Israel. Rabbi Dr. Mark Kinzer often refers to Yeshua as "One Man Israel," as he is the perfect embodiment of Israel, and as such, Yeshua's life parallels Israel's experience.

The Sermon on the Mount as a Reflection of Sinai

Within this embodied pattern as mentioned above is a parallel (of what is often called) the "Sermon on the Mount" with the experience of Sinai. Since Yeshua embodies the existence of Israel, the Sermon on the Mount serves as almost a renewal, or sort of "re-giving," of the Torah on Mt. Sinai. As such, there is clear halachic imagery embedded within.

Halachic Formulas in the Sermon on the Mount

Judaism teaches that when the Mashiach comes, one of his roles will be to clarify ambiguities within halachic matters. Interestingly, this is exactly what Yeshua does within the Sermon on the Mount. Through halachic formulas known from the Second Temple period, Yeshua sets out to clarify and set straight popular misconceptions of specific mitzvot.

Before dealing with each specific mitzvah, Yeshua usually begins with the phrase “You have heard that our fathers were told…” This is actually a halachic formula known from the Second Temple period. It was a way that a Sage would state a particular halachic understanding, and then clarify its "proper" interpretation.

This phrase is actually paralelled in a halachic text discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Known as 4QMMT – "Miksat Ma’aseh Torah" (Some rulings pertaining to the Torah), the text introduces disagreements between the Qumran community and their opponents (namely the Sadducees) with a phrase: “You say … but we think/say.”

In the Sermon on the Mount, Yeshua was using a halachic formula known at the time to clarify and give proper understanding to certain interpretations of Torah commands.

Weightier Matters of Torah

There are also ethical matters to be explored within the halachic process. In Matthew 23:23, Yeshua addresses a specific group of Pharisees, and reprimands them for violating these ethical considerations:

You pay your tithes of mint, dill, and cumin; but you have neglected the weightier matters of the Torah - justice, mercy, and trust. These are the things you should have attended to - without neglecting the others! Blind guides! - straining out a gnat, meanwhile swallowing a camel.

Interestingly, Yeshua does not criticize them for adherence to halachic minutae, but for their hypocricy. For in their striving to be oh-so-extra-pious, they missed the mark. These additional tithes of "mint, dill, and cumin” are actually not even required by mitzvah de-oraisa (commanded in the Torah), but rather are supplimental/additional tithes known from the Talmud. Yeshua does not negate this understanding. His reprimand was an issue of weightier matters within Torah. Yeshua was setting up ethical considerations within the halachic process.

Conclusion

If our understanding of, or adherence to, a particular mitzvah violates one of these "weightier matters" of justice, mercy, and trust; then there is a problem and we must defer to the weightier matters. In Yeshua's understanding of Halacha, we must always put people first …"without neglecting the others [commands]!”

As we continue to grapple with halachah, we must take into consideration our Mashiach's teachings. As we develop interpretations of halachah that are guided by tradition, infused with Mashiach, and inspired by the Ruach; let us not forget that there are also "weightier matters" that must be considered.

Scroll of tractate Hullin, Babylonian Talmud (CUL T–S MISC. 26.53.17), acknowledgment to Dr. S.C. Reif, Director of the Taylor-Schechter Genizah Research Unit at the Cambridge University Library, and the Syndics of the Library.

"Development in the domain of de-rabbanan must not be abrupt or discontinuous, [but] must be rooted in traditional exegetical methodologies, and above all, must be ratified by the community of the committed and informed."