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Judaism's best-kept
secret is almost revealed
They think they're bringing heaven,
but actually they are messengers of the devil.
Israeli Prime
Minister Shimon Peres, referring to Orthodox Jewish Rabbis, CNN,
November 14, 1995
The wicked, cold-hearted murder of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak
Rabin in 1995, did much more than kill one man. The presence
at the funeral of Arab leaders, including President Mubarak of
Egypt and King Hussein of Jordan, who made a brave, visionary
speech, marked a milestone in Israel's history. At first glimpse,
these new American-sponsored friendships offer justification
for optimism about Israel's future. Beneath this good feeling,
almost unbeknown to the participants, much deeper currents are
swirling.
Mr. Rabin's unrepentant assassin, deluded into thinking that
he knows God's will, claims the murder was a Divine instruction.
Yet murder, especially of another Jew, is outside any Jewish
teaching. Elie Wiesel, the Nobel Laureate, said: "Fanatics
don't live in a tolerant society, and cannot be part of my community."
I take issue with Mr. Wiesel on three counts: fanatics do live
in Israel and within Judaism; Israel is not a tolerant society;
and surely the ultimate Jewish aspiration is truth, not tolerance.
Mr. Rabin's death precipitated Judaism's greatest crisis for
centuries. The question is not about Israel's future; no doubt,
it will flourish. The real question concerns Judaism, and the
gaping hole in its theology that has now been exposed, a hole
that rabbis have tried hard to plug with distractions.
Though Israel was created as a democracy, Orthodox rabbis have
tried to marginalize and exclude other religious expressions,
over which they have no control. They have long perpetrated the
myth that Judaism is indivisible from Jewish Culture or Zionism,
though these are three separate entities. Jewish Culture is rich,
beautiful and full of calories! Zionism is a political movement
centered on Israel. And Judaism is a religion based on Rabbinic
interpretation of the Scriptures. Two other myths abound: first,
that ultimate truth cannot be discovered, so all religions are
equal; and secondly, that criticism of the rabbis is anti-semitic,
a defense mechanism to stifle criticism of their sustained effort
to deceive the Jewish people.
Judaism is believed to be the oldest monotheistic faith, but
this is to confuse it with a predecessor religion of the same
name, based on Temple worship and animal sacrifice which died
out when the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD. Judaism, as practiced
today, was founded at the Council of Yavneh in 80 AD, 50 years
after Jesus lived, and mostly in reaction to Him. Jewish ceremonies
are warm, beautiful and welcoming, but Jewish theology is vapid
and undefined, except for the agreed denial of Jesus as Messiah.
Zionism is an understandable reaction to persecution, but it
is man's answer, not God's answer. In Israel, religious law has
been sidelined and ridiculed: for example, you cannot buy pork,
but you can buy 'white meat' (i.e. pork). Israel has emerged
from its early adherence to Orthodox Judaism and is making peace
with once hostile neighbors. Peace is a great blessing for them,
yet others want none of it. They think that the imposition of
'Halacha', Orthodox law, would hasten the coming of the Messiah,
though there is no Biblical basis to that correlation. Rabbi
David Hartman, a liberal, explained: "They think that God
will not return to an alien land, so territorial compromise is
the highest form of treason." An alien land? Did not God
create the universe? Is there a part of God's creation alien
to Him? I think not.
Rabbi Mordechai Greenberg, head of the Kerem D'Yavneh Yeshiva
at which Mr. Rabin's assassin studied, said: "For 2,000
years we waited to return to Israel and as it seems to come true,
the dream breaks; we thought we were on the way to redemption."
The Israeli newspaper, Maariv, commented: "They are forming
a new ideology, where the battle for land is above the commandment
'Thou shalt not kill'." Many Orthodox Jews now deplore the
secular republic of Israel: if it has to forfeit its Biblical
territory, it is exposed as a spiritual delusion, and it is not,
as they had hoped, a messianic event.
To see things from their viewpoint, to see Mr. Rabin negotiating
away even a tiny part of that precious land meant the end of
their hope. Orthodox rabbis truly underestimate and misunderstand
a God who does not depend on human plans. Worse, they have failed
to recognize their Messiah and His universal message of redemption.
The murder of Mr. Rabin thus signals an end to the connection
between Zionism and Judaism, which are now heading in opposite
directions. Advocates of both philosophies would do well to reflect
that "unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor
in vain" (Psalm 127:1).
This prompts a further thought: if Zionism is detached from Judaism,
what's left? For those who prefer to emphasize spiritual teachings,
what are they supposed to think of the Orthodox rabbis who stood
outside Mr. Rabin's home, and prayed a death curse on him, and
of those who later urinated on his grave? These are scenes we
might expect to see in Tehran, not in Tel Aviv.
Most Jewish people are utterly horrified: the most observant
rabbis have been revealed as false teachers. "False prophets
come in sheep's clothing, but inwardly, they are ferocious wolves.
By their fruit, you will know them." (Matthew 7:15-16).
Of course, not all rabbis support the Orthodox line, but if theirs
is the purest expression of Judaism, as is widely accepted, where
does that leave less pious Jews?
Israelis and Jews worldwide are now engaged in some profound
soul-searching, as it dawns on them that their religious leaders,
whom they trusted, are actually "blind guides" who
have propelled them into not one, but three cul-de-sacs: Orthodoxy,
Secularism and Zionism, none of which will fulfill the Messianic
mission of the Jewish people. The crisis may become an opportunity
for Jewish people to seek the truth for themselves; Judaism has
been stripped of its two central tenets: the 'return' to Israel
and unconditional love. And if secularism is advancing, then
why should a republic replete with prostitutes, cannabis and
MTV be revered as if it were the Kingdom of Heaven? In truth,
Israel has never been anything more than a modern, vibrant Western
nation. And if Orthodox rabbis behave like deranged ayatollahs,
then who on earth do they represent? Certainly not the God of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Of course, rabbis have often tried to confuse their flocks with
the minutiae of their laws, though few question their authority
to make them and many revere them without question. Yet, there
is a way forward for the Jews, one which rabbis have obstinately
and persistently blocked. It is, in fact, the only way to redemption
and fulfillment of Jewish destiny. God has a mission for the
Jews, which He revealed through the Prophet Isaiah: "I will
make you a light for the nations, that you may bring My salvation
to the ends of the earth." (49: 6) The words 'My salvation'
are, in Hebrew, Y'shua, or in Greek, Jesus.
Therefore, true, real Judaism, the successor to Temple Judaism,
is the faith built on the Jewish Messiah, God's Salvation, who
came at precisely the time and place the Jewish Prophets had
foretold. Beyond the enchanting rituals, there is a Jewish destiny:
to find, know, love and obey the Messiah, and to share Him with
humanity. Yet, for 2,000 years, most rabbis have rejected Him,
despite having no theological reason to do so. The (then) Israeli
Prime Minister, Shimon Peres, who has apparently guessed only
a part of the stunning truth, opened up immense new territories
for Jewish thinking when he spoke of Orthodox rabbis on November
14, 1996 on CNN's 'Larry King Live', using these astonishing
and historic words: "They think they're bringing heaven,
but actually they are messengers of the devil."
Of course, the remark went right over the head of Larry King
(who is actually Larry Zeiger and is Jewish himself), but Mr.
Peres was echoing the words of the Messiah: "Woe to you,
Rabbis and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the Kingdom of
Heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will
you let those enter who are trying to. You travel over land and
sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make
him twice as much a son of hell as you are." (Matthew 23:13-15)
Indeed, the ending of the Seven Woes speech is chillingly appropriate:
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone
those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children
together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you
were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For
I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, "Baruch
Haba B'Shem Adonai - Blessed is He who comes in the Name
of the Lord." (Matthew 23: 37-39)
Jewish curiosity may yet complete what Mr. Peres started. He
almost disclosed Judaism's best kept secret on nationwide TV:
that the Messiah they are seeking has already come. He is God's
Salvation, Y'shua, Jesus of Nazareth. We pray that God will bring
about a Jewish awakening to the Prince of Peace, the King of
Kings, the Messiah of the Jewish People and of the world, the
One who offers the true way to fulfill Jewish destiny.
As He said: "Uni Ha Derech, Ha Emet v'Ha Chayim.
- I am the Way, the Truth and the Life" (John 14: 6). May
the eyes of the Jewish people, and of their religious leaders,
now be opened to the One who brings the only real and lasting
peace for Israel and for the whole world. Steve Myers © 1996, 2006
If you'd
like to know more about how Y'shua, Jesus can transform your
life, please send me an
e-mail and I'll be happy to tell you more about His love,
His forgiveness and His amazing power to heal and change your
life. ~ SM. |
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