That question was the opening of a casual email from a colleague the other day. Just a little over a week after Yom ha-Shoah—the day when Israel remembers the victims of the Holocaust—I was tempted to answer by writing something like, “Way better than it treated my people a few decades ago.” I was there […]
The Messianic Jewish movement is a newcomer on the missiological scene: an “insider movement” that tries to plant a New Testament–based faith in the Messiah into Jewish tradition and to bridge the church and synagogue traditions. While Judaism in the first century was a pluriform tradition that included followers of Jesus, rabbinic tradition from the […]
Messianic Jews sometimes criticize Christians who tolerate symbols such as Christmas trees and Easter eggs in their celebrations—symbols that are originally from pagan religions. On the other hand, some Christians find it difficult to understand why they should care about the Jewishness of Jesus; after all, Jesus came to identify with every nation and the […]
Theology is about faith seeking understanding. In the complex and sensitive areas of Jewish-Christian relations and Christian ministry in Jewish contexts, we all need much understanding. Sadly, it appears that sometimes ministries and individuals proceed into these areas with a mixture of good intentions, sincerity, diligence, and hope, yet with little or no clear theological […]
Having been on hiatus due to the economic situation, the Caspari Center is set to resume the administration of Stamp Fund scholarships for the upcoming school year (2016-2017). Stamp Fund The Stamp Fund was established in 1962 by Inger Marie and Odd Deram, and by the Norwegian Church Ministry to Israel, with capital accumulated through […]
In Exodus 3, God asks Moses to go to Pharaoh and tell him to let the people of Israel leave Egypt. Moses is hesitant and asks God for his name, in order to be able to tell the Israelites who sent him to free them. God reveals his name to Moses as “I am who I […]
Very soon Jewish communities in Israel and worldwide will celebrate Purim – a cheerful holiday in commemoration of the miraculous deliverance of Persian Jews during the rule of King Ahasuerus (historically, it was most likely King Xerxes the First). The background events are described in the Tanakh, in the Book of Esther. Among the Purim […]
The directors of Caspari Center, Elisabeth Levy and Alec Goldberg, are involved in creating a Messianic liturgy. Here, Alec answers some questions about this project. – Why does the Messianic movement need a liturgy? – Most of the Israeli Messianic congregations are very similar to “free” evangelical and charismatic churches, with unstructured prayers and contemporary […]
The following is a story about Rabbi Yisrael ben Eliezer (Baal Shem Tov) and his scribe, who were once stranded on an isolated island. They were both frightened and discouraged, and had forgotten all they once studied. “Can’t you remember anything?” said the rabbi to his scribe. “Nothing, rabbi,” answered the scribe, “only . . .” “Only […]
Did you know that the glue on Israeli postage stamps is kosher? These stamps are certified kosher (“proper food”) by the chief rabbis of Israel, because most people lick the glue to affix stamps. Did you know that Israeli cows produce more milk per cow than in almost any other country in the world? And […]