מים חייםWe believe in the truth of the Tanakh (Hebrew Text —what Gentile Christianity refers to as the Old Testament) and recognize it as G-d’s manual for living our lives in a way that fulfills the two most important commandments: love G-d and love our neighbor. We also recognize the fulfillment of the promised Messiah in the birth, death, resurrection, and ascension of Yeshua, and seek to live our lives in a way that brings Him glory, honor, and praise. We believe that Yeshua lived and taught within the context of the Jewish culture of life. Living a life that is guided by the Torah (G-d’s teaching) requires one to honor the Shabbat and other Mo’edim (haShem’s appointed times). In Yeshua’s time, worship at the Temple was a part of life in Israel, and if one lived in Jerusalem could be part of one’s daily life. A disciple of Yeshua is to obey the commandments of G-d. We believe we should join ourselves to Israel and embrace many of the teachings of how tofollow the commandments. Part of the membership covenant of our congregation states: “We willsubmit to the authority of those over us in the Body of Messiah, in society and in government. Wewill endeavour to be exemplary citizens, faithful ambassadors, active fellowship members, anddevoted servants of our Creator and King.”
Practice and Background
Shabbat (The Sabbath) & The Feasts (Mo’edim—G-d’s Appointed Times)
G-d designated certain times of the year in Leviticus 23 to be His special times of gathering forsoul searching, prayer, worship, and rejoicing, including the seventh day of worship known asShabbat or the Sabbath. They are road signs pointing us to G-d’s plan, with each of them findingtheir fulfillment in and through Messiah. According to Scripture, G-d has neither invalidated norchanged these dates; therefore, we honor them to the best of our understanding and ability. (Lev.23 [entire chapter]; Matt. 5:17-19)
Messianic Judaism differs from Christianity in that it is firmly rooted in Judaism. Messianic Jews do not separate from their Jewish roots when they accept Yeshua as Messiah, but instead maintain their Jewish identity. Whereas Christians often do not conduct their lives in accordance with the Torah (the first five books of the Bible), Messianic Jews continue to do so, observing the seventh-day Sabbath, celebrating the feasts established by G-d, and adhering to the dietary restrictions as commanded by Adonai in the Torah. Messianic Jews understand that salvation is by faith in Messiah only and that ritual observance to commandments do not lead to salvation, but believe that adherence to G-d’s commands should be the natural byproduct of faith. In other words, we strive to keep the commandments not as a way to gain salvation, but because we are saved.
We also believe each person should remain in the condition he or she was when called, as taught by Rav Sha’ul (the Apostle Paul) in 1 Cor. 7:17-20:
17 Only let each person live the life the Lord has assigned him and live it in the condition he was in when G-d called him. This is the rule I lay down in all the congregations.
18 Was someone already circumcised when he was called? Then he should not try to remove the marks of his circumcision. Was someone uncircumcised when he was called? He shouldn’t undergo b’rit-milah.
19 Being circumcised means nothing, and being uncircumcised means nothing; what does mean something is keeping G-d’s commandments.
20 Each person should remain in the condition he was in when he was called. (CJB)
Simply put, Jews are to remain Jews, and Gentiles are to remain Gentiles. Gentiles were never instructed in the Bible to become Jewish, and neither were Jews instructed to renounce Judaism. This is also clearly evident in the Jerusalem Council’s verdict in Acts 15.
Despite the belief by many that Paul did just that, when Scripture is read in its proper context, we see that he did just the opposite. After his encounter with Yeshua on the road to Damascus, Paul continued to live according to Jewish traditions and customs, even taking a Nazirite vow, proclaiming in the present tense that “I am a Pharisee” (not “used to be a Pharisee”), and upholding the Torah. And he was not alone. Acts 21:20 (which occurred around 55 CE) tells us that tens of thousands of Jews came to faith in Yeshua and continued to be faithful to the Torah of Moses. Some historians believe that number may have been well over one million. Regardless of the exact number, it was substantial, and the book of Acts tells us that Pharisees and many priests were part of the early Messianic Movement.
In the early days, believers (both Jewish and non-Jewish) worshipped alongside non-believing Jews in their synagogues and continued to be part of daily Jewish life for a number of years. But that began to change when Israel went to war with Rome in AD 66. It is beyond the scope of this writing to detail everything that happened, but ultimately, the Jewish believers found themselves rejected by their Jewish brethren who did not accept Yeshua, and the persecution they faced from their Jewish brethren eventually resulted in the believing Gentile community separating themselves from the Jewish believers.
By the end of the Fourth Century, although there were still Jewish believers, the Messianic Movement itself had disappeared from the pages of history and Jewish believers more or less assimilated into the church from that point until modern times.
Then, in the 1800s CE, that began to change when a group of Jewish believers founded the first modern Messianic congregation in Kishinev, Moldova, called “Israelites of the New Covenant”. There, Jewish believers could worship Yeshua and freely maintain the practices of their Jewish heritage.
The movement began to grow and expand around the world, giving Jewish believers an opportunity to practice their faith as followers of the Jewish Messiah while still identifying as “Hebrews.” Hebrew Christian Alliances were formed, which opened the way for what we know today as Messianic Judaism.
Then, in 1967, the true rebirth of Messianic Judaism occurred. Israel was victorious in the Six Day War and regained control of Jerusalem. For the first time in 1900 years, Jewish people were allowed to worship G-d freely at their holiest site. Many miracles were reported from the battlefield. A global spiritual revival among the Jewish people began, with hundreds of thousands professing faith in Yeshua as their Messiah, and new congregations where they could maintain a Jewish lifestyle while also following Yeshua were founded.
Here in the U.S., during the Jesus Movement of the late 1960s young people–especially hippies and drug users–were becoming believers and really on fire for our Savior. At the same time, there was also a revival among the Jewish young people who wanted to reclaim their Jewish heritage and expression after coming to faith in their Messiah. Those Jewish young people led the transformation of the Movement from what was basically a church with a sprinkling of Judaism mixed in, into what is a Movement that is steeped in Judaism, transforming the music from church hymns to Messianic music borrowing heavily from both Jewish and modern tunes as well as lyrics straight from Scripture, and also incorporating dance into their worship services.
Revival also broke out in Israel in 1967 (indeed, throughout the globe) following the Six-Day War. Many of the approximately 1,000,000 young people who had come to faith during the Jesus Movement here in the U.S. were Jewish, and many began to immigrate to Israel in the 1970s, giving the Body of Messiah in the Land a much-needed boost in both numbers and energy.
By 1989, the estimated number of believers in Israel had reached 1,200 (up from 23 at its founding in 1948), with at least 30 Messianic congregations. By 1999, there were 81 Messianic congregations, and an estimated 5,000 believers. In 2017, 300 congregations were counted. It has become increasingly difficult to accurately identify the number of Jewish believers in Israel, but a conservative estimate in 2017 was 30,000. And the Movement continues to spread. In fact, it is estimated that there are now at least 870,000 Jewish believers in Yeshua worldwide. Some scholars believe that the number is too low because there are a considerable number of Jewish people who believe Yeshua is the Messiah, but are afraid to admit it publicly for fear of being rejected by family and society; therefore, the true number may be much higher.
Just as the Messianic Movement began with a small group of Jewish people in the First Century, and then expanded to include multitudes from the nations, the modern Messianic Movement was started by a relatively small group of people so that Jewish believers could express their worship within Judaism, and a multitude from the nations has once again been drawn into the Movement.
Appropriate Dress
While we do not have a formal dress code, per se, we ask that one wear clothing that is modest, respectful and clean. Have the mindset of dressing in a way that is pure and non-distracting. That applies to both men and women. Our bodies are sacred and set apart for G-d; therefore, we should not defile, but instead, showing by our dress and appearance, that we understand how precious they are. We desire that you show respect for yourself, others, and G-d in the way you dress.
Men/boys – You may choose to wear a kippah as recognition of the fact that G-d is above you; however, there is no commandment that requires the wearing of a head covering. You may also choose to wear a tallit (Prayer Shawl); there is no specific commandment to wear a Tallit, the commandment is only to wear tzitziot (tassels). We encourage both, however, neither are required in order to attend our services. The tallit and kippah are clear identifiers of our connection to the Jewish foundation of our faith.
Women/girls – Some women will wear head coverings and/or prayer scarves. As with the men, neither are required and you will likely see women with and without them.
Dress for Mo’edim (Appointed Times — Festivals)
During the Biblical feasts (especially the High Holy Days, which include Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur), we ask you to dress in a way that is appropriate for a meeting with The King. We do not want to create a hardship for anyone concerning dress, so wear what you have. We present the following as a guideline for your consideration:
Yom Terruah / Rosh Hashanah – You may want to select clothing that is a bit dressier, like business casual, but less dressy than for a formal evening event while keeping in mind modesty and respect.
Yom Kippur – the most sacred of the Jewish holidays. The type of clothing should be similar to what you would wear during Rosh Hashanah. Men in traditional synagogues often wear ties and jackets. Most people dress in white for Yom Kippur. There are several reasons for this, including the following:
- When the Temple stood, the High Priest would dress in white linen on Yom Kippur.
- We want to begin the new spiritual year in purity, which is represented by white. (Is. 1:18: “Come now,” says Adonai, “let’s talk this over together. Even if your sins are like scarlet, they will be white as snow; even if they are red as crimson, they will be like wool.” CJB)
- Jewish people are often buried in a simple white linen shroud. By dressing in white we remind ourselves that death is something we will all face, so we need to get serious about our spiritual condition now while we still have breath. There is no better time to do this than Yom Kippur.
There is also a long-standing tradition to avoid wearing leather on Yom Kippur, most likely deriving from leather’s association with high status and luxury.
Foregoing leather products is one way we humble ourselves because all people are created equal before G-d. Additionally, walking on one of G-d’s creations (i.e., an animal) could be considered haughty, so we forego leather in order to humble ourselves before Him and before each other.
What to Expect
Our services are a blend of both ancient and modern. We start with the sounding of the shofar, which is the call to assembly. You will then experience traditional liturgies (prayers directly from the Bible that are said both in English and Hebrew), an in-depth teaching of the Word, plus a contemporary Messianic worship service as part of our weekly Shabbat service.
If you are new to Messianic worship, the following tips may be helpful.
- When the congregation stands or bows, please do likewise. There are certain prayers, blessings, and actions for which we stand or bow out of reverence.
- Please set your phone to vibrate during service if you need to be able to be contacted; otherwise, it is requested that you silence your phone or turn it off completely. Shabbat is a time to step back from our day-to-day lives and worship Adonai, our Creator, and Yeshua the Messiah; removing distractions helps facilitate that worship.
We do not subscribe to the beliefs of groups such as the Hebrew Roots Movement, Pronomian Christianity, Two House, House of Ephraim, Sacred Name, House of Israel Congregation, or Black Hebrew Israelites. Instead, our theology and practices are more in line with the congregations associated with “Mainstream Messianic Jewish Synagogues,” and other Messianic ministries such as First Fruits of Zion and 119 Ministries.
Our goal is to build a family of believers who are true followers of G-d, loving and worshiping Him with their whole heart, are well grounded in the Bible (Tanakh and B’rit Chadashah – Old and New Testaments), and who are committed to loving and caring for one another in the unity of Messiah.
If this sounds like the type of community you would like to become part of, we would love to have you join us. Please drop us an email at MayimChaim505@yahoo.com with any questions you might have or for directions to our current meeting location.
Mayim Chaim "Living Water" Messianic Fellowship! [Click Here To Return To The Home Page] 