<table width="99%" border="0"> <tr> <td width="16%" valign="top"><script menumaker>document.write('<scr' + 'ipt src="graphics/Menu/blueround.js">'+'</scr'+'ipt>');/*img src="graphics/Menu/blueround.gif" moduleid="Midrash.net (Project)\blueround_off.xws"*/</script></td> <td width="84%"><div align="center"> Why a Beit Midrash (<a href="#">What is in a Beit Midrash</a>) </div> <center> <h1>The Beit Midrash, a new vision for Messianic Judaism!</h1> <h3>by Zusha</h3> Q: What does G-d have up his sleeve for the Messianic Community? A: His hand, people who minister to his people instead of people ministering to ministers who take but don't give. Q: What time is it? (Don't look at your watch) A: Time to end the one-man show and show the world the one man...Yeshua! This year I will study to show myself approved because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of G-d. Everybody wants to know what G-d is doing new! The answer is that He is making old things new. He is restoring all things spoken of by the prophets (Acts 3:19). You are held accountable for what you know so watch out! A Bet Midrash. Is not a church it is not a synagogue it is, however a house of study. It is a place to come and learn of Messiah. When? Sunday mornings? Friday nights? No, Saturday night. Havdallah? Yes and more. Messianic Jews can come and still remain a member of their Synagogue. Messianic Gentiles can come and still attend their home churches on Sunday morning. Remember, Shabbat is a time for the body of Messiah to come together and be taught by the hand and to see the face. From the time of Messiah's ascension until now has been approximately 2000 years. Has anything happened? A lot of time has passed. Do you know what time it is, or do you care? Most believers say I am saved, sanctified and filled with the Ruach. You lazy believer. IT IS TIME TO LEARN FROM EACH OTHER! How can we do this? There must be an environment conducive to this vision. A Bet Midrash is the solution, 2 Corinthians 3:6 states, "...who also made us adequate as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." The 'us' in the above quote does not just mean Rabbis, Preachers, Evangelists, or Teachers 'us' means all of us. The letter of the law is legalism and death, but the spirit sets us free by enlightening us with God's truths. It is time for the body of Messiah to minister one to another these truths. We must be ministers of righteousness and truth. We are to minister this New Covenant by the Spirit. How do we do this? 2 Timothy 2:15 reads, ".... Be diligent to present yourselves approved to G-d as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth". This scripture gives us the answer. There are many courses, which show you how to study for college, or graduate school. What is the study course you take for the Scriptures? I mean there are so many different doctrines and beliefs in the body of Messiah. Who is right? Well, some will say "I am just led by the Spirit". Which spirit? Where you arrive is a direct result of who is leading you! The people of Yeshua's day asked about authority. Why don't we? Someone gets born again and he is out witnessing the next week. Stephen, the first martyr waited 3 1/2 years to begin his preaching ministry and sat at the feet of the apostles before he did anything. Phillip waited many years before he started his Samaria campaign and even then he called upon Peter and John to administer the Holy Spirit to the Samaritans. In traditional Judaism there are different types of Smicha, (ordination). 1. Plain preacher 2. Chiddushim (new interpretations) and, 3. Posek halakhah (legal judgements) Today, almost every preacher thinks he has the authority to do all three, and that causes doctrines of demons! Men, who are not in submission, but by themselves, can see no greater authority than themselves, that is a travesty! In Matthew 18 Yeshua instructs us that it take a Bet Din (House of Judgement) to make binding law. When you study, how do you know you are doing it right? The importance of a Bet Midrash is to help you learn how to study the Torah. This is very exciting. A place where Messianic ministers who are seasoned in the L-rd can come together and speak the word of G-d to the people of G-d. Not words from the gods of this world. Jeremiah 33:12 states "...Thus says the L-rd of Hosts, there shall be again in this place, which is waste, without a man or beast, and in all cities a habitation of shepherds who rest their flocks". A place where ministers come and use their gifts to serve the L-rd. As Messianic Jews/non-Jews do we have a certain priority in our ministry, and to whom do we minister? Yeshua said to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel first. What is the best food for Jewish sheep, Torah alone? What of our prophets? Should they be included? The books of poetry are part of the Scriptures also. Many of us in the Messianic movement act as if nothing important happened in the past 2000 years in Judaism. No writings, no rabbis, and nothing new. We treat the historical writings of the Jewish people from the time of Messiah until now as unimportant, why? It is a mistake by many Messianic leaders that the Bible is all we need. After a Jewish person is born from above it is suggested they only need the Bible. Part of our heritage is looked upon, with question, and in some circles with disdain. What does the Messianic movement lack? The answer is intellectual integrity! If we are Jewish, then we need to know the Jewish books. Do they apply to us today as Messianic Believers? Yes. If we do not understand them can we minister well to our own Jewish brothers? How effective is that witness? We as Messianic believers should study the Talmud (Mishna and Gemara), Midrash, and Chassidic and other writings (Rashi, Bahir, Zohar, Shulhan Arukh, Guide for the Perplexed), to name a few. All these combined with the complete scripture from Genesis to Revelation provide a total study resource for Messianic ministers. We live 2000 years after the ascension of Messiah, and if we are Messianic Believers, we must study these texts if we want to seriously evangelize those around us and ourselves. Most Messianic ministers are so busy trying to make a living that taking the time to study is either impossible, or they do not know where to start. Some may know where to start, but don't have the resources to get started. This is why the Bet Midrash is needed in the body of Messiah. Places where ministers (all believers), can all come, and as they do they will have access to more Messianic resources. By meeting on Saturday nights it allows all Messianic believers to come who may be a member of a congregation elsewhere. Anyone can come, learn, share, and be part of the whole rather than being apart. The Bet Midrash is a new vision for Messianic Judaism! LEARN JEWISH HERMENEUTICS<a name="newinfo"></a> Judaism has a very systematic agreed upon set of rules for interpreting the Scriptures. Christendom differs, not in having a different agreed upon set of rules, but in having no agreed upon set of rules at all! As the fourth century "Church Father" Jerome wrote: "The Jews insist upon a literal interpretation of the Scriptures based on thirteen rules, but we know that the spiritual interpretation is far superior." - Jerome Learn these methods of study and interpetation used by orthodox Rabbis and taught in Jewish Yeshivas. Believe it, Rabbis are right about Torah study. If you study Torah you are studying The Messiah, Yochanan said. " in the begining was the word" Who is the word? Yeshua! and the word is the Torah. The four levels of understanding. The seven rules of Hillel. The thirteen rules of Ishmael. The thirty-two rules of Eleazer. The forms of Midrashic Exegesis. </center></td> </tr> </table> <div align="center"> </div> <center> eMail <a href="cutsler1021@hotmail.com"><img src="graphics/mailbox-animate.gif" alt="Mailbox" align="middle" WIDTH="100" HEIGHT="75">Zusha</a> Return to <a HREF="index.html"> home page</a> </center> </body> </html>