by Alan Scott Hahn, Devar Emet, Skokie IL

This Weeks Readings:
Torah: Exodus 10:1-13:16
Haftarah: Jeremiah 46:13-28
Brit Chadashah: John 4:15-26

As a Jew who reads the New Testament and makes a public confession of Yeshua as Messiah (sometimes referring to Him as Jesus), I am sometimes called a “Christian.” Prior to coming to Devar Emet, I had been very comfortable going to churches, and even served as an elder at a Presbyterian church at one time. The Church can be very good at welcoming Jews who believe in Messiah Yeshua. A few weeks ago, someone heard me at a meeting and approached me after the meeting and told me they thought it was good that to know that “you’re a Christian.” I just felt the need to let this person know – as I have on numerous other occasions – that I am a Jew. It is an identity that is extremely important to me. It is both an honor and a responsibility to uphold the traditions. The blood of Messiah Yeshua is what my salvation depends upon, but how we worship God is according to the traditions of the family we are a part of. We are a part of God’s chosen people, people with a long history of being oppressed, delivered, sinning, being redeemed and bringing salvation to the rest of mankind. Our traditions and customs are extremely important to our identity.

In the Torah portion the Passover occurs: the basis of the traditional Seder dinners in which we remember at that time of the year the exodus from Egypt. A tradition that allows us to take time to reflect on and celebrate what God has done for us. He did this for us not because we earned it. He did not do this because we were the most powerful people or the nicest, or for any other reason we can boast. He did this because he loves us! We are his chosen people.

In the Haftarah Jeremiah is foretelling prophecies against the nations and that God will deliver us. We were not very nice people at that time in history as we had at that time returned to the idolatry that keeps leading us to commit wicked acts. God says he will save us. Thankfully, he loves us enough to correct us.

In the Brit Chadashah, Yeshua identifies himself as the Messiah to the Samaritan woman. He plainly states salvation comes from the Jews. Messiah Yeshua was born into the people of Israel. He abided by our traditions. He brought clarity to the tradition and law.

Historically, we have been people who have been oppressed, whether by Pharaoh, the Babylonians (and later the Persians), the Greeks, the Spanish, or Hitler. Some of it we had coming to us, and some of it, no one should ever have happen to them. God has chosen us. He has provided miracles for us, whether the plagues on Pharaoh, the crossing of the Red Sea, the candles of Hanukkah, the founding of Israel in 1948, or the numerous miraculous events that have occurred since then to keep the country in existence. He has not forsaken us and he will not. We have customs and traditions that are not always convenient to abide by. The Sabbath and the dietary laws are just a couple of difficult to keep customs that have brought extreme fulfillment to those who abide by them as an act of surrender to God. They are a part of our identity. An identity that we can and should cherish, given that God cherishes us.