Teaching from Zion - Volume 30 - October 2013 - Cheshvan 5774 - Netivyah Bible Instruction Ministry - Jerusalem, Israel

Teaching
from

Zion

...for out of Zion shall come forth Torah

and the word of the Lord from
Jerusalem. -Isaiah 2:3

Messiah in the Siddur

Table of Contents

Messiah in the Siddur

Who Brings Forth the Horn of Salvation - Joseph Shulam - 4
Amfian Gerasimov - A Righteous from Among the Nations - 8
Before All Beginnings - Ammikam Tavor - 12
May Our Eyes Behold Your Return - Elhanan Ben-Avraham - 15
The Institution of the Synagogue and Its Impact on Early
Messianic Judaism - Joseph Shulam - 16
Netivyah Building Project - 24
News from Netivyah - 26

Teaching from Zion - Volume 30 - October 2013 - Cheshvan 5774

Published by Netivyah Bible Instruction Ministry, Jerusalem, Israel
Editor - Beth Shulam
Layout - Shaul Zofef
Cover Photo - Ancient Olive Tree, by Patrizio Martorana
Disclaimer - The articles printed in this issue of Teaching from Zion
are the sole responsibility of their authors
Feel free to contact us at: [email protected],
or by mail: PO Box 8043, Jerusalem 91080, ISRAEL
For more information please visit our website: www.netivyah.org
or search for Netivyah on Facebook

A Word from the Editor

Beth Shulam

This issue of Teaching from Zion is

published in the fall of the year 2013.
In the Jewish world, this time of year
traditionally marks the beginning
of a new year and a renewal of spirit
and commitment to God. We ask for
forgiveness from our neighbor and
from God for the transgressions we have
committed and repent and change for
the better. One of the aspects of Jewish
life that can easily be improved upon
is a dedication to prayer. The Siddur is
the order of prayer in the Jewish world.
It is also the unifying document of the
Jewish world. It is used every day. Daily
prayer, blessings, special ceremonies,
and holidays are all within its covers.

Siddur is Jewish life in words. There are

a plethora of Siddur with differences
mainly based on the part of the world
your ancestors are from. Sephardic
traditions hold to different forms than
Ashkenazi. Chassidim and Reform
each have their own Siddur variations.
But the one unification of all these
groups is the beauty that is found in the
commonality of prayer. We all say the
Shema. We all say the Amidah. We all
recite the same prayers each Shabbat.
We all delight in this order that
structures our conversations with God.
The articles in this issue of Teaching
from Zion attempt to bring to the

surface the hidden messages about the

Messiah buried through the centuries.
When we dig deep into our literature
and pull Yeshua out of the dust, we
move one step closer to reuniting Him
with His people. This is truly one of our
greatest callings as believers in Yeshua
as the Messiah of Israel. May God bless
this issue of Teaching from Zion and
you the reader as you delve into the
mysteries of the Siddur. Please pray for
our brother Udi Zofef who, because of
a serious fight with cancer, is unable to
write and work for Teaching from Zion
at this time. We pray for healing for Udi
and all of our loved ones and friends that
are afflicted with this terrible disease. =

Photo by Chany Crystal

Who Brings Forth the Horn of Salvation

Joseph Shulam

The prayers that are prayed in Jewish Synagogues around

the world are a collection. This collection has both modern
and ancient texts, some of which are composed by historical
people, and others so ancient that their origin is unknown.
The majority of Jewish liturgy in the Synagogues is
comprised of a few standard prayers: The Shema (a recitation
of Deuteronomy 6:4-9 that begins with Hear O Israel),
the Amida (that is also called Shemona Esre Eighteen
Benedictions), the Kaddish (A prayer recited several times
during the prayer service and also during funerals and
memorial services remembering the deceased relatives), and
the Hallel (a recitation of Psalms 114-118). At the High
Holidays there are special prayers, such as Kol Nidre on Yom
HaKippurim (The day of Atonement) and Selichot (petitions
for forgiveness) during the month of Elul and during the ten
days of awe between Rosh Hashanah and Yom HaKippurim,
and even more special blessings for Sukkoth and Passover.

The Amida (Hebrew: , HaAmidah) is also called

the Shmoneh Esre (Hebrew: , Shmoneh Esre The
Eighteen). It is called by this name because it traditionally
had eighteen benedictions. It is called the Amida because
people stand during the time that they recite this prayer.
This prayer is found in every Siddur (the traditional Jewish
prayer book.)
Religious Jews recite the Amida at each of three daily
prayer services on normal weekdays and on every Shabbat
and Holiday. This article is not concerned with all the
eighteen benedictions of the Amida. This article is concerned
only with the fifteenth benediction known as The Blessing
of David in Hebrew Birkat David. This benediction is
translated to English in many different forms.

The Amida, Blessing Fifteen: The Kingdom of David

The first translation

The Second Translation

The offspring of Thy servant David, quickly

cause to flourish, and lift up his power by
Thy deliverance; for Thy deliverance do we
constantly hope. Blessed art Thou, Lord, who
makes the glory of deliverance to flourish.

May the Seed of David Thy servant flourish

speedily and may You exalt in Your salvation.
For in your salvation do we hope all the day.
Blessed are You, Lord, Who brings forth the
Horn of our salvation.

In order to understand the complexity of this prayer

it must be understood that the word SALVATION in
Hebrew is very similar to, and from the same root as the
name of Yeshua. In Hebrew Yeshua is the original name
of the Western transliteration, influenced by Greek, which
became Jesus in English. The Hebrew noun for Salvation
is actually Yeshuah. You can immediately see the closeness
and relationship between the Hebrew word for Salvation
(Yeshuah) and the name Yeshua. In Hebrew the difference is
only one letter at the end of the word Yeshua (h).
The ending of this fifteenth benediction of the Amida is
somewhat difficult to understand. Professor Solomon Pines of
the Hebrew University was one of the pioneer researchers of
early christianity and studied the relationship between Jewish
followers of Yeshua and Judaism. Prof. Pines was among
the earliest academics to notice that the benediction of the
Amida is somewhat complex to understand. Professor Yehuda
Liebes, of the Hebrew University succeeding Professor Pines
noticed that the difficulties in understanding this prayer lie
within the ending. The conclusion of this benediction does
not really tie in with the main body of the benediction. The
first part of the prayer is speaking about King David and has
allusions to Biblical texts.
Here is a spread out of the prayer and the Biblical allusions:
The phrase A branch (or plant) of David is found in
the following texts all of which are clearly messianic texts:
Jer. 23:5 Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD,
That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness;
A King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and
righteousness in the earth. (See also: Jer. 33:15)
Psa. 132:17 There I will make the horn of David grow;
I will prepare a lamp for My Anointed.
The second phrase in the benediction is translated, Thy
servant flourish speedily - it is a liberal translation of Psalm
132:17, make the horn of David grow - Horn here is
like the horn of plenty in the Greco-Roman culture. In this
text of Psalms 132:17, it is clear that the Psalmist is talking
about the Messiah. The parallel phrase of the verse is: I
will prepare a lamp for My Anointed - where Anointed
is actually in Hebrew Messiah. All of this is spoken with
reference to King David.
The third phrase in the fifteenth benediction is: For in
your salvation do we hope all the day.
Is. 25:9 And it will be said in that day: Behold, this is our
God; we have (hoped) waited for Him, and He will save
us. This is the LORD; we have (hoped) waited for Him; we
will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.

Is. 51:5 My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone

forth, and My arms will judge the peoples; The coastlands will
(hope) wait upon Me, And on My arm they will trust.
Psa. 25:5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You
are the God of my salvation; On You I (hope) wait all the
day.
Prov. 20:22 Do not say, I will recompense evil; (hope)
Wait for the LORD, and He will save you.
The last phrase is the one that is problematic: Who
brings forth the Horn of our salvation.
Professor Yehuda Liebes presents a theory, that in this
15 benediction of the Amida there is a possibility that
originally Jewish Disciples of Yeshua in the Galilee composed
it. Professor Yehuda Liebes wrote an article for Professor
Solomon Pines Festschrift for his 75th birthday, and it was
published by the Hebrew University. He points out that in
the context you would expect to have The Horn of David
like the text says in Psalm 132:17, or Who brings forth the
Horn of our Messiah, or even it could work to say, The Horn
of David our Savior. But this is not what is written in this
ancient prayer. The phrase to bring forth the Horn... connects
with a person not with an abstract noun like salvation.
In his article Professor Liebes also points out that in
Biblical Language we have not seen the phrase Horn of
Salvation, when the word Salvation is an abstract noun.
Again, in the English translation of 2 Samuel 22:3, The God
of my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn
of my salvation, My stronghold and my refuge; My Savior, You
save me from violence. In the Hebrew this phrase is not like
in the prayer, Keren Yeshua - , but it is Keren
Yishei - . It has the same root, but the form is very
different and speaks not of an abstract concept of Salvation
but My Salvation, which is very personal, and gives context
to the phrase in Psalm 22:3 that refers to God Himself as the
Horn of my Salvation - . Also in the Kaddish prayer
we find an Aramaic phrase that speaks of God Himself
who makes Salvation grow and brings near His Messiah ( Va Yetzmach Purkane Va Yekarev
Meshiche), but we dont find Salvation as a concept, be it
acting, recieving, or as a source. Professor Liebes argues that
growing the Horn is always a question of giving strength to
a person and for proof he brings the passages Psalm 132:17,
Jeremiah 33:15, and Ezekiel 29:21.I
In Psalm 92:10-11, we find the phrase in its natural
context and the meaning is to give strength to the person
th

Ezek. 29:21 In that day I will cause the horn of the house of Israel
to spring forth, and I will open your mouth to speak in their midst.
Then they shall know that I am the LORD.

so that he can vanquish his enemies.II In this text the

exhalation of the Horn is in parallel with the anointing
of fresh oil on the person who is speaking or singing this
Psalm. In Deuteronomy 33:16-17III, we find in the blessing
of Moses to the tribes a blessing for Joseph that his horns
like the horns of the wild ox. (See also: 1 Chronicles 25:5IV)
The Bible and Jewish literatures stance with the phrase
always refers to a person and not to an abstract concept, this
strengthens the secondary nature of the phrase as it stands
now in the Siddur (the Jewish Prayer books). By secondary
nature Professor Liebes suggests that the original must have
had a different meaning i.e. it was speaking of a person and
not of a concept.
One of the Midrashic commentaries of the Tanach of the
Byzantine period is Yalkut Shimeoni, which states that all the
eighteen benedictions of the Amida are actually based on 1
Samuel chapter 2, Hannahs prayer of gratitude for the son
that God has given her. This is what Yalkut Shimeoni states:
And Hannah prayed. From this we learn that women must
pray since it is clear that Hannah was praying the Eighteen
Benedictions. We know this by the hint that she gave us
when she said, My heart rejoices in the LORD; My horn is
exalted in the LORD. I smile at my enemies, because I rejoice
in Your salvation. V
There are several more linguistic considerations from
Biblical texts and Second Temple Jewish literature that prove
that the way the 15th Benediction of the Amida reads today
is not the original text. Professor Yehuda Liebes states that
this prayer makes more sense if those who composed the
prayer meant the third phrase to be about a person and not
an abstract concept. The most logical person to whom this
phrase could refer would be Yeshua - because the text would
II Psa. 92:10 But my horn You have exalted like a wild ox; I have
been anointed with fresh oil. 11 My eye also has seen my desire
on my enemies; My ears hear my desire on the wicked Who rise up
against me.
III Deut. 33:16 With the precious things of the earth and its fullness,
And the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush. Let the blessing come
on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of him who
was separate from his brothers. 17 His glory is like a firstborn bull,
And his horns like the horns of the wild ox; Together with them
He shall push the peoples To the ends of the earth; They are the ten
thousands of Ephraim, And they are the thousands of Manasseh.
IV 1 Chr. 25:5 All these were the sons of Heman the kings seer in the
words of God, to exalt his horn. For God gave Heman fourteen sons
and three daughters.
V 1 Samuel 2:1, The Midrash commentary on Samuel, chapter 80,
states that Hannah prayed the Amida. The Midrash connects the
Amida with the phrase: My horn is exalted in the LORD. I smile at my
enemies, Because I rejoice in Your salvation.

only change slightly with the addition of the letter . They

would at least hide the originally intended glorification and
identification of the Son of David, the Messiah, and Yeshua.
This not only happened in the ancient days of the Byzantine
Empire, but it happened in the 20th Century in the prayer
book of Rosh Hashanah. In the early days of the State of
Israel, during the 1950s, most of the Ashkenazi Machzorim
(Orthodox Prayer Books for Rosh Hashanah) had the phrase
Yeshua Sar HaPanim - Yeshua the Minister (or angel) of
Gods presence. Later on the was added to make the
text read Yeshuah Salvation the Minister (or Angel) of
Gods face. So, it is not a large leap to see Yeshua in this very
messianic blessing of the 15th benediction of the Amida.
Whithin the Midrash and Talmud there is evidence that
this prayer has been changed several times. In some periods
the name of David was inserted a second time and the prayer
read: The God of David who makes Yeshuah Salvation
grow (Tsemach )for His people Israel. These changes
are a clear indication that there was some discomfort and
dissatisfaction with the original 15th benediction.VI The
question is who? When would such a benediction have been
composed and who would want to make it more palatable
for the Jewish Synagogues in the Land of Israel?
We have seen that after the phrase usually
follows the name of a person. In the benediction case
Professor Liebes proposes the possibility that it was Yeshua,
and that the prayer was composed by Jewish Disciples of
Yeshua, and later changed because Jewish tradition in the
Synagogues rejected Yeshua and his Disciples. The quickest
fix to the prayer, already a part of the liturgical tradition, was
to add the and make Yeshua into Yeshuah salvation.
In the New Testament we have a clear witness that this
phrase is attributed to Yeshua: And hath raised up a horn
of salvation for us Meaning the Messiah, whom God had
now raised. (Luke 1:69) The Wisdom of Ben-Sirach has a
very similar phrase like in the Gospel of Luke.VII It is clear
that Luke and Ben-Sirach both see the idea of the horn of
salvation as a reference to the messiah.
It is likely that this addition of the name Yeshua that
turned into Yeshuah happened in the first century before the
period of the Bar-Kochba rebellion in the first quarter of the
Second Century A.D. In that period the Jewish Disciples of
VI Midrash on Samuel 26:3, Martin Buber edition, Krakow, Poland,
page 126. More on the same issue see Zeligman Bears book on the
worship of Israel. There you find more Midrashic examples of the
same in pages 97, 227.
VII Skehan, Patrick (1987) The Wisdom of Ben Sira: a new translation with
notes (Series: The Anchor Bible volume 39) Doubleday, New York, p.
524, ISBN 0-385-13517-3

Photo by K.Hurley

Yeshua were still very much Jewish and very much involved
in the community and local Synagogue life. As the letter of
James in the New Testament witnesses, the Disciples were
worshiping in the Synagogues together with those Jews who
did not accept and believe in Yeshua as the Messiah.
Professor Pines noted that the message of the Angel to
Mary in Matthew chapter 1 was: And she will bring forth
a Son, and you shall call His name Yeshua (JESUS), for He
will Yoshiah (save in construct) His people from their
sins. (Matt. 1:21) This phrase has to be understood from the
Hebrew for in Greek translation you lose the play on words
of Yeshua / Yoshiah. This use of the word save - Yoshiah in
this verse is an indication of the way that His disciples saw
Yeshua in the end of the First Century A.D. He was seen to
be Son of David and Savior. The passages dealing with the
horn of David ( ) and a plant of David ()
are messianic by nature even in their original contexts in the
Tanach.
Professor Liebes also suggests the possibility that even
very early in the history of the 15th benediction of the
Amida the disciples of Yeshua may have added the at
the end of the word Yeshua and made it into Yeshuah.
The friction between the Jews who were disciples of Yeshua
and those who were not inside the Synagogues may have
needed pacify. One way to sooth the friction and still retain
their belief would have been to mask the name Yeshua and
make it the noun Yeshuah. David Ben-Gurion, Israels first
Prime Minister used a similar technique in the composition
of Israels Declaration of Independence written on a Scroll.
The Orthodox Jews wanted to include God in this important
document, David Ben-Gurion objected to it, but in the
end compromised and wrote in place of God The Rock of
Israel. This satisfied the Orthodox Jews and also those who
were secular. Using a word that says what you want said and

at the same time does not say it is like teaching with Parables.
Those who need to understand the parables can understand
them, and those who dont need to use the parables will not.VIII
Professor David Flusser brought up a theory that this
benediction was allowed in the Jewish Amida prayer because
it was a political slap in the face of the Sadducees who denied
the resurrection of the dead. So, by asking The horn of
salvation to be raised it is a polemic against the Sadducees.
For the Jewish Disciples of Yeshua it would have been
natural to pray together with all of Israel in the Synagogues.
For the strengthening of Davids place as the prototype of
the Messiah, for raising of the Horn of David as a savior,
and for resolving the waiting for the Messiah, which is part
of the controversial battles inside of Israel. Professor Liebes
points out that in the land of Israel this benediction was
omitted because the Jewish Disciples of Yeshua were well
known and their participation in the Synagogues was the
cause for the insertion of what is called Birkat HaMinim
- the benediction of the heretics. This benediction was
especially composed to exclude the Disciples of Yeshua from
participation in the Synagogue prayers.
Since the Diaspora in Babylon, the 15th benediction has
been continuosly included to this very day in most of the
Jewish Prayer Books around the world. Yeshua found His
way into the most central of Jewish prayers, the Amida (the
Eighteen Benedictions), the very core of Jewish prayer and
the center of Jewish worship. Yes, the additional benediction
against the heretics was added and that too continues to be
recited in every Synagogue, but the memory of Yeshua and
Salvation is not blotted out and it is our conviction that His
name will be straightened and His Horn of King David will
bring Yeshuah Salvation to all of Israel. =
VIII Matt 13:10-11

Amfian Gerasimov
A Righteous from Among the Nations

In the Encyclopedia of the Righteous Among the Nations,

which the Yad Vashem Institute published in 2007, our
brother Amfian Gerasimov was introduced as follows;
Amfian Gerasimov is a holy man of his own invention.
He was fourteen when the Communists overthrew the Tsars
in his native Riga, and ever since he has been searching for
the God the Communists outlawed. His sparse, immaculate
apartment in Talpiot, a Jerusalem Suburb, with its pictures
of King David, could belong to a monk; he possesses the
detachment of those who dwell in the life of the spirit.
Speaking in Byelorussian, he resists answering questions
directly, preferring instead to quote from the well-worn Bible
that never leaves his hands. Judaism and Christianity have
8

one book and I live according to it, he says. (Encyclopedia of

the Righteous Among the Nations, Yad Vashem Publications,
2007.)
Following is part of Amfian Gerasimovs interview with
the Yad Vashem Institute:
I was born in Riga in 1902. My mother was very
religious, my father was a laborer and an alcoholic. Seven of
their children before me had died because of him, so everyone
was sure I would die too. When I was fourteen, I witnessed
the Russian Revolution and I wondered why Communists
hated religion and how atheism in the Soviet Union came to
be. I was raised in the Russian Orthodox Church, but I soon

began studying all faiths. I was searching for a religion that

would give me the security I hadnt found in my family.
There were Jews in Riga, but I had no contact with them.
The first contact I had was with Judaism, not with Jews. In
1925 when I began studying all religions, I learned about
Judaism as well. I learned that both Judaism and Christianity
have one book, the Bible and I live according to it. In 1928,
I married and had six children. I didnt really want to marry,
but my mother had died and I didnt know how to cook. My
wife was also seeking the truth. I read all the books about
atheism and I didnt find the truth in them so I turned to
religion.
The first Jew I met was my landlady, Mrs. Brill. She was
a different class from my family. I was a poor mailman, but
in 1941 the rich people were suddenly our equals and we
had the chance to play a part in their lives. Mrs. Brill had
disappeared from our building, which was on the island near
Riga, but soon her two daughters, Lila and Dora, who each
had a husband and two daughters, took the apartment above
ours. So there were two families occupying the same space.
My family occupied one floor below. Life for me and my
family was not easy. However, the lives of our new neighbors
were much worse. My wife and I discovered that the Germans
had evicted the Brill sisters and their families from the large
apartments in which they had lived in the center of town.
In a few months the Germans had ordered them to move
into the suburb where they had congregated all of the citys
Jews into a ghetto of only six or seven small streets, an area
of two square kilometers. When the families left, they asked
us to keep a few suitcases from which they would want us to
deliver packages to them from time to time. At first, before
the barbed wire went up, my children delivered packages to
them. Later I had to make complicated arrangements to meet
them, always wearing my postmans uniform and carrying
their packages in my pouch. These poor people were moved
constantly, and when they could get messages to me, I met
them wherever they told me.
For several months we had a plan to meet when they were
returning to the ghetto, heavily guarded, after a day of work.
One of the armed guards cooperated for a bribe by giving me
a hand signal when the time was best. During these meetings
we would hand them the packages, listen to the stories of
daily experiences, exchange news between us and determine
what to bring in the next package. One tragic night the Nazis
did not allow Dora Brill and her two daughters to return to
the ghetto, but instead took them outside the city together
with the old, the sick and the children, and murdered them
without mercy.

I continued to meet with Lila Brill and her husband, Isaak

Mizroch, and her two daughters until Isaak was deported
and executed. On one of these meetings I was stopped by the
Germans for questioning. This was a frightening experience,
but I managed to convince them that I was simply a postman
delivering a package.
One of Lilas daughters, Evta (Yvette), had married Harry
Niss, whom I was soon to meet and hide in my home. By that
time, my wife and our children had gone to the country for
safety and I was living at home alone. The front was nearing,
and after only a few days, Harry was able to leave and join
the approaching Russian army.
A few months after the Germans were expelled, I received
a telegram from Evta in Poland, asking me about Harrys
fate. When I wrote to say he was alive she quickly came to
Riga and told me how she and her mother Lila, and her sister
Evi, had been liberated from the Germans by the English.
A short time later they all left for Haifa. I received letters
from them, telling me that Harry had been killed in a work
accident and Evta had remarried and moved to Canada. The
letters stopped in 1950.
Many years later I started going to synagogue and decided
to convert to Judaism. I had myself circumcised at the age of
sixty-eight and managed to get an invitation to immigrate to
Israel. But the Soviet Union wouldnt allow me to go without
my wife, and she didnt want to go. The only way was for us
to get a divorce. When I went before the judge, he said, You
already have white hair. Its already time for you to die, not
to get divorced. What do you need a divorce for? I told him,
I dont need a divorce; the government needs a divorce. I
finally got the permit to immigrate to Israel, and in 1975, we
came to Israel, accompanied by one of my sons. When we
arrived here, we found out that Lila lived in Tel Aviv. I visited
this elderly mother shes my age several times, and she
was very glad to see me. She was sick and almost blind, but
she had maintained herself well and was full of memories of
the past. But discussions of a moral or spiritual topic did not
interest her. When I told her that the suffering of the Jewish
people was a consequence of their deviation from the morals
of the Torah, she seemed bored and tended to fall asleep, I
find this a typical response of Jews when I mention the case
of their suffering. In this way I think the prophecy of the
prophet Jeremiah is being fulfilled [Jeremiah 6:10]: Behold
their ears are closed and they are not able to hear.
I began going to synagogue every day after I arrived in
Israel because I wanted to be accepted, but apparently it
wasnt enough. Many of the people did not like the ideas
I expressed and they started asking me if I was Jewish or
Russian, and if I believed in Jesus. I told them that I am
9

Jewish and I do believe in Jesus, and they asked me why. I

showed them the Old Testament, where it says that a Messiah
will come and die for the sins of all people, and thats what
Jesus did. Then I got threats on my telephone for three years,
every night, until I finally notified the police and they were
able to stop it.
I was awarded the Yad Vashem medal, and many
people have asked me why I helped the Jews when the
risk was so great. I answer them by quoting the Bible, the
New Testament, John, Chapter 15: There is no great love
than sacrificing your own soul for anothers soul. And of
course, this passage comes directly from the Old Testament,
Proverbs, Chapter 24.
Amfian, Gavriel his son and family have been associated
with Netivyah and with our congregation since they
immigrated to Israel in 1975. In May 2011, Zvi from Roeh
Israel Congregation and I, drove to Petah Tikvah to interview
Gavriel.
Amfian was a very faithful member of our congregation
in Jerusalem. In fact he said once that after looking and
investigating more than 20 religious groups he had finally
found what he was looking for all through the years at

Amfian Gerasimov, 1985

10

Netivyah. He found in Netivyah, at that time, a congregation

of Jews who were committed to the Restoration of the
First Century community of Yeshuas Disciples and to the
principles of the Word of God as they are seen through the
eyes of the Apostles in the New Testament. On a particular
Sunday when Jerusalem was covered with thick snow,
Amfian walked from his apartment in Talpiot (a Jerusalem
neighborhood about 2.5 miles from our congregation) to
the congregation. In Jerusalem, when it snows seriously
there is no transportation, people dont go to work, and
everything halts. Amfian was the only one that walked that
Sunday afternoon to come and worship and we were only
a congregation of two on that Sunday afternoon. Amfian
did not know Hebrew, but he hired a private interpreter to
come with him to the congregation every service to interpret
for him in Russian. He did not miss a single prayer meeting
or service in which the congregation gathered to praise and
worship and learn the Word of God.
Gavriel, Amfians son is also a Righteous from Among the
Nations ( ) in his own right. When Gavriel
was 14 years old, Amfian would send him into the Ghetto
with packages and money to deliver to the leadership of the
Jews. It was a dangerous task that only a young boy could
carry out without being caught by the Nazi guards. Gavriel
also told us about a summer cottage that Amfian had in the
forest outside of Riga, Latvia. In that cottage Amfian kept
and fed four Jewish families with their children for many
months. He fed them and cared for them and helped them
escape the Nazi Holocaust. Latvians were ever more cruel to
the Jews than their German occupiers.
There are not many Righteous from Among the Nations
that are living today. Amfian and his family are the only
ones that we had the privilege to know personally. The
most impressive thing about this family, who sacrificed
and endangered their lives in order to save Jews, is their
humility and simplicity. It is this humility and simplicity
that enhanced their deep faith in God and in Yeshua the
Messiah and gave them the strength to do what they did for
the Jews during the Holocaust and the German occupation
of Riga, Latvia. It is this same humility and simplicity that
keeps them faithful and dedicated to do the will of the Lord
and continue to serve the Kingdom of God and the Jewish
people.
Amfian passed away in the late 1990s and is buried in
Jerusalem. Gavriel is living in Petah Tikva not far from TelAviv. Gavriel is well into his 80s and still doing volunteer
work for the community and the Jewish people. He is a
master carpenter and it is his hobby to build wonderfully
beautiful cases for Torah Scrolls and give them to the

Gavriel Gerasimov,
Above: 1946, age 15
To the left: 2011

Sephardic Synagogues. He is also building an extra room for

his home and he is doing it alone, from mixing the cement
to crafting the woodwork. He is a man that is nearing 90
years of age and is not idle, continuing to work physically
every day.
It is the privilege of our congregation in Jerusalem to have
known Amfian Gerasimov and to have Gavriel associated and
in fellowship with us. When I asked Gavriel what motivated
him and his family to endanger their lives and sacrifice for
a few Jewish people during the Holocaust, Gavriels answer
was very simple, It was the desire of our Lord to bless the
Jewish people, and that is all that we could do for them at
that time.
It is so refreshing and faith strengthening for the younger
generation of our congregation and of Netivyah to remember
Amfian Gerasimov. When I ask our young leaders what they
remember of Amfian Gerasimov their faces light up with joy
and say, Sure! He is the old man that every week gave us a
candy!
In 1990, I had the privilege to visit the former Soviet
Union before its demise. I visited Riga, Latvia, and visited
Amfians brothers and sisters who were still living there.

This amazing family were all doing well economically, but

they were also walking with the Lord and active in their
relationship with the disciples of Yeshua in Riga and still
connected and seeking ways to be a blessing to the small
post war Jewish Community in Riga. They were all faithful
disciples of Yeshua. They survived the communist regime.
They have raised second and third generations of Disciples of
Yeshua despite the hard years of communism in the USSR.
The secret of their happiness is very simple - they really
believe the Word of God and are not sidetracked with the
teachings of traditional Christianity. They were committed
to the Restoration of the New Testament Church without
whys and buts - just simply seeking to do the will of
God. Not one of them said that it was an easy journey, but
everyone said that it was the only way to know for sure that
they are doing what pleased God. This is what Gavriel still
says is his own model for living faithfully doing the will of
God.
You can read and research more about Amfian Gerasimovs
experience by following this link to Yad Vashem:
http://db.yadvashem.org/righteous/family.
html?language=en&itemId=4014992 =
11

Before All Beginnings

Ammikam Tavor

According to our sages, Six things have

preceded the creation of the world:
Some were actually created, and some
were planned to be created. The Torah,
the throne of glory - were created. The
forefathers, Israel, the Temple and the
name of Messiah were planned to be
created. Rabbi Ahavah bar Zeira said,
Also repentance, and some say, also

the Garden of Eden and hell (Bereshit

Rabah 1).

Sometime in the middle ages, a
series of four poems were written, based
on this Midrash. All were written in
archaic, poetic Hebrew and in rhyme.
And all open with the same phrase and
title: ,, which, literally
translated, means Then, before the

beginning. The third one of the four

is of special interest to us, because it
speaks about the name of Messiah.
First, Let me quote the Hebrew text, as
it appears in the Jewish prayer book for
Yom Kippur available to every reader of
Hebrew and worshipper on the Day of
Atonement:

Photo by Paul Aningat

A free translation of this poem from Hebrew says,

Then, before the beginning He has set the abode and
Yinon. From the beginning, before planning any nation or
language - He has planned the established Temple on high.
He has counseled to emanate his holy Presence there to lead
the erring ones on straight paths. When wickedness became
as red as scarlet he has preceded it with wash ye and cleanse
yourselves. Even if He became indignant with His awe12

some One The Holy One will not pour His entire wrath.
We have been enslaved to our greed until now, but Our Rock
did not raise Himself over us. Messiah of our Righteousness
has turned away from us, we were perplexed and there is no
one to justify us. He bears our iniquities and the yoke of our
crimes upon himself. And was profaned (or: pierced) because
of our iniquities. He carries our sins on His shoulder, to find
forgiveness for our misdeeds. We were healed by His bruises

 Its time to create the Eternal One anew as a new creation.

Lift Him up from the circle (of the earth), draw Him up
from Seir (=Edom), and make us hear of Him again on top
of Mount Lebanon by the hand of Yinon.
This beautiful piece of sacred literature is very special for
several reasons. First, it tells us that the Messiah preceded
the creation of the world. In John 17:24 we read, that God
has loved the Messiah before the foundation of the world
and in 1 Peter 2:19-20 it also says that the precious blood of
the Lamb was known before the foundation of the world.
God has established the Temple and the Name of Messiah
(Yinon is considered as one of Messiahs names according
to Psalm 72:17, which says, His Name shall endure forever:
His Name shall be continued as long as the sun. The phrase
translated into English as His Name shall be continued as
long as the sun can also be rendered in Hebrew as following:
Before the sun [was made] His Name [was] Yinon)
before creating people and tongues in the world in order to
direct the straying ones in right ways. Paraphrasing Isaiah
1:16-19, he says, Wash, cleanse yourselves... and only then,
Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as
snow; though they be red like crimson they shall be as
wool, which means that the remedy was provided prior
to the bruise, and forgiveness was granted even before the
sin was committed. Also, the phrase, Even if He became
indignant with His awesome One The Holy One will not
pour His entire wrath speaks about Gods special love for
Israel, His beloved, as written in Song of Songs 6:4, Thou
art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem,
terrible (or awesome) as an army with banners.
But the most interesting part of this poem begins here:
Messiah of our Righteousness has turned away from us,
we were perplexed and there is no one to justify us. This
startling confession reminds us of the great moment still to
come, when, according to Zechariah 10:12, God will pour
upon his people, the inhabitants of Judah and the dwellers
of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and supplication, and they
will look upon Him whom they have pierced, and they shall
mourn upon Him I believe that this great confession has
already been quoted in Isaiah 53, which says,
Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of
the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender
plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath neither form
nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty
that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as
it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed
him not. Surely he hath borne our grief and carried our sorrows:
yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for

our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and
with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned everyone to his own way; and the LORD hath
laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was
afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb
to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so
he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from
judgment: and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut
off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people
was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked and
with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence,
neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to
bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his
soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his
days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his
knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall
bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with
the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because
he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered
with the transgressors; and he bares the sin of many, and made
intercession for the transgressors.
Many of the verses following these marvelous statements
were taken right from Isaiah 53, such as He bears our
iniquities and the yoke of our crimes upon himself. And
was profaned (or: pierced) because of our iniquities. He
carries our sins on His shoulder, to find forgiveness for our
misdeeds. We were healed by His bruises This brings us
to the next problematic issue: Although the ancient Jewish
Bible commentators have unanimously agreed that Isaiah 53
is a messianic portion, describing the atoning suffering and
death for the sin of the world most of the later ones
especially since the middle ages and even until today insist
that a different explanation must be considered, in order to
avoid the option that Yeshua of Nazareth might have been
that vicarious Savior. They interpreted the suffering Servant
of God as the people of Israel, suffering scorn, torment and
even martyrdom as the scapegoat of the world, and that
the sins of all the gentile nations were laid on him. Now,
since in many places the Messiah is so well identified with
his people, that their histories are interwoven together in
an inseparable manner, still they are not identical. Isaiah 53
definitely speaks of a personal, and not of a collective person.
Although Israel as a nation has suffered much persecution
and massacre by the hands of the nations, still it could not
atone for her own sins as a holy and blameless sacrifice. Israel
had to suffer for her own sins, while the sacrifice must be
blameless and without sin, which has never been the case
13

with Israel as a nation. Moreover, Israel never kept quiet

about her sufferings, and never acted as a lamb brought to
the slaughter opening not her mouth, as did King Messiah.
There is an interesting play on words in the Hebrew which
adds an additional meaning to the verse and with his stripes
we are healed . The same word rendered in Isaiah 53:5 as
,
which actually means By fellowship with Him,
was rendered in the Septuagint and also in our text here as

,
namely by His bruises, or stripes. Since both
possibilities are legitimate, we accept them both without
hesitation.
The poem ends with a series of prayerful requests: Its
time to create the Eternal One anew as a new creation.
Messiah is a new creation indeed, since humanity has never
experienced a person like Him, as sinless and divine in His
nature. The following requests are not the least startling: Lift
Him up from the circle (of the earth), draw Him up from

Seir (=Edom). Israel seeks from God to raise King Messiah

from this world and from Edom. Edom has been the secret
code name for the anti-Semitic western gentile world, and
especially for hostile Christendom, which has systematically
persecuted the Jews throughout history. Israel asks God to
take Messiah out of the gentile, Christian church, and bring
Him back home! And make us hear of Him again on top
of Mount Lebanon by the hand of Yinon. How can God
make us hear of the Messiah again, if he has not been here
before? But as said before, Messiah of our Righteousness
(or, rather, Our righteous Messiah) has turned away from
us; He was here before and has left us without consolation
and justification, so we seek Gods face to send him back to
us again! What a wonderful prayer for the holiest day of the
year, when all of Israel confess their sins to the LORD and
ask for His forgiveness! =

May Our Eyes Behold Your Return

Elhanan Ben-Avraham

As a Messianic Jew serving in theIsraelDefense Force (IDF),

one faces a number of challenges. Once that fact becomes
open to our fellow soldiers, we are watched carefully until we
prove ourselves. If one is a decent chap and does his job well,
he is normally accepted as one of the boys, but that is just
one of the challenges.
Once I was serving a stint of reserve duty at Beit El
(Bethel) in Samaria. Bethel is the place the Bible describes
Jacob fleeing to from his brother Esau, and there receives the
dream of the ladder to Heaven, which later Yeshua alludes
to as referring to himself. When it was discovered that I was
an artist, I was given the task to paint a fairly large mural
of Jacobs Dream on a wall of the army base. I took the
opportunity as an honor, and executed the mural between
assigned guard duties and patrols. This had apparently earned
me some credit with my fellow soldiers, and also opened up
many an interesting conversation about the Bible, Jacob, and
even Yeshua.
Being on duty for close to a month with a group of
people leaves a lot of time together for conversation, as there
is really not much else to do. My unit was made up of fellow
14

Jews, each one being from a different country on the planet,

fromRussiatoArgentinatoIrantoMoroccotoTurkeyto
theUSA and evenSweden. It was the actual fulfilling of the
promise to Jacob at Beit El that his seed would be gathered
from all the nations where they were scattered.
During off duty I would often spend time in the
synagogue reading, praying and studying. This was some
years ago and I was just becoming familiar with the Siddur.
At Beit El, I was amazed to learn that one of the prayers
in the Siddur, appearing several times, states,May our eyes
behold your return unto Zion in mercy, blessed are you o LORD,
who returns his dwelling presence to Zion.This is prayed daily
by orthodox Jews in synagogues around the planet.
I found the prayer so inspiring that one night, while
guarding the walls of Beit El in the wee hours, I came up
with a tune that I began singing under the same stars that
our father Jacob, who was to become Israel, gazed upon
from this very place. I was patrolling high above the base as a
watchman upon its walls, tapping out the tune on my M-16
rifle.Ve techezeina eineinu bshuvcha lZion brachamim.
Baruch ata Adonai, ha machzir shechinato lZion. (Later, I

would sing that song with my guitar, and it would become a

popular song of worship in Messianic congregations in Israel
and elsewhere. It was also recorded professionally and sold as
a cut on a CD available to Israelis.)
One day I found myself on the duty roster to guard the
gate of Beit El with another soldier. My partner-in-arms
turned out to be a very religious orthodox Jew named Moshe
(Moses). He had heard that I was a believer in Yeshua, and
simply could not wait to get at me. He started in almost
immediately, not considering that the two of us would spend
the next twelve hours together on duty.
How can you accept the idea of the Messiah coming and
going away and coming back again?!, Moshe said in Hebrew.
That is not Judaism, that is Christianity! OurMashiachwill
come once.
I looked at him, thinking of my newly acquired knowledge
of the Siddur, and said, Moshe, you are a religious Jew. Do
you pray with the Siddur?
Of course, he replied, every day.
I went on, Do youthinkabout what you are praying?

He looked at me a bit puzzled, and replied, What are

you trying to say?
You pray, May our eyes behold your return unto
Zion.Return?I emphasized that word. I leaned forward
into his face saying, Hewent away? And he willreturn?
Moshe was dazzled with new insight, straight from the
Jewish prayer book that has been prayed for many, many
generations of our people.
Needless to say, the rest of our long guard duty was
passed in lively, friendly, passionate and fruitful discussion
there at the gates of Beit El.
The Siddur is a treasury of deep and moving prayer and
wisdom, of which most are taken from the Bible. It not
only connects us with the God of Israel, it also connects us
with our fathers who prayed during the many centuries of
awaiting the redemption ofJerusalemand all of Israel. Many
ancient prayers originate to the days of Yeshua. But it is also
a treasure where there are hidden pearls speaking of Yeshua
the Messiah. These pearls are just waiting to be uncovered
and brought to light. =

Jacobs ladder, by Wenceslas Hollar

15

The Institution of the Synagogue

and its Impact on Early Messianic Judaism
Joseph Shulam

During the era of the Second Temple period, the synagogue

was an established institution in the Jewish community
in both the land of Israel and in the diaspora. It was the
place where the people assembled for the divine service. The
synagogue also served as the center for all the communitys
cultural and religious activities. As Jews returned from the
Babylonian and Persian exiles, they brought a new approach
to the religion of their ancient forefathers. The diaspora was
instrumental in developing a religion that centered on the
community experience. During the First Temple Period, the
levitical priesthood and the Temple were the exclusive centers
of religious activity.
After the destruction of the Temple and the subsequent
diaspora, the Word of God the text of the Torah became
the most significant instrument for discerning the will of
16

the Almighty. The priesthood and the urim and tumim were
replaced by the text of the Torah and the Prophets, which
became the means by which a man could know what God
required of him. We can see the signs of these changes in
the book of Nehemiah, chapter 8. Ezra and the Priests read
the Torah with the intent to obey it upon their return from
the Babylonian exile. This knowledge and understanding of
the Word of God became central in the Jewish community
experience during the Second Temple Period. In Nehemiah
the birthplace of the synagogue as the place of gathering for
the main purpose of public reading and hearing the Word of
God is found.
In what is commonly called the Old Testament there is
no mention or hint of such an institution as the synagogue.

Capernaum Synagogue, photo by Israel-Tourism

The synagogue is strictly a Second Temple Period institution.

By the time of Yeshua, however, it was already fully grown
and developed. It is interesting to note that the Apostles
recommend that even gentiles who believe in Yeshua attend
the synagogue on the Sabbath day in order to hear Moses
being read publicly.I
There is also a basic difference between the Temple
worship and worship in the synagogue. The Temple is an
innately holy institution that receives its holiness by virtue
of the fact that God dwells therein and it houses the holy
implements of God. The synagogue has no such holiness
attributed to it. It is a place to conduct public business. The
significance of the synagogue was in its regard as the assembly
of the local Jewish community, giving expression to the civic
and communal spirit of the people of that community. The
word synagogue itself means a gathering place. It served
as the rallying-point of the community in the land of Israel
and in the diaspora.
By the beginning of the first century c.e., synagogues
existed in most of the cities and villages of the land of Israel.
The Gospels witness that there were synagogues in Nazareth,
Capernaum, elsewhere in the Galilee, and in Jerusalem.
I

See Acts 15:19-21.

Josephus mentions synagogues in Tiberias, Dor, and

Caesarea Maritima, while Philo of Alexandria says that there
were many synagogues in Alexandria and in Rome. The book
of Acts speaks of synagogues in Damascus, Antioch, and
Salamis in Cyprus, Iconium, Ephesus, Thessalonica, Berea,
Athens, and Corinth. Archaeologists have found inscriptions
in Greek from Mount Ophel in Jerusalem, Corinth, Korazin,
and Capernaum. The Jerusalem Talmud also speaks to a
multitude of synagogues in Jerusalem.II
The origin of the synagogue is sometimes attributed to
the Babylonian Exile and texts are brought from EzekielIII and
JeremiahIV to substantiate this position. However, according
to Prof. S. Safrai,V these texts do not have any connection
with the institution of the synagogue. The synagogue was
established during the third century b.c.e. for the main
purpose of reading the Torah and teaching it to the people.
II P.T. Megillah 3I, 73d
III Ezek. 11:16: Though I removed them far off among the nations,
and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a
sanctuary to them for a while in the countries where they have gone.
IV Jer. 39:8: the house of the people.
V S. Safrai, The Jewish People in the First Century (Van Gorcum / Fortress Press 1987), 909-911.

17

It was as much an institution in the land of Israel as it was

in the diaspora. The evidence shows that synagogues existed
in Jerusalem side by side with the Temple and were not a
replacement of the Temple following its destruction. The
New Testament evidence supports this position. Thus we
read in Acts 15:21, from early generations Moses has had in
every city those who preach him, for he is read every Sabbath
in the synagogue. Josephus and Philo further support the
evidence from archaeological and Tanakhic sources that the
main purpose for which people gathered in the synagogue
was to read and study the Torah. We see in Luke 4 that
Yeshua read from the Prophets in the synagogue in Nazareth
and then sat down to expound on the text and explain its
meaning.
The New Testament is consistent with evidence that
other Jewish sources present, of the activities that took place
in the synagogues of the first century.VI In the Theodotus
inscription we read: Theodotus the son of Vettenus, priest
and archisynagogus, son of the archisynagogus and grandson
of the archisynagogus built the synagogue for the reading of
the Torah and the study of the commandments...VII This
inscription stands as unprejudiced evidence of the fact that
synagogues were built for the purpose of the reading of the
Torah and the study of the commandments.
What Yeshua and the Apostles did in the synagogues
comes from the overwhelming evidence of New Testament
scripture that they read from the Torah and taught or
expounded upon its meaning to the crowd:
And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their
synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and
healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease
among the people. (Mt. 4:23)
Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching
in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom,
and healing every sickness and every disease among the
people. (Mt. 9:35)
Now when He had departed from there, He went into
their synagogue. And behold, there was a man who had a
withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, Is it lawful
to heal on the Sabbath? That they might accuse Him.
(Mt. 10:9-10)
VI T.B. Megillah 29a; P.T. Megillah 4, 75a, Philo, De Vita Moses II,
215-6; De Opificio Mundi 128; Josephus, Contra Apion 2.175.
VII R. Weill, La cit de David I (1920), 1ff; T. Reinach, L inscription
de Theodotos, in REJ 71 (1920), 46-56; CII no. 1404.

18

And when He had come to His own country, He taught

them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished
and said, Where did this Man get this wisdom and these
mighty works? Is this not the carpenters son? Is not
His mother called Mary And His brothers James, Joses,
Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with
us? Where then did this Man get all these things? (Mt.
13:54-56)
Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on
the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught. And
they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them
as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Now there
was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And
he cried out, saying, Let us alone! What have we to do
with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did you come to destroy
us? I know who you arethe Holy One of God! (Mk.
1:21-24)VIII
And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was
there who had a withered hand. So they watched Him
closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so
that they might accuse Him. (Mk. 3:1)
And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in
the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished,
saying, Where did this Man get these things? And what
wisdom is this, which is given to Him, that such mighty
works are performed by His hands! (Mk. 6:2)IX
The New Testament speaks of the synagogue as a community
meeting place. In fact, the letter to the Hebrews gives a
warning to the readers not to neglect to meet together,
(Hebrews 10:25.) The Greek word used here for meet is
. In the New Testament the word church
or is not used as a place but as a people or a
community. The word is often used as a place of
meeting.
It is my opinion that looking into the New Testament
more closely will reveal the distinction today between the
church and the synagogue. It is also my opinion that
this difference is the key to understanding the relationship
VIII The word synagogue appears several times in this chapter (cf.
verses 21, 23, 29, 39).
IX We see the same context also in Luke 4:15 as well as other texts,
reflecting the fact that Yeshua visited the synagogues in the Galilee to
teach from the Word of God.

between the and the .X These two

institutions were not mutually exclusive; they had a symbiotic
relationship. The was people, and in its most
common usage the was the place of worship.
The could worship anywhere and there were times
when it worshiped in the together with members
of the Jewish community, who were not followers of Yeshua.
To demonstrate this point let us look at the letter of
Jacob (James). We read in chapter 2:1-8:
My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. For if there
should come into your assembly a man with gold rings,
in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor
man in filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one
wearing the fine clothes and say to him, You sit here
in a good place, and say to the poor man, You stand
there, or, Sit here at my footstool, have you not shown
partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil
thoughts? Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not
chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs
of the kingdom which He promised to those who love
Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not
the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? Do
they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are
called? If you really fulfill the royal law according to the
Scripture, You shall love your neighbor as yourself, you
do well.
An analysis of this text from the letter of Jacob (James)
reveals some interesting facts. The people who are addressed
are followers of the Lord Yeshua our Messiah. They have an
assembly the Greek word is your
synagogue. The word is used here in its first
century Jewish context.XI In the same gathering/synagogue
there are believers and non believers: Do not the rich oppress
you and drag you into the courts? Do they not blaspheme
that noble name by which you are called.?
The most common use of the word church today is
for a building not for a people or for a gathering of the
community. In the New Testament, the word church never
means a building, nor an institution, or an organization
it always means a people. The word for the gathering of

The word synagogue appears 61 times in the Nestle Aland edition

of the Greek New Testament.

XI Johannes P. Louw and Eugene A. Nida (eds.), Greek-English lexicon

of the New Testament based on Semantic domains: Synagogue.

the saints in the New Testament is synagogue.XII Note that

there is no terminology of going to church or worshiping
in church in the New Testament. When the writer of the
letter to the Hebrews wants to encourage the readers not to
forsake their assembly he uses the word epi-synagogenXIII
Here are texts in the New Testament describing what
believers did when gathered together in the context of the
synagogue:
And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine
and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders
and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who
believed were together, and had all things in common,
and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them
among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with
one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house
to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity
of heart, praising God and having favor with all the
people. (Acts 2:43-46)
So, when he had considered this, he came to the house
of Mary, the mother of John whose nickname was
Mark, where many were gathered together praying. And
as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a girl named
Rhoda came to answer. When she recognized Peters
voice, because of her gladness she did not open the gate,
but ran in and announced that Peter stood before the
gate. But they said to her, You are beside yourself! Yet
she kept insisting that it was so. So they said, It is his
angel. Now Peter continued knocking; and when they
opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.
But motioning to them with his hand to keep silent, he
declared to them how the Lord had brought him out of
the prison. (Acts 12:12-16)
Now when they had come and gathered the church
together, they reported all that God had done with them,
and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
(Acts 14:27)
Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples
came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the
XII See the previous footnote and the list of references there for the use
of the word synagogue.
XIII See Heb. 10:25:

19

next day, spoke to them and continued his message until

midnight. There were many lamps in the upper room
where they were gathered together. And in a window sat
a certain young man named Eutychus, who was sinking
into a deep sleep. He was overcome by sleep; and as Paul
continued speaking, he fell down from the third story
and was taken up dead. But Paul went down, fell on him,
and embracing him said, Do not trouble yourselves,
for his life is in him. Now when he had come up, had
broken bread and eaten, and talked a long while, even till
daybreak, he departed. (Acts 20:7-11)
How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together,
each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has
a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done
for edification. (1 Cor. 14:26)
Examine what the believers of the first century did when they
gathered together.
They prayed.
They broke bread together.
They reported the miracles that God had done for them.
They sang songs and psalms.
They gathered money for the poor saints of Judaea.
The Jewish believers in Jerusalem also went to the Temple
to pray. Paul was purified in the Jerusalem Temple from a
vow he had taken, and he also offered sacrifices. The picture
that the New Testament gives of the practices of believers
when they gathered together and how they worshiped is not
so different from the Jews who did not believe in Yeshua.
What most evangelicals practice in their congregations today
is very close to the things that happen in the synagogue. In
the synagogue people pray, study the Word of God, give of
their means, and sing. Are these not the very same things that
people do in the Protestant and Evangelical churches today?
In the Second Temple Period there were two main models
for worship and service to God. The standard model of the
Torah was the temple and priestly model. In this model,
the individual worshiper is dependent on the temple and
the priest who links the worshiper to God. In this model
there is a holy precinct which has innate holiness attributed
to it. In order to have a temple you must have something
that gives it physical holiness. The buildings are holy, as are
the tools and instruments of worship and service, and the
priests who serve are also holy. The worshipper who goes to
the temple has very little to do himself. The priest does the
major part of the work/service.
20

The synagogue, on the other hand, is the assembly of the

people. Each person can worship for himself. Each person
can know the will of God by studying the Torah. Each person
is equal to the person standing or sitting next to him. Each
person can be a leader of the congregation and serve before
the Lord. The centerpiece of holiness is the Torah itself and
there is no need for a relic or a mystical presence to provide
a cover of holiness. The occasion and the people are holy
in the synagogue and not the buildings or the precinct. The
synagogue is a place it has no ecclesiology. The people
who gather there and make up the community are the
people of God and the community! In the synagogue the
community is the important element and the structure of the
community is designed to function in every aspect of life, not
only in worshiping God. Because in Judaism there is no
division between the common/mundane and the spiritual,
everything from the education of the children to the burial
of the dead becomes a part of the community concern, i.e.,
the synagogue.
Eight pillars have kept the Jewish community alive even
during the darkest of dark periods of Jewish history:

Mikveh (for family purity laws)
Torah schooling for children (Heder)
Torah adult education (Beit Midrash)
The soup kitchen (Beit Tamchui)
The burial society (Hevra Kaddisha)
Alms giving to the poor (Tzedaka)
Slaughter House (for slaughtering kosher meat)
Beit Din (a court for settling grievances in the
community)
When we talk about New Testament ecclesiology, we
should look at the community of the followers of Yeshua in
light of the synagogue. The ekklesia did the following things
which churches today are just beginning to understand and
implement, praise the Lord!
They studied: And they continued steadfastly in the
apostles doctrine.
They ate together and worshipped God: And they
continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and
fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
They took care of their poor by sharing their wealth:
Now all who believed were together, and had all
things in common.
They gave of their money for the poor.XIV
XIV See 1 Cor. 16:2; 2 Corinthians 9; Rom. 15:27.

We do not know much about the burial practices

of the early church, but we do know that they had some
organization for burial of their members. We can learn this
from the story of Ananias (Acts 5). After he died the Word
says: And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried
him out, and buried him.
The early churchs function was nothing less than a
synagogue. But it was also much more than a synagogue
because it had additional dimensions provided by the Holy
Spirit. These were related to the differences provided by faith
in Yeshua and by the inclusion of the gentiles into the family
of Gods children. These two areas of difference make the
church of the New Testament much more than a manmade
institution, like the pharisaic synagogue.
We should not forget that the synagogue is not a Torah.
The Torah knows of no such institute as a synagogue. The
Jewish community established the synagogue, without a
direct command from God. If the synagogue has any divine
sanction it was received a posteriori. When God poured out
on the early church His Holy Spirit and opened His gates to
the nations, the community of followers of Yeshua changed.
Outwardly, the public gatherings and the functioning of
the early church was no different than the synagogue, but
inwardly these two new elements were greatly different and
brought with it some problems.
If we look at the ecclesiology of the early church in
the categories of sociology and theology, on both of these
grounds similarity and great difference exist. The similarity of
the early church and the synagogue is in form and style.
The difference between the two is in theology and gifts of the
Holy Spirit, which have enabled the church to communicate
with God and serve the community with Gods power
delivered by the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
The synagogue was an important institution in the life
of Yeshua the Messiah and in the life of the early church.
But the question must now be asked: Do the Torah and the
Pharisees (who put themselves as the guardians of the Torah)
have any authority for us as followers of Yeshua the Messiah?
This question could have some interesting answers if we
ignore one very important passage from the words of Yeshua:
Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples,
saying: The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses seat.
Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe
and do, but do not do according to their works; for they
say, and do not do (Mt. 23:1-3). Do these words of Yeshua
have any meaning for us today? And if they do, how do
they apply since Judaism and Christianity have developed
seemingly beyond recognition from the reality of the first

century? These questions are not easily dismissed without

major compromise of the respect the Word of God deserves.
The seat of Moses was a physical seat stationed in the
synagogue it can be compared to a pulpit in the church.
The seat of Moses was where the Rabbi would sit when he
explained the Torah and made halachic rules. Whatever
these words of Yeshua mean, it is clear that they do give
the Pharisees of the first century, at least, the authority to
interpret the Scriptures in some binding way. In his doctrine
Yeshua was a Pharisee. He believed that angels existed, and
in the resurrection from the dead. The strong words that
Yeshua had for the Pharisees in Matthew 23 and in other
discussions were not words directed toward an enemy.
Yeshuas criticism of the Pharisees was from someone who
cares for the company. Yeshua criticized the Pharisees
because he wanted to see them doing the right things for
the right reasons and with the right motives. According to
this text, Yeshua believed that the Pharisees were teaching the
true interpretation of the Torah but they were not doing it
for the right reasons.
The implications of the understanding of this text for
the Messianic Jewish Movement are far-reaching. If Yeshua
is giving the Pharisees the right to interpret Scripture with
authority, it means that when they or their descendants
interpret the Torah, their interpretation of halacha (because
Yeshua said that his followers should do what they are told
by them) has some meaning for us today. These people,
who set the tone for faith, morality, and Jewishness today
in modern Israel, are descendants of the Pharisees. They
are the Jewish Orthodox community. The members of the
Messianic Movement in America have attached themselves
to the more Reform expression of Judaism because most
of the Jews in the movement have come from a Reform
background. It is my opinion that the Reform movement
today is comparatively equivalent to the Sadducees, rather
than to the Pharisees of the first century c.e. If the Messianic
Movement wants to remain a Jewish movement, the model
for worship and for expression of our faith in Jewish terms
should come from the more traditional and more authentic
Jewish community. This, of course, goes without question
in Israel, where the majority of God believing Jews are
Orthodox. The Reform and Conservative Jews in Israel
are a minority and they are somewhat in the same situation as
the Messianic Movement as far as civil rights are concerned.
When we are talking about having Messianic synagogues and
discuss the question of tradition, style, and interpretation of
Scripture, should we not hear what Yeshua was teaching his
followers in Matthew 23?

21

Note also that there is no record in the Word of God that

the Apostles, the Elders, or the members of the church in
Jerusalem or Corinth, Ephesus, Smyrna, or Rome, attended
the local Baptist, Pentecostal, or Presbyterian churches. We
do have record that the believers, Jews and Gentiles, attended
the synagogue of their choice even after they were cast out
of a few such places of worship. It was the custom of the
Apostle to the Gentiles, Saul (Paul) of Tarsus, to attend the
synagogue every Sabbath. The Book of Acts gives us ample
evidence that this is what he did, even when he was away
from home, and when he came into a new city.XV How would
the Jews of the First Century have allowed the Apostle Paul
to come into their synagogue looking Christian? Most
particularly if he was dressed in a brown habit with a hood
hanging on his back and a large olive wood cross on his chest.
Can you imagine such a thing? The Jews invited him to read
from the Torah and reason with them from the Scriptures,
explaining and demonstrating that the Messiah had to suffer
and rise again from the dead. This happened only because
the Apostle Paul looked like a Jew, acted like a Jew, and spoke
Torah like a Jew.
Most of the contacts and conversions of the Apostle Paul
were made through the synagogues. Believers were invited
to preach and reason with the Jews about the Scriptures and
what they taught about the Messiah. This was the case in
Pisidian Antioch, as well as in Ephesus, Corinth, Lystra,
Derbe, Iconium, Berea, Thessalonica, etc. XVI The early
church was in their meetings and fellowships a synagogue.
There is ample evidence both in the New Testament and in
the Talmudic sources that Jewish believers and Jews who did
not believe in Yeshua continued to worship together until
well into the second century c.e. It is well established that
what is called Birkat haMinim in the Amida prayer was
composed after the Bar Kochba rebellion precisely for this
reason. This prayer was composed to separate and expose
those who believe in Yeshua as the Messiah and the Son of
God from the crowd in the synagogue. There would be no
need to compose such a prayer if the Jewish followers of
Yeshua did not attend the synagogue with their unfaithful
Jewish brothers. The relationship between the church and
XV See Acts 17:1-2.
XVI Acts 13:14ff, But when they departed from Perga, they came to
Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day
and sat down. And after the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the
rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, Men and brethren, if
you have any word of exhortation for the people, say on. Then Paul
stood up, and motioning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and you
who fear God, listen: The God of this people Israel chose our fathers,
and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of
Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He brought them out of it.

22

the synagogue became complicated because the synagogue

rejected the Jewish followers of Yeshua not because the
Jewish believers wanted to leave. The church has repaid the
synagogue for this rejection a thousand times over with such
animosity and hate that our fathers and mothers were sent
into the gas chambers which smoked next to church steeples
during the beautiful fall, and summer, and springs of Europe.
Although the synagogue did expel the followers of Yeshua
from the Jewish community, the question to ask is; how
should we make our way back to the synagogue and bring
Yeshua home? Or even a more basic question is should we
even return back to the synagogue or just join the church
of our choice? In making the decision to join a church, we
Jewish believers continue to propagate the myth that when a
Jew believes in Jesus he stops being a Jew and his seed is lost
from the commonwealth of Israel.
With the restoration of the Jewish people to the Land
of Israel, we have a sign from God that He does not want
the Jewish nation to be deleted from the face of His earth.
If Gods purpose is truly to restore His people we must ask
ourselves: What should the role of the church be in promoting
and helping restore the Jewishness of the Good News that
Yeshua is the Messiah of Israel and the world? How can we
as Jewish believers help bring unity and biblical faith
to our Gentile brothers and sisters who are captive to their
traditions just as we are of ours?
In the first century c.e. the synagogue was the place
where Jews and God-fearing Gentiles gathered to discover
the will of God, through the reading of the Torah.XVII The
synagogue was where Paul met the Jews and the Gentiles
who were interested in God and in His Word. Today, after
traveling in more than 40 countries and teaching about the
Jewishness of the New Testament, I am convinced that the
Holy Spirit is working in Gentile brothers and sisters all over
the world who are looking again towards the synagogue and
the Jewish followers of the Messiah. They want to rediscover
their own connection and faith in the God of Israel and in
the historical Jesus whose name in Hebrew is Yeshua. In the
first century the synagogue provided the stage and meeting
place for the early church in the diaspora. It was the only
place where both Jews and non-Jews could go every Sabbath
to hear the Word of God the Torah being read. It was the
only place where followers of Yeshua could fellowship with
people who were not pagan and to be among people who
believed in the One and only God of Israel who created the
world and everything that is in it.

XVII

See: Acts 15:19-21.

In the twenty-first century I believe that the Messianic

synagogue, if it is authentic, can again become a bridge
and conduit for both Jews and Christians. The Messianic
synagogue can help both Jews and Christians find common
ground and a path to return to our true faith and common
heritage. God has preserved both the church and the
synagogue for a reason. I believe that this is for the restoration
of both peoples into His will and goal for all mankind. The
church without the synagogue is only a shadow of itself, an
empty shell that is easily swayed into idolatry rather than
turning to the knowledge of God and Yeshua His Son. The
synagogue without Yeshua is also a form without the true
substance of Gods Spirit and without any biblical means for
atonement. These two great historical institutions need each
other desperately and the Messianic Jews are the bridge
between them.
The challenge of the messianic movement today is not
with the use of semantics and outward forms, but in
building biblical communities in which the expression of
Jewishness is authentic, true, and traditional so that both
the Jewish community and the church can identify with
us as Jews who believe and follow Yeshua as our Messiah.

I frankly do not see much hope in my generation that this

challenge will be met. My generation of Messianic Jewish
leaders is like the generation wandering in the wilderness.
While we were educated and raised in Egypt we can build the
infrastructure for those who follow us so they will not be a
part of the Christian denominational world accommodating
the divisions and creeds of those who have traditionally hated
us. We can do this together with educational institutions by
building congregations which are authentic and independent
which will train the next generations of leaders to be 100%
Jews and 100% followers of Yeshua.
I must say in closing, already many gentile Christians
have realized these concepts and are giving of himself or
herself to see them realized. If the Messiah Yeshua does
not come back soon, the next generation of leaders in the
Messianic Movement will hopefully be different, better,
more authentic, and better educated in Judaism and in Bible
than my own present generation of leaders. Let us all pray
that Gods plan will be known and accomplished for both the
church and the synagogue because ultimately we are one in
the Messiah as He and the Father are One. =

23

Netivyah Building Project

www.netivyah.org

Praise God we have outgrown our old meeting place. For

more than 10 years we have been struggling with legal battles
and bureaucratic hurdles and in November 2012 we have
finally received the building permit from the Jerusalem City
Hall. The building was built in the 1920s and had no iron
in the foundations or walls. Now we are strengthening the
building with new standards of construction and making it
earthquake safe.
The main part of the building project is the expansion
of the auditorium and converting it to a typical Synagogue
style. Like every new construction in Israel we have to build
a safe-room (shelter) on each floor. The building will contain
new offices, classrooms, meeting rooms, a library, and an
additional fellowship hall.
Building is now in progress. Last month we actually
started the construction work and it is progressing with full
speed ahead. Our old beloved building is mostly dismantled
and only the front and side walls facing the streets are still
standing. The walls are held by big metal scaffolding. This
week the first cement foundations were poured into place.
We also succeeded to purchase the shops that occupied
the ground floor of our building. We now own the whole

24

building, but we have a shortage of funds due to using half

a million dollars of the construction fund. We really did
not have much choice because having the shops below us,
would have caused endless litigation and delay. We have
full confidence in the Lord that this building will be a big
blessing to us in Netivyah, but much more important than
this it will be a big blessing to the City of Jerusalem and to
the citizens of Jerusalem as well as the Jewish and the nonJewish Disciples of Yeshua around the world. The physical
plant is only the box, but even the box is important and it
is a window for the worth of what is inside it. We ask you
to support this project both with your material means but
above all with prayer. Pray for God to bless everyone who
is working on this project, our builders both Jews and Arab
workers, our planners and engineers, and above all the City
of Jerusalem.
In the Words of Nehemiah as the answer to opposition:
So I answered them, and said to them, The God of
heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants
will arise and build... (Nehemiah 2:20) =

25

News from Netivyah

Joseph Shulam
We need to say a special blessing for publishing this Teaching
from Zion. It has been a year since we have published the
last Teaching from Zion magazine. There are many reasons
why, but the main reason is that our dear Udi Zofef who is
the editor has been very ill with cancer. Now we are finally
beginning to publish the Teaching from Zion again and we
hope that we will be able to keep up the pace for at least two
issues per year and if we can more than two issues per year.
The Netivyah building located in Narkis Street in
Jerusalem is now under construction. The old building has
been taken down with the exception of the two walls that
face Narkis Street and Ussishkin Street. We had to keep these
facades because the City of Jerusalem wants to preserve the
nature of the street. Most of the buildings on Ussishkin Street
are 80 100 years old and many important people lived
on this street and in the neighborhood. The congregation
is meeting in our offices. Fortunately we had purchased a
26

few years ago two offices next door to our existing office
and now they serve as a meeting place for the congregation.
The expectation is that the construction of our building on
Narkis Street will be finished in about a year and a half. We
appreciate very much the prayers and contributions of so
many of you for the building project. We are still in need of
nearly $500,000 in order to pay for and finish the building.
So, please continue to pray for us and to make gifts of love
for the Netivyah building that will be the first ever Synagogue
for Jewish Disciples of Yeshua.
When I say Jewish Disciples I dont mean to exclude
non-Jewish Disciples from the Synagogue, but I do mean
to say that the character and the culture and the liturgy will
be 100% Jewish and 100% true to Yeshua. I realize that
this might sound strange to many Christians. Christianity
has divided into thousands of sects and denominations and
most of them are actually connected to the traditions and

departures from Scripture of the Roman church and church

fathers. We are committed to the First Century Disciples of
Yeshua as we read the books written by them and for them in
the pages of what is commonly called The New Testament.
We believe that the only way to walk in Gods truth and in
His Spirit is to return back to the original blue print and
restore Yeshua as both Lord and King of Gods Kingdom and
also to restore a healthy attitude toward all the Word of God
from Genesis to Revelation.
The work of the Food Distribution Program (or as we
used to call it, The Soup-Kitchen,) is going strong. We have
just increased the program with another 30 seniors many of
whom are survivors of the Nazi Holocaust. At present we
give out food cards to 180 families that calculates to at least
three times that many people. We are giving food cards now
because without a building we dont have kitchen or storage
facilities. So, we give a type of credit card that is loaded with
up to 400 NIS (about 120 US dollars) to people who have
a family and they can use it in most of the supermarkets
in the city to buy food. We have many families who are in
deep poverty and in need of food from every background
imaginable. The Municipality of Jerusalems Department of
Social Welfare screens all the cases and recommends them to

us. The single most important facet of this Food Distribution

Program is the obedience to the commandment of the Word
of God to care for the poor Saints of Jerusalem. This is the
main reason that Paul was collecting funds from Asia Minor,
Greece and Rome. Paul plainly states in Romans 15:
But now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the
saints. For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to
make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints
who are in Jerusalem. It pleased them indeed, and they are
their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their
spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in
material things. Therefore, when I have performed this and
have sealed to them this fruit, (Rom. 15:25-28)
Our congregation in Jerusalem is going through a
transitional period, both with the building construction,
and with the congregational leadership transferring to the
younger generation. We need your prayers and your support
in every way so that this world wide influential service can
continue to grow and do even more for Israel and for the
Jewish people.
God bless you from Zion and bring you the peace of
Jerusalem. =
27

If you enjoyed reading this issue of Teaching from Zion, you are welcome to subscribe
online and we will send you a package with the latest volumes by mail, free of charge.
www.netivyah.org

Planted in the House of the Lord:

God, Israel, and the Church
Joseph Shulam

Since its release in 2011, Planted in the House of the Lord

has enjoyed resounding success among Messianic Jews and
Christians all over the world. It has been the topic of seminars
and articles and has been highly praised by its readers.
It has already been translated into Dutch, German, Hebrew,
Portuguese, Finnish, Japanese and Korean.

This book is a must-read for all thinking believers who have

ever asked themselves questions like the following: Who are
Gods people? Are the Jews still the chosen people, and if so,
what is the Church? What are the spiritual callings of Israel
and the Church, and have they been fulfilled yet? How does
monotheism work out with the Trinity? Where can one find
grace and truth in the Torah, and what did Yeshua (Jesus) say
about the Written and Oral Law?
These pages investigate these questions and many others. Written from the unique perspective of Israeli Messianic
Jews, it faces these old-age debates armed with the truth of
the Bible and its Jewish context. It addresses the Jewish task
of bringing monotheism to the world, the importance of Jerusalem, and the interconnected relationships between God,
Israel, and the Church. Along the way we discover vital biblical models for identity, community, election, and lives of
faith and good deeds. Planted in the House of the Lord is a
reader-friendly book that explores the relationships God has
with his people and their complementary roles in his great
plan to redeem creation from idolatry and sin and to restore
his kingdom to earth.
Order online for $15 (including shipping)
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