Principles of Faith

(adapted from the Core Values of Hashivenu)

We believe in Yeshua of Nazareth, honoring him as Messiah.

We gather in community to worship, study, and support each other. We seek tikkun olam, reparation of our broken yet beautiful world, with the help of G-d.

We consider our expression of faith as a viable branch of Judaism. Our faith in Messiah does not replace our faithfulness to the heritage of our forefathers.

We are those who by birth share in the covenant G-d made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and whose ancestors pledged themselves and their descendants to a particular way of life with G-d at Sinai. Having been born into the covenant, we have also come to recognize Messiah Yeshua as the One sent by G-d to bring the covenant to its appointed goal.

The deep structure of religious life consists of the rooted patterns of thought, speech, action and identification reflected in our daily lives as individuals, families, and congregations.

When we say that Messianic Judaism is "a Judaism," we are also acknowledging the existence of other "Judaisms." We do not deny their existence, their legitimacy, or their value. We are not the sole valid expression of Judaism with all else a counterfeit. We recognize our kinship with other Judaisms and believe that we have much of profound importance to learn from them, as well as something vitally important to share with them.

G-d's particular relationship with Israel is expressed in the Torah, G-d's unique covenant with the Jewish people.

Within the Messianic movement it is an accepted assertion that the Jewish people have a unique covenant relationship with G-d and a particular vocation in this world. Rabbi Saul of Tarsus affirmed the irrevocable nature of the promises, gifts, and calling of G-d. While opening up new possibilities for the Gentiles and placing them in a new relationship to Israel, the coming of Yeshua does not obliterate Israel's character as a people set apart with a special destiny. Yeshua assured us that he came to fulfill and not abolish the Torah (Matt. 5:17).

Within our movement both Jews and non-Jews gather in a covenant of mutual blessing.

Though our community consists of members from diverse backgrounds, we seek unity through the leadership of the Messiah and the guidance of G-d's Spirit.

Yeshua is the fullness of Torah.

The Torah was given by G-d at Mt. Sinai. Yeshua was more than a latter born Moshe. He is the Word who was in the Beginning, through whom the world was created. The commandments of the Torah are Yeshua's commandments, not an arbitrary set of rules or rituals. They are a revelation of the heart of G-d; they are a reflection of Yeshua's heart. They cannot be understood to be G-d's lesser commands. Yeshua's teachings do not permit such a view. Those who wish to be more like Him must follow the Torah's teachings because they are His very heart.

Our goal should be to follow Torah, having faith and a desire to connect with G-d through the act of following. Surely, this was the life Yeshua lived and the life He desires His people to live. Every act of observance is an opportunity to connect to G-d through Yeshua's renewing committment to us. He is the fullness of Torah. Our lives should be so full.

The richness of the Jewish tradition is a valuable part of our heritage as Jewish people.

We embrace traditions derived from both Torah Shebikhtav (Written Torah) and Torah Shebe'al Peh (Oral Torah). We rejoice at the privilege of drinking from our own wells, the wells from which our fathers, and from which Yeshua and the Apostles also drank and were sustained. Besides these wells we meet with Yeshua today, and here He speaks with us anew.

Because all people are created in the image of G-d, how we treat them is a reflection of our respect and love for Him. Therefore, true piety cannot exist apart from human decency.

Yeshua did not speak against ritual and tradition but against the wrong attitudes of those who taught and practiced them with improper motives. When people treat people poorly, whether for religious reasons or non-religious reasons, the value of their religious practice becomes nullified.

Religious people easily become preoccupied with words, presuming to become the voice of G-d to those around them. But it is far more fulfilling to be the hands of G-d in the world, as Yeshua and the prophets taught. Yeshua stated "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve," and "He who wishes to be the greatest among you must become the servant of all."