At Beit Chesed, we hold to the traditional belief that studying Torah is the highest form of worship. We also believe that the ancient rabbim have much to offer in enlightening areas where the Torah appears to be silent. How do we know the "hows" in doing things in Scripture, except that many things were passed down orally generation to generation.
Presently, with modern technology, there are many sources of information on the Internet. We stress care to be taken because all is not laid out with a Jewish framework from Scripture, with authentic knowledge in Hebrew, and respect for the Jewish traditions. The authorship is important.
The Good News is that Yeshua the Messiah came to save the lost sheep of the house of Israel. He also tore down the wall of separation and removed the hostility between Jew and non-Jew, effectively making the two spiritually one new man in Him. This renewed covenant spoken of in Jeremiah 31:30-33 is the writing of the Torah upon the hearts of the house of Israel and the house of Judah. The Apostle Paul taught heavily on this subject of how the non-Jew would be included as joint heirs with Messiah Yeshua and part of the common-wealth of Israel, not to be called unclean (Peter's vision), but to be brought near and no longer strangers to the covenants of promise. Each, the Jew and non-Jew, hold to their unique identity and yet come together spiritually as one in Messiah's kingdom to serve G-D and obey His commands in love and obedience. As Messianic Jews, we follow the commandments of G-D in obedience, not to be saved but because we are saved and have been redeemed by the blood of Yeshua haMashiach.
There are many books that we can recommend, some with minor disclaimers, and some wholeheartedly. Below, the first recommended book, "The Return of the Kosher Pig," is an extensive and deep study as to the Messiah's divinity strictly from a Jewish framework. It includes references to Jewish commentaries including the Talmud, Zohar and other books. It is a must read for the Jewish person questioning the Messiah's divinity and even further Yeshua of Nazareth's divinity.
The next three recommendations are books of commentary on three of the New Testament writings by Rav Shaul, the Apostle Paul. The first by David Negley, of blessed memory, is "Ephesians The View from the Mishkan." This book is written conversationally from a live study. It is written summarizing chapters and sections of Ephesians and speaks to the relationship between the Jew and non-Jew.
The next two books by Eric Tokajer are books in a series of books to come of the New Testament writings. These books are exactly as the titles indicate, a verse by verse look at these letters in context, as written with the author's intent from a Jewish/Hebraic perspective. These books will challenge and enlighten anyone seeking to understand how the Jew and non-Jew fit together in the Messianic Kingdom and the true issues facing the congregations of the early believers. It is true to the author Rav Shaul (the Apostle Paul) who is a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee, and of the tribe of Benjamin. A must read for the non-Jew who has never heard these letters explained in context from its intended perspective.
You can contact Beit Chesed for more suggestions in reading on various topics. We can also recommend favored Bibles in the original languages of Hebrew and Aramaic. For our weekly studies, we use the Chumash for the Torah portions and the Aramaic English New Testament for the Writings. We pray these recommendations will be a blessing to you.
