Ha'Derek Yeshua - the Way Of Jesus

Today I visited the synagogue of Ha’Derek Yeshua ( in English The Way Of Jesus) It is a local synagogue of Jews who follow the Commands of Moses but believe that Jesus was the Messiah promised of God. I learned a lot from this experience. The service started by reading out of the prayer book; Prayers , Blessings, and Psalms are read both in Hebrew and in English. The men all wore the Talithand the women also wore a head covering during the service. When I asked the Rabista ( the Rabi’s wife) after the service what the significance of the Talith was , I was told that mainly it is simply Tradition to wear them that they do not require it and I also found out the meaning behind the verses in 1 Corinthians 11 where Paul addresses the women’s need for a head covering versus the man not being required to wear one, she explained that Paul is actually referring to closing the Talith in front of their face when praying publicly, and that women were required to cover their faces because their faces were seen as distracting and that now it is not a requirement , because the cultural view of a woman’s face has changed. And that only the men are required to wear it signifying their position as head of the household.
They are a progressive synagogue and allow women to participate in the reading of the scripture and families sit together. After several blessings were recited, the Torah scroll was retrieved from the Ark and carried through the congregation, pausing long enough so each person can reach out and reverently touch the scroll and reverently lift their fingers to their lips, again when I inquired after the service, I was told that this signified their love of the Torah (the Law of the Lord)and for their Messiah Yeshua, who is the Torah made flesh. A blessing is recited and the Torah laid open on the table, then the Torah potion is read, another blessing is recited , before the Haftarah (the Prophets) is read another blessing is recited and then the Prophets portions is read, this portion was read today by the Rabista, and then another closing blessing is said and here is where the first difference is seen between a traditional Jewish service another blessing is said and the Gospel portion is read, followed by the closing blessing, then the Torah is returned to the Ark. The Rabbi leads the congregation in a few more prayers then he plays some Praise music and everyone sits in a few moments of silent contemplation either softly singing the tunes of praise or simply praying to themselves. At the end of this time of quiet reflection The Rabbi returns to the Bemma (pulpit) and expounds a bit on the reading of the day, He talks of the Creation and how the Hebrew words are so significant and filled with meaning he talks of how the word “The day” is used and how it signifies that the meaning is that the world was created in 6 literal days. Beyond that he talked of the reference of az that is often found notated in the place of “the“ in front of a word, which is, he explains, what Jesus was referring to when He said “I am the Alpha and Omege (Greek for A and Z )” so every time that notation is seen it is a reference to the Messiah Jesus.
At the end of the short message, the Rabbi pronounced the ending blessing over us , explaining before he did that this was where Spock’s greeting came from. Lifting both hands he placed his thumbs together and then separated the other four fingers in the middle, this he said represents the ark of the covenant, the fingers representing the wings and the bridge of the thumbs, the mercy seat. The congregation raises their left hand, for that is the hand through which a blessing can be received. And the Rabbi blesses the congregation says “May the Lord bless you and keep you, The lord make his face to shine upon thee and be gracious to thee: the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. “
There were many more things I learned in the service this afternoon , but I cannot go into them now perhaps later when I have had time to process them and understand better what they mean .
I am definitely looking forward to the next time I can join this small community of believers and learn more about the Hebrew Bible and how it shows the truth about the Messiah.
Until that time,
Shabbat Shalome
Lydia