The identity crisis some messianic jews struggle with
If one peruses online on YouTube into the niche world of messianic jews one can easily find themselves consumed by the back and forth between the Orthodox anti-missionary camp and messianic Jewish apologists. It’s a little like the endless scrolling one can stumble into concerning debates over zionism with the regular chorus of pundits, seeming intellectuals and talking heads telling us what to think.
This post doesn’t address the issue of whether Jesus is the Messiah. It assumes that there are many messianic jews who hold this belief sincerely. But what I would like to explore is the degree of cognitive dissonance, identity crisis and outright anxiety that a significant number of messianic jews experience when attempting to reconcile their devoutly held beliefs with needs of jewish belonging in the mainstream community and living a jewish lifestyle.
Obviously multiple factors contribute towards an individual’s adjustment within a specific group. We all have unique childhood upbringings, come from differing socio-economic backgrounds and enjoy varying levels of mental health and stability amongst other variables. The messianic jewish community numbers in the hundreds of thousands globally according to some estimates and I wish to refrain from making broad generalisations as much as possible. I will stick to examining the impact of the underlying basis of discord between mainstream judaism and messianic jews.
Messianic Jews hold to various degrees of Halachik observance. But at root they are reliant upon rabbinical interpretations of Jewish law and custom which places many in a bind. Many seek to express the ritual aspects of observance by partaking in mainstream synagogue ceremonies which may invoke a sense of isolation, anxiety and feelings that they are clandestinely sneaking in ‘if only the other congregants knew what they believed’. Some may recall the haunting admonishment by the Apostle John that they have entered ‘the Synagogue of Satan’.
Beyond the specifics of this particular issue is the pressing desire rooted in the human soul to belong. Some anthropologists have traced this yearning to our tribal origins. And it can be viscerally painful on an almost existential level if you are rejected by your own ‘tribe’. Messianic jews have endeavoured to establish their own congregations. But some worshippers feel that they are basically patching their liturgy along as they go on. A pick and mix of the siddur and Christian writings.
The Mainstream Jewish response to all this is that these identity issues are self inflicted. That messianic jews should pick a lane and that you can’t ride two horses. That they are essentially Christian and not a legitimate branch of Judaism. But this fails to address the reality that these people have genuinely held beliefs in jesus while naturally seeking affinity with their own ethnic group. Judaism has been defined judicially as a mono-ethnic religion. This designation strikes at the heart of the matter. Although not adhering to the major tenets of Rabbinic Judaism, messianic jews still belong to the jewish people in a national sense.
It seems like messianic jews are stuck attempting to find 1st century solutions to a 21st century problem. No scholar can provide a clear definition of what 1st century Judaism was. Josephus Flavius describes several distinct sects of which perhaps could be added the early Jewish followers of Jesus. But with the passage of time and the assimilation of this group within the emergent Christian Church there is a break in the continuity of this movement that modern messianic jews strive to recreate.
