Command the Raven

From Koinonia House

MESSIANIC JEW WINS ‘KOSHER’ COURT BATTLE

After a three-year battle, a Messianic Jew is getting her bakery’s kashrut certificate reinstated. Israel’s Supreme Court ruled on Monday that Pnina Conforty’s religious beliefs did not automatically make her bakery unkosher, to the disgust of the Ashdod chief rabbi.

Messianic Jews are a group prone to be misunderstood by the non-Christian Jewish community as well as by non-Jewish Christians. They are therefore a marginalized group. Yet, “Jews for Jesus” are spiritually the descendants of Jesus’ disciples. After all, Jesus was a Jew, who taught and fulfilled prophecies from the Hebrew Scriptures, and his close followers were all Jews who recognized him as their long-awaited Messiah.   Two thousand years later, being a believer in the Messiah is still not easy in many Jewish communities, especially in Israel.  Despite the difficulties it causes, Jews are still finding the love of God through Yeshua.

Pnina Conforty, a Yemenite Jew, ran a thriving bakery in the city of Gan Yavne until her belief in Jesus was made public. Her bakery was picketed, and it was made known around the city that she was a “missionary.” The Gan Yavne chief rabbi revoked Conforty’s kashrut certificate, which meant that the food sold at her bakery could no longer be considered kosher. Conforty didn’t fight it. Instead, she moved to Ashdod where she opened another bakery in 2006.

Soon after Conforty opened her new bakery, though, the anti-missionary groups began showing up to picket her bakery again. Ashdod’s chief rabbi Rabbi Yosef Sheinen had Conforty’s kashrut certification revoked. Sheinen’s logic was that Jews for Jesus could not be trusted to abide strictly by kashrut laws.

Conforty petitioned the High Court of Justice about the situation, and Sheinen and the Chief Rabbinate compromised and decided that Conforty could have her kashrut certificate reinstated if she agreed to abide by extra conditions, including giving the keys to her bakery to a kashrut supervisor and hiring a worker approved by Sheinen. Conforty was also told she could not proselytize on her property.

Conforty rejected these conditions, which went far beyond anything that secular Jews have to abide by, and the case went to court. On Monday, Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that Conforty’s belief in Jesus as the Messiah had nothing to do with food preparation, and did not make her bakery unkosher.

Fear of Idol Worship:
The strict law-keeping Jews of Jesus’ day were horrified by Jesus’ claims to be the Son of God. The Pharisees constantly wanted to stone Jesus over it (John 8:58-59 [show/hide]John 8:58-59 [58]Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." [59]So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. (ESV)
). To an observant religious Jew, worshiping Jesus is the same as idol worship, and that is the reason Jews fear Christian efforts to convert them.  The LORD is very serious about the sin of idolatry.  The Northern Kingdom was destroyed because of idolatry, and the Southern Kingdom was sent into captivity because of it. Religious Jews do not want to make that mistake again.

Yet, the Old Testament is full of Jesus. Jesus himself spent seven miles walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus, a good two hours, demonstrating from the Scriptures that the Messiah had to suffer. “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” -Luke 24:25-27 [show/hide]Luke 24:25-27 [25]And he said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! [26]Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" [27]And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. (ESV)

Maybe he pointed out Isaiah 53 [show/hide]Isaiah 53 [53:1]Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? [2]For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. [3]He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. [4]Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. [5]But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. [6]All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned--every one--to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. [7]He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. [8]By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? [9]And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. [10]Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. [11]Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. [12]Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.
or Psalm 22 [show/hide]Psalm 22 Why Have You Forsaken Me? To the choirmaster: according to The Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm of David. [22:1]My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? [2]O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest. [3]Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. [4]In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. [5]To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. [6]But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. [7]All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; [8]"He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!" [9]Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother's breasts. [10]On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother's womb you have been my God. [11]Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help. [12]Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me; [13]they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion. [14]I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; [15]my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death. [16]For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet-- [17]I can count all my bones-- they stare and gloat over me; [18]they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. [19]But you, O LORD, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid! [20]Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog! [21]Save me from the mouth of the lion! You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen! [22]I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you: [23]You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel! [24]For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him. [25]From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him. [26]The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD! May your hearts live forever! [27]All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. [28]For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations. [29]All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive. [30]Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; [31]they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.
. Maybe he showed them how the Messiah’s death fulfilled the sacrificial system, and provided the blood as God’s ultimate Passover lamb. Perhaps he quoted Micah 5:2 [show/hide]Micah 5:2 [2] But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.
or Zechariah 9:9 [show/hide]Zechariah 9:9 The Coming King of Zion [9]Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
. Maybe he showed them that the Messiah would be God’s Son through Psalm 2:7-12 [show/hide]Psalm 2:7-12 [7]I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, "You are my Son; today I have begotten you. [8]Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. [9]You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." [10]Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. [11]Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. [12]Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
. It would have been wonderful to hear his seven-mile sermon on the suffering Messiah in the Scriptures.

Coming to know Jesus as Messiah is an amazing revelation for Jews who believe. Jesus did not come to the gentiles. He came to the Jews. In Matthew 15 [show/hide]Matthew 15 Traditions and Commandments [15:1]Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, [2]"Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat." [3]He answered them, "And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? [4]For God commanded, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.' [5]But you say, 'If anyone tells his father or his mother, "What you would have gained from me is given to God," [6]he need not honor his father.' So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. [7]You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: [8]"'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; [9]in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'" What Defiles a Person [10]And he called the people to him and said to them, "Hear and understand: [11]it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person." [12]Then the disciples came and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?" [13]He answered, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. [14]Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit." [15]But Peter said to him, "Explain the parable to us." [16]And he said, "Are you also still without understanding? [17]Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? [18]But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. [19]For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. [20]These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone." The Faith of a Canaanite Woman [21]And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. [22]And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon." [23]But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying out after us." [24]He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." [25]But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." [26]And he answered, "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." [27]She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." [28]Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly. Jesus Heals Many [29]Jesus went on from there and walked beside the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there. [30]And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, [31]so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel. Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand [32]Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way." [33]And the disciples said to him, "Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?" [34]And Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" They said, "Seven, and a few small fish." [35]And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, [36]he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. [37]And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. [38]Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. [39]And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan. (ESV)
, Jesus told the Canaanite woman, a gentile, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 15:24 [show/hide]Matthew 15:24 [24]He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." (ESV)
) Of course, he came to save the whole world (John 3:16 [show/hide]John 3:16 For God So Loved the World [16]"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (ESV)
), and even in the Old Testament it was prophesied that Israel, that the Messiah, would be a light to the gentiles (Isaiah 49:6 [show/hide]Isaiah 49:6 [6]he says: "It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth."
).  But it all began with the Jews. It is therefore a most natural thing for a Jew to decide to follow Yeshua Ha Meshiach.

But just as Jesus said it would, it is a decision that brings with it great controversy, even among family members (Matthew 10:35-38 [show/hide]Matthew 10:35-38 [35]For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. [36]And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. [37]Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. [38]And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. (ESV)
). Conforty is not alone in her experiences, in the harassment she’s received for her faith.  Yet, God is still working in the hearts of human beings, both Jews and gentiles, and He is still faithful to His friend Abraham whose children the Jews are.

Serving God From Love:
Conforty came to believe in Jesus as Messiah while working for a Christian family in Ohio.

“God arranged it that I arrived at a place where there were Christians who love Israel more than most Jews do. Their love and faith were so different from the religion I learned at home that was based on fear. I was never taught to serve God out of love until then. They taught me that Yeshua is the messiah.”

“I was on the verge of divorce and I prayed to God. I said to him, ‘If Yeshua is messiah then you have to bring my husband back to me and make peace between us. No more than 10 minutes passed before my husband came to me and accepted the faith.”

Our Bible studies regularly bring out types and prophecies of Jesus in the Old Testament.  To get started in learning about the Old Testament prophecies fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth, please see the Koinonia House materials listed in the links below.

Related Links:

• Court Declares Jew For Jesus ‘Kosher’ - The Jerusalem Post
• Messianic Jews In Prison Complain Food’s Not Kosher - Winston-Salem Journal
• Bakery Owned By Jew For Jesus Gets Kashrut Back - JTA
• The Feasts of Israel - Koinonia House
• The Unexpected King - Koinonia House
• Footprints of the Messiah MP3 Download - Koinonia House Store
• Session 10: Hebrews 9 - Koinonia House