At the Foot of the Mountain: Two Views on Torah and the Spirit

by Joshua M. Lessard, Jennifer M. Rosner, David Rudolph (Contributor)

Where does a relatively young movement turn for identity and direction when it straddles the fence between two competing major religions? Messianic Jews have done something that for centuries was considered untenable. Like Christians, they have embraced Jesus as the divine Messiah, but they have refused to surrender their place within the Jewish people. How compatible are these two sides of Messianic Jewish faith? Can Messianic Jews participate as full members in both the body of Messiah and the people of Israel? Can they be led by the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised while also following the rulings of the Jewish sages? Did Jesus affirm rabbinic authority, or does that authority now lie elsewhere within the new covenant? In this volume, Messianic Jewish rabbi Joshua Lessard and Messianic Jewish scholar Jennifer Rosner debate the path forward for Messianic Judaism as it grapples with being the child of divorced parents—the church and Israel. Both Lessard and Rosner are committed to the success of Messianic Judaism, though they put forth contrasting visions of what that means. The discussion herein is unique and provocative, not only for Messianic Jews, but for all who have wrestled at the crossroads of Torah, tradition, and Spirit.

150 pages, Paperback

Published June 9, 2021

Reviews

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview of the major theological "camps" in the Messianic Jewish movement regarding the Gifts of the Spirit and Torah observance. This is written in letter format so the interactions are long form arguments.

[Jon Beadle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Josh put his finger on the issue: rabbinic judaism. Not sure Jen found her way to truly responding.