Hi spicy. Good to hear from you again.
Thank you, please continue to inform me on the Torah.
do you keep all the laws in Leviticus too?
Many of them -- the ones that apply to me. For example, I avoid pork and shell fish, but I don't immerse after my period since I'm not married.
and is Torah the same thing as the Pentateuch?"
Yes
Although many would argue that Torah would have to include the interpretations of Torah. The Levites helped to discern how the law was to be applied. So did the seventy elders/judges that Moses appointed. In Deuteronomy 17:8-13, God himself gives life and death authority to these Levites and Judges in their interpretations, which we call Oral Torah.
are you claiming to be Jewish if you are MJ?
Practicing Messianic Judaism doesn't make you a Jew, because there are both Messianic Jews and Messianic Gentiles. Some don't like making the distinction, and just say they are Messianic.
are you Jewish by heritage genetically or is it bc you choose to convert to being Jewish?
Okay, you are going to have to pay special attention because this gets complicated. Genetically I have Jewish DNA. My family line is what they call CryptoJew, which means that at some point, someone converted to Christianity, but kept up Jewish observances (like keeping the Sabbath by not carrying money, etc., not eating shrimp or pork...), most likely because the conversion was forced. Over time the Jewish ancestry was forgotten, but the observances remained. We were weirdos at our church.
While doing research into our family tree, I discovered our Jewish past, and began looking into Judaism as a part of self discovery, but I was still very much Christian. As far as I knew, I was a Jew. I incorporated Jewish practices into my Christian walk.
Much later in life, I became extremely disillusioned in my Christian faith, and APOSTATIZED, meaning I left Christ completely.
I immediately began looking into Judaism, and to my great surprise, found out that Halakhically I was not Jewish. Halakha means Jewish law. In order to be a Jew, the decent has to be strictly maternal. On of the ancestors in the Jewish line had been male, and so legally that meant I was not a Jew. My attitude was SO? Let's take care of the Jewish Identity issue then! So I converted to Judaism.
That makes me 100% a Jew. A member of the People of Israel, a daughter of Abraham and Sarah.
I spent many years outside of Christianity, just being a regular Jew. Mostly I practiced Orthodoxy. When I moved to the country (my health required me to live with family) I stayed Orthodox as best as I could (remaining kosher was the biggest difficulty). My practice was between Orthodox and Conservative (my conversion had been Conservative). The only synagogue in the area was Reform and I still feel out of place there because they don't observe, and I've learned to keep my mouth shut about the fact that I do.
After my years of practicing Judaism, I obviously came back to Moshiach, but that is a whole other story!
If I am a gentile, but convert to Judaism or MJ, then do I call myself Jewish?
If you convert to Judaism, you call yourself a Jew. If you convert to MJ you would call yourself a Messianic Gentile. The Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations has a program where those Gentiles who are married to Jews, or those Gentiles who are exceptionally called to Torah and Israel, may go through a period of study and then convert to Judaism, meaning they become Jews, as well as having become Messianic.
To become MJ must I first learn all the things one must learn in a synagogue?
You start by attending a Messianic synagogue, and you learn as you go.
They are very welcoming. There are also Messianic Jews who choose to stay in the Christian churches, and still practice Torah. For example, I attend Mass weekly, and go to Synagogue once a month.
Your questions are wonderful and you are wonderful. You are very welcome here.
