But if Ruth had been an ethnic Moabitess, then the Messiah was descended from Moab, the son of the incestuous relationship between Lot and his daughter. Could that be true?
I think if we are members of the Ekklesia, we all, Jew and Gentile, have the option to voluntarily obey the 613 out of love for Hashem rather than out of obligation, and I do believe that it enriches and blesses us, and is a good road towards sanctification. At the same time I want to make two other statements. 1) Jews will always have a special relationship with Torah that Gentiles do not share because it was given to us. It is our birthright, and our identity. 2) That doesn't mean that individual exceptional Gentiles don't have a special affinity to Torah and Israel and can't take on the 613 voluntarily and be blessed--and I want to encourage them! It only means that we don't force them to become Jews or to act like Jews. It's just as wonderful to be a Gentile as it is to be a Jew.
The Orthodox and Conservative agree that Jewish Identity is passed on via the mother. The Reform include the Father, but ONLY if the child is raised Jewish, and usually if it's intermarriage, that is not the case.
Well, what of it? If we are going to use the Torah and the B'rit Chadashah as sacred scripture then it implores us to believe that Yeshua was descended from King David via Ruth, and Lot....Here is a pretty good overview of it, I think:
Well, to be more exact I consider myself a Jewish Proselyte, a proselyte of the gate to be more correct. I started on the path of conversion to Judaism but stopped short of actually converting and moved into belief that Yeshua is the Messiach....obviously there is much more to that story, but that is the brief version. But no, I am not and do not consider myself Jewish.
Yes, a couple Biblical examples that support this view would be Joseph who's wife was not an Israelite but his children were most definitely Israelites and inherited.
Tribal affiliation -such as being a Levite - is inherited from the father's lineage. Also, Joseph (assuming this is Joseph son of Jacob) was indeed an Israelite, but not Jewish as this was before the Torah was given, so that is not really an example. Israelite and Jewishness are not synonymous.
Yes, and the Kohens.
Is that what you would tell a Jew when they say that Abraham, Issac, and Jacob are their fathers?
Of course not because they would (hopefully) know that the patriarchs are the physical and spiritual ancestors to the faith known as Judaism and would be able to make the distinction. The Torah existed before Man, but not in a written form as was given on Sinai.
I think you are referring to Moses' Law as Torah. I understand Torah to be the first five books of the Tanach.
Jewish Proselyte implies conversion to Judaism, at least to me. What is a "proselyte of the gate"?
That's why we make it difficult
It gives people time to sort out their beliefs, make sure they are doing the right thing...or not.Glad to hear, because using the term Jewish proselyte implies that you do.
Wouldn't this be because they had disobeyed the law that says a priest can only marry a Hebrew woman?
Torah is indeed often referred as the Pentateuch/Torah, but it can also have a much broader meaning to be the written and unwritten Torah as well as Tradition and Law.
Proselyte of the gate would be someone that is more or less a semi-convert. Outwardly appearing as a convert, but not actually complete. Granted, it is not a commonly used term any longer, in the long past it mostly referred to people living under civil jurisdiction of Israel/Judah but not being a full Jewish convert.
Yep, no "one statement" conversion are a good thing, IMO.That's why we make it difficult
Because Judaism definitively decided that Oral Torah was the only accepted arrangement. Even Messianic Judaism (the form that says, "Messianic Judaism is a Judaism") is increasingly accepting parts of the Talmud, Chanukah, lighting Shabbat candles, how to build a sukkah, etc.
