Bible references

Key NT Scriptures

• Acts 15:19-21
• Ephesians 2:11-14
• Matthew 1:5
• Revelation 7:9-10

Key OT Scriptures

• 1 Chronicles 11:39
  Jewish Commentary
• 1 Chronicles 11:41
  Jewish Commentary
• 1 Chronicles 11:46
  Jewish Commentary
• Deuteronomy 16:10-11
  Jewish Commentary
• Deuteronomy 16:13-14
  Jewish Commentary
• Deuteronomy 29:4-10
  Click to retrieve Deuteronomy 29:4-10
  Jewish Commentary
• Deuteronomy 29:8-12
  Jewish Commentary
• Deuteronomy 31:10-13
  Jewish Commentary
• Exodus 2:1-10
  Click to retrieve Exodus 2:1-10
  Jewish Commentary
• Exodus 2:15-22
  Click to retrieve Exodus 2:15-22
  Jewish Commentary
• Exodus 12:18-19
  Jewish Commentary
• Exodus 12:23-49
  Click to retrieve Exodus 12:23-49
  Jewish Commentary
• Exodus 18:12-24
  Click to retrieve Exodus 18:12-24
  Jewish Commentary
• Ezekiel 47:21-23
  Jewish Commentary
• Isaiah 56:3-7
  Jewish Commentary
• Joshua 6:25
  Jewish Commentary
• Leviticus 17:10
  Jewish Commentary
• Ruth 4:9-12
  Jewish Commentary
• 2 Samuel 15:19-22
  Jewish Commentary

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Commentary

Rabbi Michael Rudolph

This Mitzvah prohibits excluding Gentiles from Jewish communities. A Jewish community that is the kind of which I am speaking has Jewish members, governing and pastoral leaders, organized prayer that is culturally Jewish, Bible and/or Torah studies, table fellowship, an adherence to biblical halachah as it applies to Jews, and a shared Jewish style of life. Even a casual perusal of the Scriptures presented in this Mitzvah will demonstrate that, throughout Jewish history, there have always been Gentiles that resided alongside, and participated with, their Jewish brothers within Jewish communities. So close was the communal relationship between Jews and gerim (committed Gentiles) during the Mosaic Covenant era, that God provided for there to be an inheritance of land given to Gentiles that was within the territory of a tribe with whom a Gentile was living ( Ezekiel 47:21-23 ). The relationship gets even closer in the New Covenant where, according to Romans 11:16-18 , Gentile believers in Yeshua become connected to their Messianic Jewish brothers and to the Jewish people globally by figuratively being grafted into, and becoming branches on, a cultivated olive tree that is owned by Israel (the Jewish people): Now if the hallah offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole loaf. And if the root is holy, so are the branches. But if some of the branches were broken off, and you - a wild olive - were grafted in among them and have become equal sharers in the rich root of the olive tree, then don't boast as if you were better than the branches! However, if you do boast, remember that you are not supporting the root, the root is supporting you. We know that the olive tree into which Gentile believers are grafted belongs to Israel because we read in Romans 11:24 : For if you were cut out of what is by nature a wild olive tree and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted back into their [Israel's] own olive tree! What is more, we read in Ephesians 2:11-14 : Therefore, remember your former state: you Gentiles by birth - called the Uncircumcised by those who, merely because of an operation on their flesh, are called the Circumcised - at that time had no Messiah. You were estranged from the national life of Isra'el. [Commonwealth of Israel in the New King James translation] You were foreigners to the covenants embodying God's promise. You were in this world without hope and without God. But now, you who were once far off have been brought near through the shedding of the Messiah's blood. For he himself is our shalom - he has made us both one and has broken down the m'chitzah [middle wall of separation] which divided us ... Another reason that Gentiles should not be excluded from Jewish communities is the matter of table fellowship and hospitality of Jews to Gentiles that is exemplified in the following Scriptures: John 4:7-10 A woman from Shomron [ a Gentile ] came to draw some water; and Yeshua said to her, "Give me a drink of water." (His talmidim had gone into town to buy food.) The woman from Shomron said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask for water from me, a woman of Shomron?" (For Jews don't associate with people from Shomron.) Yeshua answered her, "If you knew God's gift, that is, who it is saying to you, 'Give me a drink of water,' then you would have asked him; and he would have given you living water." Acts 10:25-28 As Kefa entered the house, Cornelius [ a Gentile ] met him and fell prostrate at his feet. But Kefa pulled him to his feet and said, "Stand up! I myself am just a man." As he talked with him, Kefa went inside and found many people gathered. He said to them, "You are well aware that for a man who is a Jew to have close association with someone who belongs to another people, or to come and visit him, is something that just isn't done. But God has shown me not to call any person common or unclean" Hebrews 13:2 (NAS) Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers [ presumably includes Gentiles ], for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it. Still another reason that Gentiles should not be excluded from Jewish communities is the application of Matthew 7:12 (see also, Luke 6:31 ): Always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that sums up the teaching of the Torah and the Prophets. And even another (and perhaps the best) reason for Jews to not exclude Gentiles from their communities is that it is God's plan for Jews and Gentiles to worship side-by-side at the end of times. We see this in Revelation 7:9-10 : After this, I looked; and there before me was a huge crowd, too large for anyone to count, from every nation, tribe, people and language [ Jews & Gentiles ]. They were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palm branches in their hands; and they shouted, "Victory to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" Would we think it proper for a Gentile community to exclude Jews? There were many such communities in the United States in the past, but thankfully there no longer are - at least officially. While Gentiles should not be excluded from Jewish congregations and other Jewish community entities, there are some situations where Jews caucusing with Jews may be appropriate - a Jewish discussion group on Jewish topics for example. I do believe it is important for Jewish disciples of Yeshua to fellowship in communities where their Jewish identities, life patterns, and covenant responsibilities are encouraged. For that reason, Gentiles that join and commit themselves to a Messianic Jewish congregation should adopt the congregation's Jewish ways of being, and not try to influence it to become Christian in culture. That notwithstanding, some aspects of Torah apply differently to Jews and Gentiles. Perhaps this Mitzvah can best be summarized by Psalms 133:1 : Oh, how good, how pleasant it is for brothers to live together in harmony. In the New Covenant, Jewish and Gentile believers in Yeshua are brothers and sisters in the Lord and should therefore live together in harmony wherever they choose to worship. 1 1. Daniel C. Juster, Jewish Roots: A Foundation of Biblical Theology (Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image Publishers, 1995).

Rabbi Daniel Juster

I should like to add perspective to the preceding section 6, " Gentiles who live among Jews allowed to eat the Passover lamb if circumcised " ( Exodus 12:43-49 ). There is a change of application in the New Covenant where Gentiles are not encouraged to be circumcised in order to eat the Passover. Yeshua is now our Passover Lamb, and we share the Lamb together in the Lord's Supper without Gentiles having to be circumcised. The teaching of the New Covenant is that Gentiles are fully included without circumcision, contrary to the orientation of the Mosaic era. There are promises and commands that both share equally while, at the same time, distinctions of calling are preserved and lived out in different ways ( Romans 11:28-29 ). Both share in an equality of priestly status ( Ephesians 2:5 ; 1 Peter 2:10 ) with different out-workings of their respective priestly callings. An example of this is the general calling of the Jewish people to respond to God's promise of their return to the Land of Israel, and to the events leading to the Messianic Days. A Social Caveat There are certain groups where the inclusion of one class of persons and the exclusion of all others is socially acceptable. Examples of these are age-specific groups such as men's and women's Bible studies, B'nei Mitzvah classes, and married couples discussion groups. There are also specific nationality and racial groups that are formed out of their common interests, but their acceptability is usually due to their having a minority status. So, for example, a Hispanic discussion group might be acceptable, whereas an all-white discussion group almost certainly would not be. The problem of social unacceptability surfaces most clearly when persons of a specific race, religion, color, or ethnic origin, are excluded from a community of the kind where people live, work, and worship together.

Classical commentators

This Mitzvah is not addressed by any of the classical commentators.

Copyright © Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster, The Law of Messiah, Torah from a New Covenant Perspective, Volume 1 & 2

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Based on The Law of Messiah - Torah from a New Covenant Perspective by Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster.

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Record source: The Law of Messiah - Torah from a New Covenant Perspective - Volume 1 & 2

Copyright note: Copyright © Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster, The Law of Messiah, Torah from a New Covenant Perspective, Volume 1 & 2