7 minute read
Global Connections
The Jewish Roots Of Faith In God
by Jane “Goldie” Winn and Cindy Rosenthal
My name is Jane “Goldie” Winn. I was brought up in a Conservative Jewish home and mostly grew up in a small town in Iowa where we were the only Jewish people. My parents were very concerned that we maintain our Jewish identity, so almost every Sabbath, they drove our family 45 minutes away to a larger city where we could attend a Shabbat (Sabbath) service in a Conservative Synagogue. I remember wondering why we were different and didn’t believe in Jesus like everyone else in our town. I was taught that it is “we, the Jews” and “they, the Gentiles,” given the persecution of the Jewish people with the Spanish Inquisition and the Holocaust.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new. (2 CORINTHIANS 5:17 NKJV)
I was searching for meaning and began the quest to fill the hole in my heart during the hippie movement in the late 60s and 70s. In 1972, my husband and I became professional musicians. During that time, I remember wondering where my life was headed and became very depressed. Thankfully, a non-Jewish person shared with me that she had also been depressed while growing up in the Catholic church, but when she was introduced to Jesus, her depression lifted. She explained that she learned that God wants us to have a relationship with Him and not just practice a religion. She shared Isaiah 53 from the Old Testament with me, which was never read in my conservative synagogue. I thought she was reading from the New Testament; I was shocked to read in the Old Testament about the suffering Messiah who was wounded for our transgressions.
Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! (PSALM 133:1 NKJV)
When my husband Dave and I were invited to pray and ask Jesus into our lives at a Catholic Charismatic prayer meeting, we were both filled with peace. And I was immediately filled with joy. Someone prophesied that joy was my gift and sign from the Lord. All my depression left, and the joy of the Lord flooded my soul. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV).
It’s interesting that during the time of Constantine and the destruction of the 2nd temple in 70 AD, Jewish traditions were no longer a part of the early Christian church. That is when the separation between the Jews and non-Jews took place in the church. Thankfully, today, there is renewed interest in many churches to learn more about the Jewish roots of the faith. Many churches host Passover Seders to teach about all the symbolism in the Seder that points to Yeshua (Jesus) as the Passover Lamb. The story of Abraham and Isaac is a wonderful precursor to God sacrificing His only begotten Son for the atonement of the sins of those who know Him. Many Jewish people have come to believe in Yeshua as Messiah after attending one of these Passover Seders.
Many have come to know there is no longer a middle wall of partition, and we are one in the Lord. Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! (Psalm 133:1 NKJV).
My name is Cindy Rosenthal. My parents were raised as Orthodox Jews, but I had very little Jewish upbringing and knew very little of what it meant to be Jewish. I knew a bit about a few Jewish holidays: the importance of eating matzoh on Passover, Rosh Hashana is the Jewish New Year, fasting is called for on Yom Kippur, and lighting the candles and giving gifts is traditional on Hanukkah. That was the extent of my Jewish identity. I didn’t understand my Jewishness even when my mother took me to a conservative synagogue on the Shabbat.
My real journey in finding my Jewish identity began when I walked into a Messianic Synagogue in September 1989. I was shocked and amazed as I experienced a “religious concert” with tambourines, upbeat music, and dancing. People were having the best time celebrating this “Yeshua” person, but I had no idea who He was. I only knew I felt drawn to learn more about Him.
Two weeks later, I went to another service and began learning about my Jewish identity. I learned that Yeshua was the Hebrew name for Jesus and the name that was used when He walked this earth. I continued attending the Messianic Sabbath services and learned more about Yeshua.
“Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” Romans 11:19 NKJV
Not long after that, I visited some family members who noticed a difference in me. After listening to them tell me they enjoyed having me at a dinner party with their friends, I realized the Lord Yeshua had changed me, and I accepted Him into my heart later that night. The first year was difficult, especially as I began sharing about my newfound faith with family members. My mother had a negative reaction and was not open to hearing that I was now believing in Yeshua (Jesus) as a Jewish person. But all glory to God, one year later, on Yom Kippur, my mother accepted Yeshua into her heart and received the gift of salvation. She came to understand her Jewish identity in a whole new way.
Learning the Bible and what it means to be Jewish is an amazing journey. In the book of Genesis, it says: Now the Lord had said to Abram, “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1-3 NKJV). The Lord was talking to Abram about the Jewish people.
I learned that Yeshua Jesus is for all people—both Jews and non-Jews. Everyone who accepts Yeshua is a child of God. In the book of Romans, Paul addresses the Jewish roots of our faith and God’s love for all people.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1: 16-17 NKJV).
Over the past thirty-four years since I accepted Yeshua as my Jewish Messiah, celebrating and worshiping Him has been my greatest joy. Whether in music, service, or writing, I now know my true identity as a Jewish woman.
For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” (Romans 11:16-19 NKJV).
These scriptures show all who believe in Yeshua Jesus are one in Messiah, whether they were born Jewish or non-Jewish. As Jewish women in Messiah, Goldie and I have learned through our faith that we are loved and blessed as believers in Messiah and are all part of that same olive tree.
