"How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach, except they be sent?" Rom. 10: 14-15
The Bible instructor who labors for the Jewish people should be acquainted with their fundamental beliefs, habits, traditions, and history. She should try to explore the soul of the people. She should feel a burden to bring them the light, and she should love them.
For the benefit of those who are not acquainted with the more intimate side of the Jewish life, here is a short summary. It is by no means -exhaustive or detailed, but may serve as a basis of study for the Bible instructor who contemplates working among the lost sheep of Israel.
1. Messiah.—The word Christ always causes the Orthodox Jew to become angry. There have been so many cruel things done in the name of Christ, and the Jew has been taught to associate that holy name with all things cruel. At the same time the Jew loves to hear the word Messiah, and loves to talk about Him. The Bible instructor should bear this in mind, and use the word Messiah when speaking of the Son of God.
2. JEWISH CONCEPTION OF JESUS IN NEW TESTAMENT.—Very few Jews have ever held the New Testament in their hands. To the Orthodox Jew this is an unclean book and belongs only to the Gentiles. It is a sin for a Jew to touch it. The name of Jesus is not to be pronounced at all. That is why the Jews are not acquainted with the Gospel narratives or the personality of Jesus. They still wait for the Messiah, and this is the only hope that has kept them as a nation up until now.
Many Jews believe that the so-called coming of the Messiah means the return of their race to Palestine, and this they determine to hasten. This is the backbone of the modern Zionist movement. To them the settlement of a million Jews in Palestine will solve the problem and end the two thousand years' dispersion. To this group of Jews, who are on the verge of atheism, the Bible instructor should have a different approach. I believe, however, that they are more readily approached than the Orthodox Jews, for they will discuss, read, and investigate.
1. DIFFICULTIES IN ACCEPTING CHRISTIANITY.—II is difficult to make a Jew understand that to believe in the gospel of the Messiah is to believe in the real and true Judaism. To the ordinary Orthodox Jew a person who accepts Jesus as the Messiah has really given up his religion and accepted another belief. The Bible instructor should realize that such a person has a very serious problem to face. His people are not only displeased with him, but according to their rabbinical and traditional law, they are forbidden to have anything more to do with him. They will do all in their power to persecute him, even to take his life, if necessary.
2. CHURCH ATTENDANCE.—(Do not refer to a house of worship as a church. Use synagogue or temple.) The Jews attend services in the synagogue three times every day : at six o'clock in the morning, at three o'clock in the afternoon (minhah), and in the evening (maarib). They do not pray from the heart, but recite prayers from a prayer book. The prayer Kaddish, which is offered at the anniversary of the death of a dear one, can be prayed only in public service in the synagogue. According to the Talmudic teachings, this prayer is of no effect if it is prayed in private. No Jew would dare to recite it and a few other prayers in private for fear of displeasing God.
3. DEATH.—The Jews generally believe that their souls at death go to heaven to stay in the Paradise of God. Once a year on the anniversary day the soul returns to the grave to hear the petitions of the family in order to intercede before God in their behalf.
4. THE MEZUZAH.—The Jew has a sign on the right side of the entrance of his house, which signifies to everyone that this is a Jewish home. It is a very old sign, and it is called the Mezuzah. The word means "doorpost." In many homes it is also fastened on the door of every room. The Mezuzah, which is a cylindrical case made of olive wood from Palestine, contains a parchment on which the words of Deuteronomy 6:4-9 are written. The Jews believe the Mezuzah keeps the evil spirits away and makes the house holy. As they enter the home and on leaving it, they kiss the Mezuzah.
5. THE TALMUD.—Although the Jews believe in the Old Testament, it is not as important to them as the Talmud and tradition. The Jews are told that Moses received not only the literal law from God on Mount Sinai but also the oral law. This was handed down from generation to generation, until the second century, when Rabbi Yehudah, the Nassi (the prince), collected and compiled all these traditions, ceremonies, rites, customs, and observances into a book called the Talmud. This book is regarded by the rabbis as a divine book which has to be kept in the same way as the Torah (the five books of Moses). The Talmud is the foundation of the Jewish religion, and that is the reason why the Jews do not know the prophecies relating to the coming of the Messiah.
6. WOMEN.—Judaism is essentially a religion for men. The girls do not get any training in the law. Most of the Orthodox Jewish girls and women are, therefore, without any knowledge of the law, and live in the tradition of their parents. In the Jewish synagogue the women do not sit with the men but occupy a gallery especially constructed for them, because a Jewish woman cannot take an active part in any service. Should there be a thousand persons in the synagogue gathered for worship, the service cannot begin until there are at least ten males of thirteen years of age or over. The Talmud states that whereas men must pray, women may pray. Though a man must keep 613 precepts daily, the women are free from these duties. "Women are exempted from the law," says the Talmud. There are only three precepts which a mother in Israel is commanded to keep : (I) lighting the Sabbath candles, (2) offering a small portion of dough, by burning, when making bread, (3) purification. The following prayer is recited daily by the men: "Blessed art Thou, 0 Lord Our God, King of the universe, who has not made me a woman."
7. "BAR MITZVAH," OR CONFIRMATION.—When a boy reaches the age of thirteen he becomes a member of the Jewish synagogue, "a son of the law," or "a son of the commandments." Until then his father bears all his sins, but from then on he is responsible for his conduct. In the daily morning prayer, except on Sabbath and holy days, he then uses the phylacteries or tefillin. These are long narrow strips of leather, attached to which are small square boxes, containing verses of Scripture written on parchment: Exodus 13:1-10, ii-i6 ; Deuteronomy 6 :4-9 ; 11:3-21. The Jews take the words in Deuteronomy 6:8 literally : "And thou shalt bind them as a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes." The phylacteries are bound upon the left arm and on the forehead, and worn six days of the week during prayers. The reason why the Jews do not wear the phylacteries on Sabbath is that the Bible says the Sabbath itself is a sign. Inasmuch as the phylacteries are worn daily as a sign, it is not necessary to have two signs at the same time.
8. JEWISH NEW YEAR.—Jews have a different calendar from the Gentiles. They also have different names for the months and different names for the days. According to Jewish reckoning, we are living now in the year 5,708, since the beginning of the world.
The Jews celebrate the New Year in a most solemn manner sometime during September.
There is a dread in the heart of every Orthodox Jew concerning the judgment day, for this is the day in which God pronounces judgment upon every individual. The Talmud speaks of it as a day in which all the children of men pass for judgment before the Creator as sheep pass examination before the shepherd.
Three books, says the Talmud, are open on the New Year before the Creator, wherein the fate of the wicked, the righteous, and those of an intermediate class are recorded. The names of the righteous are immediately inscribed "for life," and the wicked are at once blotted out of the book of the living and written for death. There is another one, the intermediate class, which is allowed ten days of repentance until the Day of Atonement, to repent and become righteous.
The Jews believe that every New Year God sits on His throne of judgment with a pair of large scales before Him. The merits of righteous deeds of each individual are put on one side of the scales, and the sins and evil deeds in the other balance. If the good deeds prevail, then of course he will be written for life, but if the sins are the heavier he will be written for death. If the good and evil deeds are even, the judgment for such is suspended until the Day of Atonement. Almost every Jew believes that he belongs to this intermediate class, except the rabbis and Talmudic teachers. Repentance consists, according to the Jewish Talmud, in fasting, praying, almsgiving, observing all ceremonies and rituals. All this can avert the decree, but if anyone does not repent in the manner indicated, he will be written unto death. On New Year's Day the Jews go to the synagogue early and pray for forgiveness of their sins. In the afternoon it is customary to go to the banks of a river to say the tashlich (the casting away of sins). The words of Micah 7:18-21 are recited. "Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea." After the prayer the worshipers shake their garments and empty their pockets with zest over the water, expecting that God will cause their sins to fall into it. The ten days between the New Year and the Day of Atonement are filled with prayers, fasting, and repentance.
II. "KAPPARAH" (ATONEMENT) .—S ince the temple of Jerusalem was destroyed, the Jews do not use a lamb for their sacrifices. The rabbis, therefore, have instituted a substitute, a Kapparah (atonement).
The evening before the Day of Atonement every Jew is supposed to provide a rooster or a hen, which is swung three times around the head while the following prayer is recited: "This is my substitute, this is my commutation, this is my atonement, this fowl goes to death, may I be gathered into peace and inherit a long and happy life." The Talmud says, "As soon as one has performed the order of the atonement, he should lay his hands on the fowl as the hand is laid on the sacrifice and immediately give it to the slaughter."
The Day of Atonement is a great and holy day, and so dreadful that "even the fishes in the water tremble." The solemnity with which the mintitest details of all the rituals and ceremonies are observed cannot be described. The most remarkable part of the ceremonies at the time of the former sacrifices in the temple was the entrance into the holy of holies. As the Jews no longer have the temple, the ark of the covenant, which is found in every synagogue today and which contains the scrolls of the law, is for them the holy of holies now. The entire night and day are spent in the synagogue, while some add to the penance and mortification of the flesh by standing on their feet the whole twenty-four hours. The day ends with the setting sun and a blast from the shofar (ram's horn).
This is a signal for every man to return to his inheritance in the hope that God has written his name in the book of life.
When one approaches the Jewish unbeliever with the third angel's message, the most fundamental problem to settle is the divinity of Jesus. Once a Jew gets a true understanding of this, the rest will be comparatively easy. Therefore, the studies one should choose for a Jewish listener should be the following:
1. Does the Old Testament teach that God has a Son?
2. The Passover lamb and the Lamb of God.
3. Israel's Mediator, who is He?
4. The sanctuary.
5. Zionism, its future according to Bible prophecy.