Who We Are

Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu Adonai echad!
Hear O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one!  −  Deuteronomy 6:4

There is only one God who revealed Himself as Echad (a plural unity): Avinu (our Father), Ben HaElohim (the Son of God), and Ruach HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit).  He is the same God revealed in both the Old Testament (Tanakh) and the New Testament (B’rit Hadasha).  −  Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; Mark 12:29

Avinu malkeinu ein lanu melech ela’ Atah.
Our Father, our king, we have no king except You.  −  Mahzor

Our Father in heaven is all good, all powerful, all knowing, unchanging, and is provident over all the affairs of the universe. Yet He is also concerned with and involved in the individual affairs of men and women. He is just and holy. Yet, He is also merciful and eager to forgive those who turn to Him.  −  Exodus 34:5-7; Isaiah 6:1-6; Malachi 3:6; Matthew 5:48; Luke 10:21-22; Hebrews 12:18-23

Lishu’atecha kivinu kol ha-yom. Baruch Atah Adonai matzmiach keren yeshuah.
We wait for your salvation every day! Blessed are You, O LORD, who makes the horn of your salvation to flourish.  −  Amidah

Yeshua (Jesus) is the Messiah of Israel, foretold by the Hebrew prophets in the Tanakh and described in the B’rit Hadasha. He is the Son of God, has always existed, and is fully God and fully man. He was born to Miriam (Mary) when she was a virgin. He lived a perfect life, was killed by the Romans on Passover, and after three days He rose from the dead. By His death he atoned for the sins of men and women. By His resurrection He conquered death. He ascended bodily into heaven from where He will return.  −  Psalm 2:7; 2 Samuel 7:12-14; Isaiah 9:6; Isaiah 53; Acts 2:32-36; Hebrews 1:1-3

Aleinu mimarom ruach kadsho yei’areh. Parosh v’hitkadeish v’chadash lanu yibarei.
He pours out His Holy Spirit upon us from on high so that we may be holy and separate ourselves [from sin].  −  Mahzor

The Ruach Hakodesh (Holy Spirit) is part of the echad or plural unity of God. He has always existed. He spoke to God’s people in the Scriptures and continues to speak and guide God’s people today. He reminds us of our transgressions, causes us to repent, and leads us to Him. He dwells in those who follow Yeshua, and empowers them to overcome sin and obey God.  −   Joel 2:28; Ezekiel 36:27; Acts 1:8; Romans 8:2

Etz chayim hi l’machazim ki ba.
It is a tree of life to all who take hold of her.  −  Proverbs 3:18

The Scriptures consist only of the Tanakh (Old Testament) and B’rit Hadashah (New Testament). They were inspired by God and do not have any errors in their original authored manuscripts. They are the final authority on everything that has to do with faith, practice, and life.  −   Psalm 18:30; Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 5:17-19; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21;Revelation 22:18-19

V’chol hamkayem nefesh echat k’ilu kiyeim olam malei.
Whoever saves one life, it is as if they saved an entire world.  −  M Sanhedrin 4:5

Men and women were created in God’s image. All acts of bigotry, misogyny, racism, anti-Semitism, and hatred deface God’s image. Those who perpetrate these acts transgress against God. Men and women are called to preserve and honor life, care for the earth, and advocate for justice.  −  Genesis 1:27; 9:6; Proverbs 31:8; Isaiah 1:17; Zechariah 7:9; Matthew 5:22; Acts 17:26-28

V’Al cheit shechatanu l’faneicha b’yod’im uv’lo’ yodim.
For the sins which we committed against you knowingly and unknowingly.  −  Mahzor

Because the first man and woman disobeyed God, all of their descendants have become separated from Him, suffering physical and spiritual death. Men and women have also individually broken God’s laws and are personally responsible for their disobedience.  −  Genesis 2:17; Psalm 51:3-5; Isaiah 53:6; 59:1-2; Romans 3:23

V’al kulam eloha selichot, s’lach lanu, m’chal lanu, kaper lanu.
For all our transgressions, God of forgiveness; pardon us, forgive, us, and atone for us.  −  Mahzor

Men and women are unable to pay for all their transgressions. Therefore, God sent His Son, Yeshua the Messiah, to atone for their transgressions in His death. All those who repent of their sins, ask for forgiveness, believe Yeshua is the Messiah, that He died to atone for their sin, that He rose on the third day, and then trust Him as their sin-bearer, will be forgiven of their transgressions and experience eternal life.  −  Psalm 103:12; Isaiah 53:10-12; Matthew 26:28; Mark 10:45; Luke 22:20; Acts 2:38

Avinu Malkeinu chaneinu v’aneinu ki ein banu ma’asim.
Our Father our King, be gracious to us and answer us, for we have no merits.  − Mahzor

Grace (chen) is the undeserved favor God offers us that can never be earned but can be received through faith alone. All men and women who turn from their sin and trust Yeshua as their Messiah and sin bearer will be forgiven, and the records of their transgressions will be permanently deleted. In fact, they are considered righteous in God’s eyes and become adopted into His family.  −  Genesis 15:6; Deuteronomy 7:7-8; Zech 12:10; Romans 3:24; 4:16; Ephesians 2:5)

Untaticha l’or goyim l’hiyot yeshua’ti ad k’tzei ha’aretz.
I will make you a light to the nations that my salvation will be proclaimed to the ends of the earth.  −  Isaiah 49:6

We are a visible expression of the global community of Yeshua’s followers, called to make our light shine before men and women. This global community consists of Jews, Christians, and countless men and women from every race, ethnicity, and culture. It is comprised of local communities around the world who express their worship and practice their faith through their own beautiful cultural traditions, so long as their traditions and cultural expressions are in agreement with the Word of God.  −  Genesis 12:3; Psalm 86:9; Matthew 24:14; Revelation 7:9

Hama’alot b’shuv Adonai et shivat Tzion, hayiinu k’chol’mim.
When the LORD bought back the captive ones to Zion, we were like dreamers.  −  Psalm 126:1

Messianic Jews are Jewish men and women who embraced Yeshua as their Messiah. They remain faithful to their heritage because they are Jews who have returned to the God of Israel by embracing Israel’s Messiah. Moreover, they are members of the wider body of Jewish people, despite whether some embrace or reject them. At the same time, they are also members of the wider community of Jesus’ followers. Messianic Jewish congregations are spiritual communities of Jews and Christians who embrace Yeshua. They identify with the Jewish community and at the same time the wider community of Yeshua’s followers. They express their worship and practice their faith in a culturally Jewish context as the first followers of Yeshua did. They celebrate Biblical holidays, observe Jewish practices, and ascribe to the Tanakh and B’rit Hadashah.  −  Isaiah 10:21; Jeremiah 31:31; Matthew 10:6; Romans 1:16; 11:23-24

Zachar chasdo v’emunato l’veit Yisrael.
He remembers His steadfast love and faithfulness to the House of Israel.  −  Psalm 98:3

The Jewish people are a covenant community for whom God’s promises in the Hebrew Scriptures are still in effect. God chose the Jews from among the nations, pledged to preserve them as a people throughout history, and promised to return them to their land and reinstate Israel as His Messianic Kingdom forever. However, until He returns, individuals of every race and ethnicity must embrace Yeshua in order to receive forgiveness of sin and experience everlasting life.  −  Psalm 94:14; Jeremiah 31:35-37; Romans 11:1-5

Ani ma'amin b'emunah sh'leimah b’vi’at HaMashiach.
I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah.  −  Thirteen Principles

Yeshua the Messiah will physically and bodily return to earth where he will reign on the throne of David. After that reign He will judge all the peoples on the last day.  −  Daniel 7:13-14; Zechariah 12:10; Mark 13:26; Acts 1:11; Philippians 3:20; Revelation 19:11-16

Unetaneh tokef k’dushat ha yom…Hine! yom ha-din lifkod al tzeva marom ba-din!
Full of awe is the holiness of this day…Behold! the Day of Justice on which the hosts of heaven and all the earth shall be judged.  −  Mahzor

We believe that one day, at the sound of the great shofar, the followers of Yeshua, from every tribe and nation will be caught up together in the sky. They will be judged at the mercy seat of the Messiah, for their obedience, and rewarded accordingly. But those who have died before confessing Yeshua will stand before God and be judged for all their thoughts and actions, whether good or bad. Only those whose names are inscribed in Sefer ha Chayim (The Book of Life) will receive eternal life with God and have a portion in the world to come. Those whose names are not inscribed will suffer eternal separation from God and punishment for their sins.  −  Daniel 12:1-2; Isaiah 66:15; Malachi 3:1-3; Matthew 25:31-45; Revelation 20:11-15

:בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ מְשַׂמֵּֽחַ חָתָן וְכַלָּה
Baruch atah Adonai, m’samei’ach chatan v’chalah.
Blessed art You, O LORD, who gives joy to the bride and groom (Sheva Berachot).

We believe that the term marriage has only one legitimate Biblical meaning: Marriage is a holy covenant instituted by God in the Torah, joining one man and one woman in a single, covenantal union, as stated in Scripture.  −  Gen. 2:22-24, Lev. 18:22, Rom 1:26-27