Theos-Talk Archives (August 1995 Message tl00066)

I also have attended a few services at TWO types of Messianic
synagogues. The first one was as you described - with people
dancing with their arms up and twirling around - beautiful! The
other one was a non charismatic, serious, more traditional
service that the rabbi told me was supposed to be more like the
services performed when Jesus was alive. They are different
forms of worship. I also loved seeing the more animated, openly
joyful service. What attracted me to the synagogues to begin
with was that Judaism and Christianity are integrated in the
Messianic tradition. ( I'm very pro syncretism ). Also it was a
way to connect with my Jewish brothers and sisters which made me
feel more connected to God since the Father-God of Jesus was also
the God of Abraham.

I have also felt like I fit in more with Jewish people. They
appear more apt to contemplate serious issues, and for good
reason - they have been the scapegoat race for centuries.

The Kaballah interests me, and I have given it some study. I
seem to recall 10 forms of God which have brought to mind the Ten
Great Wisdoms that is found in Tantra - (you know, the black Kali
is one, the goddess that severs her own head to 'feed' her
devotees is another, etc...)

Wouldn't it be interesting to find a "link" between this ancient
Hebrew mystic tradition of Judaism, with that of Tantra - a
religion with both Buddhist and Hindu elements?

As Always, Jan

Janice Hensley jhensley@chuma.cas.usf.edu

On Wed, 2 Aug 1995, Brenda S. Tucker wrote:

> I found a church where Jewish and non-Jewish attend. It is
called Messianic. They seemed very "joyful," sang songs of
praises, and even danced in front of the altar. I read Galina a
book recently on life in a Zen Buddhist monastery in Japan and
she tried the meditation posture they teach as well as thought
about other details of their lives comparing it with ours.

> I think I fit in better with the Jewish population than the
Christian, and perhaps would like to put a list of holidays for
anyone interested here. The Jewish holidays would be fun to
learn and the list of Zen Buddhist holidays is the only other one
that I have for now.

> In thinking about perhaps converting to one of these
traditions, I try to prepare for it by reviewing what I have
learned in the past. Reading the KABBALAH and what's in THE
SECRET DOCTRINE regarding the KABBALAH certainly brings to mind a
numerological and secret process involving words. By breaking
words down and studying them, we provide them with an air of
esotericism. Many people say the word holiday and plan their
holidays without remembering simply that the word is derived from
"holy day." Isn't it? Anyway this is what I think it signifies.

> Whenever you look behind the "dead letter" it is like opening
doors and our imagination is allowed to spring into action
causing seemingly dead earth and seed to bloom forth. Also the
word Kabbalah doesn't lend itself to any anagrams. It's
completely out in the open already.