A REAL Orthodox Jew

Fr. A. James Bernstein

A REAL Orthodox Jew, by Fr. A. James Bernstein

I am a Jew by birth. Our family roots are in Jerusalem, near the Mount of Olives, where my four grandparents are buried. My father, Isaac, was born in the old walled city of Jerusalem. He received his rabbinical certificate from a venerable chief rabbi of Jerusalem. My father, however, was not a rabbi for long. World War II and its slaughter of millions of Jews contributed to his loss of faith.

We moved as a family to Queens, New York, where I was raised. One day in 1962, when I was sixteen years of age, a friend gave me a "forbidden" book–the New Testament. I studied it in secret, under the covers in my bedroom at night, with a flashlight. And the impossible happened, I believed it and felt compelled to follow Jesus Christ.

The life of Christ presented in the Bible moved me deeply. The New Testament seemed to me to be a natural continuation of the Old Testament. In Christ the age-old struggle between a loving God and an unbelieving people came to a dramatic head. Praying to God, I asked, "If Jesus is the Messiah, let it be shown me." Soon after, in an intensely personal, spiritual experience, I felt assured of His reality.

Being convinced of the truth of Christianity, I next began searching for a Church. I knew nothing about Churches so I became what was easiest for me to become, an Independent Protestant. This was "safe," for I could read the Bible and develop my own beliefs without being too committed to the Church. In fact, I didn't even have to join or be baptized. Best of all, I could disassociate myself from nominal denominational Churches. But this didn't mean I wanted to be anonymous. To the contrary, I wanted to go "all out" in my commitment to Jesus Christ.

After graduating from Queens College in 1970, I accompanied Jewish-Christians to the West Coast in order do establish a brand new organization called "Jews for Jesus." Soon I moved to Berkeley, California and became active in the 70's "Jesus Movement."

My involvement in evangelical Protestantism was a positive experience. The Churches usually had strong communities, were Bible centered, and provided good preaching. But somehow I sensed a lack of worship. I missed the traditional biblical Jewish emphasis upon worship that I had experienced as a young boy in the synagogue. Nevertheless, I hung in there and told myself, "no Church is perfect."

As the years passed, my desire to experience worship as described in the Bible grew. From ancient time Christians gathered together to worship God, not as "fellowship groups" but around holy Communion; not around a charismatic preacher but around the "breaking of bread," the Body and Blood of Christ.

As a Jewish-Christian, I came to the realize it was not enough for me to accept the Jewish Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ. I also had to discover the Church that He began through the early Jewish converts. What became of the early Jewish-Christian Church in the book of Acts? Where could I find such a worship-centered Church? I was tired of sitting in Church asking myself, "Why am I here?" "Why don't I feel fed?" "When will this sermon end?" "Why doesn't this service feel spiritual?" "When are we going to stop talking about worship, and do it?"

I finally decided to visit some Churches that I had heard put the emphasis on worship. The were "spirit filled," charismatic-Pentecostal Churches. I found enthusiasm and warmth there but the worship generated more heat than light. It was not the worship I had seen in the Bible. It was far too dependent upon the abilities of individual leaders to entertain, too self-serving, often out of control.

There seemed no place left to go. I had checked out a wide variety of Protestant Churches and none had that biblically based Jewish-Christian worship I was looking for. I visited a few Catholic masses, including folk masses, but the services seemed too casual. Besides, I know that there were serious theological disagreements between Protestantism and Catholicism.

My friend, Jack Sparks, had been studying worship in the early Church. We talked repeatedly. One day I decided to check out a Church that I had never visited and knew little about. It was a Church that claimed to worship based on the ancient Jewish-Christian patterns. I went somewhat warily to this Orthodox Christian Church.

To my pleasant surprise, I immediately felt a distinct sense of being in the presence of God the moment I walked inside the Church. It was like stepping back in time with Christ and entering the ancient Jewish Temple in Jerusalem! Everything about the service was centered in the worship of the Most High God. The music was much different than I was accustomed to hearing in Protestant Churches. It was more subdued and had a mystical quality about it. Visually, the interior of the Church reminded me of the ancient Temple–it was stunning. And there was an altar with Jewish looking candelabrum on it! Following the service, I went home, and found the sweet aroma of the incense had pervaded my clothes. It was as if I had brought some of the heavenly presence home with me!

I decided to study Orthodox Christianity more seriously, especially its worship. I discovered that the Bible, whenever God revealed Himself to man, it was in a setting of worship that included beauty, order, and majesty. Both Old Testament and New Testament worship sought to reflect on earth the majesty of God as revealed from heaven.

In the last book of the Bible, a vision of our Lord Jesus Christ enthroned and worshiped in heaven is described in which "His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength." When John saw Him, he fell at His feet as dead. God is worshiped in great glory in heaven, with great solemnity and grandeur. Unfortunately many modern Christians tend to think of God as a cosmic "buddy." This familiar view of God greatly undermines worship. God loves us and is in the deepest sense our friend. But He is the everlasting God, our Creator, King, and Judge. Even the Apostle John, who is described in the Gospels as "the beloved" of the Lord because of his closeness to Christ, "fell at His feet as though dead" upon seeing Christ enthroned in heaven. If this beloved Apostle and friend of Christ fell at His feet in worship, how much more readily should we worship Him in the dignity of humility?

As a Jew I know that God established the ancient Temple in Jerusalem with all its elaborate ritual, to give us a glimpse of that worship which continually goes on in heaven. Moses had been instructed by God to make the tabernacle after the pattern of the heavenly prototype as seen in Exodus 25:9, 40 (and later in Hebrews 8:5; 9:23, 24). This is the background in which the early Jewish-Christian Church understood worship–seeking to reflect the heavenly worship in their worship on earth.

Jewish worship was always physical. The Old Testament people of God worshiped with music, with color, with light and candles, with sweet aroma and incense, with art, with rhythmic chant, with feasts and fasts, with cycles of holy days, and with godly order and liturgy. I came to realize these things were neither pagan in origin or temporal in character. They were fulfilled in Christ and retained.

As I attended subsequent Orthodox services, it became clear that the Orthodox Church had inherited, kept, and practiced biblical worship. With icons and incense, with multi-colored vestments and ringing bells, with flickering candle light, melodious chant and processions, with cycles of feast days and with fasts, Judaism is fulfilled in Christ and our praise ascends to God. We on earth mystically join with those in heaven, together lifting up holy hands towards Him who sits upon the celestial throne. Together we sing, "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, heaven and earth are filled with your glory!"

Deeply impressed with Orthodox Christian worship, I began to seriously consider the continuity of the historical Orthodox Church. As a Jew, having roots had always been important to me. I now contemplated the importance of having Christian roots as well.

I knew my evangelical Protestant brethren to be authentic Christians, who "knew" Jesus, were living holy lives, and were heaven bound. But did this mean they automatically manifested the Church? I was not sure. I was sure of one thing: I didn't want to be in a make-believe Church. Rather, I wanted to be in that Church which is historically connected with the ancient Jewish-Christian Church.

Certainly, the Orthodox Church has clearly identifiable roots. She has a historical continuity of doctrine which can be traced back to the Apostles. This deposit of truth, called Holy Tradition, was passed down faithfully from person to person, and from generation to generation. Orthodox lineage was certainly visible, discernible, and historical. The Church claims to be, as the Apostle Paul said, the "pillar and ground of the truth" (I Timothy 3:15).

In addition to this succession of truth, there is another succession the Orthodox Church honors–succession of bishops, the apostolic continuity which is rooted in the ancient Jewish-Christian Church. The New Testament reveals that from the very beginning the Apostles established individuals within local Churches who functioned as apostolic representatives and were called bishops.

Though I realized that the succession of bishops does not automatically assure a succession of truth, apostolic continuity did seem to be God's intent for His Church. As a Jew, it made good sense to me, for it helped provide a physical and tangible link as well as a spiritual link with the ancient Jewish-Christian Church.

Jews love to celebrate! Maybe it's because we have suffered so much. We take every opportunity we can to give thanks, even if the event seems to be small.

As a new Christian, I missed the intensity of Jewish asceticism (of praying and fasting) and also the intensity of Jewish mirth. I missed the happy music, the folk dancing, the magnificent combining of feasting and asceticism that is uniquely Jewish. It is a paradox that in order to truly and fully celebrate one must also know how to truly and fully sacrifice, pray, and fast. It is therefore no coincidence that an Orthodox Jew would know how to do both, because these two streams of spirituality–the ascetic and the festal–encourage and enhance one another.

Without celebration I found myself drowning inn a sea of starkness. There was no tradition of dance. Many forbade wine and discouraged any type of celebrating that might demonstrate too much human festivity. Joyous celebration often was seen as being "of the world." Mystical celebrating was foreign. It was a major problem to know how we Christians could celebrate, so to be on the safe side we often did little or nothing.

I found the Orthodox Church to be sensitive to the centrality of celebration as a fundamental and obvious human need. As an Orthodox Christian, one knows how to and what to celebrate. Celebrating festal holidays is part of the Orthodox Christian tradition rooted in the Bible.

When Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter (Pascha), for example, they don't just celebrate one day, they celebrate forty days! And when the celebrate Christmas they don't just celebrate one day, they celebrate for almost two weeks! Before Christmas there are days of forefeast in which to prepare for the celebration through intense prayer and fasting.

The Orthodox Faith presents the highest possible standard and goal for us to pursue. As our Lord Jesus said: "You shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). Ideal standards and saintly lives are set forward in Scripture and in the Church to inspire us in our struggle. These ideals include the concepts of poverty, chastity, obedience, fleshed out in practice by those who: give all to the poor (Matthew 21), love their enemies (Matthew 5:43-48), are submitted to spiritual authority (Matthew 8:5-13), John 5:19), pray constantly (Ephesians 6:18, I Thessalonians 5:17), and live holy and blameless lives.

On the other hand, I found that the Orthodox Church recognizes that we are far from what we should be. With this in mind, she accepts us as sinners, while continuing to condemn our sins. She does not lower the standard to which we are called but offers forgiveness and healing to our human weaknesses and sins. Recognizing our human frailty, the Church is concerned not to overwhelm us spiritually, but to accept us where we are and lead us step by step towards God. This sensitivity to my human frailty, this human face of Orthodoxy, I found to be very Jewish.

As a Jewish-Christian, I became convinced I would be home in the Orthodox Church. The Church provides worship of God that is Biblically based. She has clear continuity of history going back to Christ and the Apostles. And she provides both an ascetic and festive ideal, being at the same time sensitive to our human frailty. Most of all I found that the Orthodox Church was in continuity with the ancient Jewish-Christian Church.

On Christmas Eve, 1981, I was received into the Orthodox Christian Church. My wife, Bonnie, and our four children–Heather, Holly, Peter, and Mary–also became Orthodox. Subsequently, I've been to seminary and have been ordained an Orthodox priest.

I extend to my Jewish-Christian brethren an earnest invitation. Come, visit the Orthodox Church. Spend a month of Sundays with us. Experience the worship, the mystery, the majesty, the centrality of the Messiah which springs from the pages of the New Testament and is rooted in the Old. Discover the Jewish-Christian Church that our Lord Jesus established, into which people from every nation, tongue, and tribe have come, and become truly Orthodox!

This article is available in “A Seekers Manual”: https://www.lulu.com/shop/fr-mark-hodges/a-seekers-manual/paperback/product-1v7ngm5.html

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