By Charles Gardner — 
A growing number of British Christians are digging deep in a bid to discover the riches of their faith’s Jewish roots.
And the Church’s Ministry among Jewish people (CMJ) is responding to this new phenomenon by launching a program called Torah Plus – www.torah-plus.co.uk
This is focused on finding the true treasure of how perfectly all that is written in the Torah (or Pentateuch, the Bible’s first five books) is fulfilled in Yeshua (Jesus) while the ‘Plus’ will explore the Jewish gospels and Hebraic roots of the Christian faith.
A Bible College with a difference, Torah Plus is effectively the home of CMJ UK’s online teaching and learning community.
For a modest subscription fee, students will be emailed a weekly 30-minute video study on the Torah Portion (a set passage) for that particular week.
A richly insightful study led by Rev Aaron Eime, it will include study notes and a variety of speakers as well as interviews and special offers.
Australian-born Aaron, 54, is General Director of CMJ UK and has lived in Israel for 26 years, studying with rabbis for much of that time and having the joy of introducing some of them to their Messiah!
Founded in 1809, CMJ has a long history of witnessing to the Jewish people about their Messiah as well as sharing the Jewish roots of the Bible with the Church and encouraging Messianic believers (Jews who follow Jesus).
Since its launch, Torah Plus has received much positive feedback from people across the globe.
Aaron reports: “It’s inspiring to see such enthusiasm from people who are beginning, or deepening, their journey into Torah study. And Torah Plus provides a unique opportunity for spiritual enrichment at every level.”
Asked to enlarge upon the purpose of this new program, Aaron explains: “The Torah Portion is how the Jews of Jesus’ time read the first five books of the Bible in a three-year cycle – divided up into weekly portions – a tradition continued by the early believers (who were Jewish of course) and still used in many churches today.
“The Torah – the teaching and instructions of God – is the firm foundation upon which all faith rests and covers all aspects of human flourishing: how to worship, how to treat Gentiles, women, the Temple, land and agriculture and so on.
“Some might argue that we no longer need the law because Christ has fulfilled it. But what then do you replace it with? Without law, we become law-less, which is a dangerous place to be as the enemy of our souls is called the ‘man of lawlessness’.
“The New Testament did not come to us in a vacuum. In fact, when Jesus told us to spread the gospel throughout the world, he said we should teach them ‘to obey everything I have commanded you’, which surely includes all of Scripture!
“Under the Plus part of the program, we will be putting the words and teaching of Jesus in their first century Jewish context with the goal of enriching our understanding and becoming better disciples. All of which enhances our relationship with our heavenly Father.
“For the Scriptures reveal the heart of God – what he has done in the past, what he is doing now and what he intends for the future.
“We want to reclaim a passion for the whole counsel of a God who has not changed, avoiding the danger of separating the Old from the New Testament, an early heresy known as Marcionism defeated by the Church Fathers, but which seems to have reared its ugly head again.”
Asked for an example of how such teaching enriches our faith, Aaron points to Jesus’ first miracle of turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana. We know that the blessing for wine was used at least a generation before Jesus, and in fact remains in use to this very day. The master of the banquet would say, as many still do over their Shabbat meal each week: “Blessed are you the Lord our God, King of the Universe, who created the fruit of the vine.”
Aaron explains: “The miracle just witnessed tells us exactly who Jesus is – the King of the Universe – and in a very Jewish way. It’s not a party trick; it’s all about his identity.”
