Daniel C. Juster

When we are filled with the Spirit and our faith is centered on Yeshua, on all that He has done and will do for us, a wonderful transformation takes place: We are endowed with a renewed mind which can weigh viewpoints, practices, and philosophies (see Rom. 12:2).

In this regard, when we reflect on that huge corpus of literature known as rabbinic literature—and I include in this the prayer books—we are filled with what I would call profound ambivalence. What do I mean by this term?

As a young leader in the Messianic Jewish movement, I devoted myself to working my way through the Talmud, the primary multi-volume corpus of the application of Jewish Law. I was also taking a course in Jewish worship at Spertus College of Judaic that concentrated on the prayer books.