Ask The Messianic Rabbi: How do I convert to Messianic Judaism?[2023]

Read the transcript below, or watch a video of the teaching by Joseph Shulam.

Shalom. My name is Joseph Shulam and the young people of the Netiviah staff have put on, on YouTube, and I think also on the web page a series called: 'Ask the Messianic Rabbi', Okay, I’m here. I am no longer the rabbi; I’ve retired. There’s younger people that were born and raised here that are in the leadership. But since they asked me to answer some of these questions, here is the question: Somebody wrote, “I don’t want to know who it is. I don’t want to know his name. I don’t wanna know his address. I don’t want to know his email or his phone number.” Somebody asks on the site, on the YouTube channel of Netiviah, “I want to convert to Messianic Judaism. How do I do so?”

There is no such thing as Messianic Judaism. I know in America and around the world people call themselves Messianic Jews—even non-Jews call themselves Messianic Jews. Even in Israel, uncircumcised Philistines call themselves Messianic Jews sometimes. Okay, but here’s the question: "I want to convert to Messianic Judaism. How do I do so?"

Well, if I was being bad, like I feel today, the first thing you need to do is to get circumcised, but not with a surgeon’s scalpel, but with a wooden knife. Yes, you can’t be Jewish, Messianic or not Messianic, if you’re not circumcised. So that’s one thing, but that’s against the scriptures. Paul said in First Corinthians, chapter 7, verse 17, “If you’re a Jew, remain a Jew; if you’re circumcised, don’t uncircumcise yourself.” He didn’t say the next thing that I’m going to say, but I’m adding it: Even in heaven, they don’t have glue to fix your circumcision. If you were circumcised, you’re a Jew. You got circumcised, that’s it. He will be a Jew no matter what you believe—whether you’re an atheist, believe in Jesus, believe in Krishna, whoever—you’re a Jew. So that’s one thing.

People can convert to Judaism, and then there is a world, very big process, and it involves circumcision without an anaesthetic, I hope so. And still, even if you convert with Orthodox rabbis, with the Rabbinical Court of Israel, and Judaism anywhere in the world, you still will be, how should I say, discriminated, lightly, by Orthodox Jews. It’s not worth it. It’s really not worth it.

In that same chapter of First Corinthians 7, the continuation of the text from verse 17 says, “For God, it’s not important if you’re Jew or non-Jew because the God of Israel is the God of the whole world. He is the God of the whites and the blacks and the yellows and Jews and non-Jews. The Indians run around almost naked in the Amazon; he’s their God too. And those who worship idols, these—they’re God too. They don’t know it; they should know it. But he’s the God of all creation. He created the mosquito. He didn’t take advice from me. If you would have asked me, ‘Should I create mosquitoes?’ I would have said, ‘No, no, no, they’re bad.’ Yeah, he created the hippopotamus. Yeah, if you would have asked me, ‘Should I create hippopotamus?’ I’d say, ‘Yes, why not? The rivers need somebody big and fat to run the show.’

So don’t convert to Messianic Judaism. You don’t need to convert to Messianic Judaism. It won’t help you to convert to Messianic Judaism. You know what? Give your life to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. That is important. That is why God sent the Apostle Paul to be the Apostle to the Gentiles, to fulfill the promises that God made in Isaiah, in Jeremiah, in Ezekiel, in Amos, in Obadiah, in Malachi, and in the Torah itself. Yes, give your life to God. Be like Deborah, that had a Gentile woman, Yael, help win the battle against the enemies of Israel, against Yavin, the king of Hazor, and his general Sisera. And this Yael, the Canaanite—not a Jew, not an Israelite, a Gentile—knew how to give that pagan a headache. She pinned him to the ground with the tent peg.

Ah, learn to love God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and serve him, and serve his community, and your Jewish brothers. Convert to Messianic Judaism? There’s no such thing. Relax, my dear brother. Rejoice, my dear brother, that you’re not going to have to be circumcised, and just continue praising God, studying the word of God, doing good. Judaism doesn’t forbid anybody from eating kosher; you can eat kosher. Judaism doesn’t forbid anybody from celebrating the Sabbath; in fact, it recommends it. In fact, the New Testament recommends it in Acts 15 to go to synagogue, learn Torah. Yes, you can do all these things without conversion, without taking on something that will never help you and only deter you from doing a lot of good that you can as a non-Jew that loves the God of Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as a non-Jew that loves the Jewish people and is willing to help them and serve them and work with them, volunteer with the Jews to do good things.

Yes, and God bless you and clear your mind and clear your faith to be faithful to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to Yeshua, the Messiah, the King of the Jews. Forgive me if I was too harsh.