Feature Stories
Volumne 17 Number 3
January/February 2001
Tevet/Shevat/Adar 5760/5761
My Journey as a Messianic Jew.
By Rachelle Remigio
I’m the kind of girl who has been dreaming about her wedding since
she was five. So, now at seventeen you can only imagine the things that
I have planned. And yet the older I get the more aware I become of my
surroundings and I begin to notice the details and the complications that
I didn’t think about at the age of five. What kind of man I’m
I going to marry? How will we be married? How will we raise our children?
What do we want our children to value? I know, I know, it may appear to
be a bit premature, but I do think about these things and even though
I’m only seventeen, I have come to some conclusions. It wasn’t
until the UMJC conference in Woodlandhills 1999 that any of my five-year-old
plans had been tampered with. The theme was Zachor (Remember) and it occurred
to me there, that in order for this beautiful culture and tradition to
be passed down, understood, and remembered I too must do my part.
My father later asked if it mattered to me if I married
a Messianic Jew or not. And as you can see I’m obviously a romantic,
so my reply was simply “ Well, he will love me so much he’ll
want to worship where I want.” And of course that was not the answer
my father was looking for. Eventually, with out much provoking from my
dad it didn’t make much sense to me either. How would I be doing
my part if I didn’t marry a messianic Jew? Someone who shared a love
and passion for the culture and tradition as I did. How else could it
be passed down and remembered?And as I became more and more comfortable
with this idea I began to expound
on it. I became aware of all the things my parents could have done to
help me feel more Messianic, to help me value these beliefs, and to understand
the way of life. And from this I began to mentally note what I could do
as a parent to help my children understand their part as a Messianic Jew.
I can only pray that I will be able to transfer to them a love for their
beliefs, culture, and heritage.
It was difficult enough being “different” on a
public high school campus. Having a love for Yeshua and higher standards
and values from everyone else was one thing, this was hard enough to communicate.
However, when you add tradition and passion and a love for something that
is not easily comprehended to even another believer, the degree of difficulty
exceeds a normal limit. Maybe to everyone else I was the same Messianic
Jew they would never understand. But to me, I felt more set apart, more
different. The
Christians on campus didn’t understand my love for a culture they
were uneducated about and the secular crowd just didn’t understand
me. As I began to learn more, care more, and understand more I began to
grow closer to my Messianic friends. And I was amazed with the bond that
can grow between two people when you share something so special. These
are the friends I call no matter what. They understand where I’m
coming from on all sides, nothing has to be explained, thought through,
or interpreted, they
just understand. These are the kinds of people I want to be surrounded
with and supported by for the rest of my life. These are the kinds of
people I want my children to grow up with, to be apart of this community,
and partake
of these special bonds.
The wedding of my childhood dreams is still being planned,
but now I have more direction. The picture I started painting at five
is more clear, the colors are more vibrant and the painting is more detailed.
There is a chupa and a broken glass, there is a Jewish boy and a Jewish
girl, and there is a bond like no other, because they are set apart.
©2001 Kehilat Ariel Messianic Synagogue. All rights reserved.