WITH WHOM BETH EL OF MANHATTAN IS IN RELATIONSHIP

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WHY WE HAVE BEEN INDEPENDENT SINCE 2001

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I. WITH WHOM WE ARE IN RELATIONSHIP

The clergy and members of Congregation Beth El of Manhattan are in clear and open fellowship with all God-followers who believe the following things, and walk reasonably intentionally and consistently in them:

1. God exists in the manner the Two Testaments of Jewish Scripture describe Him to exist, and cares about what happens to people, and about what people do – particularly to each other.

2. The historical person Yeshua (Jesus) of Nazareth was “the Messiah, the Son of the Living God” – and in a way never soundly reduced to a simple one-phrase maxim, was also a visitation of God to and among humanity. His death as “the Suffering Messiah” – foreknown by Scripture and recognized by the Sages of Israel in Talmudic commentary – is the atonement for the sins of imperfect but repentant people, providing them with the means to be received by the morally perfect Creator despite their moral imperfections, both in this present life, and in the eternity into which our forever-existing human spirits go after our physical lives are over.

3. The Two Testaments of Jewish Scripture are unique “revelation” – objectively proven impartations of accurate information or precepts from humankind’s Creator. As such, the Scriptures are without exception the final defining source for sound belief or practice on any issue they address, whether directly, or by soundly extrapolated and applied precept.

Beth El of Manhattan is in significant long-term relationship with clergy and congregations all over the United States, Israel, Europe and South Africa. They form a network of resource and accountability for us beyond our own highly evolved congregational accountability structure.

II. WHY WE HAVE BEEN INDEPENDENT SINCE JULY 2001

In 1Corinthians 5:11, 2John 1:10-11, Revelation 18:4 and many other passages, Scripture makes clear there are levels of sin which, if unrepentantly and continuingly committed by people claiming to be Believers, require other Believers to part from fellowship with the consistent and unrepentant sinners, lest the impression be made that such levels of sinning are acceptable, and approved by those associate with them.

In 2001, we resigned from Membership in the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America (MJAA), and our clergy resigned ordinations from the MJAA’s clergy organization, the International Association of Messianic Congregations and Synagogues (IAMCS), for exactly the above reason. We discovered much of the leadership of the MJAA and IAMCS was unrepentantly guilty of such levels of sin and criminality as described in the above-cited Scriptures. Those wrong doings include:

Extortion, perjury, forgery of signatures, wide publication of false corporate documents, false oaths, false witness, forgery of judicial documents, malicious harm doing, violation of corporate laws, gross abuse of and violation of normative judicial processes, violation of normative standards of Biblical doctrine, ethics and practice for personal advantages, placement of Biblically directly disqualified close-associates into high spiritual office – and more.

It should be carefully noted, our withdrawal from the MJAA does not apply to all leaders or members: only those directly involved with, or approving of, or knowingly tolerant of the horrific levels of sin we encountered, and which cannot in good Biblical conscience ignore.

We deeply regret needing to part fellowship with anyone – but concerning persons or associations approving and tolerant of such conduct, Scripture’s commands are direct and specific, and offer no options. Believers are to part from fellowship with such sinning (1Corinthians 5:11). If the sinning is repented of, then fellowship is restored. (2Cor. 2:7)

We are testing fellowship with other groups, and if we arrive at a conviction that a group shares our commitments and applies them reliably and impartially to their members and leaders, we will be glad to become members. In the meantime, we exist as do thousands of independent synagogues and churches throughout the world. We consider ourselves in fellowship with all Believers as described above – and we consider ourselves accountable to the standards and processes of Scripture and relevant secular laws that do not directly contravene Biblical commands or standards.

The words of Isaiah 8:20 “To the Torah and the Testimony (of the proven prophetic writings). If they do not speak in accord with that standard, there is no dawn (spiritual truth) in them” are the strongest value for which we have had to take a moral stand. The political pressure placed upon us to wink at massively serious sin contrary to the commands of Scripture has been unimaginably fierce and broad; but we cannot abdicate the most basic standards of Biblical doctrine, just because powerful people in certain associations want a free pass to sin as much as they wish, and never be held accountable for it.

There are, to the present day, no judgments, infringements or verdicts against Beth El’s clergy or congregation anywhere in any record that are the result of duly-held and concluded due process. We are, in the fullest sense of the word, entirely blameless to the present day of any sin or infraction, and per 1Tim. 5:19-21, the rest of the Body is Biblically required treat us as such. We simply served duly-presented charges of wrongdoing against certain individual leaders, which was our right as Members of those organizations for decades. When those leaders retained commitment to their sinning and violated the laws of their own organizations in response – we left.

We reiterate for emphasis: our withdrawal from the MJAA and our present non-affilation with the other large associations does not apply to all their leaders or members: only those in both organizations or any association directly involved or approving of the horrific levels of sin we encountered, and which we cannot in good Biblical conscience ignore.

For Zion’s sake, in Manhattan, Jerusalem, and around the world,

Rabbi Bruce L. Cohen

New York City 2007

Note: This paper was entirely authored by Rabbi Bruce Cohen, who takes complete responsibility for its contents and its publication. Anyone with questions is welcome to inquire at info@bethelnyc.org.