Toby,
I just read your review of “World of the Ger” by the orthodox Jewish rabbi Chaim Clorfene and I’m a little puzzled. You wrote:
“I have read quite a few of these books and, unfortunately, have found more than a few of them to be less than encouraging for my spiritual walk. In many of them, I have felt that the path suggested by the author would cause me to take a step back in my spirituality, Torah practice, and relationship with God. With a few exceptions, I would not recommend these books to others. But The World of the Ger by Rabbi Chaim Clorfene is a completely different story,” Toby Janicki, teacher at First Fruits of Zion and Vine of David. From: http://ffoz.org/discover/reviews/the-world-of-the-ger.html
So you’re recommending this book to your fellow Gentile Believers because you think it will be encouraging for their spiritual walk, cause them to take a step forward in their spirituality, Torah practice, and relationship with God.
But this is a puzzling recommendation given that Rabbi Chaim Clorfene in his books tries to get Gentiles to renounce Yeshua. Here is a statement from one of his Noahide converts:
“I struggled with Christianity for years until I found out about the Noahide covenant. This book is wonderful for anybody who wants to learn more about the 7 Noahide laws. I am now under the direction of an orthodox rabbi, and moving forward on the path that G-d wants me to follow. Most importantly, everything makes sense…no strange doctrines such as the trinity, just common sense straight from G-d through the rabbis. The Noahide movement is growing, and more and more Christians are returning to G-d alone. This book will get you off on the right foot. Shalom!” top ranked comment from customer reviews section on the Amazon.com page for The Path of the Righteous Gentile by Chaim Clorfene: http://www.amazon.com/The-Path-Righteous-Gentile-Introduction/dp/087306433X
“The hurdle that must be cleared in preparation for observing the Seven Noahide Commandments is the acceptance of the idea that mankind’s way to the Father is through the oral tradition of Judaism, known as the Oral Torah. Rebellion against the sanctity and authority of Oral Torah has been with us since those first days in the Wilderness of Sinai when the followers of Korah led a revolt against absolute authority of Moses, as we learn in the Book of Numbers, “And they assembled themselves against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, You assume too much; for the whole of the congregation are all of them holy, and the Lord is among them; wherefore then will you lift yourselves up above the congregation of the Lord? (Numbers 6:3).”
In the end, God performed a great miracle to demonstrate His preference for the Mosaic authority, “And the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them and their houses and all the men that were for Korah and all their wealth. And they went down, they and all who were for them, alive into the pit; and the earth closed over them and they disappeared from the midst of the congregation (Numbers 16:32,33).”
When God gave the Torah to the Jewish people on Mount Sinai, all the people accepted the Written Torah willingly, but God had to lift the mountain over their heads and threaten to drop it on them to persuade them to accept the Oral Torah. If the Jews had difficulty in accepting the Oral Torah as no less divine than Scripture, how much more difficult must it be for the non-Jews. But accept the oral tradition they must, for the source of understanding the Seven Noahide Commandments is found in the Talmud and later rabbinic teachings, and nowhere else,” Rabbi Clorfene, The Path of the Righteous Gentile
“One way is the unique role that the Jews have [and one] that is completely removed within the One Law theology is an across the board rejection of the authority of the Jewish people to define the halachic parameters of how the Torah is to be applied. One Law theologians have no desire to defer to the halachic standard normative of the Jewish people because in doing so would remove any basis for the idea that Gentiles should be obligated to the Torah the exact same way as Jews. Judaism has always rejected this idea and rightfully so.
In rejecting the right and the responsibility of the Jewish people to define what it means to be Jewish and practice Judaism, One Law theology strikes directly at the core of authentic Judaism. One Law replaced the Jewish rabbis and sages with self-appointed Gentiles who believe that they are divinely sanctioned to interpret Torah outside of the Jewish context. Whatever conclusion they come to are given a greater weight than those of the Jewish halachic authorities. That can be compared to the rebellion of Korah in the wilderness,” Boaz Michael, from: http://dailyminyan.com/2012/08/01/part-ii-excerpts-from-umjc-2012-conference-lecture-by-boaz-michael-ffoz/
Source: Orthodox Messianic Judaism (http://goo.gl/tTgTQM)
