JEWISH ROOTS OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH

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To Understand the New Testament, We Must Know Its Roots in the Tanakh

The Christian faith did not arise in a vacuum. Jesus – Yeshua – was Jewish, His first disciples were Jewish, and the Scriptures they repeatedly referred to were the Tanakh – the Hebrew Bible.

Anyone reading the New Testament therefore constantly encounters ideas, images, and concepts whose foundations were already laid in the Tanakh.

At Beit Or Ha'Chaim, we want to make this connection visible again and understand the Bible within its Jewish, Hebrew, and historical context.

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THE TANAKH IS THE FOUNDATION

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The New Testament cannot be fully understood without knowing the Tanakh.

Central concepts such as

Messiah · Covenant · Sacrifice · Redemption · Son of David · Kingdom of God · Prophecy · Righteousness · Holiness · Resurrection · Israel · Jerusalem

already have their foundations in the Hebrew Bible.

Yeshua and the apostles repeatedly quote and explain the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings. Many New Testament passages assume that the reader is familiar with this biblical world.

For this reason, we do not view the Tanakh as an outdated part of the Bible. It is the foundation upon which many teachings, images, and interpretations of the New Testament are built.

The better we know the Tanakh, the more deeply we can understand the New Testament.

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YESHUA AND THE FIRST DISCIPLES WERE JEWISH

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Jesus – Yeshua – lived within the history of Israel.

He knew the Torah, lived in a Jewish society, attended synagogues, and lived within the rhythm of the biblical feasts and Shabbat.

The first disciples and apostles also came from this environment.

If we view their words only through church traditions that developed centuries later, we risk losing an important part of their original context.

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THE NEW TESTAMENT SPEAKS THE LANGUAGE OF THE TANAKH

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Many well-known statements in the New Testament directly draw upon earlier biblical texts.

When Yeshua is called the Messiah or the Son of David, the trail leads back to the promises of the Tanakh.

When the New Covenant is mentioned, the trail leads back to the Prophets.

When sacrifice, sin, atonement, and redemption are discussed, we encounter themes from the Torah and Temple service.

When the New Testament speaks about the Kingdom of God, Israel, Jerusalem, or resurrection, these themes already have a long biblical history behind them.

The New Testament continues this story – it does not begin it from scratch.

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TORAH – MORE THAN JUST “LAW”

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The Hebrew word Torah is often translated simply as “law.” Yet Torah also means instruction, teaching, and guidance.

It shapes the language and thought world of the entire Bible.

Many discussions between Yeshua and other Jewish teachers were therefore not about whether God's instruction had become meaningless, but about how it should be correctly understood and applied.

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SHABBAT AND THE BIBLICAL FEASTS

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Shabbat, Passover, Shavuot, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot also belong to the world of the Bible.

Knowing these appointed times helps us understand many New Testament events more clearly.

Passover, for example, helps us better understand Yeshua’s final days in Jerusalem. Shavuot provides the Jewish background to the event Christians commonly know as Pentecost.

The biblical feasts naturally connect the Tanakh and the New Testament.

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HEBREW TERMS REVEAL NEW CONNECTIONS

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Individual Hebrew words also carry their own history:

Yeshua · Mashiach · Shalom · Torah · Ruach · Kadosh · Chesed · Adonai · Elohim · Hallelujah · Amen

The goal is not to artificially replace English words with Hebrew ones.

However, the original language can help reveal meanings and connections that may be less visible in translation.

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ISRAEL BELONGS TO THE CONTEXT OF THE BIBLE

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The biblical story is inseparably connected with Israel.

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, the prophets, and ultimately Yeshua all stand within this history.

Even though the New Testament includes people from the nations, the story of Israel does not simply disappear.

Anyone who wants to discover the Jewish roots of the Christian faith must therefore also engage with the significance of Israel in the Bible.

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CHRISTIANITY AND JUDAISM – SHARED ROOTS, DIFFERENT PATHS

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Judaism and Christianity increasingly separated from one another over the course of history.

Different traditions, teachings, and interpretations developed as a result.

At Beit Or Ha'Chaim, we do not want to approach these differences with hostility. Instead, our aim is to return to the original texts:

What does the Tanakh say?
How does the New Testament use these texts?
How did Yeshua and the first disciples live?
What significance did Israel, Torah, Shabbat, and the biblical feasts have?

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WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR CHRISTIANS TODAY?

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Discovering the Jewish roots of faith does not mean adding something new to the Bible.

It means rediscovering something that was present from the beginning.

Whether someone is Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Evangelical, or has no fixed denomination, studying the Tanakh and the Jewish background of Scripture can help familiar Bible passages become clearer and deeper.

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BEIT OR HA'CHAIM – READING THE BIBLE IN CONTEXT

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Beit Or Ha'Chaim understands itself as a Bible-centered Messianic Jewish community.

We want to encourage people to read the Bible for themselves, examine its teachings, and rediscover the connection between the Tanakh and the New Testament.

Our particular areas of focus include:

Yeshua · Tanakh · Torah · Israel · Shabbat · Biblical Feasts · Hebrew · Messianic Prophecy

Our resources are for people in Vienna, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and around the world who want to understand the Bible more deeply.

Understand the Tanakh. Read the New Testament more deeply. Rediscover the Jewish roots of faith.