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Joseph Rabinowitz and the Messianic Movement
262 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1995
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June 25, 2025
A BIOGRAPHY OF THE ‘HERZL OF JEWISH CHRISTIANITY’
Kai Kjaer-Hansen (b. 1945) is a Danish scholar, missionary, and even pastor. He wrote in the Introduction to this 1988 book, “This book is about Joseph Rabinowitz, a Russian Jew, who in 1882 traveled to Palestine to look into the possibility of a Jewish settlement there. But he returned to Russia with a new-found faith: That Jesus was the Jews’ brother and Messiah… Rabinowitz and the Messianic movement which he came to head became known to all who were then concerned with the topic of Jesus and Israel. Since his death in 1899 interest in him has waned in some of the circles…But this ‘Herzl of Jewish Christianity,’ as he has been called, still repays acquaintance. For the questions he struggled with as a Jew and a believer in Jesus have not yet found their ultimate solution… The struggle for Rabinowitz, as it was fought in Gentile Christian circles… sheds light upon some of the problems about which the early ‘Christians’ had to make up their minds. They were Jews. Jesus was too.” (Pg. ix)
He begins Chapter 1 with the statement, “A journey to Palestine in 1882 was to become a turning-point for … Rabinowitz. When he returned to his home town …. He was a new man. At least, that is how he described it later. On the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem he had made his matchless discovery: Jesus was Israel’s king and Messiah, he was the brother of the Jews and thus the answer to the ‘Jewish question.’… the expression ‘our brother Jesus’ after Rabinowitz’s first public stand as a Jewish believer … was regarded as a ‘brilliant’ expression… it was taken … to be the motto… of the movement which Rabinowitz same to lead.” (Pg. 1)
He explains “A lithograph depicting Rainowitz’s conversion …. Suggests that he had his New Testament with him… However, most indications are that Rabinowitz did not have his New Testament with him … So we are justified in being critically wary of those accounts which turn Rabinowitz into a seeking pilgrim. They represent the pious embellishments of later times.” (Pg. 20-21)
He continues, “[In] 1882 Rabinowitz was given the title of ‘Rabbi’ by writers … But he hardly held an official position as rabbi either before or after 1882… Rabinowitz's withdrawal from Chassidism and embracement of enlightenment may be designated as his first ‘conversion.’ After this he zigzagged between various models for the amelioration of Jewish conditions in Russia.” (Pg. 31)
Yechiel Zavi Herschensohn… was a Talmudic expert who… was in touch with people who were understood to be ‘enlightened.’ He opened Rabinowitz’s eyes to how the Jewish Kabbala had befogged the Jewish outlook.” (Pg. 26) He continues, “Rabinowitz received his first New Testament in Hebrew from Herschensohn… It is … remarkable that Rabinowitz, in his autobiography, totally passes over the fact that Herschensohn came to faith in Jesus as the Messiah during the very period in which Rabinowitz sets their close friendship and intense conversations.” (Pg. 36-37)
He reports, “[His] Thirteen Theses give some impression of the thoughts that had preoccupied Rabinowitz in 1883… The first theses describe the plight and need of the Jews and distance themselves from various proposals for solving the Jewish question. The content … may be summed up as follows: The present moral and material condition of the Jews in Russia is very bad. For us to sit idle and inactive at such a time is tantamount to consenting to the total ruin of our Jewish brethren in Russia. An improvement of the conditions cannot come about through the money of the rich, or the teaching of the rabbis, or the enlightenment of the learned. Such people do not think of the welfare of Israel, but only worsen the conditions… It is of no help to leave our native land and emigrate to Eretz Israel, and of just as little help as to become assimilated with the Gentile population of Russia…. The material state of the Jews cannot be improved until they are healed of their moral and spiritual depravity. To put right the moral state there must be a deep spiritual renewal. Our idols, love of money, must be cast out… For this renewal a leader of firm character is needed.” (Pg. 47-48)
He states, “This is an appropriate point to consider Rabinowitz’s use of the designation ‘brother’ about Jesus… which caught the attention of western observers right from the start… Rabinowitz always uses the Hebrew name ‘Yeshua’ for Jesus when writing Hebrew, and never ‘Yeshu,’ which in large parts of the Jewish tradition is taken as a pejorative name which is only used of Jesus of Nazareth… By using the name ‘Yeshua,’ Rabinowitz was not only signaling that for his own part he had acquired a new relationship to him … but also that this ‘Yeshua’ is a Jew who will save his people. For above all Yeshua is the brother of Israel and the Jews. There is no shadow of doubt that Rabinowitz launched the phrase ‘our brother Jesus.’” (Pg. 117-118)
He recounts, Rabinowitz “more than hints at his wish to obtain new and larger premises than the prayer-hall… In May 1890 Rabinowitz laid the foundation stone of the building, which ‘is consecrated in the name of the Lord Jesus the Messiah, who ever rules over the house of Jacob.’” (Pg. 144)
He goes on, “By 1884 Rabinowitz had drawn up a Siddur, an order of service… the service proceeded in a dignified way, but there was no participation by the congregation in the liturgy… the hall was full for the service… a few were old, most middle-aged, but there were also many young boys… Somebody from the congregation handed round Hebrew New Testaments. People sat or stood bare-headed when the Torah scroll was unrolled and there was a reading from it in the sacred language, Hebrew… During the service there was a constant coming and going of listeners. The sermon is described as long… [A visitor observes that] Rabinowitz’s ‘Bethlehem is still the only synagogue in Russian where every single Jewish Sabbath services are held in Jesus’ name and where the gospel is proclaimed to Jews in the Jewish language.’” (Pg. 149-150)
He explains, “It may be asserted with assurance that Rabinowitz was not bribed into ‘changing’ his faith. But later he was given money from abroad for his work of leading other Jews to faith in Jesus. In this lay the seeds of renewed charges of a personal nature against Rabinowitz… Among Christians abroad opinions were also divided about making the Messianic movement dependent upon foreign money. But it cannot be ignored that a factor in some people’s view of this question was their particular organization’s financial resources---or lack of them.” (Pg. 160-161)
He notes, “If [Lutheran clergyman R.] Faltin… could be accused of enticing socially deprived Jews to convert to Christianity, this charge could not be laid against Rabinowitz. But he did not escape accusations of a personal kind for the way he spent the money he received from abroad.” (Pg. 168)
He summarizes, “It may be noted that Rabinowitz did not wish to be regarded as a ‘missionary.’ That smacked too much of Gentile Christianity. But whatever the methods to which he particularly gave priority, he acknowledged the justification of other people’s methods… it is also of significance that it was on Rabinowitz’s recommendation that his son-in-law… was employed by the Mildmay Mission to distribute tracts and Bible portions…” (Pg. 182)
Rabinowitz is kind of a ‘forgotten’ figure these days, but this biography will be of great value to anyone wanting to know more about him.
Kai Kjaer-Hansen (b. 1945) is a Danish scholar, missionary, and even pastor. He wrote in the Introduction to this 1988 book, “This book is about Joseph Rabinowitz, a Russian Jew, who in 1882 traveled to Palestine to look into the possibility of a Jewish settlement there. But he returned to Russia with a new-found faith: That Jesus was the Jews’ brother and Messiah… Rabinowitz and the Messianic movement which he came to head became known to all who were then concerned with the topic of Jesus and Israel. Since his death in 1899 interest in him has waned in some of the circles…But this ‘Herzl of Jewish Christianity,’ as he has been called, still repays acquaintance. For the questions he struggled with as a Jew and a believer in Jesus have not yet found their ultimate solution… The struggle for Rabinowitz, as it was fought in Gentile Christian circles… sheds light upon some of the problems about which the early ‘Christians’ had to make up their minds. They were Jews. Jesus was too.” (Pg. ix)
He begins Chapter 1 with the statement, “A journey to Palestine in 1882 was to become a turning-point for … Rabinowitz. When he returned to his home town …. He was a new man. At least, that is how he described it later. On the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem he had made his matchless discovery: Jesus was Israel’s king and Messiah, he was the brother of the Jews and thus the answer to the ‘Jewish question.’… the expression ‘our brother Jesus’ after Rabinowitz’s first public stand as a Jewish believer … was regarded as a ‘brilliant’ expression… it was taken … to be the motto… of the movement which Rabinowitz same to lead.” (Pg. 1)
He explains “A lithograph depicting Rainowitz’s conversion …. Suggests that he had his New Testament with him… However, most indications are that Rabinowitz did not have his New Testament with him … So we are justified in being critically wary of those accounts which turn Rabinowitz into a seeking pilgrim. They represent the pious embellishments of later times.” (Pg. 20-21)
He continues, “[In] 1882 Rabinowitz was given the title of ‘Rabbi’ by writers … But he hardly held an official position as rabbi either before or after 1882… Rabinowitz's withdrawal from Chassidism and embracement of enlightenment may be designated as his first ‘conversion.’ After this he zigzagged between various models for the amelioration of Jewish conditions in Russia.” (Pg. 31)
Yechiel Zavi Herschensohn… was a Talmudic expert who… was in touch with people who were understood to be ‘enlightened.’ He opened Rabinowitz’s eyes to how the Jewish Kabbala had befogged the Jewish outlook.” (Pg. 26) He continues, “Rabinowitz received his first New Testament in Hebrew from Herschensohn… It is … remarkable that Rabinowitz, in his autobiography, totally passes over the fact that Herschensohn came to faith in Jesus as the Messiah during the very period in which Rabinowitz sets their close friendship and intense conversations.” (Pg. 36-37)
He reports, “[His] Thirteen Theses give some impression of the thoughts that had preoccupied Rabinowitz in 1883… The first theses describe the plight and need of the Jews and distance themselves from various proposals for solving the Jewish question. The content … may be summed up as follows: The present moral and material condition of the Jews in Russia is very bad. For us to sit idle and inactive at such a time is tantamount to consenting to the total ruin of our Jewish brethren in Russia. An improvement of the conditions cannot come about through the money of the rich, or the teaching of the rabbis, or the enlightenment of the learned. Such people do not think of the welfare of Israel, but only worsen the conditions… It is of no help to leave our native land and emigrate to Eretz Israel, and of just as little help as to become assimilated with the Gentile population of Russia…. The material state of the Jews cannot be improved until they are healed of their moral and spiritual depravity. To put right the moral state there must be a deep spiritual renewal. Our idols, love of money, must be cast out… For this renewal a leader of firm character is needed.” (Pg. 47-48)
He states, “This is an appropriate point to consider Rabinowitz’s use of the designation ‘brother’ about Jesus… which caught the attention of western observers right from the start… Rabinowitz always uses the Hebrew name ‘Yeshua’ for Jesus when writing Hebrew, and never ‘Yeshu,’ which in large parts of the Jewish tradition is taken as a pejorative name which is only used of Jesus of Nazareth… By using the name ‘Yeshua,’ Rabinowitz was not only signaling that for his own part he had acquired a new relationship to him … but also that this ‘Yeshua’ is a Jew who will save his people. For above all Yeshua is the brother of Israel and the Jews. There is no shadow of doubt that Rabinowitz launched the phrase ‘our brother Jesus.’” (Pg. 117-118)
He recounts, Rabinowitz “more than hints at his wish to obtain new and larger premises than the prayer-hall… In May 1890 Rabinowitz laid the foundation stone of the building, which ‘is consecrated in the name of the Lord Jesus the Messiah, who ever rules over the house of Jacob.’” (Pg. 144)
He goes on, “By 1884 Rabinowitz had drawn up a Siddur, an order of service… the service proceeded in a dignified way, but there was no participation by the congregation in the liturgy… the hall was full for the service… a few were old, most middle-aged, but there were also many young boys… Somebody from the congregation handed round Hebrew New Testaments. People sat or stood bare-headed when the Torah scroll was unrolled and there was a reading from it in the sacred language, Hebrew… During the service there was a constant coming and going of listeners. The sermon is described as long… [A visitor observes that] Rabinowitz’s ‘Bethlehem is still the only synagogue in Russian where every single Jewish Sabbath services are held in Jesus’ name and where the gospel is proclaimed to Jews in the Jewish language.’” (Pg. 149-150)
He explains, “It may be asserted with assurance that Rabinowitz was not bribed into ‘changing’ his faith. But later he was given money from abroad for his work of leading other Jews to faith in Jesus. In this lay the seeds of renewed charges of a personal nature against Rabinowitz… Among Christians abroad opinions were also divided about making the Messianic movement dependent upon foreign money. But it cannot be ignored that a factor in some people’s view of this question was their particular organization’s financial resources---or lack of them.” (Pg. 160-161)
He notes, “If [Lutheran clergyman R.] Faltin… could be accused of enticing socially deprived Jews to convert to Christianity, this charge could not be laid against Rabinowitz. But he did not escape accusations of a personal kind for the way he spent the money he received from abroad.” (Pg. 168)
He summarizes, “It may be noted that Rabinowitz did not wish to be regarded as a ‘missionary.’ That smacked too much of Gentile Christianity. But whatever the methods to which he particularly gave priority, he acknowledged the justification of other people’s methods… it is also of significance that it was on Rabinowitz’s recommendation that his son-in-law… was employed by the Mildmay Mission to distribute tracts and Bible portions…” (Pg. 182)
Rabinowitz is kind of a ‘forgotten’ figure these days, but this biography will be of great value to anyone wanting to know more about him.
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