by Rabbi Russ Resnik

Michael Wyschogrod is an Orthodox Jewish scholar whose writings have profound implications for the Messianic Jewish community. His recently released book, ?Abraham's Promise: Judaism and Jewish-Christian Relations,? is a collection of writings that articulate a theology of Judaism, and its relationship to Christianity. Messianic Jews will at times see themselves in its pages.

One of Wyschogrod's main themes is God's choice of the Jewish people and the implications of that choice for relations between Jews and Christians. He writes, in an essay entitled ?Israel, the Church, and Election,?

'Because [God] said, ?I will bless those who bless you, and curse him that curses you; in you shall all the families of the earth be blessed? (Gen. 12:3), he has tied his saving and redemptive concern for the welfare of all humankind to his love for the people of Israel. Only those who love the people of Israel can love the God of Israel. Israel is thus God's first-born, most precious in his eyes.

'From this, two great dangers follow, both of which have come to pass. The first is Israel's vain pride in its own election and the second is the nations' jealousy at that same election. This twofold drama is prefigured in the tale of Joseph and his brothers, but so is the reconciliation that awaits us in the end of time' (page 180, emphasis added).

Wyschogrod applies the story of Joseph and his brothers, which begins in this week's parasha, to the story of Israel and the nations.  Joseph is the favorite of his father, Jacob, and he seems to flaunt that privilege in his brothers' faces. He reports their bad behavior to Jacob. He gloats over his two dreams of dominating his brothers (and his parents as well). He sports the special garment, an ornamented tunic that Jacob gives him, wearing it even when he is sent on an errand to check up on his brothers out in the fields.

Joseph is indeed chosen, but as yet has no idea of what he is chosen for. His brothers can only see Joseph's self-absorption and react with envy. Wyschogrod?a loyal Jew?sees a parallel to Joseph in the Jewish people, who are equally chosen. He also sees the nations of humankind reenacting the envy of Joseph's brothers.

'Just as Joseph's brothers rebelled against the favor shown by their father toward this one child of his, so the nations refuse to accept the election of Israel. And just as Joseph was not guiltless in the matter in that he did not accept his election as he should have, in humility, in fear and trembling, so Israel has not often made it easy for the nations to accept its election. Just as Joseph suffered for his deeds, so has Israel; just as Joseph retained the election, proving worthy of it, so has Israel' (pages 184-185).

If this comparison is apt, the ending of the story is especially encouraging. As Wyschogrod writes, it prefigures ?the reconciliation [between Israel and the nations] that awaits us in the end of time.? As followers of Yeshua, we believe this reconciliation will be accomplished only in him. Here we must depart from Wyschogrod's reading, for he sees reconciliation coming as the nations learn to accept ?the mystery of their non-election? (page 186). But in Messiah a remnant from the nations is elect. The mystery, which the Church has often failed to comprehend, is that this election in no way diminishes Israel's election.  Indeed, the election of the Church depends upon Israel's election, as God said to Abraham, ?In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed? (Genesis 22:18).

Likewise, the climax of the Joseph story suggests that once the brothers accept Joseph's uniquely favored position, they are able to benefit from it. They never replace Joseph as the uniquely favored son. Even as he approaches death, Jacob bestows a double blessing upon Joseph, the traditional portion of the first-born, by adopting both of his sons as his own and including them in the number of the tribes of Israel (Gen. 48:15-16, 22). Nevertheless, he goes on to bless each of the sons, and to articulate each one's destiny as part of the people of God. We might say that all twelve tribes are chosen, yet Joseph remains uniquely chosen, and the source of blessing to the rest.

For those of us involved in Jewish?Gentile reconciliation, election is a key issue. The need for reconciliation is rooted in the theology of replacement, the traditional Christian teaching that the church replaces Israel as the chosen people of God. In this view, the covenants and promises first spoken to Israel now apply only to the Church. Jewish-Christian reconciliation demands a repudiation of this view, and an affirmation of God's continuing covenant with Israel, ?for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable? (Romans 11:29).

Furthermore, the affirmation of Israel's continuing election requires an affirmation of Jewish believers in Yeshua continuing to identify and live as Jews. This is where Wyschogrod, the Orthodox scholar, seems to picture the Messianic Jew:

'Had the Church believed that it was God's will that the seed of Abraham not disappear from the world, she would have insisted on Jews retaining their separateness, even in the Church. The fact that Paul asserts that in Christ ?there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor freeman, neither male nor female? (Gal. 3:28) does not rule out such a special role for the children of ancient Israel in the Church, just as the abolition in Christ of the difference between man and woman does not prevent Paul from insisting that women remain silent in the assembly. Even in Christ, men are men and women are women; only in an ultimate, perhaps eschatological, sense are they one. The Church could have asserted the same of the difference between Jew and gentile' (pages 183-184).

Instead, Jews and Christians have imagined themselves in a zero-sum game in which favor upon one group meant the rejection of the other.  If the Church represents a new elect, then Israel can no longer be elect, and Jews who accept Yeshua are no longer to live as Jews. But these are the rules of man, not God. Reconciliation will mean affirming the election, both of Israel and of a remnant from the nations in Messiah Yeshua. The affirmation of Israel's election does not diminish the election of a remnant from the nations.

When Messianic Jews read the Joseph story, we often see the rejected and suffering Joseph as prefiguring Yeshua. Both are rejected by their own brothers, and both become agents of salvation for the sons of Jacob, and for the surrounding nations as well. If the story prefigures ?the reconciliation that awaits us in the end of time,? as Wyschogrod writes, it is foremost a reconciliation between Yeshua and his brothers, the Jewish people. Both readings stand, however. Joseph prefigures Israel the chosen people, and the chosen one among the chosen people, Yeshua the Messiah. Reconciliation between Israel and the nations is inextricably tied to reconciliation between Yeshua and the Jewish people.

The Son of God has come among humankind as the Jew Yeshua. He embodies God's irrevocable gifts and calling upon Israel, and he will not bring about the final reconciliation without his people.

Israel continues to be the elect of God, despite our wanderings and unbelief. A remnant of the nations is also the elect of God, despite its wanderings and unbelief. The mystery is that God is at work in both elect groups, despite our failings. As Joseph?the chosen one rejected by his brothers?declares at the end of his story: