09/04/2026
UPDATE ON BETH EL OF MANHATTAN: Shalom from Jerusalem, all who follow Congregation Beth El of Manhattan, or “The Messianic Jewish Congress.” Rabbi Bruce here, writing from within the Old City on this Erev Shabbat 4 Sept 2026.
July and August, we pulled back from all live meetings so as to “let go of” what we are at present and invite God to show us what’s next in His will for us. There has been deep seeking of God’s will for our future going on, involving my consulting with other leaders across the world, and experts in congregation life and dynamics. Since Beth El has always been deeply interwoven with Israel - and Jerusalem in particular - and has always felt a pull toward involvement in the Two-Testament Jewish life in Jerusalem … I have been consulting with Israeli leaders during the summer – and am now in Israel, continuing consultation and prayer, seeking of God’s will for the synagogue, its future, and his own ministerial future as well.
July and August seemed to have created some clarity - not ripe to share yet - but “the bell did not ring” on the level of Judges 7:14 “this can mean nothing other than.” So …
Yeshua of Nazareth taught us, “We speak what we know.”
Only knowing is knowing. ;-) Everything else is guessing.
So - we will continue our seeking-hiatus into September.
There will not be in-person meetings this month.
There will be no Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur services at Beth El this year, for the first time in 33 years.
Please continue to pray for us?
I return from Israel on 19 September - and from there, what October 2026 and forward should be will, we hope, have become clear so we can, speak what we have truly come to “know.”
Rav Saul wrote, “We have been given The Spirit from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God.” (1Cor. 2:12)
We are trusting Him to make us know, as Philippians 3:15 also assures us.
There are literally thousands of people across the world tied into Beth El of Manhattan via Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, our Podcasts, etc.
We need to “know” what to do with what we now have.
So - please do pray for us?
We’ll post more in the near future.
Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem.
