Shalom!

Welcome to Congregation Shema Yisrael! We are a Messianic Jewish congregation, a community of about 125 Jewish and non-Jewish people of diverse backgrounds worshiping and serving the G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We also follow his son, Yeshua (commonly called Jesus) the Messiah, as described in Isaiah 53.  

We follow Biblical Judaism, rather than rabbinical Judaism, and teach both the Old and New Covenants from a Jewish perspective. We follow G-d’s Law and his Spirit as we seek to deepen our relationship with him, grow more like him and live out his nature in our daily lives. Our desire is to live out G-d’s purpose for the Jewish people as a “light to the world” while living out his plan for our individual lives. We want to help others do the same. We also seek to advance G-d’s spiritual Kingdom of love, truth, justice and mercy on earth.

Committed to restoring the Jewish roots of our faith, we celebrate the Jewish holidays and worship G-d through the prayers of our Fathers in Hebrew and English. We also love to worship through songs sung in Hebrew and English and though a Davidic-style of Israeli folk dance. We are a place where Jewish people can worship the G-d of Israel and follow Yeshua as the Messiah while keeping their Jewish identity.

At the same time, we welcome non-Jewish people who want to come alongside the Jewish people to worship G-d in a Jewish way, as the Moabite Ruth in the Bible left her homeland to join herself to Israel. We believe that Yeshua’s death and resurrection broke down the wall of animosity and division between Jew and Gentile so we can live and worship in unity.

Congregation Shema Yisrael, which means Hear O Israel, is just one of many Messianic Jewish congregations around the world. There is at least one congregation in most major cities in the United States and more than 100 congregations in Israel. There are also many congregations in Canada, Europe, Latin and South America, Africa, Asia and Australia. G-d’s Spirit is moving among the Jewish people in a new way, showing them how they can have faith in Yeshua and still be Jewish.