Why Do Messianic Jews Do These Traditions? My Search for the “Why”

I definitely didn’t want to do things just to do them—like we had with the prayer shawl. I needed to know why. If I was going to adopt new practices, I didn’t want it to be based on feelings or group behavior. I wanted to understand the meaning and biblical foundation behind each one.

Especially as I began sharing with family that we were attending a Messianic synagogue, not everyone was thrilled. Some were confused. Others didn’t understand. I thought of the verse in 1 Peter 3:15 about being prepared to give a defense for what you believe. That hit home. I realized I still had so many questions—and how could I explain our journey if I didn’t understand it myself?

At that point, many of the traditions were still unfamiliar. The pinky held in the air, the Torah scroll being carried around for people to touch, the blessings read from a little black book I hadn’t seen before—all of it was new and a bit overwhelming. I started doing some of it, honestly, out of respect and not wanting to seem rude. But I couldn’t explain what I was doing—or why.

Who wrote the siddur (that little black book)? Why were certain blessings chosen for the service? What was the meaning behind each action we participated in?

So I started what I now call my why list. During services, I began taking notes on my phone—every time something came up that I didn’t understand, I’d jot it down. From the beginning to the end of the service, I started compiling questions: traditions, Hebrew words, phrases, guest speaker teachings—anything that raised curiosity.

It wasn’t a huge list at first, but it grew. And as it grew, so did my hunger to search the Scriptures and find the roots and reasons behind these practices.

I wasn’t afraid to follow—I just didn’t want to follow blindly. God was inviting me into something deeper, and it began with one simple question: Why?