From Rabbi Emmanuel

Baruch Hashem. My name is Emmanuel Tarohocker, the Congregational Leader of Beth Machaseh, which translates to “House of Refuge." We are a Sephardic family serving the Messianic Jewish Community of Southern New Jersey. For those who have never heard of it, Messianic Judaism is a movement of Jews along with righteous non-Jew,s who are Torah-observant, practicing Biblical Judaism. We believe Yeshua (the Hebrew name for Jesus) is the promised Messiah for Israel and the sole path of spiritual salvation for all people. There are estimated to be 350,000* Jews worldwide practicing Messianic Judaism, and with the addition of Gentile believers, the movement is accelerating globally. Now, just as our name suggests, we pride ourselves on being a place of refuge for all people, Jew and Gentile alike. To us, our name is not just a name but our calling, our identity, and our responsibility. We strongly believe in creating a safe, comfortable community to fellowship, worship, and express our faith. We are only able to accomplish this by passionately following two basic (but not exclusive) principles. To Love and to be Transparent. The Torah and Messiah Yeshua both teach that our purpose is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love others as ourselves, and in turn, we can be and will be loved. To achieve this standard, we must be transparent, open, and honest. Since the essence of God is Love, when the community implements these qualities. I believe we truly become a House of Refuge.
-Rabbi Emmanuel Tarohocker

​*Kosher Jesus: Messianic Jews in the Holy Land: Sarah Posner