This past week a number of renowned Messianic leaders gathered in New York for the Borough Park Symposium to discuss and present papers on the divine nature Messiah Yeshua.
One presenter commented,
[The divinity of Yeshua] is the issue that is most controversial in the wider Jewish community, the boundary-marker that the Jewish community has set for centuries to define itself. No matter how Jewish in all other ways a person might be, a Jewish gatekeeper might say, belief in the deity of Yeshua all by itself drives him or her out of Judaism into Christianity. And Messianic Jews are problematic (and even to be feared) because they refuse to accept that they’ve crossed this line and to label themselves clearly as other.
-Russ Resnik, leader within the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations (UMJC)
Rabbi Resnik is highlighting a foundational issue blocking Jews from Messiah, a root-of-the-tree reason for Jews rejecting Yeshua.
Ironically, I’ve taken flak from UMJC and MJTI folks over the years for speaking the same thing. (Frankly, I feel a bit vindicated seeing one of UMJC’s own saying this! 
Last year, for example, one MJTI student told me,
The greatest charges to defame Messianic Judaism in the larger Jewish world are:
1) They are 90% gentile
2) They receive hundreds of millions of dollars to convert Jews to Christianity.
3) They are just Evangelical Christianity using Jewish symbols and liturgy to convert Jews.Though the 2nd one is spurious, #3 is sadly true for many "Messianic congregations".
But #1 is fed by your approach. If you notice the Messiahship of Yeshua is a non-issue in the 3 above?
I hope you fine blog readers see the error in this statement: those things are smokescreens to the real issue. I responded,
As long as Yeshua is Lord, it wouldn't matter if we were 100% Jewish, more observant than the most pious Chassid, more zealous than the energetic Chabadnik. As long as Yeshua is exalted, the Jewish world will not accept us. Don't fool yourself otherwise.
Resnik echoed this when he said, “no matter how Jewish a person might be, [it is said], belief in the deity of Yeshua drives him out of Judaism and into Christianity.”
The real issue is Yeshua is Lord.
In case you missed that, the real issue is Yeshua the divine Messiah, worthy of being praised, one with the Father, the returning King of Israel who conquered death, who rose from the dead, who took our sins on himself, who is the doorway to the Father, who served as the all-time atonement for sins. Yeah, that guy. The Messiah. He’s the stumbling stone. Everything else is a smokescreen, don’t be fooled.
Kudos to UMJC for raising this important issue. I’ve seen so many Messianics who, out of sincere longing to be accepted by Judaism, end up compromising on the foundation of our faith, trading truth and life for human approval.