A little bit of biblical interpretation can be a dangerous thing when placed in the service of an agenda. In this case, the Hebrew Roots Movement in the form of the First Fruits of Zion and their Torah Clubs, want to convince the Church that contrary to Christian orthodox understanding, the root that gentile believers in Jesus Christ have been grafted onto is Israel (the Mosaic Covenant in particular) and not the Abrahamic Covenant (God's redemptive plan for Jews and Gentiles from the beginning).
"What is not debatable is that all, believers already have citizenship in Israel through faith in Messiah. Non-Jews are grafted into Israel. Non-Jews are made part of the commonwealth of Israel." - Boaz Michael, Founder and President of FFOZ
Why does the difference between the promise to Abraham before he became the father of many nations, and the promise to the Israelites at Sinai when God called them to be a people set apart for his purpose, matter so much? The answer is simple: If Christians are grafted onto God's promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:3 {"I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”}, the basis of that relationship with God, faith, predates both circumcision in the life of Abraham (by decades, see Romans 4:9-12) and the giving of the Law of Moses to Israel by 430 years (see Galatians 3:17). The only way, then, to insist that the New Covenant was designed to require gentile Christians to live like Jews (keeping the Law of Moses, or Torah), is to interpret passages like Romans 11 in a way contrary to not only the context itself (see Romans 4 where the FFOZ view of Romans 11 falls apart), but the tenor and tone of the New Testament in general (see Paul in Galatians, or Hebrews), and the way in which they have been understood throughout Church history.
The change, from viewing the root as the promise to Abraham to that made to his descendants at Sinai, may seem small enough to those who don't see the implications right away. To say that gentiles are grafted into Israel rather than into the faith demonstrated by Abraham, a faith in a promised Messiah rather than trust in a legal code, does in fact change the relationship between the Church and God in fundamental ways. Let us look at Romans 11.
Romans 11:17-24 New International Version
17 If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, 18 do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 20 Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
22 Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. 23 And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!
Looking at this passage, the first question when pondering the analogy as the FFOZ views it should be: How can Israel be the root that nourishes the plant AND the branch that was cut off for unbelief at the same time? Does the Apostle Paul normally make such sloppy illustrations? No, he does not.
The second question should be: Was Israel (the Mosaic Covenant) the beginning of God's redemptive plan, or a subsequent iteration? Aside from the promise to Eve in Genesis 3:15 (And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”), the first substantial movement toward God's redemption of humanity is the calling of Abraham, by faith, and the establishment of God's covenant with Abraham, one that promises blessings to all nations. This is the root of Romans 11, this is the foundation upon which God built both the Old Covenant at Sinai and the New Covenant established by Jesus. In the New Covenant, Christians join Abraham in sharing in God's promise by faith, they are NOT called to share in Israel's Law, which is a branch that grew out of the Abrahamic faith-based root. It makes no sense to claim that Israel (Mosaic Law/Torah) is the root of the New Covenant when both Galatians and Hebrews go to great lengths to demonstrate the superiority of the New Covenant and its connection not to Moses and Sinai but to Abraham.
So what we have here with the Torah Clubs (FFOZ) is the re-interpretation of a passage to arrive at a pre-determined outcome that twists the original purpose, and traditional view, back on itself to arrive at a nearly opposite conclusion. In our research as a ministerium, we saw this flawed hermeneutic being utilized again and again. The self-proclaimed goal of this movement is to put the yoke of the Mosaic Law upon the necks of gentile Christians, twisting scripture is the methodology used to promote it. This is both unacceptable and exceedingly dangerous, that other Christian and self-proclaimed 'Christian' individuals and groups make similar eisegetical (reading into the text) self-serving interpretations in other places relating to other issues {looking at you, Prosperity Gospel and 'Christian' Nationalism} is no defense for the FFOZ, it simply reminds us that abuse of God's Word is an equal opportunity error.
This is not a harmless Bible study, this is a movement that believes it was chosen by God to reform the Church, turning it into something it never was, and something it was never meant to be. We, as Christians, are the heirs of the promise to Abraham, not the Law of Moses.
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