Must Read: Robert Schoen – 5 – Jews, Jesus, and Christianity/Judaism

Image from amazon.com

Image from amazon.com

[Continuing  our featured MUST READ: What I Wish My Christian Friends Knew about JUDAISM by Robert ShoenAdmin1.]

Most modern Jews would agree that Jesus was a great man, a teacher, and even a prophet who traveled the land performing wonderful, miraculous deeds and preached love and kindness.  Christians recognize Jesus as Christ, the Son of God, their savior, and the Messiah.
 
The Jewish people believe that when the Messiah comes there will be an end to world suffering.  They look to Isaiah 2:4, which says, “they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war no more.”  When the Messiah comes, the world will no longer be a place of hunger, hatred, and injustice, and the wolf, lamb, lion, and calf will all live together.  Jews do not believe, therefore, that the Messiah has come, and they do not recognize Jesus as their savior or as the Son of God.

 

Thus, Jews who believe in either the coming of the Messiah or a messianic age continue to await the event, while Christians await the second coming of their Messiah.
 
Fortunately, there are signs of growing understanding, respect, and acceptance among many members of the Jewish and Christian faiths.  Recent affirmations between leaders of Catholic and Jewish groups indicate agreement that both faiths are beloved of God and assured of God’s grace.  In many communities, interfaith councils and coalitions of religious congregations work to promote and maintain religious tolerance, mutual support, political action, and education.
 
If Jews are permitted to believe what they believe, and Christians are permitted to believe what they believe, all will benefit.  History has shown that when one group forces their beliefs on another, serious problems occur.
 
Because of the nature of American society, many Christians and Jews work together, socialize, live in the same neighborhoods, and send their children to the same schools.  If a Christian attends a synagogue service for a bar or bat mitzvah, a wedding, or a funeral service, he or she will recognize or be comfortable with many of the things being said.  After all, such ceremonies use the same prayers and the same books of Moses that Jesus once studied.  When Jews attend the church of a friend for a confirmation, wedding, funeral, or first communion, it’s a little different; as guests they will not take communion, kneel, cross themselves, or actively participate in the Christian New Testament liturgy.  It is foreign to their beliefs to do so.  Many Bible stories, prayers, and psalms, however, are familiar to them.
 
Fortunately, Christians and Jews begin their relationship with several things in common:

  • the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament),
  • the Ten Commandments,
  • a Sabbath day,
  • the importance of charitable giving,
  • and similar versions of what is known as the golden rule.
  • Most importantly, we share the same God.

During interfaith services, and when attending community services in response to local, national, and international disasters or tragedies, Christians and Jews as well as members of other faiths find themselves praying together.  Under such circumstances, members of all faiths seem to rise to the occasion, focus on what they have in common, and worship together.
 
I hope that we continue to look to our similarities instead of our differences, and I pray that someday we all live together in peace, or as we say in Hebrew, shalom.
 
THE JEWISH RELIGION
 
From Orthodox . . .
 
Until the nineteenth century, virtually every Jew was an observant Jew as we would describe one today.  A Polish Jew and a Persian Jew would follow similar rituals, even though the former might be described as Ashkenazic (originating from Eastern Europe) and the latter as Sephardic (originating from Spain, Southern Europe, the Near East, or North Africa (see “Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jews”).
 
Orthodox Judaism resists change of its beliefs and practices.  A central tenet of Orthodox Judaism is that the law of God was given to Moses on Mount Sinai, and the Torah, therefore, is divine.  Thus, no law derived from the Torah should be tampered with, regardless of modern lifestyles, needs, or changes in society.  Because of this, Orthodox rabbis believe that rulings of other Jewish groups are based on a different set of guidelines and are therefore not valid.
 
As in any group, in Orthodox Judaism, there is a range of beliefs and teachings, from ultra-Orthodox (see “Hasidim and Hasidism”) to more modern or centrist Orthodox.  However, the traditional body of Jewish writings and the codification of law and practice remain the basis for belief, practice, and decision making, regardless of changes in modern life or personal conscience.
 
There are many rules that govern the practice of Judaism.  An Orthodox Jew must learn these rules, which is no simple task, and keeping a given rule is not optional; that person must decide how best to apply the rule.
 
Since Orthodox Jews traditionally do not travel by car on the Sabbath, their synagogues generally are located within walking distance of home.  Thus, while the congregations may be small, there are a significant number of them.  The Orthodox Union, founded one hundred years ago, serves as the central organization for affiliated member synagogues in North America.  Besides serving as a central coordinating organization, the Orthodox Union provides educational and social services, programs, and activities.  There are more than one thousand affiliated and independent Orthodox Jewish congregations in the United States.
 
To Reform . . .
 
After the French Revolution and other political and social movements across the globe, many Jews began to modify certain religious and ceremonial practices, and a new movement in Judaism emerged.  The principal and innovative difference was the belief that the Bible was not divine.  From this major alteration in philosophy came changes in the rituals and practices of Judaism, some quite drastic (at one point, some Jews even celebrated the Sabbath on Sunday instead of Saturday).
 
Religious service began to be conducted in the local language instead of strictly in Hebrew; men and women were seated together; musical instruments provided accompaniment to the cantor and congregation; and restrictions on diet and on Sabbath activities were relaxed.
 
The Reform movement originated in Germany during the early nineteenth century.  It then began to flourish among German Jewish immigrants to the United States.  The Union of American Hebrew Congregations estimates that approximately one and a half million Reform Jews are now affiliated with more than nine hundred congregations in North America.
 
Today, Reform Judaism is a combination of traditional practice and modification of that practice, and it emphasizes a need to interpret the Jewish tradition from a modern and individual perspective.  Complete equality of the genders is the rule,, and many female rabbis and cantors lead Reform congregations.  . . . New changes, hymns, and melodies are continually added to the traditional prayers and sacred music of worship services, and these prayers are written in language that is gender-neutral.
 
While at one time the Reform movement did away with traditional prayer garb, it now encourages worshippers to follow their own beliefs and to wear prayer shawls and head covering if they wish to do so.
 
Reform Judaism places decisions regarding rituals and observances more on the individual than Orthodox or Conservative Judaism does.  With this individual religious autonomy, many Reform Jews shape a spiritual life for themselves by choosing from among the many holidays, rituals, and “rules” and by finding, over a period of time, which ones allow them to lead the Jewish life and lifestyle that is most comfortable for them.  One rabbi I know stresses “informed choice”: first study, then choose.
 
To Conservative  . . .
 
In the late nineteenth century, there was a large increase in the Jewish population in the United States as a result of immigration from Russia and Eastern Europe.  Not all of these Jewish immigrants were happy or comfortable with the Reform movement.  Eventually, a schism occurred between the more traditional and the more radical leaders, and in the early twentieth century, this breakup led eventually to the Conservative movement in Judaism.  The United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism estimates that today there are approximately eight hundred affiliated Conservative congregations representing some one and a half million members.
 
Conservative Judaism represents a mix of both traditional and more modern views.  It accommodates the needs of Jewish life in contemporary society but at the same time accepts the divine inspiration of the law of the Torah.  For example, it’s OK to drive to the synagogue. This is because of the differences in lifestyles in the United States versus the traditional small Eastern European Jewish communities of a hundred or more years ago. Today, the need to get to the synagogue on Shabbat from a distance too far to walk overrides the prohibition of “lighting a fire” (starting the car ignition).
 
The emphasis of Conservative belief lies between the Reform and the Orthodox.  Personal decisions are based not as much on individual conscience as on the accepted practice of the Jewish community, the ritual committees within each congregation, and the guidance of Jewish scholarship through the ages.  Conservative Judaism thus tends to be more traditional than Reform Judaism in its services, practices, and beliefs.  However, some Conservative congregations appear more “reform” than some Reform congregations and vice versa, and it is not uncommon to find many Conservative congregants quite orthodox in their religious behavior and practices.
 
To Reconstructionist
 
Many people in the general population may not have heard of the Reconstructionist movement.  It was inspired by the vision of Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, a faculty member of a Conservative rabbinical seminary who helped found a new rabbinical college at the urgings of his students and supporters.  Kaplan’s concept was that Judaism is more than just a religion; it is a “civilization” that evolves and progresses and must therefore be “reconstructed”—rediscovered, and reinterpreted on an ongoing basis—to be kept alive.
 
In much the same manner as contemporary Conservative and Reform congregations, Reconstructionist congregations embrace a wide variety of traditional and nontraditional Jewish backgrounds, experiences, and lifestyles, and they operate in a gender-neutral environment.  The Reconstructionist congregation often decides how it will honor traditional Jewish customs, molding them to accommodate
what it considers the realities of modern life.
 
While Reconstructionist Jews have a strong commitment to tradition, they also search for contemporary meaning in the liturgy and religious service.  If a particular Jewish custom is questionable in view of contemporary society, it will be examined and “reconstructed’; new meanings will be found in the old forms or they will be developed into more meaningful innovative practices.
 
Reconstructionism diverges from Conservative and Reform Judaism in how it views the interpretation of traditional Jewish law and in how far Jewish law can be amended.  Reconstructionism also differs from Conservative and Reform Judaism in the concept of ethical monotheism and its belief that the basic tenets of Judaism need to be reexamined and restated for our age.  In general, Reconstructionist congregations fall somewhere between Reform and Conservative in terms of religious practice; they may be described as liberal in their theology.  As with many aspects of Judaism, there is considerable range of practice and belie within the Reconstructionist movement.
 
The Jewish Reconstructionist Federation lists more than one hundred congregations in North America.  A number of these congregations are organized as havurot.  havurah (singular) is a gathering of Jews who meet to worship and study together.  The havurah is a religious group, but it also functions as a fellowship group and an extended family (see “Contemporary Synagogues and Congregations”).
 
Although Reconstructioist congregations tend to be small, the concepts and philosophy of the movement have affected modern Jewish belief and practice.
 
Contemporary Synagogues and Congregations
 
As the nature of society has changed in modern times, so have the Jewish community and, consequently, the synagogue.   At one time, Jews lived in small shtetlach (singular shtetl; Yiddish for ghettos, villages, or settlements), closed communities in Eastern Europe or elsewhere.  This is generally no longer the case in the United States, except for a few Hasidic communities located in New York and other cities.  As Jews became more assimilated into mainstream society, the Jewish community became more disseminated, and Jews now live almost everywhere.  As a result, the synagogue has become a place of gathering for Jewish people, a center not only for prayer and study but also for sharing heritage and culture, socializing, and growing within the faith.
 
The word synagogue derives from a Greek word that means “to congregate or to gather together.”  Evidence has been discovered of synagogues from two thousand years ago.  Some congregations call their institution a synagogue, while others call it a temple, a word derived from Latin.  The use of the word temple may refer to or be a symbolic reminder of the original temples of Jerusalem that were destroyed centuries ago (see “The Temple”).

 

Through the years, synagogues have been built everywhere Jewish people live.  Many reflect the architecture of the times or a country’s specific style, whether baroque, Gothic, art deco or contemporary/modern.
 
Some Jewish groups simply call themselves a congregation while others refer to the synagogue as a shul,  which is aYiddish word that means “school.”  Still others organize and support a local community center, which provides a place for community events, nursery or other schools, youth activities, adult education, and often Shabbat services.
 
It is not necessary that a congregation have a full-time rabbi and/or cantor on the payroll to function.  Often, a small congregation runs its worship services, religious school, and social functions with volunteers or with part-time or occasional “professioanl” help.
 
The word havurah refers to a small group that functions either independently of a larger religious congregation or as part of an organized synagogue.  The word comes from the Hebrew root word for “friend.”  The havurah serves as a fellowship group and extended family with which to celebrate holidays, share support in times of crisis, enjoy religious and nonreligious events, and maintain a network of people who share the faith.
 
In addition, there are “alternative” congregations or organizations that combine Jewish traditions and beliefs with mysticism, vegetarianism, New Age philosophy, or social and political action.  For example, Jewish meditation, spirituality, and education combine to form the basis of a very popular Jewish community group where I live in Northern California’s Bay Area.
 
In other words, there is ore than one place for Jewish people to meet, study, socialize, solve problems large and small, and worship.

Join the Conversation...