What I Wish My Christian Friends Knew about Judaism

Contents Acknowledgments xi Preface xv The Purpose of This Book xvii A Range of Jewish Lifestyles, Beliefs, and Behaviors xxi

Christians and Jews

Going to Church: The Jewish Roots of Christian Worship 3 Jews, Jesus, and Christianity 11

The Jewish Religion

From Orthodox . . . 17 To Reform . . . 19 To Conservative . . . 21 To Reconstructionist 23 Contemporary Synagogues and Congregations 25 A Personal Observation 28

Inside the Synagogue

The Torah and the Law 33 Prayers and Blessings 38 Symbols—The Mezuzah and the Star of David 43 The Role of the Rabbi 46 The Role of the Cantor 49 Jewish Education 52 Confirmation 55 Congregation Membership and Paying the Bills 56 The Temple 58 Jewish Priests 61 Time for Confession 63 Who’s in Charge? 65 vii

viii

Contents

Holidays and Festivals

Holidays and the Jewish Calendar 69 Shabbat—The Sabbath 73 The High Holidays—Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur 78 Sukkot 87 Simchat Torah 90 Hanukkah—Is It Really the “Jewish Christmas”? 92 Purim 97 Passover 101 Shavuot—The Harvest Festival 111 Other Religious Events 114

Jewish Life Cycle Events

A Jewish Wedding 119 Let’s Go to a Circumcision! 127 Baby Namings and Rituals for Daughters 132 Adoption 135 An Invitation to a Bar Mitzvah and a Bat Mitzvah 137 A Jewish Funeral—Saying Good-bye to Uncle Harry 148 You Can Only Get a Divorce If You’re Married 155

Home Life, Jewish Beliefs, and Other Interesting Matters

Is a Kosher Hot Dog Really Kosher? 161 Jewish Food 168 Degrees of Orthodoxy 171 Conversion to Judaism 173 Intermarriage 176 Religious Apparel and Dress 180 Hasidim and Hasidism 185 Creation, Heaven, Hell, and Life after Death 189 Where, When, and How Many 192 Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jews 194 Women and Judaism 197

Judaism in the World

Contents

Israel 203 Jewish Art and Music 211 Mysticism and the Repair of the World 214 Money—Stereotypes, Charity, and the Scriptures 216 Perform a Mitzvah 220 Controversial Social Issues 222 Old Wars and New Wars 227 The Chosen People 229 Anti-Semitism 231 The Holocaust 235 A Call for Understanding and Community 243 Glossary and Pronunciation Guide 245 Recommended Reading 261 Index 263

ix

Going to Church: The Jewish Roots of Christian Worship

L

ike my parents, I was born in Brooklyn, New York. Like many other post–World War II families, mine moved to the suburbs when I was just an infant. However, for many years, we made a weekly pilgrimage to my grandparents’ Brooklyn home in the heart of a commercial and residential neighborhood.

It was in this city atmosphere that I first experienced multiculturalism at its best. On the streets were people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds, speaking a variety of languages—Italian, Polish, Yiddish, German, Greek, and Russian. Churches and synagogues dotted the neighborhoods, and since we generally visited on Saturday or Sunday, the sidewalks were often filled with families on their way to or from religious services.

I observed ministers, rabbis, priests, and nuns (dressed in full habits) on their way to wherever they were going.

My father clearly remembers a nun speaking a few words of Yiddish to him as a boy when his Italian friends introduced him.

Christians and Jews

Not unlike multilingual shopkeepers in ethnic neighborhoods today, many immigrant Jewish shopkeepers learned to speak enough Italian to do business with their customers. New York was truly a melting pot of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and humanity.

It was natural, perhaps, that I would develop a fascination for different religions. In elementary school, my “girlfriend’s” father was a pastor. In high school, one of my best friends was Catholic—an Irish Catholic, to be exact. I always marveled at the dramatic change in his behavior when we would pass a nun on the street or walk near his church. He talked to me about the confessional, the sermons, and the catechism. I once took him to sit in on Jewish religious class and laughed at the sight of him wearing a kippah.

The first time I attended a Mass was when a Jewish friend of mine from college married a Catholic woman. Since then, I’ve attended services at churches of many different Christian denominations; the rituals, sermons, and music have always held my attention.

While traveling in Spain, Italy, France, the Czech Republic, and elsewhere in Europe, as well as in Mexico and South America, my wife and I have visited magnificent cathedrals and small, intimate churches. I make it a habit to stay and observe religious services when I can. As a musician, I always marvel at the organ and choir music.

In preparing to write this book, I asked friends to allow me to join them at local church services. I wanted to know which elements of Christian worship came directly or indirectly from Jewish worship. How were the services alike?

Going to Church

During my church service attendance, research, observation, and communications with knowledgeable religious leaders, laypeople, and writers, I’ve become familiar with a few of the principal features of worship that Jews and Christians share.

First and foremost, we worship the same God—the God of the Hebrew Scriptures, the God of Abraham, the God who brought the children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt. This is the God who gave us the Ten Commandments. This is the God who Moses worshipped. It is the same God who Jesus worshipped.

This came clearly into focus when I visited the Sistine Chapel in Rome: on one great wall, Michelangelo painted scenes from the life of Jesus, and on the opposite wall, he presented scenes from the life of Moses.

When they pray, both Christians and Jews give thanks to God and recite the works of God, recalling what God has done.

Worship services follow a certain sequence. Christians use the Latin word ordo to describe their worship sequence; Jews use the Hebrew word seder (or siddur). These words mean “order.”

The order of the services is different, which is to be expected considering the many hundreds of years during which religious practices developed and holiday calendars were modified. (This is the case for Christian holidays that may have once paralleled Jewish holidays, such as Easter and Lent, which have been connected to Passover.)

Both Jewish and Christian services begin with a “call to prayer.” This is followed by prayers, recitation of portions of the Hebrew Scriptures, and readings from the Psalms. Christian services I’ve attended have included readings from Isaiah and the book of Kings.

Christians and Jews

In Jewish services, a portion from the Torah is read on the Sabbath as well as during other weekly services (see “The Torah and the Law”). In Christian services, there is a reading from one of the Gospels, the books that narrate the life and present the teachings of Jesus.

At some point in the Jewish service, the rabbi delivers a sermon.

If a Torah portion has been read during the service, the sermon generally incorporates an idea or message from that portion. In the Christian service, a minister or priest delivers a sermon or homily in a similar manner, offering an understanding of the Scripture reading and an application to contemporary life and the community. (Many of the priests and ministers I’ve heard have a good sense of humor, as do most rabbis I’ve met. I guess it goes with the job.)

While attending Christian religious services, I have found some Christian prayers and blessings that closely parallel those included in Jewish services. For example, here is a prayer from Christian worship that may also be sung as a hymn; this prayer has its roots in Isaiah 6:3: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of power and might, Heaven and earth are full of your glory . . .

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Here is the portion Jews recite in English (or sing in Hebrew) on the Sabbath and at other services: Holy, Holy, Holy is the God of all being.

The whole earth is filled with Your glory.

Going to Church

Source of our strength, Sovereign God, how majestic is Your presence in all the earth.

Praised be the glory of God in heaven and earth. (Gates of Prayer)

Here is another important part of the worship service that is similar in both the Christian and the Jewish traditions. For Christians, it is the Lord’s Prayer: Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory.

For ever and ever. Amen

During their religious services, Jews recite the Kaddish several times. As with other parts of Sabbath worship services, the Kaddish is not a prayer per se; it extols the glory and name of God, but it does not ask for anything. While the theology behind the Kaddish is very different from that behind the Lord’s Prayer, look at the similarity:

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hat is the significance of bar and bat mitzvahs? Is Hanukkah really the “Jewish Christmas”? What can you expect if you are invited to a Passover seder? Is a rabbi simply a Jewish priest? Author Robert Schoen addresses these questions and many more in this inviting introduction to Judaism and Jewish life. This concise and entertaining overview explains the differences and highlights the similarities between Judaism and Christianity. What I Wish My Christian Friends Knew about Judaism covers everything from Jewish ceremonies, holidays, and festivals to religious texts, symbols, and kosher food. It is perfect for the millions of Christians who are curious about the faith of their Jewish friends, coworkers, and family members, or for those Jews who want a better understanding of their heritage.

“Practical, informed, and helpful, this is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand a Jewish friend.” —Monsignor Tom Hartman, “The God Squad” “Schoen contributes to further understanding between America’s Jewish and Christian communities.” —Rabbi Daniel Lapin, president, Toward Tradition; cochair, American Alliance of Jews and Christians “With wit and wisdom, Schoen takes the beginner through the basics. . . . Highly recommended.” —Dr. Eugene Fisher, executive secretary of the Secretariat for Catholic-Jewish Relations, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

SCHOEN

Dr. Robert Schoen is a writer and composer with degrees from Boston University, the University of California, Berkeley, and California State University, Hayward. Semi-retired from the practice of optometry, he is active in efforts to promote Jewish-Christian understanding. He lives with his wife, Sharon Chabon, in Northern California. Learn more about his work at www.RobertSchoen.com.

What I Wish My Christian Friends Knew about Judaism

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