What does “interfaith” mean, anyway? Is it kind of like the word “Judeo-Christian” (which has never meant anything much to me)?
Judaism and Christianity are two vastly different religions, with different concepts of what constitutes a deity. Jews believe in the Oneness of God. Christians think that God is three.
Christians think a messiah came and died and will come back again. Jews can prove he didn’t (and won’t).
Jews discourage conversion. Christians actively seek converts.
Christian beliefs are idol worship according to the strict interpretation of Jewish law.
Can I point to things we share? Sure I could. But why do I NEED to do that? Isn’t it enough that I respect their right to their beliefs–their right to worship as they please?
And I do. Really. Let them pray their to their hearts’ content, however the heck they want.
If God give us free will, who am I to say any different?
And isn’t enough for me as a Jew to strive to be a light unto the nations–to be an example of morality and kindness and goodness? Before us, the Jews? The world was pagan chaos.
If we are to coexist in this world, Jews and everyone else, a line must be drawn in the sand that says, “This is where we part ways.”
It’s why I wouldn’t walk into a church. Not even to attend the wedding of a friend. Because to me, as a Jew, this is against my religion.
And no WAY would you ever find me worshiping side by side with Christians. THAT, is never going to happen. I don’t care if we aren’t saying actual blessings but “only” saying psalms. To me, psalms are part of the body of literature holy to the Jews. It doesn’t mean diddlysquat to me that Christians say the psalms also belongs to THEIR body of holy literature. They have a right to believe as they wish and if they believe the psalms belong to them, TOO, it’s no skin off my teeth. But to me, from my perspective, it simply isn’t so. It’s a falsehood.
We don’t “share” the psalms. They’re Jewish and belong to the Jews. The meaning of the psalms relates to the concepts of the people of the book. The people of One God and the people who await the Messiah’s only coming.
Christians think differently and that’s fine. Let them say psalms a gazillion times a day if they wish. The psalms still won’t be theirs. But if they want to think they are, not a problem.
Because I see this line so clearly, this line that exists between us and them, I am never going to say psalms WITH them and certainly not in an official gathering that would tend to convey the idea of some kind of religious pact.
That’s just wrong. And if people see you, and it gets written up in the press, it’s even WORSE. And I don’t care WHO you are.
So I have been watching from afar as rabbis from the National Religious stream of Judaism, here in Israel, test the waters of interfaith activism. In shock, I read that David Nekrutman, Executive Director of Rabbi Shlomo Riskin’s Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding and Cooperation (CJCUC), located in Efrat, where I live, issued an appeal for help with funding the building of a church in the holy city of Jerusalem. From a purely religious perspective, this is about funding a building associated with what Jewish law sees as idol worship, in JERUSALEM. Nothing could be more repugnant, from my point of view.
Next we heard about the aforesaid gatherings where National Religious rabbis gathered with Christians to say psalms. To me, this is engaging in idol worship and negating the oneness of God. And even if you can find a way around those issues, it’s a problem of Maarit Ayin, big time.