Jewish perspectives on life and liberty

From time to time, particularly when I am teaching a class on something-or-other in a church, I am asked "What do Jews believe about this?" My standard answer is (1) I am not qualified to answer, but (2) if I was qualified I would tell you that would depend on which brand of Judaism you are talking about and which Jew you are talking to (just as it would with any other religion).

Yet, let's not dismiss the question lightly. Speaking as a Christian, there are good reasons to ask about Judaism. First, the rest of us might learn something and benefit from a perspective not our own. Second, anything to increase human understanding across religious lines is a good thing in our crowded and sectarian world. 

And, let us not forget that Jesus was Jewish, his followers were Jewish, their piety was Jewish, and we are heirs to a religion with deep roots in Judaism. We read from the same Scriptures, we worship the same God, and our liturgy owes its architecture to Judaism. The artwork on this page is a depiction of the Jewish Shema, the command to "Love God with all your heart" as the highest commandment. We say that every Sunday in Rite I, quoting Jesus, but it is Jesus who is quoting what every Jew would know from Deuteronomy 6: 4-9.

As I have now learned, even the question "What do Jews believe about this?" is not a very good question. Lately I have come across an organization, NewJewishThought, and its website provides a window into the dialogue amongst Jews about Judaism from which the wider-world can benefit. Keith Kahn-Harris, the convenor of this organization, wrote a fascinating article about the question "What do Jews believe." The article is adapted from a lecture on this topic:

Jews rarely use the term ‘faith’ amongst themselves. Judaism is a practice-based religion in which action is foregrounded rather than belief. While of course Judaism has a core of beliefs and faith in God is part of Jewish theology, faiths and belief tend not to be emphasised when Jews talk about Judaism – even amongst orthodox Jews.

To read the rest, click HERE. 

Prayers for Peace spreading through the world

Some weeks ago I installed on this blog a little piece of coding that gives me a daily report on how many hits come to this little corner of etherspace. It shows what phrases or words are used on Google or other search engines to find it, and what cities or countries the hits are coming from. 

Here is where that information gets interesting: Last week, when the Israelis and Palestinians entered the latest phase of their war in Gaza, this blog got a huge number of hits from people looking for the "Jewish prayer for peace" that we did during our Day of of Prayers for Peace in December.

And here is where it gets more interesting: That same Jewish prayer was found by someone searching for it in India and, on the same day, by someone else searching for it in Pakistan. I would like to think it was a Muslim and a Hindu searching for peace through prayer, and maybe they found common ground in a tradition not their own.

Prayers are powerful, and prayers spread from people to people, across the boundaries of hate and violence. And that gives me hope, and fills me with gratitude for all those who participated in the Day of Prayers for Peace (all of the prayers from that day are posted HERE).

Here again is the Jewish prayer:

Jewish Prayer for Peace

 

Grant us peace, Your most precious gift, O Eternal Source of peace, and give us the will to proclaim its message to all the peoples of the earth. Bless our country, that it may always be a stronghold of peace, and its advocate among the nations. May contentment reign within its borders, health and happiness within its homes. Strengthen the bonds of friendship among the inhabitants of all lands, and may the love of Your name hallow every home and every heart. Blessed is the Eternal God, the Source of peace. AMEN

Gates of Prayer (Reformed Jewish), p. 695