I still remember my teenaged astonishment when the Roman Catholic church proclaimed that Jews did not kill Jesus. "Anybody who's read the Bible knows that," I thought. Over the years I learned in sorrow that apparently not many people had read this supposedly precious word of G-d. I learned the horror and shame of the Holocaust. I grieved over the necessity of the Kol Nidri prayer, a plea for forgiveness for those who abandoned their faith in a forced conversion. I lamented that the first synagogue in the United States included a bolt hole. They may have come to a land of freedom, but the congregants weren't about to forget the lessons of the Inquisition.

But I held on to the touching belief that things were getting better until recently, when I applied to join a Jewish-oriented mailing list. The founders specified that non-Jews were welcome, but they provided a long list of topics and points of view that would not be discussed, because Jews had been been clubbed by them for centuries. One offensive item was the concept that Judaism is an incomplete religion and Christianity is its fulfillment. I was as appalled as I had been as a teenager and wondered who would be so insulting in these enlightened times.

A few months later, I had my answer. Jane Drake in her book Of Promises and Previews: Urgent Old Messages for a New Millennium (excerpt printed in Spirit of Change Jan-Feb 2003 as "From Abraham to Muhammad") thought that Jews needed to recognize all the prophets in order for world peace (though she didn't tell Christians to recognize Mohammed). I felt pain for my Jewish brethren (or cousins, if they don't wish to claim the closer kin) and outrage at such sketchy scholarship. My studies tell me that many of Jesus' teachings are inherent in Judaism, and Christians would be the richer for studying their spiritual roots.

I think the appropriate Christian attitude to Judaism is honor and gratitude. With some sects venerating Jesus' mother almost to goddesshood, it seems odd that we wouldn't similarly honor the religion that nurtured his spirit--and that he first learned from his mother.

I would like to apologize to all Jews for the past--feeble and inadequate as that is--and detail some of the riches that I, as a Christian, have received from Judaism. But first let's look at how the division between us occurred.

In the Beginning
The current schism between Jew and Christian (and all varieties of Christians) would surprise its founders. Jesus gave no indication that he was founding a religion separate from Judaism. The original disciples continued in their Jewish identity until their martyrdom. We know about the death of Jesus' brother James, leader of the Jerusalem Christians, because the Jewish historian Josephus was outraged by the murder of such a holy Jew. But two factors split Christianity away from its parent religion.

First was the question of new converts. A former Pharisee, by his own account a nasty piece of work until his vision of Jesus opened his heart [Acts 9:3-5], had applied his obsessive personality to carrying the Good News to great numbers of Gentiles, non-Jews. Even though Jesus had on several occasions shown tolerance for non-Jews [Mark 8:5-10, Luke 17:15-19, John 4:4-16,], the other preachers considered the Way to be a Jewish sect. Should the non-Jews then first convert to Judaism? Paul, whose Judaism had consisted of high degrees of nit-picking and hair-splitting, argued "No"--and won. Consequently future generations grew up not knowing any more Jewish heritage than they would be taught by their priests and mentors. While the conversion process in the early church took two years as opposed to the current 30-second altar call, still the emphasis would have been on the teachings of Jesus without an explanation of where they derived from or reacted to.

The second factor was the Jewish rebellion against Roman rule that resulted in the Romans destroying Solomon's temple in 70 CE. The gospels were all written within a few decades of that time, when being a Jew was dangerous. The Christians were anxious to prove they were good law-abiding Romans and their founder advocated paying taxes and fulfilling civic duty. [Matthew 2:21, Mark 12:17, Luke 20:25] Of course, the entire cast of their early story was Jewish, so they repeatedly pointed out how Jesus had been in conflict with certain Jewish leaders.

Good enough for Jesus Jesus didn't spring full grown from the head of God. He lived and died an observant Jew. From this we can conclude he found in Judaism the full expression of his spiritual life. One way we can see how important his faith was to him is that on his last day of freedom, he celebrated a major Jewish holiday with his followers.

Raised by pious but poor parents, he had from an early age shown a passion for and extensive knowledge of the Torah. [Luke 2:41-47] Scholars have speculated that he may have studied in Egypt, but if he did, he used his knowledge to further his Jewish understanding; he didn't return to his homeland and preach, "Egypt has the answer." When he said that the greatest commandments were to "love the Lord your G-d with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself," he was quoting Deuteronomy. Rabbis Hillel and Akiba made this observation as well.

Even the roots of Jesus' much-ignored "Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you" [Luke 6:27, also see Matthew 5:44 and Luke 6:35] can be found in "You shall not take vengeance nor bear a grudge." [Leviticus 19:18] A Talmudic expansion on this text says that "They that are reviled, but do not revile in return; they who act out of love and accept the hurt, concerning them scripture says 'They that love G-d shall be as the sun when it goes forth in its might.'" [Judges 5:31, quoted in B.Yoma 23a]

The Law: Burden or Joy?
Most of Jesus' recorded conflicts happen with certain Pharisees. While they prided themselves on their observance of the law, Jesus pointed out their hypocrisy and lack of compassion. Is such legalism the epitome of Judaism? Many sermons have been given on Jesus' setting us free from the demands of the Law. These ministers may have never heard of the holiday Simchat Torah, "Joy of the Torah," in which it is customary in many congregations to dance before the Torah to celebrate being given G-d's Law, that He loves His people enough to care about the finest details of their lives.

Each Friday evening, observant Jews place two loaves of braided bread on the table and light two candles. These stand for observance and remembrance, a reminder that true holiness requires both: action and the proper reason for the action. Many sermons have been preached on Jesus' revolutionary healing on the Sabbath. In fact, Judaism allows that it is always proper to save a life, no matter what day it is. Health is so valued that a Jew, unlike many Christians, is permitted to consult a sorcerer if healing is likely to occur as a result.

Jesus took the Pharisees to task for observing without remembering. Every religion has its share of people who go through the outward motions without the heartfelt motivation, and most religious reform has claimed this lack of meaning as its basis for change. It seems unfair to condemn Judaism as a whole for this basic human failing.

Faith and Works (not "or")
Judaism does orient itself towards action, which allows it to encompass a variety of belief systems. The New Testament notes, for instance, that the Sadducees didn't believe in an afterlife. However, the commandments are the same for all. The author of the book of James proclaims his Jewish heritage when he thunders "Faith without works is dead." [James 2:20] Jesus often taught the importance of a right heart, but he also called for action. His parable of the two sons [Matthew 21:28-31] calls for a balance between intent and action, which was inherent in Judaism. The son who refused to work but later repented and obeyed his father was judged to be more worthy than the one who promised to work and then didn't.

Not a King, But a Servant
Jesus' discourses on "feeding his sheep" and showing mercy and assistance to the unfortunate seem to answer Cain's question "Am I my brother's keeper?" with a resounding "Yes!" But this responsibility is embedded in earliest Jewish Law. The duty of Judaism is tikun olam, repairing the world. Humans have been given dominion over the earth [Genesis 1:26-28], but G-d goes on to tell us how to care of it and its inhabitants. Jewish Law says that those who own animals must feed the beasts before partaking of their own meals. A man's sexual duty to his wife is outlined according to his occupation, and he must obtain his wife's permission to change careers, since it could affect her sex life. He is not permitted to wear out his farm land: every seven years it must lie fallow. Provision for the less unfortunate is made by leaving some of the harvest in the field for poor to gather. (This is how Ruth met Boaz in Ruth 3.) When populations became more urban, the custom of tzedaka was born. Someone would go from house to house with a bag. Those who could afford to would put in money; those who needed it, took, thus preserving their privacy and dignity.

Some dietary laws consider the feelings of the animals. Combining dairy and meat is forbidden, for instance, because of the cruelty of cooking a baby animal in its mother's milk. Today some Jews combine ancient principles with modern knowledge and conditions in a system of "eco-kosher" that recommends vegetarianism and other earth-friendly practices.

Like prophets throughout Israel's history, Jesus rebuked people for ignoring their responsibilities to the less fortunate. He also pointed out that even when they were within their legal rights--such as divorce--that they caused much suffering. For instance, a divorced woman often turned to prostitution for lack of any other means of support. Jesus chided not the desperate woman, but the man who divorced her.

In Gethsemane, he prayed for his followers and noted that he had cared for and protected them [John 17:12] On the cross, he asked a disciple to look after his widowed mother Mary [John 19:26]. In the days before his ascension, he held the famous "Feed my sheep" dialog [John 21:15-17] with Peter, who, after much repetition, finally got the message that the only way to show love for his master was to care for his people. Peter would later learn how broad that definition was.

And Jesus' last commandment raised the bar on "Love your neighbor as yourself." He apparently realized that for some, loving others as they loved themselves would result in heinous cruelty. So he asked his followers to love others as he had loved them. [John 15:9-12] Sermons on this subject usually refer to his "dying for our sins," but this would have been a fuzzy concept to the first disciples, who hadn't worked out too many theological positions. They were more likely to view Jesus' years of care for their physical needs and spiritual instruction as their model.

A Better World?
If Christianity had held on to some of its Jewish roots, perhaps we'd be 2000 years closer to solving some of our problems, rather than having to rediscover these practices late in the last century. For instance:

Recognizing emotional processes
Today we consult counselors to learn how to deal with feelings that remain long after our friends have recommended, "Get over it." Judaism recognizes that dealing with emotions is a process, as shown by the graduated periods of mourning. These total a full a year, though there are thereafter four occasions in the calendar when deceased loved ones may be honored at the temple. In the New Testament there are hints of how seriously the mourning process was taken in the grieving for Lazarus and Mary Magdalene's lone weeping by Jesus' tomb after coming to give him a proper Jewish burial. But not only death is taken seriously: an Orthodox bridegroom is excused from all duties for a year so that he may study Torah and learn to be a good husband. Would therapists' offices be so full if people realized they needed to give time and attention to life's changes instead of squeezing them in over a long weekend?

Valuing all life
Would we have a meat production industry that raises animals under horrendous conditions and kills them in terror if we'd kept the kosher practices that taught us to treat animals kindly and made it a sacred obligation to kill them quickly and humanely? Would we have all evolved to keeping eco-kosher?

Environmentalism
If we'd learned how to walk lightly on the earth from Torah and Talmud, would we have depleted resources and trashed our earthly home?

The more I study Judaism--and I know I've just scratched the surface--the more I appreciate answers worked out over millennia to the question of "How then shall we live?" It is often said that Jesus came to heal hearts. But with our healed hearts, he then expects us to carry our duty to G-d: to heal the world. Even if you, like Paul, claim to be "free from the Law" [Romans 8:2], neither Jesus nor Paul would agree that we're free from responsibility.

May we all make our journey in joy and respect.

###


Bibliography
These are sources I've found useful. (I take full responsibility for misunderstandings and inaccuracies. What can you expect from an ignorant shiksa?)

Boorstein, Sylvia. 1996. That's Funny, You Don't Look Buddhist. Harper SanFrancisco.

Bruteau, Beatrice, ed. 2001. Jesus Through Jewish Eyes. Orbis Books.

Cohen, Abraham. 1949. Everyman's Talmud. E.P. Dutton. Reissued by Schocken Books in 1975.

Diamant, Anita. 1998. Saying Kaddish: How to Comfort the Dying, Bury the Dead, and Mourn As a Jew. Schocken Books.

Diamant, Anita and Howard Cooper. 1996. Living a Jewish Life: Jewish Traditions, Customs, and Values for Today's Families. HarperCollins.

Donin, Rabbi Haym Halevy. 1972. To Live a Jew. Basic Books.

Goldman, Ari L. 2000. Being Jewish. Simon and Schuster.

Groner, Judyth and Madeline Wilker. 1999. Come, Let Us Welcome Shabbat. Kar-Ben Copies.

Bible quotations are from the Revised English Bible, except where noted.