Dang It

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein just put up some information explaining the Jewish calendar, and how it’s based on religion.

Here’s something of interest to Christians:

We are in the midst right now of one of those minor observances. The Counting of the Omer, based on a biblical mandate in Leviticus 23, is a seven-week period extending from the second night of Passover until the night before the holiday of Shavuot. (An omer was a unit of measure in biblical times – on the second night of Passover, an omer of barley was brought to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem). Jews count these days to remind themselves that the physical liberation remembered on Passover was not complete until we received spiritual liberation through the gift of God’s word, an event remembered on Shavuot.

To Spirit-filled Christians, this is a “forest for the trees” moment. Many events in the life of Christ were associated with existing Jewish holy days. Passover is associated with the Crucifixion. Shavuot is Pentecost. It’s the day when God changed the world forever, by making the power of the Holy Spirit available to every Christian. It’s easy for a Christian to see how the original Passover and the handing down of the Torah (Shavuot) presage Jesus making salvation available to all men and then providing for the gift of the Holy Spirit, which, Christians believe, is what the Hebrew Bible refers to when it says that one day God will write his law on men’s hearts.

Seems obvious to Christians. But if you’re Jewish, this all sounds silly or just blasphemous.

“The physical liberation remembered on Passover was not complete until we received spiritual liberation through the gift of God’s word, an event remembered on Shavuot.” I know Christians got a kick out of reading that. Because the salvation provided by the Crucifixion was only part of the story. The completion was our own spiritual liberation, which occurred on Pentecost. That’s the part of the Gospels the world hates the most and fights the hardest to hide and slander. I’ll bet the vast majority of Christians think salvation is what Christianity is all about. But the baptism of the Holy Spirit is the other half of the gift, and here on earth, it’s the part where all the power comes from. It’s what enables you to live a good and powerful Christian life. It beats things like addiction and habitual sin, it fixes families, it heals the sick, it teaches, it makes you kinder and more patient and more industrious…it’s the difference between a disciple and an apostle.

Rabbi Eckstein said something funny in a video. He talked about a Christian who informed him that to Christians, the near-sacrifice of Isaac–or maybe it was the Passover sacrifice–presages the sacrifice of Christ. He said it was a beautiful analogy, and he seemed very surprised to hear it. I, in turn, was surprised. Learning that a scholarly Jew who studied Christians and worked with them every day hadn’t heard about this giant landmark notion (whichever it was) in Christian theology. Through the work of people like Rabbi Eckstein, Christians are learning a lot about Jews and Judaism. But it looks like the knowledge isn’t flowing the other way with the same speed.

I guess that makes sense. Christians believe in the Hebrew Bible, and many understand that Jews can help them figure out what it means. Jews think the New Testament is a mistake and a source of persecution. I suppose they don’t have much motivation to learn about it. The Bible says that a day will come when ten Gentiles will grab the hem of a Jew’s garment and ask to be taught about the Torah. It probably doesn’t say anything about ten Jews asking a gentile about Jesus.

The problem of proselytizing is a big one, because it causes such friction between Jews and Christians. And Christians have done crazy, cruel, sick things in the belief that they were winning souls. I used to feel frustrated because I couldn’t persuade a single person. But I now think pressuring people is completely wrong. I can’t think of an example of anyone doing it in the New Testament, with the exception of Jesus and John the Baptist. They were highly critical of Jews who wouldn’t listen. But they had great authority, and they were speaking to people within their own religion. Are there other examples?

I believe it generally worked like this. People went to various cities, and they spoke publicly, and they tried to lead exemplary lives that would draw converts who envied them, and whoever believed, believed. And that was it. Nobody threatened to execute people who refused to convert. I don’t think there are any examples of harassing pedestrians and telling them they were going to hell.

People criticize Rabbi Eckstein because he’s hostile to proselytizing. However, if memory serves, he has said he has no problem with witnessing. Which is different, I believe. You just speak the truth about what you’ve seen, in the appropriate context. That’s about the best I can do, so his attitude is consistent with my efforts.

His attitude toward proselytizing becomes easier to understand when you realize it has its roots in things like the Inquisition.

To a Christian, Passover is all about Jesus. The lamb as Christ. Eating the entire lamb and breaking none of its bones, as reflections of the prophecies that the Messiah would not be permitted to rot and that none of his bones would be broken. The blood as Christ’s blood. The homes on which the blood was smeared as the bodies of believing Christians. The leaven as sin; especially pride. The unleavened bread as the body of the sinless Messiah. Pharaoh as Satan. Moses as Jesus. The exodus from Egypt as salvation. One obvious parallel after another. To a Jew, though, I guess all this sounds like the nutty stories Charles Manson used to tell his “family” about the end of the world.

In the end, you believe what you want to believe. Like Abraham said in the parable of Lazarus.