Orthodox rabbinical declaration on Christianity

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Shlomo Riskin and David Nekrutman as representatives of the CJCUC at a meeting with Pope Francis in Rome, October 2016

The Orthodox rabbinical declaration on Christianity (also quoted after the English opening words: To Do the Will of Our Father in Heaven ) of December 3, 2015 is the first positive appreciation of Christianity by a group of Orthodox rabbis.

prehistory

The theses of the document Dabru Emet (2000) had hardly been taken up in Jewish orthodoxy.

Here the positioning of Joseph Soloveitchik remained decisive, who saw Judaism and Christianity as opposites. He published an article tellingly titled Confrontation in 1964 in response to Abraham Joshua Heschel's contacts with the Vatican. In it he emphasized that Judaism was its own religion and rejected any talk of a common Judeo-Christian tradition. The paradigm of the brothers Jacob and Esau (Gen 32–33) shows that representatives of Judaism (Jacob) should avoid meeting Christian interlocutors (Esau).

If the Orthodox Rabbinical Declaration on Christianity goes beyond the theses of Dabru Emet, then a long way has to be covered.

Signatory

What began as a joint draft by five rabbis was signed by more than 60 Orthodox rabbis in mid-January 2016.

One of the initiators was Shlomo Riskin , founder of the Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation (CJCUC). The first to sign included Marc D. Angel, former chairman of the American Rabbinical Conference, Samuel Sirat, vice-chairman of the European Rabbinical Conference and former Chief Rabbi of France, and David Rosen , who is involved in interreligious dialogue at various levels, former Chief Rabbi of Ireland.

content

The document looks back at the beginning of the Shoah 70 years ago, which marked a high point of Christian hostility towards Jews . The lack of dialogue between Christians and Jews at the time weakened the forces to ward off anti-Semitism.

New requirements

Fifty years ago the Catholic Church carried out a redefinition of its relationship to Judaism ( Nostra aetate ). As a result, a dialogue between Jews and Catholic as well as non-Catholic Christians started. "Today Jews have experienced sincere love and respect from numerous Christians in numerous dialogue initiatives, meetings and conferences around the world." Since the Catholic Church has recognized the eternal covenant between God and Israel and renounces mission to the Jews , Judaism could Recognize Christianity as a “partner in world redemption” ( Tikun Olam ).

Halachic justification

Orthodox Jews find a number of positive statements about Christianity in rabbinical literature. Like Maimonides and Jehuda Halevi , they can affirm the existence of the Christian religion as God's will and see it as a gift to the people.

  • Jacob Emden : Jesus strengthened the Torah and taught the peoples the Noachidic commandments . Christian churches work for heavenly good and will be rewarded (by God) for it.
  • Samson Raphael Hirsch : Christians accept the Hebrew Bible as a book of divine revelation. With regard to interpersonal obligations, the same principles apply between Jews and Christians as within the Jewish community, not only with regard to justice but also to active brotherly love.
  • Naftali Zvi Jehuda Berlin : If the Christians recognize the people of Israel as "children of Esau " in the future, Israel (= Jacob ) can recognize Esau as his brother.
  • Moses Rivkis (Be'er Hagoleh): Christians share with Judaism a belief in creation, the exodus, God's miracles and God's law. They are therefore not meant by the term idolater (עכולם Akum), which is used in traditional literature.

Perspectives

The partnership between Jews and Christians should not cover up existing differences. In the universal Noah covenant, Christians are also called to act ethically. Jews and Christians can work together in the redemption of the world.

literature

  • Jehoshua Ahrens , Karl-Hermann Blickle, David Bollag , Johannes Heil (eds.): Towards a partnership between Jews and Christians. The Declaration of Orthodox Rabbis on Christianity . Metropol Verlag, 2017. ISBN 978-3-86331-331-9 .
  • Yves Kugelmann / Jehoshua Ahrens: Christianity is not idolatry (interview). In: Freiburger Rundbrief, vol. 23/2016 issue 2, pp. 92–94.
  • Joseph B. Soloveitchik: Confrontation . In: Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Thought. 6/2 (1964), pp. 5-29.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ephraim Meir: Becoming Interreligious: Towards a Dialogical Theology from a Jewish Vantage Point . Waxmann, 2017, p. 147 .
  2. ^ Joseph Soloveitchik: Confrontation . S. 21-22 .
  3. ↑ CJCUC & The Orthodox Rabbis Statement on Christianity. January 10, 2016, accessed August 9, 2018 .
  4. ↑ Do the will of our Heavenly Father. In: reformiert-info.de. Retrieved August 8, 2018 .