The kippah<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n“What’s a Jew doing at an Easter egg hunt?” they might have thought.<\/p>\n
Or maybe not, but just being here to celebrate Easter with my family strikes me as odd because of all the religious holidays, Easter is by far the one which thumbs its nose at Judaism.<\/p>\n
Easter\u00a0is where Christianity as a Jewish\u00a0 sect that believed Jesus to be\u00a0the mashiach (messiah) ends and a new faith begins. It it the supposed resurrection that plants the seed of belief in Jesus as an at least partially divine being.<\/p>\n
The khutspe<\/em>!<\/p>\nTo make matters worse, the family ties between these faith are forever strained by the idea that the Jews killed Jesus and this famous line from the Gospel of Matthew 27:25:<\/p>\n
His (Jesus) blood be upon us and our children.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Wow, kinda harsh.<\/p>\n
Despite many Biblical scholars casting doubt on this (and other passages) being said, the die was cast for a rocky relationship between Judaism and Christianity…an animosity that lasts to this day in the form of bigotry and hatred against the Jews.<\/p>\n
Now that I am within this faith community, I certainly feel out of place\u00a0among folks celebrating Easter. I’ve studied the arguments against Jesus being the mashiach and can’t help the urge to speak up on the subject. Project Conversion stimulates a sympathetic reaction in me as I identify with the faith of each month. So here I am alone in a house full of, well, blasphemous idol worshippers.<\/p>\n
Oh no he didn’t.<\/p>\n
You bet your matzah balls I did.<\/p>\n
This isn’t to say that Jews in general do not respect and tolerate other faiths. In fact, given Jewish history, they are often the first to speak up for equality. But this doesn’t mean they have to agree<\/em>\u00a0with that faith. Once upon a time, I was a Christian (a jerk, to be honest), but now that I look at Easter from the other side, the view is much different. Of course I’m not judgemental toward those who celebrate this day, but we will always see things differently when we force ourselves to walk in the shoes of another.<\/p>\nThe important thing is finding common ground. I am here with my in-laws (folks I love dearly) and just because they celebrate a holiday that contradicts my current belief doesn’t mean I cannot function in the same room with them. This goes for\u00a0communities everywhere. Stop focusing on the nuances–those differences that create enemies out of people and nations–when really these differences are simply a matter of personal faith.\u00a0Why not\u00a0bring ourselves to the lowest common denominator with one another. So we don’t agree that Jesus is God incarnate?\u00a0Fine, but we both like to watch football, right? Let’s start with that and work our way up to\u00a0 peace that transcends differences.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, I’ll say a little prayer tonight for my heathen family as I lite the Shabbat candles.<\/p>\n
Shalom and play nice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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