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Editorial

This issue of Sidic has come to be without planning. Some of the articles have been published elsewhere but have been offered to or requested by Sidic because they could be of interest to its readers. It seemed to us that they fit together under the broad title of Mutual Influences, which is a theme of growing importance today in the light of the development of the dialogue between Jews and Christians.
It is often said nowadays that this dialogue has reached a turning point. The terrible events of the twentieth century have awakened Christian consciousness of the tragic history of Christian-Jewish relations and resulted in impressive rapprochement, in a recognition of and efforts to overcome the anti-Jewish trends in the Christian tradition. It is sadly true that this task is not yet completed and that the excellent official church documents have not yet sufficiently influenced all levels of Church life. Christian scholars are taking seriously the questions that Judaism, particularly the Shoah, raises for theology and the Church's identity. Some important studies have appeared but this is only at the beginning.
Likekwise in Judaism too there is a movement to go beyond the pain of history in a growing trust in their Christian partners in the dialogue. For some, even specifically Christian doctrines are seen to be not totally alien to Jewish understanding. This is not a search to do away with differences but an attempt at real understanding - not only of respect but of empathy. It is in this climate that mutuality can be acknowledged and in which fundamental differences can be clarified and appreciated.
Is it not inevitable that during two thousand years of living alongside each other there has been mutual influence? Is this the historical moment when this can be acknowledged, humbly and with profit, by both communities? In this issue of Sidic, John Mcdade reflects on the Epistle of James which reveals a Church that esteemed the Torah as the criterion of its authenticity. Leon Klenicki looks at some Christian influences on Jewish religious practice and Ursula Schubert shows how strong and persistent the influence of Judaism was on Christian art for several centuries, particularly in the ordering and decoration of the first churches.
The few examples of mutual influence described here, far from detracting from the distinct identity of each community, have contributed and still contribute to their mutual enrichment. As Rabbi Klenicki says the recognition and appreciation of such influence could help us to respond better to God who calls us to witness to the Kingdom at a very special moment of human history.