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News Notes
Peter Schneider | Sr. M. Hedwig | A. K. Willet | R. Schmid
A « LIBERAL COMMENTARY » ON THE TORAH
One of the most important projects ever undertaken by the UAHC Department of Jewish Education, in cooperation with the Central Conference of American Rabbis, is the publication of a « Liberal Commentary » on the Torah. This will be the first interpretation of the Pentateuch from the viewpoint of. Reform Judaism attempting to bring present-day relevance to the biblical text.
To accomplish this, a group of distinguished theologians and scholars has been organized and has already begun work.
The five-volume work is now in the early stages of development. The first volume, a commentary on the Book of Genesis, is expected to be ready for distribution in 1968. (Rabbi W. Gunther Plaut of Toronto has been appointed chief Editor).
(From Adventures in Judaism », a publication of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations)
TWO ECUMENICAL VENTURES IN JERUSALEM
The Jerusalem Students Ecumenical Discus. sion Group has entered upon its fourth year with the opening of the 1967-68 session. The motivation of this group has been to help Christian students of all traditions to orientate positively to Jewry and Judaism in the new setting of Israel.
Many lectures and discussions have been devoted to the new thinking that is going on in the Church at large on the present possibilities for a genuine renovation of the Jewish-Christian relationship. In May of last year, one of the students suggested that we grapple with a rather ambitious theme, that of « Communication in Situations of Conflict ». The idea was that we should attempt to discover how, in situations of conflict, confidence could be fostered and any movement towards understanding accelerated. All that has happened since then has made this a very relevant and worthwhile topic.
The present session opened with a most instructive lecture by Dr. Paul Yacobi on « The Challenge and Difficulties of Communication in reunited Jerusalem ». Much to our surprise we were given an analysis of the difficulties on the Jewish side, of entering into full relations with the new Arab neighbours. The second lecture by Mr. Zvi Zinger dealt with « Communications between the Secularist and Religious in Israel ». Mr. Zinger managed to articulate the complexity of the religious consciousness of the majority of Israelis. He pleaded for a « theology of communication » in which this complexity would be duly recognised — a complexity, not of the religious over against the secular, but rather of religious and secular aspects present in the religious consciousness of most Israelis.
The third lecture dealt with the most controversial issue, that of the first topic but presented by an Arab. It was a most revealing evening though admittedly highly controversial. With complete frankness we were informed of the Arab point of view. This provided a constructive element that in some small way it was an experience of direct discussion. The winter term is planned to close with a student symposium entitled « Three-Way Traffic » in which the problem of communication will be discussed by Jewish, Christian, and Moslem students.
In comparison, the schedule of the Ecumenical Theological Research Fraternity in Israel is very pedestrian but it is the difference between the student and the scholar's tempo of life! In the first full session of the Fraternity, we attempted to study « the meaning and designation of the term " Israel " ». At the end of the 1966-67 session we seemed at least to know the lacunas in our year's study. The schedule for the present session seeks to continue this study and speaks for itself. The over-all theme has been further defined as « The meaning and designation of the term " Israel " in the Jewish and Christian self-understanding as the People of God, bearing in mind the particular confrontation of the two Peoples of God in Israel with special reference to theological themes that are contemporary theological issues for both the Church and the Jewish People, such as the Law and Election ».
The particular areas of this year's study are: « The Thought and Writings of St. Paul » (Revd. Peter Schneider); « The Effects of the Crises of 70 and 135 on Jewish Self-Understanding » (Professor David Flusser); « Jewish Self-Understanding According to Rambam and Judah Ha-Levi » (Professor Chaim Hillel Ben Sason); « The Image of the Jews in Liberal Protestantism and particularly in the writings of Hannack » (Dr. Uriel Tal); « The Two Peoples of God in the Thought of Franz Rosenzweig » (Rt. Revd. Abbot Leo Rudloff); « Concepts of Old and New Israel in the Thought and Writings of Karl Barth » (Professor R. J. Z. Werblowsky); and « Eretz Israel as a Feature in Jewish Self-Understanding in some contemporary Jewish writers » (Revd. B. D. Smeenk).
At our first meeting in November we were delighted to be joined by some scholars from East Jerusalem. This was an enriching experience which we trust will develop and further extend the work of the Fraternity.
(Revd.) Peter Schneider Jerusalem Dec. 5th, 1967.
Statement Adopted in ChileIn September of 1967, the Roman Catholic Synod of Santiago approved by a vast majority a statement defining relations with the Jewish people by way of implementing the Council directives. Following is the text in its entirety.
1. The Catholic Church of Santiago admits that, until now, it has not been sufficiently aware of the presence of an important Jewish community with which it is united by historical and religious bonds, as recalled forcefully by the Second Vatican Council to the Universal Church in asking the latter to revise its attitude in this area. In brief: it is necessary to strive for complete brotherly reconciliation, seek out means of serving humanity together, aim at a true dialogue in depth, on a theological and religious level.
2. The Synod considers it advisable to educate the Catholic conscience according to truth and the Scriptures concerning the role of the Jewish people in the History of Salvation and their presence in the world today.
3. To this end, preaching and catechetics must play an important part, making ever-increasing use of the appropriate mass media of communication, in so far as this is possible, and encouraging Judeo-Christian relations at all levels. In preaching, it is necessary to remain faithful to the teachings of Scripture (Old and New Testament), avoiding the common places that distort its meaning and propagate hostility towards the Jews.
4. As has been done in other countries, it is necessary to form a commission to work in collaboration with the Jewish community to revise catechetical texts in the spirit of the Council's Declaration relating to the Jews and to bring out the positive role of Israel in the History of Salvation. In the same way it is expedient to revise, in the spirit of the Council, the formulas of prayers now in use.
5. As regards the promotion of Judeo-Christian relations it is a question of spotting priests and lay people, with the vocation to devote themselves to this cause. They could also be of great service in seminaries, theological faculties, apostolic movements.
6. This dialogue will only be fruitful if it is based on a sound theological foundation. In ecumenical centers, there should be several theologians and exegetes who would assume the deliberation and dialogue in this field.
(From a communiqué of the Judeo-Christian Confraternity of Chile, Oct. 1st, 1967)
OSCO Session - Vienna, December 8th, 1967This year's session of the Overseas Students Coordination — Austria had as subject: Judaism and Christianity, since Budhism, Hinduism, and Islamism had been treated in the past years. Meetings with Protestant brethren are projected for the future.
Both in the conferences and in the discussion of this year's session there was not only question of the history of the Jews, Judaism of today, and the attitude of the Catholic Church towards the Jews, but Rev. Dr. Clemens Thoma, S.V.D., also commented on the exegesis of some more difficult passages of the New Testament. The students showed an extraordinary interest as witnessed in the high standard of discussion. The thirty participants, mostly originating from Afro-Asian countries, were quite overwhelmed by so much new knowledge.
Although the session did not answer the vital questions posed, it did help these young people reflect for once on such problems. Henceforth, they cannot be indifferent or uninformed towards them. It was indeed clear that some of the students from the Arab countries could not accept the arguments of the « other side », but it is ex-actly this which must be considered as positive: that, in spite of this fact, it was possible to have a real dialogue — and a dialogue which probably did not terminate with the end of the session.
We can only express our hope that there may be many more such efforts.
Sr. M. Hedwig
Charity in PracticeThis Christmas, the editor of BELGISCH ISRAELIETISCH WEEKBLAD, Mr. L. Davids, launched an appeal which was crowned with heart-warming results (see the Dec. 29th issue of the said newspaper). Prompted by an idea carried out for some years in England, Mr. Davids published an article suggesting that Jewish nurses replace their Christian co-workers on a voluntary basis at a local hospital (Antwerp) on December 25th. The appeal met with an overwhelming response. Thus, all the Christian staff was able to enjoy Christmas Day at home while their Jewish counterparts ministered to the needs of the hospital.
Two Rabbis on Staff at Georgetown UniversityThe opening of this academic year saw a first at the 179-year-old Jesuit university of Georgetown (U.S.A.). Rabbi Saul Kraft and Rabbi Nathan Abramowitz now offer courses there on Jewish life and thought. Both staff and students are pleased with the results as can be seen from several of their comments listed below: The course in Judaism « is achieving its primary purpose of giving students a rich experience educationally, making them open and sympathetic to each other's religious beliefs and doctrines ». « The Rabbi has given us a more realistic image of the Jew ». « The options and variations within Judaism were something of a revelation to most of us ». The course gives « the insight into the correlations between Judaism and Catholicism. I didn't just learn about Judaism. It helped me understand my Catholicism better » (quotations taken from THE NEW YORK TIMES, January 28th, 1968).
Other Catholic institutions now offering courses by a rabbi in their theology department are Boston College, Fordham University, and Seattle University.
A. K. Willett
Sermons on Christian-Jewish Relations in U.S. Sermons on Christian-Jewish relations were preached... January 21st of this year at all Masses in the 255 Roman Catholic parishes in Brooklyn and Queens (New York). A suggested sermon outline had been sent to every priest in the diocese proposing that the homilies emphasise « better understanding and charity toward our Jewish neighbours ». The outline was prepared by a committee of priests under the direction of the Most Rev. Bryan McEntegart, Archbishop of the diocese. Among other statements, the outline said anti-semitism or race hatred of any kind is un-Christian; Jews are not to be presented as « rejcted or accursed by God » for their involvement in the biblical account of the Crucifixion of Jesus. Catholics and Jews should increase their mutual knowledge of and respect for one another.
(From the JTA Bulletin, No. 73 Jan. 22nd, 1968, p. 5)
THE URBANUS BOMM MISSAL
From a correspondent in Switzerland we have received documentation on a missal which is widely used there and in Germany. Though the last number of SIDIC dealt especially with theliturgy, we thought it fitting to include this recent contribution in our present Bible context.
The « Urbanus Bomm » Missal, through the notes and introductions to Bible readings, occasionally acknowledges the continuity of Judaism and Christianity. In the Introduction to the Ember-Wednesday in September we read: « Formerly the tithe was brought at this time. Besides, the autumnal ember days can be compared to some feasts of the Old Covenant or even be their continuation. The lessons and the hymns indicate this several times. These feasts are, first of all, of the new moon, then the great feast of the Day of Atonement on which the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies... to sprinkle » the blood of the sacrifice « before the Ark of the Covenant as atonement for his and the people's sins. Finally came the feast of Tabernacles which was the feast of thanksgiving for the harvest — a feast of commemoration of the people's trek through the desert. In the spirit of these old feasts, the Church exhorts us also, in this week, to celebrate a thanksgiving... ».
But far more frequently are found the traditional generalisations and faulty ideas concerning the Jews. A few examples follow.
Introduction to the 9th Sunday after Pentecost — « The Gospel tells of the complete rejection of the blind Jewish People which did not want to hear Christ's message and which defiled the sanctuary by superficialities and avarice. With us it shall not be like that ». Note preceding the Gospel of Ember-Wednesday in Lent: « We shall remain steadfast in fidelity and perservere in the right spirit, in order that it shall not happen to us as it did to the Jewish People, which was rejected and possessed by seven evil spirits ».
We look forward with hope to editions which will bring out the true relation between the Old and New Testaments and thereby further Jewish-Christian understanding.
Prof. R. SCHMID
