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Editorial
The Editors

Commenting on the Vatican Guidelines and Suggestions published in January 1975, Rabbi Henry Siegman of the Synagogue Council of America said in a recent lecture: « Perhaps most important, the document proposes that Christians seek to `learn by what essential traits the Jews define themselves in the light of their own religious ex perience'. A genuine openness to Jewish religious categories and self-definition would for the first time make possible an honest and fruitful dialogue between the Church and the Synagogue. » Each issue of SIDIC deals with one or another aspect of that difficult process of learning and listening, and tries to make a small contribution to the hesitant beginnings of a serious dialogue.
The central theme of this issue is the complex reality of Judaism. It seems to us that this is a very basic question in the relationship between Jews and Christians. Every religious community has its own tradition, its own categories of thought and its own approach to reality. Those who have had any experience of Jewish-Christian dia logue know that in this respect the Christian tradition is very different from the Jewish tradition. Very often this fact leads to misunderstanding, and it can be an unrecognized obstacle to progress in the relationship. Generally speaking, one could say that the Christian approach tends to be more theological and dogmatic, in contrast to the more pragmatic, halachic and historical Jewish approach. This has, of course, something to do with the difference in identities.
Respect for the other's identity, a condition of any dialogue, demands a great openness and flexibility especially from those who are not used to pluralism of life and thought. Otherwise the danger of generalizations and stereotypes is unavoidable. Furthermore we easily tend to consider, to describe and even to judge others according to our own categories. The history of Jewish-Christian relations gives abundant evidence of such attitudes. Jews too often see Christianity, or at least the Catholic Church, as monolithic in its views. Christians consider Judaism as just one more religion or, often enough, as a religion of the < (Old Testament » superseded at least theologically by Christianity. But even those who are open and sympathetic towards Judaism have difficulty in understanding the Jewish identity and see it solely as a religion. That the question is not simple is evident from the fact that Jews themselves are struggling with the description of their own identity, and that various opinions exist among them. However, it is clear that the very great majority describe themselves not as adherents of a religion but as members of a people, a people that lives in a covenant relationship with God and that is linked to a divinely promised Land. From that fact derive a number of important consequences which make the relationship between Church and Synagogue what Professor Werblowsky has called « a-symmetric », and which to a great extent explain the different approaches to life, faith and dialogue. It is obvious that a clear awareness of these differences is imperative for a real though certainly difficult dialogue between Jews and Christians. That this is the case not only for Jewish-Christian dialogue was clearly manifested by the problems surrounding the Christian-Muslim encounter of Tripoli in February of this year. But these differences should not necessarily be considered only as difficulties: they are also a challenge to certain traditional views and an invitation to study anew the relation between religion And life, faith and history, the spiritual and the profane.
Having said this, we hesitate to present this issue of SIDIC on the complex reality of Judaism, since it is impossible to give an adequate description of the depth and the riches Judaism represents. Two scholars, a Jew and a Christian, give their views. Much more can, of course, be said. Very modestly Rabbi Magonet hopes that his article
« tells a little bit about a Jewish (or at least one Jew's) approach to the issue ». We are convinced that both authors contribute greatly to clarifying the complex reality of Judaism and in doing so make a valuable contribution to the deepening of understanding between Jews and Christians.