Why Jews and proselytizing might mix

EUGENE KAELLIS SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN

In the second of a three-part series on proselytizing, this article examines some of the objections to the practice.

In light of the fact that the Jewish population is declining worldwide, proselytizing is one possible way in which to reverse the trend. But this practice has many critics. What follow are some of the arguments against proselytizing, and responses to them.

Judaism is not a missionizing religion. When Jews are exposed to missionizing attempts by Christians, they are chagrined, but they endure them as part of the religious "ambience": a small minority of Jews living in an overwhelmingly Christian environment. They also understand that the "special relationship" between Christians and Jews generates proselytizing activity ... by Christians, which Jews can shrug off as simply another of countless efforts in a project that has been going on for almost 2,000 years. Or they can view such efforts as a serious threat and counter it by such movements as Jews
for Judaism.

But talk among Jews about missionizing among Christians, an event so rare that it is considered untoward, elicits unease often accompanied by disbelief or even ridicule.

The error of the claim that Jews do not proselytize has already been demonstrated (Bulletin Opinion, June 4). Judaism, unlike Christianity, Islam and other religions, has not generally attracted converts and has remained almost entirely an ethnic religion. Non-Jews, as David Eichorn has noted, often see this as an ethnically elitist attitude tied to the question of Chosenness, and they actually resent not being invited into the Jewish fold. Jews are, therefore, looked upon as clannish. Making Judaism more accessible to non-Jews would prove that we value both them and our religion as a gift to the world, not only to a tiny fraction of its population. Jews have to ask themselves what keeping the door closed is costing them.

Missionizing will generate more anti-Semitism. As the experience of post-war Poland and contemporary Malaysia amply demonstrates, anti-Semitism can exist without Jews. It is a pandemic mental disorder nourished by social and political factors. It is not correlated with the proportion of Jews or with their activities. The innocence of Mendel Bailis and Alfred Dreyfus did not prevent attempts to brand Jews as ritual murderers and traitors. German Jews were as assimilated as they were allowed to be, but that did not prevent the Holocaust.

Intrinsic to Christianity is the assertion that it has displaced Judaism in God's favor. Witness the title of the Christian Testament – the New Covenant – references to Christianity as the New Israel, the failing of light and the rending of the Temple curtains during the crucifixion (Matthew 27:51, Luke 23:45), signifying an end to the original covenant. Christianity is therefore explicitly anti-Judaic. It is also at least implicitly anti-Semitic, as exemplified by the notorious statement in Matthew 27:25, "His [Jesus'] blood be upon us [the Jews] and our children," a statement that, until Nazism, caused more pogroms, especially on Good Friday, than any other incitement, as well as the pejoratives used against the Jews, especially in John, a Gospel one can read without receiving any indication that Jesus and his disciples were Jews.

The progression from anti-Judaism to racist anti-Semitism was a major factor in the expulsion of Jews from Spain after it was concluded that conversos who continued to practise Judaism secretly had "impure" blood and were beyond redemption. Vatican II's officially relieving the Jews of the charge of deicide, the renunciation by Lutheran churches of Luther's vicious diatribes against the Jews, and affirmation by certain denominations that Judaism has not been displaced by Christianity have affected the thinking of theologians, but, because Christian Scripture repeats the message endlessly, they have not affected the thinking of many Christians, especially clergy.

Repeated pleas to enlightened Christian clergy and theologians have always brought about the same reply: We cannot change Holy Scripture. Nonsense. Christians canonized their Scriptures at church, as did Jews with rabbinic councils. The inclusion of certain texts was debated and votes were taken. What councils did, other councils can undo.

With rare exception, Christianity still retains its two approaches: the Johanine, derived from the Gospel of John, militant and condemnatory; and the Pauline, derived from the Epistles of Paul, willing to wait patiently until the scales drop from the eyes of Jews and they accept Jesus as their savior. Decades of dialogue between Christians and Jews have not altered the basic stance of the churches.

It will provoke counter-missionizing activity. Attempts at missionizing Jews to accept Christianity have been around for centuries. Even when accompanied by threats and violence, they have only slightly and temporarily succeeded. When not violent or threatening, they have succeeded only if one of two conditions were met: Jews felt that their cause was hopeless and/or they could not make a fair comparison between Judaism and Christianity because of their ignorance of both religions. Missionizing will educate Jews and non-Jews to see Judaism in a more favorable light. It may provoke more Christian missionizing among Jews but it will make Jews more resistant to these efforts and may raise the level of acceptance of Judaism among Christians.

It will fail. Any effort can fail, but as Theodor Herzl stated, "If you wish it, it will be." Jews have repeatedly demonstrated, in free societies, their abilities at educating and organizing. If Judaism is presented in an appealing way, there is every reason to believe that it will win converts. Just as Jews constitute a "mixed bag" in their understanding and acceptance of Judaism, so will converts, although, compared to the average Jew, they will, as the proselytizing activity proceeds, probably know more about and have a better understanding of Judaism.

Judaism could fragment into missionizing and non-missionizing, or even anti-missionizing factions, because many Jews will not fully accept converts, although the Talmud states that converts must never be identified as such or be treated differently from born Jews.

Judaism has always been factional. Even dogmatic religions, such as Christianity, could not prevent doctrinal and liturgical disputes that ended in factions and wars. This is not to say that Jewry is free of dogmatists, but the relative absence of dogma is one of its greatest strengths.

Abraham Joshua Heschel has called Judaism "the science of deeds," not of beliefs. Jews have, of course, differed among themselves about which deeds are relevant to contemporary life and which are not. But they all agree with the basic moral teachings. One might argue that so do Christians. The difference, however, is that morality of normative Christianity rests on belief – the acceptance of Jesus Christ as God – not on deeds.

Missionizing will make Judaism the religion not only of the Jewish people, but of anyone who decides to become a Jew. Precisely. Judaism, while having a tiny fraction of adherents of Islam and Christianity, is still regarded as a major religion. Shall we let it disappear simply because we insist it be so closely associated with ethnicity? We cannot afford that without risking our disappearance. In any case, Jews are already a highly heterogenous people.

Now that we have a Jewish state, the existence of Jewry is more or less guaranteed. The survival of Diaspora Judaism or even of Diaspora Jewry has not been and cannot be dependent on the survival and success of Israel. Indeed, the success of Orthodox Jewish political parties, highly leveraged in the Knesset, in coercing Israelis into religious practices they would rather avoid, or come to of their own accord, has served as a religion turnoff for many Israeli Jews.

Moreover, even in Israel, the Jewish majority may diminish because of birth rate differentials with the non-Jewish population. Under the most favorable circumstances, Israel can bring to its part of the world the introduction of religious and political tolerance, respect for women, a more democratic polity, and acceptance of cultural and political heterogeneity.

The demographic threat to Diaspora Jewry is real and cannot be ignored. Jews have to decide whether they want to try to avoid anxiety by avoiding the facts, and hope for a miracle. But a miracle happens only when people understand their social or physical environment and take the opportunities offered them or create their own opportunities.

The time is now.

Dr. Eugene Kaellis is a retired academic living in New Westminster.

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