re: Jewish music at Church

[Ethan bdm <ethan_bdm...>]

Hi all,


I am glad we are discussing this issue.  It think it is great for a
number of reasons.  In part because it gets at the heart of some of the issues
faced by Jews living in a non-Jewish world and in part because it gives us
the opportunity to undergo the sort of interaction and dialogue between
the halakha and our own values that liberal Jews ought to undergo with
every issue.  

That being said, I'll add my two cents.  As Brian pointed out, the
halakha is clear on this issue.  It is forbidden for a halakhic Jew to enter a
church.  The reasoning, one does not want to give the impression to
non-Jews or to other Jews that it is acceptable to be both Jewish and Christian
or that Judaism "endorses" Christianity.  This is, more or less, similar
logic to the halakha forbidding eating a hamburger with soy cheese or a soy
burger with real cheese in a public restaraunt.  Interestingly, this was
also the intuitive reason why a couple of people who wrote in were
uncomfortable with the idea of singing Jewish music in a church service or in a
church at all.  

It seems clear to me that this issue does not have a definitive answer. 
One has to ask one's self whether this halakha rings true for you as an
individual.  I have mixed feelings about the idea of a Jew and Jewish
liturgy  being a part of a Christian service.  Actually, I have no issue
whatsoever with a congregation of Christians deciding that they would like to 
use
part of the Jewish liturgy.  If they find this spiritually meaningful,
kol hakavod!  But a Jew participating in a Christian service by adding
Jewish liturgy does seem a little strange to me.  It does feel like when one
enters a Christian  prayer space (that is a Christian service, as opposed to
an ecumenical or interfaith service) one is tacitly accepting some
assumptions that seem to me to be foreign to Judaism.  In this case the halakha
seems right.  A practicing Jew, adding Jewish liturgy to a religious
service whose assumptions s/he disagrees with does seem to be sending a mixed
message.  I'm not sure that this is such a good idea.

Now, the issues of weddings, confirmations, funerals etc. (which was
raised recently) seems different to me.  I have very dear Christian friends
whose love of Christianity and spriritual life I very much admire.  One such
friend is getting married in a few months and has asked me to participate
musically in the service, and would like it to be something Jewish.  He
wants me to add a part of my spiritual life to the service, and my
spiritual life is a Jewish one.  Given that his wedding will be a time of
connection with God not only for him and his fiancee, but for all the people who
care about them (including me), I do not feel any reservations about
letting Judaism, Jewish prayer, or Jewish liturgy be a part of this service.  In
fact, it feels completely natural for me to express my Jewish
spirituality during this ceremony, even though it will be in a Christian 
context.  I
don't feel like this will be a watering down or Christianizing of Judaism.
 

It seems to me that Judaism does recognize as spiritually significant the
marriage of two people who love each other, especially when those people
also share a rich religious life, regardless of their particular faith. 
After all, "the righteous of all nations have a share in the world to
come," certainly then we can imagine that the heavens rejoice at the marriage
of any two people who are in love.   Particularly when those people decide
to have their marriage ceremony conducted in a religious setting (though
non-Jewish) which binds their love of each other with a commitment to the
love of God.  When such an event takes place, it seems entirely reasonable,
to me, for a Jew who wants to mark this as a spiritually siginificant
occasion to lend some of the Jewish tradition to the ceremony if asked. Am I
being inconsistent here?  I'm not sure. 

Well I have taken a lot of space without very clearly expressing what I
meant.  Oh well.  Take it for what it is worth.  I think this is a
fascinating topic.  Thanks for bringing it up.

Ethan
ethan_bdm (at) betham(dot)org