Judaism and Interfaith Dialogue

by Rabbi Herbert Bronstein

Senior Rabbi, North Shore Congregation Israel, Glencoe, Illinois; member of the Board of Trustees of the Council for a Parliament of the World Religions

There is a profound religious and historic basis to the Jewish view on interfaith dialogue.

Jewish belief encompasses a dialectic between an all-embracing humane Universalism and deep commitment to a particular Jewish religious way of life and to the continuity of the Jewish people as a religious people. Between the two -- namely, universal humane concern and Jewish particularism -- there is, in the Judaic world view, no contradiction. And, in fact, the ideal Jewish position is integration of the two. On the one hand, the ideal Jew is deeply loyal to his own faith, way of life, and people. There is, at the same time, a firm commitment in Judaism to God's universal embrace, care, and love for all humanity, the ideal of loving one's fellow human being as oneself. The Torah teaches that all humanity is created in the image of God. In the Jewish myth of creation, one couple, Adam and Eve, are the parents of all humanity. In this view God speaks to all human beings and all human communities in various ways. All perceive the one God in their own way and take different paths to the service of the ultimate Godhead. Dialogue would therefore be an endeavor to understand, on the deepest level possible, the views and positions of the Other toward the goal of ultimate harmony between all human beings, which is the Judaic affirmation of the Sovereignty of God, harmony, peace, Shalom.

But over the centuries Jews, as a minority in the Christian world, were subject to persecution, degradation, impoverishment, rioting, and even mass death for their loyalty to their faith. "Interfaith" contact was all too often a staged disputation to prove the falsity of Jewish faith and a prelude to the burning of Jewish holy books, physical attacks, and even murder of Jews, sometimes in massive numbers. Jews often confronted the choice between conversion and martyrdom. Therefore, many Jews of traditional leaning, while willing and eager to work on ameliorative civil projects with all other groups, are leery of any theological dialogue that would tend to undermine the faith commitment of Jews as a minority community. However, throughout the modern period, but most particularly in the twentieth century and particularly in pluralistic North America, Jews have been partners in Christian/Jewish dialogue as well as with Muslims and Buddhists.

Today Jews join in that trend of dialogue which is moving toward an attempt to understand the "faith of the believer" rather than simply studying simplistically about the beliefs of other faiths.

Judaism and Interfaith Dialogue

by Rabbi Herbert Bronstein

Senior Rabbi, North Shore Congregation Israel, Glencoe, Illinois; member of the Board of Trustees of the Council for a Parliament of the World Religions

There is a profound religious and historic basis to the Jewish view on interfaith dialogue.

Jewish belief encompasses a dialectic between an all-embracing humane Universalism and deep commitment to a particular Jewish religious way of life and to the continuity of the Jewish people as a religious people. Between the two -- namely, universal humane concern and Jewish particularism -- there is, in the Judaic world view, no contradiction. And, in fact, the ideal Jewish position is integration of the two. On the one hand, the ideal Jew is deeply loyal to his own faith, way of life, and people. There is, at the same time, a firm commitment in Judaism to God's universal embrace, care, and love for all humanity, the ideal of loving one's fellow human being as oneself. The Torah teaches that all humanity is created in the image of God. In the Jewish myth of creation, one couple, Adam and Eve, are the parents of all humanity. In this view God speaks to all human beings and all human communities in various ways. All perceive the one God in their own way and take different paths to the service of the ultimate Godhead. Dialogue would therefore be an endeavor to understand, on the deepest level possible, the views and positions of the Other toward the goal of ultimate harmony between all human beings, which is the Judaic affirmation of the Sovereignty of God, harmony, peace, Shalom.

But over the centuries Jews, as a minority in the Christian world, were subject to persecution, degradation, impoverishment, rioting, and even mass death for their loyalty to their faith. "Interfaith" contact was all too often a staged disputation to prove the falsity of Jewish faith and a prelude to the burning of Jewish holy books, physical attacks, and even murder of Jews, sometimes in massive numbers. Jews often confronted the choice between conversion and martyrdom. Therefore, many Jews of traditional leaning, while willing and eager to work on ameliorative civil projects with all other groups, are leery of any theological dialogue that would tend to undermine the faith commitment of Jews as a minority community. However, throughout the modern period, but most particularly in the twentieth century and particularly in pluralistic North America, Jews have been partners in Christian/Jewish dialogue as well as with Muslims and Buddhists.

Today Jews join in that trend of dialogue which is moving toward an attempt to understand the "faith of the believer" rather than simply studying simplistically about the beliefs of other faiths.