A JEWISH PERSPECTIVE ON CHRISTIANITY

The history of Jewish-Christian relations dates back two millennia,

i.e., it is as old as Christianity itself. However, these relations, which

had been "stable" (but not extraordinarily friendly) throughout their

history, had undergone a substantial shift over the last century. Due

to the return of the Jewish people to their historical motherland and

the establishment of the State of Israel, many provisions of theology,

previously considered unshakable, had to be revised; Furthermore, this

process is taking place not as a result of reform, but in the course of orthodox

modernization, when a new direction of development of a given

religion retains its orthodox features in their entirety in the process

of modernization. An open dialogue between Christianity and Judaism

had been impossible in earlier periods of history, as the objectives of

Christianity in relation to the Jews were purely missionary, motivated

by the desire to compel the Jews to relinquish Judaism and accept

Christianity. Under such conditions, Judaism's most natural defensive

reaction was the construction of an impermeable barrier between the

Jewish and the Christian spiritual worlds. However, in our time this

state of affairs began to change. In the second half of the twentieth

century a number of significant positive shifts took place in the theological

position of Christianity in relation to Judaism.

Most Western Christian denominations (Catholics and the majority

of Protestant groups) began the process of rethinking Judaism and

adopting the idea of principled abandonment of missionary efforts in

relation to the Jews, that is, the recognition of the fact that even from

the point of view of Christianity the "Old Testament", i.e., the original

covenant of Between God and the Jews, had remained relevant, for the

word of God is eternal and cannot become outdated, obsolete or be

cancelled, and therefore the Jews (unlike other peoples the world) "are

saved through their Covenant with God and have no need in baptism

14 A Jewish Perspective on Christianity

for being redeemed". (Some Christian theologians even emphasize that

"Christian missionary effort in relation to Jews, which based on the denial

of efficacy of the First Testament, affronts God "- see more details

below.)

This is a major change emerging in the position of Christianity (if

only in some parts of it so far), and it enables Judaism to take a more

open stance. For the first time in millennia, the two factors combine to

create hope for a start of a sincere dialogue between the parties, aimed

at mutual understanding, not on persuasion of the opponent. This

change of position on the part of both Christianity and Judaism had

been initiated by the attempts to comprehend the Holocaust, which

befell the European Jewry during WWII. Furthermore, it had been elicited

by theological understanding of the creation of the State of Israel

- this incredible feat of the Jewish return to their motherland after

centuries of exile. This return carries the same level of spiritual and religious

significance as the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, which

took place two thousand years ago, and initiated the expulsion of the

Jews from the Holy Land, which historically (and not coincidentally)

corresponded to the beginning of the spread of Christianity. Indeed,

if we believe in God and perceive history as more than a concoction of

various intrigues, economics and politics, but rather as a dialogue between

human and divine, we are obligated to attempt to comprehend

the message God wishes to deliver to us today, through current events.