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March 5, 2004/Adar 12 5764, Vol. 56, No. 24
FOR PURIM'Passion' inspires conversionsPHOENIX - Reverberations of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" are spreading throughout the Messianic Jewish and Hebrew Christian communities.Hundreds of followers, picking up on what is perceived as latent anti-Semitism in the film, are renouncing their claimed ties to Judaism and identifying fully as Christians. "When I saw Jesus' brutal torture and death on that screen, I was appalled to think I might have caused such a thing," said Ed Evans of Scottsdale, a self-described Messianic Jew. "Sure, it happened 2,000 years ago, but the New Testament says that Jesus' blood is on the Jews forever. I guess that makes it my fault." Evans, displaying a souvenir "The Passion of the Christ" crucifixion nail around his neck, said he was inquiring into affiliating with the Methodist faith. Angela Davidson, a sales associate at The Christian Store in Tempe, noted an increase in traffic since "The Passion's" release. "A lot of Hebrew Christian folks have been coming in asking for Catholic liturgies and statues of Jesus," she said. Davidson said she was thrown for a loop last Thursday when a customer asked if lox went well with Communion wafers. "I guess she did not want to leave all of the Jewish influences behind," said Davidson. Phoenix police reported an incident Sunday afternoon in which a group of Hebrew Christians chased a Catholic priest down Central Avenue. "I thought they were parents of former altar boys, so I ran," Father Andrew McConnell said. "As it turns out, they just wanted to confess to me." National Guard mystery solvedPHOENIX - A local family has discovered the whereabouts of George W. Bush during the lapse in his National Guard service.While looking through a family photo album of their trip to Jerusalem in 1972, Samuel and Sarah Weinberg discovered a photograph showing a man in the background davening at the Kotel. On close inspection, Samuel Weinberg noticed that it looked suspiciously like Bush. He e-mailed an inquiry to the Religious Studies Research Institute in Jerusalem, which issued an official statement this week confirming that a "Gavriel Bush" was registered with the Magen David Yeshiva at the time the photo was taken. A White House spokesman declined to comment on the subject of the photo, but remarked that Bush often is heard whispering "oy vey" and "baruch Hashem" at White House staff meetings. "We figured he was speaking Texan," said the spokesman. Annual campaign canceledPHOENIX - After discovering a bookkeeping error last week, officials of the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix announced they have sufficient funding for 2004 and have canceled the 2004 Campaign for Jewish Needs.Instead, this year's Super Sunday will raise funds for the Save the Whales Foundation. "Who knew that a misplaced decimal point would lead to such success," said Sandy Steinberg, federation spokeswoman. "But please, remember to give to the 2005 campaign." Mormons flock to mikvah en masseSALT LAKE CITY - In what they termed an act of solidarity with their Jewish brethren, a group of Mormons who formerly performed proxy baptisms in the name of deceased Jews, used the Salt Lake as a giant mikvah to convert to Judaism. A spokesman from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stated that the group is a break-off from the official church."At first, we believed we should give the Jewish deceased a chance to get into paradise," said spokesman Bud Johnson. "To make up for our error in judgment, we decided to jump into their faith." "I don't know about that," commented Rabbi Jacob Rabinowitz. "Jumping into the Salt Lake in February makes about as much sense as proxy baptism." Drink! Drink! Drink!Due to the success of The Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix's Men's Night Out, next year's is already being planned. The evening will be held at a private home and will include belching contests, beer bongs, cold pizza and a foosball tournament. |
