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March 19, 2004/Adar 26 5764, Vol. 56, No. 26
Know thy neighbor
FLORENCE ECKSTEIN
Publisher
Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" soon will be yesterday's news, its intense media hype a distant memory.
The news that won't fade away is the terror attacks being waged around the world on the pretext of religious conviction.
For most of us, faith offers a sense of purpose, a source of values and a fount of solace. Numerous Christian viewers find in "The Passion" a singular interpretation of the ancient story of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus that is the sacred foundation of their faith.
Many Jews and non-Jews argue that Gibson's idiosyn-cratic spin - the script, characters, casting, costumes, promotion and Ash Wednesday release - portrays Jews in a way that raises the specter of anti-Semitism.
I saw "The Passion" on March 7, at a screening organized by Temple Solel, Temple Beth Israel, Chaparral Christian Church and Scottsdale Presbyterian Church. The spiritual leaders of these congregations spoke both before and following the film.
I abhor violence on film and television. The unmitigated cruelty portrayed in "The Passion" was tough going, eased only by the hushed ecumenical companionship of more than 500 adults who had gathered for the occasion.
"What matters is that we come in together and leave together," Rabbi Stephen Kahn of Temple Beth Israel told us, and that we share the experience.
Dr. Frank Shirvinski of Chaparral Christian Church provided a brief background on the tradition of Passion Plays, of which "The Passion" is a modern-day derivative. "We cherish the story," he said, "but it's been used to hurt people. We don't want our sacred stories (used in that way)."
And indeed, if the times weren't so troubled, with real blood spilled and real lives lost, the film might not be so troubling. But in our contemporary reality, the debate surrounding the film delivers a clear message: It's time, now, to talk deeply with people of other faiths, to bridge information gaps and to create understanding.
To successfully engage in this process, we must master our own Judaism, beginning at the beginning of our own book, the Tanach, and learning the history of the Jewish people.
What we don't know, we can't teach.
It means also reading the New Testament, which is after all the seminal religious text of most Americans, and understanding it in an historical context.
For information on "The Passion," visit the Web site of Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix, www.jewishphoenix.org/jewish_community_rel_council/council.php.
As record-breaking audiences propel filmmaker Mel Gibson toward a higher net worth, the rest of us can grow richer, too, by knowing more about who we are and who our friends are. We can then feel confident about ourselves, trust our neighbors and courageously work together toward a secure future for all our children.
Reach the writer at flo_eckstein@jewishaz.com.
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