Christians try to recapture Jewish roots

BEN WINTON
Special to Jewish News

It is an observance that celebrates a common heritage shared by two faiths - Jewish and Christian, says Felton, pastor of Epworth United Methodist Church.

Like many Valley Christian congregations hosting seders, Felton has blended a Messianic theme with the Jewish tradition. The northwest Phoenix congregation hosted its seder on Maundy Thursday (or Holy Thursday), March 27, the Thursday before Easter, "because according to the Gospel texts, that's when it would have happened," Felton says.

"It" is the Last Supper. According to the Christian Bible, on the night before Jesus' crucifixion, he celebrated Passover with his disciples. It was Jesus' breaking of unleavened bread, sharing of wine at this meal, and his related words that formed the basis for Christian eucharistic rituals.

Epworth's seder remained as faithful to traditional Jewish practices as possible, with advice from members of Reform Temple Beth Israel in Phoenix, Felton says.

But afterwards, Felton turned to the Christian Bible to discuss how Jesus was the new paschal lamb whose sacrifice liberates the faithful. (Christians often use the analogy of the traditional Passover lamb to describe Jesus' death as the ultimate sacrifice, referring to Jesus as the "Lamb of God.")

The Christian seder is an attempt, Felton says, to celebrate the similarities, rather than the differences, between Christians and Jews.

"For a bunch of gentiles, we try to be as true to the spirit of the seder as possible," he says.

Such observances are becoming more popular among Valley Christians,

Seders growing popular among church groups

according to Felton and other religious leaders, who say they also see an increased interest in interfaith dialogue and in rediscovering common roots.

Epworth United Methodist Church and Temple Beth Israel host exchange programs, for example, to help both congregations' members better understand each others' faiths. Felton, however, says that he would never host a seder in the hope of converting a Jew. Other local pastors say the same.

The Rev. Paul Eppinger, executive director of the Arizona Ecumenical Council, a group representing 3,700 congregations in Arizona, agrees that the popularity of gentile seders is increasing. Christian congregations in the Valley that host Passover seders range from Presbyterian to Baptist to non-denominational to Roman Catholic.

"Our Christian faith comes totally out of the Jewish faith and background," says Eppinger, an American Baptist minister. "And Christians are interested in learning more of the Jewish practices and traditions." Last month, at St. Joan of Arc Roman Catholic Church in northeastern Phoenix, Jewish music blared from loudspeakers as parishioners set tables with plastic cups and paper plates in preparation for their third annual seder. The day it was observed came a week before the Christian Holy Week and simply was a matter of convenience - squeezed in between other church activities, says Al Bergman, who converted to Catholicism years ago and helped coordinate the event.

At the St. Joan of Arc gathering, the importance of the seder as a Jewish tradition stood out, in spite of a statue of the Virgin Mary that stood off to the side, in addition to a prominently displayed cross.

"This is a festival of freedom and of the liberation of a people - the exodus from Egypt," says Bergman, a lay eucharistic minister at the parish. "We pretty much follow the traditional seder. But the food is a little more gentile."

For Bergman, the non-Jewish seder can play an important faith-inspiring role in a society in which intermarriage and increased global communications can serve to distance people from their faith in God and religion.

Seders serve to affirm conviction in one's faith, whether it is Jewish or non-Jewish, Bergman says.

"There are so many similarities between our faiths that people don't realize. We are reaching out and extending to our brothers and sisters the invitation to share those similarities," he says.

Rabbi David Rebibo of Orthodox Beth Joseph Congregation in Phoenix agrees that it's less important whether a seder is conducted by a gentile group or by Jews than whether the ritual is faithful to Jewish purpose and traditions, noting that Jews and gentiles alike are "all God's creatures."

"It's important that people don't misunderstand that Jews are special or exclusive; I don't think of myself that way. It's just that Jews were given the Torah - 613 commandments - that's all," Rebibo says.

He says he is concerned, however, about the increased possibilities for misinterpretation or abuse of Jewish theology when uninformed gentiles attempt seders.

Rabbi Zalman Levertov, director of Orthodox Chabad Lubavitch in Phoenix, is more than concerned. He objects to the gentile seders on principle, saying it is not up to non-Jews to observe the 613 laws given to the Jewish people by God.

"A non-Jew is not allowed to observe the Sabbath. A potential convert (to Judaism) cannot even observe the Sabbath until fully converted," he says.

Levertov says that he is not opposed to gentiles exploring their Jewish roots, "but the question I would propose to them is this: Why pick and choose from among the (Christian and Jewish) laws?" Certain Jewish laws, such as performing charitable acts and temple sacrifices, can be observed by both Jew and gentile, he adds, but celebrating Passover is not among them.

"The seder doesn't really mean anything to (gentiles)," Levertov says. "If they want to observe Jewish laws, then let them not eat pork, too."