Jewish views on religious pluralism

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Jewish views on religious pluralism" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

The neutrality of this article is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met. (December 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Part of a series on
Judaism
Movements Orthodox Haredi Hasidic Modern Conservative Conservadox Reform Karaite Reconstructionist Renewal Humanistic Haymanot
Philosophy Principles of faith Kabbalah Messiah Ethics Chosenness God Names Musar movement
Texts Tanakh Torah Nevi'im Ketuvim Ḥumash Siddur Piyutim Zohar Rabbinic Mishnah Talmud Midrash Tosefta
Law Mishneh Torah Tur Shulchan Aruch Mishnah Berurah Aruch HaShulchan Kashrut Tzniut Tzedakah Niddah Noahide laws
Holy cities/places Jerusalem Safed Hebron Tiberias Synagogue Beth midrash Mikveh Sukkah Chevra kadisha Holy Temple Tabernacle
Important figures Abraham Isaac Jacob Moses Aaron David Solomon Sarah Rebecca Rachel Leah Rabbinic sages Chazal Tannaim Amoraim Savoraim Geonim Rishonim Acharonim
Religious roles Rabbi Rebbe Posek Hazzan Dayan Rosh yeshiva Mohel Kohen
Culture and education Brit Zeved habat Pidyon haben Bar and Bat Mitzvah Marriage Bereavement Yeshiva Kolel Cheder
Ritual objects Sefer Torah Tallit Tefillin Tzitzit Kippah Mezuzah Menorah Shofar Four species Etrog Lulav Hadass Arava Kittel Gartel
Prayers Shema (Sh'ma) Amidah Aleinu Kaddish Minyan Birkat Hamazon Shehecheyanu Hallel Havdalah Tachanun Kol Nidre Selichot (S'lichot)
Major holidays Rosh Hashana Yom Kippur Sukkot Pesach Shavuot Purim Hanukkah
Other religions Christianity Hinduism Islam Mormonism Samaritanism Abrahamic religions Judeo-Christian Pluralism
Related topics Jews Zionism Israel Criticism Antisemitism Anti-Judaism Holocaust theology Music Jesus Muhammad
Judaism portal
v t e

Religious pluralism is a set of religious world views that hold that one's religion is not the sole and exclusive source of truth, and thus recognizes that some level of truth and value exists in other religions. As such, religious pluralism goes beyond religious tolerance, which is the condition of peaceful existence between adherents of different religions or religious denominations.

Within the Jewish community there lies a common history, a shared language of prayer, a shared Bible and a shared set of rabbinic literature, thus allowing for Jews of significantly different world views to share some common values and goals.

Classical Jewish views

General classical views on other religions

Traditionally, Jews believe that God chose the Jewish people to be in a

has a relationship with other peoples – rather, Judaism held that God had entered into a covenant with all humankind, and that Jews and non-Jews alike have a relationship with God, each nation with its own unique relationship with God.

Biblical references as well as rabbinic literature support this view: Moses refers to the "God of the spirits of all flesh" (Numbers 27:16), and the

" (Tosefta Sanhedrin 13:1; Sanhedrin 105a; also Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Teshuvah 3:4). The Midrash adds: "-Why does the Holy One, blessed be He, love the righteous? Because righteousness is not due to inheritance or family connections... If a man wants to become a Kohen or a Levite, he cannot. Why? Because his father was neither a Kohen nor a Levite. However, if someone wants to become righteous, even if he is a gentile, he can, because righteousness is not inherited. [Numbers Rabbah 8:2]

A traditional Jewish view is that rather than being obligated to obey the whole

, the original father of Judaism).}

According to the

Noahide Laws

are;

1. שפיכת דמים‎ - Sh'fichat damim, to refrain from bloodshed and murder
2. דינים‎ - Dinim, to establish
   laws, and courts of justice
3. עבודה זרה‎ - Avodah zarah, to refrain from idolatry,
4. ברכת השם‎ Birkat Hashem, - to refrain from blasphemy,
5. גילוי עריות‎ - Gilui Arayot (Gilui Arayos in the Ashkenazi pronunciation) to refrain from
   bestiality, adultery
   )
6. גזל‎ - Gezel, to refrain from theft, and
7. אבר מן החי‎ - Ever min ha'Chai, to refrain from eating a limb torn from a still living animal^{[clarification needed]}

Any person who lives according to these laws is known as "The righteous among the

declared "the righteous of all nations have a share in the world to come." (Tosefta, Sanhedrin 13)

Prophets of the Bible, while they repeatedly denounced the evils of the idolatrous nations (in addition to their denouncing the Jews' sins), they never call the nations to account for their idolatrous beliefs (i.e. worshiping multiple deities), but only for their evil actions (such as human sacrifice, murder, and miscarriages of justice). ^[citation needed].

The Jerusalem Talmud, Tractate Peah, states:

"כתיב ומשפט ורב צדקה לא יענה אין הקב"ה משהא מתן שכרן של עושה מצות בגוי‎"

"It is written, "Justice and abundant righteousness he does not withhold". [from here we see] God does not hold back from a non-Jew who does mitzvot.^[1][2]

Classical views on Christianity

Maimonides, one of Judaism's most important theologians and legal experts, explained in detail why Jesus was wrong to create Christianity and why Muhammad was wrong to create Islam; he laments the pains Jews have suffered in persecution from followers of these new faiths as they attempted to supplant Judaism (in the case of Christianity, called Supersessionism). However, Maimonides then goes on to say that both faiths can be considered a positive part of God's plan to redeem the world.

circumcised of flesh and heart. (Maimonides, Mishneh Torah

, XI.4.)

The above paragraph was often censored from many printed versions where Christian censorship was felt.^[citation needed]

Modern (post-Enlightenment era) Jewish views

Views on dialogue with non-Jews in general

Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, and a few Modern Orthodox rabbis engage in interfaith religious dialogue, while most Orthodox rabbis do not.^{[citation needed]}

Rabbi Lord

; that was and is their national purpose."

The German-Jewish philosopher

]

According to the

.

Views on Jewish-Christian dialogue^[neutrality is disputed]

Joseph Soloveitchik

In practice, the predominant position of Modern Orthodoxy on this issue is based on the position of Rabbi

in an essay entitled Confrontation. He held that Judaism and Christianity are "two faith communities (which are) intrinsically antithetic". In his view "the language of faith of a particular community is totally incomprehensible to the man of a different faith community. Hence the confrontation should occur not at a theological, but at a mundane human level... the great encounter between man and God is a holy, personal and private affair, incomprehensible to the outsider..." As such, he ruled that theological dialogue between Judaism and Christianity was not possible.

However, Soloveitchik advocated closer ties between the Jewish and Christian communities. He held that communication between Jews and Christians was not merely permissible, but "desirable and even essential" on non-theological issues such as war and peace, the war on poverty, the struggle for people to gain freedom, issues of morality and civil rights, and to work together against the perceived threat of secularism.

As a result of his ruling, Orthodox Jewish groups did not operate in interfaith discussions between the

(RCA), with Soloveitchik's approval, then engaged in a number of interfaith dialogues with both Catholic and Protestant Christian groups.

Soloveitchik understood his ruling as advising against purely theological interfaith dialogue, but as allowing theological dialogue as part of a greater context. Bernard Rosensweig (former President of the RCA) writes "The RCA remained loyal to the guidelines which the Rav had set down [concerning interfaith dialogue] and distinguished between theological discussions and ethical-secular concerns, which have universal validity. Every program involving either Catholic or Protestant churches in which we participated was carefully scrutinized.... Every topic which had possible theological nuances or implications was vetoed, and only when the Rav pronounced it to be satisfactory did we proceed to the dialogue."

An RCA committee was once reviewing possible topics for an inter-faith dialogue. One of the suggested topics was "Man in the Image of God." Several members of the committee felt that the topic had too theological a ring, and wished to veto it. When the Rav [Soloveitch] was consulted he approved the topic and quipped, "What should the topic have been? Man as a Naturalistic Creature?!"

(Lawrence Kaplan, Revisionism and the Rav: The Struggle for the Soul of Modern Orthodoxy Judaism, Summer, 1999)

The basis for Soloveitchik's ruling was not narrowly legal, but sociological and historical. He described the traditional Jewish–Christian relationship as one of "the few and weak vis-à-vis the many and the strong", one in which the Christian community historically denied the right of the Jewish community to believe and live in their own way. His response was written in the light of past Jewish-Christian religious disputations, which traditionally had been forced upon the Jewish community. Those had as their express goal the conversion of Jews to Christianity. As recently as the 1960s many traditional Jews still looked upon all interfaith dialogue with suspicion, fearing that conversion may be an ulterior motive. This was a reasonable belief, given that many Catholics and most Protestants at the time in fact held this position. Reflecting this stance, Rabbi Soloveitchik asked the Christian community to respect "the right of the community of the few to live, create and worship in its own way, in freedom and with dignity."

Other rabbinical views

Many traditional rabbis agree; they hold that while cooperation with the Christian community is of importance, theological dialogue is unnecessary, or even misguided. Rabbi Eliezer Berkovits writes that "Judaism is Judaism because it rejects Christianity, and Christianity is Christianity because it rejects Judaism." (Disputation and Dialogue: Readings in the Jewish Christian Encounter, Ed. F.E. Talmage, Ktav, 1975, p. 291.)

In later years Solovetichik's qualified permission was interpreted more and more restrictively. (Tradition:A Journal of Orthodox Thought, Vol. 6, 1964) Today many Orthodox rabbis use Soloveitchik's letter to justify having no discussion or joint efforts with Christians.

In contrast, some Modern Orthodox rabbis such as Eugene Korn and David Hartman hold that in some cases, the primary issue in Confrontation is no longer valid; some Christian groups no longer attempt to use interfaith dialogue to convert Jews to Christianity. They believe that the relationship between Judaism and Christianity has reached a point where Jews can trust Christian groups to respect them as equals. Further, in most nations it is not possible for Jews to be forced or pressured to convert, and many major Christian groups no longer teach that the Jews who refuse to convert are damned to hell.

In non-Orthodox denominations of Judaism most rabbis hold that Jews have nothing to fear from engaging in theological dialogue, and may have much to gain. Some hold that in practice Soloveitchik's distinctions are not viable, for any group that has sustained discussion and participation on moral issues will implicitly involve theological discourse. Thus, since informal implicit theological dialogue will occur, one might as well admit it and publicly work on formal theological dialogue.

Orthodox Rabbinic Statement on Christianity

On December 3, 2015, the

The unprecedented

Between Jerusalem and Rome

On August 31, 2017, representatives of the

Ground rules for a Christian-Jewish dialogue ^[neutrality is disputed]

Conservative Rabbi Robert Gordis wrote an essay on "Ground Rules for a Christian Jewish Dialogue"; in all Jewish denominations, one form or another of these rules eventually became more or less accepted by parties engaging in Jewish-Christian theological dialogue.

Robert Gordis held that "a rational dialogue conducted on the basis of knowledge and mutual respect between the two components of the religio-ethical tradition of the Western world can prove a blessing to our age." His proposed ground rules for fair discussion are:

(1) People should not label Jews as worshiping an inferior "Old Testament God of Justice" while saying that Christians worship a superior "God of Love of the New Testament." Gordis gives quotations from the

Marcion

for the historical source of this interpretation).

(2) He holds that Christians should stop "the widespread practice of contrasting the primitivism, tribalism and formalism of the Old Testament (see also

Tanakh

which in his view prove that this is a misleading caricature of both religions, created by selective quotation.

(3) "Another practice which should be surrendered is that of referring to Old Testament verses quoted in the New as original New Testament passages. Many years ago,

Golden Rule 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself' as New Testament teaching. When the Old Testament source (Leviticus 19:18, the Great Commandment) was called to his attention, he blandly refused to recognize his error." ^{[citation needed}

]

(4) Christians need to understand that while Judaism is based on the Hebrew Bible, it is not identical to the religion described in it. Rather, Judaism is based on the Bible as understood through the classical works of rabbinic literature, such as the Mishnah and Talmud. Gordis writes "To describe Judaism within the framework of the Old Testament is as misleading as constructing a picture of American life in terms of the Constitution, which is, to be sure, the basic law of the land but far from coextensive with our present legal and social system."

(5) Jews must "rise above the heavy burden of historical memories which have made it difficult for them to achieve any real understanding, let alone an appreciation, of Christianity. It is not easy to wipe out the memories of centuries of

contemporary Christianity

."

Gordis calls on Jews to "see in Christian doctrine an effort to apprehend the nature of the divine that is worthy of respect and understanding" and that "the dogmas of the Christian church have expressed this vision of God in terms that have proved meaningful to Christian believers through the centuries." He calls on Jews to understand with tolerance and respect the historical and religious context which led Christians to develop the concepts of the

. (Source: "The Root and the Branch", Chapter 4, Robert Gordis, Univ. of Chicago Press, 1962)

Recently, over 120 rabbis have signed the Dabru Emet ("Speak the Truth"), a document concerning the relationship between Judaism and Christianity. While affirming that there are substantial theological differences between the two religions, the purpose of Dabru Emet is to point out common ground. It is not an official document of any of the Jewish denominations per se, but it is representative of what many Jews feel. Dabru Emet sparked a controversy in segments of the Jewish community. Many Jews disagree with parts of it for a variety of reasons.

Views on Jewish-Muslim dialogue

Many Muslim and Jewish groups and individuals have together created

.

The viewpoint of Conservative Judaism is summarized in Emet Ve-Emunah: Statement of Principles of Conservative Judaism. This official statement holds that

"As Conservative Jews, we acknowledge without apology the many debts which Jewish religion and civilization owe to the nations of the world. We eschew triumphalism with respect to other ways of serving God.

Holocaust). No relationship can be nurtured between Jews and Muslims unless it acknowledges explicitly and seeks to combat the terrible social and political effects of Muslim hostility, as well as the disturbing but growing reaction of Jewish anti-Arabism in the Land of Israel. But all of these relationships, properly pursued, can bring great blessing to the Jewish community and to the world. As the late Professor Abraham Joshua Heschel

put it, "no religion is an island."

Views on dialogue with other religions

A small number of modern Jewish theologians, such as

.

Intra-religious pluralism

The article on Relationships between Jewish religious movements describes how the different Jewish denominations view each other and interact with each other.

See also

• Religious antisemitism
• Religious pluralism
• Antisemitism in Christianity
• Christianity and Judaism
• Christian–Jewish reconciliation
• Antisemitism in Islam
• Islamic–Jewish relations
• Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement
• Yahwism

Notes

References

• Alan Brill, Judaism and Other Religions: Models of Understanding Palgrave 2010.
• Alan Brill, Judaism and World Religions Palgrave Macmillan 2012
• Hananya Goodman, ed. Between Jerusalem and Benares : Comparative Studies in Judaism and Hinduism. Delhi, Sri Satguru Publications, 1997+
• Robert Gordis The Root and the Branch, Chapter 4, Univ. of Chicago Press, 1962
• J. H. Hertz, Pentateuch and Haftorahs Soncino Press, 1960, p. 759
• Lawrence Kaplan Revisionism and the Rav: The Struggle for the Soul of Modern Orthodoxy Judaism, Summer, 1999
• Jacob Katz, Exclusiveness and Tolerance, Oxford Univ. Press, 1961, Ch.10
• Yehezkel Kaufman, The Religion of Israel, Univ. of Chicago Press, 1960
• Judaism and the Varieties of Idolatrous Experience Bary S. Kogan in Proceedings of the Academy for Jewish Philosophy Ed. David Novak and Norbert M. Samuelson, University Press of America, 1992
• Eugene Korn The Man of Faith and Interreligious Dialogue: Revisiting 'Confrontation' After Forty Years
• D. Levene The Garden of Wisdom, Columbia Univ. Press, 1907/1966
• National Jewish Scholars Project, Dabru Emet: A Jewish Statement on Christians and Christianity
• Emet Ve-Emunah: Statement of Principles of Conservative Judaism, The Rabbinical Assembly, NY
• Bernard Rosenzweig, The Rav as Communal Leader, Tradition 30.4, p. 214-215, 1996
• Joseph Soloveitchik Confrontation Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Thought, 1964 volume 6, #2
• Disputation and Dialogue: Readings in the Jewish Christian Encounter, Ed. F.E. Talmage, Ktav, 1975, p. 291
• Emory University class: Introduction to Religion: Judaism and Hinduism
• Martin Goodman, Joseph David, Corinna R. Kaiser, and Simon Levis Sullam, Toleration within Judaism (Oxford, UK: Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2013).

External links

• The Pluralism Project: Judaism