"A Rabbi Walks Into an Evangelical Church" by Rabbi Moffic for Friday, 10 July 2015

"A Rabbi Walks Into an Evangelical Church" by Rabbi Moffic for Friday, 10 July 2015
A Rabbi Walks Into an Evangelical Church - Dear Friends of All Faiths, I hope you are enjoying the summer. The opportunity for recreation also gives a chance re-creation, growing and renewing ourselves with the people we love. This week’s most popular post reflects on a recent speaking engagement in Michigan. I’ll be adding more video to the blog in the coming months, and I hope you enjoy this one reflecting for two minutes on one of my favorite biblical readings. Wishing you a wonderful weekend, Evan


A Rabbi Walks Into an Evangelical Church
Dear Friends of All Faiths, I hope you are enjoying the summer. The opportunity for recreation also gives a chance re-creation, growing and renewing ourselves with the people we love.
This week’s most popular post reflects on a recent speaking engagement in Michigan. I’ll be adding more video to the blog in the coming months, and I hope you enjoy this one reflecting for two minutes on one of my favorite biblical readings.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend, Evan

A Rabbi Walks Into An Evangelical Church
A Rabbi Walks Into An Evangelical Church
3 Fears I Overcame by Rabbi Evan Moffic
America is the most religious diverse nation in the world. We have witnessed some of that diversity in the range of responses to the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage. At these times, we need an even greater focus on what ties us together. Toward that end, I share the following written after a recent speaking engagement at a mega-church in Michigan.
Jews don’t tend to have mega-churches. First of all, we’re a small population. The Sunday attendance at one mega-church could well be greater than the entire Jewish population of a mid-sized city.
That was true when I spoke at a mega-church in May in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Jewish population of the city does not match the more than 2,000 people gathered there that morning.
I was at the church to talk about my book on Passover for Christians. But I was also there to build bridges. (The video of the sermon is here.)
Breaking Down Stereotypes
Many Jews have stereotypical views of Evangelicals. They want to convert us. They believe Jews need to go to Israel to help speed up the Second Coming. They believe Christianity superseded Judaism and Jews are not “saved” by God’s grace.
These stereotypes may persist, but they lack validity.
If we are to build meaningful and enriching bridges–bridges that enhance our faiths and ourselves–we need to address and overcome our lingering fears. These fears include the following:
1. Evangelicals want to convert Jews: Yes, some do. And some use manipulative techniques in doing so. That is a reality we need to recognize.
But the vast majority do not. Evangelical is a broad term generally referring to those who believe in a Trinitarian God. It does not automatically imply a desire to convert others.
In fact, evangelicals often have a deep appreciation and respect for Judaism.
After a talk I gave at a church last year, a woman approached me and told me she wished she had been born a Jew so she could know what Jesus experienced. Moved by her words, I asked her what–aside from being reborn in a different era–could help her gain that knowledge?
“Learning more about Judaism,” she said. (During the sermon, I talked a lot about the Jewish roots of Christianity.)
2. Evangelicals think Jews need to go to Israel to create the condition for the Second Coming: Again, yes, some Christians do believe this. But my experience suggests it is a very small proportion. Rather, the vast majority see Israel as a sacred land revitalized by the Jewish people. Conversion and the Second Coming are not the basis for their connection to the land.
And even if it were so, I would not be troubled. In Judaism, deeds matter more than creeds. So long as we can converse and co-exist peacefully, we need not be threatened by what another person believes.
3. Evangelicals are not open-minded: Describing any group as not open-minded is dangerous. We tread on dangerous ground when we begin to presume what another person–let alone an entire group-–believes.
Rather than fear another person’s strongly held beliefs, perhaps we can see the way they are akin to our own.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks challenges us to do so in a beautiful story: “Imagine two people,” he says, “who spend their lives transporting stones. One carries bags of diamonds. The other hauls sacks of rocks. Each is now asked to take a consignment of rubies. Which of the two understands what he is now to carry?

The man who is used to diamonds knows that stones can be precious, even those that are not diamonds. But the man who has carried only rocks thinks the stones are a mere burden. They have weight but not worth.Rubies are beyond his comprehension.”
“So it is,” he says, “with faith. If we cherish our own, then we will understand the value of others. We may regard ours as a diamond and another faith as a ruby, but we know that both are precious stones.… True tolerance comes not from the absence of faith but from its living presence.”
To that, I think both the church and the synagogue can say Amen. You can also do so by watching the video of the sermon here.

[continue...] 

How To Write Your Own Eulogy

I didn't become a rabbi when I finished seminary. I became a real rabbi after my first eulogy. Nothing can totally prepare you for the task of comforting mourners and making sense of death. And nothing better teaches us what makes for a meaningful and well-lived life. How To Write Your Own Eulogy
3 Tips from President Obamaby Rabbi Evan Moffic

I didn’t become a rabbi when I finished seminary. I became a real rabbi after my first eulogy. Nothing can totally prepare you for the task of comforting mourners and making sense of death.And nothing better teaches us what makes for a meaningful and well-lived life.
At its best, a eulogy is a work of art. It takes the events of a person’s life and reveals its beauty and meaning. It gives us a glimpse of the holy amidst the common place.
Listen and Learn
Even if we do not deliver eulogies often, we should read them. And we should listen to them. And in doing so we can learn.
We can learn about what endures and what does not. We can learn what is important and what is not. And we can begin to ask ourselves how we want to be remembered.
Consider President Obama’s eulogy for Reverend Clementa Pinckney. Reverend Pinckney was one of the nine people killed at Mother Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston. Reading his eulogy leaves us with a sense of gratitude and awareness.
We not only feel gratitude for a life well-lived. We gain insights as to how we might better live our own. Here a few insights we can garner from the President’s eulogy:
1. Look for Grace: Grace has been defined as “the free and benevolent favor of God.” The Hebrew equivalent is hesed, which is also translated as “lovingkindness.”
The President pointed out that Rev. Pinckney consistently taught and embodied grace. He taught that grace is not passive. Grace is active. It is a gift we unwrap through the way we live.
Grace is also unlimited in scope. God does not give grace to one person and take it away from another. The more grace we feel, the more grace we give away. We give and receive, and when we see this truth, our lives take on a new meaning.
We become more generous and loving. We become more merciful and understanding. Grace changes us, and thereby transforms the world.
2. Find a Community: Rev. Pinckney’s life cannot be separated from his church. In Judaism and Christianity, a house of worship offers acceptance, hope, joy, security and transformation. It provides a home for God. It embodies the qualities each of us strives for. It is community.
We can appreciate the power of community even if we do not practice a faith. Business consultant Jim Rohn said we are the average of the five people we spent the most time around. If we spend our time in a good community, we will become more loving, giving, and kind.
3. Aim for Fullness: We often confuse longevity with significance. A long life, we think, is a full life. That is not always true. As Abraham Lincoln put it, “In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”
Reverend Pinckney put a lot of life into his 42 years. He was a pastor, teacher, politician, husband and father. He touched people both twice and half his age.
In thinking of his life, I thought of a saying of the Jewish sages: “The Righteous, even when they die, are called living.” In other words, the righteous live on in the inspiration and loved ones they leave behind.
Reverend Pinckney lived in such a way. So may we.
[continue...]

Mailing address:

Congregation Solel

315 aspen lane

Highland Park, IL, 60035, USA







This email was sent to garyleeparker60@gmail.com
why did I get this? unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences
Rabbi Evan Moffic · Congregation Solel · 1301 Clavey Road · Highland Park, ILllinois 60035 · United States
___________________________________