Love and Learn from Thy Neighbor

By Mark Greenberg
KOACH Field Worker
Washington, DC

Last month when Maya, the E-Zine editor, emailed me to tell me that I had the honor of writing this month’s staff piece, I was excited. I thought that a topic like "Jewish-Christian Relations" would lead me to a cornucopia of interesting topics. At first I thought about writing a brief history of the two religions, but I didn’t want to bore everyone. Then I thought I would write something humorous, but couldn’t think of a politically correct conclusion to the timeless classic, "Two Jews and a Christian walk into a bar…"

With the deadline slowly approaching and piles of crumpled paper building up on the floor, I looked for some inspiration. I turned to the big guy upstairs and asked for some help. I said, "Rich (Director of KOACH), got any ideas?" and he sure did. One idea that really caught my attention was that college is a great opportunity for open dialogue between groups of people. When else in a person’s life time will they have a chance to be able to sit with peers who are generally interested in the knowledge they bring and not have any alternative motive? Where else can you be in a relatively safe and uninhibited environment and talk freely about yourself?

I remember that after my first week of college my mother called to see how I was doing. The only thing I could think of to say to her was "Mom, there are goyim here and some of them don’t have sense of humor." She chuckled, but told me that as time goes on I would learn a lot from my new Christian friends (and find ones with a sense of humor).

I hate to admit it, but Mom was right. As my time in college went on, I learned a lot from my Christian friends. I learned that our two respective religions have many philosophical teachings in common, not just because Christianity is an offshoot of Judaism. It was interesting to learn the background to the very distinct differences between us, to know what the rational and theoretical thoughts behind these differences are. I was also fortunate enough to sit down and learn the ideas and reasoning behind the many similarities our two religions share. I will also admit that it gave me a chance to look inside myself and see what I believe and how strongly I am committed to my faith and ideas.

I invite you, the readers of the KOACH E-Zine, to do the same thing and perhaps take it a step further. Instead of going out one evening, why not invite some friends, particularly those who are devoted to other religious beliefs, over for some pizza and just start talking. As I wrote above, there will probably never be another opportunity in your life when you can do just a free thinking night with people from all kinds of backgrounds. You may even want to design some programming involving different religious groups on your campus so all can learn from one another.

Many campuses have used the Hamantashen-Latke debate as a way of bringing the Jewish and Christian communities together for a fun and spirited afternoon event. I think this is a great idea, because it allows us to poke a little fun at ourselves and invites our non-Jewish friends to get a glimpse into some holidays they rarely hear about. When I was an undergrad, our Hillel was fortunate enough to get the local Bishop to participate in the debate and he had a whole lot of fun with it.

Consider that tzedek doesn’t just mean social justice for us alone; it means social justice for the world at large. Help out with a church’s clothing or food drive. Help remember Dr. Martin Luther King Junior’s dream of equality for all persons, without regard for skin color, gender, religious belief, or cultural background, by participating in a memorial service. There are so many possibilities for events that will not only help us grow, but also further the dream that we are able to live cooperatively with people from all beliefs and backgrounds.

[Posted 11/1/05]