Crossing Cultures – Jewish High Holy Days

Our state premier has said that we can look forward to “a COVID-normal Christmas”. That’s nice, but little comfort for Melbourne’s Jewish community. And Melbourne is where about 55,000 of Australia’s 91,000 Jews live. 

The most holy day in the Jewish calendar, a day celebrated by devout Jews and agnostic Jews alike, is Yom Kippur.  As Gentile Christians, we are perhaps more familiar with this festival’s Old Testament name – ‘The Day of Atonement’. It was held from sunset on Sunday to sunset on Monday of this week (as I write). 

There are two other important Jewish holy days at this time of year too. Rosh Hashanah (The Feast of Trumpets) was held over a week ago and Sukkot (The Feast of Tabernacles) will be held in a few days time. These (and specifically the first two – Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) form the Jewish ‘High Holy Days’. 

Here in Melbourne, they have all been celebrated in a very quiet fashion this year thanks to our citywide lockdown. 

I hope to write three short blog posts over the coming days looking at each one of these very special holidays from the perspective of a Gentile follower of Jesus.  First, though, I have another question to ask myself.

What is the relevance?

Why should I, an Australian Christian woman of British stock, care about Jewish holidays? I’m not Jewish, after all. But care I do … and the more I learn about these holy days, the more I care.  In glimpsing devout Jews in the city in which I now live commemorating these festivals, I learn so much more about my own heritage as a Christian.

Some might say, and rightly so, that the early church leaders declared at the Council of Jerusalem (described in Acts 15) that Gentile believers such as myself need not be burdened by keeping the Jewish Law. Nevertheless, there is a great deal that we can learn even as spectators of Jewish customs. 

The great apostle to the Gentiles, Rabbi Paul, warns us Gentiles about thinking ourselves in any way ‘better’ than the people of Israel. “You do not support the root, but the root supports you,” he wrote to early Christians in Rome (Romans 11:18). He went on to express his ardent hope that Israel would ultimately turn to God through his Messiah. The details of Romans 11 have confused greater minds than mine, but one thing is clear: we are to honour our Jewish roots. 

I think, from my reading of Romans 11 in particular and the Bible generally, that God has a very special place in his heart for the people of Israel even now. 

Here in Melbourne, there are quite a lot of these men and women who, in Paul’s words, “… God loved on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.” (Romans 11:28b-29). There are devout Jews, agnostic Jews, modern Jews, orthodox Jews and, amongst them, Jews who recognise Jesus as Messiah.

I have appreciated watching online services held by Messianic Jews to commemorate the first two of these three holy days. I plan to watch the third at the end of this week. You can access them too from their website: https://beithamashiach.com 

Crossing Cultures

The good news of salvation through Jesus spread from Jews to Gentiles. Jesus told his disciples, shortly before his ascension, that they would be his witnesses “… in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). That has certainly come to pass.

As the gospel spread, it crossed cultures. This has posed no end of challenges for church leaders over the years. The Council in Jerusalem, mentioned above and described in Acts 15, specifically looked at the question of how much Gentiles like me needed to adapt to Jewish ways in order to follow Jesus. Various other church leaders have met over the two millennia since to seek God’s guidance and set church policies on other matters too (including, though not exclusively, cultural issues).

The gospel continues to cross cultures. Questions continue to be debated. Some followers of Jesus in Central Asia ask questions like these: “Can Christians string prayer flags around their homes if we put Bible verses instead of Buddhist words on them?” “How about prayer beads if we chant Bible words or prayers instead of Buddhist words or prayers?” (Rosary beads immediately spring to mind.)

Where does one draw the line between lifestyle and deep-rooted belief? When is the line crossed? What word should be used for the name of God in certain languages … a local word for the supreme deity with Buddhist overtones or an imported word from Hebrew or something else entirely?

Wisdom is needed today as much as it ever was as the gospel enters new territory. Pray that God will grant wisdom to those who grapple with such matters.

Today, however, I am thinking more about how much has been lost in our understanding of things of God as we – the Gentile church – cast aside Jewish traditions. It’s not wrong. It’s just a bit sad, because we miss out on a tremendous depth of understanding about God and his kingdom.

Festivals

Our premier has promised us a COVID-normal Christmas here in Melbourne. That’s nice. Christmas is the most important festival of the year for many Melburnians. Easter is equally as significant to Christians, but Christmas is more enthusiastically celebrated in my particular culture.

But not all people are like me. Not even here in Melbourne.

Some people in Melbourne are flesh-and-blood descendants of Abraham. What a privilege.