The history of Jewish-Christian relations dates back two millennia,
i.e., it is as old as Christianity itself. However, these relations, which
had been "stable" (but not extraordinarily friendly) throughout their
history, had undergone a substantial shift over the last century. Due
to the return of the Jewish people to their historical motherland and
the establishment of the State of Israel, many provisions of theology,
previously considered unshakable, had to be revised; Furthermore, this
process is taking place not as a result of reform, but in the course of orthodox
modernization, when a new direction of development of a given
religion retains its orthodox features in their entirety in the process
of modernization. An open dialogue between Christianity and Judaism
had been impossible in earlier periods of history, as the objectives of
Christianity in relation to the Jews were purely missionary, motivated
by the desire to compel the Jews to relinquish Judaism and accept
Christianity. Under such conditions, Judaism's most natural defensive
reaction was the construction of an impermeable barrier between the
Jewish and the Christian spiritual worlds. However, in our time this
state of affairs began to change. In the second half of the twentieth
century a number of significant positive shifts took place in the theological
position of Christianity in relation to Judaism.
Most Western Christian denominations (Catholics and the majority
of Protestant groups) began the process of rethinking Judaism and
adopting the idea of principled abandonment of missionary efforts in
relation to the Jews, that is, the recognition of the fact that even from
the point of view of Christianity the "Old Testament", i.e., the original
covenant of Between God and the Jews, had remained relevant, for the
word of God is eternal and cannot become outdated, obsolete or be
cancelled, and therefore the Jews (unlike other peoples the world) "are
saved through their Covenant with God and have no need in baptism
14 A Jewish Perspective on Christianity
for being redeemed". (Some Christian theologians even emphasize that
"Christian missionary effort in relation to Jews, which based on the denial
of efficacy of the First Testament, affronts God "- see more details
below.)
This is a major change emerging in the position of Christianity (if
only in some parts of it so far), and it enables Judaism to take a more
open stance. For the first time in millennia, the two factors combine to
create hope for a start of a sincere dialogue between the parties, aimed
at mutual understanding, not on persuasion of the opponent. This
change of position on the part of both Christianity and Judaism had
been initiated by the attempts to comprehend the Holocaust, which
befell the European Jewry during WWII. Furthermore, it had been elicited
by theological understanding of the creation of the State of Israel
- this incredible feat of the Jewish return to their motherland after
centuries of exile. This return carries the same level of spiritual and religious
significance as the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, which
took place two thousand years ago, and initiated the expulsion of the
Jews from the Holy Land, which historically (and not coincidentally)
corresponded to the beginning of the spread of Christianity. Indeed,
if we believe in God and perceive history as more than a concoction of
various intrigues, economics and politics, but rather as a dialogue between
human and divine, we are obligated to attempt to comprehend
the message God wishes to deliver to us today, through current events.