Subscribe to Print Edition | Fri., October 02, 2009 Tishrei 14, 5770 | | Israel Time: 19:20 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Jewish World Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Focus U.S.A. Strenger than Fiction Business Real Estate Magazine Week's End Anglo File Books
Share |
Last update - 15:24 20/02/2009
Leading U.S. rabbi welcomed Obama, now stands accused of idolatry
By Anshel Pfeffer
Tags: christianity, Rabbi Lookstein 

When I was a child of about six, a black-coated man tried to push me out of the Manchester synagogue where my family had davened for more than three decades, built on land my great-grandfather had purchased. My father rushed to my defense, only to be harangued himself, in angry Yiddish, by my persecutor.

Outside, he tried to explain what had got the gentleman all worked up. I was wearing a T-shirt with a small logo of Alfa-Romeo Motors on it. By now some readers will be nodding their heads, implicitly understanding the root of the trouble. For those still baffled, the Alfa Romeo symbol contains a dragon and a red cross. Still haven't gotten it? Exhibiting a cross, no matter how oblique, in some Orthodox synagogues is like entering a mosque swigging a bottle of Red Label.

Rabbi Haskel Lookstein of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun in New York would never have made the mistake of wearing a cross, certainly not in shul. But he nevertheless is in hot water for a similar "Christian" offense to Orthodox sensibilities: He attended a joint interfaith prayer service commemorating President Barack Obama's inauguration, contravening the rules of the Rabbinical Council of America, of which he is a member. And what's worse, he did it in a church.
Advertisement
It is not yet clear whether the RCA will discipline Lookstein for his actions, but the statement put out by the organization - "Any member of the RCA who attends such a service does so in contravention of this policy and should not be perceived as representing the organization in any capacity" - does seem a bit ominous.

There are two issues at stake here. One is the participation in interfaith services, which most Orthodox rabbis believe is wrong since it could legitimize Christian missionaries' argument that Jews can embrace Jesus. I'll leave that one to the theologians. The other issue is the lingering feeling of suspicion and historical fear that many Jews still feel toward Christian symbols, and the concern that by entering a church and appreciating the architecture, the music and the service, one may be infringing upon the Torah's prohibition of avoda zara (idolatry).

And while nobody says that entering a cathedral and marveling at the nave equals converting to Catholicism, the Talmud has strict instructions on not even enjoying avoda zara.

Murky waters

But here we are in rather murky waters. It is almost impossible to live a normal life in western society without being surrounded constantly by Christian symbols. Even the most ultra-Orthodox rabbi routinely carries crosses and pictures of churches around with him in his wallet, on the coins and banknotes issued by almost every central bank in Europe.

Outside of Israel that doesn't mean anything. But at the age of eight, upon arriving for my first day at an Israeli religious school, I was sternly told by the mathematics teacher that I must not write the full plus sign, but instead should leave off the bottom leg. On keyboards in the computer room, half the offensive signs were scratched off. My protests - that I knew what a cross looks like and a plus sign is not a cross - were to no avail. The Jewish school I attended in Manchester was just as religious, but no one there would have dreamt up an idea as ridiculous as truncating the plus sign.

So when is a cross just a cross, not a crucifix? And when is sitting in church simply fulfilling "a civic duty to honor the new president of the United States," as Rabbi Lookstein said in his defense, not a desecration of one of the Ten Commandments? Indeed, the good rabbi wasn't the only Orthodox Jew in Washington's National Cathedral that morning. Attending the service was also Senator Joe Lieberman and a handful of other frummer machers.

Are Jews allowed to drive Alfa Romeos without breaking the symbol off? Can they listen to Mozart's Requiem so long as they don't understand the Latin? Can much of the renaissance paintings and sculptures be appreciated despite the fact that they were commissioned for cathedrals and monasteries and usually contain Christian themes?

Cultural value

Even within Orthodox circles, the answers to these questions diverge wildly. Some rule unquestionably that this is avoda zara and therefore art galleries and concert halls are off limits, let alone a tour of a historic and architecturally fascinating church. Others laugh at the idea of calling this modern-day idolatry, and look at all these things solely for their cultural value.

There is, of course, a political aspect to all this. The RCA is under fire from the more conservative U.S. ultra-Orthodox elements for being too liberal. That is probably the reason it felt the need to censure Rabbi Lookstein. But I doubt that anyone there really thinks for a moment that he was committing one of the three cardinal sins. One hopes he can at least rely on the support and understanding of the members of his own congregation.

This doesn't mean that the concept of avoda zara is meaningless in the 21st century.

But that's another theological debate for another place. Meanwhile, for those who might be worried at the lack of clear guidelines of how to avoid avoda zara, it would probably be best to adapt the common-sense definition of pornography - "I know it when I see it."

Related articles:
  • More Jewish World news
    • PROMOTION: Mamilla Hotel
    Bookmark to del.icio.us  
     
    He did Israel a favor
    It's a pity Israel waited for Goldstone to probe Gaza war rather than look hard at itself
    Iran faces West
    Talks on Iran's nuclear program were 'significant' - but hard work lies ahead
      1.   Rabbi Lookstein is bigger than any rabbinic organization 05:08  |  Elliot 20/02/09
      2.   Churches and gefilte 06:29  |  george 20/02/09
      3.   Rabbi Lookstein guilty of performing phony conversions of shikas. 09:13  |  No way 20/02/09
      4.   time for a change 10:35  |  jimbo 20/02/09
      5.   Idolatry then is all over Israel 11:13  |  Jay Ross 20/02/09
      6.   Getting cr-ss 12:21  |  Ivor Therblig 20/02/09
      7.   idolatry 13:07  |  proud jew 20/02/09
      8.   RCA liberal?! 15:41  |  David Gleicher 20/02/09
      9.   Rabbi in hot water for idolatry 15:42  |  Eli 20/02/09
      10.   Ivanka Trump and orthodox conversions 15:44  |  Eli 20/02/09
      11.   As Israel Shifts to the Right - We have Reason 2 ensure Jerusalem 15:50  |  Monitor 20/02/09
      12.   This just proves it 15:54  |  W 20/02/09
      13.   We are now educated enough to know better 15:55  |  Karl 20/02/09
      14.   The Utter Irrelevancy of These Rabbis 15:55  |  Yaakov Sullivan 20/02/09
      15.   George, Here Is Their Mentality #2 16:01  |  Yaakov Sullivan 20/02/09
      16.   in ---we trust 16:23  |  miguel 20/02/09
      17.   Idolatry 16:26  |  Yosemite 20/02/09
      18.   Fearful rabbis from the dark ages 17:24  |  Isaiah 20/02/09
      19.   Interfaith services are about what religions have in common 17:25  |  newageblues 20/02/09
      20.   Separation of church and state 17:30  |  Anonymous 20/02/09
      21.   Ivor Therblig - Funny post! 17:31  |  HA HA 20/02/09
      22.   Religion,Human Rights,and logic... 18:28  |  Michael Greenberg 20/02/09
      23.   I am embarrassed 21:12  |  Les Lieberman 20/02/09
      24.   Superstition 10:48  |  Kevin 21/02/09
      25.   Reply to #3 Ban 19:31  |  Akiva 23/02/09
      26.   Bravo on a well-written article -- and opportunities for dissent 19:08  |  Ploni 26/02/09
      27.   Increasing Irrelevance 06:32  |  Shai 22/03/09
      28.   Entering a church 18:41  |  Deborah Shaya 02/10/09
    Special Offers
    Advertisement
    Eldan Rent a Car
    Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on online reservations
    Holiday Greetings from the Heart
    LIBI-Caring for Israeli Soldiers
    JGooders Special Rosh Hashanah Gift Cards
    Send Gift Cards to you Friends and Family and Taste the Sweetness of Giving
    Date Local Jewish Singles
    Ready to meet your match? Join Jdate today!
    Junkyard
    Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
    Amazing Jewelry
    Visit SoKoBe.com for the best priced fine jewelry in the world
    More Headlines
    16:39 Gilad Shalit in video: I feel healthy, being treated well
    18:03 Gilad Shalit video / Footage with full English transcript
    18:04 ANALYSIS / Shalit video means a deal with Hamas is a question of when, not if
    15:44 IN PICTURES / Israel trades prisoners for Gilad Shalit video
    13:11 Who are the Palestinian prisoners freed for Shalit video?
    14:28 Hamas chief: Shalit video deal a 'triumph' of armed struggle
    12:46 WATCH / Only existing film footage of Anne Frank
    01:40 TV ROUND-UP: Israel awaits Shalit video, first Palestinian prisoner freed
    19:05 Amos Oz named a favorite to win Nobel prize for literature
    12:22 U.S.: We won't let Iran stall long enough to develop nuclear program
    05:06 Anshel Pfeffer / It's time for a Jewish boycott of the Ukraine
    06:43 Lieberman: Norway too 'hostile' to have monitors in Hebron
    06:35 A Kafkaesque search for the keys to Kafka's Tel Aviv legacy
    Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Site rules |
    | Advert: Recommended Restaurants | Makom: Engaging on Israel
    | Search engine marketing
    Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
    © Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved