Wow! What a class we had today! Such an amazing and interesting discussion it was!
Karen, Jamus, Jo Ann, Dan, Robin, Merrill, David, Cindy, and Diana attended. We missed Dave.
We read chapters 9 and 10 in Romans. As we read, we paused to discuss certain paragraphs or verses.
Verse 7 in Romans 9 states that true Jews are descents of Isaac, not Abraham. From there we talked about how in Orthodox Judaism a Jew is considered really a Jew based on having a Jewish mother, but in Reform Judaism that does not matter. There was some discussion of how at Temple Israel and in Reform Judaism it doesn’t matter if someone is a convert. Everyone is accepted. Jamus, who is not Jewish, talked about the things he has been allowed to do and not do when he has gone to synagogues with his wife Karen who is Jewish.
Jo Ann mentioned a book she reviewed, Girl Meets God, where the author went through an Orthodox conversion although her father was Jewish, but not her mother, in order to be accepted by the Orthodox community. Even after her orthodox Jewish conversion, she never had the same status in the Orthodox community as those born to Jewish mothers. She eventually left Orthodox Judaism and sought God in Christianity.
Diana pointed out that Romans Chapter 9 is where the strict Protestant sects idea of predestination might come from.
Karen read out loud from a different version of the New Testament than the rest of us. David noticed that Karen’s version said about the same things just in a different way. Jo Ann shared how when the deaf use sign language, they usually don’t sign in exact English phrases which is similar to how different versions of the New Testament can say the same things
Dan said that Paul supposedly met Jesus in person on the Road to Damascus. That explains why Paul believed so much. Today, we don’t have that advantage. We do know that many of today’s evangelicals may have conversion experiences not quite similar to Paul’s that are told in the form of testimonies though that seem to be life changing.
Robin read the grey box that is in reference to Romans Chapter 10 verse 4 titled CHRIST IS THE GOAL OF THE TORAH. Paul said that the Torah is obsolete because Christ replaced the need to follow the law. We, as Jews, of course, disagree with this.
The verse from Romans Chapter 10:9 “…because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” was discussed. Jo Ann mentioned that does this mean that if Hitler did this just before he killed himself, he is “saved” but the Jews that he sent to their deaths were not? And…what about babies and toddlers? How does a baby or toddler do what this verse in Romans says to do?
David explained the Midrash story that in the womb a baby knows the whole Torah, but once born forgets it all and spends his or her entire life trying to retrieve Torah. The crease on your upper lip is the mark the angel left on your upper lip at the moment she made you forget all of Torah the moment after you were born. Did you ever have the feeling right after you realized something important about Torah, that you knew it all along?
Merill shared with us he is in the midst of studying and understanding Judaism. He believes in God. His thoughts were about how seeking God can be done in different ways. Jo Ann agreed.
David gave his thoughts on how Judaism and Christianity don’t mix. David explained Temple Israel’s policy on Christians attending Temple Israel events and programs: they are always welcome as long as they don’t use their presence to proselytize and they can’t become members unless their spouse is Jewish. He talked about the dilemma messianic Jews face in being accepted by the Jewish community. Also the religious persecution Jews have endured throughout history from Christians is always a reminder that perhaps Judaism and Christianity don’t mix.
David also spoke about the Torah not mentioning Jesus. The Torah mainly refers to the law and not really about Messiah. As he noted, the Jewish scholars processed Messiah later.
We talked too how there are some Jews that do celebrate Christmas without Jesus, but with a tree, presents, and Santa Claus. Is that something should Jews do or not do? That controversy will probably continue to be debated.
Karen believes that Paul spoke honestly from his heart. He had a lot to do with starting the first churches after Jesus’s death. Like Jesus, he was also Jewish. From the previous chapters, he was clear about equal treatment and fairness among people and did not think of himself above any one else.
Cindy listened during our time of study, but was unable to give us input today. We were so happy she was there though.
We are so glad that Merrill joined us and I hope he joins us again.
Please add anything I forgot to this summary.
Happy Chanukah everyone!
