Zoom is great! Jo Ann was able to open up the Zoom room while on the road in Utah! Dan co-hosted the meeting from a motel in Arizona! Karen helped and co-hosted from Colorado!
Jo Ann, Dan, Karen, Odette, Robin, Merill, and Dave attended.
Below is a summary (written by Dan) about what we learned and discussed:
Summary of NT from Jewish point of view 4/11/2022
I Corinthians 11
In the beginning of this chapter, Paul the apostle discussed “head coverings” with the Corinthian Christians. We are at a disadvantage in understanding these points from 2,000 year old clothing traditions. (Paul wanted men’s heads not covered…is that why men don’t cover their heads in Christian churches?)
Robin said that kipot were always worn at the conservative congregations she grew up with, in response to Paul saying that men should not wear head coverings. We discussed head coverings for both men and women in reform, conservative and orthodox congregations. Jo Ann mentioned that at a time when conservative hair styles for men were expected, her ice dance partner fell during a skating competition. This revealed her partner’s attempt to fool the judges into thinking he was clean cut. Off his short hair wig fell onto the ice, igniting wild laughter among the deeply staid ice skating judges.
The subject of communion came up, and Paul said that people to took communion in a “unworthy” manner could become sick and even die (sleep=death). Discussion of the origin of the “seder” versus “Passover meal” (seders had not been invented in the mid 1stcentury when I Corinthians was written.) Dan mentioned the talks describing Passover used for fundraising by missionaries to the Jews.
A statement was made in this chapter about long hair being shameful for men to wear is an obvious anachronism. In the “Jesus Movement” times of the 1960s and 1970s a breakthrough occurred when Evangelical churches let hippies attend services without a shave and a hair cut.
At the end of the chapter we spoke of the Christian practice of “communion” compared with the Passover Seder of modern Judaism. It was noted that “seders” in the present form did not exist in the mid first century CE. Paul’s warning against taking communion in an “unworthy” manner could result in sickness or even death.
Addition from Jo Ann: As we discussed head coverings, it is interesting that in Jewish houses of worship, men cover their heads, but in Christian houses of worship, they usually are asked to remove their hats. My late father got in an argument with a rabbi in Colorado whether he should wear a yarmulke at my daughter’s Bat Mitzvah since at Temple Israel it was optional and that is how he grew up. After that, my father always wore one at services.
Also, we talked about long hair since Paul said that men should not have long hair, but the hippies did! I remember my skating partner wanting to roller skate so much once after we were done with our ice skating practice that when the roller rink said he couldn’t skate until he shaved off his beard and mustache, that when they gave him a razor, he shaved! We talked about even some jobs today, for example Disneyland, Sun Valley Company, Disney On Ice, want clean shaven personnel with short hair.
We also talked about how some Jewish woman and Catholic women just wear a doily type lace hat on their heads for worship services.
Please add anything forgotten to this summary.
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