The Differences Between Christians and Jews

It's the Jewish New Year, Yom Kippur. Today is the last day of the holidays, and I will be going to a few of the day's services with Eric's family and then eating a delicious Break Fast at Dorit's. Of course I'm not fasting. I've never been good denying myself food. I like to blame it on my super-fast metabolism and my inclination to get light headed when I don't eat every few hours, but I think it might have more to do with a lack of self-discipline. And since I approach these holidays without spiritual devotion and more a sense of familial togetherness, I find it hard to put myself through the discipline of fasting.
Even though I don't celebrate these holidays out of spiritual devotion, I do really enjoy the annual ritual that has developed over the last six years. I like sitting and being quiet in the services. I like listening to the Hebrew and the singing. I like being part of a congregation. I like eating with Eric's family and wishing them all a Happy New Year with kisses and hugs.
What I don't love is the Rabbi who leads the services we always attend. He is growing on me, but that's the best I can probably say for him. He works at an Episcopal Church in NYC as some kind of interfaith Rabbi. He teaches and spends his days (for the last 13 years) trying to explain Jewish beliefs and practices to Christians. In my opinion, this has left him a little worn out and less than inspired about his own faith. He reads the prayer book and preaches with this slightly annoyed tone, as if to say, "Okay, I'll say this one more time..." And he always preaches on the differences between Christians and Jews.
It's been kind of cute to watch Eric's family get defensive on my behalf in response to these sermons. Lenny will say, "I don't think he knows what he's talking about." Eric will say, "Not ALL Christians are like that!" and last night Arno pulled Eric aside to check that I wasn't offended. Truthfully, I'm not offended, and I kind of enjoy the comparisons. Last night his ending intrigued me. He had been talking about "God" and how people and religions understand God. Is God a projection of all things good? Is God a Judge on high? He said that the greatest Jewish philosopher said it was impossible to make a positive statement about God. You could only say, "God is not..." He said the Jewish Rabbi's worked so hard to not talk directly about God because the effort to prevent idolatry was so central. They felt that if you started to define God, it would lead to idolatry. He mentioned that he found it a little shocking how Christian preachers can talk about Jesus and God without distinguishing between them. "As if they are one," he said shaking his head. And I turned to Eric and said, "well, if you believe They are one, then it makes sense."
After all of this reflecting he closed with these words:

Perhaps we envy people for whom God is a personal God, a God involved in the details of our personal lives. But for us, God has always been a challenge. A challenge to see good in ourselves and in others around us. A challenge to keep seeking that good, even when it feels hopeless.

I don't have anything insightful to say about that, but I liked listening to this man say it. I thought it was a small window into his life's struggle of being a Jew among Christians. How it must be strange for him to be constantly defending the Jewish traditions which will welcome Atheist Jews as nothing out of the ordinary to Christians who believe in a personal God asking for belief and acknowledgement.

On a related but different topic, this Rabbi made two funny slips of the tongue when reading the prayer book this season. I wrote them down to share with the world. (Poor man) The words in parentheses are the words he added, but aren't in the prayerbook.

Yet we look ahead with hope, giving thanks for the daily miracle of renewal, for the (com)promise of good to come.
As if to say, "fine God, we'll compromise on the fact that we have to wait for our good."

Blessed is the Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, for giving us (His) life.
OOPS! And with that slip he Christianized the sentence.

And one last passage from the prayer book for reflection:

When justice burns within us like a flaming fire, when love evokes willing sacrifice from us, when, to the last full measure of selfless devotion, we demonstrate our belief in the ultimate triumph of truth and righteousness, then Your goodness enters our lives; then You live within our hearts, and we through righteousness behold Your presence.

The language is so familiar to my Christian upbringing. Except that we do freely exchange "Jesus" for "God". Jesus comes to live within our hearts. And that is the key additional step in Christianity. FIRST Jesus comes, we confess sins and receive the sacrificial forgiveness. THEN justice burns in us like a fire, love evokes willing sacrifice, and we demonstrate our belief in the ultimate triumph of truth and righteousness. Isn't it interesting that some people believe there's no skipping the first step, and other people believe the first step is entirely not necessary to achieving the second step. I can't help but be fascinated by that.