Today I am going to my niece's first communion. I've only been to a Catholic Church four or five times in my life. It always seems a bit strange although I'm sure no more so than a synagogue might feel for a non-Jew. Each time I've gone, I've had to confront a set of decisions - in which rituals do I participate and which ones should I pass on.
Some are easy. Certainly I wouldn't take communion and I'm pretty certain they wouldn't want me to. It would be like a non-Jew being called for an Aliyah. Some things are only appropriate for those within the faith. Also, I obviously won't cross myself.
But there are some that are a bit more grey, at least in my mind. In particular, should I kneel? My first reaction is, "No way, Jews don't kneel. Mordechai would roll over in his grave if I were to do such a thing." But, then I thought about it some more. In our congregation we certainly expect people to rise during the Barchu, the Amida, and the Aleinu. So why not kneel?
I don't view it as a religious issue. I don't think that non-Jews who rise during our prayers are doing so in a religious way. I think they are doing it to respect out traditions. So is kneeling the same. Certainly while I am kneeling I won't be praying to Jesus or asking for salvation. I'll probably just quietly contemplate my own thoughts or more likely will space out (which is probably what people at our congregation do during the Aleinu).
Some people argue that asking people to rise or encouraging them to wear a kipah (which is also something done at my congregation) is different because it's not religious its about respect. Maybe, but I doubt the person being asked knows that. Can we think of kneeling the same way or is there something more? How would you explain to a non-Jew that doing Jewish rituals are ok because they aren't religious but doing the rituals of their faith are not ok because they are?
I probably won't decide until the first opportunity comes up. I'll keep you posted.
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3 comments:
This is a good post. Been there!
Please report back on this! My sister-in-law is Catholic and over the years I’ve had reason to go to her church, e.g. for her mother’s funeral mass, etc. And of course, the life events of Christian acquaintances.
I’ve always had this deep gut feeling of not being comfortable inside a church. Even in 2008, I guess I take the whole history of the Jewish people with me: "Convert or being expelled or killed." And so I never not feel that. I always have felt that if I enter willingly that I make myself more accessible somehow.
When I have attended a mass or a service I usually say the Shema inside my head as I enter the church. It's not that I need to reaffirm what I believe- it just makes me feel better.
I think that in all religions every single thing you do has a meaning even if the person is ignorant of the meaning. I tend to think that nothing is an empty gesture...of course I only know for sure that to be true in Judaism. We are about making the mundane holy. So, when I visit a Church, I just may not know what a gesture represents...just like a non-Jewish person visiting my house of worship doesn't know what our gestures/behaviors represent. (Actually alot of the Jews there don't know either!) Therefore, I don't really want to be taking a chance of doing something that has a serious meaning but I don't realize it because on the surface it seems not that significant.
So, I don't do anything in a church that I wouldn't do in a synagogue.
Just my two cents. Would be very interested in what others think.
Well...we didn't kneel. It turned out that a lot of people didn't kneel so it didn't seem like an issue.
I still wonder though...would kneeling have been a bad thing or just a sign of respect for someone else's customs and religion. I'm not sure. I certainly wouldn't expect a non-Jew to bow during the Barchu or other prayers. Is this the same?
Totally different situation. There are many reasons but the simplest is that Judaism is part of their religion. They believe in the bible, their old testament and we do not believe in theirs. Very simple.
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