DALLAS (ABP) — Yom Kippur, the most sober and holy day of the Jewish year, was Oct. 2. To celebrate, Jews around the world fasted, prayed and attended synagogue. In Israel, public transportation and airports were closed, along with banks, stores and markets, to observe the holiday.
In America's Bible Belt, the holiday season from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur is less pronounced but no less significant. Jewish communities are far less prominent in the American South, and most commerce in Dallas, for instance, continued during Yom Kippur as it does every other day. No matter their location, though, Jews see Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur as ways to connect with Jewish culture and community around the world.
Rosh Hashanah, which means “head” or “beginning of the year,” is the first of the High Holy Days. It begins a 10-day period of reflection that ends on Yom Kippur. At a Sept. 22 Rosh Hashanah service in North Dallas, Rivka Arad, the director of Jewish education for Temple Shalom, said the holiday comes as a time for rebirth, reflection and hope for the coming year.
“Rosh Hashanah is the brand new year: 5767,” she said. “During Rosh Hashanah, we wish to achieve [in the New Year] things that were not entirely achieved last year.”
Arad, who was born in Bnei Brak, Israel, exhorted congregants to pray for love and peace, or “shalom,” for all. For the Temple Shalom ceremony, she arranged for dozens of stuffed animals to line the stage because the holiday marks the creation of the world. The traditional blowing of the shofar during the service, she said, was to “open the gates of heaven” for the coming year.
According to Jewish tradition, the names of the righteous are inscribed in the Book of Life on Rosh Hashanah, which guarantees them another year of life. For those who are not necessarily good, judgment is suspended until Yom Kippur. By then, the thinking goes, good works and acts of repentance during the 10-day suspension will help gain forgiveness.
Yom Kippur, Hebrew for “Day of Atonement,” is called the “Sabbath of Sabbaths” in the Bible. Unlike Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur atones only for sins against God, not for sins against others. To commemorate it and devote time for repentance, adults fast from food and liquid from sunset to sunset.
More than just intimate Jewish affairs, though, the holy days provide an opportunity for Christians to connect with Jewish culture and communities as well. Southside Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., has enjoyed a close relationship with nearby Temple Emanu-El for several years. And Woodbrook Baptist Church in Baltimore, Md., is increasingly known for the congregation's work with Baltimore's Institute for Christian and Jewish Studies. The institute works to address the challenges of religious pluralism and foster interfaith understanding and respect. Other Baptist groups, like the Alliance of Baptists in 1995, have made pronouncements about improving Jewish-Christian relations.
Steve Jones, pastor of Southside Baptist Church, has a close relationship with Rabbi Jonathan Miller of Temple Emanu-El, a reform synagogue that sits just down the road from the 120-year-old church.
The partnership started several years ago, when the Jewish congregants held services in Southside's building for 14 months while their temple was under construction. Since then, Southside and Emanu-El have joined forces in studying sacred texts, working on mission projects, and leading community walks. Jones even visits the temple as a guest speaker and sometimes leads prayers in place of Miller, and vice versa.
“With the world we live in now, where religion has caused so much discord, it seems to me that understanding each other spiritually is going to be a key to try to find some kind of peace,” Jones said. “If you can't get along with the people in your neighborhood, with the synagogue down the street, then there's no hope for peace in the world.”
Southside and Emanu-El didn't have a totally easy road to community, though. Jones received harsh criticism from other Christians who thought he should use the partnership to evangelize. And while members of each congregation had known each other previously through businesses, school or social events, when it came to religion, Jones said, “things were cut off.”
Jones said the keys for overcoming that awkward phase, especially during the holidays, are humility and openness. It's not about winning people, he said, it's about being a witness to the reality of the Christian faith. And that might mean letting go of the “hardcore evangelistic stuff we've had drilled into us,” he added.
“First, the Baptist church in particular does not need to go in with an agenda,” he said. “I think that is a very arrogant approach. It is also unscriptural and unspiritual. We must respect each other as equals.”
That respect comes with putting aside “petty” political ideals, he added. Under good circumstances, a Christian community and a Jewish community that share meals, dialogue and events can learn from each other to the benefit of all.
“When you are Baptist, and you have all the big churches in town, there is a certain arrogance that comes with that,” Jones said. “Just be who you are and celebrate each others' faith. We became better Christians — we understood our own faith better — after doing this.”
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