A post-script to an earlier blogpost

This past August 6th, I wrote about Dr. Menachem Stern, the highly regarded scholar of ancient Judaism and winner of the Israel Prize, who was murdered in Sacher Park in Jerusalem in 1989.  The occasion for my writing about him was the news that Israel had agreed to release his assailants (who had been apprehended, tried and convicted about twenty years ago) as part of a "confidence-building gesture" in conjunction with negotiations with the Palestinian Authority.  (Click here to read the blogpost.)

Now, almost five months later, as 2013 is drawing to a close, the newspapers have just reported that the perpetrators of the murder of Dr. Menachem Stern are indeed due to be released with twenty-four hours.  (Click here to read The Times of Israel report.)   

I will simply repeat what I wrote several months ago: this is a very, very difficult time for Israel.  Whether this gesture will bring peace between Palestinians and Israelis remains to be seen.  In the meantime, there will be rejoicing in the Palestinian territories and quiet grieving in Israel.

What’s a Jew to do on Christmas Eve?

What’s a Jew to do on Christmas Eve?

Three years ago, at the confirmation hearings examining her fitness to serve as a Supreme Court Justice, Elena Kagan was asked some tough questions.  One that initially flustered her was, “Where were you at on Christmas?”  She finally responded, “You know, like all Jews, I was probably in a Chinese restaurant.”

For the benefit of those who had no idea what Ms. Kagan was talking about, her sponsor, Senator Schumer explained, “No other restaurants are open.” (The answer apparently satisfied her interlocutor, Senator Lindsey Graham, who responded, “Great answer.”)

You can check out the Youtube video of the exchange right here:  

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tku61sKhPGo)

Many Jews have long wondered where they should go and what they should do on Christmas.

Long before Jews began going to Chinese restaurants—indeed, long before Jews came to this country, Jews would stay home on Christmas Eve.  It was considered dangerous to be up and about.  The reason is simple:  as on other Christian holidays such as Good Friday, Christmas Eve was a time for pogroms. 

By the way, Jews didn’t call it “Christmas Eve,” they called it “Nitl Nacht.”  (“Nitl” is a Yiddish word meaning, “natal” or “nativity,” and “nacht” means “night” or “evening.”)

Jews began to adopt practices on Nitl Nacht that allowed them to express their resentment of their subjugated state, such as reading from a less-than-flattering account of the birth of Jesus, called, Tol’dot Yeshu.  They would refrain from studying Torah, lest they lend an air of holiness to the evening.  Instead, they would engage in less serious pursuits, such as card playing. 

Today, we no longer live in a subjugated state. We live in a free country.  Our Christian neighbors and friends don’t share the same hostility toward us as those among whom we lived during the Middle Ages.  In pluralistic America, religious affiliation tends to bring us together, rather than tearing us apart; it tends to support understanding, tolerance and ecumenicism.  Hence, pursuits that cast aspersions upon Christianity are entirely without warrant. 

What then are we to do on a national holiday on which just about everything is closed?  

One response is to relax and enjoy ourselves—which is why I’m so grateful to our Men's Club for sponsoring an evening of fun at the synagogue on December 24th.  (Please contact Rick Kramer at rickkra@gmail.com for further details.)

Another fine response is to volunteer to help our non-Jewish friends and neighbors on this day. I'll never forget one particularly memorable Christmas Day I spent with my father many years ago.  He had volunteered to help out in the kitchen of a local hospital and, at the last minute, invited me to tag along with him.  I’m so glad he did.  It was very gratifying for both of us to volunteer time so that the regular food service workers in the hospital could be with their families on their holiday.  

Many of us to do this quietly on our own.  Collectively, we have Project Ezra, sponsored by the Synagogue Council of Massachusetts, which places volunteers in various shelters in the metropolitan area on Christmas. I am grateful to our Social Action Committee for facilitating our participation in this worthy program.  Fifty-one (51!) of our members are due to participate this year! 

Some of us have non-Jewish relatives—perhaps spouses or parents.  What are we to do?  If we are Jewish, how can we celebrate Christmas? On the other hand, how can we not join our loved ones on this day?  

A number of years ago, Jewish educator Joel Grishaver came up with a useful distinction.  On the one hand, he said, Jews should not "celebrate" Christmas.  After all, it isn’t a Jewish holiday.  We shouldn't compromise our religious and cultural integrity.  On the other hand, if we have non-Jewish relatives, we shouldn’t hesitate to “visit” Christmas with them. We can and should respect our relatives’ holidays, and we can lovingly support our loved ones--without however celebrating those days ourselves.

Let me close on an amusing note. I’m sure that many of us are familiar with the famous poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” written by Clement Clarke Moore (1779-1863) in 1822.  I’m sure many of us remember those opening lines: 

            T’was the night before Christmas,

            and all through the house,

            not a creature was stirring,

            not even a mouse. 

But I am sure that most of us have never heard this poem recited in Yiddish!  Well, there’s always a first time:  click here to hear a recording of Dr. Sheldon Benjamin reciting Marie B. Jaffe's Yiddish translation, published in Gut Yuntiff, Gut Yohr, in 1965. 

And while you're at it, have yourself a merry Nitl Nacht!

Sincerely,

Rabbi Carl M. Perkins