I think my favourite part of my class this weekend was meeting and bonding with the other participants. There were five students and two teachers. Our class took place in a very relaxing room that has a life-like mural of swimming dolphins on one wall and two real freshwater aquaria on another wall. The teachers’ shared chair, which they took turns occupying, faced a semi-circle of recliners. We had brought our bed pillows and little throw blankies from home so that we were always comfy and cozy.
When we came into the room on the first evening, one woman sat in the farthest left chair and another woman took the farthest right. Then I took the chair to the left of centre and another woman took the chair to the right of centre. The chair in the middle of the semi-circle was the only empty one left when our fifth student arrived: the only male of the group.
I was immediately intrigued by the fact that the very goyish looking woman on the left end was wearing a Star of David bracelet, a little gold menorah and a gold open book with Hebrew writing on gold chains around her neck.
As if part of some divinely pre-arranged symmetry, her counterpart in the other book-end seat had a very Semitic face but made reference at one point to her higher power Jesus Christ.
I thought it was very beautiful when the woman on the left offered to bake and bring some challah and homemade jam the next day. “I usually only bake it on Fridays,” she added.
“For Shabbas,” the woman on the right said.
“Yes,” came the reply.
The next morning in came the freshly baked challah and jams. There was much communing and hugging and sharing of challah between the woman who converted to Judaism and the woman who loves Jesus. The latter was beside herself at being given the rest of the challah to take home.
Spirits stumbling into each other during their tour?
It’s interesting where are journeys lead us, in ways so isolated, in other ways so interconnected. The Jewish convert is often well versed in truly important Jewish traditions, such as cooking, that help so much to pass the culture (religion? ethnicity?) to the next generation. The native Jew is often disillusioned or frustrated with a religion that offers mainly questions and throws the culture out with the bath water. But Jesus can be as good a target as any, if, as always, in any religion, you don’t let the dogma off the leash.
Thanks for this vivid and thought provoking picture.
Oh, my goodness, I’m so slow. I didn’t get the dogma pun until just now. Ha, ha. :) Kelly
Oh, and Happy Hanukkah. :)
To you, too! :) K