10-25-2003
It is occasionally said that the difference between Judaism and Christianity is that for Christianity the Messiah has come and that Judaism is still waiting for him. There is truth to that point of view, but there is another distinction that I would like to advance for your consideration.
In Christianity the Messiah is the instrument that causes salvation for humankind. In Judaism the arrival of the Messiah was dependent on human actions: if those actions were good the Messiah would arrive sooner, if evil � later. One quote from the Talmudic rabbis reads "God said: everything depends on you. Just as the rose grows with its heart towards heaven, so if you return to Me and turn your hearts towards heaven I will cause your redeemer to appear."
A further refinement of that view is that the Messiah will appear after the messianic condition has already been established by humanity. Thus Samuel Hirsch, one of the radical leaders of 19th century American Reform wrote, �It is up to us to turn to God, for the Messiah cannot come before we have become completely good.� He further went on to state that it was not the job of the Messiah to battle evil. That duty rested with the Jewish people, on behalf of all humankind.
Our view today is less ethnocentric, but the essence remains the same. In concert with likeminded peoples from all the earth we are to do the work of loving kindness, truth, justice and peace. And, whether or not we complete the work we cannot drop our responsibility to continue working for it. We call this work �tikkun olam.�
Rabbi Stephen Forstein
