Since Lent is not part of our Jewish traditions I know this sounds strange. After all, in Christianity Lent is the season of preparation for Good Friday and Easter, the Christian observance of the anniversaries of Jesus death and resurrection. So what is a rabbi doing teaching at a program for Lent?
Well, I fell for it. The program was about reflecting on and teaching about Johannes Brahms German Requiem, a piece of classical music I fell in love with fifty years ago when I was in a high school chorus which sang some of its movements. At a clergy meeting in February they were looking for faculty. I slowly raised my hand, and was given the assignment of teaching about the texts of two of the movements, movements I had sung as a teenager. I just couldn�t resist.
Needless to say, in high school I have never given one thought to the words I was singing, just the lovely melodies and harmonies. Imagine my surprise when I receiving the program book and found out that all the texts were taken from the Tanach and from Christian scriptures. Imagine my further surprise when I opened the leader�s guide and found out that the author of the guide based her whole lesson on the Christian idea of sin.
One of the real divides between Christianity and Judaism is over the idea of sin. In Christianity, sin is a state in which all human beings are born and from which they have to be saved. In Judaism, sins are acts which human beings do, distancing themselves from others and from God. In Christianity one cannot avoid sin. In Judaism we can avoid sin by not committing those acts. And yet, in Judaism, we are all sinners, since we never completely suceed in avoiding all sinful acts; hence the process of t�shuvah (repentance) and the observance of Yom Kippur.
In addition, when I looked at the texts I was asked to teach I didn�t find a single mention of sin. One explanation for this might be that the author of the leader�s guide comes from the Reformed tradition, and sin is very big in the Reformed Church. Whatever the case, I had to disagree with the author. Disagreeing with her, I was in a quandry. How could I teach what I did not affirm? On the other hand, would I open myself to the accusation of spoiling their program because I didn�t follow its outline? I almost backed out at the last moment.
But, I didn�t. When I came to the church and my time was called I gave a personal explanation of what I�ve written about above, and then proceeded to teach about what I saw in the texts of movements two and four, the dawning of hope and the seeking of God�s presence. I may not have done was I was expected to do, but I did something that came from my Jewish essence and came from my heart. When I was done, I�m happy to say, my �take� on these movements seemed to be accepted and valued. I went home happy that I had not compromised my Jewish values but had raised them high in a way that both Jews and Christians could accept.
Rabbi Steve Forstein
