Vayigash 5775

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Vayigash5775 – “I am Joseph, your brother”

Congregation Beth Yeshurun, Rabbi Steven Morgen

“In October 1960 Pope John [XXIII] received, for the first time in Vatican history, a delegation of American leaders of the United Jewish Appeal who had stopped over in Rome in order to present him with a scroll and to thank him for the Jewish lives he had saved during the Nazi holocaust. In reply the Pope said:

“‘We are all sons of the Same Heavenly Father. Among us there must ever be the brightness of love and its practice.’ And stretching out both his arms in a symbolic embrace, he concluded with the words [found in our Torah portion this morning] ‘I am Joseph, your brother.’ [Genesis 45:4]”[1]

Now you might wonder, why did the Pope choose to greet this Jewish delegation with that particular quotation from the Torah? After all, when Joseph said this to his brothers, he is revealing himself to them for the first time since they sold him into slavery. He had now become the second most important person in Egypt, after the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh had basically given Joseph complete control of the economy of Egypt, and even much of the surrounding world.

More to the point, although Joseph seems to absolve his brothers of guilt for selling him into slavery, it was an awkward moment for them, to say the least. Their life was in Joseph’s hands. Certainly the Pope, sitting on Saint Peter’s throne in the Vatican, might also have been an imposing figure. Did he mean to imply that he had the same relationship to these visiting Jews that Joseph had to his visiting brothers?

But, despite the possible negative connotation that the Pope’s remarks might have had, his words were well received. He actually meant themas a friendly – and even a truly brotherly – gesture towards his visitors. Here is how it is described in a Catholic reference:

“In saying [‘I am Joseph your brother’] the [Pope] was not only quoting the words of Joseph in Egypt; he was also, for an instant, divesting himself of the glory of his office. By using his own baptismal name, Giuseppe, [Joseph] he wanted to speak his heart to hearts before him, to speak as one who holds high the dignity of every man. A papal welcome, as affectionate and persuasive as this, is without parallel.”[2]

A Jewish commentator on this meeting adds an interesting additional note. Commenting on the opening words of our Torah portion today, “Vayigashelav Yehudah,” this Jewish source notes that:

“When Judah approached Joseph in Egypt, without recognizing his brother in him, the Torah describes their meeting [with the words]: ‘Vayigashelav Yehudah’ – and Judah went up to him. The [Jewish] Bible commentator Baal Haturim[3]remarks that the last letters of the three Hebrew words [a-u-v] spell ‘shaveh’ – meaning ‘equal’, from which [the Baal Haturim] concluded; ‘You may be a powerful foreign potentate,’ Judah hinted to Joseph, ‘but I am your equal.’”[4]

Now, the Pope may or may not have had the Baal Haturim’s commentary in mind when he spoke those words. He probablynever even heard of the Baal Haturim, let alone this particular comment. But even according to the Catholic source, the Pope was not speaking as a superior to the Jewish delegation. Just the opposite, he was speaking as an equal – brother to brother.

The enormous significance of this event cannot be ignored. It was the first time in history that a Pope had entertained a Jewish delegation of this type. It was an extraordinary meeting. And it might be understood as the first step in a process that has brought about unparalleled changes in Catholic-Jewish relations over the past five decades: a process I will describe briefly in a moment. But first, I want to ask who was this man? Who was Angelo Giuseppe (Joseph) Roncalli, the man who became Pope John XXIII?

He was born on November 25, 1881.[5] After choosing a life of study and service to the Church, he was appointed to positions in Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece. He was in Greece during World War II, and when Germany occupied that country. While he could have chosen to do nothing to protect the Jews there, instead he heroically “helped the local population and did his utmost to prevent the deportation of Greek Jews; [he] interceded with King Boris III on behalf of the Bulgarian Jews and with the Turkish government on behalf of Jewish refugees who had reached that country; [and he also] aided individual Jews and Jewish groups in Slovakia, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Italy, and France.”[6]

When he was elected as Pope on October 20, 1958, at the age of 76, many thought he would be a “transitional pope.” That is, he would not last long in that position, but long enough to line up the next successor. No one thought that his term would mark “a turning point in history and initiate a new age for the Church.”[7] But, as Pope, he advocated tolerance of Jews, he branded “anti-Semitism as a violation of Christian doctrine,” and he demonstrated “a high personal regard for Jews and Judaism.”[8]

But perhaps most significant for us as Jews, he initiated the Second Vatican Council – sometimes called Vatican II – in 1962. Although he died before the Council completed its work, the declaration achieved by that council in October, 1965, began a revolution in Church doctrine about Jews and Judaism. Nostra Aetate, as the declaration is called (meaning “In Our Time”) contains language we would not necessarily feel comfortable with, but it made four important statements:

First, the Church recognized the Jewish roots of Christianity. They share our Bible, our Patriarchs, and our Prophets – including Moses. They take these books in a different direction than we do, of course, but they recognize that the Christian religion is one that has been grafted onto ours. Now this may seem obvious to us, and it certainly is a widely understood idea today, but in 1965 this statement was a reallybig deal.

Second, even though Jews reject the Christian Gospels, we are still loved by God with the grace of a call and of a gift of love which is irrevocable. Therefore, the Council recommended the “promotion of a fraternal dialogue, of Biblical and theological studies, to favor the mutual understanding and esteem between Jews and Christians.”[9] This, too, may seem like no great metsia. (No extraordinary prize.) We are still loved by God? “Thank you very much!”

But remember our history with the Church, and with Christianity in general. For centuries they considered us despised, cursed and repudiated by God. This was the so-called “teaching of contempt” for the Jews. Part of this teaching was the Doctrine of “Supercessionism,” which is sometimes also called “Replacement Theology” – the idea that Judaism (and the Jewish covenant with God) had been superseded, or replaced, by Christianity. So, again, this statement of Vatican II – that God still maintains a relationship of love with the Jews that is irrevocable – represented a momentous breakthrough in Catholic theology.

And they recommended a fraternal dialogue between Catholics and Jews – a friendly dialogue between siblings. That is 180° opposite from the “dialogues” of the Middle Ages, which were really disputations.These disputations were either organized by the Church or a Catholic Monarch, and pitted a Jewish scholar against a Catholic one – often someone who had left Judaism to become a Priest. The challenge to the Jewish contestant was to defend Judaism against the Catholic claims of heresy, rejecting the Messiah (and therefore God), and Deicide – killing the Divine Jesus. These disputationsnearly always led to Jewish massacres, forced conversions, or expulsions. By stark contrast, the dialogues called for by Vatican IIwere supposed to promote “mutual understanding and esteem between Jews and Christians.”

Third, the declaration repudiated the long-held accusation that the Jewish people were collectively and forever responsible for the death of Jesus. How many people here this morning have personally felt the brunt of this accusation? I heard it myself – only once, thankfully – when I was a child. (“Christ-killer!”) At long last, the Church had officially declared that this accusation is false. As one Catholic commentator put it “The root has now been pulled up; those who feed upon it feed upon a dead thing.”[10] The statement does not “absolve Jews from guilt for the crucifixion: [rather] it knows full well that the Jews were [never] guilty …”[11] [emphasis added]. After 1965, “no Catholic may quote the Bible to justify calling the Jews a cursed people or a people repudiated by God.”[12]

Finally, the declaration expressly decried “hatred, persecutions, [or] displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone.”[13]

In the nearly half century since Nostra Aetate was adopted the dialogue between Catholics and Jews has indeed advanced a great deal. In April of 1986, Pope John Paul II, visited the Jewish synagogue in Rome. It was the first time in history that a Pope visited a synagogue. In 1995, the Anti-Defamation League, in cooperation with the [Secretary for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the] National Conference of Catholic Bishops published a book titled Spiritual Pilgrimage. It is a collection of statements of Pope John Paul II, expressing his views toward Jews and Judaism. To quote the blurb on the book, “It is a story of the impact of Nostra Aetate … and of the pope’s leadership in changing centuries-old attitudes toward Jews.”[14] In March of the year 2000, the same Pope visited Israel. He met with political leaders and the Chief Rabbis. He visited Yad Vashem, and he blessed Israel during his meeting with then President EzerWeizman.[15]

In response to these developments, in September of 2000 [just before the Second Intifada began], a number of prominent Rabbis and Jewish leaders signed and published a statement called “DabruEmet – A Jewish Statement on Christians and Christianity.”[16] The statement called upon Jews to respond to these dramatic changes taking place in the Catholic Church, and in many Protestant denominations as well, in a similarly positive way. DabruEmet urged Christians and Jews to open a meaningful dialog between our faiths and our people in areas that we can work together. Specifically, the statement offered eight affirmations about how Jews and Christians may relate to one another. Given the holiday season, I think it is useful to consider briefly six of these affirmations.

First, we can recognize that “Jews and Christians worship the same God. Before the rise of Christianity, Jews were the only worshippers of the God of Israel. But Christians also worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; Creator of heaven and earth. While Christian worship is not a viable religious choice for Jews, …we [can] rejoice that, through Christianity, hundreds of millions of people have entered into a relationship with the God of Israel.”(Of course, from a Jewish perspective, seeing Jesus as a part of a Trinity – a three-part God figure – is not an acceptable understanding of the God of Israel.)

Second, we can recognize that “Jews and Christians seek authority from the same book – the Bible (what Jews call ‘Tanakh’ and Christians call the ‘Old Testament’). Turning to it for religious orientation, spiritual enrichment, and communal education, we each take away similar lessons: God created and sustains the universe; God established a covenant with the people Israel, God's revealed word guides Israel to a life of righteousness; and God will ultimately redeem Israel and the whole world. Yet, Jews and Christians interpret the Bible differently on many points. Such differences must always be respected.”

Third, we can recognize that “Jews and Christians accept the moral principles of Torah. Central to [these] moral principles of Torah is the inalienable sanctity and dignity of every human being. All of us were created in the image of God. This shared moral emphasis can be the basis of an improved relationship between our two communities. It can also be the basis of a powerful witness to all humanity for improving the lives of our fellow human beings and for standing against the immoralities and idolatries that harm and degrade us.” And I would add here the extremist religious fanaticism which is wreaking so much horror in our world today.

Fourth, we must recognize that the “humanly irreconcilable differences between Jews and Christians will not be settled until God redeems the entire world as promised in Scripture. Christians know and serve God through Jesus … and the Christian tradition. Jews know and serve God through Torah and the Jewish tradition. That difference will not be settled by one community insisting that it has interpreted Scripture more accurately than the other… Jews can respect Christians’ faithfulness to their revelation just as we expect Christians to respect our faithfulness to our revelation. Neither Jew nor Christian should be pressed into affirming the teaching of the other community.”

Fifth, we should recognize that a “new relationship between Jews and Christians will not weaken Jewish practice. An improved relationship will not accelerate the cultural and religious assimilation that [we] Jews rightly fear. It will not change traditional Jewish forms of worship, nor increase intermarriage between Jews and non-Jews, nor persuade more Jews to convert to Christianity, nor create a false blending of Judaism and Christianity. We respect Christianity as a faith that originated within Judaism and that still has significant contacts with it. We do not, [however], see it as an extension of Judaism. Only if we cherish our own traditions can we pursue this relationship with integrity.”

Finally, “Jews and Christians must work together for justice and peace. Jews and Christians, each in their own way, recognize the unredeemed state of the world as reflected in the persistence of persecution, poverty, and human degradation and misery. Although justice and peace are finally God’s, our joint efforts, together with those of other faith communities, will help bring the kingdom of God for which we hope and long. Separately and together, we must work to bring justice and peace to our world.”

On a more practical, specific and immediate note, on Monday, January 12, 2015, the ADL, the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, and Beth Yeshurun are sponsoring a very special evening commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Nostra Aetate. The featured speakers at this event are our own Senior Rabbi David Rosen, and His Eminence Daniel Cardinal Dinardo. Introducing the evening’s discussion is a distinguished Jewish scholar on Jewish-Christian history and relations, Rabbi David Fox Sandmel, who is now the Director of Interfaith Affairs for the ADL. And Father Brendan Cahill will moderate the discussion. This is sure to be an enlightening, stimulating and thoughtful evening and I urge everyone to attend. It will be held at Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart at 7:30 pm. Directions for signing up and attending can be found on the Houston ADL web site, and in the January edition of our synagogue bulletin (“The Message”).

In the meantime, let us continue to work toward a better understanding, respect and appreciation among Christians and Jews of our respective faith traditions.

Shabbat Shalom.

[1]PinchasLapide, Three Popes and the Jews (New York: Hawthorne Books, 1967), pp. 322-3.

[2]Unitas (a Catholic quarterly, published by the Pontifical Gregorian Press in Rome), Spring, 1961 issue, quoted in id. p. 323.

[3] The nickname for R. Yaakov ben Asher (1270-1343 CE) who was born in Germany but moved to Toledo, Spain. He was called the Baal Haturim after the name of the code of Jewish law he wrote (the ArbahTurim, or Four Rows, also called simply the Tur). The Tur organized Jewish law into four main categories, giving the work its title. The Baal Haturim also wrote a commentary on the Torah from which this comment was taken.

[4]Id., p. 323.

[5] “Pope John XXIII”

[6]Encyclopedia Judaica “John XXIII” Vol. 10, p. 159.

[7] http:, supra

[8]EJ p. 159

[9] “Nostra Aetate: A Milestone” by Pier Francesco Fumagalli

[10] Walter M. Abbott, S.J. “Vatican Council II: A Catholic View” in Lily Edelman, ed. Face to Face: a Primer in Dialogue (ADL, 1967), p. 85.

[11]Id. p. 86.

[12]Id. p. 86.

[13]EJ “Church Fathers” vol. 5, p. 550.

[14] Eugene J. Fischer and Leon Klenicki, ed., Spiritual Pilgrimage: Texts on Jews and Judaism 1979-1995 (New York, 1995), p. v

[15] Mitchell Bard, “Pope John Paul II’s Pilgrimage to Israel,” Jewish Virtual Library,

[16]