GENTILES’ PART IN THE SABBATH SERVICE

QUESTION:

In our temple we have a number of mixed-marriage families who belong to the temple and attend Sabbath services. There are two parts of our Sabbath service conducted by members of the temple. One is the blessing of the Sabbath candles by a woman, and the other is the recitation of the SabbathKiddush by a man. The question, then, is this: In a mixed family, may the unconverted Gentile wife bless the Sabbath candles; and in another mixed family, may the unconverted Gentile husband recite the Kiddush? (Asked by Rabbi Richard Zionts, Shreveport, Louisiana.)

ANSWER:

THAT MIXED families in which one partner is unconverted to Judaism may be members of the temple is a frequent practice in many Reform congregations. The purpose of such membership is so that the couple will not be alienated and also to make it likely that the children will be raised as Jewish—and perhaps, too, so that the Gentile member, being already integrated into Jewish life, would someday wish to convert to Judaism. The only proper requirement in the case of the mixed-family synagogue membership is that the membership is in the name of the Jewish partner and only the Jewish partner would have the right to vote to determine congregational policy.

In order to make the family feel at home, many congregations like to give the Gentile member some participation in the service. But the question that arises is one that is basic to the problem presented here, namely, what part of the service is it proper for a Gentile to conduct?

It should be stated that even in the ancient days when the Temple stood, it was not considered strange that a Gentile should have a share in the service. Thus we are told in the Talmud (Menachos 73b) that if a Gentile brings his burnt offerings, they are accepted and offered on the altar. It is not only the occasional gift of a Gentile, namely, bringing a sacrifice to the Temple, for it is also stated that if a Gentile gives a permanent gift like a Menorah to the synagogue, the gift may not be changed from the intended purpose (i.e., and the money used for another purpose) as long as the Gentile donor’s name is remembered (Arachin 6b).

On the other hand, in contrast to this spiritual and ritual hospitality, the statement is made in the Talmud (Sanhed-rin 58b) that “a Gentile who observes the Sabbath deserves death,” and also (in Sanhedrin 59a) that “a Gentile who studies the Torah deserves death.”

Now at the very outset, the phrase “deserves death” is not to be taken literally to mean that these actions constitute a capital offense. It simply means that these actions should positively not be permitted. This can be seen from the statement in Berachos 4b, where it is said that anybody who disagrees with the words of the Sages deserves death. The passages refer to some Seyag, a cautionary regulation of the Sages, specifically with regard to the Maariv prayer. Obviously it is not a capital offense for a Jew to transgress the slightest and most minor decision of the Sages. The phrase simply means that such disobedience should not be permitted.

As for not permitting a Gentile to study the Torah, even that is not to be understood as a general proposition, because the Talmud says also (in Sanhedrin 59a) that a Gentile who studies the Torah becomes thereby as worthy as the High Priest himself, provided that what he studies are his God-given commandments.

The “seven commandments” are the laws of ethics and justice which God has commanded the Gentile world. When a Gentile obeys them, he is one of the “righteous Gentiles who have their portion in Paradise.” This restriction, confining the Gentile’s Torah study to the seven commandments, explains both prohibitions, the Gentile and the Torah and the Gentile and the Sabbath, as Maimonides states clearly in his Hil. Melachim 10:9, namely, that it means that it is the duty of Gentiles to obey the ethical laws which God has given them. It is not for them to add to God’s decrees and obey commandments not given to them but to Israel. In other words, God’s relation to mankind is expressed in two different covenants. With the Gentile world, God’s covenant is the seven commandments. With Israel, God’s covenant is the Torah and especially the Sabbath. Therefore Maimonides says that if a Gentile wishes to observe the Jewish Sabbath, let him become a convert and accept the special convenant which God has made with Israel.

The situation, therefore, is clear. The Sabbath is part of God’s special covenant with Israel (Exodus 31:16): “The Children of Israel shall observe the Sabbath for a perpetual covenant; a sign between Me and Israel.” It is therefore contrary to the spirit of tradition for a Gentile to perform such parts of the service as constitute the special announcements of the Jewish-covenant Sabbath. This applies specifically to the lighting of the candles and the saying of the Sabbath Kiddush. The historic fact is that the Christian church publicly abolished the Sabbath for Christians and chose Sunday instead as “the Lord’s day.” Besides this historic fact, the simple human fact is that the Jewish Sabbath can have no sacred meaning to a Christian. How, then, can he or she be permitted formally to announce its advent to Jews in a Jewish service?

Of course, the motive to make the Gentile member feel at home so as not to alienate the family is in general a good one. They can be given parts of the service to read—for example, part of the “Old” Testament, which is sacred to both. This is quite acceptable. The Tosefta ( Berachos5:21) says that if a Gentile pronounces a blessing using God’s name, we say “Amen” to the blessing. But to have a Gentile announce the coming of the Jewish Sabbath to a Jewish congregation is contrary to the spirit of Jewish tradition.