Children and Christmas Celebration at School

You ask whether Jews may at times join in worship with Christians. You refer specifically to the propriety of Jewish children participating in a Christmas cele bration in a public school. You want this question answered from the point of view of Jewish legal tra dition. (To Rabbi William Sajowitz, Temple Beth El, Flint, Michigan)

In order to discuss this specific question we must consider first the following: How exclusive are the Jews in their worship? Who may worship with them? With whom may they worship? A Jew who publicly violates certain laws, especially the laws of the Sabbath, is deemed to have denied the entire Torah and to be an idolater (Shulchan Aruch, Orah Hayyim 385 : 3). Yet such a sinner, deemed to be an idolater, is actually invited by special formula to worship with Jews on the Day of Atonement. The famous formula, preceding the Kol Nidre, says that by the authority of the heavenly court and the earthly one we are given permission to worship with violators of the law. This is based upon a Talmudic statement (b. Keritot 6b) that any public fast which does not include among its worshipers sinful Jews, is not a true fast. This fact, and the reason for it, is codified as law in the Shulchan Aruch, Orah Hayyim 619 : 1.

Could such leniency of inviting to Jewish worship a Jewish Sabbath violator who is deemed technically an idolater be extended to apply to non-Jews, especially Christians? That depends on what we consider Christians to be. There is a large section in Yore Deah on the laws of dealing with idolaters. If these laws apply to Christians, then of course we cannot worship with them under any circumstances. It is, in fact, forbidden to do any business with idolaters on their holidays, or even to visit them in their homes on their holidays. As for their places of worship, it would be forbidden to rebuild the house of a Jew which needed rebuilding if it were adjacent to them. In fact, it is forbidden even to mention the name of an idol or object of worship, other than such names as are already mentioned in Scripture. The Jewish violator may be deemed technically an idolater according to Jewish law, but he is still a Jew in many of his relationships, especially with regard to marriage and divorce, and he is therefore invited to participate in the Atonement services; in fact, his presence is deemed necessary to the services. But as for an idolater who is not a Jew, there can be no religious contact with him at all.

All that would apply to the question if Christians were deemed in Jewish law to be idolaters. But they are not idolaters. The Shulchan Aruch, speaking of these detailed laws of idolatry, says (Yore Deah 148 : 12) that these laws of noncontact mentioned above applied only in the past, but that today the people among whom we live are not idolaters at all, and we may deal with them even on their hohdays. So said Joseph Caro, who lived in a Mohammedan country; and Moses Isserles, who lived in a Roman Catholic country, in spite of all the statues of saints, et cetera, which he saw, nevertheless reiterates and even emphasizes Caro’s statement. He further says that it would create ill will if we kept apart from them on their festivities; in fact, in order not to create ill will, we may even rejoice with them on the day of their festival.

However, rejoicing with them for the sake of good will is not the same as praying with them. Whether we may pray with them depends upon what we think, legally, of their worship. There is a remarkable series of liberal and understanding attitudes on the part of the leaders of Jewish law with regard to Christian worship. It is upon these opinions that Caro and Isserles base their statements. The most famous, of course, is that of Rabbenu Tarn in the twelfth century. In a Tosfos that is found substantially in identical form in b. Keritot lb and Sanhedrin 63b, he calls attention to the fact that although Christians swear by their holy personages (the saints and presumably also the Trinity), their real intent is to be swearing in the name of God. Therefore it is no sin to exact an oath from them. We are not, as the law would put it, thereby “casting a stumbling block before the blind.” As for the fact that they add the names of other personages to that of God, that is not forbidden to them by Jewish law, because Christians in Jewish law are deemed to be “children of Noah,” and “children of Noah” are not forbidden to add other holy personages to that of God in their worship of Him. Therefore their worship is deemed to be true worship of God in spite of what they add to it. This attitude is repeated in many places in the law and is basic. For later statements, see Rivkes in Beer Ha-Golah to Choshen Mishpot, 425 : 5, and Israel Lifschuetz, Tifereth Yisroel in Baba Kamma, beginning of Chapter 4.

Therefore it would not be forbidden for Christians to participate in Jewish worship. We consider that they are worshiping God just as we are. But for a Jew to participate in Christian worship is another matter; for although Christians, being “sons of Noah,” are not forbidden to add the names of other holy personages to that of God in their prayer (“shittuf,” partnership), Jews are forbidden to do so. Therefore a Jew may not participate in any trinitarian worship.

However, bearing in mind Isserles’ suggestion that for friendship we may even rejoice with them on their festivals, then if the occasion has primarily the nature of a celebration, and if there is no trinitarian element involved in the program of service, a Jew may at times participate in it. But there is no way in the law of permitting any Jewish participation in a trinitarian worship or celebration.