ANT KATZ

Jewish Report Online has a large number of Christian friends of Israel who subscribe to the website. We thank you and bless you for your ongoing support of the Holy Land, that it remain under Jewish rule, and for generally being such proud Zionists.

While the writer first encountered this phenomenon in South Africa, and later throughout Africa, it was recently mentioned at a World Zionist Organisation conference that Christian Zionism is, in fact, a worldwide practice.

Awkwardness

Here are a few lessons for how Jews and non-Jews should react when faced with an unexpected awkwardness about getting, or giving, a Christmas greeting?

Most Jews I don’t take offense when someone wishes them a Merry Christmas, and are quite comfortable wishing Christian friends and acquaintances a Merry Christmas too.

In recent years, people tend to get nervous about offending the religious sensitivity of others – and, especially in the US, saying a generic “Happy Holidays” seems to have become the norm.

The religious decorations in stores and on streets, filling the https://www.sajr.co.za/images/default-source/default-album/xmas—stocking.jpg” class=”sfImageWrapper”>Q: It’s that time of year, when everyone everywhere is saying “Merry Christmas” to me, even people who know that I am Jewish. Should I simply smile and repeat the greeting or politely correct the greeter and say, “I’m sorry, I don’t observe Christmas.”

A:  Now I know why Lenny Bruce said that Christians celebrate while Jews observe. We never get to be happy, even at this most celebratory time of year. We’re always observing. And in December, we’re always agonizing over how to find our little niche in this annual Yuletide cultural bombardment.

“The key is to come up with strategies that affirm Jewish distinctiveness and pride while not adding to the already tense, politicised atmosphere of the Christmas – er, holiday – season in American public life,” wrote Hammerman.

There is nothing wrong with wishing a non-Jewish neighbour “Merry Christmas,” just as it would not be a betrayal for her to wish you “Shabbat Shalom” when leaving work on Friday afternoon, he says. In the Shulchan Aruch, Rabbi Moses Isserles notes the need for being good neighbours in a society where Jews and non-Jews mingle and do business together, even regarding problematic greetings. It’s all done for the sake of peace. The idea is to reduce tensions, not increase them.

“It’s even halachically OK to mention a holiday whose name includes the name of a foreign deity. At least it is in this case, since the word “Christ” is not really a name at all, but the Greek translation of the Hebrew term for “Anointed One.” If the holiday were called “Jesus-fest” or “Zeus-mas, or “Tim Tebow Day” there might be cause for concern. So when I speak with my Christian clergy colleagues, I have no problem acknowledging their holiday in my seasonal salutations,” he wrote.

So, suggested Hammerman, “Let’s try to get beyond the clichéd salutations that have backed everyone into a corner. If you feel that someone is deliberately trying to impose upon you the hegemony of Christmas, wishing you a “Merry Christmas” while knowing that you are Jewish, let’s look for a reply that is both respectful of diversity yet deeply spiritual.”

Some of Rabbi Hammerman’s suggestions (with his comments):

• “Wishing you a Blessed Season!”
• “May the Light Increase” (Sounds a bit too Star Warsy)
• “Peace” (A little too ‘60s, especially if you are wearing a Nehru jacket)
• “Shalom”

Anything but, “Oy vey. My children never call!”

Think about it. Shalom is perfect. These days, everyone knows what it means – like schlemiel and chutzpah. The reply is spiritual, identifiably Jewish yet increasingly universal. Listen to a parade of evangelical politicians lining up to speak at a conclave supporting Israel. You’ll hear more “Shaloms” uttered there than in the hallways of the Knesset, where the politicians are more likely to be spitting at one another.