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The purpose ofthis journal is (to promote aclimate ofrespect undershystanding (md sharing between Jewish and Christian communities

not onfJl for the exercise oflove and appreciation ofthe other but also for the discovery oftruths and values which

surpass the genius ofboth traditions

This is the hope dreamed in the name ofour journtll SHABBAT SHALOM hope ofreconciliation hope ofSHALOM

inspired and nurtured through a common reflection anchored in the experience ofthe SHABBAT

Interviews Paul Lippi CliffordGoldstein

4 7

Biblical Lesson The Jewish Face ofAdventism

Jacques B Doukhan 9

Judaism and Adventism Simiarities and Differences 17

Official SDA Declarations Gerrnan-Austrian Staternent 22

General Conference Statement 24

Viewpoint Jews and Adventists A Rejlection on Their Common Heritage

Isaac W Oliver 25

Shabbat Corner One Thing that Adventists Can Learn from the Jews about Sabbath Keeping Ceebrate 28

May-Ellen Colou

Recent Books 30

Shabbat Shalom A Journal of Jewish-Christian Reflection

Editor

Layout amp Design

Subscriber ServIacuteces

Consulting Editors

Copy Editor

Jacques B Doukhan

Cesar A Soro

Steve Hanson

Clifford Goldstein Reinaldo Siqueira

Arnram Elofer

Deborah Everhart

SHABBAT SHALOM IS published chree cimes per year by rhe Norrh AmeriGln Division of me General Conference of Sevench-day Adventiscs Yearly subscripcions are $600 in che U5A $950 overseas To pay by credic ca rd call l-800-465-3991 Mail check or mone) order co Subscripci ons SHABBAT SHALOM 55 Wesc Oak Ridge Drive H agerscown MO 2l740 Address ed icorial correspondence co Edicor SHABBAT SHALO M Andrews Universicy Berrien Springs MI 49104shy1535 Fax 2694716202 email sshalomandrewsedu wwwjournal-shabbacshalomnec copy2005 SHABBAT SHALOM Ali rights reserved

Ifyou have received SHABBAT SHALOM wichouc subscribing )ou will noc be billed ater Someone thinking you would like che magauacutene has sem you a gife Enjoy

Cover Cesar A SOtO

Vol 51 No 3 2004

Photo Credits Richard Eloftr pp 11 15 17 26 29 31 Paul Lippi p 13 Susan Oliv p 12 Jeff Zaremsky p 16

Three-Angels Logo Design Jacques Sauvagnat

2 SHABBAT SHALOM

Editorial

Operatiol1 Eijab

evoting a whole issue to the Jewish-Adventist

connection rnay appear odd to both Jews and Advenrists But they are not always aware of their conshynections to each other Jews will be surprised to discover these sttange Christians who keep the sarne Sabbath-from Friday night to

Saturday night-who eat Kosher who pay serious attention to the Torah of Moses and who hope in the final redemption of the world Likewise Adventists will wonder at the faithful Jews who rest and

Jacques B Doukban) DHL) TbD

celebrate on Sabbath emphasize the value of life and stress the unity of human nature

Through this unique and unusual series of artides the reader will be srruck by the nature of the Jewish-Adventist connection Theological reflections and analysis will challenge our thinking helpshying us recognize how dose the Jews are to Adventists and lead us to the further guestion of what this particular connection means for us as Jews andor Advenrists The two inrerviews of Paul Lippi a Chrisrian-bom Adventisr who lived in Israel among Jews for more than twenty years and ofJewishshybom Advenrist C1ifford Goldstein who embraced Aventism without abandoning his Jewish identity will surpIise and perhaps disrurb some From this encounrer Jewish and Advenrist readers will certainly learn to see each otheI differenrly Moreover rhey may leam to see a new face of themselves and of rheir God Indeed this refreshing of the Jewish component of the

Advenrist faith may well enrich and deepen this faith and thereby draw Advenrists doser to Jews lt may also allow Jews to see another face of Christianity and draw them doseI to this strange group of believers ln these times when so rnany Christians are interested in renewing their Jewish roots ir may bring Adventisrs and Jews doser to the Christian community ar large and even to the bigger world

ln the beginning of the Christian era the Church separared itself from its Jewish roors in order to gain the world Could it be that at the end of its course the Church wiU gain rhe world by coming back (teshuvah) to the Jewish face of irs identity Such an intriguing advenrure would reflect the proshyphetic intuition of Malachi aboLlt the coming of Elijah- rhe prophet who ar rhe last momenr of human history would tum the hearrs of the fathers to the children and the hearrs of the children to their fathers (Mal 46)

SHABBAT SHALOM 3

--

Interview

Paul Lippi

I

I After his

theology studies at Andrews University Paul Lippi went to me Hebrew University

of Jerusalem where he did post-graduate studies and worked under Prof Emanuel Tov the famous expert on the Septuagim and the Dead Sea Scrolls Paullived in Israel for 23 years and served the Jewish-Advemist community in Jerusalem as a pastor He is presently the director of the Shalom Learning Center in Florida a center devoted to the preparation of materiaIs and lay people for JewishshyChristian ministry

4 SHABBAT SHALOM

habbat Shalom As an Adventist who lived more

than twenty years in Israel and studied at the Hebrew University with Jewish stushydents what did you learn from your relationship that has affectedenriched your religious views and even helped you become a better Adventist

Paullippi What amazes me about Israel is the extent to which non-scholars have an active interest in Bible interpreshyrarion Biblical turns oE phrase are embedded in everyday conshyversarion rhe diEferent ways to

rake whar the Bible says is part oE pop culture For somebody coming Erom a Eaith communiry where linguistic interpretarion and popular religion are totally compartmenralized and hardly on speaking terms Israeli society

is music to the ears Adventists need to learn from

Jewish people that just because you openly discLlss some linguistic or textual difflculty in the Bible God is not going to suddenly disappear between the cracks His presence among us is thankshyfully not that fragile If another way of looking at familiar data forces us to re-construe certain passages everything weve always believed in doesnt go down the tube Because God is gracious He allows us to adjust our posi tion without withdrawing His giEt oE

Because Goo is grac1ous) He a[[ows us to aojust our positiol1 witbout

witborawil1g H is gift of faitb

Eairh Shabbat Shalom How do

you see the future of the We are more gui[t9 of tbeoretica[ anti-Semitism tban ]ewish-Adventist connecshy persona[ avtimosit9tion and by implication the future of Adventism in reIation to Protestant tradishytion

Lippi I think with the passshying oE time as the cultural cenrer oE Adventism shiErs away Erom North America we will conshytinue to distance ourselves Erom the Protestanr tradition Our movemenr began among white Anglo-Saxon Prorestanrs and in

Torab is a v jbrant ifeshygiving message tbat

seeks expression

cerrain respects WASP cultural assumptions prevenred our pioshyneers Erom grasping Bible rruth Unril very recenrly the cenrral authoriry oE AdvelHism has been North American culture OE course Advenrism had access ro the Bible ali along bur it was the Bible conrextualized to

WASP religion As the Advenrist Eamily becomes more diverse it becomes easier to Eace these inherited assumprions Eor what they are and correcr our reachshying in the light oE Cods Word Ir seems Cod has always used social change to lead His people inro rrurh We see this process ar work in Acts chapter 15 Conservative leadership was clinging to an outmoded paradigm oE convershysion unril Eorced by the situashyrion on the ground to change their rheological understanding Theology develops as it scrambles to keep pace with social realiry by playing catch-up we come up with the truth This process is taking place right now in rhe area oE Advenrisr-Jewish relations The questiacuteon oE Israels place in

the c10sing evenrs oE this worlds history is no longer a rheologishycal abstraction Social realiry is Eorcing us ro rethink our spiritual rreasure in a non-Christian conshytexto Since we are pragmatists rather than attenrive students oE the Word we are more responsive to Cods activiry in our midst than to His voice in Scripture

Having said this I donr see Advenrism drawing nearer ro J udaism as an end in itself Borh Judaism and Christianiry are Eorms oE institutionalized disobeshydience Instead oE correcting the tragic separation oE true worshipshyers inro mutually anragonistic parties we have justified our sins and built doctrines around them Because the Ofigin oE Chrisrianiry is the rejection oETorah the reEormation oE Christianiry ar best can only bring us doser ro our original sino Chrisrianiry and Judaism are both mistakes While Cod has graciously colHinued to make HimselE known within both traditions neirher Eully repshyresenrs the biblical Revelation

Thinking escharologically the remnant who obey Cods commandmenrs and hold to

the tesrimony oEYeshua canshynot be comprised exclusively oE adherenrs either oE Judaism

remnant who proclaim the erershynal gospel by necessiry musr rranshyscend rhe hisroricallimitations oE Judaism and oE Christianiry To do so both traditions wiU need ro borrow back Erom each other truths they have EorEeired by disobedience I donr think many Adventists roday understand the ramifications oE the remnant because we continue ro identify exdusively with Christianiry

Shabbat Shalom Considering this speciaI connection do we fInd anti-Semitism among Adventists If yes how do you expIain this paradox

Lippi Hisrorically speaking rhe core oE Christian self-undershystanding and selE-definition is the rejection oE Israel ln practice however Adventists are ao ethshynically diverse group oE people who sincerely believe that every Eorm oE racism or prejudice is a grave sino The anti-Semitism Ive encountered among Adventists is more a matter oE insensitiviry and ignorance than oE malicious intento Ive never encountered a rabid Adventisr anti-Semite but I do know oE Jewish people whove leEt our Eellowship because they couldnt handle the incessanr anri-Semirism Erom our pulpits

Botb ]uocircaism ano Aocircventism embrace Torab or oE Christianiry Judaism has preserved the biblical dynamshyics oE obedience to Cods comshymandmenrs but defines itselE ro exclude the testimony oEYeshua Christianiry holds ro the testimoshyny oEYeshua but is not biblically obedienr ro Him The end-time

and in our publications We are more guilry oE indiEEerence than oE personal animosiry Advenrism suEEers Erom some bad theology Most oE rhis bad theology is nor original with us its part oE our Christian heritage Forrunately you can have a poor grasp oE

SHABBAT SHALOM 5

I

theory or even hold to the wrong theory and still get cerrain things right in practice You can relate to God on a personallevel in a wholesome way while entertainshying all sorts of erroneous notions This of course doesnt excuse us from the sacred obligation of correcting our bad theology Qur goal should be for our talk and our walk to someday agree and for both to accord with Gods revealed will for our lives

Shabbat Shalom ln your view what are the most significant features of Adventism that draw it dose to Judaism

Lippi Both Judaism and Advenrism embrace Torah Adventism has constructed a beautiful theology which inteshygrates Torah obedience into their thinking Weve escaped the Christian error of antinomianshyism but we havent escaped the Christian exegetical and linguistic

connection with Adventists Lippi ln my experience

most Norrh American Jews have heard of 5eventh-day Adventists but most lsraelis havent As far as the Israeli scene goes were nO( on the map yet Now as for how those who recognize us pershyceive us thats another matter I have only anecdotal knowledge bur the perception seems to be superficial and quite negative ln the main I think were perceived as a group of Christians whove hijacked certain defining symbols which Jewish people feel belong to them 50 long as Seventh-day Adventists continue to define themselves exclusively within a Christian framework it will be difficult for Jewish people to pick up on their connection with uso Irs hard for Jewish people to look past our Christianity long enough to appreciate us in our own right 5tereotyping isnt something that only we suffer Erom theres Jewish

We are tbe ~rst sizeable group of Gel1tiles sil1ce tbe first cel1tur~ wbove ocirceligrJteocirc il1 GoecircVs Torab

tradition which still prevents the biblical data from informing our understanding of the Torah We are the first sizeable group of Gentiles since the first century whove delighted in Gods Torah This potentially could be comshymon ground with Jewish people if only we learned to talk about it in biblical terms

Shabbat Shalom How do you explain this particular connection

Lippi I can only attribute it to the 5pirits leading in the Advent movement because hisshytorically there was no dialogue between our Adventist pioneers and Jewish people

Shabbat Shalom Are the Jews aware of their 6 SHABBAT SHALOM

stereotyping too you know Shabbat Shalom Are

Adventists aware of their connection with Jews

Lippi Unless they happen to have Jewish spouses or in-laws most Adventists dont connect with Jews Adventists of course are aware of biblical Jews because Adventists read abour them in their Bible Most Adventists seem to assume the last good thing that carne Erom the Jews is Jesus and after Him God had no further need for Jews Adventists seem unaware of the post-biblical Jewish contriburion that historically made the Protestant Reformation possible ln the Middle Ages Christianity borrowed back the Hebrew Bible from Judaism along

with all the cultural resources necessary for making sense out of it (the art of historical-literal interpretation grammatical analyshysis lexicography the rradition of pronunciation) 5ince they cant read the Bible for themselves Adventists are unaware that these Jewish contributions are actually what make their Christian rransshylations possible

Shabbat Shalom What couldJews learn from Adventists that may help them become better Jews

Lippi The Jewish people need to recover their missionary zeal The historical reason why the Jewish religion for the most part ceased recruitment among nonshyJews is understandable bur in a secular world that trend needs to be reversed The old reasons are no longer valid in most counshytries the practice of J udaism is no longer proscribed and suppressed Jewish faith needs the exercise of direct confrontation with heashythendom Judaism has developed too much as a negative reflex of Christianity Judaism needs to get out of the reactive mode get out from under the Christian shadow and recover its own authentic voice As Adventists we cant imagine personal faith confined only to our own famishylies-faith that doesnt reach out to others in darkness and extend the kingdom of Heaven Jewish people shouldnt have their spirishyruallife confined either Torah is a vibrant life-giving message that seeks expression The missionary impulse is healthy and normal and shouldnt be considered foreign to the spirit of Judaism During Second Temple times bringing proselytes under the wings of the Shekina was a very Jewish thing and it should be again

1

Interview

c[ifforocirc Go[ocircstein

Clifford Goldstein editor of the Adut Sabbath Schoo Ministries QJtartery since 1999 has had a long and distinshyguished writing career He has writshy

ten sixteen books and numerous anicles and has been the editor of Liberty magashyzine and Shabbat Shaom magazine

Goldstein bom in Albany New York has a passion for writing and studying and is a lover of philosophy Since he met God he has used his writing talents and intellect for Gods glocy He has a Bachelor ofArts degree in English fcom the University of Florida and a Master of Arts degree in Andent Semitic Languages fcom John Hopkins University He is married to Kimberly and they have two

children Zachacy and Hannah

habbat Shalom As aJew who has embraced Adventism did you have to abandon your Jewish identity in order

to feeI more comfortabIe among Adventists Clifford Goldstein Of course noto Most Jews never want

to abandon their identity ln facr mosr of the experiences I had thar led me to Adventism happened to me while I was living in Israel when my sense of Jewish identity was the strongest ir had ever been Of course to be fair I wasnr exactya practicing Lubavitch either so I didnr have to make

mat many changes Shabbat Shalom Did your Iearning and adoptshy

ing of Adventism make you a better Jew Ifyes in what ways

Goldstein My father who is an agnostic always says to

me Youre a betrer Jew rhan Iam The Adventisrs taught

me to keep Sabbarh and not eat pig ln many ways and I know some people would ferventy disagree with rhis stateshyment I believe Adventism is a unique expression of Judaism

if not Jewish traditions per se but of core fundamental Jewish values

Shabbat Shalom Do you think that Adventists are closer to Jews than any other religious group Ifyes how

Goldstein ln many ways very much soo The Sabbarh and

SHABBAT SHALOM 7

I

rhe healrh principies make llS very

dose Years ago many Adventists

were mistaken for Jews particular-

Iy because of Sabbath keeping Ali

thar being said Adventism as it is

practiced today is still a conservashy

tive Proresram faith and rhus there

are big differences in a number of

areas The identity of rhe Messiah

of course being the biggesr

Shabbat Shalom Yes but if it is troe that Adventism be10ngs historically to the Protestant tradition dont you think that in many Iacutellnshy

damental aspects Adventism broke from this current and by doing that drew near to judaism repairing the old breach for instance between grace and law

Goldstein Thats true it has

and 1 think thats one of rhe great

rhings thar the Adventisr Church

has to offer the world-rhis unity

of grace and law the idea that

grace doesnt annul the law Grace

is Gods response to rhe law or ar

least to our failure to keep rhe law

ln this sense Advemism has gone

beyond rhe Protesrant tradition

which in some ways still never

totally broke away from Rome

Sunday-keeping the great example

of rhis point

Shabbat Shalom Considering this special connection do we find anti-Semitism among Adventists If yes how do we expIain this paradox

Goldstein Well people are

people and we ali are sinners My

reading of the Scriptures affirms

that ln a Church of whar dose

to 20 million people youre

bound to find some So often the

Church itself reflects the culture

around it and in cultllres where

anti-Semirism is stronger its more

like1y to appear in the Church 1

can say rhat in my 25 years with

Adventists mosr people have been

8 SHABBAT SHALOM

very kind and accepring Most

have found my being Jewish someshy

thing special they were fascinated

by ir Im not naive enough to believe its not there I just havent

blarantly confronted any rhough I

have met people who were insensishy

rive Now you could argue rhat

insensitivity is a subtle form of

anti-Semitism and perhaps so

but I can truly say thar with rare

exceptions this Church at leasr

in my experience has been very

accepting Shabbat Shalom ln your

view what are the most significant features of Adventism that draw it dose tojudaism

Goldstein As 1 said before the

importance Adventists place on the Sabbath I rhink is the most

powerful connection Though

Adventist Sabbath-keeping pracshy

tices are often different from rhose

of many Sabbath-keeping Jews

both share a strong sense 1 beieve

of the importance of Sabbarh of

how primaI ir is how basic it is to

hdping us know who we are why

we are here and where we stand

in relationship to God Sabbath

is a pretty big thing to keep it

demands a commitmenr Sabbath-

keeping is an outward affirmation of fairh of belief of trusr and

the fact mat both Adventists and

practicing Jews keep it is I beieve

a powerful link between both

groups Shabbat Shalom How do

you explain this particular connection

Goldstein Ir srems from a comshy

mon be1ief in the Tanach in rhe

Lord rhe Creator and a common

acknowledgment that we are here

for a purpose rhar we are nor

products of change of evolution

but are beings creared in the image

of God Thats an important point in a world dominared by a kind of

a priori materialism thar leaves out

a rranscendent Creator

Shabbat Shalom What are some of the biggest differshyences

Goldstein Well there are many

and we shouldnt gloss them over

Jews are Jews and Adventists are Prorestants and theres a real gap

there to be sure This isnr rhe

place to gel imo the Who is a

Jew comroversy however Jews

are Jews generally by virtue of birth family ties ethnicity and to

a certain sense beliefs and practices

After ali how many lsraeis do

you find Friday night in Te Aviv

discos or bars Plenty Are rhey

Jews Most people would still say yes regardless of their practices or

beiefs ln many ways people are

Jews whether or not rhey made any

choice to be Jews

With Adventism its a bit difshy

ferent Most people are Adventists

because rhey have made a conshy

scious choice to be Advemists You

can grow up in an Adventist home

and as an adult reject ali rhar you

have been raughr Youre no longer

then an Adventist With a Jew irs

not quite the sarne There are plenshy

ty of people who raised Jewish

abandon ali pretenses of Jewish belief and practice and yet Hill

consider rhemseves Jews Any one who did thar wirh Adventism wonr

still consider themselves Adventisr

Shabbat Shalom Are there many jews who are Adventists

Goldstein Many is a relashy

tive number There have been

more and more Jews who coming

to beieve that Jesus of Nazareth

is rhe Messiah have embraced Adventism as a means of expressing

that faith At the sarne time too

Ive known many Adventists who

have become Jews Though they left rhe Church they didnr wam

to abandon certain things such as

Sabbath and thus found Judaism a

natural place to go

Biblical Lesson

j Tbe ]ewisb Face of I Aocircvel1tismi

Jacques B Doukbal1

he purpose of this article is to

introduce Adventist and Jewish theologians to

the Jewish component of rhe Adventist faith and eventushy

ally draw from this associashytion speciBc lessons in regard to Adventist identiry and to

Jewish-Adventist relations ln a Brst step 1 will try to disclose and track the Jewish connecshytion with Adventism that is of a character not found elsewhere

r in other Christian traditionsshyone that instead constitutes an

essential character of the Jewish identiry ln a second step 1 will analyze the various responses that have usually surfaced among Adventists in view of

this particular Jewish composhynent of their religious identiry

Jewish-Adventist service in Buenos Aires Argentina

SHABBAT SHALOM 9

I

The Jewish Connection Adventisr idemiry holds a

remarkable number of specific fearures rhar are an imporshyram parr of whar also charshyacrerizes rhe Jewish idemity Advemisrs rheology of the Law rheir respecr for rhe Torah of Moses rheir high regard for rhe Hebrew Scriptures their keen interesr in anciem Israelire institutions such as rhe Levirical sanctuary and in the theologishycal significance of the Jewish Kippur rheir lifestyle and even their eating habits and more importantly their keeping of the sarne seventh-day Sabbarh have not only singled them out within Christianity but have also drawn rhem rheoshylogically and even sociologically

Jewish-Advemisr congregation Sao Paulo Brazil

10 SHABBAT SHA LOM

doser to rhe Jews ln rhis artide my observashy

tions of rhe Jewish characrer in Advemism will focus on rhe Sabbarh nor only because ir is the mosr importam Jewish feashyture in Advemism-the most distinctive and the most visible one-but also because from the Sabbath we may derive the main comours of Sevemh-day Advemist rheology as rhey parshyallel those of Jewish theology

1 The Jewish -Christian Separation

By keeping rhe sarne sevemhshyday Sabbarh as the Jews-not just as a principIe as wirh other Christian fairhs bur in actual reality from Friday nighr to Sarurday night-Seventh-day

Advemisrs have made a hisshytorie sratemenr regarding the Jewish-Chrisrian separarion The Sabbarh had played an importam if nor a decisive role in the Jewish-Christian separarion Christians separared from the Jews because of the Sabbarh they chose anorher day and rejecred rhe Jewish Sabbath precisely in order to disassociate rhemselves from the Jews This motivarion is already explicitly stared by Marcion in rhe second cemury Because ir is rhe rest of rhe God of rhe Jews we fasr on thar day in order nor to accomplish on rhar day whar was ordained by the God of rhe Jews I Ir is repeated and made official in rhe imperial councils of the fourth century Christians musr nor Judaize by resring on the Sabbarh bur musr work on that day honoring rarher rhe Lords day by resring if posshysible as Chrisrians However if any should be found Judaizing ler rhem be anarhema from Chrisr2

The history of rhe Chrisrian Mission to rhe Jews shows rhat the inirial mass movemem of Jewish conversion ceased abruprly in rhe fourrh century3

precisely in relarion to rhe Christian rejecrion of rhe Torah and more specifically of rhe Sabbarh As historian Jules Isaac wrires The Jewish rejection of Chrisr was rriggered by rhe Christian rejection of the Law4 Or in rhe words of Christian rheologian Marvin Wilson This move to Sunday worship made it exceedingly difficult if nor virtually imposshysible for the Jew to give any serious consideration to the

Christian message ln short to become a Christian was conshysidered as leaving behind the Jewishness of ones past hardly a live option for any faithful Jew to consider5 Contrary to what one would expect it was on the Law and not on the messhysianic controversy that Jews and Christians departed from each

I other Ir is significant indeed

that so many Jews had accepted Jesus as their Messiah as long as they did not have to reject the Law Ir is also significant that Jewish tradition and Jewish hisshytory attest to a great number of messianic vicws and experiences where the borders betveen Jews and Christians are blurred and even crossed-messianic views that at times are bolder than

The Shalom Learning Center Hollywood Florida

B~ returl1il1g to the Jewlsh sabbath Sevel1th-oa~ Aovel1tists were HOt 011[-9 retur11111g to the sarne

sevel1th oa~

their Christian counterpart By returning to the Jewish

Sabbath Seventh-day Adventists were not only returning to the sarne seventh day they were not simply reacting to the tradishytional Christian current on the question of a day By keeping the seventh-day Sabbath they were also bound to be affected on a deeper levei in the content of their theology

2 Creation Versus Redemption

The Jewish Sabbath as already recorded in the fourth commandment (Exod 2011) and in the conclusion of the Genesis Creation Story (Gen 22) carries a positive reference to Creation- the earth nature human body etc-versus the

Christian Sabbath which in reference to Jesus resurrection

exalts spiritual redemption and deliverance from the concrete flesh of this Creation This dualistic paradigm originated in the Marcionite Antithesis and

found its way into traditional Christianity where redemption from the body and the spiritual domain is valued over the mateshyrial and physical domain-so much so that the biblical act of Creation itself was interpreted as a mere illustration serving the spiritual truth of redemption ln Jewish tradition the Sabbath because of its reference tO Creation became the epitome of

the affirmation and enjoyment of the whole of ife (involving the body and the senses) On Sabbath one is not only allowed but is required to enjoy life By returning to the seventh-day Sabbath Seventh-day Adventists rejected the Marcionite parashydigm and emphasized instead the importance of Creation thus giving special attention to the body-the eating and drinkshying (health message) and the physical welfare of humankind (Adventist Development and Relicf Agency) Ir is noteworthy that this approach concurs with the Jewish way of ife where the concrete body and eating and drinking are an inherent part of religion as well as the Jewish principie eyn kemah eyn torah (no flour no Torah) that makes spirituality depend on physical existence

111 Jewish traoitiol1 tbe Sabbatb because af its reference ta Creation became tbe epitowre of the affirwration ano enjo~wrel1t af tbe whae af ife

SHABBAT SHALOM 11

3 The Law The reference to rhe Law is

implied in rhe Sabbarh comshymandmem from (wo perspecshytives Ir is found firsr from rhe perspective of Crearion By calling attention to the conshycrere domain of physical exisshytence the reference to Creation implies a specific concero for erhics and jusrice in reallife From that perspective spiritual and sentimental elaborations love and imellectual beliefs are nor enough Concrete justice the need for righreousness has become an importam ingredishyent of religion This dimension is a distinctive feature of Jewish identiry

A1so the adoprion of rhe seventh-day Sabbath of biblical revelation over against rhe day of human tradition implies a recognirion of rhe rranscendence and of rhe vertical aspecr of religion and rhus encourages a renewed interesr in rhe dimenshysion ofTorah in rhe Adventisr rheology of covenant There are still problems in the observance of the Law For instance in spite of the biblical injunctions (Gen 24 Acts 1520) Adventists are not clear on the issue of the

Aovel1tists are 110t dear 011 the issue 01 the COl1sumptiol1 o

6[000

consumption of blood To be sure the vegetarian ideal proshymoted by Adventisrs avoids that issue but rhe quesrion of rhe consumption of blood has nor been setded The reference (O rhe Law plays a specific role in Adventist rheology thus drawing

12 SHABBAT SHALOM

I

Jewish-Advenrist congregation at Andrews University

Adventists near (O rhe Jews Ir is among other factors this recogshynition of the Law that accounts for the respect for other Jewish laws such as the dietary laws and the tithe and more imporrantly for closer attention (O ethical principies and a grearer imerest in rhe religious dimension of justice and righteousness

4 Hope Another important dimenshy

sion of the Sabbath that brings Seventh-day Adventists closer (O the Jews concerns the lesson of hope and expecration that is associated with the sevenrh-day Sabbath ln Jewish tradition the Sabbath has not only been imerpreted as a foretaste of the olam haba the kingdom of God and therefore as a sign of hope for perfecr harmony and peace ir has also been identified as a time of hope in itself For as the seventh day the time of the Sabbath embodies the very structure of hope the experience of the not yet

ln Seventh-day Adventist tradition as in Jewish tradishy

rion the seventh day is associshyated with rhe future Advent Through rhis associarion Seventh-day Adventists are in tune wirh rhe Jews theyaffirm with rhem the imporrance of rhe future component of salshyvarion and arrest (O rhe sarne luciJiry toward presem evil on earth

As a sevench day the Sabbath is also the day that marks the completion of ali (kol) creation of heaven and earth (Gen 21shy3) thereby being a cosmic sign that prerequires the end of rhis world for the creation of a new world One of the lessons of the seventh-day Sabbath is (O affirm the necessarily cosmic character of salvarion The

ht seventb-otildea3 Aotildeventist ltraotildeition as

111 Jewisb traotildeitiol1 tbe seventb oa~ is associateo

witb tbe future Jewish theology of Kippur the Day of A(Onement would be in that respect particularly relshy

evant for the Advenrist reflecshy

tion on the sanctuary and is

worrh noting in this reflection

ln the Bible as well as in Jewish tradition the building of the

sancruary has been related to

the cosmic Creation (Ps 7869) and the function of these corshy

respondences is to underscore

the depiction of the sanctuary as a world6 ln that perspecshy

tive the Da) of Atonemenr that

prescribes the cleansing of the

sanctuar) is supposed to prefigshyure the cleansing the re-creation

or the world calling once again

for the need of a re-creation as the onl) valuable redempshy

tive response or solution to our human condition

The sarne connection is also

suggested in the rabbinic legislashyrion of the Sabbath that relates

typologically the 39 works that are not allowed on Sabbath to

the 39 works of the building or the Sanctuary7 Each Sabbath

the Orrhodox Jew is thus supshyposed to remember the relationshy

ship between the Sancruary and

the Sabbath a theologicallesson not insignificanr in Advenrist theology ~

As we can see the Adventist

identiry orfers a great number of interesting parallels with the

Jewish idenrity I have given just

a few of the most importanr

ones Though not all Advenrists are familiar with the profound

significance of these connecshytions even on a superficial

level the connections are clear

enough to make any Advenrist

aware of the special theological and religious relations with the

Jews

The Adventist Response To that particular conncction

Because of their keeping of tbe sabbath seventh-ocirca~ Aoventists have often beel1 anocirc sti[[ are ioentifieocirc as ]elvs ano as such bave sometimes

been tbe object of suspiciol1 ano barocircsbips with Judaism Advenrists have

responded in a variery of ways

ranging Erom the most positive

to the most negative and often in an ambivalenr manner

1 The Positive Response Ir is quite understandable that

the adoption of the Sabbath and other distinctive fearures

of Judaism has encouraged

among many Adventists great

sympathy toward the Jews How often I have heard Sevenrh-day

Advenrists expressing positive

feelings at observing the Jews

going to the synagogue on Sabbath morning while they

are themselves heading for

church Because of their keepshying of the Sabbath Sevenrh-day

Advenrists have often been and

still are idenriried as Jews and as such have sometimes been the

object of suspicion and hardshyships (as is the case of Sevenrhshy

da) Advenrists in some African and Arabic countries) Similar

dieta) choices have even assoshy

ciated Jews and Advenrists in

the market place as Advenrists

have often been caught standshy

ing next to the Jews at the Kosher counrer The Adventist

curiosit) for Jewish interpretashy

tions and religious experiences

is well attested not only among

la) members but also among Advenrist theologians (see for

instance the importance of the reference to Abraham Heschel

in the Adventist reflecrion on

the Sabbath) These common

sufferings and similariries of experience and of beliefs have

narurall) incited ver) posishytive sentiments on the part of

Adventists toward the Jews

Jewish-Advenrist congregation celebrating Succot in Jerusalem Israel

SHABBAT SHALOM 13

I

-

Jewish-Adventist congregation in Sr Perersburg Florida

2 Supersessionism Supersessionism (from the

Latin supersede meaning sit shyting at the place of) is an old Christian ideology9 that was first advocated in ecclesiastical terms in the fourth-century Catholic Church (the church as the city

of God the new Israel has replaced the synagogue the old Israel) and in theological terms in conrinen tal Protestanrism (the spiritual Israel with the grace of the Gospel has replaced the Israel of the flesh with the Law of Moses)

This last supersessionism may look more elegan t and more sophisticated than the former one but it carries the sarne porenrial damage If I am the true Israel and you are not you do not deserve to live as Israel This is why supersessionshyism has been diagnosed as a spiritual Holocaust preparing for the physical one Franklin Littell notes the cornerstone of Christian antisemitism the superseding and displacement myth rings with a genocidal norelO

14 SHABBAT SHAlOM

Supersessionist ideas were and still are taught by Adventists who inherited them among other grains of dust from rhe tradirional church (Catholic and Protestant) Yet considering Adventisms late arrival on rhe scene of religions and its special connection with the Jews supershysessionism is inconsistent with Adventist theology

Indeed Adventists canshynot claim as can rhe Carholic Church that they had replaced rhe historical Israel of the Old

asrical supersessionism Advenrist supersessionism emphasized the idea of a spirirual remnanr as rhe spirirual Israel-rhe Israel of God-which replaced rhe physishycal Israel These Advenrisrs onen idenrifY rhemselves as rhe chosen remnanr and rhe claim is someshyrimes heard wirh some nationalisshytic overtones

Also along rhe lines of rheoshylogical supersessionism some Advenrisrs mainrain rhar rhey undersrand and Iive rhe Sabbarh and rhe Torah in a superior and more spirirual way rhan rhe Jews who are legalisric ln conrrasr to rhe Jewish Sabbarh the Adventist Sabbath is called a Sabbath touched by the Gospel11 or in comparison

to the Jewish Sabbath ofJoe Lieberman the Sabbath of Joe Advenrisr12 Nore in the conrext

of this journal rhe moving testimoshyny of May-Ellen Colon who grateshyfully acknowledges her existential and theological debt to the Jewish Sabbath and the recommendation by John Graz We stiJl have many lessons to learn from rhem 13

Ir is significanr however that

Tbis lnsistence 111 marki~ tbe agraveifference between tbeJewisb Sabbatb ano tbe

Aoventist Sabbatb is somewbat susrect

Testament (ecclesiastical supershysessionism) because they carne much later after the separation Nor can they argue that the Jewish Sabbath or the Torah had been replaced by another Christian sabbath or by grace (theological supersessionism) for they had embraced together in tension the theology of the Sabbath and the Law with the theology of grace

Yet along the lines of ecclesishy

these presenrations of the soshycaJled Advenrist Sabbath are nor in contradiction with a Jewish understanding of the Sabbath Ir is also ironical that in order to set up the specific Advenrist characrer of the Sabbath many of these Advenrist authors have ofren resorted to and extensively referred to Jewish authorities such as Abraham Heschel J4 This insisshytence in marking the difference

Editorial

Operatiol1 Eijab

evoting a whole issue to the Jewish-Adventist

connection rnay appear odd to both Jews and Advenrists But they are not always aware of their conshynections to each other Jews will be surprised to discover these sttange Christians who keep the sarne Sabbath-from Friday night to

Saturday night-who eat Kosher who pay serious attention to the Torah of Moses and who hope in the final redemption of the world Likewise Adventists will wonder at the faithful Jews who rest and

Jacques B Doukban) DHL) TbD

celebrate on Sabbath emphasize the value of life and stress the unity of human nature

Through this unique and unusual series of artides the reader will be srruck by the nature of the Jewish-Adventist connection Theological reflections and analysis will challenge our thinking helpshying us recognize how dose the Jews are to Adventists and lead us to the further guestion of what this particular connection means for us as Jews andor Advenrists The two inrerviews of Paul Lippi a Chrisrian-bom Adventisr who lived in Israel among Jews for more than twenty years and ofJewishshybom Advenrist C1ifford Goldstein who embraced Aventism without abandoning his Jewish identity will surpIise and perhaps disrurb some From this encounrer Jewish and Advenrist readers will certainly learn to see each otheI differenrly Moreover rhey may leam to see a new face of themselves and of rheir God Indeed this refreshing of the Jewish component of the

Advenrist faith may well enrich and deepen this faith and thereby draw Advenrists doser to Jews lt may also allow Jews to see another face of Christianity and draw them doseI to this strange group of believers ln these times when so rnany Christians are interested in renewing their Jewish roots ir may bring Adventisrs and Jews doser to the Christian community ar large and even to the bigger world

ln the beginning of the Christian era the Church separared itself from its Jewish roors in order to gain the world Could it be that at the end of its course the Church wiU gain rhe world by coming back (teshuvah) to the Jewish face of irs identity Such an intriguing advenrure would reflect the proshyphetic intuition of Malachi aboLlt the coming of Elijah- rhe prophet who ar rhe last momenr of human history would tum the hearrs of the fathers to the children and the hearrs of the children to their fathers (Mal 46)

SHABBAT SHALOM 3

--

Interview

Paul Lippi

I

I After his

theology studies at Andrews University Paul Lippi went to me Hebrew University

of Jerusalem where he did post-graduate studies and worked under Prof Emanuel Tov the famous expert on the Septuagim and the Dead Sea Scrolls Paullived in Israel for 23 years and served the Jewish-Advemist community in Jerusalem as a pastor He is presently the director of the Shalom Learning Center in Florida a center devoted to the preparation of materiaIs and lay people for JewishshyChristian ministry

4 SHABBAT SHALOM

habbat Shalom As an Adventist who lived more

than twenty years in Israel and studied at the Hebrew University with Jewish stushydents what did you learn from your relationship that has affectedenriched your religious views and even helped you become a better Adventist

Paullippi What amazes me about Israel is the extent to which non-scholars have an active interest in Bible interpreshyrarion Biblical turns oE phrase are embedded in everyday conshyversarion rhe diEferent ways to

rake whar the Bible says is part oE pop culture For somebody coming Erom a Eaith communiry where linguistic interpretarion and popular religion are totally compartmenralized and hardly on speaking terms Israeli society

is music to the ears Adventists need to learn from

Jewish people that just because you openly discLlss some linguistic or textual difflculty in the Bible God is not going to suddenly disappear between the cracks His presence among us is thankshyfully not that fragile If another way of looking at familiar data forces us to re-construe certain passages everything weve always believed in doesnt go down the tube Because God is gracious He allows us to adjust our posi tion without withdrawing His giEt oE

Because Goo is grac1ous) He a[[ows us to aojust our positiol1 witbout

witborawil1g H is gift of faitb

Eairh Shabbat Shalom How do

you see the future of the We are more gui[t9 of tbeoretica[ anti-Semitism tban ]ewish-Adventist connecshy persona[ avtimosit9tion and by implication the future of Adventism in reIation to Protestant tradishytion

Lippi I think with the passshying oE time as the cultural cenrer oE Adventism shiErs away Erom North America we will conshytinue to distance ourselves Erom the Protestanr tradition Our movemenr began among white Anglo-Saxon Prorestanrs and in

Torab is a v jbrant ifeshygiving message tbat

seeks expression

cerrain respects WASP cultural assumptions prevenred our pioshyneers Erom grasping Bible rruth Unril very recenrly the cenrral authoriry oE AdvelHism has been North American culture OE course Advenrism had access ro the Bible ali along bur it was the Bible conrextualized to

WASP religion As the Advenrist Eamily becomes more diverse it becomes easier to Eace these inherited assumprions Eor what they are and correcr our reachshying in the light oE Cods Word Ir seems Cod has always used social change to lead His people inro rrurh We see this process ar work in Acts chapter 15 Conservative leadership was clinging to an outmoded paradigm oE convershysion unril Eorced by the situashyrion on the ground to change their rheological understanding Theology develops as it scrambles to keep pace with social realiry by playing catch-up we come up with the truth This process is taking place right now in rhe area oE Advenrisr-Jewish relations The questiacuteon oE Israels place in

the c10sing evenrs oE this worlds history is no longer a rheologishycal abstraction Social realiry is Eorcing us ro rethink our spiritual rreasure in a non-Christian conshytexto Since we are pragmatists rather than attenrive students oE the Word we are more responsive to Cods activiry in our midst than to His voice in Scripture

Having said this I donr see Advenrism drawing nearer ro J udaism as an end in itself Borh Judaism and Christianiry are Eorms oE institutionalized disobeshydience Instead oE correcting the tragic separation oE true worshipshyers inro mutually anragonistic parties we have justified our sins and built doctrines around them Because the Ofigin oE Chrisrianiry is the rejection oETorah the reEormation oE Christianiry ar best can only bring us doser ro our original sino Chrisrianiry and Judaism are both mistakes While Cod has graciously colHinued to make HimselE known within both traditions neirher Eully repshyresenrs the biblical Revelation

Thinking escharologically the remnant who obey Cods commandmenrs and hold to

the tesrimony oEYeshua canshynot be comprised exclusively oE adherenrs either oE Judaism

remnant who proclaim the erershynal gospel by necessiry musr rranshyscend rhe hisroricallimitations oE Judaism and oE Christianiry To do so both traditions wiU need ro borrow back Erom each other truths they have EorEeired by disobedience I donr think many Adventists roday understand the ramifications oE the remnant because we continue ro identify exdusively with Christianiry

Shabbat Shalom Considering this speciaI connection do we fInd anti-Semitism among Adventists If yes how do you expIain this paradox

Lippi Hisrorically speaking rhe core oE Christian self-undershystanding and selE-definition is the rejection oE Israel ln practice however Adventists are ao ethshynically diverse group oE people who sincerely believe that every Eorm oE racism or prejudice is a grave sino The anti-Semitism Ive encountered among Adventists is more a matter oE insensitiviry and ignorance than oE malicious intento Ive never encountered a rabid Adventisr anti-Semite but I do know oE Jewish people whove leEt our Eellowship because they couldnt handle the incessanr anri-Semirism Erom our pulpits

Botb ]uocircaism ano Aocircventism embrace Torab or oE Christianiry Judaism has preserved the biblical dynamshyics oE obedience to Cods comshymandmenrs but defines itselE ro exclude the testimony oEYeshua Christianiry holds ro the testimoshyny oEYeshua but is not biblically obedienr ro Him The end-time

and in our publications We are more guilry oE indiEEerence than oE personal animosiry Advenrism suEEers Erom some bad theology Most oE rhis bad theology is nor original with us its part oE our Christian heritage Forrunately you can have a poor grasp oE

SHABBAT SHALOM 5

I

theory or even hold to the wrong theory and still get cerrain things right in practice You can relate to God on a personallevel in a wholesome way while entertainshying all sorts of erroneous notions This of course doesnt excuse us from the sacred obligation of correcting our bad theology Qur goal should be for our talk and our walk to someday agree and for both to accord with Gods revealed will for our lives

Shabbat Shalom ln your view what are the most significant features of Adventism that draw it dose to Judaism

Lippi Both Judaism and Advenrism embrace Torah Adventism has constructed a beautiful theology which inteshygrates Torah obedience into their thinking Weve escaped the Christian error of antinomianshyism but we havent escaped the Christian exegetical and linguistic

connection with Adventists Lippi ln my experience

most Norrh American Jews have heard of 5eventh-day Adventists but most lsraelis havent As far as the Israeli scene goes were nO( on the map yet Now as for how those who recognize us pershyceive us thats another matter I have only anecdotal knowledge bur the perception seems to be superficial and quite negative ln the main I think were perceived as a group of Christians whove hijacked certain defining symbols which Jewish people feel belong to them 50 long as Seventh-day Adventists continue to define themselves exclusively within a Christian framework it will be difficult for Jewish people to pick up on their connection with uso Irs hard for Jewish people to look past our Christianity long enough to appreciate us in our own right 5tereotyping isnt something that only we suffer Erom theres Jewish

We are tbe ~rst sizeable group of Gel1tiles sil1ce tbe first cel1tur~ wbove ocirceligrJteocirc il1 GoecircVs Torab

tradition which still prevents the biblical data from informing our understanding of the Torah We are the first sizeable group of Gentiles since the first century whove delighted in Gods Torah This potentially could be comshymon ground with Jewish people if only we learned to talk about it in biblical terms

Shabbat Shalom How do you explain this particular connection

Lippi I can only attribute it to the 5pirits leading in the Advent movement because hisshytorically there was no dialogue between our Adventist pioneers and Jewish people

Shabbat Shalom Are the Jews aware of their 6 SHABBAT SHALOM

stereotyping too you know Shabbat Shalom Are

Adventists aware of their connection with Jews

Lippi Unless they happen to have Jewish spouses or in-laws most Adventists dont connect with Jews Adventists of course are aware of biblical Jews because Adventists read abour them in their Bible Most Adventists seem to assume the last good thing that carne Erom the Jews is Jesus and after Him God had no further need for Jews Adventists seem unaware of the post-biblical Jewish contriburion that historically made the Protestant Reformation possible ln the Middle Ages Christianity borrowed back the Hebrew Bible from Judaism along

with all the cultural resources necessary for making sense out of it (the art of historical-literal interpretation grammatical analyshysis lexicography the rradition of pronunciation) 5ince they cant read the Bible for themselves Adventists are unaware that these Jewish contributions are actually what make their Christian rransshylations possible

Shabbat Shalom What couldJews learn from Adventists that may help them become better Jews

Lippi The Jewish people need to recover their missionary zeal The historical reason why the Jewish religion for the most part ceased recruitment among nonshyJews is understandable bur in a secular world that trend needs to be reversed The old reasons are no longer valid in most counshytries the practice of J udaism is no longer proscribed and suppressed Jewish faith needs the exercise of direct confrontation with heashythendom Judaism has developed too much as a negative reflex of Christianity Judaism needs to get out of the reactive mode get out from under the Christian shadow and recover its own authentic voice As Adventists we cant imagine personal faith confined only to our own famishylies-faith that doesnt reach out to others in darkness and extend the kingdom of Heaven Jewish people shouldnt have their spirishyruallife confined either Torah is a vibrant life-giving message that seeks expression The missionary impulse is healthy and normal and shouldnt be considered foreign to the spirit of Judaism During Second Temple times bringing proselytes under the wings of the Shekina was a very Jewish thing and it should be again

1

Interview

c[ifforocirc Go[ocircstein

Clifford Goldstein editor of the Adut Sabbath Schoo Ministries QJtartery since 1999 has had a long and distinshyguished writing career He has writshy

ten sixteen books and numerous anicles and has been the editor of Liberty magashyzine and Shabbat Shaom magazine

Goldstein bom in Albany New York has a passion for writing and studying and is a lover of philosophy Since he met God he has used his writing talents and intellect for Gods glocy He has a Bachelor ofArts degree in English fcom the University of Florida and a Master of Arts degree in Andent Semitic Languages fcom John Hopkins University He is married to Kimberly and they have two

children Zachacy and Hannah

habbat Shalom As aJew who has embraced Adventism did you have to abandon your Jewish identity in order

to feeI more comfortabIe among Adventists Clifford Goldstein Of course noto Most Jews never want

to abandon their identity ln facr mosr of the experiences I had thar led me to Adventism happened to me while I was living in Israel when my sense of Jewish identity was the strongest ir had ever been Of course to be fair I wasnr exactya practicing Lubavitch either so I didnr have to make

mat many changes Shabbat Shalom Did your Iearning and adoptshy

ing of Adventism make you a better Jew Ifyes in what ways

Goldstein My father who is an agnostic always says to

me Youre a betrer Jew rhan Iam The Adventisrs taught

me to keep Sabbarh and not eat pig ln many ways and I know some people would ferventy disagree with rhis stateshyment I believe Adventism is a unique expression of Judaism

if not Jewish traditions per se but of core fundamental Jewish values

Shabbat Shalom Do you think that Adventists are closer to Jews than any other religious group Ifyes how

Goldstein ln many ways very much soo The Sabbarh and

SHABBAT SHALOM 7

I

rhe healrh principies make llS very

dose Years ago many Adventists

were mistaken for Jews particular-

Iy because of Sabbath keeping Ali

thar being said Adventism as it is

practiced today is still a conservashy

tive Proresram faith and rhus there

are big differences in a number of

areas The identity of rhe Messiah

of course being the biggesr

Shabbat Shalom Yes but if it is troe that Adventism be10ngs historically to the Protestant tradition dont you think that in many Iacutellnshy

damental aspects Adventism broke from this current and by doing that drew near to judaism repairing the old breach for instance between grace and law

Goldstein Thats true it has

and 1 think thats one of rhe great

rhings thar the Adventisr Church

has to offer the world-rhis unity

of grace and law the idea that

grace doesnt annul the law Grace

is Gods response to rhe law or ar

least to our failure to keep rhe law

ln this sense Advemism has gone

beyond rhe Protesrant tradition

which in some ways still never

totally broke away from Rome

Sunday-keeping the great example

of rhis point

Shabbat Shalom Considering this special connection do we find anti-Semitism among Adventists If yes how do we expIain this paradox

Goldstein Well people are

people and we ali are sinners My

reading of the Scriptures affirms

that ln a Church of whar dose

to 20 million people youre

bound to find some So often the

Church itself reflects the culture

around it and in cultllres where

anti-Semirism is stronger its more

like1y to appear in the Church 1

can say rhat in my 25 years with

Adventists mosr people have been

8 SHABBAT SHALOM

very kind and accepring Most

have found my being Jewish someshy

thing special they were fascinated

by ir Im not naive enough to believe its not there I just havent

blarantly confronted any rhough I

have met people who were insensishy

rive Now you could argue rhat

insensitivity is a subtle form of

anti-Semitism and perhaps so

but I can truly say thar with rare

exceptions this Church at leasr

in my experience has been very

accepting Shabbat Shalom ln your

view what are the most significant features of Adventism that draw it dose tojudaism

Goldstein As 1 said before the

importance Adventists place on the Sabbath I rhink is the most

powerful connection Though

Adventist Sabbath-keeping pracshy

tices are often different from rhose

of many Sabbath-keeping Jews

both share a strong sense 1 beieve

of the importance of Sabbarh of

how primaI ir is how basic it is to

hdping us know who we are why

we are here and where we stand

in relationship to God Sabbath

is a pretty big thing to keep it

demands a commitmenr Sabbath-

keeping is an outward affirmation of fairh of belief of trusr and

the fact mat both Adventists and

practicing Jews keep it is I beieve

a powerful link between both

groups Shabbat Shalom How do

you explain this particular connection

Goldstein Ir srems from a comshy

mon be1ief in the Tanach in rhe

Lord rhe Creator and a common

acknowledgment that we are here

for a purpose rhar we are nor

products of change of evolution

but are beings creared in the image

of God Thats an important point in a world dominared by a kind of

a priori materialism thar leaves out

a rranscendent Creator

Shabbat Shalom What are some of the biggest differshyences

Goldstein Well there are many

and we shouldnt gloss them over

Jews are Jews and Adventists are Prorestants and theres a real gap

there to be sure This isnr rhe

place to gel imo the Who is a

Jew comroversy however Jews

are Jews generally by virtue of birth family ties ethnicity and to

a certain sense beliefs and practices

After ali how many lsraeis do

you find Friday night in Te Aviv

discos or bars Plenty Are rhey

Jews Most people would still say yes regardless of their practices or

beiefs ln many ways people are

Jews whether or not rhey made any

choice to be Jews

With Adventism its a bit difshy

ferent Most people are Adventists

because rhey have made a conshy

scious choice to be Advemists You

can grow up in an Adventist home

and as an adult reject ali rhar you

have been raughr Youre no longer

then an Adventist With a Jew irs

not quite the sarne There are plenshy

ty of people who raised Jewish

abandon ali pretenses of Jewish belief and practice and yet Hill

consider rhemseves Jews Any one who did thar wirh Adventism wonr

still consider themselves Adventisr

Shabbat Shalom Are there many jews who are Adventists

Goldstein Many is a relashy

tive number There have been

more and more Jews who coming

to beieve that Jesus of Nazareth

is rhe Messiah have embraced Adventism as a means of expressing

that faith At the sarne time too

Ive known many Adventists who

have become Jews Though they left rhe Church they didnr wam

to abandon certain things such as

Sabbath and thus found Judaism a

natural place to go

Biblical Lesson

j Tbe ]ewisb Face of I Aocircvel1tismi

Jacques B Doukbal1

he purpose of this article is to

introduce Adventist and Jewish theologians to

the Jewish component of rhe Adventist faith and eventushy

ally draw from this associashytion speciBc lessons in regard to Adventist identiry and to

Jewish-Adventist relations ln a Brst step 1 will try to disclose and track the Jewish connecshytion with Adventism that is of a character not found elsewhere

r in other Christian traditionsshyone that instead constitutes an

essential character of the Jewish identiry ln a second step 1 will analyze the various responses that have usually surfaced among Adventists in view of

this particular Jewish composhynent of their religious identiry

Jewish-Adventist service in Buenos Aires Argentina

SHABBAT SHALOM 9

I

The Jewish Connection Adventisr idemiry holds a

remarkable number of specific fearures rhar are an imporshyram parr of whar also charshyacrerizes rhe Jewish idemity Advemisrs rheology of the Law rheir respecr for rhe Torah of Moses rheir high regard for rhe Hebrew Scriptures their keen interesr in anciem Israelire institutions such as rhe Levirical sanctuary and in the theologishycal significance of the Jewish Kippur rheir lifestyle and even their eating habits and more importantly their keeping of the sarne seventh-day Sabbarh have not only singled them out within Christianity but have also drawn rhem rheoshylogically and even sociologically

Jewish-Advemisr congregation Sao Paulo Brazil

10 SHABBAT SHA LOM

doser to rhe Jews ln rhis artide my observashy

tions of rhe Jewish characrer in Advemism will focus on rhe Sabbarh nor only because ir is the mosr importam Jewish feashyture in Advemism-the most distinctive and the most visible one-but also because from the Sabbath we may derive the main comours of Sevemh-day Advemist rheology as rhey parshyallel those of Jewish theology

1 The Jewish -Christian Separation

By keeping rhe sarne sevemhshyday Sabbarh as the Jews-not just as a principIe as wirh other Christian fairhs bur in actual reality from Friday nighr to Sarurday night-Seventh-day

Advemisrs have made a hisshytorie sratemenr regarding the Jewish-Chrisrian separarion The Sabbarh had played an importam if nor a decisive role in the Jewish-Christian separarion Christians separared from the Jews because of the Sabbarh they chose anorher day and rejecred rhe Jewish Sabbath precisely in order to disassociate rhemselves from the Jews This motivarion is already explicitly stared by Marcion in rhe second cemury Because ir is rhe rest of rhe God of rhe Jews we fasr on thar day in order nor to accomplish on rhar day whar was ordained by the God of rhe Jews I Ir is repeated and made official in rhe imperial councils of the fourth century Christians musr nor Judaize by resring on the Sabbarh bur musr work on that day honoring rarher rhe Lords day by resring if posshysible as Chrisrians However if any should be found Judaizing ler rhem be anarhema from Chrisr2

The history of rhe Chrisrian Mission to rhe Jews shows rhat the inirial mass movemem of Jewish conversion ceased abruprly in rhe fourrh century3

precisely in relarion to rhe Christian rejecrion of rhe Torah and more specifically of rhe Sabbarh As historian Jules Isaac wrires The Jewish rejection of Chrisr was rriggered by rhe Christian rejection of the Law4 Or in rhe words of Christian rheologian Marvin Wilson This move to Sunday worship made it exceedingly difficult if nor virtually imposshysible for the Jew to give any serious consideration to the

Christian message ln short to become a Christian was conshysidered as leaving behind the Jewishness of ones past hardly a live option for any faithful Jew to consider5 Contrary to what one would expect it was on the Law and not on the messhysianic controversy that Jews and Christians departed from each

I other Ir is significant indeed

that so many Jews had accepted Jesus as their Messiah as long as they did not have to reject the Law Ir is also significant that Jewish tradition and Jewish hisshytory attest to a great number of messianic vicws and experiences where the borders betveen Jews and Christians are blurred and even crossed-messianic views that at times are bolder than

The Shalom Learning Center Hollywood Florida

B~ returl1il1g to the Jewlsh sabbath Sevel1th-oa~ Aovel1tists were HOt 011[-9 retur11111g to the sarne

sevel1th oa~

their Christian counterpart By returning to the Jewish

Sabbath Seventh-day Adventists were not only returning to the sarne seventh day they were not simply reacting to the tradishytional Christian current on the question of a day By keeping the seventh-day Sabbath they were also bound to be affected on a deeper levei in the content of their theology

2 Creation Versus Redemption

The Jewish Sabbath as already recorded in the fourth commandment (Exod 2011) and in the conclusion of the Genesis Creation Story (Gen 22) carries a positive reference to Creation- the earth nature human body etc-versus the

Christian Sabbath which in reference to Jesus resurrection

exalts spiritual redemption and deliverance from the concrete flesh of this Creation This dualistic paradigm originated in the Marcionite Antithesis and

found its way into traditional Christianity where redemption from the body and the spiritual domain is valued over the mateshyrial and physical domain-so much so that the biblical act of Creation itself was interpreted as a mere illustration serving the spiritual truth of redemption ln Jewish tradition the Sabbath because of its reference tO Creation became the epitome of

the affirmation and enjoyment of the whole of ife (involving the body and the senses) On Sabbath one is not only allowed but is required to enjoy life By returning to the seventh-day Sabbath Seventh-day Adventists rejected the Marcionite parashydigm and emphasized instead the importance of Creation thus giving special attention to the body-the eating and drinkshying (health message) and the physical welfare of humankind (Adventist Development and Relicf Agency) Ir is noteworthy that this approach concurs with the Jewish way of ife where the concrete body and eating and drinking are an inherent part of religion as well as the Jewish principie eyn kemah eyn torah (no flour no Torah) that makes spirituality depend on physical existence

111 Jewish traoitiol1 tbe Sabbatb because af its reference ta Creation became tbe epitowre of the affirwration ano enjo~wrel1t af tbe whae af ife

SHABBAT SHALOM 11

3 The Law The reference to rhe Law is

implied in rhe Sabbarh comshymandmem from (wo perspecshytives Ir is found firsr from rhe perspective of Crearion By calling attention to the conshycrere domain of physical exisshytence the reference to Creation implies a specific concero for erhics and jusrice in reallife From that perspective spiritual and sentimental elaborations love and imellectual beliefs are nor enough Concrete justice the need for righreousness has become an importam ingredishyent of religion This dimension is a distinctive feature of Jewish identiry

A1so the adoprion of rhe seventh-day Sabbath of biblical revelation over against rhe day of human tradition implies a recognirion of rhe rranscendence and of rhe vertical aspecr of religion and rhus encourages a renewed interesr in rhe dimenshysion ofTorah in rhe Adventisr rheology of covenant There are still problems in the observance of the Law For instance in spite of the biblical injunctions (Gen 24 Acts 1520) Adventists are not clear on the issue of the

Aovel1tists are 110t dear 011 the issue 01 the COl1sumptiol1 o

6[000

consumption of blood To be sure the vegetarian ideal proshymoted by Adventisrs avoids that issue but rhe quesrion of rhe consumption of blood has nor been setded The reference (O rhe Law plays a specific role in Adventist rheology thus drawing

12 SHABBAT SHALOM

I

Jewish-Advenrist congregation at Andrews University

Adventists near (O rhe Jews Ir is among other factors this recogshynition of the Law that accounts for the respect for other Jewish laws such as the dietary laws and the tithe and more imporrantly for closer attention (O ethical principies and a grearer imerest in rhe religious dimension of justice and righteousness

4 Hope Another important dimenshy

sion of the Sabbath that brings Seventh-day Adventists closer (O the Jews concerns the lesson of hope and expecration that is associated with the sevenrh-day Sabbath ln Jewish tradition the Sabbath has not only been imerpreted as a foretaste of the olam haba the kingdom of God and therefore as a sign of hope for perfecr harmony and peace ir has also been identified as a time of hope in itself For as the seventh day the time of the Sabbath embodies the very structure of hope the experience of the not yet

ln Seventh-day Adventist tradition as in Jewish tradishy

rion the seventh day is associshyated with rhe future Advent Through rhis associarion Seventh-day Adventists are in tune wirh rhe Jews theyaffirm with rhem the imporrance of rhe future component of salshyvarion and arrest (O rhe sarne luciJiry toward presem evil on earth

As a sevench day the Sabbath is also the day that marks the completion of ali (kol) creation of heaven and earth (Gen 21shy3) thereby being a cosmic sign that prerequires the end of rhis world for the creation of a new world One of the lessons of the seventh-day Sabbath is (O affirm the necessarily cosmic character of salvarion The

ht seventb-otildea3 Aotildeventist ltraotildeition as

111 Jewisb traotildeitiol1 tbe seventb oa~ is associateo

witb tbe future Jewish theology of Kippur the Day of A(Onement would be in that respect particularly relshy

evant for the Advenrist reflecshy

tion on the sanctuary and is

worrh noting in this reflection

ln the Bible as well as in Jewish tradition the building of the

sancruary has been related to

the cosmic Creation (Ps 7869) and the function of these corshy

respondences is to underscore

the depiction of the sanctuary as a world6 ln that perspecshy

tive the Da) of Atonemenr that

prescribes the cleansing of the

sanctuar) is supposed to prefigshyure the cleansing the re-creation

or the world calling once again

for the need of a re-creation as the onl) valuable redempshy

tive response or solution to our human condition

The sarne connection is also

suggested in the rabbinic legislashyrion of the Sabbath that relates

typologically the 39 works that are not allowed on Sabbath to

the 39 works of the building or the Sanctuary7 Each Sabbath

the Orrhodox Jew is thus supshyposed to remember the relationshy

ship between the Sancruary and

the Sabbath a theologicallesson not insignificanr in Advenrist theology ~

As we can see the Adventist

identiry orfers a great number of interesting parallels with the

Jewish idenrity I have given just

a few of the most importanr

ones Though not all Advenrists are familiar with the profound

significance of these connecshytions even on a superficial

level the connections are clear

enough to make any Advenrist

aware of the special theological and religious relations with the

Jews

The Adventist Response To that particular conncction

Because of their keeping of tbe sabbath seventh-ocirca~ Aoventists have often beel1 anocirc sti[[ are ioentifieocirc as ]elvs ano as such bave sometimes

been tbe object of suspiciol1 ano barocircsbips with Judaism Advenrists have

responded in a variery of ways

ranging Erom the most positive

to the most negative and often in an ambivalenr manner

1 The Positive Response Ir is quite understandable that

the adoption of the Sabbath and other distinctive fearures

of Judaism has encouraged

among many Adventists great

sympathy toward the Jews How often I have heard Sevenrh-day

Advenrists expressing positive

feelings at observing the Jews

going to the synagogue on Sabbath morning while they

are themselves heading for

church Because of their keepshying of the Sabbath Sevenrh-day

Advenrists have often been and

still are idenriried as Jews and as such have sometimes been the

object of suspicion and hardshyships (as is the case of Sevenrhshy

da) Advenrists in some African and Arabic countries) Similar

dieta) choices have even assoshy

ciated Jews and Advenrists in

the market place as Advenrists

have often been caught standshy

ing next to the Jews at the Kosher counrer The Adventist

curiosit) for Jewish interpretashy

tions and religious experiences

is well attested not only among

la) members but also among Advenrist theologians (see for

instance the importance of the reference to Abraham Heschel

in the Adventist reflecrion on

the Sabbath) These common

sufferings and similariries of experience and of beliefs have

narurall) incited ver) posishytive sentiments on the part of

Adventists toward the Jews

Jewish-Advenrist congregation celebrating Succot in Jerusalem Israel

SHABBAT SHALOM 13

I

-

Jewish-Adventist congregation in Sr Perersburg Florida

2 Supersessionism Supersessionism (from the

Latin supersede meaning sit shyting at the place of) is an old Christian ideology9 that was first advocated in ecclesiastical terms in the fourth-century Catholic Church (the church as the city

of God the new Israel has replaced the synagogue the old Israel) and in theological terms in conrinen tal Protestanrism (the spiritual Israel with the grace of the Gospel has replaced the Israel of the flesh with the Law of Moses)

This last supersessionism may look more elegan t and more sophisticated than the former one but it carries the sarne porenrial damage If I am the true Israel and you are not you do not deserve to live as Israel This is why supersessionshyism has been diagnosed as a spiritual Holocaust preparing for the physical one Franklin Littell notes the cornerstone of Christian antisemitism the superseding and displacement myth rings with a genocidal norelO

14 SHABBAT SHAlOM

Supersessionist ideas were and still are taught by Adventists who inherited them among other grains of dust from rhe tradirional church (Catholic and Protestant) Yet considering Adventisms late arrival on rhe scene of religions and its special connection with the Jews supershysessionism is inconsistent with Adventist theology

Indeed Adventists canshynot claim as can rhe Carholic Church that they had replaced rhe historical Israel of the Old

asrical supersessionism Advenrist supersessionism emphasized the idea of a spirirual remnanr as rhe spirirual Israel-rhe Israel of God-which replaced rhe physishycal Israel These Advenrisrs onen idenrifY rhemselves as rhe chosen remnanr and rhe claim is someshyrimes heard wirh some nationalisshytic overtones

Also along rhe lines of rheoshylogical supersessionism some Advenrisrs mainrain rhar rhey undersrand and Iive rhe Sabbarh and rhe Torah in a superior and more spirirual way rhan rhe Jews who are legalisric ln conrrasr to rhe Jewish Sabbarh the Adventist Sabbath is called a Sabbath touched by the Gospel11 or in comparison

to the Jewish Sabbath ofJoe Lieberman the Sabbath of Joe Advenrisr12 Nore in the conrext

of this journal rhe moving testimoshyny of May-Ellen Colon who grateshyfully acknowledges her existential and theological debt to the Jewish Sabbath and the recommendation by John Graz We stiJl have many lessons to learn from rhem 13

Ir is significanr however that

Tbis lnsistence 111 marki~ tbe agraveifference between tbeJewisb Sabbatb ano tbe

Aoventist Sabbatb is somewbat susrect

Testament (ecclesiastical supershysessionism) because they carne much later after the separation Nor can they argue that the Jewish Sabbath or the Torah had been replaced by another Christian sabbath or by grace (theological supersessionism) for they had embraced together in tension the theology of the Sabbath and the Law with the theology of grace

Yet along the lines of ecclesishy

these presenrations of the soshycaJled Advenrist Sabbath are nor in contradiction with a Jewish understanding of the Sabbath Ir is also ironical that in order to set up the specific Advenrist characrer of the Sabbath many of these Advenrist authors have ofren resorted to and extensively referred to Jewish authorities such as Abraham Heschel J4 This insisshytence in marking the difference

--

Interview

Paul Lippi

I

I After his

theology studies at Andrews University Paul Lippi went to me Hebrew University

of Jerusalem where he did post-graduate studies and worked under Prof Emanuel Tov the famous expert on the Septuagim and the Dead Sea Scrolls Paullived in Israel for 23 years and served the Jewish-Advemist community in Jerusalem as a pastor He is presently the director of the Shalom Learning Center in Florida a center devoted to the preparation of materiaIs and lay people for JewishshyChristian ministry

4 SHABBAT SHALOM

habbat Shalom As an Adventist who lived more

than twenty years in Israel and studied at the Hebrew University with Jewish stushydents what did you learn from your relationship that has affectedenriched your religious views and even helped you become a better Adventist

Paullippi What amazes me about Israel is the extent to which non-scholars have an active interest in Bible interpreshyrarion Biblical turns oE phrase are embedded in everyday conshyversarion rhe diEferent ways to

rake whar the Bible says is part oE pop culture For somebody coming Erom a Eaith communiry where linguistic interpretarion and popular religion are totally compartmenralized and hardly on speaking terms Israeli society

is music to the ears Adventists need to learn from

Jewish people that just because you openly discLlss some linguistic or textual difflculty in the Bible God is not going to suddenly disappear between the cracks His presence among us is thankshyfully not that fragile If another way of looking at familiar data forces us to re-construe certain passages everything weve always believed in doesnt go down the tube Because God is gracious He allows us to adjust our posi tion without withdrawing His giEt oE

Because Goo is grac1ous) He a[[ows us to aojust our positiol1 witbout

witborawil1g H is gift of faitb

Eairh Shabbat Shalom How do

you see the future of the We are more gui[t9 of tbeoretica[ anti-Semitism tban ]ewish-Adventist connecshy persona[ avtimosit9tion and by implication the future of Adventism in reIation to Protestant tradishytion

Lippi I think with the passshying oE time as the cultural cenrer oE Adventism shiErs away Erom North America we will conshytinue to distance ourselves Erom the Protestanr tradition Our movemenr began among white Anglo-Saxon Prorestanrs and in

Torab is a v jbrant ifeshygiving message tbat

seeks expression

cerrain respects WASP cultural assumptions prevenred our pioshyneers Erom grasping Bible rruth Unril very recenrly the cenrral authoriry oE AdvelHism has been North American culture OE course Advenrism had access ro the Bible ali along bur it was the Bible conrextualized to

WASP religion As the Advenrist Eamily becomes more diverse it becomes easier to Eace these inherited assumprions Eor what they are and correcr our reachshying in the light oE Cods Word Ir seems Cod has always used social change to lead His people inro rrurh We see this process ar work in Acts chapter 15 Conservative leadership was clinging to an outmoded paradigm oE convershysion unril Eorced by the situashyrion on the ground to change their rheological understanding Theology develops as it scrambles to keep pace with social realiry by playing catch-up we come up with the truth This process is taking place right now in rhe area oE Advenrisr-Jewish relations The questiacuteon oE Israels place in

the c10sing evenrs oE this worlds history is no longer a rheologishycal abstraction Social realiry is Eorcing us ro rethink our spiritual rreasure in a non-Christian conshytexto Since we are pragmatists rather than attenrive students oE the Word we are more responsive to Cods activiry in our midst than to His voice in Scripture

Having said this I donr see Advenrism drawing nearer ro J udaism as an end in itself Borh Judaism and Christianiry are Eorms oE institutionalized disobeshydience Instead oE correcting the tragic separation oE true worshipshyers inro mutually anragonistic parties we have justified our sins and built doctrines around them Because the Ofigin oE Chrisrianiry is the rejection oETorah the reEormation oE Christianiry ar best can only bring us doser ro our original sino Chrisrianiry and Judaism are both mistakes While Cod has graciously colHinued to make HimselE known within both traditions neirher Eully repshyresenrs the biblical Revelation

Thinking escharologically the remnant who obey Cods commandmenrs and hold to

the tesrimony oEYeshua canshynot be comprised exclusively oE adherenrs either oE Judaism

remnant who proclaim the erershynal gospel by necessiry musr rranshyscend rhe hisroricallimitations oE Judaism and oE Christianiry To do so both traditions wiU need ro borrow back Erom each other truths they have EorEeired by disobedience I donr think many Adventists roday understand the ramifications oE the remnant because we continue ro identify exdusively with Christianiry

Shabbat Shalom Considering this speciaI connection do we fInd anti-Semitism among Adventists If yes how do you expIain this paradox

Lippi Hisrorically speaking rhe core oE Christian self-undershystanding and selE-definition is the rejection oE Israel ln practice however Adventists are ao ethshynically diverse group oE people who sincerely believe that every Eorm oE racism or prejudice is a grave sino The anti-Semitism Ive encountered among Adventists is more a matter oE insensitiviry and ignorance than oE malicious intento Ive never encountered a rabid Adventisr anti-Semite but I do know oE Jewish people whove leEt our Eellowship because they couldnt handle the incessanr anri-Semirism Erom our pulpits

Botb ]uocircaism ano Aocircventism embrace Torab or oE Christianiry Judaism has preserved the biblical dynamshyics oE obedience to Cods comshymandmenrs but defines itselE ro exclude the testimony oEYeshua Christianiry holds ro the testimoshyny oEYeshua but is not biblically obedienr ro Him The end-time

and in our publications We are more guilry oE indiEEerence than oE personal animosiry Advenrism suEEers Erom some bad theology Most oE rhis bad theology is nor original with us its part oE our Christian heritage Forrunately you can have a poor grasp oE

SHABBAT SHALOM 5

I

theory or even hold to the wrong theory and still get cerrain things right in practice You can relate to God on a personallevel in a wholesome way while entertainshying all sorts of erroneous notions This of course doesnt excuse us from the sacred obligation of correcting our bad theology Qur goal should be for our talk and our walk to someday agree and for both to accord with Gods revealed will for our lives

Shabbat Shalom ln your view what are the most significant features of Adventism that draw it dose to Judaism

Lippi Both Judaism and Advenrism embrace Torah Adventism has constructed a beautiful theology which inteshygrates Torah obedience into their thinking Weve escaped the Christian error of antinomianshyism but we havent escaped the Christian exegetical and linguistic

connection with Adventists Lippi ln my experience

most Norrh American Jews have heard of 5eventh-day Adventists but most lsraelis havent As far as the Israeli scene goes were nO( on the map yet Now as for how those who recognize us pershyceive us thats another matter I have only anecdotal knowledge bur the perception seems to be superficial and quite negative ln the main I think were perceived as a group of Christians whove hijacked certain defining symbols which Jewish people feel belong to them 50 long as Seventh-day Adventists continue to define themselves exclusively within a Christian framework it will be difficult for Jewish people to pick up on their connection with uso Irs hard for Jewish people to look past our Christianity long enough to appreciate us in our own right 5tereotyping isnt something that only we suffer Erom theres Jewish

We are tbe ~rst sizeable group of Gel1tiles sil1ce tbe first cel1tur~ wbove ocirceligrJteocirc il1 GoecircVs Torab

tradition which still prevents the biblical data from informing our understanding of the Torah We are the first sizeable group of Gentiles since the first century whove delighted in Gods Torah This potentially could be comshymon ground with Jewish people if only we learned to talk about it in biblical terms

Shabbat Shalom How do you explain this particular connection

Lippi I can only attribute it to the 5pirits leading in the Advent movement because hisshytorically there was no dialogue between our Adventist pioneers and Jewish people

Shabbat Shalom Are the Jews aware of their 6 SHABBAT SHALOM

stereotyping too you know Shabbat Shalom Are

Adventists aware of their connection with Jews

Lippi Unless they happen to have Jewish spouses or in-laws most Adventists dont connect with Jews Adventists of course are aware of biblical Jews because Adventists read abour them in their Bible Most Adventists seem to assume the last good thing that carne Erom the Jews is Jesus and after Him God had no further need for Jews Adventists seem unaware of the post-biblical Jewish contriburion that historically made the Protestant Reformation possible ln the Middle Ages Christianity borrowed back the Hebrew Bible from Judaism along

with all the cultural resources necessary for making sense out of it (the art of historical-literal interpretation grammatical analyshysis lexicography the rradition of pronunciation) 5ince they cant read the Bible for themselves Adventists are unaware that these Jewish contributions are actually what make their Christian rransshylations possible

Shabbat Shalom What couldJews learn from Adventists that may help them become better Jews

Lippi The Jewish people need to recover their missionary zeal The historical reason why the Jewish religion for the most part ceased recruitment among nonshyJews is understandable bur in a secular world that trend needs to be reversed The old reasons are no longer valid in most counshytries the practice of J udaism is no longer proscribed and suppressed Jewish faith needs the exercise of direct confrontation with heashythendom Judaism has developed too much as a negative reflex of Christianity Judaism needs to get out of the reactive mode get out from under the Christian shadow and recover its own authentic voice As Adventists we cant imagine personal faith confined only to our own famishylies-faith that doesnt reach out to others in darkness and extend the kingdom of Heaven Jewish people shouldnt have their spirishyruallife confined either Torah is a vibrant life-giving message that seeks expression The missionary impulse is healthy and normal and shouldnt be considered foreign to the spirit of Judaism During Second Temple times bringing proselytes under the wings of the Shekina was a very Jewish thing and it should be again

1

Interview

c[ifforocirc Go[ocircstein

Clifford Goldstein editor of the Adut Sabbath Schoo Ministries QJtartery since 1999 has had a long and distinshyguished writing career He has writshy

ten sixteen books and numerous anicles and has been the editor of Liberty magashyzine and Shabbat Shaom magazine

Goldstein bom in Albany New York has a passion for writing and studying and is a lover of philosophy Since he met God he has used his writing talents and intellect for Gods glocy He has a Bachelor ofArts degree in English fcom the University of Florida and a Master of Arts degree in Andent Semitic Languages fcom John Hopkins University He is married to Kimberly and they have two

children Zachacy and Hannah

habbat Shalom As aJew who has embraced Adventism did you have to abandon your Jewish identity in order

to feeI more comfortabIe among Adventists Clifford Goldstein Of course noto Most Jews never want

to abandon their identity ln facr mosr of the experiences I had thar led me to Adventism happened to me while I was living in Israel when my sense of Jewish identity was the strongest ir had ever been Of course to be fair I wasnr exactya practicing Lubavitch either so I didnr have to make

mat many changes Shabbat Shalom Did your Iearning and adoptshy

ing of Adventism make you a better Jew Ifyes in what ways

Goldstein My father who is an agnostic always says to

me Youre a betrer Jew rhan Iam The Adventisrs taught

me to keep Sabbarh and not eat pig ln many ways and I know some people would ferventy disagree with rhis stateshyment I believe Adventism is a unique expression of Judaism

if not Jewish traditions per se but of core fundamental Jewish values

Shabbat Shalom Do you think that Adventists are closer to Jews than any other religious group Ifyes how

Goldstein ln many ways very much soo The Sabbarh and

SHABBAT SHALOM 7

I

rhe healrh principies make llS very

dose Years ago many Adventists

were mistaken for Jews particular-

Iy because of Sabbath keeping Ali

thar being said Adventism as it is

practiced today is still a conservashy

tive Proresram faith and rhus there

are big differences in a number of

areas The identity of rhe Messiah

of course being the biggesr

Shabbat Shalom Yes but if it is troe that Adventism be10ngs historically to the Protestant tradition dont you think that in many Iacutellnshy

damental aspects Adventism broke from this current and by doing that drew near to judaism repairing the old breach for instance between grace and law

Goldstein Thats true it has

and 1 think thats one of rhe great

rhings thar the Adventisr Church

has to offer the world-rhis unity

of grace and law the idea that

grace doesnt annul the law Grace

is Gods response to rhe law or ar

least to our failure to keep rhe law

ln this sense Advemism has gone

beyond rhe Protesrant tradition

which in some ways still never

totally broke away from Rome

Sunday-keeping the great example

of rhis point

Shabbat Shalom Considering this special connection do we find anti-Semitism among Adventists If yes how do we expIain this paradox

Goldstein Well people are

people and we ali are sinners My

reading of the Scriptures affirms

that ln a Church of whar dose

to 20 million people youre

bound to find some So often the

Church itself reflects the culture

around it and in cultllres where

anti-Semirism is stronger its more

like1y to appear in the Church 1

can say rhat in my 25 years with

Adventists mosr people have been

8 SHABBAT SHALOM

very kind and accepring Most

have found my being Jewish someshy

thing special they were fascinated

by ir Im not naive enough to believe its not there I just havent

blarantly confronted any rhough I

have met people who were insensishy

rive Now you could argue rhat

insensitivity is a subtle form of

anti-Semitism and perhaps so

but I can truly say thar with rare

exceptions this Church at leasr

in my experience has been very

accepting Shabbat Shalom ln your

view what are the most significant features of Adventism that draw it dose tojudaism

Goldstein As 1 said before the

importance Adventists place on the Sabbath I rhink is the most

powerful connection Though

Adventist Sabbath-keeping pracshy

tices are often different from rhose

of many Sabbath-keeping Jews

both share a strong sense 1 beieve

of the importance of Sabbarh of

how primaI ir is how basic it is to

hdping us know who we are why

we are here and where we stand

in relationship to God Sabbath

is a pretty big thing to keep it

demands a commitmenr Sabbath-

keeping is an outward affirmation of fairh of belief of trusr and

the fact mat both Adventists and

practicing Jews keep it is I beieve

a powerful link between both

groups Shabbat Shalom How do

you explain this particular connection

Goldstein Ir srems from a comshy

mon be1ief in the Tanach in rhe

Lord rhe Creator and a common

acknowledgment that we are here

for a purpose rhar we are nor

products of change of evolution

but are beings creared in the image

of God Thats an important point in a world dominared by a kind of

a priori materialism thar leaves out

a rranscendent Creator

Shabbat Shalom What are some of the biggest differshyences

Goldstein Well there are many

and we shouldnt gloss them over

Jews are Jews and Adventists are Prorestants and theres a real gap

there to be sure This isnr rhe

place to gel imo the Who is a

Jew comroversy however Jews

are Jews generally by virtue of birth family ties ethnicity and to

a certain sense beliefs and practices

After ali how many lsraeis do

you find Friday night in Te Aviv

discos or bars Plenty Are rhey

Jews Most people would still say yes regardless of their practices or

beiefs ln many ways people are

Jews whether or not rhey made any

choice to be Jews

With Adventism its a bit difshy

ferent Most people are Adventists

because rhey have made a conshy

scious choice to be Advemists You

can grow up in an Adventist home

and as an adult reject ali rhar you

have been raughr Youre no longer

then an Adventist With a Jew irs

not quite the sarne There are plenshy

ty of people who raised Jewish

abandon ali pretenses of Jewish belief and practice and yet Hill

consider rhemseves Jews Any one who did thar wirh Adventism wonr

still consider themselves Adventisr

Shabbat Shalom Are there many jews who are Adventists

Goldstein Many is a relashy

tive number There have been

more and more Jews who coming

to beieve that Jesus of Nazareth

is rhe Messiah have embraced Adventism as a means of expressing

that faith At the sarne time too

Ive known many Adventists who

have become Jews Though they left rhe Church they didnr wam

to abandon certain things such as

Sabbath and thus found Judaism a

natural place to go

Biblical Lesson

j Tbe ]ewisb Face of I Aocircvel1tismi

Jacques B Doukbal1

he purpose of this article is to

introduce Adventist and Jewish theologians to

the Jewish component of rhe Adventist faith and eventushy

ally draw from this associashytion speciBc lessons in regard to Adventist identiry and to

Jewish-Adventist relations ln a Brst step 1 will try to disclose and track the Jewish connecshytion with Adventism that is of a character not found elsewhere

r in other Christian traditionsshyone that instead constitutes an

essential character of the Jewish identiry ln a second step 1 will analyze the various responses that have usually surfaced among Adventists in view of

this particular Jewish composhynent of their religious identiry

Jewish-Adventist service in Buenos Aires Argentina

SHABBAT SHALOM 9

I

The Jewish Connection Adventisr idemiry holds a

remarkable number of specific fearures rhar are an imporshyram parr of whar also charshyacrerizes rhe Jewish idemity Advemisrs rheology of the Law rheir respecr for rhe Torah of Moses rheir high regard for rhe Hebrew Scriptures their keen interesr in anciem Israelire institutions such as rhe Levirical sanctuary and in the theologishycal significance of the Jewish Kippur rheir lifestyle and even their eating habits and more importantly their keeping of the sarne seventh-day Sabbarh have not only singled them out within Christianity but have also drawn rhem rheoshylogically and even sociologically

Jewish-Advemisr congregation Sao Paulo Brazil

10 SHABBAT SHA LOM

doser to rhe Jews ln rhis artide my observashy

tions of rhe Jewish characrer in Advemism will focus on rhe Sabbarh nor only because ir is the mosr importam Jewish feashyture in Advemism-the most distinctive and the most visible one-but also because from the Sabbath we may derive the main comours of Sevemh-day Advemist rheology as rhey parshyallel those of Jewish theology

1 The Jewish -Christian Separation

By keeping rhe sarne sevemhshyday Sabbarh as the Jews-not just as a principIe as wirh other Christian fairhs bur in actual reality from Friday nighr to Sarurday night-Seventh-day

Advemisrs have made a hisshytorie sratemenr regarding the Jewish-Chrisrian separarion The Sabbarh had played an importam if nor a decisive role in the Jewish-Christian separarion Christians separared from the Jews because of the Sabbarh they chose anorher day and rejecred rhe Jewish Sabbath precisely in order to disassociate rhemselves from the Jews This motivarion is already explicitly stared by Marcion in rhe second cemury Because ir is rhe rest of rhe God of rhe Jews we fasr on thar day in order nor to accomplish on rhar day whar was ordained by the God of rhe Jews I Ir is repeated and made official in rhe imperial councils of the fourth century Christians musr nor Judaize by resring on the Sabbarh bur musr work on that day honoring rarher rhe Lords day by resring if posshysible as Chrisrians However if any should be found Judaizing ler rhem be anarhema from Chrisr2

The history of rhe Chrisrian Mission to rhe Jews shows rhat the inirial mass movemem of Jewish conversion ceased abruprly in rhe fourrh century3

precisely in relarion to rhe Christian rejecrion of rhe Torah and more specifically of rhe Sabbarh As historian Jules Isaac wrires The Jewish rejection of Chrisr was rriggered by rhe Christian rejection of the Law4 Or in rhe words of Christian rheologian Marvin Wilson This move to Sunday worship made it exceedingly difficult if nor virtually imposshysible for the Jew to give any serious consideration to the

Christian message ln short to become a Christian was conshysidered as leaving behind the Jewishness of ones past hardly a live option for any faithful Jew to consider5 Contrary to what one would expect it was on the Law and not on the messhysianic controversy that Jews and Christians departed from each

I other Ir is significant indeed

that so many Jews had accepted Jesus as their Messiah as long as they did not have to reject the Law Ir is also significant that Jewish tradition and Jewish hisshytory attest to a great number of messianic vicws and experiences where the borders betveen Jews and Christians are blurred and even crossed-messianic views that at times are bolder than

The Shalom Learning Center Hollywood Florida

B~ returl1il1g to the Jewlsh sabbath Sevel1th-oa~ Aovel1tists were HOt 011[-9 retur11111g to the sarne

sevel1th oa~

their Christian counterpart By returning to the Jewish

Sabbath Seventh-day Adventists were not only returning to the sarne seventh day they were not simply reacting to the tradishytional Christian current on the question of a day By keeping the seventh-day Sabbath they were also bound to be affected on a deeper levei in the content of their theology

2 Creation Versus Redemption

The Jewish Sabbath as already recorded in the fourth commandment (Exod 2011) and in the conclusion of the Genesis Creation Story (Gen 22) carries a positive reference to Creation- the earth nature human body etc-versus the

Christian Sabbath which in reference to Jesus resurrection

exalts spiritual redemption and deliverance from the concrete flesh of this Creation This dualistic paradigm originated in the Marcionite Antithesis and

found its way into traditional Christianity where redemption from the body and the spiritual domain is valued over the mateshyrial and physical domain-so much so that the biblical act of Creation itself was interpreted as a mere illustration serving the spiritual truth of redemption ln Jewish tradition the Sabbath because of its reference tO Creation became the epitome of

the affirmation and enjoyment of the whole of ife (involving the body and the senses) On Sabbath one is not only allowed but is required to enjoy life By returning to the seventh-day Sabbath Seventh-day Adventists rejected the Marcionite parashydigm and emphasized instead the importance of Creation thus giving special attention to the body-the eating and drinkshying (health message) and the physical welfare of humankind (Adventist Development and Relicf Agency) Ir is noteworthy that this approach concurs with the Jewish way of ife where the concrete body and eating and drinking are an inherent part of religion as well as the Jewish principie eyn kemah eyn torah (no flour no Torah) that makes spirituality depend on physical existence

111 Jewish traoitiol1 tbe Sabbatb because af its reference ta Creation became tbe epitowre of the affirwration ano enjo~wrel1t af tbe whae af ife

SHABBAT SHALOM 11

3 The Law The reference to rhe Law is

implied in rhe Sabbarh comshymandmem from (wo perspecshytives Ir is found firsr from rhe perspective of Crearion By calling attention to the conshycrere domain of physical exisshytence the reference to Creation implies a specific concero for erhics and jusrice in reallife From that perspective spiritual and sentimental elaborations love and imellectual beliefs are nor enough Concrete justice the need for righreousness has become an importam ingredishyent of religion This dimension is a distinctive feature of Jewish identiry

A1so the adoprion of rhe seventh-day Sabbath of biblical revelation over against rhe day of human tradition implies a recognirion of rhe rranscendence and of rhe vertical aspecr of religion and rhus encourages a renewed interesr in rhe dimenshysion ofTorah in rhe Adventisr rheology of covenant There are still problems in the observance of the Law For instance in spite of the biblical injunctions (Gen 24 Acts 1520) Adventists are not clear on the issue of the

Aovel1tists are 110t dear 011 the issue 01 the COl1sumptiol1 o

6[000

consumption of blood To be sure the vegetarian ideal proshymoted by Adventisrs avoids that issue but rhe quesrion of rhe consumption of blood has nor been setded The reference (O rhe Law plays a specific role in Adventist rheology thus drawing

12 SHABBAT SHALOM

I

Jewish-Advenrist congregation at Andrews University

Adventists near (O rhe Jews Ir is among other factors this recogshynition of the Law that accounts for the respect for other Jewish laws such as the dietary laws and the tithe and more imporrantly for closer attention (O ethical principies and a grearer imerest in rhe religious dimension of justice and righteousness

4 Hope Another important dimenshy

sion of the Sabbath that brings Seventh-day Adventists closer (O the Jews concerns the lesson of hope and expecration that is associated with the sevenrh-day Sabbath ln Jewish tradition the Sabbath has not only been imerpreted as a foretaste of the olam haba the kingdom of God and therefore as a sign of hope for perfecr harmony and peace ir has also been identified as a time of hope in itself For as the seventh day the time of the Sabbath embodies the very structure of hope the experience of the not yet

ln Seventh-day Adventist tradition as in Jewish tradishy

rion the seventh day is associshyated with rhe future Advent Through rhis associarion Seventh-day Adventists are in tune wirh rhe Jews theyaffirm with rhem the imporrance of rhe future component of salshyvarion and arrest (O rhe sarne luciJiry toward presem evil on earth

As a sevench day the Sabbath is also the day that marks the completion of ali (kol) creation of heaven and earth (Gen 21shy3) thereby being a cosmic sign that prerequires the end of rhis world for the creation of a new world One of the lessons of the seventh-day Sabbath is (O affirm the necessarily cosmic character of salvarion The

ht seventb-otildea3 Aotildeventist ltraotildeition as

111 Jewisb traotildeitiol1 tbe seventb oa~ is associateo

witb tbe future Jewish theology of Kippur the Day of A(Onement would be in that respect particularly relshy

evant for the Advenrist reflecshy

tion on the sanctuary and is

worrh noting in this reflection

ln the Bible as well as in Jewish tradition the building of the

sancruary has been related to

the cosmic Creation (Ps 7869) and the function of these corshy

respondences is to underscore

the depiction of the sanctuary as a world6 ln that perspecshy

tive the Da) of Atonemenr that

prescribes the cleansing of the

sanctuar) is supposed to prefigshyure the cleansing the re-creation

or the world calling once again

for the need of a re-creation as the onl) valuable redempshy

tive response or solution to our human condition

The sarne connection is also

suggested in the rabbinic legislashyrion of the Sabbath that relates

typologically the 39 works that are not allowed on Sabbath to

the 39 works of the building or the Sanctuary7 Each Sabbath

the Orrhodox Jew is thus supshyposed to remember the relationshy

ship between the Sancruary and

the Sabbath a theologicallesson not insignificanr in Advenrist theology ~

As we can see the Adventist

identiry orfers a great number of interesting parallels with the

Jewish idenrity I have given just

a few of the most importanr

ones Though not all Advenrists are familiar with the profound

significance of these connecshytions even on a superficial

level the connections are clear

enough to make any Advenrist

aware of the special theological and religious relations with the

Jews

The Adventist Response To that particular conncction

Because of their keeping of tbe sabbath seventh-ocirca~ Aoventists have often beel1 anocirc sti[[ are ioentifieocirc as ]elvs ano as such bave sometimes

been tbe object of suspiciol1 ano barocircsbips with Judaism Advenrists have

responded in a variery of ways

ranging Erom the most positive

to the most negative and often in an ambivalenr manner

1 The Positive Response Ir is quite understandable that

the adoption of the Sabbath and other distinctive fearures

of Judaism has encouraged

among many Adventists great

sympathy toward the Jews How often I have heard Sevenrh-day

Advenrists expressing positive

feelings at observing the Jews

going to the synagogue on Sabbath morning while they

are themselves heading for

church Because of their keepshying of the Sabbath Sevenrh-day

Advenrists have often been and

still are idenriried as Jews and as such have sometimes been the

object of suspicion and hardshyships (as is the case of Sevenrhshy

da) Advenrists in some African and Arabic countries) Similar

dieta) choices have even assoshy

ciated Jews and Advenrists in

the market place as Advenrists

have often been caught standshy

ing next to the Jews at the Kosher counrer The Adventist

curiosit) for Jewish interpretashy

tions and religious experiences

is well attested not only among

la) members but also among Advenrist theologians (see for

instance the importance of the reference to Abraham Heschel

in the Adventist reflecrion on

the Sabbath) These common

sufferings and similariries of experience and of beliefs have

narurall) incited ver) posishytive sentiments on the part of

Adventists toward the Jews

Jewish-Advenrist congregation celebrating Succot in Jerusalem Israel

SHABBAT SHALOM 13

I

-

Jewish-Adventist congregation in Sr Perersburg Florida

2 Supersessionism Supersessionism (from the

Latin supersede meaning sit shyting at the place of) is an old Christian ideology9 that was first advocated in ecclesiastical terms in the fourth-century Catholic Church (the church as the city

of God the new Israel has replaced the synagogue the old Israel) and in theological terms in conrinen tal Protestanrism (the spiritual Israel with the grace of the Gospel has replaced the Israel of the flesh with the Law of Moses)

This last supersessionism may look more elegan t and more sophisticated than the former one but it carries the sarne porenrial damage If I am the true Israel and you are not you do not deserve to live as Israel This is why supersessionshyism has been diagnosed as a spiritual Holocaust preparing for the physical one Franklin Littell notes the cornerstone of Christian antisemitism the superseding and displacement myth rings with a genocidal norelO

14 SHABBAT SHAlOM

Supersessionist ideas were and still are taught by Adventists who inherited them among other grains of dust from rhe tradirional church (Catholic and Protestant) Yet considering Adventisms late arrival on rhe scene of religions and its special connection with the Jews supershysessionism is inconsistent with Adventist theology

Indeed Adventists canshynot claim as can rhe Carholic Church that they had replaced rhe historical Israel of the Old

asrical supersessionism Advenrist supersessionism emphasized the idea of a spirirual remnanr as rhe spirirual Israel-rhe Israel of God-which replaced rhe physishycal Israel These Advenrisrs onen idenrifY rhemselves as rhe chosen remnanr and rhe claim is someshyrimes heard wirh some nationalisshytic overtones

Also along rhe lines of rheoshylogical supersessionism some Advenrisrs mainrain rhar rhey undersrand and Iive rhe Sabbarh and rhe Torah in a superior and more spirirual way rhan rhe Jews who are legalisric ln conrrasr to rhe Jewish Sabbarh the Adventist Sabbath is called a Sabbath touched by the Gospel11 or in comparison

to the Jewish Sabbath ofJoe Lieberman the Sabbath of Joe Advenrisr12 Nore in the conrext

of this journal rhe moving testimoshyny of May-Ellen Colon who grateshyfully acknowledges her existential and theological debt to the Jewish Sabbath and the recommendation by John Graz We stiJl have many lessons to learn from rhem 13

Ir is significanr however that

Tbis lnsistence 111 marki~ tbe agraveifference between tbeJewisb Sabbatb ano tbe

Aoventist Sabbatb is somewbat susrect

Testament (ecclesiastical supershysessionism) because they carne much later after the separation Nor can they argue that the Jewish Sabbath or the Torah had been replaced by another Christian sabbath or by grace (theological supersessionism) for they had embraced together in tension the theology of the Sabbath and the Law with the theology of grace

Yet along the lines of ecclesishy

these presenrations of the soshycaJled Advenrist Sabbath are nor in contradiction with a Jewish understanding of the Sabbath Ir is also ironical that in order to set up the specific Advenrist characrer of the Sabbath many of these Advenrist authors have ofren resorted to and extensively referred to Jewish authorities such as Abraham Heschel J4 This insisshytence in marking the difference

you see the future of the We are more gui[t9 of tbeoretica[ anti-Semitism tban ]ewish-Adventist connecshy persona[ avtimosit9tion and by implication the future of Adventism in reIation to Protestant tradishytion

Lippi I think with the passshying oE time as the cultural cenrer oE Adventism shiErs away Erom North America we will conshytinue to distance ourselves Erom the Protestanr tradition Our movemenr began among white Anglo-Saxon Prorestanrs and in

Torab is a v jbrant ifeshygiving message tbat

seeks expression

cerrain respects WASP cultural assumptions prevenred our pioshyneers Erom grasping Bible rruth Unril very recenrly the cenrral authoriry oE AdvelHism has been North American culture OE course Advenrism had access ro the Bible ali along bur it was the Bible conrextualized to

WASP religion As the Advenrist Eamily becomes more diverse it becomes easier to Eace these inherited assumprions Eor what they are and correcr our reachshying in the light oE Cods Word Ir seems Cod has always used social change to lead His people inro rrurh We see this process ar work in Acts chapter 15 Conservative leadership was clinging to an outmoded paradigm oE convershysion unril Eorced by the situashyrion on the ground to change their rheological understanding Theology develops as it scrambles to keep pace with social realiry by playing catch-up we come up with the truth This process is taking place right now in rhe area oE Advenrisr-Jewish relations The questiacuteon oE Israels place in

the c10sing evenrs oE this worlds history is no longer a rheologishycal abstraction Social realiry is Eorcing us ro rethink our spiritual rreasure in a non-Christian conshytexto Since we are pragmatists rather than attenrive students oE the Word we are more responsive to Cods activiry in our midst than to His voice in Scripture

Having said this I donr see Advenrism drawing nearer ro J udaism as an end in itself Borh Judaism and Christianiry are Eorms oE institutionalized disobeshydience Instead oE correcting the tragic separation oE true worshipshyers inro mutually anragonistic parties we have justified our sins and built doctrines around them Because the Ofigin oE Chrisrianiry is the rejection oETorah the reEormation oE Christianiry ar best can only bring us doser ro our original sino Chrisrianiry and Judaism are both mistakes While Cod has graciously colHinued to make HimselE known within both traditions neirher Eully repshyresenrs the biblical Revelation

Thinking escharologically the remnant who obey Cods commandmenrs and hold to

the tesrimony oEYeshua canshynot be comprised exclusively oE adherenrs either oE Judaism

remnant who proclaim the erershynal gospel by necessiry musr rranshyscend rhe hisroricallimitations oE Judaism and oE Christianiry To do so both traditions wiU need ro borrow back Erom each other truths they have EorEeired by disobedience I donr think many Adventists roday understand the ramifications oE the remnant because we continue ro identify exdusively with Christianiry

Shabbat Shalom Considering this speciaI connection do we fInd anti-Semitism among Adventists If yes how do you expIain this paradox

Lippi Hisrorically speaking rhe core oE Christian self-undershystanding and selE-definition is the rejection oE Israel ln practice however Adventists are ao ethshynically diverse group oE people who sincerely believe that every Eorm oE racism or prejudice is a grave sino The anti-Semitism Ive encountered among Adventists is more a matter oE insensitiviry and ignorance than oE malicious intento Ive never encountered a rabid Adventisr anti-Semite but I do know oE Jewish people whove leEt our Eellowship because they couldnt handle the incessanr anri-Semirism Erom our pulpits

Botb ]uocircaism ano Aocircventism embrace Torab or oE Christianiry Judaism has preserved the biblical dynamshyics oE obedience to Cods comshymandmenrs but defines itselE ro exclude the testimony oEYeshua Christianiry holds ro the testimoshyny oEYeshua but is not biblically obedienr ro Him The end-time

and in our publications We are more guilry oE indiEEerence than oE personal animosiry Advenrism suEEers Erom some bad theology Most oE rhis bad theology is nor original with us its part oE our Christian heritage Forrunately you can have a poor grasp oE

SHABBAT SHALOM 5

I

theory or even hold to the wrong theory and still get cerrain things right in practice You can relate to God on a personallevel in a wholesome way while entertainshying all sorts of erroneous notions This of course doesnt excuse us from the sacred obligation of correcting our bad theology Qur goal should be for our talk and our walk to someday agree and for both to accord with Gods revealed will for our lives

Shabbat Shalom ln your view what are the most significant features of Adventism that draw it dose to Judaism

Lippi Both Judaism and Advenrism embrace Torah Adventism has constructed a beautiful theology which inteshygrates Torah obedience into their thinking Weve escaped the Christian error of antinomianshyism but we havent escaped the Christian exegetical and linguistic

connection with Adventists Lippi ln my experience

most Norrh American Jews have heard of 5eventh-day Adventists but most lsraelis havent As far as the Israeli scene goes were nO( on the map yet Now as for how those who recognize us pershyceive us thats another matter I have only anecdotal knowledge bur the perception seems to be superficial and quite negative ln the main I think were perceived as a group of Christians whove hijacked certain defining symbols which Jewish people feel belong to them 50 long as Seventh-day Adventists continue to define themselves exclusively within a Christian framework it will be difficult for Jewish people to pick up on their connection with uso Irs hard for Jewish people to look past our Christianity long enough to appreciate us in our own right 5tereotyping isnt something that only we suffer Erom theres Jewish

We are tbe ~rst sizeable group of Gel1tiles sil1ce tbe first cel1tur~ wbove ocirceligrJteocirc il1 GoecircVs Torab

tradition which still prevents the biblical data from informing our understanding of the Torah We are the first sizeable group of Gentiles since the first century whove delighted in Gods Torah This potentially could be comshymon ground with Jewish people if only we learned to talk about it in biblical terms

Shabbat Shalom How do you explain this particular connection

Lippi I can only attribute it to the 5pirits leading in the Advent movement because hisshytorically there was no dialogue between our Adventist pioneers and Jewish people

Shabbat Shalom Are the Jews aware of their 6 SHABBAT SHALOM

stereotyping too you know Shabbat Shalom Are

Adventists aware of their connection with Jews

Lippi Unless they happen to have Jewish spouses or in-laws most Adventists dont connect with Jews Adventists of course are aware of biblical Jews because Adventists read abour them in their Bible Most Adventists seem to assume the last good thing that carne Erom the Jews is Jesus and after Him God had no further need for Jews Adventists seem unaware of the post-biblical Jewish contriburion that historically made the Protestant Reformation possible ln the Middle Ages Christianity borrowed back the Hebrew Bible from Judaism along

with all the cultural resources necessary for making sense out of it (the art of historical-literal interpretation grammatical analyshysis lexicography the rradition of pronunciation) 5ince they cant read the Bible for themselves Adventists are unaware that these Jewish contributions are actually what make their Christian rransshylations possible

Shabbat Shalom What couldJews learn from Adventists that may help them become better Jews

Lippi The Jewish people need to recover their missionary zeal The historical reason why the Jewish religion for the most part ceased recruitment among nonshyJews is understandable bur in a secular world that trend needs to be reversed The old reasons are no longer valid in most counshytries the practice of J udaism is no longer proscribed and suppressed Jewish faith needs the exercise of direct confrontation with heashythendom Judaism has developed too much as a negative reflex of Christianity Judaism needs to get out of the reactive mode get out from under the Christian shadow and recover its own authentic voice As Adventists we cant imagine personal faith confined only to our own famishylies-faith that doesnt reach out to others in darkness and extend the kingdom of Heaven Jewish people shouldnt have their spirishyruallife confined either Torah is a vibrant life-giving message that seeks expression The missionary impulse is healthy and normal and shouldnt be considered foreign to the spirit of Judaism During Second Temple times bringing proselytes under the wings of the Shekina was a very Jewish thing and it should be again

1

Interview

c[ifforocirc Go[ocircstein

Clifford Goldstein editor of the Adut Sabbath Schoo Ministries QJtartery since 1999 has had a long and distinshyguished writing career He has writshy

ten sixteen books and numerous anicles and has been the editor of Liberty magashyzine and Shabbat Shaom magazine

Goldstein bom in Albany New York has a passion for writing and studying and is a lover of philosophy Since he met God he has used his writing talents and intellect for Gods glocy He has a Bachelor ofArts degree in English fcom the University of Florida and a Master of Arts degree in Andent Semitic Languages fcom John Hopkins University He is married to Kimberly and they have two

children Zachacy and Hannah

habbat Shalom As aJew who has embraced Adventism did you have to abandon your Jewish identity in order

to feeI more comfortabIe among Adventists Clifford Goldstein Of course noto Most Jews never want

to abandon their identity ln facr mosr of the experiences I had thar led me to Adventism happened to me while I was living in Israel when my sense of Jewish identity was the strongest ir had ever been Of course to be fair I wasnr exactya practicing Lubavitch either so I didnr have to make

mat many changes Shabbat Shalom Did your Iearning and adoptshy

ing of Adventism make you a better Jew Ifyes in what ways

Goldstein My father who is an agnostic always says to

me Youre a betrer Jew rhan Iam The Adventisrs taught

me to keep Sabbarh and not eat pig ln many ways and I know some people would ferventy disagree with rhis stateshyment I believe Adventism is a unique expression of Judaism

if not Jewish traditions per se but of core fundamental Jewish values

Shabbat Shalom Do you think that Adventists are closer to Jews than any other religious group Ifyes how

Goldstein ln many ways very much soo The Sabbarh and

SHABBAT SHALOM 7

I

rhe healrh principies make llS very

dose Years ago many Adventists

were mistaken for Jews particular-

Iy because of Sabbath keeping Ali

thar being said Adventism as it is

practiced today is still a conservashy

tive Proresram faith and rhus there

are big differences in a number of

areas The identity of rhe Messiah

of course being the biggesr

Shabbat Shalom Yes but if it is troe that Adventism be10ngs historically to the Protestant tradition dont you think that in many Iacutellnshy

damental aspects Adventism broke from this current and by doing that drew near to judaism repairing the old breach for instance between grace and law

Goldstein Thats true it has

and 1 think thats one of rhe great

rhings thar the Adventisr Church

has to offer the world-rhis unity

of grace and law the idea that

grace doesnt annul the law Grace

is Gods response to rhe law or ar

least to our failure to keep rhe law

ln this sense Advemism has gone

beyond rhe Protesrant tradition

which in some ways still never

totally broke away from Rome

Sunday-keeping the great example

of rhis point

Shabbat Shalom Considering this special connection do we find anti-Semitism among Adventists If yes how do we expIain this paradox

Goldstein Well people are

people and we ali are sinners My

reading of the Scriptures affirms

that ln a Church of whar dose

to 20 million people youre

bound to find some So often the

Church itself reflects the culture

around it and in cultllres where

anti-Semirism is stronger its more

like1y to appear in the Church 1

can say rhat in my 25 years with

Adventists mosr people have been

8 SHABBAT SHALOM

very kind and accepring Most

have found my being Jewish someshy

thing special they were fascinated

by ir Im not naive enough to believe its not there I just havent

blarantly confronted any rhough I

have met people who were insensishy

rive Now you could argue rhat

insensitivity is a subtle form of

anti-Semitism and perhaps so

but I can truly say thar with rare

exceptions this Church at leasr

in my experience has been very

accepting Shabbat Shalom ln your

view what are the most significant features of Adventism that draw it dose tojudaism

Goldstein As 1 said before the

importance Adventists place on the Sabbath I rhink is the most

powerful connection Though

Adventist Sabbath-keeping pracshy

tices are often different from rhose

of many Sabbath-keeping Jews

both share a strong sense 1 beieve

of the importance of Sabbarh of

how primaI ir is how basic it is to

hdping us know who we are why

we are here and where we stand

in relationship to God Sabbath

is a pretty big thing to keep it

demands a commitmenr Sabbath-

keeping is an outward affirmation of fairh of belief of trusr and

the fact mat both Adventists and

practicing Jews keep it is I beieve

a powerful link between both

groups Shabbat Shalom How do

you explain this particular connection

Goldstein Ir srems from a comshy

mon be1ief in the Tanach in rhe

Lord rhe Creator and a common

acknowledgment that we are here

for a purpose rhar we are nor

products of change of evolution

but are beings creared in the image

of God Thats an important point in a world dominared by a kind of

a priori materialism thar leaves out

a rranscendent Creator

Shabbat Shalom What are some of the biggest differshyences

Goldstein Well there are many

and we shouldnt gloss them over

Jews are Jews and Adventists are Prorestants and theres a real gap

there to be sure This isnr rhe

place to gel imo the Who is a

Jew comroversy however Jews

are Jews generally by virtue of birth family ties ethnicity and to

a certain sense beliefs and practices

After ali how many lsraeis do

you find Friday night in Te Aviv

discos or bars Plenty Are rhey

Jews Most people would still say yes regardless of their practices or

beiefs ln many ways people are

Jews whether or not rhey made any

choice to be Jews

With Adventism its a bit difshy

ferent Most people are Adventists

because rhey have made a conshy

scious choice to be Advemists You

can grow up in an Adventist home

and as an adult reject ali rhar you

have been raughr Youre no longer

then an Adventist With a Jew irs

not quite the sarne There are plenshy

ty of people who raised Jewish

abandon ali pretenses of Jewish belief and practice and yet Hill

consider rhemseves Jews Any one who did thar wirh Adventism wonr

still consider themselves Adventisr

Shabbat Shalom Are there many jews who are Adventists

Goldstein Many is a relashy

tive number There have been

more and more Jews who coming

to beieve that Jesus of Nazareth

is rhe Messiah have embraced Adventism as a means of expressing

that faith At the sarne time too

Ive known many Adventists who

have become Jews Though they left rhe Church they didnr wam

to abandon certain things such as

Sabbath and thus found Judaism a

natural place to go

Biblical Lesson

j Tbe ]ewisb Face of I Aocircvel1tismi

Jacques B Doukbal1

he purpose of this article is to

introduce Adventist and Jewish theologians to

the Jewish component of rhe Adventist faith and eventushy

ally draw from this associashytion speciBc lessons in regard to Adventist identiry and to

Jewish-Adventist relations ln a Brst step 1 will try to disclose and track the Jewish connecshytion with Adventism that is of a character not found elsewhere

r in other Christian traditionsshyone that instead constitutes an

essential character of the Jewish identiry ln a second step 1 will analyze the various responses that have usually surfaced among Adventists in view of

this particular Jewish composhynent of their religious identiry

Jewish-Adventist service in Buenos Aires Argentina

SHABBAT SHALOM 9

I

The Jewish Connection Adventisr idemiry holds a

remarkable number of specific fearures rhar are an imporshyram parr of whar also charshyacrerizes rhe Jewish idemity Advemisrs rheology of the Law rheir respecr for rhe Torah of Moses rheir high regard for rhe Hebrew Scriptures their keen interesr in anciem Israelire institutions such as rhe Levirical sanctuary and in the theologishycal significance of the Jewish Kippur rheir lifestyle and even their eating habits and more importantly their keeping of the sarne seventh-day Sabbarh have not only singled them out within Christianity but have also drawn rhem rheoshylogically and even sociologically

Jewish-Advemisr congregation Sao Paulo Brazil

10 SHABBAT SHA LOM

doser to rhe Jews ln rhis artide my observashy

tions of rhe Jewish characrer in Advemism will focus on rhe Sabbarh nor only because ir is the mosr importam Jewish feashyture in Advemism-the most distinctive and the most visible one-but also because from the Sabbath we may derive the main comours of Sevemh-day Advemist rheology as rhey parshyallel those of Jewish theology

1 The Jewish -Christian Separation

By keeping rhe sarne sevemhshyday Sabbarh as the Jews-not just as a principIe as wirh other Christian fairhs bur in actual reality from Friday nighr to Sarurday night-Seventh-day

Advemisrs have made a hisshytorie sratemenr regarding the Jewish-Chrisrian separarion The Sabbarh had played an importam if nor a decisive role in the Jewish-Christian separarion Christians separared from the Jews because of the Sabbarh they chose anorher day and rejecred rhe Jewish Sabbath precisely in order to disassociate rhemselves from the Jews This motivarion is already explicitly stared by Marcion in rhe second cemury Because ir is rhe rest of rhe God of rhe Jews we fasr on thar day in order nor to accomplish on rhar day whar was ordained by the God of rhe Jews I Ir is repeated and made official in rhe imperial councils of the fourth century Christians musr nor Judaize by resring on the Sabbarh bur musr work on that day honoring rarher rhe Lords day by resring if posshysible as Chrisrians However if any should be found Judaizing ler rhem be anarhema from Chrisr2

The history of rhe Chrisrian Mission to rhe Jews shows rhat the inirial mass movemem of Jewish conversion ceased abruprly in rhe fourrh century3

precisely in relarion to rhe Christian rejecrion of rhe Torah and more specifically of rhe Sabbarh As historian Jules Isaac wrires The Jewish rejection of Chrisr was rriggered by rhe Christian rejection of the Law4 Or in rhe words of Christian rheologian Marvin Wilson This move to Sunday worship made it exceedingly difficult if nor virtually imposshysible for the Jew to give any serious consideration to the

Christian message ln short to become a Christian was conshysidered as leaving behind the Jewishness of ones past hardly a live option for any faithful Jew to consider5 Contrary to what one would expect it was on the Law and not on the messhysianic controversy that Jews and Christians departed from each

I other Ir is significant indeed

that so many Jews had accepted Jesus as their Messiah as long as they did not have to reject the Law Ir is also significant that Jewish tradition and Jewish hisshytory attest to a great number of messianic vicws and experiences where the borders betveen Jews and Christians are blurred and even crossed-messianic views that at times are bolder than

The Shalom Learning Center Hollywood Florida

B~ returl1il1g to the Jewlsh sabbath Sevel1th-oa~ Aovel1tists were HOt 011[-9 retur11111g to the sarne

sevel1th oa~

their Christian counterpart By returning to the Jewish

Sabbath Seventh-day Adventists were not only returning to the sarne seventh day they were not simply reacting to the tradishytional Christian current on the question of a day By keeping the seventh-day Sabbath they were also bound to be affected on a deeper levei in the content of their theology

2 Creation Versus Redemption

The Jewish Sabbath as already recorded in the fourth commandment (Exod 2011) and in the conclusion of the Genesis Creation Story (Gen 22) carries a positive reference to Creation- the earth nature human body etc-versus the

Christian Sabbath which in reference to Jesus resurrection

exalts spiritual redemption and deliverance from the concrete flesh of this Creation This dualistic paradigm originated in the Marcionite Antithesis and

found its way into traditional Christianity where redemption from the body and the spiritual domain is valued over the mateshyrial and physical domain-so much so that the biblical act of Creation itself was interpreted as a mere illustration serving the spiritual truth of redemption ln Jewish tradition the Sabbath because of its reference tO Creation became the epitome of

the affirmation and enjoyment of the whole of ife (involving the body and the senses) On Sabbath one is not only allowed but is required to enjoy life By returning to the seventh-day Sabbath Seventh-day Adventists rejected the Marcionite parashydigm and emphasized instead the importance of Creation thus giving special attention to the body-the eating and drinkshying (health message) and the physical welfare of humankind (Adventist Development and Relicf Agency) Ir is noteworthy that this approach concurs with the Jewish way of ife where the concrete body and eating and drinking are an inherent part of religion as well as the Jewish principie eyn kemah eyn torah (no flour no Torah) that makes spirituality depend on physical existence

111 Jewish traoitiol1 tbe Sabbatb because af its reference ta Creation became tbe epitowre of the affirwration ano enjo~wrel1t af tbe whae af ife

SHABBAT SHALOM 11

3 The Law The reference to rhe Law is

implied in rhe Sabbarh comshymandmem from (wo perspecshytives Ir is found firsr from rhe perspective of Crearion By calling attention to the conshycrere domain of physical exisshytence the reference to Creation implies a specific concero for erhics and jusrice in reallife From that perspective spiritual and sentimental elaborations love and imellectual beliefs are nor enough Concrete justice the need for righreousness has become an importam ingredishyent of religion This dimension is a distinctive feature of Jewish identiry

A1so the adoprion of rhe seventh-day Sabbath of biblical revelation over against rhe day of human tradition implies a recognirion of rhe rranscendence and of rhe vertical aspecr of religion and rhus encourages a renewed interesr in rhe dimenshysion ofTorah in rhe Adventisr rheology of covenant There are still problems in the observance of the Law For instance in spite of the biblical injunctions (Gen 24 Acts 1520) Adventists are not clear on the issue of the

Aovel1tists are 110t dear 011 the issue 01 the COl1sumptiol1 o

6[000

consumption of blood To be sure the vegetarian ideal proshymoted by Adventisrs avoids that issue but rhe quesrion of rhe consumption of blood has nor been setded The reference (O rhe Law plays a specific role in Adventist rheology thus drawing

12 SHABBAT SHALOM

I

Jewish-Advenrist congregation at Andrews University

Adventists near (O rhe Jews Ir is among other factors this recogshynition of the Law that accounts for the respect for other Jewish laws such as the dietary laws and the tithe and more imporrantly for closer attention (O ethical principies and a grearer imerest in rhe religious dimension of justice and righteousness

4 Hope Another important dimenshy

sion of the Sabbath that brings Seventh-day Adventists closer (O the Jews concerns the lesson of hope and expecration that is associated with the sevenrh-day Sabbath ln Jewish tradition the Sabbath has not only been imerpreted as a foretaste of the olam haba the kingdom of God and therefore as a sign of hope for perfecr harmony and peace ir has also been identified as a time of hope in itself For as the seventh day the time of the Sabbath embodies the very structure of hope the experience of the not yet

ln Seventh-day Adventist tradition as in Jewish tradishy

rion the seventh day is associshyated with rhe future Advent Through rhis associarion Seventh-day Adventists are in tune wirh rhe Jews theyaffirm with rhem the imporrance of rhe future component of salshyvarion and arrest (O rhe sarne luciJiry toward presem evil on earth

As a sevench day the Sabbath is also the day that marks the completion of ali (kol) creation of heaven and earth (Gen 21shy3) thereby being a cosmic sign that prerequires the end of rhis world for the creation of a new world One of the lessons of the seventh-day Sabbath is (O affirm the necessarily cosmic character of salvarion The

ht seventb-otildea3 Aotildeventist ltraotildeition as

111 Jewisb traotildeitiol1 tbe seventb oa~ is associateo

witb tbe future Jewish theology of Kippur the Day of A(Onement would be in that respect particularly relshy

evant for the Advenrist reflecshy

tion on the sanctuary and is

worrh noting in this reflection

ln the Bible as well as in Jewish tradition the building of the

sancruary has been related to

the cosmic Creation (Ps 7869) and the function of these corshy

respondences is to underscore

the depiction of the sanctuary as a world6 ln that perspecshy

tive the Da) of Atonemenr that

prescribes the cleansing of the

sanctuar) is supposed to prefigshyure the cleansing the re-creation

or the world calling once again

for the need of a re-creation as the onl) valuable redempshy

tive response or solution to our human condition

The sarne connection is also

suggested in the rabbinic legislashyrion of the Sabbath that relates

typologically the 39 works that are not allowed on Sabbath to

the 39 works of the building or the Sanctuary7 Each Sabbath

the Orrhodox Jew is thus supshyposed to remember the relationshy

ship between the Sancruary and

the Sabbath a theologicallesson not insignificanr in Advenrist theology ~

As we can see the Adventist

identiry orfers a great number of interesting parallels with the

Jewish idenrity I have given just

a few of the most importanr

ones Though not all Advenrists are familiar with the profound

significance of these connecshytions even on a superficial

level the connections are clear

enough to make any Advenrist

aware of the special theological and religious relations with the

Jews

The Adventist Response To that particular conncction

Because of their keeping of tbe sabbath seventh-ocirca~ Aoventists have often beel1 anocirc sti[[ are ioentifieocirc as ]elvs ano as such bave sometimes

been tbe object of suspiciol1 ano barocircsbips with Judaism Advenrists have

responded in a variery of ways

ranging Erom the most positive

to the most negative and often in an ambivalenr manner

1 The Positive Response Ir is quite understandable that

the adoption of the Sabbath and other distinctive fearures

of Judaism has encouraged

among many Adventists great

sympathy toward the Jews How often I have heard Sevenrh-day

Advenrists expressing positive

feelings at observing the Jews

going to the synagogue on Sabbath morning while they

are themselves heading for

church Because of their keepshying of the Sabbath Sevenrh-day

Advenrists have often been and

still are idenriried as Jews and as such have sometimes been the

object of suspicion and hardshyships (as is the case of Sevenrhshy

da) Advenrists in some African and Arabic countries) Similar

dieta) choices have even assoshy

ciated Jews and Advenrists in

the market place as Advenrists

have often been caught standshy

ing next to the Jews at the Kosher counrer The Adventist

curiosit) for Jewish interpretashy

tions and religious experiences

is well attested not only among

la) members but also among Advenrist theologians (see for

instance the importance of the reference to Abraham Heschel

in the Adventist reflecrion on

the Sabbath) These common

sufferings and similariries of experience and of beliefs have

narurall) incited ver) posishytive sentiments on the part of

Adventists toward the Jews

Jewish-Advenrist congregation celebrating Succot in Jerusalem Israel

SHABBAT SHALOM 13

I

-

Jewish-Adventist congregation in Sr Perersburg Florida

2 Supersessionism Supersessionism (from the

Latin supersede meaning sit shyting at the place of) is an old Christian ideology9 that was first advocated in ecclesiastical terms in the fourth-century Catholic Church (the church as the city

of God the new Israel has replaced the synagogue the old Israel) and in theological terms in conrinen tal Protestanrism (the spiritual Israel with the grace of the Gospel has replaced the Israel of the flesh with the Law of Moses)

This last supersessionism may look more elegan t and more sophisticated than the former one but it carries the sarne porenrial damage If I am the true Israel and you are not you do not deserve to live as Israel This is why supersessionshyism has been diagnosed as a spiritual Holocaust preparing for the physical one Franklin Littell notes the cornerstone of Christian antisemitism the superseding and displacement myth rings with a genocidal norelO

14 SHABBAT SHAlOM

Supersessionist ideas were and still are taught by Adventists who inherited them among other grains of dust from rhe tradirional church (Catholic and Protestant) Yet considering Adventisms late arrival on rhe scene of religions and its special connection with the Jews supershysessionism is inconsistent with Adventist theology

Indeed Adventists canshynot claim as can rhe Carholic Church that they had replaced rhe historical Israel of the Old

asrical supersessionism Advenrist supersessionism emphasized the idea of a spirirual remnanr as rhe spirirual Israel-rhe Israel of God-which replaced rhe physishycal Israel These Advenrisrs onen idenrifY rhemselves as rhe chosen remnanr and rhe claim is someshyrimes heard wirh some nationalisshytic overtones

Also along rhe lines of rheoshylogical supersessionism some Advenrisrs mainrain rhar rhey undersrand and Iive rhe Sabbarh and rhe Torah in a superior and more spirirual way rhan rhe Jews who are legalisric ln conrrasr to rhe Jewish Sabbarh the Adventist Sabbath is called a Sabbath touched by the Gospel11 or in comparison

to the Jewish Sabbath ofJoe Lieberman the Sabbath of Joe Advenrisr12 Nore in the conrext

of this journal rhe moving testimoshyny of May-Ellen Colon who grateshyfully acknowledges her existential and theological debt to the Jewish Sabbath and the recommendation by John Graz We stiJl have many lessons to learn from rhem 13

Ir is significanr however that

Tbis lnsistence 111 marki~ tbe agraveifference between tbeJewisb Sabbatb ano tbe

Aoventist Sabbatb is somewbat susrect

Testament (ecclesiastical supershysessionism) because they carne much later after the separation Nor can they argue that the Jewish Sabbath or the Torah had been replaced by another Christian sabbath or by grace (theological supersessionism) for they had embraced together in tension the theology of the Sabbath and the Law with the theology of grace

Yet along the lines of ecclesishy

these presenrations of the soshycaJled Advenrist Sabbath are nor in contradiction with a Jewish understanding of the Sabbath Ir is also ironical that in order to set up the specific Advenrist characrer of the Sabbath many of these Advenrist authors have ofren resorted to and extensively referred to Jewish authorities such as Abraham Heschel J4 This insisshytence in marking the difference

I

theory or even hold to the wrong theory and still get cerrain things right in practice You can relate to God on a personallevel in a wholesome way while entertainshying all sorts of erroneous notions This of course doesnt excuse us from the sacred obligation of correcting our bad theology Qur goal should be for our talk and our walk to someday agree and for both to accord with Gods revealed will for our lives

Shabbat Shalom ln your view what are the most significant features of Adventism that draw it dose to Judaism

Lippi Both Judaism and Advenrism embrace Torah Adventism has constructed a beautiful theology which inteshygrates Torah obedience into their thinking Weve escaped the Christian error of antinomianshyism but we havent escaped the Christian exegetical and linguistic

connection with Adventists Lippi ln my experience

most Norrh American Jews have heard of 5eventh-day Adventists but most lsraelis havent As far as the Israeli scene goes were nO( on the map yet Now as for how those who recognize us pershyceive us thats another matter I have only anecdotal knowledge bur the perception seems to be superficial and quite negative ln the main I think were perceived as a group of Christians whove hijacked certain defining symbols which Jewish people feel belong to them 50 long as Seventh-day Adventists continue to define themselves exclusively within a Christian framework it will be difficult for Jewish people to pick up on their connection with uso Irs hard for Jewish people to look past our Christianity long enough to appreciate us in our own right 5tereotyping isnt something that only we suffer Erom theres Jewish

We are tbe ~rst sizeable group of Gel1tiles sil1ce tbe first cel1tur~ wbove ocirceligrJteocirc il1 GoecircVs Torab

tradition which still prevents the biblical data from informing our understanding of the Torah We are the first sizeable group of Gentiles since the first century whove delighted in Gods Torah This potentially could be comshymon ground with Jewish people if only we learned to talk about it in biblical terms

Shabbat Shalom How do you explain this particular connection

Lippi I can only attribute it to the 5pirits leading in the Advent movement because hisshytorically there was no dialogue between our Adventist pioneers and Jewish people

Shabbat Shalom Are the Jews aware of their 6 SHABBAT SHALOM

stereotyping too you know Shabbat Shalom Are

Adventists aware of their connection with Jews

Lippi Unless they happen to have Jewish spouses or in-laws most Adventists dont connect with Jews Adventists of course are aware of biblical Jews because Adventists read abour them in their Bible Most Adventists seem to assume the last good thing that carne Erom the Jews is Jesus and after Him God had no further need for Jews Adventists seem unaware of the post-biblical Jewish contriburion that historically made the Protestant Reformation possible ln the Middle Ages Christianity borrowed back the Hebrew Bible from Judaism along

with all the cultural resources necessary for making sense out of it (the art of historical-literal interpretation grammatical analyshysis lexicography the rradition of pronunciation) 5ince they cant read the Bible for themselves Adventists are unaware that these Jewish contributions are actually what make their Christian rransshylations possible

Shabbat Shalom What couldJews learn from Adventists that may help them become better Jews

Lippi The Jewish people need to recover their missionary zeal The historical reason why the Jewish religion for the most part ceased recruitment among nonshyJews is understandable bur in a secular world that trend needs to be reversed The old reasons are no longer valid in most counshytries the practice of J udaism is no longer proscribed and suppressed Jewish faith needs the exercise of direct confrontation with heashythendom Judaism has developed too much as a negative reflex of Christianity Judaism needs to get out of the reactive mode get out from under the Christian shadow and recover its own authentic voice As Adventists we cant imagine personal faith confined only to our own famishylies-faith that doesnt reach out to others in darkness and extend the kingdom of Heaven Jewish people shouldnt have their spirishyruallife confined either Torah is a vibrant life-giving message that seeks expression The missionary impulse is healthy and normal and shouldnt be considered foreign to the spirit of Judaism During Second Temple times bringing proselytes under the wings of the Shekina was a very Jewish thing and it should be again

1

Interview

c[ifforocirc Go[ocircstein

Clifford Goldstein editor of the Adut Sabbath Schoo Ministries QJtartery since 1999 has had a long and distinshyguished writing career He has writshy

ten sixteen books and numerous anicles and has been the editor of Liberty magashyzine and Shabbat Shaom magazine

Goldstein bom in Albany New York has a passion for writing and studying and is a lover of philosophy Since he met God he has used his writing talents and intellect for Gods glocy He has a Bachelor ofArts degree in English fcom the University of Florida and a Master of Arts degree in Andent Semitic Languages fcom John Hopkins University He is married to Kimberly and they have two

children Zachacy and Hannah

habbat Shalom As aJew who has embraced Adventism did you have to abandon your Jewish identity in order

to feeI more comfortabIe among Adventists Clifford Goldstein Of course noto Most Jews never want

to abandon their identity ln facr mosr of the experiences I had thar led me to Adventism happened to me while I was living in Israel when my sense of Jewish identity was the strongest ir had ever been Of course to be fair I wasnr exactya practicing Lubavitch either so I didnr have to make

mat many changes Shabbat Shalom Did your Iearning and adoptshy

ing of Adventism make you a better Jew Ifyes in what ways

Goldstein My father who is an agnostic always says to

me Youre a betrer Jew rhan Iam The Adventisrs taught

me to keep Sabbarh and not eat pig ln many ways and I know some people would ferventy disagree with rhis stateshyment I believe Adventism is a unique expression of Judaism

if not Jewish traditions per se but of core fundamental Jewish values

Shabbat Shalom Do you think that Adventists are closer to Jews than any other religious group Ifyes how

Goldstein ln many ways very much soo The Sabbarh and

SHABBAT SHALOM 7

I

rhe healrh principies make llS very

dose Years ago many Adventists

were mistaken for Jews particular-

Iy because of Sabbath keeping Ali

thar being said Adventism as it is

practiced today is still a conservashy

tive Proresram faith and rhus there

are big differences in a number of

areas The identity of rhe Messiah

of course being the biggesr

Shabbat Shalom Yes but if it is troe that Adventism be10ngs historically to the Protestant tradition dont you think that in many Iacutellnshy

damental aspects Adventism broke from this current and by doing that drew near to judaism repairing the old breach for instance between grace and law

Goldstein Thats true it has

and 1 think thats one of rhe great

rhings thar the Adventisr Church

has to offer the world-rhis unity

of grace and law the idea that

grace doesnt annul the law Grace

is Gods response to rhe law or ar

least to our failure to keep rhe law

ln this sense Advemism has gone

beyond rhe Protesrant tradition

which in some ways still never

totally broke away from Rome

Sunday-keeping the great example

of rhis point

Shabbat Shalom Considering this special connection do we find anti-Semitism among Adventists If yes how do we expIain this paradox

Goldstein Well people are

people and we ali are sinners My

reading of the Scriptures affirms

that ln a Church of whar dose

to 20 million people youre

bound to find some So often the

Church itself reflects the culture

around it and in cultllres where

anti-Semirism is stronger its more

like1y to appear in the Church 1

can say rhat in my 25 years with

Adventists mosr people have been

8 SHABBAT SHALOM

very kind and accepring Most

have found my being Jewish someshy

thing special they were fascinated

by ir Im not naive enough to believe its not there I just havent

blarantly confronted any rhough I

have met people who were insensishy

rive Now you could argue rhat

insensitivity is a subtle form of

anti-Semitism and perhaps so

but I can truly say thar with rare

exceptions this Church at leasr

in my experience has been very

accepting Shabbat Shalom ln your

view what are the most significant features of Adventism that draw it dose tojudaism

Goldstein As 1 said before the

importance Adventists place on the Sabbath I rhink is the most

powerful connection Though

Adventist Sabbath-keeping pracshy

tices are often different from rhose

of many Sabbath-keeping Jews

both share a strong sense 1 beieve

of the importance of Sabbarh of

how primaI ir is how basic it is to

hdping us know who we are why

we are here and where we stand

in relationship to God Sabbath

is a pretty big thing to keep it

demands a commitmenr Sabbath-

keeping is an outward affirmation of fairh of belief of trusr and

the fact mat both Adventists and

practicing Jews keep it is I beieve

a powerful link between both

groups Shabbat Shalom How do

you explain this particular connection

Goldstein Ir srems from a comshy

mon be1ief in the Tanach in rhe

Lord rhe Creator and a common

acknowledgment that we are here

for a purpose rhar we are nor

products of change of evolution

but are beings creared in the image

of God Thats an important point in a world dominared by a kind of

a priori materialism thar leaves out

a rranscendent Creator

Shabbat Shalom What are some of the biggest differshyences

Goldstein Well there are many

and we shouldnt gloss them over

Jews are Jews and Adventists are Prorestants and theres a real gap

there to be sure This isnr rhe

place to gel imo the Who is a

Jew comroversy however Jews

are Jews generally by virtue of birth family ties ethnicity and to

a certain sense beliefs and practices

After ali how many lsraeis do

you find Friday night in Te Aviv

discos or bars Plenty Are rhey

Jews Most people would still say yes regardless of their practices or

beiefs ln many ways people are

Jews whether or not rhey made any

choice to be Jews

With Adventism its a bit difshy

ferent Most people are Adventists

because rhey have made a conshy

scious choice to be Advemists You

can grow up in an Adventist home

and as an adult reject ali rhar you

have been raughr Youre no longer

then an Adventist With a Jew irs

not quite the sarne There are plenshy

ty of people who raised Jewish

abandon ali pretenses of Jewish belief and practice and yet Hill

consider rhemseves Jews Any one who did thar wirh Adventism wonr

still consider themselves Adventisr

Shabbat Shalom Are there many jews who are Adventists

Goldstein Many is a relashy

tive number There have been

more and more Jews who coming

to beieve that Jesus of Nazareth

is rhe Messiah have embraced Adventism as a means of expressing

that faith At the sarne time too

Ive known many Adventists who

have become Jews Though they left rhe Church they didnr wam

to abandon certain things such as

Sabbath and thus found Judaism a

natural place to go

Biblical Lesson

j Tbe ]ewisb Face of I Aocircvel1tismi

Jacques B Doukbal1

he purpose of this article is to

introduce Adventist and Jewish theologians to

the Jewish component of rhe Adventist faith and eventushy

ally draw from this associashytion speciBc lessons in regard to Adventist identiry and to

Jewish-Adventist relations ln a Brst step 1 will try to disclose and track the Jewish connecshytion with Adventism that is of a character not found elsewhere

r in other Christian traditionsshyone that instead constitutes an

essential character of the Jewish identiry ln a second step 1 will analyze the various responses that have usually surfaced among Adventists in view of

this particular Jewish composhynent of their religious identiry

Jewish-Adventist service in Buenos Aires Argentina

SHABBAT SHALOM 9

I

The Jewish Connection Adventisr idemiry holds a

remarkable number of specific fearures rhar are an imporshyram parr of whar also charshyacrerizes rhe Jewish idemity Advemisrs rheology of the Law rheir respecr for rhe Torah of Moses rheir high regard for rhe Hebrew Scriptures their keen interesr in anciem Israelire institutions such as rhe Levirical sanctuary and in the theologishycal significance of the Jewish Kippur rheir lifestyle and even their eating habits and more importantly their keeping of the sarne seventh-day Sabbarh have not only singled them out within Christianity but have also drawn rhem rheoshylogically and even sociologically

Jewish-Advemisr congregation Sao Paulo Brazil

10 SHABBAT SHA LOM

doser to rhe Jews ln rhis artide my observashy

tions of rhe Jewish characrer in Advemism will focus on rhe Sabbarh nor only because ir is the mosr importam Jewish feashyture in Advemism-the most distinctive and the most visible one-but also because from the Sabbath we may derive the main comours of Sevemh-day Advemist rheology as rhey parshyallel those of Jewish theology

1 The Jewish -Christian Separation

By keeping rhe sarne sevemhshyday Sabbarh as the Jews-not just as a principIe as wirh other Christian fairhs bur in actual reality from Friday nighr to Sarurday night-Seventh-day

Advemisrs have made a hisshytorie sratemenr regarding the Jewish-Chrisrian separarion The Sabbarh had played an importam if nor a decisive role in the Jewish-Christian separarion Christians separared from the Jews because of the Sabbarh they chose anorher day and rejecred rhe Jewish Sabbath precisely in order to disassociate rhemselves from the Jews This motivarion is already explicitly stared by Marcion in rhe second cemury Because ir is rhe rest of rhe God of rhe Jews we fasr on thar day in order nor to accomplish on rhar day whar was ordained by the God of rhe Jews I Ir is repeated and made official in rhe imperial councils of the fourth century Christians musr nor Judaize by resring on the Sabbarh bur musr work on that day honoring rarher rhe Lords day by resring if posshysible as Chrisrians However if any should be found Judaizing ler rhem be anarhema from Chrisr2

The history of rhe Chrisrian Mission to rhe Jews shows rhat the inirial mass movemem of Jewish conversion ceased abruprly in rhe fourrh century3

precisely in relarion to rhe Christian rejecrion of rhe Torah and more specifically of rhe Sabbarh As historian Jules Isaac wrires The Jewish rejection of Chrisr was rriggered by rhe Christian rejection of the Law4 Or in rhe words of Christian rheologian Marvin Wilson This move to Sunday worship made it exceedingly difficult if nor virtually imposshysible for the Jew to give any serious consideration to the

Christian message ln short to become a Christian was conshysidered as leaving behind the Jewishness of ones past hardly a live option for any faithful Jew to consider5 Contrary to what one would expect it was on the Law and not on the messhysianic controversy that Jews and Christians departed from each

I other Ir is significant indeed

that so many Jews had accepted Jesus as their Messiah as long as they did not have to reject the Law Ir is also significant that Jewish tradition and Jewish hisshytory attest to a great number of messianic vicws and experiences where the borders betveen Jews and Christians are blurred and even crossed-messianic views that at times are bolder than

The Shalom Learning Center Hollywood Florida

B~ returl1il1g to the Jewlsh sabbath Sevel1th-oa~ Aovel1tists were HOt 011[-9 retur11111g to the sarne

sevel1th oa~

their Christian counterpart By returning to the Jewish

Sabbath Seventh-day Adventists were not only returning to the sarne seventh day they were not simply reacting to the tradishytional Christian current on the question of a day By keeping the seventh-day Sabbath they were also bound to be affected on a deeper levei in the content of their theology

2 Creation Versus Redemption

The Jewish Sabbath as already recorded in the fourth commandment (Exod 2011) and in the conclusion of the Genesis Creation Story (Gen 22) carries a positive reference to Creation- the earth nature human body etc-versus the

Christian Sabbath which in reference to Jesus resurrection

exalts spiritual redemption and deliverance from the concrete flesh of this Creation This dualistic paradigm originated in the Marcionite Antithesis and

found its way into traditional Christianity where redemption from the body and the spiritual domain is valued over the mateshyrial and physical domain-so much so that the biblical act of Creation itself was interpreted as a mere illustration serving the spiritual truth of redemption ln Jewish tradition the Sabbath because of its reference tO Creation became the epitome of

the affirmation and enjoyment of the whole of ife (involving the body and the senses) On Sabbath one is not only allowed but is required to enjoy life By returning to the seventh-day Sabbath Seventh-day Adventists rejected the Marcionite parashydigm and emphasized instead the importance of Creation thus giving special attention to the body-the eating and drinkshying (health message) and the physical welfare of humankind (Adventist Development and Relicf Agency) Ir is noteworthy that this approach concurs with the Jewish way of ife where the concrete body and eating and drinking are an inherent part of religion as well as the Jewish principie eyn kemah eyn torah (no flour no Torah) that makes spirituality depend on physical existence

111 Jewish traoitiol1 tbe Sabbatb because af its reference ta Creation became tbe epitowre of the affirwration ano enjo~wrel1t af tbe whae af ife

SHABBAT SHALOM 11

3 The Law The reference to rhe Law is

implied in rhe Sabbarh comshymandmem from (wo perspecshytives Ir is found firsr from rhe perspective of Crearion By calling attention to the conshycrere domain of physical exisshytence the reference to Creation implies a specific concero for erhics and jusrice in reallife From that perspective spiritual and sentimental elaborations love and imellectual beliefs are nor enough Concrete justice the need for righreousness has become an importam ingredishyent of religion This dimension is a distinctive feature of Jewish identiry

A1so the adoprion of rhe seventh-day Sabbath of biblical revelation over against rhe day of human tradition implies a recognirion of rhe rranscendence and of rhe vertical aspecr of religion and rhus encourages a renewed interesr in rhe dimenshysion ofTorah in rhe Adventisr rheology of covenant There are still problems in the observance of the Law For instance in spite of the biblical injunctions (Gen 24 Acts 1520) Adventists are not clear on the issue of the

Aovel1tists are 110t dear 011 the issue 01 the COl1sumptiol1 o

6[000

consumption of blood To be sure the vegetarian ideal proshymoted by Adventisrs avoids that issue but rhe quesrion of rhe consumption of blood has nor been setded The reference (O rhe Law plays a specific role in Adventist rheology thus drawing

12 SHABBAT SHALOM

I

Jewish-Advenrist congregation at Andrews University

Adventists near (O rhe Jews Ir is among other factors this recogshynition of the Law that accounts for the respect for other Jewish laws such as the dietary laws and the tithe and more imporrantly for closer attention (O ethical principies and a grearer imerest in rhe religious dimension of justice and righteousness

4 Hope Another important dimenshy

sion of the Sabbath that brings Seventh-day Adventists closer (O the Jews concerns the lesson of hope and expecration that is associated with the sevenrh-day Sabbath ln Jewish tradition the Sabbath has not only been imerpreted as a foretaste of the olam haba the kingdom of God and therefore as a sign of hope for perfecr harmony and peace ir has also been identified as a time of hope in itself For as the seventh day the time of the Sabbath embodies the very structure of hope the experience of the not yet

ln Seventh-day Adventist tradition as in Jewish tradishy

rion the seventh day is associshyated with rhe future Advent Through rhis associarion Seventh-day Adventists are in tune wirh rhe Jews theyaffirm with rhem the imporrance of rhe future component of salshyvarion and arrest (O rhe sarne luciJiry toward presem evil on earth

As a sevench day the Sabbath is also the day that marks the completion of ali (kol) creation of heaven and earth (Gen 21shy3) thereby being a cosmic sign that prerequires the end of rhis world for the creation of a new world One of the lessons of the seventh-day Sabbath is (O affirm the necessarily cosmic character of salvarion The

ht seventb-otildea3 Aotildeventist ltraotildeition as

111 Jewisb traotildeitiol1 tbe seventb oa~ is associateo

witb tbe future Jewish theology of Kippur the Day of A(Onement would be in that respect particularly relshy

evant for the Advenrist reflecshy

tion on the sanctuary and is

worrh noting in this reflection

ln the Bible as well as in Jewish tradition the building of the

sancruary has been related to

the cosmic Creation (Ps 7869) and the function of these corshy

respondences is to underscore

the depiction of the sanctuary as a world6 ln that perspecshy

tive the Da) of Atonemenr that

prescribes the cleansing of the

sanctuar) is supposed to prefigshyure the cleansing the re-creation

or the world calling once again

for the need of a re-creation as the onl) valuable redempshy

tive response or solution to our human condition

The sarne connection is also

suggested in the rabbinic legislashyrion of the Sabbath that relates

typologically the 39 works that are not allowed on Sabbath to

the 39 works of the building or the Sanctuary7 Each Sabbath

the Orrhodox Jew is thus supshyposed to remember the relationshy

ship between the Sancruary and

the Sabbath a theologicallesson not insignificanr in Advenrist theology ~

As we can see the Adventist

identiry orfers a great number of interesting parallels with the

Jewish idenrity I have given just

a few of the most importanr

ones Though not all Advenrists are familiar with the profound

significance of these connecshytions even on a superficial

level the connections are clear

enough to make any Advenrist

aware of the special theological and religious relations with the

Jews

The Adventist Response To that particular conncction

Because of their keeping of tbe sabbath seventh-ocirca~ Aoventists have often beel1 anocirc sti[[ are ioentifieocirc as ]elvs ano as such bave sometimes

been tbe object of suspiciol1 ano barocircsbips with Judaism Advenrists have

responded in a variery of ways

ranging Erom the most positive

to the most negative and often in an ambivalenr manner

1 The Positive Response Ir is quite understandable that

the adoption of the Sabbath and other distinctive fearures

of Judaism has encouraged

among many Adventists great

sympathy toward the Jews How often I have heard Sevenrh-day

Advenrists expressing positive

feelings at observing the Jews

going to the synagogue on Sabbath morning while they

are themselves heading for

church Because of their keepshying of the Sabbath Sevenrh-day

Advenrists have often been and

still are idenriried as Jews and as such have sometimes been the

object of suspicion and hardshyships (as is the case of Sevenrhshy

da) Advenrists in some African and Arabic countries) Similar

dieta) choices have even assoshy

ciated Jews and Advenrists in

the market place as Advenrists

have often been caught standshy

ing next to the Jews at the Kosher counrer The Adventist

curiosit) for Jewish interpretashy

tions and religious experiences

is well attested not only among

la) members but also among Advenrist theologians (see for

instance the importance of the reference to Abraham Heschel

in the Adventist reflecrion on

the Sabbath) These common

sufferings and similariries of experience and of beliefs have

narurall) incited ver) posishytive sentiments on the part of

Adventists toward the Jews

Jewish-Advenrist congregation celebrating Succot in Jerusalem Israel

SHABBAT SHALOM 13

I

-

Jewish-Adventist congregation in Sr Perersburg Florida

2 Supersessionism Supersessionism (from the

Latin supersede meaning sit shyting at the place of) is an old Christian ideology9 that was first advocated in ecclesiastical terms in the fourth-century Catholic Church (the church as the city

of God the new Israel has replaced the synagogue the old Israel) and in theological terms in conrinen tal Protestanrism (the spiritual Israel with the grace of the Gospel has replaced the Israel of the flesh with the Law of Moses)

This last supersessionism may look more elegan t and more sophisticated than the former one but it carries the sarne porenrial damage If I am the true Israel and you are not you do not deserve to live as Israel This is why supersessionshyism has been diagnosed as a spiritual Holocaust preparing for the physical one Franklin Littell notes the cornerstone of Christian antisemitism the superseding and displacement myth rings with a genocidal norelO

14 SHABBAT SHAlOM

Supersessionist ideas were and still are taught by Adventists who inherited them among other grains of dust from rhe tradirional church (Catholic and Protestant) Yet considering Adventisms late arrival on rhe scene of religions and its special connection with the Jews supershysessionism is inconsistent with Adventist theology

Indeed Adventists canshynot claim as can rhe Carholic Church that they had replaced rhe historical Israel of the Old

asrical supersessionism Advenrist supersessionism emphasized the idea of a spirirual remnanr as rhe spirirual Israel-rhe Israel of God-which replaced rhe physishycal Israel These Advenrisrs onen idenrifY rhemselves as rhe chosen remnanr and rhe claim is someshyrimes heard wirh some nationalisshytic overtones

Also along rhe lines of rheoshylogical supersessionism some Advenrisrs mainrain rhar rhey undersrand and Iive rhe Sabbarh and rhe Torah in a superior and more spirirual way rhan rhe Jews who are legalisric ln conrrasr to rhe Jewish Sabbarh the Adventist Sabbath is called a Sabbath touched by the Gospel11 or in comparison

to the Jewish Sabbath ofJoe Lieberman the Sabbath of Joe Advenrisr12 Nore in the conrext

of this journal rhe moving testimoshyny of May-Ellen Colon who grateshyfully acknowledges her existential and theological debt to the Jewish Sabbath and the recommendation by John Graz We stiJl have many lessons to learn from rhem 13

Ir is significanr however that

Tbis lnsistence 111 marki~ tbe agraveifference between tbeJewisb Sabbatb ano tbe

Aoventist Sabbatb is somewbat susrect

Testament (ecclesiastical supershysessionism) because they carne much later after the separation Nor can they argue that the Jewish Sabbath or the Torah had been replaced by another Christian sabbath or by grace (theological supersessionism) for they had embraced together in tension the theology of the Sabbath and the Law with the theology of grace

Yet along the lines of ecclesishy

these presenrations of the soshycaJled Advenrist Sabbath are nor in contradiction with a Jewish understanding of the Sabbath Ir is also ironical that in order to set up the specific Advenrist characrer of the Sabbath many of these Advenrist authors have ofren resorted to and extensively referred to Jewish authorities such as Abraham Heschel J4 This insisshytence in marking the difference

1

Interview

c[ifforocirc Go[ocircstein

Clifford Goldstein editor of the Adut Sabbath Schoo Ministries QJtartery since 1999 has had a long and distinshyguished writing career He has writshy

ten sixteen books and numerous anicles and has been the editor of Liberty magashyzine and Shabbat Shaom magazine

Goldstein bom in Albany New York has a passion for writing and studying and is a lover of philosophy Since he met God he has used his writing talents and intellect for Gods glocy He has a Bachelor ofArts degree in English fcom the University of Florida and a Master of Arts degree in Andent Semitic Languages fcom John Hopkins University He is married to Kimberly and they have two

children Zachacy and Hannah

habbat Shalom As aJew who has embraced Adventism did you have to abandon your Jewish identity in order

to feeI more comfortabIe among Adventists Clifford Goldstein Of course noto Most Jews never want

to abandon their identity ln facr mosr of the experiences I had thar led me to Adventism happened to me while I was living in Israel when my sense of Jewish identity was the strongest ir had ever been Of course to be fair I wasnr exactya practicing Lubavitch either so I didnr have to make

mat many changes Shabbat Shalom Did your Iearning and adoptshy

ing of Adventism make you a better Jew Ifyes in what ways

Goldstein My father who is an agnostic always says to

me Youre a betrer Jew rhan Iam The Adventisrs taught

me to keep Sabbarh and not eat pig ln many ways and I know some people would ferventy disagree with rhis stateshyment I believe Adventism is a unique expression of Judaism

if not Jewish traditions per se but of core fundamental Jewish values

Shabbat Shalom Do you think that Adventists are closer to Jews than any other religious group Ifyes how

Goldstein ln many ways very much soo The Sabbarh and

SHABBAT SHALOM 7

I

rhe healrh principies make llS very

dose Years ago many Adventists

were mistaken for Jews particular-

Iy because of Sabbath keeping Ali

thar being said Adventism as it is

practiced today is still a conservashy

tive Proresram faith and rhus there

are big differences in a number of

areas The identity of rhe Messiah

of course being the biggesr

Shabbat Shalom Yes but if it is troe that Adventism be10ngs historically to the Protestant tradition dont you think that in many Iacutellnshy

damental aspects Adventism broke from this current and by doing that drew near to judaism repairing the old breach for instance between grace and law

Goldstein Thats true it has

and 1 think thats one of rhe great

rhings thar the Adventisr Church

has to offer the world-rhis unity

of grace and law the idea that

grace doesnt annul the law Grace

is Gods response to rhe law or ar

least to our failure to keep rhe law

ln this sense Advemism has gone

beyond rhe Protesrant tradition

which in some ways still never

totally broke away from Rome

Sunday-keeping the great example

of rhis point

Shabbat Shalom Considering this special connection do we find anti-Semitism among Adventists If yes how do we expIain this paradox

Goldstein Well people are

people and we ali are sinners My

reading of the Scriptures affirms

that ln a Church of whar dose

to 20 million people youre

bound to find some So often the

Church itself reflects the culture

around it and in cultllres where

anti-Semirism is stronger its more

like1y to appear in the Church 1

can say rhat in my 25 years with

Adventists mosr people have been

8 SHABBAT SHALOM

very kind and accepring Most

have found my being Jewish someshy

thing special they were fascinated

by ir Im not naive enough to believe its not there I just havent

blarantly confronted any rhough I

have met people who were insensishy

rive Now you could argue rhat

insensitivity is a subtle form of

anti-Semitism and perhaps so

but I can truly say thar with rare

exceptions this Church at leasr

in my experience has been very

accepting Shabbat Shalom ln your

view what are the most significant features of Adventism that draw it dose tojudaism

Goldstein As 1 said before the

importance Adventists place on the Sabbath I rhink is the most

powerful connection Though

Adventist Sabbath-keeping pracshy

tices are often different from rhose

of many Sabbath-keeping Jews

both share a strong sense 1 beieve

of the importance of Sabbarh of

how primaI ir is how basic it is to

hdping us know who we are why

we are here and where we stand

in relationship to God Sabbath

is a pretty big thing to keep it

demands a commitmenr Sabbath-

keeping is an outward affirmation of fairh of belief of trusr and

the fact mat both Adventists and

practicing Jews keep it is I beieve

a powerful link between both

groups Shabbat Shalom How do

you explain this particular connection

Goldstein Ir srems from a comshy

mon be1ief in the Tanach in rhe

Lord rhe Creator and a common

acknowledgment that we are here

for a purpose rhar we are nor

products of change of evolution

but are beings creared in the image

of God Thats an important point in a world dominared by a kind of

a priori materialism thar leaves out

a rranscendent Creator

Shabbat Shalom What are some of the biggest differshyences

Goldstein Well there are many

and we shouldnt gloss them over

Jews are Jews and Adventists are Prorestants and theres a real gap

there to be sure This isnr rhe

place to gel imo the Who is a

Jew comroversy however Jews

are Jews generally by virtue of birth family ties ethnicity and to

a certain sense beliefs and practices

After ali how many lsraeis do

you find Friday night in Te Aviv

discos or bars Plenty Are rhey

Jews Most people would still say yes regardless of their practices or

beiefs ln many ways people are

Jews whether or not rhey made any

choice to be Jews

With Adventism its a bit difshy

ferent Most people are Adventists

because rhey have made a conshy

scious choice to be Advemists You

can grow up in an Adventist home

and as an adult reject ali rhar you

have been raughr Youre no longer

then an Adventist With a Jew irs

not quite the sarne There are plenshy

ty of people who raised Jewish

abandon ali pretenses of Jewish belief and practice and yet Hill

consider rhemseves Jews Any one who did thar wirh Adventism wonr

still consider themselves Adventisr

Shabbat Shalom Are there many jews who are Adventists

Goldstein Many is a relashy

tive number There have been

more and more Jews who coming

to beieve that Jesus of Nazareth

is rhe Messiah have embraced Adventism as a means of expressing

that faith At the sarne time too

Ive known many Adventists who

have become Jews Though they left rhe Church they didnr wam

to abandon certain things such as

Sabbath and thus found Judaism a

natural place to go

Biblical Lesson

j Tbe ]ewisb Face of I Aocircvel1tismi

Jacques B Doukbal1

he purpose of this article is to

introduce Adventist and Jewish theologians to

the Jewish component of rhe Adventist faith and eventushy

ally draw from this associashytion speciBc lessons in regard to Adventist identiry and to

Jewish-Adventist relations ln a Brst step 1 will try to disclose and track the Jewish connecshytion with Adventism that is of a character not found elsewhere

r in other Christian traditionsshyone that instead constitutes an

essential character of the Jewish identiry ln a second step 1 will analyze the various responses that have usually surfaced among Adventists in view of

this particular Jewish composhynent of their religious identiry

Jewish-Adventist service in Buenos Aires Argentina

SHABBAT SHALOM 9

I

The Jewish Connection Adventisr idemiry holds a

remarkable number of specific fearures rhar are an imporshyram parr of whar also charshyacrerizes rhe Jewish idemity Advemisrs rheology of the Law rheir respecr for rhe Torah of Moses rheir high regard for rhe Hebrew Scriptures their keen interesr in anciem Israelire institutions such as rhe Levirical sanctuary and in the theologishycal significance of the Jewish Kippur rheir lifestyle and even their eating habits and more importantly their keeping of the sarne seventh-day Sabbarh have not only singled them out within Christianity but have also drawn rhem rheoshylogically and even sociologically

Jewish-Advemisr congregation Sao Paulo Brazil

10 SHABBAT SHA LOM

doser to rhe Jews ln rhis artide my observashy

tions of rhe Jewish characrer in Advemism will focus on rhe Sabbarh nor only because ir is the mosr importam Jewish feashyture in Advemism-the most distinctive and the most visible one-but also because from the Sabbath we may derive the main comours of Sevemh-day Advemist rheology as rhey parshyallel those of Jewish theology

1 The Jewish -Christian Separation

By keeping rhe sarne sevemhshyday Sabbarh as the Jews-not just as a principIe as wirh other Christian fairhs bur in actual reality from Friday nighr to Sarurday night-Seventh-day

Advemisrs have made a hisshytorie sratemenr regarding the Jewish-Chrisrian separarion The Sabbarh had played an importam if nor a decisive role in the Jewish-Christian separarion Christians separared from the Jews because of the Sabbarh they chose anorher day and rejecred rhe Jewish Sabbath precisely in order to disassociate rhemselves from the Jews This motivarion is already explicitly stared by Marcion in rhe second cemury Because ir is rhe rest of rhe God of rhe Jews we fasr on thar day in order nor to accomplish on rhar day whar was ordained by the God of rhe Jews I Ir is repeated and made official in rhe imperial councils of the fourth century Christians musr nor Judaize by resring on the Sabbarh bur musr work on that day honoring rarher rhe Lords day by resring if posshysible as Chrisrians However if any should be found Judaizing ler rhem be anarhema from Chrisr2

The history of rhe Chrisrian Mission to rhe Jews shows rhat the inirial mass movemem of Jewish conversion ceased abruprly in rhe fourrh century3

precisely in relarion to rhe Christian rejecrion of rhe Torah and more specifically of rhe Sabbarh As historian Jules Isaac wrires The Jewish rejection of Chrisr was rriggered by rhe Christian rejection of the Law4 Or in rhe words of Christian rheologian Marvin Wilson This move to Sunday worship made it exceedingly difficult if nor virtually imposshysible for the Jew to give any serious consideration to the

Christian message ln short to become a Christian was conshysidered as leaving behind the Jewishness of ones past hardly a live option for any faithful Jew to consider5 Contrary to what one would expect it was on the Law and not on the messhysianic controversy that Jews and Christians departed from each

I other Ir is significant indeed

that so many Jews had accepted Jesus as their Messiah as long as they did not have to reject the Law Ir is also significant that Jewish tradition and Jewish hisshytory attest to a great number of messianic vicws and experiences where the borders betveen Jews and Christians are blurred and even crossed-messianic views that at times are bolder than

The Shalom Learning Center Hollywood Florida

B~ returl1il1g to the Jewlsh sabbath Sevel1th-oa~ Aovel1tists were HOt 011[-9 retur11111g to the sarne

sevel1th oa~

their Christian counterpart By returning to the Jewish

Sabbath Seventh-day Adventists were not only returning to the sarne seventh day they were not simply reacting to the tradishytional Christian current on the question of a day By keeping the seventh-day Sabbath they were also bound to be affected on a deeper levei in the content of their theology

2 Creation Versus Redemption

The Jewish Sabbath as already recorded in the fourth commandment (Exod 2011) and in the conclusion of the Genesis Creation Story (Gen 22) carries a positive reference to Creation- the earth nature human body etc-versus the

Christian Sabbath which in reference to Jesus resurrection

exalts spiritual redemption and deliverance from the concrete flesh of this Creation This dualistic paradigm originated in the Marcionite Antithesis and

found its way into traditional Christianity where redemption from the body and the spiritual domain is valued over the mateshyrial and physical domain-so much so that the biblical act of Creation itself was interpreted as a mere illustration serving the spiritual truth of redemption ln Jewish tradition the Sabbath because of its reference tO Creation became the epitome of

the affirmation and enjoyment of the whole of ife (involving the body and the senses) On Sabbath one is not only allowed but is required to enjoy life By returning to the seventh-day Sabbath Seventh-day Adventists rejected the Marcionite parashydigm and emphasized instead the importance of Creation thus giving special attention to the body-the eating and drinkshying (health message) and the physical welfare of humankind (Adventist Development and Relicf Agency) Ir is noteworthy that this approach concurs with the Jewish way of ife where the concrete body and eating and drinking are an inherent part of religion as well as the Jewish principie eyn kemah eyn torah (no flour no Torah) that makes spirituality depend on physical existence

111 Jewish traoitiol1 tbe Sabbatb because af its reference ta Creation became tbe epitowre of the affirwration ano enjo~wrel1t af tbe whae af ife

SHABBAT SHALOM 11

3 The Law The reference to rhe Law is

implied in rhe Sabbarh comshymandmem from (wo perspecshytives Ir is found firsr from rhe perspective of Crearion By calling attention to the conshycrere domain of physical exisshytence the reference to Creation implies a specific concero for erhics and jusrice in reallife From that perspective spiritual and sentimental elaborations love and imellectual beliefs are nor enough Concrete justice the need for righreousness has become an importam ingredishyent of religion This dimension is a distinctive feature of Jewish identiry

A1so the adoprion of rhe seventh-day Sabbath of biblical revelation over against rhe day of human tradition implies a recognirion of rhe rranscendence and of rhe vertical aspecr of religion and rhus encourages a renewed interesr in rhe dimenshysion ofTorah in rhe Adventisr rheology of covenant There are still problems in the observance of the Law For instance in spite of the biblical injunctions (Gen 24 Acts 1520) Adventists are not clear on the issue of the

Aovel1tists are 110t dear 011 the issue 01 the COl1sumptiol1 o

6[000

consumption of blood To be sure the vegetarian ideal proshymoted by Adventisrs avoids that issue but rhe quesrion of rhe consumption of blood has nor been setded The reference (O rhe Law plays a specific role in Adventist rheology thus drawing

12 SHABBAT SHALOM

I

Jewish-Advenrist congregation at Andrews University

Adventists near (O rhe Jews Ir is among other factors this recogshynition of the Law that accounts for the respect for other Jewish laws such as the dietary laws and the tithe and more imporrantly for closer attention (O ethical principies and a grearer imerest in rhe religious dimension of justice and righteousness

4 Hope Another important dimenshy

sion of the Sabbath that brings Seventh-day Adventists closer (O the Jews concerns the lesson of hope and expecration that is associated with the sevenrh-day Sabbath ln Jewish tradition the Sabbath has not only been imerpreted as a foretaste of the olam haba the kingdom of God and therefore as a sign of hope for perfecr harmony and peace ir has also been identified as a time of hope in itself For as the seventh day the time of the Sabbath embodies the very structure of hope the experience of the not yet

ln Seventh-day Adventist tradition as in Jewish tradishy

rion the seventh day is associshyated with rhe future Advent Through rhis associarion Seventh-day Adventists are in tune wirh rhe Jews theyaffirm with rhem the imporrance of rhe future component of salshyvarion and arrest (O rhe sarne luciJiry toward presem evil on earth

As a sevench day the Sabbath is also the day that marks the completion of ali (kol) creation of heaven and earth (Gen 21shy3) thereby being a cosmic sign that prerequires the end of rhis world for the creation of a new world One of the lessons of the seventh-day Sabbath is (O affirm the necessarily cosmic character of salvarion The

ht seventb-otildea3 Aotildeventist ltraotildeition as

111 Jewisb traotildeitiol1 tbe seventb oa~ is associateo

witb tbe future Jewish theology of Kippur the Day of A(Onement would be in that respect particularly relshy

evant for the Advenrist reflecshy

tion on the sanctuary and is

worrh noting in this reflection

ln the Bible as well as in Jewish tradition the building of the

sancruary has been related to

the cosmic Creation (Ps 7869) and the function of these corshy

respondences is to underscore

the depiction of the sanctuary as a world6 ln that perspecshy

tive the Da) of Atonemenr that

prescribes the cleansing of the

sanctuar) is supposed to prefigshyure the cleansing the re-creation

or the world calling once again

for the need of a re-creation as the onl) valuable redempshy

tive response or solution to our human condition

The sarne connection is also

suggested in the rabbinic legislashyrion of the Sabbath that relates

typologically the 39 works that are not allowed on Sabbath to

the 39 works of the building or the Sanctuary7 Each Sabbath

the Orrhodox Jew is thus supshyposed to remember the relationshy

ship between the Sancruary and

the Sabbath a theologicallesson not insignificanr in Advenrist theology ~

As we can see the Adventist

identiry orfers a great number of interesting parallels with the

Jewish idenrity I have given just

a few of the most importanr

ones Though not all Advenrists are familiar with the profound

significance of these connecshytions even on a superficial

level the connections are clear

enough to make any Advenrist

aware of the special theological and religious relations with the

Jews

The Adventist Response To that particular conncction

Because of their keeping of tbe sabbath seventh-ocirca~ Aoventists have often beel1 anocirc sti[[ are ioentifieocirc as ]elvs ano as such bave sometimes

been tbe object of suspiciol1 ano barocircsbips with Judaism Advenrists have

responded in a variery of ways

ranging Erom the most positive

to the most negative and often in an ambivalenr manner

1 The Positive Response Ir is quite understandable that

the adoption of the Sabbath and other distinctive fearures

of Judaism has encouraged

among many Adventists great

sympathy toward the Jews How often I have heard Sevenrh-day

Advenrists expressing positive

feelings at observing the Jews

going to the synagogue on Sabbath morning while they

are themselves heading for

church Because of their keepshying of the Sabbath Sevenrh-day

Advenrists have often been and

still are idenriried as Jews and as such have sometimes been the

object of suspicion and hardshyships (as is the case of Sevenrhshy

da) Advenrists in some African and Arabic countries) Similar

dieta) choices have even assoshy

ciated Jews and Advenrists in

the market place as Advenrists

have often been caught standshy

ing next to the Jews at the Kosher counrer The Adventist

curiosit) for Jewish interpretashy

tions and religious experiences

is well attested not only among

la) members but also among Advenrist theologians (see for

instance the importance of the reference to Abraham Heschel

in the Adventist reflecrion on

the Sabbath) These common

sufferings and similariries of experience and of beliefs have

narurall) incited ver) posishytive sentiments on the part of

Adventists toward the Jews

Jewish-Advenrist congregation celebrating Succot in Jerusalem Israel

SHABBAT SHALOM 13

I

-

Jewish-Adventist congregation in Sr Perersburg Florida

2 Supersessionism Supersessionism (from the

Latin supersede meaning sit shyting at the place of) is an old Christian ideology9 that was first advocated in ecclesiastical terms in the fourth-century Catholic Church (the church as the city

of God the new Israel has replaced the synagogue the old Israel) and in theological terms in conrinen tal Protestanrism (the spiritual Israel with the grace of the Gospel has replaced the Israel of the flesh with the Law of Moses)

This last supersessionism may look more elegan t and more sophisticated than the former one but it carries the sarne porenrial damage If I am the true Israel and you are not you do not deserve to live as Israel This is why supersessionshyism has been diagnosed as a spiritual Holocaust preparing for the physical one Franklin Littell notes the cornerstone of Christian antisemitism the superseding and displacement myth rings with a genocidal norelO

14 SHABBAT SHAlOM

Supersessionist ideas were and still are taught by Adventists who inherited them among other grains of dust from rhe tradirional church (Catholic and Protestant) Yet considering Adventisms late arrival on rhe scene of religions and its special connection with the Jews supershysessionism is inconsistent with Adventist theology

Indeed Adventists canshynot claim as can rhe Carholic Church that they had replaced rhe historical Israel of the Old

asrical supersessionism Advenrist supersessionism emphasized the idea of a spirirual remnanr as rhe spirirual Israel-rhe Israel of God-which replaced rhe physishycal Israel These Advenrisrs onen idenrifY rhemselves as rhe chosen remnanr and rhe claim is someshyrimes heard wirh some nationalisshytic overtones

Also along rhe lines of rheoshylogical supersessionism some Advenrisrs mainrain rhar rhey undersrand and Iive rhe Sabbarh and rhe Torah in a superior and more spirirual way rhan rhe Jews who are legalisric ln conrrasr to rhe Jewish Sabbarh the Adventist Sabbath is called a Sabbath touched by the Gospel11 or in comparison

to the Jewish Sabbath ofJoe Lieberman the Sabbath of Joe Advenrisr12 Nore in the conrext

of this journal rhe moving testimoshyny of May-Ellen Colon who grateshyfully acknowledges her existential and theological debt to the Jewish Sabbath and the recommendation by John Graz We stiJl have many lessons to learn from rhem 13

Ir is significanr however that

Tbis lnsistence 111 marki~ tbe agraveifference between tbeJewisb Sabbatb ano tbe

Aoventist Sabbatb is somewbat susrect

Testament (ecclesiastical supershysessionism) because they carne much later after the separation Nor can they argue that the Jewish Sabbath or the Torah had been replaced by another Christian sabbath or by grace (theological supersessionism) for they had embraced together in tension the theology of the Sabbath and the Law with the theology of grace

Yet along the lines of ecclesishy

these presenrations of the soshycaJled Advenrist Sabbath are nor in contradiction with a Jewish understanding of the Sabbath Ir is also ironical that in order to set up the specific Advenrist characrer of the Sabbath many of these Advenrist authors have ofren resorted to and extensively referred to Jewish authorities such as Abraham Heschel J4 This insisshytence in marking the difference

I

rhe healrh principies make llS very

dose Years ago many Adventists

were mistaken for Jews particular-

Iy because of Sabbath keeping Ali

thar being said Adventism as it is

practiced today is still a conservashy

tive Proresram faith and rhus there

are big differences in a number of

areas The identity of rhe Messiah

of course being the biggesr

Shabbat Shalom Yes but if it is troe that Adventism be10ngs historically to the Protestant tradition dont you think that in many Iacutellnshy

damental aspects Adventism broke from this current and by doing that drew near to judaism repairing the old breach for instance between grace and law

Goldstein Thats true it has

and 1 think thats one of rhe great

rhings thar the Adventisr Church

has to offer the world-rhis unity

of grace and law the idea that

grace doesnt annul the law Grace

is Gods response to rhe law or ar

least to our failure to keep rhe law

ln this sense Advemism has gone

beyond rhe Protesrant tradition

which in some ways still never

totally broke away from Rome

Sunday-keeping the great example

of rhis point

Shabbat Shalom Considering this special connection do we find anti-Semitism among Adventists If yes how do we expIain this paradox

Goldstein Well people are

people and we ali are sinners My

reading of the Scriptures affirms

that ln a Church of whar dose

to 20 million people youre

bound to find some So often the

Church itself reflects the culture

around it and in cultllres where

anti-Semirism is stronger its more

like1y to appear in the Church 1

can say rhat in my 25 years with

Adventists mosr people have been

8 SHABBAT SHALOM

very kind and accepring Most

have found my being Jewish someshy

thing special they were fascinated

by ir Im not naive enough to believe its not there I just havent

blarantly confronted any rhough I

have met people who were insensishy

rive Now you could argue rhat

insensitivity is a subtle form of

anti-Semitism and perhaps so

but I can truly say thar with rare

exceptions this Church at leasr

in my experience has been very

accepting Shabbat Shalom ln your

view what are the most significant features of Adventism that draw it dose tojudaism

Goldstein As 1 said before the

importance Adventists place on the Sabbath I rhink is the most

powerful connection Though

Adventist Sabbath-keeping pracshy

tices are often different from rhose

of many Sabbath-keeping Jews

both share a strong sense 1 beieve

of the importance of Sabbarh of

how primaI ir is how basic it is to

hdping us know who we are why

we are here and where we stand

in relationship to God Sabbath

is a pretty big thing to keep it

demands a commitmenr Sabbath-

keeping is an outward affirmation of fairh of belief of trusr and

the fact mat both Adventists and

practicing Jews keep it is I beieve

a powerful link between both

groups Shabbat Shalom How do

you explain this particular connection

Goldstein Ir srems from a comshy

mon be1ief in the Tanach in rhe

Lord rhe Creator and a common

acknowledgment that we are here

for a purpose rhar we are nor

products of change of evolution

but are beings creared in the image

of God Thats an important point in a world dominared by a kind of

a priori materialism thar leaves out

a rranscendent Creator

Shabbat Shalom What are some of the biggest differshyences

Goldstein Well there are many

and we shouldnt gloss them over

Jews are Jews and Adventists are Prorestants and theres a real gap

there to be sure This isnr rhe

place to gel imo the Who is a

Jew comroversy however Jews

are Jews generally by virtue of birth family ties ethnicity and to

a certain sense beliefs and practices

After ali how many lsraeis do

you find Friday night in Te Aviv

discos or bars Plenty Are rhey

Jews Most people would still say yes regardless of their practices or

beiefs ln many ways people are

Jews whether or not rhey made any

choice to be Jews

With Adventism its a bit difshy

ferent Most people are Adventists

because rhey have made a conshy

scious choice to be Advemists You

can grow up in an Adventist home

and as an adult reject ali rhar you

have been raughr Youre no longer

then an Adventist With a Jew irs

not quite the sarne There are plenshy

ty of people who raised Jewish

abandon ali pretenses of Jewish belief and practice and yet Hill

consider rhemseves Jews Any one who did thar wirh Adventism wonr

still consider themselves Adventisr

Shabbat Shalom Are there many jews who are Adventists

Goldstein Many is a relashy

tive number There have been

more and more Jews who coming

to beieve that Jesus of Nazareth

is rhe Messiah have embraced Adventism as a means of expressing

that faith At the sarne time too

Ive known many Adventists who

have become Jews Though they left rhe Church they didnr wam

to abandon certain things such as

Sabbath and thus found Judaism a

natural place to go

Biblical Lesson

j Tbe ]ewisb Face of I Aocircvel1tismi

Jacques B Doukbal1

he purpose of this article is to

introduce Adventist and Jewish theologians to

the Jewish component of rhe Adventist faith and eventushy

ally draw from this associashytion speciBc lessons in regard to Adventist identiry and to

Jewish-Adventist relations ln a Brst step 1 will try to disclose and track the Jewish connecshytion with Adventism that is of a character not found elsewhere

r in other Christian traditionsshyone that instead constitutes an

essential character of the Jewish identiry ln a second step 1 will analyze the various responses that have usually surfaced among Adventists in view of

this particular Jewish composhynent of their religious identiry

Jewish-Adventist service in Buenos Aires Argentina

SHABBAT SHALOM 9

I

The Jewish Connection Adventisr idemiry holds a

remarkable number of specific fearures rhar are an imporshyram parr of whar also charshyacrerizes rhe Jewish idemity Advemisrs rheology of the Law rheir respecr for rhe Torah of Moses rheir high regard for rhe Hebrew Scriptures their keen interesr in anciem Israelire institutions such as rhe Levirical sanctuary and in the theologishycal significance of the Jewish Kippur rheir lifestyle and even their eating habits and more importantly their keeping of the sarne seventh-day Sabbarh have not only singled them out within Christianity but have also drawn rhem rheoshylogically and even sociologically

Jewish-Advemisr congregation Sao Paulo Brazil

10 SHABBAT SHA LOM

doser to rhe Jews ln rhis artide my observashy

tions of rhe Jewish characrer in Advemism will focus on rhe Sabbarh nor only because ir is the mosr importam Jewish feashyture in Advemism-the most distinctive and the most visible one-but also because from the Sabbath we may derive the main comours of Sevemh-day Advemist rheology as rhey parshyallel those of Jewish theology

1 The Jewish -Christian Separation

By keeping rhe sarne sevemhshyday Sabbarh as the Jews-not just as a principIe as wirh other Christian fairhs bur in actual reality from Friday nighr to Sarurday night-Seventh-day

Advemisrs have made a hisshytorie sratemenr regarding the Jewish-Chrisrian separarion The Sabbarh had played an importam if nor a decisive role in the Jewish-Christian separarion Christians separared from the Jews because of the Sabbarh they chose anorher day and rejecred rhe Jewish Sabbath precisely in order to disassociate rhemselves from the Jews This motivarion is already explicitly stared by Marcion in rhe second cemury Because ir is rhe rest of rhe God of rhe Jews we fasr on thar day in order nor to accomplish on rhar day whar was ordained by the God of rhe Jews I Ir is repeated and made official in rhe imperial councils of the fourth century Christians musr nor Judaize by resring on the Sabbarh bur musr work on that day honoring rarher rhe Lords day by resring if posshysible as Chrisrians However if any should be found Judaizing ler rhem be anarhema from Chrisr2

The history of rhe Chrisrian Mission to rhe Jews shows rhat the inirial mass movemem of Jewish conversion ceased abruprly in rhe fourrh century3

precisely in relarion to rhe Christian rejecrion of rhe Torah and more specifically of rhe Sabbarh As historian Jules Isaac wrires The Jewish rejection of Chrisr was rriggered by rhe Christian rejection of the Law4 Or in rhe words of Christian rheologian Marvin Wilson This move to Sunday worship made it exceedingly difficult if nor virtually imposshysible for the Jew to give any serious consideration to the

Christian message ln short to become a Christian was conshysidered as leaving behind the Jewishness of ones past hardly a live option for any faithful Jew to consider5 Contrary to what one would expect it was on the Law and not on the messhysianic controversy that Jews and Christians departed from each

I other Ir is significant indeed

that so many Jews had accepted Jesus as their Messiah as long as they did not have to reject the Law Ir is also significant that Jewish tradition and Jewish hisshytory attest to a great number of messianic vicws and experiences where the borders betveen Jews and Christians are blurred and even crossed-messianic views that at times are bolder than

The Shalom Learning Center Hollywood Florida

B~ returl1il1g to the Jewlsh sabbath Sevel1th-oa~ Aovel1tists were HOt 011[-9 retur11111g to the sarne

sevel1th oa~

their Christian counterpart By returning to the Jewish

Sabbath Seventh-day Adventists were not only returning to the sarne seventh day they were not simply reacting to the tradishytional Christian current on the question of a day By keeping the seventh-day Sabbath they were also bound to be affected on a deeper levei in the content of their theology

2 Creation Versus Redemption

The Jewish Sabbath as already recorded in the fourth commandment (Exod 2011) and in the conclusion of the Genesis Creation Story (Gen 22) carries a positive reference to Creation- the earth nature human body etc-versus the

Christian Sabbath which in reference to Jesus resurrection

exalts spiritual redemption and deliverance from the concrete flesh of this Creation This dualistic paradigm originated in the Marcionite Antithesis and

found its way into traditional Christianity where redemption from the body and the spiritual domain is valued over the mateshyrial and physical domain-so much so that the biblical act of Creation itself was interpreted as a mere illustration serving the spiritual truth of redemption ln Jewish tradition the Sabbath because of its reference tO Creation became the epitome of

the affirmation and enjoyment of the whole of ife (involving the body and the senses) On Sabbath one is not only allowed but is required to enjoy life By returning to the seventh-day Sabbath Seventh-day Adventists rejected the Marcionite parashydigm and emphasized instead the importance of Creation thus giving special attention to the body-the eating and drinkshying (health message) and the physical welfare of humankind (Adventist Development and Relicf Agency) Ir is noteworthy that this approach concurs with the Jewish way of ife where the concrete body and eating and drinking are an inherent part of religion as well as the Jewish principie eyn kemah eyn torah (no flour no Torah) that makes spirituality depend on physical existence

111 Jewish traoitiol1 tbe Sabbatb because af its reference ta Creation became tbe epitowre of the affirwration ano enjo~wrel1t af tbe whae af ife

SHABBAT SHALOM 11

3 The Law The reference to rhe Law is

implied in rhe Sabbarh comshymandmem from (wo perspecshytives Ir is found firsr from rhe perspective of Crearion By calling attention to the conshycrere domain of physical exisshytence the reference to Creation implies a specific concero for erhics and jusrice in reallife From that perspective spiritual and sentimental elaborations love and imellectual beliefs are nor enough Concrete justice the need for righreousness has become an importam ingredishyent of religion This dimension is a distinctive feature of Jewish identiry

A1so the adoprion of rhe seventh-day Sabbath of biblical revelation over against rhe day of human tradition implies a recognirion of rhe rranscendence and of rhe vertical aspecr of religion and rhus encourages a renewed interesr in rhe dimenshysion ofTorah in rhe Adventisr rheology of covenant There are still problems in the observance of the Law For instance in spite of the biblical injunctions (Gen 24 Acts 1520) Adventists are not clear on the issue of the

Aovel1tists are 110t dear 011 the issue 01 the COl1sumptiol1 o

6[000

consumption of blood To be sure the vegetarian ideal proshymoted by Adventisrs avoids that issue but rhe quesrion of rhe consumption of blood has nor been setded The reference (O rhe Law plays a specific role in Adventist rheology thus drawing

12 SHABBAT SHALOM

I

Jewish-Advenrist congregation at Andrews University

Adventists near (O rhe Jews Ir is among other factors this recogshynition of the Law that accounts for the respect for other Jewish laws such as the dietary laws and the tithe and more imporrantly for closer attention (O ethical principies and a grearer imerest in rhe religious dimension of justice and righteousness

4 Hope Another important dimenshy

sion of the Sabbath that brings Seventh-day Adventists closer (O the Jews concerns the lesson of hope and expecration that is associated with the sevenrh-day Sabbath ln Jewish tradition the Sabbath has not only been imerpreted as a foretaste of the olam haba the kingdom of God and therefore as a sign of hope for perfecr harmony and peace ir has also been identified as a time of hope in itself For as the seventh day the time of the Sabbath embodies the very structure of hope the experience of the not yet

ln Seventh-day Adventist tradition as in Jewish tradishy

rion the seventh day is associshyated with rhe future Advent Through rhis associarion Seventh-day Adventists are in tune wirh rhe Jews theyaffirm with rhem the imporrance of rhe future component of salshyvarion and arrest (O rhe sarne luciJiry toward presem evil on earth

As a sevench day the Sabbath is also the day that marks the completion of ali (kol) creation of heaven and earth (Gen 21shy3) thereby being a cosmic sign that prerequires the end of rhis world for the creation of a new world One of the lessons of the seventh-day Sabbath is (O affirm the necessarily cosmic character of salvarion The

ht seventb-otildea3 Aotildeventist ltraotildeition as

111 Jewisb traotildeitiol1 tbe seventb oa~ is associateo

witb tbe future Jewish theology of Kippur the Day of A(Onement would be in that respect particularly relshy

evant for the Advenrist reflecshy

tion on the sanctuary and is

worrh noting in this reflection

ln the Bible as well as in Jewish tradition the building of the

sancruary has been related to

the cosmic Creation (Ps 7869) and the function of these corshy

respondences is to underscore

the depiction of the sanctuary as a world6 ln that perspecshy

tive the Da) of Atonemenr that

prescribes the cleansing of the

sanctuar) is supposed to prefigshyure the cleansing the re-creation

or the world calling once again

for the need of a re-creation as the onl) valuable redempshy

tive response or solution to our human condition

The sarne connection is also

suggested in the rabbinic legislashyrion of the Sabbath that relates

typologically the 39 works that are not allowed on Sabbath to

the 39 works of the building or the Sanctuary7 Each Sabbath

the Orrhodox Jew is thus supshyposed to remember the relationshy

ship between the Sancruary and

the Sabbath a theologicallesson not insignificanr in Advenrist theology ~

As we can see the Adventist

identiry orfers a great number of interesting parallels with the

Jewish idenrity I have given just

a few of the most importanr

ones Though not all Advenrists are familiar with the profound

significance of these connecshytions even on a superficial

level the connections are clear

enough to make any Advenrist

aware of the special theological and religious relations with the

Jews

The Adventist Response To that particular conncction

Because of their keeping of tbe sabbath seventh-ocirca~ Aoventists have often beel1 anocirc sti[[ are ioentifieocirc as ]elvs ano as such bave sometimes

been tbe object of suspiciol1 ano barocircsbips with Judaism Advenrists have

responded in a variery of ways

ranging Erom the most positive

to the most negative and often in an ambivalenr manner

1 The Positive Response Ir is quite understandable that

the adoption of the Sabbath and other distinctive fearures

of Judaism has encouraged

among many Adventists great

sympathy toward the Jews How often I have heard Sevenrh-day

Advenrists expressing positive

feelings at observing the Jews

going to the synagogue on Sabbath morning while they

are themselves heading for

church Because of their keepshying of the Sabbath Sevenrh-day

Advenrists have often been and

still are idenriried as Jews and as such have sometimes been the

object of suspicion and hardshyships (as is the case of Sevenrhshy

da) Advenrists in some African and Arabic countries) Similar

dieta) choices have even assoshy

ciated Jews and Advenrists in

the market place as Advenrists

have often been caught standshy

ing next to the Jews at the Kosher counrer The Adventist

curiosit) for Jewish interpretashy

tions and religious experiences

is well attested not only among

la) members but also among Advenrist theologians (see for

instance the importance of the reference to Abraham Heschel

in the Adventist reflecrion on

the Sabbath) These common

sufferings and similariries of experience and of beliefs have

narurall) incited ver) posishytive sentiments on the part of

Adventists toward the Jews

Jewish-Advenrist congregation celebrating Succot in Jerusalem Israel

SHABBAT SHALOM 13

I

-

Jewish-Adventist congregation in Sr Perersburg Florida

2 Supersessionism Supersessionism (from the

Latin supersede meaning sit shyting at the place of) is an old Christian ideology9 that was first advocated in ecclesiastical terms in the fourth-century Catholic Church (the church as the city

of God the new Israel has replaced the synagogue the old Israel) and in theological terms in conrinen tal Protestanrism (the spiritual Israel with the grace of the Gospel has replaced the Israel of the flesh with the Law of Moses)

This last supersessionism may look more elegan t and more sophisticated than the former one but it carries the sarne porenrial damage If I am the true Israel and you are not you do not deserve to live as Israel This is why supersessionshyism has been diagnosed as a spiritual Holocaust preparing for the physical one Franklin Littell notes the cornerstone of Christian antisemitism the superseding and displacement myth rings with a genocidal norelO

14 SHABBAT SHAlOM

Supersessionist ideas were and still are taught by Adventists who inherited them among other grains of dust from rhe tradirional church (Catholic and Protestant) Yet considering Adventisms late arrival on rhe scene of religions and its special connection with the Jews supershysessionism is inconsistent with Adventist theology

Indeed Adventists canshynot claim as can rhe Carholic Church that they had replaced rhe historical Israel of the Old

asrical supersessionism Advenrist supersessionism emphasized the idea of a spirirual remnanr as rhe spirirual Israel-rhe Israel of God-which replaced rhe physishycal Israel These Advenrisrs onen idenrifY rhemselves as rhe chosen remnanr and rhe claim is someshyrimes heard wirh some nationalisshytic overtones

Also along rhe lines of rheoshylogical supersessionism some Advenrisrs mainrain rhar rhey undersrand and Iive rhe Sabbarh and rhe Torah in a superior and more spirirual way rhan rhe Jews who are legalisric ln conrrasr to rhe Jewish Sabbarh the Adventist Sabbath is called a Sabbath touched by the Gospel11 or in comparison

to the Jewish Sabbath ofJoe Lieberman the Sabbath of Joe Advenrisr12 Nore in the conrext

of this journal rhe moving testimoshyny of May-Ellen Colon who grateshyfully acknowledges her existential and theological debt to the Jewish Sabbath and the recommendation by John Graz We stiJl have many lessons to learn from rhem 13

Ir is significanr however that

Tbis lnsistence 111 marki~ tbe agraveifference between tbeJewisb Sabbatb ano tbe

Aoventist Sabbatb is somewbat susrect

Testament (ecclesiastical supershysessionism) because they carne much later after the separation Nor can they argue that the Jewish Sabbath or the Torah had been replaced by another Christian sabbath or by grace (theological supersessionism) for they had embraced together in tension the theology of the Sabbath and the Law with the theology of grace

Yet along the lines of ecclesishy

these presenrations of the soshycaJled Advenrist Sabbath are nor in contradiction with a Jewish understanding of the Sabbath Ir is also ironical that in order to set up the specific Advenrist characrer of the Sabbath many of these Advenrist authors have ofren resorted to and extensively referred to Jewish authorities such as Abraham Heschel J4 This insisshytence in marking the difference

Biblical Lesson

j Tbe ]ewisb Face of I Aocircvel1tismi

Jacques B Doukbal1

he purpose of this article is to

introduce Adventist and Jewish theologians to

the Jewish component of rhe Adventist faith and eventushy

ally draw from this associashytion speciBc lessons in regard to Adventist identiry and to

Jewish-Adventist relations ln a Brst step 1 will try to disclose and track the Jewish connecshytion with Adventism that is of a character not found elsewhere

r in other Christian traditionsshyone that instead constitutes an

essential character of the Jewish identiry ln a second step 1 will analyze the various responses that have usually surfaced among Adventists in view of

this particular Jewish composhynent of their religious identiry

Jewish-Adventist service in Buenos Aires Argentina

SHABBAT SHALOM 9

I

The Jewish Connection Adventisr idemiry holds a

remarkable number of specific fearures rhar are an imporshyram parr of whar also charshyacrerizes rhe Jewish idemity Advemisrs rheology of the Law rheir respecr for rhe Torah of Moses rheir high regard for rhe Hebrew Scriptures their keen interesr in anciem Israelire institutions such as rhe Levirical sanctuary and in the theologishycal significance of the Jewish Kippur rheir lifestyle and even their eating habits and more importantly their keeping of the sarne seventh-day Sabbarh have not only singled them out within Christianity but have also drawn rhem rheoshylogically and even sociologically

Jewish-Advemisr congregation Sao Paulo Brazil

10 SHABBAT SHA LOM

doser to rhe Jews ln rhis artide my observashy

tions of rhe Jewish characrer in Advemism will focus on rhe Sabbarh nor only because ir is the mosr importam Jewish feashyture in Advemism-the most distinctive and the most visible one-but also because from the Sabbath we may derive the main comours of Sevemh-day Advemist rheology as rhey parshyallel those of Jewish theology

1 The Jewish -Christian Separation

By keeping rhe sarne sevemhshyday Sabbarh as the Jews-not just as a principIe as wirh other Christian fairhs bur in actual reality from Friday nighr to Sarurday night-Seventh-day

Advemisrs have made a hisshytorie sratemenr regarding the Jewish-Chrisrian separarion The Sabbarh had played an importam if nor a decisive role in the Jewish-Christian separarion Christians separared from the Jews because of the Sabbarh they chose anorher day and rejecred rhe Jewish Sabbath precisely in order to disassociate rhemselves from the Jews This motivarion is already explicitly stared by Marcion in rhe second cemury Because ir is rhe rest of rhe God of rhe Jews we fasr on thar day in order nor to accomplish on rhar day whar was ordained by the God of rhe Jews I Ir is repeated and made official in rhe imperial councils of the fourth century Christians musr nor Judaize by resring on the Sabbarh bur musr work on that day honoring rarher rhe Lords day by resring if posshysible as Chrisrians However if any should be found Judaizing ler rhem be anarhema from Chrisr2

The history of rhe Chrisrian Mission to rhe Jews shows rhat the inirial mass movemem of Jewish conversion ceased abruprly in rhe fourrh century3

precisely in relarion to rhe Christian rejecrion of rhe Torah and more specifically of rhe Sabbarh As historian Jules Isaac wrires The Jewish rejection of Chrisr was rriggered by rhe Christian rejection of the Law4 Or in rhe words of Christian rheologian Marvin Wilson This move to Sunday worship made it exceedingly difficult if nor virtually imposshysible for the Jew to give any serious consideration to the

Christian message ln short to become a Christian was conshysidered as leaving behind the Jewishness of ones past hardly a live option for any faithful Jew to consider5 Contrary to what one would expect it was on the Law and not on the messhysianic controversy that Jews and Christians departed from each

I other Ir is significant indeed

that so many Jews had accepted Jesus as their Messiah as long as they did not have to reject the Law Ir is also significant that Jewish tradition and Jewish hisshytory attest to a great number of messianic vicws and experiences where the borders betveen Jews and Christians are blurred and even crossed-messianic views that at times are bolder than

The Shalom Learning Center Hollywood Florida

B~ returl1il1g to the Jewlsh sabbath Sevel1th-oa~ Aovel1tists were HOt 011[-9 retur11111g to the sarne

sevel1th oa~

their Christian counterpart By returning to the Jewish

Sabbath Seventh-day Adventists were not only returning to the sarne seventh day they were not simply reacting to the tradishytional Christian current on the question of a day By keeping the seventh-day Sabbath they were also bound to be affected on a deeper levei in the content of their theology

2 Creation Versus Redemption

The Jewish Sabbath as already recorded in the fourth commandment (Exod 2011) and in the conclusion of the Genesis Creation Story (Gen 22) carries a positive reference to Creation- the earth nature human body etc-versus the

Christian Sabbath which in reference to Jesus resurrection

exalts spiritual redemption and deliverance from the concrete flesh of this Creation This dualistic paradigm originated in the Marcionite Antithesis and

found its way into traditional Christianity where redemption from the body and the spiritual domain is valued over the mateshyrial and physical domain-so much so that the biblical act of Creation itself was interpreted as a mere illustration serving the spiritual truth of redemption ln Jewish tradition the Sabbath because of its reference tO Creation became the epitome of

the affirmation and enjoyment of the whole of ife (involving the body and the senses) On Sabbath one is not only allowed but is required to enjoy life By returning to the seventh-day Sabbath Seventh-day Adventists rejected the Marcionite parashydigm and emphasized instead the importance of Creation thus giving special attention to the body-the eating and drinkshying (health message) and the physical welfare of humankind (Adventist Development and Relicf Agency) Ir is noteworthy that this approach concurs with the Jewish way of ife where the concrete body and eating and drinking are an inherent part of religion as well as the Jewish principie eyn kemah eyn torah (no flour no Torah) that makes spirituality depend on physical existence

111 Jewish traoitiol1 tbe Sabbatb because af its reference ta Creation became tbe epitowre of the affirwration ano enjo~wrel1t af tbe whae af ife

SHABBAT SHALOM 11

3 The Law The reference to rhe Law is

implied in rhe Sabbarh comshymandmem from (wo perspecshytives Ir is found firsr from rhe perspective of Crearion By calling attention to the conshycrere domain of physical exisshytence the reference to Creation implies a specific concero for erhics and jusrice in reallife From that perspective spiritual and sentimental elaborations love and imellectual beliefs are nor enough Concrete justice the need for righreousness has become an importam ingredishyent of religion This dimension is a distinctive feature of Jewish identiry

A1so the adoprion of rhe seventh-day Sabbath of biblical revelation over against rhe day of human tradition implies a recognirion of rhe rranscendence and of rhe vertical aspecr of religion and rhus encourages a renewed interesr in rhe dimenshysion ofTorah in rhe Adventisr rheology of covenant There are still problems in the observance of the Law For instance in spite of the biblical injunctions (Gen 24 Acts 1520) Adventists are not clear on the issue of the

Aovel1tists are 110t dear 011 the issue 01 the COl1sumptiol1 o

6[000

consumption of blood To be sure the vegetarian ideal proshymoted by Adventisrs avoids that issue but rhe quesrion of rhe consumption of blood has nor been setded The reference (O rhe Law plays a specific role in Adventist rheology thus drawing

12 SHABBAT SHALOM

I

Jewish-Advenrist congregation at Andrews University

Adventists near (O rhe Jews Ir is among other factors this recogshynition of the Law that accounts for the respect for other Jewish laws such as the dietary laws and the tithe and more imporrantly for closer attention (O ethical principies and a grearer imerest in rhe religious dimension of justice and righteousness

4 Hope Another important dimenshy

sion of the Sabbath that brings Seventh-day Adventists closer (O the Jews concerns the lesson of hope and expecration that is associated with the sevenrh-day Sabbath ln Jewish tradition the Sabbath has not only been imerpreted as a foretaste of the olam haba the kingdom of God and therefore as a sign of hope for perfecr harmony and peace ir has also been identified as a time of hope in itself For as the seventh day the time of the Sabbath embodies the very structure of hope the experience of the not yet

ln Seventh-day Adventist tradition as in Jewish tradishy

rion the seventh day is associshyated with rhe future Advent Through rhis associarion Seventh-day Adventists are in tune wirh rhe Jews theyaffirm with rhem the imporrance of rhe future component of salshyvarion and arrest (O rhe sarne luciJiry toward presem evil on earth

As a sevench day the Sabbath is also the day that marks the completion of ali (kol) creation of heaven and earth (Gen 21shy3) thereby being a cosmic sign that prerequires the end of rhis world for the creation of a new world One of the lessons of the seventh-day Sabbath is (O affirm the necessarily cosmic character of salvarion The

ht seventb-otildea3 Aotildeventist ltraotildeition as

111 Jewisb traotildeitiol1 tbe seventb oa~ is associateo

witb tbe future Jewish theology of Kippur the Day of A(Onement would be in that respect particularly relshy

evant for the Advenrist reflecshy

tion on the sanctuary and is

worrh noting in this reflection

ln the Bible as well as in Jewish tradition the building of the

sancruary has been related to

the cosmic Creation (Ps 7869) and the function of these corshy

respondences is to underscore

the depiction of the sanctuary as a world6 ln that perspecshy

tive the Da) of Atonemenr that

prescribes the cleansing of the

sanctuar) is supposed to prefigshyure the cleansing the re-creation

or the world calling once again

for the need of a re-creation as the onl) valuable redempshy

tive response or solution to our human condition

The sarne connection is also

suggested in the rabbinic legislashyrion of the Sabbath that relates

typologically the 39 works that are not allowed on Sabbath to

the 39 works of the building or the Sanctuary7 Each Sabbath

the Orrhodox Jew is thus supshyposed to remember the relationshy

ship between the Sancruary and

the Sabbath a theologicallesson not insignificanr in Advenrist theology ~

As we can see the Adventist

identiry orfers a great number of interesting parallels with the

Jewish idenrity I have given just

a few of the most importanr

ones Though not all Advenrists are familiar with the profound

significance of these connecshytions even on a superficial

level the connections are clear

enough to make any Advenrist

aware of the special theological and religious relations with the

Jews

The Adventist Response To that particular conncction

Because of their keeping of tbe sabbath seventh-ocirca~ Aoventists have often beel1 anocirc sti[[ are ioentifieocirc as ]elvs ano as such bave sometimes

been tbe object of suspiciol1 ano barocircsbips with Judaism Advenrists have

responded in a variery of ways

ranging Erom the most positive

to the most negative and often in an ambivalenr manner

1 The Positive Response Ir is quite understandable that

the adoption of the Sabbath and other distinctive fearures

of Judaism has encouraged

among many Adventists great

sympathy toward the Jews How often I have heard Sevenrh-day

Advenrists expressing positive

feelings at observing the Jews

going to the synagogue on Sabbath morning while they

are themselves heading for

church Because of their keepshying of the Sabbath Sevenrh-day

Advenrists have often been and

still are idenriried as Jews and as such have sometimes been the

object of suspicion and hardshyships (as is the case of Sevenrhshy

da) Advenrists in some African and Arabic countries) Similar

dieta) choices have even assoshy

ciated Jews and Advenrists in

the market place as Advenrists

have often been caught standshy

ing next to the Jews at the Kosher counrer The Adventist

curiosit) for Jewish interpretashy

tions and religious experiences

is well attested not only among

la) members but also among Advenrist theologians (see for

instance the importance of the reference to Abraham Heschel

in the Adventist reflecrion on

the Sabbath) These common

sufferings and similariries of experience and of beliefs have

narurall) incited ver) posishytive sentiments on the part of

Adventists toward the Jews

Jewish-Advenrist congregation celebrating Succot in Jerusalem Israel

SHABBAT SHALOM 13

I

-

Jewish-Adventist congregation in Sr Perersburg Florida

2 Supersessionism Supersessionism (from the

Latin supersede meaning sit shyting at the place of) is an old Christian ideology9 that was first advocated in ecclesiastical terms in the fourth-century Catholic Church (the church as the city

of God the new Israel has replaced the synagogue the old Israel) and in theological terms in conrinen tal Protestanrism (the spiritual Israel with the grace of the Gospel has replaced the Israel of the flesh with the Law of Moses)

This last supersessionism may look more elegan t and more sophisticated than the former one but it carries the sarne porenrial damage If I am the true Israel and you are not you do not deserve to live as Israel This is why supersessionshyism has been diagnosed as a spiritual Holocaust preparing for the physical one Franklin Littell notes the cornerstone of Christian antisemitism the superseding and displacement myth rings with a genocidal norelO

14 SHABBAT SHAlOM

Supersessionist ideas were and still are taught by Adventists who inherited them among other grains of dust from rhe tradirional church (Catholic and Protestant) Yet considering Adventisms late arrival on rhe scene of religions and its special connection with the Jews supershysessionism is inconsistent with Adventist theology

Indeed Adventists canshynot claim as can rhe Carholic Church that they had replaced rhe historical Israel of the Old

asrical supersessionism Advenrist supersessionism emphasized the idea of a spirirual remnanr as rhe spirirual Israel-rhe Israel of God-which replaced rhe physishycal Israel These Advenrisrs onen idenrifY rhemselves as rhe chosen remnanr and rhe claim is someshyrimes heard wirh some nationalisshytic overtones

Also along rhe lines of rheoshylogical supersessionism some Advenrisrs mainrain rhar rhey undersrand and Iive rhe Sabbarh and rhe Torah in a superior and more spirirual way rhan rhe Jews who are legalisric ln conrrasr to rhe Jewish Sabbarh the Adventist Sabbath is called a Sabbath touched by the Gospel11 or in comparison

to the Jewish Sabbath ofJoe Lieberman the Sabbath of Joe Advenrisr12 Nore in the conrext

of this journal rhe moving testimoshyny of May-Ellen Colon who grateshyfully acknowledges her existential and theological debt to the Jewish Sabbath and the recommendation by John Graz We stiJl have many lessons to learn from rhem 13

Ir is significanr however that

Tbis lnsistence 111 marki~ tbe agraveifference between tbeJewisb Sabbatb ano tbe

Aoventist Sabbatb is somewbat susrect

Testament (ecclesiastical supershysessionism) because they carne much later after the separation Nor can they argue that the Jewish Sabbath or the Torah had been replaced by another Christian sabbath or by grace (theological supersessionism) for they had embraced together in tension the theology of the Sabbath and the Law with the theology of grace

Yet along the lines of ecclesishy

these presenrations of the soshycaJled Advenrist Sabbath are nor in contradiction with a Jewish understanding of the Sabbath Ir is also ironical that in order to set up the specific Advenrist characrer of the Sabbath many of these Advenrist authors have ofren resorted to and extensively referred to Jewish authorities such as Abraham Heschel J4 This insisshytence in marking the difference

I

The Jewish Connection Adventisr idemiry holds a

remarkable number of specific fearures rhar are an imporshyram parr of whar also charshyacrerizes rhe Jewish idemity Advemisrs rheology of the Law rheir respecr for rhe Torah of Moses rheir high regard for rhe Hebrew Scriptures their keen interesr in anciem Israelire institutions such as rhe Levirical sanctuary and in the theologishycal significance of the Jewish Kippur rheir lifestyle and even their eating habits and more importantly their keeping of the sarne seventh-day Sabbarh have not only singled them out within Christianity but have also drawn rhem rheoshylogically and even sociologically

Jewish-Advemisr congregation Sao Paulo Brazil

10 SHABBAT SHA LOM

doser to rhe Jews ln rhis artide my observashy

tions of rhe Jewish characrer in Advemism will focus on rhe Sabbarh nor only because ir is the mosr importam Jewish feashyture in Advemism-the most distinctive and the most visible one-but also because from the Sabbath we may derive the main comours of Sevemh-day Advemist rheology as rhey parshyallel those of Jewish theology

1 The Jewish -Christian Separation

By keeping rhe sarne sevemhshyday Sabbarh as the Jews-not just as a principIe as wirh other Christian fairhs bur in actual reality from Friday nighr to Sarurday night-Seventh-day

Advemisrs have made a hisshytorie sratemenr regarding the Jewish-Chrisrian separarion The Sabbarh had played an importam if nor a decisive role in the Jewish-Christian separarion Christians separared from the Jews because of the Sabbarh they chose anorher day and rejecred rhe Jewish Sabbath precisely in order to disassociate rhemselves from the Jews This motivarion is already explicitly stared by Marcion in rhe second cemury Because ir is rhe rest of rhe God of rhe Jews we fasr on thar day in order nor to accomplish on rhar day whar was ordained by the God of rhe Jews I Ir is repeated and made official in rhe imperial councils of the fourth century Christians musr nor Judaize by resring on the Sabbarh bur musr work on that day honoring rarher rhe Lords day by resring if posshysible as Chrisrians However if any should be found Judaizing ler rhem be anarhema from Chrisr2

The history of rhe Chrisrian Mission to rhe Jews shows rhat the inirial mass movemem of Jewish conversion ceased abruprly in rhe fourrh century3

precisely in relarion to rhe Christian rejecrion of rhe Torah and more specifically of rhe Sabbarh As historian Jules Isaac wrires The Jewish rejection of Chrisr was rriggered by rhe Christian rejection of the Law4 Or in rhe words of Christian rheologian Marvin Wilson This move to Sunday worship made it exceedingly difficult if nor virtually imposshysible for the Jew to give any serious consideration to the

Christian message ln short to become a Christian was conshysidered as leaving behind the Jewishness of ones past hardly a live option for any faithful Jew to consider5 Contrary to what one would expect it was on the Law and not on the messhysianic controversy that Jews and Christians departed from each

I other Ir is significant indeed

that so many Jews had accepted Jesus as their Messiah as long as they did not have to reject the Law Ir is also significant that Jewish tradition and Jewish hisshytory attest to a great number of messianic vicws and experiences where the borders betveen Jews and Christians are blurred and even crossed-messianic views that at times are bolder than

The Shalom Learning Center Hollywood Florida

B~ returl1il1g to the Jewlsh sabbath Sevel1th-oa~ Aovel1tists were HOt 011[-9 retur11111g to the sarne

sevel1th oa~

their Christian counterpart By returning to the Jewish

Sabbath Seventh-day Adventists were not only returning to the sarne seventh day they were not simply reacting to the tradishytional Christian current on the question of a day By keeping the seventh-day Sabbath they were also bound to be affected on a deeper levei in the content of their theology

2 Creation Versus Redemption

The Jewish Sabbath as already recorded in the fourth commandment (Exod 2011) and in the conclusion of the Genesis Creation Story (Gen 22) carries a positive reference to Creation- the earth nature human body etc-versus the

Christian Sabbath which in reference to Jesus resurrection

exalts spiritual redemption and deliverance from the concrete flesh of this Creation This dualistic paradigm originated in the Marcionite Antithesis and

found its way into traditional Christianity where redemption from the body and the spiritual domain is valued over the mateshyrial and physical domain-so much so that the biblical act of Creation itself was interpreted as a mere illustration serving the spiritual truth of redemption ln Jewish tradition the Sabbath because of its reference tO Creation became the epitome of

the affirmation and enjoyment of the whole of ife (involving the body and the senses) On Sabbath one is not only allowed but is required to enjoy life By returning to the seventh-day Sabbath Seventh-day Adventists rejected the Marcionite parashydigm and emphasized instead the importance of Creation thus giving special attention to the body-the eating and drinkshying (health message) and the physical welfare of humankind (Adventist Development and Relicf Agency) Ir is noteworthy that this approach concurs with the Jewish way of ife where the concrete body and eating and drinking are an inherent part of religion as well as the Jewish principie eyn kemah eyn torah (no flour no Torah) that makes spirituality depend on physical existence

111 Jewish traoitiol1 tbe Sabbatb because af its reference ta Creation became tbe epitowre of the affirwration ano enjo~wrel1t af tbe whae af ife

SHABBAT SHALOM 11

3 The Law The reference to rhe Law is

implied in rhe Sabbarh comshymandmem from (wo perspecshytives Ir is found firsr from rhe perspective of Crearion By calling attention to the conshycrere domain of physical exisshytence the reference to Creation implies a specific concero for erhics and jusrice in reallife From that perspective spiritual and sentimental elaborations love and imellectual beliefs are nor enough Concrete justice the need for righreousness has become an importam ingredishyent of religion This dimension is a distinctive feature of Jewish identiry

A1so the adoprion of rhe seventh-day Sabbath of biblical revelation over against rhe day of human tradition implies a recognirion of rhe rranscendence and of rhe vertical aspecr of religion and rhus encourages a renewed interesr in rhe dimenshysion ofTorah in rhe Adventisr rheology of covenant There are still problems in the observance of the Law For instance in spite of the biblical injunctions (Gen 24 Acts 1520) Adventists are not clear on the issue of the

Aovel1tists are 110t dear 011 the issue 01 the COl1sumptiol1 o

6[000

consumption of blood To be sure the vegetarian ideal proshymoted by Adventisrs avoids that issue but rhe quesrion of rhe consumption of blood has nor been setded The reference (O rhe Law plays a specific role in Adventist rheology thus drawing

12 SHABBAT SHALOM

I

Jewish-Advenrist congregation at Andrews University

Adventists near (O rhe Jews Ir is among other factors this recogshynition of the Law that accounts for the respect for other Jewish laws such as the dietary laws and the tithe and more imporrantly for closer attention (O ethical principies and a grearer imerest in rhe religious dimension of justice and righteousness

4 Hope Another important dimenshy

sion of the Sabbath that brings Seventh-day Adventists closer (O the Jews concerns the lesson of hope and expecration that is associated with the sevenrh-day Sabbath ln Jewish tradition the Sabbath has not only been imerpreted as a foretaste of the olam haba the kingdom of God and therefore as a sign of hope for perfecr harmony and peace ir has also been identified as a time of hope in itself For as the seventh day the time of the Sabbath embodies the very structure of hope the experience of the not yet

ln Seventh-day Adventist tradition as in Jewish tradishy

rion the seventh day is associshyated with rhe future Advent Through rhis associarion Seventh-day Adventists are in tune wirh rhe Jews theyaffirm with rhem the imporrance of rhe future component of salshyvarion and arrest (O rhe sarne luciJiry toward presem evil on earth

As a sevench day the Sabbath is also the day that marks the completion of ali (kol) creation of heaven and earth (Gen 21shy3) thereby being a cosmic sign that prerequires the end of rhis world for the creation of a new world One of the lessons of the seventh-day Sabbath is (O affirm the necessarily cosmic character of salvarion The

ht seventb-otildea3 Aotildeventist ltraotildeition as

111 Jewisb traotildeitiol1 tbe seventb oa~ is associateo

witb tbe future Jewish theology of Kippur the Day of A(Onement would be in that respect particularly relshy

evant for the Advenrist reflecshy

tion on the sanctuary and is

worrh noting in this reflection

ln the Bible as well as in Jewish tradition the building of the

sancruary has been related to

the cosmic Creation (Ps 7869) and the function of these corshy

respondences is to underscore

the depiction of the sanctuary as a world6 ln that perspecshy

tive the Da) of Atonemenr that

prescribes the cleansing of the

sanctuar) is supposed to prefigshyure the cleansing the re-creation

or the world calling once again

for the need of a re-creation as the onl) valuable redempshy

tive response or solution to our human condition

The sarne connection is also

suggested in the rabbinic legislashyrion of the Sabbath that relates

typologically the 39 works that are not allowed on Sabbath to

the 39 works of the building or the Sanctuary7 Each Sabbath

the Orrhodox Jew is thus supshyposed to remember the relationshy

ship between the Sancruary and

the Sabbath a theologicallesson not insignificanr in Advenrist theology ~

As we can see the Adventist

identiry orfers a great number of interesting parallels with the

Jewish idenrity I have given just

a few of the most importanr

ones Though not all Advenrists are familiar with the profound

significance of these connecshytions even on a superficial

level the connections are clear

enough to make any Advenrist

aware of the special theological and religious relations with the

Jews

The Adventist Response To that particular conncction

Because of their keeping of tbe sabbath seventh-ocirca~ Aoventists have often beel1 anocirc sti[[ are ioentifieocirc as ]elvs ano as such bave sometimes

been tbe object of suspiciol1 ano barocircsbips with Judaism Advenrists have

responded in a variery of ways

ranging Erom the most positive

to the most negative and often in an ambivalenr manner

1 The Positive Response Ir is quite understandable that

the adoption of the Sabbath and other distinctive fearures

of Judaism has encouraged

among many Adventists great

sympathy toward the Jews How often I have heard Sevenrh-day

Advenrists expressing positive

feelings at observing the Jews

going to the synagogue on Sabbath morning while they

are themselves heading for

church Because of their keepshying of the Sabbath Sevenrh-day

Advenrists have often been and

still are idenriried as Jews and as such have sometimes been the

object of suspicion and hardshyships (as is the case of Sevenrhshy

da) Advenrists in some African and Arabic countries) Similar

dieta) choices have even assoshy

ciated Jews and Advenrists in

the market place as Advenrists

have often been caught standshy

ing next to the Jews at the Kosher counrer The Adventist

curiosit) for Jewish interpretashy

tions and religious experiences

is well attested not only among

la) members but also among Advenrist theologians (see for

instance the importance of the reference to Abraham Heschel

in the Adventist reflecrion on

the Sabbath) These common

sufferings and similariries of experience and of beliefs have

narurall) incited ver) posishytive sentiments on the part of

Adventists toward the Jews

Jewish-Advenrist congregation celebrating Succot in Jerusalem Israel

SHABBAT SHALOM 13

I

-

Jewish-Adventist congregation in Sr Perersburg Florida

2 Supersessionism Supersessionism (from the

Latin supersede meaning sit shyting at the place of) is an old Christian ideology9 that was first advocated in ecclesiastical terms in the fourth-century Catholic Church (the church as the city

of God the new Israel has replaced the synagogue the old Israel) and in theological terms in conrinen tal Protestanrism (the spiritual Israel with the grace of the Gospel has replaced the Israel of the flesh with the Law of Moses)

This last supersessionism may look more elegan t and more sophisticated than the former one but it carries the sarne porenrial damage If I am the true Israel and you are not you do not deserve to live as Israel This is why supersessionshyism has been diagnosed as a spiritual Holocaust preparing for the physical one Franklin Littell notes the cornerstone of Christian antisemitism the superseding and displacement myth rings with a genocidal norelO

14 SHABBAT SHAlOM

Supersessionist ideas were and still are taught by Adventists who inherited them among other grains of dust from rhe tradirional church (Catholic and Protestant) Yet considering Adventisms late arrival on rhe scene of religions and its special connection with the Jews supershysessionism is inconsistent with Adventist theology

Indeed Adventists canshynot claim as can rhe Carholic Church that they had replaced rhe historical Israel of the Old

asrical supersessionism Advenrist supersessionism emphasized the idea of a spirirual remnanr as rhe spirirual Israel-rhe Israel of God-which replaced rhe physishycal Israel These Advenrisrs onen idenrifY rhemselves as rhe chosen remnanr and rhe claim is someshyrimes heard wirh some nationalisshytic overtones

Also along rhe lines of rheoshylogical supersessionism some Advenrisrs mainrain rhar rhey undersrand and Iive rhe Sabbarh and rhe Torah in a superior and more spirirual way rhan rhe Jews who are legalisric ln conrrasr to rhe Jewish Sabbarh the Adventist Sabbath is called a Sabbath touched by the Gospel11 or in comparison

to the Jewish Sabbath ofJoe Lieberman the Sabbath of Joe Advenrisr12 Nore in the conrext

of this journal rhe moving testimoshyny of May-Ellen Colon who grateshyfully acknowledges her existential and theological debt to the Jewish Sabbath and the recommendation by John Graz We stiJl have many lessons to learn from rhem 13

Ir is significanr however that

Tbis lnsistence 111 marki~ tbe agraveifference between tbeJewisb Sabbatb ano tbe

Aoventist Sabbatb is somewbat susrect

Testament (ecclesiastical supershysessionism) because they carne much later after the separation Nor can they argue that the Jewish Sabbath or the Torah had been replaced by another Christian sabbath or by grace (theological supersessionism) for they had embraced together in tension the theology of the Sabbath and the Law with the theology of grace

Yet along the lines of ecclesishy

these presenrations of the soshycaJled Advenrist Sabbath are nor in contradiction with a Jewish understanding of the Sabbath Ir is also ironical that in order to set up the specific Advenrist characrer of the Sabbath many of these Advenrist authors have ofren resorted to and extensively referred to Jewish authorities such as Abraham Heschel J4 This insisshytence in marking the difference

Christian message ln short to become a Christian was conshysidered as leaving behind the Jewishness of ones past hardly a live option for any faithful Jew to consider5 Contrary to what one would expect it was on the Law and not on the messhysianic controversy that Jews and Christians departed from each

I other Ir is significant indeed

that so many Jews had accepted Jesus as their Messiah as long as they did not have to reject the Law Ir is also significant that Jewish tradition and Jewish hisshytory attest to a great number of messianic vicws and experiences where the borders betveen Jews and Christians are blurred and even crossed-messianic views that at times are bolder than

The Shalom Learning Center Hollywood Florida

B~ returl1il1g to the Jewlsh sabbath Sevel1th-oa~ Aovel1tists were HOt 011[-9 retur11111g to the sarne

sevel1th oa~

their Christian counterpart By returning to the Jewish

Sabbath Seventh-day Adventists were not only returning to the sarne seventh day they were not simply reacting to the tradishytional Christian current on the question of a day By keeping the seventh-day Sabbath they were also bound to be affected on a deeper levei in the content of their theology

2 Creation Versus Redemption

The Jewish Sabbath as already recorded in the fourth commandment (Exod 2011) and in the conclusion of the Genesis Creation Story (Gen 22) carries a positive reference to Creation- the earth nature human body etc-versus the

Christian Sabbath which in reference to Jesus resurrection

exalts spiritual redemption and deliverance from the concrete flesh of this Creation This dualistic paradigm originated in the Marcionite Antithesis and

found its way into traditional Christianity where redemption from the body and the spiritual domain is valued over the mateshyrial and physical domain-so much so that the biblical act of Creation itself was interpreted as a mere illustration serving the spiritual truth of redemption ln Jewish tradition the Sabbath because of its reference tO Creation became the epitome of

the affirmation and enjoyment of the whole of ife (involving the body and the senses) On Sabbath one is not only allowed but is required to enjoy life By returning to the seventh-day Sabbath Seventh-day Adventists rejected the Marcionite parashydigm and emphasized instead the importance of Creation thus giving special attention to the body-the eating and drinkshying (health message) and the physical welfare of humankind (Adventist Development and Relicf Agency) Ir is noteworthy that this approach concurs with the Jewish way of ife where the concrete body and eating and drinking are an inherent part of religion as well as the Jewish principie eyn kemah eyn torah (no flour no Torah) that makes spirituality depend on physical existence

111 Jewish traoitiol1 tbe Sabbatb because af its reference ta Creation became tbe epitowre of the affirwration ano enjo~wrel1t af tbe whae af ife

SHABBAT SHALOM 11

3 The Law The reference to rhe Law is

implied in rhe Sabbarh comshymandmem from (wo perspecshytives Ir is found firsr from rhe perspective of Crearion By calling attention to the conshycrere domain of physical exisshytence the reference to Creation implies a specific concero for erhics and jusrice in reallife From that perspective spiritual and sentimental elaborations love and imellectual beliefs are nor enough Concrete justice the need for righreousness has become an importam ingredishyent of religion This dimension is a distinctive feature of Jewish identiry

A1so the adoprion of rhe seventh-day Sabbath of biblical revelation over against rhe day of human tradition implies a recognirion of rhe rranscendence and of rhe vertical aspecr of religion and rhus encourages a renewed interesr in rhe dimenshysion ofTorah in rhe Adventisr rheology of covenant There are still problems in the observance of the Law For instance in spite of the biblical injunctions (Gen 24 Acts 1520) Adventists are not clear on the issue of the

Aovel1tists are 110t dear 011 the issue 01 the COl1sumptiol1 o

6[000

consumption of blood To be sure the vegetarian ideal proshymoted by Adventisrs avoids that issue but rhe quesrion of rhe consumption of blood has nor been setded The reference (O rhe Law plays a specific role in Adventist rheology thus drawing

12 SHABBAT SHALOM

I

Jewish-Advenrist congregation at Andrews University

Adventists near (O rhe Jews Ir is among other factors this recogshynition of the Law that accounts for the respect for other Jewish laws such as the dietary laws and the tithe and more imporrantly for closer attention (O ethical principies and a grearer imerest in rhe religious dimension of justice and righteousness

4 Hope Another important dimenshy

sion of the Sabbath that brings Seventh-day Adventists closer (O the Jews concerns the lesson of hope and expecration that is associated with the sevenrh-day Sabbath ln Jewish tradition the Sabbath has not only been imerpreted as a foretaste of the olam haba the kingdom of God and therefore as a sign of hope for perfecr harmony and peace ir has also been identified as a time of hope in itself For as the seventh day the time of the Sabbath embodies the very structure of hope the experience of the not yet

ln Seventh-day Adventist tradition as in Jewish tradishy

rion the seventh day is associshyated with rhe future Advent Through rhis associarion Seventh-day Adventists are in tune wirh rhe Jews theyaffirm with rhem the imporrance of rhe future component of salshyvarion and arrest (O rhe sarne luciJiry toward presem evil on earth

As a sevench day the Sabbath is also the day that marks the completion of ali (kol) creation of heaven and earth (Gen 21shy3) thereby being a cosmic sign that prerequires the end of rhis world for the creation of a new world One of the lessons of the seventh-day Sabbath is (O affirm the necessarily cosmic character of salvarion The

ht seventb-otildea3 Aotildeventist ltraotildeition as

111 Jewisb traotildeitiol1 tbe seventb oa~ is associateo

witb tbe future Jewish theology of Kippur the Day of A(Onement would be in that respect particularly relshy

evant for the Advenrist reflecshy

tion on the sanctuary and is

worrh noting in this reflection

ln the Bible as well as in Jewish tradition the building of the

sancruary has been related to

the cosmic Creation (Ps 7869) and the function of these corshy

respondences is to underscore

the depiction of the sanctuary as a world6 ln that perspecshy

tive the Da) of Atonemenr that

prescribes the cleansing of the

sanctuar) is supposed to prefigshyure the cleansing the re-creation

or the world calling once again

for the need of a re-creation as the onl) valuable redempshy

tive response or solution to our human condition

The sarne connection is also

suggested in the rabbinic legislashyrion of the Sabbath that relates

typologically the 39 works that are not allowed on Sabbath to

the 39 works of the building or the Sanctuary7 Each Sabbath

the Orrhodox Jew is thus supshyposed to remember the relationshy

ship between the Sancruary and

the Sabbath a theologicallesson not insignificanr in Advenrist theology ~

As we can see the Adventist

identiry orfers a great number of interesting parallels with the

Jewish idenrity I have given just

a few of the most importanr

ones Though not all Advenrists are familiar with the profound

significance of these connecshytions even on a superficial

level the connections are clear

enough to make any Advenrist

aware of the special theological and religious relations with the

Jews

The Adventist Response To that particular conncction

Because of their keeping of tbe sabbath seventh-ocirca~ Aoventists have often beel1 anocirc sti[[ are ioentifieocirc as ]elvs ano as such bave sometimes

been tbe object of suspiciol1 ano barocircsbips with Judaism Advenrists have

responded in a variery of ways

ranging Erom the most positive

to the most negative and often in an ambivalenr manner

1 The Positive Response Ir is quite understandable that

the adoption of the Sabbath and other distinctive fearures

of Judaism has encouraged

among many Adventists great

sympathy toward the Jews How often I have heard Sevenrh-day

Advenrists expressing positive

feelings at observing the Jews

going to the synagogue on Sabbath morning while they

are themselves heading for

church Because of their keepshying of the Sabbath Sevenrh-day

Advenrists have often been and

still are idenriried as Jews and as such have sometimes been the

object of suspicion and hardshyships (as is the case of Sevenrhshy

da) Advenrists in some African and Arabic countries) Similar

dieta) choices have even assoshy

ciated Jews and Advenrists in

the market place as Advenrists

have often been caught standshy

ing next to the Jews at the Kosher counrer The Adventist

curiosit) for Jewish interpretashy

tions and religious experiences

is well attested not only among

la) members but also among Advenrist theologians (see for

instance the importance of the reference to Abraham Heschel

in the Adventist reflecrion on

the Sabbath) These common

sufferings and similariries of experience and of beliefs have

narurall) incited ver) posishytive sentiments on the part of

Adventists toward the Jews

Jewish-Advenrist congregation celebrating Succot in Jerusalem Israel

SHABBAT SHALOM 13

I

-

Jewish-Adventist congregation in Sr Perersburg Florida

2 Supersessionism Supersessionism (from the

Latin supersede meaning sit shyting at the place of) is an old Christian ideology9 that was first advocated in ecclesiastical terms in the fourth-century Catholic Church (the church as the city

of God the new Israel has replaced the synagogue the old Israel) and in theological terms in conrinen tal Protestanrism (the spiritual Israel with the grace of the Gospel has replaced the Israel of the flesh with the Law of Moses)

This last supersessionism may look more elegan t and more sophisticated than the former one but it carries the sarne porenrial damage If I am the true Israel and you are not you do not deserve to live as Israel This is why supersessionshyism has been diagnosed as a spiritual Holocaust preparing for the physical one Franklin Littell notes the cornerstone of Christian antisemitism the superseding and displacement myth rings with a genocidal norelO

14 SHABBAT SHAlOM

Supersessionist ideas were and still are taught by Adventists who inherited them among other grains of dust from rhe tradirional church (Catholic and Protestant) Yet considering Adventisms late arrival on rhe scene of religions and its special connection with the Jews supershysessionism is inconsistent with Adventist theology

Indeed Adventists canshynot claim as can rhe Carholic Church that they had replaced rhe historical Israel of the Old

asrical supersessionism Advenrist supersessionism emphasized the idea of a spirirual remnanr as rhe spirirual Israel-rhe Israel of God-which replaced rhe physishycal Israel These Advenrisrs onen idenrifY rhemselves as rhe chosen remnanr and rhe claim is someshyrimes heard wirh some nationalisshytic overtones

Also along rhe lines of rheoshylogical supersessionism some Advenrisrs mainrain rhar rhey undersrand and Iive rhe Sabbarh and rhe Torah in a superior and more spirirual way rhan rhe Jews who are legalisric ln conrrasr to rhe Jewish Sabbarh the Adventist Sabbath is called a Sabbath touched by the Gospel11 or in comparison

to the Jewish Sabbath ofJoe Lieberman the Sabbath of Joe Advenrisr12 Nore in the conrext

of this journal rhe moving testimoshyny of May-Ellen Colon who grateshyfully acknowledges her existential and theological debt to the Jewish Sabbath and the recommendation by John Graz We stiJl have many lessons to learn from rhem 13

Ir is significanr however that

Tbis lnsistence 111 marki~ tbe agraveifference between tbeJewisb Sabbatb ano tbe

Aoventist Sabbatb is somewbat susrect

Testament (ecclesiastical supershysessionism) because they carne much later after the separation Nor can they argue that the Jewish Sabbath or the Torah had been replaced by another Christian sabbath or by grace (theological supersessionism) for they had embraced together in tension the theology of the Sabbath and the Law with the theology of grace

Yet along the lines of ecclesishy

these presenrations of the soshycaJled Advenrist Sabbath are nor in contradiction with a Jewish understanding of the Sabbath Ir is also ironical that in order to set up the specific Advenrist characrer of the Sabbath many of these Advenrist authors have ofren resorted to and extensively referred to Jewish authorities such as Abraham Heschel J4 This insisshytence in marking the difference

3 The Law The reference to rhe Law is

implied in rhe Sabbarh comshymandmem from (wo perspecshytives Ir is found firsr from rhe perspective of Crearion By calling attention to the conshycrere domain of physical exisshytence the reference to Creation implies a specific concero for erhics and jusrice in reallife From that perspective spiritual and sentimental elaborations love and imellectual beliefs are nor enough Concrete justice the need for righreousness has become an importam ingredishyent of religion This dimension is a distinctive feature of Jewish identiry

A1so the adoprion of rhe seventh-day Sabbath of biblical revelation over against rhe day of human tradition implies a recognirion of rhe rranscendence and of rhe vertical aspecr of religion and rhus encourages a renewed interesr in rhe dimenshysion ofTorah in rhe Adventisr rheology of covenant There are still problems in the observance of the Law For instance in spite of the biblical injunctions (Gen 24 Acts 1520) Adventists are not clear on the issue of the

Aovel1tists are 110t dear 011 the issue 01 the COl1sumptiol1 o

6[000

consumption of blood To be sure the vegetarian ideal proshymoted by Adventisrs avoids that issue but rhe quesrion of rhe consumption of blood has nor been setded The reference (O rhe Law plays a specific role in Adventist rheology thus drawing

12 SHABBAT SHALOM

I

Jewish-Advenrist congregation at Andrews University

Adventists near (O rhe Jews Ir is among other factors this recogshynition of the Law that accounts for the respect for other Jewish laws such as the dietary laws and the tithe and more imporrantly for closer attention (O ethical principies and a grearer imerest in rhe religious dimension of justice and righteousness

4 Hope Another important dimenshy

sion of the Sabbath that brings Seventh-day Adventists closer (O the Jews concerns the lesson of hope and expecration that is associated with the sevenrh-day Sabbath ln Jewish tradition the Sabbath has not only been imerpreted as a foretaste of the olam haba the kingdom of God and therefore as a sign of hope for perfecr harmony and peace ir has also been identified as a time of hope in itself For as the seventh day the time of the Sabbath embodies the very structure of hope the experience of the not yet

ln Seventh-day Adventist tradition as in Jewish tradishy

rion the seventh day is associshyated with rhe future Advent Through rhis associarion Seventh-day Adventists are in tune wirh rhe Jews theyaffirm with rhem the imporrance of rhe future component of salshyvarion and arrest (O rhe sarne luciJiry toward presem evil on earth

As a sevench day the Sabbath is also the day that marks the completion of ali (kol) creation of heaven and earth (Gen 21shy3) thereby being a cosmic sign that prerequires the end of rhis world for the creation of a new world One of the lessons of the seventh-day Sabbath is (O affirm the necessarily cosmic character of salvarion The

ht seventb-otildea3 Aotildeventist ltraotildeition as

111 Jewisb traotildeitiol1 tbe seventb oa~ is associateo

witb tbe future Jewish theology of Kippur the Day of A(Onement would be in that respect particularly relshy

evant for the Advenrist reflecshy

tion on the sanctuary and is

worrh noting in this reflection

ln the Bible as well as in Jewish tradition the building of the

sancruary has been related to

the cosmic Creation (Ps 7869) and the function of these corshy

respondences is to underscore

the depiction of the sanctuary as a world6 ln that perspecshy

tive the Da) of Atonemenr that

prescribes the cleansing of the

sanctuar) is supposed to prefigshyure the cleansing the re-creation

or the world calling once again

for the need of a re-creation as the onl) valuable redempshy

tive response or solution to our human condition

The sarne connection is also

suggested in the rabbinic legislashyrion of the Sabbath that relates

typologically the 39 works that are not allowed on Sabbath to

the 39 works of the building or the Sanctuary7 Each Sabbath

the Orrhodox Jew is thus supshyposed to remember the relationshy

ship between the Sancruary and

the Sabbath a theologicallesson not insignificanr in Advenrist theology ~

As we can see the Adventist

identiry orfers a great number of interesting parallels with the

Jewish idenrity I have given just

a few of the most importanr

ones Though not all Advenrists are familiar with the profound

significance of these connecshytions even on a superficial

level the connections are clear

enough to make any Advenrist

aware of the special theological and religious relations with the

Jews

The Adventist Response To that particular conncction

Because of their keeping of tbe sabbath seventh-ocirca~ Aoventists have often beel1 anocirc sti[[ are ioentifieocirc as ]elvs ano as such bave sometimes

been tbe object of suspiciol1 ano barocircsbips with Judaism Advenrists have

responded in a variery of ways

ranging Erom the most positive

to the most negative and often in an ambivalenr manner

1 The Positive Response Ir is quite understandable that

the adoption of the Sabbath and other distinctive fearures

of Judaism has encouraged

among many Adventists great

sympathy toward the Jews How often I have heard Sevenrh-day

Advenrists expressing positive

feelings at observing the Jews

going to the synagogue on Sabbath morning while they

are themselves heading for

church Because of their keepshying of the Sabbath Sevenrh-day

Advenrists have often been and

still are idenriried as Jews and as such have sometimes been the

object of suspicion and hardshyships (as is the case of Sevenrhshy

da) Advenrists in some African and Arabic countries) Similar

dieta) choices have even assoshy

ciated Jews and Advenrists in

the market place as Advenrists

have often been caught standshy

ing next to the Jews at the Kosher counrer The Adventist

curiosit) for Jewish interpretashy

tions and religious experiences

is well attested not only among

la) members but also among Advenrist theologians (see for

instance the importance of the reference to Abraham Heschel

in the Adventist reflecrion on

the Sabbath) These common

sufferings and similariries of experience and of beliefs have

narurall) incited ver) posishytive sentiments on the part of

Adventists toward the Jews

Jewish-Advenrist congregation celebrating Succot in Jerusalem Israel

SHABBAT SHALOM 13

I

-

Jewish-Adventist congregation in Sr Perersburg Florida

2 Supersessionism Supersessionism (from the

Latin supersede meaning sit shyting at the place of) is an old Christian ideology9 that was first advocated in ecclesiastical terms in the fourth-century Catholic Church (the church as the city

of God the new Israel has replaced the synagogue the old Israel) and in theological terms in conrinen tal Protestanrism (the spiritual Israel with the grace of the Gospel has replaced the Israel of the flesh with the Law of Moses)

This last supersessionism may look more elegan t and more sophisticated than the former one but it carries the sarne porenrial damage If I am the true Israel and you are not you do not deserve to live as Israel This is why supersessionshyism has been diagnosed as a spiritual Holocaust preparing for the physical one Franklin Littell notes the cornerstone of Christian antisemitism the superseding and displacement myth rings with a genocidal norelO

14 SHABBAT SHAlOM

Supersessionist ideas were and still are taught by Adventists who inherited them among other grains of dust from rhe tradirional church (Catholic and Protestant) Yet considering Adventisms late arrival on rhe scene of religions and its special connection with the Jews supershysessionism is inconsistent with Adventist theology

Indeed Adventists canshynot claim as can rhe Carholic Church that they had replaced rhe historical Israel of the Old

asrical supersessionism Advenrist supersessionism emphasized the idea of a spirirual remnanr as rhe spirirual Israel-rhe Israel of God-which replaced rhe physishycal Israel These Advenrisrs onen idenrifY rhemselves as rhe chosen remnanr and rhe claim is someshyrimes heard wirh some nationalisshytic overtones

Also along rhe lines of rheoshylogical supersessionism some Advenrisrs mainrain rhar rhey undersrand and Iive rhe Sabbarh and rhe Torah in a superior and more spirirual way rhan rhe Jews who are legalisric ln conrrasr to rhe Jewish Sabbarh the Adventist Sabbath is called a Sabbath touched by the Gospel11 or in comparison

to the Jewish Sabbath ofJoe Lieberman the Sabbath of Joe Advenrisr12 Nore in the conrext

of this journal rhe moving testimoshyny of May-Ellen Colon who grateshyfully acknowledges her existential and theological debt to the Jewish Sabbath and the recommendation by John Graz We stiJl have many lessons to learn from rhem 13

Ir is significanr however that

Tbis lnsistence 111 marki~ tbe agraveifference between tbeJewisb Sabbatb ano tbe

Aoventist Sabbatb is somewbat susrect

Testament (ecclesiastical supershysessionism) because they carne much later after the separation Nor can they argue that the Jewish Sabbath or the Torah had been replaced by another Christian sabbath or by grace (theological supersessionism) for they had embraced together in tension the theology of the Sabbath and the Law with the theology of grace

Yet along the lines of ecclesishy

these presenrations of the soshycaJled Advenrist Sabbath are nor in contradiction with a Jewish understanding of the Sabbath Ir is also ironical that in order to set up the specific Advenrist characrer of the Sabbath many of these Advenrist authors have ofren resorted to and extensively referred to Jewish authorities such as Abraham Heschel J4 This insisshytence in marking the difference

evant for the Advenrist reflecshy

tion on the sanctuary and is

worrh noting in this reflection

ln the Bible as well as in Jewish tradition the building of the

sancruary has been related to

the cosmic Creation (Ps 7869) and the function of these corshy

respondences is to underscore

the depiction of the sanctuary as a world6 ln that perspecshy

tive the Da) of Atonemenr that

prescribes the cleansing of the

sanctuar) is supposed to prefigshyure the cleansing the re-creation

or the world calling once again

for the need of a re-creation as the onl) valuable redempshy

tive response or solution to our human condition

The sarne connection is also

suggested in the rabbinic legislashyrion of the Sabbath that relates

typologically the 39 works that are not allowed on Sabbath to

the 39 works of the building or the Sanctuary7 Each Sabbath

the Orrhodox Jew is thus supshyposed to remember the relationshy

ship between the Sancruary and

the Sabbath a theologicallesson not insignificanr in Advenrist theology ~

As we can see the Adventist

identiry orfers a great number of interesting parallels with the

Jewish idenrity I have given just

a few of the most importanr

ones Though not all Advenrists are familiar with the profound

significance of these connecshytions even on a superficial

level the connections are clear

enough to make any Advenrist

aware of the special theological and religious relations with the

Jews

The Adventist Response To that particular conncction

Because of their keeping of tbe sabbath seventh-ocirca~ Aoventists have often beel1 anocirc sti[[ are ioentifieocirc as ]elvs ano as such bave sometimes

been tbe object of suspiciol1 ano barocircsbips with Judaism Advenrists have

responded in a variery of ways

ranging Erom the most positive

to the most negative and often in an ambivalenr manner

1 The Positive Response Ir is quite understandable that

the adoption of the Sabbath and other distinctive fearures

of Judaism has encouraged

among many Adventists great

sympathy toward the Jews How often I have heard Sevenrh-day

Advenrists expressing positive

feelings at observing the Jews

going to the synagogue on Sabbath morning while they

are themselves heading for

church Because of their keepshying of the Sabbath Sevenrh-day

Advenrists have often been and

still are idenriried as Jews and as such have sometimes been the

object of suspicion and hardshyships (as is the case of Sevenrhshy

da) Advenrists in some African and Arabic countries) Similar

dieta) choices have even assoshy

ciated Jews and Advenrists in

the market place as Advenrists

have often been caught standshy

ing next to the Jews at the Kosher counrer The Adventist

curiosit) for Jewish interpretashy

tions and religious experiences

is well attested not only among

la) members but also among Advenrist theologians (see for

instance the importance of the reference to Abraham Heschel

in the Adventist reflecrion on

the Sabbath) These common

sufferings and similariries of experience and of beliefs have

narurall) incited ver) posishytive sentiments on the part of

Adventists toward the Jews

Jewish-Advenrist congregation celebrating Succot in Jerusalem Israel

SHABBAT SHALOM 13

I

-

Jewish-Adventist congregation in Sr Perersburg Florida

2 Supersessionism Supersessionism (from the

Latin supersede meaning sit shyting at the place of) is an old Christian ideology9 that was first advocated in ecclesiastical terms in the fourth-century Catholic Church (the church as the city

of God the new Israel has replaced the synagogue the old Israel) and in theological terms in conrinen tal Protestanrism (the spiritual Israel with the grace of the Gospel has replaced the Israel of the flesh with the Law of Moses)

This last supersessionism may look more elegan t and more sophisticated than the former one but it carries the sarne porenrial damage If I am the true Israel and you are not you do not deserve to live as Israel This is why supersessionshyism has been diagnosed as a spiritual Holocaust preparing for the physical one Franklin Littell notes the cornerstone of Christian antisemitism the superseding and displacement myth rings with a genocidal norelO

14 SHABBAT SHAlOM

Supersessionist ideas were and still are taught by Adventists who inherited them among other grains of dust from rhe tradirional church (Catholic and Protestant) Yet considering Adventisms late arrival on rhe scene of religions and its special connection with the Jews supershysessionism is inconsistent with Adventist theology

Indeed Adventists canshynot claim as can rhe Carholic Church that they had replaced rhe historical Israel of the Old

asrical supersessionism Advenrist supersessionism emphasized the idea of a spirirual remnanr as rhe spirirual Israel-rhe Israel of God-which replaced rhe physishycal Israel These Advenrisrs onen idenrifY rhemselves as rhe chosen remnanr and rhe claim is someshyrimes heard wirh some nationalisshytic overtones

Also along rhe lines of rheoshylogical supersessionism some Advenrisrs mainrain rhar rhey undersrand and Iive rhe Sabbarh and rhe Torah in a superior and more spirirual way rhan rhe Jews who are legalisric ln conrrasr to rhe Jewish Sabbarh the Adventist Sabbath is called a Sabbath touched by the Gospel11 or in comparison

to the Jewish Sabbath ofJoe Lieberman the Sabbath of Joe Advenrisr12 Nore in the conrext

of this journal rhe moving testimoshyny of May-Ellen Colon who grateshyfully acknowledges her existential and theological debt to the Jewish Sabbath and the recommendation by John Graz We stiJl have many lessons to learn from rhem 13

Ir is significanr however that

Tbis lnsistence 111 marki~ tbe agraveifference between tbeJewisb Sabbatb ano tbe

Aoventist Sabbatb is somewbat susrect

Testament (ecclesiastical supershysessionism) because they carne much later after the separation Nor can they argue that the Jewish Sabbath or the Torah had been replaced by another Christian sabbath or by grace (theological supersessionism) for they had embraced together in tension the theology of the Sabbath and the Law with the theology of grace

Yet along the lines of ecclesishy

these presenrations of the soshycaJled Advenrist Sabbath are nor in contradiction with a Jewish understanding of the Sabbath Ir is also ironical that in order to set up the specific Advenrist characrer of the Sabbath many of these Advenrist authors have ofren resorted to and extensively referred to Jewish authorities such as Abraham Heschel J4 This insisshytence in marking the difference

I

-

Jewish-Adventist congregation in Sr Perersburg Florida

2 Supersessionism Supersessionism (from the

Latin supersede meaning sit shyting at the place of) is an old Christian ideology9 that was first advocated in ecclesiastical terms in the fourth-century Catholic Church (the church as the city

of God the new Israel has replaced the synagogue the old Israel) and in theological terms in conrinen tal Protestanrism (the spiritual Israel with the grace of the Gospel has replaced the Israel of the flesh with the Law of Moses)

This last supersessionism may look more elegan t and more sophisticated than the former one but it carries the sarne porenrial damage If I am the true Israel and you are not you do not deserve to live as Israel This is why supersessionshyism has been diagnosed as a spiritual Holocaust preparing for the physical one Franklin Littell notes the cornerstone of Christian antisemitism the superseding and displacement myth rings with a genocidal norelO

14 SHABBAT SHAlOM

Supersessionist ideas were and still are taught by Adventists who inherited them among other grains of dust from rhe tradirional church (Catholic and Protestant) Yet considering Adventisms late arrival on rhe scene of religions and its special connection with the Jews supershysessionism is inconsistent with Adventist theology

Indeed Adventists canshynot claim as can rhe Carholic Church that they had replaced rhe historical Israel of the Old

asrical supersessionism Advenrist supersessionism emphasized the idea of a spirirual remnanr as rhe spirirual Israel-rhe Israel of God-which replaced rhe physishycal Israel These Advenrisrs onen idenrifY rhemselves as rhe chosen remnanr and rhe claim is someshyrimes heard wirh some nationalisshytic overtones

Also along rhe lines of rheoshylogical supersessionism some Advenrisrs mainrain rhar rhey undersrand and Iive rhe Sabbarh and rhe Torah in a superior and more spirirual way rhan rhe Jews who are legalisric ln conrrasr to rhe Jewish Sabbarh the Adventist Sabbath is called a Sabbath touched by the Gospel11 or in comparison

to the Jewish Sabbath ofJoe Lieberman the Sabbath of Joe Advenrisr12 Nore in the conrext

of this journal rhe moving testimoshyny of May-Ellen Colon who grateshyfully acknowledges her existential and theological debt to the Jewish Sabbath and the recommendation by John Graz We stiJl have many lessons to learn from rhem 13

Ir is significanr however that

Tbis lnsistence 111 marki~ tbe agraveifference between tbeJewisb Sabbatb ano tbe

Aoventist Sabbatb is somewbat susrect

Testament (ecclesiastical supershysessionism) because they carne much later after the separation Nor can they argue that the Jewish Sabbath or the Torah had been replaced by another Christian sabbath or by grace (theological supersessionism) for they had embraced together in tension the theology of the Sabbath and the Law with the theology of grace

Yet along the lines of ecclesishy

these presenrations of the soshycaJled Advenrist Sabbath are nor in contradiction with a Jewish understanding of the Sabbath Ir is also ironical that in order to set up the specific Advenrist characrer of the Sabbath many of these Advenrist authors have ofren resorted to and extensively referred to Jewish authorities such as Abraham Heschel J4 This insisshytence in marking the difference

between the Jewish Sabbath and the Adventist Sabbam is therefore somewhat suspect ln the light of history it is reminiscent of the old Christian anti-Semitic fear as well as the very motivation that preshycipitated the firsr apostasy of the Church

3 The Rejection The Christian idea of the

rejection of the Jews although not supported by the Scriptures (see Rom 11 1) is a corollary to the idea of supersessionism Both ideas belong together Supersessionism implies rejecshyrion But it is still possible to

hold the idea of rejection withshyout having to resort to the idea of supersessionism Ir is enough to say that Israel has been rejectshyed and thus lost her status as a chosen people or a witness On that premise the Jewish herishytage of Christianiry and here of Adventism will be denied and more palatable alternatives will be proposed

A perfect illustration of this reaction can be found preshycisely in relation to the Sabbath Adventists who refuse to assume the Jewish connection of the Sabbath have suggested instead a number of options the Sabbath has come to them not Erom the Jews but Erom a spiritual remshynant which survived throughshyout the ages Adventists who consider themselves as the heirs of this remnant do not owe the Sabbath to the rejected Jews but rather to these faithful Christians Unfortunately this remnant is essentially an abstract

Jewish-Adventist congregation in New York City

idea and does not carry serious historical weight also this thesis ignores the historical fact that these Christians who adopted the seventh-day Sabbath often did so under a significant Jewish influence Yet only the Jews as a historic and visible group have formerly witnessed to the Sabbath Others prefer to find the Sabbath in their own culshyture (the African connection) Here also rhe connection is not established and even if it were

the cases are rare and do not attest to a historical testimony of the Sabbath ln fact the only serious African evidence of the biblical Sabbath is found in Ethiopian tradition rhat has itself originated in the Jewish soil

Others finally will respond that the Sabbath is neither Jewish African nor Adventist it comes from God This argushyment sounds highly spiritual and undisputable (who would want to compete with God) And yet

Tbe suggestiol1 tbat we ao l10t neeocirc tbe bumal1 otber to bave access to tbe ocirclVll1e reve[atiol1 refects a

pbi[osopbica[Greek t~pe of tbi-nking

this apparently humble and 9 shytual argument hides pride and shya subtle manner may disguise ampotilde anti-Semitic repulsion to the ide~ that rhey could have something to do with the Jews Some have gone so far in that line of reaSOI1shying that they have claimed that the Jewish Sabbath beginning on Friday night was not in fact the true Sabbath revealed by God but was rather a Jewish distortiol1 of the divine one which is supshyposed to start on Saturday mornshy

ing (note that the pre-Nazi theoshylogical discussion on the nature of Jesus who could not be a Jew since he was God or of an Aryan origin is of the sarne vein) To be sure the Sabbath comes Erom God Ir was initiated and created by God But how can we know so Only through rhe testimony of a human witness

The suggestion that we do not need me human orher to have access to the divine revelation reflects a philosophicalGreek type of thinking lt overlooks the biblical Hebrew principie of incarnation that requires human testimony for the quest of the divine truth God needs man lt ignores not only the evidence

SHABBAT SHALOM 15

oE salvation history but also the unambiguous statement by Paul that to the Israeli tes pertain the adoption the glory the

covenants the giving oE the law

theology aner Auschwitz AIso for the first time we have a Jew as president oE the Israel Field and at the head of the World Jewish Friendship Committee But above ali Eor the first time

ln tbe beginl1il1f of tbe c bristial1 era tbe c burcb separateocirc itsel from its Jewisb roots il1 orocircer to gail1 tbe worlocirc Coulocirc it be tbat at tbe el1ocirc of its course tbe cburcb will gail1 tbe wor[otilde b~ comil1g back (tesYuva) to tbe Jewisb face of its iocircel1tit~

[induding the SabbathJ the sershyvice oE God and the promises (Rom 94)

Conc1usion Challenges and Hopes

For years I have been able to

observe and endure disturbing reactions on the part oE some

Adventists to the Jewish presshyence among them To quote just a Eew the reluctance to involve

Jews in the minisuy oE Jewish evangelism or in the theological discussion abolir Israel the diEshy

ficulry in recognizing and conshyEronting anti-Semitic incidents (often dismissed as sensitiviry or victimization) the omission oE any reEerence to anti-Semitism in the discussion oE racism or

the virtual absence oE theological reflection on the Holocaust

Paradoxically however in the

last Eew years things have dramatshyical1y changed in rhese matters More and more Adventist Jews affirm their Jewish identity and are heartily welcomed as such We have now Eor the first time an Institute ofJewish-Christian Studies at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary (Andrews Universiry) We also have held Eor the first time a Holocaust Symposium with a special section on Adventist

16 SHABBAT SHALOM

in Adventist history Hebrew Adventist worship services have emerged ali over the world not only allowing Adventist Jews

to worship according to their clllture and sensitiviry but also enriching the worship experishy

ence and the spiri tllaliry of the Adventist communiry and even the Jewish and Christian comshy

munities at large AII of these could not have been imagined even a Eew years ago lndeed the

Jewish-Adventist connection is growing stronger

I sometimes wonder whether this movement is not in fact Eulfilling the words oE the last

Hebrew prophet Malachi who saw another coming of Elijah which would tum the heans oE the Eathers to the children

and the hearts oE the children to their Eathers (Mal 46) The

reEreshing oE the Jewish comshyponent oE the Adventist Eaith may well enrich and deepen this Eaith drawing Adventists doseI

to Jews Ir may also in these times when so many Christians are interested in renewing their Jewish roots bring Adventists doser to the larger Christian communiry and the worJd as well

ln the beginning oE the Christian era the Church sepashy

rated itselE Erom its Jewish roots in order to gain the world Could it be that at the end oE its course the Church wiU gain the world by coming back (tesshy

huva) to the Jewish Eace oE ics identiry

I Tertullian Against Marcion 4127 2 Canon 29 of rhe Council of Laodicea 3 See on rhar marrer rhe work by sociolshy

ogisr Rod ney Srlrk The Rise ofChristianity A Sociowgist Reconsiders History (Princeron NJ Princeron University Press 1996)

4 Jules Isaac Cenecircse de IAntiseacuternitisme essai histolique (Paris Calmann-Leacutevy 1956) 147

5 Manin R Wilson Our Father Abraham Jewish Roots ofthe Gristian Faith (G rand Rapids MI W B Eerdmans 1989)80

6 J011 D Lcvcnson Creation and the Persistence ofEvil The Jewish Drama of Divine Omnipotence (Princeron NJ Princeron Universiry Press 1994) 86

7 Shabbat VII2 H See Uriah Smirh The Sancwary and

rhe Sabbath are Inseparably Connected (The Advent Review 25 July 1854 196) cf Raymond F ComeU The Sabbarh in rhe New World in The Sabbath in Scripture and History ed Kennerh A Strand (Wash ingron DC Review and Herald Publishing Assoc 1982)257-259

9 For a summJry of rhe history of rhis doctrin e see John Pawl ikowski Jesus and the Theology oflsrael (Wilmingron DE Michael Glazier 1989) 10-11

10 FranlJin H LirreH The Crucifixion ofthe Jews (Macon GA Mercer Universiry Press J986) 2 Sce also p 1 where Lirrell speaks of rhe red rhread rhar ries a Jl1srin Marryr or a Chrysosrom to Auschwitz and Treblinka and p 30 where he describes the final solution as a Iogical extension of Christian theology of supersessionism

II Fritz Guy Thinking Theologically Adventist Christianity and the lnterpretation ofFaith (Berrien Springs MI Andrews Universiry Press 1999) 237

12 E Edward Zinke Is There One Sabbath for Joe Lieberman and Another for Joe Adventisr Perspective Digest 5 no 4 (2000) 19 ff

13 John Graz SriH Lessons ro Learn Perspective Digest 5 no 4 (2000) 17

14 Guy 239 Zinke 20

Biblical Lesson

Juocircaism anocirc Aocircventism Simi[arities ano Differences

he objective descripshytion of similarities and

differences appearing here will provi de a clear and immediate overview of rhe nature of the )ewish-Adventisr connecrion and will draw lessons not only for a betrer understanding of each other but a1so of a bershyter understanding of ones own reigious identity whether )ewish or Adventist Ir will also implicshyitly suggest places where )ews and Adventists can in faCt learn from each orher and beyond the human encounrer discover a hidshyden face of the Lord

Similarities 1 Sarne Day of Sabbath

keeping from sundown on Friday

to sundown on Saturday includshying the admonition to rest from work and engage in religious and worshipful activities

2 Same emphasis on Creation with what it implies of valorishyzation of matter nature and the flesh versus the traditional Christian comtemptus mundiacute

which despises Creation and the flesh

3 Sarne accent on the Wholeness of Human Nature and the rejection of Christian (Plaronistic) dualismo 1mportance of enjoyment of ife a sex ife and food for instance are not evil but beautiful gifts from God Taking care of the human body is therefore a religious duty

4 Sarne Holy Scriptures

Adventism embraces the sarne Hebrew Scriptures (Tanach)

which are highly regarded and nor replaced by any other Holy Scripture or given a lower starus of inspiration

5 Same attenrion to the Torah Adventism does nor claim that the law of Moses (Torah) has been replaced by New Testament grace Gods requirements at Sinai are still norma tive to them

6 Same respect of the Levitical Dietary Laws (no pork etc)

7 Same ideal of Righteousness The importance of ethics i n the daily ife (sancrifishycation) as they are illuminared in the pages of the Bible

8 Sarne belief in the Day of

SHABBAT SHALOM 17

Judgment at the end of human history when every person wil be evaluated and forgiven on the basis of hisher response and life

9 Sarne hope in the Redemption of humankind at the time of the end with the raising of the dead and the establishment of the Kingdom of God as historishycal and real events rather than just an abstract spiritual experience

10 Sarne hope in the comshying of the Messiah the son of David as predicted in the Hebrew Scriptures and Jewish tradition who will come at the time of the end to redeem the world

Differences 1 Different Practices of

Sabbath in Adventism Sabbath is full of missionary acrivity The average Adventist is more concerned with Sabbath as the right seventh day (in polemic with other Christians) than in the sacred content of that day (its meaning and rest) The avershyage Adventist has not understood the celebrating character of the Sabbath Adventists sometimes fast on Sabbath

2 Different ideas of the Aftedife Jews believe in the immortality of the soul (Platonistic influence as recogshynized by the Jewish Encyclopedia) which suggests rhat rhe soul will go to paradise or hell Some Jews (more on the popular levei and in mystic currents) even believe in the idea of reincarnation (transshymigration) Adventists hold the biblical view of the unconscious state of the dead in the dust of the earth wairing for the Day of Resurrection

3 Different Components of Torah Adventists are concerned with the biblicallaws and more specifically with the written Torah

18 SHABBAT SHALOM

given on Mount Sinai (especially the Ten Commandments) whereshyas the Jews also submit themselves to the so-caled oral 613 laws (Torah be ai pe)

4 Different Way of Kosher Jews do not mix dairy products and meat (which implies a differshyent set of vessel) do not eat the hip socket of an animal (cf Gen 32) and do not eat meat with its blood (Gen 9 4) which requires a special way of slaughtering the animais Adventists promote vegshyetarianism

5 Different Traditional Scriptures Jews have only the Hebrew Scriptures or Tanach as propheticlinspired Writings yet they also read traditional texts (Mishnah Talmud Midrash and rabbinic commentaries) as a guide to rheir understanding of the Torah (written and oral) Adventists include in their canon the so-called New Testament (Apostolic Writings) T hey also revere the writings of Ellen G White who is heard as a prophetshyic voice-not one which replaces the light of rhe Holy Scriprures but rather emphasizes the value of those Scriptures and provides guidance for living according to those direcrions

6 Different Feast Days and Liturgy Jews celebrate numerous festivais following the instructions of the Bible (Pessah Shavuoth Rosh Ha-shanah Kippur Sukkot etc) and of Jewish tradition (Purim Hanukkah etc) The Jewish life cycle is marked by twO important ceremonies 1) the circumcision (Brith milah) rhat signifies in the human flesh the covenant between God and Israel and 2) the Bar mitzvah for thirshyreen-year-old males thar signifies the commitment of the adulr man to devote himself to the obedishy

ence of Gods commandments The Adventist life cycle is marked by the baptism (immersion in water) a significant act reminisshycent of rhe Jewish miqveh (cershyemonial for converts) that recalls the event of C reation and signifies the commirment to beco me a new crearure and live a new ife with God Jews follow the Iiturgy transmitted through the ages and pray in Hebrew traditional prayers Adventists keep only the seventh-day Sabbath and celebrare the Lords Supper reminiscent of the Jewish fe as t of Passover signishyfying the memory of the sacrifice of the Messiah until He comes Adventist liturgy folows the patshyterns of Protestant churches with personal and spontaneous prayers

7 Different Culture and History Jews identify themselves with Jewish history the suffering of anti-Semitism the Holocausr and the State of Israel Jews hold a high view of learning They are the people of the book Adventists are generally indifferent to that history and that suffering and also to the state of Israel somerimes being anti-Semitic Adventists situated in the evangelical Cllfshy

rent do not hold a high view of learning and may even sanctify ~

ignorance as a spiritual quality their priority is in mission (soul gaining)

8 Different Messianic Applications Adventists believe in Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah predicted by rhe Hebrew Scriptures-the exact time of His coming His suffering and death His life of miracles His resurrecshytion and His return at the time of the end to respond to the hope of His people from ali the nations of the world Jews believe in only one coming of rhe Messiah at the time of the end associated with

rhe esrablishment of peace and happiness under rhe torai rule of God For Jews Jesus cannor be rhe Jewish Messiah since He has rradirionally been associared wirh rhe Christian oppression and rhe Chrisrian contempr of rhe Torah ofMoses

r 9 Different Time of

]udgment Adventisrs believe according to rhe indicarions of biblical prophecy (Dan 7) rhat

l the day of Jlldgment is cosmic and appears during the lasr moment of human history in the form of a heavenly Kippur (srartshying in 1844) Jews believe in judgshyment ar death an idea thar is in discrepancy with their other belief of final judgment and resurrecshyrion Alrhough rhe date of 1844 has also struck a segment of the

Jewish community (Lubavitch) as a possible messianic moment ir is nor central in Judaism Adventists rherefore focus on the rime of the end (eschatological emphasis) their mission is to reach our to ali the nations of the earth (unishyversal outlook) and proclaim thar rhe Judgment has come-urging humans to worship rhe Creator (Rev 147) Jews on rhe other hand focus on rhis life (exisrential and erhical emphasis) rheir misshysion is to survive as a witnessing people (particular outlook) and to live as an obedient people who hear God (shema Israel Deur 64)

10 Different understandshying of the Mechanism of Redemption Adventisrs believe that Redemption comes rhrough

the sacrifice of God who O bullbullc = ~ Himself rhrough rhe Messia (Isa 53) in order to redeem humankind Jews believe thar lheshyachieve redemption for rhemselves rhrough the act of mitzvoth and prayers Adventists like orher Chrisrians tend to view rheir relishygion as a set of rheological beliefs on which rhey will base rheir actions (see for insrance Seventhshyday Adventists Believe A BibLical

Exposition of27 Fundamental Doctrines) Jews undersrand their religion as a ser of deeds from which rhey derive rheir rheologishycal beliefs (see for instance the principie of Exod 247-naasseh wanishma We shall do then we shall undersrand)

SHABBAT SHALOM 19

Why a Hebrew-Adventist Congregation

ln these times of religious and identity crises it is important to rethink and reshape our worship services to make them more relevant more meaningful but also more in touch with our Hebrew roots For Seventhshyday Adventists this reflection and experience is all the more justified as they share so much in common with the Jews the same Shabbat the same affirmation of Creation and joy of life the same reverence for the truth of the Torah the same ideal of righteousness and justice and the same hope for a better world

The purpose of the Hebrew-Adventist service then is threefold

1 To offer a special worship experience that combines the joyfulness and reverence and the sense of community of the Hebrew tradition with our distinctive Adventist identity

2 To help Christians in general and Seventh-day Adventists in particular recover their Hebrew roots and enrich their emotional intellectual and physical adoration

3 To create a spiritual and liturgical environment where Jews as well as Christians both wearing kippah and tallith can worship the same God of Israel-the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob who also was the God of Peter John and Paul-thereby relieving and transcending the Jewish-Christian tension

ln contrast to our modern society that tends to be a gut-Ievel society emphasizing emotions and free (sometimes even wild) spontaneity classical Judaism has followed a structure that saved order and hannony As Jewish history testifies however Jewish liturgy has within traditional fixed forms left room for spontaneity and creativity ln fact the whole Bible has preserved this vision there is not only the requirement of structure and the remembrance of the past but aIso the need to be relevant and the artistic urge to sing a new song The Holy Scriptures are full of old and new songs traditional and corporate hymns and recitations and emotional and insightful new meditations The root and the flower the memory and the mood have cohabited together nurturing each other and thus maintaining the rhythm of life It is in this breath in the path of this inspiration that we wish to place our 1iturgical steps

The content and liturgical structure of the Hebrew-Adventist service has been shaped with the same tension Basically it is patterned after traditional Jewish worship services (Ashkenazic Sephardic) Additional prayers and songs from other sources (Reformed Jewish Messianic ChristianAdventist new songs and liturgical moods) have been included Yet the new has been imp1emented insofar as it respects and conveys the spiritual meaning and lessons taught in the rhythm and flow of the Jewish liturgy for the Sabbath service

A word of warning is in order This formula and worship experience is not intended to function as the ideal and only worship mode It should

20 SHABI3AT SHALOM

bull bullbull bull

L

- I

be understood and used with flexibility as a modest illustration to inspire and enrich the worship experience of any Adventist (Messianic or traditional) and even other Christian communities at large For those who are happy with the status quo and do not wish to change their worship service they may wish to try the following

The once-in-a-while experience Once a quarter or at least once a year give your community the flavor of this service This change will bring fresh air into your community and will allow you to invite new guests (Jews Jewish Christians or even other Christians)

The pick and choose experience Select a new song or a new liturgical line or paragraph and introduce them into your present service

For those who have already ventured into the new worship experience of the Hebrew-Adventist worship we suggest either take one of the composed liturgies andor combine it with your own You may also of com-se extend yourselves with the pick-and-choose experience

Whatever choice you may make we hope this experience will not only promote reconciliation between Israel and the Church but also refresh our relationship with the God of Creation and Recreation the God of the past the God of remembrance but also the God of the future the God of hope indeed the God of the root and the flower

THEROOT AND THE FLOWER

A reComme110eo reaoil1g JIi for Hebrew-Aovel1tist

middot~tl T-~-- ~ _~ COl1gregatiol1s-- ~ ti- -Jti shy shySIDOUR T1ST

FOR HEBREW-ADVEN CONGREGATIONS

SHABBAT SHALOM 21

--

ERKlARUN G OtR SlfJI[HTENmiddotTACcedilSAOVENTISlE14 DEUTSCHLAO ImO OSrtRRIICH

ZUM tio 4HAUTAO OU BCEHOICONG OES zwmE~ wntxRIEiatildeS 10M a119-45

IOtIWORT

ln dinel Tn jihtt sich rum 60 Mal das fnde dts~(1I Weftktitss Was damaIs ~ hIben ~ VItrr ond MOImiddot I~ elkbt uM erfrnen ftlfe EffMllltl~ und Eriont11Jnslll sind tin TriI unseter Ce5chicttte ~nlhre lute uneS Dok1Jmeoshyte lagtom rHd1tUI in UIIWrtlllvdtiven sk sine TriI U~Wrssens und Uf5efeS Gedlkhtnl~ses gewonkl Im~ dei Vtr6ntOltunl fW ulUtf Oennn uod ~ndeln ruer une hevte sowiI im BIioacute 4Uf die letgang~il uod

Iukvnft sem wit uns aufgttulM tuden ~Iacute8rnE~~ otfen und demiltigStelung tu nehmen

LMil 80C1AG(N ZUllEFST

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dam der Gehmam den ir dlaquo stanfdten Obrigkeil scfluldet rndrt lII prtisg~ OfI bib6ischen O~euguogen UM INert$lfllhrt

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oE salvation history but also the unambiguous statement by Paul that to the Israeli tes pertain the adoption the glory the

covenants the giving oE the law

theology aner Auschwitz AIso for the first time we have a Jew as president oE the Israel Field and at the head of the World Jewish Friendship Committee But above ali Eor the first time

ln tbe beginl1il1f of tbe c bristial1 era tbe c burcb separateocirc itsel from its Jewisb roots il1 orocircer to gail1 tbe worlocirc Coulocirc it be tbat at tbe el1ocirc of its course tbe cburcb will gail1 tbe wor[otilde b~ comil1g back (tesYuva) to tbe Jewisb face of its iocircel1tit~

[induding the SabbathJ the sershyvice oE God and the promises (Rom 94)

Conc1usion Challenges and Hopes

For years I have been able to

observe and endure disturbing reactions on the part oE some

Adventists to the Jewish presshyence among them To quote just a Eew the reluctance to involve

Jews in the minisuy oE Jewish evangelism or in the theological discussion abolir Israel the diEshy

ficulry in recognizing and conshyEronting anti-Semitic incidents (often dismissed as sensitiviry or victimization) the omission oE any reEerence to anti-Semitism in the discussion oE racism or

the virtual absence oE theological reflection on the Holocaust

Paradoxically however in the

last Eew years things have dramatshyical1y changed in rhese matters More and more Adventist Jews affirm their Jewish identity and are heartily welcomed as such We have now Eor the first time an Institute ofJewish-Christian Studies at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary (Andrews Universiry) We also have held Eor the first time a Holocaust Symposium with a special section on Adventist

16 SHABBAT SHALOM

in Adventist history Hebrew Adventist worship services have emerged ali over the world not only allowing Adventist Jews

to worship according to their clllture and sensitiviry but also enriching the worship experishy

ence and the spiri tllaliry of the Adventist communiry and even the Jewish and Christian comshy

munities at large AII of these could not have been imagined even a Eew years ago lndeed the

Jewish-Adventist connection is growing stronger

I sometimes wonder whether this movement is not in fact Eulfilling the words oE the last

Hebrew prophet Malachi who saw another coming of Elijah which would tum the heans oE the Eathers to the children

and the hearts oE the children to their Eathers (Mal 46) The

reEreshing oE the Jewish comshyponent oE the Adventist Eaith may well enrich and deepen this Eaith drawing Adventists doseI

to Jews Ir may also in these times when so many Christians are interested in renewing their Jewish roots bring Adventists doser to the larger Christian communiry and the worJd as well

ln the beginning oE the Christian era the Church sepashy

rated itselE Erom its Jewish roots in order to gain the world Could it be that at the end oE its course the Church wiU gain the world by coming back (tesshy

huva) to the Jewish Eace oE ics identiry

I Tertullian Against Marcion 4127 2 Canon 29 of rhe Council of Laodicea 3 See on rhar marrer rhe work by sociolshy

ogisr Rod ney Srlrk The Rise ofChristianity A Sociowgist Reconsiders History (Princeron NJ Princeron University Press 1996)

4 Jules Isaac Cenecircse de IAntiseacuternitisme essai histolique (Paris Calmann-Leacutevy 1956) 147

5 Manin R Wilson Our Father Abraham Jewish Roots ofthe Gristian Faith (G rand Rapids MI W B Eerdmans 1989)80

6 J011 D Lcvcnson Creation and the Persistence ofEvil The Jewish Drama of Divine Omnipotence (Princeron NJ Princeron Universiry Press 1994) 86

7 Shabbat VII2 H See Uriah Smirh The Sancwary and

rhe Sabbath are Inseparably Connected (The Advent Review 25 July 1854 196) cf Raymond F ComeU The Sabbarh in rhe New World in The Sabbath in Scripture and History ed Kennerh A Strand (Wash ingron DC Review and Herald Publishing Assoc 1982)257-259

9 For a summJry of rhe history of rhis doctrin e see John Pawl ikowski Jesus and the Theology oflsrael (Wilmingron DE Michael Glazier 1989) 10-11

10 FranlJin H LirreH The Crucifixion ofthe Jews (Macon GA Mercer Universiry Press J986) 2 Sce also p 1 where Lirrell speaks of rhe red rhread rhar ries a Jl1srin Marryr or a Chrysosrom to Auschwitz and Treblinka and p 30 where he describes the final solution as a Iogical extension of Christian theology of supersessionism

II Fritz Guy Thinking Theologically Adventist Christianity and the lnterpretation ofFaith (Berrien Springs MI Andrews Universiry Press 1999) 237

12 E Edward Zinke Is There One Sabbath for Joe Lieberman and Another for Joe Adventisr Perspective Digest 5 no 4 (2000) 19 ff

13 John Graz SriH Lessons ro Learn Perspective Digest 5 no 4 (2000) 17

14 Guy 239 Zinke 20

Biblical Lesson

Juocircaism anocirc Aocircventism Simi[arities ano Differences

he objective descripshytion of similarities and

differences appearing here will provi de a clear and immediate overview of rhe nature of the )ewish-Adventisr connecrion and will draw lessons not only for a betrer understanding of each other but a1so of a bershyter understanding of ones own reigious identity whether )ewish or Adventist Ir will also implicshyitly suggest places where )ews and Adventists can in faCt learn from each orher and beyond the human encounrer discover a hidshyden face of the Lord

Similarities 1 Sarne Day of Sabbath

keeping from sundown on Friday

to sundown on Saturday includshying the admonition to rest from work and engage in religious and worshipful activities

2 Same emphasis on Creation with what it implies of valorishyzation of matter nature and the flesh versus the traditional Christian comtemptus mundiacute

which despises Creation and the flesh

3 Sarne accent on the Wholeness of Human Nature and the rejection of Christian (Plaronistic) dualismo 1mportance of enjoyment of ife a sex ife and food for instance are not evil but beautiful gifts from God Taking care of the human body is therefore a religious duty

4 Sarne Holy Scriptures

Adventism embraces the sarne Hebrew Scriptures (Tanach)

which are highly regarded and nor replaced by any other Holy Scripture or given a lower starus of inspiration

5 Same attenrion to the Torah Adventism does nor claim that the law of Moses (Torah) has been replaced by New Testament grace Gods requirements at Sinai are still norma tive to them

6 Same respect of the Levitical Dietary Laws (no pork etc)

7 Same ideal of Righteousness The importance of ethics i n the daily ife (sancrifishycation) as they are illuminared in the pages of the Bible

8 Sarne belief in the Day of

SHABBAT SHALOM 17

Judgment at the end of human history when every person wil be evaluated and forgiven on the basis of hisher response and life

9 Sarne hope in the Redemption of humankind at the time of the end with the raising of the dead and the establishment of the Kingdom of God as historishycal and real events rather than just an abstract spiritual experience

10 Sarne hope in the comshying of the Messiah the son of David as predicted in the Hebrew Scriptures and Jewish tradition who will come at the time of the end to redeem the world

Differences 1 Different Practices of

Sabbath in Adventism Sabbath is full of missionary acrivity The average Adventist is more concerned with Sabbath as the right seventh day (in polemic with other Christians) than in the sacred content of that day (its meaning and rest) The avershyage Adventist has not understood the celebrating character of the Sabbath Adventists sometimes fast on Sabbath

2 Different ideas of the Aftedife Jews believe in the immortality of the soul (Platonistic influence as recogshynized by the Jewish Encyclopedia) which suggests rhat rhe soul will go to paradise or hell Some Jews (more on the popular levei and in mystic currents) even believe in the idea of reincarnation (transshymigration) Adventists hold the biblical view of the unconscious state of the dead in the dust of the earth wairing for the Day of Resurrection

3 Different Components of Torah Adventists are concerned with the biblicallaws and more specifically with the written Torah

18 SHABBAT SHALOM

given on Mount Sinai (especially the Ten Commandments) whereshyas the Jews also submit themselves to the so-caled oral 613 laws (Torah be ai pe)

4 Different Way of Kosher Jews do not mix dairy products and meat (which implies a differshyent set of vessel) do not eat the hip socket of an animal (cf Gen 32) and do not eat meat with its blood (Gen 9 4) which requires a special way of slaughtering the animais Adventists promote vegshyetarianism

5 Different Traditional Scriptures Jews have only the Hebrew Scriptures or Tanach as propheticlinspired Writings yet they also read traditional texts (Mishnah Talmud Midrash and rabbinic commentaries) as a guide to rheir understanding of the Torah (written and oral) Adventists include in their canon the so-called New Testament (Apostolic Writings) T hey also revere the writings of Ellen G White who is heard as a prophetshyic voice-not one which replaces the light of rhe Holy Scriprures but rather emphasizes the value of those Scriptures and provides guidance for living according to those direcrions

6 Different Feast Days and Liturgy Jews celebrate numerous festivais following the instructions of the Bible (Pessah Shavuoth Rosh Ha-shanah Kippur Sukkot etc) and of Jewish tradition (Purim Hanukkah etc) The Jewish life cycle is marked by twO important ceremonies 1) the circumcision (Brith milah) rhat signifies in the human flesh the covenant between God and Israel and 2) the Bar mitzvah for thirshyreen-year-old males thar signifies the commitment of the adulr man to devote himself to the obedishy

ence of Gods commandments The Adventist life cycle is marked by the baptism (immersion in water) a significant act reminisshycent of rhe Jewish miqveh (cershyemonial for converts) that recalls the event of C reation and signifies the commirment to beco me a new crearure and live a new ife with God Jews follow the Iiturgy transmitted through the ages and pray in Hebrew traditional prayers Adventists keep only the seventh-day Sabbath and celebrare the Lords Supper reminiscent of the Jewish fe as t of Passover signishyfying the memory of the sacrifice of the Messiah until He comes Adventist liturgy folows the patshyterns of Protestant churches with personal and spontaneous prayers

7 Different Culture and History Jews identify themselves with Jewish history the suffering of anti-Semitism the Holocausr and the State of Israel Jews hold a high view of learning They are the people of the book Adventists are generally indifferent to that history and that suffering and also to the state of Israel somerimes being anti-Semitic Adventists situated in the evangelical Cllfshy

rent do not hold a high view of learning and may even sanctify ~

ignorance as a spiritual quality their priority is in mission (soul gaining)

8 Different Messianic Applications Adventists believe in Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah predicted by rhe Hebrew Scriptures-the exact time of His coming His suffering and death His life of miracles His resurrecshytion and His return at the time of the end to respond to the hope of His people from ali the nations of the world Jews believe in only one coming of rhe Messiah at the time of the end associated with

rhe esrablishment of peace and happiness under rhe torai rule of God For Jews Jesus cannor be rhe Jewish Messiah since He has rradirionally been associared wirh rhe Christian oppression and rhe Chrisrian contempr of rhe Torah ofMoses

r 9 Different Time of

]udgment Adventisrs believe according to rhe indicarions of biblical prophecy (Dan 7) rhat

l the day of Jlldgment is cosmic and appears during the lasr moment of human history in the form of a heavenly Kippur (srartshying in 1844) Jews believe in judgshyment ar death an idea thar is in discrepancy with their other belief of final judgment and resurrecshyrion Alrhough rhe date of 1844 has also struck a segment of the

Jewish community (Lubavitch) as a possible messianic moment ir is nor central in Judaism Adventists rherefore focus on the rime of the end (eschatological emphasis) their mission is to reach our to ali the nations of the earth (unishyversal outlook) and proclaim thar rhe Judgment has come-urging humans to worship rhe Creator (Rev 147) Jews on rhe other hand focus on rhis life (exisrential and erhical emphasis) rheir misshysion is to survive as a witnessing people (particular outlook) and to live as an obedient people who hear God (shema Israel Deur 64)

10 Different understandshying of the Mechanism of Redemption Adventisrs believe that Redemption comes rhrough

the sacrifice of God who O bullbullc = ~ Himself rhrough rhe Messia (Isa 53) in order to redeem humankind Jews believe thar lheshyachieve redemption for rhemselves rhrough the act of mitzvoth and prayers Adventists like orher Chrisrians tend to view rheir relishygion as a set of rheological beliefs on which rhey will base rheir actions (see for insrance Seventhshyday Adventists Believe A BibLical

Exposition of27 Fundamental Doctrines) Jews undersrand their religion as a ser of deeds from which rhey derive rheir rheologishycal beliefs (see for instance the principie of Exod 247-naasseh wanishma We shall do then we shall undersrand)

SHABBAT SHALOM 19

Why a Hebrew-Adventist Congregation

ln these times of religious and identity crises it is important to rethink and reshape our worship services to make them more relevant more meaningful but also more in touch with our Hebrew roots For Seventhshyday Adventists this reflection and experience is all the more justified as they share so much in common with the Jews the same Shabbat the same affirmation of Creation and joy of life the same reverence for the truth of the Torah the same ideal of righteousness and justice and the same hope for a better world

The purpose of the Hebrew-Adventist service then is threefold

1 To offer a special worship experience that combines the joyfulness and reverence and the sense of community of the Hebrew tradition with our distinctive Adventist identity

2 To help Christians in general and Seventh-day Adventists in particular recover their Hebrew roots and enrich their emotional intellectual and physical adoration

3 To create a spiritual and liturgical environment where Jews as well as Christians both wearing kippah and tallith can worship the same God of Israel-the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob who also was the God of Peter John and Paul-thereby relieving and transcending the Jewish-Christian tension

ln contrast to our modern society that tends to be a gut-Ievel society emphasizing emotions and free (sometimes even wild) spontaneity classical Judaism has followed a structure that saved order and hannony As Jewish history testifies however Jewish liturgy has within traditional fixed forms left room for spontaneity and creativity ln fact the whole Bible has preserved this vision there is not only the requirement of structure and the remembrance of the past but aIso the need to be relevant and the artistic urge to sing a new song The Holy Scriptures are full of old and new songs traditional and corporate hymns and recitations and emotional and insightful new meditations The root and the flower the memory and the mood have cohabited together nurturing each other and thus maintaining the rhythm of life It is in this breath in the path of this inspiration that we wish to place our 1iturgical steps

The content and liturgical structure of the Hebrew-Adventist service has been shaped with the same tension Basically it is patterned after traditional Jewish worship services (Ashkenazic Sephardic) Additional prayers and songs from other sources (Reformed Jewish Messianic ChristianAdventist new songs and liturgical moods) have been included Yet the new has been imp1emented insofar as it respects and conveys the spiritual meaning and lessons taught in the rhythm and flow of the Jewish liturgy for the Sabbath service

A word of warning is in order This formula and worship experience is not intended to function as the ideal and only worship mode It should

20 SHABI3AT SHALOM

bull bullbull bull

L

- I

be understood and used with flexibility as a modest illustration to inspire and enrich the worship experience of any Adventist (Messianic or traditional) and even other Christian communities at large For those who are happy with the status quo and do not wish to change their worship service they may wish to try the following

The once-in-a-while experience Once a quarter or at least once a year give your community the flavor of this service This change will bring fresh air into your community and will allow you to invite new guests (Jews Jewish Christians or even other Christians)

The pick and choose experience Select a new song or a new liturgical line or paragraph and introduce them into your present service

For those who have already ventured into the new worship experience of the Hebrew-Adventist worship we suggest either take one of the composed liturgies andor combine it with your own You may also of com-se extend yourselves with the pick-and-choose experience

Whatever choice you may make we hope this experience will not only promote reconciliation between Israel and the Church but also refresh our relationship with the God of Creation and Recreation the God of the past the God of remembrance but also the God of the future the God of hope indeed the God of the root and the flower

THEROOT AND THE FLOWER

A reComme110eo reaoil1g JIi for Hebrew-Aovel1tist

middot~tl T-~-- ~ _~ COl1gregatiol1s-- ~ ti- -Jti shy shySIDOUR T1ST

FOR HEBREW-ADVEN CONGREGATIONS

SHABBAT SHALOM 21

--

ERKlARUN G OtR SlfJI[HTENmiddotTACcedilSAOVENTISlE14 DEUTSCHLAO ImO OSrtRRIICH

ZUM tio 4HAUTAO OU BCEHOICONG OES zwmE~ wntxRIEiatildeS 10M a119-45

IOtIWORT

ln dinel Tn jihtt sich rum 60 Mal das fnde dts~(1I Weftktitss Was damaIs ~ hIben ~ VItrr ond MOImiddot I~ elkbt uM erfrnen ftlfe EffMllltl~ und Eriont11Jnslll sind tin TriI unseter Ce5chicttte ~nlhre lute uneS Dok1Jmeoshyte lagtom rHd1tUI in UIIWrtlllvdtiven sk sine TriI U~Wrssens und Uf5efeS Gedlkhtnl~ses gewonkl Im~ dei Vtr6ntOltunl fW ulUtf Oennn uod ~ndeln ruer une hevte sowiI im BIioacute 4Uf die letgang~il uod

Iukvnft sem wit uns aufgttulM tuden ~Iacute8rnE~~ otfen und demiltigStelung tu nehmen

LMil 80C1AG(N ZUllEFST

daS5 IOn UOWltIIUrwIem atilde_ hudltbtle kriet ilU58eampnsen isf dtl U04rmessllthe tetd uumlbel atildeltl ~ gebradn hal- und dns 4XtI Skbenten-Tags-Adventisten cUan beteilial_en

bull ~ der ~derNS-OotildekfilnIa1 feUaeitig unddMtehgenus~leoorntMfI unddaswidetg6tdiche ~n dei NS4dfooogle nidltkilf mMlOCWUlM

dass1lchinm6l1d1enunsereroderYOnUN~~~lindeltIdieAdolfHitltlhuldigtcnuod der~ldt060giedes~ineiner~iIJSCNd81t~d~allSheutigerSithluotasWalia

O dass unwrt VocircDttlNm KompIQen oacutees ~wutdtn def ~~~e WlthsMillionetl kIden und Vitrshyb~emvon ~titen ifI Iam EuQ9olhflheit urwll~ kostete - und cUutKhYiele SiebenlefiTags-AdYentjgtn cm dt1 No(

und dem UIicI ihlel jOdiscMn tIitbOlff keincnAnttil~ dlwMnbOrgerjOdiSUacutelef ~IOn 1JIt5~ und iMI$~ sich ~ uacutebtrlHstn und 5OdGri~

scNh VMnwn odef dem Tod a~ert wurden

IL WIR BfXUiHEH AURnOmG bull

dais 11 ~ dem jGdlkhen VDI1o alJen lerfolsten W1d VDm lVitg BefmtfeJWfl urwI dtriW hinaos audl gesenObeJ AdvenUsren io otndtrefl ~ durdl UflSoel ~ 5dluldiacuteg ~ sitiei DtOt bitlen CC urwl die noU Irbenden Eleshytroflencn demuacutetit um ~nsmiddot

bull dolSS wir 015 Siebentm-T1S-AdItmiddotl1isten in jenetI roor-ollen uumliWl tmtz unsertr Eltenotmse au der Hciligeo Sdmft um km ~ Won nkht mutiger uM konsequeoter gehandelt und SQ in der NltKNoI~ UlISeltlS Heltfn ~ hibt1 i( sind deniefIigff1 di~ iii utMfen Reihen mutig ~selei~et hben urwl sidl der NridiktalUr ~~gt ooch mit IhI semeinsame Salthe If~ habtn okhl entschlossen gerwg ~oIgt

dtss wedet die ~~ leit noch die damaftge groGe 6edrin3ms urd No( dM bepngtoe Urum teehtkrtigen odelt oMed~~ kOnnen nUl Gatt ollIen Iw-o ln selnef GIraquode ltfgebvoslOrolcnagen und SOnde ~

IlL WlR WOUEN MAOiDROowOt MrOR DNTJImN

bull dass nic wI~ elnCries seamprn andete ~ von DeucschlarId ode Osceneich ~eht urd dbss niemand otildetUlgnrnd tOn RttH Rtfctioo ~oder~ ausgegreMund ~ witd

dm diOI etingfllheit nKht in VtfSentnhcilserll sondem Is ~~~ uns aodI heVle VOI AugecI stenL

dam der Gehmam den ir dlaquo stanfdten Obrigkeil scfluldet rndrt lII prtisg~ OfI bib6ischen O~euguogen UM INert$lfllhrt

cUss v-Af dnu fIhit ~ die Cektef lU lLIl~middot und un~en Glauben ~ daort mutls lU belteMen und kunseshyquent N lebtnetlflvM unstJtSeits in die5tlnck d6 VMudtlaquo gl1iI1et

SOiwsswoor Mit dieset fridlruna woIJcn wIt UM nKht 011laquo iene die damltlls Iebten une PubWl uacutebethelgten fs steht nidlt N unsemiddot

re~undMCrttulUyetlltMn-GottallenistRidtef EbetIO~$lehlesunsWandereYOniNetSctculd~n - eottlHeiospridtt urofrei

~rOIIetIablaquolnulIWlaquo(leit~liltRedltund~6gboIt - 1ilr~1I~-eintretetlouuJlSdtSampdingt ist unsete Nfricfltise Sme lU Gott der allein aos Sfiner GniIdf das WoIIen lJIld VOIIbringert dJN sd1e-nken kJnn _ _-_-_ -

Biblical Lesson

Juocircaism anocirc Aocircventism Simi[arities ano Differences

he objective descripshytion of similarities and

differences appearing here will provi de a clear and immediate overview of rhe nature of the )ewish-Adventisr connecrion and will draw lessons not only for a betrer understanding of each other but a1so of a bershyter understanding of ones own reigious identity whether )ewish or Adventist Ir will also implicshyitly suggest places where )ews and Adventists can in faCt learn from each orher and beyond the human encounrer discover a hidshyden face of the Lord

Similarities 1 Sarne Day of Sabbath

keeping from sundown on Friday

to sundown on Saturday includshying the admonition to rest from work and engage in religious and worshipful activities

2 Same emphasis on Creation with what it implies of valorishyzation of matter nature and the flesh versus the traditional Christian comtemptus mundiacute

which despises Creation and the flesh

3 Sarne accent on the Wholeness of Human Nature and the rejection of Christian (Plaronistic) dualismo 1mportance of enjoyment of ife a sex ife and food for instance are not evil but beautiful gifts from God Taking care of the human body is therefore a religious duty

4 Sarne Holy Scriptures

Adventism embraces the sarne Hebrew Scriptures (Tanach)

which are highly regarded and nor replaced by any other Holy Scripture or given a lower starus of inspiration

5 Same attenrion to the Torah Adventism does nor claim that the law of Moses (Torah) has been replaced by New Testament grace Gods requirements at Sinai are still norma tive to them

6 Same respect of the Levitical Dietary Laws (no pork etc)

7 Same ideal of Righteousness The importance of ethics i n the daily ife (sancrifishycation) as they are illuminared in the pages of the Bible

8 Sarne belief in the Day of

SHABBAT SHALOM 17

Judgment at the end of human history when every person wil be evaluated and forgiven on the basis of hisher response and life

9 Sarne hope in the Redemption of humankind at the time of the end with the raising of the dead and the establishment of the Kingdom of God as historishycal and real events rather than just an abstract spiritual experience

10 Sarne hope in the comshying of the Messiah the son of David as predicted in the Hebrew Scriptures and Jewish tradition who will come at the time of the end to redeem the world

Differences 1 Different Practices of

Sabbath in Adventism Sabbath is full of missionary acrivity The average Adventist is more concerned with Sabbath as the right seventh day (in polemic with other Christians) than in the sacred content of that day (its meaning and rest) The avershyage Adventist has not understood the celebrating character of the Sabbath Adventists sometimes fast on Sabbath

2 Different ideas of the Aftedife Jews believe in the immortality of the soul (Platonistic influence as recogshynized by the Jewish Encyclopedia) which suggests rhat rhe soul will go to paradise or hell Some Jews (more on the popular levei and in mystic currents) even believe in the idea of reincarnation (transshymigration) Adventists hold the biblical view of the unconscious state of the dead in the dust of the earth wairing for the Day of Resurrection

3 Different Components of Torah Adventists are concerned with the biblicallaws and more specifically with the written Torah

18 SHABBAT SHALOM

given on Mount Sinai (especially the Ten Commandments) whereshyas the Jews also submit themselves to the so-caled oral 613 laws (Torah be ai pe)

4 Different Way of Kosher Jews do not mix dairy products and meat (which implies a differshyent set of vessel) do not eat the hip socket of an animal (cf Gen 32) and do not eat meat with its blood (Gen 9 4) which requires a special way of slaughtering the animais Adventists promote vegshyetarianism

5 Different Traditional Scriptures Jews have only the Hebrew Scriptures or Tanach as propheticlinspired Writings yet they also read traditional texts (Mishnah Talmud Midrash and rabbinic commentaries) as a guide to rheir understanding of the Torah (written and oral) Adventists include in their canon the so-called New Testament (Apostolic Writings) T hey also revere the writings of Ellen G White who is heard as a prophetshyic voice-not one which replaces the light of rhe Holy Scriprures but rather emphasizes the value of those Scriptures and provides guidance for living according to those direcrions

6 Different Feast Days and Liturgy Jews celebrate numerous festivais following the instructions of the Bible (Pessah Shavuoth Rosh Ha-shanah Kippur Sukkot etc) and of Jewish tradition (Purim Hanukkah etc) The Jewish life cycle is marked by twO important ceremonies 1) the circumcision (Brith milah) rhat signifies in the human flesh the covenant between God and Israel and 2) the Bar mitzvah for thirshyreen-year-old males thar signifies the commitment of the adulr man to devote himself to the obedishy

ence of Gods commandments The Adventist life cycle is marked by the baptism (immersion in water) a significant act reminisshycent of rhe Jewish miqveh (cershyemonial for converts) that recalls the event of C reation and signifies the commirment to beco me a new crearure and live a new ife with God Jews follow the Iiturgy transmitted through the ages and pray in Hebrew traditional prayers Adventists keep only the seventh-day Sabbath and celebrare the Lords Supper reminiscent of the Jewish fe as t of Passover signishyfying the memory of the sacrifice of the Messiah until He comes Adventist liturgy folows the patshyterns of Protestant churches with personal and spontaneous prayers

7 Different Culture and History Jews identify themselves with Jewish history the suffering of anti-Semitism the Holocausr and the State of Israel Jews hold a high view of learning They are the people of the book Adventists are generally indifferent to that history and that suffering and also to the state of Israel somerimes being anti-Semitic Adventists situated in the evangelical Cllfshy

rent do not hold a high view of learning and may even sanctify ~

ignorance as a spiritual quality their priority is in mission (soul gaining)

8 Different Messianic Applications Adventists believe in Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah predicted by rhe Hebrew Scriptures-the exact time of His coming His suffering and death His life of miracles His resurrecshytion and His return at the time of the end to respond to the hope of His people from ali the nations of the world Jews believe in only one coming of rhe Messiah at the time of the end associated with

rhe esrablishment of peace and happiness under rhe torai rule of God For Jews Jesus cannor be rhe Jewish Messiah since He has rradirionally been associared wirh rhe Christian oppression and rhe Chrisrian contempr of rhe Torah ofMoses

r 9 Different Time of

]udgment Adventisrs believe according to rhe indicarions of biblical prophecy (Dan 7) rhat

l the day of Jlldgment is cosmic and appears during the lasr moment of human history in the form of a heavenly Kippur (srartshying in 1844) Jews believe in judgshyment ar death an idea thar is in discrepancy with their other belief of final judgment and resurrecshyrion Alrhough rhe date of 1844 has also struck a segment of the

Jewish community (Lubavitch) as a possible messianic moment ir is nor central in Judaism Adventists rherefore focus on the rime of the end (eschatological emphasis) their mission is to reach our to ali the nations of the earth (unishyversal outlook) and proclaim thar rhe Judgment has come-urging humans to worship rhe Creator (Rev 147) Jews on rhe other hand focus on rhis life (exisrential and erhical emphasis) rheir misshysion is to survive as a witnessing people (particular outlook) and to live as an obedient people who hear God (shema Israel Deur 64)

10 Different understandshying of the Mechanism of Redemption Adventisrs believe that Redemption comes rhrough

the sacrifice of God who O bullbullc = ~ Himself rhrough rhe Messia (Isa 53) in order to redeem humankind Jews believe thar lheshyachieve redemption for rhemselves rhrough the act of mitzvoth and prayers Adventists like orher Chrisrians tend to view rheir relishygion as a set of rheological beliefs on which rhey will base rheir actions (see for insrance Seventhshyday Adventists Believe A BibLical

Exposition of27 Fundamental Doctrines) Jews undersrand their religion as a ser of deeds from which rhey derive rheir rheologishycal beliefs (see for instance the principie of Exod 247-naasseh wanishma We shall do then we shall undersrand)

SHABBAT SHALOM 19

Why a Hebrew-Adventist Congregation

ln these times of religious and identity crises it is important to rethink and reshape our worship services to make them more relevant more meaningful but also more in touch with our Hebrew roots For Seventhshyday Adventists this reflection and experience is all the more justified as they share so much in common with the Jews the same Shabbat the same affirmation of Creation and joy of life the same reverence for the truth of the Torah the same ideal of righteousness and justice and the same hope for a better world

The purpose of the Hebrew-Adventist service then is threefold

1 To offer a special worship experience that combines the joyfulness and reverence and the sense of community of the Hebrew tradition with our distinctive Adventist identity

2 To help Christians in general and Seventh-day Adventists in particular recover their Hebrew roots and enrich their emotional intellectual and physical adoration

3 To create a spiritual and liturgical environment where Jews as well as Christians both wearing kippah and tallith can worship the same God of Israel-the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob who also was the God of Peter John and Paul-thereby relieving and transcending the Jewish-Christian tension

ln contrast to our modern society that tends to be a gut-Ievel society emphasizing emotions and free (sometimes even wild) spontaneity classical Judaism has followed a structure that saved order and hannony As Jewish history testifies however Jewish liturgy has within traditional fixed forms left room for spontaneity and creativity ln fact the whole Bible has preserved this vision there is not only the requirement of structure and the remembrance of the past but aIso the need to be relevant and the artistic urge to sing a new song The Holy Scriptures are full of old and new songs traditional and corporate hymns and recitations and emotional and insightful new meditations The root and the flower the memory and the mood have cohabited together nurturing each other and thus maintaining the rhythm of life It is in this breath in the path of this inspiration that we wish to place our 1iturgical steps

The content and liturgical structure of the Hebrew-Adventist service has been shaped with the same tension Basically it is patterned after traditional Jewish worship services (Ashkenazic Sephardic) Additional prayers and songs from other sources (Reformed Jewish Messianic ChristianAdventist new songs and liturgical moods) have been included Yet the new has been imp1emented insofar as it respects and conveys the spiritual meaning and lessons taught in the rhythm and flow of the Jewish liturgy for the Sabbath service

A word of warning is in order This formula and worship experience is not intended to function as the ideal and only worship mode It should

20 SHABI3AT SHALOM

bull bullbull bull

L

- I

be understood and used with flexibility as a modest illustration to inspire and enrich the worship experience of any Adventist (Messianic or traditional) and even other Christian communities at large For those who are happy with the status quo and do not wish to change their worship service they may wish to try the following

The once-in-a-while experience Once a quarter or at least once a year give your community the flavor of this service This change will bring fresh air into your community and will allow you to invite new guests (Jews Jewish Christians or even other Christians)

The pick and choose experience Select a new song or a new liturgical line or paragraph and introduce them into your present service

For those who have already ventured into the new worship experience of the Hebrew-Adventist worship we suggest either take one of the composed liturgies andor combine it with your own You may also of com-se extend yourselves with the pick-and-choose experience

Whatever choice you may make we hope this experience will not only promote reconciliation between Israel and the Church but also refresh our relationship with the God of Creation and Recreation the God of the past the God of remembrance but also the God of the future the God of hope indeed the God of the root and the flower

THEROOT AND THE FLOWER

A reComme110eo reaoil1g JIi for Hebrew-Aovel1tist

middot~tl T-~-- ~ _~ COl1gregatiol1s-- ~ ti- -Jti shy shySIDOUR T1ST

FOR HEBREW-ADVEN CONGREGATIONS

SHABBAT SHALOM 21

--

ERKlARUN G OtR SlfJI[HTENmiddotTACcedilSAOVENTISlE14 DEUTSCHLAO ImO OSrtRRIICH

ZUM tio 4HAUTAO OU BCEHOICONG OES zwmE~ wntxRIEiatildeS 10M a119-45

IOtIWORT

ln dinel Tn jihtt sich rum 60 Mal das fnde dts~(1I Weftktitss Was damaIs ~ hIben ~ VItrr ond MOImiddot I~ elkbt uM erfrnen ftlfe EffMllltl~ und Eriont11Jnslll sind tin TriI unseter Ce5chicttte ~nlhre lute uneS Dok1Jmeoshyte lagtom rHd1tUI in UIIWrtlllvdtiven sk sine TriI U~Wrssens und Uf5efeS Gedlkhtnl~ses gewonkl Im~ dei Vtr6ntOltunl fW ulUtf Oennn uod ~ndeln ruer une hevte sowiI im BIioacute 4Uf die letgang~il uod

Iukvnft sem wit uns aufgttulM tuden ~Iacute8rnE~~ otfen und demiltigStelung tu nehmen

LMil 80C1AG(N ZUllEFST

daS5 IOn UOWltIIUrwIem atilde_ hudltbtle kriet ilU58eampnsen isf dtl U04rmessllthe tetd uumlbel atildeltl ~ gebradn hal- und dns 4XtI Skbenten-Tags-Adventisten cUan beteilial_en

bull ~ der ~derNS-OotildekfilnIa1 feUaeitig unddMtehgenus~leoorntMfI unddaswidetg6tdiche ~n dei NS4dfooogle nidltkilf mMlOCWUlM

dass1lchinm6l1d1enunsereroderYOnUN~~~lindeltIdieAdolfHitltlhuldigtcnuod der~ldt060giedes~ineiner~iIJSCNd81t~d~allSheutigerSithluotasWalia

O dass unwrt VocircDttlNm KompIQen oacutees ~wutdtn def ~~~e WlthsMillionetl kIden und Vitrshyb~emvon ~titen ifI Iam EuQ9olhflheit urwll~ kostete - und cUutKhYiele SiebenlefiTags-AdYentjgtn cm dt1 No(

und dem UIicI ihlel jOdiscMn tIitbOlff keincnAnttil~ dlwMnbOrgerjOdiSUacutelef ~IOn 1JIt5~ und iMI$~ sich ~ uacutebtrlHstn und 5OdGri~

scNh VMnwn odef dem Tod a~ert wurden

IL WIR BfXUiHEH AURnOmG bull

dais 11 ~ dem jGdlkhen VDI1o alJen lerfolsten W1d VDm lVitg BefmtfeJWfl urwI dtriW hinaos audl gesenObeJ AdvenUsren io otndtrefl ~ durdl UflSoel ~ 5dluldiacuteg ~ sitiei DtOt bitlen CC urwl die noU Irbenden Eleshytroflencn demuacutetit um ~nsmiddot

bull dolSS wir 015 Siebentm-T1S-AdItmiddotl1isten in jenetI roor-ollen uumliWl tmtz unsertr Eltenotmse au der Hciligeo Sdmft um km ~ Won nkht mutiger uM konsequeoter gehandelt und SQ in der NltKNoI~ UlISeltlS Heltfn ~ hibt1 i( sind deniefIigff1 di~ iii utMfen Reihen mutig ~selei~et hben urwl sidl der NridiktalUr ~~gt ooch mit IhI semeinsame Salthe If~ habtn okhl entschlossen gerwg ~oIgt

dtss wedet die ~~ leit noch die damaftge groGe 6edrin3ms urd No( dM bepngtoe Urum teehtkrtigen odelt oMed~~ kOnnen nUl Gatt ollIen Iw-o ln selnef GIraquode ltfgebvoslOrolcnagen und SOnde ~

IlL WlR WOUEN MAOiDROowOt MrOR DNTJImN

bull dass nic wI~ elnCries seamprn andete ~ von DeucschlarId ode Osceneich ~eht urd dbss niemand otildetUlgnrnd tOn RttH Rtfctioo ~oder~ ausgegreMund ~ witd

dm diOI etingfllheit nKht in VtfSentnhcilserll sondem Is ~~~ uns aodI heVle VOI AugecI stenL

dam der Gehmam den ir dlaquo stanfdten Obrigkeil scfluldet rndrt lII prtisg~ OfI bib6ischen O~euguogen UM INert$lfllhrt

cUss v-Af dnu fIhit ~ die Cektef lU lLIl~middot und un~en Glauben ~ daort mutls lU belteMen und kunseshyquent N lebtnetlflvM unstJtSeits in die5tlnck d6 VMudtlaquo gl1iI1et

SOiwsswoor Mit dieset fridlruna woIJcn wIt UM nKht 011laquo iene die damltlls Iebten une PubWl uacutebethelgten fs steht nidlt N unsemiddot

re~undMCrttulUyetlltMn-GottallenistRidtef EbetIO~$lehlesunsWandereYOniNetSctculd~n - eottlHeiospridtt urofrei

~rOIIetIablaquolnulIWlaquo(leit~liltRedltund~6gboIt - 1ilr~1I~-eintretetlouuJlSdtSampdingt ist unsete Nfricfltise Sme lU Gott der allein aos Sfiner GniIdf das WoIIen lJIld VOIIbringert dJN sd1e-nken kJnn _ _-_-_ -

Judgment at the end of human history when every person wil be evaluated and forgiven on the basis of hisher response and life

9 Sarne hope in the Redemption of humankind at the time of the end with the raising of the dead and the establishment of the Kingdom of God as historishycal and real events rather than just an abstract spiritual experience

10 Sarne hope in the comshying of the Messiah the son of David as predicted in the Hebrew Scriptures and Jewish tradition who will come at the time of the end to redeem the world

Differences 1 Different Practices of

Sabbath in Adventism Sabbath is full of missionary acrivity The average Adventist is more concerned with Sabbath as the right seventh day (in polemic with other Christians) than in the sacred content of that day (its meaning and rest) The avershyage Adventist has not understood the celebrating character of the Sabbath Adventists sometimes fast on Sabbath

2 Different ideas of the Aftedife Jews believe in the immortality of the soul (Platonistic influence as recogshynized by the Jewish Encyclopedia) which suggests rhat rhe soul will go to paradise or hell Some Jews (more on the popular levei and in mystic currents) even believe in the idea of reincarnation (transshymigration) Adventists hold the biblical view of the unconscious state of the dead in the dust of the earth wairing for the Day of Resurrection

3 Different Components of Torah Adventists are concerned with the biblicallaws and more specifically with the written Torah

18 SHABBAT SHALOM

given on Mount Sinai (especially the Ten Commandments) whereshyas the Jews also submit themselves to the so-caled oral 613 laws (Torah be ai pe)

4 Different Way of Kosher Jews do not mix dairy products and meat (which implies a differshyent set of vessel) do not eat the hip socket of an animal (cf Gen 32) and do not eat meat with its blood (Gen 9 4) which requires a special way of slaughtering the animais Adventists promote vegshyetarianism

5 Different Traditional Scriptures Jews have only the Hebrew Scriptures or Tanach as propheticlinspired Writings yet they also read traditional texts (Mishnah Talmud Midrash and rabbinic commentaries) as a guide to rheir understanding of the Torah (written and oral) Adventists include in their canon the so-called New Testament (Apostolic Writings) T hey also revere the writings of Ellen G White who is heard as a prophetshyic voice-not one which replaces the light of rhe Holy Scriprures but rather emphasizes the value of those Scriptures and provides guidance for living according to those direcrions

6 Different Feast Days and Liturgy Jews celebrate numerous festivais following the instructions of the Bible (Pessah Shavuoth Rosh Ha-shanah Kippur Sukkot etc) and of Jewish tradition (Purim Hanukkah etc) The Jewish life cycle is marked by twO important ceremonies 1) the circumcision (Brith milah) rhat signifies in the human flesh the covenant between God and Israel and 2) the Bar mitzvah for thirshyreen-year-old males thar signifies the commitment of the adulr man to devote himself to the obedishy

ence of Gods commandments The Adventist life cycle is marked by the baptism (immersion in water) a significant act reminisshycent of rhe Jewish miqveh (cershyemonial for converts) that recalls the event of C reation and signifies the commirment to beco me a new crearure and live a new ife with God Jews follow the Iiturgy transmitted through the ages and pray in Hebrew traditional prayers Adventists keep only the seventh-day Sabbath and celebrare the Lords Supper reminiscent of the Jewish fe as t of Passover signishyfying the memory of the sacrifice of the Messiah until He comes Adventist liturgy folows the patshyterns of Protestant churches with personal and spontaneous prayers

7 Different Culture and History Jews identify themselves with Jewish history the suffering of anti-Semitism the Holocausr and the State of Israel Jews hold a high view of learning They are the people of the book Adventists are generally indifferent to that history and that suffering and also to the state of Israel somerimes being anti-Semitic Adventists situated in the evangelical Cllfshy

rent do not hold a high view of learning and may even sanctify ~

ignorance as a spiritual quality their priority is in mission (soul gaining)

8 Different Messianic Applications Adventists believe in Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah predicted by rhe Hebrew Scriptures-the exact time of His coming His suffering and death His life of miracles His resurrecshytion and His return at the time of the end to respond to the hope of His people from ali the nations of the world Jews believe in only one coming of rhe Messiah at the time of the end associated with

rhe esrablishment of peace and happiness under rhe torai rule of God For Jews Jesus cannor be rhe Jewish Messiah since He has rradirionally been associared wirh rhe Christian oppression and rhe Chrisrian contempr of rhe Torah ofMoses

r 9 Different Time of

]udgment Adventisrs believe according to rhe indicarions of biblical prophecy (Dan 7) rhat

l the day of Jlldgment is cosmic and appears during the lasr moment of human history in the form of a heavenly Kippur (srartshying in 1844) Jews believe in judgshyment ar death an idea thar is in discrepancy with their other belief of final judgment and resurrecshyrion Alrhough rhe date of 1844 has also struck a segment of the

Jewish community (Lubavitch) as a possible messianic moment ir is nor central in Judaism Adventists rherefore focus on the rime of the end (eschatological emphasis) their mission is to reach our to ali the nations of the earth (unishyversal outlook) and proclaim thar rhe Judgment has come-urging humans to worship rhe Creator (Rev 147) Jews on rhe other hand focus on rhis life (exisrential and erhical emphasis) rheir misshysion is to survive as a witnessing people (particular outlook) and to live as an obedient people who hear God (shema Israel Deur 64)

10 Different understandshying of the Mechanism of Redemption Adventisrs believe that Redemption comes rhrough

the sacrifice of God who O bullbullc = ~ Himself rhrough rhe Messia (Isa 53) in order to redeem humankind Jews believe thar lheshyachieve redemption for rhemselves rhrough the act of mitzvoth and prayers Adventists like orher Chrisrians tend to view rheir relishygion as a set of rheological beliefs on which rhey will base rheir actions (see for insrance Seventhshyday Adventists Believe A BibLical

Exposition of27 Fundamental Doctrines) Jews undersrand their religion as a ser of deeds from which rhey derive rheir rheologishycal beliefs (see for instance the principie of Exod 247-naasseh wanishma We shall do then we shall undersrand)

SHABBAT SHALOM 19

Why a Hebrew-Adventist Congregation

ln these times of religious and identity crises it is important to rethink and reshape our worship services to make them more relevant more meaningful but also more in touch with our Hebrew roots For Seventhshyday Adventists this reflection and experience is all the more justified as they share so much in common with the Jews the same Shabbat the same affirmation of Creation and joy of life the same reverence for the truth of the Torah the same ideal of righteousness and justice and the same hope for a better world

The purpose of the Hebrew-Adventist service then is threefold

1 To offer a special worship experience that combines the joyfulness and reverence and the sense of community of the Hebrew tradition with our distinctive Adventist identity

2 To help Christians in general and Seventh-day Adventists in particular recover their Hebrew roots and enrich their emotional intellectual and physical adoration

3 To create a spiritual and liturgical environment where Jews as well as Christians both wearing kippah and tallith can worship the same God of Israel-the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob who also was the God of Peter John and Paul-thereby relieving and transcending the Jewish-Christian tension

ln contrast to our modern society that tends to be a gut-Ievel society emphasizing emotions and free (sometimes even wild) spontaneity classical Judaism has followed a structure that saved order and hannony As Jewish history testifies however Jewish liturgy has within traditional fixed forms left room for spontaneity and creativity ln fact the whole Bible has preserved this vision there is not only the requirement of structure and the remembrance of the past but aIso the need to be relevant and the artistic urge to sing a new song The Holy Scriptures are full of old and new songs traditional and corporate hymns and recitations and emotional and insightful new meditations The root and the flower the memory and the mood have cohabited together nurturing each other and thus maintaining the rhythm of life It is in this breath in the path of this inspiration that we wish to place our 1iturgical steps

The content and liturgical structure of the Hebrew-Adventist service has been shaped with the same tension Basically it is patterned after traditional Jewish worship services (Ashkenazic Sephardic) Additional prayers and songs from other sources (Reformed Jewish Messianic ChristianAdventist new songs and liturgical moods) have been included Yet the new has been imp1emented insofar as it respects and conveys the spiritual meaning and lessons taught in the rhythm and flow of the Jewish liturgy for the Sabbath service

A word of warning is in order This formula and worship experience is not intended to function as the ideal and only worship mode It should

20 SHABI3AT SHALOM

bull bullbull bull

L

- I

be understood and used with flexibility as a modest illustration to inspire and enrich the worship experience of any Adventist (Messianic or traditional) and even other Christian communities at large For those who are happy with the status quo and do not wish to change their worship service they may wish to try the following

The once-in-a-while experience Once a quarter or at least once a year give your community the flavor of this service This change will bring fresh air into your community and will allow you to invite new guests (Jews Jewish Christians or even other Christians)

The pick and choose experience Select a new song or a new liturgical line or paragraph and introduce them into your present service

For those who have already ventured into the new worship experience of the Hebrew-Adventist worship we suggest either take one of the composed liturgies andor combine it with your own You may also of com-se extend yourselves with the pick-and-choose experience

Whatever choice you may make we hope this experience will not only promote reconciliation between Israel and the Church but also refresh our relationship with the God of Creation and Recreation the God of the past the God of remembrance but also the God of the future the God of hope indeed the God of the root and the flower

THEROOT AND THE FLOWER

A reComme110eo reaoil1g JIi for Hebrew-Aovel1tist

middot~tl T-~-- ~ _~ COl1gregatiol1s-- ~ ti- -Jti shy shySIDOUR T1ST

FOR HEBREW-ADVEN CONGREGATIONS

SHABBAT SHALOM 21

--

ERKlARUN G OtR SlfJI[HTENmiddotTACcedilSAOVENTISlE14 DEUTSCHLAO ImO OSrtRRIICH

ZUM tio 4HAUTAO OU BCEHOICONG OES zwmE~ wntxRIEiatildeS 10M a119-45

IOtIWORT

ln dinel Tn jihtt sich rum 60 Mal das fnde dts~(1I Weftktitss Was damaIs ~ hIben ~ VItrr ond MOImiddot I~ elkbt uM erfrnen ftlfe EffMllltl~ und Eriont11Jnslll sind tin TriI unseter Ce5chicttte ~nlhre lute uneS Dok1Jmeoshyte lagtom rHd1tUI in UIIWrtlllvdtiven sk sine TriI U~Wrssens und Uf5efeS Gedlkhtnl~ses gewonkl Im~ dei Vtr6ntOltunl fW ulUtf Oennn uod ~ndeln ruer une hevte sowiI im BIioacute 4Uf die letgang~il uod

Iukvnft sem wit uns aufgttulM tuden ~Iacute8rnE~~ otfen und demiltigStelung tu nehmen

LMil 80C1AG(N ZUllEFST

daS5 IOn UOWltIIUrwIem atilde_ hudltbtle kriet ilU58eampnsen isf dtl U04rmessllthe tetd uumlbel atildeltl ~ gebradn hal- und dns 4XtI Skbenten-Tags-Adventisten cUan beteilial_en

bull ~ der ~derNS-OotildekfilnIa1 feUaeitig unddMtehgenus~leoorntMfI unddaswidetg6tdiche ~n dei NS4dfooogle nidltkilf mMlOCWUlM

dass1lchinm6l1d1enunsereroderYOnUN~~~lindeltIdieAdolfHitltlhuldigtcnuod der~ldt060giedes~ineiner~iIJSCNd81t~d~allSheutigerSithluotasWalia

O dass unwrt VocircDttlNm KompIQen oacutees ~wutdtn def ~~~e WlthsMillionetl kIden und Vitrshyb~emvon ~titen ifI Iam EuQ9olhflheit urwll~ kostete - und cUutKhYiele SiebenlefiTags-AdYentjgtn cm dt1 No(

und dem UIicI ihlel jOdiscMn tIitbOlff keincnAnttil~ dlwMnbOrgerjOdiSUacutelef ~IOn 1JIt5~ und iMI$~ sich ~ uacutebtrlHstn und 5OdGri~

scNh VMnwn odef dem Tod a~ert wurden

IL WIR BfXUiHEH AURnOmG bull

dais 11 ~ dem jGdlkhen VDI1o alJen lerfolsten W1d VDm lVitg BefmtfeJWfl urwI dtriW hinaos audl gesenObeJ AdvenUsren io otndtrefl ~ durdl UflSoel ~ 5dluldiacuteg ~ sitiei DtOt bitlen CC urwl die noU Irbenden Eleshytroflencn demuacutetit um ~nsmiddot

bull dolSS wir 015 Siebentm-T1S-AdItmiddotl1isten in jenetI roor-ollen uumliWl tmtz unsertr Eltenotmse au der Hciligeo Sdmft um km ~ Won nkht mutiger uM konsequeoter gehandelt und SQ in der NltKNoI~ UlISeltlS Heltfn ~ hibt1 i( sind deniefIigff1 di~ iii utMfen Reihen mutig ~selei~et hben urwl sidl der NridiktalUr ~~gt ooch mit IhI semeinsame Salthe If~ habtn okhl entschlossen gerwg ~oIgt

dtss wedet die ~~ leit noch die damaftge groGe 6edrin3ms urd No( dM bepngtoe Urum teehtkrtigen odelt oMed~~ kOnnen nUl Gatt ollIen Iw-o ln selnef GIraquode ltfgebvoslOrolcnagen und SOnde ~

IlL WlR WOUEN MAOiDROowOt MrOR DNTJImN

bull dass nic wI~ elnCries seamprn andete ~ von DeucschlarId ode Osceneich ~eht urd dbss niemand otildetUlgnrnd tOn RttH Rtfctioo ~oder~ ausgegreMund ~ witd

dm diOI etingfllheit nKht in VtfSentnhcilserll sondem Is ~~~ uns aodI heVle VOI AugecI stenL

dam der Gehmam den ir dlaquo stanfdten Obrigkeil scfluldet rndrt lII prtisg~ OfI bib6ischen O~euguogen UM INert$lfllhrt

cUss v-Af dnu fIhit ~ die Cektef lU lLIl~middot und un~en Glauben ~ daort mutls lU belteMen und kunseshyquent N lebtnetlflvM unstJtSeits in die5tlnck d6 VMudtlaquo gl1iI1et

SOiwsswoor Mit dieset fridlruna woIJcn wIt UM nKht 011laquo iene die damltlls Iebten une PubWl uacutebethelgten fs steht nidlt N unsemiddot

re~undMCrttulUyetlltMn-GottallenistRidtef EbetIO~$lehlesunsWandereYOniNetSctculd~n - eottlHeiospridtt urofrei

~rOIIetIablaquolnulIWlaquo(leit~liltRedltund~6gboIt - 1ilr~1I~-eintretetlouuJlSdtSampdingt ist unsete Nfricfltise Sme lU Gott der allein aos Sfiner GniIdf das WoIIen lJIld VOIIbringert dJN sd1e-nken kJnn _ _-_-_ -

rhe esrablishment of peace and happiness under rhe torai rule of God For Jews Jesus cannor be rhe Jewish Messiah since He has rradirionally been associared wirh rhe Christian oppression and rhe Chrisrian contempr of rhe Torah ofMoses

r 9 Different Time of

]udgment Adventisrs believe according to rhe indicarions of biblical prophecy (Dan 7) rhat

l the day of Jlldgment is cosmic and appears during the lasr moment of human history in the form of a heavenly Kippur (srartshying in 1844) Jews believe in judgshyment ar death an idea thar is in discrepancy with their other belief of final judgment and resurrecshyrion Alrhough rhe date of 1844 has also struck a segment of the

Jewish community (Lubavitch) as a possible messianic moment ir is nor central in Judaism Adventists rherefore focus on the rime of the end (eschatological emphasis) their mission is to reach our to ali the nations of the earth (unishyversal outlook) and proclaim thar rhe Judgment has come-urging humans to worship rhe Creator (Rev 147) Jews on rhe other hand focus on rhis life (exisrential and erhical emphasis) rheir misshysion is to survive as a witnessing people (particular outlook) and to live as an obedient people who hear God (shema Israel Deur 64)

10 Different understandshying of the Mechanism of Redemption Adventisrs believe that Redemption comes rhrough

the sacrifice of God who O bullbullc = ~ Himself rhrough rhe Messia (Isa 53) in order to redeem humankind Jews believe thar lheshyachieve redemption for rhemselves rhrough the act of mitzvoth and prayers Adventists like orher Chrisrians tend to view rheir relishygion as a set of rheological beliefs on which rhey will base rheir actions (see for insrance Seventhshyday Adventists Believe A BibLical

Exposition of27 Fundamental Doctrines) Jews undersrand their religion as a ser of deeds from which rhey derive rheir rheologishycal beliefs (see for instance the principie of Exod 247-naasseh wanishma We shall do then we shall undersrand)

SHABBAT SHALOM 19

Why a Hebrew-Adventist Congregation

ln these times of religious and identity crises it is important to rethink and reshape our worship services to make them more relevant more meaningful but also more in touch with our Hebrew roots For Seventhshyday Adventists this reflection and experience is all the more justified as they share so much in common with the Jews the same Shabbat the same affirmation of Creation and joy of life the same reverence for the truth of the Torah the same ideal of righteousness and justice and the same hope for a better world

The purpose of the Hebrew-Adventist service then is threefold

1 To offer a special worship experience that combines the joyfulness and reverence and the sense of community of the Hebrew tradition with our distinctive Adventist identity

2 To help Christians in general and Seventh-day Adventists in particular recover their Hebrew roots and enrich their emotional intellectual and physical adoration

3 To create a spiritual and liturgical environment where Jews as well as Christians both wearing kippah and tallith can worship the same God of Israel-the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob who also was the God of Peter John and Paul-thereby relieving and transcending the Jewish-Christian tension

ln contrast to our modern society that tends to be a gut-Ievel society emphasizing emotions and free (sometimes even wild) spontaneity classical Judaism has followed a structure that saved order and hannony As Jewish history testifies however Jewish liturgy has within traditional fixed forms left room for spontaneity and creativity ln fact the whole Bible has preserved this vision there is not only the requirement of structure and the remembrance of the past but aIso the need to be relevant and the artistic urge to sing a new song The Holy Scriptures are full of old and new songs traditional and corporate hymns and recitations and emotional and insightful new meditations The root and the flower the memory and the mood have cohabited together nurturing each other and thus maintaining the rhythm of life It is in this breath in the path of this inspiration that we wish to place our 1iturgical steps

The content and liturgical structure of the Hebrew-Adventist service has been shaped with the same tension Basically it is patterned after traditional Jewish worship services (Ashkenazic Sephardic) Additional prayers and songs from other sources (Reformed Jewish Messianic ChristianAdventist new songs and liturgical moods) have been included Yet the new has been imp1emented insofar as it respects and conveys the spiritual meaning and lessons taught in the rhythm and flow of the Jewish liturgy for the Sabbath service

A word of warning is in order This formula and worship experience is not intended to function as the ideal and only worship mode It should

20 SHABI3AT SHALOM

bull bullbull bull

L

- I

be understood and used with flexibility as a modest illustration to inspire and enrich the worship experience of any Adventist (Messianic or traditional) and even other Christian communities at large For those who are happy with the status quo and do not wish to change their worship service they may wish to try the following

The once-in-a-while experience Once a quarter or at least once a year give your community the flavor of this service This change will bring fresh air into your community and will allow you to invite new guests (Jews Jewish Christians or even other Christians)

The pick and choose experience Select a new song or a new liturgical line or paragraph and introduce them into your present service

For those who have already ventured into the new worship experience of the Hebrew-Adventist worship we suggest either take one of the composed liturgies andor combine it with your own You may also of com-se extend yourselves with the pick-and-choose experience

Whatever choice you may make we hope this experience will not only promote reconciliation between Israel and the Church but also refresh our relationship with the God of Creation and Recreation the God of the past the God of remembrance but also the God of the future the God of hope indeed the God of the root and the flower

THEROOT AND THE FLOWER

A reComme110eo reaoil1g JIi for Hebrew-Aovel1tist

middot~tl T-~-- ~ _~ COl1gregatiol1s-- ~ ti- -Jti shy shySIDOUR T1ST

FOR HEBREW-ADVEN CONGREGATIONS

SHABBAT SHALOM 21

--

ERKlARUN G OtR SlfJI[HTENmiddotTACcedilSAOVENTISlE14 DEUTSCHLAO ImO OSrtRRIICH

ZUM tio 4HAUTAO OU BCEHOICONG OES zwmE~ wntxRIEiatildeS 10M a119-45

IOtIWORT

ln dinel Tn jihtt sich rum 60 Mal das fnde dts~(1I Weftktitss Was damaIs ~ hIben ~ VItrr ond MOImiddot I~ elkbt uM erfrnen ftlfe EffMllltl~ und Eriont11Jnslll sind tin TriI unseter Ce5chicttte ~nlhre lute uneS Dok1Jmeoshyte lagtom rHd1tUI in UIIWrtlllvdtiven sk sine TriI U~Wrssens und Uf5efeS Gedlkhtnl~ses gewonkl Im~ dei Vtr6ntOltunl fW ulUtf Oennn uod ~ndeln ruer une hevte sowiI im BIioacute 4Uf die letgang~il uod

Iukvnft sem wit uns aufgttulM tuden ~Iacute8rnE~~ otfen und demiltigStelung tu nehmen

LMil 80C1AG(N ZUllEFST

daS5 IOn UOWltIIUrwIem atilde_ hudltbtle kriet ilU58eampnsen isf dtl U04rmessllthe tetd uumlbel atildeltl ~ gebradn hal- und dns 4XtI Skbenten-Tags-Adventisten cUan beteilial_en

bull ~ der ~derNS-OotildekfilnIa1 feUaeitig unddMtehgenus~leoorntMfI unddaswidetg6tdiche ~n dei NS4dfooogle nidltkilf mMlOCWUlM

dass1lchinm6l1d1enunsereroderYOnUN~~~lindeltIdieAdolfHitltlhuldigtcnuod der~ldt060giedes~ineiner~iIJSCNd81t~d~allSheutigerSithluotasWalia

O dass unwrt VocircDttlNm KompIQen oacutees ~wutdtn def ~~~e WlthsMillionetl kIden und Vitrshyb~emvon ~titen ifI Iam EuQ9olhflheit urwll~ kostete - und cUutKhYiele SiebenlefiTags-AdYentjgtn cm dt1 No(

und dem UIicI ihlel jOdiscMn tIitbOlff keincnAnttil~ dlwMnbOrgerjOdiSUacutelef ~IOn 1JIt5~ und iMI$~ sich ~ uacutebtrlHstn und 5OdGri~

scNh VMnwn odef dem Tod a~ert wurden

IL WIR BfXUiHEH AURnOmG bull

dais 11 ~ dem jGdlkhen VDI1o alJen lerfolsten W1d VDm lVitg BefmtfeJWfl urwI dtriW hinaos audl gesenObeJ AdvenUsren io otndtrefl ~ durdl UflSoel ~ 5dluldiacuteg ~ sitiei DtOt bitlen CC urwl die noU Irbenden Eleshytroflencn demuacutetit um ~nsmiddot

bull dolSS wir 015 Siebentm-T1S-AdItmiddotl1isten in jenetI roor-ollen uumliWl tmtz unsertr Eltenotmse au der Hciligeo Sdmft um km ~ Won nkht mutiger uM konsequeoter gehandelt und SQ in der NltKNoI~ UlISeltlS Heltfn ~ hibt1 i( sind deniefIigff1 di~ iii utMfen Reihen mutig ~selei~et hben urwl sidl der NridiktalUr ~~gt ooch mit IhI semeinsame Salthe If~ habtn okhl entschlossen gerwg ~oIgt

dtss wedet die ~~ leit noch die damaftge groGe 6edrin3ms urd No( dM bepngtoe Urum teehtkrtigen odelt oMed~~ kOnnen nUl Gatt ollIen Iw-o ln selnef GIraquode ltfgebvoslOrolcnagen und SOnde ~

IlL WlR WOUEN MAOiDROowOt MrOR DNTJImN

bull dass nic wI~ elnCries seamprn andete ~ von DeucschlarId ode Osceneich ~eht urd dbss niemand otildetUlgnrnd tOn RttH Rtfctioo ~oder~ ausgegreMund ~ witd

dm diOI etingfllheit nKht in VtfSentnhcilserll sondem Is ~~~ uns aodI heVle VOI AugecI stenL

dam der Gehmam den ir dlaquo stanfdten Obrigkeil scfluldet rndrt lII prtisg~ OfI bib6ischen O~euguogen UM INert$lfllhrt

cUss v-Af dnu fIhit ~ die Cektef lU lLIl~middot und un~en Glauben ~ daort mutls lU belteMen und kunseshyquent N lebtnetlflvM unstJtSeits in die5tlnck d6 VMudtlaquo gl1iI1et

SOiwsswoor Mit dieset fridlruna woIJcn wIt UM nKht 011laquo iene die damltlls Iebten une PubWl uacutebethelgten fs steht nidlt N unsemiddot

re~undMCrttulUyetlltMn-GottallenistRidtef EbetIO~$lehlesunsWandereYOniNetSctculd~n - eottlHeiospridtt urofrei

~rOIIetIablaquolnulIWlaquo(leit~liltRedltund~6gboIt - 1ilr~1I~-eintretetlouuJlSdtSampdingt ist unsete Nfricfltise Sme lU Gott der allein aos Sfiner GniIdf das WoIIen lJIld VOIIbringert dJN sd1e-nken kJnn _ _-_-_ -

Why a Hebrew-Adventist Congregation

ln these times of religious and identity crises it is important to rethink and reshape our worship services to make them more relevant more meaningful but also more in touch with our Hebrew roots For Seventhshyday Adventists this reflection and experience is all the more justified as they share so much in common with the Jews the same Shabbat the same affirmation of Creation and joy of life the same reverence for the truth of the Torah the same ideal of righteousness and justice and the same hope for a better world

The purpose of the Hebrew-Adventist service then is threefold

1 To offer a special worship experience that combines the joyfulness and reverence and the sense of community of the Hebrew tradition with our distinctive Adventist identity

2 To help Christians in general and Seventh-day Adventists in particular recover their Hebrew roots and enrich their emotional intellectual and physical adoration

3 To create a spiritual and liturgical environment where Jews as well as Christians both wearing kippah and tallith can worship the same God of Israel-the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob who also was the God of Peter John and Paul-thereby relieving and transcending the Jewish-Christian tension

ln contrast to our modern society that tends to be a gut-Ievel society emphasizing emotions and free (sometimes even wild) spontaneity classical Judaism has followed a structure that saved order and hannony As Jewish history testifies however Jewish liturgy has within traditional fixed forms left room for spontaneity and creativity ln fact the whole Bible has preserved this vision there is not only the requirement of structure and the remembrance of the past but aIso the need to be relevant and the artistic urge to sing a new song The Holy Scriptures are full of old and new songs traditional and corporate hymns and recitations and emotional and insightful new meditations The root and the flower the memory and the mood have cohabited together nurturing each other and thus maintaining the rhythm of life It is in this breath in the path of this inspiration that we wish to place our 1iturgical steps

The content and liturgical structure of the Hebrew-Adventist service has been shaped with the same tension Basically it is patterned after traditional Jewish worship services (Ashkenazic Sephardic) Additional prayers and songs from other sources (Reformed Jewish Messianic ChristianAdventist new songs and liturgical moods) have been included Yet the new has been imp1emented insofar as it respects and conveys the spiritual meaning and lessons taught in the rhythm and flow of the Jewish liturgy for the Sabbath service

A word of warning is in order This formula and worship experience is not intended to function as the ideal and only worship mode It should

20 SHABI3AT SHALOM

bull bullbull bull

L

- I

be understood and used with flexibility as a modest illustration to inspire and enrich the worship experience of any Adventist (Messianic or traditional) and even other Christian communities at large For those who are happy with the status quo and do not wish to change their worship service they may wish to try the following

The once-in-a-while experience Once a quarter or at least once a year give your community the flavor of this service This change will bring fresh air into your community and will allow you to invite new guests (Jews Jewish Christians or even other Christians)

The pick and choose experience Select a new song or a new liturgical line or paragraph and introduce them into your present service

For those who have already ventured into the new worship experience of the Hebrew-Adventist worship we suggest either take one of the composed liturgies andor combine it with your own You may also of com-se extend yourselves with the pick-and-choose experience

Whatever choice you may make we hope this experience will not only promote reconciliation between Israel and the Church but also refresh our relationship with the God of Creation and Recreation the God of the past the God of remembrance but also the God of the future the God of hope indeed the God of the root and the flower

THEROOT AND THE FLOWER

A reComme110eo reaoil1g JIi for Hebrew-Aovel1tist

middot~tl T-~-- ~ _~ COl1gregatiol1s-- ~ ti- -Jti shy shySIDOUR T1ST

FOR HEBREW-ADVEN CONGREGATIONS

SHABBAT SHALOM 21

--

ERKlARUN G OtR SlfJI[HTENmiddotTACcedilSAOVENTISlE14 DEUTSCHLAO ImO OSrtRRIICH

ZUM tio 4HAUTAO OU BCEHOICONG OES zwmE~ wntxRIEiatildeS 10M a119-45

IOtIWORT

ln dinel Tn jihtt sich rum 60 Mal das fnde dts~(1I Weftktitss Was damaIs ~ hIben ~ VItrr ond MOImiddot I~ elkbt uM erfrnen ftlfe EffMllltl~ und Eriont11Jnslll sind tin TriI unseter Ce5chicttte ~nlhre lute uneS Dok1Jmeoshyte lagtom rHd1tUI in UIIWrtlllvdtiven sk sine TriI U~Wrssens und Uf5efeS Gedlkhtnl~ses gewonkl Im~ dei Vtr6ntOltunl fW ulUtf Oennn uod ~ndeln ruer une hevte sowiI im BIioacute 4Uf die letgang~il uod

Iukvnft sem wit uns aufgttulM tuden ~Iacute8rnE~~ otfen und demiltigStelung tu nehmen

LMil 80C1AG(N ZUllEFST

daS5 IOn UOWltIIUrwIem atilde_ hudltbtle kriet ilU58eampnsen isf dtl U04rmessllthe tetd uumlbel atildeltl ~ gebradn hal- und dns 4XtI Skbenten-Tags-Adventisten cUan beteilial_en

bull ~ der ~derNS-OotildekfilnIa1 feUaeitig unddMtehgenus~leoorntMfI unddaswidetg6tdiche ~n dei NS4dfooogle nidltkilf mMlOCWUlM

dass1lchinm6l1d1enunsereroderYOnUN~~~lindeltIdieAdolfHitltlhuldigtcnuod der~ldt060giedes~ineiner~iIJSCNd81t~d~allSheutigerSithluotasWalia

O dass unwrt VocircDttlNm KompIQen oacutees ~wutdtn def ~~~e WlthsMillionetl kIden und Vitrshyb~emvon ~titen ifI Iam EuQ9olhflheit urwll~ kostete - und cUutKhYiele SiebenlefiTags-AdYentjgtn cm dt1 No(

und dem UIicI ihlel jOdiscMn tIitbOlff keincnAnttil~ dlwMnbOrgerjOdiSUacutelef ~IOn 1JIt5~ und iMI$~ sich ~ uacutebtrlHstn und 5OdGri~

scNh VMnwn odef dem Tod a~ert wurden

IL WIR BfXUiHEH AURnOmG bull

dais 11 ~ dem jGdlkhen VDI1o alJen lerfolsten W1d VDm lVitg BefmtfeJWfl urwI dtriW hinaos audl gesenObeJ AdvenUsren io otndtrefl ~ durdl UflSoel ~ 5dluldiacuteg ~ sitiei DtOt bitlen CC urwl die noU Irbenden Eleshytroflencn demuacutetit um ~nsmiddot

bull dolSS wir 015 Siebentm-T1S-AdItmiddotl1isten in jenetI roor-ollen uumliWl tmtz unsertr Eltenotmse au der Hciligeo Sdmft um km ~ Won nkht mutiger uM konsequeoter gehandelt und SQ in der NltKNoI~ UlISeltlS Heltfn ~ hibt1 i( sind deniefIigff1 di~ iii utMfen Reihen mutig ~selei~et hben urwl sidl der NridiktalUr ~~gt ooch mit IhI semeinsame Salthe If~ habtn okhl entschlossen gerwg ~oIgt

dtss wedet die ~~ leit noch die damaftge groGe 6edrin3ms urd No( dM bepngtoe Urum teehtkrtigen odelt oMed~~ kOnnen nUl Gatt ollIen Iw-o ln selnef GIraquode ltfgebvoslOrolcnagen und SOnde ~

IlL WlR WOUEN MAOiDROowOt MrOR DNTJImN

bull dass nic wI~ elnCries seamprn andete ~ von DeucschlarId ode Osceneich ~eht urd dbss niemand otildetUlgnrnd tOn RttH Rtfctioo ~oder~ ausgegreMund ~ witd

dm diOI etingfllheit nKht in VtfSentnhcilserll sondem Is ~~~ uns aodI heVle VOI AugecI stenL

dam der Gehmam den ir dlaquo stanfdten Obrigkeil scfluldet rndrt lII prtisg~ OfI bib6ischen O~euguogen UM INert$lfllhrt

cUss v-Af dnu fIhit ~ die Cektef lU lLIl~middot und un~en Glauben ~ daort mutls lU belteMen und kunseshyquent N lebtnetlflvM unstJtSeits in die5tlnck d6 VMudtlaquo gl1iI1et

SOiwsswoor Mit dieset fridlruna woIJcn wIt UM nKht 011laquo iene die damltlls Iebten une PubWl uacutebethelgten fs steht nidlt N unsemiddot

re~undMCrttulUyetlltMn-GottallenistRidtef EbetIO~$lehlesunsWandereYOniNetSctculd~n - eottlHeiospridtt urofrei

~rOIIetIablaquolnulIWlaquo(leit~liltRedltund~6gboIt - 1ilr~1I~-eintretetlouuJlSdtSampdingt ist unsete Nfricfltise Sme lU Gott der allein aos Sfiner GniIdf das WoIIen lJIld VOIIbringert dJN sd1e-nken kJnn _ _-_-_ -

bull bullbull bull

L

- I

be understood and used with flexibility as a modest illustration to inspire and enrich the worship experience of any Adventist (Messianic or traditional) and even other Christian communities at large For those who are happy with the status quo and do not wish to change their worship service they may wish to try the following

The once-in-a-while experience Once a quarter or at least once a year give your community the flavor of this service This change will bring fresh air into your community and will allow you to invite new guests (Jews Jewish Christians or even other Christians)

The pick and choose experience Select a new song or a new liturgical line or paragraph and introduce them into your present service

For those who have already ventured into the new worship experience of the Hebrew-Adventist worship we suggest either take one of the composed liturgies andor combine it with your own You may also of com-se extend yourselves with the pick-and-choose experience

Whatever choice you may make we hope this experience will not only promote reconciliation between Israel and the Church but also refresh our relationship with the God of Creation and Recreation the God of the past the God of remembrance but also the God of the future the God of hope indeed the God of the root and the flower

THEROOT AND THE FLOWER

A reComme110eo reaoil1g JIi for Hebrew-Aovel1tist

middot~tl T-~-- ~ _~ COl1gregatiol1s-- ~ ti- -Jti shy shySIDOUR T1ST

FOR HEBREW-ADVEN CONGREGATIONS

SHABBAT SHALOM 21

--

ERKlARUN G OtR SlfJI[HTENmiddotTACcedilSAOVENTISlE14 DEUTSCHLAO ImO OSrtRRIICH

ZUM tio 4HAUTAO OU BCEHOICONG OES zwmE~ wntxRIEiatildeS 10M a119-45

IOtIWORT

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Viewpoint

Il

Jews anocirc Aocircventists I A Ref[ectiol1 011 Tbeir

COWlWlOl1 Heritage

hen comparshying the simishy

larities berween Seventh-day Adventism and Judaism many common points emerge Having lived among Adventists as well as among Jews in Israel I will try to give my personal view on the state of Adventist-Jewish reIations

Whenever such a discussion is heId Adventists are quick to point out their beliefs and observances of the Sabbath and certain laws of kashrut (what some Adventists usually call dietary or health laws) And so it is not uncommon for many Jews to be surprised when they discover certain Christians keeping the Sabbath on the seventh day and refraining from

Isaac W Oliver Graocircuate Theoogica Stuocircel1t

eating unclean animaIs such as pork I witnessed this type of reaction several times when sharing some of the Adventist beliefs with Jewish friends

Shabbat The common observance

of Shabbat is one of the most precious practices Jews and Seventh-day Adventists have in common which has great potential ro improve the conshynection berween both Many Adventists can feeI comfortable in a Jewish home or synagogue during Shabbat There they can experience the rich Jewish customs that have been attached to this special day Likewise I believe that Jews can also be enriched by learning more about

the Adventist view on Shabbat This kind of interaction is a special one that singles out Jews and Adventists Erom most other religious groups

Kashrut However when Jews look

closer at Adventist kashrut they will also notice that Adventists only refrain Erom eating those animaIs which are prohibited in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 Till this day there is no official teachshying restricting the consumpshytion of blood with meat within Adventism Perhaps Adventists have ignored this question because many are vegetarian and therefore automatically do not consume any blood

SHABBAT SHALOM 25

But both the Hebrew Bible and the apostolic writings (New Testament) universally teach against consuming blood Cod commanded the sons of Noah not to eat meat with its blood (Cen 94) a law henceforth applicable not only to ]ews bur to ali human beings Even durshying the Israelite theocracy resishydent aliens abiding with Israel were not allowed to eat blood either (Lev 1710) Most ofall Yeshuas aposrles renewed the validiry of this command to Centile Christians during the ]erusalem council (Acts 1520 29) A similar decision can be found in the so-called Noahidic Laws found in rabbinic litshyerature 1 No Orthodox Torahshyobservant would ever dream of eating any animal blood

Furthermore many]ews do not mix dairy products with meat an observance derived by rabbinic exegesis from Exod 2319 Consequenrly some Orthodox ]ews have chosen vegshyetarianism as a safeguard against mixing both kinds of foods

Certain rabbis also spoke of vegetarianism as the ideal diet 2

Many Adventists have adopted a vegetarian Iifesryle mainly because they believe that the human body is a holy temple (1 Cor 6 19-20) and therefore seek to glorify Cod through a healthy lifesryle

Religion and State I believe that a third major

point of contact that is unique to Adventists and Diaspora ]ews alike is our common concern for religion and state issues For instance the majoriry of American ]ewry tiU this day like the Seventh-day Adventist minoriry endeavors to keep a c1ear line between government and religion This preoccupashytion is naturally understandable since ]ews have lived as a relishygious minoriry around the globe for millennia and have experishyenced persecutions from oppresshysive religious institutions linked to the rulership or government of their respective countries

Due to the minoriry status of

]udaism and Adventism (there are about 11-14 million ]ews worldwide interesringly enough Adventist membership is about the sarne) ]ews and Adventists have also encountered probshylems with civillegislation due to religious matters It is not uncommon for a ]ew or an Adventist to experience conflicts with work or school attendance because of Sabbath observance I particularly felt this rype of tension when living in France where many ]ews and Adventists have had problems with school attendance academic exams and other important events that tend to fali on Saturday The Adventist-]ewish connection can work together to confront these kinds of problems

If ]ews are actively involved with religious liberry because of persecutions in the past then Adventists are engaged in this sarne batde because of expectations in the future These expectations stern from Adventist eschatological belief namely that before the inaushyguration of the Messianic kingshydom on earth this world will first experience a final cosmic confrontation where once again church and state religion and government join together (eg as in the Middle Ages) and persecute those who difshyfer from such establishment Adventists have therefore careshyfully sought to avoid seeing such a scenario repeat itself Beyond the theological differences that Adventism and ]udaism may have about the end of times and the world to come Adventists and ]ews need to continue to strive tOgether against any effort tO unite srate and religion This is all the more true now and particularly here in the United States where we see renewed

26 SHABBAT SHALOM

human attempts to shorten the gap berween church and state The memories of the past and the prophetic cries of the future should be a stirring reminder of how harmful this deathly comshybination can be

Sarne God and Shared Scriptures

Besides these specific beliefs we should not of course forget the more general ones Both

T Jews and Adventists share the sarne Bible (although Adventists also include the writings of the apostles) Adventists and Jews accept the authoriry of the Tanakh (what Christians still persist in calling Old Testament) Obviously both Adventists and Jews adhere to the sarne ethical principies of the Torah (ie the sacred vaIue of human life and the moral principIes and guidelines that are prescribed therein) lndeed for Adventists the Bible is more than just a reference to symbols or rypologies that point to the Messiah ln addishytion to these Messianic signs and rypes that Adventists (like other Christians) find in the Hebrew Scriptures Adventists aIso search for those laws and truths that are deemed necessary for everyone and not only for Israel Many laws are still bindshying for ali of humaniry and it

would be a mistake to only Iook

-in the so-called New Testament

for authoritative halakhah (legal instruction) Adventism is not onlya religion of faith but faith with mitzvot (works) espeshycially the Aseret HaDibrot (the Ten Commandments) Perhaps Adventism is closer to Judaism in this legal aspect because there is a great emphasis on

faith that works Works flow out naturally from true emunah (faithfulness) Finally I should not forget to mention that both Adventists and Jews worship the sarne God of Avraham Yitzhaq and Yaaqov

What Lies Ahead With alI of these mutual

beliefs berween Judaism and Christianiry Jews have someshytimes crossed their religious border and converted to Christianiry Likewise there are many forme r Christians within the Jewish commushyniry As David Novak has sugshygested the greatest temptation for a Jew is Christianiry and the greatest temptation for a Christian is J udaism3 This may be even truer for Adventists and Jews where additional paralshyleIs can be found that are virtushyally non-existent in the rest of Christiani ry

ln spite of ali these wondershyfui common points there still remains a lot of work to be done in order to improve the Adventist-Jewish dialogue The greatest obstacle that lies ahead is replacement theology which certain Adventists still hold onto Many adhere to this belief unconsciously or out of ignoshyrance Greater effort needs to be performed in order to correct this problem But it seems that Adventism is on the right track Certainly no serious Adventist biblical theologian today would accept the idea that God has rejected the Jewish people

AlI the wonderfuI doctrines on Sabbath faith and works and health will be of no effect if special care is not given to this sensitive issue No well-groundshyed Jewish person wiU be able to

accept any rype of replacement theology ln fact it is unbibli shycal Throughout the Scriptures we can hear of Gods everlastshying love for Israel and humanshykind God still maintains His love for Israel Can a woman forget her baby Or disown the child of her womb Though she might forget I never could forget you (Isa 49 15) Thus said the LORD As surely as I have established My covenant with day and night-the laws of heaven and earth-so I will never reject the offspring of Jacob and My servant David (Jer 3325-26) Some Adventists need to remember the Aposrle Pauls statement I ask then has God rejected his people By no means (Rom 11 1) Hopefully Adventism will continue on the right path and embrace the Jews as His chosen people

ISanhedrin 56a 2See Abarbanel on Gen 93 and lsa

117

3David Noval lnrroducrion Whar [Q Seek and What to Avoid in Jewish-Christian Dialogue in Christianity

in Jewish Terms ed Tikva S Frymer-Kensky er alo (Boulder CO Westview Press 2000) 5

SHABBAT SHALOM 27

-

n Making Sabbath Special Ceacuteleste Pw-ino Walker paims a word

picrure of an announcer couming down on Sabbath evening as sunshydown approaches_ _ltc 10 9 8 765432 I We have lifr-ofr And you shoor our of rhe bonds of tiresome inactiviry ro do somerhing fun before rhe whole weekend is shor2

God says Remember rhe Sabbarh day ro keep ir holy bur He does nor say Remember rhe Sabbarh day ro keep ir gloomy There are plenry of reasons ro joyshyfully celebrare on Sabbarh

When I rhink of celebrating rhc firsr rhing rhar comes ro my mind is binhdays The Sabbarh is the birrhday of rhe world Ir is set ln a framework of ce lebrarion joy and deligh t ln A Day to Remember

28 SHABBAT SHALOM

Shabbat Corner

One Tbing tbat Aocircventists can Learn from tbe ]ews about sabbatb Ilteeping c elebrate 1

Ma~-E[el1 CO[OJ1 PbD Assistal1t Director

Sabbatb scboo[persol1a[ 1l11stries De1artmel1t Gel1era[ cOl1ferel1ce af Sevel1tb-ocirca9 Aocircvel1tists

George Vandeman linked the spirit of celebration ro rhe Sabbath by referring ro Gods powerful quesshytion ro Job ltCWhere wast thOll when I laid the foundarion s of the earrh When rhe morning srars sang togerher and aI the sons of God sho ured for jo) Job 384-7 The majestic rhundering voice of the Crearor Worlds f1ung imo space Suns ser aflame Electwns set to dancing And back of it aI the stars singing The music of the spheres_ The so ns of God shouting praise ro their Creator3 That is celeb ration

A maITiage is another evem that calls for celebration joy and delight The Sabbath also fits inro that theme The first wedding was recorded in Gen 2 18-24 On the sixth day the first wedding berween a man and woman was celebrated

Then a few hours later on thar firsr Sabbath God celebrated anorher wedding-His wedding with humankind Ali the Sabbarhs since rhat firsr Sabbarh have been a weelJy wedding anniversary of that wedding berween God and humankind God knows the human tendenc) ro forget anniversaries so He gave a commandmenr ro remember ro celebrare Some have suggested that the celebrarion of the Sabbarh is a forerunner of the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev 197-9)

Psalm 92 the Sabbath Psa lm is resplendem with celebration joy and delighr Sabbath is porrrayed as a time of exul tation Nor a trace of gl00l11 can be found Ir is clear that God wanrs our Sabbaths ro have an atmosphere of celebration

ln Isaiah God said we should

call the Sabbath a delight (58 13) The Hebrew oneg (delighr) lirshyerall) meails exquisite delight Old Tesrament scholar Richard Davidson explarned rhar this word describes palaces of royalty in the one other place ir is found in the Old Tesrament Ir is as if the King of the llniverse is inviting His people to His Sabbath paJace for a regai all-day spiritual feast and

fellowship This is no ordinary delight Why Psalm 16 11 (K]V) replies ln thy presence is flllness of joy at eh) right hand there are pleasures for evermore Delight yourself in the LORD (Ps 374 NIV)

Some chidren sing the song Sabbath is a happ) day Other children say Sabbarh is NOT a happy day When Dwight Moody was a bo) he and his brothers used to shollt for joy when the Sabbath was over because it was the worst da) in the week for them Learning from rhe negative Sabbath experishyences of his childhood he advoshycated his belief that Sabbath can be made the brightest day in the week Every child ought to be reared so that he shall be able to say that he would rather have the other six days weeded out of his memory than the Sabbath of his childhood4

According to noted ]ewish scbolshyar Abraham ]oshua Heschel it is a sin to be sad on the Sabbath day Mrer Sabbath meals the Jews recite a prayer that therebe no sadness or trouble in me day of our rest5 ln Family Sabbath Traditions John and MiUieacuteYoungberg remind us that if Sabbaths are not a happy day our children may choose to outgrow the fourth cOll1mandment as they outshygrow childhood6 Ma) Cod help u to make our Sabbaths a delightshyfui celebration so interesting to our families thar its weekly return will be hailed with joy7

How can we promote celebrashy

rion 011 Sabbath The Sabbathis a day for hol) celebration joy and delight but diacuteis does not mean (hat ir is to be celebrated like a regular part)o Alter a pastor and his wife presented a ]ewish-style Sabbath celebratioll in the Cayman Islands a boy there called the experience like having a sacred party to celebrate the birthday of the world

Briefly what does a ]ewish-style Sabbath celebration look like Because ]ews consider the Sabbath to be the queen of the week a wife the queen of the home proclaims rhe beginning of rhe Sabbath by lighting special Sabbath candles Then she prays a special Sabbath prayer The father blesses the chishydren and his wife There is special Sabbath wine and braided chalshylah breado This special celebration is followed by the Sabbath meal The choicesr food of all the week is eaten Before each course someshyone says For the honor of the Sabbath During the meal the famshyily sings joyful table h)mns which reflecr the celebration mood of rhe Sabbath

This celebration can tickle our imagination and ilustrate the atmoshysphere of celebration that characshyterizes the Sabbath ln a wa) that fits our individual situations and cultures we can make Friday eveshynings special with an atmosphere of celebration Thar might mean having a special Friday night meal served on special dishes Perhaps it will include special features such as flowers candles special music and a special worship activity such as charades A Friday nighr worship activiry thar m) tagravemily has been doing for years is adding something to oUI Blessing Book We write down something that has happened in our lives during the week that we consider a blessing along with the date thar ir occmred Then we celebra te by praising Cod in prayer

for this blessing Ir is a celebration in i tself to reread rhese blessings later on

For m) famiy Sabbarh morning breakfasr was a time to capture this celebration As oUl children were growing up we always had sweet rolls as part of Sabbath breakfast To avoid having to wash man y dishes before leaving fo r church we used paper plates and cups On each paper plate our daughter would make drawings and write happ) messages such as Happy Sabbath Dad Cod loves )ou Ivan

This spirit of celebration can continue into the Sabbath services Sabbath dinner afrernoon activishyties and rhe closing of Sabbath T he main idea is that Sabbath should be in a class by itself-more special joyful and delighrful than an) other day of the week a hol) holida)

lThis arride is adapted from a forrhshycoming book on the Sabbath

2Ceacuteles te Perrino Wa lker Making Sabbath Special Simple Tmdltiom to Make the Sabbath a Delight (Nampa ID Pacific Press 1999) 18

3George Vandeman A Day to Remember (Mountain View CA Pacific Press 1965) 15

4Dwigh[ L Moody Weighed and Wlanting Addmses 011 the Ten Commandments (Chicago Ilo Fleming H Revell 1898) 54

5Abraham Joshua Heschel The Sabbath Irs Meaningfor Modem iVlan (New York H Volff 1951 )30-31

6John and Millie Youngberg Famiacute6 Sabbath Ti-aditions Fiing the Sabbath HOU1J with JO] (Nampa ID Pacific Press 2001) 59

7EIlen G White Child Cuidance (Xfashingrol1 DC Review and Herald 1982) 536

SHABBAT SHALOM 29

Recent Books Israel and the Church Jacques B Doukhan Hendrickson Publishers 2002

108 pp $1995

ln this fascinating book

Doukhan challenges the two voices-Israel and Christianity

which try to witness to the

same God-to en ter in to dialogue and learn Erom each

other What Christians could learn from Israel is to

appreciate the gift of the Torah the value of creation

and enjoyment of life the celebration of time in the experience of the weekly Shabbat the not yet of

the messianic hope What the Jews could learn Erom the Christian church is the good news about the

event of Gods salvation His visitatiacuteon in the flesh of human history His personal relationship with each

individual the already of the kingdom of God This book is indeed a call to overcome separation

and hatred for only when enemies become friends will the voice of God be heard in a world which needs to hear it

Dr Doukhan invites us to make real our vocashytions to become Gods witnesses working for the

Kingdom of God combating racism in ali its forms

bringing peace and spirituality to a world that hungers for Gods Word Israel and the Church is

required reading a must for Christians and Jews involved in the dialogue for beginners as well as seminary students-Rabbi Leon Klenicki (Director

Emeritus Department of Interfaith Affairs AntishyDefamation League)

Doukhan not only distills a generation of scholarshy

ship to provide the reader with the best short introshyduction to Jewish-Christian relations available today

but also provides numerous quite challenging new perspectives that will make it fascinating for vete rshy

ans of the dialogue as well as beginners An instant

classic - Dr Eugene] Fisher (Associate Director Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligiacuteous Affairs US Conference of Catholic Bishops)

The Mystery of Israel Jacques B Doukhan Review and Herald

Publishing Association 2004

143 pp $999

Jacques B Doukhan approaches the much debated

issue of Israel and Christianity through the eyes of both a

scholar ofJewish heritage and an Adventist He examines the traditional theories Has

God rejected the Jews as His special people and replaced rhem with the Christian church (rejection-supersesshy

sionisr theory) Or does He have two separare ways

of salvarion Judaism and Chrisrianity under differenr

covenants (dispensationalist theory) Doukhan suggesrs a third and better way to understand Gods plan of salshy

vation He argues that the movements diverged when Christianity rejected the law especially the Shabbat

Now Israel has the law without Jesus and Christianity

has Jesus without the law ln his conclusion Doukhan points to Adventiacutesm which can play an important role in healing the breach

Careful and clear analysis of theological arguments

The issues raised by Doukhan can no longer be ignored by the Adventist communiacutety-Angel Manuel

Rodriguez PhD (Director Biblical Research Institute General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists)

ln this penetrating study Dr Doukhan exposes the faulty theology undergirding much contemporary Christian thinking regarding Israel A well-reashysoned case for an alternative model thar is more faithful

to the evidence of Scripture Doukhans model is especially pertinent for Seventh-day Adventists shy

Richard M Davidson PhD (Old Testament Department ] N Andrews Professor of Old Tesrament Interpretation and Chair Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary Andrews University)

A close and linguistically rich study of ali the releshyvam passages of Scripture This is a very helpful volshy

ume on a key theme for Christians generally Highly recommended-Ivan T Blazen PhD (Professor

of Biblical Interpretation and Theology Faculty of Religion Loma Linda University)

30 SHABBAT SHALOM

SHABBAT SHALOM 31

Nonprofit o Postage

Shabbat Shalom u S rganlza rion

55 W Oak RidH ge Dr PAID agerstown MD 2 1740 Hagerstown MD

Perrnir No 26l - I

n~v ~~ 05~ 1--1middotl~

li ~ ~-~t1 ~ O~ ~l ~)

P 1l~ - JS f~-1 -il 7 - Di

-t----~ ~J 1 ~Y

r ) ~l ~~ t i11J~ ~sect

But both the Hebrew Bible and the apostolic writings (New Testament) universally teach against consuming blood Cod commanded the sons of Noah not to eat meat with its blood (Cen 94) a law henceforth applicable not only to ]ews bur to ali human beings Even durshying the Israelite theocracy resishydent aliens abiding with Israel were not allowed to eat blood either (Lev 1710) Most ofall Yeshuas aposrles renewed the validiry of this command to Centile Christians during the ]erusalem council (Acts 1520 29) A similar decision can be found in the so-called Noahidic Laws found in rabbinic litshyerature 1 No Orthodox Torahshyobservant would ever dream of eating any animal blood

Furthermore many]ews do not mix dairy products with meat an observance derived by rabbinic exegesis from Exod 2319 Consequenrly some Orthodox ]ews have chosen vegshyetarianism as a safeguard against mixing both kinds of foods

Certain rabbis also spoke of vegetarianism as the ideal diet 2

Many Adventists have adopted a vegetarian Iifesryle mainly because they believe that the human body is a holy temple (1 Cor 6 19-20) and therefore seek to glorify Cod through a healthy lifesryle

Religion and State I believe that a third major

point of contact that is unique to Adventists and Diaspora ]ews alike is our common concern for religion and state issues For instance the majoriry of American ]ewry tiU this day like the Seventh-day Adventist minoriry endeavors to keep a c1ear line between government and religion This preoccupashytion is naturally understandable since ]ews have lived as a relishygious minoriry around the globe for millennia and have experishyenced persecutions from oppresshysive religious institutions linked to the rulership or government of their respective countries

Due to the minoriry status of

]udaism and Adventism (there are about 11-14 million ]ews worldwide interesringly enough Adventist membership is about the sarne) ]ews and Adventists have also encountered probshylems with civillegislation due to religious matters It is not uncommon for a ]ew or an Adventist to experience conflicts with work or school attendance because of Sabbath observance I particularly felt this rype of tension when living in France where many ]ews and Adventists have had problems with school attendance academic exams and other important events that tend to fali on Saturday The Adventist-]ewish connection can work together to confront these kinds of problems

If ]ews are actively involved with religious liberry because of persecutions in the past then Adventists are engaged in this sarne batde because of expectations in the future These expectations stern from Adventist eschatological belief namely that before the inaushyguration of the Messianic kingshydom on earth this world will first experience a final cosmic confrontation where once again church and state religion and government join together (eg as in the Middle Ages) and persecute those who difshyfer from such establishment Adventists have therefore careshyfully sought to avoid seeing such a scenario repeat itself Beyond the theological differences that Adventism and ]udaism may have about the end of times and the world to come Adventists and ]ews need to continue to strive tOgether against any effort tO unite srate and religion This is all the more true now and particularly here in the United States where we see renewed

26 SHABBAT SHALOM

human attempts to shorten the gap berween church and state The memories of the past and the prophetic cries of the future should be a stirring reminder of how harmful this deathly comshybination can be

Sarne God and Shared Scriptures

Besides these specific beliefs we should not of course forget the more general ones Both

T Jews and Adventists share the sarne Bible (although Adventists also include the writings of the apostles) Adventists and Jews accept the authoriry of the Tanakh (what Christians still persist in calling Old Testament) Obviously both Adventists and Jews adhere to the sarne ethical principies of the Torah (ie the sacred vaIue of human life and the moral principIes and guidelines that are prescribed therein) lndeed for Adventists the Bible is more than just a reference to symbols or rypologies that point to the Messiah ln addishytion to these Messianic signs and rypes that Adventists (like other Christians) find in the Hebrew Scriptures Adventists aIso search for those laws and truths that are deemed necessary for everyone and not only for Israel Many laws are still bindshying for ali of humaniry and it

would be a mistake to only Iook

-in the so-called New Testament

for authoritative halakhah (legal instruction) Adventism is not onlya religion of faith but faith with mitzvot (works) espeshycially the Aseret HaDibrot (the Ten Commandments) Perhaps Adventism is closer to Judaism in this legal aspect because there is a great emphasis on

faith that works Works flow out naturally from true emunah (faithfulness) Finally I should not forget to mention that both Adventists and Jews worship the sarne God of Avraham Yitzhaq and Yaaqov

What Lies Ahead With alI of these mutual

beliefs berween Judaism and Christianiry Jews have someshytimes crossed their religious border and converted to Christianiry Likewise there are many forme r Christians within the Jewish commushyniry As David Novak has sugshygested the greatest temptation for a Jew is Christianiry and the greatest temptation for a Christian is J udaism3 This may be even truer for Adventists and Jews where additional paralshyleIs can be found that are virtushyally non-existent in the rest of Christiani ry

ln spite of ali these wondershyfui common points there still remains a lot of work to be done in order to improve the Adventist-Jewish dialogue The greatest obstacle that lies ahead is replacement theology which certain Adventists still hold onto Many adhere to this belief unconsciously or out of ignoshyrance Greater effort needs to be performed in order to correct this problem But it seems that Adventism is on the right track Certainly no serious Adventist biblical theologian today would accept the idea that God has rejected the Jewish people

AlI the wonderfuI doctrines on Sabbath faith and works and health will be of no effect if special care is not given to this sensitive issue No well-groundshyed Jewish person wiU be able to

accept any rype of replacement theology ln fact it is unbibli shycal Throughout the Scriptures we can hear of Gods everlastshying love for Israel and humanshykind God still maintains His love for Israel Can a woman forget her baby Or disown the child of her womb Though she might forget I never could forget you (Isa 49 15) Thus said the LORD As surely as I have established My covenant with day and night-the laws of heaven and earth-so I will never reject the offspring of Jacob and My servant David (Jer 3325-26) Some Adventists need to remember the Aposrle Pauls statement I ask then has God rejected his people By no means (Rom 11 1) Hopefully Adventism will continue on the right path and embrace the Jews as His chosen people

ISanhedrin 56a 2See Abarbanel on Gen 93 and lsa

117

3David Noval lnrroducrion Whar [Q Seek and What to Avoid in Jewish-Christian Dialogue in Christianity

in Jewish Terms ed Tikva S Frymer-Kensky er alo (Boulder CO Westview Press 2000) 5

SHABBAT SHALOM 27

-

n Making Sabbath Special Ceacuteleste Pw-ino Walker paims a word

picrure of an announcer couming down on Sabbath evening as sunshydown approaches_ _ltc 10 9 8 765432 I We have lifr-ofr And you shoor our of rhe bonds of tiresome inactiviry ro do somerhing fun before rhe whole weekend is shor2

God says Remember rhe Sabbarh day ro keep ir holy bur He does nor say Remember rhe Sabbarh day ro keep ir gloomy There are plenry of reasons ro joyshyfully celebrare on Sabbarh

When I rhink of celebrating rhc firsr rhing rhar comes ro my mind is binhdays The Sabbarh is the birrhday of rhe world Ir is set ln a framework of ce lebrarion joy and deligh t ln A Day to Remember

28 SHABBAT SHALOM

Shabbat Corner

One Tbing tbat Aocircventists can Learn from tbe ]ews about sabbatb Ilteeping c elebrate 1

Ma~-E[el1 CO[OJ1 PbD Assistal1t Director

Sabbatb scboo[persol1a[ 1l11stries De1artmel1t Gel1era[ cOl1ferel1ce af Sevel1tb-ocirca9 Aocircvel1tists

George Vandeman linked the spirit of celebration ro rhe Sabbath by referring ro Gods powerful quesshytion ro Job ltCWhere wast thOll when I laid the foundarion s of the earrh When rhe morning srars sang togerher and aI the sons of God sho ured for jo) Job 384-7 The majestic rhundering voice of the Crearor Worlds f1ung imo space Suns ser aflame Electwns set to dancing And back of it aI the stars singing The music of the spheres_ The so ns of God shouting praise ro their Creator3 That is celeb ration

A maITiage is another evem that calls for celebration joy and delight The Sabbath also fits inro that theme The first wedding was recorded in Gen 2 18-24 On the sixth day the first wedding berween a man and woman was celebrated

Then a few hours later on thar firsr Sabbath God celebrated anorher wedding-His wedding with humankind Ali the Sabbarhs since rhat firsr Sabbarh have been a weelJy wedding anniversary of that wedding berween God and humankind God knows the human tendenc) ro forget anniversaries so He gave a commandmenr ro remember ro celebrare Some have suggested that the celebrarion of the Sabbarh is a forerunner of the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev 197-9)

Psalm 92 the Sabbath Psa lm is resplendem with celebration joy and delighr Sabbath is porrrayed as a time of exul tation Nor a trace of gl00l11 can be found Ir is clear that God wanrs our Sabbaths ro have an atmosphere of celebration

ln Isaiah God said we should

call the Sabbath a delight (58 13) The Hebrew oneg (delighr) lirshyerall) meails exquisite delight Old Tesrament scholar Richard Davidson explarned rhar this word describes palaces of royalty in the one other place ir is found in the Old Tesrament Ir is as if the King of the llniverse is inviting His people to His Sabbath paJace for a regai all-day spiritual feast and

fellowship This is no ordinary delight Why Psalm 16 11 (K]V) replies ln thy presence is flllness of joy at eh) right hand there are pleasures for evermore Delight yourself in the LORD (Ps 374 NIV)

Some chidren sing the song Sabbath is a happ) day Other children say Sabbarh is NOT a happy day When Dwight Moody was a bo) he and his brothers used to shollt for joy when the Sabbath was over because it was the worst da) in the week for them Learning from rhe negative Sabbath experishyences of his childhood he advoshycated his belief that Sabbath can be made the brightest day in the week Every child ought to be reared so that he shall be able to say that he would rather have the other six days weeded out of his memory than the Sabbath of his childhood4

According to noted ]ewish scbolshyar Abraham ]oshua Heschel it is a sin to be sad on the Sabbath day Mrer Sabbath meals the Jews recite a prayer that therebe no sadness or trouble in me day of our rest5 ln Family Sabbath Traditions John and MiUieacuteYoungberg remind us that if Sabbaths are not a happy day our children may choose to outgrow the fourth cOll1mandment as they outshygrow childhood6 Ma) Cod help u to make our Sabbaths a delightshyfui celebration so interesting to our families thar its weekly return will be hailed with joy7

How can we promote celebrashy

rion 011 Sabbath The Sabbathis a day for hol) celebration joy and delight but diacuteis does not mean (hat ir is to be celebrated like a regular part)o Alter a pastor and his wife presented a ]ewish-style Sabbath celebratioll in the Cayman Islands a boy there called the experience like having a sacred party to celebrate the birthday of the world

Briefly what does a ]ewish-style Sabbath celebration look like Because ]ews consider the Sabbath to be the queen of the week a wife the queen of the home proclaims rhe beginning of rhe Sabbath by lighting special Sabbath candles Then she prays a special Sabbath prayer The father blesses the chishydren and his wife There is special Sabbath wine and braided chalshylah breado This special celebration is followed by the Sabbath meal The choicesr food of all the week is eaten Before each course someshyone says For the honor of the Sabbath During the meal the famshyily sings joyful table h)mns which reflecr the celebration mood of rhe Sabbath

This celebration can tickle our imagination and ilustrate the atmoshysphere of celebration that characshyterizes the Sabbath ln a wa) that fits our individual situations and cultures we can make Friday eveshynings special with an atmosphere of celebration Thar might mean having a special Friday night meal served on special dishes Perhaps it will include special features such as flowers candles special music and a special worship activity such as charades A Friday nighr worship activiry thar m) tagravemily has been doing for years is adding something to oUI Blessing Book We write down something that has happened in our lives during the week that we consider a blessing along with the date thar ir occmred Then we celebra te by praising Cod in prayer

for this blessing Ir is a celebration in i tself to reread rhese blessings later on

For m) famiy Sabbarh morning breakfasr was a time to capture this celebration As oUl children were growing up we always had sweet rolls as part of Sabbath breakfast To avoid having to wash man y dishes before leaving fo r church we used paper plates and cups On each paper plate our daughter would make drawings and write happ) messages such as Happy Sabbath Dad Cod loves )ou Ivan

This spirit of celebration can continue into the Sabbath services Sabbath dinner afrernoon activishyties and rhe closing of Sabbath T he main idea is that Sabbath should be in a class by itself-more special joyful and delighrful than an) other day of the week a hol) holida)

lThis arride is adapted from a forrhshycoming book on the Sabbath

2Ceacuteles te Perrino Wa lker Making Sabbath Special Simple Tmdltiom to Make the Sabbath a Delight (Nampa ID Pacific Press 1999) 18

3George Vandeman A Day to Remember (Mountain View CA Pacific Press 1965) 15

4Dwigh[ L Moody Weighed and Wlanting Addmses 011 the Ten Commandments (Chicago Ilo Fleming H Revell 1898) 54

5Abraham Joshua Heschel The Sabbath Irs Meaningfor Modem iVlan (New York H Volff 1951 )30-31

6John and Millie Youngberg Famiacute6 Sabbath Ti-aditions Fiing the Sabbath HOU1J with JO] (Nampa ID Pacific Press 2001) 59

7EIlen G White Child Cuidance (Xfashingrol1 DC Review and Herald 1982) 536

SHABBAT SHALOM 29

Recent Books Israel and the Church Jacques B Doukhan Hendrickson Publishers 2002

108 pp $1995

ln this fascinating book

Doukhan challenges the two voices-Israel and Christianity

which try to witness to the

same God-to en ter in to dialogue and learn Erom each

other What Christians could learn from Israel is to

appreciate the gift of the Torah the value of creation

and enjoyment of life the celebration of time in the experience of the weekly Shabbat the not yet of

the messianic hope What the Jews could learn Erom the Christian church is the good news about the

event of Gods salvation His visitatiacuteon in the flesh of human history His personal relationship with each

individual the already of the kingdom of God This book is indeed a call to overcome separation

and hatred for only when enemies become friends will the voice of God be heard in a world which needs to hear it

Dr Doukhan invites us to make real our vocashytions to become Gods witnesses working for the

Kingdom of God combating racism in ali its forms

bringing peace and spirituality to a world that hungers for Gods Word Israel and the Church is

required reading a must for Christians and Jews involved in the dialogue for beginners as well as seminary students-Rabbi Leon Klenicki (Director

Emeritus Department of Interfaith Affairs AntishyDefamation League)

Doukhan not only distills a generation of scholarshy

ship to provide the reader with the best short introshyduction to Jewish-Christian relations available today

but also provides numerous quite challenging new perspectives that will make it fascinating for vete rshy

ans of the dialogue as well as beginners An instant

classic - Dr Eugene] Fisher (Associate Director Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligiacuteous Affairs US Conference of Catholic Bishops)

The Mystery of Israel Jacques B Doukhan Review and Herald

Publishing Association 2004

143 pp $999

Jacques B Doukhan approaches the much debated

issue of Israel and Christianity through the eyes of both a

scholar ofJewish heritage and an Adventist He examines the traditional theories Has

God rejected the Jews as His special people and replaced rhem with the Christian church (rejection-supersesshy

sionisr theory) Or does He have two separare ways

of salvarion Judaism and Chrisrianity under differenr

covenants (dispensationalist theory) Doukhan suggesrs a third and better way to understand Gods plan of salshy

vation He argues that the movements diverged when Christianity rejected the law especially the Shabbat

Now Israel has the law without Jesus and Christianity

has Jesus without the law ln his conclusion Doukhan points to Adventiacutesm which can play an important role in healing the breach

Careful and clear analysis of theological arguments

The issues raised by Doukhan can no longer be ignored by the Adventist communiacutety-Angel Manuel

Rodriguez PhD (Director Biblical Research Institute General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists)

ln this penetrating study Dr Doukhan exposes the faulty theology undergirding much contemporary Christian thinking regarding Israel A well-reashysoned case for an alternative model thar is more faithful

to the evidence of Scripture Doukhans model is especially pertinent for Seventh-day Adventists shy

Richard M Davidson PhD (Old Testament Department ] N Andrews Professor of Old Tesrament Interpretation and Chair Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary Andrews University)

A close and linguistically rich study of ali the releshyvam passages of Scripture This is a very helpful volshy

ume on a key theme for Christians generally Highly recommended-Ivan T Blazen PhD (Professor

of Biblical Interpretation and Theology Faculty of Religion Loma Linda University)

30 SHABBAT SHALOM

SHABBAT SHALOM 31

Nonprofit o Postage

Shabbat Shalom u S rganlza rion

55 W Oak RidH ge Dr PAID agerstown MD 2 1740 Hagerstown MD

Perrnir No 26l - I

n~v ~~ 05~ 1--1middotl~

li ~ ~-~t1 ~ O~ ~l ~)

P 1l~ - JS f~-1 -il 7 - Di

-t----~ ~J 1 ~Y

r ) ~l ~~ t i11J~ ~sect

human attempts to shorten the gap berween church and state The memories of the past and the prophetic cries of the future should be a stirring reminder of how harmful this deathly comshybination can be

Sarne God and Shared Scriptures

Besides these specific beliefs we should not of course forget the more general ones Both

T Jews and Adventists share the sarne Bible (although Adventists also include the writings of the apostles) Adventists and Jews accept the authoriry of the Tanakh (what Christians still persist in calling Old Testament) Obviously both Adventists and Jews adhere to the sarne ethical principies of the Torah (ie the sacred vaIue of human life and the moral principIes and guidelines that are prescribed therein) lndeed for Adventists the Bible is more than just a reference to symbols or rypologies that point to the Messiah ln addishytion to these Messianic signs and rypes that Adventists (like other Christians) find in the Hebrew Scriptures Adventists aIso search for those laws and truths that are deemed necessary for everyone and not only for Israel Many laws are still bindshying for ali of humaniry and it

would be a mistake to only Iook

-in the so-called New Testament

for authoritative halakhah (legal instruction) Adventism is not onlya religion of faith but faith with mitzvot (works) espeshycially the Aseret HaDibrot (the Ten Commandments) Perhaps Adventism is closer to Judaism in this legal aspect because there is a great emphasis on

faith that works Works flow out naturally from true emunah (faithfulness) Finally I should not forget to mention that both Adventists and Jews worship the sarne God of Avraham Yitzhaq and Yaaqov

What Lies Ahead With alI of these mutual

beliefs berween Judaism and Christianiry Jews have someshytimes crossed their religious border and converted to Christianiry Likewise there are many forme r Christians within the Jewish commushyniry As David Novak has sugshygested the greatest temptation for a Jew is Christianiry and the greatest temptation for a Christian is J udaism3 This may be even truer for Adventists and Jews where additional paralshyleIs can be found that are virtushyally non-existent in the rest of Christiani ry

ln spite of ali these wondershyfui common points there still remains a lot of work to be done in order to improve the Adventist-Jewish dialogue The greatest obstacle that lies ahead is replacement theology which certain Adventists still hold onto Many adhere to this belief unconsciously or out of ignoshyrance Greater effort needs to be performed in order to correct this problem But it seems that Adventism is on the right track Certainly no serious Adventist biblical theologian today would accept the idea that God has rejected the Jewish people

AlI the wonderfuI doctrines on Sabbath faith and works and health will be of no effect if special care is not given to this sensitive issue No well-groundshyed Jewish person wiU be able to

accept any rype of replacement theology ln fact it is unbibli shycal Throughout the Scriptures we can hear of Gods everlastshying love for Israel and humanshykind God still maintains His love for Israel Can a woman forget her baby Or disown the child of her womb Though she might forget I never could forget you (Isa 49 15) Thus said the LORD As surely as I have established My covenant with day and night-the laws of heaven and earth-so I will never reject the offspring of Jacob and My servant David (Jer 3325-26) Some Adventists need to remember the Aposrle Pauls statement I ask then has God rejected his people By no means (Rom 11 1) Hopefully Adventism will continue on the right path and embrace the Jews as His chosen people

ISanhedrin 56a 2See Abarbanel on Gen 93 and lsa

117

3David Noval lnrroducrion Whar [Q Seek and What to Avoid in Jewish-Christian Dialogue in Christianity

in Jewish Terms ed Tikva S Frymer-Kensky er alo (Boulder CO Westview Press 2000) 5

SHABBAT SHALOM 27

-

n Making Sabbath Special Ceacuteleste Pw-ino Walker paims a word

picrure of an announcer couming down on Sabbath evening as sunshydown approaches_ _ltc 10 9 8 765432 I We have lifr-ofr And you shoor our of rhe bonds of tiresome inactiviry ro do somerhing fun before rhe whole weekend is shor2

God says Remember rhe Sabbarh day ro keep ir holy bur He does nor say Remember rhe Sabbarh day ro keep ir gloomy There are plenry of reasons ro joyshyfully celebrare on Sabbarh

When I rhink of celebrating rhc firsr rhing rhar comes ro my mind is binhdays The Sabbarh is the birrhday of rhe world Ir is set ln a framework of ce lebrarion joy and deligh t ln A Day to Remember

28 SHABBAT SHALOM

Shabbat Corner

One Tbing tbat Aocircventists can Learn from tbe ]ews about sabbatb Ilteeping c elebrate 1

Ma~-E[el1 CO[OJ1 PbD Assistal1t Director

Sabbatb scboo[persol1a[ 1l11stries De1artmel1t Gel1era[ cOl1ferel1ce af Sevel1tb-ocirca9 Aocircvel1tists

George Vandeman linked the spirit of celebration ro rhe Sabbath by referring ro Gods powerful quesshytion ro Job ltCWhere wast thOll when I laid the foundarion s of the earrh When rhe morning srars sang togerher and aI the sons of God sho ured for jo) Job 384-7 The majestic rhundering voice of the Crearor Worlds f1ung imo space Suns ser aflame Electwns set to dancing And back of it aI the stars singing The music of the spheres_ The so ns of God shouting praise ro their Creator3 That is celeb ration

A maITiage is another evem that calls for celebration joy and delight The Sabbath also fits inro that theme The first wedding was recorded in Gen 2 18-24 On the sixth day the first wedding berween a man and woman was celebrated

Then a few hours later on thar firsr Sabbath God celebrated anorher wedding-His wedding with humankind Ali the Sabbarhs since rhat firsr Sabbarh have been a weelJy wedding anniversary of that wedding berween God and humankind God knows the human tendenc) ro forget anniversaries so He gave a commandmenr ro remember ro celebrare Some have suggested that the celebrarion of the Sabbarh is a forerunner of the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev 197-9)

Psalm 92 the Sabbath Psa lm is resplendem with celebration joy and delighr Sabbath is porrrayed as a time of exul tation Nor a trace of gl00l11 can be found Ir is clear that God wanrs our Sabbaths ro have an atmosphere of celebration

ln Isaiah God said we should

call the Sabbath a delight (58 13) The Hebrew oneg (delighr) lirshyerall) meails exquisite delight Old Tesrament scholar Richard Davidson explarned rhar this word describes palaces of royalty in the one other place ir is found in the Old Tesrament Ir is as if the King of the llniverse is inviting His people to His Sabbath paJace for a regai all-day spiritual feast and

fellowship This is no ordinary delight Why Psalm 16 11 (K]V) replies ln thy presence is flllness of joy at eh) right hand there are pleasures for evermore Delight yourself in the LORD (Ps 374 NIV)

Some chidren sing the song Sabbath is a happ) day Other children say Sabbarh is NOT a happy day When Dwight Moody was a bo) he and his brothers used to shollt for joy when the Sabbath was over because it was the worst da) in the week for them Learning from rhe negative Sabbath experishyences of his childhood he advoshycated his belief that Sabbath can be made the brightest day in the week Every child ought to be reared so that he shall be able to say that he would rather have the other six days weeded out of his memory than the Sabbath of his childhood4

According to noted ]ewish scbolshyar Abraham ]oshua Heschel it is a sin to be sad on the Sabbath day Mrer Sabbath meals the Jews recite a prayer that therebe no sadness or trouble in me day of our rest5 ln Family Sabbath Traditions John and MiUieacuteYoungberg remind us that if Sabbaths are not a happy day our children may choose to outgrow the fourth cOll1mandment as they outshygrow childhood6 Ma) Cod help u to make our Sabbaths a delightshyfui celebration so interesting to our families thar its weekly return will be hailed with joy7

How can we promote celebrashy

rion 011 Sabbath The Sabbathis a day for hol) celebration joy and delight but diacuteis does not mean (hat ir is to be celebrated like a regular part)o Alter a pastor and his wife presented a ]ewish-style Sabbath celebratioll in the Cayman Islands a boy there called the experience like having a sacred party to celebrate the birthday of the world

Briefly what does a ]ewish-style Sabbath celebration look like Because ]ews consider the Sabbath to be the queen of the week a wife the queen of the home proclaims rhe beginning of rhe Sabbath by lighting special Sabbath candles Then she prays a special Sabbath prayer The father blesses the chishydren and his wife There is special Sabbath wine and braided chalshylah breado This special celebration is followed by the Sabbath meal The choicesr food of all the week is eaten Before each course someshyone says For the honor of the Sabbath During the meal the famshyily sings joyful table h)mns which reflecr the celebration mood of rhe Sabbath

This celebration can tickle our imagination and ilustrate the atmoshysphere of celebration that characshyterizes the Sabbath ln a wa) that fits our individual situations and cultures we can make Friday eveshynings special with an atmosphere of celebration Thar might mean having a special Friday night meal served on special dishes Perhaps it will include special features such as flowers candles special music and a special worship activity such as charades A Friday nighr worship activiry thar m) tagravemily has been doing for years is adding something to oUI Blessing Book We write down something that has happened in our lives during the week that we consider a blessing along with the date thar ir occmred Then we celebra te by praising Cod in prayer

for this blessing Ir is a celebration in i tself to reread rhese blessings later on

For m) famiy Sabbarh morning breakfasr was a time to capture this celebration As oUl children were growing up we always had sweet rolls as part of Sabbath breakfast To avoid having to wash man y dishes before leaving fo r church we used paper plates and cups On each paper plate our daughter would make drawings and write happ) messages such as Happy Sabbath Dad Cod loves )ou Ivan

This spirit of celebration can continue into the Sabbath services Sabbath dinner afrernoon activishyties and rhe closing of Sabbath T he main idea is that Sabbath should be in a class by itself-more special joyful and delighrful than an) other day of the week a hol) holida)

lThis arride is adapted from a forrhshycoming book on the Sabbath

2Ceacuteles te Perrino Wa lker Making Sabbath Special Simple Tmdltiom to Make the Sabbath a Delight (Nampa ID Pacific Press 1999) 18

3George Vandeman A Day to Remember (Mountain View CA Pacific Press 1965) 15

4Dwigh[ L Moody Weighed and Wlanting Addmses 011 the Ten Commandments (Chicago Ilo Fleming H Revell 1898) 54

5Abraham Joshua Heschel The Sabbath Irs Meaningfor Modem iVlan (New York H Volff 1951 )30-31

6John and Millie Youngberg Famiacute6 Sabbath Ti-aditions Fiing the Sabbath HOU1J with JO] (Nampa ID Pacific Press 2001) 59

7EIlen G White Child Cuidance (Xfashingrol1 DC Review and Herald 1982) 536

SHABBAT SHALOM 29

Recent Books Israel and the Church Jacques B Doukhan Hendrickson Publishers 2002

108 pp $1995

ln this fascinating book

Doukhan challenges the two voices-Israel and Christianity

which try to witness to the

same God-to en ter in to dialogue and learn Erom each

other What Christians could learn from Israel is to

appreciate the gift of the Torah the value of creation

and enjoyment of life the celebration of time in the experience of the weekly Shabbat the not yet of

the messianic hope What the Jews could learn Erom the Christian church is the good news about the

event of Gods salvation His visitatiacuteon in the flesh of human history His personal relationship with each

individual the already of the kingdom of God This book is indeed a call to overcome separation

and hatred for only when enemies become friends will the voice of God be heard in a world which needs to hear it

Dr Doukhan invites us to make real our vocashytions to become Gods witnesses working for the

Kingdom of God combating racism in ali its forms

bringing peace and spirituality to a world that hungers for Gods Word Israel and the Church is

required reading a must for Christians and Jews involved in the dialogue for beginners as well as seminary students-Rabbi Leon Klenicki (Director

Emeritus Department of Interfaith Affairs AntishyDefamation League)

Doukhan not only distills a generation of scholarshy

ship to provide the reader with the best short introshyduction to Jewish-Christian relations available today

but also provides numerous quite challenging new perspectives that will make it fascinating for vete rshy

ans of the dialogue as well as beginners An instant

classic - Dr Eugene] Fisher (Associate Director Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligiacuteous Affairs US Conference of Catholic Bishops)

The Mystery of Israel Jacques B Doukhan Review and Herald

Publishing Association 2004

143 pp $999

Jacques B Doukhan approaches the much debated

issue of Israel and Christianity through the eyes of both a

scholar ofJewish heritage and an Adventist He examines the traditional theories Has

God rejected the Jews as His special people and replaced rhem with the Christian church (rejection-supersesshy

sionisr theory) Or does He have two separare ways

of salvarion Judaism and Chrisrianity under differenr

covenants (dispensationalist theory) Doukhan suggesrs a third and better way to understand Gods plan of salshy

vation He argues that the movements diverged when Christianity rejected the law especially the Shabbat

Now Israel has the law without Jesus and Christianity

has Jesus without the law ln his conclusion Doukhan points to Adventiacutesm which can play an important role in healing the breach

Careful and clear analysis of theological arguments

The issues raised by Doukhan can no longer be ignored by the Adventist communiacutety-Angel Manuel

Rodriguez PhD (Director Biblical Research Institute General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists)

ln this penetrating study Dr Doukhan exposes the faulty theology undergirding much contemporary Christian thinking regarding Israel A well-reashysoned case for an alternative model thar is more faithful

to the evidence of Scripture Doukhans model is especially pertinent for Seventh-day Adventists shy

Richard M Davidson PhD (Old Testament Department ] N Andrews Professor of Old Tesrament Interpretation and Chair Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary Andrews University)

A close and linguistically rich study of ali the releshyvam passages of Scripture This is a very helpful volshy

ume on a key theme for Christians generally Highly recommended-Ivan T Blazen PhD (Professor

of Biblical Interpretation and Theology Faculty of Religion Loma Linda University)

30 SHABBAT SHALOM

SHABBAT SHALOM 31

Nonprofit o Postage

Shabbat Shalom u S rganlza rion

55 W Oak RidH ge Dr PAID agerstown MD 2 1740 Hagerstown MD

Perrnir No 26l - I

n~v ~~ 05~ 1--1middotl~

li ~ ~-~t1 ~ O~ ~l ~)

P 1l~ - JS f~-1 -il 7 - Di

-t----~ ~J 1 ~Y

r ) ~l ~~ t i11J~ ~sect

-

n Making Sabbath Special Ceacuteleste Pw-ino Walker paims a word

picrure of an announcer couming down on Sabbath evening as sunshydown approaches_ _ltc 10 9 8 765432 I We have lifr-ofr And you shoor our of rhe bonds of tiresome inactiviry ro do somerhing fun before rhe whole weekend is shor2

God says Remember rhe Sabbarh day ro keep ir holy bur He does nor say Remember rhe Sabbarh day ro keep ir gloomy There are plenry of reasons ro joyshyfully celebrare on Sabbarh

When I rhink of celebrating rhc firsr rhing rhar comes ro my mind is binhdays The Sabbarh is the birrhday of rhe world Ir is set ln a framework of ce lebrarion joy and deligh t ln A Day to Remember

28 SHABBAT SHALOM

Shabbat Corner

One Tbing tbat Aocircventists can Learn from tbe ]ews about sabbatb Ilteeping c elebrate 1

Ma~-E[el1 CO[OJ1 PbD Assistal1t Director

Sabbatb scboo[persol1a[ 1l11stries De1artmel1t Gel1era[ cOl1ferel1ce af Sevel1tb-ocirca9 Aocircvel1tists

George Vandeman linked the spirit of celebration ro rhe Sabbath by referring ro Gods powerful quesshytion ro Job ltCWhere wast thOll when I laid the foundarion s of the earrh When rhe morning srars sang togerher and aI the sons of God sho ured for jo) Job 384-7 The majestic rhundering voice of the Crearor Worlds f1ung imo space Suns ser aflame Electwns set to dancing And back of it aI the stars singing The music of the spheres_ The so ns of God shouting praise ro their Creator3 That is celeb ration

A maITiage is another evem that calls for celebration joy and delight The Sabbath also fits inro that theme The first wedding was recorded in Gen 2 18-24 On the sixth day the first wedding berween a man and woman was celebrated

Then a few hours later on thar firsr Sabbath God celebrated anorher wedding-His wedding with humankind Ali the Sabbarhs since rhat firsr Sabbarh have been a weelJy wedding anniversary of that wedding berween God and humankind God knows the human tendenc) ro forget anniversaries so He gave a commandmenr ro remember ro celebrare Some have suggested that the celebrarion of the Sabbarh is a forerunner of the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev 197-9)

Psalm 92 the Sabbath Psa lm is resplendem with celebration joy and delighr Sabbath is porrrayed as a time of exul tation Nor a trace of gl00l11 can be found Ir is clear that God wanrs our Sabbaths ro have an atmosphere of celebration

ln Isaiah God said we should

call the Sabbath a delight (58 13) The Hebrew oneg (delighr) lirshyerall) meails exquisite delight Old Tesrament scholar Richard Davidson explarned rhar this word describes palaces of royalty in the one other place ir is found in the Old Tesrament Ir is as if the King of the llniverse is inviting His people to His Sabbath paJace for a regai all-day spiritual feast and

fellowship This is no ordinary delight Why Psalm 16 11 (K]V) replies ln thy presence is flllness of joy at eh) right hand there are pleasures for evermore Delight yourself in the LORD (Ps 374 NIV)

Some chidren sing the song Sabbath is a happ) day Other children say Sabbarh is NOT a happy day When Dwight Moody was a bo) he and his brothers used to shollt for joy when the Sabbath was over because it was the worst da) in the week for them Learning from rhe negative Sabbath experishyences of his childhood he advoshycated his belief that Sabbath can be made the brightest day in the week Every child ought to be reared so that he shall be able to say that he would rather have the other six days weeded out of his memory than the Sabbath of his childhood4

According to noted ]ewish scbolshyar Abraham ]oshua Heschel it is a sin to be sad on the Sabbath day Mrer Sabbath meals the Jews recite a prayer that therebe no sadness or trouble in me day of our rest5 ln Family Sabbath Traditions John and MiUieacuteYoungberg remind us that if Sabbaths are not a happy day our children may choose to outgrow the fourth cOll1mandment as they outshygrow childhood6 Ma) Cod help u to make our Sabbaths a delightshyfui celebration so interesting to our families thar its weekly return will be hailed with joy7

How can we promote celebrashy

rion 011 Sabbath The Sabbathis a day for hol) celebration joy and delight but diacuteis does not mean (hat ir is to be celebrated like a regular part)o Alter a pastor and his wife presented a ]ewish-style Sabbath celebratioll in the Cayman Islands a boy there called the experience like having a sacred party to celebrate the birthday of the world

Briefly what does a ]ewish-style Sabbath celebration look like Because ]ews consider the Sabbath to be the queen of the week a wife the queen of the home proclaims rhe beginning of rhe Sabbath by lighting special Sabbath candles Then she prays a special Sabbath prayer The father blesses the chishydren and his wife There is special Sabbath wine and braided chalshylah breado This special celebration is followed by the Sabbath meal The choicesr food of all the week is eaten Before each course someshyone says For the honor of the Sabbath During the meal the famshyily sings joyful table h)mns which reflecr the celebration mood of rhe Sabbath

This celebration can tickle our imagination and ilustrate the atmoshysphere of celebration that characshyterizes the Sabbath ln a wa) that fits our individual situations and cultures we can make Friday eveshynings special with an atmosphere of celebration Thar might mean having a special Friday night meal served on special dishes Perhaps it will include special features such as flowers candles special music and a special worship activity such as charades A Friday nighr worship activiry thar m) tagravemily has been doing for years is adding something to oUI Blessing Book We write down something that has happened in our lives during the week that we consider a blessing along with the date thar ir occmred Then we celebra te by praising Cod in prayer

for this blessing Ir is a celebration in i tself to reread rhese blessings later on

For m) famiy Sabbarh morning breakfasr was a time to capture this celebration As oUl children were growing up we always had sweet rolls as part of Sabbath breakfast To avoid having to wash man y dishes before leaving fo r church we used paper plates and cups On each paper plate our daughter would make drawings and write happ) messages such as Happy Sabbath Dad Cod loves )ou Ivan

This spirit of celebration can continue into the Sabbath services Sabbath dinner afrernoon activishyties and rhe closing of Sabbath T he main idea is that Sabbath should be in a class by itself-more special joyful and delighrful than an) other day of the week a hol) holida)

lThis arride is adapted from a forrhshycoming book on the Sabbath

2Ceacuteles te Perrino Wa lker Making Sabbath Special Simple Tmdltiom to Make the Sabbath a Delight (Nampa ID Pacific Press 1999) 18

3George Vandeman A Day to Remember (Mountain View CA Pacific Press 1965) 15

4Dwigh[ L Moody Weighed and Wlanting Addmses 011 the Ten Commandments (Chicago Ilo Fleming H Revell 1898) 54

5Abraham Joshua Heschel The Sabbath Irs Meaningfor Modem iVlan (New York H Volff 1951 )30-31

6John and Millie Youngberg Famiacute6 Sabbath Ti-aditions Fiing the Sabbath HOU1J with JO] (Nampa ID Pacific Press 2001) 59

7EIlen G White Child Cuidance (Xfashingrol1 DC Review and Herald 1982) 536

SHABBAT SHALOM 29

Recent Books Israel and the Church Jacques B Doukhan Hendrickson Publishers 2002

108 pp $1995

ln this fascinating book

Doukhan challenges the two voices-Israel and Christianity

which try to witness to the

same God-to en ter in to dialogue and learn Erom each

other What Christians could learn from Israel is to

appreciate the gift of the Torah the value of creation

and enjoyment of life the celebration of time in the experience of the weekly Shabbat the not yet of

the messianic hope What the Jews could learn Erom the Christian church is the good news about the

event of Gods salvation His visitatiacuteon in the flesh of human history His personal relationship with each

individual the already of the kingdom of God This book is indeed a call to overcome separation

and hatred for only when enemies become friends will the voice of God be heard in a world which needs to hear it

Dr Doukhan invites us to make real our vocashytions to become Gods witnesses working for the

Kingdom of God combating racism in ali its forms

bringing peace and spirituality to a world that hungers for Gods Word Israel and the Church is

required reading a must for Christians and Jews involved in the dialogue for beginners as well as seminary students-Rabbi Leon Klenicki (Director

Emeritus Department of Interfaith Affairs AntishyDefamation League)

Doukhan not only distills a generation of scholarshy

ship to provide the reader with the best short introshyduction to Jewish-Christian relations available today

but also provides numerous quite challenging new perspectives that will make it fascinating for vete rshy

ans of the dialogue as well as beginners An instant

classic - Dr Eugene] Fisher (Associate Director Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligiacuteous Affairs US Conference of Catholic Bishops)

The Mystery of Israel Jacques B Doukhan Review and Herald

Publishing Association 2004

143 pp $999

Jacques B Doukhan approaches the much debated

issue of Israel and Christianity through the eyes of both a

scholar ofJewish heritage and an Adventist He examines the traditional theories Has

God rejected the Jews as His special people and replaced rhem with the Christian church (rejection-supersesshy

sionisr theory) Or does He have two separare ways

of salvarion Judaism and Chrisrianity under differenr

covenants (dispensationalist theory) Doukhan suggesrs a third and better way to understand Gods plan of salshy

vation He argues that the movements diverged when Christianity rejected the law especially the Shabbat

Now Israel has the law without Jesus and Christianity

has Jesus without the law ln his conclusion Doukhan points to Adventiacutesm which can play an important role in healing the breach

Careful and clear analysis of theological arguments

The issues raised by Doukhan can no longer be ignored by the Adventist communiacutety-Angel Manuel

Rodriguez PhD (Director Biblical Research Institute General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists)

ln this penetrating study Dr Doukhan exposes the faulty theology undergirding much contemporary Christian thinking regarding Israel A well-reashysoned case for an alternative model thar is more faithful

to the evidence of Scripture Doukhans model is especially pertinent for Seventh-day Adventists shy

Richard M Davidson PhD (Old Testament Department ] N Andrews Professor of Old Tesrament Interpretation and Chair Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary Andrews University)

A close and linguistically rich study of ali the releshyvam passages of Scripture This is a very helpful volshy

ume on a key theme for Christians generally Highly recommended-Ivan T Blazen PhD (Professor

of Biblical Interpretation and Theology Faculty of Religion Loma Linda University)

30 SHABBAT SHALOM

SHABBAT SHALOM 31

Nonprofit o Postage

Shabbat Shalom u S rganlza rion

55 W Oak RidH ge Dr PAID agerstown MD 2 1740 Hagerstown MD

Perrnir No 26l - I

n~v ~~ 05~ 1--1middotl~

li ~ ~-~t1 ~ O~ ~l ~)

P 1l~ - JS f~-1 -il 7 - Di

-t----~ ~J 1 ~Y

r ) ~l ~~ t i11J~ ~sect

call the Sabbath a delight (58 13) The Hebrew oneg (delighr) lirshyerall) meails exquisite delight Old Tesrament scholar Richard Davidson explarned rhar this word describes palaces of royalty in the one other place ir is found in the Old Tesrament Ir is as if the King of the llniverse is inviting His people to His Sabbath paJace for a regai all-day spiritual feast and

fellowship This is no ordinary delight Why Psalm 16 11 (K]V) replies ln thy presence is flllness of joy at eh) right hand there are pleasures for evermore Delight yourself in the LORD (Ps 374 NIV)

Some chidren sing the song Sabbath is a happ) day Other children say Sabbarh is NOT a happy day When Dwight Moody was a bo) he and his brothers used to shollt for joy when the Sabbath was over because it was the worst da) in the week for them Learning from rhe negative Sabbath experishyences of his childhood he advoshycated his belief that Sabbath can be made the brightest day in the week Every child ought to be reared so that he shall be able to say that he would rather have the other six days weeded out of his memory than the Sabbath of his childhood4

According to noted ]ewish scbolshyar Abraham ]oshua Heschel it is a sin to be sad on the Sabbath day Mrer Sabbath meals the Jews recite a prayer that therebe no sadness or trouble in me day of our rest5 ln Family Sabbath Traditions John and MiUieacuteYoungberg remind us that if Sabbaths are not a happy day our children may choose to outgrow the fourth cOll1mandment as they outshygrow childhood6 Ma) Cod help u to make our Sabbaths a delightshyfui celebration so interesting to our families thar its weekly return will be hailed with joy7

How can we promote celebrashy

rion 011 Sabbath The Sabbathis a day for hol) celebration joy and delight but diacuteis does not mean (hat ir is to be celebrated like a regular part)o Alter a pastor and his wife presented a ]ewish-style Sabbath celebratioll in the Cayman Islands a boy there called the experience like having a sacred party to celebrate the birthday of the world

Briefly what does a ]ewish-style Sabbath celebration look like Because ]ews consider the Sabbath to be the queen of the week a wife the queen of the home proclaims rhe beginning of rhe Sabbath by lighting special Sabbath candles Then she prays a special Sabbath prayer The father blesses the chishydren and his wife There is special Sabbath wine and braided chalshylah breado This special celebration is followed by the Sabbath meal The choicesr food of all the week is eaten Before each course someshyone says For the honor of the Sabbath During the meal the famshyily sings joyful table h)mns which reflecr the celebration mood of rhe Sabbath

This celebration can tickle our imagination and ilustrate the atmoshysphere of celebration that characshyterizes the Sabbath ln a wa) that fits our individual situations and cultures we can make Friday eveshynings special with an atmosphere of celebration Thar might mean having a special Friday night meal served on special dishes Perhaps it will include special features such as flowers candles special music and a special worship activity such as charades A Friday nighr worship activiry thar m) tagravemily has been doing for years is adding something to oUI Blessing Book We write down something that has happened in our lives during the week that we consider a blessing along with the date thar ir occmred Then we celebra te by praising Cod in prayer

for this blessing Ir is a celebration in i tself to reread rhese blessings later on

For m) famiy Sabbarh morning breakfasr was a time to capture this celebration As oUl children were growing up we always had sweet rolls as part of Sabbath breakfast To avoid having to wash man y dishes before leaving fo r church we used paper plates and cups On each paper plate our daughter would make drawings and write happ) messages such as Happy Sabbath Dad Cod loves )ou Ivan

This spirit of celebration can continue into the Sabbath services Sabbath dinner afrernoon activishyties and rhe closing of Sabbath T he main idea is that Sabbath should be in a class by itself-more special joyful and delighrful than an) other day of the week a hol) holida)

lThis arride is adapted from a forrhshycoming book on the Sabbath

2Ceacuteles te Perrino Wa lker Making Sabbath Special Simple Tmdltiom to Make the Sabbath a Delight (Nampa ID Pacific Press 1999) 18

3George Vandeman A Day to Remember (Mountain View CA Pacific Press 1965) 15

4Dwigh[ L Moody Weighed and Wlanting Addmses 011 the Ten Commandments (Chicago Ilo Fleming H Revell 1898) 54

5Abraham Joshua Heschel The Sabbath Irs Meaningfor Modem iVlan (New York H Volff 1951 )30-31

6John and Millie Youngberg Famiacute6 Sabbath Ti-aditions Fiing the Sabbath HOU1J with JO] (Nampa ID Pacific Press 2001) 59

7EIlen G White Child Cuidance (Xfashingrol1 DC Review and Herald 1982) 536

SHABBAT SHALOM 29

Recent Books Israel and the Church Jacques B Doukhan Hendrickson Publishers 2002

108 pp $1995

ln this fascinating book

Doukhan challenges the two voices-Israel and Christianity

which try to witness to the

same God-to en ter in to dialogue and learn Erom each

other What Christians could learn from Israel is to

appreciate the gift of the Torah the value of creation

and enjoyment of life the celebration of time in the experience of the weekly Shabbat the not yet of

the messianic hope What the Jews could learn Erom the Christian church is the good news about the

event of Gods salvation His visitatiacuteon in the flesh of human history His personal relationship with each

individual the already of the kingdom of God This book is indeed a call to overcome separation

and hatred for only when enemies become friends will the voice of God be heard in a world which needs to hear it

Dr Doukhan invites us to make real our vocashytions to become Gods witnesses working for the

Kingdom of God combating racism in ali its forms

bringing peace and spirituality to a world that hungers for Gods Word Israel and the Church is

required reading a must for Christians and Jews involved in the dialogue for beginners as well as seminary students-Rabbi Leon Klenicki (Director

Emeritus Department of Interfaith Affairs AntishyDefamation League)

Doukhan not only distills a generation of scholarshy

ship to provide the reader with the best short introshyduction to Jewish-Christian relations available today

but also provides numerous quite challenging new perspectives that will make it fascinating for vete rshy

ans of the dialogue as well as beginners An instant

classic - Dr Eugene] Fisher (Associate Director Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligiacuteous Affairs US Conference of Catholic Bishops)

The Mystery of Israel Jacques B Doukhan Review and Herald

Publishing Association 2004

143 pp $999

Jacques B Doukhan approaches the much debated

issue of Israel and Christianity through the eyes of both a

scholar ofJewish heritage and an Adventist He examines the traditional theories Has

God rejected the Jews as His special people and replaced rhem with the Christian church (rejection-supersesshy

sionisr theory) Or does He have two separare ways

of salvarion Judaism and Chrisrianity under differenr

covenants (dispensationalist theory) Doukhan suggesrs a third and better way to understand Gods plan of salshy

vation He argues that the movements diverged when Christianity rejected the law especially the Shabbat

Now Israel has the law without Jesus and Christianity

has Jesus without the law ln his conclusion Doukhan points to Adventiacutesm which can play an important role in healing the breach

Careful and clear analysis of theological arguments

The issues raised by Doukhan can no longer be ignored by the Adventist communiacutety-Angel Manuel

Rodriguez PhD (Director Biblical Research Institute General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists)

ln this penetrating study Dr Doukhan exposes the faulty theology undergirding much contemporary Christian thinking regarding Israel A well-reashysoned case for an alternative model thar is more faithful

to the evidence of Scripture Doukhans model is especially pertinent for Seventh-day Adventists shy

Richard M Davidson PhD (Old Testament Department ] N Andrews Professor of Old Tesrament Interpretation and Chair Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary Andrews University)

A close and linguistically rich study of ali the releshyvam passages of Scripture This is a very helpful volshy

ume on a key theme for Christians generally Highly recommended-Ivan T Blazen PhD (Professor

of Biblical Interpretation and Theology Faculty of Religion Loma Linda University)

30 SHABBAT SHALOM

SHABBAT SHALOM 31

Nonprofit o Postage

Shabbat Shalom u S rganlza rion

55 W Oak RidH ge Dr PAID agerstown MD 2 1740 Hagerstown MD

Perrnir No 26l - I

n~v ~~ 05~ 1--1middotl~

li ~ ~-~t1 ~ O~ ~l ~)

P 1l~ - JS f~-1 -il 7 - Di

-t----~ ~J 1 ~Y

r ) ~l ~~ t i11J~ ~sect

Recent Books Israel and the Church Jacques B Doukhan Hendrickson Publishers 2002

108 pp $1995

ln this fascinating book

Doukhan challenges the two voices-Israel and Christianity

which try to witness to the

same God-to en ter in to dialogue and learn Erom each

other What Christians could learn from Israel is to

appreciate the gift of the Torah the value of creation

and enjoyment of life the celebration of time in the experience of the weekly Shabbat the not yet of

the messianic hope What the Jews could learn Erom the Christian church is the good news about the

event of Gods salvation His visitatiacuteon in the flesh of human history His personal relationship with each

individual the already of the kingdom of God This book is indeed a call to overcome separation

and hatred for only when enemies become friends will the voice of God be heard in a world which needs to hear it

Dr Doukhan invites us to make real our vocashytions to become Gods witnesses working for the

Kingdom of God combating racism in ali its forms

bringing peace and spirituality to a world that hungers for Gods Word Israel and the Church is

required reading a must for Christians and Jews involved in the dialogue for beginners as well as seminary students-Rabbi Leon Klenicki (Director

Emeritus Department of Interfaith Affairs AntishyDefamation League)

Doukhan not only distills a generation of scholarshy

ship to provide the reader with the best short introshyduction to Jewish-Christian relations available today

but also provides numerous quite challenging new perspectives that will make it fascinating for vete rshy

ans of the dialogue as well as beginners An instant

classic - Dr Eugene] Fisher (Associate Director Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligiacuteous Affairs US Conference of Catholic Bishops)

The Mystery of Israel Jacques B Doukhan Review and Herald

Publishing Association 2004

143 pp $999

Jacques B Doukhan approaches the much debated

issue of Israel and Christianity through the eyes of both a

scholar ofJewish heritage and an Adventist He examines the traditional theories Has

God rejected the Jews as His special people and replaced rhem with the Christian church (rejection-supersesshy

sionisr theory) Or does He have two separare ways

of salvarion Judaism and Chrisrianity under differenr

covenants (dispensationalist theory) Doukhan suggesrs a third and better way to understand Gods plan of salshy

vation He argues that the movements diverged when Christianity rejected the law especially the Shabbat

Now Israel has the law without Jesus and Christianity

has Jesus without the law ln his conclusion Doukhan points to Adventiacutesm which can play an important role in healing the breach

Careful and clear analysis of theological arguments

The issues raised by Doukhan can no longer be ignored by the Adventist communiacutety-Angel Manuel

Rodriguez PhD (Director Biblical Research Institute General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists)

ln this penetrating study Dr Doukhan exposes the faulty theology undergirding much contemporary Christian thinking regarding Israel A well-reashysoned case for an alternative model thar is more faithful

to the evidence of Scripture Doukhans model is especially pertinent for Seventh-day Adventists shy

Richard M Davidson PhD (Old Testament Department ] N Andrews Professor of Old Tesrament Interpretation and Chair Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary Andrews University)

A close and linguistically rich study of ali the releshyvam passages of Scripture This is a very helpful volshy

ume on a key theme for Christians generally Highly recommended-Ivan T Blazen PhD (Professor

of Biblical Interpretation and Theology Faculty of Religion Loma Linda University)

30 SHABBAT SHALOM

SHABBAT SHALOM 31

Nonprofit o Postage

Shabbat Shalom u S rganlza rion

55 W Oak RidH ge Dr PAID agerstown MD 2 1740 Hagerstown MD

Perrnir No 26l - I

n~v ~~ 05~ 1--1middotl~

li ~ ~-~t1 ~ O~ ~l ~)

P 1l~ - JS f~-1 -il 7 - Di

-t----~ ~J 1 ~Y

r ) ~l ~~ t i11J~ ~sect

SHABBAT SHALOM 31

Nonprofit o Postage

Shabbat Shalom u S rganlza rion

55 W Oak RidH ge Dr PAID agerstown MD 2 1740 Hagerstown MD

Perrnir No 26l - I

n~v ~~ 05~ 1--1middotl~

li ~ ~-~t1 ~ O~ ~l ~)

P 1l~ - JS f~-1 -il 7 - Di

-t----~ ~J 1 ~Y

r ) ~l ~~ t i11J~ ~sect

Nonprofit o Postage

Shabbat Shalom u S rganlza rion

55 W Oak RidH ge Dr PAID agerstown MD 2 1740 Hagerstown MD

Perrnir No 26l - I

n~v ~~ 05~ 1--1middotl~

li ~ ~-~t1 ~ O~ ~l ~)

P 1l~ - JS f~-1 -il 7 - Di

-t----~ ~J 1 ~Y

r ) ~l ~~ t i11J~ ~sect