March 2008 Newsletter
Vol. IV, No. 2, March 2008
News and Views
Glenn Edward Witmer, President Celebrating Exodus: Home-based rituals for Christians
With Easter upon us, and Passover barely a month away, many people are considering the idea of holding a Seder supper-perhaps for their parish, or with family members. Some fortunate ones will be invited to join a Jewish family for an evening of fun, good food, story-telling, and remembering the amazing saga of the desert journey to Sinai. That very event, so important and fundamental to our Jewish friends, has often been an attractive idea for Christians to copy. Is that a good thing to do? Should we just copy the Jewish rituals? The meaning is different for each of us, and we each have an Exodus story...
It was this dilemma that prompted the preparation of new lectures on the topic, and the writing of a special booklet resource for Christians to use as a new practice for their own celebrations. Not as a Seder, but as a new way to retell the dory of deliverance. Bat Kol alumna and writer of this booklet, Teresa Pirola of Sydney, Australia, asks us to consider the probing question: What plague or affliction is part of your life dory?" She reminds us of the plagues of addictions natural disasters, political injustices, financial anxiety among many others of us has a dory to tell, and liberation to seek. And all can recall an 'Exodus' experience in their own lives.
The material is already being used in some school classes. A Bat Kol workshop in the city of Brampton, near Toronto, Canada, recently introduced the theme to elementary and high school Religious Education teachers and chaplains of a Catholic School Board. Presentations in the workshop were made by Sr. Maureena Fritz, alumna Patricia O'Reilly, and me. Later this month the same theme will be presented by Bat Kol alumni/a in Johannesburg [see separate article on that session].
In line with our publishing plans for the coming year, more such resources will be written and produced, placed on the website for and for use in classes internationally as teachers become aware of them and include them in their lesson planning. If anyone of you missed the announcement about this new release a few weeks ago, check out the Bat Kol website to see the complete text of Celebrating Exodus.
If you use this teacher resource during the coming season, we would like to hear from you with any follow up evaluation and comments. Tell us about the group you had, the setting, and the responses of the participants. Any suggestions you have for adaptations will always be welcome so we can continue to prepare new and better aids for your presentations in study groups and classrooms. The first of these evaluations, with a family group that included young children, will be posted shortly on our website. You can locate it from the Bat Kol Jewish Festivals page. We hope to add more comments and helpful ideas periodically, so please do write to us about your experiences.
A Note from Sr. Maureena
Dear members of Fat Kol, and friends
Holy Thurs lay, 20 March! Have you ever stopped to ask yourself what the evening was really like and on which date it occurred? Have you noticed the contradictory elements between the Synoptic Gospels and John's Gospel?
When we read Exodus 12:5-8 and Lev. 23:5-8, we learn that, on the afternoon of the 14th of the month of Nisan, the lambs for the Passover meal were slaughtered, and that same evening, after sunset, which was then the beginning of the month of Nisan, the Passover meal was eaten. All of the gospels have the Last Supper and Agony in the Garden on Thursday night, and the crucifixion on Friday. Where they disagree is the date.
For the synoptic gospels, Thursday and Friday are the 14th and 15th of Nisan. On Thursday night Jesus has a Passover meal with his disciples and Jesus is crucified on the first day of Passover. Since this is the holy season of Passover, it is unlikely that trials or crucifixions took place at this time.
In the Gospel of John, Thursday and Friday are the 13th and 14th of Nisan. Jesus came up to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover with his disciples according to the Law but, sensing danger to his life, he had a farewell meal on Thursday night the 13th of Nisan. On Friday afternoon, the 14th of Nisan, when the lambs are slaughtered for the Passover meal, Jesus the Lamb of God is slaughtered. On the evening of the 14th of Nisan, the time of the Passover meal, the disciples are gathered together to celebrate the Passover but Jesus is not with them. He is in the grave. Scholars have shown that the 13th and 14th of Nisan fell on a Thursday and Friday the year that Jesus died. Hence, John's Gospel is probably closer to the dates upon which the events happened.
I have chosen to agree with those scholars (cf. Raymond Brown, John Meir. etc.) who say that the Last Supper was a farewell meal. Those present would have been his close disciples, including the women. In Sieger Koder's painting, Jesus pauses for a moment after washing Peter's feet. Peter bends over him in a seeming protective embrace of intimacy and concern. Each one present has his/her feet washed, and knows a unique moment with Jesus before he departs. As he makes the round, we notice Jesus' own strong feet that are calloused and grimy. He knows these men and women. He is one of them. And they know they are about to lose a good and special friend, their rabbi. They will remember his words long after he is gone.
The next night, the eve of Passover, the disciples are gathered together but Jesus is not with them. We know how they feel for we have all known the peace and presence that comes into a room when a beloved person dies. Yes, Jesus is gone. He is in the grave. But his spirit is with them. I like to ponder the strength given to these assembled men and women as they retell the exodus story and recount all the other Passover meals they celebrated with Jesus and recount the words he spoke to each of them personally.
You now have available at your disposal, on the Bat Kol website [www.batkol.info], a new booklet on Celebrating Exodus. The purpose of the liturgy is to make the transcendent God immanent, and the immanent people, transcendent. As you share your stories about Jesus and your journeying, you too will be empowered to walk the road.
Maureena Fritz, nds, with a special blessing to each one of you.
Merle Andre Mitchell SND, and Kevin McDonnell cfc
ENCOUNTER & RELATIONSHIPS:
The Gospels as Jewish Literature
On Saturday, February 23, the first of ten four-hour teaching blocks on Encounter and Relationships: The Gospels as Jewish Literature was held at Catholic Bible College, La Rochelle, Johannesburg. This program is a new project of Bat Kol institute, Jerusalem, and is being offered for the first time in South Africa as a joint offering of the Bat Kol and Catholic Bible College. Under the auspices of the Department of Catechists of the Archdiocese of Johannesburg, for catechists and religion teachers, it is being run ova ten months, one Saturday per month, from February to November 2008.
After weeks of preparation, Sr. Marie Andre Mitchell and Br. Kevin McDonnell welcomed the participants who arrived. It was a very mixed group: two deacons, religious education teachers, many catechists, and other interested persons. When the deacon from Soweto enrolled he showed us a list of courses on oilier and said that he had chosen this particular program because he knew nothing about Jewish-Christian relations... there are no African Jews in Soweto. What is interesting, though, is that a section of the Venda tribe, the Lemba, who live in the Northern Province, claim to be descended from Abraham and genetic studies prove their Semitic origin.
After brief introductions, Marie Andre introduced the video, I am Joseph Your Brother, which assesses and reflects on the changes that have taken place in the often difficult relationship which has existed for centuries between Jews and Christians. The video was shown in three sections with time for reflection and discussion after each part. The group was very moved by what they saw, particularly footage from the Vatican Archives; interviews with Maureena and Jack, whom some in the group had met, made a great impression. Many participants wanted to know where they could purchase the video in order to show it to their students. We ended the session by praying the prayer John Paul II had placed between the stones of the Western Wall in Jerusalem during his millennium visit.
The second session dealt with recent Church teaching, and paragraph 4 of Nostra Aetate was studied in some detail. This was followed by a summary of the Notes on the Correct Way to Present the Jews and Judaism in Preaching and Catechesis in the Roman Catholic Church, a very long title for the document produced by the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews to respond to Chapter III: Teaching and Education of the Guidelines and Suggestions tar Implementing the Consular Declaration Nostra Aetate. Although these documents can be obtained off the web, many asked for full copies which we will have ready for them on the next teaching day.
In the third session Kevin gave a PowerPoint presentation on traditional Jewish methods of Bible study for Christians. The participants were fascinated and are looking forward to using some of these tools as we begin to explore the story of Passover at the end of March, with the new Bat Kol publication, Celebrating Exodus: Homed-based Rituals for Christians.
The day concluded with an explanation of a worksheet designed to assist each participant in planning ways in which they might re-teach the material. The group is very diverse, so we asked each participant to prepare three lesson plans suitable for the age group with which he or she is involved, listing steps in the process, teaching, and learning strategies to be employed, and the resources that would be needed. These will be shared at the beginning of the next teaching day.
Everyone enjoyed the time together. The best compliment came from a teacher who said that she hated attending meetings, but this was different and the time went too quickly. They went home clutching their specially-prepared booklet which includes all the content that we covered It will be an excellent resource for their own teaching.
-Johannesburg, South Africa
Rita Kammermayer, nds
Sr. Maureena Chants the Torah Portionin the Synagogue
Since last August, Sr. Maureena has been taking lessons in chanting the Torah portion of the week. On Thursday, 13 March 2008, she chanted the first three reading from Vayikra If at Kol HaNeshama Synagogue. Rabbi Levi Wyman-Kelman introduced the morning service with words on Celebrating Sacred Confusion. Rabbi Dow Marmur, Ron Baker, and Rabbi Aharon Zinger did the blessings before the Torah readings. Then Maureena gave the Debar Torah.
1. Celebrating Sacred Confusion, by Rabbi Levi
One of the great (and many) joys of teaching in the Bat Kol program is watching the faces of the participants as they achieve a state of sacred confusion. Many participants come with all sorts of pre-conceived notions about Jews and Judaism (and Christianity). As they encounter living Judaism (and live Jews) their faces reflect that old ideas are being upset as new ones are absorbed.
This morning it is our turn, the Jewish teachers at Bat Kol, to experience sacred confusion. What are we to make of Maureena's passionate commitment to the study of Torah? As a rabbi who has to preach every week about the parashat hashuvah, I find myself inspired to read the Torah through Maureena's eyes. I have always found myself more attracted to people who ask good questions rather than those with glib answers. Spiritual confusion, rooted in practice and faith, is a high spiritual level. Maureena is a true spiritual explorer, bravely leading the way through uncharted territories. That is what we celebrate today.
2. A Fire-offering of Soothing Savor for YHWH, by Ron Baker
Maureena, today you are chanting from the Torah portion, Vayikra, "He Called." The portion speaks of the fire, the wood and the sweet savor of the sacrifice ascending to God. In our Torch studies together I have often been reminded of another woman of faith, Joan of Arc, as portrayed in the song by Leonard Cohen. She too was called by a voice special to her-that only she could hear:
Now the flames they followed Joan of Arc as she came riding through the dark; "And who are you?" she sternly spoke to the one beneath the smoke. "Why, I'm fire," he replied, "And I love your solitude, I love your pride." And then she clearly understood if he was fire, oh then, she must be wood. And high above the wedding guests he hung the ashes other lovely wedding dress.
Joan of Arc blindly followed a voice that led her through the dark. The journey ended not in fire or sacrifice but a sweet savor ascending to God. Ken yehee ratson, so may it be His will.
3. And Deborah the Woman was a Prophetess, by Aharon Zinger
Maureena, may wonders never cease! You never stop surprising us all with your pioneering spirit. As Jesus preaches Torah in the synagogue in Tiberias, so Maureena reads Torah in Jerusalem! Your reading from the Torah Scroll this morning is a culmination and an action symbol of your commitment to bring your fellow Christians back to the study of their roots in biblical and rabbinic teaching. With the power, speed, and efficiency of a Harley Davidson, Maureena has embraced the divine word in Isaiah 49:6, "I will make you a light unto the nations."
A rabbinic Midrash must have had Maureena in mind when it taught the following:
"And Deborah the woman was a prophetess" (Judges 4:4). How is one to understand that Devorah [a woman!] became a judge and a prophetess? Pinchas b. Elazar said: "I call heaven and earth to witness that be one gentile or Israelite, man or woman, man servant or woman servant, according to one's deed so shall the spirit of holiness [ruach hakodesh] rest on him/her."
Whether the spirit of holiness or a bat kol--an echo of the spirit of holiness, indeed a divine blessing rests on you, Maureena, may you ever go maychayil ehl chayfl, from valor to valor.
4. Debar Torah by Maureena F ritz
"An offering by fire of pleasing odor to the LORD" is repeated throughout this Torah portion. I hope that my chanting of the Torah has been an offering of pleasing odor to God. I've asked myself why I am doing this. I know it is not to demonstrate that I can chant the Torah. That would be a performance. What I am doing is related to the words of St. Paul who said that gentile Christians are wild olive branches graded unto the root of the true olive tree of Judaism. That sentence is now more than a theoretical statement for me. In addihon, I am now graded unto the branches of rabbinic Judaism from which I find nourishment. No, I have not made any renouncements. I am who I was, and yet I am the new 'I'.
Last night I had what I call a "night of the Lord." Confusing thoughts and questions tormented me the whole night through. As dawn broke, peace entered my soul. I remembered that Jesus read the Torah in the synagogue. He cannot therefore be displeased that I am imitating him. I look at where I've been and the road is zigzag. I'm reminded of Abraham's wanderings and his statement, "God caused me to go astray" (Gen. 20:13). I've learned from my mistakes and I hope to continue learning from them.
And the road ahead! The opening words of this Torah portion are my inspiration, "And God called!" The Voice of God, the bat kol, is the Voice I want to follow. Lech Lecha! Go forth! Though you don't know the way, go forth for your own good. The road will open up before you as you walk it.
I thank you, Rabbi Levi for letting this happen. I thank you my Jewish and Christian friends and my Sisters of Sion for sharing this moment with me. Thank you for being present.
--Jerusalem
BA T KOL CENTERS
AUSTRALIA/Melbourne [the western suburbs] Bat Kol Havurah Mark David Wabh "Bat Kol Havurah is still meeting to share a Sabbath Meal and Table Talk on the first Friday of each month. This is a time of lively conversation and nourishment for each of us and we look forward to these times together.
I will be in Nairobi to give a course on the stories about Jacob, Rachel, Leah, Esau, and others at the Subiaco Retreat Centre run by the Missionary Benedictine Sisters. The course will run from March 31 until February 4, when it will conclude with a Sabbath Meal and Table Talk.
"I conducted a similar course during August last year, and have built upon that in constructing the present course which will involve excavating the Genesis text using Jewish sources, Bibliodrama, song, havrutah, and reflection."
AUSTRALIA/Melbourne. Bat Kol Shechinah Patricia Watson, nds.
Our Bat Kol Group of 20 participants met on February 25th at Box Hill for the first gatbening for 2008. We decided to make it a social occasion to hear of one another's doings over the long summer break as well as to plan for 2008. It was a joy to see how happy everyone was to be together again and to renew friendships. Afler light refreshments, we decided to continue meeting on the last Monday of each month and to finish the Book of Genesis.
"After two years of continuous study we have reached Chapter 44! Once completed, Sr. Rosalie will assist Patricia in leading the group in the next study. Rosalie had been running the Biblical Program at Ecce Homo but is now back in Australia. She will explore with us, in a couple of sessions, the overall composition of the Hebrew Bible, including the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings.
"Our group was very happy to have had one of our members, Mary Ann Payne, attending the latest Bat Kol session in Jerusalem. Mary Ann gave us a wonderfull overview of the course she attended on the Book of Exodus. By the end, we were all thinking of chartering a plane for a trip to Jerusalem!
"In October, the various Bat Kol leaders in Australia hope to meet in Melbourne to share news of their groups as well as to assist at a day session, to be given by Rabbi Ehud Bandel from Israel. We will also visit his synagogue for Shabbat Prayer together.
"All blessings to all the other Bat Kol Groups. We keep you in our prayers and thoughts and wish you the joy and new life of Easter."
INDIA/Kerala. Bat Kol Kottayam. Sr. Joan Chunkapura MMS
''We are having our regular Sabbath talks and get-togethers in two places. The women's group at Karuna Bhavan especially finds much strength in sharing The Word using the havrutah method. They say that the inner strength they receive is the greatest empowerment, more than economic and psycho-social empowerment techniques.
"We are eagerly awaiting Glenns scheduled visit in August to explore the possibilities of Bat Kol training in the major seminaries in Kerala, as well as for the lay catechists and trainers.
"We are united with you on our sacred journey towards life and God through the mission of Bat Kol which connects the whole world. Love and prayers for Easter and Passover/ Pesach"
SOUTH AFRICA/Cape Town. Bat Kol/Refuah Cynthia Thompson 0P
With regard to Bat Kol activities, we have had very few meetings this past year. We did have two very big groups for two meetings last year and all enjoyed the input and came away feeling they really had gained something. It was very fruitful and inspiring."
INFORMATION FROM AROUND THE BAT KOL WORLD
AUSTRALIA/Tasmania. Elizabeth Young
"I would like to share with you, and recommend, two excellent books that I have read recently that help articulate the Jewish context and influences that are reflected in the New Testament. Julie Galambush's The Reluctant Parting: How the New Testament's Jewish Writers Created a Christian Book (2005) is a user friendly book to use with study groups. Galambush presents the New Testament's authors as Jews, and works through each New Testament book bringing a Jewish reading to the text. While written primarily for Jews, the book is a valuable resource for Christians because it raises awareness of aspects of the Jewish perspectives of its writers that carry meaning for Jews that may be hidden from many Christian readers. Christians will also become sensitive to anti-Semitic undertones in the texts.
Judaism in the New Testament: Practices and Beliefs (Bruce Chilton /Jacob Neusner, 1995) This book places the New Testament in the context of 'a Judaism' among many Judaisms in the first centuries of the common era. The notion of The Mishnah as representative of 'Judaism' per se is challenged and the reader begins to see that the Judaism of Christian roots cannot easily be traced to a single, uniform, identifiable Judaism at all. Indeed, The Mishnah itself becomes a work that reflects the agenda and contexts of just one group of Jews among many-if we forget this and resort to generalisms, ignoring the contradictions in Jewish writings and documents, we produce a common denominator Judaism that 'contradicts the facts of history at every point in the history of Judaism."'
Elizabeth has prepared a useful and interesting reflection on The Symbolism in the Word Mitzrayjm (Egypt).
See the white www hitch infix under Jewish Festival Pesach
CANADA/Ontario. David Brubacher
"When I met up with Glenn Witmer recently on his North American stay, it renewed fond appreciation of my time with Bat Kol. Up until a few months ago I continued to be in weekly email conversation with a Torah partner. We will look forward to picking up that relationship again after the year-long cancer treatments for their four-year-old son is complete. I know the family will appreciate your prayers for Timothy.
"After a two-year absence from a ministry setting, during which time I ran my own carpentry business, I have returned to congregational ministry. I am serving as an intentional interim pastor in an urban congregation in Toronto, Canada until December 2008.1 continue to find the Bat Kol methodology of studying scripture informing how I preach."
ITALY/Rome. Mathew Kazhuthadiyil
"Greetings from Rome to my Bat Kol group. I remembered you on the occasion of the Papal audience which I attended. Prayerful greetings to you. May the Lord give you a fruitful Lent season and blessed Easter."
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA/USA/Washington, DC. Sr. Lina Rong
M y studies are going very well. I have found in Catholic University a very engaging academic atmosphere. Biblical Studies is an important major subject here at Catholic University; there are 59 students in total this year, the majority lay people! It was such a pleasant surprise for me to find out that most of my classmates are lay persons, and that there are quite a number of couples. Husbands and wives are studying Hebrew and Greek together. Every semester we have a couple of socials for the Biblical students and professors-it feels like a big family!
"This semester I am again taking Hebrew Prose, Advanced Greek, and Syriac. Hebrew is the easiest of the three and Syriac is getting easier now that I have mastered the strange Syriac script and little vowels. The most difficult now is Greek because the Greek professor is extremely demanding, well known for his unpredictable way with his students. We have formed study groups in order to survive we read the text together and parse the words. We all passed the first semester and hope we will do well.
"The general atmosphere at Catholic Univcrsity is very religious, with the National Shrine of Mary in the middle; the surrounding areas are scattered with churches and religious communities. In the USA it is even called 'the little Vatican.' The National Shrine is elegant and very beautiful both from inside and out; every Sunday it welcomes pilgrims from all over the country. But I was told it is not safe to walk around in this area in the evenings as people were being mugged once in a while. Every time when I go to church, seeing it is packed with people, I wonder how this unity could be extended to the streets, to various communities.
"I have found the American people very friendly, kind and willing to help. Moving from Manila where I studied to DC, I was preparing myself for some cultural shock, but it has not occurred up to now. It is a grace that I am able to study here with all the opportunities and access to what I need. I hope this period of time will bear good fiuit."
PHILIPPINES/Cotabato City. Aliki Langi, Fernando Ingentesm, Reynan (Lay Marist) An the first Newslener of our Kasiglahan Foundation, we described two programs we offer the Respect Program, Peace and Reconciliation in five High Schools here Cotabato City, and one at the Kasiglahan Children's Center. We hope to bring out a Newslener quarterly."
UNITED KINGDOM/SOUTH AFRICA. Jude Fernandez TOR
"At present I am in Franciscan International Study Center in Canterbury, UK, preparing to be a spiritual director. I am very busy with my studies and I will be returning to South Africa on the 17 April. May the good Lord will give you peace."
UNITED KlNGDOM/Stockport.
Angela Gill ''Sister Ibolya Glancz and I still speak on the phone each week about the Parashah. Ibolya is very active in CSJ and she participates in interfaith discussions and shared experiences. I continue to teach at a Sixth form college in Stockport. I use my Bat Kol experiences in discussions with the students. I also have presented parish Groups with examples of Passover links with the Eucharist.
"I am retiring this summer, and planning my daughter's wedding for May 2009.1 remember in prayer my Bat Kol Buddies as I light Shabbat candles each erev Shabbat. Shalom to all."
