So, how tolerant are the world’s other religions about Judaism?
So tolerant that Jewish organizations had to help Ethiopian Jews steal their own Torah scrolls in order to save them from being taken by non-Jews.
Two torah scrolls, which the Jewish Agency secretly snatched from a center for Ethiopians awaiting aliyah in Addis Ababa, arrived in Israel Thursday.
Jewish-American organization Nacoej took the initiative to bring the torah scrolls to Israel. The organization, which owned the center in Addis Ababa, closed it on Tuesday, and put it in the hands of other groups, one of which was “Jews for Jesusâ€.
That would be those Messianic Christians who call themselves Jews. The FJs, or Faux Jews.
Nacoej asked the Jewish Agency to save the two scrolls which were used in the past for prayers in the center, for fear that they would fall into the hands of missionaries.
The two scrolls were saved in a coordinated operation involving the Addis Ababa police, since the non-Jewish inhabitants of the center insisted on not giving them up.
Yeah, that famous tolerance that extends to everyone but the Jews. What, I would like to know, does a non-Jew want with a Torah? I can think of no reason except maybe to hold it for ransom, which would be nothing new in Ethiopia. Israel and the world Jewish community literally ransomed the Ethiopian Jews during the airlifts.
The Torah scrolls that arrived in Israel Thursday have a magnificent history. One of them was donated by an American philanthropist, and the other was lent to the center’s synagogue by a Jewish community in Addis Baba that brought the scroll from Yemen at the turn of the century.
The scrolls made it to Israel in time for Simchat Torah.
Jewish Agency Chairman Zeev Bielski pointed out that saving the two scrolls on Simchat Torah eve was symbolic of the verse, “And out of Zion shall come the Torahâ€.
The scrolls will be brought to Simchat Torah prayers on Friday and Saturday, and on Saturday night will be presented in the traditional laps which take place in Jerusalem’s Liberty Bell Park.
You know, you can’t just publish a Torah scroll like you can print a Christian Bible. It takes an entire year of a scribe’s life to create one, and there are strict rules to be followed—check them out for yourself. Having one of our Torahs fall into the hands of the J4Js would be so much more than a sacrilege—it would be an offense beyond words.
And yet, Jews the world over would not riot as a result. Funny, that.
The thought of a bunch of “Jooz” for Jeezis having a sefer Torah in their hands makes me physically ill.
Are Torah Scrolls not controlled by Rabbis? Why would one close a facility, whether it be a Synagogue or something else, turning it over to other religions, and not first remove the Torahs?
I am a Christian Blogger, but I have great respect for Jews. I am a little hurt by your attitude about Jews for Jesus. At least you don’t threaten to kill those that convert, like the Muslims do.
Don, this is going to sound pretty callous, but though I’m sorry your feelings are hurt, that’s not going to change the way I and most Jews feel about “Jews” for Jesus. They’re not Jews. An overwhelming majority are Christians. Many of the “Jews” in J4J are not Jewish by Jewish law, but say they are because their father or grandfather was Jewish. They use false pretenses to convert—or try to convert—real Jews. There is a 70% recovery rate of Jews tricked by the J4Js, which is pretty sad for the J4Js, actually. Once their lies are exposed, the “converts” leave in droves.
“Jews” for Jesus is a Christian evangelical missionary program that was founded specifically to convert Jews to Christianity. How is any self-respecting Jew supposed to be anything other than negative by an organization that wants to convert every Jew in existence? Extinction by what are considered by some good motives is still extinction.
I’m not making any of this up. Go check out a few J4J sites, or even the main one. Then go check out Jews for Judaism for the truth.
Good question about the scrolls in this article, but the translation of the article is a little sketchy. This is the only thing they say about the scrolls being kept:
If they were refused aliyah, it’s because they couldn’t prove they were Jewish. Which would explain why they wanted to keep the Torahs. They were mad.
As for whether or not the rabbi controls the scrolls, ah, no. Rabbis aren’t the big bosses. They’re just the leaders of the congregation. Hey, in a lot of synagogues, it’s the Board of Directors and the President who pull the strings.
But those are two different things.
As to whether Jews should convert to Christianity — personally, I’d prefer they became more involved with their own Judaism, but it’s certainly every individual’s choice to make.
And, for that matter, I don’t have a big problem with Christian proselytizing in general. If you want to tell your friends about your beliefs, or politely solicit strangers, that’s your right.
But “Jews for Jesus” is not simply Jews who convert to Christiantity, and it’s not simply a proselytizing organization. It’s a Christian missonary group, backed by Christian organizations, that attempts to convert Jews to Christianity while claiming that this is compatible with Judaism. This is a deceptive and offensive position to Jews.
See, for example
http://www.jewsforjudaism.org/web/j4jlibrary/jewsforjesus.html
I would add that many informed Christians find the “Jews for Jesus” group distasteful because of the manipulative tactics they use to win converts. My guess would be that some Jews for Jesus wanted to keep the scrolls to make their group look more authentically Jewish.
But in terms of religious tolerance, the story mostly reveals how kooky the Jews for Jesus are and actually shows some hope for religious tolerance in Africa. For here we had the government of Ethiopia (through the Addis Ababa police) assisting Jews and the state of Israel in recovering Jewish religious artifacts. Rather remarkable, considering the history of Jews in Ethiopia.
If the Hebrew-Christians want Torah scrolls, let them learn to be scribes, and write their own. I would say they can buy their own, but that makes me sick as well. But at least then, they wouldn’t be stealing.
“I can think of no reason except maybe to hold it for ransom, which would be nothing new in Ethiopia.”
Why the sweeping generalization? The previous Ethiopian government which took money to let the Bet-Israel go was a dictatorship. It didn’t represent everyone.
Ms. Yourish, if you have read your story carefully, wasn’t it the police( Ethiopian police) which escorted the Tora scrolls to safety? Don’t sum Ethiopia up in one statement. Ethiopia is the only country in the world where the jews( Bet-Israel) have been rulers of the land. Of course there is prejudice against them, especially after contact began with Christian West but it is nothing like what happened elsewhere in Europe or under Ottoman rule.
I have lived in Israel for a year. I am an Ethiopian and I love Jews very much. I am an amateur Holocaust historian and I am very much ( as most Ethiopian highlanders are) Pro-Israeli. But the above statement shows your lack of knowledge and sensitivity. Please don’t make such comments again. Thank you.
You have a point, Vandia. I was thinking of the old government of Ethiopia. My apologies.
This denunciation of non-Jews’ treatment of the Beta Israel would carry more weight if the Israeli govt.’s own track record with them wasn’t so embarassingly mixed.
Case in point- 2 Torah Scrolls get “rescued” while thousands of Beta Israel are still languishing in refugee camps waiting to be let into Israel.
Yes, saving Torahs is certainly in the spirit of Simchat Torah- but what about saving Jews? Or do we only do that on Passover?
J4J may be a bit overzealous in their proscelitizing, but then there are other groups that are equally over zealous in their efforts.
At least a Jew is free to embrace Christ, or a Christian is free to convert to Judiasm without fear of being killed, unlike Muslims, that will kill one that leaves the faith, and kill to convert people.
I realize that according to Jewish law the status of being a Jew passes through the mother, not the father, but I don’t believe the Germans recognized that fact.
If the Rabbi is not the “keeper of the Torah”, who is? And why did he not take the Torah with him when they closed the center?
And the article indicates they were “awaiting aliyah”, not that they had been denied it.