C. He had a reputation for religious tolerance. For Rabbi Sacks, we can witness the piety, ethics, or even God of other religions as a manifestation of the God of Abraham, even while acknowledging that their religion is different from Judaism. How do you mix Hinduism, which says there are many gods, with Judaism, which says there is only one? The fact that objects of worship differ greatly from one local community to another is responsible for this incredibly high level of tolerance. You can also review our Article Title or Author index. Requiring shared motives is unfair and unreasonable. For those who are okay with accepting that an ideal halakhic state would not have religious freedom, this exercise is not necessary. Another way to be tolerant of other religions is syncretism. Cherry picking out the positive statement about gentiles and other religions, the predominant response, is not adequate because it does not acknowledge the problem. We should not kiss every hand extended to us, nor expect every initiative to be successful. The Sifrei (Re’eh 61), followed by several authorities, such as Rambam (Hilkhot Avodah Zarah 7:1), Semag (Mitzvat Aseh 14), and Hinnukh (436), takes a middle approach, ruling that the obligation to destroy idolatry exists both in Israel and the Diaspora, but to different extents. – The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 18, A central belief to most modern people, including observant Jews, is that of religious freedom and toleration. And even though [the right/obligation] of protecting lives does not stand up to idolatry, or even its ancillary parts, that is only with regards to Jews themselves, but the prohibition of tolerating gentile worship, and certainly the prohibition against them dwelling in the Land and the like, is not included, and it does not override saving the lives of the collective Israel. Thus, if the soldiers were truly religious, they should have taken the opportunity, during their “conquest” of Jerusalem, to destroy any vestige of idolatry. See, however, my teacher, Rabbi Aryeh Klapper’s critique of his position in brief here: http://text.rcarabbis.org/what-is-the-halakhic-status-of-the-doctrine-of-the-trinity/, a full version of which was presented at AJS 2007. government. Jews believe that God judges other nations based on the 7 commandments of Noah. Does Judaism have a theology of other religions? Sputnik International. An important book both in terms of scholarship and vision, Judaism and Other Religions by Alan Brill surveys Judaism's wide-ranging attitude toward other faiths as well as non-Jews in general. Even now, in the Diaspora, Jews are not in control, so they can happily live in malkhuyot shel hesed (kind nations) that allow them to enjoy religious freedom, without worrying about who else enjoys those rights. Rationality and theology are important in accomplishing anything we can transmit and make use of for self-understanding. Can we compare other religions to Judaism? Whereas in the 1950’s people saw America as Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish, now every county has Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, and others. Both religions agree that God shares both transcendent and immanent qualities. It likely influenced the other major Western religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Often discussed is the potentially novel position of Me’iri, as understood by Professor Moshe Halbertal in “‘Ones Possessed of Religion’: Religious Tolerance in The Teachings of The Me’iri” in Edah 1:1 (2000). The religion of a nation will confer specific benefits, enable different mechanics, and affect diplomatic actions as nations of mutually accepted religions have a better chance of reaching agreements with one another. Christians used to have a word "heretic" but they realized how discriminatory it was. R. Hirsch was not advocating the denial of Abraham’s differences from the religiosity in Ur of the Chaldeans; rather he grasped both elements. Every Sunday my local community center in my predominately Jewish suburb, also containing a strong Christian and Muslim presence, has a continuous stream of Hindu, Buddhist, Sikhs, and Zoroastrian services using the classrooms. What is the name of the first 5 books of Moses, the Jewish sacred text? This article discusses some of the foundations the Prophet Muhammad himself laid in dealing with people of other faiths, with a practical examples from his lifetime. Recently, the chief rabbis of Israel have met with Hindu religious leaders in India and issued a joint statement that “their respective traditions teach that there is One supreme Being who is the Ultimate reality, who has created this world.”. Judaism and Other Religions: Models of Understanding: Amazon.es: Alan Brill: Libros en idiomas extranjeros. Jews need to put aside their frightened mentality and recognize the age in which we live. Judaism and Other Religions is essential for a Jewish theological understanding of the various issues in encounters with other religions. The diversity of religion in America in the age of globalization will likely serve as one of Orthodoxy’s 21st century testing grounds. Moving forward So, too, with Islam, we need to start with small steps. [2] Other Christian denominations are harder to define. I have recently completed a work on Judaism and other religions where I set out the classical texts that can be used to address other religions. Judaism has a wide range of texts that offer thoughts on other religions. christianity and islam are the only two religions i'm aware of that condemn all other religions … He is completing a book on Judaism and Other Religions. If tolerance simply means discouraging the mass slaughter of those of a different faith, then today's practice of Islam generally meets this standard more often than not. Most of the time such a viewpoint remains a form of myopia, thinking that Jews are the only protagonists in the march of history. Rabbi Alan Brill is Cooperman/Ross Professor, in honor of Sister Rose Thering, in the Graduate Department of Jewish-Christian Studies at Seton Hall. I met a young rabbi who in his false humility and modern emphasis of the self, told a group of Imams that he cannot speak about God in Judaism since one can never be certain about God. However, the establishment of the State of Israel forced halakhic authorities to at least ask the question – should an ideal Jewish state have religious freedom? Rabbi Marc D. Angel answers your questions on our YouTube channel! Tolerance was now formulated in a stronger version, as a positive respect for and even admiration of many of the things that distinguish other religions from Judaism, making each uniquely valuable. Wiccans also tend to be tolerant of other religions simply because they know quite well what it feels like to be persecuted. More than that, [the Torah] forbids us from permitting their worship in our lands and forbids us from permitting them to acquire land. He argues that the passage in Kiddushin refers to a related law – the prohibition of building altars outside of the Temple – which applies within Israel and without, but the laws regarding destroying idolatry are indeed Israel-dependent. This is not the humanity of putting our religions away, or a subjective humanism that does not make demands on us. Yet, they have never asked themselves whether they would actually be comfortable standing behind a modern State of Israel that reflected purely halakhic values. Muslims believe they must extend religious tolerance and acceptance to Jews and Christians. Some of the first parts of modern Europe where religious tolerance was practiced had Calvinistic populations, most notably the Netherlands. 1. From its ancient origins Judaism adopted a generally tolerant attitude to other traditions - what is possible today is for this spirit of tolerance to deepen and serve as a foundation for a common quest with like-minded adherents of other faiths for spiritual insight and religious truth. Contribute now! Both religions reject atheism, on the one hand, and polytheism, on the other. Whereas in Israel one is obligated to actively seek out and eradicate idolatry, in the Diaspora one must only destroy idols that end up in his domain, but need not seek them out. Abraham. Interfaith relationships tend to be about friendship, cooperation, and collaboration around shared stories, values, and goals—not about dialogue or a lowest common religious denominator. The Quran specifically requires Muslims to respect the other two faiths, calling practitioners "people of the book." My starting point is, therefore, not tolerance based on eighteenth-century Enlightenment ideas that would discuss religious encounter in secular terms. Even more so, there are cases where we can violate Torah law [to prevent] enmity. “Tolerance in abundance” is the hallmark of Hinduism. [9] See, however, Taz 12 who argues. The now-overthrown Taliban regime in Afghanistan was considered intolerant by many observers. He has taught in many contexts in the US, Canada, and Israel, focusing particularly on the Halachic Process. Evidence of tolerance can be found in all major religions as well as evidence of intolerance. Judaism and Other Religions is essential for a Jewish theological understanding of the various issues in encounters with other religions. This article appears in issue 2 of Conversations, the journal of the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals. 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