Rabbi Howard Morrison

I met Pastor David Larmour and members of his family when our synagogue hosted an event to commemorate the anniversary of Kristallnacht this past November. After not hearing anything from any non-Jewish clergy person for over a year, it was a breath of fresh air to sit next to and to hear from Pastor Larmour that night. We developed a collegiality and friendship right away. After having lunch together a few weeks later, we both felt right about having a home and home interfaith conversation, here at Beth Emeth and later this month at the King Street Church in Oshawa.

Interfaith dialogue is as old as Abraham, the father for both the Jewish and Christian traditions. In Genesis chapter 14 (vv. 18-20), we read: "And King Malkitzedec of Shalem,. . . a priest of God Most High, blessed Abram, saying: Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Creator of Heaven and Earth." The terms, El-Elyon (God Most Hight) and Koneh Shamayim Va'Aretz (Creator of Heaven and Earth) were common to both of them, even if they believed in different ideas. In fact, Malkitzedec's exact language entered the Friday night Shabbat service in the short form repetition of the Amidah prayer and is paraphrased in every single Amidah prayer - The Amidah is the core prayer of every service seven days a week. 

In the 1960's, the famous Martin Luther King was accompanied by the legendary Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel during the civil rights marches and demonstrations. Both commonly invoked images from the book of Exodus, including "Let me people go." Heschel was known for the expression, praying with one's feet, not just with one's mouth. In other words, prayer and sentiment must lead to action. The same Rabbi Heschel led the Jewish community in dialogue with the Catholic Church, which led to a revision of age-old doctrines. No longer were Jews seen as Christ killers or the suffering servant. No longer was the Church seen as the new Temple of Jerusalem. Catholicism now viewed Judaism as a legitimate covenant with God.

In antiquity and the Middle Ages, There was little to no Jewish-Christian interfaith dialogue. Judaism was threatened, as exemplified by the Crusades, the Inquisition, pogroms, and more. In part, because there was no interaction, Judaism saw Christianity as being idolatrous, believing in three different Gods. It was only when particular Jewish scholars interacted positively with their Christian counterparts in the latter Middle Ages that Judaism began to see Christianity as being monotheistic, albeit in a trinitarian way, which was and is incompatible with Judaism.

When I became an interfaith military chaplain in the U.S. Armed Forces in the Summer of 1984, I attended a chaplaincy class at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery Alabama. There, I was the only Jewish clergy person, surrounded by 29 Catholic classmates and 29 Protestant classmates. The two weeks of sharing and bonding became my first experience with interfaith clergy dialogue. My new Catholic friends shared a common belief that tradition transcended the Biblical text. For them, it meant the authority of the early Church Fathers. For me, it meant the authority of the Talmudic/Rabbinic Sages.  My new Protestant friends shared a common belief that respect for the Bible meant a thorough faithfulness to the Pshat, or, contextual understanding of the Bible. For them, that meant the accuracy of the Old and New Testaments. For me, that meant the accuracy of the Hebrew Scriptures. 

Here in the GTA, I have been blessed to be part of interfaith dialogue groups, at least until October 7, 2023 occurred. Sadly, and tragically, for many rabbis including myself, we heard nothing from our non-Jewish interfaith colleagues. For me - Nothing until I met Pastor Larmour this past November. Even after we learned the tragic fate of Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir, I heard only from Pastor Larmour. He is a Zionist, a lover of Israel, and a friend of the Jewish people. 

In six weeks, the Jewish people will celebrate Passover, even as our Christian neighbors will celebrate Easter. In dark days of the Middle Ages, Jews feared pogroms on Passover night, which explains one of the reasons why we open the door waiting for Elijah the Prophet to announce the coming of the Messiah. Fortunately, that blood libel concern is a lesson of the past but thankfully not a contemporary concern with our Christian neighbors nowadays.

Passover is the pinnacle holiday for the Jewish people. Freedom is a prerequisite for all else. While we celebrate the Jewish new year in the Fall with Rosh Hashanah and the sounding of the Shofar, ram's horn; Biblically speaking, the month of Nissan, the Passover month, is considered the first month of the Jewish calendar. Thus, there are multiple new years for different purposes on our calendar. Passover speaks to the particular story of the Jewish people, but it must also be understood on a universal level, teaching that all peoples must be free. In fact, Scripture mandates that Jews must be kind to the stranger for we know what it was like to be a slave in Egypt.

Freedom is not easy. In fact, when God promises freedom to the Children of Israel, Scripture provides five expressions (Exodus 6:6-8).

"I will free you from the labors of the Egyptians

and deliver you from their bondage.

I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and through extraordinary chastisements.

And I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God. . . . 

I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraha, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession, I the Lord."

Why five expressions of freedom? The commentary found in our Sanctuary Bible, the Etz Hayim Chumash, says the following:

"I will free you - from physical enslavement in Egypt.

I will deliver you - from the psychological mindset of being a slave, which might persist even after you have been physically liberated.

I will redeem you - so that you will think of yourselves as free people.

And I will take you - into a special relationship with Me, for that is the ultimate goal of your liberation.

I will bring you into the land - Only when the Israelites have their own land can they become the special people they are summoned to be."

While it may be true that physical enslavement from ancient Egypt has been completely fulfilled, I might humbly suggest that the other stages are all still in process. Freedom in its multi-faceted stages is not easy to achieve. We are still fighting for Jewish particular freedom and for universal freedom around the globe.

I am thankful to have our community celebrate this Shabbat with Pastor David Larmour, his family, and members of the King Street Church in Oshawa.

I conclude with a verse/song from the Biblical Prophets:

"Lo Yisa Goy El Goy Cherev, V'Lo Yilm'du Ohd Milchama - Nation shall not lift sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore."

Rabbi Howard Morrison