When compared to Biblical Christianity, Biblical Judaism can at times look like a particularistic religion with limited global concerns. As someone who grew up in a Jewish home, where the words “righteous” and “gentile” were often joined together (in reference to heroes and heroines of the Holocaust) I was eager to learn about world religions and religious role models.
My bar mitzvah occurred in 1967, just a few months after the Six Day War which brought about the “reunification” of Jerusalem under Israeli military control. Given all that was going on at the time, including the Vietnam War, I asked for and received for my bar mitzvah a shortwave radio that helped me keep up with international news. News reporting was very different back then, prior to cable television and the internet.
My parents were adamant that my sister and I learn the “story” of the Jewish people. They were just as adamant that we learn the “stories” of other peoples. To do otherwise would in their view be irresponsible. My parents (of blessed memory) would be very happy to see how involved I have become with the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council. My father was an attorney and regular synagogue attendee. He loved leading Passover seders in our home with lots of guests who would all leave with smiles on their faces and the satisfaction of an exquisitely cooked meal prepared by my mother.
My mother worked for a nonprofit organization that helped inner city children learn how to read. She loved the contrast in cultures given how she had grown up as the child of a rare Jewish farm family in the Midwest. I do remember my mother’s vicarious satisfaction as related to one specific GKCIC event. It was in 2015 when I and other Council members organized a meeting with local African Methodist Episcopal pastors to express solidarity and learn about their denomination. This meeting occurred in the aftermath of the 2015 shooting at Emanuel AME Church in South Carolina that took the lives of nine people.
For a variety of reasons, Jews do tend to live amongst themselves in clustered or cloistered areas. It is my hope that housing patterns continue to become more integrated, making it easier for people of diverse backgrounds to interact more regularly and productively. It serves nicely as a guiding principle that according to Genesis 1:27 we are all created (regardless of color or native language) in the image of God.
Barry Speert (MSW), Councilor, Biblical Religions