Description
Book SynopsisThis book addresses Judaism and Orthodox Christianity, and particularly their points of similarity and difference, congruence and conflict. The city of Jerusalem stands at the heart of both these age-old faiths, but today it is a divided city in which Jews and Orthodox Christians seem to find themselves on opposite sides of history. Must this story be one of continuing conflict, or is there scope for reconciliation and common effort? How do religions that cherish tradition face up to the challenges of a rapidly changing world? What place can they offer to women? Can they welcome lesbian and gay adherents? How do their traditional resources help them to face climate change and other environmental issues? How have they responded to the COVID pandemic? What contribution can they make to current debates about subjects like euthanasia and assisted dying? In seventeen chapters by expert theologians and historians this book examines central issues of common concern. The focus is on dialogue and deepened knowledge. The authors dispel some widely held misconceptions and identify a good deal of common ground. In this way the book aims to lay foundations for future engagement between the two religions.
Table of ContentsChapter 1: A ‘City whose Gates are Always Open’? Visions for Jerusalem in Orthodox Christianity
Krastu Banev
Chapter 2: Jerusalem: A Jewish Perspective
Marc Saperstein
Chapter 3: Jewish and Eastern-Rite Christian Relations in Israel: A Sketch of Contexts and Interests
Petra Heldt
Chapter 4: The Encounter between the Greek Orthodox Church and the Jews in Israel
David Rosen
Chapter 5: The Greek Orthodox Church under Israeli Sovereignty
Michael G. Azar
Chapter 6: Women in the Synagogue
Miri Freud-Kandel
Chapter 7: Women in the Orthodox Churches: Modernity and Change
Mary B. Cunningham
Chapter 8: Orthodoxia and Orthopraxia: On the Issue of Blood
Elena Narinskaya
Chapter 9: Kashrut – Niddah – Milah: On the Issue of Blood
Sybil Sheridan
Chapter 10: Judaism and Homosexuality
René Pfertzel
Chapter 11: Orthodoxy and Homosexuality: Mapping the Vectors
Misza Cherniak
Chapter 12: Confronting Environmental Crisis: What Do Jewish Traditions Teach About Using the World?
Tanhum Yoreh
Chapter 13: Confronting Environmental Crisis: What Do Orthodox Christian Traditions Teach About Using the World?
Elizabeth Theokritoff
Chapter 14: The Challenge of COVID-19: Reflections of an Orthodox Congregational Rabbi
Michael Harris
Chapter 15: The Challenge of COVID-19 to Rituals around Death in Orthodoxy
Ian Graham
Chapter 16: Euthanasia and Assisted Dying – What Jewish Texts Can Teach Us
Sylvia Rothschild
Chapter 17: Do We Have the Right to End Our Own Life? Orthodox Christian Responses to the Debate on Euthanasia and Assisted Dying
Joanna Burton
