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Thread: Christians and the Tallit

  1. #1

    Christians and the Tallit

    http://www.cfrnews.org/single-post/2...-Appropriation

    I have noticed over the last few years a growing number of Christians wearing tallits during worship services, some ministers preach with it on, others have it placed upon them during an ordination or installation ceremony and others wear them during times of prayer. I am aware of several ministers that market and sell tallits to Christians as necessary attire for those serious about intercessory prayer. One minister went as far as to erroneously suggest that tallit or prayer shawls are in fact the "prayer closet" or private room of Matthew 6:6 that Jesus instructed his disciples to go into in order to pray privately. Most recently the media covered a visit by Donald Trump to an Church in Detroit where he was draped in a tallit and then handed two copies of "The Jewish Heritage Study Bible" for him and his wife, by the pastor of the church who also provided Trump with a strange explanation of why wearing this particular prayer shawl, which by the way came "straight from Israel" would be a blessing to him and would be an "anointing" upon him to bring protection and comfort during his travels.

    Most who know me are aware of or have some sense of my appreciation for the Scriptures and my grasp of Jewish studies, Hebraic contextualization, Second Temple Period history, and Hebraic linguistics. I am among many ministers and biblical teachers who agree that it is incredibly important that Christians understand the Jewish origins or "root" of our faith and to develop a healthy appreciation for the culture to whom and from whom this document that we call the Bible came. It is high time that we learn to read the Bible in it's Hebraic/Jewish context in order to better ascertain the meaning and the relevance of various elements and dynamics at play within the text so that we might hear the Scripture not only from the intent of the Holy Spirit but also from the intent of the writers and from the perspective of the earliest audiences/recipients of Scripture. It is indeed high time that the Jewishness of Scripture be restored exegetically after centuries of stripping and "whitewashing" until the Bible is read from a very Westernized lens and filter which has historically removed and replaced the original culture with that of their own. This is far different however from intercultural readings of Scripture or inculturation which utilizes cultural worldviews as a way to relate to Scripture without changing the original historical/contextual meaning.

    My concern here is with cultural appropriation which is the unappreciated and unwelcomed adaption by members of a particular group or culture, of various aspects of another culture that's not their own. In plainer words, it is when people from one group which is usually the dominant social group, borrow elements of the oppressed and marginalized social group's culture which is in turn redefined by the dominant group in ways that are often profitable, seemingly harmless, misrepresented, and historically inaccurate. This happens today with Black/African culture around the world as well as Native American culture. Time doesn't permit me to go into detail since the scope of this piece is on the problem with Christians appropriating Jewish culture.

    Here are some of my issues with Christians and Tallits:

    What appears to be a profound appreciation and love for all things Jewish and Israel (philo-Semitism) by various Christians and churches, can be as theologically and philosophically dangerous as anti-Semitism for the mere fact that those controlling the narrative (story/teaching) often assign roles, customs, and history to Jewish people that don't include authentic Jewish contribution to the narrative and usually fails to pass the bar of historical, cultural, linguistic and theological scrutiny.

    We saw an example of this when the self-proclaimed Rabbi, Ralph Messer coronated Bishop Eddie Long as a King in a most bizarre ceremony that involved teaching an assorted mix of Jewish like symbols and assigning to them, false meanings and value. Messer falsely called the covering of Torah a "foreskin", and stated that Torahs are only given to cities that need to be released into a new anointing. He then wraps Long in the Torah that he claims cost $60,000 while claiming that kings of Israel were physically wrapped in the Torah while being anointed.

    (see link for video)

    Another example is when Juanita Bynum began prostituting a series of teachings available in books and audio on the "Threshing Floor", a reference to King David's borrowing of the wheat threshing floor from another king in order to build a make shift altar upon which to sacrifice. Bynum falsely attributed spiritual significance to this agricultural instrument by making it synonymous with prayer and revival. In a YouTube clip she is heard asking for $200,000 to build a new threshing floor upon which to mediate to God on behalf of those in attendance. (Editor Note: The original video showing Juanita Bynum asking for $200,000 was removed from YouTube. However,the video used here does illustrate the cultural appropriation of Juanita Bynum).

    (see link for video)

    Having said that, I do not believe that it would be wrong for a Christian to participate in a Passover Seder or even celebrate Chanukah (I certainly prefer it over Christmas), however to lead a Seder as a non Jewish person is to take what belongs to another group and feel entitled enough to use it and represent it to one's own group in ways that undervalue, misrepresent, and trivializes the Jewish culture. This is not the same as cultural sharing, Messianic typology or assimilation, this is taking culture from another group and reinterpreting it to your group without any connection to the original culture. It's like white professors who teach African dance to white and black students because they've gone many times to Ghana and feel empowered by what they've learned. This kind of behavior is in fact highly offensive and does not show affinity or appreciation for the marginalized culture as much as it does ignorance of and mere impression with that culture to the point that it is willing to take, profit, and propagate aspects of that culture in ways that are beneficial and repackaged for the culture of the dominant group.



    Does it matter that White record industry executives stole rock and roll from Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Black culture and rewrote history so that we would remember Elvis as the King of Rock and Roll? Does it matter that Pocahontas (Matoaka) is falsely represented by history and Disney as being happily married to John Smith although the truth is that she was abducted as a little girl and forced to marry the Englishman, later being used as a tool for racist propaganda? Does it matter that the NFL team Washington Redskins profits from hundreds of millions of dollars annually while using the name Redskins which historically came from a time when private companies and the government paid white people to kill Native Americans and bring back their genitalia and scalps (redskin) as proof of kill?



    Ask yourself these questions:

    1. Have you ever been to a Synagogue or Church and either observed or participated in the worship?

    2. Do you have any dialogue with, friendships, or regular interactions with Jewish people?

    3. Do you believe as many Dispensationalists do, that the Church has replaced Israel (aka as Replacement theology) and that Christians are "Spiritual Jews"?

    4. Do you tend to interpret Scripture allegorically, a practice that looks for all manner of hidden meaning beyond the literal and plain sense of the text? In other words do you read the Bible as though the obvious meaning is really a code that needs to be deciphered in order to understand the deeper more spiritual meaning?

    5. Do you practice and or condone the act of adopting to Jewish lifestyle and religious practice in an effort to feel more authentic as a believer or to walk more like Jesus walked? Is this Torah observant lifestyle making you feel more spiritual, more knowledgeable, and part of an end time remnant of believers who like you, (in reality) misunderstand and mistake cultural appreciation for cultural conversion in an effort to embrace Jewishness?

    6. Do you often find yourself confusing love for Israel with pro Zionist ideology which is support for the politics of the State of Israel which is a separate and distinct matter from the history of Hebrew speaking,Jewish people and their faith?

    7. Did you know that although the tallit is an important religious symbol to Jewish people, it actually has no spiritual or theological meaning apart from the tzitzit or the tassels that hang from it which were commanded by God to be worn in Numbers 15:38 and Deuteronomy 22:12? It is in effect a mere outer garment but one that is uniquely Jewish in cultural unlike the Roman toga or stole.

    In conclusion, my point was not to discourage anyone from appreciating the value of Jewish studies, Jewish culture, Jewish contribution and Jewish history, whether that is purely for knowledge sake or with the interest to better understand the very people of Scripture from whom and to whom the biblical text came and as a result, better understand the historical/cultural/contextual meaning of Scripture. My point was to make Christians aware that wearing tallit, tzitzit, blowing shofar, leading Seders and occasionally quoting RAMBAM (Maimonides) within the context of your own churches culture is more often than not cultural appropriation which is offensive. If you want to appreciate Jewishness, then learn and even share what you've learned, but don't take, borrow, misrepresent, or misappropriate any of that culture all without having any connection to, appreciation for, knowledge of, and empathy for the people of that culture and their existential plight. Don't be like the privileged White kid from the suburbs who loves "Black music", Black culture, Black hairstyles and even dons dreadlocks, but is absent from the outraged voices over injustices and never seen in physical proximity with other Blacks when the struggle continues. It's all convenient and fun when it's about sports and dancing but not unjust killings, economic and educational disparities, and other racially systemic issues. I encourage intercultural sharing rather than cultural piracy!

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  3. #2
    * Toxic Troll - Negative Nancy Farm Truck's Avatar
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    It does not make one any closer to the Father or any more accepted.

    I've run across some doing this that believe they have a better relationship with the Lord than you do because they do some messianic stuff and you don't.

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