בעניין השתתפות בטקס תפילה בין־דתות בכנסיה לכבוד יום העמדת נשיא ארה״ב למעמדו (2009)

/ בעניין השתתפות בטקס תפילה בין־דתות בכנס…

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January 21, 2009

בעניין השתתפות בטקס תפילה בין־דתות בכנסיה לכבוד יום העמדת נשיא ארה״ב למעמדו (2009)

Practical Halacha Interfaith

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Outline

Halacha on Christianity and Islam (2008)

I. General Introduction – Strictly halakhic, not politically correct: Invited to office Christmas parties? Return Christmas cards? Israel: Christian pilgrims; long history of Christian antisemitism. Cardinals at YU? II. Halakhah on Idolatry in General – Historical Overview – See: “Exclusiveness and Tolerance” by Jacob Katz. Idolatry was widespread in the ancient world but receded: יצר הרע של עבודה זרה נסתלק עם חורבן בית ראשון – בית שני חרב בגלל שנאת חנם. Main brunt of Torah and Nevi’im = anti-idolatry. #1 Add: לפני אידיהן, בזל גוים לזלה – אסור לשאת ולתת עמהן, להשאילן ולגאול מהן, להלוותן וללוות מהן (משנה ע"ז ב' ע״א). Harsh strictures; Talmud (Avodah Zarah 5b, 8b): אסור לשאת ולתת עמהן, להשאילן וכו’.III. Yet – See Them as Humans #2, #3, #4 – Even Maimonides: #8 הי,ויIV. Is There a Halakhic Difference Between Islam and Christianity? Islam – Maimonides: #10 Christianity – Maimonides: #8 א', ד But see #14 אגב, אם יש פנאי: תשובת השו"מ לניו יורק על ההבדל בין כנסייה סתם לזו שיש בה פסלים (1858)V. The Big Question – Who is a Pagan (עובד עבודה זרה)? Is Syncretism ע"ז? #16 גוי is forbidden to commit ע"ז – but שתוף? (See Ritva, Rema) – Many poskim permit Does everyone agree? NO! Maimonides on origins: אסור גם לגוי #5, #1 – Classical מחלוקת ראשונים!VI. Has the Status of Gentiles Changed? Maimonides – NO But see #21 – רשב"א (and if time, #14) Especially: Meiri – a sea change! #6, #7VII. The Halakhah Today – #13 א, ב All: גויים can attain spiritual heights – יתרו, בלעם Maimonides: חסידי אומות העולם (אליהו רבה ט״י): מעיד אני עלי שמים וארץ בין איש בין אשה בין גוי בין ישראל בין עבד בין שפחה – הכל לפי מעשיו של אדם, רוח הקודש שורה עליוIf time: From the Rav – Q: Today, when idolatry is no longer practiced, what is its relevance? A: The essence of idolatry = the reverse of אמונה בה׳ – G-d is the center of all our values. Hence, if the axiological center of our existence is something other than G-d – e.g., materialism, science, success – that is ע"ז.VIII. You Can Now Answer the Questions……

Practical Halacha Interfaith

Correspondence

Exchange with Dr. Marc Shapiro about Halacha and Interfaith Dialogue (1996)

Dear Dr. Lamm, In my last letter to you, concerning halakhic correspondence between R. Weinberg and your grandfather, I forgot to enclose the two letters of R. Weinberg to Prof. Atlas. I am sure you will find them interesting as they show that even leading halakhists can be troubled by aspects of Jewish law. Sincerely, Marc Shapiro

Correspondence

Exchange with R. Zwiebel about Catholic Cardinals Visiting YU (2004)

Dear Rabbi Lamm: I hope this letter finds you well. Upon my return this week from a brief visit to Eretz Yisroel, I found several clippings in my in-box (from the New York Times and the Anglo-Jewish weeklies) relating to last week’s visit to the beis medrash of Yeshiva University by several visiting Catholic priests. I also heard from one of our constituents that you were on Zev Brenner’s radio program on Motzoei Shabbos to discuss this matter, and that there was some talk between the two of you about how this interaction with Catholic religious leaders was of a kind with the types of interactions that Rabbi Moshe Sherer, z”l (and Agudath Israel of America still has today) with the Catholic Church. Not having heard the radio program, and not being familiar with the background of last week’s visit beyond what I read in the clippings, perhaps there are some additional details that would help me understand this better. However, having had the honor of serving at Rabbi Sherer’s right hand for the last fourteen years of his life, and having the responsibility today on behalf of our organization to work with the Catholic leadership on a variety of issues, I must respectfully tell you that last week’s event strikes me as a giant step removed from what Agudath Israel of America has been doing with the Catholics over the years. Yes, we do work with the Catholic Church behind the scenes on matters of mutual concern, and enjoy good professional (and on occasion even personal) relationships with some of their leaders. However, to the best of my knowledge, we have never participated in a public event of the nature that occurred last week at Yeshiva University. Indeed, I recall instances when Rabbi Sherer specifically declined invitations from Cardinal O’Connor to join together publicly, notwithstanding the worthiness of the cause to which the invitation was attached. As a general rule, such public undertakings would be inconsistent with the guidelines we have received from our…