
Has Rabbi Riskin’s reckless stance on interfaith dialogue and relations with evangelical Christians finally come to the end of the line?
His perplexing commentary in his regular
Jerusalem Post Parashat Hashavua column would seem to indicate that he is teetering near the edge of no-man’s land – a place where no recognized Torah observant Jew would go.
In a nutshell , Rabbi Riskin seems to feel that we Jews were found “unable or unworthy” of fulfilling the obligations outlined in “the third covenant”. “We stopped ‘hearing’ God's voice”, so the Christians continued to fulfill our mission. Riskin goes on to reference the Christian theological concept of
“grafting”, and he calls for Jews and Christians to “join hands” in a “sacred” religious union. There's a little history hiccup too, as Riskin seems to feel that the evangelical world "never really had a history of anti-Semitism".
Renowned personalities like Jesus of Nazareth and Pope John XXIII made Riskin’s column, but his oft -cited “revered teacher”, “mentor” and “rebbe” Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik z"l – who was adamantly
opposed to interfaith theological dialogue - was absent.
Riskin’s stance is nothing new for Jewish Israel. We’ve covered it
here,
here,
here,
here,
here, and
here Nevertheless it continues to shock and disturb.
Jewish Israel is looking for opinions and scholarly responses (in English and Hebrew) to this latest outrage. We will publish the most appropriate pieces on JewishIsrael.com, and we ask that you also please submit your articles to the
Jerusalem Post.
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