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I was invited by a nice fellow on my block to have a family sunday brunch with them. They really are nice neighbors, and have such a nice family, and I bet I would enjoy sunday brunch.
Should I go?
Do you trust their kashrus?
Yes. If you’re not making this up, you should go. On Tuesday.
I attempted to share this with my parents, and had to explain the joke…
If the joke is a comparison to yesterday’s project it is no joke. One is sharing truth and the other falsity. Even if both think they have the truth, we do and they don’t.
lior: +1
I’ve recently read the letzonei hador mocking yesterday’s project with comparisons and making equivalency to inviting frum Jews to a mechallel Shabbos weekend to share the joy of being able to do whatever one wants one weekend as a response to the “missionary nature” of this project. Apologies for being jaded and viewing with a critical eye something that possibly sounded a bit along those lines.
I imagine that it looks that way to cynical outsiders, but in reality it’s quite different, not just because we’re right and they’re wrong.
Many Jews are not antagonistic towards Yiddishkeit, they were just not exposed to it very much. Although we would love to attract even antagonistic Jews, that’s not very realistic, so I think the goal was to attract the first group.
However,an invitation to a frum Jew to a chofshi weekend, or a Sunday Christian brunch, is an invitation to an antagonistic group or person (not that we’re antagonistic to non frum or non Jewsh people, but we are antagonistic to the ideas they’re trying to convert us to).
popa_bar_abba,
I was demonstrating what it looks like from the outside.
Aside from Lior’s response, which I think we all would agree with, I see another difference between Christian proselytizing efforts and kiruv efforts.
Kiruv is not deceptive. A Jew is invited to a Shabbos meal, or given the opportunity to perform a mitzvah. Discussions about Jewish belief are conducted honestly, without attempting to cloak our beliefs as something they are not.
Christian missionaries, however, dress up their efforts to look Jewish. They wear kippas and say Hebrew words. Elements of their beliefs that directly conflict with Judaism are minimized or cloaked.
If you told me that a shul put up a huge sign saying, “BEST TAILGATING PARTY EVER! COME INSIDE FOR SOME GREAT COLLEGE FOOTBALL!” and a non-frum Jew walks in to see a kehilla davening while wearing football jerseys, pads, and helmets (with perhaps the rav saying, “psukei d’zimra, shacharis, leining, mussaf – best four quarters ever!”) then I might agree with you.
There’s a big difference between inter-proselytizing and intra-proselytizing. Why should a Jew be offended by another Jew wanting to draw him into Yiddishkeit? But a Christian wanting to draw a Jew into Christianity…well, any fool can see that’s a completely different story.
Mocking and Humor have been practiced by jews foever, At weddings there were “Fools” who were basically clowns who routinely mocked various jews themes and even the Rabbi
They would often give “Shiurim” mocking the Rabbi and it was taken for what it was.
“Purim Torah” has also been done for a long time.
I dont know why people get so up in arms lately about these things, It was a joke and take it as such
Who says they’re trying to bring a Jew into Christianity? Maybe they’re just trying to be neighborly. It’s normal to invite neighbors over for Sunday brunch.
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