by Esther Menn

Blessing as a way of life in relationship with God is part of the heritage that Christians share with the Jewish people. Our origins within first–century Judaism have imparted many insights about God’s abundant gifts for human flourishing and for peace and wholeness in our world. Although our religious communities have developed distinctive perspectives and practices over the centuries, both Judaism and Christianity remain deeply rooted in God’s rich blessings.

Consider the greeting that Jesus heard as he entered Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday: "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!" (Matthew 21:9; Mark 11:10; Luke 19:38; John 12:13). As a Jewish man participating in the pilgrimage festival of Passover, Jesus would have understood this blessing from Psalm 118:26 as an expression of welcome. In this case, the welcome came from those who recognized him as the Messiah, Son of David. Elsewhere in Scripture blessings are exchanged as greetings in ordinary circumstances. In the book of Ruth, for example, Boaz begins a conversation with his field workers with the words, "The Lord be with you!" to which they reply, "The Lord bless you!" (Ruth 2:4).

The phrase "Blessed is the one who comes" (Baruch Ha–Ba’ ) remains the ordinary way of saying "Welcome!" in modern Hebrew. When you arrive at Ben Gurion airport outside Tel Aviv, Israel, you see the words Baruch Ha–Ba’, "Welcome!" prominently displayed on the terminal wall.

Offering a blessing as welcome is a prayer for divine favor upon those we encounter. As Christians in a pluralistic world, our own faith calls us to hope for God’s active presence in our neighbors’ lives. In Jewish–Christian relations, today we are moving beyond competition and exclusive claims to understanding that both communities experience the blessing of being people of God.

Beyond competition for blessing
"Have you only one blessing, father? Bless me also, father!" (Genesis 27:38). These are the anguished words of Esau after his brother Jacob tricked him out of their father Isaac’s blessing. In the history of Jewish-Christian relations, this story of competition between brothers became an important symbol. Both sides identified with Jacob, the son who receives the blessing and goes on to become "Israel."

In rabbinical scriptural commentaries going back to the second century, Esau represents the oppressive Roman empire and later the Christianized Byzantine empire. This interpretation or midrash develops Esau as a cruel and lawless enemy who seeks to destroy the Jewish people, symbolized by Jacob.

By contrast, the early Christian fathers saw Esau as the one who represented the Jewish people, displaced by the younger, favored son–the church. In this view, Christians, the true Israel, enjoyed the blessing of their heavenly Father, while the Jewish people were rejected and left desolate.

But the biblical story itself points beyond the dangerous idea that God has only one blessing to give. It also challenges the simple equation between being blessed and being successful. After receiving his father’s blessing, Jacob lives as a fugitive and stranger, fearful of his brother’s anger and dependent on his uncle Laban’s generosity. Later in Genesis 32, when he wrestles with the mysterious "man" at the Jabbok River until the man blesses him, Jacob receives both the new name Israel and a limp.

As for Esau, at the end of the story he is blessed with great wealth in the form of large herds and flocks as well as with many descendents (Genesis 36:6–43). The brothers experience an emotional reconciliation, through which Jacob recognizes the divine presence. He marvels at the favor he receives from his former rival and tells him that "to see your face is like seeing the face of God" (Genesis 33:10).

This story is not just a simple tale of competition; it presents a more generous understanding of providence. Both brothers are blessed, just as both Jews and Christians are blessed as communities in relationship with God. Confident of God’s abundant blessings, we are free – even obligated! – to work for greater understanding and mutual appreciation between Christians and Jews. In the reconciliation of our communities of faith, we share glimpses of the face of God.

Blessings of the Jewish New Year
As Christians continue to enjoy the long season of Pentecost through the fall months, the Jewish community observes High Holy Days in autumn. This most sacred season starts at sunset, September 12, 2007, with the Jewish New Year: in Hebrew, Rosh Ha-Shanah. According to the Jewish calendar, this year marks 5,768 years from the traditional date of God’s creation of the world. This connection with creation recalls the original blessing of humanity, created in the divine image (Genesis 1:28). The theme of blessing remains central to Rosh Ha-Shanah in the biblical reading for the day, which is Genesis 22. The story of Abraham’s binding of Isaac concludes with a repetition of God’s blessing of Abraham first heard in Genesis 12:2–4, and with God’s promise to Abraham that "by your offspring shall all the nations of the earth gain blessing for themselves" (Genesis 22:18).

In celebration of the Jewish New Year, it is traditional to eat apples dipped in honey, representing a sweet new beginning. The traditional greeting for the day expresses hope for the coming year as well as for the time of judgment: "May you be written and inscribed in the book of life." A shorter version is "May you have a good year!" or in Hebrew, "L’Shanah Tovah."

God in the details
While the blessings of festivals and holy days such as the Jewish New Year are a special joy, blessings also form a regular part of the daily rhythm of Judaism. Short fixed prayers blessing God for even the ordinary things that make life possible and delightful mark each day for observant Jews. Before eating bread, for example, this blessing is spoken: "Blessed are you, Lord, our God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth," and before drinking wine, this one: "Blessed are you, Lord, our God, King of the universe, who creates the fruit of the vine."

God is blessed as the source of every blessing. The range of occasions that evoke recognition of God’s hand is amazingly broad. There are blessings for the stages of waking in the morning, blessings for seeing beautiful sights and witnessing natural phenomena such as lightning. There are blessings for the holy commandments that preserve and distinguish the Jewish community, such as the lighting of Sabbath candles and observing the Passover ritual family meal or seder. The blessing for children to be spoken by their parents on the Sabbath and other occasions acknowledges them as a precious gift not only for the immediate family, but also for the future of Judaism. Blessing God is such a pervasive aspect of the Jewish faith that it seems only natural that one of the most often used names of God is "The Holy One, Blessed is He."

The central prayer of the synagogue also highlights the theme of blessing. This prayer, which in Orthodox congregations is spoken three times each day, is known by various names. It is called the ‘Amida or "Standing Prayer," because people reciting it stand and face Jerusalem. This prayer is also called the "Eighteen Benedictions" (although a later addition brings the total to 19). These benedictions, which praise, petition, and thank God, all end with a blessing lifting up an aspect of the divine nature. For example, the first benediction concludes, "Blessed are You, Lord, shield of Abraham," the second, "Blessed are You, Lord, who makes the dead live," and the third, "Blessed are You, Lord, the holy God." Praying the Eighteen Benedictions regularly helps keep blessing ever present in Judaism.

When God calls Abraham, he tells him, "you will be a blessing" (Genesis 12:2). This phrase can also be translated as a command: "Be a blessing!" This imperative has been influential within Judaism as a call to ethical service both within and beyond the Jewish community. With Abraham and Sarah as our common ancestors, Christians and Jews can become partners in addressing the challenges of our time that cross religious boundaries, including social justice, ecological renewal, personal and family relationships, and interfaith reconciliation. Through our cooperation, we enter into God’s promise that "all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Genesis 12:3).

Parting blessing
Lutherans today desire God’s blessing on our commitment "to live out our faith in Jesus Christ with love and respect for the Jewish people." These words come from the "Declaration of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to the Jewish Community," ratified by the ELCA Church Council in 1994 (see below for the complete text of the Declaration). The Declaration concludes with a prayer "for the continued blessing of the Blessed One upon the increasing cooperation and understanding between Lutheran Christians and the Jewish community."

As Lutherans, we wish the Jewish community in the United States, in Israel, and in other parts of the world a sweet New Year! L’Shanah Tovah!

Resources
The ELCA offers many resources to foster understanding and cooperation between Lutherans and the Jewish community, including "Guidelines for Lutheran–Jewish Relations" and a series of discussion guides called "Talking Points." All these and more are available at www.elca.org/ecumenical/interreligious/jewish

Declaration of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to the Jewish Community
The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America on April 18, 1994, adopted the following document as a statement on Lutheran–Jewish relations:
In the long history of Christianity there exists no more tragic development than the treatment accorded the Jewish people on the part of Christian believers. Very few Christian communities of faith were able to escape the contagion of anti–Judaism and its modern successor, anti–Semitism. Lutherans belonging to the Lutheran World Federation and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America feel a special burden in this regard because of certain elements in the legacy of the reformer Martin Luther and the catastrophes, including the Holocaust of the 20^th century, suffered by Jews in places where the Lutheran churches were strongly represented.

The Lutheran communion of faith is linked by name and heritage to the memory of Martin Luther, teacher and reformer. Honoring his name in our own, we recall his bold stand for truth, his earthy and sublime words of wisdom, and above all his witness to God’s saving Word. Luther proclaimed a gospel for people as we really are, bidding us to trust a grace sufficient to reach our deepest shames and address the most tragic truths.

In the spirit of that truth–telling, we who bear his name and heritage must with pain acknowledge also Luther’s anti–Judaic diatribes and the violent recommendations of his later writings against the Jews. As did many of Luther’s own companions in the 16th century, we reject this violent invective, and yet more do we express our deep and abiding sorrow over its tragic effects on subsequent generations. In concert with the Lutheran World Federation, we particularly deplore the appropriation of Luther’s words by modern anti–Semites for the teaching of hatred toward Judaism or toward the Jewish people in our day.

Grieving the complicity of our own tradition within this history of hatred, moreover, we express our urgent desire to live out our faith in Jesus Christ with love and respect for the Jewish people. We recognize in anti–Semitism a contradiction and an affront to the Gospel, a violation of our hope and calling, and we pledge this church to oppose the deadly working of such bigotry, both within our own circles and in the society around us. Finally, we pray for the continued blessing of the Blessed One upon the increasing cooperation and understanding between Lutheran Christians and the Jewish community.