I
discovered, with Renaissance images of Jesus, his family and followers. In one
respect a vast trove of Renaissance artworks inspire devotion and intensify
faith in Christianity. On another level, though, they falsify biblical history and
reinforce the divide between Christians and Jews, which has had lethal
consequences for Jews over many centuries. The falsifications were all the more
compelling because they were made subtly, by omission. What has been omitted is
Jesus' Jewish identity. You can walk through gallery after gallery in museums
around the world, as I have, and you will rarely see any evidence that Jesus
was a Jew or had any connection to Judaism or to the Middle East where he was
born and where he preached. Indeed, he is typically pictured as Northern
European in appearance, with fair skin, blond hair, and blue eyes. And you will
likely find him and his family and followers in regal attire, in palatial
Renaissance settings, surrounded by symbols of a religion -- Christianity --
that didn't exist during his lifetime. Read the complete article at -- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bernard-starr/art-can-inspire-faith-it_b_7837456.html
One of Jesus’s earliest memories was no doubt watching and listening to his family when they gathered to pray the Shema at sunrise before the day’s work began and after the working work day was over at sunset . He also heard and participated in praying the Shema at their synagogue. He was surrounded by neighbors who also prayed the same prayer in their homes every day. The Hebrew word for prayer is tefilah . It is derived from the root Pe-Lamed-Lamed and the word l'hitpalel, meaning “ to judge oneself .” This surprising word origin provides insight into the purpose of Jewish prayer. The most important part of any Jewish prayer, whether it be a prayer of petition, of thanksgiving, of praise of God, or of confession, is the introspection it provides, the moment that we spend looking inside ourselves, seeing our role in the universe and our relationship to God. [1] Most of Jewish prayers are expressed in the first person plural, "us" instead of "me," an...
Comments
Post a Comment