On February 18th I joined the festivities to see what this was all about. Dozens of people gathered around tables, some with friends, some with people they didn't know. Despite that, it seemed like a community, people who get together every four weeks to share food, drink, and chatter. Although the event begins at 6pm, when I arrived at 5:45 I could barely find a seat. People had gathered far earlier and already begun sharing their dinners, drinks and stories. Me and my friend that I attended with were quickly offered a seat at a table with a group of older couples. They immediately introduced themselves, asked us what brought us to the event, and passed over the menus. I felt an instant sense of comfort, which I did not expect when I initially walked in to see so many crowded tables.
The discussion began shortly after we had ordered our dinners. Father Steve of St. Timothy's Episcopalian Church and Rabbi Mark of Temple Emanuel introduced themselves, for those of us who were new. The topic of discussion scheduled for the evening was "love and sex". At first I was surprised, and felt a bit strange that this was the topic of discussion, as I was sitting with strangers. Despite that feeling, I knew it would be interesting. Unfortunately, questions and comments came first - and took up the whole hour! While this did lead to rather interesting topics of discussion, it left me wondering what would have come of the love and sex discussion if it had been played out.
Many people asked general questions which lead to what seemed an introduction of each faith. The various questions were answered with brief yet satisfying answers. What I found most interesting were two of the questions asked that lead to much further in depth discussion.
1.) Can you practice both Christianity and Judaism?
2.) What future do you see for your religions with the growth of millennials?
When asked "do you believe that someone could practice both Christianity and Judaism (not meaning Messianic Judaism)?" both Father Steve and Rabbi Mark agreed to take a moment and think about the question, but quickly reconvened, knowing that they both had the same belief. Messianic Judaism is "a Biblically based movement of people who, as committed Jews, believe in Yeshua (Jesus) as the Jewish Messiah of Israel of whom the Jewish Law and Prophets spoke." (mjaa.org) Both men agreed. "You cannot be both, it negates the other" was the idea behind what they were saying. Because the two religions have such different fundamental beliefs, the two stated that you simply cannot fully practice both religions without negating the other, or becoming something else.
I found this very interesting, as I had never really thought about it prior. I am not a very religious person. I believe in God, but I do not attend a church, nor have I felt inclined to affiliate with a specific religion since adulthood. So it had never really crossed my mind that two religions may try to become one, and if so, what would that mean?
This leads me to the next question that was posed: what do you see for your religions in the future? Millennials are growing and a majority of people are not affiliating with religions. So now what? While both Father and Rabbi expressed concerns about people who they referred to as "nones, neither of them felt as though there would ever be a time when people were not practicing their religion. "Nones" were the people who check the "none" or "not affiliated" box on a survey asking them which religion they practice and/or if they currently belong to a synagog or church. They discussed how in Christianity, many people practice by going to church, where as in the Jewish religion, there are many home rituals. Father Steve stated that he wished there were more home rituals for church goers to practice, while he thought that Father Steve probably the same for more members attending Synagog regularly. They each felt strongly in opposite areas and wished for just a but more in the other. Over all, both felt as though despite these differences, there would always be true followers of their religion.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at Finnegan's Wake, and would highly recommend it to anyone. If you are looking for more information on the differences between Christianity and Judaism, you can find some here. Or, you could just pop into Finnegan's Wake on the third Thursday of each month for an authentic taste of each experience, and some Irish cuisine!
Resources:
"Christianity vs. Judaism." - Difference and Comparison. Web. 29 Feb. 2016.
"Messianic Jewish Alliance of America." MJAA. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.
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