Getting Acquainted with the Other Religions
by Rabbi Daniel Asor

In the previous issue, I stopped at the point where I moved from New York to Fort Lauderdale, FL, and attended college, seeking a degree in professional aviation.

Once, a Pakistani student lent me a book in my mother tongue, Hebrew, which presented an Islamic interpretation of parts of the Bible. I read it with great interest, since I never knew that such commentaries even existed. The book attempted to present a Biblical truth toward Islam that was different from the familiar Jewish view.

Soon I discovered that there were Christian students on campus who used to get together and read the Bible along with the New Testament. I became even more curious… My interest in the Bible grew and so I started reading at least one chapter every evening at home.

At a certain point, I took courses in theology and familiarized myself with Christianity according to the Church. I even heard arguments that often chastised the Judaism I had known since I was a child and studied in schools in Israel, but never felt a need to defend.

But then, something strange happened during one of the theology classes. The priest, who lectured about all the religions, started with Oriental faiths and reached Judaism towards the end of the course. He started discussing the Jewish faith and said that Abraham "worshiped the mountain gods, whom he called ‘El Shaday’." Shocked and surprised, I raised my hand to ask a question and the priest gave me permission to speak. "Did you know," I asked, "that this name, ‘Shaday,’ appears on the mezuzah at the entrance to every Jewish home, pinned to the right side of the doorframe? Do contemporary Jews also worship ‘the mountain gods’ in your opinion? Is Judaism not a monotheistic religion?"

The class fell silent. The priest took his time answering. I seized the opportunity and added: "I was raised in a Jewish home and attended Israeli schools, and I never heard that ‘El Shaday’ is associated with any mountain gods.”

The priest remained silent, as embarrassment and tension in the room rose. Suddenly, a tall and longhaired Catholic student rose to her feet. She must have felt the need to defend the honor of the priest or her religion. She turned to me angrily, pointed an accusing finger at me, and yelled in excitement: "You! We did not come here to listen to you! Get out!"

Before she could complete the sentence, she suddenly choked and fell to the floor with her accusing hand clasped to her throat, choking and coughing as she fell.

I just sat there, stunned, not daring to even breathe. Students who were sitting next to her rushed to her rescue. They gave her some water and soon she recovered. Other students just glared at me. It was very tense. The class went on a break.

While I was sitting on a wooden bench, my Israeli student friend asked me: "Why do you have to be so provocative? Sit quietly and shut up even if you don’t like what you hear."
Suddenly, the tall Christian student walked up to me. Embarrassed, she said: "Please, forgive me." I apologized for inadvertently hurting her feelings. I explained the source of the things I said, and she was satisfied and left.

When I came back to class, the priest was waiting for me at the door. We walked out to speak privately, and he asked me not to show up at class anymore. "There is no need for that," he said. "You must be familiar with the material on both Judaism and Christianity, which is all that is left till the end of the course. So I will give you an A and you don’t have to show up in class. Sit at the library, and I will send the weak students to you to help them find material for their papers."

I took the hint and indeed never showed up at this class again. From that day on, the other students started calling me ‘Rabbi’ whenever they met me. One day, several older students asked me: "Rabbi, does that priest teach Judaism properly?" I believe you can guess my answer…

This event was very confusing for me emotionally, but even more so, it made me interested in theological debates between Judaism and Christianity.

The rest of the story will, naturally, be told in the next issue.