Jews and Christians in the U.S.A.

"Jesus Loves You" This is the statement I need to address here.

Being an Israeli, a Jew, cycling through the United States, primarily in the rural areas, including the Bible Belt, the discussion with people I meet along the way often gets to the "So how come you are a Jew if you don't believe in God"? We'll get back to this one soon.

Jews, those who observe the religion, have this custom that when they travel away from home, they are often hosted at other Jews' homes. This custom helps those who eat Kosher food to feel comfortable during their vacation and that they are eating food that will not compromise their beliefs. So it came as a surprise to me, since it is known to my friends that I am not observant, that my friend Cara suggested I stay with friends of hers in Ann Arbor. I thought that is could be yet another type of experience for me, so arrived at Ruth and Michael's home in the afternoon. They had a few guests over, so it was easy for me to mingle within a group of people. They were discussing the Charlotteville march aftermath and were surprised to hear that my experience has been very good in regard to meeting non Jews along the way.

My host Michael:

The next day, I met this wonderful Christian couple Rosemarie and Michael. These were probably the most knowledgeable couple on Judaism that I have met to date. They knew their Old Testament as well as the New one, they have visited Israel, and yes they love both Israel and Jews. For them, all that is going on in the world is part of God's plan, yet they were open to hear my views. We spent, I guess, an hour just talking about our different approaches to bringing good-will to our societies. They were amused, naturally, that my last name is Emanuel.... All this came to be just because I asked if they knew of a motel near by since it looked like it was about to rain. Nice folk.

So back to the discussion... A Jew is a member of the tribe of Judea, one of those twelve tribes of Israel. This tribe, including an eleventh of the Levi tribe, is the only survivor of the biblical era. The Israelites, now down to the Jewish tribe, have a religion. One can be a member of the tribe without following the religion. One can join the religion and automatically become a member (Ruth the Moabitan joined and became the grand mother of King David. Moses had a wife from Kush. Stories in the Old Testament have a reason for being there).

One aspect of being a Jew, if one follows the religion, is that the Messiah is yet to come; he has never arrived. Hence, the question of Jesus being the Messiah is irrelevant. To me, Jesus cannot be the son of God since there is none. 

So, does Jesus still love me?