an interfaith message

Last night in Ōtautahi Christchurch, we were so proud to support the kaupapa of Aotearoa Christians For Peace in Palestine. The Christchurch Transitional Cathedral hosted an interfaith prayerful evening, centred on an installation of baby Jesus wrapped in a keffiyeh amidst rubble. On either side were a Jewish yahrtzeit candle of mourning, and a red candle symbolising the global campaign for justice in Palestine.

Greetings from Alternative Jewish Voices.

We are also Ranu! the only ‘independent minyan’ for Jewish worship in Aotearoa. The name ‘Ranu’ means either sing! or exalt! We have worshipped together for five years, because we believe that traditional Judaism contains wisdom and nourishment that we need in our lives. We hope that your prayerful evening will similarly help you to find modern meaning in our endless longing for the Divine.

And comfort – may you find comfort, because right now we are all in pain. Grief, brokenness and vulnerability are part of our shared human condition.

We appreciate the images you have chosen this evening. They remind us that we are all involved, either through faith or simply through the human urge to protect the defenceless. Any baby in a scene of such destruction is an indictment. It should not happen but we all know that it is happening. We know in our hearts, because our hearts go where they are needed.

This manger is confronting, but we cannot resolve what we have not confronted. Our minyan has said the Kaddish mourning prayer week by week for each Gazan who has been killed. That has helped us to stay attuned to our Jewish responsibility. What about Christians – what lies in your history and your present structures? This manger requires you to bring that into the light and put it to use.

By adding a candle, your manger speaks to our grief. Jewish people light one unadorned memorial candle to mark the death of someone important to them. The flame evokes the light of a soul. Candles take on additional meaning at Chanukah, when they stand for the wonder of light in the darkness.

Right now, we mark the hate-killing of Australian Jews at Bondi, but one grief does not blot out another. This week they are Jews. In Christchurch, they were Muslim.

None of us will ever be separately safe. We respond to Bondi, to Christchurch and to Gaza by refusing to be separate. We link arms across faiths, ethnicities, identities to form one solid wall of aroha. We grieve every life lost and we protect whichever life is endangered. We stretch our hearts to hold them all.  We place Gaza in front because so many lives still hang in the balance.

Remember, there is no candle for silence. Light is brave. A single candle will always, always prevent full darkness from closing in.

We wish you comfort and light this Christmas – and then, we look forward to standing with you in pursuit of the real peace that follows justice.

Alternative Jewish Voices of Aotearoa