Rabbi Danny Gordis, in his latest e-mail message, argues that the Right's recent push to bring Christmas back to a religious Christian holiday and to make the U.S. realize that it really is a Christian nation (no kidding?) is actually great for the Jews and even better for the State of Israel. Here's a snippet, but the full text is available at DanielGordis.org.
Which is why, I submit, Jerry Falwell has unintentionally done the Jews an enormous favor. If Gibson and Falwell accidentally remind Jews that America is, without question, a Christian nation, they might prompt Jews to reflect and to ask, "What do our children need to know, and what do they need to think about as they're growing up, if they're to survive in this environment?" It's a set of questions that might, if we're fortunate, lead to the desperately needed revitalization of American
Jewish education and the questions at its core.
Seen that way, a bit of Christmas could do American Jews some good.
And Christmas could help Zionism, too, by helping American Jews see what is truly important about Israel.
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