Thread by @Delafina777

Weird Christian fetishism toward Jews is deeply off-putting. So, like, my rabbi's doing this open yeshiva thing twice a month where we take a concept in Judaism or Jewish history and drill down in an intensive text study about it, Torah-Misnah-Talmud-Medieval-Modern. (1/x)

And we're especially focusing, especially in the modern texts (for obvious reasons) on women's writings, queer-focused stuff, etc. So I'm finding it really excellent. (This is all just context.)

So last time there was a lady there I didn't know, which, whatever, it's not uncommon for people to come to one program and, like, nothing else other than maybe the High Holidays.

But at one point someone mentioned Shabbat, and the lady asked what it was. People have all different levels of Jewish knowledge, obviously, and I try not to assume anything, but that was like, huh, maybe she's a visitor from some other religious community.

She didn't say much during the actual session, but afterwards she was like, "All these different opinions are confusing. My way of thinking is, 'God said it, that's the way it is, it's simple.'"

I struggled to find a non-judgy way to formulate the question: "if you like things simple and unambiguous and for everyone to agree, what on earth possessed you to come to anything with 'yeshiva' in the name!?"

Or, like, anything Jewish?

So I say, as neutrally as possible, "Oh, cool, what brought you here?"

She says, "Oh, my pastor told me something was clearly missing in my faith and I should seek out God's Chosen People and learn from them, and maybe that would help me find that missing piece."

Everyone else:

Me, having watched all my purported kinspeople fade abruptly away, leaving me to die here in this conversation.

And, like, I'm struggling with my knee-jerk reaction, which is:

HI JEWS AND JUDAISM DON'T EXIST TO SUPPLEMENT YOUR CHRISTIANITY

like

don't come at me with that chosen people thi--CHOOSE SOMEONE ELSE

But, like, and I can't emphasize this enough, she was a very sweet, very humble little old lady, so I'm also struggling with feeling like an asshole for instantly being filled with 100% high-grade snark and annoyance

And yet

So I am mostly just nodding with a frozen smile on my face and wishing I had immediately absconded to the corner with my new Israeli expatriate best friend who has powerful side-eye and amazing hair.

And then Little Old Church Lady is like, "it was confusing, but I really loved it."

so now I have to be fucking helpful because I'm dealing with someone who's having their first taste of freedom after a lifetime of being taught not to ask questions

and I dunno, I'm just sitting here struggling with how to find a gentle way to say, "I'm glad you're getting something out of this but also please don't objectify us like that, we're not here to fix your Christianity."

And, like, the worst part of this is that you know that she--and everyone like her--thinks that this is what love is.