Why It’s Absurd for a Pastor To Give Donald Trump a Jewish Prayer Shawl

[question everything]

This is a prayer shawl straight from Israel,” Detroit pastor Bishop Wayne Jackson said as he draped a tallit around Donald Trump’s shoulders on Saturday, casually appropriating a Jewish ritual item for Christian purposes.

Trump, who had just addressed the Great Faith Ministries, a black church, in an attempt to make inroads with African-American voters, accepted the gift with a smile. Immediately, the Jewish Twittersphere exploded — not just because of the inappropriateness of this appropriation, but probably also because it was especially galling to see Trump, a man who has stoked “alt-right” anti-Semitism in this country, wearing this symbolic Jewish garment.

But what about the pastor — what was he thinking? Does he, like some other Christians, think that adopting elements of Jewish ritual makes their worship more “biblical,” and therefore more authentic? Does he think that Jesus wore this same type of “prayer shawl,” and therefore Christians should wear it to emulate Jesus? If so, the pastor badly needs a history lesson, because this whole business with the tallit is historically ridiculous. Imitating Jesus by wearing a modern Jewish prayer shawl during morning prayers? Just…no.

More..

http://forward.com/opinion/349221/why-its-absurd-for-a-pastor-to-give-donald-trump-a-jewish-prayer-shawl

[scscholar]

1. Cultural appropriation?

[shenmue]

2. Some Christians believe in "messianic Judaism"

Baptist theology and some aspects of Jewish practice.

It is not accepted by mainstream Judaism.

[NWCorona]

3. Is it rapture based thinking?

[shenmue]

4. Yes

[NWCorona]

5. Thanks! That's what I thought but wasn't sure.

[Maraya1969]

6. Yes. People will be surprised at all the Yamakas sitting on the ground after the rapture.

[Major Nikon]

9. "messianic Judaism" generally refers to "Jews for Jesus"

They are typically people raised in traditional Jewish households who now believe in the divinity of Christ yet wish to continue to observe certain traditional aspects of Judaism.

It's not the same thing as traditional Christians who observe certain Jewish traditions they are obviously ignorant about because they think it gives them more credibility.

[underthematrix]

7. As an African American and a person who hates anti-semitism in

all its many manifestations, this misappropriation of Judaism by fake Christians is so offensive to me. I stopped attending Christian church or calling myself a Christian because underlying the giving is this belief that Judaism is about the artifacts of faith rather than the faith itself. These are the people who have the nerve to call for Jewish people to convert to Christianity. I find this totally and completely offensive. To me, this is one of the most egregious forms of antisemitism.

[Tanuki]

8. If you think that's bad, you'll be even more dismayed to see that the bigoted hatemonger John Hagee

is peddling tallitot on his website.

https://www.faithcenteredresources.com/shopping/authorpage.asp?id=1&gclid=CPn66qfk-c4CFdgBgQodVcYA-Q

[Behind the Aegis]

10. I knew it!

When I saw the recasts, I turned to my husband and asked, "Why is Trump wearing a tallit?" He thought it might be just a "prayer shawl", but I saw the look of it and knew what it was.

I am not surprised by those who appropriate our culture all the while denigrating it. Many of those types love to use Yiddish (usually incorrectly).

[Tanuki]

11. "Many of those types love to use Yiddish (usually incorrectly)."

Now, that takes chutzpah!

[DetlefK]

12. This has ZERO religious basis. It's in fact the OPPOSITE of christian doctrine.

Ever since it was founded, the christian church has tried to reach legitimization by setting itself apart from ist predecessor Judaism. For more than 1500 years, Christianity has tried to establish itself as something different from Judaism.

Appropriating the shawl violates almost 2 millenia of church-doctrine. There is no fucking way a pastor does not realize that.

[Mosby]

13. Good article from Haaretz

Google the title to get around the paywall.

Why Trump Wearing a Tallit in a Detroit Church Unsettles Many Jews

http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.740229

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These philo-semites like the pastor think of the tallit as a religious fetish and just as bad don't bother to learn how to handle and wear one, eg you don't put one on without your head covered and saying the bracha.