Dear Rabbi Rich:

Each December, as the holiday season approaches, I am faced with the dilemma of how to deal with Christmas as the head of a Messianic Jewish household.  Is it appropriate to reject it altogether because it is “non-Jewish”?  Does it have meaning for the Messianic Jew as the celebration of the birth of our Messiah?

Dear Seasonally Challenged,

The issue you raise is quite perplexing for many Jewish  believers.  On
the one hand, Christmas represents everything Jews are not supposed to
stand for.  The Christmas tree is the ultimate symbol of assimilation
into Gentile culture.  The melodies, the presents, the tinsel, the little
angel figures, the manger scene with non-Jewish looking characters-- all
seem to represent a foreign experience.  Then there is the historical
issue:  Was Jesus really born on Dec. 25?  The best scholarship would
suggest that the Fall was a more likely season for Messiah's birth.  Why
is this so?  For one thing, shepherds were in the fields, as we know from
the biblical account.  Israel is in the Northern Hemisphere.  It was
winter there -- not a likely time for shepherds to be out watching their
flocks.  Then, there is the data from the alternating ranks of priest
attending the temple sacrifices.  Working with the available information
about the likely time John the Baptist's father would have been
ministering in the Temple in Jerusalem, the time of Elizabeth's pregnancy
and related facts, the best suggestion for the actual season of the
Messiah's birth would be the Fall.  For theological reasons some have
been even more specific:  They suggest Messiah came into the world and
"tabernacled among us" (John 1:14) during the Fall festival of Sukkot,
the Feast of Tabernacles.  Dec. 25 does not, then seem like a likely date
for The Birth.

Other facts complicate the picture for Jewish believers.  At least in the
United States, the spiritual meaning of Christmas of often lost amidst
the reindeer, Santas, elves, mistletoe,  Ho Ho Ho!,  and the mountains of
materialism attendant to the day.  Even many Gentile believers have to
swallow hard to enjoy the holiday under current conditions.

For some Jewish believers who have (wrongly) concluded that their Jewish
identities have no meaning to God, and who have fully assimilated into
the non Jewish world, there may be little inner conflict over Christmas.
Christmas trees and the like are merely the accouterments of the life of
a (former) Jew who celebrates Christmas.  (Actually there is no such
thing as a former Jew in the strictest sense.  One born a Jew is always a
Jew.  He or she may be a "good" Jew or a "bad" Jew, but one's essential
identity remains in tact).  But abstract principles aside, the
assimilated Jew can just let the good times roll.  Christmas is no
problem for him or her.

We also acknowledge those souls who view faith in the incarnate Messiah
as necessarily meaning the end of their Jewishness.  Such people are
serious about their faith.  However, they have trouble imagining that
there can be a middle way -- full participation in the New Covenant and
also, fidelity to one's identity as a physical son or daughter of
Abraham.

But for Jewish believers in Messianic Jewish synagogues and for many who
worship in churches and who  still feel the powerful, 3,500 year tug  of
Jewish history, Christmas presents a problem.  More compelling  than the
issue of the correct date; more problematic than the superficiality of
market-driven Christmas "spirit," is the fundamental question.  "What do
I do with this holiday, which seems the very antithesis of who I am as a
Jew?"

Don't despair! There is a way to partially, though significantly
integrate our celebration of the birth of the Messiah with our desire to
be faithful to our deepest identity as Jews. How could this be so?

First and foremost, we must embrace the Jewish concept of "zikkaron" --
remembrance.  Deeply rooted in the Jewish outlook is the vital importance
of remembering our greatest moments and to do so as a community.  All the
Jewish holidays have the element of remembrance.  Passover helps us
remember our deliverance from Egypt.  Sukkot (Tabernacles) calls to mind
our wilderness wanderings in the days of Moses; Shabbat recalls creation;
Shavuot (Pentecost), the giving of the Torah; Yom Ha Shoah, the
Holocaust, etc.

We would argue that Messianic Jews need to remember at least two equally
fabulous moments of Jewish history -- the birth of the Messiah and his
resurrection.  Let's consider the wonder of Messiah's birth.

Surprisingly, the birth narratives of Matthew and Luke appear in the most
earthy, Jewish portion of the Gospels.  Reading Luke chapters 1 and 2 we
almost feel like we are in the "space" of the early historical books of
the Old Testament -- books like Samuel and Kings.  The subjects are
simple, earnest rural people who love God and are chosen by him to
fulfill his high purposes.    The hills of Judea are the unpretentious
setting for the miracles they witness.  The poetry of Israel is on their
lips.  It is in these hills and among these Jews that the great Event
occurred;  God expressed his presence in a baby boy.

He had already given intimations of his capacity to incarnate his reality
on planet earth -- the tabernacle and temple were already understood as
the place of his dwelling, the concretized expression of his reality.  In
fact, in the period of  Jewish history when the New Testament was
written, one of the ways the sages referred to  God was Ha Makom -- the
Place!  Now, however, Messiah, the enfleshed manifestation of Israel's
King  had appeared among us.

But how shall we remember this birth and when shall we celebrate?

As to the "how,"  some Messianic Jews connected with the congregational
movement have developed the rudiments of a Jewish way of remembering the
birth of Yeshua.  Yom Yeshua, literally, "the day of Yeshua' is the
Messianic Jewish version of the holy day.  To date the liturgy of Yom
Yeshua is at best, sketchy.  At some services, children perform special
songs and dances.  At others, passages from the Prophets and New Covenant
are read alternating with songs appropriate to the day.  A Christian
hymn, O Come Emmanuel is sung.  A time-honored prayer for the Siddur
(prayer book) thanking God "for allowing us to reach this season," may be
prayed.

True, no berachot (blessings) have been written which extol our King for
sending Messiah as a baby.  But a beginning has been made among Messianic
Jews and a more sophisticated and full-orbed liturgy is sure to follow.

Some have argued that such a contrived holiday as Yom Yeshua has no place
in the Jewish calendar.  Our answer to this charge is that Jews are the
people of history whose developing liturgy has often incorporated
significant events, though these events may not be found on the pages of
the Torah or Prophets.  So, Yom Atzmaut celebrates the birth of the State
of Israel and Yom ha Shoah commemorates the Holocaust.  Given the
long-standing Jewish practice of creating such meaningful holidays, why
should it be viewed as inherently un-authentic for Messianic Jews to
corporately celebrate one of the ultimate moments in Jewish history, the
day Miriam gave birth to our Redeemer and King?

Should Christmas trees have a part in our celebration?  We think not, but
not for the reasons commonly suggested by some anti-Christmas Christians.
 The fact that ancient pagans worshipped trees in connection with the
winter solstice has little bearing on the legitimacy of decorated
Christmas trees.  The fact is that pagans in ancient days worshipped in
tabernacles not terribly unlike the holy tabernacle described in the Book
of Exodus.   False religion is made impure not because the
materials of nature are used, but because the assigned meaning of the
usage is immoral or unholy.  Christmas trees are not inherently unholy
because long ago, pagans danced upon the pine needles in the forest.
Pagans may have worshipped wrongly,  but Christians redefined the
practice and employed evergreen trees to symbolize  the beauty of life
pulsating in the midst of the cold winter -- a very apt symbol for the
Christmas season.

We Messianic Jews resist Christmas trees for an entirely different
reason.  As mentioned earlier, these tinseled, treasure laden trees are
the quintessential symbol among Diaspora Jews of Christian culture.  Jews
with Christmas trees are not living as Jews honoring the birth of the
baby who would be the king of Israel. Instead, the medium sends a very
different message -- that the home with the tree is a non Jewish home.
The symbol speaks powerfully to the those who happen to peer into our
living room windows: "whoever dwells in this place is not a committed
Jew."  And it speaks the wrong message to our own hearts and to the
hearts of our children.  Never underestimate the power of symbols.

Some Jews, of course do have Christmas trees.  but usually these are very
assimilated Jews who enjoy the tree for the reasons many Westerners like
Christmas -- the tree with its decorations is pretty and adds to holiday
cheer.  Well, we are certainly not against being cheerful.  And we surely
have no problem with things which delight the senses!  However, the
overshadowing reality is that a Christmas tree belongs in the holiday
space of Christians who, in their culture, express love for God and his
Messiah in a time honored way which has become widely accepted in the
Western world

To date no suitable replacement for the Christmas tree has presented
itself for Jewish believers (the concept of Chanukah bush seems
reactionary and oh, so tacky!) .  Fortunately, the Chanukah menorah has
its very powerful symbolic power.  Coming roughly at Christmas time, this
celebration which focuses on the light of the eight candles can be easily
connected with Yom Yeshua, the celebration of the appearance of the great
light which comes in the person of Yeshua.   So the season is not devoid
of rich and beautiful symbols for Jewish believers.  As the years role
by, a rich symbolic world appropriate to Yom Yeshua will undoubtedly
emerge.  Such things take time, but are worth the wait.

Finally, what about Dec. 25?  Should Messianic Jews join the Christian
world and celebrate Messiah's birth on a day which most likely was not
the historical date of the actual event?  My answer might surprise you.

It is a qualified yes.  In the case of dating sacred events, we need not
become hyper-rationalistic.  That is, the meaning of the event is far
more important than exact historical accuracy. Do we, with scientific
precision, know that the Torah was given to Israel on Shavuot, as Jewish
tradition teaches?  No, we don't.  But in the tradition such accuracy is
not viewed as terribly important.  What is important is that this is the
day the sages of Israel have set aside to remember the momentous event of
the giving of God's word to Israel through Moses.

Similarly, time-honored tradition in the Western world places the
observance of Christmas on Dec. 25.   In the Eastern Churches, the date
is January 7.  The exact date is not important.  What is important is
that the most magnificent birth in history is honored.

Messianic Jews might opt for celebrating during the Festival of Sukkot
for the sake of historical "accuracy.'  Such an approach would have one
major drawback:  no one else is celebrating Messiah's birth in the Fall!
Doing so would be like having a party -- and no one shows up.  The rhythm
of life in the Western world supports a winter date for the celebration.
Why should Jewish believers not share with other followers of the King at
the appointed season?  However, our celebration should have a Jewish
ethos, a special tone which reminds us and our children that though we
may enjoy the spirit of the season, our way of celebrating is principally
a Jewish way.

So have some eggnog and head over to “shul” and join the community in
celebrating the life of that very special baby, the One who was destined
to be King.

Rabbi Rich Nichol

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