Strangers and Neighbors: What I Have Learned about Christianity by Living Among Orthodox Jews

Modern talk pro and con about such things as "multiculturalism" and "diversity" is so much vanity and blowing in the wind. Not because what these rhetorically unsatisfactory words represent is unimportant but because it is too important. The subtleties of getting along with people different then oneself cannot be constrained in mere political slogans. Jews and Christians are both near and far. Their relationship is like that of two climbers on opposite sides of a crevasse that is thirty feet wide but ten-thousand feet deep. Between them is a rope bridge. For each to cross is a balancing act, between bigotry on the one hand and compromising ones integrity on the other. It is more then a mere tribal feud(though it is that too). It is a quarrel about what is considered the most important thing of all. In some ways made worse by the very closeness. Jews and Christians are close enough to argue: Moslems and Hindus can only fight. But when all arguements are done the gap remains and any attempt to bridge it with mere theory sounds awkward. The gap may be thin but it is uncrossable. At least one of us must be wrong about the Most Important Question of All. Strangers and Neighbors is an attempt to bridge the gap. Not by theory but by the day to day act of living and learning. It shows what it is like for a Christian to live side by side with Jews in mutual respect and day to day kindness. It shows some of the awkward parts like having to be the "kosher police" when one's neighbor's children come to visit(to let them eat ice cream that is kept in the same freezer as sandwich meat would be a breech of trust). The book also goes to great lengths telling about how the author learned much about her own faith. "Why can't we all just get along", is a cheap tautology, because it patronizes the very real obstacles that prevent "getting along". Mrs Johnson, in her delightful book shows just how one can go about getting along without compromiseing honesty about and loyalty towards one's beliefs for the sake of superficial niceness. All it takes is love. Which really means that it takes a lot of work. But it can be done and Mrs Johnson gives an idea how. And in so doing she shows how to learn. Love, neighborliness, and courtesy are easy to talk about. They are not so easy to live.

Strangers and Neighbors (Review) Strangers and Neighbors: What I Have Learned about Christianity by Living among Orthodox Jews, by Maria Poggi Johnson. Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2006. I devoured this book at a single sitting. I'm a Catholic married to an observant (though not Orthodox!) Jew; we've lived in the Orthodox neighborhood of Jerusalem. But I think readers who don't have that specific connection to this book's content will find much to enjoy and think about in this book about a Catholic raising a family among Orthodox Jews. Of course, there are areas of disagreement with her neighbors. She doesn't agree with their view of the literal inerrancy and origins of Hebrew Scripture, for instance. On the other hand, she does agree with the Jewish emphasis on community and the necessity of being open to the word of God together, not just as individuals. She recognizes that her neighbors will never eat a meal in her house; she has learned to accept their invitations gracefully. She sympathizes with their desire to stay apart from the secular world while recognizing that her own commitment to religious pluralism is what makes it possible for her to live among, and respect, them. She can see the humor in her Christian son's demanding a yarmulke, and her small daughter's taking a condescending tone toward Jews less traditionally observant than her playmates. Above all, she can identify the common thread in her devotional life and theirs. Although most interfaith couples will not be involved with the strictures of Orthodox Judaism, Maria Johnson's experiences can shed light on philosophical and practical differences between Christian and Jewish traditions. And her attitude can be a model of how two-faith families can approach their kin and community groups without being hostile to them or compromising their own. And most Christians married to Jewish spouses will resonate to her observation, "I aam, and will remain, a Christian, but I am a rather different Christian now than I was before." review by Mary Heléne Rosenbaum, executive director of the Dovetail Institute for Interfaith Family Resources and editor of Dovetail: A Journal by and for Jewish/Christian Families and of Shalom, the newspaper of the Central Kentucky Jewish Federation. She is author of A Seal Upon the Heart [Blue Grape Press, 2006], a biblical novel on the prophet Jeremiah. Mary Heléne is a practicing Catholic, a lector in her church for over 20 years, who has also served as executive director of Congregation Beth Tikvah (Reform), Carlisle, Penn.

Wow. rich, bountiful insightful writing by Maria P. Johnson. I'm re-reading this book a second time. Christian and Jewish relations and understanding can only improve by virtue of Maria's writing. I am a Methodist pastor and this book provided wonderful insight into the Jewish life, and the Torah. 'the letter kills, but the spirit gives life' 2nd Cor 3:6. Maria's writing will help anyone better understand this scripture. Our own family lives will be improved by understanding Good Sabbos. My hope that this is the first of many books Maria will write concerning life as a Christian among Orthodox Jews. Fantastic. Get this book, you'll not regret it. I immediately purchased several for my Christian friends. We are all the sons and daughters of Abraham. we'll understand each other a lot better after reading Maria's book. May God Bless Maria Poggi Johnson.

I expected to enjoy this book for it's perspective on Orthodox life, and it delivered. The added bonus was the author's commentary on how her relationships with Jewish neighbors inform her reading of the New Testament, particularly certain sections of the Book of Acts. The author's thoughts on the radical nature of the choices God called Peter, Paul, and James to make enrich my understanding of this time in Jewish/Christian history enormously. Wonderful stuff - makes me want to move to PA to take her Bible class :) This is a great book, and I hope she writes a follow-up when her children are a little older, chronicling how these relationships fare in the coming years!