Previous entry: 
Next entry:
What do you tell a Jewish girl about Jesus?
"Did the Jews kill Jesus?"
My 10-year-old daughter asked this at the dinner table, the day after Easter.
Kids at her public school were taunting her, and she was confused. She said it was not the first time she had heard it.
Jewish families like ours don't talk about Jesus much. Through osmosis in American culture, we learn the basics of Christianity. But beyond saying, "It wasn't the Jews; it was the Romans," my husband and I weren't sure how to proceed on a 10-year-old's level.
I did the best I could over the next few days, but still am researching how to give our religious perspective on the many parties involved in the crucifixion.
Gretchen Day-Bryant has a son in high school and a daughter in middle school. She’s lived to tell about the struggles of juggling little kids and work...
Joy Oglesby has an infant daughter and a sister 13 years her junior, whom she babies to the now-adult...
Cindy Kent Fort Lauderdale mother of three. Her kids span in ages from teenager to 20s...
Rafael Olmeda and his wife welcomed their first son in Feb. 2009, and he's helping raise two teenage stepdaughters...
Lois Solomon lives in Boca Raton with her husband and three daughters...
Anne Vasquez is the Online Editor in charge of overseeing SunSentinel.com. She is the mother of a 5-year-old boy and a newborn daughter.
Georgia East is the parent of a five-year-old girl, who came into the world weighing 1 pound, 13 ounces...
Brittany Wallman is the mother of Creed, 13, and Lily, 6, and is married...
Chris Tiedje is the Social Media Coordinator, and father of two boys and a girl all under the age of seven.
Comments
Jesus died because of sin. He was crucified by Roman soldiers under the direction of Pilate. Thankfully that is not the end of story...after three days HE ROSE!
Posted by: Hendizzle | April 22, 2009 9:42 AM
Jesus was historically a jewish man whom had some blessings and challenges shared by some other jewish people. Like all of creation, G-d worked through Jesus. For some jews, Jesus holds a special place in our hearts because he helped bring faith in monotheism to others in a way that they could understand and find relevant. And, despite the many horrors of crusades, pograms, and other destruction in Jesus's name, some of the legacy of christianity has included kindness, tolerance and wisdom shared in the judeo-christian value system. In today's world, Jesus might have been characterized as bipolar, oppositional defiant or worse and not quite allowed to share his blessings.
Posted by: Alan | April 22, 2009 9:53 AM
Some jews took part in HIS killing. They came up with reasons for HIM to be killed. There were a lot jews against the killing. All HIS disciples were jews.
So those who part in killing are resonsible, not all the Jews. You can not blame a whole race for few who did mistake.
Posted by: No PC Answer | April 22, 2009 10:20 AM
Use Sarah Silverman's line.
Daddy is Catholic and thinks Jesus is magic and Mommy is one of the chosen people.
Posted by: Dick | April 22, 2009 10:32 AM
Don't die for your beliefs. Make the other guy die for his. Martyrdom is for fools.
Posted by: barry | April 22, 2009 11:13 AM
Read Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah and many more. We Christians struggle to understand the truth about Jesus because we do not know the Tanakh. We have the baggage of what other posts have touched on and so many unscrupulous people. Jews have in fact brought us the message of G-d and we need to learn from you the beauty of its truth. Why we all rebel and harden our hearts is the real question. Tell her to love G-d with all her mind, strength, soul and heart and to love her neighbor as herself. Peace be with you.
Posted by: Neal | April 22, 2009 11:34 AM
(ask them if they beleive god can be killed or die (if only for a few days) ;) )
Or better yet, teach her about her won religous heritage before she disappears due to assimilation.
Posted by: BenK | April 30, 2009 10:20 AM