Investigating Judaism: Misunderstanding about the Sabbath

Investigating Judaism
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Investigating Judaism
Although Christianity and Judaism have a common history, values and teachings, there exist differences between the two religions in terms of rituals, beliefs, and life-cycle and holiday observances. The differences may be regarded as being insignificant by people who do not understand the two religions clearly, but in the real sense, there exists a great deal of variation in values, beliefs, and practices (Adelman, 2010). The two religions have misconceptions and stereotypes about the religious beliefs of each other.
The central theological misunderstanding between the two religions is their interpretations of life and death. Christianity centers on the life and death of Jesus, who is the Messiah as prophesied by various prophets like the Prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament. They believe that Christ died to redress the sins of humanity and he resurrected from death and was existing in the lives of the believers. Christianity views Jesus as the Child of God, who reveals all the truth about His father to the people. On the other hand, Jews do not regard Jesus as the prophesied Messiah, since neither did he free the ancient Jews from the oppression of Romans nor brought justice and peace in the world as had been prophesied. The Jews continue to wait for the promised Messiah and believes that everyone has a role to play in preparing the way for the Messiah. The religious difference is one of the leading causes of misunderstanding between the Jews and Christians.
Another misunderstanding between the Jews and Christians is in the use of bread and wine in their religious rituals. In Judaism, wine is used in celebrations as a sign of joy. Wine is drunk during the important Jewish festivals and life-cycle revels. Distinct bread is eaten before the start of the Sabbath mealtime. For Christians, bread and wine are part of worship and are used for communion rituals in remembrance of Jesus. The ritual is also known as the Lord’s Supper and the bread and wine are a symbol of the body and blood of Jesus, which was shed on the cross. By sharing the Lord’s Supper, Christians believe that their sins are forgiven.
There exists a misunderstanding about the Sabbath, whereby most Christians believe that the special day is on Sunday because of the trust that this is the day that Jesus resurrected from the dead. The adherence to the Sabbath according to Christianity primarily consists of service attendance. The Jewish Sabbath starts on Friday evening and ends on Saturday at sunset. In the Jewish community, Sabbath is celebrated with home rituals, which include eating of Challah, candle lighting, and drinking wine (Weiss-Rosmarin, 1993). The difference in Sabbath adherence between the two religions often creates misunderstandings as the Jews perceive Christians as having forgotten their background, but rather put more emphasis on Jesus, who according to them was just an ordinary man.
Jewish holidays involve commemoration of important historical days and agricultural observances. These festivals include the Passover, festival of first fruits and commemoration of the Exodus. Other important Jewish Holidays are the Jewish New Year, the Day of At...