John GayI am very interested in the idea of Jewish holidays as a way of promoting understanding, because I see real value there (I went to a seder at my Church when I was maybe ten…I cannot remember if this was interfaith or a “Christian seder”). I have seen some chatter on Twitter from Jewish folks who find Christian seders disrespectful, and I’m intrigued by that…I think we should definitely make sure that anything like this is done in a way that genuinely does promote understanding…one principle I’ve encountered in political work is when doing stuff with people who don’t think like you do, begin the task with them vs. bringing a finished product to them and asking for buy-in…that way they shape the product with you so it’s something you both can agree on, vs. your attempt to make something you think they’ll be okay with. That might apply here…we should bring them into the conversation about how we can connect with their holidays. (Jesus celebrated Passover, Sukkot, and Hannukah, off the top of my head, in the Gospels, so there’s precedent here!)
I’ve also honestly been tempted to try to do a bit of a Shabbat in the sense of no TV, electronics, etc. from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown, not so much as a spiritual practice but as a way of reorienting life away from technology.
