Jewish Christmas Carols
My faith journey has been an odd one. My parents were both raised Catholic (my father, in fact, thought of becoming a priest at some point in his life). My sister, three years younger, and I were both baptized in the traditional fashion, but my parents left the Church when I was about 4 or 5 to join Self Realization Fellowship (SRF), a religious organization that practices the teachings of Parmahansa Yogananda, and is primarily of Hindu origin. These were formative years in my own faith development, I later found.
When I was in 5th grade, my parents returned to the Catholic Church (it was during the Parish Revival days of the early 1980’s), and we became very active Catholics. When it was time for my daughter to start school, a Catholic education was the natural choice, and I stayed involved by teaching religious education for our parish. During this time I was working on my Bachelor’s degree, and I took a comparative world mythology class that ultimately would change my life, although I must admit that I had no idea at the time that it would impact me so.
One topic that we covered in that class (there were many, but I use this as a representative example) was the virgin birth myth, and the myth of the savior. I learned that these myths were generated by peoples spanning the globe, and that they were all remarkably similar. How is it, then, that one was selected as the “truth” while all others remain relegated to mere myth? This question began a long quest that began with fulfilling a graduation requirement and ultimately ended in conversion.
I will avoid long drawn out details, but I have come to believe that the version of the virgin birth and the savior myth held by Christians today came about largely through genius marketing ahead of its time. Now please understand, it is not my intention to knock down the Christian religion nor its followers. I believe Jesus was a great man, a radical revolutionary who changed in a very positive way how people relate to one another. However, I must agree with Ghandi when he said, “I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” Again, this is a generalization, and it does not apply to ALL Christians–the vast majority of my friends and family are Christians–but like Ghandi, I have noticed a serious disconnect between the teachings of Jesus and the practices of his followers.
Beginning with that one question, I felt compelled to dive deep within myself and explore all of my religious and philosophical beliefs. I realized that I was still moved by Eastern wisdom, reincarnation in particular. The concept of reincarnation seems to answer a few of my fundamental questions: why do some people die so young, before they ever had a chance to really live? Well, if we have more than a single chance at life, there could be many reasons why. Perhaps the lessons (or karma) were learned. And if not, there will be other opportunities to do so. How does one explain a soul mate? Many hold that souls travel together as families, and meet here on this plane to work out their collective karma. What about genius and deja vu? Reincarnation could explain that, too.
But Hinduism was not the right answer for me. I really struggled for some time to maintain my Catholic identity, but how could I, in good conscience, when I could no longer recognize Jesus as a deity? That is the very foundation of Christianity. I attempted to shift my perspective and understand Jesus as a symbol, an archetype, but I found that to be a dishonest approach as well. I read about Buddhism, and went to various churches, but nothing felt right. Then, one day, I was driving on Amargosa Rd. in Victorville, and saw what I have come to believe as “my sign.” It was, literally, a sign that announced the name of the Reform Jewish Synagogue in the High Desert and the phone number. It was a Friday, late afternoon, and I knew that Shabbat services would be starting soon, so I pulled over and called. I was invited right over. I had no idea that what awaited me would forever change my life. Even though the service was primarily in Hebrew, I knew I was home. I can explain it no better than that. Not long after that, my daughter and I began our Jewish conversion. It made total sense to return to the roots of Christianity, to my roots.
Interestingly, more Jews are curious about the “whys” of my conversion than are Christians, especially since I did not do so for marital reasons. The question I get most from Christians is: don’t you miss Christmas? To which I offer a resounding NO!! That, too, has become a consumer nightmare that I would just as soon avoid. A tree? Decorations? Nope. All of that business seems more like an external perversion of the true meaning of Christmas. In other countries the peoples’ celebration of the holiday is much more reverent and representative of a true Christian holy day.
However, in spite of my ditching Christmas and all of its accoutrement to fully embrace Judaism, there is one thing I still cling to: Christmas Carols. I love them. I think it is partially because this is our national music. It seems our patriotic tunes are more and more a thing of the past, but everyone knows carols–they are the only songs that we all can hum along to, if not sing. I can consider the lyrics symbolically, and find little, if any, conflict in doing so. Christmas Carols represent the hope, love, and spirit of giving that are indicative of the season, a hope we as a people are in such desperate need of. They are ever present, year after year, and don’t need to be dressed up, thrown out, dusted off. They don’t blink and flash, they don’t create clutter, and they aren’t discarded in a heap of over-indulgent spending. Simply put, these songs are what I hold dear as the remnants of my Christian heritage, and my connection to the larger community celebration of the birth of the Christ child, the birth of Hope. Of course, I have delighted in the addition of Hannukah songs to my collection. Taken as a whole, all of these songs are my newly dubbed “Jewish Christmas Carols.”
I wish you and yours peace, joy, and hope this holiday season and throughout the New Year. May you discover blessings from every direction and experience deep contentedness through the beliefs and tenets you hold dear. Thank you for reading.
Jennifer
Post Script: I do not mean to imply that I have all the answers or even the correct answer. Nor do I argue that what is right for me is right for any other person. If anything, this journey has taught me that we all need to find our own answers, whatever they are. When sought with an attitude of humility, introspection, respect, and genuine wonder, I truly believe that what we discover is the truth–a very personal and private truth.
