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hehe

Since the Christmas season used to be celebrated by harassing and murdering Jews, Christians enthusiastic to celebrate Chanukah could be seen as a giant step forward.

Yes, and non-Jews (even idolators) were permitted to offer sacrifices to HaShem in the Beit HaMiqdash, but the context of the modern "ecumenical" movement is quite different, and quite sinister. The ultimate teaching is that all religions (and even all gods) are equally valid, and so they may be mixed or blended into a great human syncretic religion that is made up of portions of all of them but which is identical with none. As a Noachide I am well aware that Judaism is not conventionally proselytary ("conventionally" being the operative word), but it does not teach that all religions and all gods are equally valid. As I understand it, according to Noachide Halakhah, the creation of all religions, religious rites, and religious holidays since Mt. Sinai is forbidden. This means that all non-Jewish religions exist in defiance of Divine Law.

What, if any, effort, is being made to instruct the chrstian "partners" about this? Are they being told in even the most basic way that non-Jews are supposed to be Noachides and nothing else? Or are they implying, whether they mean it or not, that all that HaShem demands of non-Jews is that they not be "bigots" and that they acknowledge Churban 'Europa'? You will, I hope, excuse me for wondering if the Jewish partners in these "dialogues" are not being terribly naive, if not negligent of their duty. I mean, just think about it for a minute: why should two religions "dialogue" about anything? Two contradictory religions cannot both simultaneously be right. What are they doing? Sneakily trying to convert each other? Or negotiating a syncretistic merger? Because any and all such "dialogues" among contradictory religions must ultimately imply one of the two.

I have two further reservations. First, Chanukkah is the wrong holiday to have these get-togethers for the simple reason that it can so easily be (and has so often been) twisted into a celebration of the "enlightenment" notion of "freedom or religion," a concept alien to the Torah and of rationalist and Protestant origin. The second is that the only thing that tends to happen is that the Jewish partners, rather than even present the Noachide message, simply dictate changes in the non-Jews' religious beliefs and practices. Excuse me? If you can demand that other religions change their beliefs/practices, you can certainly simply tell them that their religions are WRONG and opposed to the Divine Will.

What all this invariably results in is the encouragement of the most radical, leftist, and G-dless elements of the false religions (because, quite naturally, these elements are more "tolerant") and the quiet resentment of the more conservative and "orthodox" elements (who of course aren't as "tolerant") who regard their Jewish "partners" as hypocrites and bullies. How would you feel if an orthodox chrstian or moslem refused to change his beliefs or practices while demanding that Jews stop praying in Hebrew or drop the `al hamalshinim benediction?

Vatican II was not an entirely good thing. Why is that so hard to understand? The fact that it improved the Catholic attitude towards the Jews doesn't change the fact that everything else about that subversive council was a disaster. Believe me--Jews don't need to be associated in the public Catholic mind with the Vatican II church. That's exactly like being associated with the modern Democrat party. Unfortunately, Jewish ecumenicists refuse to look at any other issue.

Here's a suggestion: how about having these leaders of other religions as guests for Shavu`ot? Wouldn't that be a much more appropriate holiday to celebrate Jews' relationship with non-Jews, since the Revelation at Sinai basically finalized religion for both groups? But no, no one ever considers non-Jews at Shavu`ot. It's always Chanukkah, because that holiday's message is more easily twisted into a celebration of the life and legacy of Thomas Paine.

Philosophy ping to wideawake.