Monica

Apparently Pittsburgh now has an infestistation of "Jews for Jesus". They are going to every city with a large-enough Jewish population; I gather that they're doing a combination of street-corner evangelizing, hitting up high-school and college students, and going door to door. So far I haven't seen 'em, but I assume I will at some point. No, I do not feel threatened. :-)

The Jewish community has known their schedule for ages, and local congregations and other organizations have been having programs (many aimed at parents) to discuss related issues. In an ideal world, that wouldn't be necessary because people would already be educated enough to spot disinformation when it's pushed on them. Oh well. (I note that congregations from all movements have been doing this, including the ones with full-time schools.)

I do wonder how much of this is overkill, though, given that the strong message from the rabbinic council -- covering all movements -- is to just ignore them. Every "engagement" counts as a point for them, and they take those numbers back to their funders (mostly evangelical churchas, as I understand it) to get more money. My rabbi specifically said that he doesn't want to see any of our pictures in the paper arguing with these guys, and I will certainly comply with that. (Absent that, it would have been tempting to have our better-educated folks specifically engage them in long conversations, specifically to take those individuals out of circulation. But I certainly see the point that this wouldn't be worth it.)

It's also safe to assume that just as we have people on their mailing lists, they have people on ours -- so they certainly have evidence that the community has been organizing educational programs in advance of their coming. Doesn't that provide fodder for their funders, too? Pity I didn't think to ask that question a couple months ago, though I assume others have asked it too.

I do wonder why converting Jews is so important to them. If the numbers I've heard are anywhere near accurate, they are spending between tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of dollars per convert. Sure, I understand the idea of "my message is important and I must get it out to people", but how high does the cost have to rise before you rethink it? I don't get it, unless maybe they think that they can get a significant return on the investment from contributions from rich Jews who join them. That sounds iffy to me, though.

I should clarify that while I have quite a bit of contempt for this particular organization, I have no problem whatsoever with declared Christians. There is not a single universally-correct religion; I'm not hostile to those who follow the others. The problem with Jews for Jesus is that they're deceitful, pretending to be Judaism with just a few minor changes. They hold "Shabbat services" led by "rabbis" in "synagogues" where they read from "torah scrolls" -- and then, while they're at it, from gospels. If I were a Christian I think I'd be pretty offended that they think they have to disguise the religion in order to get people to join -- and, I gather, many Christians do feel that way about these guys.

I'm home. I feel refreshed (and a little tired). I'm fed (at a pleasant break-fast with congregants). The caffeine headache didn't start until fairly late and is now under control. Services were good, and my part went fine. The afternoon classes were a success. I have ideas for things I want to do to improve things next year.

Maybe I'll write more about all that later, but right now I have to share an encounter I had Sunday night. I was on my way to services when I saw, walking toward me, two men. They were in black suits with white shirts, at least one was wearing a black hat, and each was carrying a book in one hand. This fits an obvious profile, so as we got close I got ready to say "shana tova". Before I could, though, one of them said "good evening" and then said they were out talking to people about the Book of Mormon and had I heard of it? (At this point he held up the book for me to see.) I said I had heard of it and didn't have time to talk more because I was on my way to Yom Kippur services. (I was trying not to be rude.) They seemed like nice folks, so I dropped the additional clue that tonight was Yom Kippur and they were standing smack in the middle of Pittsburgh's largest Jewish neighborhood, so they probably wouldn't get a lot of takers that night. (There are more non-Jews than Jews in the neighborhood, but a higher-than-average proportion of those out walking that night would be on their way to Yom Kippur services.) They thanked me for the information and we parted ways.

This is actually the first time I've met Mormon missionaries. I know that they go door to door (though they haven't come to my door yet), but I didn't know they also stopped people in the street.

I got a chuckle out of their timing.