I
came across a speech today that Rabbi Jeffrey made seventeen years ago (2004) when
he was asked to commit on the movie “The Passion of the Christ.” It is
an amazing speech that could only be delivered in true “Rabbi Leynor” style.
_______________________________________
Good
evening!
Thank
you for the invitation to be here this evening.
I choose to begin my statements tonight with a disclaimer. I do not speak for the Jewish Community in
any official capacity. What you will
hear are some of my own opinions and observations about Mr. Gibson's movie and
some reactions in both the Jewish and non-Jewish communities.
I
do not feel the need to point out the number of historical inaccuracies in the
film, except for one, which I will address shortly. Since I could understand the Aramaic, I had a
slight advantage over the average moviegoer, especially concerning what was
actually being said as opposed to what appeared on the screen.
At
no point did I personally, as a Jew, worry about the reaction to the movie in
this country. I can understand alarm
bells going off in the minds of Jewish leaders.
I am sure they feel, as I do, that the movie's release in Europe,
Africa, the Middle East and Asia will fuel anti-Jewish incidents and
sentiments, which appear to be on the rise around the world.
What
were Mr. Gibson's intentions? I don't
believe it was a conscious effort to stir up hatred of the Jews. The evidence of the movie is predominantly
that he sought to make a movie that showed the suffering of Jesus to the world,
and that it was sufficiently important for him to make it, no matter the
obstacles.
The
dispute, it seems to me, is not about Christianity, but about Mel Gibson's
version of one part of that story. He
chose to emphasize the things that were important to him and his B.S., --
that's Belief System, folks!
What
I find more distressing than the movie is Hutton Gibson's psychotic ranting,
his holocaust denying and his echoing the Jew hating of Henry Ford, Charles
Lindbergh and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Mel Gibson's refusal to distance himself from
his father's views, I believe, comes out in the film.
In
Gibson's movie, "Satan" or the "devil" appears four times. Not one of these appearances occurs in the
four Gospels, an inconsistency, which is an invention or innovation of Mel
Gibson's conscious or subconscious Belief System. This sinister figure moves among the crowd of
Jews as if to define the crowd. Satan is
at home moving among his own people. For
the Jews, after millennia as the "outcasts", the rejected ones,
Satan's spawn, parasites, it is not a far leap to vermin, subhuman, something
to be exterminated. Mel Gibson may deny
his true beliefs and feelings, but they manifest themselves in the film.
We
should also remember that this movie is "Hollywood" as well. I do not feel the piece had a lot of merit as
a film. I have seen a number of other
films that I think are a better portrayal of the Life and Death of Jesus. If one were not familiar with the Christian
Bible, one would be lost in the film's flashbacks. The four or five that were covered left me
wanting more in that context. But then
again, no one gave me 25 million dollars to make a movie!
I
move a lot in non-Jewish circles and have done so for the past 15 years in
Dallas. I have gone out to many churches
and other houses of worship of other faiths.
I serve both the Plano and Dallas Police departments as a Chaplain
serving all faiths. In all of my
encounters with Christians, clergy and lay people, I have not heard one
anti-Jewish reference or statement.
In
fact, this film has caused many Christians to revisit their own beliefs and
re-evaluate their religious education and, in some cases, their commitment to
G-d. The media blitz and controversy
surrounding the film has brought the Life and Death of Jesus into the popular
American mindset. Other books have recently
done the same thing like the Da Vinci Code, which brings up a lot of questions
for people about religious authority.
Many people are asking questions, and I believe that is good.
Let
me conclude by reiterating two questions that Christians asked to one another
during my visits.
The
first question affected me deeply. How can
the scourging, humiliation, torture and crucifixion of Jesus possibly add up to
all the hatred, horror, persecution, atrocities and deaths done in Jesus' name
or in G-d's name? No Hollywood movie
could represent what human beings have done, and continue to do to one another
in this world.
And
finally, if Jesus is supposed to die to bring salvation from sin, why blame the
Jews?
Thank
you.
_______________________________________
Rabbi
Leynor played an important role in helping Christians understand the Jewish
Jesus and bridge gaps between Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity. He is truly missed,
but his words continue inspire us.
Thank you for reading
this.
Shalom,
Jim Myers
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