priest

Published by the Jerusalem Post, March 3, 2005

Unorthodox priest

What caused a former Orthodox Jew and son of Holocaust survivors to join the Orthodox Christian priesthood and serve Israel's Christian immigrants?

It wasn't the typical Holocaust survivor story, if there can be such a thing. Avraham ben Baruch's mother survived the Majdanek extermination camp in Poland, where her infant son and mother were killed, and his father survived the underground resistance in France. Ben Baruch was born in 1949, to a family of Soviet citizens living in France.

Split personality. Avraham ben Baruch or Father Aleksandr?
Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski

Young ben Baruch was encouraged to study and embrace the languages and philosophies of his parents - Talmud, Torah, Jewish literature, Zionism, Hebrew, Yiddish, Russian, Ukrainian - and the language of the people who had just killed some 300 of his relatives: German.

While growing up in various western and eastern European countries in the 1950s, it didn't always make sense to ben Baruch. After all, his traumatized mother would never again utter a word of German or step foot on German soil, where the family had once lived before the war. But one of his most profound memories is of her insisting that, at age eight, his German be flawless and without accent. He was sent to study the language in Austria and in small Bavarian villages.

"This is very rabbinic," he says in reflection, nearly five decades later." She said, 'You belong to another generation and you have a duty of reconciliation with the Germans. Your generation must do it.'"

At age 24, after studying Jewish philosopher Emmanuel Levinas in Paris, comparative linguistics with a focus on Yiddish in Copenhagen and rabbinic studies in Antwerp, he was walking in Geneva and felt himself drawn into a church. He went in as a curious tourist and left without any special sentiment. But a few months later in Paris, he began a conversion to Christianity.

Though this decision baffles both Jews and Christians today, he says it is a decision he simply can't explain, except to say it is his destiny - and burden.

After studying and embracing Orthodox Christianity, he eventually worked his way toward becoming a deacon, or prayer leader, in 1987, until taking the next step to priesthood in 1995, in a quest to have more interaction with the public.

As a priest, he not only met with congregants of the Orthodox churches, but taught and lectured on the subject of comparative theology and linguistics across Europe, until he was invited in 1998 to serve Jerusalem's Greek Orthodox Patriarchate. For more than six years, he has served Slavic-speaking Orthodox Christian Israelis - many of whom, like himself, have Jewish roots.

Today at age 56, drinking coffee in a Jerusalem cafe, his personal and family history seems hidden beneath the plain black floor-length robe and pillbox hat of the Greek Orthodox Church. Though he still answers to Avraham, he has adopted his Russian nickname to his new title, Father Aleksandr.

Often Israelis stare at him like they are at the zoo, he says. Yet, he says, he has rejected nothing of his roots or identity. Christians, too, are confused by or suspicious of his sprinkling of expressions from Hebrew, Yiddish, Torah and Talmud. But he does not relate to the doctrine of messianic Jews or Jews for Jesus.

Are you a Jew?
I embrace the beliefs and teachings of Christianity, of course, but I wouldn't say I left anything of my Jewish background or identity. There are many Jews who leave Judaism and become normal Christians and reject their background, and I say no - I continue being what I am. I am a Jew because I commit myself to the Jewish destiny, but it is for the Jews to say if I'm a Jew or not. I'm not dreaming like some Christian groups or individuals that there is "one entity." Judaism and Christianity are separate. You can call that a contradiction, but it is what it is and I'm not alone. There are many priests of Jewish origin who have helped Israeli society in different ways.

How did your family deal with your conversion?
It's very difficult to say, but I was considered dead and buried by my family. But 20 years ago, in my mother's last weeks, she accepted me and allowed me to assist her. I was able to place my father in a Jewish home for the elderly and later to bury them both according to the Jewish rabbinic laws. A lot of converts try to baptize their parents, but I never would have tried to affect their faith.

How has being the child of Holocaust survivors affected your sense of destiny?
I always felt that we are not "survivors" but "overcomers" of the Shoah. I don't like the word survivors. No matter what happens, we will survive. To the Christians I am considered first a Jew, and for one reason - because I have dedicated my life to mutual understanding and reconciliation between Jews and Gentiles - and this is a challenge I could easily avoid, but I accept, because it makes sense to do something toward forgiveness and reconciliation.

Of all the rites and streams of Christianity, why did you choose to follow the Byzantine, or Eastern Orthodox, rites?
I chose Orthodoxy because it's the closest to the Jewish tradition, although this is totally ignored. Very few Christians are familiar with Judaism; very few Jews know about the Christian world. In Israel, however, there are more and more books published in Hebrew about the eastern Byzantine background of the Holy Land. Some respected but controversial Russian theologians, such as Vladimir Soloviev, pointed out the link and importance of Judaism for the Christian Orthodox faith.

How do you personally reconcile differences between Judaism and Christianity?
I'm not sure we can; and we need centuries to correct centuries of mutual ignorance. I don't want to speak of specific differences, because sometimes it is your own opinion, or what you are told to do, and not necessarily the law of Christianity or Judaism. But one thing I will say is I try to reconcile with and respect every single soul living in this country and area.

How are you received in Jewish Israeli society?
Once I sat in Kikar Zion [in Jerusalem] and some Israeli girls were handing out free giveaways, I don't remember what. They were giving to everyone but me. So I asked them why. And they were surprised and asked me, "Why does a priest speak Hebrew? Do you feel alone here? Do you make confession?"

I answered them, "ashamnu, bagadnu, gazalnu" ["we are guilty, we have betrayed, we have pilfered," the confessions from the Jewish Vidui service] and they stared at me and asked me, "Where do you know those words from?"

I replied, "Is the Jewish world not also known to others?" And they were excited and gave me the free gift.

I say "shalom" to everyone to make contact. One has to be a real mensch, to be open, to smile, to speak, to not be scared, and if someone rejects me, I will keep trying to make contact.

Why did you come to Israel?
I always wanted to be in Israel, since childhood. My parents were Zionists.

Several relatives 120 years ago bought a lot of land in Haifa, you could say they helped sponsor the state. Over the years, I studied linguistics and theology and traveled a lot around Europe, teaching. At the same time, there was a huge aliya because of the Law of Return, which caused major identity problems for those from the former Soviet Union who are "mixed" - from Jewish-Christian marriages or from Jewish marriages but raised Christian.

In communist countries you were always afraid, asking, do you build fences around yourself, or open up to allow more understanding? Here they don't know where they belong and I want to encourage the way of understanding, not rejection or hate.

In 1998, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, questioning how to handle these Slavic Christian Orthodox believers with Jewish roots, heard about an Orthodox priest with Jewish roots who spoke Slavic languages. The late Patriarch Diodoros received a letter of recommendation from the Orthodox Church in Europe stating that I knew Israel and the Orthodox faith, and had taught the Jewish roots of the Christian churches, in particular the origin of the services and prayers. The Patriarch and Holy Synod invited me.

I could have come under the Law of Return, too, but I never took anything from the state.

Most of all, I came here for Jewish-Christian reconciliation and because I want to take spiritual care of the Orthodox Christian faithful who arrived in Israel after the fall of communism in the former Soviet Union and other eastern countries: to help them in accordance with their spiritual traditions and help Israel achieve a respectful acculturation of these newcomers.

The Greek Orthodox Church in Israel has primarily Greek clergy and Arab congregants. How do you approach church services for Israelis from the former Soviet Union who don't relate to the Greek or Arab society and language?
I lead the liturgy 80 percent in Hebrew. For me, this is a moral and cultural decision; I keep away from any political involvement. In my own church in the Old City - St. Nicholas - I pray in Hebrew first, then modern spoken Russian, Ukrainian, some Romanian, Arabic and some Slavonic (Church Russian). I adapt to the spiritual understanding of who is present.

The environment [of the neighborhood] is mostly Arab, but I celebrate mostly in Hebrew because we are here and to help my Israeli congregants with enculturation, to be participants in Israeli society, and not just be Russians and former Soviets. I always explain the cultural context. We read from the Gospels, but I often draw comparisons to the parallel cycle of readings in the weekly Torah portion, and explain "this is the ethics of the culture you are living in." I explain and compare.

I'm not interested in celebrating only in a specific language because I suppose God accepts every tongue. It is in Talmud Sota 7:1 and you find the exact same expression in the Gospels, Book of Revelation, that "God gathered people from all nations, tongues and races."

This is much more interesting and challenging, to explain the meaning of the scripture for the present day. Many families are of mixed origin, with Jewish spouses or relatives. The challenge is to link the Jewish way of life that is everywhere with a Christian tradition that was born here. It is better to stress the similarities than to systematically build separate groups.

What are the challenges of the Slavic-speaking immigrants who were raised Christian but have Jewish roots, and how do you advise them?
I have a church, but I'm much more interested in helping newcomers and their children to be normal, involved Israeli citizens, and to be what they are.

They are confused and conflicted about their identity and they need to be at ease. I encourage them not to reject who they are, not to reject their family. They don't know how to behave, who to marry, if they should join the army.

I tell them about the Christian attitude and about the Jewish attitude, and then I advise them about Israeli law, because they don't know that this is a country where law protecting the individual is very much in force. There are many Russians and Ethiopians, for example, who would not immediately understand this, that they have rights and obligations and have to cope with that.

If people say they don't want to serve in the army, I ask them, who brought you to Israel? Why are you here? And, can you turn the army experience into something positive and something that is your own? I ask them, "Is this your country? Who will serve in the police and army on Shabbat?" I tell them, "Find a way to insert yourselves into your new life; your new country."

Moreover, Christians have the duty to pray, and to respect the authorities and the legacy of the country where they live, as stated in the Gospel.

How does the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate react to your methods and beliefs?
There are people who don't understand me or who are distrustful and aren't sure I should stay. But officially from above, I am supported by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, they brought me here, and they gave me a church. They see the need, and appointed me officially as head of the Slavic-speaking Israeli communities within the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate.

Our Patriarch Ireneos has a saying that seems relevant: "Siga Siga, Shwaya Shwaya, Le'at Le'at, Now'po Tikhonechku," that's "take it slow" in Greek, Arabic, Hebrew and Russian.

What is the attitude in the Greek Orthodox Church to Judaism?
All the Orthodox churches have very deep difficulties for the moment in recognizing the validity of the present-day Jewish tradition as it relates to Christian tradition, for a simple reason: mutual ignorance, or a better word - estrangement. There is a great estrangement between Jews and Christians in Israel, as everywhere, but it is more sensitive in the Holy Land area, where it is hard to disconnect from politics. I'm trying, it's very humbling, to make a breach through this daily ignorance.

The churches in this area, for historical reasons, were always in contact with the Arabs, so they know and accept many things from the Muslim world, such as liturgical tongue from the Koran. On the Jewish side and regarding Judaism, there is a kind of permanent ignorance. I try to help at least create a connectedness, because the background of the Gospels is entirely based and rooted in the Jewish tradition of the first century.

There are some points that should pave the way for more positive connections: Hebrew and Greek are ancient languages still in use today. The way they adapt to the modern world and choose new words for new objects and ideas is very similar. Faith is often connected to such "sacred tongues." The fact that they are colloquial speech at present can build a bridge between the vernacular and sacredness.

As well as other writings, the Greek Orthodox Church, as most Orthodox Christian churches, reads the Tanach, or official biblical translation into Greek made by the Septuagint, the 70 Jewish Elders in Alexandria. In this way, they do recognize the full validity of the Jewish text, thus traditional understanding of the Tanach. Also, the famous translation and even the language of the New Testament are full of Semitisms, just as the Talmud is full of Greek words.

How do the Jews and Christians of Israel react to your approach to reconciliation?
There is a mutual ignorance, or a kind of blindness which can be very aggressive in both directions. For example, if I mention that "Shema Yisrael" appears three times in the Gospels by Jesus, most Jews will say that they don't believe that the Gospels contain such sacred Hebrew words; most Christians will say this doesn't refer to the Jews or Judaism, and should be read as an interpretation of the Church Fathers. The quest is to pave a narrow way to an encounter for the people who arrived here, especially from communist countries, many of them intermingled and from mixed backgrounds. In communist countries you never say the truth and never speak.

The great aliya from the former Soviet Union included so many Christians from countries where Eastern Christianity and Judaism had lived on very similar spiritual experiences, and when it will be possible to compare and study, say the Lubavitch or Breslov or different traditions in the churches, that will make sense because it affects so many congregants and their understanding of the culture here. And somehow it opens the gates of reconciliation.

Why did your sense of duty towards reconciliation lead to becoming a Christian priest, rather than a rabbi or Jewish activist?
I do believe in the Christian Orthodox creed, though never explain myself. On the other hand, Jews and Christians need "living bridges," able to counteract what has been either destroyed by hatred or suspicion.

I chose the Christian way, which implies a lot awareness of the risks to be rejected by both Jews and Christians.

Rabbi Leo Baeck, chief rabbi of Germany and concentration-camp survivor, once wrote that "seldom has conversion [from Judaism] showed a spirit of courageous sacrifice."

My path has included sacrifice. Now, everything I do is not what I would have decided, but is the achievement of a spiritual call. It's beyond my will.



Volume 7 Number 11 - Tuesday, March 15th, 2005	A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY