Ancient Priests, New Pope: Where Judaism Coincides and Differs

Mr. Goldberg was bragging to his boss one day, "You know, I know everyone there is to know. Just name someone, anyone, and I know him."

Tired of his boasting, his boss called his bluff, "OK, Goldberg, how about Tom Cruise?"

"Sure, yes, Tom and I are old friends, and I can prove it."

So Goldberg and his boss fly out to Hollywood and knock on Tom Cruise's door and sure enough, Tom Cruise, shouts, "Goldberg! Great to see you! You and your friend come right in and join me for lunch!"

Although impressed, Goldberg's boss is still skeptical. After they leave Cruise's house, he tells Goldberg that he thinks Goldberg's knowing Cruise was just lucky.

"No, no, just name anyone else," Goldberg says. "President Obama," his boss quickly retorts. "Yes," Goldberg says, "I know him, let's fly out to Washington."

And off they go. At the White House, Obama spots Goldberg on the tour and motions him and his boss over, saying, "Goldberg, what a surprise, I was just
on my way to a meeting, but you and your friend comeon in. Let's have a cup of coffee first, and catch up.”

Well, the boss is very shaken by now, but still not totally convinced. After they leave the White House grounds, he expresses his doubts to Goldberg, who again implores him to name anyone else.

"The Pope," his boss replies. "Sure!" says Goldberg. "I've known the Pope a long time."  

So off they fly to Rome. Goldberg and his boss are assembled with the masses in Vatican Square when Goldberg says, "This will never work... I can't catch the Pope's eye among all these people. Tell you what, I know all the guards so let me just go upstairs and I'll come out on the balcony with the Pope."
 
And he disappears into the crowd headed toward the Vatican. Sure enough, half an hour later Goldberg emerges with the Pope on the balcony.  

But by the time Goldberg returns, he finds that his boss has fainted and is surrounded by paramedics. Working his way to his boss's side, Goldberg asks him, "What happened?"

His boss looks up and says, "I was doing fine but then you and the Pope came out on the balcony and the Japanese tourist next to me asked, 'Who's that on the balcony with Goldberg?'" 

Humor as we know often expresses deeper truths.  14 million Jews.  1.2 billion Roman Catholics.  Is it surprising that Jews would tell a joke in which a Jew is better known than the Pope?

In light of the inauguration of a new Pope, I want to identify some interesting aspects of the Roman Catholic church and in particular some of the fundamental differences between Roman Catholicism and rabbinic Judaism, to help give us some grounding.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, there are three types of priesthood.  First, the priesthood of Jesus the High Priest, the only mediator between God and men. 

Second, the hierarchical priesthood, consisting of bishops and priests.  Third, the priesthood of all the faithful.

The second type – the hierarchical priesthood - has its roots in the kohanim, the priests described in the Torah, namely Aaron and his descendants.

The incense, the dress, the altar – much of what is described in the book of Leviticus, you will see at a service in a Roman Catholic church. 

There are no animal sacrifices, although the sacrifice of Jesus to atone for the faithful is experienced and consumed as the blood and body of Christ.

Protestant Christians reject the ministerial priesthood but maintain the high priesthood of Jesus and the priesthood of the faithful.

And the Jews?  We maintain the position of the Kohen with certain responsibilities and honors that include pidyon haben (redemption of the firstborn), offering the blessing of the kohanim, receiving the first aliya to the Torah and so-on.

But by and large we have de-emphasized the priesthood and the rituals associated with it since the destruction of the Temple.  

During the decades preceding the destruction, there emerged a new type of leader known as the rabbi who did not dress in a special way, who did not perform rituals that no one else could perform, whose authority came from his learning rather than inheritance.

The authority of the rabbi increased exponentially after the destruction of the Temple.

I think it’s nothing short of sensational that a group of individuals succeeded at transforming a religion from a centralized sacrificial cult to a decentralized cluster of learning, praying communities.

And the rabbis strengthened their own authority using imagery from the priesthood.  The late medieval books that deal with the law are named after the objects that the high priest wore in ancient times.  For example, the portion that deals with business was called choshen mishpat, named after the breastplate the High Priest wore.

So consider the portion of the Torah that we read in recent weeks and this morning, about the dress and function of the priests, as the trunk of a tree – from that, several branches grew, one branch - Roman Catholicism, which maintained the notion of a priesthood functioning as intermediaries with God and serving as vehicles for sacrifice.  Another branch – rabbinic Judaism, placing authority in the hands of teachers who interpret the law but do not serve as ritual intermediaries.  A rabbi provides a less sacerdotal function at a funeral or wedding than a Roman Catholic priest.

Of course, we’re all human, which means that those of us who belong to the Jewish tradition may in some measure crave the sacerdotal role of the priesthood.  We satisfy it to some extent through the rituals of the kohanim and to some extent by projecting certain expectations onto the rabbi that he or she will bring blessing and atonement.

Of course we wonder if Pope Francis will be “good for the Jews” and it seems that he has had positive relations with the Jewish community in Buenos Aires.  And we watch the pomp and circumstance with a mixture of enjoyment and curiosity. The office of pope is impressive indeed.

And that’s fine.  But with it all I say, ashreinu mah tov helkeinu.  Happy are we, how good is our portion, that we all can approach God directly through study, prayer and good deeds; that we are decentralized enough so that everyone can find rabbis and teachers that reflect their sensibilities.  And that our tradition, thousands of years after Moses and Aaron, continues to cast a fine light on the world, fueled by our commitment and creativity.  In the context of the world’s other great religions, long may that continue.