Imaginary Vampires, Imagined Jews

1897 was a watershed year in Jewish history. And now, Jewish historians may consider adding a surprising entry to the list of that year's events that proved so repercussive in Jewish history: the publication of Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Creatures of the Night  David Wolpe,  Jewish Journal.  Their day begins at sundown, they show a certain aversion to the sign of the cross, and they dress in black. Of course, I am talking about Jews.  SAVE

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Yellow Crucifixion, Marc Chagall (1943).

Jesus for Jews

That Jesus lived and died a Jew would hardly be regarded as news by most educated Jews and Christians today.  Still, while the historical Jesus is ever-elusive, the figure of Jesus, for Jews, has become more accessible.

The Jesus Question  John T. Pawlikowski,  Jewish-Christian Relations.  Back on the agenda in certain Jewish circles, the question is now being asked in collaboration with Christian scholars.  SAVE

How It Began  David Novak,  New Republic.  Peter Schafer's examination of anti-Christian passages in classical Jewish sources is rigorous, candid, and, perhaps unexpectedly, hopeful.  SAVE

“Rabbi Jesus”  Raphael Ahren,  Haaretz.  Fending off scathing criticism, an Orthodox rabbi asserts his words were manipulated and emphasizes the "fundamental differences" between Judaism and Christianity.  SAVE

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Crimes of Communion

Two years ago, a Muslim reporter for the Malaysian magazine Al Islam attended a Catholic mass in Kuala Lumpur with a companion, surreptitiously took communion, and put the wafer in his mouth, only to spit it out later. The May 2009 issue of Al Islam featured a cover photograph of the soggy, partially-eaten wafer—to the horror of local church authorities.

Desecration of the Host  Joseph Jacobs, Max Schloessinger,  Jewish Encyclopedia.  A brief history and overview of the charge that Jews stole and defiled the sacred wafer of the mass, causing it to bleed. The accusation brought thousands to the stake.  SAVE

Malaysian Catholics Protest  CathNews.  Complaints have been lodged against a Muslim journalist who accepted a communion wafer at a Kuala Lumpur parish, later removing it from his mouth and photographing it.  SAVE

Harper and the Host  Charles Lewis,  National Post.  The conduct of the Canadian prime minister at a funeral mass ignites a religious controversy over proper decorum during a Catholic communion service.  SAVE

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West Side Story (film, 1961).

Easter, Passover, and the West Side Story that Wasn’t

Late in 1948, in the early stages of his collaboration with Jerome Robbins on the musical that would become West Side Story, Leonard Bernstein wrote in his diary: "Jerry R. called today with a noble idea: a modern version of Romeo and Juliet set in slums at the coincidence of Easter-Passover celebrations. Feelings run high between Jews and Catholics. . . . "

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