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• The Nun in the Synagogue: Judeocentric Catholicism in Israel by Emma O’Donnell Polyakov
• Zev Garber

At first glance, this volume by Merrimack College professor Polyakov appears to be a straightforward historical and ethnographic account of philosemitism as exhibited by a dedicated cadre of nuns, priests, and monks living in the State of Israel. The group are primarily Jewish survivors of the Shoah who have converted to Catholicism and gentile Catholics who are dedicated to [End Page 611] confront centuries-old anti-Jewish beliefs, practices, and theology inherent in the church and practiced in Christendom. However, what she calls “Judeocentric Catholicism” mirrors neither “Messianic Judaism” nor “Jewish Catholicism.” The former exhibits bilateral ecclesiology, Jewish and non-Jewish; the latter insists on the acceptance of a global Ekklesia defined by the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church that sees theological significance in the emergence of a Jewish corporate entity that contributes to the reconciliation between Yeshua and his people.

Jewish Catholicism sees a limitation in Messianic Judaism that insists that Jewish believers remain and live Jewishly in accordance with tenets of Torah teaching and selected rabbinic tradition. Jewish Catholicism vigorously presents that Jesus is the messianic fulfillment of Torah faithfulness, which does not “gentilize” Jewish believers but enforces their distinctive discipleship as Jews. Thus, in the quest for good and justice in these downtrodden times, seek the message of the Torah echoed in the message of Jesus: “Love your God with all your heart, soul, mind and your neighbor as yourself” (Mt. 22:34–40; Mk. 12:28–34; Lk. 10:25–28). Polyakov’s chapters introduce, define, and understand Judeocentric Catholicism in strictly Jewish terms, and the narrative is retrofitted with primary, secondary, and archival sources. Further, the author’s ability to posit the concern and thought of clerical Catholics living imitateo Judaeorum in contemporary historical focus is laudable.

These chapters are a case study of Catholic clergy living on the border between Catholicism and Judaism, whose perceptions of Jews, Judaism, and the State of Israel are greatly influenced by living as a Christian minority in a vibrant Jewish commonwealth. Polyakov listens to and analyzes the stories of individuals choosing to live a Catholic life and tradition within Judaism’s centrifugal teaching of tikkun `olam (repairing the world). That includes sensing the presence of God in the world ’asher bara` (Creation); sensing the divine presence in the words, events, and encounters in the Tanakh; and sensing the Holy Presence in doing the mitzvoth (obligatory and voluntary commandments or sacred acts). Theology draws from biblical, rabbinic, and mystical tradition that proclaims the message that the earth is full of God’s glory and that every place conceivably is a gateway to Heaven’s door. Judaism’s Creation-Bible-Deeds interplay parallels the inalienable importance of the Torah (Teaching) to Israel, transmitted by written and oral tradition.

This well-balanced, highly informative work provides a roadmap to the extensive research necessary in charting the ups-and-downs of preserving a new vision of Jews and Judaism after the Shoah (1939–45) and the establishment of [End Page 612] the Third Jewish Commonwealth (1948). It contains a wide span of areas related to this new process in Catholic-Jewish relations, including words, phrases, personalities, events, scriptural understanding, and theology. Erudite and reader-friendly chapters are mostly accompanied by notes and a short bibliography at the end of the book. By focusing on a variety of Judeocentric Catholic approaches and interpretations, Polyakov has provided an accessible approach to understanding the dynamics of a selective religio-Catholic view of Jews and Judaism, which differs considerably from the pre-Vatican II dogma worldview. Choosing to dwell in the Land of Zion, Judeocentric Catholics pray for the Chosen People’s safety, well-being, and longevity. Unlike Christian Zionism, which prays and publicly participates in the ingathering of exilic Jewish communities to the Land of Israel for ultimate conversion to and redemption by Yesh`ua HaMashiach, Judeocentric Catholics are deeply private, sincere, and nonpolitical in their religious...

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  《犹太教堂里的修女：以色列的犹太中心主义天主教》 作者：艾玛·奥唐纳·波利亚科夫
•  泽夫·加伯

乍一看，梅里马克学院教授波利亚科夫的这本书似乎是对哲学犹太主义的直接历史和民族志描述，由生活在以色列国的修女、牧师和僧侣组成的热心干部展示。该团体主要是大屠杀的犹太幸存者，他们已皈依天主教，以及致力于[结束第611页]的外邦天主教徒，对抗教会固有的和基督教世界中已有数百年历史的反犹太信仰、做法和神学。然而，她所说的“犹太中心天主教”既不反映“弥赛亚犹太教”，也不反映“犹太天主教”。前者展示了双边教会论，犹太教和非犹太教；后者坚持接受罗马天主教会训导所定义的全球 Ekklesia，该教会认为犹太法人实体的出现具有神学意义，有助于耶稣与他的子民之间的和解。

犹太天主教看到了弥赛亚犹太教的局限性，它坚持犹太信徒必须按照托拉教义和选定的拉比传统保持犹太人的生活方式。犹太天主教大力宣扬耶稣是托拉忠诚的弥赛亚实现，这并没有“绅士化”犹太信徒，而是强化了他们作为犹太人独特的门徒身份。因此，在这个受压迫的时代寻求良善和正义时，请寻求耶稣信息中所呼应的《托拉》信息：“要尽心、尽性、尽意爱你的神，又要爱邻舍如同自己”（太 22： 34-40；马可福音 12：28-34；路加福音 10：25-28）。波利亚科夫的章节以严格的犹太术语介绍、定义和理解以犹太为中心的天主教，并且用主要、次要和档案资料对叙述进行了修改。此外，作者将模仿犹太教的神职人员天主教徒的关注和思想置于当代历史焦点的能力值得称赞。

这些章节是对生活在天主教和犹太教边界的天主教神职人员的案例研究，他们对犹太人、犹太教和以色列国的看法深受生活在充满活力的犹太联邦中的基督教少数群体的影响。波利亚科夫聆听并分析了在犹太教 tikkun ‘olam（修复世界）的离心教义中选择过天主教生活和传统的个人的故事。这包括感知上帝在世界上的存在“asher bara”（创造）；在塔纳赫的言语、事件和遭遇中感受到神圣的存在；并在遵守戒律（义务和自愿戒律或神圣行为）时感受到神圣的临在。神学借鉴了圣经、拉比和神秘传统，宣扬这样的信息：大地充满了上帝的荣耀，每个地方都可以想象是通往天堂之门的门户。犹太教的创造-圣经-行为的相互作用与托拉（教义）对以色列不可剥夺的重要性相似，通过书面和口头传统传播。

这部平衡性好、内容丰富的著作为进行广泛的研究提供了路线图，以描绘大屠杀（1939-45）和[结束页 612] 建立后保留犹太人和犹太教新愿景的起起落落。第三犹太联邦（1948）。它包含与天主教-犹太关系这一新进程相关的广泛领域，包括单词、短语、人物、事件、圣经理解和神学。博学且易于读者阅读的章节大多在书末附有注释和简短的参考书目。通过关注各种以犹太为中心的天主教方法和解释，波利亚科夫提供了一种易于理解的方法来理解犹太人和犹太教的选择性宗教天主教观点的动态，这种观点与梵蒂冈二世之前的教条世界观有很大不同。以犹太教为中心的天主教徒选择居住在锡安之地，为选民的安全、福祉和长寿祈祷。与基督教犹太复国主义不同的是，基督教犹太复国主义祈祷并公开参与将流亡的犹太社区聚集到以色列土地，以最终皈依耶稣并接受耶稣的救赎，以犹太为中心的天主教徒在他们的宗教方面是非常私人的、真诚的和非政治的……