Opening the Covenant This page intentionally left blank Opening the Covenant A Jewish Theology of Christianity michael s. kogan 1 2008 1 OxfordUniversityPress,Inc.,publishesworksthatfurther OxfordUniversity’sobjectiveofexcellence inresearch,scholarship,andeducation. Oxford NewYork Auckland CapeTown DaresSalaam HongKong Karachi KualaLumpur Madrid Melbourne MexicoCity Nairobi NewDelhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto Withofficesin Argentina Austria Brazil Chile CzechRepublic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore SouthKorea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Copyright#2008byOxfordUniversityPress,Inc. PublishedbyOxfordUniversityPress,Inc. 198MadisonAvenue,NewYork,NewYork10016 www.oup.com OxfordisaregisteredtrademarkofOxfordUniversityPress Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced, storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans, electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording,orotherwise, withoutthepriorpermissionofOxfordUniversityPress. LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Kogan,MichaelS. Openingthecovenant:aJewishtheologyofChristianity/MichaelS.Kogan. p.cm. Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. ISBN-13:978-0-19-511259-7(cloth) 1. Judaism—Relations—Christianity. 2. Christianityandotherreligions—Judaism. 3. Judaism—Doctrines. 4. Judaism(Christiantheology) I. Title. BM535.K6142007 296.3'96—dc22 2007014739 ‘‘JewsandChristians:TakingtheNextStep,’’JournalofEcumenicalStudies26,no.4 (Fall,1989):703–713.#1990. ‘‘TowardaJewishTheologyofChristianity,’’JournalofEcumenicalStudies32,no.1 (Winter,1995):89–106,152.#1995. ‘‘IntoAnotherIntensity:Christian-JewishDialogueMovesForward,’’Journalof EcumenicalStudies41,no.1(Winter,2004):1–17.#2006. ‘‘TowardaPluralistTheologyofJudaism,’’inTheMythofReligiousSuperiority, ed.byPaulF.Knitter.Maryknoll,NY:Orbis.2005. TheLittleIslandbyGoldenMacDonaldandLeonardWeisgard(illustrator)Margaret WiseBrown,copyright1946byRandomHouseChildren’sBooks,adivisionofRandom House,Inc.UsedbypermissionofDoubleday,adivisionofRandomHouse,Inc. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica onacid-freepaper For my mother, who brought me to God, for my father, who brought me to synagogue, for Barton, who shared the journey... and for 1185, 880, and 1120, with loving memories This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgments Iamindebtedtomanyfortheirhelp,directorindirect,inthewriting of this book. Professor GabrielVahanian hasbeen my teacher,men- tor, and friend since we met in my sophomore year at Syracuse University. I studiedwithhim as an undergraduate andreturned to take my Ph.D. in the graduate program of religious studies he founded. His creative, luminous thoughtand brilliant lectures set me on my way in theology. Professor Fernando Molina oftheSyr- acuse University Department of Philosophy introduced me to the field throughKant,Husserl, andSartre andshowedme how great classroomteaching can hone the mind and lift the soul. So many friends and colleagues encouraged this work. The idea for itcame from the Reverend Dr. John Pawlikowski, although he willbesurprisedtolearnthis.MydearfriendsDr.JamesGorneyand Dr. Beverly Gibbons gave me years of loving encouragement, as did the Reverend Vincent Rigdon, faithfulfriend since my days at Columbia University. ProfessorDavid Benfield, Professor Stephen Johnson, Professor Eva Fleischner, ProfessorLisa Sargese, and the late Professor Thomas Bridges, all friends and colleagues atthe De- partment ofPhilosophy and Religion atMontclair State University, steadilycheered me on. Sodid my wonderful students, particularly Dr. Ervin Nieves, Dr. Mario Biera, and Mr.Matthew Dennis,and, of course,the incomparablesecretary of the department, Ms. KimHar- rison. viii acknowledgments Comrades in the Jewish-Christian dialogue supported and encouraged me: Dr. Leonard Swidler and Ms. Nancy Krody of the Journal of Ecumenical Studiesandthelate,belovedFrankBrennan,founderandeditoroftheNational Dialogue Newsletter. I am grateful for the advice of Professor Paul Knitter, leadingAmerican pluralist theologian. IdeeplyappreciatethehelpfulsuggestionsofRabbiNormanPatz,Rabbi David Lincoln, the Reverend David Williams, the Reverend Lynn Bailey, and theReverendJohnPaulBoyerandtheprayerfulsupportoftheVeryReverend Robert Baker, bishop ofSouth Carolina. Special thanks are due to those who werekindenough to readthis man- uscript, my friend Dr. David Bossman, Dr. Elliot Dorff, Dr. Eugene Fisher, Dr.PeterZaas,Mr.MarshallSteinbaum,and,again,Dr.JohnPawlikowski— and,ofcourse,toOxford’sindefatigablereligioneditor,CynthiaRead,forher great skillsand evengreater patience. Finally, my deepest appreciation to Ms. J. Rosemary Moss, a tireless la- borer in the vineyard, without whose computer skills, good advice, and edito- rial assistancethis book wouldnothave beenpossible. BlessedartThou,LordourGod,RuleroftheUniverse,whohaskeptmein life, sustained me andenabled me to reach this moment. Amen. Montclair, New Jersey January 19, 2007