Coming One World Church (Pocket Book)
One Christmas, a rabbi from Russia visited an American family as part of a cultural exchange program. His host family wanted to treat him to a new culinary experience, so they took him out one evening to their favorite Chinese restaurant. After the meal, the Chinese waiter brought each of them a little Christmas gift. It was a small, brass Christmas tree ornament that was stamped with the words “Made in India.”
They all laughed at the irony of receiving a “Made in India” gift from a Chinese restaurant. But suddenly, everyone stopped chuckling when they noticed tears rolling down the rabbi’s cheeks. Had they offended him in some way?
“Nyet,” the rabbi replied. “I was shedding tears of joy to be in a country in which a Buddhist gives a Jew a Christmas gift made by a Hindu.”
Such peaceful co-existence and affirmation doesn’t happen often between religious faiths. Even today, religious differences frequently escalate into fierce war. It’s no wonder that many people want to dismantle the religious “Berlin Wall” that exists between faiths.