“Are You My Mother”

As a child, I read a book entitled: “Are You My Mother”. The basic plot of the story describes a bird who happens to hatch from the egg when her mother is away from the nest. She wanders around looking for her mother. She finds a cat, a hen, a cow, a boat and many other items on her search for her mother. She discovers in turn that each of these is not her mother. The story’s happy ending has the bird embracing her real mother and they all live happily ever after.

The plot of this story only makes any sense (to the mind of a toddler) because this bird never actually saw her real mother. Had the bird known her mother, the search to identify her mother would have never started.

This child’s tale has a direct bearing on the struggle between the Church and the Synagogue for the soul of the Jew. The Church points to Jesus, and declares to the Jew – he is your Father, when you see him you have seen your Father.

Had the Jewish people never encountered their Father, the missionary might be able to start a conversation. The conversation wouldn’t last too long, but I can perhaps fathom how the conversation might get off the ground. But for a people who have encountered God directly (Deuteronomy 5:4) and who have come to know Him intimately (Deuteronomy 4:35) – there is no room for a discussion. We tell Jesus: You are NOT our Father. We have met our Father and it isn’t you.

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Yisroel C. Blumenthal