I am Hashem your G-d who took you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall not have the G-ds of others in my presence.

And these, according to Rabbi Meir, are the festivals of the non-Jews: Kalendae, Saturnalia, Kratesim, kings' days of accession, the day of birth, and the day of death. And the Sages say: every funeral in which a conflagration is present [thereby] involves idol worship. One that has no conflagration does not involve idol worship. [A celebration of] the day on which a [non-Jewish] man cuts his beard or his hair, the day that he came ashore from the sea, and the day he was released from prison, and a pagan who made a feast for his son, [for all these] the prohibition extends only to that day and that man alone.

It is permitted [to do business, etc.] outside of a city that has idolatry within it. If there is idolatry outside the city, it is permitted [to do business, etc.] within the city. Is one permitted to travel to such a place [on the days of their festivals]? If road leads to this place alone, it is forbidden; but if one can walk along this road to another location, it is permitted.

And the heretic's dictum pleased me. I therefore assumed that on account of this incident, I was seized for purposes of being coerced into heresy. And it was because I transgressed that which is written in the Torah "Distance yourself from her"-this is reference to heresy and "Do not come near the door of her house"-this is reference to the domain. And some say "Distance yourself from her"-this is reference to heresy and the authorities and "Do not come near the door of her house"-this is reference to a harlot. And how much? Rav Chisda said 4 amot

The Canaanites are idol worshipers, and Sunday is their festival. Accordingly, in Eretz Yisrael, it is forbidden to conduct transactions with them on Thursday and Friday each and every week, and, needless to say, on Sunday itself, when transactions with them are forbidden everywhere.

We are amazed that people don't care about certain religious practices anymore and we already explained the main religion that it is talking about. these ancient practices are restricted to pagans, not christians (people who celebrate these festivals are not bound by religion and are persistent in avodah zarah)

Since Christians around us are monotheists and bound by rule of law, halachik monetary law applies to them just as it would to fellow Jews

Me’iri’s most positive statement concerning Christianity is his unequivocal declaration that “they believe in God’s existence, His unity and power, although they misconceive some points according to our belief” (Bet ha-Behirah, Gittin 62a)

In a number of statements scattered throughout his commentary on the various tractates of the Talmud, Me’iri unequivocally rules that, with regard to various halakhic provisions, Christians are not to be equated with idolaters. Me’iri’s most explicit ruling occurs in his commentary on the opening Mishnah of Avodah Zarah in which he declares that the restrictions on commercial intercourse with idolaters on their feast days are not applicable “in these times.”

http://traditionarchive.org/news/_pdfs/0073-0102.pdf

With regard to any gentile who does not serve false deities, e.g., the Arabs:It is forbidden to drink his wine, but it is permitted to benefit from it. The Geonim rule in this manner. With regard to those who worship false deities, by contrast, it is forbidden to benefit from their ordinary wine.

Teshuvot Harambam II, no.458

These Ishmaelites are in no sense idolaters. Idolatry has been severed from their mouths and hearts. They attribute to God, may He be exalted, proper divinity, unity which has no defect (dofi)…And if someone will say that the edifice in which they praise Him is a house of idolatry and that an idol that their fathers served is hidden therein, what of it? The hearts of those who bow before it today are directed solely to Heaven.

A Jew who has an important position in a gentile kingdom and must sit before their kings, and would be embarrassed if he did not resemble them, is granted permission to wear clothes which resemble theirs and shave the hair on his face as they do.

One [i.e., a Jew] who is close [i.e., works closely] with the [non-Jewish] authorities and is required to dress in their clothing and to be similar [in appearance] to them, is permitted in all respects [to do so].

The Practice of Maran Harav Shlit”a While Serving as a Rabbi in Egypt
While Maran Harav Ovadia Yosef Shlit”a served as a Rabbi and Av Bet Din (head of the Rabbinical court) in Egypt in the year 5708 (1948), he also served as Assistant Chief Rabbi of Egypt. The post of Chief Rabbi was held by a man by the name of Chaim Nachum Afandi who was close to the king of Egypt, a member of the Egyptian parliament in Cairo, and a member of the Academy of the Arabic Language, and was thus chosen for this position. During this period, a certain well-respected Christian diplomat passed away in Egypt and the government invited the country’s Chief Rabbi to represent the Chief Rabbinate and participate in the funeral services. Since the Chief Rabbi was in a weakened state, he requested that Maran Harav Shlit”a attend the funeral in his place. When Maran Harav Shlit”a heard that it was customary for all to file into the church where the deceased lay and listen to Christian prayers and the like, he notified the Chief Rabbi that under no circumstances would he agree to enter the church. The Chief Rabbi exerted much pressure on Maran Shlit”a to agree to go, for if no representative of the Chief Rabbinate would be present, this might cause a serious diplomatic incident to erupt. Nevertheless, Maran Shlit”a did not agree with his stance and claimed that, on the contrary, the participation of the Rabbi of the Jews at such an event is an unparalleled desecration of Hashem’s name and a disgrace of the Jewish religion in the eyes of the non-Jewish nations. He thus remained steadfast in his convictions and no representative of the Chief Rabbinate attended the funeral.

Rabbi Lookstein on participating in national prayer service:

Fellow RCA Members,

The RCA recently issued a press release critical of my participation at the National Cathedral on the morning after Barack Obama’s inauguration. I write to explain why I did participate in this service, even though it was in the National Cathedral, an Episcopalian Church.

First, I am very much in agreement with the RCA’s view, derived from the writings of the Rav zt"l opposing interfaith dialogue and theological compromise. Indeed, I have been in the rabbinate more than fifty years, and I have never participated in such an event. I followed these guidelines throughout my tenure as President of the now defunct Synagogue Council of America.

Nevertheless, I felt not only that it was permitted to participate in this event, but proper for someone in the responsible Orthodox rabbinate and, indeed, necessary.

Herewith, my explanation for my colleagues:

This event was not an interfaith dialogue or meeting. It was an invitation from the new President of the United States — a man of incredible importance to the fate of our holy community in the land of Israel and here — to meet him in prayer. Many clergy were invited, and I felt that the interests of our Orthodox community would be hurt if no one from our community participated.

The Shulchan Aruch notes in YD 178:2 that a person who needs to be close to the government may wear even the Torah- prohibited garments of a gentile in order to represent the Jewish community well. The prohibition to enter a church is grounded in the appearance of impropriety, rather than an actual impropriety — indeed, wearing garments of gentiles is a Torah prohibition and this is generally thought to be a rabbinic one.

It is well known that many Chief Rabbis of England have gone into Westminster Abby when summoned there by the King or Queen, and many other great rabbis have done the same to represent our community. The Chief Rabbis of Israel have engaged in similar activities, and, most recently, the Chief Rabbi of Haifa, Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen was involved in similar activities. In fact, he attended the funeral of the late Pope, John Paul II.

Rabbi Michael Broyde told me that he was once asked by the Israeli government to represent the government of Israel ON A VERY SERIOUS MATTER at an event in a church during a time of worship. He spoke to the Tzitz Eliezer about this issue, and the Tzitz Eliezer told him directly that if it was a matter of significant importance to the Israeli government, then he should go wearing his kipa and looking as rabbinic as he could.

Of course, such events are few and far between, and, in most situations, I and other RCA members would never participate in such events. But, I feel that Orthodox participation in this important national event, and the opportunity to say a few words directly to the President of the United States and begin to develop a relationship with the most powerful man in the world is a chance that our community can ill afford to miss. Indeed, when I spoke to President Obama, I thanked him for his support of Israel and I urged him to remember the unforgettable statement he made in Sderot, where he said, "If anybody
would shoot rockets into my house while my daughters were sleeping, I would do anything in my power to make sure they wouldn’t do it again".

The President responded with a clear assent. Maybe this will save a life or two in the future and maybe it will not; but I felt this was not an assignment I could – or should – turn down.

Rabbi Haskel Lookstein