Room at the Table

I was  pleased to be able to attend the conference in April sponsored by Andover Newton Theological School and Hebrew College Rabbinical School, “Educating Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Leaders for Service in a Multi-Religious World: The American Seminary Context.”

Like my colleague Nancy, who blogged about the experience below, I came away impressed and inspired, also noting many of the recurring themes that Nancy listed in her last post.

One of them- including Evangelical Christians in inter-religious dialogue- resonates deeply with me. A course that I am currently co-teaching with Professor Emmanuel Itapson at Palmer Theological Seminary (PTS) is doing exactly that.

“Jewish-Christian Encounter Through Text”- a course offered jointly by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC) and PTS brings together 8 Rabbinical students from RRC and 8 seminarians from PTS to study in interfaith pairs. For a semester, the students engage deeply with one another, with Biblical text as a foundation for their explorations and conversations.

What happens when you bring these seemingly disparate groups of emerging religious leaders together?
A lot.

They seek commonality. They tell stories. They bring their vulnerabilities. They navigate issues of accessibility and ownership of the text. They are offered a new lens through which to view their sacred text. They are forced to articulate their beliefs and explain aspects of their traditions to their partners, helping them to clarify their relationships to their tradition, their sacred literature and to God. As the semester progresses and trust develops, they share their challenges. They question their partners. They practice humility. They come to understand their differences-and respect them.

As the relationships deepen between the pairs, and among the group, so too does understanding. What results is a broadening of the definitions of “Progressive Jew” and “Evangelical Christian” –to include nuance, personal narratives and diversity.

While there is much I could say about the ways this experience has been thus far transformative for the students (and the instructors!) I would rather share a few words from one of the Rabbinical students taking the course. She writes:

“Each study session with [my partner] takes us deeper into the text, into our curiosity about one another and each other’s faith tradition, and into the spaces where we differ, which is where the energy and excitement (and fear of what we will encounter) lie. When we first met, we were a bit shy and polite, almost like a first date when you are excited and want to make a good first impression, and most of all do not want to get off on the wrong foot. Now we jump right into our dialogue, not wanting to waste a second and I feel slightly annoyed when someone comes to the door of “our space” and says we have to stop!…Anyway, the conversations now are beyond intellectually stimulating – they are soul stirring!”

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RRC Multifaith Salon Welcomes Prof. Theodore Friend

A Jesuit priest and a Medical Mission Sister, two scholars of Islam wearing hijabs, a healthy dose of rabbis, rabbinical students and ministers, and assorted colleagues and friends gathered to hear a learned historian who is a former college president and a Presbyterian elder……

We were there as part of our ongoing salon series, Praying with Your Feet: Conversations with Socially-Engaged Religious Activists, a program sponsored by RRC’s Department of Multifaith Studies and Initiatives. Over the last three years these salons have brought a diverse group visionary leaders of many faiths to speak to our rabbinical students and to the larger community, to share the spiritual and intellectual journeys that guide their work.

Last week our guest was Professor Theodore Friend.

Friend is an historian, novelist and educator. He is the former president of Swarthmore College, a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and an active member of Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church.

Friend shared some of the journey that brought him to be writing his book-in-progress, Toward an Open Islam: Woman, Man, and God in Five Muslim Cultures.

He also shared some of his research with us-which is in the form  of hundreds of interviews with Muslim women and men across 5 countries. Not lost on Friend, or the group, was the irony of his endeavor. He opened the session by asking himself, and us, “What’s an old Protestant white guy like me doing studying the Islamic world?”

Listening to Friend was powerful and instructive- not only because of the personal stories he shared, but also in the way he modeled humility and integrity, stopping often to seek input from the group, welcoming interpretation and even gentle critique, as he affirmed the collective wisdom in the room. In doing so, he modeled a person seeking to engage deeply with persons of another faith, taking seriously the responsibility to accurately represent complexities and nuance within Islam. He brings to his work an awareness that facts are not just facts- they land in a social context and become part of that context in ways that can be harmful as well as helpful.

We look forward to our final salon for the year, to take place in late April, when we will welcome Rabbi Sheila Weinberg author of the forthcoming Surprisingly Happy-An Atypical Religious Memior, and a graduate of RRC who has engaged deeply with Buddhism.

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RRC MultiFaith Tour Succeeds after Pope Reschedules

By Amy Loewenthal, RRC Student and Slifka Intern

additional photos by Karen Greene

20 May, 2009

It seemed that the Pope wanted to go exactly where I had planned to take a group of Reconstructionist rabbinical students and rabbis on a multifaith tour on the Israel side the Green Line. Since the streets were blocked off for the Pontiff and his entourage during his week-long visit to the Holy Land, we had graciously rescheduled our tour.

A week late but undaunted, we met on a sunny morning at the Jaffa Gate where I briefed our group of RRC students, rabbis, and their family members. We walked together through the Christian and Muslim Quarters of the Old City, at times yielding the narrow Via Dolorosa to groups of Christian pilgrims chanting prayers and carrying large wooden crosses.  Climbing a myriad of short staircases and walking across rooftops and patios, we made our way to the home of Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bukhari.

Sheikh Bukhari is a Sufi sheikh, head of the Uzbeke community in Jerusalem, and co-founder of Jerusalem Peacemakers.  The Sheikh seated us in his beautiful living room filled with elegant Middle Eastern furniture and archival cases of ancient Islamic documents.

Thanking the Sheikh for receiving us, I explained that I had the pleasure of meeting and traveling with the Sheikh through my Slifka internship and Jerusalem Peacemakers. I outlined my major area of learning  this year — that multifaith religious interactions in the Holy Land happen within a political context.

Some say that religion here is the source of the problem, the cause of war and violence. In my view, war and violence arise from competing national aspirations – they arise from politics rather than from religion. Rather than view religion as causing of the conflict, I see religion and multifaith interaction as a tremendous source for resolving the conflict.

In the first place, the sacred texts of the major religions of the Holy Land show that we share basic values and ethical beliefs which can form a basis for respectful co-existence. There will always be a painful history to contend with. Many injustices need to be acknowledged, but there is no way to undo the past. What we can do is to live in the present and create a vision for the future. Our common religious and ethical values will be the foundation on which future co-existence will be built.

Secondly, religion is a way into many people’s hearts. Some say that the Oslo Agreements failed because the political leaders’ signatures on these documents did not reflect the will of their peoples. A multifaith study group of clergy determined that despite the signing of the Oslo Agreements, the Israeli and Palestinian people on the whole were not adequately prepared to embrace peace. This clergy group has been meeting to plan strategies to “influence the people’s hearts and minds so they can accept peace in the future.” Religious clergy are in a unique position to reach people; their words can touch the people they serve far more effectively than can official declarations.

Thirdly, sometimes the conflict here seems so entrenched and complex as to be impossible for humans to solve.  If so, if it is beyond our human abilities, then we can turn to G-d for help. Even if I don’t believe in a G-d who can reach down into our world to intervene, I can believe that there exist in the universe possibilities which we cannot currently conceive of. I can believe that there is a something larger than us humans which will allow us reach beyond our smallness to bridge our differences. A completely practical rational person will conclude that the conflict is unsolvable: to maintain a sense of hope here, one needs to draw from the realm of faith.

I asked the Sheikh to comment on my thoughts, to tell us about his life and work, and to discuss some passages from Koran about war and peace that we had prepared.

Sheikh Bukhari presented a number of teachings and anecdotes showing how religion could unite us. He told us about his life, how he initially avoided his hereditary obligation to serve as a sheikh, emigrating to the United States as a young man. He told us a profound story of expressing his love for humanity as a manager of a Dunkin’ Donuts shop in Chicago. Our group smiled in amazement as he recounted stories about reaching across barriers to connect with people, including a young man who came to rob him at gunpoint. Ultimately he returned to his family home in Jerusalem and continued his holy work in a more formal way.

We discussed Koran texts (49:13, 22:39-41) on the role of religion in peace and war. Michael Ramberg, a fourth-year RRC student, was particularly interested in a passage which permits war against those who destroy homes. “The Israeli authority’s demolition of Palestinian homes is such a fraught topic here and now, and this text seemed to justify responding violently. It worried me – it struck me as a religious condoning of violence. But the Sheikh set my mind at ease. He made the distinction that although you have permission to fight, if you are wise you will avoid fighting. He showed that elsewhere in the Koran it says that if your enemy inclines to peace, you should make peace. The Sheikh was a good role model of how to deal with a difficult text. This is useful to me as a rabbinical student because there are so many verses like that in the Torah. He did a careful reading, pointing out that you have permission to fight, but not a mandate to fight. Also he didn’t allow one verse to stand out of context, but rather brought verses together to comment on each other. ”

We thanked the Sheikh and left his home.  This was the first time that many of our group members had met and heard from a Muslim about Islam. Karen Greene, an infotech professional and partner of an RRC student, expressed appreciation of the Sheikh’s gentility, sweetness and reflective style of speaking. We made our way to the Lion’s Gate where a van brought us to the Mount of Olives home of another Jerusalem Peacemaker, Ibrahim Abu el Hawa.

Ibrahim’s family has lived on the Mount of Olives for 1,400 years. The Mount of Olives was traditionally a place of hospitality, receiving all kinds of travelers who would spend the night before setting out for their destination of Jerusalem or other cities. Although Ibrahim’s family was Muslim, they had many connections with local Jews and Christians: cutting and delivering tombstones for Jewish graves, and delivering milk and providing security services for the nearby Russian Church. Ibrahim continues in the tradition of providing hospitality and welcoming diverse people. Travelers of all religions and many nationalities stay at his house. We were introduced to a guest who joined us for lunch, Sister Ellen, a retired professor and peace activist originally from California.

Ibrahim’s work for peace and reconciliation happens on many levels: on an official governmental level, with small groups, and person-to-person. His wall is hung with pictures and newspaper clippings documenting his ambassadorial and humanitarian work. A clipping shows how he was hailed by Hindu crowds in India in appreciation for arranging the transport of the body of an Indian Hindu man who died while visiting Israel. A photo shows Ibrahim’s long time work of helping a Bedouin community near Jericho. A framed key of Shelby County, Tennessee was received in thanks for his offer to donate land on the Mount of Olives for a ranch for deaf children. A photo shows Ibrahim signing a document which he described as “adding his approval for the first woman rabbi of Israel.” A great roar of appreciation arose from our group and many took photos of this picture.

Ibrahim took us downstairs for a lovely vegetarian lunch and invited us to make a blessing. I made the traditional ha-motzi over the pita bread, and invited Sister Ellen and Ibrahim to add their blessings. Over lunch, Ibrahim shared his philosophy of dissolving the fear which separates people from one another.  He told us of his role in defusing conflict at a recent house demolition on the Mount of Olives. Housing demolitions in East Jerusalem are conducted by the Israeli government on houses which were built without official building permits, which are almost impossible to obtain.  When demolitions are carried out selectively in Palestinian neighborhoods, local residents may view them as acts of political aggression rather than routine enforcement of civil zoning codes.   The soldiers who accompanied the bulldozer were confronted by crowds of angry young men. Ibrahim spoke out in warning to the soldiers who were fingering the triggers of their guns and to the neighborhood youth who were preparing to throw stones. He explained that even though the house to be demolished belonged to his niece, he understood that the soldiers were there to do an assignment and he didn’t blame them. On the other hand, if they were to continue to finger their triggers, they would have a terrible scene on their hands. Ibrahim made the young men promise that they would allow the bulldozer crew to do their job and not interfere with the soldiers who were protecting the crew. All agreed to Ibrahim’s terms, and the demolition, though considered by some to be unjust, proceeded without any violence. One of the soldiers recognized Ibrahim because they had danced at the wedding of one of Rabbi Froman’s sons together. The soldier apologized, but Ibrahim reiterated that he didn’t blame him for doing his assigned job.

After lunch, Sister Ellen told us about her peace activism and showed us beautiful textiles made by Palestinian women outside of Hebron. Several of us bought items to use as challah covers and tallit bags. We invited Sister Ellen to join us at the following Reconstructionist Minyan Shabbat service [which she attended and enjoyed.]

While we waited for taxis to take us to classes, work, or home, Ibrahim showed us a poster recently painted by a guest in his home, a poster which echoes Ibrahim’s themes of sharing the Holy Land in love.

Micah Weiss, a Wesleyan student and cousin to RRC faculty member, Sarra Lev, expressed appreciation for “being able to meet such holy people.” Many concurred and were glad they received business cards from the Sheikh and Ibrahim, because they hope to maintain contact with them. This tour was a success, bringing current and future Jewish leaders in contact with Muslim leaders to learn and to build multifaith connections.

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Brain, Mind and Spirituality: RRC Students learn more…

Five years ago, Adi Flesher began teaching campers at Tel Yehudah  about their brains.

Today at RRC we had the privilege of learning from Adi, a longtime Jewish educator who believes that educating  teens about the brain can be a  doorway for them to explore the spiritual dimensions of their lives.

Adi grew up in a family with strong Jewish connections and he spent his college years studying Judaism. Yet, it was only as a young adult  living in a Buddhist monastary in the Rocky Mountains that Adi found a connection to the world of prayer and spirituality.

In recent years, Adi has worked with Paul Grobstein of Bryn Mawr College whose amazing website  Serendip is as good a place as any to begin learning about the recent explosion in knowledge in the field of neuroscience and its potential implications for understanding human beings. (Adi has his own website  http://aspiritualbrain.com/ –also an excellent resource.)

In the very short time alloted to him, Adi  convinced us of his thesis: people who care about spirituality should learn more about brain science. Moreover, his dynamic powerpoint presentation(only a portion of which we had time to view) left us inspired to find new and better ways to open the hearts and minds of teenagers.

I was struck with how well Adi knows adolescents and how thoughtfully he shapes the material to reflect their interests. For example, Adi uses the illuminating metaphor of the “muscle, ” nothing that religious  practices can  be understood as exercises(muscle builders) to cultivate spiritual emotions such as gratitude, compassion and awe.

Adi stresses the empowering idea that we can shape our brains and actually change the way they work. Only recently have neuroscientists learned the extent of neuroplasticity, and Adi is excited to share the wealth of new research demonstrating, for example, the effect that meditation can have on the structure of the brain.

Rather than asking teens the non-starter question “Do you believe in God,” Adi  prefers to guide students to an awareness of their own brains as meaning makers, creating stories from the raw, ambiguous data of  experience. (Adi shows slides to illustrate this point—although the classic picture on the right  is not one of those he includes.)

In the fall  Adi  will be studying at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in the Mind, Brain and Education program.

This surely will  not be the last time Adi Flesher teaches at RRC !

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Eva Fleischner: Pioneer of Jewish-Christian Dialogue

At a recent speaking engagement at the Claremont(California) Presbyterian Church, I was thrilled to discover in the audience one of my personal interfaith heroines, Professor Eva Fleischner, an early pioneer of Catholic-Jewish dialogue. When I told Eva that I heard her speak at a conference in New York City in 1974 that changed my life, she was as thrilled as I was by our encountering one another.

Later that day, we sat in her home in the wonderful senior community, Pilgrim Place, and talked about the journey that brought her to that conference and the journey she has taken since. (Herbert Heavenrich has written a biography of Eva entitled In Search of the Sacred.)

Eva was born in Vienna in 1925 to Catholic parents.  Because  her father was a convert from Judaism, the rise of Hitler led her parents to send her as a young girl to England for safety. Eventually, the family was reunited in America. After graduating from Radcliffe and a Fulbright in Paris,  Eva committed herself to a life of faith based service through the Grail, an organization founded in 1921 as a “lay apostolate” addressed to young  Catholic women and independent of the church heirarchy.

Eva’s eventually discerned her own calling: to be a scholar of religion with a focus on the issue of Catholic-Jewish relations. In the post-Holocaust era, Fleischner was among the early Catholic writers undertake this mission. “I had found my life’s work: awakening my fellow Christians to the riches of the Jewish tradition(our roots) and the horrors of the Holocaust in which Christianity had played a part.” After earning a Phd in theology, Fleischner went on to have a distinguished teaching career at Montclair State University and other institutions.

Her most widely read contribution, still in print and still influential, is Auschwitz: Beginning of a New Era?, the volume she  edited based on the 1974 conference that I had attended.

In our conversation, Eva and I reflected upon the 35 years that have elapsed since the last time we were together. We found ourselves returning in our conversation to the topic of Israel. Eva has been a passionate supporter of the Jewish people and, by extension, the Jewish state.

In recent years, support for Israel has become a more complex issue for Christian allies of the Jewish people,  just as it has for many Jews.  A case in point is a  another  Catholic theologian who early took up the battle against anti-Judaism in the Church(and  also spoke at the conference in 1974), Rosemary Ruether.  Ruether, like Fleischner, saw the connection between the Church’s failures with regard to the Jewish people and other flaws in its theology. Her 1974  book, Faith and Fratricide: The Theological Roots of Anti-Semitism, profoundly influenced many to re-examine their Catholic faith and their views of Jews and Judaism. Ruether went on to write and edit many books of liberation theology, particulary  feminist theology , but also books relating to the Palestinian cause.

Interestingly, Rosemary Ruether lives in the same senior community as Eva  Fleischner. Recalling the revolutionary fervor of Fleischner’s and Ruether’s early years of anti-anti-Semitism work in the church, I wonder about the causes that are stirring the hearts of young Catholic  theologians today.

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