Our hearts are heavy with grief at news of the recent antisemitic attacks in Boulder, CO and Washington, D.C. We decry these hateful acts, mourn for those who lost their lives, and pray for the healing of the wounded. May we soon see an end to violence, hatred, and bloodshed in our country, in the Middle East, and throughout the entire world.

Dignity Project fellowship alumni representing every cohort posing together at program reunion

This past weekend, more than 30 alumni of the Dignity Project, Miller Center’s interreligous fellowship for high school students, gathered for the first official Dignity Project reunion. Alumni from all five years of the annual program program attended the event on Hebrew College’s shared campus in Newton, Massachusetts. “It was truly moving to see this room full of incredible alumni all in one place” said Program Director Liz Aeschlimann. “They are shining their light in so many places.” 2023-2024 alumni shared an opening intention in the form of a Bahai song accompanied by Brazilian hand gestures, and former participants bonded over their shared memories and gratitude for the Dignity Project. Alumni shared about the ways that participation in the Dignity Project’s interreligious community expanded their perspectives – from discovering new ways to approach difficult conversations with sensitivity, to extending empathy and recognition across differences. Fellows also networked across their cohorts, reminiscing about shared experiences outside the Miller Center and making plans to meet up on college campuses. The alumni were joined by former program mentors and other staff, including Dignity Project Director Liz Aeschlimann, founding Director Shelton Oakley Hersey and Miller Center Director Rabbi Or Rose.

Beacons of Hope: Our Interreligious S/Heroes

Each month, we honor an individual or group whose commitments align with the bridge-building efforts of the Miller Center of Hebrew College. This June, we highlight the good works of a recent Boston College School of Theology and Ministry graduate, Rosys, who worked closely with the Dignity Project, Miller Center’s interreligious fellowship for Greater Boston high school students.

Over the past two years, Rosys worked closely with the Dignity Project, first as a Mentor and then as Assistant Director of the program, an interreligious fellowship for high school students. In these roles, Rosys developed curriculum for the Dignity Project, facilitated sessions and retreats, and mentored fellows through hosting site visits, helping the teens think through how best to welcome guests into their homes and faith communities. A passionate Kentucky native, queer Catholic and theology nerd, Rosys’ genuine love for the Fellows and commitment

Rosys

to interreligious engagement was a true gift to the Dignity Project.

Always eager to dive into esoteric conversations about synodality, agape love, or Thomas Merton, they were equally ready to show up with homemade brownies, or bring in their collection of stringed instruments to lead the Fellows through a workshop on musical "noodling" as spiritual practice. Rosys embodies their belief that "all interactions have the possibility for God’s presence in the love between people." Despite being with the Miller Center for only two years, Rosys befriended students across the network of Boston Theological Institute schools, and was a consistent presence at Hebrew College events. This spring, Rosys graduated from Boston College's School of Theology and Ministry and received their Master of Arts in Theology and Ministry and a certificate in Interreligious Leadership from The Boston Theological Interreligious Consortium (BTI); cosponsored by the Miller Center of Hebrew College. Their thesis, “The Transcendent God Present through Transgender Action: Developing a Sacramental Understanding of Gender Identity and Transition” passed with distinction. Thank you for everything, Rosys. We will miss you!

Miller Center Director Rabbi Or Rose recently interviewed Rabbi Aaron Portman of the Ohio State University Hillel about a painful incident that took place in the Hillel building in November of 2023, and the restorative justice process which Rabbi Portman and the Hillel leadership undertook. Their conversation was published at Interfaith America:

In November 2023, shortly after the October 7th Hamas attack on Israel and the beginning of the ensuing war, two young Muslim women (not university students) entered the Ohio State University Hillel building, tore down Israeli flags, shouted at staff, and discarded the flags before leaving the premises abruptly. The incident occurred during a time of heightened tension and left the Jewish campus community feeling vulnerable, leading to increased security measures.  

Rather than pursuing maximum punitive consequences, Rabbi Aaron Portman and Hillel leadership proposed a restorative justice process. The following interview explores how this process unfolded, and the lessons learned.

(L-R): Rabbi Or Rose, Dr. Amelia Hall, Leah Aran Miller, Dorje Lopon Charlotte Rotterdam, Rabbi Tirzah Firestone

Earlier this spring, Miller Center Director Rabbi Or Rose visited Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, as part of an ongoing collaboration between two institutions with a foundational ethic of interreligious engagement and dialogue across lines of difference. Rabbi Rose's visit coincided with a Jewish-Buddhist Dialogue hosted by Naropa's Keating-Schachter Center for Interspirituality. 160 people attended and tuned-in to hear Rabbi Rose, Dr. Amelia Hall, Rabbi Tirzah Firestone, and Dorje Lopon Charlotte Rotterdam engage in a dialogue about staying resourced in challenging times, facilitated by Leah Aran Miller of the Keating-Schachter Center.

(Clockwise from upper left): Dr. David Abram, Dr. Frances Flannery, Rabbi Or Rose, Rabbi Natan Margalit, PhD

The Miller Center of Hebrew College and the Alliance for Jewish Renewal (ALEPH) recently co-hosted a virtual event titled “Receiving the Torah for our Times: Scientific and Religious Thought and Climate Action.” This compelling conversation explored the vital intersection of scientific and religious thought in addressing climate change.

Our panelists–cultural ecologist Dr. David Abram, biblical scholar and environmental activist Dr. Francis Flannery, and Rabbi and Jewish ecologist Natan Margalit–joined in a conversation moderated by Miller Center Director Rabbi Or Rose, who framed the conversation with a set of guiding questions inspired by Shavuot: “As we think about receiving Torah, and teaching it anew, how might spiritual values reshape our environmental ethics? How can scientific and religious ways of understanding work together to address the urgent climate crisis?”

This event was part of a two-year initiative Greening Judaism: Climate Science & Eco-Kashrut, made possible by a grant from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

The ancient rabbis taught that we should recite 100 blessings a day–not as an obligation, but as a practice of awareness. Read more...

Instructor: Rabbi Or Rose
Dates: July 21-25, 12-3 pm Eastern, 
Time:  12-3 pm Eastern
Location: Online or in-person (Vancouver)

Miller Center Director Rabbi Or Rose is teaching a class through the Vancouver School of Theology's summer learning program. Explore the intellectual and spiritual biographies of two the 20th century’s outstanding religious figures, including their unlikely relationship beginning in the mid-1950s. The Reverend Howard Thurman was a gifted preacher, pastor, and writer whose book Jesus and the Disinherited served as a major source of theological and moral inspiration to leaders of the African American Civil Rights Movement. Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, father of the Jewish Renewal Movement and a leading interpreter of Hasidism and Kabbalah, first met Thurman at Boston University in 1955. The young rabbi soon became a close student of the esteemed Dean of BU’s Marsh Chapel, incorporating various of his iconoclastic Baptist teacher’s pedagogic and pastoral techniques into his vocational practice. The two men shared a passion for mystical texts (from Judaism, Christianity, and several other spiritual traditions), experiential education, and a commitment to interreligious and interracial cooperation. Email registrar@vst.edu with any questions.