• Supporting Communities with Pluralism and Respectful Dialogue

• Study with Rabbi Or Rose & Rev. Rob Schenck 

• Beacons of Hope: Rafi Ellenson and Rabbi Neal Rose

• 2024-25 Dignity Project Fellowship Opening Retreat

• Video: "Disagreeing Honorably: Practicing What We Preach" with Rev. Dr. Brian McLaren

Pictured (L-R): Rabbi Or Rose, Dr. Homayra Ziad, Dr. Colette Coleman Rev. Rob Schenck, Dr. Celene Ibrahim

At the start of a new academic year, Miller Center Director Rabbi Or Rose has been visiting campuses to speak with incoming students about embracing pluralism, building relationships across difference, and preserving dignity in disagreement. Schools are attempting to address tensions that spiked last semester on their campuses over the ongoing war in Israel and the Palestinian territories. As part of this effort, Or and other experts are helping educational communities to address antisemitism and Islamophobia, and to engage in constructive conversation about challenging political and ideological differences. With a highly contentious American presidential race in full swing, there is an even more urgent need to work to tamp down bigotry and hate, and to encourage civil discourse and debate. The Miller Center and our colleagues are calling on their audiences and interlocutors to invest in authentic bridge-building efforts, while grappling humanely with painful divisions.

Last month Or spoke to incoming students at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., as part of an Interfaith America freshman orientation week program about religious pluralism, alongside Hebrew College Visiting Scholar of Christianity and Religious Leadership Rev. Rob Schenck and frequent Miller Center collaborator Dr. Celene Ibrahim of the Groton School. The conversation was moderated by Dr. Homayra Ziad, Director of Campus Partnerships at Interfaith America, and introduced by GWU Vice Provost for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Dr Colette Coleman.

Last week, Or appeared at a freshman orientation program at Tufts University in Medford, MA, to discuss tools and strategies for addressing antisemitism as part of the university's inclusive education series. Or was joined by Tufts Vice Provost for Institutional Inclusive Excellence, France Monroe, along with Graie Hagan, Chief Vision Officer at Bend the Arc, a Jewish social justice organization. 

And last month, a group of Brigham Young University students and faculty spent the day at Hebrew College as part of their weeklong interreligious visit to the Boston area. The group had an opportunity to visit the sanctuary, to study together in the Beit Midrash, and meet with campus partners at the Jewish Women's Archive, Keshet, and Mayyim Hayyim Community Mikveh. The BYU group ended the day by attending Kabbalat Shabbat services at Temple Beth Zion in Brookline. 

The work of bolstering pluralistic perspectives and fostering dignity in disagreement will continue into the academic year, with Or continuing to consult with the Tufts inclusion office and Interfaith America's campus efforts. In November, Dr. Celene Ibrahim and Hebrew College President Sharon Cohen Anisfeld will convene for an interreligious dialogue on the campus of the University of Wisconsin in Madison. And in our own Hebrew College community Hebrew College Rabbinical School Dean Rabbi Daniel Klein and Miller Center Rabbinic Intern Rafi Ellenson will facilitate a series of intra-Jewish dialogues on challenging topics for our ordination students.

Finally, on September 15th, part two of Empathy Now, a series organized by Miller Center, the Newton Interfaith Clergy Association (NICA), and the City of Newton will feature a discussion with Combatants for Peace, a joint Palestinian-Israeli of former fighters now working toward freedom and equality for all through nonviolent activism. Dr. Ibrahim, Rabbi Or, and Rev. Cheryl Kerr of NICA will moderate and introduce the program. We encourage all of our local supporters to attend!

Empathy Now: An Afternoon with Combatants for Peace | September 15, 1:30-3 p.m., Boston College Theology and Ministry Library. View the flyer and register here.

Rev. Rob Schenck, Visiting Scholar of Christianity and Religious Leadership and Rabbi Or Rose, Founding Director of the Miller Center, will teach a pair of classes this semester through Tamid of Hebrew College. These adult learning courses, each three weeks long, are an opportunity to learn with the leaders who shape the Miller Center's work. Read about the classes and enroll below!

Taught by Rev. Rob Schenck & Rabbi Or Rose 

What is the relationship between religion, race, and democracy within conservative Christian circles in the United States? What is the history of these ideologies and alliances? To what extent is white Christian nationalism a danger to our country—particularly in this election cycle? What role can members of different religious and cultural communities play in countering this form of bigotry and work with Christians to promote the rights and freedoms of all Americans?

The course will meet on Thursdays 7:00-8:30 p.m. Eastern on Zoom: September 12, 19, 26

Tuition: $150, financial aid is available

Learn more and register here

Taught by Rev. Rob Schenck & Rabbi Or Rose

The time has come for a new conversation among members of the Jewish and Evangelical communities to discuss our relationships to Israel? Turmoil in the Israel and the Palestinian territories, as well as in the United States call for an honest and searching discussion of our theological, historical, and political connections to Israel. What, for example, is the role of messianism or eschatology (interpretations of “end-times” prophecies) in this context? Do we share some common values and commitments? Where do we differ? To what extent are these differences present within each of our respective communities?

The course will meet on Thursdays 7:00-8:30 p.m. Eastern on Zoom: November 7, 14, 21

Tuition: $150, financial aid is available

Learn more and register here

Beacons of Hope: Our Interreligious S/Heroes

Each month, we honor an individual or individuals whose commitment aligns with the bridge-building efforts of the Miller Center. For September, we shine a light on Rabbi Dr. Neal Rose and Hebrew College Rabbinical Student Rafi Ellenson, the Miller Center's inaugural Neal Rose Rabbinic Intern. This new fellowship was funded in honor of Rabbi Dr. Rose, whose long record of interrelgious engagement as a professor, chaplain, and family therapist in Winnipeg, Canada influences the Miller Center through his son, Miller Center Founding Director Rabbi Or Rose. 

Rabbi Dr. Neal Rose was surprised to learn on his 85th birthday that his children–including Miller Center Founding Director Rabbi Or Rose–had organized a rabbinic internship in his honor. Each year, one fifth year student in the Hebrew College Rabbinical School will serve as the Miller Center’s Rabbi Dr. Neal Rose Rabbinic Intern, selected by the Miller Center in Cooperation with the Rabbinical School leadership. “My kids watched us work and interact and teach over the years with people of different traditions in Winnipeg, Canada,” says Rabbi Dr. Rose. “Given the work of the Miller Center to create interreligious dialogue and understanding, this was a delightful surprise.”

Rabbi Rose has enjoyed a long career as a professor, family counselor, and chaplain. He credits his long track record of interreligious engagement first to his lifelong association with Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, who himself fostered deep ecumenical associations with individuals and clergy in the Catholic and later the United Church of Canada communities. Second, to his post teaching at St. Paul’s College, housed within the University of Manitoba.

Click below to continue reading our profile Rabbi Neal Rose, and a Q&A with Miller Center's Rabbi Neal Rose Intern, HC Rabbinical Student Rafi Ellenson

Rabbi Dr. Neal Rose

Rafi Ellenson, Shanah Heh, Miller Center Rabbi Neal Rose Rabbinic Intern

The Dignity Project, Miller Center's high school fellowship, kicked off last month with an opening retreat at Rolling Ridge Retreat Center in North Andover. Keep an eye out for updates as they progress through a year of interreligious engagement and dialogue across difference!

Click the video above to watch Rev. Dr. Brian McLaren, Dean of Faculty for the Center for Action and Contemplation address the need for pluralism and honorable disagreement in contemporary American life and the hard work of rebuilding our civic spirit. This conversation was part of the June 24 virtual event, "Leading Faithfully in a Time of Division" co-hosted by the Miller Center and Interfaith America.