By President Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld

An excerpt below:

It is time to come together to offer our full-throated prayers
for all those who are grieving,
those who are wounded,
those who are sick with worry for their missing loved ones
those who have been kidnapped, please God, may they be returned safely home.

Baruch atah Adonai, eloheinu melech ha’olam, matir asurim.
Blessed are You Adonai, Sovereign of the Universe, who releases those who are imprisoned.

Read the full message here.

Hebrew College President Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld delivered this prayer at the event  “Gathering in Solidarity With Israel Under Fire” on October 9, 2023 on the Boston Common. The Greater Boston community-wide gathering was co-sponsored by CJP, JCRC, IAC, Hebrew College, and many other community organizations throughout New England.

Teshuvah takes courage. Hebrew College Visiting Professor and evangelical minister Rev. Rob Schenck knows this firsthand. On Oct. 15, filmmaker Abigail E. Disney joins Schenck for a conversation about his personal journey of teshuvah in “Religious Leadership & Public Repair” at Hebrew College.

“I have never met a religious leader who has so thoroughly committed himself to public repair as Rev. Rob Schenck. I look forward to our dialogue and learning from him and Abby E. Disney about their journey as colleagues and friends,” said Rabbi Or Rose, the founding director of the Miller Center for Interreligious Learning & Leadership of Hebrew College. Rose will moderate the conversation between Disney and Schenck.

The conversation will include clips from Disney’s award-winning documentary, The Armor of Light, to explore Schenck’s evolution as a minister, his relationship with Disney (right), and their reflections on the need to forge relationships across divides. This will include discussion of lessons learned, current projects, and future possibilities.

Pictured: Rev. Rob Schenck confronts then Vice President Mike Pence at a White House event in 2018. “Our country needs you to exercise moral courage,” Schenck told Pence, who responded, “That's easier said than done.”

Register today!

By Lucina Mosher, Elinor J. Pierce, and Rabbi Or N. Rose

With any new human endeavor, errors and failures are inevitable. In With the Best of Intentions more than three dozen scholars and practitioners of many faiths explore cases of missteps and outright failures of interfaith encounters. Each case also provides critical discussion of what went wrong, and why.

"Brilliant contribution to the field, which underscores the courage we need for constructive dialogue and collaborative action." — Rabbi Joshua Stanton, director of leadership and formation at CLAL—The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership

Purchase the book today | Read a review from Spirituality & Practice

By Kyle Desrosiers, Administrative Assistant and Freelance Journalist

Every month, we honor an individual (or group) who inspires the bridge-building efforts of the Miller Center. Each honoree uniquely embodies the values of inclusivity, justice, and compassion. Rabbi Claudia Kreiman, the Senior Rabbi of Temple Beth Zion, is our Beacon of Hope for the month of October. 

Last week I attended the Kol Nidre service of Yom Kippur at Temple Beth Zion (TBZ) in Brookline, MA for the second consecutive year. I was delighted to witness the sincerity, warmth, and palpable joy in the sanctuary on what is considered the most intensive day of soul searching during the Jewish year. The service was enthusiastically shepherded by Rabbi Claudia Kreiman, the temple’s senior rabbi, who reminded all who gathered for this sacred ritual about the need to return (teshuvah) to our true selves and to recommit to the ongoing project of mending the world. 

As a Roman Catholic who attended the service with my mostly secular Jewish Israeli partner, I felt genuinely welcomed by the warmth of the community and the accessibility of the liturgy, as well as a sense of the presence of the Divine and affection for the timeless wisdom of the Jewish tradition. The profundity of my experience was due in no small part to Rabbi Claudia’s dynamic, caring, and passionate presence. 

It is my honor, therefore, to name Rabbi Claudia our October Beacon of Hope. She is a person whom we Catholics might affectionately refer to in English as a “pastor,” that is, a shepherd (ro'eh in Hebrew) of souls. Indeed, her enthusiasm is contagious: indelible in my memory is witnessing my partner Sagi’s first experience of Rabbi Claudia leading worship from the bimah (lectern), clad in her colorful clothing and white tallit (prayer shawl), jumping for joy during parts of the Kol Nidre service. He was similarly moved to witness a Jewish religious community in which people of different genders, ages, and backgrounds were actively participating in the service. I was delighted because my partner was delighted that Rabbi Claudia took such delight in the midst of this day of atonement! 

Harvest and Hospitality: An Interfaith Sukkot Celebration. 

On Monday, Oct. 2 the Miller Center of Hebrew College and the Boston Theological Interreligious Consortium hosted a gathering of theology students, local faith leaders, and members of the Boston interfaith community. Hebrew College rabbinical students Naomi Gurt Lind and Hannah Limov shared teachings about Sukkot and the Lulav and Etrog with the multifaith community. Graduate students from Harvard Divinity School, the Theology Department at Boston College, the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, and the Boston University School of Theology shared reflections, poetry, and rituals from across a variety of traditions as we all commemorated the onset of fall and discussed unique representations of the themes of harvest and hospitality present in many of our faith, cultural, and ethical traditions across the world and in Boston.

State of Formation: A Miller Center Publication 

The Miller Center co-publication State of Formation recently published a fantastic new batch of articles (and podcasts) from Building Interfaith Leadership Initiative (BILI) Launchpad Fellowship undergraduate fellows. Two are featured below.  

My Interfaith Travels: A Sikh Perspective

By Amanpreet Sehra

“Nanakacharya, Nanak Rishi, Guru Rimpochiya, Vali Hind, Nanak Peer, Baba Nanak are all names of Guru Nanak Sahib Ji around the world. When it comes to interfaith, the clearest example I can think of is Guru Nanak Sahib Ji’s udasiaa. He traveled on foot all across Asia to spread his message of peace, compassion, righteousness, equality, and truth. For me, these concepts are what interfaith boils down to at a fundamental level.” 

Read here. 

Open Hearts and Open Minds: Lessons from my Ongoing Interfaith Journey 

By Chloe Lestitian

“Growing up in a religiously diverse neighborhood first sparked my interest in learning about religions, worldviews, and traditions that were different from my own. While this interest has developed since entering college, participation in the Building Interfaith Leadership Initiative (BILI) has allowed me to better understand that a comprehensive definition of Interfaith has incredible depth, connection, empathy, and hope.” 

Read here.

Jewish and Christian Thought and Practice: Face to Face and Side by Side 

Where? Online 

When? Wednesdays 7:30-9 pm EDT: 10/18, 11/15, 12/20, 1/17, 2/21, 3/20 

Taught by Rabbi Michael Shire, Ph.D., this course provides a fresh and enterprising look at Judaism and Christianity in their shared experience, their conflictual experience and their integrative experience. We will explore the history of God from Jewish And Christian theologies; read the shared Testament (Old Testament/Tanach) in Judaism and Christianity; consider our environmental responsibility; examine racial justice and equity in Jewish and Christian thought and practice; compare visions of the good life and the good death in Judaism and Christianity; discuss the possibilities and potential of Jewish and Christian partnerships; and learn about contemporary Jewish-Christian theology with guest lecturers including the Miller Center's own Rabbi Or Rose.

Learn more and register.