September 2, 2026 | 20 Elul 5786

Reverend Corey J. Sanderson recently participated in the Miller Center’s antisemitism training for Christian clergy, operated in coordination with the Newton Interfaith Leaders Association and funded by Combined Jewish Philanthropies. Rabbi Or Rose invited Rev. Sanderson to share a reflection on this experience:

Have you ever overheard a conversation in which someone speaking didn’t have their story straight? You realize they are missing some important details, valued perspectives, or essential understandings. You wonder, ‘Should I interrupt and say something, or should I mind my own business?’ Sometimes helping people get their story straight isn’t a big deal. Yet other times, this is vitally important, especially when the stakes are high.

When it comes to antisemitism, helping people get the story straight is essential work. This is why, when Rabbi Rose invited my colleague, The Rev. Cheryl Kerr, and me to help design and lead an antisemitism training for Christian churches, we both jumped at the chance. Cheryl and I know that a big part of our job as Christian clergy involves helping people get their story straight when it comes to matters of faith and culture...

The Miller Center is preparing to launch its second cohort of Panim el Panim (Face to Face): Engaging Israel Across Difference, a yearlong fellowship that convenes Jewish communal leaders from across Greater Boston for sustained dialogue across difference about Israel. In an op-Ed published at eJewishPhilanthropy over the summer, fellowship Program Director Jordan Namerow and Miller Center Director Rabbi Or Rose reflected on lessons from the inaugural cohort and what they learned about creating the conditions for honest, productive conversations in a deeply challenging moment:

The assumptions, language, relationships and certainties that have shaped conversations about Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for decades no longer hold in the same way they once did. New generations are asking different questions. The realities on the ground in Israel, Gaza and the Middle East continue to evolve. The discourse in our communities has become more polarized, more public and often more painful. Across synagogues, schools, nonprofits, campuses, workplaces and families, people who care deeply about Israel often struggle to speak with one another…

In September 2025, a group of twelve Jewish communal leaders in Greater Boston—rabbis, Jewish educators and nonprofit executives representing a wide range of experiences, perspectives and relationships to Israel—set out on such a journey together as participants in the inaugural cohort of Panim el Panim (Face to Face): Engaging Israel Across Difference, a fellowship created by Hebrew College’s The Miller Center for Interreligious Learning and Leadership...

Last month, the Dignity Project opening retreat kicked off the 2026–27 interreligious fellowship for Boston area high schoolers. Over three days, this year’s fellows began building relationships, exploring their identities and values, and setting the foundation for a year of interreligious learning and leadership. Through storytelling, spiritual and life practices, dialogue and listening exercises, and conversations about their diverse faith traditions and worldviews, the fellows and program mentors began forming a community that will carry with them through the fellowship.

We look forward to sharing more about their year of learning, connection, and growing together across lines of difference!

As the Jewish High Holy Day season approaches, many Jews turn toward practices of reflection, repentance, and renewal. Returning Higher: Hasidic & Neo-Hasidic Inspiration for the High Holy Day Journey, a new collection co-edited by Rabbi Or Rose and Rabbi Aubrey L. Glazer, explores these themes through essays, commentary, poetry, prayer, and visual art from Hebrew College students, faculty, alumni, and other contemporary Jewish writers and artists. The first volume, addressing Elul through Rosh Hashanah, is available now.

For these writers, teshuvah—a Hebrew word often translated as repentance but whose literal meaning is “return”—names a process that extends far beyond correcting past mistakes. As Rabbi Or writes in the introduction, "Teshuvah encompasses the full arc of human development — the moment of recognition when we see ourselves clearly, the courage required to acknowledge our mistakes, the painstaking work of making amends, and the ongoing commitment to embrace change."

Read the whole introduction and learn more about the book at the link below. 

When: 4 Wednesdays beginning Sept 23, 7-8:30 pm ET
Where: Online via Zoom

Dig into this urgent topic with Miller Center visiting faculty Rev. Rob Schenck, an evangelical leader who spent three decades as a Capitol Hill-based conservative religious activist before breaking with his community on theological and social issues in 2014. This timely and eye-opening four-session online course will critically examine the intersection of Evangelicals and politics and what it all means for the future of religious freedom, non-believers, and Jewish Americans in our democracy. Designed for adults seeking to understand these complex political and religious dynamics, participants will gain the knowledge and tools needed to inform their communities and take meaningful action to preserve religious liberty for all Americans.