Pluralistic Perspectives Hebrew College’s Miller Center Supports Communities Through Difficult Times
At the start of a new academic year, Hebrew College’s 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 Rabbi 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, Rabbi 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. Or will continue consulting with the Tufts Inclusion office for the 2024-25 academic year.
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.