Pluralistic Perspectives Winter Intensives: “Walking the Walk” of Pluralism

Next month, Hebrew College rabbinical students will participate in their annual Winter Intensives, a powerful week of exploration, connection, and growth, providing a context for meaningful interreligious engagement in their future careers. Developed and hosted by Hebrew College’s Miller Center for Interreligious Learning & Leadership, the intensives are planned to build interreligious understanding as students move through the ordination program. First year students will participate in “From Diversity to Pluralism”, designed to cultivate an ethos of dignified engagement across religious traditions. Intensives for subsequent classes will provide a deep dive into one faith tradition—Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism—while fostering the ethic of religious pluralism that guides the Miller Center’s work.

Each course weaves together academic rigor and lived experience. First year students will consider both the theoretical and historical frameworks of, and real-word obstacles to, meaningful pluralism, while subsequent classes will delve into both the spiritual and practical dimensions of the specific religious tradition covered in their course. From examining shared values with Christian communities to exploring the rich interplay between Jewish and Muslim histories, and engaging with the contemplative practices of Buddhism, these courses broaden perspectives and nurture the sensitivity and integrity necessary to lead in a pluralistic world. Guest faculty and scholars from within these traditions will enrich the learning experience with their teaching, giving our students a taste of what studying for ordination might look like in a religion outside of Judaism.

For the many Hebrew College students who will transition into careers on college campuses, in service and organizing work, and providing pastoral care across a variety of environments, the winter intensives–and the college’s broader commitment to interreligious leadership–provide an important entrypoint into the work of providing spiritual care and counsel across lines of difference. Students who will one day work in congregations gain the perspective and tools necessary to collaborate with neighboring religious communities and find fellowship with colleagues engaged in similar work from other faiths.

Beyond the classroom, the intensives spark campus-wide conversations and collaborations, extending the ethic of the week into the rest of the year and broadening the pluralistic framework from a subject of classroom learning to a shared school-wide commitment. The program’s timing, over the week following Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. underscores its dedication to justice, compassion, and shared progress. This unparalleled initiative not only prepares rabbinical students for interfaith leadership, but also strengthens Hebrew College’s position as a leader in interreligious education. Through engaging coursework, inspiring encounters, and the cultivation of meaningful relationships, the winter intensives will create space for students to learn and live an authentic practice of pluralism and engagement across difference.