I discovered that, whatever our denomination, the task of preparing clergy for service in American society is defined by many common goals and obstacles. In practical terms, this was the most important lesson I learned in the course of the Consultation. How do we achieve a balance between academic study and spiritually meaningful learning? How do we train sophisticated clergy who, on the one hand, will not speak down to their congregants but, on the other hand, will also not compromise their message to accommodate perceived popular needs? How do we negotiate the path between received truths and modern criticism? These and other such questions are unavoidable. They have -- I should have known -- no obvious answers. And we are all, I discovered, often at a loss to strike the right balances.

But more important than the pragmatics were the conversa-tions about common concerns. I was particularly fascinated by the discussion of communal Yom Hashoah commemorations. Though, obviously, the Shoah is of central importance to contemporary Jews, I was surprised to find it differently but equally important to thoughtful contemporary Christians. And the difference, as I experienced it, was stunning. Jews -- particularly younger Jews -- are extremely resistant to theologizing the Holocaust. They prefer to commemorate it without interpreting it. But Christians, at least as represented at the Consultation, appear far more ready to interpret the Shoah according to received theological paradigms. They are prepared to make it not only historically meaningful (as do Jews) but also religiously meaningful. I was inspired by and jealous of this willingness. It stands as an invitation for self-critique to the Jewish community. Why have we continued to fail to interpret the Shoah theologically? Can we afford this failure?

In the end, it was the opportunity to listen and compare that was most instructive. Small discoveries, unplanned, are the seeds for future insight and innovation.

David Kraemer is Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics, Jewish Theological Seminary in New York.