"‘Israel’ is a much more emotional word for Jews than it is for Christians." This generalization, offered by one participant in the spring 2002 Congregational Project, represents one of the main memories of our discussions. Our first task was to jot down our responses to the word "Israel." Being the seminary-trained person that I am, I immediately thought of the definitional contexts: land, both modern and Biblical; Jacob's new name, given by God; the name of the people of the Sinai covenant, first the Northern Kingdom and later the entire nation; the apocalyptic hope toward which the prophets point. As I finished my list and glanced around my table, I could see words and phrases stretching down the length of each par-ticipant's paper. I wondered what all of those associations could possibly be.

It seems I misunderstood the assignment. Dr. Rosann Cata-lano, our leader for this exercise, had apparently wanted any and all associations that came to mind when we heard the word "Israel." And so, as the larger group shared, we heard words such as "safety," "anger," "Promised Land," "haven," "conflict," "hope," "violence," and "peace." We noticed that more of the emotion-laden words came from our Jewish mem-bers, as did more of the current associations. Those of us who are Christian tended to offer words associated more with the Biblical story, with objective identity. I certainly fit squarely into that category!

I'm not sure I can go so far as to generalize that "Israel" for the Jewish community has greater influence as an ongoing contemporary concern, while for the Christian community, Israel's strongest influence derives from its history and Chris-tians' persistent remembering of that history through our text and liturgy. But the idea is an interesting one for me to ponder. How might it be profitable for Christians to spend a bit more time reflecting on the current religious significance of Israel -- not just the political struggles? What might be the dangers in that reflection? Do we still see God's hand at work in Israel's existence and future, or is Israel now simply one more nation in a secular world of equally valued nations? Is there a reason, or a way, to affirm both?

The lively interchange among Rosann, Charles Arian, and Chris Leighton was a highlight of my experience. The positions pre-sented were thought-provoking, whether they were new ideas or helpful summaries of well-known ones. The modeling of a warm and respectful, yet forthright expression of divergent opinions was valuable for the times in which we find ourselves. By observing the ICJS scholars in conversation, I am learning how to express my own opinions with forthrightness and re-spect, and how to accept disagreement without experiencing it as a personal affront.

Finally, we arrived at my favorite part of these encounters: sharing our impressions of text. Far more compelling for me than the contents of the opinions themselves are the implied assumptions behing them. When we engage in these conver-sations we learn not so much what each of us may think -- though we obviously do that -- but how each of us thinks. Two people who experience thoroughly opposite understand-ings of the same text encourage me to ask why. Are there any clues to this person's experience and uniqueness peeking out from behind his or her observation? Can I respond to the image of God in this particular person, even if his opinion makes no difference to me? For me, this is the true exercise of the evening -- not so much making sure we all get it "right," but stretching ourselves to be aware of the unique gifts and struggles that color our personal insights.

Having recently read David P. Gushee's book, Righteous Gen-tiles of the Holocaust, I was reminded that the Nazis initially worked toward their devastation by driving wedges of differ-ence between fellow Germans. In our pledge of "never again," the proactive reception of the "other's" personhood in mutually interested conversation seems to me to be the most valuable outcome of our study. I am looking forward to the next opportunity.