The Jewish Scholars Project has made significant strides in the last six months. The goal of the project is to make compre-hensible to American Jews the core religious beliefs of Christianity and to assess the threats and promises of the Jewish-Christian encounter in Jewish terms. The project is designed to generate a new conversation within the Jewish community and between the Jewish and Christian communities.

Several elements lie at the heart of this venture, including a Public Statement, a scholarly book, a Study Guide, and a series of workshops and public events designed to bring the project to the attention of Jewish and Christian communities around the country.

A draft of the Statement is already complete. It was written by Professors Tikva Frymer-Kensky of the University of Chicago, David Novak of the University of Toronto, Peter Ochs of the University of Virginia, and Michael Signer of the University of Notre Dame. The statement, which is addressed to both Jews and Christians, contains ten proposals that provide a way in which Jews can view Christianity in the light of Judaism. The Jewish Scholars are currently exploring options for publishing the Statement in prominent publications around the country.

The second part of the project is a book entitled Christianity in Jewish Terms. Professors Frymer-Kensky, Novak, Ochs, Signer, and I are the editors. The book, which is being written for a general readership, examines ten Christian beliefs from the perspective of Jewish theology. For each belief there are two essays by Jewish scholars and a response by a Christian theologian. In all, some thirty scholars from the United States, Canada, and Israel are contributing essays, many of which are already in hand. Among the contributors are Dr. Leora Bat-nitsky of Princeton University; Dr. Elliot Dorff of the University of Judaism, Los Angeles; Dr. David Ellenson of Hebrew Union College, Los Angeles; Rabbi Yitz Greenberg of the Jewish Life Institute; and Prof. Elliot Wolfson of New York University. Christian respondents to these essays include Prof. David Tracy of the University of Chicago, Dr. Stanley Hauerwas of Duke University, Dr. George Lindbeck of Yale University, and Prof. Kendall Soulen of the Wesley Theological Seminary. Westview Press has agreed to publish and promote the book. It is scheduled to appear in the spring of 2000.

The Study Guide will have as its point of departure both the Public Statement and the scholarly book. It is designed to make the themes of the book and the Statement accessible to a broad range of readers. We are currently consulting with Jewish educators about the design of the Study Guide, which is directed to individuals in colleges, synagogues, churches, and adult education forums. Westview press will also publish the Study Guide. It is scheduled to appear in the fall of 2000.

We already have commitments from a number of religious peri-odicals to feature the project prominently, either by reviewing the book or by publishing an article about the project itself. Once the Statement, the book, and the Study Guide are published, the ICJS plans to conduct a series of public forums and workshops in major Jewish communities around the coun-try. We will bring together the project's authors and educators to meet with Jewish professionals and lay leadership. We also plan to bring the project to conventions attended by rabbis, educators, and other Jewish communal workers. Our goal is to stimulate a major educational movement in Jewish and Chris-tian communities around the country.

The first phase of this endeavor has garnered the support of a number of Jewish foundations, including the Charles Revson Foundation, The Stella and Charles Guttman Foundation, the Children of Harvey and Lyn Meyerhoff Philanthropic Fund, and Howard Rosenbloom. We are actively seeking support for the preparation of the Study Guide and subsequent national outreach.

Now that I am a resident of Baltimore and full-time at the ICJS, I will be devoting a good portion of my energies to this complex, ambitious, and exciting project whose "first fruits" should be ready to enjoy in just a few months.