Reclaiming the Center Projects
Reflections on the Scandal of Particularity
Rabbi Eugene Korn, Ph.D.
North American Director, The Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation, Efrat, Israel
All of us are enormously busy; therefore, committing extensive time to a project over a two-year period is an important decision. In my case, the commitment was richly rewarded. I learned much from the readings and guest scholars, but most from my colleagues, both in the unexpected agreement on matters of faith, values and worldview with those Christians externally very far removed from my home in Orthodox Judaism, and in my ever-growing awareness that my own faith is nurtured by understanding the differences between my beliefs and those of others and, most importantly, that there is no need for those differences to be resolved—or dissolved. An ancient Mishnaic text written by the rabbis about 1800 years ago teaches that human differences testify to the infinite glory of God. Convening a group of colleagues, each of whom shared his particularity with others, caused me to appreciate more deeply the wonderful complexity of a pluralistic religious world and the wisdom of God for creating it that way. During the project, I was blessed to experience what the late sainted Krister Stendahl called "holy envy"—seeing something beautiful about another's faith and realizing that it is not yours.
In this sense, the greater understanding and acceptance of another's faith without any need to reduce it to my own succeeded in fortifying my belief in a sober religious center that is contrary to so much of the religious extremism and irrationality that is common today. The great task now is to take what I have learned as an individual from the project and teach it to others on a larger scale. In fact, I would say that this is the major challenge ahead for the project conveners and its supporters: How do they translate this relatively private experience of a privileged few into an educational tool that will reach many? This is the critical need that will raise the project from a successful academic enterprise to a much-needed public service to American culture and religious life. The costs for not doing this are great: increased polarization of believers, the further withering of sober religion, religious insulation breeding coarse intolerance and ignorance. If these latter phenomena win the day, our immediate future in this new century will indeed be dark.
© 2009 Institute for Christian & Jewish Studies
Reclaiming the Center materials may not be duplicated or used without the express permission of the Institute for Christian & Jewish Studies.