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The Council of Christians and JewsPatron

Her Majesty The Queen

PresidentsThe Archbishop of Canterbury

The Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the CommonwealthThe Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster

The Senior Rabbi of Masorti JudaismThe Senior Rabbi to Reform Judaism

The Archbishop of Thyateira and Great BritainThe Chief Executive of Liberal Judaism

The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of ScotlandThe Spiritual Head of Spanish and Portuguese Jews’ Congregations

The Free Churches Moderator

Vice-PresidentsLord Carey of Clifton

The Revd Dr David Coffey OBEMrs Elizabeth Corob

Henry Grunwald OBE QCLord Harries of Pentregarth

The Rt Revd Dr Christopher HerbertDr Lionel KopelowitzSir Michael Latham

Clive Marks OBECardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor

The Hon Gerard Noel FRSLThe Revd Baroness Richardson of Calow OBE

R Stephen Rubin OBESir Timothy Sainsbury

TrusteesChair : The Rt Revd Dr Michael Ipgrave OBE, Bishop of Woolwich

Vice Chairs : Dr Christopher Moran, Maurice Ostro OBETrustees: David Arnold, Dr Ann Conway-Jones, Zaki Cooper, Michael Cutting FCA, Wendy Fidler, The Rt Revd

David Gillett, Michael Hockney MBE CCMI, Lord Howard of Lympne CH PC QC, Andrew Mainz FCA, The Most Revd Kevin McDonald, Archbishop Emeritus of Southwark, Ingrid Stellmacher, Malcolm Weisman OBE

DirectorJane Clements PhD MA BD Cert Ed

Deputy DirectorElizabeth Harris-Sawczenko MA MSc

The Council of Christians and Jews (CCJ) was established in 1942 to: (1) promote religious and cultural understanding between Christians and Jews; (2) to work for the elimination of religious and racial prejudice,

hatred and discrimination—particularly antisemitism; and (3) to promote religious and racial harmony on the basis of the ethical and social teachings common to Christianity and Judaism.

Collaboration House, 77-79 Charlotte StreetLondon W1T 4PW

Tel: 020 3513 3003 E: cjrelations@ccj.org.uk Web: www.ccj.org.uk F: www.facebook.com/TheCCJUK T: @CCJUK

Registered Charity number: 238005

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www.ccj.org.uk

2 Our Staff

3 A Word from the Director

DR JANE CLEMENTS

4 From the Editor

DR STEVE INNES

5 Farewell to Bishop Nigel

DR JANE CLEMENTS

6 Feature Articles On the Fiftieth

Anniversary of Nostra Aetate

RT REVD DR MICHAEL IPGRAVE

7 Nostra Aetate - Fifty Years On

MOST REVD KEVIN MCDONALD

8 What is the Legacy of Nostra Aetate

for Interfaith Relations?

RABBI JEREMY LAWRENCE

10 Genesis Revisited

JOHN A. FRANKS

14 What Is Social Action and

Why Should I Care ?

ELLIOT STEINBERG

20 Trust and the Commitment

to the Common Good

MICK DAVIS

23 Interview with the Directors

ARON CARR

25 Hearing the Story:

Yad Vashem Seminar

REVD IAN J.K. HU

27 Time to Journey

MICHAEL CUTTING

29 Reflections from CCJ’s Intern

ARON CARR

30 Branch Spotlight

32 Meet and Greet

34 Bookshelf

36 In Memoriam

38 Why the name New Testament?

PROFESSOR BERNARD S. JACKSON

Contents:

Editor: Dr Stephen InnesDesign: Firstpointprint VictoriaPrinted By: Firstpointprint Victoria

© All rights reserved. No part of this publication

may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,

or transmitted in any form or by any means,

electronic , mechanical, photocopying, recording or

otherwise, without prior permission of the Council

of Christians and Jews. Common Ground welcomes

letters for publication but reserves the right to

edit for length. No responsibility is accepted for

the return of photographs or manuscripts. The

views expressed in this publication are those of the

authors and not necessarily those of the publisher,

the editor, The Council of Christians and Jews or its

employees.

CCJ wishes to thank the donors who support the publication of Common Ground

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Our Staff

Dr. Steve Innes (Programme Manager)

Ell iot Steinberg (Programme Manager)

Dr. Jane Clements (Director)

Malcolm Sentance Membership Administrator

Jay SerraoFinancial Director Aron Carr

(Intern)

Liz Harris-Sawczenko (Deputy Director)

Lindsay-Jane Butl in (Operations Manager)

Dr. Joy Barrow (Branch Liaison Manager)

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A Word from the DirectorDr Jane Clements

Since I came back to CCJ last September in the role of Director, things have been very hectic indeed. I t has therefore been some time since we havebeen able to produce a new edit ion of Common Ground. Thank you for your patience.

In that time, we have seen the unsettling increase in antisemitism both in the UK and in Europe and a growth in intolerance generally. Anyone who has heard me speak in recent times will know of my concern for deteriorating relationships between Jews and Christians at national and institutional level. Much of this is born of a simple failure to listen and engage in real dialogue, and a lack of willingness to understand another perspective. While working in partnership with other organisations and faith traditions, there are still conversations which we need to have with each other. The work of CCJ branches and the reach of our national initiatives remain as vital as ever.Also, in that time CCJ has changed. We have moved the office location, and also increased its team, enabling us to run more programmes which impact positively on Christian Jewish relations, and to improve communications. After many years of steering CCJ, through thick and thin, we have said goodbye to our Chair, the Rt Revd Nigel McCulloch, and welcomed the Rt Revd Michael Ipgrave as his successor. Bishop Michael has a distinguished history in Jewish Christian relations, and interfaith work

generally. As well as being the author of several key documents for the Anglican Communion on key related issues, he was a former interfaith advisor to the Archbishop of Canterbury and to the Church of England. Bishop Michael has, of course, been a member of CCJ for many years and even served on the advisory board at one stage. Finally, of course, we must also pay tribute to the hard work of Revd David Gifford, now leading a congregation north of the border, and express appreciation for the determination with which he dealt with the many tasks before him.

I am personally fortunate in that we now have an outstanding Deputy Director in Elizabeth Harris-Sawczenko. With the support of Presidents, Vice Presidents and Trustees, many of whom are enthusiastically and energetically engaged, we are well placed to go forward with our new strategic plan and a renewed national vision. As we consider here the role and impact of Jewish Christian relations in our time, our prayer is that, under our watch, together we can make a positive difference for the next 50 years to come.

Au revoir

We have recently said goodbye to two members of staff Fr. Patrick Morrow and Fiona Hulbert. Patrick has sadly resigned due to ill health and we wish him a full and swift recovery. Fiona has left to become a freelance consultant. Many CCJ friends and members will have good cause to value the excellent work they have done. We know that they will both continue to be involved in Jewish Christian relations and hope they retain good links with CCJ.

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From the Editor Fifty years ago the Catholic Church’s document on interrel igious dialogue—Nostra Aetate or “ In Our Time”—helped transform Christian -Jewish relations. I t insisted God’s covenant with the Jewish people has not been revoked; it rejected any idea of the collective gui lt of the Jews for Jesus’ death; and it cal led for Catholics and Jews to engage in dialogue.

Despite these very positive developments, there is still much work to be done. This year, CCJ is embarking on a new strategic vision which is centred on this very theme. We believe that there is no better time than now to take stock of where we stand and where we are heading, and this issue examines this theme from a variety of perspectives—theological, philosophical, socio-political—and also through reports of life on the ground. We wanted to address specific questions which surround the theme of “In Our Time”: given some of the pressing issues of our own time, what are some of the ways we can celebrate the history and diversity of both communities? In what ways has the promise of Nostra Aetate been embedded in our relations, and what challenges remain? How do we facilitate constructive dialogue, and what makes it difficult? What significance does Christian-Jewish dialogue have for the next generation, and how might we respond so as to continue to provide relevant opportunities for transformative change?

Contributors to this issue of Common Ground make a significant contribution to the dialogue. Our lead article, from new CCJ Chairman The Rt Revd Dr Michael Ipgrave, talks about Nostra Aetate and how its promise can be carried

forward through CCJ’s new strategic vision. Archbishop Kevin McDonald tells us how Nostra Aetate opens up a future together and is the best way to win hearts and minds and to find a fertile theological perspective for our mutual relations, while Rabbi Jeremy Lawrence argues that although Nostra Aetate helped transform Christian-Jewish relations, several significant challenges remain and the relationship must work towards something positive—articulating what it means to be human made in the image of God.

We also feature an interview with CCJ’s new Director and Deputy Director, Dr Jane Clements and Elizabeth Harris-Sawczenko and; a report from three Seminar alumni; a report from one of our trustees, Michael Cutting FCA and his wife Teresita on their pilgrimage to Israel; reflections from CCJ Intern Aron Carr; a piece about the origins of the word “testament” from Bernard Jackson and a piece on Genesis from John Franks.

There are great possibilities opened up by examining the legacy of Nostra Aetate and the theme of “In Our Time”, and we hope that it will be an interesting experience for readers as well.

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Farewell to Bishop NigelThis year we have said farewell to CCJ’s Chair the Rt Revd Nigel McCulloch KCVO. Bishop Nigel took over the role from the then Bishop of St Albans, Rt Revd Christopher Herbert , in 2006, under the mistaken impression that very l itt le would be required in the role.

It says much of Bishop Nigel that he not only stuck with it once he realised the extent of the job, but gave so much of himself in ensuring the smooth and efficient governance of the organisation. His selfless efforts on behalf of CCJ are the more amazing when considered in relation to the many other things that have been required of him over the last nine years.

Bishop Nigel was born in Liverpool in 1942, studied Theology at Selwyn College, Cambridge, and was ordained at Chester Cathedral in 1966. From 1970 to 1975 he was a Director of Studies for Theology at Christ’s College. In 1986 he was appointed as suffragan Bishop of Taunton in the Diocese of Bath and Wells, and then in 1992 he was translated to be the diocesan Bishop of Wakefield. Bishop Nigel took his seat in the House of Lords in 1997, and was a member of the Select Committee on the review of the BBC Charter (2005-6), a member of the Select Committee on Communications (2007-10). In 2002 he became Bishop of Manchester, where he served until he retired in 2013. Bishop Nigel is the Church of England’s senior spokesperson on issues of

communication, and is the National Chaplain to the Royal British Legion. In 2013 he was invested by HM the Queen with the insignia of a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO). This was no routine award, but was a personal recognition of Bishop Nigel. Branch members said farewell at last year’s AGM; staff and trustees held a lunch where he was presented with a framed pen and ink drawing of a CCJ event at Westminster Abbey, drawn by CCJ member Paul Winner, and a facsimile of a medieval illustrated Haggadah.

Together with his wife Celia, he is at last enjoying a well-earned retirement in magnificent Cumbria; it is typical that he postponed this until he was confident that the new Director and his own successor were confidently in place and all loose ends tied up. One of Bishop Nigel’s favourite sayings was that he and CCJ were exactly the same age and that no other Chair would ever be able to claim the same thing again. In this, and in many other ways, Bishop Nigel was indeed very special.

Bishop Nigel with students from local schools preparing food for the Providence Row shelter for Mitzvah Day 2012

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Feature Articles On the Fiftieth Anniversary of Nostra Aetate‘In Our Time’The Rt Revd Dr Michael Ipgrave OBE, Bishop of Woolwich and CCJ Chair, takes a closer look at Nostra Aetate and its s ignif icance for CCJ’s new strategic vis ion.

“In our time (Nostra Aetate), when day by day mankind is being drawn closer together, and the ties between different peoples are becoming stronger …”: so began the Second Vatican Council’s famous declaration on ‘The Relation of the Church to non-Christian Religions’ in 1965. Those opening words of Nostra Aetate are unabashedly optimistic in tone; the document sets the need for a renewal of Christians’ relations with people of other faiths in a wider context of growing global communication and coexistence, going on to outline the part that inter-religious understanding can play within that. Fifty years on, two things immediately strike me about this seminal text.

Positively, Nostra Aetate has undoubtedly signalled a massive change in the tone, theology and practice of Christian-Jewish relations in particular and interfaith relations more generally. This is most evidently true for Roman Catholic Christians; but, perhaps more than any other of the Vatican II documents, the themes and attitudes of Nostra Aetate have also been taken up across the ecumenical family of Christian churches, and they have evoked positive responses among the Jewish as well as other communities. With its wealth of historical resonance, “In Our Time” is a great motif to affirm the tremendous developments that have transformed our relationships over the past half century. But not all is positive. We cannot read those opening words without reflecting on how different our own times seem to us. Processes of globalisation, transformed communications, and mass migrations of people have continued and grown to a degree unimaginable fifty years ago, but they have not always brought with them an enhanced ability to live with difference, foster growth in respect, or inspire a stronger commitment to peace. And the place of religion in particular

has been increasingly problematized: for many, it seems to be considered more part of the problem than of the solution, particularly for the ways in which religious differences are used to foment conflict and religious justifications are claimed for violence.

Of course, I would want to argue that much of this is based on simplistic misunderstandings of complex situations; but still the unquestioning assurance of Nostra Aetate’s opening seems to belong to another age indeed. Our own time in 2015 is assuredly not the same as the Vatican Fathers’ time of 1965; a friend of mine, with long and wide-ranging experience in this area, e-mailed me only today to say: “Never before have I felt that the inter-religious news is as dire as just now.” So does this mean that all the energy, vision and work poured into developing new patterns for inter-religious relations have been in vain? Does it mean that the work of the Council of Christians and Jews and other interfaith organisations is futile or outdated?

That is certainly not how I see things; I am honoured to have been asked to chair CCJ precisely because I think its contribution is more vital now than perhaps at any time since the 1940s. We can no longer take for granted the transformed atmosphere in Christian-Jewish relations that Nostra Aetate heralded; we need to work hard to consolidate and develop the advances that have been made. We cannot assume that religious voices and values will necessarily be welcomed in public debate; we need to earn and demonstrate our right to be heard. We cannot now think of antisemitism as a problem of the past which we have outgrown; its latent destructive power is always ready to break surface, alongside other forms of hatred and persecution. We

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cannot rest content with a view of dialogue that sees it as always affirming what we have in common; important as that endeavour is, we also need to find ways to handle our disagreements creatively and respectfully. There are pressing, difficult and puzzling issues with which Christians and Jews need to grapple together—for our own sake, for one another’s

sake, and for the sake of the wider society in which we both live. I warmly commend CCJ’s strategic vision as a way of focusing on these issues ‘in our time’, and I am proud to chair an organisation which can draw on such rich resources of wisdom, personnel and goodwill in addressing them.

Nostra Aetate - Fifty Years OnThe Most Reverend Kevin McDonald, Consultor to the Pontif ical Commission for Rel igious Relations with the Jews formerly Archbishop of Southwark, takes stock of what Nostra Aetate has helped accomplish in Christian-Jewish relations as well as address its future challenges.

This year the Catholic Church marks the 50th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, a document of the Second Vatican Council which significantly changed and developed the nature of the Catholic Church’s engagement with other religions and particularly with Judaism. This in turn has bought about a change in self-understanding on the part of the Church itself, exemplified by the fact that it was quite natural last year for Pope Francis to invite President Shimon Peres and President Mahmood Abbas to pray with him in Rome and for them to accept this invitation. It was not always so!

This year we also mark the seventieth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, so Nostra Aetate was published just twenty years after that. Addressing the question of relations with the Jews was clearly a matter of urgency for the Council and in this document it made three important affirmations. The first was that

“God holds the Jews very dear for the sake of their Fathers; he does not repent of his gifts.” Second, it said of the death of Jesus Christ: “His passion cannot be charged against all the Jews, without distinction, then alive, nor against the Jews of today.”

Finally, it gave a clear rejection of antisemitism. These were important statements and they broke new ground in Catholic-Jewish relations as the Church sought to move on from the prejudice and shame of the past. But Nostra Aetate is a short document and its affirmations

opened up further questions that needed clarification and development. This has not been lacking as, for example, in documents published by the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews (CRRJ) and in the teaching of Pope John Paul II. The document We Remember, published in 1988, directly addressed the question of the Holocaust. Earlier the Notes, published by the CRRJ in Germany in 1980 when he referred to “the people of God of the Old Covenant, which has never been revoked.” In March 2013, the American journal Theological Studies published two essays - one by Edward Kessler and one by Mary Boys - which sought to do just that. These articles, written from a Jewish and Catholic perspective, showed a significant degree of convergence.

They asked vital questions about the implications of the Church’s affirmation that God’s covenant with the Jews is still live. Does this mean that the Catholic Church accepts Judaism as a valid religion in its own right and on its own terms? If so, does that mean that the Church has definitively moved on from seeing the Old Testament solely in terms of its fulfilment in the New Testament and has it therefore moved on decisively from any idea of conversion of the Jews? Writings in recent years by the Presidents of the CRRJ and some key theologians have opened up perspectives that can take this discussion forward.

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What I find most promising is the felt need to now adopt a future and, indeed, an eschatological framework in which to plot a way forward. This perspective has been around for some time. Nostra Aetate itself looked to the day when “all people will address the Lord in a single voice and ‘serve him shoulder to shoulder” (Zeph. 3,9). This theme is developed in the Pontifical Biblical Commission’s excellent document “The Jewish people and their Sacred Scriptures in the Christian Bible” (2001) which affirms that Christians and Jews look to the future together: “Jewish messianic expectation is not in vain. It can become for us Christians a powerful stimulant to keep alive the eschatological dimension to our faith.”

Although the perspective of memory—which looks to the past in a spirit of repentance and inquiry—will always be vital to Christian-Jewish relations, it may be that claiming the future together is the best way to win hearts and minds and to find a fertile theological perspective for our mutual relations. It was the great Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (who participated in Vatican II as an observer) who said, “The prospect of all men embracing one form of religion remains an eschatological hope.” Above all, today - in our time - we need to continue to match the spiritual and theological depth of people like Heschel and, indeed, of the Fathers of Vatican II who forged this prophetic text.

What is the Legacy of Nosta Aetate for Interfaith Relations? Rabbi Jeremy Lawrence, Senior Rabbi at Finchley United Synagogue (Kinloss Gardens) , London, and former Chief Minister of The Great Synagogue, Sydney, has previously participated in the work of CCJ in Austral ia and New Zealand. Here he considers the legacy of Nostra Aetate for interfaith relations and working towards a future that is constructive and posit ive.

When I left The Great Synagogue, Sydney six months ago, I was both honoured and humbled to be bidden farewell at a dinner at Cathedral House hosted by the acting Archbishop and attended by many friends in the Church leadership. The reception room there is splendid. In a display case in the corner is the personal prayer book of Mary Queen of Scots. On the one hand, there was history in a glass cabinet. On the other hand, we were living history at the table. Our two communities had warmly embraced the spirit of Nostra Aetate. We have come a long way since 1169 when Pope Innocent III declared “The Jews are paying for their crime by God’s eternal banishment, and through them the truth of our faith is confirmed.” When Mary Queen of Scots was alive, Jews had been in exile from England for almost three centuries. When His Eminence, Pope Benedict visited Sydney, I observed to him that my own grandparents who had fled Berlin in 1938/9 would have found it inconceivable that Catholic and Jewish leaders could share such a platform in celebration of faith. The Second Vatican Council, opened by Pope John XXIII and concluded by his

successor Pope Paul VI has changed the course of interfaith relationships. Historically there had been interludes of relative calm in what is sometimes presented as a continuum of disputation and persecution, but Vatican II and one of its significant documents, Nostra Aetate, defined and set in writing a new approach. Abandoning the spirit of Innocent III, Nostra Aetate clarified that the Jews of today are not to be held accountable for the death of Jesus: “The Jews should not be presented as rejected or accursed by God, as if this followed from the Holy Scriptures.” It paves the welcome way for the acknowledgement by John Paul II that antisemitism is a sin, with no place in Catholicism, no place in civilisation; that “at all levels of Christian instruction and education” be it teaching, preaching or dramatisation, “Catholic teaching . . . presents Jews and Judaism . . . in an honest and objective manner, free from prejudices and without any offenses . . . an awareness of our common heritage” with a mission to “uproot the remains of anti-Semitism amongst the faithful.” Nonetheless, in Nostra Aetate the continued

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critical reference to the Jewish authorities of the era and their followers who pressed for the crucifixion, has been criticised as giving enduring legitimacy to the stereotyping of Pharisaic attitudes and a castigation of Temple Era Judaism. This latter and our reverence for its sages continues to shape Jewish Orthodoxy today. It is said that ambiguity is the language of diplomacy. Many different interests needed to be addressed by Vatican II and it is not surprising that public documents are susceptible to varied interpretations. On the 50th anniversary of the Council’s opening it was noted that “work continues on clarifying the church’s attitudes toward other religions.” While some Catholics still look on other religions with disdain, others seem to believe Vatican II taught that all religions were equally valid paths to God and to the fullness of truth. Yet as Archbishop Muller, the new Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith recently said, “both extremes are wrong.”

Clarifying the purpose of interfaith activity, he remarked that the goal is not to identify core religious or common moral points of agreement. It is rather “for people firmly rooted in different faith traditions to explain their beliefs to one another, grow in knowledge of and respect for one another, and help one another move closer to the truth about God and what it means to be human.” From his own point of view, the “truth about God” is as of necessity uncompromisingly Christian. The clarification is both frank and helpful.

There is a worth in identifying shared values – which help us in giving faith a profile in a predominantly secular age. The “purpose” of interfaith activity though should not be the watering down or, alternatively, the fractional distillation of any religion. It should be something positive. What it means to be human, the understanding of all humanity in the image of God augmented by a vocabulary for approach, is a laudable and constructive venture.

Nostra Aetate is a beginning and not an end. Its fiftieth anniversary gives us a chance to celebrate a historic expression of Catholic teaching about the Jewish world of the modern era. Of more personal and possibly (as time will tell) of more enduring significance is that Nostra Aetate has enabled a respectful dialogue between faiths and occasional partnership of spiritual leaders which enables us, ever mindful of our pasts, to look together at our journey and our contribution to the future.

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Genesis Revisited

Is a faithful reading of Genesis 1 incompatible with the knowledge acquired by modern science? John A. Franks invites us to revisit the Hebrew text.

This text was spoken and written some 3400 years ago at the time of Moses and the first authentic translation into Greek, the Septuagint, was made some 1300 years later. The authentic English translation of James I was made in the seventeenth century some 400 years ago.

The state of knowledge of mankind has over this time expanded, vocabulary more extensive, whilst words have acquired new and different meanings and implications.

The following translation from the first part of Genesis attempts to follow the original Hebrew, but in so doing seeks to accord with modern day usage and knowledge.

Darwinism, with its emphasis on the survival of the fittest, preaches evolution as demolishing the biblical concept of creation of species. This ignores the ability of created species to cross breed, hybridise and mutate. Again Geologists and Archaeologists deny the simplistic reference to creation taking place over seven days without recognising that seven days of the Almighty, as described in the text, were plainly different from the 168 hour week of modern man.

It is with regard to this that it is time to revisit Chapter 1 of Genesis, seeking to understand what the original Hebrew contemplated, even though the minds of those who had heard and written it did not fully comprehend what it meant.

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CHAPTER I

1 In the beginning God created Sky and earth.

2 Now the earth was unformed and not existing and darkness was on the face of the deep; and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters.

3 And God said ‘Let there be light’ and there was light.

4 And God saw there was light and it was good and God divided light from darkness. (Note: Scientists now conclude that creation began with light.)

5 And God called the light ‘Day’ and the darkness ‘Night’ and there was evening and there was morning. On this Day.

6 And God said let there by a universe in the midst of the waters and let it divide the waters from the waters.

7 And God made the universe and divided waters which were under the universe from waters that were above the universe and it was so.

8 And God called the universe ‘Sky’ and there was evening and there was morning. A second Day.

9 And God said ‘Let the waters under the sky be gathered together in one place and let dry land there appear’. And it was so. (Note: This was the creation of the world consisting of dry land and water)

10 And God called the dry land ‘Earth’ and the gathering together of the waters he called ‘Seas’. And God saw it was good. (Note: Scientists agree that the area of land later split forming continents by drift)

11 And God said ‘Let the earth put forth grass, herb yield seed and fruit tree bear fruit after its genus wherein the seed thereof upon the earth is. And it was so.

12 And the Earth brought forth grass, herb yielding seed after its kind and trees bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after its genus. And God saw it was good.

13 And there was evening and there was morning. A third Day. (Note: This describes land as the basis for vegetation to grow. The reference is to genus, not species.)

14 And God said ‘Let there by lights in the sky to divide the Day from the Night and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years.

15 And let them be for lights in the universe of the sky to give light upon the earth. And it was so.

16 And God made the two great lights; the greater light to rule the Day and the lesser light to rule the Night; and the stars.

17 And God set them in the universe of the sky to give light upon the earth.

18 And to rule over the Day and over the Night, and to divide the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good.

19 And there was evening and there was morning. A fourth Day.

20 And God said ‘Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures and let fowl fly above the earth in the open sky. (Note: This suggests that life came and evolved from the seas.)

21 And God created great sea monsters and every living creature that creepeth, wherewith the waters swarmed after its kind; and God saw it was good.

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22 And God blessed them, saying ‘Be fruitful and evolve and fill the waters in the seas and let the fowl evolve on the earth’.

23 And there was evening and there was morning. A fifth Day.

24 And God said ‘Let the earth bring forth living creatures after its genus, herbivore and creeping thing and carnivore of the earth after its genus’.

25 And God made the carnivore of the earth after its genus, and the herbivores after their genus and every thing that creepeth on earth after its genus; and God saw that it was good.

26 And God said ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the fowl of the air and over the herbivores, and

over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creepeth on earth.”

27 And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female he created them.

28 And God blessed them; and God said unto them ‘Be fruitful and evolve and replenish the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air and over every living thing that creepeth on earth.

29 And God said ‘Behold I have given you every

herb yielding seed which is upon the face of the earth and every tree in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed—to you it shall be for food;

30 And to every carnivore of the earth and to every fowl of the air and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is a living soul, every green herb for food.’ And it was so.

31 And God saw every living thing that He had made and behold it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning. The sixth Day. (Note: The directions given to mankind were for a hunter-gatherer existence, quite different from the later instructions to Adam and Eve and totally different from the dietary directions to the Jews given to Moses.)

1 And the sky and the earth were finished and all the host of them

2 And on the seventh Day God finished His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh Day from all

of His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh Day and hallowed it; because that in it He rested from all His work which God in created had made. The remainder of Chapter II and Chapter III deal with the separate account of the creation of Adam and Eve and their conduct which lead to the expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Adam is described as being created

on the sixth from the soil, whilst today scientists consider life developed from amino-acids, which are to be found in the soil. Adam was to care for the garden of Eden, and, on expulsion for misconduct Adam was directed “to till the ground from whence he was taken.” Thus Adam was destined to be the first cultivator or farmer—until Adam was created there was not a man to till the ground. Now the rib is known as a good source for stem cells from

CHAPTER II

MITZVAH DAY 365 USES HANDS-ON SOCIAL ACTION TO

BUILD RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN FAITH COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.

MITZVAH DAY 365 IS PROUD TO WORK WITH THE CCJ ACROSS THE UK.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT INFO@MITZVAHDAY.ORG.UK OR 020 3747 9960.

which medical scientists grow material to repair or replace human organs.

It would seem that the other men and women created on the sixth day were predecessors or contemporaries of Adam and Eve, because in Chapter VI it was the daughters of men who married the sons of Adam. As now translated, the first part of Genesis conforms with modern science. This could encourage a return to the teaching of Genesis and validating the moral and ethical forces deriving from the Abrahamic religions. Hopefully what is here suggested does not offend those whose faith rests on belief in texts as at present known to them, in spite of

the criticisms of Darwinists and the scientific secularists. On the other hand, this interpretation can provide a basis for those who feel the

need to meet the challenges, whilst others may have opinions on how far this re-visit is good.

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What Is Social Actionand Why Should I Care?

Ell iot Steinberg , CCJ Programme Manager, provides a practical and theological rationale for social action, which alongside Education and Dialogue form the three pi l lars of CCJ’s new strategic vis ion.

“ If I am not for myself, who wil l be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?” -Mishnah Avot 1:14

In preparing to write this article I knew we wanted to provide something which highlighted the newest area of CCJ’s new strategy, Social Action, but wasn’t sure how best to frame it. Having gone through some of the emails we have received from branch members and messages we have received on Facebook and Twitter, it became clear that many of our stakeholders didn’t know what social action is or why it is something on which we would focus so much of our attention, so I thought I would write my view on what social action is, and why, from a Jewish point of view, it is so important. A small bit of background on me in the spirit of full disclosure: I graduated from Cambridge University in 2013 having read Theology and Religious Studies, focusing primarily on the three Abrahamic faiths.

Since then I have worked for Limmud (a Jewish educational organisation which expounds a fairly unique social model of “volunticipation” which creates educational communities through networks of volunteers), and then at Mitzvah Day (the Jewish-led annual day of social action which encourages people to come together to build their local communities through hands-on volunteering projects). Both my educational and work experience has given me a reasonable understanding of what social action is and why it matters.

Social action, in its most basic form, refers to any activity that is engaged in improving society and social structures. It identifies areas of society that aren’t working as effectively as they could or should and seeks to directly address them. For CCJ, this action takes

two highly interconnected, primary forms: campaigning and grassroots action (which will be discussed more below). Social action poses an opportunity to realise shared values by identifying similar areas that different groups prioritise, leading to the establishment of a common interest or common good. This in itself then poses a way of creating new relationships and communities, or reinforcing existing ones, through collective and collaborative action, building towards this common good.

It is this concept of working together for both our own and each other’s benefit that is urged by Rabbi Hillel in the quote which began this piece, and which also informs Nostra Aetate, the significant Roman Catholic reconfiguration of their relationship with Jews, which this year sees its 50th Anniversary. To mark this, CCJ has chosen “In Our Time” (which is a literal translation of Nostra Aetate) as the overarching theme for much of our work this year. Reflecting Rabbi Hillel’s question “if not now, when?”, we are building our social action strategy to identify and confront some of the key issues for society today.

There are countless examples of social action initiatives which stem from a range of values or causes, and many organisations particularly find inspiration or motive to build social action from their faith traditions. Organisations such as the Trussell Trust (a Christian-based network of foodbanks) or the Sufra-NW London Muslim-based foodbank both attempt to tackle the issues of hunger and homelessness with imperatives from within their own faith traditions, but also offer aid and assistance to

15

anyone who comes to them in need. Similarly, Mitzvah Day (with whom CCJ partnered to run social action projects last November) is a day of social action led by the Jewish community and based in Jewish values, but is increasingly building relationships with other faith groups to build society and their social action network. Most recently, CCJ Programme Manager Dr Steve Innes joined an interfaith cooking project run by Mitzvah Day to prepare food in an interfaith setting to be donated to a local homeless shelter. Events like this demonstrate that social action, in addition to the benefits it offers to some of the most vulnerable in society, also has a role in building connections between different groups and in bringing people together, to work towards the common good mentioned before. Coming from a Jewish background, there is of course a significant theological argument as to why social action is so important, based around a discussion of the values of chesed (lovingkindness) and tikkun olam (repairing and maintaining the world).

Chesed is a concept that appears several times in the Tanakh but only as God’s chesed; chesed is a way in which God relates to humanity. In many ways it appears to be related to protection, as we read in Psalm 36: ‘How precious your faithful care [chesed], O God! Mankind shelters in the shadow of your wings’. In other places it is connected to mercy, or even as a way of seeing people which accentuates their positive attributes. We see this, for example, in Psalm 25: ‘Be not mindful of my youthful sins and transgressions; in keeping with your faithfulness [chesed] consider what is in my favour’.

Chesed, while being a very nice concept, may nonetheless seem quite distant as it reflects an attribute of God’s relationship with humanity.

However, as humans are made in God’s image1, chesed is also reflected in us, and becomes something that we are also capable of

1 Gen. 1:26-27.

expressing through the acts of lovingkindness discussed by the Rabbis. This then becomes a way of humans interacting with each other, protecting the vulnerable, showing mercy and prioritising the positive aspects of other people. Chesed is also reinforced by commandments to leave food for the poor (Lev. 19:20) and Isaiah’s often-quoted exhortation: ‘Cease to do evil, learn to do good. Devote yourselves to justice; aid the wronged. Uphold the rights of

the orphan; defend the cause of the widow’2.

These examples help illuminate the relationship between chesed and tikkun olam. Chesed relates to tikkun olam by repairing and maintaining the world through the building of society and making sure that the most vulnerable are cared for—that is, through social action. As a discussion primarily of ethical principles, it seems appropriate also to look to Pirkei Avot to consider these concepts, where it states that ‘Simon the Just…used to say: on three things the world stands: on the Torah, on Divine Worship and, on acts of lovingkindness

[gemilut chasadim]’3. Maimonides develops this further in his commentary, where he argues that tikkun olam requires effort in all three of these “pillars”. This demonstrates that since the earliest conceptions of Judaism, chesed has been fundamental to the way in which Jews are to interact with the world and is interconnected with the obligations of studying Torah and taking part in worship services. The rabbis also noted in the Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 127a, that acts of lovingkindness are among the things ‘the fruit of which man eats in this world, while the principal [reward] remains for him

in the world to come’4. In this context chesed seems to also be connected to hospitality to strangers, visiting the sick, helping the needy bride and attending to the dead, among other things. All of these examples help illustrate

2 Isaiah 1:17.

3 Mishnah Avot. 1:2. Published in The Authorised Daily

Prayer Book of the United Hebrew Congregations of the

Commonwealth. Tr. Rabbi Dr. J Sacks, Collins, London.

(2006). p. 525.

4 Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat, 127a.Ed. Rabbi Dr. I

Epstein, The Soncino Press, London. (1938). p. 632.

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that social action, as a convergence of acts of lovingkindness and repairing the world, has an obvious immediate practical value. But equally it has a spiritual value. Thus taking part in social action projects is a key way for us to connect between the physical and spiritual spheres, and to connect our relationships with other people to our relationship with God. For CCJ, social action is becoming a key part of our work for all of these reasons. Campaigning helps us to highlight challenges in society and coordinate an effective, informed and complex response to them. For example, we recently launched our bespoke Jewish/Christian response to antisemitism, called “Still An Issue”. The campaign aims to create a network of activists who are aware of the issues

around antisemitism, highlighting antisemitic incidents and promoting positive responses to them. We are also building another social action campaign around the issue of human trafficking that will raise awareness about the scale and diverse nature of this crime and providing simple yet effective opportunities to help tackle this issue. It will also make suggestions for action local communities or individuals could take themselves. This allows us to engage our network in local, grassroots action projects which aim to tackle some of the key issues facing society today, to build and develop both new and existing relationships between local communities and, hopefully, to connect in a more profound way with each other and with God.

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NATIONAL CCJ CONFERENCE: ‘In Our Time’

( In memory of Judith Kramer)September 2 nd – 3 rd 2015

JOIN CCJ MEMBERS FROM ALL OVER THE UK IN IN THE TRANQUIL SETTING OF COLLEGE COURT, LEICESTER. TO INCLUDE:

• UPDATES ON CURRENT CCJ WORK AND INITIATIVES• TALKS AND WORKSHOPS ON A VARIETY OF TOPICS, BOTH SERIOUS AND FUN,

PRACTICAL AND EDUCATIONAL• SHOWCASED EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL BRANCH INITIATIVES• DISCUSSIONS ON THE CCJ ‘VIS ION’ FOR OUR TIME• OPPORTUNITIES TO MEET AND SOCIALISE WITH MEMBERS FROM ALL OVER THE

COUNTRY.

COST: MEMBERS: £30*; NON-MEMBERS: £170. *(MEMBERS ARE SUBSIDISED THANKS TO A GENEROUS DONATION FROM JUDITH KRAMER’S FAMILY)

COST INCLUDES: ACCOMMODATION, LUNCH ON ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE, BREAKFAST AND EVENING MEAL.

TO BOOK A PLACE AT THE CONFERENCE PLEASE COMPLETE THIS FORM AND SEND IT, TOGETHER WITH THE PAYMENT, TO: JOY BARROW, BRANCH LIAISON MANAGER, CCJ , COLLABORATION HOUSE, 77-79 CHARLOTTE STREET, LONDON W1T 4PW, FROM WHOM FURTHER DETAILS C AN BE OBTAINED ( JOY.BARROW@CCJ .ORG.UK)

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|Rabbis and Black Clergy conversations | Buddy Scheme partnering Rabbis and Clergy | First visit to Yad Vashem with Parliamentarians | Collaborations with Teach First | Jewish Book week session with Paul Vallely | New logo and website launch |National Holocaust Memorial Day event in Chichester | Snapshot of 1945 memories project | Breakfast seminars with Hagar| AGM and members’ morning | Inter faith Week photo contest | | New strategy launch at JW3 | Participation in Mitzvah Day’s interfaith cooking for the homeless at JW3 | Presentation at Lincoln School of Theology | Holocaust study day in Leeds | Celebrating the Psalms music event at New North London Synagogue with Near Neighbours | Holocaust Memorial Day Branch events | Adam and Eve interfaith discussion in Staines | UK Task Force 5th seminar | Move to Collaboration House | Talks at Habadashers Askes School fir Girls and City of London Boys’ School | Nostra Aetate Seminars | Presentation at We Believe in Israel conference | Evening with John Campbell at Lincoln Cathedral | Manchester visits to Anglesey | Plaque unveiling for Jewish murder victims in Norfolk | Annual clergy visit to Yad Vashem | Jewish food from around the world event in Newcastle Branch | Oxford Holocaust Memorial Day address | ‘Finding Common Ground’ study day in Sheffield | Lunchtime seminar with Naomi Chazan | Talk from the Khadi of Jerusalem in conjunction with the UK Task Force on issues relating to Arab citizens of Israel and the Board of Deputies of British Jews | Lunch seminar on antisemitism in the UK with the Community Security Trust and the All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Antisemitism | National food collections for Mitzvah Day | Still an Issue campaign against antisemitism | Campaign againt human trafficking and modern slavery in conjunction with Stop The Traffik | Presentations at Limmud Conference 2014 | Trust and Rust breakfast seminar at Freshfields with John Bercow, Baroness Onora O’Neill and Mick Davis |Rabbis and Black Clergy conversations | Buddy Scheme partnering Rabbis and Clergy | First visit to Yad Vashem with Parliamentarians | Collaborations with Teach First | Jewish Book week session with Paul Vallely | New logo and website launch |National Holocaust Memorial Day event in Chichester | Snapshot of 1945 memories project | Breakfast seminars with Hagar| AGM and members’ morning | Inter faith Week photo contest | Student Presidents on Campus | New strategy launch at JW3 | Participation in Mitzvah Day’s interfaith cooking for the homeless at JW3 | Presentation at Lincoln School of Theology | Jewish Book week session with Paul Vallely Holocaust study day in Leeds | Celebrating the Psalms music event at New North London Synagogue with Near Neighbours | Holocaust Memorial Day Branch events | Adam and Eve interfaith discussion in Staines | Nostra Aetate Seminars | Presentation at We Believe in Israel conference | UK Task Force 5th seminar | Move to Collaboration House | Presentations to Secondary Schools |Evening with John Campbell at Lincoln Cathedral | Manchester visits to Anglesey | Plaque unveiling for Jewish murder victims in Norfolk | Annual clergy visit to Yad Vashem | Lunchtime seminar with Naomi Chazan |New logo and website launch |National Holocaust Memorial Day event in Chichester Jewish food from around the world event in Newcastle Branch | Oxford Holocaust Memorial Day address | ‘Finding Common Ground’ study day in Sheffield Presentations in secondary school assemblies | Talk from the Khadi of Jerusalem in conjunction with the UK Task Force on

6 Months at CCJE

F

E. Conversations with Rabbis and Black Clergy F. ‘Trust and Rust’ seminar with John Bercow G. National HMD event in ChichesterH. Yad Vashem Seminar with Parliamentarians, Sponsored by Naim Dangoor

H

G

National food collections for Mitzvah Day | Still an Issue campaign against antisemitism | Campaign againt human trafficking and modern slavery in conjunction with Stop The Traffik | Presentations at Limmud Conference 2014 | New strategy launch at JW3 | Participation in Mitzvah Day’s interfaith cooking for the homeless at JW3 | Rabbis and Black Clergy conversations | Talks at Habadashers Askes School fir Girls and City of London Boys’ School | Nostra

| ecnerefnoc learsI ni eveileB eW ta noitatneserP | sranimeS etateABuddy Scheme partnering Rabbis and Clergy | First visit to Yad Vashem with Parliamentarians | Student Presidents on Campus | Jewish Book week session with Paul Vallely | New logo and website launch |National Holocaust Memorial Day event in Chichester | Snapshot of 1945 memories project | Breakfast seminars with Hagar| AGM and members’ morning | Inter faith Week photo contest | Student Presidents on Campus | New strategy launch at JW3 | Participation in Mitzvah Day’s interfaith cooking for the homeless at JW3 | Presentation at Lincoln School of Theology | Holocaust study day in Leeds | Celebrating the Psalms music event at New North London Synagogue with Near Neighbours | Holocaust Memorial Day Branch events | Adam and Eve interfaith discussion in Staines | UK Task Force 5th seminar | Move to Collaboration House | Talks at Habadashers Askes School fir Girls and City of London Boys’ School | Nostra Aetate Seminars | Presentation at We Believe in Israel conference | Evening with John Campbell at Lincoln Cathedral | Manchester visits to Anglesey | Plaque unveiling for Jewish murder victims in Norfolk | Annual clergy visit to Yad Vashem | Jewish food from around the world event in Newcastle Branch | | Oxford Holocaust Memorial Day address | #StillAnIssue | Rabbis and Black Clergy conversations | Adam and Eve interfaith discussion in Staines | UK Task Force 5th seminar | Buddy Scheme partnering Rabbis and Clergy | Trust and Rust breakfast seminar at Freshfields with John Bercow, Baroness Onora O’Neill and Mick Davis | ‘Finding Common Ground’ study day in Sheffield | Lunchtime seminar with Naomi Chazan | Talk from the Khadi of Jerusalem in conjunction with the UK Task Force on issues relating to Arab citizens of Israel and the Board of Deputies of British Jews | Lunch seminar on antisemitism in the UK with the Community Security Trust and the All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Antisemitism | National food collections for Mitzvah Day | Still an Issue campaign against antisemitism | Campaign againt human trafficking and modern slavery in conjunction with Stop The Traffik | Presentations at Limmud Conference 2014

A. Teach First SeminarB.Radlett Mitzvah Day CollectionC & D. “Still an Issue” Antisemitism Event at Clifford Chance

Mitzvah DayStop the TrafficLJCCJw3UK Task ForceJewish Book WeekPCAACSTBoard of DeputiesNew Israel FundNear NeighboursLSJSHMDWoolf InstituteLimmudLeo BaeckQueens’ FoundationTeach FirstLimmudYad Vashem

C

A

C

D

We’ve worked with

B

19

|Rabbis and Black Clergy conversations | Buddy Scheme partnering Rabbis and Clergy | First visit to Yad Vashem with Parliamentarians | Collaborations with Teach First | Jewish Book week session with Paul Vallely | New logo and website launch |National Holocaust Memorial Day event in Chichester | Snapshot of 1945 memories project | Breakfast seminars with Hagar| AGM and members’ morning | Inter faith Week photo contest | | New strategy launch at JW3 | Participation in Mitzvah Day’s interfaith cooking for the homeless at JW3 | Presentation at Lincoln School of Theology | Holocaust study day in Leeds | Celebrating the Psalms music event at New North London Synagogue with Near Neighbours | Holocaust Memorial Day Branch events | Adam and Eve interfaith discussion in Staines | UK Task Force 5th seminar | Move to Collaboration House | Talks at Habadashers Askes School fir Girls and City of London Boys’ School | Nostra Aetate Seminars | Presentation at We Believe in Israel conference | Evening with John Campbell at Lincoln Cathedral | Manchester visits to Anglesey | Plaque unveiling for Jewish murder victims in Norfolk | Annual clergy visit to Yad Vashem | Jewish food from around the world event in Newcastle Branch | Oxford Holocaust Memorial Day address | ‘Finding Common Ground’ study day in Sheffield | Lunchtime seminar with Naomi Chazan | Talk from the Khadi of Jerusalem in conjunction with the UK Task Force on issues relating to Arab citizens of Israel and the Board of Deputies of British Jews | Lunch seminar on antisemitism in the UK with the Community Security Trust and the All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Antisemitism | National food collections for Mitzvah Day | Still an Issue campaign against antisemitism | Campaign againt human trafficking and modern slavery in conjunction with Stop The Traffik | Presentations at Limmud Conference 2014 | Trust and Rust breakfast seminar at Freshfields with John Bercow, Baroness Onora O’Neill and Mick Davis |Rabbis and Black Clergy conversations | Buddy Scheme partnering Rabbis and Clergy | First visit to Yad Vashem with Parliamentarians | Collaborations with Teach First | Jewish Book week session with Paul Vallely | New logo and website launch |National Holocaust Memorial Day event in Chichester | Snapshot of 1945 memories project | Breakfast seminars with Hagar| AGM and members’ morning | Inter faith Week photo contest | Student Presidents on Campus | New strategy launch at JW3 | Participation in Mitzvah Day’s interfaith cooking for the homeless at JW3 | Presentation at Lincoln School of Theology | Jewish Book week session with Paul Vallely Holocaust study day in Leeds | Celebrating the Psalms music event at New North London Synagogue with Near Neighbours | Holocaust Memorial Day Branch events | Adam and Eve interfaith discussion in Staines | Nostra Aetate Seminars | Presentation at We Believe in Israel conference | UK Task Force 5th seminar | Move to Collaboration House | Presentations to Secondary Schools |Evening with John Campbell at Lincoln Cathedral | Manchester visits to Anglesey | Plaque unveiling for Jewish murder victims in Norfolk | Annual clergy visit to Yad Vashem | Lunchtime seminar with Naomi Chazan |New logo and website launch |National Holocaust Memorial Day event in Chichester Jewish food from around the world event in Newcastle Branch | Oxford Holocaust Memorial Day address | ‘Finding Common Ground’ study day in Sheffield Presentations in secondary school assemblies | Talk from the Khadi of Jerusalem in conjunction with the UK Task Force on

6 Months at CCJE

F

E. Conversations with Rabbis and Black Clergy F. ‘Trust and Rust’ seminar with John Bercow G. National HMD event in ChichesterH. Yad Vashem Seminar with Parliamentarians, Sponsored by Naim Dangoor

H

G

National food collections for Mitzvah Day | Still an Issue campaign against antisemitism | Campaign againt human trafficking and modern slavery in conjunction with Stop The Traffik | Presentations at Limmud Conference 2014 | New strategy launch at JW3 | Participation in Mitzvah Day’s interfaith cooking for the homeless at JW3 | Rabbis and Black Clergy conversations | Talks at Habadashers Askes School fir Girls and City of London Boys’ School | Nostra

| ecnerefnoc learsI ni eveileB eW ta noitatneserP | sranimeS etateABuddy Scheme partnering Rabbis and Clergy | First visit to Yad Vashem with Parliamentarians | Student Presidents on Campus | Jewish Book week session with Paul Vallely | New logo and website launch |National Holocaust Memorial Day event in Chichester | Snapshot of 1945 memories project | Breakfast seminars with Hagar| AGM and members’ morning | Inter faith Week photo contest | Student Presidents on Campus | New strategy launch at JW3 | Participation in Mitzvah Day’s interfaith cooking for the homeless at JW3 | Presentation at Lincoln School of Theology | Holocaust study day in Leeds | Celebrating the Psalms music event at New North London Synagogue with Near Neighbours | Holocaust Memorial Day Branch events | Adam and Eve interfaith discussion in Staines | UK Task Force 5th seminar | Move to Collaboration House | Talks at Habadashers Askes School fir Girls and City of London Boys’ School | Nostra Aetate Seminars | Presentation at We Believe in Israel conference | Evening with John Campbell at Lincoln Cathedral | Manchester visits to Anglesey | Plaque unveiling for Jewish murder victims in Norfolk | Annual clergy visit to Yad Vashem | Jewish food from around the world event in Newcastle Branch | | Oxford Holocaust Memorial Day address | #StillAnIssue | Rabbis and Black Clergy conversations | Adam and Eve interfaith discussion in Staines | UK Task Force 5th seminar | Buddy Scheme partnering Rabbis and Clergy | Trust and Rust breakfast seminar at Freshfields with John Bercow, Baroness Onora O’Neill and Mick Davis | ‘Finding Common Ground’ study day in Sheffield | Lunchtime seminar with Naomi Chazan | Talk from the Khadi of Jerusalem in conjunction with the UK Task Force on issues relating to Arab citizens of Israel and the Board of Deputies of British Jews | Lunch seminar on antisemitism in the UK with the Community Security Trust and the All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Antisemitism | National food collections for Mitzvah Day | Still an Issue campaign against antisemitism | Campaign againt human trafficking and modern slavery in conjunction with Stop The Traffik | Presentations at Limmud Conference 2014

A. Teach First SeminarB.Radlett Mitzvah Day CollectionC & D. “Still an Issue” Antisemitism Event at Clifford Chance

Mitzvah DayStop the TrafficLJCCJw3UK Task ForceJewish Book WeekPCAACSTBoard of DeputiesNew Israel FundNear NeighboursLSJSHMDWoolf InstituteLimmudLeo BaeckQueens’ FoundationTeach FirstLimmudYad Vashem

C

A

C

D

We’ve worked with

B

20

Mick Davis: Trust and the Commitment to the Common GoodIs the decl ine of trust irreversible? Society only functions because of trust and I suppose therefore the question is a commentary on how some of us may feel about the direction of travel of society or the human condition. There are important pi l lars upon which the foundations of society rest .

By this I refer to the religious establishment, the political establishment, the educational establishment, the security and health establishment, the information establishment, and the commercial establishment. They areall interconnected and do not behave entirely independently, yet it is also true that to a certain extent, for discreet periods of time they can operate independently. And society can still prosper even if one or two of these pillars shake from time to time from the impact of decay at their core. However, sometimes the seismic events on one pillar can threaten to bring down the whole edifice while, conversely, we also know that society leaps forward in harmony and prosperity when all are firm. I think there are two important points about trust that need to be acknowledged: first, trust in its broadest sense is relative and not an absolute concept; and second, every generation suffers from breaches of trust. Trust is threatened when there is a mismatch of reality with expectations, coupled with a perception that the mismatch was not inevitable. By this I mean that it is judged that had behaviours been different, had the system been different, expectations could have been satisfied.

It should be considered at this junction the impact of increased transparency and participation by individuals that technology has brought about. The context is the potential this creates for an expression of disgruntlement and mistrust; seen in its most extreme form during the Arab spring, but equally applicable to the corporate sector which was evident in the Occupy London protests of a few years ago. The standards now are more exacting and the price of failure, that is a breach of trust, far higher than ever. The younger generations feel

the need to participate actively—and to have the tools to do so at a very low cost, low risk but highly effective manner. It is also worth noting that this is the same generation who corporations will be recruiting into the future and, therefore, have to define their businesses’ roles in society in a way that is coherent with their own employees’ expectations.

Having said all of this, my trite answer to the question is that trust, in the final analysis, is not irreversible because society will recalibrate expectations and society will continue to exist. Perhaps the more pressing question is this: what is the direction of travel? Will mankind soar so that we can touch the wings of the angels or will we simply recalibrate and have no greater aspiration than to retain the existing order of things because in fact it is an equilibrium with which we are sanguine?

I think it can be said without much fear of contradiction that in the commercial pillar of society, business is increasingly seen as working against the interests of society, almost operating separately from the communities they serve or at least should serve. I also have to say that governments around the globe and other institutions (even religious institutions) have successfully traded on this sentiment to deflect from their own inadequacies and the result is that trust in one of the core drivers of society’s value proposition is wounded, and that does no-one any good at all.

21

The role of business

It is obvious that business must contribute to the sustainability and advancement of itself but what is less obvious is that this is not possible unless they do the same for society as a whole. Moreover, what is definitely not obvious is how they should go about achieving this goal.Businesses are failing in this endeavour and alienating society because they have embraced Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as the means to give effect to their goal.

I think that CSR is good for the box ticking CSR analyst but no good for anyone or anything else. The more business has begun to embrace CSR the more it has been held to account for society’s failures. The more businesses shape their outputs to divide the same pie up in a different way and take from their investors and give to other stakeholders, the more open to attack they have become. The more the political establishment intervenes to force businesses to redistribute, the more uncompetitive they become, and so on. According to an article written a few years ago by Michael Porter and Mark Kramer in the Harvard Business Review5, businesses compound this by making choices in pursuit of short term profitability which not only are prejudicial to society but also in the long term undermine their own value proposition. Herein lies the thrust of today’s declining trust in the commercial pillar of society. Does this have to be our lot? I think not! However, for the perception of Society to change, business must change. The world view of Chief Executives must be reflected by a different reality of action. Trade-offs which are inherent in a CSR view of the social role of business must be replaced with what Porter and Kramer have termed “shared value”. The principle behind shared value is not the

5 Kramer, Mark and Michael Porter, “Creating Shared

Value”, from the Harvard Business Review Online: https://

hbr.org/2011/01/the-big-idea-creating-shared-value .

Accessed 2 March 2015. Originally published in the January

2011 issue.

economics of redistribution but rather the economics of value creation in which both the business and society share. The successful CEO will find expression in his desire to see his business contribute to the social good by essentially reconnecting his or her company’s success with social progress. In the words of Porter and Kramer: “Shared Value is not social responsibility, philanthropy, or even sustainability, but a new way to achieve economic success.” Now I do not in any way want to burst the august bubble of these two great business thinkers but I do want to share with you some high level thoughts from my own experience.

First, business and society are not in a constant battle. Society benefitting from business does not mean that the providers of capital, employees or government must be impoverished or give up on their or at least some or their share. Secondly the age old but simple accounting equation of revenue or value received minus costs or value consumed equals net value gained or lost is a broad measure which is relevant again if it encompasses measurement of value received less value consumed by all the actors.

For example in the mining industry (with which I am most familiar), we use energy, water, human resources and more to extract minerals for the benefit of society. Without mining many of the things we take for granted in everyday life would simply not be. At the same time, aside from the identifiable costs of production, there might have been costly social harms such as wasted energy, accidents, costly remedial works, and so on. Shared value recognises these possibilities and as a proposition requires the business to address societal harms and constraints. In my experience, those operations which had the best safety and environmental records for sure expended more on ensuring this result but that their productivity in production far exceeded

22

that of their less safe counterparts and were thus even more profitable. Trust in commerce is built when society sees value for the common man or social good. Companies create economic value when they see this as their goal. They do this through the very nature of the products they supply to the market, in the way they define productivity throughout the chain of value addition and in supporting the institutions which build society in a way which is consistent with their business activity. I have tried to give voice to these aspirations by instilling five core values:

1. Wedowhatwesay—thisisfundamentaltobuildingandkeepingtrust

2. Weactdecisivelytocreatevalue

3. Weholdourselvesaccountableforwhatwehavedoneandinthewaywehaveacted

4. Wedaretobedifferentandinnovate

5. Weactwithcareandinpartnership

By living these values my former company, Xtrata, built value for our shareholders and for the communities who hosted our activities and created significant social value. Of course, we were not perfect and I have made many errors in my journey but our contribution to the good of society was fundamentally built on the trust that our stakeholders and our communities had in the purity of our goals and the strength of our commitment to add to, and not detract from, human social good.

23

Interview with the Directors

Jane Clements and El izabeth Harris-Sawczenko were appointed in summer 2014 as director and deputy director of CCJ. CCJ intern Aron Carr sat down with them to talk about the ambitious strategic vis ion for the next few years.

Dr Jane Clements has a long history of speaking and writing on interfaith relations, specifically those between Jews

and Christians. Some CCJ members will remember her earlier role with the organisation, which she came to from a career in Religious Education. Since then, Jane has focused on enabling positive dialogue on Israel/Palestine between Jews, Christians and Muslims in the UK and developing methods of facilitating this. Jane has been involved with the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust from its inception and takes a keen interest in promoting respect and cohesion in society through trusteeship in several charities.

Elizabeth Harris-Sawczenko has broad experience of working across faiths in education and social change. As a former

Director at the Melitz Institute, Elizabeth was involved in a ground-breaking ‘People to People’ programme between Palestinian and Israeli educators who worked on a joint informal education curriculum together. She also worked at the New Israel Fund, an organisation that makes hundreds of grants to social justice initiatives in Israel. Elizabeth more recently served as Public Affairs Director at the Board of Deputies of British Jews. She is a trustee of the Abraham Fund, which promotes the rights of Arab citizens of Israel and serves on the Advisory Board of New Israel Fund-UK.

Q. CCJ ’S NEW STRATEGIC VIS ION HAS THREE CORE STRANDS: DIALOGUE, EDUCATION, AND SOCIAL ACTION. HOW DO EACH OF THESE AIMS RELATE TO CCJ ’S

GRAND VISION?

J: CCJ is centred on dialogue; that was the initial aim of the organisation when it was set up. Very quickly it became clear

that education was needed, particularly about Judaism for Christians in those days, because there was a great deal of ignorance,

and that situation is not all that different in some quarters today. It is important that we meet, that we have face to face encounters, that we learn about each other, that we see each other as human beings, and that we have conversations together.

It’s also important that we are educated about each other, but also that the wider public is educated about issues that are important to us and about the visions and goals that we share. In terms of social action, there is no point in just meeting together if nothing is achieved as a result. We have biblical imperatives in common relating to social justice, speaking truth to power, and caring for the less privileged/vulnerable in our society. From a Jewish perspective, this is fulfilling Tikkun Olam, and from a Christian perspective, working for the establishment of the kingdom of heaven on earth.

E: Education follows on from dialogue. You can’t really have any depth to your dialogue without understanding

and being educated on the issues first – in fact, it can be an impediment to dialogue on a broad range of issues, but particularly for issues relating to Israel/Palestine. Social action is a new strand of our strategy, and a key strand. We’ve already had a number of successes – our first endeavour was national food collections with the Jewish organisation called Mitzvah Day. We’re now broadening our horizons to work with Christian on issues such as human trafficking.

Q. WE’VE TALKED A L ITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME SOCIAL ACTION PROJECTS THERE, SO WHAT KIND OF PROJECTS CAN WE EXPECT TO SEE FROM THE EDUCATION AND DIALOGUE STRANDS OF THE STRATEGY?

J: Unfortunately, one of the main areas in education remains antisemitism.

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It is important for people to understand the many ways in which this manifests itself, and to have some historical understanding of the roots of the issue. For Christians this can be particularly difficult, as we need to face up to our ‘anti-Judaic’ past. In terms of current events, we see all too clearly that it is important for Christians and Jews to recognise antisemitism and to stand together in fighting it.

E: We are really excited about the new campaign being launched as a response to the rise in antisemitism

- “Still an Issue.” We also see this as part of our social action campaign, speaking out wherever there is discrimination against minority groups.

J : Another area of education is our Holocaust memorial work, as there are many questions that the Holocaust

raises for both Jews and Christians.

We are continuing our very successful seminars at Yad Vashem, and we hope to expand these in the next year or two. The Israel/Palestine issue is also central to our education work. Conflict in this country often arises when we fail to understand where the other is coming from, and when we fail to recognise what pushes people’s buttons and why. Christians have things to say to Jews about concern for Palestinian Christians, but we also need to understand the vital role that Israel plays in Jewish identity.

E: One way to expand education on this issue is to show our members and stakeholders as many voices

as possible from the region, in order to hear different perspectives, providing a greater understanding of a very complex situation. One doesn’t need to be ‘pro-Palestinian’ or ‘pro-Israeli ,’ but one can support both people in their search for peace and security. We need to understand the narratives of both sides.

Parliamentarians’ Yad Vashem Seminar, sponsored by Mr Naim Dangoor CBE

Q. WHICH UPCOMING PROJECTS ARE YOU

PARTICULARLY EXCITED ABOUT?

E: There are two areas I’m really excited about – and they’re very different. Firstly, I’m extremely pleased that we

are galvanising stakeholders to run a bespoke campaign against antisemitism. On the other hand, I am equally excited about developing the social action strand, and campaigning on real issues that are important to both communities and British society as a whole.

J: The question of Israel-Palestine is particularly important to address because, in my view, it is the one thing which really divides us in the UK. This

is true of Christians and Jews but also of Muslims too. We have a lot to say to each other which is challenging to hear – but we have to be willing to listen as well. CCJ by its very nature brings together people from different perspectives and who will retain differing views, although we can learn something from as well as about each other. My vision for CCJ is as a real forum for dialogue on the difficult issues as well as the easier ones. We will also continue to help facilitate conversations on this divisive issue at both national and local level.

E: I am really excited about the opportunity to bring the rich fabric of Israeli society to life and to CCJ, and

to show all the different facets of Israeli life through events and speakers such as a recent briefing by Noami Chazan.

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J: Our ‘Snapshot’ project is also ground-breaking. We are inviting any CCJ members who remember December 1945

to share their memories, to be part of a collection looking at the growth of dialogue. We would still love to hear from anyone able to contribute to this.

Q. WHICH EVENT OR PROJECT (COMPLETE OR ONGOING) ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF

SO FAR?

J: I was delighted that, thanks to the Downing Street commission on the Holocaust, we were able to take a group

of Parliamentarians both from Westminster and the Welsh Assembly and the Scottish Parliament for a seminar at Yad Vashem. This pilot project was hugely successful and has resulted in the dissemination of information in a number of departments and chambers since then.

E: What really excites me is that we’re broadening our connections with different denominations – for the first

time we’re really reaching out particularly to the Orthodox Jewish community, and are

extremely excited to be running programmes in collaboration with Orthodox Jewish institutions for the first time.

Q. WHAT DO YOU HOPE FOR CCJ TO

ACHIEVE OVER THE NEXT F IVE YEARS?

E: My vision is for it to be a truly inclusive forum that has relevance for today’s society, and is a place where people can show respect and understanding even if

they have different opinions, and where there is a vibrant atmosphere that attracts stakeholders (both parliamentarians and religious leaders) who consider CCJ to be the first port of call on issues to do with Judaism and Christianity.

J: CCJ has a great history and a very special place in the national consciousness. I want to see it working

hard to grow further: providing useful resources and services at national level, encouraging future generations and supporting the front line of amazing volunteers who run local branches.

Hearing the Story: Yad Vashem SeminarEach year CCJ takes a group of about 20 Christian clergy and other leaders to Jerusalem to participate in a 10-day seminar at Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Centre.

The groups visit the museums and memorials and benefit from a programme of high-quality lectures from Yad Vashem staff and senior academics from Israeli universities and elsewhere, as well as visiting places of interest including the Old City of Jerusalem, Galilee and Bethlehem. Many return eager to share their learning with their congregations and communities. Here is the reflection of one participant from the last visit.

A cornucopia of images, sounds, tastes, smells and feelings wash over me each time I pause to reflect upon my participation in

the November 2014 Holocaust Seminar for British Clergy at Yad Vashem. My first ever visit to Israel and Palestine could not have been with a better team of gifted, diverse and skilled leaders who quickly became good friends. The stunning ‘Toblerone-like’ image as we first approached Yad Vashem on that clear, sunny early November day will remain with me forever.

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The captivating lectures, discussions, presentations and experiences through the Holocaust Museum, along with visits to the Old City of Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth were full and nourishing . The many conversations and reflections with fellow participants, welcoming Shabbat at the Synagogue and sharing in Shabbat dinner with host families combined to create a deeper understanding and theological reflection of the Shoah and a newfound understanding and appreciation of local culture. Through this wealth of sensory experience, the single most powerful time for me was undoubtedly the afternoon we spent with survivor Shalom Eliati .

Prior to this time together with Shalom, I had never met a person who had survived the Shoah. Shalom is a gifted storyteller and he shared his story of l ife in Lithuania growing up through the country’s occupation. His story of l ife in the Kovno ghetto and living through the German and Russian occupations was especially poignant, together with the stories of his eventual re-uniting with his father and eventual journey to Israel. Throughout the afternoon, it became increasingly apparent to me that sharing his story was painful and difficult yet gently freeing for Shalom. I obtained a

copy of Shalom’s book, Crossing the River , and started to read it on the flight from Tel Aviv back to Heathrow. The privilege of meeting Shalom, experiencing his story and subsequently reading his book has been the single most important component of this valuable experience.

The Methodist church community that I minister to in Liverpool City Centre focuses its expressions of worship entirely around baking bread and sharing stories together along with a shared meal including bread that is baked on the day. Worship takes place on Tuesdays and Thursdays, not Sundays, and the community embraces ‘outrageous hospitality,’ welcome and inclusivity without qualification. Some of the most marginalised and some of the most vulnerable, excluded or marginalized members of the community find a home of sharing , l istening and acceptance. As a vital tool of my overall ministry, this storytelling component was especially important to me during my time at Yad Vashem, and I am richer for having met Shalom and experiencing his story.

-Revd Ian J.K. Hu, Methodist Superintendent Minister,

Liverpool

CCJ is grateful to the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany for financial support for the Yad Vashem seminars. For information about the 2015 seminar contact Dr. Stephen Innes at the CCJ office.For more on Yad Vashem see www.yadvashem.org

* For details of this year’s seminar, see page 40

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Time to JourneyThe fol lowing are some personal ref lections from Michael Cutting , Trustee, on his Pi lgrimage to the Holy Land

Twenty-five years of procrastination came to an end when our BA Flight touched down in Ben Gurion Airport at the end of November 2014 for this was the start of our Diocesan pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Led by His Eminence Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, we were about to embark on what transpired to be an experience of a lifetime.

Cardinal Vincent Nichols with Michael andTeresita Cutting

Driving through the desert on our way to Galilee and Tiberius, my wife and I were immediately aware that we were in another country, another world with Jewish men wearing kippahs, Muslim motorists stopping at the roadside facing eastwards and observing their prayer time while we, the Westminster Pilgrims, were praying for the success of our pilgrimage and that we would be touched by the presence of God as we were about to walk in Jesus’ footsteps. The peace and serenity of the Sea of Galilee was going to be our benchmark as we gradually made our way, over the next eight days, to a number of significant places visited by Jesus during his ministry on earth. From the Baptismal Waters of the Jordan to the marriage feast at Cana, surprise and awe awaited us: surprise at how muddy the Waters of the Jordan were and awe at the size of the pots (each capable of holding up to 20 gallons) where

water was turned into wine. Renewal of our baptismal vows and our wedding vows was a reminder that they were not merely past events in our lives but the living out of our vows and becoming what we are, that is, leaving the old ways behind in pursuit of our Christian dignity which comes from the newness of life in Christ.

One Mass was celebrated in the Church of the Annunciation, which was a particularly touching experience, as was seeing the area around Capernaum, where Jesus performed the healing on the sick man who was brought on a stretcher by his friends to the house of Peter’s mother-in-law. We were shown the remains of the house and such was the configuration it was impossible to bring the man through the front door. Instead, his friends being very determined to get closer to Jesus removed the roof and lowered the sick man into the house so he could be touched and cured by Jesus. A visit to the Church of the Beatitudes was another significant moment as it was here that Jesus proclaimed the Beatitudes emphasising love and humility which formed the opening verses of the Sermon on the Mount.

Driving through the desert on superb roadways with occasional traffic lights we were aware that a war zone was only a few miles away; nonetheless Bedouins and shepherd boys continued their way of life with the only acknowledgement to modern life being satellite dishes in almost every camp! Celebrating Mass in the desert (with the occasional child trader almost acting as altar

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server!) was a surreal experience. At various Masses, Father John Farrell OP led the pilgrims in some reflective prayers and desert setting was exceptional. Father John impressed on us that we are like sheep being utterly dependent on shepherds for water and protection; we too depend on Christ Jesus, our Good Shepherd, who alone is the source and the only way to find living water.

As we made our way from the barren desert lands to Jerusalem, we prepared ourselves to enter into the story of the Passion of Our Lord. We made our way to the Mount of Olives where we visited the Church of Pater Noster. We were told that this is where Jesus taught his disciples to pray The Our Father. From the Kidron Valley we were afforded a breathtaking view of the Holy City where Jewish and Muslim faiths co-exist. It is here that both faiths say the Final Judgement will take place.

We visited the chapel of Dominus Flevit (The Lord wept) then to the Garden of Gethsemane and to the very impressive Basilica of the Agony, also referred to as the Church of All Nations. What was particularly striking about this church was the sombre violet-coloured glass used throughout the building to evoke a mood of sadness while the ceiling is painted deep blue to simulate a starry night sky looking up towards heaven. This prepared us for our walk along the Via Dolorosa—The Way of the Cross. Not so much a walk and a test of our piety but a challenge to cope with the narrow winding streets, uphill and down, with traffic, pedestrians and merchants all vying for space and our custom. Having arrived at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre we were offered some quiet, personal time for prayer and reflection on the

profoundness of our experiences thus far, for it was here we venerated the site of the Crucifixion, the Anointing Stone and the Tomb of Jesus. Later that day the Cardinal led the youth group (who had a parallel but separate tour from ours) on a visit to Yad Vashem, the National Holocaust Museum. This visit had a profound effect on them and one young pilgrim reflected, “being a Catholic you have to feel great sadness and great humility, having seen what they went through ... it will scar the memory for ever”. We were offered the opportunity to pray at the Western Wall which was done in a rain deluge that descended on Jerusalem that evening. This particular time (Friday evening) was chosen for us as it was considered the safest as the authorities advised there may be trouble following the attack on a Synagogue with the death of four Rabbis and the subsequent shooting dead of the two Palestinian attackers earlier in the week.

Although the number of people praying at the wall was small, we nonetheless felt the intensity and deep, raw emotion of the Jewish worshipers. Whilst my wife and I were in the customary separate queues we were both surprised, overawed and, in a way, privileged to be allowed so close to such a holy place as we thought this was reserved only for Jewish worshippers. As we stepped back and surveyed the whole scene, we could not help but be impressed by the juxtaposition of this most holy of Jewish places with the Al-Aqsa Mosque just a few feet away, not to mention Christian Churches and other holy places within short walking distance. It was difficult to absorb the profoundness of this whole experience and is one that we are still contemplating. The Basilica of the Nativity was ironically the last of our significant churches to visit, where we venerated the site where Jesus was born and where ‘it all began’.

Western Wall

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Church of the Beatitudes

Although currently going through some major roof repairs, we could nonetheless appreciate its splendour, magnificence and significance to us as Christians. The entrance to the Basilica had been reduced over time to deter people coming in on horseback. On his visit to the Basilica during the Year of Faith, Pope Benedict XVI said “we must come off our high horse in order to worship the Saviour in humble adoration”. Before leaving we visited the very simple chapel where St. Jerome translated the Hebrew Scriptures into the Latin Vulgate, a task that took him some 35 years to complete. Finally, whilst our Pilgrimage was not only a

spiritual journey and a renewal of our Faith, we were asked to remember in a practical way our fellow Christians in the Holy Land who now make up approximately 1% of the population. Cardinal Vincent Nichols celebrated Mass with the Catholic community in the Gaza Strip, and the visit had a profound and moving effect on him. As Archbishop of Birmingham, His Eminence set up the “Friends of the Holy Land” charity and we saw the practical work and support this charity is providing to the community. Our meeting with our fellow Christian brothers and sisters in the Holy Land has given them renewed hope to carry on living despite the very limited prospects and opportunities; they know they are not forgotten. Having had our minds and eyes opened to our Christian faith, my wife and I left the Holy Land determined to return and to more fully absorb all that we had learned and experienced.

Over 2,000 years of Christianity condensed into eight days will not require another 25 years of procrastination on our part! A truly wonderful, memorable, lasting and moving experience.

Reflections from CCJ’s Intern

Our intern, Aron Carr, ref lects on his experience thus far working in the CCJ Central Off ice.

I’ve been interning at the CCJ since October. I’m currently on a gap year and will be attending university in October to study history. Although my knowledge and experiences of interfaith work are still limited, I’m using my Jewish background and enthusiasm for interfaith work to try and contribute to the CCJ however I can. So far at CCJ I’ve been researching, writing, producing promotional materials, maintaining a weekly newsletter, helping to organise events, and co-ordinating a nation-wide food collection. No two tasks are ever quite the same. I couldn’t have found a more exciting and varied job, and I’ve been extremely fortunate to have joined such a great group of people at CCJ.

After being at Jewish schools throughout my childhood I’ve really enjoyed working alongside Christians, learning more about Christianity and (hopefully) teaching my co-workers a little about Judaism here and there – though they’re all very knowledgeable already. It really is true that you learn more about yourself by listening to the views of others, and partaking in interfaith dialogue has helped me hone a voice for my own opinions, learning how to express what I believe and listening to others

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do the same. I’ve learnt a lot about the working environment too; everything from using the scanners to prioritising different tasks and projects. Generally I prefer being a team-player to working alone, and so it’s been fantastic to have felt that my work is contributing to the CCJ team. However, I’m always striving to learn how to carry out tasks better by myself so I don’t have to constantly interrupt my bosses and co-workers with questions. Fortunately for me, everyone in the CCJ office is absolutely lovely to work for, and they’ve supported me every step of the way.

One of the tasks I enjoyed most was conducting research for a Parliamentary Enquiry into antisemitism in the UK. After designing a questionnaire for members and collating responses, I spent a long time reading through people’s replies before compiling my own report. I felt that it was my job to speak on behalf of CCJ members at this point, and I felt proud upon submitting my findings to my colleagues in the office that I had managed to represent all the views I’d encountered, however varied. I also was forced to more seriously reflect on my own views on UK antisemitism; again I found my own thoughts by reading the thoughts of others, noting which ideas sat right with me and which did not. As much of my work is

involved with public affairs, I’ve met some very interesting (and important!) people during my time working at CCJ.

At various events I have come into contact with presidents, trustees, and partners, and high profile leaders including the Speaker of the House of Commons Mr John Bercow. Being a representative of the CCJ staff to these people is a daunting and exciting role. Engaging with CCJ members en masse for the first time at the AGM was when I first really felt like part of the team – I was no longer just working for my bosses in the office, but accountable to an organisation with thousands of members all around the country.

Almost five months on from starting at CCJ I’ve learned a tremendous amount – not just about interfaith work, but about the communities I’ve always been a part of and how these communities interact with their neighbours in the wider society. At its core, the work CCJ does is about bringing people of all walks of life together to support each other and learn from each other. Starting out I was hoping mostly to gain experience of the working world, but I’m fortunate and grateful to have gained much real world experience beyond what I could have hoped for.

Branch Spotlight

The Council of Christians and Jews

The important work of dialogue and education is carried out by the many varied activit ies of CCJ branches throughout the country. Here we include just 3 examples of the different types of activit ies branches offer. Neil Drapkin from CCJ Hil l ingdon writes of a recent event to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day:

On Thursday afternoon 22nd January members and visitors to CCJ Hillingdon were honoured to welcome Nelly Ben-Or Clynes as the speaker at the annual Holocaust Memorial meeting. Nelly is a much loved member of Northwood and Pinner Liberal Synagogue, known primarily as a concert pianist and a teacher of Alexander Technique to immensely talented pianists from across Europe and even further. Recitals by her students given in her home are highlights of the year for those of us privileged to attend them. What many members do not know is that Nelly is a survivor of the Shoah as a Polish child. Difficult as it is for her to do so, Nelly has regularly told her remarkable

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story to a packed hall at the annual Northwood Holocaust Memorial Day Event (NHMDE). This event is attended every year by more than 2000 local schoolchildren over a four or five day period. The CCJ meeting was a rare opportunity for adults to hear Nelly speak, and those who came were enthralled. I have been fortunate enough to hear Nelly speak at NHMDE on several occasions, and each time I am astonished at the fortitude, determination and extraordinary narrow escapes of her mother and herself: The baby that didn’t cry, the terrifying kindness of the SS officer on the train, the ejection from the train on the way to the death camp are incidents to chill the blood; not to forget having to move to Warsaw, pretending to be good Polish Catholics who did not understand a word of German and living at close quarters with a Polish family of whom at least one member turned out to be antisemitic . The tension when you just hear about them is disturbing; what it must have been like to live through them is too difficult to imagine, and speaking about them requires courage and strength beyond most people’s capability. Thank you Nelly for telling your fascinating and informative story to CCJ. It was a special afternoon and one that all those present will never forget.

CCJ Manchester vis its Anglesey

Anglesey is one of those rural parts of the country where there is no local Jewish community, so when David Arnold and Sister Teresa Brittain of CCJ Manchester recently visited the Catholic community in Holyhead they were made especially welcome. David introduced the joys of the Jewish way of life, which included a taste of challah. Other aspects included recent trends in Christian-Jewish relations and the millennial significance of Nostra Aetate, and there was a brief discussion about how Religious Education is taught in schools. David and Sister Teresa look forward to returning to Anglesey. Thanks to Pauline Thomas for making all the arrangements.

Reverend Jarel Robinson-Brown speaks

at CCJ Cardiff

The Catholic Chaplaincy of Cardiff University was the venue for the Reverend Jarel Robinson-Brown, minister at the Methodist Church in Cardiff and Caerphill at a recent CCJ Cardiff meeting. Revd Robinson-Brown spoke about his participation in the CCJ seminar at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem last year. About 40 people Jews, Christians and Muslims gathered to hear the minister’s experiences. Reverend Robinson-Brown said that, “much open and meaningful conversation followed afterwards” and described the evening as “a really great experience!”

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CCJ national AGM: Branches meeting

Manchester branch’s Near Neighbours project

Meet and Greet

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Docklands lunch brief ing Staines branch

Breakfast Brief ing : Trust or Rust ?

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Bookshelf The Death’s Head Chess Club John DonoghueAtlantic Books 2015 Hardbound p387 £12.99 ISBN 978-1-78239-645-1

John Donoghue’s debut novel ‘The Death’s Head Chess Club’ flits between life in Auschwitz in the 1940s and post-war life in the 1960s for a Jew, Emil Clement, and SS official, Paul Meissner, who meet in the camp when a chess club is set up for

the officers to keep moral high. The Nazi guards come to learn that Emil, called ‘watchmaker’ is a prodigious chess player who is reportedly ‘unbeatable,’ and so he is summoned to play the Nazi guards. Many years after the war, Emil and Meissner meet again – the former Nazi now a born again priest – at a chess tournament in the Netherlands. The central question of the book asks what limits there are to the power of forgiveness, providing an emotive (albeit somewhat sympathetic) portrayal of Meissner’s attempts to help Emil come to terms with the past. It must be noted that here are some historical liberties taken in the novel that some readers may find hard to overlook: it might be hard to believe, for example, that Auschwitz prisoners were able to organise secret chess games with one another. However, Donoghue makes no attempts to hide from the horrors of the camps, detailing many disturbing incidents that prisoners would have indeed likely experienced, and exploring the tragedy of families being torn apart through Emil’s backstory.

At its core, the novel attempts to question whether or not forgiveness can – or should – always be granted, and whilst the portrayal of Meissner in his later years is rather generous considering his former life as an SS official, there is much to gain from the emotional and entirely bizarre relationship between the

book’s protagonists. The pacing of the story is excellent, even considering how the story jumps back and forth between two time periods, and readers are given information from the past that informs the story between present day Emil and Meissner just as it is needed. The fact that the story from 1944 is the one narrated in the present tense perhaps suggests that the past is not as inescapable as some might argue, and reminds the reader that the theme of forgiveness is not one to be taken lightly.

-Aron Carr

Israel Mattuck: The Inspirational Voice of L iberal JudaismRabbi Danny RichLiberal Judaism Paperback £4.99 ISBN 978-0-900521-00-3

Israel Mattuck is one of the key figures who helped shape Liberal Judaism in Britain. Born in Lithuania and emigrating to the USA with his family as a young man, he moved to London in 1912 to become Rabbi at the first Liberal Jewish Synagogue, where he

became a leading preacher and a spokesperson on the issues of the day. Rabbi Danny Rich, Chief Exectuive of Liberal Judaism, has produced this short introduction to Mattuck’s life and thought. For anyone who wants to know more about a formative influence on Progressive thinking, this concise booklet is a good place to start. It contains several extracts from Mattuck’s 2,000 sermons and lectures, which clearly illustrate his universalism and his belief that Judaism has a calling to influence the wider world. We see here Mattuck’s championing of ethics over the ceremonial, and the sermons clearly convey his passion for Judaism to engage with society and not be limited to personal religious observance.In one respect, the book shows how in some ways Mattuck was a traditionalist, regarding

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belief in and commitment to the service of God as the essence of Judaism. Yet elsewhere we can see the influence of the radicalism of classical American Reform in his elevation of prophetic ethics above ceremony: “ugly” rituals were not to be kept for the sake of sentimentality. For Mattuck, Jews were a religious community, not a nationality, and for this reason he rejects political Zionism (a position which is shared by few Liberal Jews today). An ardent universalist, he insists that Judaism carries an enlightened “message for the world today”. The modern movement’s emphasis on social action is part of his legacy. Many of his sermons are unabashedly political, particularly when he felt religious values were at stake. This is particularly evident in sermons where he expresses sympathy for striking miners and is deeply critical of slum landlords. Moreover, from the perspective of Christian-Jewish relations Mattuck should also be celebrated as a leading advocate for dialogue between the faiths, founding the London Society of Jews and Christians in 1927.

-Fiona Hulbert

Multidiscipl inary, Ecumenical , and Interfaith Responses to the Catholic Natural Law Tradit ionJohn Berkman and Wil l iam C . Mattison I I I , editorsEerdmans 2014 Paperback p 338 £23.99 ISBN 978-0-8028-6844-2

In 2009, the Catholic Church’s International Theological Law Commission drafted a document entitled In Search of a Universal Ethic: A New Look at Natural Law. The document was designed to offer an accessible approach to

thinking both about universal ethics (the conviction that there is some sort of standard against which human actions can be evaluated and that it is accessible and applicable to all)

and natural law (the moral theory which posits that standards governing moral behaviour are, in some sense, objectively derived from human nature and the nature of the world).

This volume presents twenty-four essays by leading scholars who offer both commentary and critical evaluation of the document in order to gain a deeper understanding of the core issues. Along with these essays, the volume offers the official Vatican English translation of In Search of a Universal Ethic. For those who are interested in natural law ethics or are interested in the field of ethics more generally, this volume will offer significant insights as well as ask important questions.The first few essays seek to provide some commentary on the overall context of the document. Anthony Kelly’s essay is particularly good for explaining the process for generating it as well as the main questions that were on the authors’ minds as they drafted it. Russell Hittinger’s essay is also important for contextualizing the goals of the document within the past century or so of official Catholic teaching on natural law.

One of the unique contributions of this volume is the attempt to engage varying traditions outside of Catholicism on the question of a universal ethic , including other faiths. And while Islamic scholar Anver M. Emon and Jewish scholar David Novak are broadly sympathetic with the overall project, they also provide essential critique of some of the document’s blind spots.

For example, Emon questions whether ethics, in a twenty-first century world that is sceptical of natural law theory that requires certain metaphysical assumptions (and neglects its own historicity), may require people of different faith and philosophical perspectives to consider how shared commitment to certain moral norms can be framed without (or even in spite of) a commitment to one conception of metaphysics or another. Perhaps even more problematic , as Novak observes, are the document’s assumptions about the centrality of specifically Christian theology in its conception of natural law. Noting how the document claims that it is in Jesus Christ that

36

a natural law ethic finds its “true fulfilment”, Novak questions whether such claims reveal a thinly-veiled supersessionism. He also cautions that the document risks conflating the quest for a universal ethic with that of the universality of the church, noting that such

“universality” is a desideratum not a factum. Overall this volume offers a good entry point

into some of the current thinking on important questions about the possibility of a universal ethic and the character of natural law. As such it is a valuable resource for students and practitioners alike.

-Dr Stephen Innes

In MemoriamSir Sydney Chapman, 17 October 1935 - 9 October 2014

Sir Sydney, a Trustee of CCJ since 2006, was born in Macclesfield and trained as an architect. He was first elected to Parliament in 1970 and represented the constituencies of Handsworth and Chipping Barnet for the Conservative party. During his political career, he was first a whip, then Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, being promoted by John Major after the 1992 election to Vice-Chamberlain of the Royal Household. He received his knighthood in July 1995. He remained interested in architecture, taking a leading role in the planning for Portcullis House, which stands next to the Houses of Parliament. He was also president of the Arboricultural Association and the London Green Belt Council. These interests were reflected in the environmental slogan he popularised for a 1973 campaign: ‘Plant a tree in ‘73’. Sir Sydney was an enthusiastic supporter of CCJ and made an excellent contribution to the Board. He was described by the Chair of his constituency party as “a true gentleman and one of the rare politicians who was respected by all who knew him, whatever their political views” and by another colleague as “one of the kindest and nicest people I have ever known.” He brought gentleness and wisdom to the work of CCJ, desiring to promote reconciliation between Christians and Jews.

Sister Marie DuddyDied 30 September 2014

We were saddened to hear of the death of Sr Marie Duddy, a former chair of CCJ Belfast, who was killed in a car accident on Tuesday 30th September 2014 along with a fellow nun from the Sister of Mercy order, Sister Frances Forde. Our sincere condolences are with their friends, family, members of the Sister of Mercy order and members of the CCJ’s Belfast Branch who will be mourning at this time. Sr Marie’s commitment to reconciliation was outstanding and she will leave a great hole in the hearts and minds of all who knew her.

Frederic “Freddie” Kramer12 May 1920 – 15 November 2014

Freddie Kramer was born in Mainz, Germany in 1920. He escaped from Nazi Germany in the 1930s via Czechoslovakia, eventually making his way to England where he met up with his childhood friend, Lotte, who had come to England on the Kindertransport. They later married and moved to Peterborough in the 1960s, as a result of Freddie’s work as an engineer. Freddie was a long-time member and supporter of CCJ, especially active in the Cambridge branch, as

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well as joining the local branch of Amnesty International. In later life he volunteered at the world famous Bronze Age archaeological site Flag Fen at Peterborough. All those who met Freddie will remember with great affection his warm and friendly nature, and we extend our sympathy to Lotte and the family.

Judith Kramer (z’l) 1939-2014 (5699 - 5774)

Judith Kramer was Chair of the CCJ Hillingdon Branch and Honorary Secretary of CCJ and a member of Northwood & Pinner Liberal Synagogue. Having read for the bar, Judith worked as an employment lawyer in industry. She studied anthropology, psychology and sociology and was an experienced group facilitator, teamwork trainer and therapist both in Europe and India, often working as a volunteer. These experiences enabled her to become skilled in conflict resolution, especially at local level. Judith became Chair of CCJ Hillingdon in 2009 and was involved in many other humanitarian and inter-faith activities. Although she served only a short time on the Board of Trustees, Judith had shown huge commitment and the same dedication to her national role as she had to her local branch. On becoming an Honorary Secretary of CCJ, Judith began a campaign of telephoning round chairs of local branches to explore needs and concerns of local members, and to find ways to improve communication within CCJ.

Deeply involved in local interfaith activities, Judith felt it particularly keenly when relations between Jews and Methodists suffered in the wake of the Methodist Conference in 2010. Approached by both her rabbi and the local Methodist minister, Judith agreed to act as facilitator to the dialogue. This led to engagement on particularly difficult issues such as Israel/Palestine. Family was very important to Judith; she was a mother of three and a grandmother of five.

Judith leaves a legacy at CCJ of a renewed impetus for improved communication between the central office and local members, and a donation made in her memory by her family will help to subsidise the branch members’ residential conference at Leicester in September, for which we wish to express our gratitude.

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Why the name New Testament?

In this illuminating and insightful piece, Bernard S. Jackson, Professor of Law and Jewish Studies at Liverpool Hope University, tells us of the origins of the word “testament” as applied to the Christian Bible. *A full, documented version of this argument may be downloaded from http://www.melilahjournal.org/p/2012.html (scroll down to no.3).

Some argue that the title of the Christian scriptures should have been “The New Covenant” rather than “The New Testament”. This has a certain logic. The phrase “new covenant” (berit hadashah) is found in the famous eschatological prophecy of Jeremiah (31:31) — and only there in the Hebrew Bible — and became central to Christianity.

And the Hebrew Bible has no term at all corresponding to “Testament” (in the sense of a will). Why then did the Church Fathers from Tertullian in the 2nd century adopt novum testamentum? It was the outcome of a double translation process. The Hebrew term berit is standardly rendered by diatheke in the Septuagint, the 3rd century BCE (Jewish) translation into Greek, but that same term diatheke was also used in everyday Greek to mean a will. Can it be that Tertullian simply confused these two meanings of diatheke, adopting will (testamentum) rather than covenant — which Jerome, seemingly more accurately, rendered by foedus (treaty) or pactum (agreement) when translating directly from the Hebrew? In fact, Tertullian knew exactly what he was doing.

To understand this we need to delve into the historical relations between theology and law. The Hebrew Bible is dominated by the concept of covenant, representing the relationship between God and the Jewish people (albeit first encountered in the covenant with Noah). It occurs in numerous forms, but always reflects a “deep structure” of the exchange of loyalty for protection. That it is bilateral, requiring the assent of the human partner, is most explicitly found in Exod. 24:3, 7, where the people are offered the Sinaitic covenant, and respond: “we

will do and we will obey”. The will, however, is unknown in the Hebrew Bible. There are rules of intestate succession (Num. 27:8-11), but apart from that success is not unilateral, on death, but rather by lifetime gift (Abraham: Gen. 25:5-6; Job: Job 42:14). Yet we already encounter a theme which assumes increasing importance in the later history. Succession is not only about property; it is also about community leadership, including spiritual leadership.

These two aspects of succession perhaps explain the two different narratives of Jacob’s supplanting Esau: in Gen. 25 he induces Esau to sell his “birthright” (bekhorah), referring to the firstborn’s double portion (Deut. 21:15-17); in Gen. 27, where Jacob impersonates Esau to the blind but far from dying Isaac (he lives for at least twenty years longer), the issue is the “blessing” (berakhah) of leadership of the clan. And when ultimately Jacob himself is on his deathbed, he confers blessings (Gen. 49:28) on each of his sons, depriving Reuben of clan leadership and conferring it on Judah. This latter chapter of Genesis clearly inspired a whole genre of postbiblical literature, most famously the “Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs” (preserved in Greek, using the term diatheke, though fragments of Aramaic antecedents have been found at Qumran), in which each of Jacob’s sons orally sermonises his descendants on his deathbed, the sermons then being committed to writing.

Christian theologians have sought to explain the use of diatheke in the Septuagint to render the Hebrew berit in terms of a deliberate analogy with the legal usage: the covenant, it is argued, is here modelled on a form of will. But what form of will, and with what theological meaning? In 1912, the Lutheran Johannes Behm argued that the covenant was an act of unilateral grace and that diatheke was the technical term for last will and testament “in Greek jurisprudence in every age”. Behm was immediately criticised by a German contemporary, Gerhard Vos, for importing here “… the covenant-idea in Reformed Theology… an eminently Augustinian and Calvinistic idea.”

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Legal historians, moreover, have found that diatheke was also used for lifetime dispositions in contemplation of death, often the result of a family consultation and sometimes including a formal acknowledgement by the children. A contemporary Dominican scholar, Adrian Schenker, has argued that this latter model was particularly appropriate for the Abrahamic covenant including the promise of the land, in that it involved a form of shared ownership between the

“testator” (during his lifetime) and the beneficiary. Moreover, this more closely approaches forms of lifetime gift found in the Hebrew Bible, as well as the laws concerning landholding (stressing the ultimate ownership retained by God). This legal analogy remains theologically appropriate to a bilateral covenantal relationship in which the grant remains subject to the good behaviour of its recipients (as the history of exile, and its interpretation by the prophets well attests).

Two New Testament passages explicitly discuss the relationship between covenant and will (inspiring Lactantius (240-320) to write that in both the Old and the New Testament, “there is the same testator, even Christ, who, having suffered death for us, made us heirs of His everlasting kingdom, the people of the Jews being deprived and disinherited”). In Galatians 3:15-17, Paul argues that the covenant with Abraham could

not have been annulled or even added to by the Mosaic law, since “no one annuls even a man’s will, or adds to it, once it has been ratified”.

By “ratified” he means brought into effect, and that is by death. That argument is made even clearer in Hebrews 9:15-17, describing Jesus as the mediator (of a new covenant using diatheke)

“so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred which redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant. For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established.” This nicely compares the theological significance of the cross with the legal institution of a last will and testament (rather than a disposition in contemplation of death). There is, however, one final twist to this story, which may provided Tertullian with a clinching argument for adopting testamentum.

It was only in the Roman form of will (with which Tertullian will have been familiar) that a later will automatically revoked an earlier will. Thus it is not only in the opposition between “Old” and “New” that we encounter an insinuation of supersessionism; the legal analogy of the testamentum confirms it!

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Snapshot of MemoriesDo you or someone you know remember December 1945?

This year we are collecting

memories of CCJ members who

are willing to share memories of

what life was like in Britain at that

time. It was a time of change and

hardship, with people coming together from many different backgrounds

and with many different experiences.

We would like to collect stories to build up a picture of life for some of

us then, and would be delighted if you were able to share some with us.

The stories can be trivial or moving; pictures would be an added bonus

(which we would use carefully and return). And what was it that led

you to become a member of CCJ and engage in dialogue with another?

Please contact: steve.innes@ccj.org.uk if you can help with this project

and for further information.

Led by Professor Philip Alexander FBA and Professor Bernard Jackson, tuition is informed by cutting-edge research.

Areas studied include:

• Jewish History (early period)

• Jewish Theology (including Messianism and Mysticism)

• Jewish Law (including conversion)

• Jewish-Christian Relations (including Dead Sea Scrolls).

Flexible arrangements as to pace of progression:

Teaching employs:

• Audio files of lecture sessions

• Classroom and library materials made available over the internet

• Group discussions through internet forums

• Individual interaction with tutors by e-mail and Skype.

MA JEWISH STUDIES BY DISTANCE LEARNING

For further information please contact:

Bernard Jackson E: jacksob@hope.ac.ukwww.hope.ac.uk/postgraduate/postgraduatecourses/jewishstudiesma

Professor Philip Alexander

Professor Bernard Jackson

Liverpool Hope University is launching a distance learning version of its MA Jewish Studies

LIVERPOOL HOPE UNIVERSITY

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Led by Professor Philip Alexander FBA and Professor Bernard Jackson, tuition is informed by cutting-edge research.

Areas studied include:

• Jewish History (early period)

• Jewish Theology (including Messianism and Mysticism)

• Jewish Law (including conversion)

• Jewish-Christian Relations (including Dead Sea Scrolls).

Flexible arrangements as to pace of progression:

Teaching employs:

• Audio files of lecture sessions

• Classroom and library materials made available over the internet

• Group discussions through internet forums

• Individual interaction with tutors by e-mail and Skype.

MA JEWISH STUDIES BY DISTANCE LEARNING

For further information please contact:

Bernard Jackson E: jacksob@hope.ac.ukwww.hope.ac.uk/postgraduate/postgraduatecourses/jewishstudiesma

Professor Philip Alexander

Professor Bernard Jackson

Liverpool Hope University is launching a distance learning version of its MA Jewish Studies

LIVERPOOL HOPE UNIVERSITY

1

Would you l ike to adver t ise in Common Ground? We reach over 3 ,000 members , c lergy and stakeholders throughout the UK.

Contact us for more information about our adver t is ing rates :

Office: 020 3515 3003 E-mail : steve. innes@ccj .org .uk