American Rabbis Address Jesuits on Jewish-catholic Relations

More than 200 seminarians and the entire faculty of a noted Jesuit institution attended a two-day institute on Jewish-Christian relations here. This is the first such Institute to be held at a major Jesuit seminary since the promulgation of the Ecumenical Council’s declaration on the Jews.

The institute was co-sponsored by the Woodstock College and the American Jewish Committee. The Baltimore chapter of the American Jewish Committee and the Baltimore Jewish Community Council cooperated in organizing the institute.

The Very Reverend F.F. Cardegna, S.J., Rector of Woodstock College extended greetings to the noted Jewish scholars, religious and communal leaders participating in the interfaith conference. Father J.A. Fitzmyer, S.J., Professor of New Testament and Biblical Languages chaired the opening session at which Rabbi Jacob B. Agus of Congregation Beth El, Baltimore, delivered a paper on “A Rabbinic View of the New Testament in the Context of the First Century.”

Rabbi Agus, who is a member of the Conservative branch of Judaism pointed out that “The Noachide laws plus the imitation of God in rabbinic literature and their counterpart in the New Testament provide us with the basic framework for the understanding of our relation to people of other faiths.

“First,” he said, “we must distinguish between the dogmatic and ritual structure of our faith on the one hand, and its essential principles. Second, we must recognize a similar, though not an identical set of principles under the outer garments of other faiths. Third, we must admit the fragmentary and temporal nature of any attempt to define and formulate the dynamic core of religious principles. Fourth, the endeavor to apply these principles to the concerns of our community and our time is the common task of all the great faiths. Fifth, whatever formulation and application we achieve at any moment must still be under constant review and judgment, for the vision of perfection looms ahead of us.

“We do not seek to convert others to our historic faith, nor do we assume that all religions are equally true, nor do we profess to be interested only in exploring the objective domain of knowledge. We do meet on the common ground of knowledge in order the better to know others and ourselves.” Rabbi Agus said.

Other speakers at the institute sessions included Rabbi Monford Harris of the College of Jewish Studies, Chicago, who spoke on “Judaism and Christianity in the Middle Ages: Myths and Realities;” Dr. Joseph Blau of Columbia University, who spoke on “The Modern Period: Emancipation and Post-Enlightenment;” Rabbi Abraham Shusterman, of Har Sinai Congregation, Baltimore, who spoke on “Contemporary Trends in Judaism;” Irving Blum, vice-president of the Associated Jewish Charities of Baltimore, who spoke on “Organization of the Jewish Community;” and Leon Sachs, director of the Baltimore Jewish Council, who spoke on “Judaism and Social Justice.”