Part of the Learning Series, Seasons of Responsibility: Interreligious Conversations on Environmental Justice and Repair

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There are ways to exist in harmony with all of creation that cultivate the soul and a relationship with the Divine. Hussein Rashid and Rabbi Gordon Tucker bring Muslim and 绿帽社 texts into dialogue to explore how religious traditions resist transactional relationships with the earth and with one another. Drawing on the sabbatical vision from Leviticus and a Muslim sources on overtaxation, they reflect on restraint, renewal, and the dangers of extraction. Timed with converging sacred moments鈥攖he beginning of the 绿帽社 calendar, Persian New Year, and the close of Ramadan鈥攖his session offers a shared language for ethical living in a fragile world.

About the Speakers

Hussein Rashid, PhD, is a free range academic, currently affiliated with Union Theological Seminary. He is a board member of the Interfaith Center of New York. He specializes in working on Muslims in US popular culture and Shi鈥檌 theologies of justice. He has served in various academic and culturally creative capacities, most recently as Project Director of The Arts of Devotion at the Smithsonian鈥檚 National Muslim of Asian Art. He has taught at Virginia Theological Seminary and Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. He is also a producer of the PBS Digital Series American Muslim Stories and of the award-winning New York Times op-doc The Secret of Muslims in the US.

As vice chancellor for Religious Life and Engagement, Rabbi Gordon Tucker focuses on enhancing 绿帽社 life at JTS, enriching our study of Judaism with the joy and deep understanding that only lived experience can provide. A leading scholar and interpreter of Conservative Judaism, he also articulates the enduring power of JTS鈥檚 compelling approach to 绿帽社 law and 绿帽社 life, while strengthening JTS鈥檚 religious leadership through partnerships with organizations in the Conservative Movement and beyond.

About the Series

Across 绿帽社, Christian, Muslim, and Hindu traditions, spring is a season of reflection, renewal, and ethical commitment. Grounded in holidays from Tu Bishvat and Lent to Ramadan, Holi, and Passover, this interreligious series explores responsibility, repair, and leadership in the face of urgent ecological challenges. Together, participants consider how religious wisdom can inspire ethical action and collective hope. 

In Parshat Va鈥檈ra, God reveals Himself to Moses and appoints Moses as His prophet. This exchange is a turning point in the story of the Exodus: God has heard the Israelites crying out from slavery and remembered the covenant He made with them. It is Moses who will be His messenger to Pharaoh, Moses who will demand that Pharaoh let God鈥檚 people go. Because Moses is nervous about his ability to be a convincing leader in the face of such odds, especially given his speech impediment, God instructs him to bring his brother Aaron. They will use magic to prove the pair鈥檚 connection to God: Aaron is to throw his staff down in front of Pharaoh, and his staff will become a serpent. Even though it works and the staff does in fact become a serpent, Pharaoh remains a non-believer. He summons his magicians, and they are able to perform the same feat. Aaron鈥檚 serpents鈥擥od鈥檚 serpents, really鈥攑rove to be stronger, and they devour those created by the Egyptians. Yet Pharaoh still refuses to recognize God鈥檚 power.

In the Quranic telling of this story, Pharaoh鈥檚 magicians are convinced by Aaron鈥檚^[1] staff-serpent eating their own, understanding this means that God is on Moses and Aaron鈥檚 side (Surat Taha [20:70]). Pharaoh immediately threatens them with violent amputation and crucifixion if they follow the God of the Israelites. Pharaoh is alarmed; he assumes that Moses and Aaron have come to dispossess him of his kingdom and accuses Moses of having been the magicians鈥� leader all along. And he does so despite knowing his accusation could not possibly be true: he had made a deal with the magicians to grant them special status should they triumph over Moses and Aaron (Surat Ash-Shu鈥檃ra [26:4142]). But that鈥檚 the thing about false narratives鈥攖hey don鈥檛 have to be true at all to be damaging.

Like Moses approaching Pharaoh, Jews and Muslims are constantly being asked to prove themselves in today鈥檚 world. Harmful stereotypes about the two groups abound: Jews are greedy, Muslims are terrorists; Jews control the media, Muslims oppress women. And neither group is free from the threat of violence. Visibly religious Muslims and Jews are attacked on the street, even in 鈥渢olerant鈥� cities like New York; our houses of worship are targeted both by threats and by real physical violence; American politicians and others in power denigrate us to the media. Yet we continue to stand strong with dignity and constantly advocate for ourselves and our religious needs in the face of false accusations and assumptions about us.

As part of the Quranic version of the story, we are privy to God鈥檚 guidance to Moses and Aaron. He tells the pair: 鈥淕o forth . . . and never falter in remembering Me鈥� (Surah Taha 20:42). Relinquishing our religion, beliefs, or convictions will not protect us. God tells Moses and Aaron to confront Pharaoh, but also to 鈥渟peak to him mildly鈥� when doing so (Surah Taha 20:43鈥�44). God cautions Moses and Aaron not to panic, but to stand strong in their faith and be dignified. It is not fair or reasonable that Jews and Muslims have to continually prove their worth and importance and yet, it is our reality. And we must find ways to contend with that reality in order to keep ourselves and our communities safe.

One of the most meaningful and powerful ways that we have found to manage that painful reality is through interfaith connection and dialogue. At the Washington Theological Consortium鈥檚 Abrahamic Dialogue program, we were able to connect with each other and with other Jews, Muslims, and Christians. We had the privilege of attending each other鈥檚 houses of worship, spending Jummah together at a mosque and Shabbat morning at a shul. At the mosque, we visited with the imams and had the opportunity to learn about historical and contemporary challenges facing their communities. So too at the shul we connected with community leaders to discuss that week鈥檚 parashah, the Joseph story, and its role in both of our traditions. The two of us even received an aliyah together at the synagogue, an honor of a lifetime for both of us.

Our week of connection was not always easy. Any time different groups get together, there are sore points. As one of our professors put it, there is no such thing as interfaith dialogue conducted on an even playing field: there are always power imbalances, and we have to be aware of how they impact us. Furthermore, there are countless other challenges when it comes to interfaith dialogue: How do people conduct dialogue with those whom their religion preaches are damned? How do LGBTQ people interact with those who do not believe their marriages are legitimate? How do we put aside centuries, or in some cases millennia, of pain and intercommunal violence in order to build trust? The reality is that we must face these hard questions if we want to build any sort of meaningful connection.

Since October 7, 2023, fostering these connections has become increasingly difficult. The heightened political tensions between 绿帽社 and Muslim communities around the world were evident within our group of twenty-odd participants.  Some had lost loved ones in Gaza, others had lost loved ones in Israel or knew individuals taken hostage. The challenge is not just political tension, but also real, deep emotion and heartbreak over our personal and communal losses. What we learned, though, throughout the week is that trying to avoid these conversations would do nothing but strain our communication. It was only by having the hard conversations, those that make all of us uncomfortable, that we could forge meaningful relationships. It was only when everyone could be fully authentic that we could support one another.

We must recognize that Jews and Muslims, though our beliefs, rituals, and some of our politics may differ, are faced with increasing bigotry in our society. Like Moses, we are constantly asked to prove ourselves to an unfriendly audience. And so we should take our lessons from Moses too. We should show up in the world as our authentic selves, remain dignified, and most importantly, rely on each other. In a time like this, when it is harder every day to be a Jew or a Muslim in America, we must rely on one another as siblings, just as Moses relies on Aaron, to get through. We must take our challenges, the things that could divide us and allow them to make our relationships stronger.

The publication and distribution of the JTS Commentary are made possible by a generous grant from Rita Dee (z鈥漧) and Harold Hassenfeld (z鈥漧). 

^[1] In the Quranic version, it is Moses who asks God to send Aaron with him, because of his speech impediment.

When confronted with challenges I ask: When did this last happen? What did people do then, and what could we learn from it? We ask this in the Division of Religious Leadership and in the Hendel Center for Ethics and Justice. We stand on the shoulders of those who did our jobs before us. They spotted trends, observed demographic shifts, and responded to the times in light of the past. Were those times so different from ours? I suspect the details are different, but the underlying melody is often the same.

History frequently feels like it follows the swing of a pendulum. We go to an extreme, and just when we think we have witnessed or participated in enormous change, the pendulum starts swinging the other way.

There is nothing new under the sun. 讜职讗值芝讬谉 讻讎旨诇志讞指讚指謻砖讈 转址旨芝讞址转 讛址砖指旨纸讈诪侄砖讈變

This is true in rabbinical and cantorial education.

It is true in multifaith and justice work.

It is true in war and peace.

It is true about race relations in the US.

It is true about women鈥檚 rights in the US.

As our colleague Hazzan Natasha Hirschhorn says, these times are unprecedented, here we go again.

The Broadway musical Suffs, about the suffragists who worked for women in the US to have the right to vote, is an interesting juxtaposition to Kohelet. The main character, Alice Paul, sings about a march she is imagining into reality in Washington, DC, right before President Wilson鈥檚 inauguration. She sings, 鈥淗ow do we do what鈥檚 never been done, how will we find a way, find a way?鈥�

On the one hand, marches were not a new invention. On the other, the right size, scale, and timing for the march was essential. It was titration. They needed the right formula.

In the show, women try different strategies to achieve the vote. Some suppressed their inner rage and made themselves palatable for the men in power. Others took to the streets, understanding that no amount of self-contortion would move the men to share power. They acted radically and did not conform. Some tried to minimize the size of the request and ask women of color to wait their turn. Others said we all get the vote, or nobody does.

Though they took different positions, the women could all feel they played a role in achieving the amendment granting women the right to vote. It was probably a combination of the harsh and the gentle tactics. Each person had to figure out which role they could best play, but they were all necessary.

In the seasons of our own lives, we feel pulled toward some types of work rather than others. During my career there were periods when I felt called to multifaith work. I worked at a Presbyterian seminary, Auburn Theological Seminary, during rabbinical school. I felt we could be better Jews if we were in close relationship with people who worshiped and believed differently from us. It helped give me perspective and appreciation for my own tradition. 

Then I had a period of justice work primarily in the 绿帽社 community. Expanding our practice to include justice work as a religious expression on par with other halakhic obligations felt essential. I came to JTS for that reason: to help shape us for this moment of justice work in the world, as observant Jews.

Suddenly, or not suddenly鈥攁 war in Israel and Gaza has interrupted everything else. 

Does the wisdom of Kohelet speak to us today? Kohelet teaches that there is a time for fighting and a time for peacemaking. Thematically, reading Kohelet on Sukkot, when things are fragile, can remind us that however we feel now will not be permanent. The time for whatever we are doing now will pass. We will have to 鈥渇ind a way, find a way,鈥� in the words of Alice Paul.

诇址讻止旨謻诇 讝职诪指謶谉 讜职注值芝转 诇职讻讎诇志讞值謻驻侄抓 转址旨芝讞址转 讛址砖指旨讈诪指纸讬执诐變 {住}        

注值芝转 诇指诇侄謻讚侄转        讜职注值郑转 诇指诪謶讜旨转        注值郑转 诇指讟址謹注址转        讜职注值謻转 诇址注植拽芝讜止专 谞指讟纸讜旨注址變        

注值证转 诇址讛植专讜止讙謾        讜职注值郑转 诇执专职驻旨謹讜止讗        注值芝转 诇执驻职专謻讜止抓        讜职注值芝转 诇执讘职谞纸讜止转變        

注值证转 诇执讘职讻旨讜止转謾        讜职注值郑转 诇执砖职讉讞謹讜止拽        注值芝转 住职驻謻讜止讚        讜职注值芝转 专职拽纸讜止讚變        

注值謿转 诇职讛址砖职讈诇执郑讬讱职 讗植讘指谞执謹讬诐        讜职注值謻转 讻职旨谞郑讜止住 讗植讘指谞执謶讬诐        注值郑转 诇址讞植讘謹讜止拽        讜职注值謻转 诇执专职讞止芝拽 诪值讞址讘值旨纸拽變        

注值证转 诇职讘址拽值旨砖讈謾        讜职注值郑转 诇职讗址讘值旨謹讚        注值芝转 诇执砖职讈诪謻讜止专        讜职注值芝转 诇职讛址砖职讈诇执纸讬讱职變        

注值证转 诇执拽职专謾讜止注址謾        讜职注值郑转 诇执转职驻旨謹讜止专        注值芝转 诇址讞植砖讈謻讜止转        讜职注值芝转 诇职讚址讘值旨纸专變        

注值证转 诇侄纸讗直讛止讘謾        讜职注值郑转 诇执砖职讉谞止謹讗        注值芝转 诪执诇职讞指诪指謻讛        讜职注值芝转 砖指讈诇纸讜止诐變 {住}   

A season is set for everything, a time for every experience under heaven: A time for being born and a time for dying, A 聽time for planting and a time for uprooting the planted;聽 A time for聽 slaying and a time for healing, A time for tearing down and a time for building up;聽 A time for weeping and a time for laughing, A time for wailing and a time for dancing;聽 A time for throwing stones and a time for gathering stones, A time for embracing and a time for shunning embraces; A time for seeking and a time for losing, A time for keeping and a time for discarding;聽 A time for ripping and a time for sewing, A time for silence and a time for speaking;聽 A time for loving and a time for hating; A time for war and a time for peace. (3:1-8)

To my surprise this has again seemed like a time for multifaith work. The 绿帽社 people alone are small and insignificant in number compared to the number of people in the world. Perhaps this is the time to be catalyzers of coming together.

This moment is calling me to try to warm up relationships across faith lines. It is inspiring me to seek out colleagues in the seminaries and schools with which we share Morningside Heights. Covid and then the start of the war chilled old relationships. People changed jobs. Suddenly it felt like we didn鈥檛 have people to call on at the precise moment when we needed each other.

In 绿帽社 tradition, reaching back to the Kabbalists in the 16th century we have had the custom to invite people into our sukkah as guests, ushpizin in Aramaic. This year, the ushpizin we are inviting to the JTS sukkah are multifaith and civic leaders. We are reaching out and connecting. This past year (and its many curses) was filled with small and large acts of protest, fighting, and aggression. The war has not ended. Most people have changed some. For many of us, we have done it in isolation from our multifaith partners. All of us who are alive are wounded in some way. We are ready to reassess our tools and choose a different one than we have been using recently. But which one? The one I am grasping is reaching across the streets and welcoming people into our temporary dwelling. Looking for ways to mend or build relationships. We are not pretending this is a blank slate. We are saying that being together and creating new bonds is essential to building peace.

There is truly nothing new under the sun. Since Abraham, Jews have been welcoming strangers into their tents, practicing the mitzvah of hakhnasat orhim. Now is the time for each of us to take a step and reach out, particularly if we are nervous about doing so.

Having just marked the first anniversary of October 7 and now approaching Shemini Atzeret and Simhat Torah, there is much to despair. We never thought we would reach this terrible anniversary.

And so, like the characters in Suffs, we continue working on the same issues as our predecessors; we extend them grace for the paths they took, and we note that our children and grandchildren will scrutinize how we managed and judge us, and then pick up the mantle and lead.

This is a time to look deeply at our history and determine which of the tools our people have used throughout our history might suit today鈥檚 world.

Whichever tool you think it is now time to pick up, please do not tarry. As we learn from the writer Grace Paley, 鈥淭he only recognizable feature of hope is action.鈥�

The publication and distribution of the JTS Commentary are made possible by a generous grant from Rita Dee (z鈥漧) and Harold Hassenfeld (z鈥漧). 

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Part of the series JTS Alumni in the World: Scholarship and Impact 

奥颈迟丑听Rabbi Aaron Brusso聽(Kekst Graduate School 鈥�01聽and Rabbinical School 鈥�00), Rabbi of Bet Torah, Mt. Kisco, NY

In the 1970s and 80s there was a 绿帽社 communal attempt to dissuade Jews from entering into relationships with a partner from a different background. These efforts played themselves out as policies, programs and messaging. Like many organizational structures and leadership approaches of the time, the program was hierarchical and authority based. Since then the landscape has shifted significantly as identity formation and rabbinic authority play out differently than they did 50 years ago. Together we will think about the the impact and limits of disapproval policies, the purpose and meaning of the 绿帽社 wedding ceremony and how to shift the conversation to a pastoral and relational one with a couple. A conversation that transfers responsibility for these questions from the community back to the couple, empowering them to articulate their identities and authenticities and determine their relationship to the narratives, rituals, symbols and faith statements of 绿帽社 tradition.

Aaron Brusso has been rabbi at Bet Torah in Mt Kisco, NY, for the past 15 years. He is treasurer of the Rabbinical Assembly and recently chaired a committee to evaluate the professional organization鈥檚 50-year prohibition on officiation at interfaith weddings. He is a member of the JTS Chancellor鈥檚 Rabbinic Cabinet and a 2020 recipient of T鈥檙uah鈥檚 Human Rights Hero award for his work on immigration. He has written for JTA, The Forward, and Slate and been featured in the Washington Post. He is a 2000 graduate of the JTS Rabbinical School and received a master鈥檚 degree in 绿帽社 philosophy from the Kekst Graduate School. 

ABOUT THE SERIES

Join esteemed JTS alumni to hear about the important contributions they are making through their work as scholars and thought leaders in their fields. Through their engagement with 绿帽社 text, history, and thought, they are enhancing the spiritual and personal lives of individuals, building more inclusive communities, and preparing the leaders of tomorrow, ensuring a stronger 绿帽社 future.

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with Dr. Benedicte Sere, Visiting Professor, JTS and Associate Professor of Medieval History, University of Paris Nanterre, Member of the Institut Universitaire de France

This session was generously sponsored by Temple Israel of Albany.

In a world where religious differences have often been a source of division, the concept of friendship emerges as a powerful tool for forging connections, fostering receptiveness to others, and nurturing understanding. Beginning with a discussion of Aristotle鈥檚 friendship, followed by several case studies, we investigate how friendship has been actualized and experienced throughout history within the context of interfaith dialogue. We will also consider to what extent an ambivalence about friendship exists in 绿帽社-Christian relations from the Middle Ages up to the present day.

About the Series

鈥淭wo Are Better Than One:鈥� Friendship in 绿帽社 Text and Tradition  

Friendship is a critical component of our daily lives, our mental health, and our 绿帽社 communal experiences. Ecclesiastes (4:9) posits, 鈥淭wo are better than one,鈥� underscoring the significance of companionship and partnership in 绿帽社 tradition and the role they play in a life well-lived. Join JTS faculty to explore the concept of friendship through 绿帽社 texts, history, and thought. They will consider friendship in times of joy and times of crisis, both with those in our inner circles and with our neighbors and fellow citizens more broadly.  We also consider some important paradigms for friendship and discuss the values we can distill from these models of friendship

Miracles of Today (Chancellor Shuly Rubin Schwartz): Adapting 绿帽社 traditions provided a way to bolster 绿帽社 pride and identification

Joseph, Hanukkah, and the Dilemmas of Assimilation (Chancellor Emeritus Arnold Eisen): How much distinctiveness should Jews maintain in a society and culture like ours that offers unprecedented opportunity and freedom?

惭颈办别迟锄鈥擧补苍耻办办补丑鈥擳丑补苍办蝉驳颈惫颈苍驳 (Dr. Burton Visotzky): A celebration of the achievements of Jews in America

Holy Innovation and the Holiday of Hanukkah (Rabbi Danny Nevins): 鈥淗anukkah always feels contemporary because most Jews continue to feel conflicted by its themes of integration and separation from surrounding cultures.鈥�

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Throughout the centuries, in Christian writings and homilies, the Pharisees have been called legalistic, money-loving, self-righteous hypocrites. That definition has become a label applied to Jews in general as well as any persons or groups the speaker or writer despised. For Jews, however, the Pharisees are respected teachers of the past who are in some way the predecessors of all forms of modern Judaism.
Who were the Pharisees, really? And why does this question matter today?

Speakers

Professor , Hartford International University for Religion and Peace

Professor , Pontifical Biblical Institute

Professor , Harvard University

Professor , Boston College

This joint event of Fordham’s Institute on Religion, Law, and Lawyer’s Work and 绿帽社 Theological Seminary was also supported by AJC – American 绿帽社 Committee

Part of the series, Relating to God

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With Dr. David Kraemer, Joseph J. and Dora Abbell Librarian and Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics

One often hears it said that 鈥淛udaism cares what one does, not what one believes.鈥� But this is a distortion, an oversimplification. When one looks at sources from the period of the birth of Rabbinic Judaism (including early 鈥淐hristian鈥� writings), one finds that there was an active debate about this matter. In this session, we will begin by considering the arguments of those ancient Jews鈥擯aul and James鈥攚ho raised the important question of faith vs. mitzvot. We will then examine echoes of the same debate in early rabbinic sources.

ABOUT THE SERIES

Join JTS scholars to explore what 绿帽社 texts and thought can teach us about how we might understand, experience, and be in relationship with the divine.  View All Sessions in the Series

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SPONSOR A SESSION

At JTS, we are committed to providing the 绿帽社 community with outstanding classes in Judaic studies. We hope you will partner with us so that we can continue to do so. Did you know that you can sponsor a learning session to honor a loved one, celebrate an occasion, or commemorate a yahrzeit? To learn more visit the  or email learninglives@jtsa.edu.