大象传媒

From Julia Neuberger, Senior Rabbi at the west London Synagogue:聽
Last week I talked about the priestly benediction, 鈥楾he Lord bless you and keep you鈥︹��, being more than a Biblical quotation, as part of popular culture, from Spock to Bob Dylan and beyond. This week 聽I want to celebrate the fact that, at a special service last Saturday to mark the synagogue鈥檚 175th anniversary, the final blessing, 鈥楾he Lord bless you and keep you鈥�..鈥� was led by the rabbis in Hebrew and by two canons from Westminster Abbey in English. In the last two years, two extraordinary services have taken place at the Abbey, led jointly by their clergy and our rabbis. One commemorated the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the night of broken glass, when synagogues across Germany were burned and their glass shattered; the other marked the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. The generosity of the Dean and Chapter of the Abbey in planning and conducting services together with us like this was extraordinary. So it was fitting that rabbis and clergy from Westminster Abbey should end last Saturday鈥檚 service with the priestly benediction together. We share the blessing. 聽As we share so much else.
Now, interfaith encounters have been taking place for years. The Council of Christians and Jews 聽started in the 1940s with the persecution of the Jews of Europe, the Woolf Institute at Cambridge teaches interfaith, the Three Faiths Forum unites Jews, Christians and Muslims, Coexist House brings together all the major faiths in the UK- and there are many more. We are all seeking truth, asking for compassion, and encouraging our congregations to help the disadvantaged. And yet we still find it difficult to do things together. So asking for God鈥檚 blessing together is itself a great blessing!聽
But an even greater blessing lies in the fact that, around the country, quietly, people from synagogues, mosques, churches, temples and gurdwaras are, together, running 聽night shelters for the homeless, food banks, or drop in facilities for refugees and asylum seekers. And the bonds being crafted by working together are even stronger than interfaith discussion and prayers. I am proud to be living in a society where this is possible, and even prouder that such interfaith work is growing, and attracting young people, from all faiths and none. It鈥檚 a blessing!