Practising Social Responsibility and Solidarity

From: Elijah Interfaith Institute

Practising Social Responsibility and Solidarity: New Composite Clip Released

We are delighted to share with our readers a new composite clip, derived from the Coronaspection project. The clip focuses on the issue of global solidarity. This is a subject that is of primary concern at this point in time, as we grapple with issues of fair distribution of the Covid 19 vaccine, and at all times. It will be the focus of the 2021 Summer School (see below for details.)

Listen to reflections by:
President of Focolare Maria Voce, Italy
Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, UK
Sri Shrivatsa Goswami, India
Yahya Cholil Staquf, Indonesia
Bishop Domenico Sorrentino, Italy
Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, India

Sharing Wisdom - Analysis of Our Praxis, by Jerome Gellman

Elijah's key practice is Sharing Wisdom. A book reflecting on this practice was published in our"Interreligious Reflections" series.

Recently, Contemporary Jewry, a Springer academic journal, featured a special issue, guest edited by Alon Goshen-Gottstein, in which scholars reviewed and further reflected on the volumes published by Elijah. Prof. Jerome Gellman of Ben Gurion University offered his own analysis of the practice of sharing wisdom.

Abstract

In this paper I propose a number of distinctions to be noted and applied in the endeavor of sharing wisdom between religions. I propose different categories of wisdom and urge greater attention to sharing what is the active wisdom of religious sharers and not just “official” wisdom. Authentic sharing of wisdom should be sensitive to these layers of religious wisdom: (A) wisdom found in the home religion; (B) wisdom in the home religion that figures actively in the lives of devotees (or not), and to what degree; (C) wisdom in the home religion the person before us believes in or cherishes in his or her own religious life.

Read Prof. Jerome Gellman's book review and his own analysis of the practice of sharing wisdom here.

Friendship and Prayers from Jerusalem

PTIJ meets on the first Thursday of every month. Currently, our gatherings are on Zoom and this means that wherever you are in the world, you are able to pray with and for Jerusalem. Our gatherings begin with teaching, before we pray.

We meet on March 4th, 11 am EST
4 pm UK time
5 pm Central European time
6 pm Israel time
9:30 pm India time

Save your spot by signing up here.

We are privileged to have three teachers from the Elijah Board of World Religious Leaders, offering teachings on Friendship Across Religions:

Rabba Tamar Elad-Appelbaum (Israel)
Rabba Appelbaum is the co-founder of the Beit Midrash for Israeli Rabbis, a joint project of the HaMidrasha Educational Center for Israeli Judaism and the Shalom Hartman Institute. Moreover, she founded Kehilat ZION in Jerusalem. She devotes much of her energy to the renewal of community life in Israel and the struggle for human rights. In 2010 she was named by the Forward as one of the five most influential female religious leaders in Israel for her work promoting pluralism and Jewish religious freedom.

Sri Shrivatsa Goswami (India)
Acharya Shri Shrivatsa Goswami comes from the family of eminent scholars and spiritual leaders at Sri Radharamana Mandir of Vrindavan. He is a leading figure in the Vaishnava tradition, representing the leadership of the Bhakti (devotional) movement, in a school dating back to the 16c. figure of Chaitanya. He has lectured at major universities worldwide, and toured extensively to participate in conferences on philosophy and religion. One of the focuses of his present work is the alliance of religion and conservation.

Prof. Muhammad Suheyl Umar (Pakistan)
Prof. Muhammad Suheyl Umar is the Director of Iqbal Academy Pakistan and his area of specialty and interests include Sufism as well as the thought of Muhammad Iqbal and the intellectual history of the Indian subcontinent from Shah Waliullah to Iqbal. He is the Founder-Editor of Riwayat, a scholarly Urdu journal; Editor, Iqbal Review, a quarterly journal,focusing on Iqbal studies in addition to Islamic Studies, Comparative Religion, Philosophy, Literature, History, Arts and Sociology.

Interreligious Perspectives on Global Solidarity and Caring for the Other

We are delighted to announce the topic and dates for the 2021 Elijah Interfaith summer school and interreligious leadership seminar. In a world deeply affected by COVID-19, global solidarity and care for the other have emerged as primary concerns. These concerns have been the focus of religious teachings for millennia. What religious resources are brought to bear on current world conditions and how are they applied to the present moment? The social-moral and spiritual foundations of caring for the other will be explored from the perspective of multiple religious traditions, in theory and as they relate to contemporary challenges and concerns.

This year's summer school program will be divided into two parts. The first part will take place on zoom, August 1-5, 2021. The second part will take place live in Jerusalem, August 8-12, 2021, if circumstances permit.

To register, please send an email to admin@elijah-interfaith.org.

Elijah Interfaith Institute