The Edicule is an 18th century shrine inside of Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Edicule encloses the empty tomb where Jesus is believed to have been buried and resurrected. After years of decay, renovations were completed in March 2017. Dr. Marcie Lenk, Director of Christian Leadership Programs at the Shalom Hartman Institute, and Bishop Peter Eaton of the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida, and a Fellow of the Hartman Institute`s Christian Leadership Initiative, discuss the meaning and significance of the Edicule’s restoration for Christians, Jews and Israel

Before this day my Catholic students would have spoken of Jews in positive terms, because they are decent people of faith who have respect for others. I suspect, however, many believed that Jews suffer at a disadvantage, because we don’t have faith in Jesus as the Messiah. This attitude was changed by one day in a yeshiva, due to the generosity of spirit shown by rabbis and yeshiva students

The Catholic Church has come a long way in 110 years, including Nostra Aetate (1965), the revolutionary reworking of theology regarding other religions generally, and Judaism in particular

Both the Jewish and Christian holidays celebrate the idea that revelation means God’s words are within each of us

There are Christian groups and individuals here in the hope of learning about Judaism and supporting Israel, and those are the ones who make Israelis scratch their heads

Discussions about Jewish access to and control of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount are drawing heated responses in both Israel’s and Jordan’s parliaments, even as the idea of building a Third Temple and restoring sacrificial worship there is preposterous in the minds of the vast majority of Jews and Israelis. Yet the question of what Jews think about building a new Temple comes up with virtually every Christian group that I teach

Getting out of our echo chambers and beginning to listen to those whose words make us uncomfortable may be difficult and even painful, but it is a necessary first step, because if we do not listen at all, then we cannot begin working out our differences

These walls prevent us from seeing the many services provided by “others”

American Jews have always been leaders in organizations demanding fair treatment of others – an important lesson for Israelis to learn

Even on the Day of Atonement, no single sense of ‘Torah’ can safeguard the distinctive needs and wishes of such a pluralistic society

If I trust that a critic truly wants to help me change, I will be able to hear and accept the criticism

The complacency of Israeli Jews may derive from their appalling lack of education about other religions

The 2013 Edward Bronfman Family Foundation Annual Lecture on Religious Pluralism