NEWS FEATURE: New Jewish college hopes to break down barriers with Christian neighbor

c. 1999 Religion News Service NEWTON, Mass. _ The 19th century Baptists and Congregationalists who founded the nation’s oldest graduate seminary would have been hard-pressed to imagine the scene here on a golden autumn afternoon as Hebrew prayers and festive Klezmer music emanated from the hilltop campus of Andover Newton Theological School. But Hebrew College’s […]

c. 1999 Religion News Service

NEWTON, Mass. _ The 19th century Baptists and Congregationalists who founded the nation’s oldest graduate seminary would have been hard-pressed to imagine the scene here on a golden autumn afternoon as Hebrew prayers and festive Klezmer music emanated from the hilltop campus of Andover Newton Theological School.

But Hebrew College’s groundbreaking ceremony on Oct. 24 in this Boston suburb reflects the improved relations between Jews and mainline Christian denominations in recent decades.


When Hebrew College’s new campus opens in 2001 on land purchased from Andover Newton, it will create a rare if not unprecedented situation: Jewish and Christian schools of higher education standing cheek-by-jowl.”These two institutions will continue to serve and fulfill their historic missions,”said David Gordis, president of Hebrew College, which has outgrown its space in the adjacent town of Brookline.”But in addition, the collaboration between us represents a model of what American pluralism is all about.” Gordis said some of the college’s students and supporters, mindful of the bitter historical conflicts between Christians and Jews, were wary at first that Christians from next door might try to proselytize. But their fears were allayed when they learned more about their new neighbors, Gordis said.”It’s not that kind of institution,”he said.”We can overcome a history that has not always been a happy one.” Andover Newton President Benjamin Griffin echoed the thought, noting the seminary _ and mainline Protestantism in general _ disagrees with efforts to convert Jews to Christianity, undertaken by such groups as the Southern Baptist Convention and Jews for Jesus.”I believe the covenant God made with (Jewish patriarchs) Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is still valid in God’s sight, and what right do Christians have to convert Jews?”Griffin said.

Both schools want to develop joint programs and share such resources as library materials and computers, though they both ultimately have different missions.

Most importantly, Andover Newton, with 480 students, is strictly a seminary, while Hebrew College is everything but that. Founded in 1921 as a teacher’s college, Hebrew College offers degree programs in Jewish studies and education to about 200 students and a range of high school, adult education and Hebrew-language programs to more than 1,000 others.

Despite their differences, Griffin said,”both identify themselves as religious institutions. No two religions in the world are closer in their heritage than Christianity and Judaism.” The closest parallel to the adjacent campuses, he said, is in New York City, where Union Theological Seminary and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America share some resources in their Morningside Heights neighborhood.

Griffin said that when Andover Newton was looking to sell off some of its 42 acres, it could have fetched a higher price from a housing developer but was looking instead for neighbors with more compatible purposes. Hebrew College, meanwhile, was looking for sites in Newton, home to one of Greater Boston’s largest Jewish populations. The schools have not yet disclosed the sale price for the seven-acre parcel.

Griffin said he hopes the collaboration would”move beyond simply polite Christian-Jewish dialogue.”For example, the schools are considering forming a center to study political and public policy issues from an interfaith perspective. Andover Newton students hope to get new perspectives on the Hebrew books of the Bible, while Gordis said Hebrew College hopes to set up a rabbinical tract within an Andover Newton program that trains students in the practical side of ministry and counseling. It may also team up with a joint doctoral program Andover Newton has with Boston College, a Roman Catholic institution also located in Newton.

Miriam Behar, a graduate of Hebrew College’s high school program who now lives near the future Newton campus, said she supported her alma mater’s move, calling it the inevitable fruit of its expanded activities and of improved interfaith relations:”You have to go on with this type of progress,”she said.


DEA END SMITH

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