Pacifica LA hosted Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein for its interfaith conversation series. The topics he discussed were about interfaith dialogue and Orthodox Judaism. He began his speech by presenting the common values both Muslim and Jewish community share in the history; the massacre in Spain in 1391, and how two communities helped each other for survival. Additionally, he also mentioned the differences such as the rules of Kosher and Halal. For the solution, he recommended Chinese cuisine as midpoint where both preconditions are satisfied. He later on continued exploring the beginning of interfaith dialogue in the US between Jewish and Christian communities due to the guilt felt by Christians because of the run-up to the Holocaust. However, he added, these interactions were acts of relieving conscience, therefore, were not open to accommodating other cultures or beliefs. After making the point, he highlighted that the context of interfaith done today should be different from before and more open to other beliefs and cultures. “It is no longer about who has the truth,” says the Rabbi, pointing out the bigger threat present today: lack of faith in God. To prove his point, he mentioned the decline in the amount of faithful remarkable scientists and the increase in the number of Atheistic books presented as NY Times best sellers. The Rabbi stated that all the people who take God seriously should cooperate against this enlarging threat. As for the other topic, Orthodox Jews, he remarked that the Orthodox branch is the only growing one out of the three: Reformist, Conservative, and Orthodox. This branch focuses on the combination of the historical experiences and the interpretation of the Torah. Therefore, acknowledges the fruitful interactions occurred in the history of Muslims and Jews. Lastly, Rabbi Adlerstein Stated that Muslims and Jews in the US are much more similar than we think: “Everything that we went through, you will go through; so learn from our experiences.”
