Interfaith Conversation with Rabbi Haim Dov Beliak
Rabbi Haim Dov Beliak is the first speaker of the Interfaith Conversation Series and with this series Pacifica Institute reaffirms its conviction that dialogue will bring about universal peace and the good nature of the human being is going to come to the fore sooner or later. Leading this dialogue is not a duty that falls only on the shoulders of governments or governmental organs. These conversations will be about the role faiths play in our lives. Rabbi Beliak discussed his faith journey and helped the audience to understand how Jews engage their lives in the present day.
Haim Dov Beliak is the Executive Director of HaMifgash: An On-Going Conversation Among Jewish Intellectuals. The most recent project of HaMifgash is the new web site: www.HighMarksJustice.org which focuses on justice projects relating to Muslim-Jewish relations, the conflicts in the Middle East especially the Palestinian – Israeli conflict. The web site takes its inspiration from the work of the late Wally Marks philanthropist and catalyzing leader. The first original project of this web site is a full-length documentary tentatively entitled: “Tunisia’s Jews and Muslim: a model of respectful co-existence.”
He is the founder of www.JewsOnFirst.org and together with Jane Hunter, Haim co–founded The Coalitions for Justice in Hawaiian Gardens and Jerusalem (www.stopmoskowitz.org)
Beliak was born in a DP Camp in Munich, Germany and grew up in Mason City, Iowa and Phoenix, Arizona. Beliak served as the chaplain and adjunct professor of Modern Jewish History at The Claremot Colleges from 1974 to 1991. In 1988-90 Beliak was as a Jerusalem Fellow in Jerusalem, Israel. He is a member of the Progressive Jewish Alliance (PJA) and a board member of the Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace (ICUJP).
First Rabbi Beliak summarized what he would be speaking about during the series and he gave examples of specific prayers of Judaism in which Alenu was one of them and recited from 300 BC to the present day for about 2300 years by Jewish communities. He added that after the crusaders one sentence was replaced. Rabbi Beliak chose this prayer because it reflects the things that are universal. He also said that biography of a person has a lot to with how he or she has been shaped. Since he said he was also born in Germany and displaced to the United States in the 50s, his family was amongst the survivors of the holocaust. His and other Jewish people story is the struggle of Jewish emergence from powerlessness.
Throughout his conversation Rabbi Beliak said ” Historically speaking, Islam called us the people of the book so judging in the context of history Jews were always called the people of the book. Jewish people historically felt to be in exile. So in the present day sense of being in exile does not mean much for the Jews…. . A return of the Jewish king and to Jewish sovereignty animated the 19th and the 20th Jewish century. Now we exist in a new reality, feel the responsibilities of power…. . Muslims came to America and the last eight years the process of demonizing Islam is the same experience that we had before and surprisingly most of the Western art depict Jews as Muslims.”
Rabbi Beliak finished by saying “Abraham in his lifetime offered his hospitality to every kind of people that approached his table. You would imagine that this would not be easy for everyone who asked for a meal left the house of Abraham with their stomach full. There were many people from the dessert to join Abraham’s table. One of the best examples is his which he offered his respect through hospitality.”
After the Q&A session, refreshments were served. The next series of the Interfaith Conversations will be on the 1st of August with Reverend Dr Gwynne Guibord, the Officer of Ecumenical and Interreligious Concerns for the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles as well as the Theological Consultant for Interfaith Relations for the Episcopal Church USA.