THE ABRAHAM J. HESCHEL CENTER FOR CATHOLIC-JEWISH RELATIONS THE JOHN PAUL II CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF LUBLIN

"Praising God in prayer isn’t enough. It’s only the beginning. Our actions and our words are what matter," says Rabbi Steve Burnstein from the Birkat Shalom congregation in Kibbutz Gezer, Israel, commenting on Psalm 34 for the Heschel Center at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin. The… Read more… »

“The believer cannot live a single moment without the feeling that God is close to him,” says Shlomo Libertovski, a Torah scholar from Beth Shemesh, commenting on Psalm 27 for the Heschel Center at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin. Reflecting on King David’s plea, Libertovski emphasizes… Read more… »

Rabbi Oded Peles offers a fresh perspective on Purim by revealing unexpected spiritual ties with Yom Kippur. In his commentary for the Heschel Center at the Catholic University of Lublin, he stressed that while Purim commemorates the rescue of the Jewish people from ancient Persian persecution through festive customs… Read more… »

The Babylonian Talmud teaches that by revealing His Name, God wanted to convey that His activity is not limited to a single intervention (such as the Exodus from Egypt). The repetition of the word ehje indicates His continuous and active presence in history, writes Fr. Dr. Piotr Kot from… Read more… »

The Sabbath is a time of refuge, protection, and consolation for the Jewish people and a day of return to God. It accompanies Israel on its spiritual journey, writes Dr. Thérèse M. Andrevon-Gottstein, a French-Israeli theologian engaged in Jewish-Christian dialogue for 30 years, in her commentary on Psalm 92,… Read more… »

When a person feels on the verge of collapsing under the weight of sin and guilt, rahamim—God’s tender mercy—reveals itself. Like a loving Father, He lifts His child from the abyss and offers a new beginning. God is not a harsh judge waiting for failure. He is Love –… Read more… »

“The Talmud teaches that the date palm is compared to the righteous because the whole tree is good—especially its fruit. Similarly, the righteous person is good,” writes Torah lecturer Shlomo Libertovski in his commentary on Psalm 1, which is read in the Catholic Church on Sunday, February 16. Father Piotr… Read more… »

Below is the full text of the commentary. Happy Birthday to the trees!! Is there a birthday for the trees and plants? Yes! The 15th of the month of Shvat in the Jewish calendar, marks the New Year and the "Birthday of the trees". The sages teach us in… Read more… »

"Psalm 138 resounds during the Sunday liturgy as a hymn of thanksgiving for God's unceasing 'hesed' — His steadfast love that continually sends messengers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ into the world. This Gospel is His final Word to humanity, a Word of salvation," writes Fr. Dr. Piotr… Read more… »

Psalm 24 invites us to open up to God in the spirit of the Hebrew term teshuva. Expressive of contrition and transformation, it is at the same time a reply to the question “Where are you?” (Gen 3;9). “A return to God is the answer to this question”, noted… Read more… »

In describing Joseph and Mary's arrival in Jerusalem after the birth of Jesus, Luke emphasizes that the parents willingly observed the rites prescribed by the Pentateuch. The family was deeply rooted in the Jewish beliefs and customs of their time, observes Prof. Serge Ruzer, a lecturer in comparative religious… Read more… »

"Without knowing the Jewish Scriptures, we cannot understand the Gospel. If we misunderstand Jewish practices, we will also misunderstand Jesus", writes Dr. Amy-Jill Levine, a professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies, in her commentary for the Heschel Center at the Catholic University of Lublin (KUL), for Sunday, January… Read more… »

We have a case of gentiles getting it absolutely right, in a way we don’t expect: among other things, they know whom they are seeking, and the difference between a sign that points the way, and Child himself. It is precisely this that foreshadows the possibility of the nations… Read more… »

Today's Gospel directs our eyes to the Holy Family: Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, who went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover. Passover was one of the three great pilgrimage feasts (along with the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles), and was celebrated to commemorate the liberation… Read more… »

The word Hanukkah means 'dedication' and celebrates one of the greatest miracles in the Jewish history. The festival reminds of a time over 2,000 years ago, when the Jews fought against the Greeks in order to practice their religion in a free way again. The Greeks had banned all Jewish… Read more… »

The Gospel of the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year C, is the evangelist Luke's account of Mary's visit to Elizabeth (Luke 1:39-45). It carries deep theological and existential content. Why does Mary set out to visit Elizabeth? This is what the context of the passage informs us. It is… Read more… »

On the 3rd Sunday of Advent in the Gospel according to Luke (3, 10-18), John the Baptist provides profound insights into Jewish social ethics, particularly regarding economic justice and sharing. When the crowd asked him, "What should we do?" John responds with practical teachings that emphasize the core Jewish… Read more… »

Luke presents today the beginning of the Baptist’s public ministry against the backdrop of universal history and at the same time against the backdrop of a triple calendar. The calendar of the Roman emperors; we hear here about Tiberius, who ruled from 14 to 37 CE. The calendar of… Read more… »

The sad thing is that what will be already had been and is now. We have seen in the past and see today multiple “nations in disarray.” We see today the roaring of the sea and the waves in the hurricanes, typhoons, and floods coming with increasing frequency and… Read more… »

In this Sunday’s Gospel reading we encounter a very rich image, one that occurs in all the synoptics, of the budding fig tree.“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.” – Mk… Read more… »

In today's Gospel, Jesus contrasts the attitudes of the scribes and the poor widow. The scribes, known in the literature as scribes or doctors of the Law, were mostly Pharisees. Representing the intellectual and spiritual elite, they were engaged in the study and explication of religious questions. They were… Read more… »

In today’s Gospel both of the commandments that Jesus quotes are straight from the Torah. The first, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might” comes from Deuteronomy chapter 6 and the second “You shall love… Read more… »

Kaddish is a short, special prayer in Aramaic that has one very single and specific point: the sanctification of God. But while the words of the prayer are very focused on this single theme, the prayer is put to many different liturgical uses. In fact there are five different… Read more… »

The Gospel of the Feast of All Saints leads us to a mountain where Jesus, beginning his sermon, delivers eight beatitudes. This text is certainly one of the most famous parts of his teaching. Here Jesus lists eight groups, whose members are called blessed, happy - these are the… Read more… »