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

Saved from exterminationPurim is the day where we celebrate being saved from extermination at the hands of the advisor to the Persian king as is told in the Book of Esther. I’m sure you’re all familiar with the story, but briefly, Haman was a royal official in the court… Read more… »

In the Gospel according to John (12, 28-30), we read: "Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it and will glorify it again…Jesus answered and said: “This voice did not come for my sake but for yours". A heavenly or prophetic voice is a well-known phenomenon which… Read more… »

Jesus expels merchants and money changers from the Temple. However, a crucial question arises: is this criticism a general indictment of all Jews in the time of Jesus, or is it specifically targeted at the temple's priests? - Orthodox Rabbi Guy Alaluf answers this question in a commentary for… Read more… »

In Judaism, fasting is a desire to purify and get closer to God. Its purpose is conversion. Fasting itself is useless if it does not lead to abandoning one's evil deeds," stressed Shlomo Libertovski in a commentary for the Heschel Center KUL on the Gospel of the First Sunday… Read more… »

Listening to the story of the healing of Simon Peter's mother-in-law, who rose from her her bed and “waited on” Jesus and his disciples, we can perceive it as a message to women to serve men always and everywhere, regardless of circumstances - about why this impression is misleading… Read more… »

In this Sunday's verses of the Gospel, Jesus strictly commands Satan to be silent when he calls Him "the Holy One of God." He said: "Quiet! Come out of him!" (Mk 1:25), literally: "Put a muzzle on." He had a reason to say so, says in his commentary for… Read more… »

The readings this Sunday focus on idea of the Kingdom of God and what it means to meet the presence of God in our lives. God can speak to us even through someone like a prostitute, even if we are great sinners. What matters is our response to His… Read more… »

In the Gospel scene, John the Baptist, in front of his disciples, bears witness to Jesus calling him "the Lamb of God." In light of the Hebrew Bible, this title had a profound meaning. What these words meant to the Jews of Jesus' time and Christ's first words in… Read more… »

On the fortieth day after the birth of a son, according to Jewish Law, three events took place: the "purification" of the child's mother, the "redemption" of the firstborn, and the "presentation" of the child. Luke does not mention the redemption of Jesus. He goes straight to the "presentation"… Read more… »

Christmas is the most joyous and extraordinary miracle in which we celebrate the Incarnation of the Son of God. In this celebration we can see both the continuity and novelty that Christ brings to the history of salvation recorded in the Old Testament. This is illustrated in the Gospel… Read more… »

"Hail Mary"The world's oldest inscription of Mary is written in Greek. It is found on the base of a column from the temple that stood at the site of the Annunciation in Nazareth. These are the words "XE MAPIA" (Chaire Maria), a reference to the first words spoken to… Read more… »

Today’s verses of the Gospel (Jn 1:6-8, 19-28) for the Third Sunday of Advent focuses on John the Baptist. He is the type of Advent figures who teach us how to live this time and our lives wisely.The name John (Hebrew Johanan) means “YHWH has shown mercy and grace”.… Read more… »

Another important piece of Jewish home and ritual life is the Chanukiah: a 9 branched candleholder which we use on Chanukah. Many people – Jewish included! – will also call this a Menora, which gets a bit confusing.Menora actually refers to the 7 branched candelabrum made of pure gold… Read more… »

Biblical texts generate multiple interpretations. The rabbinic description for this phenomenon is shiva panim l’Torah, “seventy faces to the Torah.” The image suggests that each verse, each phrase, is like a beautifully cut gem with intensely shining facets. When we read Scripture, we should see multiple facets, and so… Read more… »

The First Sunday of Advent, which is also the first Sunday of the liturgical year, opens, as it does every year, a unique period in the life of the Church, a time of yearning and waiting for the coming of the Lord. We wait to meet Him and often… Read more… »

In the Gospel of Matthew– chapter 25 verses 31 – 46, The Final Judgment, we learn about practical social justice. We learn about mercy which brings us closer to God.The Babylonian Talmud (tractate Sotta 14a) deals with the question of how we, human beings, could come closer to God,… Read more… »

The Desert Fathers say this: our spiritual life is like the Lake of Gennesaret and the Dead Sea. If we only receive the Word of God, the gifts of the kingdom, but do not share it with others, we become as dead as the Dead Sea. If we accept… Read more… »

In ancient Israel, marriage was based on a contract, which had to be accompanied by a written document. The formula for entering into marriage sounded more or less like this: "She shall be my spouse, and I shall be her husband, from this day forward until eternity." On the… Read more… »

To the rescue of the captives and hostages in Gaza and the elevation of the souls of the Israelis who were murdered and killed this October.Matthew 23 is an extremely critical text, where the Pharisees and the Scribes serve as a negative model: Jesus teaches his disciples how not… Read more… »

Six years ago, when my mother passed away, I recited the Mourners' Kaddish every day, as part of the Jewish ritual and traditions during the period of mourning for parents. While writing this paragraph, hundreds of Israeli Jewish people have begun reciting the Mourners' Kaddish as they mourn and… Read more… »

Through the ears to the heart. Two commandments, four aspects of loveOn Mount Sinai, God gave Moses tablets with the Ten Commandments. Over the centuries, as many as 613 commandments (so-called mitzvot) appeared in the Jewish tradition. Some were known at the time of Jesus. Rabbis did their best… Read more… »

Matthew depicts Pharisees negatively. In chapter 3, John the baptizer scolds Pharisees for prioritizing ancestral privilege over repentance. In chapter 22, Matthew changes Mark’s admiring scribe who asks Jesus about the greatest commandment into a malicious Pharisee who seeks to trap Jesus with a difficult question. Matthew 23 is… Read more… »

The eschatological feast in the Kingdom of God: we need to respond to the gift of grace (“God’s invitation”) with readiness and cooperation (“a wedding garment” – good deeds).Already in the Old Testament the promise of salvation was universal. The prophet Isaiah foreshadows an eschatological feast to be attended… Read more… »

Greetings again from Jerusalem. The Parable of the Vineyard and Evil Tenants appears in Matthew in the context of Jesus’ conflict with the priestly establishment in the Jerusalem Temple. It further develops the Parable in chapter 5 of Isaiah, where the Vineyard represents the people of Israel and Judea.… Read more… »