From the conference: Amazement

the people here are fabulous. I have been thrilled to find so many not likely. I thought this would be a conference of seminarians. But it is not. Clergy is in the minority. Here, I get to identify as “secular religious Jew-American who was juts in Africa.” I speak as an educated representative of Judaism. I speak as a world traveler and as a Justice doer. Mostly, I get to be here as a person in the midst of my own life and causes. I do not primarily represent anything or anyone other than me. It is different. I am not sure how I feel as being just me, belonging to no one other than me...

But the other people...
Religious Jews who are not sure what to make with me and my talk of halacha refering to the rules I live by based on my sense of God and holiness, informed by Talmud and Torah and traditional halacha but not bound to it.

Catholics belonging to the Focolare movement (if I were Catholic, I would be a Focolare)
http://www.focolare.org/home.php?lingua=EN
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focolare_Movement

The basic ideas of this movement within Catholicism is unity and it is lived out in everything that the Focolare do. It is really an increidble group of people. All the Focolare seem to b incredibly kind. There is sense of stepping back to allow the other to go forth for the sake of creating unity. At first, it felt to make like a lack of interest. But now, I see it as a sense of grace, kindness, compassion. As a Jew, I think I have learned to fight hard to have my voice heard. Here, there is no fight and it becomes easier to listen because I am not working so hard to get my voice out there.

The kindness too...a willingness to always do for and care for the other. This is a community of people I feel I could, we all could, learn so much from...

As Jews, we talk a lot, we argue a lot. One of the things we keep saying to each other and hearing here is, ok, and now, let's let the Catholics talk...because if no one reminds us, if we do not remind one another, our Jewish tradition of arguing and talking will over run the Catholic tradition which seems to be softer, quieter and much more patient.

Then there is the international difference as well. As an American, I have a sense of entitlement and perhaps even judgment and defensiveness. I see it in other Americans. I do not see it others from other lands. (I noticed this in Africa too). I think as an American, I am so incredibly priviledged. Maybe I, as a person, am just spoiled. Maybe I am just mouthy, pushy and successful at fighting, arguing for a wrangling for what I need. But maybe, it is because I live in a land which, for most of my life, everyone in the world has aspired to come to and be like (recently, our social cache is less). I think I have, we have perhaps, internalized a sense of yes, we are better, we do have it “right, “ the world SHOULD be like us...

Our informal interactions have been so delightful...the meals together talking religion, nationality and the issues. Or the meals together talking about men, dating, restaurants and travel. We went to town for a drink one night and we filled the small square of the town, Jews and Catholics, a global community of young leadership, young professionals, the next generation from several corners of the earth. Our day in Rome, telling one another about our experiences, last night our cultural even—we had a tisch where we sang, told offensive religious jokes, offensive jokes about God, marriage, death and life's mysteries. We shared so many stories, fables, midrashim....

We are sitting in a meeting now with Cardinal Kasper and Father Ludwig just shared a story. A woman and St Catherine come to a river to meet, but there is no bridge, no way across. No, says St. Catherine, we can meet, we just need to go up the river to the source.

Here we are united, here I see what believe. There is something greater than all of us that we all belong to. We belong to a global community. I wish there were more faces here, more religions here, more colors here, more nationalities here...but this is a start, this place, these people, this group, gives me hope. Hope that people can truly come from all over the world and truly feel they belong to one another. This is a moment worth celebrating and reveling in.