Class Day

Today we started the day of, as we usually do, with Morning Prayer and Mass. After breakfast, we continued with our classes in Prophets and Johannine Literature. For Prophets, we studied the laments of Jeremiah, and we came to know the suffering role of the true prophet who speaks out against the austerities and injustice of society. In Johannine Literature, the Last Supper Discourses were the subject of our reflections. Hearing the message and exhortation of Jesus to the disciples in the face of his passion struck at our hearts: “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make out dwelling with him” (Jn 14:23).

After classes and lunch, we were given the great opportunity to visit the Shalom Hartman Institute for our class lecture on Judaism. We took the opportunity to see a Torah scroll and sit in a Beth Midrash, a Jewish house of learning. Our lecturer gladly answered our questions about the role and importance of the Rabbi in Judaism, which were numerous, and we had the chance to study with a chavruta, a learning partner. So, we paired up in groups of two and began to study the role of sacrifice in Judaism. The room quickly filled with the voices of thirty plus seminarians reading and interpreting texts. And, as you can imagine, it became pretty loud! Well, it definitely was an eye-opening exercise in an alternative method of study.

As we finish up these last days of our pilgrimage, be assured of our continual prayers and please keep us in our prayers as well. For our friends and family, we will see you soon!