Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation

The ideological foundation that led to the final creation of the CEHWS in 2008 began to take shape almost 50 years before. In 1964, Joseph B. Soloveichik, teacher and mentor of Chancellor and Founder of CEHAB, Shlomo Riskin, published an essay entitled “Confrontation”, in which he outlined his views on inter-religious dialogue and carefully developed guidelines that made this dialogue possible.

Around the same time, fundamental ideological shifts occurred in the ranks of the Catholic Church, and a year after the publication of Soloveitchik's essay, the Vatican issued " Nostra Aetate " - a declaration on the relationship of the church with non-Christian religions. This declaration lifted the Jews' blame for the crucifixion of Jesus and recognized that religious anti-Semitism was one of the causes of atrocities committed against the Jewish people.

Riskin's immersion in Jewish-Christian relations began in the early 1960s when he attended seminars on the Christian Gospels conducted by Professor David Flusser at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. As an Orthodox Jew, he could trace the parallels between the teachings of Jesus and the Hebrew scriptures.

Having settled in Efrat, Riskin began to establish ties with the Christian world. Most Christians who came to Efrat to listen and learn were evangelists. He had a good relationship with Rev. Robert Sterns of Eagle Wings and Pastor John Hague ^[3] .

After Riskin left the post of president of the Or Tora Stone institution in 2018, the supervision of all CJCUC activities was entrusted to David Nekrutman, who now heads the center ^[2] .

TSEHVS hosts Christian groups from all over the world for one-day workshops ^[4] , which include excursions to biblical places such as nearby Jerusalem and the Patriarch's Way. Among the subjects included in the seminar program: Jewish-Christian relations; theology of bible holidays; Testament and mission; Ten Commandments; Satan, evil and free will; Judaism and the ministry of Jesus; human life created in the image of God.

The center conducts educational seminars for students and teachers of Catholic and Protestant seminaries in the USA, Canada and Europe. He has appointed North American and European directors to coordinate relations with religious leaders on these continents. CEHAB created the Center for Theological Thinking, the Institute for Theological Studies (ITI) ^[5] , led by Rabbi Eugene Korn and Dr. Robert Jenson of the Witherspoon Institute, which employs scholars and theologians whose mission is to outline the intersection between Judaism and Christianity.

In May 2011, CEHEC sponsored Yale University's student group, composed of Orthodox Jews and evangelists, created to study the foundations of Jewish-Christian relations.