Lunch and Learn with Rabbi Librach

Child, Sibling, or Corruption: Basic Christianity for American Jews

March 21, March 28, April 4, and April 11, 2018
12:15 pm – 1:30 pm

Across America, Christianity has begun to take its own Jewish roots very seriously. We are called, in response, to take Christianity seriously if we Jews are to have any meaningful dialogue. What (other than the obvious issue of divine incarnation) are our differences, and what are our (often surprising) similarities? What are the Jewish roots to The Lord's Prayer and the Sermon on the Mount? Is there a "Jewish equivalent" to the central role of Jesus in Christianity? What is the difference between salvation and redemption? Was "the Last Supper" a Passover Seder? Come and explore these and other issues with a master teacher who will welcome your questions and leave you enlightened, enriched, and engaged.

Note: Please bring your lunch to this learning opportunity. Beverages will be provided.

Rabbi Clifford E. Librach, a native of St. Louis, Missouri, graduated from Georgetown University with an A.B. degree, and received a Juris Doctor degree from New York University. He was ordained Rabbi at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1986.

After serving as Law Clerk to Chief Justice Robert Seiler of the Supreme Court of Missouri, and practicing law for 10 years, Rabbi Librach began his rabbinic career at the Moses Montefiore Congregation in Bloomington, Illinois. He also served congregations in Sharon, MA and Danbury, CT before his retirement in 2016. In each community, he was active in many local concerns, was a prominent spokesman for Judaism and Israel, and was instrumental in invigorating adult learning programs.

Rabbi Librach was honored in 1998 by The Forward as one of the “50 most dynamic and influential Jewish leaders in America”—the only pulpit rabbi to be so named. Rabbi Librach was featured in a 2004 PBS documentary entitled “Faith Partnership,” on innovative Jewish/Christian programming. His scholarship and essays have been published in a variety of forums, including Commentary, Sh’ma: A Journal of Jewish Responsibility, Journal of Reform Judaism, and the much acclaimed volume Jewish Contributions to American Public Policy for the 21^st Century, published in 2004. For several years, Rabbi Librach served as Rabbi in Residence at Wellspring Church in Kensington, CT.