Pentateuch Class Visits a Synagogue — Aquinas College - Nashville, Tennessee

Pentateuch Class Visits a Synagogue

Posted on Monday, March 7, 2022

On their way to Aquinas College, the student Sisters usually drive past a few different synagogues on West End Avenue without having occasion to stop in for a visit. This changed on February 24th when the students in Sister Gabriella’s Pentateuch course took a field trip to Congregation Sherith Israel for a tour led by Rabbi Saul Strosberg. They were accompanied by a few of the other student Sisters, and their chaplain, Rev. Mark Chrismer. What follows are some of the students’ comments on their visit:

Sister Moriah: “Right off the bat we got to hear Rabbi Saul blow the shofar and heard a wonderful story of how he came to own the one he used. The sound and the story swept us away to his beloved homeland so that we could root our experience in the same source as the Jewish traditions we had come to learn about.”

Pentateuch Class visit Congregation Sherith Israel

Sister Lucille: “I was struck by Rabbi Saul’s great love for, and joy in, the Torah. What may seem to many as a painfully long chronicle of rules and regulations, he sees as a way by which to draw near to God.”

Sister Anne: “I loved hearing everything Rabbi Saul had to say; it was all so interesting to me. It was incredible to hear him sing a passage from the Torah in Hebrew. Seeing the scroll of the Torah and learning the meaning of the different aspects of the sanctuary was really powerful. His explanation of Shabbat and Kosher showed me how committed the Jewish people are to giving all their lives to their beliefs.”

Sister Sophie: “Rabbi Saul made us feel so welcome. I came away with a sense that this had been a real encounter between people who shared something of themselves with each other. I loved that Rabbi Saul described the Shul as a Home of God rather than a House of God. I certainly felt at home!” Sister Molly: “I think the most important insight I gained from this visit was seeing how beautifully and respectfully people from two different religions can interact with and welcome each other, especially people of deep faith with strongly held beliefs.”


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