Speaking the Truth (Dabru Emet)
by Prof. Peter Ochs

The world, says Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, rests on three things: Hadin, HaEmet, V'Hashalom: on justice, truth, and peace (Pirke Avot, 1:18). May God bless "A Common Word" and receive it as a powerful contribution to the peace, truth, and justice that uphold the world. This Word is worthy of the tradition of Aaron, and it enhances and extends the tradition of the sage Hillel, who taught that the "disciples of Aaron love peace and the pursuit of peace, love their fellow creatures and seek to draw them to the study of God's word" (Pirke Avot, 1:12).

"A Common Word" therefore comes as a gift, as well, to those who practice Judaism, for it does honor and service to the One God whom they acknowledge as sole Creator of the Universe and Redeemer of humankind. It draws into fellowship the two other children of Abraham's faith, thereby extending Abraham's blessings to all the nations. In this way, "A Common Word" contributes to and extends the obligatory service of all Jews to repair the world and bring glory to God's Name.

Before adding any other word about Judaism, let me say that "A Common Word" merits praise and blessings l'shmah — for its own sake — as a blessed moment in the history of God's work on this world. Its authors and signatories merit praise, with prayers for their well being and for the strength of this good work.

It is of utmost urgency that Christians and Muslims turn now to receive and contemplate this Word, devote both scholarly words and sermons to its import, and devote resources and energies to its dissemination and to its study.

It is most important now to allow these two communities of faith to think of and engage with each other, as "study partners" (what our tradition calls chevrutot) whose intense work and fellowship should not, for awhile, be interrupted by any other. God bless these partnerships and let them flourish as places where God's Name is glorified.

Only later may it be time to consider the impact of this moment on other faith partners. For the sake of that time, here are a few reasons why I believe "A Common Word" will prove to be of profound significance, as well, for Jews and Judaism:

• Each doctrinal item in this "Word" corresponds to a classical doctrine of rabbinic Judaism. It therefore belongs to a divine discourse that, if Christianity affirms it, then all three Abrahamic Faiths affirm it;

• Its emphases on Love of God and God's Love, and Love of Neighbor are emphases of rabbinic Judaism and the most appropriate means of engaging each faith with the other. As cited in the "Word", one pillar of Jewish faith is the declaration of the Sh'ma: "YHVH is our God YHVH Alone. And you shall love YHVH your God with all your heart, your soul, your might." Creation, Revelation, and Redemption, the three defining acts of God in the world, are all acts of divine love. And, as often cited in the words of Rabbi Hillel, to cite the Torah while standing on one foot is to cite the passage "That which is hateful to you, do not unto your fellow" (B. Talmud Shabbat 31a); and in the words of Rabbi Akiva (B. Talmud Sanhedrin 38a etc.) "A fundamental principle of the Torah is 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'" (Lev. 19:18).

• It beckons Muslims and Christians into the kind of embrace that Jewish scholars sought for Jews and Christians in the 2000 statement "Dabru Emet," or "Speak the Truth". This "Word" therefore extends, affirms, and deepens the work of God that we have already seen in Jewish-Christian dialogue. It thereby extends and deepens the witness of Judaism itself.

"Dabru Emet: A Jewish Statement On Christians and Christianity" appeared in September 2000 as a full-page advert in the New York Times (Full text here). Authored by four Jewish scholars (of which I was one) and signed by approximately two hundred rabbis and Jewish leaders from each denomination, this statement sought to acknowledge the place of Christianity in God's work and to acknowledge the work of many Christian leaders since World War II to remove vestiges of anti-Judaism from Christian liturgies and literatures. "Dabru Emet" was offered as an opening to theological and not merely social engagement between the two faiths.

Over seven years, it has elicited formal proclamations of support from a wide range of Christian ecclesial bodies, has been translated into at least eight languages, and has served as the text for what appear to have been hundreds of study sessions by Christian, Jewish, and Jewish-and-Christian groups, conferences, and classes.

"Dabru Emet" addressed nine areas of overlapping theological work between the two faith traditions: (a) Worship of the One God; (b) Study of the Revealed Word of God; (c) The Status of Holy Land in God's work; (d) Shared Commitment to Biblical Morality; (e) Repairing Anti-Semitism; (f) Accepting our Religious Differences and Recognizing that God alone can and will resolve them in the end of days; (g) That Shared Study and Work Will not Reduce our Distinct Religious Commitments; (h) That We Work for Justice and Peace on Earth.