Dear Friends,
According to the rhythms of the Jewish liturgical calendar, having just celebrated Simchat Torah ('Rejoicing in Torah') and welcomed the opening chapters of Genesis on Shabbat, the past year has come to completion and a new year, and a new cycle of Torah readings, is underway.
And what a year it has been, for the world, for whole communities and for personal lives, since the events of October 7, 2023. Unimaginably painful, disruptive; traumatizing, revealing, challenging.... ongoing.
For regular readers, I am aware that I have taken you on a journey these past 12 months that you didn’t sign up for… A year of reflections that have largely focused on antisemitism, rather than Torah. It’s not what I’d planned either, but I felt compelled to raise some kind of voice of protest as the 'world’s oldest hatred' re-emerged in ways I never thought I would see.
However, it is time to return this Weekly Insights blog to its original purpose - reflecting on the Torah portion of the week (Parashat Hashavua). I will kick start this new cycle in a separate post, but, first, some items of news:
New Book
May I share with you my latest book in which I have gathered up my reflections and opinion pieces from the past year and published them as one volume. Titled, October 7 – A Response to the 2023 Massacre in Israel and Surging Antisemitism in Australia, the book can be accessed at this webpage, in both digital and print book form.
Liturgical Calendar
I also share with you the liturgical calendar (for 2024-2025) produced by the generous efforts of Elizabeth Young, Etz-Hayim - Tree of Life Publishing. It is a helpful resource for Christians as they seek to ‘walk together’ with Jews on the journey to/with God, albeit via different religious paths. Freely download your calendar here.
Anniversary of Nostra Aetate
As I write this, it is the 59th anniversary of the promulgation of Nostra Aetate (28 October 1965), the document of the Second Vatican Council which held out so much hope for a new era in Catholic-Jewish relations and for interreligious relations more widely.
National Gathering - Interfaith Dialogue
In my home country of Australia, the 60th anniversary year of Nostra Aetate opens with a national Gathering organised by the Australian Council of Christians and Jews in Melbourne on 2-4 February 2025. The topic is Dialogue, and details can be found at this link. If you have an interest in interfaith dialogue, and can be in reach of Melbourne in February 2025, please do come along and engage with like-minded people who care deeply about the future of interfaith relations. Learn more here.
The path ahead - Weekly Insights
My plan is to share weekly Torah reflections at this webpage as the year unfolds, either from Light of Torah archives or (ideally) fresh writings as my schedule allows.
Thank you for sharing in this Torah journey.
Teresa
Teresa Pirola, ThD is a Sydney-based freelance writer and faith educator, and author of Catholic-Jewish Relations: Twelve Key Themes for Teaching and Preaching (Paulist Press/Stimulus, 2023).
Light of Torah is a grassroots project arising from the Catholic community, aimed at instilling in Christians a love for the Hebrew Scriptures/Old Testament and a respectful appreciation of Judaism and Jewish traditions.
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