As students were enjoying their first few weeks of summer, four members of the CCHS community prepared to attend a special event that was designed to bring two intertwined faiths closer together. The Bearing Witness program was held from June 28th-July 1st . Mrs. Margie Price, Mrs. Lorin Helbling, Mr. Daniel Spellacy, and Ms. Dawn Brannman were among the thirty-five Catholic educators who attended.
“One of the main mantras of this program was ‘Change Comes Through Personal Contact,’ and I focused on this because my personal philosophy is ‘Make a Difference,’ and I try to make a good difference in someone else’s life everyday,” said Mrs. Price.
In 1996, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) created ‘Bearing Witness’ for Catholic school educators; it is a program specifically designed to raise awareness about Jewish history and culture, Anti-Semitism, and the Holocaust. It is sponsored by those of the Jewish faith who believe there is a need to educate others and clear up misconceptions about the Jewish people. The program is offered in several cities nationwide, including San Diego.
In order to participate in the Bearing Witness program, those who are interested must fill out an application that includes a questionnaire and writing component, both of which are used to demonstrate one’s interest in the program.
“I was looking for something to do over the summer that was different from the norm. I wanted to find out more about the Catholic Church’s position on the Holocaust because I grew up in a community with a large Jewish population. I also wanted to learn more about the Jewish faith,” said Anatomy/Physiology and Oceanography teacher, Mrs. Lorin Helbling.
The first day’s events took place at Mater Dei High School in Chula Vista. On the first day, a Mass was held and then followed by workshops. The workshops held on the first day introduced participants to the relationship between the Catholic and Jewish people, Jewish history and culture, and Jewish prayer.
The workshop on Jewish history focused on the Torah and how Jewish Scripture began as oral tradition and gradually became written.
Mrs. Margie Price said there are four main ways to interpret Jewish Scripture. The Peshat is a simple understanding, or the literal meaning; Remez is the hinted meaning; Derash is the moral or allegorical meaning; and Sod is the secret, mystical meaning.
“Jewish Law is very interesting in the way [religious leaders] can come up with a topic and argue it forever,” said Mrs. Price.
The second day of the program was held at Temple Soleil in Cardiff, where additional workshops were held. These workshops were: “The Catholic Church and the Holocaust,” “History of Anti-Semitism,” and “The Future of Catholic Jewish Relations.
The third day of the program consisted of an Interfaith Dialogue between Rabbi Elliot Dorff and Father Dennis McManus. The Interfaith Dialogues focused on Jewish beliefs on different topics. The Interfaith Dialogue also traced the history of the Judeo-Christian relationship from the time of Jesus.
“I found the discussion between the rabbi and the priest regarding our Judeo-Christian relationship to be very interesting. It’s nice to see the harmony and reconciliation and our ability to get beyond the past and move forward,” said Scripture teacher Mr. Daniel Spellacy.
Since the time of Jesus, the Jewish people have been harassed and accused of deicide because of the Passion of Christ. However, during Vatican II, Pope John Paul II issued the papal encyclical Nostra Aetate, which repudiated the accusations of deicide targeted towards the Jewish people.
“The main concern of [Father McManus] was that not enough people today have received the message form Vatican II. I think his biggest thing was building understanding because of the past mistreatment of the Jewish people,” said Mrs. Helbling.
In addition to discussing the history of the Jewish and Christian faiths, the two men analyzed a Scripture verse from the Catholic and Jewish perspectives. The verse was taken from Luke 8:43-48, and it is the story of Jesus healing the hemorrhaging woman. Mrs. Price said the Jewish focus was on how it was so phenomenal that a woman, especially a bleeding woman, in that time was brave enough to touch Jesus, a man.
The Director of Christian Services and teacher of History of Christianity and Sacraments Ms. Dawn Brannman said moral issues that the two faiths disagreed about were discussed, and Rabbi Dorff also explained why Jewish people do not believe Jesus is the Messiah.
“It was good to hear things from a rabbi’s perspective. We got to see a Jewish temple and learn about a Sabbath service. We were invited to attend a Sabbath service, and I would like to go to one in the future,” said Ms. Brannman.
In the evening of the third day, there was a model Shabbat, or Sabbath meal, during which participants were able to talk one-on-one with Holocaust survivors. All four agreed that the highlight of the program was being able to talk with these people and witness their positive attitudes.
“The survivor I spoke with bore no hatred toward his captors due to his strong faith,” said Mr. Spellacy.
One of the survivors at the Passover meal was a man named Lou who was arrested with his family and sent to the concentration camps at the age of 16. His parents did not survive in the concentration camps, but he and his siblings lived through the horror. Ms. Brannman said she would never forget when he told her, “I could not talk to the person next to me about being cold because he was also cold. I could not talk to the person next to me about being hungry because he was also hungry. The only thing I could do was talk to God. Giving up on God was never an option for me.”
The fourth day was an additional workshop called “Echoes and Reflections,” and it was designed to give Catholic educators additional materials and resources that can be used to teach students about the Holocaust. Both Mr. Spellacy and Mrs. Helbling attended the fourth day, but Mrs. Price and Ms. Brannman did not attend because both had done “Echoes and Reflections” prior to the Bearing Witness program held this year.
“I learned from this experience how insidious it can be for evil to enter into our lives. It takes one thought and then people keep building upon it. We have to be conscious of what we do,” said Mrs. Price.
Link: Bearing Witness