The Jewish world must prioritize multi-faith gatherings – now more than ever

Many in the Jewish community will likely agree that there is little upon which we can agree. The age-old quip “two Jews with three opinions” seems more apt than ever before after the polarizing Israel-Hamas War in the wake of the unfathomable terrorist attack of October 7, 2023. Perhaps there is one sacrosanct and unifying idea around which we can all rally; namely, that it is more important now than ever before to engage in peace-loving interfaith events with other faith communities. The recent massacre at a Hanukkah gathering at Bondi beach is a horrific reminder that this need remains. What better way than this to offset both the sinat chinam – baseless hatred and toxic infighting – that seems to permeate the Jewish world, and the monstrous antisemitism that serve as an existential threats to Jewish survival.  Failing to do so lends victory to extremist forces on all sides, including the perpetrators of any acts of terror. Succeeding in redoubling multifaith efforts also is the noblest way of honoring heroes like 43-year-old Muslim husband and father and fruit shop owner Ahmed al-Ahmed, who risked life and limb to save lives at the Menorah lighting at Bondi. On a personal level, it also honors the sacrifices of Righteous Among the Nations like Polish Catholic farmer Michal Cegelski, who gave his life to save the lives of this author’s grandmother and her three sisters hiding on his farm during the Holocaust. 

Inspiring organizations such as Combatants for Peace and Standing Together have been doing this essential work for years, and continue to set a powerful example for the Jewish community on a daily basis. The greater Vancouver, BC, Canada Jewish community where I live has powerful examples of just this kind of initiative, as well. I had the great honour of participating just this past March in a beautiful gathering of the local Jewish and Muslim communities who came together in the Downtown Eastside to commemorate Shushan Purim and Ramadan by giving out food to those in need. That event was mainly the initiative of Vancouver-Granville Member of Parliament Taleeb Noormohamed, a few religious leaders of the Vancouver Muslim community, and Rabbis Dan Moskovitz, Philip Bregman, Jonathan Infeld, and Arik Labowitz of the Rabbinic Association of Vancouver. In a social media post describing the event, Rabbi Bregman poignantly wrote: “We may not be able to solve the world’s political issues, but we can come together to deal with, in a small way, a local issue (feeding the hungry) that affects us all.” 

Last month, I had the great blessing of attending another convening hosted by elements of the local Muslim community. The Elderly Organization of Ahmadiyya Muslim Ansarullah B.C. held a World Religions Conference on Monday evening, November 17, at the Star of the Sea Community Hall in White Rock. (This was the second such Ahmadiyya World Religions Conference multifaith event in which I had the pleasure of participating, the first occurring when I lived in greater Washington, DC years ago.) This annual multi-faith event, organized by Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at Canada, brings together well-known scholars from the world’s major religions to speak on a common topic from their respective religious traditions. Jonquil Hallgate, Surrey Interfaith Council chair, served as the moderator for faith leaders Dr. Eilaine McCeary (Baha’i), Rev. Richard Chau (Catholicism), Mr. Naeem Ahmed Lakhan (Islam), Mrs. Sukhvinder Kaur Vinning (Sikhism), Mr. Eden Engen (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Mr. Shrinath Dwivedi (Hindusim) and, representing Judaism, Rabbi Arik Labowitz of Or Shalom and myself. 

This year’s theme, “Kindness and Kinship,” focused on recognizing our shared humanity — being of a kind. Speakers shared inspiring variations on this theme, emphasizing that people can be motivated by such recognition to cooperate and help each other, to treat others as if they were members of their own family, to be generous, loving, and thoughtful, and to give as if to kin. Many leaders referenced directly or indirectly the famous Hebrew phrase ואהבת לרעך כמוך (“v’ahavta l’reiakha kamokha” – “love your neighbor as yourself”) from Leviticus 19:18. 

At Rabbi Arik’s suggestion, after he spoke, I concluded the evening by leading a rendition of “Olam Chessed Yibaneh,”,עוֹלָם חֶסֶד יִבָּנֶה, (“the world is built with kindness”), which Rabbi Menachem Creditor wrote in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks across the United States. Using the eponymous text from Psalms 89:3 (Tehillim 89:3) as the refrain, the song adds:  “I will build this world from love. And you must build this world from love. And if we build this world from love, then God will build this world from love.” We then concluded by repeating the chanted melody with guitar as a niggun on a neutral syllable to invite others to join in with us in the universal language of song. During the East Indian dinner that followed, many attendees approached us to share how much they had learned and how much they appreciated what we had to share.

Caption: Program from the evening’s event. 

Such interfaith collegiality – even “kinship” – occurs frequently among colleagues serving, like myself, in multifaith capacities as Spiritual Health Practitioners – what in the United States we called “chaplains” – in hospital, military, and prison settings. It is understandably much harder for those in the pulpit, who have the sacred responsibility of attending to the members of their own congregations and communities. This prioritization is why it is so impressive to consider the partnerships that local clergy – including so many of our rabbis – have made in Vancouver over the years. It is my hope and prayer to be able to sing at many such functions in the months and years to come. Only by standing together for the sake of mutual חסד (“chessed” – “lovingkindness”) can we hope to move forward in peace and fellowship as a thriving, diverse community.  

Note: This article first appeared in the Jewish Independent on Dec. 5, 2025.