By Marlene Quaroni - Florida Catholic
Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC
Rabbi Edwin Farber displays the Torah and explains its meaning to St. Hugh students.
AVENTURA � Rabbi Edwin Farber unrolled the Torah as middle school students from Hochberg Preparatory and St. Hugh School gathered around the podium in the sanctuary of Beth Torah�s Benny Rok campus.
�The Torah contains the five books of Moses written in Hebrew,� he told the St. Hugh students, whose boys wore yarmulkes like the Hochberg boys as a sign of respect for God. �The stained glass windows on the wall above the sanctuary depict the 12 tribes of Israel.�
The Catholic students� visit Jan. 19 to Beth Torah coincided with the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Rome�s Great Synagogue Jan. 17. His visit commemorated Pope John Paul II�s historic 1986 visit to the Rome synagogue.
Patricia Bainberg-deZapatero, the mother of Esteban Bainberg-deZapatero, 11, a sixth-grader at St. Hugh, helped arrange the �Day of Unity, Dialogue and Respect.�
�We are following the example of Pope Benedict XVI�s visit to the synagogue,� said Bainberg-deZapatero.
The native of Argentina came to the United States eight years ago. Having a Jewish father and a Catholic mother led her to work in interfaith relationships in Argentina, where she met Rabbi Mario Rojzman, a fellow Argentine. In 2003, he was appointed co-rabbi at Beth Torah, a conservative synagogue, where he serves with Rabbi Farber.
�We thought it would be a beautiful sign for the two religions to get together,� said Bainberg-deZapatero, whose husband is the director of religious education at St. Hugh, which is located in Coconut Grove. �You see the kids together and there are no barriers between them.�
Bainberg-deZapatero called the occasion that brought together 78 St. Hugh and 55 Hochberg middle school students a good learning experience.
�Ignorance is the mother of prejudice,� said Bainberg-deZapatero. �We have to fight against ignorance through education. There are plans for the Hochberg students to come to St. Hugh School for a similar learning experience.�
Rabbi Rojzman co-authored �All Roads Lead to Jerusalem�and Also to Rome� along with Bishop Justo Laguna, bishop emeritus of Moron, a province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The rabbi and bishop co-hosted a television program for two years on inter-religious dialogue called �Laguna-Rojzman: To keep us thinking�.
Rabbi Rojzman told the students, parents and teachers that both religions are stronger together than alone.
�You will learn from us and we will learn from you,� he said. �This event represents a celebration of our diversity. In two hours you will see how many similarities we have.�
The rabbi recalled that Jesus Christ heard the words of scripture and prayed in �a place like this.�
�We Christians and Jews are direct descendants of Abraham, our father in faith,� Rabbi Rojzman said. �Pope John Paul II established a relationship based on mutual respect and dignity. We must create a sense of social solidarity based on our common traditions.�
As part of the occasion, a group of students from both schools sat together to write a �proclamation of unity� which included three steps: to meet together, to learn together and to work together.
During the prayer service, St. Hugh students sang �Sunrise, Sunset� from �Fiddler on the Roof� and St. Hugh music teacher Marianna Carreras played the theme from �Schindler�s List� on the violin. The event ended with a kosher lunch.
�I learned that although we practice our faith differently we both are working for the good of mankind,� said Hochberg eighth-grader Matan Zohar, 14. �Christians believe that Jesus Christ teaches peace and prosperity, the same as Judaism.�
�I learned that out of respect for the Torah you stand,� said St. Hugh sixth-grader Blaise Waters, 13. �You cover your eyes during the Shema so that you can focus on the prayer and the ark protects the Torah.�
Rabbi Rojzman praised the new unity between Christian and Jews.
�We have had more of these encounters in the past 65 years than in the first 1900 years,� he said. �We are not owners of truth, we are, both, seekers of truth.�
Father Juan Torres, parochial vicar at St. Hugh, said the 10 commandments were a gift from God for both religions and that both Christians and Jews are one people of God.
�We still have a long way to go as Christians and Jews,� said Father Torres. �May we continue on this path.�
Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC
Marianna Carreras, music teacher at St. Hugh School in Coconut Grove, plays the theme from "Schindler's List" during the prayer service Jan. 19 at Beth Torah Synagogue in Aventura.
Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC
Victor Cabarrocas, 13, and other St. Hugh students sing "Sunrise, Sunset" from "Fiddler on the Roof" during their visit to Beth Torah synagogue in Aventura.
Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC
St. Hugh boys wearing yarmulkes listen to speakers welcoming them to Beth Torah Synagogue in Aventura Jan. 19.
