Wisdom Newsletter February 2023
Climate Repentance March and Teachings
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The Jewish world and the interreligious world lost another great leader this month when the former Chief Rabbi of France and member of the Elijah Board of World Religious Leaders, Rabbi René-Samuel Sirat died in Jerusalem on 10 February, at the age of 92.
Born in Bône, French Algeria in 1930, Sirat became a rabbi in Clermont-Ferrand in 1952.
He completed a PhD in Hebrew Language and Literature and taught at the Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations at the University of Paris
Rabbi Sirat was elected Chief Rabbi of France in 1980 and served in that position from 1981-87. During his time as Chief Rabbi, he also served as co-moderator of the World Conference of Religions for Peace and participated in the first “Incontro interreligioso di Assisi” in 1986 alongside Pope John Paul II.
Rabbi Sirat also served as Vice Chairperson of the Conference of European Rabbis.
Recognised for his work for dialogue, he was made an Officer of the Legion of Honour in 1998.
In 1999, he co-founded the “Fondation pour la Recherche et le Dialogue Interreligieux et Inter-Culturels” in Geneva alongside Joseph Ratzinger and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. He was the founding director of the UNESCO committee "Knowledge of the Religion of the Book and Education for Peace". Thus, he had a dual engagement with Elijah, both through the common UNESCO chair, shared by both organizations, and through his membership in the Elijah Board of World Religious Leaders.
Religions and Repentance
In the year 2000, during Pope John Paul II's pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Elijah held a conference on the theme, religions and repentance, whose proceedings were presented to the Pope. Rabbi Sirat was the Jewish keynote speaker.
Click here for his presentation.
For an obituary in French, click here.
May his legacy live on.
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We are happy to continue sharing with you clips from the London climate repentance ceremony. We begin with the climate march, and the introduction to it. This is followed by spiritual sharings from Rabba Tamar Elad Applebaum and Swami Sarvasthananda.
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Alon Goshen Gottstein's Introduction Speech to the Climate Repentance Walk
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Climate Repentance Walk
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Rabba Tamar Elad Applebaum's speech
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Swami Sarvasthananda's Speech
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Roots in the Ground, Branches Reaching Outward
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For more than five years, Elijah has been a partner in Praying Together in Jerusalem, where we learn from each other and pray alongside each other.
This month's gathering was devoted to the theme of "Roots in the ground, branches reaching outward" and focused on our relationship to the created, natural world. We considered how through our connections with nature, we can nurture our connections with the Creator.
This follows Elijah's commitment to Climate Repentance.
As you will see from this edited video of the event, we shared beautiful teachings from Judaism, Christianity, Sikhism and Islam. Our teachers included young students, religious ministers and elders of the community, highlighting the opportunities we have to come together across religions and across generations to both learn and pray together.
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