The Elijah School for the Study of Wisdom in World Religions

The Elijah School for the Study of Wisdom in World Religions is the historical starting point of the Elijah Interfaith Institute. Many of the activities listed below under Previous Activities took part through the Elijah School. Prior to the creation of the Board, Academy and Network arms of the Institute, Elijah was known as the Elijah School for the Study of Wisdom in World Religions. It built academic and religious bridges in the city that is said to bridge heaven and earth. Not only did the school bring together twelve Jewish, Christian, and Muslim institutions within an academic consortium, but it also provided one of the few places in Israel where Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Jews meet without prejudice.

The major strength of the Elijah School consists of academic study, which takes place not in isolation or in abstraction, but within an interfaith community of faculty and students. Interfaith dialogue forms the backbone of the school and allows for the integration of the study of religious traditions with exposure to their lived spirituality. In addition, the school seeks to ground the teaching of religion in a deeper level of experience and engagement with issues of mutual concern.

Yearlong activity of the Elijah School in Jerusalem is currently postponed until completion of the HOPE project. Activity of the school currently takes place through a variety of academic partnerships. The annual summer school program has been taking place, for a number of years,  in Montreal, in collaboration with McGill University. Other Elijah school activities are taking place through additional partnerships, particularly in seminaries affiliated with the "Theologies of World Religions" project. Plans have also been drawn up for developing several academic consortia, in different parts of the world. These academic consortia would run academic programs, conferences, lecture series and more within their specific geographic regions. Creating such consortia would engage local academic resources in the various communities and territories to which Elijah's work spreads. These academic consortia would also provide the academic base to support the local work of the Educational Network.