January 13, 2006

Seminaries on a Hill

A Jewish college and a Christian theological school attempt a group hug of biblical proportions

By John L. Pulley

Newton Centre, Mass.

A rabbi and a Baptist minister walk into a bar. …

The bar in this telling is Tartufo Italiano, a bistro here in an affluent suburb of Boston. One-half of the odd pair is Rabbi David M. Gordis, a Talmudic scholar and president of Hebrew College. His colleague is the Rev. Nick Carter, a peace activist and president of Andover Newton Theological School. They are meeting, as they often do, to discuss an evolving collaboration between their institutions. They aspire to teach a