Gilles Bernheim and Philippe Barbarin, Le rabbin et le cardinal

Here is a book that does not try to reconcile at any cost that which cannot be reconciled; instead, its focus is on exchanges which show how the Jewish-Christian dialogue can be full of insurmountable pitfalls.

 

 

Its two main protagonists are Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, Archbishop of Lyon, and Gilles Bernheim, Chief Rabbi of the Synagogue de la Rue de la Victoire in Paris. In a debate in which both parties showed each other respect, arguing their respective case, they agreed on one thing, that relativism and fundamentalism are traps that must be avoided.

 

During their discussions they addressed a variety of issues such as the figure of Jesus, how to approach faith and the Law, the historical roots of Christian Judeophobia, secularism, etc.

 

 

Moderated by Jean-François Mondot, the debate gave the rabbi an opportunity to take a look at Jesus and Saint Paul whilst allowing the cardinal to express his thoughts about the Holocaust, each illustrating his own point of view with personal anecdotes and childhood memories