Students sometimes chat with Liran Gerassi about Judaism at the Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology. He gets asked in the seminary cafeteria about Jewish blessings before meals. To this, he has explained that there are separate blessings for food and wine.
Gerassi leads The Lux Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies at the seminary, which is focused on maintaining strong Jewish-Catholic relations. He started as director there in August. The Lux Center is part of the Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology, in Franklin, where tomorrow’s priests and Catholic scholars are trained.
“I plan the curriculum, programming, and the events for seminarians, faculty members, and staff members to learn about Judaism and the Jewish roots of Catholicism,” he said. In addition, Gerassi oversees fundraising, social media and public relations.
Gerassi, who was born in Jerusalem, is the first-ever Israeli native to be employed by the seminary, he said. That background naturally leads him to engage in dialogue about Israel.
“It’s a big deal,” Gerassi said. He added that the seminary students “want to hear about what Jerusalem looks like now, because many of them have not gone to Israel, and I’m the first ever Israeli they’ve met in their life.”
Gerassi is an interim director. He plans to work in the role for two years before returning to Israel.
Future priests trained at the Lux Center can play a key role in dialogue about Israel, according to Gerassi.
“Ever since Oct. 7 happened, and even before, I was quite active about advocating for Israel and the Jewish people,” Gerassi said. “I want to contribute something, not only in terms of advocacy and defending Israel’s position in the world. I [feel] the need to give back to the community that hosts me temporarily right now, which is the Jewish community in Milwaukee, to the general Jewish community in the United States, and the diaspora.”
Gerassi is staying in Milwaukee while his wife is working at a cultural emissary here.
As a department within a seminary, the Lux Center works to promote interreligious relations and understanding through various activities and programs. Examples include study trips to Israel, lectures and discussions with scholars, and an annual seminar on Catholic-Jewish relations.
Gerassi also mentioned a new Lux Center initiative to begin this month called “Bagels with Lux.” For the event, the Center will invite Jewish community members to a breakfast round table discussion at the seminary. A new topic will be chosen each month as an opportunity for the Jewish community to engage in discussion and potentially influence future priests through dialogue.
Gerassi said the Lux Center’s goal is to raise awareness of the religious ties between Judaism and Catholicism, accomplished through dialogue between members of both religions.
“I think that the Jewish community in Greater Milwaukee or in Wisconsin, should be really proud that the Lux Center and the Sacred Heart Seminary is the only seminary in the country that houses such a program,” Gerassi said. “No other seminary is so dedicated to Jewish studies or dialogue.”
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The Lux Center for Catholic-Jewish Education will hold a “Bagels with Lux” event at 8 a.m., Nov. 12. For more information, email Liran Gerassi at lgerassi@shsst.edu.
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