The world is reaching turmoil.

There's so much destruction.

There's so much conflict.

And within all of this, of all places in Tbilisi, Georgia, we're showing what the world could be like.

[CHOIR SINGING IN HEBREW] I didn't know anything about the country of Georgia before this project became part of my life.

I don't think I could have found Georgia on a map.

I now know that it's between the Black Sea Caspian Sea.

I think I probably knew that Stalin was from there.

I knew that it had been under Soviet rule and suppression.

I have not been afraid to confront bigotry.

You have got prejudice against Muslims, you need to make friends with Muslims.

You have got prejudice against Jews.

You need to make friends with Jews.

You have got prejudice with Christians.

And these encounters and friendships can be healing.

2600 years of Jewish history.

But there's never been liberal Judaism in Georgia.

This will be the first time that women will be reading publicly from the Torah.

There will be a woman's voice chanting from a Sefer Torah with no self-consciousness about her place there.

This is the way of inclusive Judaism.

You want Torah?

I can show you Torah.

Of course I'm crazy.

And I think Jesus, whom I consider as being my rabbi, was crazy.

The people who have been agents of change: Martin Luther King Jr.

Mahatma Gandhi they we are all crazy.

But these crazy people, they take a risk.

They may sacrifice their lives, but they become agents of change.

And thus their purpose of life becomes fulfilled.

We said we need to react not with a phobia, but with something that is beautiful.

Being a good Christian, Is not good enough any longer.

Or being a good religious person is not good enough any longer.

We need to go beyond our religious denomination.

The original church that belongs to our denomination was pulled down by communists in 1971.

And instead of the church, we were given a warehouse which we could adjust to the liturgy needs.

But the irony is that this warehouse had been built by German prisoners of war after World War Two.

And for us, building this cathedral has been the healing experience.

We're standing in the Peace Cathedral with the visionary behind it: Bishop Malhaz.

What is the essence of this place?

Under the same roof of the Peace Cathedral, we have got Christian church, Jewish synagogue, Muslim mosque.

And the idea is to to be together under the same roof and learn from each other's experiences.

Theological.

Liturgical.

Etcetera.

This is our Beit Knesset Ner Shalom Now you are most welcome to to the Peace Mosque.

Here, we have got direction into Mecca.

We became friends through an interfaith project that's actually based in Berlin.

My interfaith roots are deeply ingrained in me.

My grandfather was one of the founders of the reform movement in Israel, and my father is the first Israeli born reform rabbi.

Moses overpowers God and manages to snatch at the last moment, the Ten Commandments and go and bring them to the people of Israel.

My name is Rabbi Golan Ben-Chorin.

I try to offer Judaism as a way of making meaning in our lives.

It used to be 100,000 Jews throughout Georgia in the 70s and 80s.

Most of them left either to the United States or to Israel.

And it had to do with the lowering of the influence of the Soviet bloc over Georgia.

There are a few thousand Jews left today.

When I was asked to bring a Torah scroll to the synagogue, that Bishop Malhaz in his vision of this peace project had created.

I said, wonderful, but you don't bring a Torah scroll to an empty building.

A Torah scroll is the Torah of life.

You bring it to a Jewish community.

I thought maybe we can find Jews in Georgia that are open to interfaith dialogue in which men and women feel not only equal, but comfortable.

And this is a brand new idea to Georgia.

When we put out word that we would offer an opportunity for people who hadn't done bar and bat mitzvah, people came out of the woodwork and said, we're in.

By the time I brought that Torah scroll here, we had ten Jews, a minion of Jews who wanted to receive the Torah.

If Golan and I had met some years back prior to the pandemic, perhaps.

I'm not sure that I would have been able to pause at the burning bush, but I did this time.

I paused.

I soaked it in for a moment, and then I said, Hineni.

What am I going to do to help?

Do you need me?

And then the answer was, yeah.

[CANTOR SINGING IN HEBREW] I'm Meredith Greenberg, I am the cantor and the spiritual leader of Temple Ner Tamid.

This was, in some ways, a very familiar request.

The idea that we would help other people express their Judaism.

When I was a little girl, the Jewish community that I grew up in in South Florida helped to resettle Jewish families that were in our area and had been under communist rule in the former Soviet Union.

That experience of meeting at the plane, meeting at the tarmac and greeting new families, these people that I knew, they went to the JCC that I went to.

They went to the synagogue that I went to.

It's really the most exciting adventure to be with people who are hungry to find their path, and to just be a willing contributor.

Hi.

How are you?

Shalom.

The men and women that I am teaching are all equally beginning this journey together.

I'm so nervous.

You know Excellent.

This one stays up.

They are all standing on to this path of liberal Judaism at the same rate.

It's really just two sounds, I definitely feel like I'm doing something very consequential here.

That is a perfect verse.

Hopefully, this is the beginning of something that could morph into a movement of liberal Judaism throughout countries where it's suppressed.

For me, it's very important to have bat mitzvah.

It's the first time in my life when somebody told me that I'm enough Jew and what I do it matters.

In an ultra orthodox country, as is Georgia, we had only one option when it came to religion.

It's only the orthodox way of studying.

Line 23.

Did you both learn it?

Sing it together.

One.

Two.

Three.

Oh my gosh.

Oh, my heart is, like, popping out of my chest.

I'm so happy you guys.

Look how far you've come.

Their pilgrimage is certainly not without its bumps in the road.

Some of their concerns are exactly the same as the kinds of things we worry about here.

Antisemitism, for instance.

But having to deal with it there, it seems.

It seems even even more severe.

This happened overnight at Temple Ner Tamid in Bloomfield, in what authorities are now treating as a hate crime.

Officials say a man tried to burn the facility down with a molotov cocktail.

But the safety systems they had in place thwarted that attack.

Religious leaders and Jewish leaders believe that false accusations about Jewish people are fueling the rise in antisemitic crimes.

When the Molotov cocktail happened here, I suppose that another alternative would have been fear.

And to become more insular to protect on the outside by locking the doors tighter and putting out more of a block more between the outside world and us.

But it only makes my commitment that much stronger.

It really does.

The attack on Ner Tamid in a very mysterious way, is an attack on Peace Cathedral, on the Peace Synagogue, on the Peace Mosque, because it is attack which has been nurtured, encouraged by ignorance, prejudice and fear.

[CANTOR SINGING] I will build this world from love.

[CANTOR SINGING] And you must build this world from love.

[CANTOR SINGING] And if we build this world from love.

[CANTOR SINGING] [RECITING IN HEBREW] It sounds lonely.

Misha, there's a third person who you should probably introduce us to.

Tell me your name and what your religion is.

Hello.

You know what?

Maybe it would be more relaxing for you if you continue your part of the conversation in Georgian rather than in English.

Okay.

I am one of the first to take part in the bat mitzvah in Georgia, and I'm extremely happy as well as anxious.

When you were growing up, did you in any way feel different from other children and if so, how?

Oh, I will cry now.

Why does my question make you cry?

When I was a young girl, we used to go to the synagogue, but almost in secret.

Maybe this is why the tears are coming.

In my family, there are multiple faith traditions.

And as a child, I was baptized.

But my grandfather went to the synagogue and took us with him.

We attended prayers and I sang.

I always liked that the Jewish people were protective of their long history and that they trust in their faith.

I think that being bat mitzvahed is a way for me to connect with my ancestors, who were Jewish, to continue their history.

As a part of it I will be singing a song that I wrote.

I looked at some Jewish liturgy to choose the text, one that felt very close to my heart and gave me inner harmony.

Could you sing some of that song?

What does it mean?

The rabbis understand it as, Be careful of the zealot who knows exactly what God wants.

I'm not signing anyone's paper.

Who is a Jew and who is not a Jew.

Everyone is welcome to journey on that path of Jewish meaning making.

How is the Orthodox community reacting to what is taking place this week?

I have not made a point of, seeking out their response.

It's not so relevant for me.

I never look for conflict.

I never seek to demonstrate our worldview and make a point of showing it as, a new entity that comes into a society or a setting.

It's all about having our people do what they want.

Hi!

Misha!

It's so nice to meet you!

You too!

Oh my goodness.

How are you?

Good.

You're very tall.

Hello.

And, Meredith, you've only seen -- it's perfect time and we just got to your Torah portion.

Nina!

Meeting Nina was like meeting a niece.

Someone that for some awful reason, we never met in person.

Remind me, how does it go?

[SINGING IN HEBREW AND GEORGIA] Before I heard my song with guitar chords accompanying the text, I was very nervous.

[SINGING CONTINUES] But when me, Rabbi Golan and Meredith rehearsed it together, it gave me a feeling I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

[SINGING CONTINUES] Good.

We got it We got it [SINGING IN HEBREW] Communists came to power in Georgia in 1921.

And they started slowly but steadily suppressing religions.

And by the end of the 20s, most religions were suppressed.

What it meant priests were defrocked.

The Lutheran priests were sent out of the country, some Roman Catholics who opposed We're also sent either to Siberia or killed.

They did come back, but they were broken people.

And it was only after the breakup of the Soviet Union, religion started to come back.

What you're doing a lot of people would consider very different.

Maybe revolutionary.

Are you ever afraid for your family?

I used to love walking in those mountains.

I'm very sorry to tell you that upper part of this plane is occupied by Russians.

Wait, there's a border?

That's Russian occupied territory?

Yeah, yeah.

2008, Georgia was invaded by one of the strongest countries in the world.

Despite intervention of international communities, the Russians would not leave the country.

They took 25% of the country firmly into their grasp.

So after the Russians left, they never returned that land to Georgia?

No.

There is a fear that if Russia fails in Ukraine, Russia may may attack Georgia in order to save face in the population to say, well, I failed in Ukraine but didn't fail in Georgia.

What happened yesterday during the day, and this is what we wanted to share with you, was that the Orthodox establishment within Georgia heard about what we're doing, and surprise, surprise, it didn't sit well with them.

They actually published a letter in social media telling people that if they want to stay true to Jewish belief, they should not join, and asking any everyone to not partake in any of this.

My line is always do not respond in public domains like that.

Once you feed the fire, it's just going to be harder to put it out.

Nothing good will come from a public spewing out of ideas in the, you know, on the ether.

Nothing good will come of that.

For myself when I when I think about the people that had their own huddle before they wrote this letter to go on social media, they were doing that because at the core, this tradition matters more to them than anything else at all.

And they are fearful that it will be in some way hurt.

And when I remind myself that it's coming from that place that they don't know me, they don't know Golan.

They just they don't know the people that are doing this thing, and they don't know how much we have in common, which is that we're also coming from a place that is just such a deep love and care for this tradition.

(Military Chants) Exactly.

I think we're in the middle of Georgian Independence Day and we're trying to forge our own way through.

We were celebrating Independence Day, but there was no genuine jubilation because of the shadow of the war.

You may see your troops marching in the streets of Tbilisi, but at the same time, no, you know that they are helpless to to protect the country from possible invasion from Russia.

When we gathered at the Peace Cathedral, everyone was invited to help our Muslim friends consecrate their mosque.

And that's what we're inviting everyone here.

Find your stretch zone.

For some, that might mean walking into a prayer space that is not my own.

For others, that might mean participating in an action and or activity of a different faith.

I knew that it was such a radical thing to have, traditional Imam leading us and inviting men and women, anyone identifying however they want in terms of their gender identity and of course, their religious identities.

I am a gay woman, and rarely have I felt that the whole of my identity was not just tolerated, but celebrated.

The imam explained there were essentially five texts, all predominantly focused on finding gratitude, gratitude for God, gratitude for family.

It felt good to join our Muslim brethren when I bowed down as part of the service and the imam signaled to the to the congregation to do so.

I wouldn't necessarily say it was, praying to Allah, but it was in the spirit of brotherhood.

I did not bow.

you know, this whole fundamental notion that Jews do not bow is something that feels ingrained in my DNA and being asked to do it to another God, It was just a line that I did not feel comfortable crossing.

I never had a moment's doubt that we were all praying to the same oneness, and it was only after that I had any sense that what I had done was so radical for the other people in the room.

What we're taught about idolatry in the Jewish tradition and about other gods, and having to be careful not to assimilate, not to lose our sense of self.

All of those things are very deeply internalized in me too.

The people in the Ner Tamid community that were challenged, either by being asked or just by seeing me, their religious leader, participate so fully.

I think that that was part of their journey, learning where your edges are.

And sometimes you realize that it's further out than you thought, and sometimes you realize, no, it's not.

I am totally interested in going to church or an Islamic celebration to celebrate with my friends their tradition.

I think that these traditions are lovely, but I don't really necessarily buy the idea that what's different about these religions doesn't matter.

Only what's the same matters.

Good morning.

I'm so excited.

Hi, guys.

To be a part of the service, we are for the first time in 26 centuries, Jewish women will be confirmed through bat mitzvah as being an integral and equal part of the community.

It's very special.

But what are you saying by you a bishop, putting a kippah on your head?

I'm saying I am in solidarity with my brothers and sisters in Judaism.

I am a humble servant to them in this particular setting.

And I'm also telling Christians not to be scared of different religions.

And we are very different vestments kippah or no kippah, or whatever.

But at the end of the day, we are human beings and this is what matters.

Being bar and bat mitzvah means to acknowledge the active desire to be part of the Jewish people.

And the secret of Judaism is that we have our deep roots in the past, and we have always the potential of what we are creating in the future.

This took a lot of time to make this.

Every bar and bat mitzvah is contributing today, right now, something new to what Judaism is still to become.

And I dare say this is the first time that a bat mitzvah has created liturgical music in Georgia.

[SINGING IN HEBREW AND GEORGIA] The ability of music with the words of liturgy to ignite people's souls is one of the magic elements of Judaism.

Now pray.

We are about to take the Torah out of the ark and pass it through.

Someone took upon themselves, in this case, Ilona, to learn how to blow shofar as a remembrance of that moment of receiving Torah.

This is the moment we turn to the Torah reading.

[RECITNG IN HEBREW] The reality of Georgia is unique.

This story of the Jewish people within Georgia is special, and your commitment on your journey of Jewish life is a blessing.

And that is the difference.

Are we active and creating within our Jewish lives?

I'm so excited for this day.

And Ilona is already inspiring the next generation.

Oh my gosh.

We're going to have a lot of time together on Zoom.

I thought a lot about my mother who is an inspiration to me and who almost single handedly brought bat mitzvah, full bat mitzvahs for girls to the synagogue where I grew up.

So I was thinking that I can't wait to tell my mother all about this.

I made it loud and clear that I will not be working with Hillel as long as this management is in the position.

When it comes to religion, you cannot sit on two chairs at the same time.

We are called to follow these rules to preserve our traditions.

If we did not adhere to the religious rules as a Jewish people, we would disappear.

How do you regard the women and men who chose to be bat and bar mitzvahed, and who read publicly from the Torah at the Peace Cathedral?

They are either corrupt or lied to or misguided.

According to the religious rules, it is not allowed.

This is how we know that they are not serious.

They just do whatever they want.

Unfortunately, they are not Jews.

They are only pretending.

My goal is that no Jews end up on their side with them.

I am sure that if someone else offered them a bigger grant, more money, they would change again and move to a different religion tomorrow.

There is something about human desire to know truth and to commit oneself completely to an ultimate truth that is destroying us.

Because an ultimate truth leads to the fact that anyone else is wrong.

It seems evocative of Pablo Picasso's famous anti-war painting Guernica which portrays mass suffering sparked by violence.

We're on a mission to, learn and understand and appreciate.

By working together, we can truly build some level of peace, not only for what is happening in Georgia, but also being able to bring that understanding to our own interfaith work back in New Jersey.

We break this bread for those who love God, for those who follow the path of Islam, Judaism, Christianity, or any other faith tradition.

We raise this cup for the persecuted prisoners of cultures and faith for all the marginalized, minorities, refugees, migrants members of the LGBTQ community, so that one day God comforts the persecuted and takes the heart of stone of the persecutors and give them a human heart.

Amen.

[SINGING IN UKRAINIAN] [SINGING IN UKRAINIAN] There was one moment when people were taking the Eucharist, where there's an older woman, and she was hunched over and she walked by and blew us kisses and smiled, and we all were beaming.

And I thought, we can talk about interfaith.

That was it.

That was interfaith interaction.

But it just felt so good.

I almost wanted to cry.

[SINGING IN HEWBREW] [SINGING CONTINUES] The way that prayer and song and spirit bring us together is so powerful.

It doesn't diminish our differences.

This is not my faith tradition, but this is a home that lifts up my spirits.

[SINGING IN HEBREW] [SINGING IN HEBREW] [APPLAUSE] Hundreds of Israelis and Palestinians are dead after the militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel.

Hamas has taken dozens of hostages, too.

Like this 85 year old grandmother.

[SINGING] I must build this world from love.

[SINGING] And you must build this world from love.

[SINGING] I need to be able to participate in something that is willing to take a chance for peace.

I'm so out of ideas other than there has to be some path to peace.

It makes the work of the Peace Project feel like it may be the only answer.

It's as if only in this tiny little place in the world, In Tbilisi where there's an active hope that the Abrahamic faith traditions can meet and be with one another, even if it takes hundreds more years for us to find repair.

The human mind is the most developed tool, but each one of us can never step out of our own mind.

But the more I interact with other limited minds that are different than my mind, the richer my understanding of existence becomes.

And that's why I engage in interfaith work to meet other limited minds that are different in their limitation.

If what we do triggers other communities to say, if it happens in Tbilisi, it can happen in my neighborhood.

That's greatness.

So as a result of pressure from the Orthodox community on Hillel, Keti was given the option of either to apologize or to feel the consequences as it was put.

And she decided to do neither.

She had nothing to apologize for.

She decided to resign from Hillel, and her entire team resigned with her and moved into working for the community that was built up around the Peace Synagogue.

Today, we are gathering here to make another new chapter in our history now our new history of progressive Judaism in Georgia.

And today we will have two bat mitzfahs.

[SINGING IN HEBREW] My way to Judaism was not smooth at all.

But God's timing is always right.

I'm planning to apply for rabbinical studies and it will make me the first female rabbi from Georgia.

Whatever it takes, I think it's worth it.

Since we met last time, we have managed to build this little oratory chapel, which is a Buddhist shrine, another sacred space for a different religion under the same roof.