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In January of 2008, a historical moment took place when Ohr Torah Stone, under the leadership of Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, established the first Orthodox Jewish institution dedicated to religious dialogue, mutual understanding and active cooperation with Christians, the Hertog Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation (CJCUC). Since its founding CJCUC has moved to the forefront of theological advancements in the Jewish-Christian relationship. It has also changed the paradigm by engaging tens of thousands of Christians through Bible studies, promoting a Jewish theology with a positive understanding of Christianity and Christians, organizing faith-based events that bring Jews and Christians together, and coordinating humanitarian aid for Christians facing financial hardship in the birthplace of Christianity and other areas in the Middle East.
In 2011, CJCUC published an organizational statement of Jewish Understanding of Christians and Christianity. Then in 2015, CJCUC facilitated the first Orthodox Rabbinic Statement on Christianity in, which more than 75 Orthodox Rabbis have signed.
CJCUC sees the Bible as the cornerstone for the spiritual relationship between Jews and Christians. Both Judaism and Christianity revere and consider the Hebrew Bible as authoritative text and agree that understanding the Hebrew of the Bible is important to its exegesis. Furthermore, both Jews and Christians view these canonized texts as the basis of a Godly life. To this end, the Ohr Torah Interfaith Center, through the CJCUC, operates several study groups with Christian leaders and builds trust, mutual understanding, and cooperation.
