“These two men have written a book I believe Christians should read as it imparts important information on various aspects of a Jewish way of thinking and life and allows the reader to feel a closer relation to the Jewish people.” Actress, Patricia Heaton
Love, antisemitism, life, education, Jewish community: these are just some of the topics explored by a retired congregational rabbi and a retired obstetrician/gynecologist in a regular newspaper column, during walks in the park, and now in book form. In A Rabbi and a Doctor Walk into a Bar: A Shared Dialogue on Faith and Belief Rabbi Mark Schiftan and Dr. Frank Boehm aim to both inspire and educate, each from his vantage point, but always from a Jewish perspective.
And what started as a fun way to spend meaningful time together has evolved into much more. “At first, I think our intent was to just sort of entertain people, share a dialogue between a man of faith and a man of science,” says Boehm, “And there’s a lot of difference in how we look at things. And we thought that was interesting to people.”
The two began with a monthly column in the Nashville Jewish Observer, the newspaper for the Jewish community in Middle Tennessee. What they could not foresee was the events of October 7th and the sharp rise in antisemitism and that would change the trajectory of their writing. “I think our reason for putting this book together is to combat the Jew hatred that’s now rising in our society,” says Boehm.
“What emerged as the primary mission here is to create bridges of deep understanding and respect from the Christian community to members of the Jewish community,” says Schiftan. Boehm adds, “We believe that the more our Christian neighbors know about our faith, the more they’ll be sympathetic to our point of view.”
Schiftan, who is the emeritus rabbi of The Temple, Ohabai Shalom in Nashville, has a long history of developing relationships with the local Christian community. He is currently faculty liaison for Jewish students at Belmont University and was instrumental in creating a Jewish studies initiative at the university.
It is this proximity that ignited his passion for building relationships beyond the synagogue walls. “We in Nashville live in an extraordinary time and place where the Christian community is finally comfortable with the idea that the more they know about the Jewish faith, Jesus’s faith, the more they come to appreciate and value who we are and what we bring to the table.”
He says now, more than ever, it is important to harness the power of that appreciation. “What we’ve learned since October 7th, 2023, is that it is critical for us to recognize who our friends are, which may be different than who our friends used to be.” He believes there is a large part of the Christian world that has befriended the Jewish community and become defenders of the Jews, and he is not concerned with any perceived ulterior motivation. “In the here and now, what matters is that we have people who will rise to defend us.”
The book’s publisher, Nurturing Faith, is a Christian publishing house, and this is their first book by a non-Christian author. The relationship is also a by-product of Schiftan’s friendship with Belmont. Dr. Jon Roebuck, executive director of the Charlie Curb Center for Faith Leadership, has published several books with the company. He suggested it might be a good fit for Schiftan and Boehm’s book.
Indeed, it was a good fit, although there was a wrinkle: the book was already contracted with another non-religious publisher. “I got out of that one because we felt that even though we didn’t really know what we were getting into, we thought that because of this antisemitism stuff it might be really good to reach out to Christians, even more than to Jews,” says Boehm.
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Roebuck connected the authors with John Pierce, director of Worldview Initiative at Belmont and former executive editor of the Nurturing Faith Journal, now the book’s Nurturing Faith imprint. Pierce says the Nurturing Faith brand represents a move away from what had been a more strictly Baptist identity toward a broader, more ecumenical vision. “Our appreciation for multi-faith engagement and understanding has motivated our interest in publishing books beyond our particular Christian focus.” He adds the company has published on a variety of topics including theology, leadership, fiction, biography, history and Bible study.
Pierce says the book also represents an important lesson about civil discourse and constructive disagreement. “The honesty, sincerity and respect that Rabbi Shiftan and Dr, Boehm display in the book creates a very healthy example of how people who disagree can do so in constructive ways. So, in addition to their many insights offered throughout their conversations in the book, there is a model for respectful dialogue at a time when religious and philosophical difference can be so divisive and damaging.”
The tone of the book and the personalities of the authors is what attracted Mitch Randall, CEO of Good Faith Media, the publisher. He says the book was very approachable and would connect well with readers. “Bringing a rabbi and doctor together to discuss matters of faith seemed to us an organic conversation that would occur in cafes and bars across the world. There is something very authentic about the authors and the book.”
Randall says this authenticity is at the core of Good Faith Media’s mission, which is to foster spaces for dialogue and conversation among intellectuals from diverse faith backgrounds. “Rabbi Schiftan and Dr. Boehm demonstrate the power of curiosity and the openness to learn.”
It is this openness by Good Faith Media and Belmont that Schiftan says he hopes readers will appreciate. The book is divided into three main areas. First is a discussion around the dual loyalties of Jews in America, issues of antisemitism and Jew hatred. The second is what the authors consider to be a catch-all of social, ethical, moral issues of the day, and the Jewish response to it. And the third, and perhaps more difficult and unorthodox, is concepts around God, prayer, life after death. “It will be very interesting for Christians,” says Schiftan, “But I think that all sort of encapsulates the fact that Jesus was a Jew. He lived as a Jew. He died as a Jew.” He says the more Christians understand a different approach, the more they might be willing to grapple with their own views.
As a companion to the book, the authors have planned speaking engagements designed in the same conversational format as the book. The idea is to bring to life the concepts in the book, and to model what Schiftan says is rabbinic Judaism and Talmudic study. “We’re presenting opinions sometimes that coalesce, sometimes that differ, but both have value in the process of critical thought.”
Pierce says this broader, more diverse study of faith, presented by Jews, should go a long way toward doing exactly what the authors hope: to build bridges of understanding. “My hope is the book will find a larger audience than within the Jewish community in Nashville and become a source of conversation for many people who want to better understand the explorations of faith beyond their own familiar experiences.”
The book is available now, and the first of the speaking engagements are already scheduled. Local events are: August 17 and 24 at The Temple, October 19 at Congregation Micah, October 22 at West End Synagogue, and September 5 at Green Hills Rotary Club. And the dialogue continues; the two report a second volume is in the works.
