Plot Summary

A well-known advocate of interfaith dialogue, Hirschfield states that we must own the dark side of all our religious traditions or we are in danger of inciting the same kind of hatred that destroyed the World Trade Center. “Religion drove those planes into the buildings, but it can also provide the catalyst for building a better world.”Hirschfield, a key panelist at the 2004 Parliament of the World’s Religions in Barcelona, the pre-eminent interfaith forum, says that every tradition is going through similar struggles. Appearing in an acclaimed documentary about that experience, Freaks Like Me, now at film festivals nationwide, Hirschfield, along with a group of students from the University of Oklahoma, explores how to deal with a fear of the faithful and embrace devouts of other traditions. He is also co-producing a film in which he is featured on religious fanaticism in America, When Good Gods Go Bad. A noted speaker at the prestigious Aspen Institute, the Washington National Cathedral, and many leading universities and religious institutes, Hirschfield is in demand as a thinker and teacher on the future role of religion, the conflicts between Islam and the West, and creating healthy spirituality and the danger of religious absolutism.

Hirschfield is the Vice President of CLAL–The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, a leadership training institute, think tank, and resource center. An Orthodox rabbi, he received his ordination from the Metivta where he taught in the Dept. of Talmud and Rabbinics, his M.A. and M.Phil. from the Jewish Theological Seminary, and his B.A. from the University of Chicago. A consultant to communal institutions and foundations on issues of philanthropy, ethics and identity, he is the co-author of Embracing Life & Facing Death: A Jewish Guide to Palliative Care(CLAL, 2003). He is currently completing a book on the challenge of Holocaust memory in the 21^st century.