`FORGIVENESS PROJECT'
Exhibit at OKC Jewish temple displays stories of forgiveness amid trauma
Alocal Jewish temple is hosting a special exhibit that incorporates one of the important themes of the High Holy Days: forgiveness. Rabbi Vered Harris said 18 panels from “The Forgiveness Project” are on display at Temple B'nai Israel, 4901 N Pennsylvania.
She said the exhibit, currently open to temple members, is right in step with the High Holy Day season.
The Forgiveness Project collects and shares stories from both victims/survivors and perpetrators of crime and conflict who have rebuilt their lives after hurt and trauma. The secular organization was founded in 2004 by journalist Marina Cantacuzino.
“The Forgiveness Project provides resources and experiences to help people examine and overcome their own unresolved grievances,” according to a statement on the group's website. “The testimonies we collect bear witness to the resilience of the human spirit and act as a powerful antidote to narratives of hate and dehumanization, presenting alternatives to cycles of conflict, violence, crime and injustice.”
The High Holy Days are the 10 days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year,
began at sundown Friday and ends at sundown Sunday. Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, begins at sundown Sept. 27 and ends at sundown Sept. 28.
While Rosh Hashana is generally a festive holiday, Yom Kippur is more somber. The themes of fasting, prayer and repentance play a key role on Yom Kippur, and it is seen as a time to ask God's forgiveness and ask the forgiveness of those one has wronged. It is also a time to forgive
others.
Marcy Price, a member of Temple B'nai's adult education committee, said the committee had been planning for a while to bring the exhibit to the temple. She said the committee felt the timing for the exhibit's temple debut worked out perfectly to coincide with Yom Kippur.
Harris said Helen Opper, a member of
the Jewish faith community who owns a local art gallery, came in and consulted with temple leaders on the placement of the exhibit. The rabbi said temple members may make appointments to view the exhibit since the temple is closed for in-person religious services due to COVID-19. The rabbi said members may sign up for times to view the exhibit and take a moment to pray in the sanctuary either before or after their viewing.
Different stories, views
Price said the adult education committee got to choose which of “The Forgiveness Project” panels they wanted to display in their house of worship.
She said temple leaders didn't realize that panels they could select from featured
two men with Oklahoma ties. Once they learned of this, they made sure the men's stories with Oklahoma connections were included in the temple's exhibit.
One of those men is Bud Welch, an Oklahoman whose daughter Julie Welch, 23, worked for the Social Security Administration when she was killed in the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.
Another is former state
Sen. Andrew Rice, whose brother David Rice, 31, was working as an investor at Sandler O'Neill & Partners in the south tower of the World Trade Center when he was killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City.
Other individuals whose stories are shared through the exhibit include: Bishop Desmond Tutu, Ryan Aldridge, Father Michael
Lapsley, Katy Hutchison, Ginn Fourie, Linda Biehl, Mariane Pearl, Jo Berry and Pat Magee. “I hope that people will be able to take these stories of trauma and surviving and reflection and see the way that others have forgiven and think about the ways that we each have trauma in our lives and how we may be able to forgive others and forgive ourselves,” Harris said.
“One thing that I think is important about these stories is that each person has a different understanding of forgiveness.”