By Karen Vance
Enquirer contributor
A rabbi and a priest will be coming to Cincinnati early next month. Not to be the punch line to a joke - although humor will no doubt be part of their talk - but to share a message of religious tolerance.
Rabbi Marc Gellman and Monsignor Tom Hartman, known internationally as the "God Squad" and on whose friendship the film Keeping the Faith is based, will share their thoughts on interfaith understanding at 6 p.m. Nov. 14. Their appearance at the Omni Netherland Plaza Hotel, 35 W. Fifth St., downtown, is part of the Manuel D. Mayerson Distinguished Speakers Series.
"We want to bring a simple message about interfaith understanding, that is that we know enough about how we're different and not enough about how we're the same," Gellman said.
"The difference that matters most in the world is not the difference between Jews and Christians and Muslims, but the difference between people who believe in something and people who believe in nothing at all," he said.
Gellman and Hartman have been friends for more than 18 years. They speak together about 150 times a year about religious tolerance and have co-authored several books, including Religion for Dummies.
The two, both working clergy on Long Island, have appeared on numerous radio and television programs. They also write a syndicated column and worked together on a Peabody Award winning children's special that aired on HBO.
"For us, celebrity is only for service. We enjoy listening to people and spreading our message," Hartman said. "We hope to be the beginning of many, many God squads."
Hartman said their message is sometimes received more easily because they bring humor and stories to religious understanding.
"You've got to look into your soul to say, 'have I ever taken the time to go across the street to meet someone of another faith, another culture, another race," Hartman said.
Gellman, who attended rabbinical school at Hebrew Union College, said that in addition to the public talk, he looks forward to speaking to rabbinical students at the college.
"Everyone can be a God squad. Everyone has the power to reach out to another person, another religion, another culture," he said.
Neal H. Mayerson, president of the Manuel D. and Rhoda Mayerson Foundation, said he hopes the talk causes people to think about new issues.
"What we're interested in doing is being thought provoking, to cause people to think, that they'll leave with more questions than they came in with, new thoughts, ideas they hadn't thought of before," Mayerson said.
If you go
The Manuel D. Mayerson Distinguished Speaker Series is free and open to the public, but space is limited and reservations are required.
