A Covenant of Friendship – Brit Re’ut

Academy for Jewish Religion California (AJRCA) and Loyola Marymount University (LMU)
Entered into on May 20, 2025

We have distinct histories, goals, and visions for the future. Yet, we believe our purpose in celebrating our past and realizing our potential is accomplished better together. We share the vision that our partnership is forged with common understandings of belief, behavior, and belonging. We commit to learning from each other and discovering new challenges in the world together in our quest for a shared destiny. We adopt the language of covenant here, inspired by our shared faith traditions, in the mutual quest for human dignity, social justice, and educational excellence. Above all, the partnership between AJRCA and LMU is one of Re’ut – loving friendship.

We commit to embrace and uplift our unique historical thinking based on religious and broader societal identities. Over the years, LMU has demonstrated unique commitments to Catholic-Jewish understanding and learning. Loyola Law School, founded in 1920, was one of the first law schools in the Los Angeles area to admit Jewish students at a time when Jews and Catholics faced discrimination. In the middle of the 20th century, then Loyola University president Charles Casassa, S.J., developed a friendship with Rabbi Alfred Wolf of Wilshire Boulevard Temple and Martin Gang, who was active in the temple community and with the American Jewish Committee. Eventually the relationship between Loyola and the AJC resulted first in the creation of the Interreligious Council of Southern California in 1970 and the Martin Gang Institute in 1980. The Academy for Jewish Religion California was founded in 2000 by Rabbis Stan Levy, Stephen Robbins, and Mordecai Finley. AJRCA has long embraced the diversity of wisdom from Jewish tradition and has stood on the vanguard of interfaith work following our six learning objectives: Torah (wisdom), Avodah (worship), Chesed (action and justice), Ivrit (Hebrew, the language of Jewish identity), Tikkun Ha-Nefesh (spiritual development), and Tikkun Ha-Middot (values attunement). We believe that in sharing our quest for knowledge, tolerance, and understanding, we can work together to achieve our respective visions of the future.

Together we commit to common action in the quest to become more thoughtful, socially responsible, and ethically aware human beings. LMU’s mission includes a declaration of its commitment to the service of faith and the promotion of justice. Concepts of justice in Christianity date back to the obligation articulated throughout the Hebrew scriptures to care for the anavim – the vulnerable ones among us – an imperative that drives the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth in the Gospels. In 1975, the Jesuits decreed that the mission of the Society of Jesus is the “service of faith of which the promotion of justice is an absolute requirement.” Today, LMU’s commitment to social responsibility manifests in opportunities for students to live out their social commitments through participation in service organizations, community-based learning courses, and domestic and international immersion experiences in cultures and communities struggling with poverty, violence, political oppression, and the impact of environmental degradation. AJRCA embraces the Jewish concept of Tikkun HaOlam – creating wholeness from a fractured world. As a seminary that trains leaders within the Jewish community and throughout the world, its focus on social responsibility includes the attunement of the virtues which strengthen the quality of care we offer. Our attention to the qualities of humility, empathy, respect, and initiative in the service of others distinguish our program from other training institutions.

Loyola Marymount University and the Academy of Jewish Religion California are united in their commitment to academic excellence and ethical leadership. As a university rooted in the Catholic tradition, Loyola Marymount emphasizes social justice and community engagement, encouraging students to develop their imagination, conscience, and intellect in order to make a positive impact in society and to live lives of meaning and purpose. As a Jewish seminary, the Academy of Jewish Religion California shares this dedication, focusing on cultivating a spiritual life rooted in an understanding of Jewish thought and practice while preparing students with the creativity, academic, and entrepreneurial tools to address contemporary issues in a diverse and interconnected world.

In recognition of our shared values, we look forward to creating educational opportunities that empower our students to foster mutual understanding and respect in interfaith and inter-group settings and contribute to the common good, and a more just society. We envision that, while we may initially begin with faculty reading groups, scholarly panels, and certificate programs of mutual interest, we aspire to eventually expand toward collaborative degree offerings that reflect our dedication to enriching the educational landscape. Specific joint academic projects will be identified based on mutual interest and available resources. To detail these projects (especially regarding collaborative or joint degree offerings), separate or supplemental MOUs will be created and approved to detail specific financial matters and policy considerations, incorporating input from relevant academic and administrative leaders at both institutions, including deans, faculty, students, budget managers, accreditation officers, and others in advancement, finance, and marketing. The two institutions are also committed to fostering a shared culture of assessment that emphasizes continuous improvement, measurement of student learning, and accountability in achieving academic goals, while maintaining the highest standards required by their accrediting bodies.

By leveraging our unique strengths, perspectives, and shared home in the Los Angeles area, we aim to create educational pathways that enhance our respective missions and serve our communities better. This partnership embodies our optimism for future endeavors and our commitment to fostering a spirit of cooperation, mutual respect, and shared learning. The leaders of our respective institutions will meet periodically to affirm the alignment of our partnership.

As lifelong friends with shared values, we commit to sharing the rhythms of our lives together. We recognize and show our respect for the particular and collective tragedies our peoples have endured, while standing tall together to protect and defend the eternal values we mutually share. We are open and dedicated to discovering new and meaningful ways to weave our educational and spiritual paths together, neither limiting the others’ faith nor neglecting the deep connections to our histories and traditions. As friends, we create a home where we both belong and in turn welcome new friends to share the vision of our partnership for generations to come.