It seemed like something that should have already been available.
Did she know of any virtual tours of synagogues, temples or churches? Bill Hilt asked Judy Trautman. If anyone would know, he reasoned, it would be the head of the MultiFaith Council of Northwest Ohio. Did she know of anything he could use in his sixth-grade classroom, in lieu of the in-person field trips that his school district had been lining up pre-pandemic?
She didn't, unfortunately, she replied. But she liked the idea.
“It just gave me the idea that this really fits our mission, to address critical issues in the community,” Ms. Trautman told The Blade. “So we started kicking the idea around, and built a small team, and started fund-raising.”
That video series is now in the works, with shooting already begun at two of five local houses of worship. Jaden Jefferson, the rising eighth grade student tapped by the MultiFaith Council to work on the Holy Toledo Virtual Faith Site Visits, has already filmed sessions with Hazzan Ivor Lichterman at Congregation B'nai Israel and, as of just this week, with the Rev. Otis Gordon at Warren AME Church.
The Hindu Temple of Toledo, Buddhist Temple of Toledo and Islamic Center of Greater Toledo are up next in the coming weeks, rounding out the five major faith traditions covered in the state's learning standards for sixth grade social studies.
The MultiFaith Council expects to release the series throughout the upcoming school year, said Ms. Trautman, who herself is a former teacher. It's funded by a challenge grant that the council announced in the fall, in which an anonymous donor matched donations up to $10,000.
Ms. Trautman hopes the video series proves a valuable tool for teachers, like Mr. Hilt, who are tasked with introducing young people to world religions. By arranging for the videos to be ultimately available to the wider public, too, she and her team also hope the videos can fill a wider educational gap.
“Adult learning is kind of an issue in this country, actually,” she observed. “People are often not very cognizant of even their own faith, much less others. So if we can help in that direction, that's also in line with our mission.”
On location
On a late afternoon earlier this month at Congregation B'nai Israel in Sylvania, Jaden was full of questions for Hazzan Lichterman, and Hazzan Lichterman full of answers for Jaden.
The latter began with an explanation of his own title and role at the synagogue, where a cantor, or hazzan in Hebrew, is a clerical role in a tradition where music is integral to the service: “The entire service is sung,” Mr. Lichterman explained, as his young interviewer's camera rolled inside the chapel. “The only thing that's spoken is the sermon.”
From there the two teased out some of the key tenets of the faith tradition and the worship space that supports it at Congregation B'nai Israel. From the chapel, they headed into the sanctuary, Hazzan Lichterman directing the camera to points of interest along the way – a depiction of the Ten Commandments that the cantor said could be found in any synagogue, for example; theirs was original to an earlier synagogue where their congregation had gathered before they moved to their current space in Sylvania.
There’s the mezuzah at a doorpost, there's the ark where the Torahs are kept.
That their congregation has 10 Torahs, Hazzan Lichterman said before bringing one out to show it in more detail to his interviewer, is an indication that theirs is an old congregation. Established in 1866, they were the first community in Toledo. So they've had plenty of members to donate the Scriptures, each hand-written in painstaking detail, through the decades and generations, Hazzan Lichterman explained.
The interview was in line with the general goal for the video series outlined by Ms. Trautman, who envisions the series as first and foremost a tour of houses of worship, as well as as an introduction to each faith tradition. Her team hopes to incorporate interviews with young members of each tradition, too, and cover any coming-of-age rituals that might be of interest to a middle-school audience.
Such conversations aren’t new to Hazzan Lichterman.
“I get calls almost daily from people of different faiths,” he said, characterizing the interest of some callers as academic, others as spiritual. Even as the synagogue continues to re-open for in-person interactions, including tours by request in the case of these callers, he said, “I still think that this video, especially for students, is such a great way to foster mutual respect, mutual love, mutual understanding.”
At the Hindu Temple of Toledo, where the priest, Pandit Anant Dixit, said he's looking forward to his own on-camera interview for the video series, Pandit Dixit spoke similarly. He's been sharing insights into his tradition with students of all ages since he joined the temple in 1998, both at his congregation's temple and in their classrooms and on their campuses.
“Because of COVID, they were not able to do this,” he said of the field trips, specifically, that the Hindu Temple typically hosts for local schools. “So this year, I did an online presentation. We did this temple tour through Zoom.”
He's excited to further this education and these connections through the video series.
“This is an excellent idea, to share about the different world religions and make this information available to our local community,” he told The Blade. “The Hindu Temple and Heritage Hall of Toledo is very happy to be part of this project.”
On camera
At Hull Prairie Intermediate School in Perrysburg, Mr. Hilt is looking forward to the project, too. He plans to incorporate the videos into his own classroom, where he teaches the history and cultural context of world religions in line with the state's curriculum requirements.
“Probably what makes it most attractive is the fact that, for us, it’s local,” he said of the video series, of which he’s stayed abreast as it’s developed. “These are all locations that are within easy driving distance in northwest Ohio, so students are learning about their own backyard.”
It’s part of what makes the project attractive to Jaden, too, who said he’s learning as he's running through his questions during his on-camera interviews. His family is Christian.
“I've encountered people that are a part of these religions, but I didn't know much about them,” he said, reflecting on his role after his interview with Hazzan Lichterman. “So to finally be able to learn about them is an exciting experience.”
Ms. Trautman said the videos will acknowledge that there are distinctions within each tradition, such as the different experiences of Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism within Christianity, while focusing on just one example. While most houses of worship are likely to be open to visitors again by the upcoming school year, she and Mr. Hilt said they anticipate a continued interest in the sort of virtual field trips the series will make available by video.
And that's not just in Toledo, or even just in northwest Ohio.
Mr. Hilt is also the vice president and president-elect of the Ohio Council for the Social Studies, as well as the founder and president of the World Affairs Council of Northwest Ohio.
“My hope is that through those networks, this project will get some legs and see a little more reach than it might otherwise,” he said.
First Published June 27, 2021, 12:00 p.m.