Initiator of the Jewish Study Bible: A Modern Day Yitro

ונראה כי טעם הדבר הוא להראות ה’ את בני ישראל הדור ההוא וכל דור ודור כי יש באומות גדולים בהבנה ובהשכלה, וצא ולמד מהשכלת יתרו בעצתו ואופן סדר בני אדם אשר בחר כי יש באומות מכירים דברים המאושרים

Editor's note: Krister Stendahl (1921-2008) was one of the most important Christian theologians of the 20th century. He is particularly relevant to this interview, since Stendahl is most famous for his push to think about the Paul and his letters from the Jewish context from which the apostle emerged. This work, publishes as Paul among Jews and Gentiles, brought him to serious study of Judaism and participation in interfaith (Jewish-Christain) dialogue. Finally, his three rules of religious understanding (delivered in a 1985 speech meant to ease tensions between Christians and Mormons):

1. When trying to understand another religion, you should ask the adherents of that religion and not its enemies.
2. Don’t compare your best to their worst.
3. Leave room for “holy envy” (=admiration of elements in another religious tradition you would wish to find more of in your own.)

Editor's note: The development of the kabbalistic concept of sefirot, the ten emanations of God, and the controversy about whether this should be considered a legitimate or heterodox belief in mainstream Judaism, can be analogized to the process of the development of trinitarian thinking suggested by Kraus.