These are hard times to be Jewish in America. These are hard times to be American in America. There are the attacks on Israel, the human suffering in Gaza, the rise of anti-Jewish bias and hatred, and the sharp political divisions in our community and nation.
More than at any time in decades, we need each other, for support, comfort and even safety. We face a problem, though: It’s not easy to talk with friends and family on the other side of the divide. We can at least try, and we can start within the circle of our Nafshenu community.
Jews today can do worse than the leading rabbis of 2,000 years ago. The Babylonian Talmud (Eruvin 13b) reports that the rival schools
of Rabbi Hillel and Rabbi Shamai disagreed on almost every point of law. (Others report violence between the two schools.) Finally, after three years, the answer came from the Holy One: “A heavenly voice came out and said, ‘Both these and those are words the living God.’”
If only a voice from heaven could solve the disputes of our
time! Instead, we are stuck doing it ourselves. Peace or strife? It’s up to us.
How do we bring peace? I wish I had a good answer. One thing I do know is that it doesn’t help to simply paper over our disagreements, to go silent on how to apply Jewish values in America or the Holy Land. Perhaps, this might work better: Try listening respectfully and open-heartedly to those with whom we disagree; try trusting in each other’s sincerity and
love for our nation and the Jewish people.
Does that mean all opinions and views are equally true? The Talmud doesn’t think so. The passage from Eruvin concludes: “The law is with the school of Hillel.”
Which side today is Hillel and which Shamai? Until a voice speaks clearly to us from heaven, we should consider the possibility that the other
side (in Washington or Jerusalem) may have at least some wisdom. At at a minimum, we can hold the Jews and Americans with whom we disagree in our hearts as compatriots and neighbors. And we can uphold the Biblical commandment (Leviticus 19:18): “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against members of your people. Love your fellow as yourself. I am YAH (Adonai).”
