Some Implications of Elu v'Elu
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Working With Different Types of People
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Argue Like A Jew: The School of Hillel
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Argue Like A Jew: How Not to Argue
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What kind of diversity does this blessing focus on?
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Why do you think we have a blessing for diversity?
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What resonates with you in this description of the way that the Hillel argued?
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How can you apply these practices in your own life?
Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, The Book of Jewish Values: A Day-By-Day Guide to Jewish Living, New York: Random House, 2000, pp. 186-7:
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Significantly, the heavenly voice ruled in favor of Hillel and his disciples, even in areas of ritual dispute, for moral reasons: he and his followers were “kindly and humble.” The wording of the passage suggests that Shammai’s followers had grown somewhat arrogant. Certain that they possessed the truth, they no longer bothered to listen to, or discuss the arguments of, their opponents. Their overbearing self-confidence led them to become morally less impressive (the language of the Talmud suggests by implication that they were not “kindly and humble”) and probably led them to become intellectually less insightful (after all, how insightful can you be if you are studying only one side of the issue?) Because the School of Hillel studied their opponent’s arguments, when they issued a ruling, they were fully cognizant of all the arguments to be offered against their own position. Thus, their humility not only led to their being more pleasant people, but also likely caused them to have greater intellectual depth. We can all learn a lesson from the behavior of Hillel and his followers: Don’t read only books and publications that agree with and reinforce your point of view. If you do so, and many people do, you will never learn what those who disagree with you believe (at best, you will hear a caricature of their position, presented by people who, like you, disagree with it). It would be a good thing in Jewish life if Jews in the different denominations, or in different political camps, started reading newspapers and magazines of the groups with which they disagree, on a regular basis. If you seldom hear, read, or listen to views that oppose your own, and if almost everyone you talk to sees the world just as your do, your thinking will grow flabby and intolerant. That is often the case with ideologues on the right and left, both in religion and in politics. As this text teaches us, humble people are not only more pleasant human beings, but in the final analysis, they may well be the only ones who will have something eternally important to teach. |
אף זרעו של יוסף אין העין שולטת בהן יומא חד הוה קא סחי ר' יוחנן בירדנא חזייה ריש לקיש ושוור לירדנא אבתריה אמר ליה חילך לאורייתא אמר ליה שופרך לנשי א"ל אי הדרת בך יהיבנא לך אחותי דשפירא מינאי קביל עליה בעי למיהדר לאתויי מאניה ולא מצי הדר אקרייה ואתנייה ושוייה גברא רבא יומא חד הוו מפלגי בי מדרשא הסייף והסכין והפגיון והרומח ומגל יד ומגל קציר מאימתי מקבלין טומאה משעת גמר מלאכתן ומאימתי גמר מלאכתן רבי יוחנן אמר משיצרפם בכבשן ריש לקיש אמר משיצחצחן במים א"ל לסטאה בלסטיותיה ידע אמר ליה ומאי אהנת לי התם רבי קרו לי הכא רבי קרו לי אמר ליה אהנאי לך דאקרבינך תחת כנפי השכינה חלש דעתיה דרבי יוחנן חלש ריש לקיש אתאי אחתיה קא בכיא אמרה ליה עשה בשביל בני אמר לה (ירמיהו מט, יא) עזבה יתומיך אני אחיה עשה בשביל אלמנותי אמר לה (ירמיהו מט, יא) ואלמנותיך עלי תבטחו נח נפשיה דר' שמעון בן לקיש והוה קא מצטער ר' יוחנן בתריה טובא אמרו רבנן מאן ליזיל ליתביה לדעתיה ניזיל רבי אלעזר בן פדת דמחדדין שמעתתיה אזל יתיב קמיה כל מילתא דהוה אמר רבי יוחנן אמר ליה תניא דמסייעא לך אמר את כבר לקישא בר לקישא כי הוה אמינא מילתא הוה מקשי לי עשרין וארבע קושייתא ומפריקנא ליה עשרין וארבעה פרוקי וממילא רווחא שמעתא ואת אמרת תניא דמסייע לך אטו לא ידענא דשפיר קאמינא הוה קא אזיל וקרע מאניה וקא בכי ואמר היכא את בר לקישא היכא את בר לקישא והוה קא צוח עד דשף דעתיה [מיניה] בעו רבנן רחמי עליה ונח נפשיה
... One day Rabbi Yochanan was swimming in the Jordan. Resh Lakish saw him and leapt into the Jordan after him. He [Rabbi Yochanan] said "Your strength for Torah." He [Resh Lakish] said, "Your beauty for women." He [Rabbi Yochanan] said "If you return also, I will give you my sister who is more beautiful then me." He [Resh Lakish] accepted, He [Resh Lakish] tried to go back and collect his weapons but he was not able to go back. He [Rabbi Yochanan] taught him [Resh Lakish] scripture and he taught him Oral Torah and he made him a great man. One day they diverged in the Beit Midrash "The sword and the knife and the military spear and the hand sickle and the harvesting sickle, from when do they acquire tumah (ritual impurity)? From the time when their production is complete.*" And when is their production complete? Rabbi Yochanan said, From when they are tempered in the furnace. Resh Lakish said, From when they are polished with water. He [Rabbi Yochanan] said to him [Resh Lakish] "A thief knows about [the tools of] thievery" He [Resh Lakish] said to him [Rabbi Yochanan], "And how have you benefitted me? There they called me 'master' and here they call me 'master.'" He [Rabbi Yochanan] said to him [Resh Lakish], I have benefitted you by bringing you under the wings of the Shechina." Rabbi Yochanan became very upset, and Resh Lakish became weak. His sister came and cried, and she said to him [Rabbi Yochanan], "Do it [pray for healing] for the sake of my sons!" He said to her, "(Jeremiah 49:11) Leave your orphans, I will sustain them." "Do it for the sake of my widowhood!" He said to her, "(Jeremiah 49:11) and put your widow's trust in me**" Rabbi Shimon Ben Lakish died, and Rabbi Yochanan grieved over him greatly. The Rabbis said, "Who shall we send to ease his mind? Let us send Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat, whose ideas are very sharp." He [Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat] went and sat before him [Rabbi Yochanan]. Every statement that Rabbi Yochanan would say he [Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat] would say to him, "There is a beraita that supports you." He said, "Are you like Bar Lakisha? "Bar Lakisha - when I would say a thing, he would challenge me with 24 objections, and I would answer him with 24 answers, which led to a fuller understanding of the law. And you say, 'there is a beraita that supports you?!' Do I not already know that I have spoken well?!" He went out and tore his clothes and he cried and said, "Where are you Bar Lakisha? Where are you Bar Lakisha?" And he shouted until his mind left him. The Rabbis asked for mercy for him, and he died.
...הלכה: אם ראה הרבה אוכלוסין של בני אדם, אומר: בא"י אלהינו מלך העולם חכם הרזים, כשם שאין פרצופותיהן דומין זה לזה, כך אין דעתן שוין זה לזה, אלא כל אחד ואחד יש לו דעה בפני עצמו... שכן משה מבקש מן הקב"ה בשעת מיתה. אמר לפניו: ריבונו של עולם! גלוי וידוע לפניך דעתן של כל אחד ואחד, ואין דעתן של בניך דומין זה לזה, וכשאני מסתלק מהן, בבקשה ממך מנה עליהם מנהיג, שיהא סובלם לאחד ואחד לפי דעתו...
The law is: If one sees many thousands of people, one should say: Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Wise One who knows secrets, just as their faces are different from one another's, so too their understandings are different, for each one has a different understanding...and so too Moses requested from God, when he died. He said: Master of the Universe! Every person's thoughts are known and revealed before you, and none of your children's thoughts are similar to another's. When I die, please appoint a leader who can sustain them all according to their own understanding....
The blessing in this Midrashic source gives voice to the profound realization that there are as many different perspectives on the world as there are different people in it. For Moses, this presents a challenge for leadership; a capable leader needs to somehow speak to these many difference perspectives. How do you think one can lead or make connections with others in a way that reflects and respects the many differences between people?
From Freedom of Expression and Protection of Minority Rights in Jewish Law by Prof. Menachem Elon http://cms.education.gov.il/EducationCMS/Units/Owl/English/Pedagogic/Jewish/
“Just as people’s faces are not the same, so their opinions are not the same; everyone has their own opinion … At the hour of his death, Moses asked the Holy One Blessed Be He: Sovereign of the Universe, each person’s opinion is open and known to you, and everyone has different opinions. When I leave them, please appoint them a leader who will accept each person’s opinion”.
This represents the Jewish doctrine of leadership and governance – for people to tolerate one another, and for all groups to tolerate the opinions and views of the next group. The big secret regarding to tolerance and listening to other people and the great strength inherent to the right of individuals and of communities to express opinions is it not just that they are crucial for sound and enlightened government, but that they are vital to its creative force.
As a follow-up to the previous source, consider this paragraph about the foundations of the legal system in Israel today. In this passage, the prominent jurist Professor Elon argues that the story about Moses helps support the idea that protecting people's ability to express their views is foundational to a "sound and enlightened government." Have you experienced a time when you had to listen to other people with whom you disagreed? Does this idea about the need for tolerance and expression resonate with you?
...בשעה שעלה משה למרום מצאו להקב"ה שיושב וקושר כתרים לאותיות אמר לפניו רבש"ע מי מעכב על ידך אמר לו אדם אחד יש שעתיד להיות בסוף כמה דורות ועקיבא בן יוסף שמו שעתיד לדרוש על כל קוץ וקוץ תילין תילין של הלכות אמר לפניו רבש"ע הראהו לי אמר לו חזור לאחורך הלך וישב בסוף שמונה שורות ולא היה יודע מה הן אומרים תשש כחו כיון שהגיע לדבר אחד אמרו לו תלמידיו רבי מנין לך אמר להן הלכה למשה מסיני נתיישבה דעתו...
...When Moses ascended to the heavens, he found the Holy Blessed One sitting and attaching crowns to the letters. He said before God: "Master of the Universe! Who is staying your hand?" God said to him, "There is one man man who will exist after many generations, and Akiva the son of Yosef is his name, who will in the future expound on every crown and crown piles and piles of laws." He said before God, "Master of the Universe! Show him to me." He said to him, "Turn backwards." He went and sat at the end of eight rows [of students in Rabbi Akiva's study hall], and he did not know what they were talking [about]. He got upset. As soon as he got to one [other] thing, his students said to him, "Our teacher, from where do you learn this?" He said to them, "It is a law [that was taught] to Moses at Sinai." He calmed down...
Another take on the leadership of Moses, this time from the Talmud, tells of Moses' confusion and sense of alienation when he realized that generations later, a Jewish leader would explain the Torah in a way that was completely foreign to him. However, when Rabbi Akiva claims the revelation to Moses at Sinai as the source for his idea, he is reassured. Though the view is not his own, knowing that there is a shared starting point and belief makes him feel included. What elements make you feel comfortable engaging in a conversation with people whose beliefs differ from your own? When do you feel that you can share, and when do you hold back?
(ה) ולמה מזכירין דברי היחיד בין המרובין. הואיל ואין הלכה אלא כדברי המרובין. שאם יראה בית דין את דברי היחיד ויסמוך עליו...
(5) Et Pourquoi consigne t-on les paroles un individu parmi d'autre, quand la loi est d'apres la majorite? Car si le tribunal voit la perspective des paroles de l'individu, il peut s'appuyer dessus.
In the time period described in the Mishnah, Jewish law was decided by majority rule. Nonetheless, it is important to preserve the voice of the minority opinion; it may ultimately sway the court. This insistence on recording multiple minority opinions characterizes many of the core books of the Jewish tradition, and speaks to the openness to dialogue and respect for multiple positions. Have you had the experience of expressing a minority position? What do you see as the value of giving weight to multiple perspectives?
המקום בו אנו צודקים (יהודה עמיחי)
The Place Where We Are Right
by Yehuda Amichai
From the place where we are right
Flowers will never grow
In the spring.
The place where we are right
Is hard and trampled
Like a yard.
But doubts and loves
Dig up the world
Like a mole, a plow.
And a whisper will be heard in the place
Where the ruined
House once stood.
Yehuda Amichai, the famous Israeli poet, beautifully describes the potential for growth that can exist only when we are willing to move away from "the place where we are right." Being open to hearing the other side might mean relaxing our determination to insist on being correct, even if only temporarily. What experiences or images does this poem evoke for you?
Talk It Out
- Why does Rabbi Yochanan recruit Reish Lakish and become his learning partner in the beginning of the story? Doesn't he have plenty of other candidates who are Torah scholars - why does he choose a bandit?
- It seems that Rabbi Yochanan and Reish Lakish were successful learning partners for many years. What finally breaks their relationship?
- What was so awful for Rabbi Yochanan about learning with Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat?