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Rabbi’s Corner By Rabbi Mordecai Finley
In Jewish tradition, we have sad examples of this. Two of the great academies in the ancient rabbinic period, the school of Hillel and the school of Shammai, even came to violence over their different points of view of the law. The editors of the Talmud, where this story and others are found, show great sadness and even shame at the vitriol and violence. The school of Hillel, despite that one uncharacteristic descent into violence, was more often than not characterized by moderation and civility in discourse. They did not attack, defame, or attribute nefarious motives to their opponents. In fact, in one well-known passage from the Talmud, a profound question is asked: if both of these great schools are the intellectual heirs of Moses and they both practiced careful rules of interpretation of scripture, how could they differ so much? A cryptic answer was given: “These and these are both the words of the Living God.” In other words, our minds are limited oftentimes by an “either/or” type of thinking. It is hard for us to realize that in the dialectics of discourse, the truth, or something closer to the truth, comes out over time. That section of the Talmud continues: “if both are the views of the Living God, why are the decisions of the school of Hillel considered correct?” The answer given is astounding: “Because they were amiable and forgiving, and always presented their ideas together with those of the school of Shammai, and even presented the view of the school of Shammai before their own.” Their views were not counted as correct because of the substance of their answers, but because of how they carried themselves in the debate. They respected the views of those with whom they disagreed. When I see much of the political venom out there today, I think to myself: “People have forgotten how to read.” Reading for me is much more than finding viewpoints that buttress my own. When we do that, it is as if we have internalized our own propaganda, where only one viewpoint is permitted. The true act of reading is an essentially humble and curious act – I wonder what the other side thinks? I wonder if there is not another way of understanding this problem? There is the technique of reading and the art of reading. Teaching the techniques of literacy is the absolute key, in our society, to giving to others the skills for a well-lived life, of participation in cultural life, of understanding the worlds around us, of success and prosperity. The art of reading; to use reading to broaden our horizons to see that those with whom we differ might also be speaking a word of truth, is the key to a good society, where moderation and respect prevail. KOREH L.A. volunteers are doing much more than teaching children the alphabet and reading comprehension; they are teaching their reading partners to broaden their horizons, find humility, and contribute to a strong, caring society.
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We live in times that are, in my view, tragically partisan and polarized. In nearly every social and moral issue that we face, as a nation and in different communities, I see a constant demonizing of those with different points of view. No doubt that at the outer edges of human thought and behavior, there are views and actions that are indeed morally reprehensible. There is a type of thinking, though, that assigns that morally craven status to all who differ in their thinking from our own.