Pluralism

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Babel's Stand Against Uniformity

COMMENTARY

One reading of the story of Babel in Genesis 11 is as a critique of empires that impose uniformity on diverse peoples, advocating for cultural and linguistic diversity. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, in his series 'Covenant and Conversation,' offers a profound analysis of the Tower of Babel narrative, emphasizing its relevance to contemporary issues of pluralism and diversity.

However there is another possibility, based on the fact that in Genesis 10, the previous chapter, humanity had already been divided into seventy nations speaking seventy different languages. If Genesis 10 and 11 are in chronological sequence, then the story of Babel is not about some past golden age, but the opposite. Humanity had already developed into different cultures and languages. Babel represents the first empire and thus the first attempt by one culture to impose itself by force on others…

Covenant and Conversation; Deuteronomy; Renewal of the Sinai Covenant, Deuteronomy; Covenant Society 17

Debates for the Sake of Heaven

COMMENTARY

Debates conducted for the sake of Heaven, like those between Hillel and Shammai, are considered legitimate and enduring. Pirkei Avot, a tractate of the Mishnah, offers ethical and moral teachings that are traditionally studied on Shabbat afternoons between Passover and Rosh Hashanah.

Every dispute that is for the sake of Heaven, will in the end endure; But one that is not for the sake of Heaven, will not endure.
Which is the controversy that is for the sake of Heaven? Such was the controversy of Hillel and Shammai.
And which is the controversy that is not for the sake of Heaven? Such was the controversy of Korah and all his congregation.
This mishnah discusses legitimate and non-legitimate disputes. While reading the mishnah we should keep in mind that the Mishnah is the first Jewish book which records disputes between different viewpoints without…

English Explanation of Pirkei Avot 5:17:1

The Multi-faceted Nature of Torah as an Adaptive Feature

HALAKHAH

The Torah's adaptability allows it to address contemporary issues while maintaining its eternal essence. Rabbi J. David Bleich's work explores how diverse scholarly interpretations of Halakha can address modern challenges.

Many of the problems discussed—and their resolution—testify to the vibrant and dynamic nature of Torah. Technological advances and changing social institutions have given rise to issues that could not possibly have been confronted by rabbinic decisors of preceding generations. Yet, although the Torah is eternal and unchanging, one may plumb its depths for solutions to questions which would have been imponderable in earlier ages. Indeed, various scholars may advance differing answers to such questions and each position may be well founded in authentic Jewish teaching.

Contemporary Halakhic Problems, Vol III, Introduction 7

Unity in Diversity

HALAKHAH

True unity and peace among the Jewish people are achieved when all diverse elements and individuals come together. Rabbi Eliezer Melamed’s contemporary work, Peninei Halakhah, uses the festival of Sukkot and the concept that 'All Jews can sit in one sukka' to symbolize this unity.

When we gather together every aspect and degree of goodness, even those which seem at first glance to be incompatible with one another, God spreads His canopy of peace over us, and Israel becomes cohesive and unified. For as long as each element stands on its own, there is no unity. But on the ingathering festival, all elements come together, revealing their unity. This is the meaning of the Sages’ statement: “All Jews can sit in one sukka” (Sukka 27b). Similarly, the four species hint at the different types of Jews who come together on Sukkot (below, 4:2-3).

Peninei Halakhah, Sukkot 1:8:5

The Humility in Halakhic Disputes

TALMUD

The humility and respect demonstrated in halakhic disputes, particularly the practice of teaching both one's own opinions and those of others, exemplify a model of pluralism and respectful discourse. The Talmudic tractate Eruvin discusses the rabbinic enactments that expand the areas in which one can carry and travel on Shabbat, and it highlights the respectful approach in halakhic debates.

The Gemara asks: Since both these and those are the words of the living God, why were Beit Hillel privileged to have the halakha established in accordance with their opinion? The reason is that they were agreeable and forbearing, showing restraint when affronted, and when they taught the halakha they would teach both their own statements and the statements of Beit Shammai. Moreover, when they formulated their teachings and cited a dispute, they prioritized the statements of Beit Shammai to their own statements…

Eruvin 13b:11

The Inclusive K’hillah

JEWISH THOUGHT

The K’hillah, or Jewish community, was inherently inclusive of all Jews living in a particular place, regardless of their individual beliefs or practices. Rabbi Dr. Eliezer Berkovits, in his work written during the Holocaust, explores the inclusive nature of the K’hillah and its role in managing the diverse spectrum of Jewish life and thought in the Diaspora.

The K’hillah was not a society that had to be founded by an official act. It did not consist of “members”. Nobody could enter the K’hillah, for the K’hillah was the group of Jews living at a certain place. Or, it might be said, one entered it by being a Jew. One could be useful to the community, just as one could be a liability to it; but as long as one was a Jew, one automatically belonged to it. One was born into the K’hillah. It followed from this that one could only leave the community by leaving Judaism…

Towards Historic Judaism, VIII; Organising the Golah 1:9

Learning from the Sages

MISHNAH

The example of these sages teaches us the value of flexibility and openness in thought. The Mishnah records the diverse opinions of prominent sages, emphasizing the importance of respectful disagreement and intellectual humility.

And why do they record the opinions of Shammai and Hillel for naught? To teach the following generations that a man should not [always] persist in his opinion, for behold, the fathers of the world did not persist in their opinion.

Mishnah Eduyot 1:4

The Strength of Opposing Views

COMMENTARY

Engaging with and understanding opposing viewpoints is crucial to testing the truth of one's own perspective. Rabbi Francis Nataf draws on Maharal's metaphor of a powerful man seeking a strong opponent to illustrate the importance of debate and intellectual humility.

The Talmud (Eruvin 13b) goes even further, pointing out that the reason Hillel’s students would usually carry the day is that they were more willing to listen to what the other side had to say. The only way to test the truth of our view is to measure it against another’s – especially one who we expect will be critical. Maharal (Be'er HaGolah, Well 7) explains this via a metaphor: “When a powerful man seeks out an opponent in order to demonstrate his [own] strength, he very much wants his opponents to exercise as much power as they can, so that if he defeats him…

Redeeming Relevance; Numbers, CHAPTER 3 Korach and the Limits of Popular Government 16

The Blessing of Diversity

COMMENTARY

Recognizing and valuing the diverse roles and missions of each individual within the people of Israel is essential for appreciating the nation's cultural and social contributions. In the Torah portion 'Vayechi,' Jacob's blessings to his sons highlight the unique roles and contributions of each tribe to the Jewish people.

Jacob looks out at his sons and sees that the people that will come out from them/him encompasses many varied strengths, and that each one of his sons represents differing inner tribal pieces, differing communities; an assortment of cultural phenomena, and social classes that will exist within the Jewish people. This observation is his blessing to them, a blessing for the road: You should know that each one of you has an important task within the Jewish people, each one of you is a touchstone for a particular approach and perspective.

Karati Bekhol Lev, Vayechi 5:14

Israel's Unified Tribes

COMMENTARY

The twelve tribes of Israel maintained their distinctiveness while contributing to a unified national mission. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch’s commentary on Genesis explores the balance between tribal diversity and national unity.

This people is to consist of diverse tribes of differing traits, while maintaining complete unity.…This people should represent the agricultural nation, the merchant nation, the warrior nation, the nation of scholars.…[I]t should demonstrate for all to see that the one great mission…does not depend on a particular vocation or trait.…The division of the nation into diverse tribes, and the resulting division of the Land into different provinces for the different tribes, whose distinctiveness is thus to be retained, is what is indicated here [in the verse: a community of peoples]…

Tribal Lands, Preface 23

Unity in Shema Yisrael

COMMENTARY

The phrase 'Shema Yisrael' transitions from an individual verb to a collective noun, emphasizing the importance of both personal and communal engagement in internalizing the message of allegiance. The Shema is a central declaration of faith in Judaism, recited daily in morning and evening prayers, emphasizing the unity of God and the collective responsibility of the Jewish people.

And just as the singular (representing the individual) continues to have a role even as we progress into the plural (representing the community), the same is true in reverse. From the very beginning, we are given an indication that the message of allegiance is not only directed to the individual. In fact, this happens at the very beginning of the first “bookend” with the introductory expression, Shema Yisrael, for here we also go from the individual verb Shema to the collective noun Yisrael…

Redeeming Relevance; Deuteronomy, CHAPTER 4 The Shema and all that Jazz 18

Unity in Prayer

HALAKHAH

Praying together in yeshivot and small communities helps avoid division and ensures a sufficient minyan for prayer and Torah study. Rabbi Eliezer Melamed’s Peninei Halakhah discusses the practical necessity and communal benefits of different Jewish ethnic groups praying together.

In many places, members of all the different ethnic groups pray together. That is the accepted practice in many yeshivot, so as not to cause a daily schism between the students, as well as in small communities which do not have enough people for each group to maintain a large minyan to pray and learn Torah.

Peninei Halakhah, Prayer 6:9:2

The Mosaic of Modern Israel

COMMENTARY

The modern State of Israel is a melting pot of Jewish communities from around the world, each bringing its own unique traditions and practices. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks explores the rich tapestry of Jewish life in Israel, emphasizing the coexistence and diversity of its people.

The modern State of Israel is built on a vast panoply of ethnicities – Ashkenazic, Sephardic, Jews from Eastern, Central, and Western Europe, Spain and Portugal, Arab lands, Russia, Ethiopia, America, South Africa, Australia, and other places, some hasidic, some yeshiva-ish, others “modern,” others “traditional,” yet others secular and cultural.

Studies in Spirituality; A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible, Masei; The Complexity of Human Rights 14

Loving the Stranger as Yourself

MIDRASH

Loving the stranger as oneself fosters empathy and inclusivity. The early rabbinic text Sifra draws a direct parallel between the commandment to love fellow Jews and the commandment to love proselytes, grounding this in the shared experience of being strangers in Egypt.

4) "shall be to you the stranger that lives among you. And you shall love him as yourself." Just as it is written of Jews (Vayikra 19:18) "and you shall love your fellow as yourself," so is it written of proselytes "and you shall love him as yourself." "for you were strangers in the land of Egypt": Know the soul of the strangers, for you yourselves were strangers in the land of Egypt."

Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 8 4

A House of Prayer for All Nations

CHASIDUT

The vision of a future where God's House of Prayer is a place of joy and acceptance for all peoples, regardless of their background, is a powerful message of inclusivity and universal acceptance. Rabbi Nathan of Breslov’s Likutei Tefilot, inspired by the teachings of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, emphasizes the universal nature of prayer and the inclusivity of the Jewish faith.

May the verse be realized, “I will bring them to My holy mountain and give them joy in My House of Prayer. Their burnt-offerings and sacrifices will be accepted upon My Altar, for My House shall be called a House of Prayer for all nations.”

Likutei Tefilot, Volume II 8:109

Universal Justice Under God's Authority

TANAKH

The Torah emphasizes that the same law applies equally to both strangers and natives, underscoring a universal standard of justice.

You shall have one standard for stranger and citizen alike: for I יהוה am your God.

Leviticus 24:22

Love the Stranger

TANAKH

The Torah commands the ethical treatment and love for strangers, reminding the Israelites of their own experience as strangers in Egypt. Leviticus emphasizes that this directive to treat strangers with kindness and equality comes from divine authority.

When strangers reside with you in your land, you shall not wrong them. The strangers who reside with you shall be to you as your citizens; you shall love each one as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I יהוה am your God.

Leviticus 19:33-34

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