Questioning the Boundaries of Communication
March 2018 Newsletter Article
As Jews, what is the relevancy of our spiritual and ethical tradition? How often do we turn to Torah and other Jewish texts for guidance as we wrestle with the challenges of our lives? One of the more difficult issues that many of us are grappling with today has to do with civil discourse and communication. How can we have open lines of communication with those who have very different opinions than our own? Can we engage in dialogue that actually shifts our own thinking or the views of another? Can we offer critique in a manner that is respectful? Do we need to go a step further and offer rebuke in the face of behavior and views that we believe are destructive and dangerous and if so, can we do this while staying connected to those we rebuke? These questions seem particularly relevant for the world we live in today and Judaism speaks to these very questions. These questions are not new to our generation; they emerged in the earliest days of our ancestors and I would venture to say, have been around as long as humanity has lived in community. In the text of the Torah these very questions were addressed and they were expanded upon throughout Jewish texts and throughout every generation.