Preaching Goes Viral

Listen!

As Jews we believe that it is our God given right to argue about anything and everything. Walk into a traditional yeshiva and you will find pairs of students arguing with one another over the meaning of a sacred text, it is our way of learning together. We are a people who love to argue, who have elevated it to an art form. But in the give and take of traditional Jewish study, respect is given to one another and to the text under consideration.  What we need today in America, perhaps even here in this room, is civil discourse.  We do not need to agree with one another, but we do need to respect each other and we do need to listen to one another. In a text taken from rabbinic literature of the 9th Century which is a comment on a verse in the Torah, Exodus 23:5, which says, “When you see the donkey of your enemy’s ox lying under its burden and would refrain from helping it up, you must nevertheless help him get it up.”   We find:   Rabbi Alexandroni said: Two donkey drivers who hated each other were traveling along the same road. The donkey of one of them fell down. The other saw it as he passed by and said the verse from the Torah to himself.  What did he do? He returned and helped him load his donkey. He began to speak with him: ‘put a little bit here; ‘lift it from there.  By the time he (finally) loaded it with him, they made peace with one another. The other began to say to (himself) “I thought he was my enemy. See how he had compassion on me and my donkey in distress?” From this they went to a road side inn; they ate and drank together and became friends with one another.   Often we can find common ground with someone we think of as an enemy if we can find something to do together, some project that unites us. When we talk with someone and listen to them, we begin to understand them and suddenly we discover compassion.  Often we hate what we fear and often we fear what we don’t understand.  It is so important to try and take the time to listen to others, to try and understand them and what they are saying.  It is my hope that in the New Year that now begins we can try harder to listen to one another.  That when it comes to interacting with another human being that we can stop our multitasking long enough to give them our complete and undivided attention; that we can focus upon their words and their meaning. If we can manage to do that, then we can make our relationships stronger and perhaps turn an opponent into a friend.

Community themes

Shomarei Torah Congregation

New Jersey

Conservative Jewish

12/2/2020 13:06