Chaim came back from a long trip to Minsk. "Minsk
is a crazy city!" he told his friends.
"Why?" they asked.
"Well, in Minsk I found a socialist, a communist, a Zionist,
a Bundist, a leftist, a rightist, a devout religious man, a secular humanist, a
closed-minded in the box person and a free thinker!"
His friends didn't understand: "But isn't that a normal
community, where you have different people with different ideas?!"
"Ah," said Chaim, "you don't understand: this was all the
same person!"
***
We are a nation who argues. A lot.
From ancient history, when Abraham and Moses argued with the
Divine, to the present where the bricks and cement of synagogues and Jewish
social halls vibrate from the sound of verbal battle on the widest spectrum of
subjects, from how-cold-is-it-really-outside-including-the-windchill to the
solution to world hunger.
Life as we know it: I say yes you say no.
But then we hear the cries for peace: "Why must we argue?"
"All problems arise from disagreement!" "If we would all agree to agree, life
would be so simple and harmonious." Tell me about it.
Where did this notion that we must think alike originate
from? Where in Torah or in common sense is there any hint to the notion that we
must all think alike?
Yes, there are fundamental premises that are not up to
debate. One may not kill. We must believe in one G‑d. Adultery is forbidden,
Hamas is a terror organization and Holocaust denial is the work of the Satan
and cannot be college campus debate material. On this we all agree (we
better!).
But for almost everything else from the 'role of government'
to the 'difference between a manager and a leader' and plethora of issues that
keep our pundits, journalists and talk show hosts mouths and pockets loaded,
these are part of a healthy society.
This week we read the story of the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai.
In 19:1, we read that after arriving at Sinai, "there Israel camped
opposite the mountain."
Says Rashi: "At all their other encampments, the verse says vayachanu ['and
they camped,' in the plural]; here it says vayichan ['and he
camped,' in the singular]. For all other encampments were in argument and
conflict, whereas here they camped as one man, with one heart."
Notice that Rashi uses the expression "one heart." No
mention of "one brain." There is no evidence that for the sake of peace, the
Jews let go of their opinions!
Mouth shutting due to the fear that "it's gonna cause a
fight" is not and never was a Jewish concept.
Our history is full of rabbis and teachers debating,
arguing, and defending their ideas. The Talmud is but a microcosm of hundreds
of years of debate on a myriad of topics. It is a part of our psyche. Jews
argue, and that is a good thing.
True, debate must remain in the realm of objective
discussion, where we argue about the message, not the messenger. While we may
dispute ideas and disagree with the other's opinion, we must always have
respect for our opponent, as a human being, as a Jew. But within the framework
of fair debate – we are lifetime members.
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