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Respectful Disagreement

Learning from the Rebbe: Episode 7

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Respectful Disagreement: Learning from the Rebbe: Episode 7

True peace is apparent only between people who have opposite perspectives and still manage to live in harmony with each other. Guest Expert: Chana Weisberg. (From “Messages”—Season 4, Episode 7)

Topics:

Ki Tisa, Unity; Oneness, Shammai & Hillel, Houses of

with Chana Weisberg and Michael Kigel

Chana Weisberg is the editor of TheJewishWoman.org and host of the Ordinary People, Extraordinary Stories podcast. She lectures internationally on issues relating to women, relationships, meaning, self-esteem and the Jewish soul. She is the author of six books. Her latest book, Shabbat Delights, is a two-volume series on the weekly Torah portion.

Michael Chighel (Kigel) received his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Toronto for his dissertation on the Book of Job, after a specialization in 20th-century French and German thought. In Canada he taught in the departments of philosophy and of Jewish studies at the universities of York, Queen’s and Waterloo. He produced Passages and Messages for eleven seasons on Canadian television (CTS). Until this year he held the Rohr Chair of Jewish Studies at the Lauder Business School in Vienna, where he taught Torah, European ethics and political economy. He has translated a number of books and published various articles in Jewish thought. Michael and his family have made aliyah, and now live in Jerusalem.

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29 Comments

Anonymous Hollywood March 1, 2015

Rap song I love the song in the intro, where can I find it? Reply

Ruth Housman Marshfield, Ma March 9, 2012

To m g your writing likewise takes my breath away and what returns to me is the other parts of our journey: Wadi Rum. thank you,

I feel the depths of what you wrote, about the meanderings of conversation, about Nature, the nature of that love itself, respectful disagreement. What emanates from a soul place.

I find this relevant here. I am so glad I came to this now, on a dark and stormy night. Thank you. Reply

m g March 8, 2012

r h march 8 , 2012 As usual you take my breath away.

Walked into the narrow canyon at 9 am in the sunny brightness of day. Walked out at 7 pm in the blackness and chill of night. 12 hours flies by fast when you are in Awe.

Similarly, there is the Awe of the Seven Pillars of Wisdom further south at Wadi Rum. It is said that Lawrence of Arabia saw this site and fell in love with the desert nation. Awe and the rest is history.

I know that this article is not intended to be a travelogue, but through Nature a respectful dialogue can emerge. Every nation has its own beauty. If one speaks in the midst of natural grandeur, agreements are more possible. It is like any two people starting a contentious conversation by talking about the weather. It starts things off on a positive note whether the weather is fair or foul. Travel, nature, and the weather can also be used to end respectful disagreements on a positive note. Reply

ruth housman marshfield, ma March 8, 2012

Petra, Jordan I have been once with my sister. It is an amazing place of intricate carved red rock facades that look like a movie set, covering the outside of empty rooms and the buildings have intriguing titles like The Treasury. There is an aqueduct constructed with great skill to gather water and it is said this incredible architectural wonder was built by the Nabateans and used as a stopping place for the many traders on the Silk Route. Wadi Musa where Moses is said to have stopped is not far away. One enters Petra through a key hole shaped opening called The Siq. There are ongoing excavations in the area by archaeologists at Brown University. Competent guides are available to give tours and historical overviews of the uses of many of these buildings over history, such as for worship and other purposes. Originally it seems the unadorned interiors were mostly empty. Petra was the site of the Indiana Jones movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark. It is a mysterious and beautiful place invoking awe. Reply

anonymous March 4, 2012

Petra Petra has been alotted as one of the 7 wonders of the world. It is an amazing territory with The Treasury as the highlight. You n might as well give it 8 hours of walking around. The area is controlled by the Bedouins. Throughout Egypt and Jordan, the Bedouins have created a strong economy especially in tourism.

petra is in the south. What will also astonish you is Mt. Nebo where the Jordanians have spruced up the mountaintop and cite it as the resting place of Moses. We Jews of course know that Moses stood on Nebo and looked over the Jordan River into The Promised Land. Unlike the Jordanians , we don;t know the actual resting place of Moses.

Moral of the story, enjoy traveling the Middle-East but do not believe all that you hear. Reply

ruth housman marshfield hills, ma March 4, 2012

SACRED ALPHABETS All alphabets are sacred. The manual creation by calligraphy and handwriting is an art, and if so practised is a sacred art, and those who do this, will say this. I know a calligrapher, and she says, there is something powerful about making the letters and in practising her art. She is not Jewish, but her art, involves also of course, the Hebrew letters, and ALL alphabets.

The word Calligraphy contains the English CALL, and it's a calling. As sofer and sefer are related words. I KNOW this. And C as in SEE and ALL. G_d created a universe out of the alphabet(s) and in crossing Babel, as I do, this gate opens wider and wider, and it is beautiful.

I will also say, what are you waiting for, with respect to Moshiach. Maybe the message is right here, on Chabad, and we must ALL move forward in concert, in concerted effort to work for a better world. The time IS NOW.

This Symphony HAS a conductor. It is G_d moving us all. That IS the message. The Moshiach is a messenger of hope, of tikkun. Reply

ruth housman marshfield, ma March 2, 2012

a life of profound connectivity brings me to my knees. Today I told a friend
who is also a colleague I had a strong sense
there is an adventure that will take us to Jordan, to Petra. She was astonished as her sister had called to say she is going to Petra.
My friend called her sister so I could discover this is really true and it is! I could be overwhelmed by the speed and constancy of these connects but I am totally centered/grounded and I know I am recording the most amazing story ever told.

I go to G-d, the author of my days and I say to you all with awe:one day you will look to your very own story with the same joy of discovery and love. I also say it isn't over when it's over. I have no doubt. G-d wrote the entire script. Heed the words we utter on Yom Kippur. The Book of Life Is the Book of Love. Reply

m g March 2, 2012

r h feb23, 2012 The Sefer Torah can only be handwritten, which means that skill will not cease, at least not until the arrival of Moshiach. It takes a special hand to produce each letter.

Other than the Sefer Torah, like it or not, handwriting will continue to decline as technology advances in speeding up our world of correspondence.

Good Shabbos all ! Reply

ruth housman marshfield hills, ma February 23, 2012

Handwriting and the Art of Making Letters There is something about letters, big and small. There are people who say there is a science to signatures made by hand, and I know there was such study, perhaps more, years ago. I believe handwriting and calligraphy is becoming a lost art, and that there is a powerful connect in making the letters that is spiritual in nature. I mourn that we are losing this. Many rely on type.Certainly there is a deep mystic significance to letters as is written.I am glad the art of the Sofer in scribing Torah is deeply revered as I do believe this is a great thing, and should be preserved and always honored. It is a spiritual connection to the ineffable. I feel it. Those who spend time doing this are often deeply spiritual and feel this connectivity. The more time I spend just meditating on letters, the more I see, and I say there is a great spiritual truth to this.

The universe it is said, arose from the aleph bet and I do perceive this. It's an amazement that never stops giving. Reply

m g February 22, 2012

r h r h small case understood.

In Chabad forums and where confusion will not be caused, i use i.

you may see how i is consistent with r h , and enjoy using it. If this will not serve your purposes, it's trivial. It works for me. At the same time, i use capital letters in my initials and name and am not about to change that. Chabad uses Anonymous, and i am not going to put any effort into changing that. Luckily in my email address, my name is smaller case. How providential is that. It would bug me if that was not the case, no pun intended. i would not have gone through the effort to change it.

i understand your poetry and you very well, and enjoy both. i did not care for poetry in school, and my marks showed it. Reply

Sientje Seinen Chilliwack , Canada February 22, 2012

proof of the Lord G-d I doubt if any one can prove the existence of G-d, except one has to go on faith that He exists. And only by a deep reverence for Him and His Creation, one would come to know Him, as He would I believe reveal Himself to those who seek Him with all their heart and being. and not believing but just grasp onto any theory that is thrown out there, what hope is there in that. I believe one would need to trust G-d completely to know that He will accomplish what He has set out to do. G-d bless Reply

ruth housman marshfield hills, ma February 10, 2012

why Ruth with a small "r" I will add to what I just wrote since I am up in the night. My daughter is having a baby soon, and this keeps me up. The little one is greatly expected.

As to small letters, I feel very small often, and I feel a deep humility, that comes with being. I am one among many, and we are all of us, ONE, and deeply connected as souls. I do perceive this.

I am a poet and writer. I consider myself this way. ee cummings (small case) who I greatly admire, because he did amazing things with letters and words, used small case for his name. In coming and going as I do (pun intended) and in seeing something amazing in all names, I feel very small and yet small feels big to me, in every possible way. Perform random acts of kindness... a bumper sticker. Small mitzvot are as great as 'big' ones. And now, I cherish these bonsai stamps the post office is putting out, and one can, really one can, hold an orchard in one's hand, and that is beautiful and so true.

A(h) We. One small candle amongst the stars Reply

ruth housman marshfield hills, ma February 10, 2012

to anonymous w I think there is something deep about The Book of Ruth. I feel it. I think also there s something deep about the name, Ruth and that UR the reversal of letters pertains to Abraham and UR where he was born. I also see all variations of RU as significant, as in Ruah in Hebrew, and the word ruth less in English. I can go on with the name Ruth, and also can do this for all names, meaning I see a deep sanctity in words, in the letters themselves. U R (You Are).

As to what Sientje has written, I think it's just so wrong, to talk about people in this way. I totally respect all people and do not judge, and I work to stop the terrible bullying that is happening everywhere that is making children commit suicide. There is a recent really upsetting article in Rolling Stone Magazine of all places, on what has happened in schools where fundamentalism has made children feel less than, in terms of who they are. Identity is sacred and I deeply believe G_d made us all, as we are, to love not condemn. Reply

Sientje Seinen chilliwack , Kanata February 10, 2012

re respecting and accommodating divergent opinions It is just not always possible to respect and to accommodate divergent opinions Take the hostility of the Arabs regarding Isreal, where they wish to drive Israel of the map or into the sea. Thsi is an opinion which should not even be allowed to be voiced. Any opinion that expresses harm and misery towards another nation surely cannot be from the Lord G-d. Reply

Anonymous w February 10, 2012

r h proof - feb 8 2012 Wasn't biblical Ruth a prophetess ? She was an important leader of some kind. Your posts always percolate. This time it takes me back to a biblical era.

i encourage you to keep leading. It is for the first time i put Ruth ( biblical ) and ruth ( you - no slight about the small r - you seem to prefer it ) together. i think it's a match. Same DNA.

Good Shabbos all ! Reply

Sientje Seinen chilliwack , Canada February 10, 2012

re evolution, christianity and Judaism To be open to evolution, one must doubt the book of Genesis as evolution and the Lord G-d saying "Let us make man into our image" is not compatible with where humans evolved from apes. It dishonours the Lord G-d and it a theory which atheists put their faith in. Being a christian my belief probably differs from the Jewish people, as I believe in original sin, and that since Adam and eve fell from grace, we instead of being like the Lord G-d, compassionate, gentle, abounding in mercy and steadfast love, we now also have inhertied the darker traits of jealousy, covetousness, lewdness, immodesty, etc. ever since Adam and eve ate from the tree of good and evil which had been forbidden them. So the quest for trying to be reconciled to the Lord G-d does not lie in the theory of evolution, which is really an excuse to not be responsible citizen and make excuses for our behaviour. like homossexual believing the lie that hey are born that way and blaming their lustfull behavior on the Creator Reply

ruth housman marshfield hills, ma February 8, 2012

Proof For me everything is mirroring that I focus on and that IS proof, because I write it all down. There is no way one person could sustain this much and not know. There is no way one person could invent this much. So I KNOW, and when I get the kind of coincidences from others that seem to also be coming my way, there is absolutely no way a person could not know, because they could not be random. Beyond this, a long time ago I did hear a voice and remember exactly what was said to me.

In a way, I can say, I wish this were not happening in my life. This poses deep and ongoing problems in terms of thinking about issues of determinism and free will. A blessing can also feel like, a curse. And the worst of this, is seeing something and not being allowed to tell it, yet being permitted to go aloud. That's very hard, very lonely, and at times, very scary. But it's also a kind of beauty, because these connects are, and I do feel, beloved in making and keeping this record. Reply

Anonymous w January 27, 2012

proof - Jan. 26, 2012 Therein lies the disagreement. It's difficult to provide a proof of Hashem. It is a transcendent proof and so not an easy proof to agree with. Similarly you see no proof for evolution. Herein i am not stating my belief, only seeing both sides of the argument that has been raging on since before time. i am not taking The Book of Genesis off the table, and i am not taking the Theory of Evolution off the table. Many rabbis see the two in a supportive combination. Time, like space is an entity created by Hashem. It made a big appearance as the first mitzvah during the Exodus, a calendar according to the moon.

Good Shabbos ! Reply

ruth housman marshfield, ma January 26, 2012

Proof Many are writing about entrance to anew state of consciousness. Some feel there are messages being conveyed as in seeing the time 11:11 with astounding frequency. The Mayan cakendar made prredictions about 2012. My life is visibly different on that I ser we are being moved together. Everywhere I go I an conscious of astounding coincidence and others I know are aware of this in their own lives and discuss the amazement of this. It is a happening thing, observable and in one's face. I call that evidence and I deeply believe as do many others that we are evolving to perceive it is all G-d and our mandate tikkun olam. Reply

Sientje Seinen Chilliwack , Canada January 26, 2012

respectfull disagreement. True people cannot always agree on everything as that makes us human instead of robots, but evolution? arent you doing away with the book of Genesis where we are taught that man is created in G-d's own image but through disobedience fell from grace, and learned about evil as well as good, so mankind is constantly striving to overcome evil, but not always successful, so where teaching that mankind evolved from apes, isnt that a form of evil in itself? As there is no proof of same. Reply

Wisdom from the Rebbe

In each episode of this series, host, Michael Kigel, a panel of young students and a "special guest expert" discuss a clip of the Rebbe's public talks. Produced by Chabad of Toronto as "Messages -- Season 4."

Respectful Disagreement: Learning from the Rebbe: Episode 7

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