By Leah Sherin
During the course of the semester, we have participated in different “units”, from Israeli Education, to Jewish Professions. Many of us were anticipating our unit on Israeli politics, wondering how our Shabbaton in Alon Shvut and many speakers on different political issues would affect our group dynamic and bring out our political differences. With what turned out to be our introduction to this unit, Rabbi Jordan Soffer joined us at Pardes to give a shiur. As he began, I was not anticipating that his talk would be an introduction to our unit on Israeli politics, but his topic of discussion and the way he approached it gave us the perfect introduction into this new, complex unit.
The talk began in a very unique, memorable way, with Rabbi Soffer telling a story of a recent dinner party he was at with close friends. At his dinner party, one friend suggested they all share an unpopular opinion, something controversial they wouldn’t normally share. As the group went around sharing these opinions, the opinions shared became increasingly controversial, from reproductive rights to Israeli settlements. Despite the fact that the opinions were not widely held among the group, he explained that after discussing each person’s statement for a bit, the group found some way for everyone to eventually agree to some extent and move on. Although Rabbi Soffer was surprised by some of the unpopular opinions held by his close friends, he was also surprised that he and the others were able to agree on matters they might not have before.
This story posed the question of why we always have the need to get to a point where we can agree with someone who you originally disagreed with, particularly when you already have an established close relationship with that person.
Rabbi Soffer explained the complexity and inconvenience of having someone you trust say something you disagree with. These questions led to a wider conversation on how we approach disagreement and how we can engage in productive discussion. Many of our fellows responded and questioned Rabbi Soffer, discussing ways to work on creating constructive conversation, such as being aware that when you disagree or attack someone, we give the other person the ability to do the same. We also wondered at what point dialogue is no longer productive and where we draw this line.
This shiur with Rabbi Jordan Soffer clearly brought up many questions and topics of discussion among our cohort, and provided what I believe to have been a very important introduction to our unit on Israeli politics. Rabbi Soffer concluded by discussing the idea that two truths may exist simultaneously. While Jews were almost exterminated 60 years ago, Jews also hold a lot of power in America and the world today. By examining how two truths could exist at the same time for different people, we were able to engage with the idea that our views may differ from those of our peers, but that it is important to recognize both of our truths. Understanding this concept allowed us to enter our discussions about politics with a deeper understanding of how to respect each other’s opinions and engage in thought provoking, respectful discussion.
