Recently, communities in America and around the world have shared with us the increasing challenges they face in balancing opposing political and ideological views both within their own community and between communities. Too often, communities feel stuck having to choose between either engaging in volatile destructive interactions or attempting to avoid such conversations altogether in favor of communal harmony.
However, there is a third option. In Judaism this may be referred to as mahloket l’shem shamayim, literally ‘disagreement for the sake of Heaven,’ which means disagreeing constructively in a manner that allows opposing sides to learn from one another and even strengthen their relationship, instead of damaging it.
The Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies and the 9Adar Project invite rabbis, educators and community leaders to lead an intriguing 60-90 minute event called “Mahloket Matters: How to Disagree Constructively, Unit 1: The Sanhedrin Way.” Learn the ancient Sanhedrin’s guidelines for engaging in constructive mahloket (disagreement). Practice using these guidelines in a mock-Sanhedrin exercise: “Keep or Cancel? You Decide!”
Click here for more information and to sign up for this exciting learning material.
