Tuesday Morning Torah – June 20, 2017
Arguing For The Sake Of Heaven
A story is told about a new rabbi who comes to a well-established congregation. Every week on Shabbat, a fight erupts during the service. When it comes time to recite the Shema prayer, half of the congregation stands and the other half sits. The half who stand say, “Of course we stand for the Shema. It’s the central article of faith in Judaism. Throughout history, thousands of Jews have died with the words of the Shema on their lips.”
The half who remain seated say, “No. You are wrong! According to the Shulchan Aruch (the code of Jewish law), if you are seated when you get to the Shema you remain seated.”
The people who are standing yell at the people who are sitting, “Stand up!” while the people who are sitting yell at the people who are standing, “Sit down!” The arguing is completely disrupting the service each week and is driving the new rabbi crazy. Finally, it’s brought to the rabbi’s attention that there is a 100 year old man who lives nearby and is a founding member of the congregation.
After services, the rabbi invites a few delegates from both sides of the argument to come with him to visit this man in the hopes of settling the dispute.
After some nice conversation with the man, the rabbi brings up the main reason for their visit. “We are hoping you can help us, says the rabbi.” Quickly, one of the delegates who stands for the Shema interrupts:
“Wasn’t it the tradition in our synagogue to stand for the Shema?”
“No,” the old man answers in a weak voice. “That wasn’t the tradition.”
Immediately, one of the men who sits for the Shema, jumps in excitedly.
“Wasn’t it the tradition in our synagogue to sit for the Shema?”
“No,” the old man says. “That wasn’t the tradition.”
At this point, the rabbi cannot control himself. I am sorry, he says to the older man, but I really don’t care what the tradition was! Just tell them one or the other. Do you know what goes on in services every week – the people who are standing yell at the people who are sitting, the people who are sitting yell at the people who are standing-” The service is ruined each week!
“Ahh…..says the old man. That was the tradition!”
As Jews, we know something about this joke. We are not shy about arguing and disagreeing with one another. But somehow, this year, as we reach this Torah portion, many of us have the feeling that all of this arguing and disagreement both within the Jewish community, and within our larger political society as a whole, have gotten out of control. Along comes our weekly Torah portion, parshat Korah, with some insight about the difference between healthy disagreement and destructive argumentation. To use “traditional language,” according to our sages, there are disagreements that are considered “for the sake of heaven,” and there are disagreements that are decidedly not. Korah and his band of followers challenge Moses’ authority in such a way that they are deemed to fit into the latter category.
What made Korah’s type of argument and disagreement so distasteful to our rabbis? Why were later examples, such the disagreements between Hillel and Shammai, held up as model examples for disagreement? The Talmud teaches that unlike Korah, Hillel and Shammai argued in ways that were thoughtful, respectful, and constructive. Below are a few insights and implications concerning these different approaches to disagreement.
