Wisdom September 2010 Issue
This month’s issue of Wisdom features two statements recently composed by scholars of the Elijah Interfaith Institute. Both deal with aspects of hatred towards other religions. The first is occasioned by the anniversary of 9/11 and the rise in hateful attitudes, including speeches inciting violence, toward the Muslim community. It will go to the Elijah Board of World Religious Leaders for their endorsement. The second was composed by members of the ‘Jewish Theology of World Religions’ research project. It addresses similar issues from the specifically Jewish perspective, in light of recent publications that we felt called for a response.
We rely on your help in disseminating these statements. Hate is in the air. It is up to us to help clear the air. Please share our work with all your colleagues, friends and networks.
Combating Hatred and Intolerance with Wisdom
A 12 Step Vision for Religious Communities and their Leaders Offered by Scholars and Religious Leaders of the Elijah Interfaith Institute
The daily news makes us increasingly aware of growing hatred and intolerance in our global society. Much of this hatred is aimed at other religions. Too many people have been led to believe that in order to be faithful to their religion and defend its truth, they must denigrate and reject people of other faiths and adopt attitudes and actions of disrespect and intolerance. While Islam has been at the forefront of recent expressions of religious hate, the problem is global and affects all our religious communities. All our religious traditions are both vulnerable to hateful attacks from others and susceptible to exploitation as a basis for hostility and intolerance toward others.
The quest for happiness and wellbeing is common to all of humanity,and yet we are all capable of practices that get in the way of such happiness. Therefore, dealing with religiously-based hatred is a major challenge for religious leaders worldwide, in the service of their communities.
We, scholars and religious leaders, affiliated with the Elijah Interfaith Institute, would like to share our experience and vision with religious communities, in the hope of stemming the tide of religiously based hate. We offer the following 12 points, as a common ground for all religions, based on our common quest for wisdom, with the hope of inspiring reflection and action that will bring us closer to peace and harmonious living. These 12 points are broken down in light of three main wisdom teachings, recognized by all world religions.
I. KNOW YOURSELF
The great principle of the spiritual life, that is common to all our traditions is self knowledge. Without proper self knowledge, we are prone to behavior that we may not be aware of and that we may ultimately not really believe in. Self knowledge provides the foundation for combating intolerance , violence and religious hate.
1. Stop and think. The wise stop and think before they speak and act.
Explanation: We often pick up attitudes from our environment, and find support for attitudes and actions among our peers. We may be well intentioned members of religious communities who do not consider ourselves hateful or intolerant. But good intentions are not a guarantee of right action. The first counsel of wisdom is to stop and think. View yourself from the outside, take nothing for granted, consider whether what you say is really what you believe and what your tradition teaches you. Break the cycle of automatic behavior and of the negative hysteria, even if these have been generated in the name of your religious tradition.
2. Be aware. The wise are alert and constantly monitor their own attitudes.
Explanation: Much of our behavior in the personal and collective arena stems from lack of awareness. Examine yourself. Could there be attitudes in you that might reflect hateful intolerance and lack of acceptance of the other? Have you fallen into the kind of self righteousness wherein your own value comes at the expense of the other? Has your religious enthusiasm blinded you to negative or even violent tendencies that have crept into your thoughts and actions?Do such tendencies really cohere with the teachings of your religion?
3. Recognize fear. The wise recognize fear, and combat it with knowledge.
Explanation: Hate is sometimes the result of fear. One fears the unknown, and one may be fearful of other religions because one does not know them, or their practitioners. Identify any fear within yourself, and overcome it by obtaining knowledge about other faiths. Do not let fear rule you.
II. PRACTICE THE GOLDEN RULE
One of the most fundamental teaching of all our religions is the golden rule. It states that you should do unto others as you would want to have done unto yourself. This principle of reciprocity is articulated in all world religions, without exception. Practicing the golden rule can help us advance in combating intolerance and the hate it breeds.
4. Find the Good in the other. The wise Find what is good in the other. This is their truth.
Explanation – Hate is often founded upon presenting the other in a distorted light that brings out the worst in the other. Would you like to be presented based on the acts of a few people whose teachings do not represent your view? Seek to represent the other in a way that is true to historical facts and to the self understanding of the other. Do not manipulate information about other faiths. Represent them as fairly as you would want them to represent you. And always, seek to find what is good about them.
5. Get to Know the other. The wise get to know the other personally.
explanation – Fear and hatred are the products of ignorance. if we do not know the other, we easily portray the other in negative terms, born of our fear. Get to know the other in his/her reality. Get to know the other personally. Life looks different when we have friends. And the clash between peoples and religions is radically transformed when we have even a single friend from another tradition. It is appropriate to criticize, to have difference of opinion and disagreement. That happens between friends as well. But make your disagreements the disagreements of friends. No matter what you hear about people of other faiths, remember that they are human beings, with much more in common with you than is different.
6. Understand the viewpoint of the other. The wise consider the viewpoint of the other.
Explanation – It is not enough to know the other as portrayed by an external source of knowledge. We must understand how the other understands himself/herself, even if we do not see eye to eye with him/her. Only by understanding the other as he or she does can we have compassion and the kind of understanding that cures hatred. Imagine yourself in the shoes of the people of another religion. If the problem at hand did not concern another religion, but your own, how would you respond? Would your responses be the same?
7 Do not generalize or stereotype. The wise do not generalize.
Explanation: Each of our religions has various expressions, faces and ideologies. With some we identify, others we reject. No religion is a monolith. Therefore, do not make claims about all members of a religion – Jews, Muslins, Hindus, or of an entire religion as such – Islam, Buddhism. Speak of an individual person, a specific teaching, the problem at hand. Do not use specific incidents involving practitioners of a religion to condemn the tradition in its entirety. Condemn the evil acts, not all members of the faith. Again, think of the diversity of views within your own faith tradition, and how unfair it would be for you to be held responsible for the attitudes and actions of others in your tradition who do not represent your perspective at all.
8. Speak out Against Hate. The wise speak out against wrongdoing.
Explanation: When we are down and under attack we want others to stand up for us. If you see another faith attacked, do for them as you would have done for yourself. Speak out against what you identify as hateful, stand in solidarity with those who are being persecuted and who are victims of hatred. Remember that no one is immune to persecution. Today, the victims may be people of another faith. Tomorrow, it could be you.
III. SEEK WISDOM
A wise person cannot be intolerant, nor can she hate. Wisdom is one of the deepest quests of our religions, and all our religions recognize the value of wisdom. Wisdom provides an antidote to hatred, violence and intolerance. The wisdom of our traditions is a response to intolerance. The test, the true fruit of our religions, is found in the ideal of wisdom, not in the extremism that relies on one sided reading of Scripture and superficial religious enthusiasm.
9. Get correct knowledge. The wise seek reliable information about other faiths.
Explanation: we all suffer from inadequate knowledge, concerning the other. Much of our knowledge comes from the media. It is the media’s job to simplify and to provide headlines. But the media can often play a negative role in stirring conflict. Do not consider the media authoritative. Learn about the other, get first hand knowledge, find facts out for yourself. Ensure that your sources of knowledge are reliable and not tainted. Ensure your information has not been manipulated for political gain. Consult scholars and experts of the tradition, from it and outside it, in attempt to obtain the most reliable knowledge you can.
10. Learn the lessons of history. The wise learn the lessons of history: Violence and destruction are always regretted.
explanation: History is full of moments of burning the books of the other. Books of Jews were burned by Christians in the middle ages, and by Nazis during the third Reich. With the passage of time and maturing of understanding these became sources for regret. No one looks back with pride today at injuries inflicted in the past. Why do something that you, or your descendants, will regret?
11. Practice Humility. The wise are humble.
Explanation: Religious hatred and intolerance come from arrogance about ones own faith, knowledge, or virtue. True virtue consists of humility, which is the sign of wisdom. It is a spiritual strength, not a weakness. Humility leads us to recognize that our knowledge of God is always partial, and that no one has a monopoly on wisdom. We can always learn from others, even from those with whom we disagree on important matters. A humble attitude to others will open the gates to acknowledging the wisdom of the other, thus enriching our experience of our own faith
12. Share wisdom. The wise recognize wisdom wherever it is found and share it.
Explanation: Wisdom is one of the highest fruits of the religious life. Seek it in your tradition, be open to sharing it with others and recognizing it in other traditions. All religions are fountains of wisdom and the love that flows from it. Sharing wisdom will open the doors of friendship and acceptance and provide an antidote to hatred and intolerance.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we call upon all religious leaders, our brothers and sisters in faith, to look deep within and to identify the sources of intolerance and violence not only within our traditions but also within our own hearts. The keys to world peace are in our hearts. Let us purify and open our hearts so that we find the good in the other, practice love and compassion and work together for the happiness and wellbeing of all.
The Elijah Interfaith Institute will continue to provide resources and direction in the quest for spiritual information through sharing wisdom.
Affirming the Image of God: Statement of Scholars of the Jewish Theology Project of the Elijah Interfaith Institute
Recent weeks and months have brought to public attention the issue of Jewish attitudes to non-Jews, as these are found in some traditional sources and halakhah (Jewish religious law), particularly with reference to Rabbi Yitzchak Shapira’s book Torat Hamelekh. The great liberty with which the author dispenses with the life of non-Jews under various circumstances has become a scandal in the media, a subject for police investigation for incitement, a discussion item on antisemitic websites, and the subject of an appeal to the Supreme Court of Israel. It has engendered heated discussion, most of which has focused on the right to teach Torah and to engage in discussion of halakhah, especially of a theoretical nature, unencumbered by external considerations and factors, such as police and state control. While these issues may be legitimate subjects for discussion, they conceal the main concerns raised by these teachings and their public reception. Many Rabbinical authorities have subsequently failed to condemn these teachings in theoretical and practical terms, leaving the impression that these are indeed appropriate contemporary Jewish attitudes to non-Jews.
For this reason, we, rabbis, teachers and scholars of Jewish studies of various disciplines, religious denominations and political perspectives, from different countries worldwide, have come together to express with a united voice our deep disdain for these extremist teachings, which are opposed to fundamental Jewish conceptions of the unity of humanity which all Jews affirm at this time of year on the High Holidays. We assert that the core issue they raise must be given priority in Jewish education and thought. Our view is that Jewish teaching involves more than merely citing texts, whether in or out of context. Teaching and the art of halakhic ruling always reflect a broader religious worldview, guided by core values. In our understanding, the creation of humanity in God’s image is the great principle, as our sages recognized.[1] We believe this mandates full respect for the infinite value, equality and uniqueness of every human life, for it is created in the image of God. Our Torah’s ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace.[2] These and other great principles are the guidelines through which we interpret and teach our tradition.[3]
We are working together under the aegis of the Elijah Interfaith Institute, to bring to light teachings of Judaism that cohere to this worldview. Love of one’s own group should not be equated with the hatred of others. Israel’s calling is harmonious with the wellbeing of all humanity. We recognize that there are voices in our tradition that have lost sight of thise great principles, because of the unspeakable suffering that our people have undergone throughout history. It is, therefore, a contemporary educational and halakhic challenge to confront these extremist teachings, to contain them, and to dissent from them publicly, applying the methods of halakhah, classical interpretation and historical study.
We have been collaborating on a project of developing a contemporary Jewish approach to other religions, that would make our students and communities aware of the dangers inherent in such extremist views in our tradition, and that would inspire a broader view of Judaism, its ethical task and its vision for humanity.
Accordingly, we call upon rabbis and educators to take a clear stand against narrow views Jewish particularity, in favor of a broader vision of Judaism’s relations to the other. Our scholars stand ready to debate the views under discussion. Our own critique of Torat Hamelekh will shortly be published on this website. We will also be publishing educational resources that provide an alternative view of the non-Jew in Judaism, that remind us that “The Lord is good to all, and His compassion extends to all His creatures.”[4]
[1]See Sifra Qedoshim 4; Mishnah Avot 3:14.
[2]Proverbs 3:17.
[3] We are painfully aware that such problematic theoretical teachings can easily become transformed into practical guidelines for action, as witnessed by horrifying acts such as the Hebron massacre by Goldstein in 1994. We also recall some tragic lessons of our history, and the actions of Israel’s enemies in the past century, applying a perverted logic that we should not replicate within Jewish teaching. For example, the right to kill children lest they grow up to threaten us was cited by Otto Ohlendorf of the German Army Einsatzgruppe C at his trial, to justify his unit’s shooting of tens or hundreds of thousands of Jewish children among the more than million Jews murdered by the shooting squads in Eastern Europe in 1941-1942.
[4] Psalm 145:9.
Signatories:
Mr Shraga Bar Or – Jerusalem
Rabbi Prof Jack Benporad – New Jersey
Rabbi Dr Alan Brill – New York
Prof Yehuda Gellman – Beer Sheva
Rabbi Dr Alon Goshen-Gottstein – Jerusalem
Rabbi Prof Arthur Green – Boston
Prof Gershon Greenberg – Washington DC
Rabbi Irving Greenberg – New York
Prof Raphi Jospe – Jerusalem
Rabbi Dr Menachem Kallus – Jerusalem
Rabbi Prof Reuven Kimelman – Boston
Prof Stanislaw Krajewski – Warsaw
Prof Ruth Langer – Boston
Rabbi Dov Linzer – New York
Prof Alan Mittleman – New York
Prof Peter Ochs – Charlottesville, Virginia
Prof Jacob Joshua Ross – Jerusalem
Prof Tamar Ross – Jerusalem
Rabbi Prof Marc Saperstein – London
Rabbi Prof Marc B. Shapiro – Scranton, Pennsylvania
Prof Benjamin Sommer – New York
Prof Burton Visotzky – New York
Dr Debbie Weissman – Jerusalem
Jewish scholars and religious leaders who wish to add their signature, please contact
The Elijah Interfaith InstitutePhone: +972-2-672-9276 , Skype: adminelijahP.O.B. 4069
Chopin St.
91040 Jerusalem
Israel
The Elijah Interfaith Institute is a 501© (3) organization. All donations are US tax-exempt.