Main Menu
| Home |
| Radio Shows - LISTEN |
| Brad's Blog |
| Irwin's Blog |
| Brad In the Media |
| Irwin in the Media |
| Bridges TV - WATCH |
| Podcast |
| Forum |
Movies
Building Bridges: Abrahamic Perspectives on the World Today
with Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, Season II
Now Available on a 3-DVD Set
A first-ever 15-part series conceived by a rabbi for Bridges TV-American Muslim TV Network, the show brings together religious leaders of the three major Abrahamic faiths to grapple with the divisive issues splitting our traditions and country. Fast paced and tied to today's news, it gives viewers a deeper understanding of how people of faith see the world, and each other, with live interviews from the American public.
Price: $25.00 (3 DVD Set)
To order, click here.
Members Login
Hirschfield & Kula and
IntelligentTalkRadio.com
is produced and managed by
Scott Newman Productions
| Irwin Blog Aug 19,2007 |
|
|
| Tuesday, 21 August 2007 | |
|
Words of the Living God, even When I disagree
By Irwin Kula
At different moments in my life different passages have spiritually defined and pushed me to grow. In these days of nasty religious polarization and culture wars, the passage that most animates my life is a passage from the Talmud, the classic Jewish wisdom text, describing the intense debates between two ancient philosophers and theologians Hillel and Shammai, who lived during the time of Jesus.
Each had his own academy and approach, much like contemporary think tanks or schools that differ philosophically, religiously, and politically. The schools of Hillel and Shammai disagreed on just about everything – from how to ensure economic justice to the nature of our deepest, most committed and loving relationships, from how to treat the other to what it means to sincerely be part of a community, from how to transform ordinary time into sacred time to how to increase light and meaning in the world. One might think that clear decisions would be necessary given the weightiness of these matters but rather than provide answers or simple rules to follow, the Talmud invites us into the debates and reveals the multiple and contradictory perspectives at the heart of all genuine disagreements. In the large majority of cases when a decision was indeed reached, the decision would almost always go according to Hillel. But, amazingly, it wasn’t because Hillel was objectively correct. The Talmud says about both Hillel and Shammai’s opinions, in a passage I constantly try to keep in mind, “These and These are both the words of the living God.” In other words, contradictory positions -- both sides of passionate and honest disagreements -- are true from a spiritual perspective, or as I like to say, no one is so smart that he can be one hundred percent wrong. And yet if this is true why were the decisions rendered according to Hillel? The Talmud explains that the reason for this is the method Hillel used to reach his decisions and to teach his wisdom. The practice of the school of Hillel was to always study and wrestle with Shammai’s opinions and to always teach Shammai’s positions before its own. Hillel understood and valued the partial truth of the other side. He used Shammai’s insights to inform his own views, to broaden his perspective, and to develop the most inclusive answer. This passage reminds me that every truth is partial and even the opinions with which I most deeply disagree have the potential to lead me to a wider understanding of the issue being debated. Hillel understood that the intrinsic worth of every human implies that every idea has some sort of claim, however small, on the truth and therefore every opinion offers some deeper insight into the human mind and heart. By refracting and reframing our intensely held truths through the lens of the other person, it is not that we necessarily change our mind, more often than not we do not go over to the other side, rather it turns out that our own truths deepen. Imagine if we were to embody this teaching, “These and These are both the words of the living God”, in our personal and public life when we engage those with whom we most passionately disagree. Imagine if liberals would argue and teach conservative positions and conservatives would argue and teach liberal positions before they fiercely fought for their own truth. Imagine if “pro-life” and “pro-choice”, “anti-war” and “pro-war”, traditionalists and New Agers, secular and religious, blue states and red states, Republicans and Democrats…would commit to really learning and exploring each others views before arguing their own. At the very least our debates would be far more intelligent and substantive and at best we might even begin to see more clearly a different perspective on reality…maybe even a hint of God’s perspective: “These and These are both the words of the living God.” |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
| Feb 2010 - Present |
|
Fox Forum, FoxNews.com, “Why god is Dead at the Supreme Court” , 5/13/10
Lars Larson Show (Compass Media), Elena Kagan and a Protestant-Free Court, 5/11/10
WFTL Morning News with Russ Morley (Southern Florida), National Day of Prayer 5/6/10 Lars Larson Show, Former President Bill Clinton, the Tea Party, and freedom and responsible discourse, 4/19/10
The Morning News, WFTL (South Florida), Christians Making Seders (scroll down to no. 24), 3/30/10
Beliefnet.com, How to Be Free: Passover Lessons (10 Tips from Brad Hirschfield), 3/25/10 The Busted Halo, Sirius XM Radio, Passover/Easter, 3/24/10 The Al Gainey Show, WDUN (Northern Georgia), "Under God", 3/22/10 Politics Daily, "Under God", 3/20/10
Aaron in the Afternoons, KLFD (St. Cloud, MN), Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance, 3/16/10
Blog News Web, God, History And The Texas Public Schools: A Debate That Impacts All Of Us, 3/12/10
The Morning Show with Russ Morley, (WFTL, Miami), The Academy Awards and our National Obsession with Celebrities (Click on no. 16), 3/8/10
The Huffington Post, Purim, 2/27/10
The Al Gainey Show, WDUN (Northern GA), CPAC Conference - Young people who are conservative seem less attached to some social issues than their older religious counterparts, 2/26/10 Andrew Sullivan, The Daily Dish, 2/25/10
The God Show, KTAR (Phoenix), Sacred Super Bowl Sunday, 2/7/10
The Lars Larson Show, Compass Media Networks, Sacred Super Bowl Sunday, 2/5/10
|
| Feb 2010 - Present |
|
The Mike Newcomb Show, KPHX (Phoenix), Technology’s Impact on Religion, 5/6/10
At Issue With Ben Merens, WPR, Holocaust memory: How do we remember when the survivors are gone?, 4/20/10
The Mike Newcomb Show, KPHX (Phoenix), Tax Day and people’s distrust of the government, (interview begins half way in), 4/15/10
The Lars Larson Show, Compass Media Networks, Paying Taxes: Toxic or Transformative?, 4/15/10 The Mike Newcomb Show, KPHX (Phoenix), Paying Taxes: Toxic or Transformative?, 4/15/10 Aaron in the Afternoon, KLFD, St. Cloud, MN, Paying Taxes: Toxic or Transformative?, 4/14/10 What’s Cookin’ Today with Erik and Jack, Cable Radio Network, Paying Taxes: Toxic or Transformative?, 4/14/10
State of Belief, Air America, Paying Taxes: Toxic or Transformative?, (From 10:12-17:14), 4/10-11/10
Huffington Post, Religion: Nothing More than Politics in Drag, 4/7/10 Religious Themes in Film at the Hudson Union Society, "Harold Ramis talks about the hunger for wisdom in film, and refers to his ‘favorite Rabbi’, Rabbi Irwin Kula..." 4/7/10
“God Talk,” A Segment on the Fox News web show, “The Strategy Room,” 2/26/10
The Forward, Being Jewish in NY, 2/17/10
Politics Daily, Is Obama Appointee Harry Knox an 'Anti-Catholic Bigot'? , 2/12/10
Erik and Jack Attack, Cable Radio Network, Valentine’s Day - (Tuesday, Time code: 19:47-23:34), 2/9/10
Aaron in the Afternoon, KLFD, (ST. Cloud, MN), Valentine’s Day, 2/9/10
NY Jewish Week, Voodoo Dialogue, 2/3/10
FoxNews.com “Strategy Room”, Relationships and Valentine’s Day, 2/1/10
|