Rabbi Isaac Jeret - June/July 2006 Column

Championing Our Differences To Gain A Greater Glimpse of God
(Adapted from Rabbi Jeret’s article in The Palos Verdes Peninsula News – 5/6/06)

With so many responsibilities competing for our scarce time and attention, should interfaith dialogue be a priority? Isn’t it hard enough to find time to learn more about our own faith traditions, let alone anyone else’s?

Interfaith dialogue, historically a sinister tool in the hands of those who engineered and coerced disputations to humiliate disempowered faith-communities, has been redeemed and elevated in our era and society to allow each of us a glimpse of God’s essence from angles and viewpoints to which we have never before had access. In doing so, we can learn a great deal about one another and at least as much about ourselves. Learning of the commonalities that we share can enrich communal life with a generally shared sense of purpose. The often subtle, but sometimes obvious, distinctions between our respective beliefs and practices can shed light upon the unique perspectives and expressions of our own faith traditions. Just as we can find strength, encouragement, and mutuality in learning of our commonalities, we can distinguish our own truths and learn of other’s when exploring our differences. Let me explain.

In the Talmud, ancient Judaism’s literary treasure-chest of rabbinic wisdom and law, one finds several inspiring commentaries upon the biblical teaching of humanity’s creation. The Talmud notes that this narrative teaches that all humanity descends from one human being, Adam. Championing our common origins and the equality of our intrinsic value as individuals, the Talmud declares that God caused humanity to descend from one human being so that none of us could claim greater lineage than the other. The Talmud thereby encourages humility among the haughty and confidence among the downtrodden; we are all to see ourselves and one another for the commonality of our origins and the equality of our value.

In the sentences that follow immediately thereafter, the Talmud proposes another consideration. God’s methodology of creating a single human being from whom all others would follow attests to God’s unique creative capacity. When human beings mint multiple coins from one mold they all look alike.

God, however, created all humanity from one person and we are each distinct! The Talmud associates the diversity of humanity with God’s role as the creative force of the universe. We are to value and champion our differences because they attest to God’s greatness.

I believe that these two Talmudic teachings can serve together as Judaism’s articulation of the spirit and framework within which healthy and constructive interfaith dialogue must take place. On the one hand, neither we nor our beliefs are of greater intrinsic universal value than our neighbor’s; our own faith is no better for our neighbor than hers is for us. As well, we mustn’t forget that God’s uniqueness is to be found in our own distinction; that we are different and of different faiths does not diminish God but rather exalts God.

With the vast potential for growth and learning, for healing and harmony, that interfaith dialogue can afford us, we can learn neither about ourselves nor about one another unless we approach it with a fundamental appreciation for human differentiation. If we can approach interfaith dialogue with the clear intention to learn of one another’s faithful truths in order to appreciate them and not to change them, then we can deepen understanding by engaging the diversity that God created in our world. We mustn’t delude ourselves into believing that we ought to convince others and persuade them to consider our own faith-choices. To do so would be to deny the diversity of faith and perspective that God grew intentionally from a single mold; to do so would not constitute an act of love but would rather amount to an assault upon God’s intention for the diversity of our world.

Healthy interfaith dialogue is really about what we can learn much more than it is about what we can teach. When we engage in these learning experiences with sincerity of heart and with this purpose in mind, we can gain extraordinary perspective upon ourselves, upon one another, and upon the Creator who willed our differentiation as well as our commonality.