I have a friend whose family went to Brazil from Germany before WWI, and were an influential part of the Jewish German-Brazilian community in Sao Paulo. My friend was a third-generation rabbi, and he talked fondly about his father and grandfather. The gauge their family used to measure any situation (social, political, economic, etc.) was a simple question, asked half-jokingly: Is this good for the Jews? He and I continued his family tradition by asking the same question about every single thing we came across, for example, our allegiance to certain soccer teams, decisions of the Supreme Court, or flavor of macarons. In the same way that his family had half-jokingly asked that question, he and I would do the same, sometimes laughing very hard, and sometimes getting into extremely serious discussions.
I share this story with you today because of a trend in the Jewish community that I think is, undoubtedly, not good for the Jews.
As is the case with most of the country, we are dividing ourselves along American Party lines. Each side claims that Judaism supports their world view. Each believes that the other side is crooked, naïve, or lacking in intellectual capabilities. Each group asserts that the other is wrong. I think that to divide ourselves by American partisan politics is a big mistake. This is simply not good for the Jews.
In the Babylonian Talmud (Eiruvin 13b), we learn that the opinions of the students of Hillel and Shammai (two sages that lived in in the first century BCE through the first century CE, themselves and later their students engaged in heated debates) reflected the words of the Living God – Eilu v’eilu divrei Elohim hayim. The opinions of the students of Hillel and the opinions of the students of Shammai were right, even if they were very different from each other. Moreover, their debates are all recorded in the Talmud, and most of the times the different opinions are mentioned without a clear indication of who is right and who is wrong. I think there are a few messages to be learned from this editorial decision. A teaching may be right for a certain time and place, but there are other times and places in which that decision may not work. Teachings are important and truthful, and by placing them on the same page we are affirming that all are due respect and consideration. This editorial decision also urges us to be flexible, to be open to other people’s opinions and to rid ourselves from the belief that our interpretation of text or of reality is the only one that is correct. Eilu v’eilu divrei Elohim hayim, these and those are the words of the Living God. A fundamental teaching about these two schools of thought is found in the Babylonian Talmud tractate Yevamot 14b.
Despite the differences in thought between the two schools these scholars knew that their disagreements could not sever communal ties. They knew they had a responsibility in protecting the well-being of the community.
We read: “Beit Shammai did not refrain from marrying women from Beit Hillel, nor did Beit Hillel refrain from marrying women from Beit Shammai. This serves to teach you that they practiced affection and camaraderie between them, to fulfill that which is stated: ‘Love truth and peace.’ (Zechariah 8:19)“ [The William Davidson Talmud, translation by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz found on Sefaria.org.] The scholarly differences were left at the academy. As Jews, the scholars of both schools lived together, with respect, with affection, and with an understanding that the community gained more from their unity than from division.
What is good for the Jews nowadays is to practice “affection and camaraderie” towards each other, as the scholars from the schools of Shammai and Hillel did in the past. It is not good for us to align with a certain political party and swallow that agenda as a whole, without careful attention to the fabric of the Jewish community.
We learn from the Talmud that there are many ways in which we can interpret the words of the Hebrew Bible and the teachings of our sages, and no one has a monopoly on truth and on the teachings of Judaism.
As you share an opinion based on the political party that you support, ask yourself: Is that good for the Jews? If it alienates and destroys the fabric of our community, it most certainly is not.