Thank you to Robbie Gringras for your entertaining and educational performance at JTS this evening. The music, the stories, your ability to teach us the importance of love, sensitivity, and interconnectedness of the Jewish people - thank you. You bring a sincere love of israel that others born abroad can relate to - even if some of us may be more observant and less zionist than you are.
During the discussion after the show, Robbie articulated the exact thing i needed to hear at this moment in my life, and it rang lound and clear: Jews believe that there is a way about arguing that is sacred - a machlochet l'shem shamayim (an arguement for the sake of heaven). Americans especially are too afrait of conflict - we are so afraid of stepping on each others toes, we create barriers and separate ourselves out. Yet a true community is not made up of people who agree on everything. Rather, a community is created over what people argue about. By arguing with another, we show we care, that we want to understand, and that we value the other. Blind agreement does not show committment; it shows apathy.
Finally, on the topic of having a relationship with the State of Israel, and all world Jewry, Robbie reminded all of us that the Jewish world can no longer pretend that we are not connected. Even if we don't understand.
Okay it's time for this Shamir to get out there! Live the journey! Be the ball! (Huh?)
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it is crticially important to be able to handle conflict well. avoiding it doesn't qualify. shamirpower, this is a great lesson to put forward.
on a semantic note "machlochet l'shem shamayim" a discussion/conflict/debate/disagreement in the name of heaven implies that there could be machlokot that are not l'shem shamayim, discussion/debates which are not for the sake of heaven.
our task, i think, is to figure out how to turn every potential machloket into one for the sake of heaven.
perhaps we should talk a bit more about what the distictions are.
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