Pluralism in Action

As we were studying the first mishna in Berachot and came to Rabbi Eliezer’s opinion that we may recite the evening shema “when the kohanim enter the Temple to eat their teruma”, the hands shot up in the air. “We looked at the commentary”, the students said, “and we see that Rabbi Eliezer means that we can say the shema at nightfall, when it’s dark, because that is when the kohanim could eat their terumah food.” I congratulated them on figuring that out. They continued, “but if he meant nightfall, why didn’t Rabbi Eliezer just say that? Why the reference to the destroyed Temple and to no longer viable kohanim and teruma foods?"


“Excellent question,” I said.

Just then Rabbi Seltzer walked into the room…and a magical moment of pluralistic Torah learning began.

I, an Orthodox rabbi, answered the students’ question by pointing out that the Rabbis of the Mishna would constantly refer to the Temple and the rituals performed there not only to remind the people of their glorious past but also to emphasize their unshakeable faith that the Temple would be rebuilt and the practices of old will once again resume.

Rabbi Seltzer, a Conservative rabbi on the other hand, offered that the Rabbis understood the realities that lay before them and grasped that Judaism was forever changed by the loss of the Temple. The reimagining of Judaism required radically new thinking that made reference to the past as a way to establish credibility and authenticity. Their view of the future did not necessarily encompass the old ways of the Temple.

Two rabbis…two opinions.

And then the students began offering their ideas and opinions about what the Rabbis might have been thinking. There was no shouting, no dissing, and no rolling of the eyes.

There was conversation and dialogue. There was respect, integrity and a sense of community.

There was Torah.

And there were smiles on the faces of two rabbis at the Cardin School.

~Rabbi Yaakov Chaitovsky
Judaics Instructor