Shabbat Talmud Study: A Moral Issue Where There is a Right and Wrong Answer

Last Shabbat we explored the question of how certain should we feel about the rightness of our convictions? Should we be cocksure that we are right? Or should we be humble and open to the possibility of nuance, texture, ambiguity, important things we might not understand?

We explored the prophetic voice: I am right. I am truth. I have truth. I speak for God. You, who disagree with me, are wrong.

And the rabbinic voice: humility and an openness to a multiplicity of truths.

In general, the rabbinic voice is more helpful and true. Prophets’ very certainty and arrogance turn people off, then and now.

But life is so very interesting. We are in that very rare zone where a prophetic voice is the right voice.

Tomorrow morning, we will explore an urgent moral issue in the upcoming election on November 6 where there is a right vote and a wrong vote. There is a vote which is consistent with Jewish values, and there is a vote that is a wrenching violation of Jewish values.

Life and human dignity are at stake. You have a hand in preserving life and promoting human dignity based on how you vote on November 6.

Aliza and I will co-teach these sources. See you tomorrow morning at 8:30.

Shabbat shalom,
Wes