Hasidic Texts on Passionate Pluralism (And Their Application to Jewish–Palestinian Relations)
In this session, we will explore Hasidic teachings about pluralism and what might be called “the humility of the journey” – a spiritual stance that allows us to “hold the stick from both ends”: to be passionately committed to our own truths while truly listening to, respecting, and even learning from opposing truths. These sources offer a rich Jewish theological framework for the work of Roots/Shorashim/Judur, the Israeli–Palestinian grassroots initiative for understanding, nonviolence, and transformation, which seeks to make space in our hearts for both Jewish and Palestinian narratives and experiences.
About Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger
Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger is an Orthodox Israeli rabbi and teacher who has been profoundly transformed by his encounters with Palestinians and the Palestinian People since late 2013. As he never tires of saying, he is now healing from the hubris of exclusivity with which he was afflicted all of his adult life. Today he knows that there are two Peoples in the Holy Land, and that each has their own story. Indeed the Land itself bears two identities – the Land of Israel is also the Land of Palestine.
Originally hailing from New York, Rav Hanan immigrated to Israel on his own at the age of 20 and has lived in Alon Shvut, Gush Etzion, for over 40 years. His family background is Reform, but already at the end of high school he began delving into observant Judaism. Following his B.A., he spent over 10 years in advanced Jewish study, primarily at the Har Etzion College of Jewish Studies and in the M.A. program of the Dept. of Jewish Philosophy at the Hebrew University.
