As inauguration day draws near, I am reminded of a Shabbat lunch conversation at Shomrei Torah in Los Angeles. Before the days of Covid, members would gather in the social hall for a bagel lunch and shmooze. This particular Shabbat, I was asked if I would join a table where I had earlier noticed a lively conversation happening. Turned out it was a political conversation and they wanted to know what I thought ‘from an Israeli point of view.’ At first I wondered what I had walked into, but what an amazing conversation ensued. The table was filled with people on the political right, left and middle, small business owners, teachers, and retirees. Policies were being presented and debated. Two of the small business owners argued over why ‘Republican policies’ were good for one of them and bad for the other. Both were correct, in Hebrew we say: Elu v’elu divrei elohim hayim (אלו ואלו דברי אלהים חיים), these and these are the words of the living God.
Elu v’elu divrei elohim hayim, these and these are the words of the living God. Just like that, 2000 years ago, God ended an ongoing argument between the houses of Hillel and Shammai (Eruvin 13b) about who was correct. In general, Beit Shammai’s (house of Shammai) positions were stricter than those of Beit Hillel. The final law though, nearly always coincided with Beit Hillel. It was not that Shammai was wrong. Rather the House of Hillel had the bat kol, Divine voice, on their side. We read the words of the bat kol; “Both schools espouse the words of the living God, but the halakhah follows Beit Hillel”(Eruvin 13b & Yerushalmi Berakhot 1:4). The essence of what we learn is that although halakhah nearly always follows Beit Hillel, elu v’elu divrei elohim hayim, opposite opinions still reflect truth, insight, respect and holiness.
There is something else in this sentence that I think is equally important, the seemingly extra word hayim, living. The sentence would have been complete without that word. Which means there must be more to learn from its addition. The term Elohim hayim, living God, is not abundant in Tanakhic or Rabbinic literature. In Jeremiah 10 the term is used to show the stunning power of God and in chapter 23 to support his claim of a single powerful truth. Likewise, in Dvarim 5 when the people cry out to Moshe to be a go-between with God it is in reference to the crushing power of God. In each case Elohim hayim refers to the prophetic relationship and the singularity of legitimate interpretations of Torah.
I found only one other place the phrase appears in Talmud. Rabbi Hillel the Elder went to great lengths in order to hear “divrei Elohim hayim, from the scholars Shemaya and Avtalyon”(Yoma 35a). Climbing up on the roof of the building he nearly froze to death in his efforts. In Tanakh, these words were connected to the power and singularity of the words of God. In Talmud they connect to the actions humanity takes to hear and understand. In prophetic encounters God initiates and humanity receives. In Talmud it is humanity who initiates reaching toward understanding of God’s words. The common denominator between prophecy and Torah study is the Divine encounter.
This seemingly superfluous term hayyim is then a clue to enable us to better decipher elu v’elu as a radical thesis from the rabbis that there are multiple legitimate interpretations of the Torah and with them vigorous debate and respect. The Mishnah emphasises the latter when it reminds us that even though the houses of Hillel & Shammai disagreed regarding the laws of marriage and divorce, the two schools intermarried (Yevamot 1:4).
Which leaves us with the message that honest and respectful debate is an encounter with the divine. Our lives have been upended in so many ways recently and debate has at times become toxic. Yet, it is exactly the mosaic of our thoughts, opinions and conversations that build a stronger and more vibrant community. We all need to feel secure but the commitment to our own path is not permission to go radically in either direction or to dis the equally strong needs and beliefs of others. God willing soon we will leave our home bubbles and sit around tables together again. May it be with healthy security in our own needs and beliefs but with openness and desire to hear, learn and understand ‘the other side’ as well.
It is said there are 70 views on Torah and our lives are Torah in the making. We can not control how others enter a conversation but we can step up and make sure that we are entering in the best possible way. Here are a few thoughts on some practical ways to prepare for those hard conversations.
- Find the smartest columnist on the ‘other side’ and read what they have to say.
- Self reflection – what are the shortcomings in my perspective?
- Self reflection – how am I conducting the conversation?
- Listen – We want to feel that someone is listening to us. Which means we have to really listen to them. Don’t listen to answer, listen to hear and understand.
- Leave the negative language at home.
Back to Hillel and Shammai for a moment: I hope that Hanukkah continues to bring beautiful light into your lives. Did you know that Beit Shammai held that on the first night eight candles should be lit, and then in decreasing number on each successive night, ending with one candle on the last night? Today we follow Beit Hillel who held that we start with one light and increase the number on each night, ending with eight.