There is an email letter being circulated among Jewish clergy inviting us to affirm a list of ten beliefs that reflect our understanding of what makes us uniquely Jewish and American. Given the considerable discord over some basic values in our country, I thought it would be meaningful to share this list with you. Not because I expect all to agree with them, but rather as a way of inviting reflection about your own core values and the extent to which certain Jewish principles might influence your own world view. I’ll share their values with you over the next several days as a reminder of some core beliefs that continue to guide a wide diversity of our Jewish spiritual leaders. I’ve grouped them under broad topics and included references that the authors believe inform these principles.

Learning from Others and Expanding our Knowledge

  • We believe in honesty, commanded not to bear false witness. (Ex. 20:13, Lev. 19:11)
  • We believe in listening respectfully, valuing the ideas of those who disagree, and seeking peace. (Avot 1:12, 1:18)
  • We believe in knowledge and the exchange of ideas, including minority viewpoints. We value learning and the advancement of knowledge, in science, in literature, sacred and secular. (Avot 1:16)

I am in deep dialogue with a member of our community who often holds views different from mine about Israel, US policy, and local issues. I admire his intelligence, broad range of knowledge, and most importantly his integrity. He is a critical consumer of information and seeks out a broad range of sources to form his opinions. While at times we agree to disagree, other times we find ourselves in vehement agreement. We’ve discovered that we share some deep core values and a commitment to understanding the complexities of issues.  What is amazing is how much we’ve learned from each other.  Our dialogue has opened both our eyes to ways of seeing the world’s challenges that we might have missed were we not in dialogue.

In a world of algorithms that seek to both inflame us and feed us what we already believe, a commitment to thoughtful and respectful dialogue across the divides is more essential now than it has ever been. Because it is so difficult and elusive, we need to commit ourselves all the more to its pursuit.

—Rabbi Ron Stern