A recent text from our Thursday night Talmud study, absolutely blew my mind. It involves a little-known rabbi named Evyatar whose decision about the necessity of requiring agents to validate bills of divorce from outside of Israel was in conflict with the majority opinion. The other rabbis disparage not only Evyatar’s decision on this matter, but his very authority as a rabbinic decider. It is at this point that the Talmud gets weird, bringing in Elijah the Prophet and a conversation that Elijah had with God about another dispute involving Evyatar and another rabbi named Yonatan pertaining to a verse from Judges. Elijah quotes God saying, “Evyatar, My son, says this and Yonatan, My son, says that. It is seen here that God saw fit to cite the statement of Rabbi Evyatar” (Gitin 6b). The rabbis in the Talmud react to the story with shock, saying, “Is it possible there is uncertainty in Heaven? Doesn’t God know what happened? Why does God mention both opinions?” The Talmud’s answer is, “these and these are the words of the living God.”
The reason this text is so radical is that it portrays God as not having a definitive opinion, but studying both sides of the argument. This way of addressing conflict is in direct contrast to the way conflict is seen in the Torah. This week’s Torah portion Korach is a perfect example. In it, a disagreement between Moses and members of his key leadership leads to a civil war. Throughout the Book of Numbers, idle remarks can threaten the health and well-being of the entire community. Conflict in the Torah is not only dangerous, but often deadly. God acts as the Decider in Chief and often settles disputes with brute force.
The rabbis in the Talmud treat conflict as not only necessary, but essential. Without healthy disagreement, growth is limited. They encourage what they call “Machlochet B’Shem Shamayim,” conflict in the name of Heaven, or holy disagreement. In this context, God functions as Consolidator in Chief, validating opinions instead of negating them. As we think about the various interpersonal conflicts we encounter in our day to day lives, I hope we can approach them more like the Talmud and less like the Torah, embracing our conflicts, instead of running away from them.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Alex