Q&A: Hello Rabbi, have a good week — this is A., something I’d be happy to tell you
Hello Rabbi, have a good week — this is A., something I’d be happy to tell you
Question
Hello Rabbi,
I just want to say thank you!
Thank you for the fact that one of the things I learned from you, and really internalized, is how discussions are supposed to be conducted.
How to formulate an argument, what kinds of background noise to avoid, what is essential and what is secondary in an intellectual, ideological, and analytical discussion, and the like.
If you remember, when I studied with you in the kollel in Be’er Sheva, we had many arguments, and on many things there was no agreement between us, and in general my own tendency is more toward the conservative side.
But even so, the style of discussion I saw in you always made me feel that it is not utopian, and that it really is possible to conduct a sharp debate with maximum matter-of-factness and with a proper line of reasoning that lets me understand the opposing side fairly, and in a way that leaves you wanting to keep discussing and clarifying things.
Why am I remembering this now?
Because for some time now I’ve been a member of a discussion group on Facebook.
Quite a few people participate in it. At least in theory, the group is intended for the full spectrum of the religious public, but there is clear and prominent representation there from the liberal “Jerusalem” camp.
Posts about “gender” issues and feminism come up there all the time, especially from the liberal camp, and the responses are accordingly full of praise.
But here’s the thing:
When I and others from the other side of the barricade post about the subject from the conservative point of view — and at least about myself I can say that I explain and substantiate my position properly and don’t just throw around slogans — I’m simply amazed by the emotional, explosive reactions, sometimes on a really personal level, like internet talkback comments.
People are incapable of having a discussion, incapable of addressing the arguments, and they simply explode as if it were a quarrel between hucksters in the marketplace.
And these are intelligent people, which puts things in an even stranger light.
When I see this bizarre conduct, I remember our arguments in the kollel classes and the discussions on your website between you and the commenters, and I tell myself that I was fortunate to have studied with you and to have learned from you what a real discussion is.
So this is an opportunity to say thank you and express my appreciation for that.
It’s an important lesson for life that I learned from you. Fortunate are you, and good shall be yours!
Best regards,
Answer
Thank you very much. Indeed, from my perspective, the method and the form of discussion are a lesson no less important than the bottom lines themselves.
I become more convinced every day that you can’t talk with “dossim,” except that contrary to what is usually assumed, the liberals and leftists turn out to be more “dossi” than the conservatives/right-wingers.