The Jewish Art of Constructive Disagreement in Text and Today

The Jewish Art of Constructive Disagreement in Text and Today

Tuesday at 12:00pm PDT

Amidst the growing incivility in discourse, Rabbi Daniel Roth and AJU’s Alyssa Silva draw inspiration from the traditional Beit Midrash, or study hall, to engage in mahloket, or conflicting opinions, found within Jewish texts. By employing this method to modern discourse, individuals can foster a genuine desire to understand and engage constructively with opposing views and address pivotal questions within current political, social, and religious debates. 

This class is in partnership with the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies Mahloket Matters Fellowship and Mosaica.

 Rabbi Dr. Daniel Roth is the director of Mosaica, an Israeli NGO advancing community mediation and dialogue in Israel. Much of Roth’s work focuses on

Mosaica’s network of insider religious mediators who help prevent, mitigate, and mediate crisis situations throughout Israel, the Middle East, and beyond. Formerly, Roth was the founder and director of the Pardes Center for Judaism and Conflict Resolution; the Mahloket Matters Projects; and the 9Adar: Jewish Week of Constructive Conflict. Roth is also a core faculty member at Bar-Ilan University’s Graduate Program for Conflict Management, Resolution and Negotiation. His book, Third-Party Peacemakers in Judaism: Text Theory and Practice, was published by Oxford University Press in 2021.

Alyssa Silva is the Programming Manager for the Office of Innovation at American Jewish University whose passion is to reimagine and implement what Jewish community looks like by bringing a unique perspective on what is engaging and inspiring Jewish communities today. Prior to arriving at AJU, she was the Assistant Executive Director of Houston Hillel, the Programming and Operations Associate at Maryland Hillel, and is a proud Moishe House DC alumni. Alyssa has a Master’s Degree in Jewish Nonprofit Management from The Zelikow School, a BA in Religious Studies from The University of Arizona, and a certificate in Jewish Experiential Education from The Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies.