The passage that Rabbi Jeffrey Saks’ translated from Elchanan Nir resonated with me. What does a teacher share with students and what does that teacher not share? What happens when the teacher himself no longer finds a given answer compelling? Obviously, I cannot establish rigid guidelines but I would like to offer a few suggestions. Honesty does not demand explicitly saying everything one thinks all the time. One has to consider what students are ready for and the understanding of a fourteen year old will not be the same as that of a thirty year old. Even some adults we encounter will not be ready for a more complex approach to religious issues. Moreover, since the teacher should not have a peer relationship with students, the teacher’s angst should usually remain a more private business. On the other hand, both the interests of integrity and pedagogy call for the teacher to reveal some of the struggles of religious life. Here are a few ways in which to do that in a healthy fashion.
1) One need not have an answer to every question. If the teacher humbly confesses that he cannot solve the problem of evil or explain the commandment to eradicate Amalek, life will go on. It is positive for the students to see that faith and commitment can live with unanswered questions.
2) Sometimes, one can offer an intelligent and helpful response without answering the question. The free will defense and John Hick’s vale of soul making theodicy makes it easier to confront evil even as we have not fully resolved the dilemma. Positions that severely limit the command to wage war with Amalek (the command depends on a monarch, the Sanhedrin, or a prophet) help minimize the extent of the moral challenge.
3) It is legitimate to admit to students that we identify more with certain strands in our tradition. A student recently asked me about a midrash in Bereishit Rabba that attributes many negative traits to women. Rather than defend the midrash or contextualize it historically, I simply said that Hazal include different themes about women and I identify more with other ma’amarei Hazal. My student was pleased with the response which I think was both more honest and more helpful than the alternatives.
4) One can combine fierce adherence to tradition with admitting that the religious community has deep flaws. Even further, some of those flaws may be inherent in observant life since much of human life is about balancing ideals and positive positions also come with accompanying hazards. Rav Kook was an exemplar of this mode of thinking. We affirm the great need for halakhic detail even as we realize the danger of losing the poetry, excitement, and sweeping vision of religious life. We value the trait of yirat shamayim but understand that it can be quite problematic when taken to an extreme. It can sap vital energy and portray God as an angry tyrant. This model allows us to maintain the wisdom of traditional religious values while being open to penetrating criticism of the religious world as well.
Thus, it should be possible for a teacher to admit that he struggles with certain religious texts or with aspects of the tradition while still conveying firm commitment to Yahadut,
Yitzchak Blau
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/16/2017 12:57PM by mlb.
