Can we all get along?

Abstract

To my mind it all comes down to one very simple and basic issue: Do we have respect for the legitimacy of opinions with which we disagree? I believe that many of the challenges to harmony that we face in our community stem from the fact that too many of us are not prepared to respond yes to this question. And yet, for me, the answer is obvious. It is a truism that our tradition has always recognized the simultaneous coexistence of a multiplicity of opinions, and it has done so in a variety of contexts. On a most obvious level, Rashi and Ibn Ezra may have very different interpretations of a pasuk, the Ramban may be very critical of the Rambam in his Perush al ha-Torah, and the Mechaber and the Rema may have radically different halachic opinions, but it is clear that each opinion is valid and legitimate.1