The Jewish Approach to Conflict Transformation

Thursdays, April 4, 11, 18 and May 2, 9, 16, 2024
12-1:30 p.m. EDT
$250 for six sessions

The lengths to which some of us will go to avoid conflict are extreme, but what if we flipped the script on conflict? What if we understood conflict as an invitation to embrace difficult aspects of ourselves and others in order to grow? Conflict transformation theory says that conflict is actually not the problem, rather it is how we respond to conflict that creates the most difficulty. The good news is that we always have a choice in how we respond.

Even better news is that Jewish tradition is a storehouse of wisdom and practical application on how to navigate the world of conflict and how we respond to it, from sources in the Torah and from how our rabbinic sages model of conflict transformation. In this Ritualwell Immersion, we will explore what conflict transformation might look like for the Jewish community in our times. Using parts of the Pardes Institute for Jewish Studies Center for Conflict Resolution “Constructive Conflict” curriculum, we will navigate both ancient and modern approaches to conflict and rebuild our own conflict toolboxes applicable in contexts from the interpersonal, intercommunal, to the international realms. Together, we will imagine a Jewish community that knows how to show up in disagreement, even when it gets hard.

Rabbi Ezra Weinberg is a shaliach tzibur, officiant and Jewish educator dedicated to creating connection and community. He is a native Philadelphian and holds an MA in Conflict Transformation. Reb Ezra officiates weddings and Bnai Mitzvot and teaches a University course called, “One G-d, Three Paths” alongside a priest and imam. He currently works with individuals and families within the Jewish community and founded ReVoice, a network of resources for Jewish going through divorce.  He shares: “The work that I do is inspired by my own divorce as well as my experience as a child of high conflict divorce. A big part of my mission is to offer support in Jewish contexts when divorce radically changes a family’s path. However, I also want to change the conversation around divorce within the Jewish community today so that it is no longer taboo to get divorced or talk about divorce.”