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14 Elul 5785 | September 7, 2025
Raymond Zachary
The Jewish principle of Makhloket l'shem Shamayim—argument for the sake of Heaven—teaches that not all conflict is destructive. When motivated by truth, humility, and a desire to serve something beyond the self, disagreement can be sacred. This idea offers a striking lens through which to consider the High Holy Days and the existential tension: Do the means justify the end?

Throughout our High Holy Day season, the liturgy leads us toward a spiritual “end” of a cycle—atonement, renewal, reconnection. But we don’t arrive through shortcuts. We go through Vidui (confession), Avinu Malkeinu (pleas for mercy), and Unetaneh Tokef (a trembling confrontation with mortality). The music that carries these prayers—solemn, raw, yearning—is not just background. It is the means, the emotional architecture that opens the heart.

Take Unetaneh Tokef, for example. The words confront us with who shall live and who shall die, but the melody—slow, mournful, and rising with urgency—models emotional honesty. It demands that we walk through our fear and self-examination with sincerity. Or consider Kol Nidrei, chanted three times in increasing intensity. Its musical progression reflects our own internal process: we don’t simply seek forgiveness—we become worthy of it through the journey.

Makhloket l'shem Shamayim reminds us that how we engage matters. Similarly, the High Holiday music teaches that redemption isn't found in rushing to the end, but in sanctifying each step of the journey. In Jewish life, holy ends must be reached through holy means.

15 Elul 5785 | September 8, 2025
Rabbi Simone Schicker
Throughout my life I have heard people say “but it's a machloket b'shem shamayim!” The mixture of English and Hebrew has spoken to me since I was small - the insider language of it all brings a comfort that the full translation, “but it’s an argument for the sake of heaven!” does not. I believe the power of these words arises from their history as much as the meaning of the words themselves. We bring along the baggage, the comfort, the joy, and the struggle of over two thousand years of history when we share these words. We acknowledge that we are not the first, nor the last, who will argue in this way. We hold up our best selves when we stand for what we believe in, and when we acknowledge there may be more than one way to understand our tradition, our laws, our customs. We hold up our best selves when we remember that we are a people with a history of making noise, of not taking the first answer as the only truth, of fighting for what we believe is right. We hold up our best selves when we stand on the shoulders of our ancestors.

This day, and every day, as we walk through the month of Elul, may we find ourselves arguing machloket b'shem shamayim.

16 Elul 5785 | September 9, 2025
Rabbi Benjamin Sharff
Sadly, so many of our dialogues and conversations, especially, but not exclusively to topics related to anything political and especially to Israel, there are now concrete perspectives that one side is the hero, and the other side is the villain. Unfortunately, with this line of thinking, it becomes very difficult to be in dialogue or relationship when your side is right, and the other side is wrong. Or even worse, when your side is the side of righteousness and the other side, is the side of villainy.
By making the villain out of someone you disagree with, it removes any and all possibility of understanding intent or for compassion.

What we cannot do is villainize each other especially if we do have the best intentions to advocate and support innocent people who are suffering. That we may disagree on methods and priorities does not mean ill intent. There is a lot of room for compassion and concern. It is just in today’s world, far too often, we are told we have to make a choice and pick a side as there is only one hero and only one villain, which in turn leads to more hate and intolerance.

The world is complicated and messy, and to minimize this, minimizes us all. For it is the moral certainty that creates heroes and villains. I encourage all of us not to be in that business. But instead, to lead with curiosity, and to be in the business of machlochot l’shem shemayim, arguments for the sake of heaven.

17 Elul 5785 | September 10, 2025
Rabbi Deana Sussman Berezin
Making a Heart of Many Rooms
I used to love to debate – to challenge and to be challenged. I loved examining issues from different angles, turning them over through verbal sparring, allowing them to influence, change, or sharpen my perspectives. But, in recent months, I find myself retreating from debate, afraid it will become a battle rather than a friendly parry.
Ours is a world of polarization and mistrust. Against this backdrop, I continue to grapple with what it means to be in real relationship with others, even when they do not share our beliefs. How do we move from distrust and contempt into mutual respect?

In Judaism, we use the framework of machloket l’shem shemayim. But this concept, that we argue for the sake of heaven, only works when both parties come with deep respect for one another and a belief that more than one thing can be true.

The Rabbis of the Tosefta offer us guiding wisdom: “make for yourself a heart of many rooms,” whereby we can bring multiple truths into our many chambers and determine for ourselves what we believe, recognizing that there may be more than one truth.  

Engaging in debate can and should be for the sake of something higher and holier – for the sake of heaven. Holding space for multiple truths and becoming open and vulnerable enough to allow those truths to move us, does not make us weak and it does not mean we’ve lost the debate. Quite the opposite – it means that we’ve all won.

18 Elul 5785| September 11, 2025
Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker
Sometimes Rabbinic debates get really dark. In one of the more humbling, profound, and challenging debates, Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai argue about whether or not God should have created people (Eruvin 13b). They argued for two and a half years over the merits and failings of humanity! Stop… Pause… What would your arguments be in favor? Against? 

And the side that wins out: it would have been better for us not to exist. Take that in for a moment. Whether you are surprised or not, whether you agree or not - what a devastating conclusion! 

The conversation continues with the understanding that we obviously do exist – so now what? In good Jewish fashion, our Rabbis offer two answers. The first is to closely examine our past actions. The second is to carefully consider our intentions and values. These complementary ideas speak to major aspects of the Yamim Noraim/Days of Awe. 

Let’s say we take this teaching to heart. God’s creation would have been better if there were no human beings. Collectively, we give in to our yetzer hatov/evil inclination too often and the whole world feels the consequences. And because we have been given this gift of life - because we are here… can we make our ancient Rabbis reconsider? Can I, can we, live our lives so that we are worthy of having been created? 

We won’t be perfect - we will fall short. And striving for “yes” - that’s our sacred struggle.

19 Elul 5785 | September 12, 2025
Rabbi Laurence Malinger
This summer, I’ve been blessed to step away from my usual congregational role and serve full-time as an intern at a local funeral home. It’s been one of the most intense and meaningful experiences of my career. As we enter the month of Elul—a time for reflection and return—I’ve been thinking about the phrase makhloket l’shem shamayim—a disagreement for the sake of Heaven.

Planning a funeral brings families face-to-face with overwhelming emotions—and sometimes with difficult decisions. Where should the burial take place? Should the ceremony be traditional or more personal? Should a rabbi or cantor be present? Do we wait for everyone to gather, or bury quickly? Do we sit shiva? These questions often spark tension—not because people don’t care, but because they care deeply.

Over the years, and especially this summer, I’ve learned that even painful disagreements can be rooted in love. When we call it a disagreement for the sake of Heaven, we acknowledge that behind every opinion is a heart grieving, remembering, and trying to honor someone who mattered deeply.

I often tell families: you may not see things the same way, but you’re all here because you loved the same person. That love is sacred. That love is what endures. If we can listen to one another with kindness and humility, even in our pain, we can make room for healing—and for holiness.

May your choices bring comfort and may the memory of your loved one be for a blessing.

20 Elul 5785 | September 13, 2025
Rabbi David N. Young
My brother-in-law recently discovered that one of his neighbors is a Holocaust denier. To make matters worse, he found out while he was riding in this person’s car, on a three-hour leg of a road trip. 

My wife and her brother are children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors. We make sure our children know about the history of the horrors committed against the Jewish people and others. We take teens to Holocaust museums every year to bear witness so the stories will never be lost. The idea that someone could deny that it happened at all feels like they are demanding that up is down, and there is no convincing them out of it. My brother-in-law was frustrated even relaying the story to us because there was no satisfying conclusion. In the end he told his neighbor that they should talk about other things.

In order to successfully argue l'shem shamayim, we must be fully informed both about what we know and about what they are learning. When someone flat out denies facts that we know are true, there is little we can do. Arming ourselves with information is the best defense against the ignorance of those swayed too far toward ignorance by misinformation, half-truths, and outright lies. While we are not responsible for the knowledge of others, we do have the ability to teach them gently when they use lies against us. And sometimes the solution is to talk about other things.