Can Disagreement Make Us Stronger?
Posted on 07/24/2026 @ 06:30 AM
By Dr. Bella Tendler Krieger, Director of CAJE’s Chandra and Michael Rudd Department of Adult Learning
Yesterday, we observed Tisha B’Av, the darkest day on the Jewish calendar — a day that recalls not only the destruction of the ancient Temples, but also the devastating cost of hatred, division and infighting within the Jewish people.
The message could not feel more urgent.
That is why CAJE has commissioned the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies to bring its award-winning curriculum, Mahloket Matters: Jewish Wisdom for a Divided World, directly to our community.
Based in Jerusalem, the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies is one of the leading centers of Torah learning today, known for combining rigorous scholarship with openness, spiritual depth and honest engagement with difficult questions.
Through immersive programs in Jerusalem, online learning and educator training, Pardes brings Jewish texts to life for diverse adult learners across the globe.
CAJE is proud to bring Pardes’s renowned faculty and distinctive approach to Miami as part of our mission to connect our community with the very best in Jewish learning.
That approach comes to life in this dynamic four-part online course, which goes far beyond discussing disagreement in theory.
Participants will develop practical skills for engaging across differences with greater honesty, curiosity and care.
Together, we will explore the Jewish value of multiple perspectives and ask what distinguishes constructive disagreement from destructive disagreement.
We will learn how to identify the deeper values and needs beneath our own positions — and those of people who see the world very differently.
We will also consider the difficult question of limits: When should we remain in relationship with someone whose views we strongly oppose, and when might distance be necessary?
Participants will practice concrete tools for skillful listening and speaking, helping to create conditions for more productive conversations.
The course concludes with the Sanhedrin Way, a Jewish approach to cultivating a culture of constructive disagreement in groups and communities.
The course will be taught live on Zoom by renowned Pardes faculty member Rabbi Jessica Minnen, bringing Pardes’s signature depth, openness and intellectual excitement straight to your screen.
Thursdays, August 6, 13, 20 and 27 | 12:00–1:30 p.m. ET
Thanks to the Carla Spector Scholarship Fund, this exceptional learning experience is being offered at a highly subsidized rate.
This is more than a class. It is an opportunity to transform the way we listen, argue and build community.
Join us for Mahloket Matters — and discover how disagreement can become a source of wisdom rather than destruction.
The work of reflection and transformation does not end there.
CAJE is also offering another powerful opportunity for learning this August: The Art of Return: A High Holiday Journey Through Teshuva.
This five-part online series brings together some of CAJE’s most beloved faculty members: Dr. Bella Tendler Krieger, Rabbi Norman Lipson, Rachel Benaim-Abudarham, Rabbi Jason Cook and Dr. Marina Zilbergerts.
Each week, a different educator will open a new doorway into repentance, return, repair and renewal — exploring the possibility and limits of forgiveness, the spiritual meaning of fasting, the relationship between body, mind and soul, the biblical origins of teshuva, and whether genuine change can transform even the meaning of our past mistakes.
Tuesdays, August 4, 11, 18 and 25, and September 1, 10:00–11:30 a.m. ET | Online
As we move from Tisha B’Av toward the High Holidays, these courses offer a path from division to dialogue, and from reflection to return.
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