13 Elul 5785/September 6, 2025

Rabbi Glenn Ettman

Our Arguments, Ourselves: The Holiness of Being Wrong

Sometimes the arguments, disagreements, and confusions are as important as the text itself because we are challenged to find a deeper connection to harder experiences. 

Cain killed Abel. Jacob wrestled the angel. Joseph was thrown into a pit. Abraham was forced to choose between faith and his son. Moses had to summon the courage to return to Egypt. The Torah reminds us: life is not about ease, but about how we overcome it. Our path forward is shaped not by what happens to us, but by how we respond.

Elul invites us into a different posture; one not of certainty, but of humility. This season is not just about reaffirming what we know, but daring to confront what we may have misunderstood. In a world that celebrates being right, Elul gently asks: what if we’ve been wrong?

This is the wisdom of machloket l’shem shamayim—disagreements for the sake of heaven. These are not arguments to win, but to discover. Not about ego, but about uncovering enduring truths through honest inquiry.

Perhaps this is what Jefferson meant by “we hold these truths to be self-evident.” It is not that truth is obvious, but that it reveals itself when we search with integrity. 

Elul calls us to enter the new year not with polished perfection, but with open hearts ready to ask, to wrestle, to listen, and to become. This season gives us permission, and compassion to find our self evident truth and even admit we were wrong once in a while.