3 Elul 5785/August 27, 2025
Rabbi Bradley Levenberg

We live in a time of loud arguments. Social media rewards outrage. Cable news thrives on conflict. And, too often, disagreement becomes performance, something staged to signal loyalty, score points, or build a personal brand. That’s not disagreement for the sake of heaven. That’s disagreement for the sake of ego.

A makhloket l’shem shamayim—a disagreement for the sake of Heaven—is something else entirely. It’s not performative; it’s purposeful. The Talmud teaches that the debates between Hillel and Shammai endure precisely because they were never about winning. Rather, they were about learning. Hillel quotes Shammai’s views before his own. Shammai never questioned Hillel’s sincerity. Their arguments were passionate but respectful and always in service of a shared pursuit of truth.

Performative disagreement thrives in echo chambers, but real courage is displayed in sacred disagreement. It takes courage to listen. It takes courage to change. Perhaps most importantly, it takes courage to remain in relationship even when we don’t see eye to eye.

The difference is not how loudly we argue. It’s what we hope to build through the argument. If the goal is attention, it’s performative. If the goal is insight, it may be sacred.

Machloket l’shem shamayim doesn’t promise agreement. It promises something more enduring: the chance to grow wiser… together.