Fundamentals of Jewish Conflict Resolution—Some Key Elements

Abstract:

The author spent over eight years researching traditional Jewish approaches to conflict resolution and comparing and contrasting them with contemporary approaches. His research is presented in a six-hundred page book (published by Academic Studies Press) entitled Fundamentals of Jewish Conflict Resolution: Traditional Jewish Perspectives on Resolving Interpersonal Conflicts. Fundamentals of Jewish Conflict Resolution presents an in-depth analysis of underlying principles and guidelines that are found in the Jewish tradition for the prevention, amelioration, and resolution of interpersonal conflicts without having to resort to any type of third-party intermediary. This paper will highlight a number of significant elements that emerge from this work:
• An analytic-comparative framework for comparing and contrasting the approaches of contemporary conflict resolution with traditional religious approaches.
• Foundational values and concepts of Jewish conflict resolution.
• Behavioral guidelines and rules of conduct for resolving interpersonal conflicts. These include mitsvot (commandments) and halakhot (laws) that deal with love, hatred, physical and verbal abuse, not taking revenge, and the asking and granting of forgiveness. The primary focus will be on elements of constructive interpersonal dialogue.
• Cognitive elements of conflict resolution (i.e., what the parties to a conflict are supposed to think about and contemplate). The primary focus will be on elements that address negative judgmental biases (e.g., how to deal with prejudices, distorted perceptions, misattributions, etc.)
• The affective component of Jewish conflict resolution (i.e., according to traditional Jewish sources, how the parties should deal with anger).
• Some significant similarities and differences between Jewish approaches and those of contemporary conflict resolution.
• Some possible suggestions for what contemporary approaches to conflict resolution can learn from Judaism.