From Enemy to Friend

Overview

"Articulate and accessible to both scholars and laypersons, the book includes a rich account of Eilberg's own experience, building peace between Jews, between Jews and Palestinians, and through interreligious dialogue."--Publishers Weekly Starred Review

"Verdict Eilberg's nonthreatening style and generosity of outlook should win her book an interested readership among many Jewish congregations."--Library Journal

"This is a deeply religious and spiritual book, well grounded in both theory and practice, and deeply rooted in Judaism as well as other contemporary religious thinkers, such as Rev. Martin Luther King, Gandhi and others. It is must reading for rabbis, priests, imams, peace and conflict resolution specialists, and anyone else who wants to learn about what Judaism has to say not only about the concept of peace but about how to actually practice it in our personal and professional lives." --Rabbi Dr. Ron Kronish, Director of the Interreligious Coordinating Council in Isreal

"Amy Eilberg brings the deep wisdom of centuries of Jewish teaching together with contemporary research, her own thinking, and the gravitas of her personal experience to focus on re-weaving the fabric of our common life. In addition to being a gifted practitioner and a complex thinker, Rabbi Eilberg is authentically human. In these pages, she walks us through her challenges as well as her triumphs, making it easier for us to imagine contributing to tikkun olam, the healing of the world, by changing the ways we treat our enemies." --Robert R. Stains, Jr., Public Conversations Project

Ancient Jewish traditions offer a guide to reconciliation and peacebuilding in our lives and our world.

From Enemy to Friend blends ancient Jewish sacred texts on peacebuilding, real-life descriptions of conflict engagement--interpersonal, interreligious, intra-communal, and international--and contemporary conflict theory. The interweaving of personal story, sacred text, and theory demonstrates how relationships can move from estrangement and wounding, entrenched bigotry and fear, to positive, engaged encounter. What emerges is a portrait of peacemaking as a spiritual practice that can guide the lives of faithful people seeking peace in their lives and in the world. After exploring this theme in the contexts of interreligious dialogue, struggle within the Jewish community itself, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the book concludes with practical disciplines to cultivate the qualities of soul essential to the art of pursuing peace.

Rabbi Amy Eilberg is the first woman ordained as a Conservative rabbi by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. After many years of work in pastoral care, hospice, and spiritual direction, Rabbi Eilberg now directs interfaith programs in the Twin Cities at the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning, and is adjunct faculty at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities and St. Catherine University.