Benjamin E. Sax

Encounters

Illuminates the history and complexities at the heart of the world's most contentious and fraught region--and why genuine interreligious dialogue is the only hope for peace. Based on his extensive experience working with Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities throughout the world, and distilling complex issues into understandable language, Sax invites readers into the perilous but essential space between identity and encounter, where deep listening helps dissolve hostile boundaries. Is it antisemitic to call Israel a Zionist state? What is the true meaning of "from the river to the sea?" This book explains how to understand, and respond to, these challenging questions. Drawing from scriptural interpretation, philosophical reflection, and his in-the-trenches teaching experiences, Sax argues that dialogue is not a luxury for calmer times but a moral imperative precisely amid war, hatred, and fear. He shows how dialogue demands humility, vulnerability, and the capacity to sit with conflicting truths-like the two creation stories in Genesis-without seeking resolution through erasure. Dialogue, for Sax, is not an attempt to win arguments or reduce difference but a shared search for understanding that honors the dignity of every religious and political other.Sax reveals the philosophical underpinnings of dialogue through lucid explanations of three key figures: Jewish philosophers Martin Buber and Franz Rosenweig and Sunni Muslim theologian and jurist Muhammad al-Ghazali. He then offers concrete practices for fostering interreligious relationships in classrooms, congregations, and public forums, proposing that empathy, risk, and critical self-reflection must anchor these efforts.Rejecting both naïve idealism and hardened cynicism, Encounters is a courageous, hopeful appeal to listen, to learn, and to risk-especially when dialogue feels impossible. It is a vital resource for educators, clergy, activists, and all people of goodwill seeking progress on the world's most enduring conflict.