by Lea Levy – Center for Faith and Vocation Interfaith Intern attended the Ann Katz Festival of Books and Art with Butler Hillel friends on Thursday, November 13, 2014.

Who is the hero of heroes? … One who makes an enemy into a friend. –Avot d’Rabbi Natan, 23

Return evil with good and your enemy will become a devoted friend. –Koran 41:34

Rabbi Amy Eilberg, the first female ordained in a conservative synagogue, who began her career in Indianapolis, returned here this week to present her first book From Enemy to Friend: Jewish Wisdom and the Pursuit of Peace. The title is derived from the two quotes above, one from the Jewish tradition and the other from the Muslim. She described the process of writing this book to be much like giving birth. The idea for the book was conceived at several different periods in time, the first being in the wake of the second Intifada, and the another being during a trip to Israel in which she witnessed a conversation between Jewish Israeli and Arab Israeli high school students organized by a peace group. In witnessing this, she began to understand the importance of story-telling and dialogue. These humanize people. When stories are told friendships can be formed and experiences shared. In doing research on why arguments and political disagreements can turn so ugly, she discovered that the neurological explanation for this is very primal; it is fight or flight. The reason we tense up and clench our fists during a heated argument is because we feel that, since our beliefs form such a huge part of our identity, our very existence is being threatened in that moment. In order to find peace, we must realize that in any conflict the intentions are never actually to exterminate the other side, and that we should be open-minded when we enter any dialogue. In this way, we may one day achieve a sustainable peace throughout the world.