Prepent Day 16: Handling Family Feuds

Image by Jacqueline Nicholls

By Amichai Lau-Lavie September 7, 2017

Some family feuds, big or small, can sometimes take generations to heal. Some never do. Many could have been curbed or avoided. We keep our dirty laundry behind closed doors and often close our hearts to the mere idea of reconciliation with kin. Can we find ways to build again the bloodline bonds of trust? With the current state of divisive politics, this is truer now more than ever.

I really like my cousin A but this past November, after he announced on a mass-family listserv with pride and reason why he voted as he did, I haven’t been able to talk with him, let alone simply reach out. I know I could and should go higher but I’m so disappointed, hurt and mad. We will meet again as cousins do, and better if we were friendly – so why not take a breath and use this sacred time to try and defuse the feud with love?

Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie is the founder and spiritual leader of Lab/Shul in Manhattan.

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