Two hundred Muslims, Christians, Jews, and the followers of more eastern traditions than I can list, set out in four buses this morning from the Auditorium Hotel in Madrid, on our way to the Palace. Yes, it sounds like the opening of an old vaudville joke, but that is what happened. We were on our way to meet not one, but two kings – King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and King Juan Carlos of Spain.
We entered a magnificent covered courtyard within the Palace and very shortly thereafter, the two kings entered the room. Each spoke of the opportuity this meeting represented and of their joy in hosting it. The ease and gentleness of King Juan Carlos was beautiful. He wears his regal status lightly and there is a power in that from which we can all learn, royal or not. But it is the words of King Abdullah, who wears his royalty quite fully, that struck home most profoundly.
He spoke of the foundational idea in all our faiths that teaches that we all share a common ancestor. He spoke of that notion as key in the struggle against extremism in all of them. And while he did not comment on it, I could not help noticing that this focus on the story of human origins works from a biological standpoint as well i.e. that we all emerge from a shared process which ultimately produced homo sapiens. Whether that process was directly managed by a personal god or not, is unimportant to this teaching and its important implications.
Of course, one person´s extremist is another persons centrist, so some might quickly observe that the king found lofty words which said nothing at all. But such critics are wrong. When we deeply integrate the idea that we all share a common ancestor, we realize that any conflict with others, is actually also a conflict with members of our own family, even with ourselves, since we are all connected. When I am fighting against you, I am actually fighting against myself also.
I am not naive´, and I realize that such awarness will not immediately end all conflict — nor should it. There are times when we actually make war on our own bodies, as I did when I allowed doctors to remove a part of my lung some years ago in and effort to save the rest of me. But becasue I was making war on myself, I made sure to minimize the hurt, maximize the benefit to the entire body, and accept that while this was a necessary procedure, it was nothing to brag about or to celebrate.
Imagine if those same rules were applied to conflicts between people and nations. No, they would not all vanish as in a fairy tale, but they would immediately lesson and they would surely end more quickly. That´s what I call a good start. And the meeting got better from there….
After the speeches, the invited guests stood in line and had the chance to greet the kings in person. Immediately I had to decide whether and how I would utter the blessing for this occasion. The decision to say it was instantaneous.
As we stood face to face, I asked the King Abdullah if this American rabbi might offer him a tradtional blessing. He said that would be fine. And in Hebrew, followed by my own translation in a mixture of English and Arabic, I praised this king with whom God shares Divine glory.
Whether because of the words themselves, the languages in which I shared them, or the look on my face, when I looked into his eyes, I saw that King Abdullah´s eyes had filled with tears. He held my hand as a single tear ran down his left cheek, and offered me a blessing in return. He blessed me with strength, health and success before releasing my hand and signaling that it was time to move on.
And while I moved away physically, it will be some time before I move away from that experience, if I ever do at all.
Author, radio and TV talk show host, and President of CLAL-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, Brad Hirschfield is the author of 
posted July 17, 2008 at 12:46 pm
You perhaps do not remember that although people’s hopes today may be with the Saudi King, it is the Spanish King Juan Carlos who has actually proved himself.
On February 23, 1981, a coup was attempted in the King’s name. He could have become a dictator; instead the coup collapsed when King Juan Carlos addressed his nation on television to support the democratic government. How soon we forget.
posted July 17, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Like most of the people I know, whenever I hear or see King Juan Carlos, I have an awareness of who he is by those defining moments (more than a quarter century ago)when he became the hero for modern Spanish democracy.
I’m just not sure how that is relevant To Rabbi Brad’s touching story of King Abdullah and why one would assume that the story presupposes forgetting the heroism of King Juan Carlos.
posted July 17, 2008 at 7:30 pm
I really dig your attitude and this part of your blog in particular:
“…we all emerge from a shared process which ultimately produced homo sapiens.”
Right on! This was a very nice blog.
To be honest, I’m getting kinda tired of the ‘us vs. them’ nature of a lot of these blogs… and yeah, I too think a lot in terms of ‘us vs. them’.
Peace!
posted July 18, 2008 at 5:26 am
Barak Allahu feek Hibr kabeer. God bless you great Rabbi. I am a muslim, I’m not so great with the Arabic, I hope kabeer is the right adjective, and my grammar correct. The Arabic word for Rabbi, ‘Hibr’, is related to/derived from the Hebrew ‘Khaver’, ‘friend’.
posted July 18, 2008 at 5:51 am
Reading about this encounter brught tears to MNY eyes as well. Tak about nobility!
posted July 18, 2008 at 8:00 am
This event was significant in that in one short moment in time two men of different cultures, histories and faiths laid aside their pain, suffering and anger and saw each other for who they were, just men born of God’s creation. I have to believe that in King Abdullah’s heart he has a longing for peace and a desire to end the seemingly never ending conflict between Arab and Jew. That for just one moment he was humbled by being blessed by a culture that is perceived to be against his very own. And in this act of blessing each other I am reminded of what Jesus said in the beatitudes “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Thank you Rabbi Hirschfield for sharing this touching story.
posted July 18, 2008 at 8:42 am
One of the true signs of a good, moral person is one who can pray for their adversaries and enemies.
posted July 18, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Abraham (Ibrahim?) was the common ancestor of Jews and Arabs. I am not sure how Hagar and Ishmael factor into the equation as explained in Torah. G-d protected them in flight, of course, but when G-d promised the land between the Red Sea and the Euphrates to Abraham’s descendents, was it only Isaac who was legitimate?
Does this factor at all into how Jews and Palestinians feel? If Abrahim (Ibrahim?) is of critial importance to Jews and Arabs, (somehow, someone thought it important enough to mention a common ancestory) can it be considered important only in “myth” or “mythological connection?” I guess my point is that contemporary peace-making ignors such “myths” or “Biblical mythologies” as preposterous and of no consequence whatsoever in searching for a solution.
AND YET, IT WAS BROUGHT UP. SOMEONE IS STILL THINKING OF HAGAR, ISMAEL, ISAAC, and G-d’s “promise. IF ithose events are of no consequence, WHY bring them up? What does it mean to be genetic brothers. If it means nothing, why mention it?
If it is mentioned, why doen’t it pose an opportunity for dialogue?
posted July 18, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Lucy, Ishmael would’ve been considered legitimate, as children of concubines were required to be cared for and claimed by the father. barren women in those days often gave their husbands their handmaidens,and the children born from the unions were considered the child of the husband and the wife.God told Hagar not to worry, that her son,too, would be the father of a great nation.
posted July 18, 2008 at 9:24 pm
The Rabbi must of felt the King was sincere in his dialog for peace and understanding in the world today. Hopefully this will bring some peace between the children of Adam…
posted July 19, 2008 at 12:18 pm
What a wonderful Blessing… not only on you both, but on all of us.
Thank you!
posted July 19, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Absolutely moving, touching, and encouraging.
I hope this beautiful moment will stay on King Abdullah’s heart the way, dear Rabbi, you said it will stay on yours.
And Awais, thank you, too, for your post. It brings tears to my own eyes when people open up their hearts to accept the good hearts of others.
posted July 22, 2008 at 12:32 am
I must congratulate all who attended. Aside from that it is to be remembered that all brothers do not like each other. They worship the same human origin but differ in their beliefs of the Almighty God of Abraham. They are more bitter about their beliefs than Americans who seem yo view beliefs with suspicion.aybe we are all wrong in not following the Son more closeley than we do. He said love thy neighbor as thyself which implies that one must first love themselves. Wonder if we will ever get back tothat and can accept our differences which in minor when you consider that we all share the same blood. Ape or
or monkey blood can kill. Even our pills which weuse to sustain life can kill. Birth and death are our basic similarities. We are born with nothing and we take nothing with us. So in the meantime we fight over what others have.
Bob Sr from Calvert County ,Md.
posted July 22, 2008 at 4:54 pm
I met the king at his hunting villa in downtown Riyadh in 1975. I was introduced to him by a mutual friend named Rocky DeLucca. My meeting with the king is an interesting story but the bottom line is that the king isn’t any different than you or I except he assumed the position of king of Saudi Arabia. I’m sure that he was quite moved by the experience of being blessed by a rabbi…