Transcript Staff Writer

When Brad Hirschfield was a young man, he moved to Hebron in the West Bank to defend the land he believed was rightly Jewish. But after he saw the violence such fanaticism led to, he said he left that way of life.

Now a rabbi and president of the Jewish Center for Leadership and Learning, Hirschfield calls for more tolerance and understanding between faiths. He will visit the University of Oklahoma next week as part of his tour to promote his new book, "You Don't Have to be Wrong for Me to be Right: Finding Faith without Fanaticism."

The OU Religious Studies Outreach Program and the United Ministry Center will bring Hirschfield to OU for a book signing and reception 5-9 p.m. Tuesday in the Beaird Lounge of the Oklahoma Memorial Union. Hirschfield will give a public lecture at 7 p.m.

Hirschfield advocates listening to and working with those who have different religious beliefs.

The book doesn't advocate relativism, Hirschfield said in a phone interview from Florida, "but it does mean we don't have to build our sense of rightness based on everyone else's wrongness."

Hirschfield said he wanted to write a book that would create conversations and show people what this philosophy could look like.

"It's an ongoing struggle 'cause we live in an incredibly polarized world," Hirschfield said. So he includes stories from his own life about solving interpersonal differences. These principles apply to everything from marital disputes to the Middle East conflict, Hirschfield said.

"The truth is, people can pick up this book and it may not solve any world issues," he said. But if the people who listen to his message learn how to solve their everyday spats, Hirschfield said, that's enough for him.

Barbara Boyd, religious studies professor at OU and director of Outreach, has known Hirschfield for years. She pointed out she even was mentioned on page 107 of his book. Conversations with Hirschfield have shaped how she teaches in and views the Religious Studies Program at OU, Boyd said.

"He shaped us not in an explicit way -- he would never claim this -- but in an implicit way," she said. "I always hear his voice in my head."

Hirschfield, in turn, said he has been shaped by his experiences with OU. He said Boyd and the religious studies students provided a place for him to learn with them.

"I'm really excited to be coming to OU because the OU community and the Religious Studies Program has been a really important part of my own spiritual journey and my ability to write this book," Hirschfield said.

Hirschfield has spoken at OU a few times before, and he also met with religious studies students at the Parliament of the World's Religions in Barcelona in 2004. There, a documentary was filmed of his conversation with students about their fears and preconceived ideas about religion.

Cole Stephenson, religious studies and philosophy senior, participated in that conversation in Spain.

He said many of the things he heard from Hirschfield were new to him.

"In hindsight, I now agree with everything he said that I can remember," Stephenson said.

The lecture probably will address some of the same topics, he said. So he said he'd encourage anyone to attend.

"He's obviously a very engaging speaker, someone who really challenges us to analyze our preconceived notions," Stephenson said.

Hirschfield helped Stephenson realize that he doesn't have to condemn others' beliefs to hold his own strong opinions.

"Truth is bigger than the perspective that I have," Stephenson said.

And this message of tolerance and understanding couldn't be more applicable right now, Hirschfield said. More people are killing each other in the name of religion now than any time since the crusades, he said.

"The current events have basically stoked the need for dialogue," Stephenson said. "It's also reminded us that these (religious) problems haven't gone away."

Julianna Parker 366-3541 jparker@normantranscript.com