Love is the Only Power

Reflections from an Interfaith Iftar

Photo by Anne Nygård on Unsplash

Last night, I had the profound honor of speaking at an Interfaith Iftar, where people of diverse faiths gathered to break bread, pray, and reaffirm our shared humanity. As the sun set and the call to prayer rang out, I was reminded that in a world so often defined by division, there are sacred moments where unity transcends boundaries.

I delivered a message titled “Love is the Only Power”, drawing from the Song of Songs, the Quran, the Christian Bible, and interspiritual wisdom. The core truth that emerged was this: love is not just an ideal, but a force—a radical, revolutionary power that can reshape our world, even in the face of deep suffering and injustice.

Love as a Revolutionary Force

Too often, love is dismissed as sentimental or naive. Yet every great faith tradition teaches that love is the most powerful force we have—not a passive emotion, but a commitment to justice, healing, and liberation.

• In Judaism, the Song of Songs declares, “For love is as strong as death.”
  Ki aza ka-mavet ahavah. (Song of Songs 8:6) This verse is a spiritual dare as it asks: What are you willing to sacrifice in the name of love?

• In Islam, the Quran teaches, “We have made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another.” (49:13) Love calls us to move beyond fear and truly see each other.

• In Christianity, Jesus proclaims, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.” (Matthew 5:9) Love demands that we act with courage in the face of oppression.

• In Buddhism, Hinduism, and Indigenous traditions, love is a sacred responsibility—to all beings, to the Earth, and to future generations.

Each of these traditions offers the same message: Love is not weak. Love is the only power that can heal our fractured world.

Dr. Zeitz appears at 47 min, 30 sec

Finding Light in Dark Times

We are living in an era of immense suffering. Violence, displacement, fear, genocide, and polarization seem to define our time. Israel/Palestine remains a land of deep pain, rather than a shared home of peace. Across the world, authoritarianism, war, and ecological devastation threaten our collective future.

And yet, as I stood in that room at the Interfaith Iftar, I felt something stronger than despair. I felt the undeniable presence of hope.

Hope is not an illusion. Hope is a choice we make every day—to refuse to accept injustice as permanent, to continue to build bridges even when they are burned down, to insist that love and justice can and must win.

Expanding Liberatory Judaism & Tikkun Ha’Aretz

This is why I spoke of igniting and actually manifesting the ancient prophetic wisdom of Liberatory Judaism—an awakened Judaism, for these times, that is not bound by fear or self-preservation alone, rather stands for and upholds our deep ancient commitment to the liberation of all people.

In this moment of crisis and possibility, I’m joining a newly expanding Liberatory Judaism movement, that does not shy away from difficult truths, rather stands boldly in our prophetic tradition—calling and mobilizing for peace rooted in justice.

And just as we speak of Tikkun Olam, the repair of the world, we must now also embrace Tikkun Ha’Aretz—the healing of the land itself and the peoples living on the land as taught by Rabbi Debra Kolodny. The Holy Land will never truly be holy if it is a land of bloodshed. True peace will not come through walls, weapons, or power struggles—it will come only through care, peacebuilding, justice, dignity, and embracing our shared humanity rooted in the truth of our interdependence.

This is not a naive dream. This is the work we must do.

Love in Action: What Comes Next?

As we broke fast together, I felt the urgency of this moment. Words are not enough. Love must be lived.

So I left that Iftar with three commitments:

1. To listen deeply—especially to those I disagree with.

2. To stand with the oppressed—wherever they are, without fear.

3. To build bridges—even when others are building walls.

This is my prayer for all of us. That we walk forward with courage, with compassion, with the unshakable belief that love is still the most powerful force in the universe.

Because it is.

Amen. Salaam. Shalom. Namaste.

Dr. Paul Zeitz is the Co-Founder of #unifyUSA, an inter-partisan citizens' movement dedicated to Hit Refresh the U.S. Constitution through Citizens’ Assemblies and author of Revolutionary Optimism: 7 Steps for Living as a Love-Centered Activist. In 2023, Dr. Zeitz was ordained as a Shir Hashirim (Song of Songs) Rabbi to teach the path of love. Zeitz serves on the Board of Directors at ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal and is an active member of Rabbis for Ceasefire.

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