True to his purpose as scholar-in-residence at B’nai Amoona later this week, Rabbi Or Rose repeatedly chose the high road when asked how his teachings of peace and reconciliation can be applied to current U.S. politics or the situation in Israel.

Rather than discuss those potentially divisive issues now, Rose said, “I would like to encourage people across the Jewish community to consider how they are going to prepare for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. I want them to make the High Holy Days as meaningful as possible.

“Our ancestors bequeathed us a very powerful framework,” he continued in a telephone interview late last week. “They gave us the opportunity for t’shuvah, to return to our truest selves.”

Then Rose added: “Is it, at any age, any year, easy?”

Rose is associate dean and director of informal education at Hebrew College in Newtonville, Mass. and the younger brother of B’nai Amoona’s senior rabbi, Carnie Shalom Rose.

Rabbi Or Rose will lead three presentations at the shul. Shabbat morning’s topic is “Torah: Black Fire on White Fire.” At 6 p.m., he will discuss “The Way of Compassion: Gemilut Hasadim.” And at 8 p.m. Saturday, before the Selichot service, Rose’s topic is “Can We Forgive God: Hasidic Tales for the New Year.”

Rose, 37, is director of the Center for Global Judaism at the rabbinical school (www.hebrewcollege.edu) and co-director of CIRCLE (the Center for Inter-Religious and Communal Leadership Education), a joint venture of Hebrew College and Andover Newton Theological School.

His publications include “Righteous Indignation: A Jewish Call for Justice” and “Jewish Mysticism and the Spiritual Life: Classical Texts, Contemporary Reflections” and a forthcoming “My Neighbor’s Faith: Stories of Inter-Religious Encounter, Growth and Transformation.”

In his capacity as leader of special spiritual discussions before Rosh Hashanah (sundown, Wednesday, Sept. 28) and Yom Kippur (sundown, Friday, Oct. 7), Rose emphasized that this Shabbat is especially the time to begin focusing on the meaning of the holidays.

“Traditionally speaking, throughout the month of Elul, we begin to turn our hearts and minds toward the high holidays,” he said. “It’s a process of soul searching, of weighing our attitudes and our actions of the last year.”

In his own preparation for the holidays, Rose said he was reading Torah, the Talmud and commentaries by various spiritual thinkers and scholars.

“I was struck when I was reading Martin Buber. He said we can be redeemed only to the extent that we see ourselves,” Rose said. “We must open ourselves to the ragged edges of our lives. Our tradition tells us that change is possible only if we are willing to see ourselves fully. The rabbis says the gates of t’suvah are open for us every day.”

Rose has written in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and on such issues as global warming. This is why it seemed appropriate to ask his views on the current state of American politics, as well as the political situation in Israel and the state’s relations with the Palestinians.

“When we think about the complexities of life outside the United States, we must examine carefully what happens in Israel and the Middle East,” he said. “Change is not going to happen overnight….We are seeing before our very eyes the power of people to change. But that does not necessarily mean change for a better life.”

Rose was in Israel recently when demonstrators protesting the high price of housing were camped in Tel Aviv.

“I visited the tent city in Tel Aviv,” he said. “I heard their concerns. I was inspired by their intention to come together to create change in a non-violent way.”

Asked if tensions in the United States and in the Middle East were not evidence that religious faith often results in violence, Rose replied that the rabbis “were deeply concerned about the role of religion to create a more compassionate world…I also know that religious groups and individuals can be a powerful force for healing.”

We must ask ourselves, he continued, “what are we doing to allow ourselves to deal with conflict in healthier ways than in the present? Part of that is investing in religion with people who are different. And we must give a respectful critique when necessary.”

Is he troubled by the tone of politics in the United States today? Is he worried about the rise of politicians who align themselves strongly with fundamentalist Christianity in the public realm?

“I am not willing to give in to my internal voice of pessimism and say, ‘I give up,’ ” Rose said. “In this country, there are a whole slew of things I and others can do to shape society in ways that are just. We must be involved in the political process.”

Several times, though, Rose deflected questions about how he regards certain figures and parties on the present U.S. political scene, given his statements about living in harmony with other people and beliefs.

“I have an awareness that none of us has a hold on absolute truth,” he said, adding that there may be times when a person must take a stand to strongly oppose a particular issue.

“We must always do so with a sense of epistemological humility,” he said. “How do you do God’s work when you know you’ll always fall short? This is why we have Rosh Hashanah and t’shuvah. This helps us see how we can do better.”