Caught between alternative moral positions, how does a thinking person determine what to do? Of course, your average person cares more about drink, sex, and sport and couldn’t care less about value thinking. For those of us who do, however, the process of self-analysis constantly forces us to examine. If you were a philosopher you would want to think the…
Why I Don’t Criticize Israel More
Once again I feel the need to defend my position on Israel. I do not identify with the political climate in Israel today nor with its government. I do not approve of occupation or discrimination. I find extremism of any kind repulsive and offensive. I believe that risks need to be taken for peace, though not irrational ones, and Palestinian…
Purim; Serious or Fun?
There is trend in certain quarters to look at the story of Purim as one of Jewish aggression, the murder of innocent Persian non-Jews, antagonism to outsiders for no valid reason—the anti-Semitic trope that Jews are evil. Some Jewish academics have focused on the “brutality” of killing Haman and his sons and of killing men, women, and children. Elliott Horowitz…
We Will Survive
Last week I received a pained email from a friend and former pupil of mine from England who was worried about our future as Jews. Here is his letter (abbreviated): “Last week I went to a talk by Tuvia Tenenbom, and it really was a bit of a shock to the system. His point was that Israel was being completing undermined by…
Education for Immigrants
Ever since the Greeks, the Romans, the Christians, and the Muslims tried to impose their cultures on us, Judaism has had an uneasy relationship with other value systems. It is not that we want to say that ours is the only way and everyone else is wrong. Just that our values and our religion are worth preserving and fighting for.…
Religious Risk
There is no word I know of in the Bible for “risk.” Modern Hebrew uses the word “Sakanah”, which really means “danger.” “Risk” in modern usage can also mean opportunity and a healthy ability to go beyond the boundaries in a positive way. The opposite of risk (which you might think undermines my etymological analysis) is to play it safe.…