Hating Jews is not a bizarre psychiatric disorder that afflicts crazy people. It's a survival strategy drawn from Charles Darwin's evolutionary playbook.
Hi Alan, it is an absolutely outstanding piece of writing. Your unified theory has considerable merit. In some ways it is similar to that advanced by Dennis Prager and Joseph Telushkin in their book Why The Jews. I am also advancing (and have indeed advanced) a very similar theory only where you use the word "narrative" I explicitly call it "religion". I'll be expounding on this in my forthcoming book The Greatest War (stay tuned...just a couple more months). I think the argument's weakest link may be how heavily in leans into to very Jewish belief that we invented everything. My ears may be particularly acute to this as I live in a non-monotheistic part of Asia where the biggest religion is Taoism and where it is considered a fact that the West has little idea about anything, never mind being right about anything. Congratulations on a truly terrific piece.
I like the “Choosing people” term much more than the “Chosen people” especially since this term is often misunderstood as a privilege and not as a responsibility.
Wow. What a review from someone whose opinion I value beyond words. Thank you, my friend.
Re: Why do I write? Ahhh, yes, the question I ask myself every day. The short answer: It's cheaper than therapy. (You guys can get expensive!)
The longer answer is that when I sit down to write these days, I think about my daughter and son. They're both in their 20s, and their lives are full, so they're not especially interested in the stuff I drone on about here. But one day they might be. When my Dad said "the world isn't waiting to hear from you," it came with an unspoken addendum: "... But I am." My father was always ready to listen and respond. He cared about how I saw the world and how I was cobbling together a life. Which is pretty much the Abraham story in a nutshell -- G*d saying to Abraham: "No one is waiting to hear from you (except Me)." So Abe packed his bags and hit the road. ...
Re: the echoes I heard at the Wall -- it's not faint at all. Feels like it happened yesterday. But while I sometimes question exactly what happened back then and whose voice I was hearing, I have no doubts about who my Dad was and what he said to me. Which, again, is pure Sinai: "What happened at the Mountain might not be immediately apparent to you, but that's why I gave you a mother and father, because they are how I transmit my Revelation to you. Honor them and you will honor the Story."
I'm still thinking about how to get to Vermont one day soon. I'll keep you posted. Hugs to you, K & Co.
Some of us still act like pachyderms at the water hole or tribal gorillas defending our territory. When we are fighting about who get the relationship with God, as if the Infinite Uncreated had only one knee-mail address, we reduce Incomprehensible Consciousness to a cult object. Nothing could be more blasphemous than saying we know and control access to the Source of all Being. Cain killed Abel because Abel had a relationship with God that Cain did not think he deserved.
Hi Alan, it is an absolutely outstanding piece of writing. Your unified theory has considerable merit. In some ways it is similar to that advanced by Dennis Prager and Joseph Telushkin in their book Why The Jews. I am also advancing (and have indeed advanced) a very similar theory only where you use the word "narrative" I explicitly call it "religion". I'll be expounding on this in my forthcoming book The Greatest War (stay tuned...just a couple more months). I think the argument's weakest link may be how heavily in leans into to very Jewish belief that we invented everything. My ears may be particularly acute to this as I live in a non-monotheistic part of Asia where the biggest religion is Taoism and where it is considered a fact that the West has little idea about anything, never mind being right about anything. Congratulations on a truly terrific piece.
Outstanding.
Narrative Darwinism. That takes the cake, Alan. These stories, or narratives, were once more accurately called songs.
I like the “Choosing people” term much more than the “Chosen people” especially since this term is often misunderstood as a privilege and not as a responsibility.
Alan,
This is extraordinarily well-researched and extremely compelling.
Your magnum opus?
Worth reading for the history alone.
And the central thesis is profoundly evocative.
I keep thinking of your father’s admonishment 40+ years ago: “The world isn’t waiting to hear from you.”
Maybe it’s still not. Or at least not listening.
Why do you write?
Is it not from the same echoes you heard at the Wall way back?
Or are those too faint to recall now?
Wondrously,
Martin K
Wow. What a review from someone whose opinion I value beyond words. Thank you, my friend.
Re: Why do I write? Ahhh, yes, the question I ask myself every day. The short answer: It's cheaper than therapy. (You guys can get expensive!)
The longer answer is that when I sit down to write these days, I think about my daughter and son. They're both in their 20s, and their lives are full, so they're not especially interested in the stuff I drone on about here. But one day they might be. When my Dad said "the world isn't waiting to hear from you," it came with an unspoken addendum: "... But I am." My father was always ready to listen and respond. He cared about how I saw the world and how I was cobbling together a life. Which is pretty much the Abraham story in a nutshell -- G*d saying to Abraham: "No one is waiting to hear from you (except Me)." So Abe packed his bags and hit the road. ...
Re: the echoes I heard at the Wall -- it's not faint at all. Feels like it happened yesterday. But while I sometimes question exactly what happened back then and whose voice I was hearing, I have no doubts about who my Dad was and what he said to me. Which, again, is pure Sinai: "What happened at the Mountain might not be immediately apparent to you, but that's why I gave you a mother and father, because they are how I transmit my Revelation to you. Honor them and you will honor the Story."
I'm still thinking about how to get to Vermont one day soon. I'll keep you posted. Hugs to you, K & Co.
Has Gary met Carl and Mel?
Some of us still act like pachyderms at the water hole or tribal gorillas defending our territory. When we are fighting about who get the relationship with God, as if the Infinite Uncreated had only one knee-mail address, we reduce Incomprehensible Consciousness to a cult object. Nothing could be more blasphemous than saying we know and control access to the Source of all Being. Cain killed Abel because Abel had a relationship with God that Cain did not think he deserved.
Sigh
Religious people sure come up with creative arguments to justify being awful.
Alan Mairson knows.