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Judaism’s nice reward to the world, in response to essayist John Evans, was the thought of a single, all-powerful, omniscient and righteous God, with whom one might have a private relationship. Such an idea—circa 2100 BCE, when Jews made their entry in historical past as a small nomadic tribe within the area known as Ur in fashionable Iraq—was radical, to say the least. This set Jews other than the opposite ancients whose ideas of divinity have been a spread of amoral gods, who have been (both as family icons or as lofty super-beings dwelling on excessive) largely detached or worse, sadistic, towards the affairs of people.
As Huston Smith writes, in The Religions of Man, “Whereas the gods of Olympus tirelessly pursued stunning ladies, the God of Sinai watches over widows and orphans. Whereas Mesopotamia’s Anu and Canaan’s El have been going their aloof methods, Yahweh is talking the identify of Abraham, lifting his folks out of slavery… God is a God of righteousness whose loving kindness is from eternal to eternal and whose tender mercies are throughout his works.”
The Jews, then, have been set aside within the historic world, an element that labored each for them—preserving a singular and imperishable id—and in opposition to them, making them stand out as “completely different,” and therefore a folks to be watched intently and suspiciously.
And so it went, century upon century, scapegoat upon scapegoat, lie upon lie, till we come to our personal time—with the dwelling reminiscence of the Holocaust persisting amongst that technology, antisemitic hate crimes on the rise on nearly each continent on Earth.
How have the Jewish folks responded? The best way they at all times have: with endurance. The Jewish persons are the last word allegory of endurance. They’ve rewarded scorn with excellence in nearly each area of endeavor—from science to scholarship to leisure. They’ve answered derision with charity, with 4,421 charities and nonprofit organizations within the U.S. alone. They’ve rebutted abuse by feeding the hungry, with 18 organizations devoted 24/7 to heeding the Biblical command, “Let all who’re hungry come and eat.”
It’s tough to quantify the presents of Judaism to our tradition normally and to every of us specifically. Simply undergo a mean day and depend your blessings. Do you get your morning espresso at Starbucks? Thank its CEO, Howard Schultz. Do you might have one thing to inform the world on Fb? Thank its founder, Mark Zuckerberg. In your option to work, do you play the music to West Aspect Story? Thank Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim. If you happen to’re school-age, do you sing “God Bless America” at the beginning of the day? Thank Irving Berlin. Have to Google one thing on-line? Thank Google’s co-founders, Larry Web page and Sergey Brin. Wish to unwind tonight with an action-packed Marvel film? Thank Marvel’s creator, Stan Lee. The record goes on and on.
Simply as Jews have been set aside within the historic world, so too are they set aside within the fashionable world—however this time as pace-setters, innovators, ground-breakers. The trendy presents of Judaism then, are simply that: presents, and the instance set by giving …and giving…and giving some extra.
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