Jews on American Jewry…and related matters

 

 

Avoiding the abyss

 

“Will American Jewish liberalism drift by inches into American Jewish paganism? Not necessarily. But that fate will be avoided only if American Jews form a clear picture of the direction in which they are headed before they follow Europe into the anonymous pagan abyss and disappear. Jewish religious genius is capable of rearing up at any time and changing the direction of history, but only if Jewish prophets speak up loud and clear...”

David Gelernter, professor of computer science, Yale University and author of  “Judaism: A Way of Being,” coming in January 2010 from Yale University Press.

 

 

Outside the “collective”

 

“No matter how powerfully Jews asserted their loyalty to successive governments in various countries, there was a note of hysteria in the patriotic fervor. They were more Hungarian than the Magyars, more German than the Junkers. Somewhere in the Jewish soul there lurks a scintilla of suspicion as to our Americanness. Not because we do not love the country, but because we are not used to being. and being accepted as, part of the great collective…”

 

David Wolpe, rabbi of Temple Sinai in Los Angeles and author of  “Why Faith Matters: God and the New Atheism” (HarperOne)

 

Wrong focus

 

“I’m going to stop worrying about American Jews.  They’re not worth the headache. Either they’ll come to their senses or they won’t and there’s not much I (or anyone else, I suspect) can do about it.  So instead of focusing on the  mishegas of the America Jewish community, why not focus on the glories of Judaism?  Instead of focusing on the attitudes of American Jews toward Israel, why not focus on the attitude of all Americans toward Israel?  The important things are for the practice and study of Judaism to become more vital, in America and elsewhere, and for the state of Israel to remain strong…”

            William Kristol, editor of  The Weekly Standard.

 

 

Wrong bet

 

“If Israelis want to celebrate their [62nd] birthday, they better not count on Washington. If it had been up to this crowd, the Jewish state would have been destroyed long ago…”                                         U.S.Marines Lt. Col. (Ret,) Oliver North

 

 

Dumb and dumber

 

“Man can be pretty dumb sometimes, but for real bona fide stupidity, their ain’t nothing can beat teamwork,,,”             

Essayist Edward Abbey

 

 

The Future

 

“The future belongs to those who show up for it.”

Sarirical columnist Mark Steyn