boundaries and limits

Does light always shine through the cracks. What if the foundation is cracked? Well, it can be fixed, probably cheaper than a tear down. Leonard Cohen once said in a song that “Judaism is full of cracks, that’s how the light gets in.” It sound a bit nihilistic from the bard of Saint Urbain by way of Westmount, but there is a certain welcoming quality that nature, human nature has to be accommodated or at least dealt with, since social engineering in the post modern context appears to be an abject failure. There are some profound issues beyond the pablum of pop culture stereotypes; millions of people caught between belongingness and the eparate and the idea of the mixed as opposed to pure is fallacious as best. From the late Chris Hitchens:

Between all the lines, however, is a serious argument that partial or quasi-Jewishness is both inevitable and beneficial, and that those who fret about dilution or “marrying out” are either too pessimistic or too tribal, or both….

—The Jewish inhabitants of the Persian king Ahasuerus’ empire have killed their enemies, the followers of the evil Hamand. Mordecai and queen Esther think the event should be commemorated every year. In the first letter of Purim calls to do so: from then on, the 14th and 15th day of the month Adar are holidays.—Read More:http://www.artbible.info/art/large/539.html

…But this principle would have to be just as true for Latvians and Iroquois, and one has to ask whether Jews who think it kosher to “think with the blood” are happy when other groups do the same. The fact, of course, is that they (we) are not easy with this thought. But then the fact also is that Jews are matrilineal for a reason; they know that ethnic purity is a fantasy, and they must also suspect that inbreeding can be unwholesome. (One English friend of mine only discovered his “roots” when his firstborn had Tay-Sachs disease.) So this is what I’m vaguely seeking when I visit the far-flung “shul” or obscure half-obliterated Jewish quarter: the leaven in the dough.

Societies that have expelled or ostracized the Jews have historically been condemned to all the consequences of their own stupidity and cruelty. But one element in the litany of accusations against Jews — that they are rootless cosmopolitans — deserves not to be repudiated. The worst anti-Semites did not so much hate the observant and docile shtetl types; they didn’t really even hate the moneychangers they couldn’t do without: They hated and feared the skeptical, scientific, artistic, secular, intellectual and discontented Jews whose names we all know. Of this virus, even if one can doubt that it’s really in the genes, one could be proud to be a carrier. And a half-bottle of the right stuff, carefully deployed, can be as potent as a Magnum.Read more: http://www.forward.com/articles/148147/#ixzz1oXJmYnbE

—A nation-wide search for a new queen began – the first recorded beauty contest in the world. A young Jewess was among the candidates. Her beauty was so extraordinary that she ‘pleased’ even the chief eunuch Hegai, who had been castrated while still a young boy – there is a note of irony here. One wonders too at the background story to all this, whether Hegai played some part in deposing Vashti. Esther with all the other young virgins was taken into the harem, and twelve months of careful preparation began. She was shrewd enough to seek the advice of Hegai, who knew the king’s tastes. Eventually she went to the king, and pleased him so much— Theodore Chasseriau painting—Read More:http://www.womeninthebible.net/1.14.Esther.htm

———————————————————–

Rembrandt. Detail. —But during the night, Ahasuerus could not sleep. He told his servants to read from the records of his reign. As they read, he was reminded of the good deed of Mordecai. He realized he had never rewarded him, and decided to remedy this. As it happened, Haman was there, and the king asked him how he could reward someone who had been a remarkable servant. So Haman came in, and the King said to him ‘What shall be done for the man whom the King wishes to honor?’ Haman, thinking the King was referring to himself, recommended extravagant rewards. The King agreed, but then astonished Haman by telling him that it was Mordecai he wanted to reward. Haman was mortified by his mistake, and hated Mordecai even more. Zeresh, the wife of Haman, warned him, but he was now so eaten up by hatred that he could not turn from the path he was following.— Read More:http://www.womeninthebible.net/1.14.Esther.htm

ADDENDUM:

TWAIN: ….. The population of Jerusalem is composed of Moslems, Jews, Greeks, Latins, Armenians, Syrians, Copts, Abyssinians, Greek Catholics, and a handful of Protestants. One hundred of the latter sect are all that dwell now in this birthplace of Christianity. The nice shades of nationality comprised in the above list, and the languages spoken by them, are altogether too numerous to mention.

TWAIN: …..It seems to me that all the races and colors and tongues of the earth must be represented among the fourteen thousand souls that dwell in Jerusalem. Rags, wretchedness, poverty and dirt, those signs and symbols that indicate the presence of Moslem rule more surely than the crescent-flag itself, abound. Lepers, cripples, the blind, and the idiotic, assail you on every hand, and they know but one word of but one language apparently — the eternal “

sheesh.” To see the numbers of maimed, malformed and diseased humanity that…

TWAIN:…Jerusalem is mournful, and dreary, and lifeless. I would not desire to live here. ( Mark Twain, 1867)

 

 

This entry was posted in Feature Article, Ideas/Opinion and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>