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[ by Charles Cameron — to all our Jewish readers, and thinking especially of Richard Landes in this season ]
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BL MS Oriental 2884 (early 14th-c Catalonia)

Wishing all a blessed Passover — with a hat-tip & illuminated greetings to Emily Steiner.

[ by Charles Cameron — a note at the intersection of material with spiritual ]
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left to right: Emmanuel Levinas, Gershom Gorenberg, Elliott Horowitz

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Gershom Gorenberg in March 28th’s Washington Post tells three stories from his own life of what I believe Catholicism would call “acts of corporal mercy” — feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, visiting prisoners, visiting the sick, harboring strangers, and burying the dead (Matthew 25. 34-40). He concludes, honoring his mentor, Israeli historian Elliott Horowitz:

He said, without pride or embarrassment, that he acted out of religious conviction. In Israel, the political stereotype of Orthodox Jews is of people concerned exclusively with settling the occupied territories. In the world, commitment to the most traditional forms of faith — Jewish, Christian, Muslim or other — is often confused with building walls between people.

Elliott believed that faith demanded breaking down barriers between human beings created in God’s image. I believed that, too, but he pushed me to act.

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It’s a story by and about a friend, and about human goodness. Apart from those two sterling but not uncommon facts, why should I care?

I care because the story illustrates the Jewish proverb of which Emmanuel Levinas reminds us:

the other’s material needs are my spiritual needs

It’s not easy to bridge the gap between subjective experience and objective, physical reality, which is why the hard problem in consciousness is called the hard problem in consciousness — but this quote bridges the gap effortlessly, and in a manner that instructs us.

[ by Charles Cameron — two brief surface readings in Talmud, with a request for deeper understanding ]
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As someone brought up with more of a focus on the Beatitudes than the Torah (I know, a huge question with many potential shades of answer opens up when I say that), I was not familiar with this Talmudic aphorism until the drone strikes that killed Anwar al-Awlaki and shortly thereafter his son Abdulrahman brought it to my attention:

Ha-Ba le-Horgekha Hashkem le-Horgo is a teaching of increasing popularity among Israelis. Taken from the Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 72:1, its most precise translation is: ‘If someone comes to kill you, get up early to kill him first.’

I imagine it also has relevance to the (presumed) Israeli targeted killing of (eg) Imad Mughniyah..

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Yesterday I came across a second such Talmudic phrase, based on Genesis 50:

The sages derived a principle from this text. Mutar le-shanot mipnei ha-shalom: “It is permitted to tell an untruth (literally, “to change” the facts) for the sake of peace.” A white lie is permitted in Jewish law.

This aphorism may be of interest to bear in mind in the context of Israeli peace negotiations — but more directly (and literally) “it is permitted to change the facts” carries a sidelong resemblance to the concepts of alt-facts & faux news currently infesting our politicians and media…

Sources:

Jewish Quarterly, Kill him first

Rabbi Sacks, When is it Permitted to Tell a Lie?

^^

Knowing the Talmud to be deeper and richer than my own understanding by many orders of magnitude, I’d like to invite commentary on these or other aspects of Talmudic thought that may play, directly or indirectly, into national security issues.

[ by Charles Cameron — not so ]
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On the one hand you have Sheikh Wael Al-Ghitawi..

Montreal mosque facing calls for investigation after imam preaches on anti-Semitic conspiracy theories https://t.co/TaQ8Vk2vq3

— Matthew Levitt (@Levitt_Matt) February 28, 2017

— and on the other, Prof Aisha Ahmad —

This is my son. At some point, he is going to learn that some people hate him because he's a Jew. I'd like to put that off as long as I can. pic.twitter.com/Qol6r1301n

— Alex Halpern (@HalpernAlex) February 28, 2017

When that time comes, you can also tell him that others – including this Muslim girl right here – are willing to human shield him. https://t.co/46HVhyZ3go

— Aisha Ahmad (@ProfAishaAhmad) February 28, 2017

Alhamdulillah!

[ by Charles Cameron — good news in response to bad ]
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First:

Appears hundreds of graves vandalized at #STL Jewish cemetery. Damage is extensive. @andybankertv live report on @KPLR11 and @FOX2now at 5p pic.twitter.com/wneuIpl5MY

— Joe Lamie (@GIJoter) February 20, 2017

resulting in:

From the reporter who met Syrian refugees helping repair the desecrated Jewish cemetery in Missouri. https://t.co/r9e2BKjMOO

— Lisa Goldman (@lisang) February 24, 2017

And now:

More anti-Jewish hate? Dozens of headstones damaged at Philadelphia Jewish cemetery https://t.co/2vNhUfDTm4 @ADL_National @ADLPhiladelphia pic.twitter.com/5eDSeF09JL

— Oren Segal (@orensegal) February 26, 2017

resulting in:

Muslim youth have come to help Philadelphia Jews repair the vandalized cemetery, reports Rabbi Yosef Goldman. https://t.co/njQzz4WH6C

— Lisa Goldman (@lisang) February 26, 2017

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The heart dismayed, the heart uplifted. Thank you, thank you.