Sublime

having personal projects and commitments is what gives us a reason for living at

But we are not prophets, and in some ways, that makes our task even harder: unlike Moses, we first have to discern our mission, and then decide whether to heed the call.

it’s fair to say that the Jewish tradition is less ambivalent about the religious significance of family, friends, and community; our more local loves are the stuff out of which broader, more universal commitments may emerge.

Natan Sharansky, a world-renowned human rights activist

Weakening the soft authority of communities in favor of the hard power of states is likely both to weaken welfare and to diminish liberty.

I wrestle with and write about theology because I care about it to the depths of my being, because questions about who and what God is, and about what it means to be a Jew and a human being in the twenty-first century matter to me like almost nothing else does.

it’s fair to say that the Jewish tradition is less ambivalent about the religious significance of family, friends, and community; our more local loves are the stuff out of which broader, more universal commitments may emerge.

Et, demande Jacob, qu’en est-il du miracle des juifs qui survivent quand les autres nations disparaissent ? — Je ne vois rien là de miraculeux, rien qui ne puisse s’expliquer autrement que par des causes naturelles. Les juifs ont survécu depuis la Diaspora parce qu’ils ont toujours refusé de se mêler aux autres cultures. Ils sont restés à l’écart e