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What happens when the sacred victim becomes the sovereign nation?
We delve into a provocative exploration of Jewish identity and otherness in this week's episode. Drawing inspiration from the Torah portion Balak and a thought-provoking essay by Hussein Aboubakr Mansour, we challenge long-held beliefs about Judaism's role as the quintessential "other" in society.
Have we been misinterpreting our own history?
Key Takeaways- The concept of Jews as universal "others" may be more modern than we realize
- Embracing particularism might be more authentic to Jewish tradition than universal symbolism
- Zionism can be seen as a return to Jewish particularity rather than just a political movement
- [00:00] Introduction to the episode and the theme of “The Jew as Other”
- [01:45] How the term “other” appears in this week’s Parsha and Moab’s fear
- [03:50] Biblical context: Egyptians and Haman’s perspective on Jews
- [06:45] Jewish laws and their role in antisemitic narratives
- [09:30] Rabbinic interpretations and perceived Jewish separateness
- [12:15] Rabbinic blame of God for antisemitism through Jewish laws
- [14:30] Evolution from oppression to loving the stranger in Torah
- [17:00] Introduction of Hussein Aboubakr Mansour’s argument
- [20:15] Breakdown of the Jew as metaphor and object of culture
- [28:00] Zionism’s rejection of “otherness” and affirmation of sovereignty
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Safaria Source Sheet: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/661213
Hussein Aboubakr Mansour‘s Substack article
https://open.substack.com/pub/critiqueanddigest/p/the-jew-after-otherness
Transcript on episode web page:
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