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Manis Friedman
Rabbi Manis Friedman is a world-renowned author, counselor, lecturer and philosopher; and co-founder of Bais Chana Institute of Jewish Studies in Minnesota. He also served as simultaneous translator for the live televised talks by the Lubavitcher Rebbe. |
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Latest Comments:
The Jews were chosen to be "monotheists" by God, not because they were the best. That was a challenge in those times.
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A bunch of redheaded women get together and say "hey, aren't we different? How we glow! We more glamorous than other people! God must have chosen us for some special purpose.!We'll write books about our chosen-ness, have special leaders trained to teach about our chosen-ness, persuade other redheads that they are chosen, persuade non-redheads that the books are inspired by God so they better believe them. Isn't this what Jews have done? The only people to say that Jews were chosen are Jews. Claiming God chose them provides supreme authority to their claim. Isn't the whole thing transparently self-interested and self-promoting? There isn't a gram of evidence that Jews are different, that they are spiritually priveliged. The behaviour of Jews to Palestinians is abhorrent. They have imprisoned Palestinians behind walls and ghettos, reduced them to penury, imprisoned their elected leaders, imprisoned and shot their children. Jews are parts of God? I don't think so!
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If our being assimilated with the world around us would cure anti-semitism, then the holocaust would never have occuredl
Germany was home to very assimilated Jews. I don't think many of them survived the murderous nazis.
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The anti-semite and the non-Jew are not always one and the same. Everyone has room to change and grow and a Jew and non-Jew cannot help the other as much as each other.
The anti-semite is not interested in improvement. Anti-semite will not sincerely ask about who a Jew is but, rather how to torment or murder the people who "stand straight".
It is ridiculous to think that anti-semites would question Judaism because they can or mean to change. To live by Jewish law - is already assimilated into basic US law. Anti-semites hate both (as Anne Frank put it, that some people don't want to live morally or civilized & this is what Jews represent) this is true democracys foundation, truck or not. :-)
We are all hated for this. An anti-semite will always be an anti-semite.
That everyone can change, excludes the anti-semites & our history does not lack in examples of people manipulating us; their motive lacks life. What does religion have to do with it?
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I do not think it is because we are chosen that bothers non-jews. Some Christian believe they are closen. (Calvin) I think it is because we have not assimulated into the workd around. And will not give up our traditions as old or out dated. I think non-jews do not like that we disagree with them in their belives. Or feel we share common ground.
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If You're Chosen, Act It
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Hasn't our being the "Chosen People" caused anti-semitism than respect? Rabbi Friedman puts the notion of being chosen into perspective by explaining the existence of a heavenly people on earth. | |
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