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I’m re-reading the book of Judges, which has a repetitive plot cycle: Israelites live in peace —> Israelites adopt cultures of foreign groups —> Israelites conquered by those groups —> Israelites cry out to God —> Israelite chief restores independence & there’s peace —> repeat.
When Jews lack confidence in our identity, & lack interest in drawing meaning from it, we end up seeking meaning elsewhere. We seek strength, & beauty, & meaning, & spiritual richness, & opportunity everywhere but within our own culture/community. Everywhere but in the mirror.
This not only undermines our sense that we/our culture matter, but also undermines our ability to partner authentically - as Jews - with other communities. That’s because without that confidence, we can’t possibly believe we have anything unique to say to the world.
What’s more: if we aren’t deeply rooted in our identity, our culture, texts, languages, & historical experiences, then we actually don’t have anything unique to say to the world b/c we would have traded our voice for a shallow universalism, or identification w/ majority culture.
