Rabbinic directives for social distancing and curtailing prayer gatherings and other religious social meetings are not new. Indeed, dealing with contagious disease has been a Jewish preoccupation since ancient times.
One of the most outrageous incidents emerged last week in America’s City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia. Rodney Muhammad, president of the NAACP [National Association for the Advancement of Colored People] Philadelphia chapter, posted to Facebook what clearly was a blatantly antisemitic image that he used to suggest Jews are trying to silence prominent blacks, who themselves have been criticized for their own antisemitic comments and posts.
Religion is playing an increasingly pervasive role, threatening Indonesia’s national ideology, a tradition of pluralism, inclusiveness, moderation, and tolerance that is known as Pancasila. This trend is displayed most dramatically when terrorists strike at churches, but has been manifest in the political realm for some time, and very clearly in the important 2017 Jakarta local election.
Surveys reveal a disturbingly large number of American Jews who feel disconnected from their Jewish identity. How painfully sad! In response, let me share the essence of what being Jewish means to me.