Jewish insight

One of God’s great gifts to the world is the Jewish community. The Jewish people have many things to teach all of us. Rob Kutner, a writer for “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” says that Jews keep before us “the constant perspective of the outsider, the stranger in Egypt.” [Quoted in Moment magazine, May/June 2011, p. 42]

It could very well be this Jewish prophetic tradition that gave to our Fore Fathers & Mothers the strong conviction about protecting the rights of minorities. The prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures such as Isaiah and Jeremiah and Amos constantly speak on behalf of God to uphold the rights of the poor, the weak, the vulnerable, and the marginalized.

Jesus, who was a Jew teaching in the tradition of the prophets, emphasized the moral demand of welcoming the ‘outsider.’ His discourses and parables champion the stranger, the untouchables, and outcasts.

Let us give thanks for the Jewish people and their moral insights that come from a divine source.

And I’m also grateful for all the Jewish comedians.

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