(This is part 2 of a three-part post. For part 1, click here.) “I came this day to the spring of wisdom … and now I shall enlighten you with words of understanding.” This is the beginning of what may have been the most controversial Jewish book of the 18th-century. It was a book of … [Read more...]
The Mother of Wicca – A Story for Halloween
How appropriate it would be if it were on Halloween, 50 years ago today, that I came across Margaret Murray's The God of the Witches on a bookstore shelf and purchased it and read it through. And became completely hooked on it. Actually, it was 50 years ago this coming February. But at the … [Read more...]
Conspiracy Theories Revisited – The Strange Case of Rabbi Jonathan Eibeschuetz (Part 1)
"By this time it is quite obvious that Shloimele was a secret disciple of Sabbatai Zevi. For even though the False Messiah was long dead, secret cults of his followers remained in many lands. They met at fairs and markets, recognized each other through secret signs and thus remained safe from the … [Read more...]
Pew Research Poll – Can Judaism Survive?
“Can Judaism survive assimilation?” proclaims the headline on the front page of this week’s The Week magazine (October 18, 2013). And, in the heading to the article itself (on page 17), “American Jews: Is intermarriage extinction?” Scary questions, at least if you’re Jewish. I remember them … [Read more...]
Conspiracy Theories and Jesse Walker – I Have Met the Conspirator and He Is Me
Review of Jesse Walker, The United States of Paranoia: A Conspiracy Theory. HarperCollins, 2013. Conspiracy theories make me nervous. I've been the star attraction in too many of them. Not me personally, you understand. But as a Jew, I periodically emerge as an ex officio plotter against … [Read more...]
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