Letters

‘It is our individual and communal conceptions of God that mutate as we move through our human experiences of joy, suffering, expansion, and contraction, and as filtered through our earthly limitations.’

‘Traditional Jewish optimism, aside from empowering us with the courage to persevere over the entire course of Jewish history, connotes faith that, flawed as we are, history itself remains purposeful rather than random and our job as individuals and as a people is to nudge it in a positive direction.’

‘Members of all faith-based communities need to consider Isaiah’s directive to provide “a light unto the nations,” and find more, not fewer, ways to interact with those around us.’

‘Even the most dogmatic among us can acknowledge the existence of non-Halachic beliefs among Jews, and especially among American Jews.’

Danielle Haas’s critique should be extended to the UN and its agencies

‘It is as if one is writing about Nigerian Muslim abductions, rape, and marriage of Nigerian Christian girls and feels compelled to add something negative about the nation’s Christian population.’

‘Our institutions should be a model and a support system for individuals who, to an extent not previously seen in the US, are being actively intimidated, harassed, threatened, and even physically assaulted for declaring themselves proud Zionists.’

‘I recommend when speaking about patriotism or meritocracy, for instance, to embrace these tensions, to acknowledge the parts of the American story that have failed our ideals, and indeed to acknowledge the goal of correcting what can be corrected.’

‘We are dealing with something more important than legal subtleties, and if we decide how to handle what is going on in the culture by only legalistic thinking, the larger battle will be lost.’

‘Is there a difference between ensuring someone’s First Amendment right to free speech and funding or facilitating that speech within an institution?’