Epstein Secrets

ti-Judaism can flourish perfectly well without them, since its target is not a group of people but an idea. Nirenberg's thesis is that this idea of Judaism, which bears only a passing resemblance to Judaism as practiced and lived by Jews, has been at the very center of Western civilization since the b

t to mention some of Nirenberg's most striking chapters, including one on the role of Judaism in early Islam and one devoted to a close reading of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. Nirenberg has a sure grasp of a huge variety of historical and intellectual contexts, and, unlike many historians, he is

t in modem theories about the very nature of religion." Modem objections to anthropomorphism have taken two major forms. First, traditions within Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have long opposed the worship of "idols," and regarded anthropomorphism as a dangerous assault against genuine piety and

lished articles on topics ranging from treatment for back pain to computational mathematics, and from social determinants of health to the size of Shakespeare's vocabulary. He is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association, and a Fellow of the American Academy for the Advancement of Science. The qu

and Christians go to the same heaven, so that he didn’t have to convert.’ °! Another one of my clients, a far more sophisticated one, did convert to Judaism — on a weekly basis. He discovered that all the Jews in a particular federal prison were taken out every Friday night to have Shabbat dinner in the h

ized words—“subordination,” “dehumanized,” “objects,” “scenarios of degradation”—are so vague and subjective that they could apply to the writings of Shakespeare, Checkov, Roth, Hemingway, Mailer, DeSade, Miller and many others. The only element this new definition of pornography has in common with what Justic

Germany as we spoke. “Conversion or death” was its most benign form, in places like Spain and Iran, many Jews faked it, staying alive and practicing Judaism secretly. Kleigfeld told me that the causes of this historical theme of persecution of Jews were complex. Among the frequently unmentioned events re

ising the post-repentance blessings of Jesus. The eldest, articulate, bright and prematurely worldly, had been an ardent memorizer and appreciator of Shakespeare, especially the mystical Tempest, the music of Aaron Copeland and Igor Stravinsky, the improvisations of Charlie Parker and Cannon Ball Adderley and

ept in modern theories about the very nature of religion.” Modern objections to anthropomorphism have taken two major forms. First, traditions within Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have long opposed the worship of “idols,” and regarded anthropomorphism as a dangerous assault against genuine piety and pro

published articles on topics ranging from treatment for back pain to computational mathematics, and from social determinants of health to the size of Shakespeare’s vocabulary. He is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association, and a Fellow of the American Academy for the Advancement of Science. The quest