My subject is “The Orthodox Jew as Intellectual Crank,” and it would be best if I began with some definitions. My dictionary defines a crank as an “ill-tempered, grouchy person,” as an “eccentric person who is overzealous in his advocacy of a private cause.” By these standards, Baruch . . . . Continue Reading »
Japan: In the Land of the Brokenhearted by michael shapiro henry holt & company, 254 pages, $19.95 In recent years writing on Japan has become a veritable cottage industry. In the slew of literature promising to reveal and explain the secrets of that mysterious “and economically . . . . Continue Reading »
Women and Evil by nell noddings university of california press, 284 pages, $25 For centuries theologians and philosophers have been struggling with the agonizing and bewildering problem of evil. Believing Jews and Christians cannot escape the perennial dilemma of reconciling the existence of . . . . Continue Reading »
A Future South Africa: Visions, Strategies, and Realitiesedited by peter l. berger and bobby godsellwestview press, 344 pages, $32.50 “My dear friend, clear your mind of cant,” said Dr. Johnson in a celebrated piece of advice to Boswell. “You may talk as other people do; you may say to a . . . . Continue Reading »
It is hard to imagine a Jew today who would come to Germany without a profound sense of uneasiness. Considering the agony of the Jewish people at the hands of the Germans from 1933 to 1945, one can well understand the attitude of many Jews today—even forty-five years after the Nazi horror has . . . . Continue Reading »
I hadn’t thought of Jerry Carter for at least five years. I probably wouldn’t have thought of him for at least another five if it hadn’t been for the report of the National Research Council’s Committee on the Status of Black Americans. I met Jerry in 1982. I was a reporter for the Chicago . . . . Continue Reading »
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