To the sceptics

Anyone who's following the posts and comments of Jewish blogs even from afar will note a recurring tension between belief and reason which seems to contradict belief. In fact, this is probably an important reason why some of the big-traffic bloggers prefer pseudonyms. Personally, I don't think the danger of estranging hitherto Orthodox Jews is big, on the contrary, I think a lot of lerning for the sake and the advancement of Tôre is going on here.

The more serious among the more sceptic seem to bear the biggest tension, probably not to be envied. Still, I think you're not on the fringe of Tôre-true Judaism. The unwritten mishne was always:

ספק ה' ספק אינו ה' שומרין את המצוות ודורשין את האמת

E gute sime tôve!



.

Mat-tôvu ôholecho ya-akôv

A modern-day Bil-om tried to say something bad about the Jews, and couldn't but say praise:

Sudanese blames Jewish groups on Darfur

The president of Sudan said Jewish groups are lying about violence in Darfur to raise money for Israel.

Speaking Tuesday at the U.N. General Assembly, Omar Hassan al-Bashir said reports of deaths and refugees in Darfur are “fictions,” and that those “who made the publicity, who mobilized the people, invariably, are Jewish organizations.”

The U.S. Jewish community has taken the lead in organizing against the mass violence in Darfur, but has been led by the American Jewish World Service, which does not raise funds for Israel.

Bashir’s comments came the same day President Bush denounced government-sponsored violence in Darfur and named Andrew Natsios as his special envoy to the region. (JTA)