The Coronavirus Has Exposed the Weaknesses of Israeli Ultra-Orthodoxy, but the Only Solution Can Come from Within
Recovering a sense of civic virtue from within the Jewish tradition.
February 3, 2021
For God, Love Isn’t All You Need
Covenant, chosenness, and God’s love for Israel.
In the Hebrew Bible, God repeatedly professes His love for the Jewish people and, moreover, demands that they love him in return. To Jon Levenson, this love bears some similarity to love of a family member—as if God has adopted the descendants of Jacob into His own family—as well as to monogamous romantic love. It also is deeply related to the biblical ideas of chosenness, covenant, and commandment. Thus the love of God requires service to Him rather than mere emotion, and the commandments are neither laws in the modern sense nor moral principles, but expressions of love and reciprocity. (Interview by Johnny Mej. Audio, one hour.)
Subscribe to Continue Reading
Get the best Jewish ideas and conversations. Subscribe to Tikvah Ideas All Access for $12/month
Login or SubscribeFebruary 3, 2021
How the Palestinian Authority Is Contributing to Gaza’s Immiseration
The other blockade.
For God, Love Isn’t All You Need
Covenant, chosenness, and God’s love for Israel.
The Secret War That Saved the Land of Israel from the Nazis
And the forgotten battle that cost Moshe Dayan his eye.
Understanding Anger, and Its Antidote
With some help from Maimonides, Aristotle, Dr. Johnson, and Chekhov.