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August 6, 2020

Lessons in Political Humility from the Talmud’s Tale of the Temple’s Destruction

Rabbi Yoḥanan, COVID-19, and the Arab spring.

A historian answering the question of why the Second Temple was destroyed might cite changes within the Roman empire itself, religious and political conflict among the Judeans, and even anti-Semitic unrest in Egypt. By contrast, the Talmud presents a much narrower explanation, imbued with its own theological notions about history. The Israeli general and strategist Gershon Hacohen examines this passage in search of political wisdom:

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