If Jews beginning 3,000 years ago freely and equally associated with gentiles, how many Jews do you think there would be today?
JP, why is that important?
I think they did a lot more associating with gentiles 3000 years ago. If you believe the stories in the Tanach, how about Yitzchak making peace with the Plishtim, Joseph becoming viceroy of Egypt, Shlomo marrying non-Jewish princesses for political reasons?
The laws separating Jews from non-Jews are, to my knowledge, relatively recent and most applicable for Jews in Christian Europe of the middle ages.
All that nonwithstanding, there's a big difference between preserving your own culture and spitting on everyone else's. The former does not require the latter.
With the exile of the Jews to other countries, more barriers were needed to prevent assimilation, such as prohibiting non-Jewish wine.
As far as the Biblical period goes, the idea seems to have been to live separately in Palestine after obliterating the earlier inhabitants. Not all that open minded.
I never spit on anyone and I don't actually even feel superior. Who knows how righteous I really am?
> As far as the Biblical period goes, the idea seems to have been to live separately in Palestine after obliterating the earlier inhabitants. Not all that open minded.
That might have been the idea, but it was never implemented, since they could never get rid of the Philistines.
>I never spit on anyone
I was speaking metaphorically. Obviously.
>and I don't actually even feel superior.
Oh, I think you do... judging from your comments and posts that I've read anyway.
"Oh, I think you do... judging from your comments and posts that I've read anyway."
Sounds like someone else is feeling superior today...
Actually, I think I have better judgement than most people. I'm not sure that God likes me better than most people. That's a little different.
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