Rav Noach Weinberg used to say, “In a crazy world, we [i.e., Torah Jews] are the least crazy”
Rav Noach Weinberg used to say, “In a crazy world, we [i.e., Torah Jews] are the least crazy.” The truth of that statement is brought home to me almost every time I read a newspaper or magazine detailing current social trends. And by examining a few gleanings from my recent reading, I’d like to offer some lessons in precisely how uncrazy we are.
One of the defining marks of totalitarian regimes is the belief that human beings are infinitely malleable, if just subjected to the proper education or reeducation, according to the educator’s superior reason.
The Torah rejects the premise of infinite malleability. Hashem created everything in the world with a particular nature, albeit capable of multiple expressions. I once commented to evolutionary psychologist Jonathan Haidt that he and I share something important in common: We both believe in human nature, we just disagree about its source.
But for contemporary progressives, even nature itself is not fixed. Professor types solemnly lecture us today that XX and XY chromosomes are not determinative, or at most represent two points on a continuum. There is no clear line of demarcation.
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